Chapter Six: Kicked Out
What's going on my lovely little twat muffins, IcyAngels here, AND I'VE FINALLY UPDATED ON TIME! HOORAY! I hope you guys are proud of me. Anyway, let's get to the reviews!
ZIAH THE HEDGEHOG: Yes. Joey is quite awesome. Thanks for the review!
OmniDragon10: I saw that in X and Y lol. I knew it was a reference to something, but I still stared at it like…what. Anyway, thanks for the review!
Martyn: Well, I have Brendan eat something this chapter, if that makes you feel better lol. Thanks for the review!
UpbeatButNegative: I'm not exactly sure where I want to go with May's team yet, but suggestions are always welcome. And thank you for saying I can take a break if I need to, as I really appreciate the consideration. Too many times have I seen some of my friends here get a lot of crazy reviews saying that they need to update faster. And overall, thanks for the great reviews!
The Legendary Falcon Fall: You never know with Brendan, you know? As for Zinnia…you will see in due time. Thanks for the review!
Matthew Garner: I hope you had fun at Taekwondo camp! And yeah…I'd like to be able to say I wrote every day before camp, but to be honest, I kind of didn't. I just procrastinated A LOT. That's why I'm trying to write at least 500-1000 words every day. And Youngster Joey is amazing! Thanks for the review!
Pokerox27: Damn, a lot of you guys like Joey XD And I love Youngster Ben. I still regularly make the shorts joke. Thanks for the review!
I know I've already said it a million times, but I really mean it when I say thank you for the reviews. They mean a lot. Now on with the chapter!
"I made it out first!" Brendan cheered, reaching the edge of the woods.
"You had a head start," May panted, leaning a hand against the tree.
He laughed, crossing his arms. "But I was paralyzed right before I got a head start. And either way, I still won."
"Whatever," May said, rolling her eyes. "At least we're out of that stupid forest." And she was glad too: Route 104 was much closer to her liking. The sun was shining bright again, clouds reflected in the pond a few yards away. A wooden bridge allowed people to cross, a few Trainers using it to battle. A flower shop was also on the side of the route, customers going in every few minutes and coming out with bouquets of roses or baskets of Pecha berries.
"Look, they're selling flowers," Brendan teased. "You should shop there. You know. Because you're a girl."
May rolled her eyes. "You know, it was this girl's Pokemon that got the berries that healed you. If it weren't for that, you'd probably still be passed out in the middle of the woods."
"Yeah, but that was your Pokemon, who's not a girl," Brendan countered. "And Ventus is a Treecko, so it would go out and find them anyway. That's its natural instinct."
May opened her mouth to argue, but nothing came out. "You're annoying," she said finally.
He grinned. "Glad you think so. Now let's get moving."
"Fine," she replied. As the two of them walked along the path, she turned and looked at him. "You know how that guy said I should take the Hoenn League challenge?"
"Yeah," he replied.
"Are you doing it too?"
Brendan was thoughtful for a minute. "I might," he replied. "But I need to focus on completing the PokeDex, too. What about you?"
"I think I'm going to," she replied after a few seconds. "Where's the first gym?"
He pulled out his AreaNav, typing a few things in. "Rustboro City," he answered. "You might even be able to challenge the Gym Leader today."
She looked down at Ventus' Poke Ball. "I'm not even sure if we're ready," she replied. "This is literally the second day on our journey. Maybe after a little bit of training…"
As the two walked across the bridge, a pair of young girls approached them. They were about six or seven in age and identical in appearance, both with brown hair and green dresses. They both held Pikachu dolls, much like any child clutches their favorite stuffed animal. "I'm Gina!" the first one said.
"And I'm Mia!" the second one exclaimed. "And we're twins!"
"And we want to battle!" Gina finished.
Brendan grinned. "It looks like you can start your training now, May. We'll battle you, I guess."
"Great!" the twins cheered. They both ran a few feet down the dock, a Poke Ball in each of their hands.
