A/N: Happy New Year, everyone! I gave myself a much needed break from anything fanfic-related and took all of December to just relax! Now, I'm back with the new saga in the series! I hope you all enjoy it as much as the others, and like always, I hope this is the best arc to date! I read everyone's responses in the poll about who will travel with Ash, Serena, and May in Hoenn. It will be Brock and Max, but Brock will only be there for half of it due to a reason I will reveal further down the road.

Shauna, Tierno, and Trevor will finally make their appearances in this arc.

Sawyer will be the third new trainer at Professor Birch's along with May and Brendan. He will be more of a rival to Brendan instead of Ash.

Hmm...I read the poll about who you all think will die in this arc. I gotta say...you guys are pretty evil. A lot of people voted for Max. He wasn't the winner, but he was pretty close. Either you guys want him to die, or you just think I'm sadistic enough to kill a little kid. Heh. You'll all see who it is when it happens. Another interesting thing about the poll is the character who got last place is someone that is going to die later on...just not this arc. I wonder who it could be...oh well.

Another thing I want you guys to know is that I took the liberty of making a some changes to May's personality...like with Ash and Serena. Still, also like with Ash and Serena...she's still essentially May.

Introductions are gone! Please enjoy the first chapter to what will a be a long and hopefully excellent arc!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.

Chapter 1: Meet the Maples

The Hoenn region was a very large island far away from any mainland. It had many different attractions there from the great tropical cities to the Pokemon Contests to the Pokemon League, and of course, the Pokemon. As such, the Hoenn region was a popular tourist destination. Besides the Alola region far away, Hoenn was the biggest region for tourists in the world. The fact that the land was so interesting made it extra great for the people who lived in the cities.

One such city was Petalburg City. It was nestled in the southwest corner of the enormous island that made up the Hoenn region. The city had beaches, condos, great places to eat, and just about every other thing one could think of that a seaside city would have. Petalburg City also had its own gym. It was family owned and run by the Maple family. They had run it ever since the gym was established there over a hundred years ago.

Attached to the gym itself was a nice quaint home. It wasn't too large but certainly not too small. It was the Maple family home and comfortably housed the four family members who currently occupied the house.

It was almost 10 o'clock in the morning, and all the members of the Maple family were up and running. Well, all except for one, the daughter, May Maple.

May was a twelve year old girl with blue eyes and light brown hair that she often wore in pigtails that resembled a upside down "V". She was somewhat tall for her age, around 5ft, 3inches, and had a slender build. She was also quite developed in other areas, as well.

May was an energetic girl who was quite athletic and participated in a number of sports growing up. She was an avid runner, swimmer, and biker, and had even won a few triathlons in her age group. Because she was so active, May had a dream to travel all over the world and experience everything it had to offer. Despite how active May was, a huge flaw was that she loved to sleep late, and she was not a morning person at all. It often fell to the task of one person to make sure she woke up at a decent time. If left unchecked, May would be in her bed all day.

The door creaked open to May's bedroom, and a young boy around eight years of age stepped in. It was none other than May's little brother, Max Maple. He had thick black hair and wore glasses. Unlike May who was tall and athletic, Max was small, about 4ft. 2inches, and studious. He loved to read and study as much as he could. Because of this, Max had become somewhat of a know-it-all which irritated May to no end. May and Max loved each other as any brother and sister did, but it was a common occurrence for them to fight because they were so different.

Max looked around at May's messy room and shook his head. That was another thing that was different between them. Max kept his room spotless and May's room always looked like her closet got sick and threw up. Max then saw an still lump in May's bed and smirked to himself. As expected, May was sound asleep and was showing no intention of waking up anytime soon. Max rubbed his hands together evilly before he launched his plan of attack.

"Geronimo!" Max shouted as he leaped onto May's bed and right on top of the lump underneath the covers.

A furious scream followed by swinging fists erupted from the covers once Max did that. Max quickly jumped off the bed to get out of the way of May's fists and grinned. May continued to flail around and tried to make heads or tails of what just happened before she pulled the covers off her head. Her bloodshot eyes spun madly around the room before they settled on who was undoubtedly the culprit. Max stood there innocently with his hands behind his back like he had done nothing wrong.

"You need to get up, dear sister," Max said sweetly.

May's teeth ground against each other so hard that they threatened to crack. How dare Max come in here and body slams her and acts like nothing is wrong! She wanted to pound the little squirt into the ground. May was about to spring from her bed and commit the deed before her better judgement took control, and she took a deep breath to calm herself. If she did that, Max would just start crying and tell on her. He may act like the golden child from the heavens in front of their parents, but May knew him for what he really was…a crybaby and a snitch.

