Disclaimer: I'm not sure if I still need to do this, but...I don't own Pokémon. Neither do I own Dragonball.
"Speech"
'Thought'
'I know that Erica has more experience than me. But I still feel like I'm going off track.'
In the last chapter, Brendan succeeded in defeating the Dewford gym and got another gym badge. When meeting back up with Erica, he learned of the new task at hand. Mr. Briney arrived a few hours later and Erica convinced him to get them to Slateport city.
'And I was really hoping that we could go to Petalburg and I could challenge Dad.' He let out an irritated sigh.
As the boat was roaring across the ocean, it was maneuvered around several rocks that posed as obstacles. As the captain carefully moved around, Brendan noticed something in the distance.
The speed of the boat made it hard to discern, but he could've sworn that an abandoned ship was hiding amongst the rocks.
"Erica! Did you see that?" Yelled the brunette. His blond teacher turned around in the direction that he was pointing towards.
"See what!? The rocks!?" She tried to look for something else, but all she could see was the rocks.
Brendan decided to not bother with it again, seeing as the enigmatic ship was far behind them at the moment.
It didn't take long before the two trainers reached Slateport city, or at least they reached its dock. While disembarking from the ship, Erica tossed Mr. Briney a gold nugget. Despite his worn out reflexes, the old man succeeded in catching.
"Consider it a thank you for getting us here." Stated the blond. Happy for the candid gratitude, Briney gave her a nod.
The boat began to pull itself out of the dock and turn to get back to Route 104 before pulled out his pokegear and checked to see the time.
"It's about 3:27. What should we do?" Asked the brunette.
"Well, I'm going to deliver this chip to Captain Stern." She pulled out the encased data chip. "What're you going to do?"
Brendan had to think a little bit about that. Training for the next gym battle did appeal good at first thought. But then again, his pokemon had put a great deal of effort in for today.
"Nothing good really seems to be coming to mind at the moment. My pokemon have already put in more than enough effort for today."
"Well if you've got nothing else to do, why not come with me?" Her suggestion did appeal well to the current situation.
Brendan looked off to the side for a moment before nodding. Erica smiled and led him off of the docks. When they got past the docks, the two trainers had to traverse past the beach to get to the city, not that it was a predicament.
Whilst she continued towards the city, the blond's thoughts continued to circulate around the idea of taking some time of rest on the beach when she would get a chance.
Several battles were taking place on the beach, all of which were catching the attention of one Brendan. He watched two kids battling from afar and it reminded him of his old friend.
"I wonder how May is doing." Stated Brendan blatantly. Erica turned to him when she heard that name.
"You're friend from Littleroot town? She told me that journeying around and documenting the ecosystem was what she wanted to do."
"That doesn't really sound like May at all. She is in a way, competitive." Explained the brunette. "Speaking of competitive, you don't seem to catch to many pokemon."
Although it was more of a statement, Erica could feel it as a premature judgment coming from a novice. She pulled off a second pokeball from her trainer belt and gave a small scoff.
"Never judge your opponent when no battle is taking place." The pokeball opened up and released a little quadruped pokemon that was covered in some sort of metal, an Aron. "This is Tetsa, I met her while you were in the gym."
The judgment had been traded out in Brendan's mind for admiration at the steel type in front of him. He probably also misunderstood the lesson she was trying to convey to him. Guys do like metal.
"At any rate, lets go get this to Captain Stern." She retrieved her pokemon, releasing Brendan from his trance, and continuing towards the city.
Brendan had absolutely no idea of what building he was supposed to be looking for. But he was impressed by the variance in architecture that the seaside city had to offer. His vision led to the northern side of the city, where he could see a massive crowd gathering.
"Hey, lets go see what's over there." Exclaimed the brunette as he began to walk away.
"Why should we do that?"
"It might be something awesome like an intense battle or something." Vigor was blatantly showing from his face.
