Okay these chapters are going to start getting a little longer now that I've gotten the groove of things again! Let me know what you guys think and I can make edits to the style or flow accordingly! You guys are amazing, and thank you so much for reading!
May stood at the entrance of Littleroot town with her arms crossed and a nervous expression on her face. It was still morning-time so the walk should only take them until mid afternoon, however that's not what worried her. "This is a bad idea…" She mused, letting her hand drop to her hip and gently trace her finger around the ball on her hip. A bit of worry left her, remembering she was a Pokemon trainer now. Things would be different for sure. She clenched her hand and looked up in determination.
There was no way that Brendan would be brushed off by his father now that he was a trainer too!
"May!" An excited voice rang out, catching her attention. Her childhood friend raced up to her with beaming happiness on his face, Suzaku following a little bit behind. In his arms he was carrying a plastic container and as he got closer she could see what looked like bread in it. She watched him stop in front of her before pulling off the lid and offering one of the small breaded treats to her. "Here! Try this. I think I did a pretty good job!"
The girl hesitantly took the poffin and examined it. "You made this?" She asked suspiciously, blue eyes scanning every corner of the food looking for a label or something. When she didn't find anything she pulled off a small piece and popped it into her mouth. Her tastebuds were assaulted with an almost overwhelming sweetness with a hint of tang. Her eyes popped open and she took another, much larger bite. It was much better than she was expecting it to be so she shoved the rest of it into her mouth before realizing what she was doing and slowly shifting her eyes up at him. Her mouth was covered in crumbs and Brendan wore a smug expression on his face, pleased to see her wolfing down his work. To save face, she swallowed the bite, wiped her face and crossed her arms "It's not bad, could use some work though. I wouldn't buy these just saying."
Her words stung just slightly, and he pulled off his backpack and slipped the container inside. "Fine, no more for you." This got a reaction from her who held up her hands, waving them as if to get him to slow down.
"Let's not be too hasty…" The awkward laugh revealed her to be firmly in the palm of his hand. Realizing that this was a no-win argument, she decided to do the next best thing: shift the conversation. "So we're heading to Petalburg right? We'll have to go through Oldale town to get there. Thankfully, your good friend has come prepared!" She reached into her yellow fanny pack and pulled out a bottle filled with a strange purple liquid with a nozzle and handle at the top. "Courtesy of dad. A potion for each of us just in case our Pokemon get hurt. He reached out and took the bottle, examining it before putting it into his bag as well.
"Hopefully we don't have to use it, but remind me to thank the Professor later!" Rising back to his feet, and with one swift motion, he slung the bag back over his shoulder, single strap crossing his chest. Suzaku, who was offended that he wasn't brought to the boy's shoulder as well, pecked at his shoe with a slight annoyance only to be scooped up with a quick apology. "Jeez you really like it up here don't you?" The chick chirped with delight, hopping up and down slightly to demonstrate its enthusiasm.
May couldn't help but turn away from the sight. They were so stinkin cute together that it wasn't fair at all. She took a second to fan her red face, trying to calm it down before he noticed. "Where's Mudkip?" He asked curiously, looking around where the fish might be hiding. This brought the girl back to earth, managing to wipe the grin plastered on her lips away before turning towards him and patting the ball on her hip.
"She's napping in her ball. I think she had too much to eat." Brendan nodded in response and turned towards the gate, taking a deep breath in preparation before letting it out. He did this a few more times, each a bit longer and louder, before his eyes snapped open with a much more determined expression on his face. May approached him from behind and clapped him on the shoulder, tilting her head as if to say "Let's get going"
Together they stepped back into route 101, and the air almost instantly changed around them. This was their first time out on their own with permission and, for them, it was pretty liberating. Unable to contain their excitement any more, the duo nodded at each other before dashing off into the route together laughing loudly. They weren't as cautious as they normally would be when entering the waist high tall grass, so they accidentally spooked a few Zigzagoon who bolted away. "Sorry about that!" Shouted the boy after the wild Pokemon who bolted back and forth out of sight.
They waded further on for a while, when suddenly another Zigzagoon popped out. This one was growling at the intruders and let out a few short shouts as a warning not to get any closer. May confidently smirked and declared, "Perfect! I want to see what Mudkip and I are capable of together." Expertly, she snatched the ball from the holster, and pressed the center button to enlarge it. "Alrighty Mudkip! I'm counting on you!" The ball was thrown and with a flash of light, the water type emerged with a battle stance, looking eager for this fight.
