Summery: Continuing on her Journey, May runs into an unexpected new friend. Meanwhile, Drew deals with a new addition to his team that may very well be the downfall of his contest career, not to mention, an old childhood nightmare returns to bite his cockiness in the butt. Slight Contest/Advance/Quest Shipping, but nothing major.

***

Walk The Frontier

By Shadow

Chapter One

***

The cool, morning air drifted across the land, causing the tall grass to wave and cause a kind of ripple effect. From the air, the ripples made the scene look like a pale green ocean, but that wonder could only be seen by the lone Pidgeoto flying overhead. The bird Pokemon let out a shrill cry that echoed into nothingness. For the most part, it was too early for any living thing to be outside.

However, the sense of tranquility was soon shattered as a trainer and his Pokemon ran through the grass, both letting out a battle cry. The boy was quickly followed by another trainer, this one female, with her own Pokemon. The two trainers came to a halt rather suddenly, the boy shouting, "What do you think of battling right here?"

"Looks good to me!" the girl responded.

The two stared at each other briefly, taking in each other's Pokemon. Opposite the girl was a Typhlosion, standing confidently like its trainer. The fire type's flames were burning strongly, signaling that it had been trained very well over the years… but the same could be said for the girl's Pokemon, a Blaziken. Blaziken stood in a battle ready stance, flames erupting from its writs on its own command.

"One on one, all or nothing," the male trainer said, smirking. His grin seemed to reach from ear to ear, as if he knew that he would win no matter how tough his opponent looked. "Ladies first."

The girl seemed completely unfazed at the boy's overconfidence, wearing a grin of her own. Sure, she wasn't exactly a trainer like him, but she'd won many, many contests; she knew that her Blaziken was a match for this Typhlosion, "Alright then, Blaziken, start things out with Fire Spin!"

Blaziken let out a battle cry as it spewed massive spinning flames. Typhlosion faced them head on, awaiting an order from his trainer. It was about halfway the distance between the two Pokemon when the trainer finally did order Typhlosion to counterstrike: "Typhlosion, dodge, and then use Flame Wheel!"

Typhlosion bent down on all fours, slipping just underneath Blaziken's attack, and then charging forward. Flames enveloped its body as it picked up speed, heading directly towards Blaziken, but the female trainer was ready: "Hit it with Mega Kick!"

The two Pokemon collided, but in the end, it was Typhlosion that had taken heavier damage. The Pokemon went flying backwards, but managed to turn itself back around on all fours, skidding to a stop in front of its trainer. It stood back up, completely unfazed.

"Typhlosion!" it cried.

"What? But how? That was a direct hit!" the female exclaimed.

"Heh, well, lets just say we've learned a thing or two during our travels. You haven't seen anything yet. Typhlosion, Quick Attack!"

The girl didn't wait an extra second to counterstrike. Now she was starting to understand where this trainer's confidence came from. Still, she had many more tricks up her sleeve then just one simple Mega Kick and Fire Spin.

"Blaziken, hang tough, and then counter with a Sky Uppercut!" the girl cried. Moments later, Typhlosion rammed into Blaziken at a high speed, but Blaziken already braced itself, taking on minimal damage. Immediately, it brought one of its fists back gathering energy, and then thrusting it forward, square into Typhlosion's chest. Typhlosion was sent flying into the air once again.

"Typhlosion, focus! Turn yourself around and use Double-Edge!"

Typhlosion's eyes snapped open at the command, and it turned itself in mid-air, pointing itself back towards Blaziken and falling at an intense speed. There was no possible way that Blaziken could dodge such a move, but the female trainer wasn't about to give up:

"Hit it with Overheat!" she cried. Blaziken started to build up body heat until its body glowed a red hue. It didn't waste any time unleashing the powerful fire attack on Typhlosion. However, the Volcano Pokemon was going much to fast for even an Overheat to stop it, and it came pummeling down into Blaziken, hard.

Blaziken fell to the floor, clearly having taken heavy damage. It struggled to get up, but fell back to the floor, dazed.

The girl rushed to her Pokemon, concerned, but the battle was over. The boy and his Typhlosion had won.

"You rock, and you rule!" he shouted. Typhlosion flexed its arms triumphantly, putting out the flames around its neck. The two of them jumped into the air, highfiving each other. However, when Typhlosion landed, it stumbled and fell to the floor. Despite its win in the battle, it was clear that Typhlosion had almost met its match.

