Ash's Last Dance

The Introductions

3rd Person POV

With May and Max in tow, Ash walked to the Pokémon Center. Outside, Dawn was waiting for him.

"Is that Dawn?" May asked, squinting to get a better look.

"Yeah," Ash confirmed.

Dawn walked over to Ash, a curious expression on her face. "What took you so long?" she asked. Then she looked behind him and saw a familiar face. "May? No way! It is you!"

May's face lit up. "Dawn! It's been ages!" The two of them immediately started chatting about random coordinator stuff, catching up on old times.

Max looked puzzled. "Wait, how does May know who she is?"

Ash smiled. "She came to Sinnoh once while I was traveling through there with Dawn and Brock," he explained. "Anyway, if we wait out here, it'll be a while. Let's go inside."

Ash and Max walked inside, and Ash looked around to see if he could spot Clemont or Bonnie. He soon spotted a blonde-haired girl walking into the lobby, which he quickly identified as Bonnie.

"Hey! Bonnie!" Ash called out to get her attention.

"Huh?" Bonnie said, turning toward Ash. "Ash! Where were you for the past hour?"

"I was talking to some of my old friends," Ash replied as he walked over to her. "This is Max, and his sister May is outside talking to Dawn."

"Hi! I'm Bonnie!" Bonnie said with a bright smile.

"Uh, I'm Max," Max replied, feeling a bit shy.

"So, where's Clemont?" Ash asked.

"He went to look for you. I have no clue where he went," Bonnie said, rolling her eyes a bit.

Ash sighed. "Alright, well, I'll go look for him with Fletchling," he said, reaching for one of his Poké Balls.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu pouted, giving Ash a disapproving look.

"Yeah, you too, buddy," Ash added with a chuckle.

"Wait, I'll come too," Max said quickly, running after the trainer. No way he was going to be left alone with someone he was just introduced to.

Bonnie looked around. Since there was nothing else to do, she decided to follow Ash and Max as well.

Meanwhile, Drew had found where May and Dawn were standing. He walked over to them, his eyes scanning the area for Ash.

"Hey, there you are, May!" Drew said with a confident smile.

"Oh, hi Drew," May said, her tone neutral.

"Hi?" Dawn said, confused by the sudden appearance.

"Oh yeah, this is Drew. He's a coordinator too. Drew, this is Dawn," May said, introducing the two to each other.

"Well, actually, I'm doing Expos now," Drew said with a snarky smirk.

"Really? Me too," Dawn replied, intrigued.

"Wait, since when?" May asked, clearly surprised.

"I thought about it for a bit, and I've decided to make the switch. Coordinating just wasn't working out like I hoped it would. I'm just participating in the contest here for fun," Drew explained.

"Or you're just tired of losing to May," Max said, arriving with Ash and Bonnie, a mischievous grin on his face.

"T-That's not true. I won a couple of contests in Johto," Drew said, looking embarrassed.

Max, having achieved his goal, smirked triumphantly.

"Well, it's getting late. Don't you have a contest tomorrow, May?" Dawn asked, changing the subject.

"Oh yeah! I do," May said, her excitement returning.

"Wait, Ash, do you want to come watch the contest too? It's so boring just sitting there by myself," Max said, looking hopeful.

"Sure," Ash said with a smile. "I'd love to."

"Weren't you going to fight the gym tomorrow?" Bonnie asked, concerned.

"It's alright. I'll just have to wait one extra day. Plus, I don't mind going to contests as long as there's someone to root for," Ash said, ruffling Max's hair.

Max beamed, and the group headed back inside the Pokémon Center, ready to rest up for the exciting day ahead.

As they settled down in the Pokémon Center's dining area, Ash's Pokétch buzzed with a message from Clemont.

'Where are you? We've been looking all over for you!' the message read.

Ash quickly replied, 'We're all at the Pokemon Center, I've got some old friends here you've gotta meet.'

Within a few minutes, Clemont arrived, looking relieved. "There you are! I was starting to think you got lost," he said, adjusting his glasses.

"Sorry about that, Clemont. I ran into some old friends," Ash said, gesturing to May and Max.

Clemont nodded, introducing himself to May and Max as he sat down in an empty chair. "Nice to meet you both. I'm Clemont, the Lumiose City Gym Leader."

"EX-Gym Leader," Bonnie corrected, much to Clemont's dismay.

"Nice to meet you, Clemont. Max and I are just visiting for a while," May said with a smile.

After a few moments of introductions and stories of how they all met, Max piped up.

"So, Ash, what's the plan after the contest?" Max asked between bites of his sandwich.

"I'll be challenging the Santalune Gym. I hear the Gym Leader specializes in Bug-types," Ash replied.

"Do you have a strategy yet?" Clemont asked, curious.

"Not yet, but I'll come up with something. I always do," Ash said confidently.

"Well, whatever you do, just make sure to win," May said with a teasing smile.

"I'll do my best," Ash promised.

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A/N: Let's go another chapter. Just wanted to take a break for a few days with semester and state exams these past few weeks. I'll try to update the other books as soon as I can. 900 words.