A/N:
Please excuse May's OOC-ness in the last chapter. It actually was for a reason in the story. Just bear with me, and the reason will be revealed in this or the next chapter…so, enjoy!Disclaimer: I still don't own Pokémon or the characters.
Last time in What REALLY Happened in Johto…
She and Drew are a perfect match, then, Emilee reasoned. Drew is the stoic, put-together, arrogant pretty boy, and May is that sweet, playful, innocent, funny girl. They're perfect. At that realization, Emilee allowed May to drag herself and Kelli along, Ecruteak City and a restful night at the Pokémon Center looming ahead…
Chapter 12: Oat You Gonna Win That Contest, Drew?
"What's up, Harley?" Drew asked as the pair of traveling buddies ate their breakfast. He'd rested up—and had finally gotten some real sleep, thankfully—and he was so ready to win the upcoming contest.
"Well, nothing much, Drew," the purple-haired man had replied, taking another spoonful of cereal while Drew picked at the oatmeal he'd taken.
There was an awkward silence. Drew felt that it was best to actually talk; after all, they were going to travel together, so it would be convenient if they could speak to each other.
"So, how many ribbons have you gotten?" asked Drew finally, breaking the silence yet again.
"I've got three!" Harley bragged.
"Only three? I've got four," Drew answered, showing the man his ribbon case.
Harley pouted. "Oh, boo! Why must you always taunt me with your annoying success, Drew?" he questioned. This time, though, his voice didn't sound malicious. It just sounded tired and bored at the same time. The man took another bite of his toast, chewing it slowly and thoughtfully.
Drew felt a pang of tiredness himself. Something about spending an entire day training with Harley made him feel exhausted, and his suffering hadn't even begun…yet, this new Harley seemed kind of…normal. He blinked, almost choking on his orange juice as he came to this realization. Harley normal? It just didn't make sense—it was an oxymoron. It was ridiculous to think someone as crazy as that man could even be considered normal.
Harley stared at Drew, who, in turn, had been staring wordlessly into his spoonful of oatmeal like a madman for almost an entire minute straight. Harley's expression became concerned as he pondered the possibility of his new "friend" becoming insane just after agreeing to travel with him.
"Something wrong, Drew?" His voice sounded just as concerned as his expression, and Drew suddenly felt slightly self conscious for making a scene like that. If it'd scared Harley, he'd probably done something dreadful—without even knowing it…
"Huh?" Said coordinator jerked his head up. Unfortunately, he'd completely forgotten about the spoonful of oatmeal he'd been about to shove into his mouth, and Harley's words had jolted him from his thoughts so quickly that he ended up dropping the spoon (facedown, of course, because that was just Drew's luck) directly onto his lap. He ended up wincing as the heat from the oatmeal seemed to seep through the fabric of both his jeans and his boxers.
Harley barely suppressed a giggle as he saw the white substance all over the crotch of Drew's pants. "Hey, Drew, that looks like—"
Drew blinked as he realized what the older man was talking about and cut him off abruptly. "It's not funny," he snarled, his cheeks crimson with embarrassment. He grabbed a napkin from the table, wiping at his pants furiously as he tried to avoid eye contact with Harley.
"Try water," said a new voice that was coming from directly across the table.
Drew instantly recognized the calm, smooth, female tone as that of Solidad, so he looked up. "Solidad! What are you doing here?" he demanded, shocked.
Sighing, the coral-haired coordinator pulled up a chair. "Well, I don't think that's a very nice way of greeting a friend, Drew," she said, winking.
Drew rolled his eyes at Solidad's antics, but he couldn't help smiling slightly, too. Her aqua eyes glowed so maternally, and her smile looked sincere as she wet a napkin in a glass of water that had been conveniently placed on the table and handed it to Drew, knowing better than to wipe the mess off herself. Although, doing something like that wouldn't have been that uncomfortable at all, considering he was like a son or little brother to her—and nothing more.
"So," she said, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen on the trio, as Drew finished wiping the front of his jeans as best as he could. "Are you going to tell me how this happened?" she asked, motioning to the newly wet spot (because of the water) that was on Drew's jeans now.