"Go Lotad!" Gina shouted.
"Go Seedot!" Mia exclaimed.
The first Pokemon that appeared resembled a blue platypus with six legs. On top of it was a fresh green lily pad. The second Pokemon was almost identical to an acorn with two mask like eyes and tiny round feet.
"Heaven't seen either of those yet," May said, pulling out her PokeDex. "A Water/Grass type and a pure Grass type."
"Makes life pretty easy for me," Brendan said confidently. "Sora, I believe in you!" He threw his Poke Ball, the fiery chick appearing on the wooden bridge.
She nodded. "Pride's on the line, Ventus!" As soon as she threw the Poke Ball the Treecko appeared next to Sora, its arms crossed and ready to battle.
"We'll take the first attack," the twins said in unison.
"Lotad, jump in to the water!"
"Seedot, use Harden over and over!"
The Lotad was first to act, using its six legs to spring high in to the air before landing in the water, its lily pad the only thing visible to those on land. After this had been done, the Seddot began glowing in a whilte light, and when it had faded, the Pokemon looked sturdier than it had been before.
"All right Sora, use Ember on the Seedot and keep the fire going!" Brendan shouted.
The Torchic took in a deep breath, fillings its lungs with fresh air. Its beak lit up with a spark, allowing it to blast a large flame at the acorn-like Pokemon. It had no reaction, withstanding the heat.
"Ventus, jump on top of the Lotad using Quick Attack!" May yelled.
"Don't let 'em do it, Lotad!" Gina yelled. "Go hide yourself in those lily pads by the edge of the pond!"
Ventus, being the fastest one on the field, was the first to move. Glowing from the Quick Attack, it sprinted across the water and on to the Lotad's back. As soon as its opponent began moving toward the edge of the water it lost its balance, then quickly recovered and landed skillfully in the water.
"Don't lose sight of it!" May shouted.
Back on land, Sora was setting fire to the Seedot, who still hadn't moved an inch. "Why aren't they fighting back?" Brendan wondered. "Hey kid!" he shouted. "You know you're supposed to attack back ri—"
"Now it's time for our secret attack!" Mia interrupted. "Use Bide and unleash your energy!"
"What?!" Brendan exclaimed. "When did you—" Before he could finish his sentence, the Seedot quickly turned the color red, then unleashed a huge, concentrated beam of energy toward the Torchic. Sora chirped in panic, but couldn't get out of the way fast enough. The beam made contact, sending it flying towards the pond.
"Ventus!" May shouted. "Use Pound on the lily pads around you to keep Sora from landing in the water!"
The wood gecko acted quickly, stopping its search for the Lotad. It sprang in to the air, then smacked a few lily pads in Sora's direction. The Torchic landed safely on them, yet was still trying to recover from the hit.
"You never told it to use Bide!" Brendan exclaimed.
"I trained it to automatically use Bide after Harden!" the little girl replied with a grin. "That way we can always surprise our opponents!"
"Are they allowed to do that?" May asked.
Brendan grinned and adjusted his hat. "I don't know, but we'll just have to roll with it!"
"Lotad!" Gina yelled. "Use Bubble underwater to get Torchic off the lily pads!"
"Stop it, Ventus! Get on its back and use Absorb!"
Ventus jumped in to action, hopping on the Pokemon as soon as it moved. It wrapped its tail around the Pokemon, absorbing its energy. The Loatd tried to squirm out of its grasp, flipping itself belly up and putting the Treecko underwater. Still upside down, it submerged its blue body as well, then blasted bubbles underneath the group of lily pads.
"Jump, Sora!" Brendan yelled.
The Torchic stood up weakly, but was able to spring out of the way just in time, landing on the bridge in front of Seedot. It got ready to send another Ember in its direction, but suddenly collapsed before it got the chance.
"Sora!" Brendan shouted. He ran to his Pokemon, picking it up in his arms. "Are you okay?" The Torchic chirped softly as he returned it to its Poke Ball. "You did well."
