A/N: Thank you for your support last chapter! And look, here's another chapter nicely in time :D I hope you enjoy!

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

Days

The day Drew trains in the rain

Drew

Friday, January 24th

The TV was turned on, though Drew wasn't paying much attention to what was being shown. It was the middle of the day, so it was mostly reruns. The only new thing was the news, and even that hadn't changed much in the last hour since he had watched it.

Just as before, the Tournament was the first item of the news.

"Today the Wayland Tournament in Veilstone City has been officially resumed," the news anchor said. "Wednesday's storm destroyed one barrack and the roof of the Stadium, forcing this first-time event to temporarily stop."

A picture of the Tournament grounds was shown, clearly showing the damage. The anchorman continued, "Emergency repairs of the Stadium roof took place yesterday and have stabilized it enough to make it safe enough to battle again, Champion Cynthia says in a statement to the media. While this means that the participants and their Pokémon are now exposed to the weather conditions during their battles, the Champion states that this will only provide new opportunities…"

Or provide new challenges, Drew thought to himself, but that was merely how one looked upon that. The fact that they would now be more exposed to the weather was the very reason that he had reserved a time slot to train today, even though the weather was still not great.

But he would have to prepare, if he wanted to pass onto the Third Round in his battle tomorrow. It would be a Contest style battle, and with this weather, he was still debating which Pokémon to use. It would depend on how the training session went, he had decided.

"-the barrack will be rebuilt in the coming days and until then, the participants who stayed there will be housed in the other barracks, the Veilstone Pokémon Center and the Veilstone Breeding Center, and-"

With a decisive nod, Drew turned off the TV.

"Already heard that before, didn't we," he said.

"Eeee," Butterfree reacted from the corner of the couch, where the Pokémon had been dozing off.

"Yeah, and it's lucky that our barrack is still standing," he said, walking towards the window, where the rain was still pitter-pattering against the glass.

And it was lucky that there hadn't been any more wounded people or Pokémon. The Pokémon that had gotten hurt during the storm had already recovered, he knew, and the two people who had to go to the hospital were doing well. One had already returned with gypsum around his leg, while the other one was still in the hospital with a concussion, but recovering well.

"Alright, we should get going for our training," Drew said to no Pokémon in particular, but he himself didn't yet move either. He wasn't looking forward to training in the rain, but it was better than letting his thoughts run free. Without distraction, his thought automatically returned to one subject.

May... Drew had expected that he would feel better after talking to her, but he didn't. He'd almost say not at all, but he wasn't sure... He hadn't expected that May would ask-

"Alright, time for training," he cut off his thoughts, and resolutely turned away from the window.

His Pokémon moved from their relaxed positions – Butterfree from her spot on the couch, Roserade from the bed and Swinub had been rolled up asleep in the corner – while Drew put on his coat. He recalled them to their Poké Balls and then briskly walked towards the exit.

Outside the weather was not any better than it had seemed from the inside. The ground was thoroughly muddy from the rain of the last days and the sky was grey wherever he looked. There were hardly any people outside, only some quickly running from one building to another. When Drew made it to the training grounds there were more people around, though he couldn't identify them – everyone was wrapped up in rain coats or huddled under umbrellas.

Drew himself pulled up his hood a bit more as he stared at the sorry state of the battlefield he had been assigned. It was muddy and uneven with puddles, and the rain seemed to be increasing in intensity. Momentarily, he felt his heart sink as he wondered how he was supposed to train here, before he pulled himself together again. He could do this, of course. He had trained in far worse conditions – not much worse, but still, worse.

"Absol, Masquerain, let's go!"

With a grimace, Drew watched how Absol sunk half into the mud. His white fur could handle snow and rain very well, but Drew already foresaw a thorough cleaning to get rid of the mud. Masquerain, however, seemed pretty happy with the weather conditions.

"Alright you two, let's get started with an improvisation Contest battle, I want to see how you deal with these battle conditions," Drew called out.

Masquerain made a somersault in the air and Absol nodded at him, and with that, the training had started.

Drew gave all his Pokémon a chance to battle in these conditions, and things went relatively smoothless. Masquerain adapted well, as did Butterfree, and Roserade enjoyed the rain but slipped in the mud whenever she tried to do a twirl.

"Rose!" After the nth fall, Roserade jumped up again and with a frustrated gesture seemed to kick against something nonexistent.

"Maybe you could-"

"Rose, roserade, ro-ro, rade!" his oldest Pokémon said heatedly, and then pointedly turned away from him with crossed arms.

