Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. If I did, I'd have my own easter egg somewhere in the game...somewhere.

"Speech"

'Thought'

In the last chapter, Brendan and Erica reached Rustboro city. And Brendan's passion led him and his pokemon to a gym battle in which they won. Whilst her companion took on the gym challenge, Erica chased a red cloaked man who seemed to be stealing parts from a scientist.

And even though both trainers made skilled accomplishments, they would have more problems on their hands in the near future.

"This is so awesome." Commented Brendan as he held up the badge. "I am so glad that we won."

While he was waiting for his pokemon to get healed, the brunette decided to take a few moments to savor in the victory. Too bad for him that the spoils of victory would ultimately lead to him getting a swollen head.

'Dad did say that Roxanne is who I should beat before battling him.' He placed the badge away and walked over to the counter to pick up his pokemon.

'Maybe I should see what Erica has to say about this, she might agree with me.' Thought the protagonist confidently as he walked out of the center.

Erica walked back to the large building where the scientist from earlier was waiting. In her left hand, she was carrying the briefcase that was holding the parts that the grunt attempted to steal. When the scientist saw her approach with the briefcase, he quickly ran over to her (practically sprinted).

"Oh thank you so much for this. I don't know how I could repay you!" Graciously thanked the man as Erica handed back the briefcase.

"You might not want to, that guy got away with one of the parts." Admitted the blond heroine. She was not one to take credit where it was not due.

After hearing that confession, the scientist panicked and quickly opened the briefcase to inspect it. The teenager's face was very nervous about failing in the slightest, but it subsided when the scientist calmed down.

"Nothing to worry about, you only lost the pressure resistance interface." The scientist closed the briefcase and regained his composure. "If you didn't retrieve the entire case, Devon Corp. would've lost 50,000,000 Poke."

Hearing the number one million alone could surprise the champion, but hearing that number times fifty would cause her to nearly have a heart attack. Even if it wasn't hers.

'That's...a lot of money.' A few strands of blond hair were out of place on her head. A few moments passed before Erica caught on to what the man said.

"What exactly is the Devon Corp.?" That inquiry gave the scientist a slightly surprised face.

"You're not from around here, are you? Devon Corp. produces technology for the entire Hoenn region." Answered the scientist.

'So that's it huh? They might be producing and distributing technology to all the people who live around here.' Thought Erica. 'I guess that the 'd' is there logo.'

"If you wouldn't mind, I'm sure that our company's president would like to thank you for this." Requested the scientist.

Initially that seemed like an appropriate action to Erica, but she hadn't forgotten what had happened in Petalburg woods earlier. After all, she was only the second person to save a Devon Corp. employee today.

"Not that I don't appreciate the offer, but I need to go get my friend first. Can you wait for a bit?" Asked the girl with a half nervous face. Luckily for her, the man nodded to wait patiently.

"Hey! Erica!" Yelled Brendan.

In response to the loud sound, the girl turned her head south to see her companion running down the streets with an exhilarated face. Seeing his face like that with his fast movement made it easy for Erica to tell what had happened. Only about a couple of seconds could pass before Brendan reached her.

"You will never guess what just happened." Once again, the brunette's overconfidence was showing.

"Victory against Roxanne?" Answered the blond champion quickly and confidently in return.

Erica's quick and witty answer scored a critical hit. The boy's confidence quickly dimmed and he scratched the back of his head while laughing nervously a little.

"How did you know?"

"I had the same look when I won my first gym battle. Now come with us into the building." She grabbed his wrist and dragged him into the Devon Corp. building.

Although Brendan wanted to protest against this sudden action, he was still a little caught off guard by his friend's quick perception. By the time he had already gotten himself together, they were already walking through the lobby.

The lobby stood out for one sole feature to Brendan, displaying fossils right under the floor. Fascination overtook him, preventing the boy from moving at all. And prompting Erica to drag him by the wrist again.

"So what are we doing in here?" Asked the brunette while he walked up the stairs and regained his wrist and conscious state.

"Remember what happened in the forest? Well, the person we saved works for this company and their president wants to give thanks to us for it." Answered Erica after letting go of Brendan's wrist.

The next two floors consisted of nothing that caught the passionate brunette's attention. Most of the square feet were occupied by desks, and employees who were consulting ideas with each other. The scientist who was guiding the two broke off on the third floor.

"I need to handle something important. A message has been sent, so the president should be expecting you already." Brendan and Erica understood and kept trekking up to the fourth floor of the building.

"The president wants to thank us for only that little save?" It made sense to Brendan that the action he took earlier didn't seem big enough for this.

"While you were battling Roxanne, I chased down another thief who was about to get away with more equipment." Explained the blond. Knowing more of the story enlightened the incredulous boy.

The top floor of the building was were the president's office was. A very large room, the center contained a large table that had the same fossil design as the floor in the lobby. At the end of the office the president sat at his desk.

