Chrysanthemum Island– In which Drew earns another ribbon and meets up with May, who has to battle (quite possibly) his biggest fan for her third ribbon.
Author's notes:
- We're rolling right along. Kind of insane to think I went almost nine months without being able to post an update, and in the last month, I've been able to write and post four chapters.
- Some of you might notice that I'm kind of rushing through Kanto. Well, the thing is, in the anime, when we followed May's journey, Drew didn't pop up quite as much throughout their time there. And the closer we got to the Grand Festival, the more significant his role was. We didn't get to see Drew much in Kanto, and it's a shame. I'm still hoping we'll see him again some day. (I don't actually watch the show anymore, but I'd tune in to see an episode with the OG coordinators come back. Didn't they just bring back Brock and Misty recently or something?)
- Another thing someone has asked me about is some of the cities I've talked about in this story, and how they don't recognize them from the games. If you research Kanto in the anime, they had multiple "anime-exclusive" places in the show, and that's where I'm pulling some of these cities and towns. It's the same concept with Drew's hometown. He was from LaRousse in the show, which didn't actually exist outside of the show.
- I'm ranting now. Let's continue.
- Based on the episode, "Spontaneous Combusken!"
- Mentions of the episodes, "Weekend Warrior" and "Harley Rides Again!"
- Café au lait: coffee with hot milk added.
"And the winner is Drew Hayden from LaRousse City!" Lillian shouted to the delight of the people in the stadium.
Drew smiled and waved to the deafening crowd, and stepped forward to center stage where he met Mr. Contesta. The director of the contest committee smiled warmly as he placed the shiny Fuchsia City Contest ribbon, and he knelt down to place one more on Roselia. Drew had gone through the whole contest with just her, and she had never performed better.
In the last two battle rounds, Drew had gone up against seriously skilled trainers. One of them he'd had a short conversation with backstage.
His name was Kaleb, and he wasn't actually a coordinator. Kaleb liked competing in contests when he could, because he said he drew a lot of inspiration for combinations he often used in gym battles. When Drew met up with him in the semi finals, he was thrown for a loop, because he wasn't used to battling trainers specifically going for the knockout in contest battles. At the end of the day, Roselia had proved to be the stronger in the match between her and Kaleb's Jolteon, and Drew advanced to the finals.
There, he faced off against a coordinator named Annie. She was a sweet yet powerful girl, who he'd also interacted with in the waiting area after her semifinals match. Though she came on a little stronger than he'd felt comfortable with.
"I know who you are," she said, sitting on the bench opposite and facing him down with some kind of strange glint in her eyes. "You're Drew Hayden, one of Hoenn's best, huh?"
"I am," Drew said, quirking an eyebrow. "And you are?"
"Annie," she said, blowing a bubble out of chewing gum and popping it. "The girl you're going to lose to."
"We'll see," Drew stated. "It'll be a good match."
"Oh trust me, boy, you won't even know what hit you," she said with a wink.
Annie crossed one leg over the other and leaned forward a little, and Drew looked down at Roselia, who gave him a wary look right back.
"Whatcha doing after the contest?" Annie asked between popping bubbles.
"I'm not sure?" Drew said a little flustered.
Annie stood up and moved to sit next to him on his bench now. She was a little close; so much so, that their knees were almost touching. It was…weird. Drew knew he had fan girls, but this was a little too close to his personal space. Roselia watched the exchange, unsure of what to do.
"I've never hung out with a dude from Hoenn before," she said. "I could show you around town after our match if you want."
"That's nice, but I think we're gonna be heading out after–"
"Oh c'mon," Annie leaned on his shoulder, giving him a pout. "Don't leave me hanging here."
"Sorry to interrupt," a voice cut in, making the girl jump and look up at the doorway. "Drew's actually already got plans with me."
Solidad stood in the doorway of the waiting room with one hand on her hip and a polite smile locked on her lips. Like Drew's knight in shining armor, she approached the two and Annie backed up immediately, recognizing the older coordinator.
Earlier in the day, Solidad and Drew had met up in Fuchsia City. She had been there visiting some old friends when Drew informed her that he was going there for the upcoming contest. Solidad said she would hang around to watch him compete, and they could catch up after the contest. She needed a break from training for the Grand Festival, as she'd qualified with her fifth ribbon almost a month prior.
Drew stood up to meet her and hoped his grateful stare towards his friend signaled his thanks to her. Solidad gave him a slight nod when she came to stand in front of the two. Annie shuffled to her feet quickly as well, all her confidence seemingly gone.
"I think we've met before," Solidad said, extending her arm out to shake the young girl's hand. "Back at…where was it, Pewter City? You're really familiar to me."
"Yeah, it was Pewter's first contest," Annie awkwardly shook hands with Solidad. "You knocked me out in round one."
"Gosh, that was so long ago," Solidad mused. "Well, it's nice to see you again. Drew and I are going to go get coffee afterwards if you're interested in tagging along!"
"Oh, no, that's okay," Annie replied, slowly stepping back. "My Pokémon and I will probably just head home to rest up. It was good to see you again and thanks for the offer. I guess I better go get ready for the battle in a few minutes."
With that, Annie shuffled out of the door and Drew assumed she went to hang out in the other waiting room. Relieved yet slightly embarrassed, he muttered a quick apology to his older friend.
"No problem," she laughed a little. "I was coming back to ask you where you wanted to meet up when you're done, but when I saw that girl all over you and your face turning red, I figured I should intervene."
"My face was not red," Drew grumbled.
"Sure, sure," Solidad laughed again.
A voice sounded off over the intercom that the media time out was about to end, and that the finalists needed to be prepared to take the stage.
The battle lasted the whole five minutes, and Drew and Roselia had a few close calls against Annie's Delibird. The ice-flying Pokémon had two distinct advantages over Drew's grass type, and he won the battle mostly by utilizing defensive counters. Neither Pokémon went down during the fight; it was all about points falling, and Drew managed to keep a strong majority.
Annie seemed shocked to lose when she should have had the upper hand, but she had already known who Drew Hayden was, and she shook his hand before she left all together.
"I understand that this is your final ribbon, is that correct?" Mr. Contests asked Drew.
"Yes sir, this is it," Drew answered.
"Excellent," Mr. Contesta nodded. "I'm looking forward to all you'll display at our Grand Festival."
"This is Drew's fifth ribbon, ladies and gentlemen!" Lillian announced to the crowd when Mr. Contesta backed away from the winner. "He's one of the first few to qualify for our Grand Festival in just a few short months! Let's hear it one more time for Drew and his amazing team!"
Three months to go, and they would be competing against each other in the Kanto Grand Festival.
For the present moment, though, Drew and Solidad sat as friends, chatting easily about how the season had gone, and what they wanted to accomplish before the ultimate contest.
"Apparently only 14 others have qualified so far this season," Solidad commented. "Pretty insane to think how high that number is gonna go up in the next few weeks."
"They've gotta fill up those contestant spots," Drew agreed.
Solidad carefully stirred a little vanilla powder into her iced coffee, and Drew waited patiently for his café au lait too cool down a little more. The sun was still high in the sky, and Fuchsia City was experiencing record high temperatures that year.
"I can't believe you're drinking hot coffee when it's so hot outside," Solidad shook her head, taking a tester sip of her iced brew.
"Heat doesn't bother me," Drew explained. "Spend the first 13 years of your life in Hoenn, you just kind of get used to it."
"We're definitely not in Hoenn," Solidad said. "What are you going to be doing from now until the Grand Festival? Will I see you again before then?"
"Who knows?" Drew responded. "I'll try to catch a few contests here and there, but really I just want to start training. I think for the next few days, I'll give my Pokémon a break, though."
"For sure," Solidad sipped. "Three contests in two weeks. You're insane."
"Says the coordinator who earned her five ribbons in under three months?"
"Touché."
The season in Kanto so far had been a whirlwind.
After catching Absol, Drew and his team got straight back to work. They took the Mulberry City Contest head on, and it felt like there hadn't even been a gap in between the time since their first contest and the time it took him to find Absol.
When they'd first started training together, Absol was still a little hesitant to completely go with Drew. He held back the potential of some of his attacks, and Drew could understand why. He didn't push his new Pokémon too hard, though; it was all an adjustment, and Drew vowed to be as patient as he'd need to be.
