Hello everyone I hope you had a good holiday break. Sorry I'm posting late but had a lot of real world stuff come up. Had to go into quarantine due to being in contact with someone who had at an event before the holidays. Anyways I won't babble any further so enjoy!
Ryan was waiting for May to get done with her morning routine as he waited with his father. The tension was less then the previous day but still awkward between them.
"Ryan I'm so proud of you," Norman blurted out.
"What dad?" Ryan said.
"I said I'm proud of you. Starting this journey will bring a lot of hard times but I have a feeling that you'll persevere," Norman said.
"Thanks dad... I love you," Ryan said.
"I love you too son," Norman said as he hugged his son.
May came out and saw the scene as she was happy that Ryan had made up with his dad. She walked out as they finally separated from each other. Ryan was glad him and his dad made up.
"Well dad I got to get going. I'll be coming for you," Ryan said.
"I expect no less son. Bye you guys!" Norman said.
"Goodbye Norman!" May said.
They walked off as Norman waved at them until they were gone in the distance. Ryan was glad he patched things up with his dad as his mother was right for once. They walked towards Route 104. They stopped as a weird looking man was standing in the entrance in front of where they were. A man with a Alolan shirt and sunglasses was waiting for them.
"Hello you two. I'm going to guess you're trainers? Maybe not because of the way your clothes look… but you must be rookie trainers," the man said.
"And who are you?" Ryan asked.
"I'm Scott and I'm looking for the best trainers in the world. I'll be watching you as I have a good feeling about you," Scott said.
He ran off as they continued towards Route 104. They walked around Route 104 as Ryan was ready to start training his pokémon. Ryan stopped as May looked at him confused.
"I wonder if anyone wants to battle?" Ryan asked himself.
"I see a couple of trainers," May said.
Ryan nodded as he decided to train some on the trainers on the route. Ryan was excited to be battling as he battled a couple of trainers alongside the route. Eventually they reached a cottage where a boat was.
"Wow look at the boat!" Ryan said.
"Yeah it's pretty cool," May said.
"Hopefully I'll get to ride one eventually."
They stopped in front of the entrance to the woods of Petalburg as they walked in together. The woods were dark as they were ready to setup camp for the day.
"I hope nothing attacks us while we camp here," May said.
"Don't worry May nothing will happen with me here," Ryan said.
May nodded as she set up her tent. They both went to sleep as they fell into deep slumber. Eventually Ryan heard a pokémon outside his tent. He got out and saw a sloth looking pokémon stealing some food. Ryan scanned his pokédex.
"Slakoth! It sleeps virtually all day and night!" Dexter said.
Slakoth froze as it heard the pokédex go off. Ryan slowly approached the pokémon as it for some reason trusted the boy.
"Do you want to join my team?" Ryan asked.
The sloth pokémon nodded as Ryan got out his poke ball and threw it at the pokémon. It shook a couple of times before clicking. Ryan grabbed the ball as he went back to his tent and fell asleep.
#
Ryan woke up in the morning to the smell of food as he walked out to see what May was cooking. May was making some eggs and toast as it smelled delicious. Ryan was surprised she could cook at the age of fifteen.
"You can cook?" Ryan asked.
"Yeah my mom taught me when I was young," May said.
"Wow that's cool," Ryan said.
May continued cooking as Ryan decided to let his pokémon out to relax. May noticed the newest addition to his team as she wondered when he caught the Slakoth.
"When did you catch that pokémon?" May asked.
"I caught last night messing with my tent. It was very docile so I let it join the team," Ryan answered.
"That's awesome," May said.
"Yeah I should be good for the next gym," Ryan said as he grabbed some food.
They eat their food as they were ready to go for the rest of the day. They were determined to make it to Rustboro by the end of the day. They didn't realize they were being watched by someone they met before. They heard someone yelling as they packed their things quickly and recalled their pokémon. They ran to the source of the yelling and found a scientist being harassed by someone in a blue and white pirate costume.
"Give me the plans to your latest invention!" the pirate yelled.
"I don't have access to those plans!" the scientist screamed in fear.
"Then I'm going to have to force them from you!" the pirate yelled.
Ryan ran up to the pirate as he released a Poochyena. Ryan sent out his newly acquired Slakoth to fight his debut battle.
"Who are you kid? This a Team Aqua affair!" the Team Aqua grunt asked.
"I won't let you bully this man!" Ryan called out.
"Fine then I'll fight both of youse!" the grunt roared.
May caught up to Ryan as she saw him in battle with a what looked like a pirate. She was shocked that Ryan was so brave but knew that he couldn't stand for someone to bully a person.
"Slakoth use scratch!" Ryan yelled.
Slakoth jumped and hit Poochyena with a scratch as it was a critical hit. Poochyena was sent flying back into a tree as it was knocked out. The Team Aqua Grunt couldn't believe his luck as he called back his pokémon.
