Hi guys! Here's the final chapter of the tag battle tournament. I would just like to say, although I know that the characters (apart from Ash) don't actually have surnames in the anime, I will be using the ones that I have taken a liking to, for Drew and May, in this chapter, for the purpose of the story, and maybe in the future. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the characters
Chapter 13 – Battling the Past
"Alright folks, we're going to take a little break, but don't forget to come back for the finale!" Enta announced as some of the crowd stood up to stretch their legs before the final battle. May watched as Max walked off the battlefield, his head hanging low, with Brock's arm around his shoulder.
"I'm going to go check on Max, okay?" May told Drew. He nodded in response and she ran off down the corridor towards the battlefield entrance. Max and Brock turned the corner and stopped as May came into their view.
"I'll leave you two alone." Brock said as he squeezed Max's shoulder in reassurance before walking off. May smiled at Brock and he nodded his head at her as he left. She sighed and walked towards Max before stopping a couple of feet in front of him as she waited for him to look up at her. Max slowly lifted his head and May saw the distraught expression on his face. His eyes were glassy and he looked like he would crack any minute. She smiled sadly at him and opened her arms. Max's lip began to tremble as he felt his walls come tumbling down.
"May!" Max cried, running towards May and wrapping his arms around her waist as he sobbed into her shoulder.
"Shhh, its okay, Max," May comforted as she wrapped her right arm around Max's mid-section and stroked his hair with her left hand. She closed her eyes and nuzzled her cheek against his as she waited for him to calm down.
"I-I l-lost, M-May," Max stuttered, shakily.
"That doesn't matter, Max. You tried your best and that's all that counts." May told him.
"But, I let down my pokemon, May. I let them get beat up and there was nothing I could do about it. I'm a failure," Max admitted, sadly.
"Hey! Don't you ever talk about yourself like that!" May shouted as she held Max's shoulders and pulled back, making him look up at her.
"How can I not, May!?" Max yelled. "When I left on this journey, I promised dad that I would make him proud, that I wouldn't let him down." Max said. "Not like last time," Max murmured, looking down. May sighed as she knelt down and lifted Max's chin to look her in the eye.
"Max, you can't let one loss get to you. I know you lost in the beginning rounds of the Johto League, last year, but that doesn't mean you're a failure. Remember, this is why you decided to take a break from competing so that you could review your battling technique. This is just a learning curve, so chin up, okay?" May consoled. "Besides, look at dad, whenever he loses in a gym battle to a trainer, you don't see him moping about, do you?" May asked.
"I guess not," Max mumbled, loud enough for May to hear.
"Exactly. No-one's the perfect trainer, Max. Everyone makes mistakes once in a while. You do, I do…" May trailed off, thinking of a way to convince Max. "…even Ash does." May finished.
"Ash!?" Max cried, shocked.
"Right." May replied, nodding her head. "Remember when I lost my battle back in Hearthome City?" May questioned. Max nodded his head in response. "Well, I was just about ready to give up too, but Ash gave me some much needed advice." May informed.
"What was it?" Max inquired.
"Ash told me that once he had a full 6-on-6 battle against one of his rivals, but he lost really badly. His pokemon all ended up in the emergency care unit of the pokemon center and seeing all his pokemon like that sent him into a depression knowing that he had caused all that." May responded. "However, he said that despite their injuries, all his pokemon came out just to see him. He may have blamed himself, but they didn't blame him one bit. They knew how much of a good trainer he was and that made them even more determined to help him achieve his dream because it wasn't just Ash's dream, it was theirs too." May added. Max's eyes widened and he gasped in realisation. May smiled, glad that he finally understood. "Don't forget, Max. I lost in the Grand Festival last year as well, and to Harley of all people," May said, muttering the last part, reluctantly, making Max chuckle. "My point is, although at first I did let it get me down, with the help of you, my friends and my pokemon, I got back on the ponyta and won my first Sinnoh ribbon." May reminded. "What I'm saying is, I didn't give up and neither should you," May encouraged. Max smiled at May's kind, loving words of advice.
"Thanks, May. I'm glad you're here with me. I missed you when you went travelling on your own." Max confessed.
"I missed you too." May replied, honestly, smiling at him.
"I love you, May." Max told her, giving her a hug.
"I love you too, Max." May responded, hugging him back. She kissed him on the forehead as she let him go.
"Hey, just because you're my sister doesn't mean you can kiss me." Max complained, wiping off May's kiss with the back of his hand.
"I'll kiss you whenever I want to, mister." May retorted, trying to give him another kiss.
"Aaah!" Max cried, running back down the corridor to where the others were. May giggled at her brother's childish actions.
'He's growing up.' May thought, with a small smile on her face. Suddenly, someone put a hand on her mouth and grabbed her from behind.
Brock walked down the corridor and headed towards the others.
"Hey Brock, I'm sorry about your loss," Ash said, sympathetically.
"That's okay. I don't really mind, it just felt great to battle again." Brock informed. "I think Max took the loss really hard, though." Brock admitted, looking back towards the corridor.
"Yeah, he looked really down after that loss," Misty whispered. "Poor Max," Misty murmured.
"Darren's Lucario was really strong though." Brock commented. "It had such confidence and power, a deadly combination for sure." Brock added.
"Right. The last time I saw a Lucario that strong was when I battled Maylene's Lucario back in Veilstone City." Ash remembered.
"Don't forget Daniel's Medicham." Kenny cut in, coming into the conversation. "Its psychic type moves were really strong, not to mention that it had moves from other types as well. That Medicham is definitely a well-trained pokemon." Kenny told them.
"They're going to be a tough team to beat." Dawn started as she walked over to them. "Do you think you and May are going to be able to beat them, Drew?" Dawn asked, looking at him. Drew turned to face her as a smirk appeared on his face.
"We could beat them with our eyes closed," Drew replied, arrogantly, flicking his hair as he strode over to them. The six of them continued to talk about the final battle when Max came running out.
"Max, are you alright?" Brock questioned, concerned.
"Don't worry, Brock, I'm fine. May talked to me and she helped me to realise that losing is a part of everyone's journey. It's how we handle these losses that makes us into who we are." Max answered.
"Well, I'm glad you're feeling better." Brock responded, smiling.
"Speaking of May, where is she?" Drew inquired.
"Huh?" Max said, looking back towards the entrance of the corridor. "I was just talking to her and then I came out here. I thought she was behind me…" Max trailed off, confused. Drew's eyes widened slightly as he suddenly became worried and set off down the corridor to find May. He heard a muffled cry and quickly walked over to where the sound was coming from. A male voice came into earshot from around the corner and he hid behind the wall next to them as he eavesdropped on the conversation.
"What do you think you're doing?" May asked as the person let go of her.
"Chill out, babe. I just wanted to talk to you." The person replied.
'Darren.' Drew thought as he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.
"What do you want?" May questioned, slightly annoyed.
"Do I need I reason to talk to you?" Darren responded as he backed her up against the wall and placed his left hand by her head. He saw a shadow out of the corner of his eye and smirked, knowing exactly who it was. "So, how about you give me your number, cutie?" Darren breathed as he leaned in close to her.
"Uhh…" May muttered, nervously, as she pushed her head back against the wall.
"Get away from her," Drew growled as he stepped out of his hiding place. Darren turned to look at him with that same smirk on his face while May looked at him with an expression of surprise mixed with relief.
"I'll see you on the battlefield, May," Darren purred, purposely saying her name to aggravate Drew. He took her left hand in his right and kissed it slowly before winking at her as he left. Drew narrowed his eyes at Darren's back as many interesting thoughts crossed his mind. A red blush spread across May's face as a result of the events that just transpired.
"Are you okay?" Drew asked, walking over to her.
"I'm fine." May told him, smiling.
