It's time for the next chapter in my story. Sorry it took so long to put up. I was sick for like a week and I've been busy with other crap. But I can update now. R&R.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or its characters.
Chapter 8-Pewter City Battles Pt. 2May and Drew stopped to eat at a burger restaurant a couple of blocks from the gym. While waiting for their burgers, fries, tots, and root beers, they talked over the finer points of the match. May was feeling incredibly proud of herself and kept admiring her badge. Drew was proud of May and felt good about himself too. He was sure he would win.
"Ya know, the next battle won't be as easy," Drew said. "That was just the beginning."
"I know," May said. "But I still enjoy the feeling of winning. I don't expect to win all of my battles the first time around."
"I don't expect to either," Drew said. "But we can still try."
The food came and they started eating. It was quiet for a while. The lunch crowd had gone and the dinner crowd hadn't come yet. May ate cheerfully and watched people pass by the window. Drew ate thoughtfully, trying to decide which Pokemon he would use first.
"Drew, what's your plan?" May asked.
"I don't know," Drew replied. "I figure either Masquerain or Roselia."
"What about…" May began, but Drew cut her off.
"No. It's too soon for that," Drew said. "I'm saving it for later."
"But why? You'll pull the element of surprise every time," May said.
"I want it to wait though," Drew replied. "You never know what'll happen."
"Ok," May said, sounding unsure. "If that's what you really want."
"Would I really do something that I wasn't sure of?" Drew asked.
"No," May answered. "I just don't want you to make mistakes right now."
"I'll do fine," Drew said. "In fact, I think I'll use Masquerain and Roselia. Save the trouble of choosing."
"I hope that works," May said.
They continued to eat their lunch, Drew checking his watch often. May was worried for Drew. She knew he wasn't going to take the battle seriously. She knew he had to if he wanted to win. Brock wanted to beat Drew. He had been wanting to battle him since they first met in Slateport City eight years ago. May knew Brock wasn't going to use the same strategy twice, but Drew didn't believe that. And she didn't know how to get him to believe it.
"I'm done," Drew said suddenly. He dropped his cup and stood up. "You ready?"
"Yeah," May replied. She shoved the last fries in her mouth and washed them down with the last drops of soda. "What time is it?"
Drew pulled out his PokeNav. "About 4:15."
"We've still got time," May said. "What do you wanna do?"
"Let's go back to that garden from last night," Drew answered.
"Ok," May said. "I'm sure we're allowed inside this time."
"Yeah. But it won't be as pretty in the daylight," Drew pointed out.
"Let's go anyway," May said.
They gathered their things and headed towards the garden. Drew had the map out to find the way from the restaurant. The clouds half hid the sun and a pleasant breeze was blowing. It felt very different from when they first left for the gym. May actually decided not to worry about Drew as much. He did contests for eight straight years. He was used to making quick decisions and they usually worked out. He wouldn't be stupid.
"Here we are," Drew said.
The gates to the garden were open this time, and lots of people were enjoying the nice weather and pretty flowers. It was obvious that the fountain was very popular. Everyone was standing near it and a few people were taking pictures. The large man from the night before was watching the visitors from the gate. May walked towards a cluster of cherry blossom trees and Drew wandered to a group of lilac bushes. They continued to walk separately til they finally met at the golden fountain.
"What's the time?" May asked, gazing at the fountain.
"It's 4:45," Drew replied. "We should head back now."
"Alright," May said.
Drew grabbed May's hand and they walked out of the park together. They had to get through a crowd of people to get across the street. They headed back towards the gym using the map. But when they got to the Poke Center they stopped. A large crowd was surrounding the front steps. Unable to get through, they regrettably walked away. They arrived at the gym a minute before they were due.
"Are you ready?" Brock asked loudly.
"Yes," Drew replied firmly.
"I'll ref," May said excitedly.
May grabbed the flags while Drew and Brock headed over to their sides of the field. Brock was smirking across the field, making Drew angry. He grabbed his Poke ball and waited for Brock to do the same. When Brock did, May raised both flags.
"Let the match…begin!" May exclaimed.
"Are you ready for this?" Drew asked with a smirk.
"Bring it on!" Brock said. "Go, Swampert!"
"Do your thing, Roselia!" Drew exclaimed.
Both Poke balls hit the ground and popped open at the same time. Roselia and Swampert faced each other and prepared for battle. Drew smiled confidently, but inwardly he was worried. He thought Brock would use Steelix and Golem again, but he didn't. His strategy was now useless. He hadn't been expecting Swampert and had no idea what was next. Unless Roselia and Masquerain could handle it, he was screwed.
"Earthquake!" Brock called.
