In which Brendan comes face-to-face with his father sooner than he'd planned.
Brendan decided to stop and say goodbye to his mom first, just because he knew she'd track him down anyway. May agreed that it was probably better than leaving with no warning, so she handed him a few Pokeballs and told him she'd meet him on Route 101. Brendan watched her go into her own house to tell her own mother that she'd finally started her journey, and then his front door opened.
"So," his mother said, as if it had only been a few minutes since she'd last seen him. "How did it go?"
"I'm not sure," Brendan answered, "but I have a Pokedex now."
"That's a good thing, isn't it?"
"I think so. I got a Torchic out of it, at least."
That was the wrong thing to say. Brendan's mother went from curious to excited like he'd flipped a switch. "A Pokémon? Could I take a look?"
There was no harm in that, really. Brendan released his Torchic, who seemed less concerned than he should have been to have a strange woman staring at him. Eventually, she saw what she wanted to see.
"Your dad's going to be so proud," she said, as Adam hopped back to Brendan. "You really do look good with Pokémon, Brendan."
"Don't tell Dad about this, please." Brendan had that look in his eye that promised trouble. Norman swore he'd been born with that look in his eye. "I want to surprise him when I go in for a badge."
"Only if you promise to come and visit once in a while. Having a Pokedex is no excuse for staying on the road until you're old enough to have a house of your own."
Brendan didn't answer that, only turning when he heard footsteps on the grass behind him. May smiled at her new friend and his mother, before focusing entirely on Brendan. "Ready to go?" she asked, and took Adam's enthusiastic chirp for a yes from both of them. "My mom knows I'm going, your mom knows...let's go surprise your dad!"
"Can we wait to surprise him until I've got my first seven badges?"
May had a moment of confusion, but shrugged it off immediately. "I don't see why not. Now come on! Wild Pokémon are waiting for us!"
Brendan's mom laughed. "Have fun, kids. Good luck."
Brendan made it to Oldale Town before he was stopped. This time, May was the one that stopped him, with a hand on his shoulder instead of a shout.
"My dad wanted to upgrade your PokeNav," she explained, holding out her hand for the device in question. "I got caught up in the excitement of leaving Littleroot Town and forgot. It'll help you recognize what Pokémon live in the area."
"Don't I already have you for that?"
"In case of separation, Dad said." May rolled her eyes, but pressed a few buttons on Brendan's PokeNav and handed it back to him. "Once that finishes downloading, you'll have a record of what Pokémon we've encountered in each area."
"How?"
"Magic, probably," May shrugged. "There might be some kind of science-y explanation, like wireless links to the Pokedex, but I don't really know."
She dragged him over the 'rare footprints,' which Brendan thought looked a lot like shoe marks, and onto the next route, where she immediately stopped.
"Don't make any sudden movements," she hissed, her eyes focused on a patch of tall grass. "And please, for the love of all things shiny, keep your mouth shut."
Brendan took her advice, staying as still as he could and not making a sound more than breathing. He didn't know what she saw, but her light steps were nearly silent, brushing the grass as though she herself was a Pokémon - a predator after her prey. Then, furthering the comparison, she pounced.
The Surskit she was after slid away, but it reacted defensively, which seemed to be what she was going for. "Jerry, take the stage!"
The battle was fast, and it ended with a red and white ball closing on the Surskit, shaking twice, and going still. May turned to Brendan with a light in her eyes from her new catch.
"And that's how you catch a Pokémon," she said, trying and failing to suppress a smile. She picked the ball from the ground and called her Mudkip back into his own, before sliding back to Brendan and promising to let him take the lead.
A few battles later, the two made it to Petalburg City. They planned on healing their Pokémon and heading straight through Petalburg Woods, but it seemed that there were other plans interfering with that.
"That was a good battle," the man was saying. "You raised your Pokémon well. You just didn't raise them enough. I look forward to battling you when you and your Pokémon are ready."
