Chapter Three: And So It Begins
What's going on my lovely little twat muffins, IcyAngels here with chapter three! Yay! Sorry for no upload last week, I've had a lot of things going on. It's getting toward the end of the year and projects are getting piled on. Anyway, let's get to the reviews!
Pokerox27: I wish titles of chapters could be that long XD Thanks for the review!
Alphinia: Hey, I saw your comment on my YouTube video! Thanks for checking it out. Anyway, I can see what you mean about the Pokemon genders. But the thing is, I'm really used to hearing them referred to as "it" since they do it in both the anime and the games. And don't worry, I'll do my best to expand more on some of the plot. Thanks for the review!
FlameUser64: Agreed, I really like Shauna from XY. Like you said, at first I thought she was another ditzy female character (which she still kind of is) until you watch the fireworks with her at the Parfum Palace and see a quieter side of her that just wants to be friends. Kind of a shame that we didn't really see what she wanted to do with life, though. She even points out on the bridge that everyone has dreams and she's just kinda "goofing off". Anyway, thanks for the review!
TheHoennTrainer: I did like the kind of shipping thing they did in ORAS with Brendan and May. One of the things that really touched me was at the end where Brendan asks you to walk home with him, but then gets all defensive and says "Don't read in to it though!" and the whole date thing at the Space Center was cute. The entire time I was thinking "SCOOT CLOSER GODDAMMIT!" And then there's Wally. The perfect cinnamon roll. So yeah, thanks for the reading!
Falconadventurer: I got your PM. FanFiction has an issue with punctuation XD Thanks for the review!
Crepo the Porcupine: I agree, Wally is awesome. Thanks for the review!
DeviouslyNormal: How are you CERTAIN that I'm going to do that? To be honest, I wasn't planning on it. It's redundant, like you said. And how would you know if I like Sableye or not if I've never even mentioned it? You've assumed many things. Either way, thanks for the review.
TheArtSmartQueen: OH MY GOD! I RESPONDED TO YOUR REVIEW! XD Don't worry, I'll try to avoid dying again. Thanks for reading!
UpbeatButNegative: Yeah, Torchic does seem like the typical choice for May, but I thought I'd go for something a little different. I'll definitely work on the battle scenes. Thanks for the review, always appreciated!
Matthew Garner: Yeah, Silver was pretty awesome. I'm glad you enjoy my stories, and I'm looking forward to your reviews! Thanks!
OmniDragon10: Wally is awesome :D Thanks for the review!
Aligura: Haha, I was waiting for someone to pick up on it! Thanks for the review!
Now with all of that out of the way, I hope you all enjoy the chapter!
May had hardly slept that night, and was still wide awake at seven in the morning. She looked out of the window in her room at the cloudless sky, the sun shining over Littleroot. "Today's the day, Ventus!" she exclaimed. Her Pokemon yawned, opened one eye, then went back to sleep on her bed. May changed in to her usual attire: red tank top, white shorts, belt bag thingy, and her brand new running shoes. To top it off was her usual red and white bow. "Lookin' good," she said, scanning herself over in the mirror. "C'mon Ventus!" She placed the groggy Pokemon on her shoulders, then ran down the stairs.
"Morning, Mom," she said, grabbing a box of cereal and the milk carton out of the fridge.
"Morning, sweetie," she replied. "Sleep well?"
"As well as I possibly could," she said, scarfing down her cereal. She placed the bowl in the sink when finished. "I'm really excited, Mom. I probably should get go—"
"May, wait!"
The young Trainer turned around to face her mother. The fresh, Littleroot town air was just outside the door, along with the rest of the world. "What is it?"
"Just…don't push yourself too hard," she said. "You can always come home, honey."
May ran into her mother's arms, hugging her. "I know, Mom. I love you."
"I love you too, sweetie."
May sighed, letting go. "I guess I really should get going now, though."
Her mother smiled. "Enjoy your journey and be safe!"
"I will!" May called, walking out the door. She closed it behind her, looking up at the sky again. Not a cloud to be seen. "Are you ready for this, Ventus?" The Treecko, now wide awake, nodded. "All right," the Trainer said, taking a deep breath in. "Let's go see the professor."
