Mt. Moon– In which Drew see's May's Kanto debut and visits mysterious places in search of rare Pokémon.
Author's notes:
- So, I'm back. Hello all. On we go into the bulk of our Kanto adventures.
- A lot of people ask me what my favorite contestshipping stories are, and honestly, there's one story that I've read countless times over and over. Not only is it the best contestshipping story I've ever read, but it's honestly one of the best fanfictions I've ever read, period. It's called "Don't Take Forever" by GengarFamily. It follows May and Drew beyond Kanto, and we get to see them blossom together through Johto, Sinnoh and even back to Hoenn. It's honestly something I can't praise enough, and I implore you guys, PLEASE GO READ THAT STORY.
- I talk about ghost types and dark types in this chapter, so we'll just call this the "Halloween chapter."
- Mentions of the episode, "The Saffron Con."
- Second bullet point emphasizing the greatness of "Don't Take Forever" by GengarFamily.
Saffron City was known for holding an "open stage" for its contestants.
Every two weeks, when Saffron City would host a contest, they would open the stage to coordinators two days early. Contestants were given the opportunity to map out their appeals ahead of time. It was a huge help to most coordinators, because the stage in Saffron's contest hall wasn't like traditional stages. It was a small-scale arena, which meant coordinators had to plan their appeals to fit in a small-scale setting. It was a loop for those who were accustomed to the larger, more open stage formats.
Drew always liked watching Saffron City's contests. He was fascinated by the tiny arena. He even kept up with the Saffron contests in particular when he could during the Hoenn circuit. Seeing how contestants and their Pokémon had to adapt was always interesting. Some couldn't handle the changes, others thrived in it.
Assuming she'd taken his advice, Drew made his way to Saffron City to see if May would compete in the upcoming competition. He still didn't plan on competing, because he knew it would be her first contest in Kanto, and he didn't want her to get too fired up and nervous knowing she'd be facing him. She deserved to have a fair shot at her first ribbon, and a chance to adjust to the contest circuit in this new region. He wanted her to have that.
So as much as it killed him, with ideas flowing through his head of appeal combinations Masquerain could pull off in this small yet wonderful arena, he held off.
Besides, he always loved the chance to observe May. This seemed like the perfect opportunity.
She'd never straight up said she was going to Saffron City, and as he strolled into town the day before the contest, he wondered if she was actually there. If she wasn't, he would be disappointed, but at any rate, he could still watch the contest, so he was mostly fine with it.
And yet, the thought of him having traveled all the way there, just to have the opportunity to see her perform…
The whole Arcanine incident had thrown him off his game a bit, anyway. After being in Kanto for a few weeks, and discovering all the new Pokémon he had, he was more than ready to catch a new one for his team. That beautiful Arcanine had seemed so perfect, and he'd truly had his heart set on catching it, but after it was all said and done, he was fine without it. It just meant he had to look elsewhere, that was all.
Well, it turned out to be a little more complicated than that.
An Arcanine had seemed like such a natural fit for him. From the moment he'd laid his eyes on the Pokémon, he'd thought he was absolutely certain that the legendary Pokémon was what he wanted. Now, he was back to uncertainty. Arcanines were rare. Extremely rare. Solidad was amazed that he'd even seen one within his first few weeks in Kanto. She'd only seen one in her 19 years of life.
Encountering another one was a long shot. Maybe too long. Drew knew this, and as he ventured on towards Saffron City, he started to consider other possibilities. What Pokémon could he catch that would fit his team?
Drew had just over a week to wander before the contest in Saffron City, so he and Flygon had a few practice sessions of flying in short spurts throughout the region. Over time, he'd grown more comfortable gliding through the sky, and he allowed Flygon to carry him farther and farther with each passing day.
One day, they'd stopped over in Lavendar Town. Drew had heard stories of the proclaimed most haunted city in Kanto, and he wondered if maybe a ghost Pokémon would fit on his team. He'd need to see some up close to make the decision, but he didn't rule out the possibility.
For its creepy lure, Lavendar Town was actually surprisingly pleasant. They were ghost-obsessed for sure, and just from strolling down the streets, Drew could see it was the major point of the town's tourism industry. He didn't want to waste time with attractions, though. He was after the real stuff.
Drew was wondering down one street, trying to get a sense of direction, or find someone who could answer some questions for him when he heard someone shouting his name.
A high-pitched cry pierced the air around him, and Drew rolled his eyes and turned in the direction of the noise, planning to politely ask the person to stop.
A cold sweat dripped down his head when he saw who was calling out to him.
Harley.
Oh fuck no…
Drew's internal groan was cut short when, without warning, Harley grabbed him by the shoulders and squished him in an awkward hug.
"Oh, Drew, how great to see ya!" Harley cheered, shaking Drew a little bit.
Disgusted, Drew wiggled his way out of the hug and took a few steps back, all but glaring up at the coordinator who'd left a bad taste in his mouth more than a few times.
"What do you want, Harley?" Drew spit, folding his arms for good measure.
Drew wanted to be absolutely certain Harley knew just how disinterested in his entire existence Drew actually was. Harley put one hand on his hip and stood in front of him wearing a huge smile, not even phased.
"I just can't believe you're here in Kanto!" Harley smiled a huge, fake grin; Drew could see right through it. "Now I'm competing against another friend! Oh, how fun!"
"We're not friends," Drew deadpanned. "Not now, or ever."
"Oh, boohoo, you're not still upset about me messing with your girlfriend in Hoenn?" Harley rolled his eyes.
"Do you need something or can I go now?" Drew said, curtly.
In the back of his head, Drew realized he hadn't corrected Harley on the "girlfriend" statement, and this had been the second time he'd made that mistake, but Harley spoke again before he could amend it.
"Just wanted to say you're going down this season, grass head," Harley smirked, leaning in trying to intimidate Drew. "You might have done well in Hoenn, but you still lost, and here in Kanto, I'll be the one winning it all."
"Yeah, okay, sure," Drew sighed. "Are you done? I have more important things to do than to acknowledge that you exist."
"My, my; someone's touchy," Harley all but sang while leaning back. "I'm warning ya, shrimp. You better hope you don't run into me in a contest. Do you plan on competing in Saffron next week?"
"Not that it's any of your business where I go, but no, I won't be there to compete," Drew rolled his eyes. "I'll be sure to watch along, though; it'll be fun seeing May beat you again."
Harley stiffened slightly, and a dark look flashed in his eyes. But it passed as quickly as it came, and a sassy smirk was back on. If Drew had blinked, he would have missed the look entirely, and an uneasy feeling settled in the pit of his stomach. Drew knew Harley was smart enough to leave him alone, but May was a whole different story. He had messed with her mercilessly in the past, and Drew knew that wasn't going to stop this season, either. He'd have to watch this guy, not for himself, but for May.
"I had no idea little miss sunshine was even here in Kanto," Harley mused. "That makes it even better; I'll have fun squashing you both, then."
"If you can manage that without cheating, I'll be amazed," Drew shot out.
"Why, whatever do you mean, hon?" Harley asked innocently. "I can't believe you think that I would ever–"
"Cut the shit," Drew cut him off. "I saw what you did in Hoenn, and so did she. I don't know what your grudge is against her, and I don't care, but a real coordinator won't stoop as low as you do. Get yourself together and play fair this season, Harley. If you win, win because of your talent; not because you screwed someone else over."
Harley looked so uninterested in Drew's speech as he picked at his fingernails.
"Mhmm, sure thing, loser," Harley yawned. "I'd love to stay and chat with your boring self, but I've got a contest to get ready for. I'll give your girlfriend kisses for you as she's crying when I'm holding that ribbon."
Harley threw out a wink and peace sign for good measure, and Drew felt like he would be physically sick if he was forced to stay in this boy's presence any longer. Lucky for him, Harley turned on his heels.
"See ya, wouldn't wanna be ya!" Harley called out as he skipped away.
Drew stared after him until he was out of sight, and let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. Well, that had been an unpleasant discovery. To think, two days prior, he was elated to have discovered May was in Kanto as well. Now, he felt utterly disgusted with the knowledge that Harley, of all people, was there as well, and he seemed to have no intentions of changed his ways. Figured he would run into him here in Lavender Town, the creepiest town of all. It seemed fitting.
His bright mood had been effectively dampened for the morning, and he turned to continue his search for ghost Pokémon.
A local tour guide had offered him some solid advice, and Drew spent some time exploring the woods just outside of town. This small, mostly unknown forest was reportedly a common place for ghost Pokémon, and it was the better option of the two places he'd been pointed to. The other was a giant cemetery, and Arceus knew Drew wasn't going to spend hours wandering about in a Pokémon graveyard.
The forest was small, as promised, but it held the same spooky atmosphere that the town had. A light fog dusted the forest floor, and it seemed to be night because the over growth at the tops of the trees effectively cut almost all of the sunlight. White light bled through some holes in the foliage, but it wasn't enough to illuminate the woods. Had Drew not had Flygon right by his side, he might not have had the nerve to actually explore this place.
