It started with a joke, an affectionate parody of all the Black/White version adventure stories being made at the time. Then that got a sequel, which developed into a series. Now, the sibling team that brought you "Not Always Black and White" is proud to introduce their fifth Pokémon fanfic together.

There's a funny story in this, too. Back when we were writing the original outline, we planned it to be without shipping. That was before we played the remakes. Once that happened, she got into Shivermetimbers, I started thinking Contestking wasn't a bad idea, and then I decided to take her "shipping square" (four characters she can pair off in various combinations) and use the least-popular ships on there for laughs. So now it's packed with pairings, but it still doesn't qualify as a romance.

Well, that's enough out of me. Let's get this thing started.

Brendan hadn't liked the idea when his dad had chosen to become a Gym Leader. Norman was a good trainer, he knew that, but to move the whole family across the ocean to a new region? And now, halfway through the move itself, it was just as he'd imagined it.

And, on top of that, what in the world possessed his mother to make her son ride in the moving truck? Each time the truck made a turn, the bitter child found himself imagining that a box would come loose, crushing his head under its weight. Each time, he reminded himself that his mom had some concern for his safety and had checked the security of each box at least twice.

Finally, after what seemed like eternity but was likely only a couple of hours, Brendan felt the moving truck come to a stop, and the door open. Realizing his freedom was just a few steps away, he jumped out of the truck to find himself face-to-face with his mother.

"It's such a shame we couldn't all live together in Petalburg," she sighed, as if that was an appropriate way to start a conversation with the son she'd carelessly tossed in the truck like a possession, "but your dad should be here fairly often. And who knows, maybe in a few years we could pack up again and join him!"

Brendan made an unimpressed sound as he moved back to get a few boxes, but the mover's Pokémon beat him to it. When he stepped out again, his mother was on the phone with her husband, sounding upset.

"You aren't even going to help us move in?" She sighed as the man started explaining. "Of course I understand, Norman, but...yes, Brendan's being difficult..." she held out the phone to the boy, who stared at it for a few seconds. "Your father wants to talk to you."

"Tell him I'm unpacking." And Brendan went up to his new room, the one good thing about all of this.

The room was already done, and on the wall was a clock his dad had given to him back when they'd still been on speaking terms, before Norman had taken a job as Petalburg City's Gym Leader and dragged his son away from the small Johto town he'd called home for twelve years. Now, Brendan just set the clock, placed it back on the wall, and headed downstairs.

Most of the downstairs area had been set up already, and his mother was watching the TV. "Brendan!" she called, proving she noticed her son. "Come quick! Maybe your dad will be on!"

Rolling his eyes, Brendan joined his mother in front of the television, where the program on Petalburg Gym was just reaching its end. His mother sighed and switched the TV off.

"Maybe we just missed him," Brendan suggested, and his mother brightened a little.

"You know, Brendan," she said, much to his annoyance, "one of your dad's friends lives right next door. He has a daughter about your age -"

"Let me guess," Brendan interrupted. "You want me to go and meet her, be her friend, fall in love with her, marry her, and we'll be a perfect, happy family."

The look on his mother's face made him wish he'd stopped talking. "Brendan," she said in the tone reserved for mothers when their sons are acting out, "I know the move has been difficult for you, but if you keep acting like this you will never make new friends, and you will die as the grumpy old man who yells at small children to get off his lawn."

"All right, all right," Brendan said, pulling his bag over his shoulder. "I'm going. And I'll hate every minute of it."

His mom's anger instantly melted into a bright smile. "That's the spirit."

He had to admit, the fact that his father knew Professor Birch was actually pretty cool. No sooner had he broken into the house than a woman who had to be Birch's wife and the girl's mother approached.

"I'm not a thief," he said immediately. "I'm Norman's son."

The woman smiled. "Oh, I know. Norman's told my husband so much about you. My daughter is upstairs in her bedroom, I think. Why don't you go and say hi?"

"That's why I came over," Brendan said, and headed upstairs.

He couldn't miss the daughter's room - it had a sheet of printer paper taped to it, with the words "May's room" written in pink bubble letters, surrounded by doodled flowers. He knocked twice, but no one answered. Hoping that May wasn't getting dressed, he opened the door a crack.

She wasn't there, but a red and white ball was sitting on her rug. Her room was just as undecorated as his own, except her closet was wide open, spilling piles of clothes while the hangers were left bare, and her dresser mirror had stick-on jewels stuck to the edges. There was absolutely nothing interesting besides the ball.

Someone cleared their throat behind him, and he turned to see a girl about his age with her hands on her hips, glaring at him with sharp blue eyes.

