Chapter 2

Enemies Past and Present

Ash and May walked under the dense green canopy of Viridian Forest, still holding hands, looking at all of the Pokémon that surrounded them. When May picked a Pokéball from her belt and threw it into the air, Ash watched as the ball spun before opening and Glaceon appeared in a flash of light. Glaceon shook herself and looked to see where she was when she saw Ash she ran up to him and rub against his leg.

"Glace Glace." She purred. Ash let go of May's hand and crouched down to stroke the Ice type.

"Hi Glaceon it's been a while hasn't it. I'm happy to see you as well and Pikachu is too." Ash turned look at the electric mouse "Aren't you buddy?"

"Pika Chu Pi Pi Chu" squeaked the excited Pokémon as he jumped off of Ash's shoulder to greet his old friend. When Pikachu went to say hello to Glaceon she turned and licked his cheek this stopped Pikachu in his tracks as he didn't know how to deal with this type of situation (much like his trainer). Ash, still stroking Glaceon, looked at May and said

"Why did Glaceon do that?"

"Probably because she's happy to see Pikachu after so long." May replied even though she knew how much Glaceon liked Pikachu. Ash just shrugged accepting this explanation

"Well let's keep moving we might be able to reach Pewter City before it gets dark." They walked a little further into the forest and found themselves in a large clearing.

"Can't we stop for a few minutes Ash my feet are tired." May pleaded

"Okay May we'll rest for a bit." Ash said putting his bag of the ground. Thinking for a minute Ash then realised where they were resting and he started to smile.

"Ash why are you smiling" Asked May.

"This is where I caught my first wild Pokémon and where we re-united a couple of years ago." Ash explained.

"What Pokémon was it?"

"It was a Caterpie and he was one of my strongest Pokémon."

"What did you mean when you said re-united?"

"When Caterpie had fully evolved into a Butterfree I released him so he could breed. At the time I thought that he had made friends with a wild pink Butterfree but Misty and Brock eventually explained to me that they were going to be more than friends. Then a couple of years ago I was here training with my bug and grass type Pokémon when I saw him again, I asked him if he wanted to join the team again and he said yes. I tried to ask him what happened to the pink Butterfree but he won't talk about it."

"How did you know he was the same Butterfree?"

"When I released him Misty tied a yellow handkerchief round his neck and he was still wearing it." May nodded.

After twenty minutes of rest they decided to carry on walking but just as they reached the edge of the clearing they heard a terrifying screech tear through the air. Looking for the source Ash saw a large brown flying type Pokémon with light brown feathers on the edge of its wings, a long pink beak and a red spiked crest on top of its head soaring straight for him, Ash grabbed May and pulled her to the ground as the Pokémon barely missed them. May blushed slightly when she realised that she was lying on top of Ash. Ash didn't notice this as he recognised the Pokémon by the anger he saw in its eyes as it swept past barely missing them.

"Oh no. Not you again." Ash said

"Why is that Pokémon attacking us?" May cried.

"Me and Pikachu have history with that Pokémon"

May got her Pokédex out and pointed it at the flying type.

"Fearow, the Beak Pokémon, Fearow have the stamina to fly for long periods of time and they fight with their sharp beaks. These Pokémon are very aggressive take care when here one."

"What kind of history do you have with it?"

"On my first day of being a trainer I tried to capture a Spearow and failed so Spearow attacked Pikachu. Pikachu shocked it and Spearow called for its flock all of them attacked Pikachu. I grabbed Pikachu and ran a storm started while we ran I met Misty and borrowed her bike the Spearow still attacking eventually I crashed the bike and stood in front of a Pikachu to protect him from the Spearow they all flew straight for me, Pikachu ran up my back jumped from my shoulder, used the lightning to power up his electric attacks and shocked the whole flock." While saying this to May Ash kept an eye on the Fearow and Pikachu kept it at bay by firing Thunderbolts at it. "The Spearow evolved into that Fearow and terrorised a flock of Pidgey and Pidgeotto until my Pidgeotto stood up to it and evolved into a Pidgeot. Pidgeot wanted to stay with the flock and protect them. I'm guessing that Fearow move here after that and it still hates me and Pikachu."

