Slateport City (The Grand Festival) – In which Hoenn's biggest contest gets underway, and everyone has lessons to learn.
Author's notes:
- I really can't apologize enough for this chapter taking as long as it has, and I know it has seriously been a long time; like, too long of a time. The end of the semester, finals, graduation and moving across the country for my big girl job has really sucked up most of my life. Starting this job has been incredible, because it's my dream job, but I am literally busy all the time. I'm working even when I'm not on the clock most days. And I promise I'm taking time when I can to write as much as possible and to update. So to those of you who have stuck with this story, thank you. It means so much to me. I'm not giving up on this story. I promise.
- Based on the episodes, "Hi Ho Silver Wind!," "Deceit and Assist" and "Rhapsody in Drew."
- This chapter's coming in hot at 96 pages and 36,372 words on Microsoft word, yo.
- Lots of things in this chapter. I hope you all enjoy it! Please leave me some reviews, if you'd like (I'd definitely like it if you did).
Solidad's words stayed with him all night long.
Even after he'd woken up early and gotten his coffee, those words replayed in his mind. Even after he'd gotten off the phone with her and went out to train into the early hours of the morning, he could hear her advice.
"There's always someone better."
It was true; the more he thought about it, he realized it was so damn true. And he wanted nothing more than to be that someone better.
His entire Grand Festival strategy had been planned out for months, and in his practice sessions, he was executing everything down to a T. From the perfection of Roselia's petal dances and the shine of Masquerain's silver winds to the blinding speed of Flygon's steel wing, everything felt like it was falling into place.
And yet, at the same time, it didn't.
Despite with the sheer perfection his Pokémon team had been displaying in the months leading up to that point, especially the last few days before the festival's beginning, he was all too aware of the coordinators surrounding him. The ones he'd originally seen and wrote off he now analyzed with painful scrutiny.
He didn't dare train in front of them.
While a majority of the coordinators flocked to the grounds outside of the main arena and appeal stages to work on their moves, he stuck to the secluded beaches and dense, private forests surrounding Slateport's Grand Festival plaza. He didn't want any of his competition to see his plans for appeals. It was a system that had served him well throughout his coordinating career and he didn't dare change it. Not so close to the start of the Grand Festival.
Inspiration; he needed inspiration, and he figured that walking around the plaza could and would help. With only one day left before the start of the competition, the stage areas were now open to the coordinators who qualified. They were allowed to roam the grounds and get familiar with the contest settings. It was something he took full advantage of.
The sun blazed in the sky and the feelings of summer were all around as he strolled through the competition areas. Roselia walked faithfully by his side, basking in the heat and humidity. As a grass type, she loved the sunshine and felt energy surging through he body as she and Drew walked wordlessly around the stages. The fact that he would be performing there in just 48 short hours was mind-blowing. And mind-numbing.
The beginning rounds of the Grand Festival followed the traditional contest format: a single-Pokémon appeal. There were four appeals stages to house the massive 247 competing coordinators in the first appeal rounds. Each stage would see 61 performances, with four judges stationed at each one. The coordinators had received their preliminary round stage assignments upon their arrival and check in. (Drew would perform at stage two.) Then, out of everyone, only 64 of that grand total would advance to the appeals on the secondary round.
Round one would definitely be the hardest, not because the odds of making it through were so significantly slim; he had more faith in Roselia than he ever had before. No, it would be difficult because there was a kicker rule in the first appeal: coordinators could only use one move in their appeal. One single move would decide the fate of 247 coordinators.
Drew thrived in appeals, because he excelled with combinations. And although he had advanced in appeals on solo moves before, he definitely preferred multiple attacks. That was the real reason he chose Roselia for the first round. If he could truly only rely on any one of his team, it was Roselia. She'd been with him since day one; it was only right she be with him in round one of their biggest contest yet.
The second round would move to the main stage, and it would be another appeals round. Coordinators would be required to perform with a different Pokémon than their first one. In that round, thankfully, the contestants could use as many moves at the wanted...as long as they could fit it in the three-minute time limit. Each person would have three minutes to state who they and their Pokémon were as coordinators, and prove why they deserved to move on even further in the competition. From that pool of 64, half would be eliminated. Only 32 would advance on to the battle rounds.
The second appeal would be Masquerain's time to shine. The butterfly Pokémon had more than proved his capabilities in multi-move appeals. He'd more than proved that in the R3 contest, and he knew Masquerain would excel in a three-minute performance, easily.
Drew considered the secondary appeal to be most important round in the entire Grand Festival. There were so many more factors in it that a coordinator had to consider. The first round appeal stages were small, and they didn't give any performer much room to work and/or move around in. That was why each contestant had to prove himself or herself to the judges with just one single move. The second round, however, moved to the main stage; tons of space, and tons of possibilities: the only requirement was to fill that three minutes.
Battle rounds in the Grand Festival were a little unique. Instead of single battles, the battles were fought with two Pokémon at once. The double battle format was new to him, but he had been practicing for it and his Pokémon had taken to it very quickly. Roselia and Flygon worked especially well together. And he knew exactly what battle he wanted the pair to participate in.
He basically had the entire Grand Festival figured out. Every round had been meticulously planned out. He knew what Pokémon he wanted to use and when, as well as the move sets they would use and how they should look. He'd never been more prepared for a contest in his life, and that was quite the statement.
His eyes analyzed the stage below him; the first stage he would perform on. It was the stage that would determine the future of his career as a coordinator, and the thought was a little daunting, even more so when he turned his head and looked back at the walls of the huge main arena.
So far, his walk to find inspiration wasn't going so well. If anything, it made him feel more underprepared. Solidad's words still in the back of his mind, he decided maybe going to watch the other coordinators practice would be better. If he saw what the others were planning, maybe he'd feel more prepared; maybe he'd feel better.
He looked down to Roselia at his side and they continued on their way.
There were tons of coordinators all over. It was one thing to know the numbers, but a bit overwhelming to actually see the 247 people he was going up against. He walked down to the beach briefly to check out the scene down there. He'd never seen a more diverse group of Pokémon down in the sand. Everything from Marills and Shedinjas to Trapinchs and Espeons; Drew swore he could see three regions worth of Pokémon on the beach alone. He didn't even want to start considering the ones training up on the solid ground.
And the ones he couldn't see.
Those were the ones he knew he would really have to watch out for. The coordinators who were just like him; the ones who trained in secret to remain unseen…those were the experienced ones. They were the wildcards. The ones he would undoubtedly have to face in the end.
He had to settle for seeing what he could; he made his way back towards the stages to see who was up there and what they were doing, slightly hoping there would be less people there.
It was worse. He couldn't count the number of coordinators he saw outside of the arena. The Pokémon were equally as innumerable. All of them appeared to be taking full advantage of the remaining time before the festival started. Some were practicing moves, some were grooming their Pokémon, some were feeding PokéBlock and etc.
The sheer numbers were crazy; he found himself anything but inspired. He actually found he was nervous, and that was no mindset to take into the Grand Festival. Step by step, he swam through the sea of coordinators that surrounded him, knowing full and well that he'd have to beat every single one of them to earn his ribbon cup. The thought was intense.
True, there were some common Pokémon who didn't seem to have a place among the elite. He'd seen more than a few Zigzagoons and a Taillow or two, but he didn't disregard any of them. Every person around him had earned five ribbons, just as he had. If they were here, it wasn't by mistake. Again, it was not helping him.
Through it all, Roselia clung to his side, assessing her potential opponents. She knew she had the power to take them all on, and that Drew had the knowledge and capability to guide her through any and every battle she might have against these other coordinators and their Pokémon. Nevertheless, she could tell her trainer was nervous for whatever reason.
She had known since they started walking together. It wasn't unusual for Drew to want to walk around and check out his competition before a contest, but his mannerisms suggested this wasn't a normal stroll. She watched the ways his eyes shifted from coordinator to coordinator. How his hands, though hidden in his pockets, were clenched into tight fists. She especially noticed how he was searching for something, but whatever it was, he clearly wasn't finding it.
They continued to walk in silence, and Roselia wondered idly if they were going to train after all of this. Drew definitely seemed out of his element, and it unnerved her a bit. He never seemed off like this, and she didn't expect him to be this tense coming up on what they'd worked towards for so long. He needed something, and she wanted to give him that something. Her eyes flocked to those around her, and she searched and searched.
All she could see was the swarm of her competition. Opponents she knew she could beat with ease surrounded them, and she knew that Drew was also aware of just how easy it would be to conquer those around them. Still, even if he was thinking it, it didn't seem to help him. Drew seemed lost in a way, and she didn't know how to pull him out of wherever he was.
Roselia was so lost in thought that she almost missed it when Drew stopped dead in front of her. She caught herself at the last split second and looked up to see him staring at someone in the crowd. When he laughed under his breath and looked away yet remained in place, she curiously scanned the crowd until she saw her; the one thing Roselia knew would get Drew's mind focused on the competition.
He'd always had some kind of special bond with that girl in the red bandana a few yards away from them. Roselia knew this, and she was happier than ever to see that May's presence alone renewed Drew's sense of confidence somewhat.
Without him even asking, Roselia quickly handed him a rose. He looked back down at her and nodded silently. His face was somewhat blank. It was a tamed reaction, but she could see the appreciation in his eyes. They both knew he'd need it.
Now all she had to do was wait for the two reluctant coordinators to interact.
He'd learned by that point to expect surprises from her, and yet she still never failed to surprise him.
The first thing he noticed when he saw her was the giant green mass of a Pokémon she was holding back and appeared to be correcting while she held an annoyed look on her face. He quickly realized it was a Munchlax; typically a Sinnoh-based Pokémon and definitely rare in the Hoenn region. How she found one, he had no idea; how she caught it was also an enigma.
The second thing he noticed was how his chest tightened up. How finally seeing her again made it a little bit harder to breathe. It was something he hadn't experienced since their time together on Mirage Island. And he had foolishly assumed that time would make the feelings ease up. Oh how wrong he was, as he looked at her mere yards away from him with her back turned, and already he could feel his cheeks warming up.
At one point, he looked away from her. He could practically feel his own heart beating with excitement, and he'd hate for her to turn and notice him staring at her. But he couldn't help it; it was all too much. They were both there, at the Grand Festival. They would both be competing against each other at the contest of all contests. Despite knowing there was more skilled coordinators, he felt a jolt of adrenaline knowing she was there competing against him.
She was his rival.
He closed his eyes for a moment and could imagine her across the battlefield, both of them poised in front of all of the thousands upon thousands fans in the main arena. His Roselia and Flygon out in front of him ready to go. And who knew which of her Pokémon she would send out? He hoped to face her Beautifly again…and maybe her Combuskin…
The possibilities she presented him were endless, and he didn't realize he was smiling to himself until he heard his own name called out to him.
"Drew, hey! So you are here after all!"
Her voice was as clear as it had ever been, or maybe it was just how hyperaware of her presence he had become.
He opened his eyes to see her running towards him and Roselia, arms waving and a bright smile on her face. Her group of friends and an older woman he recognized as her mother chose to stay back as she approached him, which he appreciated.
When she finally got to him, he kept his stance casual. Now that he was so aware of her, he was also completely focused on himself and how he looked to her. He wanted her to know he was ready; that there would be no mercy in this competition and that she better bring her A-game.
And he assumed she got the message, because her expression shifted into a more determined one. Her smile was still in place
"Bet you're surprised I'm here; you didn't think I'd make it," she boasted, with a clenched fist to add extra flare, he assumed.
Damn was she cute when she was fired up, but now wasn't the time for that. Now was the time for competition.
Contests first, feelings second.
"I have to admit I had my doubts…" he said slowly, just to test the waters.
But she didn't budge instantly like he expected her to. She stood strong and kept her eyes locked on his. Clearly she wanted to show him that she wasn't scared of him, and he mirrored her determination right back. He stayed relaxed with his hand in his pocket, his pointer finger tracing the thorn-less stem of the hidden rose. Timing; it was all about timing.
"You also have to admit even though you've never given me credit, for it, I'm every bit as good a trainer as you are."
She finished her bold statement with her hands on her hips and posed proudly looking away from him, as if she was somehow above him rather than "on his level" like she had claimed.
Drew fought with everything in himself not to snicker or snort at her comment, because that would be immature. Drew was many things, but immature was not one of them. Still, she clearly had no idea just how wrong she was. And just how badly Drew was going to prove her wrong throughout the contest, and would eventually defeat her by himself in their own battle.
But he held his thoughts to himself, because good things come to those who wait. After all, she was right in saying she was talented at least, because she had made it that far.
He settled for his signature hair flip, and he secured his fingers around the rose.
"Just saying it doesn't make it so," he informed her.
"What?" she demanded in utter disbelief. "I'm here, and if that's not enough pr–"
She stopped herself from finishing her sentence when he presented the rose to her. He hadn't intended to shove it in her face, but she deflated a bit in in shock when he held it out. For a moment he could see how perfectly matched the shade of the red was against her bandana. Roselia had probably done that intentionally, and he mentally rolled his eyes at his starter Pokémon.
The rose hung between them for a moment. Without any words to say, May stayed silent, and so Drew took over.
"I do respect you for your enthusiasm, and of course, congratulations on getting this far," he told her sincerely.
She seemed slightly stunned when he looked at her, like she was at a loss for what to do or say. It suddenly dawned on him how un-Drew-like he was being, and he quickly snapped himself back with a snide comment.
"But hey, enthusiasm can never take the place of real talent," he added.
That did it; something shifted in her eyes and she looked like she was torn between turning and walking away or punching him in the face.
"THAT'S IT," she shouted, swiping the rose from his hand – but not discarding it, he noted. "You'll be singing a different tune once I win that Ribbon Cup."
Her face relaxed back into a smug smile as she held the rose close. Whatever she was feeling, she was clearly ready to take him on. Gone was the friendly smile, replaced with one that showcased the wildfire in her eyes and the readiness to battle him in the Grand Festival.
And he loved it. He could feel his own fire burning hotter than it had previously been. None of the coordinators surrounding them mattered. He only cared about beating this girl and her Pokémon, and hearing her admit she was impressed by his skill and that he was the best.
May was someone he was beginning to consider a good friend, but an even greater rival.
He was just about to respond when someone else started shouting her name.
"May is that you?!"
Both coordinators turned back to see a purple-haired boy dressed in all green shouting and waving as he ran towards them through the crowd. Drew almost instantly recognized him as Solidad's friend, who had tried to cheat his way around beating May in a contest earlier in the season and whose name Drew couldn't remember.
He bit his tongue and waited to see what would happen.
May squeaked a bit beside him as the boy approached, and Drew took a spare second to glance at her out of the corner of his eye. She seemed to have mixed feelings about seeing him, and none of them were good. Drew pursed his lips for a moment, because the feeling was mutual, and he had never even personally met this other kid before.
The boy in question finally stopped before the two of them, a bit out of breath and laughing in a way that was painfully obviously forced.
"I thought I'd never catch up to you!" he said overly joyed. "How are ya?"
Drew was already annoyed, and judging from her expression. May clearly didn't want him there, either. But he held his tongue and waited to see what she would say.
"Oh, uh, fine–just fine!" she stuttered awkwardly. "Uh–"
"Glad to hear it!" he stood up straight and cut her off instantly, much more to Drew's annoyance. "I'm great; made the Grand Festival and I couldn't be happier…except…"
The boy then paused for a moment and stuck himself right in May's face, forcing Drew to take a step back. Drew bit his tongue to prevent himself from saying anything, but he definitely didn't like this kid, and watching him put himself in such close proximity to the girl he liked definitely didn't help.
If Drew had been annoyed when that boy first walked up, he was beyond annoyed now, but he still didn't say anything. Surely May could see how fake this guy was being, especially when he continued speaking with obviously fake tears. It became harder to withhold speaking when that kid grabbed May's hands, though…
"Oh, May!" the Cacturn-clad boy whined. "I feel just terrible! I realize that it's a lot to expect you to forgive me; what I did was really, really not nice. But I have to at least try, don't I? I apologize, May…"
He took a small step back then, hands clasped together like he was praying for salvation. It was the fakest, corniest thing Drew had seen in a long time, and he couldn't help but let his mouth hang open in shock that this kid could even think that this terrible apology would work on anyone.
But then again, it wasn't being said to just anyone; it was being said to May.
May, the girl he was constantly learning new things about. And one side-glance over to her told Drew exactly what he feared.
May has way too big a heart.
She seemed a bit torn, but it was obvious she was leaning towards going along with it. She seemed taken back by his crazy desperate rant, but she also seemed to feel sorry for him. But when she stayed quiet, he pressed her again, and harder.
"Will you ever forgive me?!" he cried, false tears streaming down his face.
"Uh, yeah, whatever you say," May awkwardly waved her hand to dismiss his tears. "Don't even worry about it."
Drew was so taken aback by May forgiving this boy that he couldn't speak. He had a thousand things he wanted to say in that moment, and probably about 950 of them dealt with asking May if she was serious or if she was insane. The other 50 were expletives he wanted to say to Harley.
It was almost painful how much this boy didn't deserve for her to say what he had done was okay, and Drew was extremely suspicious of what his intentions were seeing how pathetic and overdramatic his whole display of an apology had been.
Still, May did have a habit of surprising Drew, and he was diligently silent watching the whole exchange, secretly praying she was going to set this kid straight.
"FOR REAL?!" Harley exploded, as if he himself couldn't believe May had given him her blessing either. "You've totally forgiven me?!"
"Uh, yeah, why not–" May tried before the boy cut her off and grabbed her hands again, much to Drew's disdain.
"Oh, thank you so much, May!" he exclaimed. "I don't think I could be happier!"
Drew took the opportunity to see how May's friends in the background were reacting. Her mother seemed at ease while the three boys looked less than pleased with the exchange. Drew knew he was on the same wavelength as them, and it was nice to know he wasn't alone in his suspicion. But he turned his attention back to the scene before him…exactly at the worst time.
"Oh wow, just look at that…" his eyes fixated on the rose in May's hands, and Drew felt as though a lump formed in his throat. "May, that's such a beautiful red rose you have there!"
He has already been uncomfortable watching the entire exchange so far; couldn't he and Roselia make a quiet escape and not have to deal with the potentially awkward situation about to unfold?
The boy turned his head to face Drew for the first time since he'd walked up to the two of them, and Drew did his absolute best to remain still.
"Could it be from this young man here?" he questioned her.
Over the years, Drew had seen a lot of strange looks directed at him. When he'd beaten particularly competitive opponents in some contests, he'd gotten some nasty looks. There were times when older women looked at him in a sickening way. Some people had seemed to analyze him with so much intensity and judgment, he'd thought he'd gotten used to just about every gaze possible on the planet.
No stare he had ever encountered compared to the way the boy's eyes looked all over him, and the sickening smile plastered all on his lips. He looked evil, and Drew was too shocked (and maybe even spooked) to react in any way other than to blankly stare back and hope this kid would turn away again.
One thing was for certain in the moment their eyes connected, though: Drew did not trust this boy. Not at all.
"I'm sorry, I didn't introduce you!" May jumped in, seeming a little more relaxed now that the boy's focus wasn't directed completely at her. "Drew, this is another trainer, Harley."
Oh, right. Harley.
The second she said his name, Drew saw something flash in Harley's eyes, but he buried it as quickly as it came, showing only that disgustingly sweet and grossly fake smile. Harley began to smile brighter as he stepped closer to him. At a few feet away, Drew was already more than uncomfortable with Harley's presence. The closer he got, the worse Drew felt.
"Do you mean to tell me this the Drew everyone is talking about?!" Harley questioned aloud, and Drew recognized what that flash of emotion had been. "You're the one all the other trainers are gunning for; the one to beat."
While it had been obvious to Drew from the moment he walked up that Harley had something against May, now he clearly had something against Drew, too. And of course Drew knew everyone at the Grand Festival was out to get him. He was one of the most known coordinators in all of Hoenn's Contest Circuit. But the way Harley had said it; it had been so condescending. Like he was trying to scare him. It wasn't going to work, though. Drew mentally promised himself that he would not let Harley get under his skin or change up his game.
