When the final chapter becomes an accidental continued side-plot! YUP SORRY IT'S STILL NOT OVER or abandoned, for that matter. Let me know what you think!

She scooted to a sitting position. May had just woken up for the day, and figured out pretty easily where she probably was. The bed she was in was fairly comfortable, but certainly not her own. The sheets felt like paper. The walls were white, but not a warm white. The air was thin, enough that she could probably tell if a ghost Pokémon was there with her, of which there were none. Her ears easily picked up on the faint sound of beeps, sloshes, wheels carting around food trays and IVs. Was she an inpatient? She couldn't remember how she got there, but by just sitting there she could understand the potential reason for her admittance. She felt empty, worthless, dead inside. It was as though pieces of her were taken, but there was no way of knowing if there was any hope of bringing them back, or finding purpose again.

It was complete apathy for everything, and at the same time she knew it wasn't right, but she didn't know if she cared that something within herself was so amiss.

A nurse entered the room with a food tray designed to sit over May's lap so she wouldn't have to leave bed, and on the tray was breakfast. "Scrambled Fletchling eggs with Tamato berries and cheese made from Moomoo milk, with a tall glass of Mago juice, just like your mom said!" the nurse cheekily announced as she set the tray in front of May. May only stared at the plate in front of her. It definitely smelled good, but she didn't know if she could bring herself to eat it at the moment.

"May, you've got to at least try having something to eat. Your body needs the nutrients if you're going to make a recovery from everything you've been through."

May scrunched her face in response, and spoke softly, "Yeah, I figured it was something like that, but I can't even remember what it was that I went through, and I don't know if I even care enough to find out."

The nurse smiled at May softly and replied with a quiet voice, "The doctor did say to expect you to feel that way, and for now, that's alright. Things should come back to you in time. But for now, it's the little accomplishments that matter most. If you're feeling up to it, try to have some breakfast, and maybe walk around the room a little."

After the nurse left, May pondered over what was said. Come back in time? She didn't know if she even cared enough to understand the meaning of that. And walk around the room a little? What sounded like such a simple thing to do at first, the more May thought about it, the more she realized how impossible it actually seemed. She looked down at the plate of food again, and used all her might to shovel a bite of her eggs.

Okay, after one bite, she knew that she definitely cared about food. That was a start.

She finished about half the plate of eggs and managed a few sips of the glass of Mago juice, which proved to be less challenging than she originally anticipated. It was just bringing herself to that point that was hard. Her eyes looked over the room. The room was fairly bland, with its off-white walls and drapes that clearly hadn't been changed since the 80s.

Eating took a lot of energy out of her. It was time to accept the sleep that came.

The next few days were similar. The nurse had mentioned something of being impressed with her ability to eat a good portion of the meal the day prior, and she was brought the same thing again, day after day, and day after day May would manage to eat a little more, then tire after eating, and fall back into sleep.

Some nights, a nurse or attendant would have to come into the room and help her back into bed. Her night terrors were coming back, and even though she was suffering, the doctors said that this was progress, because her consciousness was opening up again. After a week of this, she was reintroduced to her Delcatty, and that was the day the doctors marked down as her first sign of true unyielding emotion that was unattached to a night terror.

A few days of this, and she managed to keep her eyes open a little longer than just her meal. She looked around the room.

It couldn't hurt to open those drapes and let the sun in.

May managed to wriggle out of her bed, and slowly stepped to the window. Walking wasn't so bad, either, and neither was pulling the drapes apart. The sunlight was a little much at first, but May's eyes adjusted. These were all steps. Steps she had to push through, but she managed, feeling a strange sense of accomplishment as she forced herself to take a deep breath. She turned around to return to her bed, contented with her day so far, when something instead caught her attention.

On the small table between the two visitors' chairs were a completely red pokéball and a sealed envelope. Had those always been there? She wasn't sure. It was quite possible they'd been there the whole time and she'd just been too tired to notice or too apathetic to care. She'd never seen a pokéball like that before, or if she had, she didn't remember it. And while she felt a twinge of curiosity, walking the room as much as she had was draining her, and she was already ready to call it a day.

The day after that, after an assessment of her current condition, when May finished her meal, she was led out of the room by an attendant to walk the hallway, with help of course. Her nurse and her attendant both told her that she was making great progress and that they were impressed with her, but she still caught the murmurs from those she didn't know about how long it was taking her conditions to improve.

So for a few days, after being led out of the room and up and down the hallway, when she got back to her room, she was far too exhausted to check the pokéball and letter that sat on the table.

