Summary: She was the third option.

(Or, in which Archie comes to realise that perhaps he could learn a thing or two from a trash-talking child who believes they should leave the balance of nature well alone.)

These Circular Games We Play

Archie loved the sea, ever since he was a boy.

How long had he been on these fishing trips with his father, floating on an endless tide, breathing in the ocean, inhaling the soothing view of a never-ending stretch of blue? Since he was a young boy, he'd dreamt of this life, this paper cut-out life of spontaneous fishing trips, one day taking his own sons out to explore the seas that spanned out before them.

Through the stress of organising meetings for something his father had only labelled as "Project Aqua" and still trying to feed his family with the minimum wages he made when working in the Slateport City shipyard, Archie's old man rarely had the chance to unwind. Sporting big dreams but having no way of supporting them, these small expeditions out into the ocean were his comfort blanket, his way of relaxing and remembering his life held other priorities.

…

Archie wasn't sure when Project Aqua first flared up. Perhaps it was when his father lost his previous job as an archaeologist with his long-time business partner, Maxie, when the two had disagreed on some sort of research plan for legendary pokemon. Maybe it was when Archie's mother and younger brother were cruelly taken by an earthquake in Lavaridge Town, when Archie was six and didn't understand why his family weren't coming back. Or was it when his father realised the sea held, quite literally, a boatload of opportunities for him and the land just wasn't worth saving?

It was hard to tell, but it seemed over the years his father had gotten increasingly more irritated as the work and expectations piled up around him, in the forms of faxes, letters and angry petition flyers.

…

When Archie was twenty-three his father had suffered from a stroke. His legs no longer worked and he was forced to retire from his position of Project Aqua's leader, residing in a retirement home in Oldale Town until his death four years later. This meant two things: either Archie throw everything away his father worked so hard on and continue down his muddled, lonely path… or succumb to his father's wishes and throw away his own life to fulfill the destiny his father had ruled out for himself.

The choice wasn't difficult, of course, and Archie soon took over what had now been dubbed as Team Aqua, an organisation fighting for their love of the sea. The people weren't menacing and he quickly gained a lot of respect amongst his peers. In particular Shelley, his father's old cabin girl, looked out for him, helping him to make the tough decisions and organising the best plan of action to take so they were one step ahead of Team Magma.

For this he was grateful. After all, above anything else, there was no way he could ever let Maxie win.

…

And then, she happened. The girl born into the time of year where water and land blossomed freely together.

May.

He'd gotten wind a while back that a rowdy young girl had foiled their plans of getting the Devon Goods in the Petalburg Woods. The grunt in charge was a new recruit so he'd figured it was just a slip-up on the recruits part.

And now that familiar name was cropping up again, in the Slateport City Oceanic Museum. He needed to see this girl that was so full of spunk, needed to fully understand how his grunts fell to ground in defeat as she tossed them aside, why she was meddling in their plans, who the hell she was.

"You're all being held up by a mere child?"

He eyed the girl up and down as she glared at him, fists balled up, looking ready to pick a fight. An emerald green bandana tied down her hair, which fell softly around her face yet seemingly stood on end under his interrogation. She wore a small orange dress and biker shorts, which oddly enough reminded him of the kind of attire his sister used to wear, back when she was a trainer.

The thing that attracted him most was the eyes of the child before him, though; fiery with passion, yet cold and ruthless like the ocean. They held a searching look, spilling out her motives and frustrations while showing her curiosity as to who he was, as well. When he revealed his status to the girl, her eyes, blue like the gently falling tides, darkened, and she glared at him with a look that radiated hatred.

Who are you? he wanted to ask. Who are you to give me that look, to eye me with such disdain?

May from Littleroot Town, she bellowed when he asked for her name and status. Pokemon trainer, shooting for the league.

With a temper like magma and the spirit of aqua, she threw him off guard. As the two withdrew their pokeballs, he expected for her starter to show him whose side she was on in the end.

To his surprise, an aggressive little treeko tumbled out of the beams emitted by her pokeball, shadow-boxing with an equally off-putting glare, chewing on a twig like a delinquent. Evident battle scars riddled the pokemon's body, causing Archie to wonder just what kind of training methods the kid was using.

This was the third option.

He couldn't help but ask if she was a spy for Team Magma - after all, the little punk was ruthless, acting like some sort of soldier. Her battling skills weren't too shabby either. She spat on the ground and stamped it out, swearing she'd kill him if he ever made such a tactless remark again.

