Beneath the Summer Skies - A Pokemon Fanfic

As the new morning light danced on the waves of the warm Hoenn sea, Brandon Birch smiled in nervous excitement to himself as he leaned over the railing of the SS Marie. His light brown hair floated in the gentle sea breeze. A pair of wayfarer sunglasses sat on his head. Far, far in the distance, a group of islands were visible. After 9 days at sea, the ship would finally arrive in the Hoenn Region on this glorious morning. An indescribable feeling of nerves, excitement and the prospect of adventure was washing over Brandon like a Tsunami, and he couldn't help but grin. The warm morning sun had now fully risen above the water, basking the ship in its warmth. Brandon took another bite of his toast as he watched the water. A huge Tentacruel floated past the boat, leaving Brandon in shock. He had never seen a Tentacruel in person. This must be a sign that we're getting close, he thought to himself, and grinned. As a flock of Wingull floated past, high in the sky, another Pokemon eyed them from the deck of the ship. Scizor was a menacing Pokemon, standing taller than its trainer, his coat of red steel armour gleamed in the sunlight. His eyes darted around the morning scene until it finally spotted its target and advanced. As it approached, it moved silently. Brandon Birch was still busy eating his toast over the railing when he felt a figure behind him. He turned to see his loyal Pokemon standing by his side. They both nodded each other a good morning. Scizor was a Pokemon that Brandon's father had caught for his son several years ago. As a Scyther, it was taken to school in its pokeball and battled against the other children's Pokemon, usually basic bug types. Brandon's Scyther earned a reputation at the school for its power, and it wasn't long until a group of older kids attempted to mug Brandon and steal the pokeball Scyther was in while he was walking home. Luckily Brandon's father arrived to save his son, but from that day on, Scyther was made to stay outside of its pokeball to protect Brandon. It very rarely went back into its pokeball. Even now as a 17 year old, the boy always had Scizor standing by his side. Scizor was a powerful pokemon, but it liked having this boy as its trainer. It was treated as an equal, and as a friend. Brandon had always been like that, a respectful and quiet young boy. He had lost his mother in childbirth, and as a result had been carefully looked after by his overprotective father all his life. And yet, he always seemed to find himself in trouble. Yes, Brandon Birch was never far from adventure that was true. But not adventure like this. As the pair stood on the warm deck of the SS Marie, staring longingly at the islands ahead, far in the distance another journey was about to begin...

In the small town of Littleroot, a small corner of the Hoenn Region, another young trainer was up early for a huge morning. May Maple was a beautiful young girl. She was quiet, a little shy, and even at 16 had not yet tasted adventure. That was about to change. As she dragged herself out of bed, she glanced at herself in the bedroom mirror. Her long brown hair was messy, and it fell down one side of her face. She was about average height, slender and athletic with a cute, unimposing face and gorgeous blue eyes. In the kitchen, her mother called her for breakfast. She threw on her denim shorts and red crop top (she had left them on her bed for weeks in preparation) and hurried downstairs. May's mother Rose was just like her, she had the same features and was equally as beautiful. As May rushed down the stairs, her mother sat at the table with a plate of pancakes and a hot cup of coffee. "Good morning sunshine!" She smiled at her daughter. This was a very special morning for May; today she would leave on her first summer vacation without her Mother! "Morning Mom!" She smiled back, "How did you sleep?" and sat down to her warm breakfast. May's best friend Dawn from the Sinnoh Region was on her way by boat to Hoenn, and they were going to spend the whole Summer break together travelling. For years the two had talked and dreamed about having the perfect Summer, and the day had finally come. While she sat and talked to her mother, her mind wandered to the possibilities of their adventure. May was brimming with with excitement all morning, and an hour later as they drove to the Slateport City to meet Dawn, her excitement was at its peak. Her mother, however, was less than excited. "May listen up, you two need to be careful ok?" This was not the first time she had said this over the last week or so. "Of course we will Mom" replied May, trying to sound sincere. "I mean it May, you're a big girl you can look after yourself, and Torchic can protect you..." Rose glanced at the pokeball in her daughters hand. "But i'm going to be really worried about you two! Not to mention lonely.." May frowned, her excitement dimming somewhat. As a single mother, Rose would now have no one else in the house apart from her own Pokemon Spinda and Sentret. May had been thinking about this a lot. She was a very gentle natured girl, and did not like the idea of upsetting her mother. "I know Mom, but like I said, i'll ring you every day ok?" It wasn't a lot to promise, but it was the best she could do. Her and her Mom were very close. "That'll be nice dear, thank you.." It was a little upsetting, but May was still just as excited. They drove on.

After 20 minutes, May and her mother arrived at Slateport City, and rushed over to the harbour, just in time to see the ship pulling in. "The SS Marie..." May read out loud the bold red print on the hull of the huge ship. Along the port side, hundreds of people lined the deck's to wave hello at the crowds who had come to greet them. It was a busy time of the year for Slateport, and this was the first ship of the summer. May scanned the deck of the ship for her friend. After nearly a minute she spotted Dawn, her amazing blue hair blowing in the warm sea breeze under her signature white beanie. Her skin was pale and soft, and her eyes were big, warm and friendly. She was very similar to May in her body type, a little shorter and not as athletic. They were a good looking pair. She grinned and shouted and waved, but Dawn couldn't spot her. Laughing to herself, May's eyes wandered to a slightly older boy, standing just behind Dawn. He was tall, tanned with an adorable little smile on his face and cute messy light-brown hair (which had a decent amount of hair product in it). He was wearing a white T-shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and a dark pair of wayfarer sunglasses. He was very attractive. Her eyes were drawn away by the shouting and waving of Dawn, who had finally spotted her. Dawn tracked where May was staring and spun around, immediately spotting the cute boy with the wayfarer sunglasses. He smiled a warm smile at her, showing off rows of beautiful teeth. Dawn politely smiled back, then spun back round to face her best friend. They both gasped and laughed at each other, before the ship finally docked.

As she walked onto the pier in her little white dress, Dawn spotted her best friend. May was so beautiful, she was a tiny bit jealous. Dawn lived in the Sinnoh region her whole life, in the cold north. She was a fierce and feisty girl, but an inexperienced Pokemon trainer. She had long dreamed of coming to the warm and exciting shores of Hoenn, and while she was incredibly confident in her exterior, she was rather nervous of the unknown journey which lay ahead. She rushed towards May and gave her a big hug. It had been a whole year since the last time they had been together. The two chatted together in excitement, before Rose interrupted them. "Ok you two, its nearly 11:00, don't you think you should get going?" Dawn glanced at May, puzzled. "Oh, Mom, I forgot to tell you!" Exclaimed May. "Dawn and I are going to stay in Slateport for the first night." Rose smiled at the pair. "Oh ok, well in that case do what ever you want." They beamed back at her. "I need to be heading off now girls, so I guess this is goodbye." She smiled, but a tear rolled down her cheek. May shed a tear as well, and the group had one last big hug.

"Promise you will call every day?"

"I promise Mom"

"Good, now you two take care of yourselves alright?!"

"We will"

"Right.."

Rose straightened up, wiped her tears, and gave them both one more big hug, then walked back to the car. "Goodbye you two! Have fun!" The pair waved her a tearful goodbye until the car was well out of site. "Goodbye!"