…
"Have you caught that Wurmple yet, Harold?" Birch asked, going through a stack of papers.
"Uh…" Harold looked at the empty Poke Ball on the table. "Define….caught."
The professor sighed. "You let it escape the lab, didn't you?"
"It couldn't have gone far, sir!" Harold insisted. "It's probably out there on Route 101. It wouldn't listen to me…"
"Morning, Professor!"
Birch turned to the door, May standing a few feet away with a huge smile. "May! So, I'm assuming you've made a decision about going on a journey?"
She nodded. "Ventus and I are ready to go!"
"Great!" he replied. He picked up a small case on a table and handed it to her. "There are five Poke Balls in here," he explained. "You can use them to catch more."
"I'll do that," she replied, taking the box.
"And I'll register your Trainer ID later today," he elaborated. "Either way, I think you're ready to hit the road."
"Thanks so much, Professor!" May said happily, heading back toward the door.
"No problem, May," he replied. "Don't forget to work on your PokeDex, either!"
"I won't!" she called, opening the door. Brendan walked in, a box of electronics in his hand. "Morning, Brendan," she said cheerfully, then closed the door behind her.
"Morning…" Brendan said, raising an eyebrow at the closed entrance after she had gone. He placed the box on an empty table. "What's she so happy about?"
"Oh, nothing, really," Birch replied. "She's just going on a journey."
Brendan's eyes widened. "You sent someone who's lived in Hoenn for a DAY on a journey alone?! She's gonna get lost before she gets to Rustboro! She'll—"
"Son."
"What if she can't find her way through—"
"Brendan."
"And then there's the—"
"BRENDAN!"
Brendan turned and looked at his father. "What?"
"She's not going alone."
The boy raised his eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
The Professor walked over to his son and placed a large, firm hand on his shoulder. "I think it's time you left Littleroot too, son."
"M-Me?!" he stuttered in awe.
"There are plenty of Pokemon across the region, Brendan," Birch replied. "And May will need a guide to keep her on the right track. Plus, I think a journey will help you and Sora grow a lot more as Pokemon and Trainer."
"But…who will help you out at the lab?"
The Professor laughed. "I've got Harold here. Everything will be fine. You can't say that you've never wondered what it's like to go on a journey, can you?"
Truth be told, it had only crossed Brendan's mind once or twice. He had never imagined himself traveling too far from home. Now that he was thinking about it however, it seemed to be not so bad of an idea. "What about May, though? I don't think she really wants to trav—"
"You'll figure it out," his father replied. "They say opposites attract, after all!"
"What is that supposed to—"
"Now go on, go on," he said, ushering him toward the door. "A wide world awaits you out there, son! Go see it!"
After overcoming the initial shock, Brendan nodded. "I will, Dad. Thanks for everything."
Birch laughed. "It's what I do, son. Learn a lot."
He nodded, opening the door and stepping out into the world. He walked down the road toward Route 101, letting his Torchic out of its Poke Ball right before leaving the town. "I guess we're going on a journey, Sora."
…
"Quick Attack, Ventus!"
The tiny Treecko, moving around faster than the blink of an eye, struck the wild Zigzagoon with enough force to knock it out. After an hour or so of training of Route 101, Ventus was leveling up quite nicely.
"Good job, buddy," May said, patting her Pokemon on the head. She took an Oran Berry out of her bag and placed next to the fainted Zigzagoon. "Now let's see…"
"Hey, May."
She turned around to see Brendan sitting on a fence along the edge of the route, holding his PokeDex in his hand. "Hi," she replied suspiciously. "What are you doing?"
"There's something I have to tell yo—" he suddenly stopped, his head turning toward a nearby patch of grass. Something was moving about.
"What are you—"
"Shh!" he scolded, hopping down from the fence. "Check your DexNav."
"I don't have one," she whispered.
He sighed, walking over to her with his PokeNav. He switched it to a feature that seemed to show all of the Pokemon in the area. "Look at this." There was a silhouette of a caterpillar-like creature on his device. "It's just a Wurmple. But it's pretty high levelled."
May grinned. "Then I'll just have to catch it!"
"But you don't even know how to catch Pokemon!" Brendan exclaimed. "I'll help you."