"Thank you, my darling brother," May hissed.

"You're welcome. Breakfast has been ready for almost thirty minutes, and we're all waiting for you, as usual," Max replied as his tone turned to a more neutral one.

"I'll be right down," May said in a still angry tone.

"Great! I'll let Mom and Dad know," Max said as he turned to skip out of the room. As he reached the door, he turned around and smirked. "Before you come down, do something about that awful hair. It looks like two Zigzagoon played tag in it all night!"

Max had to quickly leave and shut the door to dodge the pillow that was thrown at him.

May eventually made her way into the dining room about ten minutes later. As expected, the rest of her family was waiting for her. Her parents, Norman and Caroline, stared with disapproving looks while Max smirked at her from his seat. May resisted the urge to glare at him and instead just chose to ignore him. She plopped down into her seat, and now that she was here, the rest of the family could start eating. Norman and Caroline didn't bother trying to scold May as this wasn't anything new. Instead, they began with light conversation, and it involved May.

"May, dear, are you looking forward to your Pokemon journey? It's just one week from today," Caroline asked with a small smile.

"Definitely. I can't wait to see what the world has to offer," May replied as she took a bite. "I'm going to travel all over the place. I'll even travel to other regions: Kanto, Johto, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, Alola, and more. I won't stop until I've seen them all. It'll be like one big vacation!"

"Now, May, a Pokemon journey isn't about a vacation. It's very serious. You have to constantly take care of your Pokemon and train them. Not only that, but as a Pokemon trainer, your goal should be to challenge all the gyms, and you'll also face many obstacles," Norman spoke up before he looked away a little. "There will also be danger at times."

"Norman, we've already talked about this. May's twelve years old now. She can handle herself just fine. She's wanted to go on her Pokemon journey ever since she turned ten, but you've held her back," Caroline told him.

"I just want her to be safe," Norman sighed.

"Relax, Dad. I promise I'll be fine. Remember, I'll have Brendan with me so it's not like I'll be by myself," May reminded.

"That's true," Norman admitted. "However, Brendan is just as inexperienced as you are. I'm still a bit uneasy with just him."

"You…you're still going to let me go, right?" May asked hopefully. She really didn't like where this conversation was heading.

"Let her go, Dad," Max spoke up, and May turned to give her brother a look of surprise. He was actually on her side. "I mean…once she's gone, I can have her room, right? I need a bigger space to put my books."

May rolled her eyes. It figured that Max only wanted her gone so he could take advantage of it and be the only child. Still, she would take any sort of argument she could at the moment to convince her Dad that she was ready to travel the world.

"Hmm…I should ask Ruby and Sapphire, too, and see how they feel about Brendan traveling with May," Norman said thoughtfully.

Caroline placed her hand on Norman's. "Dear, you've spoken with them several times. They're completely on board with the idea. Brendan is for it, and even I am. The only one who is reluctant in this is you."

"Caroline…," Norman trailed before he sighed in resignation. "You're right. May's a big girl, now. I can't shelter her forever."

May grinned broadly. Well, it seemed like she had won another argument that tried to get her to stay. In truth, she was used to them, now. For the past two weeks, Norman had been trying everything at his disposal to find a reason for May to stay at least one more year before she started her journey. May couldn't let him have that. If she gave in, not only would she have to wait another year, but Norman would try to convince her to stay the next year, too. It would be a never-ending cycle. Even Max would start his journey before she did!

"New topic!" Max said suddenly and got an excited look in his eyes. "You guys see those Silver Conference battles yesterday. Man! They were a blast!"

"Yes, dear. We did. We watched them with you. Remember?" Caroline laughed lightly.

"Well, May didn't," Max replied.

"I was out biking," May defended.

"You sure pick lousy times to exercise. You haven't watched a single match," Max said with a frown. "You'd think you'd want to watch the Pokemon battles like the rest of us considering you're starting your journey soon."

"I just have other things to do," May said.

In truth, May had no interest in all in Pokemon battling. It didn't stop there. May had no interest in Pokemon, either. She found a lot of them creepy or bothersome. It made one wonder why May would want to go on a Pokemon journey to begin with if she didn't like Pokemon. She was really only doing it as an excuse to travel. Her love of traveling outweighed her dislike for Pokemon. May could put up with taking care of one or two Pokemon as long as she was visiting many places while doing it.

However, the fact that May disliked Pokemon sort of made her the black sheep of the family, even if no one was aware of her secret. May's father, brother, mother, Uncle Ruby, Aunt Sapphire, and cousin Brendan were all fanatics of Pokemon. It was compounded by the fact that her own father was the leader of a Pokemon Gym. No one would understand how she felt if she told them she just wasn't into Pokemon. Therefore, she just merely played along most of the time but still tried to find any excuse to avoid anything that had to do with Pokemon.

