The boat arrived at Chrysanthemum Island later that night. The port there was also at a beach, seemingly integrated into the city itself, the two were so close to each other. The group quickly made their way off the ferry and into the town's Pokemon Center. After checking in and subsequently separating Brock from the Center's Nurse Joy, they wasted no time in dropping their bags and curling up into bed.
As May dozed off to sleep, her thoughts were still lingering on the wish she'd made on the boat, and the young male trainer lying in his own bed across the room from her...
Ash and May continued running down the remote forest path, the horizon line by the sea beckoning them to come. As they emerged from the foliage onto the edge of a cliff overlooking the port, they both glanced around the clearing in unison, calling out to their friends.
"Are you here, Brock?" Ash cried.
"Hey, Max?" May added, cupping her hands around her mouth.
Ash suddenly glanced down at the port below them. "Look, May!"
She looked over at this, following his gaze down to the dock far below them as a male voice echoed across the open air.
"Last call! Final ferry to Pacifidlog Island! Last call!"
Ash and May both gasped audibly at this announcement. "Th-that's the very last one?" May cried in shock.
"All right..." Ash said decisively, turning to his friend. "You're gonna have to go ahead without us, May."
"Huh?" She replied quickly, turning to him in surprise.
"Don't worry, I can take care of Max. The three of us can catch the ferry tomorrow, and be there to root for you!" Ash said assuringly, grinning at her.
May simply stared back at him with her mouth hanging open, unsure of how to respond.
"The Contest starts in the morning. If you're not there tonight, you won't be able to compete!"
"Yeah, but - "
"This has been your dream." Ash said, suddenly stepping forward and placing his hands on her shoulders. He locked eyes with her as he continued. "Pacifidlog is the last contest, and your last chance to enter the Grand Festival. Right?"
"Yeah..."
"Then you really ought to go for it." Ash said softly, stepping forward even closer and bringing his face close to hers. Pikachu caught the hint and quickly scurried down off of his trainer's shoulder. "I believe in you. You can do it."
"Huh - ?" May squeaked, being it all that she could get out before Ash had placed his own mouth over hers, locking their lips together in a gentle kiss. They remained there for a moment, mixed emotions flowing between them, before breaking apart.
A few stray tears fell down May's cheek, which she quickly wiped away as Ash glanced at them in confusion. "Th-thank you, Ash."
May awoke with a start, the result of an abhorrent snort from Brock across the room. She remained there a moment, staring at the ceiling above her as she slowly came to her senses, breathing heavily. She glanced over at Ash, who was grunting quietly in his usual ridiculously deep sleep.
"What was...?" She thought to herself confusedly. "Ash never...he...that didn't really happen like that."
But then she thought back to the wish that she'd made about him. "But...is that what I wanted to happen?"
She continued to watch him for a few moments before rolling back over, smiling to herself as she drifted back to sleep.
The next morning, they all awoke and, after taking a sufficient amount of time to get ready, left the Pokemon Center, examining the city around them.
"I had heard that this was some kind of tourist resort..." Brock began, glancing at the various buildings around them. "Looks like I was right."
"Piiika..." Pikachu mumbled, watching the flocks of people scurry around the town.
"Welll, what are we waiting for?" May proposed cheerfully. "Let's go down to the beach! I've got a new swimsuit I wanted to try - "
"Uuugh..." Max moaned, his face falling. "We came here for the Contest, May. Remember?"
"What?" May replied, shifting her gaze down to her younger brother. "Of course I remember! The Contest Hall is on the beach, too, you know!"
"Of course it is..." Max muttered quietly.
"Come on!" May cried happily, taking off down the street in the direction of the beach.
"H-hey, wait!" Max called back, running after her alongside Brock.
Ash, however, didn't seem to notice this right away. He continued standing there, immobile, his eyes following May as she grew smaller and smaller on the horizon.
"Pika?" Pikachu said questioningly, looking his trainer in the eyes from his shoulder. "Pika!"
"Huh?" Ash said quickly, blinking as he snapped out of his trance. He glanced around and noticed that he was standing alone in the middle of the street. "H-hey, wait!" He cried, taking off running after his friends.
Once they had all arrived at the coastline, fraught with tourists enjoying themselves in the water and on the sand, May noticed the large Contest Hall. Half of it was positioned on the stone city road, and the other half was in the sand of the beach.
"Look! Over there!" May announced, pointing a gloved finger at the building. "I guess I should go and register for the Contest first..."
"Yeah, good idea." Brock agreed, nodding his head. "And in the meantime, I think I'll hang around the beach and...pick out the best spot."
As he eagerly made his way across the beach, eyeing all of the girls he saw as he went, Max sighed to May and followed behind him, ready to tug his ear at a moment's notice. May giggled and ran off in the opposite direction, toward the Contest Hall.
Ash arrived at the spot a short while later. He glanced to the left and saw Brock walking along the beach with Max in tow. Glancing to the right, he noticed May heading for the Contest Hall. He was about to continue running after her in an attempt to catch up, but then he caught himself, realizing that this would be the perfect time to go on a little 'errand' he'd decided to run the previous night. Much to Pikachu's confusion, he turned around and ran back into the city, away from the beach.
Inside the Contest Hall, May noticed a good deal more competitors than there usually were. "Probably due to the whole tourist beach thing they've got going on here."
