Chapter Three: Chamomile Tea– In which Drew and Solidad continue the tradition, and Drew admits maybe he was wrong.
Author's notes:
- Expect coffee and/or drink titled chapters to be these conversation pieces. Bear with me, it's all in the name of character growth.
- I'm beta-ing and writing this story myself, and I'm sorry for any mistakes. The system I'm running right now is post the chapter because I know some of you want to read it, then I go back and reread myself it a day or so later, and try to correct anything I find.
- Thanks for reading. Please leave some feedback in the reviews so I know how you guys think I'm doing.
- One last thing: I'm about to go into finals at my university, so updates will probably slow down for a little bit. Hope you all do well in your finals, too.
- Chamomile Tea- a tea infused with several daisy-like plants that are commonly used to make herb infusions to serve various medicinal purposes.
It was freezing in the hotel room, which was why he was thankful to have a hot drink that he casually sipped now and then, letting the warmth seep into his bones.
On top of that, he was also happy to be able to talk to Solidad from the comfort of his own space, and not in the lobby of the hotel. His Pokémon were spending the night at the Pokémon Center just to get some extra checkups; he was particularly focused on making sure his Roselia was okay after the contest had ended earlier that day. But the point was that his Pokémon weren't all asleep in his room like they usually were, so he could talk freely and openly without disturbing them. This provided him a rare opportunity; he could have privacy in a conversation with Solidad, which was an added bonus.
And after his last contest and all of the conflicting thoughts he'd faced, he definitely needed the wisdom he felt that only she could give.
Their conversation started out in the usual format: Solidad would get things started until he'd eased into the conversation and began to talk on his own. But this time, they had a lot more catching up to do. They hadn't gotten the chance to speak in just over two weeks, with Drew's prior training and Solidad's trips through Sinnoh in her final weeks before she returned to Kanto. They were utterly clueless as to what had gone on in each other's lives over the previous 14 days.
Solidad was going on about some young kid she'd met after arriving home in Pewder City who wanted to be a coordinator and was asking her to help him. She had gotten back just days ago from her travels in Sinnoh, after winning her fifth ribbon, as she promised she would. She left the region with just under two months until their Grand Festival was held.
Naturally, the media made a frenzy about it: "well-known Kanto-based coordinator Solidad ducks out just weeks before Sinnoh Festival!" he read in an issue of Coordinator's Weekly. It was just one of many similar headlines and feature stories from various contest circuit magazines he'd seen. He'd stopped counting after he saw her face on a fifth cover. He never liked reading those magazines, anyway.
Solidad wasn't a Top Coordinator, but she was very well known, breezing through contest seasons with natural power and elegance, and making it all the way into the top four in her first Grand Festival. She was a nobody in the beginning of her first season, and by the end of it, her name could be heard in the nervous and envious whispers of almost any locker room at a contest hall.
"He wants catch and use Snorlax in appeals," Solidad remarked. "Said he thinks that display of power could easily win him a high score. It was cute, he's so eager and he wanted to try so hard. I told him a Munchlax would be better, though. I had to explain to him that a pair of strength and the ability to move around and use the whole stage would be better."
Drew nodded absentmindedly.
He was only half paying attention, trying to scribble down some ideas for his Pokémon to use in their next contest. Everything he came up with was deemed either not good enough or not sensible, as in, there's no way it could work. He'd been out of his head since the end of the contest earlier that day.
It wasn't a matter of nerves or anything silly like that, because Drew Hayden didn't get nervous. He still had plenty of time to get his final two ribbons, so he wasn't worried about that. He was worried about…other things.
He couldn't stop thinking about how he wanted to get his Masquerain contest ready. The more he practiced with him, the more he discovered and became familiar with his Masquerain's move set, and his Masquerain definitely had some great moves. He'd figured out very quickly that the butterfly Pokémon was totally appropriate for contests, just as he knew he would be. Drew just wasn't sure they'd hit that level of togetherness he'd felt safe with, though, and felt it was better to keep practicing until they got it. Actually performing with Masquerain would have to wait, but he could map out some possibilities for the time being.
On top of that, he had a Vibrava to worry about, too. They were getting along just fine with Vibrava ever-eager to prove himself a strong force of a Pokémon and valuable asset to Drew's team. But there were some things he had his reserves about. One, Vibrava seemed to want to totally outdo his own teammates, and only wanted to work with Drew alone. The tough Pokémon didn't harass Roselia or Masquerain in training, but he wasn't eager to comply when Drew would ask him to try a combination with the others. He just hoped it would mellow out a bit over time, or when he finally evolved. Some Pokémon did change when they grew up.
