What happened last chapter: "I still…" Brendan sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "do like you May." He muttered gently. "A lot…but…"
"But what?" she asked.
"I can't forgive you May. There's no proof; I can't believe you." Brendan said, his voice hardening once again. He then ran towards the exit, refusing to speak with May anymore.
"Brendan!" called May, rushing after him, but the pokémon in the cave then attacked. Slowly, but surely, they surrounded her…
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CHAPTER 11: The Final Battle, Version Two, Part One
While Brendan rushed out the cave, he could hear a scream from inside; he knew that scream belonged to May. He felt a twinge of worry and protectiveness, but he tried to ignore it as he walked towards the Ever Grande Gym.
"After all, she can protect herself, right?" he thought to himself as he walked towards some twins guarding the entrance where he could battle the Elite Four.
"Are you ready, trainer?" asked both, eyeing him suspiciously. "You haven't even checked your bag for all the necessary supplies you might need or cured your pokémon yet."
Now realizing this, Brendan checked in his backpack. "You're right! Thanks!" he said, before preparing himself.
The twins looked at each other. How could this dunce make it all the way to the Ever Grande gym?
As Brendan waited for his pokémon to heal, he asked the nurse, "Is there anywhere I can rest up before fighting the Elite Four?"
The nurse smiled at him. "Of course," she said, handing him a key. "Second room to the right. Rest up as much as you need to – you'll need that energy for the Elite Four! Also," she said, giving him a wink. "showers are to the left."
"How long will it take to heal my pokémon?"
"A couple of hours. Just rest up, though! They'll be fine!"
"A-alright," replied Brendan hesitantly. He stared at the key in his hand. "It's been a while since I've rested in a real bed, and taken a shower." He put his backpack on the floor of his room, and stripped himself of his clothing.
Peeking out of his room, he checked to see if anyone was watching him. He ran to the shower, a leap of faith, with hope that nobody saw him.
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May glared at the endless sea of angry pokémon who were also staring back at her; they were waiting for her to make her first move of the battle. Touching her trusty pokéballs sitting patiently on her belt, she summoned all six of her pokémon to come out. "Go, pokémon!" she shouted, and with sudden bursts of red light her pokémon stood by May's side, ready to defend her and fight until they couldn't anymore.
The battle lasted for a few hours. The short group of pokémon who were now left fled the scene, afraid of the power of May's pokémon. May summoned her pokémon back into their pokéballs happily. "You did a great job, guys! Now, let's get you to the nearest pokécenter." whispered May to her resting pokémon. She walked out from Victory road, leaving it behind and stepping into the blinding light.
The first things that May saw were flowers. She reached to the nearest one, admiring its beauty and slightly touching its petals. "It's been a while since I've stopped to even see the flowers." She grinned. She saw two tall pillars on each side of her. In front of her was a large building, which she assumed was the Ever Grande Gym.
The sight of the building made May sigh in relief. All that happened before, it led up to this! She rushed inside, eager to fight the Elite Four. However, she had to prepare herself first. She looked at the nurse and decided to heal her pokémon first. "Heal my pokémon, please?" politely asked May. The nurse took one look at her and nodded. "Certainly. It will take a few hours for them to heal, though. In the meanwhile, would you like to take a shower?"
"The pokémon centers have showers?" asked May, her eyes wide in surprise.
The nurse laughed. "Of course! It would be a disaster if we didn't." She gave May a warm smile. Somehow, she reminded May of the mall employee at the Lilycove Marketmall.
May blushed, looking down at herself. "It's been a while since I've taken a proper shower." She looked back up at the nurse. "Sure."
"Would you like to rest up, too?"
"Oh, no thank you. Your offer of a shower is generosity itself." smiled May.
The nurse took her to a shower, providing her with complementary soap and shampoo. May thanked her again, but the nurse said, "What I live for is taking care of people and pokémon both. No need to thank me." With a wink and a smile, she said, "Feel free to sing." And she left.
May was puzzled. What did she mean by saying, "feel free to sing"? May stepped into the shower and washed herself. Feeling more comfortable, she softly sang. "When I think of what I've been through, I can see that you've always been there for me, to tell the truth I don't know what I'd do, without you, half of my dreams would not come true…"
The song reminded her of Brendan. She stopped singing for a moment.