"Well, you've missed some really great battles! I've watched every battle Gary Oak has had so far! He's awesome and battles with such confidence! He's amazing!" Max continued.

"Well, being the grandson of Professor Oak does help," Caroline agreed.

"Yeah! There's Ash Ketchum, too! He and Gary are about to be competing in the finals today! We can't miss that match!" Max said in excitement.

May, who was hardly listening, still managed to pick up on the name Ash Ketchum. Where had she heard that before? Oh, that's right. She had met him a couple of times in her life. Her parents and his parents were family friends that had known each other a really long time. Ever since May's dad took over the Petalburg Gym, however, visits had been extremely scarce. Though their parents talked on the phone quite a bit, they hadn't actually seen each other in almost eight or nine years. Her father took his job very seriously and never took vacations.

"Oh! That's wonderful! Delia must be so proud!" Caroline said happily.

"Hmm…Ash Ketchum seems to be growing into a fine young man," Norman muttered thoughtfully.

"Yes. I think it would be great if we all showed our support for him by watching the battle on TV," Caroline suggested.

"That includes you, May," Norman added as he took a sip of coffee.

"Do I have to?" May uttered. "I had plans today."

"To do what?" Caroline asked curiously.

"Ummm…," May stuttered as she tried to think of an excuse…any excuse. "Shopping for clothes?"

Max almost snorted his orange juice because he started laughing. "You?! Shop for clothes? Get real, May! The day you make plans to go shopping is when Grumpig fly!"

May glared at Max before she tried to cover herself. "Well, since my journey is starting so soon, I need to get a lot of traveling clothes."

"I understand that needs to be done," Norman nodded in agreement, and May thought she had escaped until he said his next sentence." However, that can still be done tomorrow or even the day after. The Ketchums have been our friends for a long time, and you need to watch the battle to show your support."

May sighed. Her dad was only half-right on that assumption. The Ketchums were her parents' friends, not hers. She barely knew them. She may have talked to them on the phone a couple of times and maybe met them just as much. Still, May realized she was in a losing battle. She knew there was nothing she could say to get out of this one.

"Fine. I'll watch the battle, too," May muttered in resignation.

"Good," Norman said in approval. "The battle will be televised at noon today."

"Awesome! I can't wait!" Max exclaimed.

May sighed again. Well, that made one of them. She just hoped the battle didn't take too long. Then again, it was probably a six-on-six battle. It was going to be a long afternoon.

The battle between Ash and Gary was coming right down to the wire on TV. Both of them were down to their last Pokemon, and they had each taken quite a bit of damage. Gary had his Blastoise left while Ash had his Dragonite. However, Ash was in a bit of bind as his Dragonite was frozen solid.

"Come on, Dragonite! I know you can do this!" Ash called out to it. "You have the biggest determination to win this of anyone I know. If anyone can break free, it's you!"

"Oh, dear," Caroline muttered sadly.

Max was seated right in front of the TV, and his eyes had been glued to the screen for the entire match. His eyes were wide, and his mouth was hanging open as he watched. This had been such an intense battle, but it looked like it was drawing to a close. Rarely could a Pokemon ever break out of a block of ice.

May was resting her head on her palm against the edge of the couch. She checked her watch before she looked back at the screen. The match had gone on for a full hour. At least now it looked like it was going to end. Ash seemed to be in quite a bit of trouble that he couldn't get out of. He appeared quite worried for his Dragonite's safety, but May couldn't understand why. If it was defeated, couldn't he just simply heal it at the Pokemon Center?

May had to stretch her memory muscles a bit as she tried to remember anything she could about Ash. She remembered that he really loved Pokemon and always wanted to play with them. She also embarrassingly remembered that she had fought with another girl…Dawn…about who would end up marrying Ash. While May would admit that Ash had grown into quite the young man from what she could see on TV, she didn't feel any romantic attachment to him. As she thought before, she barely knew him.

May was snapped out of her musing when Max made a gasp as did Norman and Caroline. May looked back to the TV just in time to see steam coming from the ice before it exploded outward. Ash's Dragonite had blue flames surrounding its body before it went and began to pummel Blastoise with everything it had.

"Yeah! That was awesome! Did you guys see that?!" Max exclaimed as he took his eyes away from the TV for the first time to look at the rest of his family.

"We sure did," Norman replied with a smile.

