I'm glad to announce that this is my first advanceshipping story. I'm super excited about it cause I have a good vision and plan for it. Hopefully, you guys bear with me, though *sweat-drops* haha.

As I said, it's my first, so I would really appreciate any feedback or questions you may have.

A couple of years ago I attempted to start my first fanfic, but failed to continue it. After reading a couple of really good ones here, I thought I would give it a second try.

Withough further adieu, lets begin.

"Well buddy, its now or never!" the raven-haired boy said to his trusty Pokémon companion.

"Pika chu pikapi", the electric mouse answered his best friend, the concern evident in his response.

"I know you're nervous bud. Honestly, I am too, but I know we'll get through this together, just as we always have!" trying to instill some confidence, not only for Pikachu but himself as well; he knew what would await them behind those doors and figured a confidence boost could do no harm now.

"Pika…" Pikachu answered, as if saying, "I guess…"

The boy gave his yellow companion a thumb up while flashing that signature grin of his, which although came from the face of a young man who showed a growing maturity through the years, still gave off a sense of pure confidence and happiness.

The young man in front of the pair of doors was no longer the 10 year old boy who began his journey nearly 7 years ago, with little to no experience of the world he was about to explore. He had grown slightly taller and, with the help of his training, appeared to have a more athletic physique that was apparent under his white short sleeve shirt. He ditched his usual blue jeans for a pair of black ones as well as a new set of dark blue trainers. He wore dark blue fingerless gloves and a black vest over his shirt. Of course, no matter how much he matured or changed over the years, the only constant would always be his signature hat, this time a white and blue one with a basic poke ball on the front of the cap.

His face seemed to tan a bit over the years, almost matching the color of his auburn eyes.

"We knew this day would come Pikachu, we can't back down now." Ash said, hands on the door handles ready to face the challenge ahead of them.

Pikachu knew he was right. They were preparing for this day for the past week and his trainer needed his help, now more than ever. Pikachu flashed a thumb up towards his trainer and simply nodded his head.

Ash smiled and nodded back, using both hands to push open the pair of doors in front of them. He took a deep breath and let the shine of the sun hit his face as he slowly opened the doors and stepped outside. Pikachu quickly sped up to his trainer and jumped on his shoulder, ready to face their next challenge just as they began their journey: together.

Then it hit them…

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASH!" a unison shout reached their ears.

The two, who decided to close their eyes before stepping outside, quickly opened them and caught a glance at the scene in front of them. They were standing outside of Professor Oak's Pokémon lab, in front of them a group of people, each easily recognized by the duo, as well as the massive amount of Pokémon all gathered around a sign that read "Happy Birthday Ashy". The boy quickly identified the culprit of the idea to write "Ashy", standing in the midst of the crowd, his feline dark-type by his feet and a wide grin on his face. Towards the bottom of the sign, one could make out the words "and Pikachu!" scribbled in sloppy handwriting.

Because neither Ash nor Professor Oak had any record of Pikachu's birth date, the electric mouse simply decided to adopt Ash's birthday as his own. Unfortunately, it was evident that whoever was helping prepare the sign, forgot this important detail, and had to improvise at the last minute.

They both scanned the crowd and quickly identified each member in the crowd. To the far left stood Paul, Ash's longtime rival throughout the Sinnoh region, arms crossed and a small smirk on his face, followed by Dawn and May, each with a smile from ear to ear, happy to see their old friend back. Next was the red-headed Cerulean City Gym leader Misty, who was standing next to a familiar green-haired assistant to Professor Oak, Tracy. Next to him was his long time traveling partner, and the closest thing Ash had to an older brother, Brock, who unsurprisingly looked just as he always did, a warm smile present on his face. Gary, Ash's childhood best friend and former rival stood next to Brock, holding back a small chuckle as he witnessed the false sense of surprise Ash and Pikachu tried to hold up. Ash's mother Delia stood next to Gary, her eyes watery and on the verge of tears of joy at the sight of her son back home. Finally, towards the far right stood the Pokémon professor himself and owner of the world-renowned lab, smiling at the pair that stood on the stairs beholding the scene in front of him. Behind the group of friends stood all of Ash's Pokémon, each happy to see their trainer and friend after spending quite some time away on his travels.

