WARNING: This chapter is dark. Mentions of self harm. It may be triggering to some audiences.

Chapter 33

"What do you mean, 'Kai isn't Brendan's'?" Asks the angry brunette.

Shrugging nonchalantly, Shelly replies, "It's exactly what it sounds like. Everyone can see Kai doesn't resemble Brendan at all." It's why Shelly was confused about May adopting Kai. He looks nothing like Brendan. Why would a single woman want to adopt a boy people say her estranged friend fathered?

"But Brendan left a note." May has never seen Kai's birth certificate before, else she would've known Kai's mother is Shelly. For May, Kai's mother doesn't matter to her because Brendan is his father. Now, Shelly is telling May Brendan is not Kai's father. Just what is going on?

"Yeah, and I called you. So what? That doesn't make Brendan Kai's father." Shelly rolls her eyes.

"You called me? When?" May is perplexed. She and Shelly have never been close, so why would they ever call each other?

"Before Brendan's funeral. I called you telling you to go to the orphanage." Shelly meets May's confused eyes. "Don't think I did it cuz I wanted to. It was Brendan's dying wish." Shelly shivers at the thought of her ex. "But thanks for taking care of Kai for me. I'll be taking him back now."

"No!" May shouts angrily at the woman. Now that mysterious phone call from years ago makes sense. However, May wonders if Shelly knew Brendan was going to kill himself? Shelly did say she only called May as Brendan's dying wish. "You can't take Kai! I adopted him!"

"I only left him at the orphanage temporarily. I was gonna come back." Shelly replies calmly. "I'm his mother. He belongs with me."

"Brendan left him with me!" May exclaims. Why is Shelly being so calm? If Shelly thinks she can just take Kai, well she has another thing coming to her.

"And like I said, Brendan isn't Kai's father."

"Kai considers Brendan his father." May knowingly tells the woman.

Tired of May's stubbornness, Shelly glares at her. "Kai's real father and I are going to raise him now. We don't need you anymore." Letting out an annoyed breath, Shelly adds, "Kai wanted me to at least see you in person before we leave."

When Shelly gets ready to stand up, May grabs her arm. "No way! You're not taking Kai!"

"He's my son."

"And Brendan's! Brendan raised him and elft him with me!" May fights back the tears in her eyes. She can't cry in front of Shelly, even though Shelly is reminding her of Brendan. No. May already lost her childhood friend. She can't lose his son too.

Scoffing at May, Shelly forcefully pulls her arm away. "Brendan left Kai...forever." Shelly shakes her head in mock disbelief. "Therefore, his words mean nothing compared to Kai's blood parent. Don't make this more difficult for yourself, May."

May, however, won't let Shelly get away. Not like this. "It doesn't take blood to be a family! Brendan raised and loved Kai! Kai belongs with me! Brendan knew it!" May runs over to block the door.

Shelly is fed up with May's behavior already, although the older woman is amused by how distressed and desperate May looks. Smirking, Shelly crosses her arms over her chest. "I'm leaving, and there's nothing you can do about it."

"You can leave, but you have to leave Kai." May's eyes burn with intensity at Shelly who is unfazed.

The pinkette chuckles with her smirk growing. "Don't kill yourself too when I take Kai."

This statement causes May to blink at Shelly in confusion. "Kill myself too?"

Nodding, Shelly replies, "Brendan was weak. I like to think his little fangirl isn't, but who knows?"

Flashback

"You can't take him!" Brendan shouts at the woman.

Shrugging, she tells him, "He's my son. And since Brody is out of jail, we're gonna raise our son together."

"I signed the birth certificate! I raised and loved him when you both were off committing crimes!" Brendan holds onto her wrist tightly to prevent her from leaving. The four year old Kai is currently crying loudly on the couch as his parents argue. He has no idea what's going on, but his mother's and his bags are packed.

Shelly, who is an Aqua Admin easily frees herself from Brendan's grasp. "I appreciate it, but we both knew this was temporary, Brendan." She motions over to the crying boy. "Kai and I are leaving now."

Brendan furiously shakes his head. "No. I lost everything for you, Shelly! I lost my family! My friends! Everything for you! I quit traveling and trying to be a Champion just because you got pregnant! You came to me crying, alone, and pregnant, and I took you in! I provided for you and raised our son! I'm Kai's father!"

Shelly affectionately pats Brendan's cheek. "I know. And I appreciate your willingness to constantly help me, but I don't need it anymore. Kai belongs with his birth parents."

Years ago, Shelly had called Brendan while he was traveling around Kanto. She was crying, so he found her and took her in. After he told his father, the professor was very angry at Brendan for taking her back. Professor Birch had heard from Wally that Shelly was once an Aqua Admin who went back to Team Aqua after breaking up with Brendan. Therefore, Professor Birch hates the woman, and he hates it even more than she has Brendan wrapped around her finger. Brendan will do anything for that woman, even if it means giving up his life.

