Drew's POV

I leaned against the banister, looking out to see. I was entering the contests in this region. I was ready. I'd been ready for this since I was 7 years old. I'd been given my first Pokémon, a Budew, early. I know I had only been given it to keep me out of my dad's way, but it felt special anyway. Budew had been my best friend, the only person to be with me. My mum was always cleaning, doing the housework, or looking after my demanding baby sister. So Budew was my escape. I spent all day, everyday training her, looking after her, talking to her, caring for her and eventually, she had evolved in the Roselia that was now by my side. I spent my time thinking of new attacks and ways I could beautifully show off her moves in style. When I was 9, I heard about coordinating and immediately knew it was what I wanted to do. That night when I told my mum, she was only too happy to let me start my journey early. That was two years ago. I'd gone around, bold as brass and entered all the contests around. Somehow, with my lack of experience, I'd made it to the Grand Festival. That was where I met Solidad. She took my under her wing after beating me. She's comforted me when I was saddened, and she'd taught me the basics of coordinating. I had seen her around last year as I travelled, catching a couple of new Pokémon and strengthening my team. It was her who had convinced me to enter this year. I agreed. I was stronger and, after learning from my first time, become more experienced. I was determined this year to do better, to make her proud of me. I spotted a group of people. Three were boys and one was a girl. One boy looked maybe 4 or 5 years older than the rest and had messy black hair. He was tall and tan. The next boy also had black hair, sticking out from under a red baseball cap, but his eyes weren't narrow. I could just barely make out that they were either dark brown or black. He looked maybe a year older than me. The youngest boy had dark blue sort of hair, neatly combed down. He wore thick-rimmed, black glasses. He was really short and so I guessed he must be about 7 or 8. My attention was drawn to the girl in the group. Her brown hair was tied up under a red bandana, the only part showing were two dog-ear-like sections by the side of her face. She wore a red top with a dark navy coloured ring around the neckline. The edge of the t-shirt was lined with a white strip. She wore dark coloured shirts and around her waist was a yellow bag. She was wearing blue and white gloves over her fingers and red, white and yellow sneakers on her feet. I faintly overheard one of the boys talking about how she could practise better for her contest now. So she was a Pokémon coordinator to? That made sense why she was practising appeals with her Beautifly, while the others stood back, watching and talking. Curious, I continued to watch her. For some strange reason, I couldn't seem to look away. There was something about her…and I couldn't quite put my finger on it. She caught two of the frisbees that her Pokémon had shot back at her, but completely missed the third as it flew over her head. It came in my direction and I closed my eyes smirking.

"Look out!" I heard her yell. I raised my hand and caught it perfectly before it could hit me. She'd be impressed that I had managed to pull it off, but it was easy really. The trick was opening your eyes just a slither so your eyelashes would block your eyes from being seen by anyone, but you could still see just enough of the world around you. She gasped and ran towards me.

"I'm sorry," she called, apologising to me as she looked up at me from the railing. That was strange. She didn't go all gooey eyed over my little trick. That annoyed me.

"Please don't tell me you're planning on entering the contest with a cheesy act like that," I said, twirling the frisbee on my finger. I opened my eyes and was startled to see her bright blue ones. It caught me off guard and I almost lost the balance I had, so I quickly stopped it and threw the frisbee down by her feet. I had to do something now. No girl had ever startled me so much by their beautiful eyes. What was I thinking! I tried to snap out of it. I jumped over the railing, landing lightly on my feet. I shoved my hands in my pocket and strolled towards her.

"You've got no finesse, no moves," I told her. I held my hand up near her face as she took a step forward, her hand balled angrily.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, "Who are you to tell me that?" That was better. She had to be annoyed now. That was for not melting at my acts. Why couldn't she just be like every other girl and be impressed? Or better yet, why was I so determined to impress her? I didn't even know the girl? How did she peak my interest so much? What was her secret?

"If you must know, I'm Drew," I smirked, "Pokémon coordinator." I wanted to know her name for some odd reason, but I wasn't going to ask her. No that was stooping too low for me. The boys from before, who I assumed were her friends, ran over.

"Really, that's just like you May," the middle boy with the cap said. So May was her name. Nice. I would have to remember that. Hang on! What were they talking about just like me? I had been ready for this for years. She was obviously a beginner.