Harley snickered. "Drew was busy thinking about a certain someone, so he ended up dropping oatmeal on himself. I told him it looked like—"
Once again, Drew cut off his new traveling buddy…even the thought of being traveling buddies with Harley the walking headache made him want to shudder and hurl at the same time. "Harley, I don't think Solidad wants to know how much of a pervert you are—and that's assuming she doesn't know already," he stated calmly, flipping his hair once more.
Solidad smiled. "It's good to see you still haven't changed a bit, Drew, from the last time we spoke—even under Harley's influence." The coordinator winked at Harley, who just grinned in response. Then, her eyes clouded. "I've gotta go take care of some things, but I'll see you both later." With that, she ran off without another word.
Drew and Harley looked at each other. Both came to the same conclusion: Solidad was up to something. The only question was…just what was that something?
Eventually, the pair returned to their briefly interrupted breakfast. Drew decided to stay away from the oatmeal, though. Instead, he just drank the rest of his orange juice. He then turned his attention across the table when he noticed Harley was looking at him from over the brim of his coffee mug.
"What?" Drew asked impatiently. He drummed his fingers on the metal surface of the table, still glaring at his contest rival. "Oh, and if you're gonna talk about the wet stain on my pants and how it looks like—"
Drew was cut off. "I was just thinking about how you were in the middle of bragging about your ribbons," Harley said. "And we all know it looks like you wet your pants, Drew, and if anyone gets wind of this, you'll never hear the end of it."
The green-haired coordinator's expression darkened. "You're right, which means that this stays between you and me," he said, giving Harley a threatening glare.
"And Solidad," Harley pointed out.
"Solidad isn't who I'm worried about," Drew countered. "It's you, so I'll reiterate. This remains between the two of us. Or else," he finished ominously.
Harley gasped in mock fright. "Or else what, hon?" he questioned, making his voice shake a little bit for dramatic effect.
"Or else, I'll shred your Cacturne costume," Drew threatened, a slight bit of a smirk forming on his face.
Harley clenched his fist but managed to respond. "Well, if you do that, hon, I'll just have to shave your pretty, green head in your sleep," he warned, shaking a menacing finger at Drew.
Said teenager clutched his flawless hair, fear taking over. "You wouldn't," he breathed, his emerald eyes widened in horror.
Harley sighed, going back to his meal. He picked up his toast, spreading some strawberry jam across it halfheartedly. Drew sighed, too—though it was mostly in relief. Instead of continuing to eat his oatmeal (he was probably too traumatized to ever consume oatmeal again, actually), Drew chose to take a bite out of the apple he'd also picked up at the buffet. After all, he had to stay healthy, and not eating was not a good way to do that.
"So…" Harley said, breaking the silence that had once again fallen over the pair of males. "How're your Pokémon doing?"
"Fine," Drew replied curtly. He looked back at his apple, staring at his reflection in its glossy surface. He noticed that part of his hair was sticking up slightly from when he'd pulled at it, so he gently smoothed the top back into place. He'd often been called vain, but looking good had always been a priority of Drew's.
In response to his single word answer, Drew heard a huff coming from his companion. Drew saw from the corner of his eye that Harley had folded his arms crossly, looking at the other coordinator expectantly. Then, he just sat there, staring at Drew with a strange expression on his face. It was just a little too weird for the green-haired teen's taste.
Finally, after about five minutes of ignoring Harley's stares, Drew became sick of it. He put the bitten apple back down on his plate, sighing. "What is it, Harley?" His voice was slightly forced, and his fists were clenched under the table in annoyance. Just when he'd had the good fortune to discover that apples actually served as excellent mirrors, Harley had to annoy the heck out of him and ruin them moment.
"Aren't you going to ask me how my Pokémon are doing?" said purple-haired coordinator questioned plaintively. His eyes wavered, and Drew was certain Harley was about to fake cry.
Drew rolled his eyes but sighed in resignation. As was always the case with Harley, just doing what he demanded was usually the fastest way to shut him up. "Sure." He paused dramatically, taking a breath that was accompanied by another eye roll. "So, Harley, how are your Pokémon doing?" he asked dully.
Harley brightened up immediately. "Well, thanks for asking, hon!" he said with a sunny smile.
Drew groaned. He could tell already that this was going to be a long story—just from hearing the way Harley took a deep breath.
