EDITOR'S NOTE: "I miss the old Mauville. Not the Game Corner, I was never good at that, I just miss how small it was compared to the remakes."
On their way out of Slateport City, Brendan and May passed by the gate to the Cycling Road. When told that it was too dangerous for them to cross without a bicycle, Brendan came up with Plan B.
"Aron," he said as he released her from the ball, "I want you to do something morally wrong and probably illegal. I want you to go up to Cycling Road, and eat every piece of it. Leave the cyclists and their bikes alone, but eat the road."
Aron shook her head slowly, making it very clear what she thought of her trainer's plan. "How did you ever earn two badges? Did you beat up the Gym Leaders in a dark alley?"
"That isn't necessary," May said, almost as if in translation. "Let's say you could actually talk Aron into eating Cycling Road. Hypothetically. Assuming it's all metal, and not concrete suspended on metal pillars, we would have to wait for her to finish, which could take a while since she just ate an entire bowl of her special supply of Pokémon food. After that, we'd have to run, not only from the police but from everybody with an intact bicycle, assuming they all survived the fall. We'd have to run fast."
"We can run fast."
"Not as fast as a bike, and definitely not as fast as a car." May gestured at the road above their heads. "And, assuming we make it to Mauville City in one piece, what's to stop the cops from getting us there? Goodbye Contest fame, goodbye honorary Championship. Forever scarred by our criminal record, we won't be able to find work. We'll mooch off of our fathers' successes until we're forty and they throw us out. Then we'll become hobos and live off of battling random trainers on the side of the road."
Brendan, somehow managing to keep a straight face through the entire thing, put a hand on her shoulder. "You are completely out of your mind," he stated. "Do you always think up worst-case scenarios?"
May pulled away. "Do you know how many characters the average writer has to kill off? ALL of Dad's favorite characters die, hero and villain alike, in just about every series he picks up in his free time. I need the practice."
"You don't need to kill anyone off. None of the good guys." He paused, suddenly realizing how boring that would be in a story any less light-hearted than a children's video game. "Well, I shouldn't say none. Maybe an old master and the hero's parents, but the main cast should only be framed for murder or something."
"You don't know how things work, do you?" Fortunately, she let it drop. "Now come on. In all this time we've wasted with talking, we could have been halfway to Mauville by now."
Mauville City was bigger than either of them had imagined. Brendan had taken a trip or two to Goldenrod City back in Johto, but this was much bigger than he'd expected.
Of course, Norman had been driving instead of making the family walk, so maybe he wasn't making the best comparison.
Either way, Mauville was huge. That went without question. May was glad that Brendan had refused her offer for a battle on the way up, because she wasn't sure that they'd find a Pokémon Center in time.
"The map doesn't have mini city maps," she said, angrily shoving her Pokenav back onto her bag strap belt. "We're going to have to find one. They're probably in the Pokémon Center."
"And we'd need a map to find the Pokémon Center," Brendan reminded her. "We'll just wing it. It shouldn't be too hard, they color-code their roofs for a reason."
He was right. It didn't take the pair long to find someone to point them in the direction of a Pokémon Center. Unfortunately, that person was insisting on a battle - a battle Brendan really didn't want to take part in.
"Wally, no offense, but I would crush you." The boy had, what, one Ralts? Aron could probably take it down, and she hadn't been used in a trainer battle before.
"We don't know that," Wally protested. "Please, Brendan? I just want to show my uncle that I can do it. If I don't, he'll never let me take the Gym challenge!"
Well, when he put it that way...
"No."
Wally didn't even flinch, just turned to look at May hopefully. "What about you? Will you battle with me?"
"I don't know," May answered, stepping back. "I've got a new Pokémon, but my Pikachu is more into Contests than regular battles. Brendan's Aron, on the other hand, needs to get used to being in battle."
She was right about Pikachu, at least. Brendan reluctantly decided that accepting the challenge would be for the best. "Fine, I'll battle you. And when you lose, I get full gloating rights."
"You mean if I lose," Wally corrected.
Brendan shook his head. "No, I mean when." He selected his choice Pokémon before Wally could process what he'd said. "Aron, do the thing!"
"I told you so."
