Chapter Seven: In Disguise
What's going on my lovely little twat muffins, IcyAngels here, and I'm back for my anniversary! Yay! Thank you all so much for your questions. A YouTube video answering them will be going up today (link to my channel should be somewhere on my profile). Anyway, let's get to the reviews!
Matthew Garner: Glad you had fun at Taekwondo camp! And thanks for the questions and the review :D
Martyn: First off, thanks for the review! And sorry that I couldn't work your idea in to the chapter, maybe some other time!
ZIAH THE HEDGEHOG: Thanks :D Can't believe I've been here for so long lol. And thanks for the questions and the review!
Gabiola652: NO RAGRETS. NOT EVEN ONE LETTER. Thanks for the questions and reviews!
The Legendary Falcon Fall: Thanks for the review! Roasted Pokemon. That'd be interesting.
UpbeatButNegative: I'm telling you man, your reviews never disappoint. Just the fact that someone would take time out of their day to write a review that long makes me eternally grateful. And don't worry lol. The shirt was short-sleeved. Whoever wears a sweater in Hoenn is delusional. And I'm hoping for many more years to come on this site! And of course, thanks for the review and questions!
PokeshippingFAB: This is your first non Pokeshipping story? Glad to hear! You should go check out some other stories on the site as well lol. They're all awesome. Thanks for the review!
Pokerox27: You have been here for a while lol. Thanks for sticking around all this time! My YouTube channel's link should be on my profile somewhere near the bottom. Thanks for the questions and the review!
All right, let's get on with the chapter. Thanks again guys!
Hiding in the shadows of every building and tree, May slowly made her way across the city. Moving around in Brendan's clothes was harder than she initially thought: His shoes were at least two sizes larger than hers, and she was having trouble keeping his capris on. Nevertheless, she didn't let anyone see her.
"No! Come back with those parts! Oh, my boss is going to kill me…" The man was in his forties and clearly a researcher, wearing a lab coat and glasses. He stared at the path towards Route 116, his clipboard clutched in his hands. May walked up to the man from behind and tapped his shoulder, making him jump a little. "Oh, it's just a Trainer. Say…you look familiar. Anyway, you've got to help me! A thief just ran away with those goods for Devon! I think he's headed off to Rusturf Tunnel…"
She nodded, then ran off down the route. "I can't believe he recognized me," she whispered to herself. "Does everybody watch those stupid news updates?!" After a few minutes of running, May reached the edge of the route. It seemed like a dead end, the only thing there being a small entrance to a tunnel. A familiar old man stood next to it, leaning on his walking stick. He turned and looked at May, squinting at her outfit. "So you are dating that young lad you were with near my cottage!" Mr. Briney exclaimed. "These youngsters these days…wearing each other's clothes…"
"I'm not dating him!" May exclaimed, then quickly covered her mouth. Oops.
"Don't worry, missy. I won't tell anyone about your disguise…or your relationship with that boy," he added with a chuckle.
"I'm not—"
Mr. Briney stopped her. "Now don't get your fella's knickers in a twist. Just be a dear and get Peeko out of that cave, won't you? A man in strange clothes ran off with her and some package."
"That's the plan," May said, heading in to the tunnel.
"Good luck, lassie!" Mr. Briney called. "And good luck with your boyfriend as well!"
She rolled her eyes, disappearing deep in to the tunnel. Feeling her way around, she walked/stumbled through the cave, hearing the faint cries and scuttles of Pokemon.
"Hey! No kids in here!" a voice said from down the tunnel. Its owner walked towards her, squinting at her through the darkness. It was the same Aqua Grunt from Petalburg Woods. He laughed. "So you're a Trainer! What, are you gonna stop me? Come and get some then!" He ran further down the tunnel, May right on his heels. He eventually stopped, coming to a pile of rocks that were impenetrable.
May stood behind him, her hands ready to reach for her Poke Balls at any second. The Grunt kicked the pile of rocks angrily, then looked at the Wingull. "Keelhaul it all!" he yelled. "This hostage Pokemon is worthless! I thought I actually made a getaway…" he turned and looked at May. "I'm just gonna have to take my anger out on you!" He threw a Poke Ball in her direction, the same Poochyena from Petalburg Woods popping out.
She reached for one of her Poke Balls and threw it. "Pri—" she suddenly stopped, covering her mouth with her hand as Ventus popped out and on to the tunnel floor. The realization suddenly hit her:
How could she shout commands without revealing her disguise?
