Shipping:ContestShipping

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ContestShipping (Japanese: シュウハル ShuHaru) is the belief that and Drew belong in a romantic relationship. The name stems from the fact that the pair are rivals who compete against each other in Pokémon Contests.

Basis
The pair first met in Slateport City during Now That's Flower Power!, where Drew became May's version of in the way he treated and spoke to her, criticizing her skills and generally being haughty. As a result, May was constantly shown to be immensely irked by his actions, and sometimes even lost her confidence in her abilities because of it. The nature of their relationship gradually changed as the went on, finally coming to a subplot climax in The Unbeatable Lightness of Seeing! that seemingly put this Ship on the clear track to being canon over the litter of one-sided canon relationships that bloomed before it.

However, as canon as it feels to some, it fell short of actually revealing any feelings, left merely as very strong implications that any feelings between them were mutual or even there, and in turn leaves the absolution of this Ship's canonization in question, as it was not brought up during May's brief return to the group in Sinnoh. Ultimately, as canon as supporters feel it is, its opposers feel there remains a gap wide enough for argument in favor of its Ship rival,, and continue the debate between the two.

Evidence

 * Now That's Flower Power!
 * In Drew's first episode, Drew seems to like her from the moment he sees her, because he would not make fun of her act if he never saw it. He seems genuinely unhappy when May did not finish their battle.


 * Win, Lose or Drew!
 * Drew's second appearance on the television series introduces the recurring theme of Drew giving May roses. Drew hands his rose to May who stares at it in surprise. She blushes and thanks him for the rose to which Drew responds with, "It's not for you, it's for your ! It looks like the still has a lot of training to do."


 * Pros and Con Artists!
 * After May's Beautifly performs its failed and  combination, Drew appears and makes a negative comment about May's ability as a . He openly flirts with May this time, claiming that he's flattered that she remembered his name and subsequently hands her a second rose. Before he leaves, he warns May to not "get her hopes up." His excuse for coming to talk to her was to see Beautifly, a common excuse at the beginning of the series.


 * Come What May!
 * Upon receiving her first ribbon from the Contest, May is congratulated by Drew, who delivers his third rose. Upon receiving it, May asks Drew rather coyly if the rose is for Beautifly again, indicating that she has suspicions as to the true nature of his roses. Drew slightly admits that the roses aren't really for Beautifly as he responds to her question with a dubious, "Yeah... Something like that..." This shows that the rose is obviously for May. Since a single red rose represents love, this can mean Drew has very special feelings for May.




 * Disaster of Disguise
 * At the beginning of the episode, Drew is facing a masked opponent. After being defeated, he runs into Ash and company at the Pokémon Center. He greets May, but completely ignores Ash, Max, and Brock, even when Ash accusingly says "You mean you lost?". Drew then tells May he won't be entering the Contest because he didn't think Roselia would be well enough to battle. May is shocked, but she also seems disappointed she won't be able to see him. When Drew says there is a very strong Coordinator named Phantom she takes him very seriously.


 * Disguise Da Limit
 * A few scenes in this episode shows Drew watching the Contest in the audience. Many wonder why he even came to the Contest because he was not competing in the Contest, and he could have been spending time comforting his badly injured ; yet, he chose to go see May compete. During the episode, Drew is constantly commenting on how much May has improved. Whenever something goes wrong, like when 's failed, he looked extremely concerned and nervous,but when she was doing well, he looked really happy; almost as if he felt exactly what May was feeling. Later, Drew is surprised that May had won, but also shows that he's very happy for her.


 * A Fan with a Plan
 * When Drew's fangirls are surrounding him, May seems upset that he is more popular than her. Later, when Savannah says it would be an honor to compete with her and Drew, she says, "Well, maybe Drew..." When she finds Drew practicing she watches from behind the bushes, until he tells her to come closer. Then they compliment each other on their new Pokémon.


 * Who, What, When, Where, Wynaut?
 * After being separated from the rest of the group, Drew looks slightly jealous when May tells Roderick that Brock would know what to do.


 * One scene includes a closeup of May and Drew holding hands while falling down a cliff and into a river. When May sees that Drew has been knocked out from the impact of the waterfall, she becomes extremely concerned and tries to keep Drew's head above the water while telling him not to worry because she's got him. After being pulled out of the river by the, May is seen begging a still unconscious Drew to say something. When he finally wakes up, she is visibly relieved. During the Wynauts' "party" shortly after, Drew is seen watching May intently.


