Much love to all the reviewers who got me into the double digits within two updates :)

Chapter 2: A Change of Heart

The child still inside of May was surprised when nothing mauled her the second she was out of town, but that first step was by far the hardest. More yells drifted to her ears as she walked, only encouraging her to go faster. By the time the Littleroot welcome sign had become a speck in the distance, she had arrived at a small clearing.

A primarily gray, canine pokemon stalked across the ground, red eyes trained viciously up into a nearby tree. Large fangs glinted in the sun as it snarled. May recognized it as a poochyena, a pack pokemon that had occasionally ventured into town and looted her family's trash when she was little. It glanced at her briefly, then snorted in disinterest and returned to circling its tree.

"H-hey, you! Please, help me!" a man's voice cried, laced with panic.

May looked up a bit higher in the tree. To her surprise, a bearded man sat in the lowest branches, trying desperately to maneuver his feet out of reach of the poohyena's awaiting teeth. His long white lab coat, which was ruffled and full of twigs, was an unmistakable sign that he was Professor Birch.

"What do I do?" May asked, watching the poochyena uncertainly. It still seemed as if it could care less about her.

"Go to my bag over there!" Professor Birch said quickly, pointing to a tan satchel lying amongst some tall grass. He let out a yelp as the poochyena's mouth nearly made contact with his toes. "There's a pokeball! Get it, and hurry!"

May ran over to the bag and opened the flap. The contents had been strewn about wildly, and she shuffled through stacks of paper and strange devices in search of the tell tale red of a pokeball. Finally, she found two wedged in the bottom corner of the bag.

She grabbed one randomly and threw it in the direction of Professor Birch's attacker. In a flash of white light, a small, green, bipedal lizard pokemon materialized. The creature had a red stomach and two big, yellow eyes with narrowed black pupils.

"Treecko," it said, crossing its arms and staring down the other pokemon coolly. His voice was lightly masculine, May thought.

Poochyena turned to growl at Treecko, its bushy tail bristling. May quickly appraised both pokemon. She knew how to battle, having been around Norman for her entire life and also getting frequent practice at trainer's school, where she was one of the better students. However, she really needed to know which attacks a pokemon knew before commanding it!

Deciding that Treecko was definitely a grass type, May suggested, "How about a razor leaf, Treecko?"

He glanced at her quizzically. Poochyena came charging behind him, but just before his opponent could make contact, he managed to leap nimbly out of the way. Poochyena came to an abrupt halt, spinning back to face Treecko and sending up a cloud of dirt and grass in the process.

A no go on the razor leaf, then.

Noticing Treecko's powerful tail, May got another idea. "Sorry! Try pound, then!"

Understanding dawned on his face, so when Poochyena ran forwards to tackle Treecko again, he leapt into the air and smashed his tail right across the canine's muzzle. Poochyena cried out in pain as its chin rammed into the ground. He backed up a bit, growling at Treecko. The smaller pokemon made a nasty noise back, and after a brief stare down, Poochyena sighed and trotted off into the bushes.

"Wow, way to go, Treecko!" May said enthusiastically, holding her hand down for Treecko to high five. He rolled his eyes, but still smacked her hand with his tiny green one.

"Thank you so much! I accidentally wandered a bit too close to that poochyena's den, and it wasn't happy. It's just that I research pokemon habitats, and-wait," Professor Birch said, climbing clumsily down from the tree. He did a double take at her. "You must be May!"

"Yep, just me," May said, laughing awkwardly.

"No wonder you did so well with a strange pokemon," Professor Birch said, leaning down to nurse one of his ankles. To May's shock, she could see two bloody puncture wounds marring his milky skin. Apparently, the poochyena had managed to make its mark before she had arrived. "Like father, like daughter, I suppose."

"Thanks," May said quickly, beaming on the inside at the praise. "But Professor, are you okay?"

He waved away her concern. "Trust me, their bark is way worse than their bite." However, when he shifted his ankle, he winced, causing May and even Treecko to watch him with concern. "Although neither is very pleasant."

