So updates might take a little longer than I hoped, but it really all depends on how busy I am and what writing I have to get through whichever week specifically.

This is a very fun, character interaction and Slateport world building heavy chapter, so I apologize to those of you who dislike anything filler-ish. I don't like using that word, because every scene has at least some purpose, but you get the point.

Chapter 18: Tricks and Treats

The salty scent of the sea air seeped into May's nose, and the coastal breeze carrying it tossed her hair about wildly. She was wearing it free today, having long since given up trying to tame the messy waves that the humidity of the beach had cursed her with. In celebration of spending time in a city, she'd also forgone her trainer's clothes in favor of a ruffled green tank and jean shorts.

It was nice to feel like a girl again for once.

"Oooh, look at this, Brendan!"

Sapphire eyes glinting excitedly, May ran over to yet another stand in Slateport's famous outdoor marketplace. This one contained a variety of sweet smelling substances under its vibrant pink umbrella, from perfumes, to lotions, to incense, each of which seemed to come in forms for both humans and pokemon.

May picked up a pretty blue jar of incense that caught her eye, and a quick whiff revealed it to smell of salt, of all things. She wrinkled her nose.

"Ahh, fantastic choice! That sea incense is remarkable for powering up water type moves!" the shopkeeper said eagerly, moving over to May. The woman reeked strongly of an odd combination of vanilla and peonies, a side effect of being surrounded by so many scents all day.

May paused, thinking of Demi.

"I think it stinks," Noah said flatly, propping his chin up on the counter. He'd been eager to accompany May and Brendan on their trip to the marketplace, although he was proving to be quite a handful. "I don't want Skipper to smell like that!"

"Shh," May whispered, struggling not to laugh as the shopkeeper glared at them. She gently placed the sea incense back on the counter.

Brendan appeared behind them, hands in the pockets of his red swimming trunks. By some miracle, May and Noah had convinced him to wear them along with his t-shirt so they could go to the beach later. He'd even left his hat behind! His eye roll, however, was the same as he hung back watching May continue browsing the scents.

"Come smell this, Brendan!" Noah said, chortling at the stench of something that seemed to be processed to smell like actual dirt. The lady behind the counter eyed him beadily.

"Actually, I'm pretending I don't know you two."

May yanked on his shirtsleeve, forcing him to either join them or be choked via his own collar. She shoved two different lotions under his nose. "Stop being such a stick in the muk. Which one smells better?"

"They both smell like muk." She gave him a look. "Fine. This one."

"Great, I like this one too!" May said cheerfully, holding up the coconut-mango scented one. As she did so, the heavy jar almost slipped through her fingers and fell to the concrete beneath them, but she managed to catch it at the last second. She laughed awkwardly under the shopkeeper's evil glare. "I'll take this one."

Along with the lotion for herself, she ended up buying some special soap that was supposed to soothe pokemon's tired muscles. Soren probably wouldn't be eager to be forced into the bath, but since they all needed one occasionally, she might as well make it enjoyable for them.

After May was finished at the scent shop, both boys sighed in relief and moved on as quickly as possible. They passed all sorts of stands, selling everything from pokedolls to steamed seaweed (May dared Brendan to try it, but he vehemently refused). Noah caught sight of a pokemon accessories cart and demanded they check it out.

"Do you think Skipper would like this?" he asked, holding up a spiked blue collar. It looked like it was made for a bloodthirsty houndoom.

"Uh…" May began, but Brendan was quick to cut her off.

"Not for a thousand pokedollars, she won't!"

But Noah had already been distracted by something else. He dropped the collar and ran over to a colorful pen that emitted delighted yipping sounds. Curious, May followed, only to be faced with three wrestling growlithe puppies. They were small and fluffy, so young that their black stripes were barely showing through their orange tuffs of fur.

"Oh. My. Latios," May exclaimed. She reached down and picked up the nearest one, which struggled in her grip only momentarily before reaching over to lick her nose. Its hot puppy breath tickled her cheek. "I want one!"

"Me too!" Noah added, reaching up to rub the pup on the head.

Not only were they adorable and loyal, but growlithe could be trained to grow very powerful as battlers as well. The crowning glory was the fact that May had been practically dying to have a fire type ever since meeting Orion.

Unfortunately, the puppies were far out of her price range, having been imported from a renowned breeder in Kanto. She regretfully placed the one she'd been holding back into the pen with its siblings.