The boy looked at the situation and shifted off to the side. "Go for it! We're cheering for you" He shouted raising his fist into the air to try to pep her up.
The Zigzagoon moved before the young trainer could even issue an order, charging at the blue axolotl and crashing into it. "Oh no! Are you okay?" May asked as Mudkip was knocked back a few feet, shaking it off quickly and got back into a combat stance. "Good to hear! Counterattack with Water Gun!" The pokemon opened its mouth and a stream of pressurized water smacked straight into the striped aggressor, soaking its fur and leaving a path of wet grass in its wake. Not to take this lying down, the wild Zigzagoon shook itself dry and charged once again, attempting to repeat the same maneuver as before. But May was ready this time.
"Mudkip, Jump over it and use Rock Smash!" Not missing a beat, and choosing to place complete trust in her trainer, Mudkip kicked off from the ground, a small amount of dust following it. Her paw formed into a fist and then glowed with a white light as the racoon-like pokemon passed underneath looking up in bewilderment, only to be met with a solid strike to the head.
Brendan, gasped and leaned forward, looking at his partner and exclaiming "It's Super effective! She took charge of the situation and scored massive damage based on seeing how it would tackle only one time!" He marveled at her strength as the Pokemon began to buckle. Sensing her opportunity, May reached into her satchel and pulled out an empty ball.
"I've got you now!" She exclaimed and, as if she had practiced this 1000 times, threw a perfect curve ball at the injured Pokemon striking it in between the eyes. "Bullseye!" She declared with delight as the ball opened, with the Pokemon quickly being sucked inside. Silence then fell over the area as all eyes were trained on the ball shaking back and forth slowly. After what seemed like 10 minutes passed, a solid click was heard and the group could breathe again. May rushed over to the ball and scooped it up. "Way to go Mudkip! We just got our very own Zigzagoon!" The fish pokemon shared in her delight, leaping up and giving her a high five with its tail.
Brendan hurried over to her side, and leaned in to see the ball better. "You caught it! You really caught it! That was so cool!" She clicked the button, shrinking it down and clipped it to her belt before crossing her arms and puffing out her chest, getting ready to humble brag.
"Of course, I've only seen it done a million times. I'm practically a pro through exposure alone! I wouldn't mind giving you some pointers when you want to catch one for yourself." She laughed internally, imagining him bowing at her feet and calling her master.
He gave it some thought and looked at his partner who tilted its head quizzically. "What kind of Pokemon… would I want to catch?" He mused to himself. Suzaku tilted his head in the other direction trying to elicit a response from its trainer who was now captivated in thought. "Well Torchic is a fire type right?" not directing the question to anyone in particular. "So I should catch something to help cover its weaknesses which are… Rock? Oh ground types too, and of course water types! I gotta watch out for those"
May looked at the Torchic and said to it. "Ah don't worry about it, he often goes on a tangent talking to himself when he's excited. It's actually kinda cute." She reached over and patted the chick on the head before bending over and picking up her Pokemon. "Alrighty, take a good rest Mudkip. Don't wanna push you too hard" The pokemon was then recalled to her ball, and clipped in its place on the belt. Her companion was still muttering to himself when her attention drifted back over.
"So Ideally… a Grass type would be great!" He snapped his fingers as if he just solved a massive mathematical formula. May laughed and walked behind him, giving him a gentle shove from behind.
"Sure dude, but you need some Pokeballs first. Come on, let's get to Oldale before anything else jumps out at us." Brendan slightly protested at being shoved before going along with it and continuing down the path through more tall grass and excitement.
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It was about 10 more minutes of walking before they reached their first stop… or at least the entrance to their first stop. "What's that commotion about?" Brendan asked, turning May's attention to the commotion growing at the gates. There were arguing voices with harsh words being thrown around. Nodding at each other, they decided to investigate, hoping to help out however they can. A group of five people, people who lived there by the looks of it, were arguing with three guys dressed in black shorts, a black tank top with a white X through the abdomen, a black bandana and a white beanie.
