So May came out as the most common favorite character among the people who actually reviewed, which actually pleasantly surprised me! I expected either Brendan or Wally to win, but I'm glad you guys like the main character. Haha.
I usually respond to all reviews via PM, but I got an anonymous review from someone called Mudkip that absolutely made my day (And seeing that it's anonymous, I can't PM them). Thank you so much, your comment was so unbelievably sweet!
Chapter 16: In Deep Water
"Here's my Pokenav number in case you youngins ever need me again!"
May didn't exactly picture Mr. Briney as the type to own a Pokenav. Her hands froze on the boat ladder she was descending, and she glanced up at the elderly man in surprise. As per usual, her mouth ran ahead of her brain, and she said, "You have a Pokenav?"
Mr. Briney, typically a man with such a cheerful demeanor, scoffed in indignation. "Of course I have a Pokenav. Get with the times!"
Brendan chortled into his hands, which made him briefly pause in entering Mr. Briney's number into his Pokenav. May felt blood rush to her cheeks, and she allowed herself to drop off the ladder and into the sand beside her amused traveling companion.
"Oh," she said embarrassedly. "Thanks again for the ride. You too, Peeko."
The wingull chirped and nestled herself further into the crook of Mr. Briney's neck. He smiled at her fondly before turning his attention back to May and Brendan. "Don't forget to come visit me, ye hear? Oh, and you have to stop by the Seashore House! They got the best soda pops around!"
As he pulled away, May's spirits couldn't be higher. She had begun to feel antsy after remaining on Dewford for so long, but now they were almost in the famous seaside city of Slateport. She'd already added a second badge to her collection, and to top it off, they were about to finally get the pressure of keeping up with Devon's package off their chests.
The only thing that could've made her day better was getting to talk to her dad. She'd tried to call him the day before and again that very morning to tell him about her new badge, yet he'd been unavailable both times. "Gym leader business" was the only explanation his secretary had provided.
On the bright side, at least she'd gotten to talk to her mother about her battle. Caroline couldn't really relate, but she was proud of her daughter anyway (Although she was mostly happy about getting a phone call. She always was). Besides, May knew her father would call her back as soon as he got the chance. She wasn't going to dwell on it.
May observed the beach with wonder sparkling across her face. Unlike Dewford, it was packed with people of all kinds, and it was clear that a higher amount of upkeep went into it. Obviously, this place was the place for vacation in Hoenn.
She skirted awkwardly around a group of shirtless teenage guys flashing their muscles during a volleyball match before turning to Brendan.
"So where's this Seashore House?" she asked curiously.
"There's no point in going there." Brendan, of course, was moody from the boat ride. He hadn't puked this time, but he'd still gotten queasy.
May raised her eyebrows and reached out a hand to give his sleeve a threatening tug. "Maybe I want something to drink."
"Maybe we should deliver this package we've had for weeks."
"We're going," May announced, a sense of finality to her tone.
True to her word, she dragged a grumbling Brendan around until they found the tiny shack labeled "The Seashore House". The inside was sticky and humid, although it was bustling with locals and tourists alike, and it had a warm atmosphere that May certainly hadn't expected out of a business in a big city. Many trainers eyed the pokeballs on both she and Brendan longingly, and May promised them that she'd come back another day for battles. Brendan, on the other hand, didn't comment.
May watched him with a concerned frown on her face. She knew he noticed it, but he pointedly ignored it.
"Hi there, little lady!" a heavy set man running the bar greeted, startling May out of her thoughts. "Our specialty today is Seaside Snow Cones, the best treat for water pokemon this side of Hoenn!"
May blinked. "Oh. I'll take one- no two! And one blue raspberry snow cone, please."
"Hungry?" Brendan asked, raising his eyebrows. He was pale from his seasickness, but his attitude was as present as ever.
"Just be quiet and let Neptune out," she said, pulling out Demi's pokeball. Her azurill wasn't technically a water type just yet, but May figured she might as well be. She knew she would appreciate the snow cone either way.
Demi's blue-furred body appeared on the stool in between May and Brendan, while Brendan reluctantly released Neptune on his other side. The golduck naturally drew lots of awed stares, for his experience radiated clearly in red gaze. He cackled to himself and stared down at Demi cockily.
"Ril, azurill!" She breathed a cheerful bubble in his direction, and it popped square in the middle of his beak.
