Problems of the Heart

by stringdog

In the game of love there are winners and losers and when the prize is Ash Ketchum there are many losers. Through a mix of circumstances Sabrina ends up helping the lost girls of Ash deal with the problems affecting their hearts after losing their battles for Ash's heart. Will Sabrina solve her own heart's problems in the process? Set in my Hearts Universe.

13. May II

Here it is, the thirteenth chapter in my latest Hearts Universe side story 'Problems of the Heart' released when I wanted it to be released within the Hearts timeline give or take. Another short gap of time between chapters thanks to Sabrina being active in Kalos and the next Problems chapter is coming out in 5 days time so the shortest gap between any two Problems chapters in the series though this is the heaviest one as those who know the Hearts Universe and what's going on in it will know what this chapter will deal with given who it's about and what is currently going on in Kalos but that's all the warning or heads up I'm going to give. For those wondering, this chapter takes place after the Snowbelle arc and right before the Master Class arc so between Parts CLXVII and CLXVIII. Anyway, that is all I have for this note and as there were no questions or guest reviews to respond to please time to sit back and get ready for the thirteenth Problem of the Heart.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.

May II

May walked into the communal area of the already pretty packed Gloire City Pokémon Center and looked around the gaggle of trainers and performers currently in it. She, along with Ash, Dawn, and Serena of course, had just reached Gloire City the day prior with just under a week to spare before the start of the Master Class Showcase that Dawn was in.

That was still in the future though, and there was a special performers meet and mingle that would take place before to allow the girls, and their plus ones, to meet and socialize before most of them competed against each other for the right to challenge Aria. Anyone who'd ever qualified for the Master Class was allowed to be there, though Serena was one of the few who was attending, with May as her plus one just as she was May's at the Kanto Grand Festival's Grand Reception the year prior, who wasn't competing and Aria herself was expected to be present to say a few words.

Before any of that could happen though May had something more important to deal with, something that she was probably long overdue addressing properly. That something was of course her own troubled past with a specific relationship she'd had a few years back, her relationship with Drew and how that had ended up being a disaster. However, that wasn't all there was it as May also had to address how her past relationship with Drew intersected with her own one-sided love for Ash and the whole dynamic of Brianna reappearing.

May had hoped to never really address this part of her past beyond that one talk with Misty in Pallet Town a long time ago, back when she learned she'd lost Ash's heart to Dawn. Alas fate had forced May's hand in this regard as it had decided to fuck with her in the worst way possible, it had brought her past right to her right as she was enjoying traveling with Ash once again, this time in Kalos.

Despite trying to put it all behind her and move on by never seeing or dealing with Drew again, he clearly wasn't over it and had orchestrated an elaborate revenge plot against her using Brianna, a girl who was obsessively in love with Drew to begin with, to take down May via Serena on the Kalos Contest Circuit this year. Kenny too had been involved because the trio were basically the 'We Hate Ash Ketchum Club' but Ash had thrashed Kenny in a full battle with the loser being exiled from Kalos for a year so that wasn't an issue anymore. All that remained these days was Drew and Brianna.

May hadn't expected Brianna to return to her life after their one brief interaction several years prior in Brianna's hometown of Chrysanthemum when May had gone there for a Contest. That interaction had shown May that Brianna had an unhealthy obsession with Drew, one that had caused her to confront May over her own dynamic with Drew at the time, but as with everything it seemed, fate had decided to intervene.

That had come in the way of Brianna running into Drew in Drew's hometown of LaRousse in Hoenn the year after May dumped him when he betrayed her in the Johto Grand Festival, which resulted in her humiliating defeat to Harley in the finals, and thus showed his true colors. She'd told him to not follow her to Sinnoh, which thankfully he didn't. Instead, he'd taken a year off in Hoenn instead and there he'd run into Brianna when she'd shown up for the La Rousse Contest that year while competing on the Hoenn circuit.

From their they teamed up and traveled Hoenn together for the rest of the year as Drew fully got Brianna under his sway and brought her in on his plans for revenge on May. They did take a year apart from each other to compete in separate circuits where Drew won it all in Sinnoh the year after May and Brianna was the runner up in Johto the year after Ursula won it there over Dawn. Once that was over they regrouped in Sinnoh, brought Kenny in following his own loss to Dawn in the Kanto Grand Festival final, and began to execute their grand revenge scheme.

That revenge had begun the moment they'd met May and the others outside of Geosenge, a meeting clearly planned to be deliberate, and declared their intentions to crush May via Serena and affect Ash as well with it. In addition, they were also going to go after Dawn via Emily, a coordinator on the circuit who Dawn had kinda mentored a bit in the past and who looked up to Dawn.

All of that, and the interactions since then, had gotten to May and brought back her deeply buried past from her time on the Johto Contest circuit. She managed to keep a lid on it for the most part to be brave for the others, the fact that most interactions were between Brianna and Serena helped even if May felt bad that Serena was dealing with the brunt of those interactions, but it was still a lot for May to deal with.

Add in the new levels of insanity that Brianna had shown in their most recent meeting in the Wallace Cup and the way she went after May's brother Max in the quarterfinals there and, well, it was getting to be too much for May to handle on her own without some help. With the Grand Festival still to come she needed help and she knew just who to turn to for that help.

That person was someone who May would never have expected to even know, let alone see as someone to help her out with something like this, but as if to balance out her shitty stuff with Drew and Brianna, fate had provided May with a support that might be able to give her the advice she needed to get through all this. That person was Sabrina, the Saffron City Gym Leader out in Kanto, and one of the last people May had ever thought would help her out.

However, Sabrina had her own troubled past, her own dark demons that May now knew about, and it had been none other than Ash who'd saved her from those demons and given Sabrina a chance to regain her life back because of course it had been Ash who'd managed to do that. That was all the way back when Ash was a 10-year-old rookie so almost 3 years before he met May, but his help had worked out and Sabrina, through her own journey, had recovered from her demons to the best of her abilities and used her past issues to help others in need.

Usually, it was similar situations to Sabrina's own one, that being a recovering addict though in Sabrina's case her addiction was to her own power and not substances, gambling, sex, porn, shopping, or any other such addictions, but the principles were similar enough for her to classify herself as one, that Sabrina helped out with. However, through chance and of course Ash, Sabrina had ended up learning of a few of the girls who'd lost Ash to Dawn and begun to help them.

It had started with Misty seeking her help following a talk that Sabrina had given in Cerulean City on her own issues which had prompted Misty to reach out to Sabrina for advice in preventing them from becoming a problem for her. This had helped Sabrina as well as she had to make amends to Misty for her own past actions against the redhead back when she was under the thrall of her powers, and they'd met up to deal with it all.

It was from this and a coincidence of learning that one of Sabrina's friends, the Battle Frontier Brain Anabel who May also knew, also had a crush on Ash that had led Sabrina to begin her strange mission to help all the girls who'd lost Ash to Dawn. In Anabel's case that had simply involved telling Sabrina of how she'd fallen for Ash when Sabrina visited her sometime after Ash faced her in a full battle the year before during his preparations for a second crack at the Indigo Conference.

Apparently it was Sabrina's way to pay Ash back for his help in the past, a way to ensure that the many girls who'd fallen for Ash were able to at least process their love in a healthy way and not become like Kenny, Brianna, or Drew. It was a noble endeavor, and a daunting one given the number of girls who'd fallen for Ash, but it was one that Sabrina clearly took seriously to the point of occasionally going out of her way to ensure that one of them was dealing with her heartbreak in a healthy manner.

May knew this first hand as she had already had one talk with Sabrina back in Kanto when Sabrina had come to Ash's second party before he, Dawn, May, and Max headed out to Kalos, and that talk had been very helpful to May. She'd been worried about the trip because she'd finally come to terms with her love for Ash and how he'd never return it now that he was with Dawn, even being able to confess it to him in Hoenn after the last Wallace Cup, but a whole year with him again and with Dawn by his side, and Serena who also had a crush on Ash as well, would be a bit much.

She'd been so worried about it that it had been on her mind and Sabrina had used that to first approach her. The psychic specialist had known that May was one of the girls who'd lost out on Ash's heart thanks to Dawn's little cheer squad in the Indigo finals and had been waiting for a moment to first approach May about it.

That moment came the day after Ash's party during the traditional battle held between the many trainers present when Sabrina used May's worries as the icebreaker to talk to her about them while also sharing some of her own story as she did need a break from watching the battles herself. As such, they walked through Professor Oak's ranch where they discussed May's feelings for Ash and how deep they were, her worries, and Sabrina in return told her some of her own tale.

From there Sabrina was able to give advice and that advice had been to basically give Ash and Dawn a moment or two to be a couple without May and Serena present when things got hard for the other girls' hearts to handle. That would take the form of taking a day or two with Serena to head elsewhere to recoup, re center, and destress from the whole thing.

