AN: Guess who's back? Guess again. Foonator's back! Tell a friend. With that Eminem reference out of the way, here's the next chapter of my favorite story to write. There won't be too much deviation from the storyline presented in the games this time. Just some more meaningful conversations. Our hero will begin bonding with his starter Pokémon, catch a few new ones, and help a young boy overcome confidence issues. So sit back and enjoy the show as the future Champion takes his first steps on the road to fame, glory, self-awareness, peace with the universe, oneness with nature, and you get the idea.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. That goes for the franchise and the fictional creatures.

Chapter 2

"I can't thank you two enough for saving me back there," Prof. Birch said. "I just can't believe I was so incredibly stupid to bring to new Pokémon on such a potentially dangerous expedition."

"Potentially dangerous? Doesn't the local Pokémon population consist of Wurmples, Zigzagoons, and what not?" Brendan asked.

"Yes, but I knew that something was causing a disturbance out there, and I still went out with none of my more powerful Pokémon. What if it had been something more serious? Imagine if it had been an Aggron." Prof. Birch shivered involuntarily at that point. "I've seen it when one of them completely loses it…"

May decided to pipe in to steer the conversation towards less morbid waters. "Well, it wasn't, so let's just be thankful that we are all okay. No one was severely traumatized" Brendan stiffened at that, but only Birch took notice of it. "All's well that ends well, right?"

"And you're going to end up grounded if you EVER pull a stunt like that again, May." Birch threatened. "I know what you did was very brave and I'm just so incredibly proud of you. But I do not want you putting yourself at risk like that for me. You've got your whole life ahead of you."

"But, Daddy-"

"No buts, we'll talk more about this later. For now, why don't you just go home and get some rest? There's a few things I need to finish up before I go home."

"Okay, Daddy." May walked the door, but she turned around as she was about to leave and asked, "Are you coming, Brendan?"

Before Brendan could answer, Birch interjected "Actually, he had a few things he wanted to talk to me with."

"I'll wait 'till he finishes then," May said.

Brendan could tell that made the Proffessor uneasy, so he decided to play along with him. "Well, I really wanted to talk to him… alone. Sorry," he said with an apologetic look.

"Oh, I guess I'll be going then. Bye, Daddy! Bye, Brendan!" With that, May left. Brendan turned to Birch with an expectant look on his face.

"Sorry about putting you on the spot like that, but I really would did not want May around to hear this," the Professor's friendly but serious demeanor caused Brendan to grow a little worried.

"And what would she have heard?" 'Hopefully he's not an overprotective father that thinks I've got a crush on his daughter.'

Birch paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. "It's about your part in saving me. Again, I can't thank you enough, but you seemed… hesitant at some parts of the story. I didn't get the feeling that you were lying, just that you were leaving out some parts. Could you tell me what happened?"

Brendan, without hesitation, told him that he hadn't driven the Mightyena off. He had killed it with the pocketknife from Birch's bag (Birch look impressed at that point, but quickly turned serious again). He told him all the details of the battle and his reaction to killing it. At that point, Birch put a comforting arm on his shoulder. "I am sorry you had to go through all that. Do you feel better now that you've got it off of your chest?" Brendan thought about it for a moment before he nodded his head. "I have to say though, you have seriously impressed me. Not many novice trainers could have handled those two Pokémon the way to you did. Heck, not many people period could have handled that situation at all." Brendan rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I know it is not easy to take the life of something more intelligent than a box of rocks, and you do seem to be handling it fairly well. Please do not be afraid to tell your parents about this, though. This really is not the sort of thing you should keep bottled up inside. I am glad that you told me, but I am no substitute for your parents.

Brendan nodded his head. "I planned on telling my dad first because you know how moms are." They both chuckled at that. "I planned on going to see him tomorrow anyway, so I guess I'll do it then.

"That actually brings up something else I wanted to talk about," Birch said. "I noticed you've finished high school with top honors." Brendan could see where this was going. "You're also the son of a Gym Leader and you obviously have a knack with Pokémon." Yep, Brendan knew exactly where this was going. "Not just trainer skills either, you've got what it takes to survive out there. My daughter has long professed her desire to be a trainer, and I have done everything I could to prepare her for it. Even so, I cannot help but worry about her as the beginning is almost always the most dangerous part." This was unexpected. Was Birch really going to… "So I would like to ask you two things: would you become a Pokémon Trainer, and would you please stay with my daughter for the first part of her journey?"