Therefore, Professor Birch gave Brendan an ultimatum: be disowned or completely cut ties with Shelly. Of course, the professor raised a righteous son, so Brendan could never abandon a pregnant and lonely woman who was once his friend. He also never came back home to Little Root Town, and instead, he moved to Kalos with Shelly. Once Kai was born, Brendan fell in love with the little boy, so he signed the birth certificate. Obviously, Shelly allowed him to since she wanted the Birch fame.

"Shelly, stop. We've been raising Kai together just fine. You don't need to take him off to some ex-con, even if that is his birth father!" Brendan pleads with his ex-girlfriend.

Sighing, Shelly gives him an annoyed look. "I'm bored Brendan. We're barely making it by. I'd expect a Birch to not live like this-"

"Like what? Simple? If you forgot, my father disowned me for taking you back!" Brendan has never liked being known as Professor Birch's son. He wants the world to know him as Brendan Birch, which is why he tried so hard to be a champion. Now that he's disowned and isn't battling, he's a nobody.

While Brendan knows Shelly is high maintenance, he always believed she liked him for him. Why else would she leave Team Aqua when he spent a year convincing her to leave? Nevertheless, she did return to the criminal organization where she ended up pregnant and ran back to him, but Brendan loves her. It's the reason he fought so hard to rescue her from Team Aqua, and it's the reason he continuously forgives her actions. However, he isn't sure if he can forgive this.

"I lived like a queen as an Aqua Admin. I'm going back. And Brody will be an Aqua mercenary again. We'll provide Kai with a lot more than you can offer him." Shelly knowingly tells Brendan. She's irritated because Brendan should've known their arrangement was only temporary until Brody got out of jail. Therefore, Brendan shouldn't be making this more complicated than it should be, especially with Kai screaming.

Brendan furiously shakes his head in anger. He walks past Shelly to pick up the child and hold him close, which makes Kai sniffle into Brendan's chest. Kai loves Brendan's touch. Brendan is always around while Shelly is out doing who knows what. Brendan has raised Kai with love and affection since the boy was born. Therefore, Brendan doesn't care that Kai isn't biologically his because Kai is Brendan's son. "You can leave, but my son stays with me." Brendan isn't going to allow another man, especially an Aqua mercenary to raise Kai.

Furrowing her brows angrily, Shelly reaches for her pokeballs, but Brendan's Sceptile warily watches her, making her stop. "He's my son. The mother always gets custody in court."

"You're never around! It's been me raising him!" Brendan hisses while clutching the boy closer.

"I'm taking my son, Brendan. Kyogre! I knew you were crazy, but I didn't think you'd be this crazy!" Brendan put up a lot of resistance when she broke up with him years ago. Shelly should've known he'd do something similar this time, but she needed some comfort years ago. A part of her is regretting going to her ex, especially since he doesn't have the fame of a Birch anymore.

"I'm crazy because I love you! I love you and Kai! And now you're trying to leave me and take him with you?" Brendan exclaims hurt. He hates this. How can Shelly just treat him so insignificantly when he's always been there for her? He cut ties with Wally. He got disowned by his father. He quit his dreams. What more does Shelly want from him before she actually loves him back?

"Give me my son, Brendan." Shelly sternly tells the fuming man.

"He's my son." Brendan's glare doesn't waver.

"Give him to me or you'll regret it." she warns him.

"You've already taken enough from me. I won't let you take Kai too." Brendan has no one left in this world. He's given up everything for Shelly, and he deemed it worth it the moment he held Kai in his arms. Brendan won't allow Shelly to ake anything else from him.

Clicking her tongue, Shelly knows better than to battle Brendan. His Pokemon are stronger than hers. It's why he's such a threat to Team Magma and Aqua, and it's how they met so many times almost two decades ago. Therefore, she opts to just grab hers and Kai's bags and walk out quietly. This doens't mean Shelly has given up. No. Shelly Izumi, Aqua Admin, doesn't give up. She gets exactly what she wants, and won't take 'no' for an answer. Brendan is going to regret making things difficult for her.

A few weeks later

Shelly hasn't returned at all, leaving Brendan alone with Kai. The first few weeks, Brendan wouldn't let the boy out of his sight for fear of Shelly swooping in on her Peliper, though Brendan is pretty sure his Swellow can handle that. To stay away from Shelly, Brendan is planning to move to another region soon. He and Kai are planning for Johto since the boy wants to see the Johto ocean.

With Brendan finishing the last of the boxes, Kai is outside playing with Macargo and Swellow. When Brendan hears a loud explosion, he sprints out of the house to be blinded by dust. A heavy object hits the back of his head, making him fall to the ground in a daze. The dust quickly clears as Brendan loses consciousness. The last thing he sees is a pink haired woman dressed in blue running off with Kai in her arms. A man with purple hair runs behind her.

