Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or any of the characters that are included in the story.

This story includes and references events that took place in Pokémon: Omega Ruby and Pokémon: Alpha Sapphire. It does not, however, attempt to tell a story that took place the aforementioned titles.

Stronger, Chapter 6:

Brendan felt like he had met the two trainers at an awkward time, or at least things seemed very strange when he approached them.

Brendan had never met Wally, but it was apparent that he was traveling with May. It had looked like May just got done beating the boy before coming over to greet him. Brendan of course did not believe that to be true, but he was curious as to what happened.

"May, are you gonna introduce me to your friend?" Brendan asked playfully.

"Wally, this is Brendan. He is my next door neighbor, a skilled trainer, and somewhat a friendly rival! Brendan, this is Wally. He's very shy, but he's an incredible trainer!" May explained.

Brendan stepped forward to shake Wally's hand. He was a little surprised to hear that Wally was a good trainer, due to his pale complexion and skinny frame. "Well, I suppose his physical weaknesses don't really have any correlation with skills as a trainer…" Brendan thought, correcting himself somewhat.

Wally nervously shook Brendan's hand. Though Wally had gotten better posture and slightly better endurance, he was still far below a normal height or weight for a boy his age. Brendan was almost a foot taller than him, and that alone was enough to intimidate Wally, who even avoided eye contact with the other boy.

"So, you're skilled, huh?" Brendan asked after shaking the boy's hand. "Why don't I see how skilled you are then?" Brendan said confidently. He did not mean it as a direct challenge to May's assertion that Wally was, in fact, skilled. Brendan simply wanted to compare his skill to Wally's. However, unbeknownst to Wally and May, Brendan had spent even more time training his pokémon than either of the two, so he would prove to be quite a daunting foe.

Wally nervously nodded. "S-sure, I'll b-battle you!" he said, using every bit of confidence he could muster. May simply sat down on the side lines. "This should be fun to watch, and I can challenge him right after!" she thought.

Wally sent out his Kirlia. As he saw that Brendan had two pokéballs, he suddenly realized that he should attempt to add another member to his team soon. Brendan followed Wally's lead and sent out a small, brown and green pokémon, which surprised both May and Wally. "W-what's that?" Wally asked curiously as he got out his Pokédex. "Huh, a Sh-Shroomish!" Wally said.

Wally's curiosity about pokémon impressed Brendan. Brendan had studied Hoenn Pokémon since he was little, but that was normal, as the Professor is his father. He was also aware that very few trainers even cared to learn about pokémon at all. So when Wally pulled out a Pokédex, he felt a small connection with him. He pushed these thoughts away; it was time to battle.

Wally sat down where he was standing, leading Brendan to not yet have Shroomish attack Kirlia and May to voice her concern. "I-I'm okay, I j-just need to sit for a minute. We can start b-battling though!" Wally reassured Brendan. Brendan started to feel bad. "Am I about to battle this sickly boy with the full intention of beating him?" he thought. But Wally didn't give him any choice, as he shouted for Kirlia to use 'Confusion,' sending a psychic wave to the Shroomish. Brendan was taken aback, he did not expect Kirlia to be as strong as it was. Shroomish was hurt, but it had not yet fainted. "Shroomish, counter it with a 'Headbutt!'" Brendan shouted, prompting the tiny Grass-Type pokémon to charge at Kirlia and bash into its head with its own head, which was essentially its entire body.

Kirlia was not hurt very badly, so Wally ordered another 'Confusion,' but as Kirlia started to send out psychic waves, Shroomish was taken back, and another pokémon, one that was covered in yellow and red feathers, stood in its place, taking the full force of the attack. "W-what?" Wally said, confused. He whipped out his pokédex, but Brendan spoke before Wally could read the information of the pokémon. "This is Combusken. I have to say, Wally, if Kirlia had managed to knock him out just now, you would have won. But it seems like I am the winner!" Brendan said triumphantly. Wally frustratedly stood up from his sitting position and yelled for another 'Confusion,' but as he did so, Brendan yelled for Combusken to use 'Flame Charge.' Unfortunately for Wally and Kirlia, Combusken was much faster.

Brendan's Combusken was wrapped in a robe of fire, and tackled Kirlia full force. Kirlia wasn't even able to use 'Confusion.' It was knocked out instantly. "W-what? No!" Wally cried out as he rushed to his pokémon's aide. He held it Kirlia in his arms, sighing. He then returned it to its pokéball, and prepared to walk to the Pokémon Center. "Hey, don't feel so Blue! That was a really close match, Kirlia almost took Combusken out in one hit!" Brendan said, trying to cheer Wally up. It worked, and Wally smiled. "I-I'm putting too much p-pressure on one pokémon… I think I need to start to b-build up my team. Wh-when I do, I want a rematch!" Wally said confidently! Brendan nodded, very glad that he was able to face, and will again face, such a tough opponent. The two shook hands, and Wally and Brendan were now rivals.

