Part XCIX: Blasts From the Past
"This looks like a good spot to make camp for lunch." May said as they exited a wooded area and came to a large open meadow with a few random rock formations in it at the far end. "We're about 2 or 3 hours out of Geosenge Town so we can take a break and then make the last part of the trip in the afternoon when we're ready."
"Sounds good." Serena said as she dropped her bag and began getting out a blanket for them to sit on during lunch. "So usual affair? Ash and I will make food while you two sort out the Pokémon."
"Works for me." Misty said as she placed Piplup on the ground so he could nap and then began looking in her bag for the Pokémon food. "And while we set up you and May can tell me more about Geosenge Town."
"There's not much to tell." May said as she stretched and began to help Misty with the Pokémon food. "Though we did spend more time here than normal when we were here last year, so I know it well."
It was a few days after Ash's win over Grant in Cyllage City that had earned him his third gym badge and they were almost at Geosenge Town. They had set out the day after the gym battle and had been making good time for the upcoming Contest in a few days. Serena was going to be in it, and they had spent the time getting things ready for it and enjoying the Kalos weather and scenery as they walked. It had been uneventful and relaxing, just what they needed after everything that had happened since Ash's battle with Clemont.
"Well how about you start with why you were here in the first place." Misty said as she began to sort the Pokémon food out so that she knew who got what. "There's no gym here and it was before Serena found out that her calling was Showcases so why did you guys come out to Geosenge. I recall you saying that there was a Contest event here, but it was late in the year and you weren't able to attend it."
"Correct we didn't make it here for that as Serena and I were heading to Kanto for the Grand Festival at the time." May said. "We didn't plan on coming here, we got sidetracked on the way to Coumarine City by a small adventure that we got wrapped up in for a week or so. I had to hold an impromptu demonstration in Shalour City to make up for the detour as it threw us off schedule. Then again, the detour had been caused by Korrina, so she was more than willing to help me out with that."
"She's the Shalour Gym Leader, right?" Misty asked. "You've mentioned her a few times. More than any of the other gym leaders in fact."
"That's because after Clemont she is the leader I got to know best while I was here and the only one who I'd call a friend before the incident." May said. "She's a few years older than me, 3 I think but I can't be certain, so we have more in common than the other leaders who are all at least a decade older than me, well other than Clemont of course. It was a chance meeting near here in fact that led to her joining our group for a bit."
"Really?" Misty asked. "What happened?"
"We were just walking through a wooded area when Korrina roller bladed in with her Lucario and challenged me to a battle." May said causing Misty to blink. "Come completely out of the blue and took us all by surprise.
"Roller bladed?" Misty asked confused. "Like those wheeled shoes?"
"Korrina is a little odd." May said as if that explained everything. "Fun and quirky but odd. You will see when you meet her. Anyway, she was trying to win 100 straight battles to prove to herself and her Lucario that they were ready."
"For what?" Misty asked now engrossed in the talk as this sounded just like the kinda thing Ash would stumble upon during a journey and then see until the end because it sounded fun. "What could a gym leader be getting ready for?"
"For Mega Evolution." May said. "She had a Key Stone but no Mega Stone because she was holding off on finding it until she felt her bond with Lucario was strong enough for it."
"Lucario, it's one of the Pokémon that can Mega Evolve." Misty said recalling what she'd heard in the past about which Pokémon had Mega Stones. "Right?"
"Some believe it was the first Mega Evolution to be discovered and that it was in Shalour City where it happened." May said surprising Misty with that claim but then again she'd never asked what the first Mega Evolution was. "I am not sure on either account but Korrina had a Key Stone that her grandfather had given her and wanted to win 100 straight battles before searching for Lucarite to Mega Evolve her Lucario. I agreed and used Glaceon against her before losing pretty quickly. It was a fun battle and afterwards she told us her reason for it."
"Sounds like the kinda thing that Ash would do." Misty said. "Randomly running into a gym leader and having an adventure or battle with them is pretty normal for him. It happened a couple of times in Sinnoh."
"Pretty much and traveling with him ensured that I wasn't surprised when it happened." May said with a laugh. "Though the others were when I told them about some of my past adventures that were similar."
"I bet." Misty said. "It takes some getting used to but once you're used to it it's like it's second nature."
"That it does." May agreed. "Makes life a little more interesting though so I wasn't complaining when we ran into Korrina."