It had been good advice in the end, something May had taken to heart and even done a few times that year by either using her judging requirements as a Top Coordinator under contract to help the expansion of Contests to Kalos this year or other plans to head elsewhere with Serena to mitigate the pain that was traveling with her unrequited love and his girlfriend who was also a close friend to May. It had worked really well, most recently on their trip to Snowbelle City for all that that city had to offer their various goals, so May knew that she could trust Sabrina's advice.

It was because of this and the whole mission Sabrina was on to help the Ash girls not go down a dark path of twisted love now that they'd lost that May wanted to talk to Sabrina again about her other issues. If Sabrina could help her out with her worries about her heart and being around Ash and Dawn as a couple then surely the woman would be able to help with her Drew related issues as well.

May knew that Sabrina would want a follow up with her on how her year was going, she'd said as much during their last chat when she'd had told May that she was going to be in Kalos around the Wallace Cup and for some time after it ended thanks to Misty, so they could have that chat around then they just needed to plan it around Sabrina's other plans while she was in Kalos. Misty herself was now on her way back to Kanto now but Sabrina was still around for May to meet up with her. Plus, Sabrina wanted to meet Serena as well so it all worked out if May could plan it accordingly.

She'd begun the wheels on that back in Snowbelle when Misty confirmed that Sabrina was in Kalos, and after checking schedules and geography they'd set up the meeting to occur in Glorie City a few days before the Master Class as that was the best place for it. Sabrina herself couldn't stay for the Master Class and had to leave for Anistar right after she spoke with Serena because the amount of people arriving would be too much for Sabrina's damaged mind, a side effect of her power abuse that May knew of, but she'd stay long enough to chat with the girls so long as they got in early enough.

That was why they'd planned to get here as soon as they were done in Snowbelle City, which took an extra two days due to Ash's loss to Wulfric in his first attempt followed by his bounce back and mastery of the Battle Bond phenomenon with his Greninja to win on his second attempt in an epic final clash with Wulfric's Mega Abomasnow, a few days early to allow for this chat. Now they were here, they got in the night before, and for the moment Serena was off with Dawn getting outfits for the mix and mingle as well as Dawn's Master Class dress while Ash was training for the upcoming Kalos League.

That had all been planned so that May could have this conversation with Sabrina now and then meet up with the others later. Then, probably the next day, Sabrina would speak with Serena who had agreed to do so after hearing from May and Misty about how much it had helped and move on to Anistar. May also planned to let Sabrina know about Miette and her crush on Ash so that she could seek that girl out as well just in case though May didn't know yet that that had already happened by complete chance while Ash was losing to Wulfric.

For now, however, May's focus was on finding Sabrina in the common area and then heading to Sabrina's room in the Pokémon Center for their chat. Unfortunately, the common area was quite packed so May had to look around a bit before she spotted a slick whip of dark green hair in a corner that caught her eye as soon as she saw it.

Sabrina's hair was that shade of green and May headed over to it, confirming in moments that the woman was Sabrina in her civilian attire, the same thing she'd worn at the party in Kanto, with an adorable Espurr in her lap that she was grooming. It was both practical as it was always good to groom your Pokémon and a good cover for being down here.

"Hello Sabi, been a while, I'm happy to see that you are doing well." May said using Sabrina's nickname she preferred to use while traveling, something Misty had made it clear to May to use if addressing the woman in public as Sabrina was trying to keep a low profile in Kalos, as she reached the older woman. "Is that Espurr new from your time here?"

Sabrina herself hadn't been in the common area long, the noise and amount of happy girls preparing for the upcoming Master Class or trainers excited to watch it in person was a bit much for her broken telepathy, but she could manage it to meet May here. She even took out Espurr to groom it as a way to avoid suspicion and calm her mind from the babble around her.

It was taking all her focus to keep it at a manageable level, which was why she hadn't notice May arrive until she spoke, and Sabrina looked up at May to see her standing a respectful distance from her still in the same pike bike top and bandana as before. Clearly this was her Kalos outfit, and it suited the girl well.

"May, so good to see you as well, thank you for your kind words." Sabrina said smiling as she rose, still holding Espurr in one arm as she put the brush away before getting a better hold on her Pokémon. "I'm actually better than ever but I will share that with you in time, part of my trip here was for my own heart after all as you girls have helped me as much as I've helped you I feel. As for Espurr, no it hatched from an egg Lady Olympia gave me when I left Kalos the last time but doesn't want to evolve. It's more of a therapeutic Pokémon, with all this noise I needed a distraction and grooming Espurr is one such distraction that helps."

"I understand." May said knowing what Sabrina was getting on about right away. "Shall we head to your room; it is a bit noise here after all so best to get out of here as soon as possible."

"Of course, this way." Sabrina said and she began to lead May back to the stairs to the rooms. "With all the girls coming in they gave me a simple single in a corner on the top floor as it was all they had but when you have my position it's easy to get a room, a perk of my job I guess. It also works out for me as it is away from everyone so not too taxing. Plus, I'll be leaving tomorrow after my chat with Serena, so I won't be here long."

"Makes sense with the upcoming Master Class." May said before asking. "Did you just get in then? To Gloire that is?"

"A few days ago, before the rush which really helped me brace for it." Sabrina said recalling her time in Kalos so far. "They have a NA meeting near the Pokémon Center that I was able to make, really helped after a week on the road to get here after circumnavigating Snowbelle to the south, but otherwise I've been enjoying the city. It is classically Kalos and has a lot to offer and I never visited it when I was last here, so it was nice to see. I'll certainly watch the Master Class on TV and support Dawn in it, hopefully from Anistar as I'm heading there next."

"You haven't seen Olympia yet?" May asked surprised as they reached the top floor and began to head to the corner room that Sabrina had. "I would have thought that you would have given how she helped you before."

"I've been a bit distracted since getting back to Kalos, both deliberately and accidentally." Sabrina admitted with a small smile and a light blush on her cheeks that was surprising to May. "I, um, had to see a special person first and see how he was doing. I've finally come to terms with my own heart that I have feelings for him, I was just too scared given my addiction history, and had to see him to confess and learn how he was doing. He's got his own journey to make though, but he returns my feelings, so I'm happy and know that when we're ready we'll be able to make a go of it, well I hope we can at least."

"That is nice." May said as they reached the room, a smaller than average room with a single bed, chair, and desk with a computer terminal and not much else and closed the door behind her. "Especially that he returns your feelings even if you have to wait a bit more."

"Yeah but Alain has his own journey to make that I can't interfere with as that wouldn't help him overcome his own problems." Sabrina said causing May to stop and go bug eyed at Sabrina's words as the older woman sat down on her bed and placed a now dozing Espurr on it beside her. "He may see you guys in time however, I told him of how Ash can help out so long as Alain keeps his mind open to Ash's unique style of helping people, and I think he wants to be around when Dawn goes for that Mega Stone for her Banette."

"I'm sorry but you're going to have to repeat that." May said as she quickly sat down in the chair to avoid falling down at the news. "Alain? As in moody, broody, Professor Sycamore's assistant and guy partially responsible for the whole incident in Kalos last year that I had to help him clean up after the mastermind was revealed to have used Alain for his own nefarious agenda, Alain? That's who you like? And he likes you back?"

"I see you know him, though he wasn't always that moody and broody when we first met, doesn't really suit him in my opinion but I guess we all go through an edgy phase." Sabrina said. "I thought you did, Sycamore told me that you had a hand to play in that thing last year, plus he showed me Dawn's Spiritomb though I burst his bubble with how I'd already seen it and knew you lot. Yes I mean that Alain, but he has his path that he must walk while I have mine. We'll meet again before I leave Kalos this time and see how we're doing; he gave me a Key Stone and Slowbronite when we met so we're going to battle and then chat but all in good time."

"I, I can't even begin to process this." May said shaking her head. "You met him on your first trip here I take it?"

"Yup, he was my first friend ever thanks to my own past." Sabrina said. "We met in a Pokémon Center near Dendemille when I was on my way to see Olympia. He had a Charmeleons back then and I had my Kadabra, so we battled because he learned I was from Kanto and was interested in challenging me. He won because I was still too fragile to do so, even risked a relapse but the wild Haunter with me pants Alain while invisible to make me laugh, and we became friends."

"Ok I wish I'd seen that." May said with a laugh. "The thought of Alain being pants by an invisible Haunter is hilarious."

"It was and as laughter really helps me keep centered it brought me back from the edge I was nearing." Sabrina said with a smile at the memory. "He went all red and spluttered, it was rather cute in hindsight, and apologized for it but I waved it off and asked where he was going. He was on his way to Anistar as well as he was going to do some research on the Sundial for the Professor, so I asked if he wanted to accompany me there which he agreed to and that's how we met. He also saw my near relapse when we got there thanks to some poacher but didn't think less of me for it and we remained friends while I was here. When I left I told him the truth and we've been in contact since."

