Belleshipping: A Rivalry to Remember

2

The large screen in the waiting room rapidly flashed the faces of the people who would move on to the next round. Both Drew and Dawn made it, no surprise.

Yes!  Dawn cheered to herself. 

Drew still leaned on the wall, as if this wasn't news to him. He walked over to her again.

"Did you come here to say I was lucky?" the girl growled. Drew smiled.

"I just find it funny how you always assume the worst of me." he chuckled. "I just came here to tell you, that I am looking forward to winning our battle against eachother."

"Thanks." she rolled her eyes. She had enough of Drew's annoying remarks.

Drew's and Dawn's battles were quite easy to win, and before they knew it, they had both made it to the final round. It could be seen in Dawn's indigo eyes, that she was super anxious. She had seen Roserade's wonderful combinations and counter attacks in the battles prior, and knew she would have a hard time with her and her trainer. Despite Dawn having a type advantage with Quilava, she doubted that the odds were in her favor. She looked over at Drew, who hid in the corner while talking to Roserade.

"All we know is that Quilava knows Flamethrower and Flame wheel, so be extra careful with dodging." he told her. He then looked over to Dawn. They made brief eye contact, but Drew quickly looked back at Roserade. "I'm sure we'll win, so no worries!" he assured.

Luckily, the final match wasn't until tomorrow, so both contestants had some time to practice. Drew and Dawn both got something to eat, and started training behind the Pokemon Center area. They both pretended to ignore eachother, since their interactions were usually awkward.

"Absol, Iron tail! Roserade, Energy Ball!" Drew shouted. Both Absol started his attack, while Roserade countered, making a beautiful collision.

"Piplup, Bubble Beam! Quilava, Swift!" Dawn commanded both her Pokemon on the other side of the battlefield. Drew quickly glanced over at them, seeing the Blue bubbles colliding with the golden stars. He stood in awe of the beautiful combination, and completely lost focus. Absol looked at him, confused, while Roserade giggled behind his back once again.

"That was amazing!" he called out to Dawn. "Why didn't you use that in your performance?" he asked.

Dawn looked away. She appreciated compliments, but they still embarrassed her. "Thanks, I didn't want to disappoint the judges in the future rounds." she said, hesitantly. They shared a good amount of awkward silence. Drew didn't know what else to say. Before the Lilycove Contest started, he was sure he was going to win that ribbon, but since he met Dawn, he started to have second thoughts. Nothing was wrong with forming a great rivalry, but Dawn was someone who made him feel anxious for the first time since he met Solidad.

"Well... good luck, I guess." Drew finally managed to say. Dawn nodded. They both continued to practice, pretending that the other was not there, just like before.

Drew took about seventeen deep breaths before entering Contest Hall the next day. He dressed up very nicely, just like Dawn did the day before, to please the judges and audience. Roserade looked at him, wondering why he was acting this way. It looked like he was genuinely afraid that he was going to be beaten. He would have to come back to Lilycove in the future, and he certainly did not want to do that.  He walked into the waiting room to see only Dawn. They both arrived very early, in hopes of good luck. None of them greeted or made eye contact.

At last, the moment had arrived. Both contestants entered the stadium from opposite sides to see a massive audience surrounding them. Drew and Dawn saw eachother from a distance, both pretending not to notice, proceeding to start the fight.