#contestshipping's in here too

[sparz-drawz]

Magnet Train

Hello,,,

i have been working on this for an embarrassingly long amount of time (i am v out of practice!) (proportions suck!) and it's time for me to just post it already :::)

of course johto's one and only train is called the magnet train. too perfect to pass up.

insp by this pic

[torchickentacos]

(send this to ten other bloggers that you think are wonderful, keep the game going and make someone smile <3)

Your Hoenn/contestshipping propaganda is working is all I’m gonna say. One of these days I’ll watch it. I really respect your love and work in the fandom (and also outside of it?? You end up with so many popular posts how) 💜

AWWW THANK YOU!!!! I am always so honored when someone says that my propaganda is working. I still need to get around to making a list of which AG eps are actually worth watching (because it's a slog otherwise, oh my god, AG is so chaotic yet so boring at the same time). Maybe I'll start that later tonight. I'm trying to make posts on every ag ep as I watch it but that's... going slowly. I think I've done approximately five episodes in the last year. But really, thank you so much! I love pokeani tumblr and I'm just glad that people enjoy my pokeani thoughts when I post them lmao.

[love-for-burgundy-blog]

So, here is my take on Ash's relationships with his traveling companions.

Misty: I don't ship them, but I do think that they have a really strong bond!! I actually headcanon that Ash didn't really enjoy Misty's company untill they parted ways, and that's when he started to miss her. It could go the other way around too. Unfortunately, this relationship is faltered by the fact that Misty and Ash clearly didn't like each other in the beginning and said some pretty nasty things to each other. To end on a positive note, pokeshipping is not my favorite, but I think Ash and Misty will always have a strong relationship with each other!!

Brock: I think Brock and Ash have a pretty good relationship, kinda like Brotp except for the fact that I don't ship them romantically. I think Brock was necessary for Ash's growth and I think Ash's company softened Brock up, he became nicer in other words. They are close friends and nothing more or less. Brock is an excellent older brother figure to Ash and he has been with Ash the longest out of his traveling companions so that also earns their relationship points.

Tracey: Yeah, this might be controversial but I think Tracey was the third wheel in Orange Islands. He practically invited himself into the group and Ash and Misty could both be pretty rude to him at times. Tracey and Ash are friends no doubt, but I wouldn't say that they are super close or anything.

May: So I think May and Ash helped each other out a lot but I don't think Ash is the closest to May because if I remember correctly, he was rude to her a lot of the time, they also don't have much in common, Ash is into battling and May likes shopping and contests. So yeah, I obviously don't ship them, Contestshipping is clearly superior!! I think Ash and May are good friends, especially after Ash mellowed out, but I think Ash has a closer connection with some of his other companions.

Max: I am not going to say that these two have a super strong bond or anything but I do think they bonded somewhat over the fact that they aren't into the the girly things that May is lol. Also, Max is a few years younger than Ash so the age gap kinda prevents a close bond from happening. Still, I think Ash and Max are friends regardless and always will be.

Dawn: She and Ash are besties!! There, I said it. I don't ship them since I'm more of a Dawn x Zoey person but I love these two as friends. Who could forget their iconic high-five and these two serve as great protagonists for DP. I love how much these two work off one another, they give sibling energy for real.

Iris: Speaking of sibling energy, Iris is like the twin sister Ash never had!! Iris is also the only female traveling companion that I ship Ash with romantically. I will argue that Iris is one of Ash's closest friends. They also work so well because they are exactly alike in terms of personality. They are both hyper, stubborn, love food, and care for their friends and pokemon deeply. And who could forget that one episode where they went sightseeing in Nimbasa city together. I love the duo of Ash and Iris and I wish people would stop undermining their relationship.

Cilan: So, Cilan tended to act like a father figure to both Ash and Iris. Sometimes, I tend to get the impression that Cilan was like the "Tracey" of the BW Trio, However to a MUCH lesser extent. Since Cilan at least had a lot of nice and heartwarming moments with Ash and Iris both individually and together. It's pretty obvious how much Cilan cares for Ash and Iris since he is always super sweet and patient with them. Ash along with Iris looks up to him for advice and guidance and he also admires Cilan's cooking. The only thing holding Ash and Cilan back from being super close is that Ash and Iris seem closer to each other, both in age and personality. Regardless, Cilan and Ash are still good friends and I think they always will be.

Clemont: If there was a male companion that I would ship Ash with romantically, it would have to be Clemont. Diodeshipping for life!! Ash and Clemont have been spotted touching each other several times, like putting their arms around each other while walking. It's also no surprise that Ash admires Clemonts inventions and Gadgets more than anyone else hence "Science is so amazing!!" Clemont and Ash also have never argued, at least to my knowledge. To conclude, I think Clemont is the closest to Ash out of the male traveling companions, Probably tied with Goh.

Bonnie: Unfortunately unlike her brother, I think Ash and Bonnie have the least amount of connection out of his traveling companions. (Besides maybe Chloe, but I don't count her as a companion and I haven't seen JN) I say this because I don't remember any significant interactions between Ash and Bonnie. But on the bright side, it's not like Bonnie and Ash truly need each other since Bonnie has both her older brother and Serena (who she has a much stronger bond with) to look out for her.

Serena: Alright.... These two are friends and nothing more. Yes, Serena has a crush on Ash, but Ash clearly doesn't feel the same way about her. If these two ever got together, their relationship would probably only last a few years max since they both have entirely separate interests and goals. I would even go and say that Serena and Ash have the least amount in common out of the traveling companions. Ash and Serena did help each other out a lot, but I think at most, they are good friends. Sorry Amourshippers.

So I am not fully done with my binge watch of Sun and Moon, but when I am done, I will make a separate post like this for the SuMo companions.

[fran-aka-mak]

art development !!

i started doing digital art in 2013 but the template starts at 2015 hehe

[[ template ]]

my essaying about my digital art journey below!!

2015 - i was very immersed in the soul eater community! i kept doing resbangs and making friends, and i love doing AUs, specifically soul & maka centric. this is the HTTYD AU where soul is the dragon!

2016 - yes this is Little Things PH's OCs that i did back in the day! i love their lil guys so much i had to make fanart. this was the art i gave to Ate in person!!

2017 - i drew a lot more pokemon this time ! idk why i didn't draw more of it digitally before. i had too much soul eater brainrot lmao. so i combined them! behold contestshipping x soma AU

2018 - this was the time when i got into K-pop! specifically Monsta X haha, i got more interested in doing fashion, especially for male characters~ (and i had to draw my beloved agenda, somakid)

2019 - my bias from MX, Minhyuk on a whale with Minggom! this was made for an artbook that was sent to him! i hope he got to see this along with my tiny message ;; i delved more into a new tiny chibi art style here

2020 - i drew way too much during this year and it led me to impossibly high standards for my art to this day //sobs. i redrew my Your Lie in April AU fanart and i really think i improved so much….. i went out of my comfort zone to really draw the background and the piano

2021 - genshin brainrot started here !! i was trying to find my style even more, and i love kokomi's color palette. i remember looking at 10x references and combining them into this specific pose in the fanart. i still think to this day this is one of my personal favorite art pieces of all time

2022 - another personal favorite art piece (and something my friend aura and a commissioner personally loved!), i was practicing on drawing men since i wasn't confident, but seeing how this turned out made me want to keep going ❤️

2023 - the latest maka & kid piece that i made! they are so precious to me. i love trying out new poses and dynamics, and i tried changing their outfits a bit more to highlight that i wanna try new fashion stuff ^^; i'd like to say it was a job well done ngl

2024 - and finally, a recent piece that i'm most proud of, and shows a lot of my art style (and i drew the background from scratch!). i redrew an old comic panel from a now discontinued comic, but i feel like i improved so much in terms of rendering, coloring, and anatomy!!

[agentpotatoduck214]

He loves me, He loves me not (Contestshipping)

Synopsis: May yearns to understand her relationship with Drew as they complete the year together.

(two idiots in denial) uhhh might be a lil OOC of them (I'm going off my memory of their dynamic). Unspecified time skip ? May is just a girl. Anything else just lmk ig??

A/N: have this New Year's Post at the end of January (my bad). kind of rushed ending ?? Sorry if a lil awkward, this is my first time ever publishing anything

word count: 4.36k

May had always known that her feelings for Drew were complicated. It lingered in the back of her mind everyday, swirling in the background of her daydreams about him, fueling her desire to travel and compete in contests.

It was weird, since she was certain he was the most infuriating man she had ever met. When they first met when they were younger, she was certain she would hate him until the day she died. So arrogant and rude, teasing her when she was just a rookie. 

She supposes the conflict started the second he offered her a rose. For Beautifly, he had said. Whether there was any other meaning to that one flower, or the subsequent ones that followed during their every interaction, he rooted himself in her heart as the boy, now man, who gave her a garden.

She treasured each one she received as much as she could. They were for her Pokémon, extensions of her own heart and soul. Of course it felt like he was offering something directly to the very root of her love and passion. 

She sighs as she twirls the one in her hand, these thoughts now brought to the forefront of her mind. Drew has yet to return to the Pokémon Center, running out to get more firewood. It was just them there, except for Nurse Joy, somewhere in the Sinnoh Mountains where snow blanketed everything for as far as you could see. It was a rather beautiful winter wonderland. A very cold winter wonderland.

It was why Drew was out right now, gathering more wood to fuel the fire where they curled up. Sitting far too close for just friends, but too far to be anything more. Her jacket got ripped on the branch of a bush while they were out walking today, which is why Drew insisted on going alone. She stared at the spot that he had previously occupied, wondering what it would be like to curl up against him. But, that’s not what friends do.

Friends, what an odd thing to label their relationship as. May was so sure they would never get along. She’s certain that her certainty about their relationship is why she feels an unfamiliar twinge of emotion tug at her heart as he jokes with her, casting playful glances at her as he sips his cocoa. She blames the hot cocoa for the heat that bloomed in her chest when the lighting from the fire hit him in a way that made his eyes look much brighter than she ever cared for.

It’s definitely the hot cocoa that causes that heat to linger far after he’s been gone. The hot cocoa that definitely bloomed the heat that lingers as she twirls his rose. 

They had come here together, Drew searching for a specific Pokémon and May taking up any opportunity to travel and explore, any opportunity to be with him. 

She swears it got warmer in the room when Drew shot a smile in her direction when they arrived at the center, cheeks rosy from the cold. It was just the amount of layers she had on that makes her feel warm when Drew offers to, and takes, her bag to her room for her.

She swore the Pokémon Center was just hot, which is why her chest warmed and her heart pounded when she saw him this morning, hair tousled and pajamas still on as he ate the breakfast Nurse Joy served. 

 They had walked all through the woods together today, in search of Drew’s future Pokémon partner. May marveled about the scenery most of the time, using her fingers to pretend she was recording another May’s Expeditions. 

Drew had chuckled when she stopped because her fingers were cold, even with her mittens. She had scowled as she tucked her hands in her pockets, but there was no actual anger behind it. Quite the opposite. A warmth spread throughout her as she looked over at him in the snow. Snowflakes had caught on his hat, and the pieces of his hair that stuck out. It was quite an enchanting picture.

She swears the newfound warmth was from sticking her hands in her pockets.

The laughter that erupted from her chest when she hit him with a snowball was strictly from the ‘thud’ where the snow made contact, and not the fact that she was delighted about how cute his shocked expression was. The laughter that continued was just because the snow that got in her jacket tickled as they had a snowball fight.

She only tried to stuff snow down his jacket because it was funny. Nothing more. She didn’t need to be close to him. 

Him holding on to her arms to stop her was just that. Nothing more. 

Them struggling to get the snow in each other’s jacket was nothing but their rivalry, and it meant nothing when he pulled her into his chest as he fell into the snow.