"Besides, it might be boring wherever this Stern guy is." Erica sighed with a slight bit of annoyance.
"It might be boring over there as well."
Unfortunately, her retort fell on deaf ears. Brendan just continued to walk in the direction of the crowd. Another sigh escaped her lips and the girl ran to catch up to her friend.
The two trainers tried to squeeze their way through the crowd to see just what all the hype was about. They surrounded a bright colored building and a woman who stood in front of it. Said woman had a cloud dragon pokemon, Altaria, with her.
"It's time for Lisia's scouting event!" Cheered the girl loudly while striking a pose.
As she got closer, Erica was able to make out a better image of Lisia. She had turquoise hair knotted into a ponytail, and wore a brightly decorated blue and white outfit that matched Altaria's appearance.
Lisia started to eye throughout the crowd with a curious, but playful face. When her vision crossed over to the blond, a sudden nervous chill ran down Erica's spine.
"That's it! I scout you!" Lisia pointed in the general direction towards Erica, further startling her.
The blue haired girl ran over and picked out a different girl from the audience. Not getting picked left the Kalos champion calmed down, but at the same time disappointed.
Interestingly though, the girl that was picked from the audience was May. Her eyes and slightly open mouth gave off the impression that she didn't expect herself to be picked.
"You are the hundredth person to be scouted!" Cheered the pop star. She held a microphone up to the brunette. "Just say your name and how you feel about contests."
"Is that May? What is she doing here?" Asked Brendan out loud. She tried to put on a confident face as she took the microphone.
"Um...Hi everyone. My name is May Birch, and I think that pokemon contests are spectacular shows of art!" The nervous expression faded away as she stated her stance.
The crowd almost instantly started to cheer and applaud May's standpoint on the subject. Lisia was also clapping happily while her pokemon was flying jubilantly. Despite the immense popularity, the pig tailed girl still felt somewhat nervous and handed the microphone back.
"Alright everyone! That's it for now, but be sure to catch the next contest soon!" She struck some kind of pose that looked like a dance mixed in with a salute.
Once again, the crowd started to cheer loudly at the idea. Both the pop star and her selected candidate moved back into the building whilst the crowd began to dissipate. A long time wasn't necessary before it was just Brendan and Erica left over.
'Pokémon...contests?' Intrigue began to circulate through her mind about the idea of a pokemon contest participation.
"You know what? You were right." The girl was broken out of her thoughts by her companion's voice. "Aside from seeing May out of nowhere, that was pretty boring."
'Of course it would make sense that he wouldn't want to give it a try.' Thought Erica as the obliviousness of Brendan's nature began to show.
"Regardless of that, I think we should go in and say hi to May." Suggested the veteran trainer.
"Ok, that does seem like a good thing to do." They walked into the contest hall shortly afterwards.
Usually when people think of performance centers, they expect some kind of artistic building with sculptures and a massive theater. So it came with some surprise that neither of the trainers were expecting the building to be filled with so much vibrancy of color.
"Looking at this decor isn't making me think that pokemon contests are anymore entertaining then they were before."
Erica didn't really seem to pay attention to what Brendan was saying, she just continued to look around at the place. It wasn't a shock to her that people and pokemon could interact outside of a battle, or that they could work together for a performance.
'I'm surprised that they could make contests out of pokemon performances.' Thought the blond as she gazed upon the multiple portraits of winning contestants.
"So where could May be?" Questioned the brunette as he folded his arms. Looking around gave him the answer as he saw May going into a dressing room. "There she is!"
Inside the dressing room, May was dazzled by all the different accessories that she could wear to make into a costume. Thinking about Lisia made her want to create a costume that would be just as good.
'Lisia's outfit was in relation to her partner pokemon. I should think carefully about what to use.' But she wouldn't get long to decide on what to use.
A few knocks resonated from the other side of the door, prompting the pig tailed girl to go check through the eyehole. She became elated when she saw her friends on the other side and opened the door.