"Well, the final battle will start soon, so why don't we head back over to the others and discuss battle strategies?" Drew suggested. May nodded in response as she and Drew walked back down the corridor.
"Welcome back, everyone! Now, it's time for the final battle to commence! The battle will be between the team of May and Drew against the team of Darren and Daniel." Enta announced.
"Blaziken, take the stage!" May called out. The red and yellow bipedal chicken pokemon appeared from its pokeball.
"Roserade, let's go!" Drew ordered. The green rose pokemon appeared from its pokeball.
"Lucario, let's show them a real battle!" Darren commanded. The blue and black canine pokemon appeared from its pokeball.
"Medicham, time to control our fate!" Daniel instructed. The pink bipedal, humanoid pokemon appeared from its pokeball.
"Looks like May and Drew are both going with their first pokemon." Kenny commented.
"Their strongest pokemon, too." Brock continued. "They must realise that their opponents won't be pushovers so they worked out a strategy for this battle. Smart move." Brock finished.
"Plus, Darren and Daniel are using the same pokemon as before. They must be pretty confident to do that." Max added.
"After you, Drew." Darren offered, smirking at him.
"My pleasure." Drew replied, smirking back. "Roserade, use solar beam!" Drew ordered.
"Rose!" Roserade yelled as it held its arms above its head and the flowers on the ends of its arms began to glow gold as it gathered energy.
"Lucario, aura sphere!" Darren commanded.
"Ari!" Lucario roared as it put its hands together and created a blue ball of energy. Lucario then fired it at Roserade.
"Blaziken, use fire spin!" May called out.
"Blaziken!" Blaziken bellowed as it opened its mouth and released a spiralling flame from its mouth at the opponent. The aura sphere moved through the fire spin, gaining more power as it sped towards Roserade.
"Now, use blaze kick!" May called out.
"Blaze!" Blaziken bellowed as the end of its right leg blazed in flames and it travelled through the fire spin, destroying the aura sphere and increasing the power of its kick as it got closer and closer to Lucario. While this was going on, Roserade's flowers returned to a normal colour as a golden orb of energy appeared in front of its flowers.
"Medicham, confusion!" Daniel instructed.
"Me-di!" Medicham shouted as it held out its hands and they became surrounded in light blue. Blaziken became outlined in light blue as Medicham controlled it and tossed it to the other side of the battlefield causing it quite a bit of damage as it was hurt by the super effective psychic type move. As Blaziken was thrown, a golden beam of energy was seen racing towards Medicham at lightning speed. Medicham had no time to dodge and was struck in the stomach as its back hit the wall behind it.
"Lucario, use metal claw!" Darren commanded.
"Car!" Lucario roared as the spikes on the tops of its paws began to glow white and grow, transforming into three claws. It ran forward and sprinted towards Roserade.
"Watch this, May." Drew said. "Roserade, use weather ball!" Drew ordered.
"Rose-!" Roserade yelled as it jumped in the air and held its arms up, creating an orange ball with fire streams around it.
"No way! Roserade learnt it already!?" May asked, shocked. Drew turned towards May with a smirk on his face as he winked at her, making May blush.
"-rade!" Roserade yelled as it threw the flaming orange ball at Lucario.
"Bone rush!" Darren commanded.
"Ar!" Lucario roared as it put its paws together and spread them apart creating a light green bone. It struck the center of the flaming ball with one end of the bone and twirled it around as it took control of the fire-type attack. It then tossed the bone and as Roserade was falling back down to the ground, the bone hurtled towards it and engulfed it in flames as it struck.
"Rose!" Roserade cried out in pain.
"Roserade, no!" Drew shouted, worried. Lucario jumped back and blew out the flames on the top of the bone before it disappeared. Darren smirked at Drew, silently taunting him. Drew growled, angered that his plan didn't work.
"Blaziken, use sky uppercut!" May called out.
"Ken!" Blaziken bellowed as both of its fists began to glow light blue and it dashed towards Lucario.
"Lucario, bone rush!" Darren commanded.
"Ar!" Lucario roared as it put its paws together and spread them apart creating a light green bone. It ran forward and used the bone to pole vault over Blaziken. May smirked knowingly at Darren's predictability.
"Blaze kick!" May called out.
"Blaze!" Blaziken bellowed as the end of its left leg blazed in flames and it outstretched its leg behind it as it struck Lucario in the back and sent it flying towards Roserade.
"Ar!" Lucario cried out in pain. Darren gritted his teeth in annoyance.
"Medicham, use high jump kick!" Daniel instructed.
"Cha!" Medicham shouted as it leapt into the air and struck Blaziken in the stomach with its left knee, knocking it back.
"Blaziken, use fire spin!" May called out.
"Blaziken!" Blaziken bellowed as it opened its mouth and released a spiralling flame from its mouth at Medicham. Medicham became surrounded by the flames as Blaziken regained its footing.
"Roserade, use sweet scent!" Drew ordered.
"Rade!" Roserade yelled as it held out its arms and released a light pink powder from its flowers, hoping to hit Lucario while it was down.
"Wow! Roserade learnt two new moves!" May cried, amazed.
"Of course. What did you expect?" Drew replied, smugly, as he flicked his hair.
"Force palm on the ground!" Darren commanded.
"Huh?" May and Drew said, in unison, confused. Darren smirked at their response.
"Cario!" Lucario roared as it fired a huge light green blast from its paw at the ground. The power from the blast made Lucario shoot up into the air, so as to avoid the attack, and also made the ground shake causing Blaziken to stumble backwards and be hit by the sweet scent instead.
"No way!" May cried, shocked.
"Whoa, look at that!" Max commented, surprised.
"That has to be the most amazing dodge I've ever seen!" Ash added, in awe. Misty elbowed him in the stomach causing him to look at her. She looked at Ash with disapproving eyes and a frown on her face while shaking her head at him. He sheepishly smiled back at her in response before they both returned their attention to the battle.
"Lucario, use metal claw!" Darren commanded.
"Car!" Lucario roared as the spikes on the tops of its paws began to glow white and grow, transforming into three claws. It ran forward and slashed Blaziken repeatedly while it was still under the effects of sweet scent.
"Come on, Blaziken, snap out it!" May shouted.
"Roserade, use solar beam on Lucario!" Drew ordered.
"Quick, Medicham, confusion!" Daniel instructed, immediately.
"Me-di!" Medicham shouted as it held out its hands and they became surrounded in light blue. Roserade became outlined in light blue as Medicham controlled it and lifted it into the air, preventing its attack.
"Rose!" Roserade cried as it struggled to get free. Meanwhile, Lucario was still attacking and Blaziken had been moving backwards, little by little, until it backed itself into the wall.
"Oh no..." May murmured, worried. Darren smirked, knowing this was the end.
"Force palm!" Darren commanded.
"Cario!" Lucario roared as it fired a huge light green blast from its paw at Blaziken, smashing it into the wall as it jumped away from the explosion. When the dust settled, Blaziken was on the floor, barely any energy left.
'What do I do?' May thought, panicking. Suddenly, she remembered a piece of advice that Misty gave her.
"It's not always about pokemon types or moves in a battle. It can also be about the personality of a pokemon as well as their trainer.
"That's right," May whispered when an idea came to her.
"Lucario, finish this with bone rush!" Darren commanded.
"Ar!" Lucario roared as it put its paws together and spread them apart creating a light green bone. It ran forward and sprinted towards Blaziken.
"Get up, Blaziken! Where's that burning spirit!?" May shouted, trying to get through to her pokemon. "You and I have been through a lot together, from when we first started on our journey up until now. Back then, you were just a tiny little torchic, but we got stronger together and you evolved into a combusken before finally evolving into a blaziken." May reminisced. "I know you can beat them, Blaziken. You're strong enough to do this and we will do this. Together." May finished.
