A/N Please check out NoLife-Sama's DeviantArt gallery! NoLife-Sama has made a comic adaption of Chapter 3 of "To Be the Best." It looks amazing!


May's arms flew up to cover her chest.

"What are you doing here?" Her words came out in squeaks. She looked as far to the side as she possibly could and sank deeper into the water. Her heart was beating so hard into her throat that she felt like she was choking.

"I – I was going to ask you the same thing." May could hardly hear him through the roaring in her ears. She felt the water move as he backed away from her.

"I was just – I mean, I didn't know – I thought that this was the women's side, and I…" Awareness dawned on her. She should've listened to the nurse.

"I – I'm pretty sure that this is the men's side," Steven said. His voice held a slight tremor.

"Yes. I can see that now." Her voice cracked on every word.

Her neck was starting to hurt, but she refused to look at anything but the bamboo wall. Yet again, she'd made a complete fool out of herself in front of this man.

She wanted to duck her head underwater and never resurface.

"I'm… going to leave now," she said, backing up towards the edge of the bath.

"That's… probably for the best," was Steven's strained reply.

With her arms still covering her chest, May turned around and moved through the water as fast as she could. The first thing she was going to do once she got back to her room was summon her Swampert and order him to slap her across the face.

And then, just before she could climb out of the bath, she heard footsteps padding down the stone pathway.

Someone was approaching.

She froze. A complete stranger was about to see the champion in all her naked glory.

Just when she thought the situation couldn't possibly get any worse.

A hand landed on her shoulder.

She flinched. "What are you…?"

Steven pushed her back until she was pressed against the volcanic rocks. Then he leaned forward and braced both hands on either side of her head, effectively shielding her from sight.

"Stay quiet for now," he whispered.

She couldn't have spoken even if she'd wanted to. The part in her brain that converted thoughts into words had completely shut down. If someone were to ask her for her name right now, she wouldn't have been able to say it.

She didn't know where to look. His shirtless self was way too close, completely filling the scope of her vision.

Arceus, had Steven always been so toned? His body was on par with that of a triathlete's. Broad shoulders, well-built arms, and chiseled abs – a combination that put every male swimsuit model to shame.

His head was turned far to the side, just as hers had been. Steam rose from his skin like smoke from a fire, and water droplets ran down the span of his chest, sparkling like diamonds.

She wasn't sure if she wanted to squeeze her eyes shut or stare until her eyes dried out.

The newcomer stepped into the bath.

"Ahhhh, this feels so good." It was Brendan. Of course it was Brendan. May would rather have taken her chances with a complete stranger. If Brendan saw her, he would never let her live this down.

"Steven, that you over there?" Brendan asked. "I can't see that well through the steam."

"Yes –" Steven coughed. "Yes, it's me."

"I was wondering where you'd went. Guess we had the same idea, huh?"

"I guess so."

"What are you doing all the way over there?" The water rippled around Brendan as he took a step closer.

"Don't – don't come near me," Steven said. His voice was shaking.

May bit her lip. Where was his usual composure?

"Why not? Something wrong?" Brendan asked.

"I… I'm feeling a bit under the weather. I don't want to get you sick."

"Dude, seriously? If you don't feel well, go back to the room and lie down."

"I was hoping that – that the steam would help. It seems to be working, but I think you should keep your distance for now. Just in case."

"If you say so."

Brendan sighed contentedly, settling in for a night of relaxation. Steven, on the other hand, remained as taut as a bowstring, his neck still turned to the side.

May stared up at him, willing him to do something. They couldn't stay like this all night.

Still covering her chest, she leaned over and nudged his arm with her shoulder.

He flinched, and then turned his head until he could see her from the corner of his eye.

"Do something," she mouthed.

He nodded, and then turned his head back.

"Brendan," he said.

"Yeah?"

"Lisia was telling me before about your study on shiny pokémon."

"Oh, that? Yeah. Just a little something I'm working on."

"Care to go into more detail? I'm curious."

"Sure, though there's really not much to it. I'm just trying to find out what exactly causes this rare coloration in a pokémon, but…" Brendan sighed. "I'm not having much luck."

"Lisia said you have pictures on your nav?"

