Chapter 11: Pacifidlog Town– In which Drew recovers, May competes for her final ribbon, as well as entry into the Grand Festival and things get complicated.
Author's notes:
- Based on the episodes, "Mean With Envy" and "Pacifidlog Jam!"
- So sorry this took way too long to write and post. I've never been busier with school and now preparations for graduation have begun. I'm doing my best to stay on top of everything, but my classes are a priority over this story so…it's hard to find time to write. I'm doing it as often as I can and I hope you guys can put up with me.
- I incorporated May's perspective just a little bit in this chapter, but it's not a very long section. I might do that a little more often, too, but not all that much. This story is still entirely focused on Drew, but seeing May's side every now and then can't hurt, can it?
- Wow, a chapter that isn't over 50 pages on Microsoft Word? I must be slacking up. (Real talk, after having written like 40K+ words for the last two chapters of this story, I needed a short chapter. Sorry if I disappointed anyone.)
- Don't let the beginning part fool you; this isn't entirely a coffee conversation chapter.
- Just wanna give a shout out to the wonderful people who send me reviews and general positive vibes and good energy. You guys keep this story alive. (Seriously, if I didn't get reviews telling me to keep it up, I probably wouldn't keep writing.)
"So tell me again why you're there in Pacifidlog?" Solidad inquired, swirling her tea in her hand as she stared him down through the monitor. "I'm really confused. A week ago when you spoke to me before dropping off the face of the earth for a few days, you told me you were heading for Littleroot Town."
His coffee burned his tongue a little bit, but he hid his reaction.
She had been right; just over a week ago, when he had spoken to her last (just before the whole Mirage Island incident, to be exact), he'd planned to head toward one of the only towns in Hoenn that didn't have a contest hall, hoping to avoid any and all potential paparazzi. This time of the year, they were even more annoying than usual, most of them hoping to score an exclusive interview with "projected winners" of the upcoming Grand Festival.
But that had been his plan. He was hoping to spend a few days in Littleroot training, and then city-hop for the remainder of his free time until a week before the Grand Festival.
Then came what he had dubbed, "The Day."
After everything that had happened, Drew's plans had changed, and he had arrived in Pacifidlog Town two days ago.
Now there he sat, his brand new PokéNav sitting on the desk as he video-phoned Solidad, who he hadn't spoken to since before he'd rearranged his schedule.
He opted not to tell her about what had happened on "the day" for numerous reasons. At the top of the list was the fact that he realized that even if he'd wanted to explain it all to her, he knew he wouldn't be able to. It had been a few days and some of it had faded, but for the most part, the events of that day were still so fresh – too fresh – in his mind, and more than anything, he wanted to just put it all behind him so he could focus on the upcoming event he'd spent two years preparing for.
"The last contest of the season is here in town tomorrow," he pointed out, taking another small sip.
"I know that," she stated. "I also know that you told me it was out of the way for you and you had no intentions of going there."
"My Pokémon deserved a break from all the hard work they've been doing," he tried, but it had been far from the truth.
The truth was, Drew was going through a tough time.
All throughout the week, he'd been trying to focus solely on training; to get his head in the game and get totally prepared for the upcoming biggest contest of his life. But during his practice sessions, he'd found himself frequently distracted, and he'd give up for the day telling himself he still had a few weeks and he'd be fine skipping a day or two…or a week, as it had become. He hated himself for giving up precious hours of practice, but he knew if he couldn't completely ground himself in the work, it wasn't worth it. Top Coordinators didn't ever have problems like that.
The following days since that wretched 24 hours had been a flurry of insanity. A lot of things had happened and a lot of things about him had changed in a very short, traumatic period of time. Even someone as generally detached from human emotions as he had tried to be couldn't escape the soul-crushing PTSD that he'd been going through.
He felt like everything he was had been uprooted all too quickly. He'd never been involved in any life-threatening situations before that day, much less three in a single 24-hour span. Those facts had caught up to him, and they were definitely taking a toll.
The first few nights after he'd gotten back, he had nightmares.
The first one was terrifying. He dreamed he was falling through the sky, hurdling towards the ocean. But there was nothing or no one with him. It was a lonely, endless fall. Just when he'd think he was getting closer and he'd brace himself, he'd never hit the water. It was insanity, and he didn't understand it. He'd been waiting to feel the impact, and the constant anticipation for it was eating him alive.
When he'd jolted awake, he'd walked across town at two in the morning to retrieve his Pokémon from the Pokémon Center. He wanted them to be near him to help calm him down.
The second night was even worse. He was in the river, all alone once again and at the mercy of the currents. They pushed him down and pulled him up. They flipped him upside down and threw him all around. He couldn't tell which way was up, and he fought against the water to find the surface so he could breathe. And he fell over that waterfall again. It was so much worse the second time, having no one to scream with him on the way down.
He'd woken up from that one out of breath and sweating profusely. He jumped when Roselia's hand came to rest on top of his own, as she had been sleeping next to him on the king-sized bed. She looked at him softly, telling him she understood what he was feeling and that everything was okay. He wasn't in danger and if he had been, his Pokémon were there to protect him in whatever ways they could. Masquerain and Vibrava were also at the foot of the bed, watching. Drew thanked his Pokémon quietly and apologized for waking them up.
The third night had the worst of all.
Before he went to bed, he had been outside, attempting to practice some combinations with his Masquerain. When he absentmindedly called for a silver wind, his mind shot to May. He'd more or less tried to mentally block her out of his all thoughts after he'd walked away from her on the beach. Once he'd realized he had taken a romantic interest in her, it scared him. He didn't know what it meant for him, or the fact that she was his opponent in contests, or what he would think next time he saw her, which could have been at the Grand Festival…
It was too much, so he kept himself distracted by trying to train and failing miserably. His timings were off, his combinations weren't in sync, and he couldn't get it together.
So on that third night, when he'd tried a silver wind for the first time since he and May had used it together, he felt his brain go back into overdrive. As he watched that silver wind ripple out of his Masquerain, he couldn't avoid the thoughts of how inferior this solo attack had come off. It didn't look as great as he'd originally thought it did; not without May's own silver wind to pair with.
After that crushing realization, he'd immediately called it a night.
He dreamed he had woken up in the Wynaut's cave, but May was not there with him. He called out for her, but there was never a response. He'd left the cave, looking for her, but she was nowhere to be seen. For the remainder of that nightmare, he searched the island, but he never found her. He didn't care about anything else or finding anyone other than her. The loss of her presence sent him spiraling into insanity.
He'd woken up never feeling more panicked and alone, and he wondered if she was feeling the same things.
After that, he needed to see her. He needed to know if she was handling life as badly as he was, or if she was okay.
Roselia had been beside him again, studying him. Throughout his sleep, he'd been mumbling the name of the girl in red she knew Drew cared about. She also knew that said girl was on her way to enter a contest where they were not planning on attending. But by the time she'd watched Drew twitch himself awake for the third night in a row and took a few deep breaths while staring aimlessly at the ceiling, she felt things were different with her trainer and friend.
And when he turned his head to look at her, she already knew what he was going to say.
"I think we should go to Pacifidlog Town to see the contest."
