I do not own Pokemon.
Also, to Bugandbees: I think you are better off keeping quiet, if that is how you are going to review it. This isn't a shipping war fic.
Chapter 4: Holding Dreams
"That wasn't nice. That wasn't very nice at all, you know."
The one who spoke was dressed flamboyantly. He has the appearance of one wearing a cactus. His hat matched the rest of his body, and even had a pair of eyes sewn to the top. His face was a mix of displeasure and outright wrath. His hair was long and violet, and he walked with a somewhat feminine swagger.
"L-ladies and gentlemen..." Said the announcer woman, a definite shake of fear in both voice and face. "Here are your two finalists in the Ekruteak City Official Contest! First, let me introduce, from Slateport City in the distant Hoenn region, the one simply known as Harley!"
Harley, purple hair flowing, waved to the crowd, then looked back at his opponent, a look of utter disdain across his features.
"I'll get you back for what you did to our cutsey little May."
"And n-next," The announcer lady said. "W-we have out of V-Violet City...R-Raolin Dhyme!"
Raolin stepped forward and waved his blue hair out from in front of his face. His outfit had something of a rough look, as though he were dressing himself rather sloppily. He shot a look at the announcer, who panicked and began to speak very, very quickly.
"Ok...begin!" The announcer said, then immediately sped away from Raolin's intimidating glare. Raolin looked back at Harley, and his glare became deeper. He did not smile or smirk, just stared with a look of extreme anger at the coordinator across from him. He pulled out his odd colored Pokeball again and tossed it.
"Blaziken...Crush this worm."
Blaziken came out of his Pokeball in an explosion of flame and three clawed fists. Landing on the now scorched earth, Blaziken set itself into a dangerous pose, ready to strike. It's eyes, however, were sullen and unhappy. It shot a quick glance at Raolin, then looked back at Harley. Harley grinned wickedly.
"All right Banette. Let's give this one a rough time. Let's win this one for little May!"
When the Ball released, a strange, ethereal aura began to flow from the creature that was released. The creature itself was not overly large, but carried with it an otherworldly, shadowy feel. The face was that of a disturbed doll, eyes curved with malice, and an odd mouth like structure that closely resemble a zipper. The "mouth" was contorted in a look of bloodlust.
Raolin suddenly seemed taken aback. His eyes twitched slightly, and a slight flame flickered in them. After a moment, he flashed an arrogant smile and stared at Harley. Harley's smile was confident, and his eyes glimmered with a mischievous light.
"Hmmm, So, Raolin," Harley said, grinning. "I've always heard that you led a most friendly life with a loving grandfather."
Raolin said nothing. His face was unreadable save for arrogant confidence, but Harley thought he saw Raolin's eye twitch a second time.
"I've heard many things, how you got stuck in a Wooper's water nest, how a Bellsprout followed you around for a week trying to eat honey off your hand after you fed it, how your grandfather had to save you from a pack of wild Beedrill...I wonder, what would he say if he saw you like this?"
Twitch. Oh, yes, I've definitely touched a weak spot. Now, to go for the jugular.
"Banette, Astonish, GO!"
Banette rushed forward, eyes beginning to shine with a red luster. It stopped, and a flash of energy seemed to cause Banette to grow in size. Banette came very close, eyes glowing menacingly. Blaziken jumped away and landed, kneeling in a kneeling pose. Blaziken had lost points, while Banette retained everything.
"Now Banette, Hit it with a Torment!"
Banette twirled, it's loose hands beginning to go an odd color. To everyone else, it seemed little more than an eerie glow. But to Blaziken, The glow was creating an illusion; a picture of mockery and belittlement. Angry, Blaziken's wrists burst into terrific flames that began to lap upwards at his arms, a flame or two reaching as far up as his shoulders. Blaziken tensed up, flames beginning to form in various spots on his body. More points were lost.
Raolin blinked for a moment. Confidence was replaced with anger. "Blaziken," He began, speaking at a slight, but oddly slow pace. "Time to show off your speed. Fire Punchhh...Go." Blaziken hesitated, noting the slight change in Raolin's voice.
"Oh no you don't!" Harley yelled, pointing at Blaziken. "Banette, Hit a Shadow Ball NOW!"
Banette quickly charged up a dark ball of energy, and pushed it towards Blaziken quickly, using its own momentum to add force. Stopping to avoid contact with the dangerous bird, Banette watched as the ball flew swiftly at Blaziken. Blaziken quickly shielded itself with its flames. When the attack connected, Blaziken pushed back. Eventually, Blaziken forced the ball backwards and coated it with fire. The ball flew with speed back towards Banette, connecting and exploding in a mass of darkness and fire. Raolin smirked as a huge amount of points were deducted from Banette.
