Ash's Aura

Chapter 1

The sun shone brightly on the small town of pallet, the pidgeot lazily flying in the air. A nineteen year old boy with crazy black hair gazed at the seen before him, a pikachu resting on his shoulder.

After reaching second place in sinnoh, Ash decided it was time to take a break and head home for some relaxation. He was pleasantly surprised to see all of his past traveling companions waiting for him. They had thrown him a welcome home surprise party.

After a round of 'congrats' and an embarrassing hug from his mom, the group headed over to professor Oaks lab.

"Foods ready!" Brock yelled. Ash, who was lying in the grass, jumped up and sprinted towards the table, almost knocking over his friends in the process.

"Ash Ketchum!" Dawn and Misty yelled in unison, making the group chuckle. Of course, Ash wasn't listening at the moment. He stood next to Brock, panting slightly from the run, while he waited for his serving.

"Your cookings great Brock! Almost as good as moms!" to which he got a playful slap from his mother in the back of his head. He let out a playful scowl as he turned to look at his group of companions. Gathered together was Misty, Brock, Dawn, Max, Gary, and May.

His gaze lingered on May's curved hips. Once he realized what he was doing to his best friend, he turned bright red, which didn't go unnoticed by his friends. Or his mom.

"Oh, Ash? Are you getting sick?" she question, putting a hand on his forehead, "Your feeling a bit warm...maybe your over heated?" Ash took his mother's hand into his own, though it felt odd how his once small hand now completely covered her own. "I'm fine mom." he assured her, gaining control of his raging blush.

A light snicker made him turn towards his red headed friend.

Misty raised an eyebrow, a sly smirk on her face."You sure ash?" she asked, her voice teasing, "You were staring pretty hard." Which caused the poor teen to turn new shades of red at being caught.

"Shut up Misty..." ash grumbled. Glancing out of the corner of his eyes he was surprised to see a light blush adorning his crushes cheeks.

"Maybe I have a chance " He thought to himself. A pleasant weight dropped into his lap, and he looked down at his little yellow buddy.

"pikapi?" the electric mouse chirped to his trainer, sensing his feelings. Ash smiled softly as he gazed at his first Pokemon. The 2 had one of the strongest bonds, more like family than trainer and Pokemon. They were partners, brothers really, and most importantly friends. They could always tell when one another was feeling off, or upset.

"Its nothing bud." ash muttered, scratching pikachu behind the ears. In reply he got a soft 'chaa' of pleasure. He snuck another glance at May, as she was currently In an animated discussion with Dawn and Misty.

He began to think back to his last journey. The entire time he was traveling through sinnoh, he felt like something was missing. Even though he had his friends Brock and Dawn, he always felt as if a piece of his heart was lost.

He only felt whole again when his friend May visited them. She was in the grand festival with Dawn, and was able to travel with them for a while. Ash, to put it lightly, was ecstatic to have his best friend back. That had been the time where Ash found out something about himself.

The random and constant thoughts that had to do with May. How he often thought she was beautiful, smart, and amazingly talented. The times where he'd watch her training for upcoming contests, and how graceful she looked when she slept.

How her smile, so simple yet so serene, could always brighten the darkest of his moods, did Ash realize that he liked his brunette friend.

No...he loved her. Loved her more than his mothers cooking. More than Pokemon battling itself. He'd give up his life to make sure she was safe, give up his dreams to make her happy...and that's what scared Ash. He never experienced these feelings, and they frustrated him. He couldn't even be alone with the brunette without being embarrassed.

He groaned. 'You got to be a man Ketchum' he thought to himself. For months he had been trying to think of a way to tell May his feelings, and his fear of rejection was making him hesitate. Now she was staying at his house for the rest of the week before she left to continue her journey.

'That's it.' Ash thought, gazing at his friend with fierce determination sparkling in his amber eyes. 'I'll confess today.' Feeling satisfied with himself after his inner turmoil had been dealt with, Ash pushed away the thoughts of his crush as Brock and his mom set the food on the table. His mouth watered.

"Thanks mom! Brock!" he shouted, before promptly stacking his plate with sandwich's, May following suit though a little less enthusiastically. The group sweat dropped as they watched the coordinator and trainer stuff their faces, until only one sandwich remained.

Ash began to reach forward to grab the snack, when he caught the sad glint in May's eyes. Cursing inwardly at his weakness he then did something that shocked the group. Picking up the sandwich, Ash put it on his brunette friends plate. "You have the last one." he murmured, not being able to hide the small blush that adorned his cheeks as he looked at his friends surprised face.

He felt his heart thump almost painfully in his chest when May smiled sweetly at him. "Thanks Ash." she said, as she struggled to control her own blush. Ash nodded, then looked around at the rest of his friends and families shocked faces. "What?!" he exclaimed, feeling uncomfortable under there gazes. The group sweat dropped. Of course the teen couldn't see how strange he was being. Ash never gave up the last sandwich.

Gary gave a dry chuckle as he cleared the table off. "You got it bad, Ashy-boy." he muttered in his rivals ear. Ash turned crimson but ignored his childhood friend. He let out a small chuckle as he watched pikachu happily slurping on a ketchup bottle. Patting his pal on the head gently, Ash looked over at his friend May. She had finished her sandwich and was now watching a group of pidgeot fly overhead, and he took notice of the slightly darkening sky.

'Now's the time' he thought, gathering up his courage as he walked over to his brunette friend, tapping her shoulder. She raised an eyebrow. " Hey May," he said, trying to keep the nervousness from seeping into his voice," Care to take a walk with me. There's something I need to show you." He cheered inwardly when she nodded, flashing him a soft smile. "Let's go!" he shouted, before grabbing her hand and dragging her along.

Professor Oak noticed the 2 teens run into the forest. He gave a small chuckle that caused Delia to look at him in question. "Looks like Ash is growing up." he stated, nodding his head towards the direction the 2 teens disappeared. Brock let out a snort, while Delia laughed softly. "Its about time." she murmured, before she turned back to washing the dishes with the young Pokemon doctor.

Misty, Dawn, and Max also watched the woods were there friends went into. "Never thought I'd see the day." Misty joked, although inside she was happy for Ash. She hoped he would confess his feelings while he had the chance. Suddenly she noticed someone missing from the group. She looked around the area, until she saw who she was searching for. Gary Oak stood standing on a small hill, peering into the sky. She quickly ran to stand beside him, eyebrow raised In question.

"Do you see that?" he asked suddenly, making Misty give a light jump in surprise. "See what?" she question. Instead of answering, Gary continued to gaze intently at the horizon. Misty followed his intense gaze. At first she didn't see anything, and she was about to ask again until she saw it. A small black dot. It took her a minute to realize it was getting closer. At first she thought it was a Pokemon. Then she heard it. A loud, mechanical humming that sounded an awful lot like...

"A helicopter?" Gary spoke his thoughts aloud. No sooner than the words left his mouth that said chopper was in fact closing in. Fast. And it wasn't alone, for 2 more dots following confirmed any suspicion. A flash of red on the choppers caught Misty's eye, and she suddenly felt her throat go dry. She recognized that logo anywhere. Turning to Gary, she saw that his face had turned pale also. He slowly reached for a poke ball on his belt, expanding it.

Fear and determination shone in his eyes as he stood waiting for the chopper. "Team Rocket!!!" he spat.

.......