AN- My first Pokemon fic, so please review and be nice, 'kay?

Disclaimer: I own nothing except this plot.

Oh yeah, before I start, there's something you should know… I bumped up the ages because it'll make it seem more realistic. The people in that show always seem older than they actually are, anyway, so… Here are the new ages.

May and Ash-14

Brendan-15

Brock-20

Max-almost 9

The day she met Brendan Birch was the one day that May Maple wasn't prepared for a disaster of some sort.

The group had decided to visit Pallet Town and take a little break. After all, Ash was about to enter the Battle Frontier, and it was bound to be tough. May, too, had to worry, because she knew that the contests in the Kanto region would be even tougher as well. The day had started out normally enough: She'd woken up, had breakfast, picked on her little brother Max, and then the group had left Ash's mother's house to just hang around Pallet Town for the day.

After much begging, May had convinced Ash to tag along with her when she went shopping. Of course, that was before he found out that his rival-turned-friend Gary Oak was in town. After he found out, he immediately rushed off to the elder Professor Oak's lab in hopes of seeing the boy before he left for the Sinnoh Region once more, leaving May with not even an apology. Brock had then offered to go with her instead, but Ash's mother requested he stay with her and help around the house a bit. Of course, being the nice guy he was, he'd accepted Delilah's (1) request, leaving May, once again, alone in the idea of going shopping.

After that, she'd been forced to take drastic measures. She did not want to go to the mall alone, after all. As much as it pained her, she asked Max to go with her next. She stormed out of the house minutes later leaving behind an overprotective mother that wasn't hers, a guy too nice for his own good, and a little brother laughing his butt off at the mere thought of going shopping with her.

Really, it wasn't that May hated being alone. In fact, sometimes, she wanted nothing but to be left alone. But she'd gotten so used to the idea of always traveling with her companions, after all, she'd been traveling with them for about a year, that the idea of going anywhere alone just seemed wrong to her. Besides, for some strange reason, every time she went somewhere alone something bad happened. Her last thought proved true as she heard a shout:

"Look out!!" Her eyes widened at the sight of an oncoming boy on a bike, going too fast to stop in time.

"Whoa!!" The girl looked frantically around for a safe place to get out of the way while the boy tried furiously to stop his bike. She came up blank, while his efforts only slowed the bike slightly. The resulting crash was sure to be heard throughout all of Pallet Town.

Gary Oak looked up from where he had been concentrating intently on his friendly pokemon battle with Ash. He frowned slightly.

"Hey, Ash, did you hear something?" The younger boy frowned as well.

"No. Come on, Gary, let's finish our battle already!" Gary sighed, used to the other boy's impatience.

"Alright, then. Prepare yourself, Ash, 'cause you're going down!"

May groaned as she stood up shakily from where she'd fallen. Looking over, she saw the boy doing the same. While he was obviously hurting, she really wasn't in the mood to feel sympathy, especially considering it was his fault to begin with. That jerk! Who does he think he is, riding around like that?! It's dangerous to everyone, not just himself! Instead, she scowled and walked over to stand next to him. He was taking his sweet time in getting up, so she was just starting to feel sorry for him and thinking about offering him a hand, when he suddenly shot up. It was unexpected, and she'd been leaning down to give him a hand up as he did it. He ended up bumping into her and causing her to fall right back down onto the ground.

"Ouch!" His ruby eyes (2) widened as he looked down at her.

"Oops! Heh… Sorry about that. Let me help you up." Glaring, May slapped the hand he offered away, sympathy long forgotten.

"I can handle myself, thanks. I think you've done enough, considering you knocked me down twice." He put his hands up in defense, but didn't flinch or back down.

"Hey, chill, girl. I was just trying to help, that's all." May's scowl deepened at his words.

"I don't need your help! And I have a name, so don't call me 'girl'!" The boy rolled his eyes, took his white beanie off, ran his hand through his jet-black hair, and then put his beanie back on before suddenly smirking.

"Well, I don't know your name, and I don't think you'll be telling me any time soon, so what else am I supposed to call you? Of course, if you want, I could give you a nickname. I'm thinking… Wild Cat. It suits your personality perfectly, don't you think, Wild Cat?" She stood up and dusted herself off before glaring at him again, fire in her eyes.

"No, I don't think it suits me at all. You caught me on a bad day and then made it worse! What else would you expect from me when I'm already upset, angry, and now, because of you, physically damaged!" Though her outburst had shocked him, he recovered quickly and smirked once more. He then proceeded to totally invade her personal space by getting way to close for her comfort.

"Really? I don't see any scratches on you at all. Maybe a bruise here and there, but you seem fine to me." He leaned back and put more distance between them, leaving a lightly blushing May rooted to the ground before continuing, "And really, until you tell me your name, what else can I call you, huh Wild Cat? You say I caught you on a bad day, and maybe you're right, I don't know. But the point is, I can only judge you based on this meeting because we've only just met this once, and this meeting supports your nickname quite well." She tried to cover up her blush with anger, but the look on his face showed that he saw right through her attempts. Who is this guy?! Whoever he is, he's smart! And he's making a fool of me… Oh, forget it. I can't match this guy's wit, so I should probably throw in the towel before he leaves me even more humiliated than I already am.

