A/N: Looking back at all the battles I've written, I can't help but notice they're all bad. The story gets better but the battles stay the same. Except for one string of battles that happens in about 27 chapters. Anyway, you'll get to meet Team Aqua this chapter. This follows the same plot as the game for a while. But don't worry. I will get back to what happened to May in the first chapter eventually.
Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon. Or half of the dialog... I still own the guy from the first chapter though.
Chapter 3 Runaway thief
May quickly left the pokemon center in the morning. Growlithe followed her out into the wild. May found herself at a beach and a trainer challenged her. Needless to say, May had Lapras come out and jump in the water. Lapras easily beat the pokemon and grew to level 8. With the exp share, Growlithe and Miltank went to level 6. "Good job Lapras. Now return."
Lapras was recalled and May continued. She left the beach and saw a house by a pier. The pier had a boat in the water by it. May read the sign by the house. "It says Mr. Briney's cottage. Look... the doors wide open."
They went in and saw that it was empty. It was a nice place. But May decided they should hurry and leave. So they left and continued walking. They ran into a girl about Mays age. "Look over there. That seaside cottage is where Mr. Briney lives. He was once a mighty sailor who never feared the sea, however stormy. I wonder where he went."
After talking with her, May continued. After battling some rich guy, she went into Petalburg woods. Battling with Lapras against a trainer. Lapras grew to level 9. May and Growlithe reached the middle of the woods.
They saw a man looking around. "Hmmm... Not a one to be found..." He walked over to May. "Hello, have you seen any pokemon called Shroomish around here? I really love that pokemon."
Before May could say anything, Growlithe started to growl. "What's the matter?" May asked.
A man with a blue bandana on his head walked over. A man named Uno glared at the man. "I was going to ambush you, but you had to dawdle in petalburg woods forever, didn't you? I got sick of waiting, so here I am!" He ran over to the man. "You! Devon researcher! Hand over those papers!"
The Devon researcher ran behind May in a panic. "Aiyeeeh! You're a pokemon trainer, aren't you? You've got to help me, please!"
"Don't worry, I won't let him get you." May assured him.
That got Uno angry. "Hunh? What do you think you're doing? What, you're going to protect him?"
Growlithe growled even louder.
"That's right. (Who does he think he is?)"
"No one who crosses team Aqua gets any mercy, not even a kid! Come on and battle me! Go Poochyena!" Grunt Uno released his pokemon.
"I see Growlithe wants to fight. So go on Growlithe." Growlithe ran up to face the other dog like pokemon. Dog vs hyena. And this poochyena was at level 9 while Growlithe was at 6. "Here's your first battle. Use Flamethrower." May ordered.
Growlithe shot flames out of his mouth and hurt Poochyena pretty bad. Poochyena tackled but one more flamethrower finished it. He grew to level 7. Growlithe forgot roar and learned ember.
"You're kidding me! You're tough!" Grunt Uno admitted with shock. "Grrr... You've got some nerve meddling with team aqua! Come on and battle me again! I wish I could say that, but I'm all out of pokemon... And, hey, we of Team Aqua are also after something in Rustboro. I'll let you go today!"
Uno ran away and the Devon researcher sighed with relief. "Whew... That was awfully close! Thanks to you, he didn't rob me of these important papers. I know, I'll give you a Great ball as my thanks! Didn't that Team Aqua thug say they were after something in Rustboro, too?"
He turned away while thinking, then back. "Uh-oh! It's a crisis! I can't be wasting time!"
He ran away as well. Leaving May and Growlithe confused. "I wonder what that was all about. Anyway, let's hurry up and go."
"Growl growl."
They made it out of the woods and saw a building. The sign said, "Pretty petal flower shop." May and Growlithe walked in. Three woman were inside. The first girl out of three sisters spoke up. "Hello! This is Pretty petal flower shop. Spreading flowers throughout the world! Your name is?"
"It's May."
"May. That's a nice name."
"Thanks. (I guess...)"
"May, would you like to learn about berries?"
"Sure. (She could have a useful tip.)" Poor May didn't know that would be the start of a long and pointless explanation. For a while, all May heard was blah blah blah.
" ...I want to see the whole wide world filled with beautiful flowers. That's my dream. Please help me, May. Plant berries and bring more flower into the world."
"I'll do what I can. (Meaning I probably won't.)"
May walked over to the next woman. Hopefully this woman wouldn't be so talkative. "Hello! The more attention you give to flowers, the more beautifully they bloom. You'll like tending to flowers. I'm sure of it. You can have this." She handed May a Wailmer pail.
"Um, thanks."
After this woman talked about how to use it May went to the 3rd sister. "I'm trying to be like my big sisters. I'm growing flowers, too! Here you go! It's for you!" She handed a Cheri berry over to May.
