When we last left an infatuated May…

It all started from a mushroom that makes the consumer fall madly in love with his or her apple of the eye. As a result, she did all sorts of crazy and not to mention daring kind of stuff. The mushroom moved on and affected another person…with twice the effect after swallowing it whole. All it needed to end its reign of infatuation was an indignant yell. Setting the mushroom aside, our heroine was now infatuated through an entirely new method: hypnosis. But it wasn't what the gang had expected as the victim fell madly in love with the same sex! To top it all, the forces of darkness intervened by kidnapping her and making her knight in shining armor come to the rescue.

With stiff competition from Misty and Dawn, May vows to do whatever it takes to get the coveted prize: the heart of the young, aspiring champion…and "whatever it takes" really mean whatever it takes. It makes one break in the song...literally.

"Whoa…! She's unbeatable! It's time for May's…ADVANCED BATTLES!"

"An Infatuated May: Advanced Love Battles"

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EPISODE 666: REDEMPTION (four-part OVA continuation)

Act Five: A New Challenger (told in a new character's POV)

Petalburg City...how I missed the smell of the blooming flowers and the petals that flew with the wind. But after a long and arduous journey, I'm finally home.

My name's Tristan Barrett. I've been on my Pokemon journey for quite some time already, leaving no gym and no contest unchallenged. Believe me, the quest for becoming a Pokemon master is no walk in the park. It's been a while since I went back home for Christmas. My family must miss me by now. But that's not the only reason why I came home after finishing in the top four of the Hoenn League and making it to the top eight of the Hoenn Grand Festival.

She's waiting for me…to fulfill my promise to her and come home a champion. I'm talking about her…May Maple.

When I arrived at Petalburg City, the first thing on my list was to visit May's house just behind the Petalburg City gym. Giggling, I told myself: "She's going to be so shocked to see me." That was always the case with friends who have been gone for a long, long time. I noticed the gym's front door locked. I reckon that Norman is either still sleeping or out for the meantime. Sorry but I just know May's eager to see me. So I crept behind the front door and into the back door where I noticed that it was open. Somebody must have broken inside; it's just common sense to keep the back door closed whenever the house is empty. I called out my Metang and together we entered the house silently.

As I thought, the house was completely empty. Then again, there was no sign of a burglar. Maybe some klutz just left the back door open. Suddenly, my Metang found something that disturbed the both of us. In the living room, there were people lying down on the floor. One of them was May's little know-it-all brother, Max. Metang and I were completely shocked; it's as if somebody had knocked them out cold. When I touched them, they were more than out cold. THEY WERE AS COLD AS ICE!

"Metang, use Confusion to put them in the sofa." My trusted Metang complied; its eyes glowing as its Confusion lifted the people towards the nearby sofa.

"They can't be dead!" I said to myself. "How would I explain this to May? She's going to freak out. Worse, she might even label me as a criminal."

Just when things couldn't get any worse, one of my Pokemon let itself out of its ball: my Loudred. It was acting way out of control again and creating quite a ruckus inside the living room. But when it used Hyper Voice on the unconscious people, the ruckus escalated to a riot. At least it did the job of getting them back to the real world. Then again, it practically smashed everything fragile and ruined everything delicate. Sure, my Loudred is a pain in the neck but it always gets the job done.

"Ouch…my head…" One of the trainers, particularly the one with a bull cap said. "My head's ringing like crazy."

"It's one thing to hear Loudred's Hyper Voice from a distance but it's another to hear it at point blank range." said Max.

"I feel like I just got out of a whirlpool." Among the group was a beautiful girl. But to me, nothing is more beautiful than May.

"Let's cut to the chase, you guys. Is this Loudred yours?" A spiky-haired boy asked me.

It won't hurt to answer sincerely, will it?

"Yeah, sorry for the ruckus…Loudred is a Pokemon of action."

