Hot Chocolate – In which Drew and Solidad catch up, some big things happen and they look towards the future.
Author's notes:
- First and foremost, I know I suck and this has taken me eons to update. Adult life post-college graduation has been pretty hectic. Also, happy 2018! Wishing you all the best year full of health and happiness.
- A lot of people have been asking me if I plan to take this story to the Kanto region, and to follow those episodes and go beyond. The answer is yes: that was always the plan and I apologize if that wasn't made clear earlier. I'm hoping that once I can get through those chapters, because we all know how terrible I am with updates, I want to continue the story through (and possibly beyond) the Kanto Circuit. But please know that not many episodes feature Drew in Kanto, so this second half of this story might be shorter than the first. I'll do my best with it.
- Oh, also, fun fact: I just had a major surgery last week, and I'm a slightly MAJORLY medicated, so if this chapter sucks more than most, at least I somewhat have an excuse this time. (I'm totally good, by the way; surgery went well and now I'm just healing.) But that surgery is why I've had time to sit down and write these next few chapters.
- You guys should know the drill with these drink chapters by now. No episodes transcribed, lots of conversation, blah blah blah…
- Reviews are schwifty (bonus points if you get it, which you should).
- Hot Chocolate: a hot drink made with milk or water and chocolate or powdered chocolate.
Initially when he woke up, Drew's first thought was training.
Hoenn's Contest Circuit would begin anew in approximately three months, and though a majority of coordinators were taking a break having just finished the last season one day prior, he knew the best of the best were already back at it.
Robert was one of the ones he knew was already training.
Robert, the man who had won the entire Grand Festival and become the world's newest top coordinator didn't take a day off, and that's how he got to where he was.
Drew was determined and destined to get to that point as well.
It didn't take long for Drew to determine that he didn't want to stay in Slateport. He'd felt like he'd lived through a lifetime of events after the long weekend in the city, and staying in the city he'd faced endless drama paired with a hard loss wasn't the most appealing idea. He was more than ready to get out and go somewhere else.
The first thing he did was got breakfast for he and his team. His Pokémon happily munched on their organic mix while Drew chewed on his omelet and went over their plans to travel back to Lilycove City. He was happy to see that his Pokémon were eager to get back to practicing despite having completed a whole contest season not even 24 hours prior.
With his coffee in a to-go cup and his PokéNav in his back pocket, he set out for Lillycove City. It was a good distance away from Slateport, and it would give him and his Pokémon the chance to get a little exercise in while traveling. After all, healthy Pokémon were the best one Pokémon in competitions.
But Lilycove was a long ways away, and he had more than one day's worth of travel to get there.
He thought about a lot of things that day as he walked.
The most prominent thing he noticed was how quiet the walk was...and how he couldn't seem to stop thinking of one simple fact.
He lost.
He faced defeat; he'd been beaten; he wasn't the best; he didn't win. No matter how many ways his brain tried to reword the statement, it was the truth. He had lost the Grand Festival, and it was eating away at him.
Maybe it was the air of defeat lingering around him. He thought he could make peace with his crushing loss, but the fact of the matter was, that's what it was: crushing. Heartbreakingly, soul smashingly, entire-existence-obliteratingly crushing. Drew's loss hurt - more than he expected it to - mainly because he hadn't ever prepared himself to face even the possibility of losing. Especially after he'd gone so far. He'd come in second place. He'd fallen so astoundingly short of his goal that it was just…
It was crushing.
His eyes occasionally wandered down (or in Flygon and Masquerain's cases, above) to peak at his partners by his side. They seemed to be basking in the warm glow of Hoenn's notorious heat and the near-perfect day. How they could be so content and optimistic, Drew didn't understand.
The flashbacks from just one day ago were so painfully vivid. Drew, standing on the battlefield, watching that fatal hyper beam attack dutifully end his run towards Hoenn's Ribbon Cup and his title of Top Coordinator. He could still picture the clouds of dust rising from Masquerain and Flygon as they hit the ground. He could hear the sounds of the judges' eliminating he and his team, as well as the crowd's deafening screams for their new champion.
Their new champion that wasn't him.
Was he embarrassed about losing? Absolutely not. He and his team did everything they could to the best of their abilities and they had given the performance of their lifetimes. Honestly, how could he be any prouder of the effort his partners had given to him and for him? And how in the world Drew was going to top his last season was beyond him. Inspiration would come along the way as it always did, sure, but it was a tough concept to grasp: outdoing himself in what he considered to be a great season.
Had he peaked? Had Drew reached his ultimate effort and talent in coordinating and still not been good enough? He wasn't sure, but he was disgusted by the treacherous thought and refused to entertain it.
He wasn't done; not by a long shot.
It was just past two in the afternoon when they had reached Lavaridge Town.
Lingering in the shadow of Mt. Chimney, Drew had only intended to stop there for a late lunch, but soon changed his mind when he found some inspiration in the town's famous hot springs and spas. He hadn't spent much time in Lavaridge Town previously, as the town hosted no contest halls, meaning Drew hadn't had a real reason to ever spend time there. But now, with his Pokémon already pushing them selves before the next season even started, he knew they deserved a relaxing day at the spas. And they seemed just as interested as he was.
And that was when it dawned on his; was it fair to ask his team to start working again so soon? Not even a full day after the contest season had ended, he wanted them to go back to work. Even worse; he's been training just hours after the festival had ended! What was He thinking, pushing his Pokémon like that? They didn't deserve it.
"What do you guys say we spend a day or two here?" he offered to his team.
They all responded by giving him confused looks. He had asked just a day before if they wanted to practice and prepare for the next season. They'd all agreed, because not only did they want to win just as badly as he did, but more than anything, Drew's Pokémon loved him. They loved him for all he had done for them, and always wanted to repay him by giving him their 100 percent devotion to performing. He deserved it. So when he flipped just a few hours after asking them if they were ready to get to work, they needed some explanation.
"You guys, the season just ended," Drew explained. "All of us worked really hard to get to where we got to. And it was thanks to all of your efforts. Roselia and Masquerain really outdid themselves in all of our regular season performances, and you, Flygon, trained to reach an evolution for me, and then instantly went into the biggest contest of our careers. None of you can even try to pretend like you're not exhausted.
"The thing is, the season isn't starting for a while. And we all deserve a day or two to relax. Let's start fresh; go into training with a clear head and some rested bodies. After all, we probably won't make it very far if we're exhausted going into the next season, right?"
His Pokémon reluctantly agreed at first, but once her started telling them about the world-renowned Pokémon spas they'd get to stay in, they seemed to be more open to the idea. And maybe Drew was right; even though they felt like they'd let him down, maybe they had earned a little bit of a break.
At any rate, Drew seemed persistent, and the whole team settled on staying in Lavaridge Town for a few days before setting out to take on the Hoenn Contest Circuit again.
The first thing he did was checked his team into the must luxurious Pokémon-exclusive spa and daycare offered in the entire town, possibly in the whole world. The facility featured a workout center, grooming stations, specialized feeding areas with every type of Pokémon food from organic to sweet Pokébeans imported from the Alola region, access to natural in-house hot springs and much, much more. Drew signed them all up for two whole days. He hated to lose the training time but he owed this to his partners and they deserved it.
Second, he texted Solidad. He'd meant to do so all morning, but ended up being distracted by his endless thoughts of the Grand Festival and wondering what the future held for him. His message was brief but to the point.
I'm going to stay in Lavaridge Town for a few days. Roselia, Flygon and Masquerain are getting some well deserved relaxation ahead of next season. What time should I call you?
The second he'd hit send, he'd figured he had a few hours to kill. After all, he and Solidad rarely talked earlier than 7 p.m., and it was barely three o'clock.
