AN: Welcome to my take on the best game to ever grace the Game Boy Advance: Pokemon Emerald. This fic will be a more serious and realistic than story that is presented by the show or the game. Pokemon can and will die in battle. Teams Magma and Aqua and the Pokemon League will be portrayed differently. But it will not be without its humorous moments and ragging of various NPCs. Certain elements of the show and the game will be incorporated, and I might include plots and characters from other games as well.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. That goes for the franchise and the fictional creatures.

Chapter 1

A moving truck from the Poke-movers Moving Company came to a halt outside of a nice little two story house in the quaint little town of Littleroot of the Hoenn region. The driver and hopped out of the truck and released two Machokes from their Pokeballs. He opened the rear door and directed them to move everything into the house. As the work began, a skinny 16 year old male, a little less than 6 feet tall, aroused from his slumber. A white beanie with a band of green on the bottom covered his black hair. Green shorts, a black shirt, and white shoes completed his attire. Blinking his emerald eyes from being blinded by the unwelcome light, the boy stretched out his aching limbs ('Really should have arranged everything so I could have slept on a mattress.') and hopped out of the truck. He took a cursory glance of the house and its surroundings with his emerald green eyes.

'This town seems rather peaceful… which probably means nothing ever changes, which means nothing ever happens.' He sighed. 'Which means the future holds nothing but boredom and monotony for me. Maybe I should become a trainer after all? It would certainly please dad and annoy mom enough to almost make it worth it.'

He strolled into the house, bade hello to his mom who greeted him in turn as she busied herself with ensuring that the last of the family's possessions had arrived intact. He walked up to his room and set the new clock his mother had bought him. The old one had met its demise in a rather unfortunate accident when the alarm had refused to be silenced one Saturday morning. He turned on his computer and set back to unloading the last of his belongings. His computer chimed to alert him that he had new mail. It seemed his dad wanted him to drop by one Professor Birch's laboratory when he had a moment. A few people from his hometown in Johto region wished him well, as well.

"Brendan! Hurry! Your father is one T.V.!" His mom called from downstairs.

"Coming!" he yelled back. He made his way downstairs and caught the tail end of an interview between some reporter and his dad, Norman. He had recently been made the new Leader of the Petalburg Gym, which was the whole reason for the move to another freaking continent. It was fortunate that the job paid well and had some good perks as well, because that move was the single most exasperating experience in Brendan's life.

"Looks like we just missed it," she lamented. "Everything set upstairs, honey?" Brendan nodded. "Right. Well, they finished unpacking everything down here so I'm going to start putting it all away. Why don't you give me a hand?"

Brendan eyed the many boxes of dishes, clothes, and other assorted items. "Actually, Dad said he wanted me to go see Prof. Birch… as soon as humanly possible." His mother eyed him skeptically. "So good luck with all this," he said over his shoulder as he quickly made his escape.

"Well then," his mom said, "if you're going to see the good Professor, why don't you stop by his house first and introduce yourself to his family. He has a daughter around your age, and I think she has a great personality," she said with a wink.

Brendan rolled his eyes and walked out the door. 'Typical Mom, always trying to play matchmaker.' He headed towards the neighboring house. 'A great personality, huh?' Brendan shuddered. 'That's what they all say about the ugly and/or fat girls.' He knocked on the door and was greeted by a woman in her mid-to-late thirties. Greetings were exchanged and Brendan was promptly directed to go upstairs to meet the woman's daughter, May.

A little kid was sitting on the couch watching the T.V., which was airing a recap of this year's Hoenn Pokemon Tournament. Clips of the final battle were played, and Brendan wasn't impressed with some of the Pokemon one of the trainers battled with. 'Beautifly? That's this guy's opener? The other guy chose Ludicollo; not bad. Ludicollo has good speed and is only weak to Flying. Starting it off with… Water Sport? Oh, he then transitioned to Rain Dance, so it looks like he's setting up for a rain team. The extra water will help fuel the Rain Dance.' Which was indeed what the plan turned out to be. The water specialist did remarkably well considering the field disadvantage, as neither trainer changed the field from the standard terrain. Between the Ludicollo, Miltoic, and Gyarados, the water specialist won handily, never losing a single Pokemon. The Gyarados probably could've swept the whole team after he switched out with his Ludicollo, but it looked a little winded after it took out the opponent's tank – a Steelix. Milotic barely broke a sweat against the last two. 'Steelix and a rather impressive Medicham were the only real threats from that team. It didn't even look like he had a real strategy for his opponent. How did this kid even get that far?' The final clip was when the water trainer, Wallace, accepted his trophy and was promptly swallowed by a hoard of rabid fans.