"Don't you know it's rude to break into someone's house, even if you don't steal anything?" she demanded, and Brendan quickly introduced himself. May became less skeptical as he explained, but the annoyance clearly didn't go away. "I was excited about making a new friend, but now I have to get some supplies for the mission Dad gave me. You can go talk to him, if you want."

And she slipped past him into her bedroom, where she started putting tiny notebooks and pencils into the little bag around her hips. Brendan's disinterest switched to curiosity - she'd seemed just as reluctant to talk as he was. Perhaps they did have something in common after all.

"May?"

"Yes?" She picked the ball off the floor and turned to look at him.

He thought better of it. "This counts as a meeting, right?"

She seemed to understand that he wasn't here of his own free will. "It does," she said after only a moment to think it over. "Bye."

And he turned around and left, heading over to find Professor Birch. Perhaps he'd give Brendan a similar mission, and he and May could slack off and get to be friends. Just like his mother wanted.

"Help me!"

Brendan heard the call, and rushed out to the route to Oldale Town, where a man was being chased by a Zigzagoon.

A Zigzagoon.

There were no words for how stupid Brendan found the entire situation.

The man caught his eye before he could walk away, however, and Brendan couldn't pretend he didn't notice. "Please! Help me! In the bag, there's a Pokeball!"

"You can fight off a Zigzagoon with your hands," Brendan protested, but the Pokémon let out a noise very similar to a bark, and the man backed up even more.

Brendan rolled his eyes again before reaching into the man's bag, searching for anything round. He felt something, pulled it out, and threw it with all his might at the wild creature.

Instead of catching it for the man, however, a small orange chick popped out, pecking at the air. The Zigzagoon, diverted from its prey, jumped at the thought of being in battle and bounced over to be the Torchic's opponent.

"A battle, huh?" Brendan could deal with that, at least. "All right. Torchic, use...any attack that does damage!"

The Torchic, though it wasn't a Pokémon caught by or for Brendan, decided it would obey without hesitation and scratched at the Zigzagoon with its sharp feet. The Zigzagoon whimpered but attacked with a Tackle of its own.

Scratch...Tackle...Scratch...eating Oran Berry before Tackle...

"You needed saving from this thing?" Brendan demanded of the man, who coughed nervously. He tried to step away, but the Zigzagoon growled at him, and he returned to his position of fear.

However, one more Scratch defeated the Zigzagoon, and, unable to continue battling, it sulked away, leaving the man to congratulate the boy on a job well done.

"In fact," he said, "why don't you come down to my lab? I could use your assistance, since my daughter isn't...well, let's just say that she's not quite as interested in my research as she used to be. You're Norman's boy, right?"

"Yes." Brendan braced himself - he knew what was coming.

"I thought so. I've only met you once, but you have your father's talent for battle." Yep, there it was, right on schedule. "I'll meet you in the lab, and we can have a talk."

And he was gone, leaving Brendan with the victorious Torchic.

At his mother's insistence, Brendan returned to the lab, where the professor was talking with his assistant. Birch cut himself off mid-sentence, greeting Brendan with a "Don't touch anything."

Brendan, who had been about to press a button to see what kind of science it did, reluctantly put his hand down.

"Why did you want me here?" he asked, and Professor Birch led him to a small table near the back of the room.

"I want you to have the Torchic you battled with," he explained, handing Brendan the ball. "It was supposed to be for a Pokedex adventure, but May was this year's chosen carrier -"

"Because you're prejudiced to your own blood," Brendan said under his breath.

Birch didn't even pretend he couldn't hear it. "I can assure you, it was because she asked me for it. Constantly, for a whole week, but she asked me. She has her own Pokémon with her, so I don't feel bad giving you this one."

"And what about the others? Don't I get a choice?" He probably would have gone with the Torchic anyway, but the professor didn't know that.

"After seeing how well that Torchic battled with you, I don't think you should."

That wasn't fair, but at least Brendan got the Torchic. "So I have a Pokémon now," he said to himself, accepting the Torchic's ball and letting it out. "What do I do with it?"

"You could start by giving him a name."

The Torchic looked hopefully at Brendan. Brendan considered it, then reached down to pet him.

"I think Adam would be nice," he finally said. When the Torchic didn't react negatively, Brendan figured he liked it, too. "So where do we go next?"

"Well, if you could bring May back, that would be a start. She isn't aware of this decision, and I'd like to let her know that she isn't alone. But if you could just not tell her about the Zigzagoon..."

"You got it," Brendan promised. He hoped the professor couldn't see his crossed fingers.