I've started fixing up a stupid little mistake I've been making, so if thought punctuation seems inconsistent, that's because I'm altering it slightly starting from this chapter (It now has no quotation marks and is only italicized). I'll go back and edit the previous chapters eventually!

With this chapter, we've officially passed the 50,000 words mark! And we're only one gym in. Wow.

Chapter 9: Coach Birch

May sat on her bed in the pokemon center that night after her gym battle, her pajama clad legs tucked under her body. Demi was asleep in her lap, and Soren was leaning against her thigh. The treecko had remained oddly silent since returning from his healing session.

She flipped through the channels on their small TV, barely paying attention to what she was watching. Predictably, her mind was busy racing with thoughts of her defeat.

She had never expected to just lose so easily after all the work she and her pokemon had done. It was mainly her fault, she knew, even though Soren seemed to be blaming himself. In the end, it was she who was in charge, and she who had failed to keep her cool for a good portion of the match.

The entire situation had left May feeling strangely numb. She didn't know what to do next. She wasn't simply going to give up on being a trainer, but what if she just wasn't cut out to challenge the League?

I bet Dad never lost that easily, she kept thinking.

"Give me the remote," Brendan's voice interrupted her out of her thoughts. He stared at her from his seat on his own bed, looking annoyed. When she saw what was on the TV, she could see why. She had paused it on a boring news program.

May wrinkled her nose at him halfheartedly, but she ended up tossing him the remote anyway.

Since they had returned to the center, he had tried to act like nothing was wrong. Clearly, he wasn't sure what to say to her, and to be honest, she kind of appreciated that he wasn't acting all sympathetic. She knew it would've only made her feel worse.

"-the fire was reported to be caused accidentally by a sleeping slugma, but officials in Lavaridge have guaranteed that they will investigate the situation closely," the reporter on TV was saying. "Now, back to the Aqua-led riot on Petalburg Beach-"

"Wait!" May exclaimed, coming to life. She jumped out of her bed, ignoring Demi's squeal of surprise, and she wrestled the remote back out of Brendan's hands. He stared at her like she was a crazy person, but she pointed to the TV with a stricken expression.

"That's them! That's definitely what that guy was dressed like!" she said, gesturing wildly. She perched on the edge of Brendan's bed, staring intently at the TV.

The news reporter's voiceover continued as the screen flicked to scenes on a small beach. Dozens of people, all of them dressed vaguely like pirates, paraded around in the sand. Some carried picket signs, but all of them held angry expressions.

According to the report, they had been staking out on the beach for almost two weeks, promising to leave only when something or other on local boats was banned. Apparently the boats were posing a danger to migrating pods of wailmer, and Team Aqua's actions had been scaring tourists away.

"They really don't sound that bad," May said doubtfully. Wasn't it a good thing that they wanted to look after the wailmer?

"They're crazy," Brendan corrected, frowning. "They care more about the pokemon in the ocean than they do about other people and pokemon. That guy you battled must've broken off while they were doing this to steal that package. He was probably just broke and thought he'd get some easy cash."

"The riot reached a peek when Team Magma members arrived, engaging the Aquas in a battle."

Next, footage showed a smaller group of red-coated people approach the Team Aqua members, and they exchanged a few clearly heated words before engaging in a ferocious battle. May shook her head disbelievingly.

"What in the world are those weirdoes wearing?" she cried. She knew some of these Hoenn people were odd, but really, these fashion senses were appalling.

Brendan rolled his eyes. "Really, that's what you notice?"

"How can you not notice that?" May asked defensively, indicating the outrageous red coats. "Who are they, anyway?"

"Team Magma," Brendan explained. He looked contemplative. "They're a lot like Team Aqua, but they always preach about preserving the land. I've never seen them fight before, though."

"Luckily, Team Magma arrived before any extensive habitat damage could be done," a man said, appearing on screen for an interview.

