Hi all,

First thing, Happy Advanceshipping Day! Today is actually the official Advanceshipping Day so this chapter will honor the relationship between our two favorite protagonists.

I received some new energy when thinking about what to do for this chapter, and I again feel happy about where the story is going. I'm writing this before I actually started writing the chapter, but I'm excited to get to it, and the author's note at the end will tell whether I liked how it came out or not. I'll be trying to improve some aspects today, including my dialogue, introspection, and pacing. As well as including actual Pokemon a bit more.

To everyone who left reviews on the last chapter, thank you! I really appreciate the feedback and it really gives me motivation to write. I enjoy writing, but I don't think I'd be doing it this much if it weren't for the support I've received.

In some ways, I write for myself, but in every other way, I am writing for others. When I spend the time to create a story, build emotion and drama, and pour my thoughts out into words, I'm doing it in the hopes that somebody out there will see that work and enjoy it. Otherwise, I would not write anything.

Thank you all for the kind words, and thank you for the story ideas. I have a document with a list of story ideas that I go to whenever I write a new story, and all the ones suggested are written down.

Thanks again,

Enjoy.

Chapter 4: Hoenn Hospitality

Ash Ketchum and May Maple's footsteps could be heard as they trudged through the wet and empty streets of Petalburg City, illuminated by moon and streetlight. An earthy scent of petrichor from the previous rain filled the air as the duo approached May's house in the night. The moon shone down upon every surface of Petalburg City, and emphasized the time, as not a soul other than Ash and May could be seen out. Pikachu was very exhausted at this point, so he shut himself in Ash's backpack for until they reached May's house.

Ash took a moment to take in how much the city had developed in the few years he had last been there. New buildings had appeared on every block, and the city followed a much more modernistic, urban plan than Ash had originally recalled. It was clear the city had pushed to uphold a balance between nature and the man-made buildings that had taken its place. Small trees and greenery were visible on every street and corner. Ash could see advertisements for different brands, businesses, and services on every window. There must be a reason for the city's sudden eruption in development, and Ash made a note to figure that out later.

At some point in their commute, they had stopped holding hands, and both were too nervous to start again. Ash wasn't quite sure why he was nervous, and neither was May. They were just friends after all? May was just leading him to her house, right? Ash looked over at May as they walked and appreciated her features. The moonlight shone down upon her near flawless skin, and Ash's heart throbbed at the sight of her sapphire eyes sparkling in the moonlight.

Ash looked forward and thought, 'Why am I looking at her that way? May is just my friend. It's been years since we've seen each other, we're not interested in each other like that. I've just got to try and stop myself from looking at her that way.'

May sensed a pair of eyes observing her, and turned over to Ash, though he was already staring forward again. She took a second to admire his growth. He now stood about a foot taller than her, and his broad shoulders could intimidate a machoke. His chocolate-brown eyes filled with care and compassion stare forward into the streetlight filled city. She could sense something bothering him and it was clearly occupying his thoughts.

"Are you alright, Ash?" May asked, tilting her head at him.

Ash broke from his thoughts and turned to May. The sight of her staring innocently at him instantly removed his ability to speak. Arceus, why is he acting this way? There was a moment of silence before he came up with an excuse, "Yeah, sorry, I'm just kind of cold is all."

"Are you sure, Ash? You can talk to me about anything, you know." she responded, doing her best to put care into her tone.

"Yeah, don't worry, May. I'm fine, just my clothes still being pretty wet doesn't help much with the temperature." Ash replied.

Even after so many years, May knew Ash well, and there was something he didn't wanna talk about. She wasn't going to pry though, "Well we're gonna need to get you some new clothes tomorrow, alright?" she said.

"Yeah, that's a good idea, May." He responded.

There lay a barrier of tension between the duo as they left behind the urban part of the city and entered the suburban section. May could see the front door of her house in the distance, and she grabbed Ash's hand, "Come on, Ash, we're almost there." May spoke, quickening her pace towards the house..

