"So these stop a Pokémon from evolving," Snorunt said, inspecting her Everstone. "I wonder if they work when someone's also touching an elemental stone?"

"I'm not actually sure about that one," Pikachu admitted. "That might be the only way I could find out what a Thunderstone feels like, because I do not plan on evolving… it is absolutely, one hundred percent, not for me."

"Preach it," Bulbasaur said, holding up a knotted-up vine for Pikachu to fist-bump.

Pikachu did not fist-bump it.

The Grass-type coughed. "...sometimes I forget that Geodude's influence doesn't really stretch beyond the bounds of my own team."

On the field, May sent out her first Pokémon for this round – Beautifly – and had him use Attack Order, then catch the second Pokéball and send out Combusken into the middle of the cloud.

Her opponent sent out a Grumpig and a Volbeat, but there was already a murmur spreading through the crowd.

"Oh, yeah, that's right!" Pikachu realized. "I think this is the first time a lot of people have seen May's Combusken flying."

Then the battle round began, and Beautifly started generating a continuous stream of Order drones – half of them englobing him, the other half reaching out to surround Combusken – while Combusken got on with using Fire Spin.

"How do you even battle that?" Kelly asked, shading her eyes to watch.

Every time either Volbeat or Grumpig attacked one of her opponents, the drones swarming around them hardened into a shield which deflected the attack… usually being badly damaged in the process, but Beautifly kept replenishing the Defend Order drones fast enough that they couldn't get through.

Oh, her Pokémon were sending in beautiful attacks… Grumpig using a pulse of psychic energy which Volbeat wove into with an Air Cutter that gave the whole attack a shivering spiral shape, or Volbeat opening with a Water Pulse which Grumpig electrified using Shock Wave… but while it was earning them points for looking very pretty, they weren't getting any for actually doing damage.

"Attack Order!" May called. "Fire Spin!"

Both shields broke up at once, as every single one of Beautifly's drones charged towards Grumpig, and Combusken dropped to the ground before swiping with one arm. Flames came off his claws like trails of fire, wrapping up into spirals which lashed out at Volbeat – not actually hitting him, but forming a cage grid around the Bug-type to trap him in place.

Then the other arm set Beautifly's drones on fire.

"Oh, that's nice," Brock said, checking the schedule. "You remember Drew?"

Max nodded. "Since May's not here, I won't tease her by calling him her boyfriend… but I will mention it, and bring attention to the fact I'm not calling him that."

"Impressive," Vulpix told him. "Meta-commentary."

"I don't know him," Caroline pointed out. "Should I?"

"He'll probably congratulate or commiserate May afterwards, he does that," Brock replied. "And he knocked Harley out of the competition, so he's against May next."

Max muttered something unrepeatable about Harley.

"Max Maple!" Caroline said. "Who taught you those words?"

Vulpix held up a paw. "Probably my fault," she confessed. "Admittedly, the words were all just Vulpix Vulpix Vulpix when I said them."

"Still, at least that means May is battling Drew!" Ash said. "It's good to have a rival. It gives you a good idea how well you're doing…"

He frowned. "Wait, now I think of it, that's only really been the case with Gary and Ritchie, hasn't it? And I only battled them both in the Kanto league. Huh."

"I'm as surprised as you are," Pikachu admitted. "Do Team Rocket count as our rivals now?"

"Ash, your Johto rival was Lance," Brock pointed out, not without justification. "I'm not sure if anyone counts as your Hoenn rival, though."

He checked the time. "I think… it should be about ten minutes until May and Drew battle."

"Let's go!" Drew called, sending out his two Pokémon – first his Flygon, a secret weapon he'd been preparing especially for battling May, and then his Roselia who did a backflip upon emerging.

She landed on Flygon's back, and Drew looked up to see which Pokémon May had sent out – only to do a double-take, and sigh.

May had sent out her Dragonite and Bulbasaur, and Bulbasaur was using her vines to cling onto Dragonite's back.

"Nobody is going to believe we didn't plan this!" he shouted.

"They might if we pointed out we'd both look unoriginal!" May replied. "Okay, guys, just stick to the plan!"

"Begin!" the announcer called.

"Sandstorm!" Drew ordered, and Flygon's wings trembled as the Dragon-type set up a resonance with the ground. Sand rose into the air, and he did a backflip to sweep it towards Dragonite and Bulbasaur.

That meant that the two other Pokémon had to dodge, but Drew couldn't help but admit that they made it look good. Bulbasaur's Petal Blizzard spread out in a puff when Dragonite's wings beat, accentuating every move the other Dragon-type made, and sweeping along behind him like a floral contrail.

"Towards the tail!" Drew called, and Roselia daintily stepped back along Flygon's spine – using a very carefully moderated Ingrain to stay in place, even now that Flygon was dodging left and right to avoid a Petal Blizzard Hurricane… then a Twister, which was augmented moments later when Bulbasaur swung down on a Vine Whip and began using a spiralling Water attack to make things harder for Flygon.

"Dragon Tail!" Drew instructed.

Flygon flicked his tail, catapulting Roselia towards roughly where Dragonite was probably about to be, and Magical Leaves swirled around both her flowers.

A glittering pink light shone from inside the Magical Leaves, and Drew had only just seen it coming himself when May reacted.

"Reel in!" she called. "Let go and backflip!"

Roselia used Dazzling Gleam, but Bulbasaur was already there and in the way. Half the stadium lit up with side-scatter from the brilliant flash of Fairy-light, and the petals swirling everywhere outlined exactly where Roselia's attack had hit and where it hadn't – and Dragonite was safely inside a Bulbasaur-shaped cone of darkness.