"If I tell you my name, do you promise not to call me Wild Cat?" Oddly enough, she could swear she saw a flash of disappointment in his eyes, but the moment she saw it, it was gone. He smiled slightly, contented with just being annoying.

"Maaaaybe." She twitched slightly at the purposely drawn out word, but decided to ignore it. Instead, she forced a smile and put her hand out.

"I'm May Maple. It's nice to meet you… I guess." He chuckled at her last statement before shaking her hand.

"Brendan Birch. Despite what you think, I really did enjoy meeting you. You're the gym leader of Petalburg City's daughter, right?"

"Right! Why do you ask?" His grin turned slightly feral.

"Because I'm a Pokemon trainer, that's why. One day, I'll be the very best. But first, I've got to beat him and the other gym leaders." May blinked, stunned.

"Really? I'm traveling with a guy who has similar interests, you know. He's actually the reason I'm in Pallet Town." Although I'm sure Ash is much better than him… Brendan blinked, an odd glint in his eyes.

"Hmm, interesting. So, you travel with your boyfriend, then? I travel alone, but I suppose if I had a girlfriend, I'd travel with her…" Her eyes widened at his words, and her face heated up. Wha?!

"B, boyfriend?! Ash isn't my boyfriend! And we don't travel together alone, we have Brock and my brother Max!" She was trying to stutter out explanations and he was snickering. Many a passer-by stopped to stare at the odd duo in front of the Pallet shopping center.

Finally having enough of her stuttering, Brendan put his hands on her shoulders in an attempt to calm her. "Chill out, would you? You shouldn't take everything I say so seriously." She relaxed slightly and brushed his hands off.

"Okay then. Ash really is just my friend, and it embarrasses me when people think otherwise." He could swear he heard her muttering, "The same goes for Drew…" but decided to let it slip in favor of another question.

"So… does that mean you're single?" If it were possible, May's face went both totally pale and beet red at the question.

"Uh, Um… Why do you care, exactly?!" He rolled his eyes.

"Once again, chill out. Do you ever listen to what people say? Don't take everything I say seriously. I'm not interested like that, if that's what you were thinking, just curious." The paleness left her face, but she remained blushing.

"Uh… okay then. Yes, I'm single." He nodded.

"Cool. I was just on my way to the Hoenn Region, so… maybe I'll see you around?" May shook her head sadly.

"No. Sorry, but I'm gonna be in Kanto for a while doing contests and cheering on Ash in the Battle Frontier." He seemed to be mulling what she'd said over, so she remained quiet. Finally, he nodded.

"You're a pokemon coordinator?"

"Yeah." He flashed her a grin, but it was different than the ones before.

"Awesome! I really want to battle your dad, but now I want to battle you even more. I want to see what you're made of!" She blinked.

"Me? You want to battle me?"

"Yeah, and I promise, one day, I will. We'll see each other again, I'm sure of it. Next time we meet, we'll battle!"

She smiled, flattered. "I think I'd like that. But I'll warn you, it won't be easy! I'm pretty good, after all." He winked.

"That's just what I love in a girl. A challenge." She found herself blushing under his intense gaze. Why is he staring at me like that? Is he saying he likes me because I challenge him? Actually, that may be it! He was enjoying our little argument earlier, I could tell. He liked the fact that I didn't back down or give up, at least for a little while. He liked that I presented him with a challenge by acting that way! This guy… I've never met anyone quite like him before. His attitude and personality... It's different. It's new. I think… May smiled slightly …I think I like it. He'd make a good rival…

"If it's a challenge you want, that's what you'll get. Next time we meet, I'll give you the hardest pokemon battle of your life!"

"That's just what I wanted to hear. And next time we get into a fight…" he trailed off as he leaned in closer. "…don't give up so quickly. It was fun." That said, he closed the distance between them and kissed her cheek. He pulled back with a grin. "See you later, Maple." And then, he got on his bike and started riding off.

By the time May finally recovered from shock, she shouted, "I have a name, Birch!"

From off in the distance, he raised his hand in a wave before countering, "Goodbye, Wild Cat! See you soon!" He could hear her exploding "It's May!" in the distance, but didn't care. Instead, he spoke softly to himself as he rode off. "Sooner than you think, even. I've had a change of plans, May. I think I'll start my journey elsewhere." He smiled. "See you in Kanto, May!"

The day he met May Maple was the one day Brendan Birch hadn't been prepared to fall for a girl. After all, he'd been looking for a girlfriend for a long time, but he hadn't found one yet that truly interested him. But it happened anyway, and he wasn't one to give up. The day Brendan Birch met May Maple, sparks of all kinds flew, and he loved it.

AN-So… what'd you all think? It's not my best work, but I think it's decent. Review and tell me how I did, 'kay? MCO

(1)- I THINK that this is Ash's mother's name, but I'm not sure. If it is, could someone tell me if it's spelled right?

(2)- I have NO IDEA what color Brendan's eyes are. I heard somewhere that they were ruby colored, so…