May's house was a sizable home with plenty of space. It was on top of a small hill, and surrounded by a neighborhood of other houses of similar size. A concrete path led up to the front door of the house. A light could be seen illuminating the inside of the home through a window next to the front door. Though curtains masked whatever was going on inside.

The duo walked up the pathway to the entrance, and May led Ash up the small steps to the front door. She reached down and unzipped the fanny pack on her waist and pulled out a key. She stuck the key inside the keyhole and slowly turned to the left, being careful not to make too much noise. The door cracked open and May peered inside. The light was on, but she couldn't see anything through the crack in the door.

She grabbed Ash's hand and pushed open the door slowly. Pikachu also made his way out of Ash's bag and onto Ash's shoulder. Nothing happened and she believed she was in the clear, so she opened the door the rest of the way and took a step inside.

Just past the door was the foyer, which had a small staircase leading to the second floor where a hallway could be seen extending from each side of the house. On the left side of the staircase was a small hallway which led to the kitchen. On the right side was a door that led to May's parents room. To the left of the foyer was a dining room which also connected to the kitchen. On the right was a living room with the basic family necessities. On the walls, many pictures hung of different events as well as pictures of the Maple family.

"MAY MAPLE!" came roaring from the dining room.

May instantly froze and turned her head to see her father, Norman, sitting in a chair by the dining table, facing the front door. May felt a shiver of guilt run through her body as Norman put his head in his hands and sighed. The look on Norman's face could tell anyone that he was upset.

"May! It's past two in the morning! Where in the hell have you been!? I've been waiting for you all night since yo-" He paused his anger as he heard another pair of footsteps make their way inside the house along with a Pokemon squeaking, and he looked up from his hands. A look of confusion came across his face as he stared at the raven-haired trainer.

"May, who is this that you've brought home?" Norman asked, anger threatening to escape from his words as he clasped his hands together and shut his eyes.

May was silent for a moment, taking a second to collect herself before speaking, "This is Ash. Ash Ketchum. The one who I traveled through Hoenn and the Kanto Battle Frontier with."

Norman immediately opened his eyes in shock and observed the boy. He had the same raven hair, brown eyes, and lightning shaped marks on his cheeks. A Pikachu peeked around from behind the boy's legs. He had grown exponentially, and was no longer the small framed boy he remembered, but there was no mistaking it, that was Ash Ketchum. What was he doing here? Why was he in his house? Why had May brought him home at this time in the morning? What was going on?

Norman stood up and walked over to the two teenagers. He glanced at May for a moment, before moving on to Ash and looking him in the eyes. Ash was taller than Norman now, yet the boy still felt a pang of fear as Norman stared into his soul. Ash knew that Norman was angry about something, but he was hoping that didn't transfer to anger directed towards him. Pikachu sat behind Ash's legs, with a face of terror similar to that of his trainer.

Norman looked at Ash for what felt like minutes, before suddenly, a smile spread across Norman's face and his eyes lit up. Norman extended out his hand to offer a handshake. Ash reluctantly accepted it, and to his surprise, Norman pulled in Ash for a light hug.

Norman grinned, "Ash! It's so good to see you!"

Ash was surprised, and so was Pikachu. Okay, this was odd, but it was better than Norman being angry, so he let out a small and nervous chuckle and leaned into the hug. Pikachu let out a quiet and nervous squeak.

May looked on at her father and best friend. She didn't look surprised at all at her father's reactions to Ash, and waited patiently for Norman to finish greeting Ash.

Eventually, Norman patted Ash on the back and retracted from the hug, and shook Ash's hand again. "How've you been, Ash? It's been so long! I'm sure May has already told you all about her journeys!" Norman spoke.

Ash glanced over to May, and she held a slight blush as she rubbed her arm and averted her gaze away from him. Ash looked back to Norman and finally let out some words, "Good to see you too, Mr. Maple."

