Hi and hello! Chapter 6 of Inconceivable is here, and we are literally six words of the story away from learning which region Ash and May will be going to. Will it be the friendly confines of Johto or the northern frontiers of Sinnoh? Read on to find out!
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon; Nintendo and Satoshi Tajiri do.
INCONCEIVABLE
CHAPTER 6-DESTINATION CONFIRMED
"Yeah, really. We're going to Johto." Ash had thought hard about where they should flee to, and he had settled on the adjacent region. "Why, is that a problem?"
"No, no, it's just...well, we've both been there, and someone there is bound to notice us."
"They won't. Believe me, it wasn't easy to decide on a destination, and I managed to narrow our options down to Johto and Sinnoh. Since we had to rule Kanto, Hoenn and Unova out, they were the only two regions left to consider."
"And why aren't we going to Sinnoh? Isn't it a lot further away from here than Johto?"
"I did take that into consideration. The further away we get, the harder it'll be for anyone to track us. There was, however, one big factor that swung me towards Johto."
"Which is?"
"Dawn." Ash knew the blue-haired Coordinator would instantly notice them in her home region. "May, if we ran into her or Zoey or even Paul, the news would spread like wildfire. You aren't exactly a low-profile Coordinator, after all."
"But wouldn't she, you know, keep our secret?" Ash shook his head.
"I'd like to think so, but you know how she loves to gossip, and we can't risk anyone else knowing about us. The idea is to get away from our contacts; the only person I can think of in Johto that would definitely recognize me is Casey, but she doesn't know who you are, plus she's too busy supporting the Electabuzz to even acknowledge us being there."
"But what about the Gym Leaders? Or those two kids you ran into in Sinnoh, Lyra and Khoury?"
"Those two? They'll be traveling on their own, and they probably don't know who you are anyway, so the risk isn't so high if we do run into them." Ash knew that the two trainers he'd met late in his Sinnoh travels were set on completing the Johto League, and he hadn't known them long enough to worry about interference from them. He sighed and continued. "We'll leave tomorrow night, then we'll cut through the old Pokémon League gate near Viridian. If we move quickly—relatively speaking—we should be over the border in a few days. When we get to Johto, we're going to have to do what we did when we were traveling, which means a lot of camping and moving through the woods. Well, at least until we need to find a place to settle."
"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing." May knew that once her pregnancy advanced, it would be impractical, and possibly dangerous for her and the baby, to be camping out all the time. She was aware that Ash and his Pokémon would do whatever it took to protect them, but at some point nature would seize control of the situation. Just then, she had a sudden thought. "But why don't we just fly there? It would be quicker, and we could be there faster than if we went on foot."
"Ah," Ash said, realizing he'd forgotten how they'd originally made it to Terracotta Town in the first place. His elaborate plan had fallen flat already. "Actually, that's not a bad idea, at least to get there. Once we do get there, though, we'll have to forgo flying; Pidgeot may not be as distinctive as Noctowl is, but he's noticeable enough to cause us trouble."
"I know that. I'll never get used to flying anyway. So we know we're going to Johto, but my question is where? Do you have any ideas?"
"I was thinking a smaller town, somewhere like Ecruteak or Mahogany. Ecruteak, or somewhere close by, seems more plausible, since it's a real hike to get to Mahogany."
"And Ecruteak isn't too heavily populated anyway. Okay, we can discuss specifics tomorrow, it's getting late."
"Alright." Ash turned away, but was shocked to find May grabbing him and pressing her lips to his. He stiffened slightly, surprised by the suddenness of the gesture, but gradually relaxed and held her close. Ash could feel her trembling, but he didn't pull away, he just kissed her, as if through the gesture he could reassure her she was safe, she wasn't alone—she was with him. They broke apart a few moments later, and May flushed hard as she gave Ash an apologetic look.
"Sorry, Ash, I just...emotions running high, you know."
"Yeah." Ash coughed, then turned again. "We should turn in, we've got a big day tomorrow."
"Okay." May grabbed her sleepwear from her pack, and hurried into the small adjacent bathroom to change.
May slept soundly that whole night, and Pikachu lay between her and his trainer, keeping them separate per Ash's request; May had indicated her indifference towards further proximity, but Ash insisted they stay separate, since proximity was what had landed them in this mess. Ash couldn't fall asleep, haunted by the weight he felt on his shoulders.
