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Panting heavily, May and the others sprinted through the city streets. By the time they finally reached the Pokémon Contest Hall, they were completely out of breath.
From a distance, however, they saw something unexpected.
Kai was already there.
He was leaning casually against the wall beside the main entrance, holding a chilled drink, calmly sipping it one mouthful at a time looking utterly relaxed.
"Huh?" May froze mid-step. "Mr. Kai? Weren't you behind us? How did you get here before us?"
Before Kai could answer, she noticed movement from the other side of the wall.
A Dragonite slowly walked into view, holding an enormous ice cream cone, licking it with the same blissful expression.
Realization hit instantly.
Ash practically leapt into the air. "You flew here on Dragonite?! That's not fair that's cheating!"
"Cheating?" Kai lifted his chin. "This is called making good use of your Pokémon. You only have yourselves to blame for not thinking of it. Now hurry May, the confirmation deadline's almost here."
Knowing time was tight, May nodded quickly. Without even wiping the sweat from her forehead, she rushed straight into the contest hall.
Ash and the others followed close behind. Before they went in, Kai handed each of them a cold drink.
"Drink these after you catch your breath," he warned. "Otherwise your lungs won't thank you."
---
The Slateport City Pokémon Contest Hall stood in the center of a large plaza.
The building itself was a five-story, hexagonal-domed structure reminiscent of an old circus arena, but solid and modern rather than a tent.
Even though the contest wouldn't start until 1:00 p.m., crowds had already gathered outside. Spectators were buzzing with excitement, eager to soak in the atmosphere early.
Kai was the last of the group to enter the lobby.
From across the hall, he saw May standing at the registration counter, completing the confirmation process with the staff.
He glanced up at the clock.
9:57 a.m.
Only three minutes to spare.
She'd made it barely.
Figures, Kai thought wryly. Anyone who can run into a Duskull in broad daylight clearly has absurd luck.
When May returned to the group, she finally let out a long breath of relief. Only then did her stomach growl loudly, and she became aware of how disheveled she must look.
"Sorry… I caused you all so much trouble," she said sheepishly.
"It's fine," Misty waved it off, then shot a pointed glance at Ash. "We're used to this kind of thing already."
The hint went completely over Ash's head as he continued chugging his drink.
"So… what now?" he asked.
"What do you think?" Misty pressed a hand to her empty stomach. "We eat first."
---
They left the contest hall and walked to a nearby restaurant.
The place had only just opened. Aside from them, there was only one female customer seated in a corner.
The moment May spotted her, she stopped short.
"Huh…?" She stared for a moment, then hurried over. "Excuse me are you Ms. Solidad?"
The woman looked up.
She had long green hair tied into twin ponytails, her age seemingly close to Kai's. She wore a simple, yet effortlessly charming white T-shirt and jeans.
"Yes," she said politely. "And you are…?"
"It really is you!" May exclaimed. "I'm your fan! Oh—sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My name's May. I'm a Pokémon Coordinator too!"
Before Solidad could reply—
A blur.
Kai barely had time to blink before Brock was suddenly kneeling on one knee in front of her, holding a rose he'd acquired from absolutely nowhere.
"Oh, beautiful lady! Do you believe in love at first sight? Because the moment I laid eyes on you, Cupid's arrow pierced my heart and I'm certain you felt it too!"
"…Huh?"
Solidad stared in shock.
She didn't have long to process it.
Misty and Max immediately grabbed Brock by the ears and dragged him away.
With the threat removed, May let out a sigh of relief.
"I'm so sorry about that," she said quickly. "Please don't mind my friend."
"It's fine," Solidad smiled gently. "So—are you here to compete, or just to watch?"
"I'm competing," May admitted, scratching her cheek. "It's my first contest, actually… so I'm pretty nervous."
Seeing Ash and the others looking confused, May hurried to make introductions.
"This is Solidad a legendary Pokémon Coordinator! She's won a Grand Festival and even had a feature in Coordinator Monthly. She's my idol and Hoenn's most popular Coordinator!"
Then she gestured to her group. "These are my friends. They're here to support me."
"I'm Misty."
"I'm Ash—this is Pikachu!"
"Pika~!"
"I'm Max—May's brother!"
"I'm Brock! Currently single!"
Everyone greeted her at once.
Kai, meanwhile, raised an eyebrow.
Just a few days ago she barely knew what a contest was, he thought. So either she crammed like crazy… or Bishi gave her a crash course last night.
Solidad smiled warmly. "Those are all things of the past. I'm not a Coordinator anymore I'm just a Pokémon Doctor now."
"A Pokémon Doctor?" Misty asked. "Here in Slateport?"
"No," Solidad shook her head. "My clinic is in Twinleaf Town, near Littleroot. I'm only here to watch the contest."
At the mention of "doctor," Misty's eyes lit up.
"Kai! She's a Pokémon Doctor! Maybe she can help Jigglypuff remember the Everstone?"
That reminded Kai instantly. He released Jigglypuff from its Poké Ball.
Aside from looking a bit sluggish, it seemed fine.
"Ms. Solidad," Kai said, "Jigglypuff swallowed an Everstone by accident. We haven't been able to get it out."
Solidad immediately shifted into professional mode. After asking a few questions, she came to the same conclusion as Nurse Joy.
"There are only two solutions," she said. "Surgery—or waiting for it to pass naturally. Unfortunately, my clinic isn't here, and I don't have the equipment. If you'd like, you can come to Twinleaf Town after the contest."
Kai considered it briefly. Going there would mean backtracking against his planned route.
"For now, we'll wait," he decided. "Jigglypuff's stable. I still need to challenge the Dewford Gym after that, I'll visit your clinic."
"Gym challenge?" Solidad blinked. "You're a Trainer?"
"Yes."
She stared at him more closely—and suddenly gasped.
"Wait—YOU'RE the Johto and Kanto Double Champion?!"
Everyone jumped.
Solidad, usually so calm, was suddenly just as excited as May earlier.
"You're Kai! I saw your match on TV recently—you were incredible! Two regions, two championships! I'm your fan! Could you sign something for me?"
Even May felt her worldview crack a little.
So my idol… is his fan?
Does that make me a fan of a fan?!
Kai blinked, then chuckled. "Of course. Where would you like it signed?"
Solidad pulled a photo from her wallet a picture of herself smiling brightly at an amusement park, a Ferris wheel towering behind her.
Kai signed the back:
'To a healer with a kind heart keep saving Pokémon.' — Kai
It was simple, but sincere.
Solidad beamed and carefully put it back into her wallet.
"Thank you. I'll treasure this."
With that, the atmosphere warmed noticeably.
They shared a table, and at Misty's urging, May skipped breakfast entirely and bombarded Solidad with questions about contests.
Solidad answered generously, guiding her just as Bishi had the night before.
They talked until noon.
Finally, May stood and bowed deeply.
"Thank you so much. I'm really grateful."
"Do your best," Solidad said kindly. "I'll be cheering for you from the stands."
---
By the time May reached the contestant waiting room, the nerves finally hit.
Her heart pounded.
Thanks to companion privileges, Kai and the others were allowed inside as well.
The hallway was filled with Coordinators preparing in silence rookies and veterans alike, tension thick in the air.
Kai, on the other hand, felt oddly relaxed.
This wasn't his battle.
For him, this was simply… interesting.
12:53 p.m.
The chatter faded.
Then music echoed through the hall.
An announcer's voice rang out—
The Slateport City Pokémon Contest had officially begun.
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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For early access to advanced chapters on P-atreon:
P-atreon/iamxeno
(Just remove the - hyphen to access normally)
Thank you so much for your support and for reading!