Mossdeep Mentality

Brendan was pacing the deck of the ferry that was taking him and Gwen to Mossdeep, and Gwen could tell that he was extremely on-edge and she didn't need to read his mind to know that.

Brendan, calm down, Gwen said in an almost motherly tone.

"You know I can't do that," he said, his voice really showing how much he was worrying about May. "I mean she was right there, and I-." He couldn't finish the sentence as he started to choke up.

Gwen stood up and walked over to Brendan, pulling him into a warm embrace. I know how much you want to save May, and I know how much you love her. But right now, there is nothing you can do. Stressing out about it won't do anything for you, and it certainly won't help May.

"I know, but I can't stop myself," Brendan said. "And it's my fault she's in the hands of that psychopath, Archie."

But now you both have an ally, Gwen said as she tightened her hug a little bit more, sending comforting energy to her trainer. Brendan seemed to be visibly relaxing now.

"Thank you, Gwen. I honestly don't know what I'd do without you," he said, and Gwen could have sworn she felt a tear fall onto her shoulder. She decided not to mention it. As much as she loved to make fun of Brendan and annoy him, right now she just wanted to help her best friend through his ordeal.

Thankfully, that was when the horn of the ship sounded, letting the passengers know that they were about to arrive at their destination. Gwen kept her embrace with Brendan until they got to the dock.

Brendan seemed to be relaxed now, but Gwen could tell he would not stop worrying about May. She couldn't blame him for it though. She was just as worried for one of her best friends. Come on Brendan, let's get to the Pokèmon Center. We should at least see Mossdeep a bit. Maybe we can get some help with this situation.

"Y-yeah, let's go," Brendan said. Gwen walked ahead, leading Brendan off the docks and going to the Pokémon Center, where they saw the last person they expected to see. "Steven Stone?"

The silver-haired man turned to see Brendan and Gwen, his eyes brightening when he saw them. "Brendan, Gwen, how are you two?" he said almost cheerfully before he noticed the more obvious absence of the group. "Where's May?"

Gwen looked sadly at Steven. Team Aqua kidnapped her. We haven't been able to get her back yet.

Steven looked shocked at the news. "I'm so sorry to hear that. Brendan, are you doing alright?" he placed a comforting hand on Brendan's shoulder.

Brendan shook his head. "No, I'm losing my sanity," he said.

Steven nodded. "I guess that's to be expected," he sighed then looked at Brendan. "I have a deal for you. I'll help you find May, but I want you to do something first."

Brendan looked at Steven expectantly. "What's the condition?"

"I want you to beat this town's Gym first," he said. "It may seem unimportant now, but trust me on this."
Brendan seemed to glare at Steven, but Gwen stepped in. Okay, we can do that. It'll help to calm us a bit so we can focus more on saving May, rather than worrying about her and being inefficient. She said it more for Brendan's sake than to agree with Steven. They got a room for that night only, knowing they'd only be here for that one night, before leaving the Pokèmon Center and walking to the northern end of Mossdeep, where they saw a building that almost looked like an observatory.

"That must be it," Brendan said, his tone showing his concern for May, and his reluctance to fulfill this condition of Steven's. Despite his dreams to become Champion, he needed to save May above all else. No matter what he did, she was more important.

Come on, let's get our badge, and we will make it quick. Just use me and Clint and this will be a cakewalk, Gwen said.

"My thoughts exactly," Brendan said. The two of them opened the door and were instantly greeted with a planetarium. At the far end, they saw two people standing, seemingly having an argument. They were only about fifteen, and, while one was a boy and the other a girl, they were nearly identical except for their hair and the fact that they were both beginning to mature physically, and their gender differences were developing now.

"Oh, hello…" the girl said.

"…we are…" the boy said.

"…the gym leaders, Tate and Liza," Liza finished.

Brendan looked like he was getting a headache from that dialogue. "Oh, I'm Brendan and this is my Gardevoir, Gwen. We're here to challenge you two for your badge."

Tate nodded, "Alright, we accept. It's always good to meet a psychic type trainer."

As Brendan looked at them, he realized that they had very similar faces to a Kanto Gym Leader, just younger. "Before we start, do you two know Sabrina of the Saffron Gym?"

"Yeah, she's our aunt," Liza said. "However, we haven't seen her very much recently."

"That explains the resemblance," Brendan said.

Alright, no more small talk, time to battle, Gwen said.

"Wow, your Gardevoir can talk? Very cool," Tate said. "But we should tell you that, like you and Gwen, we can communicate with each other telepathically. You won't win this battle easily."

Don't be so sure, we're a lot stronger than you'd think.

Liza giggled. "Well we do double battles in this gym. Would you agree to a match with two Pokémon per side?"

"Sure, let's get started. Because, I'm in a rush now," Brendan said.

Both of the leaders took out a single Pokéball. Liza called for Luna, while Tate called for Sol, sending out two rock Pokémon. One looked like a crescent moon while the other looked like a sun. Oh, a Lunatone and a Solrock. This should be both interesting and a bit fast, Gwen went onto the field as Brendan sent out Clint. At that moment, the screen on the wall activated and the images of the battling Pokémon appeared next to the faces of the trainers. Each Pokémon's image had a green health bar next to it.

