Hey guys!
I decided to write a story for Contestshipping and this time it involves Pokemon. I'm not really good at writing with Pokemon so please bear with me. However, I will try my best to make this a good adventure story.
Without further ado, I present Ice Roses.
-xoOox-
ICE ROSES
CHAPTER 1
With one last attack, Flygon fell down with swirls in his eyes. The crowd erupted in cheers as he returned his pokemon to its pokeball whilst looking at his opponent.
"And the winner of this year's Hoenn Grand Festival is May Maple of Petalburg City!" Vivian announced as the crowd cheered and applauded for May.
Drew Hayden looked at her. She defeated him. She finally defeated him in the Grand Festival no less. Had it been anyone else, Drew would have been angered. However, this was May Maple who had defeated him. He felt happy for her.
But he felt disappointed in himself at the same time. He'd been coordinating for a decade now and he still hasn't managed to win a Grand Festival. He'd lost to Solidad for about three times, a guy named Robert twice, and the past two years he didn't even make the top 4. And this time, he lost. He lost to May of all people. He lost to the coordinator who started off with a lame Frisbee appeal.
He was not willing to admit it but he felt as if coordinating just wasn't for him. He found himself losing interest in Coordinating since three years ago after realizing that he was still far from his dream of being Top Coordinator.
Yes, the once arrogant and overconfident coordinator felt his self-esteem go down.
He watched as May pranced around with her Blaziken and Beautifly, who danced with their trainer happily despite being tired. The final battle with Drew seemed to have taken a lot of their energy but it was worth it.
With one last look at May and her pokemon, Drew turned around and headed towards the exit of the arena. He no longer had any business there. His rival of ten years had finally defeated him and he believed that there were no other words that needed to be said.
Out of the corner of her eye, May found Drew leaving the arena with not as much as a good-bye. She stopped dancing around with her Pokemon as she gazed at his retreating form. She was extremely happy that she finally managed to win the Grand Festival. However, she couldn't help but feel guilty. She felt sorry for Drew. She knew that he had been trying so hard to win yet she, the happy-go-lucky coordinator, was the one to beat him.
She tried to shake off the feeling of guilt and decided that now was not the right time to be worrying about her rival.
"May Maple, on-stage please as we present to you the Ribbon Cup!" Vivian instructed. She was led to a tall platform which contained the Ribbon Cup which was then presented to her.
"Congratulations once again to this year's Hoenn Grand Festival winner, May Maple!" And once again, the crowd went ecstatic in cheers. May, with one hand holding on to her Ribbon Cup, waved at the crowd with her Pokemon.
-xoOox-
"Sugar cookie! There you are, hon!" May cringed at the high-pitched voice of one of her ex-rivals, Harley. The purple-haired man had thrown away his old Cacturne suit and decided to dress up normally. He had gotten rid of the green hat and trimmed his purple hair a little. He was clad in a simple purple and green checkered shirt and almost skin-tight jeans.
"Hi, Harley! It's nice seeing you here," May greeted as Harley brought her in for a bear hug. May, on the other hand, no longer wore her trademark bandanna. Instead, she let her wavy hair lose and now flowed down the middle of her back. She was dressed in a white tank top and a red jacket. She wore jean shorts that reached a few inches above mid-thigh and red and black trainer shoes. She had long ago replaced her yellow fanny pack with a yellow back pack, claiming that it fit more than what she needed.
"Congratulations on your win! Of course, I could say that it was pure luck that got you that Ribbon Cup since I wasn't there to compete but I wouldn't want to ruin your night, hon," Harley commented followed by a laugh. May couldn't help but sweatdrop.
"Uh, thank you, Harley," May said awkwardly. "I'm just wondering, why didn't you join this year's Grand Festival?"
"Oh, you silly little sugar cookie, didn't you hear? I was on business for a few months in Sinnoh for this famous clothing line! They finally realized my talent and hired me as one of their fashion designers!" Harley told her.
'Fashion designer? What were they thinking?' May thought to herself. She smiled at Harley and said, "That's great! I'm sure that clothing company would really be happy to have you with them."
"Of course, they would. I am one of the best!" Harley bragged then laughed at her.
"Ehehe…" May laughed awkwardly at him.