The black-haired reporter from before was shoving a microphone eagerly into his face. He wore a dark, expensive looking suit, and his harsh blue eyes cut through the TV like a knife. He had a clean-shaven face, and white blond hair fell over his eyes.

Below him, words appeared on the screen. They read, "Blaise Steele-Head of the Pokemon Protection Agency."

"Brendan," May began, and her eyes widened with worry.

"That's the guy from the gym," Brendan said, looking similarly mystified. "Thanking Team Magma too. I don't know why. They're just as bad."

James Steele glanced back at the camera tiredly. "Unfortunately, no arrests have been made as of yet. We would appreciate privacy on the matter from here on out. Thank you."

"Next up, an interview with Lisia, Hoenn's Sweetheart-"

May tuned the TV out them, glancing at Brendan. He was staring absently into space, and she couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking about. Why Norman seemed so concerned about Blaise Steele, probably. That was definitely what she was worrying about, at least.

Suddenly, she realized she was sitting still on Brendan's bed, which seemed very awkward and just personal. She jumped to her feet like she had been sitting on hot coals, and Brendan turned to look at her with raised eyebrows.

"Soren, Demi! Are you hungry? You've haven't eaten anything since this morning!" May exclaimed, too loudly. Her cheeks flushed a light pink.

"Are you hungry, May?" Brendan asked sarcastically, clearly referring to how weird she was acting.

"Be quiet, I'm talking to my pokemon," she said. She pointedly avoided eye contact with him by staring at Soren and Demi.

Demi quirked her ears and nodded gleefully. Soren, however, wrapped his arms around his skinny green legs, and then he turned his head away.

"Treecko," he said sulkily.

May frowned in concern. She moved back towards her bed and sat down on the slightly springy mattress, positioning herself in between her two pokemon. She rested her hand on Soren's shoulders gently.

"You sure? You need to eat," May said. She leaned down, trying to get him to look at her, but he stared determinedly at his hands.

"Ko," he muttered, shaking his head.

She glanced at Brendan, silently asking for help with her eyes. Unfortunately, he simply shrugged uncomfortably and tried to focus on the TV.

Some help, May thought. She turned her attention back to Soren. Her treecko had been known to pout on occasion, and he had even been quite bratty before. However, she had never seen him act this upset.

"Soren," May tried again, yet he still wouldn't talk to her.

She knew what the problem was; he was mad at himself for losing to Nosepass. Honestly, she knew the feeling! But didn't he know that it was her fault, not his?

All of a sudden, May realized what the real issue was. Here she was, moping around about the loss, and it definitely wasn't helping Soren feel better. It was stupid of her to expect him to just get over it when she couldn't even do it.

Taking a deep breath, she said, "Soren, you did a great job in the battle. It's my fault, okay?"

"Treecko," Soren said, shaking his head.

"Listen, you're awesome," May said, her voice quivering a little. "Just because we weren't ready for that battle doesn't mean you aren't."

"Ril," Demi added, snuggling her head against May's arm. She rubbed between the azurill's ears appreciatively, although her gaze remained on Soren.

Finally, Soren faced her, but he still didn't look completely satisfied. May struggled to come up with something else to say to reassure him, but nothing popped into her brain.

Surprisingly, Brendan sighed and finally took it upon himself to enter the conversation. "Just train a little bit and battle her again," he said, his voice laced with a strange emotion.

This time, Soren wasn't the uncertain one. May looked up at Brendan self-consciously. She didn't know if she was ready to battle Roxanne again, but at the same time, she didn't want to give up on her dream or let her pokemon down.

Brendan spent a long moment contemplating his follow up. Carefully, he said, "Part of being a trainer is getting past obstacles. To be a great one, you have to keep going."

"Well look at you, getting all poetic," May said weakly. She attempted to laugh, but she couldn't really force it out.

Brendan was a great trainer. Or at least, he had been. Had he gotten past his obstacle, which was so terrible it made her meager loss seem insignificant? Honestly, she didn't know that he had. May wanted desperately to ask him about it, but she wasn't sure how he would react.