"Bla." Blaziken muttered as it struggled to get up. Drew watched as Lucario got closer and closer to Blaziken. Roserade was still being controlled by Medicham's confusion and was unable to do anything.
"Please, Blaziken. Please don't give up," May pleaded, tears in her eyes, as she helplessly watched her pokemon in pain.
"May!" Drew yelled as Lucario was about to strike.
"Blaziken!" May screamed, desperately. Instantly, Blaziken's eyes shot open as it responded to its trainer's plea.
"Blaziken!" Blaziken roared as it shot up and its right fist ignited with flames. Lucario was so close that it didn't have time to dodge or counter, so it got punched in the gut and sent flying straight back into Medicham, engulfing them both in flames. When Medicham was hit by the attack, it lost its control over Roserade and Roserade plummeted to the ground. Blaziken instinctively ran out and allowed Roserade to gracefully land on its head.
"What move was that, Blaziken?" May questioned.
"I think Blaziken just learnt fire punch, May." Drew told her.
"You did? Awesome!" May cried. Lucario and Medicham got back up, but the fire punch left them both with burn after effects.
"Roserade, use sweet scent!" Drew ordered.
"Rade!" Roserade yelled as it held out its arms and released a light pink powder from its flowers causing Lucario and Medicham to faint momentarily as they were hit by the attack.
"Now, use mega drain!" Drew ordered.
"Roserade!" Roserade shouted as it stuck out its arms and released two green beams from the flowers on its hands at Lucario and Medicham.
"Ar! Cham!" Lucario and Medicham cried out, simultaneously, as they were drained of their energy. Darren and Daniel gritted their teeth and clenched their fists as they watched their pokemon's energy deplete. Drew smirked, knowing that both pokemon were reaching their limit.
"You ready to wrap this up, May?" Drew asked, looking at his partner.
"Let's do it." May replied as she turned to Drew and winked at him. "Blaziken, use overheat!" May called out.
"Blaz-iken!" Blaziken bellowed as its body turned a faint red and it released a white fire with a red-orange fire spiralling around it at its opponents.
"Roserade, solar beam!" Drew ordered.
"Rose!" Roserade yelled as it held its arms above its head and the flowers on the ends of its arms began to glow gold as it gathered energy. The flowers on its hands returned to their normal colour once the energy had been gathered and a gold orb of energy appeared in front of Roserade's flowers. It then fired a golden beam of energy at the overheat. The two attacks fused together to form a powerful, blinding attack.
"We're not done yet!" Darren cried. "Lucario, use aura sphere!" Darren commanded.
"Ari!" Lucario roared as it put its hands together and put all of its remaining strength into the attack, creating a giant blue ball of energy. Lucario then fired it at the solar heat.
"Medicham, use ice punch!" Daniel instructed.
"Medi-cham!" Medicham shouted as its right hand began to glow bluish-white. It focused all of its energy on its fist as it attacked with as much power as it could muster. As Medicham threw a punch at the aura sphere, its body became surrounded in an icy glow. A ball of ice hit the aura sphere and surrounded it forming an impressive icy sphere fusion move. The two combination moves collided with so much force that a massive tornado filled the entire stadium. The energy could not be contained and the blinding white tornado, with rings of fire and ice spinning around it, was emitted from the roof of the stadium and shot straight up into the sky.
"Ah!" Everyone cried as they all shielded their eyes from all the dust and debris that was being blown around. When the violent attack eventually subsided, all four pokemon were still standing. Roserade stood by Blaziken's side and Medicham stood by Lucario's, in front of their trainers. The four pokemon stared each other down as they refused to give in. This continued for a while until Lucario and Medicham looked at each other and began smirking. Seconds later, they fell flat on their faces and collapsed on the ground, knocked out.
"Lucario and Medicham are unable to battle. Blaziken and Roserade win! Which means the victors are May and Drew!" The referee declared.
"What!?" Darren and Daniel yelled, in unison, unbelievingly.
"And that's it! The winners of the Hearthome tag battle competition are May and Drew!" Enta announced as the crowd broke into huge cheers and applause.
"We…" Drew started.
"…won." May finished. The two came to a sudden realisation and turned to face each other with wide open mouth smiles on their faces. May couldn't contain her joy and jumped at Drew as she wrapped her arms around his neck. In response, Drew wrapped his arms around her waist and spun her around as they two laughed, incredulously. Blaziken and Roserade turned to each other and smiled before Blaziken fist bumped Roserade's right red rose hand with its left fist.
"Alright! They did it!" Dawn cheered.
"Those two sure make one amazing team." Misty commented as she looked at May and Drew.
"And now, our winners, May and Drew, will be presented with their prize!" Enta announced. "Now, I hear that you're both coordinators, so this should help you out." Enta told them as he gave them their prize. May was given a blue scarf and Drew was given a green scarf.
"Thank you very much, sir!" May and Drew replied, in unison. The two of them headed over to their friends with their prizes in hand.
"May!" Max shouted as he ran over and gave his sister a huge hug. She returned the hug before pulling away until he was at arm's length.
"Hey Max, what did you think of our battle?" May asked.
"That was the best battle I've ever seen! You two rocked!" Max praised.
"Aww, thanks Max." May responded, giving Max another hug.
"Nice work, Drew." Kenny complimented, giving Drew a hi-five.
"Thanks." Drew said as May and Max walked over to them.
"What have you got there?" Misty asked, gesturing to May and Drew's prizes.
"Oh these? These are scarves that are held by a pokemon during a contest which raises a certain trait of the pokemon. So, seeing as Blaziken has mainly beauty moves, I was given a blue scarf and since Roserade has mainly smart moves, Drew was given a green scarf. It increases the contest condition of a pokemon without the need for Poffins or Pokeblock." May explained.
"I see. That's pretty neat." Misty commented. The eight of them then went to say their goodbyes to the other trainers that they had made friendships with over the course of the competition. After losing their battle, Barry had left in a rush saying he had to do a lot more training to become stronger and Conway had left saying there was more data that he needed to collect, but not before saying goodbye to Dawn, of course.
After parting ways with the other trainers, the gang walked out of the stadium as they prepared to head back to the pokemon center.
"May!" Someone called as they grabbed her arm and pulled her aside. The others pretended to continue talking, but were secretly watching and listening in.
"What is it, Darren?" May asked.
"After that battle with you, I realised that you're quite the skilled trainer and I find that very attractive in a woman. So, how about it? Me, you, a date. I'll pick you up at 8." Darren told her, smirking, confidently. Drew grit his teeth and clenched his fists in annoyance.
"I'm sorry, didn't you hear? Egoistic loser isn't anyone's type," May insulted as she smiled sweetly at him and walked away. Darren's jaw dropped causing the others to snicker quietly to themselves.
'She rejected me.' Darren thought, incredulously. 'No-one's ever rejected me before and that's not going to start now.' Darren thought, angrily, as he gripped May's arm tightly. Drew was about to go and help May when he saw her expression change. She lowered her head, so that her hair covered her eyes, and her smile was replaced with a menacing smirk that sent chills down Drew's spine.
"Kya!" May shouted as she elbowed Darren in the stomach and span around to face him. She grabbed his shoulders and kneed him in the privates before pushing him over and placing one foot on his chest.
"I know what you're thinking, so let me clear this up for you." May said. "I'm not most girls and if you touch me again, you'll suffer a fate worse than death. Got it?" May threatened. Darren nodded mutely and May took her foot of him, allowing him to scramble up and run away. May smirked at his retreating figure before turning around to face a group of shocked expressions. Everyone's eyes were wide and their jaws nearly hit the floor. "What? You can't have a fire/fighting type as your number one partner without picking up a few moves." May told them, with a wink, as she walked over to them.
"Respect, May!" Misty cried as she gave May a hi-five. Once everyone got over that last scene, they headed back towards the pokemon center.
When they got back, the group decided that they would go out tonight to celebrate May and Drew's win, but for now they would rest.