"Look guys, our snow cones are here!" May said quickly, spotting the enraged twitch on Neptune's face. She shoved some pokedollars into the barkeep's hand and carefully grasped the icy treats.
"This is for helping out in Rustboro," she said, handing Neptune one of the so-called seaside ones. He stared at it before slowly grasping it, as if he was worried it was poisonous. Brendan rolled his eyes.
"Eat it," he said impatiently.
"Gold, duck duck!"
"I can tell him we don't want it if you aren't going to eat it," May tried, pursing her lips and giving Neptune a knowing side eye.
After a moment, he sucked some of the icy goodness up into his beak. He paused for what felt like an eternity, but finally a twitter of delight slipped from him. He cocked his head to the side, as if he were observing May in an entirely new light.
"Thought so," she chirped, pleased.
May then held the other silvery colored snow cone out to her azurill, keeping the sapphire one for herself. Demi didn't even hesitate before taking a humongous bite and chewing heartily. Her black eyes shone with affection.
"Ril!" she exclaimed. Suddenly, she bounced herself into May's lap (narrowly avoiding knocking both snow cones out of her hands) to lick her cheek.
"Demi," May managed to say through her laughter, yet she lost her train of thought when she abruptly realized that Demi's fur was glowing white. It spread all across her body before condensing into a magnificent force of energy that sent waves of pleasant heat shooting across May's lap.
Demi's form stretched upwards several inches, and the weight against May's thighs increased slightly as the azurill also grew rounder. The glow and warmth crept away to reveal a jubilant marill.
"Ril," Demi squeaked. Her voice had matured an octave.
"No way!"
May was in awe. Not one, but two of her pokemon had already evolved! Unable to contain her excitement, she pulled her new marill into a tight hug, all thoughts of protecting the snow cones long abandoned. She noted that Demi's fur was now slightly rubbery against her fingers. It was part of adapting to the water typing, no doubt.
She felt so honored. She'd done plenty of research on all of her pokemon, and the Pokedex specifically said that azurill only evolved through happiness. Demi was really happy to be with her!
"You see that folks? My snow cones help trigger evolution!" the owner yelled ecstatically. Many of the other customers whispered to one another behind sunburned hands, while a few called out their own water types and scrambled to get in line for a Seaside Snow Cone.
May gave the man a look, but surprisingly, it was Brendan who spoke up.
"Actually, I'm pretty sure it has something to do with a close bond with the trainer," he said dryly.
The man shrugged. "Oh well. I'm still adding it to the advertisement."
"Are you ready?" Brendan asked. He eyed the mass of people purchasing Seaside Snow Cones critically. Apparently, he was tired of associating with such gullible trainers.
"Mmhmm," May said, through a mouthful of blue raspberry flavored snow cone. She tipped her cone up, allowing the last few bits of flavorful ice to fall onto her tongue before tossing it into the trashcan. "C'mon, Demi."
She couldn't bear to return her, not after she'd just evolved. Demi needed to adjust to her new body, and plus, May couldn't really get over admiring her just yet. She was still so cute, but it was a different cute now.
Brendan, meanwhile, clipped Neptune's pokeball back to his belt and held the door open long enough for May to walk through. Still giddy from Demi's new evolution, she shot a pleasant smile of thanks his way.
He snorted.
Well, that certainly wasn't the reaction she had expected! She glared at him in disbelief. "Geez, next time I'll just ignore you!"
"Your mouth's blue."
Her hand instinctively shot up to cover her lips, and her eyes widened in humiliation. She tried to narrow them into a glare, but judging by the snickers erupting from Brendan, it wasn't very effective.
Why oh why was blue raspberry her favorite flavor?
"Marill?" Demi squinted up at Brendan, her ears twitching. She looked like she couldn't comprehend what was wrong with having a blue mouth.
"I didn't say anything was wrong with it," Brendan said, in a knowingly amused tone that clearly meant anything but.
"Shut up," May mumbled through her fingers. A second later, she wished she had brought up how his entire face had turned green from seasickness only a couple of hours ago, but it was too late now.
Luckily, the city of Slateport was quickly coming into sight. May could tell by the vast expanse of crisp, metal buildings that it was larger than any city she'd been to, larger even than Rustboro. Strangely, it still seemed very clean and beautiful.