"So, after that you came here with her?" Misty asked.
"Correct." May confirmed. "She needed to find the Lucarionite and Geosenge is famous for its evolutionary stones and as I wanted to find a Blazikenite for Blaziken we decided to come here and see if they had one. Actually, it was where I learned that you need a Sun Stone to evolve a Helioptile."
"I gave my Sun Stone away to Emily to use on her Cottonee." Misty said. "Erika gave me one as well as a Leaf Stone for my Gloom. She chose the latter, so I had a spare one. I didn't expect to need on again."
"Well maybe you can pick one up there just in case Helioptile wants to evolve." May said. "They have all kinds of evolutionary stones there though we didn't focus on them as we were looking for Mega Stones. Both Korrina and I had Key Stones, so we really wanted to find the Mega Stones for our starters."
"How did you find your Key Stone?" Misty asked, it was something she'd been wondering for a while and figured now was a good time to find out after May mentioned it. "You never told us."
"A story for another day." May said dismissively. "It was before I reached Geosenge though so not relevant, and I didn't get the Blazikenite until after we left Shalour so another different story."
"Very well." Misty said now more curious then ever as to how May had gotten her stones. "Go on then. You came to Geosenge looking for Lucario's Mega Stone, then what? I doubt it was straightforward, it never is for us."
"We searched the town, but there wasn't on so as you pointed out it wasn't straightforward." May said with a shrug. "We were going to give up when some guy said that he knew of a nearby cave that might have one in it, so we went there. There was a Blaziken guarding it so Korrina fought it to a standstill and proved to her grandfather she deserved it and retrieved the stone."
"I take it her grandfather is important." Misty said. "You've mentioned his twice now."
"He was the gym leader before her and gave her the Riolu egg as her starter and is now her Lucario." May said. "He also has a Lucario that he can Mega Evolve so it made sense for him to know. However, he didn't tell her one thing about the process because she had to learn about it on her own."
"What didn't he tell her?" Misty asked as something nagged at the back of her mind. "I think you have mentioned this before, but I can't recall what it is."
"I probably did but seeing as Ash may end up with a Lucario that he could Mega Evolve if Riolu evolves I will repeat it." May said. "So that we can tell him if that happens and be prepared for it. Mega Evolution interferes with Lucario differently to other Pokémon due to the natural aura the Pokémon has. It overloads the aura when Mega Evolution happens and if the bond isn't rock solid Mega Lucario will go berserk from the power."
"That's not good." Misty said her eyes wide. "How do you overcome it."
"By becoming one with it." May said her brows knitting as she thought back on the situation they were in last year. "It's hard to explain but Korrina didn't fully understand Mega Evolution at the time and her trust with Lucario wasn't as high as she expected. Her grandfather ordered her to go to a nearby mountain where another Mega Evolution expert who had a Mawile, another Mega Evolution Pokémon, lived. We traveled with her and there after a series of tasks she had Korrina and Lucario do they finally joined their hearts and she got it under control."
"That's good." Misty said. "It's just like something Ash would run into and see to the very end."
"It was which was why we stayed, we had to see it through." May said. "And after all that training I decided to challenge Korrina to a gym battle because we'd had a lot of fun on the adventure. I mentioned it the other day, but I was feeling a little lost at the time with just promoting Contests and the way we helped Korrina felt like the old days, so I challenged her to do something. Well, that and I wanted to be the first to face her Mega Lucario in a gym battle after all we did for them."
"I remember you saying you had a battle with her." Misty said. "How'd it go?"
"Alright even if I lost." May said with a shrug. "I used my 3 oldest Pokémon at that time as I'd only recently caught Honedge, Doublade's pre-evolved form, so they made the most sense in the battle. She's a fighting expert so both Munchlax and Glaceon fell pretty quickly though they did take out her Machoke together."
"Normal and ice types are weak to fighting move." Misty said. "It would have made it hard from the beginning."
"That was part of the challenge and Korrina knew that which is why she used Lucario second." May said. "It took out Munchlax and left me with Blaziken. He was strong enough to force her to Mega Evolve to face him as fire type attacks are super effective on Lucario because it's part steel type."
"That would be an advantage, but a gym leader can counter that." Misty pointed out. "And I take it Korrina did just that."
