Here's the latest update. Hope you enjoy it.
Chapter 14'Come on, Blaziken, use sky uppercut!' May called to her starter pokémon as something battered and silver flew before her, pulling her attention from her training routine. She didn't notice as Blaziken executed the perfect move, nor how proud he was as he looked over at his Trainer.
The oval object seemed eerily familiar to the brunette, who watched something spark out from the machine, zapping her hand painfully as it flew straight at her.
With a squeak, May instinctively jumped down, dropping on the ground. The woman in question blinked, watching the unidentified contraption crash into a tree before sending parts flying.
Covering her face, she did not hear someone cuss from behind a nearby tree, nor the sound of steps scrambling forward.
Hiding her face in her arms, May barely registered as someone lay protectively over her, effectively shielding her from the rain of metallic objects.
Feeling the stranger's warm body hover over hers protectively, May wondered where her pokémon, Blaziken and Skitty were. From past experiences, she knew that all of her partners were extremely protective of her. So why were they becoming lenient now? Were they hurt, injured by the object?
With a startled cry, May hurriedly pushed the person off of her. Ignoring their disconcerted grunt which escaped the stranger, she scrambled to her feet, calling, 'Blaziken! Skitty! Arceus, please let them be safe!'
Not turning to glance at the hooded figure that fell to the ground beside her, she saw both of her pokémon staring at her from the other side of the clearing, seeming unconcerned about the stranger who had pushed her down.
Holding back a sob, she rushed to them, clutching her starter's waist as the much smaller and pink kitten pokémon jumped into her awaiting arm, calling her name whilst wiggling her tail eagerly.
'Oh thank Kyogre, you're both all right! You scared me!' May whispered, unaware of the shadow that was hovering over her.
'May, I cannot believe you! You could have been hurt!' A deep voice growled, filled with more anger and distress than May had heard in quite a while.
'I-I'm sorry? Do I know you?' The brunette whispered, turning to face the hooded figure with more fear than she cared to admit. Just her luck, she was out in a clearing, alone, her thoughts scrambled after something had nearly decapitated her. Even worse, her pokémon seemed to think the irate stranger was not a threat, and so they wouldn't protect her from the stranger unless she told them to.
'Do you have any idea of what you nearly just did? Didn't you even think about the danger? Are you so self-absorbed that you cannot comprehend just how many people care about you? I always knew you were thick and clueless, but I never once imagined that you were stupid beyond belief!' The voice continued to lecture her, pointing a finger right at her.
Blinking, May found herself struggling to contain her tears. Whoever this was, they had a Seviper tongue, and it made her feel like a Garbodor would in a kindergarten—like an outcast.
'Rayquaza, May, you could have been seriously injured,' the figure glowered at her, their tone softening at her apparent grief. Noticing a slight hint of regret in their voice, she looked up at them in disbelief. Furthermore, the use of the legendary green serpent located them as a Hoenn native, like her.
'R-Rayquaza?' May whispered, her tears forgotten as she glanced at her pokémon, who were staring at her and the stranger, appearing to be completely comfortable with the discourse of the two humans. Considering how wary they would have been if another person, say Harley, was belittling her, this itself was highly unusual.
'Why aren't they doing anything?' May frowned to herself before once again glancing at the figure before her. If a stranger had come up to her, shouting and carrying on, her pokémon would have burnt them to a crisp before freezing them until they were immobile. They'd become quite protective of her over time, and she couldn't quite grasp the notion that they'd stopped caring for her safety.
'They know you,' May whispered, noticing the figure's suddenly hunched figure. With a frown, she continued, 'and if they know you, then I know you. Who are you?'
Glancing around at her surroundings, May noticed the damaged saucer in the tree, however chose not to act upon it at this moment. Slowly, she moved her hand to the figure's teal coloured hood, trying to get a better look at them.
Almost immediately, a hand reached for her own, calloused and rough to the touch.
Blinking, May watched as the figure's hand paused near hers, surrounded by an eerie, pink glow, withdrawing the unknown hand from her own wrist.
'What?' The brunette questioned, as the figure froze before her, surrounded by the same pink glow.
Turning around, May saw an Elgyem float to her, flashing the green, red and yellow lights on its small hands, its large green eyes focused on her.
'Elgyem? I know you, don't I? You were the one who helped me when that branch nearly crushed me, weren't you?' May whispered as her gaze focused on the extra-terrestrial pokémon.
In response, the pokémon flashed her a green light, hovering between her and the unseen figure.
'Well, thank you for helping me through the forest, and for helping me here,' May smiled softly, reaching forward hesitantly to pet the small creature's oblong head.