Drew had to hide a smile, knowing that if she saw that, her mood would only get worse.

"Maybe that's enough training for today," he admitted, and looked at his watch. Hm, his allotted training time had already passed, but no one else had shown up to claim this field. Maybe because of the weather, but that was their loss then.

Still, it was cold and it was wet, his Pokémon were dirty and tired – and frankly, so was he – so ending it now was as good as a moment as any.

"Alright, that's enough, guys!" Drew called out. "We're calling it a day."

Roserade turned back to him and gave him an approving nod, and without his command, returned herself to her Poké Ball. Flygon remained on the field, seeming rather exhausted from the training.

"You did well, Flygon," Drew complimented him, and Flygon responded with a tired but happy trill. "Now rest up a little," Drew said, and recalled him to his Poké Ball.

Drew pocketed the Poké Ball and quickly left the training grounds, wanting to get out of the rain as soon as possible. He first ran by the Pokémon Center for a quick healing session for his Pokémon, and then hurried back to his barrack.

He wanted nothing more than a nice hot shower, some dry clothes and then plopping down on the couch, but he first had to take care of his Pokémon. Still, dry clothes he could do, and then released his Pokémon one by one to clean and dry them. As expected was Absol's fur a nightmare to clean, and by the time he was finished, the fresh clothes he had put on had gotten dirty again. Lastly, he prepared the food for them, and then it was finally time for that hot shower.

"You guys enjoy your food and a good rest, I'm going to take a shower and then I'm meeting with Harley and Solidad in the community room for dinner," Drew told his Pokémon, who chorused their agreements.

Drew left his Pokémon alone and went into the bathroom, and after stripping off the now-also-dirty clothes, he stepped into the shower with a contented sigh.

This had been a very productive training session. Masquerain would do well tomorrow in the Contest battle, he was certain of that, and after he had won, he could lean back and relax and watch how the other participants battled. If he remembered correctly, Solidad had to battle tomorrow as well, while Harley had to battle the day after tomorrow, just like May…

May... He didn't feel better after talking with her. He should, but he didn't. He had made his decision clear and was taking steps to follow through with that decision. He had already called a lawyer, and the man had assured him that he would take care of all financial issues and had also asked if he was interested in sharing custody-

Drew inwardly cringed as he thought back to his reaction to that question. He had cut the man off rather harshly, looking back on it. He should have expected that question from his lawyer, but his meeting with May the day before had set him on edge.

He had not expected that she'd ask if he didn't want anything to do with the baby, and she had sounded so hurt- But he didn't. He didn't want anything to do with the baby. He had never wanted children, not when he knew he would have to choose between raising them and his career and then make the wrong decision – like his parents had done.

This was his life. His life, his decisions.

In the end, the custody question had not been asked again, and his lawyer and he had settled on acknowledging the baby and financial support.

With a sigh and a shake of his head, Drew turned off the shower. He shouldn't be thinking these negative thoughts, it was utterly pointless and it only put him in a dark mood. Still, it was difficult to let it go, and Drew quickly dressed, knowing that he needed some distraction.

Just as he got out of the bathroom, loud knocking sounded at his door.

"Drew!" Harley's high-pitched whining was unmistakable. "Hurry up, I want to go have dinner!"

Drew sighed theatrically, though he couldn't help but smile. "Don't get your leggings in a knot, it'll be just a moment."

Harley shrieked. "They're not leggings! They're authentic, custom-made Yasuharu pants from-"

"Yes, Harley, we know, a bit quieter please," Solidad's amused voice joined the coversation.

Drew grinned and grabbed a comb to do his hair, and then gave his mirror image a confident smirk.

"Drew! Hurry! They have Kalosian mushrooms!"

"Alright, alright," Drew said, and waved goodbye at his Pokémon before opening the door to reveal an impatiently waiting Harley and a smiling Solidad.

"Let's go," he said to them, and with a smile and a light feeling he joined his friends.

A/N: Thank you for reading! This chapter turned out a bit different than I had intended, but I think I'm happy with it. Not much action, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway! Thank you!

And please remember to vote in the Tournament poll!

Thank you!

Recommendation:

Harry Potter: Sleeper by orphan-account. AO3. A finished multi-chaptered story with a really interesting premise, in which Harry dreams about an alternate world where dead people are alive and his life turned out very different. But is it real? Or is it just a figment of his imagination? And it is a better world or not? Definitely recommended!

If you have a story you want me to recommend, please let me know!