"You did a great job Blaziken, return," the girl said, her eyes proud. She sighed at the end though, disappointed.

"Hey, you were awesome," the boy said, offering his hand.

"Thank you. So were you and Typhlosion," the girl responded kindly, accepting the handshake.

"The name's Jimmy," the boy continued. "I have to say, I never expected a Coordinator to be so tough. You put us on the spot a few times back there."

"Well believe it or not I learned all my battle strategy from a pretty skilled trainer. Proves that us Coordinators are tougher than we look. My name's May."

It was almost immediately after their small introduction that both the teens' stomachs' growled with hunger. Clearly, their internal organs were furious at the fact that neither one of them had bothered to catch breakfast earlier.

Both of them sweat dropped nervously, clearly embarrassed. Typhlosion, who was still out of its Pokeball, laughed at the two trainers, causing both of them to go red.

"Typhlosion!" Jimmy scolded, brining out his Pokeball. Typhlosion continued to laugh at his trainer and May, until finally Jimmy returned it. Jimmy let out a long sigh, wishing that his Pokemon showed a bit more restraint, especially around girls. The last time Typhlosion had made fun of him it was in front of Marina, but of course, it was a much more touchy subject.

Jimmy quickly shook off the thought of his childhood friend as May spoke up, rubbing the back of her head: "I guess not eating this morning was a bad idea. Oh well. That's what I get for being so excited for my next contest. I wanted to get to Goldenrod early."

"Ha, funny, I'm headed to the contest over there too… to watch a friend of course. I don't do contests," Jimmy said, adding on the last bit quickly before May could pester him about it.

Thankfully, May didn't pester him further; instead, she said something that made Jimmy almost want to jump out of his skin from pure surprise: "Well, how about we grab something to eat, and we can walk there together."

Jimmy didn't have to think about it for long, because another vicious snarl from his stomach made his mind up for him. With another nervous laugh on Jimmy's end, the two teens set off towards Goldenrod as the sun climbed higher into the sky. The walk, for the most part, was silent seeing as the two trainers were practically famished, clutching their stomachs as they groaned voraciously.

Eventually, Goldenrod came into clear view, and both Jimmy and May had very similar reactions: they sprinted towards the city, leaving no trace of where they had just been except for a cloud of dust.

Moments later, the two adolescents came crashing through the doors of the local Pokemon Center, rushing up to Nurse Joy eagerly. Joy blinked at their approach, clearly not too shaken at the sight. Apparently, this Joy had seen quite a few trainers rush through her Center, but considering the size of Goldenrod, it was a wonder that only May and Jimmy seemed to be in a rush.

"Would you look after my Blaziken?" May breathed, leaning up against the counter as her stomach groaned again.

"And my Typhlosion?" Jimmy added, also propping himself up.

Nurse Joy just smiled kindly, and accepted the two Pokeballs, telling them to stop by later. The two trainers didn't need another invitation, and immediately ran out the door once again, hoping to find an open restaurant.

Eventually, the two trainers came to a halt, exhausted, but at least they'd found a place to eat: a good ol' fashioned pancake shop. May plastered on a big grin as she waltzed into the café, Jimmy following a moment later. The two sat down at a table by the window, entranced by the smell of the cooking batter. Again, nothing was said as they drooled at the chef's door, wondering when their order would appear….

Several agonizing minutes later, the waitress came out with two orders of pancakes, stacked on top of each other in a huge tower of syrup, whipped cream, chocolate sauce, and powdered sugar. The second the plates came in contact with the table, the two teens dug into them like rabid Poochyena. The waitress, fearing for her life, stepped back apprehensively, hoping to find refuge at another place in the store.

It didn't take long for May and Jimmy to finish their plates, but when they did, both of them held looks of pure satisfaction. May sighed happily as Jimmy leaned back in his seat, now comfortably stuffed.

"I know how my Munchlax feels now," May mused. "I've never been that hungry in my life."

"Same here," Jimmy agreed. The two trainers sat up, looking at each other for a brief moment, and then laughed at each other happily. The waitress took this as a chance to sneak in, grab their plates, and leave a check for them to pay. It was clear that she wanted nothing more to do with them after their terrifying, pancake destroying display of doom.