"I had no idea you had such powerful friends, May," Harley finally turned away from Drew, who exhaled softly and glared slightly at him.
"Oh, we're not really friends, Harley," May corrected him. "Most of the time, Drew just likes to make fun of me."
Growing up, Drew Hayden had never been in any sort of altercation. He'd never been seriously injured or never had been in any sort of physical fight with anyone. No, Drew had never known what it felt like to get punched in the face…but he imagined it probably hurt less than hearing the words May had just so casually said out loud to Harley.
And he was right there when she said them. Drew was literally inches away from where May was standing, and May had completely cut him down without even realizing it. She said those words so easily, like she had completely accepted them and that they – beyond a shadow of doubt – were the truth.
Drew stood there and looked at her, but she wasn't looking at him. She was looking at Harley. Her face was at ease and her eyes were relaxed, showing absolutely no signs of worry with the admission she just made. She seemed to be completely unaware of just how deep her words had hit him and he wasn't sure whether or not it was showing on his face.
And if his face was as bad as he felt, he prayed like hell she wouldn't look over to him.
"Oh, that can't be true or he wouldn't have given you a rose!" Harley actually defended Drew, and whether it was intentional or not, Drew didn't know.
Drew, meanwhile, was still completely frozen with his eyes fixated on her face, desperately searching for any sign of doubt that she didn't actually believe what she had said.
Did she truly believe they were nothing? Did she honestly think that all she was to him was a target for sarcastic comments and someone he saw as an annoyance at contests? To be fair, he knew they hadn't always had 100 percent pleasant interactions in the early days of their acquaintance…but hadn't things changed between them?
His mind flashed back to the day, when she had fought so incredibly hard to save his life and to wake him up. The look in her eyes when he first opened his was one of pure elation; even though they had been stranded on a dangerous island with little chance of surviving on their own, he recognized that the second he had woken up, she seemed to be radiating with relief, like there were no other problems in the world and the only thing that mattered to her was that he was okay.
And then the situation had shifted, when Team Rocket had taken her. Did she not see how insanely desperate he was to get her back and to get her back safely? And how he, too, felt the exact same way she had when he'd woken up when he finally got her back?
Or even beyond all of that; had she not ever once considered what those roses meant? He had never given roses to any other person he'd ever encountered. She was the one and only. And even now, as she held one tightly to her chest as Harley examined it with an odd sense of interest, did she seriously think she meant absolutely nothing to him?
Drew felt sick; he felt utterly numb and completely lost. All he could do was stand there and stare at the girl who meant so much more to him than he himself could explain or understand, and she apparently thought she meant nothing.
"And come to think of it, there's something romantic going on here!" Harley gasped, though Drew barely heard him.
Drew was almost offended when he saw the blush creep up on her face with Harley's words. She frantically complained and waved off Harley's accusations, and Drew felt all the more numb. He suddenly wanted to leave, but couldn't force his feet to move.
Harley, meanwhile, laughed in response, and pulled a camera from the inside of his pocket. He turned back to face Drew, who could barely force himself to turn away from May to address him.
"I'm right!" Harley giggled, mostly to himself. "I think I should document this moment, okay?"
If there was one thing Drew hated more than anything and worked extra hard to avoid his entire contest career, it was pictures. He avoided photographers like people avoided angry Beedrill in a forest; he did anything and everything he could to stay away from them. Now, in that moment, with Harley sticking a camera in his face, all he could do was blankly stare back as the flash burst and the shutter snapped.
"Beautiful!" Harley stated, then turned away from both of them. "Bye, May. See ya later."
With that awkward exchange, Harley walked away easily like he hadn't confused the hell out of May by doing so, or, more significantly, like he hadn't just started World War III inside of Drew's mind.
Suddenly it was just the two of them standing next to each other, and the air felt heavy and awkward to him. Neither of them said anything. May watched Harley walk away and Drew watched May out of the corner of his eyes. When it became clear she wasn't going to turn to face him or speak to him again, he finally found his legs and remembered how to walk.
With his fists balled, he turned on his heel.
"Let's go, Roselia…" Drew muttered, turning and not even bothering to address her in anyway as he left.
His starter Pokémon did not hesitate to follow beside him, though one quick glance at her face told him she was just as confused about the whole exchange as he as been.
Still, his walk did benefit him, and he had found the inspiration he was searching for. He felt more determined than ever to win the Grand Festival, because being reminded that everyone around him was going after him fueled him.
Seeing May had also helped him in some ways, despite how their interaction had somewhat turned in to a train wreck. He still wanted to beat May above all else, but now he had someone else to watch out for.
Harley may not have been aware, but he was on Drew's bad list; a place not many people ended up and definitely a place no one ever wanted to be.
Drew heard May call out his name as he walked away.
He didn't turn back.
Contests first, feelings second, after all.
At the first sign that Roselia and Masquerain were getting tired, Drew knew it was time for a break.
The three had been training for a solid three hours; Drew calling out combination after combination. He wanted to use Roselia in the beginning round, because if he was only given one move, he knew she wouldn't let him down. And he and Masquerain had come up with the perfect display for the secondary appeals. Flygon he didn't need to expose nor train with; he wouldn't be performing any appeals. Flygon would be his powerhouse for battling only.
"Roselia, I want this one to be your best one yet," Drew called out to her from a few yards away. "Let me see your strongest petal dance."
And she delivered; petals and strong scents dominated the small, secluded field they'd been working in. Drew had to raise his arm to block his face from getting spammed with petals. He knew she was stronger than ever. The same went for his Masquerain, who had more than excelled all morning with their preplanned routine.
But when Drew lowered his arms to praise his starter, he noticed her panting heavily and leaning forward to support herself on her hands a bit. His eyes looked up to find his Masquerain fluttering lower than usual as well. Sure signs that his Pokémon were wiped after three straight hours of putting all their energy into the attacks they were practicing.
Drew smiled proudly at the two of them. He was more than satisfied with the effort they were showing and humbled that they wanted to give him this win as much as he wanted it.
"Alright, guys, great job," he spoke. "What do you both say we head back for some lunch and call it a day?"
To his surprise, both Pokémon started to refuse the offer. They wanted to keep working, and wanted him to know they weren't going to quit. It meant so much to him to know his Pokémon loved him as much as he loved them.
"We have the rest of the day after you guys eat and recharge a bit to train before the start of the Grand Festival tomorrow," he told them. "Besides, there's no one here that can out do what I've seen the two of you do today. You've both earned some extra Pokéblock; let's head back and get some."
After his offer for treats, both Roselia and Masquerain happily complied and returned to their Pokéballs. Drew secured them inside of his pocket next to his ribbon case and started on his way back.
It wasn't a terribly long walk back to the main arena and resort areas, but the summer season had definitely arrived in Slateport City. Hoenn was a region famously known for its blistering heat, and the summer could often be merciless. Originally hoping to grab some coffee, it didn't take long for the walk in the humidity to change his mind. Drew made a mental note to grab a bottle of water for himself out of the first vending machine he saw, even though he was a huge believer in only drinking certain brands of bottled beverages.
A lot of people said there wasn't a difference in the taste of different bottled waters. Drew believed there absolutely was.
Within minutes, Drew was walking past dozens of coordinators, all training for the start of the Festival in less than 24 hours. He watched a few as he walked by, though noticed how many had cleared out since that morning. Most of them had no doubt gone to see May's father, Norman, because according to one or two posters he'd read and one or two conversations he'd heard, the famed gym leader was there in Slateport offering Pokémon advice or whatever. Drew didn't need it, so he didn't bother, but he did find it strange that Norman wouldn't be with May as she trained for the festival. Her younger brother and mother had been with her.
He tried to block May out of his thoughts as he trained, and for the most part, he had done a pretty good job. His appeal rounds had nothing to do with her, so it made it easier to focus on how his Pokémon looked rather than think of the girl who had unknowingly tore him up that morning. And he didn't understand why what she had said hurt him so badly.
Not that he had any prior experience, but this was just a crush, right? It was just a little crush that would eventually fade away after a while or after he got used to seeing her, right? It had to be. He was sure that was how it was going to go after he'd initially realized he harbored some attraction to her. And when he wasn't near her, it was easy…well, easier not to think about her.
But now, every time he saw her, his stomach did odd little flips and his heart switched to a weird rhythm and apparently she had the power to break him down with little to no effort. Having feelings for someone: it was the strangest thing he'd ever encountered.
Just how deep did those feelings go, exactly, if they hadn't gotten any weaker after these few weeks?
He didn't have time to ponder it before her Beautifly caught his attention. He stopped walking when he noticed the shower of sparkles falling around him and looked up to discover what was undoubtedly May's Pokémon soaring through the sky and raining glitter all around them without even launching an attack. Yep, Beautifly was a Pokémon definitely made for contests; he'd thought it to himself so many times after meeting her and he'd never get over the sheer shine of that Pokémon.
When she called out for silver wind, and Drew watched eagerly to see her signature attack, the moment was ruined when Harley's voice pierced the air around them. Drew watched in disgust as he ran over to her and her friends and praised
"Honestly, May, I've never seen such a wonderful command of silver wind before!" Harley praised her.
That's because you've never seen us use the attack together.
"Your talent for bringing out beauty in your Pokémon is beyond belief," he added.
Harley wasn't wrong. Drew himself had acknowledged a few times that May might not have been the best coordinator (though she had significantly improved over the season and was continuing to do so day by day), and she had a special talent for raising her Pokémon well. She loved and cared for her partners with everything she had, and it showed in the way they performed. He had always admired that about her, since day one.
Hearing someone else say it to her, especially when that other someone was Harley, who was trying way too hard to sound convincing, didn't bode well with Drew.
What also didn't bode well with Drew was the way she perked up the second he said it to her; it was like she needed the reassurance, like she wasn't confident in herself.
Drew watched the two for a few moments before he couldn't take anymore and continued walking.
"You should use that silver wind all the way through the preliminaries and the competition match!" he heard Harley encourage. "Just think how cool it would look to only need that single attack!"
The words stopped Drew right in his tracks again. Not only was it laughable how bad of advice it was, but the fact that Harley thought she would believe that? May was better than that, and she knew better, too.
"I guess…but then, what happens if you and I have to compete and you already know exactly what attack I'm gonna use?" May asked slowly.
…Oh.
That was what she was worried about in that advice? Did she actually think using one sole attack through the contest of all contests would be enough? She was joking, right? She had to be joking. She was going to turn around and throw that in his face, right…?
"Oh dear!" Harley shot back in a tone that made Drew want to puke. "I had hoped you knew me better than that! I'd never take advantage of you! After what I did to you before, I just wanna help you win. I don't care about myself…"
"But you can't do that!" May suddenly exclaimed. "You earned those five ribbons to get here and you should be trying for victory!"
Drew watched the two get closer together, and something deep inside him burned. He ignored it.
Well, he did his best to ignore it.
"Yeah, I suppose," Harley barely said, looking down and pathetic.
"And I can tell ya something else," she said, taking Harley's hands.
No.
"Right up until this minute, I still thought you were probably up to no good, Harley."
May, stop.
"But now I can see that I was wrong."
He's lying; c'mon, this is fake.
"Let's both make this a competition to remember!"
That's supposed to be you and me.
"That means you'll look at me as an equal and an opponent worth battling against?!" Harley's voice raised in volume once again.
"Yes, of course!" May nodded.
"Oh, thank you, May!" Harley replied, adding more of his fake tears.
The whole thing was blowing Drew's mind. How could May not see that this guy was not sincere at all? Why didn't her friends step in? What was happening?
"And I'm gonna take your advice and go all the way through the competition with Beautifly's silver wind as my only attack!" she confirmed the words Drew feared most. "Just think how impressed the judges will be with something like that."
Drew briefly looked down to the ground in disbelief. His brain was actually struggling while processing the absurdity of the moment.
He tried not to moan out loud, and succeeded for the most part, but he couldn't stop the frustrated sigh that escaped his lips. May was a coordinator who won five ribbons and qualified for the top contest of the Hoenn region, and yet here she was, committing herself to a plan he would expect to see a rookie try at their first contest. It was embarrassing, and if she was foolish enough to believe that would work here…
Well, for one, she actually couldn't do it, because she would be required to switch Pokémon if she made it through the first round. Secondary appeals had to feature a different member of a coordinator's party, and none of her other Pokémon knew silver wind as far as he knew.
But still, the fact that she was so willing to try this out, maybe she deserved the failure she (and Harley) were setting herself up for…
But he looked over to her, and saw a genuine confidence in her eyes. It was a self-assurance that he never had truly seen any of the times he had spoken to her at contests. Because he had scorned her a lot in the past for her inexperience, and maybe it did make sense for her to assume that he thought so little of her, even when it was so far from the truth.
She didn't deserve to fail because he had made her feel insignificant. Maybe that wasn't what this was about, and it definitely wasn't entirely him, but Drew suddenly felt the need to start making up for all the times he didn't treat her like competition, but more like someone who had no place in the coordinating world.
He looked up.
"Bad idea," he called out to her.
She looked over to him, surprised to see he was even there at all.
"It's hard enough getting through the preliminaries and into the finals without limiting yourself to only one attack," he spoke slowly, looking back and forth between her and Harley. "Flexibility and strategy are more important than just showing off one move."
For a split second, he focused on her eyes, and they were wide open and locked on his. And somewhere deep in them, he swore he could see that she believed his words; that she knew he was telling the truth. Part of him hoped she would hear him and realize that he was trying to help her, and that he was trying to be her friend and a fair opponent. Trying to be a good rival. That he respected her as a fellow coordinator, and that he wanted to see her succeed in this Grand Festival that she rightfully got to on her own.
More than anything, he wanted her to believe in him, and in herself.
For that one split second, she seemed like she understood, and her lips parted as if she was going to speak. He leaned forward ever so slightly and waited.
But whatever she was going to say was cut off by the shrill cry of Harley and his nonsense. May instantly wheeled back to face Harley, and Drew turned to glare at him as well.
"You're just trying to confuse her because you're jealous!" he combatted. "Don't listen to any of his nonsense, May. He doesn't even know what he's talking about."
Drew couldn't help but roll his eyes. He was one of the most famous coordinators in all of Hoenn…and he wasn't even 13 years old yet. Harley was clearly around Solidad's age, and the only reason Drew even knew he existed was because Solidad knew him, and Solidad knew everyone. So really, even that wasn't much of an accomplishment.
But in this case, Drew's reputation hurt him a bit more than helped him, because he had thrown it in May's face one too many times before.
"In fact, let me take you to a professional," Harley insisted. "Someone who can give you much better Pokémon advice than Drew, anyway."
Harley forcefully grabbed May's arm, and she seemed a bit startled. Drew took a small step forward and watched carefully. His eyes were staring straight into Harley's, and Drew hoped he could see the message he was mentally screaming.
Don't mess with me, Harley, and don't mess with her.
Drew didn't know how threatening of a person he could be, but Harley seemed to understand. He let go of May almost instantly, and Drew took a step back. He gave him one last warning stare before turning his attention back to May, who was now completely focused on a poster.
She seemed shocked to discover her father was there in Slateport. Even stranger, her brother and her mother were equally as confused.
Something was up, and May and her group of friends were quickly on their way to figure out what was going on. When it was clear Harley was tagging along with them, Drew opted out.
"You're not coming?" Brock stopped, turned back and asked him.
"I think I need to keep some distance," Drew said.
"I agree with that," Brock said. "And don't worry; I'm watching him, too."
Drew nodded back.
The whole Norman-appearance-special-Pokémon-training-offer turned out to be Team Rocket again.
Drew hadn't planned on getting involved at all. Only after Brock had taken off to catch up with his friends did Drew change course and walk to see what was truly going on. Once he got there, he had stayed on the sidelines for the majority of the fiasco.
Drew supposed he should have expected to see them turn up at some point. After all, they followed May and her friends wherever they went. It also was no surprise to watch May and her friend, Ash defeat them so easily and save the day.
After the figurative and literal dust had settled, Drew watched with gritted teeth as Harley once again overplayed the supportive friend role and tried once again to convince May using only her silver wind was the absolute best way to go into the contest. Drew hoped his words would have gotten to her after she'd had some time to think about them, but with dozens of other trainers cheering her on for saving the day, Harley's pitch seemed more attractive.
All he could do was watch with clenched fists as she beamed to her group that she was going to stick with silver wind and silver wind alone.
Brock was the only one to notice he was there.
The two shared a look before Drew turned to walk away.
It was nearing midnight when Drew's head finally his the pillow in his dorm room that night.
He and Roselia had been training long and hard for hours. When he said they should stop for the night, she insisted they keep practicing. She knew the final hours before the festival were critical and she didn't dare waste a single second of her or Drew's final prep time.
So long after the sun had gone down and Drew had convinced her she was unstoppable and now the best thing they could do was rest up, she finally relented and they returned to their room.
Roselia had been ecstatic and hyper the whole walk back, ready to compete, but fell asleep quite quickly, as Drew expected her to do so. With all the hard work she had put in over the last few days and especially in the last few hours, it made sense to him that she would be out. She slept beside Drew while Masquerain took the foot of the bed. Drew had cleared one corner of the room and fixed up a huge blanket nest for Flygon. After all, the contest committee had made sure to construct rooms big enough for coordinators and their teams to rest in. He was sure to keep the window shades closed so no one would see his new Pokémon early, because they would see him in two days when the battle rounds began.
Although all his Pokémon resting up for their first big day, and Drew feeling just as exhausted, sleep managed to avoid him.
He lied in the bed, staring up at the ceiling and watched the fan blades as they slowly spun around. His mind was racing.
He thought of everything from what the first round would be like tomorrow to what it would feel like holding the Ribbon cup on Sunday. And he was more than ready to know that feeling. He knew that he and his team were going into the toughest competition they'd ever faced in their lives, and there would no doubt be struggles, but he had to do this. He couldn't let his Pokémon down; they'd worked too hard to bring him there.
He also thought of Solidad. How she was doing over in Johto and if she would be watching the Grand Festival from where she was. Knowing her, she was probably making friends with everyone around her, and impressing the hell out of the higher ups in the Wallace Cup Committee with her poise and grace. It wasn't hard to like Solidad, and Drew was convinced no one on earth hated her.
Her advice stayed in the back of his mind, though, and he wondered who there might be better than him. He'd seen a decent amount of coordinators throughout the week and he knew the best ones had probably been training in secret like he had been. Or what if one of the ones he saw out in the open was a wildcard? Hiding in plain sight and ready to take the Ribbon Cup for themself?
A week ago, Drew walked into Slateport City ready to dominate. Now, mere hours before the start of the competition, he still wanted the win just as badly, but was aware that he wouldn't just walk in and take it. He had to treat everyone like a threat, because they were all out to get him, too. But losing was not an option. Not after he'd come this far and worked this hard.
Eventually, May creeped her way into his thoughts as she so often did. Unfortunately for him, so did Harley.
Drew had not come to the Grand Festival to babysit, but with Harley's unwelcomed arrival, it seemed he was going to have to. What Harley's specific plan was, Drew didn't know, but he did know Harley wanted May to lose, and would play on her insecurities as a coordinator to make that happen.
Harley was ruthless, and May for some reason couldn't see that. Drew felt as though it was his job to help her realize it.
No matter what that meant, and it could have meant a lot of things.
Harley was clearly a crafty individual and Drew would have to tread carefully. Somehow he'd need to expose Harley for the creep that he truly was. But Harley was a good actor, and Drew didn't have the patience to put up with him.
The Grand Festival was something Drew had dreamed of for a long time, and no one was going to ruin it for him.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Slateport City, where the Grand Festival is about to begin!" Vivian announced from the main arena.
The video and audio systems were rigged so that each of the five individual first-round appeal stages would be fed from the main stage. Vivian was hosting the biggest contest in the biggest way.
Drew watched from his assigned stage – number three – as Vivian introduced the Hoenn Grand Festival to the audience and to the world.
