***

Walk The Frontier

By Shadow

Chapter Three

***

Many pairs of eyes watched the screen as if it were some sort of magic show, wondering just who would get paired with who. May and Drew stood by each other, saying nothing to reveal that they knew the other was there. However their thoughts were very similar:

Geez, Drew seriously reeks. When was the last time he showered?

Ugh, May. I know you're nervous, but don't most girls wear perfume?

Though neither teen said anything as the screen shuffled trainers around for the semi-final round. It was just four trainers left now: them, Marina, and the infamous Brooke.

Speaking of said trainer, the girl stood a small ways back from our favorite two coordinators, staring at the screen with stone-cold eyes. Beside her was Marina, who contrasted Brooke's attitude completely. She was eager to see her match-up, eyes flashing with excitement.

"And here are the semifinal rounds!" Jillian yelled as the pictures stopped shuffling.

"Oh no," May gasped, her stomach dropping. She was hoping for a different kind of match up… anything but what the screen was displaying: she was going up against Marina. "How am I going to win this?

"Come on May," Drew said suddenly, flicking his hair out of his face. "You beat me didn't you?"

May blinked, wondering what possessed Drew to act so kind to her, "Yeah. Once."

"Then you can wipe the floor with her. And then I'll see you at the finals for a rematch. I'm going to get you back good for that defeat at the Kanto Grand Festival," Drew finished rather snidely. May huffed. She could have figured that Drew was going to come back with something like that.

So much for that, she sighed in her mind. But he's right. I can do this!

"Alright mister, you're on!" May shouted, her eyes lighting up with a self motivational fire. Unfortunately, that fire was doused very quickly by a third voice cutting into their conversation:

"You won't see Drew at the finals."

May was almost crushed by that statement, knowing that Brooke was right. She couldn't beat Marina. However, she was even more appalled at what was said next: "You'll see me there, cuz there's no way in hell I'm losing to this guy."

"What?" Drew exclaimed, stepping in front of May.

"You heard me. We're matched up for this round. And I'm not letting you win," Brooke concluded, crossing her arms. "There's no way you could. I'm a better trainer."

"What makes you say that?" May snapped, coming to Drew's defense.

"I know so. I always was better then him. Isn't that right Drew? Or do you still not remember?" Brooke spat, shooting down May rather quickly.

Drew was growing more and more frustrated with each moment this girl tormented him, and worse, May. But it was still getting to him; who in the world was this girl? Drew didn't like it. At all.

"Keep your personal argument with me to yourself," he said so lowly, May almost didn't hear it. "Don't involve other people."

Brooke blinked, surprised, but crossed her arms, "Well at least you've grown some maturity over the years. Alright Drew, I'll oblige to that… May, I apologize. See you on the battlefield Drew."

With that, Brooke walked away into the adjacent room. May blinked, staring after her while Drew clenched his fists at his side. The air quickly grew tense and uncomfortable, leaving the two teens at a loss of words.

It was Drew that finally broke the silence, "Your battle is first. Good luck."

"Yeah… thanks Drew. You too. I'll be rooting for you," May said, staring at him momentarily before turning around and heading for her stage.

***

"And we have the first round between Marina and May! Two very famous Coordinators from two very different regions! Marina, known as the finest Coordinator of our time, versus Hoenn's very own 'Queen Of Contests!'"

"Wow, I didn't know May was that famous," Jimmy said to himself as Jillian continued to introduce the two trainers. Jimmy watched intently as both female Coordinators came out onto the stage, waving to the crowed happily. His face lit up with even more excitement as Marina looked in his direction and waved….

"MARINA!" a voice shouted beside Jimmy. "HI MARINA I CAN SEE YOU DOWN THERE! I KNOW YOU'RE WAVING TO ME!"

Jimmy cringed in his seat as he looked over his shoulder, knowing exactly who was crazy enough to be yelling like that. Uneasily, he said: "Hi there… Vincent."

"Jimmy?" Vincent replied, blinking in surprise. The two trainers stared at each other, the tension in the air thickening. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to watch Marina… and your failure," Jimmy added, smirking lightly. Vincent face faulted onto the seat in front of him, putting him right next to Jimmy.

What a wonder the seat was empty or he would have gotten pummeled, Jimmy noted.