"Those aren't bred to battle anyway," Brendan said, as they continued through the marketplace. They'd almost reached its end. "They're meant to be pets, so they usually can't breath fire very well. They're really lazy, too."

"I know," May said, but her voice carried a tinge of a pout. "When will we get to a place where I can find a fire type?"

"They're mostly around Mt. Chimney, so it'll be a while," he informed her. She sighed.

"Darn it," May said, but it was absentminded enough for her not to register that she didn't really know where Mt. Chimney even was. Her attention had caught on a pile of discarded boxes, in which familiar set of rainbow colored superhero dolls had been tossed.

In an instant, May's mood was brightened as childhood memories of sitting around the TV on Saturday mornings flooded back to her. She laughed. "Brendan, do you remember those?"

He glanced at the pile shiftily, but she didn't miss the embarrassed look in his eyes. "No."

"You're lying!" she accused gleefully. "You used to make me watch that show all the time!"

Usually, they didn't really talk about their days as childhood friends. There was something awkward about it for some reason, yet last night May felt like they had reached an important step in their friendship. She was more comfortable around him, somehow.

Now it was Noah's turn to laugh obnoxiously. "You watched the Hoenn Rangers? That's for babies."

"I was five!" Brendan cried, and to May's utter delight, she spotted the slightest hint of pink tint his cheeks. She and Noah continued poking fun at him all the way down to the beach, where they came to a stop at the first patch of sand that wasn't already occupied by someone else's belongings.

Noah ripped his shirt off and released Skipper immediately before charging towards the waves.

"Wait-" Brendan began, but his protests fell on deaf ears as his little brother jumped straight into the water. He groaned. "Dad would kill me if he saw him in there alone."

May's fingers hesitated at the hem of her tank top, though she had already kicked off her cheap plastic flip flops. She grabbed for Demi's pokeball out of their small beach bag (Which was actually one of Professor Birch's old, worn out satchels) and pressed the release button.

Her marill appeared, grinning as she took in the sights and smells of the crowded beach. She kicked at the sand, moving much more easily in it now that she had grown into a more mature form. A thrilled giggle escaped her mouth.

"Go play with Noah, would you?" May asked, and Demi eagerly bounced down the beach and into the waves. Brendan seemed to catch the hint and called for Neptune to join her.

May watched uncomfortably as they splashed about in the ocean. "Well, Noah will be fine with them. I just hope Demi doesn't swim away…"

She wouldn't put it past her.

They continued observing the quartet for a moment before May cleared her throat awkwardly. Avoiding Brendan's eyes, she quickly pulled off her clothes to expose the cute polka-dotted bikini underneath. She'd thrown them onto her towel when a loud buzz emitted from her Pokenav.

May went for it at once. It could be her father leaving a message for her at last! However, upon opening her screen, she only saw that her Buzznav news app had added an important update for her area. A brief glance upwards showed her that Brendan was checking his as well.

"Yesterday at approximately five p.m., the Oceanic Museum was attacked by Team Aqua agents. No arrests have been made, although Slateport's very own Captain Stern, the alleged victim, has informed us that nothing was stolen and no harm was brought to him.

Police have reported that two unidentified trainers protected him from the Aquas. They have also issued a warning for civilians to stay away from any potential Aqua agents until those involved in the attack have been apprehended. For more information, visit ."

As soon as May's eyes skimmed over the words 'Oceanic Museum', her heart skipped a beat, only to calm once she saw she and Brendan described as 'unidentified teenagers'. Their identity was safe!

"Looks like Dad won't be hunting me down yet," May said, feeling much more cheerful now that at least one worry no longer haunted the back of her mind.

She snatched her remaining two pokeballs from the satchel and released Soren and Ezra so they could enjoy the beach as well. Soren immediately stretched across her beach towel so the sun could warm his scales, while Ezra glanced around uncertainly before settling in the sand beside him. May smiled fondly down at them, accustomed to their odd behaviors by this point.

After a moment of debate, she joined Noah and the water types in the ocean. She had to awkwardly twist around a group of snickering, shirtless teenage guys as she went, but she tried to ignore them.

Once she reached the water's edge, she wiggled her toes against the warm sand before stepping forward. She walked until the tropical waters washed up to her mid thighs. Unfortunately, any plans of remaining partially dry went out the window when Neptune suddenly arose from the waves and squirted a jet of water into her face.

"Neptune!" she spat, as the others laughed loudly in the background. Neptune cackled and floated on his back, ignoring the pathetic splash she retaliated with.