"Ok, I guess anything can happened, I do know Ash after all so expecting the unexpected does become the norm." May said deciding that this was something best left alone.

"You do and that is a good segue into what we should really talk about." Sabrina said moving the conversation along with ease. "How is it going on that front? I know that there is something else you need to discuss with me, and of course I will help you there, but start with the simple catchup. How have you been regarding Ash since our chat back in Pallet Town?"

"Honestly, it's been really good." May admitted. "Ash and Dawn have been super respectful around us, except when Ash wins a gym battle and Dawn can go make out with him though due to gym designs she's not done that since Laverre and her Malamar helps mitigate their PDA, when her Machamp isn't actively trying to stop Malamar that is. It still gets to be a lot after a while seeing as I'm constantly with them, so I did take your advice and give him and Dawn space a few times. I took Serena with me when I did to help her as well. Ash's recent loss and funk in Snowbelle was a bit much but he sorted it out and after we all had some words with him he was fully back and got his final gym badge in an epic rematch. I can't wait to see him in the Kalos League."

"That is good to hear, you certainly sound like things there are going well on that front." Sabrina said with a smile though she had to resist asking about this Malamar of Dawn's as it might distract the conversation, she'd find out some other time about that Pokémon. "We will need another chat in a while, once this year is done and y'all know your plans for the next year or so, just to be safe, but I think for now you seem to be in a good place with your heart in relation to Ash and Dawn."

"Yeah our talk helped and seeing Misty be ok around them also helped me come to terms with it all." May said. "Serena has other hang ups, but I'll leave that to you and there's a new girl who's fallen for him, but I think she'll be fine after a talk or two. As for me I don't know about fully moving on, I may be a bit like Misty in that regard, but I'm as comfortable as I can be at the moment. As fun as the year with Ash and Dawn has been, I may need to do my own thing next year to properly recenter myself."

"That is probably for the best." Sabrina agreed with a nod. "But wait until that time comes and you can assess you plans better. For the moment you should just focus all your energy on supporting Ash, Dawn, and Serena in their various competitions."

"I will." May said with a nod.

"As for this other girl." Sabrina added. "I already know of Miette and how she likes Ash as well."

"You do?" May asked surprised.

"Yup, ran into her by accident in a Pokémon Center to the west of Snowbelle where I overheard her intense thoughts about Ash as the Wallace Cup had really deepened them which I wasn't surprised at in the slightest." Sabrina said. "I did my part with her of course so don't worry about that, she's in a good place, possibly the strongest place after an initial meeting I'd say but her personality seems to be like that."

"Miette is certainly confident in herself and very direct." May said. "I met her last year when she became Serena's rival, it was no surprise that she fell for Ash quickly and was able to process everything that came with that. I'm glad to hear she's ok, after the Wallace Cup things were a bit stressful for all of us."

"I watched and saw, hard not to see how far down the path of darkness that Brianna girl has already traveled." Sabrina said again shifting gears. "Which means it is time to move onto what you really want to talk about May. I know this will be hard for you but know that I am here, I've heard a lot in my time so if you need to let it out don't hesitate to do so."

"Th, thanks." May said gulping as the mood shifted, their carefree small talk and the little update with Ash was over, it was time for the main thing. "Where, where should I start?"

"I guess it's best to start from the beginning." Sabrina said with a shrug. "I need full context after all so may as well start from there."

"That's a fair ways back but it's probably the best place and given all that happened I'm going back to the very beginning when I first set out as a trainer as Drew came into my life pretty early on in my journey." May said as she took a deep breath and began her tale. "It all began almost 6 years ago now when I was 12, I started late because I didn't really have an objective or goal in life like Ash or Dawn did, hell I didn't even like Pokémon back then, but I wanted to get out of the house and see the world and this was the only way to do it."

"Not everyone needs to have a goal in mind to being his or her journey." Sabrina said. "Some take time to find it or even use the journey itself to find one's purpose."

"Oh, that was me for sure, same with Serena actually which is kinda how we became such good friends almost right away but that's for later." May said. "Anyway, I started out and of course as fate would have it ran into Ash on my first day, Pikachu destroyed my bike, Team Rocket were involved, and I went with Torchic as my starter."

"That seems to be about the norm for those who end up traveling with Ash." Sabrina said. "Right down to the bike frying and Team Rocket shenanigans."

"Pretty much, Pikachu has now fried every girl or her bike in her home region." May said with a chuckle. "But, well, I wanted to see the world so traveling with Ash was the way to do it. Initially many thought I'd be like my dad, he's the Petalburg City Gym Leader by the way."

"Oh, I know of Norman." Sabrina said. "I know all my fellow gym leaders even if I interact with very few of them."

"Ah I guess that makes sense." May said. "But yeah, the expectation was that I'd challenge gyms and what not but that never appealed to me, that's my brother Max's job now and he loves it. I just wanted to see the world. That was until I saw my first Contest and decided to became a coordinator. I didn't even know how to properly battle but Ash helped there, he was my mentor in many ways early one, so I guess the seeds of my feelings were planted early but I digress, suffice it to say that I had found what I wanted to do. Unfortunately, before my first ever Contest in Slateport City, I ran into Drew. Looking back in it, I should have known he was bad news from the start but, well, I was only 12 back then."

"Hindsight is 20/20, that I know better than most." Sabrina said the regret for her past mistakes clear in her voice. "And you were young, you didn't know better. At least that mistake wasn't like mine."

"True but still it is frustrating I didn't just leave it there and not engage with Drew more than necessary but alas I didn't." May said knowing what Sabrina meant but deciding not to get bogged down by it. "Anyway, my first interaction with Drew was him insulting me and my Pokémon, which pissed me off."

"True, that isn't a good sign of a person's nature." Sabrina agreed.

"No and it was just the first exposure I had to Drew's arrogance and the darker sides to his personality." May said darkly. "He would then beat me in the Slateport City Contest's first battle round when we were drawn against each other. It was my first Contest battle but not his so an understandable loss and he went to the final to lose to Robert but that was also expected, Robert was the heavy favorite that year and would end up beating Drew in the final of the Grand Festival that year as well."

"Two losses like that to a better coordinator, not good for someone with arrogance issues." Sabrina said. "But he clearly changed towards you."

"Yeah, he changed his attitude towards me after my victory in the Fallarbor Contest which he was also in." May said. "He lost to a coordinator called Grace in the semifinals, so I didn't face him in the Contest, and then I beat Grace in the final. He congratulated me by giving me a rose which would become his thing with me and was also a reference to his primary Pokémon Roselia though now it is a Roserade. That would be where my crush on him began I'd say."

"For a young girl just starting out, to get such praise and a rose from someone more experienced, it's hard not to I would guess." Sabrina said. "Especially as you're entering puberty around then and hormones are starting up, it's a perfectly understandable reaction."

"Yeah well it worked, and he kept doing it, so I always had a little thing for him." May said with a sigh. "Even after he criticized me for relying more on luck and not having strategies when I told him I had 4 ribbons and there was only one more Contest left that year in Pacific Log Town. We had a battle, but Team Rocket interrupted it and in the end I got that final ribbon though it was a close call."

"Doesn't matter how you got it if you got it." Sabrina said.

"Yes though Drew was kinda right, as much as I hate to admit it, back then I did use more luck that tactics and I kinda kept that habit of last-minute qualification when I went to Kanto the next year." May admitted. "Though I was pretty good at combo moves in double battles. Still, I was an up-and-coming rookie with a 5 and 2 record going into the Grand Festival so I wasn't some random nobody by that point."

"Not bad for a rookie." Sabrina noted. "Wasn't Dawn like 5 and 4 as a rookie?"

"5 and 5 I believe with two appeals failures something I've never done." May said. "Well technically 6 and 5 but that last one was a little different, something about swapping with a princess that looked like her."

"Yes I recall hearing that story when I asked for their tale back in Saffron, it's how she got her Togekiss and is a typical random adventure one would expect with Ash Ketchum around." Sabrina said remembering it vaguely. "But 5 and 2 as a rookie is really good."

"It is but I didn't really have consistent rivals, only really Drew and Haley who I'll get into later, that guy really has it in for me for some reason." May said. "But I beat Harley every time we met in Hoenn which only seemed to fuel his issues with me. Anyway, I ended up advancing to the battles of the Grand Festival where I lost to Drew in quarterfinals. He'd then go onto the finals where he lost as I mentioned earlier."

"I see." Sabrina said. "So that was the end of your first journey but not the end of him."