It was two full weeks of consciousness before May had enough energy to do anything once she was brought back to the room after making rounds through the hospital's hallways. Being awake and walking were exhausting activities. Finally, after two weeks, she approached the table and sat down in one of the chairs. The chair was stiff, the look of a cushion being deceiving. She was hyper aware of how it felt under her. With caution, she picked up the piece of stationary, almost in wonderment of how the paper felt to her fingers, and she carefully unfolded it. Doing that much actually wasn't so hard to do, but the task in itself seemed daunting for some reason. And the letter was in fact, addressed to her:

"Dearest May,

Seeing you in person at this time would not be ideal for your health. I can only hope that you will read this letter, and through that come to your own conclusions. If forgiveness does not reside within these closing thoughts, I only have understanding of your decision.

I was finally able to remember what I intended to give you months ago, before any of this happened. If you'll accept it, I still want you to have it. I trust they will teach you the joys of Steel-type Pokémon…but if the connection to me is too strong, then all I ask is that you find someone to be a caring owner. I trust that you will find someone suitable. You were always close to Wally, and he always showed promise as an excellent trainer, so perhaps him?

I've come to terms with this letter being my last contact with you. To say that I'd be happy to see you again is a vast understatement, but it seems fate has forced our paths apart.

I can only hope and pray every day for the remainder of my life that Arceus sees it fit to bless you. At the very least, I feel I have to at least admit how much it pains me to write this letter to you, without enclosing so much more of how I feel, but somehow I can't stop myself from feeling that writing those blandishments would be unfair. Even with that alone, I've said too much. Still…I need you to know that not a day will pass that I don't pray for you to have a swift recovery.

Arceus Bless"

Reading that? That was what was exhausting. There was a welling feeling behind her eyes, a pain she couldn't stop as her forehead creased and she squinted as if to try to ease the pain coming on from what she read. Why did reading that hurt? Why wasn't the letter signed? What in the ever-living Distortion World had happened to her?

She managed to pick up the pokéball that was set with the letter, curious enough to see what Pokémon it held, and hoping that it would ease the tension between her eyes. The red flash of light revealed a baby Beldum, but this one was silver in color, shiny.

She managed to whisper, "Something isn't right," before her body couldn't support her anymore, and she passed out in the chair with both the pokéball and letter clutched in her hands, and her new Beldum left in the cold white room alone.

Previously:

Steven was on his knees. He was winded, exhausted, depraved. Nothing was clear. He remembered everything, yet nothing at all. He tried to see, but what was to be seen? His eyes came into focus. There she was. Tattered, torn, his brain stuttering on the last word in that sequence, his legs somehow carrying him to her, despite not carrying his weight evenly, wobbling, centimeters from falling flat, seconds to learning. Learning the damage, understanding, comprehending what happened to her. She was in his arms.

Her entire neck was covered in the beginning of bruises. Her clothes were torn all over, revealing even more cuts, bruises, scrapes, all signs of the potential of deeper and worse wounds. Flickers of his hands in those places flashed through his sight, those hands once holding the intention of harm and guiltier plans.

His consciousness snapped. Suddenly she was as heavy as bricks, the pressure of her in his arms too much for him to bear. He wanted, neigh, needed to check her pulse and her breathing, but he was too scared to put his hands in those places, couldn't put his hands in those places, too scared to even be near her.

They needed help. She needed help. He reflexively reached for his flute. No, he wasn't wearing his jacket, which meant no flute. No pokéballs. Panic.

Unzipped May's fanny pack, grabbed flute, played the tune he taught her over a year ago. No familiar cry, no Eon Pokémon to be seen. Looked through her pokéballs, no Altaria. Dread.

Grabbed her Pokénav, because who knew where his was at that point. Thumbed through contacts. Thumb hovered over Wallace's name. He couldn't tap it. He remembered. The smoke and dust that covered the town, the sound of the explosion, the cries of the city, the crashing of building crumbling upon itself, hitting the ground, the shore, the water. The look on Wallace's face when they made eye contact. Horror.

The Pokénav slipped from his hands, back into the main pocket of May's pack. He couldn't even tell if she was still breathing.

His ears couldn't make sense of the muffled sound of ringing coming from the pocket. Even more he couldn't comprehend the stifled but true "Hello? May? Hello? Did you find him? Where are you? Hello?" coming in rapid succession from the speaker of the Pokénav, now blocked by the fabric of the pocket. His ears rang. His vision was fuzzy. His hands were burning.

He wasn't coherent enough to make anything of the Togekiss and Braviary that came with their trainer to their aid before he lost consciousness.

Present Day:

The next day, shortly after May finished her meal, there was a knock at the door. She expected an attendant as always, someone to lead her around the hospital and help her walk. Instead, she was greeted by a more familiar face.