The patience paid off, and over the last few weeks, Absol was shining beautifully in their private practice sessions. Drew explained to Absol early on that he wanted him to learn how contests really worked before he would actually compete, and while he was training onside Drew's much more seasoned teammates, Absol couldn't help but feel a little intimidated. He was content to wait until he was ready.
That was how the last few weeks had gone, though; Drew working with his old partners for contests, and working in private with his new one.
When Solidad had earned her final ribbon, Drew felt the need to push a little harder to get his qualification for the Grand Festival as well. He and his team blasted through the region, entering three contests back to back to back. He rationalized with them that they would do one final push, and then they would take a nice break before they started training solely for the festival. They all agreed, and all the hard work paid off.
"I wonder where all our other friends are in their ribbon counts," Solidad thought out loud.
"May picked up her second one in Silver City a few weeks ago," Drew casually mentioned.
Solidad frowned a little bit.
"Harley earned his fourth ribbon today in Wisteria Town," she said carefully.
"I actually forgot that one was today," Drew sipped his drink. "I'll have to watch it later."
Solidad's eyes were down on her drink. Drew gave her a suspicious look.
"Why are you making that face?" he questioned.
"Harley beat May today."
Drew's eyes widened a little bit. As far as he'd known, May hadn't lost to Harley yet. He hoped it hadn't been due to lying or manipulation, though knowing Harley's past, he wouldn't have put it past him. The thought of dishonest coordinating was sour to him.
Though Drew had never explained why, Solidad knew he had a certain disdain for her quirky friend, and she didn't know how Drew would react knowing someone he cared about lost to him.
"Huh," Drew finally said after a few moments of silence. "I'll have to watch it later."
"So May's still at two ribbons?" Solidad asked.
"Yes," Drew stated. "But she's got time. She'll be alright."
"I think so, too," Solidad brightened when she saw Drew's confidence in his rival.
"I know you watched the Silver City contest," Drew continued. "Her Squirtle had an excellent appeal, and that was only its second time competing. Not to mention her Combusken is getting stronger every time I see it; I'm surprised it hasn't evolved yet."
"Truth is, I watched a bit of the contest today," Solidad admitted. "May looked good, Harley just had an upper hand. You'll get it when you watch it, but I think with those two on our heels, we'd better watch ourselves in the Grand Festival."
"Yeah, no kidding."
Early in the morning, Drew and Flygon set out on a short flight to Chrysanthemum Island. The island was home to a world famous resort, and Drew wanted to treat his Pokémon after weeks of solid work.
As an added bonus, Chrysanthemum Island had a contest coming up. Drew's Pokémon could be free to relax and play with other Pokémon at the exclusive section of the resort just for them, and he could go watch the contest. The rest of the season was about preparing for the ultimate contest, and a part of that included observing his opponents. That, and he simply loved attending contests in general.
His Pokémon were delighted when they first arrived. It wasn't clear whether they were more excited about the change of pace, or where they were. Maybe they were equally excited about both, but it didn't matter. After all they'd done for him the last few weeks, Drew was elated to see them looking so happy.
The first day they were there, he registered them at the resort's Pokémon club. They'd arrived in town a little past noon, and the club was to shut down early that evening since it was a Sunday. Drew figured his Pokémon could at least get acquainted to the facility for a few hours, and if they liked it, he would bring them back the next day.
To his delight, when he'd arrived promptly 30 minutes before closing to pick them up for the day, all of his team practically sang their approval of the place. They happily waved goodbye to their fellow Pokémon as they exited, and Drew promised them he'd bring them back first thing in the morning when the doors opened. Even Absol, who was still adjusting to being in such crowded environments, seemed to approve, which warmed Drew.
On the second day, Drew had more time to kill, and he settled into a local café on the beach with a pair of headphones and a contest feed pulled up. He'd never gotten around to watching the Wisteria Town contest from a few days prior, partly because there was a part of him that didn't want to watch May lose. He'd seen her take losses in the past before, and he couldn't imagine how losing to Harley for the first time must have felt to her.
During the evening, he realized it might benefit him to put his feelings to the side and actually study just how Harley had done it. Know your enemy, as they said…
Watching the contest turned out to be a good thing, because even though it did suck to watch May lose, it was a good battle, and he took a lot from it. Most notably, he learned Harley had an Octillery in his party, and a pretty mean looking one at that. May's Munchlax did its best in its contest debut, and though May was visibly disappointed, she seemed to understand, and looked to be at peace with the loss.
He even saw her standing there on the stage clapping as Harley received his fourth ribbon. Harley could learn a thing or two about sportsmanship from her.
And her Munchlax had truly preformed beautifully. He didn't know how suited it was for appeal rounds, but it was for sure a heavy hitter in the battle rounds. Drew made a mental note to watch for that as well.
He spent the rest of the day studying footage from he and his teams practice rounds. Though he openly dropped off his Absol at the day care, he made sure no one could see the footage of his newest Pokémon that he was watching on his PokéNav. Secrecy was very important to him, and he was going to be damn sure no media caught on that he had a new partner unlike in Hoenn, when Coordinator's Weekly had actually caught him and Vibrava. So far that season, he'd been in the clear.
Drew had been so focused on what he was doing, that had he not set an alarm to go pick up his team for dinner time, he would have been late in doing so. He strolled back to the day care center and grabbed his teammates, looking more bright and chipper than they had the first day. They were having a great time, and they still had a few more days to enjoy themselves. Drew thanked the woman working at the front desk when she handed him back his credit card, and bid her goodnight, making sure their reservations for the next day were still in place.
On the third sunny day on Chrysanthemum Island, things changed up a little bit.
When Drew brought his Pokémon back to the clubhouse, Roselia stayed at his side. She wanted to spend the day with him, because she could tell that he'd spent the entire previous day working, and she demanded he take some time off as well. If they were going to enjoy themselves, then so was he. He smiled down at his stubborn starter, and finally agreed to let her tag along.
Drew hadn't planned anything different for the day, but knowing Roselia wasn't going to let him do anything contest-related, he needed to find something to fill the time for them.
The morning was bright and clear – a perfect day to soak up some sunshine for a grass type. Drew was strolling near the beach to try to find a good, less crowded place for them to relax, but seeing as the Chrysanthemum contest was set to begin the next day, coordinators were out in full force getting their last minute training in.
They strolled past the huge contest hall, weaving in between coordinators and bystanders hoping to get a sneak preview of the coming action.
Roselia pointed to a small park across the way, with bushes covered in colorful flowers that she seemed keen to go check out. She reached out her rosebud hand and grabbed up at Drew's, dragging him along while he was laughing at her excitement.
"Alright, we're going, we're going!" he smiled.
Roselia stood by the bushes, examining and admiring all the variety she was seeing. It was truly a magnificent display; the town's tourism department did a great job sprucing up this little park in a beach-heavy town.
"Now, Sceptile, use bullet seed!"
No way.
Drew's head whipped back behind him, and Roselia's eyes darted over quickly as well to see May standing by all her friends, all surrounding a very dejected looking Pokémon. Roselia snickered to herself; she didn't want Drew doing anything contest related…but didn't make a move to stop him when he casually started walking towards the red-clad coordinator.
The rose Pokémon simply turned her head and focused back on her flowers, all the more happy she'd found this spot and that the stars had aligned for her trainer, just as they always seemed to when he got to see that girl.
"Hey, c'mon, you can do those moves!" Ash encouraged, though it came out a little harsh in Drew's opinion. "You have to try harder! Get that stuff out of your mind and do it!"
Drew didn't know what exactly was going on with Ash's Pokémon, but he did know that it clearly had a lasting impact on him, and Ash wasn't handling it the way he should have been.
"You're just making it worse, you know," Drew called out as he approached. "You're not thinking about it from Sceptile's point of view."
May jumped a little, and leaned around Sceptile to get a better view of her rival. Drew smirked back at her puzzled face.
"It's Drew," she spoke softly, as if she herself couldn't believe she was seeing him.
He looked at her for a few seconds. It had been a while since they'd run into each other. A few months, even. Back in Hoenn, they seemed to see each other a lot more often. Here in Kanto, it had been a different story.
Drew kept up with her progress, though. He'd watched out for her in contests, though he had no luck in running into her. And she had only competed in three of them so far that season, so trying to watch her compete online had been equally as difficult.
But now there she was, after what felt like so long, right in front of him. It felt like a reunion of sorts, and he could feel his heart elevate at seeing her again.
Arceus, she made him feel so many things.
