Chapter 20: Zoey Advice and Drew's Feelings

Drew sighed, plopping down on the snow. He decided to take a break on his way to Snowpoint City. He recently…had to leave May, and…he's been feeling really sad ever since.

Drew reached in his backpack and pulled out the golden necklace with a heart charm. He exhales, staring at it with a frown. "…we were so close…and I messed everything up."

One of Drew's pokéballs on his belt starts shaking. It opens, and a Pokémon materializes in front of him.

"Roserade?" Drew questioned.

"Roserade." Roserade sits beside Drew.

Drew smiles softly. He looks back at the necklace and flips it over. "To my Princess…" He reads the engraved words. "Why does our relationship…have to be so complicated?"

"Rose, Roserade."

"I want May and I to be close again, Roserade. But that probably won't ever happen." He drops his hand with the necklace to his side.

"Rose, Roserade."

"I messed things up with her. Even if I apologize…she won't forgive me."

"Rose, Roserade. Roserade."

"You think I should try anyway? She wouldn't want to talk to me…"

"Rose, Roserade."

Drew sighed. He puts the necklace back in his backpack.

Roserade hears rustling in the forest. She stands up. "Roserade."

Drew looks in the direction Roserade is looking. "Did you hear something?"

They both hear branches cracking and bushes rustling. They then see someone walking out of the forest. She notices Drew.

The girl has shaggy orange hair and light brown eyes. "Oh. Hello." She greeted, walking towards Drew.

Drew stands up. "Hi." He notices a Pokémon walking beside the trainer. He takes out his pokédex.

"Glameow, the Catty Pokémon. When angry, it flashes its claws, but it also can purr quite affectionately."

Glameow meows with a smile.

Drew smiles. "Cute Pokémon." His smile fades. "I know someone who would love to meet it…"

The trainer stares at Drew in confusion.

Drew shakes his head. "Sorry." He smiles. "Glameow just reminds me of my old companion."

"I know that we just met, but…why did you call your old companion…your old companion?"

Drew sighed. "I…messed up my relationship with my ex."

"Oh."

"She's a brunette with blue eyes. And…I lied to her about something big. She got mad at me, and, well, decided to travel alone. I've sort of been depressed since."

"Hold on. You said a brunette with blue eyes?"

"Yeah."

"Is her name May?"

"…wait…you know May?"

"Yeah. My name is Zoey. She's competed against me before. In last year's Wallace Cup."

"Ohh…I was going to say that you looked familiar…I remember watching the Wallace Cup on TV. My name is Drew."

"I think May's mentioned you before…we also still keep in contact with each other with phone calls."

"Really? I've never seen her call you when we were traveling together."

"She probably just didn't want you to feel awkward in our girl conversations."

"Yeah…probably." Drew sighed.

Zoey smirked. "Are you strong?"

Drew smirked, getting his confidence back. "Sure am."

"A good way to get your mind off of things is to battle. How about it?"

"You're on. Roserade, let's go."

May finally steps foot into Snowpoint City. She smiles, looking around. She shivers, breathing out cold air. She still has Drew's jacket from before. She had forgotten to give it back to him. It's too late now.

May finds the Pokémon Center and enters. "Hello, Nurse Joy."

"Hello." Nurse Joy greeted.

"Can you give my Pokémon a check up?"

"Of course."

May takes out her pokéballs and puts them into the pokéball tray. Nurse Joy takes the tray and walks away to a hospital room.

May walks to the waiting area where there's a fireplace, sofas, and a TV. She sits down in front of the warm fire. She shivers, putting her hands out in front of her. She looks up at the TV on the wall.

The TV reporter is currently showing bits and pieces of the last Pokémon Contest. Drew's face pops up onto the screen. He was the winner of the Lilypad Town Pokémon Contest. May frowns, staring at Drew on the TV. "I…wish it wasn't so hard. Our friendship."

Ring ring ring! Ring ring ring!

May turns her head. She stares at the phone booths against the wall across the room. She looks around, not seeing anybody else in the room. "Hm."

Ring ring ring!

May stands up and walks over to the phone booths. She sits down and picks up the phone. Zoey's face appears on the screen.

"Oh, hi Zoey!" May said.

"Hey." Zoey greeted. "How have you been?"

"Meh." May shrugged. "How did you know that I'd be here?"

"The next Pokémon Contest is in Snowpoint City. I figured you'd be there by now."

"Oh. Are you going to compete in the Contest too?"

"Nah. I'm taking a little break to work on new combinations. But I'll be going there to watch."

"Cool! I can't wait to meet you again in person. It's been so long."

