Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. If anyone could tell me: do I need to say this on each chapter?

"What differentiates between wild and untrained Pokemon and Pokemon that are trained, loved and taken care of, is the bond between them and their trainer. Putting level aside, It has been systematically proven that Pokemon that are taken care with love and have a stronger bond with their trainer are far stronger than those that don't have trainers or are not loved by them, the affects could be observed in cases such as the Pokemon being able to endure attacks better, follow the commands of their trainers quicker or perform a move more effectively. In the Kalos region, this phenomenon is known as Pokemon-Amie" – from Professor Oak's recently published research paper, Mysteries of the Bonds between Trainer and Pokemon.

Chapter 2: He is a Pokémon Trainer

May Maple, a fourteen year old Pokémon Coordinator was en route to Len Town, where in a months' time she will compete in Len's Town Pokémon Contest and obtain her final ribbon which will allow her to enter the Grand Festival. She now has four ribbons, with her most recent ribbon from Azalea Town.

Her journey to obtain her fourth ribbon was one of the most bizarre experiences she has had so far. Nothing too flashy like having to fight in epic battles against her rival coordinators or discover some mystery that only she was able to solve. It wasn't a thriller nor was what happened to her that mind boggling like how her encounters were with villainous teams like Team Rocket or Team Magma and Team Aqua.

What was so bizarre was who she encountered along the way, and the drama and spin-offs that was brought along with it. It was hopeless to think that her life could be anything but normal since she stopped traveling with Ash and Brock and went their separate ways. Clearly, thinking that the reason that amazing, mysterious, miraculous and jaw-dropping events only happen when you travel with Ash was a mistake on her part. She should have foreseen that since she was the 'Princess of Hoenn', eldest daughter of a Gym Leader who is reputed to be one of the toughest in the region, and aspiring Top Coordinator, she was bound to invite trouble, adventure and thrill in her journeys.

The 'thrill' in her journey came in the form of a new companion she met almost just recently. It hasn't even been more than a week since their meeting and so much has happened.

This new companion, this 'thrill' in her journey, this boy to be more exact, was named Brendan Birch, and that's about how much May could actually confirm to herself was the one thing that wasn't a mystery to her.

As May walked through the country side of Azalea town, heading to its northern exit that was bordering Ilex Forest so that she could reach her next destination, Len Town, she couldn't stop glancing at the corner of her eyes. A few paces behind her on her right, was the boy that was even now still bugging her head. The boy wore a black fleece suit with red outlines, a black, red and white knit cap. Just like May, he also had with him a simple yellow sling bag where he stuffed most of the things he bought at the PokeMart. He was taller than May by a few centimetres. May never was able to see what color was the boy's hair was since he never took his knit cap off while in front of her, but from his eyebrows and the back part of his head that wasn't covered by his cap, his hair was black in color with a tint of light brown. He seemed like a normal average teenager just like May if one was to look from a distance, but that's before they met him to face, which they won't actually be able to inspect that thorough thou, due to the fact that Brendan seems to always wear a pair of shades that completely blocks the color of his eyes regardless whether they were indoors or outdoors, sunny or cloudy, by Arceus, May would even bet that even at night Brendan wouldn't take off his shades. It gave off this aura of mystery that has drawn May towards Brendan, and to date is something May is adamant to solve.

"Ummm….May?" the boy said. May almost stumbled from her momentarily delusion but was able to regain composure, she had to get off the red that was building up on her face, it wouldn't look good if Brendan caught her stalking and deluding herself on Brendan's mysterious background when he was only a step away.

"Ummm…..Ummmm, ye-yeah, what's the matter Brendan?" getting her composure right, she faced Brendan. It wasn't often that Brendan was the one to start the conversation, if she remembered right, she never could recall Brendan ever starting a conversation; it was always May that had to start something, and that's what makes him so mysterious.

"If it's ok with you, could we make a slight detour before we exit Azalea town?" May quirked up at the request. This was a first from Brendan.

A slight detour?

"You see, May. There's somebody that I made a promise to meet if I ever visit Azalea town, so since we are already here, I was wondering if we could go and meet this friend of mine first before we leave," Brendan continued, though May didn't seem to be paying much attention, something was bugging her mind and it was ordering her to act.

That's when May's brain sprang a brilliant idea.

'This is excellent! An opportunity to solve the mystery of Brendan Birch! Whoever Brendan will be meeting must be really important to him if he had to speak up about it. I'll use this opportunity to interrogate whoever this person is and ask him about Brendan, thus solving the mystery once and for all'

May grinned from ear to ear with the realization that has just dawned over her.

"Of course! Of course we can Brendan! It's not like we are in any rush, are we? Come now then…he…he," May pushed Brendan forward to lead the way, she couldn't contain the excitement on being able to solve the mystery behind her friend, and in such a short time too, gosh she's being good with this detective business, maybe she should consider detective work while being a Top Coordinator.

"O-O-Okay," Brendan replied, he was a little bit startled with the sudden shift of attitude May had from silent to excitement with his sudden request.

As Brendan lead the way into the neighborhood of Azalea town where many of the folks lived, May spoke up.

"So….. Who are we actually meeting, Brendan?" May asked, she was curious of whoever this person was that Brendan deemed as important. A few ideas started running through May's mind, could it be a close friend? A childhood friend that moved from Hoenn to Johto? That often happened since the working opportunity was higher in Johto than in Hoenn thanks to all of the urbanization. But who could it be that Brendan would deem so important to make a promise to? Maybe May was just overthinking it. But the thrill to solve the mystery of Brendan was just too exciting to pass up that she couldn't stop herself from overthinking.

'Promise? To who? Who would you make promises to?'

May's face went redder as her thoughts went wild.

'No, it can't be, right? He wasn't talking about that type of 'promise' right? Get a grip of yourself May, he's too young to even be considering that…Is….Is he? …. Is he really 'that' young? He never told me how old he was. He seemed as old as Ash. For all I know he could already be eighteen! Is that why he wanted to make the detour and come out of his shell to speak up? Because it was 'that' important?'

"The person we're meeting….. His name is Kurt, he's someone famous in Johto; I heard he lived here in Azalea town with his granddaughter who is a few years younger than you and me …." Brendan said, but May was clearly in her own delusion now.

'I knew it! Brendan did make a promise to this Kurt-guy to propose to her granddaughter! I can't believe Brendan was into such things at such a young age! But then, what will happen to me? Does that mean that I won't be able to travel with Brendan because of his promise? Or…Or….Or… Does it mean because he 'had' to travel with me that now he would have to break his promise? But then, that would mean…. Brendan….. He….. Me?'

May cringed at the realization, this can't be true can it? It was too early and she hardly had time to get to know Brendan more, he couldn't, can he? He couldn't be thinking May 'that' way could he? But then again, since she was the Princess of Hoenn, it wasn't uncommon that a few of her fans suddenly had a crush on her. At some intervals she would get the occasional love letters from her admirers, but it ended there, in this situation however how was May supposed to respond? Especially when Brendan was going to sacrifice so much for her sake. The thought was too much to bear that if anyone were to take her temperature now, she must be at boiling point due to the sheer pressure.

"…During the early days before the creation of pokeball factories, people used to make pokeballs by using apricorns, they were custom hand-made, so it was bad for mass production, but the quality was top-notch. Kurt is one of the few people who are still well verse in making this type of pokeball….." Brendan continued explaining to May, not realizing her current condition.

'But what should I say to him? Should I say no? It would be very cruel if I did say no, especially with how much effort Brendan is putting, but…..it's not like I could actually say yes, I'm still fourteen for heaven's sake! What should I do? What should I do?!'

"…..I promised Kurt that if I ever came by Azalea town…"

'This was bad, this was very bad….. What should I do?! What should I do?!'

"…..I'll stop by his place and pick up a new type of pokeball that he was researching on and hold on to it for safe keeping," May's mind went blank at the last part that Brendan said.

All color in her face was lost as the realization suddenly kicked in.

"S-s-so the reason you wanted to make a detour was just to meet up with this Kurt-guy a-a-and pick up a POKEBALL?!" May asked, panting while trying to reaffirm herself.

"Well, yeah, Kurt was a good friend of my dad since he was one of the creators of the digital pokeballs we have right now," Brendan said. This made May's heart slowed a pace as she came to grips with the reality that was presented to her.

"You're ok with this right May? I could come to his place at another time if you don't feel like it?" worried Brendan.

"No-no-no…. it's fine, it might just be the whole commotion after the contest, let's go Brendan!" May said, trying to reassure him of her condition. Gosh, she really had to stop overthinking on these things, or else she'll just end up with a heart attack.

"Ok then, follow me," Brendan said, a smile was written on his face seeing that May was in fine condition. This caused May to blush a tint of red seeing that cute smile from the boy wearing the black shades.