"She did but only after Mega Evolving Lucario." May said. "Even though I lost, it was good fun and just what I needed to get out of my funk and focus on my job. After that Korrina helped out with a Contest demonstration and then we carried on with our journey. I saw her again during the Team Flare incident where her and Mega Lucario helped us out along with all the other gym leaders."
"I see, sounds like a fun adventure." Misty said. "The kind we often have and just what you needed I feel."
"It was." May said. "One of the…"
May didn't finish her sentence when suddenly a small berry struck her in the forehead at high-speed mid-sentence. May yelped in pain as she fell back clutching her head. Instantly Misty was on her feet looking back at where the berry had come from with Malamar's Poke Ball in her hand ready to attack whoever was attacking them when she saw what had happened.
An apologetic looking girl was running across the meadow towards them with a bug type Pokémon that Misty didn't recognize hovering over her shoulder. She was young, 13 or 14 if Misty had to guess, with short reddish-brown hair that fell to just above her shoulders, a straight fringe and a set of long bangs framing her face. Her light green eyes were full of worry as she ran towards them.
Misty noted that the girl's clothes were not in the Kalos style she'd seen on her journey here. She wore a simple yellow sleeveless top, dark orange skirt with a light orange hem and orange shoes. The only accessory she had was a small red handbag.
Add in that her Pokémon had a distinctive gleam that Misty's trained eye showed the use of specialized Pokeblock and Misty knew that this girl was a coordinator likely in the area for the upcoming Contest. All of that indicated that she was not native to Kalos but likely Hoenn or Kanto based of the use of Pokeblock.
"Sorry about that." The girl said as she reached them, Ash and Serena now looking up from where they were setting up the stove to see the girl, though Misty didn't detect any regret in the girl's tone which struck her as odd. "Masquerain and I were practicing with my mentor for the upcoming Contest using berries to perfect her Gust and I guess one got away."
"No need to worry." Misty said though something in her gut told her to not let her guard down around this girl, there was something off in her eyes and the way she held herself showed someone with experience marking her as a seasoned coordinator. "Masquerain? I've never heard of that Pokémon."
Misty pulled out her Pokedex and scanned the odd-looking Pokémon. It had a short white body with 4 matching wings that were beating out of it and an antennae out of its head. It also had two colorful wings sticking out of the side of its head that were semicircular with pink white and dark red colorings and a matching pink face.
"Masquerain, the Eyeball Pokémon and evolved form of Surskit." The Pokedex chimed surprising Misty with the latter part of the identification. "It's antennae have eye patterns on them. Its four wings enable it to hover and fly in any direction."
"Interesting, we met a Surskit in Santalune." Misty said putting her Pokedex away. "So, this is what it evolves into. Gotta admit, didn't see this being its evolved form."
"Yeah, mine evolved a few years back." The girl as May grumbled and sat up, wiping the broken berry from her forehead where it had exploded upon impact and left a red mark there. "I…"
Whatever the girl was about to say she stopped abruptly the moment she saw May, her eyes hardening at the girl. Misty wasn't sure what was going on but instantly she was on edge the moment she saw the girl's look. If this girl knew May, which was an Ash level coincidence given where they were, then something bad might be up.
May had her eyes closed as she finished cleaning her forehead as best she could before she opened them and looked up to see a girl of around 14 glaring down at her. Something in the back of May's mind told her that she'd met this girl before and given the way she was looking at May told May that the girl definitely knew her from somewhere.
However, she couldn't recall where they'd met. Likely she'd faced this girl in a Contest in the past and beaten her, May had won many Contests against people she'd never seen again, and some might not like seeing her again. However other than Harley May didn't have any negative rivals as far as she knew, well Drew but that was totally different as the negativity there wasn't due to being a rival.
It was as she thought of her ex that something clicked in her mind. She wasn't sure if it was the familiarity of the girl, her memories of Drew from before she saw his true colors, or the Masquerain which was a Pokémon that she knew Drew owned, that caused it to all click but it did in that moment. She had a feeling she knew who the girl was and the glare of anger, hate, and a little jealousy she got from her all but confirmed it.
"Hello Brianna." May said coolly as she got up. "What brings you here and why do you look like you want to hit me? Well hit me again as I know you sent that berry at us."
"Wait, you know her?" Misty asked surprised as Ash and Serena joined them. "I thought so."
"May and I were once rivals in both a Contest and love." Brianna said with a scowl. "And I lost both of them to her."
