The Johto Odyssey
A Pokémon Fanfic by Galbinus

Disclaimer: OMG LIKE I OWN POKÉMON?? No way.

A warning from 01 / 04 / 2007: Drew does not appear until the end of chapter four. If you have a problem with this, deal with it. Also, the first few chapters (think: until the end of chapter seven) focus mainly on laying the love triangle base; therefore, the Pokémon don't interact much until chapter eight, where you will see their personalities get fleshed out more. Adventure before Romance.

Oh, and there is a plot. It does not surface yet, though. . .

In any case, enjoy!

Chapter One: On the Ship

Unknown

"Let me go." A pair of silver eyes flashed in the darkness.

A chuckle. "Resistance is futile, son. Unless you accept my offer, you are not going anywhere." The subtle rustling of expensive cloth. "You should not have been so careless when you and your little band of Pokémon trespassed into my territory."

"I said. . . let me go."

Sanguine-amber eyes glinted belligerently. "Are you deaf, boy? I will not do so until you accept my offer. . ." There was a click, and something metallic shone under the ever-faint lights of the jail room. ". . . I have been patient enough with you. . . accept it, or face the consequences."

Silence.

"I. . ."

Ferry to Johto from Kanto—17:00; September 2, 2006

Maybelline Sapphire Maple stood at the edge of the ship on the starboard side, sighing as she waved at the shore with her younger brother.

"Wow, I can't believe we're leaving Ash." Sapphire eyes gazed at a thinning shoreline, upon which azure waves lapped gently at the edge and two miniscule figures on the beach waved energetically at the ship. A thin, pale pink pair of lips curved slightly. "And Brock. I wonder who's going to have to drag him away from pretty girls now."

A gloved hand ran through thick, straight, coffee-colored brown hair and then proceeded to wave happily back at the duo. As they faded from sight, a sigh released itself wistfully from the mouth of the girl Coordinator. A small boy wiped away shining tears from his olive-green eyes, in front of which a heavy-rimmed pair of glasses were perched lightly. His already messy azure hair appeared even messier after the two's departure from their friends.

"Oh, cheer up, Max; you'll be getting your beginning Pokémon. . . soon." The girl, a few heads taller than her little brother, smiled encouragingly – revealing rows upon rows of pearly-white teeth – before donning a red bandana. Both unfortunately and predictably from her somewhat clumsy nature, May

"In eleven months, you mean." Max, the boy, glanced somewhat angrily at his two hands, of which he stretched out before himself. "I just can't wait that long!" He seemed to be thinking back on something, and May instantly began wondering if he was perhaps recounting Pokémon he should have on his Team by now.

"Still, that's not very long, is it?" The older sister patted her little brother on his shoulder, then found an empty porch on the poop deck. "Eleven months. . . four years we've been traveling, and Ash and Brock are even older than us."

The nine-years-and-one-month-old boy pouted loudly. "But May," He moaned, "You're already fourteen, and Ash is seventeen. Brock's, like, twenty-two! I'll never get to be as old as you guys are!" He slammed his fist impatiently on the side of the ship. A pair of Wingull fluttered away, frightened by the boy. Max only scowled angrily.

"Now, Max." May patted her little brother's curled fist primly. "We had a talk about this, didn't we? Time passes the same for all of us – and soon, very soon, you'll officially become a Trainer, as if you aren't already!" She snorted, recounting all those times Max's Pokémon knowledge had helped out the group.

"Thanks." Max said half-heartedly, dismissively waving his left hand.

"Look, here they come." She gestured towards a herd of Pokémon a few meters away from themselves, but coming closer, somewhat reluctantly as a few Pokémon glanced lovingly back, over their shoulders—if they had any or one at all—at Kanto.

The tall, humanoid shape of a Blaze Pokémon strutted over to his Trainer's size, carrying an air of boredom not dissimilar to that a human teenager might possess. May patted her Blaziken encouragingly on the shoulder, then drew back immediately as the fire-typed Pokémon let its left wrist erupt in flames, clearly in an attempt to shoo his Trainer away. The brown-haired Coordinator did not approve of this very much, and wondered what happened to the small Torchic who once tried so valiantly to catch her attention when all of it was directed on training her Beautifly. Her time to dwell on this thought was cut short, however, when another one of her Pokémon squeaked loudly.