The next morning, they'd all set out, just less day's walk from the town. They'd arrived before the sun had even set.
Over the course of time since the day, Solidad had been trying to check in on Drew. It started with a few texts that went unanswered, and she had assumed he was just pushing himself too hard in training. She knew all too well that taking proper care of himself just didn't happen when he was in training mode.
By the second day, she was somewhat annoyed, because Drew had never flat-out ignored her before. Sure, there were times when he took a few hours to get back to her, but never this long. So she called him, and it went straight to voicemail, meaning his PokéNav was off. Drew's PokéNav was never off.
The third day, just before she grew overly concerned, he'd finally texted her back. It was a short series of about four messages. He told her he was sorry for not replying earlier, that his PokéNav had gotten waterlogged, he had to get a new one and, above all, that he was fine.
When she asked what had happened to his old PokéNav, he hadn't replied again, and Solidad more or less let it go. She knew he was okay, and that was all that mattered to her. At any rate, she didn't want to seem too much like a parent, which some of her friends had often told her she did. But she did make him promise to call her within a few days. He hadn't replied to that one either, but she knew he would, probably when he'd get to Littleroot town.
Odd thing was, he wasn't in Littleroot Town.
He wasn't one to change his plans so quickly (at least, not without good reason), and she was curious to know why he had, especially considering he was in Grand Festival mode.
"So you went to watch the contest?" she clarified.
"Yes."
"You're passing up training time to watch a single, beginner-entry-level contest?"
"That's right."
"And you're okay with giving up that time?"
"Correct."
She knew it was a lie, and part of her was ready to demand the truth from him, maybe tease him a little for even thinking he could get something over her head that easily.
But the things she noticed stopped her from doing so.
Drew was more stressed out than she'd ever seen him before. She already knew he didn't sleep much, especially when a contest was coming up, but he generally got enough sleep to get him by. Not once before had she ever seen him with the dark circles that were resting under his eyes now. Normally a somewhat tan person having spent so much time outdoors training, especially in the sunlight with his grass-type, Drew's skin seemed slightly chalky and pale. His eyes themselves seemed cloudy and confused, like he was trying to solve a complicated problem and couldn't get a good solution.
With all of the physical abnormalities she was seeing on just his face, she didn't even want to know in what other ways he'd been neglecting himself.
There was no way this was from nerves from the Grand Festival. No, something had happened. Something big. Something bad? Maybe. She didn't know, but what she did know was that Drew wasn't a very open person. He barely let her in on personal subjects, and they'd been close friends for almost two years. If she pushed him to tell her anything, he'd shut her out more than before. He'd already avoided talking to her for a week just because she'd asked if he was okay. At least, that's what she assumed the reason was.
But at the same time, she couldn't skip out on saying something. She cared too much. She wanted him happy and healthy and he was clearly neither of those things at the moment. The moment when he should have been at his happiest and healthiest, when he was getting ready to compete in the contest he'd spent two years preparing for. The Grand Festival, the contest of his dreams.
"I figured I'd check out who'd be going for their last ribbon," he explained. "See that one last person who I could face off against at the Grand Festival."
"Gotcha," Solidad said.
There was an awkward pause then. There were never awkward pauses when they spoke.
Drew bit his lip as the seconds ticked by. He wasn't used to not having anything to say to Solidad, or rather, having too much to say and not being able to say any of it.
He had every intention of telling her about the day and its events when he was ready. But he wasn't over it yet, and he was afraid of what talking about it might bring up for him. Near death experiences were not easy to get over. Realizing you had feelings for someone you shouldn't have feelings for was apparently even more so.
Drew was really tired. He knew so, because in the middle of that silence, he'd found himself yawning, which was oddm considering he'd just finished his third cup of coffee for the day.
When she checked her clock, Solidad calculated the time difference and concluded it was almost 9 p.m. in Hoenn. What amazed her was that they'd been on the phone for almost two hours, and yet barely anything had been said.
"It's late," he commented offhandedly. "I'm gonna get up early and get some training in before the contest, so I think I'm gonna go to bed now."
"Alright," she agreed, hoping he'd get some sleep that night.
She didn't know what was bothering him, but she knew she'd be watching him more closely until he either told her, or she figured it out.
"Goodnight," he bid her, reaching to hang up his PokéNav.
"Drew?"
He looked to her.
"Tell me about it when you're ready."
His face fell a bit, but he nodded nonetheless.
At first, May started out having a fantastic week.
On that first day of training, she had never felt better about going into a contest.
All of her Pokémon were on fire, giving her the best of the best she'd ever seen coming from them. Although she was nervous about the fact that this was her final chance, and that she absolutely had to win this contest, with the way her training had begun on that first day, it couldn't have been better. She'd never been more confident, and with her friends right by her side cheering her on every step of the way through training, she was at the top of her game.
Until nighttime rolled, and she was alone.
She tried not to think about it all; the events of that day and that desolate island where everything had constantly been a game of survival. Before that day, May had never truly experienced fear for her own life. After then, she became all too aware of just how close to death she'd gotten, multiple times, no less.
The first night, when she and her friends had settled into their sleeping bags around their campfire, she couldn't for the life of her help but wonder how they'd fallen asleep so quickly. How they weren't plagued with the memories of what they had experienced on that island. And of how Drew had kissed her.
Well...he'd kissed her on the cheek, which didn't seem like it should have been so earth-shattering. But it was, because it was Drew. and Drew had kissed her.
She didn't sleep at all that first night, and she found herself struggling to keep up with the others as they walked closer and closer to Pacifidlog Town for her contest.
The second night, despite all the thoughts she'd been having, she fell asleep almost instantly, her body unable to fight off her exhaustion anymore. Her dreams were chaotic; they ranged from her tumbling off cliffs to being saved by Drew and the Wynaut from Team Rocket's grasp. It amazed her that she'd managed to sleep through it all, but she had tossed and turned all night, and woke up the next morning feeling restless.
The cycle repeated over and over again. To May, it felt like it might never end. But she pushed through, because she knew she had to absolutely give 110 percent to get to the Grand Festival. She'd never wanted anything more than to compete on that stage in front of those thousands of people and show the world that she and her Pokémon could be incredible.
She especially wanted Drew to see that in her.
Since he'd left her alone on that beach, he'd crept into her head and he'd stayed there.
"I'll see you at the Grand Festival in six weeks," he had told her.
An unsteady "okay" had been her only reply, but soon after he was gone and her heart rate had returned to normal, she had realized she'd never meant anything more in her life. She wanted to go to the Grand Festival, she wanted to see Drew there and she wanted to win it.
So she pushed herself past her limits to fight off the stresses of her traumatic experience and worked harder with her Pokémon to make sure she'd get there.
At night when she was alone, she would let herself feel it all. She even cried on more than one occasion. But during the day, she was all nerve and hard work, letting little to nothing deter her.
Until the day her and her friends finally arrived in Pacifidlog Town, and she got her first glimpse of her competition.
