"Congratulations, Drew!"

The green-haired boy lifted his head to reveal matching green eyes. They gazed dully at the crowd of young and middle aged women blocking his path. An empty sigh fell inside him at such an adoring sight. What's wrong with me? He presented them his famous cool grin with a red rose at hand to compliment it. "Thank you, ladies," he bowed humbly, "But really." He stretched the rose out to them. "I owe my victory all to you. If it wasn't for the support of my fans, I wouldn't be where I am now. And for that, I'm truly grateful."

The women gazed at the blossomed flower in awe and then unleashed a unified squeal that could be heard from the next region. "Oh, Drew!" they praised, "You're so kind! Kyaaah!" At once, they lunged for the flower.

Drew quickly released the rose and jumped up high in the air. He threw a pokéball towards the sky and summoned, "Flygon!" A green dragon emerged from the ball and swiftly caught him on its smooth back. "Let's head towards the Pokemon Centre. It's getting a bit stuffy here."

Flygon glanced down at the chaotic mass of women struggling over the single rose, not heeding any mind to their pricked and bleeding fingertips. "Auruuu…" it sighed and flew off to its destination.

"Hey, May! Long time no see!"

Flygon felt something pinch its back and stopped abruptly, grunting in pain. It turned its head slightly to find that a hand had done the pinching. The hand of its trainer. It immediately saw Drew's troubled expression and followed his gaze to a familiar brunette running just some feet below them, completely oblivious to their presence. A dark-haired boy with a Pikachu resting on his left shoulder ran towards her and she greeted him with a hug. The pinch came again.

May let go of Ash and gave him a welcoming smile. "Ash, it's been a while," she laughed, "How have you been? Ah, your hair got a bit longer…" Her attention quickly shifted to the yellow mouse pokémon on his shoulder and she caressed its soft cheek playfully. "Hello to you, too, Pikachu!"

"Pika!" Pikachu happily squeaked, very much pleased with reuniting with this affectionate friend.

To Flygon's relief, Drew finally loosened his grip. "Flygon, land behind those trees over there." After landing, he returned his pokémon to its pokéball and casually eavesdropped on May and Ash's conversation.

Ash returned the laugh. "I heard you were entering this year's Grand Festival so I just had to come and see your performance. I was a bit late, but I saw most of the contest. Your Glaceon was awesome in the Appeals round! Not to mention that your battling skills have improved by a lot since I last saw you."

"Oh!" May blushed and stood some distance back, hiding her hands behind her and rubbing her heel against her ankle. "Aw, it's all thanks to my pokémon, so they're the ones who really deserve the praises! And I learned most of those battling techniques from you." A pokeball from inside her bag clicked open and a stream of light trailed beside her. From it took the form of Delcatty, which meowed excitedly.

"Uwah!" Ash gasped and stumbled back a bit. "A Delcatty? May, did you…?"

"Ah, Delcatty!" May also gasped, "I thought for sure after evolving, you'd grow out of that habit!" The giddy pokémon turned to her and simply meowed again. "…I guess not."

"So you did evolve Skitty," Ash confirmed. He knelt in front of Delcatty and gave its soft head a gentle pat. "Hey there, Delcatty. Remember me?" Delcatty ducked from his hand and pranced off. Concerned, Pikachu followed closely behind.

May walked up to Ash and offered him a hand. "Sorry about that. Ever since evolving, Delcatty has had a pretty cheeky attitude. Don't take it personally."

Giving a meek shrug, Ash took her hand and held it tight as she helped him to his feet. "So then, where are you going now?" he asked suddenly, "With the festival done and all. Gonna keep journeying and participating in contests?"

A finger tapped against May's chin as she pondered over the question. "I guess so," she muttered with a sheepish look on her face, "I mean, I still haven't won the Ribbon Cup yet, right? Well, I don't plan on giving up! I'll keep on training to become an even better coordinator and win myself a Ribbon Cup!" Passionate flames burned in her cerulean eyes at her unwavering resolve.

"That's the spirit!" Ash encouraged, "You should never give up! I didn't win my last Championship League because I ever gave up, you know. You can do it, May, I just know it!"

Oh, please, I don't have enough patience to listen to any more of this. Drew stepped out from behind the trees rather loudly, enough to capture the attention of May and Ash. This was all planned, however, for he greeted them with a cool, "Hmph."