Hours later, Brendan wakes up on his living room couch. Sceptile explains that they were ambushed, but before all of the Pokemon could come help Swellow and Macargo, Shelly and Kai were gone along with the mysterious man. Sceptile had brought Brendan inside to lay on the couch until he woke up. Brendan assumes this mysterious man must be the Brodie Shelly was telling him about.

In a fit of rage, Brendan gets up to grab his pokenav, even though his Pokemon are concerned for him. They want him to rest because he got hit pretty hard. Nevertheless, a parent can't rest when their child is in danger. Brendan calls the woman he loves, and she instantly picks up.

"Hey, Brendan. Kai's safe. Don't call me again."

"Where is he?" Shouts the furious man.

"With his family. You're not needed anymore." Shelly replies indifferently.

"He's my son! Give him back or I'll find you!" Brendan won't let his son go this easily. Even if it takes the rest of his life, Brendan will find Kai. "You know I won't give up too, Shelly."

Huffing out in annoyance, Shelly tells him, "You will leave us alone if you know what's good for you."

"Is that a threat, Shelly?" Brendan challenges over the nav, making his Pokemon watch him worriedly.

"It's a warning. Leave me family alone."

The call ends, and Brendan chucks his pokenav across the room in anger. He looks at his nervous Pokemon. "We're gonna find Kai."

Months Later

"Bullet seed!" Brendan commands his loyal Sceptile.

"Golbat, use sludgebomb!" Brodie yells. The sludgebomb destroys Sceptile's bullet seed and heavily injures Sceptile.

Brendan has been hunting for Shelly for months now starting in Hoenn, which is Team Aqua's base. He's taken down plenty of Aqua members, including grunts. It's gotten so bad that Archie had to give up Shelly's location. All Brendan wants is his son, and then he'll leave Team Aqua alone. Archie is annoyed that Shelly irritated a strong trainer like this to disrupt their plans, so he told Brendan Shelly is still in Kalos with Brodie.

Once back in Kalos, Brendan continued his search for his son. Apparently, Shelly and a few other Aqua members are on a different mission in Kalos that ties into their overall mission in Hoenn. It took a while, but Brendan finally tracked down his ex, though he hasn't seen sight of Kai yet. Right now, Brodie, the mercenary, is fighting off Brendan. Brendan's pokemon are very weak and exhausted from their journey. However, they won't stop until they help their trainer find his son. Brendan has done a lot for them in the past, so his Pokemon will fight with him until the end, especially his starter Pokemon, Sceptile.

"Agility and Leafblade!" Brendan shouts.

"Air cutter!" Brodie is annoyed with this man who is just a crazy ex. While Brodie doesn't love Shelly, he does have a child with her. Thus, he has to be involved with her. How does Brodie feel about Kai? The mercenary isn't so sure yet. He's been too busy working to really interact with the shy boy.

Golbat dodges the attack and delivers a powerful aircutter at Sceptile, knocking the grasstype to the ground.

"Sceptile!" Brendan worriedly calls over to his struggling Pokemon. Even though Brendan wants Kai back, he doesn't want to hurt his Pokemon. Furrowing his brows in frustration, Brendan sees that Shelly is nowhere in sight now due to Brodie's distraction. "I just want my son!"

"He's mine." Brodie nonchalantly replies. "Finish them, Golbat!"

As Golbat swoops down for a poison fang on Scceptile, Brendan sprints over to guard his Pokemon. Sceptile is his last Pokemon since the rest of his team has fainted during the long journey. Brendan closes his eyes once he's on top of Sceptile, and the man braces for pain. However, the pain never comes. Instead, Brendan soon feels a heavy weight on top of him, making him open his eyes.

Seeing the small thankful smile on Sceptile's face as Golbat flies off of his back makes Brendan grab his loyal Pokemon. Brendan doesn't even notice Brodie leaving. All he sees is Sceptile close his eyes one final time. The pokemon has taken too much damage, especially critical damage on top of being poisoned.

"Sceptile!" Brendan exclaims in fear while laying Sceptile flat on the ground. The man tries his best to apply pressure on the wound. He takes out his last max revive, but it's no use. Sceptile has lost too much life.

"Tile! Scep." Sceptile smiles warmly and shuts his eyes. He's glad he was able to help Brendan for this long. They've had one heck of a journey. He just wishes he could bring Kai back, but he trusts the rest of his team to help Brendan with that. If anything, Sceptile is grateful he was able to protect Brendan one last time.

"Sceptile, just hold on, buddy!" Brendan yells and returns his pokemon. Struggling to stand, Brendan looks around. The nearest Pokemon Center is over a week's walk away. Swellow and the rest of Brendan's team is fainted, and Brendan has no more revives. Nevertheless, Brendan won't give up. This is for Sceptile, so the man starts sprinting off in the direction of the closest Pokemon Center.

