Chapter 7

The sun glinted off of the five red spires of Hoenn Grand Festival main stage. Between each point, towering stands created a pentagon with the main stage in the center as the focal point. Around the outside of the main stage building, lakes form a ring separating the plaza from the carefully manicured laws surrounding the dorms for the event. Elsewhere on the Grand Festival grounds are four other stages where the early rounds are held so more people can experience the action.

The group made it to the Grand Festival just in time for May to register. The last leg of the journey around Hoenn was quick to say the least. Rushing travel was not what any of the group really wanted, especially not May or Ash. Ash because he felt hurrying disrupted his training and limited his ability to care for his Pokémon Eggs. May just enjoyed traveling, ignoring the amazing sights was hard. There was just so much to experience and the rush meant some places were just skipped through.

Brock, though he didn't tell this to Ash, didn't mind. While training and the journey were important, there just was not a whole lot to learn about Pokémon Breeding in the Eastern Half of Hoenn as there was just so much ocean. He enjoyed the time they spent on the islands and together, but moving quickly was just fine with him. At least, for this part of the journey.

Max enjoyed seeing the effect of a little bit of pressure on the Trainer and the Coordinator. Each was dealing with the pressure differently. Ash had moved his training to the mornings and evenings, using any time on boats to read. May worked with Ash in the evenings, when they had free time on the boats, she talked with her Pokémon to design appeals.

Winning the last two Badges was not even a question for Ash. Liza and Tate had not been a stumbling block, though the challenge of the double battle was interesting. Wallace was more difficult to defeat due to his experience, but a little creativity gave Ash a comfortable victory. In between the two Badges, Whitney's Egg hatched into Miltank. For Ash, the hatching of Eevee and Miltank had been the most enjoyable parts of the last month along with training with his old friend Squirtle.

May had a harder challenge winning her last two ribbons. Each Context was full of Coordinators looking to win their way into the Grand Festival. Like May, many of the Coordinators were desperate, looking for their final Ribbons. May had started the Contest Circuit late and there as a bit of a talent gap between her and some of the other Coordinators.

Still, it was not easy. May had to create great appeals on a short time frame and then win out in the Contest Battle rounds. She won, of course, though it was a challenge and Max was really proud of his sister.

Following her success, the group headed immediately and directly to Slateport City where the Hoenn Grand Festival Grounds were kept.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Ash carried his last unhatched Egg as he walked the grounds of the Grand Festival. On his shoulder, Pikachu glanced around at the various people in the area. Running around Ash's feet, Eevee darted around to look at the other people while not getting too far away from Ash and Pikachu's protection.

Pikachu grinned as he watched the young Pokémon dart around. Glancing around, Pikachu noticed May sitting in the Grass, looking down at something. He patted Ash on the head and pointed to their friend. "Pika Pi, pi pikachu."

Ash turned his head to see Pikachu's gesture and then let his eyes sweep in the direction his starter pointed. Upon seeing May, Ash smiled and nodded. "I see her Pikachu, you think we should see how she is doing?"

"Pi chu."

Taking his partner's advice, Ash started heading towards his friend. He looked towards Eevee and noticed she had not seen him change direction. To make sure she didn't get lost, Ash called to her. "Eevee, this way."

Eevee's ears perked up and she turned her head towards Ash and she bounded over to him, content to walk next to her trainer. "Vee." She said happily.

Ash and his Pokémon walked over to May, where Ash sat down next to the younger girl. Eevee put her paws on May's leg while wagging her tail. "Eevee?"

May lightly petted Eevee's head. "Hey Ash, Eevee, Pikachu."

"Congratulations on passing the Appeal round." Ash said as he settled in, still cradling Norman's Egg.

"Thanks." May muttered.

Ash frowned, there was something in her voice which was strange to him. Then again, she had more poise than he did. "How are you?" Ash asked, driven by the gut feeling he had.

"Fine." She replied curtly.

Shrugging Ash replied. "Okay. I just saw you so I thought I would sit for a moment. I am heading to the training grounds. I brought an old friend in and I want to see how he has grown."

He started to get up, Pikachu rolling his eyes on Ash's shoulder but not saying anything. Eevee gave May's hand a playful lick.

"I am nervous." May said, stopping Ash from leaving. Ash sat back down in the grass.

May sighed. "I want to prove that I belong here. I watched a lot of the appeals and there were some really good ones. Including some which didn't make it to the battle rounds. How can I compete with these Coordinator's who have years of practice?"

Ash shook his head. "I don't know what to say."