"Oh, I absolutely must tell you what my adorable, dearest Cacturne did yesterday!" Harley cried, leaning in closer to Drew. "Cacturne and I were minding our own business, just walking through the woods, when a cantankerous trainer came up and hit me on the head with something. Wanna know what it was?"
Drew stayed silent. He picked up his apple once more, taking a bored bite out of it.
Harley knew that his "friend" wouldn't respond, so he simply continued. "It was a Pokéball!" he said angrily. "That little twit tried to capture me with a Pokéball!"
Drew smiled slightly, taking another bite of the apple to stifle his laughter. Now, he was listening to Harley's story that had just taken an unintentional turn for the humorous.
"So, I asked him what his problem was. Then, we immediately began to battle! I used my perfect Cacturne, and he sent out this annoying little Marshstomp. I had such an advantage over that lousy thing! He told it to use Blizzard, thinking a star like myself would be stupid enough to fall for such a trick!" Harley cackled. "Of course, I was too slick."
"Naturally," was Drew's only response. He took another bite of the red apple, rolling his eyes as Harley kept right on talking.
"And then, my darling little Cacturne buddy jumped, and…" Drew had already tuned out Harley's babblings about how amazing his Pokémon were. Seriously, that guy can really talk! Drew thought. However, he'd brought this on himself by prompting Harley. He had a feeling that he was going to be sitting there for a long time, listening to Harley's stories about his "little buddies…"
"May! Get up!" cried a voice, snapping May from her dreams.
Rubbing her eyes, May lifted her head. She was lying on a bed in a plain-looking room. Sunlight filtered in through the windows. It was definitely a Pokémon Center room. There were two girls in the room who she instantly recognized as her new traveling companions, Emilee and Kelli.
"What?" May asked groggily as she tried to remember exactly where she was and what she was doing with those two girls. Why, only seconds ago, she'd been in LaRousse City with Drew (that'd obviously been a dream, though).
Somehow, May managed to hear the sound of a Pokéball opening. Seconds later, she heard the coo of a Pokémon that she wracked her brain to recognize. Finally, she did…it sounded like—
"Gorebyss, use Water Pulse on May," another voice ordered, snapping the brunette from her thoughts.
May found herself suddenly soaked. She shook her now-wet head to clear it. "Kelli?" she asked as she opened her eyes once more.
Said blonde grinned. "Guilty as charged," she stated.
Emilee also grinned at May. "You slept so soundly that we thought you'd never wake up."
"What time is it?" May questioned.
Kelli's expression turned serious. "It's, like, quarter of nine, May. We let you sleep in, but you've really gotta get a move-on now."
"What for?" May demanded. "The contest isn't until the day after tomorrow!"
Before Kelli could say anything, Emilee smiled slyly. "Kelli just doesn't wanna be late to see the big battle," she said, her glasses glinting.
"Big battle?" May asked, still confused.
Kelli blushed and grabbed May by the hand, pulling her up out of bed not so gently. "You're just full of questions this morning, aren't you?" she panted as she grabbed May's clothes and tossed them to her.
As May got dressed, Emilee explained. "Well, Kelli's friend Trent has decided to make Ecruteak City's Gym his final destination. Since we're here, Kelli seems to have her little heart set on watching his Gym battle."
May's blue orbs shone knowingly. "So, this is about Trent, is it?" she asked.
Kelli began blushing even more deeply. "Why, I don't know what you're talking about. He's just a good trainer, that's all. We're really just friends. We used to be rivals," she babbled, her blush deepening by the second.
"Really? Then why was he all you could talk about, huh, Kelli?" Emilee retorted with a wicked smile.
"You wouldn't understand," Kelli remarked, sighing.
"Ouch, that's a low blow. I'm just a little kid, you know," Emilee said, adjusting her glasses. Every second, the little brunette seemed more and more like May's little brother.
"Guys?" May asked quietly.
"Well, at least I can find someone!" Kelli said. Her eye twitched, which was always a warning sign that she was about to turn into Angry Kelli.
"Guys?" May asked a little louder, picking up on the warning sign.
"What if I don't wanna find someone?" Emilee responded coolly.
"That's the lamest excuse I ever—"
"GUYS!" May shouted.
"What?" both girls demanded, turning to look at May.
"I'm ready," she said sweetly. She spun around for the girls. "What do you think?" May asked, curtseying.