"Brendan, your pokemon is exactly like you," May said. She didn't understand why all of Brendan's pokemon seemed to dislike her so much! And more importantly, didn't Neptune know he needed to stay on her good side if he wanted more treats?

When no response came, she realized that Brendan hadn't joined her. He was still up on the beach, holding his shirt in his hands and sternly talking to the rest of his pokemon. May could make out Orion's growing pouty face all the way from the ocean, letting her know that Brendan must be laying down some ground rules about proper beach behavior.

"C'mon, Brendan!" Noah yelled beside her. His voice was so shrill that May almost wanted to cover her ears. Demi, with her ultra-sensitive hearing, squeaked and dove under the waves in an effort to distort the sound.

Brendan said one last thing to his pokemon before throwing his shirt onto his towel and heading down towards them. As he came closer, May became painfully away of the fact that he was shirtless. His deep tan was surprisingly even across his torso, and no matter how hard she tried not to stare, her eyes strayed to his toned stomach. Toned!

May's belly lurched, and she was horrified. Abruptly, she ducked her head underwater, allowing the nasty salty feeling of the ocean to sink into her hair; anything would be worth avoiding Brendan (Or Noah. Arceus forbid) noticing her getting flustered. Her face was still hot when she broke the surface, sputtering, but she was hopeful that the boys would think she was just getting sunburn.

She was still paler than them, after all. That was a good enough excuse, right?

When she opened her eyes, a laughing Brendan was dunking Noah under the water like he hadn't even noticed her. She didn't know if she should be relieved or annoyed.

"Hey, no fair!" Noah cried, spitting out globs of salty liquid. "Do May!"

She froze nervously when Brendan's eyes fell on her. Her face was practically on fire at the thought, and he smirked. "I would, but looks like she did herself."

"Shut up," May said lamely. She smacked a small wave of water at him, which then somehow turned into an all out splashing war between she, Demi, Skipper and the boys.

Needless to say, May was looking like a drowned rattata by the time they returned to their beach towels, and Brendan seemed to have been hit with the least amount of water. Typical.

By the time the sun was high in the sky, bearing down on them with heavy, miserable heat, Professor Birch joined them. May couldn't help but laugh to herself when she saw that he still wore his lab coat even over his t-shirt and khakis, something that attracted many stares from the other beachgoers. Beside her, Soren eyed him with mocking yellow eyes.

"Gro," he said.

"Oh, how are you, Soren?' Professor Birch asked obliviously. Soren snickered, but he quieted in a flash when Professor Birch pulled out a few goodie bags stuffed with sandwiches to hand out to them.

May's bread was soggy, but it was still heaven to quell the grumbling in her stomach. They gave the pokemon some Pokechow, which most of them gobbled up eagerly. Only a few (Soren and Orion included) grumbled and stared at the sandwiches longingly.

"Dad, what are you doing?" Noah called, after downing his third sandwich. He looked humiliated.

May followed his gaze to Professor Birch, who was on his hands and knees several yards away. One of his arms was stuck deeply into a strange hole in the sand. He glanced up at Noah, as if he had no idea why his youngest son was embarrassed.

"I'm checking to see if these are corphish burrows! I would love to see how much a larger human population affects their behavior."

May wondered if she was going to have to save him from a rampaging corphish next.

As Noah proceeded to argue with his dad about how normal people didn't do that, Brendan snorted and gulped the rest of his Dr. Thunder. He didn't appear bothered by his father's antics, merely used to them.

Watching the Birch's interact with one another, May felt a sudden, painful longing for her own family. It had been how long since she'd seen her own dad? For her mother, it'd been even longer! She called them often, but talking over the phone just wasn't the same as seeing them in person everyday.

May banished the thoughts immediately. Even though she missed her family, she was experiencing the journey of a lifetime. The journey she'd been waiting for for fifteen years.

"Med?'

She glanced up, noticing that Ezra was watching her with concerned black eyes. She smiled. "I'm fine. Just thinking!"

Talking to Ezra made her realize that her other pokemon were no longer by her side. A quick, slightly panicked glance around the immediate area revealed that both Soren and Demi had migrated over to Brendan's pokemon and Skipper, where all eight of them were kicking a volleyball around in the sand like it was a soccer ball.

Ezra stared at them wistfully, and May felt her mouth droop in concern. "Don't you want to play too?"

He shook his head at once and focused on drawing patterns in the sand with his fingers.