"Yeah, but not many. Only about six or seven, and they're all of Zigzagoon."

"I'd still love to see them sometime," Steven said, "since I've never seen a shiny pokémon before."

"Wait, really?"

"Really."

"But like, not even in pictures?"

"Not even in pictures." Steven's voice had steadied. Good, May thought. He was finally getting it together.

"Okay. Wait right there." Brendan climbed out of the bath. "I'm gonna go get my nav."

They waited until his footsteps were no longer audible before they moved.

Steven stepped away until he was on the other side of the bath. He kept his head down.

May moved to the edge of the bath and climbed out. She retrieved her robe from the ground, wrapped it around herself, and then walked along the path as fast as she could without slipping against the wet stone. How she was going to face Steven from this point on, she didn't know.

She bolted through the door.

The nurse looked over. "How was your bath, Champion May?" she asked, unaware that May had just walked in through the men's side.

May swallowed. "Fine, thank you."

She went to the elevator and pushed the button. The doors opened a moment later, and Lisia walked out.

"Oh, May," she said. "Did you see my note?"

"I did," May said. "Where were you this whole time?"

"At the vending machine. The stupid thing wouldn't take my dollar." Lisia tightened the bath towel covering her body.

"Oh… I'm sorry to hear that."

Lisia squinted at her. "Why is your face so red?"

"Because I, uh… I was just in the bath," May said. "The heat must've gotten to me."

"You went in without me?"

"Sorry…"

"No worries, girl. We can go together right now." Lisia grabbed May's hand and started for the right-hand door.

"You know," May said, "I think I'm just going to head back to the room."

Lisia stopped and looked back at her. "Why?"

"I'm feeling a bit overheated at the moment."

"Oh, come on." Lisia started walked again. "You'll be fine. The steam is good for your pores."

They pushed through the door and walked down the pathway. Lisia let her towel fall from her body, and she stepped into the bath.

"This is the best," she sighed. "Come on in, May. The water's fine."

May bit her lip. Steven was still on the other side of the wall, probably wondering why she'd come back after making such a hasty retreat. Maybe if she pretended like nothing was wrong, like nothing had happened between the two of them, then he would follow suit.

May disrobed, and then slipped into the bath.

"Oh my gosh." Lisia was staring at her.

"What is it?" May asked.

"You have such a nice bod."

May reddened. "Lisia…"

"No, seriously." Lisia was still staring. "Your boobs are so big."

May wanted to die.

"Why haven't I ever noticed them before?" Lisia went on. "Ugh, I'm so jealous."

May covered her chest. "Then don't look at them."

"I can't help it. You're like, super skinny, so how do you have boobs that big?"

From the other side of the wall, Steven cleared his throat.

Lisia's eyes went wide. "Did you hear that?" she whispered. "I think there's someone over there." Another beat passed. Then she threw her head back and started laughing.

May sank into the water. How long would she have to keep her nose and mouth submerged until she drowned?

Someone was walking towards the men's bath. "Alright, here it is."

Lisia stopped laughing. "Brendy-boo?" she called. "Is that you over there?"

"Oh, Liz!" Brendan said. "You're here, too?"

"Yup. And so is May."

"Steven, too," Brendan said.

"So it was probably Steven we heard," Lisia whispered.

"Yeah. Probably," May said, her voice flat.

"That's good. Better than a complete stranger, right?"

May pursed her lips.

"Woah, Steven," Brendan said. "You're face is seriously red. You okay?"

"I'm fine," Steven said. "Just… feeling a little overheated."

"Maybe you should go lie down after all."

"I… think I'll do just that," Steven said.

May heard him exit the bath and disappear down the pathway. She knew there was a chance that he would never speak to her again.

"Is he okay?" Lisia asked.

"I don't know," Brendan said. "He said he wasn't feeling well before, and he really didn't look too good just now."

"Aw, poor guy."

"You know," May started, "I think I'm going to head back, too. I'm also not feeling that great." All she wanted to do was crawl into bed and pretend that the past twenty minutes had all been a bad dream.

Brendan groaned. "Oh no. It's spreading. Stay away from me, you sicko."

"Shut up, Brendan."

"You should go see the nurse," Lisia said. "Maybe she can give you something."