Kelli and Emilee looked at each other, barely restraining laughs. "You look the same as you always do!" they chorused. Then, both of May's traveling companions giggled.
May raised an eyebrow, but she didn't say anything; hey, this was a lot better than seeing them fight, after all. She smiled to herself as she grabbed her bags, watching as Kelli and Emilee did the same. They all knew they would be returning tonight, but they wanted to bring as much as they needed, just to be safe.
She had been so tired and yesterday, and being tired made her both cranky and hyper at the same time. Fortunately, Kelli and Emilee had been really understanding about it. So now, even though she would've rather just gone on to Cottonbrook Town today, she decided to compromise and watch Trent's Gym Battle with Morty.
"Hurry up!" Kelli cried. She pulled May and Emilee along, running through the quiet streets of Ecruteak City.
"Why are you hurrying?" May cried. "I thought the Gym opened at nine!"
"Yeah! When's Trent's battle, anyway?" Emilee added.
Kelli didn't even turn. "He told me that his battle starts at nine fifteen," she said, still pulling her friends along.
Emilee looked at her Pokétch, which just happened to be on her right wrist (her left wrist was being yanked from its socket by Kelli). It was ten after nine now. She peered past Kelli as the streets blurred by. Then, she saw the Gym. May saw it, too, and cheered inwardly at not being dismembered by her excited friend.
Kelli finally skidded to a halt, not even caring when May and Emilee rammed into her full-force. She regained her breath quickly, smiling at the Gym doors.
"Why do I always get hurt around you, Kelli?" Emilee muttered, rubbing her left shoulder.
"She almost pulled my arm from the socket," May murmured to Emilee.
"Yeah, I know the feeling," the other brunette responded.
Kelli interrupted both of them. "I don't know!" she said impatiently. She had begun tapping her foot. "Where is he?" she muttered.
That brought May to another question. "Who's he again?" she asked Emilee in a whisper, not wanting to be injured bodily by Kelli.
"Trent," Emilee said, still catching her breath. "He's Kelli's boyfriend," she added.
"Who's Kelli's boyfriend?" asked another voice. This one was male and sounded as though the body it belonged to was currently experiencing his voice change.
"Trent!" Kelli cried, engulfing the boy in a hug.
Said boy was tall, about Drew's height, actually. He had dark, forest green hair and dark grey eyes. He was attractive, and he wore a light blue shirt and dark wash jeans. It was obvious he was in good shape.
"So, this is the famous Trent," May added with a smile.
"You're May, right?" asked the male trainer. He really did have nice eyes, and his hair was nice, too, and he had a pretty cute voice. Then again, May could see why Kelli thought he was hot in general.
"That's right," Emilee said, jumping in front of May. "And I'm Emilee. It's great to meet you."
"Likewise." Then, Trent turned to Kelli. "How are you?" he questioned.
Kelli whipped out her ribbon case, grinning. "I've got all five contest ribbons here," she said happily.
"Congratulations," Trent said.
"Thanks," Kelli replied, blushing slightly as he smiled at her.
"So, are you about to start your eighth gym battle against Morty?" May asked, causing both Trent and Kelli to turn.
Trent nodded. "We're going to kick butt," he said, tossing a Pokéball into the air and catching it in a gloved hand.
"Oh, so you're Trent," said another voice. This one belonged to a young man around the age of twenty. His voice was smooth and calm and instantly commanded attention. "I'm Morty, the Ecruteak City Gym Leader. It's nice to meet you, Trent." The man offered his hand for Trent, who took it quickly.
"Likewise," Trent replied smoothly. Then, he turned to May, Emilee, and Kelli. "Is it okay if my friends watch my battle?" he queried.
Morty nodded. "The more the merrier," he said.
"Hey, he's kinda cute," Emilee said as the group made their way inside the gym.
"Who? Morty?" May asked.
Emilee palmed herself. "No!" Then, she leaned in close. "Trent," she whispered. "What do you think of him?"
May scoffed. "He's not my type," she said.
"Well, let's decide after we see him battle." Emilee left it at that.
May shrugged and followed the smaller girl to the seats they would be sitting in to witness the battle.
"Okay, this is a three-on-three battle," the referee announced. "There's no time limit, and the challenger may substitute at any time, but the gym leader may not substitute at all."
Morty sent out his first Pokémon. "Go! Gastly!" he said.