He strolled through the streets of Lavaridge Town, hands in pockets and avoiding people's stares. A few people gasped as he walked past them, probably recognizing who he was. He made sure to keep his head down; he didn't dare speak to anyone when he still had so much on his mind or risk alerting the press he'd successfully avoided post his loss at the Grand Festival.
Walking past the town's office of tourism, Drew stopped and began looking over brochures of the area, more out of boredom than actual interest. There were dozens of various pamphlets on the racks, each advertising his options for killing time. He figured he might as well do something until he'd call Solidad.
Visit the Lavaridge Town Museum to learn all about how Mt. Chimney is vital to life in Hoenn! Learn all about our volcano's important functions, including everything from its roll in Fallarbor's agriculture to powering our town's natural hot springs! Admission is 8$ per adult, 4$ per child free for seniors and free for everyone on Wednesdays—
Stressed? Need a break? Lavaridge's premiere spa, Ridge Springs has everything you and your Pokémon need to soak the stress away! Come soak in our mineral enriched natural hot spring pools, located right next to the town Pokémon Center—
Ancient Ruins Expedition! Sign up for a guided tour through the Hoenn sands of the Route 111 desert with our local ruins expert, Dusty—
Lava Flow Bakery: the region's best know confectionary capitol! Come taste our expertly-made fresh breads and cakes (made from scratch every single day) and of course, our world famous Lava Cookies—
One by one, he read over the covers of the little folded brochures, each failing to capture his attention. Truth be told, he'd rather be in a contest hall, preparing for the next season, but that wasn't going to happen. He knew his options consisted of picking one of these touristy things to do, and he sighed and continues looking.
Souvenirs! Gifts! Decorations! Glass arts by Mr. Ash! Travel north up Route 113 to discover Hoenn's unique glass items. Lying in the shadow of Mt. Chimney and under a constant cloud produced by the volcano itself, collect the ashes you find on the ground and bring them on in for a one-of-a-kind experience—
Heads up, Pokémon trainers! Step up and take on Hoenn's hottest gym leader! Flannery is here to fire it up and her team of fire Pokémon will burn you up! You'll have to defeat her if you want to make it to the Pokémon League, so turn up the heat—
Enjoy a soak in out mud baths—
Try the best spicy food in—
Beat Lavaridge's heat with our homemade ice cream—
Each pamphlet was more boring than the last. Drew wasn't a tourist by any means; most of the time, he was all work and no play. Solidad had gotten on him about more than a few times, but that's just who he was. He didn't have time to deviate from him normal habits nor did he want to. And as he read on and on, the more bored he got by all of the options.
Until he picked out a pamphlet on the fifth row…
Want to check out Mt. Chimney up close and personal? Want to see and have the chance to catch some fire-type Pokémon? Now's your chance. Come ride our brand new cable car up to the top of the Hoenn Hot Spot and hike down the infamous Jagged Pass for your chance to find rare Pokémon you can't see anywhere else!
Drew found that he was somewhat interested in what this particular brochure was promising, so he picked up the stiff folded paper and opened it up to read more. Unfolded, the inside of the pamphlet presented a huge map of the volcano and a steep hike down its side, various bullet points explaining the points of interest.
Sponsored by the Lavaridge Chamber of Commerce, you'll ride our totally free and safe state-of-the-art cable car. Riders will be brought straight up to the summit of Mt. Chimney, where scientists and guides are waiting to answer questions and ensure your safety when approaching the magma crater.
Once you've had enough heat, you'll have the option to ride the car back down, or begin a challenging hike down the side of Mt. Chimney, on a path formed by the volcano's last eruption over 1,000 years ago. This trail offers trainers and people alike the chance to view and maybe even capture a few rare fire-type Pokémon.
This exciting trip is not for the faint of heart. All adventurers welcome! The cable car rides daily at 10 a.m., 12 p.m., 2 p.m., and final ride at 4 p.m.! Located east of Lavaridge Town on Route 112.
Now that, he could see himself doing. Was it touristy? A little bit. But the chance to find some fire-type Pokémon for his team was definitely worth checking out. What better way to start a season than with a brand new Pokémon on his team?
Somewhere deep in his brain, he could hear Solidad's voice telling him he needed to take a break and that the season had ended and he should rest up like his Pokémon and blah, blah, blah… but this might prove to be an opportunity worth taking.
Screw off-time; his Pokémon deserved it, but he didn't. After all they had done to get to him to the Grand Festival and for him to lose it for them…it was unforgivable, and he would work every day to make it right for them, and for himself.
The clock on his PokéNav told him it was almost 3:10, giving him plenty of time to make it to the cable car station outside of town and catch the last lift of the day. So he grabbed the little flyer and started making his way outside of town.
"We ask that you please stay seated through the duration of your car ride and we hope that you enjoy the volcano!"
The hostess began ushering Drew's riding companions onto the car one at a time. He held back, trying to avoid anyone in the small crowd. Not many people were going on the tour. Autumn was just around the corner in Hoenn and most children were already back in school; vacation time was over. When he finally took a seat inside, he found only six other people were aboard as well.
He checked his PokéNav one last time before boarding the craft as he had been warned he wouldn't have very great reception at the top of down the hiking path. Four o'clock exactly, and still no text from Solidad. She must have been pretty busy that day if she hadn't texted him back by that point. She wasn't a person who lived on her phone, but she also wasn't someone to leave a text unanswered. He was sure she'd send him a message or give him a call when she could, but he didn't want her worrying if he couldn't respond. She tended to do that sometimes.
I'm going to check out Mt. Chimney for a few hours. Probably won't have service, so just let me know when you want me to call you and I'll get to it when I get back.
His text was sent and his PokéNav was placed back into its usual place so he could step onto the car.
The seatbelt lights came on and everyone clicked in. The automatic doors shut slowly and locked, and the engine could be heard coming to life. With one sudden jerk, the cable car slowly began its trek up the mountain.
Drew kept his eyes forward, not wanting to meet the eyes of anyone in the car who could potentially recognize him. He'd been extremely lucky so far since the Grand Festival had ended not to bring attention to himself, but it wasn't thanks to great effort. The people in the car seemed content to chatter among themselves.
The car moved slow and the volcano was tall. It took the passengers over 15 minutes to reach the car station at the top. Most of Drew's companions commented on how great the view was and how excited they were. He kept to himself and looked forward.
And he hoped like hell no one would speak to him.
What if one of them knew who he was? What if they hounded him with questions about his loss? How would he respond? Thinking about it was painful enough, but if it would actually happen, what would he do? Logically, he knew he would keep his cool and pretend like his pride hadn't been wounded or he wasn't embarrassed. Internally, he knew he'd be a mess.
Because that was the thing with Drew; he knew most people thought he was pretty on top of everything. He always kept his emotions in check and he always kept his composure…but that didn't mean he didn't feel things. People saw the side of him he let them see; the cool, collected and professional Drew. He didn't give them anymore, because it was his business and his alone. There was no need for anyone else to know what went on in his head.
But he felt things; of course he did. And he hated to admit it, but he felt things pretty strongly sometimes.
He felt the pain of contest losses. He felt the pride and love for his Pokémon. He felt confusion and frustration when he thought about the girl in the red bandana. He felt comfort when he thought about Solidad. He felt awe and inspired when he watched contests. He felt happy when he competed. He felt things; he did.
And now, he felt pretty nervous being so close to several people who may or may not know who he was and might force him to relive the shame that was his loss at the Grand Festival.
Drew felt pretty torn up about it, but kept his face steely and reserved.
Miraculously, or at least in his mind, he made it to the top without a single interaction from anyone in the car.