Perfect, brick pathways carved their way among the houses, but carts with colorful umbrellas occupied nearly half of the city. Women and children with shopping baskets could be seen bartering with shop owners, and exotic pokemon of all varieties wandered the streets. May remembered Brendan telling her that it was the largest open-air market in the entire world.
An immense lighthouse towered over the other side of the city, facing towards the coast. Numerous piers hung out into the deep ocean, clearly designated as fishing spots. The mid-afternoon sunshine sparkled off the water in the harbor gloriously, reflecting images of the hundreds of tiny sailboats and cruise liners alike.
But the city wasn't the only thing May noticed.
On the final stretch of the beach, several people meandered around in that achingly familiar pirate-like uniform. May dug her heels into the sand, and her heartbeat sped up. She reached out a hand to warn Brendan, but he'd already come to a stop.
"Oh crap," May whispered, and Brendan's face was tense as well. All thoughts of her blue mouth were long forgotten.
Could Team Aqua know that they were here with the Devon goods? After the incident with Team Magma in Granite Cave, May worried just how far they were willing to go to get them back.
"Wait… I don't think they're here for us," Brendan said. He blinked, clearly relieved.
May took a double take at the Team Aqua members. A few other beachgoers were also watching them, but it was with curiosity as opposed to fear. Instead of threatening people, the activists were lugging around large black garbage bags. Briefly, she wondered whose possessions they had stolen this time before realizing that that wasn't the case at all.
They were picking up trash off of the beach.
May crinkled her eyebrows, troubled. It was hard to put exactly what she was thinking into words. "Do you think all of them are bad?" she asked finally.
Brendan shifted his backpack straps on his shoulder, and a frown sprouted on his face. After a moment, he shook his head resolutely. "Other people clean up the beach without stealing and kidnapping girls."
"I guess you're right…." she said. Demi was pawing at the sand happily, but she abruptly recalled her in a flash of red light. The time for fun was over, for now. "Can we go find Captain Stern? I don't like having Devon's stuff with them here."
"Yeah, let's go," Brendan agreed.
They walked off the beach at a hurried pace, careful to avoid attracting any attention from Team Aqua. Soon, the soft sand beneath their sneakers was replaced with the smooth stone of the sidewalk as they entered the city.
"How the heck are we supposed to find one guy in this huge city?" May asked, eyeing the expansive mass of buildings and people doubtfully. Although she was less nervous now that they had left the immediate proximity of Team Aqua, she'd feel even better once the package was out of their care.
Brendan fished his Pokenav out of his shorts' pocket and began tapping on the screen. "The envelope said something about a shipyard," he said absentmindedly.
His red-brown eyes glinted from the light off of the device, and then they abruptly lit in satisfaction. He shoved his Pokenav back into the depths of his pocket, his gaze now trained somewhere down the coastline.
"It should be a big warehouse near the ocean," Brendan described, starting off through the city once again.
May kept her eyes peeled for any sign of the shipyard, but she'd be lying if she said she wasn't distracted by Slateport's beauty. While she had come to the conclusion that it was larger than Rustboro, she decided that she preferred it. Not only was it cleaner, but also the people around her seemed much more laidback in their beach clothes than had the high-fashion residents of Rustboro. Plus, the view of ultramarine waves lapping idly at the distant shore didn't do any harm.
"There it is," Brendan said, nodding towards a boxy metal building soon after they'd left the beach. It was large, indicating that it could hold a great capacity, and shells of old boats lay strewn across the lawn nearby, while functioning vessels were docked in its private harbor.
Despite her people watching, May hadn't missed it. "Yay! We don't have to carry around that heavy package anymore."
Brendan raised his eyebrows and jiggled the contents of his backpack pointedly. "We?"
A flash of blue and black among the sea of otherwise brightly clothed people caught May's eye, making her forget her response. At this point, she couldn't miss a Team Aqua uniform anywhere.
There were two of them, and judging by their simple attire, they were regular ranking grunts. She saw them lean in to whisper with one another before the one on the left rapidly gestured towards a building several rows down from the shipyard. It looked fancy, and it was lined with impressive windows and carvings of seashells.
An unsettled feeling bubbled in the pit of May's stomach. They were up to something, no doubt.
Brendan, who was sulky after being ignored, was heading for the heavy door on the shipyard. She came to a stop in the middle of the street and latched onto his sleeve, preventing him from continuing. She made sure not to lose sight of the Aqua grunts.
