Title: A Week in Petalburg City

By: A Wild Pikachu Appeared (aka Pikachu Used Thunderbolt)

Genre: Romance

Disclaimer: I do not own or am affiliated with Pokémon or any material related to it.

Summary: After the Sinnoh League had ended, Ash and Dawn set out for the Hoenn Region to visit a certain coordinator in Petalburg City. As a week of fun passed by, Ash slowly discovered that this girl had already captured his heart. Advanceshipping, AaMayL, AshxMay, SatoHaru

The sun beamed high in the sky as its rays shined down upon Route 102 in the water dominant Hoenn region. Some of the Seedot walking around the area were rolling around and playing with one another. A group of Marill in the little ponds of Route 102 swam around while an infant Poochyena and its mother took a long drink from the refreshing water. Everything was so peaceful and quiet.

Suddenly, a loud groan came from a distance and scared off the native Pokémon. The sound did not come from a group of angry Pokémon, nor did it come from a herd of larger Pokémon. Instead it came from something much, much worse: a whining teenage girl.

"My feet are killing me!" a feminine voice complained. "How much longer till we get there?"

The voice belonged to Dawn Berlitz, a young but talented Pokémon coordinator, who was born in the mountainous Sinnoh region. Her dreams of becoming a Top Coordinator were inspired by her mother Johanna, who was also a coordinator in her early years. With great and motivational traveling companions, Dawn discovered a fire burning deep in her heart which ignited her confidence and passion. With that fire lighting her way through Sinnoh, Dawn's dreams were finally on the verge of becoming reality, for she had acquired the five ribbons needed to enter the Sinnoh Grand Festival.

"Dawn, stop complaining, we're almost there," the slightly more matured voice said to the whining coordinator.

This voice came from Ash Ketchum, a young male with ambitions that could touch the sky. He came from the small community of Pallet Town in the distant Kanto region. Ash's compassion for Pokémon shined deeply in his auburn eyes. To him, Pokémon were more than just his partners; they were his family. Nothing in the world would ever change that. His determination and hard work finally paid off during his adventure in Sinnoh. Ash Ketchum won the Lily of the Valley Conference and was crowned the champion of the Sinnoh League. The seasoned and experienced trainer also became the youngest champion to ever win a league in all of the known regions.

"But we have been walking nonstop since we arrived at Slateport City this morning," the exhausted blunette huffed out after looking at her Pokétch for the time. "It's already three in the afternoon!"

"I know that we've been walking for a while, Dawn, but if we continue walking at this pace, we'll get there in no time."

"Fine…" Dawn responded as she crossed her arms in annoyance and glared. "But if I pass out, you have to carry me the rest of the way."

Ash sighed and looked at his faithful friend and Pokémon, the electric mouse Pikachu who was sitting on his shoulder. Pikachu was his first Pokémon and oldest friend. Even though the two started off on the wrong foot, their friendship began after they were attacked by a group of Spearow and Ash risked his own safety to save Pikachu. Ever since then, the duo's bond strengthened with the help of others and with time.

"Was I really like that when we first traveled together, Pikachu?" the young Pokémon master whispered to the adorable mouse.

"Pika pi. Kachu pika," Pikachu whispered back to Ash, who was offended after hearing what his partner stated.

"Geez Pikachu, give me a break. I was really enthusiastic back then," the trainer countered to the electric type. "Besides it was our first adventure and––"

"Ash, I am sooooo bored," Dawn sighed and whined, breaking Ash's side conversation with Pikachu. "Can you remind me where we're going again?"

"Sigh. For the millionth time, Dawn, we are heading over to Petalburg City."

'Was I seriously this annoying?' Ash questioned to himself. 'No wonder Misty would always hit me with a mallet when we traveled together.'

"Why are we going there again?" the blunette asked, who obviously knew that she was annoying the hell out of Ash, but liked to do it for fun.

"We are going to go surprise May and spend some time with her, remember?" Ash replied as he rolled his eyes, remembering a flashback one week earlier.

Lily of the Valley Island, Sinnoh region *One week earlier*

Ash was sitting on a chair taking a nap inside the lounge area of the Lily of the Valley Pokémon Center, currently waiting for Nurse Joy to finish healing his Pokémon. It was only 7:12 A.M. and Ash was still tired from the other day. Suddenly, that same loud and often annoying voice (in Ash's opinion) woke the raven-haired trainer up.