May swears he has abnormal body heat, and that’s why she felt so warm as she laughed against his chest.

The Pokémon Center doors open with a whoosh and May looks over a little too quickly for someone who wasn’t missing him. 

His rosy cheeks are back, which makes her chest twinge with a heartwarming ache. He looks really good, she realizes, and she wonders if she always thought about him this way. Her heart aches at the idea that he doesn’t think about her the same.

She watches as he dumps the logs next to the fireplace.

“I tried to find the driest ones,” He says breathlessly, looking behind her at Nurse Joy and Chancey. May doesn’t bother to look back, focused solely on how beautiful he suddenly is. Suddenly isn’t the right word, she concludes. He’s always been this way, hasn’t he? Isn’t it that it suddenly occurred to her that she wants him to think she’s beautiful, too?

“What’s that look?” He asks softly, gaze focused on her. She startles out of her thoughts, trying her best to look indifferent, despite how her heart ached.

There was no way she could be anything near beautiful to him. Anything near elegant, or strong, or awe-inspiring.

She wasn’t like Solidad, strong and stunning. Capable, Graceful.

She wasn’t even creative and cunning like Harley could be. 

The only thing she had in common with those two was that she loved her Pokémon and contests like Solidad. And that she was annoying like Harley. It makes her stomach churn, this doubt, but she blames it on too much hot cocoa as she realizes she’s been quiet for a little too long.

“What look?” She asks, throat suddenly dry. He’s looking at her with an unreadable expression that mirrors her own, but his lips quirk upward at her response. He stands and her gaze involuntarily follows. She doesn’t say anything as he approaches, pulling off his gloves. Her heart twinges, nerves erupting in her stomach and flying up her spine.

“Need more cocoa?” He motions to her mug, now long been cold, as he reaches for his own. She looks down, brow twitching. “I’ll get you some, anyway.”

His fingers brush against her own when he takes her mug, and sparks shoot throughout her.

“Your hands are freezing!” She gasps, looking back up at him. He smirks, raising a brow.

“I suppose I’ll have to hurry back with my cocoa then. So you can warm me up.” 

He leaves like nothing happened. Like he didn’t just ignite a fire that spreads throughout her chest. It makes her cheeks and the tips of her ears flush and it settles in her stomach, where it swirls with the icy coils of doubt.

She’s overthinking it, she decides. There’s no way he meant anything from that. He’s teasing her. Maybe he knows how she’s feeling right now, is she that easy to read?

He’s only gotten better at reading her expression the longer they’ve known each other, it’s how he can get on her nerves so easily. He knows what she’s thinking so he knows what to say to piss her off. She nods slightly to herself, that’s why he said it. No other reason. He doesn’t want her like that. The roses are just roses for her Pokémon, nothing more.

It makes her ribs suddenly feel a size smaller as she thinks about her childish hopes. That the roses meant something. That his special interest in making her his rival meant something. That she meant something.

All she was to him was a trainer that he gave a few tips to. So he could say that he inspired someone. To help them grow. That’s all it is, she concludes. He’s not wrong to think that. Drew played a huge amount in her growth. She tributes him with motivating her to do so much on her journey. Probably more than what normal people tribute to their inspirations.

But why would that mean anything to him? He’s got fans all over the place. He says the gushing fans irritate him, but doesn’t she irritate him, too? Doesn’t he sneer and tease at her because he slots her in the same place as them? As someone who bothers him?

“Here you go, May,” Drew says as he returns, handing her her mug from behind the couch. She accepts it with a murmur of thanks, the air getting knocked out of her lungs as she watches him walk around the couch. 

He changed out of his snow gear. Now in a black turtleneck and a comfortable pair of pants. She’s seen him in a similar outfit before, so she can’t figure out why this time it’s so mesmerizing.

“You okay?” The soft tone has returned and she fights away thoughts that he never speaks to her in this manner. “Did something happen?”

“Solidad texted.” She answers too quickly. Her brow twitches in irritation at herself for answering with that. There was nothing wrong with that. She loved when Solidad texted.

“She’s co-hosting a New Year’s event,” May quickly follows up, finally meeting his gaze. Once again, another unreadable look. She wishes she could understand him. Was close enough to read him like Solidad. She figures it must be different with them because there was trust.

Drew never outright said he didn’t trust her, but she reached that conclusion because she wasn’t sure she remembered a time he outright said he did. Her mind goes back to moments when they were younger. In Hoenn and Kanto. 

She thinks about how he made her feel warm and nervous then as well. How she thought she might’ve done the same to him. She always equated to wanting to impress him, to show that she was worthy of being a rival. But as she sits in and stares at him in this Pokémon Center, she knows better now.

It occurs to her that if she had meant anything to him at all during all these years, that he would’ve said something. Done something. Sure, they’ve got this awkward pseudo friendship where she can laugh against his chest after a snowball fight but he makes sure not to touch her when sitting on the couch. 

“I was thinking of going,” She clears her throat after another short pause. Her mind is racing as she tries to act like she isn’t affected by her revelations. That she isn’t affected by him.

“New Years is tomorrow,” He adds, slowly nodding. “Can you even make it to Kanto in time?”

May takes that as a doubt of her ability. Her ability to fly with one of her Pokémon or to travel on time. Drew was trying to think of ways to have her stay. With him. Here. It was selfish to want her all to himself, but he didn’t care.

“I can fly,” She says a little indignantly and Drew can’t figure out why she sounds hurt.

“What kind of event even is it?” He asks, studying her expression. It makes his heart hurt to see her look so torn up. She wasn’t looking like this earlier. She wasn’t looking at him like this earlier. Her expression reminds him of a wounded Pokémon, though he can’t understand what would’ve happened to make her feel like he’s backed her into a corner.

“I don’t know,” She says flatly, looking at the fire now. Why was she upset? His brow twitched and he looked at the fire, too. Her tone made his stomach churn. Did he do something wrong? Does she feel uncomfortable?

“Then why-?” “Because I want to.” She interrupts and he nods, pressing his lips together. Neither of them are facing each other anymore. May feeling stupid for just now realizing how badly she loved him and Drew feeling confused on why she suddenly seemed to not want to be around him.

Solidad has told him to be careful with her feelings. He knew he teased her, but he always knew when to draw the line. At least, that’s what he thought. 

When May agreed to come with him, he felt relieved. Happy. Excited. He could finally enjoy her company just to himself while showing her that he wanted to be around her. That he wanted to enjoy cocoa and curl up on the couch, that he wanted to throw snowballs, and laugh in the snow. 

He figures this is her way of rejecting him. That she picked up on how deeply he cared about her and was fleeing from him as soon as possible. He swallows, trying to bite back these new feelings of shame. 

“I’m going to pack,” She stands and his eyes shoot to her, wanting to protest. Beg her to stay. Beg her to sit back down. To be with him. He only nods, face turning back to the fire.

May, judgment clouded with self doubt, assumes that he just doesn’t care and sulks back to her room. Less time was spent packing and more of it was spent wallowing in self pity that she is so emotionally consumed by him.

Drew stays by the fire, watching it die out. There are logs to continue to fuel it, but he doesn’t feel like getting up. He returns to his room, a lame goodnight spoken to Nurse Joy. At least he has the rest of the trip to wallow in this rejection without interruption.

Solidad pointed out years ago that she noticed his change in feelings for her. That she could tell he stopped seeing her as just some kid, but as a rival. That she could tell he stopped seeing her as a rival, but as something more. In his very few attempts to flirt, he got more and more on May’s nerves, so he decided to keep the rose tactic. To offer her a flower in place of an ‘I love you.’ 

He sighs as he gets back to his room, an idea sprouting in his mind at the sight of his jacket thrown carelessly on the bed. He was in a rush to change and get back to May, so he didn’t exactly properly deal with his snow gear. 

If he could give her his jacket, then she’d at least have to speak to him again to give it back. He was sure he would see her, after all they travel in the same region for contests all the time, but he wanted to speak to her. To brush his hand against hers when she gave it back. He wondered if she’d even wear it.

May feels like she’s moving in slow motion as she packs her clothes. She needed to relax, she kept telling herself, after accidentally putting hand lotion on her toothbrush and trying to pull pants on like a sweater, she knew she couldn’t keep going like this. But, she was sure it was impossible to get him out of her mind.

A knock on the door knocks her out of her stupor. There’s only two people it could be and she’s really hoping for one of them.

They stare at each for a moment when she opens the door, as if their breaths have both been taken away at the sight of each other. 

Drew breaks the silence. “I brought you this.”

May tilts her head, brows furrowing as she takes his jacket in hand.

“Your jacket?” She looks back up at him, curling it against her chest.

“Yes, to keep you warm while you walk-,”

“Nurse Joy is giving me a snowmobile.” May interjects, lips quirking upwards when he clears his throat.

“Snowmobile to the city.” He corrects. “Because your jacket is ripped.”

He holds a finger up when she starts to protest and she closes her mouth, nodding. She was just going to sew her jacket up, but her heart fluttered as his gesture and she smiled up at him.

Drew felt relieved at the sight of her smile, a smile of his own starting to form.

“Thank you. But won’t you need it?” She asked softly. Drew was glad to hear her tone from before he got wood. The tone she had when they giggled over their mugs.

“For what?” He asked, tilting his head.

“Well aren’t you catching that Pokémon?” Her head tilted to the side again. How he did love when she did that. He shrugged, which made her more puzzled.

“I have more layers,” He said simply and her brow twitched as she processed that.

“What about when you go to the city? Won’t you need it?” She asked. It was his turn to furrow his brow.

“Why would I go there?”

“Aren’t you going to fly to Solidad’s event?” She sounded nervous when she asked that. “There will be loads of other coordinators there.” 

He nodded in understanding, gazing at her. She didn’t like his silence, feeling her hopes come crashing down.

“You.. are going, aren’t you?” 

“We’ll see.” Was all he replied and she swallowed, nodding. 

He couldn’t care like she did. If it were the other way around, she would drop everything to go with him. He felt his heart twinge with regret at the sight of her disappointed look, wanting to immediately take back his statement.

He didn’t need that Pokémon. He wouldn’t lay a hand on any Pokémon but the ones he already had if it meant he could accompany her anywhere.

“I’ll be there as soon as I catch one,” He amended softly, lips quirking upward at the sight of her more hopeful expression. She nodded slowly. 

“It ends after New Year’s.” was all she could respond with. He nodded, an unsaid “I know” in the air. Both afraid to break the moment.

“Have a safe flight, May.”

“Thanks, Drew.”

May replayed that conversation over and over on her flight, wrapping Drew’s coat around her tightly. The woman next to her had asked if it was her boyfriend’s and May could only muster a nod as she repeated I wish, I wish, I wish in her head. 

May supposed that her sulky mood was written all over her face because Solidad gave her a knowing look when she retrieved her from the airport. 

It led to a complete breakdown in the passenger seat of her car, frantically wiping at her cheeks as she cried about how she was so overcome with emotion whenever she was near him. 

Solidad listened kindly, trying her best not to sigh wistfully and say, “Ah, young love.” To Solidad, it was painfully obvious how in love they were. It was more confusing that they couldn’t see that the other liked them just as much.

May tried her best to keep her terrible mood to herself. It was easy to smile and converse with the other trainers at the get together. The event was hosted by Solidad and Vivian, wanting to bring together coordinators who were in Kanto for a nice party. Some were already trying to set up an impromptu contest. 

May graciously accepted the role as mock judge, sitting on the seat closest to the window where she could stare in hopes to see him. Solidad would always nudge her right before it was time for her to say something and May would make up something based on the glimpses of the contest battle out of the corner of her eye.

People could tell that she was distracted, and who she was distracted by. Everyone in the coordinating sphere knew of the power couple that was May and Drew. They figured they’d be dating for years and were placing bets on when Drew would pop the question.