He'd seen the first one coming, but the second one had been a surprise. Today's events had opened Brendan's eyes about a number of things. While he may have been fearing for his life during the battle, he still couldn't deny that it felt… right to be leading those two into battle. 'Well, more like lead Treecko and watch Torchic do its own thing.' He also understood better just how dangerous it was out there. He'd faced down a Pokémon that few would consider strong or terrifying, and he'd been lucky to walk away with his life. Could he seriously not help a sweet, innocent girl like May when she would need it most? He'd known a fair few people who went out on their journeys. Few made it past the first few months. One or two had even died, though they were the ones who went solo. 'No, I can't just let her go out on her own. Too much can go wrong. It's not like a have any reason not to.' Brendan breathed deeply and decided on his course of action. "Yes to both of your questions, Prof. Birch."

"Are you sure?" Brendan nodded, and Birch grinned and clapped him and the shoulder. "Excellent, why don't we make it official then?"

After having filled out all the necessary paperwork, they shook hands. Birch then handed over a bag of basic supplies including Pokéballs, Potions, Antidotes, Repel, etc. Then, he gave him two Pokéballs with a rather large grin on his face.

"Are these…"

"The Treecko and Torchic from earlier, all healed up. I figured since you've already bonded with them, why not let you have them both?"

Brendan raised an eyebrow at that. "I wouldn't quite say I bonded with Torchic; he completely ignored me."

Birch just laughed. "To be fair, that Torchic has always been fiercely independent. However, when I was treating it, I couldn't help but notice there was a marked difference about it. You've had an impact on it, whether either of you realize it or not."

Brendan pondered those words for a few moments. "That reminds me. During our battle, Torchic started off much slower than I expected, but it seemed to speed up as the battle progressed despite the fact it was taking a beating. What was going on?"

"Ah, now we are getting to the interesting part. You see, there's been a fairly recent discovery from the Unova region many Pokémon possessing Hidden Abilities. I'm not entirely sure exactly how this came about, other than it deals with dreams somehow. Anyway, this Torchic is the first if its kind to have successfully gone through the process. I requested that my next batch of starters from the breeding company have their Hidden Ability instead of their traditional Special Ability. Unfortunately, they could only get me this Torchic. But that's irrelevant right now. You see, this Torchic has Speed Boost." Brendan's eyebrows disappeared above his hairline. "Yes, you see it don't you. This Torchic has a lot of potential in the right hands. That's why I'm giving it to you."

Endless possibilities danced in Brendan's mind. He looked at the Pokéball in his right hand in a new light. While he had felt that he'd connected better with Treecko, Torchic had impressed him with its tenacity. Blaziken was a fairly strong Pokémon, especially up close and personal. But it wasn't considered the sturdiest of Pokémon, and wasn't the fastest either. Attacks too fast for it to dodge could cripple it and knock it out of the action. But Speed Boost could change all of that. He felt that the fire Pokémon could be great before, but now…

He could be nigh unstoppable.

Brendan once again thanked the good Professor, but before he left, he suddenly remembered he hadn't given Birch his knife back. He pulled it out and offered it back to him. Birch, however, shook his head and said "No, you'll need it more than me. In a way, it is yours anway." Brendan looked down it at (he'd already cleaned it off) before nodding his thanks and leaving. He noticed it was beginning to get dark, so he decided it best to head home.

The moment he entered his house, he was extremely grateful that he had already cleaned up from the battle and that a long sleeve shirt hid has bandaged left arm. His mother nearly knocked him over her hug as she gushed about how happy she was that he was finally going out on his own adventure just like her and his dad.

"I thought you were against it," Brendan stated.

"Oh, I just say that stuff out of concern for you. Your father doesn't worry enough about you, so I have to pick up the slack." Brendan snorted at that. "Hush, you! Let's go outside and meet your new friends."

Brendan stepped back outside with his mother and released Treecko and Torchic. "Treecko and Torchic, meet Mom."

