Here is the second upload for today. Now this chapter was really frustrating to write as I messed something up and had to rewrite the enitre chapter. Anyways I won't babble on anymore here is chapter nine.
Ryan woke up early as he decided he should shower before waking May up. He brushed his teeth and hopped into the warm shower as he scrubbed his body. He eventually got out and got dressed in his gear. He slipped on his white beanie and looked in the mirror. He was satisfied with his outfit as he was ready to go. He opened the door and saw that May was still in bed. He decided to let her sleep in some as Route 110 was the longest route they would be traveling for a good while. He laid back down in his bed as he drifted off slowly. About an hour passed as May woke up with a dressed Ryan sleeping in his bed.
"Wake up Ryan," she whispered.
"Mom... just give me five more minutes," Ryan mumbled.
May giggled as she decided to play a joke on him. She screamed as loud as she could as Ryan shot up looking around.
"What the heck May?" Ryan asked shocked.
"Got you, didn't I?" May asked laughing.
Ryan smiled as he was glad she wasn't taking her loss so seriously. He got up and switched on the tv to check the weather. Route 110 would be rain free as he was glad. May took a shower and got dressed as she came out in her blue athletic clothes.
"You look nice today," Ryan said.
"Thanks. Let's get some breakfast cause I'm starving," May said.
Ryan nodded as they walked out to the pokémon center lobby where they were serving breakfast. They picked up some eggs and toast as they began to eat.
"So, you're not disappointed in your loss?" Ryan asked.
"I mean I'm disappointed but proud cause I was one point away from winning. I'm also ranked number four in the Hoenn region," May answered.
"Well, I'm glad you still can do it," Ryan said.
May nodded in agreement as she looked at her boyfriend in his orange eyes. She was still wondering why he had that reaction in the museum but decided to keep it to herself.
"I just hope this next gym isn't as hard as last time. I'm nervous to face Wattson," Ryan admitted.
"Ryan you're probably the best trainer I've ever known. If you really put your mind to it you can to anything," May said.
Ryan nodded as he was glad May had confidence in him. He finished his toast and eggs as he went to get some fresh berries. He grabbed some Oran berries and Pecha berries. He grabbed some for May as she thanked Ryan for the berries.
"Wow these are pretty good," Ryan said.
"Oh yeah that's right these aren't common in the Johto region," May said.
Ryan loved the sweet taste of the Oran berry he eat. He decided to try the Pecha berry as he bit into the pink fruit and melted in comfort as the berry was very fresh and sweet.
"Wow so good... I wish we had these in Olivine CIty," Ryan said.
"Yeah, well we better get going," May suggested as she had finished her berries.
Ryan nodded as he finished his last Pecha berry and got up with May. They checked out of the pokémon and grabbed their monsters. Pikachu was happy to see May as she jumped up on her shoulder. They walked out of the center as they proceeded towards Route 110.
#
Ryan reached about a quarter of the way through Route 110 before they stopped to take a break. Route 110 was one of the tougher routes on the trainers of Hoenn. The cycling bridge was above them as they wished that they had bikes to whiz through this route.
"We should take a break," May suggested.
Ryan agreed as he sat down in the soft grass. May sat across from him as he was cute looking. He pulled out his sandwich and began to eat as it was midafternoon. They had been traveling all morning as they were close to the eastern side of Route 103. Ryan was impressed as May got a call on her phone from her mom. She had yet to update her mom on her contest as she answered.
"Hey honey where are you?" Brenda asked.
"I'm on route 110," May said.
Brenda nodded as she wondered if her daughter won the contest last night. May was nervous telling her that she lost but knew it was inevitable.
"Did you win?" Brenda asked.
"Unfortunately, no... I did at least lose by a point," May said.
"That's great! I'm sure you'll win eventually," Brenda said.
May nodded as she knew time was running out for her to qualify for the finals. She knew that she had no more time to mess around as it was time to take this seriously.
"Well, I'll let you get back to enjoying the fresh air with your boyfriend," Brenda teased.
"Mom!" May laughed.
"Bye honey love you."
"Love you too mom."
May hung up the phone as she looked at her boyfriend who was getting up. Lunch was pretty much over as they decided to continue on the long route. They walked towards Route 103 as they saw a weird looking house. They knocked on the door as they were curious who lived here. The door opened as they walked in concerned that someone had broken in. They saw a standard living room as Ryan felt the feeling of being watched.
"Feels like someone is watching us..." Ryan said.
"I think someone is watching us," May said.
They looked around as they finally found the man hiding in a dresser. He came out from under it as he laughed.
"Looks like you found me!" the man laughed.
"Who are you?" Ryan asked.