"Hey Max, I'm going to go and call mum. You want to come with me?" May asked.
"You can talk to her first and then I'll talk to her after." Max told her.
"Okay then." May replied. "Drew, do you want to come with me?" May questioned.
"Sure." Drew responded as he and May walked over to one of the video phones in the pokemon center. May dialed in the number of the Petalburg gym and after a few seconds, a woman with brunette hair pulled into two side ponytails and blue eyes appeared on the screen.
"Hello, Petalburg gym." The woman answered.
"Hi, mum." May replied.
"May sweetie, how are you?" Caroline asked.
"I'm fine, thanks." May responded.
"Max told me about the tag battle competition. How was it?" Caroline inquired.
"It was great! Drew and I won!" May told her, happily.
"Drew?" Caroline questioned, until she looked to the left of May and saw a boy with green hair standing there. "Is that really you, Drew? My, how you've grown!" Caroline said.
"Hi, Mrs Maple." Drew greeted.
"Please sweetie, call me Caroline." Caroline insisted. "Besides, from what I hear, you'll be a part of the family soon," Caroline teased with a wink, making both May and Drew blush furiously. They glanced at each other, but quickly turned away, their blushes increasing. Upon seeing their reaction, Caroline decided that she and May needed to have a girl chat.
"Drew sweetie, do you mind if I talk to May alone?" Caroline asked, politely.
"Not at all. It was nice to see you again, Caroline." Drew replied. "I'll be in my room, okay May?" Drew told her. May nodded her head in response and smiled as she watched Drew go. When she turned back towards her mother, Caroline had a cheeky grin on her face.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" May questioned.
"Aww, my May has a boyfriend. How cute!" Caroline cooed causing May to blush again.
"He's not my boyfriend mum." May responded.
"Right. He's your future husband," Caroline stated, teasingly, with a mischievous glint in her eye.
"Mum!" May shouted at the screen as the blush returned to her cheeks causing Caroline to giggle. "We're just friends." May informed.
"But you want to be more right?" Caroline said, knowingly. The blush on May's cheeks intensified, but she made no further argument. Suddenly, something clicked in Caroline's mind.
"Something happened between you two, didn't it?" Caroline asked.
"What!? No it didn't!" May protested.
"Yes it did. The way you two blushed so much is not normal for two people who consider themselves as 'just friends'." Caroline told her. The look on May's face just gave her away. "I knew it! What happened May? Did you hug? Did you hold hands? Did you kiss? You have to tell me all the details!" Caroline insisted, getting closer to the screen with each question. May panicked as she started to glance around the room.
'What do I do? There's no way I'm telling mum this!' May thought when suddenly, Max came into view.
"Uh, sorry, got to go mum! Max wants to talk to you! Bye!" May cried, quickly dismissing her mother, as she grabbed Max and put him in front of the screen before running away.
'That was too close.' May thought as she sighed with relief and walked to her room.
That night, the boys were waiting outside the girls' room as the girls got ready to go out for dinner. All the boys were dressed in casual clothes rather than their normal daywear. Ash was wearing a red short-sleeved t-shirt, with a blue pokeball print on it, on top of a pair of blue jeans and red hi-tops. Brock was wearing a beige long-sleeved t-shirt, with the buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, on top of a pair of faded blue jeans and dark brown trainers. Max was wearing an olive green short-sleeved shirt underneath a dark green cardigan with the sleeves rolled up, on top of a pair of black jeans and black converse. Drew was wearing a short folded sleeve denim shirt, with the buttons done up, on top of a pair of black skinny jeans and black vans. Kenny was wearing a long sleeved dark blue shirt underneath a black sweater, on top of black jeans and dark blue converse.
"We're done." Dawn announced as she and Misty walked out of the room. Dawn was wearing a white short-sleeved ruffled shirt underneath a pink high-waisted skirt that ended mid-thigh and white converse. She had her hair curled and left loose with a white hair band on top. Misty was wearing a long-sleeved black crop top that ended just above her belly button and light blue shorts that ended mid-thigh, on top of a pair of black tights and short black leather boots. She had hair tied in her usual side ponytail.
"Where's May?" Drew inquired.
"She was the last to take a shower, so she's just getting ready." Misty replied as she and Dawn walked over to the boys. Drew walked over to the door and knocked on it.
"Come on, May. What's taking so long?" Drew questioned.
"I'll be right out!" May shouted back. Drew stepped away from the door as it opened. May stood in the doorway wearing a yellow strapless chiffon skater dress, with a sweetheart neckline, that ended just above the knee underneath a long-sleeved light blue denim jacket and red flats. She had a hair out of its usual dog ear style and was left loose with gentle curls. Drew just stared at her, unable to form words, making May worry.
"What? Is it my hair? I know it's not in my usual bandana, but I thought a change would be good. Maybe I just go get-" May started as she turned to head back inside the room, but was cut off by Drew as he grabbed a hold of her arm.
"No! You actually look really pretty without your bandana, May. You should leave your hair out more often." Drew complimented.
"Oh, thanks." May responded, blushing. "Shall we go?" May asked everyone as she started to walk ahead.
"Wait!" Drew called, making her turn back towards him. He walked up to her and presented her with a red rose.
"I forgot to give you one earlier for battling well in the tournament." Drew told her as May took the rose and placed it behind her ear. He smiled at that gesture, thinking it made her look even prettier.
"Where are we going to go?" Max wondered.
"Well, seeing as May and Drew won, I think they should choose." Brock suggested.
"I picked last time, so Drew can pick this time." May offered.
"Alright, I heard there's a great bar/restaurant around here called Pokegrill." Drew said. Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Let's go. I'm starving!" Ash complained causing the others to laugh as they walked off.
When they all got there, the girls chose to sit at a table on the patio outside the restaurant because the restaurant was on a hill in front of the ocean, so there would be a good view from there. Everyone looked at the menu and decided on what they were going to eat. Ash chose a beef burger with chips, Misty had a spicy pasta dish, Brock had some tomato soup with a side of bread, Max and Kenny shared a pepperoni pizza, May had a huge beef steak with chips, Drew had macaroni and cheese and Dawn had a Caesar salad.
"May, how can you eat so much?" Drew asked, astounded.
"I had two really hard battles today. Naturally, I worked up an appetite." May replied.
"You do know that it was the pokemon doing the battling, not you." Drew pointed out.
"Yeah, well, my pokemon and I worked together as a team. Besides, I'm a growing girl." May added.
"Right," Drew responded, sarcastically.
*whack*
"What was that for?" Drew questioned, rubbing the back of his head.
"I detected sarcasm in that response." Misty informed.
"But I didn't even insult her." Drew told her.
"True, but knowing you, you were just about to, so it was a precautionary mallet whack." Misty justified. Drew groaned, knowing he wouldn't win, making May giggle. Everyone started talking about where they were going to head next, until…
"Wow!" Brock shouted as he spotted a pretty waitress. He was about to get up when he remembered his previous conversation with Ash. Brock looked at Ash, who winked at him in response and nudged his head towards the waitress. Brock smiled at him and ran after her.
"I'll go." Max decided as he started to get up.
"Hang on, Max. Let him be this time." Ash said, looking at Brock with a sad smile on his face.
"Huh?" Max replied, confused, looking at Brock.
After eating, everyone decided what they were going to do next.
"Well, I'll stay here and keep an eye on Brock. What are you going to do?" Max asked.
"Kenny and I will stay here as well and we can all talk battle strategies." Ash suggested to which Max and Kenny nodded their heads in response.
"It's a nice night out, so I'm going to go take a walk. Want to come with, May?" Drew questioned.
"Sure." May responded, smiling. "What about you guys?" May inquired, looking at Misty and Dawn. The two shared knowing looks and nodded at each other.
