Hey all! Traffic to this story has been nuts! I'm really glad that you guys seem to like it! :) If any of you would like to leave a review so I know what I could improve on, or if you just want to stroke my ego ;), that would mean so much to me! I hope you enjoy the latest chapter!

"Thank you for waiting! Your Pokemon have been fully healed." Mudkip and Suzaku erupted from their balls and tackled their respective trainers with affection. The two teens were caught off guard at first but caught their partners with only Brendan falling on his rear. May rubbed her cheek on the Axtol's head and cooed in delight causing the striped raccoon to let out a jealous noise while the boy ruffled the chick's feathers.

"Don't worry, I didn't forget about you Zigzagoon!" The girl said teasingly, kneeling down and scratching it behind the ear in just the right spot, making it coo in satisfaction. Suzaku freed itself from its trainer's grip, climbing up the arm and returning to its rightful spot on Brendan's shoulder, performing a happy little dance, talons gripping firmly onto the appendage. May looked over at Brendan smiling at his partner, when a concoction of different emotions started to bubble inside her.

Relief that he wasn't hurt. Anger that he tried to take on the situation by himself. Embarrassment at her meltdown after they won. Pride that he was willing to risk himself to help people in trouble. Adoration that he trusted her to have his back. Her face began to exhibit a dull red in her cheeks as attempts to suppress her emotions failed. This went completely unnoticed by the oblivious boy, who with a delighted smile gingerly booped Suzaku on the tip of its beak. He walked to the map of the Hoenn region and started to ramble to himself as per usual. "Alright, so we head west from here right? Then it's just an hour long walk to Petalburg. So when we get there it'll be… okay and if we hurry back then maybe I can still invite her over for dinner." Satisfied with the formulated plan, he brought his fist down on his open palm and nodded.

May watched him muse on, the soft blush fading from her cheeks and a content grin growing on her face. It was odd that one person was able to make her this flustered and at the same time this calm. She walked up behind him and just as the girl was about to ask a question, a gruff voice cut her off. "Don't tell me yer leaving already? We haven't even had the opportunity to thank the two of ye for driving off that band of hooligans."

They turned to the source of the noise to see an elderly man with navy blue slacks, with a tucked in white T-shirt that contrasted his darker complexion. He took a few slow, and small steps towards them with his cane. "Name's Reginald. I'm mayor of this little town here. Have been for over 50 years. So trust me when I say it takes a great deal to impress me, yet you two did just that." The two chuckled in unison, brendan awkwardly scratching the back of his head

"I just did what anyone else would have. I'm just glad that no one was hurt." The mayor nodded now standing in front of him, hand behind his back to give it a little support. The gray mustache on his lips twitched as gave the two a closer inspection, causing them both to feel slightly uneasy.

He raised his cane and pointed it at the young man. "I can assure you not everyone would so blindly rush in to assist people in need. Especially without evaluating the situation first. You're lucky that it was just those punks from Alola and not a more serious gang like Team Rocket. Especially as a new trainer you're much too brash." Brendan bit his lip and hung his head in shame. He saved the town after all so it all worked out right? But… he had this nagging feeling that the old man wasn't saying this out of anger or unappreciation.

May however was impressed, everything she wanted to talk to him about, this man managed to put it all into the perfect words. She let out a sigh of relief, thankful that she didn't have to do it herself. Until her breath caught in her throat as the old man pointed his cane at her. "And you! Your brilliant tactical mind is undercut by your adversity to conflict. If you worked together from the beginning, those malcontents wouldn't have stood a chance." He huffed and tapped his cane on the ground, leaning on it once more and took in the shameful look on the two kids' faces.

Twice now in one day, Brendan was scolded for taking on unnecessary risks. His fists clenched in anger. He understood what they were trying to tell him, but… "I can't just… sit idly by while I watch people get hurt." This response raised the eyebrows of the mayor before he gave a satisfied nod.

"Very well then. If that's the case you must get stronger. So strong that you can protect everyone." He stepped closer to the two and huffed. "To such lengths, I do believe the reward that I have for the two of you will help you obtain such strength. Please hold out your arms." The duo looked at each other in confusion, but then did as they were told. From his coat pocket he slipped out something, and with a firm and calloused hand slid a white bracelet onto the wrists of both the trainers. A rainbow colored gem with a strange emblem laid in the top center.

May examined the ornate bracelet closely, with Mudkip reaching its paw up to tap curiously on the gem a few times. She looked up at the old man and asked, "What is it? I can't explain why, but it feels like it's… warm?" She brought her arm towards the ceiling to better illuminate the accessory and examine the details. Brendan brought his ear up to the bracelet, listening for anything that may be inside before adjusting it more comfortably on his wrist.