The Tiny Turtle Pokémon practically hurled himself at his Trainer, head, tail, and feet retracted inside his terracotta shell. May was startled, and even more so when her Squirtle began bawling his head off. She rubbed the water-typed Pokémon's shell affectionately, shooting Max death glares when he sniggered at her matronly and somehow comical behavior. The brown-haired Coordinator saw from the corners of her eyes her Blaziken snort in disgust, but she did not scowl, thinking this was merely because he was hungry or something like that. . . even though she would later find out that she was very, very wrong.

One Pokémon of May's that was hungry, and seemed to constantly be so, was her Munchlax. The Big Eater Pokémon's eyes, as usual, were closed—May had not seen them open yet. His stomach gave growls every five seconds or so, much to his Teammate's and Trainer's disdain, although his expression was perfectly relaxed and oddly serene.

The only female Pokémon in this group of Pokémon was May's Eevee, who did not seem to be bothered with the unfair gender ratio. Predictably, the small brown feline Pokémon was slowly licking her fur, smoothing out any rifts and tufts in her glimmering coat. The Coordinator was thankful for this—she was busy enough grooming her other Pokémon before each Contest. Rather contradictorily, her brief moment of ladylikeness did not reflect her usual mischievous nature.

"Err, all right everyone," May said softly after her Squirtle had stopped crying, so as to not tempt the Tiny Turtle Pokémon into any display of cries. "Did you have fun exploring the ship?" Her Pokémon answered with shakes of heads, all except for Munchlax, who seemed to have fallen asleep on his feet. "Well, er, I think you should go and, like, keep exploring the ship. You know, socialize with people, err, I meant, other Pokémon. See if they're Contest Pokémon too."

Her Pokémon sullenly agreed. Squirtle squealed and launched himself off of May's arms, skull bashing Eevee in the side. The Evolution Pokémon cringed, although thankfully the attack had merely been a playful gesture. Eevee somewhat reluctantly tagged along after Squirtle, who was squawking and gurgling joyfully, tugging at random Trainers' pant-cuffs. Munchlax seemed to wake up, and unhurriedly began following his two Teammates.

Blaziken chirped spontaneously and began heading in the opposite direction that his Teammates had went. May wondered why this was so, but did not pursue the matter. Instead, she settled herself with reorganizing her dandelion bag, while Max picked up a magazine entitled 'Trainers Today' and began flipping through the pages.

Ferry to Johto from Kanto—17:14; September 2, 2006

The Blaze Pokémon had wandered aimlessly around the ship for almost a quarter of an hour, occasionally bumping into other people's Pokémon. He chirped in annoyance whenever this occurred, and it merely took one intimidating stare to frighten the offending Pokémon to shuffle away quickly.

The Blaziken was completely bored. Every so often he would stop and take a good look around himself, looking for perhaps another Blaziken or some other Pokémon to challenge. All of the Trainers seemed highly protective of any Pokémon they had out, and so the fire-typed Pokémon was out of luck on this prospect.

Or was he? He had just got a cobalt glimmer, presumably that of a water-typed Pokémon's tail. His curiosity aroused, the Blaziken carefully approached the port side of the ship where he thought he had seen the shine.

A Milotic, her elongated figure coiled up on the deck, was sleeping quietly, her fan-shaped blue tail glistening in the twilight. The sun's rays gave her creamy fur a vermillion tinge, and for some reason Blaziken didn't know exactly what it was, the Blaze Pokémon found her oddly attractive. He crouched down, observing the snake-like Pokémon breath in and out, until she hiccupped in her sleep.

Reacting on instinct, Blaziken's wrists and ankles erupted in flames—due to how close he had been squatting next to the Tender Pokémon, his fire scorched her fine fur and instantly she was awake. The Blaze Pokémon hurried backwards, unsure of what to do next, although he forgot to stop his flames—consequentially the Milotic saw that he was the one who burned her and unhinged her mouth, an angry expression uncharacteristic on her normally tranquil, serpentine face.