Brendan glanced back at her, his eyebrows drawn up in annoyance, and she nodded towards the men. "They're up to something," she said.
He frowned and turned back towards the shipyard in disinterest. "Maybe they ran out of garbage bags."
"Brendan, I'm being serious!"
"C'mon. It's none of our business," Brendan said. His voice sounded very tired all of a sudden. Examining his stressed face, May realized just how many messes she had already gotten them into over the course of their journey.
She understood why he was reluctant to stir up any trouble. The scratches on her chest from Houndoom were long healed, but the memories were still fresh. These gangs disguised as environmentalists were dangerous. It seemed like keeping them in check should be the police's job, or the League, but they weren't here. Besides, it wasn't like she planned to fight them if she didn't have to. She only wanted to make sure no one else was about to end up like she had with Team Magma.
"Maybe it is," she argued. The grunts had started walking again, albeit slowly, and she didn't like it one bit. "What if they hurt somebody, or steal something? There's only two of them, and we're together this time. We can take them if we have to!"
His shoulders tensed, and she knew as soon as the words had left her mouth that the invisible line they'd drawn had finally been crossed.
"I don't know if you've noticed, May, but I haven't battled in almost two years!" he snapped, and May saw anger in his eyes that was far sharper than the typical annoyance he showed towards her.
The mamoswine in the room was out at last, and it had come in a full on stampede.
"Fine." She swallowed, avoiding his face like the plague. In her peripheral, the Aqua grunts continued to inch towards the building. Whether it was out of true bravery or just the selfish desire to get away from Brendan, she said, "I'll go check it out, and you just take the package to Captain Stern."
May charged through the crowd towards the glass building before he could reply. She accidentally rammed into several people in the process, and she probably came off as a rude little brat. However, she was focused on two things, and two things only: catching up to the Aqua grunts and avoiding Brendan's reaction.
When she arrived in front of the building, she was panting, and the Aquas had already entered through the revolving glass doors. May rested her hands on her knees and took the opportunity to examine the sign. Apparently, the odd building was the Oceanic Museum.
Maybe they really aren't up to anything, May thought with dread. After all, it seemed rather normal for ocean activists to check out an ocean museum, didn't it? She'd feel terrible if she'd just started such a potentially explosive fight with Brendan over nothing.
A heavy grip yanked on her shoulder out of nowhere, causing her to let out a little yelp of fright. May spun around, hand shooting to a pokeball. She half expected to see a gaggle of Team Aqua ready to finish her off once and for all.
Instead, she was met with a familiar tan face and white hat, which drained her fear only slightly. On second thought, she might take a few Aqua grunts over an angry Brendan. May scanned him nervously for any sign of how he was about to react.
Brendan didn't say anything at first. For once, he was breathing heavily, and he had his backpack grasped oddly in his free hand. He let his fingers drop from her shoulder so that he could zip it back up and slip it over his shoulders.
As the seconds ticked by, May's unease increased. She kept waiting for him to yell or threaten to go back home and make her travel alone, but nothing was worse than the stony silence he was currently giving her. It was eating her alive.
"I figured I'd better watch your back," he said eventually, in a casual tone that was just forced enough to let her know that everything wasn't really okay between them.
"Oh," she said awkwardly. The tension in the air felt like it could be cut with a knife, yet she still couldn't help but be relieved that he had followed her. He didn't hate her, at least. "Thanks."
"Well go in if you're going."
May turned to go into the museum, frowning when she knew he could no longer see her face. She didn't like Brendan like this. It reminded her all too much of her first couple of days back in Hoenn, when he'd acted like he genuinely didn't want to be around her. She'd take teasing and sarcasm any day over this.
Her hand pushed through the revolving door, and she felt Brendan come in behind her. Felt, because he didn't talk to her.
She sighed and focused her attention on searching for the familiar garb of Team Aqua. Luckily, there weren't many other visitors in the middle of the day, so she caught sight of them almost immediately amongst the pristine tile floors and aquatic exhibits. They were standing very close together, whispering in hushed tones that made her doubt they were discussing the sea salt sample in front of them.
"Excuse me," a voice bit out. "Excuse me."
May's attention snapped to a reception desk that she had somehow overlooked in her hurry to find Team Aqua. A graying lady with pink, horn-rimmed glasses was glaring at her.
