~*~*~*~
As the time passed more of their friends started showing up at the birthday party. May and her parents were still wondering where Max was, as he was usually never late to Ronald’s birthdays. They figured he was going to get here eventually, but they hoped he arrived soon because Ronald was asking for him. May also hoped to finally make up with her brother and end their two year fued as well.
Ash was delighted to see Brock show up at the party with his girlfriend, Tana. Brock didn’t change much in the last five years at all, aside from getting more serious with his girlfriend, who had her scarlet red hair tied in a ponytail. She wore a pair of jeans and a white long-sleeve shirt while Brock wore his usual attire.
“So what have you been up to, Brock?” Ash asked happily, “I haven’t heard from you in a while.”
Brock snickered and held Tana’s hand. “Well you know…Tana and I…” he said sheepishly.
“…don’t get nervous, Brock, just spit it out,” Tana said, “Brock and I were thinking about tying the knot, but he’s awfully nervous about it.”
“Tying the knot?” Ash asked, confused, “What knot?”
Tana and Brock looked at him blankly.
“Geez, Ash, no matter how many years go by you’re still the same old Ash,” Brock said, “This is Ash, Tana, might as well break it down for him.”
Tana giggled. “Saying that you’re thinking about tying the knot with someone is another way of saying we’re thinking about getting married,” Tana said happily.
“Getting married?!” Ash said, astonished, “Really?”
Brock and Tana smiled upon Ash’s reaction.
“We’ve been together for five years now and everything has worked out fine,” Tana said excitedly, “Brock here has been thinking about starting a family.”
“What? I have not, you know that’s your idea!” Brock bantered bashfully.
“Nah, dear, it was yours,” Tana said, “He wants to follow in his parents footsteps. I guess we’re going to be having ten kids like his parents did.”
“Ten kids?!” Ash exclaimed, “That’s…a lot!”
“Well my Mom and Dad were able to raise ten children…until they…abandoned them,” Brock sighed, “But I promise I won’t be like my father, and if we do decide to go the whole ten yards, I’ll be there to cook, clean and have fun with my kids when they grow up.”
“Ah…don’t you love a man who cooks and cleans around the house?” Tana asked playfully.
“Cut it out, honey, you’re embarrassing me in front of Ash!” Brock said bashfully.
“I don’t mind…or at least I think I don’t?” Ash said, perplexed, scratching his head.
Tana turned to Brock and held both his hands. The two went into a deep stare while Ash watched.
“If we really are going to have ten kids together, we might as well get to work on the first one soon,” Tana said excitedly.
“Shouldn’t we wait till we’re married first?” Brock asked.
“Are you saying you want to stick with rubber?” Tana asked slyly.
“What…I mean…of course not!” Brock said, blushing, “I’d just like to wait until everything is settled first…you know.”
“Hehehe, ok then, but you better buy me that ring by the end of the year,” Tana said, giggling, “I’d like to get to work on our little baby factory as quickly as possible. We both have the equipment on hand, so why not get to work?”
“When you talk like that, there’s no wonder I ended up falling for you,” Brock said bashfully.
Ash was still confused. That much should have been obvious.
“Anyway, Ash, how’s your relationship with May going?” Tana asked.
“With May? It’s going great!” Ash said, “She just won the Grand Festival in the Triyot region and she’s been extra happy lately. We…love each other a whole bunch.”
“I’m happy for you, Ash,” Brock said, playfully giving him a punch to the shoulder.
“Yeah,” Ash said, placing his hand behind his head, “I’m sure May could tell you a whole bunch of stuff too.”
He looked behind him but didn’t see her anywhere.
“Hm, that’s funny, I thought she was around here a second ago. She isn’t playing with Ronald because Caroline is holding him over there,” Ash said, pointing to the mother and child, “I wonder where she went.”
“Maybe she’s talking with Misty?” Brock asked, “I did see the two chatting together while setting up the tables a little while ago.”
“Heh, I guess you’re right, I’m going to go look for them, catch you guys later!” Ash said, running down the ranch while waving to them.
Brock turned to Tana and chortled.
“You’re such a blabbermouth,” Brock said, “I didn’t want them to know we were going to get married yet, I wanted to announce it as a surprise later.”
“Well we only told Ash, we can announce it when May’s brother Max gets here too. You haven’t seen him arrive here yet, have you?” Tana asked.
“Nope,” Brock said, “I’m really starting to wonder where he is, he’s actually about a half hour late to the party already. I hope it isn’t because of the fight he had with May. Those two really need to make up with each other by now.”
“They do,” Tana said, “It would be a shame if Ross’ wicked deeds drove them apart forever. After my best friend took her life because of that bastard, I was overly depressed. I hope they don’t stay depressed because of the incident either. They were always happy siblings, I hope they stay that way.”