Blaziken knew exactly what was coming, due to many water-typed attacks he had been forced to endure over his stay with his Coordinator, but his legs refused to move. A globule of blue water formed near the Tender Pokémon's mouth, enlarging rapidly. Soon, the sphere of water was the size of a basketball and the Milotic had hurled it with a sharp nod of her head at Blaziken.

The bird-like Pokémon was drenched from head to toe, quite literally. The flames on his wrists and ankles were extinguished effortlessly by the impeccable 'Water Pulse' attack, and despite the startling array of rude squawks that lingered at the tip of Blaziken's tongue, he could not help but feel in awe at the way the attack was executed. It was so fast, that even if he wanted to move, Blaziken did not know if he could.

Milotic, noting that the fire-typed Pokémon had chosen to remain stationary, began preparing another 'Water Pulse' to throw at Blaziken. The bird-like Pokémon, however, could not risk being on the receiving end of another water-typed attack—he dove, using all of his speed and strength in pushing himself to the ground, and managed to barely avoid being soaked by another attack.

He was angry now. Summoning all of his concentration, the Blaziken lit up his wrists and ankles once again, ignoring the pain that came of the effort it took to sustain the flames when his body was so wet. He rushed towards the Tender Pokémon, intending to teach it right with a violent 'Slash' attack, but was surprised when the Milotic slithered away with, well, surprising agility. He ended up splintering a portion of the wooden deck. Several humans gasped in astonishment at his 'wild' behavior, but the Blaziken didn't care—he had missed his target!

Face now burning, albeit not literally, with embarrassment, the Blaziken allowed the flames on his right ankle to cover his entire right leg. He rushed towards Milotic, and before the Tender Pokémon could react, had slammed with all of his force onto the water-typed Pokémon and then leapt back. The Milotic writhed in pain as the burn marks on the side of her tail multiplied.

She shot another 'Water Pulse' at the Blaziken, who leapt aside, although not in time. His legs were soaked with cold water, rendering any future possibilities of 'Blaze Kick's completely inexistent. The Milotic replenished her health with a fast 'Recover', and before Blaziken could pull himself to his feet, she had opened her mouth and shot another sphere of freezing water at him.

Very unexpectedly, someone had darted in front of Blaziken and taken the blow for him. Blaziken let out a chirp of surprise and straightened himself up, noticing that his 'savior' was a human garbed in a short-sleeved black jacket and three-quarters black pants. The most conspicuous thing about the Trainer, though, was his shock of silver hair that caused Blaziken to let out a chirp of recognition.

"Milotic, return," The Trainer said groggily, reaching for a Pokeball strapped on his bottle-green belt. The Tender Pokémon was sucked into the spherical device, disappearing in a glossy flash of red light.

So the Milotic was his Pokémon, eh, Blaziken thought silently to himself, shuffling his feet apprehensively as the Trainer wrung the bottom half of his jacket dry. Black hair, protruding underneath his white-cloth hat, clung to his neck, and as he turned around, Blaziken instantly noticed a green headband stretched across the boy's forehead.

To Blaziken's surprise, the black-haired Trainer, who appeared to be of mid-teenage, opened his mouth and began apologizing fervently. "I'm sorry, Milotic has never attacked another Pokémon so freely and unprovoked before; I am personally exceptionally shocked by her monstrous behavior, very unladylike for a Pokémon of her stature, but I'm sure that she just had a bad day or something." He paused for a short while. "Or perhaps the Ganlon Berries I put in her Pokeblocks were a bit overripe or something. It's hard to dart around, picking berries around the entire of Kanto. Anyways, I am digressing—the fault is entirely mine and I hope that this. . . er. . . unfortunate incident hasn't caused you much trouble."

After this, the black-haired teenager bowed deeply, and then pulled himself back to his full height, which was approximately Blaziken's. He was exceptionally tall for his age, although Blaziken had seen taller—but than again, the fire-typed Pokémon did not judge much on height. Instead, the Blaze Pokémon was now eying the Milotic's Pokeball with unease, as if she could burst out of her container and soak him again with another 'Water Pulse'.