Out of the fondness for this strange little girl he'd only just met, he handed the Devon Goods back over to her, advising her in the sweetest manner he could muster that she didn't interfere with future plans and kept out of Team Aqua's affairs.

Once again, she spat on that statement, before snatching the goods, recalling her treeko and heading out of the museum.

"Your stupid raid cost me fifty bucks entrance fee," she snapped on the way out, turning slightly so she half-faced him and the other stunned Aqua grunts. "You'd better be fricking grateful I'm such a tough opponent, otherwise I'd miss that money. It came straight out of my battle winnings." She then smirked. "It's a good thing you can compensate me from your loss."

"Wha-"

Much to his dismay, she'd swiped 2000 pokedollars from Archie's stash without him even noticing. He didn't realise until much later that it was because she'd unleashed her sableye before entering the building. Maybe it was better that way, since it probed his curiosity and just seemed to add to the mysterious punk-ass air she had going for her.

…

Like two halves of a pokeball, the hero and the villain walked down their separate winding roads, one growing stronger as the other grew weaker. They bent but didn't break. They tripped but didn't fall.

…

When he looked into the little brat that foiled his plans at the Oceanic Museum, he found her file on the Hoenn League database.

May Maple, the daughter of Norman Maple, leader of the Petalburg City gym. So that explained why her and her pokemon both carried the attitude of soldiers - Norman was known to give his pokemon similar military treatment in order for them to grow stronger. He supposed the poor kid had been raised that way without much say in the matter.

When he thought about it, she and him were a lot alike.

Both fathers raised them to become narrow-minded people; both children grew up to take after ideals they detested the most.

…

As he confronted Maxie at Mt. Chimmney five months later, bristling with an overwhelming desire to snap the guy's neck, she stepped out of the cable car unsteadily, wobbling on her dainty little feet before finding her way.

He turned to face her and their eyes met. Perhaps her pokemon had grown stronger, but for some reason, something seemed off as he scrutinised her appearance. The little punk had lost the challenging spark in her posture, the confidence that ailed her in every move she made. Maybe her team had increased in strength, but her nerve seemed to have deflated rapidly.

Yet, she still glared at him weakly, with clenched fists and a cold expression. It sent shivers down his spine that he willed away, blushing with the realisation that a stubborn little kid was giving him the chills.

"You're the girl from Slateport."

"Bite me," she said shortly, refusing to look at him. He smiled a little at that.

"You're an odd brat. Team Magma are dangerous, do you hear me? There's no telling what they'll do, kid. It's best you stay out of this stuff. It's bad for your health."

"Yeah, yeah, you're just as bad as each other," she shot back rudely. "You don't have to explain that to me."

"Then stay away from things that don't concern you," Maxie cut in, eying the two of them with equal disgust. "I don't think you fully understand the extent to which the world will change should our plans be carried out."

May threw back her head and pointed her chin out at him defiantly.

"I know enough to realise the world will remain a better place if both of you drop your dumb theories and leave nature to take its course alone. I get you guys are idealists and I can respect that, but when it concerns the future of the land and its people that I love dearly…" She glared at him darkly. "It really pisses me off."

"Why, you…!"

Maxie called out his pokemon and Archie was ready to step in, warn the kid to back down… except he didn't, and he was glad. Since May, quite frankly, kicked his ass.

As Maxie fled, muttering that their encounter was only the beginning of his master plan, Archie approached May, who was recalling her pokemon breathlessly, slightly worn out from the battle.

"Kid, that was… really excellent."

"Don't call me Kid," she muttered dully, too tired to look up. "That's not my name. It's May."

"May, then…" He scratched his head, momentarily feeling awkward for being on a first-name basis with her, before remembering what he was going to say. "Thanks for your work, May. Without your help, Team Aqua wouldn't have stood a chance."

"Got that straight."

"Thank you for thwarting Team Magma's plan. If not for you, we'd still be in hot water, little lady. So we're indebted to you."

She stopped fiddling with the zipper on her bag that refused to close and turned to frown at Archie. "What I said to Maxie applied to you too, dumbass. I don't care for you or your plans at all."

He blinked, suddenly puzzled. "What…? Whose side are you on, kid?"