"…..Brendan…." May whispered softly to herself, following Brendan's pursuit.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

After passing through a few houses, the duo reached a traditionally built house at the far end of the neighborhood, close to the borders of the Ilex Forest. May couldn't help but notice all the slowpoke signs that were positioned on each junction. Were there slowpoke crossing the road?

"This town holds a deep fascination for slowpokes and its evolutionary line because it was said that slowpoke brought down rain during the drought seasons," Brendan explained when May inquired him about it.

"The town's folk has a strong bond with the slowpokes around this area, there's even a cave and habitat exclusively made for them, so if you see any wandering slowpoke, it may be a good idea to not catch them, you might anger the towns folk"

"People could get angry if you hurt a slowpoke here?" May asked, amazed that anyone for that matter could get radical over such a boring Pokémon in her eyes. She tried thinking things in a different light.

"Yep, in some cases, newcomers end up in prison because they accidentally stepped on a slowpoke," Brendan said.

'well, I guess since the slowpoke are the ones that helped bring down rain, which is very important for these people, then even a boring Pokémon could be loved'

In front of the house of whom May assumes belongs to Kurt, Brendan pressed the bell on the front gate signaling their arrival.

"Coming… coming…." The voice of a young girl could be heard, along with rushed footsteps on wooden floors. The door to the traditionally – built house opened up revealing a young girl, this person, May assumed was the granddaughter of Kurt.

"Hello there, can I help you?" the young girl said. Her voice aired some form of authority behind it as if she was used to giving orders to other people; that along with the cute sound any nine-year-old girl would make, it sounded almost hilarious. She came skipping on the pavement towards the front gate where May and Brendan was.

"Umm, yes, Hello there," Brendan spoke up, his voice trying to be as friendly as possible.

"My names Brendan Birch, and this is my friend May Maple," he said while pointing towards May.

"We're friends of Kurt's, he asked me to come over if I passed by Azalea town, is he here?"

"Brendan…Birch?" the young girl stared intently at Brendan as if trying to look at his face beyond those shades. Then she beamed up at a realization.

"ahhh, yes! You must be the son of Professor Birch from the Hoenn region! Now I remember! You're the guy who always make orders for the custom-made pokeballs!" the girl gave a cute smile at this.

'Custom-made pokeballs? Why would Brendan ever need someone to make him custom pokeballs? Why did anyone for that matter needed custom-made pokeballs if the regular pokeballs are already good enough?'

"Come on in, grandpa's been expecting you for quite some time after he got a call from Professor Birch that you would be coming to Johto," she started unlocking the gate, allowing for May and Brendan to come in.

"My names Maisy by the way, nice to meet you all"

"Nice to meet you too Maisy," Brendan said flashing his own smile to the young girl.

"Yep, nice to meet you Maisy," May said.

"Grandpa's in his study right now"

"Grandpa! Brendan's here!" Maisy shouted once they entered the house. No response came.

"He brought his girlfriend along!" at this both May and Brendan stumbled at the words Maisy said. May felt like her face was burning hot red at the exclamation made by the young girl. Brendan's face grew a tint of red as he tried steadying himself after that blunder. For a moment that calm and collective persona that Brendan had was shattered.

"Wa-wa-wait! We're not like that! I'm not his girlfriend! We've just met two days ago!" May tried to clarify, her voice clearly in panic.

"Huh, really?" Maisy said, looking a bit confused.

"Yep, really," May said.

"Before this week I didn't even know this guy existed," May pointed out to Brendan, who was keeping silent during the whole banter between the two girls.

"Opppps, my bad. Sorry 'bout that, but you two do seem like a couple when I saw the both of you. The way Brendan was being a gentleman when he helped keep the door open for you when you came in or when he helped introduce you. I read that guys only do that to their girlfriends or wives"

"Believe me, we've only met not two days ago," May continued.

"Well it could have been love at first sight!" Maisy said excitingly.

'Love at first sight?!'

May with her worried expression tried looking over to Brendan who was silent throughout the entire feud, his hands crossed over his chest and he was smiling in amusement, the fact that she couldn't see his eyes just made things more uneasy for her.

'What's he smiling about? He doesn't actually like the idea does he?'

"What's all this ruckus, Maisy?" the voice of a grumpy old man was heard from upstairs.

"Brendan's here grandpa! And he brought his girlfriend along!" Maisy shouted.

"He's not my boyfriend Maisy!"

May saw an old man came down from the stairs. His face was one of stern and serious-looking. He seemed shorter than Brendan and her. He looked like he hadn't laugh for as long as he lived. His grumpy expression didn't put May at ease. Hopefully he's better than how he looks.

"Did I hear right? Brenda's here?" The old man spoke up, his voice was also one of grumpiness, but there was a gentler grandfather sound to it.

"Yep, here he is grandpa," Maisy pointed towards Brendan.

"Kurt, it's nice to see you again," Brendan said, stepping forward and giving his hand to greet the man now known as Kurt.

"Oh my god, Brendan it is you. I haven't seen you since the last time you made an order for another one of my custom-made pokeballs. What was it the last time? A heavy ball was it?" Kurt said while shaking Brendan's hand.

"Yep, it worked perfectly just like the other pokeballs you made for me"

"Oh and who is this? A friend of yours Brendan?" Kurt asked after finally realizing May standing closely behind Brendan.

"This is May grandpa, Brendan's girlfriend!" Maisy interjected.

"For the last time Maisy! I'm not his girlfriend!" May beckoned towards Maisy. What in the world would it take for this young girl to just give up?

"Where are your manners Maisy? My apologizes May, Maisy could sometimes be a bit sarcastic when it comes to new people she had just met," Kurt said coming forward towards May and greeting her.

"It's ok….. I think," May slumped her shoulders in a show of defeat.

"But just to clarify, me and Brendan have just met a few days ago, and we've just recently been friends and traveling partners," May explained.

"Ahhh, finally traveling with someone are you now Brendan? I never thought that you would actually travel with anyone now with your current condition and status," Kurt said.

Now that was something May took note of.

Brendan's never travelled with anyone before? But…..why? It isn't like he's a bad person or anything right? He's even dependable and kind of cute. Is it because he did something in the past that stopped him from travelling with anyone? Wouldn't Brendan feel lonely himself? And just yesterday, I was the one who couldn't even get over with travelling Johto all alone when I've just met Ash and Dawn last month while Brendan had been travelling all alone ever since. And what did he mean about his current condition? I knew that he was different from others, but also his status that was affecting his social life? That was just too uncommon, unless…

"Well…..Kurt, once in a while, even I like a change of pace. And May is a wonderful person to be with, she's a very important friend of mine," Brendan responded quickly.

The words struck May like a Swellow's Aerial Ace hitting its mark perfectly. Her cheeks redden at Brendan's declaration that she was a very important friend to her, especially after knowing that he has been spending all his time travelling alone.

"Well….any friends of Brendan is also a friend of mine," Kurt said towards May, snapping her out of her previous trance.

"Ah, yes, pleasure to make your acquaintance, Kurt," May said while bowing her head slightly in a sign of respect.

"Ah, where are my manners? Here, make yourself at home," Kurt led them into his home where the living room was. Even the interior looked traditional and calming, sporting the same traditional style walls and doors. Though the furniture was modern looking with a simple couch and chairs enough for them all to sit on and more coupled with a small table in the middle.

"Here, have a seat. Maisy could you get some refreshments for May," Kurt said.

"Ok grandpa, but what about you and Brendan?" asked Maisy.

"He and I will be in my study," Kurt said.

What?! He's going to leave me here? Damn it, just when I was about to get to the bottom of this mystery.

"Is it ok if I leave you here May? I promise I won't take long," Brendan said. May made a disappointed face. She didn't like to leave Brendan when she was so close in solving his mystery, but she didn't like to invade his private space, whatever he came here for, it must have been really important that he had to voice it out to her, and so it would be bad if she tried butting in his business when she had none. Next time, May told herself.

She looked over to Maisy who placed a plate of cookies on the table and then filled a glass of juice for her. An idea formed in her head.

"Don't worry Brendan, take your time. I'll wait for you here. And it's not like I'll be alone, Maisy's here," May said.

"Huh?" Maisy made a questioning look when her name was thrown.

"That's a great idea. Maisy, why don't you stay with May and keep her company while I finish my work with Brendan for a bit," Kurt suggested.

"Hmmmm. Ok grandpa," she replied.

"I'll see you in a bit May," Brendan waved as he followed Kurt upstairs to his study.

That left only May and Maisy in the living room. May quietly sipped her juice. She looked around to see whether Kurt and Brendan was gone and after hearing the closing and locking of the door upstairs she finally reassured herself that the both of them were truly alone.

May placed back her glass onto the table and opened her mouth to speak but Maisy spoke up first.

"You two seem kinda relax with each other for being just friends that have met just two days ago," Maisy quirked.

"Are you sure you and him aren't an item? The both of you seem to be getting along perfectly"

There it goes again.

"I told you. We're not like that, I've just made friends…." May said defensively but was interrupted by Maisy.