She shook her head. "I can do this myself, thank you very much. All right, Ventus, start off with Quick Attack!"
The Treecko sped toward the rustling grass, slamming in to the Wurmple. It fired back with a String Shot, getting sticky webs all over it. Before May could yell another command, its tail began glowing purple, then sent Ventus flying into a nearby tree.
"That was Poison Sting," Brendan said aloud. "It's super effective against Grass types like Ventus!" He turned to May. "You might want to wrap up this battle quickly."
"Ventus, Quick Attack one more time!"
With a shot of energy, Ventus burst from the base of the tree in to the Wurmple again, knocking it to the ground. It quickly countered, biting on to Ventus' tail and not letting go.
"Bug Bite," Brendan whispered. "That's the last move Wurmple gets by level up! You need to catch it now, May!"
"I know, I know!" May said quickly. She took a Poke Ball out of her bag, barely bigger than a marble, and repeatedly pressed the button. "It won't get bigger so I can catch it!"
"Let me see," he replied, rushing over to her side. He pressed the button down harder, inflating it to the size of a softball. Placing the Poke Ball back in her hand, he stood close behind her, guiding her arm. "You're going to have to throw it at an arch so the ball will have time to detect the Pokemon."
"I can do this," she said.
"But let me help you just this once."
After a few seconds, May nodded. "We'll throw on the count of three. One, two, three!" They both released the ball, hitting Wurmple square on the head. Its body vaporized in to a red light, going in to the ball. It fell to the ground, shaking. One. Two. Three.
Click.
"I did it," May whispered, placing a hand to her chest. "I did it!" she exclaimed. "I caught a Pokemon!" she grabbed the ball, raising it high in the air, then stooped down and allowed Ventus to climb on her shoulder. "We caught a Wurmple, Ventus!"
Brendan cleared his throat and smirked. "With my help."
May rolled her eyes. "Just this once…but either way, thank you."
He grinned. "No problem. So what are you going to name it?"
May looked down at the ball in her hands. "I'm thinking…Blue."
"It's a girl."
"Pink, then."
Brendan rolled his eyes, climbing back up on the fence. "Real creative. Anyway, like I was saying, there's something I wanted to tell you."
May hopped up next to him after feeding Ventus an Oran Berry. "What's up?"
"We're travelling together."
"What?" she asked, getting down from the fence. "What do you mean?"
Brendan shrugged. "Dad said it was time for me to leave Littleroot and that I should go with you. He said you'd need a guide to get around Hoenn without getting lost."
"Well you can tell Birch that I don't need a guide and you can go back home," she replied, crossing her arms. "I'm perfectly capable of handling myself and I don't need anyone else. I've already got two Pokemon—"
"Because of me—"
"—and if I get lost I can look at the AreaNav, not you. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to Petalburg City to see my dad."
"All right then, May," he said, getting back on the ground. "Tell me then, which way is Petalburg City?"
She pulled out her PokeNav Plus, which Brendan quickly snatched out of her hands. "Hey!"
"You've gotta be ready for anything," he said, hiding it behind him. "That includes losing your PokeNav. Now tell me, which way is Petalburg?"
May looked around. The only actual path was the one that led to Oldale. Even if she went that way, she wouldn't know where to go next. She groaned. "What are the odds of losing my PokeNav, anyway?"
"Considering the fact that you couldn't make a Poke Ball bigger on your own, very likely," he replied, pushing a special chip in to her device. "Here. I updated it so you can use the DexNav too."
"Thanks," she mumbled, placing it back in her bag. "Okay, so maybe I don't know how to get there. So? I can just ask someone in Oldale and they'll tell me."
"But what if you're in a situation where no one will tell you? Like if there's no one out and about to ask? Then what?"
"Then I'll call the Professor."
"What if he's out doing fieldwork and doesn't pick up the phone?"
"Then I'll pick a direction and start walking," she finished. "Now it doesn't really matter to me what you do, but as for myself, I need to get going. Goodbye, Brendan."
Brendan began walking with her anyway, causing her to roll her eyes. "Why are you so against travelling with someone, anyway?" he asked, placing his hands behind his head. "Other Trainers do it all the time."