"That… is something very special indeed. The nature of it is something you'll have to discover on your own." Reginald once again tapped his cane on the floor and started to walk away. "Well then, thanks again for your assistance. Hope we see you again sometime when you've got some more experience under your belt." A smirk that went unseen by the two grew on his wrinkled face as he thought about how interesting these two new trainers were.

Despite how sudden and eccentric the man was, it only took them a few moments to remember their manners, both bowing in unison and saying, "Thank you so much!" If one were to look closely at this moment, they could see the gems in the bands shimmer ever so slightly.

-00–0-0-000—0-0–0

"Alright Zigzagoon! Finish this fight with Tackle!" commanded the young female trainer who, in contrast to her previous encounter, was brimming with confidence. Brendan stood on the side with Suzaku resting in its usual perch. He had volunteered to be the ref for this battle between his best friend and a young boy with a backwards blue cap, yellow shirt and shorts. The Zigzagoon dashed in a crooked fashion towards the Poochyena who misjudged the distance between it and the raccoon to get hit full force. The dark dog flew backwards and landed on its back and tumbled to its chest, kicking up small patches of dirt as it made impact. The boy winced and called out his Pokemon's name only to receive no response.

Brendan noticed the condition of both Pokemon and stepped forward raising one hand towards the air. "Uh… Poochyena is unable to battle! Zigzagoon is the winner!" May cheered with excitement with her Pokemon jumping into her arms with delight. The youngster looked disappointed, bringing out Poochyena's ball and recalled it.

"Thanks for trying your best." He whispered both sincerely and sadly. Tucking the ball away, he approached the girl who was wrapping up the festivities. "Man you sure are strong! I'll get even stronger than you and next time we'll win. By the way, my name is Allen." Zigzagoon rested its torso against May's head, propping its body up on her shoulders, as the boy approached with his hand outstretched.

May took it with a confident expression and a determined fire lit in her eyes. "I'm not going to be standing still , but I can't wait for your next challenge." She shook the boy's hand before letting it go. "And I'm May." She waved at the trainer, saying her goodbyes before approaching Brendan again.

"And that's win number 6! We're on a roll! Go ahead and take a rest Zigzagoon, thank you for all the work you've done today." With a happy bark, the dog went into the ball she retrieved. She stowed it away and beamed at him, eyes shining and rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet. "You have no idea how long I've waited for this! After all the time I spent researching with dad, watching wild Pokemon battles, observing my dad's rare battles… now I get to experience it for myself!"

Seeing her in so much joy made his heart throb slightly. She was REALLY CUTE when she was excited, and he wondered why he was only just recently noticing it. He tried to downplay the happiness he was feeling as well by gently bumping the top of her head with a limp chop. "Just make sure you don't go overboard." She feigned offense and stuck her tongue out at him with a soft "Bleh" He chuckled slightly and took a few paces past her. "Still though, the way you battle is super cool. It makes me excited ..." He turned to her with an expression that matched her own fighting spirit. "To fight you myself!"

The girl wondered if this was the same Brendan. He never seemed to have an interest in battling outside of helping people before. Declaring his intent to battle her with those intense eyes caught her off guard and made her heart flutter. He turned his head back to the road just as her face turned scarlet. She wasn't sure why, but recently feelings like this have been springing up more and more often when she was around him. She didn't hate it, but it was becoming harder to not keep her eyes on him.

"We're almost to Petalburg now! I haven't been here in a while. Next stop is the Gym!" His sudden exclamation snapped her out of her stupor, dashing forward for a moment to catch up to him and then matching pace at his side. The girl reached out and poked the chick's cheek, who looked surprised at first, then chirped in happiness. It seemed to love to be touched.

The breeze swayed the grass of the route with her ribbon matching the direction. As serene as the environment was, wild pokemon in the trees and frolicking in the grass, a certain air of unease suddenly fell upon her like a curtain. "It's… been a few since you've seen him right? Aren't you… you know, nervous?" She studied his face, watching for any changes in expression. It seemed for the moment that her friend was very poised.

"Yeah A couple weeks or so, but I know he'll be super excited to see that I'm a trainer now! I can't wait to introduce him to Suzaku." The chick flapped its wings in response as if it were to say how awesome he was. When Brendan put it like that, May couldn't help but feel like everything was going to be okay. This time will be different for sure!