He checked his PokéNav for the time; sure enough, there were no service bars and surprisingly still no texts, but that he blamed on the lack of cell phone reception. The time read 4:19, meaning he had plenty of daylight to explore and he could take his time getting down the mountain.
He was the first one off the car having been the last to go in. Drew bowed in thanks to the receptionist who greeted him at the top and made his way outside. The first thing he saw was treetops, obstructing the view he'd heard the people behind him talking about so much. So much for that.
Then he noticed the signs in front of him with arrows pointing in all directions. "Cable Station" had an arrow pointing directly to him. The "Jagged Pass" sign pointed off to a small opening in the tree line. One sign was faded and he couldn't make it out; view point? Point of interest? Whatever; it was something about a point.
Finally, as he heard the noises of the others exiting the station behind him, he read the "volcanic crater" sign, pointing off to the northeast behind him.
His eyes followed the sign to see several sets of stairs carved into the mountain, and an eerie reddish orange glow radiating at the top.
Drew was sure to start making his way over before the others could get close to him; his anxiety hadn't totally worn off, and on top of that, he had quite a few steps to climb before he made it to the top. Not that he wasn't in shape or anything, but he didn't normally climb up mountains all the time; Hoenn was more or less a flat region. Mt. Chimney was the highest point, and Mt. Pyre followed. Other than those two, Hoenn had no other high elevation spots.
The first few steps weren't too bad, but after the sixth set, he found himself a little breathless. But the higher up he went, the more things he noticed. He could start to feel the heat rolling down all around him and found himself actually sweating a little bit. He could see little flecks of ash showering around him. The rumbling sounds from the volcano became louder and louder with every step he took. The landscape was drastically changing, and he found himself intrigued by the power of the landscape.
Finally he made it to the top, and good thing, too, because he was starting to lose interest in going up. Going down was going to be much, much better. Still, the payoff was incredible.
Drew had never actually seen Mt. Chimney from this perspective. He could see the mountain from many points of Hoenn as he traversed through the land, but seeing it from up there was a completely different experience. He approached the pit of lava as closely as he could. A guardrail kept him contained just a few short yards away from where the magma overtook the land.
He had to shield his face from the heat with his arms, but he was unable to look away from the glowing molten ooze below him. Bright yellow, orange and red liquid fire bubbled beneath him, releasing bursts of sulfur and constantly moving around. The sounds of lava bubbles splashing and stirring up the liquid beneath him were an intriguing ambient soundtrack. The sulfur, although not pleasant, was nothing like he'd ever smelled before.
He'd never experienced anything like it and he couldn't take his eyes off of it.
As much as he didn't want to look away, he had to turn and shield his face from the intense heat the magma gave off. And his eyes beheld the full region of Hoenn.
From coast to coast, Drew could see all of it. He could see developed areas and patches of untouched wilderness. He could see flocks of bird Pokémon fluttering as tiny dots in various parts of the never-ending sky. He could see the huge buildings of Rustboro City to the west and the massive port of Lilycove. He could even see the Battle Tower rising over LaRousse City.
His eyes explored every inch of the landscape; the entire region was laid out before him.
And just near the southern most point of the region, he could see Slateport City. The place he'd spent the last week of his life. The city he just couldn't seem to win in.
Despite how much effort he put into purging the thoughts, his mind yet again replayed the events of the weekend: all of his efforts to sort through the drama he'd dealt with and the hard work of his Pokémon bringing him all the way to the final match despite how distracted he had been.
And then there was the champion emerging from the field to give him a motivational pep talk that did little to ease the pain. Robert had probably said those things to be polite. Maybe he wasn't serious about Drew's skills (as he had no reason to be, having beaten Drew both times they'd faced off in the season), but he guessed he could at least appreciate that Robert made the effort to let his Pokémon feel better about it.
His Pokémon who he'd let down. At the end of it all, Drew knew that was what bothered him the most: the fact that he made the bad calls, and he was the reason they'd lost their final battle.
He looked up to a reddening sky and sighed deeply; just how long would it take to get over this? To not have to be reminded about how close he had come to his title and his heart-breaking defeat and just the negative repercussions of a loss the magnitude that his was?
After a few moments of deafening negative thoughts, his eyes fell back on the region below him. If he had to be upset about it all, at least he could appreciate a good view while doing so. It was so much bigger and so much more beautiful than he ever imagined, because he had never seen Hoenn this way before.
Hoenn: the place he'd been and known for his entire journey so far and more or less his life. The place he hoped to become a champion.
The wind swept across his face as his eyes finally met with the sparkling oceans that separated Hoenn from the other regions of the world. Before him was all the places he'd been (in some cases, multiple times) and beyond his sights was a world he'd never ventured into. Contest halls he'd never competed in, coordinators he'd never battled against, ribbons he'd never won, Pokémon he'd never met and worked with…it all lied beyond the horizon. And it intrigued him. Were he not so determined to become a Top Coordinator in his home region, he might have given it a bit more thought, but it had been nice just to ponder it for a few moments.
Hoenn was his home, and he didn't plan on straying.
For some reason, six people felt like a big crowd.
Which, of course, wasn't true. Drew had seen and performed in front of big crowds; six other people was nothing. But up at the top of Mt. Chimney, it felt like a large crowd and he didn't want to share this special place with them for some reason. It made it feel…less special, somehow.
When the six other travelers had made it to the top of the stairs, a man in a uniform appeared and told them to settle in as he was preparing to give some kind of presentation on the volcano and its history. If Drew had wanted to learn about this volcano all that much, he would have gone to the museum in town, which he was thankful he hadn't. Seeing it and experiencing its beauty first hand was far better than going to see it on screens and picture displays.
So he left. After all, the main reason he went was to search for potential new Pokémon on the way back.
The receptionist seemed confused as he made his way back in front of the cable car station.
"Will you be riding the car back, sir?" she asked him.
"Oh, no, I'm going to hike down Jagged Pass," he explained.
"Alone?"
"Yeah."
The woman's confusion changed from confusion to more of concern. She bit her lip and seemed to be deep in thought.
"Everyone else on the tour has chosen to ride the car back down once Dr. Barnett finishes his talk up there," she informed him softly. "Are you sure you don't want to just stick on with the group?"
"I'm sure," Drew nodded, his eyes looking towards the start of the trail.
Another moment of silence passed as she looked for the words to convince him that he shouldn't deviate from the safe side of things. But playing it safe wasn't really how you got anywhere in life; he knew that.
"Please be careful," she finally warned him. "The pass can be very treacherous for inexperienced hikers. It's about two and a half miles overall."
"I'm experienced," he politely dismissed. "But thank you; I'll be careful."
His reassurance didn't seem to calm her nerves, but she nodded, probably sensing she wasn't going to talk him out of it. Drew only hoped he could convey that he was capable, decided it didn't really matter and just pressed on. He was more focused on the part of him that was sad to lose the view of Hoenn to the tree line.
Jagged pass was a lot of things.
The ground was uneven in every step Drew took, and he found himself watching more where he was stepping rather than looking for wild Pokémon. He had to jump down dozens of small ledges and leap over quite a few holes in the ground. The soil was softer in some parts than others, so occasionally his foot would sink into what he swore was solid ground.
It was warm; very, very warm. It felt like the middle of a hot summer day in Hoenn, though realistically, this was the year temperatures usually dropped a few degrees in Hoenn. The heat was no doubt burning the air around thanks to the open crater of lava near him and the flow of molten rock yards beneath his feet. He would have taken off his jacket if he had felt like holding it on the way down. He rationalized it would be cooler the closer he got to the bottom.
