24Orange- Desire & Determination
It was finally the day of the Grand Festival, two months after May was left with Drew's rose-scented jacket. She hadn't seen her green-haired rival since then and therefore, still had the jacket. May picked up a magazine, on a rack outside the entrance to the arena. It was free, anyway.
Her eyes scanned the cover. "The Ever Grande Festival! Will we finally find our long-awaited Princess?" She sighed, putting it back onto the pile of magazines.
"Alright, May!" Ash exclaimed as May turned around, taking a deep breath. "You can do this!"
May smiled. "Thanks, Ash." She turned around, craning her neck to look for something. "I wonder where Drew is-"
"He's right here," May heard someone close from behind say into her ear. She jumped, feeling his breath on her neck.
She shot him a glare. "Don't do that!"
He smirked, flicking his hair. He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by sudden squeals from behind.
"Oh my gosh! It's Drew!" All of a sudden, fangirls were crowding around Drew, pushing May, Brock and Ash away from him.
May rolled her eyes as he slowly pushed his way out, smirking. She watched in annoyance as he flicked his hair and calmed the girls.
"Girls, girls." His smirk grew, spotting May. He gave her a challenging look, his smirk still there. "I suppose you all want an autograph?" He flicked his hair, causing the girls to swoon. "Sorry, I'm a bit busy. Save it for after I win."
May twitched in annoyance. She knew Drew was far more popular of a coordinater than her, and he knew that she often was jealous. She was mad at the fact that he was purposely showing off his popularity to annoy her. She was fully aware that he didn't enjoy all the fangirl company, but showed-off in front of her anyway.
Huffing, she turned around. "I'm going in," she said, entering the arena. Drew was known as the Prince of Hoenn in the coordinating world, being amazingly talented and popular with the fans.
Solidad was the queen, and Robert, who beat even Solidad without too much trouble, was the king. The Princess? That was still to be decided. But May knew that if she could defeat Drew at the Grand Festival, she was going to claim the title of Princess of Hoenn.
"Good luck, May!" Max exclaimed.
"Show em' what you got!" Ash called out.
Thanking them, May waved and took her place for the introduction ceremony. All the participating coordinators had to take their place in the centre of the arena for the introductory speech. She turned as Drew took his place nearby, shooting her a smirk. Returning a smirk, she turned back around.
"Participant 128, Drew Hayden from LaRousse!"
May watched on the TV in the locker rooms as the crowd went wild at the sight of their prince. She watched as he gracefully sent out his Pokémon, commanding orders.
"Absol, water pulse." Absol released a water pulse, surrounding itself in a dazzling sphere of water. "Flash, and then razor wind!"
Absol used flash, and the sphere of water began glowing. Then, it used razor wind which caused the water to dispel into moisture. Along with the sunlight of the open roof, it created a stunning rainbow to finish.
The audience, including May, watched in awe. A few seconds later, a huge applause erupted from the crowds. May smiled, knowing how much Drew would've practiced the appeal to perfect it. He wasn't a prince for nothing.
"Impressive, wasn't it?"
May turned around, seeing a gorgeous lady with a warm smile behind her. May recognised her as Solidad, a Top Coordinator and the Queen of Hoenn. Last year, she had won the Kanto Grand Festival.
"Yeah," May replied, still wondering why Solidad would be talking to her.
Solidad smiled. "You're May, right?"
"Um, yeah," May replied slowly, nodding.
Solidad gave a small laugh. "You probably wondering why I know you," she said. "I've heard a lot about you, May."
May blinked. "Really? From who?"
"Drew."
May blinked, again. Drew? How did he know Solidad? And why would he talk about her, out of all people, to Solidad? "Oh..." Then, she couldn't help but ask, "Were they good things he told you?"
"Definitely," Solidad said with a grin.
May was about to reply, when she looked back to the screen, noticing her performance was soon. "Sorry Solidad, I have to go. I'm up soon," she said apologetically.
Solidad nodded. "Meet me at the seaside restaurant after today's rounds are done, okay?"
May smiled, nodding. "Sure." She turned around and began walking towards the door. Drew hadn't showed up after his performance, so May figured he was watching somewhere else. Or maybe not watching at all.
"I'm sure Drew will be watching you, May," Solidad suddenly said from behind, almost reading her mind. "Good luck."
May grinned at her new friend. "Thanks!" And with that, she headed towards the stage for her performance.
Sinking in all the concentration she could muster, May called out her finishing command. "Combusken, sky uppercut!"
The frisbee that was rapidly flying through the air was stood no chance against the fire/fighting type as Combusken leaped into the air and cut straight through it. May had bought a special frisbee, and it burst into sparkles once it was cut through.