"You may have won this time kid! We have bigger plans in Rustboro anyways!" the Team Aqua grunt yelled.
He ran off as the girl in the pirate uniform that saved them earlier sat watching the two of them. She grabbed her radio as she pressed the button to report in.
"Matt the mission was a total failure. Something got in the way," she whispered.
She watched Ryan as she got her orders from her boss. She responded with an affirmative about her new objective as she ran off. Ryan and May didn't notice as they were busy taking to the man who was attacked.
"Thank you for saving me. Here take this experience share that the Devon corporation developed," the scientist said.
"No problem sir and thank you for the gift," Ryan said.
The scientist nodded as he went back to catching a Shroomish. Ryan and May walked off as they went to train. Eventually they made it out of the forest and into the the northern part of Route 104.
#
Ryan stepped out of the dense woods of Petalburg Woods as May followed him closely. May saw a blue bird pokémon and went to catch it. May sent out her Mudkip as she wanted to add it to her team.
"Mudkip use water gun!" May called out.
Mudkip fired a stream of water as it hit the bird pokémon directly. It went flying back as it hit the nearby tree. May grabbed a poke ball and threw it at the bird. The ball shook three times and eventually clicked. May ran over to her new catch as she caught her first pokémon.
"Congrats May," Ryan said.
"Awesome!" May shouted in glee.
They continued on their way to Rustboro as Ryan saw the outskirts of the city. They started to run as the sky began to dim into night. They had finally made it to the small beauty of a city. The sun was setting as the evening sky was beautiful with the lights of the city.
"Wow such a beautiful city," May said.
"Yeah let's just hope those Team Aqua people don't try to ruin the mood," Ryan said.
Ryan and May walked to the pokémon center as they checked in and got a room with two beds. They eventually decided to get dinner as they were starving from the trip.
"Let's get some dinner," Ryan said.
"Sure let's go..." May said nervously.
"What's wrong?" Ryan asked.
May looked up into his orange eyes as he wondered what was wrong with May. He knew something was awkward between them as she was never nervous.
"Nothing let's just get some food," May responded.
Ryan nodded as he shrugged it off as just nerves about the contest. May decided to sign up for the contest in the pokémon center. A blonde haired girl with pigtails was blocking the way as she waited for anyone who dared signed up for the contest.
"Excuse me are you signing up for the contest?" May asked.
"Yes I am and the name is Cyndi Flowers," Cyndi said.
"Nice to meet you. I'm May," May introduced.
"You seem a little to plain to be entering a contest," Cyndi laughed.
May was shocked at the rudeness of her fellow competitor. She put her pokédex down on the pad and entered the contest.
"Why do you say that?" May asked.
"Well you shouldn't be entering in contests if you're such a tom boy. Just giving you advice before you embarrassing yourself out there," Cyndi said.
May scoffed as she realized this girl wasn't real friendly. May walked away as the girl laughed. May didn't let it get to her as she was focused on her dinner with Ryan. Ryan noticed the angry look on her face as she was fuming.
"Everything all right?" Ryan asked.
"Yeah..." May said not wanting to explain it to Ryan.
Ryan let it go as he knew that she probably didn't want to talk about it. Ryan and her walked out of the pokémon center and went to a local cafe as they sat down. Ryan was nervous as he had thought about his gym battle. May was also nervous as he contest was in two days. They eat their food quietly as they were thinking to themselves. Eventually they went back to the pokémon center and fell asleep.
#
Ryan woke up bright and early as he decided to go train his pokémon for the upcoming fight at the Rustboro Gym. He saw there was a pokémon training school and decided to check it out. He saw Scott in his Alola shirt and flip flops. He had his sunglasses on as he chatted with the teacher. Ryan approached the two of them as Scott turned around and said hello.
"Ah Ryan I see you made it to Rustboro City. Are you here to train by the chance?" Scott asked.
"Hey Scott I am here to train," Ryan answered.
"Then afterwards you might want to stop by the house next to the pokémon center. He has the move cut that can help you cut down trees," Scott explained.
"Sweet I can't wait to cut down some of those pesky trees," Ryan said.
"Actually you'll have to earn the first gym badge to be able to use it outside of battle," Scott added.
"Ah okay. Well it was nice to see you Scott," Ryan said.
"We'll meet again," Scott said as he walked off.
Ryan thought it was weird that Scott had followed him to Rustboro but shrugged it off as a coincidence. He stepped into the trainer school as he saw many trainers to battle. He began to battle one trainer after another making sure to heal after each time. He eventually made it to the top trainer in the class. He approached the oldest kid in the school who was ten years old. He had brown hair and red basketball shorts. He looked up and laughed as he wasn't surprised his younger peers went down.
"You must be the kid beating all the young ones. You may be older but I can still beat you!" the kid yelled.
"Oh really you think you're all that don't you," Ryan taunted.
"I trained under the gym leader! I know I'm the best!" the boy yelled.
