It had been three weeks since Brendan completed his badge hunting. Brendan had decided to take a little time to relax. He got to see May take on Winona and go on to win the badge. She even tied in another contest that same week while later going on to defeat Tate and Liza to gain her seventh badge a week later. During that time, he and Courtney got to spend some well deserved quality time together.

With a few months until the League began, Brendan took the time to catch up with his family. After much convincing, Courtney agreed to meet his parents. Albeit she was very forward with Brendan, she was a bit shy when it came to this sort of thing.

This is so nerve-wracking. I mean...what do I say? Hi, I'm Courtney. I f*cked your son, hope you don't mind! Yeah...that'll go over real well. Get ahold of yourself Courtney. Have some dignity!

Feeling Brendan take her hand, she took a deep breath and exhaled. A feeling of calm washed over her. There was always something about him that took all her stress away. Brendan reached for the door and opened it.

Courtney and Brendan stepped inside and were greeted by his parents.

"Welcome home!" They exclaimed, embracing their son tightly.

"Hey mom, hey dad," Brendan greeted with a grin.

"It's so good to have you home again!" his mother exclaimed.

"We're very proud of you son. Now, would you mind introducing us to this lovely young lady?" Professor Birch inquired, gesturing to Courtney who blushed slightly.

Brendan smiled softly and took Courtney by the hand. "This is Courtney. I met her in Mauville City at the Crooner's Café."

"Is that so? How far back?" Mrs. Birch queried.

"Right before I got my third badge. We met up several other times after that during the Food Court Tournament," Brendan replied.

"I see. Courtney, has my Brendan been treating you like a gentleman?" Mrs. Birch inquired seriously.

"Thus far? Yes. He's been raised well," Courtney admitted.

A smile broke out over Mrs. Birch's face at this news. All of his life Brendan was brought up to be a respectful young man. She was happy to see that hers and her husband's efforts were not in vain.

"That pleases me very much. I had always hoped he would find a suitable woman and so far, you have exceeded my expectations," Mrs. Birch said with a slight chuckle.

"That's good to know," Courtney replied.

At least they like me. I think...

Brendan cleared his throat and reached for his badge case.

"So, I have all eight, and the League is a few months away. I'll probably be here for a week or so and then I'll be out training. But before I do that," Brendan paused, taking the two Poké Balls on his necklace, he enlarged them. "I have two Pokémon I know you will want to study. I've already talked it over with them and they're fine with it."

Professor Birch blinked as the balls opened. When the light faded, his jaw nearly hit the floor. Before him were the Eon Twins. He could hardly believe his eyes.

"Mom, dad, meet Latios and Latias. I met them a while back and we have been traveling together for a while. They have helped me get around a lot. They've agreed to let you study them for a while," Brendan stated with a smile.
_______________________________________

May sat down inside of the Sootopolis City Pokémon Center. She had just arrived and was exhausted from the trip over. Thankfully, her Wailmer evolved into Wailord, making her trip much smoother.

"One more to go," May sighed as she dug into her lunch.

It was mid-day and she had been training for several hours with her team. Around her neck was a gift given to her by Derrick. The two had become good friends and even went on a date or two. May knew he liked her, she just didn't want to push him into saying it before he was ready. A stone was seen attached to the necklace. It was a keystone.

In front of her was a case where four of her ribbons sat. The contest that was attacked decided to give them each a ribbon due to the circumstances surrounding that event. The third ribbon was due to a tie in scores. The fourth was won in Pacifidlog Town, where she had just been prior to her arrival in Sootopolis. Both May and Derrick were doing very well. The grand festival was in one month. The League followed the Grand Festival.

A sigh escaped her lips as she began to wonder if she had bitten off more than she could chew. Shaking the thought from her mind, she continued to eat, wondering what her friends were up to. At that moment, Wally walked in. May smiled and motioned him over, once he caught his breath.
_______________________________________

Tim sighed contentedly as Lucia nestled into him, sitting comfortably in his lap.

"That was so refreshing," Lucia cooed, smiling in a satisfied manner.

"You had a long shift didn't you?" Tim said as he reached up to run a hand through her hair.

"Yes! It was sooo long," she whined, hugging him tighter.

"Hopefully you won't have to pull a double shift like that in a while," Tim replied.

Lucia nodded and pecked his cheek.

"So, what are your plans for the League? The competition looks tough this year," Lucia inquired.

Tim thought for a moment. He knew exactly who he might be facing and all of them were going to give him one hell of a fight. With names like Abby and Katrina floating around as well as Brendan, he would be hard pressed to win. Brendan improved incredibly fast. Still, if there was one thing Tim knew, it was that none of them had a clue what other Pokémon he had. Yes, this year would be fun.

