In which Brendan is given something both very cool and very, very dangerous, especially in his hands.
Verdanturf Town. There really wasn't all that much to say about it. A few flowers, a few houses, a few people, and single contest hall. The only remarkable thing about it was the gaping entrance to an abandoned tunnel, and the result of walking into it.
"Seriously?" Brendan had demanded when he'd noticed the only thing separating the overdramatic lovers was a pair of cracked boulders just a little too high for a person to jump over. "All you need is a Pokémon with Rock Smash or Fly, and I guess the right badge, and you wouldn't need to be sitting here crying over each other like Romeo and Juliet. Here, I'll show you."
Perhaps permanently adding an HM move to Aron just to make a point was a bad decision, but Brendan had made plenty of those in his past and was going to continue until his death, so there was really no reason for May to be looking at him like that.
The rock fell to pieces the moment Aron's head collided with it, and the couple swore their eternal gratitude right then. The woman promised to give both of them invitations to the wedding if the relationship got that far, but the man had a much better reward.
It wasn't as if Brendan knew what the stone was, but anything would have been a better reward to a twelve-year-old boy than an invitation to a maybe wedding.
"I think that's a Mega Stone!" Well, it seemed May knew what it was, and was very impressed. "What Pokémon is it for?"
The man frowned. "I think it's an Aggronite, but I can't be sure. It takes more than one big fancy rock to make Mega Evolution happen, and I don't have a Key Stone. Or an Aggron."
"Mega Evolution?" Brendan looked down at the rock, the so-called Aggronite, in his hand. "What's that?"
"It's evolution, except it's more evolution," May explained, wringing her hands as she struggled to describe it without sounding like she'd committed her father's research notes to memory. "It's temporary and only achieved by certain fully-evolved Pokémon, like Mawile and Aggron. Not many people can do it."
"I know I can't," Brendan said at once. "I don't have a Mawile or Aggron yet."
"But Aron's final form is Aggron," the woman pointed out. "Just hang on to it. I can tell you'll be able to make it, once you get the Key Stone."
Brendan noticed that May seemed scared by the thought of him having a Mega Evolved Aggron. He immediately decided to keep the Aggronite. Who knows, it might actually come in handy against those stupid pirates they kept running into.
"You came!"
Lisia had shown up after all, and was more than a little excited to see Brendan and May inside the Contest building. "This is going to be so much fun, I'm almost never here watching Contests."
"Why not?" Brendan asked. "You have to be there for the other people you scout, right?"
"Not exactly," Lisia admitted. "Most of them don't tell me when they're going to the next Contest, and I'm always stuck guessing. I was right this time, but..."
She pulled on her sleeve again, and her statement trailed off. They decided to leave it alone.
May broke the silence before it could turn awkward. "So, you're here for my performance in the Super Rank, aren't you?"
"I was hoping to see it," Lisia agreed. "Will you be entering with Surskit? Or is she a Masquerain now?"
"Actually," May said, picking up one of the balls on her belt, "I was planning to use my Pikachu. I figured she should get in one good performance before I give up."
Lisia's hands covered her mouth, and she stared at May as if the younger girl had just confessed to murder. "You can't just give up! You've barely started!"
May wasn't bothered. "I'm a writer, not a performer. I'm just getting my name out there so publishers won't overlook whatever I put out there in favor of more celebrity biographies."
"And how are you going to write an autobiography of a Contest star if you don't win at least one Master Rank?"
"Maybe I'll just write a regular biography about you. A master of the Master Rank at...how old are you, thirteen?"
Lisia's sleeve-tugging increased in intensity, to the point where she was plucking tiny bits of white fluff from them, dropping them to the floor. "Well..." she swallowed hard. "I am thirteen, and I am a Master Rank performer, but Ali is the more important one. And I don't live a very interesting life, nine times out of ten I'm just laying in bed watching anime on my laptop."
"I knew it," Brendan hissed in victory.
Lisia continued, pretending he hadn't spoken. "But you and Brendan are Pokedex carriers, you're destined for adventure."
"I would disagree," Brendan said before May could say anything else, "but we're being stalked by land-bound pirates and their Little Merman king. I'm pretty sure our destiny has been fulfilled."
"So you know what I mean." Lisia had that heart-melting smile again, her nervousness forgotten. "You're in this for life, May. Or at least until Brendan's in the Hall of Fame."
Laura had made Pikachu a new costume, a red coat and black pants with just enough wiggle room to poke her tail through. Pikachu had practically tackled the costumer in gratitude, and was now posing in front of the makeup mirror, trying to look tough.
"The costume was Lisia's design," Laura commented. "She would have had me make a boy-sized one if Brendan hadn't turned her down, or if Chaz didn't insist on dressing himself for his performances."
"I think Chaz is here for this one," Lisia said suddenly, poking her head through the door. "He must have heard about your last victory, May."
"I'm not competing against him, am I?" May knew that she wouldn't stand a chance against an experienced coordinator like Chaz, no matter how cool her Pikachu looked.
Fortunately, Lisia seemed to be thinking along the same lines. "Don't worry, he's only here to watch. He's already made it to Hyper Rank, he's not going to bother performing here again yet."
There was something about the way she said it that made Brendan want to ask, but he held it in. The performance was going to start in just a few minutes.
"Are you sure you don't want to match, Pikachu?" May was saying, offering her Pokémon a treat as an attempt at bribery. "It might make us more popular..."
