So, my laptop is fixed, for now, and I've been shown how to fix the issue I keep having with it. So, I shouldn't be having anymore trouble with it for a bit. But, knowing my luck, something else is going to fuck up with this thing before too long. But hopefully I'll be finished Volume 2 by then. We are now approaching the home stretch of this volume, and it won't be too long now before it's done. If all goes to plan, I should be finished in about 3-4 weeks. Anyway, I know I said the Contest would be in this chapter, but I've got other stuff I want to set up, so I've moved that to the next chapter. Plus, the next chapter was supposed to be Bonnie registering for the League and training, but I could not think of enough things to write about to fill a chapter on that. Anyway, I'll shut up now, enjoy.
Chapter 87:
The Stalker's Final Straw
In order to get to Ever Grande, Max and Bonnie need to take a boat to Sootopolis, then take another boat from there. It takes until the evening for them to reach Sootopolis, meaning they have to stop there for the night. "We should've gone to Mossdeep first," Bonnie complains when they arrive at the Pokémon Centre. "Since we were attacked anyway it would've been quicker." "True," Max replies. "But May wouldn't have managed to make it in time to help us or warn Brendan," Max points out. "Meaning we would've been taken to Team Terra instead." Realising he has a point, Bonnie shuts up and leads the way to their bedroom.
The next morning, the two of them leave Sootopolis early, intent on making it to Ever Grande Island as fast as possible. They board the earliest possible boat, once again having Bonnie check for danger with her Aura before they get on. Once she deems it safe, they board the boat and ride it all the way to Ever Grande. Once they get there, they immediately race to the League stadium. It's not as grand as the Lumiose Stadium, but it's still pretty impressive. Bonnie registers herself for the League, then the two of them head to the hotel that's nearest to the League Stadium. They book themselves in, and make damn sure that the room they choose is one with a TV. They do not plan on missing the Hoenn Grand Festival. Once they've confirmed the room, Max quickly double checks which date the Festival is on. "Excellent!" he exclaims as Bonnie begins unpacking her bag on her bed. "We still have 3 days until the Hoenn Grand Festival, and another week after that until the League starts."
Bonnie does the maths in her head. "Hey, that means that I could end up winning the League on my birthday!" she exclaims. Max chuckles at this. "That's if you make it that far," he reminds her. "Remember, if you want to prove to Ash that you're mature enough to wield Aura, you need to remember to keep thinking realistically. Remember that Ash barely made it to the top 32 in his first League, and now he's the Monarch." Bonnie nods. "Counterpoint," she replies. "Alain won his first ever League, and now he's Champion of Kalos." Max laughs at that. "Fair enough," he replies. "But do you think you could beat Alain in a pokémon battle?" Bonnie says nothing for a bit. Eventually, she replies, "Ok, fair enough." "Exactly," he says. "But still, we could do it, if we train right. So, let's finish unpacking, the get doing just that!" Bonnie eagerly agrees to this, then the two of them start unpacking. Once they're done, they immediately grab their belts and head out to train.
While the two of them spend the next 2 days training, May and Drew spend those days travelling. On the day before the Hoenn Grand Festival is scheduled to start, the two of them arrive at Slateport. When they get there, they're immediately swarmed by reporters, all clambering to ask questions about the festival, the attack on her charity auction, and how her little brother was almost kidnapped. May tries to answer the questions, but it doesn't take her long before she begins to grow tired of them all. So, she summons Blaziken and has him roar menacingly, in order to get them to back off. As the reporters and journalists all stagger backwards, they suddenly find themselves slipping around as the ground freezes over. As they all topple, May spots Dawn and Zoey waving at them, with Dawn's Mamoswine standing next to her. May smiles at them, points them out to Drew, and the two of them run over, before the five of them disappear into the crowd.
Dawn and Zoey bring May and Drew to their room, which is a very fancy one in the best hotel in Slateport. The crew assigned to rebuild the city after Team Terra's attack on it really outdid themselves. The city looks just as good as it had before the Tremor. Once they're inside, Dawn makes sure to lock the door and close the blinds, despite the fact that it's broad daylight. "You never know who might try to sneak in here," she explains. Once she's certain they won't be spied on, they spend the next few minutes catching up. "So, are you two here to watch the Ribbon Cup?" May asks. "Of course," Dawn replies. "I wouldn't miss the chance to watch one of my best friends defend her title!" "I was originally hoping to see an epic clash of lovers," Zoey admits.
Drew laughs at that. "Sorry to disappoint you on that," he replies. "But I'd rather sacrifice my chance at the title to make sure my girlfriend stays alive than keep competing and lose her." "That's so sweet," Dawn replies. "And it seems Zoey isn't the only one that you disappointed." Dawn shows the two of them her phone. On the screen is a social media platform (that I'm not bothered coming up with a clever name for). Most of the posts are about Drew, and why he stopped competing for ribbons. Most of the theories are saying that he was too lovesick to try and compete against his new girlfriend, while others claim that it's because May threatened to dump him if he tried to compete against her. May notices that these ones are particularly popular with prominent journalists. "Damn vultures," she mutters to herself.