Drew had long come to terms that he'd felt something beyond a simple rivalry or a friendship with her. No one else had ever made him feel what she had, and she may or may not have realized it. It was probably better if she didn't.
After a moment, May's eyes lit up as if she remembered something. She began pulling her small fanny pack around and digging in it for something. Meanwhile, Sceptile sighed audibly, and Drew's attention shifted to the tall green Pokémon. He couldn't understand why, but this Pokémon seemed to be struggling with something pretty intense. Drew knew more than anything, this Pokémon needed some reassurance.
"Telling your Pokémon to try harder only gives them more stress," Drew explained, stepping forward and placing a calming hand on Sceptile. "And you don't need that, right?"
Sceptile looked at Drew with tired eyes, but there was some gratitude deep down in them, and Drew smiled warmly up at the Pokémon.
She'd seen it before, but seeing the rare soft side of Drew always threw her for a loop. She watched carefully as he gently reassured a Pokémon that wasn't even his, for no reason other than to be kind. She pursed her lips, not wanting to break up the tender moment, but also deeply curious about the card and the rose in her hands.
"Uh, hey, Drew?" May said a little hesitantly. "Did you send this to me?"
"Huh?" Drew questioned.
He turned to face her, seeing the card she held up in one hand, and the rose in the other down at her side.
A rose? That healthy looking? Drew hadn't given May a rose in…a while. Even if she'd kept the ones he'd given her, there was no way it could stay alive that long. He stared at the rose for a few seconds, and something felt off.
Something inside of him made his chest feel hallow, like it was suddenly empty. A strange anxiety crept its way into his veins, and he was unsure of why this small, red rose threw him off so badly for a second.
He forced his eyes to look up at the white piece of paper in her hands, and he swallowed.
Was…was someone else sending May roses? The thought devastated him.
"See, I'd love to be in the contest with you, but mark my words, this time I'm gonna beat you, get it!" she said, determined and clearly missing the feelings of dread that slowly filled him.
"Except I didn't send that…" Drew admitted out loud.
Surprise overtook May's face, and she looked back down at the things in her hands before looking back up to him, confused.
Though Drew felt as though he was having an existential crisis, he didn't want May's group to know that. So he kept talking.
"C'mon, that's not my style," he put on a fake smirk to hide his panic, and flicked his hair for good measure. "You should know that."
"We should, huh?" the group asked at once, and May's eyes fell back to the strange note in her hands.
His face burned and he knew he was blushing in embarrassment. Not only did this situation already suck, but now he was humiliated in front of her and her friends. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath trying to get the heat to leave his face.
What was she thinking? Was she relieved to know that it hadn't come from him? Was she upset? He couldn't tell; her face was so blank.
It was driving him crazy. He had to figure this out.
No one was speaking; everyone was so focused on that damn note.
"Truthfully, I'm not even going to be in this Pokémon contest," he filled the silence.
That grabbed May's attention. She looked back up to him in surprise.
"You're not?" she asked.
"I've been in so many contests lately, my Pokémon are wiped," he responded truthfully. "So we came to Chrysanthemum Island for a little R and R."
"R and R?" May said, a little sadly. "Go figure."
Why did she seem upset now? Could it have been because he wasn't entering the contest? Did she actually miss competing with him? Truth be told, he couldn't wait to be in a contest with her again. It was only a matter of time before they'd face off again, but now the longing look on her distracted face told him maybe…she had similar thoughts as well?
His brief moment of potential contentment was cut short when she looked back down at the note still in her hands. Arceus did he hate that little piece of paper so much.
"But if you didn't send me this, I wonder who did…"
"We were so sure it was you," Ash explained, and Drew looked over at him.
Drew just shrugged, implying he hadn't the slightest clue, and was just as lost as they were.
"It is strange," Brock mused. "Maybe one of your other rivals is here at the contest, May?"
"Maybe…" May wondered.
"Can I see the note?" Drew suddenly asked.
May's eyes darted back up to him.
"Oh, uh, I guess, here ya go," she said handing it over to him.
He didn't miss how she looked back down to the rose in her hands when he took the paper, and he tried to push down the feelings that made him feel indifferent. Drew carefully unfolded the note. It was a simple card, nothing fancy.
Dear May,
I look forward to seeing you again in the Chrysanthemum Contest.
That was it; that was the entire note said. It had no signature at the bottom, and it gave no indication as to who could of sent it, or why they did. But in that rose in her hands meant anything, Drew felt that sense of dread just pulling at his heartstrings.
He handed it back to her slowly, and their eyes met for a moment.
"I have no idea, May."
"Well, who ever sent it has got to be here, right?" Max rationalized. "I'm sure we'll know soon enough."
"Max is right," Brock added. "There's no need to stress about it. We've got to get going, though."
"Hm?" May looked over to her older friend.
"It's almost 10, which means we've got to go get you singed up for the contest tomorrow," he explained.
"Oh my mew, you're right!" May exclaimed, shoving the note and the flower back into her pack and switching them out for her contest pass. "Come on, guys!"
The group all turned to take their leave, leaving Drew standing there to watch them go.
May was the only one to turn back and wave.
"Bye, Drew! We'll see you later!"
Roselia took matters into her own hands.
After seeing Drew standing there, even after May and her friends had left, Roselia knew that something had happened. Her trainer seemed extremely confused and dismayed, and Roselia knew she needed to do something. So she once again took Drew by the hand and led him back towards the hotel they'd been staying at.
They made their up to their room, and Roselia began rifling through Drew's bag looking for something. He watched her search for whatever, about to speak, when she found what she was looking for and threw his pair of swimming shorts at his face. He caught the bathing suit as it rolled off and looked up to see her pointing out the window down stairs to the pool area.
She then gestured to the bathroom so he could change, and pointed up at the clock, implying she was giving him a few minutes to change and that they would be heading down there to relax.
Drew nodded, and pushed down his weird, jealous feelings. This week was about what his Pokémon wanted and he was going to honor that no matter what.
In truth, the sunshine felt good on his skin.
Not really one for swimming, Drew and Roselia found a pair of pool chairs side by side, and each of them claimed one and laid out in the sun. Drew was sure to put on plenty of sunblock, and he put on protective cream for his Roselia as well, just to help keep her body from drying up. Grass types loved the sunshine, but too much of a good thing…
They'd been lounging for almost an hour. Roselia basked in the warmth of the outdoor air, and Drew did his best to stay as calm as possible.
But that note and that rose, and May's strange looks remained prominent in his mind. He couldn't ignore them, and it sucked. Roselia didn't seem to notice, though, so he was doing a pretty good job of hiding it. He kept his face turned up towards the sky and his eyes closed, trying to think of anything but May and someone else sending her roses…
"Drew!" May's voice called out to him.
He wasn't imagining that.
Roselia looked up from behind him, and Drew turned his head to see May jogging towards him, a little girl right at her side, both clearly ignoring the "no running by the pool" signs. Her mood looked a lot more like her usual upbeat self as she came up to him, and the little girl looked like she was about to pass out. It the second strange encounter for the day.
"May, what's up?" he tried to sound casual, waiting for her to explain.
May stepped to the side so Drew could see the young girl she was with better, and May extended her hand out to emphasize her presence.
"I've got a new friend," May explained. "Her name's Brianna; she's a big fan of yours who became a coordinator after watching you perform."
This wasn't the first time he'd heard that story. He'd heard dozens of people over the years he'd been coordinating tell him the exact same thing. Or post about it online in contest forums he'd peaked at from time to time. This young girl wasn't the first he'd encountered who he'd inspired unintentionally.
But there was a nervous energy that radiated off this poor girl, like if he looked at her long enough, her soul would leave her body and ascend. She was visibly shaking, and May looked down at her young new friend with a soft understanding. May gave him a quick glance that screamed 'c'mon, I know this isn't your thing, humor her.'
Of course he would. This girl didn't seem like a crazed fan; just a painfully shy little girl with big hopes and dreams. How could he ever turn that down?
"Wow, you did?" Drew gasped while standing, and May gave him a big, encouraging smile. "Hey, thank you!"
Brianna clasped her hands together and looked at him in shock, like her brain couldn't process that her idol was actually speaking to her.
"It's–it's nice to meet you…" she squeaked out.
"And it was Brianna who sent me that card!" May took over when Brianna struggled to speak.
A weight felt like it had been lifted off of his shoulders, and his body suddenly was released from the tense state it had been in for a while now. Brianna sent May that card that that rose. This sweet little girl was the one who did it; not some secret admirer from afar who was going to confess their feelings towards May at this contest and–
He stopped the thought before it finished in his head. He didn't want to ever have to picture anything like that again. It felt like it physically pained him.