The two trudged on for about two hours. A few Ghastly and even a Haunter had appeared in the forest. Drew watched them from a distance with some fascination, as he'd never had the opportunity to study ghost Pokémon up close in the wild before. Hoenn had a well-known ghost Pokémon hub at Mt. Pyre, but again, he wasn't going to spend time in a cemetery. That was way too creepy and not his cup of coffee.
Drew and Flygon watched Pokémon hover by and disappear as they traversed on through the dark forest. Though incredible in their own right, Drew knew these ghost types didn't have a place on his team. They wouldn't exactly fit Drew's style. Or maybe he was remember the times he'd seen Harley's Banette perform in contests. Whatever it was, the idea of having a ghost type turned him off, and he and Flygon were flying back to his hotel in Fuchsia City just as the sun had barely begun to set.
The days leading up to Saffron's contest were shrinking, and Drew spent each day exploring exotic places and trying to get some sense of what he was looking for.
So the quest to find a new Pokémon continued. Painfully slowly.
He'd found himself entering the city limits of Saffron without being any closer to an answer, and Drew knew that it would turn into the same situation as it was with the Arcanine.
He'd know what he wanted when he saw it.
Drew just hoped luck would be on his side again, and soon.
A week flew by, as it often did in the contest season, and Drew found himself in the crowd of Saffron City's contest hall.
Lillian took the stage and waited for her queue to get the show started. Drew still wasn't used to seeing the flashy, more daring sister of the more-reserved Vivian that he'd come to know so well from Hoenn. He could see her foot tapping with nervous energy to get started. The judges had already been seated at their panel, and the audience cheered in anticipation for the coming show.
All things considered, Saffron City was a small-scale contest, and it was perfect for beginners. That was partially the reason why he had recommended this contest to May, as her first entry in the Kanto Circuit, and why he was fine with skipping it.
The lights suddenly blasted on, and the stage lit up, Lillian waving to the hundreds of people in the crowd.
"Welcome, everyone; it's show time!" Lillian greeted over the loudspeaker. "And welcome also to all of our coordinators and their Pokémon! The Saffron City Pokémon Contest on our all new stage is about to get underway! Get ready for a display of love and creativity!"
Everyone cheered, and Drew looked around. It was so much…less than what he was used to. The stadium was smaller and the crowd even more so. But it was nice. Somehow, this contest felt more intimate, and he was excited to actually be watching a contest live instead of watching the recap hours later when it went online. Contests were better this way.
"Only one contestant will take home this valuable prize: the Saffron ribbon!" Lillian explained, flashing the ribbon to the entire crowd. "Only truly amazing coordinators who win this ribbon will move on to hopefully win contests all across the region, and get the five badges necessary to have any chance of entering the Grand Festival! Alright then, let's get to the action, shall we?"
Lillian went on to start introducing the judges, all of whom Drew knew entirely too well at this point, so he let his mind wander.
With both May and Harley entered in the contest, and dozens of coordinators unknown to him, Drew found himself excited to get the show underway. The only way it could have been any better was if Solidad had been with him to critique. But maybe it was better that she wasn't there; after all, he hadn't told her that May was in the region to compete.
Ever since May had walked into his life, Solidad had always been intrigued about her. Almost to a point where Drew was embarrassed when May came up in their conversations, because Solidad always had some look in her eyes when the girl with the red bandana would come up. And Drew couldn't remember the last time they had chatted without Solidad asking how May was.
Either way, Solidad was going to know after today; she watched every contest, just like Drew did. Oh, the conversations this was going to spark…
"Now, let's get right to the first round!" Lillian went on. "In our opening round, contestants will showcase both coordinator and Pokémon technique and performance. Now is everyone ready?"
The crowd roared in response, sounding much more eager than before, and Lillian threw a thumbs up to them all.
"We sure have a great crowd here today!" she said. "Now, give it up for our first contestant! And, here is…Harley!"
Drew threw his head back and held back a groan, causing those around him to look at him. He brushed off their stares and focused back down at the stage just in time to see Harley smiling, waving and blowing kisses to everyone as he took his place. It was disgusting.
Then a terrible thought; was Harley here because Drew told him May was here? And there was no doubt in Drew's mind Harley probably went after May in some way, but was it all his fault?
Drew pursed his lips and glared down at the stage a little, that sinking feeling in his stomach still stuck there.
"Come on out, my cool Cacturne!" Harley summoned.
The cactus Pokémon soared out of the Pokéball and landed on the ground with a powerful thud. The Pokémon stood at the ready, and the audience around Drew leaned forward in suspense at the sight of a Hoenn-based Pokémon. Harley called for a cotton spore, and the crowd was all but entranced as Harley's Pokémon displayed its mastery of the move, keeping the puffs of cotton levitating slowly in the center of the stage.
The move was impressive enough on its own, and Drew was interested to see how Harley would follow it up. It amazed Drew that Harley felt he needed to cheat his ay through competitions. He truly was a talented coordinator, and if he'd worked on honing his gifts rather than trying to manipulate his way to victory, he'd be a lot better off.
Oddly enough, when Harley ordered a needle arm attack, his Pokémon stayed completely still. The whole arena, Drew included, watched carefully and confused. The strategy made sense; nothing riled up a contest crowd like suspense. It was a strategy Drew himself had used countless times.
Then suddenly, with a snap of Harley's fingers, Cacturne fired off the most impressive needle arm Drew had ever seen. Glowing spikes shot out of Cacturne's bodym impaling each and every floating cotton spore and holding it. Shining pillars of light stayed connected to Cacturne's body, and not a single spore was missed. The Pokémon itself locked itself into a fierce stance, and the whole stadium fell silent for a few seconds admiring the display.
It was obvious Harley had improved since Hoenn's circuit; just this appeal alone was much better than Drew had ever seen come out of the coordinator on stage. The crowd cheered crazily. Harley scored well, and Drew wondered about the coordinators back stage who'd watched.
But then he decided that it didn't matter.
Somehow he knew, May would be better.
Swift aerial aces, glittering stun spores mind bending levitations, dangerous vine whips.
Drew couldn't remember the last time he'd seen such an incredibly diverse display of Pokémon appeals in a first round. He and the audience marveled at the wonderful appeals that took over the stage for over an hour. From the amazing way a coordinator ordered his Raichu to bat around various spark attacks using a quick attack, to the miniscule Diglett that let off an earthquake attack that seemed impossible for something that size, Drew couldn't deny that he was tremendously impressed. For a contest so early in the season, there was some serious talent here.
Winning the Kanto region title wouldn't be easy – he never expected it to be – but he sure as hell wasn't expecting this level of talent and creativity so early in the season. The need to catch a new Pokémon to combat these skilled coordinators was biting at him all the harder.
Drew instantly recognized when the Jessie girl from Team Rocket showed up, and he sighed heavily when she continued her strange appeal strategy that he'd seen in every contest she'd entered. Summoning a Cacnea he knew belonged to her purple-haired partner, Drew took some small kind of comfort in the fact that at least in this appeal, she didn't seem like she was trying to cheat. In previous performances she'd been in, Drew watched her do everything from use machinery to change the color of her Pokémon's attacks to faking a Meowth using transform.
This time, she summoned the little spike ball Pokémon and…went in for a hug. Drew and the audience cringed as the two made contact, and there was no denying – especially from the look on her face – that is was painful. A bold move for sure, and while it wasn't exactly appealing, it was impressive. The whole stadium seemed to get sucked into the bizarre act.
But that apparently wasn't enough. Jessie called for the Cacnea to use pin missile…while she was still holding onto it. Drew gritted his teeth but looked on, somehow morbidly fascinated by the whole thing. Others around him couldn't bear to watch it and looked away, muttering comments on how insane this woman was.
Thankfully, Cacnea shot the pin missile attack upwards, and the glimmering spikes collided in the air to create a gorgeous fireworks display. Shattered remains of shining light refracted in rainbows and slowly rained down. The audience and the judges loved every second of it.
Jessie was almost too stunned to walk off stage, but eventually she stumbled down the steps and swayed into the back hall until she disappeared.
The appeals were all but done and only one coordinator remained.
Drew watched the entrance to the stage, anticipating her entrance. What Pokémon would she use? How would she enter? Which moves would she combine here on this small stage?
May finally appeared, and she slowly and gracefully strode to her place in the spotlight. She stood before the audience proudly and confidently. It was a good look for her; she was where she belonged.
There was no need to summon her Pokémon, as Squirtle had walked alongside her. Drew was intrigued that she went with her Pokémon. While they had battled well together back in the Viridian Forest against Team Rocket, was the small turtle Pokémon ready for the stage?
It didn't seem so.
May's tiny Squirtle was desperately looking around as the crowd cheered louder and louder. A close up shot on the big screen above told Drew this Pokémon was nervous, and Drew bit the inside of his cheek a little. He had flashbacks to May's performance in Rubello Town, when she'd pushed her Bulbasaur way past its comfort zone to compete.
