Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.

This was my most difficult chapter yet, and perhaps my longest. I'm soooo relieved to be finished with it.

To death knight54321: Sorry to you, too. No legendary birds this chapter, but keep reading and you might like what you find.

To everyone who has reviewed: Thanks!

Interregional Showdown

Chapter 12

It was cold, no, excruciatingly cold out on the field where May was right now and it was all she could do to keep from shivering. It was pouring like the end of the world, but of course that wouldn't stop the tournament. May had stubbornly gone out without a raincoat, saying "If I go out there with a coat, people will make fun of me for worrying about how I look." It was only after she saw Glacia come out in a hooded raincoat that she felt incredibly stupid. Her outfit was now sticking to her figure, encouraging rude comments from some male spectators, though they would be mysteriously struck down with lightning despite the assurance that this was not a thunderstorm.

"Hey honey," said Glacia from the other side of the field, "Too bad about the rain. Your champion will be weak in this weather."

"Blaziken? Nah, I trained him to withstand water, and I didn't bring him today anyway," said May, trying to sound indifferent.

"May I ask why?" inquired Glacia, while suppressing her surprise.

"Ash beat Bruno at his own game, so I want to show him I can do the same by beating you with Ice and Water Pokémon. I can't afford to let him outdo me now!" May claimed proudly.

"Ash? That wonder-boy that started off the tournament with a bang? I take it he's your rival."

"Uh…sort of," May blushed, but it was impossible to see in the downpour. Suddenly, the ref cut their conversation short.

"This will be a six-on-six Pokémon battle," the ref spoke into a microphone to be heard above the rain, "the trainers may substitute at will. There is no time limit. Trainers…begin!"

"Go, Squirtle!"

"Go, Weavile!"

The Pokémon appeared on the field a few feet away from each other. May decided to start.

"Squirtle, Rapid Spin!" Glacia smiled.

"Weavile, Crush Claw!" Weavile sped toward Squirtle, but was shocked when Squirtle withdrew into her shell and used it as a wheel to quickly ram him. Weavile was sent flying.

"Squirtle, juggle with Water Pulse!"

Squirtle shot a large sphere of water at Weavile, knocking him higher into the air. When he began to fall, Squirtle shot another Water Pulse to keep him airborn and repeated the process. Weavile finally managed to block a shot with Crush Claw and landed facing May and Squirtle. May noticed there was a strange look on Weavile's face, but Glacia didn't notice.

"Weavile, Extremespeed!"

Weavile braced itself, but instead of running at Squirtle, he ran to his left…right into the wall…and fainted.

Glacia coldly recalled Weavile and released her Mamoswine. May switched out Squirtle for Golduck.

"Golduck, Hydro Pump!"

"Mamoswine, Earthquake!"

Golduck fired an extra powerful Hydro Pump due to the storm, but Mamoswine caused a wall of earth to rise, blocking the blast. May and Golduck couldn't see Mamoswine anymore, but they heard a rumbling.

'He's probably trying to dig underground,' thought May. "Golduck, jump over the wall and prevent him from digging under!"

Golduck jumped only to find Mamoswine running up the inclined wall. He leapt and rammed his huge body into Golduck, who crashed into the ground but quickly rose to his feet.

'That damn wall is troublesome,' thought May. "Golduck, use Crush Claw on the wall!"

Golduck raced towards the wall, which was behind Mamoswine, who had just landed.

"Mamoswine, take this opportunity to use Take Down!"

Mamoswine charged at Golduck, who used his speed to go around Mamoswine, taking advantage of his inability to make sharp turns. Golduck's webbed claws shone bright as they struck the wall sending debris everywhere. Meanwhile, Mamoswine had turned around and charged again.

"Golduck, when he gets close, jump on his back!"

Golduck braced himself to jump as Mamoswine got closer. Glacia grinned.

"Mamoswine, Extremespeed!"

May, Golduck, and the entire audience were shocked as Mamoswine slammed into Golduck at an incredible speed, not slowing down until it hit the wall, shattering it and frightening away the people closeby. Mamoswine backed out of the rubble, and Golduck stumbled through the dust before collapsing.

"Next time a six-hundred pound boar is charging your Pokémon," called Glacia, "tell it to move."

May recalled Golduck while praising his efforts. She then paused before choosing her next Pokémon.

"Go, Surskit!"

Once again, the audience was shocked as the Water/Bug Pokémon made his appearance. Only Ash and Glacia were impressed rather than surprised.

'She thinks she can take down Mamoswine with that tiny thing? Interesting,' thought Glacia. "Mamoswine, Icy Wind!"

Mamoswine was about to launch the attack when Surskit vanished, and several afterimages began surrounding him.

"This is Surskit's speed with his Swift Swim in effect," called May, "Now let's see how fast he can really go! Surskit, Agility!"