May stood up and clapped. "That was beautiful, you two!" she said. Wally blushed and Brendan chuckled. "If you say so." he said. "How about we all go to the Pokémon Center, and after all our pokémon are healed, you and I battle?" Brendan challenged May. May was not one to back out of a challenge. "Yeah, you're going down!"

The three walked down to the Pokémon Center, delightfully chatting amongst themselves about the battle that just happened. "Because it's a Psychic-Type move, that 'Confusion' was a lot closer to winning you the battle than you think!" Brendan explained. "R-right, but Combusken used a F-Fire-Type move, which is s-super effective, right?" Wally asked. "Yeah, it was honestly a sight to see!" May added. "You two were both using super effective moves, it was enthralling!" They eventually entered the Pokémon Center and had their pokémon healed. As they chatted, Wally could not help but think to himself, "I've made another friend!" It was finally happening; he was blooming socially. He was finally finding it easy to talk to people he had just met.

They exited from the Pokémon Center and walked down Route 104, joking and chatting, before Wally brought up, "H-hey, weren't you two going to b-battle?" Brendan and May looked at each other, realizing that they had both completely forgotten about battling. They laughed about it for a few seconds before getting ready to battle.

"Alright Brendan, are you ready to taste defeat?" May said, as if she was certain of her victory.

Brendan was entirely prepared to taste the opposite. He knew that his Combusken would easily defeat her Grass type, which he assumed to be a Grovyle by now. The only thing that worried Brendan was her second pokéball, as he was unsure what pokémon lied within. "Try me!" he challenged as he threw out his Shroomish.

May threw out her Grovyle first. She wanted to do as much damage as possible in the lowest amount of time. May had a wild plan, and she was hoping to set up everything in order for it to work out correctly. She had Grovyle use 'Quick Attack.' As Grovyle dashed at Shroomish and hit it hard, it was stuck in place right afterwards. "Ha! Grovyle is paralyzed!" Brendan taunted as he ordered his badly hurt Shroomish to 'Headbutt,' the paralyzed Grovyle. "Ok, minor setback, but Grovyle may still be able to move!" May thought with hope.

"Quick, Grovyle, use Pursuit!" May ordered, as she could tell that Brendan was going to withdraw his Shroomish as he did in the previous battle. "Too bad, Shroomish is already- what the?" Brendan said as his pokémon was knocked out of the air in the midst of returning to its pokéball. "Yes! Good job, Grovyle! I knew even being paralyzed couldn't stop you!" May cheered. She withdrew Grovyle as Brendan withdrew his Shroomish. They both prepared to throw out their second pokémon.

Wally was watching in amazement. The two trainers not only had incredibly strong pokémon, but they were clearly prodigious battlers. It was like watching a high speed Chess match. Both made plans beforehand and adapted to any sort of moves the opponent made and compensated for it as quick as possible to continue following through with the plan. Just watching as the two battled, he thought in reverence, "One of these two will become the champion one day."

May threw out her Slakoth, and Brendan his Combusken. "A Slakoth?" Brendan thought to himself. He knew Combusken could easily knock out the Normal-Type pokémon. "Is this May's last-ditch effort?" he thought as he shouted, "Combusken, use Double Kick!" It rushed towards the Slakoth and raised its leg, getting prepared to kick. "Now, Slakoth, dodge! And follow it with an encore!" Slakoth miraculously evaded the incredibly swift kicks, and growled loudly at the Combusken, trying to provoke it.

"I knew it! May's won for sure!" Wally thought to himself. He could tell now what May was setting up for, and so could Brendan. "No! Combusken, attack Slakoth again!" he ordered. Because Slakoth used 'Encore,' Combusken was forced to use the same move it had before, rendering any order to use a different move obsolete. The Combusken kicked again, this time landing its blows and instantly defeating the Slakoth. "Good work, bud. You just won us this battle." May whispered as she withdrew her defeated pokémon.

"Go, Grovyle!" she yelled as she sent out her Grass-Type. The still paralyzed pokémon was sent out, and Combusken was still prepared to use 'Double-Kick.' May quickly used a 'Paralyze Heal' on Grovyle, who was immediately after kicked twice. It hurt Grovyle, but it was nothing serious. "Alright, Grovyle! Use Mega Drain!" May ordered.

"What? But Grass-Type moves are weak to Fire-Type pokémon!" Wally thought. But Grovyle managed to heal a little HP while doing a little damage. "Perfect." May thought, and she continued ordering this attack, while Combusken was still forced to use 'Double Kick.' Over all, Grovyle was slowly losing HP. 'Double Kick' dealt slightly more damage to it than 'Mega Drain' could heal. But no matter, May had one last trick up her sleeve.