The other concern Drew faced was that he didn't feel Vibrava would help him in contest appeals much, if at all. In truth, he'd been so obsessed with the possibility of adding a Flygon to his team, but that would be for battling only. Drew had never even tried to think of ways to perform an appeal with Vibrava, and he wasn't totally familiar with ways to show off sandstorms and steel wings in a visually appealing combination. He'd always gone for flashy, dazzling showcase appeals; never displays of strength, though he knew it worked for some coordinators he'd seen. That just wasn't his style; he showcased his strength in battles and battles alone.
His growing team had great Pokémon for sure, but all he could really do was keep spamming petal dances and magical leaf attacks with his Roselia in contests until he felt more comfortable with them all. And although that had always worked for him, he was craving to do something different, especially after seeing the variety he'd faced in the contest he'd lost just hours ago.
A Dustox using poison sting and whirlwind, although it was partially fake…but still, it was different. A Medicham using a devastating high jump kick to allude the promise of tough battles should it advance to the second round, and confusion on itself to help it meditate in order to dodge attacks, and using multiple ice punches to deflect a solar beam; he and Roselia's strongest move. Then there was the matter of that Beautifly's silver wind…
He had come to see that his Masquerain already knew how to use silver wind, and it had excited him beyond measure when they'd first started practicing with it.
Areceus, the breathtaking combinations he would pull when his Masquerain and he were 100% ready to compete together…
It had all been exciting. His last three contest wins had been all too easy, and there was no fun if there wasn't a challenge. But that day, in the Fallarbor Contest…it was different. It wasn't an easy win like he'd predicted it would be; it was a real challenge. It gave him a rush and reminded him why he loved coordinating. Most of all, it gave him a renewed passion to want to have that kind of diversity in his own moves and appeals. He really wanted to use that silver wind and–
"You know, Drew, I enjoy our chats," Solidad deadpanned. "Really, I do, and I'm always happy to talk to you, but usually conversations are a two-way street, meaning when one person is talking, the other person is listening and actively participating with better responses than just a nod every two minutes."
Drew blinked a few times, focusing back on his pink-haired friend slowly. He'd been so lost in his head he realized he hadn't really heard much of what she said. But when she wasn't talking about contests she'd been in, as she hadn't been in any new ones since the last time they'd talked, he faded out a bit. It wasn't that he didn't care, of course. Solidad was always a good friend to him and he loved her like the sibling he never had; he was always content with learning what was up with her life and her adventures. It was just…the adrenaline from his newest loss was keeping his brain focused on contests and coordinating, and not much else.
"Huh? I'm sorry, Solidad; what did you say?"
"You seem a little off tonight," Solidad commented, her piercing eyes watching him through the screen. "What's up?"
"Nothing, just thinking about the last contest," he admitted.
"Oh, we haven't even gotten to talk about that, yet!" Solidad chirped. "Roselia looked beautiful as always."
"I'll be sure to pass your compliment to her," Drew nodded.
"You do that," Solidad laughed.
She was sipping her hot chocolate – something about still readjusting to the time change of Kanto and Sinnoh, so she was avoiding caffeine – slowly before setting her mug down, which prompted Drew to take a sip of his own drink. His nose crinkled a bit, but not in a bad way; in a this-is-unfamiliar way. It was definitely an acquired taste, but after the first few sips, he could see himself probably drinking this again in the future, even though he preferred coffee, always.
"That Medicham was so awesome," she continued when Drew stayed silent. "Hey, listen; if it's your loss that's got you down, you shouldn't think about it like that. It was a great battle and that's what matters."
"No, I know," Drew sighed. "I'm not upset or anything. I'm just thinking."
"About?" she pressed.
"Just how the last few contests have gone," he said, taking another small sip.
"Before this one, you've won the last few contests you've been in," she pointed out.
"Of course, but those were all such easy wins," Drew clarified. "None of them were a challenge, and Roselia has handled herself so well, but…"
"But?" she prodded him when he paused.
