Welcome to my first multi-chapter pokemon fanfic. Hopefully you'll enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I apologize ahead of time if some things make no sense. I wrote this chapter while sitting in geometry so there will most probably be errors. I can only get on the computer on Saturdays so it will be a slowly updating story. R&R.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or its characters.

Chapter 1-The Decision

It was the strangest day in the world when fellow coordinators May and Drew announced that they were both taking the gym leader challenge in Kanto. They traveled together and sometimes competed as a team, so it was natural that they would both choose to take the challenge if one wanted to.

It had been a week since they started preparing, but May still hadn't written to her friends and family to tell them herself. Drew reminded her about it all the time but she didn't do it. So when they finally left, May felt slightly guilty.

Drew knew that May hadn't written to anyone, and he knew she wasn't going to. She didn't know how they would react so he knew she wouldn't want to say anything. So he had written to them a few days before they left and was now anxiously checking the sky for any sign of his Masquerain.

May had been watching Drew while they were walking, and was wondering why he kept looking up at the sky. It seemed like he was waiting for something, but what was it? She couldn't think of anything important that was supposed to be happening any time soon. Maybe he was checking for wild pokemon.

"Drew, what are you doing?" May asked curiously.

"What do you mean? I'm not doing anything," Drew answered quickly.

"You keep looking up," May said.

"I'm checking the clouds to see when we'll get some shade," Drew lied.

May believed him, so she too looked up at the clouds. She wanted to take a quick rest when the clouds covered the sun. She also wanted to write to her friends to tell them where she was and what she planned on doing.

"I think we should stop and rest so I can write my letter," May said.

"No, I don't think we should write to them yet," Drew replied quickly. "I think we should start the challenge first. You'll have more to write about after you get your first badge."

"You're right," May said, thinking. "I'll be able to tell them everything after I get a badge. You're so smart Drew."

"Yeah I know," Drew replied with a smirk and a hair flip.

May giggled. "You are so arrogant."

"Once again, I know," Drew replied. "And you are so easily amused."

After a few more minutes, they stopped for a quick rest. May instantly fell asleep so Drew watched their bags while making himself a quick sandwich. He was hoping Masquerain would show up while she was sleeping, but wasn't going to get his hopes up. He watched her sleep with a satisfied smile on his face. When he finished eating, he started to get sleepy. He brought the bags closer to him before curling up nest to May.

Drew opened his eyes sleepily when he started to shiver. He felt May move slightly, giving him enough room to wake up.

"Hey sleeping beauty," May said with a giggle.

"Hey yourself," Drew replied with a yawn. He blinked a few times before fully registering what he was seeing. "May, get up! Its already dark!" he exclaimed.

"Are you serious?" May asked, shocked. "I thought we had only been napping about an hour or so. I just thought we were under a blanket or something. We're gonna be behind!"

"Yeah. We slept all day," Drew replied. He checked his watch. "Its almost 11."

"Well what's the point of waking up?" May asked. "Its way too dark to travel any more tonight."

"Yeah you're right," Drew replied. "Go get changed and I'll start up a fire."

"Ok," she said. "And I'll set up the sleeping bag while you change."

A few minutes later, a fire was crackling and blankets were being placed on the sleeping bag. May and Drew ate a quick dinner, trying not to make a mess on their pajamas. May was watching Drew, who was watching the sky. She felt concerned because he had been staring at the sky earlier and he was doing it now.

"Drew, what are you watching for?" May asked.

"Nothing. Just looking at the stars," he lied.

"Can I watch with you?" May asked.

"Sure," Drew said. He gave up on Masquerain returning and really watched the stars. "You know, star gazing is considered to be very romantic," he added, moving a little closer.

"Really, now?" May replied with a smile.

"Really," Drew said.

Their faces were inches away from each other, and the gap was closing fast, when a rustling sound startled them both.

"What was that?" May asked, slightly scared.

"I don't know," Drew replied anxiously. "But I'll go find out."

"Be careful!"

Drew gave her a reassuring smile before grabbing a branch of fire and heading into the woods. May watched him go, feeling slightly nervous. He walked only a few feet into the woods when he heard the rustling noise in a nearby bush. He crept over to the bush and slowly moved the branches. He peered through the leaves.

"Masquerain!" Drew exclaimed quietly. "I didn't know it was you." He walked over to it. "Thanks for hiding from May, but you scared the crap out of us." He noticed a letter tied to Masquerain's back, removed it, and read it. He called Masquerain back, tucked the letter into his pocket, and headed back to where May was waiting.

"What was it?" May asked anxiously. "Did you get it?"

"It was just the wind," Drew lied. He sat down and motioned for her to sit next to him. "Did you miss me while I was gone?"

"Of course I did," May replied with a smile. "How could you possibly think otherwise?" Their faces inched closer together.

"I thought maybe you didn't since I was gone for only a minute," Drew replied. Their faces got even closer. He could feel her breath on his face.

"Well I did anyway," May said. Right when Drew leaned forward, May sneezed. "Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!"

Drew laughed. "It's ok. I don't mind. After all, its just spit. No big deal."

May looked at her watch. "Its almost midnight. I think maybe we should call it a night."

"Yeah I agree. We need to get an early start tomorrow," Drew replied.

They both climbed into the sleeping bag, which was warm from the fire. May fell asleep instantly, but Drew stayed awake for a while longer. May's body was warm against Drew's skin. He got a shiver when the wind blew against them both. The fire was dying down and the blankets were fluttering in the wind. May shivered and pushed her body into his. He wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I'll keep you safe and warm," Drew whispered in her ear. He kissed her head lightly. "I promise." He drifted off to sleep.

When Drew woke up in the morning, May was already out of bed. There was a pan of bacon sitting over a fresh fire. May's night clothes were laying on the bags and May herself was pulling Drew's day clothes out of his bag.