"Oh, well we're pretty tired, so I think we'll just head back to the pokemon center." Dawn lied.
"Okay then." May said as she and Drew walked off. Once they were out of sight, Misty and Dawn quickly followed the direction they were heading in.
May and Drew kept walking until they reached the beach down by the ocean. May sat down on the sand and patted the sand next to her as Drew walked over and sat down on her left side. Misty and Dawn walked down the path to the beach and ran over to the tall grass. They ducked down and hid behind the grass, to keep out of sight, but secretly spied on May and Drew as they listened into their conversation.
"The ocean looks so pretty tonight." May commented, glancing at the sparkling waters.
"Come on out, Beautifly." May called. The black and yellow butterfly pokemon appeared from its pokeball.
"Hey, you too, Masquerain." Drew said. The light blue eyeball pokemon appeared from its pokeball.
"Beau! Mas!" Beautifly and Masquerain cried, simultaneously, as they flew towards each other. May and Drew smiled as their pokemon flew above them.
"Hey, May, was Beautifly the first pokemon you caught?" Drew asked.
"Yeah. You see, when we were heading to Rustboro City for Ash's gym battle, we passed by Rustboro hall. That's where I saw my first contest and there was a coordinator I met called Janet who had a Beautifly. At the time, I was still wary about pokemon, so we stayed to watch the contest and see what it was like. Max and I helped Janet with her performance and after seeing how Janet's Beautifly shined in both the appeals and battles, I decided that I was going to catch one of my own and become a coordinator." May explained.
"But, the fact that you get a pretty ribbon, when you win a contest, played a part in your decision, right?" Drew questioned, knowingly.
"Umm, maybe," May added, sheepishly, as she averted her eyes, making Drew roll his eyes as he shook his head at her.
"So, how did you catch Beautifly?" Drew inquired.
"Well, when we were passing through the forest one day, we came across a wurmple and I was determined to catch it, so that I could train it until it evolved into a Beautifly just like Janet's. The wurmple ran off so I chased after it when, as usual, Team Rocket decided to be annoying and get in my way by battling me for the wurmple. Since it was two against one, I was outnumbered, but a boy named Franklin stepped in and made them blast off with his Heracross. He then offered to help me seeing as I was pretty useless on my own." May replied.
"Naturally." Drew responded with a flick of his hair.
"Hey!" May cried, nudging him with her elbow, making Drew chuckle.
"I was just kidding. Sorry, please continue," Drew apologised as he let May continue.
"Anyway, as we search for the wurmple, I found some pecha berries and decide to get some. After I come back with the berries, we sit down to eat when Franklin spots a wurmple, so I prepare to catch it. Since I'd never caught a pokemon before, I just had Torchic tackle the wurmple before I threw a pokeball at it, but it easily escaped, so Franklin suggested I attack it using Torchic because fire types are good against bug types. I tell Torchic to use ember which weakens the wurmple and when I throw the pokeball at it this time, it stays caught. Then, I picked up the pokeball and started to celebrate, but Team Rocket steal my wurmple. Luckily for me, Franklin was there to help me out and we sent Team Rocket blasting off once again. Then, we went and found the others and I showed them my new wurmple. Ever since that day, Beautifly and I have been together." May finished.
"That's a cool story, May." Drew told her.
"Thanks. You know, Beautifly and I wouldn't even be together now if it wasn't for Franklin. I really do owe him a lot. I mean he was kind enough to help me, he was sweet, caring and kinda cute too…" May trailed off as she blabbed on about Franklin. Drew felt his fists tightening as he began to grit his teeth.
"Yeah well, he may have helped you to catch Beautifly, but I've given you lots of advice about coordinating, I've helped you out when Harley tried to trick you, I rescued you from Team Rocket and I've been there when you were feeling down. I've done a lot of things for you." Drew pointed out as he cut May off. He looked away from her and faced the ocean.
'Number 1 'Guys feel like they need to prove themselves, so he may talk about himself a lot' and number 5 'He will be jealous of other guys you talk about or may show an interest in' done for May.' Dawn thought to herself, smiling.
"I know that, Drew. You don't need to prove yourself to me. I'm-" May responded when she suddenly stopped as something clicked in her mind. Drew realised that she stopped short and turned to look at her only to be met by a smirk on May's face.
"What?" Drew questioned.
"You're jealous, aren't you?" May teased as she poked him in the arm.
"No I'm not!" Drew protested.
"Are too," May replied, in a sing-song voice.
"Am not!" Drew shouted as he moved his face closer to her.
"Are too!" May yelled, annoyed by his stubbornness, as she also moved her face closer to his.
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Am not!"
"Are to-" The two of them were now inches apart without them realizing. May was about to move closer when she spotted something moving out of the corner of her eye and stopped short. She pulled back and looked in the direction of where Misty and Dawn were hiding. Misty and Dawn quickly ducked down and hoped that she hadn't seen them.
"What's wrong, May?" Drew questioned.
"I thought I saw something…" May murmured as she recalled what she saw.
'Orange and blue?' May thought, confused, when she suddenly realised what it was. An annoyed look crossed her face until an idea came to mind and she began to grin, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"May?" Drew said, warily, seeing the look on her face.
"Hey Drew, can I borrow Masquerain a minute, please?" May asked.
"Why?" Drew inquired. May whispered her plan into Drew's ear, who smirked when he realised what she was about to do. Drew nodded in agreement with her plan and she winked at him.
"Beautifly, Masquerain, come here a second," May called, quietly, as the two pokemon flew over and she told them the plan.
"Do you think she saw us?" Dawn wondered.
"I hope not," Misty muttered.
"Go!" May suddenly commanded.
"Tifly!" Beautifly cried as it used psychic. Its eyes began to glow blue and Misty and Dawn became outlined in blue.
"Aaah!" Misty and Dawn screamed as Beautifly controlled them and lifted them up into the air.
"Mas!" Masquerain shouted as it used ice beam. A light blue ball formed above its head and it shot light blue beams from the ball at Misty and Dawn, freezing them. May and Drew walked over to them laughing.
"I should have known." May said, shaking her head. "Okay you two, silver wind!" May commanded.
"Beauti! Querain!" Beautifly and Masquerain shouted, in unison, as they flapped their wings and a gust of wind, with silver crescents in it, was released at Misty and Dawn, breaking the ice. The two of them shook their heads and wrapped their arms around themselves due to the sudden cold they were feeling. They then looked up and saw May and Drew looking at them with irked expressions on their faces.
"Oh, hi May, small world, huh?" Dawn replied, nervously.
"You were spying on us!" May cried.
"No we weren't!" Misty retorted.
"Oh yeah, then what would you call it? You sneaked up on us, eavesdropped on our conversation and even hid in tall grass." Drew stated.
"Yeah… well…" Misty trailed off, failing to think of an argument. "Okay fine, we were spying on you. We were just bored." Misty admitted.
"That's still no excuse. Go find something to do elsewhere." May told them as she pointed towards the pokemon center.
"Alright fine, we'll let you two continue you on your date, " Dawn teased, making May and Drew blush. Luckily for them, the darkness of the night helped to hide it. Misty and Dawn got up and started to walk away slowly, on purpose, which irritated May.
"Oh, what's that? I think I see two girls over there flirting with Ash and Kenny." May lied.
"What!?" Misty and Dawn shouted as they sprinted off towards the restaurant.
"That should keep them busy for a while." May said, giggling, as she and Drew sat back down on the sand and Beautifly and Masquerain continued playing.
"So Drew, was Roserade the first pokemon you caught?" May asked.
"Actually, I didn't catch Roserade." Drew confessed.
"Really? Then how did you get it?" May inquired. As soon as the words left her mouth, Drew's face hardened and his eyes darkened as he looked away from her. She guessed that it was a sensitive subject for him and that maybe she shouldn't have asked.