"…Two days ago, yeah I got that part. Still you can't deny the fact that he is kind of a gentlemen to you, I wish someday I'll have a boyfriend like that someday"

Will she ever put this to rest? Maybe now was the time to start her plan.

"Ho-How did you know about Brendan?" May quickly asked.

"Hmmm?" Maisy raised an eyebrow.

"W-well, you knew him did you? Before this? You said it yourself that he used to come by to order custom-made pokeballs from you and your grandfather"

"So you are interested in him!" Maisy bellowed, she gave a sinister smile at this.

"N-n-not like that!" May's cheeks redden and she brought her arms closer to herself in a defensive posture.

"It's just that, I've just met Brendan and yet it's like he was never a stranger to begin with, he's like somebody that I used to know. The way he brings himself and answers the things I try to ask him, it's sometimes so hard to solve him that I get so frustrating and it irritates me. Do you know him before this? What type of person is he like really? What does he do as a Pokemon trainer? Have you ever seen him NOT wearing his shades?" May started firing questions towards Maisy, who only responded by giving a blank look.

"To be honest May…. This is only the second time I think that I've actually met him in person," Maisy said calmly.

"Even I don't know much about him other than that he's the son of Professor Birch of Hoenn and that he's a regular customer of my grandpa"

"The first time I've met him was three years ago if I'm not mistaken. He came with his dad, and they ordered a bunch of Pokeballs. Not the regular type of Pokeballs, they were made specific for a type of Pokemon so making them wasn't a short time. From there I think grandpa from time to time would ask me whether we had any mail from Brendan and asked me to send back the pokeballs that he has ordered," Maisy explained.

"Why does he want custom made pokeballs?" May asked, a bit disappointed with Maisy's initial answer.

Why does anyone want custom made pokeballs for that matter? The regular pokeballs were generally already good enough and custom pokeballs were far too expensive.

"Beats me, but the ones my grandpa makes for him are one of the finest and most expensive he's ever made. One ball that he made for Brendan was a Luxury Ball, and it took two months to be created, that with all the apricorns that were needed, the wiring and the implants. It was one of a kind and grandpa was really happy when he finished working on it"

"Hmmmm, what else do you know about him?" May asked.

"Well, I did hear grandpa said on some occasions that Brendan was one of the best Pokémon trainers in all of Hoenn and that I should strive to reach his level…."

"The best Pokémon trainer in all of Hoenn? What did he meant by that?"

"No idea really," Maisy responded.

The best Pokemon trainer in all of Hoenn? That didn't make much sense. If anyone was the best Pokemon trainer in all of Hoenn, that title should be for the Champions of Hoenn. Maybe it was just a casual speech since he is the son of a really great Professor.

Huh. This was getting her nowhere. She placed her hands on her head trying to figure things out. There should be a faster way to get to the bottom of all this.

May looked towards the direction of where Brendan and Kurt disappeared to in his study. If only she could be there and listen into their conversation on whatever they were talking about then she would at least get more information on Brendan. Her plan to interrogate Maisy wasn't successful.

"Come on," Maisy noticing May's solemn face grabbed her hand and led her to the stairs.

"Wait, where are we going?" May asked confusingly.

"Well, if he's 'that' important to you, then shouldn't you get to the bottom of this quickly?" Maisy said while leading May up the stairs.

"W-w-what do you mean get to the bottom of this quickly? We shouldn't be interrupting your grandpa while he's in his study with Brendan, they could be talking about something important"

"Exactly, and that's how we're going to get to the bottom of this quickly!"

"W-w-what? How?!"

"We'll eavesdrop on them of course," Maisy said in a manner-of-fact kind of way.

Eavesdrop them? What will happen if Brendan caught her doing this? Would he be angry? Would he forgive her for invading in his privacy?

Maisy's ear was already at the door of her grandpa's study.

"I hear something," she said.

"W-what?! What do you hear?" May couldn't contain her excitement and anxiousness. This was wrong on so many different levels.

"Come here and listen"

May placed her ear at the designated spot where Maisy pointed to. Staying as quiet as possible and trying to make out the conversation that was happening inside.

"….so she doesn't know about you and your reputation?" it sounded like Kurt's voice, with the grumpy and serious tone behind it.

"Nope, not for the time being, I'll eventually tell her, or she'll eventually find out, either way we've just met and she has her Pokemon Contest to worry about. It'll only distract her from her dreams," a young boy's voice was heard which May knew was Brendan's.

"This news about a new villainous team in Johto is disturbing, any leads on there?" Kurt asked.

"Not much, the League thinks that they're a splinter group from Team Rocket and they haven't been active in the mainland"

"Well, considering what happened back in Hoenn when Team Rocket was involved, I'm glad they asked you to come here…"

"Yep, me too"

May heard the sound of glasses being put down. And then something was being clinkered and tinkered.

"You sure on whatever's in here is the real deal?"

"I'm absolutely positive. But I've never been able to get it out. It took me a whole year just to figure out what was inside that thing since Professor Oak sent it to me"

"You'd think the League would have been relieved that a Legendary Pokemon was actually inside a Pokeball all this time and no one knew it," Brendan said sarcastically.

"Yep, the moment I realize it I straight away contacted the League but with all the ruckus that the world is going through, they haven't sent anyone since and I've been worried in keeping it here," Kurt said.

"Well , you can't blame them, something like this, it's not like any Pokemon trainer could come and handle, I'm just glad the previous people who were assigned into taking care of this thing wasn't attacked by it," Brendan said.

"Both Sinnoh and Unova are having their own problems right now, and Hoenn is still recovering from theirs, I'm sorry that the League could only have sent me to retrieve it," Brendan apologized.

"Nonsense, you're the best one suited for this task. If any of the others came to take it, my house would have been filled with reporters," Kurt said.

"That's true," Brendan replied.

"Well then, I don't think it's proper for me to keep you to myself anymore, I'm sure you have more things to do after this," Kurt said.

"Nope, not much really, since the beginning I've only been doing one thing my entire life," Brendan said.

"Oh and what's that?" Kurt asked.

"Protecting the things that are most precious to me," Brendan responded.

May could hear footsteps walking about the room and coming closer to where she was. They were coming out now. She quickly signaled Maisy to back off and head back to the living room. She didn't want to get caught by Brendan for eavesdropping on him. With stealth and speed that matched a stalking scyther, they quickly went back to where they last were in the living room. Grinning to themselves like nothing has happened. Then the door to study opened and Brendan and Kurt came down back to join them.

Whatever May had heard from Kurt and Brendan's conversation didn't made a lot of sense, but it did give her some bearing at what some of the things they were talking about. There was mention about the League, and then Team Rocket, and then some things that were happening in different regions, her home region Hoenn included. Then about some Legendary Pokemon.

This was a bit too much and too confusing. May shook her head at the info dump that she just got. What she did hear clearly was this thing about his reputation or something and that someday, he'll tell her about it, but not for the time being because it may distract her from her dreams to become a Top Coordinator.

That was kind of ironic to put it bluntly, because at the moment, there's nothing more distracting than solving this mystery of her even more mysterious friend. Huh. Well, at least if what he said was true, which she wouldn't doubt, Brendan will eventually tell her about it. She'll just have to give him time then.

Urggghhhh, how she hated waiting.

"Well, it was nice meeting you Kurt," Brendan said as he continued down the flight of stairs.

"You too Brendan, it has been so long since I've last seen you, please send my regards to your father back in Hoenn," Kurt said.

"Sure thing"

Maisy and May came walking towards the duo to the front door of the house. It seemed she and Brendan were going to leave now. May still couldn't contain her anxiety at what she had just listened on to. A lot of things didn't make much sense.

"You ok May?" Brendan asked, he placed a hand on May's shoulder which May was quick to react.

"Y-Yep! I'm fine, don't worry about me," She said as she tried controlling her speech with all the anxiety that was building up on her.

"Well, we better get going Kurt, I'll be sure to take care of….." Brendan's speech was interrupted with the doorbell ring.

TING TONG.

"Officer Jenny here, is Kurt around?!" May heard a women's voice from outside.

Maisy went to the front door and opened it. There stood Officer Jenny in her blue uniform. Her face was one of worry and fear and she looked like she was out of breath. A white minivan was parked outside of Kurt's house, presumably belonging to Officer Jenny.

"Officer Jenny, you look like a mess, what's wrong?" Kurt stepped forward.

"Huff….huff…the…the Slowpoke Well Kurt…..someone said they heard an explosion coming from it," Officer Jenny said, clearly out of breath.

"What?!"

"Townsfolk also said that they saw smoke rising from the well, I…..I think the Slowpoke there are in danger!" Officer Jenny continued.

People were attacking the slowpoke?! But why?!

May looked around and saw that even Brendan had a serious look on his face. One that she never saw before.

"Maisy stay here, while I sort things out. It must be some mercenaries that are off to capture the Slowpokes and sell them on the black market," Kurt ordered her granddaughter.

