This is an AU fic. If your not into this kind of thing do me a favor and click back, because I don't want the reviews flooded with "This isn't Pokemon" Blah blah.

NO POKEMON ARE IN THIS FIC!

This is an idea I came up with that I've always wanted to write about So I hope you guys who do read it enjoy it. I think it's very original. In this story I'm going to be using a lot of basketball terminology, I tried to make it as easy to understand as possible, but for you guys who don't really watch basketball try to look past it. Most chapters won't involve me describing the games like I do in this one anyways.

Read Authors Note At The End.

Enjoy

Chapter 1

"May, the seniors worked really hard on their production..Are you sure it's o.k for us to miss part of it just to see a stupid basketball game?" A blue haired girl questioned as she allowed herself to be pulled down the hallway by her brown haired friend.

The blue haired girl heard her friend snicker.

"Come on, Dawn. It's the championship game aren't you at least a bit curious to see if our team is winning?" The brown haired girl asked her friend not slowing their pace. The game was probably almost over, but if they hurried they might be able to catch the last few minutes of it.

"May...Basketball is so boring...We're not even close to anybody on the team...Why do you care if they win or lose? Most of them are just dogs who play with girl's hearts..." Dawn whined.

"You know my dad is a huge basketball fan. I can't help that I'm a little curious. It's in my genes."

Dawn sighed. She had been friends with May her whole life and she had never been able to understand her dad's obsession over the sport. May wasn't nearly as bad, but she to had her times where she showed her passion for the game as well.

The two girls didn't exchange any more words as they made it to the gym.

The gym was extremely large for a high school, but that was because Kanto High was known for it's athletic programs. They were constantly one of the top teams in every sport, so naturally the budget for athletics was extremely high.

Dawn couldn't help, but be a bit jealous as they made it to the gym. She could already hear the roars of the crowd and they hadn't even walked inside yet. The drama department never got this much attention. It wasn't fair.

May and Dawn quickly opened the door and closed their eyes a little as the lights of the gym hit their faces. Dawn's eyes flew to the seats. Despite how popular she knew the sports team was she honestly couldn't help, but feel overwhelmed at the sight of so many people. It seemed like the whole city was here.

May's eyes went straight to the scoreboard only for a frown to appear on her face.

One minute and 15 seconds left in the 4th quarter and Kanto High was down by 7.

"AND A STEAL BY THE JR SHOOTING GUARD GARY OAK! THE HOME TEAM DESPERATELY NEEDS A BUCKET RIGHT NOW!" An announcer suddenly screamed, his voice echoing throughout the gym, knocking both girls out of their thoughts.

Dawn had long abandoned convincing May to leave so she just decided to suck it up and watch. After being friends with May for so long she knew the basic rules of the game.

"Ash!" Gary shouted as he threw a bounce pass to an ebony haired teenager as he crossed the half court line.

The boy in question caught the pass with little difficulty as he motioned with his hands to slow down the offense. They needed to score right here. They couldn't rush anything.

Ash set himself up in the middle of the court right above the three point line, he backed up a little, but was sure not to step over half court. If he had a turnover right now, he wouldn't be able to live with himself.

Ash looked over to his team's bench and saw his coach holding his fingers together forming a triangle, the man then broke the triangle making it into a incomplete square.

This was a play from their book. Ash shook his heard towards the coach, as if saying he wanted to call the play. The coach nodded trusting Ash's judgement.

The boy walked towards the right side of the court making sure not to leave an opening for the defender to steal the ball. He glanced up at the clock. Only 56 seconds left. They needed a three right now.

Ash motioned with his hand towards the team captain, a brown haired male with light brown hair.

"Pick left!" One of the defenders on the other team yelled as the team captain set a hard screen causing Ash's defender to momentarily get caught.

Ash was open for brief second at the 3 point line, but that's all he needed.

He set his feet and took the shot. His form was perfect, after all he had practiced it probably millions of times.

...

...

...

"A THREE BY THE ACE POINT GUARD ASH KETCHUM! IT'S A FOUR POINT GAME! THIS ISN'T OVER YET FOLKS!" The announcer shouted as the ball made a perfect swish sound through the basket.

The Kanto team captain Red didn't let his team celebrate as he immediately began motioning with his hands.

"GET BACK, GET BACK! DEFENSE!" He shouted. They had more than enough time to win this game.

The team didn't need him to say anything. They were already on their way back. Anybody could tell that the five were extremely tired, but their eyes showed nothing, but pure determination.

"Oh my god!" Dawn squealed as she grabbed May's arm. She hadn't been to many of the school games other than when May forced her to go, but even then she hardly paid attention. Now that she was actually watching she couldn't help, but feel excited.

May simply ignored her friend as she was completely engrossed in the game. This next possession was crucial they needed a stop.

"Come on..." May muttered.

The opposing team brought the ball up court.

Ash sucked his teeth. Their point guard was smart as he stopped as soon as he got up half court intending to waste as much time off the clock that he could.

45 seconds left and with a 24 second shot clock that meant at the bare minimum they would have the ball with 21 seconds left to score.. They would have to be quick and then foul immediately. It was a long shot, but it was the only possibility to win now.

The point guard eyed the clock as he began to move passing it to his center who had managed to get good position in the post.

"Shit!" Ash shouted, if they scored right here, there would be no way they could win.

The center caught the ball and lifted his hands to take the shot.

His eyes widened as the dark skinned man who had been guarding him suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"Shit...He made me think that I had beat him..." The center thought cursing at himself since he knew it was to late to stop his shot.

"THE SHOT IS SWATTED BACK BY BROCK HARRISON! AND GARY OAK HAS SECURED THE REBOUND! KANTO NEEDS AN EXTREMELY QUICK BUCKET HERE!" The announcer shouted, but even though his voice was loud, it could barely be heard from the cheers of the crowd.

