A/N: I love how I actually uploaded this earlier than I said I would. Thank you all SO much for reading my story. The many views and reviews made me happy. It was a lot of fun to write May's Journey. I'm aware that there are a few plot holes so I will eventually write a mini sequel to "fix" those. Oh and to give you the bonding time that you really want. Haha if you know what I mean by that. Anyway, thank you again. Also, thanks to Nintendo Power Magazine for the Eon Ticket.
Disclaimer: If I didn't own pokemon the last 46 chapters then I still don't own it for the last one. Pokemon is all Nintendo's and Satoshi Tajiri's.
Chapter 47 Yet another reality
Brendan quietly on his bed in his room. He sighed as he looked at the clock on the wall for the tenth time. He turned back to watching the television after a moment. Sceptile sat in a corner watching along with him.
"She is so late." Sceptile nodded and faced Brendan. "She really makes me worry sometimes. I mean… I know she can take care of herself. After all, its been a week since she became the Champion. Its just that May has been acting differently the last few days. Something has to be wrong… right?"
Sceptile shrugged.
Brendan continued. "She called last night saying that she forgot to tell me something, and that she'd tell me today. We agreed to meet here at 12:00. The clock says it is passed 4:00. May hasn't answered her phone either. Maybe I should go to her house and talk to her mom."
Just as he said that, his mom yelled. "Brendan! May is here!"
The moment she said that, May walked through the door. She looked beat up and tired. Brendan noticed she wasn't wearing her bandana and that she had twigs in her hair. He turned off the television.
"Um… what happened to you? Why didn't you answer your phone?" Brendan asked.
"Sorry about that. Oh and my phone? Um that's probably at the bottom of some lake right now." May sat down on the bed with Brendan and started plucking twigs out of her hair. She sighed. "I feel so naked without it."
"Without what?"
"My bandana. That stupid thing stole it from me." May started.
Flashback… Four hours and twenty-three minutes ago…
May and Arcanine stepped out of her house. She looked over to Arcanine. "Looks like we're going to get there a little early. There are perks to living right next door to him. Ready to meet up with Brendan?"
"Ar!" Arcanine answered as he usually did.
"Okay, lets go."
May took one step and something red flew over her and yanked her bandana off her head. May yelped and a red pokemon levitated in front of them. It waved her bandana for her to see. May grabbed the top of her head for a moment before angrily pointing at the pokemon. "It's you! Hey! Give me back my bandana!"
The pokemon just laughed and then started to flee.
May would not allow that. "Arcanine!"
Arcanine knelt down and allowed May to get on his back. Then he quickly ran after the pokemon. May noticed it was really fast. Even Arcanine was having a difficult time keeping up.
May took out her pokedex. "Its called Latias, and all of them are apparently females. She's a legendary dragon and psychic type pokemon."
Latias flew close to the ground and led them out of Littleroot. Arcanine opened his mouth as he ran to let loose a Flamethrower, but May stopped him. "Don't! You could burn my bandana by accident."
Arcanine nodded and kept running. Latias was just barely out of his reach. The group passed Oldale town and they ended up in Route 103. Latias took a sharp right and flew towards the lake. She was obviously trying to lose Arcanine at this point. May threw Lapras's pokeball towards the lake just as Latias flew over the water.
"Lapras, help me get back my bandana from Latias!"
Arcanine stopped at the water and May hopped on Lapras's back. Lapras quickly swam after the thief. Arcanine just sat down and watched. He couldn't do anything else at the moment.
Lapras quickly swam after Latias while May considered her options. "Lapras, I think I my bandana can survive an Ice Beam. If it gets frozen we can just break it out later. Go all out and shoot her down!"
Lapras shot an Ice Beam, but Latias moved to the left. She shot another and then Latias moved to the right while giggling. That pokemon was really getting on May's nerves.
"We need help. Grumpig and Miltank!" Both pokemon were released on Lapras's back. "We need to get my bandana back. Grumpig, throw Miltank to the left with Psychic when Lapras shoots. You guys understand? We don't have much time." All three pokemon nodded. "Okay go!"