"Fine let's see and battle," Ryan said.
The boy grabbed his poke ball as he sent out a Geodude. Ryan decided it was that Lotad should fight this battle. He sent out Lotad as it cried out.
"Lotad use water gun!" Ryan ordered.
Lotad fired a stream of water as he hit the Geodude who cried out in pain. The boy gritted his teeth as he knew he was screwed.
"Geodude use harden!" the boy said.
The Geodude shined as his body hardened itself raising his defense. Ryan knew he had him right where he wanted him as he decided to do his last move.
"Lotad use mega drain!" Ryan yelled with excitement.
"Oh crud!" the boy said.
The green energy waves surrounded Geodude as it sapped the remaining health it had. It fell to the ground as it fainted. The boy called back his Geodude as he began to cry. Ryan felt bad for the kid as he went up to him.
"Hey don't cry kid... I want you to know that you tried you're best," Ryan said.
"But... But I lost?" the kid cried confused.
"Yes but losing teaches us something," Ryan said softly.
An older girl in a black and magenta blouse and skirt watched the touching moment as she had came in to check in on the kids she use to hang out with when she went here.
"Joey he's right... Hi kid I'm Roxanne," Roxanne introduced.
"You must be the gym leader I take it. My father told me about you," Ryan said.
Joey ran off after learning not to be to cocky as he went to heal his pokémon. Roxanne sat at the teachers desk as Ryan followed. She was curious who this teens father was and how he knew her.
"Who's your father?" Roxanne asked.
"Norman the new gym leader of Petalburg City," Ryan answered.
Roxanne nodded as she could see the similarities between them. She was impressed as she wanted to battle him.
"Come by my gym later on and we'll fight. I got business here though," Roxanne said.
Ryan nodded as he walked out of the trainer school. It was mid afternoon as he decided to find May and eat some lunch with her.
#
May sat alone at the pokémon center as she wondered where Ryan went off too. She decided to call her mom and tell her how she had been feeling about Ryan. She was still confused about her feelings as she went to video phone and dialed the number. Her mom popped up on the screen as she saw the look on her face. Brenda knew she had something on her mind.
"Hey May I assume Ryan and you made it to Rustboro?" Brenda asked.
"Yeah we made it last night. Can I ask you something?" May asked.
"Sure."
"How did you know when you liked dad?"
Brenda got a hint of what May was referring to as she knew love when she saw it. Brenda decided to play dumb and ask why.
"I just knew... why do you ask?" Brenda asked.
"I kind of have a crush... on... oh god... on Ryan," May stumbled finally getting it out.
Brenda was correct as she decided to give her some advice. She wanted to know if Ryan was even aware of the fact she liked him.
"Does Ryan know?" Brenda asked.
"No he's totally clueless... I worry he won't like me back if I tell him," May said.
"Don't worry most boys his age are like that. Plus he's worried about the pokémon league. Maybe you should hint at it. Dress really nice and do your hair," Brenda suggested.
"That's sounds like a good idea mom," May said.
"Just don't rush things... let it take it's course and when it happens it will be more meaningful then rushing things."
"Thanks mom. I got to go and find a dress for the pokémon contest. I'll talk to you soon," May said.
Brenda nodded as she waved goodbye. May felt a pair of hands on her shoulder as she turned around and saw Ryan with a smile.
"Jeez don't do that you scared me!" May shouted.
"Sorry... so want to get some lunch before we go shopping?" Ryan asked.
"How much of the conversation did you hear?" May asked worried.
"Only the goodbye. Why? Were you talking about me?" Ryan asked.
"Maybe but I won't tell you," May laughed nervously.
"Okay let's get going then," Ryan said.
She nodded as she grabbed her bag and put on her back. They grabbed a sandwich from the poke mart as they scarfed it down. They went to the dress shop as she saw a familiar girl shopping there as well.
"Well well if it isn't the tom boy. I thought I told you never had a chance. Who is this your boyfriend?" Cyndi said.
"Shut up Cyndi!" May yelled.
"Tsk Tsk such a tom boyish attitude. You might as well quit cause I'm going to stomp the floor with you," Cyndi said.
May was about to say something when Ryan got in between them. He was mad that someone would say horrible things about his only friend in the region.
"You're just jealous of the sweetest girl in the Hoenn region. Now go alone and leave us alone!" Ryan yelled angry at Cyndi.
Cyndi laughed as she walked out of the shop. May was flabbergasted at the heroic defense that Ryan did. She was glad that he defended her.
"Thank you Ryan... that was really sweet," May whispered as she hugged him.
"No problem... you've been nothing but nice to me since I came to the region. I think you're unique and that will impress the judges," Ryan said.
May melted at the words as she felt great getting compliments from the boy she liked. She decided to try on a couple of dresses as Ryan waited for her to come out. They would spend the rest of the afternoon dress shopping as May's event was tomorrow.