So I'm finally done with this chapter, so here you go :) I realize this might have a bit of filler-feel to it, but then again, I felt like I would have skipped something important without some journey-related experiences. But I promise; this story is going somewhere :)
Disclaimer: Last time I checked, I didn't own Pokemon.
Reviews makes me want to write more, and makes me happy :)
Chapter 4
Drew and my trainer were very silent the whole morning, while Harley was in a remarkably good mood. Around us was an open landscape, with green grass disrupted by mountains in the distance. We decided to spend lunchtime at a nice spot, with some thickets and ponds in the distance.
It was a sight to behold, as the pokemon from three rival teams appeared. My trainers and Drews pokemon looked at Harleys team in bewilderment, but the confusion was soon replaced by a defensive stance. Harleys pokemon were calm, they didn't even seem surprised. My trainer hurriedly stepped in.
"Guys, Harley will travel with us to the next contest, so say hi to his pokemon." Her smile was soothing, and the tension dissipated, although some disgruntlement lingered. Beautifly and Blaziken glanced at me, communicating their discontent. Drews pokemon was equally unhappy. Skitty jumped around trying to catch one of Octillery's arms, and Warturtle just greeted the other pokemon politely before turning to our trainer for food. At least someone could enjoy their time in blissful ignorance. Beautifly subtly positioned herself next to Masquerain, waiting patiently for her food while she glanced at the other bug pokemon from the corner of her eye. I should have seen it before, her ulterior motive for wanting Drew and May together so badly. Now it was only too obvious, but at least Masquerain looked happy with the attention.
I walked over to Roserade, and we shared our lunch in comfortable friendship. "So, what do you think about the situation?" I asked her, wanting to get some insight into the Drew-perspective.
"Harley being here complicates matters," she murmured back. "They need some kind of break-through. Drew was not happy last night, kept saying something about fan girls. He really doesn't like it when they get too close, did you notice?" I nodded, trying to picture myself with a horde of buffed, elegant Umbreon following me... On the other hand, I would not like to be chased by those obsessive fan girls. Praise of that kind was perhaps best enjoyed at a distance.
I told her everything I could remember from last night. Being the only witness to the past events, I felt a bit privileged. Insisting on staying outside has its virtues. "She is quite dense, isn't she? No offense." Roserade sighed as I finished.
"None taken," I smiled. "She is, but I think some part of it comes from protecting herself, although probably unconsciously. And Drew is not the easiest person to understand," I responded. She nodded, an affectionate smile gracing her features as she glanced at her trainer.
"He protects himself too, you know. With so many crazy fan people admiring him for appearance and achievements only, one can hardly blame him. They don't see the person behind those attributes." She smiled sadly at me. She was right, of course, it was only logic, but I had not thought about it that way before. I peeked at Drew. He was silently eating his food, radiating that withdrawn aura. He would not let just anyone in, perhaps protecting a vulnerable part of himself.
"This was great!" my trainer exclaimed, her spirit lifted considerably by the magic of food. Thus effectively disrupting my observations and ending our conversation. "Thanks for lunch, Harley." She gave him a heartfelt food-in-the-belly smile, and he accepted the gratitude with joy.
"Ah, sweetiepie, that was the least I could do," he squealed. He had actually offered to do the cooking, and they had decided to do it in turns from now on.
"They seem to get along well together," my trainer observed, looking at the groups of pokemon in the grass. She let her gaze trace over us fondly. "Sometimes I wonder what they're all talking about," she mused. I locked eyes with Roserade, and we somehow developed equally growing grins. Yes, they would probably have found our conversations quite interesting.
"I have a distinct feeling I don't want to know the answer," Drew retorted dryly while bestowing a reproachful glare at us, and Roserade especially. "We need to get in some training before moving on," he stated, changing the subject. We all sobered up.
"Right," she answered. Suddenly she was overflowing with the well known determination which Drew himself had ignited in her at their very first meeting, and which would never fail to flare up for him.
"Have you even decided which pokemon you're going to use?" he asked. "You do know this should not be a last minute decision, right?" he locked his eyes with hers, awaiting an answer she was clearly reluctant to give.
"Of course I know that," she shot up, her anger ignited like the tail of a Charizard.
"All your pokemon are great May, you don't need to choose yet. You surely could win that contest on an impulse decision!" Harley exclaimed in his girly, fake voice. Drew's gaze shot daggers at him, and my trainer looked dumbstruck. "Ah, my apologies, old habits die hard," he said laughing. She visibly relaxed. Drew looked away, but he didn't let his guard down. Neither would I.
"Come to think of it, I haven't seen your Ivysaur and Munchlax around here. What have you done with them, sweety?" Harley wondered, looking around as if to expect the two pokemon to pop up from the grass.
"My Venusaur is back at Professor Oak's lab, together with Ash'es Bulbasaur. They have so much fun together, who am I to stand in the way of such a friendship? Munchlax was my gift to Max at his tenth birthday not so long ago. They are nearly inseparable, and I feel much safer knowing they travel together." Her smile was nostalgic, and I am sure she missed them all, especially Max.
"What a stupid thing to do, hon, giving away your pokemon." Harley shook his head in disbelief. My trainer looked away in defiance, but she was hurt, I could tell. It had not been an easy decision for her, and although Max's happiness easily made it worth it, criticism was hard to accept.