"I know, right? Too long." Zoey's eyes drift to the side at Drew who is giving her the signal to speed it up. He's mouthing the word 'Faster'. She looks back at her pokétch. "So anyways…I heard about you and that green-haired Coordinator…"

"Oh. Drew? What about him?"

"How are you feeling after the break up?"

May frowns. "I-I'm okay after the break up…It's just…He recently lied to me, and I'm not too happy about that."

Drew frowned.

"How bad was it?" Zoey asked May.

"Really bad. He lied to me about the fact that he was pretending to date a movie star…He said that he was her real boyfriend when he was only faking it. And he kept that lie going for months. And the thing is…" May's eyes get watery. "…he doesn't even realize how much he hurt me."

Drew gasped softly.

"I…"

"Let it all out, May." Zoey said.

Tears start to fall from May's face. "…I-I still care about him. I've never stopped…"

"Maybe you should tell him that."

May licks her dry lips. "I…I can't face him. Whenever I think of him…I just get reminded of how he lied straight to my face. And…I don't think things would ever go back to normal."

"You'll never know if you don't try."

May wipes her eyes. "D-Do you think he still wants me as a friend?"

Zoey looks up at Drew. Drew is frowning. He nods slightly. She looks back at May. "I know he does."

"How can you know that?"

"Umm…just a guess?"

May laughs softly. "I don't know when the next time I'll see him is, but…I want to talk to him again. Maybe apologize for leaving on my own."

Zoey nods. "There you go. I'm sure your friendship with Drew will be fixed in no time."

"Thanks, Zoey. I'll see you tomorrow at the arena."

"See you." Zoey hangs up.

"Wow…" Drew starts. "She…actually still cares about me."

"I could've told you that. She's May. She loves all of her friends 'til forever. And I don't think she's one to forget about an ex so quickly."

"But…I was awful to her. I don't even deserve someone like her. But…she actually still likes me."

"Of course she does. Now, how about we get to Snowpoint City?"

Drew sighed. "It's going to be awkward between May and I."

"Well…at least watch her perform?" Zoey suggested. "It'd be nice to at least be there for support. Even if she doesn't know it."

"Yeah. I guess let's go."

Zoey and Drew enter the Contest Arena auditorium. They find seats in the front row to enjoy the show.

"I'm looking forward to seeing how strong May is now." Zoey said. "Her combinations must be on point."

"Yeah…" Drew keeps an expressionless face as he stares at the stage. Marian walks onto the stage and greets all the Pokémon fans with a lot of enthusiasm.

Marian starts the Contest off with the first contestant. A boy using a Flareon.

While the Contest goes on…one thought enters Drew's mind…

("May…I hope you'll one day forgive me for everything I did.")

Zoey looks at Drew. She notices him deep in thought. She smiles. "Hey. Remember what I told you earlier?"

Drew blinks. He looks at Zoey. "Huh?"

He thinks back to earlier…

*Flashback*

"Roserade, use Solar Beam!" Drew called.

"Rose." Roserade starts gathering sunlight, prepping for a Solar Beam.

"Glameow, Thunderbolt!" Zoey called.

Glameow meows, and then launches a Thunderbolt towards Roserade.

"Roserade!" Roserade's Solar Beam charged up fast though, due to a lot of sunlight. She releases the Solar Beam from her bouquet hands.

It collides with the Thunderbolt, creating an explosion of power. Both trainers block the explosion smoke with their arms, squinting to see where their Pokémon are. Both Pokémon got thrown backwards, because of the explosion. They both crash to the ground.

As soon as the smoke cleared, Drew and Zoey got a look at their Pokémon. Both had fainted.

Zoey sighs of relief. She smiles and walks to her Glameow. She kneels down. "You were great, Glameow."

Glameow meows weakly.

Drew goes to Roserade. He helps her sit up. "Awesome job, Roserade."

"Rose." Roserade said weakly.

Zoey stands up with Glameow in her arms. She walks to Drew. "You know…May is one lucky gal to have you as a friend."

Drew stands up, facing Zoey. "She is?"

Zoey nods. "You do more for her than you need to. She's told me all about how you cook for her…heal her Pokémon…just talk to her…"

Drew stays silent so Zoey can continue.

"But most importantly…and I think she thinks it too…the best thing you do for her is motivate her. And you help her to become a better Coordinator. All Trainers and Coordinators want to do better when they have a strong rival who's always one step ahead. You might've not known it before, but…you're incredibly lucky to be able to share your dream with May. And she might not know it, but she's really lucky to have someone like you push her."