"Please, no comparison," I said. She was calm again now though, the only thing on her face showing her annoyance was the tint of red coating her cheeks. I wanted to see her angry again for some weird reason. She looked cute…No I mean interesting!

"You see," I continued doing the only thing I could think of to get her to that state again, "you and your Pokémon here, you've got no style." She raised her clenched fists again, growling angrily as her face went bright red.

"Hey you can make fun of me all you want!" She yelled, "but don't you dare make fun of my Pokémon!" I smirked and held my hand to her face again.

"Whoa, just clam down little girl," I said. Even though I could guess she was my age, I wanted to see her reaction. They were cu….No I wasn't thinking that word again! They were amusing. She growled as she pushed against my hand furiously trying to reach me, probably to try to hurt me or something like that. I simply smirked and pushed against her.

"May, don't listen to what he says," the youngest boy said.

"Yeah," the capped boy agreed, "why don't you show us all your great Pokémon?" I could hear the mock in his voice and I smirked, raising two fingers to my face. Why was I tempted to flick my hair right now? I stopped them at my forehead, refusing to give into the sudden urge that had come upon me.

"Why what good would that do?" I ask challenging him, "I think you children aught to just be on your way." They looked at me confused.

"Why should we?" The youngest asked. Why? I questioned in my head, because that girl is driving me up the wall! I don't know what's happening to me! Hair flicking urges, arrogant attitude, the need for her attention, where was it all coming from?

"This is a private beach reserved for people like me staying at that resort," I said, jabbing my thumb over my shoulder at the large building. It was kind of lying. Yes it was private and reserved for people staying at the resort, but not at this time of day. Between 12 and 2 it was open for the public and right now it was 1:32. May glared at me.

"C'mon," the capped boy said, "let's get outta here."

"Yeah," the oldest boy agreed, speaking for the first time. They started to walk away.

"I guess you're entering the Pokémon contest too?" May asked; stopping and facing me.

"Brilliant guess genius," I said sarcastically. She glared again, her fists clenching by her sides as she tried to contain her anger. I chuckled. I loved that reaction. She was so cute like that. Cute again! I think I need to remove that word from my vocabulary.

I was walking along when I spotted May and her friends, sitting on the ground listening to some guy on a rock talk to her about coordinating. I ducked behind a large bush to watch her. I was fascinated by her. She was so unusual. She was listening intently, taking in every word he said. I frowned. She wasn't that interested by me when I caught the frisbee with my 'eyes closed', and all he was doing was talking. That was unfair. He took out a Pokéblock case and handed it to her. She squealed in delight and did a little spin on the spot, joyfully bringing her hands to her cheeks and lifting one of her legs off the ground.

"You know I got something else pretty great," the guy said, "c'mon I'll show you." As they walked away I spotted two people and a Meowth crouched behind a bush like I was, except they didn't look like they were curious about her, they looked annoyed. I moved a little closer.

"What could he have that's so great?" The pink haired one huffed.

"I am a bit curious," the man agreed.

"We could follow em and find out," the Meowth suggested, shocking me. It wasn't everyday a Pokémon could speak the human language.

"Yeah!" the other two people exclaimed. I frowned as they followed closely behind the group as they walked along. I crept up behind them, wondering what was going on. They pressed themselves against the wall of the shed when they ran in. I crept around to the other side.

"I left a bunch of Bluk berries here," the man sighed. The oldest boy that May was with spoke up, explaining a little bit about Bluk berries to the rest of the group.

"Oh no!" May cried in distress," I guess Torchic ate them."

"Don't worry May, they're good for Pokémon," the man assured, "they make their hair shiny. I was planning on giving some berries to all of you." They continued talking, but I zoned out to what they were saying. I was carefully watching the three spies.

"Mr Big!" May exclaimed suddenly, "I'll find you some more Bluk berries." Oh so that was Mr Big. He wasn't a threat to me after all. He was like, maybe 10 years older than us.

"Well, well," said the pink haired girl, snapping my attention back, "so Bluk berries are good for your hair."

"ok, let's bag a bunch of dose berries and bring dem to da boss," Meowth exclaimed.