"Correct though I didn't know it at the time." May said. "At the time I was focused on Ash and his challenge in the Hoenn League's Evergrande Conference. After that, a Top 8 finish where he was knocked out by the eventual winner of the Conference, I went to visit Ash in Kanto and told him I was going to compete in the Kanto Contests. It worked out for us as he had been invited to challenge the Kanto Battle Frontier, so we had another year together that only deepened my crush. That was also the year with the Sea Temple incident that solidified that I was crushing on Ash hard."

"I believe you told me that last time." Sabrina said. "And if I recall, you won my hometown's Contest that year as well."

"I did, my first Kanto ribbon in fact." May said with a smile. "But you were out of town I take it."

"With my telepathy I always am for those things as Saffron gets too crowded with excited fans for my comfort so a good time for my week off per month." Sabrina said with a sigh. "Anyway, go on, when did you learn that Drew was in Kanto?"

"Pretty early on when we ran into him trying to catch an Arcanine that I went after as well out of competition, but we gave up on it when we realized it had a litter of Growlithe puppies that it was looking after." May said. "In fact, Drew already had a Kanto Contest Ribbon when we saw him in Kanto, so it was clear that we'd be rivals on the circuit again. Still, it didn't bother me as I was stronger and was going to beat him this time, but we never actually met in a Kanto Contest. I was hoping to face him in the Chrysanthemum Contest, but he wasn't in it as he'd done a few prior so was taking a break to let his Pokémon rest up."

"Chrysanthemum." Sabrina said the name ringing a bell with her from when she watched the Wallace Cup. "That's the town where Brianna is from, right? That was where you met her."

"Oh boy yes." May said. "And she was something else even back then. She singled me out before then, after my only regular loss that year in Wisteria Town to Harley, by sending me a letter with a rose with an unsigned note so I thought it was from Drew as he did that kind of thing."

"That is a little weird, I'll be honest." Sabrina said.

"It gets stranger." May said. "She did it to get my attention but wasn't ready to face me until I showed up in Chrysanthemum Town for the Contest there. When we met she confessed to sending it and the reason behind it was her crush on Drew who was going to be there but didn't compete in the end. She felt the best way to get his attention was to beat me in the Contest because she thought he liked me and I liked him, even asked me about my feelings which made me realize I had a solid crush on Drew, but I deflected and moved the conversation along. Later introspection led me to decide not to act on it until I had beaten Drew and proved that I was his equal."

"A good idea for sure." Sabrina said. "About your feelings that is. As for Brianna, that is a slightly strange thing to do but, well, we all know how Misty and Dawn had their first interaction and the tone that set so feelings can make us do strange, unexpected, things. The important thing is that you realize if you are on a bad path and correct it which in this case Brianna clearly didn't do."

"Yeah my own battle with Dawn helped me understand it more, my specific rival battle that is, and it actually helped give me a lot of closure especially after our serious talk before that final, so I understand a bit though I've never let my feelings dictate my actions like Misty has." May said. "But I digress, that was Brianna's plan and then I saw her Pokémon, which was where things got weird."

"And they weren't already?" Sabrina asked quirking an eyebrow at May.

"Fine, weirder." May admitted. "Brianna's Pokémon at the time were a Surskit and a Vibrava, the forms before two of Drew's main Pokémon in Masquerain and Flygon."

"Ok that is weirder." Sabrina said her eyes wide. "That definitely takes the crush to obsessive levels and tells me a lot about her personality even back then. I'll give my overall assessment at the end when you've told me how she's been since running into her in Kalos, however. Please, continue."

"Right." May said. "Well, after that, I beat Brianna in the finals, but Drew told her that she was a good coordinator which made her faint and I had to catch her which I guess is reasonable for a young girl with her first major crush though I'd never have such a reaction. After that he just left."

"Probably didn't see her as more than a fangirl, likely still doesn't." Sabrina admitted. "Someone like that would never truly see a woman as a partner unless he respected her which he wouldn't for someone like that. Hell, he probably won't see a man as an equal either if that man can't beat him, but I digress."

"No, he wouldn't but he did with me in the end." May said. "My win over Brianna was my third that year. I would again push it to the wire and win the final Contest of the year in Mulberry City, defeating a rival that turned out to be Jessie from Team Rocket in disguise who was using Harley's Pokémon as he tried to sabotage me in a sudden death overtime battle, but Ash and Drew helped stop that which made his later betrayal even worse."

"I bet." Sabrina said not sure what that was but figuring it had something to do with this Harley character. "And you really pushed it to the wire there."

"Well, regardless, I do thank him for his help as I was able to qualify for the Grand Festival even if it was as close as I could possibly manage it." May said. "There I met the favorite for that year's Kanto Grand Festival, a woman called Solidad who'd defeated Drew in his first ever Contest and was basically on the same level as Robert, and a clear step above Drew."

"Somehow that may be something to do with his issues." Sabrina said.

"It does though that I wouldn't learn for a bit." May said darkly. "Regardless, I had to deal with Harley again, the dude cross dressed as me for his appeal in the Kanto Grand Festival."

"Come again." Sabrina said blinking.

"Harley literally dressed in the same outfit as me for his appeals, which he hid until the moment he stepped out for his appeal when he revealed it in dramatic fashion, to get into my head because he likes to play head games." May said. "It didn't work as I beat him in the battle round before setting up a repeat of the year before with another quarterfinal match against Drew."

"Fate, she loves to mess with us doesn't she." Sabrina said with a grin.

"Oh boy does she." May agreed. "But this time I won with Combusken and Squirtle over Drew's Flygon and Absol, so I finally beat him. That set me up for a semifinal with Solidad where she wiped the floor with me, it wasn't even a contest, no pun intended, she just destroyed me. She did so because she'd studied me in the tournament and realized my style was basically a Contest version of Ash's battle tactics and countered it perfectly. When I learned that I got depressed and down, Ash and the others helped me though and Drew even had another Contest battle with me, a mock one, that he won. Still, it was the bit at the end that helped me the most."

"How so?" Sabrina asked.

"Drew told me that he was heading to Johto to compete there for the next Contest season." May said. "And I realized that if I wanted to complete my journey as a coordinator, to push past the barrier that I'd just realized was in my way, I had to go there alone as well, which I did. It was hard to say goodbye to Ash, but he understood and would head onto the Sinnoh region while I went to Johto where Drew, Harley, and even Solidad were competing despite the latter winning it all in Kanto. That actually really damaged her image as it was seen as narcissistic to compete as a Top Coordinator though not wrong to do so as Johto doesn't limit their Contests to non-Top Coordinators."

"I can see that, those who win the Conferences don't go to other regions to compete even if they fail to beat any of the Elite Four." Sabrina said. "It's not prohibited but it is a convention not to do so."

"Yeah I think Solidad realized that though she was upset in a major way in the Johto Grand Festival quarterfinals by Drew, but I'll get to that in a moment." May said as she took another deep breath. "Because it's time to move onto the point where Drew and I started a relationship."

"Yes it is time for that." Sabrina said and she saw May's gloved hands begin to tremble, so she reached out to take them in hers, she had to lean forward a little, but she managed it with relative ease. "It's ok, take your time, I'm here for you if you wish to discuss this and if you want to stop and anytime just let me know. It all occurred in Johto I take it."

"Yeah." May said weakly as she gripped Sabrina's hands for strength surprised by how gentle they were. "That's where it began but not right away. With both Drew and Harley there, along with me, we were finally seen as top-level favorites and ended up intensifying our rivalry and chasing after Solidad at the same time. Drew was a tough opponent for sure, so was Harley, and the three of us slugged it out for months there with wins and losses to each other all over the place."

"If you're constantly facing off with each other that is to be expected." Sabrina said. "And I bet it made you a lot better as a coordinator."

"Oh, it did, I grew a lot while I was in Johto." May agreed. "I even got three ribbons pretty quickly, two from Harley and one from Drew, but then I hit a rut and ended up in a losing streak against them and Solidad. What I needed was a break to clear my head and low and behold I had the perfect distraction, the Wallace Cup, the one Contest that counted anywhere, was being held in Sinnoh that year."

"Where Ash was." Sabrina said understanding right away.

"Where Ash was." May said with a smile. "I wanted to see him again and reset myself with the Wallace Cup, a win away from Johto that I was going to use to really boost my confidence, and, well, seeing Ash and Brock again helped sway my mind. That and I evolved my Eevee into a Glaceon at a rock near Snowpoint City but that was because it was time for him to evolve and that way I had something from Sinnoh as Eevee can only evolve into Glaceon there, at least that I was aware of at the time."

"I think there's a way to evolve an Eevee into a Glaceon in Kalos as well but I'm not sure." Sabrina said. "Eevee's evolutions are strange at best. I was just glad mine evolved into an Espeon as that was what suited me the most, but I think mine understood that and ensured that he would become an Espeon."

"Like Dawn's did." May said. "I saw hers evolve."

