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May was tired.
The adrenaline of competing had dissipated an hour outside of Lake Valor, long after day had turned to night. The hectic schedule of the preceding week was finally catching up to her, and she wanted nothing more than to decompress. Faced with the prospect of an eighteen-hour voyage back to Johto, with little more than her Pokémon and internal monologue to keep her company, May had hoped sleep would eat up half of the trip. Shuffling and turning her head to the clock next to her, realizing with a groan that two hours in bed had yielded no results, she conceded she wasn’t going to have such luck. Maybe sleep would come in the morning, but it wasn’t going to come now.
Willing herself out of bed, May took a moment to survey her room. An hour earlier she had briefly lamented never teaching Venusaur how to use Sleep Powder, though the size of her cabin made her quickly realize that even if she had she would not have been much help. The detour to Snowpoint City stretching her budget thin, she had been left with no choice but to take one of the ferry’s more basic cabins. A bed and table left little room for anything else, while a small TV was mounted next to the door. Briefly turning it on to check on the ship’s journey, May grimaced: the boat had barely left Sinnoh waters. Resigning herself to a long trip, May decided to make the most of her insomnia and see what the ship had to offer.
Slowly making her way to the upper deck, the ship predictably quiet for the dead of night, May parked herself in a deck chair in hopes that the night sky would help clear her mind and lull her to sleep. Her mind had other plans, thoughts of past expeditions refusing to leave her head.
Her journey in Johto had so far been a relative success. Though it had taken her a few weeks she had adjusted to traveling by herself and appreciated the ability it gave her to chart her own path. Her efforts to find a style of her own by going solo were paying off: she had already earned three of the five ribbons she needed to enter the Grand Festival, with plenty of contests remaining for her to earn her fourth and fifth. Much to her surprise (and slight embarrassment), she had begun to amass a small but vocal and steadily growing following, quick to dub her the “Princess of Hoenn” and exuberantly cheering her on. She had begun to understand why Drew was uncomfortable with his own fans; she appreciated their support, but it could often be a bit overwhelming.
Still, for the first part of her journey, she couldn’t help but feel like she was falling behind. Drew and Harley had both gotten stronger since the Kanto Grand Festival, and her recent inability to beat either of them left her with a bit of self-doubt. Sinnoh had been a breath of fresh air. The Wallace Cup had left her feeling revitalized and forced her out of her comfort zone, and as she slowly made her way back to Olivine City May was optimistic about the contest season ahead.
Leaving Sinnoh with a renewed confidence in her abilities as a coordinator and a burning competitive energy, a lingering unease caught her off guard. For some reason she could not quite figure out, May was apprehensive about returning to Johto. As she sat on the upper deck of the ship, trying unsuccessfully to will herself to sleep but finding her mind drifting back to memories of her adventures through Hoenn, Kanto, Johto, and now Sinnoh, May began to realize why. She was lonely.
The past week had been a joy; she had forgotten how fun it was to be surrounded by a group, and the thought of returning to Johto by herself saddened her. Meeting back up with Ash had renewed her competitive spirit and his infectious optimism had left her with an endless amount herself, while Brock, who had all but taken on the role of her and Max’s second father while they had been traveling together, gave her a sense of security and a feeling that she was being looked after that she realized she had not felt since Kanto. The four days she had spent with Dawn and Zoey had already helped motivate her as a coordinator, and the happiness she felt watching Dawn win the Wallace Cup outweighed the disappointment she had at coming up short herself. The instant connection she felt with both of them resulted in a more emotional goodbye than May had expected.
The prospect of resuming her journey by herself left her mildly dreading the return to Johto. While she had enjoyed the independence inherent in traveling solo, as the ship trudged along the open sea May was acutely aware of what she would be missing out on when it arrived at its destination. The past few days she had spent with Ash, Brock, Dawn, and Zoey had served as a perfect reminder. The four had given her the company she had not realized she’d been missing.
Ash and Brock talked to her when they could (and now Dawn and Zoey promised to do the same), but May knew from experience how difficult it could be to keep in touch on the road, and talking over the phone paled in comparison to being with them in person. She knew why she chose to set off through Johto by herself and had appreciated the freedom it gave her to discover herself, but she missed being able to share the highs and lows of her journey with others. She missed being surrounded by people who would always be there to support her, whether to celebrate her achievements or to help pick her up when she needed it. Did she have anyone like that in Johto? Her family was always there for her whenever she needed them, but it was hard not to feel the distance of being a region away. She had a few distant relatives in the region she vaguely recalled meeting as a child, some second or third cousins a few times removed, but it had been ages since she had seen them last and she would hardly call them the support she was looking for. In any case, for all she knew they had moved out of the region the same time she did, back when her father had become leader of the Petalburg Gym.
She supposed the people in the region she was closest to were her rivals. She had known Drew for a little over two years, their relationship morphing from one of annoyance to one of mutual and overwhelming respect. Harley she had known nearly the same amount of time, though their relationship was far more antagonistic. Her brief hopes that Johto would mellow him out had been dashed early on. Solidad she had only known for a few months, but though the two had left the Indigo Plateau as friends they had barely run into each other over the course of their travels through Johto.
But the three had their own lives, their own journeys, their own goals to accomplish. Drew had been there for her in the past, but more by fate than a matter of intent. After the Kanto Grand Festival he had brought her out of her funk, inspiring her to try and find her own style. More than he knew, he had helped her decide to come to Johto. But their meeting in Fennel Valley had been one of coincidence, an instance of the two being in the same place at the same time. The two had met back up with one another over the course of their time in Johto, always leaving with the promise to meet again but never exactly knowing when they might see each other next.