"I guess it's all up to us now," May said. "Ventus, use Quick Attack to flip Lotad over!"
Cloaking itself in a bright light, Ventus spun around, causing the opponent to land lily pad up.
"Get it off, Lotad!" Gina shouted.
"And you help it out, Seedot!" Mia called.
The Lotad suddenly began swimming in circles at a fast pace, making it hard for Ventus to balance. The Seedot jumped on the lily pad Pokemon's back, trying to knock Ventus off. The Treecko dodged multiple times, still trying to stay on the Lotad. After a few dodges it became cornered along the edge, the special grips on its feet being the only thing keeping it from falling off.
"Absorb!" Gina yelled.
"And you use Harden and shove it in to the water!" Mia exclaimed.
"Dodge it and use Absorb as well!" May commanded.
Ventus jumped as soon as the Seedot came running towards it, causing the acorn Pokemon to fall in to the water. It flailed its stubby legs helplessly until Mia returned it to its Poke Ball.
"You did well, Seedot," she said.
As soon as Seedot disappeared from the battlefield, Lotad's lily pad began glowing. Ventus found itself stuck in place as its energy was sucked out of it. Pulling itself together, it returned the attack with its tail, only stronger. It seemed to be more effective than a regular Absorb, giving the Treecko more energy.
Brendan took out his PokeDex, typing a few things in. "That's not Absorb," he commented. "That's Mega Drain!"
Once Ventus had gotten all of its energy back, it swatted the Lotad away with its tail and into a rock, then landed on a nearby bank.
"Lotad can't battle anymore!" Brendan exclaimed. "We won, May!"
"Yes!" she cheered. She ran over to Ventus, picking it up and putting it on her shoulder. "And you learned Mega Drain!" She looked over to the twins who seemed disappointed. "It was a good battle," she said, walking over to them. "It showed that you guys make a great team. And we all got closer to our Pokemon!"
"And it proves that May needs me to help her out in battles," Brendan said with a grin, placing his hands on his hips.
May rolled her eyes. "I saved you with those lily pads, you know."
Brendan laughed. "I let you help me. Besides, I still could've used Truffle if I wanted to."
"Then why didn't you?" she asked.
He opened his mouth to answer, but nothing came out at first. "Maybe I thought you could handle yourself," he admitted.
May smirked. "That's what I thought." She waved at the twins, then looked at Brendan. "Betcha I can beat you to Rustboro!" she exclaimed, then took off down the bridge.
"Wait for me, May!"
…
"Finally!" May panted, touching the black gates at the edge of the route. "I made it here first!"
"For once," Brendan pointed out, running up to her. He leaned against the fences connected to the gate, allowing her to catch her breath. "And you had a head start."
"Like you always do," she said. "At least we're here in…whoa." The two looked up at the city ahead of them. It was bigger than Littleroot, Oldale, and Petalburg combined, yet it didn't give off the feel of a modern city. The streets were fashioned from cobblestone, the many rocks shining underneath the dim light of lanterns. These were all connected to the black fence and gates the two stood near, surrounding the outskirts of the city and going through them as well. The buildings were also old in nature, made of weathered brick but still managing to look professional. The tallest was on the west side, having three floors and a balcony on the top.
"Rustboro City," he whispered. "It's so different from Littleroot…" The two walked through the opened gates and in to the city. People were busily going about their daily lives, moving from building to building. One particular building seemed especially busy however, a group of kids about their ages and a few younger ones crowded around one area.
"What's over there?" May asked.
Brendan shrugged. "I don't know. But we should stop at the Pokemon Center first. Our Pokemon really needed it." Managing to make past the huge crowd, the two walked in to the center, got their Pokemon healed, and sat down for a bite to eat.
"I wonder if Harold made it back to Littleroot Town in one piece," May said, poking her salad with her fork. She used it to give a cherry tomato to Ventus, who sat by her side.