"Yo you hear me? All the way from the Alola region, we're gonna use your town for our base. Feel honored that Team Skull has paid you a visit." The middle one said in a rhythm that matched some weird motions he was making with his hands while approaching the group of townsfolk.
"We live here! You can't just kick us out!" argued back with the grunt who gave a smug chuckle in reply.
"We'd be happy for you to stay with us for a modest fee of 200,000 Pokedollars. Gotta keep the lights running somehow." The other members shouted words of affirmation like "Yeah what he said," And "Pay up scrubs!"
For Brendan he had heard enough and rushed into action just as May was going to urge that they go get someone for help. She reached out to stop him, but his shirt slipped through her grasp, she worried about his headstrong nature and watched over him, unsure what she should be doing. She had heard that there were organized criminals out there but she had never come across them before. The rumors about how they treated both people and Pokemon sent chills down her spine and felt like her friend could be in serious trouble if he decided to go pick a fight. Naturally of course he did.
"Hey!" Shouted the boy getting the members of team Skull's attention. "Leave these people alone! Go find somewhere else to set up your base." He demanded, furious at their audacity. This only roused laughter out of the group as what looked like the leader of the three approached him, still doing odd motions as they walked. May's breath caught in her throat as she had a flashback to a similar situation when they were kids, and she was getting bullied for being a Professor's daughter. Brendan went home black and blue that day, more focused on protecting her, than defending himself.
"Look here punk kid. You got spirit, I like that, but if you know what's good for you, buzz off or pay up." The grunt tried to wrap his arm around Brendan's shoulder to intimidate him, but Suzaku wasn't having any of that, pecking at the hand roughly. "OW! Oh now you've done it! Nobody messes with Team Skull and gets away with it! Get em boys!" The other approached Brendan and did a series of poses that all mirrored each other exactly before each grabbing a Pokeball from their pocket and tossing it at Brendan.
Suddenly, the trainer was face to face with a purple bat with an abnormally large mouth, a yellow bipedal elephant creature waving its hands back and forth, and a purple rat with a mustache. The boy gulped, knowing there was no going back now and looked at his partner. "You ready for this Suzaku?" The Torchic pounded its feet and flapped its feathers aggressively and hopped down from its perch, ready to go. "Alright, Don't have to tell me twice! It's 3 against 1 so we need to be careful, got it?" The Fire-type chick only let out a chirp in response before his train of thought was cut off from the sudden orders from the opposing trainers.
"Zubat! Supersonic," "Drowzee, hit that thing with confusion!" "Rattata Tackle em!"
All three attacks came for his partner at the same time, and for Brendan, it was like the world slowed down, giving him more time to think. He analyzed the three Pokemon and nodded before issuing his command. "Suzaku, use Quick Attack to dodge the ranged attacks, and then use Ember on Drowzee!"
Just as the ranged attacks were about to make purchase, the chick suddenly vanished from their field of view, really flustering the Zubat and Drowzee as well as their trainers. "Huh?! Where did that thing go?" Shouted one of them in confusion before a steady stream of miniature firebolts collided with the Psychic type, dealing quite a bit of surprise damage and leaving a nasty burn.
"Way to go!" Brendan said, praising his partner for pulling off such a difficult maneuver, before the rat crashed into Suzaku's side, sending it flying back and hitting the ground hard. "Suzaku! Are you okay?" The Torchic struggled for a moment to stand back up before shaking itself back into focus and giving an angry sound towards the dark rat. Brendan felt a little comfort that his partner had not been seriously injured and once again focused on his next move. His eyes darted around the battlefield, this time taking the enemy positioning into consideration before barking out a new order. "Use Quick Attack again to fake it out and then go after the Zubat!"
The members of Team Skull were ready to counter the orders, until the Torchic appeared in front of Rattata and then just as sudden, the Zubat went careening into a tree. This Quick attack was exponentially faster than the first one, and almost gave no time for reaction. Brendan noticed that his partner was only getting faster as the battle continued, unsure of what was going on, but tried to keep it in mind. "Shoot this kid's good… and his Pokemon's so strong! We need to coordinate our attacks to win." The other two grunts nodded in agreement. "Rattata, use Bite! Don't let it get away." "Drowzee time for Hypnosis!"
