Chapter Five: Verdanturf Town– In which Drew makes mistakes, learns to apologize and decides to watch May compete when he had no real reason to do so.

Author's notes:
- Based on the episodes, "Disaster of Disguise" and "Disguise Da Limit."
- Did anyone else find Timmy's mom unbearably annoying? Like I know that was the point the writers were trying to establish but seriously wow…I hated that woman so much in 2004 and I still hate her as a 23-year-old in 2016.


People knew who Drew Hayden was.

In almost every town he went to, Drew would encounter at least 10 people who would stop and want to talk to him. It was something he'd come to expect, because for the most part, Drew was somewhat famous. His successes in contests gave him that notoriety, and when people – who he had no clue who they were – would rush up to him without warning, he was never really surprised. In truth, he'd never adjusted to the fame all that well, because he liked to be alone for the most part. That made for some awkward moments on Drew's part.

Still, his fame preceded him, and he had to deal with a few fans every now and then whether he wanted to or not. They'd ask him about contests, they'd ask him for autographs, they'd ask him for advice. Occasionally, someone would get brave and even ask him for a practice battle, either because they thought they could beat him, or because they wanted to see his Pokémon firsthand. It was something Drew had always politely declined before turning away. He was never rude about it; he just didn't want to force his Pokémon into a battle they didn't need to fight. Nor did he want paparazzi to record him anymore than they already did. That was the one part Drew hated about coordinating.

Denial and polite dismissals: that was the way he'd always handled those situations when they arose…expect for when some strange kid approached him in Verdanturf Town.

Drew had been practicing with Roselia on the outskirts of town. He'd arrived in Verdanturf just days before the contest day, and he was working closely with Roselia's aim on her magical leaf. If she could master steering the direction of those leaves, he could pull off some new combinations that would score him some big points.

They'd been working hard all morning, in the shadow of an abandoned hotel and in a small canyon that was clearly hardly ever visited. Old debris from everything like trashed cars to bent, useless steam beams resided there, with not a soul in sight. Although, granted, some graffiti on the canyons walls hinted that teenagers probably hung out here occasionally, probably in the dark of night. But for now, midday and nice and sunny, it was silent and still. He'd found his practice space.

After a while of solid practicing, Drew knew that fourth ribbon was as good as his, which was a huge relief considering he'd fallen short of that goal at the Fallarbor Town Contest.

The pair was just getting to a stopping point for a break when Drew registered that someone was watching him. When he turned to face some boy, standing at his height, decked out in a suit, a top hat and a Dsuclops mask, he didn't know what to think. Whether he should speak first or stay on the defensive, he didn't know. This had never really happened to him before. He wasn't scared by any means…just cautious. His Roselia was giving off the same vibe.

Drew settled on watching the mysterious figure as he approached, waiting to see what would go down before making a move of his own. The boy in question stopped across from him, a weird smirk on his face. Drew bit the inside of his cheek and raised an eyebrow, waiting.

"Drew Hayden of LaRousse City," he clarified.

"Who's asking?" was Drew's response.

It didn't surprise Drew that whoever this boy was knew his name. He was well-known throughout Hoenn, and was approaches all the time. There were occasionally super fans whom approached him, some wearing…more interesting outfits than others. Maybe that was just the case this time, too?

The kid's smirk only grew bigger, and Drew planted his feet, waiting.

"People know me as the Phantom," the boy said, throwing his cape behind him dramatically.

Drew rolled his eyes as the thought formed in his head; this was just another kid trying anything to seek attention. Completely desperate, it was almost sad. No longer feeling any form of threat, Drew sighed, and tucked his hands into his pockets.

"Well, what is it that you want?" Drew asked lazily. "Roselia and I were just about wrapping up here."

"I know, I've been watching," the Phantom said, that stupid smirk not leaving his face and leaving Drew to idly wonder if this kid knew how much he was overdoing his whole appearance bit. "I think we should have a battle."

"Sorry, but I don't really have the time," Drew explained. "I've got to finish getting ready for the contest tomorrow. You'll be able to watch my battling there, though. If you enter, we might face off. But I'm not really up for it right now."

That was when Drew and Roselia turned to walk away, throwing a casual wave and a, 'have a nice day' comment over his shoulder. He hadn't taken five full steps before he was called out to, again.

"You wouldn't win a battle against me, Drew," he challenged. "Not here, not in any contests, not anywhere."

That halted Drew in his tracks, a twinge of annoyance flashed through him. Just who was this kid who stalked him out in the middle of nowhere, watched him practice and thought he could get away with making petty comments? And on top of that, it was like he was insulting his Roselia. After he'd made it obvious he'd watched them for some time, he thought he could easily take her down? Drew didn't care what type of Pokémon he might have; he couldn't beat his Roselia.

"Oh, yeah?" Drew halfway turned to face him. "What makes you so sure?"

"Because I know I'm a better coordinator than you are."

That did it, Drew was angry. It took a lot to make Drew mad or upset about something, and this snarky kid thinking he could make such rude comments and get away with it was one of those rare things.

Roselia seemed to be in agreement with Drew before he even spoke, and when he looked down to his partner, she nodded up at him. A fierce determination was etched into her face, and Drew knew she wanted to prove herself as a Pokémon just as much as he did a battler.

"We'll just see, then," Drew announced, turning back to fully face his opponent. "One-on-one matchup, winner take all."

Roselia gracefully stepped a few feet forward, taking her place on the now makeshift battlefield.

The Phantom nodded, and reached onto his belt to pull out a Pokéball.

"Let's take them down, Dusclops!"

Drew watched as the ghost-type was released and drifted down next to his trainer. Suddenly, the kid's costume made a lot more sense, but it was still a bit too tacky, in Drew's opinion. But the Dusclops was definitely a bit intimidating; Drew couldn't deny that it had a creepy appeal to it that subtly hinted at the power this Pokémon possessed.

"After you," the Phantom called from across the field.

Taking a deep breath, Drew relaxed into his battle mode and called for magical leaf, hoping to end the fight quickly with a few quick witted combinations he'd planned to debut at the contest the next day. But this kid didn't seem like a coordinator, and Drew was certain he wouldn't compete. Roselia fired off a streak of glowing leaves, initiating the battle.


It hadn't gone the way Drew thought it would, as in, the entire battle was a complete 180 of what Drew had expected. In less than five minutes, his Roselia was lying on the ground, completely covered in scratches and panting hard.

Every attack that Roselia had thrown at him, he dodges and sent back his own hits, which were twice as strong. It unnerved Drew; it got him nervous and desperate, which were two things he never felt; especially not in a battle. But the combination of not knowing just who this kid was or what his goal in this fight had been didn't help. And seeing his Roselia; his strongest Pokémon and first friend so hurt on the ground made Drew's stomach churn.

At one point, it stopped seeming like a practice battle and more like a massacre. The Phantom, whoever he was, was relentless. He'd throw out attacks every chance he got, not even allowing Roselia to catch her breath. Looking down at his battered and beaten Pokémon on the ground, Drew didn't know what to do. Should he call her back and hurt both their pride or should he try to keep going? He knew his Pokémon well enough to know that they share the same thoughts: giving up was never an option…but in this case…

"With the reputation you have as a Pokémon coordinator, Drew, I would have thought you would have put up a better fight," the Phantom teased.

Drew ground his teeth together; this was maddening. Not only the fact that he was losing to this kid, but because he was out of options. He had to recall his Roselia before she could get hurt worse than she already was.

The Phantom didn't give him the chance.

"Now it's time to finish you off. Dusclops, shadow punch!"