Trent thought for a second. Then, he smiled. "Raticate, let's do this!"
Raticate emerged in a white glow. "Raticate!" it cried threateningly.
Morty and Gastly looked unfazed. "You may make the first move, Trent," he said cordially.
"Raticate, use Iron Tail!" Trent ordered.
"Gastly, dodge and use Hypnosis," Morty said serenely.
A small smile formed on Trent's otherwise cold visage. "Now, spin and use Bite," he said.
The ghost Pokémon was completely caught off guard. Its master, however, wasn't. "Dodge once more," Morty commanded.
"Raticate, use Zen Headbutt," said Trent.
The psychic attack was super-effective against the ghost-poison Gastly, and Trent knew that. His cold smile deepened.
"Now, Raticate, finish this up with your Thunder Fang attack!"
"Gastly, look out!" For the first time, Morty looked a bit scared.
Raticate jumped into the air and lunged. Gastly wasn't able to dodge the attack. Since it'd already taken a serious hit from Raticate's Zen Headbutt, it fainted.
"Gastly is unable to battle," said the ref.
"Return, Gastly," said Morty.
"Great job, Raticate," Trent said.
"Wow, he's not half bad," Emilee said. "And, he's cute!"
May smiled. He was kinda cute…She turned to look at Kelli and see her reaction.
"You can do it, Trent!" she cried.
Trent turned and winked at her, and Kelli began to blush.
Emilee and May looked at each other with grins. That would be perfect to make fun of her about later.
"Now, Duskull, go!" said Morty.
Trent turned his attention back to the battle. "Raticate, use Water Pulse," he said.
"Duskull, Protect!" The attack was blocked by Duskull's Protect.
"That leaves Trent in a really vulnerable position," Emilee said nervously. "His Raticate could be caught completely off guard if Morty decides to attack now."
"Don't worry; Trent will be just fine," said Kelli. "If he loses this battle, I'll challenge Morty," she muttered.
"Duskull, use Psybeam," said Morty.
"Raticate, no!" Trent cried.
The poor Pokémon was thrown through the air by Duskull's powerful attack. It landed back next to Trent, unconscious.
"Raticate is unable to battle," said the referee.
"Good work, Duskull," Morty said approvingly.
"Raticate, return," Trent said. He fished another Pokéball from his pocket. "Now, Golbat, go!" said Trent.
"Nice, a Golbat!" said Emilee. She sighed mockingly. "Trent is sooooo precious."
Kelli elbowed the younger girl. "Shh! I'm trying to watch the battle," she hissed, a red blush clear on her face.
May just giggled softly and kept watching.
"Golbat, use Crunch!" said Trent.
"Duskull, dodge," Morty ordered.
Golbat lunged, but Duskull disappeared. The bat Pokémon looked left and right nervously, and its attack lost its charge. Then, suddenly, Duskull reappeared.
"Behind you! Use Sludge Bomb!" Trent cried.
Golbat, since it was faster than Duskull, whipped around rapidly. It launched its purple glob of poison, which hit the Ghost Pokémon straight in its "face," knocking it unconscious on contact.
"Duskull is unable to battle," the ref announced.
"Duskull, return," said Morty. "Gengar, go!"
"The Gym Leader sends out his final Pokémon, Gengar," said the ref.
"Gengar," the ghost said threateningly.
"You can do it, Golbat!" said Trent.
"Bat," Golbat replied, sounding just as certain.
"Wow, isn't Trent so tough?" Emilee teased.
"Shut up, Emilee," Kelli hissed, almost losing her patience.
"Why don't both of you shut up?" May replied. "I'm trying to watch, here," she said. The only reason she cared so much was because watching Trent battle reminded her of how things had been when she'd traveled with Ash. As much as he'd annoyed her sometimes, Ash was a great friend, and May felt like Ash was her older brother a lot of the time.
"Golbat, use Extrasensory!" said Trent.
"Gengar, use your Night Shade attack to counter!" Morty ordered. "I'm not giving this one up without a fight."
The two Pokémon were in a complete stalemate. From her experience with both battling and watching battles, May knew both Pokémon couldn't keep this up for much longer. Eventually, Golbat couldn't attack any longer; it was just too worn out from battling against Duskull.
"Golbat is unable to battle," said the referee.