"Alright Pikachu, this is what we've been practicing for, lets give it our best shot," he whispered into the Pokémon's ear, hoping no one else could hear their short dialogue.

Pikachu simply nodded and took a deep breath…

"What an awesome surprise everyone! We had absolutely no idea about annnnyy of this. We definitely did not already know a few days beforehand!" Ash said as he used all his training from the previous week to muster up a poor attempt at a surprised face.

"Pikaa piii chuuu pika chu chu pikaaa chu pi ka." Just as his trainer, Pikachu mimicked the young boy's face, simply adding his two paws to his cheeks, giving the "shocking" face a completed look.

Almost as if they rehearsed it, the entirety of the crowd in front of them, including the Pokémon, quickly sweat-dropped and dropped to the floor, laughing hysterically at the sight of the two birthday boys attempting to keep their poker faces going.

"Well… so much for the training" Ash said as he let out a deep sigh and slumped his shoulders in defeat.

"Chuu…" Pikachu answered, followed by his own sigh and slumping of the shoulders.

After the crowd gathered themselves and plopped back on their feet, they proceeded to hug and congratulate Ash one by one.

"It's so great to see you again Ash. You definitely look like you've changed a lot this past year" Dawn told her friend after a quick embrace.

"Thanks Dawn, its definitely good to see you too. How did you do in this years Grand Festival?" He asked the blunette coordinator.

She quickly pouted and passed a fist through the air, "I was so close Ash! I got second place this year, just barely losing in the final seconds. But I know I'll definitely win this year coming up!" She flashed a grin and raised a fist in the air.

"That's the spirit Dawn, never get too down on your loses! Just come back stronger and give it your all." Ash replied to her, holding his hand up for Dawn to quickly high five.

"Well looks like Dawn's caught you up to date with her contests."

Ash turned around to see his older companion walking up to the pair with a smile on his face. "Brock its great to see you. You look like you haven't changed at all." He gave his friend a quick hug.

"Well it's only been a year Ash. We can't all have the growth spurts that you seem to have every time you take these year-long journeys" the Pokémon breeder and doctor in training answered his younger friend. "But spill the beans Ash, you gotta' let us know who told you about the surprise."

Just then, a nervous and flustered May walked into the group, distracting the three and quickly embracing Ash, "Its so good to see you Ash. Happy birthday again!"

Ash felt his face slightly heat up, but returned the embrace, whispering "Don't worry May, I won't let anyone know it slipped out that day we were talking," May let out a nervous laugh before nodding and letting go of the young trainer.

"I'm glad to see you're doing great May, and congratulations on your Grand Festival win!" Ash told the brunette, a smile stretching from ear to ear.

"What! May, why didn't you tell us you won the Grand Festival in Hoenn?" Dawn asked, while a shocked but smiling Brock nodded along.

"Its no big deal guys," she answered while rubbing the back of her head and nervously laughing it off, "I was going to let you guys know during the party, but Ash just beat me to it" giving Ash's shoulder a playful nudge.

"So now the birthday boy thinks he's too good for us, he can't even bother to say hello to his old rivals, ain't that right Ashy?"

Gary was walking up to the group with Paul close behind him, both holding small grins on their faces.

"Oh please Gary, you know that is not true, but thanks for the Ashy sign," Ash sarcastically answered back, rolling his eyes, only to smile back and hold his hand out. "Its nice to see you. You too Paul, I didn't think you'd make the trip all the way back to Pallet" he said shaking both the boys' hands.

"Well, Dawn convinced me to come with her and I definitely couldn't pass up the chance to see how strong you've gotten after your training." Paul answered back with a small grin.

"Wait, what do you mean Dawn convinced you? You came with Dawn?" Ash asked a little puzzled by the statement.

Paul was about to answer but before he could, Dawn cut him off, hoping to change the subject, "Ash why don't you show us some of the new Pokémon you caught during your training?"

