Hi everyone and welcome back to this story. This chapter will be another school chapter which I havent done since chapter seven so it's been quite a while. Enjoy!

Chapter 18- Graduation

The bathroom door opened revealing the figure of a brown-haired boy wearing his dark blue school uniform pants while having a towel draped over his shoulders. Ever since he turned ten, the school dictated that all male students wear pants instead of shorts like when they were younger.

A water type pokemon walked besides him with his head wrapped in a towel while a dragon type also exited the bathroom with his towel wrapped around him so he could dry himself.

Brendan walked over to his bed where his white school dress shirt laid on top, along with his red necktie and his dark blue school blazer. He wasn't exactly ecstatic about the prospect of wearing so many dark colors while it was supposed to be hot and humid outside, but he knew that once the ceremony was over he could change into more comfortable clothes.

Under normal circumstances he would have foregone the blazer and only worn his white shirt, but due to the school's strict dress code when it came to graduation, he had no other choice but to comply.

He grabbed the towel from his shoulders and began drying his hair again. As he was drying he said in a serious voice, "Skipper make sure you don't spray May during the ceremony or she will be furious."

"Mud mud kip," the water type responded looking sulky that his trainer had denied him his greatest happiness.

"Hey, don't look so down buddy," Brendan said as he crouched down to pet his pokemon on the head. "If it makes you feel better, you can spray her once the ceremony is over."

"Mudkip! Mudkip!" the water type yelled as he jumped up and down in happiness.

"Bag bag on," he heard his bagon say in background.

"Don't worry Drake I didn't forget about you," he said as he walked over to the dragon type and gently patted him on the head earning delightful coos from him.

As soon as he was done with his pokemon, Brendan walked back to his bed where he grabbed his white shirt and put it on with careful precision. He made sure that all buttons were they were supposed to be as to not have himself looking unpresentable. He then grabbed his red necktie and walked over to his mirror making sure that it was the appropriate length when he was done with it.

From there he put on his black socks then walked over to his desk where an open binder laid on top with the top page reading 'Valedictorian speech.'

The entire desk looked like a mess with sheets of papers scattered everywhere, most of them having messy handwriting and black scratch marks with his trash can overflowing with crumpled up paper balls.

He had been trying to write his speech for the class, but he was honestly having an immense amount of trouble on deciding on what he would say so he had written perhaps hundreds of drafts before deciding on which one he would ultimately go with.

He sat down where he begun reading it over one more time and said, "alright that sounds perfect,". He then grabbed his blazer off the bed and took it downstairs where his parents were already getting ready.

Professor Birch decided to take the day off today, or rather his wife had forced him to take the day off in order to see his son and neighbor graduate.

"I wonder if May is already awake," Brendan wondered quietly to himself as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

"I hope she doesn't make us late today, of all days."

May was woken up by the sound of multiple alarm clocks that Brendan has set up for her the day prior. She groaned as she hit the snooze buttons and covered herself back up with her comforter.

Why does he have to set all those to wake me up so early anyway? I did promise to wake up early for once she thought to herself as she laid on her bed in the relaxing silence. That silence however only lasted for five more minutes before the alarm clocks started blasting her room with an annoying beeping.

"I'm up! I'm up!" she yelled as she got out of bed, making sure to turn all the alarms off then stared at the wall where her school uniform was hanging. It was similar for the most part to the male uniform, other than the fact that instead of wearing pants the female uniform consisted of a long dark blue skirt.

She stared at the wall for a couple of minutes gathering her senses before slowly standing up and heading to her bathroom, her right hand carrying her uniform, while her left was in front of her mouth as she loudly yawned. She couldn't remember the last time she had woken up this early.

She took a quick shower and quickly got dressed inspecting herself in the mirror to make sure everything was in place. Like Brendan, she wasn't exactly ecstatic about wearing her blazer during the warmer months, but she had no other choice but to comply. She styled her brown hair into her usual short ponytail and upside-down V before patting herself on the face and saying, "alright let's do this."

She exited her bathroom entering her room noticing that the sun hadn't made its way onto the horizon. She thought if maybe she had been woken up too early, until she heard a loud knock on the door and her younger brother say, "Sis are you ready? Mom already has breakfast ready."

"Yeah, I'm ready," she responded as she opened the door, revealing the form of her younger brother already wearing his nice clothes instead of his usual green polo and brown shorts.

"About time already, come on let's go down," he said as he walked down the stairs into the dining room as May followed behind. Her mind was filled with many conflicting emotions. She was feeling happy, scared, excited, sad, and nervous about today.

"Good morning sweetie. Breakfast is ready," May heard her mother say as she was sitting on the table already eating her breakfast.

