Chapter 2

I do not own these characters!

Archie

He was confused by the way he reacted to her.

This kid who always got in the way of his goals. After all she had done to him, he should hate her but each time he saw her he only felt a gentle warm feeling he didn't understand.

When she wiped out his rival he hoped she might join him, hoped with all his heart, but then she wiped out his organization as well. The feelings he had at the moment were so conflicting.

The warm feeling in his chest seemed to have a hint of pride for her as she finished him off, but the part of him still so invested into his Team was hurt. Hurt that they could lose, seemingly so easily, to what he saw at the time as a child. And hurt for some other reason, too. He felt like he had been betrayed. But none of his people had betrayed him and the girl had never been on his side, had never made any deals with him.

She didn't have the overconfidence of other young trainers, but she was sure and determined, never once doubting her Pokémon, never once doubting what she saw as right. After she had defeated him he wasn't surprised when she continued her original journey, when she got the rest of the eight Badges she needed to challenge the Elite Four. He and his rival had just been another delay in her journey, and that thought caused him even more pain.

Pain which returned with a vengeance each time he was forced to go into a town for much needed supplies and she was there visiting someone, getting another badge, or getting supplies as well. When he was forced to go to Mossdeep when he ran out of water, he saw her leaving the Gym with that rather adorable look of shock, he could tell she had won. When he ran out of food and had to stop at Sootopolis he saw her once enter the Gym there. By the time he had gotten what he needed to be on his way, she was just coming out. Her Blaziken walked at her side, whether because it had just won the final Gym battle or because she had forgotten to return it to its- no him to his- poke ball he couldn't tell.

She couldn't seem to tear her eyes away from her Badge case. She seemed utterly flabbergasted. Her Blaziken kept looking over her shoulder and cooing happily, also seeming rather surprised. He couldn't help but smile at their reactions to their win. He remembered all the times she won a battle against his organization. She and her Pokémon would get practically identical looks on their faces, seeming to say Wait, it's over already? Wait, we WON? At this point, after watching her battle so often he would have been more surprised if the badges had been difficult for her to get.

He had watched her enter Ever Grande, unable to stop himself from seeing that look at least one more time and now he saw her exit. He expected her to be excited about her win. Instead she seemed sad as she cradled her six poke balls close. He realized that she had lost. How many of the Elite Four did it take to take her down? She looked down and he could no longer see her face. Suddenly the determined look she always wore returned to her gentle face as she looked at the sky, the sky that matched her eyes.

He smiled; unsurprised by her refusal to give up, just like she had never stopped against him. The warm feeling she always gave him grew even more and he finally understood. Archie, former leader of Team Aqua, had fallen in love. The object of his love was his former opponent, May. That was why, when he and Maxie had returned the orbs, he had felt irritated when Maxie had gone back and gently called the girl's name. So irritated that he wanted to punch Maxie in the face when he drew level with him again?

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New Author's Note: And redone two!

Author's Note: This is Archie's point of view!

I am not a writer! I am a puppet controlled by fictional characters!