Okay, instead of a one shot fic for contestshipping, I decided to make it a mini-series that will consist of four chapters or so. I figured that I can't place the whole plot in just one chapter, so I had to break it down. Anyways, pairing would be contestshipping and mention of pokeshipping. Also, there's a surprise pairing inside too. :3 Just look. Older Drew and May for this fic. They will be in their twenties by this time.
Despite the genre of this fic belonging to 'angst', the first chapter doesn't have to much angst in it. As the chapter progress, however, there will be angst.
Anyways, this song had been inspired from the song 'First Love' by Utada Hikaru. Try downloading the song; it really screams contestshipping. XD
For this fic, I researched on Bulbapedia as to how a Grand Festival in Kanto goes, so I can try to stick to the canon version as best as I could. I hope I did. :3
Before we begin, lemme give you something to think about: Doesn't Aaron of the Elite 4 of Sinnoh look a lot like Drew? XD Drop me a response through a review about what you think.
And now, let's begin!
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.
First Love
"Welcome to this year's Grand Festival!!!"
The crowd's screaming was deafening, but she was used to it. For four years, this has been her job as a contest announcer for Pokemon Contests in the Kanto region, substituting for Lilian, who was currently vacationing all over Kanto and Johto. Once in a while though, the former contest announcer for Kanto would appear during Grand Festivals and be a judge, along with the Director of Pokemon Contests, the Pokemon Fan Club President and a randomly selected Nurse Joy from the Kanto region.
"And of course, I'm your host, May!"
Most of the male audience began whistling at the sight of the brunette, herself a one-time Grand Festival champion two years before, when she had been eighteen years old. For today, she was the contest announcer. May was currently wearing a red bandeau and a body-fitting white skirt that reached the middle of her thighs. A red scarf hanged loosely on her neck, while her bare arms had black arm-length gloves that were attached to her middle finger. For her footwear, she wore black leather boots that reached her knees. Her hair had been tied up in pigtails.
"We are here right now in beautiful Indigo Plateau, where every year, the Grand Festival is held!" she said, earning more applauses and cheers. "As always, I'll need a little help with the hosting, so a special person from Cerulean City will be my co-host for today! Everyone, please welcome Misty, the Cerulean Gym Leader!"
The said red-head, now aged twenty-one, waved to the crowd in the other stadium, wearing a blue tube-top and a black skirt. For her footwear, she wore white open-toe sandals. "Hello everyone. It's great to be here! Hope you all have fun watching our splendid coordinators make their moves!"
The tradition of having Gym Leaders as co-hosts started just last year, when the Grand Festival in Hoenn had randomly chosen Petalburg City Gym Leader to be a co-host. May had been asked to be a co-host of Vivian when her father had been too busy fighting the challengers in Petalburg Gym. After that stint, she caught the attention of Robert, one-time Grand Festival Winner and the new Pokemon Contest Director, and the blonde young man asked if she could be an announcer for the Kanto region. She accepted it immediately.
Last year too, when the Grand Festival had chosen Celadon City in Kanto, it had been Erika who acted as the co-host, while in Sinnoh, it had been Gardenia. This year, in Hoenn, it had been Winona, and for the Kanto region, it was Misty.
"And now, I introduce you to our panel of judges! First off, we have Mr. Robert, director of the Pokemon Contests."
The Grand Festival winner of Hoenn gave out a charming smile to everyone, earning the shrieks of the ladies in the crowd. "It is nice to be here, and I hope to see a good show. Everyone, please give our coordinators a round of applause." Everyone did what he had said, causing him to smile even more.
May proceeded to the person sitting on his left. "Next is the president of the Pokemon Fans Club, Tracy Sketchit!"
"Glad to be here as well. I need to look at more Pokemon so I can draw more of them." The Pokemon Watcher announced.
"Of course, Cerulean City's very own Nurse Joy is here to judge the contest!"
The pink-haired Pokemon nurse grinned. "I'm very happy to be here!"