"Dodge it!" Cried Brendan, which Suzaku tried to obey, however it wasn't quite used to the increasing speed it was suddenly gaining, only managing a few steps before tripping on its own talons, and falling face first into the dirt. This was the opportunity that The members of Team Skull needed to swing the battle in their favor. Fangs sunk into the Shiny Pokemon's abdomen, and it let out a cry of pain, before waves of psychic energy enveloped it and its attacker, putting them both to sleep. A knot formed in Brendan's stomach as he realized this was the worst case scenario. "Oh no… Suzaku, wake up!" He shouted to no avail, as his partner began to snore.
"Got em! Finish em off boss!" The Rattata's trainer exclaimed to the leader who assured his subordinate, "Don't worry, I got this! This punk's gonna regret messing with us! Drowzee, finish it off with a Focus Punch!" The psychic type seemed to let out a laugh as its fist began to glow a bright blue, and it took aim.
Brendan's screams to wake Suzaku were unheard by its target and mocked by his opponents, and before he even realized what was going on, he was starting to dash in between his Pokemon and its assailant. Just as he was about to reach the point where he could take the blow for his Pokemon, the sound of a Pokeball opening could be heard and a shaky feminine voice commanding a Pokemon accompanied "Zigzagoon! G-give Suzaku s-s-some cover with Sand attack!" The striped racoon let out a noise indicating it understood and kicked up a lot of sand, obscuring the Drowzee's view of the battle.
"Alright Who's the punk?!" The leader shouted looking towards the crowd, before locking eyes with a terrified looking May, with tears welling up in her eyes. Her knees were shaking and her arms brought up to her chest, knowing that she had just painted a huge target on her back. He turned back to his Pokemon and said "We'll deal with her later! Follow through with the attack! Get that stupid chicken!" The pale blue glow increased in intensity as it rushed in through the sandy cloud to deliver a devastating punch. The fist connected with a sickening crunch… and then the dust cleared to reveal Suzaku still on the floor snoring away with a Zigzagoon standing protectively over it, nudging it with its back leg, and a Drowzee with its fist stuck into the town's now broken sign. It realized what happened and tried pulling its hand out, but the sign just didn't want to let it go.
May and Brendan both simultaneously let out a sigh of relief which washed over them even more when the nudging and the commotion finally roused Suzaku from its slumber. Brendan grinned and shouted at his partner. "Rise and shine Suzaku! Now let's end this using Quick attack!" Shaking itself fully awake and pulling itself back up to his feet, the Torchic let out a happy cry, backing up a few steps before vanishing from the naked eye, only to reappear as it crashed into the Drowzee, freeing it from the sign and knocking it unconscious.
"AHHH! This can't be happening yo!" The leader shouted, before recalling his Pokemon to its ball and running away "Whatever! Your town is lame and wouldn't make a good Skull Base anyway!" The other grunts recalled their pokemon as well and chased after their leader, shouting at him to wait up, their cries becoming more and more faint as they ran into the distance. The townsfolk let out a loud cheer and Brendan fell to one knee and let out a shaky breath. A few people came up to him and clapped him on the shoulder thanking and congratulating him on a well earned victory, before he turned to the Pokemon that fought with him.
"Suzaku, you were amazing out there! And Zigzagoon, thank you so much for the cover!" Both of the creatures ran over to him and received well deserved head pats, both looking a little scuffed up and hurt from the previous battles. "We should get you all to a pok…" He was cut off by a sudden weight being pressed against him, arms wrapping around his neck. The sound of sniveling brought his attention to his friend with her head buried into his chest crying.
"You… are s-so reckless! I was s-s-so scared you were going to get hurt! You jerk!" She cried louder and hugged him tighter. His heart skipped a beat, realizing how close she was to him. He gingerly patted her back and smiled softly.
"But I wasn't hurt… Because I knew you would have my back… despite how scary it was." She didn't respond to this outside of incomprehensible whimpers and cries. He didn't mean to make his best friend this upset, but he had to admit… it did make him feel nice that she cared so much. He brought his hand from her back and gently caressed her head, trying to soothe her as best as he could.
And with that our heroes make it to Oldale with a new appreciation for their partners and each other. Petalburg awaits them as does Brendan's father. Will this be different or just a repeat of past events? Tune in for the next chapter! Until then, Fare thee well!