The other members in the group gave Dawn a quizzical look, but her plan seemed to have worked as Ash went to his belt and unclipped a couple of pokeballs, "Uh… Sure Dawn, why not."

Ash tossed up the four pokeballs he unclipped, letting out four new members to his already growing team.

First came a small feline-like Pokémon similar in size to Gary's Umbreon. However, this Pokémon was a pink color with a long tail split at the end and a red jewel placed in the center of her forehead. Next was a large bipedal blue reptilian Pokémon. She had a long tail and horn that protruded her head, although smaller than the horn of her male counterpart. The next Pokémon was serpentine-like and celeste in color with a white belly. It had a long body and a small horn on its head. Finally came a large four legged dog-like Pokémon, orange, black, and cream in color.

"Everyone, meet Espeon, Nidoqueen, Dragonair, and Arcanine," Ash said as his hand moved across the line of his new Pokémon, "Guys these are some of my closest friends," doing the same with his line of friends, some with shocking looks on their faces while others simply smiled and got closer to greet Ash's new Pokémon.

As the group of trainers all began to greet and examine Ash's new Pokémon, it was evident that Dragonair was stealing some of the attention from the rest of the Pokémon. It was only normal, seeing as how the dragon type was such an elusive Pokémon for most trainers.

"Wow Ash, where in the world did you find a Dragonair?" May asked, obviously in awe of the majestic creature as she rubbed her on the head.

Ash came over and began scratching Dragonair under the neck, the Pokémon obviously enjoying the attention of the two trainers, cooing in content. "It's a long story May, but basically I was training with a friend up on Mt Silver and he told me there was a place in Johto where Dratini were found pretty frequently so I set off to find one and the rest is history, ain't that right Dragonair?"

"Drag dra nair" the Pokémon answered her trainer with a smile.

"Speaking of which, where did Pikachu take the rest of my Pokémon? I want them to meet the new members to the team…" Ash asked as he scanned the area.

"… And then bam! Here comes Pikachu to the rescue again. That Arbok had no idea what it had coming to him."

In a clearing a couple yards away from where the group of people were chatting, Ash's Pokémon all sat around a familiar yellow mouse who seemed to be telling the group about a certain Team Rocket story in which, Pikachu's "heroism" and "bravery" saved the day "once again". A couple of the Pokémon chuckled listening to the story, others began to clap hearing Pikachu's bravery and strength, while some of Ash's younger Pokémon looked on in awe of their hero and mentor, Pikachu.

A large green reptilian Pokémon fell down from the tree giving shade to the other Pokémon and approached the center, signature twig in mouth, "So Pikachu, did Ash find any new Pokémon to join the team? If I recall correctly he only took you this time to train."

"As a matter a fact Sceptile, he did. I actually bet he's introducing them to the other now. I think I heard the sound of pokeballs releasing back at the party."

Another Pokémon came forward, this one a dragon-like Pokémon with shark-like fins on its arms and back, "Where exactly did you guys go to train? I heard from Charizard that you guys were at Mt Silver."

"Yeah Gabite, we were there for a couple of months, but we eventually moved on and went through a lot of different places, like Hoenn and Sinnoh. We even stopped by Rota along the way."

Just as another Pokémon was about to ask why, they heard their trainer calling for them from where the rest of the trainers were gathered,

"Pikachu! Bring everyone over here so they can meet the rest of the team buddy!"

And with that, they all hurried over to meet their trainer and their new friends.

Everyone was seemingly enjoying the party. Ash's Pokémon had gone through introductions and were now running wild, playing and battling all over Professor Oak's plains. Dragonair had quickly got into a battle with Sceptile, with the grass type wanting to test out how strong his new companion was. Espeon ran around with some of Ash's other Eevee evolutions, joining his Jolteon, Flareon and Leafeon in a game of tag. Arcanine was resting under some shade with some of Ash's flying Pokémon while Nidoqueen was having a rock-breaking contest with Ash's Krookodile.

