Hi all,
Hope everyone enjoyed the holidays and are having a good 2024 so far.
So I've decided to change something from the last chapter because I had a change of plans while writing this chapter. Instead of having Dratini, May will instead have Venusaur. I've fixed the last chapter to reflect this, and apologize for any confusions it may cause. Sorry this chapter took so long to come out between the oneshot I wrote and everything else going on, I think you'll like it though.
Now to respond to some reviews,
To Advance shipper, Thanks again for the feedback and I'm super glad you're enjoying the story! I like your suggestions and some of them may come to fruition. A sequel to this story MAY be in the cards, but we'll see. Also, I didn't forget about the favor Ash owes May, that'll come later ;)
To Scooby Doo 150, that could be something I do in the future. For now though, I'd like to focus on my own original stories, but that idea is not out of the equation.
To TheCouchEffect, Thank you so much for all the feedback once again! I was excited to see what you had to say for me when I posted this chapter. It's definitely a possibility that I write a sequel to this story but I'll decide that when I come to it. I also thank you for your review on my Christmas oneshot.
Now onto the story,
Enjoy.
Chapter 8: Lost in Thought
The sun shone down into the grass clearing, the sounds of nearby Pokemon filled the air, and light gusts of wind blew through the trees.
The wind blew around the duo sitting against a log in the clearing; a boy with raven-colored hair and a cap and a brunette with a cherry-red bandanna. They sat by each other, seemingly deep in thought, pondering something while their Pokemon played and socialized around them. The warmth of the rays of sun softly stroked their skin and the scent of grass filled their senses.
Pikachu and Glaceon continued to run around and play with each other in the grass. Both Ash's Incineroar and May's Blaziken stood by a tree and showed each other different moves. Melmetal silently sat on the edge of the clearing while Gardevoir levitated by him. Rowlet and Beautifly flew around the clearing with each other. Blastoise, Venusaur, and Lycanroc all sat on another edge of the clearing, seemingly talking with each other.
Ash took a break from his thoughts, turned his head to look at what was going on, and smiled at the display of his Pokemon socializing with May's, it was always nice to see his Pokemon get along so easily. Ash knew he taught them well.
He turned his head back and glanced at the brunette to his left for a moment. Suddenly, he was unable to look away, and the glance turned into a stare. The familiar feeling rushed through his body once again, from his head to his toes, like an electric shock. It was the same feeling as when May had…kissed…him on the cheek yesterday, he'd never felt it as strong as then.
'Arceus, she's beautiful,' thought Ash. Only one thing could define the girl sitting beside him. Perfect. Contrary to the other times Ash had begun to think like this, he didn't push the thought away.
He continued to stare at the spitting image of beauty before his eyes. From her silky smooth, brown hair and the red bandanna wrapped around it. Her expression, deep in thought, made his heart flutter. Her deep sapphire eyes focused on the ground as she tried to think of contest ideas, her flawless skin. He watched as she put two fingers up to her lips as she continued to ponder ideas.
What was he thinking? He'd never truly looked at someone like this…Why was it May that stoked these thoughts from him? Ash found himself unable to look away as he continued debating why it was May that did this to him. It was like something just wouldn't let him turn his head, like it was locked in place. He was frozen, unable to move, no matter how hard he tried.
He was subconsciously reminded how he failed to contact her for years and mentally kicked himself for not keeping in touch. Had it not been for May's lenience with him, they might not even be friends anymore, something Ash shuddered at the thought of. He was always so close to her during their travels, and even when she returned for a brief period during the Wallace Cup, they picked right back up like they'd never split apart in the first place, much like they had this week. Ash was glad they were this close. May was a true friend, one with real empathy that wouldn't hold things against him. Why didn't he contact her though? It was not like he'd forgotten about her at all, in fact, she was often present on his mind during his travels through other regions.
Why couldn't he have just taken some initiative and sent her a message. Maybe just a simple, 'How's it going?'
He had found himself often reminded of her. He saw something while passing by a store? May would like that. Looking at a specific food item on the menu at a restaurant? May would like that just as much as he would. Caring for any of his Pokemon? May was probably doing the same thing right now with hers.
Even on the plane ride that was supposed to be back home, he found himself thinking about her. He remembered his thoughts of her and his travels to Hoenn while on the plane ride. From the Pokemon he'd caught, to the gyms he battled in, to the adventures they'd undergone with Deoxys, Rota, and the Sea Temple. He again remembered the look in May's sapphire eyes as he closed the hatch of the life pod he placed her in. He remembered the feeling that had rushed through his body and-
Wait…
He remembered the feeling that had rushed through him when he closed the hatch and gave her a determined smile through the glass. He was looking at May, Pikachu, and Manaphy as he closed the hatch. May had given him a pleading look of worry, yelling his name, but he simply smiled at her and told her not to worry. He took one last look at her, possibly for the last time if he didn't make it, and ran off to complete his mission. However, right before he walked away, he felt it. That feeling. Like a jolt of electricity, a shock going through his body, coursing through every nerve and blood vessel. Back then of course, he shrugged it off, having more important things to worry about with the temple almost collapsing.
But there was no mistaking it, that was the same feeling he'd been experiencing lately. As of right now, he could only identify one similarity between each time he felt it.
It was around May.
According to his memory, he'd really never experienced that feeling again. He'd gone through the rest of Hoenn, before the Battle Frontier, before Sinnoh and-
No. He had felt it again. During the Wallace Cup, right before May left on the ferry, the last time he'd see her. Ash felt that same feeling rush through his skin. Again, it was around May. There were so many questions. What was that feeling? What did it mean? Why was it only ever around May?