He walked upstairs and knocked on the door of the first room he saw. "It's unlocked," came the answer. Brendan opened the door, steeling himself for what he assumed would be the worst case scenario. To his pleasant surprise, May was easy on the eyes. Very easy, in fact. She wore a blue bandana covered her shoulder length brunette hair, along with a sleeveless blue shirt and black biker shorts. As she turned away from the computer she was working on, she did a double take upon seeing Brendan.

Brendan smirked a little and simply said, "Hey, what's up?"

The girl blinked and replied, "I'm sorry, but who are you?"

Brendan hasn't failed to notice that May's hand had slowly begun drifting towards the pokeball on her belt. He decided to abandon his plan to mess with her a little bit; you never knew what the daughter of a world renowned Professor carried with her.

"Oh, I'm Brendan. I'm the kid from the family that just moved in next door." The girl's hand stopped easing towards her pokeball and her neutral expression was replaced by a warm smile.

"Oh hi, Brendan! My names May. Sorry but I totally forgot about that. For a second there, I was worried that…" May trailed off in embarrassment.

"What? That I was going to kidnap you and drag you off to some secret lair along with my other kidnapees? Don't worry about it." They both laughed a little, until he added, "My basement is getting too crowded anyway."

May gasped and backed up slightly, but when she saw his grin, she scowled at him. "Oh, I forgot to tell you that someone wrote the word gullible on the ceiling," Brendan added with a smile plastered on his face.

May huffed and said, "Yeah, but it's spelled wrong." He laughed and May joined right in after the grin she had been fighting replaced her scowl. Brendan took this chance to glance around her room. Everything seemed to be in a state of organized chaos, as she appeared to be in the process of packing for something. A checklist was up on her computer and it displayed what one would expect for a long term camping trip. A map of Hoenn was up as well, with a route marked in red along with various dots and points of interest marked. A trainer's handbook lay open next to the computer. He also took the time to make sure that gullible was not on the ceiling at all, let alone spelled wrong.

"So I take it your trainer?" he queried.

"Yep, that's me: May Birch, Pokemon Trainer extraordinaire. I've been helping out my dad for a few years, and I officially became a trainer a couple weeks ago. That's when I got this little guy," she said as she patted the Pokeball clipped to her belt. "Wait, is your father Norman, the new gym leader?" Brendan nodded. "I knew it! So you've probably got a few badges under belt already, right?"

Brendan chuckled lightly. "Actually, I'm not even an official trainer yet. Sure, I've watched my father battle, and I'm fairly good with combos and strategy. But I've never battled with any Pokemon that aren't my dad's. I've just finished high school an-"

"Wait," May interrupted. "Did you just say you've finished high school?"

"Uh-huh."

"How old are you?"

"Sixteen."

May's eyes widened. "Sixteen!"

"Is there an echo in here?" he asked with a grin.

May just rolled her eyes. "Aren't you a little young to be a graduate?"

Brendan just shrugged his shoulders. "I skipped ahead two grades. The work wasn't challenging for me and I just wanted to get school out of the way."

"What about your friends?"

Brendan shifted his weight. "I… didn't really have a lot of friends my age; I'm not what you would consider "outgoing" or a "people person. So, that didn't really factor into my decision."

"You mean you don't have any friends or Pokemon?" Her shocked look and the incredulous tone made Brendan slightly uncomfortable, so he shifted his eyes.

"Well, I woul-" Brendan was interrupted again, only this time from May having suddenly grabbed his hand and began dragging him away down the stairs and out the door.

"Come on," May said.

Brendan hadn't had time to consider resisting yet. "Come on?" he parroted dumbly.

"Is there an echo in here?" May asked as she stuck her tongue out. Brendan scowled at her in response. "Come on! We're gonna go see my dad. I don't know if you know, but he's a Pokemon Professor, and he's helped a lot of trainers begin their journeys. So we're going to go see him, he'll set you up with a starter, and we'll have solved both of your problems," May said happily.

"First off, I don't have any problems. Second, what do you mean by both?"

"You'll be getting a Pokemon, of course, which can kill two birds with one stone. And even if he or she hates you for whatever reason, you'll have me at the very least," May said with a bright smile.

"Well, May, I'm touched," Brendan admitted, "but I was going to have you anyway, remember?"

"I thought you said there was no room in your basement!" she protested

"Oh I'll make room for you. Now tell me, does this rag smell like chloroform?"

May stopped dragging Brendan and began laughing so hard she held her sides. It was only then that Brendan realized that she had been holding his hand the whole time. A light blush momentarily graced his face. It was also only then that he realized May had been dragging him along Route 101, which was uncharted territory for him.

"Say, May. I hate to interrupt and all but where are we going?"

