So there are a few things I want to say about this before I let you go on. First and foremost, for anyone who cared enough to favorite me all those years ago and then never heard from me again…I'm sorry. There is a very long winded explanation I could give but for now, let's just chalk it up to life. (Also, if you're one of my TT people, well, hope you like Pokémon too?)
Secondly, I wrote this fic back in 2011. FOUR FREAKING YEARS AGO. It was probably the last thing I got out before the whole "life" thing, and I stopped writing. I've always loved it. Seriously. As I was reading through it and I remembered the amount of research I put into the battles I was blown away but how much I used to care about this stuff.
So is it outdated? Definitely. Is it still a little on the sloppy side? You betcha. But I'm going to put it up anyway, for 2011 me who loved this piece so much, but didn't love herself enough anymore to get it out there.
I hope you all like it as much as she did.
May looked around the room, dawdling before throwing herself to the wolves. Ok, so maybe that was a little bit dramatic, but she still didn't want to do this. She set out to become a coordinator, not some celebrity. Who wanted to read about her life anyway? All she ever did was train and compete; and eat of course. She took a deep breath.
'Right, nothing to worry about.' she told herself. She took a step forward into the large warehouse where her photo shoot was to take place. Her eyes roved nervously around until she found a snack table. She grinned and headed straight for it. She had just stuffed a large doughnut into her mouth when she heard someone call her name.
"Oh May darling!" May turned to face the reason for her being here, Katja, the Hoenn region's ace reporter and recently instated editor in chief of Pokémon magazine. She had called May and begged her to come in and be on the cover, May had refused. She had kept calling, and May kept refusing. Finally, Katja had attended the last Grand Festival and cornered May, who, based on the events of said Grand Festival, had no real choice but to finally agree. Though, May reasoned, she had little real claim to credit the cover.
Now she spun around, doughnut still hanging out of her mouth, to face the small but intimidating woman with a severe blonde hair cut and sharp blue eyes. Katja's wide smile faltered as she took in the now 22 year old brunette. May coughed out the half of pastry and smiled sheepishly.
"Oh, Katja! I'm sorry, I wasn't sure which building I was going to and-"
"Sweetheart, it's fine. Here, here, we'll get the interview out of the way while you're in hair and make-up, then you can do your shoot and we'll be all set. I'm so glad you finally agreed. You're such a fascinating girl, and that Grand Festival...wow!" May blushed and tried to make herself smaller, and stuffed her hands into her pockets, wishing that she hadn't given up her gloves.
"Oh, I don't know about that. I-"
"Don't be modest! There are girls who would kill to be you!" May blushed, and rolled her eyes at the familiar expression...one she had been followed by from the age of ten. "C'mon now dear, let's get you glamed up." Katja reached for May's hand, but May left them in her pockets, choosing just to walk along behind her.
"Sharp one." Katja laughed. May smiled weakly. "Have a seat here." Katja indicated a make-up chair and May stared at the room wide-eyed.
"This is all for me?" she asked, a grin starting to spread across her face. Scared of talking to Katja she may be, but May could not be more excited about dressing up and taking pictures. Katja had planned well, it would be hard for May to watch what she was saying while she was so distracted.
"All for you honey." Katja grinned impishly for a moment. "Here, meet the team. This is Claret, your make-up artist." May smiled and nodded at Claret, whom she was not entirely sure was a man or woman, "Sasha, who will be doing your wardrobe," May switched her gaze to the girl with incredibly long pink hair and warm brown eyes, "and finally Jsuhon, the best hair-stylist in all the regions." A man with dark purple hair and eyes, and a rather severe expression stepped forward.
"I have wanted to get my hands on that hair for years." he declared fiercely. May grabbed at one of the pigtail like halves of her hair. She had grown it out over the last few years, so that it now looked closer to an a-line. She had been meaning to change it lately, but years?
"Uh, ok." she said slowly.
"Sit, sit." Katja insisted, pushing May into the chair. "We'll start with Jsuhon." Katja waved him over. "And we can start our little chat."
May gulped as Katja brought out a shiny pink tape recorder She pushed her hands deeper into her pockets and closed her eyes briefly, remembering the promise she had made earlier that day.
"Okay." she said as she opened her eyes. Her blue bandana was already gone, and Jsuhon was already running a brush through brown tangles. "So, let's start off easy. You've been a coordinator for many years, 12 correct?" May nodded.