"I'm the trick master. I have a big maze below that you can explore. However, I require that you have more gym badges," the trick master said.
Ryan nodded as he knew that the Dynamo badge was required to compete in the maze. They shook hands as they walked out of the house. They walked to Route 103 as Ryan needed to train his pokémon for the next gym. He battled a couple of trainers as May trained her pokémon. Her Mudkip glowed as it evolved into a Marshtomp. Ryan saw this and ran over to congratulate her.
Wow cool your pokémon evolved," Ryan said.
"Wow I got a Marshtomp now," May said.
"Well, I'm pretty much done here. Let's get going to Mauville city," Ryan suggested.
May nodded as she followed Ryan who battled one more trainer. Ryan had been training Slakoth all day as he beat the trainer. Slakoth began to glow as Ryan knew he was evolving into a Vigoroth. Ryan was glad that his pokémon finally evolved. Ryan called back his Vigoroth as he continued to Mauville City.
#
Ryan and May were walking on Route 110 as they saw a group of weird people in red hoods. They both hid behind the tree as they listened to what they had to say.
"We have to get to Mount Chimney for the bosses next mission," the man said.
"Well let's take a break then in Mauville and get going later," the purple haired female said.
The rest agreed as they headed off towards Mauville City. Ryan looked at May who knew that this had to be some trouble brewing at Mount Chimney. Ryan sighed as he hated that two evil teams could be vying for control of the world as he couldn't believe his luck. He remembered as a kid when Team Rocket tried to take over the radio tower in Goldenrod City two years ago. He was scared they would take over the world. Comparing them to Hoenn however they were tame compared to Team Aqua and these red hood bandits.
"Will we ever get a break?" May asked.
"I doubt it considering we have two evil teams instead of one," Ryan said sarcastically.
"I'm seriously worried for the fate of the Hoenn region. If we don't find a way to defeat them then we're screwed," May said.
"Don't worry they seem harmless and plus I'll stop them," Ryan said.
May nodded as she trusted Ryan with her life. She felt his true self was about to awaken as he had something special about him. They reached the outskirts of Mauville City which was a walled city with four entrances. The city was known as the hub of Hoenn due to the four ways you could leave the city. They walked into the city walls holding hands. They immediately went through the walls as they stepped into the inner city part. They rushed to the pokémon center to check in for the evening as the sun fell. They stopped as they saw Wally waiting around in front of the pokémon center.
"Hey Wally!" May called out.
Wally turned around and waved at the two as he ran up to them. Ryan was glad to see that his friend was doing okay.
"Wally how are you doing?" Ryan asked.
"I'm doing great Ryan. I see you have two gym badges," Wally said.
"Yeah, how are you doing on the gym challenge?" Ryan asked.
"Well, it's complicated... My uncle is hesitant to let me challenge the gyms," Wally admitted.
Ryan nodded as he knew that his rival would get behind if he didn't hurry. Ryan then had an idea pop into his head.
"What if we battled with your uncle watching and prove to him you want to take on the gym challenge," Ryan suggested.
"That's a terrible idea... Your light years ahead of me," Wally said.
"Wally, we need to convince him somehow. Even if you lose your uncle won't be scared to let you travel on your own," Ryan explained.
"Yeah, Wally your uncle will listen to us," May said.
Wally pondered the thought for a while before he decided that it couldn't hurt. The worst that could happen is that he would say no and take them back to Verdanturf where they were going to live.
"All right I'll meet you later in front of the gym," Wally said.
Ryan nodded as he gave Wally a fist bump. Wally scampered off to go find his Uncle as the city was huge compared to Slateport. They walked into the pokémon center and checked in. It was early evening as they got showered and changed for a night out in the town. Ryan was excited to get exploring the city.
#
Ryan and May decided the first place to visit would be Rydel's bicycle shop as they needed some bikes to travel the rest of the region. They walked into the shop as they saw the shop owner with long hair and a bandana sitting at the counter. He perked up as he saw the shoes of Ryan and May.
"Hello, you must have come from afar right?" Rydel asked.
"We come from Littleroot," May answered.
"Oh, my that's pretty far away. Look I normally charge for my bikes, but I have a feeling you could advertise my bikes by riding them across the region," Rydel suggested.
He grabbed two bikes and handed them to the couple as they looked at each other. Ryan decided to go along with the free bikes as he folded the foldable bike.
"Thank you for the free bikes," May said.
"No problem!" Rydel said.
They walked out of the shop as the moon shone over the glass dome above. The rays of light refracting through the glass were beautiful as May stared at the moon.
"Pretty isn't?" Ryan asked.
"Yeah, it is," May said.