"Ah," her voice denoted some kind of relief, "Wallace, hey."

His face went from zero to ten when she acknowledged him, and the next thing she knew, his arms were around her neck. "Oh, thank Arceus you remember me!" he wailed, holding her tightly. When he pulled back to look at her, his face was full of sympathy for his sudden behavior, but May didn't fight him.

"Of course I remember you, goofball, you're one of my closest friends," she said, her breath suddenly falling short at how easily the words slipped from her mouth. Where was this coming from?

Wallace's face became even more twisted. "What's this?" he dramatized, "I've been upgraded to closest friends? Don't you dare let Lisia know; she'll be devastated."

They both chuckled, but the air was uneasy. The room was near silent, just the sound of a ticking clock and occasional murmuring from the hallway. Wallace decided to take a seat, his beret seeming to fall off and into his lap more so than it was his hands removing it from his head. He tried to smile at May, but that face was solemn. May wasn't dumb, at least, not anymore.

Her voice croaked, her eyes naïve. "Wallace…what happened to me?"

His face fell at the reminder. When she'd first arrived, for months, she had no memory or recollection of a lot. She thought she still lived in Olivine, that she didn't have Pokémon of her own yet. Slowly she'd developed at least the will to do everyday things again, but it was still difficult. His eyes then drifted to her wrist. The mega bracelet, it was gone. They must have weaned her off of it.

He tested the waters. "You mean, you don't know?"

"That's the thing…I don't think I can remember…" May replied, her voice denoting defeat, "I don't remember…a lot. Bits and pieces have come back to me, but certain things…no matter how hard I try, I can't remember."

Wallace pressed. "Like…?"

"Okay, like…" May had to strain, ironically, to remember what she couldn't remember. "I can't remember how I met Latias. I can't remember how I learned to mega evolve my Pokémon. I can't remember everything that happened with Team Aqua and Team Magma and the legendary Pokémon. I can't even remember…how I became Champion. Like, I know I'm the Champion…but…I can't remember the League, or the battles, or who the last Champion was."

There it was.

Wallace took one of May's hands in his own. "May, I've been visiting you almost every day for a few weeks now. This is the first time…that you've actually remembered who I am."

Her face said it all. "You mean…"

He squeezed her hand and finished her sentence for her. "Yes. You've been coping from severe amnesia, amongst other things. Your emotions and autonomy were dwarfed." However, the look she gave him after that explanation told him that much of those things were no longer true. "How are you feeling?"

She squeezed his hand back. "I'm okay, I think. Mostly." Tears began to pour out of her eyes, but she was still smiling, "The doctors said that this," her smile drew her lips tightly together as she used her other hand to point to the tears on her face, "is probably going to be normal for awhile," she choked out, not understanding her sudden deep emotion. "But Wallace…I'm really glad you're here."

He sighed and nodded back. "I'm glad I'm here, too. Is there anything that I can do for you?"

May used the bottom of her palms to wipe the tears away, and the recent memory struck her. "Yes."

She did her best to turn her body just enough to reach the drawer of her nightstand to the other side of her bed opposite of where Wallace was sitting, and pulled out the Pokéball and letter. She thrusted them toward Wallace. "Will you read this? Do you know who left these for me?"

Wallace became tense. He eyed the objects like they were laced with a foreign substance, but took them in his hands nevertheless. Opposite of she the day prior, he let the Pokémon out first, revealing the shiny Beldum, and May caught glimpse of Wallace holding his breath and biting his lip, eager for him to read the letter.

"Well?"

He recalled the Beldum and folded the letter back up, and his voice was slow. "Who do you think left these for you?"

"I have no idea," she replied, hands balling into fists, grabbing handfuls of the sheets that covered her. "And I feel terrible because it's like I'm supposed to know who wrote this letter and gave me this Pokémon, and I feel like I have no way of knowing. Why didn't they sign it? Do you know who it was?"

Wallace put his hands on his knees and pushed himself up and out of the chair to stand. "Then I suppose…it's a mystery," he said, his words falling flat. He handed the letter and Pokéball back to her, then said, "I've got to get back to the gym now, but I'm glad to see that you're doing better."

May's lips became close to a pout, but she dejectedly took the items from his hands. "Ah, yeah, of course," she said, failing at veiling her disappointment, both with his answer and what appeared to be him leaving because of the question, "but thanks for coming to see me, Wallace."

He gave pause from heading out of the room to turn and smile back at her briefly, then took his leave. Once he was gone, May was stuck with her thoughts. Wallace's answer only made her more uncomfortable.