"Treecko, tree," Treecko said, in something like agreement. He smirked.

Professor Birch laughed, and rubbed the little reptile on the head. "Yes, Treecko, you scared it away easily. Great job."

"Tree," Treecko said, shrugging and nudging May's calf lightly with his tail. Was he actually giving her some credit?

"Thanks, Treecko," she said, grinning down at him. He was such a cool pokemon! His species must be rare, because she had never seen one before.

Professor Birch watched them with a mysterious smile on his face. "You know, Treecko really seems to have taken to you, and I owe you. Why don't you take him?"

He picked up Treecko's pokeball from the ground (Where May must have dropped it in excitement) and dusted it off. He held it out to her.

May's mouth fell open. "Seriously? Yes! A thousand times yes!" she said excitedly, grabbing the pokeball. Then, realizing that her actions had been a bit rude, she tried to correct herself. "I-I mean uh… Thank you, professor. I'd love to have him!"

"Oh, it's nothing," Professor Birch said, chuckling at her enthusiasm. "Consider it a thank you for saving my hind end!"

To May, it was a huge deal, and she couldn't stop staring at Treecko proudly- her pokemon. All hers! Even as he rubbed his temples and glared up at her for being so loud a moment ago, she couldn't stop grinning. They could be best friends, and she wouldn't be alone in this semi-strange place any longer! May struggled not to grab him and yank him into a hug, because something told her Treecko wouldn't appreciate that.

Then reality came crashing down on her. Her smile fell.

"Oh… But my Mom and Dad, they would never let me have a pokemon. They think I'm going to get hurt or something," May said. She didn't know whether to be angry again, or simply sad. She tried to hand the pokeball back to Professor Birch, leaning towards angry.

"Tree?" Treecko said, uncertainly watching his pokeball. He seemed like he was disappointed for a second, but then he crossed his arms and looked away as if he didn't care.

Professor Birch gazed at her thoughtfully for a long time, although he never made a move to take the pokeball back from her. The longer he stood there, the more May wished she hadn't told him about her parents' stupid rule. She could've taken Treecko and hidden him! And then, one day she would become the strongest trainer in all of Hoenn, a trainer that would even make her dad proud.

Well, she could've done something, at least!

Finally, Professor Birch smiled. "I'll let you in on a little secret, May. Your father wants you to have a pokemon; he asked me if I had anything special I could give you as soon as he arrived in Hoenn. You helping me just sped up the process."

May didn't believe him, not at first. After all, why would her father want her to get a pokemon? He had always rigidly refused every training related proposal she had brought up in the past. The idea that he would change his mind just like that was ludicrous.

"What… Why?" May blurted.

Professor Birch's expression turned serious. "He thinks it will be best for you, here."

He wouldn't say anything else on the matter, and May's questions were interrupted by the sound of a howl. At least three more howls answered the first one, causing both Professor Birch and May to shiver. Those poochyena, probably including the one from before, sounded a bit too close for comfort.

"Maybe this isn't the place to chat," Professor Birch suggested, and May quickly agreed with him.

They headed back in the direction of Littleroot, May blissfully clutching Treecko's pokeball to her chest. Yes, she was infinitely curious about why exactly her father had the sudden change of heart, but she decided not to argue anymore for the time being. She had a pokemon, and she was going to allow herself to be happy about it.

Treecko walked alongside them, having to move a bit faster to keep up with their longer legs. It might be easier to recall him until she got home, but May really didn't want to be parted from him just yet. Treecko's mood also seemed to be uplifted, for he would occasionally glance up at her with a half smile on his face before turning quickly away.

They arrived back in Littleroot in good time, and Professor Birch paused by the town sign. "I discussed this with Norman, and I thought I'd have a little more time, but I can have your trainer license registered in two days."

"Really?" May said, beaming. Treecko came to a stop next to her, standing closely to her foot. "Dad's even letting me leave home and everything? And actually battle?"

Professor Birch laughed. "Yes, really."

Maybe Hoenn wouldn't turn out so terrible after all.