May took a few moments to collect herself before she replied, "My dad is working along this route somewhere around here. Something about a change in various Pokemon daily routines, which he believes to be caused by either a new pack of predators or a single Alpha predator. Unchecked, this could end up throwing the whole local ecosystem out of whack, so he's investigating."

Brendan was impressed. "I'm impressed," he said, his state of impressedness showing in his impressed tone of voice.

"You didn't think I was just another pretty face did you?" she teased.

Brendan's undoubtedly smooth reply was cut off by a sudden scream for help. May's faced drained of all its color.

"DAD!" She screamed as she, crashing into the underbrush as she raced towards the noise. Brendan hesitated for a brief moment before chasing after the girl. He caught up to after half a minute or so; half a minute later, they broke into a less wooded clearing. A pack of Poochyena surrounded a tree in which a man wearing a white lab coat had taken refuge. A brown bag laid cast aside on the ground not too far from where Brendan stood now, along with two Pokeballs. He raced towards them in hopes that they were both occupied by something useful. Suddenly a much deeper, much more menacing bark boomed from the other side of a clearing, where a Mightyena had begun charging towards the tree.

"NO!" May screamed as she ran towards her father as she grabbed at the Pokeball on her waist. She wouldn't be quick enough to save her father.

"AAGGGHHHH!" He screamed as the Mightyena leapt into air and brought the man crashing into the ground. Before it could rip his throat open, though, a stream of water hit the savage Pokemon strong enough to knock it away from Prof. Birch, who lay unconscious.

"Mudkip! Use Water Gun again!" May directed her Pokemon as she ran to her father. The blue Pokemon promptly blasted the Mightyena again. However, the surprise of the initial attack had worn off, so it easily evaded the attack. It let loose a rather loud Roar, before charging towards the offending Pokemon. A short game of cat and mouse began as May directed her Mudkip to launch Water Guns and dodge while the Mightyena attacked, all the while evading or just shrugging off the water attacks.

Meanwhile, Brendan had released whatever two Pokemon lay within the Pokeballs. Out popped a serious looking Treecko and Torchic with a fierce expression. "Okay, listen you two," the Pokemon directed their gazes towards him, "We need to distract that Mightyena long enough to let those two," he pointed at May trying to haul her father off "get away. We'll all rush in together and try hit-and-run to keep its attention divided and force it on the defensive. You understand?" The Treecko looked like it had an idea of what he said. The Torchic just looked like it either did not understand or did not care, as it promptly charged into the fray. Brendan sighed before nodding at the Treecko and rushing after the overzealous fire Pokemon, with Treecko right beside him. He bent down to scoop up a sizeable and somewhat sturdy stick as he overtook the Torchic ("Man this thing is slow.") and jumped before slamming his stick in overhand strike at the dark Pokémon's back. At least, that's what would've happened had it not heard the attack coming and leapt to the side. Brendan got a Water Gun in the face for his troubles, albeit a much weakened one as Mudkip was tiring itself out from the number of times it had used the attack. He turned around just in time to see Treecko leap over the Mightyena into the tree limbs above and Torchic to get batted aside. It hit the ground and rolled a few feet, before hopping back to its feet and rushing once more, only faster than it had previously. While Mudkip took a breather, Brendan directed his Pokemon as he readied his makeshift weapon.

"Treecko, Quick attack to get in close, then Pound. Torchic, back up and Ember until Treecko is close." Treecko nodded and speed through the branches towards his target, which was rushing Torchic. Instead of following orders however, Torchic continued its charge and was slashed for its troubles. This time it was launched into a tree trunk and struggled to stand up. Before the Mightyena could capitalize, however, Treecko burst out of the trees directly above it and slammed its tail into the Mightyena's head, dazing it as Treecko pushed off and prepared to attack again. Brendan ran towards the Mightyena in hopes of finishing the fight, but was surprised when it shook its head clear and burrowed into the earth. Brendan ground to a halt and quickly scanned his surroundings for any sign of the Pokemon.

'Dig? Oh cr-' Suddenly, the ground burst from in front of a finally standing Torchic, as the Mightyena prepared to use Crunch. "Torchic, no!" he yelled, knowing full well that neither he nor Treecko would be able to make it in time. Just before the attack connected however, Torchic threw itself to the side, but failed to rise again. 'What! How was it even faster than before? Its speed just seems to increase the longer it battles regardless of its current health.'

As the Mightyena pounced to kill Torchic, Treecko barreled into it with a Quick Attack. The Mightyena howled in pain before it used Crunch on the grass Pokémon's right arm, slammed it repeatedly into the ground, and threw it bodily into a tree head first, thus knocking Treecko out of the fight. By this time, however, Brendan had reached the Mightyena and began to rain vicious blows anywhere his stick could reach. It wasn't long before the enraged Pokemon whirled around and struck Brendan with it tail, throwing him back, winded but not really wounded. He landed almost on top of the bag from earlier, spilling its contents on the ground.

