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Chapter 46Recalling her fainted Glaceon, May grimaced as she watched Iris dance around, hugging her Excadrill's dark brown body. It danced on its short legs, waving its steely, blade like hands above the blade on his head. They'd been battling in secret with Cilan acting as their judge in an underground practice field at the Pokémon Centre. So far Iris was on her last pokémon whilst May had just lost her third, a feat that surprised both women.
Upon agreeing to battle Iris, she'd swapped some pokémon around just for this battle. As she'd predicted, the Unovan woman had not expected May to plan ahead.
Twirling on the spot, she called, 'Metagross, take the stage!'
As the four armed, robotic pokémon with a disc shape for its main body landed before May, the brunette heard Iris gasp in admiration. It was a reaction the pokémon often created in others due to its unusual colouring.
With a wink, May grinned, 'I know you can't get over that awesome colour! My Metagross is beyond unique!'
'You bet I can't! How many times do you see a silver Metagross?' Iris squealed, causing the older Trainer to blush slightly. The pokémon had been gifted to her by Steven, something which her friends would still tease her about if they could.
'You're asking me, the Trainer of this Metagross, that?' May chuckled back as Cilan sighed at Iris' antics. She knew the man was quickly losing patience with Iris' antics and didn't want her friend to be chastised for their battle.
'Let's keep this going, or Cilan might just boil over,' May winked, noticing Iris' flat glare at the cooking pun.
'Right, Excadrill, use drill run!' Iris called, putting an end to their friendly chat.
'Metagross, use psychic to stop him!' May retorted as Excadrill began to spin in the air.
As the ground and steel type was lifted into the air in an eerie pink glow.
'Get up close and personal and use meteor mash!' May called, lifting her right arm for effect. Her pokémon responded by jumping forward, lifting his right arm as it began to glow a bright, shimmering yellow. It refracted the light, creating a beautiful display of rainbows and speedily smashing it into his opponent's exposted white fur, under the steel headdress.
'Excadrill!' Iris cried as Metagross released the ground and steel type from his psychic attack.
'Metagross, keep it up with flash cannon!' May called, knowing that Iris would not want her to go easy on her.
Lifting his arms before his face, Metagross created a shimmering, shining ball of bright white light. As it grew, May watched Excadrill clamber to his feet.
'Excadrill, dig!' Iris ordered, her hands clenched into fists.
'Send it, Metagross!' May yelled as her pokémon released the ball of light.
There was an explosion. May felt herself stumble as the ground shook, creating a cloud of smoke.
Covering her mouth, May frantically waved at the air before her face in a bid to create air flow.
As the dust settled, May saw a gaping hole where Excadrill had stood.
'Be vigilant, Metagross!' May called, knowing her pokémon knew better than to let its guard down.
'Get in there, Excadrill!' Iris called as her pokémon erupted out of the ground, attacking Metagross head on.
'Metagross, hyper beam!' May called, knowing it was risqué, but she wanted to end this battle before anyone knew where they were.
Her pokémon once again created a ball of light, this one pulsating and orange.
'Do it!' May called as Iris scowled, 'no you don't! Excadrill, focus blast!'
May's pokémon was the faster of the two, sending a beam of light at the centre of Excadrill's fur body.
'And that's it! What a delectable array of flavours that I've had the chance to savour! The winner of this Championship battle is May!' Cilan mused, dancing in a circle before raising his arms in a flushed May's direction.
'Well, Steven did say that you were one of the strongest battlers he's ever had to fight against, and I can totally see why,' Iris mused as she recalled Excadrill.
Hearing this, May felt herself overcome with embarrassement and guilt. She didn't appreciate her friends being in the dark as to her pokémon's power, as well as her secrets with Steven, but at least Iris, Cilan, Daisy and Brendan were offering her the support she thought she'd never get.
'Thank you, May, you helped me realise that there is still so much more training I need to do if I want to beat Alder,' Iris beamed up at May, who blinked at her in surprise.
'It's ok, just don't let the others know,' May blushed as Cilan lead them out of the room.
'Excuse me, I have to return my pokémon to my mother,' May said slightly before walking to the Pokémon Centre's booths.
Seeing a person with a hood talking on an Xtransceiver, May sent them a furtive glance before taking a seat at the nearby available booth.
Swiping in her Trainer Card, May heard the person say, 'no, mum, he's not fine! You know I can't do this, and the extended family being here is just downright oppressive! They're watching everything I'm doing, including what I'm eating! I can't help it if I'm stressed over the state he's in!'
Grimacing at the words she heard, she hurriedly dialled the Petalburg Gym's number.
'Hi honey, how was your battle?' Caroline's cheerful grin sounded in her ears.
'It went well. I won against Iris, though she put up a good fight,' May grinned as she saw Venusaur lifting Riolu over Wartortle's head, who sprayed a light spray of bubbles at the pokémon.
'I'm so proud of you, sweety, keeping up your good name! Do you want your Almia pokémon back?' Caroline grinned, her eyes shining with pride.
'Mum, you're not listening to me! I can't just go in there and see him look so dead! I have nightmares about it, mum! I can't face this all alone, I need him here with me!' May's neighbour gasped into her device, causing May to send her mother an anxious glance.
Watching her mother pout worriedly, May beamed, 'you bet I do! Are Venusaur and Wartortle making sure everyone keeps up with their training?'
'Yes, they definitely are. Come on, back into your pokéballs,' Caroline smiled at Elgyem and Riolu as May placed Metagross's ball in the slot.
Watching her mother place Elgyem's pokéball in the contraption on her end, May couldn't help but smile apprehensively as the young woman nearby scowled, 'I can't be strong for all of us, mum. Please can't you come down here? I need you, mummy, I can't do this anymore!'
'Got it!' May grinned as she picked up Elgyem's pokéball, placing Beautifly's pokéball in the slot.
'Honey, do you think you should go check on that young woman?' Caroline frowned as she placed Riolu's pokéball in the slot.
The machine whirred in place as the woman nearby began to cry.
'Mum, what can I possibly say to her? Besides, I don't think it would be wise for me to involve myself in someone else's problems,' May whispered as she glanced to her side cautiously.
'I know, but you might be able to think of something outside of Drew. I know you're worried about him, sweety, but maybe you can both bond over your problems?' Caroline offered her daughter, her lips forming the subtlest of pouts.
'I don't know, mum,' May grimaced as she glanced at the woman who was pacing anxiously to her left.
'It's your choice,' Caroline smiled at her daughter.
'I'd better go in case the others are looking for me. I love you,' May grinned at her mother who blew a kiss into the screen before terminating the call.
Left staring at the dark screen, May grimaced once before she collected her pokémon and, with a last glance at the distressed woman, hesitantly left to see her friends.