Alas, the mystery had been solved and with a happy ending. He kept his face even to hide the utter electricity of joy that was jolting him from within.
Brianna seemed like she'd been shocked as well, because she jumped a little bit when her accident have been acknowledged.
"I didn't sign my name and I feel like such a total fool!" she cried, her face somehow growing more red.
With his mood effectively lifted, and Roselia moving to stand beside him, Drew's confidence felt renewed.
"You didn't do anything wrong; May just made another silly mistake," he teased, easing back into the conversation.
"There's only one person I knew who would send me something like that, Mr. Rose," she snapped back.
Drew's eyes bulged in shock at her comeback, and the flustered confusion returned in full force. What could that have possibly meant? Why was her tone so sharp? Did she not appreciate the roses he'd given her? His face heated up again, and he looked at her.
"Mr. Rose?" he questioned slowly.
Roselia nearly fell laughing at his side, and he could practically feel all the blood in his face. The two girls in front of him had to have seen him blushing, and Drew had never recalled a time when he'd felt so many different emotions in such a short period.
"Roselia…" he muttered down at his side.
She continued to giggle, and he tried to brush it off as best he could. At least the whole card situation was over with, he tried to tell himself.
Luckily, May's smile returned, and she turned back to face Brianna, not intent on pointing out Drew's blunder.
"You know, if you'd like to shake Drew's hand, I'm sure he'd love to," May said sweetly.
Brianna, more than ever, looked like she was going to die on that spot, and Drew gave her an encouraging grin.
"Yeah?" she said loudly, before quieting down again. "Really?"
"I'd be happy to!" Drew reassured her, stretching his hand outwards.
Brianna hesitated, but finally stepped forward and grabbed his hand. He shook it gently, and could still feel her palm trembling ever so slightly. This girl was precious, and for once, he wasn't bothered to be so loved by one of his fans. This girl was sweet, and he wished her well.
"It's so awesome to meet you…" Brianna admitted.
Once she let his hand go, she took a nervous step back to give him more space, which he appreciated. May, meanwhile, slid closer to him, a mischievous smile appearing. He looked at her warily for a minute, anticipating the mocking.
"You've done this before, right?" she asked him slyly.
He squinted his eyes at her; she was getting way too good at comebacks. For the third time that morning, Drew found himself embarrassed, and he bit his lip.
"And you talk too much…" he retorted quietly.
May kept that sneaky grin on her face and her eyes held his as she slid back, and Drew resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
"Oh wow, I did it!" Brianna looked down at her hand wearing a big smile.
There was a moment of silence that fell over the three of them. Brianna seemed too dazed to speak and May seemed like she was pondering more ways to be sarcastic with him. Drew didn't want to face more humiliation, and he worried that if he interacted with her more, Brianna might actually pass out right then and there. So he took the opportunity to leave.
"Bye, good luck at the contest," he bid the girls, and strolled back to the main lobby with Roselia.
"Thanks!" Brianna added from behind him. "Nice to talk to you!"
They made it back all the way back to their room. They still had a few hours before they could pick up the rest of Drew's Pokémon from the clubhouse. Drew walked to the front of his bed and stared down at it for a moment before falling face first onto the newly changed sheets and comforter.
Roselia just laughed.
He tried to block it out.
The sky was a fiery orange and sun was setting and Drew was walking back towards his hotel.
His Pokémon all had a full day of playing with their new friends at the clubhouse, and Drew decided to carry them back to their temporary home in their Pokéballs so they could rest up a bit before dinner. He kept his hands in his pockets as he occasionally looked out over the beach and to the horizon. The sunsets here were incredible.
"Hey, Drew," his attention was pulled from the scenery to see Brock walking opposite on the sidewalk.
"Oh, hey," Drew said, stopping to greet May's friend. "What are you up to?"
"Going to the market to pick up some things to cool for dinner," Brock said.
"Gotcha," Drew said, looking behind Brock a little further down the sidewalk.
Brock smiled at the young coordinator, understanding.
"May's on the beach back down a ways with Ash and Max," Brock clarified. "She'd getting some last minute practicing in before tomorrow morning."
"Oh, good," Drew nodded, turning back to Brock. "That's smart; she'll probably do well tomorrow, then."
"So I take it you'll be going to the contest to watch then huh?"
"I was planning to, yeah," Drew nodded again.
"You should come sit with us and cheer May on tomorrow," Brock invited. "It'll be fun. I'm sure you could teach us a thing or two about contests."
Drew thought about it for a moment. He'd definitely felt like he knew May's little group a lot more than when he'd previously met up with them. Before, he'd had his hang ups about spending time with them, because he really hadn't known them that well. Now, he didn't have that excuse. While he wasn't close to them, he figured it couldn't hurt.
"That sounds good," Drew said. "I'll meet you guys in front of the east entrance to the stadium at 9:30."
"Great, we'll be looking for you," Brock grinned. "And if you want, you're welcome to join us for dinner tonight. I'm sure May and the others would love if you joined us."
Now that, for whatever reason, made him feel a little awkward. That seemed like three steps further, and while Drew appreciated the offer, he pursed his lips.
"Thank you, but I really have to get back and take care of my Pokémon," Drew declined politely. "But I'll catch you guys tomorrow morning."
"Oh, okay," Brock said a little more deflated. "But if you change your mind, we'll be picnicking on the beach. I'm sure May's going to stay up late and train."
"I'll keep that in mind. Have a good night."
Brock bid Drew farewell, and continued on his way to the market down the street.
Well, he tried. Maybe next time.
But hey, sitting together at a contest wasn't a bad first step.
Was there ever a cloud in the sky on Chrysanthemum Island?
Drew stood against a wall, patiently waiting for May's friends to arrive. He'd shown up at 9:20, just to be punctual. The contest was set to start at 10.
Chrysanthemum Island had a beautiful contest hall, set right on the beach. Because of the good weather, the stadium's roof was left open, allowing the sunshine to rain down on the stage. He'd thought about competing here earlier in the season, but he'd hit a streak of contests on the mainland and never actually made it. It was cool to finally see the arena in person, though. Solidad had won her third ribbon here, and she'd raved about how nice the facility was.
"Drew, hey!" Ash's voice came from his right.
He pushed himself off the wall to see May's friend's walking towards him, with eager smiles and lots of energy. May wasn't with them, probably already in the hall signing in and getting her things in order. They seemed to be laughing about something, or finishing up a previous conversation. Drew hoped they wouldn't be all high energy; he actually wanted to watch the contest.
"Good morning," Brock greeted easily. "It's a beautiful day for a contest in a stadium like this."
"It should be a good show," Drew agreed.
"I can't wait to watch May win it all!" Max buzzed.
"I can't wait to see some great battles!" Ash said, and his Pikachu cheered from his shoulder.
Both Drew and Brock watched for a minute as Ash and Max jumped up a little, and Ash's Pikachu looked like it was struggling to find balance on his trainer's shoulder while moving so much. It leapt softly into Brock's arms, who caught it naturally as if this was a regular occurrence. Drew and Pikachu made eye contact, and Pikachu smiled warmly.
"Well, why don't we get in and find some good seats," Brock offered when the other two seemed to settle down.
The group of four made their way into the hall, and Max and Ash's energy kept up as they wandered up a staircase to the center seating area. Brock and Ash walked side by side, and Max strolled next to Drew.
"May practiced really hard for this contest," Max whispered over to Drew. "When she found out you were here, she wanted to start training again right away. I think she wanted to show you how good she is."
"Really?" Drew looked down at Max, and didn't like the knowing smirk on the little boy's face. "That's–good, I guess."
The four boys made it into the stadium room. Brock fell by Drew's side while Max and Ash began to bicker about which seats were the best. They were early, and only a few observers had made it into the hall so far. They had a lot of seats to choose from, and Brock and Drew hung back while Max went off in one direction and Ash in the other.
"This happens at every contest," Brock commented with a small laugh. "We'll end up right over there, though, I guarantee it."
The coordinator's eyes watched as May's younger brother climbed over another row, inspecting the view and shaking his head, moving on to another spot. Ash, meanwhile, was running up the stairs, looking back, going down two rows, looking back, going up three rows, looking back…
After two minutes of this, both the boys ended up in the exact place Brock had already pointed to.