"Good morning mom," May responded as she took her own seat in front of her large plate.

"Don't you just look beautiful today?" Caroline asked once she got a full view of May. May only nodded at her comment before beginning to eat. "Oh, by the way your father will be meeting us at your school today."

"Oh that's great," she beamed excitedly.

"So Brendan how are you feeling?" Lisa asked as she placed another large plate in front of her son.

"I'm doing just fine mom," he responded as he was savagely eating his breakfast.

"How did that speech of yours turn out?" Birch asked as he took a sip of his coffee.

Brendan stopped for a moment thinking about what to say before saying, "well I think I did a pretty good job. It's not the best, but it's also not the worst. I just wanna get the whole thing over."

"If you're anything like me, then you should be fine," Birch answered as he took another sip of his coffee.

"I hope so," Brendan sighed as took another huge bite.

"Brendan make sure you don't spill anything over yourself, you already look so handsome. It would be a shame if you spilled something over yourself," Lisa said with slightly worry coating her voice.

"Don't worry mom, it'll be fine," he responded with in a tone that didn't reassure his mother.

"By the way, don't you think we should do something with your hair?" she asked as she eyed her son's messy hair.

"Nah, it looks fine Lisa, don't worry too much about it. He looks fine with his hair," Birch said knowing that his wife might go crazy like she does with cooking when she tries to fix Brendan's hair.

"It's fine mom," Brendan said holding his hands up in surrender while his mother gave him a look.

She sighed then said, "well if you're ok with it, then I have no problem. I'll carry around a comb and hair products in case you change your mind though."

"Thanks mom." He spoke as he ate the last of breakfast then took his plates to the kitchen and made his way back upstairs where his pokemon had made their way once they had eaten. He returned both of them to their pokeballs placing their balls on his belt and hiding it as he put on his blazer. Even at his age, the school still prohibited the students from bringing their own pokemon so he would have to hide their pokeballs. He was actually quite surprised that he hadn't been caught once. Well even if he had been caught, their school didn't have a strict policy when it came to bringing pokemon. The students would in most cases get a scolding and sent on their way, but there were always schools that had a much stricter policy.

"Brendan honey, we should probably be leaving soon if you don't want to be late," he heard his mother say from downstairs.

He nodded and glanced to his open binder with his speech. He walked over to his desk making a couple of mental notes as he sat down again to reread the documents. He glanced up momentarily to see the picture of three boys on his desk. A smile crossed his face as he remembered that time.

The picture had been taken the year prior as Brendan and the professor went to the annual researcher's convention held at the end of summer. Last year Jubilife City was hosting the convention and Brendan was more than eager to see a new city and region.

He couldn't dwell on the picture for too long as his parents were expecting him downstairs, but the boy on the right was Brendan with Skipper on his head like always. The boy in the center was Brendan's age with dark gray, almost black hair and dark blue eyes. The pokemon he had in his arms Brendan recognized as chimchar, who was named Sun. The boy to the left was taller and older than the other two. He had long black hair and gray eyes and the pokemon standing on his shoulder Brendan recognized as chespin who was named Chester. Brendan described their appearance as 'dandy' since they were all wearing dress pants and dress shirts. All three boys were wearing light blue dress shirts, but Brendan and the taller boy were wearing suspenders while the one in the middle was wearing a gray striped vest.

He laughed to himself for a moment and grabbed the binder of from his desk and began carefully reading it over again. He then made his way downstairs where his parents were already by the door ready to leave. He placed on his black dress shoes before going outside to be greeted by the warm moist air.

His dad was already inside the jeep while his mother was waiting for their neighbors to arrive which occurred just seconds later. Caroline, May and Max had made their way over giving Lisa and Brendan their greetings and making small talk. Everyone seemed to be on edge today, especially May and Brendan.

"So, you really woke up on time for once May," Brendan teased as the two began to talk.

"Well good morning to you too," she spoke in a sarcastic tone. This caused Brendan to crack a smile while May also cracked her own.

The two quickly climbed on the jeep along with their families as Professor Birch drove them to Petalburg. At this point everyone, except maybe Lisa, was used to his frantic driving so no one really complained. Lisa like always was hanging for dear life on to the handle afraid that she would fly out the window if she let go.

"So Brendan how did that speech of yours turnout?" Caroline asked as she looked over to the boy.

"Well Mrs. Maple it's not the best but not the worst. I just honestly want to get it over with," he responded rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well good luck. I know you'll do great," Caroline said with a huge smile on her face. Brendan returned the jester with his own smile and a nod.

