disclamation: I still do not own the 'Pokémon' anime, nor do I own this plotline. the only thing in this fanfiction I truly own is the fanfiction, itself, along with the rating of the fanfiction.

Two weeks flew by in a flash, and before I even knew it, it was the day of the pokémon contest in Slateport City.

I had registered for the contest a week early, so I was content to stay at my resort hotel and do a little training for myself here and there. But not too much because Roselia was in the best shape she had probably ever been in her life. She barely needed much training for the contest at all.

Of course, I also took the time to watch my competition practice on the beach… if I could even call them my competitors. I had used the term competition lightly when referring to the other contestants in this contest.

All of them were just as hopeful as child-like as that one girl… what's her name? The girl in the red bandana? I had not even seen her all week.

Now it was the day of the contest, and I had not even seen her name on the registration list. It was just minutes before the deadline to enter the Slateport pokémon contest.

Perhaps, she had wised up and left town with her friends, opting against even entering the contest and pokémon coordinating altogether, after all. I chose not to dwell on it, however. I simply went backstage with Roselia where I did some last minute preparations on her, patiently waiting for my turn to show her off on the appeals stage.

I had laughed to myself more than a few times throughout the week while watching others trained their pokémon for this contest. Some of them brought out some fairly decent pokémon, but the majority summoned common folk's pokémon such as Zigzagoons and Seedots. Stun Spores and Growls filled the public beach every day for the last fourteen days.

I could not even believe that this contest was even real, but I learned in my previous year on the contest circuit that this was how things were supposed to be around the beginning. The competition typically started to get serious around the end of the season, when the Grand Festival was near and on approach.

a little while later

I was heading down the hall back to the common room for the coordinators backstage from a bathroom run before the contest began… I would always drink too much coffee in the mornings of my contest days. That was when I heard a few voices coming from a spare locker room with the door wide open.

Boy's voice: Hey, May. May!

Another boy's voice: Hello, May!

What the?

I peeked my head around the door for a brief second, and sure enough, there she was.

May: Huh, what? What's wrong?

Little Kid Wearing Glasses: Are you OK? You look so nervous.

May tried her hardest to convince her friends that she was not nervous.

May: No! No, no, no. I'm not nervous, at all.

But from the sound of it, they did not exactly buy her words of false confidence. It sounded like the tall guy knew better than to believe her, at least. I knew that I certainly did not buy her false confidence. She was completely radiating with anxiety.

Tall Guy: It's understandable. Although you performed with Janet before, this is really the first time you've been on stage all by yourself.

Who was this Janet the tall guy was talking about?

May: I've never been this scared, ever.

Boy in Blue: Stay calm, 'cuz your pokémon feel the way you do.

At least, her friends all seemed to know how she needed to feel in this contest. It was a step in the right direction for her and very good advice to anyone who was lacking in confidence, but I just could not let go of it seeming to me like May needed her friends just to point that one little fact about coordinating out for her.

May: Really? They do?

Judging by the words that escaped through her lips right then and there, May seemed as though she was completely new to this sort of thing, even to training. She really was hopelessly clueless. I even bet my bottom dollar that that had something to do with the way she battled during their mock contest battle just two weeks prior. Just then, May's Beautifly flew down and landed atop its trainer's head.

May: Do you, Beautifly?

Boy in Blue: That's what Mr. Big was telling you about. If a trainer feels nervous, then the pokémon'll feel just as nervous.

The boy in blue's Pikachu nodded its head from its perch on its trainer's right shoulder and spoke its name in agreement. I knew the boy in blue was right. But, I began to wonder just who they all got this advice from. The boy in the blue outfit with the Pikachu riding his right shoulder called whomever it was Mr. Big.

They'd also mentioned this Mr. Big before during the mock contest battle. He must have been the person they knew who needed those bluk berries two weeks ago.

Tall Guy: Remember; you've worked really hard to get to this contest, May. Everything will be fine as long as you stay calm.

Boy in Blue: And, Beautifly, I know you'll show 'em how a perfect Silver Wind is done.

Little Kid Wearing Glasses: Good luck, you guys. You'll be great.

So they think. If by whatever miracle she makes it through the preliminaries, I suppose I'd have no choice but to discourage her from contests in the battle round. That is, assuming whomever she battles on the first battle stage doesn't squash her before I can even get the chance.

The first hour was just as boring as I had expected it to be. It was nothing more than Shroomishes spreading Stun Spores, Wingulls doing flips and figure eights, and Bellossoms dancing about. Nothing at all was very spectacular about even one of the acts. The audience cheered anyway, however. I supposed they were just excited about the contest getting started.