00-0-00–0-000–0-0-

The city of Petalburg was much larger than Littleroot. It was a pretty mesh of city streets and natural terrain. The soft breeze sent small ripples across the surface of two large lakes on the northeast and southwest ends of the city. Cars bustled through the city streets as people attempted to get to their destinations. The parks were filled with people and Pokemon playing together while parents watched protectively over them. The pair loved coming here, as it always seemed more exciting than the mellow of Littleroot town.

A quick trip to the Pokemon center later, the duo made their way to the gym. The boy was almost bouncing with excitement while May's nervous anticipation was rising. Despite all the optimistic remarks she had told herself, history was not on their side. She just REALLY didn't want to see her best friend get hurt again. It pained her to see him suffer, and was a long process to pick the pieces of him up and put them back together when he shut down.

"That was a good attempt. Get stronger and then come back, I'll be waiting." The tone in the man wearing a red zip-up jacket with a white t-shirt was calm and encouraging. May noted that this was a direct contrast to how Norman usually acted around his family. The challenger bowed at the gym leader and hurried off to the Pokemon center to heal their bruised and battered team. The leader turned to head back inside the building, but stopped and did a double take at the duo. "Brendan? May? What are you two doing here?"

Brendan dashed forward, excitement radiating through every step he took. "We came to see you dad!" The eagerness he felt seeing his dad shifted slightly, as the older man crossed his arms and gave a displeased expression.

"I see… and you two came here alone. I take it? Don't you know it's dangerous?" Without saying much more, Norman went into the gym motioning for the pair to follow as he did. This small exchange intensified May's concerns. She wanted to run up and grab Brendan's hand and drag him home, she wanted to hold him and protect him from the hurt that was assured to be coming his way, she wanted him to feel loved and accepted by everyone around him, and most of all, she wanted him to stop looking up to that man who never gave him the time of day. Her thoughts were interrupted as Brendan scaled the steps of the Gym and headed inside, leaving her to hurry in pursuit.

When she walked in the door, Norman was already talking in a stern expression. "I don't care that you have Pokemon now! It's still too dangerous for you to have walked all the way here. There are gangs hanging about everywhere." Brendan's beaming smile as he held Suzaku towards the man started to fade, only to be replaced with a look of determination.

"Suzaku is really strong though! He's so amazing that he almost managed to take out 3 of Team Skull's pokemon by himself!" He set the Torchic down and patted it on its head. The Pokemon was LOVING the praise and attention from its trainer, and then chirped at the old man as if it was boasting about how great it was. He then slipped off his backpack and grabbed the tupperware container. "And I also made th-"

"That's enough!" The sudden shout made Brendan, May, and the Gym guide flinch. Scratching his black hair, the previously silent man hesitantly approached the leader while adjusting one of the suspenders draped over his white button up.

"Sir? Are you okay? Aren't you happy your son has come all this way to see you? I can prepare some tea and we can all-"

Again, Norman cut off the reply, as if he didn't even hear the words that were said. "Go home. You aren't fit to be a Pokemon trainer yet if you think all it takes is beating a couple challengers to be strong. Give that Torchic back to Professor Birch, and I will decide when you're ready" May began to tear up at the cruelty displayed by a man that was supposed to be a father. She had caught little snippets of arguments when they were younger and he frequented the house more often, but NEVER anything like this.

Brendan froze, the tupperware container slipping from his grasp and popped open spilling the poffins on the floor. He should have known better. "I'm sorry… I just thought…" he started until Suzaku flapped its wings and let out a series of angry cheeps at the Gym leader. It began to growl angrily, and Brendan rose to his feet. He was a Pokemon trainer now, and perhaps the only way to get through to his dad was to speak his language. He looked back at May's worried expression and took a deep breath, psyching himself up. "Gym Leader Norman? I challenge you to a Pokemon battle! Unless you're too afraid to face me?"

His father gripped his arm and gritted his teeth in anger. How dare he have the audacity to challenge his authority as both a father AND a gym leader in his own gym. This boy was in need of some heavy handed discipline. "Fine! I'll show you how incompetent you are, and after I win you are going to go home!" He brought out a Pokeball and stepped towards the center of the room.

"Brendan don't!" May pleaded. This situation was seriously getting out of hand, and tears started to stream down her face. The boy walked up to his friend and brought his hand up to her face, wiping away one of the tears. He gave her a soft smile and whispered to her.

"Don't worry. I'm going to win because… I've got you supporting me. Not just you, but Suzaku too. He'll finally have to listen to me and things can go back to the way they were." He brought his hand to her other cheek and wiped away the streams of sadness before walking away. Her hand reached out towards his and grasped at the air as he went out of her reach. The young trainer, careful not to step on the spilled poffins, took his position at the other end of the arena with Suzaku already waiting.