"Oh, Drew. I'm sorry, you don't have to-" May started but was cut off.
"No. I-I want to." Drew replied, still not looking at her. "My sister gave me Roserade when it was just a budew." Drew answered.
"Sister? I didn't know you had a sister." May said.
"That's just it. 'Had' is the key word here." Drew responded. "Her name was Rose Hayden and she was a renowned pokemon trainer." Drew stated.
'Rose Hayden. Where have I heard that name before?' May thought. 'Oh, I know!' May thought as she remembered something.
"I think I remember watching a news story on that when I was younger. Wasn't she the trainer who was killed in that freak storm?" May questioned.
"Right. It all started when I was 8 years old." Drew told her as he remembered his past.
Flashbacks
"And it's another win for Rose Hayden!" The host announced. "This is her third league win in a row! She is definitely a formidable trainer." The host complimented.
"Alright! She won!" A young Drew cheered as he sat at home and watched his sister compete in the Johto League on TV.
"Yes and when she comes home, you can learn how to be a great trainer just like your sister." Drew's mother told him.
"Okay!" Drew replied, excited.
….
"So, I waited at home, anticipating my sister's return so that she could teach me all about pokemon battles." Drew said as he continued.
….
The door of Drew's house opened and in walked Rose.
"I'm home!" Rose called.
"Rose!" Drew shouted as he ran up to her and gave her hug.
"Hi Drew." Rose responded as she hugged him back and ruffled his hair. "Now, a little birdie told me that you want to learn all about pokemon battles, is that right?" Rose asked.
"Yeah!" Drew cried, his smile bright, making Rose giggle.
"Alright then, come on, I'll give you your first lesson." Rose told him as she and Drew went to the back garden. "Okay, now I think it would be best if you tried battling first to see how you are with it. Here, I'll let you borrow my Umbreon and I'll use Espeon." Rose decided as she released her two pokemon. The black and yellow dog-like pokemon and the lilac quadruped, mammalian pokemon appeared from their pokeballs. "Umbreon, I'm getting Drew used to battling, so I want you to be his partner for this battle, okay?" Rose instructed. Umbreon nodded in response as it ran over to Drew.
"What moves can it use?" Drew inquired.
"It can use sand attack, shadow ball, psychic and flash." Rose informed. "Do you remember the advantages and disadvantages of different pokemon types?" Rose questioned.
"Yep." Drew responded.
"Then let's begin." Rose decided. "Espeon, use quick attack!" Rose commanded.
"Espe!" Espeon cried as it ran at fast speed towards Umbreon, leaving a white trail behind it.
"Umbreon, use flash!" Drew ordered.
"Bre!" Umbreon roared as the yellow rings on its body began to light up and glow brightly, giving off a bright light.
"Spin and use tackle!" Rose commanded.
"Pe!" Espeon cried as it somersaulted through the flash, unaffected, and then unfurled as it tackled Umbreon head on.
"No way!" Drew shouted.
"It was a good defence tactic, Drew, but you're going to have to do better than that to beat me." Rose told Drew, making him grit his teeth.
"Umbreon, use shadow ball!" Drew ordered.
"Umbre!" Umbreon roared as it opened its mouth and formed a black and purple ball in front of it. It then fired it at Espeon.
"Dodge!" Rose commanded. Espeon easily jumped out of the way, making Drew clench his fists.
"Keep firing shadow balls until it hits!" Drew ordered.
"Umbre!" Umbreon roared as it opened its mouth and formed a black and purple ball in front of it. It then fired it at Espeon and repeated this process many times.
"Keep dodging!" Rose commanded. Espeon gracefully jumped around, like a ballerina, as it dodged Umbreon's shadow balls, easily. A small smile formed on Rose's face, seeing a younger version of herself in Drew.
….
"This carried on for a while, but even though I was really excited about it, something happened." Drew added.
….
As the battle progressed, Rose noticed the spark in Drew's spirit had diminished. She decided to test this theory. Both pokemon were tired and had nearly reached their limit.
"Espeon, use swift!" Rose commanded.
"Peon!" Espeon cried as it opened its mouth and yellow stars shot out of its mouth at Umbreon.
"Psychic," Drew ordered, unenthusiastically. Rose picked up on this and frowned.
"Breon!" Umbreon roared as its eyes began to glow light blue and the stars became outlined in blue. It then sent them flying back towards Espeon.
"Finish it with quick attack!" Rose commanded.
"Espe!" Espeon cried as it ran at fast speed towards the attack, leaving a white trail behind it. It leapt up and jumped from star to star as it raced across. It closed in on Umbreon and hit it, knocking it out.
"You win," Drew muttered as he sat down on the grass. Rose sighed and walked over to him. She took a seat next to him and put her arm around him.
"What's the matter, Drew?" Rose asked.
"I don't know. I was all into the battle at first, but then I became bored with it." Drew admitted, playing with the grass.
"I thought so. This means that being a pokemon trainer just isn't for you." Rose told him.
"But, what will I do!" Drew cried, worried, as he looked up at her.
"Don't worry, Drew. There are other career paths for you to follow, you just need to find the right one, that's all." Rose reassured.
"Like what?" Drew inquired.
"Well, there's too many to go through right now." Rose replied as she thought of an idea. "Tell you what. I'm staying for another week, so let me have a think and I'll get back to you, okay?" Rose suggested.
"Okay, thanks!" Drew responded, hugging his older sister. She laughed and ruffled his hair.
"Drew! Rose! Dinner's ready!" Their mother called.
"Oh boy!" Drew shouted as he ran inside, making Rose laugh again as she followed him.
….
"So, for the next week, whenever I did something I always found that Rose was there watching me and I didn't understand why until that one day." Drew explained.
….
"Hey Drew, do you want to come on a trip with me?" Rose questioned.
"Sure." Drew replied.
"Mum! Drew and I are going out for a while! We'll be back in time for dinner!" Rose called.
"Okay, be safe!" Their mother shouted back.
"Come on out, Altaria!" Rose beckoned. The blue phoenix pokemon appeared from its pokeball. Rose put Drew on Altaria and got on behind him as she told Altaria to fly.
"Where are we going?" Drew asked.
"You'll see when we get there." Rose responded.
….
"Cool! Your sister had an altaria!" May cried, in awe, making Drew chuckle.
"Yeah. It was the first pokemon she caught, actually, back when it was a swablu." Drew told her before he resumed telling her about his past.
….
After flying for about half an hour, Altaria finally landed in front of a big building. Rose dismounted and lifted Drew off Altaria as she placed him on the ground.
"Thanks, Altaria. Return." Rose thanked her pokemon as she returned it to its pokeball.
"Where are we?" Drew asked.
"This is Lilycove City and this is a contest hall." Rose responded.
"A contest hall?" Drew said, confused.
"Right. This is where pokemon coordinators compete. Coordinators are similar to trainers except when they battle, they focus more on the beauty of the moves rather than the power." Rose informed. "Let's go take a look, shall we?" Rose suggested. Drew nodded his head in response and the two of them walked inside. As they sat down in the stands, a woman with orange hair and blue eyes, who was wearing a pink puffy dress, came out on stage.
"Hello everyone, and welcome to the Lilycove contest! My name is Vivian and I'll be your MC!" Vivian announced as the crowd broke out into cheers. "Here are our judges. Chief of the pokemon activities committee, Mr Contesta!" Marian announced.
"It's great to be here." Mr Contesta replied.
"President of the pokemon fan club, Mr Sukizo!" Marian announced.
"Remarkable!" Mr Sukizo responded, loudly.
"And finally, our very own, Nurse Joy!" Marian announced.
"It's nice to see all the coordinators and their pokemon." Nurse Joy commented.
"Okay, our first contestant is Marie!" Vivian called as the curtain was raised. There stood a girl with long brown hair, tied in a high ponytail, and hazel eyes. She was wearing a yellow blouse and pink leggings with pink flats.
