It's a good thing they're in a video game, otherwise this might hurt them.
They quickly discovered that the next Gym, the one in Lavaridge Town, had no direct connection from Verdanturf. So, after going back to Mauville, our heroes headed north, where they ended up in battle with a family who gloated about being some of the strongest trainers in Hoenn. Naturally, battling them four-against-two and winning didn't take long at all.
"At least you got to use Shroomish again," May said when Brendan declared them all a waste of time. "I'll admit, it feels kind of nice to see him with his real trainer for once."
"It's not my fault that Jerry was the better choice for the last two Gyms," Brendan protested. "Or the next one, apparently. You said that the Lavaridge Town Gym Leader uses Fire-types, right?"
"I did," May answered, but she didn't sound sure. "I think Dad said something about a recent switch? I'd call him, but I'm not sure how well the Pokegear phone works."
"How recent?"
"What day is it?" May's eyebrows scrunched again, and Brendan recognized it as her trying to think. "After your battle with Brawly, actually. I called Dad after I won the last Contest and he said something about a new girl getting the position from her grandfather. She might have changed the type specialty and it hasn't made the internet yet."
"The Champion lets her give out badges after only a few days?"
"Everyone's a beginner at some point," May reminded him. "We're new at being trainers, technically. Though you having three badges and my two ribbons might have moved us up to Super Rank, to use Contest terms."
"I guess so," Brendan said, pulling out the Pokenav for a map search. Lavaridge Town didn't even mention not having a new Gym Leader, and especially not a new type. But there was another Contest Hall in Fallarbor Town, which was close enough to Lavaridge. "I think we can stop in Fallarbor Town for the Hyper Rank Cool Contest before we go back to Petalburg, if you want to."
"Before Lavaridge?" May asked, almost hopefully. "I mean, Lisia did say that if I wanted Chaz to respect me, I should beat him in a Contest. He's still Hyper Rank, right?"
"I don't know," Brendan answered honestly. "I never met the guy until the last Contest. Though if I were you, I wouldn't consider Chaz to be boyfriend material."
May stopped walking. "What?"
"I saw how you were with Steven. You like good-looking guys in suits." When May still didn't move, Brendan turned to notice the disgust in her eyes. "Am I wrong?"
"Not...entirely," May said, grudgingly, as if admitting this was actually painful. "I like pretty guys, suits optional but a nice bonus. Chaz is cute, I guess, but he's cute in the way you're cute, not cute as in 'my dream guy.'"
"So why are you bothering to try to get his respect?"
"Peace between Contest stars," May said at once. "If I refuse to be a rival, and Lisia refuses to be a rival, he'll have to accept that he's famous on his own, not because of his rivalry with Lisia."
Brendan accepted this as an answer, and for a while, they moved in silence.
"You know my type," May finally said. "What's yours?"
Brendan was confused for a few moments, at first thinking she was asking about his favorite Pokémon type. When he figured out she meant girls, he started to speak. "I've never thought about it much. Girls mature faster than guys, that's science. All I know about my type is that it's definitely female and human. I've got a few years to figure the rest out."
"And here I thought I'd get to ship you with Lisia," May said, with a fake disappointed sigh. "I guess writing real-person fanfics of you guys will have to be a secret instead of something I can start stupid rumors with. Too bad."
He almost asked, but he was sure he didn't want to know. But being shipped with Lisia didn't sound completely awful.
After all, May was likely only teasing. He could have been shipped with a toilet.
The Fiery Path can be dangerous. Be careful, and take the cable car to reach Lavaridge Town or the summit.
That was what the sign said. How Brendan and May processed it was, Go through the Fiery Path. Past experiences have taught you that the strange group of people in red hoods won't move until you do, so you might as well not even try.
They hadn't bothered to ask the strange people in red hoods. But if there was anything they were used to, it was being herded by cosmic forces to go a certain way. They couldn't rent bicycles at Cycling Road, they had to take the long grassy path underneath. They couldn't just skip defeating the Team Aqua grunt and rescuing Peeko, the Devon Goods were stolen with her and they had to keep them out of Archie's hands for some reason Mr. Stone never bothered to explain.
So, they didn't even bother, just started the long, slow march through the Fiery Path.
They felt the danger before they even entered. Brendan, though it was hard to tell if it was to prove a point or because he could, poured some Fresh Water on the floor of the cave. It took about three seconds for the water to bubble.
"Should we risk our shoes melting to catch Pokémon?" he asked, and May pulled out her Pokenav.
"I do kind of want a Torkoal," she admitted, "but forget it. I'll just come back later and stick around the entrances."