"Why would we do that?" The purple-haired man asked. The Meowth made up some story about a bad hair day and Team Rocket getting a promotion or something…I didn't really pay attention. I just knew I'd have to keep a look out for May.

I carefully followed May as she frantically looked for the berries. I saw her Torchic wandering off. May didn't seem to notice and so I followed after it. Torchic had its nose to the ground like a dog and was slowly wandering around. It looked up and cried its name in triumph. I followed its gaze to see a bunch of Bluk berries, hanging from a branch of the tree that was growing out the side of a cliff. It tried running up the side, but soon stumbled and rolled back down. I watched it as it tried several times, each time tumbling back down to the ground. I laughed at the determination of it. I saw that in May and I admired it. Wait, what was I talking about? I heard footsteps just as Torchic finally grabbed hold of the branch in its beak. I panicked and quickly climbed up onto a rock and hid upon hearing May's voice.

"Alright Torchic found some berries," the oldest one said, who I'd heard being called Brock.

"Good job Torchic," May encouraged. I watched as the branch snapped, Torchic dropping it in surprise.

"Beautifly, use string shot now!" May commanded. Beautifly obeyed and caught the falling Pokémon. I used this advantage of them being distracted to catch the berries. I stood up and tossed the branch over my shoulder, getting my position ready.

"That last attack had some real art to it," I admitted, getting her to look up at me in surprise. That surprised face was almost as c- Interesting as her angry one.

"Thank you," she said, then she saw what I was holding, "Hey! Those Bluk berries belong to Torchic! Give them back." I closed my eyes, deciding it would be best not to look at her or I might give in. I wanted to have some fun first.

"Alright," I said, "all you have to do is battle with me first."

"No way!" she exclaimed.

"Why not? Afraid you're going to embarrass yourself again," I taunted, looking at her.

"Fine! I accept!" she agreed.

"Good," I said, "smart move." Very smart indeed. I get to see your ferocious side again, I thought.

"May's gonna battle with Drew?" the boy with the cap who I heard May calling Ash question in disbelief. I resisted the urge to scowl at the boy. He always had May around. I felt surprisingly hurt and saddened and it made me want to hurt him. I couldn't actually be…Jealous, could I? I snapped out of it when I saw May looking at me expectantly. I jumped down and carefully put a handkerchief on a rock before placing the berries directly over the top. I walked away and turned to face May, opposite sides to her while Brock stood halfway between us.

"Ok," Brock yelled, "this mock contest battle will now be underway. Begin."

"Beautifly, the stage is…" she trailed off spinning several times, "yours." She threw the Pokéball and Beautifly fluttered out, scattering sparkles of sunlight around her. Some fell onto May and I thought it made her look even more dazzling. I snapped out of it. Do not think like that Drew, I told myself as I took my Pokéball into my hands. I chuckled slightly, flicking my hair this time.

"Roselia! Go!" I yelled.

"What a cool Pokémon," May's little brother called, after Ash looked up Roselia on his Pokédex. I think his name was Matt? No it was Max. I smirked and flicked my hair again. Since when was flicking my hair an unconscious habit?

"You're praise don't even come close to describing that artistic style of my Pokémon," I said, holdig my fingers out in front of me. I refused to do that hair flick again.

"I'm not losing to you!" May yelled.

"Then please, ladies first," I smirked.

"Beautifly, tackle now!" she commanded.

"Roselia, use petal dance," I said calmly. It was a beautiful move and I wanted May to see it. No it didn't! I wanted it to beat May's Pokémon! Yeah, that's what I meant!

"Stun spore Roselia!" I instructed when Beautifly hovered dazed in the air. Beautifly landed roughly on the ground and May cried out to it in distress.

"Ho hum," I said, "That was easy. I expected a lot more from you than that." Actually I didn't. She was just a beginner. I couldn't blame her for not having as much experience as I did. I flicked my hair. Again! I've got to stop this!

"Roselia, finish it off with magical leaf," I said. Beautifly slowly opened its eyes.

"Silver wind Beautifly let's go," May shouted. Beautifly released the attack and, unlike before when I was watching her practise, it was strong and went straight through Roselia's magical leaf to hit her.

"No way!" I cried. This wasn't happening, this wasn't happening. I chanted in my head. Roselia was knocked back.