Mustering up all of her bravery, she asked, "Um, are you going?"

Brendan frowned, and his posture stiffened. "What?"

"I meant, are you okay?" May asked, her voice growing stronger. She had already dug her hole, so she might as well dig it deeply.

"I'm fine," he said coolly, and May didn't believe him for a second. Brendan was annoying, even insufferable at times, but she was beginning to consider him as a friend. He had even tried to help her with her confidence just then.

Whether he liked it or not, May resolved then and there to try and help him, too.

"If I go train again for Roxanne…" she began, thinking over her options carefully. She had the inklings of an idea, one that might benefit them both, yet she didn't know if he would agree to it. "Would you help me?"

"Help you how?" Brendan asked quizzically. Her unexpected request had obviously caught him so off-guard that he had forgotten how annoyed he had been with her only moments ago.

"You could give me tips and stuff like you did that day with Wally," May suggested hopefully. "Sort of like a coach?"

Brendan was quiet for a long time, and she could tell he was thinking over what she had said carefully. He ran his fingers over his hat in agitation.

"No," he said.

May's shoulders slumped. She didn't want to admit it, but that had actually hurt her feelings. Maybe he didn't really see her as a friend, after all.

"Please?" she asked again, trying to channel the pitiful cuteness of Demi's charm attack.

Brendan stared at her, looking torn. Finally, he groaned and lay in his bed so that he was facing the wall.

"Fine! Whatever. But I'm the boss, got it?" he said reluctantly.

May beamed at his back. Of course he wasn't going to be the boss, but she didn't have to break that to him until tomorrow.

"Great," she said happily. Then she looked down at Soren again, her expression stern. "And you are going to eat, Mr.!"

The treecko huffed, which told May that he was already back to himself again.

The next day, May and Brendan hiked a mile or so east of Rustboro City and onto Route 116. Unlike the areas of Hoenn she had already traveled through, which were mostly flat, this region was formed from rolling hills. To the northeast, she could even see the peeks of mountains

Finally, Brendan stopped them at a spot he apparently deemed satisfactory. It looked pretty normal to May, but she didn't want to question her new "coach" so soon. She grabbed for the pokeballs on her belt, ready to start working with her pokemon.

"Woah woah woah," Brendan said, shaking his head with a slight smirk on his face. "Who said your pokemon are the ones who need training?"

May raised an eyebrow at him, wondering if maybe this was all getting to his head. Hesitantly, she let her hand fall back to her side.

"Oh? And how exactly are you going to train me, Birch?" she asked, mocking the way he sometimes still called her by her last name. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to annoy him nearly as much as it did her.

Brendan tapped his finger to his temple casually. "Your problem," he said, "is mental."

"Are you calling me stupid?" May asked incredulously.

"I didn't say that." Brendan said, rolling his eyes. Under his breath, he muttered, "I didn't say you weren't, either, but-"

May smacked him lightly on the arm, scowling at him. "Are you going to help me, or not?"

"Yes," he stressed. "Step one. Why'd you lose the battle?"

She frowned, holding her arms against herself. "I wasn't ready for her at all," she admitted. "Demi couldn't do anything, and I should've worked more on Soren's bullet seed. But mainly I need to focus on Demi."

May looked at him expectantly, knowing she had the correct answer. Contrary to what Brendan might think, she wasn't stupid. She knew more about pokemon than a lot of people, except for the fact that she hadn't had much hands-on experience.

To her surprise, Brendan shook his head.

"Those were problems, but they weren't the main reason you lost," he said bluntly. "It's because you were freaking out, and that messed up everything. Your pokemon can sense when you don't have confidence in them."

"I had confidence in them!" May exclaimed defensively. It was true. She did believe in her pokemon, and she always had. It was uncertainty in herself that she had been feeling, but she wasn't about to tell Brendan that.

"In Soren, maybe," Brendan said doubtfully.

"What are you trying to say?" May asked, crossing her arms. "I don't play favorites!"