Drew shot a warning glance at Harley, and then turned to May. "That was very thoughtful of you, May," he said, smiling at her. Her expression immediately lightened up. "I am sure Max appreciated it, and besides, it's really the pokemon who chooses the trainer, right?" He looked intently into her grateful eyes, and she nodded her agreement.
She glanced at Harley once again before devoting her full attention to Drew. "So for which pokemon I'll be using... Warturtle hasn't competed since the Wallace cup, so I think it's time he got another try. As for my second pokemon... Both Glaceon and Skitty did great in the last contest, but I think they could use a break. Beautifly is always very good, and she won me the fourth ribbon. But I think Blaziken deserves to participate, it's been a while now. Water and fire then." She ticked us off on her fingers as she spoke. I was a bit disappointed, but she was right. It was a very long time since both had competed, and they would surely compliment each other nicely out there.
"We will focus on those two," Drew stated in a matter of fact tone. "If you lose, there is only one more chance, so you better make this count. Unless you want to keep on the tradition of depending on the very last contest?" he asked her mockingly, classical Drew-smirk adorning his features.
"For your information, I will not need the last contest, I'm winning this one!" she told him with an angry gesture.
"Good!" He appeared satisfied with her reaction. Her fury transformed into bewilderment, she had probably expected another insult. She held eye contact as if searching for something in his eyes. The world was quiet. Such a fine moment it could have turned into, if they had been someplace a bit more private.
"Can we start now?" Harley's voice cut through the air in annoyance. Maybe he didn't like being ignored for so long. My trainer broke the contact with a sheepish smile.
"Right," she mumbled. Drew and Harley called back most of their pokemon, only Roserade and Absol were left outside. "Ok, Warturtle and Blaziken, you will be training together for the next contest. Beautifly, Skitty and Glaceon, you can watch from over there," she motioned us over to the edge of an improvised field.
"Your strong points are your appeals and dazzling attacks," Drew began. "You always try to be the stronger one, overpowering your opponent. This works well against other offensive trainers, mostly because of your creative use of your pokemon's attacks." She nodded in understanding.
"You need to be more flexible though. Remember how Solidad countered your battling style last Grand Festival? All she had to do was to make sure your attacks would fail, every dodge or interrupted combination cost you points. She turned your attacks against you. You must be able to use your attacks more defensively, bending your opponents attacks to your benefit." Drew gazed intently at her, making sure she understood.
"I think you're right," she answered thoughtfully. "A strong offensive, that's how Ash battles, so that's what I've learned."
"Lets work on your defense then. Lets make this a two on two battle. Find a way to disrupt my combinations." And so the training started. It was a new way to think, but our trainer adjusted fine. After a while Harley took a turn battling her with Ariados and Octillery. By then she was doing great, so I decided to go for a walk.
I began to wander about, it felt good to stretch my legs and sniff the summer air. There was something else, though, a pokemon perhaps? Such a nice smell. I tiptoed closer to the source, while the smell grew more prominent. It came from a thicket, something must be hiding inside. I crept through a hole in the bush, and finally laid my eyes on them.
I retreated quickly. Not that I was scared, but there was no need to test my luck either. It was however a good idea to fetch my trainer. My discovery would perhaps peak the interest of Drew too.
"Where were you, Glaceon? You can't wander around by yourself like that! If you do that again, I might be forced to return you." She was angry with me, but I could ignore that. She would forget about me in a few moments anyway.
"Glac-eon," I exclaimed, running a few steps, and looking back to make sure they followed. My trainer furrowed her brow in confusion, but started walking. Drew and Harley followed, with the pokemon in tow.
I signaled for them to look inside the thicket. My trainer looked first, and came back with an exited smile on her lips. "Look inside, Drew," she whispered, eyes sparkling. When he came out, their eyes met in understanding.
"Remember that Arcanine, May?" Drew said with a grin. She nodded. Drew let out his Flygon, and my trainer motioned for Warturtle to get ready. They attacked in unison, making the inhabitants of the bush yelp in surprise. The two young Growlithe jumped out, no longer curled up in sweet sleep.
"Why do you get to capture them, what about me?" Harley complained. Nobody had time for him, though, as we were all in hot pursuit of the fire dogs.
The Growlithe managed to dodge Warturtle's Aqua Tail, only to be hit by Flygon's Dragon Breath. Caught between the two pokemon, they begun to use Ember, for little effect. Flygon trapped them in his Sandstorm, enabling Warturtle's Water Gun to hit home. Drew and May locked eyes, and both threw their pokeball, making the two nice smelling Growlithe disappear. Drew's pokeball shook only once, and then settled with an affirming sound. May's pokeball shook once, twice, thrice, as we all looked at it in rapt attention. A final shake, and the Growlithe was still inside. We could all breathe again, well, except my trainer. She was too occupied with hugging a blushing Drew and then Harley, snuggling with the new pokeball and cheering wildly, thus effectively rid the area of any lingering wild pokemon.
We walked a bit further that day. We crossed a small bridge, and my trainer insisted on taking a rest there, to enjoy the scenery. She let her feet sweep through the water below, and I curled up in her lap.
"Glaceon, time to wake up if you want some dinner." I opened my eyes as May gently stroked my fur. We were sill sitting on the bridge, but it was now dark around us. "We decided to set camp here for the night," she explained when I looked at her. I followed her across the bridge, and found the others already eating. Soon we could all go to sleep. It had been an eventful day.