"Okay then…" she said doubtfully. She'd really hoped Ezra would come out of his shell a bit by now, but he still remained as shy as ever. For the time being, she decided to be content with the fact that he had warmed up to her, at least.

Ezra gasped out of nowhere, and the next thing May knew, something round and hard had flown into her shins. The impact stung her crossed legs and sent a shower of sand across her lap.

"Guys, be careful," May complained, as Ezra picked the volleyball up off the ground. He didn't toss it back to the other pokemon.

May tried to brush some of the sand off of herself, but she paused when Ezra tapped her on the arm. She glanced up at his face, only for him to nod worriedly towards the other pokemon. Most of them stood around in the rough formation of a circle, staring at the two forms in the center. It took her several moments to realize what they were watching, but when she did, she wanted to slap her hands across her eyes.

Soren and Iris were facing off against one another. Soren was crouched down into his familiar battle position, hissing irritably at Iris. As for the dragon type, her yellow eyes were as mean as ever in the depths of her shell, but they also looked strangely satisfied.

Then it clicked for May. Iris had kicked that ball at her, and she had done it on purpose. If Soren was ruffled instead of amused about it, it must have been pretty ill-intended.

Somehow, May wasn't very surprised.

"Brendan, why do all of your pokemon hate me?" she cried in annoyance, her head snapping to Brendan. As usual, he didn't appear too bothered by her annoyance, although he kept a close eye on the Soren and Iris out of his peripheral.

"They don't hate you." She narrowed her eyes at him. "All of them don't hate you."

"It's alright—they hate me too!" Noah chirped. He spared May a half-glance before turning back to the pokemon excitably, like he was hoping a fight was about to break out.

And then the leaf on the crown of Soren's head began to glow green, and May realized a fight really was about to break out. She was on her feet in an instant.

"Soren, Soren no!"

He ignored her, too focused on Iris to care. He whipped his head around and smacked the glowing leaf roughly across her shell.

"Oh my, leaf blade already!" May heard Professor Birch call in the background, barely audible over the exited murmur that rippled through their pokemon.

She snatched Soren's pokeball out of the satchel and charged towards the pokemon, kicking up sand as she went. Brendan was right beside her, yelling at Iris as she fired a cloud of green flames at Soren in retaliation. He ducked under it and moved to strike her with another glowing leaf, but both of them disappeared in a flash of white light before any contact could be made.

May sighed in relief. She'd never in a million years say it in front of Soren, but she had been worried Iris was about to cream him. As much faith as she had in arguably her most powerful team member, Brendan's pokemon were still miles ahead in experience.

Brendan glared down at his other pokemon. "Thanks for the help, guys," he said sarcastically. "You're all in trouble."

Despite her exasperation, May snorted. "You sound like a dad."

Brendan's strict face fell, and his eyes shot to May like he couldn't believe what she was saying. Noah's ringing, loud laughter arose in the background, while Professor Birch continued rambling about the benefits of learning leaf blade so soon.

Orion reached across Brendan and patted May on the head. His feathers radiated heat even though he was barely touching her. She scowled, ready to tell him off for treating her like a little kid again, but she paused when she saw the amused approval in his eyes.

Well. Orion didn't hate her, at least.

"So, should we go ahead and leave tomorrow?" May asked, sticking Ezra's pokeball under the water hose that Brendan was holding. She made sure to keep a close watch on his hands; if he decided to 'accidentally' spray her in the face or something, she was going to be ready.

"Probably." Brendan shrugged.

Professor Birch and Noah had already returned to the hotel they were staying in, but May and Brendan had wandered over to the edge of the beach where the only available washing station was. The planks they were standing on were half-overgrown with weeds due to being near the edge of the city, but May was willing to deal with it. Since they were finally about to leave the beach behind them for quite a while, she wanted to make sure there was no sand sticking to her pokeballs, even if it meant standing in itchy weeds.

May pulled Ezra's ball out from in under the water (After many impatient sighs from her companion) and squinted her eyes at it. The surface was such a shiny, flawless red that she could vaguely make out her own reflection staring back out of its surface.

"I think it's good," she announced, clipping the ball to her belt. She'd slipped her jean shorts and belt back over her bikini bottoms, although she hadn't wanted to get her tank wet with her damp hair, so it was stowed away in the satchel Brendan was carrying. He was in a similar position, standing in only his swimming trunks with his own belt slung carelessly overtop them. "We'd better go before someone else sees me with you."

Brendan rolled his eyes. "It's too late, now. You've already embarrassed me."

