Chapter 4

Drew opened his eyes for a moment, closed them, then shot them wide open. For several seconds, he stared about him, trying to figure out where he was. Then he remembered: Team Magma had bombed their home, and they had been relocated to the Rustboro Mountains.

May shifted next to him, letting out a soft sigh. Drew pulled her hair away from her neck and kissed it, murmuring, "Good morning."

She rolled over onto her side so that she was facing him. Brushing a strand of green hair out his eyes, she smiled at him. "'Morning."

Drew kissed her again. "Have I ever told you how wonderful you are in the morning?"

The smile on May's face suddenly disappeared. "Hmm. Could you hold that thought?"

She climbed out of bed and made her way across the room. Drew stared after her, confused. "What is it?"

May ducked into the small bathroom. "Just give me a minute!" Almost immediately after saying that, she started throwing up.

Drew sat up, alarmed. Then he remembered; May was pregnant. He called out, "Do you need any help?" When he received no response, he laid back down and stared up at the ceiling.

He heard the toilet flush, and the sound of water running. May came out, her face pale. When she saw Drew, she scowled. "Comfortable?"

"Why, yes, thank you."

"Still think I'm wonderful?"

"Always."

May's facial expression softened. "You could be more helpful, you know."

"What am I supposed to do? Follow you around with a bucket?"

"Moral supports always works."

"Huh. That doesn't sound too terrible."

Rolling her eyes, May climbed back into bed. Drew was muttering under his breath. "There, there. It will be all right. Yeah, that's not too difficult."

"You're an idiot."

"Hey, you're the one who married me."

"It was a moment of weakness." Drew wrapped his arms around May, and she snuggled up against him. "What are you gonna do today?"

"I need to talk to Brawley, for starters. See what he wants me to do."

"You still planning on joining the Resistance then?"

"I don't see any reason why I shouldn't."

"Well, what am I supposed to do?"

"I don't know. Try poking around the base; I'm sure you'll find something. Do they have knitting circles around here?"

May elbowed Drew in the ribs, and he laughed. "I'll find something productive to help out with after I wake up from my nap."

"You're going back to sleep? But you just got up!"

"You try being pregnant; it's exhausting."

They were silent for a while. Then May asked, "Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"Fighting in the Resistance."

"It's the right thing to do."

"Well, yeah, but why else?"

"There's nothing else."

"Drew…"

Drew was silent, then admitted, "I want to make sure you and the baby will be safe."

"Really?" May was beaming at him.

"Don't make a big deal out of it." Drew groaned.

"Too late." Wrapping her arms around his neck, she whispered, "You don't have to leave right now, do you? Brawley can wait."

Drew responded by shifting so that May was on her back, and he was hovering over her. "I don't see any reason to leave just yet."

About an hour later, Drew was wandering the halls, searching for the Dewford Town Gym Leader. Most of the people who arrived with him and May last night were also up and about, and Drew noticed that they were carrying luggage with him. He followed the crowd, and they led him to the main cavern. Drew was surprised to see that they were leaving the base. He noticed Brawley standing in the corner, and made his way over to him.

Brawley was watching the refugees leave. He greeted Drew, "How's it goin'? You're Drew, right?"

"Yeah. What's going on?"

"We're sendin' these people up north, to Tate an' Liza."

"Why aren't they staying here?"

"Most of 'em got families, or don't feel like fightin'. We decided that Tate an' Liza would run a base specifically for refugees, so that's where they're headed." Brawley glanced at Drew. "You stayin'?"

"Yeah, I figured I could help out."

"Good for you, man!" Throwing an arm around Drew's shoulders, Brawley led him down an unfamiliar tunnel. "What Pokémon do you got?"

"Well, I've had Roserade for a long time. There's also Absol, Masquerain, Butterfree, Flygon, Jumpluff, and Hitmontop."

Brawley nodded approvingly. "I saw your Flygon in action; we could use some aerial power. Now, you're a Coordinator, right?"

"Yeah, but I've seen my share of battles. I can handle myself."

"Hey, I ain't judgin' you, man. We need all the help we can get."

The pair entered a large cave, where Trainers and their Pokémon were practicing battle moves. Brawley frowned at a pair with a Golduck and a Swalot. "Why don't you set up over there? I'm gonna go help those two, then I'll be with you." He dashed off.

Drew dropped the bag containing his Pokéballs on the floor. Deciding that he would show Brawley Roserade's skill in battle, he opened the bag. As he was searching for its Pokéball, he noticed something strange. He had seven Pokémon, yet there were eight Pokéballs in his bag. He pulled out the extra one. No, this definitely was not his. Curious, he tossed it into the air. There was a flash of white light, and a scowling Blaziken appeared before him.

By the time May woke up from her nap, she was starving. She had been too tired, and preoccupied with Drew, to search for the cafeteria earlier, and now she was regretting it. Hastily throwing on a pair of fresh clothes, May rushed out the door, almost knocking over Max.

"Hey, sis!" Max grabbed her as she went past. "Where are you going?"

"To find food. I didn't have breakfast yet."

"You missed a meal? The world must be ending!"

"Oh, shut up. Where's the food?"

"But it's almost lunch. Why didn't you eat earlier?"

May flushed. "None of your business!"

"But what could be so interesting that-." Max paused. He noticed May's red face and her refusal to look at him. He made a face. "Seriously? You guys are gross."

"Oh, grow up."

"Can't keep your hands off each other for ten seconds, can you?"

"Max!" May swung at him, but he easily dodged. "Just tell me where the food is!"

"Down the hall, third right, second door on the right."

May flung her arms around him. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" She rushed down the hall.

"Hey, where's Drew?"

May called over her shoulder, "He went looking for Brawley! If you see him, ask him if he liked my surprise!"