"Well, I'll see you around, Sugar Cookie. I have other business to attend to. See you around," Harley said. He waved at her and went back to his 'business' which happened to be mingling with a few guys.
May face-palmed. Her intense rivalry days with Harley were finally over. It was like one day they were enemies and then the next they were close friends. How it happened, she did not know nor did she want to.
"May! Congratulations, you won!" May heard another woman speak. She brightened up and found herself facing Solidad.
"Thank you, Solidad! I'm glad you're able to attend the afterparty!" May said as she released her best friend from the hug.
"Are you kidding? Why would I want to miss my best friend's victory party?" Solidad giggled.
"Well, thanks for coming! How's Pewter?" May asked. Solidad and Brock had been married for two years and resided in Pewter. May was shocked when she found out about their engagement but she recovered quick. Solidad was actually good for Brock. Once they started dating, Brock no longer looked at any girl other than Solidad which was a good thing because Misty and Max were no longer there to pull him by his ears.
The two were married after four years and a half of dating. Brock naturally chose Ash as his best man while Solidad chose May as the maid of honor because she was her closest girl best friend.
"It's good! Brock's doing great as a gym leader! I hear he's visiting sometime though with Ash and Misty, I think? But I'm not really sure when. Unfortunately, I have to go home soon since I just can't stand leaving without my baby," Solidad explained. Seven months after wedding, Brock and Solidad proudly announced to their friends that they were having a baby girl.
"Oh right, how's Carrie? How is she?" May asked excitedly.
"She's doing fine. Brock's taking care of her until I get back two days from now! I just hope she hasn't driven my husband crazy yet," Solidad replied. The two ladies continued chatting for a while until Solidad's phone rang.
"Oh, May, I have to take this call. I really had a fun time, see you soon?"
"Yes, thank you, Solidad!" May waved as Solidad went to a quieter place to take the phone call.
From her place near the balcony door, she watched over the party. The coordinators were enjoying themselves. Some were eating wildly at the buffet, their appetites bigger than that of hers and Ash's combined. On another side, some were singing and dancing to the tunes that the DJ was playing.
However, she did not see the certain chartreuse-haired man she so badly wanted to talk to. Since their first time journeying through Johto, Drew and May had become considerably great friends instead of rivals. They started helping each other out with contests and training. Outside of Pokemon, they found that they actually had a lot in common. Type of music, favorite movies and the like. They even travelled together for a good two years around Sinnoh and the Orange Archipelago, competing in contests together.
They stopped travelling together when they were both 16 but they still kept in touch; calling each other via video chat once in a while. On their free time, they would meet up, hang out and sometimes battle.
Everyone but the two of them knew that each harbored feelings for the other. Because of fear that it would ruin their friendship, it became an unspoken rule between the two to never talk about it.
Years went by and the two were already 18. At that time, Drew was dating some girl named Sam whom they met at a contest in Fallarbor Town. She was a beautiful woman with long blonde hair. She was rich; her father owned a large textile company.
During the past year, she lost contact with Drew. They had stopped talking since 8 months ago. The only time that she saw her was during Solidad and Brock's daughter's baptism and at that time he was still with Sam. She guessed that they were both engaged in extreme training that he probably had no time to communicate with her. Because of this, it was a surprise when she saw him at the Hoenn Grand Festival. And it was another surprise that she ended up facing him in the final battle.
May went out to the balcony to enjoy the fresh air and stare up at the sky. She found herself doing this more often ever since the start of the festival. She found staring up at the stars calming. It made her feel somewhat serene and at ease.
"May."
Her thoughts were disrupted when she heard the low yet familiar voice next to her. Turning her head to the sound of the voice, she found the man she had been looking for all night next to her with a drink in his hand.
"Drew," she began. "Where have you been all night?"
"Why? Your night incomplete without me?" He smirked that awfully annoying yet charming smirk at her.
"Still as cocky as usual, Hayden," she replied. She shifted her position so she was now leaning on one arm while facing Drew.
"You're one to talk, Grand Festival winner," he said as if it was nothing to him. Nevertheless, May heard the bitterness in his voice.
"Are you mad at me?" she asked quietly.
"Why would I be mad at you for winning the Grand Festival?"
"I don't know. It's just that you haven't talked to me since after the battle," May said.