~*~*~*~*
May and Misty were inside Professor Oak’s lab in the kitchen area, where more food was being cooked for the party. Currently only appetizers were on the table, but the main course was still heating in the oven. There was also a huge birthday cake for Ronald to blow out the candles on, it was flavored strawberry shortcake, just the way he loved it.
Misty was also 21 years old now like Ash, and she had matured into quite the responsible Gym leader. The Cerulean Gym was now the most popular Gym in the entire Kanto region, and she had become one of the most powerful Water-type trainers in recent times, second only to Elite members like Wallace and Lorelei.
She had her orange hair down right above shoulder length, it was cut fairly short and she kept it brushed behind her ears. She wore some neat summertime clothes, a tank top with green and yellow stripes across it and very short white shorts. She had finally caught up with her sisters in appearance; her body now could arguably be considered more desirable than her glorious older sisters. She was very pretty, and often had trainers at the Gym try to hit on her after they won a badge from her. She remained modest however, as well as very picky, nevertheless she had more guys lined up around the block for her than she could have ever possibly imagined.
“I’m so glad you could make it to the party today, Misty, I really like it when we’re all together,” May said happily.
“When Professor Oak and Brock told me you guys were having a party for Ronald here in Pallet, how could I refuse?” Misty said happily, “I put up a closed sign in from of the Cerulean Gym, hopefully nobody breaks into it while I’m gone.”
“Aren’t your sisters there to watch it for you when you leave?” May asked.
“My sisters? Ha!” Misty laughed, “They’ve been flying around the region doing god knows what for a few years now. I think its some sort of fashion or modeling show or something-or-other they’re doing, but whatever it is, they’re sure bringing home a lot of money!”
“They give you what they earn?” she asked.
“Yes, of course. My sisters may not like being Gym leaders, but they sure respect the Gym and expect me to do a good job running it. The last time they visited they left me with a huge sum of money to help the Gym with. I used the money to help finance a new pool for the Gym, new seats in the stands, new underwater caverns for the Pokemon to swim in and everything!” Misty said excitedly, “Really, being a Gym leader isn’t so bad once you get used to it.”
“Heh, I’ve heard that line before,” May chuckled, “Considering my Dad’s a Gym leader and Max wants to be one too, I’ve heard it a lot over the years. As for me, ick, no Gym leader stuff for this girl. Only Contests and traveling!”
Misty peeked in the oven to see if the food was ready, but it still didn’t look golden brown yet. She and May chatted a bit more as they walked over to the refrigerator and checked the side dishes.
“So where is your brother, May?” Misty asked, checking the pumpkin pie with her finger. She brought her finger to her mouth and tasted it. “Hmmm, needs a little more salt.”
“Max? Hm, I dunno. What time is it now?”
Misty looked up at the clock above them. “It’s 3:50pm, your brother is awfully late,” she said.
“Man, I was afraid of that,” she sulked, “I really hope he gets here soon, everyone is looking for him, especially Ronald.”
Misty poured some salt on the pumpkin pie and pushed it back inside the refrigerator.
“He’s probably rushing over here after a huge battle or something, don’t get too worried,” Misty said.
“I’m…not, I just want to see him for an important reason.”
“Being a trainer is a lot of work, and considering he’s been out there traveling by himself for five years now, I’m sure he’s doing well. Heck, I work 12 hour shifts at the Gym most of the time doing all kinds of stuff like battling trainers, maintenance, making sure the Pokemon are all well-fed and everything. It’s a lot of work, but it sure does feel worth it at the end. I’m sure your brother feels the same way with his accomplishments.”
“You work 12 hour shifts? Do any cute guys come to the Gym?” May asked excitedly.
“Heehee, funny you should ask. I get hit on almost every other day, sometimes multiple times in the same day. Some guys even have the nerve to ask me to battle them while wearing my Mermaid outfit,” Misty said, sticking out her tongue.
“Really? What perverts,” May teased.
“I know, right? The nerve of such people, if you want to win my heart over you gotta keep your eyes on the battle and not on my breasts,” Misty said as she rolled her eyes.
“Wow, I’m sure you have lots of stories to tell, Misty,” she said excitedly.
“I do, there’s a ton of them, but enough about me, I want to talk about you,” Misty said, “More specifically, how’s it going with Ash?”
May smiled. “Ash is a sweetheart, but he can be a bit too stubborn at times and we fight over stupid things like who gets to eat the last croissant for dinner, but otherwise we’re doing great!” she said, “Oh, and then he snores a lot when he sleeps too. That bugs the hell out of me, so much so that I gotta kick him off the bed to wake him up.”
“Ooh, that sounds interesting. So…if you don’t mind me asking…how’s the sex?” Misty asked.
