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"According to what Nurse Joy told us this morning, we should be close to the next Pokemon Center. We could stay there for tonight and arrive at Petalburg City tomorrow afternoon." Jason said.

"Sounds like a plan." I said, and Megan nodded in agreement.

As I thought of what was to come, I realized that I hadn't scanned my Pokemon and neither had Megan!

"Megan, we didn't scan Torchic and Mudkip with our Pokedexes."

Her eyes widened at that realization and she removed Torchic's Pokeball and released her Pokemon while I did the same with Mudkip.

"Torchic, the Chick Pokemon. Torchic has a place inside its body where it keeps a flame that perpetually burns. It can breathe fire with temperatures over 1800 degrees. If you give it a hug, it will glow with warmth. This Pokemon is covered all over by a fluffy coat of down." Megan's Pokedex stated.

"Mudkip, the Mud Fish Pokemon. The fin on Mudkip's head acts as a highly sensitive radar. Using this fin to sense movement of water and air, this Pokemon can determine what is taking place around it without using its eyes. Despite its small size, it can lift and crush boulders larger than itself." my Pokedex said.

We returned our Pokemon after scanning them.

"I need at least two Pokemon in order to enter the upcoming contest, but all I have right now is Torchic. I hope that I can catch a new Pokemon before tomorrow." Megan said hopefully.

I could sense some worry in her voice. But that thought was thrown from my mind as I heard a faint sound coming from the trees.

"Do you hear that?" I asked.

"Yeah, it sounds like a Pokemon's cry for help." Megan replied.

"Let's go!" Jason said, and we took off running into the trees.

We followed the desperate, weak cry through the trees until we reached a narrow crevice in the ground. The sound was coming from there.

"The Pokemon is in there." Megan said, and she hurried down onto her stomach and reached her arm down.

"I can't get a grip. I can feel it, but I can't grab it. It's stuck and I don't want to hurt it anymore than it might already be, by pulling it out too forcefully." she said.

I dropped to my knees and began digging away at the dirt and Jason also helped. We widened the opening and Megan was able to reach in and pull out the Pokemon, which was revealed to be an Eevee.

Megan cradled the Eevee in her arms. Its fur were covered in dirt, one of its paws was limp, and its eyes were almost fully closed from exhaustion.

"We need to get Eevee help right away!" Megan cried.

"Right!"

We all stood up and took off running towards the Pokemon Center. After just a few minutes of running, we came across the Pokemon Center on the side of the path and burst through the doors and ran right up to the front desk where Nurse Joy was.

We called out to her in order to get her attention. Nurse Joy took one look at the Eevee and quickly ushered Eevee off to the emergency room with Chansey by her side.

We sat in the lobby, waiting as minutes turned to hours and Megan looked to be the most worried.

"Hey, Eevee is going to be fine. We helped get it here quickly and Nurse Joy is going to get Eevee back to one hundred percent." I said, trying to reassure her.

Megan frowned and clasped her hands in her lap. "It's just...I understand how Eevee feels, because I went through a similar experience when I was a little girl."

I then realized that that was why she looked more worried than Jason and I. It was because she was remembering something sad from her past.

"I've always loved to explore and see new places, but when I was younger, I got separated from my mom and got lost in Petalburg City. I let my curiosity get the better of me. Just like Eevee, I was alone and afraid in an unfamiliar place with no way home. So seeing Eevee like that reminded me of that day and I don't want Eevee to feel the same way that I did. If there's any way that I can help Eevee feel better, I'll gladly do it." Megan explained.

"There's nothing wrong with being curious, Megan. But I can understand that fear. It' scary when you don't know what's happening or you're surrounded by the unknown. That's how I felt when my dad was missing for so long and so many people were against the possibility that he could be alive. And when Eevee is feeling better, you'll be a friendly face and Eevee will remember that you helped get it to safety. You saved it from that darkness and brought it to safety." I said.

Hearing footsteps, I glanced up and saw that it was Nurse Joy. I bumped Megan and Jason and we ran up to her.

"How's Eevee?" Megan asked.

"Eevee only had minor injuries and should be fine by tomorrow. Its paw was slightly sprained, but the bandage should come off tomorrow. The biggest danger was that it was severely malnourished and likely hadn't eaten for more than a day, which explains why it was so weak when you found it. If you hadn't rescued Eevee, it would've died from starvation!" Nurse Joy explained. "How did this happen to Eevee?"

"We found it trapped it in a crevice, unable to get out. Once I was able to grasp it, we hurried here to get Eevee the much-needed help." Megan revealed.

