After a few days uneventful days of traveling, May found herself waiting for Dawn at the airport near the Valor Lakefront Resort. Not long after the plane from Hoenn landed, Dawn ran out of her plane terminal with full excitement on her face, which made May smile.

"May!" the Sinnoh native called out as she proceeded to run over and hug her friend tightly. May hugged her back, just as excited to see her. "It's so great to see you!"

"It's great to see you too!"

"Hi, Dawn!" Glaceon smiled.

"Hey, Glaceon!" Dawn squealed as she paused to take in May's new look. "Wow! You look even better in person! Somehow more...confident."

"Really?" May wondered with a tilt of her head.

"I can't quite figure out how, but you do." Dawn nodded. " But more importantly, you look ready to win."

"Am I ever!" May chuckled.

"Then let's stop wasting time. Let's go check out the stadium and get you registered. And you tell me everything on the way there! And everything means everything!" Dawn declared.

"Okay, okay!" May laughed as both girls started walking towards the exit with Glaceon tagging along at their feet.

"So first thing's first, how do you like my home country?" Dawn chuckled.

"It's been great!" May nodded.

"Told you it would be!"

"Well then, same question back to you, what do you think of Hoenn?"

"It's so awesome! I've never been somewhere that's warm like that all the time! It's like being on a never-ending vacation!" Dawn exclaimed.

"That so?" May chuckled.

"Totally! It's like it's summer all the time!" Dawn added.

"It is summer, you dork." May giggled.

"Yeah, but it's like, ultra summer! I can only remember one or two summers here that got that hot." Dawn countered.

"Well maybe if you wore pants for once." May teased slyly.

"Oh, you're one to talk!" Dawn fired back, causing both girls to dissolve into a fit of giggles and laughing.

"Well anyway, onto the stuff you want to hear?" May offered.

"Yes! Tell me everything about what's been going on!" Dawn gasped.

"Well, it started the day after we first talked. I met Lila herself when Glaceon got stuck in a fishnet outfit in her store." May began, smirking a little at Glaceon who blushed in embarrassment.

"I wasn't totally stuck…"

"Someone was a little excited to get some new accessories." May giggled. "But anyway, Lila recognized me and came over to say hello."

"Told you you had a big following in Sinnoh!" Dawn cheered.

"Which I've experienced firsthand." May replied.

"I gotta tell you though, it's nothing compared to what I've seen in Hoenn. Those people are obsessed with you!" Dawn pointed out, causing May to blush.

"Oh gosh...I didn't even think of that…"

"You should've seen the celebrations that were going on once they got the news about your 5th Ribbon win." Dawn smiled as May blushed harder and hid her face.

"Oh my gosh…" she mumbled.

"And from what I've seen the whole region is going to be watching." Dawn added.

"Geeze…No pressure…" May sighed.

"Hey don't worry about it." Dawn smiled. "I think it's great that you have so much support back home. Especially after what you told me about how you grew up. Trust me May, they're not cheering for "Norman's Daughter". They're cheering for their "Princess"."

"Really…?" May wondered as she blushed softly.

"Really. So don't think of it as pressure. Think of it like having your own very large cheering section." Dawn winked.

"Thanks, Dawn…" May responded, giving a small smile.

"Besides you've got me cheering for you too which is even better!" the bluenette exclaimed, leading May to chuckle.

"That's right I forgot. You are the cheer captain."

"I brought my cheer outfit just for you! Not to mention Piplup's Mega Cheering outfit!"

"Well then. How can I lose with that support?" May smiled.

"That's exactly right!" Dawn laughed. "But anyway we're getting off-topic. Keep telling me about Lila!"

"Right right. Well anyway, Lila approached me and I told her that I was looking for a new dress and image for the Grand Festival. Then she took me out back and we started talking about what works for me." May explained.

"You got to see her private studio?! That's incredible!" Dawn squealed.

"It was really something." May smiled slightly. "And from there on we decided to make my cutest look ever."

"Oh wow!"

"You're going to be blown away."

"You keep teasing me like this and I'm gonna die!"

"Well start digging." May smirked as they finally began to approach the main stadium.

"Ug you are so horrible sometimes!" Dawn complained. May giggled at her friend before breaking away to approach the front desk.