"Roserade, on stage!" Marie called. The green rose pokemon appeared from its pokeball.
"Roserade, use weather ball!" Marie instructed.
"Rose-rade!" Roserade shouted as it held its arms up and created an orange ball with fire streams around it before throwing it up into the air.
"Now, use magical leaf!" Marie instructed.
"Rose!" Roserade shouted as it stuck out its hands and released glowing light green leaves from the flowers at the end of its arms. The leaves struck the fiery ball and each leaf became surrounded in fire.
"Mega drain on the leaves!" Marie instructed.
"Roserade!" Roserade shouted as it stuck out its arms and released a green beam from the flowers on its hands at the flaming leaves, encasing each leaf in a green glow.
"Finish it with poison sting!" Marie instructed.
"Rade!" Roserade shouted as it released a spray of multiple purple darts at the leaves, resulting in a multi-coloured firework display. Marie and Roserade bowed, simultaneously, as their performance came to an end and the crowd broke out into cheers and applause.
"Wow!" Drew cried, his eyes sparkling at the sight. Rose smiled, knowing she made the right decision.
"So Drew, is this what you want to do?" Rose inquired.
"You bet!" Drew replied, excited. "But, how did you know?" Drew questioned.
"Well, over the past week, I've been watching you in everything that you do and picked up on a few things. First of all, when it comes to drawing and colouring pictures, you're very meticulous about it. You pay great attention to detail and are always careful to stay inside the lines. Second, when you watch pokemon battles on TV, I can see you narrow your eyes every now and again as you criticize the way a pokemon moves and how it attacks and defends. Finally, you love things of beauty, like mum's flowers at home. From all of that, I figured that being a pokemon coordinator would be the perfect career path for you." Rose explained. Drew nodded his head in agreement and turned back to watch the rest of the contest.
….
"So, that's why you became a coordinator?" May asked.
"Yeah. Without my sister's help I wouldn't have become one." Drew said.
"Well, she made a good decision then because you're so passionate about coordinating." May replied. "Anyway, you still haven't explained how you got Roserade." May told him.
"Right. My sister went on another journey the next day and all the way up until I was 10 I would watch her battles, as well as watch contests and research as much about them and pokemon as I could. However, I could always tell that my parents judged me for wanting to become a coordinator rather than a trainer, but I paid it no mind. Until the day I set out on my journey." Drew responded as he remembered another memory from his past.
….
Drew was standing outside of the house as he prepared to set off on his journey. His parents were standing in the doorway, along with Rose, who had come to see her brother off.
"Okay, well I better get going." Drew said.
"You make sure you stay safe now and call us when you can." Their mother responded.
"We're very proud of you, Drew, so go out there and be the best you can be." Their father encouraged.
"I will, dad." Drew replied.
"Here, Drew. I wanted to give you something to help you out on your journey, so I caught this for you when I was in Sinnoh." Rose told him as she placed a pokeball in his hands.
"Cool! My first pokemon!" Drew cheered as he opened the pokeball and a green rosebud pokemon appeared from its pokeball.
"That's called a budew and with enough training it will eventually evolve into Roserade, just like the one you saw at the Lilycove contest." Rose informed.
"Thanks Rose!" Drew cried, gratefully, as he gave her hug. He released her and returned the budew to its pokeball.
"You're welcome. Now, go have fun and make good memories." Rose responded as she waved goodbye to him.
"Bye!" Drew called as he waved back and walked off. However, he knew in the back of his mind that Rose was the only one that was genuinely happy for him, so when they weren't looking, he hid by the side of the house and listened in to their conversation through the open window.
"Why did you have to let him go like that?" Their father questioned, annoyed as they walked inside the house.
"If you hadn't taken him to that contest then he would have become a trainer just like he wanted to. I mean, what will we tell people!?" Their mother added.
"Is that all you really care about? Drew didn't want to become a pokemon trainer, so he became a coordinator, just like how I became a trainer." Rose replied. Their mother muttered something incomprehensible that Drew couldn't hear, but Rose managed to hear it and her nose turned up in disgust.
"How can you say that!? You're so sexist!" Rose shouted, angered.
"No, it's our views. Only boys should be trainers and only girls should be coordinators." Their mother stated.
"Grrr! I can't believe you! Look, I only came home for Drew, so I'm not staying here any longer than I have to. Goodbye!" Rose yelled as she slammed the door and left in a huff. Drew gritted his teeth and clenched his fists in frustration.
'I'll prove you wrong, mum and dad.' Drew thought, determined as he set off on his journey.
….
"I see now. Your sister was the one who gave Roserade to you." May said.
"That's right. Roserade and I have been number one partners ever since." Drew told her.
"Aww, that's nice." May replied. "But, if you don't mind me asking, what happened to your sister?" May inquired, cautiously.
"Well, it happened a couple of weeks after my first contest." Drew responded as he told May about that fateful day.
….
Drew entered the Verdanturf pokemon center and walked up to Nurse Joy.
"Hi, Nurse Joy. Could you take care of my pokemon please?" Drew questioned.
"Of course." Nurse Joy replied. She took in his appearance and remembered a previous conversation that she had earlier. "Excuse me, but are you Drew Hayden?" Nurse Joy asked.
"Yes." Drew responded.
"Oh, you have a phone call." Nurse Joy informed as she showed him to the video phone.
"Thank you." Drew thanked Nurse Joy as she walked off. He answered the call and Drew's parents appeared on the screen. They both had sombre expressions on their faces which made Drew worry.
"Mum? Dad? What's wrong?" Drew inquired. Drew's mother and father looked at each other before turning back towards Drew.
"It's Rose." Drew's mother said. As soon as those words left his mother's mouth, he dashed out of the pokemon center and got on the nearest ferry back to LaRousse City. Within a few hours, he was there. As soon as he got off the ferry, he raced back to his house to find out what the problem was.
"Mum? Dad?" Drew called as he walked through the door.
"Drew!" Drew's mother cried as she hugged him tight and started to cry.
"Mum? What's wrong with Rose?" Drew asked. As soon as the question left his lips, his mother let go of him and looked down at the floor. Drew's father knew she couldn't bring herself to tell him, so he stepped in for her.
"Your sister watched your contest on TV while she was in Kanto and she felt really bad when you lost, so she took Altaria and they flew over to come and see you." Drew's father told him.
"But that was two weeks ago. I haven't seen her." Drew replied.
"Well, seeing as you have been travelling around, you may not have seen the news. The day your sister left, she called us and we warned her about a storm that was supposed to occur that day but she didn't want to listen. She was so determined to come and see you, so she left the same day, but the storm grew worse and both she and Altaria were struck down. Their bodies washed up on shore the next day, but they were already gone." Drew's father informed. Drew gasped as he felt himself tearing up.
"No… you're lying..." Drew whispered.
"I wish we were Drew," Drew's mother murmured. Having to accept the truth, he asked the awful question.
"When's the funeral?" Drew inquired. Drew's mother looked at Drew's father and he nodded.
"It was yesterday." Drew's father responded. Drew forgot all about his sadness and suddenly grew angry.
"What!? You had the funeral without me!" Drew yelled.
"Well, you were busy with your coordinating and we didn't want to upset you-" Drew's mother reasoned, but was cut off Drew.
"Don't give me that! I know you hated the fact that I became a coordinator and Rose became a trainer. I secretly listened in to your conversation the day I left and now you're making us pay for 'going against the norms of society'. How could you do that, you miltank!?" Drew shouted, furious.
"Drew, don't talk to your mother like that!" Drew's father scolded. "Your mother and I did what we thought was best." Drew's father stated.