"Nobody's!" she roared, shooting to her feet in a loss of character. She stood before him, red-faced and glaring. "How dense are you people?! Mother nature created an equal amount of land and sea for a reason, and you're jeopardising our planet with your stupid, narrow-minded ideas! I don't want to be a part of this, but you're dragging the rest of Hoenn, and potentially the entire planet, in with you! If you want to lead some great army, do it somewhere else! Don't… don't think for a second that I'm like you…"

She hugged herself protectively, shaking a little after her outburst. Archie stared at her in amazement, stunned that she'd come out with something like that on such short notice.

As she continued to stand there, trembling and unsure of where to place herself, he put his hands on her tiny shoulders.

"It's fine, May. It doesn't matter anymore. So long as we still have time to roam the seas and defeat Team Magma once and for all… that's fine by me." He leaned down and placed a small kiss on her forehead, feeling her tense as she hung in his arms, wide-eyed and confused.

As Archie peeled away and headed back towards the cable cars, realising the rest of his team had already left, he caught a particularly large speckle of ash and watched it sit on his fingertips, a mottled grey that reminded him of snow. When he glanced back, he smiled half-heartedly at her.

"I'll see you soon, May. We'll meet again in due time…"

Long after he'd left she stood there, the weight of the world bearing down on her shoulders, the tears streaming from the caverns of her eyes refusing to stop. She held a shaking hand to her forehead and squeezed her eyes shut, face growing warm as she cried. It wasn't a blush, it couldn't be.

Maybe she was getting a cold, she decided. After all, she never usually cried either. A sure sign of illness.

With this thin self-assurance she trudged back down the path towards the cable cars, the ashes

dusting her cheeks and catching in her hair.

…

In the end, she was right. Rayquaza taught him that much.

It isn't easy keeping a low profile after this. Team Aqua disbanded immediately, many being captured while others fled like him. Shelley and Tabitha stuck with him for a while, but eventually Tabitha found somebody else to live for in a small house in Mossdeep. He hesitantly took the hand of his love and moved into his apartment, watching apprehensively over his shoulder the entire time. Shelley was eager to push him towards his happiness, shouting something about wanting to be invited to the big gay wedding before the two of them drove off in her truck. When Tabitha was out of sight, she sighed heavily.

"Damn," she muttered, pressing her head against the top of the steering wheel. "Why do I always end up alone in the end?"

Shortly after she created a new identity for herself, cleaned herself up, went to nursing school to train while holding down three part time jobs. Anything to keep herself distracted. Anything to keep herself from wanting to go back.

That left Archie alone.

He traveled by himself for a while, inventing a new name for himself, inventing a new life altogether. He was no longer Archie. He was Adam, a simple man exploring the world. It didn't matter to him what people thought of Archie, since so many people knew him – it didn't matter to him what people thought of Adam either, so long as nobody connected the faces and made an educated guess.

When he eventually returned to Hoenn after six years of skirting around the subject, he discovered through various magazine spreads and newspaper articles that the girl with the green bandana had become the Hoenn champion just a year after ending the conflict between the Hoenn weather trio by calling on Rayquaza herself. It was surprising but not unexpected, given the strength she had shown from the beginning. It came as no surprise to him when he found out that less than a year after becoming the champion she had resigned from the position in favour of exploring Sinnoh and Unova, much like he had done, and two years after that she had challenged her father and won the rights to the Petalburg Gym. She currently ran it – Norman had fled, presumably back to Johto, to seek a second opinion on the matter. She had been in charge of the place ever since.

With this knowledge in mind, he honestly hadn't meant to wander into Petalburg like he did. Or maybe he did. Did it even matter anymore? The past was the past. It wasn't like he'd speak to her.

She was twenty now. Grown up. He found himself missing her distraught, graceless child self. As he stood outside the gym, teetering between entering or not, he caught sight of her through an open window, talking softly to her pokemon. She was svelte, not scrawny; gentle, not fierce; balanced, not overzealous.

Maybe she really was a changed person, matured and ready to be a part of the world. Maybe she wasn't the child he was still clinging onto.

People were changing all the time.

"A beautiful gym," he called, and she glanced up, nodding appreciatively. It was impossible to tell if she recognised him from the distance.

"Thank you," she chirped, a pleasant smile on her face. As he slipped away, determined on leaving the past in the past, she stood abruptly and followed his footsteps, the cycle beginning once more.