"Petal Dance!" Drew exclaimed.
Swampert jumped up and came down hard, causing the entire field to shake. Roselia shot a shower of petals just in time, and they circled around Swampert and attacked it. Swampert fell down, but so did Roselia. Swampert jumped back on its feet.
"Water Gun!" Brock said.
"Solarbeam!" Drew countered.
Swampert shot out a jet of water from its mouth. Roselia got up and shot a powerful beam from its roses. The two beams met halfway and created a powerful energy blast. A cloud of smoke covered the field, giving Drew and idea.
"Roselia, use Magical Leaf!" Drew said.
"Swampert, use Mud Shot!" Brock said.
They couldn't see what was going on, but Drew wasn't worried. Roselia had good aim and was small enough to avoid the attack without really trying. Brock looked worried, but decided to try again.
"Water Gun!" Brock called.
"Petal Dance!" Drew exclaimed.
As soon as the attack commands were called out, the smoke cleared. Roselia was unharmed, but Swampert had taken a real beating. It was struggling to remain standing.
"Solarbeam!" Drew said.
Roselia shot another powerful beam at Swampert, but this one made contact. Swampert was blasted on its back and didn't get up. Drew and Brock waited as Swampert struggled to get back on its feet, but it didn't. May raised a flag.
"Swampert is unable to battle. Victory goes to Roselia!" May said, trying not to smile.
Brock called back Swampert and pulled out another Pokemon. Drew tensed up. He didn't know what this was gonna be, and he wasn't sure he was ready. Roselia could feel the tension, so it tensed up too. Brock tossed the Poke ball.
"Go, Rhydon!" Brock yelled.
"Rhydon?" Drew repeated. He smiled. "This'll be a cinch."
"Just keep thinking that," Brock said.
"Roselia, use Petal Dance!" Drew said.
"Rock Slide!" Brock yelled.
Rhydon stomped rapidly, creating a large rockslide. The rocks rolled towards Roselia and continued to hit it til it was against the wall. Roselia fell over and fainted. May raised a flag unenthusiastically.
"Roselia is unable to battle. Victory goes to Rhydon," May said regrettably.
Drew called back Roselia. "Don't get cocky. I'm not done yet. Go Masquerain!"
"Masquerain, huh? Might be a problem," Brock said. "But I'm ready."
"Are you really?" Drew asked. "Masquerain, use Hidden Power!"
"Rhydon, Horn Drill!" Brock shouted.
Drew tensed up as Rhydon's horn began to spin, preparing to unleash its most fatal attack. Masquerain created a group of glowing orbs and shot them at Rhydon. Rhydon's Horn Drill missed, but Hidden Power didn't. Rhydon fell down and Drew smirked.
"Not so ready, are you?" Drew asked tauntingly.
Brock glared. "Rock Slide!"
"Silver Wind!" Drew said.
Rhydon began its Rock Slide, but before the rocks hit Masquerain, Silver Wind began to repel the rocks back. The rocks missed Rhydon, but Silver Wind kept on it. Silver Wind would push every rock that Rhydon produced back. This didn't last long only because both Pokemon got tired.
"Masquerain, use Bubblebeam!" Drew shouted.
"Rhydon, use Thunder!" Brock yelled.
"Thunder?" Drew repeated.
Rhydon started charging up electricity and let out a bolt of Thunder at Masquerain. May covered her mouth while the attack continued. Bubblebeam had already hit its target, but thankfully Thunder didn't. Both May and Drew let out a sigh of relief. Brock scowled.
"Rock Slide!" Brock said.
"Ice Beam!" Drew shouted.
Rhydon started its third rockslide just as a blue beam shot out of Masquerain. May waited nervously as the icy beam shot towards Rhydon. She squealed when Ice Beam hit Rhydon but gasped when Rock Slide his Masquerain. All three trainers waited nervously to see what would happen. Masquerain slowly got up, but Rhydon was frozen.
May lowered a flag. "Rhydon is unable to battle! Victory goes to Masquerain!" she exclaimed happily. She dropped the flags and ran towards him while he called back Masquerain. "You were awesome!" she said, embracing him.
"Thanks," Drew replied. He turned to Brock. "Good match."
"You too," Brock said. "As the Pewter City gym leader, I award you the Boulderbadge as proof of your victory."
Drew took the badge and held it up. "Thanks," he said, admiring the badge.
"No problem," Brock replied. "When are ya'll leaving?"
"Tomorrow morning," Drew said.
"Come by before you go," Brock said.
"Ok," May said. " Bye." She turned to Drew. "Let's celebrate your victory by going to dinner."
