Penny in the Air

Chapter 4

I finally got inspiration! Thank you to my reader Mew Suger and my beta reader Morohtar Singod. They fed my plot bunnies.

Also, I decided that instead of having Steven leaving a Beldum behind in his house after May becomes Champion that he would have given it to her a while before so that she now has a Metagross.

Key:

Thoughts

Memories (dialogue straight from the game.)

xXxXx- line break

XxXxX- point of view change

Onwards we go.

xXxXx

"Hey Brawly, hey Medicham. It's been awhile, hasn't it?"

The blue-haired man looked up from where he and his Pokémon were sitting. "May." Brawly stood up. "I thought you would be at Ever Grande City by now."

The young woman smiled as she dismounted her Altaria. "I was. Return, Jlutem." The Altaria disappeared into her poke ball. "I challenged and I lost."

Brawly gave the young woman that he had begun to think of as a younger sister a comforting hug. "I'm sorry."

May smiled and hugged back. "I'm fine and its okay. I think I needed this loss."

"You did kinda just whip through the all the Gyms and those two Teams." Brawly turned to return his Medicham to its poke ball and missed the confused pained look that flashed across the girl's face. "So which of the Elite Four gave you your first loss? Or was it the champion?"

"No, I didn't make it that far." She laughed. "I lost to Sidney. I gave him a run for his money, but couldn't win."

Brawly looked May over. "So what are you doing here? Not that it isn't nice to see you, but you aren't someone who will leave a challenge unfinished."

May glared at Brawly. "I'm not giving up. I need to train some before I try again though. I was thinking of training in Granite Cave. That is, if it is okay with you?"

"It's fine, but why here? Why not train on Victory Road?"

She looked out over the water for a while. "Victory Road is rather noisy actually. Lots of other Trainers looking for battles. I want to train in some quieter areas for a while. Get all my thoughts sorted out." And all my feelings worked out as well.

"Have you gone and seen your dad? Maybe talked to him?"

"Why?"

"Well, most Trainers have had their first loss long before they reach the Elite Four. Heck, most Trainers don't even reach the Elite Four." Brawly gestured emphatically. And none that I've heard of that have were this calm about it.

"I'm fine! I'm actually glad that I lost. It gives me some time. I really need to get my head on straight." May turned and faced the direction of the cave. "I'm going to head to the cave now, so I guess I'll see you later Brawly!"

"Wait, you sure you don't need to stop by the store before you go?"

She glanced back over her shoulder. "I'm good. Besides, Ever Grande's store has a much better selection than the one in Dewford!"

Laughing, May dashed off leaving Brawly spluttering.

xXxXx

Once she entered Granite Cave, May let her smile fade away with a sigh.

"Hruno, come on out." May released her Blaziken.

Hruno looked around and chirped in recognition as he gently wrapped his Trainer in a warm hug.

"So you recognize this place huh? It's been a while since we first came here to deliver that letter to Steven." May leaned into her Fire/Fighting Type starter. "Let's go find a good place to train."

xXxXx

"Julp, Tluais, Jlutem, Yuso, Yulem. Come on out you guys." A Mightyena, Shiftry, Altaria, Froslass, and a Metagross appear besides Hruno.

The Mightyena Julp dashed to May's side. "Hey girl. How you feeling?" She looks at the other Pokémon as they gathered around her. "How are ALL of you feeling? I'm sorry that I wasn't…that I wasn't able to lead you guys straight to victory. Let's get stronger. Strong enough that we never lose again."

XxXxX

"I didn't expect her to be HERE." Archie, the ex-Leader of Team Aqua, said as he kept out of sight around a corner of the cave's passage way. "I came here because very few Trainers come to this cave to train."

"I thought she would be training at Victory Road." The red-headed ex-Leader of Team Magma spoke, standing at a distance with his arms crossed.

"What the hell are you doing here anyway?" Archie glared at his long-time rival.

Maxie glanced away, in the direction where the girl that had brought both men to their knees was training. "I…wanted to…never mind."

"You're acting odd, Max." Archie leaned back against the cave wall, scratching at his beard. "What do you want?"

Maxie hesitated for a moment longer before speaking. "What do you think of May?"

"She's a pain in the ass. Over confident with a ridiculous sense of justice. I wouldn't care at all if she got hurt." Archie looks over at May. "Wait, is that girl actually sparring with her Blaziken?!"

"What?!"

XxXxX

"All right guys. That's enough for the day. We're all getting tired and I don't want to push you too hard. We'll take our time with this training, so let's head back to Dewford." May stood up, carefully stretching her muscles after her little sparring session with Hruno.

She returned her Pokémon to their poke balls and began to head towards the cave entrance, but a flash of lavender caught her eye.

"What was…?" A small Pokémon comes barreling towards her and crashed into her legs. "A Whismur? This isn't where you normally live. What are you doing here?"

A roar sounds from the direction in which the small Pokémon had come. May gathers the Whismur up in her arms as loud footsteps approach from the direction.

Two giant, furious Hariyama approached. Terrified, the small Whismur let out shriek as loud as a jet plane.

The sound echoes violently around the cave, causing the Hariyama to flinch.

May staggered for a moment before the sound overwhelmed her and she fainted.

XxXxX

Maxie had noticed the Whismur about to screech and quickly gotten Archie to plug his ears until the final echo faded.

When they were able to unplug their ears, they looked and saw the two Hariyama approaching an unconscious May and a trembling Whismur.

"Dammit." Archie grabbed one of his poke balls and dashed over to the still body. "Vamp! Use Aerial Ace! Take down those Hariyama."

A Crobat flew out and swooped around the Hariyama for a moment, distracting it from its original victim. Flying up towards the cave's ceiling, it dropped, slashing the fighting type with its sharp wings.