"CALL TIME OUT!" May shouted as loud as she could towards the coach although she knew he couldn't hear her. She didn't understand in this situation the best thing would have been for them to call timeout and get a play together for a quick score.

May's sudden outburst surprised Dawn, but she shrugged it off as she was just as excited. "COME ON!" She shouted. She was starting to understand why May enjoyed the sport so much. "I have to come more often.." Dawn thought as she completely forgot about the drama club's production for the time being.

Gary scanned the court and saw Ash already running the floor. "ASH!" Gary shouted as he threw the ball as hard as he could towards the boy. Passing wasn't his forte so he could only pray he didn't make a mistake.

Ash once again caught the ball with very little effort. He looked towards the basket, he only had one defender to beat. For him it would be easy.

Ash's defender clenched his teeth, he had to prevent a bucket. He weighed his options, Ash was known as the leading scorer in the nation the chances were stacked against him in stopping him in a one on one match up.

"Shit!" The defender shouted as he made up his mind.

Ash's eyes widened as he realized what the boy planned to do.

The boy wrapped his arms around Ash's left side in an attempt to foul him. Ash only shot 75% from the line during the year, so there was a chance he'd miss the free throws. It was a much better gamble then trying to stop him in this situation.

The opposing coach slammed his clipboard to the ground as he saw his player make the mistake. You never foul in this situation. Your suppose to play the best defense that you can and hope for a miss.

Ash had expected the foul having noticed it just seconds earlier. He switched from his left hand to his right in order to avoid the boy from stopping the shot. He used all the strength that he could muster to throw the ball up towards the basket as he felt the boy make contact with his body.

The ball left Ash's hands, but at the same time Ash felt his ankle turn as the boy's weight collided on him. He winced in pain as he fell towards the sidelines right behind the basket.

May covered her mouth as she saw the play take place. Before she could say anything the announcer's loud voice echoed throughout the gym.

"COUNT THE BUCKET! AND THE FOUL. ASH KETCHUM HAS JUST GOTTEN A 3-POINT PLAY!" He yelled unable to believe the turn of events.

If Dawn had believed that the stadium was loud before. Then she didn't have a word to describe it now.

The only word that came close was deafening.

May was cheering as well, but stopped as her eyes went to Ash who was laying on the ground grabbing his ankle.

Her eyes widened as she noticed what happened.

"What the fuck was that!?" Gary shouted as he ran towards the boy who had been defending Ash and shoved him towards the ground.

"Gary stop!" Red yelled towards his teammate as he also managed to get to the boy.

A purple haired boy also ran up towards Gary grabbing him in hopes of restraining him.

"Paul, Red get off me! This dude is playing dirty! What kind of foul was that!" Gary continued trying to wrestle out of his teammates grasps.

"I swear I didn't try to hurt him! I was just trying to stop the shot!" The defender retaliated as he stood up, others from his team joining him defending that they would never play dirty.

It only took a few seconds before the referees managed to separate the boys and sent everybody to their respective benches as they knelt down to see how Ash was.

"Ash, what happened?" The coach questioned as he finally made it to his best player.

"My ankle!" Ash managed as he continued to grip his ankle. It was obvious how much pain he was in as he turned his head towards the floor trying to stop himself from screaming.

A few seconds later a stretcher was brought for the boy. He could no longer play.

The coach closed his eyes as his star player was carried away. All he could hope was that the injury wasn't too severe.

He then walked towards his bench.

"Ok boys, Ash is out for the remainder of the game..." The coach stated causing Gary to knock a seat over in anger.

Red closed his eyes. Even though he was the captain and a senior it was no secret that Ash was the best player on their team. It was going to be hard to do this without him.

"Come on guys! We're down by two and we still get to shoot Ash's free throw! We can win this! With 15 seconds left, it isn't impossible!" Red shouted towards his team, he was the captain and the oldest he couldn't let their moral drop.

"Who is going to shoot Ash's free throw?" Brock questioned, the rules state that if the player who had gotten the foul can't shoot for any reason someone else can be designated to shoot them, but the player who had gotten the foul can't return to the game. Of course that didn't matter since Ash was injured.

"I'll shoot it, I have the highest percentages in FTs." The purple haired boy known as Paul stated to which everybody instantly agreed to.

"Gary, come on! Being mad won't do anything. Let's win this for Ash." Red spoke towards his teammate who had sat down and placed a towel over his head clearly pissed off.

"Come on. Gary, we can't do this without you!" Brock told the boy as he walked towards him and placed a hand out to help him out his chair.

Gary's anger slowly subsided as he smirked and grabbed Brock's hand and stood up.

The coached smiled. His team had great teamwork. That was one reason they were so good. They could definitely win this without Ash.

"Oh no...Poor Ash..." Dawn muttered as a medical team walked past her and May carrying an injured Ash who was clearly in a lot of pain.

"I know...It's even worse that the other team didn't get punished for that play..." May replied she also felt horrible for Ash. Not that they were friends, hell they had never spoken before in their lives, but it still hurt her heart to see somebody get hurt.

Both girls returned their attention to the game as Ash exited their field of vision.

"Do you think they can win without Ash? He seemed to be on a roll just now..." Dawn questioned her friend.

"I don't know...They had all of the momentum because of Ash's last two amazing plays...It's possible though. Our team has more then just one player on it." May replied noticing that a purple haired boy was now walking towards the free throw line.

"Ok.." Paul whispered to himself as he practiced the motion of the shot before the referee handed him the ball.

As soon as he was allowed, Paul released the shot easily making it.