"Maybe. I'll see you later." She climbed out of the bath, slipped into her robe, and walked back into the pokécenter.

The nurse didn't notice May's entrance. She was crouched behind the counter, talking into her nav.

"I'm telling you, it was really him," the nurse was saying. "He just came in from the bath and, well, he was in a towel!" She paused. "No, you don't understand. It was just a towel. Nothing else. I swear, my eyes almost melted. I mean, those abs." She sighed. "Why is Steven Stone so hot?"

An excellent question, May thought.


Forty minutes later, May was pacing around the room, still clad in a bathrobe. Her current wardrobe consisted of a tank top and a pair of shorts she'd already worn, both of which were balled up in her bag, and an ash-covered dress that was still lying on the bathroom floor.

In other words, she had no clothes. She couldn't believe that she'd forgotten to pack some.

"Where is he?" she muttered.

There was a low growl at the window.

"There he is." She rushed over to open it. Salamence hovered outside with a large paper bag in his mouth.

He tossed it into the room.

"Thanks, Salamence," she said before withdrawing him back into his pokéball.

She dumped the contents of the bag onto the floor. More tank tops and shorts, two t-shirts, a pair of sweatpants, underwear, socks, a hairbrush, a toothbrush, and a note that read:

Please be safe. –Mom

She changed into a t-shirt and sweatpants, and then shut the lights out and crawled underneath the bed covers.

But she couldn't sleep. What girl could, after seeing what she'd seen that night?

She pulled the covers over her head. Why was she so stupid?

Steven was probably asking the same thing. Actually, he probably wasn't even in his room. He'd probably packed up and gone home after realizing that he'd appointed an idiot as Hoenn's champion.

The thought made her go cold. She pulled the covers back from her head and sat up.

She needed to make sure that he hadn't left her again.

She got out of bed, swiped the key card from the nightstand, and strode out the door.

There was no answer when she knocked on the guys' room.

Her heart flung itself into her throat. Would she find yet another letter addressed to her on the table?

The door opened.

"May?"

Relief coursed through her.

"Sorry to bother you, Steven. I just –" She paused. "I didn't know you wore glasses."

He pushed the square frames up the bridge of his nose. "Only at night."

Like her, he was wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants - a drastic change from his usual suit and tie.

"Here, come in." He stepped to the side.

She walked passed him. "Thanks."

He closed the door but did not venture any further into the room.

May stared at the carpet. "So, um… Brendan's not back yet?"

"No," Steven said. "How about Lisia?"

"Not back yet."

"I see."

The silence that followed couldn't have lasted more than five seconds, but it was still awkward enough to make May want to crawl under the bed and never come out.

"So." Steven cleared his throat. "What brings you here?"

"Oh. Right. Um, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. For… going into the men's bath." She practically choked out that last part.

"No, it's okay. I actually wanted to apologize myself."

"You? For what?"

"Well." He reached up to rub the back of his head. His shirt rode up over his abdomen. May tried, and failed, not to look.

"I shouldn't have grabbed and pushed you against the wall," he said, lowering his arm back to his side. "That was wrong of me."

"No, it's fine. I mean, that was a better option than having Brendan see me naked."

Steven's face reddened. "Er… yes, I suppose that's true."

Finally, he was embarrassed about something. Too bad that something had to be her naked body.

"Uh…" May scrambled to keep the conversation moving. "That was good thinking on your part. You know, when you brought up the whole shiny pokémon thing."

Steven shrugged. "I just said the first thing that came to mind. I didn't think he would leave so easily."

"Good thing he did. Otherwise, we might've been stuck like that through the whole night."

Steven turned red again. "Perhaps."

She clearly wasn't helping the situation. It was best she left now before she could do any more damage.

"Well," she said, "I just wanted to make sure we were good. We're good, right?"

"Yes. We're good."

"Good." She walked passed him. "Well, goodnight."

"May."

She turned to look up at him. "Yes?"

His eyes smoldered behind the lenses like ice-colored lava. The redness in his face was gone, replaced by something else entirely. Something fierce. Something dangerous.

"I would very much like it," he said, "if you didn't test my limits again."


"I haven't heard anything," Flannery said. "Neither has Phoebe, last time she was here."

