{The Abby Show}
"[—AND THAT is why enlightenment requires both confidence and charisma!]" Abby declared proudly, arms crossed as she struggled against three psychic Pokémon pinning her to the floor.
"[She bit me!]" Hypno shouted.
"[You grabbed her mana channels!]" Abby yelled back, "[Of course I bit you!]"
Alakazam strained, sweat dripping, "[I cannot believe this is my life. And how did Psyduck end up getting out of this? What's his secret?]"
"[Oh, that reminds me,]" Abby teleported, causing Alakazam to fall face-first on the ground as she appeared back at the camera, "[Welcome back, junior siblings, to Are You Courting Death! Today's episode: Why Betrayal Starts at Home!]"
"[There is no camera,]" Hypno snapped.
"[That's what the fools want you to think!]" Abby hissed.
Abratwo, who was now working behind the production control room, spoke, "[For you junior disciples back home, junior Brother Psyduck had to deal with some business back in Kanto. He will return, but we'll be going on without him for a bit.]"
"[WHAT?]" Hypno snapped, "[You can't just proceed without Psyduck. He was our moral compass.]"
"[He was eating glue,]" Alakazam muttered from the floor.
"[And you're telling me that that wasn't any better than this?]" Hypno said blankly, pointing over at Abby with his thumb.
"[Fair point,]" Alakazam sighed.
Abby clasped her hands together dramatically, "[Ahh, yes… every great sect faces hardship. When one disciple departs, another must rise.]"
Hypno froze, "[No.]"
Alakazam's eyes widened, "[Absolutely not.]"
Too late.
Abby vanished in a crack of teleportation.
"[Where did she go—]" Hypno started.
With another flash, Abby reappeared, this time holding Ash's Ralts under the arm.
Ralts blinked. Once. Twice, looking around as she tried to process what was going on.
"[Junior siblings!]" Abby announced proudly, "[I present to you the next disciple, future Jade Beauty of the sect! Behold, junior sister Ralts!]"
Ralts gave a tiny, polite wave, "[Um… hi?]"
There was a long, horrified silence.
Alakazam slowly stood up, "[Put. Her. Down.]"
"[Nonsense, senior brother!]" Abby scoffed, "[She is perfect! Small, psychic, impressionable—]"
"[Those are all reasons to not let you near her,]" Hypno snapped, already moving closer.
Abby crouched in front of Ralts, placing her hands on Ralts' shoulders dramatically, "[Listen well, little sister. The path to greatness is paved with confidence, arrogance, and shouting your titles at strangers—]"
Hypno immediately covered Ralts' ears, "[Nope. Nope. Absolutely not.]"
"[HEY!]" Abby protested, "[Do not interrupt the sacred teachings!]"
"[Your 'sacred teachings' involve threatening people with mana mutilation,]" Alakazam said flatly.
Ralts looked up at Hypno, "[Uhhh, can I know what's going on… am I in trouble?]"
Hypno shook his head quickly, "[No, no, you're not in trouble. You're doing great. You haven't declared yourself a heavenly empress once. You're already better than that thing,]" he said, pointing at Abby, who was doing a weird dance.
Alakazam knelt beside them, "[Okay, Ralts. New rule. If Abby says the word 'sect,' you scream, and we'll come running.]"
Abby crossed her arms, "[This is blatant sabotage.]"
"[No, it's, we don't want you to corrupt someone else,]" Hypno sighed as he leaned into Alakazam, "[Do you think Psyduck will be able to find a way to make Mega Evolution permanent like he said he would?]"
"[No idea, but we don't have any other plans. Let's just believe he's actually doing what he said he's doing,]" he whispered back.
Abratwo's voice chimed, "[For the record, the audience engagement has increased by 37% since the introduction of the smaller disciple.]"
Abby gasped, "[You hear that? Even the heavens approve!]"
"[No, shut up,]" Alakazam pointed at her frantically, "[Besides, you haven't given me my money. Where's my money? We can afford this new studio and get sponsors, but I haven't gotten anything!]"