After splitting the check evenly, May and Jimmy took their leave, deciding now was a good a time as ever to take a walk. It would still be a good while before their Pokemon were ready to be picked up, and then another day before Goldenrod had its Pokemon contest.

"So Jimmy, who are you going to watch?" May inquired. Jimmy visibly tensed at the question, and May almost apologized to him, but he spoke up before she got the chance.

"One of my childhood friends is a Coordinator. She asked me to come watch her," Jimmy said rather nervously. May blinked at him for a few moments, and then, a rather evil smirk crossed her face. She knew that kind of nervousness in males could only mean one thing, and one thing only….

"You like her, and that's why you're going," May stated, poking Jimmy in the shoulder. Jimmy nearly jumped out of his skin at that, and turned the deepest shade of red one could get on their face.

"Oh, not you too," he groaned, refusing to look at May. May just laughed at him, but decided she wouldn't press the matter further. It wasn't really her place anyway.

"Don't forget to cheer for me too. I'm going all the way to the top!" May exclaimed, punching her fist into the air determinedly. Jimmy smiled at the gesture, but he didn't seem convinced. "What you don't believe me?"

"I believe you'll try," Jimmy started. "But you're not gonna beat Marina. But okay, I can cheer for you both." May nearly gaped at the name. This contest was going to have Marina in it…

Marina the top Coordinator… Marina the Coordinator that could wipe the floor with me even harder than Solidad. Oh man, I am doomed, May thought. Her shoulders sagged in defeat, wondering if it was even worth it to try against someone like her.

"Who am I kidding?" she sighed. "I couldn't beat her even if I tried my hardest. It'll just be a repeat of when I lost to Solidad and I'll have to have Drew kick me back into shape again… and that would just be embarrassing," she grumbled, unaware that she was speaking aloud now.

"Hm? That's not the spirit you should have," Jimmy said. "I can beat Marina, and you almost beat me right? You'll do fine against her. Really, give yourself more credit."

May looked up at Jimmy skeptically for a few moments, but was reassured with a thumbs up on his end. Instantly, a fire sparked in May's eyes, and she shot up, bringing her fists into the air, "You're right. That's not the way a top Coordinator should act! If I can beat Drew, I can beat Marina too!"

"That's much more like it," Jimmy said, smiling, despite the fact that he had no idea who Drew was. Still, he'd seen Marina in action before, and he knew that his childhood friend wasn't going to go down easily. Then again, he'd only battled May's Blaziken, and didn't know about any of her other Pokemon, or her contest strategy.

It will be interesting to watch, he concluded. He had learned a long time ago, that contests were no laughing matter. Marina had pretty much beaten that thought into his head with the amount of contests she forced him to go to. In fact, Jimmy had come to enjoy watching them, and often found himself looking at who was where in the rankings. Marina, of course, was the name he would always spot first, but he remembered other names here and there of Coordinators he'd met through his childhood friend.

"May…Maple right?" Jimmy asked suddenly. May blinked, looking up at the teen with questioning eyes. Eventually she nodded, wondering what her new friend was leading up to. "You're number five in the Johto Contest Rankings, I think."

"Five?" May repeated. She didn't seem particularly happy about her placement, though, it seemed like a real accomplishment to Jimmy. "Darn, I went down one. Harley better not have knocked me out of the top four. That means… Marina, Solidad, and Drew are still in the lead. This is going to be a bigger challenge than I thought."

"You keep mentioning those last two. Know them well?" Jimmy inquired, bringing his hands up behind his head as they took a turn around the corner. Though it was just him making small talk, May seemed a little discomforted at the question.

"Yeah. Solidad beat me in the Kanto Grand Festival… and Drew is my biggest rival. We've been going against each other since the Hoenn Festival a few years ago," May sighed. "I actually haven't seen either of them since I got to Johto. Kind of strange, that we keep avoiding each other."

"Well, maybe you'll see them tomorrow," Jimmy replied, hoping to lighten the mood.

***

Meanwhile, on the other side of Goldenrod City, near the contest hall, our favorite green haired Coordinator sat on a tall curb, his legs hanging off the cement idly. He seemed to be in deep concentration, staring at a Pokeball in his hands.