A double massive shadow punch attack was flying towards them, and Drew desperately called for a dodge. It was the only thing he could do. But it was no use; Roselia was too weak from the staggering amount of abuse she'd taken in that battle already, and she was pounded with the attack's direct hit. She cried out in pain, and Drew could taste blood in his mouth from how hard he was biting the inside of his cheek.

"Wil-o-wisp!" The Phantom commanded.

Drew watched in utter horror as the ghost's fire attack that had caused him so much trouble throughout the match crashed into his Pokémon, sending her flying and landing at Drew's feet. She was completely still, and Drew was practically frozen looking down at her.

"Are you alright, Roselia?!" he struggled to ask.

When she didn't respond, he felt like his heart skipped a beat.

Strong gusts and black flower petals swarmed around him, and Drew had to shield his face from the raging winds. The black rose petals added insult to injury; it was like some kind of sick twist on his famous petal dance. Drew couldn't do anything in those moments aside from trying to withstand the insanity that surrounded him.

The Phantom was shouting something at him, but he couldn't pay attention. He was too worried about his fainted Pokémon at his feet, and trying not to be blown back.

Just as quickly as it appeared, the storm ceased, and Drew found himself alone once again. How it was possible, he didn't know, and he only gave himself a single second to wonder about it.

Next thing he knew, he was on his knees, cradling his Roselia to his chest, looking her over and assessing the damage. This was his first Pokémon, and his absolute best friend in the entire world. He couldn't even begin to process the fact that she was in this bad of shape because he couldn't take a few petty insults, but he also knew part of this was because that kid was insane. There were several moments throughout when the match should have been called, but neither side relented. And it hurt; to see this little Pokémon breathing heavily in his arms, knowing how much she meant to him and how he let this happen.

She was in bad shape, Drew could see that, but he also knew the extent of her injuries probably went well past the bruises and cuts she sustained on the outside as well. This wasn't something potions or paralyze heals could fix. Roselia needed a Pokémon Center, right away.

He didn't even think to put her back in her Pokéball. He carried her in his arms the entire way as he ran as fast as he could back into town, ignoring every single person he passed on the way.


It was reassuring to enter the stillness of the Pokémon Center panting hard from his long run, and more affirming when Nurse Joy's smile instantly told him the Roselia would be perfectly fine after a few days of recovery.

He handed off Roselia to her, and took a second to breathe out, processing the thoughts that had been repressed since he'd began his mad sprint.

One thing was absolutely certain: he would not be entering the Pokémon Contest the following day. He had other options for Pokémon to use, of course, but he knew he wouldn't want to leave Roselia's side when she woke up, which Nurse Joy had told him would be a few hours at least. She meant too much for him to just walk away and compete. She was his first and best partner, and he would honor that always.

On top of that, there was too much emotion, and he couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this much of…anything. Drew could count on one hand the number of times he'd lost control of his emotions throughout his life, and it never got easier when his feelings went haywire. It was such a foreign feeling; he didn't know what to do.

He was angry; he was so angry that this had happened. Whoever this Phantom guy was, he clearly got a rise out of injuring people's Pokémon and running away afterwards. It was sick; Drew couldn't even imagine there were people that demented in the world. But sure enough, there were.

Nurse Joy had told him that according to her calculations, with the pain meds she'd administer to Roselia, she'd be under for at least seven hours. Drew would be free to leave or stay, and was welcome to see his Pokémon whenever he wanted now that the check in process was completed.

With the rage Drew felt, he knew he was prone to make mistakes or say things that he knew he'd regret later. He needed to vent out his frustrations somewhere. Anywhere but that Pokémon Center. He swore he'd be back before Roselia woke up, and he'd stay with her until she was better after then. At that particular moment, though, he just had to get out of there for a little bit until his head was sorted out.

But of course, the universe just wouldn't let him win that day.

"Drew!" he heard her voice call out to him.

Of course it'd be her. Of course she and her friends would be there, coming up to him and apparently wanting to initiate conversations, right after he'd sworn off remembering other humans existed for a few hours.

"I knew you'd be here!" May chimed, happy and chipper as ever; the exact opposite of what he was feeling at the moment.

He'd always prided himself on being civil and a gentleman. Drew knew he'd teased May a lot in the short time that he'd known her. He knew that he'd been a bit arrogant and a bit stuck up in her presence, but he had never, ever been rude to her. And he had no intention to do so, because that wasn't who he was.

Still, with the mood he was in, it was getting hard not to tell off everyone he saw. He had to fight to keep himself in check.

"Oh, hello, May," he'd managed to say with a half turn towards the group of friends as they approached him.

He didn't even bother to greet the others. There was only so much he could do…and in all honestly, he never really cared about them all that much. They were just there; May was the only one he bothered to acknowledge the existence of.

"I take it you'll be entering the big contest tomorrow?" Brock asked, also seeming more upbeat than the last time he'd seen him.

Was everyone just annoyingly and disgustingly happy that day? Were they always like this? Or did it just seem like it because he was so down? He wasn't sure. And being reminded of the contest he'd had his sights set on winning did nothing to help him.

"I was but I'm not anymore," Drew said slowly, turning his back towards them to redirect the glare he couldn't seem to stop.

He heard May gasp behind him, and counted the seconds until they pieced together why he wouldn't bother entering. The answer was literally right in front of them. May got it almost instantly, and he wasn't surprised. She'd proved to be extremely perceptive a few times now. She could think on her feet; he knew that.

"What's wrong with Roselia?!" she asked.

Why wasn't it obvious? Drew didn't understand why she needed further clarification; probably just the universe trying to make his day worse by forcing him to recall all of the horror show that had been his morning. He didn't want to explain the whole story of his defeat to some crazy kid and his powerful Dusclops. That would only make him feel worse. But Roselia's state made it very clear that she was hurt, and he didn't want to go into the details much farther beyond that.

"It got hurt battling," he said, still unable to face them.

His eyes were closed. He was taking deep breaths. He was trying to calm himself down. And then May's idiot friend made a snide comment.

"You mean you lost?"

Ash's tone made it clear; he still wasn't over when Drew had defeated him in Fallarbor Town. A quick battle with Roselia and Tailow that ended rather embarrassingly on Ash's part; after all, he did have the type advantage. And when Drew made it painfully obvious the whole point of that battle was to teach May a lesson – that he didn't care about Ash at all – it probably stung his pride. That comment had to be Ash's form of revenge.

Drew could have handled it on any other day, but not this day.

He opened his eyes and gritted his teeth for a moment before ignoring Ash completely.

"I don't think that Roselia will be well enough to battle tomorrow," he said specifically to May. "I'll have to skip the contest this time."

When he heard May gasp the second time, he had to look down. Was she disappointed? It was nice to know someone shared the sentiment. But he was riled up from Ash's comment, and he knew with absolute certainty that he needed to get away from everyone, May included.

There was no point in talking to her if he couldn't fire her up about the contest tomorrow; how he knew he'd win and she would be okay at best. It was a wasted opportunity, and a shame, really.

"Here's a little advice for all of you," it came out harsher than he'd intended it to, meaning he really was losing his grip on himself. "Watch out for a masked coordinator who goes by the name, Phantom."

With that last ominous warning, Drew shoved his hands into his pockets and stormed out of the Pokémon Center, not having any clue where he wanted to actually go. He refused to go back to his hotel, because he'd have to encounter people and he wasn't up for that. He didn't want to go back to where he and Roselia had been training, because those wounds were still way too fresh.

So he just kept walking straight, with his eyes glaring down at the ground, trying to think of anything that would calm him down.


Training; that was what he'd ended up doing.