"You're more than welcome to have the latter." May spat. "I saw his true side when I dated him so if you want a man with a fragile ego who can't handle a strong woman that can beat him in a Contest then take him."
"In time Drew will be mine as our love is pure unlike yours was with him." Brianna said and Misty suddenly felt worse and looked at May. "I know who was really at fault in your relationship with him."
May was trembling and Misty couldn't tell if it was fear or anger or both. She knew that May's relationship with Drew had not been a good one and that it had ended badly but she didn't know the full details of it because May had moved on and didn't want to talk about it. Clearly there was more to it then May had said and she was not comfortable dealing with it so suddenly.
"Drew doesn't know what pure love is." May said and Misty heard the anger in her voice as she spoke. "I tried to love him, I did love him, but when I was outdoing him, I saw how insecure he was, and I was the one who took the brunt of it because it was me that was making him insecure. I am sure he told you how it ended when he betrayed me to Harley."
"Only after you betrayed him first by beating him in the Johto semis when it was his year to win it all." Brianna snapped at May causing her to recoil as if she was slapped. "You had to upstage him then and there, his own woman beating him for all to see. You humiliated him by showing the world who wore the pants in that relationship. He only paid you back for what you did to him. What you did was wrong, what he did was justice."
"What I did to him!" May almost screamed. "I did nothing to him. It was the semifinals of the Grand Festival; we were both going for the Ribbon Cup and giving it our all to win it as we should. I was going to try and win and for the second time in as many Grand Festivals I beat Drew when we faced off."
"Yes but this one was different to Kanto." Brianna shot back. "This time you were his and should have been a good girl and not betray him."
"I did not betray him; I was trying to win, and I did because I was the better coordinator that day." May snapped at Brianna. "When he told Harley precisely how to beat me in the finals he betrayed me, that is betrayal not winning a fair Contest battle. Harley loved it and humiliated me in the most lopsided final in Grand Festival history at the time. I know that Drew was responsible for that, it's why I dumped him. If he could do that to me, what else might he do?"
"Nothing, no one as pure as Drew could ever do anything like you're implying." Brianna said and May ground her teeth, she remembered how infatuated Brianna had been when they first met but she'd thought that they'd gotten past this, apparently not. "It's all in your head because you never really loved him and are justifying what you did to him."
"Oh, he could, I should know." May said darkly. "I saw Drew's dark side and got out the moment I realized I was nothing more than a pretty face with a spectacular rack to him. I wasn't going to roll over for him and accept my place, I was going to be a Top Coordinator and set my own path in life. When I saw what he was really like I dumped him, and it was the best decision of my life. Thank Arceus he didn't follow me to Sinnoh."
"No, he returned to Hoenn where I saw him again." Brianna said dreamily clearly not caring about what May had said. "I had just lost in the top 8 in Kanto, so I was going to Hoenn as I hoped to find Drew there. He was taking the year off and taught me in preparation as I competed in Hoenn that year. Alas I lost to Nando in the semifinals that year, but I knew I was almost there. It was why Drew and I went our separate ways after that. He went to Sinnoh where he won it all and I went to Johto were I just lost in the finals last season."
"Wait, you're the decorated coordinator who's considered the overall favorite in Kalos this year." Misty said recalling what she'd read and how Brianna seemed to fit the record that the coordinator allegedly had. "The one with a Grand Festival final appearance."
"One and the same." Brianna said with a grin that didn't quite reach her eyes. "I'm here to win it all at last. I haven't entered a Contest yet, but I will make my grand entrance in Geosenge, and it will be my first ribbon. Now that I see my rival is here, along with her protégé, well I will have to crush you and show that I am the better protégé."
"Er what are you talking about." Serena said as Brianna had turned to look at her while she spoke. "I don't know you."
"I chose to come to Kalos this year because I heard that May was one of the roving judges." Brianna said. "That way I could show her that I am the true Drew disciple and deserving of his love by winning it all in front of his traitorous ex. However, when I read that May had a protégé, a Kalos girl who she was traveling with and who was a skilled performer with a Contest final in her debut, well I knew I had another rival to crush. You see, I am Drew's protégé so that means that I must crush May's."
"You don't have to crush me." Serena said taken aback by the girl's intensity that was now being directed at her. "I appreciate the healthy rivalry but don't make this more than it has to be. May and Drew broke up, she doesn't love him anymore and has moved on so there is no need to be threatened by her or take it out on me by proxy."
