May's POV

The school day was going by pretty quickly. I was now entering my History class which was the period before lunch break. I searched the classroom for a familiar face and smiled when I spotted them.

"Hey Leaf." I greeted her and she grinned at me in response.

We were just chatting with each other for a while and it made me feel like I was her best friend all over again. Then the door to the classroom opened and in came another face I didn't really feel like speaking to. I turned away from him and went back to engaging in a conversation with Leaf.

The two of us were in the middle of discussing something about what historians do when I felt someone poking my shoulder. I started becoming irritated and excused myself from Leaf. I spun around and glared at the guy who was poking me to find them giving me their signature smirk. Damn Hayden's and their smirking.

"What's up Madeline." He said not dropping his smirk which made me frustrated.

"Can you stop poking me, please?" I asked with a fake sweet smile.

"No can do." He replied and continued to poke me repeatedly.

I muttered some profanities under my breath and turned back to Leaf in hopes that Drew would stop poking my shoulder. But that clearly didn't stop.

"Mr Hayden, do you have any reason to why you are annoying the new student?" The teacher interrupted everyone's discussions.

I mentally cheered as Drew stopped poking me now and was listening to what the teacher was saying.

"No reason sir." Drew responded but he didn't sound scared at all. In fact, he was still smirking.

"Good. Continue with your work please." He said and turned back to his computer screen.

Then the poking started once more. I felt the eyes of some in the classroom staring me down but I was unfazed and continued discussing the questions with Leaf. That's when I finally gave in and faced Drew.

"Will you stop?" I glared in irritation at the smirking boy. "And stop smirking, it looks stupid."

"But I have no one to do my work with." He complained.

"Find someone then." I told him and he just rolled his eyes.

"No can do." He said.

"Drew, stop annoying Madeline and sit beside me instead. If you want to have someone to talk to, come here." Leaf instructed her friend and he sighed and moved seats anyway.

"Grasshead." I muttered under my breath.

He looked at me with a raised eyebrow, clearly hearing what I had called him. I just shrugged and looked down at my workbook which had answered questions written in it already. I smirked to myself as I could feel Drew glaring at me the rest of the lesson. At least there would be no more poking.

Finally class ended and I hurried out of the classroom with Leaf and Drew on my heels. I went up to my locker and dumped the rest of my workbooks inside and grabbed my purse.

"Lunch!" I cheered and ran to the canteen where everyone else was heading to.

I caught a glimpse of Leaf and Drew staring at me in surprise as I sprinted down the hallway to where the canteen was. I was the second one there and I pouted to see who was the first.

"Ash, I wanted to be first in line." I whined and lined up behind him.

"You have to be faster." He grinned at me. "Plus, the first person always gets the better pick."

"How were you so fast?" I questioned him and he shrugged.

"I ran as quickly as I could from my  class." He said but then felt his pocket and he looked panicked. "I forgot my money in my locker!" He exclaimed.

"Go get it quickly before I steal your spot." I told him as the line gradually got longer.

I watched as Ash sprinted away. Apparently he was so fast that Pikachu fell off his shoulder. I saw him glaring at his trainer then he ran over to me and licked my cheek. As the line got longer, the canteen opened and we were able to buy our food. Since Ash wasn't back yet, I bought his food. And since I remembered his favourite food, I got that for him.

"Let's find a table, shall we Pikachu?" I asked the Pokemon on my shoulder.

Pikachu jumped off my shoulder and brought me to a table in the corner of the canteen where no one else was sitting.

"I guess this is your daily eating area?" I asked the pokemon with a raised eyebrow.

Pikachu just nodded and sat down on the table where I placed my trays of food. I looked to the entrance to where Ash now stood, panting. I saw him groan as he looked at the long line of people and he made his way over to me to get Pikachu.

"Hey Pikachu. Sorry for dropping you." Ash told his buddy while scratching the back of his neck sheepishly.

Pikachu glared at him before jumping on his shoulder.

"Here." I gestured to the second tray on the table which was full of food that Ash liked and he widened his eyes.

"No way! That's my favourite food. Do you mind if I have some?" He asked while practically drooling over it.

"Don't worry. Since you took too long, I just bought something for you anyway." I explained with a smile and he grinned back.

He sat down beside me and dug into his food. I had already finished since I eat just as fast as Ash does and I took my tray over to where the tray disposals were. I was about to go back to Ash when someone called my name. I glanced at the queue of people and I smiled at who it was.