He thought back to the Sea Temple once again where he first remembered feeling it. Had anything changed after that? He couldn't remember. Nothing major changed once they'd gotten back to their regular routine and Manaphy had returned to the ocean. Well, there was one thing though, something quite subtle. He'd begun to slightly see May in a different light. It felt like he had to protect her, to always be there for her. The only question is why?
'Gaaahh! This is so complicated!'' thought Ash, still continuing to stare at the brunette beside him. He really needed to figure this out. What was so special about May? Well, besides her beauty, and her personality, and how she liked food just as much as him, and how-
All so suddenly, May turned her head up and made eye contact with Ash, finally giving him the freedom to move as he whipped his head away and turned it to face the ground. May was no fool, she knew he was staring at her, but she chose not to say anything about it, not wanting to embarrass the boy. Instead, she decided to ask him something else and she reached her hand over and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Hm?" Ash mumbled, feigning his focus on thinking of ideas, something that May saw right through.
May put her hands on her lap and asked, "Any ideas yet, Ash?"
Ash was silent for a moment before he shook his head. Wow, he felt awkward. He really hoped she hadn't caught him staring. He didn't want to creep her out, after all. He quickly thought of something to say.
"No, I haven't thought of anything yet," he answered before thinking quickly of something to cover up the fact that he hadn't even been brainstorming for the contest, "maybe we should try and narrow it down." Ash continued as he put his hand to his chin.
May tilted her head at him. "What do you mean, Ash?"
"Well, the theme is Petalburg City, right?" Ash paused for a moment to collect his thoughts, "Whatever you do for the contest should be linked to something specific about Petalburg. Maybe a specific place, something historic, or something the city is known for."
May nodded and looked down to think of anything related to Petalburg City. She was born and raised here her whole life, so she knew plenty about its history, locations, and themes. What was Petalburg known for?
All of a sudden it hit her. Petalburg City's slogan!
"Oh! Ash! I know it!" May exclaimed excitedly, almost bouncing up and down on the ground with jubilation.
"What is it?" Ash responded with a smile, happy to see she had come up with an idea.
"Okay so, I was thinking about what you said, and that reminded me of Petalburg City's slogan, 'Where People Mingle with Nature!'" May spoke her idea to Ash. "That's been the slogan since way before all this development started, and they've stuck with it."
"So do you have any ideas for that specifically?" Ash inquired.
May sweatdropped at the boy's question. "Well, I don't exactly have anything in mind, yet, but I thought it was a good start."
"That's okay, May. It is a great start, we just need to figure out what we can do with that." replied Ash, putting his hand on his chin to think.
Nature. Huh.
He looked around at the clearing they were in, through the different trees, foliage, and greenery that surrounded them. He looked at each of May's Pokemon, trying to figure out which one she could use for the appeal. Only one Pokemon could be used, and whatever a coordinator did with her Pokemon had to resemble the theme of the contest. 'Petalburg City' was quite a broad theme, so there would definitely be various different performances between other participants. May's idea with the city slogan was a great start and had a lot of promise, as it literally encapsulated exactly what the city was about.
Ash thought back to the city and how much it had grown. Despite all the developments, large buildings, and it now being an urban center, it still had great ties with nature. There was nowhere in the city where you couldn't see some sort of connection with nature. Greenery and vegetation was present on every block and street corner, trees lined every sidewalk, and there were plenty of parks and nature-like areas to relax in. They had even been able to go on a hike through a beautiful trail that was right by the city, not much of a long trip at all to find some undisturbed nature, unlike other cities of Petalburg's size.
Ash raised his head and slowly scanned the meadow, looking at each Pokemon. Which could be used for the contest? Each one of them had their own unique capabilities.
He thought of the slogan again, "Where people mingle with nature." Hmm.
Eventually, his eyes widened and settled on a specific Pokemon. A Pokemon with four legs, blueish-green skin, and a large pink and white-spotted flower on its back.
Venusaur!
"May! I know it!" Ash exclaimed to the coordinator, derailing her train of thought. She looked up to Ash quickly and raised her eyebrows.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Venusaur, of course!" Ash yelled with excitement. It was so obvious. There were so many things May could do with Venusaur's grass moves that would perfectly represent the city slogan and how much the city has grown. "I mean, I know there's a few moves that could work like Petal Dance and Growth."
May seemed to be thinking about Ash's suggestion as she put a hand to her chin. "You know, Venusaur also knows a lot of moves. I bet there's a ton of stuff I could do." May added.
"What kind of moves does she know now?" Ash asked.
"Well she knows Solar Beam, Growth, Petal Dance, Sunny Day, Leaf Storm, Grassy Terrain, and Seed Bomb." May listed off as she thought of each one.
"It's just an idea, but maybe you could do something where you use Venusaur's moves to make the arena grow with aesthetically-pleasing vegetation." Ash suggested, "That would fit with both the city slogan, as well as how much the city has grown over the last few years."
May grinned widely. "Ash, you're an absolute genius! I don't know how I didn't think of it immediately! Thank you!"
"Of course, May. I'm happy to help." Ash replied earnestly. May moved towards him and wrapped him in a hug, catching Ash by surprise. She buried her head into his shoulder and held him tight.
"I don't think I've conveyed to you how happy I am that you're here with me, Ash." she muttered into his jacket, no sign of letting go anytime soon.
Ash felt a blush spread across his face. He would never deny a hug from someone, especially May, but it still caught him by surprise. A smile formed on Ash's reddened face. "I know, May. I've really missed you too and I guess you could say I'm kind of glad I got on the wrong plane, as much as I wanted to be home just a few days ago."
May looked up from Ash's shoulder and grinned as she looked into his eyes, raising her eyebrows. "Wanted?"
"What do you mean?" Ash inquired, raising an eyebrow of his own.