How wrong could they be? May had thought when some girl asked if she and Drew were going to be each other’s New Year’s kiss. He’d never see me like that..

But the question made all her doubts resurface and she quickly found a way to weasel out of the conversation, retreating out the door to the front porch. She was wearing Drew’s jacket over her own, staring out at the snow. It was peaceful away from the ruckus.

May usually enjoyed these events, while Drew was the one to walk out silently. Her mind drifted to all those years ago where she had chased after him from the Grand Festival celebrations.

It was hard to be her cheerful and social self when her heart was longing for something she couldn’t have. The yells from inside about “One more minute till New Year!”, “I need a drink!”, and “Where’s my boyfriend?” made May chuckle. The last one made her sigh.

She wondered if Drew had any luck. She supposed she could fly back tomorrow and see if he’s still there. Then, she could give him his jacket back. She sewed her jacket up on the flight over, when she had nothing to do on the plane. 

She wondered if he was at the fireplace in the Pokémon Center again. Maybe he and Nurse Joy had dinner and were keeping each other company until the new year came. A sliver of jealousy made her sigh again, wishing she could be with him.

A call for thirty seconds erupted from inside the house. The shouts and cheers faded out until only a rustling noise was heard at the side of the house, May’s brow furrowed, craning her neck to see if there was a Pokémon there or not. She walked over to the side of the porch closest, peering into the dark.

Twenty seconds.

The rustling stopped and a silhouette rounded the corner of the house. May wished she could see but they were just beyond the reach of the porch light. She moved back towards the stairs to greet them. They were in such a rush, maybe something happened?

Ten seconds.

The countdown within the house started as she stared at Drew, standing there and panting at the bottom of the stairs.

Five.

Her feet moved on her own.

Four.

He moved towards her.

Three.

He had smiled when he saw her.

Two.

What was he doing here?

One.

They met on the stairs, crashing into each other. She threw her arms around his shoulders. Drew held her firmly, stabilizing them as they kissed. It was weird, chests and teeth thumping together as they met.

May pulled back after the house erupted in cheers, face flushing.

“What are you doing here?” She asked shyly, looking down but not removing her hands from his shoulders. 

“Finding you, obviously.” He panted, looking at her with that expression again.

“You flew here?” She asked, brow furrowing. That can’t be.

“With Flygon, yeah.” He shrugged. Her jaw dropped, and she glared at him.

“Idiot! You flew here in this weather, without a coat?!” She had exclaimed, pulling off his coat. He had laughed as she draped it around his shoulders, smiling down at her. Her smile grew as she kept her hands on his shoulders.

“Of course I did,” He eyed her lips again. “I had to give my coat to someone else.” “Oh really?” She quirked a brow, smiling despite trying to pretend to be mad. “They didn’t have their own?” “I’ll have you know that the pretty girl I lent my coat to did have her own,” He hummed, running his fingers up her arm. “But, hers got ripped.”

“Is that so?” Her heart races at his words, her remark ending up more shaky than intended.

“Mhm, and what kind of guy would I be if I didn’t give her mine?” He asked, his forehead leaning against hers now. She smiled, shaking her head slightly.

“A smart one?” “How about this?” He glanced at her lips again. “I wanted an excuse to see you again?”

Her brow furrowed at that, gazing at him in confusion.

“You wouldn’t if you didn’t give me your coat?” She asked, seemingly offended.

“Well, I didn’t think you’d want to.” He said, she tilted her head some more, blinking in stunned confusion. “I thought you were leaving because you didn’t want to be around me.” “I left because I thought you didn’t like me.” She said in surprise. Though, like was a mild term for it. Because you didn’t yearn for me in your bones was a better phrase.

“What a ridiculous thing to think,” He muttered, scooting even closer to her. “How could I not like you?”

Warmth spread throughout her at his statement, her lips parting in stunned silence. “Because..”

He chuckled, shaking his head. One hand held the back of her head while the other cupped her chin, tilting her head to be looking completely at him. “I love you, May,” He confessed, gazing at her intently. “A lot.”

She was sure her entire body was on fire as she stared at him, shocked. She must be dreaming. One of her hands reached for his wrist, holding his hand in place as she gazed at him.

“I love you, too” She whispered, reaching her other hand to adjust his jacket. She smiled, and he smiled right back at her. 

“Happy New Year, May,” He murmured, leaning closer.

“Happy New Year, Drew,” She wrapped her arms around him again, leaning in for another kiss.

[starabsol]

Drew with 7, 8 and 12 for the ask game? :3

HEJEHE HOORAY HERE I GO

something i love the fandom does with drew is that, although they do like drew, there’s situations that people just kinda shit on him for, well, first off, those ugly pants he’s wearing, and sometimes the lack of proper communication skills he has. just the idea of kinda making fun of him although he is pretty much loved in the contestshipping fandom is so fun to me XD

something i dislike what the fandom does though is stuff like sexualizing him. it puts me so off because canonically he’s a literal child— a 10 year old. i’ve seen quite a bit of fanart out there that depict drew in ways that make me genuinely so uneasy, because he’s a child especially. and with that people would counter it with a “well when i draw him in a situation like that he’s older”, though that still feels so wrong to me (but that is something i deal with myself, no clue how that is for others). and another thing, is that people kind of simp over him. i’ve seen (and known) plethora of people who were genuinely down bad for him; same thing here, he is a CHILD. a MINOR. and a young one at that. it just gets me angry and really upset.

and lastly, my drew headcanons.. well, first up, he has autism. i find it very fitting that his autism results in him not wanting to change his style of clothing because he’s attached and/or used to the clothes he has always worn. i’m autistic myself and experience this a lot so the idea that he would too is comforting to me. secondly his full name is andrew. he just doesn’t want to be called that because he’ll sound like an old crook /or someone who is married at 20. he has absent parents/daddy/mommy issues. do i even have to elaborate on this XD

i have more but it’s 12am n im too tired to list more.. THANKS FOR ASKING THO THIS IS FUN!!

[arcanarix]

all talk, no game. || DREW X MAY / SHUUKURA

cw // it's been a long time since i thought of these two. literally my first real fandom ship--contestshipping! brings back so many wonderful childhood memories. <3

ao3 || ffn

Drew has never admitted to being a perfect creature (yes he has), so yes, he has a few drawbacks and vices here and there. For one, even he has had a rocky beginning to his coordinating career. Soledad never fails to remind him of that, just to keep him a little humble.

For the sake of another example, he's not great with crowds in spite of how well he composes himself on stage. His stage persona versus his true persona are completely removed from each other. He hates crowds--absolutely detests them.

Oh yeah, another vice--he's bad at conversation. He may act like he's this cool drink of water, but that's just socialite conditioning from having a brilliantly privileged background. That's all essentially a requirement, along with ballroom dancing lessons and vocal lessons and all that other upper-upper class BS. Without that to cushion his otherwise full-on awkwardness, he's just like any other troubled teenager.

Harley does love to troll him about that, too.

"Say, when are you going to stop dicking around and do something about your feelings for our precious gingerbread cookie?" Harley confronts him, each and every damn day at this point. he's lost the record, not that he keeps track. It’s become so normalized it's not necessary. It’s the first question before "how many ribbons do you have" or "how have you been?"

Gingerbread cookie? Drew has forgone commenting on Harley's quirky nicknames for them a long time ago. for soledad lately it's been 'pinky pie.' or 'my little ponyta.' For him? Eh . . . a little less flattering. He’s been fond of calling him anDICK. AnDICK Gayden. Because he's the pinnacle of maturity.

He's also one to talk, considering his own orientation Harley's loud and proud about, which Drew commends him for actually. It's never been a secret of course, given his entire brand . . .

"Who says I have feelings for her?" Drew counters, although everyone knows what reaction he's going to be met with after asking that--

"--literally everyone," Soledad cuts in, sliding into their table with her own tray of a bountiful breakfast. "Good morning, guys. I see you started breakfast without me or may."

"You guys take forever, snickerdoodle," Harley sighs, "Besides, you're not missing out on much. Drew's just about to admit that he radiates small dick energy hence my favorite nickname for him--!"

"--Harley," Soledad groans, "you don't need to tell us the origin of that name, thanks. it's not even that creative."

Harley gasps theatrically. "Hey!"

"Is May up yet? The Pokemon Contest starts . . ." Drew glances at the clock. "Oh, never mind. We have plenty of time. It gives us time to prep and perfect our routines a bit more. I guess I didn't realize how early it was. Especially for someone who likes to sleep in like May.”

"Do you want me to go get her, if you're getting antsy?" Soledad teases.

Drew fails to conceal that brilliant rosy blush on his face. He hates how easily he's read by everyone in this room--which right now is just them and Nurse Joy and her blissey.

"No, she deserves rest. She's been working hard, you know."

"Awwww, look at Andick all fawning over her and giving her credit where credit is due,'' Harley gushes while wraggling those caterpie eyebrows of his.

"Shut up!"

"But he does bring up a good icebreaker, Drew," Soledad admits as she bites down on her bagel, filled to the brim with cream cheese. how she keeps her figure so slim in spite of her dietary choices, the world may never know. "I know we poke and prod all the time, but watching you trip over her is starting to get . . . well, old. Do something about it. We're here to support you, you know."

"Well I appreciate that, but I don't think there's any rush. As much as I love and respect her, I doubt she's even noticed," Drew laments, "and I've been dropping tons of hints."

"The roses? That's not enough!" Soledad swears this is all hopeless but she's trying for him. "Drop stronger hints."

"What's stronger than friggin' red roses? A kiss on the hand or forehead?"

"That's . . . a bit bold, but you can try. I doubt she'd shy away."

"I don't know soledad. Many girls may flock to me but I don't know how to talk to girls. at all."

"We know," Harley and Soledad say in unison.

"Believe us, we know, we watch you interact with May," Harley goes on, "And she's the easiest person to talk to in the world, honestly."

"Awww, now look who's getting all sentimental about may," Soledad teases with a grin.

"Shut up," Harley huffs, "I'm just saying that she’s come to mean a lot to me."

“We all share that sentiment about her. I never had many girl friends, so it’s nice to have one.”

“But back to the main and the only interesting topic of discussion, how the hell is Drew going to make the move?”

“He did claim he was going to make the bold move and kiss her.”

“On the HAND, Soledad.”

“But what if May finds that weird? All Drew ever is is mean to her most of the time–!”

“--He’s living up to the classic ‘he’s mean to you because he likes you’ bullshit. Which, by the way Drew, what in Mew made you believe that’s the best approach–?” 

“I–!” Drew’s about to defend himself, because where in Mew’s name does he deserve all of this slander and roasting. They continue for much longer and he’ll become a cooked staraptor. 

“Okay, okay, look. I get it! I get it alright.” He tosses his hands up in the air nin defeat. “I’m all talk, no game. It’s just I don’t want to compromise anything between May and I. She’s become more than my rival in many obvious ways. I just never expected my feelings for her to be this strong after all of this time. We’re roaming through the Unova region, and at each contest I enter, I hope to see her. She’s a bright, bubbly person. A big ball of sunshine. She illuminates my entire life. She’s skilled, even if I won’t admit that to her face literally ever. I might subtly point it out though. It’s just, we’re friends now, and I don’t want her to get the idea I became her friend just because I had feelings for her because that’s not true and–!” 

Harley raises an eyebrow with a little smirk playing on his lips. Soledad seems to be making an expression that tells him to slow down and maybe cease all talking unless he wants to make a fool of himself. 

May’s standing there, with her classic dumbfounded, puppy-like expression. She’s just rolled out of bed, and she’s ditched the bandana today to let her natural glossy hair flow. She’s got her tray of breakfast gripped in her hands. 

“--she’s standing right behind me, isn’t she?” Drew finishes. 