"Like Dawn's though mine's not a shiny variant." Sabrina said. "Hers is one majestic Espeon, the envy of all who like psychic types because of her rarity. I even got to play with her a bit in Lumiose City as she's there, Dawn had given permission for me to do so, but this time I've digressed. Do continue May."

"Right." May said. "I went to Sinnoh to recharge and that was where I met Dawn though Ash told me about her when I called him after I got to Snowpoint City. We became instant friends, she's still one of my closest friends to this day as is her friend Zoey as we all got to know each other for the Wallace Cup."

"That is the good thing about competitions like that." Sabrina said. "If done right they can forge lifelong friendships."

"Don't I know it, the Wallace Cup in Sinnoh really did that for me." May said. "I also bonded with Dawn because I learned that she was using the Wallace Cup as her bounce back as well after two appeal failures in her last two Contests. She got past it this time and easily made her way to the final, the only one to not face any of us on the way there as Ash and Zoey were also in it but Ash lost in the quarters as he was just having fun with Buizel, so some serious Contest guys beat him but then lost handily to Dawn in the semis. As for me, I beat Zoey, who Dawn's never beaten, in the semis to advance to the finals against Dawn."

"The first of three." Sabrina said. "They love bringing that up."

"Tell me about it though I was a Top Coordinator the third time so I shouldn't really have been in it, but Petalburg City was hosting it, so I had to compete in it, and it turned out for the best in the end." May said. "Anyway, Dawn beat me to finish her own bounce back but seeing Ash, taking a break for Johto, and having fun was what I needed as well. I may not have won but I did get valuable experience there and took it back with me to Johto. That and a new Glaceon really helped."

"Ice types aren't common and are strong offensively, especially before the advent of fairy types as they were the best against dragon types." Sabrina said. "So long as you dodge and don't face a bad type attack they're really good in a battle. My Jynx is one of my better Pokémon, so I know the type pretty well."

"Oh, I know, I beat Drew in my first Contest back after Sinnoh with Glaceon against his Flygon." May said with a smile. "It was really good as it netted me my 4th ribbon, tying with Drew and Harley at that point, and afterwards he finally asked me out on a date."

"Ah so that's when it started." Sabrina said.

"Yup." May said with a nod. "I knew he liked me before that, he kept up the romantic gestures after I beat him in Kanto and even intensified them but didn't pull the trigger until that win after I returned from Sinnoh. By that point I'd come to terms with the fact that I had crushes on both Drew and Ash but with Ash's legendary density I knew that I wouldn't get through to him, so I decided to give Drew a chance and said yes. That was a terrible idea."

"Not right away though I take it." Sabrina said. "These things seldom are at the start."

"No, not right away." May admitted. "He was actually really sweet at the start and made me feel special. We even agreed not to compete in the same Contest to avoid issues in our budding relationship. He was next up but lost to Harley who claimed his 5th in that Contest so it was my turn next which I won and that was the start of the downhill spiral."

"You got your 5th before him." Sabrina said thinking on that. "And his ego couldn't take it, especially with your past of waiting until the last minute to qualify in the past two years."

"Bingo though I think my failures to manage time well in the past years was because I was with Ash, so we were doing more than just Contests so I don't mind that I left them to the last minute." May said. "But this time I didn't, and Drew didn't take it well. I knew that he could be harsh, he was like that to me at the start and if his Pokémon performed poorly he would scold them and be borderline abusive, I saw it with his Absol once and a few times in Johto he got a little too aggressive after a loss with his Pokémon, but I looked past it when I shouldn't have. All this played into his fragile ego and when I won my 5th ribbon before him, well even the weakest glass is stronger than Drew's ego."

"A talented coordinator but one who knows it leading to arrogance, that's not a recipe for a strong ego." Sabrina said. "The greater the arrogance the weaker the ego, at least that's what I've seen from the trainers that I've faced. Those who are too arrogant I tend to humble, the ones who are still good are the ones who can bounce back after such a humbling."

"Well Drew's ego certainly wasn't strong and when add in Drew's sense of masculinity and it isn't good." May said. "I honestly think that also had a role to play in it as well."

"How so?" Sabrina asked.

"It's hard to say, as a girl I don't really understand it, but, well, Contests aren't exactly the most gender balanced competitions out there." May said. "If you look at them they tend to be rather female dominated just as standard trainer battles are male dominated. I think Ash even once said that he's never faced a girl later than the round of 32 in a Conference until he faced Lyra in the semis last year and she was only the second girl in his time to make it that far in a Conference he was in. Hell, the only other notable female rival Ash has ever had is some girl in Unova called Bianca."

"Yeah that does seem to be the case." Sabrina said. "Nothing bad with it, the genders are attracted to different things due to the nature of biology so the more brutish and dominant style of trainer battles would attract men more than women while the more aesthetic beauty and grace of Contests would attract women more than men. Doesn't mean that men in Contests are any less of a man for liking them or that women like me who prefer trainer battles are less of a woman for it."

"No, it doesn't, I agree with you there." May said. "But, well, there's also the fact that the men who tend to do well in Contests are, well, not traditionally masculine let's say. That doesn't mean they're any less masculine mind you, I know Wallace well and he's definitely masculine just in a different way. Drew however, he's more macho masculine. It's a little different with the Sinnoh Contests because of the dressing up allows for some level of masculine expression for those who like it, even girls like Zoey who prefer that style do so, but otherwise, yeah, the men who go far tend to not be people like Ash and when I was in Johto I learned that Drew was self-conscious about that."

"Ah I get that." Sabrina said. "Alas that kind of thinking is a toxic side to masculinity. Normal masculinity isn't toxic but there are certainly elements of it that are just as there are elements of femininity that are toxic. Neither gender is perfect, you just can't let the negatives control you but if this was how Drew saw himself then he was probably a lost cause from the start."

"Misty called him insecure, and I think he was." May noted. "Before me only Solidad as a woman could beat him and she was clearly more experienced than he was though that loss didn't help. Well, beat him consistently, he lost to Grace after all but that was early on so who knows."

"Probably a one-off thing he could rationalize away but you were different." Sabrina said. "And now that you were dating him things weren't going to get better."

"No, no they weren't." May said with a sigh. "We had a huge fight that night and from then on he was different. Not physically, he was gentle there, but he was his harsh self again with snide or belittling comments at times. We never went far sexually at least, only really making out and that was it, but after that he wanted me on his arm more at things and really showed off that he had a woman even if plenty of the other male coordinators had wives or girlfriends."

"Yeah that is not a good sign." Sabrina said.

"Yeah but it only seemed to last a bit because he won his final ribbon shortly after that." May said. "Though he won it in brutal fashion, dominating to the end with a series of Battle Offs that wasn't really his style. I liked him though, so I rationalized it as just frustration at being the last of us to reach 5 ribbons and determination to get that final one without a doubt. However, he kept pushing his Pokémon pretty hard even after that so I eventually snapped and told him that he shouldn't do that, that he should be more like Ash."

"Oh." Sabrina said. "That wouldn't go over well with him if you two were dating at the time."

"No, it didn't." May said. "Drew knew that Ash was special to me and when I told him that Ash was a better trainer who knew Pokémon better than him and treated them right, well he darkened at that. I really praised Ash because I do look up to Ash in a lot of ways and from then on it wasn't if but when would Drew do something that he couldn't take back."

"Between everything you've said, the mention of Ash would push him over the edge, especially if he already suspected that you had feelings for him as well." Sabrina said. "Or at least to the brink of it, it wouldn't take much to send him beyond the point of no return."

"It didn't, and that point was the Johto Grand Festival." May said as she forced herself to recall it and felt the tears begin to sting her eyes. "It, it was the culmination of the year, and I was going to go all out, as was Drew, Harley and Solidad. We were the four favorites after the regular season, but the random draws didn't care for that and put Drew against Solidad in the quarterfinals, our first quarters not against each other."

"And that's where he finally beat her." Sabrina said. "A huge win for him both personally and in the Grand Festival."

"Yup, out muscled her in the end but he was happier than I'd ever seen him." May said. "He'd beaten one of his two great rivals, the other is Robert, and was in the semifinals again with the Ribbon Cup in his sights and the top favorite remaining in his mind though I was considered his equal by that point. Both Harley and I won and then I was drawn against him. That soured him instantly."

"You were probably the final obstacle given that you could beat him." Sabrina said. "And he would likely have hoped Harley dealt with you first so he wouldn't have to."

"I am sure he wanted that, Harley had really upped his game in Johto and advanced well beyond his best to reach the final as he had the first semifinal." May said. "Then it was my one against Drew, that, that was the end of it really."

"What did he do?" Sabrina asked her voice soft and reassuring. "You don't have to say anything if it's too hard but sometimes it's best to let it all out, just voicing it can ensure that your past has no power over you anymore."