In response, it closed its eyes and leaned into her touch, appearing to enjoy the physical contact.
'You're really warming up to me, aren't you?' May smiled softly before glancing back up at the figure. After all, who else would follow her this far and protect her using psychic?
'So, who are you?' She frowned before taking the hood in her hand and softly pushing it back, revealing luscious, chartreuse coloured hair and widened emerald eyes.
'Drew!' May gasped as the man's face flushed and his eyes darted around, noticing how her hands pulled back from his face, as if burnt.
'Hi May, it's been a while,' the man responded with a slight smile, though it seemed strained as the woman stared at him in shock. She barely registered his now familiar, teal coloured jacket which had been zipped closed, though a purple shirt was visible underneath it. His pants, surprisingly, were black, though the heavy boots on his feet were teal, too.
'Yes, I suppose it has,' May muttered back, ignoring the chuckles of Blaziken and Skitty near them, apparently enjoying her shocked and flustered state. While she'd wanted to see him, she'd never thought she'd meet him like this.
Realising he probably wasn't going to instigate further conversation, May found herself internally kicking herself at the awkward silence. She suddenly became painfully aware of just how much time had passed since she had last seen the man. He now stood a foot taller than her, and seemed as confident as ever.
'I can't believe you're here,' May began lamely, glancing up at him before forcing her sapphire eyes away, a flush filling her face.
'Yeah, same to you,' Drew chuckled, his emerald eyes never leaving May's face as Blaziken tittered knowingly.
'Congratulations,' May continued as she stared at her feet.
'For what?' The man questioned back, his tone filled with confusion.
'For beating me to the Top Coordinator title. And thank you for helping me back there,' May smiled as she returned her eyes back up to him, noticing his more relaxed posture. He looked well, and she was happy for it.
Licking his lips, the man chuckled, 'we always knew I'd beat you to that. You left the circuit, if I didn't beat someone who wasn't contending, I'd be a miserable excuse of a Coordinator.'
'I suppose,' the woman whispered, flushing at the honesty of his words.
'So, you're finally back in the circuit,' the man muttered, placing his hands in his pockets as his emerald eyes took in her altered physique. Elgyem had apparently noticed the two knew each other and decided the green haired man was no threat to the brunette, so was hovering before Blaziken and Skitty in a curious manner.
'Yeah, I suppose I am. We can thank Harley for that,' May chuckled, her voice sounding slightly breathy as the trio of pokémon moved beside her.
'You've made a friend,' Drew smiled, his eyes considering the light blue pokémon.
'I hope so,' May smiled as she petted the light blue pokémon's indented oblong head. It flashed its multi-coloured hands at her in response.
'How've you been, Drew? I'm sorry I wasn't at the Grand Festival,' May frowned, glancing up at him with a slight flush, her eyes lingering only a little too long on his toned arms.
'You're sorry? Is that all you can say? Well, since you asked, I suppose I can say that I've been well considering one of my best friends and rivals disappeared for years without a trace. Where were you? Why didn't you even think to contact me? Did you think that I wouldn't care, that I'd just forget you? Why did you disappear, May?' The chartreuse haired man frowned at her, his emerald eyes ablaze with an anger May had only seen once before—directed at his partner, Absol, for seeming to fail him.
Suppressing the urge to cower, May responded in a sheepish tone, 'I'm so sorry, Drew, I wanted to talk to you, I really did, but my dad wasn't well so I had to take over the Gym. One thing lead to another, and soon enough I found that I couldn't bring myself to talk to any of you, bar Solidad, who knew from the start. You saw how she acted when I disappeared, she was so worried that she couldn't even concentrate. I'm sorry, Drew, I never meant to just disappear like that. If I'd thought for a moment that you'd be so worried about me, I wouldn't have just left you all.'
'Yeah, well I always thought that you and I weren't just rivals. I always thought that I could trust you to talk to me when things got rough. I suppose that's my fault for trusting a little girl like you, hey?' Drew snarled, his eyes filled with a disappointment May had always feared to see in them.
'W-what?' May whispered, unable to believe her ears. He'd lost trust in her because she'd been afraid to trust him? Could it be true?
'You heard me. You weren't just playing Nurse Joy with your dad, were you?' Drew spat, his emerald eyes ablaze with anger.
'Drew, please, you have to believe me. My dad had to be flown to the hospital in Mauville City by Wattson. He was so ill, the doctors didn't think he'd make it,' May whispered as tears filled her eyes. This was every bit as disastrous as she'd feared. Dawn had always told her to be optimistic, but she'd been far too lucky as it was.
