May punched the number into her PokéNav, pacing nervously up and down her room at the Pokémon Centre until the person on the other end picked up. Her eyes stung with tears as she heard the familiar 'hello?', and she took a deep breath before speaking.

"How are you?" She asked, trying to stop her shaking hands.

"I'll be fine." The other voice was shaking, and May closed her eyes tight so she didn't have to imagine the face that matched.

"I wish I could be there right now. I wish I hadn't come to Sandalstraw Town. I wish-"

"May, there's nothing you can do," Drew replied. "Solidad already yelled at every official she could find, and they couldn't do anything."

"I could be there for you, though," she mumbled, sitting cautiously on the edge of her bed.

"By calling you've done enough. So thank you."

"I can't believe you didn't get through again though. Your appeal was stunning, way better than mine last time, and way better than any of the others."

"Solidad reckons it's fixed. They don't want me winning again, so they're not letting me through."

"Do you think that?" May asked nervously, biting the skin around her nail on her forefinger.

"Not really," he says with a despondent sigh. "I think I've just hit some kind of wall, and there's something about my Pokémon that just isn't working."

"Maybe you need to catch a new Pokémon," May suggested.

"Solidad said the same thing. I'm definitely going to look into it." There was a pause, and May almost thought that he'd hung up on her.

"I'm really sorry, Drew."

"Stop apologizing. This has nothing to do with you. But I'm glad of your support." She can practically hear him smile, and somewhere in the background a cheer goes up. She glances towards the TV- the first battle has been won. "Maybe you shouldn't stay for the rest of the battle. Why don't you head over here?"

"No. I want to figure out what I'm doing wrong. And I think the only way to do that is by watching the rest of the contest."

"Fair enough." May sighed deeply, drumming her fingers against her thigh. "If you need me, I'm only a phone call away, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks again, May. You really… you really cheered me up."

"That's what I'm here for!"

"I'll call you later, maybe?"

"I'll be here," she said softly, and she quickly realised how weird that came out, and corrected herself- "I'll be here!"

"Talk later then. Bye."

"Bye." He hung up before she finished the word. She threw her PokéNav onto the bed beside her, holding her head in her hands. She felt bad for Drew- all the way through Hoenn, and even all of Kanto, he had been the superior coordinator. They were pretty much on par through Johto as well, but now he was falling behind, and she was soaring ahead.

She lay down on her bed, exhaustion kicking in after the adrenaline rush that involved checking up on Drew. It was still early in the afternoon, but she wanted to sleep. The glare of the sunlight was harsh, and she stared out the window, hoping that sleep would magically come for her. It didn't, of course, and after twenty minutes she pushed herself up, wiping the drowsiness out of her eyes. She turned her attention briefly back to the TV- it was now the semi final round. She switched it off, glaring at her reflection in the black screen.

It was strange, she thought, how upset she was that Drew was losing. In their Hoenn days, she would've been over the moon at the mere thought of it, and probably would've gloated in his face if they had been near each other. Even in Johto, she had laughed on the one occasion that she had beaten him in a contest (the only one they had entered together). But now, she was on the verge of tears, because she knew he was upset. How they had changed, she thought, almost bitterly.


Drew never called her again. She awoke the next morning with this thought in her head, and immediately checked her PokéNav for missed calls, but the screen came up empty. She didn't want to bother him, though, so she set the device back on the cabinet, turning away swiftly. She had her own contest to think about, after all. It was still a week and a half away, one of the mid week contests, but she had to focus. She had done okay in Floaroma Town, but that was only one contest. She could easily fall into the same rut that Drew was in with one slip up. She was determined. She could win this time, she was sure.

With the air of confidence that was usually elsewhere, May marched into the training field at the back of the Pokémon Centre. She needed to perfect a new appeal by the time the contest rolled around, but nothing immediately sprung to mind. The thing she so desperately wanted to try with Clefairy wouldn't be ready, so she put that to the back of her mind, mentally labeling it 'Grand Festival'. It may not even be ready by then, and she would have to find another Pokémon that could participate, but…

She shook her head quickly, ignoring it for the time being. After all, she still had most of a year to figure out exactly what she was doing. She tossed Blaziken's Pokeball into the air. It had been a good while since she had used the Pokémon for an appeal's round- back at the very start of her journey in Johto. She relied on Blaziken more for battling- the Pokémon was tough. But he was also capable of creating beautiful scenes with his fire type attacks, and May decided to settle on that for this contest.