"KANTO MAY HAVE LOSS THEIR ACE, BUT PAUL HAS JUST COMPLETED ASH'S LAST PLAY AND THEY ARE ONLY DOWN BY 1 WITH 15 SECONDS LEFT TO PLAY!" The announcer stated hyping up once again the crowd who had gone silence in the wake of Ash's surprise injury.

A time out was immediately called by the other team.

"Alright guys...We're going to full court press, go for the steal on the inbound pass if you can't get the steal, foul!" The coach stated in a serious voice as the team gathered around him.

"Right. Remember guys. We've come way to far to let it all end here!" Red started.

"Lets do this." Gary shouted as he put his hand in the middle prompting everybody else to follow.

"1!"

"2!"

"3!"

"KANTO!" The entire team shouted as Gary, Paul, Brock, Red, and Ash's replacement a boy named Trip walked onto the court.

An opposing team member took the ball out of bounds and looked around. Every person was guarded, regardless of who he passed it to there was a risk of it getting stolen.

Then it happened.

The Kanto coach stood up. His eyes widening.

Trip, the boy who had been replacing Ash slipped on seemingly nothing, thus leaving his man wide open.

The ball reached it's intended target almost immediately.

"FOUL HIM!" Red shouted now that their plan to steal the ball had failed.

Trip recovered and ran to foul the boy. The boy smirked as he felt Trip grab his arm.

At the same moment the boy threw the ball towards the rim. It was a half court shot, usually this would be stupid, but the timing was perfect.

Red's eyes widened as he noticed something else. The situation just got worse.

The ball made a perfect swish.

"FOUL, the bucket counts and number 10 will shoot a free throw!" The referee shouted as he blew the whistle.

May couldn't believe it.

The odds of making that half court shot in that situation was so low, but not only had he made it, but he managed to time his shot correctly so that it happened at the very moment Trip fouled him.

A four point play. Not only did it make what Ash had done pointless, but they also had the chance of raising their lead to five.

"No way..." May muttered as she realized that they were probably going to lose.. It would take a miracle.

Dawn also understood the situation, not to the degree that May had, but she knew that their chances of winning had just dropped extremely low considering how silent the crowd had gone once again.

"I'm sorry!" Trip complained as he sat on the bench ashamed that he had two huge mistakes that probably just costed them the game.

"It's not your fault...Nobody could have expected him to try and shoot...That was a risky play by that player that just happened to work out...We can't blame you for that." Red told the boy as he gave him a reassuring smile.

"Yeah, don't let it get to you. It's 1 out of 1000 that they managed to make that play. It was meant to be." Gary added in also not blaming Trip for the turn of events. After all blaming each other wasn't going to change anything. If anything they had to stick it out and lose as a team.

The next few seconds seemed to go by forever. And Eventually the final buzzer rang signaling the end of the game.

The crowd applauded for the amazing game, and also for the effort that their home team had shown.

Red couldn't help, but let a few tears slip out. This was his final high school game and he really had wanted the trophy.

"I'm sorry man.." Gary muttered as he saw Red. He already knew that his captain was disappointed.

The award ceremony for the other team was short since it wasn't their gym, and many people applauded just out of good sportsmanship.

"I can't believe they loss...They seem so sad.." Dawn muttered as she watched the scene.

"It's all because Ash got injured! If he hadn't been hurt on that dirty play, we would have won for sure!" May shouted surprising Dawn. "GOD! I hate this."

Dawn gave a nervous chuckle. May really could be as bad as her family sometimes when it came to basketball.

"Yeah, well lets get back to our club. We don't want the seniors to think we didn't want to watch." Dawn told the girl as she grabbed May's hand and walked out the gym door quickly making their way back to the theater.

That Night at May's House

"I can't believe, they let that boy get away with that foul at the end of the game!" A small black haired boy yelled at the dinner table.

"I know! They should have let Gary beat him for that dirty play!" A older man replied to his son.

"Norman, Max. No basketball talk at the dinner table." A beautiful older woman informed the two boys causing them to sigh.

May giggled at her mom. While she had been mad earlier about the game, she had gotten over it she knew her father would probably spend a week talking about how they should have won.

"But mom.." Max whined.

"No buts." Caroline told her son as she wagged a finger towards him.

"It's O.k Max, we can talk about everything later. Want to join us May?" Norman offered as he looked at his daughter.

"Nah, I plan to call Drew after dinner. He was too busy helping the seniors with their play today, so we really didn't get a chance to talk." May told her dad causing him to sigh in disappointment.

"That reminds me May, how was the play?" Caroline questioned her daughter.

May just shrugged her shoulders. "It was cool I guess. I managed to sneak out in the middle to watch the end of the game, so I was a bit confused by time I made it back."

Caroline frowned. "You should be more enthusiastic about it honey...Didn't you say your boyfriend worked hard to help them set it up?"

"I'm telling you May, you should date somebody on the basketball team. You clearly don't enjoy drama as much as that sissy Drew." Max spoke causing May to shoot him a glare.

"Shut up, Drew is a perfect boyfriend. He may not be athletic, but he really is an amazing actor. I have no doubt he'll be famous one day." May stated defending her green haired boyfriend.

"I wish this topic would change..." Norman muttered, he already had a hard time accepting that his daughter was dating, he really didn't want to talk about it.

"I'm just saying..It makes much more sense to date somebody who has the same interests as you..." Max muttered.

"We do have the same interest. I love drama just as much as I love basketball." May stated getting a bit annoyed.

Max looked at his sister for a few seconds before shrugging. "Yeah. I'm just saying...You never seem to be as enthusiastic when talking about plays as you are when we're talking about games..." he gave his assessment.

"Max, leave your sister alone. She is perfectly happy with Drew." Caroline told her son hoping to end the argument before it got to serious.