"[Oh, that reminds me. This episode of Are You Courting Death! is sponsored by—]"
"[NO!]" Alakazam and Hypno screamed in unison.
—
{Back at Fallarbor}
"Medicham, [Ice Punch]!" Grace's voice cut through.
Medicham's fist flashed blue, instantly it was covered in ice, and it ran forward toward Drew's Roselia.
Drew's eyes widened, "Roselia, dodge—!"
It was too late. Medicham appeared under Roselia and sent a supercut into the flower's stomach.
Ice exploded outward on impact, creating sparkling shards as Roselia was sent skidding backward across the field. She tumbled once, twice, then went still, completely encased in a thin layer of ice.
Then Vivian threw her arm up, "Roselia is unable to battle! The winner is Grace!"
Grace smiled and put her hands on her hips as Medicham floated back to her. She gave the Psychic-type a thumbs-up, "You were great."
Across the field, Drew stood frozen. Then he sighed and slowly walked up, returning Roselia to its ball, "You were awesome. What a great show…" he smiled to the Poké Ball as he headed backstage.
Up in the stands, Ash crunched a piece of popcorn, "…Yeah," he muttered, unsurprised, "That checks out," he said as Vee and Pikachu argued over who got his lap, since that spot had the best access to the popcorn bucket.
Well, that meant the final two were selected: May vs. Grace.
May sat in the back, watching the battle on a TV, and inhaled sharply. After all, as much as she didn't like Drew, she could tell he was at least decent at battling. The only "real" battles she'd had were the practice ones with Ash, where he was obviously holding back to help her learn, and that one time on the ship.
This would technically be her first actual battle, and she didn't know how this was going to go down. On one hand, she'd only been at this for two months. Drew had been at this for a year, and Grace beat Drew, so that put her above him, and now May had to fight her.
But then she remembered she had her friends out there cheering for her, and that helped.
The stadium lights shifted, refocusing on the battlefield.
"And now!" Vivian's voice rang out, energized, "Our final match of the day! May versus Grace!"
The crowd cheered.
May stood slowly, rolling her shoulders once before stepping forward. Her heart was beating faster than she liked as she took a breath, calming herself down. This was it.
Grace was already on the field, stretching next to her Medicham. When she spotted May, she smirked, "Good luck!" she called, "Let's have a great battle!"
May smiled back, "Yeah. You too."
They took their positions. Vivian raised her arm and twirled in place, "Now this contest is coming to a close. Get ready for the final victory battle!"
"It all comes down to this, begin!"
Grace threw first, "Medicham, let's go!"
Light flared, and Medicham landed in a smooth crouch, getting into stance.
May followed, "Ralts, let's do this."
Ralts appeared beside her, floating slightly off the ground, then stumbled down, but managed to catch herself, standing up again and nodding.
Grace struck first, "Medicham, [Fake Out]!"
Medicham vanished in a blur and reappeared right in front of Ralts, clapping its hands together with a sharp crack. Ralts flinched back, nearly falling over from the surprise.
"Ralts, fall back!" May called quickly, "[Teleport]!"
Ralts teleported a short distance back, reappearing near the edge of the field. She wobbled, but stayed standing.
May exhaled. Too close, she thought.
Grace smiled, "Nice save. But it's gonna take more than that. Medicham, pressure her! [High Jump Kick]!"
May's heart jumped, "Ralts, dodge, no, wait-!"
Ralts hesitated for half a second, then stepped aside just enough. Medicham's kick grazed past her and slammed into the ground, cracking the floor. In the process, Medicham grabbed its knee in pain, missing meant it took the damage instead.
May winced, but shook her head, "Ralts, use [Confusion]!"
Ralts focused, eyes glowing faintly. Medicham slowed, its movements turning heavy as psychic force wrapped around it.
Grace reacted immediately, "Break out, then [Ice Punch]!"
Medicham powered through, ice coating its fist as it lunged. The punch clipped Ralts' shoulder, sending her sliding back.
"Ralts!" May called.