To Blaziken's immense relief, his Coordinator had wound his way throughout the throng that had gathered and was now dissipating with the battle's end. May raised her eyebrows in puzzlement, as she could not see the black-haired Trainer's face, his back having been turned to him, but instead barged rudely in front of the teenager and demanded, "Hey, what are you doing?" without glancing at him. Her blue eyes raked Blaziken's dripping body, and with a grimace on her face, she returned him.

"Oh, uh, my Milotic attacked your Blaziken." The black-haired Trainer replied truthfully, with a note of uncertainty. Blaziken could hear the conversation inside of his Pokeball and see his Trainer move through the semi-transparent hood of the Pokeball, and the expression on her face certainly was not happy.

"You what?" May turned around to face the black-haired Trainer. Her jaw dropped open in shock. "Wait. . . Brendan? Brendan Birch?"

"That would be me." Brendan said proudly, dipping his head politely. Then his sanguine eyes met May's. "Wait. . . May? May Maple?" His jaw, too, dropped; his expression looked odd on his pale, angular face.

"Oh my god! I can't. . . it's been so long. . . wow. . ." May stammered, her tone of voice clearly disbelief.

"Yeah. . . wow. . . five years. . ." Brendan trailed off. Blaziken could almost hear his mind racing.

"Yeah. . ." May said dully, her eyes glazing over with reminiscence and something else Blaziken hadn't quite seen before.

A long silence ensued. Blaziken waited impatiently for his fur to dry out.

"So, uh, May," Brendan began, seeming unsure, but continued, "Where have you, uh, been all these years?"

"Oh, me? I. . . er. . . after you left for your Pokémon journey, there was still several months to kill before I left, so I went to a tailor and had him make more copies of this outfit you designed for me," May replied, gesturing towards her clothes. Brendan nodded. "And, well, after that, this guy called Ash broke my bicycle, y'know, the fold-up one your dad brought for us—I hope you still have yours, mine is beyond repair—when he was in Mauville?"—Brendan nodded—"and then I decided to go with him on my Pokémon journey."

"Wait, you what?" Brendan asked, a tone of slight disbelief in his voice.

"I went with Ash on his Pokémon journey. . . he was about thirteen or fourteen at the time, I think. Well, he could've been twelve. He was kind of short."

"You went with a complete, older stranger on your Pokémon journey." Brendan's voice was almost sarcastic.

"Uh, yeah. Then we met up with Ash's friend and ex-gym leader, Brock, who, when I met him, was about twenty at the time." May stated, matter-of-factly, looking thoroughly confused.

"And then you met up with an even older stranger."

"Yeah. . .what's wrong with that?"

"May, May, May." Brendan said exasperatingly, slapping his left hand on his forehead. "Have you completely forgotten what your mother taught you about strangers?"
"Why, what did she say?"

"Oh. . . my. . . Arceus. . ."

"Hmm. It doesn't seem very like my mother to say 'Oh my Arceus'. I mean, I don't think she's ever been to Sinnoh," May stated astutely, contemplatively scratching her chin. Both Blaziken and Brendan could only ogle her pitifully. "Well, mom and dad met Ash before I went with him on his Pokémon journey of course, and they said he looked okay, so they let me go with him."

"They let you go? Your parents?"

"Yeah." May paused, a frown on her face. "So what?"

"May, you're hopeless." An incredulous expression was on Brendan's face, and Blaziken had to agree with him. "And so are your parents."

"Hey!" The brown-haired Coordinator retaliated, puffing up indignantly.

"It's. . . nothing. At least you're okay." Brendan hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "They. . . didn't. . . uh. . . hurt you, did they?"

"What? No, no!" May exclaimed. "They're really good! Brock's the best cook ever, I think you might have some competition in that area; and Ash is a really great teacher, he taught me bunches of stuff about Pokémon!"

"And there was me, thinking you'd never touch a Pokémon in your life," Brendan said dryly.

"Well, I wasn't a very good Trainer at first, I'll admit, but then I decided I wanted to become a Coordinator, so I did!" May said happily. "I caught myself a Wurmple, and then it evolved, and then it evolved again, so I could attend the Contest in Slateport!"