All day, it was more training as a distraction, but it had worked out in the end. Drew's drive during training sessions was as unshakable as it was during contests. It gave him something to focus on, instead of thinking about everything that had happened that day.

And better yet, his Masquerain was performing beautifully and looking stronger than ever. After hours of intense work, they'd perfected not one, but two Masquerain's moves. His ice beam's aim was finally and completely accurate, which had taken almost two months of work. Masquerain had also gained solid control of his bubble attack, steering them into patterns and shapes without the use of psychic moves. It was an impressive feat for sure, and they'd been working on that almost as long as they'd been working on his silver wind. But bubble and ice beam had proved to be an interesting combination that he felt confident could score him some serious points.

At one point in the afternoon, Drew considered maybe entering the Verdanturf contest. Clearly he was finally ready to work with his partner. With his Masquerain looking so good, he knew he still had a chance to win it, even against that Phantom kid.

The thought died quickly, though. He wouldn't enter a contest when one of his Pokémon needed him to be there. That wouldn't be right. A ribbon wasn't worth the love he had for his teammates. So he resolved to continue training, and he'd definitely debut Masquerain at the next contest.

It was when the sun started to go down that Drew realized how much time had passed. A quick check of his PokéNav told him it was getting late and he needed to go check on his Roselia soon. It was a thought that left a bitter aftertaste in his mouth, for sure, but he swallowed it down.

After all the training, he'd come to terms with what happened and he decided to leave it at that. It was in the past; he had plenty of time to make up for missing this contest and get his final two ribbons. He wasn't going to stoop down to a level where he held a grudge. Grudges were stupid.

It was quite a walk back to the Pokémon Center; he hadn't realized he'd gone so far away. It just proved how mad he had been, and how relieved he was to have gotten his head back. If there was one thing aside from coordinating Drew Hayden was known for, it was composure.

The doors slid open easily and Drew found himself in an empty lobby. Nurse Joy looked up and smiled sweetly when she noticed his arrival.

"Mr. Hayden?" she greeted him.

"Please, just call me Drew," he waved her off, approaching the front desk.

"Well, Drew, your Roselia is looking better already!" She nodded. "She's in room 7B if you'd like to go see her. I expect she'll be back to full health in two days."

Two days? She needed two full days to recover? That was how injured she was? Drew flashed the nurse and her Chansey a small smile before turning to walk down the hall looking for the room his Pokémon was resting in.

Once he approached the door, he took a moment to make sure he was truly ready to see his Pokémon. Nurse Joy had assured him that Roselia was doing fine and that he had nothing to worry about. But a part of him felt bad for leaving her here when he couldn't handle his own emotions. Who leaves their Pokémon because they're upset?

It wasn't right, what he'd done. And he'd have to make it up to Roselia before. She'd never let him down, and he never wanted to let her down in the ways that he had. He had made bad calls for her in a battle because he'd felt insulted. He'd left Roselia after that because some kid he barely knew insulted his pride in front of another fellow-yet-rookie coordinator he'd been working to show up for some time now. He should have never let his own personal feelings come before the health of his most faithful partner, and he knew first and foremost he needed to apologize.

The door clicked as he shut it behind him, and he moved through the tiny room to the chair next to his Pokémon, still asleep in the center of the bed. It was a very simple room; there was a bed in the center, a nightstand with a lamp next to it and a chair for visitors to sit in. In the front of the room was a TV setup, with the remote lying on the night stand.

She did look immensely better than when he'd last seen her. The scratches were completely gone, and the bruises almost all faded. Whatever Nurse Joy had treated Roselia with, he needed to start traveling with it.

Seeing her so peacefully and relaxed…it was like a huge weight lifted off of his shoulders. He slumped into the chair next to the bed, feeling it slide across the floor a few inches. Roselia's eyes shot open with the sudden nose, and she looked around quickly clearly confused.

So maybe she wasn't asleep…

"Hey, Roselia," Drew greeted her softly.

Her eyes connected with his and she paused for a moment. He smiled warmly at her as she seemed to be recalling the events of the day as well as processing where she and her trainer were. After a long moment of silence, she relaxed back into the pillow behind her, exhaling.

"How are you feeling, Roselia?" Drew asked.

She stretched her flowers a bit and smiled back at him, and he understood.

It was quiet for a few minutes then. Roselia closed her eyes and lied still while drew clasped his hands together resting them on the bed beside her and looked everywhere around the room. Suddenly the plain white walls were really interesting…

Drew Hayden was good at a lot of things. He was good at almost everything. The list of things Drew was not good at was small. It was so incredibly small. Small enough for him to count on both hands, probably. The list probably couldn't be any smaller than it was…

The number one thing on that list was apologizing.

He'd gone almost his whole life without having to say sorry to people for mistakes he'd made. Having such little experience made for some severely awkward moments on his part. But he'd never made any major mistakes. Just a few off cases when he'd bumped into someone or didn't remember a name here or there, in which his casual 'oh, sorry' responses seemed to satisfy whomever was receiving them.

This instance, however, wasn't like those times. This was his first Pokémon and his best friend, and he'd failed her in ways he had sworn he never would. Now here she was, in a hospital shrugging it off like it was all no big deal. But it absolutely was a big deal. She'd always given him her absolute best, and he promised he would do the same for her in return.

So Drew cleared his throat.

"Listen, Roselia…" he started.

She opened her eyes and looked at him, curiosity etched in her face. She had no idea why he seemed so hesitant to talk to her; he was never like this. He wasn't even looking at her, and he always looked at her when he spoke to her. But he didn't; he was nervous now, and it was so odd.

She'd noticed he'd been different lately. Something about the last few months was throwing him off every now and them. One more than one occasion, she caught him doing or saying something she wouldn't expect him to. One such example was how he'd been asking her to make him roses… She wasn't worried by any means, because she knew her trainer always knew what he was doing. But it was becoming more and more common. He was changing, and although it was extremely slow, although it seemed for the better. He was kinder, he was more determined, he was…he was better, and she could see it. She wondered what he would do next.

"I'm just–about today–I really am–" he pursed his lips together and stopped, trying to think of the words she deserved.

It almost startled him when her blue rosebud came to rest on top of his knotted hands. That was when their eyes finally met, and Drew could see her prodding him to say whatever he was trying to say.

"I'm sorry, Roselia," he finally got out. "About earlier today, in that battle with that Dusclops. I – I got angry. I let his insults get to me and I made bad calls, and you got hurt because of it. It was all my fault, and I'm so sorry that I let this happen to you. I should have been a better coordinator, and I should have walked away. I – it won't happen again. I won't let this kind of thing happen again. You mean way too much to me for me to let a few comments from someone I don't even know push me to that point I got to. I'm just sorry, and I hope you can forgive me."

Roselia tiled her head and looked at his face. It was hard and unreadable, but his eyes held a sadness she hadn't seen in him in a long time. Not since their first contest together, when he lost. It was the most profound disappointment, in himself; himself and only in himself.

It was like he'd forgotten they were a team. They were partners; they had been since the beginning and they would be until the end. It was a two-way street; when one messed up, the other messed up. It was never one single side's fault. And she'd done things wrong before, too. She'd botched combinations and failed to pull appeals up to the standards they'd set for themselves, and he never once held it against her.

What exactly was he apologizing for, anyway? Was it for feeling emotion? For being overwhelmed by feeling emotion? Roselia had known him for a while now, and she had come to know Drew as someone who was very closed in about the things he felt. He buried it all down because he thought feelings made him weaker. The only way to win was to be overly confident and never over emotive.

But she was beginning to see cracks form in those walls he'd built around himself. This apology was proof of that, and she was glad he was finally learning to open up. Still, he didn't need to feel bad about it. She never wanted him to feel bad about being himself.

