Hi everyone and welcome to the twenty first chapter of this story. As the title implies this chapter will see Brendan getting ready for his upcoming departure. Also to answer TheLoneHero17's question, May's move to Petalburg will lead to where the anime begins, as for Brendan well I haven't exactly decided.

Chapter 21: Trainer Preparation

Winter's cold hands had left the warm region of Hoenn and in came the warm hands of Spring. With another spring came another season of harvesting. With another spring came the season of flowers. With another spring came the season of young trainers leaving their homes to start their journey.

"You sure you're going to be alright Joshua? I won't be here anymore to help with the pokemon so you sure you can handle it?" Brendan asked. He had just finished organizing the last of his father's files.

"Brendan who do think you're talking to?" Joshua responded by pointing his thumb to himself. "Before you came along to help, I used to manage the starter pokemon distribution to new trainers all by myself so I think I can handle myself."

"Yeah yeah you don't have to remind me all high and mighty," sarcastically remarked.

Joshua responded to the boy's sarcasm by mocking him about his failed love confession at the Harvest Festival. Apparently, Joshua had been standing pretty close to the pair when they were sitting underneath the tree and he had heard everything. The sight of Brendan's face when Joshua told him about it the following day caused the older man to burst out in hysterical laughter.

Brendan's face instantly went red and his hand reached for the bookshelf behind him.

In retrospect, Joshua should've learned from his past experiences to not embarrass the boy, especially when he was standing in front of a shelf filled with what he called, 'deadly weapons'.

In very rare cases would Brendan respond with one of his book tosses while in most other cases he would try to act cool and forget anything happened. But this time, the embarrassment was so great that he couldn't stop himself.

Joshua's hysterical laughter stopped when he felt a familiar painful sensation on his face and quickly moved to rub the affected area.

"You can loosen up on those throws you know," Joshua groaned. He continued rubbing the area where the book had hit.

"I would appreciate it if you would stop bringing that up ," Brendan retorted. He grabbed the book from the ground and placed it back on the bookshelf behind him.

"That's the one thing I'm not going to miss once you're gone."

"Don't worry I'll make sure Mom gives you a good toss if you act up," Brendan joked. This caused the older man's expression to darken before he was taken aback from laughter coming from the boy.

"What's so funny?" Joshua asked as he continued rubbing his pained face.

"Just your expression," Brendan said. After a couple more laughs he continued on. "You know out of everyone here in the lab you're the one that's received the most books."

"Wait so how many other people did you get?" Joshua exclaimed. Since the man spent a good portion of his time either raising the starter pokemon, or in his office, he didn't always socialize with the other scientists.

Brendan looked at his hands and began counting on his fingers as he began saying names.

"Let's see there was Melissa, Nathan, Henry, Stella, Scott, Peter and Lucy," Brendan said. He had finished counting the amount of people on his hands.

"That's scary," Joshua began. As he finished placing the last of the files in their drawers he continued. "So when are you planning on leaving?"

Brendan who was also finished organizing the files placed a hand on his chin in thought.

"Probably within a week or two, guess it depends if I can get all my preparations done in time."

"Then I'll be looking for you on television then," Joshua responded as he held his hand out to shake. He noticed that the boy was now beginning to reach his height and still looked like he had a ways to grow if he took the Professor's height into account.

"Thanks, I'll make sure to do my best."

"Honey try this one on," Lisa exclaimed. She threw a set of clothes over the door to land in the dressing room Brendan was in. Since the boy would be leaving on his journey soon, his mother had decided to bring him to the Petalburg City Trainer's store to stock on supplies and to also pick out a traveling outfit. The store in the Littleroot didn't have as big of a selection on outfits and they should know as they visited there that morning.

Professor Birch was unfortunately unable to make it due to him being overrun by his work, so he had just given the boy a pretty large sum of money so he could buy multiple outfits for his trip.

