After registering herself for the Pokemon Contest, May had taken to the typical practice of waiting around the lobby with the other Coordinators until the Appeals began. She had already begun to outline her strategy for the upcoming rounds: she first planned to use Squirtle for the Appeals round, and then to battle with Eevee for the first time. She had previously refrained from using her recently hatched Pokemon in Contests, but now she felt confident that it was ready to battle.
She perked up, however, when she noticed Ash and Pikachu entering the Hall from across the room. Crossing the throngs of other Coordinators eager for the Contest to start, she also noticed he was holding what looked like a clear green vase with a single flower in it.
"Ash?" She asked quizzically as she approached him. "What are you doing here? The Contest hasn't started yet..."
"Uh...yeah...I...uh..."
"Pika, pikachu." Pikachu said encouragingly from his position at his trainer's feet.
May watched him silently for a moment, confused, as he stared at the ground with a strange look on his face. Deciding to change the subject, she focused her eyes on the vase in his hands. "Um...is that a flower? Who's that for?"
Ash looked up, staring intently at the vase himself, avoiding May's eyes. "It...it's for you."
May's eyes widened, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks. "...What?"
"Uh..." Ash mumbled. Then, acting on impulse, he shoved the vase out in front of him, gesturing for her to take it, his gaze still fixated away from hers. "I thought this flower looked really nice and thanks for helping me out back there and good luck in your Contest!" He blurted out all at once.
May blinked, her eyes slowly shifting from Ash to the flower. She reached out a hand to take it, examining it as she plucked it from the vase. It had bright green, stubby petals that surrounded a plain white center. "Helping you out?"
Ash lowered his hands, shifting the vase to his left hand instead of both. His eyes shifted back to the flower, now in May's hand. "Y-yeah. You know...back at the Battle Palace."
May giggled. "Oh, that? Well, what was I supposed to do? You're my friend, Ash, of course I'm going to help you."
A faint blush appeared on Ash's face as well at hearing these words. "Well...thanks. I hope you like it, it wasn't cheap."
May frowned. "Ash! You're not supposed to tell me that!"
Ash frowned at this as well. "I'm not?"
May giggled again at her friend's enduring ignorance. She glanced back at the flower in her hands. "It doesn't matter. It's really pretty..."
Ash glanced up fully, meeting her gaze for the first time since he'd walked in. "I heard it was from the Forest Shrine in Johto...the one to Celebi."
May's face brightened when she heard this. "Are you serious? Ash, that's amazing!"
"Yeah, I thought it was pretty cool, too."
She stared down at the flower, grinning. "Oh...! Thank you, Ash!" She twirled it around in her hand, bringing it up to her face and attempting to put in in her hair somehow.
Ash stepped forward suddenly, causing Pikachu to watch in surprise. He brought his right hand up to hers, slipping the flower out of her hand and into his. He carefully brushed her hair aside as he set the flower on her ear, letting her hair fall back into place to frame it against her face.
Both their cheeks were tinted with red by the time this was over, by neither of them noticed or cared. Ash took a step back, smiling as he examined his handiwork.
"...How does it look?" May asked nervously in a quiet voice.
Ash looked back at her as he answered, "Perfect."
"Aaaaall right, Pokemon fans!" Lilian, the Kanto Contest Ceremony Master cried jubilantly from the Contest Stage. "You wanted it, and here it is - the Chrysanthemum Island Pokemon Contest!"
The crowd erupted in applause, part of which was Brock, Max, and Ash, who had all taken their seats a few minutes prior after Max had forcefully brought Brock back from the beach.
"You all know how this goes!" Lilian roared excitedly. "Whichever Coordinator makes it all the way to the end wins the Chrysanthemum Ribbon, one of the five Ribbons required for entry to the ever-prestigious Grand Festival!"
More deafening applause and cheering.
"Now, let's meet our judges for this year's Contest!" Lilian continued, gesturing dramatically to the three-tiered judges panel. "First is the head of the organization committee, Mr. Contesta!"
"Real pleasure to be here!" Contesta announced happily.