Ventus turned and looked at her, waiting to be told what to do. She shrugged, then gestured toward the Poochyena. "Go for it," she mouthed.
"Not a talker, huh?" the Grunt asked. "That'll make this much easier. Use Howl!"
A rumbling sound started in the Poochyena's throat, then erupted in to a howl. It was as loud as a truck, causing the two Trainers and Ventus to cover their ears. The Pokemon inside the cave hid in fear as rocks on the ceiling began to fall, almost hitting Ventus. He scaled a side of the wall and looked back at May. It was still waiting for a command.
She took in a deep breath, then let it out. They both knew trying to fight the Grunt without being in sync would be impossible. Ventus could hit hard and fast by itself, but only to the best of its ability when May helped it use the environment to their advantage. Maybe she could use commands with body language instead…
She suddenly made a pounding motion with her hands, slamming a fist down on an open palm. Ventus seemed to get the message, its tail lighting up as it jumped from the rock it was on. It landed square on the Poochyena's face, scoring major damage. May grinned. Maybe there was a way to do this.
The Aqua grunt growled. "Looks like I'll have to keep an eye on you as well. Poochyena, use Bite before it can get away!"
Without even thinking, May quickly stepped back, causing Ventus to do the same. It dodged the attack, easily avoiding damage. May stuck one hand out, palm facing up and open, then closed it and quickly brought it near her chest. The Treecko nodded, its tail becoming a soft green. Slamming it down on the opponent, it used Absorb and sucked the energy out of it.
"We're hit again!" the grunt shouted. "If it's just going to keep dodging, use Howl so we'll hit it harder when we get the chance!"
As another Howl erupted from the Poochyena's throat, May looked at her Pokemon and covered her eyes. It understood, surprisingly, and hid itself in one of the dark corners of the cave.
"Use Odor Sleuth and sniff it out!" the Aqua member shouted. The Pokemon began sniffing the ground intensely, as it desperately looked for the Treecko's scent.
May looked over to the area where Ventus was hidden, hoping it could see her. She made a motion similar to Absorb's, but with both hands instead. As soon as the Poochyena came near its hiding spot, Ventus jumped in to sight, wrapping its tail around it and scoring major damage with Mega Drain. She grinned. Ventus could see her after all.
"That's it!" he shouted. "Poochyena, use Sand Attack to get it away from you!" Trying to wriggle its way out, the dog-like Pokemon stomped and kicked at the ground, flinging tons of sand in to its eyes. Ventus was forced to let go, allowing the Poochyena to escape. "Now use Bite while you have the chance!" As the Treecko was trying to rub the sand out of its eyes, the Pokemon bit down on its neck, tackling it to the ground.
May made a quick swiping motion with her arm towards the ceiling.
"No more commands!" the grunt shouted. "Bite down harder, then throw it against the wall!" The Poochyena did exactly as told, knocking Ventus against the nearest rocky surface. As the Treecko tried to stand up, a rock from the ceiling fell, crushing it and knocking it out.
May let out a little squeak before quickly covering her mouth as she returned it to its Poke Ball.
The Aqua grunt laughed. "What are you going to do now, chatterbox? Battle yourself?"
May bit her lip. She did have one more Pokemon, but would it be worth it? Please listen this one time. She reached for the Poke Ball, taking a deep breath. A pink bug-like Pokemon jumped out. It looked back at May, doing a double take. Why was this boy using her in battle?
The other Trainer laughed again. "It's just a Wurmple? Where's your pride, kid?"
Before May could even move. Pink opened its mouth, shooting a white string at the ceiling, and used it to swing across the battlefield and behind the Poochyena. Not allowing it to make a move, its tail began glowing with purple liquid. It quickly jumped in the air, slamming it down on the Poochyena's back. Enduring the attack, the opposing Pokemon grabbed on to it, sinking its teeth in.
"Perfect!" the grunt shouted. "Poochyena, use Bite." The Poochyena tightened its jaws, borderline crushing it. May could only watch as Pink bit back with Bug Bite. Although it was super effective, it was still losing the fight. The Poochyena attempted to throw it against the wall, but Pink was holding on with String Shot. The Wurmple suddenly let go of the String Shot and latched on to the wall.