“Wha…?” May said, somewhat startled.
“C’mon, don’t try to hide it, I know you and Ash have done it by now,” Misty implied, “You don’t have a guy like Ash around as your boyfriend for five years and not eventually lose your virginity to him.”
May blushed and pushed her hands against her cheeks.
“It’s…nice…” May said, nervously.
“That’s it?!” Misty chortled, “C’mon, May…I know there’s more to it than that!”
“Hey…what’s with the million and one questions, Misty? This is private stuff!” May said skittishly, her face turning a bashful red.
“I’m just interested, that’s all,” she said, “I can tell from the look on your face that it isn’t just sex, it’s good sex. Ooh la la, your face is bright red! That must mean the sex is incredible!”
“Hey! You’re…too excited about this! Jeez,” May said bashfully, “We’ve...slept together a number of times over the past year. I…think it gets better each time we do it, since we both learn from our previous…uh…experiences and get better at it. Ash and I didn’t know what the hell we were doing the first time we “attempted” to have sex, mostly because it hurt me a bit and Ash didn’t know whether he was doing it the right way or the wrong way.”
“Heh, I guess I can get a lot of information out of you when I push hard enough,” Misty teased.
“Aw, you’re mean,” May said, trying to hide her excessive blushing, “We…did lose our virginity to each other after all, so its no surprise that we got better at it as we went on.”
“I imagine you and Ash have quite the time together,” Misty said, “You’re really lucky, May, to have a guy like Ash. I hope you know that.”
“I…I know,” she said, nodding.
“I can tell the way he talks about you that he loves you a lot, and speak of the devil, look who just came in here now!” Misty said, waving, “Hey, Ash!”
May turned around flustered as Ash walked toward them. Ash noticed that her face was very red and Misty was giggling.
“Geez, what happened here?” Ash asked, “You look awfully embarrassed, May, did Misty say something about me?”
“You can say that, Ash,” Misty chortled.
“She’s just crazy, ignore her,” May said frantically, waving her arms, “Did you come in here to sneak some food away or something?”
“No, actually, I came here to ask you if you’ve seen Max. Has he gotten here yet?” Ash asked.
“No, that’s what we were wondering about too,” Misty said, “Maybe your parents should call him, May?”
“They don’t have his phone number, Max broke his PokeNav a few months ago and never got it repaired,” May said, “Damn, I hope he makes it. He’ll really disappoint Ronald if he doesn’t.”
“Well, give him another half hour. He’ll show up,” Ash said, taking May’s hand.
May wasn’t sure if that was really the case or not. Max was never late to Ronald’s parties, not even by a few minutes. To be nearly an hour late was not only surprising, but she started to have this worrisome feeling in the back of her head that something happened to him. She hoped that was not the case, and shook her head over how silly imagining such a thing was. In any case, Misty prying in about their love life snapped her out of her thoughts about her brother.
“By the way Ash, I hope you’re gentle with May. She’s a delicate girl,” Misty said, peering back into the oven.
“What?” Ash pondered.
“She’s just saying how you should be gentle when we sleep together,” May said, laughing.
“Huh? Is that what you were blushing about?” he asked.
“Yea, Misty was curious about how good the sex was,” May said, chuckling.
“…”
“If you’re curious, May, I can give you some advice on different techniques for next time,” Misty called out, “There can never be too much advice about love during a little girl-talk.”
“OK!” May said naively, “Not while Ash is around though, I want to surprise him with it. Let’s wait till he leaves.”
The two girls giggled.
“You two are weird,” Ash said plainly.
Misty and May laughed as they looked over the rest of the food for the party. Awkwardness couldn’t even describe the situation properly, Ash walked out of the room while hearing Misty and May gossip about him in the background.
~*~*~*~*~*
Hours passed and the party went on. Everyone was having a good time yet they all felt the absence of a certain family member, namely Max. It was now 5:00pm and Max still wasn’t at the party. They were starting to wonder if he was going to show up at all, and couldn’t believe that he’d miss out on his younger brother’s party.
Ronald started to get cranky because his favorite brother wasn’t around, and started to bug his parents about where he was. May asked her parents about Max and they didn’t have a clue why he wasn’t here. Ronald started bothering and whining to his parents so much that they couldn’t think straight, and Misty offered to take Ronald by the hand and show him the food a few feet away from them to calm him down.
“Ronald, want to come with me? I can show you some of the yummy cake Brock will be serving later!” Misty said, holding out her hand to the young boy.
“Cake…? I like Cake!” Ronald said happily, running to grab her hand.
Misty picked him up and carried him on her shoulder as she winked at May for taking him off their hands. May appreciated it.
“Do you think maybe he’s not coming to the party just to spite me?” May asked her parents.