"Oh, you're awake!" May exclaimed brightly. She walked over and got her night clothes. "I took you day clothes out already and I just finished changing myself. Grab some breakfast and get changed so I can pick up the sleeping bag."

"You made me breakfast?" Drew asked. She nodded. "Thanks."

"No problem," May said. "I knew you'd be hungry when you woke up. And I had just realized that I've never cooked for you before."

"You didn't have to do this though," Drew said, pulling himself out of bed.

"But I wanted to," May said. "There's also a glass of apple juice next to your pancakes and syrup."

Drew smiled. "You are the sweetest person in the world."

"No I'm not," May said, her face reddening slightly.

"Don't be so modest. You know its true," Drew replied. She giggled but said nothing.

May began to roll up the sleeping bag and fold the blankets while Drew ate his breakfast, he wondered why May never cooked for him before. He really enjoyed the food. After he finished, he grabbed his clothes and walked into the bushes to change. May finished packing the blankets when he tossed his night clothes to her.

"Thanks," May said, folding the clothes and placing them into the bag. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah," Drew replied. He dumped a bucket of water over the fire. "Let's go."

They each shouldered a bag before heading back towards Pallet Town. They decided to see Professor Oak before fully starting the journey. May was humming to herself while peering though the trees for wild pokemon. She only saw Pidgey and Rattata, though. Drew was holding the letter in his pocket, wondering if he should tell May about it or not.

"It's been a while since we were last in Kanto," May said. "Since the Grand Festival a few years back."

"I remember that," Drew said. "You beat me for the first time since we started competing."

"Yeah I remember," May replied. "And then we headed for Johto. It was the first time since I started journeying that I didn't travel with Ash, Max, and Brock."

"I think leaving them did you a lot of good," Drew said. "It helped you gain independence and responsibility." He looked at his watch and looked back at her. "You know, I used to think that you liked Ash and Ash liked you. I can't believe how wrong I was."

"Well, I knew from the get-go that Ash liked Misty," May replied. "It was so obvious. And I never liked Ash. I always thought of him as a big brother."

"Then what did you think of Brock?" Drew asked.

"He was like a father, always making sure we were ok," May answered.

"Well, I'm glad you finally have independence from them," Drew said. "So, when you started traveling with me, what did you think of me?"

"A friend," May replied. "And a rival. Just like I thought of you before we traveled together."

"Oh," Drew said. "That's cool."

"What did you think of me?" May asked.

"I thought of you as a friend," Drew replied. "But not a rival. Although we were still competing I thought of you as my friend and partner because we were working together to win."

"I'm sorry," May said. "I did consider you my partner but also my rival. But that rival part disappeared about halfway through the Johto journey."

"Well ok then," Drew said. "That makes it better."

They were silent for a while. May was keeping an eye out for signs and buildings while Drew was checking his outdated map of Pallet. He hadn't been there for so long that he knew he needed a map, even though he felt silly using it. If he had traveled there before then he should still remember.

"According to this map we should almost be there," Drew said.

"But I don't see anything but trees," May said anxiously.

"Don't worry. I'm sure the town is just surrounded by trees that hide it from view," Drew said reassuringly.

"I hope so. But what if we're lost?" May asked nervously.

"We won't get lost," Drew replied confidently. "We've both been here before and we've got the map. Everything will be just fine."

"I hope you're right," May said.

They traveled for another hour before Drew realized that something had gone wrong. They should've arrived in Pallet Town by now. He wondered if they were lost or if the map was wrong. Either way, they were screwed. He had no idea how long they'd been traveling in the wrong direction or how long it would take them to find the right path.

"Is there something wrong?" May asked.

"What makes you think something's wrong?" Drew asked nervously. He didn't want to tell her they were lost because he didn't want her to panic. "Everything's fine."

"Oh ok. It just looked like you were worried about something," May said.

"Nothing's wrong," Drew lied. He absolutely hated lying to her but he knew it was necessary to keep her calm. "Come on, we need to keep going."

"Shouldn't we be there by now?" May asked. "You said that over an hour ago."

"Oh, well I calculated wrong," Drew replied quickly. "It might take longer."

"Oh ok. Just tell me when we're almost there," May said cheerfully.

Drew's heart sank. He hated lying, especially to May. And he had no idea where they were or how they were going to get where they needed to go. He considered asking for help but he couldn't call out Masquerain without May knowing about it. He sighed, not knowing what to do.

May wanted to believe him. She really did. But some part of her kept telling her not to. He was acting suspicious and worried. She wondered if maybe they were lost. But she knew that if she said anything, he'd deny it. It was always like that with him.

"May, can we stop for a moment?" Drew asked suddenly. "I need to use the bathroom."

"Ok. You go and I'll wait here," May replied.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Go ahead."

Drew walked into the trees and out of sight. When he felt he had walked far enough, he called out his Masquerain.

"I need you to find Pallet Town as quickly as possible," Drew whispered. "But I don't want May to know we're lost so stay in the trees."

Drew waited patiently in the woods while May waited patiently on the road. She sighed and glanced to see if he was coming back. When he didn't, she sighed again. He waited five minutes til Masquerain finally came back. A few minutes later, he returned.

"I know where we're at," Drew said.

"Huh?" May asked, confused.

In reply, he lead her through the woods he had just left. For several minutes they walked til…

"Welcome to Pallet Town, May," Drew said.

End Chapter 1

Review please! Sorry if it was too long or too short. My hand is killing me from typing all of this so I hope you enjoyed it. It's a work in progress so it might not be the greatest story ever. But it's an idea that no one's done yet and I wanted to do it before there were hundreds of fanfics just like it. Constructive criticism is always nice. Don't forget to review. Chapter 2 coming soon!