Just one look at all the coordinators around her, she knew this would be the hardest contest she'd ever been in. Especially when her Skitty started acting up again. Skitty had been great in training throughout the week, mainly because the little kitten Pokémon didn't have anything to distract her. In Pacifidlog Town, surrounded by tons of people and exciting things to see, Skitty was nearly untamable. Especially when her friends had left her to watch Ash and Snorunt practice their ice beam attacks. And when Skitty ran off. And when she met Joshua.
At first, things were great.
It felt good to talk to Joshua and make a new friend before the contest. When she was alone, she could barely focus on keeping her thoughts off of the still-too recent events she'd gone through. But chatting with Joshua had been nice, and she was able to take her mind off of the bad things for a while.
Joshua was clearly very passionate about coordinating, but at the same time, he seemed to be a casual competitor. He definitely seemed to be tough competition, though, and May knew at some point, she would have to beat him to get her ribbon, but just sitting there and talking to someone was relaxing. If anything, it was nice to have a friend going into this competition. She needed one to keep her calm.
Then Erica showed up, and things went to hell.
May went from somewhat okay to completely stressed out all over again, and it had all stemmed from a misunderstanding, when Erica mistook Joshua and her casual conversation as flirting. May would never come between two people in a relationship, and she tried to explain that to Erica, but her explanations might as well have been falling on deaf ears. Erica made it very clear she was out to get May, and May felt more nervous than she had all week.
With an overwhelming week and not enough time to practice with her Skitty at the end, May felt anything but ready for the contest. Damn her pride. But she needed this win.
She knew that from the moment she had that panic attack the night before the contest.
In Pacifidlog's Pokémon Center, boys and girls had to be separated in dorm rooms; there was a girl's hall and a boy's hall. Even after explicitly telling Nurse Joy that Max was her brother and it was more than okay that they share a room, Nurse Joy apologized sweetly and said that rules were rules. So May found herself alone at night yet again. The stresses of her day on Mirage Island and the contest the next day forced her to break down, and she found herself crying in bed.
But as she lay there, sniffling and shaking, her thoughts turned to Drew. What would he say if he saw her like this? How was he doing?
May knew that he wouldn't be breaking down the same way she had been all week. No, Drew would be strong and confident and collected and focused on the task at hand. He would criticize her for whining and tell her if she ever wanted to be taken seriously, she would need to toughen up, not that she'd ever get to his level, of course. Not in his eyes.
Something changed in May from the second she'd had those thoughts. She didn't feel angry or upset, but rather, she found that she felt inspired. She had always wanted to prove Drew wrong in contests, but now that she knew him more, that desire was stronger than ever. Why, May couldn't fathom. But she did know she absolutely had to win, and show Drew that she could be just as good as he was.
She wouldn't leave Pacifidlog without a ribbon.
And Drew would see her at the Grand Festival.
Pacifidlog was known for being a near-constantly bright and sunny place.
Thus was the case the morning of the contest, while Drew was outside training with his Pokémon. Just because he was having a bit of a rough patch getting back into the swing of things didn't mean he was going to waste any more precious training time. The hours left between him and his Grand Festival were shrinking slowly, and he knew that meant less time to get his team ready for the ultimate showdown. His team of Roselia, Masquerain and…
Vibrava.
When they'd first started working together, Drew had expected Vibrava's evolution to come somewhat quickly. Now there they were, mere weeks away from the festival and Vibrava was still…a Vibrava.
The ground-bug type seemed just as frustrated as Drew was at times, mainly because he felt like he was falling behind his partners. Drew had told Vibrava at the beginning that he wanted to compete with him when he was ready and clearly that day had not come. Vibrava was giving it everything he had in training sessions lately, hoping to prove to his trainer he was capable of true strength in contests.
That was how Vibrava found himself facing down both Masquerain and Roselia on a makeshift practice field in the middle of the woods. All three Pokémon were panting heavily, Vibrava a little more so. He was taking on two opponents at once, after all.
Vibrava was working hard to dodge the dual attacks Drew was ordering from his other Pokémon, and at first, it had been easy. But now, Vibrava was getting more and more worn out, and soon found himself getting hit no matter how hard he tried to move out of the way. Drew never scolded him, though. He knew Vibrava was trying its hardest, and it only frustrated Vibrava more.
With a trainer who believed in him so much, Drew deserved better from him. It ignited a fire in Vibrava; a drive to give his trainer the effort he deserved.
"You're doing great, Vibrava!" Drew encouraged him from below. "Try to dodge this combination, now! Roselia, use petal dance and Masquearin, bubble!"
For a few glorious seconds, the air had been still and clam and Vibrava could fly effortlessly as he recovered from another failed dodge. Then, everything changed when the attacks were fired off.
It seemed like both attacks were coming from everywhere, and Vibrava couldn't even find an opening in the oncoming assaults to move to. He was pounded with waves of petals and bubbles, and they just kept coming. It took everything Vibrava had to stay floating in the air, and the combination was relentless. Every second he felt the sting of the hits, but refused to give in and let Drew down; not this time. Not again.
Drew watched with gritted teeth as his Vibrava took on the attack, unable to dodge. He worried that his Pokémon might be sustaining serious damage from the power of the combined forces of his other two Pokémon.
And the next thing Drew knew, he had to shield his eyes.
At first, he didn't understand what was happening. Only that a blinding white light had appeared and if he didn't raise his arms, Drew was sure he would lose his vision. Under the cover of his arms, he could barely see that Roselia had stopped shooting her petal dance and had moved to shield herself from the light as well. He didn't know where Masquerain was, but he assumed the same was happening.
The light eventually faded after a few moments, and Drew had to rub his eyes to allow them to readjust to the normal daylight. Before he could call out to his team and make sure everyone was present and accounted for, a piercing screech sounded through the air, and a massive shadow passed over him.
The screech and shadow of a Flygon.
When the magnificent creature landed in front of him, powerful wings stretched out and calling out its name, Drew's brain was stuck in a state of cluelessness. Vibrava's evolution was so anticipated for months, that when it had finally happened before him, Drew could not believe his own eyes.
Then, the reality set in, and he was able to process what had happened.
Flygon couldn't recall ever seeing Drew smile more than he was in that moment, but he felt himself smiling, too. Both had worked so hard for so long to get to that point, and they had finally done it. It was a state of euphoria.
Behind them, Roselia and Masquerain were sounding off cheers and congratulations, but the sounds were drowned out. Drew could hear the blood pumping in his ears with the adrenaline rush currently racing in his veins. Here was his Flygon; his reward for his hard work and effort all those months throughout the season. And Arceus, was his newest Pokémon beautiful.
Beautiful and powerful and deadly.
Everything he needed and wanted to win the Grand Festival.
For the first time in a while, Drew felt a renewed sense of excitement for the contest season. He felt more confident and more elated than he had since before he faced his string of losses in the circuit year.
But now with this incredible powerhouse of a Pokémon on his team, there was no way he could lose the Grand Festival.
If he hadn't set an alarm on his PokéNav, he would have forgotten about that day's contest altogether.
Pacifidlog's contest hall was exactly the way Drew had remembered it from the year prior.
Loud. Crazed. Overpacked.
There were even fireworks going off outside of the stadium before the contest began.