The air was hazy and muggy. A few moments after he'd begun his descent, the winds shifted from northwest to southeast, and the massive plume of smoke Mt. Chimney was producing started to block the sun out. Everything around him just looked gray and dull and smelled strongly of fire and brimstone. A few bushes he brushed against on his way down sprinkled ash to the ground below him.
At one point, he ran his fingers through his hair sensing that he was collecting falling ash as he continued down the path, and he was right. Little flecks of gray rained down as he ran his fingers through his hair and he sneezed. He didn't enjoy the thought of getting so dirty. But he was the one who wanted to do this, and a little bit of ash wasn't going to stop him.
All in all, it was a difficult walk. Definitely not was he was expecting, but it was more than alright. He never truly stopped to appreciate the world around him like this, even if it was just to avoid tripping. Bonus: he seemed to be the only one on the path, and the silence was comforting.
There were wild Pokémon about on the trail as well. He assumed that because the path seemed so rarely used, wild Pokémon probably felt more comfortable out in the open here. He studied each on he came across intently.
More often than not, he saw wild Spindas running around. Well…stumbling around was a better way to describe it. Drew analyzed the tiny teddy bear Pokémon as they appeared from the gray bushes and tall patches of ash-covered grasses. How effective would a Spinda be in competing?
They were cute, so at least they had that going for them. Cute Pokémon often scored a lot of points in appeal rounds just based on their looked alone. Other than that single pro, he couldn't find many benefits to training one. The little Pokémon struggled to walk in a straight line, and he doubted it could focus or perform well when it needed to. It couldn't be blamed for that, though; that was just their nature.
Further down the path, he spotted two Numels, one a bit larger than the other. He watched them from behind a bush and weighed the pros and cons. He didn't have any fire Pokémon on his team, and he'd definitely seen some nice fire-based appeals and moves in battles throughout the season. One particular coordinator and her Combusken stood out in his mind, but he pushed those thoughts back as he focused in one the Pokémon.
Numel was a notoriously slow creature. And they could be lazy if not disciplined correctly. But once they evolved into Camerupt, they were a force to be dealt with. Imagine what he could do with more fire attacks in his arsenal. Imagine the combinations he could pull…
He was seeing more pros than cons, and he quietly reached into his pocket for a Pokéball.
That was when he realized why the Numel were standing so close together. And rubbing their heads against each other. And why they were…
…
…Oh. Oh no.
Drew instantly turned away from the scene. It didn't take a lot of thinking to see that they were…mating. The coordinator shivered and his eye twitched a few times as he rushed away quietly and shaking the images frantically out of his head. How embarrassing.
He jumped the next time he happened upon a wild Pokémon. Thankfully, this one was alone, and Drew was able to forget the previous display when he set his eyes on the Spoink. It was another interesting choice for sure. The little pig Pokémon was jumping up and down, aiming its mouth for a berry nestled high up in the tree. Its bounce was impressive as the little Pokémon hopped straight from the ground all the way up to the top, and fell back to the ground gracefully.
From what he knew about Spoinks, which was very limited information, they were psychic Pokémon that evolved into Grumpigs, and they were very attached to the pearls they carried with them on top of their head. Take away the pearl, take away all concentration and reason. A Spoink couldn't function without its precious treasure balanced atop its head, and that was typically was they focused on. Not contests. Drew didn't think it was a good match.
An impressive Skarmory showed up not too far away from where the Spoink had been. Drew had never considered a steel Pokémon for his team. The steal bird's body glistened in what little sunlight fed the area around it, and it was a beautiful, healthy looking Pokémon. Definitely worth noting; he wanted to go for it.
But the Skarmory was hyperaware. The second Drew took a single step closer to it, the bird's gaze instantly shot to him. It let out a loud shriek and flew away, not looking back a single second. Disheartening, sure, but Drew faced worse losses.
The more he walked, the more Pokémon he spotted, all he had an internal debate over before ultimately deciding he either didn't want them on his team, or they wouldn't exactly benefit his team. It seemed like this trip was going to be all for nothing, especially sense he was getting closer to the end of the trail.
At one point, he happened to spot a Mankey hanging out a top a short tree along the path. A rare Pokémon for Hoenn indeed, but he dismissed the notion of capturing it almost instantly. Mankeys were hard to control as they were, but they were even harder once they evolved. Primeapes could be unstoppable mindless rage machines.
So raising one for contests didn't seem smart…at all. It was a task he didn't want to devote too much time to when Mankey probably couldn't help him much in contests, anyway.
Mankey, being a Pokémon typically found in Kanto brought his thoughts back to Solidad. His hands slid inside his jacket pocket to retrieve his PokéNav once again and he unlocked the device.
His service signal finally showed one bar; a weak signal, but it was typically enough to receive text messages. And he did have a new message in his folder.
"Finally," he breathed.
Solidad was a smart girl who was more than capable of taking care of herself; he knew that. But having not heard from her all day was so unlike her, that he'd have been lying had he said a part of him wasn't growing concerned.
He opened the message and read over it, only for his face to fall.
The message wasn't from Solidad.
It was a confirmation from the spa he'd left his Pokémon at.
Dear Mr. Hayden– thank you for trusting your Pokémon in our care! We promise to treat your Pokémon to a life of luxury throughout their stay, and we want to assure you that–
He stopped reading, because he didn't care. He only cared about why Solidad hadn't reached out to him yet.
It had been a little over two hours since he'd sent his last message to her informing her of where he was going. And before that, his other unanswered texts took up space in the chat window. None of the messages bore a read receipt beneath them, meaning Solidad hadn't even looked at the messages yet.
It worried him; was she okay? Maybe one bar wasn't enough and he hadn't been receiving the messages she was trying to send?
He knew logically, again, he didn't need to worry about her, but for some reason, that didn't help. The last thing she'd said was arrived home from Johto, and that she was planning on talking to him the next day. Since then, silence, and no explanation as to why.
The realization pushed him to walk just a little bit faster down the trail, with the thought of catching new Pokémon far behind him.
It took him the whole of an hour to make it back to town.
He hadn't been running or jogging by any means, but he definitely walked at a faster pace than he normally did.
Settled into a new hotel room, he swiftly placed his PokéNav a desk in front of him and connected it to a charger, ensuring the battery wouldn't fail him.
He didn't waste time with texts, because he knew they would just go unanswered. He didn't even have a coffee, which felt so unnatural to call her without one. But this wasn't a normal call. This was all but a frantic one by that point.
There was some form of anxiety creeping up on him as he listened to the dial tones play. Once, twice, thrice…no answer. Drew's fingers drummed at his sides impatiently as he waited for Solidad to answer the call.
By the fifth unanswered dial tone, he felt himself getting more and more stressed, until…
She rejected the call.
By the sixth dial tone, the call had abruptly been dropped, the screen on Drew's PokéNav informing him that his call could not be connected because the recipient chose to decline.
Drew exhaled a huge sigh in relief. At least he knew she was there, and he felt as though a huge weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. Now all he needed to know was why she ignored him.
He didn't want to be pesky or annoying or overbearing; obviously Solidad must have had a valid reason to ignore him all day and he knew he should probably respect that. But it was so unlike her to just…to let him worry. Or perhaps she didn't think he was worried.
But he wanted her to know; he wanted her to know he cared.
And he wanted to talk to his best friend.
His finger pressed down on the retry call option, and the phone once again went into dial tones as he watched the screen, waiting. This time, the call only made it to the second dial tone before he got the call rejection.
He raised an eyebrow at the screen, and switched to his texting app. If she didn't want to talk to him, it was fine, but he felt he deserved to know what was going on.