Still, as mediocre at best as I found all of these performances to be, none of these coordinators came even close to doing any worse than that one contest from Rustboro City's Pokémon Contest Hall just a couple months prior. I could not believe the very last entrant in that contest was poorly prepared enough for that contest to score a zero, of all numbers, from the judges. What was she even thinking entering that contest at all? These coordinators in Slateport City's Pokémon Contest might not have been jaw-droppingly incredible, but I will give this much to them all; at least, they all seem to have practiced a lot with their pokémon, unlike that Jessica from the Rustboro Contest's final appeal performance. I was willing to bet all of the money I had ever earned in my life that she probably did not even know what attacks that Seviper of hers could even learn at all, never mind use. Now, that appeal of hers was less of an actual contest appeal and more of an amateur comedy routine turned circus act. She deserved that zero she given by the judges.

Suddenly, the official came back into the common room to gather another trio of coordinators on standby. They frantically read over their clipboard.

Official: Contestants twenty-three, twenty-four, and twenty-five, please line up for your appeals.

I rose out of my seat and walked through the tunnel as the girl before him, contestant twenty-three, finished her performance. She and her Spinda pulling off an at least above-average Sunny Day. Definitely one of the better appeals of the entire contest. It was too bad for all of them I was about to steal the whole show.

When my name was called, I casually strode center stage and let the limelight rain down on me. I was definitely in my element in this contest, and I threw the camera a smirk, knowing full well that May was watching me from backstage. I could practically sense that she was talking about me backstage, as well. I could also sense for whatever reason that she probably said something like;

May: That Drew. Thinks he's so great.

I would show just how great I was, alright.

Yours Truly: Oh, yeah? Roselia, Go!

Roselia made a perfect entry from within her pokéball. She then floated in the air elegantly while waiting for my command.

Yours Truly: Now, use Petal Dance!

Roselia complied to my command. Only a few seconds later, the entire arena was swarmed with beautiful, sparkly pink petals and the sweet, alluring smell of roses.

Vivian Meridian, the contest MC, spoke complimentary of Roselia's Petal Dance.

Vivian: Roselia takes the stage with a simply gorgeous Petal Dance. Just fabulous.

It was perfect alright, but I was not finished just yet… not by a long shot. Now, I was determined to show these newcomers a real Stun Spore attack.

Drew: Next, use Stun Spore!

Roselia complied to my command and unleashed the beautiful, but dangerously paralyzing golden dust of a grass attack from her rose blooms for hands while spinning in her motion just a like a spinning top.

Yours Truly: Add Magical Leaf!

Roselia obeyed my command and fired off many brightly lit, yet exceedingly sharp and deadly leaves from her rose bloom for a left hand.

Vivian: Outstanding! Magical Leaf and Stun Spore. They've completely won over the audience with their precise teamwork.

I was fully aware that I had already done more than enough to earn a solid score, but I had a point to prove to May and the other newbies watching from backstage at that moment.

Yours Truly: And now, it's time to finish up. Roselia, use Petal Dance!

Roselia complied to my command, but suddenly seemed to vanish into her own attack. Now, was the time for me to call for my pokémon's next attack command in their appeal.

Yours Truly: Magical Leaf!

Wherever she was, Roselia sliced through her own Petal Dance with the Magical Leaf she managed to fire off, and the petals from her Petal Dance were shredded to bits of flower petal in the air.

After this happened, Roselia reappeared in the same bowing position as me. The audience roared in applause. I flicked my hair in acknowledgement of their appreciation.

Yours Truly: Perfect. What'd you expect?

Vivian: So now, we await the judges opinion of that excellent performance.

Raoul Contesta, the head of the Pokémon Contest Committee, gave me a nine-point-eight out of ten. Mr. Sukizo, the president of the Pokémon Enthusiast Club, awarded me the coveted nine-point-nine. The Nurse Joy of Slateport City gave me a score of nine-point-seven. Doing the math correctly, Roselia and I were awarded a twenty-nine-point-four for our efforts.

Vivian: Twenty-nine-point-four! That's the highest score yet.

Then, MC Vivian turned towards the judges to hear what they thought of it. She chose to start with Nurse Joy and then work her way over.

Vivian: Your comments?

Nurse Joy: That was a great combination.

Mr. Sukizo: Ah, it was remarkable.

Contesta: And as for me, I was impressed with their great use of the entire stage.

I was proud of my final score. I may not have gotten a perfect score, but that was only because I had not been trying hard enough for one. I did not need a perfect score, though. I knew I was bound to sail through the preliminaries, guaranteed.

backstage

I found May in the same place I had last seen her, but this time, she was all alone. Her friends were most likely kicked out by the officials since none of them were even competing at all. Therefor, there was no need for any of them to be backstage.

Now that May was by herself, she looked even more shaken up than before. She kept her eyes downcast, and there was no doubt she was afraid to keep watching the competition from the locker room's screen after seeing my performance. Her Beautifly was perched atop her head, no doubt it was trying to comfort her about her nearly crippling lack of confidence. It did not seem like it was working very well.

Perfect!

Yours Truly: Yo.

May suddenly looked up at me as though she had not even heard me come into the same room as her.

Yours Truly: I see you made it.

May: Hello, Drew.