"Awwwww," Brendan rolled his eyes. "Aren't they just the cutest, Brendan?" Before he could voice his disagreement, his mother stepped forward in an attempt to engulf them both in a hug. They both saw the danger that approached them, but only Treecko was quick enough to dart between her legs and seek refuge on Brendan's shoulder. Torchic squawked in indignation as his mother hugged it. "Just look how adorable he is," she said as she turned to face him. Upon seeing Torchic's plight, Brendan laughed.

In response, Torchic launched flames at his head, causing his beanie to go up in flames. Brendan yelled in shock as he tore his flaming apparel off stomped it off. He glared at the Torchic.

'Is it laughing at me? Forget potential, the bird dies!'

The next morning, Brendan awoke to the sound of something hitting his window. Rolling out of bed, he groaned as he stumbled his way towards the window. Looking outside, he noticed May standing there preparing to through another pebble. Opening it up, he called down to May. "Hey, May, any particular reason you woke me up at 8:00 in the morning?"

"So we can get started on our adventure, silly. Now come on, daylight is burning. I want to leave in an hour."

Brendan groaned. "Does it have to be today?"

"Quiet, lazy bones, and do as I say," She ordered playfully.

"Oh all right, I will get ready." With that, he shut the window, took a shower and did the rest of his morning routine, and put on the clothes that had been laid out. In truth, he had been planning to leave today as well, but he had stayed up late packing everything. Besides eating breakfast and saying his goodbyes, there remained only one thing left to do. When he had called his father, Norman, to tell him he was starting his journey, he was congratulated repeatedly, and then told to retrieve a certain box from Norman's closet. He was told not to open it until today, and the tone his father was speaking in erased any temptation to do it early. Opening the box up, took the PokéNav (complete with the phone function) out. Fortunately, it was already charged, something he could attribute to Mom he guessed. Inside the box was a smaller but sturdy looking case. He opened that one next, and his eyes widened at what it contained.

One snub-nosed .356 revolver (6 round capacity) with 30 rounds of ammo specifically designed to pierce the skin/scales/armor of some of the tougher Pokémon (though he knew ones the likes of Golem could shrug it off no problem, neglecting areas such as the eyes).

He smiled lightly at this, as he had been wanting this particular gun of his dad's for a while, and he had often gone at to a shooting range to practice with it. But he recognized the seriousness of what this gun represented and the message his dad was trying to send him.

It's a jungle out there.

Loading the revolver, strapping the holster it came with around his waist under his shirt, he placed the gun at the small of his back. He made sure the trigger lock, which was easy to remove quickly but had little chance of falling off, was secure. 'I happen to like being able to sit normally, after all,' he thought with a silent chuckle.

As he checked his gear for only the fifth time, the reality hit him hard. This was it. He was going out into a dangerous world. Probably on his own for long periods of time. Often times hundreds of miles away from home. And strangely enough, he was not very bothered by it; in fact, Brendan almost couldn't wait. So he slung his pack onto his back and made his way out the door. May and her family, along with his mom, were waiting outside. His mother looked at him with watery eyes.

"Well, looks like this is it, honey. My little boy is all grown up now." Some tears started to leak from the corners of her eyes. Brendan drew her into a hug. "I love you, and I am going to miss you so much."

"I love you too, Mom."

Meanwhile, May and her mother were saying a decidedly more emotional goodbye. Prof. Birch just sighed and said, "You've already gone through this exact scene no less than three times today."

"Only this time, it's for real," May's mother sobbed lightly into her daughter's shoulder.

"Don't you ruin this moment, daddy," May warned.

"Women," Brendan snickered lightly. That comment earned him a few heated glares.

Birch decided to break the tension by giving Brendan his pre-registered Pokédex. Birch clasped his hand and whispered so only Brendan could hear, "Do you have it?" Brendan nodded and brushed his revolver lay hidden, at which point Birch nodded as well. May had finally finished saying her goodbyes, so after asking the other I they were ready, Brendan and May began walking side by side down the Route 101 towards Oldale Town. The trip there would only take an hour or two at most at their brisk pace, and the day was still young, so they were confident they could reach Petalburg City by midafternoon. Along the way, they swapped their life stories.