This time May was genuinely grateful. "Thank you. (Now this, is actually useful.)" She smiled in thanks. They talked a little and May started to leave. The sisters bid her farewell.
"Come again soon!"
"It was nice having you!"
"Your pokemon is very cute!"
Growlithe blushed and they walked out. They continued their trip and carefully avoided battles. They had trained enough. Crossing over a bridge, they finally reached Rustboro city. May quickly ran to the pokemon center to heal her pokemon. "Okay, now let's go to the gym." She said.
A random girl in the center spoke up. "You'll want to look around town. Why, you'll find different things. Like, the man next door gave me an HM! I used it to teach my pokemon to cut down skinny trees."
The girl's advice was ignored. "I'll look around after I beat the gym leader. That's the most important thing."
"Okay. If you say so." The girl said.
May was determined. Today was the day she would get her first badge. "Come on Growlithe."
"Growl."
They walked out and went straight for the Gym. But a different girl stopped her. "I see you are a trainer. But I'm not sure if you're ready to face the Gym leader. Especially with that pokemon. I challenged the Gym leader, but... It's not going to be easy with my Fire-type pokemon... Fire-type pokemon don't match up well against Rock-type Pokemon..."
A Gym leader's kid knows all about this kind of stuff. It was no news to May. "I know, so I guess I won't use Growlithe. (Miltank's attacks will be useless too. Hm...)"
The girl offered more advice. "Check out the trainer school over there. They know a lot about the leader and can help."
"(I guess I should check in just in case.) Okay, thanks." May went in the school and went up to the teacher. But before she could say a word the teacher checked on the students then walked back over to her. "What are you doing?"
The teacher replied, " Students who don't study get a little taste of my quick claw. Whether or not you are a good student will be evident from the way you use this item."
He gave May a Quick claw. "Thanks but why did you give this to me?"
"You wish to challenge the Gym leader, yes? This will help a little. The leader's pokemon can slow yours down and crush them. A pokemon holding the quick claw will occasionally speed up and get to move before it's opponent." He told her.
"(Wow, I had no idea. This will be helpful. I'll give it to Lapras.) What else do you know about the leader?" May asked.
"I know a lot. But that is something I should let you find out on your own. Good luck."
May thanked him and left the school. It was finally time. She ran up to the gym and read the sign. "Rustboro city pokemon Gym leader: Roxanne. The Rock-loving honors student!"
"Let's go inside." She told Growlithe.
"Growl!"
They went in and May started to feel nervous. If she failed, it would be all over. A man wearing green clothes walked over. He was a Gym Dude. "Yo, how's it going? Listen, my friend! Would you like to become a champion? I'm no trainer, not me, but I can sure give you winning advice."
She was a little taken back by his eagerness but wouldn't pass up useful information. "Okay."
"That's settled, then! We'll aim for the Pokemon Championship together! It's your job as a trainer to collect Gym badges, am I right? But Gym Leaders aren't pushovers! And that's where I come in! I'm here to provide expert advice! Roxanne, the Gym leader, is a user of Rock-type pokemon. The rock-type is very durable, but it can't stand Water-type and Grass-type moves. Come see me afterwards, if you beat the Gym leader. Well, go for it!"
His advice actually was helpful. Now May knew what to expect. "Alright, thanks for the tips." May and Growlithe went right over to Roxanne. It starts... Now!
Roxanne noticed May and greeted her. "Hello, I am Roxanne, the Rustboro Pokemon Gym Leader. I became a Gym Leader so that I may apply what I learned at the pokemon trainers school in battle."
May thought, "(She went to that school? No wonder the teacher knew a lot about her.) I'm not exactly here to chat."
"I see... Well then, would you kindly demonstrate how you battle, and with which pokemon?"
"Gladly." May said with confidence.
"Alright, you're up, Geodude!"
"I choose Lapras."
The pokemon were released. May went first. "Surf" Geodude was level 14, and Lapras was level 9. But the huge wave knocked Geodude out in one blow! Lapras went to level 10.
Roxanne didn't let that bother her. "Return Geodude. And Come on out Nosepass!"
A very strong looking Nosepass emerged from it's pokeball. May did not want Nosepass to even touch Lapras. "Sing"
"La, la la laaaa" Lapras sung and Nosepass fell asleep!
"Now use Surf." The level 15 Nosepass was a sitting duck. He barely was able to withstand it. "Finish her."
Roxanne quickly used a potion. And Nosepass survived.
That wasn't good for May. Lapras looked at her while waiting for a command. "(Nosepass will wake up if I don't end this now. That Nosepass is strong. I can tell. I can't afford to have Nosepass attack.) Try again."