Lapras shot an Ice Beam and Latias moved over to the left, and just in time to have Miltank latch on to her back. Latias was really shocked and suddenly flew up high. Miltank slipped off and fell in the water. Grumpig used that time to bounce up and try to grab Latias himself.
Latias hovered right above Grumpig and moved just high enough so that he couldn't reach. His hand was an inch from her before he fell into the water with a big splash. The water hit May and a few items, such as her phone, were knocked into the water. Latias giggled again before flying away.
May held up a pokeball. "You aren't getting away! Flygon!" Flygon appeared and May jumped on his back. "We have to get my bandana back. Go after Latias!"
Flygon understood and flew after Latias as fast as he could. Lapras plucked Miltank and Grumpig from the water and put them on her back. It was all up to Flygon now.
Latias noticed that Flygon was catching up to her. She flew into the nearby forest to lose him. Flygon followed and had a difficult time navigating through the many trees. Latias moved swiftly through the branches. It was almost as if she planned to go through the forest in the first place. She suddenly flew directly at a branch and bent it forward. Flygon approached and didn't have any time to move when she released it. The branch swung at Flygon and hit him in the face. He lost control for a moment and hit another tree before falling. Flygon landed on his stomach on a large branch in order to protect May from the impact.
May climbed off and held on to the base of the tree. "Are you okay?"
Flygon stood up and held his head. Latias giggled yet again and then started to fly away. Flygon was about to follow her when a sharp pain made him flinch. He had gotten hurt worse than he thought. Flygon couldn't even think of flying at the moment.
May shook her fist in anger at the retreating pokemon. "Latias! This is not the end! I will get my bandana back! I swear it!"
It was very difficult, but May managed to eventually get back to her pokemon and recall them. Then she went home to dry off some of the water.
Ruby was shocked to see her daughter like that. "May! What happened?"
May sighed and explained. 10 minutes later…
"Wow, you really are amazing. What is the matter with you? You should have just let Latias keep the bandana. She probably just likes the color red." May's mother said.
"It doesn't matter! It's mine, and it is sentimental. I've had that for so long and I've been through a lot with it."
"May… I'll just buy you a new bandana. Oh, and I can get you new clothes to match it!" Ruby suggested.
May was too stubborn. "No… I don't need a new one. I want my original one."
Ruby laughed. "I should have just had Brendan tell you that you could get a new one. You'd just agree with him since he is your-"
"Shush!" May interrupted.
End of Flashback…
"After I dried off I walked straight over here. Ugh that stupid Latias. I swear I will get my bandana back."
Brendan was surprised. "Wow May. You know, its very interesting that you had a hard time admitting out loud that we are-"
"I know!" May quickly said.
"Sometimes you are surprisingly shy around me. Its strange since you were bold enough that you proclaimed your love for me."
May's face turned red. "That was not a love confession!"
Brendan laughed for a moment before he changed the subject. "Anyway, so you wanted to tell me something about tomorrow? Something about a ship?"
"Yeah, Mr. Briney was made the captain of a ship he was helping to build. He gave my dad a free ticket to give to me. I forgot to tell you that I'll be gone most of the day tomorrow."
"Oh, I see. Is there any way for me to get a ticket too?" Brendan asked.
"Well I was planning on going alone. I'm only taking Flygon since he can fly me to Slateport. He should be fully healed by then. The rest of my pokemon are staying at home."
Brendan accepted her wish for him to not join her. He knew she had her reasons.
"Well I should go now. It has been a long day. I was stuck in that stupid tree for a long time."
She started to leave, but Brendan stopped her. "Wait a moment. I've noticed that you've been a little down the last few days. It's surprising since you should be happy. If nothing else, you should be glad about becoming the Champion. Is something wrong?"
May knew she was lucky to have Brendan in her life. He picked up on even the smallest things. "I've just been thinking about a few things that happened. You don't have to worry. It's nothing really bad. Well, I'll see you." May got up and left his room.
Brendan got off his bed and walked over to Sceptile. "I knew there was a problem. I hope she'll be okay." Sceptile stood up and gently patted his friend on the head. "Yeah… thanks."
The next day… May had quickly arrived at Slateport city. She recalled Flygon and boarded the newly finished ship.