"Ah you must be the trainers that helped out in Petalburg woods." Greeted the president upon seeing both of them. He stood up and walked over to shake their hands.

"I am President Stone of the Devon Corporation." Introduced the man during the shaking of the hands.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Brendan Kobushi. And this is my friend, Erica Tamashii." Said Brendan as he shook the older man's hand.

As the blond girl shook the hand of Mr. Stone, she was able to get a better look at him and noticed how his hair was slightly (and oddly) spiked up. His gray hair was easily reflected by how he wore a dark suit.

"I must thank you for saving our employee in the nearby forest. And from the message I received, you did well in protecting valuable equipment."

The president walked back to sit at his desk, prompting his guests to sit in the chairs that lied in front of the desk. An exhausted sigh escaped from Mr. Stone as he adjusted his tie.

"Honestly, it has been a pressuring day. I was so relieved to learn that the parts for our new technology had made it safely." Still feeling incredulous, Brendan had to ask.

"Sir, not that I don't respect this formal appreciation, but why did you decided to thank us personally?" Asked the boy.

His companion let out an exhausted sigh, thinking that her explanation from earlier was good enough. On the other hand, Mr. Stone seemed glad to oblige with an answer.

"Well you see, the combined worth of the devices that you two saved today is over 50,000,000 Poke." Once again, hearing that number used for money nearly sent Erica over the edge. "And we need the majority of that equipment for building new technological merchandise."

Even though the last part made sense to Brendan, he was still caught on the fact that so much money was put into the little equipment. He suddenly started to feel small at the idea of so much money.

'That's more than I'll ever make in my life.' Thought the brunette with a bit of sweat. Mr. Stone stood up from his desk and overlooked the city below.

"It makes me wonder what the Hoenn region would be like if we didn't succeed in getting the technology we needed today." He turned back to the heroes with a gracious smile. "So I'd like to repay you in some way for your heroic deeds."

Enthusiasm was coursing throughout Brendan's entire body. Only recently starting off his journey and so many lucky things were happening to him today. However, the boy was getting some kind of odd feeling when he turned to Erica. It almost felt like disapproval.

"Not that we don't appreciate it, but the devices weren't fully retrieved." Said the girl as she spoke up.

"What do you mean?" Asked the president as his gracious smile broke into a questioned face.

"When Brendan fought in the forest, he didn't succeed in retrieving an SD card that had information of the device. And I didn't succeed in getting one item back."

At first her companion wanted to tell her otherwise, but he couldn't deny the point she had made. If they were not successful in a full rescue, then there was no sense going about the reward with no humility.

"She's right sir. We don't deserve too high of praise for our efforts." Admitted Brendan with closed eyes.

President Stone didn't know what to make of this. These two people went through some trouble to get back the equipment for his corporation, and yet they decided to show humility and not accept an award.

'Reminds me of my son.' Thought the old man nostalgically. At that moment, Brendan stood from his chair with a somewhat determined face.

"Sir, is there anything that we can do to repay the device and data that we didn't retrieve?" Requested the Brunette, surprising both his teacher and Mr. Stone.

Rubbing his chin, the old man sat back down as he tried to think of a solution. An idea came to him after a few seconds and he reached into his coat pocket to pull out a letter.

"If you want to repay us, the please deliver this to a man named Steven in Dewford Town." Stated the President as he held out the envelope.

Erica stood up out of her chair and took the letter from the old man's hand. She had already decided that she wanted to repay Devon Corp. before Brendan even suggested the idea.

"And where exactly is this town?" Asked the blond.

"You'll find it to the south of Petalburg woods. Keep in mind that you'll need to travel over water." Mentioned the elderly man, surprising the brunette that they'd have to cross water.

"Wait wha-"

"We'll take care of it sir." Said Erica as she cut off Brendan.

The blond trainer stood up and exited the room. Her companion stood in same spot for a couple of seconds before excusing himself from the room as well. It didn't take long before he caught up to her.

Exiting the large Devon Corp. building revealed that the time had passed the afternoon. Brendan's mind was busy trying to figure out why Erica was so lenient to the idea of crossing over the ocean. He was also a little upset at how she didn't consult him on the subject.

"Say Erica, why did you agree to go to Dewford town?" Asked the boy. To respond, his companion turned around with a slightly surprised face.

"Well I figured that you could use another gym battle. There should be one there. It will give you and your pokemon more experience against your dad." Responded Erica.

Her answer hurt him a little bit as he was already very confident from earlier. But despite the logical answer, he tried to respond with logic in turn.

"But...we don't had any means to get there." Stated the brunette.

"Don't worry, I have a couple of ways to get across the ocean. I'll make sure to get you to another gym battle." Responded the blond girl. "But for now, lets get some lunch."

