Vanish

Chapter 5

Ten minutes till show time, May thought, in the back room with all the other coordinators, sitting on a bench and fingering Combusken's pokéball.
"Hello, May," said a slight monotone voice, and May turned to see Drew looking down at her.

"Hey, Drew," she greeted back. She looked him up and down. "So, how's your Roselia doing? She sure got one hell of a knock out of Grovyle's Solar Beam."

Drew scowled. "So your little boyfriend told you about his big victory today, did he?"

"No, I saw it," May replied. "And Ash isn't my boyfriend!"

Drew flipped his bangs. "To answer your question, Roselia's fine. And don't try to deny it, I know you like... What's his name again? Cinders?"

"His name is Ash, and he's just my friend!" And under her breath, she added something Drew didn't catch.

Drew raised his eyebrows. "So you and Cinders aren't together? Huh, I never would've expected that..." And his eyes went distant.

"Anyway, Drew, I heard you calling me 'weak' out there."

Drew made an offhand motion. "Oh, that. I just said that to make Cinders work harder, because I thought that you guys were-you know, together. I guess it kind of worked... But honestly, May, I don't think you're weak. If you were weak, than how did you win those two ribbons?"

"Well, Skitty and Beautifly were really good, it was pretty much luck..."

Drew snorted. "Don't give me that crap. It was you and you know it. Last contest, well... I'm thinking you got overwhelmed by those ladies who kept calling you a 'pokémon prodigy'." He snorted a laugh out. "But you know what? I didn't lie when I said that I thought Cinders was weak. I've heard of him. Indigo League, Johto League... He didn't get anywhere." He rolled his eyes. "I bet if I wanted to win any of those leagues, I could have easily."

"Hmph," May grunted, annoyed. "What am I to say to that? Training is just what Ash does. He works hard at it..."

"Yeah...whatever. And what? Did he lose his Pikachu or something? I wouldn't be surprised... I mean, if I understand correctly, Pikachu is Cinders's most powerful pokémon." Drew sniffed. "Well, if he was so powerful, Cinders would have evolved him already."

"Don't you dare talk about Pikachu, especially not to Ash!" May hissed, glaring at him. "And from what I understand, Pikachu chose not to evolve!"

"Why? Because then he'd be too big to ride on Cinders's shoulder?" Drew questioned sarcastically. He shrugged. "Oh well, you know what they say. Once worthless, always worthless."

"Ash is NOT worthless!"

"Jeez, May, for someone who claims not to have feelings for Cinders, you sure like to stand up for him a lot."

"He-is-just-a-friend!" May spat. "And I wouldn't have to defend him if you'd stop saying bad stuff about him to me, instead of him."

"Oh, that's sure nice to say. I'll remember that next time I see our little Cinders."

"And now that Eric is done, we're proud to say that Drew is next. Coordinator Number Two, please come onto stage one!" May and Drew heard the voice from the back room and Drew threw May a fleeting glance before heading out on stage. "See you later, May."
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Ash, Max and Brock were in the audience when they saw Drew come on the stage and let out Roselia.
"Okay, Roselia, let's show them your Magical Leaf!"

"Rosa," Roselia said, letting out her Magical Leaf, making it look like something extremely beautiful.

"And now add your concentrated Petal Dance," Drew commanded.