May's eyes were quite wide as she watched Ash's Dragonite attack Gary's Blastoise. How on Earth had it managed to that? Did Ash's encouragement actually help it break free? Did Dragonite want to beat Blastoise that badly? It was kind of scary.

Blastoise was on the ground as it readied an Ice Beam as Dragonite readied a Hyper Beam. Both Pokemon launched their respective attacks at each other before there was a massive explosion. All the noise that had been in the stadium had become super quiet as everyone waited for the outcome. Max even stood up in anxiousness.

"Max, you're blocking the screen," Norman said.

"Sorry," Max muttered as he sat back down.

The smoke finally cleared to reveal the outcome. Both Pokemon were lying on the ground and didn't get up. All the Maples gasped as it looked like it had been a double knockout in the finals. One didn't see that too often. However, Dragonite's eyes opened, and it managed to stand up after some struggle. Gary's Blastoise did the same. The two Pokemon then had a staring contest as if daring the other to go down. Gary's Blastoise finally gave way, however, and it fell to the ground, finally defeated.

"Blastoise is unable to battle! The winner of the match and the Silver Conference Champion this year is Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!" the judge announced.

The whole stadium then broke out into applause as the Maples did the same from their living room. Well, more like Max was jumping up and down in excitement. Despite having no interest in Pokemon, May still applauded Ash with her parents that he still won. She then saw something rather interesting.

Ash had dashed off the trainer's box and went straight to his Dragonite. Dragonite appeared quite tired, but nonetheless, it accepted Ash's embrace warmly. As the two Pokemon hugged, they looked so happy together.

"You were amazing, Dragonite! I knew I could count on you! You're the best!" Ash told it.

May watched the exchange in interest as she finally understood. Dragonite hadn't broken out of the ice because it wanted to beat Blastoise. Dragonite's motive was so it could win the match, nut not for itself. Dragonite did it for Ash, its trainer. May watched them continue to hug for a moment before Dragonite closed its eyes and laid down on the ground. Ash then smiled sympathetically before he returned it. May couldn't help but have a smile on her face after that. It was actually quite heartwarming to see Ash and his Pokemon so full of joy.

"Well, would you look at that?" May whispered to herself.

"What was that, May?" Norman asked from beside her.

"It was nothing, Dad," May responded with the smile still on her face.

It was the next afternoon, and May was on the living room couch again thinking about what she witnessed the day before. She had seen several trainers challenge her Dad before. Some would manage to beat him, and others wouldn't. When the trainers won, they always seemed rather pleased with their Pokemon and were happy, but she had never seen a trainer with pure joy on his or her face like Ash had. Was it just because he won the championship, or did he just love Pokemon that much? It was like he and his Pokemon were genuine friends.

Was that even possible? Could Pokemon actually be more than someone's companion to protect from danger or use to win Pokemon battles? It got May thinking a little bit. Maybe Ash and his Pokemon were a special case, or maybe there was more to Pokemon than May originally thought.

May was snapped out of her thoughts when their doorbell rang. May was about to wonder who it could be when her eyes lit up in remembrance. That was right! Her Uncle Ruby, Aunt Sapphire, and cousin Brendan were coming today to take May to buy new travel clothes and supplies for her Pokemon journey next week! May hurried to the door, but her mother beat her to it and opened the door.

"Hiya, Sis!" Sapphire shouted and gave Caroline a huge bear hug and even picked her up.

"Goodness! Good to see you, too!" Caroline cried.

Ruby was more reserved and shook his head at his wife's antics. Her fiery and excitable personality drove him mad to no ends. Brendan gave a somewhat small smile. He was used to this.

Sapphire planted Caroline back on the ground before she spotted May a short distance behind Caroline, and she was soon joined by Max and Norman. Sapphire grinned broadly and made a beeline straight for May to give her a massive hug, as well. May yelped and hastily jumped out they way. Max wasn't so lucky. Sapphire gave the boy a hearty slap on the back which ended up knocking him down.

"Good to see you all! How the heck are ya?!" Sapphire asked.

"I've felt better," Max mumbled from the floor.

"Sapphire, thank you for coming," Norman greeted as he shook her hand, but May could see him wince as Sapphire was probably shaking his hand too tightly.

Sapphire actually looked quite similar to May. Her hair color and hairstyle were just like May's. The difference was her eye color was slightly darker, and she had two pointed teeth at the corners of her mouth. It almost made her look like she had fangs. One would think May was Sapphire's daughter instead of Caroline considering they looked more alike. It was funny how genes worked like that sometimes.

Sapphire glanced around before she spotted May a short distance away. May gave a shy wave in response. It wasn't she that she wasn't happy to see her aunt. Sapphire was just a bit…wild.