Another dead end.

"This isn't good," May muttered. Where on earth was Wally?

She wiped sweat from her forehead. The inside of the gym was humid and muggy, like the air in a bathroom after a long shower.

"It's only been a day," Flannery said. "Someone's bound to find him eventually."

"I know. I just hope that he doesn't hurt anyone in the meantime."

"Hey, don't think like that! We've got to stay positive during times like this." The gym leader stretched her arms above her head. "So? What's your next move?"

"As soon as the rest of my group gets up, we're heading up to Fallarbor. I want to make sure that all of northwestern Hoenn has been thoroughly searched before we move on to Fortree."

"It's still early, though. You sure you got enough sleep?"

"I got plenty," May said, even though she'd spent a better part of the night poring over what Steven had said.

I would very much like it if you didn't test my limits again.

What did that mean?

"Well, if there's anything you need from me, let me know," Flannery said. "Lava cookies, medicinal herbs – it's all yours if you say so."

"Thank you," May said, "though I only ask that you stay here and continue to watch over the town."

"You got it."

May exited the gym. Aside from an elderly woman tending her garden, nobody else was outside. The sun was still low in the sky, half-obscured by Mt. Chimney.

"May," Lisia called from the front of the pokécenter. "We're over here."

Her eyes went to Steven. There was no sign of the fierceness he had shown her last night - that was yet another expression he kept shuttered beneath his usual façade.

His eyes locked with hers. What was he thinking about? She wished he would take the mask off for good.

"We were just about to come join you," Brendan said. "What did Flannery say?"

"That she hasn't heard anything."

"Man." Brendan scratched the back of his head. "Not much luck we're having, huh?"

"I know," May grumbled.

"He can't stay hidden forever," Steven said. "We will find him."

"I hope so," she said.

"Where are we going next?" Lisia asked.

"Fallarbor. I want to -" Her nav began to ring.

She dug it out of her pocket and looked at the called ID. It was Winona.

The blood drained from her face. There was only one reason why Winona would be calling now.

She raised the nav to her ear. "Winona?"

"May." Winona sounded breathless. "You need to come to Fortree. Wally – he's here."


May jumped from Salamence's back before he'd even landed.

"Hey!" Brendan called from the back of his Tropius. Her friends were still in the air. "Wait for us!"

She landed in a crouch. "Return, Salamence!" She withdrew him, placed him into her bag, and then bolted into the city.

This was it. Her chance to save Wally - no, her chance to save all of Hoenn, was finally here. She would not falter this time.

And then she saw the damage.

Treehouses were on the ground, reduced to piles of splintered wood. Small fires had sprouted among the fallen leaves. People were climbing over uprooted tree trunks. Terrified screams filled the air.

This wasn't a city - it was a warzone.

May stopped running. Look, her mind said. Look at what you did.

The flood of people rushed past her. One woman barreled into her and almost knocked them both to the ground.

May held the woman's arms to steady her. "Are you okay?"

"I have to get out of here," the woman said, her eyes wide and unblinking. "I have to get out of here."

"Where's Winona?" May asked.

The woman kept trying to step around her. "No, I – I have to get out of here."

May shook her. "Where's Winona?" she repeated.

The woman's head bobbed back and forth as though her neck were a spring. Her eyes finally focused.

Her face crumpled. "Champion. Oh, Champion." She turned and pointed at the gym. "T-there. They're over there."

May started to run again, weaving through the panicked crowd. She heard a sound like cracking thunder, and watched as yet another tree fell in the distance.

She ran faster.

The gym wasn't much further. It appeared to be the only building still standing.

"Winona!" she called.

"May!" Winona was standing in the clearing just outside of the gym's entrance.

There were two students on either side of her. Together they formed a semicircle, and their pokémon – four Swellow and an Altaria – hovered overhead.

And, in the middle of their formation, was Wally.

He was more terrifying now than he'd been on the night of his possession. Dark circles had formed underneath his glowing eyes. His clothes hung off of him in shreds. Twigs and leaves were tangled in his hair. He looked less like a boy and more like a madman.

He took one step forward, and two Swellow dove in to knock him back. He growled and swiped at the air as they retreated back into formation.