'Hello, Drew.'? That was it? That was all? No witty remark? No comment about my performance? I could see that I would have to work a little more to get a rise out of May, this time. That was just fine, however, and I was up for that challenge, anyway. What if I tried something like…

Yours Truly: I trust you caught our performance. That was, heh, some true art.

May quickly inhaled sharply, her nerves twisting into a raging fury.

May: What do you want? Did you just come here to brag?

Bingo. It was part of my reason, but there was another reason I went to see May.

Yours Truly: No. As a great coordinator, I came here to cheer you on. See, I want you to make it to at least the preliminary round.

May then stood up straight to meet my own height.

May: Well, then just watch me, oh great one.

Before I could reply to May, however, we suddenly heard the crowd in the stadium going wild again as they did during my performance.

Vivian: And, now, the next coordinator to take the stage, number thirty-eight, Robert.

He was a blonde man with blue eyes in a purple suit with an orange tie.

Robert: Now, Milotic, let's use Safe Guard.

Robert's pokémon, which was indeed one in the same pokémon of the very pokémon which was believed the world over to be the most beautiful pokémon of all, complied to its trainer's command and used Safe Guard in its appeal as it was told. The affects were just gorgeous. At least, that was the way the crowd and judges seemed to feel about it.

Raoul Contesta: That was awe-inspiring.

Mr. Sukizo: Yes, simply remarkable.

Nurse Joy: Yes. I'm very impressed.

Then, Robert's beautiful Milotic fanned out its tail as it widened out the end of it.

Vivian: With its dazzling appearance combined with its awesome technique, Milotic has the whole stadium enraptured.

Then, Robert's Milotic really made an impression when it waved its fan-like tail about while emitting the Safe Guard its trainer ordered for. Even May seemed to find the appeal in the water dragon.

May: Beautiful.

I bit the inside of my cheek a little jealously. It was like May was under the same spell as the audience, the judges, and even the MC. This Robert was definitely a wild card which I had not anticipated and a wild card that I would have to watch out for. I would have to be careful in this contest, for sure. What really hurt my pride as a great coordinator even more was when May's Beautifly agreed with its trainer about Robert and his Milotic's performance on the appeal stage.

later

I was not too surprised to learn that May had been slated as number fifty on the contest appeals stage roster, literally the very last spot. After all, she'd shown up to sign up only that morning with barely enough time to sign up for the contest at all.

But, then I heard the official come in to call number fifty onto the stage.

Official: Number fifty, please make your way to the stage.

The official was at the very least loud enough to be heard from the other locker room in which May and I both were.

May: Oh, number fifty. That's me.

Yours Truly: About time. I was beginning to think that you weren't really registered. Well, they're waiting for you. Go on out there and give 'em a show.

I smirked and flicked the hair out of my face, but May stayed glued in place. The poor girl looked as though she were about to have a panic attack.

May: Where do I go?

She basically whispered it.

It took almost every fiber of my being for me to not burst out into tears of laughter at her question. May was going to be X-ed out in the appeals round, for sure. So much for battling her again. I supposed it was for the best, however. This girl here with me clearly was not cut out for the coordinator life. I had never been more certain of that fact until that moment.

Yours Truly: Come on. It's this way.

May stood up slowly, almost hesitantly. By the way she stood up, it looked as though she did not trust me to at least be civil to her. But, she followed me down the corridor to the tunnel ahead anyway. When the tunnel let out, she had arrived to the stage just as I told her. She took one last look at me before she stepped out in front of the crowd, anxiety dripping from her features every step of the way.

At first, I was not sure what had possessed me to help her to the stage in her first contest when she should have been able to find it perfectly well on her own. Maybe, I felt sympathy for her, but I soon after ruled that theory out because there was no way I could feel that for any of the beginners; May was not an exception of any kind. Maybe, I had helped her find her way to the stage because I had actually really wanted to battle her again, and this surprise help towards May would help me, myself, in addition to her.

Whatever my reason, it was too late for me to stop myself from doing anything to help this girl. So, I decided to take the opportunity my actions had given me and observe May's appeal firsthand instead of returning to the common room.

Vivian: Folks, there's only one contestant left in the preliminaries and that's entry number fifty. May, you're up.

May was as nervous as ever when she was in front of the tunnel leading back to the locker rooms. But, she soon enough found her confidence.

May: Right! Great!

Vivian: This is May's first time participating in a Pokémon Contest, so let's give her a warm welcome and watch her pokémon's elegant entry.

I then studied her as though I were watching a serious competition. This was what it all came down to. This was May's moment to impress me, and in all honesty with myself, I had been hoping for something better than what I was expecting.

May: Beautifly, let's go_

Then, the most ridiculous thing that could happen in the contest happened. May fell down.

I almost could not believe his eyes. Before May could even release her pokémon onto the stage, she slipped and went straight down. Her first appearance in a contest ever, in front of thousands of people, and what happens to her in her appeal? She falls on her butt. I should have expected that just as much.