"But she gets a super-cool move if she wears that particular costume," Laura told her. At May's confused look, she gestured at the costume. "Lisia discovered it. That Pikachu has a very diverse learning ability, including moves that Pikachu can't usually learn. Haven't you wondered how she learned Draining Kiss?"
May hadn't wondered. She'd just thought that it was a move Pikachu didn't learn naturally, but that it wasn't unusual - an Egg move, perhaps, like her Surskit's Fell Stinger. "So she changes her technique...by changing her clothes?"
"We can't figure it out, either," Lisia said, more to Pikachu's reflection than to her friends. "I've never seen anything like it. I mean, I can relate to it, I'm actually pretty shy out of the costume, but it's not the same."
She was tugging her sleeves again. So it wasn't just a habit, it was a way of coping when she was too far out of her comfort zone. But, once she'd pulled it back into place, she got to her feet and lifted Pikachu into the air, holding the Pokémon between herself and May. "It's too bad you don't do Contests, Brendan," she said, eyes darting from one reflection to the next. "These costumes look fantastic together."
"I hate you all," Brendan said at once.
Lisia, and May and Pikachu, took it to mean the opposite.
This was it. May could feel the crowd's excitement, and she knew that one more Cool move would help her score big. That was easy, Pikachu currently knew nothing but Cool moves, thanks to the costume. Still, it didn't help with the trainer's nerves, and she was clenching a tight fist around the hem of her performance skirt as she peeked through the curtains.
Lisia was in the front row, sitting between Brendan and a blond boy around their age that May dimly recognized as Chaz from the celebrity magazines she'd flipped through. He'd been alternating between watching Pikachu and attempting to talk to Lisia, unfortunately trying to get her attention at the same time Brendan did. At the moment, he was glaring at the oblivious Brendan as the others were waiting for May's call.
"All right, Pikachu," she said quietly, returning her attention to the Contest where it belonged, "we're up first, and we can score big with our next Cool move. So, I'm thinking we can show off Meteor Mash. Who knows, we might even get bonus points because you're a Pikachu."
Pikachu didn't seem to object to that plan, and quickly got into her position.
The Meteor Mash was flawless, and the roar of applause gave Pikachu the confidence to pull off a spectacular trick that impressed even Brendan, who was only there because May and Lisia were his friends. The performance finished, Pikachu returned to her trainer, trying not to look too smug.
"That's your new scouted talent, Lisia?" Chaz asked, and Brendan noticed Lisia roll her eyes a bit. "She's actually not bad. Where did her Pikachu learn Meteor Mash?"
Lisia let out her held breath. "A master never reveals her secrets," she answered, her dazzling smile fixed in place. "Surely you won't explain how you got to where you are with no family connections, mentors, or magic Pokémon, would you?"
Chaz made a sound of indifference. "She's not bad," he repeated, eyes narrowing a bit as he stared at the stage. "Not bad...in fact, maybe she's actually good."
"That was a great display out there," Lisia said, greeting May backstage after she'd gotten her second ribbon. "Maybe you'll even give me a run for my money someday."
"Maybe," May said, unsure of what else to say. "I'm in it for the fame and a chance to meet publishers, I told you that."
"I know, but if you win the Master Rank in all five categories, who knows who else you'll meet?" Lisia held out her hands in a square. "May Birch, daughter of Hoenn's top researcher, smashes through Contests and rises to stardom! 'Can It Be? Am I Really A Star?' That's what they'll call it, and the answer is yes!"
"But won't I be forced to be in Contests forever, when I'm a star?"
"Not really," Lisia said dismissively. "My uncle hasn't performed in almost two years, and he was as famous in the Contest circle as I am now."
"Speaking of your uncle," a voice said, and Brendan and Lisia immediately realized that Chaz had followed them into the room, "I saw him on the internet recently -"
"No you didn't." Lisia didn't seem to be disbelieving, but horrified. "He said he was going into isolation at the Champion's request."
"The Champion's request," Chaz repeated, almost as if he didn't believe her. "Why did he have to give up on Contests? I'm sure he could have been May's Contest teacher instead."
"It wouldn't matter," Lisia pointed out. "She'd be on the stage either way."
"But then she wouldn't have gotten involved with our rivalry. I should be the only one allowed to defeat you."
Lisia sighed, as if this was a point that she'd already grown tired of repeating. "Chaz, look. You're usually a great guy, and when we're talking about things that aren't Contests, I'd like to think we're friends. But when our performances get involved, all you talk about are rivalries." She started pulling on her sleeve again. "I just...Contests aren't supposed to work like that."
"You'd only think so because you're good at them."
Lisia blushed and stared at the floor. "That's...thank you for the compliment, but it's Ali that really shines."
"I was using 'you' to mean your team," Chaz said, "but I suppose I should have clarified that." He seemed to have calmed down a lot, and there was no anger when he looked at May. "I'm not saying you're untalented," he promised. "But you're just a newcomer. You'll be competing in the Hyper Rank next, and don't be upset if it takes you a few tries. Losing is just a part of this life."
May kept her mouth shut, silently warning Brendan to do the same.
When Chaz left, completely ignoring Brendan as if he wasn't there, Lisia gave Pikachu a treat in an attempt to forget the conversation. "He'll get used to you," she said sincerely. "He's not always like that, I promise."
"But how long will it take?" May asked. Lisia made a face.
"Beat him in a Contest," she advised. "Then you'll have his respect, and when he respects you, he'll be more friendly."
Well, that was some good advice. The only problem with it was, May had no idea if she was ever going to use it.