She smiled. "You said you wanted to be home a few days ago," May began to tease, "what could've changed that now you'd rather be here with me?"
"Umm…uh-.. I-" the trainer babbled, his face turning almost as red as May's bandanna, as he stumbled between words and tried to figure out what to say.
Hm. Perhaps Ash wasn't as dense as she thought. It was obvious that he knew what she was suggesting. Between his reaction here, and the fact that he was staring at her earlier, maybe this boy isn't impossible.
"Relax, Ash. I'm just teasing you." May chuckled and tapped his nose with a finger. Ash let out a sigh of relief, realizing he didn't have to answer her previous question. A goofy smile spread across his face as May continued to kneel on his lap, her arms still wrapped around him.
Little did Ash and May know, they were currently being watched by two of their Pokemon, two devious Pokemon, at that. The yellow mouse turned his head to meet the eyes of the ice-type as they mutually agreed with what they were going to do. Pikachu slowly crept up to the log that Ash and May were beside while Glaceon slowly inched her way behind her trainer. Pikachu quietly jumped up to the log, only a foot or so away from his trainer. They both were extra sneaky so as not to be noticed.
The Pokemon both looked at each other and grinned. Pikachu gave the signal, and proceeded to give a light but powerful pull on the back of Ash's jacket while Glaceon jumped and lightly kicked May's back.
The force of both Pokemon caused Ash to fall backwards while May, who was still hugging Ash from the front, fell on top of Ash. This ended up with Ash lying flat on his back while May was on top of him, straddling his waist. It caught both of the trainers by surprise and they both simultaneously yelled their Pokemon's names, but Pikachu and Glaceon had already run off and were once again playing in the clearing as if nothing had happened.
May's face turned a deep shade of red. "S-sorry, Ash." she murmured down at him as she felt her heart beat faster.
"I-it's okay, M-may." Ash replied, his facial expression resembling the coordinator's on top of him as well.
May felt frozen, like she couldn't move any direction. She finally said something to try and escape the situation. "We should…probably start practicing…for my contest…"
"Yeah…we probably should." Ash muttered in reply, still in a stupor at the situation, not completely processing what was happening.
There was a moment of deafening silence that filled the air.
"May…" Ash spoke softly.
"Y-yeah?" she asked, staring at the boy, her face still red.
"You're gonna have to get off me if we're gonna practice." Ash said embarrassingly.
May felt her face somehow get even redder and she jumped off of Ash. "Oh! R-right!" May stood up quickly while Ash dusted himself off and stood up again. May stood with her hands behind her back and looking down, not sure what to say or make of the situation.
Ash was still blushing as well from the previous interaction. With Arceus as his witness, he swore Pikachu wasn't getting any ketchup for a week after that one. The truth though, was that Ash didn't really hate the sensation of being so close to May. Either way, he had to break the tension that had just formed between them, and there was no better way to do that than practice for the contest.
"So uh, I guess we should go get Venusaur and start figuring it out, huh?" Ash spoke, half to the ground and half to May.
May nodded and uttered a quiet, "Yeah," still reeling from the event.
They both hesitantly walked over towards the middle of the clearing. May called over Venusaur. Soon the gentle giant came running over, happy to get some attention from her trainer. This left Lycanroc and Blastoise alone to talk to each other. Once Venusaur had reached the duo, it turned to Ash and exclaimed, "Saur!"
Ash smiled. "Hey Venusaur! It's been awhile!"
"Venusaur! Saur?" asked the Seed Pokemon, jumping in front of Ash.
Ash raised an eyebrow. After so many years, he could pretty easily decipher what Pikachu was saying, but that didn't hold true to all Pokemon. "What are you asking me, Venusaur?"
May looked onward and put a hand to her chin. What would Venusaur have to ask Ash? She thought for a moment before it finally came to her.
"Ash, I think Venusaur wants to know how Bulbasaur is doing." May giggled.
Ash's eyes lit up. "Oh! That makes sense! Haha!" he exclaimed, "Bulbasaur actually evolved and is a Venusaur now too! He's still at Professor Oak's right now. It took him a while to come around to the idea of evolution, but after so many battles with Torterra, he felt like he needed to evolve to get stronger."
Venusaur grinned at the information, thinking back to her days with Ash's Bulbasaur. After a moment, she turned back to her trainer, as if to ask what she had called her over for. May recognized this and kneeled in front of her loyal grass-type. "Hey Venusaur, you know how there's a contest tomorrow?" May asked softly.
"Saur!"
"Well I want to use you for the appeal." May spoke to her Pokemon, reaching out a hand to pet the bumpy skin on its head. "I know it's kind of on short notice considering I forgot the contest was tomorrow, but it'll just be for fun, not competing for the Grand Festival or anything like that." May smiled as Venusaur cooed under her soft touch while Ash looked on with a smile. "So…you up for it?" May finally asked.
"Venusaur! Saur! Saur!" the grass-type exclaimed, nodding its head up and down.
May smiled wide. "I'm happy to hear that! Let's get to work!"
Following that, Ash and May spent the new few hours planning out and perfecting May's appeal. As Ash had explained before, the idea was to use Petalburg's city slogan regarding nature combined with the fact that Petalburg had grown so much. The moves they decided to use would not only look aesthetically pleasing, but they'd also symbolize Petalburg's close ties to nature with Venusaur's grass-type moves and the growth of Petalburg using a few different other moves. Thankfully Venusaur had a pretty large moveset, so there were plenty of different options for what they could do. They practiced different combinations of moves, movements, and patterns that would all flow together to create the appeal. May was ecstatic about how it was coming out to look.