It took him almost a full three minutes to squeeze his way down one row of seats to find an open chair. He muttered off small "excuse me's" and kept his head down as he brushed past fan after fan, and apologized a bit louder when he stepped on someone's foot. The person paid him no mind, way too distracted by whatever graphics were up on the display monitor, and Drew kept going.
When he was finally able to take a seat, he exhaled. Who knew getting through a crowd could be so exhausting? Did he have this much trouble last year?
His mind flashed back to last season, when he'd previously attended the Pacifidlog Town's final contest. Back then, he'd already had his five ribbons and decided not to enter the Grand Festival, but Solidad was going to compete in the contest so he'd gone to watch her. She'd claimed she needed the practice, and Drew scoffed as he watched her accept the first prize ribbon a few hours later. She'd blown through the competition like it was nothing (even though there were some tough competitors for sure). She earned six ribbons that season. Solidad's easy victory in Pacifidlog, as well as her wins throughout the last season had made it all the more shocking when she lost in the top four of the Grand Festival a month later.
More to the point, Pacifidlog was always a ridiculous contest. With so many people having just one chance left to qualify for the Grand Festival, the contest attracted some of Hoenn's best (and most desperate) coordinators as well as some of Hoenn's best (and definitely most desperate) contest fans. As he'd made his way into the building, Drew could have sworn he'd even seen Savannah's group of cheerleader mom friends happily chatting in the lobby. He'd ducked his head and did his best to avoid them.
So to see how many people were struggling to find seats in the arena didn't surprise him. Most of these fans probably wouldn't make it to the Grand Festival, and being the last contest of the season, there was going to be a two-month off period before contests started up again in Hoenn. They were going to take what they could get. And if Pacifidlog had proved anything to him last year, it was going to be a good show.
"Ladies and gentlemen, your patience has finally paid off, because your Pacifidlog Pokémon Contest is about to begin!" Vivian announced when she gracefully took her place on the stage. "And don't forget, this is the final contest before the Grand Festival, so expect to see some of the toughest battling you've ever seen before."
Drew was banking on that. He wanted to observe each and every move in every round and know which one of these final coordinators would try to stop him from taking his title. Originally, he had gone to see May, but walking through town all week and seeing a few of the coordinators she'd be up against practicing, he had his doubts. She'd surprised him before, but could she really make it all the way to the Grand Festival in her first year? He wasn't sure.
Vivian proceeded through the judges' introductions as per the standard contest opening ceremony went. He wasn't able to hear most of what Vivian was saying over the crowd's insanity. But finally the MC motioned to the entrance of the stage, meaning the first entry was coming up.
Drew almost fell out of his seat when he saw the entrance of contestant number one play out.
A heavily cloaked woman and her Meowth drifted down from the ceiling surrounded by fog and shouted greetings to the audience as she made her way down. It was overly tacky and Drew couldn't help but wonder if a spectacle like this was even allowed in contests. Regardless, the judges didn't stop her, clearly intrigued as to what she would do, and her appeal performance went on.
Using fury swipes, the Meowth carved an ice sculpture of a man and a Persian by his side, which was quickly edited down to a Meowth instead. Something about this woman and this act didn't bode well with Drew, but he watched on as she walked away while the next act followed up.
No score was displayed for her, or any contestant in this contest. The audience and the coordinators had to wait to see who would advance when the round came to an end. It was a Pacifidlog tradition; one that kept the suspense and excitement going right before the Grand Festival.
Appeal rounds were always Drew's favorite portion of competitions to watch. He loved critiquing combinations and morphing them in his head. Sometimes, watching the opening round made him think of the future, and he'd often thought about life after he'd win his title. Drew wanted to compete in other regions, and eventually become a certified contest judge. Maybe some day he could take Mr. Contesta's place in the Contest Committee…
Coordinator after coordinator came and went, each performing unique and clever opening acts to try to earn themselves a spot in the battle rounds. Drew couldn't find one appeal he didn't like; these coordinators truly were competing like this was their last chance, and for most of them, it was. Everyone in that arena knew that, and it brought the highest level of excitement Drew had ever seen in a regular contest. There seemed to be more energy in this stadium than at the R3 contest he'd
One coordinator who really piqued his interest was a boy named Joshua and his Houndoom. Just their entrance alone was choreographed. When Houndoom emerged from is Pokéball, he performed several flips in the air before launching a fire blast attack onto his landing spot. There stood the powerful Pokémon, surrounded by its own flames; the audience was mesmerized, and Drew was intrigued.
Vivian wondered aloud just how Joshua would follow up such an impressive entrance and finish his performance. The coordinator in question answered by combining swift and shadow ball. How much time and energy it must have taken to train this Houndoom to control both of these attacks at the same time, Drew didn't know. What Drew did know what that he was going to the battle round, no doubt.
Another coordinator who captured his attention was a girl named Erica, whose Jynx demonstrated serious power in a blizzard and psychic combination. The tornado of swirling icy wind sent a chill through the entire audience, and Drew couldn't help but shiver into his jacket a little bit more as did those around him.
There were a few other good ones here and there, but the showcases from that Houndoom and Jynx really stood out. Still, there was appeal after appeal after appeal…
And no May.
By the time the 34th person performed for the day, Drew found himself chewing on his lip and paying less attention to the appeals. He knew May was going to be at this contest; it was her last chance to win her fifth ribbon this season, and she had told him that she was going to be there. Still, with 34 people down, he hadn't seen or heard anything from her, and it made him nervous for whatever reason.
Well, he knew the reason, but admitting he had feelings for May was still something entirely new to him, and he did his absolute best to bury it deep down and try to ignore it. And for the most part, it had been easy. He still thought about her as he worked to get past the traumas of Mirage Island, but not being next to her helped a great deal. Ignoring it all just seemed like the best and easiest option as he trained.
…Ignoring it became extremely difficult when Vivain announced her as the final contestant in the first round.
"And please give a warm welcome to our final coordinator of the day, May!"
Logically, he knew she was going to be there. It was not new information in any way that he was going to see her at this contest and he knew seeing her had been the major reason he's opted to go at all. Just to see how she was doing, just to see if she was okay, and to know if she would be going to the Grand Festival. That was it, plain and simple.
But Drew could not for the life of himself fathom why his breathing hitched when she first ran out on stage. How his pulse rate quickened ever so slightly when he saw her running out and waving to the crowd. Why he instinctually licked his lips when he focused in on her smile.
His legs started bouncing on their own accord, and he could feel the curious stares of several contest fans around him. Why the boy who had more or less been perfectly still and absolutely silent throughout the whole show so far had suddenly melted into a pool of nervous energy. His ears burned a little as he tried to stay focused on May and the Pokéball in her hand.
Part of him wondered which Pokémon she would use. She was completely unpredictable in her appeals, and no two of her performances were the same. It unnerved him a little; to know that there was someone out there – his competition, no less – that was capable of surprising him so much. And her team had only grown stronger and more diverse since she'd first stumbled into his life.
Would she use her Beautifly and its famous stunning silver wind? Or her Bulbasaur's razor-sharp razor leaf? Perhaps her Combuskin's fire spin could pair nicely with its quick attack or sky uppercut? There was so much potential with any appeal May did, and with the weight of this contest, Drew was expecting her to go all out. To hold nothing back; to give her biggest and best performance yet.