At the point when the two pokémon were almost unable of the battle, with Grovyle having slightly less HP than Combusken, Brendan's pokémon shook its head, and lowered its leg. "Oh no… Combusken isn't affected by 'Encore' anymore…" Wally thought and sighed. The two trainers both shouted at the same time. Brendan shouted, "Flame Charge!" while May shouted, "Quick Attack!"

Before Combusken was able to coat itself in flames, Grovyle dashed, so fast that the human eye could only see it as teleportation, and slashed Combusken with its leaf-appendage. Wally, May, and Brendan held their breaths. If Combusken was not yet defeated, then May would certainly lose. A few seconds went by, though to the trainers, they felt like hours. Brendan's Combusken toppled over, and Grovyle stood victorious. Wally got up and ran over to May, hugging her tightly- or as tight as his little arms could. "Th-that was the most ingenious thing I've ever seen! You're b-brilliant, May!" May hugged him back. "Thank you!" she said aloud. But in her head, she thought, "I'm just lucky!" After the hug, Brendan came up to her and shook her hand. "Wally's right, that was ingenious! But next time we battle, I'll be the one with the smart plan!"

After the two healed their pokémon and returned to Route 104, Brendan had to go; he was on his own adventure and wanted to continue with it. He waved the two goodbye, but Wally was a little sad to see him go. To be fair, he was one of Wally's only friends. Wally ran up to him before he left. "S-since I don't know when I'll s-see you again, c-can I h-hug you goodbye?" he asked politely. Both Brendan and May were taken aback. Brendan wasn't expecting the gesture, and May wasn't expecting Wally to go so far out of his comfort zone. "Yeah, of course, dude!" Brendan said as he hugged Wally not-so tightly, carefully avoiding hurting the skinny teenager.

After the hug, Brendan waved May goodbye and rode off on his Bicycle. Wally sighed, but cheered up when looking at May. "H-hey, so where do we go n-now?" he asked. May giggled. "I love your enthusiasm! We're gonna continue back down Route 104 and look for a sailor!" she responded.

The two walked through Petalburg Woods briefly before making it back to Route 104 again, where they saw only one house. "This must be the place!" May suggested as she knocked on the door. An elderly man with a Wingull opened the door up. The man's eyes widened and his lips curled to form a smile. "You two!" he exclaimed. "You two are the ones who rushed into Whismur Cave and freed my Peeko!" May and Wally looked at each other. They were so relieved to have found someone they left a good impression on earlier. "I want to thank you for returning my Peeko to me!" the man said as his Wingull, or "Peeko," gave a pleased, "Squawk!"

"We hate to ask this of you, sir-" May started, but the man interrupted by saying "Please, call me Mr. Briney! And if you're going to ask for transportation, I'd be more than happy to help!" Again, May and Wally just stared at one another, in shock at how smoothly things were going.

The three were brought out to the boat. Before entering, Mr. Briney asked "Erm- where exactly do you need me to take you two?" "D-Dewford, please!" Wally answered. Mr. Briney nodded and let them on the boat. "We'll be at Dewford in roughly two hours!" he explained. "You two can walk around the boat, or do whatever you want in the meantime!"

Wally and May made their way to a bedroom, where May plopped down on a chair, and Wally laid down on the bed. "May, you are r-really an incredible trainer." Wally said, out of the blue. The compliment took May by surprise and made her blush a little. "Thank you, Wally! You are really skilled too!" she said. "You have improved so much since we started, you're noticeably stronger and more confident!" Wally blushed and bashfully asked, "Y-you really think so?..." May giggled. "I know so!"

The two were going back and forth, chatting about all the crazy things that had happened today. "M-May. When I watched your b-battle with B-Brendan, I realized that I knew something for certain." Wally said. May tilted her head. "And what would that be?" she asked.

"That you will be the Pokémon Champion!" Wally responded. May's heart was warmed thoroughly, and small tears were brought to her eyes. Wally was confident enough that what he said was true, that he didn't stutter at all while saying it. May got up and hugged Wally, who hugged her back as best as somebody who was laying down could. "You're so freaking sweet, Wally!" she said. "But I-I'm not trying to be s-sweet, it's j-just true!" he said, embarrassed from the compliment. May giggled and sat back down. She couldn't help but find reactions like that adorable, especially from him. He would get so bashful and blush so much, it made her want to give him compliments even more often.

The two chatted a bit more, but Wally slowly got drowsier and drowsier during the progression of the conversation, and eventually fell asleep. Though May also found that cute, she was a little irked, because she wanted to sleep too, and Wally was on the bed.

She shrugged her shoulders and got onto the bed. It was a large bed, and he was close enough to the right side for May to sleep comfortably on the left side. As she tried to sleep, she stared at Wally's features. "Even though he is super small, he is pretty attractive…" May thought as she closed her eyes.

Wally woke up just under an hour later, and started blushing as warm as Brendan's Combusken would get when it uses 'Flame Charge.' May was not only sleeping right next to him, she had one of her arms wrapped around him.