Skarmory screeched through the skies, leaving contrails in her wake as she raced along. Brendan kept both hands on Skarmory to steady himself. He and Skarmory had practiced for a while until he was able to stay on without losing his balance. This was great considering the possibility of him falling into either one of the many trees below, or onto the ground. As he looked down at the ground along he spotted several trainers having battles. Deciding that he'd been flying long enough, he tapped Skarmory and ushered her towards the ground. She complied without question and dove.
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Five trainers were all gathered around a battle that was taking place. A young boy with short black hair, wearing a bright orange shirt and black shorts stood by what looked to be an Electrike. His opponent was slightly rotund and had a strap going across his white collared shirt. He wore gold framed glasses and had black hair. Beside him was a Nuzleaf.

"You got this Timmy!" One of the trainers shouted to the owner of the Electrike.

"Get him Edwin!" Another shouted at the glasses wearing trainer with the Nuzleaf.

"Today's the day Elecrike and I get our first win!" Timmy declared confidently.

"Don't be so certain young Timmy. Trainers such as I, have moved beyond the beginning stage. And the evolved state of my Pokémon are the proof," Edwin grinned.

"Big deal! My dad trained me to battle right after I got my license so get ready to lose! Electrike, use Spark!"

Electrike began to charge his fur with powerful electrical currents that formed a sphere around his body. In a burst of movement, he took off, aiming to headbutt Nuzleaf with his element.

"Razor Leaf!" Edwin commanded.

Nuzleaf extened his mitten-like hand and gathered the power of nature into his palm before releasing a storm of sharp leaves towards Electrike. The electric canine was pounded by the assault and forced back to his trainer, scratch marks lining his body. His attack fizzled out.

"Come on Electrike, hang in there!" Timmy cheered.

"Are you sure you wanna continue? You did say that Electrike is new right? That training you did was probably also short notice, so it's okay if you back down," Edwin stated out of concern.

"I can't back out now. I promised my family that I would become a great trainer and backing down isn't something I can do!" Timmy shot back.

"But sometimes it's the right thing to do," came a strangely familiar voice.

The crowd of trainers looked over to see Brendan walking towards the group.

"Hey, you're Brendan aren't you!?" Timmy pointed out.

Brendan blinked and then it registered. "Yeah, sorry, forgot that I made an appearance on Gabby and Ty's show and apparently Trainer Talk."

"You were so cool! My older sister is a huge fan of you and Tim," Timmy informed.

"That so? I'm flattered, but I'm really not all that good. Tim on the otherhand is great," Brendan chuckled.

"Don't say that! What you said on TV inspired me to take my first step into being a trainer. I mean I already wanted to be one after seeing Tim in action, but hearing your words sealed the deal!" Timmy declared.

"I too, became inspired by your words. I had a desire to battle either you or Tim if we ever met. Looks like fate has brought you here," Edwin smirked.

"Hey! You're battling me, remember!?" Timmy shouted.

"Timmy, your Pokémon can hardly stay standing. Perhaps you should return it," Edwin advised.

"But-" Timmy started.

"Timmy huh? Now I see why you think Tim is so cool. Listen, sometimes throwing in the towel can be a good thing. I know that I said to never give up, but not giving up and knowing when to quit are two sides of the same coin," Brendan explained.

"You mean, it's okay to quit once in a while?" Timmy asked, bewildered.

"Yep. Because doing that will help you grow as a trainer. Your opponent knows this as well," Brendan stated.

Edwin nodded. Timmy looked back at Electrike and sighed.

"Okay," he said, "get some rest Electrike."

With that out of the way, Brendan faced Edwin. "Now, I believe you said you wanted to challenge me?"
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The day was drawing to a close and the denizens of Slateport City were beginning to get off work. May flopped onto the bed of her hotel room and sighed contentedly.

I wonder how Brendan is doing, thought May as she relaxed.

This is just all so exciting. I can't wait to tell mom and dad. As a matter of fact, why don't I do that now!?

May grabbed her gear and dialed her family. After a few rings, her mother picked up.