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When I heard their testimonies at first, I didn't believe them at all. I have known May since childhood as much as her family. Moreover, how can a kiss "kill" a person in less than three seconds? She would never do such things. There must be an explanation for all of this. These people must be trying to fool me or something.

"Hey look! So this is where I left my video camera." Max said, unearthing his video camera in between the throw pillows. "And look, it was on this entire time."

"Maybe it captured the moment when May picked us off one by one." The trainer with the bull cap replied.

What were they talking about? Were they still accusing my childhood friend of murder?

It was only when I watched the footage from Max's video camera that I learned the truth…the painful way.

"Good morning, darling…and goodbye."

"It seems that we were placed in a state of suspended animation back then." Max's brain got to work.

"So are we still alive?" The girl named Misty asked.

"Yes, we're still alive…and it's all thanks to Loudred's Hyper Voice."

"I guess we have this fine trainer to thank for."

I always get flattered when a girl praises me for something commendable. Better yet, the compliment came from such a beautiful girl. After introducing ourselves and getting acquainted with one another, we began devising a plan to look for May and snap her out of her misery. I was familiar with the urban legend of 66 Perrault Drive. Many have fallen victim to the anonymous calls sent by the manor. As soon as they've reached their intended destination, they couldn't get out of the woods even if they wanted to. Every path they took, with or without a map, led them back to the front of the manor. Rumor has it that the victims were challenged on a two-on-two Pokemon battle inside. If they lost, they would become one of the slaves of darkness in the form of an Ariados or a ghost Pokemon.

Unfortunately with May already one step ahead of us, locating her whereabouts was like looking for a hay strand in a pile of needles. But it doesn't mean that it's back to square one. If May won't give us the answer, then perhaps her "evil counterpart" can.

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Ash and I formed a two-man party to storm the mansion without turning our backs for a quick moment. His Pikachu cleared a path for us with its electric attacks while my Loudred kept the Ariados at bay with its Hyper Voice. We pushed through endless blockades of Ariados and ghost Pokemon until we've reached the battlefield in the innermost part of the abandoned manor.

The rumors that I've heard about 66 Perrault Drive were somewhat true. The entire battlefield was crawling with an army of Ariados and ghost Pokemon but I couldn't distinguish the unlucky ones from the wild ones. All I know for sure is my Pokemon adventure just got supersized.

I heard a cry from behind the shadows. It sounded like May.

"Keep it down! I'm trying to get some sleep!"

"May, show yourself or I'll force you out of there!" yelled Ash, wearing an indignant expression.

I couldn't believe my eyes. The girl who came out of the shadows looked like May. Please tell me this is only a nightmare.

"What do you want now? Even dark spirits need their beauty sleep. Besides, I don't do well in the morning."

"Stop fooling around! What have you done with the real May?" Remind me not to get Ash very infuriated.

"What are you talking about? I haven't done anything to her…yet."

"That's a lie! You deliberately let us go when I won fair and square in our last battle because you had already tainted her soul with something wicked."

"What is it this time? You won fair and square. I let the both of you go. Aren't you satisfied yet?"

"You're going to remove whatever you put inside of her right this minute!"

"Are you even thinking straight? I haven't done anything since I released you two…and in case you haven't noticed, I had to let go a lot of Ariados and ghost Pokemon ever since."

Becoming a servant of darkness in the form of an Ariados or a ghost Pokemon…losing a lot of Pokemon ever since his victory…it was beginning to take shape. I had to intervene in their argument.

"Wait Ash, I think she's telling the truth." I said.

"And who might you be?"

"The name's Tristan Barrett and I came here to—wait a sec…you don't know me?"

"Umm…nope…"

"Remember me? Back when we were still kids? Ring a bell?"

"Not really..."

"Aw come on! You have to remember." She has to remember. She may be May's dark side but at least both share the same set of memories.

Does that mean that she has already forgotten about me? Had she forgotten the promise I made to her during our childhood days? Have our glorious days as friends been lost forever? May, please try to remember. I don't want to lose you as much as Ash does.

END OF ACT FIVE