"Please, call me Norman!" he insisted.

"Ok, uh, well, can I ask why you're so happy to see me, Norman?" Ash asked, still confused as to how he was able to change the man's mood so much just by being there.

At this point, May was looking away with a heavy blush spread across her face. She silently cursed herself. She should've known that her father would do something like this the moment he saw Ash. It was her fault, after all.

Norman put his hands on Ash's shoulders, "Well, Ash! You're the reason my daughter is so interested in Pokemon! You're the reason she's become such a successful coordinator! Without you, I don't think she'd ever have discovered her love for Pokemon!"

May put her face in her hands and shook her head. She couldn't believe the embarrassment that her dad was causing her. Ash looked on at Norman, slightly in shock.

"W-w-well, o-of course. She had it in her, she just needed a little push when we met. It was all her though." Ash replied, rubbing a hand on the back of his head sheepishly.

Norman continued, "I just wanna thank you, Ash! You've really had a big impact on her! You should hear how much she talks about you sometimes! 'I never could've done it without Ash' she says."

At those words, May felt like her world was coming crashing down on her. The weight of the embarrassment she was feeling felt like it would kill her. No way she could ever talk to Ash again after this. She'd have to change names, move to a new country, abandon her life as a coordinator, and never show her face again. She began to silently plan how she'd run away as her dad continued talking.

"Uh, well, you're welcome, Norman. I'm really happy I could do that for her. I always enjoyed traveling with May and I'd do anything to support her." Ash replied abashedly and glanced at May.

Ash knew that he had mentored May on their journeys together, especially to start out, but he never realized he had that much of an impact on May. He was always happy to care for her and would absolutely support May and her goals when she needed it, and even when she didn't. Ash looked back to Norman.

"I'm glad you welcomed her on your travels back then. You should've seen how adamant she was that everyone watched your last few tournaments, too." Norman added, a smirk appearing on his face as he looked over to his daughter.

With this statement from Norman, Ash was confused. When May had asked him about his adventures at the ramen restaurant, she acted as if she didn't even know the regions he'd gone to, but if she had watched all his tournaments, then of course she knew where he'd been. Ash was very confused at this, and looked over to May.

May's eyes filled with horror at the realization of what her father just said. She peeked at Ash from behind her hands, and quickly covered them again seeing that Ash was looking at her. There was no way she could ever recover from this.

"Oh, well, I'm glad you guys got to see me compete in those." Ash said, still confused but grateful.

"You were always a great kid, Ash." Norman added, "I do have one question, though." He said, taking a step back from Ash, now speaking to both of them.

Ash replied, "What would that be?"

"What are you doing in Petalburg at this time? Shouldn't you be on the way home or to another region?" Norman asked, genuine confusion in his voice.

Ash sighed and shamefully explained the events of the last day. How he'd stayed up too late, slept in, had to make a rush for the airport, and eventually gotten on the wrong plane. How he and Pikachu were kicked out of the airport, and how they got soaked walking through Petalburg in the rain. Ash was about to mention the ramen shop, but he glanced at May, who shook her head to not mention it. Ash got the memo and instead just explained how he ended up bumping into May, and how they talked until the rain subsided.

May silently prayed her father wouldn't ask where they bumped into each other. She didn't want him to know about her favorite spot, because then he'd know where to go looking for her.

Fortunately he didn't, and Ash continued his explanation on how he has no way back to Kanto now with the closing of the airport.

May, though still embarrassed, butted in, "I told Ash that he could stay with us for the week since the hotel is pretty much full until the airport opens again."

Norman was silent for a moment before exclaiming, "Of course, Ash! You're welcome to stay here as long as you need!"

Ash let out a mental sigh of relief. He was so glad he wouldn't have to keep worrying about where to stay. With great gratitude, Ash shook Norman's hand and replied, "Thank you so much, Mr. Maple, I'm very grateful."