"I'm going to give it everything I've got. I can't afford to do anything less than that if I aim to win. It's going to be difficult, but if I train these next few months, I'll be in good shape," Tim replied.

I had better be. Otherwise I might get trounced. Right now, the only one who worries me the most, is Katrina...
_______________________________________

Katrina sneezed into her arm and blinked. Her sister, Cynthia, glanced her way and raised a brow.

"The cold getting to you?" She asked.

Katrina shook her head. "No, I don't know where that came from."

Cynthia set down the glass of nomelade she had been drinking and placed her chin in her hands.

"Not much time until the League. Do you plan to train until then?" Cynthia inquired.

"Against you? I'd rather take my chances with Steven," Katrina laughed. "But, you could prepare me better, so I guess I could train with you."

Cynthia blinked. She wasn't that difficult to train with was she? Remembering her last sweep of the Champions League, she sweat-dropped. Okay, maybe she was just a little.

"Besides, with your help, I can be more prepared for my more difficult opponents," Katrina replied in a serious tone.

"You mean Brendan and that Tim guy, right?" Cynthia queried, gaining a nod from Katrina.

"I know Brendan's team, which helps. That's not the problem though. The match I watched troubled me a little. Brendan adapts incredibly fast to changing situations. Turning a match around is his specialty. As for Tim, he's got a team that I will really have problems with if I am not careful," Katrina stated.

"Considering you're both in the dark when it comes to the rest of your Pokémon, I'd say the both of you are in for it. Regardless, the League is two months away. You have time to prepare," Cynthia stated as she took another sip of her drink.

Katrina nodded and drummed her fingers on the table, thinking of where to begin with her training.
_______________________________________

Evening fell, and Courtney sat on Brendan's bed, thinking over the events of the day. She glanced around his room, taking note of the Pokémon posters and books that lined his shelves. She smiled at the thought of being in his room. It was simple yet quaint. Her eyes caught sight of a few books she recognized.

Huh. He does have that series, Courtney thought, remembering Brendan pointing out the set in her hideaway.

Brendan soon stepped out of the bathroom and stopped as he saw Courtney with one of his books in hand.

"You found them..." Brendan said with a slight chuckle.

"Mhm, I did. You never told me you also had her first works. You even have a few historical books by Roxanne. Someone studied a lot," Courtney sniggered.

Brendan blushed and shook his head. "I had to. Her class was strict and slacking off was not something she tolerated."

"So I've heard. You mentioned that she taught you the most out of any other teacher. The results are clear as day," Courtney added.

"Yeah," Brendan replied, pulling a plain t-shirt over his head to go with the pajama pants he had on. "She made sure we all knew what we would be getting into before we started our journeys."

Courtney closed the book and set it aside, patting the seat beside her. Brendan sat down and Courtney wrapped her arms around him.

"I see. So that's why you battle so well. Impressive. You know, we never got around to battling each other have we?" Courtney questioned.

Brendan blinked. "No. We haven't, which is odd because we had plenty of opportunities to do so."

Courtney smirked deviously. "Well then," she began, running a hand along his inner thigh as her voice became husky and seductive. "Why don't we have one tomorrow? We could be training partners. By the time we are through, you will be ready for any surprises the League has in store," she purred.

Brendan trembled at her touch. She knew just how to tease him and it drove him insane. Still, aside from her magic touch, she had aroused his curiosity. Courtney was the Commander of Team Magma and was rumored to be as strong as Maxie or stronger. The concept of battling her was more than appealing enough for him.

"That sounds...f-fantastic," Brendan replied, inhaling sharply as her hand went south.

"Good. Now, how about we get a little rest?" She stated, retracting her teasing hand. "It's been a long day, and I think your mother was a little too interested in how we met," Courtney laughed.

"Yeah...she's like that. It takes getting used to, but it's not too bad," Brendan replied with a yawn.

"Seems I'm not the only sleepy one here," Courtney yawned, giving Brendan a tired smile as she pulled back the covers so Brendan could climb in with her.

Brendan crawled in beside her. The two snuggled close, Courtney kissing along his neck to his lips before settling down and simply holding him. Within minutes, the two were asleep.
_______________________________________

So there was a brief meeting between Courtney and Brendan's parents. It went relatively well by the look of things. May is nearly done with her stuff and Katrina and Tim are getting ready to train. Oh, and Wally is catching up too. The League is coming soon! It's nearly time!!!

Ciao!!!