"Drew!" May jumped in surprise. Realizing the situation, anger shrouded her. "Hey! Were you eavesdropping on us this whole time?"

Ignoring her question, Drew simply gave his bangs a quick flip and sneered, "You heard him, May. Never give up. After all, it'll take about oh, I don't know…some ten more years before you even have a chance of surpassing me now. So better get to training as soon as possible."

Ash raised a brow and turned to May. "What's he talkin' about?"

"Just because Drew won the Ribbon Cup this year, he thinks he's all that," she answered bitterly, "And now he has the nerve of eavesdropping. That's rude!"

"Eavesdrop?" Drew threw a small chuckle. "Now that's a rude accusation. I was just training with my pokémon and executing new moves wonderfully….until we were bothered by your loud mouth. Even trainers from Sinnoh could hear you."

Annoyance flared into rage at the barrage of insults Drew launched at May. "Ugh!" The flustered brunette gritted her teeth and brought up a fist. "I dare you to say that again to my face!"

"I already said it once to your face, so what's the point a second time?"

"Why you…!"

Ash sighed in exasperation. "Looks like some things never change." From a distance, he spotted Delcatty making its way back with Pikachu hitching a comfortable ride on its back.

"Pika, Pika!" Pikachu waved.

Delcatty wagged its tail for an added greeting. "Maaaao!"

May received Delcatty in her arms as it arrived and Pikachu jumping back onto Ash's shoulder. "There you are," she acknowledged.

Drew watched as Ash and May interacted lovingly with their pokémon. All of a sudden, he could feel his own breathing becoming shallow and his palms sweat. "So May," he mumbled, trying his hardest not to stutter. "Any idea of where you're going on this next journey of yours?"

Giggling, May gave him a wink and proudly exclaimed, "Nope!"

"What?" Drew and Ash found themselves asking at the same time. The thought 'She's gotta be kidding' trailed through their heads, too.

"What do you mean 'nope'?" Ash demanded, "You're going out to compete in pokémon contests, aren't you? You've at least got to have some idea of where those contests will be."

May shook her head and replied, smiling uncertainly, "Well, yeah…that's my goal. But I just don't know which region I want to compete in. It's a great, big world out there and I want to see as much of it as I can, you know?" She returned Delcatty to its pokéball and jumped on top of a nearby stump, looking up at the sky. "I want to see it all with my friends and pokémon by my side. To me, that's what really counts in a journey."

For as long as he'd known her, Drew had always known that May led a dreamer's pursuit. Just like Ash, she looked more to the future than she did the past or present. That worried him. "Then," he cut into her wishful thinking, "Who are these 'friends' you'll be travelling with this time? And just where will you all go?"

A long pause followed. Drew and Ash waited patiently for a response from the young coordinator, apprehensive of the good chance that she may just give them an empty answer. After some thinking, May turned to them and laughed, "I really have no idea. I'm just winging this, to be honest."

Drew could have sworn he heard his stomach drop to his feet. Ash laughed along and commented, "Yeah! The best journeys are always the ones full of unexpected encounters! Nothing will ever get boring for you, May."

"Yeah," May nodded in agreement. Her attention returned to the sky. Truthfully…this journey might be a lonely one. "Well then you guys, I guess this is where we split. I've gotta go pack my things and set out for this new road bright and early tomorrow! Nice seeing you both!" With that, she hopped off of the stump and dashed off towards the Pokemon Centre.

Ash placed his hands on hips. "I can't quite put my finger on it," he whispered to Pikachu, "But May has changed somehow."

"Pika-chu!" Pikachu affirmed.

"You got that right, she's becoming more like you."

"Huh?" Ash turned to his side and locked eyes with Drew. The top coordinator appeared angry and that puzzled him. Does this guy have a bone to pick with me or something? "Oh…Drew, hi."

Drew averted Ash's gaze and looked to where May was running. "This is not good," he remarked with a frown, "She's just jumping into things now without really considering the outcome of her actions. May constantly looks to the future, which isn't bad, but in doing that, her attention is galaxies away from the present. She might get into accidents and whatnot because of that. Don't these kinds of things ever cross her mind? Seriously..."

A wide smile spread across Ash's face and he noted, "I get it now! You're in a bad mood because you're worried about May aren't you, Drew?"

Ash's bold claim was like a Bonemerang from a Marowak striking Drew hard on the head. His face immediately reddened and he lost all composure he had. "What did you just say?" he growled defensively.