"I'm not against travelling with someone, I just don't like getting help from people," she replied, walking ahead. Brendan was keeping up, however. "I like doing things by myself."
"You're never by yourself, May," he replied. "Your Pokemon are always there for you."
She suddenly stopped, causing him to do the same. "Listen, I just don't like being with other people," she explained, facing him. "I've always loved Pokemon, but I've never been good with making other friends. In Johto I had one, maybe two, friends that I talked to once in a while. In fact the only reason why I showed up at your house in the first place is because my mom wanted me to hang out with you. People just aren't my thing."
"Well…going somewhere far away from home isn't really my thing," he replied. "Maybe we can do what's not our thing together."
May sighed. This guy wasn't going to give up, was he? "Fine. If we really have to. But that doesn't mean we can stop being rivals!"
Brendan grinned. "It's a deal," he said, holding out his pinky. May hesitated, then nodded and latched on to it with her own. "Now, do you want me to tell you how to get to Petalburg?"
"Hey, at least let me try to find out for myself," she said, letting go of his hand. She pulled out her AreaNav. "We go north to Oldale Town, then take Route 102 and go west." She put it back in her bag. "See? I know what I'm doing."
"For now," Brendan said casually. "The southern part of Hoenn's routes aren't too complex. Just you wait."
"I'm dying of anticipation," May said, her tone dripping with sarcasm. In truth though, she was dying to get moving. Petalburg wasn't too far away, after all. "Let's get going!" She sprinted down the path, leaving Brendan in the dust.
"May, wait for me!"
…
"Unbelievable…" Brendan muttered.
He and May stood along the line that separated Route 102 and Oldale Town. The route had been blocked off by a man who had found the footprints of a "rare Pokemon".
"So sorry, so sorry," the man said, stumbling over his own two feet, trying to collect his belongings. "I should've realized that they were my own footprints…"
"Um, it's okay," May said awkwardly.
"Nurse Joy and I tried to tell you," Brendan exclaimed. "I even showed you my PokeDex, dude! There are no Pokemon around here that have a size 8 shoe print. I could've been looking for Pokemon here yesterday!"
"Well I said I was sor—" the man suddenly stopped, spotting another set of footprints on the ground. "I've done it this time! I must've found a new Pokemon!"
May raised an eyebrow. "But those are Nur—"
"Yup, you definitely have," Brendan said, covering up May's mouth. "Now if you'll excuse us, we'll be going now." He grabbed May's arm, getting out of sight and earshot of the man. "It's about time he left," Brendan said, sitting down on a nearby log. "Three days of not being able to look for Pokemon out here because of that guy…"
"Was dragging me away really necessary?" May asked, rubbing her arm.
He grinned, adjusting his hat. "Yup. So are you ready to keep—"
"Hey!"
May turned around, only to have her face inches away from another girl. She had brown hair, pulled back into a ponytail with a pink scrunchie matching her bracelet. Her white shirt was covered up by a denim jacket, which also hid a Poke Ball on her belt. She pulled it out, holding it at arm's length. "You a Trainer?" she asked.
"Yeah," she replied.
"My name's Lass Tiana," she said, her tone dripping in arrogance. "I'm aiming to be the best Pokemon Trainer. Help me further my career!"
"Wait, what are you—"
"Go, Zigzagoon!"
Brendan smirked at May's confusion. "You made eye contact, now you battle her. Unless you need my help and need me to take her on for you…"
"Of course I don't!" May snapped. "If it's a battle she wants, it's a battle she'll get! Pride's on the line, Ventus!" With a swing of her arm, she sent her Poke Ball high in the air, her Treecko jumping out and landing on the grass.
"Ugh, a Treecko," she groaned. "It's got to be the worst starter out of the three. It's ugly as crap. But, I suppose it fits a Trainer like you."
Brendan, still watching on the sidelines, swallowed.
May's felt her face flush as red as her bow, an extreme anger burning in her chest. "Who asked for your damn opinion?! And who are you to talk?! You can't call another Trainer's Pokemon ugly when you're walking around with a Hoenn Rattata!"