Drew smiles. "Thanks, Zoey."

"Don't forget about your relationship with her. If you want her to get stronger…and believe in herself…don't leave her completely."

"I won't."

Zoey nods.

*Flashback Ends*

"Yeah. About not leaving May completely." Drew said.

Zoey nods. "You're the perfect rival for her. You better make sure she knows your feelings, so that you don't lose her completely."

Drew nods confidently. "I will. I can't imagine my life without her."

May is introduced and then she walks out on stage. Zoey and Drew watch her.

"Buneary, take the stage!" May tosses her pokéball into the air.

The pokéball opens up and the sticker she used on the ball capsule makes many pink bubbles come out. Buneary appears in the middle of all of the bubbles and she happily fires an Ice Beam. She does a twirl, making sure the Ice Beam hits all of the bubbles.

The bubbles pop, creating tiny pink sparkles. The audience cheers.

Buneary lands on the floor, waving to the audience.

"May trained her Buneary for its first Contest." Drew said. "They look great."

"Let's see how this goes." Zoey said.

"Buneary, use Ice Beam and spin!" May called out.

"Buneary!" Buneary said happily. She looks up and uses Ice Beam. She starts spinning on one foot like a ballerina. The Ice Beam spirals above Buneary, creating a giant icicle.

"Now Bounce!"

"Bun, Bun, Buneary!" Buneary uses Bounce to spring up as high as it can go.

"Dizzy Punch!"

The fluffs on Buneary's ears glow multicolored. She comes down on the giant icicle, her ears punching like fists. The Dizzy Punch starts to shatter the icicle as Buneary comes down. The shattered ice leaves blue sparkles over the stage. The audience and judges stare in awe.

Buneary perfectly lands on the floor, the sparkles raining over her. Her and May wave to the audience while the audience applauds.

Drew smiles. "She's as strong as ever."

Zoey looks at Drew. "Do you want to go meet her in the Lounge?"

Drew looks at Zoey. "I'm not sure I'm ready."

"I'm sure you are. You care about her, right? You need to make sure she knows it."

Drew thinks for a moment. He nods confidently. "Yeah, let's go."

Drew and Zoey leave their seats and make their way to the Coordinator's Lounge. They find May giving her Buneary a poffin.

May looks up. She gasps. "Drew? And Zoey?"

"Hey, May. I haven't seen you in person in a long time." Zoey said. "How have you been?"

"I've been great." May said happily. She stands up and looks at Drew. "Hi…" She said nervously. "How are you?"

"I'm…fine." Drew said.

The three feel the awkwardness rising.

Zoey decides to take herself out of the picture. She walks over to where May left Buneary. She pets Buneary.

"Um…your Buneary was amazing out there." He said.

"Um. Thanks." May said.

Drew takes a deep breath. "Listen…I want to apologize again."

"For what?"

"For lying to you."

May frowns.

"I didn't want to, but…I had to. I'm so sorry. I really never meant to hurt you. I was going to tell you one day, but…"

She furrowed her eyebrows. "You don't get it, Drew."

"Don't get what?"

"You had a choice!" She yelled. "You didn't have to do what Julianna said! You could've told me the truth from the beginning! But you chose not to."

Drew frowns. "May…I feel like Julianna would've made my career suffer if I didn't listen to her."

May sighed. "I guess that's understandable. I just…wish you would've told me from the start. It could've prevented all this heartbreak…"

"I'm very sorry."

"I forgive you, Drew. We just need to move past this."

Drew nods. "Um. Listen, May. I want you to know that…you're important to me." He looks away nervously. "You're a strong rival, and a good friend. And you give me strength."

May blushes. "Do you really feel that way?"

Drew looks at May. "Yes. I do."

May smiles brightly. She hugs Drew. He smiles and hugs back.

May pulls away. "You give me strength too. And after hearing you say that to me…I know that I'll win this Contest."

"You'll do great."

May made it to the second round of the contest. Drew and Zoey are in the audience.

"I think she knows my feelings now." Drew said.

"So, do you think you both are moving in the right direction?" Zoey asked.

"Yeah. I think so. I don't even care if we're not dating. I just really want us to be friends again."

"That's good."

They watch May battle opponent after opponent. And win too! She won her way through the entire competition.

"Yay! I just won my second ribbon!" May proudly holds up her newly earned ribbon for all to see. The audience and other Coordinators applaud.

May enters the Coordinator's Lounge after the Contest is over. She finds her locker and opens it. She notices a red rose laying on top of her trainer clothes. She picks it up and smiles. "Oh, Drew…"