As Pikachu was about to launch another Thunderbolt Fearow folded its wings to its sides and started to spin diving towards the ground. They watched as Fearow spun its way underground.

"What's it doing?" May asked

"Drill Run, Pikachu keep moving round don't stay till and charge a Volt Tackle for when Fearow surfaces."

"Pika" came the reply from his Pokémon. As Pikachu started to run in an evasive pattern while golden sparks came from his body as he prepared to use Volt Tackle. The ground started to break underneath Pikachu and before he could move out of the way Fearow erupted from the earth spinning and causing a lot of damage to Pikachu. Fearow followed Drill Run with a ferocious Fury Attack, under this onslaught Pikachu couldn't concentrate enough to try and counter.

"Glaceon use Ice Beam." called May. Glaceon ran forward and shot an icy blue beam of energy at Fearow hitting it in the back between the wings. A cry of pain escaped from its beak as it took to the air to escape the attack. Glaceon and May kept using Ice Beam to stop Fearow from attacking Pikachu again. Fearow used Double Team to avoid the Ice Beams and countered by using Hyper Beam. Glaceon dodged the actual beam but got hit by the debris from the beam hitting the ground, Glaceon recovered quickly and continued to fire Ice Beams at Fearow who used Double Team again before using Faint Attack. May looked around to try and find Fearow before seeing it appear a few feet behind Ash. May feared for her friends safety when she saw the strength of the anger and hatred in Fearow's eyes.

"Ash, Look out!" May cried as she saw what was about to happen. Ash looked over his shoulder and crouched slightly waiting for Fearow to get closer before somersaulting backwards over Fearow's back. A look of utter shock formed on May's face as a result of what Ash had just done. Fearow soared high into the air while it waited for another opportunity to attack. Ash reached for a Pokéball, threw it into the air and released Staraptor

"Staraptor used Aerial Ace on Fearow" Staraptor flew at Fearow slamming into its stomach. Fearow countered by using Steel Wing knocking Staraptor away. The two flying Pokémon kept trading attacks as they soared higher and higher into the sky, but still close to Pikachu's position so Ash waited until it was completely safe before going to Pikachu's side, after a few minutes which seemed like hours to the two trainers until Staraptor came back and Fearow could be seen flying into the distance.

"Thanks for your help Staraptor return." Ash said putting Staraptor back in its Pokéball.

Ash ran towards Pikachu to check on him but when Ash was a few feet away from his Pokémon he saw a net shot out from amongst the trees and scoop up Pikachu. Looking into the trees Ash saw a twenty foot robot with a net in one hand, a giant red R on its chest, a set of black tank tracks and a clear dome for a head, inside the dome sat Team Rocket, Jessie and James sat at the front and Meowth sat further back between them tied to his chair with his arms folded across him chest. The dome opened and they started to recite their motto

Jessie: Prepare for trouble!

James: Make it double!

Jessie: To protect the world from devastation!

James: To unite all peoples within our nation!

Jessie: To denounce the evils of truth and love!

James: To extend our reach to the stars above!

Jessie: Jessie!

James: James!

Jessie: Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!

James: Surrender now or prepare to fight!

Wobbuffet: Wobbu Wobbu

Meowth: I told youse to I'm not helping you to snag Pikachu. Now untie me!

"We'll untie you when you regain your senses and act like a member of this team." said James.

"I am a member of dis team and I want to finish de mission we were given which isn't to capture the twerp's Pikachu. Now let me go you stupid mhmhmkmhghthgtm." Meowth replied the end of his sentence muffled as James gagged him.

"Will you two stop arguing we've got Pikachu let's get out of here." Jessie said.

"Not you again, don't you three ever give up?" Ash shouted to them.