"Skitty, take the stage!"
There was no force powerful enough in all of existence to stop the loud groan that escaped his lips when May's pink kitten Pokémon bounced onto the stage. While the rest of the audience cheered for the adorable creature, Drew pursed his lips and shook his head, unable to mask his anxiety over May's choice. Even more of the audience around him gave him suspicious and pointed looks. He ignored all of them.
May's Skitty was a force to be reckoned with when it was at the top of its game, completely focused and undeterred…which was about five percent of the time. Drew had seen very little of May's Skitty in contests, and those performances had been rough at best. If anything, luck was what won them that contest; dumb luck and a whole lot of faith in her Skitty. What on earth had she been thinking? Did she really think that her Skitty, who had skirted through its first contest, would take her to the all the way to the Grand Festival with this type of competition?
It made him nervous; the thought of not seeing May at the contest. It made him a little angsty; the thought of her not being there when he accepted his first ribbon cup. There was a lot riding on this little tiny Skitty in the center of the stage, and he hoped with everything in him May knew what she was doing.
The first thing she called for did not have him convinced.
"Skitty, use assist!" she yelled.
Drew shrunk back into his seat, his eyes dead locked on the small Pokémon as it jumped up and summoned an orb of white light. As he waited for what would come, he felt as though he was stuck in a realm of confusion and slight upset. Assist? That specific move to start what was the most important appeal of her contest career so far? She was gambling, and she was gambling early. There was no way to tell what could happen.
May was a sharp contrast to everything he was in those moments. While he was suffering from extreme dismay and utter loss as to what she was doing, he could see her face as she watched her Pokémon go forward. The level of confidence that beamed in her eyes was immeasurable. All he could do was sit there and wait to see what she was going to do.
Assist turned into razor leaf, and a series of leafs shot out in front of Skitty as it awaited its next order. May didn't skip a beat, launching a blizzard attack – which surprisingly worked on the first try, he noted; they'd been practicing – into a double slap. Skitty's speed and accuracy were unlike what Drew had seen before and expected. Clearly May had been working hard with her Pokémon.
The result of May's appeal left a shower of sparkling ice fragments and crystals raining down all around her and her Pokémon. Not only had she pulled off an impressive triple combination (she'd been the first to do so at this contest, Drew also noted), but she also managed to showcase her battle style in her appeal as well. How quickly she could think on her feet and turn nothing into something. While it wasn't the most amazing appeal of the round, it was good. Drew had to admit it was good.
And that he was relieved; relieved to see how much she'd gotten better with appeals. Relieved to see how well the audience and the judges had taken her performance.
He just hoped it would be enough to get her to the battle rounds.
Drew had never been an impatient person.
He wasn't impatient in all the years he spent waiting to start his journey as a coordinator. He wasn't impatient when he went through the season slowly earning his spot in the Grand Festival. He wasn't impatient during all those long months of waiting to get his Flygon.
No, Drew had never been an impatient person…until that day, while he and the rest of the crowd waited to see who would advance to the battle round and who was done for the day and for the season.
It surprised him when he noticed his left leg bouncing up and down. It shocked him when he realized he'd been counting the seconds in his head after Vivian announced the judges needed time to deliberate. And it stunned him when he exhaled as the judges announced the results were in. Did he really care this much?
Truth be told, Drew felt a sense of loss after May had left the stage, because he honestly didn't know if she was going to make it through the round or not. She'd done well, but so had everyone else. Could the judges appreciate the simplicity of her attacks, the risks she took or the complexity of having to think an appeal through with no prior practice? He sure hoped so, because if they didn't, she wasn't going to the Grand Festival.
"Now its time to announce the winners of the first round," Vivian announced with a card in hand.
Drew's attention instantly snapped up to the large display screen overhead, as did so many others surrounding him. Almost all of the chatter in the stands ceased as the audience waited to see which coordinators impressed the judges the most. There were a few hushed whispers around him; speculations of who would go on and who would not. Drew kept his thoughts to himself.
In his mind, May's appeal had been simple yet elegant. Had it been early season, when all of the rookies were still around just starting out, her appeal would have shined. But here, only four coordinators would have a shot at the final ribbon of the contest season. This wasn't a place for simple appeals.
No one was surprised to see Joshua had come in first place in the appeals round. His entry with his Houndoom alone was impressive enough to secure him the highest score and his following combination only boosted his numbers. In second place was the Jester woman; a choice Drew didn't 100 percent agree with seeing as she'd used props more ore less. But carving ice in an appeal had worked, and the craftsmanship left the audience more or less enthralled. He wasn't surprised to see she'd made it through. Following in third was Erica, the girl Drew recalled to have a Jynx. He wasn't shocked to see that she'd gotten though as well, but he was a bit deterred.
There were three faces already on the video board; three of the four coordinators who'd surpassed their competition and who still had a shot at leaving this contest hall with a ribbon; even going through to the Grand Festival if any of them had earned four ribbons prior to this contest.
Not one of those faces belonged to May.
Drew kept his lips pursed while Vivian waited a few moments before announcing the last appeal round winner of the contest season. It was a big moment for sure, and the audience was practically vibrating with tension…or maybe that was just him, because he couldn't stop the nervous energy from bouncing his leg. It was an annoying nervous habit he'd seen in other people, and he'd never known himself to do it before that day.
"And the fourth and final coordinator to move on to the second round of judging in the Pacifidlog Pokémon Contest is…"
Everyone around him slowly leaned forward in anticipation of the announcement. Drew meanwhile sucked in a breath, bit his lip and closed his eyes all at once.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it's May!"
There it was; the name he'd so longed to hear. Her face lit up the video board and was placed right next to her opponents. The audience cheered on the victors.
For whatever reason, he clapped his hands with those around him. He never did that, ever. She wasn't all the way through yet, but she was one step closer than she had been before, and it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of his chest.
He could imagine her backstage, celebrating with her Skitty and/or her friends in the moment. A huge smile planted on her face as she twirled her tiny Pokémon in her arms, thanking it and praising it for doing such a good job. Her brother and other friends would be there too; Brock would be patting her on the back telling her she deserved it, Max would be cheering and saying he knew she could do it and Ash would probably be hugging her– he stopped himself immediately. That wasn't a scene he wanted to picture, ever. But it was all true; she always got overly excited when she'd made it through an appeal round and her friends were always supportive.
And he couldn't help but be proud of her. The girl had come such a long way. There was still no guarantee that she'd win this contest, but she'd pulled out of tough situations and managed to come out on top when things were not in her favor before. She could do it again; she had to do it again. He wanted her at that Grand Festival; he wanted nothing more in those moments than to see how she would handle her appeal on that big stage.
A couple behind him was discussing the results as well. He'd done a good job of ignoring the conversations of those around him throughout the show so far, but when he realized they were talking about May, he instantly tuned in.
"I don't agree with that last one at all," the boy pointed out. "Her performance wasn't that great. I would have much rather seen that boy with the Bayleef should have gone through."