Unfortunately, by the time he does reach a Pokemon Center, it's far too late. Sceptile is long gone. The rest of Brendan's team takes days to heal up to full health, making him realize his selfishness has cost him a lot. He lost Sceptile, but he could've lost his whole team as well. The man has been spending the past few days in the Pokemon Center reflecting on his life. Just where did it all go wrong?

Wally was his best friend, who he lost because he wanted to travel alone with Shelly. Brendan lost his father once he took Shelly back into his life. Why did Brendan even let her into his life? Oh yeah. He fell in love with her tenacity, even if she was an Aqua Admin. He just didn't think someone so young could always have ill intent. He wanted to save her and have her as a member of his team. Brendan really believed Shelly could change for the better and get along with everyone he loves.

Sighing, the man closes his eyes in frustration. The last important person to him is his childhood friend. May was his little sister he never had, but he also lost her because he rejected her invitation to travel together. Instead, he chose to travel with Shelly. He broke his childhood promise to May, especially on that day she needed someone the most. He broke her heart, and he doesn't blame her for being so distant towards him. While they have spoken a few times these past few years, Brendan knows their relationship will never be what it was before she started traveling.

Bringing his hand up to the faded scar behind his black bangs, Brendan removes the loose white beanie on his head. He holds it in his hands and sadly smiles at it. "Sorry, May." He clutches the beanie in his hands. The man is exhausted. He's tired of always losing people. He's tired of himself. He's tired of life.

Setting the beanie on the desk, Brendan pulls out a pen and paper. There's no way he can get Kai back. Not with Brodie and Shelly fighting him. Not with the risk of losing someone else important to him. The tears flow down Brendan's face as he thinks about Sceptile. When his father gave him Sceptile as a Treecko years ago, Brendan and Treecko grew up together before finally setting off on their journey. From there, they had many adventures and added more friends to their team. Now, Brendan has lost his most loyal friend and partner forever.

Sniffling, he continues writing his letter to his estranged father who he also lost. Brendan is sorry for being a terrible son. As a father, Brendan now has a better understanding of what his father must have been going through all of these years, especially after losing his mother when Brendan was small. Brendan really has been selfish towards his father.

After a couple of minutes, the man can't see through his tears anymore. Deciding that the letter is as good as it's going to get, the defeated man gets up and leaves his iconic white beanie next to the letter. He walks past Nurse Joy, who is curious about his behavior, but she figures he must still be upset about his Sceptile. Since she is still tending to the rest of his pokemon, she expects to see him again.

Eventually, Brendan arrives in a quiet clearing. Deciding that this is a good enough place for him, he pulls out his pokenav to call the last person he wants to talk to. Of course, he's sent to voicemail, so he leaves one. "Hey, Shelly. You got me." He chuckles sadly. "You guys fucking killed Sceptile! He always looked out for you and Kai, and you let Brodie kill him!" Brendan practically screams into the night.

After a few more seconds of him sobbing, he continues, "Well, you win. I give up. I've given up so much for you, and now, I'm gonna give up myself." he uses his sleeve to wipe his teary eyes. "I'm done being your fucking rebound. I'm done hurting everyone I love for you! I'm done with this lonely life. You destroyed me." Brendan sniffles loudly. He's not done yet. "If you ever feel like you can't raise Kai anymore, because I know you will, then leave him with May Maple. She's a teacher in Rustboro City. Yeah. That May Maple who's my childhood friend. She's the only one who even speaks to me anymore, but that's rare because of you. You fucking killed me, Shelly."

Brendan ends the call and downs the whole bottle of anti-depressants he had gotten a few months ago when he had first ended up at the hospital. While chasing after Shelly, Brendan got hurt. He was knocked out and eventually woke up in a hospital. They wouldn't let him leave for some time. Once prescribed antidepressants for his behavior, which professionals deemed because he was depressed, he left to resume his search for his son. Of course Brendan is depressed. He's lost everything. He gave up everything for Shelly, and he thought it'd all be okay now that he has Kai. However, Shelly even took Kai from him.

Looking down at the empty orange bottle in his shaky hand, Brendan lays on the grass as his breathing slows down. With his eyes closed, he thinks about his life. All the fun loving memories he had as a child. There was a time everyone believed he would outshine being in his father's shadow. People thought Brendan Birch would one day be the Hoenn Champion since Brendan was such an accomplished battler at a young age. However, here he is, dying under the moonlight...alone…

Where did he go wrong? Oh yeah. When he fell for his selfish desires and decided to rescue a girl who didn't even want to be rescued. At least he's dying with happy memories of those he betrayed. His biggest regret is not saying good bye to his son. "Sorry, everyone." Brendan breathes out at last.