"By the way," May said, "I couldn't help but notice that you aren't wearing that beanie from yesterday. That, and your hair is kind of spiky. Is it natural?"

Brendan's eye twitched. "Let's just say my hat is… gone, and my hair is naturally spiky. Besides, its spring, so I don't need it anyway."

"…Lost?" May asked.

"Yes, lost."

May smirked. "What do you mean by 'lost'?"

Brendan glared lightly at her for a few seconds before relenting. "Torchic burned it," he mumbled.

May stopped as she burst into laughter while Brendan shoved his hands into his pockets and kept walking. May's laughter abated and she began to jog to catch up. "Oh come on, Brendan, is it really that bad?"

"…"

May snickered. "Is somebody pouting."

Brendan rolled his eyes, but a smile was tugging at the corner of his lips. "I'm not pouting."

"Then it must be embarrassment, right?" Brendan just opted to sigh. "Don't be like that. It's only a hat, after all," she chided him. When Brendan put in some earphones and began listening to music, May just shrugged her shoulders before she began humming to herself.

When they finally reached Oldale, they were practically jumped by an employee who was obviously from the local PokéMart. He enthusiastically pointed out the building that clearly said "PokéMart" on the front, told them it was, in fact, a PokéMart (where he worked), and dragged them along to the entrance before explaining that PokéMarts sold goods that could be useful for all things Pokémon related.

Brendan wondered whether the parents of Captain Obvious had any intelligent children. May thought he was a nice guy.

After browsing the store and determining that they didn't need anything, they headed back out on the road. May wanted to take the time to look for a Ralts, as they were known to live around these parts, so Brendan let her go off on her own (but never too far away) while he prepared to enact his revenge on Torchic. Being the nice guy that he was, he at least made things so that Torchic would get something out of the experience. Stopping near a small brook, Brendan released Treecko and Torchic.

He waved at the two Pokémon. "Hello, you two. My name," he pointed to himself, "is Brendan. Do you understand?" Treecko nodded but Torchic looked a bit confused. "Could you explain things to Torchic?" Treecko nodded and conversed with the fire Pokémon for a bit, before looking at Brendan and nodding. "Prof. Birch gave me your Pokéballs but I just want to make sure that you two want me to be your trainer." Treecko and Torchic talked once more, before Treecko walked forward to stand beside him; Torchic hesitant. "I won't be cruel or unfair to you. We will be partners and hopefully friends later on. I would like to challenge the Gym Leaders and eventually the Champion. That will mean a lot of hard work and battles ahead. But there will be time for fun and all the rest."

Treecko finished translating, and Torchic stood there for a second before looking directly into his eyes and giving a determined "Torchic!" and nodding his head. Brendan smiled and pulled water gun out of his pack.

"Let's get started then," he said with a smile that unnerved Torchic. "Lesson One: Dodging."

'This is for you, beanie!'

May hummed to herself as she skipped along to where she had left Brendan. Now normally, she did engage in such silly activities as skipping, but today had given her a feeling of giddiness she had yet to overcome. It felt like she was floating through a dream and reality had not hit her yet. She and Mudkip had a great time playing with some of the local Pokémon. No Ralts where encountered, but she had not given up hope yet.

The sight that greeted her when she found Brendan was an interesting one. His Torchic was running around dodging blasts from Brendan's water gun and Quick Attacks from Treecko. The poor Pokémon looked drenched, and the grin on Brendan's face was starting to creep May out.

"Dodge!" Brendan yelled at his Pokémon as fired at it again while he chased after it. Torchic, unfortunately, was not quick enough. Brendan laughed maniacally as his shot connected with the back of Torchic's head, and Treecko appeared to be amused as well. But May simply could not let this injustice go on. After all, what had Torchic done to deserve this?

"Brendan! Leave that poor Torchic alone! Just what did he do to you?" Everyone present stopped what they were doing. Brendan looked out May's almost furious expression, then glanced back at the facedown Torchic, before looking back at May with a straight face and shooting it one more time with his water gun. May began stalking towards him.

"What?" he questioned innocently.

"'What do you mean, 'What?'" You know exactly what you're doing."