"May!" Her mother exclaimed.

"Someone's happy, hi mom!" May replied.

"Your father and I saw the news. We are very excited for you!" Mrs. Maple squeeled.

"That's such a relief! I am so glad," May replied, plopping back onto her mattress with a big smile.

"So when's the contest? Your father and I want to be there for your debut," she asked.

"In two days. It's short notice but I'm sure I can come up with a few ideas. I just need to find another Pokémon to add to my team," May added.

"I see. You wanna make things more diverse right?" Mrs. Maple inquired.

"Yeah, I mean I have Torchic. And he's cute and all, but I need to train him a bit more. There are battle rounds if I recall," May inputted.

"Ah, of course. Well, do what you can sweetie! We will be rooting for you!" Mrs. Maple said with a smile.

"Thanks Mom! Talk soon, love you! Bye!" May said as she hung up.

"Love you too!" Her mother replied.
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"Lombre, use Water Gun!" Edwin commanded.

"Poochyena, Dig!" Brendan countered.

Lombre reared his head back and loosed a stream of high pressure water towards Poochyena who quickly dove underground. Within seconds, Poochyena closed the distance and erupted from below and headbutting Lombre in the chin, sending him flat on his back, out after a very long battle. Poochyena was breathing heavily and toppled over in exhaustion, still conscious.

"Looks like you win Brendan. It was an honor to have battled you," Edwin said with a smile of satisfaction.

"You were one tough opponent. Two draws and then this. You have quite a strong team," Brendan laughed.

"Yes, well...I nearly had your Skarmory with Houndour. But she was gutsy enough to take a point blank blast to the face to take him out. Then again neither won that bout," Edwin stated.

"No kidding. Poochyena got lucky here too," Brendan chuckled.

"Not entirely Brendan. That Poochyena's pretty crafty. He would have really had the upper hand if he evolved. And judging by his strength, I'd say that it's not too far from now," Edwin surmised.

Brendan nodded and looked down at Poochyena. He had been after this one for a while and now he would soon become something much greater. Brendan looked up at the sky to see that it was getting dark.  It was getting dark and Brendan needed to either get to Mauville now or camp out for the night.

"You okay Brendan?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm just trying to get to Mauville City as soon as I can," Brendan replied.

"I see. Well, perhaps I can help you with that? Here. It's a Super Potion for your Skarmory. It should get her back on her feet post haste," Edwin replied, taking the potion from his bag and handing it to Brendan.

Brendan smiled. "Thanks Edwin, I'll pay you back one day."

"No repayment is necessary. I'm a collector of sorts, so I not only collect Pokémon but an abundance of items as well. Parting with one is of no consequence to me," Edwin replied.

Brendan released Skarmory and sprayed the potion on his injured friend. She felt a surge of energy and spread her wings wide. Screeching her gratitude she pressed her head into Brendan's gentle hand.

"There ya go girl. All better?" He asked, getting a nod in reply.

"Hey Brendan," Timmy began. "Good luck in Mauville! Do your best!"

"Yeah, go for it Brendan!" A few of the other trainers cheered.

Brendan nodded and hopped on Skarmory and took off. It wasn't too much longer until he reached Mauville. And if he had to stop for the night he would. Unbeknownst to the trainers below, a presence was lurking by.

It was a young woman dressed in an Aqua uniform. She had concealed herself well and was now dialing on her gear. It rang a few times before a feminine voice answered.

"Hello?" Shelly stated.

"Hi, it's Zinnia. Brendan was spotted just now, taking off. It seems he is heading for Mauville City."

"Really now? Hmmm...our operation isn't too far from that place. If he gets involved then there will be trouble. I will inform our team. Thank you for letting me know," Shelly replied, hanging up.

Zinnia sighed and looked up at the darkening sky with a far away look in her eyes.

"It won't be long now..."
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And we're moving forward to more of the plot! I hope this has been an enjoyable ride so far! If you like it, let me know! If you don't, well, don't read! You know the drill. Don't forget to vote and comment! Peace!!!