Alright, let's keep this simple. Gwen, use Shadow Ball on Lunatone, tell Clint to use Giga Drain on Solrock.

Gwen nodded as she gathered a ball of black energy and threw it at Luna, but the Pokémon dodged quickly. From Clint, there came three tendrils of green energy that latched onto Sol and draining its energy quickly. The green bars beside both Luna and Sol dropped rapidly, to the halfway mark. Tate seemed to be scared, while Liza was glaring at her brother.

That was when Sol unleashed a flamethrower at Clint, while Luna used her own Shadow Ball on Gwen. Brendan, however, wouldn't let them hit.

Clint use Leaf Blade to break that Shadow Ball. Gwen, use Psychic to redirect that Flamethrower at Luna! Even though Brendan knew that Flamethrower would be virtually useless against a rock type like Lunatone, but at least it wouldn't be hitting Clint.

Clint slashed through the incoming Shadow Ball effortlessly, taking minimal damage, while Gwen channeled the flames at Luna. Unfortunately, the lunar Pokémon dodged almost easily.

That was when Clint was thrown back by a Psychic attack from Sol, but Gwen caught him before he hit the ground. Alright Clint, let's finish this. We need to get May back as soon as possible, before Brendan completely loses his mind. Clint nodded and fired off a Leaf Storm, hitting Luna hard enough to knock her out. That was when Gwen used another Shadow Ball, hitting Sol perfectly, knocking him out as well. With that, the buzzer sounded, and Brendan was declared the winner.

Liza walked across the field after recalling Luna, and presented Brendan with his badge, but she looked more disappointed than most gym leaders he'd won against. "Honestly, that battle was much too fast for my liking. Had it been up to me, I would have made it a four-on-four battle, but my idiot of a brother," she said with a glare, which made Tate look away with guilt. "Thought we'd be okay with just Luna and Sol. Will you please come back for a rematch soon? I want to show you that we're not pushovers."

Gwen was shocked when she saw Brendan smile honestly for the first time since May was kidnapped. "Absolutely, but there is something I need to take care of first."

Liza nodded. "Of course, we'll need time to train too."

Well, thank you for the match, but we need to go now. When we get our friend, we will come back for a full rematch, Gwen said. With that, Brendan and Gwen both left the gym, hearing Liza and Tate start a sibling argument.

Brendan sighed as they walked back to the Pokémon Center, but they realized that Steven wasn't there anymore. So, he went to the counter, figuring the nurse would know where the silver-haired man had gone. "Excuse me, nurse, I'm looking for Steven Stone, do you know where he went?"

The nurse turned to him and smiled. "Oh, yes, he told me to let you know that there was an emergency at the Space Center in the northeast part of the island. He said something about Team Magma."

They're still alive? I thought Groudon wiped them all out, Gwen said to Brendan only.

I guess some escaped in time. But why would they be going after the Space Center?

That's something we will need to find out when we get there.

Brendan smiled at her slightly. I'd really rather be looking for Team Aqua, but beating what's left of Team Magma is a close second. I just hope May can hold out a bit longer.

They left the Pokémon Center and went to the space center, seeing a tall rocket in the distance. They arrived at the door, and they saw it was wide open. "Oh great, they're already here." Brendan rolled his eyes and walked in, seeing three grunts. When they saw him, however, they all seemed to shy away, not wanting to tangle with the kid who had thrashed their now deceased leader so many times. Brendan just smirked, happy his reputation among the Magmas, and hopefully the Aquas, was this strong.

Seems they're terrified. I wonder how many of them escaped the volcano in time, Gwen said.

I'm not sure, but it doesn't matter, we're here to talk to Steven about getting May back. These clowns won't be a problem, nor will I care if they try to stop us. We will just crush them as always.

Gwen giggled. True, it'll be very easy to beat these grunts…but Tabitha and Courtney are still a problem. Even with Maxie gone, they may still pose a threat. We should not underestimate them.

Brendan chuckled a bit as they began to climb the stairs. Maybe. But imagine if the grunts ambushed in force. Maybe then they would actually pose a threat. As if on cue, they came to the top floor landing and saw five grunts together, all looking ready to battle, sending out a horde of Mightyena. And Arceus tests us more, Brendan said as he sent out Avery. He didn't feel like wasting time or effort here. "Avery, just use Dragon Pulse multiple times, take them out." Within five attacks, the battle was over, Avery having only a few light scratches on her. Good job Avery, now return. Latias returned to her Pokéball and Brendan continued forward unopposed until he saw Steven on the far side, seeing him talking to both Courtney and Tabitha. It seemed that Tabitha was doing most of the talking, pointing to a blueprint of a missile.

"Listen, pompous windbag, we are taking that fuel and launching it at the volcano again. We need to fulfill Maxie's dreams," Tabitha said to Steven, although Courtney seemed to be uncertain of this idea of Tabitha's. Just as Steven was about to respond, Brendan stepped forward.