"Wow, I never thought—I mean, of all the people I knew. . ." Brendan sighed. "Time sure does change people. So did you win the Contest?"

"No." May answered, an angry scowl on her face. "Drew beat me."

A tone of suspicion crawled into Brendan's voice, although Blaziken was ready to bet his bottom that May had not noticed. "Who's this Drew?"

"Oh, he's my rival." May replied vaguely. Blaziken began feeling that she was concealing something from Brendan, and he was pretty sure the black-haired Trainer felt that too.

"Just your rival?" Brendan asked. The suspicion in his voice was quite apparent, and it was a wonder how May hadn't detected it.

"Yeah." May answered, then shrugged and let the thought pass. "So anyways, after I lost that, I decided to train my Pokémon even more valiantly for the Contests. This crazy, purple-haired, gender-confused man kept trying to drag me down, though,"—Brendan wore an expression of amusement and disturbance—"but I managed to scrape five ribbons, and I could attend the Hoenn Grand Festival!"

"You—attend the Grand Festival? Wow."

"Yeah, I know, huh? I didn't win, though." May resumed a sad expression.

Brendan let out a bark of laughter. "It's nearly impossible for someone to win such a large and prestigious tournament only with a year or two of Training."

"Yeah, I guess."

"So. . . where did you go after that?" Brendan asked.

"I went to Kanto, still with Ash, and then I defeated all the Contests there and entered the Grand Festival. Surprisingly, I managed to beat Drew,"—Brendan looked surprised, but nodded encouragingly—"but then I lost to Drew's rival, Soledad. And now I've decided I want to go to Johto and enter the Festival there."

"Wow." Was all Brendan could say.

May nodded slowly, as if reeling in from shock at her own accomplishments, but then asked, remembering her manners, "So what about you?"

"Me? Well, I went on my Pokémon journey in Hoenn, o'course, and caught a whole lot of Pokémon for my dad and for my Pokedex. After I defeated all the gyms—it was a breeze, 'cept for that last one, Wallace is dang hard to beat."

"Wallace?" May asked, looking puzzled. "I thought the gym leader of Sootopolis was Juan."

"Yes, but that was after Wallace became the Champion." Brendan explained. May nodded. "Anyways, I was so impressed by Wallace that I decided I wanted to train under him."

"What?"

"I begged Wallace to become my tutor."

May appeared suddenly more interested. "Did he say yes?"

"Not at first. I had just lost to him, you know. I kept on challenging him to another battle that he had to say yes—and this was in the middle of the street. Well, I managed to win his Luvdisc with my Shiftry, and then he handed me the Rain Badge and accepted my offer."

"Wow. The Champion." May said, sounding amazed. "Did you learn much under him?"

"Loads. Without him, I wouldn't be half of what I am now—not to mention, I wouldn't have managed to defeat both Sinnoh and Kanto's gyms."

"You did? That's very,"—May stopped, searching for the correct adjective—"cool!"

"It is, huh? But I was on a tight schedule, what with catching all the Pokémon and whatnot. So I didn't have time to enter the Leagues. On the bright side, though, I'm very close to completing my National Pokedex."

"Good for you!" May beamed, looking happy for her friend.

"I'm just missing Johto's gyms and Pokémon in my 'Dex, so that's why I decided to take this ferry and go there. And, well, that's it for me." Brendan finished. A silence followed in which both friends did not quite know what to say, and Blaziken began feeling a little bit hungry. "So, uh, where's Max? Did he follow you on your Pokémon journey?"

"Yeah." May glared in annoyance. "After another year of this torture, though, he'll finally be able to start his own Pokémon journey."

"I wonder which Pokémon he's going to get. Surely a Hoenn starter?"

"Hmm. Most likely Treeko." May said, looking disapproving. "Personally, I don't see why he likes them. They're icky."

"Agreed." Brendan laughed.

"Hey, what other Pokémon besides your Milotic do you have?" May asked, deliberately casually.

"You mean, right now, on my Team?"

"Yeah."

"Er, let's see. . . huh. . . I have my Swampert, Milotic, Aggron, Shiftry, Gallade, and Dragonite. . . why?"