Ralts skidded to a stop on one knee. She pushed herself upright, eyes fixed on Medicham.
May clenched her fists and thought about what she should do. If she remembered how Ash battled, she could try that. She swallowed, "Ralts, keep your distance with [Teleport]."
Ralts teleported to Medicham's left, then again to the right, short hops, forcing Medicham to keep turning.
Grace raised an eyebrow, amused, "Trying to play keep-away? Medicham, [Detect]."
Medicham steadied its breathing. Ralts reappeared behind it, and Medicham shifted just enough, the psychic energy from [Confusion] glancing past it by a few inches.
Grace grinned, "There you are. Now [Force Palm]!"
Medicham turned, palm glowing faintly, and struck. Ralts crossed her arms just in time, getting pushed back across the field.
May sucked in a breath, "Ralts, you okay?"
But then something happened that confused her.
Ralts stood up and blinked, looking at her body. She was more or less fine after that hit. Sure, she resisted [Force Palm], but that should still have hurt, yet Ralts looked… almost fine.
Ralts rolled her shoulder once, then looked down at her hands again, flexing her fingers.
May stared. That should've hurt more, she thought, but she shook the thought away.
Grace didn't miss the pause, "Medicham, keep the tempo! [Psycho Cut]!"
Medicham sliced the air, crescent blades of psychic energy flying forward.
"Ralts, [Teleport], then [Confusion]!"
Ralts teleported just as the cuts hit the ground, then immediately turned, psychic force slamming into Medicham mid-step. Medicham skidded back a few feet but stayed upright.
Grace laughed lightly, "Nice flow. Medicham, counter with [Ice Punch], spin it!"
Medicham twisted into the punch, ice flashing as it swept low, aiming for Ralts' chest.
"Jump back!" May called.
Ralts hopped back, the punch barely missing, frost scraping across the floor instead.
May's pulse was still racing, but she couldn't help but feel that, about that last attack, why did it seem so slow? Was Medicham getting tired? No, they had just started, and Ralts hadn't gotten any meaningful hits, at least that's what she thought. I mean, compared to the training Ash wo-and that's when it hit her.
She was comparing this battle to the ones she and Ash would have, when he would teach her about battling.
She'd been comparing Grace to Ash, when in reality they were nothing alike. When she fought against Ash, it was like trying to fight a mountain, you just weren't ever going to win. But now that she looked back at it, the way Grace called out moves was way slower than how Ash would, and Medicham moved slower than even Ash's Corphish.
And that's when she realized Medicham was breathing heavily.
She hadn't noticed it because she was watching Ralts and Grace, but Medicham was running out of breath from the hits Ralts had been giving her.
And that's when one thought crossed her mind:
When did I become so strong?!
But at the same time, she could think about how this didn't make sense later. For now, she had a contest to win, and right now she couldn't stop a grin from growing on her face.
Grace noticed it too now, but she didn't give up just yet, "Don't slow down! Medicham, [High Jump Kick]!"
Medicham lunged again. It jumped up high, then snapped its leg toward Ralts for a knee drop.
"Ralts, [Teleport]!" May waved her arm.
Ralts vanished and reappeared just above Medicham as it was going straight toward the ground.
Before Medicham or Grace could do or say anything, May tapped her foot on the ground and called out with a twirl, "Now, [Confusion]!"
Psychic force slammed into Medicham's back, driving it toward the ground even faster and making it slam its knee into the floor even harder, taking more damage.
Grace clenched her fist, "You've got this! [Ice Punch], one more!"
Medicham surged up, ice forming around its fist as it charged.
May didn't hesitate, "Ralts, meet it head-on with a [Confusion]!"
As Medicham dashed forward toward Ralts, she used her [Confusion] on herself and jumped into the air, floating as she spun to face Medicham, spinning like a ballerina. And as she was twirling, suddenly light burst out around her.
Ralts glowed brightly, her small frame stretching, hair flaring out, and as the light faded, in the air covered in the glow of evolution was Kirlia.