He sent a simple "?" in a text, and watched the screen. As he knew it would, a read receipt appeared under the question mark chat bubble. Yet no indication that she was typing back appeared.
So now she was reading his messages, but ignoring them. It was just as concerning as before, when she hadn't acknowledged him at all.
Frustrated, he switched back to calling. And again, he was ignored by the third ring. Switching back to his texts, he typed a simple but brief message.
Solidad, I don't want to worry about you this much. Can you please just tell me what's going on?
This time, he didn't wait to see if she would read the message. He simply pulled up his videophone and dialed her number again, waiting.
The call wasn't rejected on the first ring. Or the second, third or fourth. He waited and watched his little PokéNav screen continue to send out the call, wondering what she was doing. Clearly, she was deciding whether or not to answer this time, because she hadn't shut him down immediately.
But what if she hadn't been answering because she was indecent or busy or out with friends or…what if he was just being too pushy? Maybe he should try again later?
He didn't have time to fully reconsider, because then, miraculously, on the seventh dial tone, the screen changed, and displayed a "connecting" badge.
She had accepted the call, and now he waited as the WIFI in his room connected her video feed to him.
…What?
Solidad was always cheerful looking; he'd never seen her go longer than two minutes without smiling at something. She always looked cheerful, healthy, put together and relaxed.
Now, she did not.
He hair looked like she hadn't brushed through it all day. Her cheeks were puffy and slightly swollen, and her eyes were a glassy light reddish color. She was wearing pajamas that added to her disheveled look. She pursed her lips and didn't look at him or the screen, but kept her focus locked on the steaming mug of liquid in her hands.
Drew instantly recognized that it was hot chocolate in her mug. And it set off fire alarms in his brain.
"Why were you crying?" he blurted out, unthinking.
She just shrugged and dragged her mug up to her lips, taking a small sip of her drink before finally turning to face him with a sad smile.
He'd never seen her this sad before, or rather…he'd never seen her sad, ever. Solidad was such a carefree spirit, and more times than he could count, that happiness had helped him through tough losses and stressful moments. He was so used to the light in her eyes, that seeing it absent was…it was foreign, and he didn't know how to process it.
She had once told him that hot chocolate was her go-to drink for when she was feeling upset. Clearly, though, it was doing little to help her now. And his brain was going into overdrive to keep his expression even and figure out a way to help her through whatever was going on.
"Sorry for not getting back to you today," she said regretfully. "It's…it hasn't been the best day, and I know you're not exactly having the best time, either, so–"
"Fuck what I'm feeling, Solidad," he stopped her, almost angry she could find it in herself to worry about him when something was clearly eating at her so badly.
She raised her eyebrows and shook her head, that sad smile locked in place. Her right arm raised to wipe away at her eyes quickly before falling back onto the mug.
"Bad language doesn't suit you, Drew," she scolded him slowly.
"Well, sadness doesn't suit you," he fought back. "What's going on?"
Solidad took a second to sigh and looked back to face him, her eyes still red and her lips pursed.
"It's…been a long weekend," she finally admitted. "I– well, they said not to say I, because it was a team effort, but we didn't win the right to host the Wallace Cup this year, which sucked majorly. I just feel like I let the whole region down, you know? Like they asked me to represent with the best of the best and it just…it wasn't enough. I guess I wasn't enough."
Drew listened intently. There was still something wrong. He had seen Solidad face a loss before; he remembered her telling him how she cried all night after her devastating loss in the Grand Festival two years prior. She has admitted to him just how hard that loss has hit her…but this was different.
This time around, it still didn't seem as heavy. Solidad handled losses well; her never-ending supply of grace and wisdom helped her through. Solidad was strong, and to be this upset over this loss didn't seem right. Sure it was a chance for Kanto to host the Wallace Cup for the first time…but she would know better not to bear the weight of all of that on herself.
Drew knew his best friend.
He knew her so well; he knew a loss so trivial wouldn't get her this down. Something else had to have hap–
"And then…" she continued.
She closed her eyes for a second and her face looked like she was trying to hold back more emotions. Drew made sure to keep his mouth shut and not push her in anyway. He had never seen her struggle so much with something before.
"When I woke up this morning, I got a call…" she paused again.
Again, Drew sat patiently and waited.
"Do you remember my friend in Mossdeep?" she asked him slowly. "Arthur? The one who came and watched your contest with me?"
It took Drew a few seconds to remember who she was talking about. His mind flashed him back to all those months ago…when he met Solidad's elderly friend whom she had met in Shoal Cave. He was…the one who made the Shell Bells? And the one who had given Solidad her Butterfree.
It all came back, and he did remember her friend. He nodded in confirmation.
"He passed away last night," Solidad said, a new tear racing down her cheek as her hand went to catch it.
Of all the things that could have been wrong, news like that was something that never crossed his mind. It all made sense, now. He felt ice shoot through his veins and his mouth hang open, in a feeble attempt to say something – anything – comforting.
She kept her head low and eyes averted as she raised her mug to her lips once again, holding it to her mouth but not really sipping it. He noticed she was blinking rapidly, probably trying to keep the tears in. It was so odd, to see Solidad cry. Part of him had believed she was incapable of such a thing.
"What happened?" Drew forced himself to ask; it was the only thing his brain could seem to force past his tongue.
Solidad lowered her mug back into her lap.
"He…he'd gotten sick," she explained. "He loved to spend time in Shoal Cave, because it was a really special place for him. But Shoal Cave is unique, as I'm sure you know. It gets really cold in there during low tides. Like, below freezing cold; not somewhere you want to be when you're in your late 70's.
"He had gotten sick. I spoke to him a few weeks ago, and he told me he had caught a cold from staying in there particularly late one day. He said he'd been feeding some of the Sealo in the cave, because he was so sweet. He was so sweet, Drew, and he was friends with all the Pokémon who lived there.
"I remember him telling me it was just a minor cold, but throughout our conversation, he had a terrible cough. It worried me, and I think he could see that, but for the entirety of the time we talked, he just kept saying, 'I'm fine! No need to worry! I'm absolutely fine!' And that was that.
"But then…over the course of the next few weeks, he didn't really get any better. And the last week when I spoke to him, he was in the hospital with a bad case of pneumonia…and one of the nurses called me this morning and…and…"
She buried her face in her hands, the mug abandoned on the desk beside her PokéNav. Her hands were shaking and her head went back and fourth from side to side.
"She said he had me listed as family," she sobbed. "She said he wanted to tell me that he was so happy he had met me and so thankful for all I had done for him and just…he said that he loved me like the daughter he never had.
"And he wanted to tell me all of those things, but he couldn't get in touch with me because I didn't have my phone most of the time that I at the Wallace Cup Conference…"
Drew's heart sank for her. She was so devastated as she spoke.
"He wanted to tell me goodbye, and I wasn't available to speak to him one last time," she held her head in her hands, trying to hide from him as she cried.
He didn't know what to do. Drew couldn't think of any words or any single action he could do to help take the pain away from his best friend. But there was little to nothing he could do for her. Not over a phone call, anyway. Drew was more willing than ever to hug her and hold onto his friend for as long as she needed him to, but that wasn't possible.
"Solidad, just let it out," he said softly; it was all he could do.
She looked at him with shaky, tear-filled eyes.
"I know you're going through your own stuff right now," Solidad responded. "This is why I didn't get in touch with you all day; I know we're both hurting and there's not much either or us can do for each other. I just didn't want to make it worse for you."
His heart bled for her; she was suffering a personal loss, and hurting so badly over it, all the while she wanted to put his better interest in front of her. She was so selfless. She was so…Solidad.
Drew only wanted to give her the same amount of love and support she always gave him.
"It's not that big a deal," he told her.