"We will now that we have Pikachu now so long twerp" Jessie called back laughing as the dome close above her head and she turned the robot to leave. Glaceon shot an Ice Beam at the robot's tracks freezing them but the robot was too strong for the ice and carried on moving. Ash was about to call on another of his Pokémon when from out of the sun dove Fearow using Drill Run again. James tried to swat Fearow away with the robot's other hand but missed and Fearow sliced through the net which held Pikachu releasing him. Landing on his feet Pikachu ran back towards Ash as Fearow circled back to attack Pikachu once more.

"Hey doesn't that Fearow look familiar." James said.

"You're right it does look familiar. Isn't that the Fearow the twerp's Pidgeot beat before we went to the Orange Islands." Jessie said recognising the bird Pokémon. "Why is it helping the twerp? It hates him."

"It's not helping him its after Pikachu." James explained. "Look its coming back." He said pointing at the beak Pokémon, who was turning around to chase after the electric mouse.

Reaching for his belt Ash grabbed one of his Pokéball throwing it hard and he shouted "Sceptile I choose you!" then in a flash of white light a tall green lizard-like Pokémon with a bushy dark green tail and yellow seeds attached to his back emerged. Reaching down to the forest floor he picked up a twig and put it in his mouth. Standing proud and determined was the fully-evolved grass type starter pokemon from Hoenn that had beaten a supposedly unbeatable Darkrai during the Sinnoh League semi-finals, he was one of Ash's strongest Pokémon and one of his most stubborn when it came to battles.

"Wow, Sceptile looks stronger than ever." Said May admiring the forest Pokémon she had known for years.

"He is. Now Sceptile intercept that Fearow with Quick Attack." Ash said.

"Sceptile!" he cried as he nodded before running towards the flying type leaving a trail of white light behind him. Fearow saw Sceptile surging towards it but had no time to avoid the attack as the grass type slammed into its side knocking it into the trees. Fearow swept its wings and narrowly avoided a large oak tree, weaving through the trees with an agility unheard of for Pokémon of his species. As Fearow burst through the forest's canopy and dove towards Sceptile.

"Sceptile it's using Aerial Ace dodge with Agility and counter. You know what to use." Ash called to his Pokémon with a small smile on his lips. May had a confused look on her face as she looked at Ash trying to figure out what he meant. I know that last time I saw Sceptile he could use Leaf Blade, Quick Attack, Bullet Seed and Solarbeam. During the Sinnoh semi-finals Sceptile used Leaf Storm but I don't see how any of those attacks could help here. May thought to herself as she watched Sceptile standing still as Fearow got closer and closer. He's not going to get out of the way in time! May thought as she was about to shout to the grass type she stole a glance at Ash and was shocked to find he looked as calm as Sceptile, looking back to the battle she was just in time to see Sceptile appear alongside Fearow and his fist was sparking with electricity.

"SCEP TILE" roared the forest Pokémon as he threw a Thunder Punch into Fearow's stomach sending it high into the air.

While Sceptile battled Fearow, Team Rocket were still trying to capture Pikachu without success as Glaceon kept using Ice Beam to stall the robots tracks whenever they got close. Inside the robot's cockpit Meowth was struggling to get out of the ropes tying him to his chair having already succeeding in removing his gag, Meowth was shouting encouragement to Glaceon and Pikachu even though he knew that they couldn't hear him, he mainly did it to annoy Jessie and James.

"Will you stop that Meowth" Shouted an anger James "We are trying to get Pikachu and your yelling isn't helping!"

"I don't care." Retorted the cat Pokémon "Glaceon use Ice Beam on the cockpit. Pikachu Thunderbolt the arms."

"That's enough out of you." Jessie said as she replaced Meowth's gag and taping it in place. What are we going to do with him? Jessie thought to herself. During this Pikachu and Glaceon were still dodging the robot's arms and tried to stop its tracks but failed to do so. James was shifting the levers and pressing the buttons on the robot's console trying everything he could think of to try and capture Pikachu again. Suddenly a light started to blink on the console.

"Jessie what does this light mean?" James asked. Jessie finished tying Meowth up and walked up behind James to look at the light he mentioned.