“Why would that be?” Norman retaliated, “You’ve been together at the other parties and Max would never do this to his own brother.”
“Yeah…I know, but I really can’t think of another reason,” May said sadly.
“Do you guys really not keep Max’s phone number? It seems pretty dumb not to,” Ash said.
“Ash! Be polite!” May scolded him, “Max never bothered to get his PokeNav fixed so how the heck could my Mom and Dad call him? It’s his own fault that he doesn’t keep a way for us to stay in contact with him.”
“I was just sayin’,” Ash moaned.
“Well, we are going to start digging into the food pretty soon, we’ve waited a long time already,” Brock said, walking over to them, “Let’s just hope he does indeed show up before all of it is gone.”
“Ok, Brock, but still,” May whined.
“I really don’t know what to say,” Caroline said, “If he’s doing this on purpose, I’ll definitely be angry with him.”
The family started quarreling with each other as Misty held Ronald from afar. She sighed and showed Ronald the cake and food on the outside tables.
“Are we gonna eat all that cake up later, Missy?” Ronald asked.
“Tee hee, my name is Misty, not missy,” she said happily, cradling the boy in her arms, “And yes, we’re going to eat all the cake up later. Aren’t you happy?”
“Is my brother going to cut me a piece of cake? He always cuts me a biiiiiig piece just for me!” Ronald exclaimed.
“That’s…if he gets here, Ronald,” Misty said, “If he doesn’t make it, either me or your sister can cut you a piece of cake too.”
“But I want Max to do it! He cuts me a big piece and Mommy gets mad that Max cuts me a bigger slice than she’d give me!” Ronald said.
“Heheh, Max gives you more cake than you should have, that’s very nice of him,” Misty said.
“Yeah, is Max coming?” he asked again, getting impatient in her arms.
“Hopefully soon,” she reassured him, “Your brother loves you, he wouldn’t miss your big birthday party. Here, want me to give you a tiny piece of cake a little bit early?”
“Ok, Missy, thank you!” Ronald said happily, drooling.
“Tee hee, I said it’s Misty not Missy!” she said, giggling.
Misty placed Ronald back on the ground and cut him a tiny piece of cake while his parents weren’t looking. Ronald happily dove right into the treat as Misty watched May and her parents getting more impatient with each other. Ash was fairly disappointed in the quarreling and walked over to her.
“They’re really arguing about it a lot,” Ash said.
“Yeah, Ash, I can see that May and Caroline are getting really stressed out about it from here,” she said, peering over at them, “Did May and Max really stop talking to each other?”
Ash nodded. “Yeah, May humiliated him in public back in Petalburg City, and they haven’t talked since. Now they’re starting to wonder if Max deliberately didn’t show up just because May came here.”
“That doesn’t sound like the Max I know, he’d never do something this spiteful to his own family,” Misty said.
“Max has changed a lot since you knew him, he’s gotten more arrogant as he got older. People…change when they grow up,” he said.
“Yes, I know,” Misty said, leaning against the table, “People do change…a lot.”
Ronald walked over to Misty and handed her the empty plate.
“All done!” he exclaimed.
“Wow, Ronald, you ate that cake all up! Don’t tell your Mommy about it though, it’s our little secret!” Misty said, taking the plate from him.
“Ok, I just hope my big brother gets here to cut me another biiig piece later,” Ronald said happily, scurrying back over on the grass toward his parents.
Ash and Misty watched the eager little five year old pull on May’s clothes to get her attention, and after whining to her parents some more, she bent down and picked her little brother up.
“It just doesn’t make sense why Max wouldn’t be here, he knew in advance about the party, it just isn’t in his character not to be there for his brother,” Ash said.
“Maybe something happened to him?” Misty asked.
“Are you crazy? What could possibly happen to him?” Ash retaliated, slightly angry.
“Hey, relax, it was just a suggestion,” Misty said, blowing him off, “It would explain why he’s not at the party.”
“Yeah, but you don’t have to go ahead and start thinking something bad happened to the kid,” Ash said.
“What? I don’t think anything bad happened to Max, I was just…saying…” Misty exclaimed.
Brock walked over to them and shook his head.
“What are you two doing, bickering just like the old days? It’s bad enough May’s family is starting to bicker with each other over Max, we don’t need you two to do it as well,” Brock said.
“Sorry, Brock, it’s just that we don’t want Ronald to be upset,” Ash said.
“Yeah, that little boy sure does love his brother,” Misty said, “It’ll be a shame if he doesn’t get to see him. He’ll be so disappointed.”
“I think everyone just needs to relax, Max is a good kid, he’s not going to spite his entire family,” Brock said, “I’m still confident he’ll show up eventually, besides, all this fighting is getting Tana nervous.”
“Heh, you’re probably right, Brock,” Ash said.
