You Shine Brighter

Forgiven

A/N: I guess I should mention that when I write, I like to pretend that Sinnoh and all the generations after that don't exist. I guess you could say I'm more old school, and so all those generations after Hoenn are just not a thing in the context of this story. Therefore, Arceus does not exist and is not the "god" of the Pokemon world. So with that in mind...

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The dawn was breaking. The city was quiet. Alone, she arose from bed and sat by the window. She was back where it all began, in Ringtown. She had begun questioning why she was even waking up anymore.

Outside the window, rangers were patrolling the town with their Pokemon partners. Coordinators were doing some early morning training with their beloved Pokemon. They were all having a blast out there. So happy. So cheerful.

Remember the days when I was like that?

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Everything was all the same, every day. Nothing ever changed. Drew was still residing in Fall City, competing in the contests he was assigned to in the nearby locations. He had lost every single one since Fall Con. He stopped caring after a while. He only needed one more ribbon anyway.

Whenever he walked through the city, he tried to stay away from the Capture Arena. Even just looking at that place brought back memories that he'd rather forget. But all the same, he couldn't stop thinking about someone. And oddly enough, it wasn't Liz.

"So... what's the deal with this May girl? You guys seem pretty close, am I right?"

...

"Oh, come on, Drew! You're so full of it. You looked at her more than you looked at me. Why the hell did you ask me to this if you're in love with someone else?!"

"Calm down, Liz! You're assuming something that you know nothing about! You don't know May, and you don't understand the kind of relationship we have!"

"You know what? Maybe I don't. But neither do YOU."

He thought about that every day. What was his relationship with May? Rivals? Friends? Or did it go deeper than that? Why did he always give her roses and tease her? Why was her career as a coordinator more important to him than anyone else's? Why did he always feel so different around her, feel the need to impress her, feel the need to push her to be the best she could be?

...Why did he stare at her all night at Fall Con?

Every time he got too deep into those kinds of thoughts, he pushed them away and thought about other things. He may have had some sort of feelings for May in the past, but that was the past. It's not like he'd ever tell her or anything. That would be outrageous. Besides, she loved that other guy anyway...

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Walking into the team base one day, he saw a familiar pink-head. Apparently Solidad was a good friend of Joel's, who was the leader of that town.

"Hey there, Drew. How are ya? It's been ages."

"Hi Solidad. I've been alright. Just chilling out today."

Joel was calling for her.

"Hey, I really need to talk to Joel right now. But how about we meet up for coffee tonight and catch up? Koffing's Koffee at 6? Sound good?"