A/N: Thank you all for continuing to support this story! Sorry this chapter is a bit late, school started up again, so that's why. Still, I hope you enjoy it anyway :D
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or the picture used as cover (though I did edit it).
Days
The day with different battles
May
Monday, January 20th
"Roserade, evade and use Giga Drain!" Drew's voice sounded muted through the barrack's small common room, and May tried her best to make her glance at the screen seem innocent.
There were a few more people in the common room, a couple of them chatting, but most were watching the battle on the screen. May herself had a book in her lap, but it was more so that she could say that she hadn't come here specifically to watch Drew's battle, even if it was only to herself.
On screen, Roserade succeeded in evading the Staraptor's attack and launched her own Giga Drain, but it didn't do much to Staraptor.
Drew's battle was one of the last ones of the First Round, and it looked like it might be his last one, too. There was quite a crowd in the stadium, and May heard them yell when an attack from Staraptor hit.
If they had been still together – or even back when they had been friends – May would've been in that Stadium to watch him. Now she was even unsure about watching him on TV, and she quickly glanced at her book again.
"Roserade!" Drew yelled and May looked back at the screen. She saw Roserade jump out of the way just in time. "Giga Drain again!"
May watched the battle with mixed feelings. It was satisfying in some way to see Drew lose, but on the other hand, she wanted to be the person to crush him. It would be a bit disappointing if he didn't get any further than the First Round.
Admittedly, he had gotten unlucky with his opponent. Her own had been a competitive trainer, too, but the girl had been only eleven years old and May's Blaziken had swept the floor with her Shellos.
This, however, was Barry McGonnigal, who had been a competitive Trainer for years and had been a fierce rival to Ash, according to Dawn. His Pokémon were well-trained and he had the type advantage, too.
"Giga Drain!" Drew called again, and Roserade complied. It was only delaying the inevitable, because it didn't do much to Staraptor, even if it did give Roserade some energy back. Roserade was fast enough to avoid another attack, but she couldn't keep this up forever. In the beginning of the battle, Drew had tried to let her use Solar Beam, but it was cloudy and Staraptor didn't give her the time to charge. Now it seemed as if he didn't know what to do and was merely dragging it out.
"C'mon, Staraptor, let's give it a few more Wing Attacks to finish it!" Barry was practically jumping up and down on his end of the field.
"Roserade, when it gets close again, jump on its back!" Drew called, a look of tight concentration on his face. May knew that look; he was planning something.
Well, whatever it was, it'd better work, because Roserade couldn't handle much more. The book was now completely forgotten and May watched intently as Roserade took the Wing Attack and managed to latch onto Staraptor's back.
"Fly up high and shake it off!" Barry called, while Drew yelled at the same time, "Hold on tight!"
Staraptor took off in the air and disappeared from the screen, and May leaned forward. The camera switched to show the sky, where Staraptor was only a dot. But Roserade didn't fall down, and slowly Staraptor descended again.
"Roserade is still stuck on Staraptor's back, what an endurance!" Marian's voice-over sounded, and May nodded to herself. Roserade was one of Drew's strongest Pokémon, always had been.
"Staraptor is flying odd," someone in the common room commented, at the same time as May noted that Staraptor's descent had lost its smoothness. It was now haltingly dropping from one height to a lower altitude, stayed there for a moment, and then dropped further.
"What's going on with Staraptor?" Marian's voice sounded again, now too seeing what was happening. The camera zoomed in on Staraptor and Roserade, and a purplish hue was visible around Staraptor's beak.
"It's poisoned!" someone in the room called, at the same time as Marian exclaimed the same thing and sounds from the crowd sounded.
"Roserade's Poison Point ability," May said in quiet realization, a grin coming to her face. "Alright, now Roserade only needs to hold on!"
Barry seemed to have realized that, too, because he called in a panic, "No, no, Staraptor, shake it off, shake it off!"
Staraptor tried, flying diagonally as it continued to lose altitude, and making abrupt turns, but Roserade continued to hold on. The zoomed-in camera sometimes had difficulty with keeping them on screen, and May saw how Roserade was swept from one direction to another, her eyes clenched shut, but the Pokémon didn't let go.
The two were nearing the ground and Drew called, "Try a Mega Drain if you can, Roserade!"
For a moment it seemed as if Roserade was indeed going to try, and the next she was falling to the ground.
"No!"
"Roserade!"
Fortunately, it had only been a short distance to the ground, and Roserade got up slowly, her limbs trembling.
"Wing Attack, quickly!"
It was a desperate call and Staraptor's attack came slow, but Roserade was exhausted, too, and her jump to avoid the attack made her fall over again.
"Keep going, Roserade!" Drew yelled, and May recognized the pleading, despairing undertone.
"Wing Attack!"
Roserade rolled out of the way when Staraptor's halfhearted attack neared, and Staraptor crashed into the ground.
"Staraptor! Get up! Use Wing Attack, Tackle, c'mon!"
"Roserade, just a few more moments, hold on!"