"You are correct, but I fail to see how this upsets you. Rex and I were just teaching Vulcan here some valuable life lessons. Isn't that right, Rex?" Rex the Treecko eyed the still advancing May with some apprehension before nodding reluctantly. "See? No harm, no 'fowl'." He snickered. "See what I did there, Vulcan is a bird, and said 'fowl,' so-"

"Brendan," she interrupted, "why are you hurting this poor, innocent Pokémon? I thought you were better than this."

'Uh-oh. She actually thinks I'm purposely being mean to him… which isn't entirely untruthful but it is all in good fun, and Vulcan said it was all right after some explaining. Looks like it's time to run damage control.'

"Wait, let me explain. We really are training here, the water gun as to simulate a water attack without any real damage, Rex was pitching in to train himself and while presenting a situation where Vulcan would be overwhelmed, and Vulcan was working on evasion and endurance. So I really wasn't being mean at all."

"Oh really? Then what was with that sadistic grin on your face?" May retorted.

"You see, there's a perfectly good reason why you would think that, and it's because – run guys! Run!" With that, Brendan took off as fast as he could down the trail with Rex and Vulcan alongside him and May hot on his heels.

"Get back here, Brendan! I'm not finished with you yet!"

"Hey, Dad, It's me," Brendan said as he walked into his father's gym.

"Brendan! Look who finally decided to man up," Norman teased.

"Thanks, Dad, you always make me feel so loved," Brendan drawled. Then, he chuckled as he shook his head, and the two embraced. "How's work?"

"It's been great! It never gets old to smack down these young punks who think they can take advantage of the new Gym Leader in town. A Fighting specialist came in the other day, and you should have seen the look on his face when Linoone swept his entire team. The wonders of Belly Drum/Extremespeed and Rest with a Chesto Berry never cease to amaze, no?"

Brendan snorted and gave Norman a mock bow. "Show me the ways of achieving balance with the self and oneness with the universe, sensei." Norman simply laughed and lightly slapped his son on the back of his bowed head. He then looked at May, who had been observing the proceedings with amusement.

"Miss May, it is a delight to meet you again. How has your journey been thus far?"

Before May could expose Brendan and his shenanigans, the front door opened and in walked a short, frail looking boy who seemed scared of his own shadow. He had mildly light unruly, light-green hair, tan cargo pants, and a white button up. The boy practically exuded awkwardness, and stood there for a moment shifting around awkwardly until Norman's eyes lit up in comprehension. "Ah, you must be Wally." The boy nodded timidly. "You're uncle said that you would be coming in today, but it must have slipped my mind. Before anything else though, please meet my son, Brendan, and his friend, May." May smiled and waved at him, and Wally blushed and looked away before muttering a "Hi." Brendan smiled and shook his hand.

Wally gulped before gathering his courage and speaking up. "H-hi Mr. Norman, sir. I-I, uh, just wanted to ask you for some help catching a P-pokémon. Uh, I, uh, don't really know how so…"

Norman chuckled good-naturedly before clasping a hand on his shoulder. "No need to worry, Wally, Brendan here will make sure that everything goes just fine. Isn't that right, Brendan?" Norman gave his son a meaningful glance.

Brendan sighed internally before nodding his head. 'Why do I get stuck helping the FNG?'

With that, Norman handed Wally the Pokéball that contained Loudred and several empty ones to capture with; with that, Brendan walked with Wally out the door towards Route 102. Wally stared at the Pokéball in his hand rather dumbly until Brendan began explaining some of the finer points of how to handle Pokémon in general both inside and outside of battle before moving on to Loudred and its attacks, strengths, weaknesses, and some fairly simple tactics to deal with the various wild Pokémon in the area.

"What kinds of wild Pokémon are around here anyway?" Wally asked as they searched the woods.

"There's a lot of Zigzagoon, Wurmple, Poochyena, a few Shroomish, and Taillow; some Marill, Magicarp, Goldeen, and a few Corphish in ponds and such; and if you're really lucky a Ra-" Brendan was cut off by Wally's sudden gasp.

"W-what's that?"

When Brendan glanced to where Wally was pointing, his eyes widened. "Ralts."

'That lucky son of a- wait, what's he doing?'

