Well I'd be willing to bet that most of you weren't expecting to see me outside of the review lists, but I've had a small idea of an ending in my head for a while now thanks to a song and its just now that I've finally been able to build a story to hold it. As per my original pattern I'm back to May's POV for this one, and I know that a certain fish-loving friend of mine will be happy to see it up.

As a quick note I will have to mention that May's Eevee has not evolved in this story, even though I know that as of the most current Japanese episode she has evolved into a Glaceon. Those of you who are familiar with either myself or my work should be able to make a small list of reasons of why I chose this, and to those who aren't it makes no difference for the story so you don't need to worry.

Well that's enough babbling on my part, you just want the first chapter. But before we can begin there is one last thing.

Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with Pokémon or any of its related material.

Things weren't looking up for me right now. I finally made it to the finals of one of the Grand Festivals, for which I am proud of myself, but I'm facing the one person that I'm not sure that I can beat. I've advanced through this competition facing my opponents one at a time and beat every one of them, even beating Harley in the semi-finals. And just my luck my final opponent is the person who I lost against in the Kanto Grand Festival just last year, not to mention its champion as well, Solidad.

I looked at the battlefield in front of me. The contest battle has already started and it's about half-way done; I have chosen my first and strongest Pokémon, Blaziken. Solidad on the other hand has chosen her Pidgeot. I'll have to thank Drew at some point down the road for exhausting her Lapras in their own semi-final round. While I was in no way thinking that this battle with her Pidgeot would be easy, I'm relieved that I don't have to go up against that powerhouse of her's again.

Then again it could have been a blessing considering how fast that Pidgeot is. The whole battle so far has been nothing but me trying to mount a counter-offensive, or at least it's supposed to be a counter-offensive. At the moment it looks more like Blaziken is just throwing fire into thin air as her Pokémon just dodges everything effortlessly All the while she has been hitting almost every other hit on me. I in comparison have yet to land a single attack on her, whenever Pidgeot gets close enough, the dang bird is just able to dodge it and turn it into her advantage.

"Come on Blaziken, we just need to find a move that'll work!" I yell out to my now tiring starter. Taking a quick glance at the timer I can see that there is no more than a minute and a half left in this battle and while I'm at about half of my points Solidad has barely lost any.

"What can I do Eevee?" I asked the small Pokémon on my shoulder as Blaziken dodged another of Pidgeot's attacks by only a hair, the attacks were getting more accurate with each pass. "I was always able to come up with a good strategy when facing one of my rivals before, but I'm just drawing a blank."

Eevee just looked at me, and hung her head giving off a quiet "Vee." She knew the problem that I was in and there was nothing that she could do about it.

"I bet I could think of one if he was here. Those ridiculous strategies of his always seem to work out in the end. Not to mention that for some reason I've always seemed to be been able to keep a cool head when he's cheering for me. Too bad that he isn't here right now; I could really use that for at least one more battle."

For some reason a smile just formed on my face as my eyes closed and just seemed to take in the sounds of the stadium. The timer clicking away seemed to just take forever as I just let myself drown in the many different voices that filled the stadium. Just before I gave into the fact that I would lose this battle once again and settle for second place I thought I could pick out a single voice in the multitudes of others that accompanied it. I don't know why I was able to make out this single voice nor was I able to even tell if it was cheering for or against me but it seemed so familiar. I could only give a short laugh as an owner of this supposed voice just appeared into my head.

"Oh boy this is getting bad," I continued to say to Eevee. "Now I'm starting to hear his voice in my head. I know for a fact that he wouldn't be here just after completing his own competition. My mind is just playing tricks on me."