So she handed him a rose, and gave him a reassuring smile, knowing he'd get the message.

He looked at her, surprised. He inspected it a few times over, as if he'd never seen one before, and looked back up at her trying to decode whatever she was saying.

They'd always had an incredible bond. From the moment he found that Roselia in that park in LaRousse, and took her home to take care of her before they'd set out to travel and compete in contests, they'd always understood each other on a level that few trainers or coordinators ever shared with their Pokémon. They were a natural fit for a team from the start, and Drew didn't ever need to speak Roselia's language to know what she was saying.

If they were training and she wanted him to push her harder, he got that. If she was hungry and wanted something, he always knew what to give her to make her happy. If Drew wasn't happy with the way an appeal went, she worked twice as hard to give him the show he wanted to see. If he was confused about what he wanted to do with a new combination, she'd work with him until together, they came up with something great.

From the very beginning, they'd had the upmost and unbreakable faith, confidence and love in each other. It was the type of bond that was meant to be shared with a coordinator and their starter.

Now here he was before her, asking her to forgive him when there was nothing to forgive.

And Drew read that in her eyes, and smiled the biggest grin he ever had in his life, and he nodded at her, taking that rose and resting it in his lap.

"You're the best, Roselia," he told her.

She shrugged it off, as if telling him she already knew that.

They both relaxed then, the intensity in the room had all leaked out, and it was quiet. The only noise was the ticking from a wall clock hanging near the door. A check told Drew it was nearing 10 p.m., and Drew grabbed the remote from the nightstand next to him.

He flipped through the channels to find a local news station, waiting for the broadcast to come on. Drew traveled a lot, but he did like to keep up with current events. He and Roselia settled into comfortable positions and watched the screen, waiting.

When the anchor's appeared on screen, they went through a few quick briefs; a robbery at a Pokémart, the town council approving a budget plan, some reports of mischievous Zigzagoons tearing through trashcans in a neighborhood, the weather for the next few days. It was all simple, mundane stuff, and Drew was about to switch it off when the anchor announced the final story for the night.

"And finally, we'll go to our Contest Correspondent, Brooke Silver for a report on tomorrow's Pokémon Contest. Brooke?"

The screen switched to a live feed of a woman standing outside the contest hall, holding a microphone and smiling into the camera.

"That's right, Ben," she said. "I'm coming to you live from the Verdanturf Contest Hall and I can tell you that after being here all day, tomorrow's shaping up to be an excellent contest! Officials are expecting a huge turnout and some dazzling entries! We spoke to a few of the competitors for tomorrow's contest earlier who were training out in front of the stadium. Here's what they had to say…"

Interviews with some random coordinators from earlier that day played, and Drew paid minor attention to them. He was really focused on the coordinators in the background of the screen, watching them train and display some of their moves. There was one particularly impressive Charizard he spotted, and a nice-looking Stantler at one point too.

With all the powerful Pokémon he could see, he was trying to imagine the countless others that weren't there who would be entering the contest as well.

And then he spotted the color red.

She wasn't doing much; just walking along with her friends trailing behind her, probably looking for a good practice spot. She held a Skitty in her hands, and he quirked an eyebrow. He didn't know she had a Skitty, and he wondered if she was going to use it in the contest.

It made sense; he knew that May was still new at contests and coordinating, but it was almost common sense to never use one single Pokémon to carry you through an entire season. He planned to switch out Roselia after this contest, anyway. So he assumed she knew not to overuse her Beautifly, no matter how impressive it was.

He wondered just what kind of moves her Skitty knew, as he'd never known much about Skittys in the first place. He'd encountered a few of them in contests before, and maybe one or two wild ones during his journey, but he had nothing else. From those experiences, he'd only gathered that Skitty's were capable of knowing double slap and assist attacks; the first couldn't get a coordinator through an appeal round and the latter was way too risky and unpredictable for contest appeals and/or battling.

Still, when used correctly, Skitty's could earn huge points in contests just based on their cuteness level alone, and maybe May knew that.

She walked out of the frame and the young coordinator being interviewed finished his response with an awkward smile.

"I'm just hoping to win tomorrow; there sure are a lot of powerful Pokémon I'm seeing out here today! Tons of pressure."

Drew wasn't paying any attention, and he found himself thinking entirely too much about May and her Skitty; how would she use it? What moves did it know? Could May actually win a contest with this new Pokémon?

He frowned, and he was suddenly a lot more bummed about missing this contest than he had been before. Earlier in the day, he was worried that his Roselia wasn't going to be in anywhere near as good of shape as she was now, but she still wouldn't be well enough to compete tomorrow. And it wouldn't have been right for Drew to leave her again to go to the contest.

"As you can see, we're in for a real showcase tomorrow, and don't forget that our very own Verdanturf Town Pokémon Contest is set to begin at 1 p.m. sharp!" Brooke announced. "Just a reminder to all of our viewers at home that we'll be broadcasting the contest live for those who can't make it here. Live from the Contest Hall, I'm Brooke Silver with Channel 7 News. Back to you, Ben!"

Well, that was that. He couldn't go to the contest and he had accepted it, but at least he'd be able to watch it live on a TV and instead of a shaky online feed from his PokéNav. Drew switched off the television and placed the remote back on the night stand. He looked back at Roselia, who was looking at him oddly, like she didn't understand why he looked so down. But he just shrugged and told her it was nothing.

"It's late," he commented. "I think it's time for some sleep, huh?"

She nodded an affirmative and he reached over to switch off the bedside lamp.

"Nurse Joy told me we'll be here until the day after tomorrow," he informed her. "You'll be back to 100% by tomorrow night, but she wants you to stay one extra night just to make sure you really are better. So we'll miss this contest, but we'll make the next one."

Drew shifted a few times, trying to get comfortable in his chair and finally laid his head down on the side of her bed. The position sucked and he knew he'd be stiff tomorrow, but it didn't matter; he wasn't leaving; not again.

Before then, Drew hadn't felt the exhaustion that was creeping up on him. His long day had finally caught up with him, and it wasn't long before Roselia could hear him snoring softly next to her, that rose she had given him still in his lap.

She waited a few moments before she reached for the television remote and turned it on, making sure the volume was muted so she wouldn't disturb her sleeping trainer.

The channel played idly for a few minutes, with Roselia watching the screen intently before seeing what she was looking for: a commercial for the Pokémon contest that they were supposed to enter. Clips of previous contests played and words flashed across the screen, indicating the date and time for the event.

Of course Roselia knew that Drew wanted to be there to compete, and she had no problems with him doing just that. Even if he just wanted to go watch, she knew he wanted to be there. He loved contests; even the ones he wasn't entering. He loved being there in that environment. Some of the happiest times she had ever seen him have came from when they were observing battles, commenting to her that they could pull off combinations better than the coordinators before them. Or when his eyes would light up, and she knew it meant he'd found some inspiration for new combinations and appeals they could use. Drew wanted to be at that contest; it was painfully obvious, but she also knew that he felt like he owed her something for their battle yesterday. A silly thought, nonetheless, but Drew was hardheaded. Once he had a thought in his mind, it wouldn't go away.

Still, she wasn't going to let him punish himself for something that wasn't his fault. She looked back and forth between the screen and Drew for a few moments. She absolutely knew there was no way she could convince him to compete without her, but she knew she was going to convince him to go there regardless.


The room was painfully bright when Drew first woke up.

Sunlight bounding off the plain white walls made everything seem twice as bright, like some Pokémon was using flash in an already illuminated room.

Just as he knew he would be, Drew stretched him arms out slowly and felt a dull pain in his neck, no doubt from sleeping in a chair all night. Oh well; that was the price he paid.

