Chapter 2

Jay never understood why hospitals were painted in such a bleak shade. The walls, ceiling and floors weren't even white, they were more or less a lighter shade of grey. Well, it seemed grey to her, everything seemed less vibrant than it used to. Even the small bouquet of flowers in her arms has lost its usually bright colours.

"Good morning, how may I help you?" a nurse greeted the dark teen, welcoming her with a warm smile. "Are you here to visit someone?"

Jay sighed. She fiddled with one the flowers nervously, causing one of it yellow petals to drop to the floor. "Yeah," she said, a solemn expression on her face. "I'm here to see Crowe Copper."

xxx

May shook her head, more out of endearment instead of disappointment, as she stared at the crumpled form of Brendan at the bottom of the stairs. His suitcase was on top of him, and Brendan groaned as he pushed the heavy bag off him. His forehead was beginning to redden where he hit it on the floor.

"I told you." May laughed as Brendan glared at the girl. She offered him her hand, which he took to hoist himself up. "I told you that you'd trip if you carried your suitcase by yourself down the stairs."

He made an irritated sighed as he rubbed his head. His skin was a bit painful to touch. If a bruise was beginning to develop then he would surely be ridiculed by his fans. "Jeez," he hissed as he poked it. "I fell hard. Is there bruise coming up? Because if there is, then I swear to God, I-"

"Yeah, yeah," May interrupted his ramblings. He furrowed his brows together as May rubbed at his forehead with a thumb. "Meh, you'll live."

Brendan threw his arms up over dramatically. "Jeez, May, I want to know if I'm getting a bruise," the boy huffed as he gathered his suitcase. "Am I going aubergine or not?"

"No."

"A-are you sure?"

May chose to ignore him. The snowy trainer grumbled as he held his suitcase, and he made a small jump as he hoisted his trainer bag higher up his shoulder. They both left his house, welcoming the sunshine that greeted them outside. Brendan released his tropius, the majestic beast roaring as it basked in the sunshine. He mounted his tropius, wedging his suitcase in between the gap of his chest and the back of the Pokémon's neck.

"Have you got your essential six Pokémon?" May shouted over another of the beast's roars. "Because you can't access the Hoenn pc storage system in foreign areas-"

"I already know that," he replied with a dismissive wave. "I learned that the hard way when I came from Johto, remember?" He smirked at the girl below him, giving her a thumbs up. May looked up at him with a faltering smile, the corners of her lips occasionally twitching. She made a small noise before quickly wiping her face with the back of her hand, an action which Brendan suddenly panicked. "May?" he said, concern in his tone. "May, you okay?"

Brendan patted the tropius on the neck before dismounting. He landed clumsily on the ground, but he managed to recover as he stumbled toward May. The girl sniffed once more before throwing her arms around Brendan's neck, tears pooling down her face and dampening Brendan's collar. He patted her back as he hugged her.

"Oh God," she cursed as she pressed a palm to her head. "I promised myself I wouldn't cry."

May felt Brendan laugh, his low chuckle vibrating into her neck. "Why are you crying?" he let go of her, only resting his hands on her shoulders. "Aw, c'mon May. What's up?"

She laughed as she fully realised the situation. She was May Birch, daughter of a prodigious professor, and she carried the same brilliance as her father. She was level headed, stern and serious, yet here she was, crying because her best friend is leaving for a few days. "Sheesh, Brendan," she giggled as she wiped away the last of her tears. "We've been travelling together for nearly eight years, since we were ten when you first received your mudkip. It'll be the first time we'll be separated with our adventures."

The tropius snorted impatiently behind them. He flapped his leafy wings, sending a current of air towards the two trainers. May and Brendan laughed at the Pokémon, who gave another flap of its wings. The Pokémon made a low rumbling sigh as Brendan mounted the tropius once more, giving a wave and a smile at May.

"Don't worry, May." Brendan yelled over his noisy Pokémon. "I'll be fine. You take care, okay?"

The tropius stomped on the ground before making a huge jump in the air, the giant soaring higher and higher into the sky. May kept waving until he disappeared in the glare of the sun, and she blew a strand of her hair from her face as she looked up into the blue sky.

Something vibrated in her pocket, and it took a while to realise that her Pokénav had received a message. She opened the message, reading it with a smile. "See you in a week," she read it out loud. "Brendan, you sap."

Xxx

The tropius roared as they touched down in Slateport. Brendan returned his Pokémon to its ball, leaving a couple of leaves where it last stood. He could see a ship in the docks, and he made a beeline to the cruiser.

"How may I help you?" asked the receptionist at the docks. Brendan flashed her smile as he handed over his SS ticket, passport and trainer card. She read them with her green eyes, and when she looked up she blushed slightly. "Wow, if it isn't the Pokémon champion, Brendan Kurtis!" she gushed. "Well, we hope your journey will be pleasant. The ship will leave in thirty minutes. Nice meeting you."

He nodded in thanks before boarding the ship. There was a Pokémon play area on deck, so he let his Pokémon out to socialise with the Pokémon of other passengers. Brendan watched on, enjoying the sunshine and the occasional attention of passersby who recognised him. One girl with blonde hair was brave enough to approach him, with a camera in hand and a notebook in the other, a pen tucked behind her ear.

"Oh my gosh, Brendan Kurtis, right?" she gushed, her eyes watering with excitement. Brendan flashed a huge grin, taking the notepad to sign it. "It is you! I can't believe it! Y-you know, you're like, like, my biggest idol! Ever since you became the Hoenn champion, I wanted to be just like you. I've always seen you as such an amazing role model, and… and… and- Oh my God!"