"Oh, just wondering." May replied idly.

"What about you?" Brendan asked, looking genuinely curious.

"Blaziken," May said, face deadpan. "Eevee, Munchlax, and Squirtle."

"Only four?"

"Well, I have more than that, but I left it at Professor Oak's."

Brendan nodded slowly. He opened his mouth, as if about to ask another question, but was rudely interrupted by a blob of green and brown that rammed, head-first, into May's side. Hurriedly, he helped the brown-haired Coordinator up, and went to investigate the motion blur, only to notice that it was Max, who was now eying Brendan with familiarity.

"Hey, you're Brendan, right?" Max asked tentatively. He had been, after all, only five years old the last time they had met.

"Yeah." Brendan answered, while May glowered at her little brother for his rudeness. "You must be Max." He extended a gloved hand to the younger boy, who shook it after a few seconds of consideration.

"What are you doing here?" Max asked apprehensively. May looked furious at her brother's indifference, and Blaziken hoped that she would not mallet her brother again.

"I'm going to Johto." Brendan replied dryly. Max merely tilted his head in answer, looking at Brendan with a calculating gaze. May excused her brother by shoving him out of the way and then pounding him on the head in what appeared to be a very powerful manner with her bare hands.

"So, uh, Brendan, want to join us in the Pokémon Center?" May asked, gesturing towards the red-roofed building in the center of the ferry. Brendan answered with a smile and Blaziken could feel his Pokeball shifting up and down in May's dandelion-colored bag as she made her way through the translucent sliding cherry doors.

The three found their seats on cushiony swiveling chairs. May bounced down happily, her bangs swaying slightly. Max, rubbing the growing bump on the top of his head, murmured something under his breath that, luckily for him, escaped May's notice but earned a frown from Brendan, who also seated himself. Most unladylike, May's stomach began growling.

"I see you're hungry." Brendan stated. May gave him a sheepish grin, while the black-haired Trainer fished around in his single-strapped emerald backpack for. . . well. . . something. A few seconds later, he had pulled out a plastic-wrapped sandwich and handed it to May, who beamed at him and accepted it.

Pulling off the wrap, the brown-haired Coordinator took a large bite out of the sandwich that accounted for half of it. Max looked at her in disgust while Brendan looked as if he were trying very hard to suppress laughter, and fortunately for him he was successful in this venture.

After five seconds, May had finished with the sandwich and looked at Brendan as if expecting another one. Brendan shrugged, as if to say, 'No more.' Max sniggered at the astonished and offended expression that overcame his sister's face. The azure-haired boy then opened his mouth, as if about to ask a question, but at that precise moment, two Trainers strode in through the sliding doors, bickering rather loudly.

"I'm telling you, Marina, we should go to New Bark Town first." A boy, appearing to be around fifteen years of age, said pleadingly. On his head he was wearing an informal yellow baseball cap. Black hair jutted out of an underneath his hair, and he was wearing a red sweatshirt as well as yellow shorts. He readjusted his two backpack straps. "I need to get some money."

"From who?" A higher, far more feminine voice asked sharply. A swimmer's cap covered the girl's head, and two strands of bright cerulean hair stuck out in pigtails from underneath this hat. White sleeves rustled as the girl reached for a Pokeball strapped on the belt on her jeans, presumably to pass them to the Nurse Joy behind the counter.

"Ah, from, ah, my mom." The boy answered, also reaching for a Pokeball, although he was shifting around in his backpack. Blaziken watched the entire scenario from underneath his own container. He noticed vaguely that May, Max, and Brendan all had curious expressions on their faces.

"Your mom? Honestly, Jimmy, are you that much of a cheapskate?" Marina asked, passing her Pokeball over to the Nurse Joy, who smiled and accepted it. The black-haired boy too passed his Pokeball over, and the nurse laid both Pokeballs on the healing bed.

"No, she keeps some of my money at home." Jimmy answered, raising an eyebrow in bemusement. The blue-haired girl squinted one eye at him before accepting her Pokeball after Nurse Joy had healed it; Jimmy did the same.