Maxie arched one of his brows as he removed the poke ball that contained his own Crobat. "Night, use Air Cutter on the other one."

Night flew at high speeds around the second Hariyama, swiftly turning the air following behind into razors that sliced into fighting type.

The two Crobats flew swiftly around the Hariyama, eventually knocking them out. Quietly both of the flying- types returned to their Trainers, settling on their shoulders.

Archie walked over to May's still form and scooped her up into his arms.

"Oh yes." Maxie followed the other man as Archie carried the girl to where he had set up camp. "You couldn't care at all."

"Shut up Max." Archie settled May onto the sleeping bag. "Dammit, I can't tell if she's seriously hurt or not. I don't suppose that you could check her over while I try and get a fire started?"

Maxie released a Torkoal. "I'll check on her and Torch can either start a fire or heat things for you."

Maxie carefully examined May for external injuries while Archie warmed berries and water on the Torkoal's back.

"Why did you ask me that earlier?" Archie asked, carefully keeping his face turned away from the other.

"…Because I wanted to know." Maxie's voice was quiet, barely carrying across the space between them. "I wanted to find out if…"

"If I was going to be your rival in a different way this time?" Archie settled back and looked at the red head over his shoulder. "Max you do realize that the chances of her feeling anything but hate for us are extremely slim right?"

"Yeah." Maxie sighed. "How long have you been in—"

"Let's not actually say the word, all right? I'm still trying to wrap my head around it." Archie tossed some of cooked berries at Maxie. "I think that I always kinda did though. Ever since I first laid eyes on her."

"I came to see what was taking so long to snatch some parts, and you simps are held up by a mere child?" Archie takes a few steps closer to May. "We are Team Aqua, and we love the sea! And I am Team Aqua's leader, Archie! What makes you interfere with us? ...No! You can't be! You're not one of Team Magma? Wait, that can't be right. You're not dressed for the part." Archie is silent for a bit. "Pokémon, people…All life depends on the sea. So, Team Aqua is dedicated to the expansion of the sea. Don't you agree? What we are doing is a magnificent undertaking. Ah, fine… You're still too young to understand our noble objective. But, I warn you, don't even consider interfering with our plans again. The consequences will cost you dearly! And don't you forget it!"

Archie chuckled quietly as he remembered how he had acted when he first met the girl. "What about you? When do you think you…"

"The same I guess. She's just so captivating." Maxie caught the berries and popped one into his mouth. "The way she battles, as if each order she gives isn't an order but a suggestion."

"As if she's not having the Pokémon battle for her, but rather with her?"

"Yeah."

"The power contained in the Meteorite… By amplifying its power with this machine, Mt. Chimney's volcanic activity will instantly intensify… Its energy will grow deep inside the crater and… Fufufu…" Maxie notices May and turns around. "Hm? Who are you?" Maxie is silent for a bit. "I'd heard Archie bemoaning a child who's been meddling in Team Aqua's affairs. It must be you he meant. Humph! So you're thinking of interfering with us, Team Magma? Now you listen. Long ago, living things used this land to live and grow. That is why land is all important! It is the cradle of all! That is why Team Magma is dedicated to the expansion of the land mass. It is for further advancement of humankind and Pokémon! And for that, we need the power of what sleeps within this mountain…Oh! There was no need for you to learn that much. But, no matter! I'll teach you the consequences of meddling in our grand design!"

"You know if either of us have even a sliver of a chance with her, I don't think it would be you." Archie fished around in his bag for a moment.

Maxie glared at his back. "And why is that?"

"Because I didn't attack her the very first time I met her." Archie pulled out a poke ball. "I wonder why she didn't bring one of her Pokémon out to help her though. They could have easily taken care of those Hariyama. How is she doing, by the way?"

"She seems to be okay. She'll probably have a bad headache when she wakes up though." Maxie gently brushed some of May's hair off of her face, deciding to ignore Archie's last jibe. "As for why she didn't release one of her Pokémon, I have a couple of theories. She might have thought they were too tired and didn't want to strain them anymore. I think it is more that it all happened so quickly that she didn't have time to call one of them out."

"Mighty, come on out." Archie's Mightyena appeared from the poke ball he had retrieved. "Can you keep watch? I want to get some rest."

The Mightyena yipped and went to the perimeter of the camp. Halfway there, a second Mightyena joined him. Seeing this Archie looked over his shoulder at Maxie.

"What? I am not going to leave my safety solely to your Pokémon. Hunter can probably do a better job anyway."

A sound causes the both of them to tense. When they turn to its source, they see May's bag moving.

"Perhaps we should let one of her Pokémon out as well; it may make them feel less like we are going to hurt her." Maxie gently opened the bag and withdrew one of the red poke balls that were stored there.

The Pokémon released was another Mightyena, a female who growled at them and curled protectively around her Trainer.

"Chill girl. We're just keeping an eye on her while she's out. Here, have these berries." Archie tossed some Sitrus and Leppa berries in front the Pokémon. "You're Julp, right? Why don't you stay near May while our Pokémon keep their eyes on the perimeter?"

Julp carefully examined the berries before quickly gobbling them up and settling closer to her precious Trainer.

Archie and Maxie looked at the sweet scene for a few minutes before turning and settling themselves for some rest.

xXxXx

Author's Note: Whoa. There is a lot of dialogue in this chapter. I have no idea if this will be how every chapter is, because the plan for this story is very vague. I started this story with no plan at all. That plan is slowly forming, I hope you all stick with me for this journey.

I am going to try working on my stories in a cycle. The next Pokémon story that I will work on is 'Taking Over the Shadows'. If you haven't had a look at the prologue which I have up, you might enjoy it.

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