May held her breath, the room buzzing around her as her eyes were glued to the screen. On the field, Staraptor was slowly getting back on its feet, but so was Roserade. Drew's oldest Pokémon trembled, and pointed her bouquet-like hands at Staraptor.
"Avoid and use Tackle, Staraptor!" Barry screamed.
A green beam shot from Roserade's hands and Staraptor tried to stumble out of the way, but was too slow.
Staraptor fell, and Roserade stood straighter.
May let out her breath and grinned widely. "Woohoo, awesome!"
Some of the people around her also cheered, and applause sounded from the screen when the battle judge announced Roserade and Drew as the winners.
May sunk back in her seat – she hadn't even realized she had moved closer to the screen – and picked up her book again, hiding her face behind it. The grin slowly slipped away as realization dawned on her; Drew had passed on to the Second Round, and so there was a chance they had to face each other.
That was not a bad thing. She could beat him. Her training was going well – in fact, she'd had a battlefield reserved to train in about half an hour. So she better use that time well.
The sounds around her died down again and returned to the usual buzz of chatter, and May tried to refocus on her book.
It was about pregnancy, though May had hidden the cheerful cover with a big belly and blue and pink baby socks behind a plain paper cover. It was surprising the press had stayed out of their business for so long, and she wasn't about to tempt fate.
Besides, only her family and Dawn knew about the pregnancy right now. And Drew, of course. She wondered if Drew had told anyone.
Focus, May, focus. She turned her attention back to the book and continued reading about what happened in the second trimester; the best one according to the book, because the early symptoms of the first trimester had gone and the big belly problems from the third trimester hadn't arrived yet.
Definitely not arrived yet, that big belly. It was maybe a bit noticeable, but only to herself and only because she was paying attention. If she hadn't known, she probably wouldn't have even noticed.
After a while, May closed the book and decided that she might as well get ready for training. She had read some, but her thoughts kept dancing away and maybe some action would help her get her focus back.
May left the book in her own room, took her Poké Balls and put on a warm coat; even though Dawn had told her that it was warm for a Sinnoh weather, it was still very cold compared to the Hoenn winters May was used to.
She still had some time before she had to be at the training field and she walked there at a leisurely pace. Out of all of her Pokémon, Skitty was out of shape the most; he had never been very strong in battle, and-
Her thoughts came to an abrupt halt when she suddenly came face to face with no one other than Drew.
Drew, too, froze when he saw her.
"Uh, hi," he finally said.
"Hi," May replied automatically.
"I've been looking for you," Drew said. "Can we talk?"
"Uh... I have to train." She didn't even mean it as an excuse, it was just the first thing that came to her strangely blank mind. Her feet were already carrying her away and a moment later she heard Drew following her.
The walk to the battlefield was not long. When they arrived there the previous Trainer was already gone, but a Tournament assistant and his Machoke were still there. The Machoke cleaned away the debris while the assistant checked the ground for cracks or weaknesses.
As if in mutual agreement, Drew and May waited in silence as the man finished his work. The fields around them were occupied, but everyone was training and no one seemed to pay specific attention to them. When the assistant was done, May thanked him and gave him a weak smile, and then she and Drew were alone in the relative privacy of the battlefield.
As they had stood waiting, her mind had caught up with the situation again. Drew wanted to talk. The desire to flee was there, as well as she wanted to yell at him, but she tried to keep her thoughts and face neutral. Better get this over with, she thought, hear him out. After a deep breath, May turned to him.
Her heart panged when she looked him in the eye, those familiar green eyes looking back at her. Surprisingly, Drew was the first to look away.
Better get this over with, she repeated to herself, and said, "So?"
That came out rather snappish, and May could already feel herself frowning; maybe staying neutral was more difficult than she had thought.
"I'm sorry for leaving you like I did," Drew said promptly. The words were unexpected and May was momentarily speechless.
Drew looked back at her. "You're pregnant with my child. I'll take my responsibility."
"R-right," May said, unsure how else to respond. She recognized the way Drew acted, cold, distant, the words prepared beforehand. It had never been directed at her before; the only times she'd seen it was with his parents.
"I'll have my lawyer contact you and he will take care of the monetary issues," Drew said. He waited a moment for her to nod numbly, and then he turned to leave. Seeing his retreating back broke through her daze, anger and sadness warring within her.
"Don't you want any role in your child's life?" May burst out. Drew turned in surprise and there was finally a flicker of emotion visible behind his mask.
"You always wanted to be a mother, I'm sure you're perfectly cut out for it," he almost sneered, and May recoiled, stepping back from the bitter anger that was so alien to see on Drew's face.
Drew turned to leave and this time May watched him go, feeling hollow. After some moments, she released Skitty, but all thoughts of training had fled from her mind. She hugged Skitty to her chest and sat there until the Tournament assistant with his Machoke came to tell her that her time was up.
She returned to her barrack, but even though they hadn't gotten any training done, May still felt exhausted.
A/N: Thank you for reading! I had fun writing the battle, but I'm not too sure about the conversation between Drew and May. I'd love to hear what you thought about it, so please review! And please vote in my poll!
Thank you!
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