Her Squirtle's eyes scanned the crowd frantically. Drew watched it sympathetically on the big screen above, and was worried this was going to be a repeat of the disaster back in Rubello Town. With Harley here, May was sure to be on edge.
Then, May surprised him.
She looked down to her Squirtle and muttered something to it, holding up another Pokéball in the process. Then, it clicked. She wasn't forcing Squirtle to compete; she was introducing it to contests with a firsthand experience. It was the way she should have approached the situation in Rubello Town.
She had learned from her mistakes and clearly moved past them. Drew beamed for her, and his chest felt warm as he watched her comfort her Pokémon. Something as simple as this wouldn't have mattered as much from any other coordinator, but the was May. May was special.
He was glad he was there to watch her compete.
"Combusken, take the stage!"
Drew felt his PokéNav buzz in his pocket, but he ignored it, already knowing who it was and why. He'd face the music later; right now, he just wanted to watch May's appeal.
May was no stranger to using props in her performances, and while Drew typically looked down on using trinkets to "enhance" an act, there was no way he could say May hadn't really thought this performance out.
She eagerly ripped off her signature bandana, and flung it into the air while calling for Combusken to use both fire spin and sky uppercut.
Drew took an extra second to examine May; he'd never seen her without her bandana on. It was the first time he'd noticed the little ponytail of hair she kept tucked underneath her bandana, and his brain pondered how long her hair was, or what it would look like if she wore it down, and how pretty she looked with or without her signature headwear.
But then he heard the cry of Combusken charging up his fire spin, and he immediately refocused on her Pokémon to watch it perform.
It was insanity. It made no sense. There was no logical way in hell that what she was attempting to do was possible. Drew could only watch in amazement with the rest of the crowd how her fire-type soared through the tornado of fire it created towards that bandana. Combusken began a series of furious sky uppercut strikes at the bandana, somehow folding it back into a perfect round shape.
With one last attack, Combusken sent May's neatly folded bandana hurdling back towards the stage. To the audience and his surprise, they saw May running back towards the bandana. She leapt into the air, her headgear falling perfectly into place atop her head.
Once she was reunited with her bandana, she and Combusken leapt into center stage, one in front of the other, each striking a final pose. May topped it all off with a "taa-daa," and everyone screamed in approval. It was an appeal unlike anything they'd ever seen.
"How long do you think it took them to do that?"
"I think I recognize her from the Hoenn Grand Festival!"
"That Combusken sure is something!"
These questions filled the air around Drew, and all he could do was smirk down at the stage, May beaming and waving at the audience before bowing and taking her exit.
This was only the first contest of the season, but she was performing better than he'd ever seen her.
Arceus, she was incredible.
Drew finally pulled his phone out of his pocket and opened the text he'd received.
It was a cluster of exclamation points from Solidad, with no words or anything. No doubt she'd been watching the contest from Celadon City, where she'd competed the day before.
Drew rolled his eyes and pocketed his PokéNav again, but he felt the corners of his mouth still turned up in a smile.
The infamous yellow card in a contest…
Drew had heard of this legendary call in a contest, but he hadn't ever actually seen one firsthand. And he couldn't stop the laughter that escaped his lips when both Jessie and Harley were hit with one.
They had been the first battle of the round, and it was hilarious enough that they'd been paired up against each other. And when the battle had begun…well, when it should have begun.
The strange match up started when Harley summoned his Ariados while Jessie called out her Wobbuffet. Jessie's strategy was as plain as day; everyone knew Wobbuffet could excel in repelling and countering attacks. The fact that she was just waiting for Harley to strike was so obvious, and no one knew it better than Harley himself.
Each side refused to attack, and the judges sat patiently annoyed. Lillian made the move to issue the yellow card.
In contests, yellow cards were extremely rare and almost never used. Being given a yellow card meant the judges would instantly cut your points in half. It was a near fatal blow in any contest, and coordinators lived in fear of being issued one.
Now, both competitors had their scores lowered without ever having made a move. It should have jump-started the battle, and it did…in a way.
Instead of fighting with their Pokémon, the two began hurling insults at each other. Drew watched just as dumbfounded as the rest of the audience. If he were a judge, he would have given them each a red card: an instant disqualification. This was the oddest contest he'd ever attended.
Finally, Harley made the first move. He called for a string shot, which actually in itself was brilliant. It wasn't an offensive attack, so when the Wobbuffet attempted to counter, nothing happened. Wobbuffett ended up tangled and covered in webs much to Jessie's horror.
All the more clever, Harley kept up a defensive strategy for the duration of the battle. He used Ariados' webs covering Wobbuffet to move it like a puppet, and it humiliated Jessie as her points were being drained away.
Bored after a few moments of his spectacle, Harley decided he wanted to end the battle. For his finale, Harley order Ariados to toss Wobbuffet into the air, and caught it on his back. The results were an extremely confused looking Wobbuffet, a horrified Jessie, and the remained of her points vanishing from the screen. The match was over, and Harley was the victor. Drew rolled his eyes, because while it was an odd spectacle to watch, it did showcase how dangerous Harley could be, with or without cheating.
Jessie left the stage without a word, and May's first battle began quickly after. Much to everyone's relief, it was a real battle.
Up against a coordinator named Travis and his Crobat, May and her Squirtle took the stage boldly. The tiny turtle looked up at the oversized bat Pokémon fluttering in the air, but it didn't seem deterred at all. This was definitely Squirtle's contest debut, but Drew had seen these two battle together before – right along side him, in fact – and he knew how well they would do.
It didn't surprise him in the least when they won the first match with ease. Squirtle seemed to be a natural for contests. Incredible bubble, water gun and other combinations finished off their opponent rather quickly, no doubt having probably underestimated their opponent due to how young and small Squirtle was.
May looked to be in top form, and it was no surprise when she and Squirtle blasted their way to the final round. Nor was it surprising when Harley also made it there. Watching his second battle, when he and Ariados actually fought a real contest battle was daunting. Drew couldn't emphasize enough that despite his tactics, Harley was actually a decent coordinator.
He was good. Drew scowled a little bit at that fact.
May's picture appeared next to Harley's on the big screen; a bright, happy smile against an easy, almost condescending grin.
The two coordinators who'd seemed destined to face off in the final round took their places stage opposite from each other. There was a subtle animosity that filled the air in the arena. The crowd was oblivious to it, but Drew could sense it all too well. Wherever May's friends were in the crowd, he was sure they could feel it, too.
Harley kept a sly grin on his face from his spot. May glared harshly across the stage over at her opponent, indicating to Drew that Harley had in fact tried to pull something over her at this contest already. Thankfully, whatever that ploy had been, May seemed to overcome it, and there she was, all the more ready to take him down before he could claim the ribbon for himself.
The clock began ticking, and the match began.
"Squirtle, take the stage!"
"C'mon, Ariados, string shot!"
The two Pokémon seemed to explode out of their Pokéballs. May no doubt gave her Squirtle a pep talk and debriefing on who their opponent was. Squirtle popped out of its Pokéball and quickly got into position. But Harley's Ariados, already having its first command, came out and prepared itself to shoot off a dangerous web.
"And scary face!"
Before May could call out a defense, Harley's Pokémon attached itself to the ceiling and locked itself into place right in front of Squirtle. Ariados gave its most intimidating stare, and Squirtle all but panicked, falling backwards in fear and rolling towards its coordinator. It was a brilliant way to utilize this combination, and definitely the most creative way Drew had ever seen. He raised an eyebrow, waiting to see how May would come back.
May's strategy wasn't to combat with something offensive at that moment. She merely spoke comforting words to her Pokémon, and if that wasn't a reflection of just how much May had grown during her journey, he didn't know what was.
This was her first contest of the season, and right off the bat, things in the final battle were going against her. He thought of her first contest in Slateport, when things weren't looking so good for her, and she panicked. Now, here she stood, calmly in the face of adversity. It was a contrast sharper than a poison sting attack.
Then, there was the way she tended to her Pokémon. In those moments, the concern wasn't set on her points and how they were dropping. Her focus was on the well being of her Pokémon. Despite having won two battles to get to this final round, May's Squirtle was still brand new to contests, which May was no stranger to doing. But unlike the horror show with her Bulbasaur in its first contest, May didn't antagonize her Pokémon to do better. She calmly told her Squirtle that it could and would do better.
It was what made her a great coordinator. There was still a lot she could learn – because hell, coordinators never stopped learning – but for the moment, she was displaying the qualities of someone who understood that coordinating wasn't just about winning. It was about the thrill of showcasing to the world how incredible Pokémon could truly be.
Squirtle and May shared a quick look, and Squirtle got back on its feet, ready to continue.
May called for an ice beam, which surprised him. Drew didn't know that May's Squirtle could perform an ice beam attack, but the amount of power that prepared to launch fourth from that tiny Pokémon's mouth was utterly incredible. It was a beautiful display of power…
It was too much power.