Surskit's afterimages tripled, and the speed now produced strong winds that formed a tornado resembling a Twister attack. Mamoswine was trapped and bombarded with the water, mud, and debris that the tornado picked up.

'No!' thought Glacia, 'He won't survive long in there!'

She attempted to recall Mamoswine, but he was trapped. Finally, a very loud thud was heard, and Surskit stopped making the tornado. Mamoswine was on its side, defeated.

"Yes!" cried May in joy. Suddenly, Surskit began to glow, rendering everyone silent as it evolved into Masquerain. May was horrified and trembling with frustration.

"Damn it!!" she yelled, "Why did it have to be now!?"

Glacia smiled as May recalled the now Bug/Flying Pokémon. Up in the stadium, Ash frowned.

'This is bad,' he thought, 'Surskit was her trump card in this weather, but now he's gone, and May's stubbornness won't allow her to use Masquerain.'

He then focused again as the two trainers chose their next Pokémon.

"Go, Abomasnow!" shouted Glacia.

"Go, Squirtle!" cried May, "Rapid Spin!"

Glacia smiled as Squirtle quickly rolled toward Abomasnow. Then, Squirtle bounced against a piece of debris, sending her spinning helplessly in the air in front of Abomasnow.

"Abomasnow, Hammer Arm!"

Abomasnow hit Squirtle hard, sending her skidding across the ground until she crashed into another, larger piece of debris. She emerged from her shell, still able to battle. May gritted her teeth as she recalled Squirtle again and sent out her Froslass.

"Froslass, Ominous Wind!"

"Abomasnow, Icy Wind!"

The attacks collided with each other and created a tiny twister that threw both attacks at either Pokémon. Abomasnow stumbled back a few steps and Froslass wobbled in the air before they both regained their balance. Abomasnow immediately fired a Leaf Storm at Froslass, who slowed it down with a Shadow Ball so she could dodge. Abomasnow then charged at Froslass while dodging more Shadow Balls. Suddenly, he jumped high into the air and began falling toward Froslass. May knew dodging the huge body was impossible by now, so she did the only thing she could think of.

"Froslass, Destiny Bond!"

Froslass's eyes glowed black, and a black aura surrounded Abomasnow right before he landed. When the dust settled, both Pokémon were out cold. May was getting worried when the ref made an announcement.

"As requested by Glacia before the match, the field will now be changed as she has lost three Pokémon."

"What!?" May exclaimed, "She can do that?"

Both she and Glacia recalled their Pokémon just before the field began to sink below the ground. What rose back up was a pool of water with ice platforms in the center and at each of the four corners.

"Let the battle continue!" called the ref.

"Go, Glalie!" yelled Glacia.

"Go, Gorebyss!"

Glalie hovered over the center platform while Gorebyss dove underwater. Glalie's eyes darted back and forth, waiting for Gorebyss. Suddenly, Gorebyss emerged from behind Glalie and delivered a devastating Iron Tail that knocked Glalie into the water with Gorebyss quickly following after. Glalie quickly fired an underwater Ice Beam, but Gorebyss easily dodged and hit Glalie with a Headbutt followed by an Aqua Tail. Glalie decided an underwater battle was too difficult and rose to the surface. Just as Glalie emerged, Gorebyss jumped out in front of him and fired a point-blank super powered Hydro Pump. Glalie crashed into the wall and promptly fainted. Glacia's left eye twitched as she recalled him.

"Go, Walrein!"

"Gorebyss, return. Go, Squirtle!"

Both Pokémon were released into the water. Squirtle hit Walrein with a fast Bubblebeam, from which he quickly recovered. Walrein then charged with an underwater Thrash. In an attempt to dodge, Squirtle received a glancing blow that sent her spinning away. Right after she recovered, she moved quickly to avoid the remaining attacks. Walrein ceased his attack and reached under his flipper to eat an herb he was holding. He then fired an Ice Beam that Squirtle canceled with her own. Squirtle then charged at Walrein. Just before Walrein fired another Ice Beam, she dove down to the floor of the pool right beneath Walrein and pushed off it with all her might, sending her Headbutt attack into Walrein's stomach and sending him flying out of the pool and onto the center platform. Squirtle then jumped out of the pool and into the air.

"Squirtle, Rapid Spin and Iron Tail!"

Squirtle withdrew into her shell except for her tail, which shined white. She started spinning, making her look like a buzzsaw. She fell toward Walrein just as he recovered from his fall and looked up.

BAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAM!

After receiving ten consecutive blows to the head, Walrein collapsed.

"One more…" whispered May to herself, her teeth chattering. It didn't help that she was battling Pokémon that used Ice-type moves.

Glacia smiled menacingly as she tossed her last Pokéball, which released something massive onto the center platform. Squirtle quickly jumped back into the pool and watched as Regice appeared.