The stadium went silent. It was like a bad omen; there was no way May would be able to recover from that. I did not know much about her, but I knew she had the habit of getting overemotional. I had expected her to leave the stage after that and never have anything to do with contests ever again.

But, Vivian was too kind to not help May up.

Vivian: Oh, no. Are you alright, dear?

May took Vivian's hand gratefully and slowly rose back up.

May: I'm fine. That was just a little warm-up.

A warm-up? That's what she called a warm-up? This girl was even more airheaded than I had originally thought.

May: Now, Beautifly, it's time for you to take the stage.

The wings on the bug-and-flying-type were so eye-catching, they caught even the tiniest bits of light and basically reflected appeal stage with the magnificent colors decorating the butterfly pokémon's wings. Even Vivian made her own remark about Beautifly's appeal.

Vivian: Wow, Beautifly's marvelous wings really do catch your eye.

The second I saw her frisbee in hand, I laughed to myself. Was May really going to use that cheesy little frisbee-plus-Gust attack routine in her appeal? Even when remembering me telling her how totally lame it was?

May: String Shot.

Did I hear her right? May commanded for her Beautifly to use a String Shot instead of a Gust attack? She surprised me with the attack she called for, just as she had done two weeks prior when her Beautifly had finally mastered Silver Wind. Her Beautifly complied to its trainer's command and used the String Shot attack like a whipping sort of appeal.

Vivian: Excellent, and a clean catch.

May caught the frisbee just in time.

May: Again!

Beautifly complied to its trainer's command once more.

Vivian: They're really going strong now. That incredible combination has more than made up for May's earlier slip up.

I would have been lying if I were to say that I was not the least bit impressed with May and her Beautifly's appeal. If I had described the whole frisbee routine, itself, it would have been true, especially considering how lame and totally cheesy it was to begin with.

But, even I had to admit that I found the synchronicity of May and her Beautifly's routine impressive. They worked together in perfect harmony with one another, neither one of them missing one single step the whole way through. May and her Beautifly were totally focused on one another during the whole appeal.

Even more than that, I noticed that she was not focusing on Beautifly's appearance for her appeal. I guess that the average, everyday coordinator/Beautifly trainer would have focused solely on showing off their pokémon's looks on the appeal stage for sure and made their Beautifly's beauty the center of their performance. It was, after all, the safe and the obvious choice.

By showing off her relationship with her pokémon for their performance, however… whether May realized it or not, it was a smart appeal strategy to use in a contest. And I, as the great coordinator I was, had to admit that even I could really appreciate the sentiment behind May's strategy for the appeal stage.

How on Earth was this the same girl I met on the beach just two weeks prior to this contest, completely unsure of herself and not too aware of what she was doing, either? I could see that May was a totally different person on stage, and I found it to be a very fascinating trait of hers. So much so that I did not notice my mouth open and hanging agape while I continued to watch her performance.

May: Ready for this, Beautifly?

Her face looked steely, but her eyes were a little distant. This meant that something bigger was going to come into May's appeals performance. I inched a little closer to get a good look at what she had in store.

May: Gust! Let's go!

I found myself holding my breath. Last time I watched May even try this little trick of hers, she had failed, and I was not very sure that two weeks was enough time for her to practice it to perfection.

Vivian: Now, it's a return using Gust. If she catches this, it'll mean real points.

The frisbee came flying back at her. At the high rate of speed at which it was going, however, May had almost dropped it.

Vivian: Oh no, could this be a miss?

May managed to catch it just in time, though. I saw her exhale a sigh of relief. I did the same before I even knew what I was doing.

Vivian: She did it, and by not dropping it, she should be just fine.

Yet, just when I had thought May was done…

May: Time to finish this up, right? Silver Wind, go! Go into a spin!

Beautifly complied to both of its trainer's commands. This did not really impress me, so much as confuse me. Silver Wind was a pretty move and was especially great in contests, but that was only if you focused your entire appeal on it or used it with other moves with the same visual effects. Her frisbee routine at the beginning did not match the appeal of the tornado of silver light Beautifly had created in the center of the stage before them all.

Even though it was a gorgeous ending to May's first appeal ever, none of it flowed together. Her two move sets were completely unrelated to one another. I knew that May's appeal points would suffer for it. It was not me being cocky, overconfident, or overly critical. This time, it was just I being logical. I had more contest experience than almost everyone else there and I knew it.

Vivian: I don't believe my eyes. Beautifly's been completely surrounded by its own spiraling Silver Wind. It almost looks like Beautifly's been wrapped in a gorgeous silver robe.

I smirked at what I saw from their performance, and could not help but praise May and Beautifly's appeal in spite of the fact that it was a bit all over the place. She had done much better than I had anticipated.

Yours Truly: Huh, what do you know? That wasn't too bad at all.

It was true. Both moves separately were pleasant enough. Beautifly landed gently on its trainer's head while May posed with her arms held out, giving the illusion that she bore her own magnificent wings. It signaled the end of hers and her pokémon's performance. The crowd thought it was pretty enough, as did the MC, Vivian, but there was still the opinions of the judges.