"Ok grandpa," Maisy obeyed.

"Is it ok if I follow too Kurt? I may be able to help," Brendan voiced out. May was almost in bewilderment when he did. His voice was one of authoritative rather than the calm and collected style he usually wore, like a whole new ego had took Brendan's place.

"Brendan, if anyone is going to give me the biggest help, it would have been you," Kurt said appreciating Brendan's offer. Brendan then looked towards May.

Kurt looked towards Officer Jenny's direction and she nodded in acknowledgement, allowing Brendan to follow.

"I'm sorry May, could you stay here and wait for me while I go help Kurt?" Brendan's voice turned to one that was concern. He was standing right in front of her with his head tilted down, he placed his hands on top of May's shoulder in a reassuring position. They were so close to each other that May could literally feel the worry that Brendan had as he spoke each word.

Stay here?! And do what exactly? Wait so that everything will become ok again?

No, she wasn't that helpless girl she was like back when she was a child or in her dreams. She was May Maple, Norman's daughter and the Princess of Hoenn. If anything she should also be the one helping out Kurt in solving this problem. She wouldn't just stay here and hope that everything was going to be fine and happily ever after, she'll fight too, because that's what it meant to become a Pokemon trainer right?

"No! I'm following too!" May declared while looking up towards Brendan. She made up her mind already. She made a determined face as she looked towards Brendan's whom was only inches away from his.

"Um, you two are so much like a couple," Maisy commented. That's when May realized how close she was to Brendan. Her face redden at the realization and she quickly backed off from him, allowing his hand to slip from her shoulders. Brendan didn't move from where he was, it was like the whole debacle didn't affect him at all.

"I understand May. You can follow us, but…in return you have to promise me something," Brendan spoke up, his voice back in its authoritative cold manner.

"Promise?" May asked.

"Yep, you have to promise me that no matter what happens, you'll do everything exactly as I order you to…."

"That sounds simple enough," May said, but she was quickly cut off by Brendan.

"If I order you to hide, you hide. If I order you to return your Pokemon, you return them. If I order you to run away and leave me, you run away and leave me," Brendan ordered.

What?! Run away?! May was confused, it couldn't be that bad can it?

"W-What do you mean by that? Nothing's going to happen right? It's just one of those weird cases of crime syndicates right?" May asked, utterly confused with how worried Brendan sounded. His face didn't show that he wasn't serious about the situation.

"Promise me May," he said.

"B-b-but…."

"No buts," Brendan interjected. May looked around at Maisy who was smiling sheepishly at the whole situation and then towards Kurt and Officer Jenny whom both looked kind of worried, especially with how Brendan has made the situation into.

"Oh alright, then, I promise," May said in defeat. Brendan gave a warm smile at this, which made May's face lit up a notch.

"Thank you May," He looked towards Kurt and nodded in his direction.

"Let's go then"

"Right, everyone into the van," Officer Jenny said.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

The minivan drove northeast out of the city and into the open plains and Desert Mountains bordering Azalea town. The whole trip took only twenty minutes and by then they've reached the tunnels that connected to the Slowpoke Well. Officer Jenny parked the minivan directly in front of a fountain that was carved with a Slowpoke monument over it, signifying the Slowpokes importance over the area.

May stepped out of the minivan and onto solid ground. She looked around and saw barrens of wasteland with deserts and sand dunes taking the majority of the scenery, only the sight of the city had some greenery in it but the borders were clear and distinct that it seemed the Well was in a whole different area than the city. It was kind of ironic, considering that the area where the Well was located was so barren.

May looked up and saw a cave entrance into a tunnel. The size of the entrance was about ten feet tall and twenty feet wide. Around the entrance there were traces of people entering and exiting along with the tracks of some heavy vehicles as well. The smoke that the townsfolk saw was coming from the top of the hill that housed the Slowpoke Well, it was still visible now, which meant that there were still people inside.

Brendan, after coming out of the vehicle went ahead to inspect the entrance. He seemed unfazed by the bright sun that was scorching on the horizon. Well, he was wearing shades, so May could safely say that he came prepared to be out in the sun.

"By Ho-oh, what are they doing in there?!" bellowed Kurt with a grumpy expression on his face as he came towards Brendan.

Brendan looked around the area and then crouched at some of the tracks that surrounded the cave entrance. He inspected the tracks and then made a worried look.

"…..a dozen…..maybe more judging from the foot tracks, I can't really tell since they are bringing heavy vehicles as well," Brendan said.

"How could you tell?" May asked curiously.

"Air currents remember. I can gain information from the simplest of air particles in the area, though maybe not that accurate with how dry this place is…" Brendan said, his face showed disappointment that he couldn't get more information.

"It's still cool…..what you could do with so little. I don't even know what to look for," May reassured.

"Like I once said, it isn't anything remarkable, it's just experience and training and being able to notice the flow of air," Brendan said nonchalantly. He made a worried expression after looking around the area.

"Kurt, Officer Jenny…whoever these guys are, they're too high-equipped to be any normal gang to commit to such a heist," Brendan said.

"Then we'd better hurry and save the Slowpoke inside, who knows what they're planning to do with the Slowpoke inside," Kurt said.

"Right then," Officer Jenny announced. She held a flashlight with her left hand and took out a pokeball from her belt with her right.

"Growlithe, come on out!" Officer Jenny commanded. White energy came out from the pokeball which then formed into the shape of a two feet quadruped canine. It had orange fur with black stripes along its back and legs. The fur on its muzzle, chest, belly, and tail is cream-colored, as well as an additional tuft of fur on top of its head.

The Puppy Pokemon stood upright ready for the commands from its trainer with its tongue out, excited for another job.

"Unfortunately, I only brought with me one flashlight," Officer Jenny said after patting her Growlithe on the head.

"Hmmmmm, that's ok I suppose…May, you have any Pokemon that could use the move flash?" Brendan asked May.

"Yep, that I do," happy that her presence helped the team in some way. She took out the Pokeball that contained her Beautifly and sent it out. The Butterfly Pokemon came out of its Pokeball with sparkles of diamonds and glitters, showing off how beautiful it was to all. It hovered in the air, flapping its wings so that it was now at eye height with its beloved Pokemon trainer. It then continued to perch on May's head.

"Beautiflyyyy," the Butterfly Pokemon spoke, enjoying the feel of outdoors. Beautifly lifted itself up and continued to flap its wings towards Brendan.

"Hey where are you going Beautifly?" May said to it.

It hovered and stopped directly in front of Brendan at eye height with its big blue eyes staring intently towards Brendan.

"Beauuuutiflyyyy," it said happily.

"Ummmm, hello there, I don't think we have met before this, my name's Brendan. Nice to meet you Beautifly," Brendan said with a smile to the Butterfly Pokemon.

"Beautiflyyyyy," it bellowed happily then hovered back to where May was.

"Arghhh sorry if it scared you Brendan, Beautifly has this habit of going to places it's interested without waiting for me," May apologized.

"It's ok May, we should get moving," Brendan said while looking into the dark cave.

"Right, Beautifly we need you to light up the cave with flash, can you do it?" May asked.

"Beautiflyyyyy," it happily replied. Beautifly's wings glittered with radiance like it was collecting energy from its surrounding, then light shone from its wings into a straight beam, lighting the path ahead.

"Great work Beautifly, let's go then," May said excitedly, leading the way with her Beautifly.

Officer Jenny turned her flash light on also to give additional lighting while her Growlithe started tracking the scent of whoever was in here. Just as May predicted, Brendan didn't took off his shades even though they were going into a dark cave with little lighting, could he even see clearly with them on?

As their party followed the path into the Slowpoke Well and into where the Slowpoke's reside, May's mind went on wondering about Brendan's sudden shift in personality earlier on. He still seemed like the Brendan she knew, but it was like a whole new personality came out of him, like a different type of light, still the same person, just different in a way.

Their path now was heading downhill, like they were going deeper into the earth.

Was this about his 'reputation' that May heard earlier, May wondered. If only she could piece all the puzzles together and get a straight answer from Brendan. She looked over towards Brendan whom was directly in front of her as he followed Kurt.

May sighed. The boy with a few words, yet many mysteries.

Then again, why was she getting so hyped up about knowing more about Brendan in the first place? She knew that it was initially because she was just overcurious with her new friend and that his mysteries were more than asking her to be solved, but right now she just couldn't understand her own motivations. He did say that he will eventually tell her right?

Was this what it was called as being interested?

May's face flush red, the distraction caused her to bump over a rock slipping her footing and falling forward.

"W-w-whaaaa!" May fell forward. Brendan quickly looked back when May suddenly yelped and was able to catch May in time before she slipped forward and bumped into him, which would have sent both of them tumbling down. His hands held onto May's elbows, supporting her from falling any further.

"Are you ok May?" Brendan asked as their faces met.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine, just lost my footing," she said, her face turned a shade redder at the contact they were making, thankfully it was too dark for Brendan to notice.