Lisa was currently standing outside of the dressing room, hoping that this time the outfit she picked out for her son would be one that he liked. She had already picked out multiple outfits for him to wear, but he would just respond by giving her weird looks. Surely my fashion advice isn't that bad, right? I just want to make sure he stays nice and warm. She thought before hearing her son's words.

"I don't know about this one Mom, it's a bit too cozy," she heard him say uneasily from the other side.

"Why don't you let me see it? I bet you look great," she encouraged. The door to the room clicked and was slowly swung open revealing her son wearing an outfit that would probably be better suited for trainers traveling in the colder Sinnoh climate than Hoenn.

The boy was wearing a long sleeved red and black jacket over his black t-shirt. He also sported long baggy black trousers with yellow cuffs at the bottom. His shoes were colored red and black which matched well with the rest of his outfit.(A/N his Ruby and Sapphire outfit). What his mother failed to notice was his face which was full of discomfort and a bit of sweat.

"You look great Honey!" she exclaimed.

Brendan raised an eyebrow and began to fan himself with one hand. "Mom this outfit is not great. It feels like I'm being baked alive."

"Oh I'm sure it's not that bad," she gleamed.

"Mom sometimes I get the feeling you forget what region we've been living in for the past eight years. Come on say it with me. We live in H-O-E-N-N not Sinnoh," he began his lecture.

"So I take it the outfit is a no go?" she asked looking slightly disheartened.

"Nope not at all," he said as he closed the door and began changing again. "Seriously Mom, I get the feeling you would be the type of mother that is so out of touch with the region's climate that she would be alright with sending her daughter hiking to Snowpoint City while wearing a miniskirt," he joked.

In Twinleaf Town a blue haired woman was sitting on the couch watching one of her old contest videos while her glameow sat next to her. Suddenly a loud sneeze broke the room's tranquility and the pokemon jumped up in sudden fright.

"Mom are you alright?" a younger girl sitting on the opposite couch asked as she had also been startled by the sudden noise.

"Yeah Dawn, I'm alright. I just get the feeling someone is talking about me from a faraway region." Her daughter gave her a quizzical look before returning to watch the television.

"By the way Dawn weren't you going to say goodbye to Lucas today?" the mother asked.

The young girl looked at her a minute before she jumped to her feet and exclaimed, "Oh my God you're right! I'm gonna be late!"

"And here I thought you would have liked that one," Lisa sighed. She brightened up after a second and said, "why don't you try the other one, you know the one with the green?"

"Sure thing Mom," she heard from the other side. I think this one he will definitely like. Like he said to me this one isn't long sleeved so it should be much cooler than the last one.

After another minute, the door clicked and it swung open. This time Brendan was wearing a short sleeved collared shirt with orange outlines as opposed to red like the previous also wore a pair of shorts that were worn over a pair a pants or maybe the shorts were sewed together with the pants. His shoes this time were a green and orange color so they matched with his shirt(his Emerald outfit).

"This one is actually a lot better," he said. He paused for a moment as he saw his mother's excited face. He hated to break it to her but there was something that bothered him about this outfit.

"Well mom, this outfit I think would be a lot better if it didn't have the double pants. I can already feel my legs being baked," he joked. Although he did like to wear black, the abundance of the color in this outfit would have surely baked him in the warmer months.

His mother's face slightly dropped but she was able to pick herself back up as she said, "why don't you try the last one then?"

Brendan nodded and went back inside the room. His mother was drowned in her thoughts as he was changing. Man, I never knew my boy was so picky when it came to clothing. This time I really hope he likes the last one, or I may be failure as a mother for not knowing my child's clothing style.

"I think you've hit the target with this one mom," she heard as the door clicked open revealing wearing a different outfit. This time the boy was wearing a red and black short sleeved colored t-shirt. The red in this shirt was a different red from the previous jacket as it looked like it was colored orange. He also wore black knee length shorts with dark gray patches. His shoes were similar to the ones he normally wore as they were white and green. (A/N his ORAS outfit)

"Great to see that you've finally decided," she said relieved that her son found an outfit he liked.

