Together at Last

It seemed to be a beautiful evening at the Twinleaf Town harbour, with the evening sun hanging high on the horizon and painting the sky in a bright orange colour. At one of the docks of the harbour, a large group of people were gathered, prepared to board a ship that was heading towards Vermillion City all the way in Kanto. Among the group was a sixteen year old brunette with sapphire blue eyes wearing a bright orange sleeveless dress-like shirt with two white Pokeball symbols on the side near her waist, a long black collar and a white zip belt in the centre, as well as small black leggings, white gloves with the finger areas being black along with the top being black with a thin emerald green stripe around the centre, small black socks, bright orange runner-like shoes with a black strap on the centre and light grey patches on the sides, and a bright green bandana with a white Pokeball symbol on the side tied around her dark brown hair which hung down in two pigtail-like sections on both sides of her head: her name was May Maple, and she was one of the many passengers waiting to board the ship. With a bright smile coming to her face, she turned around to face her companions.

"Well, it looks like the boat's arrived. I guess that means it's time for me to head off." May commented. She had three companions that had come to see her off that had been by her side for the entire time she had been travelling through not only Sinnoh, but Johto as well. The companions in question happened to be Drew Hayden, Harley and Soledad, and they had all come with May to see her off as she made her way off to Kanto. As May kept her attention on the three, she felt her smile grow brighter. "Thanks for always being by my side, guys. I've really had a great time with all of you."

Soledad nodded in agreement with a small smile, with Drew had his arms crossed as he was watching this and Harley was showing an expression of dismay that May had to go off on her own. "Same here, May. It's been a lot of fun travelling with you." Soledad agreed. As Drew nodded in agreement with her, Harley let out a cry of dismay while Drew and Soledad turned their heads to him in surprise.

"Oh, this is so unfair! Why do you have to go by yourself, May-May? Couldn't you let us come with you too?" Harley cried, clasping his hands together in dismay at having to say goodbye to May; after all the time he had spent with her, things had finally started to settle down between them and they were managing to get along. Drew and Soledad stared at him in surprise for a few moments before Drew let out a quiet sigh while Soledad showed a smile of amusement at her partner's dramatics.

"Harley, it's not like May's going to be gone forever, you know…" Drew sighed. May stared in silence for a few moments at this before she let out a giggle of amusement as she turned her head to Harley. There was a good reason she was going off by herself: Ash had finally finished in the Kalos League and was now on his way back to Pallet Town, and she wanted to be there to greet him when she arrived. This was something she had been looking forward to since she arrived in Sinnoh, and now that day had finally arrived. Unfortunately, it seemed that she had to leave her travelling companions behind again; the last time she had done so was when she went to compete in the Wallace Cup at Lake Valor.

"Drew's right, Harley. I'm not sure how long I'm going to be in Kanto, but I do know it'll probably be for a while. But sooner or later, I'll be back on the road and I'm sure I'll run into you guys again." May explained. She then showed a nervous smile and started to run a finger against one of her cheeks as she continued. "That said, I'll probably be going off on another journey with Ash sooner or later. After all, he rarely ever stays in one region for very long…" The others seemed to understand what May was saying as they nodded.

"I wouldn't be too surprised if that was true. Wherever you two go, I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time together. I'll bet he's been looking forward to a day like this as much as you have." Soledad said. May promptly nodded in agreement at this statement; she had a feeling that was the case as well. Just then, she and the others could hear the sound of the ship's horn from beside them and they turned their heads to notice that everyone was already boarding as they spoke. Taking notice, May turned her head back to the others.

"Oh, it looks like I better get moving and board before I miss it." May commented. However, as she was about to turn and make her way over to the ship to get on board, she heard Drew's voice behind her.

"May?" May stopped in her tracks and turned around in surprise to see Drew walking over to her and he stopped in front of her before uncrossing his smile and showing a bright smile to her. "Thanks for everything. It's been quite an adventure being your rival." Drew said. May was silent for a few moments before she nodded in agreement.

"Same here, Drew. I have to be honest, if it wasn't for everything you did since we met, I don't think I could have gotten as far as I have. I'm going to keep doing my best no matter where I go and I hope you keep doing the same thing! We wouldn't want you to start getting rusty after I'm gone, now would we?" May cheekily asked, giving a cheeky smile as she finished this question before giving a wink in his direction. Drew stared in silence at her for a few moments before he let out a laugh before slowly shaking his head in amusement.

"No, we wouldn't." He then turned his head up to her before nodding in confirmation. "I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for the tip. Oh, and one more thing…" Drew then reached into one of the pockets of his pants before holding a rose up to May while she stared in surprise. "This is a little something for you to give to Ash when you see him. Tell him that you picked it out… especially for him." Drew explained, showing a bright smile as he finished this statement.