"Just as we thought she was going to show us a fire-type move, she brilliantly executes a fighting-type move!" the MC called out, her voice echoing through the large Ever Grande arena.
After listening to the judges' comments, May was grinning from ear to ear. She exited the stage area, the smile still on her face. Then, she spotted her rival. Drew.
He was leaning on the wall with his arms crossed, his eyes closed and the usual smirk on his face.
May walked up to him, smiling. "So, how was I?"
He opened his eyes, and his piercing green eyes met her own soft sapphire orbs. "You were good," he said, "for an amateur."
May shot him a glare, putting her hands on her hips. "I am not an amateur!"
Drew chuckled, standing up straight. "Fine, I'll admit it. Although you're still lacking finesse, you're still a worthy coordinator." He paused. "Worthy of being my rival."
May smiled widely. She realised that sure, Drew could be an arrogant jerk at times, but sometimes he was all she needed to regain her confidence. And that deep inside, he was kind-
"By the way, did anyone ever tell you your hair looks like a puppy dog?"
Aaaand she took that back. He was always an arrogant jerk.
The first day of the Grand Festival- over. May, Solidad, Drew and even Harley (whom May had ran into after his appeals) had made it into the top 32 and were going to be battling the next day.
It was the evening when May was headed to the seaside restaurant that Solidad had specified. She had watched Solidad's performance and was amazed my the gracefulness and confidence she had while pulling off such a stunning appeal.
May smiled, spotting Solidad and joined her at her table. "Sorry for keeping you waiting," she said sheepishly.
"It's fine," Solidad said dismissively. "I already ordered our food, sorry for not asking you first. But I picked only the most special dishes here," she said, much to May's delight.
"So, why did you want to tell me?" May asked curiously. "Oh, and how do you know Drew?"
"I met Drew in his very first contest, actually," Solidad said. "He made it all the way to the final round, against me."
May's eyes widened. "All the way to the final round, in his first contest?"
Solidad nodded. "And he lost, but he gave me one of the toughest battles I've had. After our battle, I went to congratulate him for such an amazing battle. But I couldn't find him around, anywhere."
May nodded, intrigued as Solidad continued, "So I went outside and found him sitting with his head in his arms. He was crying, I could hear his sobs and see the tears running down his arms."
May's mouth formed an 'o' shape. "He was crying?" She couldn't imagine Drew crying, he was far too confident for any of that.
"He was a twelve-year old with far too high expectations of himself. I forced him to talk to me, and he finally did. And so, he won his next contest, and went on to win more. We became close, very close," Solidad said.
May smiled warmly. She felt happy for Drew, but that didn't explain the strange warm, fuzzy feeling in her stomach. "That's so..." May trailed off. "So... happy!"
Solidad nodded, smiling. "But what I really wanted to tell you was that after meeting you, May, he changed."
May's smile disappeared. "He changed? Is that a bad thing?"
She shook her head. "No, not at all. He would always talk to me about you, and you were the first person he really... cared for."
May's eyed widened. He cared for her? He always seemed so careless, and cool. "Really? Drew cares for me?"
"More than you can imagine," Solidad replied. "He was always so stoic and careless about everything. To be honest, I don't think he had any friends apart from his Pokémon and I. But after he met you, there would be that constant smirk on his face and our conversations would always end up being about you."
She looked out to the ocean, letting out a small laugh. "I've always wanted to meet this May he talks about. And I've heard about you a lot too, the rookie coordinator who took this season by storm."
May was speechless. If being flattered literally flattered, she would be flatter than a pancake. "I don't know what to say..."
"That's alright," Solidad replied with a smile. "It must be hard to take in all of this all of a sudden. But keep doing whatever you do to keep Drew like this, okay? Keep being inspirational."
May smiled. What did she do to be inspirational? She was called names by Drew, called Drew names back, was always dissed by Drew, had close battles with him and always maintained a strong rivalry. Oh, and the roses. She narrowed her eyes. The roses. What did they mean?
"Sure," she replied. She laughed as she said, "But I don't know what I do, you know?"
The two coordinators' food arrived, and they had their meal while chatting about Drew, and the upcoming battle rounds as the sun set. That night, May went to sleep with a smile that reached from one ear to the other.
The next, and last, day of the Hoenn Grand Festival. May woke up with her hair in all directions and dark circles under her eyes. Groaning, she trudged to the bathroom.
She looked in the mirror and sighed. After a while of attempting to brush her hair out, she managed to make it look decent. Then, she decided to pull on her regular outfit.
"Hey, guys," she greeted as she exited the bathroom. Everyone was already ready and rearing to go.