May placed herself next to Winona. "How long has he been contained like this?" she asked.

"Not long at all," Winona said. "It was difficult because he can move so quickly. I'm sorry, I…" Her voice was growing thick.

"No, it's okay," May said. "You did good."

Wally looked directly at her. She froze.

"May?" Winona asked. "What's wrong?"

A vicious snarl ripped from his throat, and everything went dark.

Broken walls towered around her, separating her from the rest of the group. Plaster and glass littered the ground. Clouds of brown dust floated through the air.

There was a cut on her face, and a cut underneath her foot. She was bleeding. Swampert was crumpled on the floor. And right above them were the glowing eyes of their defeater.

She'd wanted to find him at all costs. But now that she finally had, all she wanted to do was run.

They were no match for him. And they never would be.

Someone touched her arm. She jumped.

"May."

She blinked. It was light again. She was back in Fortree.

Steven was standing beside her, his hand still on her arm.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

She nodded. "I'm fine."

Skarmory and Tropius dropped in from the sky to join the flock. Brendan and Lisia ran up and stopped beside the other trainers.

Brendan was slowly shaking his head. "This is…"

Lisia was rendered completely silent; she stared at Wally with her hands covering her mouth.

"May," Winona said. "What do we do now?"

Everyone was looking at her.

Right. She was the one in charge.

"We need to paralyze him," she said, digging out her Vileplume's pokéball. "Go, Vileplume!" Her pokémon burst into the scene.

Wally's gaze shifted from one pokémon to the next. Then he turned around to face a part of the forest he had not yet destroyed.

"He's going to run into the trees," May said. "Don't let him get away!"

Another pair of Swellow flew in and pushed him back. Undeterred, he turned the other way and crouched low to the ground like a coiled spring.

"Again," May commanded.

Winona's Altaria stopped him this time. Again, he turned for an opening, and again, the flock plunged towards him like a string of missiles. He jumped back before the last of the Swellow could fly into him. His arm came down fast, and the Swellow hit the ground. It did not get back up.

Its trainer gasped.

May curled her hands into fists. She needed to act now, or he would take out the remaining pokémon one by one.

She looked at the other trainers. "On my signal, your pokémon are going to fly up and away from Wally."

"Away from him?" Winona asked.

"Yes. The range of my Vileplume's Stun Spore is very broad. She needs a clear shot, or she might hit one of your pokémon instead of Wally."

Winona nodded. "Okay."

"Brendan? Steven?" May looked at them. "You guys got that?"

"Yes," Steven said. Brendan nodded.

May looked at her pokémon. "Get ready, Vileplume."

Vileplume fanned her petals.

"On three," she said. "One… two… three!"

The flock flew up like a rising curtain. At the same time, Vileplume's paralyzing spores floated through the air and settled onto the boy like fresh snow.

He jerked like one who'd been stabbed. The muscles in his arms and legs twitched, violently at first, and then slower and slower until he was completely still.

The trainers were just as still, watching and waiting.

Had they really done it? Had they really stopped the biggest threat that had ever happened to Hoenn?

May retrieved the meteorite from her bag, and then closed the distance between her and Wally.

He didn't even blink as she stopped in front of him. Without the feral growl or the swiping claws, Wally was closer to the version of himself that May knew as her friend. All that was left was that glowing blue light.

With the meteorite grasped within her hand, she reached out to him.

His fingers twitched.

Steven's voice pierced through the silence. "Skarmory!"

The pokémon flew down and pushed May to the side right before Wally could grab her. She landed on the ground several feet away.

Wally wasn't done – he launched himself at the next closest person.

Lisia.

"Get down!" Winona tackled the girl to the ground as Wally flew over them.

The gym leader cried out. One of her sleeves was ripped, and on the exposed skin of her arm were bright red scratch marks.

Wally looked back at them, the torn fabric of Winona's shirt caught between his fingers. Then he turned and ran.

Winona gasped. "He's headed for the townspeople!" She scrambled to her feet, one hand clamped over her bleeding arm. "After him!"

Her students and their pokémon were immediately in pursuit.

May cursed through her teeth. She withdrew her Vileplume, and then shoved the pokéball and the meteorite into her bag before getting up and joining the chase. Steven and his Skarmory followed.