“I suppose we all need to relax a bit and enjoy what we came here for. It is a party, after all, we should be having a good time,” Misty said.
“Exactly, now c’mon, let’s get started on the dinner, I whipped up some great stuff,” Brock said happily, “When Max gets here they’ll be plenty of food left over for him. Besides, why are we worrying so much about Max? What trouble could he possibly be in?”
~*~*~*~*~
Max was hanging upside down from the roof of a cavern.
He was barely conscious and had slash marks throughout his body. His pants remained unscathed but the entire back of his shirt was torn in two and barely hanging on his body. His legs were held together by a sticky substance that dangled him from the ceiling and prevented him from moving.
The green beast that struck him and brought him back to his domain was to the left of him, eating a large piece of meat from some other unlucky dead Pokemon. The beast had spikes all along its back and its massive tail. It had long jagged teeth inside its massive mouth and was about seven feet tall which is why Max was easy prey for the goliath. The Pokemon was a Tyranitar, a deranged beast that searched the land for food and decided upon Max as its next meal.
The boy struggled to peer around the cavern as best he could, even though the stinging pain in his back was preventing him from holding his concentration. He was looking for his Ivysaur, unsure if it managed to get away before the beast struck him unconscious.
He spotted his backpack, his cracked glasses and a few scattered Pokeballs lying around against a rock to his right, but his Ivysaur wasn’t among them. He prayed that his Ivysaur had gotten away, and wasn’t the piece of meat that the beast was currently devouring to the left of him.
He desperately tried to reach himself up to pull apart the substance that was holding his legs together on the ceiling, but dangled unsuccessfully when he couldn’t reach. He didn’t want to alert the beast that he was still alive, but desperately needed to find some way to escape.
Suddenly, he noticed one of his Pokeballs glowing and floating in mid-air. The boy thought he had perhaps imagined it in his delirium, but no, it was really floating. The boy suddenly reached out with his hand to try and call the Pokeball to him, and the ball surely started to slowly float toward him. Whether it was coincidence or not didn’t really matter, he just had to get out of there before he was next on Tyranitar’s menu.
Max groaned. Tyranitar suddenly looked up at the boy and dropped the piece of meat out of its mouth. It stood on its legs and started walking toward the boy ominously. Max knew he only had a few precious seconds left or he would surely die.
The Pokeball suddenly opened up and revealed his Scyther, a green praying mantis Pokemon with long wings and scythes for arms.
“Scyther…help me!” Max groaned.
Scyther quickly realized what was going on and fluttered in mid-air to cut the substance holding his legs together.
“Sccyyyyyyyther!” Scyther cried.
Tyranitar started marching toward them as quickly as possible. Max’s legs were free and the boy fell to the ground, but instead of hitting the floor, he floated in mid-air.
“Wuh?” Max moaned.
His body was surrounded by a blue aura, and was gently lowered to the floor.
“Scyther…who did that?” Max asked.
Gardevoir.
“What?” Max asked, startled, “Gardevoir….used its psychic abilities to levitate your Pokeball and let me land…where…?”
Before Max fainted, he caught a rare glimpse of the majestic green and white Pokemon know as Gardevoir, who hovered in the air and fired a Shadow Ball attack at Tyranitar. The beast screamed in pain as Scyther stood in front of Max’s body defensively and let the two go at it.
Gardevoir looked back at the boy who would surely die if his wounds were not healed. It began to sway forth in the air before firing another round of energy at Tyranitar. The beast roared upon the explosion.
“I don’t…understand,” Max said, as he collapsed on the ground.
The boy fainted, leaving the rest of his life up to chance.
~*~*~*~*~
“How ya feeling, sonny?” an old man said jovially.
The boy opened one eye cautiously and looked around him. He suddenly shot up on the operating table and gasped when he realized he was inside a Pokemon Center.
“How the heck did I get here?” he gasped. He then realized that he was no longer in pain, and looked behind him as he pressed his hand along his back. “All the slash marks…are gone!”
“Gardevoir,” Gardevoir said, smiling at the boy.
“Gardevoir? You…helped me?” Max asked.
“Ivysaur, Ivy!” a familiar Pokemon chimed.
Max felt Ivysaur’s vine pressing against his face and he turned happily to his right to see his Ivysaur safe and sound on the chair next to the operating table.
“Ivysaur, you’re alive!” Max gasped happily as Ivysaur jumped into his arms.
“Ivysaur, Ivy!”
“Your Scyther is ok as well, we returned it to its Pokeball. Your other Pokeballs and backpack are resting against the wall over there,” the old man pointed.
Max squinted at the old man for a few moments before recognizing him.
“Hey I know you…don’t I?” Max asked.