That conversation took a lot out of her, though, and she needed her rest once again.

Another week went by, and she was ready to leave the hospital. She had working memory of who she was and what her life entailed, and she was physically recovered to go about her own way. Several other friends had come to visit her, but Wallace never came back. She didn't dare ask anyone else about the letter. She somehow felt guilty about it, like it was her dirty secret, after the way Wallace had reacted to it.

She knew pieces were missing, as did her caretakers at the hospital, but they deemed her memory and health good enough for release. She couldn't tell if her friends and family could also tell that pieces were still missing, but it did chew at the back of her brain, like there was some big life secret she didn't know about, and no one was telling her.

But for now, she lied on the couch in the living room of her parents' home, they just happy for her to be healthy and out of the hospital. Even after everything, there was a sense of normalcy in that afternoon. Her mom was in the kitchen doing dishes, occasionally calling out to her with town gossip, while the smell of the tikka masala that was cooking in the crock-pot gradually permeated the air.

"And now everyone knows that Professor Birch is having trouble going to the bathroom, because of the medicines he's on for his broken legs, and everyone from Oldale Town keeps coming over to the lab giving him old wives' tales of advice for his toilet troubles."

May had to bring a hand to her mouth she was laughing so much. Professor Birch was always getting into this or that, so hearing about his shenanigans was always a ride, and this didn't surprise her in the slightest. "I bet all of this is giving his wife and Brendan a run for their money."

"Oh, Brendan's just been up to his eyeballs in tasks and research because of it. Think you'll visit him later?"

"Uh, yeah, probably."

When May got her Pokénav back, the Buzznav app had 168 notifications of important news stories, and the thought of that number was draining. She promised herself that she'd only ready through five articles and not get lost in catching up. Now that she was just relaxing at home, she had time to thumb through a few articles, only skimming them to catch up on current events in Hoenn

BATTLE RESORT NUMBERS BLEAK; REGULARS LOOK FORWARD TO THE RETURN OF CHAMPION MAY MAPLE

SINNOH IN DANGER? DETECTIVE LOOKER DROPS ALL HOENN CASES AND LEAVES ON THE NEXT EASTBOUND SHIP

ISLAND CRISIS AVERTED FOR GOOD? WHAT PROFESSORS AND THEORISTS ALIKE HAVE TO SAY

LILYCOVE HOSTING A MASSIVE ONE-DAY SWIMWEAR SALE

THIS SKITTY WAS GIVEN 5 PECHA BERRIES A DAY FOR A MONTH. THE TRICKS SHE CAN PERFORM NOW WILL SHOCK YOU!

May then went through her contacts next, looking for any unfamiliar names or any kind of clue, and there was one name that stuck out to her, but she couldn't quite figure out why.

"Hey, mom, who's Joseph Stone?"

There was a pause in the sound of clanking dishes. Then the sound of the garbage disposal. "He used to be the president of the Devon Corporation. Why? Is he in the news?"

She heard the hesitation in her mom's voice. A twist in her gut said to lie. "Uh, yeah, something about him being all washed up now."

"Sounds about right."

Used to be? Why do I have Joseph Stone's number? That can't be right.

"How much longer till dinner's ready?"

"Oh, maybe two hours? But it could be three, if your father comes home later tonight."

"Alright. I think I'm gonna go pay Brendan a visit. Text me if you need me to run to Oldale for anything."

May never felt right lying to her mother. The fact that that feeling even existed tipped her off that she probably did it too often. She headed up Route 101 toward Oldale Town, and found a secluded area to pull her Pokénav out.

She tried making the phone call. There was an answer almost immediately.

"Well, May, it's not everyday I get a call from you!"

She froze up. That was such a familiar response. She hadn't even planned any kind of conversation or questions to ask, let alone expect someone to respond positively and in a friendly way. She couldn't remember this person…at all.

"Ah, hello, Mr. Stone."

"Nonsense, May, you know you can call me Joseph. Now, listen, you've kind of called at a bad time and I'm about to be swamped with meetings, but I'm glad I've got you on the line. I think it's about high time you met my wife. I'll have my assistant get you sorted out with travel arrangements at your earliest convenience, all right? You'll want to go to Lilycove before you leave the region and grab some books on Kalosian culture. Now, you take care!"

Beep, beep, beep.

What in the-

May was suddenly hyper aware of every fiber on her body. Especially her socks and shoes. She'd been wearing hospital slippers for so long, the elastic around her ankles felt so strange. She'd needed a nurse to help her with tying her laces, too, just because it had been so long. But it wasn't until that moment that the sensation of it was noticeable.