 * Later on, when May accidentally gets pulled into 's machine and is taken away, Drew shouts "May!" in concern and runs after the balloon, eventually freeing her with the help of the Wynaut and his . Once May has been set free and the entire group is reunited, the two Coordinators perform a double to send Team Rocket blasting off.


 * Hi Ho Silver Wind
 * Amidst May and Drew's conversation, Harley interrupts and notices that May has received her fourth rose from Drew. He immediately suspects that May and Drew are in love which causes May to blush and protest at Harley's remark. She quickly responds that she and Drew aren't friends, just rivals, and that Drew just makes fun of her most of the time. After Harley leaves, Drew walks away in a huff, suspecting that he was upset by May's description of him. This visibly disappoints May, who wanted to spend more time talking to Drew. However, knowing that Harley's feelings towards May are less than friendly, Harley may simply have been trying to fluster and embarrass May during the entire exchange.


 * While Harley is talking to May in the background, Drew is seen in the foreground sulking, indicating that he's jealous of Harley and paying close attention to the conversation. However, his behavior may be passed off as suspicion rather than envy.


 * Deceit and Assist
 * While May is following Harley's false advice, Drew constantly watches Harley, and catches him talking to himself about teaching May a lesson. Drew confronts Harley and is obviously extremely angry about his taking advantage of May. He also smiles with satisfaction when May pulls her appeal together despite Harley's deceit. Later on, when May apologizes for not going through with Skitty's Assist the whole way, Drew tells her about Harley's plan. Unbelieving, May goes face to face with a foiled Harley, who remarks, albeit rather angrily, in turn that, "It almost worked too, and you never would have known if your annoying boyfriend over here had kept his trap shut." Neither May nor Drew bothers to correct his statement, although Drew glares at Harley at the words "annoying boyfriend." After Harley leaves the scene, Drew yells at May for listening to other people's advice and tells her to trust in her Pokémon instead. May looks hurt and during Drew's second round appeal, May is seen thinking deeply about what Drew had said.


 * Rhapsody In Drew!
 * When May and Drew start their battle and Drew sends out his Flygon, he says he raised it for this moment. He has never done this with any other character. This means he considers May special, someone he has to do extra for instead of using Flygon in the other rounds and her battle with him.
 * When May and Drew say their goodbyes at the end of the episode, Drew mentions that he'd like to see May again in the next Grand Festival. May then blushingly stares at Drew as he walks away down the beach. She barely seems to acknowledge, , Max, and her mother, all who have come over and are standing right next to her. Brock asks with a smug, hinting tone if that was Drew she was talking to (so Brock was hinting that there was something going on between them). While May is talking to her friends and family, May's mother, Caroline, interrupts and teases her daughter about Drew. In response, May overreacts and protests in embarrassment.


 * On Cloud Arcanine
 * During the episode, Drew annoys May by telling her that he wants the same she is after and interfering when she is about to battle it on a cliff. Many ContestShippers believe that this is a way for Drew to get attention from May just by purposely trying to catch the same Arcanine; however, this is debatable as Drew was already attempting to capture Arcanine before he noticed that May was there.


 * When steals Arcanine and its three baby,  and  try to help get the Pokémon back, but May and Drew both insist that they work together. During the battle with Team Rocket, Ash and Brock comment at how well May and Drew work together despite having very different battle styles. At the end of the episode, Drew tells May about a  coming up. She asks if he is entering and he replies, "Nah, I have to find a new Pokémon to strengthen my team first, but I think you'd do really well in it." She then watches him walk away with a sunset background.


 * Harley Rides Again
 * At the end of the episode following May's defeat to Harley, May receives a letter and a rose from Drew via Lilian which informs her of another where she can again qualify for another ribbon. It is noted that this rose is given an unusual amount of focus during this double-take in which it takes up the entire screen.


 * Odd Pokémon Out
 * May is holding the rose and the letter she receives in the previous episode while on a boat. She apparently considers these two items as sentimental to her. As May already knows quite well what Drew means with the roses at this point in time now, her keeping and looking at Drew's romantic token that appeared in a prior episode is quite significant. However this is not necessarily a romantic hint, since there is a possibility that May is just taking "Drew's" entry in the next contest as a serious rivalry.