The beam that threatened to fire from Squirtle's mouth was too much for the small Pokémon, and when the beam finally fired off, it sent Squirtle flying backwards. The turtle Pokémon landed hardly on its back, and the whole audience leaned forward a little, worried for the cute Pokémon's well being.
Harley, unlike the rest of the stadium, simply laughed at Squirtle's misfortune.
"HA, nice try," Harley taunted. "You should have used Combusken. Going against me with a fire type, you might have had a fighting chance at least. Heeellllloooooo!"
Thankfully, May was not phased by his taunts.
"C'mon, Squirtle, get back up!" May cheered on her Pokémon. "We're still gonna win this thing."
Before Squirtle even had the chance to recover, Ariados grabbed onto it with a string shot and dragged it upwards to the ceiling. Ariados held on to Squirtle and awaited its orders. May gritted her teeth, looking up and trying to rack her brain for a solution as her points continued to drop.
Squirtle had performed so well in its first two matches. Despite facing Harley with a brave face, May must have had some reserves about facing him again. It was her first contest, and she'd been matched up against one of her toughest rivals. Maybe the pressure was hitting her more than she let on, and that insecurity must have been affecting her Squirtle.
Calm down, May, you've got this.
Harley wanted points for style, as well as room to move around with in the arena. He had his Ariados cover the whole stadium with sparkling spider webs, and his bug-type complied. Almost instantly, the room had been transformed into a spider den.
The way Harley utilized his bug type, and Drew was fascinated by the potential that bug types presented for contests. He'd won more than a few contests with his Masquerain, but maybe having another bug type on his team would benefit him.
Ariados launched Squirtle onto one of the newly formed webs, and effectively trapped May's Pokémon there like a fly on a glue trap. Squirtle wiggled and fought wildly against its restraints, and May's points were bleeding by the second.
There was a way out of this; Drew knew May would figure it out eventually. The people around him were all bouncing with anticipation.
"Oh man, she's done for!" one had said.
"That poor Squirtle!" another cried.
"That Ariados is about to finish this!" one said.
Drew just relaxed back into his seat as he looked away from the Pokémon. He watched May's face, and saw as her face slowly morphed from anger to understanding. It clicked for her, and he waited.
"Squirtle, ice beam attack, GO!"
And there it was. With a solid brace holding it in place, Squirtle could let all of that power it charged up with its ice beam fly, and not have to worry about flying backwards this time. The force of its attack served a double purpose; it pushed Squirtle through the webs trapping it, and it froze Ariados and all of its webs solid. May had effectively turned Harley's strategy against him; the stage was now hers. Harley's points dissipated after having such a sure-fire advantage ripped away from him.
Now back on solid ground, May switched back to her softer attacks; easy enough for Squirtle to handle and flashy enough to get her the win. Simple bubble and tackle attacks proved to be too much for Harley's spider Pokémon, who could no longer gain solid footing on the slick, frozen webs.
May had the knockout with well over a minute left on the timer. Her Squirtle stood victoriously atop its fainted opponent, and the crowd went absolutely nuts over the sudden turn around in the battle with such little time left. May embraced her Squirtle happily, and Harley was all but in shambles, recalling his Pokémon and storming off stage without so much as a handshake for May.
Minutes later, Drew noticed that Harley had casually skipped the ribbon ceremony, but oh well. He remained up in the stands with the rest of the audience. Usually, he would duck out when the awards were being given, but this time he stayed.
And he was clapping along with the rest of them as May was handed her first ribbon of the Kanto circuit.
Drew's phone buzzed again, and he fished it out of his pocket to see another text, with double the amount of exclamation points.
Then, another came through.
This is going to be such an incredible season! Call me tonight!
"I don't know what I'm looking for," Drew admitted, slumped a little bit in his chair.
"Have you even picked what type you want on your team?" Solidad mused, sipping her iced tea and watching him through the monitor in her rented room from a Pokémon center.
"No," Drew sighed, swirling around a cup of lukewarm decaf in his own hands. "When I first saw that Arcanine, I thought maybe a fire type would do me some good, but –"
"But you didn't want to copy a certain coordinator here in Kanto who's got a really spectacular Combusken?" Solidad smirked, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"BUT I already have Flygon, who knows flamethrower, and we're working on dragon's breath," Drew corrected her with a frown.
"Oh lighten up," Solidad laughed softly. "I can't believe May's here in Kanto and you didn't tell me!"
Drew relaxed back into his chair. He and Solidad had been on the phone for only a few minutes, and he knew there was going to be no avoiding a conversation with her about his rival's sudden appearance in the Kanto circuit. And of course, Solidad had instantly piece together that he'd previously known, but failed to share the information with him.
Solidad loved to talk about May for some reason. It was a mystery he still hadn't figured out. She was so fascinated in the girl with the red bandana for reasons that weren't entirely clear to him, but he was forever fascinated with her as well, so he couldn't say anything. He had learned by this point that it was better to try to steer the conversation in a different way.
He always enjoyed talking with Solidad, and though he never really took her advice about coordinating – because he had his own way of doing things – he did always enjoy picking her brain about things he didn't know too much about.
Kanto was Solidad's home region, and he had been open and candid with her about wanting to find a new Pokémon for a while now.
"You were bound to find out she was here anyway, so bringing it up seemed pretty pointless when the fact was bound to come up organically," Drew shrugged.
"Still could have said something," Solidad sang a little. "I hope I'll get to battle her at some point this season. Her style is unlike anything I've ever really seen."
"I've only known for barely even a week, and we haven't really talked since your last contest," Drew informed her as if she'd forgotten.
"I need to slow down," Solidad mentioned offhandedly, looking down at her closed ribbon case next to her tablet. "This season is going to fly by; three ribbons and we're only a month in."
Drew envied her. He had his first ribbon, sure, and he had plenty of time to get his next four, but he knew more than anyone that in this contest season and in this contest circuit, Solidad was his best friend but his worst enemy. She posed the biggest threat to him taking home the title. In honesty, he had only entered one contest since he'd arrived, and he didn't want to stress about something as pointless as who'd make it to ribbon five first. They were both going to the Grand Festival, no doubt.
His number one concern at that moment needed to be finding his new partner. The earlier, the better, because the more time he'd have to train with whatever Pokémon he caught for the Grand Festival. He'd debuted Flygon during Hoenn's ultimate contest; he would love to make that a staple of his style.
"The sooner you lock in your spot, the sooner you can start training for it," Drew responded. "Arceus knows you'll need all the practice you can get for when we face off in the finals for the Ribbon Cup."
"I'll keep that in mind," Solidad grinned. "Anyway, so back to the Arcanine thing."
Solidad was good about knowing when to push something and when to back off. While May's presence in the circuit was exciting to her, and she knew it was exciting to him, he was really stuck on finding a new Pokémon to train with. So she focused on that.
"I want something rare," Drew explained. "Something no other coordinator has; something that I can work with and something that will work well with the rest of my team. I've seen a few great options at contests I've been watching, but nothing's really caught my attention the way that Arcanine did."
"I would say 'find another Arcanine,' but I know how hard that would be," Solidad agreed, thinking hard.
"Right," Drew nodded. "I feel like Flygon and I have covered a lot of ground these last few days searching."
There had to be a place where Drew could go to find some inspiration. Drew wasn't native to Kanto, and his lack of knowing the region by heart had to play a role in his struggle. Solidad thought long and hard as he listed the places he'd been to and what he'd seen there. She checked off places one by one as he listed them.
By the time he was done recalling, Solidad noticed he hadn't mentioned one place known throughout Kanto to have rare Pokémon. She thought everyone knew about it, and was surprised Drew hadn't gone there yet.
"If you've got any ideas on where I can go explore next, be my guest, Sol, because I'm out of ideas and relying on luck to hand me a Pokémon like it did that Arcanine isn't something I want to do."
Solidad pursed her lips and thought about it for a moment. Then, she finally spoke.
"I think the place you're looking for is Mt. Moon."
Mt. Moon wasn't anything like he expected.
When Solidad first began describing it to him, he pictured a huge chain of mountains and he imagined himself scaling cliffs to find rock type Pokémon.
Mt. Moon was not like that.
Drew found himself wandering through a seemingly endless forest that lived on the west side of Cerulean City. It was a peaceful place littered with Pokémon he'd never encountered before. And the mountain was visible from every inch of this forest. Drew had been exploring for hours and hadn't once lost sight of the peak, no matter how thick the brush and foliage became.
The lure of rare Pokémon promised by Solidad brought him here; the chance of encountering Cleffa, Clefairy and Clefable was what this place was known for. Cleffa was the rarest of them all; according to legend, they never showed themselves to humans. He already knew he didn't need a fairy type on his team, but if Pokémon as rare as those called this place home, he couldn't imagine what other types he could potentially see here.
The day went on, and Drew watched as small bug types and the occasional grass types would pop up randomly in front of him. Some had potential. Others just came and went. Nothing was clicking with him.