"Hmm...it seems like Eevee was likely preoccupied with something else and wasn't looking where it was going and didn't see the crevice until it was too late. Then it slipped and fell and was trapped there for over a day." Nurse Joy then looked at Megan. "You saved Eevee's life."

Megan smiled. "I'm just glad that Eevee is going to be okay. That's what's most important. I was just trying to help a scared Pokemon."

Nurse Joy walked back behind the front desk. "Is there anything else that I can do for you kids?"

"We need a room for the night." Jason said.

"Of course,"

Once we were checked in, she handed us a key and went back to her duties while we headed for the cafeteria to get some supper.

The next morning, Jason and I were waiting for Megan to finish getting ready, then we could go and get breakfast.

"Are you done in there?" I asked through the bathroom door.

"Almost," Megan replied.

"At least she doesn't take as much time to get ready in the morning as Michelle did." Jason whispered.

Megan then walked out of the bathroom and we all left the room.

"Excuse me?"

We stopped, hearing a voice, and Nurse Joy walked over to us.

"Eevee is ready to be released, but it's still too scared from its experience to listen to anyone." Nurse Joy explained.

"Could I try? I promised myself that I'd help Eevee feel better." Megan asked.

Nurse Joy nodded her head and she took us to the room where Eevee was. As soon as we entered, we saw that Eevee had a downcast look and once it looked up and saw us, it backed away.

Megan stepped forward slowly and she knelt down. "I'm the one that got you out of that crevice yesterday. Do you remember me, Eevee?"

Megan's voice was gentle and Eevee's expression shifted. Eevee slowly approached Megan, who stretched out her hand and gently rubbed Eevee's soft fur. Eevee's eyes closed and leaned its head into Megan's touch.

"Eevee seems a lot happier now. Thank you. Maybe you should watch over Eevee for a while?" Nurse Joy suggested.

"Of course. I'll do anything to help."

Megan picked up Eevee and we were off to breakfast. Megan placed Eevee down next to the bowl of Pokemon food, alongside Pikachu. The two Pokemon began talking to one another as they ate and Megan smiled.

"Pikachu can get along with other Pokemon very easily and make friends, just like how my dad's Pikachu can. Pikachu will help Eevee open up to people, just like you did." I explained to Megan.

Megan nodded her head and removed her Pokedex and pointed it towards Eevee.

"Eevee, the Evolution Pokemon. It has the potential to evolve into one of eight different Pokemon."

"According to my Pokedex, this Eevee is a girl." Megan stated.

Once we finished our breakfast, we left the Pokemon Center, prepared to keep heading towards Petalburg City.

"We need to let Eevee go now. It's time to continue our journey." I said.

Megan nodded her head and set Eevee down. She knelt down next to her.

"It's time for you to go now. You be careful and don't go falling into any more holes." she said.

Eevee looked at Megan and nuzzled into her hand.

"You take care of yourself." Megan said, and stood up. But Eevee cried out as she took a step back.

"What?"

Eevee shook her head as she motioned to the tree line.

"I don't think that Eevee wants to leave you." said Jason.

"Eevee, would you like to travel with me?" Megan asked, smiling sympathetically.

Eevee cried out happily. Megan then removed a Pokeball and tossed it at Eevee, catching her easily.

"I caught an Eevee!" Megan cried happily.

But before she could pick up the Pokeball that contained Eevee, she released herself from the Pokeball. Megan looked a little startled, but Eevee pointed to Pikachu and said something in its language.

"Do you want to stay outside like Pikachu?" Megan asked.

Eevee nodded and said her name and Megan scooped Eevee up into her arms. We then continued on our way, with Megan having gained a new friend.

"I was hoping that I would get a new Pokemon before my first contest, and I did! Plus, it's a Pokemon that my mom used to have, which makes it even more special!" Megan cried.

After walking for about an hour or so, Jason looked thoughtful.

"You know, I'm the only one that hasn't caught a new Pokemon since coming to Hoenn. I think it's time to change that." he said.

He glanced around and noticed a flock of Taillows in a tree. He removed his Pokedex.

"Taillow, the Tiny Swallow Pokemon. Taillow has a fierce personality, never backing down, even against the most powerful opponents."

"Now that's the kind of determination that I'm looking for! Typhlosion, go!" Jason cried as he released his Pokemon.

"Use Flamethrower on the tree!" The fire burned the tree down, damaging the Taillows. Most of them flew away, but one charged forward, prepared for a fight, as it cried its name fiercely.

"I was hoping for this! I wanted the bravest and toughest Taillow in the flock and only one decided to stay and fight after taking that hit! Typhlosion, use Quick Attack, followed by Swift!"

The battle was quick, since Typhlosion was so much stronger than Taillow and Jason easily caught his new Pokemon.