Mr. Briney warmly greeted her with Peeko. "Welcome May! I'm still surprised they asked me if I wanted to be the captain. Well I'm glad. Please feel free to explore the ship. We'll be leaving in a few minutes." He looked at the top of her head. "Wasn't there something on your head?"
May put her hands on the top of her head in embarrassment and quickly walked away. (I knew I looked weird without my bandana.) She thought.
Mr. Briney was confused, but he didn't dwell on that and went back to work. It didn't take long before the ship set off.
May walked over to the deck and looked out over the ocean. (I remember everything so clearly. It started with that psycho with love issues trying to kill me. Then I selfishly used my pokemon to grant my wish of helping me become more than Norman's daughter. They helped me learn that I didn't need to be the best trainer ever to achieve that. I am who I am. I'm not tormented anymore. We even went on to become champions, and I am able to be with Brendan.) May thought.
May's hand squeezed around the rail.
(Why can't I be happy with that? Heh… probably because I don't deserve this. Wasn't this built all on fear and selfishness? I caused so much pain for my family, my pokemon, and even Brendan. How could it be okay for me to have all of this? How is that fair?)
She was suddenly taken out of her thoughts when she heard a voice on the intercom. "Attention all passengers! This is Captain Briney. We have noticed a small island that isn't on our map. We will take a slight detour to check it out. We thank you for your cooperation."
"What is going on?" May wondered aloud.
Back in Littleroot… Houndoom quietly snuck around town. He kept hearing rumors that the new Champions lived here. He couldn't believe that. It was the very town he met those annoying trained pokemon. He knew it had to be them. Houndoom peeked from behind May's house. He saw Lapras sleeping on the side. Next to her was Grumpig and Miltank. It looked like those two were eating a snack together. Finally, he saw Arcanine. Arcanine laid down and yawned. All of them were so peaceful and happy. That annoyed Houndoom to the extreme. These pokemon were now the most respected of Hoenn. How is it that Arcanine was considered better than him? Houndoom was able to hold his own in a fight against him before. It was infuriating! Houndoom walked over to them. He would prove that trained pokemon were no better than him.
Arcanine noticed his presence and stood up to confront him. He could sense Houndoom's intentions were violent, and so he would fight his friend if he needed to. Arcanine growled for a moment to warn Houndoom to not mess with him. Houndoom growled back and prepared to strike.
Suddenly Brendan appeared. "Oh wow it's a Houndoom. That's pretty rare in this region." Brendan tossed a pokeball and Houndoom was taken by surprise and was sucked in. The ball shook three times and Houndoom was caught.
Brendan picked up the pokeball and let his new pokemon come out. "Hi, I'm Brendan, your new trainer."
Houndoom just stared in shock. Arcanine and the other pokemon fell to the ground laughing.
Meanwhile… Mr. Briney got his ship as close to the southern island as possible. Then he walked over to May on the deck. "May, can you check out that island? I'm sure the Champion wouldn't have trouble quickly checking out that small island. It could be a great discovery, but its too dangerous for anyone else to go."
"Well when you put it that way I guess I'll do it." (Flygon should be enough anyway.)
Mr. Briney was ecstatic. "Excellent! We'll let you off here. I wish for your safety."
It didn't take long before May was on the island. She was doing yet another favor. Though she couldn't complain since she was able to ride the ship for free. The island was beautiful. It was filled with many different types of flowers.
She walked around a little before she saw a sign. "What's this? It says 'Those whose memories fade seek to carve them into their hearts…'. That's weird. Who would put a sign up like this?"
She kept walking and found the entrance to a small cave. May slowly walked in and ended up in a special area. (I get the feeling that I just walked into a very important place.) She thought.
The ground was lush with grass and there were small puddles of water. Trees surrounded the cave, and it didn't feel as if she were in a cave at all. May noticed a small rock in the center.
She walked up to it. "Is this… a shrine? Oh, there is some writing on here."
Before she had a chance to read it, a blue pokemon suddenly appeared in a flash. May quickly backed away. She noticed that it looked a lot like Latias.
It spoke to her in her mind. (I am Latios. I am the guardian of this island.)