Throughout this time, May really showed Ash what she was made of with her coordination with her Pokemon. He had almost forgotten she'd won a grand festival, and it was clear she truly had improved her skills after they practiced together. Ash would do his best to slip in some suggestions and feedback throughout, even though a large percentage of his brain power was focused on intently watching May gracefully perform the appeal. Venusaur was doing really well with the appeal, and the idea was almost ingenious. After watching May perform, even in practice, Ash was confident that she'd outshine every other coordinator in the appeals round. It was truly marvelous just how elegant she was while performing moves.
Though neither said it, it was clear both Ash and May were having a great time throughout this whole ordeal. From playful banter they shared between each other, to in depth conversations about their lives and continued goals, as well as a bit of a chase after May had stolen Ash's hat, they were both enjoying each other's company more than they could have ever imagined.
Now, a few hours later, both Ash and May laid on their backs next to each other on the grass. Most of the other Pokemon had now calmed down as well and were relaxing on the edges of the clearing. Venusaur was a little bit tired from its training and had decided to take leave. It found a spot basking in the sun over by Melmetal and Gardevoir where it was nice and quiet.
The sun continued to shine on the duo as they laid on the grass, bodies outstretched. The sound of nature surrounding them could only be described as peaceful as they stared up into the bright, blue sky, only contrasted by occasional clouds that would come and go. The wind lightly blew through the grass and around both trainers as they silently thanked fate for bringing them to this moment. For May, this was a great and amazing distraction from the toils of her family; where she had been able to see her best friend and spend valuable time with him, as well as realize some things she hadn't come to terms with before his arrival. For Ash, this was a great break from the stress of battles, leagues, and everything in between. It was nice to take a second to appreciate the little things. He'd always been so focused on training, getting stronger, and someday winning a league that it appeared some parts of life had left him in the dust.
Now, with both of them silently enjoying each other's company under the sun, life was good. The worries of May's family, Ash's losses, and everything in between seemed to fade. Right now, it was just Ash, May, and the nature that surrounded them. Ash silently appreciated this more than anything. For some reason, May had a strong urge to move closer to Ash. She imagined herself wrapping her arms around him again and laying her head against his chest, somewhere she knew she'd feel comfortable. She did her best to resist the urge, though.
A few minutes later, May let out a chuckle that broke Ash from his thoughts. He turned his head to meet her gaze, almost getting lost in the allure of her sapphire blue eyes. He raised an eyebrow as if to question what she was laughing about.
"What's so funny, May?" Ash asked playfully.
May smirked. "You know, Ash, I agree with you."
"Agree with me on what?"
"I'm glad you got on the wrong plane too." May answered, playfully poking him on the forehead. Ash smiled at that, and turned back to look at the sky. However, while looking into the sky, all he could think about was May's deep sapphire eyes, no matter how hard he tried to think of something else.
After another moment of silence, an idea came to Ash's head, something quite typical of Ash. He turned to May and put his arm up to support his head as he lay on his side. "You know, May…" he began.
May turned to look at him as well. "What is it?" she asked.
"You've definitely proved to me that you're even better at coordinating than when I last saw you," Ash continued with a smirk, "...but you haven't proved to me if you're a better battler yet."
At this, May smirked as well. "You're on, Ash Ketchum!"
A few moments later, Ash and May stood on opposite sides of the clearing as they prepared for a one-on-one practice battle. All the Pokemon moved to one side of the clearing to watch their trainers battle. The duo had asked one of their Pokemon to volunteer to be the referee, Pikachu was quick to jump up, while Glaceon followed him. Both Pokemon stood on the side of the field to the middle, where Pikachu held two flags to signal when the battle had begun.
May looked at all of her Pokemon as she debated which one she'd use. There were a lot of different choices, but she knew the one that she had to pick. This Pokemon came from humble beginnings, but had quickly grown and proven itself to be May's ace Pokemon, her most powerful fighter. From being a clumsy beginner, to evenly matching up to one of Ash's strongest Pokemon and only improving since, she knew that she had to use it.
"Come on Blaziken! You up to show Ash what we're made of?" May yelled to her loyal Pokemon.
"Blaze!" Exclaimed the fire-type as it made its way over to May's side of the field, standing before her in a battle stance, excited to show its trainer's best friend and mentor just how much they'd improved since the last time they saw each other.
Ash looked over to his Pokemon as well. It was definitely a tough choice between all of them, but one stood out to him in particular that would make for an interesting battle. If May was gonna use Blaziken, then this would make for an even and exciting battle.
"Incineroar! You wanna give this a shot?" Ash yelled to his Alolan fire-type Pokemon.
"Roar! Incineroar!" yelled the Pokemon back at Ash as it made its way to Ash's side of the field, taking a familiar battle stance in front of its trainer.
Both Ash and May smiled at their loyal fire-types as they prepared for the battle. Ash knew that Blaziken was a formidable foe, and May was slightly familiar with Incineroar from watching Ash battle on television during the Manalo Conference. May had a slight type advantage considering Incineroar was a dark-type while Blaziken was a fighting-type, but both trainers knew it would depend more on battle strategy and true strength. Though Incineroar's dark-type moves might not do large amounts of damage to Blaziken, they could still pack a punch.
From the sideline, Pikachu and Glaceon both stood waiting for both their trainers to say they were ready. Both Ash and May gave a thumbs up, signaling they were ready to get started.
"Pikapi chu! Pika pichu cha!" yelled Pikachu from the sideline as he introduced both Ash and May's names.
Next, Pikachu listed out the rules of the battle. "Pikachu cha pikapi! Pika pi cha pi!" Both Ash and May already knew the rules as they had agreed on them beforehand, but it was funny to see Pikachu recite them as if he were a real referee.