May stared in amazement for a few moments before she felt the smile return to her face; here she had just been afraid that Drew had gotten into one of his old bad habits, especially since he had promised that he wouldn't bother her anymore now that he knew that she and Ash were together, but hearing him say what he had just said quickly put those fears to rest. With this, she grabbed the rose from Drew's hand before turning her glance up to him. "Thank you, Drew. I'll make sure to do just that." May softly replied. Drew simply felt his smile grow brighter at this simple answer, as it was apparent to him that he made the right choice to do one more thing for her before she set off. As the two kept their glances on each other for a few moments, that was when they heard the boat's horn again and May showed an expression of alarm upon realising what that meant.

"The boat's about to leave! I better get on quick!" May gasped. So without a moment to spare, she turned and started to rush to get on the boarding ramp so she could get on board. Once she made it on, the ship started to pull out of the harbour to start its cruise towards Vermillion City. As the ship was now leaving, May made her way towards the balcony as she could still see the port and started to wave towards Drew, Harley and Soledad as they were starting to wave back. "See you guys later! Thank you so much for all the adventures!" May called, showing a bright smile as she was waving.

"No problem, May! Thanks for all the fun you gave us!" Drew replied.

"Have a great time with Ash on your new journey!" Soledad called.

"And make sure you spend as much time with him as possible! There's no point in going to see him if you don't!" Harley added.

May let out a laugh of amusement at Harley's advice before she nodded. "Thanks for the advice, Harley! I'll keep that in mind!" she called in reply. After a few moments, the harbour started to disappear from view as the ship was getting further away on the ocean. Once she was certain the distance had gotten far enough, May lowered her arm as she had her hands placed on the balcony and she let out a sigh to herself as she turned to look at the ship. "Well, looks like there's nothing to do but relax. It's going to be a long way before I arrive in Kanto. I can't wait to see the look on Ash's face when he finds out that I came all this way to see him. I bet he'll be so thrilled!" May happily commented to herself, with an eager smile crossing her face. So with this in mind, she started to make her way across the deck to find the room she would be staying in during the cruise towards Kanto.

Sometime later, night had fallen over the ocean as the stars were shining brightly in the sky while the ship continued its cruise towards the Vermillion City port. In one of the rooms on the lower deck, May had made herself comfortable and she was getting ready to turn in for the night so she would be ready for the next morning; she had just changed into her bright orange pyjamas and she was giving her hair one last do-over with her hairbrush as she sat in front of the mirror that had been included in her room. "Ah… now I think I'm ready to turn in for the night. It's probably going to be a while before I get there." May commented to herself. As she placed her hairbrush down on the bench in front of her, she turned her head to see that she had put a few other items there as well: her half of the Terracotta Ribbon as well as the rose Drew gave her to give to Ash. "To think it's been such a while since I last saw Ash, but now I'll finally have the chance to see him now that he's coming back from Kalos. I'll bet he'll be so happy to see me when I get there!" May said, feeling a bright smile of excitement cross her face as she was starting to imagine how Ash would react when she arrived. After a few seconds, she stretched her arms up in the air as she let out a yawn.

"I guess it's time to head to sleep now." With this, she stood up from the seat in front of the table she had been sitting at and made her way over to the bed before pulling the blankets out to make herself comfortable. As she reached over to turn the light out, she turned her head to look out the window and notice the night sky passing by. "Goodnight, Ash. Come tomorrow morning, you're going to have a surprise visitor. And she's been looking forward to seeing you again for a while now." May quietly whispered. With this, she closed her eyes to drift off to sleep, her thoughts being of Ash as she did so.

At the same time, all the way at Kanto near the outskirts of Pallet Town, a seventeen-year-old Trainer with a Pikachu sitting on his shoulder was running down the path before he stopped as he noticed the small town out in the distance from where he was: it was none other than Ash Ketchum. As he looked out at the view, Ash felt a smile of excitement cross his face before he turned his head to Pikachu. "Look, Pikachu! We're finally in Pallet Town!" he exclaimed.

Pikachu seemed to take notice of this as well, as he turned his head to Ash with a matching smile of excitement. "(All right, we're back!)" Pikachu cheered. Without a moment to spare, Ash started to make his way down the path towards the small town, running as fast as his legs could carry him; he was looking forward to telling his mum about everything he had been doing on his journey in Kalos. After a few minutes of running, Ash finally found himself approaching the front door of his house, and he could see that the lights from inside were shining brightly and making it visible for him to see.

"Here it is. This is our house." Ash said, with Pikachu nodding in agreement upon seeing that they were here. After a few moments passed, Ash walked up to the front door before opening it and stepping inside. "Mum! I'm home!" Ash called, closing the door behind him as he did so. After a few seconds, a young woman stepped into the room and a bright smile quickly came to her face upon spotting him; it was none other than his mum, Delia.