Kalos?

Then there was the weight of her fanny pack, and the way it sat on her hips. It felt so heavy, but also like a part of her that had been missing, and now couldn't imagine being without. The clip that fastened it was on her left, and the pack was on her right, easy access to anything she needed, especially her Pokémon. She unzipped the main pocket, and her hand instinctively retrieved a black and red flute.

Route 101 never changed. She'd walked it so many times, and she'd never forget it. The breeze was always constant and the same. She could hear packs of Poochyena that were hiding in the brush. If she squinted, she could see the outline of Silcoon and Cascoon up in the trees. It was a beautiful scene, but the picture was always the same.

What did she have to lose? What significance was there in meeting Mr. Stone's wife? She hadn't received any other leads from anyone else, though, and the man she spoke to on the phone seemed…like he was an old friend. Or that was how he spoke, anyway. Familiar.

She chewed on the idea as she walked south back to Littleroot.

The conversation with her parents was far less difficult than she thought it would be. She had been just living with them at home for a few weeks, now, so they were actually pretty excited that she was wanting to get out and go somewhere. Of course, she left out the details of the trip being planned for her by the ex-leader of Devon who was probably some has-been corrupt business man. Something or other about a total change of scenery being good for her and just what she probably needed was really the only direction that the conversation needed to go though in order for her parents to be on board with the idea. She hardly had to do anything. Directions and tickets for her travels were all sent to her Pokénav. She just had to pack and get to the ship's boarding on time the following day.

She was brought to Ambrette Town, the Southwestern most populated area of the Kalos region. Luckily the sign had several translations of the town's slogan, which May read as "Where amber dust dances." The coastline was narrow and met seaside cliffs, immediately reminding her of Olivine City.

She checked her Kalos map once more for good measure. Anistar City was far north and west of Ambrette Town, so it looked like she'd be traveling for a few days. Which was fine. Maybe new scenery was what she needed. A fresh start somewhere unknown, beyond the pointers in Pokémon that Professor Birch insisted upon before she left Littleroot for this trip, including upgrading her Pokédex once more before she left.

What was here in Ambrette? An aquarium, a hotel…and a fossil lab. She suddenly felt uneasy, but she managed to shake it off. There was zero reason the idea of revitalizing Pokémon fossils should be giving her strange gut feelings. That technology had existed for a few years now and wasn't anything new, albeit still sounding completely bizarre to the general public.

Route 9 to the west was a rocky passage…that May was immediately intrigued by, as it had to be traveled on Rhyhorn-back. She'd never heard of that before! And she needed to go east. She wanted to waste no time.

May paid the fee for a Rhyhorn rental, and riding the giant rock Pokémon came far easier to her than expected. What was even more surprising was destroying a spiky rock after her Mawile used Rock Slide in a battle with a wild Pokémon, and finding a water stone in the process.

Route 9 eventually led to Glittering Cave, and May was eager to explore. She dismounted the Rhyhorn, and released her Pikachu to help lead the way with its flash. She was in awe as she followed the narrow mining paths, the walls glimmering and glistening in reply to Pikachu's dim cheek sparks. Pikachu seemed to be enjoying it as well, as it would test and play with the level of electricity it emitted to see the difference reflected in the walls.

But they weren't getting anywhere. A few fossils later, they kept hitting dead ends, and May began to wonder if they'd ever find their way out. She finally saw the silhouette of the first person they'd seen since being in the cave, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Yeah, it was another dead end, but she could finally ask for help and directions. The closer they got, the better she was able to see them, with their huge backpack and clothes fit for someone on a journey. They looked like they were busy mining, too, which meant they were probably familiar with the area.

Pikachu gained a greater bounce in its step, ears twitching and sparks less controlled.

"Excuse me," May half-yelled when she decided she was close enough. She knew to be careful with her voice in caves. Enough to project and be heard by another human, but not too loud as to disturb any resting Pokémon. "I seem to be lost."

The person she called out to froze for a moment at her voice, but stood up before turning around. May quickly summed up her new acquaintance, her teeth quickly going to her lip at the sight of them. He was in his mid-twenties and had an appearance showing he'd been on the road for quite awhile, a look May could pick out now that she remembered her journey, the way his gleaming hair managed to be completely disheveled, clothes that said "yeah I've been here awhile, and before this, been sleeping outside for days with my Pokémon." The moment he turned to see May's face, he was flustered to the point of dropping his pic-axe, the impact sending a "ping" through the cavern's narrow halls, Zubat emerging and flying all about all over the place, and a shiver up May's spine.