"Be careful next time ok, this place is kind of wet so it's easy to slip," Brendan said, helping her gain back balance.

"Y-yeah, alright," May said while trying to keep her anxiety down.

As they continued down the tunnel, the sound of machinery grew louder and louder. It was the sound of digging and gears rumbling. May couldn't make out whether they were already close to the source or not with how the tunnel was echoing the sound and making it as if it was coming from everywhere.

"Listen, they are doing something big there alright. We better hurry and save the Slowpoke before they get hurt!" said Officer Jenny. The others nodded in agreement.

The slope down the tunnel then subsided, giving an even surface for them to walk on, they quickened their pace when they saw orange light up ahead.

"Could be lighting that they've installed in the main cave," Kurt said. This meant that whoever was intruding here, was already hard at work. The sounds of machinery digging through the earth was louder than ever.

They reached to an opening in the tunnel where they now stood within an even bigger cave. The ceiling was almost ten meters tall with the whole cave itself almost twenty meters width. The whole place was wired with dim lighting. Smaller exit caves litter around the area going into other sections of the Slowpoke Well. Heavy machinery and vehicles were scattered around the cave including bulldozers, trucks with cages and even cranes. In the middle of all of this was a huge and wide lake where some Slowpoke were bathing in, indifferent to the change in their habitat.

"What have they done to the place? They ruined it!" Kurt said angrily.

"Look," Officer Jenny said while pointing towards the trucks. There were people in black uniforms carrying cages with Slowpokes in them and placing them onto the trucks cargo. On the chest of their uniform, there was an emblem that even May recognized.

A big red 'R', which stands for Team Rocket.

No surprise there, May thought. These guys are always the ones causing trouble. Her Beautifly ended its move flash when it seemed bright enough to see and then continued to hover next to its trainer. The gang crouched behind some crates so that they weren't spotted by the Team Rocket Grunts that were busy moving the stolen Slowpokes.

"We have to do something about this, we have to stop them," Kurt whispered to the gang.

"Right, I'll go in there and arrest them. Growlithe, come with me," Officer Jenny said. She stood up from her hiding place and started heading to where the Team Rocket members were.

"Wait a minute Officer Jenny, there's too many of them and too few of us, we'll easily get beaten," Brendan said towards Officer Jenny but it wasn't caught by her, she was too engrossed into catching the criminals that were intending to harm the Slowpoke of her town.

"Halt there you thieves! What do you think you're doing with those Slowpoke?!" Officer Jenny announced towards Team Rocket. Her Growlithe growled angrily in tandem with its trainer.

The Team Rocket Grunts stopped what they were previously doing when they saw Officer Jenny with her Growlithe.

"Well look at what we have here boys, its Officer Jenny," someone from Team Rocket said when he realized who it was. He wore the standard dark outfit of Team Rocket along with the cap. His hair was green along with his eyes and he had one of the most sinister smiles that May has ever seen.

"You…." Officer Jenny pointed towards the Team Rocket member.

"I know you! You're on the Most Wanted List, Proton," Officer Jenny said.

"That's Executive Proton to you Officer Jenny," Proton said as he bowed his head mockingly.

"What do you plan on doing with the Slowpoke?" Officer Jenny said.

"Well…. I initially was planning on cutting their tails and selling it at the black market to make some profit…..but the boss wanted them for research because they are considered pretty powerful. Hmmmphhh, a Slowpoke that could bring down tons of rain, you don't hear a Slowpoke doing that regularly," Proton smirked.

"And we can't have you stopping us can you?" with this Proton snapped his fingers, rallying his other Team Rocket members.

May, Brendan and Kurt were still hiding behind the crates as they watched Officer Jenny surrounded by Team Rocket Grunts. There were more than a dozen of them and they all brought out their pokeballs ready for battle.

This was bad, there's too many of them. And they don't look like the typical Team Rocket members that she usually encountered, they actually looked like professionals.

May didn't like the situation they were in. They were clearly outnumbered and outgunned. Can her Pokemon even fight these many people at a time?

A thought suddenly dawned over her.

Does Brendan or Kurt have any Pokemon to fight with? Should she lend hers?

Her thoughts were interrupted when the Team Rocket Grunts started sending out their Pokemon. There were at least three Tentacruels, a few Ariadoses, a flock of Golbats and a single Weezing which May presumed belonged to that Executive Proton guy.

"Hurry Growlithe, burn them all with Flamethrower," Officer Jenny commanded. Her Growlithe complied by spewing fire towards the hordes of Pokemon surrounding them. The Tentacruels reacted by spraying water to extinguish the fire while the Ariados and the flock of Golbats evaded the attack by flying away or jumping out of the line of fire.

"Hah, puny attacks like that won't hurt us, Weezing use sludge bomb!" Proton ordered.

The Weezing hovered over the air and then opened its mouth wide letting out a purple bubble of poison towards Growlithe.

"Tuck and Roll Growlithe!"

Growlithe did exactly that and evaded the attack which harmlessly splashed onto the cave ground, the smell from the bomb was horrifying and even the rocks it splashed on seemed to be decaying in acid.

"Don't let it get away boys! Give it all you've got!" Proton ordered his other subordinates.

The Tentacruels continued to spray water towards Growlithe aiming to hit it with a super-effective move while in the air the Golbats sent out slashes of air.

"Growlithe use agility to dodge them"

In all honesty, Officer Jenny's Growlithe was putting up a good fight, maneuvering between the torrents of water so it wouldn't get a direct hit while at the same time ducking and jumping from the incoming air slashes that were sent spiraling its way. However the numbers weren't in its favor. Growlithe was getting tired with all the dodging and being unable to fight back.

Suddenly, Growlithe slipped on the cave floor and fell. It seemed that the spray of water from the Tentacruels have made the cave floors wet, making it slippery. This chance was used by the Ariados and the Golbats above to send a barrage of Pin Missiles and Air Cutters.

"Growlithe look out!" Officer Jenny said in worry.

Growlithe tried to hastily get up and dodge the majority of the moves but a few of them was able to hit it. The contact made by the Air Cutters onto the puppy Pokemon caused dust to form. When the dust subsided, Growlithe was still standing on all fours although barely, it had bruises on its body from the hit.

"Growlithe! Are you ok?!" Officer Jenny said. Her face in worry on how her partner was badly hurt.

The puppy Pokemon made an assuring bark towards its trainer indicating that it can still battle, thou weary and bruised.

Team Rocket wasn't going to let Growlithe rest and recover, they continued their barrage of attacks.

"Don't let it recover! Attack with all you've got!" Proton ordered. Another barrage of Air Cutters, Hydro Pumps and Pin Missiles were sent towards Growlithe's direction.

"No! Growlithe look out!" Officer Jenny shouted.

May could only watched in helplessly as Officer Jenny's Growlithe got pounded by the overwhelming numbers of Team Rocket.

I need to do something. I can't just stay here and watch. Beautifly's already out, so I could send her. I could also send in Blaziken to help, he's the strongest I've got.

Yes. She had her own Pokemon by her side to fight with, and she wasn't going to allow Team Rocket to steal and abuse Pokemon, even if the Pokemon in question were just some lousy-boring Slowpokes.

"Brendan we need to…." May looked over to where Brendan was before this only to see him already dashing forward towards the battle. Lifting his shirt slightly, he took out a dark green pokeball with the button being red. Enlarging the ball so that it became fist-sized, Brendan readied himself to throw the ball and spilling out its contents.

"In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape our sight! Let those who follow evil's might, beware my Pokemon, Shade! Win me this fight!" Brendan declared while throwing the dark green pokeball towards the middle of the incoming attacks with all his might.

Instead of the white bluish energy that came out from regular pokeballs, a dark purple energy came out from the dark green pokeball that Brendan threw. The energy spilled and formed in the middle of the battle right before the attacks could hit the bruised Growlithe. Instead of hitting the puppy Pokemon, the attacks hit the energy that was forming from the spilled contents of Brendan's dark green pokeball.

May closed her eyes in fear of what might happen next as the incoming attacks came.

"Look out!" She screamed.

A huge explosion formed from the contact causing the cave to be filled in another thick layer of dust. Everyone stopped for a moment to identify who was the newcomer that threw another pokeball into the already chaotic fray. All eyes were on Brendan, even May's.

Studip, stupid Brendan! Why in the world did you send out your pokemon in the middle of an attack?! May mentally scolded Brendan, not that he could hear it. For all her worry, Brendan didn't look the least bit worried with the fact that whatever Pokemon he sent out to be toasted in the middle of the crossfire got caught in it.

Damn it. Now it was up to her to make things right again. Standing up and readying Blaziken's pokeball, May stopped in her tracks when the dust from the blast subsided, revealing something that astounded everyone.

"What the?" one of the grunts said.