How did I get stuck with this thing again? he groaned in his mind. The memory was still fresh, as if it had happened yesterday, when in truth, it had happened about a month ago: The newest addition to his team. It was just too strange a memory to forget so easily:

"Please, just take it!" the trainer said frantically, shoving the Pokeball into Drew's hands. His face was panicked, and his eyes bloodshot. It looked as if the young man hadn't slept in days, no, more like weeks, and the source of it was clearly the Pokeball he was forcing upon Drew.

"What? I don't want--"

"Oh, you'll take it? Thank goodness. Well, he's your problem now. Freedom! Freedom!" the man shouted, closing Drew's hand over the Pokeball, and then running away from the scene. His voice echoed even after he'd vanished over the horizon, leaving Drew to stare after him, dumbfounded.

"What the hell?" he muttered aloud, staring at where the man had left, and then the Pokeball. "I suppose… I can keep it. Come on out whoever you are…"

Drew threw the Pokeball into the air, releasing a--

"Hey, you're Drew right?" a voice asked, breaking the Coordinator's thoughts completely. Drew looked up at the girl who'd spoken, flicking his hair as he put on his usual act.

"If you're talking about one of the best Coordinators in the Johto Region, yeah, that would be me," he responded, smirking at the end of his sentence.

The girl crossed her arms, rather unfazed by his cockiness. Suddenly, realization washed over Drew as he realized the girl before him was familiar, though, who it was, he really had no idea. Maybe she was a Coordinator she saw around these parts? Possibly.

"Let me guess, I'm too unimportant for you to remember," the girl scoffed, unimpressed. Drew blinked a few times at the girl: her eyes were a deep blue color, her hair was amber brown color, automatically making Drew think she was some relative of May's. However, there were still things about her that put Drew off that theory automatically: her skin was tanned, and so unless May had relatives on Dewford Island (which he strongly doubted) then there was no way they were associated at all.

The girl glared at him, the goggles around her neck glinting in the sunlight, "Well?"

"Sorry, I don't converse with losers like you," Drew said snidely, swinging off the side of the curb. He let out a laugh, and then smirked at the girl, flicking his hair out of the way again. "Besides, even if I did, I'm much too busy working on my contest strategy."

The girl clenched her teeth and fists, letting out something akin to a Mightyena's growl, "Then I'll let my battling do the talking when I see you there. Asshole."

Drew stopped, turning around to stare at the girl skeptically, but she had already walked away. That last line had seemed so… so familiar. As if he'd heard it before a long time ago. Eventually, Drew shrugged his shoulders, and proceeded to walk away from the Contest Hall, tucking his new Pokeball in his pocket.

And I still have to figure out what I'm going to do with my new Pokemon, he thought, letting out a sigh. Unfortunately, his mind was unable to freely wonder as he crashed into someone turning a corner.

Both trainers fell backwards, landing on their butts for a nice, cushioned, landing (hey, this is 4kids we're talking about…). Drew immediately shot up, his eyes baring daggers, "Watch where you're going-- May?"

Well, so much for his angry streak.

"Drew?" May echoed, just as surprised, from the floor below.

"This the dude you're talking about?" another voice asked.

Drew looked up, locking eyes with Jimmy. Immediately, a flare passed between the two trainers, though, for entirely different reasons of thought, "Who're you?"

"This is Jimmy," May said, shooting up before the grey haired trainer could answer. "I just met him outside Goldenrod. He's a very good battler. Beat my Blaziken pretty easily."

"I don't know about easy, but it was fun," Jimmy said, rubbing the back of his head.

"A good trainer huh? You always do seem to partner up with naïve trainers that want to become 'masters'. How sad. Missing Ashy-Boy?" Drew taunted, while somewhere across the world, Gary laughed at his nickname being put to good use.

May fumed, her face turning red with anger, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Whatever you want it to mean," Drew replied, flipping his hair as usual. "See you in the contest May."

With that, the green haired Coordinator walked away, feeling more satisfied then he had felt all day, but also more infuriated. His mind flickered from May, to Jimmy, to the random girl, and then back to his newest Pokemon. With so many jumbled thoughts, Drew still wasn't looking where he was going, and lightly bumped into a few people as he disappeared into the distance.

"Drew…" May trailed off, her shoulders sagging.

"He's uh…" Jimmy said, also trailing off.

"A jerk?" May finished for him.

"Yeah."

***

A/N: But he's an insanely hot jerk… says me.

Thus starts my newest fanfic O.O…