May sat on her couch later that night, flipping absentmindedly through the channels on their new flat screen. Shows in Hoenn were weird. She didn't recognize most of them, and the ones she did recognize were all jumbled up into different orders.

Finally, she settled on a program called "Trainer Watch" and curled up with her feet in under her. A special about some lady called Winnona began, but May was more interested in Treecko. He sat on the seat next to her and was watching the TV with badly concealed interest. She smiled, noticing that he was so tiny that the cushion barely sunk around him.

"Treecko," May said. He looked at her obediently.

"He needs a name," she thought, for the millionth time.

All trainers didn't nickname their pokemon (Her father didn't), but May wanted to. Even though she had long come to the conclusion that treecko were a rare species, even in their native Hoenn, she wanted him to be as unique as possible. She didn't want to give a generic name, or some cliché name that had something to do with his type. Her eyes lit up when she thought of one she liked.

"Hmm," May said aloud. Treecko blinked up at her with his big, reptilian eyes. "I want to give you a nickname. Is that okay with you?"

He shrugged.

"Uh, I guess that's good then? How about Soren?" she suggested.

"Treecko," he said, in what sounded like approval.

"Great, Soren!" May said happily. Unable to resist the urge any longer, she reached over and picked him up. His scales were cool and smooth to the touch, sort of like a blade of grass.

She sat Soren on her lap, where she could pet him and finally ease some of her burning curiosity about him. He stiffened for a moment, apparently not accustomed to this sort of affection, but he soon relaxed into her arms. As May continued to baby him, a faint humming sound emerged from his throat. It seemed to be a content noise, so she eagerly laid on the petting.

The doorknob jingled, and Caroline pushed it open, keys in hand. She was smiling, but she had a tired look in her eyes from her busy day visiting with the Birches and other old friends from Littleroot. Vigoroth came trudging in behind her, a tub of something sweet smelling grasped in his claws.

"May, you should've come with me! Everyone was asking about you, and Mrs. Jenkins even baked us some brownies! It was- May Maple, what is that?!" Caroline cried, sapphire eyes widening as she pointed at Soren accusingly. He tensed in May's grasp.

"He's my treecko! Professor Birch gave him to me, and Dad already said it was okay!" May said defensively, tightening her grip on Soren. "I'm getting a trainer's license, and no one is going to stop me anymore!"

Caroline's jaw tightened, an obvious sign that she wanted to argue. However, instead of ordering May to get rid of the pokemon at once, she let out a defeated sigh. She moved to sit on the love seat, her shoulders slumping.

"I was hoping this could wait a week at least," Caroline said sadly. "But I guess that's not going to happen."

"You knew I was getting a pokemon?" May asked curiously, even as she realized that of course her mother knew. The real question was, why? Was the pokemon a gift in order to bribe May into liking Hoenn? If so, it had worked like a charm.

"Your father and I talked about it before he came here," Caroline explained. "I didn't want you to become a trainer, but he always has, and now that we're back here, he thinks it's the only option-"

The woman abruptly cut off her blubbering and put her head in her hands. May furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, but she couldn't question her mother further when she was so upset about the whole situation. She needed her Dad. She needed his strength, but he wasn't here, and he probably wouldn't be until he finished setting up the gym or whatever it was that he had been doing for the past week.

"His name is Soren," May said, trying to change the subject. She didn't know what else to do when her mother, someone who had always comforted her, was the one who needed consoling.

Caroline looked up at the treecko with red-rimmed eyes. "That's a nice name, honey. Why don't we have some brownies?"

Vigoroth brought the tray to Caroline, allowing her to get one of the chocolaty treats first. He stopped when he got to May, staring Soren down with that mean look he was so good at. The normal type didn't seem very impressed with the puny treecko.

"Vig," he said grumpily, poking at Soren with one of his claws.

Soren smacked Vigoroth's hand away with his tail and glowered at him. Well, at least he didn't seem intimidated by bigger pokemon, although May wasn't sure that that was entirely a good thing. She took two brownies and told Vigoroth to go away before a fight could break out over her lap.

