Wattson was more difficult than he should have been. I think we got him right, but it's hard to say.

"All right, everybody," Brendan was saying, as he paced in front of the Gym with two starters and an Aron as his audience. "We need to come up with a strategy to beat Wattson, get his Badge, and move on to Verdanturf Town so Pikachu can get into her Contest. This strategy is...Jerry's Mud Shot."

"Mud Shot?" May repeated, almost offended. "Just Mud Shot? The least you could do is train Aron until she learns a new, more powerful Ground-type move."

"But I don't know how long that will take," Brendan pointed out. "Mud Shot is more convenient."

Aron didn't mind. She'd only ever battled Wally's Ralts before, and thought it would be nice to be in an actual Gym match for once.

"You're just planning on letting us deal with it, aren't you?" Adam asked, and she didn't even bother to show any regret.

"Of course. You and Jerry are the ones who know what you're doing. I'm the first-round sacrifice."

"That can go either way," Jerry said under his breath, but Adam gave him a warning look over his beak.

Brendan, not understanding how to speak Pokémon, called them all into their balls. The pep talk over, he held the door for May and followed her into Wattson's Gym, mentally preparing for anything.

Wattson was a cheerful man, almost alarmingly so in the face of what his challenger had planned. Little did he know that the young, skinny kid was the son of a Gym Leader himself, and the ability to battle like a pro was apparently genetic.

The first Pokémon that Wattson called was a Voltorb. Aron could handle a single Voltorb on her own, and by the time he sent out his second choice, she had gotten used to being on the field.

"I've never seen that Pokémon before," Brendan commented, staring at the green Pokémon and searching his memory bank. "Where's it found?"

"Right outside of Slateport," May answered before Wattson could. "You would know that if you bothered to look at the Pokenav upgrade my dad made me give you."

Pikachu, who had been called out only to see the potential of Electric-types in battle, was pleased by the fact that her evolutionary line wasn't the only mammal-like family in their typing. She'd known to some degree, but she had only ever encountered Pichu, Raichu, and Magnemite before - not even a Plusle or Minun from her time observing Contests.

"Think you're ready for battle, then?" May teased. Pikachu made a face and mimed throwing something at the battlefield. "Yeah, I hear you. It's so much more fun when our pretty dresses don't risk getting blown up."

Brendan, impressed as he was by the live Electrike right in front of him, decided to keep his attention on the battle. The sooner this was over, the sooner he could go home and beat his father. "Come back, Aron. I might need you later." She turned and started walking back to her trainer before she was pulled back into the ball, and Brendan had his other hand on his next Pokémon. "Your turn, Jerry! Do the thing!"

One Mud Shot later, and the Electrike was unable to continue. The Magneton that Wattson sent out next was probably supposed to be a threat, but Brendan really wasn't bothered enough to not use Adam's Fire typing to his advantage.

The Pokémon standing across from Jerry now had to have been the evolved form of Electrike. Manectric, Wattson had said, for what little Brendan had been listening.

And why should he pay attention? His Aron knew Mud-Slap, he had two starters ready to do anything he told them to, and he was ready for the badge. The only thing standing in the way was the Manectric, and that should be an easy fight.

He'd tried to take it easy on the poor old guy, though. Spending years as a trainer only to lose to a new trainer with only one evolved Pokémon on his own team? That would be like Norman losing to Wally.

Wattson was on to him, though. "Thank you for using Water Gun on an Electric-type," he started, his near-constant laughter fading. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you've forgotten about the type chart."

"I didn't forget," Brendan insisted. "I just thought you might want to land a hit. You know, if anything Manectric can do isn't an Electric attack."

Wattson's laughter was still genuine despite the imminent loss. "I figured that," he said, voice booming. "Manectric, use Quick Attack. We want to get in one good hit in this fight."

Manectric, like Wattson, had accepted the inevitable, and it was a not-quite-Quick Attack that caught Jerry in the belly. Brendan, feeling that he'd done a good deed with that, instantly called for a Mud Shot.

Within five minutes, Wattson was handing over a small piece of metal he called the Dynamo Badge, and May was trying to find her way to the two with her Pikachu in her arms.

"You've earned it," Wattson told him, handing him the badge. "But, if you can, do you think you can help an old man by going on an adventure?"

"You mean an adventure within an adventure?" May asked, and he laughed again.

"Yes, you can say that. There were plans to make a new Mauville, when I was young, but they were shut down. But lately there have been...disturbances." There was a barely-there shiver in his voice now, and he was far too serious. "I'd go myself, but I'm not the man I used to be - thank goodness for that. You two are young and strong, and should be able to handle it."

May and Brendan shared a look, trying to communicate telepathically. When it became clear to them that they would need much more practice, if either were psychic at all, Brendan shook his head.

May went with her own answer, anyway. "How important is it, on a scale of one to ten?"

Brendan groaned in exasperation. Wattson didn't notice.

"I'd say about a four. Nothing to be concerned about at the moment, but at a level that demands attention before it can cause serious damage."

"I see." May turned to Brendan and nodded, then back at Wattson. "Call us again if you can't find a trainer to do it before the threat level hits six. No, wait, seven is a better number, it gives us more time to prepare."

"But the project -"

"Is nothing to be concerned about at the moment, in your own words. And what if it's a legendary poking around in there? Would you really send out two kids who barely have a full team between them?"

Wattson had no argument to that. "It's best for you to prepare," he agreed. "I doubt you have Surf yet, there have to be more qualified trainers."

"Any new Pokémon here?" May asked, as they peeked over the Day Care fence. "That you want to catch, I mean."

"Not really. A few Oddish, plenty of Zigzagoon, but nothing really speaking to me."

"What about Marill?" she asked, indicating the small, round Pokémon splashing in the water. "They don't take much to evolve, and there's a Fire-type Gym over in Lavaridge Town, which is where we're probably going next."

Brendan met a Marill's stare, and for a moment, he actually considered catching one. An Azumarill wouldn't be too hard to deal with, and he could actually use that new Fairy type that Kanto and Johto had yet to accept in the official battle rules.

And then the Marill shot a Water Gun at his head, catching him right at the hairline and knocking his hat to the ground. As the Pokémon laughed, Brendan fumed.

"I'll borrow Jerry for the Fire-types," he promised. "And when I rise to power, all Marill will be exiled to Unova. Then we'll see who's laughing."

"Them, probably." May made an 'I'm watching you' gesture, and the Marill immediately disappeared under the water. "They have numbers."

"I'll have my Shroomish and your Pikachu. We can take them on."

"Pikachu and I are going to be eating popcorn behind a glass wall, protected from stray attacks." May picked up his hat and squeezed the water from it before putting it back on his head for him. "Hurry up, Verdanturf is right ahead. You want to see Lisia again, don't you?"

Brendan pretended he didn't know what she was talking about. "If I wanted to see her, I could just watch her Contests on TV."

"You could," May agreed, "but that would take the fun out of a budding friendship, wouldn't it?"

Brendan let her lead again, pretending to be watching the Pokémon when really just wondering how he could get dried off enough before the next Contest.

He was being stupid. Lisia had more to do than sit around and wait for May's appearance. She might not even be there.

He hoped she would be, though. He needed to have somebody explain things to him when May was up on the stage.