The young boy shrugged. He was just giving his opinion. He would never understand teenagers.

May soon finished eating and excused herself from the table and ran up to her room.

It seemed that as soon as she entered the room her cell phone came out of her pocket.

She clicked one which was the speed dial that she had set for Drew.

The brown haired girl smiled a bit as she thought of her boyfriend. They had been dating since they were sophomores. He was her first boyfriend, her first kiss, and she was pretty confident he was going to be her first lover as well although the last one would have to wait for at least a few more months. It wasn't that she wasn't sure if she loved Drew it was just that sometimes it seemed like he wasn't the right guy.

Despite how she had defended him during her small argument with Max, it was true that her and Drew had little in common. While she liked the drama club, Drew loved it and he was extremely serious about acting and intended to make a career out of it. May was almost positive that it meant more to him then she did. Those were just her insecurities talking she always told herself though.

She put the phone up to her ear as it began to ring.

"Brrr..."

"Brrr..."

"Brrr..."

"Hello?" A voice finally came up on the other end.

"Drew!" May greeted in a happy tone.

"Oh, May. Can I call you back? I'm going over some lines at the moment." Drew told her. It wasn't a harsh tone, it was just uncaring.

May sighed as the words came out of his mouth. "Drew you can't take a break for a few minutes? We've barely talked all day..." May tried to convince her boyfriend. This was the only reason May ever doubted her relationship, but all of the good times made her look past times like these.

"No, May. You should be practicing as well. Your the lead roll...It'll be annoying if you mess up." Drew told his girlfriend in a scolding manner.

"I'm not a child Drew..I'll know my lines in time. The play isn't for another week." May replied her voice coming out in a harsh manner.

Drew picked up on this and got annoyed as well. "Exactly! It's the last play of the year and your not taking it seriously at all! Damn it May. I'm to busy for this!" Drew stated as he hung up the phone.

May took the phone off her ear and looked at the screen to confirm that he had hung up before she threw her phone at the wall and slammed her head against her pillow.

"Ugh! That jerk!" May shouted her screams being muffled by the pillow.

The Next Day at School

"May!" Dawn shouted as she saw her brown haired friend step off the bus.

The girl couldn't help, but smile as she saw her loud friend. "Dawn. You don't have to yell." May informed the girl as she walked towards her.

"Yeah, yeah. Did you watch the news last night? They were talking about the game. I didn't know it would be so well covered...They were acting like it was professional basketball." Dawn started as her and May began walking to class.

May nodded. "Obviously, Dawn. Did you really not know how big that game was? It was televised nationally..It really is a shame that we lost." She explained to the girl.

"I guess they also talked about Ash...Wow I didn't know he was so well known? They called him the best high school player in the country...That's amazing considering he's not even a senior yet." Dawn continued.

May was a little shocked by this, she was never the type to focus on one specific player so she never took the time to do any research on Ash. She knew he was good, but the best in the country. Wow that was pretty amazing.

"Yeah, they said if he wanted to he could probably go straight to the pros when he graduates, but he has until the end of his senior year to decide on if he'll do that or go to college." Dawn told the girl as she could tell by May's facial expression that she hadn't known that fact.

"Did they talk about his injury? I mean he seemed to be in a lot of pain?" May asked as she remembered the reason why they had lost last night.

Dawn nodded her head and smiled. "Yeah, they said after an examination they determined it was just a sprained ankle. He'll be fine after a few days."

May let out a breath of relief. From what it sounded like it seemed like Ash had a bright future ahead of him. It would be a shame if a injury caused him to miss out on it.

"Hey baby." A voice suddenly said surprising May as they put their arm around her neck pulling her closer to him.

May shook off her shock as she knocked the hand off her. "I'm still mad at you Drew. It was so unneeded for you to act like that last night." May stated as she walked a bit faster leaving Drew and Dawn.

Dawn rolled her eyes. This happened everyday. Drew did something to make May mad so she'd try to ignore him, but eventually she'd just end up forgiving him.

"Come on. I'm sorry. I was really busy." Drew said as he sped up to catch up with his girlfriend.

"Humph." May stated, but she stopped walking in order to hear the boy out.

"I just wanted to talk to you Drew. Is that so bad?" May questioned her boyfriend.

Drew looked into her eyes causing May to blush. Since he aspired to be an actor it really wasn't all that surprising that he was extremely attractive.

"I'm sorry. I just really want to be at my best for the play babe. Can you forgive me?" Drew questioned as he pulled a rose out of his bag and handed it to May.

Dawn chuckled a bit at that. Drew seemed to have a never ending supply of roses to give to May. He must have spent a fortune on them.

May sighed as she looked at her boyfriend. "I guess.." She muttered.

Drew smirked as he delivered a small peck on May's lips."Well I'll see you after first period. I don't want to be late." Drew stated as he waved towards Dawn and walked away satisfied.

"I don't know why you bother trying to be mad at that boy." Dawn told her friend as she walked up towards May.

May sighed. "I don't know, Dawn..This gets really tiring. I really wish Drew would spend a little bit of time with me... I really hate feeling like I come second to a play."

Dawn shrugged. "Well, he plans to make it his career so you can't really be mad at him."

May nodded her head although she really didn't agree with Dawn's statement. "I guess...I'm sure it'll get better eventually."

"Well come on, we're going to be late for math." Dawn stated as she grabbed her friend and walked them to their first period class.

"Paul Shinji."

"Here."

"Gary Oak."

"Yo."

"Dawn Berlitz."

"I'm here."

The teacher continued saying names counting the few people who were absent.

"Ash Ketchum."

"I'm here." Ash replied.

"Ahh, good to see you Ash. Glad to know your alright." The teacher stated although he noticed the crutches by Ash's desk.