"Oh, Ash! Welcome home, honey! I was thinking you wouldn't be back until the next morning." Delia commented. Ash couldn't help himself smiling back as he nodded in agreement; he had been thinking the same thing, but it looked like that wasn't the case. "I was about to get dinner started. Would you like to help me?" Delia asked. Ash quickly felt his smile grow bigger in excitement and he nodded, as there was no way he was going to say no to that offer.

"Yeah! That'd be great! We could have a good meal after our flight." Ash replied. "(That's right.)" Pikachu agreed, nodding as well. So with this, Delia turned and started to walk into the kitchen while Ash followed behind her; he was looking forward to sharing everything he did on his journey through Kalos with her.

The next morning, the sun was starting to rise over the horizon as the ship was continuing its way towards Vermillion City. Inside one of the rooms, May was sound asleep in her bed before her eyes started to flutter open as she could feel the morning sun's rays light her room. After a few seconds, May started to sit up in her bed and she stretched her arms up in the air before lowered them with a bright smile coming to her face. "Ah, it's morning! I better start getting ready so I'll be set to go when the ship arrives in Vermillion City." May commented, looking forward to when the ship arrived at port. So with this in mind, she climbed out of her bed and bent down to pick up her bag as she had placed it beside the bed so she could grab her clothes out and get herself ready for the day.

A little later, May stepped out of her room and closed the door behind her as she had just finished tying her bandana around her hair and making sure she had packed all of her things in her bag and she made her way up to the top deck to look out at the view and see how far they still had to go. As May stepped out onto the balcony and placed her hands on the guard rail, she turned her head up to notice the clear morning sky and let out a happy sigh. "Ah… it looks like it's going to be a beautiful day today." she said. Just then, she could hear the sound of an announcement ring out.

"Attention, all passengers. We are about to arrive in Vermillion City Port, so please ensure that you have gathered all your belongings as we prepare for arrival." Judging from the sound of the voice, it seemed like the captain had been the one making the announcement. As May kept an ear out to listen to the announcement, she felt a smile of excitement cross her face.

"Yes, we're finally here! That means it's not too far until I'm on my way towards Pallet Town." May cheered. She then turned her head back towards the ocean to see the port coming closer into view; soon, she would be on her way towards Pallet Town and to where Ash was, just waiting for her inevitable visit. Luckily, it didn't take for the ship to park at dock and for everyone to start departing, with May stepping off the ramp and she turned her head up to see the sights of Vermillion City surrounding her. "Wow… it really is amazing out here." May commented, a smile of awe showing on her face. She then turned her head down to the road in front of her and nodded in confirmation as she had her plan set in her mind. "Now it's time for me to get moving towards Pallet Town!" Without a moment to spare, she started to rush off down the path to start her route; she had a feeling that as long as she knew where she was going, it wouldn't take too long for her to arrive at her destination.

Meanwhile in Pallet Town, Ash was stepping outside his house with Pikachu following behind him. As Ash closed the door behind him once he got outside, he turned his head down to Pikachu as the little mouse Pokemon was standing on the ground beside him. "Come on, Pikachu. What do you say we go for a walk around?" Ash suggested. Pikachu quickly jumped up to climb back onto Ash's shoulder and he showed a bright smile before nodding in agreement.

"(That sounds great to me, Ash.)" Pikachu replied. Ash let out a giggle to himself at this reply; he had a feeling that Pikachu would agree. So with this, Ash started to make his way down the path leading out towards the rest of the town, as he was looking forward to having a calm day to unwind after everything he and Pikachu had been through during their time in Kalos.

As this was happening, May was continuing her route down the path as she was trying to figure out how far it could be to Pallet Town. "I know it shouldn't be too far by now, but still I wonder if I'm at the right place…" May quietly stated, feeling an expression of concern show on her face as she was starting to wonder if she was heading in the right direction or not. As she turned her attention back to the path in front of her, she stopped in her tracks as something happened to catch her attention. "Huh? What's that?" Figuring that maybe she should find out, May rushed on ahead and stopped to have a closer look, to which a bright smile came to her face at the sight: there just up ahead was a view of Pallet Town in the distance.

"There it is! I'm here!" May cheered. Her glance then fell to the side as she happened to spot something, and she turned her head to find out what it was before she felt a big smile cross her face: there just passing the area where she was standing was none other than Ash, enjoying a walk through the town with Pikachu on his shoulder. "I'd recognise that look anywhere… there's Ash!" May exclaimed. With her excitement shooting skywards, she showed no hesitance in beginning to wave in his direction as she started to rush down the hill to get to where he was. "Ash! Hey, Ash! Over here!"