As the crowd awed at the evolution, Medicham turned, and as it was about to start running, Kirlia spread her arms and fired another [Confusion].
The psychic wave hit Medicham mid-charge. The [Ice Punch] shattered into ice shards, creating a sparkling effect as Medicham was lifted clean off the ground and slammed back onto the field.
As the dust settled, Medicham was lying still on the ground, spirals in its eyes.
Once she confirmed Medicham was knocked out, Vivian thrust her arm into the air, "Medicham is unable to battle! The winner of the final match, May!"
The stadium erupted.
Kirlia floated back down beside May, landing lightly. May dropped to her knees and laughed, pulling her into a hug, "You did it. You really did it."
Grace looked over at Medicham, returned her to the Poké Ball, and smiled, "You did great." Then she looked at May, "And you did too, May. I can see why you won your first one." She gave a thumbs-up.
May laughed, suddenly realizing she was still grinning, "Well, guess I had a great teacher."
As she turned to look toward the stands again, she saw Mr. Raoul Contesta walk up to her, holding out none other than the Fallarbor Ribbon. He offered it with a kind smile, "Congratulations."
May took the ribbon in both hands and looked at it. She could barely hold in her excitement as she held it up toward Kirlia, "Look at that, Kirlia, we did it!" she celebrated, hearing applause and cheers for her in the crowd.
—
A while later, after May changed back into her normal clothes and returned Kirlia to her Poké Ball, she left through the back door, because, believe it or not, she was starting to get more popular since she was the winner.
So she snuck out back, where Ash, Max, and Brock were waiting for her. Ash handed her his jacket and hat so they could sneak out for their customary celebration dinner.
Ash's jacket was a little too big on her, sleeves hanging past her hands, and his hat dipped low enough that she had to tilt her head up to see. Still, she didn't complain.
Pikachu and Vee went out first to scout the area. When they saw nothing, they signaled for the gang to come out. Ash peeked around the corner first, casual as ever, "All clear," he stage-whispered, then glanced back at her and smirked, "Wow. You know, you pull off the mysterious runaway Champion look really well."
May snorted softly, "Shut up."
"Wow, how rude, after you asked to wear my favorite jacket," Ash said, clutching his chest.
May rolled her eyes, "Please, you're the one that offered it. Besides, you're just lucky Brock doesn't wear a jacket, or I would've asked for his instead," May said (she was lying).
Ash smiled, "Well, you can always give it back."
"And miss out on the chance to see you squirm as I steal your precious jacket? Never. Mwahaha," May let out her best evil laugh. She might not like to admit it, but she was starting to enjoy getting in on the weirdness of this group.
Ash laughed under his breath as they slipped down the alley, "Wow. Evil laugh already? One ribbon and you're turning into a supervillain."
"Hey," May said, tugging the jacket sleeves up just enough to free her hands, "if I'm going to steal your jacket, I might as well commit to the role."
"Sure, sure, sure. You're definitely scary enough to be a villain," Max couldn't help himself, earning a hit on the head from May, and a snicker from Pikachu, while Vee just elbowed his side.
"Anyway, still can't believe Ralts evolved midway," Brock said as he made sure the coast was clear.
"Yeah, you know what that means…" Ash said, lowering his head slowly, "Brock, we've been slacking on our training. After all, my Ralts hasn't evolved yet. Unacceptable."
"Wait, why am I in this too—" Brock started.
"You still have a Mudkip, and I have a Marshtomp," Ash said simply.
"That is a very good point…" Brock scratched his chin.
"So, from now on, we're gonna kick training into maximum overdrive again," Ash said, putting an arm around Brock's shoulder, "That means early mornings, followed by a training session. Only after that do we earn breakfast, and after that we train again!"
"And how is that different from what we do now?" Brock asked.
"I'm gonna get Clefairy back."
"Oh, I forgot about her. Where did she go? No wonder I got so used to her putting [Gravity] on us when we were with Misty and Yellow."