She was stunned when someone sang after her. Apparently, that person heard her and also knew the words. May listened carefully, listening to the echoing words piercing through the steam."You are the one that I have hoped for, all my life …meaning so much more, now we can be together forever, just you and me…" replied a male voice.
"Me here for you," they both sang together. "you here for me…"
Tears dripped from May's eyes. Both voices stopped singing altogether.
She wondered who the voice was behind the wall. She wondered if it was Brendan…
"Impossible!" she thought to herself. "Brendan doesn't care about me, and he doesn't love me…"
She turned the shower knob so that it would switch to off. Drying herself quickly, she dressed herself in a fresh outfit and checked to see if her pokémon were healed. They were.
"Go forth, trainer!" the two twin trainers said to her as May headed to the entrance of the Ever Grande battle field. May gave them both a small nod, and entered.
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After a long while in the shower, thinking about the female voice that sang the song he knew, Brendan shut off the water. Drying himself, he wondered if that was May. She should have come by now…did she come? Or was she stuck in the cave?
His inner self fought off all thoughts of May, and told Brendan to relax. Brendan dressed, and asked the nurse if his pokémon were cured yet. "Yes," said the nurse. "your pokémon are fully cured." Brendan thanked her, placed the pokéballs on his belt, and headed toward the entrance of the battle field.
"You ready this time?" asked the twin brothers with a smirk.
"Yeah," he muttered, although confidently, looking into one brother's face, unwilling to back down.
"Then, go forth, trainer!" said both brothers. "There is another challenger battling the second elite I believe, AND she's a major hottie." They grinned at each other.
Even though Brendan felt a twinge of jealousy, knowing who they were talking about, he didn't say anything and sauntered past them.
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When Brendan finished off the last of the Elite Four, Drake, he saw May dejectedly come his way. She looked at him in surprise, but she went on, not speaking a word to him. What happened? Didn't she defeat the Champion?
Or had she not?
Brendan walked the paths to the Champion, the butterflies inside his stomach growing step by step.
He didn't see May…that definitely meant that…
She lost.
A lurch of sorrow came into his heart. His inner self said to him: "It's your turn now! Your time to shine! After all, it's what you came here for, right?"
Brendan prepared himself and brought out his first pokémon.
"I choose you, Groudon!" he shouted. The Champion Wallace's eyes widened.
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"Crap…" thought May. "How could I NOT see that coming?"
When May brought out her last resort, Rayquaza, for a while, out of potions, Wallace's Whiscash used its last resort, its last attack…
And reduced the last bit of her Rayquaza's health, knocking it out.
Refusing to cry, she shook Wallace's hand with a smile. "You did a great job." whispered Wallace to her. "It won't suprise me when you become a great Pokémon Champion someday."
May wondered when that day would ever come.
Dejected, she went back towards Victory Road, towards home. "I've got to train more…I wasn't good enough."
Only then did she sigh sadly. She entered the cave. She decided to train some more before fighting the Elite Four again. That would mean thinking of new strategies and making her pokémon stronger. She could train in the cave, maybe, before trying again. She wandered aimlessly in the cave, fighting off every pokémon that came her way.
Finally, in exasperation, she pulled out her PokéDex. She was tired, and wanted to rest somewhere."I wonder why there haven't been pokémon attacking me lately. This is Victory Road, where all the strong pokémon attack you, right?" She thought. She stared as the map on her Pokédex went blank and the whole thing shut down. "Crap…" she muttered, hitting the Pokédex slightly. "Turn on, you stupid thing!"
A low growl, a guttural noise met May's ears in the pitch dark blackness, causing a shiver to travel through her bones…
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Preview of the Next Chapter, "The Final Battle, Version Two, Part Two"
"I wasn't good enough, Brendan, I wasn't good enough!" sniffed May, her gloves clenching the dark, soft fabric of his jacket.
"You were always enough May. Enough for me." said Brendan…
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Credit for the "Lyrics" – Song: It Was You from Pokemon: The First Movie
A/N: Sorry if this chapter is similar to the first part of the second one. It was supposed to be the same, but I decided against it. Sorry if the preview is so short, I couldn't figure out what to write. Yup, it's another sweet one. I thought that maybe character death would be good in another ending, but then I decided that it wouldn't fit the epilouge. Tell me if there's anything you'd like to change in this chapter! (aka gramatical, spacing, spelling errors, etc.) Basically the endings are the same, only slightly different and there's an extra battle. Countdown: Two more chapters!