Pikachu raised the flags in the air to prepare to start the battle as he exclaimed, "PIKA!" and the flags were swung down, signaling the battle had begun.
Ash looked over to May on her side of the field. "You've got the first move, May!" he yelled.
May smirked. "Such a gentleman, Ash." She turned to Blaziken and gave her first orders. "Let's start off strong! Blaziken, use flamethrower!"
At her first orders, Blaziken aimed at Incineroar with its beak before opening it wide and letting out a stream of scorching hot fire. The intense flames traveled quickly towards Incineroar, who waited for Ash's orders.
"Incineroar! Dodge it to the left!" Ash yelled. With just little time before being struck, Incineroar leaped to the left, dodging the painful fire attack.
May tightened her expression. "Don't let up, Blaziken! Keep trying to hit it!"
"Keep evading it, Incineroar!" Ash yelled from behind.
Blaziken continued to stand still and began to track Incineroar with the flames. Incineroar would dodge to the left, but Blaziken would quickly aim the heavy inferno back at Incineroar.
"Alright, Incineroar! Dodge one more time then get up there and use fire fang!" Ash gave his first orders to attack. Incineroar dodged to the right of the fire one more time before running and making a leap to get to Blaziken.
As Incineroar neared Blaziken, large flame-cloaked fangs were made noticeable in its mouth as it traveled through the air toward Blaziken. Blaziken aimed its flamethrower at Incineroar one last time, burning the feline Pokemon with the fierce flames. In return, Incineroar bared its fangs and bit Blaziken hard, causing the Pokemon to cry out in pain.
Both Ash and May grimaced at the sight of seeing their Pokemon take a hit. While the flamethrower did a considerable amount of damage to Incineroar, Blaziken took the majority of the damage in the exchange.
Both Ash and May's other Pokemon watched in awe as the two powerful fire-types exchanged attacks. All the Pokemon were rooting for their respective trainer, but it was still a spectacle to see the other trainer's Pokemon and its moves.
"Blaziken, quick! Use blaze kick before Incineroar can get away!" May exclaimed as Blaziken recovered from the attack. Blaziken quickly turned back to Incineroar and raised its leg at blinding speed before striking Incineroar in its midsection with the fiery kick, causing Incineroar to fly backwards and onto its back from the powerful move.
"Incineroar! No!" Ash yelled to his Pokemon, who was struggling to get up. After a moment, it quickly stood back up to its legs while Blaziken recovered from performing the powerful attack. "Are you good to keep going, Incineroar?" Ash asked the feline Pokemon, who quickly nodded and smirked.
Ash grinned wide before giving an expression of determination. "Alright then! Incineroar, use darkest lariat!" yelled Ash. Incineroar rushed forward and started spinning rapidly. It raised both of its arms which became covered in orange fire before engaging Blaziken, striking the Pokemon, who staggered backwards at the powerful move, but still stayed on its feet. Though it wasn't very effective thanks to Incineroar being a dark-type, it still was enough to surprise Blaziken.
Ash looked to May on the other side of the field who grimaced as she watched Blaziken endure the move. Once Blaziken had shaken off the attack, May yelled her next orders. "Alright, Blaziken! Use fire spin!"
Blaziken opened its mouth and released a spiraling flame towards Incineroar, who didn't have the time to dodge it. Incineroar became engrossed in the flames that surrounded it, crying out in pain from the heat.
Ash winced at seeing his Pokemon get hit again, but quickly gave his next orders. "Incineroar, let's not let Blaziken get away with that one! Use revenge!"
Incineroar nodded and its body became surrounded in an orange fire. The flames quickly transferred to Incineroar's right paw in a fiery aura as it started running towards Blaziken, leaving a trail of fire behind it. Once Incineroar reached its target, it struck Blaziken with its paw, causing Blaziken to stagger backwards and fall onto its back thanks to the powerful move. Blaziken cried out in pain as it struggled to get back up, breathing heavily.
May stood worriedly as she watched her first Pokemon struggle to get up from the attack. After a moment or so, it slowly stood to its legs and got back into a fighting stance, albeit tiredly. "Are you okay to keep battling, Blaziken?" May asked her starter concernedly.
"Blaze!"
May's expression turned back to that of determination as she thought of what to do next. "Alright, Blaziken! In that case, rush forward and use sky uppercut on Incineroar!"
Blaziken sped forward towards Incineroar who had a lack of energy from using its previous attack. Both of Blaziken's fists started to glow light blue as it approached Incineroar.
"Incineroar! Dodge it!" Ash yelled desperately, knowing how powerful an attack sky uppercut can be.
Blaziken swung its right fist up at Incineroar, attempting to send it skyward. Both Ash and May watched in anticipation as the powerful attack began moving towards Incineroar. However, just by the skin of its teeth, Incineroar moved back enough for the fist to hit nothing but the air in front of it.
Ash breathed out a sigh of relief as the attack narrowly missed. Blaziken and May both smirked, however, as Blaziken's other fist came crashing in from the left and towards Incineroar. Ash watched in horror as the powerful punch sent Incineroar straight into the sky, crying out in pain.
"Good hit, Blaziken!" May cheered to her starter from her side of the field. "As Incineroar is falling back down, use mega kick before it can hit the ground!"
Ash almost deadpanned at hearing May's orders. Damn, she was good. If that attack landed, Incineroar would surely be down for the count. Blaziken's punches were already no attack to laugh at, but its kicks were a completely different story, able to deliver devastating blows. Ash had gotten away with one earlier in the battle, but there was no way Incineroar would be able to endure another.