Roselia was still asleep on the bed, so it gave him an excuse to get up and move around a bit. It was time to get the day started, so he grabbed his travel bag and made his way over to one of the bathrooms in the dorm section of the Pokémon Center. It was so foreign to him at first; he never stayed in Pokémon Centers like most trainers and coordinators did. Coming from a family with money, he was always funded to stay in the best hotels and resorts in each town. But none of the resorts could take care of injured Pokémon, so he didn't mind. There was a first time for everything, right?

He locked the door behind him and stepped into the shower. The water was cold at first, and it took a few moments to warm up to the blistering hot temperature Drew preferred. He washed off his body and rinsed his hair, the familiar smell of his body wash and shampoo calming him and making him relax a bit more.

Roselia would be fine, and he'd have to miss the contest, but he'd get his fourth ribbon eventually and his Pokémon would be okay. That was all that mattered in the end.

Once he was done in the shower, he made his way over to the small cafeteria in the Center. After looking over his "food" options, his stomach churned a bit, and he settled on just having coffee. He could eat later. The coffee tasted cheap and it wasn't the most satisfying he'd ever had, but it was coffee and his body was glad to have the caffeine.

At one point while he was mixing in some sweetener to his drink, Nurse Joy approached him and gave him the updated medical report on his Roselia. She told him she'd like for them to stay just one more night, and apologized if it inconvenienced him, to which he waved off. His Pokémon's health came first. She smiled, agreed, and was off to go participate as a judge in the contest as per tradition.

By the time he made it back to Roselia's room, mug in hand, she was awake and chipper. She greeted him with a warm smile, and he smirked in return.

"Good morning," he said, taking his seat next to her.

It was almost 11:30 in the morning, and it was the latest Drew had started his day in a long time. It was almost nice to have slept in a little and taken so much his time in his morning routine, but it paled in comparison to the hyper energy that normally filled him on contest day mornings.

"What do you say we watch the contest?" he looked at Roselia, grabbing for the TV remote. "We can talk about how much better than all the other coordinators we would have been..."

Before she could respond, he pressed the power button and the TV screen came to life. It was already focused on the contest hall and the same reporter Drew had watched the night before talking excitedly with some people outside of the building.

"We've got just under an hour and a half before the contest is underway, so if you're not here already, get here fast because this place is filling up!" she spoke to the camera. "Now let's get back to talking to some of our friends who are here already and see what they have to say!"

Drew stared at the screen with such intensity that Roselia almost rolled her eyes at him.

"I'm excited to be here," one young girl said. "This is me and my Shelder's second contest ever so we're a little nervous but we know we'll have fun!"

"My Marill and I are going to take home that ribbon!" another kid said.

"There's a lot of tough competition here today," one spoke rather nervously. "I'm hoping my Spinda and I can pull off our appeal; we've been working really hard on it!"

One by one, interview-by-interview, Drew felt more and more of a sense of loss. Verdanturf had been one of his favorite contests from his first season, and he had really been looking forward to competing there. From what he could see, there was going to be some good competitors there just as there had been the year before, and the next contest on the schedule for Hoenn's circuit was set to happen in Rubello Town.

But with Roselia lying next to him, he tried not to dwell on it. He tried convincing himself these were all just rookies and none of them were worth thinking about; that it would have been a waste of time to compete against them.

But of course, the universe just wouldn't let him win that day either, it seemed.

The reporter yanked her into frame; another interview with another competing coordinator of the day.

Red flashed upon the screen and there stood May, her face almost as red as her bandana as she looked into the camera and quietly introduced herself. Brooke recognized her as the winner of the recent Fallarbor Contest, and May rubbed her neck while looking down and smiling.

Roselia noticed Drew shifted in his chair when she appeared. He was leaning forward the second he recognized the girl on the screen. Roselia remembered her as well, but didn't realize her trainer was so interested in her. He didn't seem to realize, either.

Her friends were standing behind her smiling and waving; Brock and Ash probably had experience with TV interviews seeing as one was a gym leader and the other was a repeated league battled. Max didn't seem like the type to get extremely anxious about things like his sister did. May, however, seemed almost as nervous as she had appeared to be at her first contest appeal. Clearly she'd never done an interview before, and was totally unfamiliar with how to present herself on camera, because she looked quite shell-shocked.

"So, May, tell us, after winning at the Fallarbor Contest, how are you feeling about today?" Brooke prompted.

"Uh, well, I'm looking forward to competing!" she laughed a little too much. "I'll be using a new Pokémon today, and, um, I'll be going up against my friend in the contest, so I'm sure it'll be really fun!"

Idly, Drew wondered who her friend was before deciding he didn't care. But he did notice that nervous blush never left her face, and he'd seen that before. It was when he'd given her the first rose.

"Who is your new Pokémon partner?!" the reporter asked. "I'm sure some of your fans are disappointed we won't be seeing your wonderful Beautifly today!"

"Oh gosh, I'm not sure I have fans!" May waved her hands in front of her. "But um, my Skitty and I will be working together today. We've been practicing a lot and I know we're ready!"

The reporter then thanked her and wished her luck, just as she had with all the other interviewees. Then she relayed something about how they were only one hour away from the start of the contest and they'd be right back after a brief commercial break.

Suddenly, the screen went black as the TV shut off.

Drew wheeled around to look at Roselia so fast, it caught her a little off guard. She kept her hand on the remote and pulled it back a little closer to herself.

"Roselia, what's up?" Drew asked, looking down at the remote and then back up at her.

She didn't say anything; she just raised an arm and pointed at the door, throwing a side nod towards the exit.

It clicked in Drew's head instantly.

"No way, Roselia," he said. "I'm not going and leaving you here by yourself."

All she did was roll her eyes in response, and kept pointing at that door and giving him a hard look, not relenting.

"I don't even want to go," he offered.

She raised an eyebrow at him and he sighed, knowing he was a terrible liar.

"Really, it's fine," he tried again. "I'll stay here with you. We'll go to the next contest, it's okay."

Roselia still didn't relent. She just held he arm out and pointed towards the door and stared into his eyes, telling him silently that he wanted to go, and she wanted him to be there. There was no point in him sitting in a chair all day and doing nothing; they both knew that.

"Are you sure…?" Drew asked quietly after a few moments of silence.

It was a battle he knew he wasn't going to win. Part of the reason he and Roselia got along so well was because she was just like him in so many ways; competitive, a dedicated worker and hard headed. If she wanted something to go her way, she'd fight for it and wouldn't relent.

He looked hard into her eyes, looking for any signs of doubt. If he felt like she was even the slightest bit hesitant, he would not go, and she couldn't convince him otherwise no matter what.

But all he could see was 100 percent encouragement. She gave him a stiff nod, and he broke out into a massive grin.

"You really are the best, Roselia," he told her before standing quickly. "I'll be back at the end of the contest, okay?"

She relaxed, smiled and nodding at him. He reached out, patted her on the head and rushed out the door.

When he was gone, she pulled back out the remote and switched the TV back on, settling in to watch the contest herself. She was more curious about that girl in red that Drew was unaware he was so interested in.


He was lucky he found a seat.

The entire stadium was packed; the most crowded contest he'd seen all season, yet. It was a true testament to the fact that contests were starting to become more and more popular, and the thought warmed him. Coordinators worked just as hard as trainers did, and in some ways, they worked harder. It was about time they started getting some recognition for it.