Hovering over the bruised Growlithe was some kind of weird looking bug pokemon that May couldn't remember seeing before. Most of its body is light brown with its abdomen having a greyish hue. There were four protrusions on its underside instead of legs, and its eyes, or what May thought were eyes, were only narrow slits. It had a pair of tattered wings on its back that divided into three wingtips, and between them was a hole. Two lines encircle its abdomen and a white halo floated above its head, making it look like some kind of guardian angel hovering above Growlithe.

A luminescent green shield was formed in front of it between where the attacks came and the Growlithe. The Pokemon looked completely unharmed from the many attacks that were sent earlier.

"What in the world is that?" a grunt said confused with what just happened.

May, confused as well, instinctively brought out her pink Johto Pokedex and pointed it towards the newest Pokemon that came into the battlefield.

"Shedinja, the Shed Pokemon. Shedinja possesses a hard, powerful body, making it one of the strongest Pokemon in terms of defense. A strange Pokémon even when compared to other ghost-types; it flies without moving its wings, has a hollow shell for a body, and does not breathe," the Pokedex responded.

A Shedinja?

Now May remembered, the last time May saw this Pokemon was at the Mirage Kingdom back in Hoenn. It was a long time ago, and if she remembered correctly, it was really powerful, none of her Pokemon's attacks could have brought it down until Misty sent out her Gyarados to attack it with a flamethrower.

And Brendan had one.

"Good work using protect Shade!" Brendan said to the Shed Pokemon, which then continued to hover back to its trainer, cracking its wings, which made some noises, May presumed this was its way of replying. It stayed stationary at eye-level next to Brendan awaiting for further commands.

Oh my God, oh my God, oh My God! Brendan actually brought a powerful pokemon with him! And he even gave it a nickname!

Could this be a clue to his life? Was he into mysterious type Pokemon too? Along with an even more mysterious personality? And how was he going to battle?

Battle, yes, May almost forgot. She couldn't just sit here and do nothing, she was going to send out her own Pokemon as well, Beautifly and Blaziken to help Brendan.

"Officer Jenny," Brendan said towards her.

"Bring back Growlithe into its Pokeball," Brendan ordered, his gaze not shifting away from the team Rocket members.

"B-but..." Officer Jenny said confused

"Don't worry, I'll take care of these people," he said while pointing towards Proton. Officer Jenny complied and returned her tired Growlithe into its Pokeball.

"Hmmphh, you actually expect that you could beat us with that small bug of yours? If you haven't noticed yet, you're clearly outmatched and outnumbered by one to twenty!" Proton snickered towards Brendan, unfazed by his Pokemon's display of power.

May walked towards Brendan, standing beside him. Her Beautifly was also hovering next to her and her hand was on Blaziken's Pokeball.

"He's not alone!" May shouted with a tint of nervousness. They were horribly outnumbered, so if they wanted to win this, she'll have to send all of her strongest Pokemon out, not just her Blaziken, maybe even Venusaur and Glaceon as well. She looked over towards Brendan who didn't seem the least bit afraid with how they seemed to be overwhelmed.

How does he do that?

"Brendan… I want to fight too, I'll have Blaziken, Venusaur and Glaceon ready for battle," she said to Brendan. Brendan responded with a smile from May's worry.

"Thanks May," he placed a hand over May's shoulder to reassure her.

"But I think I can handle this by myself," he said casually.

What?! Handle this by yourself? I don't even think we could win this by combining the strength of all our Pokemon and you think that your puny bug, no offense, could do it all by itself?

She couldn't believe this. She couldn't let Brendan go all by himself. But the way Brendan said it was so casual. She could literally feel the air around him that said he was going to be fine. She could literally feel his breath of confidence that emanated from him that kept May petrified from responding any further.

Brendan let go of May's shoulder and then walked forward into the battlefield with his Shedinja hovering by his side.

"You fool! To think that you'll fight us with only a single Pokemon, how delusional can you get?! Everyone squash that bug!" Proton ordered.

"Brendan!" May shouted towards him in worry.

Team Rocket's Pokemon started surrounding Brendan and his Shedinja. Another barrage of attacks were sent aiming straight for them.

"Shade, get ready to defend yourself," Brendan commanded it. A green force field materialize around them shielding the duo from the attacks. Neither can flying, water nor did poison attacks hit them directly.

"Continue the attack boys, his Pokemon won't be able to hold on to this forever," Proton proclaimed happily as if victory was within her grasp.

Even May was somewhat worried with how the battle was turning out. Sure she was no battle expert like her father or Ash, but she knew that continuing to take a defensive stance would always lead to defeat. And the move 'protect' could only help guard the Pokemon so long it could keep its concentration and its energy levels high. Eventually, the barrier will fade over time.

May gripped Blaziken's pokeball and brought out Venusaur's as well, she couldn't just stand here and wait for Brendan's Pokemon to collapse on itself. She had to do something before Shedinja's barrier faded.

But then something caught her eye as she was watching Brendan and his Shedinja. Shedinja seemed almost unfazed by the attacks it was hit with. To begin, the attacks that did pass through its protective field should have outright cause it to faint, but instead it seemed like the attacks were simply sliding through its body as if it was only a breeze that passed by. And it was still able to keep up the barrier when the Air Cutters hit.

What in the world was going on?

Eventually the attacks stopped. Incredibly, the Pokemon that were attacking Shedinja were tired or ran out of energy from attacking it continuously, yet there wasn't even a scratch on Shedinja and its green barrier was still up.

"Wh-what the hell is going on?! Why isn't that bug dead yet?!" Proton yelled towards the other grunts which were as confused as him. His face showed disbelief at how the battle was going.

"Flying, Water and Poison. Those are the three type of attacks that your Pokemon could do on Shade, only the flying move Air Cutter by your Golbats can hurt it," Brendan said indifferently with his arms crossed across his chest.

"Wh-what?" Proton said dumbfounded by Brendan's statement.

"Shedinja has the ability Wonder Guard, which means that only super effective moves will be able to hurt Shade. By alternating between Protect and Wonder Guard, Shade is literally invincible. We could stand here all day"

Invincible?!

"Im-Impossible! The move Protect will become harder to materialize as you use it more, it's impossible to..." a grunt said, not believing what Brendand said could be true.

"No it's not!" Brendan bellowed to the grunt, stopping him in his tracks.

"If the bond between Pokemon and trainer is strong, then even feats like this could be accomplished. That's why Pokemon that are bonded to their trainer are always stronger than untrained Pokemon," Brendan said while looking towards Team Rocket's Pokemon.

"Officer Jenny," Brendan called.

"Y-yes?!" Officer Jenny responded after just getting out from her own bewilderment of the show of power from Brendan's Pokemon.

"Call in the rest of the police force," Brendan said, again in his authoritative voice.

"R-roger!" Officer Jenny responded, still bewildered. She took out her Pokegear and started calling headquarters. Brendan looked back towards the Team Rocket grunts and then towards Executive Proton himself. Proton's face showed as if he could actually feel Brendan's stare behind those shades of his.

"Guess where you guys are going after this?" Brendan snickered.

Proton's face was in disbelief. How could a single person defeat them so easily? And he hasn't even done a single attacking move throughout the battle.

"W-W-We're not done yet, we still have the Slowpokes with us. If you don't want these Slowpokes to lose a tail or two then you better….." Proton staggered desperately but was then interrupted by Brendan.

"Shade, Phantom Force!" Brendan didn't wait for Protons threat to finish.

A shockwave of pure darkness was sent throughout the whole battlefield. It was as if the whole cave for a second suddenly turned dark and then all the darkness converged on the Shedinja which then used that energy to dash forward and obliterate everything in its path. The move was so fast that the next thing May knew, all of the Pokemon of Team Rocket had fainted and collapsed on the ground, every single one of them. Brendan's Shedinja was hovering in mid-air right on top of a fainted Weezing.

Proton staggered and lost his footing, falling backwards at what he had just saw. He stumbled to find something to say but was speechless. They were beaten by a young boy in a matter of seconds.

Even May stared in disbelief.

That was totally amazing! To think that Brendan had such a powerful Pokemon with him all this while.

Officer Jenny stepped forward with handcuffs in hand, ready to detain Proton.

"No! If you think that I'm going to follow you to jail, then you have another thing coming," Proton took out from his pocket a controller with a red button and quickly pressed it.

"If Team Rocket can't have these Slowpoke then they are better off dead anyway!" he exclaimed.

With that, some of the boxes on the truck exploded, shaking the foundation of the tunnels and causing the cave to be filled by another thick layer of dust.

"Hurry! Catch him before he gets away!" May heard Officer Jenny said. She could only make out the sound of running and scuffling in this thick layer of dust. She heard the sound of a few people being brought down, interpreting that as Officer Jenny taking down some of the grunts before they could escape.

When the dust subsided giving her a clear view again, most of the grunts were already down, pinned by Officer Jenny. Even Brendan had a few grunts that he brought down on their knees by himself. How he managed to do that was beyond her. Unfortunately, they seem to only have apprehended half of the members of Team Rocket that were accounted for, the other half, including Proton got away into the surrounding tunnels.