"Isn't Mrs. Jenkins that old lady with all the skitty?" May asked, handing a brownie to Soren. He sniffed it experimentally, never having eaten such a thing before, and then he took a hesitant bite.

"Treecko!" he cried, delighted. He munched happily on the brownie.

"Yes, honey," Caroline said, also chewing on her brownie.

May inspected her desert for any suspicious pink hairs, but she found none. Shrugging, she pulled off a piece and plopped it into her mouth, allowing the chocolaty goodness to reward her taste buds. Mrs. Jenkins may have been a bit odd, but she could make a tasty brownie.

Soren tapped on her arm and pointed towards the tub of brownies. Brown crumbs lined his mouth, and May giggled. "Sorry, Soren. Too much isn't good for you," she said. However, she still couldn't help but hand him the last bite of her own brownie.

"So mom…" May began, trying to broach the subject delicately. "Are there any good places around here to shop? You know, for trainers' clothes and other stuff?"

"Not at all," Caroline said. May groaned. "Which is why we already bought your stuff. Your dad took care of all the supplies, and he picked out the best brand for your clothes. I picked out the style."

May grinned. She almost squeezed Soren to death in her excitement, but he let out an angry cry, causing her to loosen her grip immediately. All she could think of was that the only thing left was her trainers' license. In two days when Professor Birch gave them to her, her own pokemon journey could actually begin!

"So what moves do you know, other than pound?" May asked Soren the next day. It was mid afternoon, and the girl was seated cross-legged in her yard. The grass continuously itched her exposed legs, but with Soren around, the urge to go outside into the fresh air was irrepressible.

Soren stood up from where he had been rolling around on the lawn for what May assumed was a demonstration. He stood still, staring at his trainer with a gaze so intense she began to wonder what she had done to tick him off. Slowly, his eyes began glowing an eerie yellow. May shuddered involuntarily until they faded back to their normal shade of gold.

"Hmm. So leer then?" she guessed.

"Tree!" He nodded.

"Okay. Is that all, or do you know anything else?" May asked, curiously.

"Treecko, tree!" Soren cried, crossing his arms and glaring at her.

"Hey, I was just asking!"

The treecko still looked offended, but he huffed and closed his eyes in deep concentration. His skin cast a white light off of it, and a small circle of grass below where he stood did the same. Soren's face became a little strained, but he managed to draw glowing orbs of energy from the grass into his body. As the light left the grass, it wilted slightly.

"Wow, you really did a number on that big bad grass," May joked, although she was glad to see that Soren already knew at least one grass type move. Absorb might just come in handy.

Soren glared at her again and ripped some grass out of the ground to throw it at her. The blades floated down and landed harmlessly on May's knee, and she laughed. Soren's face tinted pink, causing her to laugh harder. He grumpily crossed his arms, sticking his nose in the air. May flicked some of the grass back in his direction.

"Hello, May! Hello, there, Treecko!" a familiar voice called jovially. Professor Birch was approaching the pair, notebook in hand and satchel slung over his shoulder. He smiled as he watched them, but he glanced at May questioningly. "If that's what you're still calling him, that is."

Soren waved in greeting, while May said, "Hi! And his name is Soren."

"I see that you two are becoming friends already," Professor Birch said, still smiling. "Say, uh, May? How would you care to do me another favor?"

May glanced up curiously, and Soren cocked his head slightly to the left. After he had given her a pokemon, it wasn't like she was about to say no. "Sure, Professor. What is it?"

"Great! My son, Brendan, is just outside of town doing some fieldwork for me, and I was wondering if you might go fetch him with that treecko of yours?" Professor Birch asked, a pleading expression on his face.

May wanted to groan and deny his request right away. Out of all the things he could ask her to do, why in Suicune's name did it have to involve Brendan? If he was so close, why couldn't Professor Birch just grab him himself? Brendan was the last person she wanted to see, but she couldn't take back the offer now, especially after everything Professor Birch had done for her.

