Chapter 3

It was the middle of her fifth month in Johto and Solidad was feeling rather pleased with her progress. She had already won four ribbons and was heading toward her fifth in Mahogany Town. With the usual five months between then and the Grand Festival, she traveled with renewed confidence. She had found it rather odd that she hadn't met any of her friends since the Goldenrod contest, but she put it down to coincidence that their paths had never crossed. After all, everyone was concentrating on earning their ribbons and 'friendly reunion' was never a top priority on anyone's schedules.

Absorbed in perusing the quaint architecture of the town's buildings, Solidad did an apologetic double-take as her shoulder apparently connected with some poor unsuspecting person's head. She offered a quick apology before she realized who her 'victim' was.

"Solidad? Nice to finally see you around," exclaimed Drew, with none of the usual sarcasm. She was, after all, a respected senior, and it simply didn't do to taunt or insult the top coordinator from a well-known region.

"It's nice to see you too Drew. Are you entered in tomorrow's Mahogany contest? It's an R3."

"Of course," he replied simply, flicking open his ribbon case to reveal 3 ribbons, looking almost like a happy son showing off a 100 math test score to his mother.

"Good job," Solidad complimented, knowing that despite the teen's self-confident appearance, he did need reassurance from another source once in a while.

"May's here too by the way. I saw her at the pokemon center this morning, but Caitlin isn't competing."

"Wow, looks like May's doing well too."

"I'm surprised she already got three ribbons with those cheesy appeals," he sneered, a bit of his arrogant side resurfacing. He couldn't help it when it came to May, taunting her was just too fun. Solidad did nothing but giggle, knowing his crush on the girl, and wisely decided to withhold her own teasing till after the contest.

"Well, good luck in the contest Drew, I'm not going easy on you because you're a friend, and you can tell May that too."

"I'll be winning this time Solidad!"

With a wink, she walked off to find the five-star Glacier Hotel, deciding that it couldn't hurt to pamper herself a bit after five months of bunking at bed & breakfasts and pokemon centers. Admiring the sparkling glamour of the hotel lobby, she verily stopped short as she recognized the figure at the reception desk. That posture was just unmistakable.

"Robert?"

"Ah, Solidad, it's a pleasure to see you again. I know what you're thinking; I am not entered in tomorrow's contest."

Slightly taken aback that he had replied her before she had even had the chance to ask the question, she remained silent and gave him a questioning look, prompting him for an elaboration of what he was doing in Mahogany Town during the contest period if not to participate in the contest.

"Well, ah-" he began, looking somewhat guilty; "I've already won my fifth ribbon. But the contest committee hadn't prepared the Grand Festival package yet so they asked me to attend the next contest to collect it."

'Oh,' was all she could think. He had sped through that sentence so fast that it took some time for her to register its meaning. She wasn't particularly disappointed that he had beaten her to it; after all, going different routes, it was inevitable that one of them would complete the task before the other. What did ruffle her feathers was that this was the first time she had seen him lose his composure, over something as trivial as telling her how many ribbons he had. It would have interested her to figure out why that was so, but it being one day before the contest for her final ribbon, she felt that she had better things to do than to decipher her rival's idiosyncrasies if they weren't directly related to battle.

"Well congratulations, with any luck I'll be collecting mine tomorrow too," she replied cheerily as she approached the reception desk for her own room. Grabbing her key, she waved a quick goodbye before leaving the hotel to find a spot to train. Now knowing who her likely opponents and audience were, she swore lightly as she realized that she'd have to employ a different strategy from the usual one she'd been using in the past three contests. Releasing her pokemon, she got right down to it.

"Alright everyone, let's train."

The Mahogany Town contest was turning out to be quite a spectacular show. At the R3 level only 5 short months into the contest season, it was evident that only the best were able to compete. Unusually enough, this contest also had a quarter finals stage, allowing eight contestants to enter the battles. Drew and Solidad had sailed through the appeals with May making it in at a respectable fifth place. The other second stage competitors were coordinators Solidad had come to remember from her other contests as well as aboard the S.S. Aquaria:

Michael – an elderly gentleman with an adorable but powerful Growlithe

Rafael – an 18-year-old Brazilian with the most outrageously outfitted Ludicolo

Aiqing – a petite but focused Chinese lady with a graceful Umbreon

Atlanta – who bore a startling resemblance to the Sensational sisters and sported a Luvdisc

Miranda – a pop star wannabe who loved pampering her Jigglypuff

The three friends were thankful that none of them had been pitted against each other in the quarter finals, giving them the little bit of extra motivation to take their opponents down just for the chance of facing off with their long-time friends and rivals in the semi-finals. The battles were grueling and as each stage completed their matches, the screen showed the match-ups of the remaining contestants. It was May versus Drew and Solidad versus Aiqing.

Sitting in the waiting room watching May and Drew's battle, Solidad couldn't help but be awed by her young friends' performance. They had grown so much since she had first met them, especially Drew. Although he hadn't changed outwardly, his confident stance was now complemented by a true aura of control. He calmly countered everything that May threw at him and was quick to recover from any of her surprises. May was as impulsive as ever and her power had definitely grown. She had come up with a plethora of imaginative attacks, but she still lacked the ability to control the pace of the battle, and that was what eventually gave Drew the victory.

Solidad's own battle with Aiqing was equally trying. They were matched in strength, but she knew that the tricks she'd been using for the past few years would be sufficient to see her through. By setting the pace of the battle, she had eventually lowered her opponent's points sufficiently to see her through to the next round.

"And now let's give it up for Drew and Solidad!"

"Looks like it's me against you again right Drew?"

"I'll win this time Solidad," he replied with a flick of his hair. Perhaps this was the time to test how much he had learned here in Johto. He had always been a worthy opponent in strength, but she looked forward to the day he could equal her in strategy.

"And begin!"

She started with and all-out attack. With a range of unusual attacks, her Slowbro was often a surprise to her opponents who thought that they could get away with a type advantage. She watched as Drew deflected all but the most sudden attacks, lowering her points slightly. At the 3 minute mark, just as suddenly as she had started, she stopped. Slightly stunned by the change in pace, Drew too stopped and watched. He ventured an offense only to have it turned back against him and having to dodge it awkwardly. Pokemon and trainer alike eyed each other, as though taunting the other to make the first move.

Solidad could almost taste the tension in the air. Her Slowbro's clueless exterior and Drew's Roselia calmly poised in a ballerina's pose betrayed neither trainer's burning desire to win. Clearly the teen had learned fast. But there was much at stake and she had seen all that she had wanted to see in her battle against Drew. As the clock passed the 2 minute mark, she resumed her ruthless offensive, cornering Roselia into a desperate defensive which could no longer count for lost points. Roselia collapsed just as the timer hit zero, winning Solidad her fifth ribbon and making her the second person in Johto to gain entry into the Johto Grand Festival.