"Over here, guys, c'mon!" Max announced proudly.
Max and Ash claimed the seats to Brock's left, and Drew ended up sitting on Brock's right. He figured he'd get the best conversation out of the oldest one in the group.
Ash and Max immediately started chattering about which one of them found the seats, Brock occasionally throwing in a word or two.
It was an odd ritual that apparently happened often, and Drew might have thought it tedious and pointless had he not known them better. These people were definitely perfect travel companions for May. They matched her high energy and upbeat personality well.
Eventually, Drew and Brock struck up their own conversation. Drew inquired about Brock's passion for Pokémon breeding, and Brock congratulated Drew on already having his fifth ribbon for so early in the season. It was a pleasant experience for sure. Drew even found that he wasn't annoyed by Max or Ash butting into their talk every now and then.
Drew found he was surprisingly okay about being with them.
After a few minutes of good conversation, the stadium filled up to max capacity, and Lillian proceeded with starting the contest.
Yet again, the girl from Team Rocket appeared, moving to center stage to get her appeal started. Drew rolled his eyes and waited to see what would happen. A simple hula dance made up her entire performance.
"She's definitely racking up points for showing off Mime Jr.'s cuteness, but…" Brock mentioned during the first performance.
"She's not really showing off any of Mime Jr.'s moves," Drew finished for him. "This isn't something you normally see at contests, though. This seems like it belongs in a showcase in Kalos."
"Still, she's really playing into the theme of the town and culture here," Brock continued. "She's gonna be tough to beat."
"Mhm."
Lillian managed to usher the girl off stage and keep the momentum going.
"Presenting our next entry!" Lillian introduced by pointing to the entrance from stage left.
The four boys looked as May dashed out of the tunnel, a constant skip in her sprint to the stage. Max and Ash began wildly shouting encouragements to her. Brock kept a steady clap going, and Drew just smirked as her watcher her make her entrance. She raised a Pokéball in hand, and called out her partner.
With a nice twirl, she hurled her Pokéball into the air.
"Now, Munchlax, take the stage!" she commanded.
Munchlax popped out of its capsule and landed on the floor with a thud, taking a stance that screamed his eagerness to get started.
"Munchlax?!" Max cried in worry. "Aw, man, Munchlax has never done a real first round before!"
"Go for it, Munchlax, you can do it!" Ash yelled.
It was definitely an interesting choice. Munchlax had done well in the battle rounds of the last contest they'd entered. It was a powerhouse of a Pokémon that packed a nasty punch. But appeals were so different than battles, and Drew watched curiously to see what May was planning.
"Munchlax, use solar beam!"
Munchlax steadied itself and quickly shot off a bright solar beam straight up into the air, waving it's head back and forth slightly as if it were a spot light. Drew could tell the judges were impressed by just how quickly May's Pokémon could harness and release a move that normally took some charging up. It was a good opening to her appeal for sure.
"How did Munchlax get the energy for that solar beam so quick?" Ash wondered.
"Well, it could have been the sunrays," Brock answered, glancing upwards.
"The sunrays?" Ash and Max both looked up curiously.
"A strong source of sunlight not only makes a solar beam easy to get charged up, but fast as well," he explained to them.
"It was a good choice for an attack when you're on an outdoor stage at a resort like this," Drew said, keeping his eyes locked on May's performance.
Brock nodded, and May continued.
"Now, Munchlax, use metronome!"
Munchlax's fingers began to glow, and it waved its hands back and fourth attempting to summon an attack from an endless pool of possibilities.
"Not again," Max continued to whine. "Why in the world is May choosing metronome at a time like this?"
"She's taking a chance," Ash agreed. "Who knows what'll happen?"
May had used this technique before, and previously, Drew had never understood why any coordinator would think it was a good idea to use. But he had come to see this work in May's favor more than a few times, and he'd come to accept it as a part of her strategy.
"It's a chance, but I think it's worth it," Drew explained, moving his hair out of his eyes to get a better look. "If it works, it's a showcase. It puts your Pokémon in a great position."
May seemed to be at her best when she was forced to think on her feet. Using moves like assist and metronome tended to work for her, because they showed her ability to think on her feet. She'd impressed judges at her contests in the past with this strategy, and knowing her, she would probably do it again. The only question was, what was going to come out of it this time?
The white orbs expanded slowly, and the whole arena was filled with a white light that cleared as quickly as it had come. And Munchlax was asleep.
Well…that was unexpected for all parties involved.
The suddenly sleepy Pokémon dozed in the middle of the arena, snoring away to May's surprise.
"Well, well, it looked like that metronome gave us a rest attack!" Lillian called out.
Max and Ash leaned forward, the latter practically growling in frustration.
"Oh man, what's May gonna do?" Max almost panicked.
"Guys, don't worry," Brock said. "Remember what May practiced last night?"
Drew spared him a quick side-glance, curious, but waiting.
"Well at least one of us is getting some rest around here, but I don't think this is what May had in mind!" Lillian tried to fill the unexpected stillness of the appeal.
The judges seemed intrigued, which May had been counting on. She'd prepared herself incase something like this was to happen, and she reached for some Pokéblock in her back pocket.
"I had a feeling that something like this might happen," May smiled confidently. "It's a May's pink surprise!"
She tossed the pink cube up into the air, and amazingly, Munchlax jerked awake. The whole audience gasped as Munchlax leapt high into the air (higher than an Munchlax they'd ever seen go), and caught the treat in its mouth eagerly chewing it. The display really showcased Munchlax's personality, and that in itself made this a great appeal.
"Talk about a wake up call!" Lillian announced, delighted by the turn of events.
May wasn't done yet, though, and for the grand finale, she called for a focus punch as Munchlax began plummeting towards the stage.
In the most creative use of a fighting attack he'd ever seen in an appeal round, Drew watched in amazement as Munchlax aimed his fist down at the ground, and hit against the air, effectively slowing himself down on the descent. Munchlax used the momentum to flip over and land gently on his feet.
"A focus punch that lets you down easy!" Lillian concluded.
The crowd cheered for May, and the boys applauded as well.
"Awesome!" Max said.
"Now that's focus!" Ash added.
"And that's about as focused as you're gonna get," Drew complimented.
May smiled and waved to the audience, thanking them for their support as she took her queue from the stage director to exit.
Drew watched her until she disappeared from view.
There she went, impressing him yet again.
Brock was surprisingly a great commentator on contest appeals.
Where Max and Ash paid attention but more or less tuned the majority of them out after having seen May, Drew found it easy and almost natural to discuss the performances with Brock. The former gym leader wasn't a coordinator by any means, but he could clearly appreciate the art that coordinating was. It was refreshing, because typically, he only got to go in depth with Solidad.
Brianna had gone on shortly after May, and Drew didn't let the irony of her owning a Surskit slip past him. He was impressed when she had her Surskit convert the stage into an ice skating rink, and used agility to play around with the transformed space.
"Hey, that wasn't half bad!" Ash said, amazed at how high Brianna's Pokémon managed to jump.
"It's better than that," Drew partially corrected him. "She used the whole field, after all."
The Surskit landed with a delicate spin on the ground and stuck a final pose. The judges were enamored, and Brianna swelled with pride. Drew wondered how in the world this was the same shy girl he'd met just 24 hours prior to her performance. She radiated confidence on the stage, and he and May's group clapped for her along with the rest of the arena.
More coordinators came and went. Brock and Drew discussed more performances in depth as the contest's first round went on.
"That Hypno really has good control over its coin," Brock said at one point. "What a creative use of psychic."
"Blastoise is doing well, but I think it's holding back a little; it could probably shoot that hydro canon even higher," Drew mentioned during another appeal.
"What do you think that Castform would have done differently if the weather had been different today?" Brock asked. "Do you think they had a back up appeal planned?"
"Coordinators should always have a plan B," Drew informed him. "I can't imagine what Castform could have done in a closed roof environment, though."
It was nice to have someone to bounce ideas and commentary off of, and Drew was having a good time. The appeal round seemed to fly by, and before they knew it, Lillian was announcing the coordinators who were going to the battles.
"Alright, here are the eight coordinators who are moving on to round two!" Lillian gestured up to the big screen.
Both Brianna and May's pictures appeared on the second row. They'd locked their places in the battle rounds, though it wasn't surprising.
"Drew, how do you think May's doing today?" Max surprised him by asking.
He looked over at Max to see the genuine curiosity in his eyes.