 * Spontaneous Combusken!
 * It is revealed that the rose and the letter was not sent by Drew but by a rookie Coordinator named Brianna. May teases Drew about the mix-up, rationalizing that it's not her fault for thinking the rose and the letter was from him. Drew gets extremely embarrassed and blushes, especially when his Roselia begins teasing him as well.
 * During the Contest, Brianna presses the question if May likes Drew or not. In response, May's behavior becomes cautious and coy as she blushes and reacts sensitively to the idea of her and Drew being a couple. She nervously avoids the question, never giving Brianna a straight answer.
 * Jessie observes May's affections twice in this episode. She first comments about being in love when talking to Brianna and May. The second time, she's sitting with on the beach, commenting and reminiscing on romance. James and  observe from a distance, confused with her out of character personality.
 * At the end of the episode, Drew reminds May that she only has two ribbons left until the Grand Festival in Kanto. Again, Drew walks off on the beach with May staring after him, blushing.


 * Going for Choke
 * Drew showed up for May's Contest even though he had won his five ribbons a long time ago. Drew had gone out of his way to see May in her Contest, and many believe it was because he wanted to see May, and truly cares about whether she wins or not.
 * When, , and Max fly away with 's Balloon, Drew follows it and rescues them. When Ash thanks him later, Drew says that he only did it for May, so someone could cheer her on. Many believe this sentence proves that Drew thinks far more of May than of Ash, Brock, and Max.
 * Near the end of the episode, when May talks to her friends, Drew appears again. Ash starts recounting how Drew saved the party only to have May rush over to Drew without listening to him. Max tells Ash that she didn't hear what he had to say with a smirk, hinting that Max thinks/knows May likes Drew.
 * When May goes to talk to Drew, he sounds a bit flustered and cut their conversation very short and leaves, showing he was probably a bit nervous around May. May sounds very disappointed when Drew abruptly leaves, which means she wanted to talk to him longer.


 * May, We Harley Drew'd Ya!
 * May meets Solidad, one of Drew's old friends, and talk for a bit. Solidad tells her that she and Drew are close and talk to each other often. When May asks her what they talk about, Solidad smiles and tells her, "He's the type who never listens to anyone else's advice. So, we end up talking about other Coordinators we might've seen in performance, and at some point, he started in on you. You and only you." Later, Solidad tells May, "He's gotten feelings for you."


 * Thinning The Hoard
 * When Harley told May that something was wrong with Drew, she panicked and ran to see what was wrong. When Drew said that he didn't feel any passion when used, she whispers "Oh, Drew..." to show Drew that he's pushing Absol too hard. When Drew snapped at her, she looks completely hurt and shocked, beyond what any normal friend would feel. May also takes what Drew says very seriously instead of brushing it off because she knows it isn't true. Drew almost seems shocked himself that he speaks that way to May.


 * Channeling the Battle Zone
 * After May beats Drew for the first time he walks back stage to congratulate her. He flips his hair as always and shakes her hand.
 * Later, when May is battling Solidad, Drew is watching and appears to be sad when May loses. Rather then be happy one of his best friends won, he shows sympathy for the fact that May lost.
 * At the end of the episode, Solidad gives May a rose from Drew. May runs after him to say goodbye. When Drew leaves, Ash, Brock, Max and Scott show up. May looks quietly while smiling at the rose she had received.


 * The Unbeatable Lightness of Seeing!
 * When May and Drew are talking alone, May says, "I've been thinking a lot about you lately." Drew quickly but calmly replies, "Were they good thoughts?" May quickly responds saying, "Come on, of course they were!" with a blush. She then continues to talk about their past fondly. In the original Japanese, after Haruka says her first line to Shuu, he asks, "Thinking about me?" and Haruka replies, "No, no...I don't mean like that."


 * Near the end of the episode, Drew and May look at the sunset together. They continue to talk until they are interrupted by Harley, who discusses the connection between sunsets and romance. He looks at them and says, "How touching. It's dangerous, two kids alone like this." May immediately tries to dispute that notion, despite blushing in front of him.

Similarities

 * Both are s that have competed in at least two Grand Festivals, and ended within the top 8 both times.
 * Both have lost to Solidad at least once, and cried after the first time.
 * May and Drew both own a Bug/Flying type Pokémon whose evolutionary lines focus heavily on metamorphosis: and, respectively.
 * Similarly, both May's Beautifly and Drew's Masquerain are Bug/Flying types and know the move.
 * Both May and Drew own a Pokémon that has Grass as its primary type and Poison as a secondary type: and  respectively.
 * Both of them also know and have evolved at least once.

Alternate names

 * DAML - stands for Drew And May Love.
 * ShuHaru - The original (Japanese) term for the ship, using the standard Japanese naming method of combining the first 2 characters from each characters name, starting with the dominant character.
 * Mew / Day - Combinations of their English names, May and Drew or Drew and May. These terms are unofficial and rarely used.

ContestShipping シュウハル