"Sapphire, settle down. You're causing a scene," Ruby said as he came through the door before he muttered to himself. "As usual."

Ruby had jet black hair and wore glasses which gave him somewhat of a serious expression. He and Sapphire were almost total opposites in personality.

"Hey, everyone," Brendan greeted casually. Brendan resembled his father a lot but didn't look as serious, and he didn't wear glasses, either. He wasn't as excitable as Sapphire, but he wasn't as uptight as Ruby. He was blend of their two personalities.

Sapphire seemed to finally get the message and rolled her eyes before she gave a sigh. She then walked over to May and held her arms out for May to hug. May smiled back before she hugged her aunt and then she went and hugged her uncle.

"Thanks for taking May with you all so she can shop for supplies with Brendan," Caroline told them.

"It's no trouble at all," Ruby replied with a smile as he pushed his glasses up. "We'll find some real trendy clothes for her, and…"

Sapphire interrupted him with a snort. "Trendy? What does she need trendy clothes for? She's going on an adventure! She should be allowed to wear whatever's comfortable!"

"That won't do. She'll be seen by total strangers! What will they think if they see her running around in a loincloth like you used to?" Ruby asked.

"Hey! I happen to like that thing!" Sapphire shouted.

"Can you two maybe not argue here?" Brendan requested. Ruby and Sapphire fought all the time.

"Trendy!" Ruby affirmed

"Comfortable!" Sapphire rebutted. It was as if they didn't even hear their son.

Caroline gave a small cough to let the two know that everyone was present and was listening to their argument. Ruby and Sapphire realized what they were doing and looked quite embarrassed. They gave an apologetic look to May.

"Pick whatever you want, May," Ruby finally said. "It isn't for us to decide."

May gave a small smile and nodded her head to her aunt and uncle. Most people would deem it rather rude to argue over something so trivial in someone else's household, but the Maples were used to it by now. The funny thing about it was that one would consider the amount of fighting Ruby and Sapphire did to be quite unhealthy, but they were a special case. It was just part of who they were. In fact, if they managed to go a whole day without fighting, everyone would think something was wrong.

"Well, you all better get going," Norman spoke up.

"Right. We'll have her home before supper!" Sapphire replied with a wink.

With that, May, Brendan, and the two, er...adults...made their way out the door. Once they were outside, Brendan reached into his pocket and pulled out a small device to show May.

"Hey, May. Check out this Pokenav Plus I got. They just came out recently and are an upgraded version of the regular Pokenav. It can do so much more things. It can give you an electronic map of the whole Hoenn region. It can show you what Pokemon can be found in certain areas. You can register your win-loss ratio to keep track of how well you're doing on your journey. You can even keep track of a Pokemon's feelings!" Brendan explained.

"Wow. That's pretty amazing," May commented as she looked over while Brendan showed her the different features. She had no interest in all the Pokemon features, but she still thought it was a neat device with what all it could do.

"Yeah. It's not on sale anywhere yet. I got it directly from Mr. Stone. He wanted me to be one of the first to try it since I'm Professor Birch's grandson," Brendan replied.

May nodded her head in response. Ruby was Professor Birch's grandson through Ruby being Professor Birch's son. Professor Birch was the Pokemon professor of the Hoenn region. He specialized in Pokemon habitats and distributions. As a result, he did more field studies than any other Pokemon professor in the world.

"Come to think of it, I thought your family would've received one, too, with your dad being a gym leader and all," Brendan commented as he gave May a confused look.

May shrugged in response. She truthfully felt she wouldn't really need one. The only thing she would use it for was for the map and occasionally check her Pokemon's feelings. Besides, the plan was to travel around Hoenn with Brendan, anyway. He could handle all the Pokenav Plus stuff.

May thought she was going to fall asleep. She and the others had been at the clothing store for well over an hour. Brendan had found his traveling clothes, a white beanie with a red zip-up short-sleeve jacket and black shorts, fairly quickly. May, however, was a different story. She had tried on just about everything Ruby and Sapphire threw at her, but she felt nothing had suited her. It was getting rather tiring.

"Sorry," Brendan whispered. He felt like he was going to fall asleep, too.

"It's okay," May replied in a bored tone as she watched Ruby and Sapphire rummage through a clothing rack. Apparently, they had forgotten the part where they said May could pick her own clothes.

"Hey, May. You want to walk around for a little bit? It beats standing here and watching this," Brendan suggested.

"Please," May replied with a slight giggle.

With that, the two slipped away without Ruby and Sapphire even noticing. Those two would act more like children sometimes rather than adults. As May and Brendan walked away, May saw Brendan put his head down. It was at that moment May knew something was up. He apparently wanted to talk about something.