"What is it doing now?!" the grunt exclaimed. As if in reply, Pink sprung off the wall and slammed in to the Poochyena with Tackle. They both crashed in to one of the walls, causing parts of it to crumble. A few seconds later the entire tunnel began shaking, rocks falling from the ceiling. Small pink Pokemon began running out of the cave in panic as bigger rocks started to fall more quickly, threatening to crush everyone on the field.
"I'm not sticking around here!" he yelled. "Poochyena, return!" The Pokemon returned to its Poke Ball. "And the boss said this would be an easy job to pull…" He looked at May. "Take the goods and that useless Wingull! I'm leaving!" He then ran towards the exit, but it had already been blocked off by falling rock. "Shoot!"
"Pink!" May yelled, dropping the act. She took out its Poke Ball and attempted to return it, but a falling rock deflected the red beam. It was gradually being surrounded by them, becoming trapped. May climbed through the rocks as fast as she could, but it was too late. One of the biggest rocks on the ceiling landed on it, completely crushing it. She screamed, desperately trying to lift the rock, and was finally able to when a rush of adrenaline went through her. She picked up the limp Wurmple and held it close, running to the exit. "Let's go!" she yelled to the Wingull, still at the other side of the cave. It squawked, picking up the package and flying to her side. She turned to the Aqua Grunt. "Start moving the rocks!" she yelled.
"You're a girl?!" he exclaimed.
"Do you want to live or not?!" she shouted. "Start moving the goddamn rocks and let's go!" The two quickly went to work, moving boulders and stones away from the exit. She looked down at Pink, who had been knocked out cold. Please be okay.
…
Outside of the cave, Brendan, Mr. Briney, and the police officer from before were desperately trying to move rocks from the exit. While catching Pokemon on Route 116, Brendan had heard rumbling noises coming from the inside of the tunnel. "We need to move faster!" he shouted, he and Sora shoving a giant rock out of the way. The officer and his Machoke began rolling a boulder from the area while Mr. Briney beat at weaker rocks with his walking stick. After what felt like hours, a hand popped through the opening from the other side. "May!" Brendan yelled. He grabbed her hand, and with the movement of a few more rocks, pulled her out of the cave. "Thank God you're okay," he said, pulling her in to a hug.
"Pink," she gasped, trying to catch her breath. She looked down at the Wurmple. "It's hurt."
"Peeko!" Mr. Briney exclaimed. He hugged his beloved Wingull, then took the package it had and handed it to Brendan. "I believe this is for you two."
"No!" the Aqua grunt shouted, climbing out of the tunnel. "It's mine!" The officer stood behind him, putting handcuffs on his wrists. "We heard there was trouble with you grunts in the area…"
"Grunts?" Brendan asked.
May shook her head. "Don't worry about it."
The officer looked at May and Brendan. "We'll straighten this out later. For now, get that Wurmple to a Pokemon Center."
"Right," she said. "Let's go, Brendan."
…
A few minutes later the two burst in through the doors of the Center, all eyes on them. Not caring, May ran up to the front desk. "We need help. It's an emergency."
"You're not supposed to be here in Rust—"
"You're not supposed to turn down any sick patients!" she snapped. "My Wurmple is dying and my Treecko is pretty hurt too…"
The Nurse nodded. "Chansey, rush both of these Pokemon to the Emergency Room!" A pink and white egg-shaped Pokemon burst through the doors behind her with a stretcher, allowing May to place Pink and Ventus' Poke Ball on it. It ran back through the doors, Nurse Joy following.
May took in a deep breath, then let it out, trying to calm herself down. She took off Brendan's hat and handed it back to him. "Sorry that it's kind of dirty," she said.
"It's fine," he replied, putting it back on. "So now what are you going to do?"
She sighed. "Right now I'm going to go take a shower. And after that…I don't know. I'll be back in ten minutes, okay?" She then walked up the staircase next to them, eventually disappearing.
Brendan turned to see the entirety of the building staring at him. "What?" he snapped. "You people act like you've never seen another human being before!" Avoiding their looks, he took a seat in a booth near the corner of the Pokemon Center. He stared out the window, watching the sun set over the horizon. It was the first time during the entire day he had a chance to process everything. To think the day started with watching Wally leave for Verdanturf and was ending with May's Pokemon in the ER.
He sighed. How much trouble would he be in for helping May sneak back in to Rustboro? His father had sent him to keep May on the right track, and he was doing an awful job so far. She had gotten kicked out of Rustboro and now that everyone knew the truth, he probably would be too. Yet on the other hand, they had helped catch that criminal…
"I'm back," May said, in her usual outfit again. "Here's your clothes." She handed them over, then sat across from him. "I can't believe I let that happen to my Pokemon…" she said, covering her face with her hands.