"Ha ha. You are- what the heck is that?"

May gaped at the pink face staring out at them from the undergrowth. It seemed impossible, but the wide, borderline creepy smile and odd blue ears were unmistakable. Back in Johto, it was a pokemon well known for being in everything from circuses to horror movies.

"What?" Brendan asked, and May pointed her finger in Mr. Mime's direction.

"It's a Mr. Mime!" she said, her voice echoing a combination of confusion and curiosity. She had no idea what a Mr. Mime was doing in Hoenn. They were almost extinct in the wild, even in their native Kanto. There was no way that there was a breeding population in Hoenn, so this one had to belong to a trainer.

Mr. Mime crossed his arms and hunched his back, forming a sullen expression that perfectly mirrored the one currently on Brendan's face. He stared pointedly at the boy until he made eye contact. Brendan scowled, and Mr. Mime scowled too.

"He's mocking me!" Brendan grumbled, glaring at the pokemon. Mr. Mime glared back.

May then made the unfortunate mistake of taking her eyes off of Mr. Mime to respond to Brendan. She opened her mouth to tease him about the immaturity of his comment, and that was when the pokemon struck. He lunged forward at a shocking speed and yanked a pokeball off of her belt before darting off into the weeds.

"Mime mime mime!" He laughed, and May could barely make out his pink back as it disappeared through the weeds.

Her brain went numb with shock for a brief second before kicking into sheer panic mode. Mr. Mime had just stolen one of her pokeballs. Her hands felt frantically around her belt, and she realized it was Soren's. A Mr. Mime had just stolen Soren, and he was now making a getaway into the wild!

"Hey, wait!" Brendan's voice shouted, but it fell on deaf ears.

Barely even realizing what she was doing, May rushed after Mr. Mime. The wild plant growth and branches scraped her bare legs and stomach, and she was fairly sure that one of her flip-flops was about to fall apart.

But the only thing on her mind was that she had to catch that Mr. Mime.

She had to catch him before he got away with Soren and she never saw him again. Soren, who had been her faithful companion, practically her best friend, since she'd left home.

"Get back here!" May yelled after the Mr. Mime, furiously slapping a tree limb out of her way. By now, they'd run so far from the city of Slateport that she could no longer hear the sounds of people, only her own rapid footsteps as she crashed through the plant growth.

For a scary moment, Mr. Mime vanished from May's line of vision. She desperately urged her legs to pump faster, and abruptly, she stumbled into a clearing. She looked around, dazed, before her eyes landed on a tiny pink house, of all things. There were no other signs of life about it except for Mr. Mime, who was seated on its steps, spinning Soren's pokeball casually on his pointer finger.

Scowling, May started towards Mr. Mime. Her hand hovered between Ezra and Demi's pokeballs as she tried to decide which one should get the honor of showing him who was boss. A loud crash and a string of choice words told her that Brendan had somehow followed her into the clearing, but she paid him little mind.

"Give me back my grovyle," May demanded, shifting her hands to her hips and staring down at Mr. Mime. "Now!"

Mr. Mime stopped spinning the pokeball to grin up at May. He sat it in his lap and lifted both gloved hands, which he then began to twist in strange patterns.

"May, get away from-"

But Brendan's warning was cut short. Both of their bodies and each of their pokeballs became outlined in a ghostly shade of white. A sharp, sickening feeling tugged at May's gut, like an unpleasant version of a rollercoaster, and suddenly her vision swam before her as the house and trees seemed to warp in on one another.

As quickly as it had begun, it was over, but the dizziness didn't go away. May's knees wobbled and her body fell forward uncontrollably. On instinct, she reached out her hands to catch herself, but her palms smacked against something cool and hard instead of the soft dirt and grass she had been expecting. She blinked, and as her eyesight cleared, jade tile came into focus beneath her.

Apprehension gnawed at her insides, and slowly, she raised her head up. A long hallway stretched out before her. It was boxed in by concrete walls of beige that seemed to have vines and plant growth overtaking parts of them. Up ahead, there was a clear fork in the road, and no sound could be heard, indicating that she had somehow been separated from Brendan.

Suddenly, the Mr. Mime from before reminded her a lot less of circuses and a lot more of scary movies.

May crawled to her feet. She was still in her bikini top and jean shorts, rather humiliatingly, and her Pokenav was useless to her back in the satchel Brendan had been holding. She tugged frustratingly at the roots of her damp hair, recalling the disaster that had occurred the last time they'd been separated.