"What are you doing here!? Your press conference is about to start!" the familiar voice yelled to the grumbling Ash, who he immediately identified as Dawn.

Ash, against all odds, won the Lily of the Valley Conference and became the newest champion of the Sinnoh region the other day. After beating Cynthia, news of the young Pokémon master's victory spread faster through the world than a running Jolteon.

"Dawn, you just woke me up from one of the best food dreams I've ever had," Ash groaned to his blue haired traveling companion as he shifted to find a comfortable position. "How did you know it was me anyway?"

Ash was currently wearing a disguise; well more along the lines of a fake moustache and oversized coat, to avoid being spotted by fans. Dawn saw right through his horrendous and ugly disguise, unfortunately.

"Ash, you're still wearing your hat, and you're the only person I know who wears that style," Dawn told her friend, who sighed and quickly put his hat in his coat pocket. "Come on, we have to go to your press conference now!"

"Give me a second, Dawn," Ash yawned out to the blunette. "Besides, I'm still waiting for Nurse Joy to call me when my Pokémon are finished healing. They are more important to me than a dumb press conference."

'He hasn't changed from that Pokémon loving boy I met near Sandgem Town,' Dawn fondly thought to herself as she giggled a little before becoming serious again.

"Well Brock wanted me to find you and make sure you didn't miss your interview," Dawn explained.

"Where is Brock anyway?"

"Brock is keeping those rabid fans entertained since they are all waiting for YOU," Dawn sighed as she smacked her forehead. "Ash, do have any idea what time it is?"

"It's only, like, 7:12. The press conference starts at 7:30," the young trainer responded wearily.

"Exactly! That's in eighteen minutes! No wait, scratch that; now it's in seventeen minutes! Do you even know what you're going to say?!" Dawn questioned her friend as she continued yelling at him.

"Dawn, yawn, you need to relax a little," Ash told to his friend. "Besides, I've been up all night! I didn't go to bed until two in the morning after I snuck away from all the fans and reporters."

Then, Ash's stomach let out a rude noise. "Can we get something to eat first? I'm starving."

"Ash," the young girl placed her hands on her hip, "we can eat AFTER your conference."

The conversation between the two was interrupted when Nurse Joy's voice sounded through the speakers. "Yugi Muto, your Pokémon have finished healing. Please pick them up at the counter up front."

When the announcement ended, Ash got up from his seat and walked towards the counter. This caused Dawn to raise one of her eyebrows in confusion.

"Oh, I used a fake name so that I wouldn't draw too much attention," Ash bluntly explained. The two walked up to the counter of the Pokémon Center and spoke to the happy nurse, who handed Ash his Pokéballs.

"Thank you for healing my Pokémon, Nurse Joy," the trainer gratefully said to the nurse and smiled at her. "Oh yeah, and thanks again for letting me use a fake name."

"It was no problem, Ash," Nurse Joy replied to the raven-haired boy. She quickly became shy, however, and looked down at her feet as she asked him a question. "C-can you do me a favor…? Can I please have your autograph? I-it would really mean a lot to me…"

"Um… sure…" Ash replied nervously to Nurse Joy, who he had never seen act like that before (or any of her other siblings for that matter).

"OH MY ARCEUS! Really!?" Nurse Joy quietly freaked out. The professional nurse started to squeal like a fangirl, which caused Ash and Dawn to sweat drop at her antics.

After signing an autograph and giving it to the squealing Nurse Joy, Ash and Dawn walked outside the Pokémon Center and made their way to arena, where Ash's press conference was being there. On the way there, a newspaper stand that displayed a magazine with a familiar face on it caught Ash's eye. It was the popular magazine Coordinators Weekly and had a picture of his best friend May Maple, a talented coordinator and Ash's old travel companion, on the front cover.

"I'll meet you over there, Dawn. I have to –– umm –– doing something first," Ash said to Dawn, who looked at him with a puzzled look.

"Ash, we really need to get to the––"

"I know, Dawn, but this is really, really important to me," Ash's chocolate brown eyes softened, which took Dawn by surprise. Never in her life had she seen that type of look on her friend's face.

"Okay then. But be there soon, I'm not sure how much longer Brock can hold those fans off." With that, Dawn walked ahead while Ash moved closer to the stand.