Clarissa's appeal at the Floaroma contest may have inspired her, but the scariness of her Houndoom was enough to put May off repeating a similar appeal. The Blaze Pokémon chirped loudly, snapping May out of her momentary daze.

"Sorry, Blaziken," she apologised, patting the creature on the arm. "Are you up for doing an appeals round with me?" He cawed again, eyes crinkling up. "I'll take that as a yes!" May scooted back a few paces, leaving Blaziken in the middle of the field.

"Alright, use Blaze Kick!" Flames erupted from the base of Blaziken's leg, and he kicked out into mid air. "Hm. Try… try Sky Uppercut!" Blaziken nodded in understanding before following through on her command. The attack left a blue trail behind in mid air, and something clicked in May's mind.

"Okay! I've got it!"


May fell onto her bed that evening, admiring the sunset out the window. She grabbed her PokéNav from the cabinet, and wasn't surprised to see missed calls from the time she had spent training. One was from Drew, just a few minutes ago. But the other three were from Dawn, spread out across the whole afternoon. She quickly called her back, sitting up straighter on her bed.

"Hello?" The familiar voice came.

"Hi, Dawn! It's May."

"I know. Caller I.D.," Dawn explained with a laugh.

"Right. Anyway, I'm sorry for missing your calls this afternoon. I was kinda busy training, and I left my PokéNav inside."

"Hey, no need to worry! I just wanted to congratulate you on your win in Floaroma Town! That was my first Sinnoh Contest win too, y'know?"

"Really? Oh wow, that's so cool! And thank you, it means a lot. We trained hard for that competition!"

"And it's clear it paid off! So anyway, where can I expect to see you next?"

"Sandalstraw Town. They have multiple contests throughout the year, and even though it's pretty out of the way, I thought I'd give it a go!"

"Oh cool! I might come and watch in person, then! We could meet up before hand and get coffee or something!" Dawn suggested, her enthusiasm clear in her voice.

"Wait, you're in Sinnoh?" This was news to May. The last she had heard, she was in Hoenn, doing that circuit.

"Didn't you hear? I moved back for a few months to train. I entered a contest, won one, and then decided to try a 'Solidad Clean Sweep' as my mom called it. It's not going well though, and I'm not sure that I'm cut out for coordinating any more. Maybe I should've been a Pokémon Stylist." May could hear the disappointment in Dawn's voice, and rushed to reassure her.

"Dawn, you came second in your first Grand Festival! That's so much better than I did! Look at me; on my fourth run of a contest circuit and I haven't come further than top four! Honestly, I don't know why you're doubting yourself."

"Well, I just have to give it a shot," she sighed, muttering something incoherent as an afterthought. May didn't press her on it, ignoring the mumbling in favour of rolling her eyes.

"I'd love to meet you again, though!" May encouraged. It had been almost a year since they had crossed paths. "I'll be here until the contest, so come find me any time!"

"When is it again?"

"Next Wednesday."

"Then I'll be here next Tuesday! I know a cute café there, it's kinda out of the way, but it's always quiet."

"Alright! Well, I guess I'll see you then!"

"Bye!" Dawn hung up the phone with a click, and May stared at the screen, now filled with her contacts list. Right under Dawn was Drew's name, and her finger hovered over the call button before she eventually pressed it. She brought the receiver up to her ear, and waited while the call connected to Drew's phone, if he was even there to pick it up. He was, and the microphone crackled into life as he spoke.

"Hey, May." It was as casual as he could get, but May could still hear how upset he sounded. She supposed because she had heard him talk so much before she was used to the inflections of his voice (and also because he never shut up), and she had only heard him this upset once before.

"Hi, Drew. I'm sorry I missed your call." It wasn't just a formality, but it held an element of truth, and May sighed quietly. "I was out training. I was gonna call you in the morning, but I didn't want to bother you."

"You wouldn't have been bothering me, don't worry," he insisted with a laugh.

"Anyway, is there a reason why you called?" She asked, expectation making her voice rise a little.

"Not really. I just wanted to let you know that I'm feeling a lot better. Also, I'm making my way to Sandalstraw Town as we speak. I won't be entering the contest, don't worry, but I'd like to hang out. Maybe watch you train."

"We can train together," she suggested.

"That'd be nice."