Keep your cool, May, she told herself forcibly. After all, weren't the screaming girls always the first ones to be killed off in horror flicks?

Her hands went to her pokeball belt in the hopes that maybe Ezra could help her sense her way out of… wherever she was. The house from before seemed like the only logical option, but then again, was anything logical about this situation?

She knew immediately that something was off. The first pokeball she felt seemed cold, foreign to the touch. A frown crept onto her face as she slowly realized she had not two weird pokeballs, but three, four… five!

"No, no no," May muttered desperately to herself, continuing to feel the pokeballs as if they would suddenly transform back into her own. She had the inklings of what might have happened, but she didn't want it to be true.

The only way to find out was to see for herself. Taking a deep breath, May plucked one of the pokeballs randomly from her belt and pressed the release button.

In front of her, a graceful figure with a long, slender neck and leafy wings materialized. Acumi started to hum a greeting, but her face drew up in concern and shock when she saw that her trainer was not present. She shuffled her wings and scraped one of her toes across the tile, clearly distressed.

"No!" May groaned, dragging her hands down her face miserably. Acumi's shuffling grew more urgent, and May realized she was going to have to say something to reassure her before the normally gentle tropius turned not-so-gentle.

"It's alright," she said quickly, and Acumi paused to watch her suspiciously. While the tropius had never outright demonstrated dislike towards May like Iris or picked on her like Neptune, they normally stayed out of one another's way. "I don't know what happened. There was a Mr. Mime, and it did something. We have to find Brendan and my pokemon."

Acumi's tense posture relaxed ever so slightly at the mention of her trainer. She stared at May for a long moment before finally nodding her consent, and May couldn't hold back a sigh of relief. With Acumi on her side, maybe she could convince some of Brendan's… less agreeable pokemon not to attack her or something.

May really didn't fancy the prospect of facing the rest of Brendan's pokemon, particularly Iris, but she had no choice if she wanted to find the ones who might be able to help her. She grabbed the other four pokeballs and tossed them into the air simultaneously, and four separate lights shot off to form each pokemon.

The uproar was instantaneous. Iris's angry roar, Orion's cry of distress, and Acumi trying to raise her voice over them all filled May's ears. Finally, Acumi's sharp, motherly tone worked, and they shut up, although they were none too happy with the situation.

"Look, guys," May pleaded. "I need you to help me get out of here so we can find Brendan and my pokemon. Please?"

They were quiet for a moment, and a few of them exchanged words amongst themselves. Acumi was the first to step forward, leaning down to press her brown snout briefly against May's forehead in a show of support. Hesitantly, she reached up and patted Acumi on the cheek, only to discover that the texture of her skin was not at all unlike Soren's.

"Blaziken, blaze," Orion said next. His tone was abnormally solemn, so much so that May barely recognized it. However, he nodded at her with confidence, as if she was crazy to have doubted that he'd trust her.

Neptune's red eyes narrowed at May, and his webbed hands seemed to glint dangerously in the light. "Duck, golduck," he grumbled grudgingly. May felt a rush of gratitude that she had bought him a snow cone.

Knox didn't say anything, choosing instead to remain creepily quiet as always. He had been the only one not to protest immediately upon his release, instead staring at May with his single, eerie eye. She chose to take his lack of objection as agreement.

Slowly, May turned to the last and most difficult pokemon in the room. Yellow eyes met sapphire, and Iris released a growl. She turned her body stubbornly away from May and her fellow team members, her shell practically vibrating with frustration.

I can't deal with this right now, May thought, frustrated.

Glumly, she returned Iris to her pokeball and reattached it to her belt. The action felt too odd to process, so she flicked her gaze back up to the other pokemon thoughtfully. The hallway was too thin for them all to comfortably maneuver it, and she hoped she'd be able to find her way out with just one or two of them.

Deciding which ones she thought she'd start off with, May pulled out the others' pokeballs. "Thanks, guys. I'll let you know if I need you!"

Both Acumi and Neptune were sucked back into their balls, leaving her with only Orion and Knox. Orion simply for protection in case something dangerous happened to be lurking in this rather creepy building and Knox because he could walk through walls. She made sure to remember which pokeball was which, because she definitely didn't want to pull Iris out again on accident.

May turned to Knox awkwardly. It seemed really unnatural to be giving Brendan's pokemon an order. "Could you, uh, just go and see if you can find a way out?"

"Duskkk," he whispered, and then he disappeared.