But even trying to push this illusion from my head wasn't working. The more I tried to get rid of it the stronger it would come back. Eventually I could feel myself starting to relax as the voice echoed through my head again, by this time any resistance I had to ignoring it completely vanished. Almost instinctively I found myself reaching up and taking hold of my good luck charm, a contest ribbon with a pink and white bow that I had attached to a gold necklace. Well to be more specific it was only half of a ribbon. I usually kept it under my shirt so that no one would laugh at me for wearing something as simple like this, but to my mind this was no ordinary ribbon. This is my connection to one of the best friends that I've ever had, and as long as I had this I knew that he was still cheering for me from wherever he was.

"Oh well, if my brain is going through so much trouble just to put on this charade I might as well go out with a bang." I finally say as I could feel my determination coming back. "Shall we?"

"Vee!"

Looking back at the timer I see that it just passed the one minute mark. Moving my focus back to the battle I could see that Blaziken was still in trouble. I had to think of something good, and I needed it now. And of course what came to mind was almost too reminiscent of the one who could be best descried as my mentor.

"You know May if you want to give up you should at least say it out loud. At least that way your Pokémon won't suffer." It was Solidad; I'm not sure if she wanted that to be some kind of taunt or if she was thinking of Blaziken's well being. It was more than likely the latter, but either way what I had in mind could completely change the scores. If I could pull it off that is.

"Not a chance," I yelled back. "We're going to win this aren't we Blaziken?"

"Blaze!" My starter yelled as she got to her feet.

I could barely make out a smile forming on Solidad's face. "Well if you're that determined don't let me try to change your mind. But determination alone can only take you so far."

"If you desire something enough and work hard to reach it there is nothing that can keep you from your goals. It was that lesson that I learned over the first couple years of my journey." Turning back to the battle I knew that it was now or never. "Blaziken lets show them just how far determination can take us! Bulk up and get the fires ready!"

The Blaze Pokémon went silent for a moment as she slipped into a seemingly meditative state, closing her eyes in the process.

"I like your spirit May but I'll show you who the real winners of this battle are. Pidgeot we're finishing this, take it out with one last Brave Bird." Solidad called out, the smile never leaving her face.

The large tan and brown bird that was hovering in the sky just a moment ago let out a loud call and started into a backwards loop, a blue aura just starting to appear around its body. By the time it finished the loop it was completely covered by that blue aura and speeding straight for Blaziken, just like I wanted. But to make my plan work I needed to do this at the right time; too early and she might call off the attack, too late and I would lose this battle.

Just moments before the powerful attack hit I found my chance. "Alright Blaziken, grab that overgrown pigeon!"

Opening her eyes Blaziken let out a fearsome cry of her own as all the muscles around her body started to bulge with a newfound strength and the flames around her claws lit up with a brilliant orange-red color. In less than a blink of eye Blaziken grabbed onto Pidgeot's wings, the force of the attack pushing her back several feet before finally digging in and allowing her to hold her ground against the attack. The Brave Bird aura that surrounded Pidgeot slowly faded and the bird started to wince in pain as the aftereffects of the recoil started to take effect. Although I could tell that even with the successful counterattack Blaziken was still hurting from the impact.

As the blue aura around her Pokémon started to diminish Solidad's eyes started to grow very wide. "How…did…you… never mind, Pidgeot use Wing Attack to break free."

Try as it might there was little chance that the bird would break the grip that Blaziken had, especially with the little boost that she got just moments before. But it wasn't over just yet. "Blaziken surround yourself with Fire Spin, it's time to take the offensive!"

Blaziken's eyes started to glow a faint red, opening her beak wide as a ball of fire started to take form as the elemental fury of her kind was about to be unleashed. But that wasn't all that happened, as the ball formed Blaziken's entire body started to glow red and in that instant the two of them were engulfed in a gigantic pillar of red hot flame.

"Blaze." I whispered as a smile started to form on my face. My chances of winning this battle just got better, I could feel my energy coming back as the realization started to sink in. "I really can win this!" I yelled out as the audience was still enthralled by the shifting fires that covered almost half of the field.