"That's a load of crap and you know it!" Drew spat harshly. "From this point on, I have no parents. I couldn't care less if you were dead. I HATE YOU!" Drew screamed as he ran out of the house and slammed the door. He sprinted all the way to the LaRousse City cemetery and found Rose's grave. The tombstone was enough proof to make him realise that this was not a dream, but reality. His body started to tremble as tears began to brim at his eyes. He collapsed onto the floor and started to blubber uncontrollably.
"Why did you leave me!?" Drew cried.
End Flashbacks
"Oh Drew…" May murmured, sorrow filling her heart. Drew looked down as he let his hair cover his eyes.
"I-I didn't even get t-to say goodbye," Drew croaked as tears streamed down his face.
"Drew, come here," May said, sympathetically, as she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him towards her. All the barriers that he had previously put up crumbled as he completely broke down. Sobs racked his body as he cried into her shoulder. She left her right arm wrapped around his mid-section and used her left hand to stroke his hair in an attempt to calm him down.
"It'll be okay," May whispered in his ear. The action made Drew's body tense, but eventually he let his guard down as he slowly wrapped his arms around her waist, tightly, and his sobs began to subside. After he stopped crying, he loosened his grip on her and buried his nose in her hair, taking in deep breaths as her scent filled his nose, making him feel at peace. May blushed at this but continued to hold onto him, enjoying their closeness.
'This feels like déjà vu.' May thought.
"Why did she leave me, May?" Drew mumbled into her hair.
"She didn't want to, but that was what fate decided." May replied.
"It was my fault though, wasn't it?" Drew said as he released his hold on her and looked at the ocean. "That's why my parents didn't let me go to her funeral." Drew figured.
"Drew, it was an accident. No-one could have done anything about it." May reassured. "Your parents were wrong to do what they did. No matter what, everyone should get the chance to say goodbye." May stated.
"Yeah, but if I'd just worked harder, then I wouldn't have lost, she wouldn't have flown over to see me and she would still be alive. My parents were right. I should never have become a coordinator," Drew admitted, sadly.
"Hey!" May shouted as she grabbed Drew's chin with her right hand thumb and forefinger and turned his head towards her so that she could look him in the eye. Drew's face displayed a mix of surprise and confusion at her sudden outburst. "You worked as hard as you could to prepare for that contest, but as you said, there's always someone better and at that time it was Solidad because she had more experience you. Plus, even if you did win, I think that your sister would still have flown over so that she could congratulate you. As for the timing, she could have waited, but even after the warning from her parents, she still decided to fly." May told him. "She must be where you get your stubbornness from." May commented, making Drew give a small chuckle. "Besides, I for one think that your parents were wrong. Sure, you could have become a pokemon trainer, but ask yourself this. Would you have been happy?" May asked. Drew thought about this for a while before he came to his answer.
"No." Drew concluded.
"Right. Just look how far you've come Drew. You may not have won any ribbon cups yet, but you've gotten to the finals of the Grand Festival before, you've met loads of good rivals, you even have your own group of fans." May listed, making Drew smile a bit. "But, most of all, you've made loads of amazing memories, just like Rose wanted. With the gang, with Solidad... with me…" May managed to choke out as a silent tear slid down his cheek.
"Hey, why are you crying?" Drew asked as he wiped the tear away with his thumb.
"I-I just hate to see you like this. I don't want you to give up on coordinating, but in the end it's your decision. Plus, seeing you upset, makes me upset with your parents and your sister. I mean I still complain about Max when I have all my family and friends and I just don't realise how lucky I really am because I'm just selfish and ungrateful and-" May babbled when she was cut off by Drew pulling her into a tight hug. He wrapped his arms around her waist as she wrapped her arms around his neck and began to weep.
"I'm sorry. I'm acting like such an idiot." May apologised as she laughed a little.
"No, no it's okay. It's actually really sweet to know that you care." Drew told her, honestly.
"Of course I care about you Drew, you're my best friend, why wouldn't I?" May said, confused, as she pulled back slightly.
"I know that, May, I was just saying." Drew responded as May wiped her eyes.
"Out of curiosity, how old would you sister have been?" May inquired.
"She would have been 24, a week from now." Drew answered as he brushed the hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear."
"Oh." May replied. "You know, your sister would have been proud of you." May told him.
"Yeah." Drew breathed, a small smile on his face. "I think you were right when you said that Rose would be happy I made lots of memories, but do you want to know what my favourite memory is?" Drew questioned.
"What's that?" May wondered.
"Meeting you," Drew murmured as he leaned his forehead on May's, making them both blush a bit.
"Me too." May replied, smiling. The two hugged again and sat down by the beach for a little while longer as they watched the ocean in peaceful silence.
When the two became tired, they headed back to the pokemon center and Drew walked May to her room.
"Hey Drew, is your sister the reason why roses are your favourite flower?" May asked as they stopped in front of her door.
"Yeah. My sister was the only person that was there for me and supported me in everything I did, so after she died, I would give roses to people who were special to me like she was." Drew informed.
"That's nice." May replied, smiling.
"You want to know a secret?" Drew whispered as he placed his right hand by the side of his mouth and leaned in towards her.
"Sure." May responded as she leaned in towards him.
"Red roses are given to the most special person in my life." Drew told her with a wink as he produced a red rose from nowhere and gave it to her. May blushed slightly as she took the red rose from his hands and was left speechless. She focused on the rose, unable to look him in the eye, as she realised what he meant.
"And May?" Drew said causing May to look up at him. "Thanks. For everything. I've never told anyone about my past. Not even Solidad." Drew confessed as he kissed her on the cheek and pulled back, smiling, with a red blush on his face and walked back to his room, leaving a dumbfounded May blushing madly outside her room. Once she came to her senses, she checked her watch to see what time it was.
'11:30pm. Wow, we stayed out pretty late. The others must be asleep.' May thought as she slowly opened the door and saw all the lights off. She quietly closed the door behind her and leaned against it as she released a happy sigh. Suddenly, the lights flicked on and Misty and Dawn were in her face.
"Um, hello," May greeted, nervously.
"And where have you been, missy?" Dawn inquired.
"Do you know what time it is?" Misty playfully scolded. May gulped, knowing where this was heading.
"I know it's late, but I'm pretty exhausted from battling today, so I think I'm just going to- Aaah!" May started but was cut off as Dawn dragged her to her bed.
"No way. We have been waiting up all night for you, so you are going to spill and tell us everything." Dawn told her. May sighed, knowing they would never let her sleep until she did.
"Well, I had a really nice time tonight. Drew opened up to me and I feel like we really connected on an emotional level." May replied.
'Number 15 'He's willing to open up to you' done. Three in one night, nice going, Drew.' Dawn thought.
"Why all the blushing?" Misty asked, slyly.
"Uh well, we did hug quite a bit and he did lean his forehead on mine at one point. Plus, he gave me another rose and said that he gives red roses to the most special person in his life before kissing me on the cheek and walking off to his room." May admitted, blushing furiously, as she looked down and played with the petals of the rose, smiling.
"Aww, sounds like someone's in love!" Dawn cooed.
"What!? No I'm not!" May protested.
"May and Drew, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G," Misty teased.
"Shut up!" May shouted as she got into bed and covered herself with her blanket. Misty rolled her eyes and Dawn started giggling.
"Night guys." Dawn said as she turned off the lights in their room.
Drew walked into his room, a happy grin plastered on his face. Ash, Brock and Max were asleep, but Kenny was still awake, reading a book on coordinating.
"Looks like someone had a good night." Kenny commented, smirking.
"Like you wouldn't believe." Drew responded, in too much of a daze to think of a comeback.
'I'm so going to tease him about this later.' Kenny thought, sniggering, as he put his book down before turning off the lights.
Hope you guys enjoyed it! This is the longest chapter I have ever written! The reason why I'm updating quicker than before is because I have a lot of revision to do over the Easter holidays, so I may not update again for the next few weeks. Sorry = ( Please R&R!
xBandanaRosesx