“Unless you got amnesia from that little escapade, you definitely should,” the Professor said, “It’s me, Professor Latrommi.”
“Professor Latrommi?” Max gasped, “Wow, it really is you…its…been such a long time!”
“Only half a decade, more or less. Nothing too much,” Latrommi said, smiling as his large nose dangled in front of the boy, “You’re just lucky I was able to save your life.”
“You…saved me with your Gardevoir, correct?” Max asked.
“Gardevoir, Gardevoir,” it chimed.
“Gardevoir was tracking down the deranged Tyranitar you ran into, and eventually its search led it to the cave you were being held in,” Latrommi said, “In other words, you were just lucky to be in the right place at the right time, boy! Well…you were also in the wrong place at the wrong time because my rampaging Tyranitar nearly tore you limb from limb and made you its dinner…but hey, at least we saved you, right?”
“Gee, thanks,” Max pouted, “That Tyranitar…wouldn’t happen to be the same one from over five years ago, would it? Is that the same one my sister and Ash had to battle and bring back to the lab? The same one you used that de-aging ray gun of yours on?”
“You hit the nail on the head with that one,” he said, “Tyranitar managed to escape from my lab on its own and considering how deteriorated its mind was, it went on a rampage over any area it was in. I had to go call for my good friend Gardevoir to help track it down and bring it back here before anyone got hurt, unfortunately, you didn’t seem to be that lucky. But not to worry! Even though you were near death, Gardevoir used her healing technique and your wounds are all but gone! Isn’t it grand?”
“Yeah…thank you,” Max said, looking at his Ivysaur, “I hope that Tyranitar didn’t hurt anyone else besides me before you stopped it.”
“Eh…we’re looking into that,” Latrommi said quickly as sweat poured down his face, “We have Tyranitar here in the Pokemon Center now, all calmed down, so I’ll just hope for the best. I just wish my old friend could live out the rest of its days peacefully. Anyway, boy, what was your name again? And where is your sister and that other kid you used to travel around with?”
“Heh, the name is Max, remember? And I don’t travel with Ash or my sister anymore, I travel all by myself with my Ivysaur,” Max said proudly.
“Finally broken away from your sister’s shadow, eh? That’s wonderful, although if I had a sister that looked like yours, incest would certainly be an option worth exploring,” Latrommi said.
“That’s sick,” Max said disgusted.
“Can’t you take a joke, kid?” Latrommi snorted.
“That was a joke?” Max asked, perplexed.
“Ah, never mind,” Latrommi said.
“Gardevoir,” Gardevoir said, shaking its head.
Ivysaur jumped out of Max’s arms and back on the chair. He got up from the operating table and stood on the floor, stretching out his arms. He looked at the clock on the wall, it was 9:00pm at night. He groaned and leaned against the wall.
“Something bothering ya, kid?” Latrommi asked, “You should be happy! You just cheated death!”
“Yeah, yeah, but I had someplace to be today,” he sulked, “It was my little brother’s birthday party, and I was supposed to see my parents, and my sister and Ash and everyone again at Pallet Town. It’s…9:30pm now so I missed the entire thing, damn, this is the first time I ever missed getting to my baby brother’s birthday. My parents will probably think I missed it on purpose since I had a big fight with my sister two years ago.”
“Well you have a good excuse. Just tell your parents you were almost killed today, they’ll buy that story, no problem!” Latrommi said nonchalantly.
Max rolled his eyes.
“My brother Ronald was probably wondering where I was all day, I can imagine him being so disappointed,” Max said.
“Ivysaur, Ivy!” Ivysaur chimed, trying to cheer its trainer up.
“I know, Ivysaur, and you wanted to see your parents again too. You know, after nearly biting the big one today, I realize how stupid it is of me to carry on that fued I have with my sister. Life’s too short for me to push my family away and not talk to them, I probably would have finally apologized to her if I got the chance.”
Latrommi glanced at Gardevoir.
“Why don’t you just go there now? It’s not too late yet,” Latrommi suggested.
“Are you crazy? The party is all the way at Pallet Town and we’re here in Vermilion City! How the heck am I supposed to get there?” Max asked.
Gardevoir approached the boy and nodded.
“Why don’t you hop aboard the Gardevoir express? She can probably transport you there,” Latrommi said.
“Whoa, I forgot about that,” Max said, surprised, “You still have May’s energy signature stored in your body from when we were looking for Ross all those years ago, right?”
“Gardevoir,” Gardevoir said, nodding.
“Then that means you can just zero in on her location and transport me right to her!” Max said happily, “Awesome! Maybe I can make it to the party and apologize to my sister tonight after all.”
“Life’s full of surprises, ain’t it?” Latrommi said, yawning, “Might as well stop yapping and just let Gardevoir teleport you there already, this story needs to end sometime, you know?”