Ash grinned. "Ready, May?" He clenched his right fist. "You'll do just fine!"
May smiled. She would miss Ash greatly after her Grand Festival. Ash had already had his league battles and was going to go on a different journey, after May's Grand Festival. As for May, she didn't know what to do after.
May walked down the corridor, heading towards the entrance of the stage. She took a deep breath as she took her place on the stage. The match pair-ups were about to be determined.
Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Drew, Solidad and Harley standing proudly. They had all been coordinators for much longer than May, and were definitely more skilled. Or had more finesse, as Drew would say.
Drew was twelve when he had his first contest, and now he was fourteen. May, the same age but she'd only been a coordinator for a year.
She held her breath as the screen paused to randomly select the pairs. She opened her eyes, and they widened. Her opponent was Drew.
The crowd started cheering wildly. She turned her head to meet Drew's eyes. He was smirking, as usual.
"-and our first match on Battlefield C, May versus Drew!"
May took her battle stance, readying her pokeballs. She had to win the battle, to prove to Drew that she had what it took to be a Top Coordinator, to be strong. Also, maybe, to somewhat deflate his ego.
"And your five minutes starts... now!"
May took her position, sending out her two Pokemon. "Squirtle, Combusken, take the stage!"
Drew smirked and flicked his hair. He sent out his Absol and Flygon, ordering them to attack without wasting a second. "Flygon, steel wing! Absol use razor wind!"
Both of May's Pokemon dodged the steel wing but were hit by the unavoidable slash of wind.
The battle went on and on, both of the rivals at a neck and neck length. It was at the point where they had seconds left, and Drew was pulling ahead to win. However, May's determination proved otherwise.
"Squirtle, rapid spin! Combusken, sky uppercut!" she cried out, forming a plan in her head.
Drew narrowed his eyes. Such a basic attack? What was she planning? "Flygon, sandstorm! Absol, take that Combusken down with an iron tail!"
Absol and Combusken were both hit by each others attack, causing both to be knocked out.
May smirked, causing Drew to frown. Squirtle was stopped by the sandstorm and left flying through the air from impact, right onto Flygon. Once it was less than a metre away, May commanded, "Ice Beam, now!"
The double super-effective attack hit Flygon right up close, causing it to spiral out of the air. It collapsed, leaving Squirtle as the only standing Pokemon.
May stood there, shocked, for a few seconds. She did it. She finally defeated Drew, it seemed unreal. Then, the wild applause seemed to snap her back to reality.
"And the winner of this epic battle, put your hands together for May Maple of Petalburg!" Vivian exclaimed with the crowd going wild behind her.
May thanked her Pokemon, looking towards Drew. He gave her a genuine smile, and a curt nod. She beamed, hugging Combusken and Squirtle.
The sun was setting over the stunning Ever Grande City as May watched it from the cliffside. After she won the battle with Drew, May had lost to Solidad in her next battle. Solidad then went on to win the Hoenn Grand Festival.
Tomorrow was May's last day with Ash and Brock, and she still didn't know what she would do or where she would go next. All she knew was that she wanted to keep coordinating, and travelling.
"Hey."
May turned around, seeing Drew standing behind her. "Drew, what are you doing here?"
"Nothing," he replied, flicking his hair. "Just wanted to let you know I'm going to be travelling around Johto to compete in contests there. I'm leaving next week."
May blinked. Johto? They had contests there? "Oh, that's great."
"So, what are you and the others planning to do? I watched Ash at the league, he did a pretty good job," Drew said, joining May at the railings of the cliff.
She looked down, not knowing what to say. "I don't know what I'll do. Ash and Brock are leaving soon, and I can't travel on my own..."
"Why don't you come with me?"
May's eyes widened. Travel... with Drew? "Really? You would let me travel with you?"
He shrugged, turning around. "I don't see why not. Solidad and Harley are going too," he replied. He started walking away, stopping. "If you want to come, be at the Slateport City pier at noon on Friday."
A small smile on May's face suddenly turned into a huge grin. "I will! Bye Drew!"
He continued walking away, giving her a two-fingered salute as a goodbye. But not before throwing her a rose, which was as orange as the setting sky.
May picked it up, smiling. A red rose, and then an orange. Which would be next? Maybe pink, or yellow-
Shit. The jacket. She forgot the jacket.
A/N: Ouch, a cuss word. XD I probably sound so lame.
This chapter was kinda filled with random stuff. I have these really fluffy moments planned for the next one. Mwehehe. X3 I'll be updating next week.
Thank you to everyone who reviewed, and prease take a minute out of your life and leave a review. :D
Oh, and yes. I did steal a couple of lines from the anime. :P