"Excitement is in the air as some of the world's most talented coordinators are about to give it their all in the quest for their dreams! To get here, each of these high level trainers has had to win five ribbons in competitions all over the land, and now they stand on the appeal stage awaiting the preliminary round.
"Striking that perfect balance between power and display is the key to victory here. Pokémon entrances, attack executions and every aspect right up to the big finish must be done with maximum grace and power. Coordinators will also be judged on how smoothly they interact with their Pokémon.
"Out of the starting pool of 247 contestants, only the best 64 coordinators will make it through to the main competition round on the arena's center stage. The only thing we know for certain is that for some, there'll be triumph, and for some, there'll only be heartbreak."
Drew watched the opening ceremony from the backstage area for stage three, which he noted on the roster also hosted Harley and May. His performance was set for sport number seven, which was six spaces ahead of Harley and 19 ahead of May. Though he didn't see either of them. He assumed they opted to watch the first few from the stands.
The crowd went absolutely insane when she finished speaking, and not even Vivian's hand gestures could get them to stop cheering. It wasn't until the contest officials placed a giant, "quiet please" sign on the main monitors that the audience settled down just enough so Vivian's voice could be heard on the speakers again.
"I know you're all as excited as I am, so as my sister would say, let's get busy and turn out attention to our first find coordinators on the five appeal stages!" she shouted into her microphone. "On stage one, it's Keesha! Stage two, Thomas! Stage three, Taylor! And finally, over on stage four, Aaron!"
Drew watched from his bench as the coordinator named Taylor made her way out through the doors and towards their stage.
Then he looked down to Roselia's Pokéball in his hands.
"Alright, let's do this."
It was the same, but it was different.
He made his way out to the center of his assigned appeal stage and listened as the crowd went ballistic over his presence, as they so always did. And for a moment, all his troubles were forgotten.
Drew belonged on a stage; he and his Pokémon were made to compete in contests. Hearing the hundreds upon hundreds of people screaming his name was natural. Contests and competing were two of the most important parts of his life and himself.
Only his love for his Pokémon outweighed his love of coordinating. Luckily for him, they went hand in hand.
It was a textbook perfect day in Slateport City's Grand Festival Plaza. Not a single cloud polluted the pure blue sky. The heat was intense, but such was just the common occurrence for Hoenn. Summer's were often blazing.
All in all, it was the absolute perfect combination of weather conditions for his starter. Roselia's Pokéball felt as though it weighed a ton in his hand as he stood in anticipation in front of the screaming contest fans.
Any other coordinator would have released their Pokémon while the crowd was still cheering, but not Drew. He watched the crowd as they continued their deafening chants.
"Drew, Drew, Drew, Drew!"
He soaked it in; he absorbed their praise and gave them nothing back other than a casual stance. One hand was in his pocket, the other dangling down with a secure grip on Roselia's Pokéball. At any moment, he could have summoned her and gone on with his appeal and secured his place in the second round, but he stood poised and waited. He knew the longer he waited, the more hyped they'd be, ever wondering what the great Drew Hayden had in store for them.
And in all actuality, it was a simple routine; after all, in this first round, coordinators were only granted one move to showcase the judges, the audience and the watching world who they were as competitors. One sole move to define who they were.
Originally, he'd considered going with solar beam, and a part of him almost wished he'd committed to it with the weather conditions as perfect as they were in the outside arena. But solar beam was not who he and Roselia were. No, they had a signature move; one that he relied on so many times throughout his coordinator career. It felt as though any other move here, on this stage they'd worked for two long years to perform on, wouldn't be morally right.
He'd noticed May and her group in the front row the second he'd walked out to the center stage, but didn't acknowledge her in any way. He had closed his eyes the second he'd planted his feet and simply waited. There was no official indication on when to start, but he knew he would feel when the time was right in his soul.
Something inside of him told him to open his eyes; he did so, slowly, and instantly found himself staring straight at May. She was smiling eagerly, clapping along with the rest of the crowd. Her eyes told him she was excited to see what he would do.
Despite his resolve to wait, he gracefully tossed her Pokéball into the air.
"Roselia, it's time!" he called out while the streak of white manifested into his starter.
She drifted gently down, landed in front of him and posed in the exact way they'd been practicing for a long time in anticipation of that exact moment. She held her long rose arms out to her sides, her head slightly bowed and smiling. And for a splint second, Drew took the time to admire his best friend and longest partner.
Roselia had never been more beautiful. Shining sparkles covered her skin and glistened in the hard sunlight, all thanks to the Pokéblock Drew was able to concoct from some of the berries Solidad had given him. Her roses were never more vibrantly colored, and her stand was strong and elegant. For a single moment, she was the most amazing Pokémon in existence, and the world was cheering for her.
The two of them had a long time tradition in their contests together. When the other was ready to begin, they would share a look to each other. Drew used those few precious moments to convey to her that he was proud of her no matter what, and she in return would show him that she believed in him. It was a private conversation; one they had with their eyes in those fleeting looks. Now, in that moment, there was no need for Roselia to turn around and face her trainer, nor did Drew feel the need for her to do so, either. Their connection was unbreakable, and their souls were never more connected than in that moment.
That moment that took two years of dedication, hard work and love to get to; it was there.
It was finally there.
"Roselia, use petal dance!" he shouted.
The screaming from the auidence only increased as Roselia began to spin, firing off her (and essentially Drew's) most famous attack. If there was one move they were known for more famously than any other, it was petal dance. It was their fail-safe. It was their very essence. And it never failed to showcase just how meant for contests the pair was.
Roselia spun smoothly through the air, forming a loose spiral with her signature pink petals as they rained across the entire stage. The sweet fragrance and endless sparkles showered the area, and the guest judges for stage three were utterly entranced. Of course they'd always heard of Drew Hayden and his famous petal dance, but experiencing it in person enraptured them.
Petal dance had never failed him before, and now more than ever, Drew could see it was the perfect start on his road to the ribbon cup.
Roselia slowly lowered herself back to the ground, still keeping her fluent, spinning motion until her feet touched back down on the ground. Her petal dance continued even after she had halted the move, and both her and Drew bowed together in sync to end their single-attack appeal.
It was an appeal he'd used over and over again, and yet Roselia never failed to outdo herself each and every time. Drew couldn't have been happier with the performance. He felt especially overjoyed when he peaked over to May, to see the amazement in her eyes as she watched the petals finally start to slow.
And there she sat, so beautiful and engrossed and full of wonder.
His heart jumped a little in his chest and he had to use every ounce of effort to stay still in front of the crowd.
The buzzing sound of the judges having calculated their scores was the only thing in the universe that could have forced his eyes off of her. He and Roselia both turned to face the giant screen behind them.
When the 95 flashed on the screen, Drew expected to feel a little deflated. Were it a regular contest, his performance probably would have earned at least a 98, but he couldn't complain. This was the Grand Festival and he had earned the highest score he'd seen come from any stage so far. That in itself was a great feeling.
Roselia took one last bow and returned to her Pokéball, and Drew exited the stage. The cheers didn't seem to die down at all.
He thought about going out and watching performances from the stands, but the back stage area offered the advantage of seeing all four stages at once. He could monitor every performance and that seemed like a better tradeoff in his mind. Seeing acts in person was always better, but this was smarter.
May still hadn't appeared backstage, but it didn't surprise him. She seemed like the type of person to stick with family when she could, and no doubt having her mother there was something she appreciated. Especially after the whole sham with Team Rocket pretending to be her father thing…
Harley's presence in the backstage area was painfully obvious to him, though, even though they were on opposite sides of the room all together. Harley had opted to take a seat on one of the front benches, closest to the screens and snickering at the weaker scores of the day.
Drew hadn't interacted with Harley since their initial meeting, and he planned to keep it that way. Knowing the type of person Harley was, he'd probably convinced May it was better to watch some of the appeals out there rather than see them all. Just another way to manipulate her…
So Drew ignored him and focused on the contest. That's why he was there, anyway.
There were so many appeals going on and so many scores to keep up with that it felt like way too much to keep track of at times. A few acts were subpar at best, which was disappointing but simultaneously reassuring as well. The average score seemed to stick around 78, if he'd done his math correctly.
He watched all the screens intently, looking for anyone he either knew or even simply recognized. A few faces seemed somewhat familiar from the contest season, but a majority of them were strangers, capable of anything. He studied all of them.
Eventually, it was Harley's turn, and Drew bit his tongue a little when Harley's face lit up the screen in the middle.
"C'mon, now, Cacturn and do it for Harley!"
He released his Cacturn and the two stood for only a split second before Harley called for his attack.
The bullet seed was one of the fastest Drew had ever seen. The shots struck the ground at such an incredible pace that it stunned everyone watching. And the rate at which the seeds glowed while they shot out was pretty vivid as well. As much as Drew disliked Harley, he couldn't deny he was a worthy opponent.
Cacturn finished its appeal in a daunting pose, and Harley praised his Pokémon loudly instead of just gracefully waiting for his results like most coordinators did. Drew rolled his eyes at the spectacle, but agreed with the 84 he received as a score.
Cheating or not, Drew would have to watch out for him in the battle rounds.
Not long after Harley's performance, May finally showed up.
She wandered backstage looking a little lost after he had received his score. Drew realized she was looking for him, and eventually stood by the door waiting.
After a few minutes of standing and waving to the audience, Harley finally made his way back, and May greeted him in the entrance way.
"You know what to do, May," he prompted her, raising his hand for a high five. "That silver wind of yours."
Drew watched with a twinge of bitterness as May responded, slapping his hand and affirming him.
His only comfort in that moment was the fact that May's silver wind was pretty fantastic, and Harley clearly didn't realize that.
He'd stepped into the next room to get coffee, not that the free coffee the coordinators were offered was very good. He just really wanted some coffee.
"And coming to the stage now: May from Petalburg City!"
From the other room, he looked through the doorway back towards the screens when he heard Vivian's announcement.
Up until that point, Drew's eyes had been flashing back and forth between the screens, absorbing every bit of information that he could. When her name was called, his eyes fell on the middle screen and stayed locked there. For those few minutes, no other performances mattered. So he stood there from across the room, terrible coffee in hand and watching her.
She walked out to the center of the stage calmly, determination plastered all over her face.
For a moment, Drew's mind remembered seeing her at her first contest. The nerves and uncertainty as she took her place to perform that very first time were so unmistakable, that anyone watching her would have wondered what she was doing there or if she would ever compete again after that performance.
And now, all these months later, here she stood in the same place.
The same city, at the center of the stage, and she was a completely different person.
She was a completely different coordinator.
The amount of personal growth and balance she'd found throughout that season was undeniable. She'd had her fair share of setbacks throughout the last few months, but none of that was evident here. She had worked hard and earned her place there; she was where she was meant to be.
"Okay, Beautifly, take the stage!"
Just as the sunlight had done for his Roselia, the rays made Beautifly's wings radiate with shine. The crowd went absolutely wild as the sparkles rained down. It was May's most flawless contest entrance to date, and it couldn't have come at a better time or in a more important contest.
"Silver wind, Beautifly!" she powerfully commanded.
Beautifly angled itself upwards and launched its famous silver rays straight up into the sun. The result was something not even Drew would have come up with. The beams of light reflected so strongly in the direct sunlight, that when they broke apart high up in the air, the resulting ripples of glowing specks of light raining down on the crowd was beyond words. He only wished he'd been outside to see in person, because there was no way the cameras were doing it justice.
With the sparkles still raining down, May held out her hand and Beautifly took her place. The two posed perfectly, smiling and waving out to everyone in the crowd, thanking them for the praise while the crowd thanked them for their performance. It was May's best appeal, and he couldn't wait to see her score. Part of him wanted to congratulate her as well.
The 88 the judges had given her almost seemed wrong. He would have given her at least a 90. But that wasn't what ticked him off.
What ticked him off was Harley. As Drew reentered the main room, the first thing he heard was Harley's complaints about May and what a great performance she'd had.
The timing couldn't have been more perfect. Right as Drew walked through the threshold, Harley was mumbling to himself.
"Eighty-eight points?" he whined under his breath. "How could she have beaten me?"
Well, for one, your appeal was more concerned with power rather than beauty, which isn't the point of an appeal round…
Not the time; critique later.
Now definitely wasn't the time to be a judge, though. Drew turned and looked Harley in the eyes. Harley in turn realized Drew was there and looked a bit taken aback for a second before he composed himself. Forever the actor, just as Drew was forever the coordinator.
"How are ya, Drew?" he asked in that annoying sweet tone he'd been using on May the whole time.
As if that would work on Drew, though.
"I knew ya'd get a high score!" Harley continued when Drew didn't speak.
"Yeah, right," Drew muttered in response.
Drew was already doing his best to ignore Harley's existence, but with that confirmation of what Drew already knew was really going on, he found it all the harder.
"Anyway, I'm actually off to find May out front right now before the final scores so…see ya!" Harley said a bit awkwardly.
With that, Harley quickly turned and left Drew standing there and staring after him.
And every instinct Drew had told him to follow.
At one point while roaming around the front of the arena, Drew decided it was best to keep his eyes on Harley every time he was around May. And, if he could, try to alert May – or at least one of her friends – what was really going on. He knew May's friend Brock was already suspicious, and he assumed her little brother was onto it as well. They weren't as clueless as he'd originally assumed, and they all definitely had May's best interest at heart.
How Harley managed to escape Drew's sight, he couldn't tell. He was definitely elusive, and perhaps Harley had noticed Drew was casually trailing him. Either way, Drew found himself wandering outside of the arena, looking for anyone, but preferably May. It was probably better to just tell her one-on-one without Harley there.
Problem was, Harley found May before Drew did.
He was gushing fake praise and admiration to her, absolutely droning on and on about how he told her he was right. And poor girl was buying it, returning his kindness right back to him, albeit hers was genuine. She truly believed he was a friend to her, and it made Drew angry.
The group of them was standing outside of the main stage area. None of them seemed to realize he was standing by, and Drew was trying to listen in on their conversation when Vivan's voice blared around them. Her face flashed across the massive display screen on the front of the main stage arena. It was time for the announcement of the 64 who would move on to round two.
It was definitely a major moment, but Drew found that he couldn't care less about it. Which was odd, because this was a competition he'd spent so long preparing for. Drew knew he'd made it through to the second round, because he knew he had obtained one of the highest scores of the day. And in those moments, he found that all he cared about was getting May to see how fake Harley was.
Again, odd.
Just how much did he actually care for this girl that she seemed to trump a huge Grand Festival moment for him?
"There she is, in 48th place!" Harley screeched.
Drew's eyes shifted to the massive video board, and counted the rows until he found May's picture. He actually didn't look for his own until after he confirmed she was still in the competition, and finally noticed he'd clenched the third place spot. He should have been bothered by the fact that he wasn't in first place, but with everything else going on, he figured it was good enough. And he was proud of Roselia for placing them so high on the board with so many other competitors.
The good feelings didn't last anywhere nearly as long as they should have, though. Drew then saw that – unfortunately – Harley had advanced as well, just squeezing in at number 59.
"Aw, looks like you and I are gonna be together a little while longer, huh?" Harley cheered.
Drew bit his tongue when he saw Harley had taken May's hands again. He fought to suppress the anger that he could feel slowly building up in the pit of his stomach. The gesture meant nothing, and he knew it. It didn't help much, though. It was annoying and fake and wrong on far too many levels for Drew to take with a grain of salt.
Especially when May's friends actually applauded Harley's appeal as well. His eyes looked to Brock for a split second, who failed to notice Drew was near, just like they all had, and it felt like some form of betrayal.
"I'm gonna keep on using silver wind as my only attack just like you suggested!" May continued speaking.
"Alright!" Harley encouraged. "That's what I'm counting on, May!"
Drew could only glare at Harley in response. Clearly he wasn't going to get through to May or any one in her group at the moment. He'd have to speak to them alone, or Harley would completely deny everything right in front of them. And from the excited looks all on their faces, it seemed as though they would probably take his side. It definitely felt like betrayal.
Drew took the chance to leave and remain unseen by the group. He needed to go somewhere private and think. He also needed to share the good news with his Pokémon and prep them for the second day and second round of the Grand Festival. For some reason, it bothered Drew immensely that he couldn't tell which of the two items on his to-do list was more important.
And with all that had gone down in just the first few days alone, Drew knew it was going to be a long weekend.
Training seemed somewhat pointless for the second round appeals.
Drew and Masquerain had been working on their showcase for weeks, and with the grounds so overwhelmed with people (which was amazing considering so many had been eliminated the day prior), Drew did not want to show what he had planned to anyone.
Priming Masquerain on the first round appeal stage seemed good enough for the day.
His Pokémon were out with him, center stage, enjoying the sunshine. Drew was washing Masquerain up, increasing his Pokémon's shine and appeal while Roselia watched carefully to make sure he didn't miss any spots. He was thankful he had her with him.
It was calm and peaceful, and despite the constant chatter from the nearby festivalgoers, Drew found himself relaxed and ready to take on the upcoming second round appeals. His Pokémon seemed just as prepared as well.
And it was the best moment he'd had the entire weekend. A nice, easy-going morning where all he had to focus on was the contest. He wished it could last forever. He also had a dreadful sense that the moment was the "calm-before-the-storm."
Unfortunately for him, his theory proved to be right as the people he wanted to see least also appeared on that stage as well.
May and her crew walked onto the stage slowly, Brock coaching her on how the battle rounds would be were she to make it that far. And much to his disdain, Harley was in toe with the rest of the group, looking disgustingly sweet as always. For a moment, he and Drew shared a quick look, and Harley seemed to wink at him, but the moment was so quick, and Drew wasn't positive it happened at all. Come to think of it, their whole group being particularly there, where he had settled down for the day, seemed odd to him at all. Drew couldn't be sure, but he was almost certain that Harley did that on purpose; dangled May right in front of him to show he had the upper hand and could influence her.
Either way, the rest of the group seemed oblivious to his presence, and didn't acknowledge him as he watched them.
"What, really?" May questioned when Brock explained to her she'd have to use two Pokémon in the battle rounds.
Drew rolled his eyes; it figured she wouldn't have read up on the rules herself. It was so like her.
So like this girl who'd come into his world and his coordinating career, never knowing where she'd go next or how to handle any situations before hand. She lived in the moment and went off of her intuition. And he'd come to expect that from her; he'd grown used to being surprised by her. Maybe that's what had intrigued him about her, and maybe that's why he felt the need to protect her from the threat standing three feet to her left.
"The manual says that the first round is one-on-one; same as usual," Brock read from his guidebook. "But the second round is all double battles, so make sure Combusken and all the others are ready to go, too."
"Double battles, huh?" May inquired, a certain look in her eye. "Good; I'll be ready for 'em."
There was her fire that made her who she was. That fire Drew was drawn to; that fire Drew knew he wanted to keep alive so she could have her fair shot in the competition, and so he could battle her eventually. There was just the matter of that pesky purple-haired creep next to her…
"Well, May, it seems like you're all pumped up and ready to go!" Ash proclaimed from beside her. "Training really is the best way to get yourself psyched for the battle rounds. And seeing all these coordinators has me even more pumped to train with Snorunt on his ice beam attack!"
The young Kanto-based trainer then released said Pokémon, and the Pokémon began dancing around happily free from its Pokéball. Everyone around the happy ice type greeted him easily, and Ash took his chance to leave, off to train somewhere else.
"Wait, Ash!" Max called out, stopping him. "Mom, can I please go? Please?"
"I don't see why not if Ash is okay with it, sweetie," May and Max's mother smiled sweetly. "You boys have fun!"
"Alright!" Max squealed as he jumped in the air and chased after his older friend. "Ash, wait up!"
May smiled as she watched her brother and friend run off towards the beach together and turned back towards her remaining party.
"I guess it's time to get to work, huh?" she asked cheerfully.
"You betcha!" Harley cheered. "Why don't you go on and let all your Pokémon out? Cacturne and I can go for the first round."
"Can do!" May said, reaching into her pack and tossing her Pokéballs in the air. "C'mon out, everybody! It's time to practice!"
