A/N : Hey Fanfiction, airj here. This fanfic isn't exactly a normal story. Rather, it is a continuation of one of the best Fanfictions I've ever read, called Nameless Grunt, by an author known as hopefullynotgone. It's a story about May as Archie's daughter, how she escapes Team Aqua, meets Brendan, and embarks on an adventure with him. It is an emotionally gripping, tightly written, and perfectly executed story and I can't recommend it enough. I don't want to spoil it, so if you want to read it, here is what you should do:

1) Search up my username "AIRJ999" on Google. Simply copy and paste that name into the search bar.

2) My Reddit account should be the first link that pops up. Click on it, and you should be seeing my page.

3) I have only one post on that account. That post contains a Google Docs link to the story. Click on it and enjoy.

The original author unfortunately deleted Nameless Grunt. so there's no other way to view it that I know of. The document is public to everybody, but I have disabled any way to copy or share that file because the story is not mine. Make sure you read that first before reading this story, because some things in this story might not make sense without reading the prequel.

With that out of the way,

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokemon or any of its characters, the franchise belongs to the Gamefreak/The Pokemon Company.

Chapter I

***MAKE SURE TO READ A/N ABOVE***

Steven

Beads of sweat popped up in May's palms. Her face felt red-hot. Her knees shook. She was certain that a moment ago she could speak in complete sentences. But as she opened up her mouth in an attempt to greet the man walking towards her, not a sound came out. Apparently, even her vocal cords were frozen with awe by Steven's magnificence.

Standing beside her and leaning against the railing, Brendan also saw Steven approaching. He rolled his eyes and sighed in annoyance as he noticed May's reaction towards his rival. Of course he has to show up now. Dammit. Alright then. I have act cool. Can't make myself look stupid. He thought to himself. He took a deep breath, and stepped forward.

"Steven." Brendan said, while shaking his hand firmly.

Steven nodded. "Good to see you, Brendan" He replied casually. Then, Steven's gaze focused on May. He walked past Brendan, grabbed her hand softly, and lightly planted a kiss on it.

"And hello to you, May. I certainly did not expect us to see each other again at Norman's birthday party. I mean, no offense, but how were you able to get here?" Steven inquired.

"H-hey Steven." May managed. "I came here with Brendan. He and his family were kind enough to invite me., so I-I'm joining them as a friend."

After hearing this, Steven shot a glance at Brendan, who returned his gaze with a questioning look. He then turned back to May.

"That's...nice, I guess." Steven said. His mouth then formed into a wide smile. "May, I just had to come over and say this, you look like a goddess in that dress. It's as if it was tailored specifically for you to wear."

"Thanks! I think you..umm...look great yourself, I guess." May felt her face growing red once more. Real smooth, May. Damn it, why does he have to be so beautiful?

Steven's mouth curled into a grin. "I appreciate it." He replied coolly.

"So, Steven, any good challengers lately?" Brendan asked abruptly. He stepped next to May, almost in a protective manner. He could see the way Steven looked at May, so he was anxious to get his attention off of her, and vice versa.

Steven turned his attention to him. "Not really, because most of them didn't prepare many healing items. They did beat the E4, so obviously they're excellent trainers, but by the time they faced me, their Pokemon were exhausted."

"Really?" Brendan smirked. "So I guess I'm still your most powerful challenger, huh?"

"Actually, wait, I just remembered something." Steven said. "There was one trainer who pushed me to the brink. Took me all the way down to my Metagross."

Brendan's brows furrowed. "What was his team looking like?"

"His first four Pokemon were Heracross, Snorlax, Charizard, and Sceptile. They were all powerful, and extremely well trained." Steven replied. " However, his ace Pokemon were a Pikachu, and a Greninja. And his Greninja was unlike any Greninja I had ever seen before."

Brendan's eyes widened in curiosity "How?"

"Somehow, it had the ability to multiply its power, speed, and durability by transforming. I have never heard of something like this happening. I initially thought it was a Mega Evolution, but we have never discovered a Mega Stone for Greninja, nor did that trainer have a Mega Stone or ring." Steven said, sounding deep in thought. "Plus, I'm not sure how to describe this, but when that Greninja transformed, it somehow...resembled its trainer. I don't know how to describe it. I'll show you the video recording on my PokeNav when I get the chance."

Brendan nodded. A Pokemon that can transform without a Mega Stone? He pondered. That's...extremely odd. And a Pikachu as his ace? I thought most trainers evolve their Pikachu into a Raichu the first chance they get. Not even Pikachu, but just any stone evolution. Huh. I wonder how I would fare against that trainer. Though if he almost beat Steven, it's going to be extremely hard for me to pull off a win.

"So, May." Steven started, turning his attention back to May, who had just been silently listening to the two of them discuss. "I was just wondering if—"

"STEVEN!" A voiced boomed. All three of them jumped. May turned around to see a middle-aged man walking towards them. He bore a striking resemblance to Steven, and he even had the same silvery hair.

"Are you just going to stand here, and socialize all day? We have people here that want to see you! Come on!"

"W-What?! Who?" Steven said. "Can't it wait? I'm busy right now!"

"NO!" The man yelled. "These people traveled all the way from across the region just to meet the Champion. It will be a horrible look for both of us to just ignore them. Now come on!"

Steven cursed underneath his breath. "Alright, I'm coming!" He yelled back. He then lowered his voice to a whisper. "Sorry, May, Brendan, I gotta to go now. I'll see guys later."

