In which May wants to kill, and Brendan is not about to stop her.

"Hey, kids! Can I see your Pokenav devices, please?"

They had barely even left the Devon building when the man approached them, but after handing him the requested items, he managed to give them some prototype software.

"Try not to use it too much," he added. "It'll scare people when the call feature gives off a bunch of static. But you can use it for contacting Mr. Stone in an emergency, and each other if you ever get separated."

"How do we do that?" May asked, and Brendan was forced to endure a tutorial not once but twice as the man registered each in the other's Pokenav.

"Can we go now?" he whined when he got his Pokenav back. "Mr. Stone gave us a mission, and we don't want to keep him waiting."

"Yes, there's that," the man agreed, and backed off. "Just remember, if you need to remember where to deliver those Goods, or if Steven isn't in Dewford anymore, just call Mr. Stone and ask for directions."

"We'll keep that in mind," Brendan promised, stepping behind May to give her a friendly shove in the direction of Petalburg Woods. "Don't worry about us, we'll come back eventually."

"I don't want to go back," May complained when she was positive they were out of earshot.

"I don't, either." Brendan let her go so he could enter the forest first. "That, my innocent friend, is what some people refer to as a lie. As a professional story teller, you might understand the concept yourself."

May started to object to that. The words came to her tongue and nearly fell off. But they died slowly, one by one, as she realized that, in the big picture, a lie or two wasn't really so bad, no matter what the children's programs she used to watch tried to drill into her head. Instead, she chose another question.

"You didn't get the name of the old guy with the Wingull, did you?"

Mr. Briney, as the sign on the boat said, had left his door unlocked for the kids who saved Peeko. Brendan didn't even bother to knock, and they found the old man chasing his Wingull around in circles.

"Mr. Briney?" May asked uncertainly, as Brendan stepped between the man and his bird only to get literally brushed aside.

"Hold on, lass," he snapped at the Pokémon, but Peeko didn't so much as slow down. The old man gave the kids an apologetic glance. "You may have to wait. Peeko took the keys to my boat and..." He was suddenly hit with recognition, and a second look at Brendan confirmed whatever was going through his head. "Oh, I see! You two are the children who saved her from the pirate!"

"Yes," Brendan said, grabbing Peeko as she made another round and pulling the key from her beak. "Yes, we are. And we want to call in that favor you owe us and make you drive us to Dewford Town."

Peeko screeched indignantly, and Brendan let her go. She went to perch on her human, glaring at Brendan over the length of her sharp beak. Mr. Briney didn't seem to care much, as long as she wasn't hurt.

"I see no harm in that," he decided. "Peeko, prepare for takeoff, or whatever it is that sailors say nowadays. We're setting sail for Dewford Town!"

"So," May said as she and Brendan climbed out of the boat, both a little dizzy from the ride, "are we going to the Gym first, or are we going to track down Steven?"

"The Gym will still be there tomorrow," was the immediate answer. "Steven might not even be here today."

"And where do we start looking for him?"

Brendan looked around at the small, sandy town, trying to think. "He can't be that hard to find," he decided. "We'll check the Pokémon Center first. If he's not there, we'll ask the nurse for directions."

"And how do we know which one's Steven?"

"He's the son of the Devon President." Brendan started forward, the letter in his hands. "Just look for a rich guy."

There was no sign of Steven in the Pokémon Center, but the nurse did say that he brought in his Metagross after it ran out of move power. "He said something about Dewford Cave," she told them, pointing it out on the map. "Are you going to the Gym to get the Badge? It's necessary if you're going to the lower levels of the cave."

"Maybe can take Jerry," May suggested. "Adam has Peck, anyway, it should only take a few minutes in a Fighting-type Gym."

Brendan didn't ask how she knew. "You're trusting me with your Pokémon?"

"Why not?" May laughed, leaning on the counter. "Trade bonus, remember? Maybe it will get him the experience he needs to evolve. It's coming up soon, you know."

Well, if the Badge and Jerry's evolution were this close, he didn't see an objection. "If Steven doesn't get the letter," Brendan decided, "then it'll just teach his dad a lesson, wouldn't it? Let's start the trade, we've got a big day ahead."

The Gym Leader of Dewford Town was good friends with Roxanne. Yes, they had a few differences, more than a few if they were being honest. But Roxanne was not above putting down a book for some fun, and, contrary to popular opinion, Brawly was capable of reading past the basic level necessary to become a Gym Leader in the first place.

So, he had actually been warned ahead of time that Brendan and May existed, and had set out what he had thought was the perfect maze.

Perhaps he should have consulted with her before he put his plan into action.

"What happened to you guys?" he asked, noticing that both his challenger and the challenger's friend looked scuffed up, May with an already-yellow bruise just under her right knee. "Don't you know that Pokémon are there to protect you from fights?"

May made a sound that was halfway between a wolf-like growl and a shriek of anger. "Your stupid maze of gym equipment did this to us," she hissed. "A split-second of light and then leaving us to find a path ourselves? If I was athletic at all, I'd break every part of your face."

"I might do it," Brendan agreed, rubbing the spot on his arm where he'd fallen onto a treadmill after tripping on a dumbbell. "But first, I'm going to destroy your team and steal the Badge."

"I gave you guys the option to go back out there," he reminded them. "Go back out and trigger the light again until you memorized it."

May spun on Brendan, after taking a moment to remember that her Mudkip, her strongest Pokémon, was currently with him and could not direct a Mud Slap onto this man. "Kick his butt, Brendan."

Brendan didn't need to be told twice. He hadn't even needed to be told once. By the time she'd started talking, his hand was already on a ball, and by the time she'd finished, he'd already thrown it.

"Adam, do the thing!"