They had been here before: the two had parted ways in Hoenn not knowing whether or not they would see each other again, not knowing they would both choose to head to Kanto. Drew had left for Johto long before May decided to follow. The two would part ways and go off on their own journeys, and the universe would bring them back together. Their relationship seemed to be one decided by the whims of fate, and the possibility of going months on end without running into him left May feeling a disappointment she could not quite define. Solidad would likely be there for her if she needed, and she supposed Harley would at the very least call someone if he found her seriously injured or in need of support, but they too were on their own adventures, crossing paths with May here and there by chance. Letting out a tired sigh, May resigned herself to the fact that she would have to continue her journey alone.
Finding herself in a worse mood than when she left her cabin, her recent train of thought bringing with it an unwelcome sense of melancholy, May glanced at her watch. Her hopes that the ocean breeze and night sky would help lull her to sleep dashed and morning growing nearer, May groaned, deciding to return to her room in hopes of falling asleep before the break of dawn. Maybe she would have better luck there.
An hour later, the sun beginning to rise, sleep finally won out.
Roused from her sleep by the announcement that the ship would soon be arriving at its destination, May sat up with a jolt. Glancing at her clock in doubt, positive she was imagining things, she realized a minor miracle had occurred. It was the early afternoon: she had somehow managed to get the sleep she had so desperately needed, and her long journey at sea was finally nearing its end. The ship was about to arrive in Olivine City, the city her family had long ago called home before her dad had moved the family off to Petalburg. When she had arrived back in the city a week earlier, May was annoyed to discover she did not remember it.
Deciding to leave her room to get a view of the city (and angle for position, vowing to get off the boat as soon as possible), May grabbed her things and made her way to the deck. The lighthouse in the distance the final confirmation that the boat’s long voyage was nearing its end, her thoughts shifted to the journey ahead. A chance encounter with Solidad a few weeks earlier had informed her of a contest coming up in Mahogany Town, and though May wasn’t looking forward to the prospect of trekking through Mt. Mortar she was eager for the opportunity to win her fourth ribbon. Always on the lookout for a new adventure she had jumped ahead in her guidebook, and though she was still debating whether or not to visit the Lake of Rage the town itself would give her the opportunity to finally try one of the famous Rage Candy Bars. May made a mental note to remember to visit the nearby Ice Path, wanting to give Glaceon a bit of the cold she had been craving since she evolved.
Her thoughts shifting to her Pokémon, May decided to let them join her and enjoy the ocean breeze, releasing five of the six she had on hand and promising to let Venusaur out when they made it to a less crowded spot on land. Briefly landing on her head as a sign of affection, Beautifly happily flew on ahead. Wartortle likewise was quick to jump in the water, deciding to swim the rest of the way to shore, jumping in and out of the ocean in a proud demonstration of the tricks he had learned since evolving. Blaziken and Glaceon stood by May’s side, while Munchlax laid down nearby, full after enjoying the Pokéblock she had been quick to give him.
As the ship made its way closer to shore May scanned the port in search of Beautifly. She was a bit surprised she had yet to return, though May supposed that she was enjoying the opportunity to stretch her wings; she had been in her Poké Ball longer than usual. As the ship pulled into port and May disembarked, finally finding Beautifly, she gasped. There she was, not far away, sitting contently on a head of green hair. Drew. Next to him stood Solidad, amused at the affection the Pokémon was showing him and the fact that, for once, the coordinator did not seem to know how to react. Beautifly had caught him off guard. Noticing May, Solidad smiled and waved her over, breaking her out of her shock. A wide grin replacing her look of disbelief, May ran over, crashing into the two and enveloping them in a hug. Unable to see the faint blush that crept across Drew’s face, a snicker alerted her to the presence of another. Harley, of all people, lounging on a bench nearby and watching the scene with a knowing grin.
Still stunned by the presence of the three people in the region she knew best, May barely took in what they were saying. The three had stayed in Ecruteak City to watch the Wallace Cup. Drew and Solidad, the latter explained, thought May might need cheering up, both from the loss and from leaving the friends they knew she missed more than she let on. Harley claimed he was dragged along as a chaperone, earning a quick glare from Drew, though the lack of his usual snark betrayed a level of sympathy May was certain he would never admit to. The three were all planning on heading to Mahogany Town next, though only Drew planned on competing in the town’s contest. Solidad, with months left to win her final ribbon, planned to give her Pokémon a bit of a break and watch the contest for inspiration. Harley, meanwhile, wanted to try and catch the Red Gyarados that was rumoured to live at the Lake of Rage and had gotten Solidad to agree to help him. Though he was quick to lament it meant they were temporarily traveling together, his weak protest could not conceal the clear appreciation he had for her friendship.
Nodding along at Solidad’s suggestion they all find somewhere to get a bite to eat, still processing the fact that the three were there at all, a nudge from Drew pulled May out of her thoughts. She had not noticed Solidad and Harley already walking ahead. Shooting May a small smile encouraging her to follow, Drew moved on ahead. Still in a daze, her body moving on autopilot, May trailed behind. Ahead of her Drew and Harley had somehow already managed to get into an argument, and a bemused, slightly exasperated Solidad let out a laugh as she watched the squabble unfold. A warmth filling her chest, May realized all of them had traveled here, out of their way, for her. Looking at the three, May smiled. How could she ever think she was alone?