Then he was gone.

"Who was that?" May asked.

"Mr. Stone. He's the president of Devon Corporation. His company manufactures technology such as the PokeNav." Brendan replied. "He also happens to be Steven's dad, by the way."

Steven's dad is the President of Devon? That sure explains a lot. May thought. She swept her gaze over to the stairway, where more VIP guests were entering the balcony. She saw an old, pot-bellied man with frizzy hair and a light gray beard laughing with a drink in his hand. He was dressed in a dark suit with a yellow tie. A Manectric sat next to him, sniffing his shoes. That must be Wattson. I remember Brendan talking about him back at the Center. May remembered. She then glanced at a tall, skinny man standing off to the side, chatting with her mother and Norman. He wore a white suit, with purple pants, and a turquoise colored tie. It was one of the most bizarre color combinations she had ever seen. Is that a gym leader or an elite four? I don't think I've ever seen him before.

Suddenly, May noticed a young woman walking towards Brendan. She had long, lush gray hair that reached down to her waist, as well as big, soft, beautiful purple eyes. She was clad in a short cyan lace dress that fit her hourglass figure perfectly. Silver earrings hung from her ears. Her gaze was intense, yet serene. Watching her, May felt herself growing jealous. She was gorgeous.

Next to May, Brendan had also noticed the woman. He walked forward to greet her, a shy smile on his face.

"Hey, Winona." Brendan said, as she pulled him in for a hug. As he looked at her, he found himself awestruck at her beauty. "Y-you look...so great today" He stuttered.

"Wow Bren, are trying to tell me I don't normally look amazing?" Winona asked teasingly, still hugging him.

"N-no! That's not what I meant, I-"

She cut him off with a laugh. "I'm just playing with you Bren. You look fantastic as well. You've gotten a bit taller since I last saw you. And bigger." She added with a smile, while tapping his shoulders. Brendan felt his face heating up like a microwave.

Then, Winona peered over Brendan's shoulder and noticed May standing behind him. She stepped away from Brendan, while her expression changed to one of caution. "And who's this with you, Brendan?" She asked, her eyebrows furrowing.

"Oh uh, that's May." Brendan replied quickly. "May, this is Winona. She's the gym leader of Fortree City, which is the flying-type gym."

May waved awkwardly. "Hi, Winona, it's nice to meet you. Brendan's told me about you before."

"Has he now?" Winona grinned slyly. "Did he tell you about the time I defeated all 6 of his Pokemon with just my Altaria?"

"Hey come on, that doesn't count, I had just done like 20 straight battles on Route 119! My Pokemon were all like on 1 HP!" Brendan protested childishly, while Winona and May giggled at his flustered expression.

"Anyways, it's nice to meet you too." Winona said, turning her attention back to May. "Forgive me, May, but I've never seen you at these events before, so I was wondering, are you related to any of the leaders, or…?"

"Oh, I'm Norman's niece. I'm living with them now, because my mother recently passed away." May replied. All of a sudden, Winona's cheerful expression disappeared, replaced by one of sadness and sympathy.

"Ohhh..I'm so sorry to hear that, May. I can't imagine bearing the pain of losing any family member, much less a mother." She replied.

May faked a sad smile. "Thank you. I was really close to Norman's family anyway, so they helped me deal with the pain of losing her. I owe them a lot, for taking me in, and basically accepting me as one of their own."

Winona nodded slowly in understanding, then turned her head away. For about a moment, the three of them stood there near the balcony in awkward silence, gazing at the invited guests filing in to the building's lower level. Most of them were chattering noisily among themselves and taking pictures of the fancy walls. Off to side, May spotted Steven surrounded by a large group of people holding out notebooks, clothing, even Pokeballs for him to autograph. Next to him, with her arm wrapped on his shoulder stood a tall, curvy woman with fiery red hair. Who's that? May wondered.

"So, Winona," Brendan said, breaking the silence, and snapping May out of her thoughts. "Who are you going with later to the slow dance today? Is it still going to be Brawly like last year?"

Winona turned in his direction, and chuckled slightly. "Oh, no, Bren. I think I'll pass this time. But you did just reminded me, I had someone else in mind, who I wanted to dance with, so that's why I'm here."

May gasped silently, and felt her face growing pale, as it slowly dawned on her what Winona meant. Her thoughts raced through her mind. No...i-is she asking him...b-but I wanted to be his partner tonight...please...no, this can't...

Brendan, on the other hand, cocked his head in slight confusion. "Ummm...what do you mean by that?" He said.

"I wanted to ask you, Bren." Suddenly, Winona's face tinged red. Her voice shook. "W-would you agree to dance with me later?"

A/N: A short chapter to start of the story. Will Brendan accept Winona's request? Tune in next time!

For those who've followed/favorited/reviewed previous story, I want to apologize for abruptly deleting it. Looking back, I probably should've announced it, through an extra chapter or something. I don't really have a specific reason for deleting it, I just felt like some chapters were not as well-written as they could've been, and when I reread the story after a few weeks, I didn't enjoy reading it at all. I think it was because initially I took way too little time to write a chapter. Basically I'd just write up a rough draft, and submit it as a new chapter, instead of editing and refining it. So that's why I came back with a rewrite. The overall plot will remain relatively the same, but there will be some changes to the story.

Please be sure to review. Any feedback is welcome, because I want to know how I can improve my writing skills. Peace.

-airj