May casually glanced at the arguing Brendan and Wally, well at least Wally was arguing.

"NO NO NO! IF YOU CONDITION A NOCTOWL TO STAY AWAKE DURING THE DAY AND SLEEP AT NIGHT, IT WILL ADAPT AND HUNT NEW PREY!"

"I'm afraid your only conditioning it's sleeping patterns." Brendan explained calmly. "Not it's hunting patterns, it will only hunt the pokemon that it would normally find at night."

Did she make the right decision to travel with these two so-called researchers. May couldn't help but sigh. It is was kind of weird to be around people again, but at the same time, it was oddly refreshing.

"What do you think May?"

May snapped out of her thoughts to see Wally up in her face, surprising her.

"Oh uh... I think that..." Not that May hasn't paid attention to their argument, but she didn't know much about pokemon natural reactions. She didn't know what to say, so she just took a shot in the dark. "Maybe, the Noctowl will force itself to sleep during the night again..."

Brendan and Wally just stared at May, she couldn't read their faces. May feared she could have said the wrong thing, or worse, something stupid.

"Of course, it's biological clock will try to repair itself-" This just sparked another conversation in which May really couldn't add to. She was tired of feeling like an outsider among the group.

"Hey guys. Enough talking about pokemon." Brendan stared May, and Wally felt a little angry at being cut-off while making a point. "Don't get me wrong, I love them too. But I really don't know you guys, like what are your hobbies?"

Brendan and Wally looked at each other, then responded together, "Researching pokemon."

May sighed, "That's not what I mean."

Wally laughed. "We know, we know. Were just playing with you. Well, I guess I always liked doing anything outdoors, see I have this sort of sickness. Now I take medicine for it, but before I was very sickly and usually couldn't go outside. So this little project works out me in that manner too."

"What about you?" May turned to Brendan.

"I like to do anything." Brendan's response didn't seem to cut it for May.

"Could you be more specific?"

"I could be more vague" Brendan offered. "But what about you, just like you don't know us. We don't know you."

"Well, I like to shop, a lot. I got to say that I'm a sucker for theatrics, maybe that's why I'm into contests... Anyways and I also love food."

"Oh, so your not one of those superficial girls who thinks eating is for fat people?"

"No I am not. I can appreciate good food."

"Good then." Brendan said. "Because it is time for lunch, prepare to appreciate."

Both Brendan and Wally got out the cooking equipment, May just watched as they set everything up. Brendan, it appears seems to know how to cook. He was prepping all food stuff, while Wally seemed to be getting a fire going.

"Hey you." Brendan threw a bucket at May, "Make yourself useful and fill it with water from the stream across the way."

May took the bucket. "I hope you use something to clean the water."

"We do." Pipped in Wally. "We are always prepared."

May, defeated, took the bucket and walked over toward where Brendan pointed.

"So what do you think of her?" Wally asked Brendan.

"I think she is a very strange girl."

"That's not what I meant."

"That makes both of us not understanding what you meant."

Wally let out a dry laugh. "Well, she is interesting enough. No wonder your so interested in her."

"Excuse me." He said this neutrally, it didn't sound like a denial or anything. It sounded more like he actually didn't hear him.

"Oh come on Brendan. We are researchers on reactions and natures of pokemon. So then why can't I analyze you in the same way. You are totally head over heels for her."

"You're very observant, shame she isn't."

May was filling the bucket full of water.

"Stupid Brendan." She muttered to herself.

There, she filled enough, however she couldn't lift the bucket now. It was too heavy.

May blew up her bangs. She pulled out a pokeball and released her blaziken. The fighting bird pokemon could easily lift the water bucket.

"Thanks. Let's go."

"Hey there May, so you got the water?" Wally asked as she saw May in the distance.

"Yeah my blaziken has it."

Blaziken put down the water bucket in front Brendan. "At least one of you is competent."

"Hey!" May was now up in Brendan's neutral face.

"Could I help you?"

She snarled for a bit. "No."

Brendan just simply shook his head. "You very strange girl."

"Yeah whatever." She returned to sitting and watching the other two boys work at making dinner and returned her blaziken.


"So how was it May?" Wally asked her after everyone finished eating. They were sitting around a small campfire.

"I have had worse." May was cleaning herself up with her napkin.

"Thanks for the compliment." Brendan said.

"If you call that a complement." Wally said.

"It's all about perspective. You make what you want out of anything."

"So what's your next target guys?" May asked.

"Well, we need to infiltrate the mareep enemy lines." Wally was creeping around pretending to be a spy. "Learn all their intel, before we strike."

"Sounds exciting."

"You could join us you know." Brendan offered.

"Me? No I'm a klutz" She said with a rather shameful pride. "I will just screw everything up."

"I'm sure we could use you to... an advantage."

"Okay."