Ash grinned. "Yeah, it's unfortunate, but I won't be able to walk on my own for a few days, but other than that. I'm fine."

"It's all because of that dirty play." Gary muttered causing the class to agree extremely loudly.

"Now now settle down." The teacher stated as he calmed the class down. "Now, I'm happy your alright, but I have to speak with you after class about a different matter."

Ash's grin left his face as he seemed to understand what the teacher wanted. "Yeah alright."

"May Maple, can you see me after class as well?" The teacher questioned as he surprised the brown haired girl by randomly saying her name.

"What? Oh yeah sure." May replied a bit confused as to why the teacher wanted to see her.

"Good, now class if everybody would turn to page 512. I want to go over chapter 17."

The rest of the class went by pretty slowly as Ash kept his eye on the clock. He really did hate class. It just didn't interest him. He sighed he had already figured out why the teacher wanted to see him and he was pretty sure he was going to assign May to be his tutor.

"How cliche.." Ash muttered to himself as he put his head on the desk and looked towards May. They had been in a lot of the same classes since they were freshman, but amazingly they never spoke. Ash didn't really have a specific reason why, it wasn't like he discriminated with who he communicated with.

"She is pretty beautiful though.. I guess having her as a tutor can't be to bad." Ash once again whispered to himself completely oblivious to the lesson that was taking place.

"Don't stare to hard Ashy boy. She might notice." A voice stated causing Ash to slowly turn his head towards his best friend.

"Shut up." Ash said in a bored tone, not really bothered by Gary's teasing.

Gary snickered softly. "It's a shame she has a boyfriend."

That caught Ash's attention. "Oh."

"Yeah, so I wouldn't get my hopes up for anything. I don't know that much, but their probably pretty close." Gary told his friend.

"Shut it Gary. It's not like I planned on trying to date her. I was just thinking about something." Ash informed his friend.

Gary shrugged. "I'm just saying. So you knew in case you were interested."

Ash didn't bother replying as his attention went back to the clock.

After what seemed like eternity the bell finally rang.

"Ash, May don't forget to come see me." The teacher reminded as he dismissed the class.

"I'll be waiting for you outside the door May." Dawn told her friend as she packed up her things and head out.

May nodded as she walked up towards the teacher's desk as the last bit of people exited the room. Ash slowly made his way as he used his crutches.

"So what is it that you need sir?" May politely questioned as she got to the teacher's desk.

The teacher looked at Ash before his face became serious. "Ash, I'm sure I don't need to tell you how poorly your doing in this class..."

Ash looked at the ground a bit embarrassed that the teacher had just exposed him.

"Well, I'm sure you know if you don't pass your final next week then I'm going to have to fail you for the semester...If that happens you'll lose your eligibility to play basketball during your senior year." The teacher began.

Ash's eyes widened. He didn't know that. "Come on. Please I have to play. My whole life depends on next season!" Ash screamed although he didn't sound very disrespectful just scared.

May looked at Ash as she heard his situation. She felt bad for him, but what did all of this have to do with her.

"I know this Ash, So the only idea I could come up with is have my best student tutor you since you obviously can't follow when I teach." The teacher said.

May finally understood what she was being asked to do now.

"May, I'm sorry this is such short notice, but can you please maybe dedicate a hour at least for the next week to help Ash. I'm sure he'd appreciate it."

Before May could reply Ash immediately was in her face. "Please May! I'll do anything. I really can't fail..." Ash stated desperately.

May was a bit taken back by Ash's invasion of her personal space, but she momentarily forgot about it as she gave a smile. "Sure. I don't see why not." she told the teacher sweetly.

"Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!" Ash began as he pulled May into a hug allowing his crutches to drop to the ground as he lifted his bad foot up so it wouldn't get hurt.

May awkwardly chuckled as she hugged the boy back. "Don't mention it. I would hate to see you fail. After all I want to see you carry us to the championship next season."

Ash was a bit surprised. "Your a basketball fan?" He questioned.

"Yep." May answered.

The teacher smiled at his two students. Happy that they were getting along. "Well that's it for now. You two decide how your going to do this. Thanks for helping May."

"No problem. " May stated as she headed towards the door.

"May wait up!" Ash shouted as he picked back up his crutches and made his way to May.

She had just opened the door as was standing next to her friend Dawn. "Hm?" She questioned.

"Let's exchange numbers. I'll text you some good places where we can meet up and we can decide on times." Ash stated causing Dawn to look at May with wide eyes.

"Oh, sure." May replied as she pulled out her cell phone and exchanged numbers with the varsity player.

Ash waved goodbye as he slowly limped away. He gave the two girls a toothy smile causing May to blush a bit, but she quickly wiped it off hoping he didn't notice.

As soon as the boy was out of hearing range, Dawn looked at her friend. "Um! What was that?" Dawn questioned as she looked at her friend wide eyed.

May shrugged as she began to walk towards her next class. "It's nothing really, I'm going to be Ash's tutor for the next week."

Dawn gave May a smirk. "Your so lucky.. You guys get to be alone. He is so cute!"

May looked at her friend with a frown. "Stop it, you know I have Drew. Ash may be cute, but that doesn't mean anything."

Dawn nodded although the smirk she was giving never left her face. "Be careful though May..I told you the boys on the basketball team are known to be heartless, although I haven't really heard any rumors about Ash."

May shrugged. "Well who cares. Like I said it isn't anything like that." She stated as she saw her boyfriend.

"Drew!" May greeted as she looked towards the green haired male who was conversing with a beautiful red haired girl.

"Ah, I'll see you later Solidad." Drew told the girl with a sly wink as he turned to greet his girlfriend. "Hey beautiful." He greeted with a smile.