"It means that something is coming towards us." She answered. As they looked around they couldn't see anything until the cockpit started to get dark, looking straight up they saw Fearow falling down towards the robot. Taking advantage of this development Ash came up with an idea to take care of both Team Rocket and Fearow, he turned to May and said.

"Quickly tell Glaceon to use Ice Beam, full power. Trust me I have an idea"

"Okay Ash I trust you. Glaceon use Ice Beam now." May said.

"Pikachu match Glaceon's power and use Ice Bolt." Ash called to his Pokémon. May turned to look at Ash in confusion as she had never heard of a move called Ice Bolt. Pikachu nodded understanding what Ash wanted him to do before charging up his energy. Glaceon formed an icy blue ball of energy in front of her open mouth as she fired an Ice Beam at Team Rocket and Fearow Pikachu released a Thunderbolt aiming at the same spot the Ice Beam was heading for. The two attacks surged forward and the Thunderbolt started to wrap itself around the Ice Beam, May looked on in amazement as the two streams of energy, one sparking yellow electricity and the other shimmering light blue slowly combined into one attack, one beam which was light green in colour and gave off sparks of the same colour as the beam. It's beautiful though May how did Ash learn to do this? The combined power of Glaceon's Ice Beam and Pikachu's Thunderbolt surged towards Team Rocket's robot and Fearow, who was lying onto of the cockpit, Jessie and James were so busy trying to get rid of Fearow they didn't notice the attack heading straight for them. Meowth saw the attack and instead of trying to warn his team mates he simply braced himself for the inevitable explosion.

Jessie saw the combined attack out of the corner of her eye and tried to move the robot out of the way but James was still trying to dislodge Fearow so all the robot did was spin its arms and move towards the beam. As the attack hit the robot ice started to encase it before the electricity started to course through the console then the full power of the Ice Bolt was unleashed as the Thunderbolts energy started to blow all of the circuits and the Ice Beam helped to carry the electricity around the robot until there was a large explosion destroying the robot and sending both Team Rocket and Fearow high into the air.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" cried Jessie and James

"Fearow" Cawed the beak pokemon

"Untkdk medkdd nfdsl" Mumbled Meowth as all of them soared into the distance.

"Well that should keep them busy for a while" said Ash holding Sceptile's Pokéball "You did well Sceptile. I think you're even faster now. Take a good long rest return." Sceptile nodded, happy with what his trainer had just said before returning to his Pokéball. Pikachu and Glaceon ran into their trainer's arms proud of how well they and their trainers had worked together after spending so much time apart. Ash and May hugged their Pokémon and told them how proud they were of them. After a few minutes Ash put Pikachu down and opened his bag.

"What are you doing Ash?" asked May

"I'm looking for some medicine so I can heal Pikachu." He replied still searching his bag until he found and pulled out a couple of potions. May watched as Ash stroked Pikachu before healing him.

Although he looks and seems different he's still the same Ash I've always known she thought happily.

"Okay buddy this might sting a little but it will make you feel better" Ash said to Pikachu as he started to squirt the medicine on to Pikachu's wounds. Pikachu winced in pain as the potions started to take effect but he didn't make any noise he stayed silent until Ash had finished. Glaceon sat watching Pikachu as Ash tended to him wanting to make sure that he was okay.

When Pikachu was fully healed Ash and May continued to walk through Viridian Forest on their way Pewter City, holding hands again as Pikachu and Glaceon walked in front of them Glaceon occasionally rubbing against Pikachu, May noticed this and smiled. After a while it started to get dark so Ash and May decided to set up camp for the night, when they had started a fire Ash took a pot from his bag, poured water into it and hung it over the fire. He then got some noodles and berries from his bag. May sat watching him as he sliced the berries before putting them in the pot along with the noodles.

"When did you learn to cook Ash?" May asked

"A couple of years ago before I started to travel around training. My mom said I needed to know how to cook because I wasn't travelling with Brock or Cilan." Ash replied while he stirred the food. "I'm not that great but it tastes okay to me, it needs a few minutes before its ready." Ash started to prepare bowls for himself, May, Pikachu and Glaceon.