"So you baby them both equally," Brendan said, scoffing. "But you know Soren's stronger, and it makes you doubt Demi."

May tried to shake her head, to deny it, but Brendan was ahead of her.

"You should've seen your face the first time the bubble didn't work," he said. For once, there was no trace of humor or superiority in his voice. He really believed what he was saying.

She sighed in defeat. "So I need to work with Demi and make sure she knows I believe in her." It was more of a statement than a question.

Brendan nodded. "Yep. And work on strengthening Soren's attacks some more."

"Okay," May agreed, determined to get things right this time. "I'll make sure that Demi takes care of Geodude. I know Soren can beat Nosepass if he isn't already exhausted by the time he gets there."

To May's surprise, Brendan unclipped a pokeball off of his belt and enlarged it, ready for release. "I figured Neptune could help you show Demi some moves," he explained.

"Anything else?" she asked, half joking. She was anxious to bring her pokemon out and get some real work done.

"Well-" Brendan began, a gleam in his eye. May shot him a look, and he laughed. She decided she probably didn't even want to know what sort of ridiculous request he had been about to make.

"But seriously," he said after his amusement had died down. "Think about your pokemon's strengths. Roxanne has a rock field to help out her pokemon. How can you make it yours?"

Make it mine, huh? May thought, ideas circling the back of her mind as she called out Soren and Demi.

"May," Roxanne said, her voice lightly surprised. "I'm glad to see you back. I hope you've improved since our last battle."

May nodded, managing a weak smile. Normally, she would be wondering if she should be offended by that comment or not, but instead she clutched a pokeball in her hand and glanced at the bleachers. She hoped Brendan had gotten there already. After all, she'd been rushed through much faster this time, having already passed her written exam previously.

He'd better be there, at least to see if his advice would pay off.

He was there alright, but to May's immense displeasure, he wasn't alone. A familiar man sat next to him, chatting eagerly into his ear. His flowery shirt was a horrendous shade of purple that day.

It was that obnoxious guy from Petalburg City.

What's he doing here? she thought despairingly. Of all the people in Hoenn, why him? Why does there have to be an audience at all?

For his part, Brendan looked about as thrilled as a shroomish in a pit of hot lava. He sat slumped in his seat, trying in vain to ignore the man and focus on the battlefield in front of him. At least May wasn't the only miserable one in this situation.

"Are you ready to begin?" Roxanne asked. The gym leader was watching her peculiarly, and she gingerly held a pokeball in her right hand.

"Uh, yeah," May said, tearing her eyes away from the stands. She took a deep breath, trying to zone out everyone in the room but her.

She could do this. She had to.

Roxanne waved away her judge before releasing her first pokemon. "She already knows the rules. Geodude!"

Geodude appeared, taking in May with cocky black eyes. She wrinkled her nose at him.

Geodude was about to go down.

"You can do it, Demi!" May called, tossing Demi's pokeball forwards determinedly. It burst open, sending the azurill back out onto the same rocky field she had been on merely a week ago.

Demi glanced back at May, and she mustered all the confidence she had into her nod. She had to prove to everyone: Brendan, her mom, Professor Birch, and especially her dad, that she could be tough, too.

"So you're using the same pokemon," Roxanne said appraisingly. "Let's see if you've made the correct decision. Geodude, rollout!"

By now, the picture of Geodude charging forward in ball formation was all too familiar to May. Well, if Roxanne thought beating her was going to be as simple as last time, then she was in for a surprise.

"Come on Demi, like we practiced!" May encouraged.

Perched expertly on her tail, Demi used it to bounce easily out of Geodude's path. She continued hopping across the rocks, giggling. Her balance was a bit wobbly, but it seemed to be working.

"Water gun!" May said, remembering that the strategy of getting Geodude while his back was turned had worked last time.

Demi opened her mouth and spat out a mass of water that seemed far too big to be contained in her tiny body. She was slower than Soren, which gave Geodude the time to halt his attack, yet the water washed over him in mid turn. He cried out in more pain than the meager bubble attack had given him and pulled himself behind a large boulder for shelter.