"Hello. How can I help you?" the receptionist behind the desk asked her.

"Hi, I'm here to check in for the competition." May explained.

"Of course, I'll just need your Contest Pass and your Ribbons please." the woman explained. May nodded and handed them over without missing a beat. The receptionist scanned each one for authenticity and everything rang true on the computer. "Alright you're all set." she then handed May a hotel key and guidebook as well. "Here's everything you'll need during your stay. So enjoy the competition and good luck."

"Thanks." May smiled as she accepted the items and made her way back over to Dawn. "Now then. Hotel room?"

"Sure! The sooner we get there the sooner you can finally show me this dress!" she pointed out.

"Well, in that case, I'm gonna walk real slow just to make you wait longer." May smirked.

"Don't make me have Mamoswine carry you there!" Dawn warned her.

"Alright alright." May laughed as they both began the walk to the hotel. "So the dress."

"Yes! Tell me everything about it!"

"The first thing we landed on was that it had to be red-adjacent to be more "my" colors. So we landed on pink." May explained.

"Well, you know me! I'm all for some pink!" Dawn chuckled.

"One of the other things we settled early was that it had to be alluring." May sheepishly admitted as she scratched her head.

"May's got a ccrruusshh...!" Dawn happily teased her.

"Oh, hush!" May pouted as she shoved Dawn playfully with a bright red face. Dawn laughed nonetheless and that was when May gave a small smirk of her own. "Like you're one to talk…"

"Huh?!" Dawn gasped as she blushed in surprise.

"Mhm." May smirked, remembering her run-ins with another Sinnoh native Coordinator who knew Dawn quite well.

"I-I have no idea what you're talking about…" Dawn finally responded, blushing and fidgeting with her hair as they walked.

"Whatever you say…Dee Dee." Dawn blushed harder and shot her friend a glare.

"Not another word out of you…" May laughed and finally eased up on her friend, choosing instead to continue her story.

"Alright alright. Anyway, what do you think about pop stars?"

"The cool ones are great."

"Well as you saw on Glaceon, we decided to take a pop star theme for the "Princess." So in that vain we-" She then purposefully stopped herself short and looked up at a building nearby. "Hey, an ice cream parlor!"

"May!" Dawn complained. "You can't leave me hanging like that!"

"Oh come on, you can't say no to ice cream!" May teased as she instead ran inside.

"MMaayy!" Dawn groaned as she ran after her friend.

Soon enough, after the forced ice cream break, May unlocked and opened the door to her hotel room. Both she and Dawn walked into the decently sized room and the latter of the two flopped down on one of the beds to relax.

"Somebody's comfortable." May chuckled as she took off her waistpack and set it down on the other bed.

"Nothing wrong with that." she pointed out.

"I suppose not." May chuckled. "But now is the moment you've been waiting for."

"Finally!" Dawn cheered as she sat up on the bed and May laughed. The brunette walked to the bathroom and after a few minutes to change, she eventually stepped out wearing all but the accessories.

"Ta-da!" she announced, doing a little twirl in the process before posing.

"Whoa!" Dawn gasped.

"Isn't it cute?" May giggled as she swayed her body from side to side to show off all angles of the dress.

"Heck yeah! You look incredible!" Dawn agreed.

"Worth the wait then?"

"Absolutely! Wow!"

"I'm so glad you think so. There's still a few accessories I'm going to wear for the competition, but this is the new Princess of Hoenn look!"

"New is right! It's like you're a different person!"

"You really think so?"

"Absolutely! Like you've found your inner sparkle and finally are embracing your title!" Dawn grinned.

"I agree." May giggled before taking a deep breath. "This is it, Dawn. I'm going all the way this time."

"That's the spirit!" Dawn cheered as the two girls wrapped each other up in a hug as Glaceon watched with a smile. "The people in Hoenn are going to love this. Especially the fan club I met with."

"Oh gosh a May fan club..?" May asked as she let Dawn out of the hug.

"Yeah, I met them in Lilycove City. Lots of little girls who just adore you. Once they see you in this they're all going to want one." Dawn pointed out, catching May's attention. It reminded her of what happened when she got her ears pierced. She remembered how good it felt to be a source of inspiration for someone else. How much joy it brought her to be able to share that kind of confidence and strength with others who looked up to her. The thought of being able to do that again, and to more people really made her smile.