There was an awkward pause, in which May leaned back against the headboard of her bed. It was her turn to speak next, she supposed, but words seemed to escape her. Instead, she sighed lightly, a contented sigh. It was nice to talk to Drew like this, when they weren't fighting over one thing or the other. She was glad they had put all that behind them, and discovered that they could finally get along.

Shit.

Her face heated up rapidly, changing colour from peach to pink to red in a matter of seconds. Her hand shook slightly, and she had to hold onto her wrist with her free hand to stop her dropping her PokéNav. There was no way that after all this time she had fallen for Drew? No way. That was practically impossible! She had despised him for so long- he was rude and insufferable back when he was eleven. To now have a crush on him was just wrong. It was like betraying a past self. But in this sudden moment of realisation, May knew that she was right.

"Uh, May?" Drew prompted.

"Sorry. I just realised how hungry I am, and how I should go get dinner," May excused desperately.

"It's eight p.m. though."

"I was out training, like I said."

"Well, whatever. I should probably stop soon too, and set up camp for the night. I'll be with you on Monday, okay?"

"Fine by me," she said casually. The way he worded it sounded so romantic, and she wanted to make up and excuse to leave Sandalstraw Town until the contest.

"Alright. I'll see you then."

"Bye, Drew."

She hung up quickly, and had to fight the urge to throw her PokéNav at the wall. She was half tempted to call Dawn back and tell her all the news, but she didn't want to bother her friend with the feelings that she may or may not have just realised. Instead, she dragged herself downstairs, and out of the Pokémon Centre, praying to Arceus or whatever it was that there was a ramen shop in the vicinity.


Drew appeared, just as promised, on Monday afternoon, just as May had finished a killer combination with her Skitty and Glaceon. She was insistent on not only practicing for the upcoming contests, but thinking ahead as well, and since the Hearthome contest was in sight, that was reaching the top of her agenda quicker than she would've liked. There were only three more contests that she planned to enter between now and then, not including the Sandalstraw one, meaning that in theory, she could possibly win her five ribbons and not even have to worry about it. But she would enter, and she would win, even if that meant having to beat Drew.

He sidled up, hands in pockets, to stand beside her and admire the ice sculpture she had created in the middle of the field. It glittered as the sunlight refracted through it, creating tiny rainbows that covered the ground. It was an impressive prism, she thought, and she stored it in the back of her head for future reference.

"Things are going well, then?" Drew asked, glancing at every cranny of the sculpture.

"I wish. We've been practicing this combination from yesterday, and this is the only time it's stayed together. It doesn't even look like anything," May huffed, returning her Pokémon to their balls with a quiet word of thanks.

"Yeah, but if you did this in a contest, at least you'd make it through the appeals round."

"That's not necessarily true, and I think you know that."

Drew sighed, putting his hands behind his head. May glanced between the structure and the ground, before settling her eyes on Drew. He still looked sad, and worried, but it was clear he was trying not to let it show on his face. May took a step towards him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"You'll get out of this, I just know it. You're stronger than this," she confirmed with a nod of her head.

"I really hope so."


Dawn dragged May through the town on Tuesday afternoon, just as promised. The café she had mentioned was cute, like she said, with lace curtains and gingham tablecloths. Tea was served to them in china teacups with matching saucers. A cake stand adorned with cupcakes and tray bakes was brought out, and Dawn swatted May's hand away before she could lift one. Her face fell, crestfallen, but she sipped her tea instead, shooting Dawn the occasional glare.

"So, spill. What's on your mind?"

"What? No, nothing!" May said, setting her teacup down and shaking her head.

"Does it have anything to do with a certain green haired coordinator that's in town at the moment?"

"I told you, there's nothing on my mind!"

"I don't believe you for a second," Dawn said, raising an eyebrow suspiciously.

"Well, shame on you, then."

"So if I brought Drew in here right now and told him that you like him, you wouldn't immediately flip out?"

"I do not like him like that! We're just rivals, I've told you this before."

"Very friendly rivals."

"And you're not friends with Zoey. And I'm not friends with Solidad. Because obviously, friendly rivals equates to love, apparently," May shot back, taking note of Dawn's distraction and grabbing cake from the stand.

"Okay, but I've seen the way you two look at each other. There's definitely something going on!"

"Okay, maybe I kinda like him. Just a little bit. Like, a crush, more than full on love."