"Children don't get in for free," she snapped. "Sneaking in is stealing."
May glared at her, astonished at the irony of it all. Stealing! She was trying to protect the museum from whatever Team Aqua was up to, which probably involved thievery. She was doing the opposite of stealing!
And I'm almost sixteen! she thought irritably. That's not a child.
She opened her mouth, prepared to tell the lady off, but Brendan slid in front of her. His own dislike was clear from the slight downturn of his mouth, but he pulled out his wallet and grumbled, "How much?"
"Fifty pokedollars apiece," the lady said, looking down on them like they were nothing more than rambunctious hooligans. She actually seemed caught off guard when Brendan pulled out the full amount and tossed it in her direction.
"Hm. Enjoy your visit." Her tone wasn't particularly enjoyable, but Brendan pushed May further into the museum, as if he was still afraid she would get into a fight.
"Hmph. That's horrible service," she complained once they were out of earshot, crossing her arms. "And that price is ridiculous! I'm a poor pokemon trainer."
"You didn't even pay." Brendan rolled his eyes. "You owe me fifty pokedollars, by the way."
"Whatever," she mumbled, before creeping over to an exhibit near the two Team Aqua members. They hadn't left their original position, and up close, May could tell that they certainly weren't talking about the museum's displays.
"….upstairs… I don't think… no people…." May stared hard at a machine demonstrating the movements of a whirlpool, but she was focusing all of her brainpower on eavesdropping. Beside her, she could tell Brendan was doing the same.
"You're sure it's Captain Stern?" one of them whispered.
"Yep, and he's alone."
May stiffened, and her eyes drifted up to meet Brendan's. His expression was dark. Clearly, he still didn't approve of what they were getting into, but an understanding passed between them.
They inched their way over to the stairs farthest from the Team Aqua grunts. When they were sure they weren't being noticed, they dove behind a large sculpture of an island before scrambling up the steps.
Upon surveying the floor, May discovered that it was indeed abandoned. The displays there were made up primarily of intricate models of submarines and historical ships. The most recent model was a large cruise liner, which took up so much space that May almost missed the solitary man observing it.
He was an older fellow (Younger than Mr. Briney, but several years older than her father), and his brown leather boater hat shaded his face. He held a finger to his chin and occasionally mumbled jibber-jabber under his breath, as if he was deeply troubled about something.
May and Brendan exchanged a glance. It had to be Captain Stern, right?
Brendan shrugged and resorted to shooting cautionary glances back down the stairs, waiting for the Aqua grunts to ambush them at any time. May also felt nerves tingling against her subconscious. She couldn't wait to get out of the museum, despite how readily she had rushed in.
She decided to take a chance. The man, whoever he was, wasn't with Team Aqua, at least.
"Are you Captain Stern?" May asked, approaching him. Brendan ran a frustrated hand across his forehead and trailed behind her, although he made sure to keep one eye on the stairs.
The man looked up, blinking curiously. "That would be me. Can I help you?"
She sighed, relieved. "We're here to deliver your parts from Devon."
"You are?" Captain Stern's formerly exhausted face lit up at once. "Oh, that's wonderful! Mr. Stone informed me that there were issues along the way, but now I can finally start working on building the submarine and getting together my expedition!"
Unease prickled at May's mind as he babbled on about the expedition. The museum was so very quiet, especially with it so empty, and she was afraid his voice would carry to the Aqua grunts' ears.
Beside her, Brendan's face was showing clear strain, and he didn't offer to get the package out of his backpack. Instead, he shook his head and motioned for Captain Stern to quiet down. "Wait, we don't want to let Team Aqua know-"
He stopped himself with an inaudible curse at the sound of feet pounding up the stairwell. May's heart lurched dangerously, and even Stern seemed to finally realize that something wasn't right.
The Aquas emerged, snarling. "Thought you'd sneak out oh us, eh?" one growled, directing his words to Stern as if May and Brendan were insignificant. Unlike his companion, he was very tan, marking him as a definite Hoenn native.
"Even better than we thought, too," the other said nastily. "You have the package with you now. We'll be taking it."
"W-who are you people?" Stern stuttered, bewildered, but May had already shouldered her way in front of him. She grasped Soren's pokeball in her hand, glaring up at them defiantly enough so that she was relatively confident they couldn't see the fear within.