"Of course, Ash, and please, call me Norman." He responded, "You can stay in the spare bedroom, May will show you. There should be a set of sheets in the closet."

"Sorry, and thanks again, Norman." Ash replied gratefully.

"No problem, Ash. I'm very exhausted, so I'm going to head to bed now. I suggest you two do the same. Goodnight." Norman responded.

Norman then walked past Ash and May to the room to the right of the staircase. He paused to take a moment to look at May and sighed. The look on his face showing his discontent with May. He gave her a look as if to say, 'this isn't over,' before promptly turning around, opening the door, entering his room, and shutting it.

Silence filled the room as both Ash and May stood there for a moment.

May was the first to start moving. She flicked down the light switch to the foyer and started heading up the stairs, before she paused and turned around to motion for Ash to come. She avoided looking Ash in the eye, embarrassment still clear on her face.

Ash could tell she was embarrassed, and thought about what to say to her. He followed behind May up the stairs while Pikachu followed close behind his trainer. At the top, May paused and waited for Ash.

May took a deep breath, still averting her gaze from Ash, before pointing to a door at the end of the hall and solemnly saying, "The spare bedroom is over there. There should be a set of bedsheets in the closet like my dad said. I'll see you tomorrow." May then turned to walk away, but was stopped by a hand softly grabbing her arm.

"May, wait." Ash spoke.

May turned back to Ash, her eyes laying on the floor, refusing to look up. "Yeah?" She asked.

"May," Ash began, putting his hands on her shoulders, "I'm so glad I was able to have an impact on your life." May finally looked up to Ash, a wide blush appearing on her face, as she stared into his caring, chocolate-brown eyes.

There was silence for a moment before Ash continued, "I'm happy to know you think of me that way, May. I know I helped you, but it really was all you. You're an amazing person and a beyond talented coordinator and I'm always here to support you when you need it. I couldn't have made it through Hoenn without you, either. You've got nothing to be embarrassed about."

There was silence for a moment, before Ash felt the brunette come crashing against his chest, her arms wrapping around him. May shut her eyes as she felt them begin to water, and she laid her head against Ash's chest.

Ash quickly returned the hug, and Pikachu, who was now on Ash's shoulder, jumped down to May's shoulder and nuzzled against her cheek, "Pika pi." he squeaked happily.

After a minute or so, the hug ended, and May took a step back. She wiped a small tear from her eye, and looked up to Ash. He was still confused about something, though, and he intended to ask about it.

"May….why did you act like you didn't know about my adventures back at the ramen shop?" Ash asked, still confused from earlier, but not trying to make May any more embarrassed.

May's smile fell and she looked down again shamefully. She tried to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat and twiddled her fingers for a silence-filled moment before replying, "W-well, uh….can I be honest with you about something….A-ash?"

"Of course you can. You can tell me anything." He replied, his words evident with compassion.

"Well. I did watch your tournaments on TV throughout the other regions you visited. The truth was that…I really really really wanted to contact you. I really wanted to send you a message and just catch up over everything. I had missed talking to you. The thing was that….you hadn't contacted me at all. I was about to message you, but then I just got really worried. I started thinking like, what if you had forgotten about me? I know I was joking about it at the restaurant earlier but it was true. I was starting to think you didn't care about our memories and adventures anymore. I never ended up sending you a message, and I just kept waiting, and hoping one day I'd hear something from you, but it never came." May finished, tears began to fall slowly from her eyes.

This time, it was Ash's turn to rush May with a hug. He held her even tighter than before. May began to cry into Ash's chest as he held her close. Ash couldn't believe what an idiot he'd been.

"May…I'm so sorry." Ash began, "I had no idea. I'm such an idiot for not keeping in touch. I was just so focused and distracted with training and everything that I never remembered to send a message. I would absolutely never forget you, May. You're so important to me, and I'll always remember everything we've been through together. I promise, from now on, I will always keep in touch."

Ash finished speaking, emotion coming from each and every word. There was a moment of silence before May finally responded.