One by one, Drew watched as her team emerged from their Pokéballs. Her Combusken and Skitty landed gracefully before her. Her Bulbasaur looked around for a bit with its eyes shining while her Munchlax came directly out snoozing. Drew wondered if her Munchlax was going to compete at all, but doubted it seeing as she probably hadn't owned the Pokémon for a long enough period of time.
Her Beautifly fluttered high up into the air before slowly descending and landing a top her head; a spot that Drew assumed was one of the Pokémon's favorites.
Meanwhile, Harley called off Cactune silently on the side, more interested in observing May's team than his own. The whole stage was filled with Pokémon, all restless with energy.
With all present and accounted for, May's party looked up to her, waiting.
"Which one of you wants to pair up with Beautifly for our first practice?" May asked her eager Pokémon.
In response, her entire team volunteered, causing the coordinator to blush, seemingly slightly embarrassed for some reason by her Pokémons' enthusiasm. She waved her hands in front of her.
"Okay, okay, then we'll take turns!" she laughed and turned back to Harley. "Is it okay with you if I use them all, Harley?"
"No problem," he reassured her.
Brock, meanwhile, seemed a bit skeptical.
"Are you sure about Beautifly?" he questioned cautiously.
It was good to see one of the people in May's party seemed to have some sense, and Drew was thankful Brock spoke out, because somehow, they still hadn't noticed he was there. Well, Harley knew, as they'd already made brief eye contact several times, but clearly he hadn't seen the need to inform May or her friends he was there.
"Definitely!" May beamed. "Silver wind is what got me this far! Alright Skitty, you're up!"
Her tiny cat Pokémon purred excitedly, and ran to take its place before its trainer and prepare for battle.
Drew was watching them all intently. His eyes flickered back and fourth between May, her Pokémon, her friend, her mother, and Harley. Over and over, his eyes went back and fourth, studying them and silently willing one of the good guys to speak up and point out why this was wrong. Roselia was looking at her trainer, willing him to stay focused and stay out of it all, but she could see how important this was to him, so she stayed quiet as well.
"You go on and make the first move!" Harley called.
Drew silently wished that he could have put money down in a bet on which move May was going to use. Somehow, he knew with every fiber of his being she was going to call for assist, because it was just something he knew that she would do. But there were a few things he didn't expect.
First, he didn't expect that powerful fire spin Skitty had produced to stun Harley as much as it had. His Cacturne held its own as it fought against the flames when they dispersed around him.
"Assist again, Skitty!"
Out came her Beautifly's silver wind. Drew couldn't help but notice how it paled in comparison to the original it was copying, though it still was an impressive move. He also notice how Harley's confusion instantly shifted into some form of dark understanding the second May's Skitty ceased its silver wind. And his face transformed into one of knowing.
"THAT WAS COOL!" Harley bellowed, popping up right at her side.
Drew really wanted to teach the guy about personal space, but before he could speak, Harley kept on going at 100 miles a minute.
"I didn't know you had a trick like this up your sleeve, May!" he coated it on thicker. "With that assist of yours, you could pull a perfect combination with Beautifly's silver wind and you'd be unbeatable!"
Harley wasn't dumb by any means. Just observing the guy for a day told Drew that he was clever and sneaky, probably too much for his own good. Hell, he'd convinced May to trust him again with a few fake tears. He knew how to play people and he knew how to play them extremely well. How Solidad could be friends with someone like this was an enigma for another day.
And because Harley clearly was intelligent, it was surely obvious to him that assist was an unpredictable attack. It would draw a move from any single one of a trainer's Pokémon. Completely random and totally unpredictable, and almost everyone knew that.
Still, May believed he didn't understand how it all worked.
"I can't…" she hesitated. "Cause there's no telling whether I'll get silver wind or something else…"
Good; she saw the flaw in Harley's logic. She knew this wasn't the way to go. Maybe she was finally opening her eyes to how wrong this all was.
Still, Harley persisted.
"But the judges wouldn't penalize you for that!"
Yes, they would; especially in the Grand Festival.
"Why that's the appeal of the assist!"
There is no appeal in luck or gambling.
"It's exciting not to know what's coming next!"
It's asking for disaster and potential for elimination.
"Your Pokémon are all so great, it doesn't matter anyway!"
Oh, it matters.
And much to Drew's growing horror, May believed it. She believed every word. Of course her Pokémon were great on their own, but she was so quick to eat up compliments the second she got them, and wanted them to be true so dangerously badly.
"You know, you might be right, Harley!" May slowly picked up excitement. "I think I will use Skitty in the first round!"
"Go for it, May."
Drew rose to his feet, his fists balled in his pockets and his temper rising slowly.
It would be her downfall: her lack of self-confidence. And she absolutely had no reason to doubt herself. She's made it to the Grand Festival without Harley's lies and terrible advice. She should have known that. And although she made it through the first round following Harley's instructions and used her silver wind to land her a place in the secondary appeals, Drew rationalized that she probably would have used that move anyway. So that, he couldn't credit to Harley; she'd made it as far as she had on her own.
Why couldn't she see that? Why didn't she believe in her Pokémon? It was the very heart and soul of coordinating, and if she hadn't realized it by then, she didn't deserve to be there.
He'd had enough; Drew decided he needed to say something, or the anger inside of him with hearing all these lies would set him on fire.
Even May's mother saw how much of a gamble her daughter would be taking.
"Kind of a risky strategy," Caroline commented lifting Skitty in her arms.
"I'll say," Drew took his chance to cut in, and left with those words.
Drew wanted to fight it. He wanted to battle against and challenge all of Harley's words, but he knew all that would result in was Harley combating his every claim.
And he didn't know if he could stomach watching May stick to Harley's side.
His peaceful morning had definitely been ruined.
He never understood the reason people would shoot off fireworks during the day.
Fireworks were bursts of multicolored fire specifically made for nighttime skies, and yet here at the Grand Festival, they were firing them off during the day. The only effect they achieved was the resulting pale-colored smoke and the booming noises that followed the blasts.
It was dumb, pointless and useless in his mind.
But he assumed he was being far more judgmental because those fireworks marked the start of the secondary rounds.
The order for the rounds had been draw and sent to every coordinator according. Harley would be the second performer overall, and Drew couldn't wait to see what he would do. As for himself, he was slated as the 62nd performer. He would be one of the last to go in the second round, as the top three finishers from the first round always closed out the secondary rounds.
As competitors went on and performed, he looked on. The 64 remaining coordinators that surrounded him were the best of the best, and he began to idly wonder if he should have practiced with Masquerain a bit that morning before coming to the waiting area.
But that was when he noticed Harley and May in the middle of the crowd backstage. With the sighting, he instantly steeled himself. He'd been around too much self-doubt, and there was no way he'd let himself question his Pokémon now. He knew they'd be great.
He refused to let anything shake his game.
"May, what's wrong?" Harley asked.
"Just…looking for someone…" May admitted.
Drew raised an eyebrow. Could she have been looking for…
"You're looking for Drew, aren't you?" Harley prodded, as if he would have been threatened were the answer to be yes.
Much to Drew's trepidation, May looked almost horrified that he'd even suggest that. And it stung him in ways and for reasons he didn't quite understand. It also confused him in a plethora of ways. Why didn't she care where he was? How would he have felt if she had answered yes?
"This guy we met had his pass stolen, so…"
Drew stopped paying attention then; if she wasn't interested in him, he wouldn't waste his interest on whatever was distracting her from what she should have really been focusing on.
He had enough to deal with, anyway; being hurt over a small crush was not something he wanted to waste his Grand Festival on.
"Oh my; I'd hate to think that there might be dishonesty around us…" Harley shivered.
He made sure he ignored Harley even harder.
"The first round here on the main stage will consist of single Pokémon performances with time limited to three minutes each."
Vivian once again went over the rules and contest proceedings for what felt like the millionth time. This, of course, was standard procedure and just general etiquette for any contest and the Grand Festival was no exception. He couldn't fight the rulebook just because he was eager to get started. Still, he felt like he could have given this introduction speech because he'd read the rule book so many times.
He only forced himself to pay attention so he'd know when the actual appeals started, and start they did.
With only three minutes to showcase why they deserved to move on, absolutely no coordinator was going to waste their time. The first kid, whose name Drew couldn't be bothered to remember, ran out and instantly released his Ninetails, calling for a flamethrower before the Pokémon had even appeared.
Somehow, he found he wasn't actually able to focus on the performance, though, as an idea formed in his mind. With Harley's performance second, he wouldn't be in the waiting area. He would be in line out near the stage, meaning May would be alone.
If he was going to have a chance to talk to her, it was then, so he started searching.
It didn't take long to find her; her signature red stood out amongst the crowd. Her sapphire eyes were locked onto the screen, watching the first performance intently, like he should have been doing. But this was far more important.
He approached her slowly and she never turned to look at him. Just like the day before, she was unaware he was even there. Or…was she ignoring him? Maybe Harley told her to avoid him with the "walking-away-stunt" he pulled yesterday. Maybe he should have stuck around.
Ugh, social interact was such a chore. Caring for someone was even more so.
But he wanted to do this. He needed to do this, because this girl was so important. This girl had saved his life, and he'd come to realize she had in more ways than just keeping him alive on Mirage Island all those months ago.
Now he was going to save her, because he needed to see her reach her full potential. He was at his best when she was at hers. She made him a better person. She made him care, which very few people had ever managed to do before.
"Sup?" he said easily, taking a place next to her.
She seemed a bit startled when he stopped, and broke her gaze from the monitor where the Ninetails had been pulling off an impressive fire spin to face him.
"Oh, hi, Drew," she said a bit slowly. "How are you today?"
"I'm fine," he waved off casually. "Just ready to get started. Are you ready for this round?"
May shrugged, and her eyes moved to the floor.
"That's good," she held her hands intertwined in front of her, her thumbs twirling around each other. "I guess I'm a little nervous. The main stage seems so much more intimidating than the smaller ones were."
"You'll be fine," he told her. "Your Pokémon can do great things if you believe in them."
She looked over to him, her eyes seeming a little wider than usual.
"And they already have; they got you here in the first place, didn't they?" he continued. "But look, May, that isn't what I came over here to say. I need to talk to you about something. I–"
"Wait, Drew, hold that thought!" May chirped, wheeling around to face the monitor. "Harley's on!"
Drew bit his tongue and turned to face the screen as she had. Sure enough, Harley was there, center stage, calling out a rough-looking Banette.
The Pokémon's mount unhinged, and gave off an eerie smile and dark laugh. Everyone around them seemed to go silent as the ghost type captivated and terrorized the whole stadium just with its entry along.
"Whoa…that's a scary Pokémon," May shivered next to him.
Drew held his breath for a moment, choosing not to make a cheap comment on how Banette and Harley could have been twins (because it was far below his maturity level no matter how true it was), intent on studying the routine Harley and his Pokémon put together.
He figured that Harley couldn't have put together a better appeal to represent who he was even if he had tried. The will-o-wisp and thunder combination wasn't the tightest combination he'd seen, but the fact that Harley made his own Pokémon attack himself, as well as enjoy the undeniable pain that had to come with raining a thunder bolt down on itself while still maintaining control over its blue flames was… well, it was something. And as much as he hated to admit it, he was slightly impressed. Still, that admiration was far outweighed by his disdain for the Cacturne-clad rival.
It didn't take long for Drew to realize that was it. Harley had chosen not to utilize the full three minutes he had been given for the appeal. He limited himself to only two attacks, and he'd managed to earn himself a high score. Vivian used the right words to describe the whole show; creepy and unsettling. Drew agreed that's definitely what this boy and his tactics were. How Harley found joy in that, he didn't quite understand. He just smirked at the possibility of getting to wipe that gross smile off his face in the battle rounds; there was no doubt Harley was going to make it that far with 89 points to his name.
"Harley just keeps surprising me…" May admitted, starring at the screen in awe.
Just wait until she found out the truth…then she'd really be surprised.
Drew cleared his throat as the camera showed Harley exit the stage and the next coordinator enter. May turned back to face him.
"Anyway," Drew tried to continue.
"Drew, I'm surprised you seem to be so talkative today…" May said a little shyly. "I'd imagine you of all people would want to watch these performances?"
"I think this is a little more important, May," he responded, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Look, it's about Harley."
That seemed to surprise her a little bit. She turned back to face him fully and gave him her undivided attention. Her eyes held a look of tension in them. She no doubt already figured Drew had problems with Harley, and she clearly didn't want to fight anyone on it. May probably didn't want to give up the one person backstage who was showering her with compliments and praises for every breath she took.
Too bad it was all lies, and too bad she needed to know that.
"Yeah, what about him?" she asked curiously, cautiously.
Drew sucked in a breath, but before he could get even a single word out, Harley jumped up behind May, scaring both of them. May shrieked and Drew jumped a little, the hairs on the back of his neck rising He kept his face even, though. Especially when Harley's arms snaked their way around her waist and he rested his head on her right shoulder.
Drew swore the incredibly one-sided personal contact Harley would initiate got more intimate every time Drew was around her, and Drew would have been willing to be that was 100 percent intentional. All he could do was grit his teeth and do his best to ignore the way his face would heat up.
"So, what did you guys think, huh?!" Harley's face and voice were higher than Drew could recall seeing it. "Great, huh? My Banette really is a doll!"
"Yeah, Harley, it was really something…" May smiled awkwardly and looked for a way to free herself from his grasp.
Harley held her in place tightly, though, and Drew silently debated on walking away. But he'd made that mistake yesterday trying to have the last word, and he'd made no progress in freeing May from Harley's web. He couldn't make that mistake again.
He never answered Harley's question about how his performance had been or what he thought of it. He just stood beside May, silently fuming about everything.
The group of three three stayed together and watched the appeals with Harley throwing in snide comments about some performances and comparing them to his own. According to Harley, his Banette, of course, won out every time; even the performances that scored higher than he had didn't impress him all that much. Drew just rolled his eyes every time and tried to contain the need to tell the boy to shut the hell up. May, meanwhile, stayed silent.
A part of Drew wondered what she was thinking, or what could have happened had he had the chance to say what he wanted to say before they were interrupted.
He never looked over to her, though. He kept his eyes on the increasing number at the bottom of the screen.
Coordinator number 36…number 37….number 38…
The numbers kept rising slowly, and Drew suddenly realized something.
It's my turn soon…
May went on before he did, which was annoying.
It wasn't annoying because she went first. It was annoying because he had to be alone with Harley.
Just like everyone else, the backstage organizers called May to line up at least seven performances before her actual turn.
"Good luck out there, hun!" Harley had squeezed the life out of her before she left. "Get out there and show 'em all how great that assist is!"
"You got it," she nodded, and turned to face Drew.
He didn't say anything to her, but looked her dead straight in her sapphire blue eyes, silently pleading with her to know using only assist was the worst thing she could do. She would not advance if she relied on just that one move, and he wanted to battle her out there so badly, that he swore he actually needed it. He couldn't earn his first ribbon cup without her being a part of it.
He needed her to know how great and smart and gifted she was, and that she was asking for failure by not believing in herself or her Pokémon.
He needed her to understand all of the things he didn't more than he needed air to breathe. And he prayed like hell to Arceus she could see that in his eyes.
All she did was give him a small smile, and turn to exit the room.
"Go girl, go!" Harley waved and cheered until she was out of sight.
He turned back to the screen and looked at Drew out of the corner of his eyes, who did the same to him, before they both turned their attention back to the performance on stage.
That had been nine minutes ago, and no interactions had passed between them. No words had even been exchanged, but the tension made the air seem thick like it was filled with a Koffing's smog.
Drew could only stomach being near him for three performances before he excused himself. He headed for the restroom as the morning's coffee had finally caught up to him. Honestly he would have left even if he didn't need to. Plus, he figured he'd be back in time for May's performance.
There was another viewing monitor out in the hallway; one no other coordinator was standing by, probably because they didn't know it was there. He himself hadn't seen it until he was returning from the restroom and one final pep talk with Masquerain.
He elected to watch May's performance alone out there before returning to the madhouse that was the waiting area. He'd need to be there for his name to be called, but he also didn't want to spoil watching his rival perform by having to share it with other people.
"A solid score!" Vivian called out regarding the last performance. "Now let's move along: here's May making another appearance!"
This was it: Drew focused all of his attention on the screen as the flash of red that was May entered the arena,
She ran out with more enthusiasm than he'd ever seen her. May was all smiles and bursting with happiness and laughter as she ran out to take her place in the spotlight. If she was nervous before this, it was not showing. She was there and she was ready.
"Skitty, take the stage!"
With a graceful throw and spin, she introduced her Skitty to the roaring crowd, all of whom were enthralled to see such a cute and playful Pokémon compete. Skitty bounced and did several rolling flips in the air before it landed in a starting position before her coordinator posed before her.
With just her entry alone, May seemed to have the whole stadium cheering for her.
All right, May. Follow your instinct. Trust in yourself and your team.
"Skitty, use assist!"
Drew held his breath; this was it. This was the beginning, and he hoped like hell it wasn't the beginning of the end for her. He believed she was capable of beating herself and Harley. If she actually pulled it off was a whole different story.
Skitty commanded a powerful silver wind, spiraling and glimmering in the intense sunlight of Slateport City. It almost seemed like it was fate, as May had started the Grand Festival with silver wind in the first round, and here she was in round two beginning with it again. Hopefully the judges wouldn't think it was too repetitive.
The crowd seemed pleased with the move as they all cheered and encouraged her to continue.
"That was awesome, Skitty!" May clapped. "Use assist again!"
The second assist produced razor leaf, curtesy of her Bulbasaur. The deadly leaves shot out at an amazing rate of speed, dispersing the last bands of the previous silver wind above her head.
"Assist one more time!"
Drew knew it wouldn't be the last time. May clearly planned to stick with the strategy Harley had given her, and maybe it was the adrenaline she felt, but she didn't seem to notice the cheering of the crowd dying off ever so slightly.
A blinding fire spin came out third, turning the remaining leaves into ash and making the whole stadium even hotter. It was a wonder such a tiny Pokémon could produce so much fierce firepower.
Assist after assist, Skitty fired off every attack May's Pokémon team had minus its own. Vine whips, string shots and gusts were just some of the many moves that rained down randomly all over the stage, and the camera's pan shots of the audience began to showcase more confused faces than entertained ones. Still, they cheered, but it was hard to miss how much less cheering there was vs. when May first entered the stage.
She was losing points and she didn't even seem to notice.
The problem was, her appeal was all over the place. There was no rhyme or reason, no synchronization, no order. Her attacks flowed randomly as her Skitty obeyed its orders and continued to randomly draw from the move pool May had.
Vivian had pointed out the creativity of showcasing all of May's team through repeating the same move over and over, but it may have been too late. May only had a minute and 20 seconds left on the stage, and she showed no signs of slowing down.
A quick shot of the judges faces told Drew that Mr. Contesta was thinking exactly what Drew feared he would think: the appeal was too random, and it didn't show off May's Skitty, who was the one actually performing. Showing your other team's charms is great, when they're the ones on stage. In contests, who you were paired with in a round was who you were expected to show off.
"And another assist!"
No one in that stadium, not even May, could have predicted the solar beam that shot off. It caught Drew by surprise as well, because he knew her Bulbasaur didn't know the move.
May froze on stage, the look on her face matching that of her Skitty's: complete and utter surprise.
And confusion.
She and her Skitty seemed to be having a silent conversation in the middle of the stage…during the middle of their performance. And it didn't bode well for her. Stopping her momentum so suddenly was going to cost her more points than she was already losing by repeating the same move over and over.
"Something's thrown May off, and with hardly any time left!" Vivian exclaimed, as if to remind May that she was still on the clock.
May snapped back into reality as if she'd been stuck by lightning.
She called out for assist again (surprisingly), and a gorgeous petal dance began to spiral into existence. Drew had to blink a few times; it was still strange to him to see May pulling off his signature move.
There was a reason Drew stuck with petal dance so many times. Petal dance was a brilliant move in contests; it had every type of appeal from beauty to grace. It even spread a delicate sweet scent that he hadn't met a single person who didn't like.
But petal dance sometimes had its drawbacks.