May didn't think much of the encounter as she gave her boyfriend a quick peck. They always met in between classes even if they could only see each other for a few seconds.

"Well. I'll see you later." Drew said as the kiss ended as he turned and began walking towards his class.

May frowned. They still had a bit more time, he didn't have to be so quick to leave. She shrugged it off though, it wasn't like she was clingy.

"Let's go Dawn."

Dawn nodded as they began walking towards their class as well.

The rest of the school day was pretty uneventful and May and Dawn soon found themselves walking towards the drama room for practice.

May felt a vibration coming from her pocket. She checked it and was a bit surprised to see it was Ash's number.

"Who is that?" Dawn questioned being nosy as she peered over May's shoulder only to smirk once again. "Oh it's your future sideline boyfriend."

May ignored her friend as she read the message.

**Hey, how long until your free?**

May had to admit, at least it seemed like he was serious about getting better. ** I have a club meeting for a hour, but after that I should be free**

She put her phone back in her pocket. After all if Ash was like Drew he probably wouldn't reply for a while, before she could however she felt a vibration.

Surprised she looked at it.

**Alright, me and Gary will be waiting in the parking lot. Text me when you get out. We can study at Gary's house for a few hours and then he can take you home. I mean if that's alright with you. ᕙ(`▽´)ᕗ **

May couldn't help, but smile at the face he had made at the end of the message. It was pretty creative she had to give him credit.

"Oh wow, he's already inviting you to his house." Dawn stated still peering over May's shoulder.

"He invited me to his FRIEND'S house for one and two can you please stop insinuating that I'm doing something inappropriate. I'm just helping out a teacher." May told her friend.

"Mhm, I wonder if Drew will be o.k with it?" Dawn questioned as she held a finger up to her chin. "I know if I was a boy I wouldn't like my girlfriend going to a house with two basketball players. Regardless of the reason."

May sighed as she realized Dawn was right. One thing she had learned about Drew was that he could be extremely jealous at times, he would definitely not want her going.

"Well, I just won't tell Drew.. It's not like he's my father I don't have to tell him every single thing I do. As long as I'm doing nothing wrong I don't see the problem." May replied after a few seconds of thinking.

Dawn was a bit surprised at May's answer, but shrugged her shoulders. "Well alright...If this comes back to bite you, don't say I never warned you. Because I feel like this is a dumb idea."

May just waved her hands. "I'm sure if I tell Ash to keep it a secret that I'm tutoring him he will. After all I doubt he wants people to know that he's doing poorly. So as long as you keep your mouth shut, it'll be fine. Like I said I'm not doing anything wrong so I have no reason to feel guilty."

"Alright May. Haha, a few text messages to this guy and your already becoming a bad girl." Dawn joked as they arrived at their club room.

"Shut it." May blushed as she opened the door. She wasn't surprised to see Drew already on stage practicing with the same red haired girl he had seen him with earlier.

"Drew, Solidad." Dawn greeted as she walked onto the stage.

Drew didn't acknowledge her however. "O.k chop chop now that the senior's production is completed it's time to put all of our efforts into 'Romeo and Juliet." he stated as the smile that had been on his face turned into a serious expression.

May rolled her eyes. Drew didn't seem serious until he saw her walk in, but she brushed the thoughts to the back of her head.

"Let's get to practicing then." May stated as she walked towards the stage as well.

"We really have to wait here for a hour..." Gary moaned as he sat his head on his steering wheel.

Ash chuckled. "Oh stop complaining. If I had a car I'd wait by myself."

"If you could be trusted to drive without crashing I'd let you use mine, but of course we know what happened last time I trusted you to do that." Gary told the boy.

Ash laughed. "Chill, I already apologized for that. The tree came out of nowhere."

"I'm sure."

It didn't take long for Gary to fall asleep, Ash just leaned back his mind clearly wondering, but eventually he to found himself dozing off before his phone vibrated waking him up.

**I'm coming to the parking lot. You there?** May had texted him.

**Yeah.**

"Gary wake up, May is coming." Ash shook his friend awake causing the boy to moan in irritation.

"Gary wake up!" Ash repeated this time with a little more force in his voice only to get the same reaction from his friend.

Ash sighed as he pressed the horn on Gary's steering wheel causing the boy to wake up instantly.

"What the fuck?!" Gary shouted as he looked around confused.

Ash looked at the boy innocently.

"Come on, May is about to be here." Ash then repeated ignoring Gary's grumbles about him pressing the horn.

It only took a few minutes for May to make her way to the parking lot. It was obvious that she didn't know which car she was looking for as she was walking around confused.

"Drive up behind her." Ash suddenly told Gary a prank coming to his head.

Gary didn't need to be told twice as he smirked already figuring what Ash had in mind. He slowly moved his car trying to be as discreet as possible until he was behind the girl. Luckily she hadn't noticed since she was looking at her phone.

Ash heard his cell vibrate. He laughed a little. She was clearly texting him.

"Do it." Ash muttered in a dark tone.

He didn't even have to tell Gary what to do as the boy already knew. They had been friends long enough to understand each other with little words.

Gary suddenly slammed his hand on his horn.

"BEEEEP!" The car screeched causing May to jump in the air dropping her cell phone.

Ash was quick to roll down his window. "You shouldn't be walking around so defenseless!" He shouted in a joking tone towards the girl as she bent over to pick up her phone.

"You jerks! I should go home!" May countered as she realized who had just scared her.

The smile on Ash's face changed instantly. "Please don't! I'm really counting on you! I'm sorry! That was childish and immature of us!" He stated in a begging tone.

May couldn't help, but chuckle at the boy's desperation. "O.k i'll forgive you this time." May stated as she walked to the backseat and opened the door, getting in.