"I would have preferred to see the Nidoran go on."
Drew just rolled his eyes.
May would prove to them she'd earned spot in the battle rounds.
He supposed he shouldn't have been surprised when things went haywire in the first battle; after all, any contest he'd seen May compete in never failed to have a string of strange occurrences.
This time, it came in the form of the most pathetic and oddest battle he'd ever seen.
Drew watched as the Jester and Erica both took to the stage for the first battle of the day, both waving eagerly at the crowd as Vivian explained the rules of the second rounds. There appeared to be a few awkward moments on the stage as the two competing Pokémon stared each other down; or at least, the Meowth seemed really hesitant to get started. Rightfully so; Erica's Jynx had already proved it was an exceptional Pokémon in the first round.
The match started and the crowed cheered as the timer started ticking away.
Erica called for the first attack; a lovely kiss, which Meowth swiftly dodged and moved in to counterstrike with its fury swipes…until it actually got close enough and it froze. Drew had never seen a Pokémon retreat from a battle because its opponent…was chasing it?
It was true; the Meowth was fleeing as the Jynx tried to capture him in some weird gesture. Was this an attack? Everyone seemed confused; even the MC and the judges.
"Folks, something strange seems to be happening…" Vivian admitted, unsure of how to explain the spectacle on the stage.
This went on for a few moments, and eventually the confusion in the stadium morphed into frustration; the people were promised a great battle, and they wanted a battle they would remember. Especially considering one of these two coordinators was trying to earn what was, arguably, the most coveted ribbon of the entire season.
Just when it seemed match couldn't get any stranger, it did.
Drew swore he had to have heard the command wrong; there was absolutely no way the Jester had called for her Pokémon to use transform…right? A Meowth using that move didn't make sense.
Either Erica hadn't heard the Jester's attack, or she was ignoring the simply ludicrous idea that transform was even possible, but she called for her Jynx to end it all with a hyper beam. Just when Erica's Pokémon was charging up the attack, however, things dramatically shifted.
The entire stadium that was once filled with noise fell dead silent as they all watched the Meowth on stage mimic its appearance to match a Sunflora.
That was the moment that Drew realized a few of things.
One; this stunt was completely fake, because even if it were possible for a Meowth to learn and effectively use transform, it would have changed into the Pokémon before it. There was no Sunflora on that stage, nor had there been all day.
Two, what advantage could a Sunflora possibly have against a Jynx, anyway? A grass type against an ice type? The pairing made almost as little sense as the possibility of this Pokémon even knowing transform in the first place.
Three, Meowth's trainer suddenly started ringing alarm bells in his head when Drew really focused on her. As did the Meowth; they both seems strikingly familiar to him. Something his brain was seemingly trying to block him from remembering. Drew stared at the pair intently; he knew that he knew these two… Maybe he'd seen them in another contest...
Drew fell back in his chair and narrowed his eyes on the girl coordinator. She was so wrapped up and heavily cloaked, it was nearly impossible to see her face or her body, and he couldn't match her to anyone off the top of his head. Still, he was absolutely certain he knew this woman and her Pokémon.
Vivian tried to make sense of it all just as everyone else in the arena was. The Jester didn't give her time to process it though, and the audience watched in awe as she called for a razor leaf attack. Sure enough, the "Sunflora" produced leaves and tossed them at the Jynx. But Erica didn't let herself be distracted by the opponent's apparent miracle, and she and her Jynx stopped the razor leaf instantly with a blizzard. Erica was a fierce opponent.
The Jester seemed a little flustered that the novelty of her "transform" move had worn off, especially on her opponent, and she shrunk a little bit when she called for her Pokémon to repeat the move.
Yeah, right. There was no way she could…
The Sunflora disappeared, and a Kirlia stood in the spot where it had once been.
The more Drew watched this entire show go down, the more frustrated he became. This entire battle was a joke, and he waited for the rest of the stadium to realize this wasn't real. Once again, there hadn't been a Kirlia in this contest at all; none of it added up.
"What now?!" Vivian announced, still somehow buying the whole act. "An amazing Meowth using transform again to become a Kirlia?!"
Maybe Erica realized something was up, because she kept on the offensive and called for another lovely kiss. The "Kirlia" managed to dodge…or at least, it tripped and missed the attack when it crashed onto the ground. And finally, the judges seemed to be a bit taken aback; suspicious, even.
Still thinking they could pull this off, the Jester and the Meowth went for yet another transformation, and perhaps their worst one yet. Drew had to admit he was impressed; not by the fake use of transformation, but by the fact that the Meowth had been able to stuff a giant Wailord costume on itself and able to change into it effectively in such little time and effort. But as far as everything else went, it was never more painfully obvious that this entire routine was false.
It seemed as though that was the moment everyone finally realized that none of this was even remotely realistic, and Erica decided it was time to make her final move. She commanded her Jynx to use psychic, and the powerful Pokémon easily lifted its opponent with little to no effort; even more indication that this Wailord was a sham.
No one was totally sure what happened, but Drew deduced the Meowth had poked a hole in its inflated costume with its claws, because suddenly, the "Wailord" was soaring through the air with a different Pokémon screaming in terror as it soared.
Thankfully, after relentless waiting, the judges finally understood that something was wrong, and the Jester was instantly banned from the contest. Erica was instructed to advance to the final stage while the Jester's performance was deemed illegal, and it infuriated both her and her partner who'd run to appear at her side.
With no further reserve, they ripped off their disguises, and revealed themselves to be none other than Team Rocket.
Had he not been so consumed by the rage that began to boil in his blood from the mere sight of them, Drew might had kicked himself for not realizing this fact sooner. But there stood the three individuals responsible for putting him through literal hell and back just over a week before. There stood the reason he was almost killed multiple times and stranded on Mirage Island. There stood the trio who kidnapped May and made several attempts to hurt her in doing so.
May.
These people had been backstage with her for hours throughout the day, and while it was obvious they hadn't made any attempts to harm her in any way, the fact that they'd been so close to her all day still twisted in his stomach. He'd never felt so protective over anyone or anything in his life, and he knew that May was completely capable of protecting herself, even against idiots like Team Rocket. But still, he was outraged beyond measure.
For what they had done to both himself and her, he was boiling.
How dare they show up here. How dare they taint and disrespect this contest. How dare they make him, her and everyone else there look at them after the trauma and pain they'd caused him. And how dare they put themselves within such a close distance of May, after he'd used his Masquerain's silver wind to relay the message they were never, ever to go near her again.
Drew rose to his feet, fists balled and nostrils flaring. He was sicker of these people than he thought humanly possible.
He was just reaching for Roselia's Pokéball in his pocket to teach them a lesson when Erica took over the situation.
Team Rocket launched a net intending to capture the psychic type Pokémon when it turned the net back on them. And with a little chastising directed at them from its coordinator, Jynx launched a massive hyper beam at its enemies and sent them flying out of there without another word.
The situation was handled, and Drew slowly sat back down in his seat. Vivian was shooting off apologies to both the audience and Erica, and congratulated the coordinator on her win. She also announced there would be a brief intermission as stage crew and contest supervisors would confirm everything was truly okay before the second battle would commence.