"I knew it!" Dawn celebrated triumphantly. "I'm totally gonna try and set you up now."

"You've never talked to Drew before, so I really think you're overestimating yourself. He has the time of day for no one."

"Apart from you," Dawn replied, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

"I hate you."


The Sandalstraw Contest came around the next morning, with a good luck text from Dawn on May's PokéNav. She was out of bed quickly, for once, prepping herself for the day ahead in her room instead of in the always cramped dressing room. She had inhaled enough hairspray at the Floaroma Contest to last her the rest of the year, thank you very much.

She still wasn't used to the whole idea of dressing up for contests. She wasn't sure if you were expected to have different outfits for each and every contest, so she subtly switched hers up this time. The pink hair bow from the last contest was switched with a gold star, and her contest outfit was packed into her bag, with no major changes to it. She practically ran to the contest hall, realizing that it was almost eleven.

Thankfully, she made it in time for registration, and she slipped through to the dressing room, throwing her still uncomfortable costume on and slipping out within a matter of minutes. Unusually for her, the coordinator's lounge was completely empty. The clock on the wall read 11:10, so May sat down on one of the cube seats, running over her plan in her head.

This one would go off without a hitch. It didn't rely on chance of any kind. It didn't rely on her doing anything with props. Realistically, she could just tell Blaziken to go and he would, but she wouldn't. This was practically the perfect combination, and May felt confident. This was unusual for her, especially so early in the season. But she wasn't about to complain- it was amazing she'd even gotten this far.

The lounge filled up quickly as the clocked ticked ever closer to twelve. And when the numbers changed to one and two, Marian appeared on the screen, her warm words of welcome reaching out to the audience and beyond. The camera panned quickly around the audience, and May caught sight of Drew, nodding directly to the camera. May's heart sped up momentarily. Whether this nod was for her or not she would never know, but it put her mind at ease.

Her name was called fairly early on into the preliminaries, and she grabbed Blaziken's Pokéball from her belt, turning it over in her palm. This was going to go great. She took a deep breath, and ran out into the arena, ready to wow.

"Blaziken, take the stage!" The Pokémon burst from its ball, appearing on the stage in a burst of dark smoke that filled the arena floor. "Use Fire Spin on yourself!"

This move sounded a lot riskier than it actually was. Very little damage was taken by Blaziken, and it looked spectacular. The Pokémon opened its beak, spitting the fire type move towards the ground, which then engulfed its whole body in a fiery tornado. There were audible gasps from the audience, but they only fueled May's confidence.

"Use Sky Uppercut!"

The Pokémon complied, jabbing its fist through the fire. Blue streaks were left in the air, cutting through the red of the Fire Spin. Eventually, the flames dissipated, leaving Blaziken shining in the aftermath. Both he and May bowed, before she returned him to his Pokéball.


The battle round went quickly, with may sailing through to the finals along with her Skitty. The small Pokémon wasn't as used to battle rounds, but she managed perfectly. In fact, she managed to defeat their opponent in the final round, meaning that May became the winner of the Sandalstraw Ribbon.

She changed quickly, still on a high from winning. That made two ribbons in two contests, and that did wonders for May's confidence levels. Only three more to go, and she had almost the whole season to acquire them. That was better than she could ever have dreamed. And hey, who knows, she could even pull off a 'Solidad Clean Sweep', as Dawn's mom apparently called it.

"You did great," a voice called as soon as she stepped foot into the lobby. Drew was there, rose in hand, as to be expected. "That first combination took my breath away."

"Thanks," May said, taking the rose from him and holding it in her hand. She spotted Dawn in the distance, coming out of the hall, and prayed that her friend wouldn't see them together, especially with the rose. "That's two ribbons now," she breathed.

"I can't quite believe it. I'm honestly amazed you've done so well."

"What's that supposed to mean? Do you not think I'm a good coordinator?"

"No, I just think that compared to the girl I met on Slateport City's beach, you're practically a different person. You've come so far."

"Hey!" Another voice called, running towards May at an alarming pace. "I'm so glad you're still here! And…Drew. So you're still a weenie, huh?" The boy said, glancing at the rose in May's hand.

"Max?"


A/N: I drastically changed the plot of the next four chapters just because I wanted to put Drew in. Hope you're excited for some more guest appearances (you're all waiting for it I can tell) in the next couple of chapters! (hes coming soon) c: please review if you enjoyed!