"Incineroar! No!" Ash yelled as the feline Pokemon began to fall downwards, right in front of Blaziken, who was preparing for the final blow. Thinking quickly, Ash knew he had to distract Blaziken from the move, or else Incineroar was toast. "Incineroar, I need you to use fire blast on Blaziken before you hit the ground!" Ash yelled to the Pokemon desperately. With little energy remaining, Incineroar nodded and released a fiery blast down atop Blaziken, scorching the ground around it and causing Blaziken to turn away and raise its arm to shield itself from the inferno.
With the distraction being successful, Incineroar landed back on the ground safely and prepared for its next orders. May frowned at seeing her plan not work out accordingly, but shook it off. She knew how good Ash was at coming up with last second strategies, and this battle was no exception. Incineroar was definitely tough for being able to summon enough energy to attack, even while falling in mid-air.
"It's okay, Blaziken! Get in there and hit it with mega kick and end this!" May yelled to Blaziken. Once the fire blast subsided, Blaziken used the last of its remaining energy to charge towards Incineroar, preparing its leg for the powerful kick.
"Incineroar! We've been saving this one! Use cross chop!" Ash yelled simultaneously to May. Like Blaziken, Incineroar summoned the last bits of gas it had left in the tank and began to rush towards Blaziken with its arms raised up to form an "X," preparing to strike with the powerful fighting-type attack.
Both Ash and May watched in deadly anticipation as the world seemed to slow down. Both Pokemon were charging at one another with the last bits of energy they had left; the battle was surely to end here. The question was, who would come out victorious?
Both Pokemon were now only a few yards away from each other, and the end of the battle was as close as ever. Blaziken raised its leg and kicked out towards Incineroar, while Incineroar rapidly raised both its arms and began to push its hands out in one last attempt to strike Blaziken.
As both Pokemon collided with their attacks, there was a large explosion as the dirt and dust kicked up into the air, shielding any trainers or Pokemon from seeing the outcome of the battle. Ash and May watched, not uttering a word, as they waited for the smoke to clear. After a moment or so, the wind blew away the smoke that shielded the outcome, and Ash and May's eyes both widened at the result.
Both Blaziken and Incineroar lay on their backs, swirls in their eyes.
"Pika pika cha chu pikapi! Pikapi chu!" The yellow mouse yelled from the background, signaling that the battle had resulted in a draw as he raised both flags and swung them down just as quickly. All the Pokemon on the sidelines stared in disbelief at the terrific battle that just took place before their eyes, before they broke out in cheers for their trainers.
Ash and May both ran forward to their fainted Pokemon to check their conditions. They were both okay, just a little bit of rest and some medicine would get them back up to health. After a few moments, both Blaziken and Incineroar stood back up slowly and stared at one another. Eventually, Incineroar broke the silence with a smirk, one which was returned by Blaziken. The fire-types both nodded at each other before letting their trainers go about healing them.
After they had finished, Ash and May both turned toward each other and smiled. The look in both of their eyes was nothing short of amazement after the exhilarating battle. "That battle was awesome!" They both exclaimed simultaneously, pumping their fists up in the air.
"I can't believe how strong Blaziken has gotten, May! And your strategy was awesome! If Incineroar didn't have enough energy to use that fire blast, that mega kick while he was falling down would've ended the battle there!" Ash gushed to the brunette about their battle.
"Thanks, Ash! Incineroar was really strong too! I was really surprised when even a dark-type move was able to make Blaziken take even a little damage! It was close for sure!" May replied, reeling from the battle just as much as Ash was.
"I'm really proud of you, May. You've really improved in every way since we last saw each other." Ash took a moment to praise the talented coordinator, smiling down as a light blush came across her cheeks.
"In every way? So you think I've gotten prettier too?" May asked, a mischievous smirk on her face. If she was gonna have to get through to Ash's thick skull eventually, she might as well start now.
"Yea- Wait, wha- Huh?!" Ash asked, eyes widening at the blunt question.
She asked again, a pleading look in her eyes, "Do you think so?"
"I- uhm…uh.." Ash stumbled between words, not entirely sure what to say, as a moment of silence took place between the two friends. May did her absolute best to put on an expression of sadness and disappointment as she slowly dropped her gaze to the ground. She immediately noticed a look of distress come across Ash's face as he thought he had upset her. This caused her to internally smirk; she had always been a good actor.
Seeing May begin to turn away, Ash quickly blurted out an answer.
"Yes!"
May's expression piped up as she glanced back up to Ash. "So you think I've gotten prettier?"
"Uh- Yes! You have! How could you have not?" Ash babbled, his face warming up to unimaginable temperatures.
May smiled and jumped up to him, wrapping him up in a hug. "Aww! Thanks, Ash!" She gushed to the raven-haired boy, before adding with a smirk, "You yourself have gotten quite handsome too."
At this, Ash's brain ceased function as it didn't possess the required processing power to undertake the operation that was figuring out what the hell all of that was about. He stood still, frozen, unable to respond to the brunette wrapping her arms around him. Pikachu and Glaceon both snickered in the background while the rest of Ash and May's pokemon rolled their eyes and began conversing with each other.
Eventually, May ended the embrace, and looked up to Ash again, whose expression was completely and entirely blank as he murmured unintelligible words under his breath. Hm, she had really broken him there, huh. She giggled to herself slightly, bringing a hand up to her mouth.
"Well, Ash, it's getting pretty late, we should probably head back right?"
Ash vacantly nodded, still staring straight ahead, muttering another incomprehensible phrase under his breath. May giggled again, before gathering both her and Ash's pokeballs from the ground.
"Hey guys! We're gonna head back now, so we're gonna need you all to get back in your Pokeballs!" May shouted to the large group of Pokemon. They all mostly shrugged, before the familiar red beam retracted them back into their usual resting place. Pikachu and Glaceon stayed out and ran up to their trainer's legs. Ash continued to stand like a statue while this all took place.