Drew only glared at the hole in the ceiling.
He better not see those people ever again; especially not in a contest hall.
Especially not near her.
For someone who was generally very lucky in contests, Drew considered May's matchup against Joshua in round one extremely unfortunate.
Skitty was a naturally tiny Pokémon, but seeing it across the battlefield, facing that Houndoom made it seem even smaller. Neither May nor Skitty's faces showed any signs of fear, though, no matter how intimidating their opponent was. The only thing May seemed to have going in her favor for this match was that neither type held a distinct advantage over the other. It was a battle that would truly be determined in the favor of the better coordinator.
Two minutes into the battle, it wasn't clear who would come out on top.
"Now, Houndoom, use swift, let's go!" Joshua shouted.
"Skitty, dodge, then tackle!" May countered.
The battle had been back and fourth and the points more or less stable as each coordinator chipped away at the other's score. How Skitty had managed to stay so on top of the match, especially against such a tough opponent, was nothing short of amazing.
Skitty bounded and leaped between the assault of stars shooting towards it. Not one of the glowing shapes touched the Pokémon as it rammed into Houndoom; a direct hit that took off even more points. May didn't stop.
"Now, follow it up with double slap!"
Joshua refused to cease his momentum either, though. He instantly recovered from the previous attack and ordered for a dodge followed by a shadow ball. May's Skitty took the hit, and her points also fell. Neither coordinator batted an eye, though. Their strong will to outdo the other in the match was radiating throughout the whole stadium. Everyone watching was totally immersed in the excitement.
"Wow, this second battle of the first stage is certainly one intense competition!" Vivian said. "Both May and Joshua continue to hammer away at each other without giving an inch! The competitive energy between these two is truly white hot!"
It was true; every word of Vivian's comments was true.
Drew hadn't recalled the last time he'd seen a battle this in sync and this well balanced. The results could go in anyone's favor, but neither May nor her opponent showed any sides of giving up or relenting. They were totally engrossed and connected to their Pokémon the entire time, and the potency of their battle against one another hit something deep inside Drew. What it was, he couldn't tell; he was only sure that some chord had been struck.
He watched as the Pokémon fired a flamethrower and blizzard, neither side showing any signs of weakness. This was real competition. This was coordination at its purest and most basic form. This was everything Drew had grown to love about competing. This was the best part of contests.
The rivalries.
Joshua and May were putting on this incredible and striking contest battle because they were rivals. And this was what he found himself wanting with May; a rivalry.
The second Drew's brain picked that word to describe it, his lips pursed. Was that correct? Weren't rivals supposed to be on the same skill level? May was nowhere near as experienced as he was in coordinating. Or was she?
Down there, on that stage, even after her Skitty's blizzard had been stopped and her points plummeted, she recovered instantly. She was showing the traits of a professional coordinator; not letting herself get tripped up by one single mistake. She showed that she understood that the match wasn't over, and that she intended to give her best efforts until the very end.
Could she and Drew co-create a battle just exciting as this one? He definitely wanted to know.
He knew he had feelings for May; ever since that day on that island, when they thought they would die together, or when she saved his life, or when she was taken away and he fought so hard to get her back, or when they'd combined their silver winds together…a part of his heart was unwillingly and unknowingly captured by this girl.
This girl who had stumbled into his life so many months ago and only grown stronger and more amazing every time he saw her.
And there she stood, totally oblivious to the fact that he was watching her and admiring her battle as she poured her heart into every attack she called. It only made him feel more attracted to her. It made him want to share this amazing battle with her, and many others; others that were entirely their own.
It made Drew want to share this biggest and most important part of his life with her; coordinating.
He wanted May to be his rival.
"Now Houndoom, use swift attack!"
"Now, Skitty, assist!"
Everyone around him was surprised by the call. Some shot forward in their seats in anticipation while a few others verbally complained that it was a bad call. Drew stayed still, with the blood pumping in his heart and his eyes dead focused on May, who was totally confident in her choice of attack and her Pokémon.
Skitty managed more razor leaves from her Bulbasaur; the attack shot forward and knocked away Josha's swift attack. May called for a tackle combination, and Josha lost major points for allowing his Houndoom to be hit by the same combination as before.
The battle never slowed down; Houndoom got back on its feet and charged up another shadow ball while Skitty went in for a double slap. The shadow ball was faster and May took another direct hit, but she didn't seem phased at all. If anything, she only seemed more invested in the fight. She and Joshua were actually praising each other mid-battle.
Arceus, Drew wanted that.
And moments later, the two ended up deadlocked in the same attacks as before. Blizzard vs. flamethrower, only this time, blizzard seemed to be more effective. Both May and Joshua's points had evened out, and were falling at the same pace as the two coordinators encouraged their Pokémon to keep it up.
"Now, Houndoom, full power, let's go!"
"Go, Skitty; TURN IT UP!"
The whole audience watched in suspense to see who would fall first, but the two attacks' energies combined to create an explosion. Everyone collectively gasped when Houndoom was the first to fall. It rose to its feet just as the clock ran out, but the damage was done.
Joshua's Houndoom had lost, and May was on her way to the final stage.
The pair ran towards each other at center stage. Skitty and Houndoom both acknowledged each other easily, and Joshua and May clasped hands together. With firm shakes and huge smiles, Joshua put a free hand on May's shoulder and whispered something to her, and she smiled and nodded. Drew felt himself grow just a little uneasy at how close they were, but also found himself distracted picturing the same scene at the Grand Festival's main stage, him as a substitute for Joshua.
He could see it; he and May meeting in front of the thousands of people, after what would have been the greatest contest battle in the Grand Festival, ever. Their hands joined together as they both acknowledged just how fantastic the battle had been. Drew's Flygon and his Roselia right beside him as he would move onto the next round...
Arceus, Drew had never wanted anything more.
Not even the ribbon cup.
The sheer realization of that thought nearly knocked him out of his chair.
May and Erica shook hands before their battle even began; they were clearly also close friends going into the fight.
Now, after the battle had begun, that friendship was far from evident.
Well, it was evident; Drew could see these two girls had a great friendship going for them and they respected each other in the battle highly. But the level of severity of the battle was higher than anyone had anticipated. Even higher than May and Joshua's fight had been.
They both wanted the win so, so badly. And it was so, so obvious.
Maybe it was because these two had found rivals in each other. Maybe May realized this was the absolute last obstacle she had to overcome if she wanted to get into the Grand Festival. Maybe it was both. Maybe it was something entirely different.
He wasn't sure. He just knew he was heavily invested in May getting this final ribbon.
So his heart skipped a beat or two when May's Skitty was lifted into the air by Jynx's psychic attack and instantly put to sleep by a lovely kiss combination. That Jynx was a formidable foe for sure; it seemed fitting that May's final challenge to get into the top contest would be her toughest battle yet. May's points fell drastically when Erica topped off her triple combination with a direct hit blizzard.
Thankfully, suffering a direct hit also woke up May's Pokémon. Skitty bounced back ready to go not a moment after landing on the ground.