"Uh, I guess," May said reluctantly. Privately, she was still thinking, "No, no, no! Don't make me do it!"

"I appreciate it!" Professor Birch said, seeming like he appreciated it just a little too much for such a trivial task. "He shouldn't be too hard to find, just look around Route 101! Oh, and I managed to complete your paper work early. You can stop by my lab afterwards with Brendan and pick up your license."

Feeling marginally more cheered by the fact that she could leave as soon as tomorrow, May stood and dusted the grass off of her shorts. Soren moved a bit closer to May, who smiled at Professor Birch and told him she would do as he said. The two of them started off towards the entrance of Littleroot, but thankfully, May actually had a pokemon to protect her now.

"Good luck," Professor Birch called to their retreating backs. May waved briefly to show that she had heard him.

With Soren, the woods seemed a lot less scary. The prospect of talking to Brendan, however, was even worse the second time around. May sighed and decided to get the whole thing over with as quickly as possible.

"Why don't you sit on my shoulder? We'll go faster that way," she suggested to Soren. His tiny legs only allowed him to walk so fast.

Soren sulked about her calling him out on being a little slower for a moment, but he was a reasonable treecko. He nodded in acceptance. May started to bend down so that she could pick him up and place him there, but she quickly found her help to be unnecessary. Instead, Soren leapt around her hands and scampered straight up her body like it was a tree. He bypassed her shoulder and grasped at the top of her head with his hands.

"….Or just go sit in my hair," May said. She tried in vain to see the pokemon on her head, but to no avail. "Whatever's more comfortable for you."

"Treecko," Soren said smugly.

Surprisingly, May didn't have to search Route 101 for too long. Not far from the main path, she found Brendan hunched over near a tree. His ruby eyes were wide as he stared into its branches. Frantically, he scribbled notes messily in his notebook, barely even looking at what he wrote.

May stared at the oddity, perplexed, and Soren muttered something to himself. So not only was Brendan incredibly grouchy, he was also weird. Very weird.

Finally, she cleared her throat. Brendan froze, and slowly turned to face her. He relaxed when he saw her. To her annoyance, he simply turned back around and continued writing, albeit a bit more slowly than before.

"Oh, it's you," he said dismissively.

May's eye twitched. Did he really have to say it that way, as if she was the least important person on the planet? He would think unimportant when she beat him to a pulp in a battle (After a bit of practice, of course).

She wanted to bite his head off, but instead she asked, "What are you doing?"

"What's it look like?" Brendan shot back. "Fieldwork."

"On what? Trees?"

"No, stupid. On the wurmple," he said, actually taking his eyes off the plant to roll them at her.

May squinted at the tree, but nothing interesting caught her attention. Brendan sighed, noticing her struggle, and pointed up at the edge of one particular branch. She followed the motion and finally saw it. A small, fat, pink worm-like pokemon was perched on it, cheerfully dining on some leaves.

It was a bug.

May shuddered and automatically took a large step backwards. Creepy crawlies didn't bring back happy memories for her- she had been terrified of them since she was a little girl. Since she was five and had felt those disgusting legs against her skin, all over her.

Brendan was looking at her oddly, so May quickly calmed her breathing. Soren shifted in her hair, obviously sensing the change in mood as well. She gave Brendan a stop-looking-at-me-like-that stare, and he shrugged and turned away.

"Well that sounds really boring," May snapped, a bit defensively.

"It is sometimes," Brendan said, sounding surprisingly conversational. "My dad gave you a pokemon?"

"Yeah." May nodded. She fleetingly wondered how he already knew she didn't have one, unless it was just that obvious. "He wanted me to get you, by the way."

"Fine-" Brendan began, but he was interrupted by something big shuffling about through the nearby bushes. May tensed, and she could feel Soren stiffen on her shoulder.

The figure that emerged seemed vaguely humanoid, but May could quickly see that it had a set of brightly colored feathers and a pointed beak for a mouth. Whatever it was was a whole head and shoulders taller than her. As it stepped into the light, its striking red and tan plumage became visible, and it held something in its claws.