She looked at him, confused, so he continued.
"Look, I lost, big deal," he said. "It happened, and I'm not worried about it all that much. Like you said, it could happen, and it did. That's not what's important right now, Sol. It's what you're going through. Don't worry about me."
Solidad pursed her lips, seeming like she was thinking of how to protest or combat him.
"Don't," he stopped her. "Just get it all out; let's get you through this."
She finally relented, sighed and nodded.
"I haven't told Butterfree yet…I don't know how to just tell her," she said.
"I think it'd be best if you just came out and told her," Drew offered. "She deserves to know, the sooner the better."
"I know…I've been putting it off all day," she replied. "I've just been such a mess. It's been such a hard day."
"I can only imagine…" he agreed. "Is there going to be a service for him?"
"The funeral is Friday afterrnoon in Mossdeep," she answered. "I'm flying over there on Thursday and I am going to bring Butterfree."
"Would it be okay if I came with you?" he surprised her by asking.
"You don't have to do that, Drew," she sniffled. "I know that it's not exactly your comfort zone…you know, human emotion and what not."
"It's not a matter of what I like and don't like, Solidad," he looked her straight in the eyes. "You are my best friend, and I am here for you. You would drop everything for me if the situation was reversed. I want you to know how much you matter to me, and I want to be here for you in this."
For the first time in what felt like a lifetime, a genuine smile graced her lips. True, it was still a sad smile, but it finally reached her eyes. And that was enough progress for him.
"I'll meet you in Mossdeep on Thursday night, okay?" he confirmed.
Again, she smiled at him. It was a smile that gave him hope that maybe he was on the right track to helping her through this terrible time.
Drew had never personally faced a loss like this. He had very few people in his life and even fewer in his inner circle. His parents had divorced when he was very young, and he didn't remember much about his mother. Though he barely interacted with them, his grandparents were all still living, so he never really felt like he was missing anything. He'd never lost anyone he was close to, and he wasn't exactly sure how to help someone who had.
And she was right when she said this matter was far outside of his personal comfort zone. But that didn't matter.
Solidad had been there for him, time and time again, even in the times he hadn't known he needed her. He'd do anything to help her when she needed him.
"Alright," she nodded.
She took a moment to examine the clock on her wall, not realizing it was getting late. She had a lot to do to prepare for her trip, and she still had some emotional walls to scale before she could leave. Above all, her Pokémon, Arthur's Pokémon, deserved to know what had happened. Keeping this terrible news from Butterfree any longer would have been wrong.
"I think I need to talk to Butterfree now…" she sighed.
"I agree," he nodded. "It'll be hard, but this will pass"
Drew could sense Solidad was appreciative of his being there, and that she knew she needed to take care of the importance task of telling her Pokémon what had happened.
"Listen, call me if you need to talk some more. I'm serious, Solidad, I'm here for you, okay?"
"Okay," she rubbed at her eyes one more time, wiping away the last tear. "Thank you so much, Drew. I'll be in touch. Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Solidad."
With that, he closed out the call, feeling both relieved and heartbroken all at once.
Drew didn't like wearing suits.
There were a lot of factors that went into fueling his disdain for the outfits. They were uncomfortable and at the end of the summer, they were still too hot for Hoenn. Plus, standing there in all black, next to Solidad in her all black dress made the whole scene feel even more depressing than it already was.
The normally blue skies that seemed to constantly live above Mossdeep were now gone, replaced by heavy gray clouds and wind gusts that seemed to be increasing by the minute. It was only a matter of time before it started to rain, but no one seemed to care. The weather perfectly matched up to the mood.
The small group all kept a faithful vigil around the grave as the coffin was lowered into the ground, right beside a grave plot that shared the same headstone. Solidad had explained it was his wife buried by his side, and Drew had respectfully nodded.
The headstone read out Elaine and Arthur Coble, with little carvings of bells decorating the top and bottom of the surface. Elaine's birth and death dates were a little faded, and Arthur's side was freshly carved: a fact that stung a little harder the more they all looked at it.
Butterfree stayed wrapped up in Solidad's arms, a beautiful red rose the Roselia had provided in her mouth as she watched the wooden casket disappear in the ground. Solidad also held a rose.
Drew was careful not to speak or move or do anything in fear of disregarding the moment. He had no personal connection to Arthur; he'd only met him once, briefly, after the Mossdeep Contest. The man praised Drew and his performance in the competition, and…that had really been all. Arthur was much closer to Solidad.
Now, he was there to support Solidad and her Butterfree, but couldn't help but feel sucked into the moment's sadness as well.
Because the night before, when they'd met at their hotel and sat in the lobby for some coffee, Solidad gushed about the amazing man that they were all going to say goodbye to the following morning.
The way she had spoken of Arthur, Solidad held him in high respect. They had met only several months prior, but she had nothing other than kind words of the man being laid to rest. She spoke of how sweet and devoted he was to his late wife, how he was so brave for going to that first contest with her to see Drew perform, how skilled he was in bell making, how generous he was in giving her his Butterfree so that it could have a chance to compete, and so many other things. They may have only met once, but Solidad was always good about staying in touch with her friends; Arthur had been no exception.
The service itself was short but intimate. There had been a gathering and wake at Arthur's home early in the afternoon, where few friends and family had come to say goodbye. Drew and Solidad, as well as her Butterfree were some of the last ones to view Arthur before the casket was closed and they were all told where to meet in the cemetery for the final proceedings. Throughout the few hours, some people made a few statements about who Arthur was to them and how he'd impacted their lives. Solidad, her Butterfree and Drew stayed to the side and listened; Drew had no story to tell and Solidad didn't feel it right to speak for some reason (or perhaps just because she wasn't truly related to Arthur or his wife, and it seemed that only his relatives were speaking).
Drew, Solidad and Butterfree stayed together in silence, perfectly still and unmoving. Even when the small crowd of Arthur's friends and family began to dissipate around them and the rain startled to drizzle from the sky, the trio stayed there. Drew opened the umbrella he had brought along with him and held it above all of them. Solidad uttered a small thank you to him.
He didn't mind standing there. He hadn't known Arthur all that well and had never actually been to a funeral before, but he respectfully stood there and let his friend and her Pokémon have the proper goodbye they needed. In his head, he thanked Arthur the role he had played in Solidad's life and having had such a positive impact on her.
At one point, Solidad finally raised her eyes to see that they were alone. She brought her eyes down to Drew who, sensing her movement, looked up to her as well. Their eyes met for a few moments in silence, and Drew tried to give her a small smile of reassurance. She in return nodded, and hugged her Butterfree a little bit closer as they took a step towards the grave, out of the protection of the umbrella.
"Thank you for your wisdom, courage and friendship, Arthur," Solidad whispered while letting go of the rose she'd been holding on to. "I will never forget you and will always be thankful to have met you."
Butterfree fluttered out of Solidad's arms and hovered in the air a few inches in front of her, looking down. She chirped sadly for a few moments before dropping her rose down into the ground as well. It seemed as though the butterfly Pokémon was saying goodbye in its own way, and the two coordinators respected Butterfree's wishes by letting it cry out for as long as it needed to. When she was finished, Butterfree settled back into Solidad's arms not taking her eyes off of the grave.
The pair stayed out in the light rain for a few more somber moments before finally turning back to face Drew.
"I think we're ready to leave," Solidad informed him.
Drew only nodded, and the three quietly and slowly exited the cemetery.
They'd been there almost the entire day.
The past few days had given Solidad the time to process the loss, and though she was still mourning, she seemed to have been doing better having had the chance at a proper goodbye.
She wasn't crying the way she had been on the day she'd found out. After all, time was supposed to heal all wounds.