Drew felt at home in the contest hall; he felt safe and relaxed in a familiar environment. It wasn't like how he felt in the Pokémon Center at all; there was energy here, and he could feed off of it. It gave him inspiration and focus. It brought him a sense of belonging he didn't feel anywhere else. It reminded him why he loved being a coordinator, and it never got old. There was nothing that could compare to the feelings of being in a contest hall during contest days, whether you were competing or just observing. And of course Drew would have rather been a contestant, but being there in that room with all of the screaming fans and the people who loved to show off the best of their Pokémon like he did…it was just right.

He kept his head down and threw a few "excuse me's" as he cut through a row in the crown, finding a perfect seat center stage. He'd made it just in time, because as he took his seat, the MC took the stage, waving and greeting everyone.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen, fans and contestants, to the Verdanturf Town Pokémon Contest!" Vivian began. "You can just feel the excitement building here!"

The opening went the same as every other contest did, standard and traditional. The judges were announced, the rules were reviewed and the ribbon was displayed for all to see and admire. It was all rushed through somewhat quickly, though; a packed venue full of fans eager to get the contest underway and Vivian knew that. She was the perfect host; she always had been good at reading the crowd and knowing what to say to please them.

The first coordinator to perform, Drew couldn't help but feel like he knew her. Especially when her name, Jesslana was announced, and she pulled out a Dustox. He paid close attention as her butterfly-moth Pokémon landed elegantly on her head and they posed, prepared to begin their appeal. When she launched a poison sting, whirlwind and pysbeam combination, Drew was almost certain this was the same coordinator who tried to cheat in the Fallarbor contest. This time, though, she seemed to be following the rules, so he couldn't complain about it. So he just watched and appreciated her appeal; she wasn't bad when she actually focused on presenting her Pokémon without trying sneaky tactics to better her score. And it was impressive that she pulled off a three-move combination so perfectly. A lot of coordinators only felt safe combining to moves. She definitely had earned her score.

The following appeals were a mix of hit or misses, just like at every contest. It was almost too easy to pick out who the new coordinators were. Most inexperienced contestants were the ones who only pulled single move appeals, hoping that one move was enough. One such example was when Drew watched one coordinator use his Charizard's flamethrower to form a spiral of fire. He waited to see the follow move, but t never came. Drew bet the coordinator thought because Charizards were foreign to Hoenn, it would score him bigger points, and he scoffed when he earned a 20.5. The same situation happened when no more than two appeals later, a Blastoise's solo hydro pump scored a 15.8.

There were a few appeals that came through as better than most. Drew was fairly impressed by a Minun who showed off excellent control of a discharge attack, throwing the sparks like baseballs before combining it with agility, so the Pokémon was actually catching its own attacks. A great showcase of control and speed for sure. Drew was surprised when it only scored a 23.7.

When May walked on stage, Drew didn't realize how much he'd been waiting to see her appeal. A thought he immediately countered with the fact that he'd been genuinely interested in seeing her Skitty and what she planned to do with it. He definitely wanted to know what moves it was capable of.

The crowd went silent waiting for her to call out her Pokémon. Drew almost laughed when he could hear her friends cheering for her somewhere lower down in the audience.

The first thing Drew noticed was how calm May seemed about being on stage. She didn't run out, she wasn't bouncing with nervous energy and she was able to summon her Pokémon in a confident manner. It was like she shared the same feelings as Drew about being on stage and performing; it just felt like a natural thing to do.

Like he assumed, May's Skitty landed in a cheerful manner and was smiling at the audience matching May's bubbly personality. It was going to win points for being the cutest Pokémon of the day for sure.

When May called for a blizzard attack, Drew raised his eyebrows and watched intently. Blizzard was a powerful attack for such a small Pokémon, and he couldn't wait to see how she followed up with it.

Only, she couldn't follow up with it, because it didn't happen.

The move failed, leaving everyone in the room, Drew included, a bit stunned and deflated. Even Vivian looked disappointed, awkwardly clarifying to the audience that Skitty's first attack hadn't worked out. Attacks usually only failed when the coordinator and their Pokémon weren't in perfect sync, and that was usually a result of nerves in most cases. Perhaps May was more nervous than she let on.

She falters for only a second, and recollected herself almost instantly, calling for her next move.

"Skitty, show 'em your double slap!" she ordered.

That was an interesting call. Double slap alone? Just how was she planning to use this to–

Are those bouncy balls?

Sure enough, May slipped back into old habits. She tossed three orange balls to her Skitty, who in turn used double slap to juggle. Drew would have acknowledged how creative it actually could have been were it not so cheesy. Still, it wasn't the dumbest idea for an appeal he'd seen; she was doing an excellent job of showcasing her Pokémon's cute qualities in a playful manner. And the Skitty really did have control over the balls.

He wasn't totally surprised when she was awarded a 24.9, but also was unsure of whether or not she'd make it to the second round. He found himself curious as to how different her appeal would have been had that first attack worked, but even that wasn't his main focus at the moment.

He was focused on her face. Her expression alone screamed volumes about how disappointed she was. She looked crushed, almost as disappointed as when she'd lost to him back in Slateport. May was clearly someone who took losses hard, and she was clearly still struggling with self-doubt. He watched her exit the stage with a worried expression on his face; the sooner she learned that she had to believe in herself and her team, the sooner she could really get on track to become a great coordinator.

The problem with this contest, though, was that out of the 48 competitors, only four people would advance to the battle rounds. There were still 12 coordinators to go after May, and although she currently held the third highest score of the day, it would only take two coordinators scoring a 25 to push her out of the battle rounds and end her campaign for this ribbon.

Though he didn't know if she had planned for it, Drew did the math in his head: if she lost here, she'd still only have one ribbon, and just under six months to get the other four she would need to compete in the Grand Festival. There were still 11 contests planned for the season, but he knew she wouldn't get to them all seeing as her friend was going for Hoenn badges. They'd probably agreed to split their travel time between her contests and his gym battles. That made her situation all the more difficult.

He had been too busy thinking and he'd missed four appeals, but when he heard Vivian announce that the Phantom had take the stage, he snapped back into reality so quickly, it almost gave his brain whiplash.

Sure enough, there he stood: the oddly dressed kid with the Dusclops had entered the stage area. Drew felt his fists clench at his sides and he threw a glare at the stage. He wasn't bitter about losing to this kid in a battle; loses happened every now and then, and Drew was never really one to hold a grudge, just like when he'd lost to Grace in the last contest, and when he'd lost to Robert back in the Slateport Contest. If he lost to a great coordinator, it was okay, because he'd done his best and that was all that mattered.

No, he was bitter about how this Phantom kid had acted. His Dusclops had hurt Roselia badly and then he just left like he'd done nothing wrong. It wasn't right; it wasn't the way a true coordinator acts.

So watching him take the stage brought of mixed feelings of passive aggression in Drew. He knew this guy was an excellent battler, but now Drew would see how his appeal skills were.

The appeal the Phantom pulled off was bittersweet. On one hand, Drew absolutely could not deny that he was impressed. Using wil-o-wisp and psychic to juggle the flames turned into a beautiful show. On the other hand, Drew could tell this kid had drawn inspiration from May's appeal, and taken it a huge step further; the juggling routines had such different themes to them. While May's appeal had a stronger innocence tied with playful cuteness factor to it, Dusclops' combination was flashier and more visually appealing. In the end, that was what won contests.

Everyone around Drew was cheering, and it pissed him off. He had a personal vendetta against this kid, and coordinating sportsmanlike conduct be damned, he had convinced himself that May's was better, only because he himself couldn't show up this kid on the stage. The 27.8 score was like a punch in the stomach. Drew would have scored a 27.9 just to spite him.


This wasn't the first contest he'd observed, but it was always strange to him that he couldn't go backstage while the judges deliberated the final scores to determine who would move on.