Aron had claimed victory in a very short time, so fast that the Ralts hadn't seen it coming. And, true to his word, Brendan had immediately claimed gloating rights.
Wally wasn't listening. "I made a mistake," he said, his voice almost pathetic. "I'm sorry, Ralts. I won't make mistakes like that again."
"Don't get upset over it," said a man, a man that had to be Wally's uncle. "Everyone loses at some point in their lives. Besides, that battle showed me that you and Ralts are serious about this whole Badge thing."
Wally's mood did a complete flip. "Does this mean I can go on a journey now?" he asked excitedly, nearly bouncing.
"Well, you're going to have to tell your aunt goodbye," his uncle said, holding the boy still with what would pass for an affectionate gesture. "And your cousin, and then call your parents and tell them all about this decision. I don't want them to think I'm throwing you out so soon after taking you in."
"But first we'll heal Ralts at the Pokémon Center," Wally finished. He looked back at Brendan and May. "Did you hear that? We're rivals now!"
"Don't get too into it," May warned. "Rivalries aren't something you just declare. I never called myself Brendan's rival."
"That's because you're his traveling companion," Wally pointed out. "You know all the Pokémon he has, and all of the moves that his Pokémon know. I didn't know he had an Aron until we battled, so I can call myself a rival all I want."
"Even though we're rivals, can you show us where the Pokémon Center is?" Brendan reached down to pet his Aron's head. "She might be necessary in my next Gym battle."
"Wattson does use Electric-types," Wally said, looking down at the small Steel-type as though he was committing her to memory. It wouldn't have been a bad idea, Aggron were huge, powerful, and known for destroying small towns when they got hungry. "She's not Ground-type, but all that means is she won't get an immunity. And May, if your Mudkip evolved, maybe you can let Brendan use him, too."
"In an Electric Gym?" May had said it before she thought, and as a result she nearly slapped her forehead. "I thought that the line didn't get the Ground type until Swampert. Sorry."
Brendan faked disappointment. "Oh, May," he sighed. "How can you ever hope to follow in your father's footsteps if you don't know what stage the Mudkip line gets the Ground type?"
She retaliated with a hard but playful shove that knocked him into Wally.
"Are we going to take a trip to Verdanturf Town first?" May asked as the three all healed their Pokémon, gathered around a small table while waiting for the call. "It's got a contest hall, and I do want to give Pikachu at least one chance to be on the stage."
"Maybe after," Brendan decided. "I heard it's doing the normal rank today, you already have a ribbon. We'll sign you up for the Cool contest again, maybe Lisia will pay attention to that."
"Any plans besides the Gym, then?"
"Is the Game Corner still functioning?" May shook her head. "Oh. Never mind, then. I thought I could win myself a rare Pokémon for a second."
"They didn't give out Pokémon as prizes like they do in Kanto and Johto," Wally corrected. "They gave out dolls in the shape of the Pokémon that Professor Birch gives to new trainers. It's not the same thing."
"Dolls? Why would people want dolls?"
"Secret Bases," May said, waving a hand as if it didn't matter. "They say they're the coolest thing ever, but they're really just glorified clubhouses. Easier to decorate without your parents hanging over your shoulder than the average bedroom, but adults pay visits, anyway."
"Do you have a Secret Base somewhere?" Brendan asked, and May immediately denied it.
"And if I ever get one," she told him, "I wouldn't tell you where it was. I'd let you search for hours, months even. Half the fun is apparently finding your friends' Bases."
"And challenging them to battles inside the Base," Wally finished. "And making new friends with people who own the Bases you broke into as you searched."
Brendan didn't, couldn't, form words around the concept. He wasn't an interior decorator, and doing this would take time out from getting the honorary Championship needed to shut people up about following in his father's footsteps. On the other hand, having his own personal battlefield sounded pretty cool.
His thoughts were interrupted by the alert that all of the Pokémon were healed, and when he and May picked up their teams, he felt it was best if he changed the topic. "Well, Shroomish, it's time to go back to May. I need as many Ground-type attacks as I can get for this next Gym, and Adam might be necessary in case of a Magnemite."
Neither of our heroes noticed Wally and his uncle slip out the door when their backs were turned.