The gym guide didn't like this a single bit… but it was his job to referee the match after all. He got into position and said with his usual tone. "This is a gym match between Gym Leader Norman and Gym Challenger Brendan. This match will be a one on one fight, to be concluded when one Pokemon is unable to battle. Trainers, please send out your Pokemon!"

Brendan had been watching May's battles and felt confident he could at least imitate some of her tricks. A grin grew on his face as he pointed out "Alright Suzaku, let's show em what we're made of!" The shiny got into a fighting stance and chirped excitedly, ready to do battle.

The leader threw a ball and said in a commanding tone "Linoone. Let's go!" A sleek ferret looking pokemon with a brown stripe down its back appeared with a flash of light, claws digging into the floor as it growled. "Use headbutt!" The Leader commanded.

Brendan watched the opposing pokemon, ready to tell his partner to use Quick Attack to dodge. But a moment later and a cry from Suzaku revealed that Linoone had already connected with its attack. "S-So fast!" the young trainer said in both shock and awe. "Suzaku! Are you alright?" He asked in a worried tone, as the now prone bird struggled to stand. That one attack seemed to have done massive damage already.

"See what I mean? One attack and it's already over. You're not ready, and at this rate you never will be." Norman said angrily. This lit a fire under the Torchic's rear, ticked that the enemy trainer had written it off so quickly. Suzaku rose back to its feet and stood back in position, nodding at Brendan that it could continue.

"Alright! Use Quick Attack again! See if you can knock it off balance!" Norman was expecting Linoone to easily dodge this, but it was as if halfway through the attack 'Suzaku' got significantly faster. Nevertheless, Linoone was still able to dodge but only just barely. Brendan wasted no time and shouted "Now's your chance! Drift and use Ember!" May gasped as her mind went back to one of her previous battles when she used her Zigzagoon's pattern of running to her advantage, making it drift around her opponent before unleashing a devastating attack.

"Amazing…" She remarked. The Gym guide had to agree, this challenger did appear to have good instincts. Bolts of fire cascaded towards the ferret, making contact and even leaving a burn. "With that burn, Linoone won't be able to hit as hard!"

Norman smirked and shouted "Finish it with Facade!" A devastating blow hit the Torchic as Linoone rushed in at top speed, sending the Fire-type careening back towards its trainer, only to land in the middle of the arena. Brendan shouted its name in a horrified tone, unsure whether or not his partner was okay

"But… it should have been weakened right? How?" May asked in worried confusion. The Gym guide nodded and answered her question.

"Normally you'd be correct, however Facade is a move that doubles in power when its user has a status effect much like a burn. I think this match is over." He looked over at the bird laying on the ground and sighed, holding up his hand "Torchic is unable to…" he stopped short, noticing movement form the downed Pokemon.

Suzaku was determined not to lose here. It didn't want to disappoint its trainer after all the mean things that his dad said about them both. Trembling with effort and pain, the shiny once again tried to rise to his feet. "No Suzaku! Stay down. We can try again another day!" Brendan pleaded, not wanting to see his friend get more hurt.

Norman scoffed and remarked "It's persistent I'll give it that. Fine! We'll make sure it stays down this time. Linoone Belly Drum!" The ferret got up on its hind legs and started to slap its furry white abdomen with much force. Brendan had heard about this move before, that takes half of the users stamina to use but maximizes their attack.

This was bad.

"Stop! We concede!" Brendan pleaded with his dad, but much to his terror his partner was able to stand back up, panting in pain but still determined to win. "No! Don't get back up!" He begged with tears welling up in his eyes.

His dad had enough of this, this display of what he perceived as cowardice was the last straw. "You don't get to run away from this! It's high time you learned your place boy, and this time I'm going to make sure you don't forget it! Linoone use Facade once again!" The ferret leaped into action, aiming for the barley standing Torchic.

To May, the next few moments seemed to happen in slow motion. Thundering and panicked footsteps fell as Brendan dashed onto the field. The voice of the guide disqualifying the trainer for stepping onto the field, hints of fear leaking into his voice as he desperately tried to stop the match. The look of shock from the airborne Linoone's face as there was suddenly a human in front of its target, desperately trying to stop by throwing its sharp claws forward as if it could push off from the air. And finally, the spray of crimson as the claws sank deep into her friend's chest, and raked diagonally downwards. Her own screams were mute to her as Brendan collapsed on the ground.