"Well, it is true that the Pokémon League hasn't set up a decent banking system yet." Marina said lightly as she tucked her Pokeball back on her jeans. Max, unable to restrain himself, burst off of his seat and grabbed the blue-haired Trainer's hand, much to both friends' surprise. Blaziken's throat felt rather dry.

"Finally! I find someone else who understands what horribly dry economical situation the four Pokémon Regions are lying in!" Max cried, seeming very moved. His sister seemed too shocked to do anything, and Brendan simply looked confused. Jimmy and Marina exchanged bewildered looks.

"Uh. . . who are you?" Marina asked slowly, her eyebrow rising higher.

"Max Maple." Max answered, shaking Marina's hand. May seemed to have gotten over her initial surprise, and now looked positively murderous. "And you are?"

"Um. . . Marina Clearwater." Marina answered hesitatingly, and then added, "I train Water Pokémon, mainly, and I want to win the Johto Grand Festival." At these words, Blaziken noticed his Coordinator's ears prick up.

"And I'm Jimmy." Jimmy inserted. A short pause, then, "And I want to win the Johto League." Brendan's pale mouth seemed to twitch with interest.

"Marina and Jimmy, huh?" Max asked. The two gave nods of confirmation. "I think I've heard of you somewhere before. . ."

"Well, we're moderately famous," Marina admitted shyly. Jimmy snorted, as if to say 'Of course!'. "I do dance routines with my Pokémon, and Jimmy here has been raising money for the kids in New Bark Town."

"Oh yeah, I think I've heard of you!" Max exclaimed, glasses shining with recognition. May could not stand her brother continuously make a fool of himself—she jumped off her seat and pulled him back before he could say anything. Marina and Jimmy watched silently, seeming to not know what to say.

"It's very nice to meet you two," May said quickly, most probably directed towards Marina and Jimmy, since her gaze was directed at her own knees. "I'm, er, I'm May."

"May, huh? Your brother is sure. . . ah. . ." Jimmy trailed off.

"I know." May answered with a sigh while Max squirmed in her vice-like grip. "I've had to deal with him for nine years."

Blaziken then decided to stop eavesdropping on the conversation, and quietly fell asleep.

Ferry to Johto from Kanto—18:30; September 2, 2006

Brendan Ruby Birch lay on his small bed in the ferry, thinking over the events that had occurred over the past twenty-four hours. He had defeated two Trainers before stepping on the ferry—both double battles, but the two fights had been unremarkable and so he brushed away the memory.

Then he had eaten a simple lunch consisting of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches he had whipped up for himself. Again, this thought was unremarkable, and it did not take so long to forget it.

But then he had met May again, and the mere memory of the whole encounter was enough for him to pore over for hours. He would have been perfectly content doing so, but since May was eating dinner in the opposite room, he did not feel much need to dissect each of May's words.

May. It had been so very long since they last had met, so long, in fact, that Brendan had almost forgotten about her. He recalled how angry she had been when he first left for his own Hoenn Pokémon Journey—she had expected him to wait for her to turn of age before they both departed. In all sincerity, this was what Brendan had really, truly wanted, but his father would hear none of it.

Sometimes Brendan wished that his father would be as laid-back to him as he did with other people he issued Pokedexes. He was pretty sure most people would be surprised if they discovered just how strictly Robert Birch ran his household. May was one of them. Upon reflection, he thought the only person he had confessed in his laments about how authoritarian his father was was probably Wally Winter.

He recalled the day Wally declared that he wanted to be a Pokémon Breeder and settled himself with volunteering at the Daycare—handy since his uncle lived so closely. Wally had been so close to his old dream of the Pokémon League, too, it was a real pity. If only his dreadful asthma hadn't attacked at the last second. . . Brendan shook his head.

But meeting May again. . . wow. She had changed so much from the girly, childish, immature girl he had known when they were small. In fact, their first meeting was fresh in his mind.

Flashback

"Father, who's that coming?" A four-year-old Brendan Birch asked, tugging on his father's pants sleeves, since he was too short to tug anywhere else. His crimson gaze was directed through his room's window, towards the opposite house which was identical to his own in every aspect. A red moving truck was just unloading, and Machokes were carefully maneuvering lots of boxes.