Thank you, Neptune, May thought. The golduck had reluctantly led Demi through the steps it took to condense her bubbles into a stronger attack. She would have to buy him an extra-large dessert, or whatever it was that aquatic birds preferred to eat.

"You've trained," Roxanne said thoughtfully. "Time to step things up, Geodude. Rock polish and then rollout!"

From behind his safety boulder, Geodude's skin lit up a shiny white shade before slowly dimming back to normal. Frantically, May tried to remember what exactly rock polish did. Did it raise defense, or what?

Oh.

Geodude propelled himself away from his rock, suddenly rolling towards Demi at a significantly faster speed. The rock polish had made him as fast as she was, and May knew he was too close for her to escape.

"Stop him with water gun!" she cried.

Demi shot a stream of water at Geodude, which easily collided directly with his center at such a close range. To May's dismay, the rock type gritted his teeth and plowed through the water, which scattered in large droplets around the edges of his circular body. With a splash, he struck Demi and sent her crashing across the gym floor.

May held her breath, but Demi wiggled her way back to her feet, shooting her trainer a reassuring grin. She was hurt, but at least the water gun had lessoned the damage somewhat.

Meanwhile, Geodude shook himself to rid his body of water. His mouth was curled in displeasure, and he eagerly rushed into another rollout attack.

Use my surroundings, use my surroundings, May chanted, inwardly panicking.

"Demi, water gun on the ground in front of him!" she tried, grasping at the charms on her bracelet. She really hoped the actual luck decided to pull through this time.

Blindly trusting May, Demi aimed her water gun at the rocky ground in Geodude's path. Although it didn't accomplish what May had crazily hoped it would (which involved forming a slippery puddle), it did managed to send mud and pebbles into Geodude's vision. Grunting, he attempted to swat away the debris, which caused him to veer off course and slip into a mass of rocks.

As Geodude crawled out of the rocks, Roxanne shook her head. This wasn't working for her, and she was preparing to switch strategies. "Rock throw!"

May felt her nerves grow. Demi had improved, but no matter how much better she was doing, she simply wouldn't be able to avoid all of those rocks.

Feeling desperate, May cried, "Use charm!"

As Geodude began grappling about for rocks, Demi enlarged her eyes and batted them innocently at Geodude. She titled her head ever so slightly to the left, enhancing her utter adorableness.

Geodude paused uncertainly. After a brief moment, he began throwing rocks across the field, but there was a certain hesitance about his moves that prevented the attack from reaching its full power.

Despite Geodude's temporarily weakened resolve, rocks were hurdling towards Demi. One shot dangerously towards her, but there was no way she could avoid it without running straight into another one. Demi glanced around, desperately searching for a safe spot.

"Block with water gun!" May pleaded.

The water met the rock in mid air. Unfortunately, there was nowhere near enough force behind it to knock it away, so it dropped straight through the liquid. Unable to escape, Demi was knocked aside roughly by the rock.

For a scary moment, May feared she had been knocked out again. However, Demi shifted shakily, afraid to move under the ongoing downfall of stones. Only one good thing came out of the attack: it had put Demi close to a potential shield.

"Get behind that rock!" May urged anxiously, stealing Roxanne's earlier idea. It was one of the larger boulders on the field, and there was no way even Geodude could move it.

Weakly, Demi scurried behind the makeshift shield, getting scraped by another stone in the process. Geodude, who was now completely recovered from the charm attack since he couldn't see Demi, redirected his attack. His rocks bounced loudly against the larger one, but they couldn't reach Demi.

May didn't know what to do. This battle was quickly nearing its end, for both pokemon looked ready to pass out. She needed to beat Geodude, and fast, but there was no way for Demi to reach him without fainting before she got there.

Their only chance was for Roxanne to get frustrated enough to have Geodude come to Demi. Biting her lip, May stayed silent, ready to wait it out.

She didn't have to wait long.