I'll just take that as a yes, then…

Orion watched her expectantly. May shrugged and nodded her head down the creepy corridor. "C'mom," she said.

As the two of them walked, they reached a fork in the path. From where they were standing, she could clearly see that the path branched off again and again on each side.

"It's a maze!" she exclaimed. Her shoulders slumped a moment later, and she groaned. "Great. I suck at directions."

Knox still hadn't returned, so May was just going through a series of eeny, meeny, miny, mo in her head when two freezing hands latched onto each of her shoulders. She jerked in surprise, barely withholding a scream until she realized that Orion was doubled over with laughter.

Her face whiter than a sheet, May glanced behind her only to catch Knox's hands slipping from her shoulders. A strange, raspy sound arose from him, and it took her several seconds of numb shock to realize that he was also laughing.

Like trainer, like pokemon, she supposed.

"Meany," she said, and in a flash, Knox had stopped laughing and returned to staring off into space. He lifted a hand steadily into the air, and May fleetingly worried she had ticked him off enough for him to perform some ghostly mumbo jumbo on her. Her doubt evaporated to be replaced by relief when he simply pointed down the corridor to her right. He knew the way!

Knox led she and Orion through several twists and turns. Occasionally, he would disappear for a bit before returning to guide them again, and twice they had to double back and take a different route. Each time they did this, Knox would mutter something indistinguishable to Orion, who would respond with surprising concern. It made May wonder exactly what they were avoiding. A trap of some sort, perhaps?

Traps or no traps, she was taken aback by the sheer size of the maze. No matter how many turns they took, it never seemed to end, and she was growing overly suspicious that she had already seen each corner of the plain beige wall by this point.

Just when she was about to announce that they were doomed to be lost for all eternity, a smooth black door formed a break in the monochromatic color scheme around the next bend.

"Knox, you did it!" May exclaimed excitedly. To her own surprise, she threw an arm across his back and pulled the dusknoir into a brief (and very cold) half-hug.

He's not so bad after all, she decided firmly. Creepy or not, he had saved her behind twice now.

Unfortunately, when May reached out her hand to twist open the doorknob, it wouldn't budge. She shook it furiously, and her face scrunched up in despair. "No! It's locked!"

Orion placed a clawed hand on her shoulder, ready to push her aside. His blue eyes were blazing with determination, but May was alarmed to see that the feathers around his ankles were also smoking. She stepped in front of him at once.

"Let's not burn the house down." Dying in a fire wasn't really on her day's to-do list, but then again, neither was getting trapped in a maze in some creepy house.

May turned and jiggled the knob hopelessly again. Of course, nothing had changed, but this time, she noticed that a slick keypad was on the door as well. It would unlock, but only with a code.

In a fit of rage, she slammed her fist into the door. "You've got to be kidding me!" she growled.

Amazingly, someone responded. "May?! Is that you?!"

It was Brendan's voice, echoing from the other side of one of the nearby maze walls. May's insides jumped with excitement.

"Yes! Brendan, can you hear me?!"

May and Orion excitedly pressed their ears against the concrete, but Knox beat them both by fading right through it to Brendan's side.

He shouted something unintelligibly back, and May was alarmed to detect that his voice was fading as if he were moving farther away. "Hey, wait!" she cried, pounding her fists uselessly against the wall.

"Blaziken, blaze!" Orion echoed her despair, trying in vain to peer over the tip of the beige concrete.

May huffed and slammed her back against the wall instead. Knox had better be guiding Brendan to them, and he'd better arrive and help her find a way out fast. She still had to find that thieving Mr. Mime that had dared to snatch Soren away from her. Who knew how far away he could be by this point?

And, what if, by some disaster, Brendan didn't somehow have Ezra and Demi? It seemed like he would since she had his pokemon, but what would she do if he didn't? The thought was too grim for her to consider, so she furiously pushed it away.

However, her worries were for naught when she caught sight of Brendan's messy black hair rounding the corner. Knox floated by his side, yet May's attention was drawn to the smaller, blue and white figure at his feet.

"Ezra!" she exclaimed, a huge weight lifting off her chest. Ezra glanced up, and his black eyes lit with in pure relief as he darted forward to hug her legs. She kneeled down to fully wrap her arms around him, warmed by his actions. It greatly touched her that Ezra, still the most standoffish of her pokemon, had missed her so much. She froze when he finally chanced a glance at her face.

His watery eyes told her that he wasn't just happy to see her. He had probably been worried she'd abandoned him.