"No, I need to get this off my chest." May said unable to hold back the tears that began to fall down her cheeks. "He said a lot of terrible things to me during it to throw me off. Called me worthless, a lucky coordinator who didn't have any skill, who relied on a trainer to learn the ropes, and a bad one at that because he couldn't win a Conference. He said that I wouldn't get any further, that he'd make my loss to Solidad the year before look like nothing. He was even using Flygon as well as a new Johto Pokémon of his, a Delibird, against my Blaziken and Glaceon and he kept taunting me during the battle."

"There, there, it's ok to cry May." Sabrina said squeezing her hands as May began to sob harder as she let it all out. "You're doing great."

"Th, thank you." May said unable to wipe her face and just plowing on. "It was hard especially because he didn't shout or anything, he was so calm and composed during it as if I meant nothing to him while also brutally going after my Pokémon. This was Drew in his darkest sense and he knew where to hit me without it coming off as over the line to those watching. I did lodge a formal complaint afterwards as he did breach conduct rules and Drew got a year's probation, but he avoided that by taking the next year off which I'll get into in a moment. Still, as bad as he was, I wasn't going to let him belittle Ash like that and used that against him."

"Good girl." Sabrina said with a smile at May. "The best thing that you can do against someone like that is to not rise to it but let them blunder blindly into their mistakes."

"Oh, Drew did that and more." May said with a chuckle through her sobs. "I was able to turn the tables on him and I had type advantages, big ones. If he wanted to face Ash's style then he was sure as shit going to take it for all of Johto to see. I didn't hold back either, I channeled my inner Ash and struck him where it hurt. I won that match before the halfway point with a swift Battle Off and told him at the end that it was Ash's style that had defeated him. It also reminded me that I liked Ash, that he had done so much for me and that he was actually pure unlike Drew. It made me harden my resolve in dumping him once the Grand Festival was over but then Drew truly betrayed me."

"I'm happy to hear that you were able to get past that and use your feelings for Ash to win, that would have really wounded him." Sabrina said. "And no doubt give him the last push to leave the light for good, not that he was redeemable at that point it seems."

"It did." May said as she began to recover a bit and Sabrina let go of one of her hands to give May a handkerchief she had on her that May used to wipe her face and continue. "Afterwards, as I was composing myself for my first ever Grand Festival final and against Harley who I was better against than most, Drew finished his betrayal. He went to Harley and told him all of my tactics, my styles and which Pokémon he expected me to use, my Beautifly and Venusaur, in the final."

"He did?" Sabrina asked shocked at that. "There's planning sure but that, that's too far for someone who claims to have romantic feelings for you."

"At the time I couldn't prove it though Brianna has since claimed it and I don't doubt it." May said with a sigh. "But I suspected it seeing as Drew turned on me, openly cheered for Harley in the final and no matter what I threw at him, Harley had counters for it. He bested me worst than I've ever been bested in a Grand Festival before."

"That bad?" Sabrina asked.

"Yup and Solidad had dominated me the year prior in Kanto." May said. "Finals aren't supposed to be that lopsided. The only good thing about it was that I didn't have a Battle Off loss, but it was a humiliating loss that Harley taunted me throughout the way he always wanted to do. It was a hard, bitter loss and Drew smirked at me when I lost and showed his support for Harley when Harley raised the Johto Ribbon Cup and was proclaimed a Top Coordinator. It was the final betrayal and while my heart wasn't broken, Drew's attitude ensured that I was already over him, I knew what I had to do."

"Dump his worthless ass." Sabrina said.

"Oh yeah and I did so in front of everyone we knew." May said. "Broke up with him in the waiting room after the Grand Festival and then told him that I was going to go to Sinnoh and that I'd better not see his face there. Then I lowered my voice and told him if he did show I'd tell the committee everything about him and he'd definitely get suspended from Contests. Thank Arceus he got the hint and returned to Hoenn to cool off for a year. I then went to Sinnoh and used that anger and my desire to final win it all so that I could return to Ash's side to win 4 Contests really quickly before I hit a wall."

"That is really good of you." Sabrina said smiling at May who'd stopped crying by this point by was still holding the handkerchief in one hand and one of Sabrina's hands in the other just in case. "Really strong of you to do that, inspirational even after going through a betrayal like that."

"Th, thanks Sabrina." May said with a smile back at her. "It was how I dealt with it, basically never seeing Drew again. I shut it down, pushed it out of my mind, and knew that that was for the best. Alas with the wall I needed another break and went to Johto for the Wallace Cup as that was where it was, kinda a reverse of the year before, where I met Dawn again which was a pleasant surprise. She was in Sinnoh with me but busy, so we never crossed paths until after her return from Unova where she saw Ash again. She was really gushing about it, and it brought back my own crush in full force. I didn't know at the time that Dawn had come to terms with her own love for Ash either but, yeah, it helped me."

"Even not there Ash does these things to people." Sabrina said with a chuckle. "He's really something else."

"Oh boy does he." May said with a chuckle of her own. "And again, Dawn and I met in the finals where again my Glaceon lost to her Piplup, but Dawn was on a mission that year and nothing was going to stop her. She used the Wallace Cup as a springboard to a 3 month stretch where she went 5 and 0 in Johto Contests, the first perfect regular season in years on any circuit including Solidad's tour of narcissism the year prior. She would lose in the finals of the Johto Grand Festival to her negative rival Ursula in heartbreaking fashion similar to her finals loss to Zoey the year prior but, well, we know what happened there."

"Yup, fate wasn't on your side May, by the time you saw Dawn again forces were already in place to ensure that she won." Sabrina said. "But you still had your love for Ash and used it to win in Sinnoh."

"That it did." May said. "And I got the chance to help out in an expansion region which I took and chose Kalos the moment I heard about how it was a classic region with 8 gyms, a League Conference, and all that so it would be perfect. I was going to ask Ash to join me if he hadn't won it all in Unova and then confess to him here during our year together, but, well, then Dawn kissed him in front of all of us and my heart was broken this time."

"I've heard of that moment; it was when you and Angie learned that you'd lost." Sabrina said. "Misty already knew but you two didn't."

"I didn't even see it coming." May said sadly. "I had my plans and suddenly they were destroyed before my very eyes by one of my closest friends, but I'll never hold that against Dawn. Misty saw me and helped me, so I was able to avoid a scene and Dawn had noted Angie already, she knew her better after all, and talked with her hence why Angie is known as the second rival to Dawn not me. Dawn didn't actually suspect a thing with me, then again after Angie there was the whole Kenny thing and the one unconfronted rival, some girl called Macy, was about to make a scene so Dawn had a lot to deal with that night. It wasn't until I saw her and Ash again in Hoenn that Dawn figured it out and confronted me."

"The third Wallace Cup you two faced off in." Sabrina said with a nod. "That battle was your rival one, your closure under the way Dawn deals with you lot after the whole Misty meeting kinda set the tone for all future one, albeit much more civil than Dawn and Misty's meeting."

"Pretty much, it really helped and allowed me to confess to Ash after the Cup and even kiss his cheek to sorta give me the closure I fully needed." May said with a sad smile. "Afterwards I returned to Kalos with a new vigor to help with promoting Contests and supporting Serena in her Showcases. I had used the trip to heal my heart and the Wallace Cup in my hometown was the final thing I needed for that though I didn't know it at the time because I didn't realize how much I needed that battle with Dawn until it happened. Still, as you saw at the party, I needed some advice and yours really helped. On the Ash front I'm good, it's the whole Brianna and Drew being back that I'm not good given all that it recalls to me."

"Yes I can tell." Sabrina said. "I can't imagine the surprise that must have been for you when they showed up here. I live in fear that my demons will return one day, it's why I'm so regimented in my routines and constantly continuing my recovery, but I still have the control I once lacked. This, this isn't something in your control so don't blame yourself for it."

"What do you mean?" May asked looking at Sabrina in confusion.

"From what I've gathered, they targeted you right?" Sabrina asked in return. "Came to Kalos because you were here."

"Yeah they did." May said with a nod. "It happened as we were heading to Geosenge Town, you know, the village in the far west."

"I know it, never been there though." Sabrina admitted. "Most of my time here was spent in Anistar and the areas around it so other side of the region. I never really saw Coastal Kalos and won't this time either but in time I hope to."

"It's a nice place, great for evolutionary stones and there was a Contest there so Serena was going to enter it." May said. "It was part of our plan after Ash's gym battle in Cyllage City. We were going to head to Geosenge for the Contest, try and catch the Showcase in Lagoon Town and if there was a snap Contest there do it, visit Shalour for the gym there and because Serena and I know Korrina pretty well, and then make our way to Coumarine for the Pledging Festival and all that that city had. Alas, along the way when we were on the outskirts of Geosenge, a berry hit me in the forehead."

"A berry?" Sabrina asked.