The rest of the ride was rather noisy. It began with occasional small talk made by the parents while the children were playing word games. Well it was mainly Brendan and Max that were playing word games while May looked on, acting as a referee of sorts between the two. What started out as a small discussion about pokemon with the professor soon turned into and all out debate between Brendan and the professor on what pokemon would grow the best in a particular environment while everyone else looked at them like they were insane. Well except for Max as he looked on with admiration. Although May was somewhat interested in learning about pokemon, the level of information being said was enough to make her put her hands on her ears in an effort to block out the noise.

Good thing the car ride to their school was shorter than normal, which allowed May at least some relief from all the noise she had experienced. She and Brendan got off as the everyone else stayed behind so they could find a parking spot. Soon after the jeep drove into the school's parking lot hoping to find a space.

They seemed to have arrived just in time as the graduating students were already being lined up outside the school. They were being lined up according to last name, so Brendan would be near the front while May would be around the middle.

"So I'll see later then," Brendan said as he made his way towards his line.

"See ya then." May waved as she headed to find her own line.

"So Brendan are you ready for today?" a boy Brendan recognized as Tom Baker asked. He was slightly shorter than Brendan with tan skin and short black hair. The two had multiple classes together in the past so they were well acquainted.

"Heh, I think so Tom," he responded. "I just hope I don't mess anything up."

"You'll do fine, don't worry," Tom responded patting Brendan on the shoulder.

"Thanks," Brendan smiled as he faced forwards as the teacher was giving everyone directions.

"By the way Brendan," Tom began as Brendan turned around to face him. "Can I ask you something?" he asked.

"Sure man what is it?" Brendan asked feeling slightly uneasy.

"Great! Do you know if the cute brown haired girl you come to school with is dating anyone? I really want to ask her out," Tom said. Brendan had a blank look on his face while his mind was running at a million miles an hour. The uneasy feeling from before turned into full anxiety as he tried to come up with a response to his question.

After a moment of gaining his composure he answered, "sorry man, but May is seeing someone else," he lied though he said it in a level tone in an effort to sound convincing.

"Are you sure Brendan cause you look like you're about to die of embarrassment," he joked once he saw his red face. Brendan had no idea his face was red which only caused his mind to run even faster.

"Yeah I'm sure, she's seeing someone," trying and almost failing to stay calm.

Tom raised an eyebrow before he said, "bummer, I really wanted to ask her out too. Oh well better luck next time huh?"

"Yeah," Brendan responded glad that Tom wasn't about to pry more into his lie. He allowed himself a couple of calming breaths until he calmed completely down.

"Oh and Brendan, I'll be coming by your dad's lab over the summer to pick out my pokemon," he said changing the subject and the awkward atmosphere.

"Great Tom, I'll be glad to be there for when you pick out your starter," Brendan said offering the boy a smile.

Soon after they were soon led into the school's auditorium for the ceremony. Little did Brendan know that something similar was happening to May as well.

"Let's see… Ah here we go," May muttered as she found her line that was already lined with students. She quickly made her way in line where a teacher was already making sure everyone was in the correct order. May was standing behind a male student but ahead of a female one. She recognized the student behind her as they had a couple of classes together in the past and were quite a bit acquainted.

"So May, you didn't arrive late today?" she joked as May turned around to face her.

"Yeah Jasmine, Brendan made sure I didn't wake up late today," she responded with a smile to the girl. The girl was named Jasmine Mills and she was the same height as May. She wore large round glasses and had long blond hair that was curled today.

"I bet," she laughed out loud which also made May laugh.

"Yep I'm pretty sure I would have gotten a piece of his mind if I slept in today," she joked as her laughter was calming down.

Jasmine had calmed down her laughing before she spoke again. "Umm May, there's something that I would like to ask you. Will that be alright?"

"Sure go ahead," May answered with amusement still on her mind.

"Well here goes." She took a deep breath before continuing. "Do you know if Brendan is seeing anyone? I would like to ask him out."

May's amusement immediately died down and was now replaced with restlessness. She knew that Brendan wasn't seeing anyone yet she felt an uncomfortable feeling in her gut. Her mind quickly raised for an answer and she said, "sorry Jasmine, Brendan is actually seeing someone."

May spotted a hint of sadness and regret on the other girls face along with a hint of skepticism, but she didn't ask any more questions. After a moment of awkward silence between the two the blond hair girl spoke again.

"Aww that sucks, well I guess better luck next time then," she said with a small forced smile.

"Hey don't worry about it Jasmine, I'm sure you'll find someone that loves you," May said laying her hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Thanks May," she responded as the two were told to go inside the auditorium to take their seats. May was silently hoping that the blonde girl wouldn't ask for any more details as she had already lied.