"They're our new neighbors." Professor Birch answered studiously, straightening his tie in the mirror. His waistline was just beginning to bulge then.

"Wow!" Brendan exclaimed. For four years he had lived in Littleroot in solitude, and it was hopelessly dull. Only a few months ago had Wally Winter moved to Petalburg, and the golden-green-haired boy could only visit Brendan once every other week, due to his poor health condition—and god knows that his father wouldn't let him go anywhere, except to meet Pokémon.

"You know, Brendan, our neighbors have a child about your age." Brendan's father said mysteriously.

"Wow, really?" Brendan gasped. This was even rarer.

"Yup, and won't you know it—the kid's father is the new Petalburg Gym Leader!"

"Wow! That's so cool! The kid of a gym leader!" Brendan practically shouted. Surely, whoever this kid was, he would know lots about Pokémon, perhaps even more than Brendan himself! Excitement welling inside of himself, Brendan dashed out of his room, much to his father's discontent, and ran outside of his own room, just to witness a brown-haired girl clad in a disgustingly plain white, sleeveless shirt and a denim skirt clamber out of the moving truck.

Her piercing sapphire gaze met his sanguine, and her eyes narrowed. "Who are you?" She asked in a suspicious voice. Brendan thought her voice was very beautiful, like music to his ears, although of course he did not say this. Instead, he looked around, as if expecting someone else to exit from the moving truck.

"Hey, I asked you a question." The brown-haired girl said poutingly.

"Oh, hello, I'm Brendan Birch! I'm your new neighbor! Could you be the new gym leader's kid?" Brendan asked excitably.

"Oh, hi! I'm May Maple, and yeah, I'm the gym leader's kid." May answered, sticking out her hand in a handshake.

Brendan firmly grasped May's hand, marveling at how soft it was, compared to his own, rough hands at least. He immediately felt embarrassed of the many calluses on his right hand. "I thought you'd be a boy." Brendan stated, withdrawing his hand. May's eyes twinkled in defiance.

"So, just 'cause I'm a little girl doesn't mean I can't be a gym leader's kid!" May replied, sticking out her tongue playfully.

"But. . . ah, never mind." Brendan said, sticking out his own tongue. "But you certainly have a Pokémon?" Saying this, he sent out his Mudkip, who gurgled happily and immediately soaked May's face with a perfectly-aimed 'Water Gun' attack.

"Actually, no." May answered, as water dripped down her brown hair and onto her bare shoulders.

"Oh, really?" Brendan asked curiously, pulling out a red handkerchief from his pocket. "Here, wipe your face with this." He handed her the handkerchief.

"Thanks, Brendan." May said gratefully, and proceeded to wipe her face with the red silk napkin. After she had finished, she made a gesture to return it to him.

"Nah, you keep it. You look like you'd need it more than I do, anyways." Brendan said, shaking his head and returning his Mudkip before he could do further damage.

"Thanks again, Brendan!" May beamed, tucking the handkerchief in her pocket. "We're gonna be best friends! The very best!"

"Yeah!" Brendan agreed happily. He noted how closely her eyes resembled sapphires.

End Flashback

Brendan decided it was a little ironic how they would soon be separated six years later, only to be thrust onto the exact same ferry five years after that. But. . . cold realization began frothing inside the pit of his stomach. Wouldn't they just be torn away again? The thought was troubling. He had assumed, up to this point, that they would be traveling together, but now. . . now he wasn't so sure.

He hardened his resolve to ask May if they could travel together as soon as he could. This was mainly for the sake that they would not be separated again, but also for the sake of another, peculiar feeling that seemed to be blooming inside of himself, the likes of which he had never felt before.

Author's Notes:

First chapter done. Phew. Now, could you please press that attractive little lavender-blue square button on the bottom-left corner of the screen that reads 'Go' and enter a few words and then (gasp) submit a review. . .? It won't kill you, I promise.

Edit as of 12 / 12 / 2007: Edited some stuff to make it flow easier. Nothing too major, though. Also changed the first A/N because I thought it was misleading the audience. Entered an excerpt. Lord, my writing sucks.