May came over with Ash's backpack and slipped both of Ash's arms through the straps before pulling it up and onto his back. She looked back up to him and said again, "Alright, let's get out of here now, Ash. Come on!"
"Rrrright behind youuu." Ash muttered absentmindedly, unaware of the slur in his words. With that, she chuckled, turned around, and began walking back through the way they came into the clearing. She glanced over her head to look at Ash and sweatdropped.
He was still standing in the same place, unable to move, while Pikachu grunted and tried to push him in the right direction, all to no avail. She sighed before giggling and walked back, this time grabbing Ash's hand, and pulling him along with her.
Some odd ten minutes later, Ash snapped back to reality, and realized he was now on the sidewalk as May pulled his hand in the direction they had come from May's house. He looked around surprisingly at the change of environment and thought for a moment about what had happened, before suddenly remembering the situation from earlier, causing a light blush to come to his face. He looked around himself and noticed that Pikachu had taken a perch on his shoulder, his bag was on his back, and his Pokeballs were all on his belt. He knew May must've done all that, and silently thanked her in his head. She was still staring forward and he was about to reveal his new state of consciousness to her, before stopping himself. Now would be a good time to do some much needed thought.
Why in the hell had he turned into that babbling mess earlier? What had even really happened?
He was talking to May about their battle, before she suddenly asked if he thought she'd gotten prettier. He didn't answer and she began to get disappointed, so he told her that he thought she had indeed gotten prettier. That wasn't a lie at all either, it just felt really weird to say, as he wasn't used to complimenting his friends like that. In all honesty, May had gotten prettier, even more so than how he viewed her in Hoenn and Sinnoh. After that though, May had complimented him. That wasn't something entirely unusual, people complimented him occasionally, especially within the last few years. However, coming from her, it just felt different.
But the question still remained; why on earth had he turned into a mindless statue at that comment? It had completely broken him when she said that. But why? It made absolutely zero sense. It was by no means the strongest compliment he'd ever received. I mean, for Arceus' sake, Serena had literally confessed to him about her long-lasting crush.
Yes, that confession was extremely surprising and he couldn't believe he hadn't noticed her infatuation with him sooner, but it didn't make him act like a century old computer that just ran out of processing power. He did think Serena was pretty, but he didn't feel that way about her, and he told her so.
So now somebody tell him exactly why May comes along, slides in a pretty basic compliment, and his whole nervous system simultaneously fails like a car that just ran out of gas. It was outrageously making no sense to the boy. What was it that May did to him?
That was it, the final straw. He was going to contact Brock tonight, no matter what, and get some damn help on this whole situation and why he's been feeling this way since he came to Petalburg. The raven-haired boy sighed, internally kicking himself for his inability to understand things like this. Pikachu sat on his shoulder and simply rolled his eyes at the boy, seemingly knowing what he was thinking, and possibly the answer to his questions as well. However, Pikachu knew that it was not something he could be told, but something he must figure out. The yellow mouse wondered if Brock would truly be much help to his trainer.
During this whole thought process, May was simply pulling her best friend through the streets and back to her house. She silently giggled at the whole scene from earlier, realizing just how dense the boy behind her was. It was a daunting task, of course, to try and get through to him. However, May swore that she would not give up. Ash meant the absolute world to her, and she would be damned if she didn't get through to him eventually, even if it took until the end of their next journey together.
She thought back to what she had said that had broken the raven-haired trainer. Thinking back, it was quite blunt, and definitely not what he was used to hearing from her. She wondered why sometimes she could be so courageous and brave, and other times be so nervous and unable to do anything. Just then, she was able to pretty much prod a compliment out of Ash, and even give him one of her own.
She giggled again slightly. She'd be a little worried if it seemed like Ash was only saying he thought she was pretty to not upset her, but she could tell when Ash was being truthful, especially in the babbling state he was in, and he meant every word. It gave her some much needed hope, that at least he wasn't entirely blind to the opposite gender.
Back to what she was thinking though, she silently wished that she could always be fearless like she was in that moment, or the brief time at the hike when she had kissed Ash on the cheek. It felt good to not be scared to do things like that. Sometimes though, she just felt the exact opposite way, and became incredibly anxious about saying or doing anything of that sort, like when she had fallen on top of him when they were still brainstorming ideas in the clearing.
She sighed silently as her train of thought had come to an end. They were now approaching the path up to her home, and she had a few other things on her mind. First, she was starving and she could bet Ash was as well, even in his stupor. Second, she wanted to take a shower, she wanted to feel nice and fresh for the contest tomorrow. Third, she wanted to try a little experiment before she and Ash parted ways for their beds that night.
The sun began to set as the duo made it to the front door, both Glaceon and Pikachu at their feet. May opened the door and led Ash inside, noticing that he had seemed to snap out of his state of stupefaction. She wouldn't say anything just yet, but she hoped that he'd get back to talking to her like usual soon.
As she walked inside, she kicked off her shoes and immediately headed to the kitchen, Ash following suit. Inside the kitchen, the lights were on, but nobody was around. It was apparent her mother had returned by the two bowls of food on the counter, seemingly for her and Ash. She looked at the back window into the backyard and saw both of her parents sitting down on the patio and in conversation. She decided she'd leave them alone for now, as she was extremely hungry.
She sat down at the wooden table and looked at the food in front of her. Ash sat across from her at the other side of the table and looked down at it as well, his mouth slightly watering. Caroline had made ramen for dinner, May's favorite, and one of Ash's favorite foods.
Within a few seconds, both Ash and May were ferociously devouring the food in front of them at speeds that could only be described as unnatural compared to the average human ability. After just a few minutes, both bowls were entirely empty, and both Ash and May sighed in relief as their stomachs were filled.