Ash had gone around and spoken to each of his friends, talking about each of their journeys and accomplishments. Ash spoke to Misty about her training at the Gym and even challenged her to an official battle for the Cascade badge, wanting to truly earn it through a battle this time. He thanked his mom and Professor Oak for putting all of this together but before he could sit down and eat, his trainer instincts got the best of him. After hearing that Paul finished the Kanto circuit and placed in the top 4 of the tournament, they decided to quickly have a battle to see how the other had progressed.

Brock agreed to referee the match, while the rest of the crowd sat down on the grass on either side of the battlefield.

"Alright so this will be a simple one-on-one battle between Ash and Paul. The battle will be over when one or both of the Pokémon are unable to battle."

Paul unclipped a pokeball from his belt and quickly tossed it in the air, "Gallade, I need your assistance"

"Nice Paul, you got yourself a Gallade. Arcanine let's show him what we got!"

Arcanine came running from the nearby tree it was resting and quickly jumped over Ash and onto the battlefield. Each Pokémon glared at the other and took position to begin, waiting only on Brock's command.

"Begin!"

"Alright Arcanine, Extreme Speed!"

"Gallade dodge it and use Night Slash!"

Gallade braced itself to dodge but Arcanine disappeared almost immediately after hearing its command. Before the psychic type could react, he was slammed into from behind and slid across the ground.

"Man, that Arcanine is fast! I didn't even see him attack." Dawn exclaimed, shocked by the speed at which Gallade was hit.

"Yeah, you can tell Ash definitely worked on Arcanine's speed during their training" Gary told the group as they watched intently.

May silently nodded, not taking her eyes off the field, slightly in awe at how far Ash had progressed this whole time.

"Alright Gallade lets try Double Team followed by another Night Slash"

"Arcanine jump in the middle and wait for the command!"

After appearing back on its trainer's side, Arcanine quickly jumped in the middle of the field before Gallade and its clones surrounded him. The psychic type began to close in on Arcanine, its arms glowing black, preparing to attack from all angles with Night Slash.

"Now, Overheat Arcanine!"

Arcanine began to glow red before a flame surrounded its body. As quickly as it formed, it exploded in all directions, reaching as far as the grass by Dawn and May's legs.

"Hey Ash! Try not to kill us here, will ya'" Gary yelled at Ash after seeing both girls jump back to avoid the heat wave coming their way.

"Sorry guys" Ash answered sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

Back on the field, Arcanine's attack had finished but Gallade was nowhere to be seen. Arcanine quickly turned to its side but before he could react Gallade's Night Slahs struck him. It stumbled a few steps before it held its ground and quickly charged at his opponent.

"Arcanine Extreme Speed into a Fire Fang!"

"Gallade Double Team and Psycho-Cut"

As Arcanine disappeared, Gallade began to create copies of himself to avoid the attack. However, just as his copies were beginning to appear, what seemed like copies of Arcanine began to attack each Gallade copy with Fire Fang, before the real Gallade was hit.

Paul was shocked to see his Pokémon hit by the same move it used for defense, "But how? You never called for a Double Team. How did Arcanine know to do that?"

Ash smirked and simply waved his finger in the air, "He didn't use Double Team, he simply used Extreme Speed to attack each copy as they appeared, what you saw was the after image of Arcanine attacking the copies."

His friends in the sideline were in awe of what they just saw and began to wonder just how much training Ash truly did during his journey. His other Pokémon were watching intently, silently cheering on the newest member of the team.

"llade!" the psychic time had gotten back up from the attack but let out a grunt as it was badly burned from Arcanine's bite.

"Alright Arcanine finish this with Wild Charge and Crunch!"

"Gallade use Earthquake!"

Gallade, who was breathing heavily, began to pound on the ground below him, causing the field to shake violently. Arcanine began to glow in electricity and began to charge at his opponent, electricity crackling everywhere. However, right before he could land a hit, he began to lose his balance from the ground's shaking.

"Quick, jump into the air and Fire Blast Arcanine!"