Glacia still smiled as she said, "Now, this pool is only an annoyance. I'll get rid of it now." May gasped.

"Squirtle, get out, now!"

Squitle jumped out into the air just before Regice released a 360 degree Icy Wind that froze the entire field. When Squirtle landed, Regice took no time in firing an Ice Beam, which she dodged.

"Squirtle, Iron Defence, then Rapid Spin into Headbutt!" called May.

Squirtle's shell gained metallic edges and she withdrew inside. She then rolled in circles around Regice, getting closer with each lap, while it tried to hit her with Ice Beams. As soon as she got close enough, she popped out of her shell and rammed her head into its front, but Regice only slid back a foot and once more attempted to hit her with Ice Beams.

"Rapid Spin and Iron Tail again!"

Squirtle jumped at Regice, but that was her undoing, as Regice hit her in midair with a Superpower blast that sent her crashing against the ice, defeated. May gave her high praise as she recalled Squirtle to her ball.

"Go, Gorebyss!"

Gorebyss appeared on the field and began rapidly sliding around Regice.

"Just like Surskit, Gorebyss moves twice as fast in the rain," said May, "Gorebyss, Iron Tail!"

Gorebyss raced around Regice to keep it confused, every now and then striking it.

"Now, Gorebyss, use Hydro Pump!" Glacia smirked.

"Zap Cannon!"

As Gorebyss stopped and fired her attack, Regice raised its right arm and fired a huge blast of electricity that easily overpowered the Hydro Pump and collided with Gorebyss, who collapsed from the overwhelming attack. May gulped as she recalled Gorebyss and prepared her final Pokémon.

"Go, Glaceon!"

Glaceon appeared in front of Regice a few feet away. Regice looked battered from the numerous Iron Tails it had taken.

"Just a bit more to go, Glaceon. Iron Tail!" Glaceon ran in a curve toward Regice and jumped to deliver the attack, but Regice blasted her with Zap Cannon, and then again with Superpower as she hit the ground. Glaceon flew across the field and landed near May, where she struggled to get up.

"Never mind that, we'll have to battle long range instead," said May, "Ice Beam!"

Glaceon shot her attack, but Regice shot one, too; a much more powerful one that Glaceon was barely able to dodge. A few more tries ended the same. May sighed.

"Glaceon, it looks like our last option is that new move we invented," said May, "but whatever happens, you can't let him hit you."

Glaceon nodded and May took a deep breath.

"Frost Tackle!"

Glaceon ran forward, enveloping herself with an icy barrier. Up in the stands, Ash recognized it as a Blizzard fired while using Agility to move faster than the wind being produced, with a Pokémon that looked like a comet as the result. But he recognized why she called it Frost Tackle; it looked very much like Pikachu's Volt Tackle. Glaceon quickly approached Regice as it fired Superpower blasts that she had to zigzag through. Just as Glaceon got close Regice only managed to fire an Ice Beam because it was a quicker attack, but it was absorbed by the Blizzard barrier just before Glaceon plowed into Regice, pushing it back several feet. Regice stumbled for several seconds before toppling over.

"Regice is unable to battle! May and Glaceon are the winners!"

The crowd roared, drowning out the sound of the storm. May and Glaceon walked to the middle of the field to meet Glacia.

"That was an excellent battle," praised Glacia.

"Thanks, we gave it everything we had," said May, beaming as Glaceon jumped into her arms.

"I bet you'll give even wonder-boy a run for his money," Glacia continued, "but enough talk, you get inside and dry up before you catch pneumonia."

"Thank you so much!" yelled May as she bowed to emphasize her gratitude before returning Glaceon to her ball and running to her exit. When she burst through the doors, she found Ash waiting and holding out a blanket. She grabbed it and quickly draped it around herself. Ash then led her to a bench where he pulled her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her. Neither of them talked. They just sat there, attempting to restore warmth to May's frigid body.

When May was finally warm enough to think straight, she broke the silence.

"Where are Max and Pikachu?"

"I sent them to find this concession stand I saw that had hot chocolate." May scowled.

"Your girlfriend is freezing and you still think with your stomach."

"It's for you, dummy." May smiled.

"I know. I was just teasing you."

They fell into another silence before May broke it again.

"They're taking a long time," she said impatiently.

"That's because none of the concession stands sell hot chocolate."

Confused, May looked up at him to find him grinning mischievously at her. She caught on immediately but continued to act confused and then disappointed. She pouted as she said, "You mean I'm not getting hot chocolate?" Ash's grin widened.

"I'll get you some hot chocolate later, but for now you have to settle for me," he said softly as he raised her chin and leaned down to kiss her.

I will work on updating when I get a review.

Flamers will have curses placed upon them that forbid them from thinking negative thoughts, turning them into mindless optimists. Bwahaha...