(Did I just hear this thing talk?) "How can I…?"
(I am a legendary psychic dragon pokemon. Talking in your mind and reading your thoughts are an easy task. You shouldn't be so surprised since this has happened to you before.) Latios said.
"You know about that?"
(I've seen your memories and looked into your heart. I can easily figure out that you are a fool.)
Now she was offended. "Hey!"
(I don't blame you too much for being a fool. Most beings are fools. Though your level of foolishness is very high at the moment. You have your answer. Since you came all the way here, I'll allow you to see what I can see.)
Latios unleashed a blue energy wave. It surrounded May and everything went dark. Then May saw the day she arrived in Littleroot town. She had met Brendan and given her mom a big hug. May saw all of the good things the people in her life did for her.
Her father and mother truly cared for her. That was proved when they went all the way to Orre to rescue and protect her.
Her pokemon had even comforted her in times of need. Lapras had helped her sleep while the others always tried to make her smile.
Brendan was always there for her as well. He helped her take care of Team Aqua and he risked his life for her. Brendan was there to listen and he went beyond all expectation. He was amazing.
Then May saw the moment where her poor mother had to face the psycho. May felt so bad about how much her own mother suffered. She suffered more than May ever had in her entire life. In that moment, May knew that being kidnapped and tortured was nothing compared to what her mother went through.
Then May saw the many moments when her pokemon were injured. They got hurt because they wanted to protect her. May hated that fact. She knew they had to fight, but seeing them in such a state broke her heart.
Next, she saw the moment Brendan was battered and broken. Seeing that again deeply hurt her. At that time, she couldn't help but cry. She honestly thought he was dead. She couldn't even bring herself to see him after that horrible day for such a long time. In fact, she still felt guilty about that.
Then everything flashed white, and May saw something that she was sure wasn't a memory. She saw her family, her pokemon, and Brendan. She even saw most of the people she met on her journey. She was so happy to see them safe and happy. They all wanted her to come over to them. May ran towards them. As soon as she reached them, she could tell that they loved her with all of their hearts. May loved them just as much.
May was suddenly taken out of that vision. Latios hovered in front of her for a moment before he disappeared.
"Um… wow." She looked down at the rock to read what it said. "'All dreams are but another reality. Never forget . . .'" After reading that, May quietly left the cave and went to return to the ship.
Mr. Briney and Peeko happily greeted her as she boarded. "Did you find anything?" Mr. Briney asked.
May paused for a moment in thought before answering, "There isn't anything on this island at all."
"Ah I see. Well there isn't any reason to come back here. Okay, we're off to Lilycove city!" Mr. Briney left and the ship started to move away from the southern island.
May watched as she got further from the island. She leaned against the rail and couldn't help but think about what just happened. (Thank you, Latios. Everything that happened wasn't built on lies and fear. It was built on the relationships I formed. You helped me look inside my own heart. What I saw was proof that everything was real. All I ever wanted was to have my friends and family, and to be able to support them as they supported me. At last… I know what it was I needed to find.)
A shadow suddenly passed over her. May looked up and noticed Latias flying away. "You little red nuisance. I will get my bandana back from you one day." After that, May enjoyed the rest of the trip.
Later… May eventually returned home. She climbed off Flygon's back in front of her house. Her pokemon and Brendan were waiting for her.
The moment she saw Brendan, she ran to him and gave him a big hug. "You are the best boyfriend in the world!"
"Um May? You sure seem happy. Not that I'm complaining." Brendan said.
"I'm just so happy to have you."
Then Brendan just had to throw in something to bug her. "Yes I know. After all, you did confess your love for me before."
May ended the hug. "That was not a real confession!"
May's sudden journey to find herself has ended. However, there were still many mysteries left in the world. Other than Latias and Latios, there are still other legendary pokemon in hiding. There are still many adventures for May to have.
High up in a tower, a green dragon became animated and slowly opened his eyes.
Yes… there are certainly many adventures left for May. Perhaps its time for a new journey.
The End
Fun fact: I didn't feel like reading the ship events word for word so I went off of memory. Except for these words…
"Those whose memories fade seek to carve them into their hearts…"
"All dreams are but another reality. Never forget…"