A/N: Here's another chapter! I'm really trying to pick up the pace, but sadly I'm just very busy. Still, I won't give up on this story! Thanks a lot for your continuing support, and I hope you enjoy this chapter :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or the picture used as cover, though I did edit it.

Days

The day when Drew watches the news

Drew

Thursday, November 14th

The ticking grew louder and Drew glanced at the windows, the darkness outside making it impossible to see much. Still, a moment later Drew noticed the small white particles hitting the glass with force and he realized that the constant rain had changed into hail.

If possible, that worsened Drew's mood. Already his plans of travelling had been slowed down considerably by the bad weather, and he had been stuck inside the Pokémon Center in Oldale Town the whole day. He had managed to reserve a few hours in the only training hall of the small town, but the rest of his day he had been attempting to devise new Appeals and strategies, and he had revised possible opponents.

Not that he really needed to. The Coordinators who would prove a challenge to him had either already managed to get their Ribbons for this season and had taken up something else to do in their spare time (Solidad), or they had quit completely (May). Even the more promising newbies were still just that: newbies. Drew doubted that the Rustboro Contest would prove a challenge to him.

Of course it was kind of nice being able to breeze through the competition, and the younger Coordinators almost seemed to worship him, which was good for his ego. And (contrary to the opinion of other experienced Coordinators) Drew thought it was good to know the competition, as not to underestimate them.

That didn't change the fact that he was confident of his victory.

Drew shook himself out of his thoughts when the jingle of the news came from the TV. He was seated in the Pokémon Center lobby, with a plate of food on his lap, and had been half paying attention to the TV, but mostly he had been lost in thought. Drew had made a habit of watching the news, and of course especially Contest related matters interested him, but the first item about the death of the aged Elite Four member of the Indigo division, Agatha, made him sit up straighter. If he remembered correctly, she had given Ash quite some trouble when he had challenged the Elite Four.

Not much more was said about that, though, and the newsreader moved on. "Happier news now. Sinnoh Champion Cynthia Jenness has announced that the rumors about a new initiative combining Coordinating and Battling are indeed true."

Drew leaned forward, fingers placed against his mouth in contemplation. He had heard some rumors, yes, and a combination of Coordinating and Battling… it would be an interesting challenge.

"The Wayland Tournament will start on January 12th, and will take place in Veilstone City," the newsreader continued, a picture in the back showing a helicopter view of the city close to the lake. "To be allowed to participate one has to be in the possession of a Contest Ribbon and a Gym Badge. The rounds of the Tournament will be based on both Contest and Competitive Battling, so participants need to have a well-rounded set of skills, but the prize will be worth it." The newsreader smiled brightly. "The Sinnoh Champion has revealed that the winner gets the right to challenge the Sinnoh Elite Four and a pass to the Battle Rounds of the Sinnoh Grand Festival."

Drew breathed in sharply. That was a very impressive prize. Others around him had fallen silent and were staring at the screen as well.

"It is expected that this will give a huge boost to the Sinnohian economy, and mister Contesta has already revealed that there will be more Contests in Sinnoh in the coming months to give more people a chance to win a Ribbon. The Wayland Tournament is an idea from a Coordinator and a Trainer from Sinnoh, and Champion Jenness has expressed the hope that the Tournament will bring Trainers and Coordinators closer."

Drew thought he heard someone scoff in the lobby, and he silently agreed that that would be quite the challenge.

"It all promises to be quite a happening there in Sinnoh," the newsreader said. "Champion Wallace Reyes will be the special guest at News Hour at ten o'clock on Hoenn two, where he will give his opinion on the Wayland Tournament and we expect that he will also talk about Ghost type specialist Agatha's passing."

The newsreader concluded the item and moved on to the next one, something about the hail, but Drew was no longer paying attention, and neither was anyone else in the lobby. Excited chattering filled the room, and Drew leaned back in the chair, the plate of food forgotten. His Pokémon were strong and he had confidence in his Coordinating abilities. The Battling part would be the challenge, but Drew always enjoyed a good challenge-

His phone buzzed and interrupted Drew's train of thoughts. With a frown he pulled it from his pocket, but he quickly straightened out his expression when he noticed the caller ID. "Hello?"