"Thank you so much, Ash. For everything." May let out, finally letting words escape her lips.

"Of course, May." Ash replied, holding her close to him.

Eventually, this hug ended as well, and May stepped back and looked up to Ash, this time with a smile. Ash looked back at her, a caring smile spread across his face. May's heart throbbed.

"I'm gonna hold you to that promise, you know." May joked, playfully punching Ash in the arm as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I hope you do, May." Ash replied with a laugh.

"Okay, Ash, we've gotta get to bed now, or else we're gonna wake up way too late tomorrow." May spoke with a light chuckle, stroking the fur on Pikachu's head, eliciting coos from the yellow mouse.

"Yeah, May, you're probably right, we both know how long I can sleep in." Ash said laughingly.

May grinned, "No kidding. Tomorrow, we're gonna get you some new clothes, then I've got a bunch of ideas for stuff we can do." Her sapphire eyes lighting up at the possibilities.

Ash flashed his signature smile. "Sounds like a plan." Ash replied.

Pikachu jumped off of May's shoulder before May walked over to the door on the other side of the hall and turned the knob. She looked over to the raven-haired trainer one last time for the night, "Goodnight, Ash." She said with a smile that could kill, before entering her room and closing the door.

Suddenly, Ash felt a rush of emotion flow through his body. Like a jolt of electricity going from his hands and feet and through his arms and legs, reaching his heart and head. The feeling made him shiver. What is this? Ash thought. What am I feeling?

Pikachu looked up to his trainer with concern and squeaked, "Pikachu kachu?"

"I don't know, Pikachu. I'm just feeling kind of weird. It's just been a really weird day." Ash replied to his loyal companion.

After a moment, the feeling went away, though his heart still felt heavy, as if it threatened to tear a hole through his chest and escape his body. He stopped and shrugged it off while Pikachu jumped up to Ash's shoulder. Ash rubbed the fur on his head, making Pikachu happy. Ash walked towards the other room, turned the knob and pushed open the door. He flicked on the light to see a modest room.

The walls were painted a white chocolate color and didn't have much on them. There was a bare double sized bed against the left side of the room with a small night table to its right. There was a desk at the other end of the room opposite to the bed and a lamp in the corner as well as one on the night table that lit up the room. Ash walked over to the closet and opened the door. Inside was a dresser, and on top of it laid a set of bedsheets and two pillows.

Pikachu jumped down and sat on the night table while Ash took the sheets and set them up on the bed. Finally, he placed the two pillows at the head and laid a blanket from the closet over the newly made bed. Ash groaned, having not had a chance to lay down in a while, and was about to get in bed before he realized something.

His clothes were still very damp. There was no way he could get into bed like this. He slid his bag off his back and placed it down on the desk at the other side of the room. He zipped it open and began looking for spare clothes. The first thing he saw was his phone and charger. He had tried charging it at the restaurant, but it seemed his charger was pretty much cooked. On the bottom left side of the desk was an outlet with a spare charger, and Ash sighed in relief, before plugging in his phone and laying it on the desk. Hopefully now he'd be able to contact his mom and Professor Oak tomorrow.

Ash looked back in the bag and saw the spare change of clothes from earlier. They were still damp from the rain water, but he pulled out a small pair of black exercise shorts. The material was a polyester blend designed to dry quickly to keep you dry when you're working out. Ash used these during his daily morning exercise in Alola, and it could work for the night. They had already dried out almost completely, and Ash silently thanked his mother for recommending it to him before he left for Alola.

Ash took off his jacket, shirt, and pants and changed into the exercise shorts. He didn't have anything else to wear, so this would have to do.

He turned off the light and got into the bed, pulling the blanket up and over him. Pikachu came by and laid next to Ash by his chest. He took a deep breath, glad that he was finally going to be able to get some solid rest.

Ash stared at the ceiling. It had definitely been an interesting day for him. He recounted the events of the past twenty four hours. Of everything that happened, one thing stood above all else.