"Well, that Taillow certainly lived up to the data." I said as Jason picked up his Pokeball.

By noon, we had reached Petalburg City and Megan was now leading us to her house. We stopped in front of a tan two-story house with white doors and windowpanes. A large backyard could be seen from the side, but it looked to be more of a flower garden instead. A stone path led up to the door and as we walked into the house and took off our shoes, we heard May's voice from further inside.

We followed her voice and came to a room with the door slightly ajar.

"There's a video phone in there. She must be talking to someone." said Megan.

I was torn from Megan's voice as I heard a familiar voice respond to May. It was my mom!

"She's on the phone with my mom. This sounds serious."

We stayed quiet and listened to the conversation.

May said, "It's funny, Dawn. I go through my life for over a decade, so sure of my direction and purpose. Then, in the span of two short weeks, it all gets blown up in my face. Twelve years of my life. Gone. And I'll never get them back.

"I love Drew, but the evidence that he's seeing other women is just too great. I've found women's clothes and underwear in our closet that doesn't belong to me and he insists that he doesn't know how it got there! That's such a weak excuse, not having any answers! Plus, he barely spends any time at home anymore and says its's because he's looking for the person who's setting him up like this, insisting that someone is trying to break us up by making him look bad! But that could very well be an excuse to go and see another woman!

"Dawn, if I don't get some answers soon, I'm afraid that our marriage won't last and I'd hate to break up my girls and my new baby between Drew and I! You've always been good at talking with people and helping them sort out their emotional problems, so I need your advice.

"What do you think is going on? Is Drew bored with me and wants to move on to someone else, someone better? Is it because he doesn't want me to have a third child? Or was he never fully committed to me from the start and has been seeing other women behind my back for our entire relationship and I've only just started discovering it now? After all, he's always had lots of female admirers, even when we were young."

There was silence as my mom thought for a few moments.

"May, there has to be something else going on, even though all signs point to Drew being in the wrong and being unfaithful. I've met Drew and I can see that he loves you very deeply. It's always been evident, every time I see the two of you interact. The love and care that his eyes hold for you when you do the simplest of things. That wouldn't go away after all these years." my mom said.

"Maybe he really does have some crazy stalker who was one of his admirers and she's just now messing with your relationship. Didn't you say that when you two were younger, there was one girl who was obsessed with Drew and didn't like you?"

"Dawn, you could very well be in the same boat as me. Just like Drew, Ash has always had a lot of women who admire him, ever since he became the Pokemon Master. How are you so sure that what's happened to Drew won't happen to Ash, too? How are you so confident in him being faithful to you? And how can I find that same confidence?" May asked.

"I'm sure about Ash being faithful because of everything that we've gone through to stay together; Team Rocket interfering when they kidnapped him, people trying to tear us apart like Kenny. Our love has been tested, just like how your love is being tested now. But Ash and I never gave up or gave in and our love proved to be strong and lasting. A real marriage, and true love, is worth fighting for and worth all of the effort in the world to make it last.

"May, don't give up on Drew. You have two beautiful girls and another child on the way. I know that you changed him from how he used to act around women. There has to be something that we're missing about this story, regarding his supposed cheating. He wouldn't risk hurting his family for his own selfish gain. You changed him for the better."

A sigh left May. "Thank you, Dawn. I feel a little better. I won't ask him for a divorce yet, but I need the truth. Either he's hiding it from me...or he really doesn't know what's going on, like he told me."

"Don't fret over it while you're pregnant. High emotions might affect the baby."

"You're right. Thank you, Dawn."

"Anytime. I'm always a phone call away."

They then said goodbye to one another and we quickly hurried back to the front door so that May wouldn't know that we had eavesdropped on her phone call.

I had wanted the full details on May's dilemma, and now I had them.

"We don't say anything to my mom about what we heard." Megan said, and Jason and I nodded our heads in agreement.

We waited by the front door and when May came out, she saw us, thinking that we had just arrived.

"Oh! You're here." she said with a smile.

"Hey, Mom! Yeah, we just got here." Megan said, hugging her mom.

May was now in her mid-thirties, around my dad's age. She was wearing some stretchy black leggings, red flats, and a red-and-white-striped shirt that was large, loose, and flowy. Her baby bump was showing, too. Her straight brown hair reached just past her shoulders, which was how Megan's hair looked when it was out of its usual ponytail.

"Mom, this is Adam Ketchum and Jason Oak. I met them when I got my first Pokemon and they invited me to travel with them."

"It's nice to finally meet you, May." I said.

"Where's April?" Megan asked.

"She just arrived home about an hour before you. She left as soon as she could, to go and train for the contest."

"She isn't wasting any time for the contest. Well, neither should I!"