As Ash was walking, he stopped in his tracks upon hearing a voice calling his name and turned his head back and forth in surprise to try and figure out where it was coming from, before he turned around to notice the source: standing there at the top of the hill overlooking at the area he was walking through was May, standing there with a big smile on her face and happily waving down to him. Ash stared in surprise for a few moments upon seeing her before a big smile came to his face as she started to run down towards him. "Look, Pikachu! It's May!" Ash happily commented. Pikachu felt a bright smile come to his face at the sight of the brunette before he raised a paw to wave towards her as well.

"(Hey, May! We're down here!)" Pikachu called. Apparently taking notice of where they were, May started to rush down the hill to greet them, with the big smile on her face obvious to see. Once she got to the bottom and started to make her way towards where Ash was standing watching her, she let out a cheerful laugh before lunging forward, spreading her arms open while Ash watched in shock as he was wondering what she was doing, before he was met with his answer as she tackled him, sending the two of them dropping to the ground and landing safely on the grass. As the two collided, with May lying on top of Ash with her arms wrapped tightly around him, Pikachu scattered off before he spotted and turned around to watch the two as May lifted herself up from Ash while he could only stare in disbelief before the smile returned to his face.

"May! I know you were happy to see me, but I didn't expect you to do that. And if I'm being honest, I wasn't expecting you to get here so fast." Ash commented. As May kept her gaze down on Ash, she let out a giggle before making herself comfortable to sit beside him.

"I know. It's just that as soon as I heard that you were coming back from Kalos, I wanted to be there right away to see you. Of course, I had to leave the others behind again, but they were okay with it. Besides, it was all worth to get to see you again, Ash." May replied. Feeling her smile growing brighter as she finished this statement, May scooted closer to Ash before wrapping her arms around him tightly. "I really missed you during all the time I was in Sinnoh."

Ash stared down at May in silence for a few moments before he showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement as he placed his hands on May's shoulders to hold her close to him. "Yeah… I missed you too, May. But it's so great to see you again, especially after this long." Ash softly replied, with May turning her head up to him as he was saying that. The two simply kept their glances on each other as the winds started to blow around them, keeping their eyes on only one another as that was all they wanted to see. Just then, an expression of alarm came to May's face as she seemed to remember something.

"Oh, I almost forgot. There's something I want to give you, Ash." May said. Ash showed an expression of surprise as he started to wonder what it could be, before May reached over to open her bag and find the item she was looking for, before she grabbed out the rose that Drew gave her before she left and showed it to him. "I managed to get this before I went to catch the boat here. It's kind of like something I picked out just for you." May explained, showing a shy smile as she said this, since she knew that she wasn't being completely honest about where she actually got it. Then again, it was exactly what Drew told her to say, so she didn't see anything wrong.

Ash stared at the rose in silence for a few moments before he showed a grateful smile and reached over to grab it. "Thanks, May. But if I'm being honest…" He then bent over to place it down on the ground beside him, while May showed an expression of surprise to notice this, and turned his glance back up to her as he continued. "I don't think I could ask for anything else than for you to be here with me, just like how you are now."

May could only stare in amazement for a few seconds before she felt a big smile cross her face and she gave a simple nod in agreement. She couldn't agree more with Ash on that notion; this was exactly what she had been waiting for since the day she arrived in Sinnoh, and now it was finally becoming a reality. She was back by Ash's side, and she had a feeling that she wouldn't be going anywhere anymore. The two kept their glances on each other in silence before they started to lean forward until their lips finally met; this was something that they had always wanted to do ever since the Wallace Cup, and now was the perfect time for it. As the two were engaged in their kiss, Pikachu simply watched them with a big smile, looking delighted beyond belief at the sight of the pair simply enjoying being with each other and no one else being around to bother them. After a few seconds passed, Ash and May's lips parted as they resumed keeping their attention on each other, with silence seemingly filling the air between them before Ash was the one to finally break it.

"I was going to for a walk around Pallet Town before you arrived. Now that you're here, would you like to join me?" Ash suggested.

May simply showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement. "That sounds like a great idea.

So with this, the two stood up from where they had been lying on their backs in the grass and turned their heads to Pikachu as he had been simply watching them. "Pikachu, are you coming too?" Ash asked.

"(I sure am, Ash!)" Pikachu happily replied, nodding in agreement. So with this, he leapt up over to Ash to climb onto his shoulder while he and May turned their heads to him in amusement before looking back at each other.

"Come on, let's go." Ash stated. May simply nodded in agreement, so with the two grabbing hold of each other's hands, they started to make their way down the path to enjoy their quiet walk through the town. They had been looking forward to seeing each other again for such a while, and now they were, they had a feeling they couldn't ask for anything else in the world. They were back together at last.