"Yeah looks like it. I'll go change back and I can pay for it with the money dad gave me," he said.

His mother nodded as he closed the door again and changed back into his regular outfit. The door quickly clicked back open showing that he was wearing his usual short sleeved white button up shirt and khaki pants.

"Brendan honey. Why don't you buy one of the red and black outfit for when it gets cold in winter?" Lisa asked. "Maybe buy them all?" she suggested.

"Actually mom, that's not a bad idea. Thanks," he replied. He went back to the area where they had been a couple of seconds ago and picked out a couple of the previous outfits and added them to his growing clothing pile.

"Why don't you pick out a hat while we are here?" she asked. She pointed towards the area where hats were sold so Brendan could take a look. Brendan glanced at it for second and turned his attention back to the register.

"Mom do you remember that hat May gave me for our first Christmas?" He asked with a slight blush covering his face.

His mother nodded while a sly grin grew on her lips which automatically made the boy regret mentioning it.

"Well, I actually wanted to wear it for my journey," he muttered. He looked down to the floor in an effort to hide his blush from his mother's prying eyes. To his immense surprise, she didn't take the opportunity to tease him as she patted him on the back and they continued walking to the register.

"There you go. That will be 36,000 Pokedollars please" the guy working at the register said.

"Well it's a great thing Dad gave me enough money," Brendan joked as he paid for his purchase. The guy took the money and handed him his change and the large white bag that the boy was able to fit with ease inside his backpack. Isn't technology great?

"You sure you don't want a new bag Brendan? I'm not saying that your current one looks bad or anything, but you've had it for a while so why not change it?"

"Nah mom, these bags are designed to withstand anything Kyogre and Groudon throw at them," he said. "And besides dad didn't give me enough money to buy a new bag." He pointed towards a display case that held multiple different models of bags. Lisa's eyes bulged when she saw the price tag on one of them. She knew they were expensive, but not this expensive.

"Yep you definitely don't need a new bag."

Lisa was watching her son savagely eat his meal. They had stopped to eat lunch at one of the restaurants at Petalburg after they had visited a general store to buy other supplies the boy would need. And by supplies the mother meant cooking utensils.

When he had told her that he could carry up to a house in his bag if needed, Lisa was quick to buy all the cooking supplies she thought he would need. They had bought a small set of cooking pots, whisks, bowls, a cutting board, knives, pans as well as spatulas and ladles. She even asked if he would be able to fit a small table and a small portable stove. He joked that she might as well throw their fridge inside his bag.

They didn't stop to buy get his camping supplies as the professor had made sure in advance to get camping supplies such as a tent, sleeping bag, a tarp and once last thing he had told her not to mention to boy as it was a surprise.

The sound of munching bought the mother out of her mental checklist as she looked back at her son who always ate like a snorlax that came out of hibernation. She for once was glad that he longer ate with his mouth open, but he still had an enormous appetite. She made a mental note to pack him enough food to last about a week, or about a year in normal people's appetite. Part of her was relieved that she wouldn't have to make meals for thirty people for just her family, but she also knew that she would miss cooking that much.

Over the past couple of years, she had been slowly teaching her son how to cook so he could make his own food while on the road. She knew she wasn't able to teach him everything, but she was determined to at least teach him the basics and how he could make the most of his food. She thought that the ability to cook was something that all trainers should atleast have some knowledge in so that they wouldn't starve or eat disgusting food.

She and Caroline had also agreed to teach May how to cook in case she decided to leave on her own journey.

When Lisa had inquired as to what May wanted to do when she grew up, Caroline just said that May was taking her time with her options. She had said that May had been considering going on a pokemon journey, but that she would always start changing her mind when the subject was bought up. They of course didn't want to put any external pressure or expectations on her daughter as that might force her to do something that she would regret in the long run.