'What's the point in believing in you when all you did was push me away? I waited for you!' Drew muttered, his tone more bitter than May had ever heard before. It made her feel terrible, knowing she'd made him feel so bitter.
'Drew, I'm sorry, you have to believe that,' May whispered as the tears she'd been trying to suppress began to fall. She'd give anything for his forgiveness, he was always the one who pushed her on, encouraged her and inspired her. She couldn't imagine going through contests without him being there to support her.
'Sorry isn't good enough when you never even bothered to contact me,' Drew scowled at her as the tears began to fall from her eyes.
Hiding his eyes beneath his hair, Drew turned to walk away, ignoring May's sobs.
Watching him go, May's shoulders shook as her fire pokémon took a step towards the green haired man, his blue eyes ablaze with anger.
Letting out a burst of fire, Blaziken effectively stopped Drew, the fire type growled his name, his blue eyes filled with a fury the chartreuse haired man hadn't seen before. To the pokémon's surprise, he stared at the pokémon with sad eyes, his lips pulled back in a grimace.
Trying to ignore her immense guilt, May let out a calming breath. In a shaky voice, May called out to her starter pokémon, 'let him go, Blaziken. He has every right to be mad, and you know it.'
Placing her head in her hands as Elgyem floated before her, effectively shielding her from view, May didn't notice as Drew turned to her, his emerald eyes filled with regret. She didn't notice as he whispered something to Blaziken whose eyebrows lifted in surprise as he offered the fire type a silver ring.
The man glanced back at the teary eyed brunette and grimaced before disappearing in the shadows, once again covering his face with his brightly coloured hood.
Upon realising the man was gone, May sank to her knees in disappointment, letting out her grief as her pokémon crowded around her.
Elgyem glanced from her to the man before glaring once and disappearing into the trees, following him.
The brunette was too absorbed in her grief to notice that her Skitty, under instruction of her fire and fighting type pokémon, rushed away.
'Blaziken, I feel terrible,' May sobbed as she clutched her starter pokémon, who hugged her back his blue gaze troubled, a silver ring held tightly in his claws.
A twig snapped nearby, making both the brunette and Blaziken glance in the direction. A bush rustled slightly before revealing the dark blue hair of her friend, clutching the small, pink pokémon which had rushed away.
Upon seeing her friend on the ground in tears, the aspiring Poké Stylist's eyes widened. With a squeak, she rushed over, whispering, 'May, what's happened? Are you ok?'
'I think so,' May responded with a small smile, though it didn't fool her close friend.
'Come on, May, what do you take me for? You're crying your eyes out, and I know you've got a good excuse. After all, working in Rockson's gave both of us quite the thick skin, didn't it?' The young woman glowered at her friend, who responded with a sheepish smile.
Knowing her friend wouldn't give up, and that she'd pull others into the mess if required, May quickly found herself explaining everything. From Elgyem's loss of control over its space ship, right down to Drew's cold demeanour.
'He did what?' Dawn's scowl rang around the clearing as May winced slightly at the response of one of her best friends.
'You heard me, he just left. He wouldn't even accept my apology,' May whispered as the tears once again began to fall.
'Well we're not letting you take that one lying down! If we're going to prove to him that you're worth ten times as much as he himself is, then we're going to have to do it in the best way we know how. Come on, we've got training to do!' Dawn scowled before pulling her friend to her feet.
'Dawn, I don't even know about doing contests anymore,' May muttered as she demurely glanced up at her friend, knowing her friend would understand her conflictions better than others.
'Nonsense, we're just going to have to remind you of what it is you love about them. It wasn't just your rivalry with Drew that kept you going, and you know it. Besides, consider your contest dress on me,' Dawn winked at her friend, who flushed at the thought.
'I couldn't do that to you, Dawn,' May responded nervously, knowing that Dawn's finances were stretched with the upcoming opening of her boutique.
'Don't be foolish, I'll make it my best design yet. It's not like you have anything to wear, anyway.' Dawn winked with an eager smile, petting May's arm in a reassuring manner.
I'll teach him to play with your heart! Besides, consider it good advertisement for my brand!' Dawn continued in quite a menacing tone, making May wonder what Kenny had done this time to put the bubbly bluenette in such a mood.
'Now, let's go back to the Pokémon Centre so I can take your measurements,' Dawn beamed, taking May's arm in her own before practically dragging the uncertain brunette to their shared room, her gaze lingering slightly on the ring in Blaziken's claws.
I'm sorry if Drew seems a bit OOC, it's hard to imagine how he'd react to seeing May in the anime. Please give me feedback if possible, sorry it's taken so long :)