"And Marina sends out a crowed favorite, her Misdreavus, better known as Little Miss!" Jillain shouted over the loudspeakers, only to be drowned out by an even louder uproar. Jimmy stared, his mouth slightly agape at what he was witnessing. The crowed loved her.

"YEAH MARINA! KICK THAT LITTLE GIRL'S BUTT!" Vincent shouted, causing Jimmy to sweatdrop.

"Why do I know you?" he muttered.

"Did you say something Jimmy?" Vincent asked. Jimmy laughed nervously, but was thankfully cut off by Jillian announcing May's choice of Pokemon:

"And May sends out a new addition to her team: a Glaceon!"

The crowed roared again as Glaceon made an impressive appearance onto the stage, sparkling in the florescent lights. Clearly, May had trained the Pokemon well… enough that Jimmy was impressed:

"Wow, May is really a pretty excellent trainer. I wonder how she'll do?" Jimmy wondered aloud.

"Are you not rooting for Marina?" Vincent asked, bewildered. "That's not like you."

Jimmy blinked to consider the question for a moment, but ended up shrugging, "Of course I'm rooting for Marina. She's our best friend after all."

"Good," Vincent stated, ending the conversation. The two trainers shifted their attention back to the battle as May called out the first move:

"Glaceon, let's go! Use Iron Tail!" May shouted. Glaceon let out a battle cry, and charged forward with impressive speed. Its tail started to glow white with power as it leapt up and spun around to hit Misdreavus.

"And May starts off with an Iron Tail! How will Marina and Little Miss counter?" Jillian asked.

Marina smiled, glad that May had started off the contest battle. It was time to do what she did best: perform and battle.

"Little Miss, time to dance!" Marina shouted, spinning around. Misdreavus copied the spin, narrowly avoiding the Iron Tail. "Now turn around and hit it with Psybeam!"

"Misdreavus!"

"Glace?" Glaceon exclaimed, unsure of what to do. Unfortunately, the Psybeam hit head on, sending Glaceon plummeting to the floor. The crowed cheered excitedly, screaming Marina's name. May cringed, knowing that no one was on her side in this contest. Still, she couldn't let that bring her down:

"Glaceon!" May shouted. "Try to get up!"

"Glaceon!" it yowled back, leaping to its feet.

"An amazing counter with an amazing comeback! It looks like Glaceon won't be going down too easily!" Jillian cried.

"THAT'S OKAY MARINA! JUST KEEP HITTING HER LIKE THAT AND SHE'LL BE GONE IN NO TIME!" Vincent shouted. Jimmy plugged his ears, wondering if Vincent would ever truly stop being so crazy. In truth, he felt a little sorry for May; no one was rooting for her. His attention shifted back to the battle however, when May ordered her next attack:

"Glaceon, use Water Pulse!"

"Glaaaaaaceon!" it exclaimed. Glaceon took on a blue hue, as did the land around it, until finally, a jet of water erupted from the land, sending waves everywhere. None of them hit Misdreavus. "Now freeze the water with your Ice Beam!"

"This is strange," Jillian said into the mic. "May has turned the battlefield into something completely different. What kind of plan does she have?"

Jimmy who was watching the battle more intently then ever, had to wonder the same thing. Even Marina looked baffled at the sight:

The stage was no longer a stage; instead, it was covered in frozen pillars that curved outwards like waves, creating a maze of slopes. A light passed through May's eyes as the crowed grew silent with anticipation:

"Glaceon, now use Dig!" May ordered.

Glaceon burrowed underground, only to pop up in a random place and dig another hole. The process continued until the stage was filled with random tunnels. Little did anyone know that they were conveniently placed….

"Okay Glaceon, good work!"

"The clock only has two minutes left, and Marina is in the lead. Will May be able to turn the battle around with her new setup?" Jillian asked. The crowed remained silent, awaiting May's next move. Even Marina hesitated to make a move.

"Okay Glaceon, use Iron Tail again!" May shouted. Glaceon raced forward, leaping up onto the ice, its tail once again glowing with power.

"Little Miss, dance, and then use Shadow Ball!" Marina ordered. Once again, Glaceon went flying passed the Misdreavus. May let out a growl as her points depleted, and Glaceon was once again hit by an attack.