"I've been thinking about my team as a whole," Drew bit his lip. "Yesterday, I was up against some real competition for the first time since I faced Robert back in Slateport, and I gotta say, as much as I hate to admit it, because my Roselia is pretty perfect, I think I need more variation on my team. She can't carry me through the whole season, and I'm still not quite there yet with Masquerain."
"What about your Vibrava?" she asked.
"I don't really plan on using him in anything until he evolved," Drew said, a pensive look on his face. "But I want to expand a bit more; try to maybe go beyond flashy moves, but also try to find some new flashy moves at the same time. You know what I mean?"
"Of course," Soliad nodded. "You're realizing that although Roselia is a superb Pokémon–"
Drew opened his mouth to probably throw a sarcastic comment about how she was the most superb, but she rolled his eyes and he shut his mouth quickly, listening.
"Roselia's so great, but relying on her so much has given you a limited move set to work with," Solidad continued. "And today, you realized that the point of contests is to vary your appeals and strategies. Every good coordinator needs to change it up every now and then. The more styles and types of Pokémon you adapt to, the more well rounded you'll be. And that can prepare you for tougher opponents."
"Right," Drew looked at her for a moment. "Because there are tougher opponents."
Solidad smiled and he smiled back. In truth, they hadn't battled each other since that first contest Drew had ever entered, but he knew it was only a matter of time before they'd meet up in a match again somewhere, probably a Grand Festival someday. And he wanted to be ready, because he vowed that day, with tears stinging in his eyes, that even though he and this girl became fast friends, he would beat her someday. He wasn't always striving for that specific goal constantly, because his ultimate goal was to become a Top Coordinator. But a win against Solidad had been added to the list of things he wanted to accomplish nonetheless. However long it took him to do that, he didn't care. He wanted the title for himself more than anything else.
"Exactly," she nodded. "Have you thought about adding any other new Pokémon to your team?"
"Not at the moment," he told her. "I really want to get comfortable with Masquerain and Vibrava to evolve. On top of that, I have to make sure Roselia's still in top shape, too. I feel like adding more Pokémon now would only further divide my attention and make each goal I have for them all individually take longer to accomplish."
She nodded, looking thoughtful. Drew took the opportunity of the lull in the conversation, stretched for a moment. He grabbed his mug and took another small sip, pursing his lips together around the foreign liquid that was becoming more and more familiar. He was halfway through the cup.
"It sounds like you're on a good track, and I can't wait to see what you come up with," she said. "You'll be back to winning by the next contest, I'm sure."
"Thanks, Sol," he said, relaxing a little.
Her reassurance brought him more confidence. He had known he was on the right track, but hearing her confirm it as well gave him more hope, and he found himself eager to get back to travelling and training in the morning. She nodded again, and the two fell back into silence. Drew wondered how much longer she could stay up and talk to him. For him, it was approaching midnight and he'd had a long day, with plans to leave early the next morning. But her body clock was still on Sinnoh time; to her, it was like 6 p.m., even though Hoenn and Kanto were only two hours apart.
Suddenly a huge grin spread across her face, like she'd just remembered something really funny. He quirked an eyebrow at her and waited to explain.
"Speaking of winners…" she started.
What? What was she saying? Where was she going with…
Oh.
The realization of where she intended to steer the conversation hit him harder than a Blaziken using brick break.
The world made sense yet again, and he didn't really want to have that conversation.
A slightly-forced yawn escaped his lips.
"Wow, almost midnight already?" he acted surprised, and far more tired that he really was. "I really should get going soon; I still have to shower and pack my bag for when I leave tomorrow morning, and–"
"Oh no," Solidad admonished him. "You're not allowed to go to bed until we talk about it."
Drew groaned, and grabbed for his mug.
"I don't get why you care so much," he muttered into his tea, which was now lukewarm, and not as good, he found, with the temperature decrease.
"I care because you care," she reminded him, which nearly forced him to choke on his drink.
"Believe what you want," Drew sighed.
"Well regardless of how touchy you get about it, I wanna talk about her," Solidad remarked. "I watched the whole contest live on TV, of course, and rewatched a few parts online, but you're the only person I know who was there in person and I wanna know all the firsthand details!"
"Can we do this some other time?" Drew felt like he was begging, and maybe he was; he couldn't tell. "I really should be getting to bed…"
"It won't take long," Solidad waved her hand, dismissing him. "Just state a few facts, maybe answer a few questions. Easy stuff."
"Alright, fine," Drew gave in. "Just a few, and don't make it weird. If you make it weird, I'll hang up."
