Journeying Through Johto

Chapter 14: All Wartortle, No Play!

Hello, once again. I know. I'm sorry. It has been a long time. But you know what? Here's an update! Chapter 14! Thank you to all those still following this story! I truly appreciate it. I'll give a bit of a recap before the chapter since it's been so long. Honestly, I had to reread all my chapters so I could get back into the flow of writing. Enjoy!

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Recap points/ characters to remember:

- Luna, Cora, and Kace are the friends May made when on her way to Johto. Currently, they are in a different city from her but she still keeps in touch with them.

- Chloe was a rookie trainer May and Drew met when on their way to Goldenrod city and they helped her get her Chikorita back and even inspired her to try coordinating which was something she had not considered.

- Sophie was the friend May made in Goldenrod whose older sister was getting married and who thought May and Drew were a couple after seeing them at a cafe together.

- Trisa was the blind coordinator who made it to the quarter finals in her previous Grand Festival and is now competing with her boyfriend, Connor, a rookie coordinator. May and Drew beat the couple in the final round of the Violet city double contest.

- May's current team is: Blaziken, Squirtle, Eevee, Ivysaur, Gloom, and Girafarig.

- Drew's current team is: Roselia, Absol, Butterfree, Scizor, and Pontya.

- May currently has two ribbons.

- Drew currently had three ribbons.

- In the last chapter, May and Drew arrived in Cherrygrove city and got to be there for the Lunar Festival. Here's how the chapter ended:

"They should have come by now. I wonder what happened." She noticed Officer Jenny going around to ask everyone if they had retrieved their object. May waved her over.

"Hi Officer Jenny. Me and my friend Drew here are still waiting and we can't see our pokeballs coming."

"Wait, I think I see them," Drew pointed and May looked ahead, spotting two red dots slowly getting larger as they flowed closer.

"Did you know the last object to return is the luckiest one?" Officer Jenny smiled.

"No I didn't!" May grinned. "Let's grab them at the same time." She and Drew both knelt down at the side of the stream until both pokeballs were within reach. They both closed a hand around each of their pokeballs, pulling them out of the flowing water. Roselia and Beautifly were still out next to them so they both returned them to their pokeballs. People began heading back to the city and May and Drew followed.

"Now we can get to the city and I can register for the contest!" May exclaimed. "Are you going to register as well?"

"No, I'm not going to compete this time. I want to focus on training more and coming up with new appeals and combinations."

"Well I can't wait to compete! And go shopping!" Her eyes suddenly blazed with excitement as they entered the city and she spotted all the clothing boutiques.

"Are the shops even open right now? It's so early."

"I think this city is an early riser. Come on, let's go here!" May gestured to a rather large and popular looking clothing store.

"May-" Drew began to protest but she had already rushed in. Drew sighed. This was going to be a long day. But the thought made him smile. It felt....nice to spend so much time with May. Despite internally feeling nervous whenever he was around her, he also found himself relaxing. It was a strange contradiction. But she made him feel comfortable about being himself. He figured that was the reason he was able to be so open to her the previous night about his childhood. He had never really told anyone about it. No one had ever asked. He supposed he had never let anyone close enough to ask. That was another contradiction. In contests he stood on stage with confidence, like someone born to perform, to show himself to the world. But when it was outside of that, off the stage, he was reserved and alone. Except now. With May. As he followed after her into the store, he noticed a few people looking at him and whispering to each other. He had noticed it before too when he and May had entered the city together. But it was probably because the two of them were well-known coordinators, nothing else. He would soon find out he was wrong about that.