This served as a great icebreaker between the two, and things already felt back to normal.
"May, I had no idea your mom was such a good cook.." Ash murmured, rubbing his stomach.
May chuckled and licked her lips. "Yep, she's the best."
Pikachu and Glaceon rolled their eyes at both of their trainer's innate appetite. Ash stood up and took both bowls over to the sink, washing each of them and placing them in the dishwasher. May sat and dreamily appreciated the boy. One thing would never be a question, and that was Ash being kind and considerate. She stood up as well and walked over to him.
"We should probably get settled for bed soon, Ash. We're gonna have to get up pretty early tomorrow if we wanna be ready for the contest in time."
"Yeah you're probably right. I think I might have to skip my workout session tomorrow then." Ash said, slightly disappointed.
"That's true, but you'll get to see me perform in a contest for the first time in ages!" May exclaimed happily.
Ash smiled and nodded. "Of course, I wouldn't trade it for the world."
"Thanks, Ash. Let's get up to bed." May replied with a heartfelt smile and a glimmer in her sapphire eyes.
They both walked out of the kitchen and up to the stairs, their Pokemon rushing ahead of them and into their rooms, ready to sleep after a tiresome day of playing outside. Ash and May both stopped at the familiar spot in the middle of the hallway like every night before, May turning to look at Ash.
"I'm gonna take a shower before I go to bed, if you want to, you can after me." May spoke softly, staring up into his auburn eyes in the dimly lit hallway. Just through the windows above the front door, moonlight poured into the room, signaling that the day had gone by fast and the sun was already absent from the sky.
"Yeah, that's a good idea, May. I might, but I just have something to do before that." Ash replied, thinking of what he was gonna say to Brock once he called him.
"What would that be?" May asked, tilting her head to the side cutely.
Ash couldn't tell her the truth. "Oh, uh, it's nothing really." He said, doing his best to downplay the planned activity of asking an old friend for some advice..
May shrugged and spoke, "Alright, Ash, goodnight then. I'll see you tomorrow."
After May said this, she waited a moment before slowly leaning forward, her face closing in on Ash's. However, with just a few inches away, she stopped moving. Ash stood in surprise at their close proximity, and simply stared at the brunette in front of him that could be described as nothing short of beautiful.
He could feel her breath on his lips as he stared into her deep, sapphire eyes. He quickly noticed just how magnificent they were, like an endless ocean basking in the moonlight. He began to meticulously notice every single part of her face. The few strands of hair that fell to the front from under her cherry-red bandanna, which he now noticed just how unique of a look it was. Her flawless skin was only being accentuated by the moonlight shining through the window, her glossy lips slightly parted as if they were waiting for something. The slow and deep breaths that she took seemed to slow down time.
He stood almost in shock as he fully realized everything before him, caught in a dream-like trance. She continued to stand still in front of him, as if anticipating something. All he could do was stare at her. He suddenly felt the same familiar shock go through his body from so many times before. All at once he felt a million urges to do different things; lean in closer, grab her hand, lean in closer, rest a hand on her hip, lean in closer, bring a finger under her chin, lean in closer, softly run a hand through her hair, lean in closer, comfort her to no end, lean in closer, lean in closer, lean in closer-
All of a sudden it stopped and the shock let off as she stepped back and leaned away from him, a look of disappointment in her eyes as she backed off. The glimmer in her sapphire eyes seemed to dissipate as the distance between them grew, an ocean draining away. He found himself lightly muttering, 'goodnight,' but nowhere near loud enough for her to hear. She gave a nimble wave as she disappeared behind the bathroom door, and Ash suddenly felt like his heart had been torn from his chest, outraged that his brain upstairs failed to do what his heart knew he needed to. He felt a hundred different emotions course through his nerves at once as he stood alone in the moonlit hallway. What did this all mean? What had just happened?
Eventually the noise of water droplets making contact with the floor from behind the bathroom door brought him out of this second stupor as he realized he'd been standing there for a few minutes, contemplating whatever had just happened to him as May turned on the shower. He slowly and solemnly retreated to his room, softly closing the door, as if it was shut too hard, the entire house would collapse.
He shuffled to the desk chair and fell down atop its cushiony surface, dropping his backpack to the floor in the process. Turning to the left, Pikachu was sound asleep in his usual spot on the bed. Ash tried to sigh, but not even that sound would come out, his body still seemingly in shock from what had just transpired.
Ash thought back to his plan to call Brock and instantly decided it wasn't going to happen. With the emotions he was feeling right now, he didn't think he could talk intelligibly to anyone right now. Instead, he shed his jacket and placed it on the computer chair, flicked off the light, and fell into bed, pulling the covers up and over him.
He stared at the ceiling for what felt like ages as he continued to contemplate what all had just happened. The shower had long since stopped and May was probably already asleep at this point, but he just couldn't force himself into slumber. Did May feel the same thing he felt? Did she react as much to this as he did? He didn't know, and he felt like there was no way he could ever ask her about it.
After what felt like hours, the raven-haired boy finally drifted off to sleep, there being only one thought still on his mind.
Lean in closer.
Woah! Trouble in paradise? What could May have been waiting for Ash to do? They definitely had a good time today, but it seems like it ended off on a quite a sour note between the two. I wonder what was missing..?
I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. It had the first battle I've ever written which I thought came out okay, but in the future I'm definitely gonna work to make them more fluid and realistic, along with some more thought-out strategies. Sorry for the long wait, I didn't mean for it to take this long to write the chapter.
As always, please leave a review and give me some feedback. I'm always happy to hear what you guys have to say.
Thanks for reading,
Peace out.