They'd made an effort to go out and grab dinner so they wouldn't have to worry about it later, but they were conscious of the coming storm, so they did their best to hurry. It had been a quiet meal mostly, but it was an oddly comforting silence.
When they'd made it back to their hotel, the storm truly did unleash. Rain and fierce winds overtook Mossdeep, and Drew and Solidad settled in by sitting beside large windows in the hotel's main lobby to watch the showcase of nature. It getting late in the evening, and the dark clouds above made it seem much later. A weather alert on their PokéNavs told them the storm was to last well into the night, but it was fine. They knew they wouldn't be leaving until the morning.
Little words had passed between them here and there, but they had mostly remained quiet since they left the cemetery and eaten dinner. Even now, with Solidad and her Pokémon resting on the chair across from him and looking outward, the only sounds were the heavy drops of rain smacking into the glass window.
Without warning, a huge streak of lightning raced across the sky, immediately followed by a massive boom of thunder. The loud crash startled the three, and Butterfree actually jumped from Solidad's lap right onto Drew's. The butterfly Pokémon buried its tiny head into his chest and shook in fear of the weather.
Solidad watched the scene pay out with a small smile on her lips. Drew seemed startled, more by her Pokémon diving into his lap than the actual weather. His hands fell onto Butterfree's back and began rubbing soothing circles out of instinct.
When he looked up and met Solidad's eyes and warm smile, his face turned a bit red.
"Butterfree really likes you," Solidad pointed out, crossing her legs over her now empty lap and leaning back into the chair. "She's always really liked you, ever since the day you two met. Remember, on your birthday? She went right to you then, too, and she didn't even know you all that well."
"Yeah, I guess," Drew said, a little offhanded, still petting Butterfree. "When Roselia was younger, she used to be scared of storms like this, and I'd pat her back like this to help her calm down."
Solidad nodded.
"You just have a natural gift for connecting with Pokémon," she commented. "It's probably a big reason why you're such a gifted coordinator."
Drew smiled a bit back at her. She seemed to finally be perking up a little. Maybe now that the worst was behind them, she was feeling better. Butterfree eventually stopped shaking in his arms, but Drew didn't stop patting her, just incase another lightning strike was waiting to flash.
"It's been a long day, huh?" she sighed as she turned her head back out to the window.
"Are you feeling better?" Drew asked softly.
"I guess, for the most part," she admitted. "Being here and saying goodbye…it feels like it's real now. It feels final. I think that, when I was so far away in Kanto, it was harder for me to accept it. And seeing how Butterfree was even more devastated than I was when I told her… I think more than anything, we needed the closure of a real goodbye.
"It still hurts, and both Butterfree and I have lost a great friend, but I think that we'll both be okay. If anything, I want to make Arthur proud, and I know Butterfree feels the same way."
Butterfree became lively, nodding up and down in Drew's arms and jumped back for Solidad. She was back with her trainer in the blink of an eye, the sadness replaced mostly by a look of determination of sorts.
"We talked about it last night," Solidad smiled down at her little Pokémon. "And we decided we're going to dedicate our contest season in Kanto to Arthur."
Butterfree grew more and more excited as she spoke. Her eyes sparkled more with every word Solidad said.
"And we're going to win the Grand Festival for Athur and his wife," Solidad concluded. "We're going to complete he and his wife's dreams."
Drew nodded, looking back and fourth between the pair. Her self appointed mission was inspiring, and he hoped he could achieve the same drive and motivation when his contest season started…in almost five months. Solidad's stage was set in just under two weeks. He had some waiting to do.
"Speaking of contests, actually…" Solidad started to say.
"We don't have to talk about it," Drew held his hand up in protest.
"I'm okay, Drew, really," Solidad looked him straight in the eye. "You being here, and the events of today have really helped me more than I can say. And I appreciate your presence so much more than you know. I'm in a good place now, and I'll only continue to get better. But we've been talking about me all week, and you, too, faced a devastating loss that we haven't talked about once."
He searched her eyes for any hesitation; any sing of her words betraying her feelings. But why would he find any? This was Solidad; she was always genuine and always willing to help other people no matter what. And from what he could see in her expression, she was serious; she wanted to start moving on, and perhaps constantly talking about the matter wasn't helping all that much.
She was forever the kindest soul on the planet; no wonder people like Arthur and everyone else gravitated towards her.
His lips were pursed and he was unsure of whether or not it was okay to turn the conversation to him. He didn't feel like it was okay, but her eyes told him it was. Butterfree's did the same.
So with a long sigh, he finally shifted his body in the chair to fully face her and opened his mouth.
"It was hard," he admitted. "But you know, Robert came and spoke to me after our battle in the locker room."
"Oh wow," Solidad seemed surprised. "What did he have to say?"
"It was odd at first," Drew agreed. "But he was polite; he congratulated my Pokémon on how well they performed and he even said some things about drawing inspiration from some of my performances, which I thought was crazy, because both times we've battled, he's been far batter than me."
"I mean, I don't think it's that weird to say that," Solidad said. "I've learned a lot from coordinators who have beaten me before."
"Yeah, he said the same thing," Drew admitted. "But like I said, the loss hurt; the first few minutes afterwards felt surreal. Even more so when Robert actually came in to speak to me. But for as hard as it was and how hard it's been, I just feel like I'm still ready to go. It's hard to explain, but when I was on top of Mt. Chimney looking out over Hoenn, all I could think about was how much I was to be a Top Coordinator. But now, somehow, I have to suppress that for a while.
"I hate the offseason; I feel like I'm ready to compete now, and I have to wait all these months to get back in the arena."
Something in Solidad's face seemed to shift while she listened to him. Her expression flashed a brief bit of excitement when he finished speaking, and he quirked an eyebrow at her.
"I mean, Drew, technically, you don't have to wait to compete again," she offered slowly.
It took Drew's brain two full seconds to comprehend what she was implying. The first thing he thought of was how stupid he was for never even considering the possibility of the Kanto Contest Circuit. The second thing he thought of was how hard it would be to leave home.
He knew nothing of Kanto, or any other regions for the matter. He'd always stayed in Hoenn; it was what he knew and what he felt comfortable in. Drew didn't take risks like that.
"I know what you're thinking," Solidad sounded off from in front of him. "And I think you need to calm down a little and look at the big picture here."
"I'm not thinking anything?" he challenged her.
"Drew, your face says it all; you've never even thought about leaving home and competing elsewhere," Solidad shook her head. "And I know it's scary to think about taking such a big step and leaving everything you know behind, but I think you should consider it.
"There's a ton of benefits with competing somewhere else. For one, you'd get to start a whole lot earlier as opposed to waiting for next contest season here to roll around. You can keep that momentum you have going.
"There's also the fact that you'll have so much more to learn and so many more opportunities to grow as a coordinator. New Pokémon, new coordinators, new places to go and things to learn; there's like no limit to the things you can do once you take the leap and try something new.
"And finally, you'd get to compete against me again. I don't see how you could be opposed to that, after all. That's like the icing on the cake."
Solidad's eyes sparkled with the thought of him going to Kanto.
"It'd be a lot of fun, Sol, but I don't know if I should–" Drew started.
"Tell me right now why you shouldn't do it," she challenged. "Give me at least three good reasons why you shouldn't try it."
Drew sucked in a breath; Solidad was nearly unstoppable when she was on the offensive. Though he knew she would ultimately respect that this decision was his choice in the end, he could see the fire in her eyes. He could see that she firmly believed this was a good idea and that she would do her best to push for it.
