In Lava [Pokémon Watty Awards, 2016 2nd Place Romance]

Chapter Eight

Brendan and May finally made it to Dewford Town. It was a rather small island complete with a few houses, a dock, a Gym and a Pokémon Center. It was around mid-afternoon.

"Here ya are you two. Dewford Town! If ye be lookin' for a good place to surf, this be the place," Mr. Briney laughed.

"We will certainly keep that in mind," Brendan replied, heading towards the Pokémon Center so he could fix up his team and possibly change.

"I'll be resting in the boat if ya need me," Mr. Briney called out.

"Okay, thank you Mr. Briney!" May called back, briskly moving to catch up to Brendan.

The duo entered the Pokémon Center and glanced around. Several trainers were gathered around. A few were in swimwear like Brendan and May, and others were in normal clothes. One of them seemed to recognize Brendan.

"Brendan?" A tall, black haired boy said as he saw Brendan and May walk through the door.

"Tim? Dude! What's up!?" Brendan exclaimed.

"Wasn't expecting to see you out here man. Lucia said she saw you the other day. That's cool," Tim grinned.

"Yeah, we talked. She mentioned you...among other things too," Brendan stated, scratching the back of his head.

"Ah, you heard about that huh?" Tim sounded proud and embarrassed.

"Oh! By the way, this is my friend, May Maple. May, meet Tim, another friend of mine."

"Wait. Maple? As in Norman Maple? I had no clue he had a daughter. Then again, all I ever saw was Norman in Petalburg when I moved there," Tim said with a slight laugh.

"Yeah, my mom and I just moved back so we could be closer to dad. Now mom can actually spend some time with him," May muttered.

"Cool, cool. So Brendan, Lucia tells me you're taking the League Challenge. Right on! Me too. Already got myself three badges. Gotta warn you though, Wattson is rough. I had a hard time with that fight," Tim laughed.

"If you already beat Wattson, what the hell are you doing out here?" Brendan asked curiously.

"Brendan, you know as well as I do that this is the best spot to catch waves. No worries though, I plan on heading out tomorrow. Gotta train hard if I plan to win my next badge," Tim grinned.

"I here ya. May and I just got our first. I need to patch up my team before I challenge the gym," Brendan said with a confident look.

"Hey, maybe we can go down and I can cheer you guys on?" Tim suggested.

"That sounds wonderful. I would appreciate it very much Tim," May said with a smile.

"Not a problem! Just let me know when you're heading over," said Tim.
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Professor Birch was sitting at the table with his wife drinking a cup of coffee, when the video phone rang. He stood up and pressed the button on the monitor against the wall and the screen opened.

"Hey dad," Brendan said with a wave.

"Brendan my boy! Where are you?" He asked.

"I'm in Dewford. May is here too, and guess who we ran into," Brendan chuckled.

"Who?" Mr. Birch wondered.

"Tim! He's out here right now taking a break. He's gonna come watch my gym battle," Brendan replied with a chuckle.

"Tim?" Came the voice of Mrs. Birch as she heard her son's voice.

"Hi mom!" Brendan waved.

"Hey sweetie! I heard you're in Dewford Town. Gonna take the gym challenge there?" She queried.