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“Magical Leaf, go!”
Drew took a step forward and swept his arm out to the side as he yelled, as if his momentum would put more strength into Roselia’s attack.
There was just one minute left on the clock. To everyone’s surprise, including his own, Drew and Solidad were locked in a dead heat.
“Protect!”
A translucent blue-green barrier materialized before Lapras, causing the glowing leaves to bounce off and fade as they fell toward the arena floor, still hazy from a prior Mist. Watching the sparkles die in the heavy air reminded Drew of firework displays. When the show ends and all that remains is smoke and ringing ears.
Drew’s ears were ringing now, too. Rushing blood and the sound of his heartbeat drowned out all other noise. He’d done a lot of research on strong coordinators, but just those in Hoenn. The only information he’d gained on Solidad came as the contest was already underway. She was from Pewter City and fresh off a Top 4 finish in the Kanto Grand Festival.
“Stun Spore and Petal Dance now!”
“Andrew loses his slight lead but wastes no time to try and take it back,” Vivian interjected, “but can Solidad hold him off?”
Drew grit his teeth hearing his full name. Technically it wasn’t wrong – that’s what it said on his Contest Pass – but he’d signed the Lilycove registration sheet under his usual name. With the city being a major venue for contests, nearly every competition was picked up by one national television channel, and Drew was envisioning himself correcting people for weeks or months to come. Not an ideal debut.
Solidad knew what Drew was doing with his combination attack but felt a jolt of panic realizing she couldn’t do anything to stop it. The impressive raw power Lapras had in this match came at the cost of low mobility on a dry battlefield. If Stun Spore caused Lapras to fail at launching even one move now, it would cost her the match.
Roselia screeched as her Petal Dance propelled the glittering orange cloud forward like a jet stream, hitting Lapras’s weakening barrier with a loud rush of air and dissipating what Mist remained. Solidad’s fingers curled harder into her glove.
“Get ready for an Ice Beam!”
Whether she was ordering her Pokémon or warning Drew wasn’t clear. Lapras inhaled and began forming a bright blue light with his breath, visibly straining to still maintain the now-flickering shield.
Twenty seconds.
If Roselia could push just a little harder, get a few feet closer…
“Now!”
Lapras unleashed a half-charged Ice Beam, shattering his own Protect from the inside out. The blue light shot across the stage like lightning with a crackled but direct path.
Roselia was struck in the chest, knocking her backwards to the ground. Lapras was simultaneously encircled by razor-sharp petals and a choking cloud of spores.
The crowd let out an excited roar. Drew flinched, so focused on the match he forgot they were there. He wasn’t used to seeing Roselia take such a hard hit and fought the instinct to run to her. Before he could yell out, Roselia jumped back on her feet and crouched down, ready for the next move.
Drew stole a glance at Lapras and saw the telltale wince – paralysis. The tightness in his chest from fear was relieved with a rush of joy. Another Magical Leaf would do it. He’d win his first contest against one of the strongest coordinators in the world right now.
“In the air, Roselia,” Drew yelled, hoping an angled attack would minimize Lapras’s chance for a counter even more.
Roselia pushed off to jump but faltered, stumbling to one knee. Even a weak ice beam was too much to shake off.
Fear returning, Drew felt his stomach drop. Shaky and struggling to get the words out, he pushed ahead.
“You’ve got this!”
Solidad pulled back, straightening her shoulders as Roselia prepared to fire, perhaps mentally conceding. Lapras grimaced, both from the Stun Spore and in preparation for the oncoming blow.
The buzzer sounded.
“Time is up!” Vivian cried as both contestants jerked their heads towards the board, “Hanging on by the skin of her teeth…Solidad takes home the win!”
The graphic display of their remaining points, barely distinguishable, changed to a victory screen.
So that was it.
Drew held his place, eyes locked on the board in quiet shock as confetti fell. He didn’t want to look at his opponent or teammate. He couldn’t.
As Vivian launched into her ribbon presentation speech, Drew focused on his breathing and clenched his jaw to prevent the familiar hot sting in the bridge of his nose from spreading to his eyes.
He had to move. Suddenly and stiffly, he made a polite nod in Solidad’s direction and recalled his Pokémon, pivoting on his heel as he walked back to the arena entryway. He was already backstage searching for a space free of any lingering Trainers when he heard his name – full name. Something about an impressive debut.
Embarrassment struck him for a moment, remembering the other contestants, the judges, the thousands that were watching. Should he be out there? Did he leave too quickly? Did he come off as rude? A sore loser?
Doesn’t matter now, he thought, sitting on a bench with his back pressed against the cold metal lockers. Another thing he did wrong. His mind was already spinning with mistakes. He shouldn’t have wasted time getting Roselia in the air. He should have taken that second to make sure she was okay. He looked guiltily at the Poké Ball in his hand.
Drew knew Roselia felt the same as him right now. They’d trained for the contest circuit for over a year already. This wasn’t really their first-ever contest; they had been dominating unofficial competitions across LaRousse for months.