“Heehee, ok,” Max said happily, “I’ll probably have to explain to them the lack of a shirt and why my glasses are cracked, but other than that I can just pick up my bag and Pokeballs and be good to go!”
“Ivysaur, Ivysaur!” Ivysaur cheered.
“Yeah, we’ll be there soon, Ivysaur,” Max said jovially.
“Hm, you could use a shirt though, Max,” Latrommi said, as he reached into a drawer and pulled out a long white t-shirt, “The Pokemon Center has some spare plain white t-shirts, so you might as well wear this when you transport over there rather than going with your bare chest.”
Max happily took the white t-shirt from Latrommi and put it on quickly.
“Thanks a lot, it fits nicely too,” Max said, smiling.
“No problem, kiddo,” Latrommi said, winking at the boy, “I’m just glad to help an old friend.”
“Gardevoir,” Gardevoir motioned, reaching out her arm for Max to grab a hold.
“Don’t forget to mention me when you get there,” Professor Latrommi said, “I began this silly story, I might as well end with it. So long!”
Max was excited as he picked up his bag as well as his belongings and prepared to teleport with Gardevoir over to Pallet Town. He hoped it wasn’t too late to finally set things straight.
~*~*~*~*
Caroline was holding her son, Ronald, who was falling asleep in her arms. The little boy had finally tired out after a long and festive party. She was sitting inside Ash’s house in Pallet Town as she rocked the child and sang him a soft lullaby. The mother was annoyed that Max didn’t show up at the party, but she felt even more sorry for her son, who was asking for Max the entire time. Her husband felt the same way, but was more concerned for Max’s well-being than anything else. He knew it wasn’t like him to spite the family on purpose, and was worried about his whereabouts.
Since they were in Pallet Town, Ash was feeling a little homesick, so he wanted to spend the night at his house. Delia kept his bedroom the same as it always was, leaving most of the same furniture and his belongings in their place from the time he left on his journey over ten years ago.
Ash, Pikachu and May were staring out the bedroom window at the night sky. The party was a blast, but after Misty, Brock and Tana had gone home, they felt a little bittersweet. This was the first time they were all reunited in quite some time, so they all felt a little sad that their friends had returned to their own lives after the party ended. After all, none of them were kids anymore. Ash and his friends were all in their twenties now, and they were no longer the band of optimistic go-getters who set out on adventures together in the world of Pokemon back when they were younger. The parting felt even more sad because Max never attended, and his absence was felt by everyone.
“So what do you think is going to happen now?” Ash asked.
“Pikachu, pika,” Pikachu cooed, standing on the windowsill.
“We’ll have to see how Max explains himself the next time we see him,” May said, “If…there is a next time we see him.”
She brushed her hand through her brown hair as her innocent gaze watched the stars twinkle in the night sky.
“I hope it doesn’t cause a rift in your family,” Ash said, taking her hand.
May smiled, she was done trying to predict stuff, and accepted things as they came.
“We’ll see what happens, Ash, but for now, I just want to get some sleep. The party really tired me out, and spending hours thinking about my brother didn’t help matters,” she said, squeezing his hand, “Want to get to bed?”
“Our parents are downstairs talking with one another, you sure you want to go to sleep so early?” he asked.
“Yeah, I doubt they’ll bother us. It’s not like we have anything better to do now anyway,” she said smiling, inching her way toward his face.
“As long as you’re not going to do anything Misty told you about, its fine with me,” he joked.
“Maybe I’ll just surprise you with something I came up with then,” she said lovingly.
Ash brought his girlfriend close and kissed her softly, caressing her brown hair and holding her around the waist. She had her arms across his back as they kissed slowly and passionately, holding each other tight as the moonlight surrounded by stars outside illuminated the loving couple.
As Ash and May’s hands started to wander to unnecessary places and clothing started to fall to the ground, Pikachu knew it was its cue to leave the room and give the two a little privacy. Just as Pikachu was about to walk out the door, Ash gave his best friend a little wink for the convenience.
“Pikachu,” Pikachu cooed, as it stepped outside the room and gently shut the door behind it.
May giggled as she pushed him down on the bed and climbed on top of him, letting him fondle her breasts as their warm skin radiated upon each other.
“This seems like a nice way to end the day, Ash,” she giggled as he stroked her fondly, “We begin the day making love to each other and we end the day the same way, too bad we don’t get a chance to do this all the time.”
“We could find the time,” he said, as their hips squeezed against one another and their love ensued, “It’s not like being a Pokemon trainer takes up 24 hours.”
“Heh, I love you, Ash,” May said happily, her gentle smooth skin brushing against his, “Thank you for making me happy all these years, you’re just the best. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“I wouldn’t either, we’re two of a kind, aren’t we? No wonder I love ya so much,” Ash said, kissing her tenderly.