Wally darted through the burning remains of the city.

"He's not as fast as he was before," one of Winona's students said.

She was right. His strides were shorter, heavier, as though his legs had been filled with wet sand.

"He must still be afflicted with paralysis," Steven said.

Wally began to twitch again, further backing up the claim. Slowly but surely, they were gaining on him. May felt a small flame of hope light within her.

One more chance. All she needed was one more chance.

They followed him into Route 119.

The townspeople were siphoning into the Weather Institute. Someone looked over, saw the approaching danger, and screamed. Hysteria erupted. People started pushing each other, desperate to make it into the safety of the building. Some threw punches. Some fell to the ground, and some were trampled underneath the panicked mass.

Wally ran onto the bridge, and the crowd screamed even louder. May felt her insides go cold. She wasn't going to make it in time.

An ear-shattering roar ripped through the clouds. A Salamence dropped to the other side of the bridge. Drake was standing on its back.

"Made it just in time," he said.

Wally stopped in his tracks. His pursuers finally caught up to him, and they formed a blockade on the other side of the bridge. Once again, he was trapped.

"We got him," May said, heaving in deep breaths. "We got him."

But she spoke too soon.

With one final growl, Wally jumped into the river below.

The group ran to where he had just stood and looked over the edge. The light of his skin was being swept away by the current.

He was getting away again.

No, May thought. No, no, no, no, no…

She felt the icy coldness before she realized what she was doing.

The current was strong, propelling her forward even though she was making no effort to move. She swam to the surface.

"May!"

She looked up. Steven and Skarmory were right above her. The other trainers and their pokémon were close behind.

"Go ahead of me," she said. "We can't lose sight of Wally."

"What about you?" Steven asked.

"I'll catch up to him." She felt for the strap on her shoulder and reeled her bag in. She rifled through its contents and produced Swampert's pokéball. "Go, Swampert!"

Swampert emerged into the river. He swam close to May, and she climbed onto his back.

"It's too risky for you to chase after him like this," Steven said. "We won't be able to assist you."

"I know," May said. She went back into her bag and retrieved a diving mask. "But we don't have any choice. We can't lose him, Steven. We can't."

"I don't like this," Steven said, but he flew ahead of her.

May slipped the mask on, and then signaled Swampert to dive.

They moved quickly with the current. Schools of Magikarp and Feebas swam by, and soon enough, Wally came into view.

He was swimming near the bottom of the river. Tremors continued to run through his body like an electric current. He never surfaced for air, and as May grew closer, she could see that there were two slits on either side of his neck.

Gills. Another feature that made him less human.

He looked over his shoulder and bared his teeth at them. She tightened her grip on Swampert's shoulders.

He turned his attention to the jagged riverbed. Then he swam down and picked up a boulder that was almost as big as him. He hurled it at his pursuers. Despite the opposing current, it traveled at the speed of a cannonball.

"Rock Smash," May commanded through her air mask.

Swampert reeled his arm back, and then swung it forward. The boulder shattered into a million pieces.

The water was growing deeper. They would soon reach the ocean, whose endless depths could hide anything. Even a boy with glowing skin.

Wally dug his heels into the riverbed, kicking up a cloud of mud and rock. The move wasn't too unlike an Octillery shooting ink to mask its escape.

Undeterred, May and Swampert pressed on.

But they couldn't see the second rock that was thrown until it was too late.

The impact knocked the wind right out of her. She lost her grip around Swampert, and she slid off of his back.

Swampert was unresponsive. He floated with the current, limp as a ragdoll.

May started to panic. Her lungs refused to refill with air. Her vision darkened around the edges, and she began to sink.

Something grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her out of the water. She heard the sound of wings. The mask was removed from her face. Something hard beat against her back. She coughed and gasped as her lungs started to work again.

She was hovering above the river, engulfed by something warm and soothing. Had she died?

"Dammit, May," Steven said, pulling her closer against his chest. "Why do you make me watch you do these things?"


A/N I know the chapter is short, but I have rewritten this chapter more than any other, and I didn't want to keep you guys waiting any longer.

Again, please check out NoLife-Sama's DeviantArt gallery!