You Shine Brighter

I'm a Dancer

Summerland was a popular spot for vacationing and relaxing. But not for Drew. Every moment of every day he was training somehow, going beyond the required hours. He was at his fourth session for the week, but would be continuing after.

"Roselia, solar beam again! More power this time! COME ON!"

The rose Pokemon launched the attack with all of its strength, but it still wasn't enough to burst through the steel wall in the outdoor course.

"Come on, I know you're better than that!"

"You should feed it more Pokeblocks," a girl suddenly said from behind. "It'll never get strong enough from just you yelling at it."

Annoyed, he turned away and said in a snotty tone, "Thanks, but I think I can raise my own Pokemon myself. Mind your own business."

"Don't you take advice from anyone? I'm just trying to help, you know..."

"Oh, back off, Cari," another woman's voice said, approaching from behind them both. She came beside Drew to grab some Frisbees for her training. Finally looking at him, she said, "Don't listen to her. Her hobbies consist of criticizing other trainers and acting like she knows better. I don't know about you, but I hate it when people tell me what to do."

He could certainly agree with that.

"If you want, you can join me over there. The sunlight's stronger on the east side of the beach at this time of day. It could help your solar beam. Up to you, though." She said all this as she was already walking away. She seemed pretty intense in her training as well.

He figured why not. Obviously he wasn't getting the results he wanted in the spot he was in. He walked over to where she was, and saw her training an elegant Milotic. She threw the Frisbees in the air, having it hit each one with a different attack. It was done beautifully. It followed up with a graceful jump-flip in the air, and froze the water it splashed when it landed, forming glittering crystals.

She was one talented trainer.

And she was right. The stronger sunlight helped Roselia break through the steel.

"Very nice," the girl called out, having looked up from her Milotic just in time to see it.

Hours passed and the sun started to set, and there was a light breeze. As he looked over, he finally noticed how gorgeous this girl was. She looked like a model. Maybe she was.

Their session ended. She called her Milotic back and started walking back towards him. Looking his way, she said, "Ya know, I like you. You're not a total pushover like a lot of trainers are. You stick to your own methods. I respect that."

Drew was filled with pride and did a couple hair flips as he talked to her. He enjoyed her company. She was the first decent girl he'd encountered in four months who wasn't fangirling over him. She was independent and chill.

"Well, it was cool chatting with you. I gotta run. I'll see you at the contest?"

With a final hair flip, he said, "You know it."

He watched her walk off, hair and dress softly blowing in the breeze. Suddenly he snapped out of it and called out, "Hey, wait! ...What's your name?"

She turned and smiled. "Liz. From Orre."

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The contest day arrived. There were a lot of contenders there, as it was a large town. Unfortunately for Drew, Roselia got knocked out in the first round. His opponent was ridiculously tough. That said opponent made it to the final round, and as Drew watched the battle on the screen, he saw that Liz was the other finalist. It was an insane battle, and the crowd went wild. Liz's Milotic ended up knocking out the opponent's Alakazam in little time and she took the victory.

Drew went up to congratulate her at the end. She flipped her hair back and thanked him. The two walked out together, grabbed some smoothies from a nearby stand, and just hung out for a while. She was very well-mannered, but also could be playfully snarky when she wanted to. He quite enjoyed that.

"That was a seriously impressive battle. You destroyed that guy! You're gonna be famous someday."

"Heh, yeah, I bet you'd know all about that, Mr. Dreamboat," she said sarcastically with a wink.

He just laughed. He had never met someone who was so much like him. She flipped her hair like he did. She was snarky and yet sweet. Intelligent and talented. That was very attractive to him.

"It was good seeing you again Drew. Now I've gotta get to the studio."

"Studio? More training?"

She laughed. "No, silly. I'm a dancer."

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There was a professional dance recital at the performing arts studio that night. Liz had invited Drew to come, and though he usually wasn't really interested in that sort of thing, he really wanted to see her some more. He wasn't a kid anymore. Perhaps he could open his mind to different things.

It was a shorter performance, but she was the main act.

She looked beautiful. She danced so elegantly. So much grace. So much passion. She could be in the Olympics if she wanted to. He started to blush without realizing it when she looked his way. The light hit her in a way that made her shine bright. It seemed that she had more beauty and elegance than even her Milotic.

Lying awake that night, he couldn't stop thinking about her. They would be migrating once again the next day, but he could only think of one thing.

I just HAVE to see that girl again...