He paused. "You might have noticed, but I am confident about myself and my Pokémon. I am going to win the Ever Grande Conference. I am not nervous, I am eager to face the challenge."

"Yeah, that is not helpful." May complained.

"I know." Ash said. "You are a good Coordinator. I would say you are really good and you have the proof of it here. You made it into the battle rounds."

"I don't feel that way. I am worried I just had a good appeal and I will get blown away in the battle rounds." May admitted.

"Right." Ash said, jumping up. "So you could stay here thinking about it. Or we could go train."

"What can you teach me in a few hours? My first battle is this afternoon." May asked, frustrated he was not being more helpful.

Ash shifted the Egg so it was in one hand instead of being encircled by his arms. He reached his free hand out to her. "What you need is to relax a bit. Training helps me relax. If it doesn't work that way for you, try something different."

May took his hand. "I am not sure what will work for me."

Ash helped her stand by pulling gently. "I am heading to the training ground just over there, want to come?"

May shook her head. "Thanks, I think I am going to head to the dorm. I want to call my folks before I need to get to the stage."

"I always feel better after talking to my Mom." Ash said. "I promise I will be at your battle. You will do great, I am sure of it."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After leaving May, Ash headed away from the main contest area. His smile grew wider as he reached the training field. Pikachu jumped down from Ash's shoulder and smirked as he landed.

"Chuuu Pika pi." The electric type declared, cheeks sparking.

Eevee looked at Pikachu, the electric type looking as if lightning was playing through his fur. Timidly, Eevee moved behind Ash.

The teen noticed this, Ash knelt down and placed the Egg on the ground. "It's okay Eevee, Pikachu won't hurt you. I promise."

Eevee nodded hesitantly at her trainer.

Ash pulled two Pokéballs from his waist. The first one let Bayleef out. "Hey Bayleef, Pikachu and I are going to help an old friend learn a few new tricks. Could you watch Eevee and the Egg for me?"

"Bay Bayleef." The grass type nodded determinedly.

Stepping away from Eevee and Bayleef, Ash watched as Pikachu raced in front of him. The second Pokéball opened with another flash of light.

Standing in front of his trainer, the Pokémon stretched. His long neck strained to the sky as shoulders pulled back and wings strained wide. The fierce grin of the Pokémon turned towards Ash, powerful tail swinging its flame tip along the ground. The burning tail was so hot it threatened to light the training ground on fire.

Unconcerned with the dangerous look of the Pokémon, Ash patted the fire types' belly. "It is good to see you again Charizard."

In response, Charizard lowered his head and bumped Ash, before snorting a bit of fire at his trianer. He growled. "Zard."

Ash didn't lose his smile. "I hope you learned a lot in the Charific Valley. I have been working hard for this Conference. Are you willing to learn?"

Charizard nodded firmly as he glanced down at the still sparking Pikachu. "Good. Pikachu and I are going to show you what you will be learning."

Flapping his wings, Charizard lifted up and flew to the other end of the training field before roaring a challenge to the heavens. The indomitable will of the fire type echoed in his roar, the sound causing Eevee to shake and cower under Bayleef. A couple of people stopped on the path overlooking the training ground to watch the little electric type get destroyed by such a fierce Charizard.

"Alright Pikachu, light wave." Ash said quietly so Charizard couldn't hear the order.

Pikachu grinned and dashed forward usng his Agility. As his speed picked up, Pikachu shifted immediately into a Double Team.

Charizard snorted an ember at the oncoming Pikachu before thrusting his wings to gain altitude. He took a deep breath and a Flamethrower lanced forward as well, hitting nothing.

Pikachu seemed to disappear as his speed continued to increase. Suddenly, over the area storm clouds cast the field into shadow before a rainstorm opened up. The rain made it harder for the two Pokémon to see each other and Charizard seemed to wince as raindrops hit his tail.

Pikachu leapt into the sky and grinned, hanging in midair, as he looked his old friend in the face. Lighting seemed to burst out of the electric type, interacting with the train clouds causing a bolt of Thunder to slam into Charizard.

The fire type growled as he landed heavily, feet digging into the ground slightly. Charizard noticed Pikachu had sped up again, moving faster than the eye could follow. His draconic fury seemed to increase and he started gathering the energy into a tight ball which Charizard released in a Dragon Rage attack.

Pikachu was no where near where the attack hit the ground and unleashed another Thunder, knocking the part flying type Charizard down.

