Archive of Our Own

After rinsing the dishes he had just used for his breakfast, Ash placed them in the dishwasher, then stretched. Pikachu hopped up onto his shoulder.

Ash looked out the window and smiled. The gardens at the Institute were always beautiful in the morning.

For the moment, there were no plans for the day – no trips to be made, at least. Goh was going to do some research in the lab for Professor Cerise, but Ash hated paperwork and the like, so he wouldn’t be joining them.

It was a perfect day to go out and train.

He turned away from the window and walked back towards the table, where Chrysa now sat with a steaming cup of tea.

“Morning, Chrysa!” Ash said.

Chrysa glanced up from her tablet and smiled. “Good morning, Ash! Have any plans for the day?”

Ash nodded. “I need to keep training to keep moving up in the WCS,” he said.

“Sounds like fun,” Chrysa said.

Ash walked past her, and would have kept walking, except that a picture on Chrysa’s tablet caught his eye. He drew to a halt.

Chrysa saw him looking and shifted her tablet to give him a better view.

The screen showed an article from a celebrity news outlet. At the top, there was a picture of a young woman with light brown hair, standing with a young man whose hair was pale green. A title above read ‘A Coordinator Love Story! (The Inside Scoop)’, and in the middle of the page was a video thumbnail. It showed a man with long purple hair, dressed in dark green clothes that resembled a Cacturne.

Ash blinked at what he was seeing.

Without thinking, he reached for it, then stopped and glanced at Chrysa. “Can I…?”

Chrysa gave him a puzzled eyebrow, but handed him the tablet. “Sure.”

Ash scrolled down. There was a transcript of the video written below. It was an interview with Harley. One response read:

‘Oh, they were meant to be! He’s been giving her roses since they were like, twelve, you know. They were just adorable. And of course all of their friends knew they’d end up together – I wasn’t surprised at all when I saw that picture last week.’

Harley had given an entire interview about May and Drew. He said that Drew had been in love with May for ages; and that it was great that May was finally giving it a chance. Rather pointedly, he mentioned that none of Drew’s fans had ever had a chance at all.

There was quite a bit more in the article, but Ash didn’t bother reading it all. He set the tablet down on the table, thanked Chrysa absentmindedly, and went to get his Rotom Phone.

The last time he’d talked to May was about two months ago, when he and Goh had gone to Hoenn on a research trip. Brock had mentioned May was back to compete in her home region, and Ash had thought that maybe they could meet up, though it hadn’t worked out.

08:13
Have you seen the interview Harley gave about you and Drew?

Ash was guessing she hadn’t. May was proud to be a well-known Coordinator, but she typically didn’t pay attention to celebrity gossip. Neither did he, really.

May was going to be really mad about these rumors. Harley was such a pain. That guy could always find new lows to stoop to.

*

Ash was back in the kitchen, grabbing snacks for the day for himself and his Pokémon, when his phone buzzed.

08:17
He WHAT
that stupid picture

Ash was starting to type ‘what picture?’ when the phone started ringing.

Ash didn’t get calls very often, so the others in the kitchen looked at him in surprise. Chrysa was still at the table. Goh and Ren had arrived to get breakfast.

Ash answered the video call.

“I can’t believe him!” May yelled, her face way too close to the camera. “I’m going to kill him, that cactus-headed jerk. What is wrong with that guy!”

“Hi, May,” Ash said.

“Have you seen the picture?” May asked.

“May, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

May sighed. “Last week I tripped, and Drew caught me. Someone got a picture and posted it on the Pokénet. Now it’s turned into this whole thing where everyone thinks we’re dating. A bunch of Drew’s fangirls are really mad at me.”

“Oh,” Ash said.

On his shoulder, Pikachu shook its head in disapproval. "Pika, pika."

“This stupid interview Harley gave is just going to fan the flames,” May fumed. “We’re not even dating, I can’t believe I have to deal with this.”

“Anything I can do to help?” Ash asked.

“No, but thanks. Actually, I need to call Drew. He’s not going to be happy either.” May paused. “Hey, since when do you read the Contest Inquire?”