"Ash, what was that attack you told Pikachu to use? Ice Bolt I think you called it."

"That's right, while I was training I've taught my Pokémon to use moves together like Ice Beam and Thunderbolt to create more powerful moves, some can be used by on Pokémon others need to be used by two or more depending on the situation. It was tough but well worth the effort and I'm proud of what my Pokémon are able to do."

"What other moves have you combined?"

"I can't tell you that May you'll just have to wait and see." Ash said winking as he smiled at his friend. Over the next few minutes May tried everything she could think of to try and get Ash to tell her but his lips stayed sealed on the subject.

"Okay it's not much but dinner is served." Ash said as he poured the soup into the bowls before passing the first one to May and then putting two on the ground for Pikachu and Glaceon. May gently blew on the soup before she ate it and was surprised by how great it tasted.

"Ash this is amazing. It's on the same level as Brock's cooking." She said.

"Aw come on May it's not that good. You're just saying that." Ash said blushing slightly and scratching the back of his head.

"No Ash I mean it you're a great cook." Pikachu and Glaceon nodded in agreement with what May was saying.

"Thanks May."

They finished their meal in silence enjoying the warmth and taste. After cleaning up they set up their sleeping bags and sat looking at the stars.

"Ash?" May asked "When you were traveling did you go to Hoenn?" This had been bothering her for a couple of days.

"Yeah I did."

"Why didn't you visit?"

Ash was silent for a minute before answering. May watched him waiting for his reason. "When I was in Hoenn I went to Mt Chimney and the desert on route 111. I was so focused on training that I couldn't think of anything else…. and I didn't know if you were there or out competing in contests." He finished in a quietly turning his face to hide the blush that covered his cheeks, he knew he should have visited Petalburg but couldn't bring himself to do it and he'd never figure out why. May was touched by what he had said and her heart fluttered again, she was starting to get a clearer picture of what she was feeling and feeling quite scared of what it meant.

May decided to try changing the subject to try and ease the tension that had filled the air, she quickly thought of something that would definitely get Ash's mind off what had just happened, though she made a note to find out exactly what Ash had meant by that.

"So did you catch any new Pokémon while you were travelling?" Ash looked at May the glow from the fire hiding the blush on his face.

"Yeah sort of."

"What do you mean by sort of?"

"There were Pokémon that I left with people for training that I got back and others like Butterfree that I released have come back. There are some Pokémon I've got now that I've befriended during my journeys."

"Such as?"

"You'll have to wait and see." Ash said being cryptic.

"Ash I don't like it when you're being mysterious." May said getting angry although she secretly liked this new side of Ash.

"Sorry May but I want it to be a surprise." He replied smiling. Which just frustrated May as she found the smile itself annoying and how it looked on Ash's face to be very sexy. Hang on did I just think of Ash as sexy? What's going on? May thought unnerved by her thoughts

Once again May tried to get Ash to spill his secrets but nothing worked, Ash tried to change the subject by asking her I she had caught any new Pokémon but May wouldn't tell him only smiling slyly and continued to question him, eventually she gave up and realising the time they decided to get some sleep. Saying good night to each other they climbed into their sleeping bags and slowly drifted off to sleep on separate sides of the fire. Pikachu slept between the trainers quickly falling into a deep sleep, Glaceon nudged Pikachu slightly and got no response so she curled up next to him and went to sleep.

May woke the next morning, saw that Ash had already started making breakfast and that Pikachu and Glaceon were still asleep curled up together. May smiled at the sight then looked around the campsite to find Ash, she saw him off to one side exercising, without his t-shirt on. May was surprised at this and blushed as she once again saw how much Ash had changed, throughout all the time she had travelled with Ash she had never seen him exercise unless he was training his Pokémon so she just sat watching him. Ash didn't notice May watching him as he was too focused on doing press-ups, Ash then remembered something he had seen on the TV before he left home so he thought why not try it. Ash kicked his legs off the ground so he was in a handstand then proceeded to do press-ups like this. He managed to do a couple before hearing someone clapping which threw off his concentration and he fell on his head. May ran to his side to check on him the blush still on her face.

