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

Chapter Eleven

"Honey! Come quick, Brendan is on TV!" Mrs. Birch hollered excitedly as the news popped up.

Hurried footsteps could be heard and soon Professor Birch burst into the living room.

"He is?" He asked, nearly out of breath.

"Look! This was the recording of his first two battles. The Leaders must have submitted it yesterday," Mrs. Birch explained.

"It's time for Trainer Talk! That's right, this is the part where we take a look at this year's up and coming trainers. Our story today is none other than Brendan Birch, son of the renowned Professor Birch." The news anchor started.

"This is live footage from his gym match with Rustburo's Roxanne. All I have to say is that Brendan is looking good right now. But wait, it gets better. He recently triumphed over Brawly on a beach battle! There were several surprises, with the inclusion of Brendan's recently caught Skarmory. Add in our previous Trainer Talk stars, May Maple and Tim Kunning and it was truly an eye-opening experience," the anchor continued.

"Wow, Tim really was there. And May too," Mr. Birch commented.

"Shhhh! They're still talking about Brendan," Mrs. Birch quieted her husband.

"Soon, we will be seeing both May and Brendan in action again. Over in Slateport City right now are our interviewing specialists Gabby and Ty. Gabby, how do you feel about these two?" The anchor queried.

"I'm quite ecstatic Brandy! I mean, interviewing Tim was awesome as he is the real deal, but getting to interview the son of the Professor and the daughter of Norman Maple is almost too much to handle. I can't wait!" Gabby exclaimed.

"I bet you can't. Oh, and let's not forget who else is going to be in Slateport. All you contest fans better get geared up because Lisia will be there!" Brandy announced.

"I can almost hear the fans screaming. I should know, I'm one of them!" Gabby squeeled.

"We know Gabby. Anyway, be sure to stay tuned for more information about that event. We will be keeping you all up-to-date with the trainers we find and who knows, maybe you will get to make an appearance on the show. This is Brandy, signing off!"

Mrs. Birch changed the channel and squeeled happily. "Brendan's doing so good!"

"That's our boy. It seems like Norman's girl is doing just as well. They really seem to get along," Professor Birch pointed out.

"Well, our boy is one handsome devil. And he makes friends quite quickly too," Mrs. Maple added.

"Well, I had best get back to the lab. A few trainers sent their Pokémon to me that they recently caught and I plan to study them," Mr. Birch said as he walked off humming.

"And I'll rustle us up some breakfast. Now...what to make?" She pondered, walking into the kitchen.
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Courtney rewound the recording she had done of Brendan's battles and began to analyze them more. She was beginning to see more of his strategies and was growing more and more impressed as she watched. Though her face looked as though it were perpetually bored, her expression was capable of change. Within minutes of his battle with Brawly, it went from her resting bored face to a wide-eyed expression that could rival the adorable look of newborn Eevees. Her ears even twitched like one.

The way he handled sticky situations made her hunger for more information. As a woman of science, she would go through whatever lengths necessary to understand the subject at hand. Many new thoughts began to surface. Among those thoughts were a bunch of 'what ifs.' Then it dawned on her.