"Good fight, Golbat," Trent said, calling back his Pokémon. Then, he looked thoughtful. Finally, he reached into his pocket, expanding his next Pokéball. "Magmar, I choose you!"
The fiery Pokémon looked ready to battle, but May could tell that it wasn't at a very high level yet; it was probably newly evolved from a Magby—either that, or it was newly caught. Even so, its condition appeared to be pretty good, and, knowing Trent for the small amount of time for which she'd watched him battle, he had some killer moves up that Pokémon's sleeves.
"Magmar, use Flamethrower!" Trent said.
"Dodge, Gengar," Morty commanded.
Gengar did as told and launched what appeared to be a Hypnosis attack. Fortunately, Magmar's Flamethrower prevented it from falling asleep; Magmar had cloaked itself with the attack instead of firing it at Morty's Pokémon. It was a pretty smart strategy, but that could only be used once or twice before it was useless. Trent had to come up with something quickly if he wanted to win the match.
"Okay, Magmar, finish this! Use Faint Attack!" said Trent triumphantly.
Magmar did as told, and, try as Gengar and Morty might, Faint Attack was unavoidable and hit its target. Gengar fainted from the powerful Dark-type attack.
"Gengar is unable to battle. The winner of the match is the challenger!" the referee said.
May, Emilee, and Kelli all cheered from their places in the stands.
"Congratulations," Morty said. "For defeating me in battle, you have earned this: the Fog Badge."
Trent took it with a smile. "Thank you. Battling against you was both an honor and an enjoyment," he said politely.
"Likewise."
Morty watched with widened eyes as Trent put his badge into his badge case.
"This was your eighth badge?" Morty asked with a raised eyebrow.
Trent nodded with a grin. "That's right. I'll be entering the Silver Conference in a few months."
"Well, good luck," said Morty. With that, he walked back into the recesses of his gym.
May, Kelli, and Emilee rose. Kelli sprinted to where Trent was standing.
"Congratulations!" she cried. She looked a bit shy, so she didn't hug him. Instead the blonde put her arm uncomfortably on Trent's shoulder, and both preteens began blushing.
May noticed the warning signs of awkwardness and intervened before social casualties could occur. "Great job, Trent," she said with a big, friendly smile.
"Thanks," said Trent. He moved forward, and Kelli had the forethought to remove her arm, a fact for which May thanked Mew fervently.
Emilee then jumped in front of Kelli. "You did amazingly, Trent," she said, batting her eyelashes flirtatiously. "Congrats on your eighth badge."
"Thanks," said Trent, a blush creeping across his face once more at all the female attention.
"By the way, are you single, Trent?" Emilee asked.
"Uh…yeah," he said.
"Well, I—"
May cut her off with a dirty look while Kelli settled for an elbow to Emilee's stomach. The young girl struggled to catch her breath, and Trent looked slightly overwhelmed, but that was only to be expected.
"Thanks, but I really should get moving—there's a lot of training for the Silver Conference, you know. I'd love to stay for longer, but I think I'm going to head to Mt. Silver to train. It was nice meeting you…" Before he left, Trent planted a kiss on Kelli's cheek. "I'll call you on my Pokégear later. You have my number, right?" he asked.
Kelli nodded, an almost goofy smile on her face. "Yeah, I'll see you, Trent," she said.
As Trent walked down the city street, morning sunlight setting a shine to his hair, Kelli smiled and waved after him. May saw Trent look back several time, and she beamed at the sight, feeling slightly like a proud parent.
Once she was sure Trent was out of earshot, Kelli giggled, touching her cheek.
"I'm never going to wash this cheek again," she whispered, a huge grin plastered on her face. She repeated the mantra several times in a fervent chant.
"Okay, we get it," Emilee said with an eye roll. "You're going to completely disregard personal hygiene because you were kissed on the cheek by the guy of your dreams."
"Yeah," Kelli said with a sigh. "I can't believe he really likes me!" she cried, spinning around.
May kept her smile the entire time. She sat down on a nearby bench with a wishful smile on her face; she was wishing that her relationships could be that easy.
A/N: Sorry for that uber-long wait…I was meaning to get to it…but…oh well. I guess that's why I gave you that chapter—also because of the overload of reviews begging for an update. Next time—and I give you my scout's honor—the wait won't be that long! Hope you enjoyed—and please review!