May grabbed Drew's hand and they walked together towards a nice restaurant a few blocks away. Drew was admiring his badge while they walked, May giggling at his side. She couldn't help it. He was acting just as she had when she got her badge earlier. But she wasn't going to say anything. He should be happy because he earned it. They continued on towards the restaurant, examining both of their badges. May noticed that Drew had a slight frown on his face.
"What's wrong?" May asked.
"Nothing," Drew answered with a sigh.
"Just tell me," May said.
"Fine. I'm…not pleased with my battle. Or, not as pleased as I would like to be," Drew replied.
"Why not?" May asked, surprised.
"Because I almost lost," Drew replied. "You didn't lose any of your Pokemon but I did. And it really bothers me."
"Oh Drew," May said. "You're being silly. Don't be upset. It happens all the time. I just got lucky is all." She smiled. "You were great."
"But I almost lost," Drew pointed out.
"That doesn't matter. All that matters is that you won," May said. "Forget about an almost loss. You didn't lose. You should be thrilled."
"You're right," Drew said. They entered the restaurant and sat down. "What do you want?"
"Do you wanna share a pizza?" May asked.
"Sure," Drew replied. "All cheese?"
"You know me well," May said, smiling.
While they waited, Drew went over the finer points of his match and May complimented him on his strategy. He was enjoying the aftermath of the match, but he wasn't completely happy. They still had a long way to go before the Indigo League. When he pointed this out to May, she just smiled it off.
"We don't have to think about that right now," May said. "We've still got a ways to go. Have you checked the map yet?"
"I'll do it now," Drew said, pulling out the map. "Let's see…it should take us three days to get to Cerulean City if we take the path through Mt. Moon."
"Yeah, but if we get lost it'll take longer," May said.
"Yeah. Maybe we should get a guide of something to help us with that," Drew said.
"Like a written guide or a person guide?" May asked.
"Either one will do," Drew answered, tucking the map away. "Look, dinner's here."
They ate their dinner in silence. Drew was going over the battle in his head, but May was forming her strategies for the next battle. Cerulean was the water element, which killed some of her team. She needed an electric or grass type. Drew was set because he had Roselia, but she had difficulty deciding. Would she go with her best grass type or…
"May are you there?" Drew asked, waving a slice of pizza towards her face. "Hello? I asked you three times already. Are you going to want to do anything tonight?"
"What?" May said, coming back to reality. "Uh, I don't know."
"Do you wanna go somewhere?" Drew asked.
"Uh, that's up to you," May replied.
Drew shook his head. "No. I left it to you. That means you have to decide."
May sighed. "We can go for a walk."
"Great! We can drop off our Pokemon at the Poke Center and just do whatever," Drew said. "And while we're at it, we can drop our bags off in our room."
"That works," May said.
They finished their meal, paid up, and exited the restaurant. They headed in the direction of the Poke Center and continued to admire their new badges. They arrived at the center five minutes later and headed straight to Nurse Joy's desk. She was giving another trainer his Pokemon and looked quite tired when they approached her.
"Hi. We need a checkup," May said cheerfully.
"Ok. Just place all your Poke balls in this tray and Chansey will take them back," Nurse Joy said, stifling a yawn.
"Tired?" Drew asked.
"Yeah. I've been working non-stop for the past three days," Nurse Joy replied. "All the beginner trainers are showing up to challenge the gym leader. The fact that Brock left didn't help. I guess my exhaustion is finally starting to hit."
"Well, we'll be outta your way," May said. "We're going for a walk. Try to get some sleep. It'll do Pewter City no good if their nurse gets ill from exhaustion."
"Let's go drop our bags off," Drew said.
They hurried over to their room and came back in. someone had made the bed, which made May happy. Less work for her. She tossed their bags in the closet while Drew went to the bathroom. She walked over to the sink and washed her hands. Drew came out looking less sweaty and happier. May walked in to look at herself. Her hair was messy and her face dirty, but she still looked thrilled. She washed her face and fixed her hair while Drew tied his shoes.
"Ready?" Drew asked.
"Yeah," May said.
Drew grabbed May's hand and they walked together under the darkening sky. They discussed their battles a bit more, then switched to a discussion about the next battle. Drew wasn't at all worried about the next battle, which worried May. He was overconfident because he won. She remembered what he said so long ago at the Rubello Town contest:
"I'm gonna give you just one little bit of advice: Forget what you've won, May, and concentrate on the future."
He said that to her when she had been bragging to Savannah about winning two ribbons in a row. She had thought she could do anything, and that was her undoing. Her overconfidence got her into a fight with Ash, which made Bulbasaur nervous. The result caused her to lose the battle and miss a ribbon. She didn't want Drew to mess up like that too.