Using it as often as he did, his Roselia had mastered the art of pulling off petal dance attacks and never suffered from its negative effects. Often times, though, weaker, more inexperienced Pokémon who weren't familiar with the move suffered from self-inflicted confusion.
It seemed as though May's Skitty was one of those weaker, more inexperienced Pokémon.
Skitty began to wobble around the stage, struggling to keep her balance started to run frantically in circles around itself. Skitty would often chase its own tail, but this was not one of those playful moments. This was bad luck.
May looked panic-stricken as she failed to talk her Skitty down and lost control of the performance as a whole.
The audience then shifted into fits of giggles and laughter as May's Skitty continued to dance around crazily, and the judges looked divided. Mr. Contesta looked disappointed while the Nurse Joys looked a bit more sympathetic. Mr. Sukizo, meanwhile, joined the crowd in their laughter.
He knew this would happen. Well, not specifically this; he wasn't psychic, after all. But Drew had known if May had stuck with assist, eventually something would definitely go wrong.
May stood there, frozen, clearly desperate for her Pokémon to settle down, but it seemed as though nothing she said could break through to the tiny kitten Pokémon.
And it looked like this was it; the end of the run for May's Grand Festival experience.
It was sad to think that Drew might have been able to prevent this had he just been able to talk to her, but maybe this was what she deserved for not knowing better on her own.
As sad as it was for him to admit, he didn't think their battle would happen after all, and it stung.
He turned away from the screen, then, marching straight back into the waiting room with all the other coordinators. He was intent of finally giving Harley a piece of his mind.
The coordinators backstage seemed divided on how to react to the spectacle on stage. Some looked sad for May, while others looked embarrassed and some just plain laughed out loud at the poor girl's expense.
Drew ignored all of them, and marched right up behind Harley, reaching his hand out to grab his shoulder and turn him around – or punch him in the face. He didn't know; it seemed like it was going to be a spur of the moment kind of thing. But before he made contact, he heard Harley snickering and withdrew his hand.
"It's working!" Harley praised himself. "All my advice about sticking to one attack has her and her Skitty totally confused. That'll teach you to mess with me."
"I knew it!" Drew exploded, unable to keep himself composed.
Harley wheeled around to look down at Drew, horrified. He'd been caught and he knew it.
Drew, meanwhile, had known all along. All weekend long so far, he'd known this was what Harley was after: May's failure and humiliation. And it seemed he'd more or less achieved that goal. Drew suspected this plan all along, but for him to actually hear the douche admit it out loud, even if it was accidental, still burned Drew to his core. And it almost made his blood boil.
"You're no friend of May's; all that phony baloney was just a way to take advantage of her," he accused, his hands holding onto both of his hips, because he knew if he let go, he'd probably strangle the guy right then and there.
No one – absolutely no one – messed with his girl with the red bandana.
When Harley seemed to realize it was just Drew speaking, a new air of confidence and smugness took over his features.
"So what?" Harley mocked. "It's a competition, right? It wasn't my fault she was stupid enough to believe me."
Drew was fighting every single one of his instincts not to lose his temper. This guy was professional at getting under people's skin, and Drew refused to be a victim to that.
"Step aside, shrimp," Harley laughed as he moved to step past Drew. "I'm done dealing with you losers now that little Maisy is taken care of."
But Drew immediately stepped in front of Harley, blocking his path and earning a glare in the process.
"You're not going anywhere," Drew said slowly, darkly. "You're going to stay right here with me, and whether or not May loses, you're going to stand here and explain to her how you fucked with her and wanted her to lose, so she can see what a disgusting piece of shit you really are."
Harley raised an eyebrow.
"My, my, Mr. Hayden," he responded. "Such language. But fine: it'll be worth it to see the look on her face when she finds out."
The boys continued to glare at each other until one little moment changed the moment so drastically.
"How mystifying!" Vivain's voice overtook the room.
Both Drew and Harley turned back to face the monitor to see May's Skitty double slapping itself. Harley and everyone else in the room seemed utterly lost as to what May was trying to do, and Drew wasn't totally sure either, but he knew whatever it was, she was about to save her own ass.
He smirked and flipped his hair as he watched her on screen, a new look in her eyes as she waited for her Skitty to finish.
Now there's the girl I know and...the coordinator I respect.
Skitty landed back on its feet, upright and ready to continue, totally free of all confusion. It was ready to conclude the strange performance, and May was more than eager to go with it.
"What?!" Harley gasped, unbelieving that his "perfect plan" was falling apart. "No way!"
The shocked and defeated look on his face was one Drew enjoyed more than he thought possible.
"Now let's finish this up!" May called out, her confidence restored. "Blizzard!"
The tiny Pokémon began to spin with an intense velocity, leaving crystals and strong gusts of ice in its path. It rose up high into the air, creating a rugged and jagged town of glowing ice, refracting rainbows off of its edges in the sunlight. With the tower complete, Skitty landed in a perfect position, right at the center and on top. It happily smiled and waved to the screaming crowd.
With that, May's sporadic performance came to a close, and the judges tallied up her points as everyone waited to see how the girl with the red bandana had faired in such a chaotic-structured appeal.
79.
Harley laughed and Drew bit the inside of his cheek.
The score was harsh, but it was definitely to be expected. Drew couldn't even act surprised, but he definitely was skeptical about her ability to move on with that score.
And it made him angrier than it already was.
She was capable of much better numbers, but she chose to rely on the "help" from this terrible deceiver standing in front of him. And this asshole in front of him, who cheated to try to win a Grand Festival, was laughing beside him. It was disgraceful, tasteless and borderline sickening.
"Too bad for your girlfriend," Harley teased from beside him.
Drew turned to look up at Harley, and had every intention of correcting his "girlfriend" comment, but the smug "I won" smile on his face twisted something deep inside Drew.
"You don't even deserve to be a coordinator," Drew retorted lowly. "I don't even want to know the ways or how many times you cheated to get to this contest, because you clearly aren't a good coordinator on your own if you have to resort to such cheap ways to get ahead. You are the worst of the worst, Harley, and I can't wait to watch you lose."
Drew's words erased all evidence of Harley's content, and it was replaced by a cold, hard glare. The two starred each other down with such animosity that the building could have been set on fire from the heat of their hatred towards each other in that moment.
The sound of approaching footsteps was what broke their focus on each other. Both boys turned away to face a downcast May, who kept her eyes on the floor and looked as if she was fighting to hold back tears. She looked more glum than Drew had ever seen her; even more so than when she ran past in in tears during her loss at the first contest she'd ever been in, or when she'd faced her humiliating defeat in Rubello Town.
All Drew could think about was how this pain she was feeling; this utter sense of loss and heartbreak was due to the boy standing between them. The one May had foolishly placed her trust in. She should have known better.
Everything was ruined because she should have known better. The great battle they were supposed to have, the rivals they were supposed to be, the damn way he felt about her…all of it. It was all ruined because she should have known not to trust this guy.
It was so hard to know that it had all been taken away because of this greedy, narcissistic, Cacturne-obsessed jackass between them.
At the end of the day, that's why Harley bothered Drew to his core: he came between him and May.
And he realized that that was what pissed him off the most.
"I'm sorry I let you down, Harley, but I couldn't do it with assist alone…" May apologized.
She apologized.
She actually apologized to Harley. She apologized to the guy who – more or less – fucked her over.
Drew's fists balled at his sides.
"Don't apologize to him," Drew snapped.
"Why?" May seemed confused.
"That whole line about using only one attack, it was all just his plot to make sure you wouldn't win," Drew explained, almost offended that it still wasn't clear at this point.
"What…do you mean?" she still didn't understand.
How was it not obvious? Harley was glaring at the both of them now. It couldn't be any clearer what the problem was.
Harley sniffed, clearly tired of the both of them. He looked down over his shoulder back at Drew, who glared right back at him.
"It almost worked, too, and you never would have known if your annoying boyfriend here had kept his trap shut," Harley explained, the disdain leaking out of every word.
Drew growled at him. Drew actually growled at him. There he went again with the "boyfriend-girlfriend" thing. And Drew didn't know what he was angrier about: the false titles or the fact that Harley might have had the nerve to keep this going for longer, or the whole situation altogether. Either way, he was over it. He was so completely over all of it.
"But wait, what about all those compliments and nice things you said to me?!" May demanded, her brain seeming to finally process what was going on.
"I only did that to gain your trust," Harley retorted. "And you swallowed it all hook, line and sinker."
May's fists balled by her side, and her body began to shake slightly. The tremors rocked her to her very core, the unshed tears slowly returning to her eyes. But they had a new emotion behind them. May was angry. May was completely and undeniably pissed off.
Finally…but also, too late.
"But…that's just…so rotten!" May yelled.
Her scream echoed off the walls in the room and everyone grew silent. All the coordinators in the room turned their attention away from the appeals on screen and focused on the fight breaking out in the middle of the room.
May looked up at the boy before her with so much aggravation in her eyes, but Harley just shrugged it off.
"Ugh, please, cry me a river!" Harley shouted right back, bending over and sticking his face in her face. "It's your own fault, anyway, May. Never trust anyone!"
Well, Harley wasn't wrong. Drew may have stayed silent for the last few moments of the exchange, but he was paying a lot of attention to everything said. And Drew had made it as far as he had by not trusting anyone, and making his own way.
Still, this was May; a girl with a bottomless supply of hope for the world and all those in it. She always wanted to believe in the best in people. And that much optimism ended up costing her so much.
His words shook May. Drew watched as she shrunk back away from Harley, her eyes shining brighter as the tears threatened to finally spill over.
"I still don't understand why you did it…" she almost whispered.
"I did it to get revenge against you," Harley admitted.
Revenge? What on earth could May have possible done to merit the need for revenge?
May looked just as lost as Drew felt.
"FOR THE TIME YOU BEAT ME IN THE PURIKA COMPETITION!" Harley suddenly screeched.
This had to be a joke. Drew could not believe this Grand Festival was real anymore. All of this pain and all of this loss was caused because the guy couldn't handle a loss.
Drew just stood there, taking in the absurdity of it all.
"But I beat you fair and square!" May pointed out, clearly just as shocked. "Why would you want revenge for that?"
"You say it was fair because you won it!" Harley combatted.
This can't be happening. This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen.
"But you won't be winning today!" Harley taunted.
This guy is literally fucking insane.
"Not with that score!" Harley finished.
May backed off again, at a loss for words. Harley took his opportunity to ditch.
"Move," Harley threw out, shoving May out of the way as he walked past.
On instinct, Drew reached out and steadied to catch her before she could trip over herself. He grabbed her waist and held her still until she regained her balace. May was too caught up in the heat of the moment to notice, and Drew took his hands back quickly and took a few steps back of his own. He crossed his arms over his chest and watched as Harley made his dramatic exit.
"Sorry," Harley threw carelessly over his shoulder with a sarcastic wave. "Got things to do, places to be!"
"What a creep," May muttered to herself, then raised her volume. "AND YOU DRESS WEIRD!"
It was a desperate swing and they both knew it. It was bad enough for May that Harley got the last word, and she felt so defeated, she needed to have at least one advantage.
Meanwhile, Drew kept his eyes on Harley until he was out of sight. He felt an array of negative emotions swirling within him. And they were aimed everywhere.
He hated Harley for causing all this havoc at what was supposed to be the best few days of his life. He hated May for falling for the lies so easily, for taking so long to realize it all and for not correcting Harley when he called Drew May's boyfriend (though he realized he hadn't corrected Harley when he called May Drew's girlfriend, earlier). Above all, he hated himself for getting in too deep, for not doing more to stop it and for getting so distracted during his Grand Festival.
He needed to scream. He needed to punch something. He needed to set something on fire. He needed to forget all of these emotions, because they were so messy and complicated, and things had been so much simpler in his life before he met this girl.
He wished he'd never met her.
He wished he'd never met May.
"He was right about one thing though, you have to admit," Drew said calmly; a tone that completely betrayed how wrecked he was inside.
Somewhere in the background of all the chaos, he could here the backstage manager calling out the names of the next few coordinators who needed to go line up.
May turned and looked at him, a sense of loss on her face.
Her eyes told him that she was sorry for not hearing him out. Sorry for not believing him since the first day there. Sorry for not knowing better. Sorry for not being able to understand it was all fake. Sorry for being so damn optimistic.
Sorry for being herself.
"You shouldn't have trusted him."
"How could I know?!" she begged.
It was like she could tell Drew was done. It was like she knew she had no friends in the Grand Festival anymore. And she didn't want to be alone.
The manager was still calling names out, and he knew any second, he was going to hear his own.
May just looked at him, so depressed. Drew knew in the context of her words, and in the depths of her eyes, she was begging him to stay.
It only made him angrier.
"Stop listening to advice from other people!" he snapped at her. "Just trust in your Pokémon and do what you know in your heart is right."
May flinched away from him. He stared at her with all the intensity he could gather.
"Number 62: Drew Hayden."
Without another word, Drew Hayden turned and walked away from her, because he was done playing this game. He had a Grand Festival to focus on, and he vowed all his attention there on out would stay on the competition at hand.
After all, contest first, feelings second.
But, in that moment, Drew had convinced himself there were no feelings left.
He swore he could hear his own heartbeat.
And it wasn't just because of the adrenaline of the fight he'd just had backstage.
Over the thousands of deafening cheers and the echoes they produced inside of that huge stadium, he swore he could hear every single pump his heart performed. And he could feel the blood flowing in his veins. And he could eel the earth turning beneath his feet.
All of it; he swore he could feel all of it.
He swore he had never felt more alive.
His name had been called, just as it had at every other contest. He entered the stage from the side hall, just as he always had: slowly and poised. And he took his place on the stage, same as he always did.
Only this time, his body felt electric and he more ready to get his performance on than he ever had been before.
This moment – the moment he took his place at the heart of the Grand Festival's main arena – was what he'd always dreamed of and what he'd been working towards for years (well, this and of course being handed the ribbon cup, which would come later).
"Masquerain, let's go!"
"Excuse me, oh pardon me, sorry, excuse me…"
May made her way to the middle of section G, where her family and friends were watching the competition. After Drew had left her backstage, she didn't want to stay there. She was hyperaware that it was probably her last few moments in the back stage area of the Grand Festival, but she just couldn't find it in herself to remain there, around all the other coordinators who were smarter and better than she was.
There was also the possibility of seeing Harley again, or facing the disappointment from Drew when he returned from his turn. It was overwhelming, and she couldn't face it. She just wanted her real friends, her little brother and her mom. So she left.
When she finally sat down beside them, they had all tried to cheer her up.
"You and Skitty were awesome, May!" Ash had commented.
"You really found a way to pull it all together in the end," Brock congratulated her.
"Either way, May, we're all proud of ya!" Max assured her.
But she knew that they knew she was basically done. With a score as low as she'd received, and only 32 coordinators moving on, May's Grand Festival run had most definitely come to a close. It felt like a stab in the heart.
She quietly thanked her friends, gave them a weak smile and hurried to take the open seat next to her mother. Caroline, meanwhile, just grabbed May's hand and squeezed it tightly.
When Drew calmly walked onto the stage, smiling confidently and slightly raising his hand to the crowd. And May felt sadness in her heart that she didn't quite understand.
She looked onto the face of this boy, whom she'd known since her first day of coordinating, who'd insulted her, and who'd made her feel inferior almost every time they'd met.
Almost.
There were times when it wasn't bad with Drew. He could definitely be confusing, but not always bad. There was the roses he gave her, which she never really understood the meaning behind, but always appreciated nonetheless. And they were always the deepest red and thorn less; they were perfect, just like he seemed to be.
And of course, there was their time spent on Mirage Island. He kept her alive from the first minute they were placed in danger. She gave everything she had to save him, and he turned around and did the same for her when she was taken.
This boy, walking on stage and ready to begin…he was an enigma. He was stubborn and critical and harsh and way too cocky. But he was also caring and charming and all around sweet when he wanted to be.
In the beginning, May wasn't sure what to think of him. And at that moment, she still wasn't. All she was certain of was that she felt a sense of loss, like he wasn't going to be in her life anymore. Not after everything that had happened.
With the way she had acted during the contest, and the terrible rookie mistakes she had made, why would Drew ever want to associate with someone as low as her? He was a contest god, destined to accomplish great things. She was nowhere near his level, and severely doubted she ever could be.
But…was it really about her?
"Hidden power!" Drew commanded, with total authority and absolute certainty.
Masquerain summoned dozens of white glowing orbs. The balls of light competed against the sun, and the combined light sources made Masquerain's wings glow in a rainbow fashion May didn't even know was possible. The appeal was showcasing just how beautiful Masquerain really was.
May's eyes went wide, and something clicked in her head. The point that Drew had been trying to teach her all along.
No one in the stadium was watching Drew. All eyes were on his Masquerain, and that brilliant display of power it was giving off.
Coordinating wasn't about her own time in the spotlight. As a coordinator, May's only role was to show off how incredible her Pokémon were. That was what Drew did, and that was the key to his success. He was a professional at displaying to the world who his Pokémon were, what they could do and how well they could do it.
And as that rainbow light faded, May's eyes slowly fell back to Drew, who clearly made sure to stand behind his Pokémon.
That was it; that's what Pokémon coordinating was, at its purest core.
It was the Pokémon.
No amount of compliments May could receive about herself would ever matter. It mattered what people would say about her team. Finding a way to bring out her Pokémon's inner beauty and showing that on a stage was what she needed to accomplish.
Drew raised his hand and opened his fist; clearly the sign Masquerain had been waiting for. The bug Pokémon released its hidden power, the orbs all exploding and creating a shower of sparkles that spread throughout the massive stadium.
"Great job! Now let's show them bubble!"
Masquerain complied, fluttering low to the ground and dispersing a trail bubbles everywhere it went. Before May knew it, the entire floor of the arena was covering in the clear bubbles.
Her mother and her companions beside her were all in awe, as she was as well, but May stayed quiet. All of the revelations happening in her head were a bit overwhelming.
She realized she was capable of this level of showmanship. She realized she could achieve this much art with her Pokémon. If only she had listened to Drew's advice earlier. If only she had known Harley was after petty revenge.
"Silver wind!"
May twitched when she heard him call for silver wind; a move she thought of as her own.
And she watched as Drew pulled it off even better than she ever could have, because it wasn't his, but his Pokémon's. Masquerain rippled off bands of glowing silver, sending the army of bubbles marching across the entire arena just as the fragments of hidden power had done. The powerful blast slammed into the ground a few feet in front of where Drew was standing, but he didn't even flinch as he trusted his Pokémon completely.
The combination of shimmering specks, bubbles and silver wind's light caused the bubbles to shine like diamonds as they flew throughout and out of the stadium.
It was a sight beyond compare. It was the most beautiful appeal May had ever seen.
And it was eye-opening to her.
She, along with everyone else, rose to his or her feet. Though while everyone screamed and cheered, she remained wordless.
In that moment, she was sure she wasn't going to advance, but she was sure she needed to show Drew she understood what he'd been saying all along.
She couldn't let him walk out of her life.
She needed him more than she ever realized.
A perfect score.
With the way his Masquerain had executed every attack perfectly, he wasn't surprised to see the 100 light up the scoreboard. But he felt happier than he ever had.
Drew was the first coordinator to ever score a 100 in a Grand Festival appeal.
He bowed a few times to the crowd, thanking them silently for their applause.
His Masquerain landed gently on his shoulder, and not even Drew Hayden could contain his excitement.
"You did it, Masquerain," he whispered rapidly to his partner as the crowd screamed. "You were beyond perfect. I would have given you a 101, but being the first Pokémon to ever score top marks in a Grand Festival? You deserve this, buddy. I'm so proud of you."
Masquerain chirped happily and cuddled into the side of Drew's face, and Drew just laughed and waved to the crowd as he exited the stage.
"Whatever Pokéblock you want tonight, it's yours," he promised his Pokémon before returning it to his Pokémon.
Drew made his way back to the waiting room floating on cloud nine. He kept his face composed as he walked past all of the other coordinators, looking at him in fear or knowing there was no way they were going to win because he was there.