"No Roselia!" I yelled. My poor Pokémon. I hated to think that my loyal friend would get hurt, but I was impressed at May. I wasn't expecting her to land a single hit on my Pokémon. Roselia landed next to me and I watched her anxiously. Yes, I've used her in battles before, but whenever she got hit, it always made me nervous. That's why I had trained her so much. I sighed in relief when she got back up, seemingly unharmed and looked up at me.

"Hey what's going on!" Brock exclaimed as the berries were hooked. I saw a massive Meowtnh-shaped balloon rise into the sky, the trio I saw before standing ontop. The purple haired one had a fishing line, with the berries on the end.

"Prepare for trouble as we reel them in," the pink one said.

"Make it double, we win," the purple haired one said.

"You again?" Brock questioned. So they had run into these guys before.

"To protect the world from devastation," the woman said, seemingly ignoring Brock's last comment.

"To unite all peoples within our nation," the man continued.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light."

"Surrender now of prepare to fight, fight, fight."

"Meowth dat's right," the Meowth finished.

"Wobbuffet!"

"Team Rocket!" everyone exclaimed, forgetting about me.

"Give those berries back!" May demanded.

"Oh sure, we'll give these Bluk berries right back to you after everything we've been through to get them," the one I'm assuming was Jessie said sarcastically. They flew away.

"Wait!" Ash yelled. May turned slightly to me.

"This battle is over," she said firmly, "we know someone who needs those Bluk berries." Did she think that I was that dodgy that I would have run off with them? I was going to give them to her anyway, I just wanted her attention. She ran after the boys, calling out. I growled in annoyance. Why was it that every time I did get it, something or someone would come and take it away? I sighed and ran after her. Maybe I could show her I was a good guy after all.

I watched Ash order his Pikachu to shock the balloon, but when it reached, it was absorbed by a funny looking satellite dish. Ash tried again, but it didn't work again. I smirked. Here was my chance.

"Solar beam go!" I commanded Roselia. Roselia obeyed, destroying the dish hanging on the bottom.

"Who's solar beam was that?" May pondered aloud. She turned.

"Drew?" she questioned.

"Not sure what's going on, but happy to assist," I told her. May smiled warmly at me and my legs felt weak. Is this what people meant when they say their legs turn to jelly?

"Alright Pikachu, thunderbolt!" Ash yelled. Pikachu released the attack again, shocking all the members inside.

"Roselia, solar beam," I shouted, not wanting Ash to take all the credit for helping out. Roselia's solar beam hit the balloon and then it exploded, causing them to be flung out.

"We're blasting off again!" they yelled as they were thrown far away. They dropped the berries and I watched as they started to fall. Torchic ran forwards and caught them in his mouth, but in the process fell off a cliff.

"Beautifly, use string shot!" May yelled quickly. Beautifly reeled the small Pokémon back and May cuddled it closely. That strange sensation of hurt welled up inside me again. On no, being jealous of a boy was bad enough, I was not going to be jealous of a Pokémon as well. I pushed the feeling down. I couldn't be jealous. I'd just met the girl a few hours ago. I just found her interesting and cute. There was that word again! I hated this. Why were my thoughts fighting against me? What did I do to deserve this? I snapped out of it and called Roselia back into her Pokéball after telling her that she did a good job.

"Thanks for helping us Drew," May said, walking just a little closer to me. I looked into her eyes for a moment before forcing myself to look away. I was not getting lost in them again.

"No need to thank me," I said flicking my hair, "you know what? We'll battle in a real contest. This is assuming you can make your way through the preliminary round first." I actually had no doubt she'd make it. What was I thinking? She was a beginner! I was not going to place all my confidence in a beginner. I lifted my two fingers to take a swipe at my hair, but then stopped. This habit had to go right here, right now. Instead I waved it at her before walking away.

"Count on it, mister," I heard her yell defiantly after me.

I leaned on the rail, watching May and her friends after dark as they waited for the fireworks to start. The first one rose into the sky, shaping out into a Pikachu.

"Pikachu! Look!" Ash yelled excitedly.

"Beautiful," May gasped.

"Look a Pichu!" Max exclaimed, pointing.