"I hadn't thought of that…" she whispered. "Huh…"

"Something on your mind?" Dawn asked with a tilt of her head.

"Kinda…it's something I've been thinking about for a while actually." May admitted.

"What things?" Dawn pressed her further.

"Just…the idea that other girls would want to wear something like this just because I wore it...it's just surreal." May admitted.

"Well of course they would want to wear it. We both have emulated people we admire, right?" Dawn pointed out.

"Well sure...but...

"But what? Come on May talk to me." Dawn urged her friend.

"I mean…Lila gave me the dress for free because she sees something special in me, everywhere I go I find fans that are inspired by watching me, and now even you're telling me I look like an entirely new person...and even though it does feel that way...I mean...I've always just been...me…" May admitted.

"Because who you are is someone people love May. You don't have to be someone else to be an inspiration." Dawn smiled.

"I guess I just never could have imagined that something like this would be happening to me...I just enjoyed Coordinating as my way of training Pokemon… as a way to be someone other than "Norman's daughter"...But now it's like I really am some kind of…pop star…" the sapphire-eyed girl explained.

"Is there a reason both can't be true?" Dawn wondered.

"Huh?"

"Ever consider that the reason people like you is that you're not in this to be liked? It's your passion. And passion is something anyone can understand. I mean even I'll admit that when I started, what I wanted was to become a better Coordinator than my Mom...even a part of me wanted to notoriety...but from what I know about you that was never really a thing for you. You do this because you love it and it brings you closer to your Pokémon right?"

"I-I never thought of it that way…" May realized.

"That kind of raw passion and joy, it's something that anyone would want to root for. And to top it off, you've worked hard all these years to make a name for yourself. You've never used your family's title or influence to get where you are. You've worked hard and earned it." Dawn continued as her words caused May to smile softly.

"Well...I guess that's true…" she admitted.

"Despite the fact that we're rivals May, you have to know that even I can see a strong quality in you. People rally behind you and want to see you succeed like I've never seen before. They all see something in you that inspires them and makes them want to do their best too." Dawn smiled.

"Thanks, Dawn…That's given me a lot to think about…"

"In what way?" Dawn questioned her with a tilt of her head.

"Well...like you said I've gotten to this point...so maybe...I should do something with it. Something more than what I have been doing."

"Like what?"

"Well I'm not entirely sure, to be honest…but you brought up that fans would want to wear this...maybe there's something to that as a start?" she offered.

"Sure why not?" Dawn smiled.

"I just think...maybe I should make better use of my fame in some way." May explained.

"Now that sounds awesome!" Dawn giggled. May smiled softly and glanced at herself in the mirror out of the corner of her eye, weighing everything Dawn, Lila, and others had told her.

"Princess of Hoenn…"

"The one and only." Dawn added. May smiled softly and Dawn returned the smile. "You know...Ash sees these things about you too."

"Daaaaaawn…" May complained as she blushed once more.

"It's the truth. I remember the night he learned you were in Sinnoh. He knows you're something special too. Just in his own "special Ash way"." she clarified, making May smile again.

"Heh…"

"So if that's not inspiring to you, then who are you and what have you done with my May?" the blue-haired girl laughed. May laughed along with her.

"Point made."

"That's my girl!" Dawn cheered as she proceeded to hug May, surprising the brunette.

"Eep!" Dawn giggled and eventually May joined in with her.

"I can't wait to see you compete! Let's go celebrate with some crazy big dinner!" Dawn suggested.

"Now you're speaking my language!" May agreed.

"My treat this time!" Dawn insisted. "Now go get changed! You gotta make a big entrance tomorrow so no one can see you in this!"

"Gee. I wonder where I've heard that before. Didn't I say the same thing to you before I showed you my dress?" May teased.

"Hey, I'm special so it doesn't count!" Dawn fired back.

"Oh, you're special alright…" May replied sarcastically which made Dawn playfully shove her. She laughed and Dawn smiled at her friend.

"Get going or I'll make you pay instead!"

"Alright alright." May giggled as she went to change.

To be Continued...