Pokemon The time traveler

Ch 22 Pallet Town

"We're finally here, Pikachu," Ash stated.

"Pika..."

They were currently standing on top of the hill that overlooked Pallet Town. It took the duo six and half hours to reach their hometown. They thought about flying on Charizard, but they wanted to battle any trainer they might meet on the way. To their disappointment, there were no trainers who were willing to face Ash because of the way he looked. His muscular appearance and ripped shirt intimidated most of the challengers—well, at least the male challengers. For this reason, Pikachu made Ash buy a large, black sweater to shell his physique. By this time, though, Ash and Pikachu had passed the main road where the strong trainers tended to be.

"Pikapi, pika pika chu pi?" Pikachu asked.

"I told you why I'm still wearing this sweater," Ash said. "I bought it, so I'm going to wear it. Besides, you're the one who told me to get it, so you should be happy I'm wearing it."

Pikachu shrugged. "Pika pika chupi."

"I don't care if I look ridiculous because we're not far from home anyways," Ash countered. "You know what—let's just get home, so we can have dinner and get some rest. It's only gonna be five, but I'm pretty tired."

They climbed down the hill and continued to the small house. Ash and Pikachu reached the house and opened the door.

"Mom, I'm home!"

"Ash, is that you?" He heard a voice say from upstairs.

Ash smiled brightly. "Yeah, it's me, mom!"

"I'm in your room showing off your trophies and badges if you want to come up!"

"Alright, I'll be—wait, did you say you were showing my badges to someone?" Ash stopped and questioned. "To whom?"

"Just come upstairs, Ash!"

Ash looked at Pikachu who just shrugged. They both quickly strolled upstairs and approached the room.

Ash grabbed the handle and opened it slowly. "I'm sorry, mom. I know I sa—May?" He noticed his Hoenn companion sitting next to his mom on his bed. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, hello to you, too, Ash," Delia responded.

"Oh, um...sorry, mom," Ash walked over to his mom and gave her a hug. He let her go before he continued. "We meant to be here a little earlier, but we got a little sidetracked."

Pikachu jumped from Ash's shoulder to Delia's lap. "Pika!"

"Hi, Pikachu! I've missed you, too," Said Delia as she gave the Pokémon a hug.

Ash turned to May, who was standing by then with her hands innocently behind her back, and smiled. "Hey, May," He said. "It's nice to see you again."

May closed the distance between the them and squeezed the trainer into a tight hug. "It's nice to see you again, too, Ash..." She replied into his chest.

Ash was surprised at first, but he eventually hugged her back. After a few seconds, he pulled away and spoke. "So, what brings you here? I thought you'd be starting the Pokémon Contests in Johto by now. Are you taking a break already?"

May slightly grinned and looked away from the trainer. "Um, actually...I didn't go to Johto at all..." She said lowly.

"What do you mean?" Ash asked puzzlingly.

"Well, here goes nothing," May thought. She took in a deep breath before responding. "I-I thought maybe I could, um...travel with you again...you know, through the Sinnoh Region."