Drew strolled on and on until the sun started going down. He'd been walking all day and examining different Pokémon, and he was tired. So just as the sky began its descent on the horizon, he called out his Flygon and the two flew back to Cerulean City for the night.
He settled into the hotel room with an order for room service placed, and his Pokémon happily munching on their dinners behind him.
With his PokéNav set up on the table, he scrolled through his contacts and selected Solidad's number. She'd asked him to keep her updated on his search for rare Pokémon, so he figured he'd call her that night to let her know how his day at Mt. Moon went.
The phone rang several times before Solidad answered. She was in here pajamas and clearly getting ready for bed, but wore a confused look on her face. He tilted his head right back at her.
"What?" he asked, cracking open a bottle of water.
"What are you doing?" she asked. "I thought you were going to Mt. Moon?"
He blinked a few times, looking at the clock that read almost 10:30 p.m.
"I was there, all day," he clarified.
"Day?" Solidad looked even more puzzled.
"Er, yeah?" Drew responded slowly. "I left here at 8 in the morning. I didn't get back until, like, 9:50."
A weird smile appeared on her face, as if she was holding back laughter. Drew stared at her, confused.
"Drew, don't you know that Mt. Moon is a special place for rare Pokémon at night?" she questioned aloud.
Oh.
She'd said it as if it was so obvious, and from the look on her face, it probably was. He'd done little to no research on Mt. Moon before he went. When Solidad had first told him to try looking there, he'd jumped at the chance, because he trusted her judgment and didn't think twice about it. Now, Drew rested his head in one of his hands, trying to keep his face from turning red from embarrassment.
"No one told me finding the good Pokémon here happens at night," he muttered. "Kanto is weird."
Solidad laughed.
"Tourist," she giggled, sticking her tongue out at him.
"Whatever," he grumbled, taking a sip from his water.
"Don't fret," she halfheartedly consoled him. "Try again tomorrow, but at night. Your chances are even better, because lucky for you, there's going to be a full moon. I've never been there during a full moon, but I've been told by several friends that it's the best way to experience Mt. Moon."
"Yeah, okay, I'll try that," Drew yawned; where was his order of pasta primavera?
Solidad smiled knowingly at her young friend. She had explained to him he needed to go there at night when they'd talked before, but he seemed so spaced out when she'd said it, she didn't give him any flack for it. He seemed exhausted, and after a full day of going through the forests surrounding Mt. Moon, she knew he was.
"I'm going to bed now," Solidad explained just as she heard a knock on Drew's door and watched his head turn towards it. "I say you sleep in tomorrow, and get back out there later in the evening."
Drew nodded, thanked her, and after she hung up, he opened the door to get his dinner.
Once he settled back down into his chair, he told his team they needed to stay up late so they could wake up late, and stay out even later the next evening. They all seemed okay with the plan, and Drew pulled up the stream of the contest that had happened in Gardenia Town earlier that day.
It was 4:45 in the afternoon when Drew set out to head back to Mt. Moon again.
After a short flight on Flygon, Drew began wandering through the woods again, this time keeping all three of his Pokémon along side him. Though he had a flashlight, the growing darkness made him want to keep his Pokémon out with him just incase they should come across anything dangerous.
The moon took its place in the sky and illuminated the tall mountain in the distance. They strolled through widened paths in the trees for hours, stumbling upon sleeping Pokémon who skirted away when he startled them.
Eventually, Drew heard the sounds of laughter and people a short distance away from him, and as he drew closer to the sounds, he noticed the faint glow of a campfire.
He came across the campers who greeted him warmly. It was a young couple with a small boy and a Stoutland who gave him a small growl, but its owners assure him it was alright, and the large dog settled back down with the young boy climbing on top of him.
Drew talked to the couple for a few minutes. Initially, they'd explained that their son, Nathan, was a Growlithe scout working on earning his backcountry camping badge. The family was on a six-day camping trip, and was three days into it, so they'd been exploring the woods just as Drew had. Then, they asked Drew why a young man was out wandering the woods at night on his own.
"I'm a Pokémon coordinator," Drew explained to them. "I'm out here hoping to find a new Pokémon to add to my team. You guys haven't seen anything out here, have you?"
The man and the woman looked at each other, then back to Drew.
"Actually, we haven't," the woman responded.
"But we have been hearing something at night," the man continued.
"We don't know what it is, though," the woman added. "I'd hate for you to chase after something and not know what it is. It could be dangerous."
"I think we'll be okay," Drew assured them, gesturing back to his Pokémon behind him. "My friends are pretty strong; they train hard, and we're no strangers to tough battles. We know to bail if something gets too out of hand."
He rested his hand against Flygon, and Roselia and Masquerain nodded in affirmation to the campers before them.
"I'd love to know more details, if you have any," Drew said.
"Well, alright, but we're pleading with you to be careful," the woman spoke softly. "We don't know much, though."
Drew nodded, and sat down on a stump that was near the campfire. His Pokémon sat down next to him.
"Whatever it is, is closer to the mountain," the man explained, pointing to the east where the peak was towering over the trees. "We heard it howling out the first night we were out here. Stoutland here seemed nervous, and that made us a little apprehensive. That thing was calling out loudly, though we couldn't figure out why, or even where it was. It sounded like it was all around us, and since that night, we've been moving to set up camp further away from the base of the mountain.
"It's odd, though. During the day, we don't' hear it at all. When we're hiking up near the mountain, there's no signs of anything out of the ordinary, but we've heard it every night, and it only happens at night."
"Do you have ideas of what it could be?" Drew asked, intrigued. "Like any guesses at all?"
"All I know is it's nothing like any of the Pokémon I've ever heard," the man explained. "We've both grown up around this area, and I've camped in these woods more times than I can count, but whatever it is must have moved here recently."
"It's pretty scary when it roars," the little boy chimed in. "We haven't heard it tonight!"
"That's interesting," Drew mused. "I wonder if it has anything to do with the–"
As if on queue, or as if whatever the creature was knew it was being discussed, a loud roar ripped through the air around them. The family and Drew listened as the sounds went on for a few seconds, before they quieted down and the only sound that remained was the soft crackles of the campfire.
The mysterious sounds made the hairs on his arms and neck stand up, and Drew's heart race with excitement. Whatever this thing was, it wasn't like normal Pokémon.
"There ya go," the man breathed to break the silence. "That was it, sounds like it's still coming from the east. Any ideas?"
"None at all," Drew said quietly, hoping to hear it again. "But I do know that we've got to find out what this thing is."
He looked back at his three Pokémon, and they all nodded towards him. None of them showed any signs of fear, and he felt ready to take on whatever this mysterious Pokémon was.
"Please, please, please be careful out there, young man!" the woman begged him. "If anything goes wrong, you hop on that Flygon and come find us, alright?"
"Of course," Drew nodded, standing to take his leave. "I promise we'll be okay."
"Hey, do me a favor, son," the man stood as well, reaching into his back pocket and fishing out a small card. "I'm interested in knowing just what that thing is, so if you do manage to find it, or catch it, will ya shoot me an email so I can know, too?"
Drew took the business card from the man; his name was Ken Becker, and he was a relator for some big company. Drew nodded, and put the card in his own back pocket to keep it safe.
"Yeah, we'll let you know for sure," Drew told them. "Thanks for all your help; we really appreciate it."
Roselia and Drew hopped on Flygon's back, and Masquerain flew right behind them.
Drew and his team soared through the night sky towards the base of the mountain, adrenaline flowing through each and every vein. He had to know what this Pokémon was. He had to know if it was something that could be his.
Throughout their short flight, even with the wind in his ears, Drew heard the cry of whatever it was several more times. That sound pierced the rush of the winds, and it excited him further. Drew's brain couldn't even begin to imagine what awaited them at the mountain, and the second he spotted a decent landing spot higher up on one of the cliffs, he ordered Flygon to take them down to it.
They landed quietly, and Drew slid silently off of his Flygon's back, signaling for his team to remain stealthy, but ready to strike at any moments notice.
Drew began walking quietly in along the mountain path, flashlight turned off and letting his eyes adjust to the pale light of the full moon. They walked for a few minutes in silence, waiting to hear any noise they could.
Suddenly, the sounds of muffled growls could be heard a few yards away from where they were. Was this the same thing they'd heard earlier? Bushes began shaking at the tree line in front of them, and Drew halted his team. They all watched in anticipation and listened as the growls became louder and more pronounced. Whatever this thing was, it was big.
Drew took a slow breath tried to calm his nerves; this was a game of patience, but after waiting for so long and looking for a new Pokémon, the potential of whatever this one could be was eating at him. He felt as though he had to calm ever single cell in his body to keep him from calling out to whatever this was and demanding it showed itself.
A branch snapped from beyond the tree line. Roselia moved to stand in front of Drew, arms out at her sides ready to launch an attack if needed. Flygon moved to Drew's side, watching with his mouth open, ready to launch into a flamethrower.
Even Masquerain moved to hover in front of Drew protectively.