They walked to a shuttered building of what used to be the game corner. Ryan read the note that said they shut down due to unforeseen circumstances. Ryan was disappointed as he wanted to play at the arcade really badly. They walked towards the Crooner's cafe as they sat down and ordered some drinks.
"Man, it sucks that the game corner is closed," Ryan said.
"Yeah, I heard that parents tried to get banned due to them participating in illegal gambling," May said remembering the story on the news a few months ago.
The waitress called out their names as they grabbed their food and went back to sit down. Ryan was hoping that Wally would be outside the gym tomorrow as he wanted his new friend to experience life without his family interfering. He deserved to a least try the gym challenge.
"What's wrong Ryan?" May asked.
"Just thinking about Wally for some odd reason," Ryan answered.
"I know you think it's unfair that his uncle won't let him take on the gym challenge. I happen to agree with you," May said.
"I just think not doing anything out of fear is robbing you out of chance of the lifetime. I mean if he fails at least he learned something," Ryan explained.
"Maybe you should tell his uncle that after the battle," May said.
Ryan nodded in agreement as he was feeling tired from the day. He felt like he was going to collapse for some reason as he slowly got up. He fell to the ground as May ran to his side.
"Help! My friend collapsed!" May called out.
A nurse from the pokémon center rushed up during her break as she checked his vital signs. They noticed his hands were glowing with a symbol that was green. Ryan eventually woke up again as he looked at the nurse who was helping him up.
"What... happened?" Ryan asked weakly.
"The weird thing with your hands happened," May said.
"Everything seems fine with him. I would suggest resting for a bit," the nurse said.
May and Ryan nodded as they got up and she propped him against her shoulder and escorted him to the pokémon center to get some sleep. She helped him into his bed as he had a pounding headache.
"Get some rest," May said as she kissed him on the cheek.
He knocked out quickly as he was exhausted. May wondered what that symbol meant on his hands. It looked similar to the symbol they saw in Granite Cave with Steven. She got dressed in her sleep clothes and climbed into bed and fell asleep.
#
#
Ryan woke up in his bed as he had the same dream over again. He saw the silhouette of mysterious pokémon as he heard the shrill cry of a pokémon not from this planet. The pokémon was on a meteor as he tried to remember the hazy dream. He decided to to take a walk in the city. He got up and quietly walked out the room as he walked out the empty pokémon center. He walked into the domed city as he just walked around by himself. He thought about the dream he had as he remembered the silhouette of a mysterious pokémon from space. He swore he a saw another pokémon bearing the symbol similar to ones in Granite Cave. He turned around as he ran into an older gentleman with white hair and a beard. He had on yellow jumpsuit and a camouflage jacket with lightning bolts.
"Oh, crud sorry about that," Ryan said.
"Oh, it's fine... Hey are you trainer?" the old man asked.
"I am... why do you ask?" Ryan asked.
"I'm the gym leader known as Wattson. I assume you'll be challenging me tomorrow?" Wattson asked.
"Yeah, I heard you use electric types in battle," Ryan said.
"You bet kid. Do you wanna hear the story of the city that I rebuilt?" Wattson asked.
Ryan nodded as he found the hub of Hoenn to be very interesting. He wondered if Wattson had any involvement in Sea Mauville.
"Did you build that abandoned research facility by Slateport?" Ryan asked.
"Ah so you passed it while coming here... Despite being a habitat for rare pokémon I consider it one of my worst failures," Wattson said.
"What happened?" Ryan asked with curiosity.
"Well, when New Mauville failed the research facility eventually failed with it. Then my company went under after I finished with the renovation of the main city," Wattson explained.
Ryan felt bad as he knew that Wattson put a lot of blood and sweat into making his city a better place.
"I'm sorry I asked Wattson..." Ryan apologized.
"Don't apologize we all make mistakes, and the important thing is that we learn from them," Wattson said cheerfully.
Ryan nodded in agreement as he saw the sunrise from the dome structure. They both arrived at the pokémon center as they stopped.
"Well, you should get prepared for today. I hope to see you real soon," Wattson said.
Ryan extended his hand as Wattson shook his hand. Wattson embraced him in a tight hug as Ryan laughed.
"See you at the gym kid," Wattson said as he separated from Ryan.
"Just remember who's gonna win," Ryan said with confidence.
"Now don't underestimate me I can pack a punch," Wattson joked.
Ryan nodded as he decided to dial down the cockiness back. He didn't want to be a cocky trainer as he didn't want to seem better than others.
"See you on the battlefield kid," Wattson said as he walked off.
Ryan was pumped as he walked into the pokémon center. Ryan opened the door into his room as he laid back down in his bed to go back to sleep.