"Hey, get up. We need to get going if you want to make it to your stupid contest. I don't think you want to spend a night in that desert." A monotone voice woke May from her dream. She rubbed her eyes and looked up, only to be greeted by Paul's scowling face.

"I'm giving you five minutes to get ready. I've already packed the rest of the camp. I'll be by the path." He grunted, walking away. May sat up, running her fingers through her tangled hair and suppressing a yawn. She almost groaned when she saw stars. How early could it be?

She strapped her fanny pack around her waist, not bothering to worry about her hair at the moment. She rolled up her sleeping bag and slipped it in her backpack. As she walked out of the forest, she worked on her hair. Once Paul saw her, he immediately left. May ran to catch up with him.

Meanwhile, the mysterious person that had been following them the previous day was sleeping like a Snorlax. One of his pokéballs popped open. It was his Leafeon.

"Lea, lea!" It tried to nudge it's trainer awake, but to no prevail. Even if they did usually get up early for training, it was just past 4:40 in the morning. They never trained this early. Leafeon had to go to extreme measures. It used its sand attack on its trainer.

"Pfft! Yagh! Okay, Leafeon, I'm up. Did they leave already?" He spat the sand out of his mouth, startled by the rude awakening. His pokémon nodded it's head towards the path, where you could see two shadows just about to go out of sight.

"Thanks for waking me, Leafeon. Flygon, come on out!"

* * * * *

"So Paul, I was thinking about using Glaceon in the appeals round and Beautifly for the battles. What do you think?" May tried to start a conversation.

"I thought I told you not to bother me." Paul sped up his pace once again, trudging through the sand.

"Sheesh, I was just asking for your opinion. I think I will go ahead and use Beautifly for the battles, though."

"I don't care which one you use, in fact, these stupid contests don't matter to me. Just leave me alone, will you?" Paul was getting extremely annoyed with May. He didn't know why he let her follow him in the first place. She was yet another person that had the same attitude as Reggie, and he hated that. May was hurt by his words, but she didn't let that show. This time, she let out Minccino, who scampered up her leg and crawled its way to her shoulder, causing May to giggle. It crawled onto her head and wrapped it's tail around her neck, similar to a scarf. It fell asleep almost immediately.

"Okay, Minccino. You can rest right there." May let out a small laugh. It was then she noticed Paul was already a great distance ahead of her. For what she wished would be the last time, she had to run to catch up with him.

* * * * *

  "Ugh, so hungry..." May whined.

  It was nearly supper time now. Due to May's undeniably large appetite, all they had left from last night were some tamato berries, which were certainly too hot to be eaten by themselves. Because of that, they hadn't had breakfast or lunch, and dinner would have to wait another hour or so. Not only was May famished, but Paul was starting to get there, too.

  "We should get to Nimbasa City soon. That path we passed not too long ago led to the Desert Resort. Luckily, we've made a good pace so far today." Paul informed her. Despite their small argument that morning, they had made up. Well, sorta. Neither Paul nor May had said anything more about the matter, but the air around them was no longer tense.

  The remainder of their journey was quiet, only the sound of their footsteps and growling stomach's meeting their ears. The heated desert wind stung their skin, the grains of sand it had picked up not helping much. Paul had ditched his jacket hours ago, rolling up the sleeves of his sweater in an attempt not to have a heat stroke. Surprisingly, neither of them were sweaty. It was a dry heat, one in which without humidity you just don't sweat or it evaporates before you even realize you have broken a sweat, either one. All they both knew is that Nimbasa city couldn't come soon enough. They were starving.

* * *

  The mysterious figure had reached Nimbasa around noon, thanks to his Flygon's speed. He meandered around the city aimlessly. He hoped May would make it out of that desert alright. Suddenly, a voice knocked him out of his thoughts.

  "Excuse me, but I'm lost. You see, I'm looking for the location of where Elesa's fashion show will be. I was here last year, but I kinda forgot." A girl with cobalt blue hair sheepishly laughed. Something about her seemed familiar...

  "Hey, are you Dawn? The girl that won the Sinnoh Wallace Cup two years ago?"

  "Yep, that's me!"

* * * * *

  "Hey, are those shadows on the horizon buildings in Nimbasa?" May asked, already knowing the answer. She was relieved at the sight of civilization. Civilization meant restaurants, and restaurants meant food!