They had settled on a destination, but he had no idea what they would do once they got there. He knew they would make for a smaller town, but he was stumped beyond then. Staying out of sight was one thing, maintaining their cover for an indefinite amount of time was another.
A torrent of questions raged through his mind. Would they be able to make a life in Johto if they had to? Beyond his tournament winnings, how would he support her and their child? Could they keep their advanced relationship a secret once their child was born? Would they abandon their families forever, or would they be able to return one day and explain the entire situation? If they did, what would his mother say, or Norman and Caroline? He knew Max would be thrilled at being sort of related to him, but years ago he would have considered it a strange idea. Ash had a thousand more questions, but no answers, and it was frustrating.
"It's barely been two days since we ran, but it feels like two years. We've taken a big risk—the heck with that, we took the risk before May became pregnant. I know we've traveled together before, but this is different. When we started, May only came with me because Pikachu fried her bike. This time, she's the mother of my child, and I've taken it upon myself to protect her, just like I took it upon myself to become her mentor. But I can't risk losing faith now, not while our journey's barely started. We have to see this through." He looked at the clock on the dresser, which read a quarter to one in the morning. "And if I don't get some sleep, we won't get going at all." With these thoughts plaguing him, he dropped off to sleep, tortured by the unanswered questions in his head.
When Ash woke the next morning, May was already up, dressed and out of the room. Pikachu was still asleep next to where she had been the night before, curled up in a ball of yellow fur, and her pack was missing from the chair by the far wall. He wondered where she could have gone, but then he saw the locked bathroom door and realized what was going on.
"Morning sickness, of course." He knew, of course, that she'd be dealing with these symptoms for several more weeks, so he couldn't get worked up about her frequent disappearances. How they were going to cope out on the road, he had no clue. Pikachu stirred from his sleep and looked groggily around the room, settling on Ash as his eyes refocused. The Mouse Pokémon sat up and chirped something Ash couldn't discern, but he smiled nonetheless.
"No, Pikachu, May's fine. Don't worry about her." At that moment, May emerged from the bathroom, looking pale. Pikachu, as if able to sense how she felt, jumped off the bed and scampered into her arms, affectionately nuzzling her cheek.
"Are you that worried about me, Pikachu?" May asked, giggling slightly.
"Chaa..." he cooed in response as May stroked his fur. May looked at Ash as she held the Electric-type, the image of her own child in Pikachu's place still running through her mind.
"So, what're we going to do until we leave? We have everything ready to go at a moment's notice, but I don't want to be cooped up in this room all day."
"We could pretend we were practicing for the Contest," Ash suggested. "We should use somebody besides Sceptile and Blaziken, though. I wouldn't put it past anyone here to recognize them, and by extension us."
"Okay, I guess that means I'll use Glaceon then." May knew the Fresh Snow Pokémon would keep herself under control and not draw unnecessary attention. She might not have been native to Kanto, and anyone who had even caught a fleeting glimpse of the Wallace Cup might know who she was, but with the popularity of Eevee's evolutionary line it was unlikely that anyone would find her unusual. "What about you? Is Pikachu going to participate in our little façade?"
"No. Pikachu's my signature Pokémon, and he wouldn't want to battle Glaceon anyway. He still has something of a soft spot for her." From May's arms, Pikachu shouted in protest, and Ash laughed. "I'm kidding, buddy. I'm going to put Muk out there, he and I need to have a serious discussion anyway."
"Alright, let's get going then, we're burning daylight." May started to run from the room, but then stopped as she realized what she still had to do. She carefully untied the bandanna from her head and tucked it into her pack, remembering what Ash had told her about its significance. "I'm going to have to find some use for this if I can't wear it normally. Maybe I'll give it to Glaceon as a neckerchief, she might like that."
"Maybe," Ash replied, and waited for May to walk out before leaving the room himself.
The hours raced by. Ash, once he had extricated himself from Muk's grasp, had spent the first fifteen minutes of their faux-practice session giving the Sludge Pokémon a stern talking-to about his habit of smothering people.
"We can't afford for you to be doing this while we're on the run," he had said, further explaining that May was off-limits as well; Muk's poisonous touch, even if he just brushed against her, could be dangerous to the baby's health. Muk had looked downcast after this, but Ash had reassured him that he was still very much part of the team. "You just need to learn some self-control, that's all."