“I didn’t realize it was May Appreciation Day,” she chuckles as she joins them at the booth, sliding in next to Drew. “Just because I’m here doesn’t mean you should stop singing praises to me, though.”

Oh Drew does concur.

“I think I should stop, otherwise it’ll inflate your already oversized head. You don’t want to get as egotistical as me, hm?” 

“It was so much more than just him singing praises to you, May,” Soledad chimes in with an amused twinkle in her eyes. 

“Yeah, if you were here just moments earlier–!” Drew mimes slicing his throat with his finger, and Harley shrugs. 

“--anyway, we should finish up and get ready to head to the Contest Hall. Can’t leave our fans waiting~” Harley sings. 

“You have fans?” Drew deadpans, to which May quips, “All of us do, Drew.”

They finish their breakfast together, and just as Drew tosses his leftovers away Harley approaches him and whispers in his ear. 

“You really are all talk and no game. Otherwise, you’d have fessed up like a man back there.”

Harley returns to the booth, and Drew stands there before placing his empty tray on top of the trash bin. He hates that he’s been roasted yet again by Harley, but he has a point. 

From his spot, he watches as May and Soledad exchange a conversation he can’t make out, focusing on the way her eyes crinkle a little when she smiles that big and wide. Even if she’s not a morning lark, she still has that bucket of pep to offer when she blesses anyone with her presence.

Drew stuffs his hands into his pockets, debating whether to leave first and have them meet him at the Contest Hall. He . . . is due for some self reflection and accountability. 

He steals another glance of her when he hears her adorable giggle, this time at something Harley says, it looks like. 

One day, he’s definitely going to tell her. 

Just maybe not today.

[kalosstarters]

Fic: Coordinators’ Christmas Ball

Summary: Dawn is attending the Coordinators' annual Christmas Ball for the first time, and she asks Zoey to accompany her there.

Ships: Appealshipping, a teensy bit of bg contestshipping and Serena/Lisia (no, I will not go check what their ship name is, there are too many ship names in this fandom :’D)

Characters: Dawn, Zoey, Piplup, May, Drew, Serena, Lisia, Kenny, (Ash mentioned)

A/N:  This was written as a Christmas present for my good friend, @piplupsbubbles, who loves Appealshipping (and thinks there are not enough Appeal fics out there, which is true). The story is mostly canon compliant, as in Ash is the Alola & world champion in this universe, but unlike the anime, I allow these characters to get older. Dawn and Zoey are somewhere in their mid teens (15-17) during this fic.

words: 4600+

genre: just some silly fluff

AO3

...

A letter from Dawn to Zoey, November 20xx:

Hi Zo!

I hope you’re doing fine! I saw you getting your third ribbon the other day; congrats on that! I promise to follow you soon; can’t let my best rival get too much ahead of me! ;)

I’m also happy to report I finally made it to Olivine City! Ash really wasn’t lying, the road here was long and /tedious/. I guess I could have rented a bike – /rented/ since a certain someone fried mine a long time ago and never got me a new one – but Piplup prefers staying out of his Pokéball so I wanted to let him stretch his legs too… And now he’s mad at me because I refused to carry him the whole way. The whole way! (He’s looking at me right now, ready to peck…) It took me two weeks to get here! No need to worry, though, I’m sure Piplup will forget all about it as soon as I pull the poffins out of my bag. I’m lucky he doesn’t hold a grudge for long…

That’s not why I wanted to write to you, though! You know how every Christmas there’s this ball thing for all the coordinators – and this year it happens to be organized here in Olivine City. I’ve thought about staying here until the ball; since I already have 2 ribbons, I have plenty of time to gather more by the next Grand Festival. And the extra time for training will be good for my team; Piplup seems to be thinking that his Bubble Beam could still be improved even though he always gets such high praise for it from the judges. And I promised Lopunny we’d go shopping soon; her old vest is way too small for her now that she evolved. Who knows, maybe I’ll even come up with a new combination move while we’re here…

Sorry, I got distracted there for a bit! But I meant to ask if you are coming here too? It would be lovely to see you, it’s been a while since we’ve last run into each other here in Johto. To be honest, I’d prefer going to the ball knowing that there will be at least one familiar face there; Kenny and Ursula don’t count because you know how they are. They /still/ call me Deedee even though I’ve told them to stop doing that about 13246 times…

Well, that’s all for now, I think? Please write back to me soon, you need to sign up for the ball by 12th December and I’m still not fully sure I’ll be going without you.

Hope to see you soon! xx, Dawn

…

It was Christmas Eve and Dawn was practically bouncing on her heels. The coordinators’ annual Christmas ball was about to start and she was supposed to meet up with Zoey any moment now. Zoey had had to get a room from a nearby hotel because the Pokémon Center where Dawn was staying had already been full of tourists and coordinators by the time she had shown up in Olivine City. That’s why the girls hadn’t had a chance to see each other prior to the ball, but they had talked on the phone and had agreed to meet up at the contest hall.

Dawn didn’t really understand why she was feeling nervous; she had hung out with Zoey dozens of times before this and they had always enjoyed each other’s company, so why would this time be any different? She tried to explain the Butterfrees in her stomach with the fact that it was Christmas and also her first time participating in a ball like this, even though she had gotten invitations for several years now. She had just always been too far from the venue to participate.

Dawn was pulled back from her thoughts by Piplup who was starting to get annoyed by her restlessness. He was chirping and waving his wings loudly, and Dawn realized that he must have been trying to get her attention for a while now.

“What is it, Piplup?” she finally asked. “Is something the matter?”

“Piplup pip piplup piplup!” the penguin Pokémon announced, and somehow Dawn understood exactly what he meant.

“I know. There’s no need to worry. I’m just not used to this kind of event.”

“Piplup piplup pip!”

“What? You think I’m nervous because of Zoey? That’s crazy talk,” Dawn attempted to chuckle at him nonchalantly, but she could feel her cheeks heating at the implications of Piplup’s statement. “We’re friends… And besides, we’re both always busy, there’s no time for much other than traveling, training and doing the contests…”

“Pip…” the pokemon sighed, palming his face with his wing.

“Whatever,” Dawn waved her hand. “Oh!” her face reddened further when she spotted a familiar figure approaching them. “There she comes!”

Piplup jumped from Dawn’s arms and was the first to greet the newcomer.

“Hi there, Piplup!” Zoey said happily and gave him a couple of pets on the head. “It’s good to see you again! You look great!”

“Piplup pip!” the Pokémon responded, puffing his chest and looking rather smug thanks to the compliment. Dawn had made the penguin Pokémon a tuxedo matching Empoleon’s colors for the ball and he was proud to wear it.

Zoey raised her gaze from Piplup back to Dawn and the latter wondered if she had accidentally swallowed Pokéballs in her sleep because her stomach felt like dozens of Butterfree were wreaking havoc there. She couldn’t help but notice that Zoey looked rather dashing in her new contest outfit she was wearing for the ball; it was made of white, fancy looking fabric that had golden embroidery all over the front, reminding Dawn of the very first contest she had participated in in Jubilife City, the one where they had met for the very first time.

Before Dawn could do anything but stare, Zoey had already stepped closer to her, a wide smile on her face and arms spread, ready for a hug.

“Dawn!!” she exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around her, and Dawn tried her best to make her brain function enough to be able to return the hug.

“H-hi Zoey!” she stammered. “I’m… I’m glad you could make it!

It wasn’t normal for Dawn to stutter like that, but she hoped that Zoey didn’t pay too much attention to it.

“Of course I did! You do need better company here than Kenny and Ursula, right?”

“I… I think I would have survived, but… definitely better this way!” She attempted to smile at Zoey but was afraid her smile looked more like a grimace than anything else. “Really, I’m glad you’re here.”

“Likewise. I know I already told Piplup the same thing but you do look wonderful! The blue makes your eyes stand out,” Zoey said happily as she glanced at her dress. Dawn indeed had decided against using her usual pink dress, instead using one she had obtained recently for some fancier events. It was made of light, blue fabric, with a bit of lace in the hem. She had also picked some moon shaped silver accessories with it.

“You think so?” Dawn asked nervously. “I wasn’t sure if it was gonna be too much blue… With my hair and all…”

“No, not at all!” Zoey reassured her. “It reminds me of the night sky. Which is obviously a good thing!”

“Thanks, then! I like your outfit too! It reminds me of our first contest together,” Dawn said.

“Oh, yeah, I was thinking of that contest too when I saw this in the shop’s window. It felt nostalgic somehow and I just had to get it.”

“Well, it was a good choice,” Dawn nodded encouragingly, hoping she wasn’t coming across too enthusiastic.

“Thank you. So, do you know if anyone else we know is here?” Zoey asked as they started walking towards the ballroom.

“I think Nando is currently in Unova and May has some business to attend to in Hoenn so they’re not here…” Dawn replied. “But I’m hearing that Wallace himself is coming! And he has also invited Ash’s friend Serena and her friend Lisia, but I’m not sure if they’re going to make it. It’s possible.”

“Oh, I’ve heard of that Serena… She’s become quite a hit in Hoenn, hasn’t she?” Zoey asked.

“Yep, I think so. A lot of contest magazines and TV shows are talking about her… I myself haven’t met her yet but May has and she says Serena is nice. I’ve heard from our friends that she used to have a huge crush on Ash when they were traveling together. But I’ve heard some rumors - well, from Coordinators Weekly - that she might be seeing someone else these days.

“Well, you know how Coordinators Weekly is,” Zoey rolled her eyes. “Just the other week they had rumors about me and Candice in that magazine… Apparently you can’t even be friends with anyone anymore without being connected to them romantically. I mean, c’mon! I’ve known her since our childhood; she’s practically a sister to me.”

Dawn felt a weird sense of relief that she couldn’t quite explain as she registered Zoey’s words.

“Ugh, that must be so annoying!” she replied. “I think Kenny once thought that Ash and I are a couple because we like to do our ‘high touch’ thing when we meet or wish each other good luck or whatever but that couldn’t be farther from the truth! Ash is like an annoying little brother that I never had.”

“Then you know perfectly how I feel about those rumors,” Zoey nodded. “But hey, I think we should go and check out the ballroom.”

“Oh yep, I hope they have some food there. I’m getting hungry!” Dawn exclaimed. “And so is Piplup!”

The penguin Pokémon tried to pretend like his stomach hadn’t just rumbled loudly and the two girls laughed at his innocent expression.

“Don’t worry, Piplup, you’ll get your dinner soon,” Dawn promised, scooting the Pokémon into her arms again and leading the way to the ballroom.

…

Some time later Dawn and Zoey got separated as Zoey saw an acquaintance of hers with whom she wanted to catch up quickly while Piplup was still finishing up his meal by the snack tables. Dawn was looking around curiously, a little more relaxed now than during the arrival, hoping to see some familiar faces. And sure enough, it wasn’t long before Kenny spotted her and Piplup and stopped for a chat.

“Nice to see you, Deedee!” (Dawn rolled her eyes at the name he was using.) “Did you come here alone?”

“Huh? No, I’m never alone. See, I have Piplup with me,” Dawn gestured towards her starter.

Piplup just lifted his free wing in the air as a greeting of sorts while continuing to enjoy his meal.

“That’s… not really what I meant,” Kenny mumbled awkwardly. “I was wondering if you came here with… another coordinator or something.”

Dawn finally understood what the boy meant. “Oh!” She blushed ever so slightly as she thought of her companion for the night. “Yeah, I came here with Zoey. She’s over there talking to a friend.” She nodded in Zoey’s direction. “Piplup was hungry so I’m staying here with him but I’m sure Zoey will join us soon…”

Kenny seemed to relax a bit at the mention of Zoey’s name. “Oh, she probably won’t mind if I ask you to dance with me, will she?”