"Vocal please darling." Katja corrected.
"Oh, yes." May amended.
"And no nodding." Jsuhon added. May glanced at him guiltily through the mirror.
"So, that's a long time, you must have met some interesting people along the way." Katja prodded. May barely noticed.
"Uh, yeah. How are you getting it to be all one piece?" she asked Jsuhon, who was somehow molding her mostly two piece hair style into a single, normal look.
"Extensions and mousse." Jsuhon answered simply, not looking up. Katja clucked her tongue, regaining May's attention.
"Of course. Well why don't you tell us about how you got started." May tried not to roll her eyes again. If she had a ribbon for every time she'd answered that question over the last 12 years she'd never have to compete in another contest. Still, it could be worse.
"Well, my dad is a gym leader, so I of course was sent out on my journey when I was 10, but all I wanted to do was travel the world; I didn't like Pokémon. Then I met Ash, then Brock, and they helped me start to like them, and then I saw my first contest, and the rest is history." May said quickly. Her eyes widened as Jsuhon began clipping the wavy piece of fake hair onto her head.
"That is amazing!" she said excitedly. Katja sensed her chance.
"So this Ash, that's Pokémon Master Ash Ketchum right? You two traveled around together for quite some time." she began slyly, but even distracted by her newly almost flowing locks, May wasn't going to be backed into this corner.
"Yeah, but I wasn't around as long as Misty, and Brock and my brother Max were there too. It was nice having a mentor early on, but the time came where I needed to sink or swim without them, so I went my own way. Can I touch it?" she questioned, looking up at Jsuhon through the mirror again.
He stepped back and nodded and May brought her hands up slowly. She ran her fingers down the shoulder length mass and sighed. She hadn't had long hair on the back of her head since she was 5 years old. Then she realized her mistake and froze, fingers still tangled in her fake hair. She looked slowly to her right, where Katja was sitting with a sly and somewhat malicious smile on her face.
"Did I just see something sparkle there my dear?" she asked dangerously. May had to think fast now. She had thought she was being cautious and clever before, but now her preparations were falling apart. Well, not her preparations exactly, but she had been the one who couldn't stop herself wearing the darn thing.
Try switching hands! she thought frantically, glad she had not had time to get it sized yet. Here goes nothing. She used her thumb to pull the ring on her left hand onto her right.
"Oh, yes, just an early birthday present from a good friend." she said with a huge and not entirely convincing smile as she pulled her hands free. Katja's face fell slightly, but only for a moment.
"Wow, must be some friend to give you so elaborate a birthday gift." she purred suggestively. May looked down at the bauble now on her right hand, where it felt very out of place. The large diamond set with small rose rubies cut to look like roses around it twinkled back up at her from the bright lights of the make-up mirror.
"Well, it was a group gift actually," she invented wildly, "and it's not quite as expensive as it looks." she cringed a little as she said that. She hated to think about how much the thing had to have cost.
"Must be nice to have friends like that." Katja said. May instantly started beaming as Jsuhon walked away to be replaced by Claret.
"I have the best friends anyone could ask for, now that a lot of us are settling into one place. It was really hard all those years when we weren't together. Ash was always all over the place, and the same with Dawn. Brock went off to become a doctor, and Misty was stuck in Cerulean City. That's why video phones and pokegear and what not are so great. Ooh, what's that?" May squealed as Claret sprayed something onto a foam triangle.
"Foundation." Claret said shortly. Hearing Claret talk did little to persuade May to man or woman, but she decided, based on her past experiences in this matter, to go with man for the sake of simplification.
"Oh." she said. She had very rarely worn make-up, and when she did, it had not sprayed out of a can. Katja cleared her throat as Claret began to smooth the stuff onto May's face.
"But you always had one friend with you." she prompted. May's cheeks turned red again and she giggled nervously.
"Of course I haven't." she said. "I was with Ash, Brock and Max, then I was on my own for awhile, then I was with Solidad, Harley and Drew, then just Drew, then Dawn and...well no one person has been through it all." May finished her sentence in a rush.
"Keep your eyes still." Claret ordered.
"Oh, sorry." May said sheepishly as Claret got back to work.
"And of course all that support has gotten me to where I am today." May concluded.
"Yes, quite an impressive resume it is. Two Grand Festival titles, six top three finishes, and a total of 50, and a half, ribbons over six regions. Only one person has a better record." Katja said.