May tried her luck with assist, and it worked out well. She managed to pull off Beautifly's string shot, which bound her opponent in tight webs and gave her a lot of room for opportunities. She could have followed up with tackle or double slap and scored big points.
But, because it was in her nature, she took a risk. May called for assist again, and she more or less screwed herself up with it.
Drew cringed as razor leaves cut away the threads Skitty had trapped its opponent in; Jynx was free and May lost her advantage as quickly as she'd gained it.
When would she learn that relying on luck couldn't carry her through all the time? In the past, May had had several major successes with her Skitty's assist attack, but surely she had to recognize that those had all been instances of luck by now. If she hadn't, she needed to realize it sooner rather than later. The Grand Festival was on the line, and making rookie mistakes like that wouldn't get her there.
May was not a rookie. Not anymore.
He waited to see how she would react to getting caught by Jynx's psychic again.
May is hardheaded.
It was another thing Drew mentally added to his ever-growing list of things he was learning about May as he watched her call for another assist attack to counter an oncoming blizzard attack. String shots flew forward into the coming ice storm, and they froze instantly and snapped away into nothing.
"It's clear that May's going to stick with assist…" Vivian pointed out, sounding just as confused as everyone who was watching. "But it looks like it's doing more harm than good…"
Even with the MC pointing it out, May was not to be deterred. She shocked everyone in the arena when she called for assist again.
…May is extremely hardheaded.
At the rate she was going with this attack, she was going to lose all her points before the clock could run out, or before Erica could get a knockout. May was literally losing the battle for herself. There had to be an alternate motive here. Something he wasn't quite seeing.
Bulbasaur's vine whip sprung forth from Skitty's paw, and Erica countered yet again with psychic. Skitty was thrown back. May's response? Assist.
He wanted to scream. He wanted to shout down at her to use another move; literally anything but assist again. But he held his tongue.
It shocked him a bit again when he saw the petal dance come out. He knew her Bulbasaur had mastered the move, but still…seeing his own signature attack come from May was…humbling? Did he feel honored? He didn't know. He just remembered the time their silver winds had come together, and wondered if combining their petal dances would yield the same splendid results. He wondered if she felt the same things when he'd used silver wind.
But now wasn't the time for that.
Now was the time for nerves. He was scared for her, especially when that Jynx withstood the petal dance easily. Although Erica lost points for taking a hit and the petal dance being a dazzling attack, she still held a very clear lead over May. Het spamming of assist had gotten her nowhere; if anything, it had derailed her entire offense.
There were 30 seconds on the clock, and it didn't seem like enough time for May to surge back and make up for the difference in points between herself and Erica. It began to feel like Drew was going to watch May lose, and not make it into the Grand Festival like he'd hoped for after all.
And she would be upset; Arceus knows she would be so upset.
When that would clock run out and May was not awarded her final ribbon, and when it would occur to her that she would not be entering the Grand Festival, should he go see her? Should he tell her he'd come to watch her compete and that he was sorry she lost? Or maybe ask her what she'd been thinking but consistently using an attack that was random and refused to work? Should he just leave? Was seeing her at all even a smart idea?
Drew had seen may cry before, and it hadn't been a pleasant experience for him. His mind raced back to that day, when she was so heartbroken over her loss in Rubello Town, and she'd walked past him sobbing and asking him to leave her alone because she knew how badly she had screwed everything up. That image replaying in his mind was hard enough, and he wasn't sure if he could handle it again. Especially not when things had changed so drastically between them since that day.
The things that had changed…like all traces of the progress she'd made as a coordinator seemed to be nowhere on this final stage. Or all the things and feelings he'd realized about himself because of her. Where were all of those wonderful things and happier times now, as the clock ticked away all too quickly and May used assist for one last time?
Assist again, when there was nothing left to lose. When there was no time to spare and no more moves to make, she'd called for the same attack she'd been using the whole battle that had brought her little to no success.
Unless…
Skitty fired off a powerful fire spin, thanks to May's Combusken. The attack was so intense, it managed to push back Jynx's ultimate move when Erica called for it. The flames from the fire spin overpowered Erica's oncoming hyper beam, and crashed into Jynx directly. A straight shot from a fire attack on an ice-type Pokémon. It was devastating, and it must have been what May was waiting all along.
There had been a method to her madness, and Drew finally understood. He burst out into nervous and excited laughter as May's Skitty followed up with a final tackle attack. It earned him a few odd looks which he was more than happy to ignore.
Jynx fainted. The match ended. May had won.
With barely a few more points and a sure knock out, May had won.
Drew was the first person to stand and applaud; the rest of the crowd followed immediately after. He'd never felt so relieved in his life; suddenly, that mental image of him and May facing off at the Grand Festival became stronger than ever, and he knew it was going to happen.
She had effectively played the entire audience throughout the battle. By using her assist attacks over and over, May knew it was only a matter of time before she would get a fire-based attack with her Combusken on her team. She only needed to get one to take advantage of the type difference, and from then on, she could capitalize on it. But summoning failed attack after attack accomplished an incredible feat.
It brought such an insane suspense factor to the battle. Even Drew had been on the edge of his seat, emotionally invested in this battle and wondering like hell why this girl was trying something that wasn't working. But she never faltered; she was cool and collected every time. For every failure, the audience grew more and more anxious, where as May only grew more and more excited. She'd known that fire attack would come eventually, and her intuition and faith in her Pokémon had earned her the final spot in the upcoming Grand Festival.
May had become a serious coordinator. She'd overcome all the odds with a little refined skill and a whole lot of luck, but he decided it really didn't matter.
He watched her with nothing but pride as May raised her ribbon to the audience, and they all cheered for her.
And he was glad he had decided to go to Pacifidlog Town.
Seeing her happy and healthy helped him cope with all of the trauma and anxiety he'd been facing since their terrifying ordeal on Mirage Island. Watching her battle had shown Drew she was truly a capable and worthy coordinator. And watching her win had gotten him more excited than ever to compete in the Grand Festival.
The Grand Festival where he and she would finally face off again. This battle had more than proven it was going to be the match of a lifetime.
Flygon's Pokéball strapped to his belt suddenly felt 10 times heavier and he clapped for her.
He was tempted to go down on stage and congratulate her as well, but he decided to decline. And he exited the building shortly after she and her friends had headed back stage to collect her things. There was still plenty of daylight left, and lots of time for training. He had a new partner to work with, and he knew which battle he was specifically saving him for now.
Since that first day he'd caught Vibrava, he had been unknowingly raising it to take her on in the Grand Festival.
Against an unpredictable opponent like May, he'd have to be better than he'd ever been before.
He'd just begun searching for a good, secluded spot to train when his PokéNav buzzed.
He was expecting this message to come through, and was surprised it took her so long to send it. Well, maybe not that long, as the contest had just ended and he'd only just exited the building moments before. But he had known this message was coming eventually.
Hoenn's Grand Festival is going to be really interesting this year.
She'd been following along with the live broadcast back in Kanto, he was sure. But she was more right than she could have ever guessed.
Drew only had one thing to respond to Solidad.
I'm just sorry you won't be there in person.
He intended to make it the best Grand Festival there ever was, not because he was going to win.
Because he now had a rival to beat.