Erica returned to her path and walked in the direction that led to the Pokémon Center and hopefully some restaurants. Brendan stood still for a couple of seconds, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the gym badge. Staring at it seemed to be the only thing he could do.

'Maybe...maybe I was in over my head.' Thought the boy before he ran to catch up with his friend.

After a quick lunch in which the trainers and their pokemon enjoyed Rustboro fast food, they began to backtrack through the Petalburg woods. Both of the trainers knew that they would need to get to the ocean on the other side of the woods before crossing it.

"You know, I bet that there was another way if we went north instead of south." Suggested the brunette as he pushed a branch out of his face.

"Yeah, we might've found some way." The blond jumped over a log and quickly dodged a branch. "But I met somebody on the other side who can help us."

'Met somebody? When did this happen?' Thought Brendan as he was hit on the shoulder by a branch.

Getting back to the ocean side of Route 104 was easier the second time around. That was because of the fact that there were many slopes for the trainers to exploit for less time. As the two exited from the forest, they noticed that it was getting close to dusk.

"Time is starting to move against us." Stated Brendan as he looked up to the dimming sky.

Erica walked over to the nearby house from earlier, she glanced at the mailbox in front of it and smiled a little. Turning around to her companion, she waved her hand to signal him to come over.

"There is a man who lives here that I helped out earlier, he can take us to Dewford on his boat." Her hand knocked against the door three times.

A few more moments passed before the door opened and Mr. Briney came out of it. His curious and indifferent face instantly shifted to one of joy.

"Well, if it isn't the girl who saved Peecko earlier today." He reached out and began to shake Erica's hand rapidly. When he let go of her hand he noticed Brendan with her. "And who might this be?"

"I'm Brendan Kobushi sir. I travel with Erica." Answered the brunette who was equally happy to meet somebody so cheerful.

Mr. Briney laughed and began to shake Brendan's hand in the same rapid motion. Now Brendan knew how other people felt when he did that, but maybe the enthusiasm wasn't such a bad thing.

"Mr. Briney, I know this may be sudden, but can you take us to Dewford town?" Asked the blond. The bearded man showed a bit of surprise as he let go of Brendan.

"I'd be happy to oblige, but why so suddenly?" Inquired the elderly man. To give a better answer, Erica pulled out the letter she got from President Stone.

"We need to deliver this to somebody in Dewford town, and he needs to visit the gym there." Answered the girl as she pointed to her companion.

Like any man with facial hair, Mr. Briney rubbed his beard as he pondered over the subject. He did owe Erica for saving Peecko, but he also didn't want to have to anchor in Dewford for the night.

"Oh well, a promise is a promise." He turned back to the interior of his house.

"Peecko, get ready to set sail!" The tiny seagull pokemon flew out and landed on Mr. Briney's shoulder.

Seventeen minutes was the amount of time it took Mr. Briney to prepare the boat for sailing. Give or take about a minute with the help of Brendan and Erica. The time that had passed led them near the sunset.

The setting sun made the normally deep blue water into a dazzling array of blue, orange, and yellow. An expression spread across Brendan's face that made him look very amazed and happy. Erica had seen things like this before, so she could only slightly smile graciously.

Brendan's gaze traced over to Erica and he noticed how the sunset looked with her blocking it. Slight streaks of light helped to enhance her charm so much that he just couldn't bring himself to look away. Time around him slowed down so much that he couldn't hear anything at all. Part of him wanted it to not stop.

'But...but why do I feel this way?' His cheeks started to blush.

"You alright?" The brunette was brought out of his trance when his teacher began to talk to him. "You don't have a fever, do you?"

"Uh...No! No, I was just admiring the sunset, that's all." Quickly Explained Brendan as he looked in the other direction. Luckily for him, she bought the quickly formed excuse.

"Ok then. But feel free to tell me if you are." Offered the blond as she looked back to the ocean.

"...Thank you." Whispered Brendan under his breath. He didn't really need to do much as the loud roars of the boat engine did well to disguise his voice.

It didn't take long for the boat to dock in Dewford. As they dismounted, the two trainers thanked Mr. Briney for the trip. To which he was more than happy to oblige.

"I'll come back tomorrow to help get you kids back to Route 104." Announced the sailor before turning his ship back around to sail back.

Since it was so late, both trainers decided that it would be best to check in for the night and rest in the pokemon center. Evening rolled over and both trainers had gotten into bed for some well deserved rest. But despite his efforts to sleep, Brendan was still pondering his feelings from earlier.

'...Why...why do I feel this admiration for Erica?' Thought Brendan before giving in to sleep.

Thank you for reading this chapter, hoped you liked it. Please feel free to leave a guest review for your opinion. In the next chapter, Brendan takes on the Dewford gym leader in a fight of fists. And Erica ventures into Granite Cave to find the man that she had heard of in pop culture magazines.