Brendan watched as Wally crept closer to the Ralts that watched them, peeking around a tree. Before Brendan could say anything however, the Ralts began to ease from behind the tree out into the open. Wally began to speak softly to the Psychic Pokémon, calling out to it softly and assuring it that everything was ok. Slowly but surely, the Ralts began shuffle towards Wally. Brendan watched on as Wally sank to his knees only a few feet from the Ralts, who hesitated for a brief moment, before continuing onwards. Finally, the Ralts stood within arm's reach of Wally. He slowly reached towards the Ralts until his right hand rested gently on top of its head and began to slowly rub back and forth.

"Hello, Ralts. I'm W-wally," the boy said quietly with a gentle smile. "I've been looking for a Pokémon because… well, I don't have any, uh, friends back home. I'm too weak, too sick, too… scared to go out and play with all the other kids and their Pokémon. So, I was, uh, wondering whether or not you wanted to, you know, be friends with me. So… what do you say?"

The Ralts tilted its head upwards for a second, before moving forward to hug his leg. Wally embraced the little Pokémon before explaining that he had to catch it in a Pokéball. The Pokémon nodded its head in comprehension. One Pokéball later, Wally stood up and stared unfocusedly at the capsule in his hand. Brendan walked up behind him and clasped him on the shoulder. Wally turned to meet him, his eyes tearing up.

"Hey, Wally, that was incredible what you did right there."

"Y-you think so?"

"I know so. I think you and Ralts are going to be great together. You see, Ralts are incredibly weak to begin with. The first real move they learn is Teleport. But as they gain more experience, they grow increasingly more adept with their psychic powers. Once they their final evolved form, they can become very powerful telepaths capable of extraordinary things. Treat her well, and she will become incredibly loyal and powerful friend. And as she grows, you will grow with her. So don't worry too much about how things used to be, and take this chance to grow as person."

A few tears rolled down his cheeks at this point, so he stopped to rub his eyes into his sleeve. Looking Brendan directly into the eyes, Wally said, "Brendan… thanks. Just thank you so much. I-I am not sure if I could have done this on my own, but I promise that I will never forget. I promise I will make the most of this, just like you said."

"I'm sure you would have done just fine without me, kid. I didn't have to do anything at all. Come on, let get back to the Gym. I'll try to give you a crash course in all the big things you need to know." Wally nodded. "May is going to be so jealous when she finds out that the first Pokémon you found was the one she spent all day looking for." Wally blushed at that part.

Hey, Dad. Guess who's back?" Brendan said as he strolled into the room. May was currently passed out on the coach and his dad was just talking to a few of the prospective Gym Trainers. Norman waved at them before exchanging a few more words with the Trainers and dismissing them.

"Brendan, Wally, it has only been 3 or so hours, and it seems that everything worked out perfectly by the look on your faces. So tell me, Wally, how did it go?"

"Amazing! I found Ralts her and she decided that we could be friends, so she came along with me. Isn't it great?"

With that, Brendan left the excited Wally to relate the story to his dad. He crept silently over to where May slept. He took a brief moment to admire her sleeping form before grinning as he leaned over and shook her roughly out of her sleep.

"AH!" May exclaimed as she awoke with a start. She looked around in confusion before her eyes settled on Brendan, who was sporting a mischievous grin on his face.

"Brendan! Why did you wake me up?"

"I just thought that you would want to see Wally and his new Ralts, that's all."

May's eyes widened. "What! How did he get a Ralts when I spent all day looking for one? It's just not fair," May lamented as she flopped back down on the sofa. Brendan chuckled before he rubbed her back soothingly.

"There, there, May. There's plenty of other Ralts in the world. I'm sure that one day, you'll find one that isn't scared away by the swirling maelstrom that is your emotions." Ralts were well known for they empathetic abilities.

May groaned. "You're lucky that I just woke up and that your little back rub feels so good, or I would make you pay for that, mister."

'Huh. I didn't even notice that I hadn't stopped yet; but hey, if the lady wants it, who am I to deny it.' With that Brendan sat down on the edge of the sofa and continued to rub her back as he watched his dad and Wally converse. Once he saw that the boy had finished telling his story, Brendan patted May on the back three times before making his way towards the two. The front door, opened and a man in his mid to late 30s stepped in. He glanced around briefly before his eyes settled on Wally.