Among which was a decently sized pocket knife. 'Jackpot!'

He got to his feet after palming the knife, as the Mightyena staggered to its feet, panting and looking pretty roughed up. It eyed the downed Torchic, whose eyes were shone with more than a little fear, and began to move towards it whilst licking its chops.

Brendan hastily launched his stick at it, which connected, causing the Mightyena to snarl. Brendan taunted the Pokemon with a gesture that clearly meant "bring it on" while flipping open the five inch blade which was hidden in the right hand behind his back. It roared before charging at Brendan, who stood his ground.

The beast pounced, and metal gleamed in the sunlight as the blade flashed through the air. Brendan buried the knife deep in the side of the Mightyena's neck, which had begun to sink its teeth into his left arm held out before him in defense, before the its life blood began gushing out of the fatal wound. Both crashed into the ground; Brendan rolled the Pokemon off of him and scrambled to his feet, blade ready for anything. He stood there as he and the Mightyena looked into the other's eyes, before the light left those of the Pokemon. Gazing at the fresh corpse, his blood stained clothes, and the blood that dripped from his knife, he fell to his knees and began vomiting uncontrollably. When he had emptied the contents of his stomach, Brendan continued to dry heave for a minute more. After a brief period of heavy panting, he made his way on his hands and knees to the two Pokeballs and recalled the two injured Pokemon. He promptly collapsed to the ground.

"Brendan! Brendan! Where are you!" May's voice could be heard close by. Brendan weakly began waving his hand before calling out as loudly as he could manage (which wasn't very impressive at that point in time).

"Brendan! Thank God I've fo- Oh my God, Brendan!" she yelled as she rushed over to him. "No, no, no, no, no, no." she repeated as she knelt down at your side, tears beginning to fall.

"Don't worry," he said weakly. "It's not my blood. Here, help me up." May nodded and helped him up. "So, what took you so long?"

"I was fending off a pack of wild Poochyena, you jerk!" She leveled an almost murderous glare at him before bursting into tears. Not quite knowing what to do, Brendan drew her into a hug, which she immediately and wholeheartedly reciprocated as she cried into his chest while he rubbed her back soothingly. This carried on for a minute or so, until she stifled her tears and pulled away. "S-sorry," she said. "It's just that I was so scared, and I didn't know what happened to you so I was worried, and…" She hugged him tightly. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"I'm glad you're okay too," he replied.

"Wait, where is the Mightyena?" May asked with some fear showing in her voice.

"Don't worry, I… drove it off. It's not coming back." Brendan decided to keep the 'Ever' part to himself. "Come on, we need to get my Pokemon healed. How's your dad?

"The fall knocked him out, but he's okay now. He's got a twisted ankle from the fall as well, so I left him back Mudkip to look for you. He's really going to chew me out when I get back…" she trailed off.

Brendan decided it was time to get back to the lab. "Come on; let's get back to the lab."

Omake #1: The Clock

"Set my clock, huh? Well how can I if I don't have anything to tell me what the time is?" Brendan stood there and stared at his wall clock for bit. "Well it doesn't feel like 9:00 am. Feels more like 6:30 in evening. Might as well go with that for now." Shrugging, he fixed the clock to fit his assumptions. When he finished, he was suddenly blinded by the Sun shining through his window. "What the-? The sun was on the opposite side of the house not two seconds ago! What could have…" his eyes widened as he turned slowly towards his clock.

"No. Freaking. Way. With this wall clock, I have rejected this reality, and substituted it with my own…"

Omake #2: Mudkipz

As May prepared to command her adorable Mudkip to hose the Mightyena with another Water Gun, she noticed that Brendan was looking at her Pokémon oddly.

"What?"

He turned to look at with a goofy grin. "So I heard you liek Mudkipz."

First chapter finished. I never really understood why an apparent expert in Pokémon would be afraid of a single Poochyena or Zigzagoon (get that weak hustle out of here!), so I made that part much more interesting. May will play a part in this story; she might even be a love interest of Brendan's. Who knows? (I do). Anyway, Emerald has always been my favorite game when I was growing up, and it helped fill the whole in my heart after Sapphire was stolen from me. I thought I was the absolute best, until the Battle Frontier came along and showed me just how evil Snorlax, Blissey, and Shuckle can be (I would exterminate wild Shuckles if they were real). So yeah, I'll include the Battle Frontier if I even get that far, and I'll probably have him journey to other regions as well. But that is far, far, far off in the future. So until next time… whenever that will be.

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