  "Hmph." Paul gave a small nod. May released Beautifly, who gracefully landed on it's trainers head.

  "Beautifly, we're almost to Nimbasa! Look!" May's celebration was cut short as a female voice sounded from behind them.

  "Hold it right there!" The woman shouted. May and Paul turned around, met by a girl in a black suit with a blue P in the corner.

  "I am a member of Team Plasma, and I am here to liberate your pokémon!" She shouted, hands on her hips.

  "I thought you guys disbanded?..." Paul asked, raising an eyebrow.

  "We might have disbanded, but I am still loyal to Ghetsis, and I will continue fulfilling our team's purpose! Now hand over your pokémon or we'll have to do this the hard way." The grunt enlarged a pokéball.

  "We'll just do it that way, then. Beautifly, silver wind! Blaziken, help Beautifly out and use fire spin!" May called out Blaziken, and it quickly used fire spin, while Beautifly released a powerful silver wind.

  "Magmortar, standby for battle! Use fire punch!' Paul yelled, calling out Magmortar. It did as its trainer commanded. Before the grunt even had time to call out her pokémon, she had already been defeated, blasting off similarly to Jessie, James, and Meowth of Team Rocket.

  "Well, that was... weird." May let out a breathy sigh, shaking her head. She returned her Blaziken, and Paul returned his Magmortar. Beautifly swiftly returned to it's spot on it's trainer's head, and they continued on their way.

* * * * *

  "Finally!" May breathed in, stretching out her arms as they reached the streets of Nimbasa. "C'mon, Paul! I see a restaurant." She let out a laugh, grabbing Paul's wrist and yanking him towards the nearest café in sight. When they finally got inside, she heard a familiar laugh, one she hadn't heard in a long time. She scanned for the source, eyes locking on a girl with blue hair chatting with a green-haired teen she knew all too well. She quickly returned her Beautifly with a shocked expression on her face.

  "Dawn!?" May shouted gleefully, releasing Paul and running towards the bluenette.

  "May?!" Dawn squeaked out with surprise, "It really is you!" She jumped up and spread her arms out. May jumped into her arms, hugging her best friend tightly. They hadn't seen each other since the Wallace Cup in Sinnoh all that time ago. The force of May's hug nearly knocked the two coordinators over.

  "It's been so long! How are you? You mind if I sit with you?" May quickly said, not even waiting for an answer before sliding into the seat next to Drew so she could sit adjacent from her friend.

  "I didn't invite you to sit here." Drew gave a teasing look to his rival.

  "Who cares, you'd let me sit here anyways." She grabbed a fry off his tray and plopped it in her mouth, not caring about the glare he shot her. She just waved Paul over, who hesitantly sat on the opposite side of the booth next to Dawn.

  "Wow Paul, didn't expect to see you here, too." Dawn said with a smile, but Paul scrunched his eyebrows together.

  "Do I know you?" He asked her, receiving an infuriated look in return.

  "We've met multiple times before back in Sinnoh! I was traveling with your rival, Ash! The name is Dawn!" She shouted, breaking the light environment. Fire burned brightly in her eyes, not from determination or excitement, but from fury.

  "Oh, right. Troublesome." He dragged out her least favorite nickname just below DeeDee. A vein popped on her forehead, but she decided to just let her anger go. She wasn't the ten year old she used to be. She was thirteen now, and she needed to act that way, not handle it immaturely.

  "So May, what all have you been up to?" Dawn breathed out, turning her attention away from Paul.

  "Well, after we last saw each other, I went back to Johto, of course. I came in the top four at the Grand Festival. Drew beat me, but ended up losing to another rival and friend of ours, Solidad. After that, we all went to Sinnoh. Drew beat Solidad in the quarterfinals, but I beat him in the semis. I just barely lost to an old friend from Hoenn, Timmy, in the final round. It was one of the most grueling battles I've ever had. That brings us to here in Unova!" She summed up. Dawn figured it was her turn to explain.

  "After Zoey won the Sinnoh Grand Festival, I took a small break from contests before taking a hit at the Sinnoh Circuit again. I took a chance at the Johto Wallace Cup, but didn't win it. Before that, I actually came to Unova! I visited here in Nimbasa to see the gym leader, Elesa's fashion show before heading to Undella Town to meet up with Cynthia, Ash, and his two traveling partners Iris and Cilan!"

"Cynthia? As in, the Champion of Sinnoh?" Drew inquired curiously.