"Yes, because waking up Groudon and bringing on the worst drought in the history of Hoenn, if not the world, worked so well that it may even destroy life on this planet. Isn't that right, Tabitha?" The new Magma commander jumped, and Steven seemed to smile slightly when he saw Brendan.

Tabitha, however, seemed worried. "You killed Maxie, you bastard."

"Actually, that was Groudon, so the thing that you guys dreamed of killed your leader. Ironic, isn't it?" Brendan smiled, and Courtney, surprisingly, seemed to giggle silently.

Steven stood up from his seat, and looked at the two lieutenants of Team Magma. "Alright, you two need to realize that this rocket fuel is not going anywhere but into the rockets for space exploration. Understand me? Now, you will leave now, or Brendan and I will force you to leave." He turned to Brendan, and smiled. "Want to help me in a tag battle here?" Brendan was surprised, but he didn't let it show. He knew Steven was incredibly strong as a trainer. If he wanted to team up, then this would be an easy, but interesting battle.

Brendan just smiled and sent out Turk, who seemed ready to battle, as usual. Steven smiled as well and sent out an Aggron that looked extremely powerful. While Courtney looked reluctant, Tabitha seemed almost fanatical about this. Despite her reluctance, it seemed Courtney was being forced to battle by Tabitha, evident by how she flinched when she sent out Dolengen, her Crobat, just as Tabitha sent Aesir out.

"So, Maxie got his Camerupt out of Mt. Chimney in time," Brendan looked a bit sad. "I just wish we could've gotten more Pokémon out before you idiots woke up a force of nature."

Courtney looked down in guilt, clearly regretting that she didn't try to talk Maxie out of his fanatical ideas, having realized the tragedy Groudon would cause if it woke. She had looked up to Maxie at first, seeing him as an environmentalist looking to truly better Hoenn. She had been so blinded by her admiration and desire to please her leader that she didn't notice just how far Maxie was falling from sanity.

"Yeah, real sentimental from the boy who killed the man!" Tabitha said, clearly losing his temper.

Steven just sighed. "I'd love to stand here and talk, but there are more important matters to deal with right now. Brendan, let's drive these terrorists out of here."

Brendan smiled. "I thought you'd never ask. Turk, hit Aesir with Crabhammer!"

"Hagane, use Head Smash on Dolengen," Steven smiled as he said this, liking how Brendan wasn't wasting time. It seemed the young trainer had matured since Fortree, but the reason was not one that any person should ever have to endure.

With the two devastating hits from Turk and Hagane, both Dolengen and Aesir were out, but Aesir refused to stay down. He stood back up and glared at Brendan before Steven had Hagane use Iron Tail, which finished the job as the massive, metal, bipedal dinosaur Pokémon slapped Aesir with a glowing tail. The impact sent the volcanic camel flying, and it landed hard, refusing to get back up after that hit. Tabitha shouted and cursed in anger, but Brendan stepped forward and grabbed him by the collar.

"Tabitha, why did you try to continue the damage that Maxie's dream caused? With all that happened, you should have been trying to stop or repair the destruction," he sounded angry. These people had decimated an entire region, and the new leader wanted to keep pursuing that goal? He was on the verge of giving Tabitha another swift kick to the crotch when another hand gently grabbed his. He turned to face her, expecting Gwen, but he saw Courtney.

"Please, let me make it right. I can't promise that we will be able to stop Groudon, but we can still help keep Team Aqua from making it worse by waking up Kyogre," she said this with sadness in her eyes. "I will take over Team Magma from now on, and I will make sure that Tabitha is kept from command positions."

Brendan seemed surprised. This was the second time that a member of these groups came forward and offered peace. It seemed as if Courtney was sincere, but Brendan was wary. "Alright, just get out of here. I have enough from Team Aqua to deal with at the moment."

"We know and I also happen to know where the Seafloor Cavern is," Courtney smiled and pulled out a USB drive from her pocket. "This has all our intel on Team Aqua. I brought it along because I figured you would show up, given that you have stopped almost all of our plans recently." She paused briefly, letting silence fall. "I must say, I find you very intriguing…I like it." With that, she walked away, almost dragging Tabitha as she left the space center.

Brendan breathed a bit lighter then. It seemed that, if Courtney was true to her word, Team Magma would not be a concern anymore. It would certainly make May's rescue much easier for him.

That was when Steven placed a hand on Brendan's shoulder. "So, you got the badge, and what I just saw was an indication that we can't lose any more time." He pulled out boat keys. "Care for a ride to the Seafloor Cavern? My boat is one of the fastest in the region."

I deeply apologize for that atrociously long wait. I know it's a shorter chapter than usual, but it's what I could get done with projects flying from my professors' asses, I've had next to no free time to write.

Anyway, as always, please leave a review, just don't be a dick about it. Thanks for reading and being patient. Next chapter will focus more heavily on May, since she didn't get anything this chapter.

Until next time -jmoul18