"Your boyfriend cool with this?" Gary questioned as soon as May stepped into his car.

May gave a nervous laugh. "Haha, about that...I need you guys to keep this a secret..I want to help Ash, but if I told Drew. There is no way he'd let me help you." she explained.

Gary chuckled.

"Well, I don't care, Although if he finds out and misunderstands better warn him not to do anything stupid." Ash stated in a blunt tone.

May didn't say anything. "Is this really a good idea." She thought as the trio began to drive towards Gary's house.

The ride was mostly quiet other than the loud music Gary had been playing. May didn't mind though since she liked the artist as well.

"May, when we get to Gary's house we're gonna set up in the backyard. It's a beautiful day it'd be a waste to sit inside." Ash suddenly stated as he turned the music down so May could hear him.

May nodded. "That's cool."

"Yeah, and Gary you stay inside. I don't need any distractions." Ash bluntly told his friend causing May to laugh a little.

Gary sucked his teeth. "You act like I'm that horrible."

"You are."

Gary didn't reply, but continued to focus on the road.

After another 10 minutes the group finally pulled up at a nice house.

"Wow..This is pretty big." May stated in amazement as she examined the outside of the house. Gary was definitely rich.

Gary shrugged. "Yeah, my granddad invented the Pokemon series so it keeps a lot of money in the family."

"Wow...That's pretty amazing." May complimented.

Gary shrugged.

"Don't be too impressed. His granddad is the only one who actually works. Gary just lazes around all day." Ash added in in a joking tone.

Gary laughed. "I'm young. I'll worry about working in a few more years."

May chuckled at the boy's banter. They were definitely entertaining.

The trio made their way insides and soon May was left alone in the backyard with Ash. Gary had simply wondered off on his own. It was obvious that he trusted Ash since he didn't care that he was leaving them alone in his house. Even if they were just in the backyard.

"Wow, that's a pretty decent sized basketball court." May admired as she saw the beautifully built court next to a large pool. There was a small gate surrounding the court, probably to prevent any lose balls to roll to far away.

May also took this time to finally examine Ash's appearance. He was tall, that was the first obvious trait he probably was around 6'1 a reasonable height for a point guard. May was only 5'6 So she definitely found herself looking up towards him. His face was very mature looking and matched his ebony hair. He had a hat covering his hair, but you could tell it was struggling to contain it. As much as May didn't want to admit it he was extremely attractive.

"Oh yeah, you did say you were a basketball fan." Ash remembered as he walked over to a small table that was set up by the pool.

"Well my dad influenced me a lot so I guess basketball just grew on me." May replied as she followed Ash to the table snapping out of her thoughts.

"Hehe, do you have a favorite team in the pros?" Ash questioned.

May seemed to contemplate for a few seconds. "Well I think my favorite team would have to be the Kanto Dragons. Their shooting guard Lance is just unbelievable."

Ash's eyes seemed to light up. "I tell Gary that all the time! The Dragons are the best team! Well they haven't won a championship in the last 4 years, but I have faith that Lance will get them there."

"Who knows, maybe when you go to the pros, you might get picked on their team. Maybe you can help." May replied causing Ash to blush and scratch his head.

"Haha...Maybe." Ash said. He didn't really like talking about himself it made him seem self centered.

"Well let's get started." May said as she pulled out her math book.

Ash groaned. "I'd much rather talk about basketball." he complained.

May chuckled. "How about this, if we study for a hour we can talk more about basketball." she suggested.

Ash smiled. "Alright that sounds fair."

May rolled her eyes, Ash was forgetting that they were studying for him, but she had to admit it did feel good to talk about basketball with somebody.

The next hour flew by as the two completely immersed themselves in studying. May had to admit, Ash didn't seem like a slacker at all. He was honestly trying to understand the work.

"So in the end you carry the variable over and that's your answer." May finished as she drew a line on Ash's paper showing him the steps to complete the problems.

Ash put his pencil on his head as he processed everything May had just went over. "I think I understand..." Ash muttered. "So the answer is 7y right?"he continued.

May gave the boy a smile. "Yup, that's right."

Ash returned the smile as he leaned on his crutches in order to stand up. "Hell yeah!" Ash shouted.

May rolled her eyes at the boy's actions. "I guess I'll keep my part of the deal and talk basketball with you now."

Ash looked towards the basketball court before giving May a sly look. "How about we do something better." he stated.

May gave him a confused look.

"Come on." Ash motioned as he slowly made his way to the court. He picked up a ball that was sitting in the corner and spun it on his fingers.

"What are we doing?" May questioned as she closed the gate behind her now that she was inside.

"Let's play a game of H.O.R.S.E!" Ash said in an excited tone as he winced a little as he set his crunches down and tried to stand on his own. It hurt like hell, but he could deal with it for a few minutes.

"Are you sure? I mean...Your ankle..." May started.

"It's fine! It's not like I have to move much." Ash reassured as he took a shot. His form wasn't perfect since he couldn't put pressure on his ankle, but the shot still went in with a perfect swish.

"Come on you have to make it from right here." Ash smiled towards May. He wasn't too far from the basket so it shouldn't be too hard.

May laughed as she walked towards Ash's location. "O.K, but I'll warn you right now I stink at shooting."

Ash was about to say that no way she was that bad until he saw her shoot. "Wow." Ash stated in a monotone voice as he watched the ball sail over the rim.

May instantly covered her eyes with her hands in embarrassment.

It took a few seconds before Ash finally started laughing. "Oh god, you'll never make anything like that May."

"Shut up." May told the boy her blush intensifying. She really didn't like being made fun of.

"Haha, how about we make this game even better. How about every time one of us misses we tell each other a secret?" Ash threw out an idea.