Brendan bit in to his hamburger, a drop of ketchup landing on the plate. "Probably not," he replied, putting it back down. Sora pecked at the bun. "Hey," he said. "Go steal one of May's tomatoes." It chirped, then walked over to May's bowl and stole one.
"Thanks, Brendan," she said sarcastically.
"It's not like you were gonna eat them anyway," he said, taking another bite.
"Well—" she suddenly stopped as a large crowd of people entered the Pokemon Center, all of them shouting and trying to get a better view of whatever they were surrounding.
"All right, all right," a Lass stepped out from the center of the group, the crowd still staring at her. "I'll show you all one more time. Dustox, let's go!" She threw a Poke Ball in the air, allowing it to burst open and for a Pokemon to come out. A purple moth like Pokemon appeared, its green wings with red circles causing it to flutter in place. It had yellow antennae and eyes, which seemed to focus on May as soon as it got the chance. "Huh?" The Lass turned and looked at the table the other two Trainers were sitting. "Well, if it isn't the Johto girl."
"Tiana," May said, getting up from her seat. "I see you have a Dustox to match your toxic personality."
"Oh jeez," Brendan said, adjusting his hat.
Tiana rolled her eyes. "At least I got my Pokemon to evolve. I'm assuming that you're useless little Wurmple is still disobeying?"
"I…" May began, but had nothing to say.
The girl laughed. "It wouldn't surprise me. It's a shame…you'd think someone whose father is a Gym Leader would be a bit better."
"Oh no," Brendan muttered.
"At least I have a father," May spat, blurting the first thing that came to her mind. Her expression remained stoic, but on the inside her mind froze. She knew nothing about this girl's family. This would either end embarrassingly for her or be a hit extremely far below the belt.
The crowd gasped. The Lass was caught off guard for a second, but quickly recovered. "I live in a mansion in Lilycove. I have my mom and plenty of servants. I don't need my dad for company. Besides, even if mine was around, he'd still give me more attention than yours has to you."
Brendan suddenly stood up from the table. "Whoa! You can't just say that!"
"Oh, shut your trap, Birch," Tiana said, moving her hair back with the flick of a hand. "Shouldn't you be stuck out on Route 101 saving your dad from a dog?" She sighed. "But, again. Still a better relationship than whatever the hell May has with her father."
"You know nothing about my family!" May yelled angrily. She felt her face reddening with anger towards the other girl, her hand curling in to a fist at her side. It took all of her energy to hold it back.
"Are you kidding?" she scoffed. "EVERYONE in that place full of hicks knows about your family. When there's news about a new Gym Leader stuff spreads like wild fire. People just know things. Like how in order to become a Gym Leader he ditched you and your pathetic mother to—"
May didn't let her finish the sentence. She swung her fist in Tiana's direction, causing the other Trainer to fall to the ground. "Don't you ever insult my mother," May said angrily, trying to escape Brendan's grip. "At least mine was decent enough to teach some respect. If you're mother's anything like you, she's a total bit—"
"May, stop it!" Brendan said, tightening his grip.
"Security, come here to the lobby, please," Nurse Joy said worriedly from her desk, speaking in to a walky-talky. "There's a fight going on and it's not exactly a Pokemon battle."
Tiana rubbed her cheek, grinning at May. "Good luck punching your way out of this one."
May only glared at her as a police officer and a Machoke approached her, both with badges. The officer was slightly roundish, wearing a completely black uniform and a black police cap. The Pokemon removed her from Brendan's grip, allowing its Trainer to cuff her behind her back. "You're in a lot of trouble, miss."
"It was worth it," she said in an angry tone.
"May!" Brendan exclaimed.
"I want complete silence in this building!" the officer yelled. "Let's go." He led May out of the building, her head still held high.
All Brendan could do was stare in shock. In a matter of minutes she had gone from getting her cherry tomatoes stolen from Sora to being taken away in handcuffs by a police officer.