If Dawn was perfectly honest to herself, she did not feel like dancing with Kenny, but she didn’t say that aloud.

“Oh. Hmm. I guess she won’t. But I shouldn’t stay too long, I haven’t seen her in a while and we haven't had a chance to catch up much yet…”

“Alright, I understand,” Kenny said. “Don’t worry, I’ll return you after one dance. Piplup, do you mind if we leave you alone for a moment?”

Normally, Piplup might have protested more but he was still too focused on eating the poffins, poke puffs and other goodies they had made for Pokémon so he merely made an annoyed ‘Pip’ before continuing to eat again. Dawn threw him a betrayed look as Kenny started to pull her towards the dance floor.

…

It turned out Kenny had actually practiced pair dances before for he wasn’t half bad at waltzing. However, Dawn still kept looking over her shoulder to see the person with whom she actually wanted to dance.

“Um, is something the matter?” Kenny asked after Dawn had done the same thing at least 10 times during the same song. “You seem distracted.”

“What, me, distracted?” she attempted to chuckle lightly. Kenny raised his eyebrow questioningly. “Eh, I was just wondering if Zoey’s wondering where I am…”

“She seems pretty busy at the moment,” Kenny noted rather coolly.

“You might be right,” Dawn replied, resigned. So much for getting rid of Kenny.

They kept dancing silently for a little while, until Kenny nudged his head towards a group of people near the drink table. “Hey, isn’t that the Kalos queen runner up? The one they are speculating will become the next Hoenn top coordinator? Serena, I think her name was.”

Dawn glanced at the group. Yep, there was no mistaking the light hair, blue eyes and the red dress she had seen on her in a few contests she had watched on TV.

“What is it with you boys and Serena?” Dawn grumbled under her breath. “She only needs to exist and you all seem to go nuts over her.”

Kenny seemed slightly offended by Dawn’s implications. “I… I didn’t mean it that way! I just recognized her from Coordinators Weekly, that’s all. I know people of Hoenn have been praising her a lot, and since I’m planning to travel there soon, it’s good to scout the competition already.”

“You do realize that there won’t be contest battles here?” Dawn frowned at him. “But maybe she’ll stay for the Wallace Cup. I heard Wallace is going to make an announcement about it a bit later.”

“I hope he will,” Kenny stated. After that he fell silent again and Dawn couldn’t help but wonder if she had been a little too rude towards him. Kenny and she may have had their issues in the past but he had also asked her to travel with him, an offer which she had turned down. Later on she had realized there might be more behind that question than simply wanting to travel together. If he still liked her… she may not reciprocate his feelings but she could at least try to be nice about it and not make him feel guilty about bringing Serena up.

Dawn turned her attention back to Serena’s group and suddenly her mouth fell open in a happy surprise as she recognized a brown haired girl among them. Once the song ended, she let go of Kenny and told him:

“Excuse me, Kenny! I spotted a friend there. I’ll catch up with you later, OK?”

“Al-alright,” Kenny seemed a bit baffled but he started looking for other familiar faces in the crowd once Dawn started making her way towards the group.

Not many moments later Dawn had crossed the dance floor and was hugging one of her favorite coordinator friends, May Maple.

“I didn’t think you would come!” Dawn exclaimed after the girls had exchanged their cheerful greetings. “I thought you had some business to attend to in Hoenn.”

“I was supposed to have a meeting with Mr. Contesta and Mr. Sukizo about the new coordinator academy but Mr. Sukizo fell ill so we had to postpone it… Guess you could say that illness happened at a very unremarkable time,” May smirked. “But the silver lining is that I could make it here! It’s so good to see you! How are you? Did you bring anyone with you?” she looked at Dawn knowingly. Dawn noticed from the corner of her eye that Drew Hayden, May’s long time rival and not so secret crush was also nearby.

Luckily for Dawn, Piplup had finished eating and jumped into her arms happily. “I’m good, I’m good!” she chuckled as she put Piplup into a better position on her lap. “As you can see, I brought Piplup with me.”

“I see,” May replied, petting Piplup’s head feathers briefly. “What about human company?”

Dawn hoped that her cheeks didn’t look as warm as they felt. “Zoey… She got stuck talking to some acquaintance of hers.” Dawn glanced at Zoey’s direction again. “She’s been at it for a while now though, so I’m sure she’ll join us soon.”

“Mm-hmm,” May hummed, again annoyingly knowingly. She kept looking at her reactions, her eyes going back and forth between her and Zoey. “Is it just me or are you a little bit jealous that she’s talking to someone else?”

“W-what? Why would I be jealous?” Dawn feigned shock. “Just because we came here together doesn’t mean we have to spend every second of the evening together. She’s allowed to talk to her other friends too.”

“Didn’t say she isn’t,” May snickered. “But don’t mind me, I’m just teasing.” She decided to change the topic: “So, how are the contests going?”

Dawn started giving May a long and detailed explanation on the two ribbons she had won so far and May in turn told her about the coordinator academy project that would hopefully see the daylight sooner rather than later. And she also couldn’t help but gush about Drew a bit; apparently he had finally found the courage to ask May to be his partner at this ball once it became clear that the meeting with the chairmen wouldn’t happen… though May did admit that it had required quite a bit of hinting before he had done it. Drew was currently getting some food for both himself and May but Dawn could see them casting almost uncharacteristically soft looks at each other whenever other people weren’t blocking the view. She wondered if she looked the same when she saw Zoey.

Hold it, she stopped herself. Why would she? They were /friends/, after all.

Her track of thoughts was stopped when May changed the topic to the other people in her group.

“Have you ever met Serena, Dawn?” May asked. “I’m sure Ash has told you all about her.”

“Hi,” Dawn waved at the girl in question as Serena stepped closer to her. “No, we haven’t met face to face yet. I’m Dawn. And this is my bestest partner, Piplup.”

Piplup also gave Serena a polite greeting. Then he noticed Serena’s Sylveon out of the Poké ball and started watching her curiously.

“Nice to meet you, Dawn,” Serena replied. “I’m not sure what Ash has told you about me, but I do know you two traveled through Sinnoh together. And you were also watching the final battle of the Masters Tournament in Wyndon too, isn’t that right?”

“I sure was!” Dawn said cheerfully. “It was so great to be there when it happened! It was IN-TEN-SE. I was so sure Ash and Pikachu were already finished, at many points, really, but then, poof, suddenly Pikachu found more energy from somewhere. I think I’m starting to understand why Team Rocket had an obsession with him…”

“Ha, ha,” Serena chuckled. “I’m a little bit jealous, to be honest. I wish I could have been there too. But May, Lisia and I were literally in the middle of a contest while Ash was battling. Luckily the staff understood our need to see the battle so they let us watch it on TV while we were waiting.”

“Oh, that was very nice of them,” Dawn said. “But really, can you all believe it? That kid who taught me to use a counter shield in contest battles is now the world champion! It just feels… amazing and bizarre at the same time.”

“I knew Ash had it in him when I saw him at the Kalos league,” Serena stated. “He was this close to winning against Alain… I bet he could do it now.”

“Well, he did beat Leon who beat Alain…,” Dawn pointed out. “Maybe they’ll face each other again in the future. By the way, Ash mentioned he visited Hoenn a bit before the Masters 8 tournament. Did you have a chance to catch up back then?”

“Only very briefly. His ship was already leaving back to Kanto when we saw each other. But it’s fine, I’m sure there’ll be other chances!”

Dawn wondered if Serena really was fine with that, but she didn’t ask. They had only barely met, after all.

“Oh, yep. He said that he’ll finally try to settle down long enough some time in the coming spring that he could throw a championship party for all of us. I hope he really sticks to his word this time! I still remember how casual he was when he became the Alola champion. A champion!”

May, who had been eating and chatting with Drew, joined the conversation now too.

“He’s so modest now, so different from when we two first met,” she said fondly.

Their conversation about Ash ended there, though, because Lisia decided to wrap her arms around Serena’s middle. “Hey, dear! I love this song, will you pleaaase come dance with me now?”

Serena sighed, giving an apologetic look to the rest of the group.

“Sorry, you all… When she wants something, she usually gets it. Fine, Lisia, I’ll come.”

The others chuckled as Lisia started dragging Serena towards the dance floor.

“So it’s true?” Dawn asked as she watched the two twirl around enthusiastically. “They’re dating?”

May nodded. “It’s a pretty new thing, still. But somehow Coordinators Weekly managed to get a photo of them hugging in the backstage during the Lilycove contest. At first Serena was a little conflicted; she /really/ likes Lisia, I can see it in her eyes, but she felt like she was sort of ‘cheating’ on Ash by suddenly liking someone else because she spent so long thinking she had feelings for him… Seeing them now, though, I think she is past that phase, finally. Lisia is just the kind of open, cheerful person that is good for her. Shauna might be a bit gutted, though… But I guess that’s life. Hey, Drew,” she asked her companion for the night, “Do you think we look that cheesy together?” She nodded towards the dancing couple. They were laughing at something and leaning their heads close to each other.

“No,” Drew shook his head, looking amused. “We don’t have time to look cheesy because we’re bickering about 24/7, so the only kinds of pictures Coordinators Weekly gets of us are the kind where we’re trying to bite each other’s heads off. But that’s fine.” He gave May a soothing smile. “Because I could never date someone who agrees with me about everything. You keep things interesting, and that’s why I like you.”

“You know what,” Dawn interrupted. “I think that /is/ pretty cheesy.” She decided that if /she/ ever started dating, she wouldn’t sound like that.

The other two just laughed.

Dawn had been so busy talking that she was surprised when she felt a tap on her shoulder. When she recognized the scent of a flowery shampoo and saw a flash of the familiar red hair, she almost threw herself at the person in question (why was she like this?? She kept asking herself), but managed to control herself at the last minute.

“Oh, Zoey! Finally!” she exclaimed and ignored the looks May and Drew exchanged with each other. “These two almost covered me with cheese, they’re so disgustingly cute together.”

“Good thing I happen to like cheese,” Zoey said, and it took Dawn a long moment to realize that she was flirting with her. She couldn’t get a word out of her mouth. Meanwhile, May and Drew had to face the other direction to not burst out laughing.

“I… You… what?” Dawn stuttered, feeling completely brainless.

“Never mind,” Zoey sighed. “We can discuss that later. I saw you dancing with Kenny. Hope he didn’t give you a hard time.”

“No, it was fine… Just the usual, I guess. What about you, though? Did you have a good catch up?” Dawn asked.

“Oh, about that. It was a friend who takes photographs at contests. I… wanna show you something, but maybe in some place a bit more quiet, alright?” Zoey suggested.

“Sure,” Dawn agreed, bidding May and Drew a farewell before following Zoey out of the ballroom, a curious Piplup in her arms.

Finally, they arrived at a quiet hallway and Zoey withdrew something from her bag.

“So… I haven’t had a chance to give you a Christmas present before but I thought I’d change that when I found out we’d be here together,” Zoey said and Dawn couldn’t help but think how nice the word ‘together’ sounded from her mouth.

“Oh!” Dawn gasped. “But I haven’t got anything for you!”

“Don’t worry about it. You can pay back some other time,” she smiled. “But yeah, the friend I just saw, he took one special photograph back during our first Grand Festival in Sinnoh… and I thought you’d like to see it.”

Zoey handed her a package that had a pretty blue paper with some tiny stars on it wrapped around it. Dawn almost felt bad for ripping it off, but she was eager to see what was inside. Piplup climbed on Dawn’s shoulder so he too could get a better view of it.

The paper fell on the floor and Dawn was holding a framed picture of her and Zoey hugging after Zoey had become the top coordinator, confetti falling all over them. Dawn realized that even though she had just lost the contest battle moments before that picture had been taken, she had been genuinely happy for her friend and she was smiling widely in the photo.