"And now, our guest judge for this year's Grand Festival is none other than the Orange Islands League champion and my former travelling buddy, Ash Ketchum! Hi Ash, it's nice to see you again!"
At the mention of the champion's name, everyone began to cheer wildly at the spiky-haired male who still wore his trademark cap and had a Pikachu on his left shoulder. "Hey May! It's really great to be here! I can't wait to see everyone's Pokemon!" He said excitedly, with his Pikachu nodded his head approvingly as well.
"And of course, we have to seek help from two more Nurse Joys from the Kanto region for the judging!" on cue, the three Nurse Joys, including the one whom May mentioned earlier, made their appearance in the center of the stadium and waved to the crowd.
"With that said, May, let's begin the appeal round!" Misty announced.
The brunette began to twirl in her place. "STAGE… ON!"
Gosh, when will this end…?
Currently, May was bored and was very much thirsty. They were already on the one hundred and fortieth contestant for the appeal round, and if it weren't for Misty, she would have probably collapsed on the floor from exhaustion. Yes, she had already done this before, but once again, May reminded herself how hard it is to become a host for a Grand Festival event.
She was ready to announce the next person to do appeal when the camera man held up a sign board with a familiar person's face drawn on it, causing a majority of the female audience to shriek out loud in delight and happiness.
Time suddenly stopped for May.
W-wha…?
Him.
'W-what is he doing here?!'
Quit reminiscing, May, you have a hosting job to do! Out loud, she said, "And now… we have Drew Rozen from La Rousse City!"
Though it may have sounded alright for the crowd, her co-host who had heard it thought otherwise. Something was definitely wrong when the way she had announced Drew's name. At the word 'Drew', her voice wavered, but it didn't sound too obvious to the crowd. Misty wanted to know what made her lose her concentration, but decided that she would just ask later, during the break.
At last, the coordinator and one-time Grand Festival champion of Johto made his appearance, prompting the females to scream as loud as they could, while some had taken out their posters of the said contestant and started waving them wildly in the air.
Was there… something going on between May and Drew…? The Kanto gym leader did not know the whole story, but according to her boyfriend Ash, May and Drew had been rivals since they have first met.
I'll ask her later. She reminded herself again, making a mental note to do so immediately.
I can't believe he's here! WHY!? WHY DID HE HAVE TO JOIN THE KANTO GRAND FESTIVAL THIS YEAR?!
As much as she wanted to know why he had only made his presence known after so long, May knew she couldn't. Drew and she weren't exactly on speaking terms right now, and it had already been four years since they've last met…
He really had changed. Hair was now all spiked up. The clothes had changed as well. If before, Drew had worn long-sleeves, he was now wearing a sleeveless tank top which purple trimmings on the sides. The blue jeans were gone, and were now replaced with black cargo pants.
Clearly, he had grown up to become such a heartthrob that a majority of the women, young and old, were cheering wildly for him.
She shook her head discreetly to clear her thoughts. 'Sheesh, May. Stop drooling over him like every other girl That's just disgusting.'
When the young woman finally regained her composure, she warned herself yet again, 'Act professional'
Before he would throw the Pokeball, May anticipated that the emerald-haired twenty-one year old would do a hair flip. Surprisingly, he just took out a Pokeball and tossed it in the air. "Tyranitar, go!"
"And it seems that our one-time Grand Festival winner from Johto has just released a Tyranitar!" May commented, smiling her trademark plastic smile at the crowd. Though she was not surprised that Drew would have new Pokemons to use for contests, she did not count on the fact that he had a Tyranitar, one of the most stubborn and unfriendly Pokemons around.
Probably, Drew has met his match and have probably gotten challenged to train such a Pokemon. And May did not resist the urge to smile at the thought.
"Tyranitar, Hyper Beam!"