"Fire and water!" May said. "Hurricane!"

Flygon had to zip in to catch Roselia, and was just pulling away again with a balletic multi-winged flip when May's Bulbasaur caught them both in a tornado of heated water and lit up a whole side of the arena with a rainbow.

Drew had to admit, it did look nice.

That was the annoying thing about being beaten by a good Coordinator. They made it look spectacular… not that his Pokémon were beaten yet, but he could see the way the points were going.

"Dragonbreath!" he called, as both his Pokémon broke out of the tornado. "And Magical Leaf!"

"Great work, everyone!" May said. "And I'm proud of you, Bulbasaur. That was a great intro to Contest battles."

"I'm glad to hear it was at least a bit difficult," Drew commented.

May looked up at him. "Are you always going to wait around after the two of us are in the same place?"

"Don't know," Drew replied, pushing away from the wall and shrugging. "It seems to be working out so far… got any more Pokémon I haven't seen yet? Knowing who you travel with I half expect you to have a Legendary Pokémon."

May frowned. "Technically I do, but he's really my brother's, because Max can't catch Pokémon yet."

Drew put his head in his hands. "Every time I try to exaggerate I just end up describing the literal situation with you…"

"Just a few battles to go," Mr. Sukizo said. "And I'm sure they'll be truly wonderful."

"So am I," Raoul Contesta agreed. "You have a remarkable eye for talent, old friend. And talent is what's on full display today."

The Slateport Joy had snorted at Contesta's use of the word remarkable, then arranged her hands on her desk. "Well, they can't get started until the next pair is announced… ah, I see it's May Maple and Janet Toyoguchi. I wonder who they'll be using?"

"Good afternoon," Janet said, giving May a respectful bow. "I'm very impressed by your Beautifly."

"Thank you," May replied, touched. "I'm quite proud of him… sorry I don't have much to say about your Pokémon, though."

"It's fine," Janet assured her. "May the best Coordinator win… which doesn't mean I'm necessarily saying that May is the best Coordinator, of course."

Both Coordinators had their Pokéballs ready, and then by a kind of unspoken mutual agreement May sent hers out first.

Dragonite returned to the arena, this time hovering upside down, and Marill came out of her Pokéball before landing daintily on the tip of Dragonite's tail. She blew a stream of bubbles, did a twirl for the audience, then jumped and Dragonite flipped around underneath her before catching her.

"That was nice," Caroline complimented. "Marill's such a well-mannered Pokémon. I wonder if May's been teaching her ballet?"

Then she blinked. "Oh! That's an interesting pair of Pokémon May will be battling."

One of Janet's Pokémon was a Mawile, who curtseyed before returning to a ready stance. The other was a Bronzor, but not simply blue like a normal Bronzor – instead, enamel paint appeared to have been used to depict a double-teardrop sigil over a rainbow background.

Then Mawile Mega-Evolved, and picked up Bronzor.

"Begin!" the announcer said, and Mega Mawile used Fling.

Dragonite ducked, barely avoiding being hit by the Gyro-Balling Bronzor, then May had to shout a warning as Mega Mawile used Attract and Bronzor reversed direction to fly straight back at the Fairy-type.

"Don't use Twister!" May said. "Not on Mawile – no, use Fling and Twister! Marill, Iron Tail!"

Marill went flying towards Mega Mawile at high speed, her tail glittering, and the Twister swirled around her without affecting her. It made it harder to tell where she was, but Mega Mawile did a complete spin before blocking the incoming Marill with Bronzor held up as a sturdy shield.

Iron Tail hit Steel-Type with a wham, and Mega Mawile did a backflip a moment later. She used Charge Beam, directing it into Bronzor, then threw the Psychic-type out a moment later on a curving pattern that just avoided Marill before zooming out towards Dragonite.

"Hurricane!" May said.

"Attract – now stop!" Janet replied, which pulled Bronzor off course so Dragonite's attack missed. "Now Solar Beam!"

"Fairy Wind to block!" May said.

The Solarbeam, when it came, bounced off Bronzor and hit Marill from the side. She noticed it the moment it happened and Bounced out of the way, avoiding the worst of it, but it was still a clever move which was good for points, and May glanced at the scoreboard.

Then she visibly decided not to look at the scoreboard, and focus on her Pokémon.

This time, it was Caroline who met May at the exit to the arena.

"I'm so proud of you, May," she said, gathering her daughter up in a hug.

"I didn't win, though," May protested. "So it feels a bit weird to be told that… is that okay?"

"Your feelings are okay, May," her mother told her. "And I would have been proud of your accomplishments if you'd won the Grand Festival. But you made it into the top four on your first time – that's an incredibly impressive achievement."

She finally released May from her embrace, and looked her in the eyes. "And, May… when you lost, you told your opponent they'd done a good job. You told your Pokémon they'd done a good job. I'm proud of you because losing a battle like this has to be a disappointment, and today you've shown me how you cope with that… which is just the way you should."

This time, May was the one to start the hug.

"Thanks, Mom," she whispered. "For putting that just the right way."

At Opelucid Academy, Gym Leader Drayden stood in front of a class.

"Today, you have a special assignment," he told his students. "Your task is to work out what particular properties make a trainer likely to become the trainer of a Legendary Pokémon."

There were a few sniggers in the class.

"I am completely serious," he informed them, seriously. "If you find out, please let us know."

AN:

Mawile there performing as Captain A Mega.