A Journey's Link

Chapter 15 - Control

She quickly turned around and headed through the back doors; as she opened the door, she managed to run directly into someone who had been entering. She headbutted the other person and fell, her head throbbing. She looked up, one hand on her pained skull, and saw the face of someone that worsened her headache.

It was Drew, the green-haired boy who always had a smug look on his face. Serena noticed that the smugness was diluted a bit; it was replaced by a serious look. He silently extended his hand, which she grabbed and managed to regain her footing.

Drew looked at her with confusion. "What are you still doing here?" he asked. "Everyone in the city is at the Pokemon Center right now." Usually, he would add a snarky remark, but his statement simply ended there; he was being genuine.

"I was looking for May..." Serena began saying, her voice faltering as she spoke. She knew May wasn't going to be here, and telling Drew this would only result in mocking. Instead, he shrugged his shoulders and looked towards the Pokemon Center.

"Well, I'd say no one is here, so I think our help is best used at the Pokemon Center." He gestured towards the building, which now had a line extended into the streets. Serena nodded and began walking towards the building; she was suddenly stopped by Drew, who rubbed the back of his head as he spoke.

"I saw your performance before it got interrupted," he began timidly. "I'm sorry for the things I said about Kalos performers." He looked away from Serena, almost as if he was embarrassed for apologizing.

Serena was taken aback by Drew's apology but gave a soft smile. Here she was, thinking Drew was nothing more than a smug, unapologetic snake when in reality, he had respect for anyone who proved him wrong. "I accept your apology," she said boldly, sticking out her hand for a handshake. He looked up and shook her hand before both heading up the street towards the Pokemon Center.

Back at the Center, Ash, Goh, and May were helping the final few people with their injured Pokemon and were cleaning up the expected mess left behind. All three sat in the healing room, waiting for the final few Pokemon to heal.

"So," Goh began, looking towards May. "I never got to properly introduce myself. I'm Goh, Ash's friend, and Research Fellow at Cerise Labs. It's great to meet you!" May smiled back and held out her hand. "I'm May," she responded. "I'm an aspiring top coordinator. Pleased to meet you!"

Ash was happy to see the two got along well and watched them shake hands. When they finished, Ash decided to ask May about her journey. "So May, have you gotten a lot of ribbons since we last met up?" he asked. He knew she had worked hard in achieving her goal, and wanted to see how it had progressed.

"It's going good, thanks for asking," May responded. "I've received three more Hoenn ribbons since then. I'm kind of in this friendly rivalry with a friend right now to see who can get the most.." Ash smiled, glad to hear that May had not only continued on her dream but that she had found someone else to travel with.

Goh had a question about the subject. "Excuse me?" he asked. "But what exactly are ribbons?" Both Ash and May looked at him in confusion. "I thought I've explained Contests before," Ash responded, tilting his head; Goh shook his head hopelessly and looked towards May.

"I guess I'll explain it, then," She said, beginning from how to register for Contests to how it strengthens the bond between people and Pokemon. She finished her explanation after a while and leaned back, satisfied with herself. Goh, who usually loved information, was overloaded and looked at Ash in exasperation; he just laughed in response.

"Well May, it was great to meet you, but we have to get home to deliver a package," Goh finally said, grabbing the Pokeballs from the healing machine. He looked at Ash, who sourly returned a look of protest; he realized he was right, however, and sighed. "It was great seeing you, May," Ash said, smiling at her. "But Goh is right, we do have to go." He stuck out his hand to shake May's hand, who returned the favor; a formal goodbye between two old friends.

Ash and Goh waved goodbye to May, who stayed in the Pokemon Center to help Nurse Joy with any final issues. As they left, Goh found the Pokemon's trainer and handed the Pokeballs back. As Ash and Goh walked through the city, they noticed that it was full of life again; they had been helping almost the entire day. People were talking to each other with smiles on their faces, Pokemon were wandering about, and most importantly, the airport was back in service.

While Ash and Goh boarded their airplane to take them back to Vermillion City, May was saying goodbye to Nurse Joy, who was extremely thankful for their help. She was about to leave when she saw Serena walk through the entrance doors. "Serena!" May exclaimed. "I've been worried about you!" She hugged her closest friend, who returned the gesture. Serena stammered a little bit, not knowing how to react to May being so glad to see her again.

"Hey, May," Drew's voice greeted May. "Glad to see the Pokemon Center isn't burned down yet." May recognized that snarky voice paired with a nasty remark anywhere. Drew, who was behind Serena, walked inside the Center and sat down at a table.

May was about to give Drew a piece of her mind when Serena calmly touched her shoulder. "Don't worry," she said. "He's apologized for his rude behavior." May stopped herself and looked at Drew, who was shrugging and browsing on his Rotom Phone. May shook her head in exasperation. Drew may always be smug, she thought. But he does have a heart in there somewhere.

"Anyways, I'm glad you're okay Serena," said May. "Did you hear what happened? Like, actually hear it?" She emphasized her final statement in a literal sense. Serena sighed, muttering, "Yeah." She didn't have the heart to tell May she might've caused that incident that hurt the whole city, so she stayed quiet and listened to May speak.

"My Pokemon were hurt pretty badly but I was able to heal them up here," May explained, looking towards the rooms that had the healing situations. "I ended up volunteering to help the citizens heal their Pokemon, and let me tell you it was chaotic. One guy had a Staryu that was..."

May continued rambling on while Serena half-heartedly listened. She was too tired to lend her friend an ear and simply sat down at the table next to Drew, laying her head on the cold table. At one point, however, something in May's rambling caught her ear.

"...then whenever it seemed like things were about to get worse, Ash stepped in and gave orders for the people to follow and-"

Serena raised her head, causing May to stop momentarily. "Hold on," Serena whispered. "Who are you talking about?" She wanted to make sure she didn't just mishear her friend. "Huh?" May asked, confused as to what Serena was referring to. "Oh yeah! I'm talking about a friend I used to travel with, Ash and his Pikachu!"