May resisted the urge not to gasp in awe at the sight before her. The Hyper Beam had been well-executed; it wasn't too powerful or was it too weak. It seemed that its trainer made sure how well it would have to use a Hyper Beam in a 'just-right level'. "And what would the judges' score be?"
The three Nurse Joys held up their score boards.
93, 90, 91.
She resisted the urge not to roll her eyes. "Well done!"
It took another hour before the appeal round was done, and then came the short break that would last for twenty minutes. All coordinators exited the contest hall while May and Misty were resting near the judges' area. Finally, it was done. The easier part would come next.
"How many coordinators entered for this year, May?"
The brunette took a huge gulp of her thirst-quenching drink before answering. "Around… two hundred and fifty. We've had this many last year too, but I guess this year's competition is fierce. I mean, the Grand Festival winner of Johto is here. If he wins this year, so many will really cry."
The Water Pokemon Master frowned. Did May just not refer to Drew by his name…?
She tested the waters. "Grand Festival winner? You mean Drew Rozen of La Rousse?"
No response. Not even a flinch upon hearing his name. "Yup, that's him. He won during the year I won in Hoenn, and then disappeared from the scene until now."
She avoided saying his name yet again. "Oh. Hey, is he that rival of yours a few years back? Ash mentioned it to me."
May nodded. "Yes, he is." She admitted. "Well, used to be. I mean, he did become a friend of mine anyway.
And that was the end of her discussion with Misty about him. She will never tell anyone what had happened between them before…
"May!"
The familiar accented voice snapped her back to reality. It also belonged to her boss, Robert. "Wait awhile, Misty. I need to discuss something with Robert. Be back in awhile!"
"Alright." Misty then approached her boyfriend. "I'll just be with Ash if you need me."
May walk over to where her boss was sitting. "You called for me, sir?" she asked.
The blond sophisticated-looking man smiled at her. " Sit down for awhile, May. I have to inform you about something." When May took a seat on the chair next to his, he began.
"Right after this year's Grand Festival in Kanto, I will resign as the Pokemon Contest Director." Before May had the time to protest, he interrupted her. "Do not worry about losing your job. I have asked my replacement to let my staff keep their positions even if I'm gone."
"Mr. Robert, why are you resigning?"
He chuckled. "Haven't you heard the rumors?"
Ah, yes. May remembered; it had almost been three months ago since that rumor surfaced concerning her boss. "About you getting married?"
"Yes. Indeed, it is true."
"To whom, sir, if I may ask?" she stated.
"… Have you heard of the Pokemon doctor named Abby?"
"Did you see her?!"
"May Maple sure is cute and sexy!"
"Wonder if she has a boyfriend already?"
"Pokemon Coordinator Magazine interviewed her and she said she doesn't have one…"
"Or maybe she and her boss have something going on?!"
"No way! Mr. Robert doesn't look like the type to go for May!"
"Haven't you heard the rumors?! He's gonna get married! What if he marries May?!"
"NOOOOOO!!!"
Drew heard all of the comments, and frankly, he was not happy about it. Not only did he not manage to recognize his ex-girlfriend (a shame on his part), but the way all the males talked about her was like she was an object of lust. As much as he hated to admit it, who, in his right mind, wouldn't lust over her? Her outfit made sure of the fact that she was very much well-endowed. Never had he seen a host wear such a… skimpy outfit. Heck, Lilian only went as far as to wear a sports bra during contests!
Never would he image May wear such a provocative outfit someday. What if some pervert approached her and did something funny?
Wow, you seem so protective right now, Drew. What happened? His mind asked him sarcastically. And now that Robert, that rival of yours, is rumored to marry her, what are YOU gonna do about it?
As usual, he told himself, "Nothing."
He just want to leave her be, but somehow, she kept haunting him. The same thing goes for him, even if it had already been four years since they last talked to one another. Heck, he was now acting like an overprotective boyfriend.
But of course he was protective of her.
He WAS her ex-boyfriend, after all…
I hope I did good for this chapter. Please review. :D