"Pidgeot use Hyper Beam to break out of its hold then blow the fires away with Whirlwind!" I could hear Solidad desperately shout out from the other side of the Fire Spin.

"Not this time, Blaziken finish this off with a Blaze Kick straight to the ground!"

I could feel a resounding thud passing through the earth as the fire started to dissipate. I could tell that everyone's eyes were glued on that one spot as a figure was finally seen in the bright light of from the fire. But just before everything vanished a glowing brown and tan blur sped out of the flames and in a dramatic unfurling of its wings blew out the embers on its body before starting to hover in midair.

"It can't be…" I looked over at Blaziken to see that she was on one knee breathing heavily. Although taking another look at Pidgeot it was obvious that it wasn't in much better shape. It had scorch marks all over its body, with the largest one covering most of its back, and the great crest that was the trademark of its species was half way burned off. It was just barely able to keep itself in the air, let alone battle. Either way I had to think fast, both Pokémon were on their last bit of endurance and we had to come out of this ahead.

My thoughts of the outcome of the battle were cut short by the sound of the buzzer signaling the end of the battle. Immediately I found myself looking up at the scoreboard. My last minute strategy apparently worked very well, but not well enough. From the look of it we were both sitting at about a third of our points left; not only that but as far as I could tell we were exactly even.

The loud speakers clicked on and the voice of the announcer filled the stadium. "Ladies and Gentlemen we have come to the end of the final round of the Johto Grand Festival and at the moment it appears that we have a tie. We ask for your patience while our judges confer on this. We'll be sure to announce their decision as soon as it comes."

"Well we were able to get to this point, now it's up to the judges to decide who wins." I say to Eevee as I collapsed on the ground and returned Blaziken to her Pokéball. Eevee jumped down into my lap and as was her usual started to wiggle her way into a comfortable position. Even after all that I couldn't help but smile at my little Evolution Pokémon before turning to the Pokéball in my hand. "You did a great job out there Blaziken, even if I had a horrible start."

Putting Blaziken's Pokéball away, I could see Solidad pretty much doing the same thing with her Pidgeot. "Well Eevee, it's up to fate now. Although I wonder why I all of a sudden started to think of him, not to mention that it's been quite a few months since I last saw him. Come to think of it I wonder how he is doing after the Sinnoh League, last I heard he was…"

"Ladies and Gentleman we thank you for your patience on this matter." The loudspeaker announced as the stadium once again fell into a hush.

"That didn't take long. Guess that discussion is best left for later." I said to myself as I got to my feet. Eevee wasn't all that thrilled about my sudden movements as she tumbled off of her favorite spot to nap. Shaking her head to get her bearings the little Pokémon gave me what could amount to a death stare, even if at first glance it looked like it was coming from a cute stuffed animal. So in the end all it made me do was giggle, which of course didn't really help the situation.

"Vee."

"Sorry Eevee kinda forgot that you were there." I apologized as I held out my arm. "But I do have an excuse this time," I continued as she pranced up my arm back onto my shoulder. As the announcer came on again I looked up to the big screen to see both my picture and Solidad's.

"Sorry for the wait, but after much deliberation the judges have come to a decision regarding the conclusion of the last battle. The victor of the final battle and winner of the Johto Grand Festival is May Maple!"

I could barely believe my eyes and ears as I could see my picture become the centerpiece of the display and the word "Congratulations" appear next to it.

"We did it," It came out as barely a whisper as the realization struck home. "We really did it."

"We would like to congratulate Miss May Maple on her win today, and would like to invite everyone here to the awards ceremony tomorrow morning."

I really wasn't listening to the announcer anymore; it took all of my effort just to try and stay civilized and not just yell out everything that I felt right then.

"Vee."

I looked up to see why Eevee was trying to say only to see Solidad walking up to me. Holding out her hand she gave a big smile.

"You really surprised me out there May, at one point I seriously thought that you completely gave up on the battle. But you proved me wrong and came back in a spectacular show. You truly deserve the title."