Drew sighs when he reads these. "Do you want to discuss this with the press, or should I?" he asks. May shakes her head. "Neither," she replies. "I'm not going to address any of these claims." All three of the rooms occupants stare at her. "Why not?" Zoey asks. "Because if I addressed every single salacious rumour made about me by the stinking press, I'd never get anything done," she says. "Let them turn the rumour mill. Soon enough, someone like Ash is going to do something and the vultures will swoop down and pick that carcass clean. If I address them, I'll give them a mundane story, and they'll try to tear it apart to find anything gossip worthy, or just make something up. There is really no point in talking to them about it." No one says anything for a bit. "That's a fair point," Zoey replies. "I wish I thought of doing that. When I first came out about my relationship with Dawn, many people tried to convince me I was just confused, and too young to know." Dawn gets visibly angry at this. "That's how Kenny found out about us," she says. "It's also when he started trying to convince me I'm straight."
A that moment, a knock comes from the door. None of them move, pretending not to hear it. "Probably another reporter coming with questions." They go back to talking, moving on to discussing some of the other people entering the competition. "Honestly, I hope I get to face off against Harley," May says. "It means that I can avenge Max, and get him back for what he said about my brother." Everyone laughs in agreement at this, when another there's knock at the door. They ignore this too and carry on. "I kinda hope the final round is between you and Tierno," Dawn admits. "The two of you are really strong, it would make for a very climactic end." KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK! Sighing with frustration, Dawn gets up and goes to answer the door. As the group continues talking, they hear Dawn open the door, scream, and immediately close it again.
"What's wrong?" Zoey asks, immediately running to her side. May goes to the door and opens it. Kenny is standing on the other side. "Hel-" he begins. May immediately closes it in his face, then opens it again to make sure she saw right. "lo-" Kenny continues, before getting the door slammed in his face again. Everyone inside the room swears at this. "What do we do?" Zoey asks. "Maybe if we ignore him he'll go away?" "Well, I'm on the other side of the door," comes Kenny's voice. "And I can hear you. So no, that's not going to work." "Well shit," says Zoey. "What does he want?" Drew asks. "If you open the door I can explain," Kenny offers. They all ignore him and continue to think about what to do. "I'm not talking to him," says Dawn. "I can't talk to him." "Anyway we can get rid of him then change rooms?" Zoey asks. "Well considering the fact that he found this one, I'd say he'll find that one too." Drew replies.
They continue to debate what to do with him for a while, before Kenny himself resolves the matter. "If you don't open the door and let me talk, I will tell the media that May Maple and Zoey Nozomi are in this room!" he tells them. That settles the matter. Dawn sighs in frustration, then opens the door. Kenny is standing on the other side, smiling innocently. The fact that he's holding something behind his back immediately sets off alarm bells in May's head. "May I speak now?" he asks. "You may," Dawn sighs. "But just know that if you try to convince me I'm straight, I will throw you out of that window." She moves to the side and shows him the big window the flat has. He swallows nervously, but presses on. "I've come to admit something," he says. "I overheard your conversation with May's brother and his girlfriend about your dad." May and Drew look at each other quizzically. Zoey looks quite shocked by this, while Dawn looks positively livid. "You, WHAT!?" she demands. "That was a private conversation! How did you even hear it!?"
Kenny proceeds to explain how he was hiding in the trees watching it happen. "I was hoping to talk with you then," he explains. "I hoped that if I talked to you in front of as normal couple, you might see how they are and want that for yourself, as opposed to... what you have now." May knows that's not what he was going to say originally, but doesn't comment on it, lest Dawn fly into a rage. "But before I could, I heard about your dad and how he abandoned you, and I realised that that's what the problem was." Zoey steps forward and takes Dawn's hand at this. "And what,precisely, do you mean by that?" she asks, her voice icy. Most people would probably scent danger and back away immediately. But Kenny clearly isn't 'most people'. "I believe that your father abandoning you has led you to deeply mistrust men," he explains happily, as though he's finally answered a really hard question in class. "If you were to be shown how a true gentleman acts, you'd be over women in no time." At this, he shows her what's behind his back. A bouquet of red roses. "Just go on one date with me, and you'll see how silly you've been."