"Oh, I know that she doesn't love my love and that never really did." Brianna said turning her attention back to May. "I know who your true love is, Drew told me because he always knew you loved him and was just using Drew to satisfy your needs. I also know, thanks to a new friend Drew made while he was in Sinnoh, that dear old May lost that love before she even got a chance to be him. That makes me very happy to know that May will never have her true love."
"Watch your tongue Brianna." May said, pain clear in her voice as Misty tried to process everything and her feeling of dread kept growing making her wish she had Spiritomb on her to counter it with his own freakiness and comforting support. "I may have lost Ash, I accept that, but there is no need to take joy in my heartbreak. That's just mean and spiteful."
"And yet you broke Drew's heart when you left him for Ash." Brianna said surprising May as that was not why she left Drew, she left him because she saw what he was really like and needed to get out not because she wanted to be with Ash, that came later. "Drew knows who you really loved, he saw it whenever he met up with you guys in Hoenn and Kanto. He was always jealous of Ash and how you felt for him. He told me as much when we met up. Thankfully, Ash is denser than a lead weight, so he never realized."
"Huh, what's going on?" Ash asked he had been lost from the start but as soon as they mentioned him, he tried to get back into the conversation. "What about me?"
"Nothing Ash." May said. "This is between me and Brianna apparently though I don't want to deal with this seeing as I have moved on from that period of my past."
"Oh, it's more than just me." Brianna said grinning widely. "Serena is part of this as well because she is your proxy as much as I am Drew's. We will help settle this given our connections to you two."
"I don't want to be." Serena said taken aback by everything. "I just want to compete and have fun and not get into all this needless drama. I will gladly be a rival but only if it is a positive rivalry."
"To late honey, the moment I came to Kalos and learned of your connection to May you became part of this whether you want to be or not." Brianna said with a harsh laugh before looking over at Misty. "And don't think I haven't forgotten about you in all this. I know the Prodigy of Sinnoh when I see her."
"You know who I am?" Misty asked confused. "But I don't know who you are at all. You just barged in and then dredged up shit from the past that doesn't need to be addressed."
"All you need to know is that I am Drew's one true love and the next Top Coordinator making me the first to win the Kalos Grand Festival." Brianna said. "And that I am a vessel of vengeance not only for my love's hatred of Ash and those who idolize him but of all those who want to see Ash and his crew taken down a peg at long last. Your protégé is also on my list and she's going to be in Geosenge from what I've heard so I know that I will get a chance to beat both of them."
"Keep Emily out of this." Misty growled. "She has nothing to do with whatever this is. Neither of us know you or Drew so spare us this petty jealousy thing you've got going on."
"She is connected to you and therefore Ash and that makes her my enemy so I will crush her as such." Brianna said simply. "That is if my other friend doesn't in the process, but he has a bigger target right now as they're confrontation is long overdue."
"Kenny." Misty said darkly knowing that it could only be him and fearing this the moment Brianna had mentioned a contact in Sinnoh. "He's here."
"In the flesh Dee Dee." A cocky voice said bringing all their attention to someone behind a now smirking Brianna. "I was just waiting for my introduction before I showed up."
Misty looked over Brianna's shoulder and shudder at the sight of her former childhood friend in the same attire he wore in Sinnoh sauntering over to them. He had his usual cocky grin on his face as he reached them.
"I told you we'd meet again Dee Dee." Kenny said. "And I'm here in Kalos for that reason. The time is almost at hand but first we are waiting for one more to join our merry band of heroes. We saw you all here and decided this was the perfect time for the confrontation we've been waiting for as it is right before the Geosenge Contest where Brianna will make her debut. We have a nice long chat planned for you lot."
"Who else could you have with you." Misty spat. "I don't even want you here so why would we want more."
"Why me of course, I am the leader of this merry band of heroes seeking revenge on the true villains of the world." A third, supremely cocky voice said from behind Kenny. "Did you expect me not to be here?"
"No." May said her eyes wide with fear as she saw him for the first time in years and all the painful memories from Johto came back as she shook violently and instantly Misty and Serena were by her side to support her. "You can't be here."
"Oh, but I am." Drew said with a small smile on his lips as he joined his two cohorts. "And we have a lot to discuss now that our paths have crossed again. Get ready May, the time for retribution is at hand and this time we will win."