"What's on your mind, Brendan?" May asked him.

"Hmm…well…I'm just thinking about my Pokemon journey next week," Brendan replied with a sigh.

"Oh? What about it?" May wondered.

"It's just...don't take this the wrong way, but I kind of wanted to travel by myself," Brendan responded nervously.

"Really? Why?" May asked.

"Well, now that I'm twelve, I just want to get the full feeling of a real adventure. I want to experience things all on my own and really live off of whatever I earn or get. I want to get the feeling of what it feels like to be by myself and wonder if I'll even eat that night. I want to live off a limited income of whatever I can earn on my journey. I want to really rough it," Brendan said with a smile.

"Gee. That actually sounds pretty terrible," May commented with a grimace.

"No. It would be awesome!" Brendan said with an excited smile. "That's how I can experience my journey to the fullest! Being by myself, I'll gain a lot more life lessons that way, you know?"

"The problem is…me traveling with you, though," May deadpanned.

"No! I didn't mean it like that! The problem isn't you, May!" Brendan defended.

"Heehee! I'm just teasing you, Brendan. I sort of wonder what it would be like to travel by myself, too," May stated as she looked up and took on a more somber tone. "Unfortunately, my dad won't even let me go unless I'm with you. Even with that, he's unsure. He's too overprotective!"

"Yeah," Brendan said as he didn't know what else to say to that.

The two continued on in silence for a moment longer until they came upon the other side of the store. May happened to glance up at the clothes on display and gave a smile. They didn't happen to look so bad.

"Hey, Brendan. Get Uncle Ruby and Aunt Sapphire. I think I found something I like," May said as she grabbed the clothes off their racks and hurried into a changing room.

"Oh? Sure," Brendan replied as he hurried off.

About five minutes later, May came out of the changing room and held her arms out in front of her relatives so they could see how she looked. Her outfit consisted of a red, short-sleeved shirt with the collar up and a black V-shaped stripe below it. She also wore white and navy gloves with black biker shorts. To complete the look, she wore black socks and red sneakers.

"How do I look?" she asked them.

Ruby, Sapphire, and Brendan studied her appearance. Ruby, being the analytical one of all outfits, muttered to himself and rubbed his chin as he inspected everything.

"Hmm…not too revealing. Good for running but not too informal. Easily washable. The sleeves on the shirt may be a little on the short side, but it will do fine. I like it," Ruby said.

"Me, too," Sapphire said simply. "Good choice, May."

"It's missing something," Brendan suddenly spoke up.

May, Ruby, and Sapphire looked and Brendan in surprise. It wasn't too often he had any input on clothing. He just went with the flow. They wondered what he could possibly mean until Ruby reached into his backpack and pulled out a red bandana with a white pokeball symbol on it. He then went over to May and tied it around her head.

"This was mine until I got my beanie, but I think you can use it, now," Brendan said as he finished tying it and stood back. "There. Now, you look like you're ready to go on a Pokemon journey."

May turned to the mirror and looked herself over. She smiled as she looked her clothes over and was even a little surprised herself. She didn't know she had it in her to be able to decently shop for something on her own. Maybe there was something a little rewarding about being able to pick clothes out for oneself, after all. It made her feel a little pride in herself. It wasn't as bad as she used to think.

Brendan then smirked. "Just make sure you wash it first. I haven't done that yet."

"Ew!" May shrieked as she hastily took the bandanna off.

After saying goodbye to Ruby, Sapphire, and Brendan, May returned home with several shopping bags. She had bought several supplies for her journey, and the odd thing was she had decided to wear the clothes she purchased at the department store. The bandanna no longer adorned her head, though. That thing was hitting the washing machine the first chance she got.

"Hey! I'm baaaack!" May said in a sing-song voice.

"Did you have fun, dear?" Caroline asked her as she, Max, and Norman came into the hall.

"Yeah. It was kind of boring at first, but it got much better!" May replied.

"I see they got you some decent clothes," Norman said in approval.

"No. I actually got these myself," May responded with a smile.

"What?! You actually picked out your own clothes!" Max exclaimed.

"Hey! I can do that, too! I'm a girl, after all!" May said angrily.

"Heh. I guess I forgot," Max snickered, but May chose to ignore him.

May then went through her shopping bags to show her family what she got. She had got some Pokemon medicine, a few pokeballs, and several non-perishable snacks to start her off on her journey. She loved food, after all.

"So, how did I do?" May asked them.

"You did wonderful, dear," Caroline told her and gave May a hug.

"Yep! I'm now ready to go on my Pokemon journey!" May said with a smile.

