Gone Without a Trace [An AdvanceShipping Love Story]

A Tragic Surprise

May found herself on Route 1, heading down to Pallet Town. After a long journey through Johto and Shinnoh, she had finally taken some time off to see her family.

And as happy as they were to see her, she was ready to hit the road once again. After staying in Petalburg City for about a week, she packed up again, ready to set off on another new adventure.

But where would she go next?

May had gone through Kanto and Hoenn with her friends Ash, Brock, and her little brother Max, and gone through Johto and Sinnoh with her rivals Drew, Harley, and Solidad.

May had felt ready to take a break from her rivals, mostly because of Harley. Drew and Solidad were fine to travel with, but Harley made most trips miserable.

In fact, May couldn't even express her relief when she heard about the Wallace Cup and traveled to Sinnoh, finally ready to take a break from Harley.

Imagine how she suffered afterwards.

Harley never forgot the fact that May lost to a rookie like Dawn. May actually was afraid of going back to Johto because she knew she would never hear the end of it.

From then on out, before every contest, Harley would get her down in the dumps, reminding her of that embarrassing loss. His big, stupid mouth cost her a few ribbons.

Her travels with her rivals had prevented her from thinking too big of herself though, which probably prevented some embarrassment, but she was definitely more than ready to be rid of Harley, and travel without her rivals for a while.

A long, long while.

That's when Ash came to mind, she hadn't seen him in a long time. Now that she thought about it, they hadn't even talked for a long time. She grew anxious as she approached the little town Ash had lived in before he began his journey.

I wonder if he'll remember me, May thought to herself, he has so many friends, I wonder how he keeps track of them all. May suddenly had an urge to walk faster, as if she had to get the town before he forgot, and every minute counted.

Calm down, May thought to herself, You're just visiting an old friend, maybe going with him to a new region. No biggie, no rush...... unless he's about to leave!

May broke into a sprint, small puffs of dust rose from the dirt road as she dashed down the path. Her brown hair flew wildly in the wind as she gained speed.

Please be home, please be home, please be home! May thought as she ran, I've come way too far for you not to be home...

May ran past a sign that read "Welcome to Pallet Town! Home of the world famous Professor Oak!" May ignored the sign and ran around the town, trying to remember how she found Ash's house last time.

Last time...

That was a long time ago, May thought. She and her brother had just finished their journey through Hoenn, and had returned home, separating from Ash and Brock, the 2nd saddest moment in her life.

The only time that had been worse than that was after she and her friends had gone through Kanto, when she knew she wouldn't see Ash or Brock for a very long time.

After her travels through Hoenn, she and Max returned home. But she quickly left and went back to Pallet Town in hopes to travel with Ash yet again.

And now history was repeating itself.

Except this time she couldn't find the house. She remembered it being well kept and cheerful. She looked back and forth, from house to house, trying to find the house she faintly remembered.