Vivian: So, let's find out what our judges thought of May and Beautifly's performance.

Nurse Joy was the first one of the judges to comment and reach her consensus.

Nurse Joy: Very good for a first time effort.

Nurse Joy gave May and Beautifly an eight-point-one. Raoul Contesta was the next to judge her.

Raoul Contesta: Yes, she's got a bright future ahead of her.

Contesta awarded May an eight-point-three. Mr. Sukizo was the last to come to his own consensus and comment on May's performance with her Beautifly.

Mr. Sukizo: I'd say she's just remarkable.

Ever the easiest to impress, Mr. Sukizo awarded May an eight-point-five. Doing the math correctly and…

Vivian: And their final score is a twenty-four-point-nine.

Although her face had fallen after seeing her score, all technicalities considered, May's final score was not too horrible. It was at the very least one of the higher scores in the contest. She looked as though she was probably hoping for higher than what she got. I supposed that if she could find better rhythm in her appeals performance, she would probably have at least a chance at a better score, along with the right to hope for a better score.

I turned to walk back to the common room just Vivian announced the end of the preliminaries. I summoned Roselia out of her pokéball on the way back.

Yours Truly: Roselia, I need a rose, please.

backstage

The common room was full of nerves as everyone backstage awaited the judges' decisions. No one even noticed May when she walked into the common room. With that, however, she took a seat on a bench at the other side and sighed in anxiety.

I took my chance to present myself and my rose to May. She mumbled something about making it to the secondaries. The rose that Roselia made for me to give to her was perfect. It was completely thornless and a deep shade of red. I noticed just how the rose in my hand matched May's bandana to a 'T' as I held it out before her. She looked up at me, eyes widened and a little taken aback.

Yours Truly: A good performance, May.

Someone else gave a whistle of approval in the background. I just ignored them, while May did not seem to even hear them. Her eyes lit up brighter than I had ever seen them before, and she looked the happiest she had all day.

May: That for me? Thanks, Drew.

Sadly, that only meant one thing, and that was false hope, something which I was in no way trying to instill at all. I had also noticed the blush which faintly dusted her face, and a whole bunch of red flags shot up in my head. It immediately occurred to me that I had sent the wrong message to her with the shade of red on Roselia's rose. My pokémon did this. I had to fix it, and quickly.

Yours Truly: Not for you; it's for your Beautifly. It's obvious that the coordinator still has a lot of training to do.

The happiness disappeared from her eyes almost as quickly as it came. The fire I was so used to from her blazed from within them.

That fixed the situation right up.

May: Well, I guess we can't all be as good as you.

May glared up at me as I simply flicked the hair out of my face. I planted my feet to the floor and refused to move away from her. That drove her crazy. Still, she did not get rid of the rose I gave her for her pokémon. That either meant that she still appreciated the gesture, no matter what the motives were behind it. Or that she kept it simply in spite of me. Of course, I did not care much either way.

It was a full four minutes of silence between the two of them. May was on the bench, fuming up a storm at me. I just stood there loving her storm of anger every minute it was worth. Completely honest with myself, I was waiting for May to walk away if she did not like this situation that much. She never did, though. She just stood her ground as I stood my own ground.

Vivian's voice suddenly echoed through the common room as she appeared on the screen, signifying the end of the commercial break.

Vivian: Now, the results are in, and I thank you all for your patience.

May shot up next to me and seemed to be holding onto my arm, tightly I could have added. I knew she was nervous, though, so I let her get away with it. Besides, it would make a funny memory to bring up one day to use as ammunition against her in an argument, just in case.

Vivian: These eight coordinators move on to the next round.

May finally let go of my arm when the two of them saw the results. She looked quite happy to have made it to the secondaries. She even squealed breathlessly in the fit of her pure elation.

I, however, did not know what surprised me more; May making it through the preliminaries or the fact that I had placed second on the appeal stage with the Robert, the Milotic trainer/coordinator, taking first place in the first round. The latter of which was a bit of a blow on my confidence, but Drew Hayden was never one to let that sort of thing show, not since my first ever contest. So, I just decided to focus only on congratulating May in her endeavor of achievement towards the former, though it was mostly because of her pokémon that she had even made it through.

Yours Truly: You made it… because…

May: I know, you wanna say it was all because of Beautifly!

But, May just could not hold onto the anger that emanated from her features just a minute prior. She was just far too elated about making it past the preliminaries at all to hold onto any of her anger with me.

May: Oh, who cares? My Beautifly and I are moving onto the secondaries.

The pictures on the screen suddenly disappeared as the judges were deciding who would face off against who on the battle stage.

Vivian: The contestants are now being randomly chosen to see who they will be facing in battle.

When the results were settled, I could barely contain the smirk on my face and let a mild snort out of my throat which I also could barely contain.

Vivian: And the results are in.

As though she actually thought she could change the results through begging, May voiced out a…

May: Don't tell me?