"Are they letting you see them yet?" Brendan asked quietly.
She shook her head. "Not until tomorrow. Sorry for dragging you in to this, by the way."
"It's fine," he said, then smiled a little. "What's a journey without a little excitement, right?"
She smiled half-heartedly. "I guess you're right. She looked out the window, deep in thought. Although Ventus had merely been knocked out, Pink was an entirely different story. It had been completely crushed by that boulder, and it had been at least five times the Pokemon's size. If she had been faster, she could've saved it. Now whatever tiny bit of trust it could've possibly had for her was gone. And after today, there was absolutely no way she was getting it back. Maybe if she hadn't punched Tiana in the face, none of this would've happened. She wouldn't have had to waste time changing in to Brendan's clothes or sneaking around the city. She could've just ran after the grunt straight away and stopped him at Route 116. It could've ended right there. No collapsing tunnel. No crushed Pokemon.
"What happened, happened, May," Brendan said, as if reading her mind. "You can't change it."
"I know," she replied. "And I hate that I can't stop thinking about it."
"Maybe we should turn in early then," he suggested. "You've got Pokemon here, so they should've saved a room for us."
She nodded. "You're right." The two got up from their seats and across the room, people in the building still staring at them. With a heavy heart, she followed Brendan up the stairs, ready for the day to be over.
…
May opened her eyes and looked at the digital clock. 6 AM. She sat up in bed, pushing the sheets off of her. She hadn't slept well at all last night. Spending most of the night tossing and turning in guilt hadn't been ideal, but she accepted it anyway. Brendan, on the other hand, had offered to sleep on the floor and was still sound asleep. Getting out of bed, she got dressed, brushed her teeth, did her hair, and grabbed a left over Oran Berry from her bag. She then headed downstairs. Luckily there weren't as many people there to stare at her this time. She stood at the front desk, looking at Nurse Joy.
"I'm guessing you want to see your Pokemon?" she asked.
She nodded, following the nurse down the hallway that her Pokemon had gone down on a stretcher the day before. The two entered a room with two hospital beds on it, each with a Poke Ball seated on top. She grabbed the one on the first bed, putting it in May's hand. "Your Treecko seems to have made a full recovery."
Letting a sigh of relief out, May threw the ball in the air. Ventus popped out, landing on her shoulder as she caught the Poke Ball. "I'm so glad you're okay," she said, scratching its head. "And I'm sorry I let you get hurt…"
"Your Wurmple on the other hand…"
May felt her stomach flip a little. "What happened?"
"It'll be fine, but until it's completely healed, it needs to stay confined to its Poke Ball. You cannot let it out under any circumstances." She took the second Poke Ball and placed it on May's hands. "And another thing…while we were applying its bandages, it evolved."
She felt a mixture of relief and heartbreak. It was going to be okay. On the other hand, for the first time one of her Pokemon evolved, and she wasn't there for it. The relief managed to outweigh that feeling for now, however. "Okay, thank you so much. Do you know what it evolved in to?"
"Chansey and I were very focused on saving it, so we didn't pay attention to the details. Wurmple can evolve in to either Silcoon or Cascoon, then in to Beautifly or Dustox. So you'll find out when it heals," she replied.
"All right," May said, putting the Poke Ball back on her belt. "Thanks again." She walked out of the room, down the hallway, then up the stairs and in to her and Brendan's room. The other Trainer was still fast asleep on the floor. "Hey," she said, nudging his foot with hers. No answer. "Hey," she said a little louder. "BRENDAN, HAROLD SET THE LAB ON FIRE!"
"Again?!" he exclaimed, sitting up. Realizing where he was, he looked up at May, then rolled his eyes. "Was that necessary?"
"Absolutely," she said, sitting down on the bed.
He stood up, stretching. "I see you got your Pokemon back."
"Yup," she said, looking at Ventus on her shoulder.
"What about Pink?" he asked, grabbing his backpack at the foot of the bed. He slung it over his shoulder, pulling two Poke Balls out of the side pocket and clipping them to his belt.
May sighed. "Nurse Joy said it would be fine. I just need to keep it inside of its Poke Ball under all circumstances. She said it evolved too…"
"Really?!" Brendan exclaimed excitedly. "Silcoon or Cascoon?"
