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 7:

Wally held still, worried that he might wake May up if he were to move around too much, even though he was embarrassed and nervous about the whole sleeping situation. "When did she even get on the bed?" Wally thought, racking his brain for any memories of that. He of course, could not find any. Wally generally was thankful of his illness only for the reason that it let him sleep for much longer than the average human, but for the first time, the amount of sleep he was getting annoyed him. He didn't suspect that May was did this on purpose, but he wished that he was awake for it, so he could have avoided the awkward situation entirely.

"But would I have stopped her from coming so close?" Wally pondered. Wally could see attractive features of both boys and girls, but these features almost exclusively intimidated Wally. Wally naturally found May attractive and intimidating. But instead of avoiding Wally, who obviously was too scared to let attractive people (or people at all) into his personal space, she barged her way into it. She had given him more hugs than anyone other than his parents ever had. Because of this, Wally felt closer to May than anyone else, and the closeness became endearing to him. But this did not mean that he wasn't nervous each time they hugged. Right now especially, Wally was antsy and wanted to break from May's embrace, but he was too polite to even wake her instead, he tried to clear his mind and go back to sleep.

A few minutes passed of Wally having his eyes shut and trying to sleep, when suddenly Mr. Briney announced over the ship's intercom, "We'll be arriving at Dewford in five minutes! Get ready!" That was enough to wake May up. She quickly moved her arm off of Wally, who was pretending to be asleep to avoid the awkward situation entirely.

"Oh crap, I don't remember doing that…" May thought as she put on her shoes. "I hope he didn't even notice that I got on the bed with him…"

Wally was pretending to be asleep until May decided to wake him up. In reality, this was realistic because he was a pretty heavy sleeper. But May was feeling embarrassed, and was certainly taking her time to "wake him up." Eventually though, she shook him, and he lazily got up from the bed. The two thanked Mr. Briney and departed from the ship to head into Dewford.

"Alright, so our first priority is to find a man by the name of Steven Stone!" May brought up to break the silence. "He should be looking around rocks, so I'm guessing he's either on the beach or in a cave!"

Wally nodded; he figured that they would have to split up to find Steven, but May insisted they travel together. "Since we only have one letter to give him, we can't risk splitting up!" May explained, and Wally nodded again. First, they checked the closest area- the beach. There were both people and stones scattered around, but none of the former seemed particularly interested in the latter.

"L-look, there's a c-cave up ahead!" Wally pointed out, and the two made their way over to it. The two sent out their pokémon to follow along, for protection, and May set Slakoth on her shoulder. Inside the cave, it was quite dark, but May turned on a flashlight to properly see. Once the cave was lit up, Wally jumped back. "Wh-what is that?" he asked, pointing to a short, yellow pokémon. It seemed to be smiling at the two in a way that deeply unsettled Wally. "Hmm, lemme see!" May said as she drew her Pokédex out and scanned the pokémon. "It's a Makuhita, a Fighting-Type pokémon!"

Wally just shrugged. He knew he had to get a new pokémon soon, but he wanted the pokémon to feel right to him. He wanted to feel a connection with the pokémon, and it couldn't be the connection of its fist hitting him. However, that is exactly what the Makuhita tried to do. "H-hey!" Wally cried out as Kirlia jumped in the way, taking the blow for Wally. Due to Kirlia's typing and experience, the punch was not particularly damaging. It did, however, scare the daylights out of Wally. "I almost got punched for the second time today…" he thought, and he ordered Kirlia to use 'Confusion' on the Makuhita, defeating it.

"You alright?" May asked Wally, as she could tell that he was shaken up from it. "I-I'll be fine, I need t-to get used to wild p-pokémon attacking me." Wally replied. He was disappointed that he even had to get used to something like that. Even though he was an unpopular loner in school, and he would be picked on, nobody ever attacked him out of the blue like that. But he had to accept that pokémon are wild and unpredictable. He stared at Kirlia and thought "Well, most pokémon are…"

The two spotted an upward slope, and May prepared to dash up to the top of it. As she began sprinting up, she realized that the slope was made of very loose sand, and it could not be ran up. "Woah!" she said as she began to fall, but Wally caught her just in time, using his arms to support her back. "I've got you!" Wally said without stuttering, as May's body was around 50 degrees to the ground, with Wally supporting it. "Wally, thank you!" she said as she dusted her legs off. "You're like a hero!" May said with a bright smile. Wally's heart warmed from the fact that she called him a hero, especially since he suddenly felt like one.

The two walked down the main path, dodging and battling Zubats and Makuhitas. The path led only to one room. The two were skeptical that Steven would be inside, but they could leave no stone unturned.