“We told each other that we would see in the finals… and we did… and that’s what we’ve been doing ever since,” Zoey said quietly as she too watched the photo, her eyes a bit hazy as if she was holding down some emotion. Dawn felt something rise in her throat, and she gulped hard in an attempt to get rid of it.

“Yeah… we have,” she finally managed to respond.

“I guess I’m just trying to tell you that you really mean a lot to me, Dawn. We’ve always been supporting each other and driving each other forward whether it’s contests or some general life things… And even when one of us could have easily gotten upset at the other - like a moment of loss - we’ve never done that. When I said that thing about cheese, I meant… I like you. Like, like you, like you.”

Dawn’s heart felt like it could burst out of her chest any moment now. She finally understood those weird thoughts she had been having about Zoey.

“I… I like you too, Zo. In the ‘million Butterfree in my stomach when I think about you’ way,” she finally confessed. “Arceus, does this mean we are gonna be as cheesy as May and Drew? Or Serena and Lisia?” She covered her mouth with her hands.

“Only if you want to,” Zoey laughed. “So, do you like the gift?”

“It’s… it’s perfect,” Dawn said, and really meant it. “Thank you.”

She was about to kiss Zoey on the cheek, but in a moment of whim she decided:

“Well, here’s my gift to you.”

And she kissed her fully on the mouth.

They stayed like that for a moment, until finally Piplup, expressing his discomfort for such blatant public display of affection, started chirping loudly enough that they had to separate. Zoey asked: “So, would you like to dance with me?”

“Yep. I think I would.”

Dawn happily followed her back to the ballroom, knowing that the next dance would be a lot more enjoyable for her than the previous one. And it wouldn’t be the last.

[wallflower-koharu]

My ship tier list.

I have to write some explanations on why I like my ships. Some of them are not in the original tier list, so I'll write everything here.

OTPs:

Jellowshipping: obviously the ship that I adore the most. I love how they support one another, how they spend time together on everyday things.

How Mallow makes sure Lillie is safe. How Lillie looks at her with heart eyes and- (I would write a papyrus about it) the last hug in JN. Also they referenced Utena, a yuri anime.

Eternalhoneymoonshipping: The best adult couple in Pokeani. They are so natural with each other, and I found Burnet's crush on Royal Mask funny. They became Ash's second family and gave him a little sibling too!

Contestshipping: rival to lovers trope. I like it. And the waterfall scene was memorable. I still wonder how May didn't realize that the roses were actually for her. And I still wonder why it isn't canon.

Journeyshipping: People know how much I like this. How Goh struggled to make friends and found Ash in a fateful encounter with Luigia. How both of them are complementary but similar in their dedication to their dreams (and both crazy enough to jump on Luigia). How Goh fell for him after Ash protected those Bulbasaur and then when it was confirmed in the Gengar episode.

"The future is in my hands" "Our hands, right?"

Also that spin hug. The biggest regret of mine is the Journeys anime being a mess in its writing. And sadly, how much this is treated like a joke or a disgusting thing from the most popular poketubers and pokemon fans in general.

Appealshipping: Everytime Zoey walks in, the music became softer and Dawn became a blushing mess. Also Zoey helped her a lot in the DP anime, like a prince charming.

This is so underrated. Also it has the trope of butch/femme like HaruMichi (Sailor Moon) and Yukira (Kirakira precure à la mode). Yes, they remind me of them.

Waterwarriorshipping: "the most beautiful woman in the world?" Those are canon Lana lines, not even a fanfic! They are both tomboys, water lovers, and have a really good chemistry! I wish I could have seen them together more.

Moonlightblossomshipping: I don't get why this ship gets so much hate. They complement each other well, both in character design and personality, and they had really nice moments together. I loved all of the scenes in Dawn's return in the first two episodes, and I was annoyed that the writers "forgot" to make them interact in the second special.

I like how in other anime the pink girl is a cheerful, energetic girl and the blue one is more calm and reserved, and for Kohahika it's switched.

Botiqueshipping: This was my first Serena ship, and I cherish it dearly. They are so sweet together!

Rocketshipping: When I was little I thought they were married. This is my first OTP of my childhood, and I didn't know what ships are. They are so funny together and I was happy to know they were really married in a manga (electric tale of pikachu, but honestly I'm not a fan of it.)

You can see them as t4t, bi4bi or genderfluid and it still fits.

Pokshipping: I think people will hate me for this. I respect people who don't like this or see them more as a brother and sister, because I can see them as both romantic and platonic.

I think Misty's personality did fit well with OS Ash's one. Their relationship trope was one of the most used in the 90s anime, as well as the slapstick comedy. People often belittle Misty saying she was just rude to Ash, but, like I said, it was 90s comedy style and Misty saved Ash's life multiple times.

[artisticzaati]

Tagged by @arkon-z

thank you very much!!

3 ships: I have so many I love so I'm just going to write my current favorites at this moment.

- PuRobbie ( Purah x Robbie ) they are my home, my comfort ship, my everything. Even going to get my next tattoo of them. If you are here, it's probably because of my art you even know I exist!!

- Lighthoushipping/lakehoushipping/whatever the heck it is (Sada x Turo) I just love them lots. Simple as that. I literally shipped them from their first reveal, babey.

- InuKag ( Inuyasha x Kagome) ... I'm in a InuYasha kick again because of my duo and I just... I never realized how adorable they are. I love them so much.

First ever ship: Contestshipping... Drew x May from the Pokémon anime. I KNOW ITS SILLY BUT WHATEVER.

Last song: O' Death cover by Bobby Bass. Needed it playing for writing purposes.

Last movie: Lion King 2 with my duo!!

Currently reading: I don't read novels anymore. I should REALLY start doing that again. I write more than I read. I read what mutuals write. And that's about it.

Currently watching: I don't watch TV shows. I just watch like, vinesauce streams and kitboga

Currently consuming: Uhhh food? About to make myself pizza so there's that.

And I tag... @akkalatechlabs @hatenotechlab and whoever wants to do this since I am too nervous to tag people. ✌️

[sollucets]

tagged by @batch-of-pengwings to do a tag game! robin thanks x i’m meant to tag people i’d like to get to know better bt honestly i think i’ve seen All of my mutuals play this lmao. if you want to you can always tag me or play 💜

3 ships: kinnporsche from kinnporsche of kinnporsche fame, winteam between us, aaaaand….. thanzagmeg hadesgame

first ship: contestshipping! drew/may from pokemon. i was like 9

last song: playing as i type is stray kids’ “slump”

last movie: i watched the cherry magic movie last night and you should too

currently reading: nothing i’m actively in the middle of; here’s a wip i’m patiently waiting for (dreamling!) and also one of the last fics i read (a silly & charming bad buddy fic about pran and korn). the last book i read was spinning silver by naomi novik

currently watching: between us (2022) airing sundays at 11:45 gmt+7 [said in a normal tone of voice]

currently consuming: i will use this space to plug lies within which is a neat webcomic that i’m not caught up on as well as countdown to countdown, more of the same. i am not eating anything at the moment. i guess i’m also still playing elden ring as i have not yet platinumed the game

thank u for the tag :3 love recommending things

[sparz-drawz]

hi

i come and go online. right now, this is an art dump for my current fixation: contestshipping.

(i don't know how many people out there still care about this ship, but it's been my favorite for a long, long, long time. right now, i need to draw stuff that makes me happy. i figured i might as well chuck it into the internet vortex, just in case it makes even one other person happy too.)

i don't know how long i'll be here. i have no plans. i don't know if anyone will read this. but i appreciate you for being here.

[torchickentacos]

How do you think May and Drew would’ve gotten together?

OOH OKAY so, first off, same answer I have for another ask somewhere in my queue- which is, I'm not someone who usually latches onto one version or fanon. I like to mix and match and mingle between interpretations rather than setting up my own concrete one, honestly. I have no taylor-canon-contestshipping agenda, I just go with whatever's the most entertaining to me and my friends at any given point in time.

That said, I feel like the Johto Arc THAT WE DIDN'T GET TO SEE could have kickstarted it. Like, in the Johto arc, they may or may not have traveled together as a group (unconfirmed) but at least they'd have ran into each other multiple times (confirmed, May says that her rivals are kicking her ass in Johto during the Wallace cup cameo). And by that point, they're on friendly terms (see: Unbeatable Lightness of Seeing as their last real canon marker of where they are friendship wise). Headcanony territory below, rambling as I do. Long post, which is to be expected when someone enables my contestshipping LMAO.

In Johto (rip the abandoned Johto fic I had like 1.5 years ago and all the other fics that don't make it out of google docs), I like to think it was May, Drew, Harley, and Solidad travelling together for at least certain stretches of the journey. I can see SO MANY SHENANIGANS that could lead to bonding and furthering that friendship into more of a foundation for something more. Strolling the Goldenrod National Park and talking after one of them had a bad loss (canonically, probably May), meanwhile Harley is off trying to be a guest on Goldenrod Radio or something with Solidad in tow. Or, May making an ill-informed decision to poke around Burned Tower and having her leg fall through one of the rotting floorboards, only to find a hand IMMEDIATELY reaching out to catch her. ALSO, BUG CATCHING CONTEST! Wait, lmao, imagine Drew in the Pokeathlon.. it's giving 'May wanted to do it and needed teammates but Drew is basically taking the approach of walking the mile in PE but he's doing the best he can and hating every second of it' tbh. You cannot convince me he's a sports guy. ANYWAYS little things like that are what I tend to gravitate towards- little misadventures that come together to solidify that trust and friendship, via situations and circumstances that were entirely avoidable but not at all regretted. A very 'Who What When Where Wynaut' approach, honestly- toss them into a situation and watch something bloom out of it.

So, Johto happens, shenanigans ensue, the rivalry turns far closer to pure friendship. I'd say the rivalry really leans into that shift from 'I want to be better than this person, I can't lose to them' towards 'I want to do better because of this person, not to spite them'. It becomes a partnership.

But technically I haven't even answered your question yet. I think this carries on for a few years, rivalry and friendship and whatever else sort of intermingling into its own form of relationship. They aren't rivals or friends or lovers, just... May and Drew. Like a combination move- it's no single thing, it's a conglomeration of emotions that come together into its own thing. I think they're two people who fall into something very naturally and without 'making it official' per se, just a gradual tumble into friendship-and-then-some over time until one day they sort of realize they've been functionally a couple for months on end and didn't notice. I like to think it's the kind of thing where they say they're dating and people would be like...a "wait, we thought you guys just had your two-year anniversary" type deal LMAO. I think this tends to be a pretty popular opinion/interpretation, too. Because here's the thing.

Drew would make a move. We see him do it every other episode he's in. May does not pick up on it or really explore her own emotions like he seems to. I think even if she did find herself on that same page, it would go like:

Drew: Well, I've been doing the rose shtick for years and nothing's happened, so I should respect that boundary and make sure to not push it anymore.

May (assuming she figures herself out here): I value this friendship and don't want to risk it, and I'm probably misreading him.

Like, I can SO EASILY see them falling to a standstill on actually making it REAL, so I think it's something they just fall into quietly until some external force makes that push for them. (forced proximity trope, in vino veritas trope in a timeskip, something like that).

[turnaboutwriter]

Safe Travels - Part 1: In Abundant Relations, Chapter 1

Surprise! Happy Ikarishipping Day! 

Pairings: Paul/Dawn, May/Drew, Candice/Zoey, Steven Stone/Cynthia, Wallace/Winona, and a lil Togekiss/Honchkrow

Rating: General

Summary: Paul loses to Brandon at their rematch in Snowpoint City and intends on challenging him once more in Hoenn. Dawn, who intends to participate in Hoenn contests, runs into him on the ship ride to Slateport City. Paul seeks Dawn’s coordinating expertise for a contest that Cynthia tells him he should participate in, and so, while Dawn is puzzled as to why Paul has to partake in the contest, so begins their journey together — ikarishipping.