"Sorry Ash that was my fault I shouldn't have started clapping, it's just that it was very impressive." May said offering Ash her hand to help him up.

"It's okay May breakfast will be ready soon so I needed to stop anyway." Ash replied taking her hand and getting off the ground. As he stood up he realised that he how close to May he was standing, he didn't have a t-shirt on and was still holding May's hand. Ash looked into May's eyes and felt that he was falling into them, he quickly let go of May's hand and backed away panicking at how he had been feeling. May had been feeling the same things and she backed away as well. Ash grabbed a t-shirt from his bag and put it on before walking quickly to the fire and the soup they were going to have for breakfast, they ate in silence with Pikachu and Glaceon looking between them wondering what had gone on while they slept.

The tension stayed with them until they heard as noise coming from the bushes in front of them. May moved behind Ash while Pikachu and Glaceon took up defensive stances in case it was Team Rocket or Fearow again, the seconds seemed like hours until a Spoink hopped out of the bushes. Reaching for his Pokédex Ash pointed it at Spoink.

Spoink the Bounce Pokémon, Spoink is always bouncing on its spring-like tail, if Spoink stops bouncing its heart will stop. The pearl on its head amplifies it psychic powers.

"How cute I'm going to catch it. Glaceon use Iron Tail on Spoink." May said to her Ice type as she stepped out from behind Ash. Glaceon ran towards the psychic Pokémon with her tail glowing white as it took on a metallic sheen. Spoink dodged to the left but Glaceon spun round and her tail collided with the side of Spoink's body.

"Now use Ice Beam." A ball of energy formed in front of Glaceon's mouth as she fired a light blue beam at Spoink. Spoink countered with a Psybeam but the Ice Beam slowly pushed it back overpowering it, Spoink then became coated in a shimmering white energy which reflected Ice Beam back at Glaceon.

"May it knows Mirror Coat." Ash called out.

"Glaceon use Dig" Glaceon dove into the ground dodging the returning Ice Beam. Spoink tightened its tail and bounced high into the air when Glaceon surfaced Spoink started to hurtle towards her.

"Now Glaceon use Ice Shard followed by Secret Power." Glaceon looked straight up at the plummeting Spoink and fired a multitude of icy missiles before glowing pink and jumping towards the psychic Pokémon. The Ice Shards hit Spoink soon followed by the glowing Glaceon. When Spoink hit the ground and the effect of Secret Power became apparent as Spoink was asleep.

"Okay now's my chance Pokéball Go!" May shouted as she threw a Pokéball at the sleeping psychic type. As the ball hit Spoink it glowed red before disappearing into the ball a flash of red light, the ball shook once, twice, three times before it stopped and sparkles of white light were emitted confirming the capture.

"I did it I caught Spoink." May cried holding the ball in one hand and showing the peace sign with the other.

"Well done May. You did great." Ash said.

"Thanks Ash. Let's keep going so I can get Spoink healed." The excitement from the battle had caused the tension between Ash and May to ease, though they still felt slightly awkward after the events that happened before breakfast. They continued to walk through the forest until they came to the end. A notice board stood in front of them and a poster caught May's attention as she went up to it her eyes widened and started to shine.

"Ash we need to get to Pewter City NOW!"

"What do you mean May?"

"There's a contest in Pewter City tomorrow and I want to enter so I can get my first ribbon. Let's hurry I don't want to miss registration. Come on!" She said grabbing Ash's hand as she dragged him towards Pewter City. Ash had to run to keep up with May, the tension between them forgotten as May ran to her contest and Ash ran towards his first Gym battle. Pikachu and Glaceon looked at each other shaking their heads at how their trainers were acting before running after them.

As the two trainers had made their way out of the forest Team Rocket were stuck in a tree along with Fearow. Meowth was still tied up and gagged hanging from a branch in the tree opposite Jessie, James and Fearow.

"Why does the twerp always win and what's with the new moves?" Jessie complained.

