Chapter 4

"Welcome everyone to the Alamos pokémon Contest!" cried the Sinnoh MC Marian. She waited as the crowd roared with excitement. "I'm your host for today, and here are our esteemed judges!" The crowd cheered wildly as Marian introduced Mr Contesta, Mr Sukizo, and the Alamos Town Nurse Joy. The performance stage was huge and pristine. Spot lights shone above in the vast hall.

Backstage, the coordinators were dressed in their colourful outfits and doing last minute warm-ups and practices. The loud roar from the crowd made goosebumps form on May's arms. She looked around at her fellow competitors, her nerves beginning to settle in. Everyone looked so good! She saw a coordinator with a purugly, another one with an infernape and another boy dressed like a sailor with a buizel. She hadn't spotted Harley yet, thankfully. She didn't want another blow to her confidence.

May looked worriedly at the pokeball in her hand. It was in a blue ball capsule with a gold star seal stuck on. She had won the Jubalife ribbon, the Solaceon ribbon, the Aqua ribbon (the Wallace Cup was held in Ever Grande City in Hoenn this year! To be back in Hoenn and in the particular city after so many years was sweetly nostalgic), and the Hearthrome ribbon. She had lost a few contests before, mostly to rivals (namely, Drew and Solidad), but she was hopeful about the fifth one.

"What's wrong with me?" she muttered to herself anxiously. May's confidence dropped once again as she tried to keep her composure.

"Hey," greeted a warm voice. She looked up, forcing a smile. It was Gary. "You look... wow!"

May wore a classic kimono. The fabric was embroidered with gray vertical lines and floral light pink patterns and leaves. The large sash across the torso was a dark pink, neatly tied with a huge bow at the back, and a black thin scarf draped around the sash. It was simplicity and elegance at it's finest. May's usual two bunches of hair were tied nicely into two side bun and her fringes brushed too the side. A light pink flower with two leaves poking out of it was placed near one of the buns, finishing off the traditional look. And for the the accessory: dark pink earrings, and a delicate swipe of cherry lipstick.

He looked at her, recognising her meek demeanour with concern in his dark viridian eyes. "You okay?"

"No," she sighed, not bothering to hide her nervousness any more. "I don't know why I'm so scared. I guess you'd expect better from a Grand Festival winner huh." She looked away, disappointment swallowing her self-esteem.

"Wait a minute," Gary said, seriousness in his voice. "It's normal to feel a bit nervous before a contest. I used to be nervous when I challenged gyms, but I would never tell anyone. No matter how many times, it's a natural reaction!"

"Really?"

"Sure. This is my first time watching a live performance, and I know you'll do amazing, May!" he smiled encouragingly. "Watching you practise your routines; I couldn't wait too see you in a contest."

"Thanks Gary," she said, her face lighting up as her confidence returned.

"All visitors must leave backstage and take a seat in the audience. The contest will officially begin shortly. Thank you," announced a voice from the speakers. Friends and family began to dissolve from the room, wishing luck to the performers and coordinators returned their pokémon into the pokeballs. Gary glanced at May one last time and put his thumb up, flashing a grin.

"You're gonna wow the crowd." He winked, "...Princess of Hoenn." May blushed brightly, mimicking his grin. As everyone left, only the performers remained. A contest staff informed the first coordinator to get ready. He was up in 30 seconds.

A croconaw and water gun: nice. Then, a butterfree and it's bug bugbuzz: cute. A ninetales danced with fire-spin; unique. A floslass and hail; smart. A gardevoir and psybeam; magical. A luxio and it's thunderbolt; powerful. A hippopotas and sand tomb: cool. May was after the current coordinator. She took a deep breath behind the red curtain as the judges delivered their comments. The crowd clapped, commencing the end of the performance. And the start of hers. She could hear the MC introduce her. The blue pokeball held tightly in her palm as she closed he eyes, finding her inner determination.

"You may be familiar with the Princess of Hoenn," Marian announced gleefully as the crowd began cheering significantly louder. "The next coordinator, who also happens to be the reigning Johto Top Coordinator, the famous May!"

May's eye flared open, a sparkling glint to her sapphire eyes. As the curtain drew open, she skipped to the stage.