As Ash approached, a young man who was working the stand saw him and smiled. "What can I do for you, mister?"

"Hi, can I please have one issue of the latest Coordinators Weekly?" Ash answered as he pulled out his wallet.

"Sure thing, that'll be 2 Pokédollars please," the cashier said he handed Ash the magazine after the trainer put gave him the money, "Here you go, please come again."

Ash looked at the cover of the magazine, his fake mustache falling to the ground in response to his jaw dropping all the way down to the floor.

The headline of the issue was "May Maple: Winner of the Johto Grand Festival" and had a picture of the sapphire-eyed girl smiling.

'Oh no, how could I forget about May's Grand Festival?!' Ash thought sadly. 'What kind of friend I am; I didn't even try contacting her after the Wallace Cup all because of my gym battles.'

Ash was very disappointed in himself for forgetting about May. Sure, he was happy for her, but as her friend and former mentor, it really bummed him out that he didn't think about her sooner. Ash looked down on the smiling photo of May, which caused an unconscious smile of his own to form on his lips. He also felt his stomach tighten for some odd reason.

'Ow… my stomach feels really weird…' Ash thought to himself as he continued looking at May, but shrugged it off. 'It must be because I didn't eat breakfast. Man, I still feel bad for forgetting about May.'

Ash did not know what to do. He felt the need to do something bigger than a phone call. After all, it's had been a very long time since their last goodbye. As he took a closer look at the picture of May, Ash finally came up with a suitable idea.

'I know! I'll surprise May by visiting her in Petalburg City! We could hang out together for a while.' Ash thought. He remembered that when he last saw her at Lake Valor, they didn't properly spend time together except for that one night at the restaurant.

"It's settled then, I'm going to visit May!" Ash repeated to himself with satisfaction.

He was really happy that he was finally going to see his best friend after so long. Ash started walking over to the arena, thinking about how he was going to get to the Hoenn region.

After the press conference ended, the three friends walked back to the Pokémon Center and went to their room. As soon as the door closed, Ash informed Dawn and Brock of his plan to go visit May and asked them if the two wanted to go with him. Brock told his long time friend that even though it would be great to accompany him again, the Pokémon breeder really needed to check on his brothers and take a break from their adventure. He assured Dawn that he could come back to support her in the Sinnoh Grand Festival before heading off to bed. Dawn, however, told Ash with excitement that she would go with him since the Sinnoh Grand Festival was in a couple of months. There was plenty of time to prepare for her Grand Festival performance, and Dawn really wanted to see May again. With their plan set, Ash and Dawn went off to bed after packing their things.

The next morning, the trio got up and left early so that no one would spot and annoy them. At the Lily of the Valley Island port, Ash and Dawn bought a pair of tickets to Slateport City via the S.S. Aqua. When their ship's departure was announced, the young friends waved goodbye to Brock, went aboard, and sailed away from the Sinnoh region. After six days of travel on the S.S. Aqua, Ash and Dawn arrived at the beautiful Slateport City and began their journey towards the metropolis area, Petalburg City.

As Ash finished his flashback, he went into deep thought.

'I wonder if May will be happy to see me…' the Pokémon master asked himself. After the Wallace Cup, the two of them lost touch with one another for an extended period of time. 'I hope she doesn't think I forgot about her and gets mad at me.'

"Hey Ash?" Dawn asked as she broke his train of thought. "Can you tell me stories of your adventures with May? I really like listening to them."

Ash smiled at his blue haired friend and nodded. She was a good listener and loved to hear stories from Ash's past travels when they traveled around in Sinnoh.

"Sure thing, Dawn. I guess I should first tell you about how I met May," Ash started as old memories flowed into his mind.

"When I first met her, the same thing that happened to you when we first met, happened to May. Pikachu barbecued her bike," the young trainer fondly laughed at the electric mouse, whose cheeks grew redder in embarrassment.

"Wow Ash, the two of you sure know how to make a good first impression," the blunette joined in on the laughter.

"Pikachu was really sick when it happened," Ash explained. "But it technically wasn't his entire fault since Team Rocket attacked us and the Pokémon expert here in the Hoenn region, Professor Birch, with a giant machine."

"Huh? Team Rocket was chasing after you even in the Hoenn region?" Dawn gave him a puzzled expression.