"Next up is the head of the Pokemon Fan Club! Sukizo!"
"Remarkable!" Sukizo answered predictably.
"Aaand, last but not least, our very own local Nurse Joy!"
"Thanks so much for letting me be here." Nurse Joy replied calmly, easily the calmest of the three judges.
"All right then, loyal fans! We all know you're ready for this to begin! Aren't you...?" Lilian baited.
The crowd exploded in a flurry of applause, cheering, and whistling.
"Okay then! Let's get started!" Lilian cried, moving off of the field as she gestured to the entrance corridor, where May had just began to head onto the stage, proudly bearing Ash's green flower in her hair. "Our first contestant...a new fan-favorite around here, all the way from Petalburg City...it's May!"
May ran out onto the stage right on cue, twirling and tossing a Pokeball as she did so. "All right, Squirtle, take the stage!"
"Squirtle!" Squirtle chimed excitedly, appearing in a flash of white energy in front of May.
"Huh?" Max said confusedly, halting his cheering as he took a closer look at his sister. "Where'd May get that green flower?"
Brock crossed his arms. "She didn't have it when we left her on the beach...I wonder if Drew gave it to her?"
Ash glanced nervously at the two of them before turning his attention back to the stage.
"Okay, Squirtle, Rapid Spin!"
"Sq-uirtle!" Squirtle squeaked, withdrawing into its shell and turning horizontal before beginning its lightning-fast spinning motions, zipping around the stage in a whirlwind of dust.
"Now use Water Gun!"
At her command, Squirtle turned vertical again and shot up into the air, shooting a powerful stream of water out of one of the holes in its shell back at the ground, keeping it aloft for a few seconds as it temporarily stopped spinning.
"Now Ice Beam!"
Using the water stream as leverage, Squirtle lifted itself higher into the air while halting the Water Gun, then fired an Ice Beam out of the same hole, freezing the water formation before it collapsed into a puddle, creating a sturdy pillar of ice that flared up at the bottom in a kind of bowl.
"Good job! Now, finish this up with a Rapid Spin-to-Bubble!"
"Squirtle!" Squirtle obliged, beginning to spin again as it fell back toward the ice formation, shooting giant bubbles out of its shell in all directions. When it hit the ice, it skated along it for a moment before launching itself off of the sloped bowl edge, rocketing back into the air as it spun through the swarm of bubbles now filling the air. It popped them all one by one as it spun by on its descent course back to the ground, leaving a glistening trail of sparkles in its wake as it slowly spun back to the ground.
Once it did, it slowly halted its rotations, withdrawing from its shell and boosting itself back up on its legs, looking back at the crowd eagerly.
The crowd exploded in applause yet again, cheering feverishly for May and Squirtle.
"Wow! That was so awesome!" Max cheered proudly.
"Those two must have been practicing a lot lately." Brock added in a satisfied tone.
Ash remained silent, simply watching the stage, his huge grin never leaving his face.
On her way back to the lobby, May grinned to herself, a slight spring to her step as she went. Not only was she fairly certain she had done great just now, Ash had given her a present - and not just any present. A flower. Something that was most definitely out of the usual range of Ash-related gifts. She wasn't sure if it was somehow connected to the wish she'd made on the ferry, but the flower was now one of her most treasured possessions.
However, as she made her way down the hallway, a stocky man in a somewhat obscuring black cloak stuck his head out of a small room branching off from the main corridor. "Hey there, girl. You're the one that just performed, am I right?"
May slowly came to a stop, staring at the strange man oddly. "Y-yeah, that's me..."
"I thought so. Come here for a second, would ya?" The man asked proddingly, gesturing into the small, dark room behind him.
"...I don't know..." May replied hesitantly, taking a step away from him.
"Aw, come on, it'll just take a second, I promise." The man insisted, flashing her a twisted smile.
May glanced around the hallway, which was still empty, and slowly crossed the threshold into the room, keeping one ready hand on her pack.
"Thanks!" The man said in relief, slamming the door shut behind her.
"Wha - ?" May cried sharply, spinning around just in time to watch the last crack of light disappear behind the door.