Technically he shouldn’t have been practicing with Roselia before getting a Trainer’s License at ten years old, but who would stop him? Definitely not his parents, who were happy to see their son bond with a Pokémon so fast. That time before they met seemed so long ago now, almost a different life.
He’d encountered Roselia as a Budew inside his mother’s greenhouse. Even then she wasn’t shy, chirping angrily at him for accidentally sprinkling her with the hose as she slept between potted plants.
No one was sure where the baby Pokémon came from, but she had no intention of leaving. Drew’s mom would jokingly call Budew “Ducklett” for always being on his heels. He never found the company annoying, though. As an only child it was nice to have someone to talk to and go exploring with, especially someone who wasn’t judgmental that he could be genuine with.
Not that his friends weren’t good people. They just had a certain sense of humor that could get tiring. Most of their bonds were made through teasing or taunting one another, which was fine if you had a quick enough wit to avoid being on the receiving end too often. Luckily, Drew did and enjoyed a higher spot in their group for a while.
One of their go-to hangout spots in LaRousse was the Battle Tower. They could easily spend an entire afternoon sitting in the stands making bets on who was the better trainer and critiquing the loser of the match. That was the first time Drew had seen Robert and learned what a Pokémon Coordinator was. He had just turned eight.
“Ooh, look at Mister Fancy Pants,” one of the boys drawled as the man took his spot on the field.
“He’s gonna get his ascot kicked,” another giggled.
“That’s a cravat.”
“Whatever!”
As the battle progressed, Drew became too engrossed to keep up with the stream of conversation and quips. While at first Robert’s method of battling seemed like a weird act, it was effective. He and his Milotic took on the opposing trainer’s Sceptile with ease, keeping his cool while turning each attack and counter into a work of art. Robert won handily despite a massive disadvantage and contrary to all the kids’ informal bets.
They’d seen at least five more battles that day before taking the moving sidewalks home, ranking the contenders as the sun set. Drew still couldn’t shake the image of Robert’s victory.
“That guy with the Milotic was the best,” he said bluntly.
“If it was a beauty pageant, sure,” Colin – the unofficial leader of their group – laughed from up ahead, “but he wouldn’t hold up against a real opponent.”
“He did have a real opponent. And he won.”
“Just because he was better doesn’t mean he’s good. If that’s the best that contest people—”
“Coordinators.”
“Whatever—have to offer, I’m not impressed.”
“Do they even have Pokémon Contests around here?”
“Why, you gonna go start a fan club?” he teased from over his shoulder.
Drew rolled his eyes and let the subject drop. If he let on that he cared, it would only lead to more jokes.
Later that night, Drew wondered if maybe that’s why Robert had entered the Battle Tower. To show people that Coordinators were still Trainers. That power and beauty weren’t mutually exclusive traits. Until that day he hadn’t considered his future much. Sure, he wanted to get his Trainer’s License, but what kid didn’t? But the more he read about Contests, the stronger the fluttering feeling in his chest became. That sense of confirmation and excitement in discovering a new path. This is what I want to do.
Drew drifted from his friends after that. He didn’t decide to cut them off or anything dramatic, he just spent increasing amount of his free time researching and practicing with Budew. She became a Roselia in just a couple months; a point of pride for him, knowing her evolution only came from a strong friendship. It wasn’t until Drew and Roselia set out for their journey that he realized it really was just them. He always had his parents, but he had no other friends to speak of.
Roselia was enough, though. More than enough. Sitting on a bench backstage, he released her from her Poké Ball.
“You did a great job,” He said, offering a soft smile, “No one thought we would make it this far on our first try.”
Roselia stood in front of him, looking at the floor. She didn’t look injured, but he could tell she was hurt. They really were too much the same. She knew he was covering his disappointment, not with her but with everything. They had trained so hard and for so long that any local competitions were a breeze and expected this one to be the same.
There had been a small nagging voice in Drew’s head that had been kept at bay, but it was clearer now. What if he wasn’t good at this? What more could he do? They’d both already invested so much time and effort. He knew being the best shouldn’t be so important, but he couldn’t help it. He wanted to prove people wrong, give himself a purpose, maybe inspiring others as he had been inspired. But he latched onto a vision with no backup plan. He could feel the sting in his eyes again and looked towards the lockers.
“I’m sorry,” He started, the words hanging for a moment, “It’s just…I—”
He cut himself off, not knowing what he wanted to apologize for. Feeling sorry for himself maybe.
He felt a pressure on his pant leg and looked down to see three green spikes. Roselia hugged him, face pressed into his knee. She was crying.
“Don’t…” he said softy, not trusting his voice to speak any louder.
Roselia held on tighter, stubbornly refusing to look at him.
She almost never cried, even as a young and presumably lost baby Pokémon. In fact, the only other time he could remember seeing her so upset was right after she evolved. As a Budew they’d often be in physical contact. He would carry her around in his arms, or sometimes she’d unwind the vines on her head to create a makeshift hand to hold. That habit didn’t translate well with Roselia. After a celebratory hug, Drew had an up close and personal experience with the Poison Point ability.