"I'm talking to you right now, aren't I?" He countered, his ever-present smirk still plastered on his face.
"Damn you, Hayden."
"If you want to know why I disappeared so quickly after your battle, it's because I was disappointed in myself," he admitted. May looked up at him. Over the years, he had grown taller. A lot taller, probably a good 5 or 6 inches taller than her.
"Disappointed? Why would you be disappointed in yourself? You made it to the top 2!"
"So did you," Drew replied. He had a distant look in his eyes as he stared at the contents of his drink, moving it from side to side, producing swishing sounds.
"And so…?" she trailed off, not really knowing what to ask.
"May," he began, "I'm already 20 and still haven't won any Grand Festivals. It sounds selfish I know but if you think about it, ten years is a long time to try. And then you, my rival of almost a decade who started coordinating a lot later than I have defeated me in the Grand Festival. Do you know how that makes me feel?"
May was taken aback by his outburst.
"Are you mad at me because I defeated you when you've been coordinating a lot longer than I have?" May asked, giving him an incredulous look.
Drew remained silent and just took a sip from his drink.
"So you are mad!"
"I'm not mad at you. More like, I'm mad at myself," Drew confessed.
"You can't be mad at yourself! Not everyone manages to be always in the top 2 almost always," May tried to reason out.
"There you have it. Do you know how it feels to always be second best no matter how hard you try?" Drew countered. He looked at her sharply but May noticed a hint of sadness in his eyes.
"Drew, what are you trying to say?"
"I guess… I guess what I'm trying to say is that I no longer feel passionate about coordinating," he told her.
May looked at him surprised. How could he, her very first rival, the stuck-up and arrogant jerk when they were children, suddenly tell her that he no longer felt passionate about coordinating?
"But Drew, being a top coordinator has always been your dream!"
"I guess it's time for me to find a new dream now, right?" he quickly responded. May went silent.
"For the past two years, I've been thinking to myself if coordinating was really the thing for me. I felt like I was going nowhere with coordinating. I wanted to quit this year but I decided to give it another try. I was even too focused in training that I no longer had time for others, for myself. Sam broke up with me saying that I was too engrossed in training that I barely paid her any attention," Drew told her as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.
"Sam broke up with you? When?" May looked extremely shocked now. She didn't know that Drew felt this way about coordinating and then he's telling her that the girlfriend whom he had been heels over head for broke up with him. It was all too much.
"A little over six months ago," seeing the look on his best friend's face, he added, "It doesn't matter. I didn't see us lasting that long anyway."
"Hmm.. Drew, what are you gonna do about this?"
"Do about what?"
"You know, your coordinating problem," May specified.
"Honestly, I don't know."
May looked at him for a long time before an idea popped in her mind.
"Then I guess I'll just have to do something to make you like it again! I'm sure it won't be that hard!" May announced.
Drew chuckled. "Good one, Maple, but no thanks."
"Why not?" May asked like a child asking for candy.
"I just don't feel comfortable with you going out of your way to help me. You should spend your time training and getting stronger instead of helping me out, anyway," he said.
May sighed. "I'm not doing this against my will, Drew. I'm doing this because you're my friend. And that's what friends do, they help each other!"
Drew started thinking to himself before he spoke again.
"Here's the deal, if you find at least one good reason for me to love coordinating again then I'm going to try again next year, alright?"
"It's a deal!" May happily said. Drew, on the other hand, sighed at how his friend was so bipolar. One minute she was sad then the next she's doing everything but bouncing in joy.
"If it keeps you off my case, fine," Drew muttered under his breath.
"What was that, Hayden?!"
"Nothing." He chuckled lightly then looked at his watch. "Well, I'd best be going. See you tomorrow?"
"See ya, Drew!" May said. Drew turned around and left, giving her his signature two-finger salute.
May just smiled at his retreating form until she felt something at the tip of her hand which was resting on the ledge of the balcony. She looked down and so none other than a thornless red rose.
"How he does it, I'll never know." She chuckled lightly before finishing her drink and leaving the balcony with the small rose in hand.
END OF CHAPTER 1
How do you like it so far? I tried to keep the characters as un-OOC as possible.
The next chapter will be a short one, just introducing Drew's father. So be warned for some Hayden family stuff.
Please review!
Thank you! Bye xo