I just laughed at this.

Yours Truly: Huh! Me against you? That'll be fun!

I did not even need to face May to know she was glaring at me right at that moment. So, I just walked away from her.

I chuckled at how perfect this was. Our battle was going to be the first, so this mission of mine would be over quicker than I had even thought… or hoped for that matter.

After I was done with the girl in the red bandana, I could focus purely on my own contest circuit. Besides, I already had Robert to worry about.

later on the battlefield

The two of us met once again on the battle stage. MC Vivian explained the rules and the time limit to May and the audience. I, however, already knew the rules and time limit to the point of being used to them all.

Vivian: The second round consists of contest battles. Our contestants will have five minutes to show the judges their battling performance ability. And now, our battle on the first stage will begin.

Five minutes? Bah! I would only need half of that time to finish May off, at the very least.

Yours Truly: Roselia, let's go now!

May: Beautifly, take the stage!

The two of us both summoned our pokémon from their respective pokéballs. I saw May's Beautifly up close for what I had assumed would be the last time the two of us would ever meet. From our earlier battle just two weeks prior, I already knew that the type disadvantage which my Roselia had over her Beautifly was the only disadvantage my grass-and-poison-type had over the bug-and-flying-type.

This time, however, I did not give May the courtesy of the first move which I had extended during my previous battle with her, nope. I almost immediately called for the first attack.

Yours Truly: Magical Leaf, Roselia!

Roselia complied to my command. May responded with…

May: Beautifly, Gust!

Did May actually hope that Gust attack would disperse Roselia's Magical Leaf? Such a novice effort.

Yours Truly: Don't ever mess around with me.

The Magical Leaf attack from Roselia hit May's Beautifly, anyway. That Gust attack defense of May's did nothing to protect her Beautifly except for delay the Magical Leaf attack from hitting it. The attack in and of itself had even taken her by surprise from the sound of what she said as soon as it happened.

May: But, how did… no way!

With that, the Magical Leaf from Roselia hit Beautifly right on the money. May had not even called for another defense or even a dodge. She was battling at her absolute worst, even worse than she battled two weeks prior to the contest.

May: Beautifly, NO!

I decided to take the opportunity to provide an explanation as to why May's Beautifly could not dodge Roselia's Magical Leaf attack as easily as that. But, not before Roselia landed gracefully in front of me in the center of my end of the Contest Hall's battlefield.

Yours Truly: You see, Magical Leaf's the kind of attack that always hits its mark. You could never repel it with a simple Gust. I'm sorry to have to tell you that.

A huge chunk of May's points went down. I kept the momentum going.

Yours Truly: Roselia, use Stun Spore!

Roselia complied to my command.

Vivian: That Stun Spore is really coming down on Beautifly.

May: Now, Beautifly, use String Shot!

String Shot? Was May kidding with that kind of counter attack? What on Earth was she even thinking? This battle was very pathetic and almost sad and embarrassing even to watch, never mind be participating in. The only thing May had managed to successfully prove was that she was not anywhere even close to being worthy of facing off against me.

Yours Truly: Go, Magical Leaf!

Roselia complied to my command and her attack cut through the String Shot in a flash. It was the last straw because May went into full-on desperate mode.

May: OK, Beautifly? Silver Wind!

Despite May getting desperate to win, Beautifly managed to successfully pull off its Silver Wind attack.

Yours Truly: Use Petal Dance!

Roselia complied to my command and unleashed her most beautiful Petal Dance, yet. It was not just beautiful; it was also effective in stopping the Silver Wind in its tracks and blowing it away in spite of being a grass-type attack against a bug-type attack.

May: Move up to dodge it.

I had to admit that May finally calling for a decent dodge was a surprise to say the least. Still, it was not going to be enough to help her win the battle, never mind the war against me. It was pretty clear from that Silver Wind alone that May wanted to end the battle quickly, and I was more than happy to grant her that wish.

The battle against such an inexperienced opponent had finally become really unfun, and the adrenaline of the battle had finally kicked in. I was no longer in the mood to play around with May. I was there to prove a point to the girl in the red bandana, not to play around with her like a child.

The hilarity of the whole battle had worn off, anyway. My smirk had disappeared along with my playful attitude towards May. This contest battle was such a joke, and I had never faced an easier fight in my life. Almost anyone and everyone could see that. It had also begun to get annoying that May had still even thought she belonged in contests, at all.

This was my stage. This was my contest. This was my ribbon. This was my year. This was my circuit.

I was going to become a Top Coordinator, no matter what. No one, but no one was going to stand in the way of that goal. I would take anyone like that down ruthlessly, especially inexperienced children like May who thought they could just come into any Contest Hall and muck up the importance of the contest circuit. What she failed to realize at that moment was that in sending her Beautifly up into the air on the stage, she had left her own pokémon wide open for one final attack.

Yours Truly: Roselia, Solar Beam!

It was Roselia's most powerful attack, and I knew May could not counter it in time even if she were to try.