"Hi guys! What brings you here?" Asked May as she let them in
"We are running an errand for Devon Corp. and we just happened to see you here." Explained Brendan while he looked around the room.
"Are you two traveling together?" An expected feeling of embarrassment crept into the boy's mind when that question reached his ears.
"Well...Erica is teaching me along the way...so I guess so." Explained Brendan. "What are you doing out here?"
"I'm just traveling around the region and documenting the different pokemon and their environments." May looked over to the blond girl, who was currently looking at the different costumes. This action and oblivious nature made the pig tailed girl curious.
Brendan also looked over to his teacher and was caught curious to her unusual interest in the place.
"Um Erica?" She snapped out of her thoughts when she heard her friend and quickly composed her image.
"Yeah, what is it?" Both novice trainers looked towards each other before looking back to the veteran trainer.
"Do you want to enter into the contest or something?" Asked May.
It was at this point that Erica's ambivalent feelings began to surface. She had a reputation for being a strong trainer and had very little to be surprised at. On the other hand, she really wanted to try contests, even if there was a big chance of failure.
"I guess I would like to give it a shot. But I still need to deliver this to Captain Stern." Answered the veteran trainer as she pulled out the chip.
"If that's the issue, I can take it over there for you." Brendan walked over and took the chip out of her hand.
"Aw thanks Brendan, you're sweet." Erica thanked him with a gracious smile.
"It's no problem." Said the boy as he exited the room.
Once the boy left the room, Erica turned to May and they began to discuss what to do about the contest. You know, girl talk.
'Truth be told, I didn't really want to stay there anyways.' Thought the brunette as he exited the brightly colored building. 'Pokémon Contest doesn't seem anywhere near as awesome as a battle does.'
He walked across the city in search of anything that would or could give off the indication of a place to find a captain. It was certainly easier last time, seeing as how the captain had a boat next to his house.
Logic dictated that a trip to the nearest shore would do some good. Brendan looked back in the direction that he came from, but instead of seeing any kind of boathouse or dock all he could see was the contest hall and some other smaller buildings.
"Alright, to the other side it is. And away from the pokemon contest." Stated the boy out loud. And a large part of him hoped that neither Erica nor May could hear him as he said that.
Inside the contest hall, Erica had picked out a ticket for the upcoming toughness contest. She walked into the dressing room which she had met up with May earlier as she thought about what to do for the contest.
'I've only heard so little about these contests.' As if looking for an answer, she looked towards the word 'tough' colored yellow.
'If the contest is about being tough, then Tetsa seems like a good choice.' She pulled out the pokeball and released her pokemon.
"Tetsa, I know that this may seem sudden, but we are going to enter into a contest of toughness." Stated the blond girl as she pumped her fists. Luckily for her, the Aron liked the idea of showing of toughness (what did she expect from a pokemon literally made of iron?).
About twenty more minutes passed before Erica and May would perform in the contest. When they walked out onto the stage, both trainers were wearing some out of place outfits.
May was wearing an outfit that more clearly looked like Lisia's, except this one didn't have the cloud wrist accessories, and it was pink.
Erica on the other hand was dressed in a blue and orange martial arts gi (like dragonball but inverted).
Once the contestants walked out on stage the crowd erupted in cheers. The blond champion started to feel refreshed in this sort of environment that she struck a pose. However, it didn't take long before she realized that they were cheering for the pokemon.
'Oh, well now I feel a little ridiculous in this outfit.' Thought the blond with a tiny bit of a nervous smile.
May also felt embarrassed as her costume was more appropriate for a beauty contest or a cute contest as opposed to the one that she was participating in. Erica's interest turned to the pokemon that was with the brunette.
'So that's May's pokemon.' Said pokemon was the magma fire slug, Slugma. At the moment it was keeping its temperature down so as to not burn through the floor.