Seeing May.

Ash still felt guilty over how he had made feel for not contacting her at all in the past few years. Arceus, was he an idiot for that one. On the other hand though he was glad he able to make her happy again.

May had matured considerably since he'd last seen her. In all truth, the only word he could define her as,

Beautiful.

Woah. Why did he keep thinking of her this way? It had been years since he'd seen her, yet he felt so attached to her. They clicked like it had only been a day since they last spoke. From the moment she revealed herself to him at the restaurant, he's felt captivated by her. The aura around her was almost addictive. Ash didn't understand why he was feeling this way around her. Was it possible he was attracted to her? No, she was just a friend. Right? A really close friend.

Ash turned to Pikachu, "Hey, Pikachu?"

Pikachu looked up to his trainer, "Pika?"

"What do you think of May?"

"Pika pi pikachu!" His loyal companion replied.

"No, I mean like, what do you really think of her?" Ash said.

"Kachu pika pi pika?"

"I don't know, buddy. Since we met up with each other today, I've just been feeling kind of weird. Since she went to her room, my chest has just felt…heavy." Ash explained to his Pokemon.

"Pika pi chu."

"Yeah, me neither. It's just been so long since we've talked to her, I still can barely believe it."

"Chu pika kachu?" Pikachu said with a sly smile.

"No, no, no, Pikachu. You know I haven't felt that way since Sinnoh. I didn't even know what it meant back then." Ash countered.

"Pika pi chu chu." Pikachu squeaked, turning his head back down and closing his eyes.

"I don't know, Pikachu, maybe." Ash said, also closing his eyes.

He looked forward to what May had planned tomorrow, and promptly prepared to fall asleep.

As the raven-haired trainer and his loyal, yellow Pokemon submitted to sleep, a certain brunette lay awake in her room, contemplating the events of the last day.

May had just said goodnight to Ash and closed the door to her room and she now stood with her back to the door, taking a deep breath and wiping the tears from her eyes. She yawned. It had been a long day, and she was tired.

May's room was a pretty average girl's room. The walls were painted a light pink and she had many pictures and posters hanging around the room. She had pictures of her with her Pokemon, pictures of her and her family, and pictures of her with Ash and her other traveling companions. On the wall also hung a case of all the contest ribbons she had won, and it had grown into a sizable collection. In the middle of the room there was a double sized bed with white bed sheets and a small night table next to it.. On the other end of the room was her desk, where she had a laptop and some notebooks. There were also a few shelves that held any accolades she had received in her journeys, including her Unova Grand Festival trophy. She smiled at it. The room was illuminated by a lamp in the corner, and an overhead light in the middle of the room.

May walked over to a case by her desk, and pulled out a familiar ribbon half, the Terracotta Ribbon, and arguably one of May's most prized possessions, before placing it in the case and closing it. She took it everywhere she went, as it was her good luck charm, but she placed it in this case while she slept.

May dropped her bag in her desk chair and unzipped it. She reached inside and pulled out a familiar Pokeball. She walked over and sat on the foot of her bed.

"Come on out." May said, trying to be quiet so as to not wake her family.

There was a flash, and through a red beam, there materialized a Pokemon. The Pokemon had light-blue fur, long and pointed ears, dark eyes, and a small nose. It had two teal-colored flaps coming from its face that resembled hair.

"Glace! Glaceon!" The female Pokemon spoke.

May stopped her, "Don't be too loud, Glaceon, we don't wanna wake anyone up."

"Glace. Glaceon." She said, this time much quieter.

Glaceon was one of May's most loyal Pokemon. She had been a major part of May's team since she hatched into an Eevee all that time ago. She had evolved into a Glaceon after coming into contact with the ice rock by Snowpoint City. May had used Glaceon in her final match against Dawn in the Wallace Cup, which she unfortunately lost, but only by a few points.