May rolled her eyes. "Now why would I agree to that when you know I can't shoot."

Ash shrugged his shoulders. "Because it'll be fun! Come on."

May smiled, he was right she couldn't deny that she was enjoying herself. She had just became friends with the boy today and they were already communicating like they were best friends. Ash really had a way with people.

"Fine." May allowed herself to be peer pressured in as she picked up the ball she had shot and handed it to Ash. "But you can only take hard shots. That way I have a chance at getting you to lose."

Ash smirked. "Alright." he replied in a confident tone as he turned around and looked straight at May. "Make sure you tell me a good secret alright?" He cockily said as he threw the ball behind his head, his eyes never leaving May's.

May couldn't believe her ears when she heard the perfect swish sound. "No way! That's not fair! You cheated!" May complained as she looked behind Ash at the ball that had just gone through the net.

Ash just smiled as he watched May try to mimic his actions only for it to miss the goal completely.

"So what secret do you wanna say?" Ash questioned as he winced a little at the pain that was coursing through his ankle. He wouldn't be able to do this much longer.

May sighed not wanting to seem like a sore loser. "Alright...Umm..." She started as she thought of a simple secret not wanting to reveal anything crazy to a boy she had just met. "I've never learned how to swim."

Ash looked a bit surprised. "Wow really? It always seemed natural to me to know how to swim." Ash replied.

May shook her head, "Nope, not this girl."

"I can teach you." Ash offered as he looked towards the pool. "You know as a payment for you teaching me math?" Ash added in not wanting to sound like a creep.

May almost accepted the offer before she thought about Drew. "Sorry Ash, but I really don't think my boyfriend would appreciate that.." May replied honestly.

Disappointment flashed across Ash's features, but it disappeared quickly. "Come on, I promise I'll keep it strictly friendly no funny business." Ash tried to convince.

May bit her lip in contemplation. It would be kind of fun to learn how to swim, but honestly even she knew swimming with another boy without telling your boyfriend was kind of messed up.

"Besides, it's not like your boyfriend will ever know." Ash stated in a calm voice.

"Fine..." May agreed against her better judgement. Why was she taking so many risks with a boy she had just met. "I just want to learn how to swim.." She thought in order to calm herself down.

Ash smiled. "Great! Bring your bathing suit next time. From now on after we're done studying i'll show you the basics. Of course I can't help to much since my ankle, but I can still teach your the beginner stuff." Ash explained.

May nodded. "Alright! Let's continue to the game! I'm going to get some secrets out of you buster!" May confidently stated as she once again went and grabbed the ball.

Ash chuckled. "Please by the time this game is over i'll know everything about you."

May flipped her hair out of her eyes as she handed the ball to Ash.

Ash smiled as he missed on purpose. "Here I'll give you a chance."

May rolled her eyes at the boy taking her lightly. She then went behind the goal and shot over it surprising Ash as the ball went in.

"Oh wow...That was lucky.." Ash muttered unsure if he was going to make it.

May laughed. "Nope! Me and my brother use to always practice that shot when we were bored! It's my specialty."

Ash returned her laughter. "Yeah, cause a shot like that is going to help you in a real basketball game." he stated as he shot the ball only for it to miss.

He frowned as he looked at May.

She looked back at him with a smirk fully expecting to hear a secret.

Ash playfully put his finger on his chin as he thought of something to tell her.

"Alright, this is something that only Gary knows. I've never had a girlfriend. Like ever." Ash stated his eyes showing amusement as May frowned at him.

"I thought we were going to tell the truth." May countered as she placed her hands on her hips.

Ash chuckled. "I'm serious. I'm about to be a senior in high school and I haven't even had a first kiss yet."

May narrowed her eyes. "Why? I mean your pretty good looking and you obviously have a good future. In fact I know many girls who like you."

Ash shrugged. "You just said why. When i was in middle school I only focused on basketball, and when I got to high school I was already being interviewed and people were saying how I was the future of the pros and what not. Of course that attracts a lot of people, but most of them I feel like they just want to use me because they feel like I'm going to make it one day." he explained with a frown. "It sucks really. The only people I really trust to not use me are the people on the team."

May nodded her head in understanding as Ash finished explaining. "That makes sense. I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like to be famous already."

Ash finally succumbing to the pain of his ankle sat himself down on the court. "Haha, yep, but it's fine. I'd rather wait and find the perfect girl then entertain things that would probably only be temporary."

"Wow, your actually not the kind of guy me and my friend assumed you were Ash." May admitted a bit ashamed that she had believed Dawn's words about the basketball team.

Ash laughed. "Oh trust me, if you gave me the stereotype of most basketball players, I can't blame you. Those guys definitely don't have a good rep."

May nodded in agreement as she sat down in front of Ash.

"Well, let's just talk for a while. Then I'll see about Gary taking you home. After all you don't want to be out to late." Ash suggested.

May smiled sweetly. "Yeah, that sounds fine."

First chapter down! I hope you guys like it! I'm not going to be cliche and make Drew some crazy asshole, but to the Advanceshippers I'm sorry you will have to deal with some Contestshipping and to the Contestshippers your going to have to deal with Advanceshipping.

I plan for this story to follow their journey even after high school although most of it will take place during their Jr/Senior Year.

To My Fans Of Pokemon Adventures Online if you look unfortunately you will see that it has been deleted. Unfortunately I deleted it because I just wasn't into it. I tried to write it for somebody and I completely lost interest. I have to personally enjoy the story in order to write it. Sorry to anybody who was reading it.

Remember to review and check out my other story "The Empire" if you haven't already. It's another AU, but it is very serious with Pokemon still being used.

VerifiedBreeze Signing Out.