"Scarmory, take the stage!" she cried, throwing the ball. In a cluster of golden stars, the steel bird appeared, flying through the air.

"And May's off to a strong start," Marian exclaimed, "just look how amazing it's looks! An amazing way to show-off Scarmory's impressive physique" The crowd cheered.

"Use swift!" The swift clashed with the golden stars, the collision causing some to disappear in a glitter of gold dust. In the audience, May saw Gary, his mouth opened in awe as he watched Scarmory glide with the stars. He clapped along with the crowd, enchanted. She smiled momentarily, before glancing at Scarmory. "Steel-wing now!"

The bird's wings glowed bright, clashing with the swift that was already in thee air, creating sparks of fireworks. The crowd oohed at the display.

"Not only are we seeing a beautiful combination with a tough move, which is rare, but the gold light contrast with Scarmory's silver body really shows of the pokémon. How ingenious!" Marian cried as the judges' attention was captivated by the performance, speechless. The performance finished as the golden sparks died down. Scarmory flew back down beside it's trainer and they both took a bow. May couldn't stop her grin from stretching wider as Marian declared it one of the best performances. She stood straight, staring at Gary in the crowd. He winked at her as he caught her gaze and for once she didn't blush like an idiot. She winked back. There was definitely no point of worrying. It seemed like everyone loved it.

"A spectacular performance for the appeal round! Let's see what our esteemed judges thoughts on it!" Marian gestured towards them as the crowd finally quietened.

"What an amazing performance!" Mr Contesta said, "I couldn't take my eyes off Scarmory. I expect nothing less from a top coordinator!"

"The most remarkable performance so far!" was Mr Sukizo's comment. "May is remarkable."

"It was simply beautiful. That bright sheen on Scarmory's body shows it's clear taken good care off," spoke nurse Joy. "I thoroughly enjoyed watching the two of you."

The crowd once again cheered wildly as May returned backstage. After a few more performers, Harley was next. The last and final coordinator. May watched the screen with the others as he sauntered onstage in a wigglytuff costume. In a burst of white whirls, a quagasire bounced out. The routine was neat and pretty. He did a good job showing off it's good defense and his ground-type ability. The audience loved it too. The judges were impressed. Quagasire was cute, and his mud-bomb well-aimed. May clenched her fist; Harley would pass the appeals for sure. A short interlude was announced as the judges picked the final 8 to advance.

"Did I do good?" May asked meekly, unsure after seeing the competition.

"You were better than amazing!" he said, unable to hide his excitement. "Watching it live is so much cooler than on TV. Everyone liked it."

"I hope so."

Gary opened his mouth to respond, but instead the words were muted and he glowered at a certain man skipped towards them. May sighed exasperatedly, her eyes narrowing at the sight of her rival. Harley looked to Gary and then back to May, then to Gary again and then back to May. He pinched his nose in disdain.

"Wow, can you smell that ugly stench?" he said dramatically, "Must be your jealousy."

"That is so lame," Gary deadpanned. Harley stuck his tongue out childishly, shaking his head. May's eye twitched in silent fury. No, she would not punch him again. Last time she did, they caught in on camera and the story never truly died out. Though he ended up with a black eye, Harley loved that he stained her illustrious reputation.

"You know what's lame," he said, gazing up dreamily, "May bothering to enter a contest that she will inevitably lose. What's lame is that you think I am- you know nothing- nothing!- about my talent, boy. You will-" He swiftly turned his face and stared at May. "-soon enough. When I win."

"Harley-"

"-Don't worry hun," he interrupted May, "you still have a shot. I hear there's gonna be a five more contests until they stop, and start preparing for the Grand Festival."

"Harley, how does it feel to try so hard and put others down, but in the end it's you who loses?" May asked angrily. "'Cos that's gonna happen again! Today and in the Grand Festival. You watch!"

"Ah, I see the fame's gotten inside that airy head," he tutted. "You won the Johto Grand Festival because your boyfriend felt sorry for you."

"Drew is not that type of person," May hissed. Such a pathetic claim.