Only Arcues would know where those tunnels would lead to.

"Damn it, Proton escaped," Officer Jenny said after handcuffing the last of the grunts she was able to capture.

"If we move fast enough, we may be able to catch him," Brendan said.

"That may not be possible Brendan, these tunnels are very old and they could go anywhere, it will take us hours just to explore them and by that time he'll have already escaped," Kurt explained.

"I'll send in a search party to sweep the area of any more members of Team Rocket that we missed, in the meantime we should…." Officer Jenny was interrupted mid-sentence when the cave grumbled and quivered. The lights flickered a few seconds when this happened.

"Wh-what was that?!" May said in worry.

"It's the cave! The Well is collapsing due to all the digging and explosions Team Rocket did!" Kurt said.

"We have to get the Slowpoke out of here before it collapses!" Kurt said angrily.

"But what about the Slowpoke Well? Where will the Slowpoke stay after this?" May asked worried.

"I don't know May, but if we don't move fast there won't be any Slowpokes left," Kurt said, his voice showed that he didn't like the situation any better, but it was the only thing they could do.

The cave made another grumble.

"We'll gather all of the Slowpoke and put them into the truck! Brendan, I need your help!" Kurt shouted over to Brendan. He was looking at the ceilings of the cave fixed in position, his face showed disappointment.

"No!" Brendan said to Kurt.

"No?!" Everyone said in surprise of Brendan's reply.

What is wrong with Brendan?! We need to get these Slowpokes out or else they'll all be buried inside. We will be buried inside!

Brendan took out his dark green Pokeball and pointed it towards his Shedinja.

"Shade return!" pointing the purple beam of energy towards it. The Shed Pokemon turned into purple energy and warped back into the Pokeball, Brendan then placed it back onto his belt. He then took out three other Pokeballs, in his right hand was a regular red-white Pokeball, another was black with gold rings adorned on it, while in his left was a black-orange ball with a red 'v' mark on it.

May looked at them closely, curious of the contents inside.

He brought more Pokemon and in even more different and weird looking Pokeballs than I've ever seen before. What does he think he's doing?

"We could still save this place and save the Slowpoke!" he said, enlarging the Pokeballs in his hand.

"Brendan, let it go. This isn't something you could save," Kurt tried talking to Brendan. But Brendan ignored all of it. His face was serious even with the shades on. Taking a stance Brendan threw the Pokeballs into the air.

"I summon you Spirits of Earth, Water and Fire! Bring forth me the strength to move the Mountains and the Ocean!" Brendan roared while throwing the Pokeballs into the air. Blue energies erupted from the three Pokeballs which launched itself onto the ground, judging from the energy coming out, whatever was inside those Pokeballs had to be huge.

The mantra that Brendan said sent shivers down May's spine. Did he always said something like that when sending out his Pokemon? May wondered.

The energy from the Pokeballs condensed to form three Pokemon that stood almost larger than human. The black Pokeball sprouted a gigantic silver plated bipedal Pokemon. There was armor on its head with two pairs of holes with horns protruding from the foremost holes. Its forehead plating extended past its upper jaw in a small point. It had sky-blue eyes, and two nostril-like holes on the tip of its upper jaw. On the rim of its mouth are several pointed, fang-like protrusions and the nape of its neck and back had grey-silver armor sections. It had wide, blunt spikes on its shoulders, and grey-silver bands on its arms and legs. Its hands and feet each had three claws. And it also had a thick, long, black tail. The Aggron was almost twice Brendan's height as it risen to its full height. Brendan's Aggron was way bigger than any Aggron May have ever seen before and its plates are more refined and polished, giving it a sturdy and metallic look.

The orange-black pokeball with a 'v' symbol brought out a badger-like Pokemon with a bulky yet agile body. The Pokemon had a short snout and small eyes and ears. Its face, underside, arms, and legs were a shade of cream, while its back was dark blue. On its rear, there were spiky, coarse fringes of fur and across the back of its neck, there were several red spots. Realizing that its trainer had called it out, the Volcano Pokemon stood on its hind legs, being as tall as its trainer and opened its jaws wide, while bellowing its presence. Fire erupted from its back along with its declaration which could be heard throughout the cave.

The last normal red-white pokeball brought out a large cobalt blue body bipedal Pokemon that had large three-fingered hands. There were two orange gills that protrude from round patches on its cheeks. Its head had two large semi-circular black fins that extend from the top of its orange eyes to the back of its head. It had a tail fin that was big, broad, and black. It had a white underside and orange ridged portions above its hands and three-toed feet. The Mud Fish Pokemon was larger than the Volcano Pokemon by a few inches. One thing that May noticed was an orange-green striped bandana with a white Pokeball symbol tied around its neck. But what was most apparent was the three claw scars on the Swampert's head that were over its left eye.

Scars? What happened to that one until it had such marks? May wondered, her face in worry at how the Pokemon got the scars in the first place.

How could Brendan allowed something to happen to his Pokemon?

"TAPHOOOON!" the Typhlosion roared while standing on its hind legs. It was one of the loudest roars May had ever heard that she had to cover her ears, which was followed suit by both Kurt and Officer Jenny.

"Nope, we won't be fighting today Typhoon," Brendan said towards his Typhlosion, the roar it made didn't seem to faze him the least, as he returned back the Pokeballs to his belt. The Volcano Pokémon's cry diminished at Brendan's word. He looked at his other two Pokemon, the silver-plated Aggron and the scarred-eyed Swampert.

"Guys, we need to save the Slowpokes in this cave," he pointed towards the Slowpoke.

"I need you guys to help me make sure it won't cave in, or else the Slowpoke will lose their home"

"Ronnnnn," the Iron Armor Pokemon nodded slowly, understanding what its trainer wanted.

"TAPHOOON!" Typhlosion roared another time, with fire erupting from its back.

"Swammmpertttt"

May was amazed at the sight of Brendan's Pokemon and how strong they looked. They seemed strong, maybe even stronger than hers.

"Zeus, Typhoon, I need you two to move the machinery, crates, boulders, anything big enough so we could make support beams to help stable this place. Skipper, use your Ice beam to hold it all together and freeze the whole cave so it won't collapse," Brendan commanded to his Pokemon.

Skipper?

That ticked a memory in May's head. That name Brendan called his Swampert, it was almost like as if she had heard it before, but she can't seem to recall where or when she had heard of it. It was like something itching in the back of her head.

When was the last time have I heard that name?

Her mind was interrupted by Brendan's call to his Pokemon and the sound of his Pokemon moving the various objects in the cave to make sure it didn't collapse.

"Ok, move it there Zeus. Throw that one here Typhoon…. Ok, freeze it now Skipper," he continued to order his Pokemon.

Kurt who was standing in the side-lines was awestruck at the work Brendan was doing all by himself, in a matter of minutes his Pokemon had created three support beams to hold the ceiling together. Kurt made a serious look and then went over to Brendan who was trying to move a crate by himself. He came over next to him and helped him lift the crate, moving it to where the other support columns were being made.

"Brendan, my boy. I don't know how you do it, but you seem to always find a way to accomplish the impossible," Kurt said, finally surrendering to Brendan's choice in wanting to save the habitat.

"When it comes to humans and Pokemon, isn't it at least worth trying?" He replied pushing a crate which is then carried by his Aggron to the designated spot. Each step taken by the Iron Armor Pokemon quavered the ground.

"I'm helping too," Officer Jenny said, going over to where Brendan and Kurt was. She also seemed impressed by Brendan's determination.

"Me too!" May said as well. Followed by her Beautifly.

"Beaaaauuutiflyyyyy," it announced.

May felt captivated at how Brendan was trying so hard to save the Slowpokes habitat. They could have easily moved the Slowpoke and called it a day, but Brendan seemed to have none of that, he was determined to make sure everything was like the way it should be before Team Rocket came.

"…Brendan….." May said to herself quietly, looking at the boy with the white knit cap and black shades.

"Beauuutiflyyyy," her Pokemon interrupted her thoughts.

"Ahhh, that's right, you could help too Beautifly. Use your string shots on the support beams they are making to hold it all together," she pointed.

"Beauuuutiflyyyyy," it happily complied.

"Then again, why don't I bring out everyone to help out!" she took out all of her remaining Pokeballs and threw them into the air.

White energy erupted from all of the Pokeballs May threw, the rest of her Pokemon materialized in front of her. Blaziken, Venusaur, Wartortle, Glaceon and Muchlax sprang from their respective balls.

"Blaziken!"

"Venuauuuurrrr"

"Wartotle"

"Leeeoonn"

"Munch? Lax?"

May sighed. All of her Pokémon seemed to be ready to help out except for her Munchlax, it gives to have a lazy Pokemon around sometimes.

"Everyone, we need to help out the others support this cave before it collapses on itself," May explained to her Pokemon. Her Pokemon replied with a cry of approval, except Munchlax of course who was trying to figure out why the floor was so rough to sleep on.