At the back of the room stood a lone, empty bench, and Drew claimed it for himself. He sat down slowly, and exhaled for what felt like the first time in days.
He hadn't thought of May once since he walked away from her.
It was such a relief.
Not even a full 10 minutes after Drew had become the first coordinator to score a 100 in a Grand Festival, the coordinator Robert had achieved the same feat.
Drew had felt so great for such a short period of time, that when he watched Robert's performance, he bit the inside of his cheek.
This was not over. Not by a long shot.
The names of 32 advancing coordinators were about to be revealed. Then, the battle rounds would commence. Drew would have to make it through several of those coordinators to get to his ribbon cup. And watching Robert's performance, Drew had a very strong sense that he and Robert were going to face off again.
Robert was the first one to defeat Drew in a contest this season. In this exact same city, this powerhouse coordinator had come out of nowhere and taken Drew's first ribbon away from him.
But that was months ago; a full season ago; a lifetime ago.
Drew and his Pokémon had only grown since the loss. He and his team were ready for the rematch.
Drew and his Pokémon were ready for the Ribbon Cup.
"Now let's see who is going through and who is not!"
Everyone in the waiting room (minus Drew) tensed at Vivian's announcement. May squeezed her mother's hand more tightly, feeling cold in the hot summer sun. Harley, who had since left the stadium and was drinking a soda in the café down the block paused in his sipping.
"On the big board, the following 32 coordinators have made it and will compete on the second stage! Good luck to you all and congratulations to the next round of winners."
One by one, the faces of the top 32 appeared.
Drew felt a little anxiety with the fact that Robert's face appeared number one before his own, but reassured himself that they were tied, having scored the same amount of points. There were some gasps going around the waiting room, but mostly silence.
Out in the crowd, May kept her hands clasped tightly, praying to Arceus that her face would pop up. There were a few comments thrown around from the audience around her, mostly about coordinators people were happy to see advance, as their appeals had been marvelous. Harley's face popped up on the list and May shivered, but there had been no doubt he was going to advance with his score of 89.
The rows slowly filled up with the faces of the top scorers, and May's small bit of hope was fading away to nothing as the last row of faces began to appear.
Then, a miracle: at number 32, her own picture appeared. She blinked a few times, thinking her eyes were playing tricks on her, but as her friends jumped to their feet and cheered, it dawned on May that she had made it. She had somehow, actually made it.
Despite what happened, May was moving on to the battle rounds.
"I'M IN!" she squealed, tears streaming down her face as her friends and mother enveloped her in a crushing, congratulatory hug.
"Congratulations!" her mother kissed her forehead and hugged her just a little bit tighter than everyone else.
"You did it; awesome!" Max cheered.
"Yeah, now just remember to stay focused!" Ash reminded her.
"Pika pika!" Pikachu smiled from Ash's lap.
"You'll be great!" Brock agreed.
"Thanks, you guys," May whispered, then turned back to look at her face on the board. "I'm not gonna let this chance to go waste!"
Diet soda sprayed all over the TV screen.
With the appearance of May's face on the small screen at his table, Harley was thrown into an outrage.
"WHAT?!" he shrieked. "HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?! HOW?!"
Harley threw money down on the table and exited immediately, furious at the fact that somehow, May had gotten through.
Drew had mixed feelings about May's advancement.
He had previously decided that he was done with her, but apparently the universe wasn't done with sticking her in his life. Sticking her where she didn't belong.
May did not deserve to go on. Drew knew that she was hoping to go on, but if it were up to him, he probably wouldn't have put her face on that board.
Well, sometimes things didn't happen the way that they should. She'd be knocked out in the battle rounds before she met him on the stage.
May was freaking out again.
Not because she'd actually made it, but because she was going to battle Harley in the first round battle.
She had to have the worst luck in the world. Running into him and letting him cause all the trouble he had already caused was bad enough. But now she was going to have to battle him and beat him to keep advancing.
Having battled him before, May knew Harley was a tough opponent. And he'd no doubt only gotten better since she defeated him in Purika Town.
But she wouldn't let him shake her. Not again. He'd caused her enough grief and May knew better now.
She would not let him win. Not again.
It was bright and early in Slateport City…4:37 a.m. to be exact.
May's Pokémon were all dozing peacefully in her dorm room. She was wide awake on her bed, though. She'd been tossing and turning all night, barely getting any sleep. A million thoughts raged in her mind like a warm of angry Beedrill.
She was nervous, excited, angry and scared all at once.
She would be the first one to acknowledge that her making it into the second round was nothing short of a miracle, but having to face Harley first thing in the morning was something she was both and fearful excited about.
Harley clearly wanted her out of the way. He went above and beyond to try to get her eliminated, but she'd managed to squeeze by. And that definitely infuriated him. So there was little to no doubt that he was going to give her the match of her life the next morning.
On top of that, May hardly had any experience in double battles. Outside of the practice she'd had with Harley the day before, she really didn't know how she could coordinate two Pokémon at the same time.
She stopped herself. She needed to breathe.
Her lack of confidence in herself and her Pokémon was what got her into trouble in the first place.
If she was going to beat Harley (which she already had in the past), she needed to do exactly what Drew had told her to. Believe in herself, and above all, believe in her team. To make the calls she knew was right.
Drew…
She wondered what he was doing at that moment – probably sleeping like normal people were. But she wondered what he thought when he saw that she had made it through to the next round, or if he'd even noticed at all.
The boy had scored a perfect 100; she doubted he'd even wasted his time noticing that she had advanced.
Somehow, she had to prove to him she was better than she had been.
She now knew it was about her Pokémon, but something inside told her this went beyond them.
Something whispered to her that Drew was somehow at the heart of this.
May vs. Harley.
It was a match he honestly didn't see coming.
Well, he didn't even see her getting through coming, but this matchup seemed like it was destined to happen.
When the matchup first appeared on the screen, he felt himself gasp.
If Drew was being honest, he really wanted to be the one to battle Harley in the first round. Not for revenge or anything of that sort; May had made her choices and needed to deal with the consequences on her own. But Drew definitely wanted to be the one to teach Harley what true, honest coordinating was. And what it looked like when a coordinator relied on his Pokémon's talent rather than cheap tricks and cruel manipulation.
But then again, maybe it needed to be May. Maybe she deserved to be the one to take Harley down.
She had done it once and she could do it again.
If Harley actually did come out on top of May in this battle, Drew knew it would only be a matter of time before they met in a battle of their own.
Either way, one strange fact persisted.
Drew knew he'd be cheering for May.
Something he thought he wasn't going to do again.
It was sinfully early by the time May decided sleep wasn't going to happen and she rolled out of bed in the morning.
The night before, she had decided that she was going to use Bulbsaur and Beautifly in her first battle. Maybe getting a little last minute practice with the concept of double battling would benefit her. She would take any advantage she could have.
Still, getting up at 5:45 a.m. wasn't something May was used to, and she decided coffee was definitely going to be needed to get her through the morning (and probably most of the day).
Not a big coffee drinker, May had a few caffeinated coffees she could tolerate. The secret was making sure the coffee didn't actually taste like coffee.
The cafeteria downstairs had coffee available 24/7 to coordinators, and May made her way down the stairs while tying her bandana securely in place.
As expected, the lobby was completely empty. The sun had barely begun to peak out over the horizon, after all. If it wasn't for the fact that her only other option was to lay awake and torture herself with her rampant thoughts, May would have curled up back in bed and shut the world out for a few more hours. Her battle wasn't scheduled until 10:30 a.m.
She was confident the cafeteria was going to be empty, too, so she strolled in slowly, stretching her arms above her head and trying to mentally convince herself this being awake so early thing was a good idea.
She wasn't paying attention at all when she crashed…into a table.
Chairs and saltshakers went spilling over and she grabbed for the corner of the surface to steady herself. She wobbled over and barely made it without falling over herself, and was thankful that she hadn't fallen flat on her face. How would it look to go into the Grand Festival's third day with a black eye from the dorm building's cafeteria? How would she have even explained that?
She sighed; she really was the only human who could trip over flat surfaces.
Only when she was upright and stable did she noticed that he of all people was watching her. Her face lit up and felt hotter than Combusken's fire spin.
Emerald eyes were locked on her shaky frame as she slowly rose and tried to maintain whatever dignity she had left.
He hadn't said a word; just quietly studied her to make sure she wasn't hurt from her stumble and slowly began stirring his coffee again when she more or less seemed okay.
Drew had gotten up early with the same intentions that May had; some last minute training. But Drew had always been an early riser, and never had pictured May to be one as well. So when she first walked into the cafeteria, he was more or less surprised. Most people weren't up and around before 6 a.m.
Then he noticed her rubbing her eyes and barely paying attention, like she was still half asleep and not totally functional yet. He saw that she had yet to notice him, and followed her trail as she walked straight into a table and tipped over the chairs in her path. He hadn't laughed, though. Most people might have found it funny; Drew Hayden wasn't most people.
May also stayed completely silent as she rearranged the chairs she'd toppled over and stood the saltshaker back up correctly. Part of her wanted to turn and walk out. The other part of her wanted to brush it off and show him she was tougher than he thought she was.
Why oh why did the day have to start out like this?
Finally, after an endless walk of shame, she made it over to the coffee bar, where she kept her eyes focused solely on the coffee pot she was reaching for.
"You're up early," he surprised her by saying.
Drew even surprised himself with the comment. He had no intention of talking to her…and yet it would have felt unnatural had he not said a word to her.
After all, he was the one who had made the coffee, and it was entirely too hot to drink. He might as well try to be casual while he waited for his drink to cool down.
"I- yeah, so are you," she said back, a little hesitant.
"I'm always up early," he clarified.
"I figured," May attempted. "You seem like a person who'd be up before the sun rises."
"And you don't," he said. "What are you doing?"
"I couldn't really sleep," she admitted. "Figured I might as well get up and go practice a little before my battle."
"Your battle against Harley," he pointed out.
May pursed her lips while reaching for the sugar.
"Yeah," was all she said.
Drew watched her for a moment; she was giving off a weird vibe. He had seen May nervous before, but this was something different. She wasn't nervous about the contest or the battle; he could read that much off her body language alone. But the way she seemed to keep a careful distance from him; the way she reached for the sugar packets farther away from her on her right just so she wouldn't have to reach closer to him on the left…
She was nervous to be near him.
And he sighed. He really shouldn't have cared as much. He told himself he shouldn't have cared as much. Yet, it bothered him. For whatever reason, it bothered him.
"Eh, you can take him," Drew said, backing away and pulling out a chair at one of the tables.
He took a seat, though it was not what he'd originally intended. He only wanted to grab a coffee and go, but something kept him there.
May watched him take a seat and looked at the empty one across from him, then back to him. She was silently checking if it was okay, to which he just rolled his eyes and took a sip of his drink. She smiled lightly, grabbed another handful of creamers and sugar packets and made her way to sit at the same table.
May began assembling her array of additives and pouring them into her cup one at a time, stirring, and repeating. She used every single packet that she'd grabbed before she finally tried a single, small sip, and grabbed for two more packets in the middle of the table.
Drew almost scoffed; she could have very well been Solidad's long lost sister with the amount of doctoring she did to her coffee.
"You know, that much sugar isn't good for you," Drew threw out, taking another sip.
"Yeah, well, I don't know how you can enjoy…black coffee," she said, peaking up into his cup and refocusing on her own. "It's so bitter and it doesn't taste good."
"I guess to each their own," he commented. "I disagree with your choices but…do what you want, Maple."
"I will," said suddenly, looking up to him with something unsettling in her eyes; something serious and burning.
He gulped quietly.
"I am gonna do what I think is right from now on, Drew," she told him honestly. "I won't let anyone tell me what to do and I'll believe in…my ability to make drinkable coffee."
He stared at her for a moment, understanding her main point. She didn't need to say that she was done with Harley out loud for him to know.
"That's good," he said. "Even if your coffee isn't."
"You probably just haven't tried it," she smiled a little, stuck out her tongue at him and took a sip.
He nodded, and checked his watch for the time.
It was just past six, and he needed to get up and outside. By the end of the day, he was going to be holding a ribbon cup.
May seemed to be serious enough in what she was saying, but he wondered if she would actually pull it off. Words and actions were two very separate things, both miles apart. And with May…well, he just never knew how things would turn out.
"Well, I'm out," he said, standing slowly and pushing his chair in. "Good luck in your battles today, assuming there's more than one."
"Yeah, you too," she bid him, as she remained seated and watched him start to walk away.
"Hey, May?" he paused at the door.
She looked up to him, and their eyes met.
"There better be more than one."
With that, the door swished behind him, and he made his way out into the woods behind the arena for some last minute training.
Five minutes, double Pokémon per trainer, one winner.
That was how battle rounds in the Grand Festival worked. A coordinator had to show that they were capable of guiding two Pokémon gracefully through a battle at the same time better than everyone else to earn the title of Top Coordinator.
So far that morning, three battles had taken place.
Three intense battles, that sent three people forward and three people packing. The herd was thinning, and as the day went on, the coordinating season was drawing to a close and getting closer to its champion. Of course there was speculation that Drew or Robert was going to take it all, but there was always the potential for a wild card.
Every remaining coordinator stayed backstage, watching the battles on the screen, not daring to miss a single second of their potential opponents' strategies and Pokémon. At this point in the game, every move was critical.
And May was hyperaware of just how much was on the line when she first stepped up to her side of the stage, facing Harley down for the first time since he's walked out on her.
His smile was dark and intimidating, but May used all her power to glare right back at him, telling him she wasn't backing down.
Meanwhile, Drew sat as close to the monitor as possible, his eyes locked on the screen. His concentration was so great, the room could have been on fire and he wouldn't have noticed. He had been waiting for this battle all night. He wanted to watch May wipe that smile off of Harley's face.
"Bulbasaur, Beautifly, take the stage!" May called out her Pokémon, both emerging from their Pokéballs with fierce expressions.
May must have given them a major pep talk earlier that morning, because both of those Pokémon looked very ready to get the battle underway. May, on the other hand, looked more like herself than she had all Festival long. That famous fire was burning in her eyes, and she looked like she was twitching for the buzzer to ring off.
Out came Harley's Cacturne and Banette, and before anyone knew it, the heated battle was underway.
Harley hadn't let two seconds fall off the close before he called for his Banette to use screech; a whail so painfully loud, it threw off May, her Pokémon and almost the whole stadium. Drew could even hear the loud noises leaking through the walls of the waiting room. Being in the direct path as May was, Drew could only imagine how miserable it must have been.
With her team partially immobilized, Harley went for a combination.
Just as relentless as it had been in his first appeal, Harley sowed off just how powerful his Cacturne's bullet seed was. The seeds pelted Bulbasaur and Beautifly, and May's points began to fall.
May needed a moment to collect herself, then had her Bulbasaur fire off a vine whip which Cacturne and Banette could not avoid. Still on a rush, May ordered for her signature silver wind, which landed a direct blow thanks to her vine whip. Just like he had done to her, May took out a chunk of Harley's points with her clever combination.
But May wasn't done just yet; Bulbasaur tossed its captives in the air and launched off another silver wind. The gusts from Beautifly's silver wind spun her opponents around even faster, dazing Harley's Pokémon in the process. It was a great twist of irony to see that the very move Harley tried to use against May was now working so harshly against him.
But the battle was far from over.
May foolishly assumed she could pull off the same combination twice, and Harley took the opportunity to shut off Bulbasaur's vine whip with his Banette's torment attack. Bulbasaur shyly retreated from the ghost Pokémon's harassment, and May found herself momentarily at a loss for a new strategy.
And Harley dove right back on the offensive.
A pin missile attack was heading straight for May's team, when May cleverly coordinated a quick escape for her two Pokémon. Bulbasaur hopped onto Beautifly's back, and the butterfly Pokémon flew up with ease, demonstrating how strong she was. The pin missiles clearly missed their targets, but the will-o-wisp launched right after didn't. Bulbasaur and Beautifly were hit midair, and May's points lowered again.
Just when it seemed things were going south, May used her Bulbasaur's petal dance as a defense. Hundreds of pink petals caught the blue flames in mid air and caused them to burst, raining shimmering bits of petals all around the arena. The audience cheered as the battle continued to heat up.
Meanwhile, Drew was noticing something backstage. He'd been watching May every time he saw her on screen, and he realized this fight wasn't about revenge for her. She clearly could care less about getting back at Harley for the shit he tried to pull.
To her, this battle was a redemption, not for her, but for her Pokémon. Every move she pulled wasn't to strike her opponent down, but rather, she was showing off her Pokémon in the ways she hadn't before; in the ways a coordinator would. The way she had used silver wind to combat Harley was the icing on the cake.
And Drew smirked, because even though the fight wasn't over, it was clear May was going to come out on top. She was finally fighting in the ways that she should have, and it excited him. Suddenly all of those visions of he and her on that main stage, battling it out came back, all the stronger.
She closed out the heated battle with an unexpected combination of silver wind and razor leaf; two attacks that complimented each other in multiple ways. The forces of her final combination proved to be too much, and Harley's Pokémon went down as did the remainder of his points.
And Harley was absolutely losing it.
In the middle of the stage and in front of all of those people, Harley was losing it. He was going crazy, shouting things in disbelief that he'd lost the match he was so sure he would win.
And Drew was extremely satisfied.
Though initially, he'd wanted to battle Harley he realized it was May who needed to put him in his place. Drew could be offended about the insults Harley had done to coordinating, but May was the one who needed to prove she wouldn't be a victim.
And prove that, she had.
Harley angrily exited the arena , fuming; most of the coordinators could hear his grunts and complaints as he marched to the waiting area to gather his things.
Suddenly, in that moment, Drew just happened to need to walk down the hall. No particular destination, as his battle wasn't for another six matches, but a stroll down the hall seemed like a nice thing to take at that time. Really, he just wanted to see Harley's disappointment firsthand.
Harley was scowling as he walked by.
"I'm sure that you're happy I lost, aren't you?" Harley demanded, making Drew stop in his tracks.
There were a thousand things Drew could have said in that moment to answer that question. There were dozens of explicative that could have rolled off of his tongue and he could have put Harley in his place with every single one of them, but Drew knew Harley and the type of person he was. He thrived off the energy of others. He found joy in getting a rise out of people's emotions. And Drew knew exactly how to burn Harley more than anyone else could in those moments.
"Not true," Drew said calmly. "May was just better today."
It worked. Harley was grinding his teeth so hard that Drew could hear it with his back turned and a few feet away.
"Well at least I can be honest about it," Harley spit back, seething. "I will enjoy watching both of you lose."
With that final remark, Harley continued walking on, ignoring every person's existence he passed by. Drew turned back to look at him for a second before laughing to himself.
That guy is a real piece of work.
His first battle felt as though it was too easy.
And his second as well.
Drew made quick work of both his opponents in both rounds. Roselia's magical leaf and Masquerain's bubble beam just seemed to be unstoppable.
In his first match, Drew went up against a girl named Haley. She must have been intimidated to face him, because she seemed to have almost ne nerve throughout the battle. She made questionable calls and often tried to regroup several times throughout the battle, but couldn't keep herself composed long enough.
It was a shame, too, because with her Elekid and Camerupt, she should have had a huge advantage. Drew had been looking forward to a great battle when she first summoned her Pokémon, but his Masquerain's bubble beam made quick work of "Camy," as she called her volcano Pokémon. And Elekid stood no chance against Roselia's magical leaf defense.
Before three minutes had fallen, she'd lost all her points, her Pokémon had been knocked out, and Drew hadn't sustained so much as a single scratch. The battle felt over before it had begun.
The second match was a bit more promising.
Drew faced off against a coordinator named Steven, who seemed to not be bothered by Drew or his reputation.
Drew was also impressed by Steven's Koffing and Lunatone, both whom had been raised very well. Drew stuck with Roselia and Masquerain, waiting for the perfect match to debut his secret weapon.
In the beginning, Steven started hard, using a thick smoke screen from his Koffing to hide his Pokémon and land a series of sneak attacks thanks to Lunatone's cosmic power.