"Fear Fear Row Fearow." Squawked Fearow. Jessie looked at the large flying type and felt the anger and hatred that it held for Ash and Pikachu, reaching to her belt she got a Pokéball and held it in front of Fearow.

"Jessie? What are you doing?" James asked but Jessie ignored him looking only at the Fearow.

"You feel the same way we do about Pikachu and the twerp don't you." Jessie said to the Fearow who nodded. "Come with us. Join Team Rocket together we can have our revenge against them. What do you say?" Meowth's eyes widened and James mouth fell open this Fearow had attacked them in the past, the Fearow that had just stopped them from stealing Pikachu and now Jessie was asking it to join them. Fearow looked at the Pokéball then at Jessie and back to the Pokéball before pecking the centre of the ball, disappearing into the Pokéball and it didn't try to escape. Jessie beamed and then started to climb out of the tree. "Are you two coming or are you going to stay there all day? She said to James and Meowth. James climbed down from his tree then climbed up the tree that Meowth was hanging from. As he moved towards Meowth lifting him from the branch he was hanging off, Meowth nodded his thanks to James because his mouth was still gagged.

"Meowth why are you against us when it comes to the twerp and his Pikachu? What happened while we were in Unova?" James asked taking Meowth's gag off but Meowth just looked away staying silent. As James climbed down from the tree, carrying Meowth in his arms he thought about what might have happened in Unova that might have changed his team mate

Both Jessie and myself were with Meowth all the time in Unova….except for when he tricked the twerps as part of our plan to steal the Pokémon from the Nimbasa City Pokémon Centre. Something must have happened to him during that time. James thought But what was it and what can we do to turn him back to his old self? Meowth was about to ask James to untie him but Jessie said "James gag Meowth before he turns on us again." James fearful of what Jessie might to do him quickly gagged Meowth again giving him an apologetic look.

"I'll try and talk to her." He whispered in Meowth's ear so Jessie wouldn't hear him. Meowth simply looked at James with pleading eyes before nodding, resigned to the fact that there wasn't anything he could do.

As Ash and May entered Pewter City they stopped bending over, hands on their knees catching their breath after running from Viridian Forest. Pikachu and Glaceon at their feet waiting for them for recover before they headed in to Pewter City to find the Pokémon Centre. When they had gotten their breath back and were ready to start walking again, May turned to Ash but not looking directly at him and said.

"Ash because there's a contest here I think we should hold hands again just in case. Drew might have told other co-ordinators about us and if they see use we have to look like a couple." May looked away before saying quietly "We'll need to share a room again to make it look real." Looking surprised at what May had just said, he felt the same unknown feelings he had felt earlier. The feelings were strange but not unpleasant they filled his chest with an unusual warmth that made him feel invincible. Ash slowly he reached out and took May's hand in his, pulling down his hat to hide face because he started to feel the warmth in his chest moving to his cheeks, which he was sure were turning red.

"Okay May let's go to the Pokémon Centre and heal our Pokémon. After that we can go visit Brock at the Gym." he said and they walked in the direction of the Pokémon Centre.

"Hey Ash has Brock told you how his studies are going and who is helping him?" May asked wanting to know how much contact Ash had with their friends, she asked the question to try and take her mind off the feeling that were swelling inside her. Ash looked at her in confusion, Brock had told Ash how far he was getting with his training to become a Pokémon Doctor but he didn't say anything about someone helping him.

"Someone's helping him? The last time I talked to him he said that there were only a couple of tests left before he was qualified that was a couple of weeks ago. He never mentioned that he had help studying. Do you know who it is?"

"I do but you'll have to see it for yourself to believe it." May said cryptically. Ash looked at her before thinking I'll go and see Brock as soon as May's registered for the contest and our Pokémon are healed. Ash and May then continued on their way to the Pokémon Centre.

However they didn't see a cloaked figure staring at them from the shadows of an alleyway behind them with hate burning in their eyes and their mouth a vicious snarl.