Drew's eyes fell to his team for a Brief moment, smirking down in thanks and knowing they could take whatever this thing was.
Another growl, more shaking. This was it. Drew's fists balled, ready.
Out from the bushes emerged a large, black figure, still in the shadow of the trees and protected from the moon's light. Roselia called out to it, and the shadowing figure turned and faced them.
It stood up, and it began to growl at them intensely.
Drew watched, puzzled but ready to call for defenses, yet something was different. These weren't the same noises they had heard earlier. Was this really the Pokémon they were looking for?
Without warning, three little shadows jumped out in front of the larger one. They landed in the moonlight, growling little warnings at Drew and his party on their own.
Teddiursa; three of them. Drew took half a step back from the little babies, and watched as the momma Ursaring revealed herself as well with a loud, warning growl. Drew watched as the Teddiursa cubs looked back up at their mother, then back at Drew's party, then back to their mother again. After another stern growl, the Teddiursas fell back on all fours and scampered back into the bushed.
Drew observed the Ursaring closely as she stood in front of the bushes he cubs were scampering through. While this Ursaring looked strong and capable, his mind thought back to Arcanine and her baby Growlithe. It was the same situation; he couldn't separate a family, and he couldn't imagine what an Ursaring would do for his team. It would be a tough battler, yes, but combinations with whatever its move set was would be tricky…
This was not the Pokémon he wanted. He felt a little defeated admitting that.
"Guys, stand down," he ordered his Pokémon.
Roselia looked back at him quickly and nodded, but stayed in front of him just incase she and the others needed to defend.
Drew looked back up to the Ursaring.
"Sorry," he said to the large bear. "We're not here to bother you."
Ursaring looked on to the team for another moment, but finally turned away to follow her cubs back into the woods. Drew watched and listened as the bear family moved further away until it was all but gone.
Damn it.
Was he ever going to find the Pokémon he wanted? Should he just forget about it and start focusing on contests to catch up on ribbons to Solidad?
He looked over at his Flygon and thought about how great it had been to find his Vibrava. Maybe his luck had run out, not that he ever really liked relying on luck.
Drew sighed; it looked like it was just another pointless venture into the wild. He'd have to see if he could catch that family on the way back to town, and tell them that it was an Ursaring causing all the commotion. Maybe they'd think it was funny.
Oddly enough, Drew never pictured that an Ursaring or her young Teddiursa would be capable of making the noises that he'd heard. But that was apparently the case, and Drew rationalized that he'd never seen either of the bear types of Pokémon, and his lack of knowledge probably led to that little surprise.
Drew began leading his team back up the path again, away from the tree line and further up the mountain. They all walked silently, listening for anything interesting or out of place.
It'd been an hour since they'd run into the Ursaring, and they hadn't seen any other Pokémon since then, save for a few Zubats flying through the night sky. Not even an appearance from the legendary Clefairy that were supposed to overrun this place at night. It was extremely disappointing. There was nothing there.
Drew came to a stop along a cliff, overlooking a sea of darkened trees surrounding the mountain. His Pokémon stood on either side of him. He looked out as far as he could, and could see the faint glow of a city looming way off into the distance. It was late, or early; probably early, and Drew thought that maybe it might have been time to call it.
"You guys ready to go, or do you want to keep looking around?" he asked his team.
Roselia opened her mouth to respond, but that horrendous scream they'd heard early exploded from behind them, louder than he'd ever heard it.
This was no Ursaring.
Drew and his team wheeled around and looked up to discover the source of the noise.
This Pokémon took his breath away.
Balancing atop a narrow rock spire over them, directly in front of the huge moon, this Pokémon stood menacingly.
The dark type Pokémon's intense gaze was locked down on them, looking down on Drew and his Roselia, Masquerain and Flygon. Its stare was a look that said it was incredibly bothered to be in their presence.
It stood there growling, letting them know that they were invading his territory, and it wasn't happy about it.
It was the most beautiful Absol he'd ever seen.
Absol's beautiful white fur glistened in the pale moonlight. Its sharp claws gripped the rocks beneath it powerfully. Its red eyes seemed to almost glow as it stared them down. Its stance alone practically oozed power, beauty and danger. All three appealed to Drew in a way he'd never felt before.
Like the moment he'd first laid eyes on that Arcanine all those days ago, except this time was different. This was more intense. Drew knew with every fiber of his being that he didn't just want this Pokémon on his team, but he needed this Pokémon on his team.
Drew's Pokémon moved to stand in front of him again, but Drew's eyes were wide and transfixed on this Pokémon he had to have no matter what.
Absol seemed bothered by the fact that his warnings were not deterring the group before him, and he jumped high off his rock perch and landed with a thud in front of the group, trying to further intimidate him. He looked up at the moon and roared as loudly as it could.
There it was again; that proud roar that echoed off the walls of the mountain around him.
All three of Drew's Pokémon instantly knew that their trainer was interested, and Masquerain chirped down to Drew, asking what they should do.
Drew shook his head a little, coming down a little from his adrenaline high, and told them to wait. Drew didn't know much about Absols, other than the fact that they were extremely rare, especially there in Kanto, and that one of their weaknesses was bug-type moves. Roselia's stun spore attack would be a good plan B.
"Masquerain, be ready," Drew ordered his other Pokémon to fall back, because three on one wouldn't be fair.
Roselia and Flygon backed up and took their places next to their trainer, while Masquerain fluttered in front of him, waiting.
"Let's let Absol make the first move," Drew said. "We need to see what it can do."
Drew and his partners circled around Absol, and moved more into the center of the path away from the cliff. Anticipating a fierce battle, Drew knew better than to stand next to an Arceus knows how long drop off. He'd fallen off a cliff before back on Mirage Island, and he was determined to never repeat that mistake again. Especially seeing how this cliff didn't have a river to catch him.
Absol seemed more annoyed, now as Drew and his Pokémon made no movements to flee. This group had come into his territory and now they were seemingly taunting him to attack. Absol snarled an angry growl, and stomped its front claws on the ground, mercifully giving them one last chance to retreat.
Drew smirked back, understanding, and shook his head no.
That did it. Crying out, Absol's tail began to glow a bright white, and it smashed an iron tail attack into the ground, breaking up the ground and even launching some newly formed boulders into the air. It followed up with another iron tail, this time smacking the boulders and sending them flying towards Masquerain.
"Masquerain, quick, dodge those rocks! Use hidden power to smash the ones you can't avoid!"
Masquerain twisted and turned in the air, firing off powerful orbs of hidden power to break apart the rocks sent flying towards it. The little butterfly effortlessly evaded and dodged the oncoming threats.
One boulder that snuck past Masquerain was heading right for Drew and Roselia, but they paid no mind to it. Flygon instinctually smashed through it with steel wing, allowing Drew to focus on the battle at hand.
"Thanks, Flygon," Drew smirked quickly and turned back to the battle. "That was a nice combination, Absol, but let us show you some of ours. Masquerain, quick attack! Get all around Absol and then use hidden power again!"
Masquerain dashed around Absol, forming a circle and began rapidly firing off hidden power orbs at its target. Absol began jumping in and out of the way of the oncoming attacks, showcasing its speed and agility. It was even able to bat some of the orbs away with its iron tail. One well-timed dodge had Absol sending an orb and hitting Masquerain directly, sending Drew's bug type to the ground.
Drew's Pokémon stayed down for a second, shaking itself off before getting back up into the air again. This battle wasn't going to be easy.
Absol stood across from Masquerain again, charging up a new attack.
Sharp blades of light were shot out from Absol's horn, and Drew recognized razor wind. A powerful, unrelenting attack that was known to have a high rate of critical hits. Masquerain absolutely couldn't be struck by that.
"Sweep those up and overpower with your silver wind!"
Masquerain steadied itself and began pulsing out strong ripples of silver wind. Sure enough, Masquerain's ripples disbanded the oncoming silver blades, and broke through, directly hitting Absol who clearly wasn't expecting its own attack to be thwarted.
Drew flicked his hair out of his face; this Pokémon clearly wanted to demonstrate how strong it was, and Drew was intent of showing off just how strong his Pokémon were, too.
A direct hit from silver wind was devastating to Absol. It was slammed into the ground, and because of its weakness to bug attacks, he was slow and shaking getting back up. Panting, Absol cried out again at Drew, showing he wouldn't go down that easily.
"Good hit, Masquerain, let's keep it up!" Drew cheered.
Absol finally got back up on shaky feet, and a dull blue glow began to shine on it's pelt. With a hard stomp, water began rippling out around Absol. It covered the side of the cliff face with water. Drew watched, anticipating, and knew exactly what was coming and how to counter it. He just needed the right moment.
After moments of building power, Absol let off a strong water pulse attack. A huge wall of water began hurdling towards Masquerain, and Drew pointed out.
"Ice beam!"
Masquerain shot off a bright blue pulse of its own, and within seconds, the wave was effectively stopped, frozen in place. Masquerain chirped confidently, and Absol glared harshly at them, no doubt still weak from taking a super effective hit straight on. Still, it refused to give up, and braced itself for a new attack.