"Well, your mother and I are glad you feel that way, May, but there's one other thing," Norman said seriously.

May looked up at her father in worry. She really hoped he wasn't about to bring up another argument.

Norman's serious face then turned into a smile. "We decided to buy you something a little extra. Now, close your eyes."

May did as she was told, and Caroline grabbed her by the shoulders and began to steer her through the house. Norman took the lead while Max was behind them. May could only wonder what on Earth her parents could've gotten her. May felt herself enter the living room before Caroline forced her to a stop.

"Okay. Open your eyes, now," Norman instructed.

May did as told and almost squealed in delight. Before her was a brand new and shiny red bicycle. Her old bicycle was getting really worn down after all the races May had done with it. This one was perfect. It had special tires that could go through any type of terrain and even had a small hand basket to go with it. To top it all off, there was a small bell by the handle. It must've cost a lot. May turned and around and gave both her parents a big hug. She even gave one to Max.

"Thank you so much! I love it!" May cried.

"You'll be able to travel around with ease on that," Norman told her.

May couldn't stop smiling. Her coming Pokemon journey just got a whole lot better. She could imagine the wind going through her hair as she rode throughout the region. It was going to be so much fun!

"I'll take really good care of it! I promise!" May said jubilantly.

"We know you will, May," Caroline said.

"I have to try it out right now!" May exclaimed as she began to wheel it out of the room.

Norman checked his watch. "I don't know, May. It's almost suppertime."

"Please! Just a quick ride?" May pleaded.

Norman sighed as he saw May's expression. It was only natural she would want to ride her new bike the second she got it. Besides, it would be a lot better if they found out something was faulty now rather than later. Norman checked his watch again before he relented.

"Okay. Just a quick ride. Be back in thirty minutes," Norman told her.

"I will! Thanks, Dad!" May squealed in happiness.

May hurriedly went outside with her bike before she hopped on the seat. The cushion was perfect. It wasn't too firm but not too soft, either. May then gave a good kick before she pedaled away from her house and down the street.

The bike really was all that May had imagined it to be so far. It rode excellently and the special tires made the ride incredibly smooth, as well. Her parents really went all out on this one. It was perfect!

May decided to get a bit of what this baby could really do. She soon came upon the steepest hill in Petalburg City. As she grinned to herself, May began pedaling up the steep hill. It was slow going, but she powered through and reached the top after a big climb. May looked down at the steep drop, and could already feel the wind that would rush past her.

"Woohoo!" May cried as she pushed off.

Everything became a blur as May pedaled as hard as she could down the huge hill. She could only imagine how fast she was going right now. Despite the incredible speed she was going at, she wasn't going off balance at all. She was in full control the whole time.

May eventually made it to the bottom and had to continue slowing for quite a while before she could come to a complete stop. May panted a little as that hill was pretty intense. She soon realized she had stopped in front of the local coffee shop. May wasn't a coffee drinker, but she figured it would be a good time to stretch her legs before heading home. She sat down at one of the small outside tables and bent over to rub her legs a little bit.

With it being close to dinner time, the coffee shop was bustling with people who were on their way home from work. A few people greeted May by name as they went in and out of the coffee shop whom May gave a polite greeting to in return. Being the daughter of the local gym leader meant her face would be known by just about everyone in the city.

May glanced over to the nearby magazine rack, and something caught her eye. Curious, she got up from the seat and saw on the front page the announcement of the Johto League Silver Conference Winner. There was a picture of none other than Ash Ketchum on the front page. The picture showed Ash making the V-shape with his two front fingers as he winked at the camera. All six Pokemon he used in the final battle were gathered around him and looked just as excited as he did. May couldn't help but giggle to herself at how funny Ash looked with that expression, but at least he was happy.

May thumbed through the remaining contents of the magazine and saw various articles on the Elite Four members of the Hoenn region and on the Hoenn League and when the date of it was. She saw a small article about a group of thieves on the rise who wore red or blue. They apparently called themselves Team Aqua or Team Magma. There was a slight cough next to May, and she turned and saw the man running the magazine rack giving her an annoyed look. May blushed as she realized it must've been rather rude to read the whole magazine without paying for it.

"Oh! Sorry!" May said apologetically before she hastily dug into her small purse and gave the man the money.

The sun was starting to set, and May figured it would be a good time to go home. She would read the rest of the magazine once she got home. May placed the magazine into the basket before she hopped back on her bike and headed home. As she rode home, May found herself thinking about Ash for some reason. She didn't know why, but there was just something about him that intrigued her.

"I'm back!" May called as she stepped in through the front door. Her new bike was parked safely under the porch.