"It's a Torchic like you," May said down to the Pokémon in her arms. I had just noticed it. I scowled and then quickly shook it off. I was not going to be jealous of a Pokémon. That was low, really low. I mean, it's not the Pokémon's fault that May totally adored it and held it closely. It's not like I wanted her to totally adore me and hold me closely. No of course not! That would be silly. I looked back at the sky again. Roselia nudged me. I looked at her.

'Roselia!' She exclaimed. I looked to where she was pointing to find that May had slowly started to move away from the group. Whether she was aware of this or not, I didn't know.

'Roselia, rose!' she cried out, giving me a pointed look.

"What?" I exclaimed, deciphering what she had said, "There's no way I like that clumsy excuse for a coordinator!" She crossed her arms and glared at me.

"Ok, maybe just a little but," I admitted, "but not romantically or anything. Just a friendly rival going on. That's all." Roselia rolled her eyes and pointed at May again.

"What?" I asked, "What do you want me to do?"

'Rose, Roselia, selia,' she sighed. I frowned, not understanding what she meant. She shook her head in annoyance. She gestured to me and then to May and then clasped her hands together.

"I'm not going to hold her hand!" I exclaimed, "I don't like her like that." Roselia shook her head again and gave me a look.

'Roselia, rose, rose,' she complained.

"Fine! I'll go say something to her," I said. I jumped over the railing. Roselia followed me. I stopped. What was I doing? I had nothing to talk to her about. What was I going to say? May sighed and sat down, hugging her knees close to her chest. Roselia mumbled something under her breath and roughly jabbed me forwards.

"Ouch!" I exclaimed, stumbling forwards.

"Drew?" I heard May question, "What are you doing here?" This was not what I wanted.

"Oh it's you May," I said, trying to brush it off, "Why are you here alone?" I ignored her question, not seeming to come up with a good enough excuse.

"Oh, they're just over there," she replied, pointing, "I just wanted to be alone." I glared down at my Pokémon.

"See told you this was a bad idea," I hissed quietly so May couldn't hear.

"Well, I'll leave if you want," I said. Roselia rushed forwards, throwing herself at May. May was knocked over, laughing as she letting Torchic go. Roselia gave me a pointed look. I sighed and sat down next to her.

"Seems Roselia hasn't given me a choice," I sighed. She giggled lightly as she sat back up, Roselia nudging her arm so it landed gently on the ground next to me. Roselia gave me another look and I vigorously shook my head. I did not have feelings for May. I was not going to take her hand in my own, even if it was just to feel what her skin would feel like against my own…No! Snap out of it. You do not want to hold her hand. I don't care that her hand looks like it could fit perfectly in mine. I don't care that my heartbeat is suddenly speeding up when I look at the fireworks reflected in her eyes. I don't care that my hand is slowly creeping towards hers. I'm not in love with her and it all means nothing. Wait what? My hand is creeping closer? Wait no stop! I tried to pull my hand away, but it was as if it was acting on its own. I cringed slightly. I did not want to hold her hand, I told myself. I am not getting Butterfrees in my stomach just thinking about it. My eyes widened as my fingers gently wrapped around hers. Her skin was so soft and cool against my rough, warm ones. She looked at me in surprise. I stared back. Say something Drew; I told myself, you've just taken her hand, think of an excuse.

"You're hands are cold," I said, "wouldn't want you to get a cold and drop out of the battle before I have a chance to beat you." There, that sounded good enough right? Honestly I didn't believe myself and I wouldn't blame her if she didn't either.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, "I am so going to beat you tomorrow." I sighed in relief. Apparently she did believe me. She didn't move her hand away though. I gently stroked my thumb along the back of her hand. She yawned sleepily and rested her head against my shoulder. I blushed, my calm composure broken down by that single action. Roselia smirked triumphantly at me. I growled warningly at her. I looked at the girl, now sleeping on my shoulder. Maybe I should leave now. She looked so peaceful. I sighed again, deciding I might stay for a little while longer before leaving her. She snuggled closer in her sleep and I blushed again. Just having her this close sent shivers down my spine. I smiled at her and I finally stopped denying it. As crazy as it sounded, I was attracted to this strange girl.

A/N: Remember to tell me the name of the episode and the most likely shipping and I will do my best to make a reasonable twist.