May didn't know what it was, but it looked scary.

"Blaziken," the pokemon said, approaching Brendan. He took a lazy bite out of the red berry in his claws, talking even as the juice ran down his beak.

Alarmed, May looked to Brendan for a sign of how to react. The boy was a Hoenn native, and regrettably, a more experienced trainer than May. Surely he would know what to do? However, Brendan seemed more annoyed than frightened. He glared at the blaziken.

"Orion," he said, moodily. "What are you doing? You know you always scare the pokemon here away!"

Brendan angrily waved his hands at the tree, but the wurmple was long gone. He groaned in frustration and stood up. He glared at both the bird-like pokemon, and even at May, who was merely an innocent bystander. Sort of.

"Blaze, blaziken!" Orion said, throwing his claws up like he just couldn't help what had been done.

"Thanks a lot," Brendan said, but his expression had already softened slightly. Did that scary thing actually belong to him?

May eyed Orion's strong set of legs, thinking that if he was one of Brendan's pokemon, maybe it would take more than a bit of traveling before she was ready to battle him. The blaziken looked powerful, so powerful that she thought he might even give Slaking a run for his money.

"Sorry, bud, but I'm going back to the lab now," Brendan said, inclining his head at May.

She stared, shocked, as Orion spotted her and waved one clawed hand at her in greeting. May waved meekly back, but Orion quickly disappeared in a flash of red light. Brendan placed his pokeball back on his belt, in line with four others, and nodded at May.

"Let's go," he said, but all May could think about was what other pokemon that Brendan might possibly have to compete with that blaziken.

They traveled back to Littleroot in awkward silence. May was somewhat relieved that they weren't arguing or otherwise insulting each other, but this wasn't much of an improvement. Finally, Brendan broke the silence with a sigh.

"Look, I didn't mean to be so rude yesterday. I just…" he began uncomfortably. May looked at him in surprise. She could tell by the slightly reluctant look on his face that he didn't really like apologizing. "… I just don't like people snooping in my stuff."

"You should be sorry," May thought, irritably.

"Hmph," she said, crossing her arms. "I guess I can let it slide."

Brendan raised one jet-black eyebrow at her. "Oh, thanks so much," he said sarcastically.

May looked at his disbelieving expression out of the corner of her eye, and couldn't help but crack a tiny smile. Seeing this, Brendan let out a snort of laughter. Her smile grew slightly wider as she struggled contain a giggle of her own.

"Tree," Soren said dully from atop her head. He sounded disgusted.

"Sourpuss," May said, reaching up to poke him. She couldn't see where she was prodding, so she really hoped it wasn't something delicate, like his eye.

The silence sunk in again after that, although it was decidedly less awkward. Once they were back in Littleroot, May allowed Brendan to lead her to Professor Birch's lab. His guidance was not really needed, seeing as the lab was the largest building in the entire town (And there was a sign), but since Brendan's presence was sort of important too, she didn't say anything.

"Dad," Brendan called, as he pushed open the glass doors of the lab. He held one of them open long enough for May to walk through before letting it swing shut.

"Wow, at least he has one redeemable quality," May thought jokingly to herself.

The buzzing of countless machines filled May's ears, and several people in lab coats ran around like pidgey with their heads cut off. None of them was Professor Birch, and no one spared she and Brendan a second glance. The place was so disorganized; May thought Lisa Birch might have an aneurism if she ever visited it.

Brendan shook his head in annoyance and motioned for May to follow him. He led her down a long hallway, bypassing several closed doors, and finally shoved open one with a Professor Robert J. Birch nameplate. Hesitantly, May followed him inside.

Professor Birch sat at a desk with papers strewn all around him. He was writing something down on an official looking form, but when he spotted them, he tossed the paper aside into the mass of other junk. May didn't know how he ever hoped to find it again.

"May, you found him! Thanks," Professor Birch said. He glanced from Brendan, to May, to Soren, grinning widely all the while. May shuffled from foot to foot uneasily.