"Hey Gladion." I greeted him and stared at the girl beside him.

"Who's this?" I asked with a smile and he glared at me as he knew what I was hinting at.

"Moon meet Madeline, Madeline meet Moon." Gladion introduced.

I looked to the small girl and she waved at me shyly while I just waved back.

"I'll see you at the table." I said and motioned to the table where Ash sat, digging into his food happily. "Bring Moon with you."

He nodded in response then engaged in a conversation with his new friend. I walked back over to Ash who had just finished his meal and was carrying his tray to where I had disposed mine already. Eventually, everyone began showing up at the table and we were all talking together. It felt like back before the accident.

I felt Drew glaring at me so I glared back at him then turned my head to face Dawn who was desperately trying to get Paul's attention like always. I smiled to myself as I watched my friends bicker. Usually if this were two years ago, I'd be fighting with the grasshead. But I didn't feel like it today.

I got up and excused myself from the table and walked out of the canteen. The rest of the day, I didn't see them again since the rest of my classes didn't include any of them.

At the end of the day, I found my car and drove myself home. Amethyst had texted me saying she went to Drew that afternoon to see if he would give her a ride which he did but usually he would leave her on the side of the road to walk home by herself.

When I got home, I received another phone call. This time it was from Cynthia.

"Hey May. I hope you don't have any homework because we have a mission for you." Cynthia spoke through the phone.

"I'm free." I said while listening intently on what she had to say.

"We have just received information on Team Rocket who are apparently stealing Pokémon and experimenting on them. We need you to head to Slateport City right away. We can't let this go any further." She informed me before sending me the location. "Gladion is busy doing the same in LaRousse City."

"Alright. I'll be there soon. Send over Salamence." I told her and she agreed before hanging up.

Taking off my disguise, I got changed into what I would usually wear on missions. My hair was tied in a ponytail like usual and I equipped myself with the proper equipment for the mission. The gadgets I used consisted of a ear piece for communication and a sensor which helped me see my enemies through buildings. My devices could be used for finding three dimensional holographic maps which was usual for searching areas.

I stepped outside in my backyard to find Salamence sitting comfortably and patiently awaiting my arrival. I hopped on his back gently before taking out something from around my neck and clutched it tightly.

"Salamence, Mega Evolve!" I commanded my pokemon and it emerged in its changed form.

I clicked a button which turned us both invisible as we soared through the sky at rapid speed.

"Slateport City." I said speaking softly in the wind that battered my face but my Salamence still heard.

We arrived almost immediately in Slateport where our mission was to take place. I gestured to one of the taller buildings of the city where my pokemon landed on top of.

"I'm here Cynthia." I informed the champion through my ear piece and I waited a moment before she responded.

"Alright, from where you are now, it's the first building to your left." She told me and I turned to face that building.

I grinned and looked to my Salamence. "When you hear the signal, come pick me up." I told my pokemon and it growled in response. It glowed a bright light then emerged as its original form.

I dived off the building and used my manufactured wings to glide across to my target. I savoured the thrill of flying on my own before heading in the direction of my mission target. I dropped onto the building and withdrew my wings but only to find eight faces looking my way. Oh great.

"What are you doing here Maple?" A familiar voice hissed at me.

"I'm on a mission, Amethyst." I answered back.

She rolled her eyes at me before heading in my direction and grabbing me by the shoulder so the others wouldn't hear.

"Wrong day?" I asked her and she nodded. "How was I supposed to know they'd be here?"

"I texted you." She told me and motioned towards her phone.

"Doesn't matter now. We're wasting time. I have to get in the building." I explained then opened up my holographic map of the place.

"They're experimenting here." I pointed to the marked point on the map. "I need to get in from here and then drop in and stop them." I dragged my finger along one of the entrances and across a hallway.

"We can do this ourselves." Amethyst glared at me. When it came to missions, Amethyst didn't like me helping out. Especially when it had the group involved.

"No can do." I said before hurrying to the entrance before she could stop me.

I gave a small wave to the group standing outside and entered the building before Amethyst got close to me.

I shut the door softly before creeping down a hallway cautiously. I looked up to see the place covered in security cameras. I looked at my watch and clicked something that opened up a computer screen. What came up was a holographic screen and I could use it to shut down the security cameras. With one button, they were no longer of use.