"Now, Blaziken. Blaze Kick." Raolin's voice had returned to normal. Blaziken's feet burst into fire. "Show that weakling we mean business."
Blaziken sprang forward. In an instant, it was behind Banette, spinning to connect a Blaze Kick with terrific force. Before it had moved much, however, Blaziken was already behind it. Banette's eyes were wild with pain and fear now. Banette's points dropped to zero, but Raolin ignored the call for the match to end.
"Flame Wheel."
Blaziken spun, flames completely engulfing its body. The flame became circular and spun very, very quickly. Blaziken slammed into Banette's body, causing a large explosion of flames and gurgling, muffled cries. Banette went limp, scorched nearly to pitch, and Harley quickly recalled it, beginning to sob slightly. Raolin grinned wickedly at him.
"You're just like the little brown-haired red girl..."
May had been quiet for a couple of days. Ash had pressed her a few times about why she had come back, but each time, she dodged the question. She didn't exactly know why. Could it be that recalling such an incident was painful? In which case, why did she go to Ash in the first place? Was she concerned about burdening Ash with her problems, making him worry? Again, she couldn't answer herself without questioning why she even came to Ash in the first place. Her thoughts were still in shambles when deciding about unloading her troubles in Johto to Ash and the others. As she wrestled with herself, Ash came up to her, and noticed that her expression was one of depressed thought.
As they settled at a clearing in the forest for the evening, Ash watched her, concern in his eyes. May wasn't acting like herself. Typically she was happy and playful, if a bit self restrained around others besides the group. Now, she seemed to force her smiles, and her eyes seemed to lack the luster that they once held. Instead of talking, she quietly observed them as they interacted with their Pokemon. But now May wasn't even trying to smile. She seemed like she was forcing something back, like a painful memory. Pikachu, watching Ash's expression while resting on his shoulder, drooped his ears low. He felt every bit of his friend's concern. Jumping down off of Ash's shoulder, he ran to leave him alone with May for a while, and to try and find any way that he can help out. Ash watched Pikachu leave, and smiled slightly. He turned back to May. He thought back to their sudden reunion. She hugged me...wait, why am I thinking about that? And why would that bother me?
May closed her eyes suddenly, and a tear rand down one side. Finally, Ash had seen enough. He walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. May gasped, startled, and looked up into Ash's eyes, immediately calming down.
"May...What's wrong?" he asked, looking into her eyes. "Something's been bothering you. Please, can you talk about it?"
May forced another smile, however, the tear running down the side of her cheek was completely ruining any chance at it looking genuine.
"Ash? I'm fine. Please, I'm fine. D-Don't worry about me." Her voice was shaky. Ash shook his head.
"That isn't going to work. May, I can tell something's really getting to you." He said. "Otherwise, you wouldn't have stopped in your goals of becoming a great coordinator." May hung her head and turned away. "May," Ash continued. "I'm your friend. I want to help you." He brought his hand up and made a fist as his eyes glimmered with determination. May turned back at him, and saw Ash's determined look.
"A-All right, Ash." She said. Her voice caught slightly. "I'll tell you."
May motioned for Ash to come aside. Brock was away gathering wood for the night fire, and Dawn left to go see if she couldn't watch some of the nighttime forest Pokemon, or so she had said. May sat against the side of a tree, and Ash sat along side her, watching her.
"I had arrived in Violet City..."
Dawn was pacing back and forth through the woods. Her reason for leaving had been an excuse, although she did enjoy watching the nocturnal Pokemon emerge. In reality, she was pushing a bunch of situations through her head. She didn't quite picture Ash as the type to fall for someone, at least until now. But now that she saw it, and saw May in person, she knew that she had to get them together. May is pretty. She may not be as cute as me, but she is prettier. Ash doesn't know how good he has it. She chuckled to herself. Considering May's personality, getting her to admit it to herself would be easy, if she hadn't done so already. Ash on the other hand, seemed confused at his own feelings. Occasionally she noticed him watching May, and would blush, then immediately put on a look of puzzlement. I don't even think he understands the feelings he has...this one is gonna be tough. As she pondered, she suddenly felt soft fur run past her leg, and a yellow blur appeared beneath her. The blur darted away quickly. Hmmm...