"From the way you ranted on about her flaws, I'd say you were worried about May." Ash and Pikachu grinned politely in consideration of Drew's embarrassed state. "And if that's the case, then you two should just travel together."

"Don't even joke with that," Drew countered in a cynical tone, "You know May and I don't get along well. There's no way she'd travel with me."

Bingo. "So…I'm guessing you were thinking all this time of asking her, am I right?"

Drew fell silent, eyes wide and body stiff. His words slipped and now he was backed into a corner by this trainer that did not exactly fall under his 'Favorites' list. Angered, he turned his back to Ash and began walking away without uttering a word.

Ash simply smiled and called after Drew, "You know, Drew, it's not impossible! I'm sure May would love to travel with you!" He was amazed that Drew actually stopped in his tracks and decided to press on. "I mean, you're both coordinators and all so you have the same goals in competing in contests. So why not give it a try? It's not like you'll lose anything in just asking."

"…you wouldn't understand." Drew put a hand in his pocket and walked away with his head down. Even I still don't understand.

"What? Wouldn't understand what? Hey! Drew!" Ash found his shouting pointless and stopped, merely heaving a sigh. "Man, Pikachu…I'm starting to get a headache from all this. Why is Drew making it so complicated? It's just asking someone to tag along on a journey."

Pikachu shrugged. "Pika-chu?"

That night, May sat on her bed, wondering about her words from earlier. Her resolve was unquestionable, but her way of getting to it, on the other hand, was a different story. Will I really be okay? I'm not really used to travelling alone. At least in Sinnoh, that Brendan guy tagged along for a bit... What if I get lost somewhere? What if my pokémon and I get hurt? What if there's no food around for miles and I'm all out of supplies? My pokémon will starve! What if…oh! Conceding to anxiety, she threw herself on her back and gave a loud sigh. "I can't think like this!" she cried, "Not now!" She closed her eyes and for that brief second, an image of Drew's face appeared. She opened them again. Why am I thinking of Drew at a time like this? Then, a bright glow came into her window and lit her dark room as though it were day. "What in the world?" This caused her to sit back up and search for the source of that light.

Outside, Masquerain danced with its Hidden Power's glowing spheres while flapping its sparkling wings to fill the sky with glitter. "Maaaaas-querrr-ain!" it sang with glee and flew around in circles. It was obvious now that it demanded attention.

That's weird. May jumped to her feet and walked over to the window. "Masquerain? Hm, must be Drew's, but what is it doing here?" She opened the window and asked, "Masquerain, what's going on? Where's Drew?"

"How sweet," Drew's voice snickered, "You think of me when you see Masquerain, hm?"

May looked down from the balcony and found Drew floating on midair, resting on Flygon's back. "Drew!" she gasped. To reward her acknowledgement, Drew threw a ruby-red, thornless rose into her hand. After catching the flower, May asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Masquerain!" Drew called back his pokémon and returned it to its pokéball. "Actually…can we talk for a bit? In the garden?"

This struck May as odd in that they already met face to face at her dorm's balcony. "Why the garden?" she solicited with a suspicious look in her eyes.

Annoyed, Drew snapped, "Look, do you want to talk or not?"

May flinched at his stern voice. "Okay, okay, sheesh…no need to yell. But you'd better catch me!" Without another moment's hesitance, she kicked herself off from balcony's rail and headed straight down.

This daring action nearly caught Drew off guard, but he reacted quickly and commanded, "Flygon, hurry and get her!" To his relief, May landed safely on his dragon pokemon's back while giggling like a little girl. "Really, May, you're becoming a lot more like that Ash over time."

"Well," May stated proudly, "I did travel with him on my first journey, so you shouldn't be surprised. He had quite an influence on me."

"…" Drew looked towards the direction of the garden.

"You know…" Masquerain and Beautifly showed off their Silverwind techniques under the moonlight to enhance the shine of their wing movements and attacks. Then, Beautifly fell out of balance from the air, plummeting towards the ground, but it was promptly saved by Masquerain's Bubble attack. From the ground, Delcatty and Flygon laughed at Beautifly's clumsiness. May and Drew watched their pokémon from afar while drinking canned Pecha juice. "I won't lie- this is really weird," May uttered bluntly and turned to Drew. "What's with you all of a sudden?"