This can also be found on AO3. (Please note: This will not be posted on Ffn until I finish it posting the first part completely on AO3 or until I decide how to approach posting the multiple parts on Ffn, since it doesn't have a series grouping system like AO3.)

Notes: I'm not done with this series yet, but I wanted to post at least the first two chapters of the Part 1 in celebration of the ikari revival! I will also post the remaining previews left on Tumblr soon, so be sure to check them out! From what I have planned, the setting of this fic is not just restricted to Hoenn, but will feature other regions as well. There will be A LOT of characters, needless to say, and I’ll probably squeeze in a few implied or minor ships in there, too. There are quite a few twists that I’m excited but also nervous to write and put out there, but buckle your seatbelts, guys, because from here on out, it's going to be a very, long ride.

“Pip, piplup!”

Dawn’s Piplup races to the other end of the outer deck, nearly tripping on his way there.

“Hey!” Dawn pants out. She is crouched down, with her hands on her knees, trying to recover her breath. “Slow down, Piplup!” With a final huff, she straightens up and continues running after her Pokémon.

The ship that Dawn is on has only left Sandgem Town a few hours ago. Things have moving in such a whirlwind that she still can’t believe that she is on her way to Hoenn – the land of the birth of contests. She is overwhelmed and is nervous to be traveling far from home, but also excited to see what new adventures she will embark on.

When she finally catches up to the Penguin-like creature, she is surprised to see the familiar, purple-haired boy Piplup is pointing to.

“Pip, lup!”

“Huh? That’s Paul,” Dawn states in surprise. “Hey, Paul!” she calls out, waving her hands. Piplup waves and cries cheerfully as well.

He turns around at the sound of her voice and meets her face. His eyes light up in recognition and he raises his hand slightly. “Hey.” He’s quiet for a moment while Dawn walks up to him.

She grins. “Remember who I am this time?” she teases.

He ignores her words. “Is Ash with you? I’d like a battle with him.”

Her elated smile falls into a frown, though not by much, because he does remember her as Ash’s friend. “Oh, I’m sorry, Paul, but he went back to Kanto last month . . . though, I think he’s in Unova now.”

“I see . . .” he trails off, as his eyes inspect her face, struggling to remember.

You’ve got to be kidding me! Dawn scowls, feeling the annoyance bubble in her chest. He really doesn’t remember her name. She opens her mouth, ready to shout. ‘Excuse me, Sir Rudeness, it’s Dawn! D-A-W-N!’

“Dawn. The coordinator friend.”

Her eyes widen in surprise, before her lips curl into a smile. “You do remember!”

He says nothing, but stares at her smiling face blankly for a few moments. “See you,” he finally says, before walking away.

Dawn’s smile slowly fades away, and then she sighs to herself and shakes her head knowingly, as Piplup cries in confusion.

“Pip, pip?” That’s it?

“No need to worry, Piplup. That’s just Paul for you.”

“ . . . and I have to show you all of the best places to eat in Petalburg!”

“Only in Petalburg?” Dawn teases the girl on the screen in front of her. “What about the rest of Hoenn, May?”

On the screen, she sees May smirk. “I’m going to give you a list of the best restaurants in Hoenn before I go back to Johto, silly!”

She smiles back at her friend cheerfully. “I’ll hold you to it!”

Dawn is about to ask May about Professor Birch, but she swears she sees a flash of purple from the corner of her eye. She turns her head from side to side, as her Piplup, who is in his usual spot in her arms, questions her.

“Pip, pip?”

“What’s wrong, Dawn?”

She shakes her head. “I thought I saw something, but I think I might have just imagined it. No need to worry. What were you going to say?”

“I was going to tell you that Drew and I talked to Professor Birch and he’s more than happy to give you one.”

“Awesome!” She looks down at Piplup. “Did you hear, Piplup? We’re getting our first, new Hoenn Pokémon added to the team!”

Piplup chirps back at her happily, “Pip piplup!”

May goes on to explain the three Hoenn starters Pokémon to Dawn, and they chat a little more until Piplup’s stomach growls loudly, much to his embarrassment. With a laugh, Dawn decides to bid an also chuckling May goodbye and head down for dinner.

The trainer’s dining area is not so shabby, though it is not too formal, either. It’s a huge, bustling auditorium where trainers partake in a buffet, sit together and dine; because of the ample space, they are able to let their Pokémon out of their Pokéballs and feed them as well.

Dawn’s eyes scan through the hall to find a place to sit. Though she doesn’t mind sitting with strangers, there aren’t a lot of empty seats in the first place. She did not realize that she was on the phone with May for so long.

“Piplup!”

“Huh?” Dawn glances to where her Pokémon points. She smiles at him graciously. “Thanks, Piplup! I can always count on you!” She pushes the cart of her and her Pokémon’s food hurriedly to the table before someone else can take the unoccupied seat.

“Hey, Paul,” she says, as she approaches his small table, where he and his Pokémon, on the ground near him, eat, “ do you mind if we sit here?”

His hand, holding a dinner roll, pauses in the air. He seems mildly annoyed but shrugs anyway. “I don’t care.” He takes a bite into the bread.

Dawn turns to Piplup. “Alright.” She takes out her Pokéballs and throws them into the air. “Time to eat, everyone!”

A chorus of her Pokémon’s cries is heard as they’re released from their Pokéballs and cheer in happiness.

She then pulls the Pokémon food from the cart and sets each bowl down in front of her Pokémon, the biggest going to her Mamoswine, of course. She then rummages through her backpack and pulls out her big container of poffins (and though it doesn’t look that big, it holds a lot more than one might think, which is why Dawn loves it so much). She puts a few poffins into each of their bowls as well.

When she gets to Togekiss’s bowl, Paul’s Honchkrow comes forward to them.

“Hey, Honchkrow!” Dawn smiles warmly, petting the top of his head lightly. “Would you like a poffin?” She holds a pink one out for him. He sniffs it hesitantly, but Togekiss reassures him that it is good. To Dawn’s surprise, Honchkrow has a sudden infatuated look in his eyes, and opens his mouth wide for the poffin. She giggles knowingly and feeds him, and then stands up from her crouched position, stretching as she does. She then walks over to the table so she can sit down and finally eat.

“What did you do to my Honchkrow?”

Dawn looks up to meet Paul’s narrowed eyes. “I fed him a poffin,” she informs him innocently, deciding to withhold that his Honchkrow has a crush on her Togekiss for now. “You don’t mind, right? They’re supposed to be good for Pokémon.”

He looks displeased, and opens his mouth to say something, but she beats him to it.

“Reggie would approve of them. They’re not store-bought or anything – I make my poffins myself using different types of berries. No need to worry, Paul!” she assures him.

He turns his face away and grunts before answering, “Fine.”

Dawn is satisfied with his answer, and quickly digs into her food. Arceus, she’s starving.  

“Fros, froslass?”

Dawn looks up from her meal to see Paul’s Froslass in front of her. It looks like Honchkrow has spread the word. She holds back a giggle at the thought. “You want a poffin, too, Froslass?”

“Froslass,” Paul warns, giving her a steady glare. “Go eat your food.”

“Fros.” Her little shoulders slump, as the Pokémon turns around.

“Hey,” Dawn exclaims, grabbing Froslass’s shoulder, feeling the Pokémon’s cold skin beneath her fingers, and then turning to frown at Paul. “Don’t do that. I have more than enough to go around. I made a fresh batch last night before we left Sinnoh.” She passes the open container on the table to Froslass, who takes it hesitantly from her. “Here,” she says softly. “For you and for the rest of Paul’s Pokémon, too.”

“Lass?” Froslass gives her trainer a questioning stare; Paul nods curtly.

After Froslass drifts away, he glares at Dawn, who resumes eating. “Please, don’t spoil my Pokémon. I’ve worked hard to get to where I want them to be, and I don’t need you to ruin it for me now.”

“Now, hold on, Paul.” She puts her fork down and her eyes meet his. “There’s a difference between taking care of your Pokémon and spoiling them. I understand them you feed them regularly and all, but, sometimes, it’s good to treat them for all of the hard work they’ve done, you know?”

Paul sighs. “I already told you once that I’m not like Ash. I’ll admit that I’ve learned some things from him . . . but this pampering . . . it’s just not my thing.” He looks up at her, and, for the first time ever, Dawn sees uncertainty in his eyes.

Dawn smiles softly, almost in reassurance. “You don’t have to do what Ash does. And no one said you have to pamper your Pokémon, either.” She turns around to see his Pokémon eating the poffins happily, while they also talk and play with Dawn’s Pokémon.

“They work and train hard to fulfill your desire of getting stronger and stronger, and they don’t mind that you may get a little too hard on them – you can tell that they love you a lot. All they need in return is just a little love from you, too. Maybe playing with your Pokémon isn’t your thing, but a little treat now and then, a little break every once in a while, or even some words of encouragement from you . . . it would mean the world to them.”

She looks back at Paul’s pensive face. “And with that, your bond with them will grow stronger. You and your team will grow stronger, as well.”

It’s quiet for a moment before Paul shrugs, and then resumes eating. Dawn sighs in defeat, as it seems that her words probably haven’t gone through his thick skull, and goes back to digging into her food.

“Which starter are you picking from Professor Birch?”

Dawn’s eyes widen and she then sets her dinner roll down onto her plate – she’s never going to be able to finish this meal. “Aha!” she cries out triumphantly, pointing at him. “I knew I saw you! You were eavesdropping on my conversation with May!”

He narrows his eyes at her. “And? You once eavesdropped on my conversation with Reggie.”

A warm blush rises to her cheeks. “A-Ah! Right. I forgot about that.” She scratches the back of her head and smiles sheepishly at him. “Let’s consider it even, then.”

“Whatever.” He crosses his arms over his chest. “Answer the question.”

Geez, he’s so bossy. “I . . . I don’t know. They all sound great, really.”

“Pathetic.” He sighs and rolls his eyes. “I should have suspected as much from someone like you.”

Dawn narrows his eyes at him. “What’s that supposed to mean!?”

“Exactly what I said.” His smirk is taunting, causing feelings of impatience to arise within Dawn.

“Oh, yeah? What Hoenn starter would you choose?”

“I didn’t get a chance to receive one, so I haven’t given much thought to it.”

“Huh.” That causes Dawn’s annoyance to cease. “You know, I can ask Professor Birch to give you a Pokémon as well,” she offers, but the words surprise her. She doesn’t know where that came from – hell, she doesn’t even know if the Professor would be willing to give him a Pokémon as well, since May was the one who asked him to give Dawn one. She begins to anxiously pick at and rip apart her dinner roll as she waits for his answer.

“No, thanks. I’m not interested.” His voice is curt. Dawn looks at his plate and realizes that he has finished eating.

“Why?” she questions, twisting the bread further in her hands. “You can train it up to participate in the Hoenn League!”

He exhales sharply in frustration, the fork in his hand dropping onto his plate with a loud clank. Dawn takes the moment to munch on the deconstructed roll. “I’ve already beaten eight gym leaders, and have fought and lost in the Ever Grande Conference.”

She swallows down her food before speaking. “Oh. I forgot you travelled through Hoenn already.” She rubs the back of her neck sheepishly. “I figured you caught some of your Pokémon from other regions, but I wasn’t able to tell if any were from Hoenn.”

He nods. “Hoenn was the second region I travelled through. I caught my Hariyama, Froslass, and Aron there.” He reaches into his pocket to grab his Pokéballs and recall his Pokémon.

“I see. Is there a reason that you’re going back again, then?”

“Hmph.” He stands up from the table, empty plate in hand. He reaches down to pick up the bowls his Pokémon ate from, stacking them one on top of the other and carrying them effortlessly, and it makes Dawn slightly envious of how easy he makes it look. “That’s none of your concern.”