"Yeah, but I'm gaining on him." May said absentmindedly with a smirk, a habit she had begrudgingly picked up.
"How has that particular relationship helped you develop?" Katja asked. "And you look stunning by the way." she added. May blinked as she gazed into the mirror.
Her blue eyes were bright and huge, framed by what she assumed must be fake lashes, because she couldn't imagine that her own could be that thick. Her cheeks were a healthy rose, which admittedly had a lot to do with Katja's question. Her lips were pink and plump and she opened and closed them experimentally.
"Well, obviously, I've known Drew from right around my first ever contest in Slateport City. He was the most arrogant and annoying person I had ever met, and he had the most backhanded way of trying to help me get better. But he gave me a goal to pursue and a model to follow and soon I was good enough to be a real rival to him. He's done a lot to get me where I am, and I'm grateful for that." May stared down at her hands, a small smile playing across her mouth.
"Well, it's wardrobe time, why don't you walk with me?" May stood to follow Katja, and her smile grew at the prospect of playing dress up.
"Would you say you've been able to become a role model for others like all those people were to you?" Katja continued.
"Well, I'd like to hope that I'm a figure that young coordinators can look up to, but there is one story that stands out to me in particular. It was a girl named Brianna. The first time I met her, she was set on beating me in a contest to impress Drew of all people. I don't know that I did much to get through to her until I beat her, and she had two reasons to become stronger. Then I saw her again two years later. She had done a lot to become stronger, but she still had a lot to learn. Her goal was to beat me, and having a rival does a lot, but her main drive was still to impress Drew."
May paused and scowled at Katja, who was smirking.
"Anyway," she pressed on, "I used the things I had learned to help her realize that your drive has to come from wanting to be there for your Pokémon and having a great give and take relationship. That's how you grow, you grow as your Pokémon do." May stopped talking and walking. Her mouth dropped open as she took in the racks of clothing before her.
"Oh...my..." she breathed.
"Yeah, yeah, stunning really." Sasha said, sounding agitated, as she stepped out from behind a rack. "Come with me, outfit number one." she hitched a few hangers onto her fingers and strode toward a large screen. May followed behind her in a mesmerized way.
"Here, change." Sasha said, thrusting the clothes at May. She took them and obediently began to undress, eyeing Sasha, who was now on the other side of the screen. She obviously wasn't as warm and nice as she looked.
"So May, I guess now we've come to the question you knew I was going to ask." May sighed heavily as she pulled a rather tight green tank top over her head. "You've got to tell me all about that Grand Festival." Katja said breathlessly. May stepped out from behind the screen. She was now wearing a form fitting green tank top with a white cap sleeve cut off jacket. Her traditional fanny pack was replaced by a loose fitting green belt. Sasha had also put her in a black skirt with purple in the pleats and green tennis shoes. May scowled a little.
"I miss my bandana." she said sulkily. Sasha reappeared then, with something green and folded held out toward May.
"It does not go on your head, this hat does." she held out a green stocking cap, "but you can put it right here." Sasha grabbed May's arm and tied the cloth around her bicep.
"Also, the ring doesn't match, take it off." May looked up quickly from admiring the new way to wear her old head covering.
"But, but, I don't have..." May stuttered.
"Fanny pack, it'll be fine." May glanced down at the ring hesitantly before sliding the sparkly bauble off her right and setting it reluctantly and reverently into a small front pocket of her fanny pack.
"May, please, I'm dying to hear about this. It was such an event to witness, and people are simply clamoring to get the insider perspective."
"I would actually really like to hear about it. No one has ever done that before." Sasha added.
"And I really wish he hadn't." May groaned. "Ok, I'll give you the story, but you can't interrupt me, and you have to know that I won't tell you everything." Katja nodded and held up her tape recorder.
"Tell Friedrich that he's going to have to wait." she called over her shoulder. A random assistant scurried off. "Go ahead dear." May took a deep breath.
"Ok, well it started when I won my fifth ribbon..."
So, this was really more of a prologue than anything else. It gets much quicker as we go on. Good news is the whole thing is finished, so I'll put a piece up once a week. (It will probably be a three-shot). Again, thank you to anyone who read this, especially anyone who's been with me through the void. Please leave a review!
STL
(its been a long time since I typed that. It felt good )