Charizard clawed back up from the mud, standing, panting from the damage done by the electric type. Here and there he was sooty from being hit with the powerful attacks and the mud. He shook his head and roared a frighteningly powerful Flamethrower into the air.

The fire and flying type then bowed his head to Ash. The young trainer called over to Bayleef. "Could you give me a Sunny Day?"

Pikachu skidded to a stop next to Ash, slightly winded but with a fierce smile of victory.

As Bayleef banished the Rain Danced caused storm, Charizard lumbered over to Ash and his teammates. "Char?"

"Of course, I will teach you everything you missed as we traveled Hoenn." Ash confirmed. "Will you show me what you picked up in the Charific Valley?"

Charizard nodded and growled. "Zard."

Ash smiled broadly. "Trust me, when we are done, you are going to feel like a whole new Pokémon."

Pikachu nodded. "Piii ka pikachu chu."

The large Kanto Fire Type seemed to think on it for a moment before looking over towards Bayleef, who he recognized. Charizard frowned as he noticed Eevee and the Egg. "Char arr?"

Ash patted his friend's neck. "Come on, I have a contest I promised I would watch. As we head over there, I will tell you the story."

The young trainer picked up the Egg and stared to walk. His various Pokémon walked next to him. Eevee was careful to avoid the monstrous looking Charizard by staying on the other side of Ash from the large Pokémon.

"It begins at the Silver Conference. After the Conference was over, I had an interesting conversation." Ash started his explanation.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Ash settled into the seat next to Brock, Pikachu climbing onto his shoulder and Eevee curled onto his lap. On Brock's other side, Max sat intently watching the stage.

"Thanks for keeping a seat for me. What did I miss?" Ash asked quietly.

"Not much, the match before May's just ended. May and her opponent were just introduced." Brock replied.

Ash turned his attention to the stage where May sent out her Combusken and Beautifly. Across the battle field from her, Harley, one of May's primary rivals, sent out Banette and Cacturne.

"This will be fairly quick." Ash muttered to Brock after looking over the Pokémon.

Brock nodded. "It will be interesting to see who she faces next."

"Don't you think we should focus on the current battle?" Max asked as the clock started and May called for her Pokémon to attack.

Ash shrugged. "Banette and Cacturne have been trained okay, they may have a trick or two for a challenge. May has done better training than Harley."

"How can you tell? And can't anything happen?" Max asked, slightly irritated with the lack of excitement over his sister's battle.

"Sure. Anything can happen." Brock agreed. "May is going to win in all likelihood. The real question is if one of her Pokémon is knocked out."

As he spoke, a fire attack from Combusken was feed by a Silver Wind from Beautifly, creating a buring tornado sent towards Harley's Pokémon.

Brock continued. "Cacturne is slightly off color, suggesting it needs more sun. I haven't spent a lot of time with Ghosts, but something looks slightly off with Banette."

Ash sighed and leaned back. "More than that, Harley knows May's Pokémon. He is not given her a challenge with a new Pokémon or plan, while May has a couple of new ideas for him to deal with."

The burning tornado moved through Cacturne and Banette, both of stood rooted waiting for a command to dodge that never came as Harley's surprise at the massive attack caused him to freeze. A Gust attack from Beautifly gave Combusken the time to use Foresight before launching into a Sky Upper Cut on Banette.

Ash snorted. "May used a simple combination to stun Harley. He is too focused on the spooky effect. May already won."

Max looked up to the scoreboard, the display indicated Harley's points were almost wiped out already with only one of the five minutes left in the battle. Turning back, Max looked at Ash. "But how could you tell? I mean you sat down, looked at the Pokémon, and declared May the winner."

The two older boys exchanged a quick glance. Brock shrugged. "I have seen enough trainers and learned enough about Pokémon care to tell how good they are by how their Pokémon looks."

The crowd erupted into applause as May was officially declared the winner as time ran out.

Pitched so his friends could hear, Ash answered. "I have only seen Harley use those two Pokémon. He probably has a bigger team but without using them, he becomes predictable and easy to beat."

"May doesn't necessarily know that." Max replied. "I know she has been training with you, but she is still new to the competition scene."

As the applause died down and May headed off stage, Ash looked Max in the eyes. "When you are in a competition, it doesn't matter what you know. It only matters what you do. May used good two Pokémon and won." He smiled. "That is what matters."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"I won my first battle!" May exclaimed as the group gathered in the Pokémon Center that night.

"Congratulations. You are doing good." Ash said with an encouraging smile.

Max glanced at the teen, hearing something strange in his voice.