"Uh, Drew? Don't you think you're being too overconfident?" May asked tentatively.
"No," Drew replied simply. "I know I'm gonna win. I already know everything I need to know about the next gym battle. How could I possible lose? I'm on a winning streak!"
May sighed. "You won one battle! How can you call that a winning streak?"
"Because once I start winning, I usually don't lose," Drew said.
"Like the Kanto Grand Festival?" May shot at him.
Drew's smile faltered. "That was a long time ago, and you were just better than me that day. I've had a lot more experience since then."
"But you didn't always win," May pointed out.
"I know. Look, just let me enjoy my win," Drew said. "And you do the same."
May fell silent at the angry tone in his voice. He must've noticed because he stopped walking, held both of her hands in his own, and turned her head towards his. He looked into her eyes and gave her a warm smile.
"I'm sorry I got upset," Drew said. "You were just trying to help me."
"No, I'm sorry," May said. "You're old enough to do as you please."
"Next time, I won't get upset when you try to help," Drew said.
"Next time, I won't be so hard on you," May said.
They kissed briefly before continuing on their walk. Drew was surprised that May had gotten upset with him like that. He remembered a time where she was exactly the same, and the memory made him smile. They both had their moments and could both be ridiculously arrogant and ignorant, but he thought that made them stronger as a couple. He didn't like when they fought, but he knew that their arguments made them stronger too. He just hoped they wouldn't break up over an argument or something stupid.
"Drew, are you there? Earth to Drew!" May exclaimed, waving her hands in front of his face. "What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing. I was just thinking," Drew answered. "Nothing to worry about."
"Ok. if you say so," May replied uncertainly.
May wasn't pleased with his answer. He would always say nothing was wrong, but he would always be off thinking about something and not tell her about it. It made her think she had done something wrong. But she trusted him more than anyone, so if he said she didn't do anything wrong, then she believed him.
"Ok May, so what's wrong with you?" Drew asked with a slight smile.
"Nothing," May replied, sticking her tongue out.
"You better put that back in your mouth before I grab it," Drew teased.
"Oh, bite me," May said.
"Ok," Drew said. He made biting motions with his mouth.
"You better not!" May exclaimed with a giggle.
Drew started chasing her around a tree, making biting motions while she ran giggling. Passing people watched them with raised eyebrows, but neither of them cared. May ran away from the tree and led Drew over to a nearby building. Drew waited in the shadows til she snuck past the corner, then jumped out and tackled her to the ground.
"Gotcha!" Drew exclaimed.
"Damn it! I was caught," May sighed with a smile. "What are you gonna do now that you've got me pinned?"
"I have no idea," Drew replied with a laugh. "I'm just winging it now."
May giggled. "This is fun."
"Yeah it is," Drew agreed.
"Don't you think we should head back?" May asked. "We need to be up early if we wanna get to Cerulean City before next week."
"I guess you're right," Drew replied with a sigh. "But I'm having fun."
"We can have fun at the Poke Center too," May said. "Come on, let's go."
"Alright," Drew said.
He kissed her, then got up, dusted his pants, and helped her up too. He helped her knock all the dirt off her clothes, then grabbed her hand. Together they walked under the stars towards the Poke Center. They took the long way around so they could enjoy the moon and stars. They passed a stone house and saw the garden again. Drew had that look on his face, so May rolled her eyes and dragged him away.
"No," May said. "We got in trouble last night for being in there after hours. I don't want that to happen again."
"Fine," Drew said with a sigh.
May laughed. "Come on, let's go."
They walked past the garden and stopped right outside the gate. They stared at the golden fountain. May turned to Drew and planted a kiss on his lips. He smiled and gave her a return kiss. They looked at the fountain again before continuing their walk to the Poke Center. When they got there, Nurse Joy was sleeping on her desk.
"Should we wake her?" Drew asked quietly.
"No, let her sleep," May whispered. "I don't think anyone else is coming."
They walked into their room and tossed their shoes into the closet. May took a quick shower while Drew set up their bed. While Drew showered, May dressed and prepared things for tomorrow's departure. When Drew was done, he turned off the lamp and they both curled up under the blankets.
"Goodnight May."
"Goodnight Drew."
End Chapter 8Review please! Sorry it was so long. I didn't realize just how long I actually wrote it out to be. I cut the ending a little short so it wasn't totally drug out. And as a side note to the chapter before: I didn't see the episode where they stated that Brock's Onix evolved into Steelix. The chapter I wrote made it sound like it was a new thing. Sorry about that. Anyways don't forget to review! Chapter 9 coming soon!
