Hi and hello! Welcome to Chapter 5 of Inconceivable, where Ash and May arrive in Terracotta Town and perform some last manoeuvres before settling on a destination. Without further ado, here we go!
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon; Nintendo and Satoshi Tajiri do.
INCONCEIVABLE
CHAPTER 5-FIRST CHECKPOINT
Pidgeot's speed meant that Ash and May reached Terracotta Town in less than two hours, and their landing prompted a flood of memories from the fateful contest all those years ago. May simply climbed off of Pidgeot and stared at the vast harbour, while Ash closed his eyes and pictured everything that had transpired here.
There was the Contest Hall, where they'd battled to a tie and split the medal that symbolized their friendship. May's then-Combusken had evolved into Blaziken here, setting the stage for the matchup with Sceptile. He remembered the smoke cloud that masked their points totals before the verdict was established. They then separated that evening, with May and Max returning home to Petalburg City. The memories were bittersweet, but Ash knew everything had seemingly come full circle, and a site of such significance was the perfect waypoint on their journey.
May kept Pikachu in her arms, her nerves on edge despite the tranquility of the ocean beyond. The scene was very similar to the Valour Lakefront, and this similarity brought back its own wave of memories, which May tried to keep back, knowing that she needed to concentrate on the present. Pikachu sensed her discomfort and looked up into her eyes.
"Ka-chu, pikachu pikapika chu pi pika?"
"No, Pikachu, everything's fine." May answered, guessing at the mouse's meaning. "I remember everything that happened here, but I don't want to dwell on the old memories. We're doing something really scary and dangerous, and all our focus has to be on that." Pikachu didn't look convinced, but he decided to leave May alone for now. If she or Ash had anything to tell him, they would.
As they reached the Pokémon Centre, Ash headed to the counter to book them a room for the evening. Nurse Joy took their info and checked them in, and the couple moved to the trainers' lounge, where they each dropped into an armchair next to one another. Ash closed his eyes and breathed deeply, while May gently extricated Pikachu from her arms. The Electric-type satisfied himself with lying next to May's left shoe, where he dropped off for a quick nap. May looked at Ash and smiled.
"Hey, at least Pikachu's behaving himself." Ash nodded, and May became serious. "Alright, so we're in Terracotta Town. What're we going to do now?"
"Well, we've got to keep our little ruse going, right? I'm going to call Professor Oak and tell him we're here, and you could call your parents if you want. The more evidence that we're here, the less chance they'll get suspicious."
"But what happens if they call the Centre and we're not here? They'll know for sure."
"We'll be well out of here by the time anyone calls up. The ruse only has to work this far, once we're away there's not much they can do to track us." Ash knew that once they were gone long enough, the search would inevitably start, but he knew they could be well hidden by the time anyone even considered looking for them. He trusted his and his Pokémon's ability to stay under the radar—well, except for Muk, but he could work with the Sludge Pokémon on that.
"I guess so. Alright, you call the Professor first, then I'll call my parents. Then we should walk around town a bit, since we didn't see much the first time we were here."
"Are you sure about that?" Ash didn't want to risk being noticed; even though few people were likely to recognize them, paranoia dictated that they should keep to their plan to lay low. "What if someone sees us?"
"Don't worry about that, Ash. No-one here has seen me dressed like this, and you're not wearing your hat, so nobody will recognize you either. We're going to need to pick up supplies anyway, and if we're going to be leaving soon it's got to be today."
"Fine. I'd lose the bandanna, though, at least while we're out there. It's almost as recognizable as my hat, so any sharp-eyed people will pick up on it in a flash."
"Okay," May said, and Ash headed over to the bank of videophones to call Professor Oak.
"Ah, so you've reached Terracotta Town, excellent! Did you manage to collect Pidgeot on your way?"
"Yes," Ash replied. "He was in the Viridian Forest just like I left him, and he flew Pikachu and I over here, which explains how we got here so fast."
"A wise choice. The earlier you arrive for a contest or other competition, the more time you have to familiarize yourself with the area. I assume May is with you now?"
"Yeah, she is." This was where the deception lay. "She took the ferry from Littleroot Town and met me at Terracotta Harbour. We timed it so we'd arrive at the same time, and we just checked into the Pokémon Centre." Behind him and out of sight, May looked confused—she hadn't gone directly to Terracotta Town from Littleroot. In order to keep the ruse going, though, she let it slide.
"I see. There's still a few days until the Contest, so you two will have time to catch up and train together. Good luck to you, my boy."
"Thanks, Professor. See you later." Professor Oak nodded and closed the link, and Ash made way for May to take her turn. May indicated where Pikachu was still lying on the floor, and she opened the link to her home phone as Ash returned to the lounge.
After a few moments, the screen showed Caroline's face, and she smiled as she saw her daughter's face on her end.
"Oh, hi, May! I wasn't expecting you to call so soon. Was your ferry trip okay?"
"Yeah, it was. Those ferries are quicker than you think, it seemed like no time before I got to Pallet Town. Ash flew us over on his Pidgeot, so we're here in plenty of time for the Contest."
"I see. How is Ash doing?"
"He's alright, he's training right now. I'm going to join him once we're done."