Although being one her most loyal Pokemon, she was also a great friend to Ash's Pikachu, and always had a particular affection for the yellow mouse.

"Okay, Glaceon, you aren't gonna believe what happened today." May whispered.

"Glace?" She asked.

"Well, while I was at Menkoi Ramen, you won't believe who walked in."

"Glaceon?"

Ash!" May said in a loud whisper.

Glaceon was silent for a moment while she processed the news, before erupting in cheers and running around the room, "Glace! Glaceon Glace!" she spoke happily.

"Glaceon! Remember, be quiet!" May whispered loudly.

Glaceon stopped and asked, "Glaceon?"

May chuckled, "Yes, Glaceon. Ash's Pikachu is here too."

Glaceon started running around the room again, this time more quiet, before jumping up and onto May's lap. She knew how much Glaceon liked Pikachu, maybe even too much.

May laughed softly and rubbed Glaceon's fur, eliciting purrs from the ice-type Pokemon.

"And you won't believe it, but Ash is actually staying here for the night, and we're planning to spend some time together around Petalburg tomorrow. He might even stay for the whole week." May said, a smile beaming from her face.

"Glaceon, glace." The ice-type said happily before shifting her expression and asking, "Glaceon?"

May's smile dropped slightly, "Yeah, Glaceon. Dad is still upset with me…I'm not worried about that right now though. I haven't seen or talked to Ash in years, and I wanna focus on spending time with him."

"Glace Glaceon?" Asked the Pokemon.

"Well tomorrow, we're gonna go clothes shopping for Ash because all of his clothes are wet from the rain earlier. Then I was thinking we could do some stuff around the mall and grab something to eat. Then maybe we could go to the park or go on a hike or something." May explained to her Pokemon.

Glaceon nodded happily at the plans for tomorrow.

"Alright, Glaceon, we do really need to get to sleep though. I don't wanna be sleeping the whole day tomorrow." May spoke to her companion.

With that, May undressed and changed into some sleepwear, before heading over to her bed and getting comfortable under the covers. She flicked a switch by her night table and turned off the lights as Glaceon snuggled up against May.

As May lay in bed, her thoughts went to a certain kind, caring, and compassion trainer.

Ash.

He really had seemed to mature since Sinnoh, but he was still the same caring person he'd always been, always putting others ahead of himself. May felt her heart begin to feel heavy in her chest as she thought of the raven-haired boy.

May had always felt really close to Ash. She shared so many adventures and memories with him. There was no doubt that May considered him her closest friend. She was happy to hear that Ash hadn't forgotten about her and still cared, debunking her greatest fears. Her heart fluttered as she imagined his caring eyes.

Why was she thinking of him this way? Ash was just a really close friend. It had been years since she'd last seen him, after all. Was this the resurfacing of old feelings?

May dismissed the thoughts, and began to think about other things. Eventually, the thought of a certain blue, water Pokemon entered her thoughts, Manaphy.

May remembered when Ash had practically sacrificed himself to save May, Pikachu, and Manaphy while he tried to save the sea temple. She remembered the look in his eyes as he closed the hatch over them, and said what could've been their final goodbye. May remembered when Ash comforted her, and made her feel better when Manaphy had to leave. The compassionate look in his eyes as he told her it was all gonna be okay, and how she had listened.

Ash was such an amazing person, and all May could think about as she drifted off to sleep was how lucky she was to be so close to him.

Well, I'm actually pretty happy with how this chapter came out. There was actually soooo much more I was planning to add in this chapter, but I ended up reaching past 5k words before I got to half of it. Speaking of that, I'd like to know if you guys would prefer longer chapters, or keep it the way it is around the 5k word mark.

Overall the chapter came out great. I'm writing this after I did all the revisions, and I think there might've been some repetitive elements, but nothing too bad. I've got some more action planned for the next chapter, so that should be fun.

As usual, reviews and feedback are welcome and accepted.

Happy Advanceshipping Day!Thanks for reading.