"Hey!" May sounded cheerful and Drew felt a slight smile pull at his lips. He put his half-finished dinner on the small table and left the noisy lobby for a more private area. "How are you doing? Are you still training?"

Drew felt his smile slip slightly when he thought back on the lack of proper training due to the rain, but he swallowed back his complaints and instead just shrugged. "Training could have been better. I was just having dinner."

"Oh." May didn't seem to know what to say to that. "Well, tomorrow is another day." She smiled encouragingly and Drew nodded. There were some moments of silence and May didn't need any more prompting to launch into her tale of today.

Drew listened, but he still found his thoughts drifting, back to the Tournament, to the training he wanted to do-

"Drew? Are you listening?"

"Er, sorry, I was distracted for a moment," he apologized hastily. "What were you saying?"

"Oh, it wasn't really important, but I was just saying that Misty and Ash probably just got back from their honeymoon."

"Oh?"

"They went to the Orange Islands, remember?" May said, happy to remind him, and not seeming to notice his unenthusiastic reply. "Misty called me once when they were there. They were really enjoying it, Misty said that they even went swimming." May let out a laugh and shook her head. "I don't know how she did it, it must have been so cold!"

"Yeah, probably."

A sly smile appeared on May's face, but her eyes twinkled excitedly. "I wonder when a little Ketchum will be joining us. They definitely seem like the type to start a family quickly, don't you think so?"

Drew quickly refocused his attention on the conversation. He must have heard something wrong. "Uh…"

For one, he had never given the idea of Ash and Misty having children any thought, but now that he did think about it, he doubted that they would start a family quickly. Ash was busy with becoming a Pokémon Master, and frankly, Misty hardly seemed the motherly type to him.

May frowned at his (lack of) reply, seeming to think about her words again. "Well, maybe they'll wait a while… But Misty loves baby Pokémon, so I don't know… Plus, babies are just so cute, imagine how much fun it would be if they had a baby!"

Unconsciously, Drew tensed up. May was very clear about wanting to take their relationship to the next level, and when she brought up topics like these, he never knew if she was hinting on purpose or just making small talk. With Ash and Misty's wedding passed, Drew had thought that he was in the clear when it came to those topics, but obviously not.

"Right," Drew said quickly, interrupting what more May had been about to say about babies. "Right," he repeated, a bit calmer. "I- Was there anything more you wanted to talk about?"

It sounded short, he knew, but he felt agitated and wanted his peace again. May looked at him with wide eyes for a moment, before glancing away and pressing her lips together. Then she smiled again and shook her head. "No, nothing more really…"

Guilt clenched in his stomach. "Sorry, May, I just have to go. I need to practice some more…" Which wasn't really true, but May seemed happy to hear an excuse. Drew tried to smile. "Thank you for calling, I'll call you soon, okay?"

May's smile brightened just the slightest bit. "No problem, take care, okay?"

Drew repressed a sigh and nodded shortly. "See you soon."

"Bye bye!" May said, waving cheerfully.

Drew finally allowed himself to sigh when he pocketed his phone. He shook his head, pushing the conversation from his mind. He had a Contest to win, after all.

A/N: Thank you for reading! I'm very interested in hearing what you thought about this chapter, so please let me know!

Thank you!

Recommendations:

Pokémon: Cold by Cheeno. FFN. A short ContestShipping story with a twist at the end – I can't say more than that without spoiling it, but it's great, so give it a look :)

Pokémon:Fusion by Apheleia. FFN. A very sad but still definitely beautiful FerrisWheelShipping story… Don't worry, the shipping isn't broken up, but the whole story around it… Very sad, but very well written!

Harry Potter:Gazebo by colorful swirls. FFN. A very nice one-shot about an AU in which Scorpius and Rose are part of rivaling kingdoms, and they become friends anyway. Check it out!

If you have any stories you want to recommend, please let me know!