"She didn't say," she replied.
He seemed disappointed. "Dang, I was really looking forward to finding out…guess we'll have to wait."
"Exactly," she said, getting off the bed. "C'mon. Let's go downstairs and get breakfast."
…
A few minutes later, the two were downstairs and sitting in the booth from yesterday. May watched in disgust as Brendan poured a half bottle of maple syrup on to his breakfast. "Don't you think that's a little excessive for one pancake?" she asked.
"No," he replied, finally putting the bottle down. He cut a piece out with his fork and put it in his mouth. "And I think you mean to say 'puncake.'"
She rolled her eyes. "Don't even start." She handed Ventus half of one of her strawberry cream cheese bagels, then took a bite out of the other. "So now what do we do? I'm not even supposed to be here. And I thought I was going to get my first badge and everything in this town…"
Brendan shrugged. "I still have this," he pulled the package from yesterday out of his bag. "Mr. Briney said it was for the both of us, but I have a feeling he just didn't know what to do with it…eh. Probably nothing important."
There was a giant gasping sound coming from the other side of the room as a man with glasses and a lab coat rushed over to them. He slammed one hand down on the table, then used the other to point a Brendan. "You!"
"Me?" Brendan asked, his mouthful of pancake.
"You're the one that saved me from the criminal!" the man exclaimed. "You're the one that saved the Devon Goods and that Wingull!"
The Trainer swallowed his breakfast and laughed nervously. "Uh, I think you're looking for someone different…" He pointed to May. "She was the one dealing with the whole Rusturf Tunnel situation."
The man slammed his hand down on the table again, then pointed at May. He squinted at her. "But…you're the one that got kicked out of Rustboro for punching that girl! And more importantly, YOU'RE a girl! It was a boy that went after—"
"I was wearing his clothes," May said, rolling her eyes. "I needed to get in to the city somehow."
"Well, either way, thank you!" he exclaimed. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm a researcher at the Devon Corporation."
"Isn't that the business that makes the BuzzNav and all the Poke Balls in Hoenn?" Brendan asked.
The researcher nodded. "That's right! And in thanks for saving me and the Devon Goods, our president would like to have a word with you."
May shook her head, then looked at Brendan. "You can go. I'm not supposed to be here in the city anyway."
"I think the president would want to speak to you regardless," he said before Brendan could respond. "He would want to give credit where credit is due. He and his son do their best to avoid the media's constant gossip anyway."
"Son?" Brendan asked.
The researcher shook his head. "You'll find out in due time. So, can I expect the both of you to come with me?"
"We should go, May!" Brendan said, finishing off his pancake. "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!"
She sighed. "Why not? Lead the way."
Chapter 7's done! Yay! Damn. I can't believe it's been two years already. You guys, my Sonic fans, and all of the twat muffins scattered across the internet are awesome. You guys are the reason why I keep going, and you'll never realize how thankful I am. Every favorite, follow, review, like, comment, and subscription means more than you can ever imagine. Now before we get to Q of the Week, I have a couple of announcements, both involving YouTube.
Firstly, I've noticed a lot of you guys love Phineas and Ferb lol. Well I have a friend on YouTube, and his name is Le Tuan. He had this thing called Phineas and Ferb month where he made videos on the top five worst episodes, the top ten songs, a review of the last episode, and a two part video with the top 15 episodes. But unfortunately, because of copyright issues (which were definitely minor compared to other uploaders who just upload entire episodes with little to no editing done) and his channel was deleted. Now he's moved to his second channel, but he's lost almost all of his subscribers. So what I'm asking you guys to do is check out his channel and leave a like or a comment, maybe even subscribe. He needs it! I uploaded a video called "Helping a Friend, an Update Type Thingy" and there should be a link to his channel in the description and an annotation at the end of the video. Go check it out!
Secondly, if nothing comes up, Gold the Fox and I will be having a podcast/stream on my channel tonight. Again, link to my channel on my profile. Subscribe and you'll be notified! We'll probably go live around 8 or 9 pm EST. Be sure to stop by and say hi!
Okay, so QOTW: I've been here for two years now, so my question is, what do you want to see from me in the next two years? Any specific fandoms? Do you want me to continue any series or finish any (inb4 people are like ZOMG ICY FINISH 7 WORLDS OR I'LL PETCH YOU :P)? Tell me in the reviews! And as always, make sure to review! Smell ya later!