"Stop," Roxanne told Geodude, frowning in concentration. He stopped tossing rocks and looked at his trainer in relief. "Go tackle her. You know what to do."

Geodude nodded, heading towards Demi. May tried to follow his progress, but she soon lost him. The battlefield had become littered with rocks of all sizes, and she recalled that geodude were skilled at concealing themselves as boulders.

Fantastic, May thought worriedly. She should've known Roxanne wouldn't send her pokemon into attack recklessly.

The battlefield grew hauntingly silent for a few moments before a mound of rocks behind Demi erupted. Geodude leapt out of them, coming straight for her. Her former shield had turned against her, for it now cut off any possible escape route.

"Water gun!" May said, getting a strange sense of déjà vu. She prayed it didn't turn out like last time.

Although Demi watched Geodude with wide eyes, she managed to produce one last, weakened water gun attack. It smacked him in the face, yet he still rammed her into the rock behind her. She slid down the hard surface, eyes closed.

Demi was down for the count.

May was so upset upon recalling Demi that it took her a moment to realize that Roxanne, grim faced, was doing the same to Geodude. Apparently, the attack had been too much for him to take, after all.

They could still do this.

Steeling her resolve, she plucked Soren's pokeball off of her belt and threw it onto the battlefield. He materialized from the white light, tapping his foot impatiently. Across from him, Roxanne had already released Nosepass, who Soren glared down with defiant yellow eyes.

"Bullet seed," May said immediately.

"Defend with block!"

The barrage of seeds fired roughly into Nosepass, who was distracted from his attack. Soren was simply too quick for him, and Roxanne knew it. Lips pursed, the gym leader called out another attack.

"Thunder wave!"

The streak of electricity shot towards Soren, who leapt nimbly out of the way using his quick attack. A second and third wave followed the first, although to May's immense relief, he managed to weave around those, too.

She racked her brain, trying desperately to figure out what to do next. No matter what, she couldn't risk Soren getting paralyzed or worn down again, for that would take away his greatest advantage: his speed. Unfortunately, Roxanne was well aware of this.

"Add in some rock tombs, Nosepass!" she said, crossing her arms in a somewhat superior manner.

"You can't let that hit you, Soren!" May cried. If he got trapped again, they were through. He didn't have any attacks strong enough to break out of it.

Nosepass was slow, but between dodging his barrage of thunder waves and rock tombs, Soren quickly found himself on the opposite edge of the battlefield from his opponent. Roxanne smirked.

"Now use block."

Rocks shot up out of the ground everywhere, many of them forming tall formations over both May and Roxanne's heads. Combined with the earlier rock throws from Geodude and even Nosepass's own rock tombs, Roxanne had crafted a forest of stone.

May frowned, straining to find Soren in the mess. She didn't know what Roxanne was trying to accomplish, because she was sure that neither of them could really see anything!

Finally, she found him, hovering uncertainly between two large boulders. She caught his eye and pointed meaningfully in the direction Nosepass had last been in. He nodded and darted off between the rocks towards his opponent.

When he spotted Nosepass, Soren triumphantly leapt out from behind one of the towers of stone to spit a rapid-fire bullet seed at him. However, clunky as Nosepass was, he simply inched his way behind one of his rocks for protection, leaving Soren's attack to bounce harmlessly off the walls.

"Rock tomb!" Roxanne said again.

Rocks sprung up where Soren had been standing with a loud crash, and May realized they were meant more to keep him on the run than to actually hit him. It gave Nosepass time to change position.

"Now, use rock throw!"

May was stumped. Nosepass wasn't near Soren, and there was no room to hurl massive boulders with the battlefield in its current state. What was Roxanne thinking?

To May's shock, smaller, sharper rocks shot around a corner towards Soren. He cried out in surprise and hit the floor, although a few still scraped painfully across his back before shooting into the rock behind him.

"What!?" May cried, pulling at her hair. A couple spires away from Soren, she could see yet more rocks on the way. "Soren, keep moving!"