Gary pursed his lips and furrowed his eyebrows. That name again! Who was this guy? Why does he seem like such a huge component in this situation? Gary wished he had watched more contests. Maybe he'd know the guy. May denied any sort of romantic connection with the guy but what if they actually had a "thing". What if May actually liked this guy? Is that the reason Harley is so pressed about him with May? Questions and strange worry spun inside Gary's mind, giving birth to a tornado of incomprehensible jealousy. He was so focussed on his raging emotions that he zoned out of May's and Harley's argument a long time ago. Harley looked beyond pissed and with a final jab at May's annoyance, he walked away. The embers in May's eyes slowly shrank at his disappearance, and she looked at Gary. She said nothing, but he could read her face easily.

"You'll be awesome," Gary stated firmly. "Ignore Hailey, or whatever the dude's name is." He looked at the contest board. "I guess they've made their choice."

An announcement echoed through the speakers and every face turned to the big screen: May made it through! She squealed. The last photo revealed to be Harley, however in the match-up, May faced a fresh-faced boy while Harley faced a girl called Ursula. Gary wished May luck for the final stage, and she shook her head in concentration. As the other coordinators who failed to pass the appeals packed up, May saw Ursuala. Her pink hair was tied in a high pony and she wore a dress: quite typical for female Sinnoh coordinators. The red choker matched her ruby dress. And the barrette on her hair was black like her pumps. A silver bangle was adorned on her wrist as she looked in the mirror, fixing her make-up. She glared at May, who suddenly remembered she was observing her.

"What?"

"Good luck," May smiled.

"You too," Ursula said. Maybe the girl wasn't so bad, May thought. "You'd need as much as you can get ifyou think you can beat me in the finals." May glowered at her arrogance; she spoke way too soon.

"We'll see." Ursula looked back challengingly at May's quick retort. Though some part of he reminded Ursula of Dawn, May wasn't as horrendously annoying as the blue-haired obnoxiously postive girl.

May beat the boy, Jerry. Wartotle outdid his Lumineon by a big margin. And true to her word, Ursula beat Harley. Her finesse and skill even took May by surprise, and much to Harley's anger. Though it was a close call, Harley and Ariados lost, coming only in the Top 4. She stood behind the curtain with heightened anticipation. She knew Ursula was on the opposite side, in the same position. Marian called the two finalists out as the crowd howled with excitement and craze. The lights shone above and May finally reached the stage, opposite Ursula. She wore a confident smirk, that had a hint of narcissism. May returned it with a smirk of her own, calling out Glaceon. The pokemon emerged from a flurry of diamonds. Ursula did the same; a Flareon appeared from a flash of red confetti. May hesitated slightly.

"Ursula clearly had the type advantage," cried Marian, "but this is a contest battle, and we like beauty and skill! The five minute timer starts now! Go!"

"Flareon, Flamethrower!"

"Shadow Ball!"

The two moves clashed creating an explosion. The stage was hidden in smoke.

"Firefang!" The fiery fox jumped through the smoke, looking rather majestic. Ursula grinned, cheering Flareon for it's prowess.

"A powerful attack, May loses points," Marian announced as May's bar decreased. But May wasn't fazed as she told Glaceon to dig. "And Glaceon dodges a pretty move efficiently. Ursula will have to lose double points for that-" Flareon looked for the opponent, confused and worried. Ursula internally panicked, not understanding how to cope. Glaceon hit Flareon directly from underneath and the crowd collectively gasped, then cheered. "- a super-effective and swift attack from May. Beautiful! The strategy was quick enough to confuse both Ursula and Flareon." Ursula's bar decreased more than a quarter on the scoreboard.

"Iron tail, Flareon!"

"You too, Glaceon."

The identical moves collided powerfully. Gary beamed when he saw that Glaceon was holding it's ground. Ice types were more defensive than offensive. And glaceon's were known to have a great defense, but terrible offense, while Flareon's were more stronger at attacking. Statistically, Flareon should have overpowered Glaceon. But it didn't. May certainly did a brilliant job at improving Glaceon's weak point. He nodded, impressed.

"A stalemate! Both pokemon have inspiring perseverance!" The two coordinators lost equal points.