"Glaceon, use Iron Tail one more time!" May shouted

"Still with the Iron Tail?" Jimmy asked aloud. The crowed seemed unimpressed with May's performance, and were now once again shouting for Marina. Of course, Vincent drowned out pretty much everyone else, even going as far as throwing an insult at May. At this point Jimmy was growing irritated. May didn't deserve this, and as much as he wanted to support Marina, he had to yell: "Come on May! Turn this battle around!"

Vincent stopped cheering, gawking at Jimmy as if he'd just said someone died.

"This is incredible!" Jillian shouted, bringing the two trainers' attentions back to the battle. "Glaceon, instead of heading for the ground and attacking again right away, went onto the ice and is using it like a slope!"

And Glaceon was doing just that: sliding down the side of the ice, into one of the holes it dug, and up through another one at top speed. Misdreavus had no idea where Glaceon would appear next, and could not dodge a direct hit this time. Glaceon tore through a hole and slid up the ice like a rocket, its tail glowing.

"Glaceon!" it shouted, jumping off the ice and slamming its tail directly onto Little Miss. The Misdreavus went flying into another ice slope, crashing right through it. It landed near Marina's feet dazed.

"Little Miss!" Marina shouted, concerned for her Pokemon.

"And that's the battle!" Jillian shouted. "Time is up! Let's see who managed to get more points!" Everyone's attention shifted to the screen. It was close… very close…. But Marina had more points.

"Damn," Jimmy sighed as Marina's name was displayed with the word "winner" written in huge, bold capital letters.

"Even with an impressive display of skill by her opponent, Marina still manages to make it to the final round! Still, May definitely gave her some trouble. I'm sure we'll be seeing these two on the battlefield together again very soon!"

The crowed erupted into a chorus of cheering as both trainers took a bow, and then shook hands with each other. Jimmy watched the two of them exchange some words and head to the back.

"I can't believe you were rooting for the other girl," Vincent said, breaking Jimmy's attention from the field.

"To be perfectly honest, I didn't think it was fair that the whole stadium was against her. Marina always wins. It might be a good lesson for her to someday lose ya know. It's what being a trainer is about Vincent," Jimmy replied coolly. Vincent just stood there, shocked as his friend got up, and headed down the stairs and away from the stands.

***

May and Marina entered the backroom, laughing together.

"I have to say, I was pretty impressed," Marina commented. "That ice technique was very unique. I've never seen anything like it."

Drew, who was watching the two of them, wondered how May would react. He stared at them through the corner of his eye as he leaned against a wall and waited to be called out for his round:

"Well, a good friend of mine told me I needed to find my own battle style… and so I have been. It still needs work though," May said, ending with a sigh. Drew let out a smile, and then walked towards the stage entrance.

***

"After a heated battle like that, this next one is sure to keep your spirits up! Coming on stage are Brooke and Drew, two Coordinators from the same region, and the same town!

Drew walked onto the stage, his face stoic. Same town… and such a familiar face… but just who was this Brooke character? He stopped in his spot opposite his opponent. Brooke had a very similar expression on her face, studying Drew like a Noctowl.

"It says here that they grew up as neighbors! Is this perhaps a child rivalry?"

"What?!" Drew exclaimed, almost face faulting. He collected himself quickly though, walking across the stadium to shake hands with his opponent. Brooke smirked as she walked up to him, and Drew stared at her bewildered. "Neighbor?"

"I gave her the tip," Brooke scoffed. "Since I knew you weren't going to remember without a little memory jog. Well Drew, let's see how well you remember your childhood friend."

Brooke let go of his hand, and walked back to her part of the stage. Drew stared for a moment, and then did the same thing.

Brooke… my neighbor? Who is she? Drew asked himself as he gripped a Pokeball on his belt, "Absol, let's go!"

"Mightyena, I choose you!" Brooke exclaimed at the same time.

"Ooh, how interesting! Both of our Coordinators chose a dark type Pokemon. I wonder how this battle will turn out?" Jillian asked.

I know exactly how it's going to turn out, both trainers thought. I'm going to win!

***

A/N: Dun Dun Duuuun. What's going to happen?

Review and find out. XD.