She couldn't win like this. Soren was doing a relatively good job dodging, but there was no way he could get a solid hit on Nosepass. All Roxanne was doing was wearing down his strength slowly.

"How is it doing that?" she questioned aloud, frustrated. Surprisingly, she got an answer.

"My field is magnetized," Roxanne said confidently. "Nosepass can control anything he wants."

Well that was just great. A magnetic field!

What to do, what to do…. How can a grass type work a rock field to his advantage? Wait… it's a rock forest.

May wanted to smack herself on the forehead for being so stupid. "Soren, climb up one of those rocks and try to attack from above!"

With ease, Soren climbed to the top of one of the pillars, where he gained a better vantage point of the entire field. Occasionally, another bundle of rocks would shoot up from the ground to chase him, but he was in his element. He darted among the rocks expertly, treating them as if they were real trees.

The battle quickly became a game of hide-and-seek. Soren jumped from rock to rock, popping out on Nosepass and using his bullet seed attack. Usually, it only grazed him, for he was consistently nearby other rocks he could step behind for shelter.

Because Nosepass always looked so impassive, it was practically impossible for May to tell exactly how much damage Soren was doing. Judging by Roxanne's tight expression, it was enough.

At the same time, Nosepass kept trailing Soren with rock throw. His attacks struck significantly less often than Soren's did, but May was quickly growing concerned. Whether she liked it or not, Nosepass had a much higher defense than Soren, and if this was going to be a test of stamina, it would be difficult for her treecko to win.

"Nosepass, close your eyes and focus," Roxanne said tensely. Obviously, she wasn't feeling any more assured than May at this point in the battle.

"Pass," Nosepass grunted. He must have closed his eyes in concentration, but May couldn't really tell.

She wasn't sure what Roxanne was trying to do, but she had a nasty feeling that magnetism had something to do with it. Could Nosepass sense where Soren was if he used that ability? She wasn't about to stick around and find out.

"Soren, you have to get him now! Bullet seed, close up!" she ordered, heart pounding.

Determinedly, Soren shot across a few rocks to dive bravely down towards Nosepass. Glowing yellow seeds spilled out of his mouth and cannoned powerfully into the rock type for the entirety of his fall, which seemed to last an eternity. He finished the attack and landed a few feet away, watching his opponent with tired yellow eyes.

And then he was suddenly encased in Nosepass's rock tomb attack.

"No! Soren, try to break out! Bullet seed!" May begged.

Nothing happened. She didn't know what to think, not after everything they had just gone through. It didn't even seem real.

Roxanne let out a relieved breath, as if she had been holding it for a very long time. "Sorry, May, but it looks like-"

She cut herself off, starting at Nosepass's rock tomb in shock. A light, green glow was radiating through the cracks in the stone, and suddenly, the rock was shattered as palm-sized yellow seeds erupted from within. Soren stood at the center, his scales literally glowing emerald.

May stared, open-mouthed. Somehow, she managed to blurt, "Absorb!"

Soren's green glow intensified, and Nosepass was unable to react when large, glowing pools of energy were sucked out of his body. They hovered in the air momentarily before floating back to Soren, who looked suddenly revitalized.

The green glow dimmed, and Soren watched smugly as Nosepass trembled and fell onto his back, the impact of which shook the entire battlefield.

"Roxanne's pokemon are unable to battle. The challenger wins!"

May pulled out her Pokedex and read over the screen in disbelief. Soren's Overgrow ability had kicked in right when he was about to faint.

May loved Overgrow.

Shoving the device back into her pocket, she ran, beaming, straight onto the battlefield, where she swept Soren into her arms. She squeezed him as tightly as she could without strangling him, and although he made a show of rolling his eyes, she had a feeling he loved the attention.

"Soren, we did it! We won!" she said excitedly.

"Tree," he said, in a 'duh' tone.

A tap on her shoulder drew May out of her thrilled daze. She turned around to face Roxanne, who was smiling at her wryly. The gym leader held something shiny out to her, and she opened her hand to accept it.