Tiana laughed, getting up off the floor. "What are you going to do—ow! Stop that you filthy bird!" Sora had jumped on her shoulder, and, in complete anger, began pecking at her head as hard as it could.
"Stop it, Sora," Brendan said firmly. He took out its Poke Ball, causing it to return. The damage had already been done, however, and the Lass's hair looked like a crow's nest.
"Look at what your stupid Pokemon did!" she shouted, but the only people to hear her was the crowd behind her. Brendan and Ventus had already ran out the door.
…
As the May and the officer walked toward the edge of the city, May did the best she could to hide her panic. This was really, really, bad. Tiana was right. Word spread fast, and being the Gym Leader's daughter didn't help. Everyone would know what she did. Two days in to her journey and she had already been cuffed. This was how she was going to be remembered. Not for becoming Champion or just being a great Trainer, but for punching some girl in the face.
She felt her stomach flip. What would her mother think? And Professor Birch? And worst of all, her father…any chance of earning his respect was gone now. Not only had she stained her own reputation, but her father's as well.
"All right, you're free to go," the officer said. The two had reached the gates that May and Brendan had entered through, at the very edge of Route 104. As soon as she was uncuffed, he closed the gates of the city right in front of her.
"Go where?" May asked, rubbing her wrists.
He shrugged. "Home. Another city. Heck, you can even go to another region for all I care. You just can't come back in to Rustboro."
"For how long?"
"Well, forever," he replied.
"What?!" May exclaimed. "All I did was punch her! She didn't even get that hurt! Hell, she was smiling when you and your Machoke cuffed me! Shouldn't there be a trial or—"
He shook his head. "There's no point."
"Of course there is! I just—"
"I don't make up the rules, miss," he said, adjusting his hat. "I hope you have a goodnight." He then turned and walked away, his Machoke following suit.
May sighed, leaning her back against the black fence. She sunk the ground, resting her arms on her knees. "No point," she mumbled angrily. "Of course there's a point! It didn't even hurt her…that much." Now that she thought about it, she really had left a red mark on Tiana's face, despite the girl smiling at her anger. "Ugh…I messed up…"
"You betcha."
She looked up to see Brendan staring down at her, leaning against the fence. "You don't need to rub it in," she groaned, staring at the pond further down the route. He didn't need to know about how she was feeling. "But I still don't regret it."
He rolled his eyes. "You don't need to hide it, May. We both know you wish it never happened."
She sighed. Despite only knowing each other for three days, he read her all too well. "Well, it did happen. So what do I do now, Brendan? With that many witnesses, the entire Hoenn region is going to know about it in like three hours."
He shrugged. "Well, it could've gone worse. If I wasn't—" he stopped himself. If I wasn't there to stop you, who knows what would've happened. Not what May needed to hear at the moment. "You didn't seem to hurt her too badly, anyway. And there are worse punishments. They could've revoked your Trainer license." Ventus suddenly climbed up over his shoulder, jumping over the fence and on to May's.
"I guess that's true," she said with a weak smile. "But it still doesn't help our current situation. I have to be able to clear my name in some way…"
Brendan's BuzzNav suddenly began ringing. "It says it's an important news update." He pressed a button, allowing an image of a woman with brown hair and a microphone to appear on the screen.
"Good evening TV Mauville, this is reporter Gabby with an important announcement. A mere twenty minutes ago a newly licensed Trainer, May from Littleroot, was caught on tape by a security camera and eye witnesses punching a Lass in the face right after an intense argument. She has since been banned from reentering Rustboro. Gym Leader Norman, aka May's father, has refused to comment on the situation. We were also unable to contact Professor Birch, the one who licensed this unruly Trainer, as he was busy pulling his assistant out of a horde of Poochyena's grasp. I'm Gabby, and this has been an important news update. Have a nice evening." The hologram then disappeared without another word.
Refused to comment on the situation. The words echoed in May's mind. He knew. And the fact that she had no idea what he was thinking made it even worse. She kept this to herself, however. "Is that seriously all this region has to report on?" she asked, rolling her eyes.