I looked at my map and used the sensor to find at least five Team Rocket members in the room next to me. I pulled out a paper clip from my pocket and stuck it in the keyhole. I fiddled around with it until it unlocked the door and I peered around the corner to see examine the room within.

My eyes widened in shock as I saw what they were doing. The five members held out non-evolved pokemon in front of them which were tied up to a table, preventing them from escaping. My eyes widened as I stared at them all. Shiny pokemon. I looked at the white board that they had in the room to write down notes on the experiment and I felt fury surge through my body.

Stepping back from the door, I stuck my hand in and let my watch scan the room fully. That included all the information which would be sent back to the champions digitally.

"They're experimenting shiny pokemon to produce more of them and increase the frequency of finding them in the wild. But they will be clones only. Meaning no evolutionary stages or proper pokemon moves." Cynthia explained to me through my ear piece.

"Approaching them right away." I told Cynthia.

I kicked the door with as much force as possible to capture the attention of the Team Rocket members which I did successfully. Before I could do anything, people pushed beside me and surrounded them.

"Hey!" I shouted to Amethyst who just ignored me and grabbed one of the people who were experimenting on the Pokémon by the collar and yelled in his face.

"What are you doing with these pokemon?" She snarled at him, making him cower in fear.

"It's classified information." One of the grunts spoke up and shoved Amethyst off of him.

"They're experimenting on creating shiny pokemon clones." I explained to everyone in the room while the grunts just gaped at me as though it was the most hidden information to anyone.

"Why should we believe you?" A certain green headed coordinator said and glared at me.

"Just believe her Drew." Amethyst sighed as she tied the Team Rocket members together after fighting each one of them on her own in the blink of an eye.

"Free the Pokemon." Misty commanded and gestured towards the ones that were strapped to the table.

Although I wasn't part of their little hero group, I still listened to Misty and observed the pokemon around me. I approached an Eevee to help untie it and it looked at me with wide, fearful eyes.

"I won't hurt you." I whispered reassuringly towards the unusually coloured pokemon and reached out a hand to it.

The Eevee bit my hand but I didn't flinch. I heard some of my former friends gasp as they had watched me get bitten but I just ignored them. I smiled warmly at the pokemon before unclipping the straps that bound it to the table.

"You're safe now." I said to the Eevee who was shaking and had jumped into my arms for comfort.

"Who are you?" Ash asked me while staring at me suspiciously.

"My name's May." I told them with a grin and turned to Amethyst. "Take Your friends and these pokemon to a pokemon centre immediately. I'm going to explore the rest of the building. Bring the grunts to Officer Jenny while your at it."

"Fine." She agreed reluctantly. "But Drew, Gary and Leaf stay here with you."

"Deal." I said before handing over the Eevee to Amethyst.

As Amethyst reached her hands out to take the Eevee, it bit her hand similar to what it did to me earlier but only this time, Amethyst flinched making me snicker.

"Oh shut up." She glared at me. "You should take the Eevee with you for now. We'll get it checked later."

I hesitantly nodded before bringing Eevee back into my arms.

"Stick with me at all times." I warned the Pokémon who nodded at me with wide eyes. "Now which one of you three is Leaf, Gary and Drew?" I asked the group while pretending not to know who's who.

"That would be us." The three spoke up simultaneously.

"Follow me then." I gestured towards the door with my free hand and lead them outside. I brought out my holographic map and showed them where we needed to go.

"This hallway here should lead to the main control room where we can shut down the experimentation machines that they are using on these shiny pokemon." I said while pointing towards a big room. As I was speaking, I felt Drew staring at me with curiosity. I snapped my fingers in front of his face making him jump back in surprise. "Stop staring." I warned while Leaf and Gary just smirked at him. I watched as his face flushed and I smirked internally.

"We have to go down this way." I said going back on topic and pointing to the staircase in front of us that headed downstairs. "The building is still filled with grunts so be on your guard."

"Let's go then." Leaf announced and we all walked together as a group and cautiously went down the staircase.

—-

So this is the end of the third chapter already. I know, it's an average chapter and it was actually slightly longer than any other chapter I've written.

Drew only recognised May from the photo Amethyst had shown him which he believed was photoshopped earlier in the story if you want to know.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for reading!

-April

19th Feb, 2018