The meaningless chatter in the audience was dull to him; he preferred to listen to the commentary of his fellow coordinators in the waiting room. Sometimes he'd even hear comments about his own performances from them, and he always took those criticisms to heart, forever focused on improving himself. Out here, it was mixed up conversations of "what are we having for dinner tonight" and "so Kailey's boyfriend said that…"

He tuned them out as best as he could, waiting to see who would make it to the battle rounds and mentally calculating from all of the appeals who he thought could beat the Phantom. His only bet was the Stefano kid who had the Wartortle and maybe the Jesslana lady; he Dustox seemed powerful enough. He didn't care who beat him though, honestly…as long as some coordinator put that kid in his place, he was satisfied.

Like he'd predicted, Jesslana, Stefano and the Phantom all passed through the first round and were moving on. Unlike he's assumed, May's picture filled the fourth space, indicating she'd be moving on as well. Maybe it was destiny that he didn't compete that day, because if he had, she wouldn't have made it to the next round. And he found he was happy for her; she'd looked so devastated when she's pulled her lowest contest score to date earlier, and now she had the chance to redeem herself in the battle rounds, which was where she excelled from what he could tell having seen her brilliant win last time around. When she wasn't paired against the Phantom in the first round, he waited to see how she'd handle herself against that tough Wartortle.

May's battle style was…chaotic. He hadn't noticed it before in the Fallarbor Contest, and in Slateport, it was clear she had no idea what she was doing. But now, here she was, fiercely aggressive and offensive in her approach. She was completely unlike any coordinator in contest battles he had ever seen, and Drew wondered where she had learned to battle from. She didn't bother with trying to pull a blizzard attack throughout her five minutes, which was a move much more suited to this type of fight. Instead, she stuck to using Skitty's speed to pull off agile dodges and throwing in tackles and double slaps. It was like she wasn't even trying to be showy with her battling; she was just going for the knockouts, like what a trainer would do in a gym battle. It was the craziest style Drew had seen to date.

It worked well enough, though. She managed to knock out her opponent before the timer went down, and partially attributed her victory to the fact that Stefano clearly didn't realize he had one of the best defensive Pokémon he could have but failed to use that to his advantage. After a brief handshake between the two, May was heading backstage to prepare for her final battle.

One thing was for sure: with her victory, May seemed to be bouncing back from her earlier depression. This girl was a rollercoaster of emotions in contests.

For the next battle, Drew found himself torn on whom to support. On one hand, he hated both of these coordinators. On the other hand, he hated one of them even more. One cheated in a contest and that wasn't okay, but to add insult to that injury, she'd revealed herself to be on that annoying team…whatever they were called. Drew hardly cared. But she had caused him and apparently May's friends enough problems to wear out her welcome. Still, she seemed to be playing by the rules today, and Drew just couldn't stand this Phantom kid, so…

Jesslana it was.

Somehow, he knew she wouldn't win the battle, but he dared to hope for her anyway. A small part of him didn't want to watch the Dustox end up in as bad of shape as Roselia had, and another small part of didn't want May to get destroyed by the Phantom kid, either. A huge part of him wished he was on that stage, vying for a rematch.

Dusclops' big hits shredded Jesslana's points. She'd managed to get a few hits of her own in there, her psybeam taking out a decent chunk of his score as well, but she then got attached to that one move. She fired it off again trying to eat his points up, but he didn't let her hit him twice with the same attack. Eventually it became a power struggle, psybeam vs. psychic, and the two moves collision caused a huge explosion on the stage.

When the smoke cleared, the timer buzzed and the clear leader was the Phantom. Jesslana's costume was thrown to the side from the repercussions of the blast, and her Team Rocket outfit revealed. Drew rolled his eyes when she started freaking out, knowing this was going to go nowhere fast.

Sure enough, her two regular companions – some purple haired dude and the talking Meowth – jumped to join the girl on stage, shouting that they were going to steal the Dusclops. And true to form, May's friend Ash set his Pikachu on them, from the comfort of his own seat. The thunderbolt Pikachu threw evicted them from the premises just like every other time before. Drew wondered if the cycle would ever end; he'd only seen it three times now, and he couldn't help but notice how unbearably repetitive the whole thing was.

With the impact of the thunderbolt, there was another semi large explosion on the stage, and when the smoke cleared, Vivian looked stunned.

"Oh wow, look at the Phantom now!" she exclaimed. "His mask is off andhis face is revealed!"

Drew took a hard look at him, and realized he was just a kid like he'd assumed the whole time.

"Oh my God, that's Timmy Grimm," some girl sitting behind Drew whispered furiously to whomever she was sitting with.

"How do you know him?"

"He's in my math class!"

"We have to text everyone, right now!"

But the drama didn't end there; some woman approached the stage and looked at the kid in pure disbelief before she turned around and bolted away. Drew couldn't be sure, but he swore he saw Timmy say "mom?"

Drew looked down lower in the stands and watched May's group rise and dash to the back stage entrance where Timmy was making his way to. Why was it that every contest that May entered had an unusual turn or dramatic climax to it? It was so odd.

Vivian announced a brief interlude before the final battle so that the stage could be cleared of debris from Team Rocket's sudden exit. Drew sat in his seat stewing for a few minutes.

May was going up against a ghost Pokémon with a normal type Pokémon. On many occasions, Drew had thwarted type differences and won battles where he was at a disadvantage, but May couldn't win this match. Her Skitty's normal attacks would have no affect on that Dusclops, and if she couldn't get her blizzard to work, she was out of luck.

The battle would be over quickly. Drew was sure of what the outcome would be.

Still, he didn't want to leave the contest hall.

He wanted to watch May tackle this situation, and see if she could come up with something.


In the time that they cleared the stage, Drew had gone over every strategy he could think of for May to use that might help her. Ever scenario he'd mapped out in his head ended with her defeat. Even if she could pull off a blizzard attack, it would only get her so far. And the powerful hits that Dusclops could dish out would thwart her. Her loss was inevitable.

Before he knew it, the battle was on, and both Pokémon took the stage. Drew knew May had to be nervous. The difference in size alone was intimidating. Skitty was a tiny Pokémon, but compared to that Dusclops, it looked even smaller.

Timmy came out roaring with a direct hit focus punch, and right off the bat, May lost a chunk of her points. Her counter was to try a double slap, which as predicted had no effect. May's face became blank for a second as she was reminded of the very fact that her Pokémon was at the ultimate disadvantage, and both she and Timmy knew that. He called out another focus punch in retaliation before May's instincts kicked in, and she had an idea. If her attacks couldn't work, she'd send his own attacks right back at him.

Not only was it creative to counter with an attack that had previously not worked, but it was brilliant. Everyone was pleasantly surprised. This battle might turn out to be somewhat entertaining yet. But Timmy was a calculated battler; he never let the same strategy work twice when he knew it was coming.

So he changed it up, not about to let May use the same counter. He called for the same combination he used in his appeal, and sent an array of flames towards Skitty with wil-o-whisp and psychic, and the tiny cat took a lot of damage.

That same look of confusion and loss took over May's face, and Drew watched her with a worried expression. Clearly she could think on her feet and could battle offensively, but offense wasn't going to win her this battle. She had to use her quick wits to think of something if she wanted a chance.

The clock had already hit the three-minute warning, and she knew she was running out of time.

So, she panicked. She wasn't thinking. She called for more normal attacks.

That earned her a direct hit hyper beam, and her points plummeted. She was losing it, and she called for blizzard, hoping it would work but knowing it wouldn't. Her reward was another hyper beam.

