The Mechanics of Hidden Machines

Chapter 4: Surf's Up, Down and All Around

After what seemed to be a while of walking, Drew finally found himself arriving back in Ecruteak City. He then looked over his shoulder to notice that May wasn't behind him; he noticed that while he was walking, he hadn't spotted her being dragged along at all. "I wonder where she could have gone off to... Maybe she realised that she wouldn't get anywhere using a Hoothoot to bring her here and decided to walk the rest of the way. It shouldn't be too long until she gets here." Drew commented to himself, with the image of May using a small Hoothoot to get to Ecruteak City, even though it was clear as day that the little Pokemon couldn't support her weight, still clear in his memory. As he made his way over to the Pokemon Centre, he noticed a note taped to the side of the building and grabbed it off to read it. Much to his surprise, it was from May.

Hi, Drew!

If you're reading this, I already made it back before you. I guess Hoothoot is a lot stronger than I expected it to be.

Anyway, I'm getting ready to test out the next HM on the list: Surf. Meet me down at the coast at Olivine City.

See you soon!

May

After taking a few seconds to look over at the letter, Drew could only stare in shock; how May managed to make it here before him while using a Hoothoot of all Pokemon as her mode of transportation was beyond him. His only guess was that she had gotten to Hoothoot to do something extreme that he didn't even want to think about.

"Well, I guess I should start making my way over here." Drew commented to himself, placing the note in one of the pockets of his jackets for safekeeping so he would remember where to meet May. Once that was taken care of, he grabbed out one of his Pokeballs and threw it into the air, which opened and released Flygon who landed on the ground in front of him. With that, Drew climbed up onto Flygon's back while the Pokemon turned his glance to him. "Come on, Flygon, we need to get to Olivine City. That's where May's waiting for me." Drew said. Flygon nodded in understand and started to flap his wings to get up into the air, accidently kicking up dirt on the ground in the process, before he got high enough and started to soar off to make his way towards Olivine City.

Meanwhile on the Olivine Coast, May was sitting on the sand as she was waiting for Drew to show up, and she was moving her legs back and forth while she grabbed sand in her hands before letting it slip through her fingers with her patience starting to wear thin. "Oh, where could he be? I thought he would have made it here by now; why did I make him my assistant if he can't keep up with me?" May asked herself, showing an expression of annoyance as she was wondering what could be taking Drew so long. But after a few seconds, she heard the sound of footprints behind her and she immediately showed a bright smile before jumping up on her feet and spun right around to see Drew walking over to her. "Drew, there you are! I was getting worried you wouldn't show up." May happily commented.

Drew simply showed a nervous smile as he walked over before he came face to face with May. "Well, I am your assistant, aren't I? There was no way I was going to leave you to do this by yourself." Drew replied. May showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement.

"And that's exactly why I made you my assistant, because I know I can count on you to turn up for whatever crazy idea that I come up with." May cheerfully replied. Drew stared at her in surprise before he showed a nervous smile, though he was still wondering if he should tell May that she was getting a little too carried away with this idea, even for her. But he decided against it seeing how much fun she was having with this, so the two made their way over to the edge of the coast where they could see small waves splashing against the beach. "All right then, the next HM we're going to try out is Surf. And for that, we're going to need a Water Type. Luckily, I have that covered." May explained, turning around to Drew before holding up one of her Pokeballs she grabbed from her belt. She then threw it up in the air, causing it to open and release Wartortle who landed on the sand in front of them with a bright smile on her face.

"Well, it's nice to see that May finally has the right idea about what she's doing." Drew commented to himself, showing a smile of relief that May was figuring out what Pokemon she should actually use for these tests. However, it seemed that May wasn't quite versed in the execution phase of her tests just yet, because she then bent down and picked Wartortle up by the shell while Drew watched in surprise. "Never mind I said anything." Drew then quickly added, as he had a feeling that he knew where this was going.

"All right, Wartortle, let's go! Surf's up!" May cheered before she started to run towards the ocean with Wartortle staring with an expression of shock on her face as the realization of what she was helping her Trainer with hit her, and she started to shake her head rapidly as she didn't want to get involved with this. But it seemed that it was too late for objectives as May leapt into the air and landed in the water, and there was silence for a few moments before she emerged from the surface holding onto Wartortle.

"May, are you sure you know what you're doing?" Drew called as he stood up and rushed over upon seeing May holding onto Wartortle's shell like a floaty board. May turned her head to Drew and nodded with a bright smile giving him an 'all good' signal with her fingers. "Of course I do! I'm all set, and all I need to do is wait for the waves to come in." May cheerfully replied. Drew was left staring in stunned silence once he heard that as it didn't take him to realise what that would mean for Wartortle.

With May, she was left floating on the surface for a few minutes as she kept an eye out for any incoming waves. "Come on, it shouldn't be too hard to find waves in this area." May commented to herself, showing an expression of annoyance as she was wondering what was taking so long for any waves to start showing up. She had a look around for a few moments, and then a bright smile crossed her face when she noticed a wave coming in her direction. "Perfect! That's just the one I'm looking for. Come on, Wartortle. Let's aim straight for that wave!" May said, turning her glance to her Pokemon and pointing to the wave that was coming towards them. Wartortle stared at May in alarm for a few moments before she decided that it would be best not to question what May was up to and started to kick her legs rapidly so she could get swimming, though it wasn't exactly easy given the fact that May was now holding onto her tail and was starting to weigh her down quite a bit.

While this was happening, Drew sat down on the sand so he could keep an eye on May and make sure she knew what she was doing, even though that since this was May he was talking about, he could never figure out what went through that brunette's head. "Sometimes, she just makes no sense to me..." Drew sighed, slowly shaking his head as he knew that despite May's eccentricity at times, that was something he really enjoyed about her.

Back with May, she and Wartortle started to scale the wave as it crashed down behind them. "All right, we're all set! Now's my chance to do this." May cheered. Now that she had everything set up, there was just one more thing for her to do to make this a success. She grabbed hold of Wartortle's shell and started to climb up onto it while the Pokemon bit down on her lip as she was trying to manage with May weighing down on her. Once that step was done, May slowly placed her feet on Wartortle's shell and started to stand up, which was proved to be a difficult feat as she was trying to maintain her balance, but after a few moments, May found herself standing upright on top of Wartortle. "Yes! The Surf test is a success!" May cheered, raising both her fists into the air in excitement at her success.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Wartortle was struggling to manage with May standing on her shell, as she collapsed in the water, leaving May to splash down into the ocean as the wave crashed down over her. As Drew was watching this from the coast, he showed an expression of shock at the sight and quickly stood up. "May!" Drew gasped, with an expression of worry crossing his face as he wasn't sure if May was alright or not. But after a few seconds, Drew was met with the reliving sight of May's head popping up from under the water's surface, causing him to slowly show a bright smile and let out a sigh of relief at the sight of his new friend safe and sound.

May didn't seem to be phased at all, because she turned her head to Drew seeing him and happily waved to him. "That was so much fun! Would you like to have a turn, Drew?" May called, grabbing Wartortle and holding her up as she was floating on the surface and struggling to catch her breath as the labour she had to endure while trying to carry May on her shell.

Drew stared in stunned silence at May's suggestion before he let out a sigh of annoyance and slowly shook his head; it was obvious that May wasn't making things easy for him to manage. "I think I'd prefer to go look for some lunch instead..." Drew replied.

That idea seemed to work great with May, because she quickly rushed out of the water and made her way back to Olivine City, carrying Wartortle with her, while Drew stared for a few moments before he slowly followed after her, wondering if the next test would be any easier for him.