Wally and May entered the room. Within the long room, at the top of a staircase, was a tall man with silver hair. The two withdrew Kirlia, Grovyle, and Slakoth, respectively so that they didn't startle the distracted man. He was staring at the wall, which had an ancient painting depicting two monstrous pokémon fighting each other. One was upright and appeared to use fire, while the other did not even stand and appeared to use water. "This guy has hair like Mr. Stone," May whispered to Wally. "He might be Steven." As if on cue, the man turned around and looked at the two. "What terrible power, right?" he asked. The two just stared blankly. "What do you mean?" May piped up, as Wally decided to let May handle the talking. "Ah, I'm sorry. You two must not be residents of Dewford. My apologies, I was just commenting on the cave painting." he said as he stared at it again. "We're here to look for a Steven, could that be you?" May asked.

The man turned to look at them once more. "Yes, I am Steven, Steven Stone. Who are you?" he asked. "My name is May, and this is Wally." May gestured at Wally, who just shyly smiled and waved. "We were sent by your father to deliver a letter." Steven smiled and stepped closer, extending his hand to receive the letter. "I see, thank you two very much. What exactly brought you trainers to Dewford?" he asked. "We want to get all eight Gym Badges!" Wally spoke up, before May could. Steven smiled. "How charming! I take it that you two are quite skilled trainers then, yes?" The two looked at each other and shrugged. "I guess we are, for how new to it we are!" May explained.

"Then could I perhaps see your teams?" Steven asked. "I see so many experienced trainers use the same few pokémon, it would be refreshing to see what you new trainers have caught." May shrugged her shoulders and sent out her Grovyle and Slakoth. "Ahh, two fine choices. I can tell you have put much effort into training each of these pokémon, especially your Grovyle." May smiled. "Thank you! It was my very first pokémon, so it's had more experience than Slakoth." Steven rubbed his chin. "I take it that Slakoth is just as important in a battle though?" Steven asked, and May nodded. "Your pokémon are quite impressive, May."

"And what about you- was it Wally?" Steven asked, and Wally nodded in response. "I o-only have one pokémon, but it's really st-strong!" Wally said as he sent out Kirlia. Steven squatted down to get a closer look at Kirlia, who simply stared back at Steven. Steven stood back up and looked Wally in the eyes. "I can tell that this pokémon is not one to be taken lightly. It is incredibly powerful, and I can tell you treat this pokémon not just as a servant, but as a friend. That is why you only have one pokémon." Steven said, as if he were reading from a book. Wally stood, astonished. "Th-that's a good way to put it." Wally said as he stared at Kirlia. "I j-just haven't found another p-pokémon that is so f-friendly…"

Steven nodded. "Well, Wally, you must make yourself friendly to the pokémon before it is friendly to you, and even still, it is rare for most wild pokémon to be amicable to trainers upon first encountering each other. Usually, trainers just use their own pokémon to attack others, and catch them when they are weak." he explained. Wally was repeating what Steven said in his head, as if trying to memorize it. "His advice is important," Wally thought. He could tell that Steven was a skilled trainer, and he wanted to take his words to heart. "Th-thank you, sir!" Wally said with a bow, and May followed suit. Steven chuckled and said, "No need for the formality, please. And you can call me Steven!" He gestured to Wally. "I suggest you think about what I told you. With more pokémon, you would be unstoppable." He then gestured towards May. "You have the right idea, your team is incredibly impressive. Thank you two for bringing me this letter, but I must be on my way." he said as he began walking out. "Take care, and I wish you the best of luck on your journeys. Next time our paths cross, I hope I am even more impressed than I am now." With that, he left the cave.

Wally and May just stared at each other. They were both starstruck by Steven. He was tall, handsome, wise, and perhaps more. "I get the feeling that Steven is a Gym Leader for some city." May said. "Wh-what makes you think that?" Wally asked. May shrugged, and said, "I don't know, I guess it's that I've heard that Gym Leaders all have such powerful personalities… it was almost like I could see that he's strong." Wally couldn't help but agree. He was wondering why he took Steven's advice so quickly, but May just put Wally's feelings into words.

Wally and May both felt a bit embarrassed. Though Wally was by no means attracted to him, he was in awe of Steven's looks, wisdom, and personality. It was almost as if when Wally looked at Steven, he was looking at an ideal man. Wally didn't know what to feel, but he certainly didn't want to discuss it in front of May, who he was absolutely certain that he thought was pretty. May was embarrassed for almost the same reason. She wasn't attracted to Steven, but she certainly found him attractive, though in a different way than she found Wally to be attractive.

The two walked out of the cave, and Steven was nowhere to be found; he had flown away on a pokémon of his own. "Do you think he was just a ghost?" May said jokingly. Wally knew it was a joke, but he shivered at the thought of being so close to a ghost. "Y-yikes, I sure hope n-not…" They both laughed, and they continued walking.