Solidad smirked and rolled her eyes at him.
"I recognized her the instant she went up for her appeal," Solidad said. "I was surprised you didn't text me and tell me that you saw her."
"I wouldn't call that important information, Solidad," Drew rebutted. "She entered another contest, big deal."
"But it is a big deal!" Solidad interjected. "Drew, don't pretend you can't admit how much she improved between Slateport and Fallarbor. This girl fell before she could even release her Beautifly for an appeal, and in a few short weeks, she pulled out a win after an incredible battle."
"So she won; it just means she got lucky this time."
"Need I remind you that she beat the girl who beat you?" Solidad gave him a pointed look.
He just shifted and didn't say anything back.
"Well I'll tell you what I think," Solidad started. "I think you should watch out for her, because with the way she handled her appeal, prop-free, and her battle, she might just turn out to be just as good as we are."
"She didn't even know what a combination was until the day before the contest, Solidad," he stressed. "I watched her practice for a bit, and it was just as awful as her first contest. Her poor Beautifly ended up tied up by its own string shot when May tried to combine it with gust. So again, I attribute her win to luck."
"You've told me more than a few times you don't believe in luck, Drew," she challenged.
"I, er…it can happen sometimes," he responded lamely. "This just happened to be one of those sometimes…"
"We could not have been watching the same battle, then, because what I saw was an excellent performance, and I don't get why you're having such a hard time admitting that she was good. Unless you're jealous you didn't get the win, which I doubt very much."
"You'd be right to do so."
"Then there shouldn't be a problem."
"There isn't one?"
He pulled his mug up to his face again, taking a long sip of the remaining liquid and swishing it around in his mouth to give him and excuse not to speak. Drew knew in those moments he could never, ever, under no circumstances tell Solidad about the fact he'd given May roses, because they were for Beautifly, but Solidad wouldn't believe that.
Solidad paused, thinking out her next words slowly. She loved Drew like a little brother, but she'd also be the first to admit he was one of the most dense and stubborn people she'd ever encountered. And that was fine, because she'd always been a calm person who could deal with it and knew how to break him down if she thought hard enough about it.
So she decided trying to change her tactics a little bit.
"There was a time when we didn't know what a combination was," she spoke more softly than usual. "There was a time when I had never heard of contests and you didn't know how an appeal worked. Or way back in the beginning when I didn't know how to score big points. Once you didn't know how to take proper care of your Pokémon to show them off in the best possible way."
He wore a confused look on his face.
"What's your point, Solidad?" he asked quietly.
"My point is that we were all new at one point," she answered. "Some people take a little longer to get into the swing of things than others, but everyone starts out at that stage when they're unsure of what they're doing and trying to learn all the tricks to make it big. You might have been a natural at coordinating when you first got into it, but even you took a year of really getting the hang of it.
"There are always learning curves, of course. You lost your first contest too, just like I lost mine, and other Top Coordinators lost at theirs. Some of them did even worse than May did at her first contest, but they got better. They worked at it and they eventually fell into their own rhythm, found their own style and rolled with it. That's where May is, and I don't think it's very fair of you to be constantly judging her for what you saw the first time she tried this whole thing out, when she very clearly turned around, took lessons from that first loss and made terrific strides of improvement…just like you did and continue to do.
"I just find it hard to believe that you write her off so much as a nobody with no chance, when even you've already learned so much from her."
"What have I learned from her?" his mouth hung open. "Not to fall on the floor? Not to combine gust and string shot?"
"Stop using mistakes she made as an excuse to deny how you really feel about her performance. So she made some mistakes, haven't we all? Maybe not the same mistakes, but I've made poor decisions in battles, and I've paid for it."
My mug is almost empty.
"You've tried combinations that didn't work, and you've morphed them into things that did work."
Since when have I been this close to finishing this drink?
"May learned what combinations were, and she used them effectively in her battle; don't even lie and say that string shot and tackle attack didn't work wonders in trapping that Medicham to give May a little extra time to think."
There's barely anything left in here.
"It's all a part of growing. And clearly she's impressed you in some ways, because you went out and caught a whole new Pokémon just so you could match one of the moves she uses."
What is this, like three sips?
"If you even thought for a second I didn't make that connection when you'd told me about catching that Masquerain specifically for a silver wind...you're not as smart as I think you are."
