A Tale of Two Rivals

Soledad's Opinions on May

I had also kept up with the highlights from Soledad's own day. The two of us were always so genuinely interested in one another and watching the other perform on the stage.

Yours Truly: Well, if you really wanna know, there was in fact this one girl who had a pretty decent Vulpix that'll make a stunning Ninetails once it evolves. There was also this kid who's Butterfree gave quite the captivating performance with both its Spore Attack and Sunny Day. It could use a little bit of tweaking, but I think that the display of both the orange powder and the sunshine was just incredible. I really will have to teach my Masquerain to do such a combination at some point.

Soledad: I gotta admit that I was kinda surprised that you had caught a Masquerain, since I have never really known you to go for such a pokémon.

Yours Truly: I thought I'd experiment in my contests, you know, try a new kind of pokémon for a new kind of performance.

Soledad: It still doesn't sound too much like you. You don't usually make a habit of taking any risks.

Yours Truly: And, I don't plan on beginning to take any risks any time soon. I'll debut Masquerain, alright, when I've had a lot more practice with it. Still, though, it does have a lot of contest-worthy moves which have a lot of potential.

Soledad: I don't doubt it, but I'm still pretty curious as to what exactly inspired you to catch a Masquerain, of all pokémon, in the first place.

I bit my lip in frustration with her persistent curiosity towards my reason for catching my new Masquerain. Of course, I knew why I had caught it. I kept on telling myself, however, that I only caught it for the sake of looking good in contests. I only wanted to own a pokémon that could pull off a move as impressive as that one Silver Wind in the Slateport City pokémon contest...

I told myself afterwards that I was going to forget her, and I actually had for the most part. I could not, however, forget the Silver Wind that her Beautifly had pulled off, nor could I forget about all of the ideas for combinations with which I could pull off myself if I had owned a pokémon who could even learn the move, much less use it.

Soledad: Was it another coordinator?

Yours Truly: Yeah...

I said it slowly and begrudgingly, however, before continuing.

Yours Truly: This one girl I saw back in the Slateport City pokémon contest had a Beautifly. I battled against her with Roselia and her Beautifly launched an amazing Silver Wind. It was really incredible, and it got me wanting a pokémon which could perform the move, as well.

Soledad paused and I could just tell that she was busy thinking.

Soledad: Oh, right, now I remember. You told me about her not long after the Slateport competition. That one girl who wore a red bandana on her head. She fell onto the floor, poor thing, but I do believe that you told me it was the girl's first ever contest. What was her name, again? It just left me.

Yours Truly: May.

Soledad: Really, May?

Yours Truly: Yes, May for real!

I instantly grew annoyed at Soledad for having to remind her of the name which belonged to the girl in the red bandana, who I was hoping to have forgotten by that point. Then, Soledad just chuckled. It was right then and there that I could tell that she only pretended to forget that girl's name just to tease me about it.

Soledad: Yeah, I gotta admit that she did seem a bit on the shaky side.

It was more of her thinking out loud than it was a real comment about that one girl in the red bandana. That was just about when Soledad started to speak with her voice for real.

Soledad: I definitely agree with you about that May's pokémon, though. That Beautifly of hers was a wonderful creature, and the Silver Wind it pulled off really was top notch.

I suddenly understood where Soledad was going with her end of our conversation.

Yours Truly: Exactly what I had been saying from the start, and if a rookie coordinator like her could've gotten her pokémon to successfully pull off a Silver Wind with that kind of finesse, just imagine how well a more experienced coordinator could do in even training their pokémon to perform a move just like that very same Silver Wind.

Soledad: Well, I wouldn't be too confident that she won't get better with it, herself, if I were you. After all, not everyone can be a professional right from the start like you were.

Yours Truly: Are you kidding me with your comments right now, Soledad? You watched that whole contest right from the start of it. That girl's entire appeal was garbage and I basically thrashed her in our battle. She couldn't even make so much as a dent in my points, never mind taking away any of my points.

Soledad only shrugged at what I had said about the girl in the red bandana, just before taking another sip of her drink then setting down her mug. Then, she smiled more to herself than to me.

Soledad: It's just as I said; not everyone starts out as a professional right from the beginning. That girl didn't start out as a professional, anyway.

Yours Truly: May!

I suddenly noticed that I had just been a lot faster to correct Soledad than was really necessary.

Soledad: Right, May.

Then, Soledad only smirked harder at my sudden and highly unusual speed to correct her about the name that belonged to the girl in the red bandana.