Well, her appeal had been good, but that was only the half waypoint. He looked over to Brock.
"Is she using Munchlax in round two?" he asked.
"I think she told me she was going to use Combusken instead," Brock responded, sensing Drew's disappointment at the answer.
If it were him competing, he would have kept on fighting with Munchlax. It was obvious May had a great connection with her Combusken, and she preferred him in the battle rounds generally, but this didn't seem too well thought out. Making this switch was something he opposed, and it concerned him. He hoped she knew what she was doing, but making what seemed like a mistake was slightly frustrating, especially seeing how well she had been thriving in Kanto.
Maybe she was hesitant because of the tough loss Munchlax faced against Harley, and she was still recovering from it. But still, utilizing Munchlax's solar beam attack in this arena seemed like it would have been obvious.
It was annoying to him; she should have known better. He was frustrated because he wanted to see her succeed so badly.
"Hey, give me a break," Drew faced the group and spoke a little more bitterly than he intended. "Doesn't she remember that Munchlax's quicker in the sun? That's too bad; it would have given her a huge advantage. Sorry, but it looks like May messed up again."
May's friends seemed taken aback by his harsh words, but he wasn't trying to be insulting, just factual. Ash stared at him is disbelief, Max gasped and looked worried, and Brock smiled awkwardly, something knowing in his eyes.
"Gee, Drew, why don't you tell us how you really feel?" he teased slightly.
Drew's face flushed red, and he ducked away, turning back to the stage.
It felt like ever since he'd arrived on Chrysanthemum Island, all he'd done was embarrass himself.
After a somewhat messy first battle, May got herself back on track. She and her Combusken blasted their way to the final round, which wasn't as exciting as it should have been.
If anything, it was kind of worrisome.
Brianna was a wildcard no one saw coming. Outside of the contest hall, she was a meek little girl. On stage, she was on fire, a complete force to be reckoned with. She was a hurricane of force, pounding down her opponents with ease.
Her Vibrava was just as vicious as she was, and watching it battle reminded Drew when he'd first met and started working with his own Vibrava.
At one point during Brianna's second battle, Brock leaned over to Drew.
"You know, it just dawned on me, Brianna must really be a huge fan of yours," he whispered. "She gave May a rose, she's got a Surskit and a Vibrava just like your Masquerain and Flygon, and her battle style shows a lot of similarities. You must have really influenced her."
Of course Brock would have picked up on that, and Drew could only hum in response.
He was far too busy watching her battle, knowing May was going to have her hands full.
The stage was set, Lillian introduced the final two, and the two girls finally called out their Pokémon.
"Combusken, take the stage!"
"Okay, Vibrava, I chose you!"
These two girls were friends, but you wouldn't be able to tell if you hadn't previously known that. There was a strong tension in the air between them. Both of these girls wanted to win, badly. Somehow, this went beyond a ribbon.
"This is gonna be a great match," Ash spoke.
"Definitely!" Max responded. "May's gonna have to be careful against that Vibrava if she wants to win that ribbon."
"I think this is about more than a ribbon, Max," Brock threw out there.
Drew purposefully stayed silent. May was definitely in for a tough battle. Her Combsken was at a huge disadvantage against Vibrava. Any one of Vibrava's ground or flying attacks could be devastating. This is why she should have stuck with Munchlax…
The timer began.
"Now, Combusken, use quick attack!" May started things off.
Combusken darted towards Vibrava, but Briana reacted before her Pokémon could be hit. She commanded Vibrava to use a screech attack, and vibrating wings at an alarmingly high rate of speed. It seemed louder and faster than even his own Vibrava had been capable of before it evolved into Flygon. The vicious purple waves continued raining down with no signs of stopping. The wailing noises effectively stopped Cmbusken dead on spot. He drew his claws to his ears trying fruitlessly to block out the unbearable volume.
"That amazing motion of Vibrava's wings completely knocks me out; it's gorgeous," Drew commented. "Brianna's got herself a fantastic Pokémon."
"Combusken, stop that screech!" May ordered. "Fire spin, now!"
Against the strain of the deafening pitches, Combusken raised his head and quickly fired off a vortex of flames. While it wasn't exactly a strong move against a Vibrava, it shut down the noise and looked like a well-practiced attack. It wouldn't win the battle, but at least May was battling like a coordinator. Brianna's points took a significant hit.
"Now that's weird; I thought I thought fire type moves weren't that strong against ground type Pokémon," Brock questioned.
That was common knowledge, and Drew figured that Brock had to have been confused about the amount of points Brianna lost rather than how the type difference played a role in the scores.
"Yeah, and that's not good for May," Max chimed in.
"But you guys are forgetting something else," Drew never took his eyes off the battle. "It's not just about how much damage you cause, but also about how appealing you make your Pokémon attacks appear."
Brianna moved to strike back, ordering a beautiful dragon's breath strike against May's ongoing fire spin. The green flames barreled down and through Combusken's orange ones, and dissipated the attack all together. May jumped back a little, clearly not expecting this, and Brianna added a sand tomb to her combination attack.
Drew bit the inside of his cheek. He'd been waiting to see Brianna use this move, just as she had in her last two battles. She effectively trapped her opponents, the first time to finish the match with a knockout, and the second she just let struggle against the restraints, letting her opponent bleed his points away by struggling to escape her inescapable trap. Now it looked like she was going to do the same to May.
A whirlwind of sand formed around Combusken's lower body, and rapidly hardened into stone. Combusken panicked, and began desperately trying to flail himself free. The more he struggled, the more points he lost.
May clearly didn't like seeing her Pokémon struggle so much. Her face on the big screen showcased an array of fear and anxiety, and she tried to rack her brain for a way out of this tight spot. Even Drew tried to think of a way to escape, but wasn't succeeding. Combusken's strongest fire attacks would be useless.
That Brianna sure was some coordinator; how had she not won any ribbons yet?
"Combusken, sky uppercut!" May tried.
A fruitless command, Combusken still couldn't force himself out. May's points were suffering, and Drew leaned forward a little bit.
"Get out of there, Combusken!" May begged of her starter. "You can do it! I know you're strong enough to break free of that!"
Combusken continued to fight against its cage with everything it had. His trainer was counting on him, as she had so many times before, and he had never wanted to let her down.
The night before, when they were finishing up their last practice session on the beach, she and Combusken found themselves alone and watching the moonlight over the water. Munchlax was back in its Pokéball resting after working on their appeal, and now she and her starter sat quietly, on the eve of yet another contest.
She had told Combusken she wanted him to be her partner in the battle rounds, and that she trusted him to help her earn her third contest ribbon. Combusken in turn knew how much her loss a few days prior had gotten to her, and more than anything, he wanted to get her past that.
"You're gonna win it all, Combusken, I can feel it," she had said with a determined smile. "I have faith in you; we can do this. If anyone's going to take us to that ribbon, it'll be you and Munchlax."
Those moments played in his head as he continued to fight, trying so very hard to break free for his sake, and for hers.
"Combusken!" she cried from behind him.
Something clicked when she'd called out to him. Something deep inside Combusken ignited. He felt a fire heating up in his core, and a steady energy begin to flood his body like a rush of adrenaline. Outward, he began to glow a strange blue, and suddenly, his legs began to shake.
No one in the arena knew what was happening. May looked on in a strange mix of excitement and concern when the rock surrounded Combusken began to glow as well.
"What's going on?" Max demanded.
"I–I think some sort of fighting instinct has been triggered…" Brock pondered.
That had to have been correct. This definitely wasn't an evolution; Drew could plainly see that. But something else was going on. Something powerful. And it stemmed from the connection May shared with her Combusken. They were stronger united, and it had never been more evident.
"If there's ever a moment where humans and Pokémon are truly one, this is that moment," Drew breathed, looking on in utter elation and anticipation to see what was about to happen.
This was why he loved coordinating; it brought out the very best of people and Pokémon working together.
"For sure!" Ash agreed with Drew, understanding completely having experienced similar feelings in countless battles of his own.
Combusken ripped the sand tomb apart, soaring high into the air with his legs glowing. May looked on in amazement as Lillian narrated to the crowd what she was seeing. Whatever it was, it was breathtaking.
"What's that?" she asked herself as her Pokémon soared through the air.
She observed him closely as he went higher and higher before finally landing back down in front of her, still maintaining that eerie glow. Combusken looked back at her and nodded, signaling he was ready to continue.
"I know! That was a mega kick!" her face morphed into a huge smile.