Drew didn't know how much more he could watch. Skitty nor May's points could be able to take much more abuse like this. But even more so, May's face kept falling farther and farther; she was giving up on herself. The worst part was that there was still another minute and a half of this to endure.

Timmy called out for one final hyper beam to end it all, but Drew wasn't looking at him. He was so concentrated on May's face that he almost jumped when it instantly perked up.

Was she excited that he called for another hyper beam…? No. No, this was something else. May had an idea, and he leaned forward in anticipation to see what she was going to try.

When she called it out, he wasn't sure he heard it correctly. There was no way she was going for that kind of attack. Not in a contest battle; it was far too unpredictable. Then again, she'd already put what little faith she had in a failing blizzard attack more than once in this contest. Taking risks was the only option now, and at this point, he was glad to see her trying something rather than just accepting defeat.

Accepting defeat was not the May he was coming to know.

"Now, Skitty, assist!"

Drew had only seen assist used in two contests in his coordinating career. The first time, it pulled out a move that deflected one attack and cost the opponent a lot of points. The other time, it turned into a dud move and cost them the match. Assist was a straight 50/50 move: if it worked, it could earn the user big hits and win. If it failed, it cost the user the match. But the move was 100 percent unpredictable, and it was only used as an absolute last resort.

Skitty shot off a powerful gust attack, no doubt from May's Beautifly, and it actually dispersed the hyper beam. As a high scoring move, that failed hyper beam cost Timmy a lot of points, but more important, it actually evened the score.

"That was bold, using assist," Drew admitted as he eyed the points when they evened out. "Hey, she may just win this match yet."

It brought Drew great joy to see Timmy so flustered by May's surprise final attack, and even more joy to see that he thought he had assist figured out. Clearly he assumed it would produce gust again, because he called for focus punch, which couldn't be deflected by that. But oh, how wrong he was, because assist could draw a move from any of May's Pokémon, and already the possibilities for non normal attacks to fight back with seemed endless.

May knew this, and she capitalized on it.

"Assist, now, go!"

A strong series of strings shot out, and destroyed the focus punch after it barely had the time to form at all. It was a deflection Drew had never seen before, and new to the judges as well, because it cost Timmy more points, and May suddenly had the lead for the first time.

It seemed to click in Timmy's brain that he couldn't possibly predict what assist would produce. He could only hope he would luck out and it would be a useless move.

In truth, Drew did not expect Timmy's mother to reappear, mid-battle no less, to give him a pep talk. Again, every contest he'd seen May attend produced weird events within the event. But this newest random interruption within the battle was so odd, and a bit annoying…because the timer was still going and no one seemed to be trying to escort her away. Her comments could wait until the end, couldn't they?

But oh no, the drama just had to continue. Timmy was suddenly so inspired, that he took off his mask and opted to continue the battle proudly without wearing it. Again, this was happening in the middle of an official contest battle, Drew thought. He wasn't one for sappy, sentimental moments.

He finally called for the battle to continue, and May more than happily agreed.

The wil-o-whisp he called for was stopped by Skitty's assist forming an ember attack, and the orange flamed collided with the blue ones to mash into miniature multicolored sparks. Now the battle had some flare to it, and it seemed more like a contest battle, neither coordinator plagued by reserve.

With another assist turning into silver wind, Timmy finally remembered he had psychic attack to help him out, and he blasted through May's silver wind, finally costing her points for the first time in almost five attacks.

Both coordinators paused momentarily, staring each other down boldly. Each of them had every reason to win; May wanted that ribbon, and Timmy clearly had to prove this lady wrong or whatever – Drew wasn't too sure what the whole story was there. He just went with it.

Four straight successful assists was a lot of luck, and Drew didn't know if May could pull it off for a fifth. But it was her only option, because none of her other attacks had worked. The situation became all the more dire when Dusclops shot off a particularly powerful hyper beam.

"Now, Skitty, blizzard!" May shouted.

Everyone around him gasped, totally shocked she would call for the attack that had failed her twice before. Drew seemed to be the only person in the entire arena to pick up on the subtle change this time; when she called for the first two, she forced it through her lips with a fake confidence laced in the calling for the attack. This time was different: she called for it in a different manner. Everything about her was more sure; from the tone she used to her body language, she now radiated total faith in her Skitty and its abilities. She finally and completely trusted her Skitty to pull off this attack.

And she was right to do so.

A huge gust of snow and ice flew straight through that hyper beam, pushing it straight back and earning May her first direct hit of the match. Dusclops fell at Timmy's feet, the shimmery remains of ice floating down around in. Timmy was just as shocked as the rest of the audience, and the buzzer sounded.

With the success of her last two minutes of the battle, particularly that last attack, Drew didn't need to look up to know that she had won. So instead he watched her face, and waited to see her reaction. She threw her arms up and cheered, before looking down and praising her Skitty, rightfully so. The mark of a great coordinator was when they acknowledged that most of the credit fell to their Pokémon.

Once again, the girl before him impressed him. She had proved herself to be a decent coordinator, now with two ribbons to show for it. She had made true strides since her first showing. And even though she had setbacks in this contest, like props and failed attacks, she'd managed to pull out the win from someone who had managed to beat him.

On the other hand…Drew also knew that a huge portion of this victory was pure luck. The first assist was risk, the second just as much, the third was desperation and the fourth was last resort. He'd never seen more than one assist attack ever work out in the favor of the one using it, but it happened here. And she was the luckiest girl in the world.

Still, that luck earned her a win, and a win is a win.

They crossed the stage to shake hands as was expected of them, and Drew noted that they held on for just a little bit longer than most people did in these types of handshakes. They were also smiling and complimenting each other. It wasn't until Timmy's mom approached them that they let go, and Drew let out a breath. This must have been the friend May mentioned earlier that she was going against in the contest. He couldn't believe May was friends with the Phantom, but then again, maybe the kid wasn't so bad after all. From the bits and pieces Drew gathered, Timmy definitely had some problems at home.

Drew waited around to watch May receive her ribbon. He didn't know why he wanted to stay; maybe he felt like if he didn't see her actually get the ribbon, she wouldn't really have it. Maybe he just wanted to see her face light up again one more time after such a hard fought battle. Probably because he just wanted to see her Skitty, just like he'd always wanted to see her Beautifly.

But when the ribbon was placed in her hands and she smiled the biggest smile he'd ever seen anyone smile in his life, he nodded to himself and decided to take his leave.

He had spent enough time there, and he wanted to be with his Roselia. So he walked out of the front entrance and started making his way past all of those exiting as well. He marched past the reporter who was gushing into the camera about the contest overall and how it was so much better than any other contests she'd seen and blah, blah, blah…

He started thinking about his next contest; Rubello Town was up next. It was going to be a big contest: Drew was going to finally get to debut Masquerain. He absolutely couldn't wait to work with him at the next contest. And he wondered if May was going to be there to see him use Masquerain.

He was about halfway back to the Pokémon Center when his PokéNav buzzed in his pocket. A check of the lock screen told him he'd received a text from Solidad.

"Looks like girlfriend won another ribbon!"

He cringed when he read that, and was hasty to reply.

"Not my girlfriend, ever."

Her response came just as promptly.

"I didn't say your girlfriend. Touchy much?"

He cringed again when he'd realized his error. He was typing out another reply when he stopped and erased it all, unsure of how to recover from the embarrassment of the mistake.

Another message from her appeared, and he exhaled when she'd dropped the subject all together in favor of another.

"I thought you were going to compete in that one? What happened?"

"It's a long story. I'll call you in an hour, and prepare for the call to drop probably 800 times."

"Why?"

"Because all Pokémon Centers have really shitty WIFI."