Accepting her gesture I reached out and shook her hand. "Thanks Solidad, that really was a hard battle. That last set of combos was the only thing that saved me in the end."

"Either way you won fair and square. I'll be looking forward to our next match."

I was going to reply but out of the corner of my eye I could see Eevee's ears perk up and twitch a couple times. "What's up Eevee?" I asked the now alert little Pokémon. Without even giving me so much as a warning, she jumped off of my shoulder and started running towards the trainer prep rooms. "Sorry to cut this short but I have to go catch that little trouble maker." Turning around I started to chase after my traveling companion. "Eevee wait up! Where the heck are you going off to?"

"Eevee where did you run off to?"

My little Pokémon disappeared into the trainer prep room only seconds before me but she was still able to keep out of my sight. As I was looking under one of the benches I could hear the door to the room open as someone walked it. I gave a long sigh as I realized how I must have looked to whoever this person is.

"Oh great, now I have to explain why the new Johto Grand Festival Champion is crawling around on the floor." But as the thought crossed my mind I could hear the person laughing as he entered the room.

"Alright alright, I get it. I'm happy to see you too Eevee, now can you stop that? It's starting to tickle. So where is your trainer anyways? I need to congratulate her on her latest victory."

"Wait a minute, I know that voice."

"Ash!" In my moment of excitement I completely forgot where I was, because moments later I felt a jabbing pain on the top of my head as bone met wood. It took everything that I had to keep from yelling out loud, but that's not to say that is didn't hurt though. I sat down on the ground, forgetting everything but the annoying throbbing sensation.
"You okay May?"

After trying to rub some of the initial pain away I finally look up at one of my best friends and his ever-present partner now looking down at me, and you wouldn't guess who was occupying his right shoulder. None other than my little mischief maker herself, Eevee.

"What are you doing on the floor?" He asked while offering me a hand.

"Looking for the stowaway on your shoulder." I answered while accepting his outstretched hand. "It's nice to see you again Ash."

"It's nice to see you too May. But when you mentioned my stowaway, did you mean this one?" He nodded to Eevee as he pulled me up. "She ran out to meet us right after you finished your match, although she seemed happier to see Pikachu than me."

Getting to my feet and dusting myself off I turned at his seemingly odd comment. "What makes you say that?"

"Well for one as soon as she saw us Eevee tackled Pikachu right off of my shoulder." He stated with a chuckle. "That little thing has a good amount of power in it."

"I know the feeling; I've been on the receiving end of a few of those myself. I can't really say why she did such a thing but anyways, sorry about that Pikachu." I say turning to the occupant on Ash's opposite shoulder.

Scratching the back of his head with one of his paws Pikachu just gave a sheepish "Pika."

"So can you forgive us Pikachu?" I asked while lightly scratching him underneath his chin, although with that being the one of the two spots he can't resist I already knew the answer.

"Chaa." I was right, he melted into my touch and not long after jumped into my arms making himself comfortable in the process.

"Well that didn't take long," I said with a smile as he cooed in my arms. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Eevee glaring at me for some reason. "What's with that look Eevee? Sigh What are you mad about this time?"

"Vee." She huffed defiantly while turning her head away. But not long after she curled up into Ash's shoulder and going quiet again.

I could only shake my head at my moody Evolution Pokémon. "Even after all this time that we have spent together I still don't know what makes your little mind tick when it come to some of your actions, at least can you think of anything Ash?"

"Can't say that I can either, but either way we better meet up with Dawn soon, I told her that I would only be coming in here quick to bring you out."

"Wait, Dawn is with you as well?"

"Yes and we better be going. She won't be too happy for how long we made her wait."

"Knowing her I'd believe it. Besides, I need to catch up with her as well. It's been too long since we last talked."

"I think that she wants to talk to you as well, especially now. After all, winning a Grand Festival after only three tries is a great accomplishment. I'm proud to say that you were once one of my traveling companions and that I knew you from when you first started with nothing but your Torchic."