The power faded away and Combusken returned to normal. May admired her Pokémon and how utterly incredible he was.
"Time for the 30 second warning," Lillian reminded everyone in the stadium that the battle was still going. "We're getting down to the wire."
May's eyes darted up to the scoreboard, and she realized with horror that with so little time left, she was still trailing Brianna. If she was going to come back, this was the time to do so. But with a great new move at her disposal, she felt refreshed and ready to go.
Combusken and May shared one last look; they could do this.
"Keep it strong!" Brianna encouraged. "Dragon's breath, now!"
May didn't seem to have enough time to call for a defense, and the attack hit Combusken head on. May's points dropped again, but there was still hope.
"Hurry, you're running out of time!" Ash pleaded.
"C'mon, May, speed up!" Max added.
May had done a lot of things throughout this contest, but what stood out to Drew the most was just how easily she was able to showcase the bond she held between her and her Pokémon. He focused on her, and really examined May's stance and tried to gauge how she was during these last few vital seconds.
She was totally focused, totally in the zone and totally ready to fight this through until the end. She didn't let her disadvantage deter her.
"Combusken, sky uppercut!" she called out.
Brianna, once again was quicker, calling for a dodge and trying to lock May down with one final sand tomb. Drew simultaneously fell back into his seat. That sand tomb wasn't going to stop May, and Brianna's unknowing mistake was about to cost her the match.
A tornado of sand formed on the ground and raced upwards towards Combusken, still soaring through the air after his failed sky uppercut. The vortex swallowed Combusken, and no one could see him.
"Oh no!" Max squealed.
"This could be bad," Brock said.
Drew just waited, and sure enough, May followed up with a final blow.
"Mega kick, now!" she screamed.
A bright light exploded from the raging sand storm, and a glowing Combusken blasted through the tornado, smashing his legs into Vibrava and slamming them both down onto the stage so hard, stray sand was scattered and clouded them from everyone's view. The whole audience fidgeted in their seats, trying to see what happened.
Combusken leapt out of the cloud of sand and dust, standing proudly. When the sand cleared, Vibrava lay fainted on the ground. Combusken had the knockout and May had the victory.
May grabbed onto her smiling fire type and embraced him sweetly.
"That was the best mega kick I've ever seen," she practically cried tears of elation. "Combusken, you're the absolute best."
"That was a close one," Ash sighed in relief.
"Yeah, good thing Combusken learned to use mega kick," Brock agreed.
"And after what happened, I don't think Combusken will ever be the same," Max threw in.
Brock looked down a Drew, expecting some kind of comment as May walked to the center stage to shake Brianna's hand and to be presented with her third ribbon of the season. He saw Drew sitting there, smiling down at May with pride and so much more; he knew what Drew was feeling.
It was a feeling he was all too familiar with, himself.
"May texted me saying that we can meet up with her and Brianna down at the beach," Max told the three boys as they made their way out of the arena.
Exiting the building, they were met with the warm glow of the sun, as it was half way through its descent on the edge of the horizon.
Brock pointed out where the two girls were standing when he spotted them, and Drew and the others made their way to the shoreline to meet up with them.
"Hey, you guys!" Max called out when they were close enough.
"I had a feeling we'd find you two out here," Brock greeted.
The two girls turned to see the boys approaching, and Drew noticed Brianna shrunk back behind May at the sight of him. Drew shook his head slightly. She may have lost, but she had nothing to be ashamed of.
"You two sure know how to have a great battle," Ash complimented the coordinators.
"That was a great win, too, May," her brother told her sweetly.
"That makes three ribbons now, doesn't it?" Brock inquired.
"Mhm," May confirmed, then turned her attention to Drew. "Hey Drew, I was wondering what you thought of my battle skills since you last saw me?"
He was happy for her, and he was glad to see her confidence after her last defeat. She was back on track to get to the Grand Festival, and his heart picked up a little just thinking about competing with her there. She was his main rival, and watching her come back the way she had today only made him all the more excited to face off against her.
Not that he'd admit it.
"To tell the truth, I thought you got lucky with that mega kick," he taunted her slightly, trying to convey he was ready to take her on. "If I were you, I'd be really grateful."
Her face soured a bit, and she took his advice with a grain of salt. He smirked at her, and then looked past her to see her nervous friend and his biggest fan. She deserved some praise as well, so he stepped forward.
"Brianna; that's your name, right?" he clarified.
"Uh, yes sir!" she jumped a little at the acknowledgement.
"You were good," he smiled. "Very good. It's obvious that you've raised your Vibrava well. It's hard work making it all the way to Flygon, but you'll do it."
"Gee thanks!" she squealed out, unsure if Drew had actually just complimented her or if she was dreaming. "I'll work extra hard!"
What an incredible feeling it was to have her hero say such nice things about her! She couldn't even believe she'd ever get to that point. What a rush…she swooned over and fell into May's arms, her heart felt as though it was beating a million times a minute.
"Whoa, Brianna!" May yelped, catching her dazed friend and holding her upright.
"He sure knows how to make an impression," Max joked from behind.
Brock also muttered something from behind, but he ignored them, and laughed to himself; if only he could have that effect on May.
Speaking of, he brought his eyes back up to meet hers, and she seemed a little surprised to see him staring at her so intensely. But he wanted her to know that all jokes aside, he was impressed, because how could he not be? And he was keeping up with her, because he cared. And he wanted her to know he was looking forward to the next time they would meet.
"Hey, May," he spoke softly now. "Just two more ribbons."
Though the sky made the light around them was golden orange and red, Drew didn't miss the blush that crept up on her face. Was it because she was nervous that he was watching her? What was she thinking?
She turned her head away, seemingly embarrassed.
"Drew, just curious…how many do you have?" she asked tenderly, obviously afraid of the answer.
She didn't need that. She was fine on the track she was on. Letting her know he had his five ribbons already was something he would have jumped at gloating about in the past, but things were different now. He respected her more, and acknowledged that she was closer to his level now. She'd grown so much, but was still fighting insecurities, and that was something he'd never exploit with her again.
"Who counts?" he laughed a little, surprising her. "In your case I figured you just might need someone to remind you."
His PokéNav buzzed in his back pocket, indicating he was late in picking up his own Pokémon from the clubhouse.
He wanted to stay and talk to her more about the contest, but he had an obligation to his own Pokémon. And he knew they'd meet again soon. Even if the next time he saw he would be at the Grand Festival, it was still only three months away. He'd be so focused on his training and preparing, he knew it would fly by.
He gave them a small wave and strolled down the beach, blushing the same shade of red that May was blushing as well.
Things died down on Chrysanthemum Island the day after the contest.
Drew still had reservations for two days there, and he noticed a lot of people leaving in the morning after the fact. He figured the place would see more crowds come next week when the next Chrysanthemum contest would be held. They had a great cycle of tourists coming and going.
He dropped his partners back off for their last day of play at the daycare, and Roselia once again chose to stick with him instead. They headed down to the significantly less crowded beach and spent a few hours down there. Drew laid out on a towel and read little of his Pokéblock guide, and Roselia played in the sand and even ventured to the water a few times. It was a nice day, and the hours ticked by as their short vacation was coming to a close.
Chrysanthemum Island was a beautiful place, and Drew mentioned to his Pokémon when he went to pick them up that they would have to come back some time. That earned him a chorus of cheers from his friends, and even though he was starting to get the itch to get back to training (especially after seeing how good May was getting), he would miss it there when they left.
The manager at the front desk stopped him when he strolled through the lobby towards the elevators to go to his room.
"Mr. Hayden, there's a note here for you," the woman informed him.
Drew walked over and took the neatly folded card, slightly confused but thanked the night clerk and bid her a goodnight, waiting until he got into his room before opening it.
Once he and his Pokémon were settled in, he carefully unfolded the small card and instantly recognized the handwriting; it was the same as the card May had asked him about.
Dear Mr. Drew,
I was hoping I could talk to you again before you left the Chrysanthemum Island. If you want to, of course! It's super okay if you don't! I just wanted to ask you something before you left, and I never got the chance to after the contest. I'll be at the park near the Slowbro Roast Coffee House on Main Street tomorrow around noon if you can make it. If not, it's okay! And good luck in the Grand Festival, not that you need luck because you're amazing.
Brianna
Drew read the note a few times, wondering just what Brianna could possibly want to ask him about.
At noon on the dot, Drew walked through the gates of the small community park, looking for his nervous fan.