She also thought about all the times she had teased her son about having a crush on their neighbor. She always remembered how red his face would get when she brought up the subject and how he would immediately deny it. She remembered how she and Caroline sometimes got together to look at wedding catalogues and imagine if their kids actually did get married. It was all a motherly joke after all so it was all for their amusement. They could already imagine the looks their kids would give them if they had actually seen them with one of those magazines.

"Mom you there?" Brendan asked as he waved his hand in front of her face snapping out her thoughts.

"Huh… oh yeah, you need something honey?" she asked. She looked down at her plate and noticed that her food was missing. She knew exactly where it had gone, but didn't comment. Instead she offered a bright smile.

"Just checking." he said at first. "You didn't even notice when I snatched the food out of your plate so I thought maybe you were sick."

"Heh, I don't look sick do I?" she joked. Noticing her son's smile she continued on, "I was just thinking how lonely it's going to be once you're gone."

Brendan's smile dropped at the comment. He knew that the aspect of traveling was a tough one especially for the parents who had to see their kids leave home. He knew that there were parents that prohibited their kids from going on journeys just because they couldn't take the pain of seeing their child go into the world without their supervision and care.

"Don't worry about me Mom. I have three strong pokemon with me so there's no need to worry." His smile was growing back on his face.

"I know that honey, it's just you know… difficult to see you go. I knew it was coming, but it still hurts me as a mother to see you go." At this point she was beginning to gain tears around her eyes.

"Mom really, there's no need to worry, and I'll make sure to call everyday if it helps."

His mother nodded calming herself down. After a moment she decided that it was time to maybe mess with her son a bit. And she knew exactly how she was going to accomplish that.

"So Brendan, how are things with you and May going?" she asked, a large visible smirk was growing on her face.

As she had expected her son's face was already beginning to turn all shades of red. "Umm… you know May and I are good friends is all," he muttered under his breath but his mother was able to hear him.

"You sure you don't feel anything else when you're around her? Like maybe odd sensations?"

Brendan paused for a second as he saw his mother's eyes. He knew that he felt strange feelings in his gut and heart whenever he was around her. He had long since abandoned confessing as he was afraid that she didn't feel the same and that their long childhood relationship would take a turn for the worst.

"Nope there's nothing like that," he lied. He thought he saw his mother's smirk grow wider for a short second before she plastered on her usual grin. He was relieved that she would stop trying to pry into his more personal life as she got off the table and paid the bill for the meal. They later went back to the jeep where she drove back to Littleroot.

"By the way Brendan, have you told May when you'll be leaving," she asked.

Brendan paused for a moment before he said, "I only told her that I would be leaving soon, but I never did give her a solid date."

"I think it would be best if you were to tell her. Who knows maybe you'll be able to convince her to go with you."

"I'm not so sure mom. After all I would be pushing her to make a decision in a short period of time and who knows if she would actually take up my offer."

"There's no hurt in trying though, so next time you see her, why don't you tell her about your departure and maybe you can get her to join."

"I guess you're right mom," he muttered. "There are starter pokemon at the lab so if she does decide to join me, then Dad would be more than happy to give her a pokemon," he said mainly to himself.

"Good luck out there honey," she said with a wink which caused the boy's face to turn red again.

AN: Okay don't kill me on this, but I always thought Brendan's RS outfit seemed out of place, specially when you consider Hoenn's climate. As Brendan said, it looks like an outfit better suited for mountain climbing in Sinnoh. I did compromise however, you can say that he will wear his ORAS outfit when it's warmer while changing to his RS/E one when it's colder. The little section in the middle with Dawn I just threw in there for comedic effect and maybe a bit of foreshadowing. Well I've already referenced Lucas in two other chapters so see if you can spot them. Oh and I think the pokedollar is based of the Japanese Yen, so he's not paying like 36,000 dollars but more like 360, just to throw that out there. Also this chapter is Brendan and Lisa focused because I feel that very often in anime, the protagonist hardly has any interaction with their parents; they're always either dead or never around.

Both Brendan and May are 13 in this chapter, and that's pretty much it. Look forward to the next update!