I have no clue why but I could feel my face start to heat up as he continued to talk. "Although I don't think that I deserve that much praise, thanks Ash." I said with a smile.

"Well I'm going to go catch up with Dawn. We'll meet you outside the main gate, okay?"

"Sure, I'll see ya there." As he ran out the door I could feel Pikachu move a bit in my arms. "Looks like you're with me for a little while Pikachu." I say looking down at him.

"Pika!" Crawling out of my arms he nimbly climbed up onto my shoulder. "Chaa," he cooed as he rubbed his cheek on mine.

"Hey, cut it out." I couldn't help but laugh out. "So you're the one I have to thank for teaching that to Eevee. While I can't say that I hate it, it does get her out of way too many situations."

"Hey May!"

"Huh?" As the door to the prep room closed behind me I looked up to see who was calling my name. And to no surprise the first thing that I saw was the green hair of one of my longest rivals walking towards me. "Oh, hi Drew."

"Just wanted to be the first to congratulate you on your Grand Festival win," he said with a big smile. "And to give you this." He added pulling a rose out of seemingly nowhere.

"Um thanks Drew." I stuttered slightly as I accepted the rose. I could feel myself start to blush again from his actions, "but sorry to say that you weren't the first one to congratulate me."

"I wasn't? Dang, well I should have known someone would beat me to it." He looked as if he was thinking a bit, but it didn't take long for his eyes to fall upon my new passenger. "Since when did you have a Pikachu May? And on that note, what happened to Eevee? Isn't that her spot?"

"Oh this little guy?" I asked gesturing to Pikachu, who for some reason hadn't taken his eyes off of Drew since he appeared, "He's actually not mine. You remember Ash right? This is actually his, at the moment he has Eevee."

"And why is that?" He asked. I'm not really sure why but I think I could tell that his tone of voice had changed a bit. At first he was his normal slightly narcissistic self but now it was almost as if he was insistent on getting the answer.

"Its nothing all that major, Eevee ran off after my battle and after I ran after her I bumped into Ash. He had both Eevee and Pikachu with him, as we talked Pikachu jumped into my arms and made himself comfortable. After that Ash had to go find one of our friends that was waiting for us, and in the process he forgot Pikachu and left with Eevee. I was just on my way to go meet up with them."

"Oh that's all." He said giving what sounded like a sigh of relief. "So Ketchum was the one who beat me to congratulating you first, wasn't he?"

"No actually it was Solidad who was the first; it was right after the battle that she congratulated me." Looking down at my Pokétch I was surprised at how much time had passed. "Sorry to cut this short Drew but I really need to meet up with Ash and Dawn. I'll probably talk to you later." As I turned to walk away I remembered something that I wanted to do. "Oh and Drew, thanks for your help in the finals."

"Help? How so?"

"If you wouldn't have exhausted Solidad's Lapras in the semi-finals this battle might have had a completely different outcome."

"Oh," he said while straightening his posture. "It was my pleasure. I'm glad that I could help you out."

"Right. See ya later Drew." As I walked away I could feel Pikachu relax and start to cuddle into my neck again. "That was an odd conversation, and you seemed to be a little tense there as well. What don't like Drew all that much?"

"Pi." Was his only response while turning his head away.

"Not really sure why you would feel that way but I will say that he does creep me out at times as well." I say while looking down at the rose in my hand. Smiling I started to scratch Pikachu in between the ears.

Once again melting into my touch he let out a soft yet satisfied "Chaa."

"And that would be spot number two that he just can't resist."

"At least it's easy to please you. No matter, now we better go meet up with Ash and Dawn before the latter gets too impatient."

"Pika!"

And there it is; I hope that everyone enjoyed it. The next chapter should be out in two or three days. As always please review, I enjoy hearing everyone's opinion of my work.