As they were enjoying their moment, a bright light began to appear in the right side of the room next to the bed. The light was so bright that the couple turned to see what it was and had to shield their eyes from it.
“What is that?” Ash asked, sitting upright with May on his lap.
“I…don’t know,” May replied, her hands placed firmly on Ash’s shoulders.
The light disappeared and in its place left none other than the feminine Pokemon Gardevoir and May’s brother, Max. The boy and Gardevoir looked disoriented as they tried to figure out where they were….until they saw Ash and May nude holding each other on the bed next to them.
“GAH!” Max cried, shielding his eyes, “Gardevoir, you didn’t have to transport us right next to them! The last thing I wanted to see was my sister and Ash naked in bed together!”
“Gardevoir, Gardevoir!” Gardevoir said, apologizing frantically.
Ash and May quickly jumped off each other and dropped over to the other side of the bed and kneeled behind it. They only looked over the side of the bed at shoulders length so Max and Gardevoir wouldn’t see more than they needed to.
“What the hell!” May cried, “You guys nearly scared the life out of me! You can’t just appear out of nowhere when I’m having sex…!”
“Max!” Ash said jovially, a huge smile appearing across his face. He turned to May. “Well you wanted to see your brother again, May, so here he is!”
May finally calmed down and pushed her hand through her hair skittishly. Her brother was standing there on the other side of the room, and once the shock settled down, she was happy to see him.
“Hey…Max, long time no see,” she said softly, unsure of what his reply would be.
Max paused and scratched his right shoulder. This was the first time they spoke to one another sincerely in over two years. Although dropping in on his sister while she was making love with Ash wasn’t exactly the idea he had in mind, especially since the couple was now kneeled down on the other side of the bed to hide their nakedness, it was either now or never to finally let their fued die.
“Um…May…I’m sorry,” Max said, striking a soft smile, “I apologize for acting like such a jerk…I…I just want to say I’m sorry for everything.”
May nodded.
“I’m sure you are, in more ways than one,” she laughed, “I’m sorry too, but can we like…apologize to each other after I’m fully dressed? It sure is awkward to do it like this.”
“I see what you mean,” Max said, smiling, “Are Mom and Dad still here?”
“They’re downstairs with Ronald,” Ash said, “Go see them!”
“Ok, Ash, heh, I barely recognized you,” Max said, still shaken up from seeing the two like that, “I’ll…leave you two here to put some clothes on.”
Max walked toward the door as Ash and May continued to kneel behind the bed with nervous expressions on.
“Gardevoir,” Gardevoir said nonchalantly, walking out the door with him.
As the door shut behind them, Ash and May finally stood up from behind the bed.
“Even though he’s a little late, it looks like Max made Ronald’s birthday party after all!” Ash said contently.
“Yep, and it looks like he’s going to finally talk to me again after all this time too and forgive me,” May said, nodding, “Although I have to say, I think seeing the two of us, you know, like this may have scarred him for life.”
“Heehee, but why do you think he had a Gardevoir with him?” Ash asked.
“Hm, I dunno, but I guess we’ll find out when we ask him. There was something very familiar about that Gardevoir though,” May said, slapping Ash on the chest, “Put some clothes on, will ya, I’d like to join the little family reunion going on downstairs.”
The couple heard her parents and Max talking to each other downstairs with much enthusiasm and happiness, and were pleased that all was going well.
Pikachu rushed back into the bedroom with much excitement.
“Pikachu, pikapi!” it cheered.
“You just saw Max run by, didn’t you, Pikachu?” Ash asked happily. Pikachu jumped on the bed and cheered. “Yep, Max is back!”
They quickly threw their clothes back on and May grabbed Ash quickly so they could rush downstairs…where a reunited family was happy to be together again.
Ash and May certainly had an adventure together that went down many twists and turns, shocks and surprises, and although the future hasn’t been written yet, the couple sure had a lot of excitement to look forward to.
Ash turned to Pikachu as he watched May run down the steps and greet her family. Max opened up his arms to give his sister a heartwarming hug while Ronald snapped out of his sleepiness in the excitement of seeing his older brother. Norman, Caroline and their three children had a lot of catching up to do, and Ash watched afar with Pikachu and smiled.
“They look like a happy family again, Pikachu,” Ash said.
“Pikachu!”
“Yeah, and as May’s boyfriend, I’m glad we’re part of that family too,” he said proudly, “C’mon, let’s join them!”
Ash and Pikachu walked toward May and her family. He put his arms around May and watched Max and Ronald laugh excitedly. May turned to Ash and kissed him on the cheek.
She loved Ash, and she was glad that he was part of the family too. She couldn’t have asked to be any happier than she was presently.
The End.