He didn't say anything at first. He just looked at her, the light reflected in his pale blue eyes making a full circle a few times as Pikachu continued playing with its sparks, and the sound of the Zubats' cries subsided. May was made uncomfortable under his stare, and threw a hand up in apology. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. We'll be on our way."

"No, no, I'm sorry," he quickly replied, squatting to pick his pic-axe back up, other hand sweeping through his hair. He clearly was thrown out of whatever zone he was in while digging. "I just figured I was in the last place that I'd run into the Hoenn Champion."

May was stunned. Why would someone in Kalos know who she was? "Do I…know you?" she asked, her voice coming across softer than she meant.

He did that strange pause again, just staring, giving May the chance to see the light reflected in his eyes spin around again. "Oh, pardon me…" he finally croaked, shoving his pic-axe into his tool-belt, hastily slapping his hands across his already dirty cargo-shorts, "No, I'm afraid not. I'm...just a fan, is all." He gave a half smirk and put a hand forward to initiate a shake. May bit and accepted. His hand was thoroughly calloused, but his shake was firm, interview appropriate.

Except, Pikachu was still acting strangely, and ran up to him, happily running circles around his feet.

"My Pikachu seems to think otherwise!" May quipped, suddenly embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Pikachu normally doesn't act like this with total strangers. Are you sure we haven't battled before? Or maybe I've competed against you in a contest?"

Pikachu gave an excited cry, to which the man obliged, "It's quite alright." He lowered himself to a squat again and rustled the top of Pikachu's head with his hand, giving it an aggressive but friendly rub. "But no, I'm afraid not. I don't get the chance to leave Kalos much these days. My name is Troy. I'm interested in rare stones, so I travel here and there, within my limits" he explained, introducing himself while he kept petting Pikachu. "Today my journey brought me here, but what about you?"

Even though Troy was being very welcoming, May was still uneasy. Pikachu was acting super friendly, and they literally just met this guy. She gave a half-smile back, "I'm traveling east. I'm trying to get to Anistar City. Can you help me?"

Troy took a sharp inhale. "I'm sorry you came in here thinking it was a through-way, then," he said, swinging his giant backpack off of his shoulders to the ground in front of him, crouching over it to start digging inside. "Let me pull out a map of Kalos for you."

May fidgeted awkwardly as Troy pulled out, unfolded, and fussed with the map before beginning to point, "See, Glittering Cave is a dead-end and is mostly only sought out for excavating," he explained, pointing to the area outside of Glittering Cave that May likely had thought would have been an exit east. He continued, "To get to where you're wanting to go, Anistar City, you'll need to-"

"-go back to Ambretta Town and head north before going east," May absent-mindedly cut him off.

Troy cleared his throat, "Ambrette Town. Common mistake, but Ambretta is the name of a person, and Ambrette is the town."

May felt her cheeks get hot. Thank goodness for the darkness of the cave. Never had she made such a rookie mistake with directions before! She chalked it up in her head to being too ambitious to explore instead of paying real attention to where she needed to go. "Oh gosh, thank you so much," she said, finding herself instinctively bowing. "If I hadn't run into you, I'd probably still be chasing circles in here!"

Troy waved a hand in front of himself in response, "No, no, don't worry about it. And…you're not originally from Hoenn, are you? Bowing isn't terribly common here in Kalos, either, so do be careful, alright?"

Now May was sure Troy could see how red her face must have been. It was like a loop of instinctive apology, that her body wanted to bow again, but she tried to lock herself into standing up straight. Bowing wasn't common in Hoenn, either, but it had still stuck with her somehow after all those years. "Uh, r-right, thank you." She nodded to Pikachu, to which the electric rodent responded cheerily, firing larger sparks from its cheeks. "We'd best be on our way, then."

"Oh, one more thing," he mentioned, stuffing the map back into his bag, "by the time you get back to Ambrette Town, it will be getting dark. There's a hotel there that you ought to check out. I'm sure it'll be a good change of pace from the Pokémon Centers you're used to, and there isn't hospitality quite like that of Kalos."

The advice made May's eyes twitch, briefly showcasing the shortest squint. "Thanks for the tip, Troy," she replied before turning to go back the way she came with her Pikachu. The idea of a hotel seemed nice. And hey, "when in Kalos," right?

"One single for one night, please," May asked at the counter, but after receiving her information, the receptionist already had a key ready for her.

"If your information is up to date, you're Miss May Maple, correct?" the receptionist replied, handing the key over the counter as May absent-mindedly nodded her head. "Your room has been covered already! You'll be in room 208, and you have a shared common area with three other rooms including a full kitchen and living room area. We hope you enjoy your stay with us!"