"No one is taking anything," she assured. Her fingers twitched against the pokeball, prepared to fling it if the Aquas made the slightest wrong move.
To her fury (And slight humiliation), they erupted into loud guffaws.
"Seriously? This is your last line of defense? A puny little brat?"
May bristled. "Why does everyone keep saying that?! And there are two of us! I think I can take a guy who can't even count."
But she'd feel a lot more confident if Brendan would move to stand beside her already. Finally, he took the hint and stepped forwards, staring the grunts down haughtily.
"This isn't just any brat," the paler grunt spat. "I'll bet it's the same one who screwed us up the first time."
"Our boss has his eye on you, little girl," the other added. He smirked in a way that reminded May of a cackling golbat. "He's not an enemy you want to make. Just fork the package over and we might let you go."
Brendan stiffened beside May, but she barely registered his movements. Her breath caught in her throat. Their boss had his eye on her? What did that even mean? Did he actually know who she was? Was he after her?
"Y-you don't scare me," she managed to stutter. The grunts exchanged humorous glances, clearly seeing through her façade.
"Let's hope he's more threatening than you morons then," Brendan said, and despite his clearly upset posture, he sounded confident. And angry, very angry.
"Enough wasting time! We'll just take the package!" the tanner grunt exploded. "Go, Carvanha!"
A big-jawed, blue and red fish pokemon flew out onto the floor, flopping uselessly. May recognized it as the pre-evolved form of sharpedo, and despite the fact that it was out of its element, she resolved to take it seriously. Those teeth looked nasty.
Soren's pokeball sailed through the air in a flash, and her grovyle formed a protective barrier between them and the grunts. He didn't even flinch at the situation they were in. Instead, he hissed and crouched into a ready position, his gaze flickering from Carvanha to the grunts and back again.
But the grunts weren't ready to play fair, not by a long shot.
"Sick 'em, Pooch!"
The second Aqua released a growling poochyena onto the field, and both he and the carvanha eyed Soren like a piece of meat. May tensed. Soren had certainly grown a lot since the last time he'd faced a poochyena, and she was confident that he could take either of the grunts' pokemon. However, two-on-one was another matter entirely.
"Brendan," May hissed meaningfully, counting every second that passed before the Aquas attacked. She waited for him to add one of his own mighty pokemon to the fray, knowing that any of his team members could probably swat their opponents away as if they were nothing more than little wurmple.
Instead of acting, however, he stared at the battlefield with wide eyes. His hand held a pokeball that he had probably been meaning to throw at some point, but it was now falling limply against his side.
Whatever was wrong with Brendan, May didn't have time to reason with him now.
"Bite!" both grunts cawed, almost simultaneously.
"Get out of the way!" May screamed, groping blindly for another pokeball. She happened upon Ezra's, and as Soren twisted out of the way of two pairs of flailing jaws, her second pokemon formed in the midst of the battle.
The poochyena, who had missed Soren, stumbled when the bewildered meditite appeared in front of him. However, seconds later, he had a firm grip on Ezra's elbow with his sharp canines.
"Atta boy, Pooch! Dig in!"
Ezra was completely caught off guard. He didn't cry out, but his face scrunched up in undeniable agony as Pooch bit deeper into his arm, possibly deep enough to draw blood.
May's mind went into a frenzy. She'd never prepared for having her pokemon work together in a double battle, not even close. Even in trainer's school, her experience in anything but standard single battles was painfully limited.
"Pound on the poochyena!" she tried desperately.
Thankfully, Soren realized she was addressing him. He dodged another flailing motion from Carvanha and then sprung into the air above Pooch and Ezra. His head swung around for maximum power, and he brought his leaf down point blank in the space between Pooch's ears.
The dark type let out wounded yelp as his chin was rammed into the tile floor from the angle of the attack. The impact jarred his jaws loose, which allowed Ezra to stumble away from him.
Soren cocked his head, yellow eyes roaming over Ezra in the midst of the madness. The meditite was clutching his arm, but May (And presumably Soren as well) was relieved to see that he looked otherwise unharmed.
The brief lapse in concentration cost her dearly.
One second, both of her pokemon were standing side by side, and the next Soren had been jerked off of his feet by a powerful swirl of water. Carvanha was at the center, fangs glittering and body twisting as he propelled his powerful aqua jet forward. The force carried both pokemon across the room and straight into a submarine display, which they crashed into with an explosion of jagged glass.