They went to the Pokémon Center to heal their pokémon, who had taken slight damage from Makuhitas and Zubats, and walked to the Pokémon Gym. Inside, it was almost pitch black. A man spoke up from the shadows, startling Wally and May, saying, "Yo! Champs in the making, this is Brawly's gym! It's dark, but you can battle to see the correct path! And also, only one at a time please!"

The two entered separately, but they had an easy time battling through the Gym Members. Wally and Kirlia especially had an easy time, since Kirlia could defeat them with one single 'Confusion.' As they battled each Gym Member, the path they had to take was lit up, so that the trainers didn't stumble over any gym equipment. Upon finally coming face to face with Brawly, he said to each of the two trainers: "I hope your blood is pumping, cause my pokémon have faced the strength of the ocean tides and used the gym equipment around me! Are you ready?"

Wally was the first one to go through the gym, so he was the first to face Brawly. Brawly's first pokémon was one from Kanto. Wally immediately identified it as a Machop, which is a powerful fighting type. Wally and Kirlia had no problems defeating it, due to its typing. The same went for Brawly's second, and last, pokémon, which Wally recognized it as a Makuhita. "Yes! Kirlia, it's the one we saw in the cave!" he said, remembering the wild pokémon that attacked him. "Use Confusion!" Wally commanded, and Kirlia obeyed. The battle, like the other battles of this gym, was over for Wally almost as soon as it began. "Congratulations, young man. You've earned this Gym Badge!" Brawly said, as he handed the badge over to an ecstatic Wally.

May took more time in completing the Gym's challenges. May's pokémon did not have any moves that were Super Effective against Fighting-Type pokémon, and she kept switching between Slakoth and Grovyle. Slakoth took no damage, and thankfully Grovyle took very little. May confidently walked up to the Gym Leader, who was on a treadmill while waiting for the challenger. When he saw may, he hopped off and repeated what he said to Wally, but to May.

May initially had her Slakoth out, so it could hopefully do some damage before she switched out to Grovyle. Unfortunately, she learned the hard way that Dark-Type moves, like Slakoth's 'Feint Attack,' are not very effective. Slakoth had to be returned, and Grovyle had to 'Mega Drain' its way to victory against the Machop and the Makuhita. Wally was outside, worried that she was having a hard time against Brawly, but she was just held up by the lack of variation of move-types her pokémon have. She did, however, defeat Brawly and end up the victor.

"C-congratulations, May!" Wally said, and May thanked him. "You and Kirlia absolutely destroyed the Gym Challenge, it was a breeze for you two! You two did way better!" she said. Wally blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "Th-thank you! I'm sure your p-pokémon would easily outperform us in any other gym…"

The two walked to the Pokémon Center, and healed up their three collective pokémon. "H-hey, May? Where do we sl-sleep for the night? It's getting pretty l-late, and I didn't see any s-secret bases…" Wally brought up. May rubbed her chin thoughtfully and said, "I know, we can ask Mr. Briney if we can sleep on the boat!" Wally shivered a bit, without making a face. He was worried that they'd be put in an awkward situation again if they slept in that room again…

The two walked around the pier, looking for Mr. Briney. They found him in front of a cottage, playing with Peeko, and they asked him. "Ho-ho, so you two need to stay the night on the boat? Feel free to!" he said while stroking his beard. "B-but Mr. Briney, where will y-you sleep?" Wally said in a both timid and concerned tone. "I get to stay at this cottage for free when I visit Dewford, one of the perks of having been a sailor!" Mr. Briney said with a hearty chuckle.

The two made their way to the boat and into the bedroom. It was like a secret base, except it had only one bed and actually had a doored-off bathroom. "Dibs on the shower!" May called out, giggling. "N-no fair!" Wally said as he tried to get into the bathroom before May, but he was met with a door being shut. Wally decided to just nap until May got out of the shower. To avoid the aforementioned awkward situation, Wally got a blanket and laid down on the floor. He was asleep almost immediately.

After a few minutes, the water turned off, and May came out, wearing a towel. She saw Wally on the floor, and she realized immediately why he was sleeping there. "I shouldn't wake him up right now." she thought as she dried her hair off. May crawled onto the bed, and realized how uncomfortable Wally must've been on the floor. "Okay, maybe I should…" May thought, as she reached over to shake the sleeping boy awake.

Wally woke up, but was very drowsy. "Shower time?" he asked groggily as he got off of the floor and walked into the bathroom. The water ran for a few minutes, and he stepped out, with a towel around his waist. His eyes were nearly shut, and he was half asleep. "Wally!" May said to the sleepy teenager. "Hmm?" he said dreamily and grabbed some underwear and shorts. May blushed, but she just looked away. "Clearly he is too tired to think clearly…"

Wally put on his clothes, except a shirt of course, and walked over to the bed, plopped onto it next to May, and fell back asleep. May blushed. "The confidence of that boy…" she whispered to herself. She turned around to face the other direction, or else she would be up too long, staring at his shirtless torso.