"So she didn't lie." The figure growled "Well Ketchum let the games begin." The person then backed out of sight and walked away chuckling evilly, thinking of a plan to use against Ash. As this mysterious person walked off something fell from inside their cloak, it slowly fluttered to the ground and was revealed to be a red petal. Ash turned to look at the alleyway a blue light barely visible in his eyes. Ash started to feel uneasy they turned back to see May looking at him.

"I thought I heard something." He said as the blue light in his eyes disappeared and then they continued on to the way to the Pokémon Centre.

When the Pokémon Centre came into sight Ash and May picked up their pace wanting to get a room before they all went and they had seen a lot of co-ordinators as they walked through the city. Walking up to the desk Ash handed his and May's Pokémon to Nurse Joy and asked for a room with two single beds while May went over to a separate desk to register for the contest. As May showed her contest card to the woman stood at the desk she was told because it wasn't an official contest she didn't need to use it and just needed to sign her name. As May was writing her name she felt a hand on her shoulder without turning she said "It's not an official contest Ash but it'll be good practice for the official ones."

"That's good to know May." a voice said that wasn't Ash's but one May knew only too well. "Drew! What are you doing here." May said knocking Drew's hand off her shoulder while she frantically looked for Ash.

"I'm here for the contest." Drew replied standing close to May (Too close for May's liking). "So May who are you here with?"

"She's here with me." Came a voice from behind Drew. Relief flashed in May's eyes as Drew turned round to see who was interrupting his time with May.

"And who are…" Drew started to say, flicking his hair before stopping when he found that he was about a foot shorter that the man behind him and realised he was looking at the man's chest "…you?" he finished shifting his gaze to the man's face when he finally recognized the man in front of him.

"Drew I'm hurt. You don't recognise me?" The man said moving to stand next to May.

"Ketchum?" Drew said not believing his eyes at how great the difference since he last saw Ash.

"That's right." Ash then followed what May had told him over the past few days and put an arm round her and kissed her cheek. May was more shocked by this then Drew and both turned redder than Groudon but for very different reasons. "So" Ash continued "What have you been up to? Won any Grand Festivals?" May had told him that every Grand Festival she had entered Drew had entered as well and she had beaten him every single time. Drew composed himself before replying

"I've been doing more than you have for the past three years, I've been getting even stronger while you've hidden yourself away because you're weak. What have you done?" May tried to move and strangle Drew but Ash's arm held her in place.

"Since you asked I've been training with my Pokémon and with some really strong trainers." Ash said calmly. May was surprised once again at how much he had changed normally he would have started shouting in anger.

"Like who?" Drew asked.

"I'm not telling but I will say some of them are very well known." Ash said. "So May ready to win your first ribbon?" Ash asked completely ignoring Drew.

"It's not an official contest but I'm still going to enter for the practice."

"I'm entering as well" Drew said trying to bring May's attention back to him.

"If it's unofficial then I'll enter as well I could be fun." Ash said turning round and signing his name on the entrance sheet. May and Drew just stood there mouths open stunned at what Ash was doing.

After Ash and May had gotten rid of Drew and retrieved there Pokémon back from Nurse Joy they made their way to the Pewter City Gym.

"Ash." May started "Why did you kiss my cheek when we were talking to Drew?" Ash rubbed the back of his head and both Pikachu and Glaceon looked at him in astonishment "May I just did what you told me I needed to do."

"What do you mean?"

"You said that being a boyfriend meant that I had to hug you, hold your hand and other stuff like that."

"Still doesn't explain the kiss. What made you do it?"

"While I was training at home my mom made me watch films with her. They were all mushy ones and I remembered that in one of them when someone was talking to the lead character's girlfriend he walked up put his arm around her and kissed her."

"Oh okay then." Silence fell between them before May broke it by asking sweetly.

"So Ash what Pokémon are you going to use for the contest?" trying to get Ash to tell her what she might be going up against.

"Not telling but I will tell you that they are two of my new Pokémon." Ash replied.

When they arrived at the Pewter City Gym they walked around the side to the house that sat behind it. Knocking on the door they waited for a few minutes before the door opened and Ash realized who had been helping Brock with his studies.