“I saw your picture while someone else was reading it,” Ash said with a shrug.

“Oh. That makes more sense.”

Something rustled in the background.

“I should go,” May said. “Thanks for telling me about this. Bye, Ash.”

“Bye,” Ash said, and the screen went dark.

He looked up. Chrysa was staring at him. “Was that May Maple?” she asked. “The coordinator, May Maple? The Princess of Hoenn? You know her?”

“Yeah,” Ash said. “We’ve been friends for years.”

“Who’s May Maple?” Goh asked.

“She’s a famous coordinator,” Chrysa said. “She’s competed in Grand Festivals in Hoenn, Kanto, and Johto. She’s never lost an appeals round. She also has a popular Pokévision channel.”

Ash blinked. “I didn’t know you were a Contest fan, Chrysa.”

“She watches all the Grand Festivals every year,” Ren said with a laugh. “One after another, like a marathon.”

“They are pretty cool to watch,” Ash said.

“So, she’s like a celebrity? You know a celebrity? How do you know her?” Goh asked, looking at Ash.

Ash shrugged. “We journeyed together in Hoenn a while back.”

Goh furrowed his brow. "Huh."

“On the phone, she was saying something about Drew and Harley?” Chrysa prompted. “Would that be Drew Hayden and Harley Thorne? You know them too?”

“Sure,” Ash said. “They’re May’s rivals, we’ve met plenty of times. Drew’s a good guy, but Harley is another story. May’s really mad about that interview.” He gestured to the tablet on the table. Its screen had dimmed as it was left untouched for a few minutes.

Chrysa picked it up and tapped the screen, then scrolled up. She turned the tablet to face everyone, showing the ‘A Coordinator Love Story!’ headline. “This interview?”

Ash grimaced. “Yeah, that.”

Chrysa looked at it. “Why?”

Ash snorted. “Well, for one, she and Drew aren’t dating,” he said dryly.

They all looked at the picture and the accompanying article, framed as romantically as possible.

“Oh,” Chrysa said. “Then why would Harley give an interview like this?”

“To make trouble for May and Drew,” Ash said. “It’s pretty typical behavior for him.”

“Hm.” Chrysa shut the tablet off. “That’s pretty low."

“Yep,” Ash agreed. He finished packing his snacks, and turned to leave.

“Wait,” Goh said. “So do you know any other famous people?”

Ash shrugged as he walked out of the kitchen. “I guess,” he said.

Goh followed him. “You do? Ash, wait, who do you know? Ash!”

Ash’s reply was muffled, but Goh’s response was clearly audible. “What? Come on, now you gotta tell me!”

Chrysa and Ren looked at each other.

A moment passed, and Ren raised an eyebrow. “You totally want an introduction to May Maple now, don’t you?”

Chrysa opened her mouth, then closed it. “I mean, only if it comes up naturally,” she said. “I’m not gonna be weird about it.”

“Mm-hm.”

Chrysa rolled her eyes. “Just finish your breakfast.”

“Fine.”

In the background, the sound of the front door opening and closing could be heard as Professor Cerise arrived.

Moments later, Cerise walked into the kitchen, raising an eyebrow. “So what is that about?” he asked, gesturing behind him to where Goh was still pelting Ash with questions.

“Ash knows May Maple,” Ren said. “And some other famous coordinators too, I guess. Goh is curious.”

Cerise huffed a laugh. “When is Goh not curious?” he asked, and received answering laughs from his two assistants.

Cerise smiled, and turned to the door. “Goh!” he called. “Ready to get started?”

There was a quiet thump, and then the sound of feet quickly drawing closer. “This isn’t over, Ash!” Goh called, and then skidded into the kitchen doorway, halting right in front of Cerise.

“Ready, Professor!”

“Great,” said Cerise. “Let’s go.”

The four researchers got up to leave the kitchen. “Oh, and don’t worry, Chrysa,” Cerise said, “I’m sure you’ll have plenty of time later to convince Ash to get you May Maple’s autograph.”