"I wouldn't mind if you stayed," Brendan promised. "I like warm places. Let's just get out of here within the hour, Torkoal or not."
May pulled Pikachu's ball from its holder. "All we need to do is drag one out of hiding. It shouldn't take long."
Once May's brand-new Torkoal was safe in his ball, they hurried out of the Fiery Path as quickly as they could, knowing that they would be cooked if they stayed any longer than necessary. On the other side of the path, they met a few trainers, the battle finally triggering the evolution of May's Surskit.
Torkoal and Masquerain aside, there seemed to be absolutely nothing useful on this route.
"Hey, kids! Do either of you have a Secret Base?"
Nothing except the TM for Secret Power, which could build them a Secret Base when used off the battlefield, but even as Brendan put it away in his bag, he had the feeling that he'd never really use it.
"It's the polite thing to do," May said when he'd asked why they bothered.
With that little bit of distraction out of the way, they continued the walk to Fallarbor Town, only to stop once more at what was ahead.
"What the H?"
Brendan wasn't used to swearing, and that alone stopped him before he could start. May was completely speechless. The route ahead of them was covered, completely covered, in volcanic ash, and even more was raining down.
That wasn't even all of it. There were people out in this weird weather condition. There were Ninja Boys practicing their camouflage techniques by burying themselves in it. There was a girl with a parasol feeding Pokeblocks to her Numel. There were children playing in piles of volcanic ash.
"And I thought this stuff was dangerous to inhale," May said, reaching out and catching a few flakes.
"So did I." Brendan kicked the grass, sending another cloud of soot into the air. "But they're all fine. Maybe it's a magic volcano."
May thought it over. "Sinnoh does have legends about a Pokémon called Heatran. Their mythology called it a volcano god, or goddess, depending on the myth. Some even say there's two, one male and one female." She pointed to the sky. "Maybe Heatran knows people like to hang out here?"
"Even if Heatran is on our side, I don't want to anger it. Let's just get out of here as soon as we can, and not stop for anything."
They ran as if they were back in the Fiery Path, with even less concern about catching Pokémon.
Finally escaping to Fallarbor Town, they found the Pokémon Center immediately. They'd gotten into trouble with a Skarmory clan, but Adam and Pikachu had kept them at bay long enough for their trainers to make an escape.
"Is there going to be a Contest here in the next day or two?" May asked the nurse as her Pokémon were returned to her.
"Well, there is a Normal Rank Cleverness Contest," the nurse answered, by now used to answering questions much less related to her job than this. "Are you going to enter?"
Cleverness? May wasn't sure she had a Pokémon with more than one Clever move. "Not likely," she decided. "Maybe next time we pass through."
"Next time we see Lisia, anyway."
Brendan was completely oblivious to the fact that he'd name-dropped a celebrity until a swarm of Lisia fans swept up to them, asking questions.
"Are you in Contests, too?" one girl asked, getting a bit too close for Brendan to be comfortable.
"The girl is," a boy said, wisely keeping away from May. "These were the kids Lisia scouted back in Slateport City. I saw the Contest on TV."
"She is?" Another boy dared to take a step forward. "How many ribbons do you have? And could you get me Lisia's number?"
Brendan reached for a ball, and soon enough his Shroomish was sprinkling Stun Spore around in a circle. The eager Contest fans backed off immediately.
"I'm not getting anyone a date with Lisia," he said, almost dangerously. "And I can't convince her to scout any of you. I'm not even sure if we could get her autograph. Leave us alone."
The fans backed off, more out of fear that the Stun Spore would hit them than that they were listening. May watched them leave, then slapped her friend's shoulder.
"You didn't know for a fact they were fame seekers," she hissed. "They could just be pushy Contest fans, you know. Do you get people asking for your dad's autograph from you?"
"They know my dad can be found in the Petalburg Gym," Brendan answered at once. "I'm not sure how these things work. Better safe than sorry, right?"
"I've never thought of it like that." She didn't seem willing to think of it now, either. "Well, there's nothing for us here. We'll check out Meteor Falls and then head back to see if the people in the red hoods are gone."
"And if they aren't," Brendan gestured to his Shroomish, "we'll just make them move."
May didn't seem to mind this time. She just raised an imaginary glass. "Forget the rules," she said happily. "We have connections!"
Brendan reached up to bop her fist with his. She was finally getting it. "Hooray for going mad with power!"
Pokémon teams:
Brendan: Adam (male Combusken) Shroomish (male) Aron (female)
May: Jerry (male Marshtomp) Masquerain (female, evolution mentioned but not shown) Cosplay Pikachu (female) Torkoal (male)