It had been on May's mind ever since the Pokemon Contest in Verdanturf City. Seeing the Pokemon in action and learning that she'd once encountered its pre-evolution form had lit a fire in May. The drive within May had been missing all her life, no matter what she did. Even the thought of travelling with Pokemon had not pushed her to have a drive or desire.
It wasn't until Ash that she felt like pushing herself to do more than she was. To watch him and his Pokemon train day and night, pushing each of them to be at their best, but also being mindful not to push too much, May was rightly inspired. It pushed May to think, to train and plan.
Which was why she was out here now, away from home on her own and searching for that Pokemon. She knew if she caught it, raised it right and was able to utilise its capabilities, she'd evolve as a co-ordinator.
Day had rolled into dusk by the time May finally reached that place. She folded up her bike and stood in the middle of the road. It was around here she'd run into it. Or rather it was here where it had found her and gave her a spook.
"Please let it not be caught yet" May muttered as walked into the forest beside the road.
She ran into many sleeping Pokemon on her search, like Wurmple, Shroomish, Zigzagoon, and Poochyena, but not the Pokemon she'd been looking for. Her search for it led her to an abandoned hut in the middle of the forest that sent a shiver down her spine.
And then she saw it, appearing out from the hut.
It saw her too, and to May's surprise, it seemed to remember her.
The Pokemon floated over to her with a smile and May stared at it confused. She pulled out a Pokeball from her bag and held it before the Pokemon.
"I want to be the number one co-ordinator in Hoenn" May confessed to the Pokemon, "join my team and help me achieve it."
The Pokemon stared at the ball before floating back. May looked at it heartbroken before watching as it looked at May with challenge. May grinned and sent out her Marill. It may have been a mistake to leave her best battler at home, but her other Pokemon were no weaklings either.
The Pokemon launched a Nightshade that Marill jumped out of the way of before being smacked in the face with a Shadow Ball. Marill shot backwards, hit the ground hard and rolled back to May's feet. May called her back looking shocked.
She sent in Skitty. She was a Normal type, the Shadow Ball wouldn't affect her.
Skitty used Assist, which turned into Fire Spin. The Pokemon was surrounded by a flaming tornado that suddenly broke into smaller orbs of fire that the Pokemon manipulated with ease. It threw the fireballs back at Skitty. The sheer number of them overwhelmed Skitty and was ultimately hit with a majority of them that left her burned. Skitty used assist again, which turned into Water Gun that the Pokemon nimbly dodged before summoning more Will-O-Wisps to act as its shield. Any move Skitty tried, the Pokemon parried or blocked with Will-O-Wisp before drawing more of the wisps out. The Pokemon drew the battle out long enough that the burn on Skitty knocked it out.
May called her back, her heart racing. She should have kept Seviper on her. But she shook the thought away and sent her Beautifly.
The Pokemon dealt with Beautifly's Gust and Silver Wind with Shadow Ball and Will-O-Wisp, nimbly dodging any attempts at Absorb as well, before knocking Beautifly out with Shadow Ball.
May switched Beautifly out with Swablu, but even Swablu fell to the Pokemon's Will-O-Wisp and stall tactic.
Shakily May switched her Torchic out. This was her last Pokemon, her only chance at beating the Pokemon. The Pokemon was still waiting, watching May closely. She hadn't damaged the Pokemon at all!
Torchic fired a Fire Spin that the Pokemon evaded with ease, countering with a Shadow Ball that Torchic jumped over. Torchic followed it up with an Ember that the Pokemon countered with Will-O-Wisp. The Pokemon used Night Shade in a way that it imitated a like of wave. Torchic dodged the first two waves before being hit by the third and fourth ones. Torchic woke up shaking his head before firing another Fire Spin. The Pokemon let itself be hit by the move but much like with Skitty, the tornado broke into Will-O-Wisps that it fired at Torchic. Torchic used Fire Spin on the ground and the wall of spinning fire warded off the Will-O-Wisps, a tactic he picked up from Ash's Combusken.
May noticed her hands shaking and she grasped them tightly. She had never had a battle this intense before, none of her Pokemon had a battle this intense before. She was out-skilled and out-manoeuvred by a wild Pokemon! A Pokemon that wanted May to prove to it why it should join her team. With how the battle was going, even she doubted why it should join her team. She had failed to raise the Pokemon she already had, what gave her the right to catch more and squander their potential as well? She was not cut out for battles, not cut out for contests either. She'd only won one ribbon after being on a journey for months! She should have remained at home, chosen some other way of life that—
Torchic's call broke May out of her train of thought.
The Pokemon was ready to be commanded and was still fighting out there. She quickly shook herself out of her stupor. What right did she have to give up when her Pokemon was trying so hard?
Torchic fired another Fire Spin at the Pokemon's feet and made a tornado of fire erupt from under it. Much like before the tornado broke into orbs of fire. But this time another burst of fire from Fire Spin followed it. The Pokemon was caught off guard by it and was unable to block it properly. The Fire Spin hit and sent it careening into the trees.
May was finally able to hit the Pokemon.
The Pokemon came back with much more vigour. Small orbs of black energy emerged all around it before it fired smaller but a lot more Shadow Balls at Torchic that sent the Pokemon flying. Torchic fell, but he struggled to his feet, refusing to give it up here. The determination to continue was the final push he needed to evolve,
Torchic's glow was by far the brightest as the Pokemon grew, morphed and adapted. Combusken roared after the evolution, ready for whatever the Pokemon threw at him.
In reply, the Pokemon shot those miniature Shadow Balls again. Combusken used Fire Spin. He caught the orbs of Shadow Ball in the fire, forcing them to flow in the manner his Fire Spin flowed. Fire and Shadow both went straight to the Pokemon who tried to block it with a Will-O-Wisp shield but failed and was hit by both moves.
May threw a Pokeball when she saw the Pokemon fall and watched with nervousness as it was sucked into the ball. The ball shook once, then twice and then paused. May feared the Pokemon would break out then, but a third shake confirmed the capture.
Jubilated May picked up the Pokeball and celebrated her capture.
"I caught a Duskull!"