"Wait, hang on," May said, tentatively taking the key. "Who covered my room?"

"A gentleman called in about an hour ago. Said he knew you were coming and that he's a fan! It must be nice being champion and having fans, even in other regions!"

"Uh, y-yeah," May responded, her eyebrows knitting, but accepting the gesture all the same, "If he comes back here or calls again, give him my thanks."

"Will do. Have a good evening, Miss Maple!"

May left for her room on the second floor. She was trying her hardest to not feel weirded out about her room already being covered when she got to the hotel. The receptionist said it was covered by a fan…someone who knew she was planning on staying at the hotel. She had half a mind to turn around and stay at the Pokémon Center instead because of it, from the idea of someone possibly spying on her activity. She'd barely interacted with anyone in Kalos so far, aside from asking for directions. In fact, the longest conversation she'd had so far was…with the man in Glittering Cave, Troy, who'd suggested to her to stay at the hotel in the first place. Was it him? He hardly looked like he had money to be throwing around on a hotel, let alone for another person's stay.

Her room was cozier than she had expected. A queen-sized bed with a crimson duvet, maroon walls, and a patio with a view of the beach and rocky cliffs. She quickly located the doors that led to the bathroom and the common area, and decided it was best for her to freshen up for the night before figuring out food. She'd gotten sweated up exploring Glittering Cave and figured she'd treat herself, since she was basically on vacation.

The bathroom was bigger than the one her parents had at home. There was a jacuzzi tub, and a spread of fancy oils and salts for baths! The fanciest bath May had ever had was in Fallarbor Town, and even then, that was a public bath, not with any additives to the water because it was a shared space.

So, she settled on a bath, turning on the faucet for hot water and sorted through all the salts and oils…and went with an Aguav and Lum Berry blend bath bomb. It was everything she needed and more, soaking her body and breathing in the steamy air.

After her bath, May shuffled through her bag to see what she had to make for dinner, and collected a few berries and other non-perishables she kept for the road and took them with her into the common area. The color scheme was the same varying shades of dark red, and the space wasn't much larger than her personal room, with a love seat, recliner, television, and a small but complete kitchen. She brought her belongings to the counter, set her Pokénav up with a radio app to listen to music, and began cooking.

"So, business or pleasure?" a voice asked from behind her. May took a pause from mincing berries to take a look to see who it was. And no doubt about it, there was no mistaking that striking silver-blue hair. It was Troy from before in the cave, but he was changed and cleaned up. Clothes were fairly similar to what he was wearing earlier, but it was something different.

May let go of a deep inhale after she saw who it was. "You're too kind, you know," she said, "for covering my room. Let me repay you somehow."

There it was again, that bizarre Stantler-in-the-headlights look she saw earlier, if just for a moment. He managed to snap out of it much quicker this time, though. "A taste of whatever you're prepping for tonight will be more than enough, then," he replied, a cheeky grin flashing his features, but long enough to warm May's ears.

"Fair," May said, "just a taste of my cooking is definitely a fair trade for my night's stay."

They both chuckled at this, but Troy reiterated. "You still didn't answer my question though. What brings you to Kalos? Business or pleasure?"

"Oh, uhm," May stuttered, going back to slicing the berries. Thinking about the answer to that question was weird, even though it didn't have to be. "It's…a little bit of both, I think?" she tried to answer, not even sure of it herself. "I think my task is business, but I think I'm supposed to see it as a vacation. I'm not super sure. But I'm using this opportunity to explore, anyway!"

May tried to continue chopping berries, but Troy's inquisitive look on her wouldn't let go and made her feel all that uneasiness again. "Sorry. It sounds kind of sketchy explaining it, but a businessman asked me to come find someone, for non-business related reasons, I think. Yeah, that just made it sound worse."

"Don't worry about it," Troy replied, deciding to take up a seat. Apparently there were bar stools on the other side of the counter island that May failed to notice. "I used to get assigned tasks like that at my last job. I'll warn you though, that was part of why I quit."

May blinked a few times. "Were you a paralegal?" she asked. "I hear paralegals get sent to do weird personal things for their firms all the time."

Troy chuckled. "That's pretty perceptive of you, but no. I was an Assistant Project Manager for a company, or at least, that was my title, but I never really got to oversee anything. I was more of an as needed kind of guy."

"An as needed kind of guy, huh?" May repeated. The oil in her pan started to pop, so she started adding her chopped up berries so they could fry. She kept talking as she took care of her food. "What about you, then? I mean, I get that you're from Kalos, but folks don't typically just stay in hotels in their hometowns. Why are you here? Business or pleasure?"