The shards flew across the room, yet Soren and Carvanha lay collapsed in the center of it. Soren remained stunned for a moment before woozily climbing to his feet. Small red beads of blood decorated his scales from the various scratches the glass has given him, although Carvanha's much rougher skin seemed un-phased.
May's stomach swirled nervously, but she realized she couldn't afford to be distracted by blind worry. She'd have to take advantage of the close range of Carvanha while she had it.
"Mega drain on Carvanha!" she ordered.
Back on Dewford, Soren's absorb had strengthened into the more concentrated force that was mega drain. Larger, brighter globs of energy were sucked from Carvanha's body and into Soren's, and her grovyle had regained a significant glow of health when the attack faded.
Once she was confident Soren had regained the upper hand, May realized that she had completely lost focus on Ezra. Pooch was circling him, having long recovered from Soren's pound attack, and Ezra was shooting uncertain glances her way.
"Ezra, force palm on Poochyena!" Her gaze flickered back to Soren. "Soren, come over here!"
Ezra's glowing fist knocked Pooch away in a super effective maneuver, and the canine rolled across the ground weakly. "Ezra, you too!"
May felt significantly calmer when both of her pokemon gathered near her feet. She forced herself to remember that double battles weren't meant to be two separate single battles fought at once. They were supposed to play two pokemon's strength off of one another.
As May watched her opponents try to recover from her pokemon's last attacks, she also knew that it wouldn't take much more to knock them out. She would win this battle, even without Brendan's help, so long as she played her cards right.
Unfortunately, the Aqua grunts had realized their disadvantage as well. The tanner one scowled, glancing at his partner. "Go for the grovyle! Aqua jet, Carvanha!"
"Pooch, you use tackle!
Work together, how to work together? May thought frantically. She couldn't let her pokemon be separated again. "Ezra, use bide and take the aqua jet! Soren, stand behind Ezra and keep Poochyena away with bullet seed!"
Ezra dove in front of Soren, skin glowing white as he bravely faced the incoming rocket of water that was Carvanha. May only prayed that he had the strength left to take it.
Soren hesitated for a fraction of a second, glaring at the very idea of hiding behind Ezra. However, his eyes met May's pleading ones, and his loyalty to his trainer overcame his pride. Just before it was too late, he stayed obediently in place and spat a breath of seeds towards Pooch. The poochyena snarled and skidded to a stop, unwilling to dive through the offensive shield in order to complete his own attack.
When Carvanha finally plummeted into Ezra, May knew she had fatally misjudged his capacity to take the hit. He wobbled and fell back into Soren, who luckily had the strength to catch him.
"Med," Ezra mumbled, eyes half-lidded.
Carvanha's aqua jet had left him inches away. Fangs flashing, he flopped towards Ezra, and Soren took his bullet seed off of Pooch in preparation to defend them-
But then a massive ray of white light burst from Ezra's exhausted body, blowing Carvanha all the way back to his trainer on the other side of the room. He didn't get up again.
Ezra trembled and collapsed to his knees. May pulled out his pokeball, keeping her eyes firmly on the grunts that were doing the same for Carvanha.
"Good job, Ez," she said, as he was absorbed into the ball.
May turned her attention back to Soren. He flashed his leaves dangerously and narrowed his eyes at Pooch, who looked much frailer on his feet than Soren did. Finishing the battle would be tiring, but she knew her grovyle could win.
She was contemplating which attack to start off with when Pooch was abruptly enveloped in a powerful swirl of green and blue flames. They ate away miserably at his fur before clearing to reveal his fainted body.
A low grumble from somewhere beside May drew her eyes away from the scene. A pair of fierce yellow eyes glared back at her from the depths of a structured gray shell. The grumble faded into a low growl of dislike.
"Good girl," Brendan said in a strange, disconnected voice. Iris made another strange noise, this one an impossible mixture between a snarl and a fond coo.
May allowed her shoulders to slump in relief. They'd won, and now the grunts would have no choice but to flee. She forced herself not to contemplate the threats about their boss from earlier, knowing her sanity couldn't handle it at the moment.
One of the grunts slapped himself on the forehead. "If we don't get that package, the boss is gonna flip his shit!"
"You wanna go through those pokemon? Be my guest!"