"I was watching you perform out there." The man said softly, the tone of his voice radically different from just a second ago. "You're pretty good."
"Th-thanks..."
"By the way...that flower there, the one in your hair." The man said, pointing a gloved finger at the flower Ash had given her. "Where'd you get it?"
"I...well..." May began hesitantly. "It...someone g-gave it to me."
"Is that right?" The man replied, a mild tone of surprise in his voice. "Did this...someone...happen to mention where they picked it up?"
May hesitated a moment. "I think...it was from the Forest Shrine in Johto."
"Ah, I thought so!" The man answered happily. "Say, what would you tell me if I offered to buy that from you? For a decent price, of course."
May looked back at the man in shock, despite the darkness of the room. "I - I don't think so. I mean...it's very...important...to me."
"...I see." The man said, clearly disappointed. "Okay, let me ask you something else. What about this here Contest? What if I offered you a little something for you to throw the whole thing?"
"What are you saying, exactly?" May shot back accusingly, some of her usual vigor returning. "You want me to throw the Contest for you? How do you even know we're going to be battling each other?"
"Oh, don't you worry about that." The man replied darkly. "I've got that all taken care of. You just agree to throw the match, and you walk out of here with your pockets full."
"No way!" May fired back, heading for the closed door. "Look, sorry, but I'm not interested in your money - "
The man reached the door first, holding it shut against her will. "I'm sorry to hear that. I guess I'll have to use another method, then."
"Wh-what are you doing?" May cried worriedly, shaking the doorknob. "Let me out of here!"
"Sorry." The man repeated, chuckling darkly to himself as May heard the telltale crack of a Pokeball being opened.
"Sevi-iper..."
May spun around in an instant, realizing all too quickly what was about to happen. "No...he wouldn't..."
"Seviper! Do it!"
"Se-VIPER!" His Seviper hissed, charging across the room with fangs bared. In the dark, May's reaction time was slowed, heightening her confusion as well, and Seviper had no trouble landing right next to her and sinking its teeth into her left arm.
"Aagh!" May shrieked, clutching her arm in pain as Seviper reeled back from the strike, watching her closely, waiting to strike again.
It never got the chance. One of her Pokeballs burst open of its own accord from her fanny pack, causing Combusken to appear between May and Seviper.
"COOOM-BUSKEN!" Combusken roared angrily, enraged at the enemy Pokemon for striking his trainer.
"What's this?" The man said. "Seviper, get rid of it!"
"Seviper!" Seviper hissed again, jumping forward to attack Combusken with another Poison Fang. Combusken, however, wasn't exactly in the mood for playing around.
"Combusken!" Combusken bellowed, quickly dodging to the side. As Seviper sailed past him, he turned and delivered a punishing Sky Uppercut to its hide, sending it crashing into the opposite wall. Leaving it no time to recover, Combusken then proceeded to blast it with Fire Spin as it collapsed on the floor.
"Grah! What is this - !" The man cried angrily. "Seviper! Wrap it now!"
"Se...viper..." Seviper muttered weakly. It slowly drew itself up as Fire Spin dissipated and launched itself at Combusken again.
"Cooombusken!" Combusken bellowed one final time, unleashing another Sky Uppercut on the impossibly slow Seviper and slamming it against the ceiling. Seviper slowly crashed to the floor, unconscious.
"...You...!" The man growled in disgust, recalling his fallen Pokemon.
"Com!" Combusken shot back threateningly, leering at the man. He remained there for a moment, then retreated back into the dark confines of the room.
A few seconds later, May heard a door slam. She was still lying in a heap on the floor, leaning against the door she'd come in at, clutching her wounded arm.
"Combusken...?" Combusken asked slowly, placing his arm on her shoulder.
"N-no...thanks, Combusken, b-but...I..." She mumbled softly. She reached behind her, into her pack, and drew out an Antidote spray, which she quickly applied to the wound. A few seconds later, she rose to her feet. "I think I'm fine now..."
"Combusken!" Combusken cheered.
Please R&R!