The practice session itself went well enough. Muk's attacks were limited, but Ash didn't care since the whole idea was to create an illusion, however quickly it would be dispelled. Glaceon had been overjoyed to see Pikachu again, and spent some time getting re-acquainted with the Electric-type. Even though he'd seen her in her current form before, Pikachu still couldn't get over the fact that she wasn't an Eevee anymore, but knew he'd have to get used to it. Everything seemed to be changing rapidly nowadays, he might as well keep up as best he could.
It felt like a few minutes when evening finally came, and Ash and May headed back into the Centre to make final preparations for departure. They had Nurse Joy do a quick check on their Pokémon, then they headed down for a quick dinner. To Ash's surprise, May didn't take quite as much food as she usually would, which she had a ready excuse for.
"You don't want me to overdo it while we're traveling, right? It applies here too. I don't want to eat too much, even if I do have our little passenger on board. It wouldn't kill me to eat a bit less anyway."
"If you say so," Ash said doubtfully, and focused on finishing his burger. Pikachu sat next to him, slurping ketchup from one of the bottles they'd picked up. Ash and May didn't say anything further, and the time soon came for them to go back to their room and prepare for their surreptitious departure.
The clock read five to ten. Ash had packed everything away, and had recovered his and May's Pokéballs from Nurse Joy. May was busy arranging her own pack, while Pikachu was sitting on her shoulder, keeping her company. The plan was to drop their room key at the front desk while Nurse Joy was on her rounds, then slip out and take flight to Johto. Ash hadn't briefed Pidgeot yet, but he figured he could do that once they were clear of the Centre. The Flying-type was well-rested, and Ash knew that even though the flight would be long, his friend would be up to the task.
May zipped her waist pack shut, then shook her hair out of its distinctive style. Ash stared when he saw her, and May smiled.
"Like what you see?" she asked, and Ash blushed at the tone she had put on.
"I've never seen you with your hair down. It looks good." Ash shook his head, then became serious. "Okay, the coast looks clear. Nurse Joy should be on the other side of the Centre, so now's our chance."
"Got it." The couple closed the door to the room as silently as they could, and hurried down towards the main foyer. May made for the sliding doors at the entrance as Ash placed their room key on Nurse Joy's desk, and they ran as fast as they could away from the Centre once the doors opened. After about a hundred yards, they stopped, and May doubled over, more tired than she'd usually been.
"Are you alright, May?" Ash asked, and she nodded. "Sorry, I forgot again. I really need to remember you've got someone besides Pikachu with you."
"I keep telling you, I'm fine." May coughed and Ash looked at her, unconvinced. "Okay, so I'm still getting used to this. I guess we just need to learn to tone it down, huh?"
"Yeah," Ash looked around to make sure no-one was watching, then tossed out Pidgeot's Pokéball. The Bird Pokémon stretched his wings and looked at Ash with a questioning look, wondering what they were doing out there in the dead of night. "Alright, Pidgeot, here's the deal. We're going to Johto, since the least number of our contacts are there. We're going to fly there instead of walking, and that's where you come in. You up for another flight?" Pidgeot trilled an affirmative, and dropped to the ground so Ash and May could mount up. Ash held out his hand to May, who was standing stock-still in front of him. "C'mon, May, let's get going."
"O-okay," May took Ash's hand and wrapped her arms around him as they assumed their positions, still frightened at the prospect of flying. She leaned her head on his shoulder, and Ash felt Pikachu jump onto Pidgeot's back as well. They were ready to go.
"Alright, Pidgeot, let's move. Head for the western border, then I'll tell you where we're going next." Pidgeot lifted off from the ground and raced into the sky, carrying the young couple with him.
And we're clear! The destination is set, the plans are laid out, all they have to do is execute! There may be a thousand unanswered questions, but all that matters is that they're safe (for now at least).
A word of thanks goes out to everyone who voted for which region Ash and May should run to. The poll was actually pretty close, but in the end there was an initial surge in favour of Johto, and Kanto's neighbouring region won out. Therefore, as was revealed at the beginning of the chapter, I will be continuing the story from that perspective. The arguments for and against each region were compelling, and it was an interesting thing to think about. Note that I did NOT take the side stories into account when I thought about it on my own time (I think there was one that sent Dawn to Hoenn, but I prefer to stick to the main series when writing my stories). Thanks again for participating, folks.
Okay, so as usual, standard operating procedure is in effect. Please do read, REVIEW and tell me how it went! Until next time, namárië!