She feels irritation rush through her once more – Paul has a talent for stirring such feelings within her. “Well, excuse me for trying to make small talk,” she grumbles scornfully, as she crosses her arms over her chest.

“There’s no need for that.” He exhales sharply. “What a troublesome girl,” he mutters to himself as he walks away from Dawn’s fuming figure.

Her eyebrows shoot up to her forehead, gone from irritated to furious. “What did you call me!?”

He smirks, tilting his head slightly to the left so it is angled towards her. “Hm, like I said – troublesome girl.”

And then he walks away, leaving behind a fuming Dawn.

Dawn and Piplup are enraptured by the lights.

Being from the small Twinleaf Town, Dawn never got to see the city lights often, until she travelled through cities with Ash and Brock. But none of those city lights compare to what she sees now – not even the gorgeous Valor Lakefront, where Dawn had participated in the Wallace Cup and Sinnoh Grand Festival.

“Look at all of the lights, Piplup!” she tells her penguin companion, as they marvel from the upper deck of the cruise liner. “That’s Pokétopia! It’s where really powerful trainers go to participate in coliseum battles.”

“Piplup, piplup!” Her Pokémon points to one of the skyscrapers and puffs his chest out proudly.

Dawn follows where Piplup is pointing to and gasps. “There’s a Piplup on the top of that building!” She points to the other buildings with widened eyes. “Ahh, there’s a Toxicroak, Turtwig, and Chimchar, too! Oh, and look at the Bronzor Ferris wheel!”

“Pokétopia has a lot of Sinnohan influence, since the head architect who designed the buildings is from Sinnoh.”

A “Huh?” slips out from Dawn’s lips, before she turns to her left to see Paul standing next to her, staring at the Pokétopia Skyline intently. When did he get here? She’s not mad at him anymore, of course, but she is surprised that he is voluntarily approaching and talking to her, without her prompting him to.

He moves to look at her, his onyx eyes boring into hers. It takes her a moment to realize that he has his finger outstretched towards a pink building and is talking.

“See that skyscraper?”

She snaps out of her trace and glances at the structure in question. “Y-Yeah, it’s a Lickilicky.”

He nods as his eyes leave hers to look at the building once more. “Look at its tongue.” His finger trails the length of the slanted line. “The yellow line in its tongue is actually the transparent roof of the escalator inside the building.”

Her eyes widen as she sees “Oh, wow, I didn’t even notice that!” Dawn pauses for a moment before she gathers the courage to ask him a question. “Hey, Paul, how do you know so much about this place anyway? Have you been here before?”

“That’s none of your business.”

Dawn huffs at him, and puts her hands on her hips. “Well, your rudeness, I’m sorry for trying to be friendly.” Oh, well. She knows she wouldn’t be able to get Paul to open up so easily, but it was worth a shot.

And so they stand next to each other in silence to stare at the bright, flashing lights of the buildings of the lively city and the spotlight beams waving around in the night sky. Dawn enjoys the night breeze and, surprisingly, Paul’s company, while Paul appreciates the silence between them contently.

After that, they – Paul with his hands in his pockets, and Dawn not having Piplup in her arms for once, since he was sleepy and was put back into his Pokéball – walk back to their rooms together.

Dawn is surprised how pleasant Paul has been. His final battle with Ash must have changed his demeanor significantly.

“Oh!” Dawn suddenly exclaims, as she stops walking. “Ash told me you were going to battle Brandon again. How did your rematch with Brandon go?”

He stops walking as well, and turns to face her. “I lost.”

She frowns, suddenly embarrassed to have asked him at all. “Oh . . . I’m sorry to hear that.”

“I don’t need your pity. My team just wasn’t strong enough.”

She is pensive for a moment, before realization hits her like a brick. “Is that why you’re going to Hoenn? To train more?”

“Among other reasons,” he answers, his face impassive once more, and Dawn feels happy that he’s finally revealing some information about his plans. “Brandon is in Hoenn to work on the Battle Frontier Project. After training my team more, I’ll challenge him there.”

She furrows her eyebrows. “Isn’t the Battle Frontier in the Kanto region, though?” she questions, recalling that Ash fought Brandon in Kanto.

“They’re planning on moving it to the Battle Resort island area in Hoenn.”

“Oh.”

They don’t continue walking to their rooms. Instead, Paul just stands there in silence, lost in thought, while Dawn watches him, pondering as to what he’s thinking about.

“Let’s battle,” he suggests suddenly, causing Dawn to let out a gasp. Did she just hear him correctly?

“Uh, a battle!?” she sputters out. Paul is surely going to win – he is a more powerful trainer than her for sure.

Paul shakes his head. “A contest battle.”

She blinks. “Huh? A contest battle?” It’s nearly 1AM in the morning, and he wants to have a contest battle with her? Is she so tired that she is starting to imagine things? What business would he have in a contest battle with her, anyway?

He groans and slaps a palm to his forehead – he seems to be frustrated by her response. “Forget it.”

“W-Wait, no – ”

Her arm stretches out, trying to reach for him, but he’s already walking away.

[atomicengineerdetective]

THEY ARE BACK!! OMG THEY ARE BACK! SHUT UP I'VE BEEN DREAMING ABOUT THIS!!! I Wanna Cry. DREW! and Harley! And look Kelly and Morrison are there too awww

I know they are just Cameos Btw BUT STILL

[starabsol]

contestshipping shinies

i am a mad contestshipping fanatic, i am sure i've mentioned so before. and one of my main hobbies is shiny hunting. since last year when i got my switch i've been shiny hunting left n right! and since i love contestshipping as much as i do, i went ahead and caught quite a few shinies who are contestshipping related!! ^^ i like showing stuff so heres a whole dump of shinies who r contestshipping related hehe. i dont have them all yet, im also busy w other stuff so

MAY'S POKEMON

blaziken (violet/sword)

and here some funny backstory on how i got these two!

violet blaziken i actually found on accident. since the scvi dlc came out i really wanted to get torchic so i could evolve it into blaziken. however i saw they didnt spawn in the location they were supposed to, so i popped an encounter power lvl 2 sandwich, and, crazily, a shiny torchic appeared right there. i named her ikaika! :3

sword blaziken i purposefully hatched out of an egg. surprisingly it was within 100 eggs or so, so I was very lucky there x3

2. glaceon (violet/sword)

and here some info on how i got them:

in violet i really wanted some shiny eeveelutions, since i was an eevee kid back in the day, so i got to a mass outbreak of it and managed to get like three shiny eevees within 30 minutes of a sandwich! which i evolved into leafeon, glaceon, and left the last eevee as it was. i named glaceon lazuli, based on lazuli from the eeveelution squad!

in sword i again, purposefully masuda hunted it. though it was much longer and more dreadful than the torchic hunt i did XD

3. venasaur (violet)

how i got it:

how i got this guy was surprisingly similar to how i found my shiny torchic in violet. i originally wanted to get a regular bulbasaur, but when i found four or five bulbasaur covered in some tall grass, and noticed one was different from the others, i knew i'd found a shiny! XD

4. beautifly (shining pearl)

how i got it:

let me tell you, getting this thing was painful; in the bdsp games you ARE able to find silcoon and cascoon; except there's a problem. i have shining pearl, and silcoon was exclusive to brilliant diamond (as cascoon is exclusive to shining pearl, which i had). so, i had to chainhunt wurmple. and it's very painful considering my chain broke several times. but that isn't even the main issue! wurmple can evolve into cascoon, too, which means i also had a big chance of getting cascoon instead of silcoon. and that's what happened when i got my first wurmple.. it evolved into a cascoon. i evolved it into a dustox anyway, and after more fighting i managed to get the shiny wurmple that evolved into beautifly. <3

DREW'S POKEMON:

roselia & roserade (shining pearl)

i know you see a roselia/roserade in sword there, but i actually caught it in shining pearl! since its in bdsp and i was able to chainhunt it, i actually managed to get three shiny budews within that chain without it breaking. one i kept as a budew, the other two i evolved into roselia, and eventually one of them into roserade! so i have the entire line, basically. however i like the shaders n lining in swsh a lot more so i decided to transfer them to sword <3

2. masquerain (violet/ultra sun)

how i got them:

in violet masquerain was a shiny i obtained really early as soon as i got my shiny charm! considering it's drews only pokemon that (before the dlc came) was in the games i wanted to hunt masquerain. and i know a lot of people shit on green shinies, but i love shiny masquerain.

in ultra sun i got it through the SOS method, and it went surprisingly fast. i dont think i spent that much time on it at all XD

3. flygon (violet/usum/shining pearl)

im not gonna explain what's going on here...

how i got them:

in violet as soon as the dlc came out and i had completed it i immediately rushed to shiny hunt it (trapinch) in the dlc. and i got it relatively fast, i got two even. not long after i bumped into a shiny flygon in the wild, and... like that, it continued... the first shiny i got though was named sapphire!

just like roselia/roserades case, the shiny i got was originally from shining pearl n transferred it over to sword. however, how i found this thing is WEIRD. so fucking WEIRD until this day i still dont get it. basically i was shiny hunting vibrava in the desert area of shining pearl as soon as i got the national dex. i was chainhunting, as usual. thing is, you just normally encounter pokemon, so if it's a shiny you should be able to see that it's shiny and the little sparkle effect, right? well, in this case not, apparently. because i was casually catching vibravas to keep the chain going. when you catch a pokemon you temporarily she the sprite of the pokemon you caught; but when i thought i'd caught a regular vibrava (i didnt see it to be shiny, and i saw no sparkle effect) i see a quick flash of the shiny sprite. at first i thought i was hallucinating, so i went to go check, but it was a shiny. i still dont get it. HELP. (ill put a video below LOL)

on usum i got it by doing the SOS method! that one i also found surprisingly fast.

4. absol (ultra sun/shining pearl)

shining pearl absol has, just like roselia and flygon, the same origin. it's from shining pearl. however, i instead shiny hunted absol via the mesuda method, considering the shiny charm is fucked up in bdsp and getting a shiny via the grand underground (the only spot where u can find absol in the games) is pretty much impossible. named him sol!

usum absol which i got via the mesuda method also. i originally wanted to SOS hunt it, but absol rarely ever calls for help, even on 1HP+adrenaline orb. it took awhile to get it, but when i got it i was filled with joy lol.

5. butterfree (usum)

i got this baby from the SOS method. and let me tell you, it was fucking fast. like.. like literally so fast i got it within an hour or so, maybe even less! i named him andrew >;3

HARLEY'S POKEMON

cacturne (violet)

i just got this guy from a mass outbreak! it's really cute because one of cacneas idle animations is them waving, so when i found the shiny cacnea it was just waving at me >o< i named her mayley, by the way!

2. banette (violet)

this one i also got out of a mass outbreak ^o^ if anything i managed to get two shiny shuppet, so one i evolved into banette n the other remained a shuppet! i named shuppet spooks and banette shooks! :3

3. ariados (violet)

this dude was SUCH a pain to get. first i had tried to catch it via spinarak mass outbreaks, but after 2-3 hours of running around i was fed up and decided to try an ariados outbreak instead. eventually i got it, though in my opinion, it took way too long. i named him kumo, which means spider in japanese!

and last but not least, arcanine. he's connected to contestshipping in a way, you know? so i had to hunt it >:D

how i got this baby was via mass outbreaks. i actually caught two shiny growlithe, so i evolved one and kept the other as is. arcanine i named summer, and growlithe i called lente, which means spring in dutch!! i love these babies!!

thanks for listening to me ramble. XD also, if you're a (crazy) contestshipper, PLEASE be my friend. I'm desperate. if u guys wanna see some screenshots of may n drews pkmn interacting let me know!