Vivian: Now, Roselia's preparing to launch a Solar Beam. As it uses the last remaining moments to gather as much energy as possible, this could be the end.

May: Beautifly, use String Shot!

I did not know what that would accomplish, but it was not my place to coach May. It was too late, anyway. I was definitely going to come out on top in this contest battle. After I was done with her, I would only have to worry about Robert and his Milotic.

Vivian: And Beautifly makes its attack.

Roselia fired off her most powerful signature grass-type attack, and the Solar Beam hit its mark directly. The attack was both devastatingly powerful and blindingly eloquent.

Raoul Contesta: What beautiful colors.

Mr. Sukizo: Oh my, that's remarkable.

Vivian: Wow, the most powerful grass-type attack at a direct hit.

May gasped as her pokémon took the direct hit from its opponent's Solar Beam. In the flash of light the Solar Beam produced, poor Beautifly went down in no time flat.

May: Beautifly, hang in there, please!

May begged for her pokémon to still be able to battle, but I knew it was foolish hope.

Vivian: Precious few seconds remain. Can Beautifly keep up the battle?

It was foolish hope, alright. The judges all had an 'X' on their scoreboards.

Vivian: It's Battle-off for Beautifly.

And it was true, especially for poor Beautifly.

Vivian: Drew and Roselia should proceed to the second stage immediately.

I bowed then flicked my hair, but not before I got a good last look at my opponent from across the battlefield. May fell to her knees and looked to be on the verge of tears and everything.

Really? Tears? This is no place for amateurs and definitely no place for tears.

I then went off to wait for my next battle.

backstage

I was quite unsurprised to find that May did not return to the common room and scuffled to the private room, instead, where I had first found her while on my way to his next battle against Robert. She was crying and berating herself to her friends.

Well, that's that. This girl would never touch a contest again, guaranteed. Not if she could not handle a loss without breaking down into tears, and especially not if her entire performance would be as weak as all that. Not to mention the way I was able to end our battle without losing any points has to be a wake up call for her.

Still, it was not like I was being completely overconfident or anything like that. I was simply speaking the truth. I was good at contests, she was bad at them. I was more experienced, she was far too innocent for her own good. I would say that she was probably a little too embarrassed to go anywhere near a contest after this little experience.

I might have lost the first contest I was ever in, but at least my first ever appeal score was a twenty-eight-point-six. At least, I made it to the final round against someone I now consider to be one of my best if not only human friends. And more importantly, at least, I had managed to get Soledad's points in that contest down to at least the halfway mark by the end of our first ever battle.

Sure, I cried afterwards, myself, but I still did better than this girl in the red bandana. Compared to her, I started off strong, and I only got stronger since my crushing defeat. At least, I had learned a thing or two from that battle and took what I learned from it to heart. This girl, however, this May, she looks a lot like she would walk away from something at even the slightest discouragement. I believe it was safe to say that I would never see her again.

I then pushed aside my thoughts of May to focus only on Robert and his Milotic.

back on the battlefield

The battle against Robert and his Milotic was a grueling one, and not the kind of grueling battle that was going in my direction at all. In fact, Roselia and I were losing significantly to Robert and his Milotic.

Do not get me wrong; I had always liked to go up against coordinators who could actually give me a challenge, but Robert was easily proving to be an exception to that policy I had for myself in contests. As to why, I could not understand.

I supposed it was probably because I had underestimated the entire competition in this whole contest and had spent so much time obsessing about putting May in her place and laughing at the novelty of the competitors, I had very little time to prepare to face off against Robert. The worst part of it all, however, was that while I was the one who was registered in the contest, Roselia was the one bearing the brunt of Robert's Milotic's strength and precision.

Vivian: Ladies and gentlemen, we're three minutes into the second match. Roselia defeated Beautifly without taking a hit, but it's a different story against Milotic's awesome strength.

Robert and his Milotic seemed to have come out of nowhere. I had never before met another competitor like him, never mind battling anyone like him. I had also never read anything about Robert in Coordinator's Weekly. He just appeared into the contest circuit and dominated both the appeals stage and the battlefield. His Milotic was the very definition of power combined with beauty, and it was the ultimate combination to win any contest.

Robert: Milotic, let's give Iron Tail a try.

Milotic complied to its trainer's command and unleashed the full brunt of it on Roselia. I was getting desperate, and that was something I almost never was.

Yours Truly: Roselia, Magical Leaf NOW!

Roselia complied to my command and unleashed the attack onto her opponent with precision and grace. Too bad for me and my pokémon that Milotic proved to know the perfect attack to shoot that Magical Leaf down.

Robert: Alright, Milotic. Use Twister.

Milotic complied to its trainer's command like a professional. As for Roselia and I, when the clock ran out of time, well…

Vivian: Time's up. Robert and Milotic will proceed onto the final battle.

