A Tale of Two Rivals

Talking to Soledad in Kanto

Soledad began to talk about the contest once more.

Soledad: The Medicham owned by that one girl, Grace, was really awesome.

Grudgingly, I just stayed silent about my battle against Grace. Soledad suddenly saw the distant look on my face.

Soledad (continued): Listen, Drew, I can see that you don't really feel like acknowledging your loss against Grace. I can tell, though, that if that is the case, you shouldn't let it get to you that hard. I hope that of all the lessons you ever learn as a pokémon coordinator, you remember this one very well; it's not if you win or lose, it's how well you battle that really matters in any contest.

Yours Truly: I know that much about pokémon contests and about coordinating, and it's not like I'm upset about it. I was just_ thinking about the contests I had been in before I lost in Slateport City and about the contest I had been in between there and Fallarbor Town.

Soledad: Why would you need to think about those contests? As I recall, you won those three contests with such ease.

Yours Truly: Of course, I'd won all three of those contests extremely easily. The thing about that is, though, that that's just the problem. Not one of them proved a real challenge. Roselia handled herself in those contests all too well. It's just...

Soledad: It's just what?

Yours Truly: I had just been thinking about the rest of my pokémon team as a whole unit.

That was when I had bitten my own lower lip in a strange, yet sudden sense of uncertainty.

Yours Truly (continued): I mean, yesterday I had managed to garner some pretty steep competition for the pokémon contest. Grace was the first powerful opponent I had to have gone up against since I had battled against Robert back in Slateport City. I gotta say this about it all; I know that I hate to admit it but as Roselia as perfect is, I think that I might just need to switch out my pokémon occasionally and have a little more variety on my team. I'm well aware that Roselia can't carry me through the whole contest season, but I'm just not quite there yet with my Masquerain.

Soledad: And what exactly would be wrong with entering a contest with Vibrava as your partner?

With that question from Soledad, I suddenly grew a pensive look on my face.

Yours Truly: Unfortunately, I don't really plan on entering or using Vibrava in a single one of my contests until after it's evolved into a Flygon. I do wanna expand a little more, though. I could probably pull off something beyond just flashy moves, but at the same time, I also wanna try and discover some new flashy moves. You know what I mean?

Soledad: Of course. You're realizing that your Roselia is a superb pokémon in and of herself_

I then opened my mouth to give Soledad a sarcastic comment about how she was the most superb when she only rolled her eyes. I just shut my mouth from there and made the decision to simply listen to the rest of what she had to tell me.

Soledad (continued): Your Roselia is so great, but relying on her as much as you have been has given you a limited range of attack moves to work with. Today, you'd most likely realized that the whole point of pokémon contests and contest battles is to vary your appeals and strategies. Every truly good coordinator needs a change every now and again. The more battling styles and pokémon types a coordinator can adapt to, the better-rounded the coordinator will be. It'll also prepare any coordinator for some of their tougher opponents.

I just looked at Soledad for a second or two before finally responding to her insight.

Yours Truly: You're right about that, because I have dealt with tougher opponents.

Soledad smiled at me while I smiled back at her. The truth about this and all of our other meetings within the past year or so is that I have not once battled against her since that first contest I had ever entered. I still knew it was only a matter of time, however, before I would meet up with her again in a match somewhere which would probably be in a Grand Festival someday. I simply wanted to be ready for the minute that day came. I had vowed the day we first met when the tears from that loss had stung my eyes something fierce, that even after my opponent from that round and I had managed to become fast friends, I would beat her one day. I was not really striving very constantly for that specific goal, because in the end, my real ultimate goal was strictly to become a Top Coordinator. A win against Soledad had simply become an additional goal in that list of things I was set on accomplishing over the course of the past year since I had first begun my journey to be Top Coordinator. However long it would have taken me, I care not. I wanted the title for myself more than anything else.