Drew meanwhile was observing the dark Pokémon closely, ever impressed by its grit and sheer willpower to keep the fight going. If there was ever a Pokémon more fit for contests, it was this Absol. He grabbed an empty Pokéball out of his pocket and held it tightly in his hand, waiting.
"We're close now, Masquerain, just hang in there and keep fighting!" Drew told his Pokémon.
Absol held its ground, not ready to give up.
"Hidden power, let's go!"
More orbs of light were shot out, and Absol pounced and leapt out of the way of each of them, using all the space it had on the impromptu battlefield. It even used its claws to grasp the side of the cliff face, and ran horizontally as hidden power orbs exploded into the wall behind it.
Then, Absol bounced off of the wall at a blinding speed and slammed straight into Masquerain, utilizing quick attack for itself. Masquerain cried out as it slammed back into the ground, splashing into the puddles of water left behind by the earlier water pulse.
Drew gritted his teeth. He needed to cut Absol's ability to dodge so he could land another hit. He took a small step forward, and heard the water slosh beneath his feet. The whole area they were fighting on was covered in water, and it sparked an idea.
"Masquerain, use your ice beam!" Drew commanded. "Freeze up this whole field, get Absol off balance!"
Masquerain quickly recovered and fired off another ice beam, coating the path in solid ice. Absol landed back on the flat ground just in time to slip along the slick surface. It tried to stand back up, but couldn't properly support itself.
"Perfect, now's our chance! Quick attack, and follow it up with silver wind!"
Masquerain jolted into it's blinding speed, popping up and around Absol at every angle and firing off brilliant silver wind. Absol tried to jump of the way, only to trip and slip over the ice. It took the hit head on, and when the smoke cleared, it was barely able to lift its head of the ground. Not quite fainted, not quite ready to give up.
Drew slowly approached the hurt Pokémon, careful not to slip on the icy field himself.
The closer Drew got, the more Absol wiggled and tried frantically to stand to move away. But moving after sustaining such injuries proved way too tough, and Absol watched with malice as Drew knelt beside him.
"Hey, take it easy, it's over now," Drew said softly.
Up close, Drew could see just how much damage Absol had actually taken during the fight. Its breathing was harsh and the dark type was exhausted, but too proud to admit defeat. Drew reached his hand out to try to put the Absol, who in turn snapped its head back and tried to back and Drew's hand. Drew retracted quickly enough to avoid the attack.
"Absol, you're hurt, let us help you," Drew offered.
Absol still growled at them, whipping its head back and fourth and trying to resist.
Drew stood back up and waited. Eventually it would have to give up, and Drew would wait however long he had to so he could help this Pokémon. After all, it was his fault it was hurt.
Suddenly, without any warning, Absol desperately charged up a weak razor wind attack. Flygon grabbed Drew and Roselia and jumped back out of the line of fire, and Masquerain fluttered up higher to avoid being hit. The razor wind launch forward a few feet and hit the ground with a small yet strong explosion. The force of the hit sent the nearly fainted Absol sliding across the ice and eventually over the cliff.
"FLYGON, GO!" Drew screamed.
Flygon complied instantly, and dove off the side of the cliff to catch Absol in the middle of its free fall. Far from hitting the ground, Flygon carefully carried Absol back up a top the cliff to a much-relieved Drew and his other Pokémon. Flygon carefully placed Absol back on the ground, and the weakened Pokémon looked up to see Drew approaching again.
Absol was now way too weak to do anything, and it felt a gentle hand stroking it's head softly before it fainted completely.
Absol awoke resting on a soft surface, unlike anything it had ever known before.
It felt things touching it and could hear strange noises all around him. It opened its eyes slowly to an all white room, and a large Chansey dressed in strange attire looking over to it.
In the other corner were other Pokémon he instantly recognized. The large Flygon and Roselia were sitting near another bed with the Masquerain he'd battled just hours ago. The trainer that had been with them earlier was nowhere in sight, though, and that did little to calm Absol's anxiety.
Initially startled and hopelessly confused, Absol began calling out to its fellow Pokémon, begging for answers and wanting to go back to its home. The others looked at him, but it was Chansey who approached. Chansey soothed the scared Pokémon, and told it the story of how a young trainer had brought him late last night in to be healed up by her and a doctor.
The other Pokémon – that green-haired trainer's Pokémon – also attested to the fact that Absol was safe, and they told him who they were and who their trainer was as well.
Absol listened intently, questioning everything it thought it knew the whole time.
Drew had no idea about the complications that came with this Absol, and as he sat across a small table from Officer Jenny, he told her the whole story of how he'd found it.
They sat together in the lobby of the Pokémon Center, where Drew had been for more than a few hours now.
After he'd caught the Absol in the Pokéball, he and Flygon rushed over to the nearest Pokémon Center they could get to. Drew frantically handed Nurse Joy the Pokéball and quickly explained it contained a hurt Absol from Mt. Moon. She nodded in understanding and took it back, while Chansey came out and Drew asked if she could check up on Masquerain, who insisted that he was fine, but Drew knew he'd taken a few hits during their battle and convinced to go get checked out, too.
A little while later, Nurse Joy came out and assured Drew the Absol would be okay, but that Drew would need to explain to someone about the dark type Pokémon he'd found at Mt. Moon.
Drew's confusion only intensified when he saw Officer Jenny walk through the door, and when she insisted they needed to talk.
So Drew launched into the story of how he'd wanted a new Pokémon to compete with, how he discovered the Pokémon near the top of the mountain, the intense battle they'd had, and how they'd ended up here.
"After it fainted, I put it in the Pokéball and brought it here," Drew finished, sipping the coffee that had been given to him.
Officer Jenny had nodded, finished scribbling down some notes in her little notepad and closed it up when she seemed satisfied.
"Alright, thank you for explaining, young man," she said. "That Absol has been around for a few years, and it's nice to know it's still okay."
"What do you mean?"
Officer Jenny's face morphed from her professional, hard expression to a softer, almost sad one. Drew waited.
"That Absol was a special case here," Officer Jenny explained. "You're from Hoenn, an Absol's natural habitat, and I'm sure that you know they're not native to Kanto?"
"Right," Drew nodded.
"A few years ago, we had a hunter's club here in Cerulean City," Officer Jenny continued. "They were a group of low lives illegally hunting Pokémon out here in the area. We couldn't ever connect the dots, and our partners with the Pokémon Rangers division reported discovering dozens of Pokémon who'd been hunted for sport over a span of a few years. I'll spare you the details beyond that; a lot of it is still confidential and pretty gruesome."
Drew shivered, and he felt a sickening sadness creeping its way through him. What a disgusting thought; people hunting Pokémon pointlessly. Pokémon hunting had always been illegal, and all throughout his life, he'd heard stories of people who broke the law, but never to this degree. He wasn't sure he wanted to know more, but Officer Jenny continued.
"The organization hunting these Pokémon grew bigger, and eventually, they started illegally importing Pokémon from other regions for their sport as well. We still couldn't find the guys or link anyone to the crimes, but I do remember I was just starting out here in Cerulean City when we started getting reports of rare Pokémon from other regions being…found here.
"It was maddening. We wanted to find these guys. We even started putting out rewards one day for any information that could help the case and bring the monsters in charge to face justice. For a while, nothing was helping, and it seemed pretty hopeless. But finally, one day, we got a tip from someone saying they'd seen a strange white Pokémon running through the woods near Mt. Moon, and they couldn't identify it, but it looked injured. We sprung into action immediately.
"We sent word to our Pokémon Ranger partners to be on the lookout, and it wasn't long before one of them managed to find out it was an Absol that was running through the woods, and that it indeed had sustained some injuries. It had a cut leg, probably from getting caught in a trap…well, there were worse things, but again, it's not worth mentioning.
"We started tracking the Absol, hoping if we followed it, would catch the poachers red handed. And low and behold, we did. We discovered a guy putting out a trap for the poor thing, and we arrested him. It didn't take long for him to rat out his buddies in the hunting club, and soon enough, we had all of the warrants and arrests done. You'd think that would have been it.
"Strange thing is, we wanted to bring the Absol back to Hoenn, but none of us could catch it. Not even the best Pokémon rangers out there could get to him. And the ones that got close were constantly overpowered by this Pokémon. You see, Absol seems to have a strong disdain for humans now, and rightfully so. He was treated horribly by some; it makes sense he would go to such great lengths to hide and/or escape from them. And eventually, it was decided that maybe we should just leave him out in the wild.
"That was almost two years ago, so imagine my surprise when Nurse Joy calls my office late last night and tells me a coordinator's come in having captured a wild Absol from the Mt. Moon area…"
Drew pursed his lips and looked down for a moment, not really sure what he was feeling aside from overwhelmed. There was a lot of guilt and a whole lot of anger going through him, but he kept his face even and waited for Officer Jenny to continue speaking.