Everyone stares in utter amazement at this. Dawn just stares at the flowers. Then, she does something very unexpected. She starts to laugh. It isn't one of joy or humour. This is a laugh of utter disbelief and frustration, a laugh that one makes when they've reached their breaking point. It's quiet at first. The only way anyone can tell she is laughing is by the shaking of her shoulders. But then, it gets louder and louder. Eventually it reaches a point where she has to lean back and clutch her chest. It's so loud that some people down the hall open their doors to see what's happening. Eventually, she calms down, wiping tears from her eyes. "Kenny," she says. "You've outdone yourself." At first, Kenny believes he's finally won, and shoots a look of triumph at Zoey. But then, Dawn continues. "Of all your theories as to why I'm choosing to date Zoey over you, that is by far your most outrageous!"
Kenny looks completely taken aback. He sputters, trying to find something to say, but Dawn doesn't give him a chance. "First of all, my dad has nothing to do with this! I'm not gay, I'm bi! I'd still date men! I choose to date Zoey because I love her! I don't love you and I never will!" She pants with anger at this. Everyone stares at her with amazement. Kenny looks totally flabbergasted. "But, but, she's a girl. I'm a boy. Boys are supposed to be with girls. It's nature! Please, let me help you see this!" He grabs her arm and tries to pull her away. Dawn resists, trying to get him to let go. He pulls her back, trying to get her through the door. But before he can pull her all the way through, May rushes forward. She doesn't release Blaziken, but she does punch Kenny hard enough that fire would've come out of her fist if she did. Kenny flies backwards, releasing Dawn's arm and crashing into the wall behind him.
He staggers to his feet, clutching his nose. "Get your filthy hands off my friend," May warns. "She was my friend first," Kenny snaps. "Not anymore!" Dawn snaps. Kenny looks at her with horror. "What do you mean by that Dee Dee?" he asks. "Stop calling me Dee Dee!" Dawn yells. "And, I mean that I put up with your shit for ages now. I politely turned you down over and over when you asked me out, because you were my old friend. But not anymore. You've gone too far, and I can't take it anymore. So, we are not friends, and as soon as Zoey and I get back to Sinnoh, I'm placing a restraining order on you, and I should've done so years ago!" Kenny's eyes widen even more, if that's even possible. "What?!" he exclaims. "But... but..." "No buts!" Dawn shouts. "Get out of my sight right now before I call security! If I ever see you again, I will call the police!" Kenny stares at her for a few more seconds, then bolts down the hall.
Dawn sighs with relief at that and leans against the door. She begins to tear up at that. Drew watches Kenny go and whistles. "That was impressive," he says. "Though, I don't know why you didn't just do that sooner." "Because he was my friend," she says. "I knew him for years. It's not easy having to cut someone off like that after knowing them for so long." Wiping the tears from her eyes, Dawn retreats back into her room, followed by Drew and May. Zoey is about to do the same, when she notices that most of the hallway is still staring. "What are you looking at!?" she demands. The show's over, mind your own business!" Everyone disappears back into their rooms or down the hall, as Zoey steps back inside and closes the door. When she does, she immediately walks over to her girlfriend, who's sitting silently on their bed, and sits next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "Are you ok?" she asks. Dawn nods. "I will be," she says. "Just as soon as I reconcile with what just happened." Dawn leans into Zoey's shoulder and closes her eyes, allowing the tears to roll free. "Please don't tell Ash about this," she says. "I don't want him to go into protective brother mode." The other three laugh and promise not to.
Kenny storms out of the hotel, fuming. "Damn Zoey," he mutters. "Stealing my girl from me. Oh how I'd love to get her back for that." "Perhaps there is a way," says a voice behind him. Kenny turns around, and sees a man approach him. His eyes widen in surprise and recognition. "Aren't you-?" Kenny begins, but the man cuts him off. "Who I am isn't important," says the man. "It's what I can do for you that matters. I'm in charge of an organisation that's trying to prevent the destruction of our world. And I need your help to do so." "What does a man like you want with someone like me?" Kenny asks. "A bit of information," the man replies. "There's this person who's been getting in my way sometimes. The Monarch of the World Coronation Series, Ash Ketchum. Some of my employees believe that he may be planning on fighting back against our struggles soon. We cannot let that happen." "So, what do you need me for?" Kenny asks. "We need you to gather any information you can about this plan and bring it to us," the man explains. "In return, I can grant you your heart's desire." Kenny's mind immediately imagines Dawn wrapped around his arm in a loving embrace. He grins with glee. "Alright then," he says, extending his hand. "You've got a deal." The man smiles and shakes it. "In that case, welcome to Team Terra," he says. "I'm sure you'll be a very valuable asset indeed."
Is it obvious that I don't like reporters? It might be obvious that I don't like reporters. Anyway, Kenny has gotten a whole lot worse. But, surely he can't get worse than that right? Right? Well, of course I know what's going to happen with him, and his meeting with this mystery man. But that will all be revealed in due course. For now, sorry about the delay on the Grand Festival, I promise you that that's going to happen on Tuesday, and then we're off to the League. See you on Tuesday.