"Yup!" Dawn enthusiastically replied.

  "What was Cynthia doing in Unova?" Paul spoke up for the first time.

  "She has a vacation home in Undella Town. I stayed there for a few days before she came back from Virbank City with Ash, Iris, and Cilan. Iris aims to become a dragon master, and Cilan is a connoisseur along with a former gym leader at the Striaton Gym. We all competed in the Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup. Ash's rival, Trip, ended up winning and getting to battle Alder, the Unova champion. Alder won, in the end. That's when I left for Johto. After my loss at the Wallace Cup, I competed in a few more contests. I ended up not making entry in the Grand Festival, though. That really got me down. May, Drew, I actually did get to watch you compete on TV. I wanted to catch up with you two, but we never got a chance to meet up before you went back to Hoenn. I'm actually surprised we never competed in a contest together." Dawn explained to everyone.

  "That is strange." Drew muttered, a look of thought on his face. May reached for another french fry, but Drew swatted her hand away, causing the brunette to pout. He sighed and pushed the tray towards her, causing her face to light up, making him chuckle. He then remembered Paul was there as well. He wanted to ask him some questions. He was still concerned about May's safety with this guy. He just did not trust him.

  "So Paul, we don't know anything about you yet, I don't, anyway. Are you a League Trainer?" Drew took his chance to get some information out of him.

  "Yes. I've challenged Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh. Unova is my fifth shot."

  "How many badges do you have?" Dawn questioned.

  "I have four." He responded.

  "Wow, and I thought I was doing good with just having arrived in Unova and already having a ribbon." May admitted.

  "You could've had one more if you would've beat me in the Accumula contest." Drew smirked. "Shut up!" She lightly elbowed him, laughing. Despite their arguments from time to time, they had grown closer. The two fifteen year-olds would never admit it, but they had become great friends over the past five years, maybe even more.

  So, for the next hour, they all sat around the table, telling traveling stories, and in the famished May and Paul's case, chowing down on food. Before they knew it, the sun had set.

  "I had a lot of fun talking with you guys! It was great to talk again!" May smiled at her three friends as they walked towards the local Pokemon Center. They would all share a room together, if possible. Most Pokémon Centers had rooms with two bunk beds.

  "Oh, I almost forgot. May, here's a little something for your Beautifly," Drew produced a vibrant red rose from his pocket, delicately placing it in her hands. That was not all, though, "And Dawn, for your Piplup." This time, it was a pink rose. A small blush dusted Dawn's cheeks. May's eyes widened in surprise. She had never seen him give roses to people other than herself. She quickly blinked, not wanting to give a reaction.

'It's not for me, it's for Beautifly. Don't freak out so much.' She couldn't help the stabbing feeling in her heart, though.

  Drew still got what he wanted from May. He saw her shocked expression from the corner of his eyes. He wouldn't admit it, but he was jealous. Jealous of Paul for getting May's attention. Giving that rose to Dawn was his challenge to Paul, as if saying 'You stay away from May, and I'll stay away from Dawn.'. Even without Drew knowing for certain if Paul harbored feelings for Dawn or May, this was his challenge to his ultimate rival. He was going into his overprotective mode.

  Paul? He might not have had a physical reaction, but that doesn't mean he didn't have an emotional one. Why would this guy be giving both girls roses? Red roses meant love and pink roses meant sweetness, he knew that much from his girly brother who told him at a young age to "remember and not screw up when he was older and got a girlfriend". 'Yeah, right.' He jeered in his head. Drew hadn't given Dawn a red rose, but rather she was given a pink one. The part about it being for their pokémon? Ha! That's the biggest trick in the book.

  But the true answer to Paul's feelings, was he was unsettled. Something about Dawn had him interested from the moment they met. He thought she was just like everyone else, just like his brother, but she wan't. She had this particular thing about her that had him interested, he just didn't know what it was. He was slightly unnerved by that rose. Something about that slightly upset him. He couldn't care less about May and her relationship with Drew, but Drew and Dawn? He needed to meditate on his feelings about this.

  May was still confused, and slightly saddened. It wasn't like her and Drew were a couple or anything, so she couldn't say a thing on the matter. She suddenly hoped that the Pokémon Center only had rooms available with two beds. She needed Paul's intake on this, and she was going to get it one way or another.

  'So that's how you wanna play, Drew Hayden? Well you've just got another thing coming for you.'