"Come on everyone!" her Pokemon followed her to where the gang was helping in making the structure stronger and prevent a cave in. Quickly, her Pokemon began to work alongside Brendan's Pokemon. Blaziken and Venusaur helped Brendan's Aggron and Typhlosion carry the boulders, stacking them up to make support columns while Glaceon and Wartortle started freezing areas of the cave that were starting to crack. And Munchlax, well, he was looking through the crates and inside the abandoned vehicles for any leftover food, how typical. May face-palmed at this.

"Brendan!" she called towards him.

"May?"

"I'm going to help out too, and I've brought out my Pokemon to help out as well," May pointed. She stood beside Brendan while helping him move some crates.

"Thanks May," Brendan smiled back at her. May's face redden at Brendan's gratitude.

There were already seven columns and almost the whole ceiling was covered in ice, keeping it from falling down. Yes, if they kept this up and didn't give in for what they truly believed, then anything was possible.

Glaceon and Wartortle continued to fire streams of ice towards the ceilings and support structures, their combined force was keeping a lot of the cave structure intact, but when Brendan's Scarred-faced Swampert came to help and shot an ice beam of its own, the force was overwhelming, whole areas turned to ice. Glaceon almost yelp in fright at Swampert's show of power, not that the Swampert was intending to frighten Glaceon or anything. It gave a warm smile to compensate.

"Swammmmperttttt," it said cheerfully, it may not look like it but the Mud Fish Pokemon seemed to have a big heart like its trainer.

Not long, the whole cave was filled with support columns encased in ice, with the ceilings and walls further reinforced with it. After all that work, the cave looked almost mystical, with sight of glimmering ice and water. The cave looked better than it did before. Kurt also, with the help of Venusaur and Brendan's Aggron removed the wiring so that the Slowpoke could have more peace in their home.

The Slowpoke seemed almost unaffected, almost oblivious to the renovation May and Brendan were doing to their home. The best they did was yawn, and when Munchlax tried poking one of them, they just stared back intently at the Pokemon.

Talk about appreciation.

At least they were safe, May thought.

Finally, the whole place was now reinforced and it seemed that there were no more tremors that could shake the foundation of the cave. The Slowpokes and their home were saved!

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Brendan and May continued to walk through the northern gate of Azalea town, passing through the guard booth stationed there. Ilex Forest was right ahead of them, adorned with large trees and long mountain ranges. Today was a very eventful day, May thought as she walked beside Brandon.

"Sorry to get you caught up in all of this May," Brendan apologized.

"Ahh, don't think much about it Brendan, it was the right thing to do after all," May replied. Her eyes darted back to where Brendan kept his Pokemon. They were all amazing she thought, Brendan really was an accomplished trainer.

"But, what you did back there…..that was amazing! I've never seen something like that in my entire life," May praised him which caused him to blush.

That was so cute!

Back in the Slowpoke Wells, after reinforcing the support beams in the cave and saving all of the Slowpokes from the clutches of Team Rocket, Officer's Jenny backup team had arrived and brought in the criminals that they were able to capture. Brendan had expressed his wishes to May that he didn't want to stay long when the backup team arrived, which prompted them to get back to Azalea town with Kurt as soon as they brought the criminals out of the cave.

Maybe Brendan just didn't like the attention.

When they arrived back to Azalea Town, after sending their Pokemon to the Pokemon Center, which for some funny reason that May wasn't able to figure out yet, had Nurse Joy nervously stumbling after checking on Brendan's Pokemon and giving it back to him, they said their goodbyes to Kurt and Maisy too, can't forget her.

May took another glance over to Brendan. He was holding on to his PokeNav which was showing them the route through Ilex Forest.

Today, what she had witnessed was another side of Brendan, a side that she never knew existed in her mysterious friend. A side that radiated of a person who could be dependable and become a silent hero. A side that showed a glimpse of what May thought he might have been once when he was in his own Pokemon Journey, fighting in his own battles as a trainer and going up the ranks to become the best. He took everything that had to do with the wellbeing of Pokemon and his friends seriously and with the utmost concern in mind, yet still being calm and kind. He seemed to put the best first, never giving up hope no matter what. He knew a lot about Pokemon and was even better in knowing how to use it.

He sure was one amazing person, and the way he acted today just prove it.

What prompted him to stop entering League Championships and stop altogether from collecting badges like Ash or any other trainer? Wasn't it their dream to become a Pokemon Master and continue on to strive to become the best among the best? What did he meant when she heard him talk about his 'reputation' affecting her own dreams?

There were still so many questions and May had only scratched a tiny surface answering them.

"Strength in battle is only an illusion May," Brendan said calmly to her, which snapped May out of her thoughts.

Huh?

"The real strength lies in the bond with your Pokemon, with your friends and family, with the people that you cherish and love. They're the ones who are your real strength, the people who you could count on the most," Brendan said. His voice was so calm and tranquil, it was as if his very words were piercing through May's soul, even the winds seemed to rustle in response to his words.

"I believe that one day, you'll be amazing too May, with your love of Pokemon and people, I'm sure you'll reach your dreams," he said to her, giving a bright warm smile.

May couldn't stop herself from smiling back at the sudden encouraging words of Brendan. The duo were now side by side as they walked through the roadside into Ilex Forest, it would only be a few more hours before it was dark.

"Thanks Brendan," May scratched her hand in embarrassment.

"Before I forgot, there's something that I wanted to give to you when we came to Kurt's place," Brendan unzipped his backpack in order to take something out.

Something that he wanted to give me? No, don't tell me it's…

May's cheeks redden but before she could finish her thoughts, Brendan brought out a Pokeball from his backpack.

May relaxed, it was only a Pokeball, but it was different than any regular Pokeball May had seen before. It was a pure cherry-red Pokeball with only its transmitting button being black. It looked like an oversized ruby.

"A Pokeball?" May said confused.

"Kurt gave me this as a token of appreciation, it's called a cherish ball, it's usually given as presents to commemorate something important happening….." Brendan stopped mid-sentence, he was blushing at what he was about to say next.

"We never made it official yet that we were going to travel together, so I thought that this could be my way of doing it," he presented May the cherry-red Pokeball.

"It's empty, but I'm sure that whatever Pokemon you choose to catch it with, you'll remember it as a sign of our friendship and that we've once traveled together," May held the Pokeball that was presented by Brendan, her hands were over Brendan's.

May was almost speechless with Brendan's present. No words could describe how touched she felt by Brendan's gift, to commemorate their friendship and their journey together. For what she thought was an eternity their gazes met and their hands were on top of one another holding onto the Cherish ball. The sun shone brightly over them, radiating a dawn of a new journey, the winds breezed through the plains and lightly touching the leaves of the plants and trees as if the very world was moved as well.

They stood like that for a few seconds, before finally realizing the long contact that they were making. May instinctively, pulled her hands away while her cheeks blushed a tint of red. Even Brendan pulled slightly away at the contact and was kind of blushing.

"….Sorry…..here…" Brendan finally presenting the Pokeball to May.

"Thank you Brendan, I'll be sure to cherish this," May said. Brendan stayed silent while smiling at May's appreciation. Before she further embarrassed herself, May continued forward.

"We'll we should get going shouldn't we? It's a long journey into the Ilex Forest," she announced, leading the way.

"It sure is," Brendan followed.

May took a glance at the mysterious boy in red.

Will she ever find out more about him? What was his past that he had to keep it a secret? And what is his own dream in becoming a Pokemon trainer?

These questions, May will have to answer at another time, now, the only thing that she can do is accept the boy with a few words for what he is in her eyes.

An amazing Pokemon trainer.

Author's Notes:

I'm terribly sorry for the long delay, hopefully this 14k++ chapter could make it up. Awhhh, who am I kidding, it wouldn't would it?

I've been busy with studies lately, going through the final phase of my tertiary education, so no promises that the next update will be quick, what I can promise is that I'll try writing as much with the short holidays I have left.

Brendan's Pokemon are revealed! Well, not all of them, but some of them. They are heavily based on the game and the anime with a few additions of my own. There's a trend to what his Pokemon are and what style he uses, you guys will have to read between the lines more to get the hint. For those of you who think that I'm making up the idea that he has some kind of battle mantra before he brings out his Pokemon or the fact that he nicknames his Pokemon(though the nicknames are my own), well then I think you should read more Pokemon Manga. I thought the idea was really cool.

Also to note, Executive Proton isn't an OC, thou I don't really care if he was. Go back and play HGSS.

Kudos to those of you who could figure out the rest of his team, which (hopefully) will be revealed in the next chapter.

Please don't bash me with how strong Brendan was in battle, I thought that I made it clear in the previous chapter about something like this happening.

What do you think are his other Pokemon? Did you liked the way he beat the crap out of Team Rocket? Did you liked Brendan's character so far? Comment and Reviews are most appreciated and thanks for reading.