"Wally! It's great to see that you caught a Pokémon. Norman, I can't thank you enough for helping him out."

Upon seeing Wally's embarrassed face, Brendan decided to step in. "Actually, sir, Wally did all the work himself. He didn't even need to use the Pokémon he borrowed, he just convinced Ralts to come with him." Brendan nodded his and in respect at Wally.

"Really? Well atta boy, Wally, I knew you were a natural. Better look out, Norman, because it won't be long before he wipes the floor with you."

Norman laughed. "One can only hope so. Well, I'm glad you stopped by today, Wally. Don't be stranger whenever you are in town and have fun in Vendaturf Town." He said as he shook the boy's hand.

Wally smiled shyly before saying that he would on both accounts. Then he made his way towards Brendan before he extended his hand. "Thanks again, Brendan. I won't forget you or what you taught me, and I promise that I'll take great care of Ralts." Wally paused before he smirked a little bit. "If you're ever in the area, maybe we could, uh, have a battle if you, uh, think you can beat me."

Brendan smirked right back. "Look at you, only one Pokémon but they might as well crown you champ already." Wally looked a little bashful. "Well, I'll hold you too it. Good luck, Wally," Brendan said as he gave him a bro-hug™.

"Y-you, too Brendan. See you around." With that, Wally turned around to live with who Brendan assumed was his father.

"Bye, Wally!" The recently awakened May called as she sat on the couch, waving.

Wally blushed. "B-bye, May. I hope to, uh, see you around to, I guess. Uh, bye." With that, Wally hurried out the door with his father.

Both Brendan and Norman chuckled and shook their heads before Norman said, "Well, it'll be dark in less than a half-hour, and you two must be tired. Do you two want to stay here for the night since I'm not going home until tomorrow?" May nodded vigorously while Brendan just shrugged; Norman clapped his hands together. "Then it's settled. Now, how about you show me your team there, Brendan?" Brendan nodded his assent before releasing his two Pokémon.

"Vulcan, Rex. This is my dad, Norman. Dad, meet Vulcan the Torchic and Rex the Treecko."

"Ah, so you two must be the ones who helped out my son in that troublesome situation yesterday." Brendan's eyes widened at that part, before he glanced it his father's knowing smirk. "Don't worry, Brendan, May just told me all about it while you were gone. We can talk about it later if you want." Brendan thought about it for a moment for agreeing. "Well then, are you two up to a friendly little battle while I go whip up some dinner? It'll be the perfect opportunity to bond with your Pokémon. Just do it outside, I just cleaned the Gym's arena." With that, Norman exited the room and made his way towards his living quarters.

Brendan looked at May, who was sporting a devious little grin on her face. She leapt up, her previous state of tiredness forgotten, and grabbed Brendan by the arm and dragged him out of the Gym Floor towards an open field on the right side of the Gym. "Perfect! Now, bring out that Treecko, Brendan. It's time that you two got your just desserts for torturing Torchic."

"Wait a minute, we weren't tort-"

"Let's go, Mudkip!"

"Oh all right," Brendan relented as he brought out Rex. "Alright, buddy, that Mudkip is slower and has the type disadvantage. It's got good defenses though and a solid physical attack, so watch out for the counterattack and especially Bide if it knows it." Treecko take a few brief moments, before slowly nodding his head, and then increasing it as he came to comprehend what his trainer just said.

"You ready to lose, Brendan?"

"I suppose we will see; won't we, May?"

Omake #3: Rival

The front door to the Gym opened, and in walked a boy with spiky brown hair. "Sup, I'm Gary Motherfucking Oak. Pokémon Master." He was in front of May in an instant, delivering a passionate kiss. He stepped back, leaving her to melt into a puddle at his feet. "You. Gym Leader. Badge. Now." Norman gulped before hurriedly giving the teen the badge, who promptly turned around and swaggered on out the door. "Smell you later." Brendan could only stand there, his jaw on the floor as tears born from a sudden, crushing inferiority complex ran down his face.

Finite! Chapter 2 of my grand adventure completed. Wally got Ralts and a dose of self-confidence. Norman got to see his son. Brendan got a new friend. May got a nap. Great success all around! So with that, I bid you adieu.

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