The idea was both exciting and terrifying; traveling to a new region to compete, let alone be in the same contest circuit as his best friend again. Reliving their first battle when he so shamefully lost would not be the case were they to face off again. While she had grown since that time, so had he. He was much, much better than he had been the day they'd met.
But Kanto was also daunting; he'd never been away from home before. He'd spent the first 10 years of his life in LaRousse going to school and living with a father who was obsessed with running an upcoming financial corporation, and the last three years traveling throughout the rest of his region earning ribbons and chasing a dream. He knew nothing of Kanto, other than that it was Solidad's home and contests had finally branched out to them in the last few years.
"I've never actually been to Kanto," Drew said slowly. "I don't know a thing about it."
Solidad looked puzzled for a moment, and he stared straight back at her, waiting for her to explain why she looked so confused.
"That's…that's the best you could come up with after three minutes of silence?" she asked, her confusion morphing into an understanding smile.
His face turned crimson in embarrassment, and he diverted his eyes back out the window to watch the rain water slide down the pane of glass. But it was true; how could he leave everything he knew behind for a place he knew absolutely nothing about.
"You know, Drew, I was terrified when I first came to Hoenn," Solidad said, drawing his eyes back over to her. "I was just like you; I didn't know the first thing when it came to this region other than this is where Pokémon Contests were born and that I wanted to pursue a career in Pokémon coordinating.
"As you can imagine, because you're feeling the same way, it's a pretty big decision to make. I struggled with it for weeks before I finally just packed up and left before I lost my nerve. And honestly, it was the best decision I ever made.
"I'm not just saying that; it really was something I'll never regret. I have met so many incredible people and Pokémon throughout this journey. I've fought some of the most rewarding battles and I'm faced the most humbling losses. I'm a better person because I took the risk and moved on from everything I knew. Now I know so, so much more.
"I don't have to tell you that to grow as a coordinator, you have to take risks. You have to try new things and go through trials and errors to better yourself. You and your Pokémon need the new experiences to inspire and help you move past the things you've already done. You know that, just look at what meeting a new rival this season has done for you."
Drew's eye twitched, but he chose to say nothing. Solidad smirked briefly and continued on.
"You know I'm right," she said firmly. "Even if you don't want to outright admit, you know I'm right, and I bet that there's a part of you that is considering it."
"Solidad," Drew started, then paused for a moment. "I'm not saying…that you're wrong or anything, but it's just a huge decision to make and I just don't know."
She smiled softly and nodded.
A huge strike of lightning flashed across the sky and thunder followed, silencing the two for a moment.
"Look, I can't make this choice for you," Solidad continued. "I know I can't, and this is your journey. I'm not trying to tell you how to go about pursing your dream, but I will say this; if the best excuse you can come up with is the fact that you've never been to Kanto, well then, to that I say, there's a first time for everything.
"I'm telling you this as a friend, Drew…I think this would be good for you. You and your team. You guys all have so much talent and I know you'll be successful in whatever you choose to do. And I think Kanto and our contest circuit could have a lot to teach you."
"Yeah," Drew sighed. "I know."
"I think you should seriously think about it," Solidad offered. "Promise me you'll think about it?"
"Of course, Sol," he nodded.
Solidad then stretched out her arms, rising to her feet; Drew and Butterfree's eyes followed her motions.
"It's getting kind of late," she pointed out.
Butterfree began squirming in Drew's arms, reaching out for Solidad. He released the little butterfly Pokémon who perched herself atop Solidad's head.
"I'm ready to get out of all this black," Solidad pulled at her dress a little. "I think I need a long bath and some sleep."
"Yeah, it's been a pretty long day," Drew stretched a bit as well. "You sure you're okay with everything?"
"I mean it still hurts," she admitted, raising her hand to pat Butterfree. "But I think it's helped a lot now that we've had time to grieve and process everything. And it definitely helped that you stood by our side today. Thank you, Drew, seriously. You helped us both out so much."
"Anytime, Solidad," he looked at her firmly. "I mean it; you've always been such a great friend to me and I hope you know how much I've always appreciated you."
She smiled warmly and bent down to give him a quick hug.
"I'll see you down here for breakfast before I head back home tomorrow," she said.
He nodded and bid her goodnight. Solidad disappeared into the elevator on her way back to her room.
Drew stayed in his chair looking aimlessly out of the window.
Fifteen minutes passed and his PokéNav buzzed with a text from Solidad.
I forgot to point this out; going to Kanto would mean not having to wait three whole months to compete!
Another message buzzed.
No pressure, just saying! ;)
And one last one appeared.
Don't sit there so gloomy all night; go to bed at some point! Love you!
Drew groaned and threw his head back against the cushions.
It was midnight, and Drew laid in his bed wide awake; he couldn't recall a time in his life when the ceiling of a hotel room had ever been more fascinating.
Well, that wasn't actually the case, but counting the tiny spots and finding little patterns in the dimly lit room kept his thoughts preoccupied from…considering it.
Because that's what he had been doing for hours; actually considering going to Kanto. Drew had considered leaving Hoenn unthinkable before the day had started, and now it had become a possibility he could see himself pursuing.
The rain continued to pour outside as it had almost the entire day. Heavy raindrops pounded the window producing a never-ceasing tapping rhythm.
Leaving Hoenn. Traveling in Kanto. What a crazy thought to even process.
…And now, it really didn't seem that crazy.
Solidad was so incredibly diverse and a well-rounded person; was that truly because she had traveled so much? Was it really because she had met so many people and tried so many new and different things?
She seemed to think so, and it did make sense to him. As hard as it was for him to admit…it made sense to him.
Going to Kanto to compete made sense.
And he shivered.
But why should he have been afraid? He was Drew Hayden; one of Hoenn's best coordinators. He and his team had pushed through all the odds, survived life and death situations and made it all the way to the top two in his first Grand Festival. Days before, he had never felt more confident in himself.
Why should something like going to a new place frighten him?
He'd spent the last two years traveling to new places in Hoenn, after all. Wasn't it the same thing?
And before he'd met May, he'd more or less been traveling alone; Solidad had been his only friend before that. Well, Solidad and his Pokémon…so being alone wasn't really an issue, either.
What held him back from pulling the trigger? Why couldn't he just commit?
The more he thought about it, the more comfortable and familiar the idea became. Maybe he could do this? Maybe he should do this?
And then, like a bolt of lightning, it hit him.
This wasn't exclusively his choice to make.
So he called out him Pokémon. One by one, his team of three surrounded him in the hotel room.
Roselia rubbed at her eyes, Flygon shook his head and Masquerain landed on the bed, not even bothering to fly at the moment. They all looked at each other in confusion before looking to their trainer.
Drew looked at them sheepishly for a moment.
"Hey guys," he greeted them. "I'm sorry to have woken you all up in the middle of the night like this, but I need to talk to you guys about something…"
They continued to stare at him in confusion, waiting for him to speak. He took a moment, cleared his throat, and looked at his partners.
"How would you guys feel about trying something new?"
Drew practically dragged himself into the lobby to meet Solidad the next morning.
She watched him approach with bright eyes and alert energy. He looked like he was half dead to the world.
There were small bags and dark circles under his eyes; a heavy indication that he had barely slept the night before. She'd never seen him in such a state before, and it was slightly amusing. She founder herself chuckling when he planted himself next to her.
"Long night?" she pressed.
"Mhmm," Drew mumbled, rubbing his eyes a bit and stifling a yawn.
"What were you doing that kept you up so late?" she asked.
He stiffened a little bit and looked away.
"Talking to my Pokémon," he admitted.
Her eyes blazed with the mischievous smile that overtook her face. She opened her mouth again.
"About what?"
Drew rolled his eyes.
"Shut up," he said. "I need coffee."