Lapras used Surf again, but another potion made Nosepass survive. Gym Dude cheered from the back. "You can do it May! Don't give up!"
"Growl Growl!" Growlithe encouraged her as well.
May kept going. "Again! (This is so frustrating! Just go down!)"
This time, Roxanne didn't have another potion. And Nosepass was knocked out. Lapras went to level 11. "(I...I won! And it was easy!) Great job, Lapras."
"La."
Roxanne took out a badge. "So... I lost... It seems that I still have much more to learn... I understand. The pokemon league's rules state that trainers are to be given this if they defeat a Gym Leader. Please accept the official pokemon league Stone Badge."
May took it from Roxanne in mild shock. "Wow, I'm still a little surprised we won on our first try."
"You deserve it. That strategy to stall Nosepass by making him sleep was very smart. Now, the Stone Badge heightens the attack power of your pokemon. It also enables them to use the HMCut outside of battle. Please take this with you, too." She gave May TM39 "That TM39 contains Rock Tomb. It not only inflicts damage by dropping rocks, it also lowers speed."
"Thanks for the badge. It was nice battling you. (Unlike other trainers, she's polite.)"
Roxanne smiled and they recalled their pokemon. "Since you are so strong, you should challenge other Gym Leaders. By battling many trainers, you should learn many things. Good luck."
"Thanks. Goodbye."
She and Growlithe went back to that gym dude. He looked ecstatic. "Whoa! What a breathtaking victory! My cheering must've worked! Great! Check your trainer card. The Stone Badge should be properly recorded on it. In other words...You've climbed the first step on the stairs to the championship! That's got to feel awesome!"
(It really did feel good. Because of all my pokemon, I was able to win. Three more badges, dad.)
"Yep, now I should leave. Goodbye." May said.
"Don't you worry. I see a champion in the making. We'll meet again soon."
May and Growlithe left the gym. Things were going great. "I can't believe it. We really have a Boulder badge!" She said with excitement.
"Grooooooooooooowl!"
"You look happy."
Growlithe nodded. But then suddenly started growling. He looked over to the right looking angry. Suddenly, that Aqua grunt suddenly ran by while yelling, "Get out! Out of the way!"
The Devon researcher came out after him. "Wait! Pleeeaaase! Don't take my goods!"
He started going after the Aqua grunt. May looked at Growlithe. "Let's go after them."
Growlithe nodded and they went after them. May ran into Devon guy after a bit. He looked surprised. "Oh, it's you! You're that fantastic trainer who helped me in Petalburg woods!"
"Yeah, good to see you again. Now what's wrong?"
"Help me! I was robbed by Team Aqua! I have to get the Devon goods back! If I don't... I'm going to be in serious trouble. That shady character, I think he took off towards the tunnel over there."
That was all May needed to know. "Okay, got it. See ya."
May and Growlithe started running after the grunt. They carefully avoided battle. They made it to a house. Where this man with a white outfit stood. May decided to ask, "Did you see a guy with a blue bandana on his head go this way?"
The man who was nicknamed BF didn't seem to listen. "Nnn... Roar! What's going on?"
"Did you hear me? A guy with a blue bandana. Did you see him?"
BF looked at May as if he just noticed her. "Huh? Well yeah! I was digging the tunnel without any tools when some goon ordered me out! That tunnel's filled with pokemon that react badly to loud noises. They could cause an uproar. That's why we stopped using heavy equipment for tunneling... I'm worried that goon will do something stupid and startle the pokemon into an uproar."
"Don't worry, we beat this guy before. We'll take care of it." May told him.
"Try to hurry, and not make too much noise. Oh, and there are rocks blocking the way in there. I was trying to dig through the blockade. Anyway, that goon doesn't have anywhere to go. You can corner him."
May thanked him for the info and went for the tunnel entrance. An old man stood by it. He looked very upset. "Ohhh, what am I to do? We were on a walk, Peeko and I, when we were jumped by an odd thug... The scoundrel made off with my darling Peeko! Weeeoooooooooaaar! Peeko!"
"Don't worry sir. I'll get Peeko back for you. What pokemon is she?"
The old man answered, "Peeko is a Wingull. Please save her."
"It'll be okay. (That stupid guy. Hurting an old man is going way too far.)"
May and Growlithe went in. There was a lot of mist. They carefully made their way through. And they spotted Grunt Uno! "What, are you coming? Come and get some then!"
Uno and the hostage pokemon, Peeko, moved back. May and Growlithe went over. "Grah, keelhaul it all! That hostage pokemon turned out to be worthless! And to think I made a getaway... In this tunnel to nowhere! Hey! You! So you want to battle me?"
"Yeah. Go for it Growlithe."
"Growlithe!" Growlithe was ready to go.