"I wouldn't leave you," May murmured, squeezing him more tightly. Her emotions swirled in a confused vortex: anger at Tessa, hurt that Ezra still doubted her, happiness that he had missed her, and underlying anxiety about being trapped in a creepy house without Soren.

A familiar, red and white orb appeared in front of her face, and May knew without even touching it that it belonged to Demi. She stood, taking the pokeball from Brendan and passing back his own as well. The boy barely acknowledged her, instead holding up a crumpled piece of paper in his hands and grumbling darkly to himself.

"The door's locked," she informed him irately, watching him for any clue as to how they might get out.

Brendan scowled and forced the slip of paper into her grip before pushing her gently aside. "I think I've found the code," he griped, and to May's surprise, he began punching something into the keypad.

Curiously, May's deep blue eyes fell onto the paper he'd handed her. Bold letters across the center of it read, "Trick Master is fabulous."

"What-" May began, bewildered, yet the loud click of the door revealed that the lock had been undone at last.

Ridiculously, the door opened up to a plain room with a coffee table, a TV, and some couches for lounging. They had been led to someone's living room?

"Aha, congratulations, challengers!" a voice boomed, and a weak shower of confetti suddenly exploded on the right side of May's face and hair. She, Brendan, and their pokemon spun in the direction it had come from only to be faced with a middle-aged man holding a mega phone. He wore tacky polka-dotted pants, and his graying eyebrows seemed thick enough to take a weed whacker to. "You have bested the trick house created by I, the famous Trick Master!"

"Famous? What?" May was so taken off guard that she almost forgot to be angry. She stared at the "Trick Master", her eyebrows scrunched up and her mouth hanging open. That wasn't the case for Brendan, however.

"So you stuck us in that maze as a trick?"

The Trick Master hooted with laugher, which rumbled horrendously throughout the room with the help of the mega phone. "Why yes, boy! My Mr. Mime and I love to challenge worthy travelers!"

He continued chuckling as if he'd just played the most hilarious joke in the world. As he wiped an actual tear from his eye, May caught sight of the pink figure lurking behind the man. He was clutching the unmistakable form of Soren's pokeball in his gloved hands, and her blood boiled.

May never thought she'd be in a situation where she wanted to wring a pokemon's neck quite as much as she did then.

"Give me back my grovyle right now!" she growled. "I've had it."

"Heh, give the nice girl back her pokemon, Mimey," the Trick Master said, nervously eyeing Orion's hulking form behind May. The blaziken pounded his fist threateningly.

Mr. Mime levitated Soren's pokeball back into May's grasp with a wave of psychic energy. Her entire form relaxed as the comforting warmth fell against her skin. Soren was safe in his pokeball and back with her where he belonged.

Brendan crossed his arms, glaring at the Trick Master with obvious dislike. "If this is a challenge, then what's our prize?"

"Uh, well." The Trick Master pulled at his collar nervously, and Brendan raised an eyebrow. "You see, you technically cheated, using your dusknoir and meditite, so uh, yes… Pride and a good time is your reward!"

May clipped Soren's pokeball delicately to her belt and glared at the Trick Master. His little trick house hadn't exactly been her idea of a good time.

"Let's go," Brendan said, scoffing to himself. He was clearly still in awe at the sheer ridiculousness of the situation.

"Yeah," May agreed. She shot pointed, annoyed look back at Mr. Mime. With as much dignity as she could muster with her nappy ocean and confetti hair and bikini top, she added, "Teleport me somewhere else, and you've had it."

The Trick Master exchanged a nervous glance with Mr. Mime. Brendan paused in the doorway that would lead them outside, smirking. "She isn't kidding."

And she really wasn't.

AN: Can someone PLEASE get me one of those growlithe puppies pronto?! And quick shout out to pikaace for inspiring me to use stick in the muk to describe Brendan. Hahah.

So yeah, not the most eventful, but I felt like I needed it to show off the awesomeness of Slateport and to give Noah and Professor Birch a bit more screen time. I don't think I've ever seen Birch's youngest son from Emerald mentioned past the introduction scene, so I thought why not? Plus, Brendan's pokemon needed some time in the spotlight, and the trick house is one of the most memorable things from Hoenn. I couldn't leave it out.

I'm posting this in the middle of the night and I'm about to fall asleep, but hopefully some of you night owls will appreciate this super late update xD Nighty night!

In the game, May meets Brendan under cycling road, but she meets someone else there next chapter. Who do you think it (Or they? Hm) will be?