All the students were seated in the large auditorium while the back of the hall was seated and filled with parents. May of which carried other small children with them and cameras to take pictures of their children along with their friends.

May was seated near the middle of the student crowd while the red curtain was opened revealing a large wooden podium along with a large table with a white tablecloth with the school's emblem. The table was holding about a hundred dark colored diploma cases in the form of a tube. Many teachers were seen sitting down on the stage as well as the same teacher that taught May and Brendan when the 'cheating' incident occurred.

A portly, bald man wearing a fancy brown suit made his way to the pedestal as all the students rose. After he gave his directions the students sat back and introduced himself as the principal. Not so much for the students, but for the parents in the back.

As soon as his introductions were done, the long boring speech that caused almost everyone in the room, including May, to start feeling drowsy. May could feel her eyes beginning to close from the bore inducing speech before everyone stood back up giving the principal a standing ovation.

Brendan was behind the curtain taking deep calming breaths while touching the two pokeballs that were hidden underneath his blazer to calm down. As soon as the principal finished his speech and the clapping ended, he was told to go up to the podium to deliver his speech. He was given a quick introduction and he heard loud cheers coming from the crowd. He espailly heard some extra loud cheers coming from the back which he deduced came from his family and neighbors.

He smiled when he saw his parents in the back with his mom holding pink pom poms and doing some sort of cheer like she was at a sporting event. His father was holding a video camera.

He took another calming breath before he began with the speech he had spent weeks planning.

May was absolutely mesmerized by what Brendan was saying, but she was a bit amused when she noticed how he sometimes stuttered and his voice slightly cracked at places. She knew Brendan was pretty social person, but this a new for him. He was speaking in front of not only his peers, but also teachers and parents. If being Valedictorian meant this much pressure then May would rather do anything else any day even though she had a strong academic record.

Everyone stood up as clapping once Brendan finished his speech. May could hear the loud cheers that she automatically recognized as being her neighbors. She could specially hear Mrs. Birch clearly even through everyone else's cheers.

They all sat back down and that was when the diploma distribution would begin. The principal started calling the people that sat in the front while everyone else had to wait their turn. Everyone received claps and congratulations along with getting their picture taken with the principal.

Brendan had been called earlier and luckily for him, he was still present on the stage so he didn't have to walk the long distance up there. The loud cheer from the Birch's were heard throughout the room and May smiled when she "that's my baby," from Mrs. Birch as she was snapping a million pictures.

After about half an hour it was May's turn to receive her diploma. She walked onstage where she received loud cheers from her parents in the background and her friends as well. She turned to face the left where she spotted Brendan standing up behind the curtain with his diploma in hand giving her a bright smile and clapping. May smiled back taking the diploma from the principal and getting her picture snapped as well. She was sure that her mother was taking millions of pictures from the back as well.

She went back to sit on her seat as everyone else was being called up. She clapped excitedly as she saw the friends she had made over the past seven years get their diplomas.

The ceremony ended soon after the last person was called up. The students and parents were given instructions on where to meet up and where they could celebrate. They also said that all students were excused for the day so they could go home early if they wanted.

May quickly made her way to back where she spotted her father, mother, and brother all brightly smiling at her.

Her mother was the first to step up as she quickly enveloped the girl in a tight hug and said, "I'm so proud of you May, you've really grown up," with a hind a sadness in her voice. To her it seemed like her daughter had been growing up maybe a little too fast.

"Thanks mom," May responded as she returned the hug. After a minute Caroline reluctantly let go before Norman was the one to envelop May in a tight hug.

"You've really grown, haven't you baby girl," he teased as May was in his arms.

"Dad, I already told you stop calling me that it's embarrassing," she said through stifled laughter.

"I'm sorry then, it's just you'll always be my little girl," he said as he let go of her as well.

Max was next to come up offering his own congratulations in the way of "way to go sis," although he didn't hug her like her parents had earlier.

Soon the Birch's were quick to congratulate May as well as Lisa was awkwardly hugging May through her pom poms. Professor Birch offered the girl a caring smile and a handshake as opposed to a hug.

The loud growl of May's stomach made everyone laugh as they noticed that the ceremony had run longer than expected. It was now around lunchtime and May was feeling like she could eat a truck load.

"There's a great all you can eat buffet in town," Norman suggested.

"That's great honey. Although with May and Brendan's appetite they might end up kicking us out," Caroline joked.

"Speaking of Brendan," Lisa started looking around for her son. "Shouldn't he be here by now? I wonder what's taking him so long."

"You're right Lisa, he should been here by now," Birch responded.