By the time the battle was over, Roselia and I had barely managed to hinder away even one quarter of Robert's points. I supposed I could only be grateful that Roselia had managed to battle as long as she had with all of the damage Milotic had managed to deal her. It did not, however, change how hard I took the loss against Robert.

Yours Truly: That's it. It's all over.

Vivian: Milotic managed to combine overwhelming power with beauty and style in perfect synchronicity with its trainer, Robert.

Although it was hard on me to even watch the final battle, I still stayed afterwards to study what other possible battling techniques Robert could have up his sleeve against his opponent on the final stage. The kid who went up against him on the final battle stage did worse than I had, though.

Upon seeing Raoul Contesta hand Robert the coveted Slateport City ribbon, I took that as my queue to leave the stadium as quickly as I could. It was simply too painful to watch any further. That ribbon should have been mine easily.

I had learned right then and there that this year the contest circuit would be full of wild cards, so I could not attempt to underestimate anyone at all. I learned by then that even without Soledad entering the Hoenn contest circuit this year, that did not mean that there would not be other coordinators who could and most likely would be as talented as she was.

Still, I did have over eleven months to earn all five of my ribbons, along with dozens of contests left in which to earn them. I was not worried even a little bit. But, that did not mean that I was not going to be training all of that time.

I was the first one out of the Contest Hall, much to my content. I never did like to get stopped by anyone. That meant no reporters, no fans, and no nothing. The empty courtyard in front of me was nothing short of a blessing from Lord Arceus on high.

All I wanted to do that evening was get back to my hotel room, order some room service for dinner, and give Roselia a break before they had to leave Slateport City that following day come ten-thirty in the morning. I seemed to be in the clear of anyone and everyone. That was when I heard someone call out my name from behind me.

Girl's voice: Drew!

I stopped dead in my tracks, turning to surprisingly find May chasing after me with her friends in tow. She seemed to be a lot calmer than she had been a few hours prior. I supposed she had finally absorbed the shock of her loss to me.

Yours Truly: What is it, May? You want a rematch?

I was only teasing her, and I had hoped to Mew that May would not rub my own loss to Robert in my face. I was already embarrassed enough as it was, and I was more than determined to make it up to Roselia for underestimating an opponent like Robert.

The only thing May had returned to me in the end, however, was nothing except for my smirk.

May: Next time, I won't be the loser.

What? Next time? Did Daydream Della just say, 'next time'? As in, an 'I'm not done with you just yet' kind of 'next time'? This girl still wants to compete in contests? I can't believe this. I guess that loss she took against me wasn't enough to scare her away from contests, after all.

Yours Truly: Oh, yeah?

I was completely taken off guard by May's confidence returning to her. I had recovered quickly enough, however.

Yours Truly: We'll just see. Of course, I'll be stronger, too. Remember? Right.

I said it to May like a warning, as though I were giving her one last chance to stay as far away from contests as she possibly could. Turning to walk away, I threw a short wave at them over my right shoulder and the smirk fell right off my face. I found myself completely at a loss for words.

This girl in the red bandana was quite the walking, talking enigma to me. May barely had anything going for her in the contest circuit, if at all. The only things she really had were a pretty pokémon in her Beautifly, an unfathomable amount of determination, with a short temper to boot. Everything else she had shown me gave me nothing but doubt in her abilities to make it very far.

Maybe, she would have won one or two ribbons this year in the contest circuit, but that would only have been if she were lucky and could improve her appeals as well as her skills in battle. Basically, this girl would have to improve her overall performance. This girl was so disorganized and unconventional to say the least about her contest skills.

Sure, May had quickly shown some improvement and potential in very short stretches of time, but it was only enough for her to stumble right back to start almost immediately afterwards. One step forward, and four steps back for sure with her.

The truth of it was that now I did see the same potential in May as Raoul Contesta had seen in her at on the appeals stage, but only if she could train her Beautifly better. But, I was still sure that she would never be a threat to me, my title, or my ribbon cup.

Then, after a hard season May would surely quit the contest circuit. One loss might not have been enough to discourage her from competing any further like I had originally hoped and/or assumed, but maybe, just maybe, multiple losses would beat that spirit right out of her. I decided that she probably needed to face more losses in order for her to abandon my dream.

May was definitely sure to give up on contests the minute she saw just how brutal many other coordinators can be, just like all the other rookies I have ever faced off against. She would certainly find out just how unforgiving the contest circuit can be to the unprepared.

My hands clasped together behind my head as I walked back to my resort. The Slateport City sunset was painting the sky a multitude of different colors. A gentle breeze rustled past me, as it carried the smell of the salt water from the beaches of Slateport to my resort hotel.

The following morning, I would leave the resort hotel and move onto the next town and the next contest. Then, I idly wondered where May and her friends were going next. Or rather where she was going to lose a contest next if I had to be accurate.

There was no doubt May would one day learn, and that I was her first lesson to learn that day, I was quite sure of that. I was completely certain that I would one day forget all about her being the absolutely undeniable truth. I would one day forget all about the girl all in red, for sure. I would one day forget all about May.