Arcanine prepared coiled its back legs and sprung high into the air, with Gallade following it with its gaze into the sky. At the apex of its jump, Arcanine used the sun to blind the psychic type and quickly shot down a star shape blast of fire. Unable to shield his eyes in time, Gallade was hit with the full force of the attack. After the smoke cleared, Gallade was knocked out with swirls in its eyes, while Arcanine was back by Ash's side, panting after taking the recoil damage from the Wild Charge.

"Gallade is unable to battle. The winner of this match is Ash!"

Paul returned Gallade and went to shake Ash's hand, "Arcanine is definitely powerful, great battle Ash"

Ash took his hand and grinned, "Yeah Paul that was a lot of fun. You better watch out though, I'm starting to catch up!"

"Uh, in your dreams Ketchum. If I remember correctly, it's still 34 to 30, but keep trying and maybe you'll catch up." Paul let out a grin and crossed his arms.

The other quickly joined in, congratulating Ash on the win and wondering how he got Arcanine's speed so high.

"He's definitely in great shape Ash, you could tell by how high he was able to jump on his hind legs. He may even be as strong as my Arcanine," Gary told him with a wink.

"Anytime, any day Gary!" Ash challenged back, before they both started laughing.

"Ash that was a really great battle. You've definitely gotten a lot stronger than the last time I saw you."

"Hey, thanks May, I've been working extra hard with everyone since I lost to Alain in Kalos. I'm glad to see its been working though," Ash answered blushing slightly at her praise of his battling.

"It definitely has. Maybe you can teach me and my Pokémon some of the new strategies you came up with sometime", giving him a small wink.

Ash's blush deepened, but before he could answer, he was interrupted and saved by his mother.

"I'd like everyone's attention please. I want to thank everyone who was able to take time to come and celebrate with our Ash his birthd-"

"PIKA!"

"Sorry, I meant Ash and Pikachu's birthday"

Everyone let out a laugh before Delia continued.

"Before Ash decides to go on his next crazy adventure, I wanted to give him this special gift so he could enjoy some time off from his training and battles to just relax and enjoy some time off."

Delia signaled for Professor Oak to pass her an envelope and waved towards Ash so he stepped forward to receive his birthday gift from his mother.

"Its actually a gift for Ash and his friends as well. Think of it as a thank you for taking care of my Ashy throughout his journey and being such wonderful friends to him."

Ash began to open the envelope and saw that they held five tickets, each with a picture of a large resort on a beautiful beach. Before Ash, or anyone else, could ask or object, Delia quickly continued.

"As you can see, it's a seven day, all expense paid trip to the Orange Islands' 5-Star Resort. I've already spoken to Misty, Tracey, and Gary, and unfortunately, neither of them is able to take the time off to accompany the rest of you. Misty with her duties as gym leader and Tracey and Gary are far too busy helping the Professor here at the lab. That leaves the five of you" she finished as she gave a ticket to each of Brock, May, Dawn, Ash, and Paul. "The ferry leaves in two days, so you each have enough time to pack what you need and meet back here"

Unsurprisingly, May and Dawn jumped for joy, already thinking of the great time they would have, the shopping, and the tanning they would do. Brock smiled sweetly at Delia, expressing his gratitude for such a gift, while Ash hugged his mom thanking her for the gift. More than the gift, the idea of having his close friends along for the ride made the idea that much more enticing for Ash. He had already planned to take a small break from his training but this was definitely a much better way to relax and enjoy his break.

Paul was looking blankly at his ticket, confused and feeling a bit out of place. Sure, his rough patch with Ash was over and they agreed to have a positive rivalry constantly pushing the other to reach higher levels of success, but he still felt as though he did not deserve such an extravagant gift.

"Hey Paul, I know what you're thinking, but believe it or not, you're practically family now whether you like it or not. That big doofus loves his friends too much to consider them anything less."

Paul smirked and nodded, "Yeah you're right Gary. It sucks you can't make it though".

"We'll see, maybe I'll take a break and visit you guys for a day or two."

Paul nodded and they both rejoined the party.