But Steven's problem was that he was going for the knock-out rather than the showmanship. Cosmic power was way more appealing at night or in the dark, anyway.
Drew made quick work of the Lunatone after he used Roselia's petal dance to purify the air. A few well-timed magical leaf attacks was all it took to defeat the gas-type Pokémon.
Lunatone took a little more work, but Drew eventually broke it down when Masquerain combined ice beam with bubble beam. The combinations Drew pulled kept his points intact, and depleted his opponents. The match ended with 48 seconds left; Drew was moving on to the quarterfinals.
Amazingly, so was May.
She barely managed to defeat her opponent, Anthony.
His Pinsir and Swalot turned out to be an admirable team, and May struggled to counter Swalot's amazing swallow ability. The poison Pokémon's expandable body made sure it took very little damage with every strike May's Pokémon made, and worked to also shield Anthony's Pinsir.
The problem with Anothy's strategy was, nothing his Pokémon did was very graceful. Swallow was a smart technique to use in regular battles, but in contest battles, it looked a bit more off-putting. May, meanwhile, had managed to keep her team's movements steady and appealing, thus resulting in the conservation of her points.
It was how she won the match, and how her name was put into the pool of quarterfinalists. The same pool that Drew's name had gone into just one match before her own.
Watching May battle throughout the competition so far with new resolve had slowly restored Drew's faith in her. Every move she called, every second of the battle, she showed just how much she had improved, not just over the course of the weekend, but over the course of the season. She was taking everything she learned so far and applying it with her ability to think on her feet. An effective combination for sure.
As he watched all her matches from backstage, he realized she now knew what he had been telling her. She knew that this was about her Pokémon, and she was fighting with only them in mind.
She was finally acting like the great coordinator she could be.
And it excited him to see her perform.
May's battle signified the end of the second battle round, and given an hour long intermission, coordinators were allowed to run to the Pokémon centers to prepare their teams for the next upcoming battles.
But Drew stayed behind; he knew his team was still ready to go having taken almost no damage in their first two battles, and he wanted to know who he'd be up against in the third round as soon as possible.
Somehow, though, he knew it would be her. Like they were fated to meet on that battlefield in the third round. Like the universe wanted them to face off in the Grand Festival, and the time had finally come.
When their faces lit up on the same bracket, his heart did a flip.
The battle he'd wanted for so long; the battle he'd dreamed about…it was finally about to go down.
He was finally going to meet his rival on the main stage in the Grand Festival.
They kept their eyes locked on each other as they entered the arena from opposite sides.
Emerald vs. sapphire; just the intensity of their eyes alone was a great battle. And it was a private moment, only between them. It was electric, and it gave Drew a rush as he slowly kept his pace.
Drew kept a small, relaxed smile on his face and waved to some of the members of the crowd, while May looked somewhat tense for the upcoming battle, but she still smiled and waved to the crowd, too.
His thoughts were racing just as much as his pulse was. She looked so beautiful, so in her element as she entered the arena across from him. What Pokémon would she use? What strategies would she come up with to counter his own? Was she as on edge as he was? Did she realize just how important this moment was to him? Was it important to her?
Her thoughts were also running rampant as she drew closer and closer to the stage; closer and closer to him. She was so nervous to battle against him, despite how well she'd done so far in the battle rounds. But this was Drew; she knew he already had every attack planned out. Every twist and turn their battle would take, Drew had probably already envisioned it, because he was that good. He was a coordinator who was very capable of taking home the ribbon cup. And she knew that. Still, she would give it her all, no matter what; she just prayed she didn't look as nervous as she felt, throwing waves and smiles to the crowd.
After what felt like an eternity for both of them, they'd taken their places on each respective side of the battlefield. He looked over to her, and noticed May looked like she was anticipating the fight of her life. He was going to give her that, and more. And he hoped she'd do the same for him.
All of the months of meeting at random intervals in different cities; every time he'd watched her perform and improve bit by bit; and they day they'd held on to each other for dear life on that Arceus-forsaken island…it all led them to this. This one, powerful moment, where they both stood across from each other, ready to take each other on.
"The next battle on the third stage will be Drew vs. May!" Vivian called out to the crowd.
The deafening cheers that radiated from the stands seemed almost mute to Drew as he looked May directly in her eyes.
I'm ready; are you, May?
Bring it on, Drew.
He smirked, flipped his fair, and waited for the call.
Vivian nodded to both of them, signaling that it was time to release their Pokémon. Drew held his breath and watched with excited eyes to see who she'd summon.
"Let's go!" she cheered. "Skitty, Combusken, take the stage!"
Her faithful starter and rambunctious kitten Pokémon appeared before her, look at him with expressions just as fired up as hers had been. It was an intriguing team up for him, and he knew he didn't have time to ponder what she potentially had planned.
"Roselia, Flygon, let's go!" he called as soon as her team was set.
There was his first partner, along with his newest one. The two of them had trained long and hard hours to prepare for this battle. His Flygon basked in the sun as it appeared in its first time on a stage. He looked back to Drew for a second and screeched, indicating he was excited for his first battle ever. Drew smirked back at him and nodded, before his eyes fell back on May.
She was surprised, to say the least. The look of shock and trepidation on her face was exactly what he'd pictured every time he'd imagined this moment.
The crowd responded equally as surprised with random gasps and roars of excitement. The famous Drew Hayden's newest Pokémon, competing for the first time, had the whole stadium going insane.
"Looks like you brought long a new friend, huh?" May asked, her eyes traveling up and down every inch of Drew's newest ally.
"I raised this Flygon specifically for this Festival and this battle, May," he surprised himself by admitting.
He hadn't ever planned on revealing that to anyone, but especially not her. Her eyes went a little wide at his confession, but instead of feeling any for of regret, he found he felt totally comfortable, because talking to her was easy. Talking to her had always been easy. And he appreciated the mix of shock and appreciation her eyes held for a few moments.
"You get to face it in its very first appearance," he informed her.
Her surprise faded, and it was slowly replaced by a look of flattery and determination.
"Then I guess we better make it a pretty memorable one, right" she smiled back at him.
He smirked and nodded, and she returned the gesture. They were ready.
"Here we go! Let the battle begin!"
They were so in sync, with their Pokémon and with each other.
For every attack, there was a counter, and another counter, and another. The whole battle felt like a dance; a perfectly choreographed dance.
And it was thrilling beyond compare, for both of them.
The second the battle began, Drew called out for the first attack. His Roselia shot out that petal dance the duo was so widely known for, and he sent Flygon barreling towards May's Pokémon in the midst of it. It was a powerful charge with a delicate backdrop; a combination that had the audience on their feet before the battle had even truly begun.
With a quick command of assist, and a lucky pull of fire spin, Roselia's petals were soon all aflame, but the attack did little to stop Flygon as he continued his speedy dash towards Combusken and Skitty.
"Combusken, sky uppercut!"
"Dodge it, now!"
Both Pokémon followed their orders, but Flygon clearly had greater speed than Combusken. It easily swooshed out of the way, and Combusken's momentum failed to accomplish anything except crush Skitty on the ground. Both of May's Pokémon stayed on the ground for a few moments, dazed from their impact.
"Get up!" May pleaded. "Get up, guys!"
Her eyes rose, trying to get sight of Flygon who'd soared in the path of the sun, as Drew had trained him to do. Keeping low visibility gave them a huge advantage, and May had to shield her eyes from the harsh light.
It was all part of Drew's plan, and it all flowed so smoothly. Drew was a master of open stage formats in battles; he used the entire arena and the elements to aid his Pokémon and gain an advantage. Being able to utilize the sun with his new flying type was just one of the many strategies he'd come up with for this battle.
It also helped that he knew just how May would react to the assault. He made sure the obvious choice for Combusken would be a sky uppercut, because he knew his Flygon could dodge. And he'd ripped a huge chunk of May's points without even landing a hit.
So far, so good.
Just because May's Pokémon needed a moment to collect themselves didn't mean he would stop, either. The battle wasn't on hold, and he wouldn't hold back.
"Flygon, flamethrower! And Roselia, use your solar beam!"
Two devastating attacks, with added power thanks to the harsh sunlight; Drew was even a little surprised at just how much power he Pokémon produced. Flygon's flamethrower was so hot, he swore the crowd could feel it, and Roselia's solar beam fired off instantly, thanks to the outdoor arena.
The two powerful attacks were racing with blinding speed towards May's Pokémon, still down on the ground after a heavy collision with each other. There was no time to dodge, and she knew it.
He had this in the bag.
But then…
"Fire spin, Combusken!" she cried.
Combusken more than complied, summoning his own powerful vortex of fire. And amazingly, it halted both of Drew's attacks before they could land their hits. He watched with wide eyes as May didn't relent.
"That's it; now drive it backwards!" she continued.
Her Pokémon managed to push back the powerful double attack, most incredibly by itself. It used its own flames to dispel both the attacks, and broke the remaining flames surrounding both himself and May's Skitty. It finished its defense in a pose that said it was ready to continue, daring Drew to make the next move.
When the attacks settled down, Drew's Pokémon landed back by his side, and Drew's points plummeted from not completing the massive double attack. May surged back into the lead, looking positively rapturous.
And he smiled; he was proud of her.
"Well done, May," he whispered, mostly to himself.
But the battle wasn't over; not by a long shot.
This time, May took the lead, calling for Combusken to repeat its fire spin. Another powerful tornado of fire shot towards his team, but Drew had planned for this long before the battle had begun.
"Flygon, use sandstorm, now!"
A vortex of sand and dust swept up by Flygon's powerful wings stopped Combusken's attack. When May saw that wasn't going to work, she tried a new approach.
"Skitty, use blizzard of Roselia!"
"Dodge that and climb on Flygon!"
His famous flower-powered starter leapt out of the way of the oncoming icy winds and landed atop Flygon's back. With two missed attack in a row, and Drew's quick thinking and stylish dodges, May's points took a huge hit, and fell drastically.
Still riding a top Flygon, Roselia made sure to stay off the ground and out of any direct harm's way.
May realized that the only way she could win this was to stop Drew's ground and dragon type. It was a feat that would take a miracle, as Vivian had just called the one-minute warning.
Drew's Pokémon seemed to want to capitalize on the lack of time left, because they made sure to stay high up where May's Pokémon couldn't touch them.
Desperate times called for desperate measures.
"Skitty, use assist!"
It was May's only shot and she knew it. She had put her faith in her Skitty's random ability before, and it had paid off. Now she would have to trust in it again. True, it was a gamble, but Drew had been teaching her all weekend that she needed to have faith in her partners. And it was a leap of faith for sure, but if anything, it was better than shooting off a bunch of attacks and missing the target, depleting her points down to nothing.
She had faith; she was confident her Skitty could produce something useful.
And it did: Bulbasaur's vine whip shot out from Skitty's paw.
With the incoming vines, Drew's Pokémon separated instantly, both pushing off of each other to give one another additional momentum to move out of the way. With the two of them effectively separated, May knew it was time to act, while the entire stadium wrongfully assumed May's attack had failed. Even Drew figured the attack was a loss, but May had an idea before Drew could truly process what was happening.
Perfect.
"Vine whip? Good, that'll work!"
Wait, what?
"Combusken, use jump!"
What is she doing?
"Now, Skitty, give Combusken some help!"
What is this?
Combusken perched itself on Skitty's vine, and braced itself. On May's mark, Skitty launched Combusken high up into the air, giving it the height it needed to get up to Flygon.
Then, Drew understood.
"Okay, I get it now," Drew said out loud. "Magical leaf defense, Roselia!"
Roselia's glowing leaves shot towards the airborne Combusken, but May was already anticipating the move.
"Now, Skitty, blizzard!" she commanded.
He could have kicked himself for forgetting May's other Pokémon so suddenly, and watched in horror as his Flygon's only defense was stopped. Combusken was in the clear to land a direct hit, and not even the great Drew Hayden could counter quickly enough.
"Flygon, flamethrower, now!" he called desperately.
"Just what I was hoping you'd do!" May informed him.
He took a step back and watched as May's Combusken aimed directly for the flames hurdling towards it.
"Combusken, dive right inside those flames!" she commanded.
Combusken, a fire type, would take little to no damage with a direct hit from a fire-based move. Drew really did want to kick himself then, as he realized there was no stopping what was coming next.
May's Combusken took the flamethrower directly, and lost no speed as it continued its charge up directly at Flygon.
"Now, Combusken, sky uppercut!" May shouted, throwing in a corny hand gesture he couldn't find it in himself to insult in the moment.
Combusken's fist connected with Flygon's face, and Drew's powerhouse Pokémon was sent falling to the ground by May's own powerhouse Pokémon.
May's Pokémon landed gracefully in front of her and she praised them, while Drew's Pokémon took their places before him silently.
"Awesome job, you two!" May told her team.
A quick check of the scoreboard showed Drew he still had a strong lead over May, and there was only 30 seconds left in the match.
"It's all right, guys, we got this," Drew reassured them confidently. "Just keep it up and we'll win for sure!"
He took a second to look back over to May, and she looked right back at him. Same as before the match had begun, they both held each other's eyes and they were both smiling.
Everything about this battle was what Drew had been wanting for so long; the fast-paced, never-relenting action of it all. He could feel his fingers twitching with the anticipation of her next move. He could feel himself breathing hard as his heart rate increased from the adrenaline.
And he hoped she felt the same way. The battle had been rousing, stirring, moving intoxicating, dynamic, thrilling and just a plethora of great things. It was everything a battle between rivals should have been.
An incredible battle between two heated rivals.
"Combusken, quick attack!" May exclaimed. "Skitty, tackle!"
He snapped out of his thoughts when he realized May was making a move. He assumed she would be shooting for the win by knocking out his two Pokémon with so little time left. A bold strategy for sure, but it wasn't going to work.
When the two oncoming Pokémon were in close enough range, Drew fired off his defense.
"Use stun spore, Roselia!"
The paralyzing power produced from Roselia's buds proved to be just what Drew needed. Once in the air, it stopped Combusken and Skitty almost instantly. May looked instantly disappointed in herself, like she didn't believe how she didn't remember Roselia's stunning attack.
"Oh no…" she gasped.
But Drew wasn't stopping there; with just a few seconds left on the clock, he wanted the final blow to be as flashy as possible.
"Flygon, now, hit 'em with steel wing!" he ordered.
Lightning fast, Drew's Flygon barrel rolled towards its targets, landing two direct hits at the same time with each wing. May's Pokémon were sent flying back to her.
They fell at her feet just as the clock ran out.
May had lost all of her points, while Drew had maintained close to half of his own.
Vivian announced Drew as the winner and the crowd roared. He assumed that the battle had been just as enjoyable to watch just much as it had been to be a part of.
He smirked and raised a fist in victory to the audience, both he and his Pokémon thanking them.
And then his eyes fell to his opponent, who looked so lost and dejected, like the weight of it all was crashing down on her. She was done; her first Grand Festival had ended, and she was no longer competing for the Ribbon Cup she had so desperately fought for.
The thousands of fans screaming his name probably didn't help, either. She had been so determined, and it was the most progress she'd ever made in a fight against him. She even held the lead for a few precious moments, and he knew it must have been huge for her.
But still, looking back at her season, and how far she had come, he couldn't help but be impressed by all her progress. That first contest he'd ever seen her compete in, right here in this exact city, it was one disaster after another. And the first time he'd battled her on a contest stage, she hadn't even landed one hit on him. Looking up at the scoreboard now, she'd managed to take more than half of his points away; she had proved to be the most fierce opponent he'd faced in the Grand Festival so far.
And he was so thankful to have faced the challenge she brought to him.
She made the competition more fun than it had been, and he admired her efforts far more than any other coordinator he'd ever faced.
She'd come so far, and seeing her so down on herself and so damn sad on the stage across from him when she didn't deserve to feel that way.
When she looked up to him, he smiled at her, and shook his head, hoping she'd understand that she didn't need to feel depressed by her loss. She made it farther than even he'd expected her to in her first Grand Festival. The quarterfinals were absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.
Slowly, her eyes morphed into something; maybe understanding, and her mouth twisted up into a small smile.
She fell to her knees, next to her downcast Pokémon. They seemed upset, like they had failed, and like they had let their trainer down in the worst way possible. May just reached out for them, and pulled them in close. She whispered something to them that Drew couldn't hear, but whatever she said, it seemed to do little to improve their mood.
It was a touching exchange, and it didn't go unnoticed by the crowd. They suddenly started to chant her name, and her eyes sparkled.
"Now there's something you don't see everyday," Vivian smiled brightly. "The crowd is cheering and showing its appreciation for May and the terrific performance she put on."
As the shock finally seemed to dissipate from her expression, May and her two Pokémon stood up and bowed in respect while smiling bigger and brighter than Drew had ever seen.
After a few minutes, the contest officials realized the excitement wasn't going to die down any time soon, and May and Drew were ushered off stage back to their exits on opposite sides of the arena.
It was a shame; he had been hoping to have a word or two with her.
He had wanted to congratulate her on her tough fought battle and an impressive Grand Festival run despite her shaky start. But he still had two battles to go himself before he could get his ribbon cup, and he figured it might be better to focus on that.
If only he could calm himself down from the adrenaline rush still rushing through him.
He only hoped his final two battles would be as glorious.
There were 30 seconds left in the Grand Festival.
There were 30 seconds until someone would be crowned Top Coordinator and would be declared the winner of the Ribbon Cup.
And with just 30 seconds left, Drew realized there was no chance in hell he was going to emerge victorious.
He stared his final opponent, Robert, down from his position on the stage, his battered Flygon and Masquerain barely able to stand before him. Robert's Milotic and Claydol, meanwhile, seemed hardly phased by the grueling battle that had been ensuing.
Well, it seemed grueling, but perhaps that was just from Drew's side of things.
Robert's Pokémon were impossibly tough; aside from his elegance and constant poise, he seemed more like a trainer who would fit well in the Elite Four rather than in contests. Drew could not recall ever having faced such strong Pokémon in any contest battle, ever. He doubted even Solidad could stand a chance against him.
When Drew and Robert had taken the stage for their final battle, Drew had realized he'd hardly been paying any attention to Robert throughout the whole Festival. He'd been so preoccupied by other things, he failed to study his last opponent enough, despite having lost to him in the first contest of the season.
Though Drew had gotten tougher since that loss, so had Robert. Robert had grown indescribably stronger. So much stronger that it was almost frightening.
Again, why wasn't this guy in the Elite Four…?
Drew had hoped that having two flying Pokémon would help him avoid any big hits Robert might dish out, but his hypothesis had proved incorrect. Miltoic and Claydol's attacks were too mighty and too fast for even Flygon and his speed to dodge.
Honestly, the battle was over before it had even begun, and Drew was coming to realize that as the clock hit 25 seconds.
But he had still given it his all, because his Pokémon deserved his very best as they had been giving theirs.
It wasn't enough, though. He wasn't enough. He wasn't going to be Hoenn's next Top Coordinator. The realization hit him like a hyper punch to the stomach.
During the battle, Drew had pulled off some minor hits and counters, and he had taken away a few of Robert's points. The dent in his own points, though, was too grave. Robert had been ruthless since the countdown started and he instantly called for his Milotic to use aqua ring and Claydol to combine it with ancient power.
There were infinite ways Drew could have started this battle off differently.
Maybe he should have used Roselia instead of Flygon. That would have given him two type advantages over Robert's Pokémon instead of just one, not that even having one seemed to be working at all. But Flygon had performed so beautifully and with such enthusiasm in its debut fight against May. The Pokémon had more than proved to Drew that he was made for contest battles. Drew figured Flygon would have been a safe bet. But it wasn't Flygon's fault they were losing.
Maybe if he had tried different combinations. Bubble beam and sandstorm seemed like they could have had a lot of potential working together. But Robert's Pokémon made dodging any attack seem easy, no matter how fast or hard they came in at him.
And there was the fact that Robert's Pokémon had excellent counter moves to stop Drew's hits in their tracks. But it wasn't Drew's combination attempts that were at fault for their losing status.