"Now Flamethrower!" The flames instantly hit Glaceon as Flareon twirled, changing from the steel type move to fire elegantly. Glaceon cried in pain, and May's jaw dropped in surprise. She lost more points. Her mind unscrambled as Ursula told it to use firefang.

"USE DIG, NOW!" Glaceon disappeared again, and Ursula gritted it teeth. The attack hit again and again, Ursula losing points each time. May cried in joy as Ursula could't find a way out of her predicament. Flareon was hurt and confused, while Glaceon grew more confident with each hit.

"Flareon is faster than Glaceon, but it seems Glaceon is smarter than Flareon!" Marian commented. "Flareon looks so lost as May's Glaceon hits it repeatedly with super-effective moves!" By now the stage had dozens of holes. Ursula suddenly had a flashback of the Sinnoh Grand Festival. Her Gabite and Flareon popped out from the ground together, continuously beating Pacharisu and Mamoswine. Then Dawn attacked them from underneath; using the holes made by Gabite to her own advantage. Ursula smirked widely, epiphany striking her logic.

"Fireblast in those holes, Flareon." The pokemon glowed scarlet before letting a star-shaped burst of fire. Each point split and travelled down the holes. May looked at the score board; only a minute and a half left and she had lost a lot of points for such a powerful and beautifully clever combination. This was Ursula's win, May thought bleakly. It would be impossible to dodge, and when Glaceon is hit by the move then May would lose even more points, and more on top of that, because it's super effective special move. Special move. Special.

"That's it," laughed May. "Glaceon, Mirror coat!" The ice pokemon endured the fiery hell and the audience sat on the edge of their seats. The stage was clear, Flareon having finished performing it's move. There was a silence. A dreaded feeling formed in Gary's stomach: why hadn't Glaceon attacked yet? Mirror coat takes damage and then reflects it back with twice as much damage, but what if Flareon's attack was too much for Glaceon. Gary heard someone mutter his assumption verbally. Glaceon must have fainted. He looked at May's face with hurt. Her expression faded from confident to defeat, her posture weak. Glaceon had lost.

"Thirty seconds left!" Marian said between the silence. "It look like Glaceon-"

The holes on the stage erupted with a silver-coated eruptions so powerful, the stage floor broke off as the attack increased in size, beauty and power. The silvery mass engulfed the stage in a blinding flash of yellow. Everyone shielded their eyes as the cracks travelled further past the stage and towards the audience. It was like an earthquake destroying the hall. Some people hid underneath the stands, and even the judges cowered behind the table. May and Ursula fell down, grasping the edge of the stage tightly as they were the closest to the incredible shock wave. Harley screamed madly in the changing room, running out with no pants, his limbs quavering in fear. He suddenly stopped as the large screen backstage showed that it was Glaceon's comeback, not an earthquake. He fell down, frozen in sheer awe. The shaking came to a halt and the dust clouds dispersed. Gary was the first to stand back up, his eyes immediately darted to May, making sure she was okay. May stood up, albeit trembling from sudden shock. Ursula was on her knees, coughing uncontrollably. The judges peered out from the under the table, Marian also with them.

0:00

Time was up.

No one looked at the scoreboard though. They stared at the devastated stage. The broken lights. The shattered floor. The debris scattered everywhere. Dirt smothered the coordinators' clothes. Ursula's hair was a mess, and May's face was specks of dust. There lay Flareon, completely down. And unconscious. Glaceon stood proudly. It was exhausted and in bad shape, but it smiled. Gary was the first to clap. Glaceon's defensive power prevailed. It endured the vicious fiery attack that was immensely powerful. But deflecting that power resulted in an even greater, unexpected strength. Other people started to join in with the clapping and soon enough, everyone in the audience stood up and cheered. A standing ovation. People whistled at the performance. For both pokemon. Ursula sprinted in her heels towards the unconscious flareon. She hugged it before returning it in it's pokeball. It would at least get some rest inside. May was stunned at what had just transpired. The clapping, the whistling, the sound of things breaking and shattering, of her yelling encouragement to Glaceon merged together into a huge state of shock. However everything quietened as she saw Glaceon standing there in the middle of the stage. Tears of joy welled in her eyes as she wrapped her arms around Glaceon.