They were all behind a rather large bush overlooking a wild mareep herd.

"All right." Brendan said, while adjusting is vest. "Wally, you will be filming everything going on. May you done yet?"

May was trying to fit on a similar vest on herself. "What's the purpose of this vest thing again?"

"It's insulation. We are going to wrap ourselves in this wool looking conductor. The selling point is that it will be charged with a battery we will be carrying. It will shock anyone that touches it."

"Why do we want to shock the mareep?" She didn't want to hurt the mareep.

"They will be shocking us. That is how they keep track of each other. By the casual shocks they give each other. If we don't shock them, and they don't shock us, they will know something is wrong, probably scatter and thats that." Brendan was now fitting the wool cover on the vest.

"Okay then..." There was so much to pokemon that she didn't understand. Why couldn't it be as simple as winning badges and ribbons?

"You will be taking these scissors." He handed them to her. "Don't worry they're insulated. And try to inconspicuously get a few strands of their wool."

"How much do I get?"

"Just a little from a lot of them. The more the better." He then went over to May tried to fit the cover over her vest.

"I think I will take it from here." She didn't want his hand anywhere near her... regions.

"If you say so." He turned around to face Wally.

"You got everything set?" Brendan looked over all the cameras and recorders hidden by the bush.

"Yeah, I got everything working. Having trouble with this one though." He pointed to a recorder. "It doesn't seem to pick up sound from the microphone in your vest."

"Try to see if you can fix it. We don't know when they will migrate again."

He walked over to May, she finished with the cover. "Look, I want you to enter the group on all fours from that position." He pointed over yonder. "I will be coming from that direction." He pointed at where he would be entering. "Wait ten seconds after I enter to enter yourself. That way you can tell if they will accept me or reject me. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Oh. A word of warning, some shocks may go past the vest. So be prepared for that. If you get flustered from all the shocks, just lay down. Don't panic. It may agitate them."

"I'm not a little girl. I could take a few shocks, thank you very much." She pouted and crossed her arms.

"If you say so." Brendan turned around to walk away.

"But just... How bad does it hurt?"

Brendan just laughed. "You very strange girl."

Brendan and May were set. Brendan talked into his headset.

"May you ready?"

She readjusted her microphone. "Yeah okay."

"I'm going in."

May sat still for a while. She watched the mareep. They didn't seem to be shifting out of the ordinary. Might as well get it over with. She crawled toward the herd. She then entered through the group. She could hear the sizzle of the vest she was wearing touch the wool of the mareep.

She pulled out her scissors. She touched them to the wool. The mareep didn't seem to mind. She cut of a piece. No notice. She stored the little wool pieces into the bag. She moved on, doing more and more. Every now and again, she would get shocked. The first one surprised her. She almost yelped, but she was able to catch herself and stop it. However she began to notice how restless the mareep were getting.

Brendan came back into the mic.

"GET INTO THE MIDDLE OF THE HERD!"

He pretty much yelled into the mic. May had to tear it out of her ear because it was so loud. She still heard what he said, and crawled toward the middle like he said. That was when the herd began shifting uncontrollably. May got jostled around, getting shocked even more. She actually cried out in pain after being shocked so much. That was when she heard someone else cry out. It wasn't Brendan, it wasn't Wally. It sounded like an animal... a pokemon.

The pokemon jumped over May. It was a mightyena.

The herd stampeded in every direction. May couldn't get up without being shocked. All the while she was being continuously run over. She closed her eyes hoping for it to be over. She felt something heavy fall on her. But she didn't bother to shake it off her. It stopped all the mareep from running over her and shocking her. She then felt the thing on her back, reach around her, guarding her. That was when she realized, it was Brendan.

May heard snarling and howling get louder and louder. Soon she was lifted up and flew across the grass. She and Brendan were picked up by a sceptile. She was too much in wonder, to question it. The sceptile put down May and Brendan near the bush Wally was hiding in.

"You guys okay?" He asked.

"Fine... Fine." Brendan choked out.

May was still on the floor. She was staring at Brendan who was on his back. May noticed his arms, they were singed and burned. He saved her.

"Thanks for the sceptile pick up." Brendan said. "And the mightyena warning."

"Don't mention it. I was keeping an eye out." Wally watched as the mightyena chased after the mareep.

"How you doing May?" Brendan asked.

May sat up. "I'm fine." She tried to touch his arms. But he pulled them away. "You need help."

"And I got it right here." Wally came in with a first aid kit.

"Did you at least get the wool samples." Brendan groaned as Wally washed his arm.

"Yeah... I did. But that doesn't matter."

Brendan would loved to argue the point. But he couldn't.

May watched as Wally wrapped up his arms. He was not such a bad guy after all.


I got to say I really like this brendan, since he never had an anime appearance the author was able to construct a personality for this empty vessel. I find it very funny