A tiny, metal object that looked somewhat like a broken rectangle fell into her palm. It was glittering a gorgeous pink and yellow. Beaming, May held it up so that Soren could look at it with her.

"Congratulations on winning the Stone Badge, May. That was a fantastic battle," Roxanne said, inclining her head slightly. A knowing spark entered her dark eyes. "Norman would be proud."

May faltered. "W-what did you say? I don't know a Norman," she said awkwardly.

She failed at life. Her secret that she didn't even know the reason for keeping was out already.

Roxanne's lips twitched into the faintest trace of a smile. "Like father like daughter, I suppose. Your secret is safe with me."

"Thanks," May said, relieved. At least she wouldn't have to worry about her dad trying to kill her. Maybe.

Roxanne eyes drifted to something over her shoulder, and they widened. "Brendan Birch. Are you taking the gym challenge again?"

May spun around, vaguely noticing that Brendan was shaking his head grumpily at Roxanne's question.

"Brendan, I won!" she exclaimed needlessly, smiling widely. She impulsively opened her left arm (the one that wasn't holding Soren) as if to hug him, but she backed out at the last second. After pausing uncertainly for several moments, she settled for awkwardly slapping him on the shoulder, trying not to blush at her actions.

"You get weirder every day," Brendan said, shaking his head at her. Then, he actually gave her a small smile. "Good job, though."

"Thanks for helping me," May said, so happy that she ignored Soren's obnoxious sniggers in the background. She just couldn't wait to tell her dad about her badge!

Brendan opened his mouth, probably to add some other sarcastic remark that would ruin their bonding moment, but a hand fell on his shoulder. He immediately became sullen looking again.

"I gotta say, that was a fantastic battle, young lady!" the man from before exclaimed. He belted out a laugh. "I was surprised, after our little meeting in Petalburg. But I guess I should've expected nothing less from a friend of Brendan Birch, huh?"

At this, he shook Brendan's shoulder, chuckling as if they were the greatest of friends. Then his eyes (Which were still covered by sunglasses, even inside) turned to Roxanne.

"I was just waiting on Roxanne here to finish her gym battle. I've been meaning to scope out the trainer's school, but boy did I stop by at the perfect time!"

"Oh, thanks," May said, uncertainly. She sneezed then, and when she wiped at her face, she noticed a layer of dust rub off on her finger. It was from all the rocks being tossed around, probably.

"Right this way then, Scott," Roxanne said, stony faced. She wasn't exactly the most excitable person, but as she led 'Scott' away, May decided that she wouldn't be smiling, either.

"Who the heck is that guy, anyway?" May asked, once they were back onto the streets of Rustboro. She alternated between playing with her shiny new badge and the charm bracelet on her wrist.

"He's not a trainer," Brendan said, confirming May's earlier thoughts. He frowned. "But he's obsessed with powerful ones. He owns this big tourist trap called the Battle Frontier, and he only wants the best to challenge it."

"Oh," May said. Then something dawned on her. "So he wanted you to challenge it?"

"Sort of…" Brendan said, drawing in on himself the way he always did.

May sighed. She was going to get him to open up sooner or later, but for now she decided to move on to a safer topic.

"So Brendan… What's Neptune's favorite dessert? I owe him."

AN: Fun fact? I totally jammed out to R/S/E battle music while I wrote May's battle against Roxanne. I had to play it about a bazillion times because battles are so hard for me.

NOTICE: There will be only two updates for the month of February (So the next update will be the 13th). School is kicking my butt right now, and I've been getting a bit behind on my writing. I need to take a breather and catch up, because some serious mental exhaustion is kicking in. On the bright side, next chapter is the longest one yet, so it should do a decent job of holding you guys over when it gets here.

If all goes well, we can return to weekly updates in March!

Which city/town in the pokemon world is the coolest? (I always loved Fortree, just because I thought it would be awesome to live in a tree house when I was a kid.)