She got in line behind a young boy who was about the same height as herself, clad in a purple shirt and lightly colored teal pants. It took her a moment to realize who it was.
"Drew!"
"Huh?" Drew muttered, turning around, his right hand remaining in his pocket as it was before he turned. "Oh. Hi, May."
"I guess we'll be competing against each other again, then, right?"
"Yeah, probably." Drew replied nonchalantly, flicking his hair out with his free hand. "I hope you've been training since last time. Losing to Harley in the final round wasn't one of the better things you've ever done."
May's face fell slightly as she remembered her Munchlax being beaten by Harley's Octillery in her last Contest. "Yeah..."
Drew's eyes focused on something behind May's back as she said this. "Speaking of which..."
"Well, look who it is!" Harley's ever-grating voice rang into May's ears. She turned and saw the telltale Cacturne costume that Harley insisted on wearing around. "If it isn't my little gingerbread cookie!"
"Oooh..." May groaned, putting both hands to her head as Harley strutted up to the line as well.
"I have to say, I'm a little surprised that you'd show up here, given how badly I trounced you last time." Harley chimed playfully in his high-pitched voice.
Drew merely stared him down as May gritted her teeth. "I've...got a headache..."
Harley giggled girlishly at this.
"Ah, man..." Ash grunted quietly under his breath as he roamed the busy streets of the town. "What did I get myself into, buddy? I've got no idea where anything is in this place..."
"Piika..." Pikachu responded sympathetically.
Suddenly, a group of young girls rushed across the street from around the corner, giggling hysterically with flowers in their hands. Ash noticed this, eyeing the flowers as they ran past him. He ran around the corner they had emerged from and spotted a small shop with numerous flower arrangements positioned around the entrance.
Ash smiled in relief. "There we go..."
He made his way across the street and entered the small shop. Once he did, he instantly felt out of place; the small shop was filled with girls of all ages, all of them eagerly browsing the various selections of flowers set up all around the single large room. The only thing he noticed that drew any small amount of attention was a trio of Bellossom that were dancing jovially on a shelf across the room.
Ash swallowed and took a step into the shop, eyeing a few of the carnations. He had no idea where to even begin. He didn't even think he'd ever been in a flower shop in his life before.
It didn't take long for a female clerk to approach him. "Excuse me, sir, you look a little lost. Can I help you?"
"Uh...yeah...I think..." Ash replied vaguely. "There's...well...there's someone I wanted to get something for..."
The clerk smiled at him as he spoke, catching his meaning. "Oh, I see. Don't you worry." She said, winking at him. "We'll help you find what you're looking for. Right this way, please."
Ash smiled back, thankful that he wouldn't have to brave this strange environment alone. "Thanks."
"Well, we have quite a wide selection of flowers here..." The woman continued, leading him through the small aisles, lined with shelves of flower pots. "Were you thinking of a single flower, or a bouquet?"
"Uh..." Ash replied dumbly. He had no idea. "...I guess...just one?"
"Okay then." She answered knowingly, leading him away from the aisles and over to a table against the wall, which was followed by many more tables like it further down the wall. A collection of single flowers stuck in vases rested on the table. "Here are our singles. Do any of these catch your eye?"
Ash stared at them blankly for a moment, then he reluctantly began to imagine what May would look like next to each of the carnations. "I...uh...hmm...I guess...I don't know..."
The clerk continued to watch him as he pored over the flowers, trying to pick one that May would like. He soon realized that he no idea what her taste in flowers were, nor how to determine which would look nice with her.
"None of these?" The lady said after another moment. "How about these?"
She continued to lead him down the row of tables, asking at each one which he thought he wanted. He consistently turned them all down, and eventually they reached the end of the row.
"Are you sure none of those were satisfactory?" The clerk asked again.
"I...yeah...I'm sorry..." Ash mumbled, scratching his head. "I don't really know what to look for..."
"Hmm..." She said, putting a hand to her chin. "Well...we do have one more single in the back...it just came in a little while ago..."
Ash watched her as she retreated to the back of the shop, returning a few seconds later with a single, short-stemmed flower with emerald-green petals and a brilliant white center. It was held in a clear, crystal-green vase. "How does this one look? It just came in from one of our associates in Johto. Apparently, it was procured from near the Forest Shrine in Ilex Forest..."
Ash perked up at this, despite having already considered getting this one over all the others. He knew about the shrine's connection to Celebi, and he remembered that although he had first met the Forest Guardian a long time prior, along with Brock, May had also encountered it along with Max in the forest near Cycling Road on the way to Fuchsia City. "Yeah, that one looks great!"
The clerk smiled sweetly back at him. "This one it is, then! Unfortunately, for such a valuable item, I can't exactly sell it to you for nothing..."
Ash followed her over to the checkout counter as he heard the price of it echo in his ear. "Wh-what?"
"Pika!" Pikachu agreed.
"I'm sorry, but business is business..."
Ash groaned and briefly reconsidered what he was doing. Then he remembered the wish he'd made the night before, and reluctantly handed the clerk a huge wad of cash from his backpack.
"Thank you, come again!"
Ash took the vase in his hands and promptly exited the shop. As he began to make his way back to the beach, he looked down at the flower sitting in the vase. "what do you think, Pikachu?"
"Pika!" Pikachu responded encouragingly.
"Yeah, I hope she thinks so too..."
Please R&R!