The challenger didn't seem offended, instead giving a quick "I will sir. Thank you for your time" and leaving. Brendan had planned to keep May still for long enough so that the Gym Leader would be going back.
Norman, on the other hand, knew his son when he saw him.
"Brendan, don't hide. You're not on the run from the cops, are you?"
Brendan stepped out from his hiding place, forcing an awkward smile. "Hi, Dad."
So much for the surprise.
Norman didn't bother to ask about Brendan's Pokémon, instead looking over at May. "May Birch?" he asked, and she confirmed it. "Your father didn't say anything to me about you coming."
"I only got my Pokedex a few days ago," May admitted. "And I told him I wasn't interested in Gym battles."
"So you're going to do what instead? Help your dad with his research?"
May shrugged, staying quiet. Norman turned his attention back to Brendan. "Did you get a Pokedex, too?"
"And a Pokémon," Brendan added. "I was going to surprise you when I got seven badges and challenge you for my eighth, but I guess that's blown now."
"Um...Mr. Gym Leader, I'd like to get a Pokémon, please."
The voice was new and unexpected, but the boy it came from was even more so. Small and pale with green hair, he looked almost like a Pokémon himself. Norman seemed to recognize him, though, which was more than what could be said for our heroes. "Oh, um...Wally! I thought you were already gone."
Wally looked down at the floor. "Not yet. I wanted to get a Pokémon to keep me company. I wanted to ask if you could catch me one."
Norman stayed silent, before announcing a different plan altogether. "Why don't you have my son and his friend come along to show you how to catch a Pokémon? It would be good for them, and for you."
"I already showed Brendan," May tried protesting, but like most adults, Norman had authority and knew how to use it.
"So you already know how to be a teacher." Norman laughed and waved her on. "You'll do fine, May. And here, he can borrow a Zigzagoon from the Gym."
He gave Wally a Pokeball, another ball containing a Zigzagoon, and a Potion for emergencies, before sending him on his way, May tagging along.
With them gone, he started the conversation with his son.
"I know you wanted to battle me for your final badge," he started, "but I'm the one that allows Surf. So why don't you make it your fifth, and in exchange, I won't go easy on you just because you're my son."
"Why not?" Brendan complained.
Norman ignored him. "Fortree, Mossdeep and Sootopolis all have Gyms, but they all need Surf to reach. So does Dewford, but there are boats around here. You'll be facing me last of all the 'mainland' Gym Leaders."
It sounded like a fair compromise. There shouldn't be any harm in that.
"So what did Wally catch?"
May had returned with strange confusion in her eyes, giving Wally plenty of strange looks that she'd thought hadn't been noticed. Norman hadn't commented, but Brendan wasn't letting it go.
"A Ralts," May finally said. "It's supposed to be rare, but we take three steps into the grass and BOOM!" She talked with her hands, Brendan noticed, wondering why it took him until she'd nearly hit him in the face to see. "I guess I should be relieved that it wasn't a shiny he caught on his first try, because wild shinies are, like, stupid rare, but I've never seen a wild Ralts, either."
"Some people catch shinies on their first try," Brendan pointed out.
"Not normal people," May insisted.
It didn't matter to Brendan. The fact that a trainer had Pokémon at all was more important than the color they were, as even shiny trainers agreed. May must have just been upset that her first catch hadn't been shiny.
"I haven't seen a Surskit other than yours," he said, and she rolled her eyes.
"My Surskit is great, yes. Where are we going with her?"
Oh, so Surskit was a girl. She hadn't mentioned that part. "My dad suggested Rustboro City. It's the closest Gym to Petalburg, and I can make my own first catch in the forest."
"Rustboro City," May said, as if the name was new on her tongue. "I heard the Gym Leader uses Rock-types. Are you sure Adam can handle that?"
"He might not be able to, but if I catch a Grass or Water-type, I'll win anyway."
"Then Rustboro it is," she said, but she really wondered if type advantage was really enough to win him his first badge.