May sighed as she recalled her fainted Grovyle back into its Poke Ball. She had been bicycling through Route 119 in the pouring rain when she thought she spotted someone familiar just on the other side of the bridge near the Weather Institute. Sure enough, that someone was no other than her neighbor and friend Brendan, appearing positive as ever despite looking as though he had just dealt with a certain very troublesome organization. Naturally, May figured that she should challenge Brendan to a battle to see how strong he had gotten, with predictable results.

Brendan walked over to May with a friendly grin on his face before extending his hand towards her.

"Good game, May. You've definitely improved since our last battle," The boy in the white hat stated as his hand made contact with his rival's.

"Y-Yeah... You too…"

May mentally slapped herself. Ever since the first time they met back in Littleroot Town, she had developed a little stuttering habit whenever she was around Brendan. Even though he had never commented on it, May still felt rather silly whenever it happened. Still, how could she not stutter whenever he was near her?

"Oh! I almost forgot..." May reached into her bag and pulled out a disc, giving it to the boy before her.

"Teach this to a flying-type Pokémon and you'll be able to fly anywhere you've been before once you get the Fortree Gym Badge! You should visit Littleroot Town and say hello to your mom sometimes! I'm sure she misses you very much…"

She trailed off, trying to remember the last time she herself had gone back home, only to be brought back to reality by Brendan waving a hand in front of her face.

"A-Ah! Sorry, hee hee…" May apologized sheepishly, scratching the back of her head while a light shade of pink graced her cheeks.

"Well, I suppose I should get going…"

"Same here. It's getting late and I should really be checking into a Pokémon Center right about now…"

"Well… I'll see you later, Brendan!" May replied in her usual chipper voice before speeding off on her bike yet again. To the boy in the peculiar white hat, it seemed that May was always riding her bike as opposed to traveling on foot. Perhaps that was why her legs appeared to have become more toned since their last encounter?

Shaking the thought from his mind, Brendan called out, "Be careful out there, May!" Though the young brunette smiled upon hearing those words, she could not help but feel as though their next encounter would end in her defeat once more. Can she even consider herself Brendan's rival if she always loses to him?

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The sun was setting in Lilycove City as an exhausted Brendan made his way through the streets. Having dealt with the numerous Trainers scattered across Routes 120 and 121, as well as a certain nefarious organization at Mt. Pyre, he was in no mood to do anything other than relax. Originally, Brendan had been slightly less than thrilled to visit the city upon hearing that there was no Gym, but soon he decided that Lilycove had quite a few points of interest. The Lilycove Contest Hall, The Lilycove Department Store, the Pokémon Trainer Fan Club, an anxious May pacing just outside the Lilycove Department Store… Wait, what?

Indeed, May appeared to be rather nervous about something and it was written all over her face. Upon seeing Brendan walking towards her, however, she found herself smiling. Even so, Brendan could see it in her eyes that everything was not fine and dandy, though he did not comment on it when they were finally face to face. Instead, he took a more casual approach.

"Hey, May! Been awhile, huh?"

"Yeah… It certainly has been," May replied in her usual chipper tone of voice, before suddenly slipping into one of uncertainty.

"Um… Brendan? C-Can I ask you something?"

"Of course! Is this about another battle? I'm totally down for that, but I'd need to run back to the Center and heal first… Swampert gets grumpy when he's thrust into a battle half-conscious…"

"No, no. It isn't about that…" She replied, her eyes now resting at her feet and she fidgeted with her hands.

Now Brendan was worried. What could possibly be making May so nervous? She looked more worked up than a Lillipup. And for that matter, what could she be about to ask him if it wasn't about a battle? She usually didn't have much to say unless it was related to their journey… Could it be about something more?

'Could it be about… us?' Brendan mused internally, but before he could say anything, May finally spoke up.

"Brendan… Do you think I should give up being a Pokémon Trainer?"

To say he was stunned would be an understatement. Brendan was completely taken aback by the words that had just left his friend's mouth. Part of it was because he had been expecting a different question altogether, but he was mostly shocked because of the sheer insanity of it all. May anxiously waited for his answer, refusing to look him in the eye as she felt too embarrassed now. The blood rushed to her face as all sorts of negative thoughts began to invade her head.

'Of course he'll say you should! You're so incompetent!'

'Failure… Not once have you won a battle against him… Failure…'

'Just give up… You are not worthy to be his rival…'

"No."

May blinked in confusion. Had she heard Brendan correctly?

"What…?"

"No, May. You shouldn't give up training Pokémon. Why would you ever even consider that? Don't you love being a Trainer?" Brendan questioned, genuinely curious as to why May felt the way she did.

"Well, yes! It's just…"

"Just what?"

"I'm just not good enough, okay?"

"What? How can you even say that?"

"I look at you and see how great you are as a Trainer, and then I look at myself and… Arceus, how I can consider myself your rival? I'm just that annoying girl next door…"

The tears fell freely from May's eyes now, and Brendan himself felt saddened to hear that May really did consider herself to be far less than he. Didn't she know how wonderful she was in her own right?

Without a single word, Brendan took May into his arms. As she began to pull away in confusion, he looked her straight in the eye and spoke softly but sternly.

"May, you are not a failure. Just because battling isn't your forte doesn't make you any less of a person, and I'm sure your Pokémon all agree. Besides, you're everything that a Pokémon would want in a Trainer! You're sweet, compassionate, and I don't know anyone else in the world who's more knowledgeable about Pokémon! Well, aside from your father."

"Brendan…"

May couldn't believe it. Could he really mean what he was saying about her?

Brendan bit his lip and continued.

"May… Please don't give up being a Trainer. Your Pokémon need you, I need you…" He blushed as he said that last part, knowing that it was a bit mushy. Fortunately, the girl in his arms didn't seem to think so, as she hugged him back with strength that would put a Machoke to shame.

"Thank you… Brendan," May sniffled, burying her face in his shoulder.

"May-"

"Don't worry, Brendan," She said as she pushed her finger to his lips and flashed her trademark smile.

"I'm not going anywhere."

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Hello my readers! :D Let me just start off by saying thanks again for reading and everyone is welcome to give me your input and make suggestions for potential future chapters. I must say that I originally intended for this to be two separate chapters, but I found that the first segment seemed a little short to be its own chapter and I wanted to avoid making such a small update. Thus, I decided to combine these both into one chapter, for better or for worse. ^^; I've also been struggling with a tiny case of writer's block lately, so I apologize if this chapter disappoints. :/ I also apologize if either protagonist seems out of character here, and if so I shall do my best to avoid this in the future. Thank you all and have a pleasant weekend!

Best wishes,

HopelessRomantic1020