Megan released her Torchic and May's eyes looked at the Eevee that was standing beside her daughter.

"You are becoming more and more like me every day. I'm not sure if I should be worried, since I know how adventurous I was when I was your age." May stated with a smile.

May's Glaceon then wandered down from upstairs and saw Eevee and the two instantly hit it off, having a happy conversation in their language. In the meantime, Megan returned Torchic.

"What Pokemon are you planning to have Eevee evolve into? It's a big choice, after all." May questioned.

"I'm going to let Eevee choose for herself. I feel that if I make that choice for her, it's unfair to her. Plus, after everything Eevee's been through, she deserves to make that change herself." Megan replied.

"What do you mean?"

Megan than launched into the story of how she found Eevee and the trauma that her new Pokemon had suffered.

"I'm glad that you helped Eevee. She's always going to remember that, and the bond that you two share will be strong because of what you did for her."

May then walked over to the couch and picked up a yellow backpack that was identical to her own bag during her journeys after parting ways with my dad.

"This has your contest outfit in it, along with the accessories, and some perfume and lip gloss if you want to use them. Your fanny pack might be useful, but it's too small to hold everything, like your sleeping bag and food."

"Thanks, Mom." Megan said as she slipped her arms through the straps.

"So Mom, how have you been managing to take care of the house without April and I around to help? And with Dad always gone, chasing women?"

"Your grandma has been a big help, along with Beautifly and your dad's Roserade, who have been tending to the large flower garden out back." she replied.

"That garden was planted just for them, since they love flowers so much. It was one of the main reasons why we chose this house when we first moved in together. It had such a big backyard, perfect for a flower garden. It was the first thing that we added as soon as we moved in." May added, frowning.

It was clear to see that the memories of the good times with Drew were no longer happy for her and brought her nothing but pain.

"May, how did you feel about my dad throughout your journeys with him? I've heard from my dad about his travels with you and I know how he felt. I just wanted to hear it from your perspective." I asked.

"Well, since Ash had already been through two journeys when I first met him and started my journey, I only thought of him as a good role model at first. But then my feelings for him turned friendly as we continued our journey. By the time that we were nearing the end of our Hoenn journey, I thought of him as more than a friend. He felt like my big brother, even though I had Max as my little brother.

"Then, as we traveled across Kanto, my feelings began to change once again. I began to feel as though I loved him, especially during our adventure with Manaphy. But I never had the courage to tell him those feelings before we parted ways.

"By the time I met him again in Sinnoh for the Wallace Cup, I saw how close he and Dawn were. The connection that those two shared was obvious. Ash was closer to Dawn than he was with me and it showed in how he acted towards her, compared to how he had acted towards me. That's when I realized that he had found his soulmate, the perfect girl for him, even if he was too dense to realize it at the time.

"It was then that I realized that I loved Ash, but I was never in love with him at any point. I loved him, but only as a brother."

"My dad told me that he feels the same way towards you. You're like a sister to him." I said.

"Yeah, and your mom is like my little sister."

"Mom, I've heard you talk about your travels with Ash many times, so I know what he means to you. Do you think that I'll ever be that close to Adam or Jason?" Megan asked.

"I don't know. Only you can find that out, as you all travel together. It will just take time."

I wonder what our relationship will be like by the end of this? How will things change between Megan and myself as we get to know each other better? I wondered.

Megan then stood up from the chair that she had been sitting on and declared, "I should go and train for the contest. April already has a head start on me and I can't fall behind!"

"You'll first have to go to the contest hall and register, in order to be able to compete." May advised.

"The contest isn't for another four days. That's plenty of time for my Pokemon and I to prepare."

Jason and I decided to stay at the house and relax while Megan went off to train. She needed some time alone to bond with her Pokemon, after all.

"You're more than welcome to stay here while in Petalburg City. It's better than staying at the Pokemon Center. I have a guest room." May offered.

"That would be great." Jason said.

"Thank you, May!"

"Okay. I'll show you to it."

May stood up and we followed her. We heard Megan call out 'goodbye' and looked to see her leaving with Eevee following her, saying goodbye to her new friend, Glaceon.

Author's Note: And that ends the chapter! We were planning on having the upcoming contest in this chapter too, but the chapter got too long.

Megan rescues an Eevee that decides to join her on her journey, a Pokemon that her mom once had as well. Jason also catches a Taillow along the way.

Once the group reaches Megan's house in Petalburg City, they overhear her talking with Dawn about her marital problems. Adam also learns what May thinks about his dad.

Megan is now off to register for the upcoming contest and train. She'll meet some old and new rivals as the contest begins in the next chapter of Pokemon NG!