"So Dad, what did you need me for?" Brendan asked, seeming a bit annoyed that his father hadn't jumped straight to the point.

"Oh, you know. Just curious about that fieldwork I sent you out to do," Professor Birch babbled, holding his hand out for Brendan's notebook.

Brendan stared hard at his father. Slowly, he handed him the notebook, but when Professor Birch took it, he just threw it aside on his desk like it meant nothing. The man leaned forward on his elbows eagerly, and May worried Brendan might explode.

"So, May," he said. "I have all of your papers submitted! You can officially start your pokemon journey!"

She wondered if she would have to wait all night to get her license, given the mess. However, he simply pulled open a drawer and handed her a sleek red device out of it. May stared at it in awe, all concerns about Brendan's temper fleeing her mind. Professor Birch had registered her license on a pokedex? But they were so rare, and expensive!

"Oh my gosh, you-"

"It was no problem, I assure you!" Professor Birch cut her off. His eyes darted quickly to Brendan, and then back to her again. He winked. "As a professor, I find them a bit easier to come by than most people. It should help you learn the pokemon of Hoenn."

May thought that would be it, but he continued.

"Hoenn is quite the dangerous place for someone so inexperienced in its ways. I bet your parents would be so much more comfortable if you knew the region better. Or even if you just had someone more experienced to-"

Brendan brought a fist down on the desk, and May's gaze shot to him in shock. He glared at his father, his eyes alight with cold fury. He was so mad that May couldn't help but feel a bit nervous, even though she knew he wouldn't actually hurt her or anything.

"How many times do I have to tell you?" Brendan ground out, practically shaking with anger. "I'm not doing it again."

Before Professor Birch could respond, he spun on his heel and headed straight for the door out of his father's office. He made sure to slam it on his way out. May flinched slightly at the loud sound, and Soren pulled too tightly on her hair.

Unlike May, Professor Birch didn't seem very surprised. Instead, he slumped in his seat and began massaging his temples as if he had a terrible headache. She waited for him to speak, to try to explain what had just happened, but he never did.

"What-what just happened?" May asked eventually. She couldn't help but feel a bit hurt. Brendan had been acting kind of nice towards her, but one dropped hint from his father about traveling with her, and he had acted like it was most repulsive idea in the world.

Professor Birch sighed sadly. "It's not because of you, May. Please don't hold it against him. He wasn't always like this, and he's really still a great kid most of the time."

"What do you mean?" she questioned, wrinkling her face in confusion.

"Well, it's not that simple, but if I get straight to the point," Professor Birch began. He adopted the expression of someone speaking of a forbidden subject, just as Noah and Lisa had done at lunch the day before. May couldn't help but lean forward in anticipation.

"Brendan started out a lot like you over two years ago; excited about pokemon training and ready to be the best he could be. And he actually got somewhere. He was better than the gym leaders, and many people became convinced he would be the next champion before he even turned fifteen."

"Brendan?" May said, taken aback. She knew Orion looked like a force to be reckoned with, but really, Brendan? "But wait, what happened to him then?"

The professor opened his mouth to answer, looking downcast, but May couldn't stop herself from speaking.

"If he used to be that powerful, then why does he sit around and stare at trees all day?" she blurted. If she was that strong, she would be champion by now! What was wrong with that boy? Realizing how bad her comment had sounded, May tried to correct herself. "No offense. But why did he stop training?"

Professor Birch stared at her with sad eyes. He didn't even look bothered by her blabbering.

"It lost him a best friend."

AN: I had a feeling no one would guess May's pokemon, which is the main reason I chose him! Personally, I usually do envision May with a Torchic, but I wanted this story to be different from the hundreds of other Hoenn fics out there.

I added a new poll to my profile regarding Maxie in this story, and I would really appreciate it if you would throw in your opinion! It should be a way for you guys to get involved, and Archie will have a poll as well in a few weeks. If there's any pokemon you want me to add to the poll, feel free to tell me and I'll do it straight away!

I would love to hear some reviews from you guys, as always.