Should I just chug the rest of this and be done with it?
"It's okay to be human, Drew. It's okay to accept that maybe you were wrong about this girl, and maybe she has a future ahead of her."
I should really chug this.
"Earlier you told me you wanted to try to change things up a bit, and do you know what that requires? It means you have to step out of your comfort zone and accept new challenges head on, no matter how unfamiliar they are to you."
"And what is it that I'm missing here?" Drew wondered aloud. "What is it that you think I'm not accepting?"
Solidad had watched him while she was speaking. His gaze was so painfully focused on that mug the entire time. Like he was trying to find anything to distract himself from what she was saying. Drew didn't like to admit he was wrong ever, but she knew that she needed him to understand this time around. It would only benefit him in the end.
"I think you're not admitting to yourself that you've found a rival," she beamed at him, like he'd made some huge stride in his life and like she was proud of him for it.
"A rival is someone who is your equal," he pointed out somberly, still staring at the mug in his hands.
"Not necessarily," she countered. "A rival is someone who inspires you to want to do better. A rival is someone who keeps surprising you. A rival pushes you to always try to remain one step ahead of them. A rival is someone who you give advice to from time to time as well, helping them because you realize they're helping you, too. This girl has done all of those things for already, and I wouldn't be surprised if you've done the same for her."
His brows furrowed in a concentrated look and his lips were pursed as he thought about it.
"A rival is someone who inspired you to want to do better." True; he'd caught a Masquerain with the full intention of creating a better and brighter silver wind than her Beautifly had produced.
"A rival is someone who keeps surprising you." True; she'd come out of nowhere with her win earlier that day. She'd been a complete opposite of the coordinator she'd displayed herself as in Slateport City. She'd shown him that with concentration, she could be a fierce and calculated battler.
"A rival pushes you to always try to remain one step ahead of them." True; he'd shown off his ribbons to her. He had deliberately wanted her to ask him how many he had, just so he could absorb the reaction of her shock and revel in it.
"A rival is someone who you give advice to from time to time as well, helping them because you realize they're helping you, too." True; he'd explained to her the power of having a strong bond with your Pokémon after his battle with Ash. He'd deliberately made sure she was listening, because although he was speaking to everyone there with him, he specifically wanted her to hear it.
"This girl has done all of those things for already, and I wouldn't be surprised if you've done the same for her." True; he recalled the words she spoke to him, just outside of the Slateport contest. 'Next time, I won't be the loser,' she'd said to him. At the time, it seemed like an idle threat, but now he realized it was all too real; she was all too real. And he responded by reminding her that he'd be stronger, too, because he realized that a part of him had wanted to battle her again, and now that desire was stronger seeing how she'd handled herself that day against Grace, who had very easily beaten him in their match.
It all made sense; as much as he hated to admit it, everything Solidad had said made sense to him. It explained why he found it so amusing to rile her up; to see that fire in her eyes that he wanted to extinguish. He craved challenge in contests and was struggling to find it before she walked into the picture. Had he lost to her? Not directly, but he found himself not wanting to lose to her ever, in any branch of a contest. Not in the battle rounds, and not even in appeal scoring.
He was slowly starting to see that May might be the curveball he was waiting for; the inspiration that he needed to keep pushing himself to try new things.
Was this girl with the red bandana really his new rival?
...
I should really finish this drink.
He never took his eyes off of that mug. Drew stared at the little cup in his hands so hard, that he might have burned a hole in it with how intense his concentration was. Solidad had been watching him for over four minutes, while he sat in stillness and she could see a war of thoughts raged in his head. She didn't know what he was thinking exactly, but she could tell from the occasional tiniest twitch in his right eye that he was slowly coming to terms with everything she'd said to him. She didn't dare speak again unless he spoke to her first, or moved around, or acknowledged that maybe the screen and/or the video feed were stalling. It was slightly amusing; she'd never seen Drew Hayden at a lose for words.
Finally, around the six-minute mark, he blinked a few times, and snapped into action. He downed the final contents of his mug. His formerly-hot drink was now a terrible room-temperature cold, and his face twisted in regret and disgust.
"You keep making weird faces," Solidad pointed out. "What are you drinking?"
"…Chamomile tea," Drew hesitated to admit.
Solidad quirked an eyebrow.
"Do you like it?"
"It's...it's alright."
"See, isn't it nice to try new things?"
"Please shut up, Solidad."