One contestant that stood out from the crowd was a brunette girl with green eyes. She was wearing a red skirt and top combo, her hair was in a ponytail held by a star clip, and she was wearing black leggings. And her performance partner was a Raichu.
'Now she is going to be some competition.'
On the other side of Slateport city, Brendan had found his way to the ocean museum (sorry kids, not an aquarium). Male reasoning led him to believe that the best place to look for a captain would be a place centering around the ocean.
While looking around the museum, Brendan was instantly losing his interest in this errand solely because of the place he was in.
"I know that museums could have nice exhibits and all, but none of this stuff seems too interesting to me." Noted the brunette as he looked around.
Suddenly, the boy could feel a tremor shake through the building. It wasn't loud enough to alert everyone else in the building, but Brendan's experience in battle was enough to alert him to the change.
"Did it come from upstairs?" Whispered the protagonist to himself. Quickly and quietly, he maneuvered up to the second floor to investigate.
What he found didn't sit all to well with the hero. A man wearing a nice brown suit was being cornered by several people wearing red hoods. Brendan's heart told him to charge in immediately, but he had something else in mind.
'If it was Erica, she would tell me to stay down.' Thought the protagonist. Although the thought of just standing by didn't really suit him.
"Stop destroying this place! What is it that you want from me?" Begged the man as he tried to retain his confidence.
"Our boss has some business to do with you." Answered one of the grunts as he crept closer.
On instinct, Brendan crept a little closer, which made a tiny sound that quickly caught the attention of one of the grunts. The red grunt that wasn't confronting the old man turned to see the noise. Luckily Brendan's reflexes moved faster before he could be seen.
'That was too close.' Thought the boy.
A couple of moments after that, a man with red hair and some kind of red and black suit. Strangely, he had hair that was also red and combed backwards. And he also wore a strange pair of glasses.
'Who is that?'
"You are Captain Stern, correct?" Questioned the man.
"Yes, that is me. What do you want?" The red man scoffed and adjusted his glasses.
"I have to know who exactly it is that your company is supplying the aquatic equipment for, but first." He turned around towards the staircase with an indifferent face. "It is rude to eavesdrop."
Brendan instantly panicked, this guy had know that he was here all along? The first impulsive action that he had was to further conceal himself by moving back a few more inches.
'Come on, think that you were imagining me.' Hoped the brunette in his thoughts.
"Stop fooling yourself, I already know that you are there." Stated the red man.
'Should I hide, or challenge him?'
At this point, the boy was having an internal conflict. His previous lifestyle of reckless fighting was starting to affect him and telling him to challenge instead of hide, but the things that he had learned from Erica were telling him otherwise.
'...Dammit.' He walked up the stairs in an unusually calm manner and looked towards the group with a concentrated face.
"So it was you who was spying on us?" Brendan nodded carefully at that, he could feel some kind of powerful presence from this guy.
"I'll have you know that eavesdropping on the business of adults is a very rude thing to do."
"And I don't care. I can obviously see that you are trying to beat something out of this guy." Retorted the hero quickly and confidently.
The red-cloaked man walked forward a couple of steps before he stood tall in front of Brendan. They both stared at each other with an intimidating glare, but the younger of the two could feel himself shrinking somewhat.
A scoff escaped from the mouth of the older man, he pushed his glasses back in place before turning back to Captain Stern.
"I personally doubt that you could understand, this is merely business about adults. And all we want is a name." The old captain backed away again with the same angry face as Brendan.
"W-well, if the name is all you want. They are Chinchou Explorations." Answered the old man.
In return, the red-cloaked man gave a confident smirk. Turning to his grunts, he waved his hand to the right and they nodded in unison. All three of them walked past Brendan and towards the stairs.
Being unnoticed and called a kid was easily enough to upset the hero of the setting. But Erica's teachings and the fact that these people hadn't harmed anyone stopped him from picking a fight.