Drew stared at the can in his hands, unsure of his approach. Inhaling deeply, he answered, "I just…wanted to let you know that I…I'm…I was thinking…"

May frowned in confusion. "Huh?" She tried catching his eyes, but he refused to look at her. The way he was acting made her terribly uneasy. It was not at all in his nature to stutter like this. "Drew, speak up! What are you trying to tell me? Is something wrong?"

The can of Pecha juice slipped from Drew's hand and fell to the ground, snapping Drew out of his daze. Feeling a bit surer of himself, he reiterated more clearly, "I'm…I'm going to the Unova region after today. I've heard there are a lot of rare pokémon over there and that the contests are pretty extreme."

"Uno- what? Unova…?" May scratched her head. "I've never heard of a place like that. It sounds kind of cool! Is it near Hoenn?"

"No, it's pretty far. Ships could take weeks to reach that region so planes are the ideal way to go. It takes about 10 hours by plane."

"Sounds like a fun trip." May took a sip of juice and looked on as her pokémon played with Drew's. Memories of receiving roses from this life-long rival of hers and battling against him in close matches flowed into her mind all at once. A squeezing feeling in her chest made it a bit harder to breathe. "But this also means that I won't see you for a while, huh?"

The question somewhat pleased Drew because his eyes darted to May in that instant. "I guess so," he affirmed in a quiet voice. Leaving a bit of silence in between, he decided to ask, "You're not…thinking of going to Unova yourself?"

May looked down at her feet in an attempt to hide her sadness. "If it's as far as you say, I can't," she uttered in dismay, "Going into an unknown region all by myself would be like signing a death contract for me and my pokémon. I know you're thinking that I've been to a lot of places over the years, but I went to those places with not only my pokémon, but a bunch of friends, too. I had the confidence to keep going because I knew we'd look out for each other. But in that Unova place… It's like an unexplored abyss to me." Drew is going there, isn't he? An idea dawned on her. "But then…what if we…?" She lifted her head and met Drew's green eyes.

Drew dared not blink. He had hoped that he would not have to take the initiative for the sake of his pride and this might be that lucky break. "What if we…?" he repeated. C'mmon, May, I know you're thinking it! The answer is so obvious!

No, it's a ridiculous idea! Drew would laugh at me, I just know it! May shook her head and stood up. "Ha!" she chuckled, "I was just about to suggest a quick battle with you and Masquerain against me and Beautifly, but it turns out the two are already exhausted. Silly me, hahaha! C'mmon, Beautifly and Delcatty, time to go!" She returned both pokémon to their pokéballs and readied for her hasty exit. Just as she was about to break into a run, Drew grabbed her elbow. She was forced to look back at him and saw the pained bewilderment in his eyes.

"What were you about to say right now, May?" he insisted, "Tell me!"

"Stop, let go of me!" In a defensive act, May pushed Drew away.

"Whoa!" Drew staggered back and tripped on some rocks from behind. As he fell to the ground, he hit his head on a stone pedestal and was instantly knocked unconscious. His pokémon sensed the danger and swiftly came to his aid.

May knelt by Drew and picked the upper half of his body up from the cemented ground. She placed his head on her lap. "Oh, no, what have I done? Drew! Drew! Wake up, please! I didn't mean for this to happen… Please, Drew!" She reached from her bag and pulled out a pokéball. "Help me out, Delcatty, and use Heal Bell on Drew."

"Maaaao!" Delcatty yowled as it emerged from its pokéball and set to work on Drew. It placed its forehead against his and began to glow in lavender light. From its body emitted a sound that mimicked the ones of bell tolls.

Drew in turn was enveloped by the same light and glowed brightly for some few seconds. His eyes then slowly opened, but his gaze was not focused. "Wh-what…?" he breathed, "What happened?"

Delcatty sat up straight and wagged its tail at a job well done. "Mao!"

Masquerain flew around frantically as Flygon helped its trainer sit up. Dazed, Drew turned around and looked sleepily at May. She kept him in balance by holding his shoulders and pleaded with much guilt, "Please, forgive me, Drew. I didn't mean to push you so hard. It's just that you scared me and I didn't know what to do, I just— oh!" Drew fell into a slump against the brunette, his forehead resting on the crook of her neck. "Drew?"

"…when I'm not with you…I…"

"…!" May froze, listening intently to Drew's muffled words.

"I feel strange… Unh." He fell asleep with May's arms wrapped around his body. Am I awake? Asleep? What's going on…I'm so lost…

May embraced Drew and whispered, "I'm just glad that you're safe and sound, Drew…thank goodness." She looked up at his pokémon. "Flygon, think you can give me a hand?"