"By law, you own that Absol now," she explained. "You caught it and now it's your Pokémon, but I wanted to warn you, that's no ordinary Pokémon you've caught young man, and we're asking you to make a choice. You can keep it if you so choose, as it is your right to do so, or you can turn it over to the Pokémon Rangers, and they'll take it back to Hoenn and set it free."
Drew nodded, and took a few seconds to think it over. How could it be his choice? Just because he'd captured the Pokémon, it shouldn't have been up to him seeing as Absol wasn't even there by its own volition in the first place.
Drew had always given the Pokémon he'd met a choice, and that wasn't going to change, ever.
"Can I talk to Absol, first?"
The door to the back area of the Pokémon Center opened slowly, and Drew's Pokémon all perked up to see him walking through the door.
Absol watcher curiously as Drew walked up to his team and easily greeted all of them. It was a curious thing, to see how well these Pokémon respected him and how utterly content they were to be in his presence. Maybe everything they'd said about their trainer was true after all.
"Hey guys," Drew said, reaching down to pet Masquerain on the head. "You're looking good, Masquerain. You fought really hard and I'm proud of you for it. You guys all keep it up, and the Grand Festival is going to be a breeze."
Flygon, Roselia and Masquerain all cheered and agreed.
Out of the corner of his eye, Absol looked as Nurse Joy peaked her head through the door and called to Chansey to leave the room, so Drew could be alone with his Pokémon, and with Absol.
"Hey," Drew's voice called to Absol from the front of the bed it was on.
Absol whipped his head back to see Drew facing him, his hands put up slowly in a surrender position. Absol watched carefully, no expression on his face.
"You're looking better now," Drew commented. "How are you feeling?"
Absol's eyes peaked over to the far corner of the room, where Drew's Pokémon all looked on encouragingly. With a little apprehension, Absol gave a short nod to Drew.
"Good, I'm glad," Drew smiled, disarming the Absol entirely. "I see you've met my friends over there, which is good. I wanted to meet you, too. My name is Drew, and I wanted to talk to you."
Drew reached back and pulled a chair to Absol's bedside. He took a seat slowly, careful not to startle Absol in any way for any reason.
"I heard about what you've been through," Drew explained. "And I'm really sorry for all of it."
Drew tentatively reached out his hand to try to pet Absol again. Absol jerked his head back out of instinct, and Drew's eyes showed understanding as he slowly pulled his hand back.
Absol continued to stare at Drew blankly. He'd never had a pleasant encounter with a human. He'd never experienced one calmly talking to him before. His first encounter with humans had been when he was young, but he remembered it vividly. He could recall being dragged away from his own mother and being powerless to do anything quite well.
"You can go back home if you want to, you know," Drew said when he saw the faroff look in Absol's eyes. "You have a choice here, Absol; you can go back home into the wild, or you can come with us."
Drew gestured back to his team in the corner, and Absol looked over at them again. All of them seemed happy. From what they had told him, they loved what they got to do, and they loved being with Drew. They'd said nothing but nice things about him, and how amazing of a trainer he was. How he was always the first to encourage them after they felt defeated, and how he respected them.
How he had given all of them the choice; the same choice that Drew was giving him now.
Absol had never had the choice.
He was taken away from his family without a say in the matter. He was forced to learn how to survive on his own, and to constantly run from the ones who'd taken him. He never had the option to live differently.
Now, he could choose.
"You're not 100 percent back to where you should be," Drew informed him. "Nurse Joy said you should stay another day in here before you're all healed up. You won't be alone, though; my friends are going to stay, too, so they can get all checked up for our next contest. I'm sure they've already told you about those."
Drew looked back and laughed lightly when all of his Pokémon nodded in affirmation.
"I actually have to go and try to get some sleep, because I've been up for a long time, and it's been pretty crazy," Drew clarified. "I'll be back to get you guys later; we're going to Mulberry City, because they have a contest next week. We're probably all a little ready to earn our next ribbon."
Drew's Pokémon cheered once again, and he felt a warm feeling in his stomach. He loved his Pokémon so much, and he was forever thankful they supported him in his dream. Drew had enough of searching for a new Pokémon. If Absol stayed with them that was great, but if he didn't, Drew knew the incredible partners he had could get him where they needed to go.
He stood to stretch a little, taking one last look at his partners, bidding them a nice goodbye and promising he would be back to see them in a few hours.
"Whatever you choose, make sure it's what you want, Absol," Drew emphasized. "You do what you need to do to be happy, okay?"
Absol's eyes followed Drew as he vanished through the door.
True to his word, Drew appeared a few hours later, looking a lot better than he had before.
Drew went back to his hotel, jumped in the shower and crashed the second his head hit the pillow. He slept heavily for a few hours before waking up, eating a quick lunch and heading back over to the Pokémon Center.
While he had been gone, Roselia explained to Absol that Drew never really liked to leave his Pokémon's sides, and if one of them had to be in the Pokémon Center for any reason, they would have to work to convince Drew to leave them if he needed to focus on anything else.
Drew truly cared for his Pokémon, and Absol could see that.
Drew gave Absol the space he wanted, never pushing his boundaries with the dark type. He stayed respectfully on the other side of the room, but was sure to include Absol in their conversations, though he didn't actively participate right away.
What intrigued Absol the most was when Drew requested a television screen be brought into the room, because he and his Pokémon wanted to watch one of those contests Absol had heard so much about in the last few hours. After Drew had broken the news that they were heading for the next one as soon as Masquerain cleared his checkup, it was practically all the three of them had talked about until he came back.
The concept was interesting, and Drew noticed Absol's curiosity.
When Chansey pushed the big screen on a cart into the room, Drew made sure it was placed at the foot of Absol's bed. Then he sat back down into the seat he'd placed next to him hours before, and Drew's other Pokémon gathered around to watch as well.
The latest contest from Vermilion City was recorded just hours before. Absol watched as the concepts of the contest were explained; appeals, battles, judges, scores, all of it. It all seemed simple enough.
Finally, the appeal round began, and Absol watched as multiple coordinators and their Pokémon worked together in ways he'd never seen before, or even though possible. He was utterly amazed.
He noticed how Roselia perked up and Drew leaned forward when a pink-haired girl stood on the stage and waved to the crowd before releasing her Pokémon and beginning her act.
"Ha, and she said she was gonna slow down," Drew and Roselia laughed together. "Solidad is incapable of slowing down, huh?"
They watched the rest of the contest with Drew making a few comments here and there, his Pokémon agreeing and watching just as intensely.
Absol all the while was amazed at it all.
During a commercial break, Drew asked Absol if he wanted to see Drew's first Kanto ribbon: the symbol of Drew and his Pokémon's hard work in one of these contests. Absol nodded slowly, and Drew grinned while pulling out his ribbon case and showing Absol what a genuine ribbon looked like.
"When you earn five of these, you go to the ultimate contest called the Grand Festival," Drew explained. "It's like what we're watching, only bigger and better. It's where the best of the best face off. It's the ultimate goal for any coordinator."
A few hours later, Nurse Joy entered the room with a clipboard in her hand, smiling big and walking right up to Masquerain's bed.
"You're cleared," Nurse Joy announced happily. "Drew, if you'll just sign this form, then I'll discharge Masquerain. Absol needs one more night, but he should be good in the morning."
Drew nodded, and signed his name on the consent form to take Masquerain home. Masquerain more than happily fluttered off of the bed and landed on Drew's shoulder.
"Excellent," Nurse Joy took back the clipboard. "I'll call you in the morning when Absol is all ready to go."
"No need," Drew brushed off her offer. "We're gonna stay here tonight."
"Oh, alright, I understand," Nurse Joy nodded. "I'll go get some extra blankets for you guys."
Nurse Joy disappeared from the room, and Drew turned back towards Absol, who'd grown quite used to his presence, but still not willing to let him touch him.
"Do you want to watch another contest?"
Absol nodded.
In the morning, Drew signed another consent paper, and all of Drew's Pokémon walked with him through the hall and out into the lobby.
Officer Jenny was waiting out there, and Absol paused.
Drew and his team went to stand a little ways to the side of her, and Drew looked down at Absol.
"It's time for you to choose, Absol," Drew clarified when the Pokémon looked back and forth between the two parties. "It's up to you."
Absol looked over at Drew and his team. He'd gotten to know them pretty well, and he knew how genuinely happy Drew's Pokémon were to be with him.
In the last few hours, Drew had shown Absol not all humans were terrible. He'd opened Absol's eyes to the possibilities of what humans and Pokémon could do if they worked together. Drew had shown Absol that he understood what compassion was, and that he was an excellent trainer.
Drew smiled when Absol walked up to him and his other Pokémon, putting his head underneath one of Drew's hands. Drew petted Absol on the head, and briefly looked over to Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy. Officer Jenny nodded with a content smile on her face, and Nurse Joy looked like she was going to burst into tears at the heartwarming sight.
Finally, Drew got down on his knees to be eye-level with Absol.
"Welcome to the team."