Soren stood up to his full height and stared at the grunts down, like they were nothing more than tiny bug types at his feet. Iris's eyes seemed to glint even more evilly than was per usual. May almost allowed herself the faintest trace of amusement, but it vanished when she heard more movement on the stairs. This time, it was from a single pair of feet.
May's skin crawled with dread, and as soon as the third man entered the room, she knew why.
The bandana he was wearing immediately set him apart as another member of Team Aqua, but May had no doubt that he wasn't the average grunt. He was dressed in an expensive wetsuit, which tapered off at the back rather like a watery cape. Various pendants decorated his body, ranging from an empoleon trident to the anchor chain around his neck.
It was as if he was casually labeling himself as the king of the sea. Instead of scoffing at the arrogance of it all, May found herself struggling not to shrink back towards Brendan.
The man's cold brown eyes surveyed the room, and the grunts noticeably avoided eye contact with him. A hushed silence had fallen over the room. Slowly, his sharp jaw clenched, and he strode towards them, his large arms swinging as he walked. May's gaze couldn't help but be drawn to his chest, which was not only ridiculously ripped but also lined with scars.
Her heart seemed to beat a second faster with every step he took, but suddenly, he came to a stop before he reached them. His attention was caught on something on the other side of one of the display cases.
"Well what do we have here?" he spoke, and his voice was rough, like the ocean during a storm. "Two useless simps, a couple of meddling brats, and a coward."
May had no idea what he was talking about until he reached down and pulled up a whimpering Captain Stern with a firm grip. She couldn't contain her gasp of horror. He must've crawled away to hide during the fight, and now there was no telling what that man was about to do to him!
"Boss, we tried, I swear, but this girl is stronger than she looks-"
"Shut up. You're unbelievable," the man spat. He jerked Captain Stern slightly with the movement, and the man winced in fright. "Letting some little newbie trainer stop you from taking those parts. I'll show you how to get things done."
He turned to May and Brendan.
"Hello," he said. His borderline-casual manner did absolutely nothing to quell May's nerves. Quite the opposite, in fact. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Archie, the head of Team Aqua."
Brendan remained quiet and pale next to May, still quite shaken over something—the Aquas, the battle, whatever it was that had rattled him so. With a certain tinge of horror, she realized that talking them out of this situation was going to fall on her shoulders. Steeling her resolve, she managed a glare.
"Let Captain Stern go," she said. Privately, she really hoped he didn't decide to attack her. If he was anything like Tabitha, she probably wouldn't stand a chance, and Brendan didn't appear to be gathering his normally collected senses anytime soon.
Archie laughed. "Now, let's not get ahead of ourselves, here. Don't you want to introduce yourself?"
She remained stubbornly silent.
He sobered immediately, his expression turning hard. "Listen here, little scamp. I know all about your interference in Rustboro, and I'm not happy."
He paused, and May gulped. Once he seemed satisfied with the uncertainty clouding her expression, he continued. "Have you ever thought about how all life depends on the sea? Most people don't, but we do. Pokemon don't deserve to be harmed because of humanity's flaws, and we're putting a stop to it. Like it or not, kid, we're the good guys."
"Good guys don't steal," May said resolutely, though her voice was small. Soren backed up against her legs and nodded in agreement, and Archie scoffed.
"You're too young to understand what Team Aqua wants to achieve, so I'm going to let you slide just this one time. One chance, you hear me?"
The words echoed hauntingly in her head. One chance? Was he threatening to kill her if she interfered again?
"Here's that chance," he said, drawing the bonier body of Stern into his own towering form. His hand hovered over the captain's throat, and May feared he could snap his neck with his bare hands. "Give me the Devon goods now, or this man will be the first to pay for your ignorance."
AN: Dramatic cliffhanger alert. Sorry about that, but my word count kept climbing again. I had no choice if I wanted to separate my chapters reasonably.
Since azurill evolve through happiness, I thought it'd be nice to have a scene like this instead of a random battle. But poor Demi, being outshined by all the conflict going on. I'm not sure which one is worse, the hero/villain conflict or the May/Brendan conflict.
If you had to be a monotype trainer, which type would you train? I think I'd go for fire, since a lot of my favorite pokemon are that type! Dragon would probably be a close second, just because who doesn't love a dragon?
Please review! Your comments will be doubly appreciated during my awful finals week ;)