Tiana scoffed. "'Hoenn Rattata?' So I'm assuming you came from either Johto or Kanto. Both of them suck. Kanto only has like ten towns, while Johto can't even afford its own League. I doubt there are any decent Trainers from there. None of them could stand a chance here in Hoenn!"
May clenched Ventus' Poke Ball. It vaguely crossed her mind that it would probably have noticeable indents in it by the time she even got half of her badges, but it wasn't important at the moment. "If you're so confident, let's battle already!"
"Fine," the Lass said, dismissing her with a wave of the hand. "You can have the first move. No need for me to try too hard."
May shook her head, then yelled her command. "All right Ventus, let's start out with Absorb!"
Ventus sprinted toward the opposing Pokemon, its tail once again glowing with light. It swung back and forth at in swift motions, which were avoided with swift dodges from the Zigzagoon, darting back and forth in random, non-linear patterns.
"Don't think you can hit us that easily," Tiana exclaimed. "Zigzagoon, go for Tackle!"
Before Ventus could swing at it again, the Zigzagoon was extremely close, knocking it into the dirt. The Treecko jumped up in the air to avoid another hit, rapidly scaling a nearby tree.
May grinned. "Can't touch us while we're up in a tree!"
The Lass rolled her eyes. "Zigzagoon, use Tail Whip to knock it out over there!"
The raccoon Pokemon nodded, turning its back to the mighty plant, slamming its tail repeatedly against the bark. May grimaced as Ventus clung to the tree, the only thing keeping it from falling were the special suction cups on its feet. "Using the environment to change the use of a move…" she whispered to herself. "We can do that to. Ventus, use Quick Attack to get to the top of the tree!"
Finally regaining its balance, the Treecko quickly scaled the tree within the blink of an eye, getting high enough so that it couldn't feel the effects of the Tail Whip. "Now jump down and use Pound!"
"Dodge it, Zigzagoon!"
Zigzagoon hopped out of the way at the last second, getting away without a scratch. A cloud of dust formed as Ventus' tail struck the ground. When it finally faded away, it was no longer moving.
"Ventus fainted?!" Brendan exclaimed, quickly rising up off of the log. He turned to its Trainer. "May…"
"Ventus, come back," she said quietly. She raised the Poke Ball, her hand shaking slightly as it evaporated into red light and went inside.
Tiana laughed and turned away. "What a complete loser. But, if it helps me become stronger, I guess I'll take it—"
"Pride's on the line, Pink!"
The Lass turned around to see May throw a second Poke Ball, a Wurmple popping out. She smirked. "So you need to use two Pokemon to take us out, huh? How embarrassing. But, I guess if you think you can stand a chance…"
"May!" Brendan exclaimed. "You've never even used your Wurmple before! How do you know—"
"There's a first time for everything," she replied, clutching Pink's Poke Ball. There was a determined look on her face, her gray eyes filled with a quiet rage like the sky before a storm. "The first time I battled with Ventus was against you, and it ended in a tie." She looked back at the battle. Zigzagoon had dodged every attack, yet she still had faith. "That won't happen here though."
"Blah, blah, monologue, you're hopeless, blah, blah," the Lass said with the wave of a hand. "Let's just get this done with. Zigzagoon, use Tackle."
"Use String Shot to grab something and dodge!" May yelled fiercely.
What Pink did was a completely different story. Instead, it charged toward its opponent at full speed, meeting the Tackle head on. Being smaller, the Wurmple was sent flying back, then got up to attack again.
"So the first one knocked itself out, and the second one doesn't listen to its Trainer," Tiana observed. "You must be a great."
"Pink!" May scolded. "You have to listen to me!" The Wurmple turned its head in defiance, then lunged at the Zigzagoon, biting down on its tail.
"Shake the stupid bug off with Tail Whip!" Tiana shouted. With a few wags, Pink was flung in to the tree at an alarming rate, getting caught up in the branches above.
May bit her lip, attempting to hide her frustration. Why wasn't it listening to her? "Pink, use—"
Before she could shout her command, it used String Shot to swing itself down from the tree, its tail glowing with purple energy. It slammed itself down on the Zigzagoon, poisoning it.