Ash continued. "Harley is an interesting guy. I look forward to seeing how you do with the next level of competition."

May just looked at him, surprised, disappointed, and hurt by his carefree dismissal of her victory.

Ash seemed to notice this as he continued to speak. "You have beaten Harley a couple times already. It will be a new challenge to fight someone you haven't necessarily faced already."

Before the two could get into an argument, Brock spoke up. "We enjoyed your match and we look forward to seeing how you do tomorrow as well."

Max, having already congratulated his sister, sat down on one of the couches. Before he could follow up from the conversation in the stands, May brought up something from early in the day. "You mentioned an old friend. Who were you talking about?"

Ash held up a Pokéball. "He isn't the best indoor Pokémon." Ash admitted with a smirk. "He might accidentally burn down the Pokémon Center."

Brock sighed. "Isn't he overkill? Especially with Pikachu."

"I haven't won a League yet, so I would say he isn't." Ash replied happily.

"Who did you bring back to your team?" Max demanded, his sister nodding at his question.

"A couple of Pokémon. Squirtle is one, but he is joining later." Ash said. "As for why I am excited about this Pokémon joining, well, why don't we head outside."

On his advice, the group quickly headed out back to the training field. Sent out into the shadows, the massive form took shape. The Pokémon's tail created fire light, letting Charizard's toothy grin emerge from the darkness.

"This is Charizard. He was one of my original teammates when I traveled through Kanto." Ash said, standing in front of the large fire and flying type, Egg still clutched in his arms.

Before his friends could comment, Pikachu tapped Ash on the head as the partners noticed the Egg starting to shake.

The white light of hatching caused the darkness of the night to recede. As the Pokémon got bigger, Ash let the glowing shape down to the ground gently.

Soon the light dimmed and standing in front of Ash was a moderately tall four legged Pokémon. The Pokémon had white fur, mostly close to the body, though around the neck the fur was bushier. The bushy fur came to a point hanging between the front paws. On its head, the fur fell in such a way to give bangs over an eye.

The tail was stiff and swordlike. Opposite the bangs, a horn jutted out from the head of the Pokémon, curving around to a sharpe point. Blue claws on each paw emerged from the fringe of fur and a blue stone marking sat on in the middle of the Pokémon's forehead. Red eyes seemed to glow in the darkness.

May pulled out her Pokédex as Ash knelt down with a smile. "Hello there." He said.

The Pokédex's robotic voice chirped. "Absol, the Disaster Pokémon. Absol tend to appear when it senses an impending natural disaster. Due to this connection, it was though to be a doom-bringer."

"Absol." The newly hatched Pokémon added.

Ash reached to his belt and sent out Eevee. "Vee?"

The two four legged Pokémon touched noses and after a moment, Absol stuck his head under Ash's hand. "Sol Absol."

Ash blinked as the Pokémon reached out with a claw to tap a free Pokéball on Ash's belt. With a red light and a few quick shakes, the Pokéball dinged signaling a successful capture.

"I did not expect that." Ash muttered as he stood up. "The next few weeks are going to be quite interesting."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

May fell to the ground in the corridor just off the main stage. Her head fell into her hands. She had faced Drew in the semi-final round and he had won. After all of her training, she had lost. Why did it hurt this bad? She had lost before and it hadn't been this painful.

But this? This loss hurt.

Suddenly, there was a presence sitting across from her. She looked up and saw Ash. No Pikachu. No Eevee. No Absol. In fact, May could not see a single of Ash's Pokémon.

He was not smiling, instead he looked concerned. "Losing on the biggest stage is painful." He said. "I have lost Gym Battles before. You have seen me lose to wandering trainers. I have lost in the Conferences. The losses that hurt the most are the ones in the Conference, where you can see the possibility of winning it all."

"What do I do now?" May asked, tears starting to leak from her eyes. She was looking at him, but seeing through him to the past, her Pokémon unconscious on the stadium floor.

Ash leaned forward. "What do you want to do?"

May's eyes focused on her traveling companion. "I . . ." She paused before sitting up straighter. "I want to win. I want to be a Top Coordinator."

Ash smiled at her resolve. "Then do it. Find the training you need to do. Practice everything, become better. I will help. You will reach your goal."

"How do you know?" May asked, her voice betraying a hint of fear.

Ash stood up and offered her his hand. "Because your Pokémon, your friends, and your family believe in you and are willing to help."

Looking at the teenager, May grasped his hand allowing him to pull her to her feet. She smiled and nodded determinedly. The two turned and headed towards the exit.