"She wanted to stay with Molly to help her make cupcakes or something. Basically, Molly wanted to buy something, and it's a secret… or something. So she's doing her own bake sale, and Molly asked to borrow Clefairy for a bit, and it's been a bit," Ash explained.
"Now it makes sense why I felt like something was missing," Brock sighed, "Okay, so we start training seriously again. Got it."
As he said that, Vee rubbed his hands together, while Pikachu looked indifferent.
"Yep, but for now, I believe we have a celebration to have," Ash said with a wink.
"Ohh, where are we going this time?" May asked.
Ash glanced sideways at her, "Champion gets to pick where we eat."
May blinked, "Wait, seriously?"
"Rules are rules," Brock nodded solemnly, "Very ancient. Very important."
Max crossed his arms, "You just made that up."
"Oh, absolutely," Ash replied without missing a beat, "But tradition has to start somewhere."
May laughed, the sound light and unguarded. She opened her mouth to answer, and then stopped.
Someone was standing ahead of them, just off to the side of the street, half in the glow of a lamppost, like he'd spent way too long trying to find the best way the light fell on him. It was Drew.
May's smile faded, "…Of course," she muttered under her breath.
Drew straightened as they approached, a familiar, easy smirk tugging at his lips, "Wow," he said, tone smooth, "Sneaking out the back already? Guess winning really does change things."
May stiffened, but Ash beat her to it.
"Hey," Ash said lightly, "Didn't know this was a designated waiting zone. What were you waiting for, May to get her autograph?" he added in his usual tone, the one that sounded a little too much like the one he'd used the first time they met.
Drew ignored him, pretending that tone didn't annoy him, eyes on May, "You were impressive out there," he said, "Honestly. That evolution? Beautiful timing."
May shifted, "Thanks…" she said, polite, but flat.
Drew's gaze flicked briefly to the jacket, the hat, then back to her face. Something unreadable passed through his eyes before he smiled again.
Then, with a flourish, he reached into his jacket and produced a single red rose.
"For Kirlia," he said smoothly, stepping forward and tossing it gently toward May, "A Pokémon that elegant deserves—"
The rose never reached her.
Max stepped in front of May so fast it was almost comical, arm snapping up as he smacked the rose out of the air. It fluttered to the ground between them.
Silence.
Max glared up at Drew, eyes sharp, "She's not interested."
Drew blinked, genuinely surprised, "I wasn't talking to you."
"Doesn't matter," Max shot back, planting his feet, "She's not interested."
May stared at the back of Max's head, stunned, "…Max?"
Ash, Pikachu, and Vee all looked away, a hand covering their mouths like they were trying to hold back a laugh, while Brock coughed into his hand, very suddenly fascinated by the sidewalk.
Drew's expression tightened, irritation slipping through the polish, "I didn't ask for your opinion."
"Good," Max said, "Because you're getting it anyway."
Drew looked past him again, trying to meet May's eyes, "May?"
May looked at Max, then over at the rose on the ground, and sighed, "Even though Max is saying it weird, I said thanks already," she said evenly, "But… yeah, we have other plans."
Drew studied her for a long moment. Then he exhaled through his nose and straightened, masking it with a shrug, "Right. Got it."
He glanced at the rose, then back up, a faint, wry smile returning, "Still. Congratulations on the win."
With that, he turned and walked off down the street, hands back in his pockets, disappearing into the lights.
As he left, Ash finally let out a snort, as Vee and Pikachu did the same, "Wow," he said, putting a hand on Max's head and ruffling his hair, "Didn't know we brought security."
Max huffed, feeling proud that Ash was praising him, "Someone had to."
May stared at him, then laughed, shaking her head, "You didn't even let me react."
"You looked like you were about to," Max replied, "And do I need to remind you of your track record?"
Ash let out another snort, "See? Natural instincts. Proud of you."
Max puffed his chest out proudly, "Yep. Now let's just go eat!"
May glanced down at the fallen rose one last time, then deliberately stepped past it, adjusting Ash's jacket around her shoulders.
"Yeah," she said, her smile returning, "Let's go celebrate."