It was another pleasant day in the Hoenn region as a boy with a peculiar white hat walked out of the Lavaridge Gym, having defeated Flannery with ease thanks to the combined efforts of his Marshtomp and Swellow.

Four down, four to go, Brendan thought to himself as he began to walk towards the Pokemon Center. Before he could make it there, however, his train of thought was interrupted by a certain young brunette walking out of the herbal shop near the gym. A smile crept onto the boy's face as the brunette walked towards him, an incredulous look plastered onto her own face.

"Brendan! You're alright!" May exclaimed, catching Brendan in a tight hug, so tight in fact that he found it rather hard to breathe.

"May… Kinda crushing me, here.."

"O-Oh! S-Sorry, Brendan.."

With that, the young brunette somewhat reluctantly let go of her friend and began to explain her antics.

"I'm sorry Brendan, it's just… The last time we saw each other was at Meteor Falls with Professor Cosmo and the whole Team Whatsit fiasco… And then I heard about the clash as Mt. Chimney and I was so worried for your safety.."

She paused, looking Brendan in the eye for a second before looking away, her face now fifty shades of red.

"But looking at you now.. I see that you're more than capable of taking care of yourself. You really are something else, Brendan… I-I mean, you and your team."

May looked at her friend again, this time closely studying his facial expression. He had been silent for quite some time, but a smile of understanding soon made its way onto his face. Seeing this made May feel much better, though it did nothing to remove the redness from her face.

"Thank you, May. That really means a lot, especially coming from you." Brendan said, his face now taking on a similar color to May's.

Is he… blushing?

"O-Oh! I almost forgot." May uttered, breaking the silence caused by her own disbelief. She handed Brendan the Go-Goggles, which would make desert exploration a possibility for him now.

"Oh, sweet! Thanks a ton, May. You're the sweetest." And with that, the boy leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek.

At this point, May's knees nearly turned to jelly and so she decided to take her leave before she made herself look like a total idiot in front of this boy she was head over heels for.

"Weeeeeell, it's been fun chatting but I should really be heading on over to your dad's gym in Petalburg City. Be seeing you, Brendan!" May exclaimed, hopping on her bike and leaving in a hurry.

"Yeah, later… May." Brendan watched her ride away on her bike with a smile on his face, satisfied with today's events. Suddenly, Marshtomp came out of its Poke Ball and began to tease its owner.

"Tomp, marsh marsh!"

"I do not!"

"Marsh.." Marshtomp muttered in a skeptical tone of voice, raising an eyebrow (?) at Brendan, whose face had still not lost its redness.

"Alright, maybe a little…" Brendan said, recalling his starter Pokemon back into its ball and making his way to the Pokemon Center, a smile still etched into his face.