"Hey, wait!" But not from shouting and giving a short chase. "Who are you!?"
Once more, the leader of the group gave Brendan the glare that was magnified through his glasses. And once again, the teenager was trying to keep himself confident despite the situation he put himself in.
"I am the Great Maxie."
Immediately after those five words came out, Maxie and his grunts exited the building. The brunette was left with the same face of concentration mixed with anger.
'Why...why was I intimidated by that guy?'
Back at the contest hall, May and her Slugma had just scored big time as the fire slug created a powerful flaring spiral via incinerate. Now this would be a challenge for the blond contestant.
'Wow, we're going to have to pull through hard for this one.' She quickly ran out onto stage with her Aron following after her.
"Alright Tetsa, use headbutt!" Quickly in response to her trainer's commands, the iron type ran up Erica's body and slammed itself into the ground.
A wide crater was made as a result, and the entire audience was left just about speechless. At first the blond felt confident in her pokemon's endurance, but now she was a little worried that the ground may have been a little too thick.
'Maybe that was a little too much force?' Thought Erica as she looked over to Tetsa, who remained motionless.
It was at this moment that Brendan had made his way into the performance room to see what his mentor had been up to. However, he didn't expect the room to be so quiet. Looking up towards the stage gave him the answer as to why.
'How did that happen?'
The blond girl remained stunned and silent as she looked down to her partner, who still didn't move. A familiar feeling of helplessness welcomed her.
"Testa..." Whispered Erica with some bit of anguish.
But immediately after hearing that, the Aron jumped back up on her hind legs and gave a victory pose. The crowd's shocked and silent expressions instantly shifted into screams of joy and amazement.
Erica was now stunned by this sudden change in the atmosphere, but she too basked in the amazement by giving a smile and a peace sign towards the audience.
When she looked out at the crowd, she could see her friend also cheering for her. In a span of a few seconds, her expression shifted between surprise and satisfaction.
'I guess that even he could be amazed by contests.'
A few more hours passed afterwards and found the three protagonists sitting outside of the contest hall.
"That was a quick and amazing come back that you made out there Erica." Commented May.
"Thank you. But I still don't think that it could've gone better." Admitted the blond sheepishly.
"Who cares? You might've come in third place, but you were still amazing!" Stated Brendan out loud. Both girls started to giggle a little bit at what he had said. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing Brendan, though I do appreciate the support." Answered Erica.
'Though we should've anticipated that other girl winning.' Thought May before she got up from the bench and stretched a bit.
"Well, I'm going to find a place to sleep for the night." She began to walk away from her friends. "And Brendan, next time we need to battle."
"Yeah, of course we will!" He pumped his fist out confidently.
With May out of the scene, all that was left was the two trainers. Despite the fact that he was still far from challenging his father, the brunette was feeling good about being with his friends.
"Thanks Erica." She turned to her student with a questioned face.
"For what?"
"Even though you looked scared up there on the stage, you didn't feel bad for yourself but your partner. That was inspiring for me." Answered the boy.
In an almost instant manner, she felt embarrassed that she let herself be seen like that in front of somebody she was supposed to be teaching.
"But more than that, thanks for sticking with me on this journey." That comment helped to ease her embarrassment.
"Well, you're a really good friend to have around. Thank you for being my partner in this too." Said the girl as she looked towards the dimming sky.
Hearing that helped Brendan even more. Despite the fact that there would be many intimidating foes, despite the fact that he still had a long way to go, and despite his reckless nature, he had good friends with him.
Yes, I am back baby! I'd like to apologize that I took me so long to upload this chapter, I promise that I will start working on the next one tomorrow with no delays period! And thanks for reading this chapter. In the next one, Brendan will take on both his rival May and the gym in Mauville city.
In case you couldn't tell, the girl that was mentioned earlier was Haine, and original character of lovelychu. If you haven't seen her artwork on deviantart yet, I highly recommend it as she is great.