"Yeah, came out of nowhere and struck me as I sat in a field with the other, so it wasn't a coincidence." May said darkly. "The offending person and her Pokémon came up to us and it was Brianna. That's when she revealed her plan of revenge, to crush me through crushing Serena on the Contest circuit. During that Kenny showed up, Drew had won it all in Sinnoh the year after me though he turned down the offer to be a judge to come after me in Kalos, through Brianna of course, and teamed up with Kenny there because Kenny wanted to take down Ash to win Dawn and Drew saw that as another way to hurt me by proxy."

"Ah a useful idiot then." Sabrina said.

"Kenny?" May asked and Sabrina nodded. "Yeah he kinda was. He was so hellbent on taking Ash down, especially after the shit in the Kanto Grand Festival where Dawn owned him in the final harder than anything I've seen in a long time, if it wasn't Kenny I would have felt bad for him, that he wasn't thinking straight. The idiot challenged Ash to a full battle with the loser being exiled from Kalos for a full year and he fully expected to beat Ash in it."

"Kenny? He's a coordinator right?" Sabrina asked. "The guy who lost to Dawn in the Kanto Grand Festival final last year."

"Yup that's him." May confirmed. "He grew up in the same town as Dawn and developed a crush on her that turned into an obsession in their time apart, and he didn't take losing Dawn to Ash well."

"Ah the old love to hate line." Sabrina said. "Heard about that in my meetings enough to know how real it is. No wonder he was dumb enough to face Ash in a full battle. Ash can beat me in a full battle. Even if I hadn't have used Haunter at the end and gone with say my Hypno he would have still won with that impressive Krookodile of his."

"Yeah and to make matters more interesting, Ash just used the Pokémon with him at the time along with his one Mega Evolution capable Pokémon and his Buizel which was the Pokémon Dawn traded him for his Aipom when they realized they were the better trainers for the other and who Kenny once humiliated to try and get Dawn to join him on a journey when Ash needed her the most." May said. "Basically, Ash was kinda handicapping himself a little and still won using tactics. 6 up 6 down, Ash changing Pokémon each time and won each matchup with an evolution during it as well."

"I mean Ash would have won regardless, I'm sure, and the evolution is expected seeing as his Bayleef evolved against me and I saw how his Dragonair evolved in the Indigo final." Sabrina said. "Good for him. I take it though that Mega Evolution was involved."

"Yup, all this was after the Contest that Brianna won by the way where she easily beat Serena and Emily, Dawn's friend and sorta student, but Brianna is a better coordinator than either of them, so it wasn't really a big deal to us." May said. "As for the battle, Kenny tried to intimidate Ash back when he challenged Ash by showing off his Key Stone, so Ash matched it. Kenny's Mega Pokémon is his Alakazam, Ash's is his Charizard. Well at the time, his Pidgeot has a Mega Stone now as well and he claims to have a third but won't tell any of us what it is or who it's for."

"I'm sure Ash will surprise everyone when the time comes." Sabrina said. "And his Charizard you say, isn't that his best Pokémon?"

"By far though if his Greninja continues to get stronger it could one day rival his Charizard I'd say." May said. "And Alakazam isn't Kenny's best, it was outmatched from the start."

"As a psychic specialist with a close bond to my Kadabra and the owner of an Alakazam it is a shame to see one used by such a person." Sabrina said with a shake of her head. "Good that Ash beat it."

"Beat isn't the right word." May said. "Utterly demolished it on a level unseen before would be a more accurate description of what happened. I've never seen a more epic defeat of a Pokémon in a battle before."

"Come again?" Sabrina asked.

"You remember Ash's final battle in the Indigo Conference right?" May asked. "The one between his Charizard and Brendan's Sceptile that would decide the winner."

"How can I not, it was the best of the tournament and that's saying something." Sabrina said. "Even with Ash revealing fairy types when his Mr. Mime beat that Hydreigon and the Porygon v. Porygon2 battle in the semifinals that no one saw coming, that final tilt was on a whole other level."

"Well Ash had did something similar because he had Charizard use Seismic Toss on Alakazam with a Dragon Tail at the end to add to it." May said. "And they were both Mega Evolved at the time so stronger than normal. To cap it all off there was a Future Sight attack that Mega Charizard out dove, and which crashed into Mega Alakazam after it hit the ground."

"How hard did it hit?" Sabrina asked her eyes wide at that. "Alakazam, even when Mega Evolved as it doesn't add a type that I know of, may be resistant to the Seismic Toss but that's still going to leave a mark."

"The force of the impact shattered all the glass out back of the Geosenge Pokémon Center, effectively destroyed the entire battlefield, and sent us flying." May said. "Ash, Kenny, and the ref Gurkinn had walls to protect them and had had time to get low to the ground at Ash's warning, we did not. The rest of us were tossed through broken windows and into the Pokémon Center, right onto the recently broken glass."

"Oh." Sabrina said. "So…"

"So that is why Brianna has a scar on her face and why Dawn wears that half sleeve on her left arm." May said. "Most of us got cut up bad. Serena's back is a patchwork of scars and I have one bad one as well. Dawn has a second on her thigh. Drew just hit the desk, so he was actually ok, and Adam protected Emily but badly hurt his arm but yeah we all felt it."

"Where is your scar?" Sabrina asked curiously.

"Here." May said letting go of Sabrina's other hand and running it along the side of her left breast and to her back. "Not exactly a place most will see thankfully but not a great place either."

"Yeah I can tell." Sabrina said her eyes wide. "Sorry to hear that."

"I don't mind, it's a sign of how far Ash is willing to go to defend us from those who want to do us harm." May said seriously. "He showed that more in the Wallace Cup when he defended my honor and defeated Brianna in the semifinal. She was completely unhinged in the Cup, got a formal warning for it and all."

"I could tell, her obsession has become full blown." Sabrina said. "I feel like she's beyond saving, so is Drew for that matter. I think I can give you my assessment of them now."

"You can do that?" May asked. "I know you understand this stuff well, but I was just asking for advice, I didn't expect any assessment of them."

"My advice is simple, crush them beneath your boot." Sabrina said coolly and May shivered a little at the coldness briefly flashing in Sabrina's eyes that reminded her that this woman was possible the most dangerous human in Kalos due to her power and really drove it home how May never wanted to see what Sabrina had been like before Ash saved her. "They're beyond gone and will not stop until either you are destroyed, or they are destroyed by you and their madness put to an end."

"You really think so?" May asked.

"No amount of help will save them at this point." Sabrina said. "They are what I call a perfect storm, a pairing of negativity with personality issues that continuously fuel each other. I've seen it with some of the addicts I help, those with dark pasts that got worse because they ran into the wrong person at the wrong time in their life. Their addictions are what saved them though because it prevented them from being worse in a way."

"What, what do you mean?" May asked. "About Brianna and Drew that is, I don't really understand."

"What I mean is that one cannot exist without the other." Sabrina said simply. "Neither Brianna nor Drew would have been a threat like this had they never met in Hoenn. Brianna, she's clearly the submissive one, the follower, an obsessive stalker who's target accepted her and used her for his own ends. Don't get me wrong, she has some deep issues from before she met Drew based on what you told me about her. To fall for someone she's never met, to go as far as to threaten a perceived rival and even mimic his Pokémon on some level, that's not normal or healthy. Perhaps if she'd gotten help right away she'd have been good but she's no victim, she just wouldn't be at this point without Drew."

"She was shy when I met her in Kanto, that's true." May said. "But now she's much more aggressive and confrontational with those she's got an issue with, mainly Serena and Emily as they deal with her the most due to all being coordinators this year."

"Yes and without a guiding hand controlling her she wouldn't have come after you like this or devolved so much to the point that she's completely lost it." Sabrina said. "But at the same time, Drew needed her as much as she needed him to become what he is now."

"How so?" May asked.

"From what I can understand and based off my own knowledge, which is amateur by the way, but I know minds well thanks to my telepathy and the recovery I've done to get it to as normal as possible, Drew is a classic narcissist." Sabrina said. "He sees himself as better than others and can't handle defeat well, even from those better than him though that does fuel him to get better, but at the same time he's a coward, he can't get his hands dirty."

"In the past he would help deal with Team Rocket or Harley at times." May pointed out. "But you are right, he's only appeared once directly so far and that was to make the declaration of war. Everything since then has been through Brianna."

"He's a coward in the sense that he won't do something he believes could get him in trouble." Sabrina said. "Part of that is the threat you have over him for his past in your relationship that is no doubt staying his hand from being more direct, part of that is the fact that he has a useful submissive to exploit. Without someone like Brianna, Drew would never have come after you after your threat in Johto, but he can use her as a proxy to go after Serena and then get to you that way."

"Yeah, that is certainly true." May said surprised by the keenness of Sabrina's insight on this. "Drew would want some shielding if he felt that he could face repercussions for what he's doing which Brianna provides."

