"Don't worry. I'm sure Steven has it handled."

May was trying to calm me down. I must be visibly nervous. I couldn't help it. My Wobbuffet was acting strange. Well. More strange than usual.

"Wobbuffet are you alright?" I tried to get his attention. He was just staring at the ocean on the beach of the little island where we made camp.

May looked from me to the beach. "He's probably just tired. He's been battling a lot lately." She was poking our campfire with a stick while she spoke.

"You didn't see her eyes, May. She was crazy! And she was like… only second in command or something."

"Brendan, we told Steven. He's looking into it. I'm sure there's nothing else we need to do."

I looked back down at the fire. I'm sure she was right. Steven was the Hoenn Champion. What could we honestly do that he couldn't?

May sighed and took the red ribbon out of her hair, shaking the now loose hair back and forth. "Plus, if you keep worrying about it, you won't ever get around to making me dinner." She closed her eyes and smiled cheekily at me.

I chuckled. "Yeah, I guess it is my turn tonight."

Standing up, I walked to our bags looking for our unprepared food. I looked out at the ocean. The sun was almost completely below the horizon. What daylight was left was reflecting on the ripples of the water. Wobbuffett was still staring out at the ocean. I looked over at our other pokemon. Maybe it was just me, but they didn't seem to be behaving normally either. They seemed on edge. Like they couldn't relax. Sceptile was usually taking a nap around this time and he was wide awake this whole time watching us talk.

Weird.

It was completely dark by the time the food was finished. May had set out food for the Pokemon near our makeshift table made out of a downed palm tree. Most of them were eating alongside us. Wobbuffet still had not moved from his watch on the beach.

"I'm sure he's just tired." May startled me out of my thoughts. She wasn't looking at me this time though. She was looking over at Wobbuffet now, and she couldn't completely erase the concern out of her voice.

"Yeah," I replied between bites.

I felt a warm, tropical breeze. Even at night, it was usually warm and comfortable in the Hoenn region. Especially in the archipelago near Sootopolis City where we made camp. I didn't know how trainers in colder regions like Sinnoh handled the cold.

The breeze blew May's hair around. The flickering campfire reflected off of her face. She was looking at me now.

"Can you believe you've got seven gym badges now? My dad's never gonna believe someone from Johto of all places could be so successful in the Hoenn gym challenge," she snickered.

I raised my eyebrows. "Hey, you helped. I'm sure he'll have an easier time believing an idiot like me could beat those gym leaders with his favorite lab assistant backseat battling the whole time."

Her playful smile disappeared and her shoulders dropped. "Shut up."

I laughed.

It wasn't too far away from the truth. Traveling with May over the past few months has been super helpful. No matter how much she hated her special nickname.

May had a serious knowledge of Pokemon habitats and the Hoenn region. I was sure working with her dad all these years was a factor even though she would never admit it.

She lowered herself to the ground, resting her head on her bag. I could still see her from my position on the other side of the palm tree log. She ran her hand through her hair. I looked up at the stars where she was looking.

"...what do you think you are going to do after the gym challenge?" her voice was low.

I turned around to look at her. She was still laying down and looking up at the sky. "I'm not sure. I haven't really thought about it. We immediately left Littleroot after I moved here. I didn't get a chance to settle in." I grinned.

"Someone had to show you around! Dad just gave a rare pokemon to a complete idiot. You're the one who decided to challenge the gyms!"

"Ha… you're right." I gave a lazy laugh and smiled. I only had one gym left to beat now. May, the responsible one, was already planning for what came next.

"Well, you're probably going to lose anyway."

"Hey!" I slung some sand in her direction. She was laughing.

After her laughter trailed off a little, she looked back up at the stars. I could almost see them all reflected in her huge eyes.

She reached up and grabbed a strand of her hair. "Well, after the gyms and the league, we could…"

The loudest noise I've ever heard roared out from somewhere.

Our little island shook. Like an earthquake, but not. My eyes were blinded for a second by a bright light above us.

After my eyes adjusted, I looked back up at the sky. It was blue and bright. Like daylight. I couldn't find the sun anywhere though. Where was this light coming from? I reached into my pocket to check the clock on my PokeNav. It was 9:17 PM! I looked out to the horizon. Wobbuffet was 'running' back to our camp from the beach. He was panicking.

I looked back up.

The starry sky we were looking up at earlier was gone.

"Brendan!?"

May.

I ran around the palm tree log to her to help her up. "Are you okay!?"

"What's happening?!" She was rubbing her eyes. She was the one laying on the ground staring at the sky when it happened.

"It's Maxie. He's about to do it."

"What about Steven?!"

"He needs our help."

I looked out at the ocean. The water was agitated. Numerous waves were hitting the shore of our island with loud crashing noises.

May grabbed my arm, directing me to look at her. Her eyes were wide.

"I know. But we have to help, May."

She lowered her eyebrows and let go of my arm. Then, May grabbed her red ribbon and tied her hair up in her usual style.

Our eyes met. She nodded.

"Okay, Brendan. Let's go."