Brendan laughed at her reaction when he took her camera and hugged close to her, taking two photos of them, a smile on Brendan's face, a huge blush across the girl's. He gave back the camera and notebook and then gave a friendly wave goodbye as the girl skipped away, making a happy squeak as she saw Brendan's autograph in her notebook.

"I love being me," he sighed, placing his hands on his hips.

"Wow, you're modest."

Brendan made a startled noise as he turned around, seeing another girl behind him. She had a disapproving look on her face, with one hand on her hip and the other twirling a strand of her sun bleached hair. She also wore a rather thick puff coat, her hands tucked into her sleeves. Brendan looked at her apprehensively.

"Aren't you hot in that?" he blurted, pointing at her coat.

"Are you kidding me?" she replied. "It's freezing!"

Brendan laughed. "Jeez, you're like an old lady with cold bones."

"Old?" she scoffed. "Says the guy with white hair."

Suddenly self conscious, Brendan started to fix his green headband. "W-what is your problem, girl?"

Her blue eyes narrowed. "You." She said simply. "My name is Jay."

"Brendan," he said curtly. "So, uh, Jay, why do you have a problem with me?"

She sniffed, shifting underneath her puff coat. "I need a skilled trainer," she scowled. "Not some big headed idiot."

He pointed a finger at her, a scowl on his face. "That was uncalled for," he snapped, his brows furrowed together in anger. "So, I guess you're the one who called professor Birch for help. Well, here I am. Whether you like it or not, I'm the one you're after."

She looked him up and down with patronising eyes before crossing her arms, shifting her weight to her side as if she saw something disappointing. Jay sighed before turning away from him, going into the Pokémon play area to release her own Pokémon. A large swellow and a vileplume socialised with others, playing with one another with joy.

Brendan made a low whistle as he stared at the swellow. "Jeez," he sighed. "That swellow is huge. What kinda Pokéblocks are you using? Ones infused with a steroids berry or something?"

Jay laughed at this. "No," she tucked a strand of brown hair behind her ear. "I received him as an egg. The egg was huge, so I was expecting something like a rhydon. But when he hatched he turned out to be a huge taillow."

Brendan raised a brow when the swellow landed on his swampert's head. The blue Pokémon grunted in surprise before shooing the bird away, but the swellow was persistent. Brendan's swampert eventually gave up and let the swellow roost there, soon after not minding the bird at all.

"Anyway," he sighed. "What is the exact situation in Sundance? I know that there is probably a legendary Pokémon destroying the towns-"

"There is no legendary Pokémon." Jay interrupted him, flicking her hair out of the way. "The island of Sundance has only been around for about two hundred years. It's volcanic, brand new. There would be no way that legendary Pokémon would exist on that island."

"Pssh," he muttered as he folded his arms. "So?"

Jay's brows furrowed together as she gave Brendan a cold, hard stare. The wind was picking up as the ship set out to sea, making Jay's hair blow about wildly. It gave her a menacing and dramatic look.

"So?" she hissed. "What do you mean by 'so'? Do you think this is a game?"

Brendan threw his hands up in defence, and annoyed expression upon his face. He took a step towards her in an effort to intimidate her, but she seemed quite unaffected from this action. "Look," he snapped. "I'm not trying to be your enemy here. So just tell me the details of the situation instead of throwing a god damn hissy fit."

That seemed to silence her, as Jay shut her mouth and kept it closed. But Brendan could also see that her jaw was tensely clenched, and her hands were balled into fists, ready to strike if she was pushed far enough.

Brendan sighed and took a step back, creating space between them, and hoping that the tension would end. It appeared to work as her jaw relaxed and she tucked her hands back into her sleeves. They both turned away from each other, watching their Pokémon instead as they drew out a long and exasperated sigh.

"The trainer you are replacing is called Crowe Copper," she began, her tone much calmer and kinder than before. "He is a very close friend of mine, but as you have heard he is unconscious. Crowe and I are looking for the Pokémon that is causing chaos. But since he is unavailable, it'll be you and me that'll be doing the job instead."

Brendan scratched the back of his head, ruffling his white hair. "Can I ask why he is unconscious?" Brendan asked, curiosity taking over.

"A number of things," she sighed. "He ran off into a building. He said that he saw the Pokémon inside, but the building collapsed and he was trapped. He got hit in the head really badly, got a few broken bones, some deep cuts, severe blood loss…" she paused, as if contemplating whether or not she should carry on. She chose the latter. "He also has a broken spine. He'll never walk again. If he wakes up, that is."

A heavy silence hung in the air. Brendan turned away, mulling over the words, digesting it like it was distasteful. He couldn't help but grimace at the condition her partner is experiencing. Brendan was shocked, and scared. What kind of position was he getting himself into? For all he knew, Brendan could be in the same situation as Crowe if he wasn't careful.

"You seem pretty calm about this," he commented. "If that happened to my partner, May, then I would be a blubbering wreck recalling all of that."

Jay took in a deep breath before exhaling slowly, closing her eyes as the saline scent of the sea tickled her nose. "I can't afford to be sensitive," she replied. "You should know by now that giving in to your emotions in times of need would only get you into trouble. If you're scared, you run away. If you're angry, you risk hurting yourself and others. If you're upset, you give up."

Jay suddenly looked at Brendan, glaring. "And the same applies to cockiness." She added. "If you're cocky, then your overconfidence will be your downfall."

He snorted at the comment, not caring if it was an insult.

"Well, overconfidence has gotten me this far," he chuckled. "Why stop now?"

Jay shook her head. A frown was upon her hard features. "Well," she huffed. "Don't say that I didn't warn you."

xxx

OMG YOM this chapter is boring... :/

Anyone else experiencing a problem with the three dash dividers? - - -? That's why I'm using xxx instead... sigh...

Reviews appreciated muchly :)