I do not own Pokemon.

Time Apart, Time Together

Chapter One: Defeat

"Welcome, one and all, to the final round of the Violet City Contest battle!"

The spotlight shone in the small stadium that was the Contest Hall. At the center of the light stood a tall young woman in blonde hair. She held the microphone, and her eyes were wild with excitement and elation at the spotlight. The crowd in the Contest Hall was alive with excited cheers. The announcer spoke again, her voice ringing throughout the stadium with all the energy of a river pounding down a waterfall.

"It's been quite a showing here, but we're down to the final two! First up, we have the young and talented May Maple of Petalburg City, visiting all the way from the Hoenn region!"

The crowd bubbled with positive noise as the rest of the lights switched on. As they watched, a short, slender figure stepped forward into the spotlight. Small, but with a fair, mature figure, she wore a simple red shirt and a white miniskirt which fit tightly around her hips, beneath which she had on a pair of deep blue bike shorts that came halfway to her knees. Her hair was a light shade of brown, and she wore it in an inverted V pattern in front of her head. Holding it in place was a red bandana, a large, white, circular symbol covering a portion of it. Her eyes, a shimmering shade of aquamarine, held a look of pure joy. Her face was slightly pink with blush, whether due to excitement or the cheering crowd itself, she herself was unsure. Giggling slightly, she walked forward and waved at the crowd, a broad smile coming across the features of her face.

The announcer smiled at her, then faced the crowd again.

"And next, we have the top trainer competing in contests in Eastern Johto. Violet City's very own, Raolin Dhyme!"

The positive bubble became a wild explosion. A tall young man appeared, not thin, but not especially large. He had long, ocean blue hair, a face with fair features, and wore a long coat that he kept unbuttoned, showing off a matching blue shirt, and black pants. His hair came nearly to his waist, where he kept a row of the familiar red and white Pokeballs. One ball, however, was painted black and blue, matching his outfit. His eyes were black, and they held a look of absolute, superior confidence. He regarded May with an arrogant smirk, then silently took his place at the trainer's box in the stadium zone. May stared at him, slightly annoyed. What's with him? Deciding not to pursue the matter further, she took her own position at the Trainer's Box and readied a Pokeball.

"All right folks!" The announcer said as she stepped out of the middle of the battle area. You all know how these battles work, so I'll skip the intro and we'll get to the action! All right now, Coordinators, show us those Pokemon and let's get to the Contest!"

May gave her opponent a confident smile. She tossed her Pokeball high into the air.

"All right, Eevee, take the stage!"

The ball opened, releasing from it the small brown foxlike creature known as Eevee. Eevee let loose an excited squeal, beginning to jump into the air repeatedly before settling and becoming focused. Raolin grinned mockingly.

"Third rate, just as I expected..."

May's smile quickly became a frown. She had only just met him a moment ago, and he was already rubbing her the wrong way. I'll just have to make sure that I completely beat him, then! Raolin noticed the look on his face, and he grinned even more. He took the odd colored Pokeball from his belt, and threw it into the air.

"Blaziken, time to win."

Blaziken erupted forth from the Pokeball, wrists already set aflame. The creature had very long hair, and it seemed to wear a mask with long prongs about the head. It folded its arms, and the rest of its body suddenly seemed to catch on fire. Radiating an intense heat, it began to stare daggers at the small creature before it. Eevee suddenly forgot that they were in contest, and froze, staring at the creature towering above it. May herself looked daunted at the creature that was emanating heat, much like a forger's furnace burning at metal melting temperatures. W-wow...This is going to be tough. But we've battle out of tough situations before! Regaining her confident smile, she pointed at Blaziken.

"All right Eevee! Let's start it off with a Tackle attack!"

Eevee shook off the intimidation and leapt forward quickly. It charged directly at the tall bird that was simply standing there. As Eevee was about to connect, Blaziken sidestepped, causing Eevee to crash into the ground and roll. Shaking itself off, it stared at Blaziken again. However it recovered, the crash made May lose a significant amount of points. While empowered by May's boldness, it was still intimidated.

"Ok then," May said. "Shadow Ball, and give it all you got!"

Eevee charged up a dark ball of otherworldly energy and launched it at Blaziken. This time, however, Blaziken swatted the energy down with force, causing it to explode into the ground by Blaziken's feet. May stared in disbelief and mounting panic. This is too strong! How can I beat that?

"No more games. I've seen enough." Raolin spike to Blaziken. "Let's end this, now. Blaziken, Sky Uppercut. And hit hard."

Blaziken rushed forward with terrifying speed, his arm glowing brightly. May, too surprised at Blaziken's speed, never called out a command. The hit connected, sending Eevee skyward.

"Now, Blaziken, Jump and flip into a Blaze Kick."

Blaziken jumped up quickly, and when his body caught up with Eevee's, he flipped quickly, his foot engulfed in fire. Blaziken slammed his foot into Eevee's midsection. Eevee screamed in both pain and fright as its body crashed solidly on the floor.

"Eevee..." May barely managed to get out.

"Now, Blaziken. Turn your fall into a Fire Punch. And make it count. Make it hurt."

Blaziken's hand burst into fire. Blaziken drew his hand back, and as he landed, slammed it into the tiny frame of Eevee. The impact send a shock wave of flame radiating outwards almost to each trainer. Eevee cried aloud once, then went completely silent.

"NO! EEVEE!" May screamed, running over to the scorched little body of her Eevee. It was twitching violently. The crowd made no noise as they watched her cradle Eevee's quivering body.

"W-well, s-since," the announcer said, voice trembling . "Since Eevee can no l-longer battle, this makes Raolin the w-winner of the Violet City ribbon." Shaking, the woman handed Raolin the ribbon, and then immediately sought to be elsewhere. Raolin took it, then walked towards the injured Pokemon and its trainer.

"I told you." He said. "Third rate. Utterly worthless. Small. Weak. Powerless,"

"Go away!" May yelled.

"Go back to your Petalburg City. Go back and suck on your thumb like the good little baby you are. And next time, learn to not play in a game where those with real skill can actually play. You do not have that. Good bye. May we never meet again."

With that, May gathered up Eevee and rushed as fast as she humanly could to the nearest Pokemon Center. When she arrived, she held Eevee, still twitching, into the arms of the local Nurse Joy.

"Good lord, May, what happened?"

"I-I l-lost...he crushed Eevee..." She was weeping. The tears would not stop.

"We'll see what we can do, but it looks as though Eevee won't be battling...or even walking...for very long."

May's face sunk even deeper. Ash, if there was ever I time I needed you...it's now. As she thought, an idea formed in her head.

"Nurse Joy...wait a second." The nurse turned back and looked at May. "Yes, May?" she said simply.

"Can you...convey a message to someone...in the Sinnoh region?"