Troy chuckled, stuffing a hand to dig into one of his pockets. "I'm not on business, but calling it pleasure doesn't seem quite right, either. I'm on an extended leave, doctor's orders, so I've been exploring about here and there."

"Oh, I'm sorry," May found herself saying, "I didn't mean to pry."

"No, no, it's quite alright. If anything, I don't mean to bore you with the silly details of my life. After all, you're the Champion!"

That's right, she was the champion. And Troy…was pretty cute. She couldn't help where her mind was going with how he stood there after saying that, ruffling the hair on the back of his head while still smiling at her. Her mom's words kept replaying in her head, 'When in Kalos,' and she almost hated how cliché it was, and yet…

She fixed up their plates and set one in front of Troy on the counter and the other to his right, where she assumed there was another bar stool for her to sit next to him while they ate.

May quickly took a bite before Troy could finish saying "thanks for the meal." It had probably been so long since she had cooked last, and while she felt like she had an idea of what to do, she was still nervous at how her food turned out, and wanted to taste it before Troy had the chance. He looked at her blankly and blinked a few times, but soon followed her lead and dug in.

"Sorry," she quickly said after finishing her bite, "I just wanted to make sure that it turned out decent. It's been awhile since I've cooked."

Troy nodded, catching his lips with a napkin. "Well, it's certainly quite good, for someone who hasn't cooked in awhile. Best meal I've had in sometime, anyway."

"You need to learn to cook, then."

"I'm usually too distracted with excavating by the time I realize how hungry I am, so I just end up eating whatever I have on hand."

"Nonsense. If you have whatever on hand, you could learn to mix things up a bit. Don't you have a fire Pokémon that could help you out for when you're out and about?"

"I hadn't ever thought about it too much, I suppose. I've never been terribly interested in fire type Pokémon."

It was silent for awhile after that as they continued eating. May's heart rate sped up as she thought about what was going to happen next. She tried to snatch glances at him without making it too obvious. He was incredibly cute, and in an adventurer, Pokémon-trainer sort of way. Could she even remember how to flirt? She tried to think of what to do or say before they would inevitably part ways.

"So, you said earlier that you were a fan?" she started, collecting their plates once they were through and bringing them back into the kitchen. "How did you hear about me?"

Her eyes quickly went back to him, to sum up his demeanor to see if anything changed when she asked him this. She was becoming hyper aware of her chances. His ears reddened. Her heart pittered. "Oh, we've got a network here that broadcasts all major League battles from all the regions. I've got Pokémon of my own, but I'm a bigger fan of spectating, and when I saw your first match with Sydney, I was pulling for you the whole time! The way you could always rely on your Mega Swampert in the end, it was incredible!"

She hadn't expected such a thorough response. It sounded like he really was a fan. Her hand subconsciously went to where her mega bracelet used to sit on her wrist, and Troy's eyes followed. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to bring up bad memories," he continued, after seeing her reaction, "It must be hard not having mega evolution anymore."

Still holding her wrist, May's eyes went up to meet his. "You even know about that?" she asked, her voice smaller this time. Was her business really so sought after?

Troy gave a sheepish grin in return. "You'd be surprised what constitutes news in this day and age, especially in regards to celebrities. But the champion in this region went through something similar, I believe, so that's part of why news of what happened to you carried over here so quickly."

Oh gosh, that's right. She remembered what her father told her now, the Champion in this region, Calem, that she should try to meet and find him if she got the chance. But he hadn't said more than just for her to go and meet the champion of another region who was close to her age.

No, but right now, she needed to stay on task. He still looked a little flushed, so she went for it. "Well, anyway," she said, and reached for his hand. His fingers were softer than she expected for someone she found excavating in a cave. She used her other hand to tuck her bangs behind her ear before saying, "I really appreciate your help with everything, Troy. Again, I'd still be lost in Glittering Cave had I not found you."

May hyper-analyzed how the rest of the evening unfolded. He gave her hand a light squeeze before quickly retracting his own, then said, "I could help you find him, if you want. Calem, Kalos' Champion, I mean."

He had deflected her intentions. Yeah, an offer of continued time spent together, so that wasn't necessarily bad, but for her to find someone else. But that someone else…could maybe help her with her situation? Still…it all made May uneasy. Or maybe it was her cooking. It had been awhile since she'd made anything over a flame.

"I think, that would be very helpful," she said, more quietly this time.

"Great," he replied, the intonation of his voice unreadable, "then I'll prepare a route for us. You'll want to get a good night's rest. We'll leave in the morning."

"Oh-okay," May replied, "goodnight then, Troy."

"Goodnight, May."