Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. Those people who think I do are idiots.

Ages:

May: 17

Gary: 19

Chapter 1

May sighed as she walked down the path through the forest of Route 1. It had been five years since she had last seen Ash. She figured he would have had plenty of time to challenge all the leagues of each region and maybe challenge some of them again. She knew he would because she had time to challenge the contests of all the regions. Five years ago, she would have tried going through the contests again, but she'd missed him increasingly since she left, and had instead challenged the leagues of Hoenn and Johto while hoping to run into him.

She sighed again at how pitiful she sounded to herself. After failing to find him in two regions, she had tried his house, thinking that maybe he was taking it easy for a while. She'd been half-right; he had gone back home…four months ago. And then it was only for a week. Oh well, at least she got to say hi to their Pokémon at Prof. Oak's lab.

After she got through the forest, she saw Viridian City in the distance. She smiled, thinking of how her stamina had changed dramatically since she met Ash. She only felt mildly tired, but still felt relieved when she got to the Pokémon Center. She opened the doors and was shocked to see many trainers setting up sleeping bags on the floor. She walked up to the counter to where Nurse Joy was.

"Excuse me," she said politely, "what are all these trainers doing here?"

Nurse Joy smiled at her. "You haven't heard?" May shook her head.

"These are all very skilled trainers who have gathered here while traveling to the Interregional Championship." This got May's attention completely. Nurse Joy continued.

"The Interregional Championship is a competition where trainers gather from every region to battle for the title of World Champion. It's only held once every 20 years, and this time, it's being held at the Kanto Pokémon League, so all the trainers pass through here on their travels. Only trainers who have competed in two different leagues are allowed to enter. Hm? You look excited. Do you want to register?"

"YES!" May screamed, knocking over Nurse Joy and attracting glances from all over the room. She blushed as she came to her senses and helped Nurse Joy off the floor. "I-I mean, yes please…" she said timidly. Nurse Joy nodded and walked off, bewildered.

'Great, I'm acting like an idiot again,' thought May.

A boy with spiky brown hair pointing toward his front walked up to her.

"Excuse me, is your name May Maple?" he asked. Stunned that this boy knew her name, she nodded curiously. "The name's Gary Oak. I'm a friend of Ash's." Her eyes went wide.

"You mean you're Prof. Oak's grandson who used to be a snobby jerk?" she asked.

Gary cringed, then sighed. "Why can't he forget about that or at least not tell all his friends?" He turned his attention back to her. "Forget that. You're here looking for Ash, right?"

May inhaled sharply. 'Does he know?' "O-Of course not, I didn't even know about this event until I got here!"

Gary's eyebrows rose. "But that is why you're in Kanto right?"

May flinched. "Uhh…"

"And it's also why you were sooo eager to enter the Championship, right?"

She groaned, then smirked knowingly. "Are you sure you're not still a snobby jerk?"

To her surprise, he grinned and laughed. "Ash was right. You really can bite back when you want."

At this, May blushed and stared at the floor. Gary laughed again, then said, "Don't worry. You'll find him. He is competing, after all."

He turned and began to walk away. May grew even more flustered and, still blushing, yelled at him, "Why would I be worried?!"

"You know perfectly well why," he yelled back. May huffed and went to look for an empty spot on the floor to set up her sleeping bag.

Ash will be in the next chapter, but the battles won't begin until Chapter 3.

Reviews and constructive criticism are welcome. I will update when I have 8 reviews.

Flamers will have curses placed upon them that forbid them from thinking negative thoughts, turning them into mindless optimists. Bwahaha...