Grunt Uno threw out the pokeball. "This is your second chance. Don't blow it this time Poochyena." Poochyena came out. And was stronger than last time. A level 11 Poochyena vs. a level 7 Growlithe.
May had Growlithe start. "Flamethrower."
Growlithe summoned as much power as he could to pull off a critical hit! Poochyena yelped and fainted right away. Growlithe went to level 8.
Grunt Uno slapped a hand to his head. "Urrrggh! My career in crime comes to a dead end!" He recalled his pokemon. "This plan is not right... The Boss told me this would be a slick-and-easy job to pull. All I had to do was steal some package from Devon. Tch! You want it back that badly, take it!"
He threw it at May, but she caught it. (Sore loser.) She thought. He pushed past her and ran off. "Hey! Come back here!"
The old man walked up and May moved aside so he could see Peeko. "Peeko! Am I glad to see you're safe!" The old man and Peeko were very happy. "Peeko owes her life to you! They call me Mr. Briney. And, you are?"
"(So THIS is where he was.)My name's May. And this is Growlithe. He took care of that guy's pokemon."
"Growl Growlithe." Growlithe's ego went up a few notches just then.
Mr. Briney gave them a huge smile. "Ah, so you are May! I sincerely thank you! And Growlithe. Now, if there's anything that troubles you, don't hesitate to tell me! You can usually find me in my cottage by the sea near Petalburg woods. Come, Peeko, we should make our way home."
Peeko nodded and let out a "Pihyoh!"
They suddenly left. May looked at Growlithe feeling proud. "You really pulled through for me. That was amazing. Critical hits don't happen a lot."
Growlithe smiled and they both walked out of the cave. The guy called BF walked over. "Nnn... Roar! That goofy goon hightailed it out of the tunnel! I can go back to digging! Thank you."
"You're welcome. (I wonder why he's so pumped about digging through the blockade.)" She thought. But decided to forget about it for now.
BF went on to do his thing. And May and Growlithe made their way back to the Devon man.
"Oh! How did it go? The Devon goods?"
May showed him the Devon goods. "Got em right here."
"You did! You got them back! You really are a great trainer! I know! As my thanks, I'll give you another Great Ball!" May took it and thanked him. "Excuse me, please! Please come with me!"
"...Uh... sure."
Later... in the Devon building's top floor.
The Devon researcher led May in. "This is the Devon corporation's third floor. Our president's office is on this floor. Anyway, I can't tell you how much I'm grateful for what you've done. Um... By the way, that parcel you got back for us... Could I get you to deliver that to the shipyard in Slateport? It would be awful if those robbers tried to take it again."
May gave him a look. (Another favor? I'm starting to think he's taking advantage of my kindness.)
"Uh... Hehehe, so, uh, could I count on you to do that for me?"
Before May could say anything... "Oh, that's right. Could you wait here a second?"
He left to go to the other side of the room for a moment. And then returned. "Our president would like to have a word with you. Please come with me."
They walked over to a large table with the president of the company sitting there.
"Please, go ahead." The researcher said.
May went over to the other side of the table to hear what the president had to say. "I'm Mr. Stone, the president of the Devon corporation. I'd just got word about you! You saved our staff not just once, but twice! I have a favor to ask of an amazing person like you.
"(A favor? Come on! But... he did call me amazing.) What can I do to help?" She said while not really saying if she'd do it or not.
Mr. Stone began to explain. "I understand that you're delivering a package to Slateport's shipyard."
(I never agreed. But I guess I will.) May thought.
"Well, on the way, could you stop off in Dewford town? I was hoping that you'd deliver a letter to Steven in Dewford."
That wasn't too complicated. "Sure."
He handed May the letter. "Now, you should know that I am a great president. So, I'd never be so cheap as to ask a favor for nothing in return. That's why I want you to have this!"
He gave May some high-tech device. "Thanks, but, what is it?" May asked.
"That device... It's a pokemon navigator, or pokenav for short. It's an indispensable tool for any trainer on an adventure. It has a map of the Hoenn region. You can check the locations of Dewford and Slateport easily!"
"(Wow! Now this is a fantastic gift. I'll definitely do this for Mr. Stone.) Leave it to me."
"Great. I'm counting on you!"
The Devon researcher spoke up. "If you visit the Shipyard in Slateport, you should go see Capt. Stern."
"Alright. Goodbye." May said as she and Growlithe turned to leave.
Preview: May got her first badge. After all that excitement, she's ready to relax for the rest of the day. But advice makes her realize something she doesn't want to be true. What's this? A temporary pokemon to even out some problems? Next time... Chapter 4 A fun day in Rustboro.
A/N: Turning this from script to non-script isn't as bad as I thought. I'm glad I decided to do this. I'm pretty happy about sharing May's journey.