The sun began to set and the rest of the evening went along peacefully. The Pokémon went back to playing and resting, while the rest of the gang started up a bonfire and talked about each one's travels and the upcoming trip. Misty soon left back to Cerulean, thanking everyone and leaving Ash with a new Gyarados lure she got him as a birthday gift. Pikachu huffed and crossed his arm, but was soon squealing with joy when Misty turned and gave him a bottle shaped present. The Pokémon quickly tore through the paper but was completely heart broken to find that the bottle was not the Ketchup he asked for, but rather a bottle of Barbecue sauce. Unable to keep the act, Misty quickly gave him his real gift, a brand new bottle of Ketchup. As the gang laughed watching Pikachu struggle with opening the bottle, May seemed to be the only one deep in thought. She was listening to what the group spoke about with one ear but her head was slowly drifting away.

She quietly got up and decided to take a walk through the fields, but as she was leaving she heard footsteps behind her.

"Mind if I join you?"

She smiled warmly and nodded, "Sure Ash".

"You've been pretty quiet since my mom gave us the tickets. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah Ash. I just can't help but think of Max. I know he's on his journey and he checks in with us often, but I still miss him. I know he would've loved to come with us."

"I know May, but you'll see him again soon. If you want we can catch up with him after we get back from the trip."

May's eyes quickly turned from saddened to glistening with joy, "Really Ash? You mean that?"

"Of course May, that's what friends are for. To support and help each other when things are tough" he replied, a smile forming on his face, glad to see his friend was beginning to cheer up.

With a huff, May crossed her arms and turned away from him.

"What? Did I say something wrong?"

"I thought I was your BEST friend, Ashy?" she turned back to him with a smile, clearly only teasing him.

"O-of course M-May…" he began to laugh nervously as he felt a sudden blush coming.

"Oh so you're not my best friend?" a glint of pain could be heard in the way May answered.

"N-no May of course you are! Its just, you called me Ashy" he couldn't stop the blush from forming and decided to turn his head, hoping the setting sun would hide his blush.

"Oh does it bother you? I thought I could call my best friend whatever I wanted" she finished, wondering how far she could take the teasing.

Ash was trying his best to conceal the blush overwhelming his face but was having a hard time doing so with May getting near his face, waiting for his response.

"Of course May. You can call me whatever you want" he finally finished before gulping.

"I'm only joking Ash" she smiled at him, her sapphire eyes looking right at him. "But I am serious about you being my best friend. I don't think I'd be where I am now if it wasn't for all your help" she thought of what she wanted to say before continuing. "I've been wanting to thank you for a while now for everything you've done for me."

"I could say the same thing about you May. You've helped me grow as a trainer as well as a person, so thank you."

Before Ash could register what was happening, May quickly embraced him. It took him a second, but Ash returned the hug.

For May, it felt as though time stopped. She couldn't quite explain it, but she felt a warm feeling growing inside her. If it were up to her, she would have stayed there the whole night, but realizing how it must have looked, she decided to let go of Ash. The warm feeling she had disappeared, but she quickly smiled and could have sworn she saw a feint blush on Ash's face before he turned away.

"C'mon Ash, we should probably get ready, we have a busy few days ahead of us! You get to tell my parents we're going to a resort!"

"Uh-oh…"

May quickly grabbed Ash by the hand and dragged him back towards the bonfire.

Miles away, an exchange can be heard between two powerful forces, contemplating their next move.

"We need him, you know he's the only one that can help."

"I know, but it's too dangerous. I can't put him through that danger again…"

"We may not have a choice though…"

So there you have it! Chapter one complete. Hopefully I didn't bore anyone too much by the pace of the story. If that is a problem though, please let me know. I promise, more of the plot will be introduced in the coming chapters.

As you can see, some time has passed between any of the canon anime and now, and there will be new Pokémon forming part of the characters' teams.

If you have any request for certain Pokémon, feel free to let me know. Part of the reason I love fanfics is because it's honestly all on the imagination of the writer and they have all the freedom in the world to write as they please.

As far as updates go, I'll be doing my best to update at least once a week, if not twice a week.

Finally, please read and review. I can only get better with the help of you all!

- HRS