"Well, apparently there's some organized crime going on around Mt. Moon in Kanto. But as for here, not really. At least we know Harold made it home and is still screwing up everything." Brendan said, closing his PokeNav. "Are you okay?"
"I have to redeem myself somehow," she said, deep in thought. "But how?"
"Don't do anything crazy," Brendan warned. "Look what happened last time."
She rolled her eyes. "You clearly don't know what crazy is."
"You punched someone in—"
A loud yell from the distance cut him off, clearly coming from the other side of the city. "Come back! You can't steal those parts!"
"Shut your mouth or the Wingull gets it!" another voice yelled, much gruffer than the first.
"I don't even know where that Wingull came from!" the first voice shouted.
"How is no one in this entire city hearing this?" Brendan asked.
May didn't answer. That second voice was the same as the Team Aqua Grunt's in Petalburg Woods. "That's what they're doing in Rustboro!" She turned to Brendan. "Do you have an extra pair of clothes?"
"Yes...?" he answered suspiciously.
"Can I use it?"
"Why?"
"I'm redeeming myself," she said, standing up. And stopping that Aqua Grunt, she added silently. "If I'm wearing your clothes, I can sneak in to the city and save that guy!"
Brendan shook his head. "There are so many things that could go wrong with that plan…"
"What other choice do I have? And don't actually answer that question," she added as soon as he began to open his month. "Now give."
He sighed, pulling an extra outfit out of his bag. "I hope this works out for both of our sakes, May."
"It has to," she said, taking the clothes. She ran off to the western edge of Route 104, changing behind the trees that aligned the edges. Brendan's clothes were a bit loose on her, but it helped conceal her figure enough to help her look like a guy. Within minutes she was dressed in black capris, an orange shirt, and green and white sneakers. "How do I look?" she asked, walking over to him.
"Good…for once," Brendan said with a grin. May only rolled her eyes. "But you're missing the final touch." He took off his beloved white hat, placing it on her head. He brushed a lock of her hair under it. "There."
May felt her face flush red, but did her best to completely hide it. "Thanks," she said emotionlessly.
He raised an eyebrow and smiled. "You know, nobody's gonna believe that you're me with that girly voice of yours."
"You already sound like a girl, Brendan."
"You know what I mean," he replied, letting the burn slide. "Maybe it's best if you don't talk at all while you're out there. Now do you want me to follow you for backup?"
She shook her head. "No. Someone would see you and know that I'm just in disguise. You need to hide."
He nodded. "Got it." He offered his hand to help her climb over the fence, but she denied it and did it herself. "Good luck." He then ran off towards the edge of the city, hiding himself behind buildings.
May took in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "Okay. Let's do this."
Chapter 6's done! Yay! And this is what happens when you stay up until at least one in the morning every night with Gold the Fox on Skype. Great guy, you guys should go check out his stuff if you like Sanic. This chapter definitely strays from the normal gameplay, but as you can see by the end of the chapter it starts to get back on track. Just another way I thought I'd change up the story a bit, so tell me what you guys think! And as for QOTW: As most of you are probably unaware since I just started writing for Pokemon a couple of months ago, on August 8th, it'll be my second anniversary here on FanFiction! I've been on this crazy site for two years and I've made so many great friends. So I'll probably be posting something here, AND on YouTube (which you should totally subscribe to because I'm awesome). Which is where you guys come in. For QOTW, I'd like you guys to list 5 to 10 questions you guys want me to answer, and I'll answer them in a video and post them to my channel. It can be about anything: my writing, YouTube, my favorite video games and TV shows, the kind of shampoo I use, LITERALLY ANYTHING IN THE UNIVERSE YOU CAN THINK OF and I'll answer it. All that I ask is you guys check the reviews already left for this chapter so we can avoid duplicate questions. Be creative! That's all! Make sure to REVIEW! Smell ya!