May arrived home right on time of when she was told to, and she had magazine with her. When she entered her house, she was expecting dinner to already be on the table and having her family waiting on her. However, as she entered the kitchen, something was wrong. Norman, Caroline, and Max were at the table waiting for her, but they looked quite troubled.

"Is…something wrong?" she asked.

"May, you better sit down," Norman said seriously.

May exchanged glances with Max for some sort of clue as to what might be going on, but he just rubbed the back of his neck nervously as he didn't want to be the one to break it to her. May immediately knew from his expression that bad news was on the way. May tentatively sat down in her seat as she waited for Norman to speak. After about ten seconds, Norman finally broke the silence.

"May, we just received a call from Ruby and Sapphire," Norman told her.

"Okaaaaay…," May responded in an unsure tone.

"They gave us a bit of troubling news," Norman continued. "Apparently, Brendan told them that he wanted to start his Pokemon journey by himself. I spoke with him, too, and he said the problem wasn't you, but he just really wants to go by himself."

"Aaaaand?" May pressed. She remembered him saying that earlier today.

"He told us that he'll take you along, too, because you're his cousin, but that means he'll be taking you only because he has to. I could hear Ruby and Sapphire arguing with him over the phone about it," Norman said.

"So, what does that mean for me?" May asked, a feeling of dread in her stomach.

"We'll try to work something out with Brendan so both of you are happy, but I don't think it would be fair to him if we made you go with him when it isn't what he really wants," Norman replied after taking a big sigh.

"Dad, I can still go on my Pokemon Journey next week, right? I've been waiting for this for so long," May said as her voice choked a bit.

Norman looked away at what he said next. "May, I don't want you going starting your journey by yourself. Ruby and Sapphire may let Brendan be by himself, but that doesn't mean I can allow you to do the same."

May felt tears burn her eyes at her father's words. No. This couldn't be happening. This was finally supposed to be the year she was going to start her Pokemon journey. She was supposed to visit the whole world and not be stuck at her house, anymore. She already made plans of what she could see and what places she could visit. She had bought supplies and clothes for her journey. Her parents even bought her a bike to take with her for crying out loud! May's dream was coming to screeching halt. All for what? Just because she wouldn't have someone babysit her?!

"That's not fair!" May shouted as she stood up from her seat.

"May, we can talk more about this tomorrow. If all else fails, you'll just have to stay for one more year. Next year, you'll be thirteen, and you'll definitely be old enough to go on your journey without any supervision," Norman said.

May gave a small whimper as the tears threatened to fall even more. She suddenly felt very angry. She was mad at her Dad. She was mad at Brendan. She was mad at everybody.

"No! You're just finding whatever excuse you can to keep me here another year! You do this all the time, Dad! You don't trust me! You just want to keep me here forever!" May hollered as tears streaked down her face.

Without another word, May turned on her heel and stormed out of the kitchen, leaving a plate of uneaten food behind. Norman, Caroline, and Max could hear May stomping up the stairs before they heard her door open and close with a snap. Norman ran his hand through his hair and gave another sigh. May's words stung a little bit, but deep down, Norman knew she was right. Maybe he was a little overprotective of her.

"Norman, you realize we just crushed our daughter, don't you?" Caroline asked him, but it was more like a statement.

"I know," Norman muttered. "I don't know what to do."

"Dad, maybe we should let her go. Brendan still said he would go with May," Max spoke up timidly. "May really has been excited for this, and I don't want to see her sad all the time. There has to be something you can do."

"I wish I could think of something," Norman said. "If only there was someone out there we could trust to help May. Someone out there who could show her the ropes of what it means to be a trainer and teach her to really take care of herself."

Norman then noticed the abandoned magazine May had left on the table. He reached over to take a look and chuckled to himself as he saw Ash Ketchum on the front page with his Pokemon. As he skimmed through the article, the gears began turning his head. Ash was Red and Delia's son, and they had known the Ketchums for many years. Ash was clearly an experienced trainer if he managed to win the Silver Conference. Maybe it was time for a call to see how Ash was doing now.

"I wonder…," Norman mumbled.

"What is it?" Caroline questioned.

Norman finally let out a small smile and looked at her. "Caroline, let's call Delia tomorrow. I want to know what kind of boy Ash has grown into and what his plans are."

That wraps up the first chapter! I hope you all will stay with me until I finish...whenever that may be! The next chapter will pick back up to what Ash and Serena are doing in Pallet Town as well as Gary and Leaf. After that, the adventure will finally begin!

The next chapter will be out later in January! Until next time, have a good one!

Chapter 2: The Foreign Interview