Fortunately, his parents kept medicine in the house because of all the poisonous Pokémon in the surrounding woods. Nothing some rest and herbal teas couldn’t fix over the course of a couple days. But at the time, Roselia was convinced he was going to die. She cried by his bed as he awkwardly – and extremely carefully – pat her head, assuring Roselia he’d be fine.
It was a funny story in hindsight, but the reason Roselia was crying now wasn’t so different. She felt guilty, like she had hurt him somehow.
“Oh, there you are!”
Drew and Roselia both jumped, faces jerking towards Solidad.
Her smile dropped and she looked concerned, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt…”
Drew realized his vision was slightly blurred from welling tears. He felt his face flush and turned away, running a hand through his hair in an awkward attempt to subtly clear his eyes.
He felt a wave of anger for a moment. An immature anger. Did she come here to gloat? To pity him? Why did she have to enter this contest when she had already won so much and ruin his chances?
“Some reporters were looking for you, but I don’t blame you for not wanting to talk to them. They can be a bit much,” she said with a light laugh.
“Yeah, I’ll pass,” he said dryly, trying to keep bitterness out of his voice.
“You know, Andrew—”
“Drew,” He corrected reflexively.
Solidad smiled, “Drew…you and Roselia make a great team. I can tell how much time you put into your combinations.”
Hearing her name, Roselia awkwardly shuffled and wiped her face on Drew’s pants. Drew simply nodded his thanks, hoping to cut off any “helpful” advice that would feel like salt in a wound.
He cleared his throat, “You and Lapras were amazing, too. Are you going for the Grand Festival title in Hoenn now?”
Hoping he came across as genuinely curious instead of anxious, he slid closer to one edge of the bench to offer Solidad a seat.
She accepted with another smile, “No, no plans for that. But I’m hoping to see you enter.”
“Yeah, me too. Winning wouldn’t be so bad, either,” Drew quipped.
She chuckled, “This past Grand Festival was my fifth one. That doesn’t mean the other four weren’t important, though, because I learned a lot through those losses.”
Drew feigned a look of innocence, “Can you just tell me what you learned so I can skip all that?”
“Absolutely not,” Solidad said with fake seriousness.
With the mood a bit lightened, their conversation lulled for a moment. It was a mostly comfortable silence. Drew still felt embarrassed about how she had seen him, but it was only a slight twinge now. He also felt bad for assuming the worst of Solidad’s intentions to talk with him.
Roselia caught his attention and then looked towards the back exit of the Contest Hall.
“Oh, yeah, I guess we should get going…” Drew trailed off.
“Are you staying at the Pokémon Center?”
Drew held back a comment something along the lines of ew, no. He was admittedly snobby about sleeping arrangements. But he was only a couple weeks in on his journey, so that could change in the future…maybe.
“Actually, we wanted to get some training in tonight.”
This was news to Roselia, who looked surprised then annoyed.
“Training?” Solidad’s eyebrows rose, “You should probably focus on resting…”
“We will. But every bit of practice helps for when we meet again,” Drew smirked, his confident air returning.
Solidad didn’t take the bait and stood up with slight concern in her eyes, “Well, take it easy on yourself…and your Pokémon,” she added with a glance towards Roselia.
Drew gave a slight nod, more in acknowledgement of her advice than promising to follow it.
Solidad smoothed out the bottom of her jacket, “Anything you want me to say to the inquiring minds out front?”
“My correct name would be great, actually.”
“Of course. I’ll tell them all about my new friend, Drew.”
“Maybe not all about. You can leave some things out,” Drew offered, hoping Solidad wouldn’t paint a picture of him needing to be consoled backstage.
She laughed, “Sure. You can tell them everything else yourself after the next contest.”
“Yeah, in my victory speech,” he returned wryly and then paused, his voice softer, “But really…thanks, Solidad.”
“Thank you for a great battle,” she responded, offering her hand.
Drew accepted the handshake and the two parted ways.
Night had already fallen, only streetlamps and far-off department store windows dotted the landscape. Still at his side, Roselia made something of a whine as they cut from the back exit to a sidewalk along one of Lilycove’s main roads.
“I just want try out a couple more combinations, it won’t take long,” he promised.
Roselia gave a huff when they reached a grassy area, turning to face him for whatever ideas he’d throw out. She looked tired.
Drew realized how exhausted he felt himself and took a deep breath, “Okay…get up on that bench over there.”
Confused, Roselia hopped up on the bench and waited. Drew sat next to her, a few Pokéblock in hand.
“We can work on rest and relaxation. That’s a combination, right? But tomorrow it’s back to business.”
Roselia happily agreed, nibbling on the indigo Pokéblock. Drew sat back, looking up at the sky. A few stars still shined through despite the city lights.
He felt oddly hopeful. He wasn’t going to trip at the starting line of his career and get hung up on the day's loss. They’d be better prepared in the future. With more training, with more knowledge. Maybe this spark was what Solidad was talking about. A motivation that could only come through losing. Knowing that there's always someone better, but there’s always another chance to try.