She pulled out a Pokeball. "Buneary, I need you for a second." She tossed the ball.
What emerged was a small creature resembling a rabbit. She had deep brown fur covering her upper half, and some light tan fluff covering her lower half. She had short brown arms and somewhat broad, tan feet. She had long brown ears which ended in a small bit of tan fluff, one of which was rolled up in much the same manner as a scroll. She had large, dark eyes, and a small, pink nose. She hopped once, then stopped and stared at Dawn.
"Buneary, I need you to do me a favor." Buneary tilted her head slightly. "Buneary?" It said, a little confused.
"Buneary, I need you to follow Pikachu and see what he's up to." Dawn said, smiling.
Buneary blushed, surprised. "Buneary!?" It said, trying to point at itself.
"Yes. Go." Dawn replied. "It's important, and also, Pikachu might need your help."
Buneary blushed further, but gave Dawn a reassuring nod. "Buneary." It said emphatically, striking Dawn a determined pose. It then hopped away quickly, still blushing.
Dawn giggled loudly. She knew since before she captured Buneary, that Buneary had a crush on Pikachu. To her, it was incredibly cute. The problem, however, was that Pikachu seemed as oblivious as its trainer when it came to the subject of love. At least I can try and fix the trainer. She looked in the direction that Pikachu had come from, and began to walk.
After a minute or two, she came upon voices. One was Ash's voice, the other May's. They're alone together...cool. She parted a few leaves in a small bush, and crouched down to hide herself. Putting a hand to her ear, she quietly listened to their conversation.
"And that's what happened. That's why...I'm here now." May said, looking down at the ground.
Ash seemed speechless. He too, was looking at the ground. His hand was in a fist. After a long pause, he finally spoke.
"This Raolin guy...sounds like a real jerk."
"Ash..." May said, looking at him. Ash's face was set anger. Both hands were in fists now. He stood up suddenly.
"May, you've gotta set him straight." He said, the light of battle smouldering in his eyes. "Make it a Blaziken versus Blaziken match. You gotta prove him wrong!"
May stood up. "Ash...You don't understand." She said, eyes tearing. "Eevee was almost...killed!. Eevee didn't just lose. Eevee was dominated. Eevee couldn't even land a single hit. Then his Blaziken attacked. It was so fast...so strong...it was over before I could say a word. And because I'm...so weak, Eevee got hurt. Ever since... I don't think it has even walked yet. There's no way...I could ever beat that. Not even with Blaziken."
Ash growled. There was a sudden rustling in the bushes. He shot a glance in that direction, but saw nothing. Returning to May, he found that May had turned around.
"I'm sorry Ash...I think I need to be alone for a little while."
Ash stopped. He reached his hand out to May, but then pocketed it.
"All right. I'll come get you when Brock's done cooking supper. See you...in a little while."
"Yeah...see you later, Ash."
Ash turned to go. Before leaving sight, he turned back.
"May...you gotta believe in yourself. As the old saying goes, 'nothing ventured, nothing gained.' May. You gotta at least try."
With that, Ash disappeared behind a tree.
May sat down. She did feel a little better about telling him. But what had her thinking was what he told her last. He was right. 'Nothing ventured, nothing gained', huh? I didn't know Ash knew old sayings like that. She smiled a small smile, but this time, a genuine one. Bringing her hand ro her chin, she began to think.
Dawn had left. Her original plan wasn't going to work, now. Not with May as depressed as she was. She returned to the campsite area and sat on a log. This required a new plan. However, her thoughts were interrupted by none other than Ash, who also was returning to the campsite.
"Hey, Ash!" She said, trying to hide what she had seen and heard from registering on her face. She looked at him. May was nowhere in sight. "Where's May at right now."
"She said that she needed to be alone for a little while." He said quietly. "H-Hey...Dawn? Can I ask you...a favor?"
"Sure! Anything." She replied.
"Could you...not participate in Contests for a little while?" He said, hanging his head. Dawn's eyes went wide with surprise.
"May's feeling down." Ash explained, noticing her expression. "It isn't really fair to do contests...or even gym battles...with the way May is right now. I myself am going to hold off on the gyms for a while. So please...will you wait to do your contests until we can cheer her up?"
Dawn smiled at him. Her answer was obvious.
"Sure Ash. No problem. I'll...hold off on it for a while."
"Thanks a lot." Ash said. He smiled weakly, and then began to look around for Brock.
Dawn's eyes were fixed on him.
Ash, you are a real romantic, even if you don't know it.