It was a small little park, maybe only about three city lots big, but it was a well kept up green space. A decent sized water fountain marked the center of the park, and a small playground for children and for Pokémon stood a few yards away. Benches were scattered all throughout the space, and Drew noticed the chestnut-haired girl sitting on one of the benches, her two Pokémon in front of her.
She was feeding them some Pokéblock when he walked up to them, one hand in his pocket.
"Brianna, hey," he spoke easily.
Brianna almost jumped when she looked up and saw him, like she was seeing a ghost. Her nerves got the better of her, and she suddenly looked like she wanted to be anywhere but there. Did she regret calling this meeting with him?
"Mr. Drew, hi!" she blurted out nervously. "Wow, um, thanks for coming! I know you're probably super busy and don't have time to talk to someone like me and I really appreciate you coming and–"
"Whoa there, take it easy," Drew sat down on the bench next to her. "You don't have to call me Mr. Drew, you know. Just Drew is fine."
"Really?" she asked in disbelief. "Are you sure? I mean I don't mind and you're one of the best coordinators ever and–"
"Breathe," he said laughing a little at how Brianna nervously rambled on. "I watched you perform through that whole contest without batting an eye yesterday. You don't need to be nervous. Just breathe."
Brianna's eyes were hesitant, but when she saw the relaxed smile Drew was giving her, she did manage to calm down.
"Sorry," muttered, and took a deep breath to steel herself. "Sorry."
"It's no problem," Drew assured her. "Your Pokémon are looking good."
"Thank you," she said a little easier. "They slept really great after the contest. We all did."
"I'll bet," Drew nodded. "So, what did you want to talk about?"
"Oh, uh, it's probably not important, actually," Brianna hesitated.
Drew tilted his head and looked back at her. Brianna kept her gaze on the ground and clasped her hands together on her lap.
"I mean it has to be if you wanted me to come meet you here, right?" Drew questioned, not understanding her sudden hesitation.
"It's stupid, really," Brianna admitted to herself. "I just was curious, but it's not important."
"You can tell me," Drew affirmed her. "If it's important enough to bother you, then it is important and you should talk about it."
"You really think so?" Brianna asked, looked at him through the corners of her eyes.
"Yeah, definitely, so go ahead," Drew encouraged.
He didn't know what was bothering her so much, but something was clearly eating away at this shy young girl and he felt bad for her. He wasn't one for discussing feelings, but she was a sweet kid and he'd feel bad if he just left her there. Especially knowing how much she looked up to him. What kind of a horrible role model would he be if he didn't try to help–
"Do you have feelings for May?" she blurted out in one quick breath.
Drew recoiled a little bit. He hadn't had a specific idea about what she would say, but that caught him off guard and he felt almost as if he'd been slapped in the face. Brianna didn't seem to notice his startled reaction as her eyes were still locked on the grass below her feet.
He quickly tried to compose himself.
"What do you mean?" he asked dumbly.
"I was just curious," Brianna clarified. "Back at the contest, we were talking about you backstage and…"
"You were?" he questioned again. "What did you–she–what did you guys say about me?"
Brianna's eyes shot up and she looked alarmed, like maybe Drew was getting the wrong impression.
"Oh, nothing bad or anything!" she explained quickly, and then quieted again. "It's just that when we were waiting back stage to see if we were through to the next round, May said some stuff and it got me thinking."
Drew remained silent. He was too stunned to speak, or he didn't know what to say. His curiosity was eating him, but he'd been told curiosity killed the Delcatty, and he remained guarded as well.
Though with this much sudden tension dropped on his shoulders, he felt like he might die either way.
Brianna took a few seconds to pause, and finally exhaled.
"When we were back stage, and we found out that we made it past the appeals, we were celebrating and dancing and having a lot of fun," Brianna said. "And when we kind of calmed down, and we got our battle assignments, May got really serious. She started saying things like she was talking to you; something like, 'watch closely Drew because you'll see a win you won't forget,' or something like that. I don't remember exactly, but that was what it sounded like.
"And when I asked her about it, she told me she was so excited to have the chance to show you she could be a winner. She really wanted to impress you, like, really badly. I don't think I've ever seen any trainer look so intense the way she did backstage. And then…"
She took another pause, and Drew was practically struggling to sit still. He was glad Brianna wasn't looking at him anymore, because he wasn't sure what his face looked like.
"I might have over stepped a boundary, because I asked her if she had feelings for you," Brianna admitted, sounding shameful.
Again, she paused. And it was the worst time to pause in the history of pauses. Drew felt like he was on fire, and he was about to explode.
What did she say, what did she say, WHAT DID SHE SAY…
"She said she didn't know," Brianna finally said. "She said she hadn't thought about it all that much."
Within milliseconds, Drew felt shattered. She'd never thought about it? Not even once? Did she really not think about him when they weren't together? He thought about her constantly, and the thought that maybe it was different for her was like being struck by a bolt of lightning and frozen in an iceberg at the same time.
Had he done something wrong, or was it simply that maybe she just wasn't interested. He hadn't exactly made any direct moves, but he hadn't exactly done nothing, either. He leaned back against the bench more, and looked up towards the sky. Why did his heart hurt so badly at this? Just how much did he care for this girl?
"I challenged her on it," Brianna surprised him by continuing. "I told her that I think she has feelings for you, and she told me you're just a rival. But I could tell she was lying; her face was so red. She stopped looking at me in the eyes, and she was playing with her hands and stuff. I know she was really nervous, because that's what I do when I get really nervous…
"Then some other coordinator came and tried to give us advice about love or whatever; I wasn't paying attention, and I know that's rude, but I was just super surprised is all. I didn't get to ask her about it again, though, because she had to go battle and it never came up again after that, you know?"
Drew felt his heart doing uncomfortable flips in his chest. He'd made peace with the fact that he had feelings for May a lot time ago. Everything had changed for him after the Mirage Island incidents, and he'd spent a lot of months trying to understand if she gave any indications of the same thing.
"I've been thinking about it a lot these last two days, actually," Brianna spoke again. "I'm young and I know I don't know a lot about love, but I think May doesn't realize she has feelings for you. Seems kind of strange if a rival likes another rival, don't you think?
"May and her friends left town yesterday. They came to my house and told me goodbye on their way to the port to catch a ferry back to the mainland. May was so sweet; she hugged me and told me to keep coordinating, and that she would keep in touch. I wanted to ask her more about you, but they didn't have time to stick around because they were going to miss their boat.
"So, I kinda figured that, maybe if you were still here in town, you could explain it to me, from your side of view?"
"Gotcha…" Drew said, a little dazed after all the information he was given and all of the feelings surging through his chest.
The two coordinators sat there in silence for a few minutes, neither of them really knowing what to say. Drew wasn't exactly comfortable with admitting his feelings for his rival out loud. Especially to a young shy coordinator who almost worshiped him; he hadn't even talked to Solidad about it, and she was his best friend for Arceus' sake.
Drew just sat in silence, watching the clouds roll by, trying to think of a way out of this now awkward situation. He was coming up short, though; a lot of help his coordinating experience was here, when he was always forced to think on his feet.
"Do you have feelings for May?" Brianna asked him again.
Drew blinked. It was the original question she'd asked him when they first started talking, and somehow, this short conversation that couldn't have lasted longer than 10 minutes seemed like it began an eternity ago.
"She's a good rival," Drew tried lamely.
Brianna looked at him, a little lost at his weak attempt at an answer.
"But do you love her?" she tried again.
"…No." Drew tried again.
The space between them fell silent for a few extra moments before Brianna finally spoke again.
"Wow," she said. "You're just as bad a liar as May is."
Drew's head jerked down and looked at this young girl who was disarming him simply using words. He knew he had a horrified look on his face, but he couldn't do anything about it.
Brianna's eyes went wide when she saw his expression; how utterly defeated and defenseless and almost scared he looked. Maybe her word choice was poor? Had love been too strong a word?
She realized she'd definitely crossed a line again. She followed Drew Hayden's career almost religiously, and as his self-proclaimed biggest fan, she knew that he hated doing interviews or talking about feelings or anything like that. He was born for coordinating and tried to stick to that lifestyle more than anything else. But she'd opened a floodgate, and there was nothing she could do except go with the current.
"I won't tell anyone, if it makes you feel any better," she weakly tried to assure him. "I think it's kind of obvious that you haven't really talked about this, and it might make you feel better if you tried."
Drew's head just rolled back and he let out a groan.