"Thank you so much," she murmured as Glaceon leaned against May.

"Well," Marian started, still astonished. "A fabulous end. Unexpected, but fabulous. We have our Alamos contest winner: May and Glaceon!" The ribbon podium was brought out by two flabbergasted employees, and the ribbon box was sat in Mr. Contesta's hand. May stood on the poduim, bringing out the pokemon who helped her achieve the ribbon: Scarmory, Wartotle and Glaceon. The coveted ribbon was presented to her by the three judges, shock lingering on their faces. May held the ribbon up gleefully as every person cheered loudly.

"And that is the end of the Alamos Pokemon Contest. Next contest will be in Chocovine Town! I hope you had a good time, until next time, goodbye!" Marian cried at the cameras. The episode came to a finish. The episode will be aired in every region this week.

Gary sat on the bench, watching the sky turn pink. People were leaving the hall, chattering about how amazing the final was. Gary had seen Ursula too, racing off to the pokemon centre to get flareon checked after the brutal attack. The poor girl looked so upset. She didn't even bother changing out of her contest dress. Gary waited patiently. May was taking awfully long. Maybe she was bombarded with interviews from different stations. He stared at the doors absent-mindedly as a girl walked out. His mind registered a little late that it was in fact May. He stood up, automatically grinning. May's happiness was tangible, and the exuberant aura stretched for miles. A hand from behind her back came forward, showing her golden ribbon case. She pressed the silver button, displaying her five stylish ribbons.

"Sinnoh Grand Festival, here I come!" May cried, jumping up and down with excitement.

"Congratulations, May!" In the heat of the moment, delight overwhelmed her emotions and jubilation enveloped her core. Her arms flew around Gary's neck as she brought him closer to her body, her head near his. She held him with an unyielding grip, and he could feel her soft face on his cheek and her hair on his lips. May squealed into his shoulder, while he was struggling to even think properly. Gary thanked Arceus that May was completely oblivious to the red hot blush on his face. He realized May stopped squealing as her arms loosened slightly. He heard her mutter under her breath worriedly and she slowly extricated herself from Gary. Admittedly, he sorta missed the warm embrace, the intimate contact. He removed his arms that crossed over her back back to his side.

"T-that wasn't... awkward," she said sheepishly, though a horrible doubt flooded over her excitement. "Was it?"

He crossed him arms, a flirty smirk appearing on his face. "I kinda liked it. We should do it more often." Instead of the blush and a shy response typically expected of May, she threw her head back with a soft laugh. May was no longer the timid, stupidly impulsive, clueless girl she might have been a few years ago. She was different. She dived back into a firm hug when Gary opened his arms with a teasing grin. Why not? He was comfortable and sturdy. And it made her all warm and fuzzy inside. It was a feeling she knew she liked, and she wanted more of it. May could feel his chest reverberate as a deep chuckle found a way out of his throat. She smiled as Gary rested his head on top of her.

Unbeknownst to them, the sweet and innocent gesture was captured on camera behind a large bush. A sinister expression rested on Harley's face as she looked at the photo, a malicious tint in his eyes. He looked back at the pair and snapped another photo. His mouth turned upwards; a deranged smile plastered on his face as he examined the two photos. Both May's and the spiky-haired boy's faces were clear, high definition. Their oh-so private moment will no longer remain a cherished secret.

"I wonder what the news reporters and celebrity journalists will make of this," he whispered deviously. "And what will her precious Drew think?"

OK, story is picking up the pace. Yes, that is Dawn's rival Ursula. We'll be meeting up more of the gang: Drew, Dawn and lots more. Which means more emotions, jealousy, surprise, worry and fights! I hope the development between Gay/May was smooth. I don't like the make the exaggerated clumsy and nervous type of character people always make May out to be. She's grown up now and she's more self-assured.

I like constructive criticism or any pointers to grammatical errors. I've rushed this a bit and i also have no beta reader, so you may see some basic mistakes or typos. I'll probably fix them later when i have time. If you've loved reading this and want more quickly, please comment down below!

PS. Thank you to the guest reviewer! Your reviews are the best and really make me light up when I read them. Thanks for the support. It means a lot! And to other reviewers, thank you too.