"Wow, your Wurmple's better at battling than you are!" Tiana laughed. "But the battle's already over. Zigzagoon, finish it off with Headbutt!"
"Get out of the way, Pink!" May screamed.
The raccoon Pokemon lowered its head, then charged at the Wurmple as fast as possible. It slammed the Bug-type in to the log Brendan had previously been sitting on, causing it to roll a few feet away. It barked happily after the attack had finished.
Wurmple had fainted.
Tiana laughed. "Zigzagoon, return." The Pokemon returned to its Poke Ball before she placed it back on to her belt. "Piece of cake! You should really get your Pokemon to listen to you or you'll never become a decent Trainer. Now pay up," she finished, holding out her hand.
May sighed, returning Pink to its Poke Ball. She reached in to her pocket, pulling out 64 Poke. "Here," she said, shoving it in her hand. "Take it."
The Lass smirked, taking a portable folding bike out of her backpack. "Later, weakling." She hopped on her bike and took off, spraying dirt all over May's running shoes in the process.
Groaning, May laid down in the grass, staring up at the sky. The first uninterrupted battle she had ever had, and she got completely creamed. Any damage that Pink had scored wasn't even because of her own command. Speaking of which, she was already dealing with Pokemon that were disobeying her…
Brendan bit the inside of his cheek and sat down next to her. What was he supposed to say in a situation like this? "It's just one battle," he said after a few seconds of pondering. "I can…" he stopped himself. May wouldn't want help with training. This was something she'd want to do on her own. "I wonder why Pink didn't listen to you," he said after another few seconds.
"Maybe I'm just not a decent Trainer," she said, looking at Ventus' Poke Ball. Her arm fell to her side. "It's not even a traded Pokemon. It should listen to me."
"Well, Dad told me a few days ago he and Harold were having trouble with a Wurmple," Brendan replied sympathetically. "I didn't see it when I left the lab this morning. Maybe it's the same one?"
"Brendan, if it's the same one, how could I have caught it?" she countered. "It wouldn't have gone inside the Poke Ball if it already had a Trainer."
He bit his lip, trying to think. "Maybe it ran away. Pokemon can do that."
"Well, I wouldn't be surprised if it wanted to run away again." She sat up, looking down at her dirty sneakers. That Lass had really made a fool out of her. Why didn't she just stop when Ventus was defeated? What good would it have done her, even if she did win with Pink? She still would've needed two Pokemon to defeat that one Zigzagoon. And being defeated by a single Pokemon just made it more humiliating.
But she knew why she didn't quit. Because that wasn't her. Her heart had told her to keep going, so in turn she kept going. Now she just needed to use that ability to win.
"I'm sorry you lost," Brendan said, staring up at the sky as well.
"No."
"What?"
May stood up, stretching toward the sky. "I don't want pity or sympathy or anything like that. I want to get stronger."
Brendan stood up as well. "What do you mean?"
She looked down at Ventus' Poke Ball. "If I'm going to get stronger, I need to figure it out for myself and train a lot harder. Sitting around and getting upset over something isn't going to help. And you," she pointed at Brendan. "You're my rival. It's your job to make sure I never forget that. Kay?"
Brendan grinned. "Got it. Now the first thing I'm gonna do as your rival is race you to Petalburg City." He flicked her bow, smirking. "Try to avoid letting your face get as red as this thing when I beat you, all right?" He then sped down the Route, leaving her in the dust.
"Hey!" May exclaimed. "I won't let you beat me, Brendan Birch!" She chased after him, feeling the wind blow against her face. A group of Beautifly flew through the air, twirling through the sky. She smiled. They all had to work hard to spread their wings and fly. And if they could, she would too.
And that's the end of chapter three! Yay! Lots of things going on in this chapter: Brendan and May traveling together, May catching a new Pokemon, and a battle with Lass Tiana! I kind of used this chapter to practice writing battles, but I hope it was enjoyable for you guys! Which brings me to QOTW: Since nothing is truly set in stone yet, do you guys think I should do more with Lass Tiana in the future, or leave it as is? I've noticed that there's a serious lack of strong female rivals in the Pokemon series. Most of them are either weak or exactly the same as their male counterparts. Tell me what you guys think in the reviews! See you next week!