"Yeah, they've been trying to take Pikachu from me ever since we started traveling with Brock and Misty in Kanto," Ash groaned with annoyance at the all too many memories of Jessie, James and Meowth.

"Wow, to think that this is still happening," Dawn nervously laughed. "That is beyond creepy."

"Yeah, it is, but back to the story. After Pikachu blew up Team Rocket's giant machine, Professor Birch led May and I back to his lab to heal him. The next day, May asked if she could travel with me, which actually surprised me because I thought that she was still mad at the whole bike incident," Ash said to his coordinator friend. "From that point on, our friendship blossomed and grew as we traveled together. And now May is my best friend."

"That's really adorable, Ash," Dawn smiled at him. "So was May a natural when she first started coordinating? I mean, she's just so talented that I can't even imagine her losing as a beginner."

"Actually Dawn, May started her journey as a Pokémon trainer like myself," Ash said to Dawn, who was pretty surprised to hear that about the renown 'Princess of Hoenn.' "It wasn't until after we went to the Contest Hall in Rustboro City at the beginning of our journey that she decided to become a coordinator."

Ash smiled as he recalled that memory in Rustboro City. At first he was surprised to hear May's new ambitions, but once he saw that certain fire light up in her eyes, he knew without a doubt that he would support her all the way.

"She wasn't the best when it came to Pokémon, so I took her under my wing and taught her everything I knew about them and trained with her every day," the auburn-eyed trainer said to Dawn, who had an awed expression on her face. "She is the best coordinator I've ever got witness with my own eyes - eh, no offense, Dawn - and I'm really proud to have known her."

"Awww, that's so romantic, Ash!" Dawn yelled out, startling the Pokémon trainer.

"Huh, romantic? What are you talking about? I was just helping May," the confused boy replied to Dawn, who sweat dropped at his denseness.

'Leave it to Ash to not know when he's being romantic even if it hit him right in the face,' the young coordinator sighed in her head.

"So that's the story of how I met, May," Ash concluded as he looked up at the beautiful Hoenn sky, which caused him to look at the sun. The day was getting darker as the sun was beginning to set in the distance upon a… town?

'Wait, town? No, that isn't just any town, that's Petalburg City!' the Pokémon master yelled in his head.

"Dawn, look! It's Petalburg City!" Ash pointed his finger in the direction of the setting sun, causing Pikachu to fall off his shoulder. "Come on, let's go!"

Ash laughed as he broke into a full sprint down the road, leaving Pikachu and Dawn behind him.

"H-hey, wait for us, Ash!" Dawn yelled out to the trainer, who did not stop and kept running.

"Pika pika!" the electric type also yelled out but to no avail. Dawn sighed as she picked up Pikachu and ran in the direction of the excited Ash.

May Maple was sitting on her bed inside her room in Petalburg City. She sighed and thought about the last few weeks. The sapphire-eyed coordinator won the Johto Grand Festival and finally achieved her dream of being a Top Coordinator. It was the best moment of her young career as a Pokémon Coordinator. However, that wasn't the reason why she wasn't feeling as excited as she should have been.

The real reason was because May hadn't heard from her friends in Sinnoh after she won. She hadn't seen or called them in over a year; in fact, she lost all communication with them, which left her disappointed. The coordinator really missed them, especially her best friend Ash.

'Ugh, I should have tried calling them before competing in the Grand Festival,' the brunette scolded herself as she fell back on her bed.

May reached next to her nightstand and grabbed a shiny object that looked incomplete. It was her piece of the Terracotta Ribbon; the other piece belonging to her best friend. This was her good luck charm, but at the same time, it was more than just that. The ribbon was a remembrance of May's adventure through Hoenn and Kanto, specifically with a certain someone.

"I wish I knew where you guys are right now," May said to no one while looking at the ribbon. After all that time, it still sparkled in a way that was unexplainable.

All of a sudden, May heard the doorbell of her home ring, causing the brunette to snap out of her thoughts. Wondering who would be at the door so late in the afternoon, the brunette placed the ribbon back on the nightstand. May came out of her room and went downstairs to see who it was. She opened the door and her eyes widened in shock as a tired figure smiled at her.

"Hey May," he said as he tried catching his breath.

May responded with her mind frozen in shock, "A-ash…?"