Overall, in the heat of the moment, when the clock hit 21 seconds, Drew remembered Solidad's advice to him way before the start of the competition. Her words seemed so far away, like she had said them a lifetime ago. And now, here, in the final, fatal seconds, they rang louder in Drew's mind than they had when she'd first said them.
"There's always someone better."
Drew was not that someone better in this match.
"Twister, Milotic, go!" Robert ordered easily.
The commanding water type used its tail to whip up a vortex heading straight for Drew's exhausted Pokémon.
And all Drew felt like he could do was watch: watch the end as it came spiraling towards them.
"Here it comes," he whispered to his team and mostly to himself.
She found the battle hard to watch, because she couldn't even imagine how awful it must have been for him.
After her loss, May had packed her things in the locker room and retreated to the company of her friends and family. Though she really hadn't been feeling too down after her loss – at least, not as much as she expected to be – she appreciated their warm smiles and genuine compliments upon finding them in their seats.
"You were terrific, May," Max had been the first to notice her and say. "Really, you've never been better. Way to go!"
"I agree, you were outstanding," Brock added. "It really shows how well you've raised your Pokémon."
"That was one of the most incredible battles I've ever seen!" Ash praised. "You got us all so fired up just from watching!"
"Pika Pika!" Pikachu commented.
"Really, May, I have never been more proud of you, dear," Caroline cooed. "I'm sure your father would say the same thing if he were here. And no matter what, you're a winner to us."
"Thanks everyone, it means so much to me," she told them. "My Pokémon really gave it their all and that's all I could ask for."
She took her place beside her mother again and stayed with them to watch the remaining battles.
The coordinator, Robert, was absolutely terrifying. May was almost glad she didn't have to face him. After watching him defeat one of the quarterfinalists with such relative ease, she realized if anyone was going to stop Drew from winning the Grand Festival, it could be him.
Drew's other battle seemed to go fairly easy as well. Somehow, it wasn't nearly as intense as her own battle with him. Drew's Roselia and Masquerain seemed to make quick work of the opposing Granbull and Vileplume.
And the look Drew had held in his eyes when he finally advanced to the final stage was one that seemed unstoppable. He was so close to winning it all, and he knew he was. It was like nothing could bring him down off the high he was on.
Until he came face to face with Robert, and the final match had begun.
May didn't think it was even possible for Drew to get as flustered as he seemed throughout the match. He struggled to compete with Robert's two Pokémon, who seemed to be an unstoppable amount of force and strength.
It was hard to watch Drew's Pokémon take such forceful hits, and even harder to watch as the light slowly faded from Drew's eyes as the battle went on.
She was cheering for him.
Every time he managed a counter or landed a hit, May would shout words of encouragement out to him, even though there was no way he could hear her.
"Yeah, that's the way!"
"Great job, Masquerain!"
"You're doing just fine!"
There were tons of fans rooting for Drew all throughout the plaza, but she hoped her words meant something a little bit more.
Especially since they seemed to be ineffective.
No matter what she yelled, or no matter what Drew tried, it all seemed like it was in vain. Drew kept losing points, and Robert maintained almost complete control of the entire battle.
And she didn't know why, but her heart was utterly broken for Drew when the clock hit its final 30-second mark.
Claydol came out of nowhere.
Well, it came out of Milotic's twister attack, but it surprised Drew and his team at how quickly it vanished and reappeared right before them.
"LOOK OUT!" Drew screamed.
Drew had never screamed in a contest before. He had never lost his composure before. And he had never, ever imagined that this would be how it would have ended.
"Now hyper beam."
Robert's Claydol shot off two separate but equally deadly hyper beams. Both hit Masquerain and Flygon straight on, and Robert didn't stop with that.
"Milotic, iron tail."
With that final blow, Drew's Pokémon fell to his feet, both fainted.
"Flygon, no…" he barely spoke. "Masquerain…"
At that moment, the clock his zero, as did Drew's points.
It was all over, Hoenn's contest circuit had its newest champion, and it wasn't him.
Drew did not win the Grand Festival.
His eyes slowly lifted off the ground, up to the video board displaying a picture that was not his own, but rather his opponent's, with the word "winner" pasted underneath it. He had to blink a few times, as if he might see his own face up there. But it never came.
Vivian announced that Robert had won, and Drew looked all around him slightly dazed. Robert and his Pokémon all bowed in sync, and all Drew could do was look on.
"That was good…" he admitted to himself, at a loss for anything else to say.
He silently returned his defeated Pokémon, met and shook Robert's hand in the middle of the stage, bowed to Robert's Pokémon, and made his ay back to the locker room.
"The presentation of the Ribbon Cup will follow shortly pending a short intermission!" Vivian declared. "But let's hear it one more time for these two incredible coordinators and the fabulous battle they just put on!"
He knew the crowd was cheering. Drew knew that the sound in the stadium was louder than it had been all Festival long. But he could barely hear anything. All the noise around him sounded muffled, like he was hearing it underwater.
And the normally confident Drew Hayden kept his eyes down on the ground the walk back to the locker room.
He had no idea both May and Robert had been watching him the whole time.
He called out Roselia first.
The second he got to the privacy of the empty backstage area, he pulled out her Pokéball and released her.
She appeared with a huge smile on her face, her eyes wide and looking all around. But after a few seconds, her face began to fall into confusion, and she finally turned to face Drew who was looking back at her calmly, no emotions on her face. She stared at him for a moment, unsure of what was happening.
"Roselia?"
What's wrong?
He smiled sadly at her then, leaning forward on the bench and propping his elbows on his knees.
"I'm sorry, Roselia…" he began. "But we didn't win."
She looked up to him even more confused. Her head tilted and she placed on of her hands over his own.
"Masquerain and Flygon gave it their best, and you should have seen them," he continued, not really looking at his first partner as she looked at him. "They were great, Roselia; they were so great. They were the best I've ever seen them. I just wasn't good enough this round."
She still said nothing and he sighed, leaning back and pulling his hands back, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his other two Pokéballs. Out came a beaten up Flygon and Masqeurain, and Roselia quickly looked over to them and asked them if they were all right in their own language. Both of the Pokémon agreed that they were fine, but seemed utterly depressed.
"Listen, guys," Drew addressed all three of them, and they looked back to him. "It's not your fault, it's mine, and I'm honestly so proud of all of you for getting us this far. You're the best partners I could ever ask to work with, and I hope you're not all too disappointed with me."
With his statement, all his Pokémon began to protest. They all swarmed him up close, telling him that he hadn't failed them in any possible way. Flygon was especially persistent, feeling majorly responsible for the way his trainer was feeling. Drew had trusted him in the final battle and he hadn't worked hard enough. They shouldn't have lost to that other coordinator, no matter how tough he and his Pokémon were; they should have been better.
A few moments passed, and Drew's Pokémon all stopped talking and looked away from. He quirked an eyebrow and followed their gazes to the very coordinator who had just beaten him, watching him and his Pokémon.
"I'm sorry to interrupt," Robert greeted the four pairs of eyes staring at him.
Drew's Pokémon stayed quiet, watching him as he advanced in the room, and Drew rose to meet him as he approached.
"It's okay," he said, not understanding why Robert was there.
"I just wanted to come and congratulate you on your many victories in this Festival," Robert clarified with a smile, sensing Drew's confusion. "You and you're Pokémon performed brilliantly from start to finish, and I was worried when I found out I'd be facing you in the final match."
Drew raised his eyebrows.
"You were worried about battling me?" Drew asked.
"Yes, quite so," Robert laughed a little. "As I said, you and your Pokémon were formidable throughout the whole competition. And our battle was exhilarating. I wanted to thank you that, and, if I may…"
Robert then turned to Drew's Pokémon.
"Flygon, Masquerain, you were both wonderful! Your combinations and attacks were beautiful and you're both truly spectacular performers. And you must be Drew's Roselia…I watched you in the earlier portions on the contest, and I must say, you are the definition of elegance. Your petal dance is without compare."
Drew appreciated his words for his Pokémon, and they seemed to have the same reaction. Roselia nodded respectfully and Masquerain chirped happily. Flygon seemed a bit more reserved, but didn't appear to have any negative reactions. Then again, Drew wouldn't have expected any different; if any of his Pokémon were going to take the loss hardest, it would have surely been Flygon.
"Young man, you have built quite the team here," Robert said, turning back to Drew. "You must be very proud."
"I am, thank you," Drew accepted, nodding.
"It's almost time to go back out there," Robert mentioned. "But I wanted to be sure to tell you that you are one of the most talented young coordinators I have ever had the privilege of facing. I thought so during our first battle so many months ago and I still think so to this day. If anything, I believe it more than ever, now.
"I have always followed your career, and admired the work that you've done. Believe it or not, some of your previous performances have actually inspired some of the combinations of my own. Your creativity astounds me, and at such a young age! But I digress…
"My point in saying all this is, you are very gifted, and I hope you recognize that and continue to work hard. I have no doubts that you will become one of the greatest coordinators in all of history. Please promise me today's loss will not deter you one bit from continuing on the path you and your Pokémon are traversing."
"No, of course not," Drew reassured him. "We've come too close to give up now. And there's always next season, right?"
"Yes, next season is one I'm looking forward to greatly," Robert nodded.
Again, Drew became confused.
"But Robert, you just won," he said. "And you have plans to compete next season, too?"
"Absolutely!" Robert laughed. "I plan on continuing until I'm too old to do this anymore!"
"So…what are your plans for after this?" Drew questioned.
"Well, of course I'm needed at the final ceremony, but afterwards, I plan on going off with my Pokémon and training a bit."
"Wow," Drew pursed his lips. "That's pretty intense."
"Indeed, but it's why we love what we do; the thrill of it all, and the nonstop nature of coordinating," Robert responded. "Our art is ever-evolving, and in my experience, coordinators must always be prepared for new curves."
"Yeah," Drew nodded. "Yeah."
Robert smiled brightly at Drew, and looked back to the door.
"I imagine we'll need to go back out there now," he informed Drew. "But I meant what I said, and I hope you take it to heart. You are meant for this lifestyle; it suits you well, and I shall enjoy continuing to follow your career as you flourish."
"Thank you, Robert," Drew said. "The same goes for you. So I guess I'll see you in Hoenn's circuit again next year?"
"Unfortunately, I have decided to go to the Sinnoh region," Robert shrugged. "I think my Pokémon and I would fair well in super contests; don't you?"
Drew laughed, remembering Solidad's disdain for the super contests while she had traveled in the region. Robert definitely seemed like he would enjoy them more. It was an interesting concept, though: competing in a new region. Drew had only ever known the Hoenn Contest Circuit.
"Absolutely," Drew nodded, still smiling.
"Regardless, I wish you all the luck in the world during the next season, Drew Hayden," Robert said. "I expect many great things from you. I do suppose we need to go now, though."
"Probably," Drew nodded, recalling his Pokémon.
The two coordinators walked back down the hall, heading towards the main stage where Robert would be officially introduced as a Top Coordinator and given his Ribbon Cup.
"I suspect we'll battle again someday, should our journeys meet," Robert commented.
"I hope you know that next time, I plan on beating you," Drew said back.
"I don't doubt it one bit."
"Drew!"
With the massive sea of coordinators on stage, he was surprised she managed to find him. Then again, Solidad had once told him his hair stuck out in a crowd. Maybe that was the trick.
"Hey, Drew!"
He turned his head to see May running towards him, her hand waving at him high in the air. Her friend – the coordinator he recognized as Anthony from earlier in the competition – was running behind her.
"There you are," she said with excited eyes as she finally got to him, huffing a little. "I was worried I'd miss you!"
"Here I am," he said, smirking. "Lucky you."
She smirked right back at him, not afraid to meet him in the eyes. The two stayed looking at each other wordlessly for a few moments, waiting for the other to say something and worried about interrupting.
Anthony finally caught up to the two coordinators and noticed the moment they were having.
He wordlessly stepped to the side, not wanting to interrupt.
Confetti rained down, loud victory music blared and Vivian led the closing ceremony.
Robert gratefully accepted the Ribbon Cup from Mr. Contesta, and made a small speech about how honored he was to have been a part of such an amazing season in Hoenn.
May hadn't said anything before the closing proceedings began, and the two had to break their wordless gaze at each other to pay attention to the end of the Grand Festival. Both had been smiling when they turned away, and May was blushing intensely.
At one point, she leaned over to him.
"I'm sorry you didn't win, Drew," she told him sweetly.
He turned back over to look at her one more time. Her eyes were shining and she had the most sincere smile he'd ever seen on any person ever. So many emotions were displayed on her face. But above all, he could see that she was so proud of him for everything he'd accomplished.
And she meant it all, from the bottom of her heart, and she didn't need to say anything. He knew she wanted the best for him.
And he knew that he wanted the best for her.
He broke into a gentle smile facing her and nodded.
"I guess there's always someone better," he shrugged, quoting Solidad.
"And one day, I'll be that someone better," May elbowed him playfully. "Next time we battle, I'll win."
"Hah, right."
He wouldn't dare be caught at the after party; not when he had other, important matters.
Like training for next season.
He was worried when he first pitched the idea to his team.
"Guys, how about some training?" he had asked the second the stepped out of the stadium.
To his elation, his Pokémon were more than happy to get back to work right away. When he asked who wanted to go first, Flygon instantly raised a wing.
That was how they found themselves on the beach under the moonlight, hours after they'd begun. The sounds of the after party drifted in the air behind him as he called for Masquerain to attempt another dodge.
Roselia fired off her magical leaf towards the water-bug Pokémon up in the air, and Masqeurain managed to glide through the air smoothly before a few leaves managed to clip its wings. Masquerain went down into the sand, and shook itself off quickly.
"Masquerain, with your speed, you should have been able to dodge," he said easily, to let his Pokémon know he wasn't disappointed.
With the long day his Pokémon had experienced, he was just thankful they were still willing to train.
"Drew?" a voice questioned.
With all the noise in the background, he was surprised he didn't recognize her sooner, but he wasn't surprised at all when he saw May walking towards him. She had a habit of finding him when he wasn't paying attention.
"What are you doing out here?" she asked when she approached him.
"Training, of course," he informed her as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
She seemed a bit taken back; after all, the season was done. Shouldn't he be taking a break from it all?
"But, how come you're not at the party?" she pushed further.
"Robert's off training, too," Drew offered. "That's why he's not at the party, either."
His answer effectively stunned her. She gasped and looked like she didn't believe him. As if he'd ever not be serious about anything contest-related. Drew hardly joked, but he definitely never joked about contests.
"Why's Robert practicing?" she inquired. "He just won first place."
"That's right, he did, and how do you suppose he got good enough to win?" Drew challenged. "You always have to keep trying to get better or someone will pass you by."
He looked at her then, implying that his statement, and the reason he was out there, it was her. Drew knew May was constantly improving; she'd more than proved that over the course of the weekend, and especially during their battle. He refused to let her surpass him; he'd always work to stay one step ahead of her, and he hoped that she'd do the same for him.
Whether she got it or not, though, he couldn't tell. She seemed to be pondering his words, though, and in that moment that was good enough for him.
"I guess I never thought of that…" she admitted.
"I'm still determined to become a top coordinator someday," he suddenly said. "Hey, I'm already thinking about attacks I might want to use in next year's Festival."
She smiled then, and nodded slightly.
There, in the soft moonlight, she beamed for him. He could tell she wanted to see him achieve his dreams, and that she was also determined to stay a part of his journey as well. But there was more; he could also see the apologies in her eyes. She was sorry for all the drama she had caused over the weekend and she was grateful he was still by her side despite it all.
A soft breeze swept her hair out of her face, and he looked at her. The way her eyes shinned, it reminded him of the moments he'd first really looked at her, way back on Mirage Island. When he'd realized just how beautiful she was, both inside and out. There were so many things about this girl he was drawn to, from the way she was completely optimistic in the face of every adversary she faced to the way she put her heart and soul into competing.
His heart felt as though it was flips inside of his chest when he noticed just how close she was to him. His eyes, on their own accord, fell to her lips for a brief moment, but he forced them back up to her eyes.
"Wow," she told him. "That's good."
"I'm hoping to see you back here next year, too, May," he admitted, turning from her somewhat shyly.
She gasped softly at his confession; it had been one of the nicest moments they'd ever shared, and she hadn't expected it when she first approached him on the beach. Drew hadn't expected it to happen, either.
He always felt different when he was near her, in private, intimate moments like this. He felt warm and like it was safe to say anything and he didn't need to be afraid of her judgment. He respected her in the same ways he respected Solidad, but with May, there was just…something more. There were those feelings he still hadn't fully figured out the extent of.
But maybe then wasn't the best time. It was late, his Pokémon were likely exhausted, and Drew wasn't anywhere near prepared enough for whatever their conversation could morph into should it continue.
He felt the need to leave; a part of him wanted to stay, but he just wasn't ready. Not yet.
Still, he could honest as he walked away.
"You were good," he told her, walking down the beach towards his hotel. "Take care."
His two Pokémon followed him, Roselia looking up at him somewhat disappointed that he'd chosen that moment to end the conversation. He just smiled down at her and shook his head.
"It's late, guys," he said, knotting his fingers behind his head and looking up at the moon. "Let's turn it in and get right back to it first thing tomorrow morning. The season's a few months away, but it'll be here before you know it."
His Pokémon both agreed with him, even though Roselia refused to let it go. She looked back and saw May still watching them as they walked down the beach away from her.
Drew didn't turn around, but he swore he could feel her staring at him the whole time.
Even when he wasn't on the beach anymore and definitely far away from her, he swore he still felt like she was there.
It was late when he got back to his room.
He checked his PokéNav he'd left in the room to charge and the time read almost midnight. He also noticed he had several new messages that he would check after he was done with his nightly rituals. Placing the PokéNav back on the small table next to his bed, he made his way to the bathroom while Roselia and Masquerain settled themselves on their bed next to his own.
He left Flygon in his Pokéball for the night, not wanting to wake it up, as he was pretty confident Flygon had fallen asleep already.
Drew brought a fresh change of clothes into the bathroom and took a quick shower. Once his body felt clean, he could final feel his exhaustion catching up to him. He grabbed his toothbrush, mouthwash and dental floss out of his toiletry back and cleaned his teeth properly before deeming himself finally ready for bed.
Stepping out of the bathroom, he noticed the soft snores emanating from Roselia and Masquerain on their side of the room. He smiled softly to his two Pokémon, and wordlessly thanked them again for all their hard work at the Grand Festival.
They may not have won, but Robert's words of wisdom gave him a good feeling about the next season. He knew he and his Pokémon would work even harder together to take home the title, and he also knew they could only get better and better if they kept up their hard work.
He also looked forward to the day he'd compete against May again; how she would have grown and the new things she would come up with through her training. And he remembered how she'd looked just before he'd walked away from her. So delicate, her soft features hiding her inner passion and competitive nature that she could fire up when she needed to. She had never been more beautiful to him, and she had never been more inspiring.
At the end of the day, facing the loss was extremely tough, but with so much to look forward to, he found he wasn't too bothered by it.
Reaching over to the table lamp, he shut off the lights and tucked himself under the soft sheets of his temporary bed for the night. And he finally reached for his PokéNav and pulled up the messages he'd been ignoring.
They were mostly from Solidad, unsurprisingly. He also received a few notifications informing him his name was mentioned in news publications, but he promptly ignored those. He really hated media attention, good or bad.
The messages from Solidad were all short and seemingly ambiguous.
"I just got back."
"I'm super proud of you."
"You really were so great."
"I'm going to bed."
"Call me tomorrow, OK?"
Drew frowned at the messages. He'd been expecting Solidad to text him when she got back home to Kanto, but he had been expecting more than the short messages he'd received. None of her texts seemed to hold her always-peppy cheerfulness. It was strange to him, but it was probably just because she was tired from all the work she'd been doing at the Wallace Cup Convention.
And, she said he should call her the next day. He wanted to, and was going to for sure, because he had so much to tell her and so much to catch up on.
Tomorrow.
He'd call Solidad tomorrow.