"Arruuu!" Flygon nodded happily.

"Oh, Drew!"

Drew walked down the long sidewalk, towards the exit of the festival hall. This feeling again…kind of like…emptiness? No, I don't know. It just feels hollow in me. "Good morning, ladies."

"Are you alright?"

"We were so worried when we heard you were brought into treatment for a head injury!"

What the heck happened last night? Was this May's doing? Where is she? "Not at all," he assured the women, "Just a small bump on the head. I must have been training in my sleep last night." As he neared the exit, he found May standing by a bird bath and daydreaming as usual. A warm tingle fluttered inside him as he walked up to her with another rose in hand. "Well, well, if it isn't May."

May awoke from her thoughts and turned to Drew with a big smile on her face. "Good morning, Drew! How's your head?" She received his rose calmly.

"It hurts a bit still, but at least it's not a concussion. You wouldn't mind telling me what happened last night to get me this bump, now would you?"

"What?" May took a few steps back. "Yo-you just, err, you tripped on something and fell! You're so clumsy, you know that? You really should be careful next time. You gave me quite a scare."

So she did have something to do with it. Eh, whatever. "Anyway," he digressed, "I guess this is where we say goodbye."

"…yeah," May nodded, trying her best to keep her smile. "You're off to Unova now. I hope it's as wonderful of a world as you imagine it to be."

"…mm…and I wish you luck on your own journey."

"Mm, thanks." May held Drew's gaze a bit longer before turning around, saying "bye," and walking down a different path. I wonder when I'll meet him again. Will we both be different by then? Who knows… Tears collected in her eyes, but she did not bother wiping them away. If he can be strong, so can I! One day, I'll travel somewhere far on my own, too! She held up her head high.

This hollowness again. It felt as though someone had drilled a hole on his chest and emptied it of everything. He was suddenly in a terrible mood and wanted nothing to do with other people at the moment. What am I doing? For the sake of my pride…is it really worth this much? I'm so confused! Upon impulse, his feet kicked off the ground and he made off into a dash. "May!"

May stopped in her tracks and turned around, this time wiping her eyes. "Huh?" she sniffed.

"Drew!" the women exclaimed.

Drew ran up to May and drew his hands to his side. "I…" he panted, "I just… Would you like to come with me to Unova?"

"What!" the women exclaimed again, near spilling into tears.

May blinked in utter shock. "You mean…travel with you?" she squeaked with a shaky voice, "Are you for real?"

Drew could not help blushing in embarrassment at having to repeat his request. "Yes, travel with me to Unova. And I'm serious! That way, neither one of us would have to travel alone and you could meet all sorts of pokémon and people and I can participate in those contests and… Well, do you want to or not?" He had never known his heart to beat so fast in his life. If it picked up speed, he was afraid he might fall into cardiac arrest.

"Oh…" May also blushed at the thought of actually travelling with her rival to a whole new region. It would be a new experience for the both of them and they would also be teammates from then on.

May's silence pierced Drew like a harpoon. Sighing, he gave a small nod. "Okay, I get it… Well, see you whenever then." I took a risk and this is the outcome. I should have never done it! Ugh, now I feel like an idiot! The redness of his face deepened in shade.

"Drew!"

Drew stopped, but did not dare to turn. "…"

"I'll leave directions to you, okay?"

"…!" Drew's eyes widened at that answer. He whirled around and could not hold back a smile full of indescribable joy and excitement. "No problem!"

May smiled back just as happily and ran over to his side. "As of today," she vowed, "You and I are both teammates and rivals. We'll help each other out through thick and thin, but in battle, we won't hold anything back, got it?"

I only get this warmth from May. The empty feeling just…goes away when she's around. So I guess asking her to travel with me might not be a mistake. Drew recollected his cool and flipped his bangs. "That's my line," he stated with a smirk. "And along the way, you can tell me what you did to my head last night."

"Gah!" May flinched.

"I know you had something to do with this bump, so you have a lot of explaining to do."

"…err, on second thought…travelling with you might be a really bad idea." May tried to make a run, but was yanked back by her sleeve.

"Oh, no you don't," Drew sneered, "It's way too late to try and escape me now."

May struggled against his hold, but to no avail. "No!" she cried. As she continued to struggle, Drew simply chuckled in amusement.