"Her obsessive nature is what makes her useful to him, easy to manipulate and control but make no mistake, Brianna wants this as well and is more than willing to do his dirty work and bear those risks because of her obsessive love for Drew." Sabrina said. "Once Drew realized that he had that in her then that would have pushed Drew over the edge to act as he had an indirect path to you via Brianna. He likely wouldn't have acted without her, hence the perfect storm."

"It is a good analogy." May admitted.

"It's why it works for situations like this." Sabrina said. "They each are overflowing with darkness and are constantly fueling each other to achieve their ends, crushing you who they perceive to be the evil one in all this because of their own warped minds. Alone they don't pose a threat and lack the strength to face you but together, well they likely believe they're unstoppable."

"Well, they're not." May said a hard edge to her voice. "Even if Brianna beats Serena in the Grand Festival should they face off in it, so what? A rookie coordinator who's actually a trained performer, a totally different style of working with your Pokémon, against a coordinator good enough to make 3 Grand Festivals and be a finalist in the one of them? There's no question who'd win that matchup 9 times out of 10."

"Which is why they're going after Serena." Sabrina said. "They see her as the weakest link and they think that if they can take her down it will get to you, but I saw her against that Amelia person in the Wallace Cup, Serena is a lot stronger than they realize."

"Oh, she is." May said with a nod. "She lost her first Showcase and was depressed by it, cut her hair and changed her style even to really give herself a clean slate going forward. She then bounced back and became one of the best rookies over the rest of the year. She showed that when she won the rookie part of the Master Class and challenged Aria for her crown. She lost but that's because Aria is as close to performer perfection as there is at the moment but even so, Aria recognizes Serena as a legitimate rival which is a big statement on Serena's performance skills. There's not a Top Coordinator I know who'd say the same about Brianna."

"Exactly which is why they will fail in the end, they're far too shortsighted and focused on revenge to see the bigger picture." Sabrina said. "They may win this round, which is what they are going for, but will you let one round be the decider in this stupid war that they decided to start? They win if you let them get to you and Ash would never let that happen."

"No, we'll win the war." May said seriously. "Ash has taught all of us to never give up until it is over, so we don't. We may lose the first time sure but it's no different to Serena losing to Aria, or me losing to Solidad, it's a gap in skill that while it can be overcome, I mean Serena won the Wallace Cup over Ash, it requires perfection. We'll give it our all but if we lose we know that it's because they were punching down at us, and we'll use that lose to fuel us to win the next engagement. You are right, we only lose if we let them get to us and I will not let them do that."

"All true which is why I know you'll be fine May." Sabrina said with a smile. "You're strong, all this showed me that and more. You will win in the long run even if you face defeats in the short term."

"Thank you." May said. "I don't feel strong, but I have great support that I know I can't let down."

"You do but don't sell yourself short May." Sabrina said seriously. "I just heard your tale of what is at best a borderline abusive relationship, at worse all out psychological abuse, but you didn't let that define you or destroy you. You didn't turn to unhealthy behaviors or substances like alcohol, sex, food disorders, self-harm, the like, to cope but rather you had the strength to get out when you knew it was bad and you made a clean break from it. That takes tremendous strength to manage."

"It does?" May asked.

"Yes it does." Sabrina said. "Naturally, I won't go into too much detail, the whole anonymous thing and they're not my stories to tell, but I know many addicts, and many have faced horrible abuse in their past that caused them to turn to substances or other unhealthy or destructive behaviors to cope. Many women and a lot more men than you'd expect have been victims and spiraled before they got the help they needed. You weren't, you avoided it. It's inspirational in many ways that you managed this, and I don't doubt that your love for Ash played a big role in it."

"Th, thank you." May said a little stunned by what Sabrina was saying. "I didn't really think of it like that, I'm barely holding it together for the others with Drew around again which is why I wanted to talk to you for help."

"And there is no shame in asking for help when you need it, and I am more than willing to provide that help for you if I can." Sabrina said. "I wish I'd known that back in the day that I didn't have to be perfect, that I didn't have to use my powers, that I could ask for help and I ended up going to far. However, when I got my chance to be sober and remain so I sought out that help that I needed, help that without which I wouldn't be here today. Now I try to help as many as I can, to let others know that they aren't alone, that they can ask for help without shame or judgement, that if someone like me can be open about her serious mental health struggles and addiction issues then they can as well."

"You're really good at this, you know that right." May said amazed at the intensity in the other woman. "Like really, really, good at it."

"Been doing it for years." Sabrina said. "I went through the program myself, albeit one I kinda had to tailor to my own unique issues, and now I give back as I can. Helping you lot find peace with Ash and Dawn is a little different, but I can help other issues like this should you need it. The most important thing May is that you don't blame yourself for this. Drew is the asshole, he's the one who did all this, and you had the strength to break away before. Now you have Ash, Dawn, Serena, and everyone else who's here in Kalos with you to support you, you will win out in the end."

"Yes, yes I will." May said as a huge weight finally lifted from her, it was like when she opened up to Misty but even more as there was the whole weight of the past and the new ones added by Drew and Brianna's arrival but thanks to Sabrina she could see it all now and had a clear picture of what she had to do. "Thank you, for everything Sabrina."

"Of course, and thank you for sharing May, you're incredibly brave and strong, use that going forward." Sabrina said. "Use all you have to defeat this evil that is trying to take you down and remind those of us who know just what happens when someone tries to fuck with Ash Ketchum and his friends."

"I will." May said with a nod. "And I'll make sure Serena is ready for it as well."

"Good and I'll help her as well if I can." Sabrina said. "I will talk with her tomorrow, have her come here after breakfast and we'll chat if that's ok. I will make my assessment then and see what Serena needs. You are all different after all, so I work with you to find that perfect spot. You're in a good one May but we do need one more chat in time."

"I agree, this shit isn't going away anytime soon and if the rummers I've heard are true then next year I'll be able to personally end it." May said seriously. "And I'll be able to swing by Saffron for a final chat to show you how far I've come."

"I look forward to that." Sabrina said before a sudden sharp pang of pain ran through her skull, she'd been suppressing her telepathy and was beyond her limits now and she grimaced raising a hand to her head at it. "But, um, I am about to collapse because I need to release my suppression and that is never a pleasant experience for me to deal with."

"Right, I understand." May said getting to her feet but grabbing Sabrina's hand and pulling her up with her in the process much to the surprise of the older woman and then pulling her in for a tight hug. "Thank you Sabrina, for everything. You've done so much for us even when it's not about Ash."

"I owe Ash my life, for him I'd do anything within reason, so this is nothing and I'm always here for any of you should you need me." Sabrina said responding to May's surprise hug in kind. "I look forward to seeing you again be it just normally or for our final chat when the time comes."

"And I you." May said breaking away from Sabrina and dropping the older woman's handkerchief in the process as she realized that she was still holding it. "Until then, enjoy Kalos and good luck with Alain."

"I will and thank you." Sabrina said with a nod as May turned and left the room, heading straight for the bathroom to wash her face. "I hope my own problems can work out as well as your no doubt will."

May of course didn't hear this as she hurried to the bathroom finally at peace with everything from her past, or as close to as she could be as there was still plenty of processing to do. Once she was done she would return to the room she and Serena were sharing and process this but the chat with Sabrina had helped both by allowing her to vent and to understand things better. Thanks to the chat, May was ready for this problem, and she would face it head on with all her friends by her side because she wasn't going to let Drew and Brianna win.

Sabrina for her part smiled as the door closed before she let out Kadabra and Haunter, turned the lights off, shifted a now sleeping Espurr to the chair, and lay down on the bed. Only when she was comfortable with her Pokémon around her to help comfort her did she release the last of her control and her mind was flooded with the happy babble of the denizens of the Pokémon Center.

It wasn't bad enough to cause a seizure or loss of control, she could resist that well enough with the current numbers present and years of training her mind to withstand it, but it wasn't fun either and she felt the tears fall from her eyes as she gritted through the pain her weakened mind was giving her until she recovered back to her normal, but such was the price she paid for her past abuses. She'd need a meeting for sure, she'd hit one on the way to Anistar, but first she had who she believed to be the last Ash girl she'd help in Serena tomorrow and she couldn't wait to help her.

With that, Sabrina drifted off to her fitful sleep as the nightmares of her past acts came back to her in her dreams once more. Such was her life, but she had purpose and many more problems to help solve as her own personal journey continued.

Well, there it is, the long-awaited Problems chapter that dealt with May's past with Drew and how Sabrina can help. This was a long and heavy chapter, the longest and heaviest so far and likely will remain as such, but a needed on for May. Given how heavy this one was I think I'll just leave it off here for y'all. As always, given the content all I will do is ask that if you want to read more that you favorite or follow it and let me know what you think of it in your reviews or PMs to me. Until next time.

Stringdog