"Maybe he got held back there cause he's taking pictures," May joked. "Why don't I go look for him?" she asked.

"Sure thing May. We will be waiting right here for when you find him," Lisa told May with a large devious grin. She looked to her mother who had a similar grin on her face.

"I'll be right back ok," May said as she made her way deeper into the auditorium.

Caroline and Lisa were whispering in each other's ears while wide smirks covered their faces. Their husbands looked on as if they didn't know what was happening.

May made her way through the countless students and their parents as well as teachers on her quest to find her neighbor. She didn't have to look for long as she heard, "Brendan can we get a picture?" a girl a holding a camera asked.

"Sure," Brendan responded as both male and female students lined next to him to get in the picture. The girl from earlier had handed the camera to her mom as she quickly took the pictures.

"Thanks Brendan," they all said as they went on their way.

"No problem," he called out as they were leaving.

Before he could take another step another group of students came up to him to take pictures. Some wanted a group photo while some wanted an individual photo. Brendan being his kind self agreed to them all although he could already feel his stomach grumble from it being lunch time.

"Thanks," they all said.

"No problem," he responded. "When will the pictures stop?" he sighed under his breath.

"Brendan can I get a picture?" he heard a very familiar voice say. He turned around to see his neighbor giving him a smile.

"May thank Arceus you're here, people keep wanting pictures," he said sounding exhausted.

May laughed for a moment before commenting, "don't worry Brendan, why don't we go to your parents? They're really excited to see you."

"Yeah! Lead the way."

The two walked together as they weaved their way throughout the large crowd. A couple of other people wanted pictures but not as much as before which relieved the boy.

They soon made their way to where their parents were standing as Lisa practically tackled Brendan into a hug and messed up his hair. "I'm so proud of you Brendan, you've grown up so fast," she said as she tightly hugged him.

"Thanks mom, but don't you think the pom-poms were a bit excessive?" he joked returning the hug.

"Hey, you needed cheering up and I was here to perform that for you," she teased bringing him back into a hug.

"Thanks mom," he said again as he returned the second hug. Professor Birch was next as he bought his son into a tight hug.

"You're growing up be a fine young man, you're definitely my son," the professor joked.

"Thanks dad," he said though he felt like he was being crushed as he returned the hug.

Caroline was quick to also envelop him in a hug congratulating him on his success. Norman did the same but offered a pat on the back and a stern handshake. "I expect to see your challenge soon Brendan," Norman said.

"Me too Mr. Maple," Brendan said with a bright smile.

"Please call me Norman, you make me feel like an old man," he joked.

"Sure thing."

"Congrats big bro," Max said as he walked over to Brendan and gave him a high five.

"Thanks Max," Brendan said as he returned the gesture.

"So honey what took you so long?" Lisa asked as she eyed her son curiously.

"Well people wanted pictures and they wouldn't stop bugging me about it," he joked, shrugging in the process.

"So May was actually right about the pictures thing," Caroline said eyeing both her daughter and neighbor with a devious smirk. May felt an uneasy feeling in her gut.

Before anything else could be said two loud growling stomachs stopped the conversation as both owners put a hand behind their heads in embarrassment.

"Guess that means lunch. Come on let's go to the buffet," Birch said already holding his car keys guiding everyone out of the auditorium and into the parking lot.

"Oh May," Brendan paused taking a pokeball from his waist. He waited until May turned around to face him before continuing. "There's someone else that would really like to offer their congratulations," he said with a smirk on his face.

"Oh no!" May yelled. "Brendan, you promised you wouldn't let him out during the ceremony!"

"You said during the ceremony, you didn't say anything about after," he retorted. He released the pokemon inside revealing a certain mud fish that May thought was the devil's spawn.

The water type turned around to face May and his eyes narrowed. May could already feel the water hitting her face.

Later that day, both families were kicked out the buffet as a certain brown-haired pair had eaten almost all the food they had. Apparently "all you can eat" does not actually mean all you can eat. What made it worse is that both had decided to have another one of their eating contests which only sped up the rate of their eating. Brendan took another victory that day.

May got him back by talking about his awkward moments during his speech which caused his face to turn as red as a tomato.

The buffet was forced to add an asterisk to the end of their logo with a disclaimer written in small letters at the bottom.

AN: Oh wow it's already been eighteen chapters and 60k words, it feels like just yesterday that I was writing the first chapter. The little Jubilife Researcher Convention bit near the beginning was something that I was originally going to put in this story, but I changed my mind last minute and decided to save it for another future story. Wonder if you guys can guess who those other two boys are. Anyways our pairs ages below:

Brendan-12

May-12

Hope you enjoyed this chapter and hope to see you again in the next update.