Max continued down the hall, muttering, "If her surprise is something perverted, me and Drew are gonna have to have a talk."

At the moment, Drew and his "surprise" were glaring at each other. Drew had no idea what Blaziken was doing here, but he was certain that May had something to do with it. He and the Blaze Pokémon had never really gotten along; it was very protective of May, and resented her closeness with Drew.

Drew figured he might as well try to communicate with it. Maybe it knew what was going on. "What are you doing here?"

Blaziken just stared at him.

Drew tried again. "Did May make you do this?"

It jerked its head in a sharp nod.

"You're not going to talk to me, are you?"

It nodded.

Drew let out a sigh. "Great."

Max entered the training area. Spotting Drew, he made his way over to him. As he got closer, Drew could hear him laughing. "I'm guessing this is May's surprise. Much better than what I thought it was."

Drew shot him a look. "What did you think she was talking about?"

"You don't wanna know." Max glanced at the pair. "So are you guys just gonna stare at each other until someone's eyes fall out?"

"Pretty much." Blaziken nodded.

"Okay then." Max watched them for a few moments. "Why isn't May using Blaziken?"

"She didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

Without taking his eyes off Blaziken, Drew answered, "Because she's pregnant."

"WHAT?" Max's outburst was so loud that a Hoothoot fell out of the air in fright. "Are you kidding me? Dude, she's my sister!"

"Dude, she's my wife."

"Why didn't she tell me?"

Drew shrugged. "Why don't you go ask her?"

Max stormed out of the cave, fuming with indignation. Drew directed his attention back to the Fire-Fighting Pokémon standing in front of him. Blaziken might as well been smiling earlier compared to how it was glaring at him now. Drew let out a sigh. "Look, you don't like me, I don't particularly like you. Fine. But May clearly wants you to work with me, so just try to do what I tell you and we'll get along fine. Okay?"

The fire encircling Blaziken's wrists flared, and it shot steam out of its nostrils.

"I'll take that as a 'no.'" Drew turned away. He failed to notice Blaziken taking aim at him.

Even though the food in the cafeteria was not of superb quality, May was so hungry that every bite tasted like it had been made by Arceus itself. She was digging into a plate of eggs when Max came in. He walked over to May's table, and stared at the pile of empty plates beside her. "You do realize that we need to save our food, right?"

"Oh. Sorry about that. You want some?"

Max shook his head and slid into the seat across from her. May noticed that he was not looking at her, and he was fiddling with his hands, like he always did when he was nervous or preoccupied. Figuring that he would tell her what was bothering him when he felt like it, May asked, "How's Drew and Blaziken doing?"

"They're involved in a staring contest to the death."

"Oh. That bad?"

"Yeah. It's pretty funny, though." Max paused. "You could've asked him if he even wanted to use Blaziken."

"Maybe, but he would've said no. Those two need to learn to get along, whether they want to or not."

"Still, you should've talked to him. That's what people do; if something important is going on, they let the people they care about know."

May looked up from her food, surprised. Max's voice had tightened, and his hands were twitching even more. "What are you talking about?"

"Nothing." They were quiet. Then Max burst out, "When were you going to tell me that you're pregnant?"

"What? Did Drew tell you?"

"Yes, and that's my point! You didn't tell me, and I'm your brother!"

"Hey, calm down! I just told Drew last night, I haven't been able to tell anyone else. Mom and Dad don't even know yet."

"So, you were going to tell me?"

"Of course!"

"Okay then." Max leaned back in his chair, satisfied. Then he began to giggle.

May stared. "What's so funny?"

Still laughing, Max said, "You're gonna get fat."

Three seconds later, Max was picking egg out of his hair, and May had stormed off. Poor Drew,Max thought. Imagine being married to someone with no sense of humor.

When May got back to her room, she was surprised to see Blaziken there. "Hey. What are you doing back already?"

"Blaze blaziken. Blaze."

May's jaw dropped. "You set Drew on fire? Why?"

Drew came out of the bathroom, his clothes singed. He glared at the tall red Pokémon. "I'll tell you why. Your Pokémon is nuts!"

Blaziken crouched down into a fighting stance. "Blaaaziken!"

"Alright, that's enough!" May summoned Blaziken back to its Pokéball. She glared at Drew. "Did you even try to get along?"

"I did, but Blaziken just hates me!"

"No, it doesn't. You two just need to spend more time together."

Drew let out a snort of disbelief. "Why did you give it to me anyway?"

"Blaziken's seen a lot of battles. I thought you could use the help."

"I don't need help. My Pokémon are perfectly strong!"

"I know, but it seems like such a shame to keep Blaziken cooped up when it could be helping."

"Well, thanks, but no thanks. I prefer to use Pokémon that won't attack me when my back is turned."

"Well, how about Glaceon? Or maybe-."

"May! Seriously, I don't need to use any of your Pokémon! I'm fine."

"I just want to help."

Drew hugged her. "I know, and I appreciate that. Did you talk to Max yet?"

"Oh, yeah. Thanks for the warning, by the way."

"Sorry. I thought you told him."

May studied his face. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Yes, there is. Your eyebrows are all scrunched together. Tell me."

"Just… something Brawley mentioned, and I've been thinking about it."

"What?"

Drew shook his head. "You'll get mad."

"I'll get mad if you don't tell me. Now, what is it?"

Drew sighed. "There's a base up north for families and people who don't want to fight…"

"So?"

"And I want you to go there. Without me."

Another cliffy! I'm so mean to you guys. I hoped you enjoyed this fast update. And the Hoothoot. I'm particularly proud of the Hoothoot. Review and I'll give you Blaziken. Hopefully it will be nicer to you than it is to Drew.