"You two make a terrific pair, May. From all you told us, Ash is the reason you're such a strong Coordinator now. Just don't let the fact that you two are dating get in the way, especially if you run into each other in the Contest."
"Don't worry about that, Mom. Ash won't let a little thing like love stop him from giving his all. I've seen his skill firsthand, after all."
"Well, I won't keep you away from him any longer." May blushed and narrowed her eyes, but Caroline just winked at her. "Oh, don't look at me like that, May, I'm just teasing. Just remember to have fun, and you'll be fine when the Contest starts."
"I know, Mom. I'll talk to you soon." May cut the transmission, and felt awful already. She'd just lied to her mother, straight to her face. She didn't have time to feel worse, though. A wave of nausea come over her, and she raced for the bathroom, hoping no-one would see her.
Ash waited anxiously for May to return to the lounge, watching the adjacent foyer for any sign of her. May appeared a few minutes later, and she tucked her bandanna into her waist-pack as she sat back down next to him.
"Did you talk to your mom?" he asked, his voice full of concern.
"Yes, I did. I told her we got here safely, and that we're prepping for the Contest. I do have to ask you, though, why did you tell the Professor I came here direct from Littleroot? If my parents talk to him, they'll notice that there's two different stories."
"He didn't know you were coming to Pallet first. The less he knows about us being together from the start, the better. I'm trying to cover our tracks as much as possible."
"I don't know if you did it right that time, though." May decided to end it here, since they needed to get moving. "Alright, forget the dissonant alibis. We've got to go pick up some supplies before we leave."
"Okay," Ash and May got up and walked towards the exit doors, while Pikachu hurried after them. As they exited the Centre, they saw people putting up posters advertising the Terracotta Contest, and they did their best not to gravitate towards them. Other people did, though, and expressed their interest in competing, even though the Contest wasn't in the official Grand Festival lineup.
"Sounds like us, huh? Or at least you," May joked as they moved towards the first in a row of shops. "The only reason you entered was because you didn't need a Pass."
"Hey, I entered so we would get a chance to compete together," Ash said in response. "I've only ever entered three Contests in total, and an unofficial Contest meant I could compete without risking damage to my reputation."
"Oh, so you're worried about your reputation now?" May asked playfully, giggling as Ash flushed. Even though she was worried sick about their flight, she felt she needed this interlude of friendly banter, if only to lighten her own mood, to say nothing of his.
"No...well, sort of. I may not have a Championship title, but I did win the Battle Frontier..."
"Ash," May interrupted, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I'm kidding. You don't have to prove anything to me, nor to anyone else. And besides, your win at the Battle Frontier is something our little one is going to be able to boast about, so that's a plus."
"Yeah," Ash said, chuckling to himself. "I guess I was just going off on a tangent, huh?"
"Don't worry about it. I love you despite even that." May gave Ash a swift kiss on the cheek, and rushed into the first shop to see what they had on offer. Ash touched his cheek and looked at Pikachu, who was doubled over in silent laughter.
"What're you laughing at?" he asked the mouse, who didn't answer. Ash shook his head and followed May into the shop.
A few hours and one subdued dinner later, they returned to the Pokémon Centre, weighed down with fresh supplies for their journey. Not wanting to attract attention, they hurried to the room Nurse Joy had checked them into, and tosssed their multiple bags on the room's single bed. Ash groaned when he saw this.
"Aw, no, really?" Memories of their night together raced back faster than a Charmander confronted with ice water. "Is the universe trying to remind us of why we're running?"
"Ash, don't let it bug you. I don't mind sleeping in the same bed." May, too, was remembering back to that night, but she knew it was in the past, nothing they could do about it. "Although we can have Pikachu sleep between us if it bothers you that much."
"That'd be fine." Ash dumped the contents of the first bag onto the bed, and Pikachu helped him sort out the items inside. Instant ramen, water, and even a few bottles of ketchup, which Ash had to physically restrain Pikachu from jumping on. May did the same with another bag, and in less than half an hour everything was packed and ready.
"Okay, that's it, then." May zipped her waist-pack shut again, having added a few items to its load. "It's nearly nine o'clock, you want to turn in? We've got a big day tomorrow."
"Sure, May. I just want to tell you a couple of things first."
"I'm all ears." May sat down on the bed, and Ash ran a hand through his hair before starting again.
"Okay, first off, we're going to hang around the Centre until tomorrow night. I've read that if you're planning to move in secret, you move at night, so that's what we're going to do."
"I think you've been watching too many spy movies," May said doubtfully, but knew Ash was probably right. Leaving at night would attract less attention, they'd just need to make sure Nurse Joy didn't see them. "Okay, what else?"
"I've decided where we're going."
"You have?" May felt her heart begin to race again. "Where?" Ash moved over to her and whispered something in her ear. When he stepped away, she looked at him in surprise. "Really?"
Aha, you thought I was going to tell you where they're going, didn't you? Sorry to string you guys along like that, but I will reveal their final destination next chapter. It should be up close to this weekend, so watch this space!
Standard operating procedure applies, so please read, REVIEW and tell me how it went. Tomorrow's my 23rd birthday, but it's going to be almost entirely spent at school (life as a college senior, folks), so any and all reviews will be a happy bonus. Until next time, namárië!