Ash, Iris, Cilan, May and Brock had finally arrived at the Nimbasa Contest Hall, much to Iris and May's delight. The place was a dome shaped arena with a large stage in the middle that was surrounded by a large area of water along the sides. The place was seated to fit several thousand people at once and it also had 5 tables at the edge of the stage for judging. Everyone walked down to the stage and marbled at its glory.
"Wow, I can't believe that tomorrow I'll be performing in this very arena to probably thousands of people!" Iris exclaimed. "This is gonna be so awesome!"
"I know, I thought only the grand festival has a stadium this big and beautiful" May added.
"Hey May, I forgot to ask, how did you do in the Johto Grand Festival?" Ash asked.
"I got second place, I would have won it but I went up against Solidad in the final round. It was a close battle though because our points were very close, but she still won"
"Well maybe you'll win the Wallace cup this year, ya know, if I don't win" Ash boasted.
"Is that a challenge?"
"You bet it is"
"Well then, bring it on!"
"Consider it brought"
Ash and May leaned closer to each other with every word and by the time they were done, their faces were very close and almost touching. After they realized this they both blushed and backed away from each other. Cilan and Brock noticed this and smirked.
"Hey guys, why don't we go practice for the contest now? Iris and I will go with Cilan and show him the basics and you two practice with each other" Brock suggested.
"Ok, me and May will go to the Pokémon center and we'll see you guys later" said Ash.
"Alright, we'll head to the mountains and train there" said Iris. She quickly grabbed both Brock and Cilan's arms and dragged them off to the mountains with top speed, leaving Ash and May alone in the stadium. May and Ash looked at each other, confused, and then laughed and headed to the Pokémon center.
When Ash and May arrived at the Pokémon Center and went around back they saw that they were the only ones there.
"I guess everyone is off training somewhere else, lucky for us we get to train alone" said May as she took out 2 Pokeballs and threw them. Out of them came Lillipup and Zorua. "You guys up for a little practice before the contest?" May asked the two Pokémon at her feet. They both barked as if saying yes. "Perfect, Zorua, do you wanna enter the contest with Ash?" Zorua barked happily and wagged its tail. Ash and May laughed.
"It's settled then, I'm using you in the contest tomorrow" Ash stated. He then remembered that he didn't know any of Zorua's moves and then pulled out his Pokedex, pointing it at Zorua.
"Zorua's moves are as followed: Shadow Ball, Dark Pulse, Hidden Power and Psychic" the Pokedex stated.
"Wow, a Zorua that can use Psychic, cool!" Ash exclaimed.
"Now Ash, remember that in a contest battle, it's all about showing off your Pokémon, nothing like a gym battle" May reminded him.
"I know, I know, I've been in enough contests already to know that much. Now the question is what to do to show off Zorua?"
"Why don't you just relax and think of something that would make Zorua standout"
"Alright…" Ash took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He began to think of various routines that he could have Zorua perform and how it could perform them. After a few minutes of thinking it finally hit him. His eyes shot open and he turned to Zorua.
"Alright Zorua, are you ready to practice?" Ash asked excitedly.
Zorua barked happily and did a back flip in agreement.
"That's what I like to see! Now get ready" Zorua took an offensive stance. "Alright Zorua use Shadow Ball and aim it in the sky!" Ash commanded. Zorua followed and shot a shadow ball into the sky.
"Now use hidden power and shoot it at the shadow ball!" he followed.
Zorua did as ordered and shot several Hidden Power balls toward the Shadow ball in the sky. When they collided there was a flash and the Shadow Ball was shining both Light and Dark light.
"Now use Psychic and ride on the Shadow Ball!"
Zorua's eyes started to become blue and it began to fly up and it landed on the Shadow Ball. Soon the ball began to radiate blue as well and Zorua was controlling the ball like a rollercoaster as it left a shiny and glittery path behind it.
"Now jump off the Shadow Ball and use Dark Pulse!"
Zorua jumped off the Shadow Ball and Shot a dark, tangled beam at the ball, causing it to explode and shower Zorua in a glittery powder, making it look beautiful. Ash's eyes widened and he smiled in success. He ran over to Zorua and picked him up and swung him around in his arms.
"Great job Zorua!" He cheered while still swinging around a happy Zorua.
"Not bad Ash, not bad at all" May said and walked over to Ash.
"Thanks, I learned from the best" he complimented. May blushed slightly and looked at her feet.
"Are you saying I'm the best?" she asked. Ash blushed and became embarrassed after realizing what he had said.
"I-I guess… anyway, let's see your routine with Lillipup" Ash suggested, trying to change the topic.
"Oh, Ok! Get ready Lillipup" Lillipup took the same offensive that Zorua had taken. "Lillipup use Shadow Ball, Multifire!" She ordered.
Lillipup did as ordered and shot a dozen shadow balls into the air.
"Alright, next up use thunderbolt!"
Lillipup began charging with electrical energy before firing a huge bolt of lightning into the sky, hitting the Shadow Balls and causing them to explode and shower down a wave of glittery powder.
"Now run around in a circle and use Quick Attack!"
Lillipup began to run around using Quick Attack and as it ran it gathered up all the destroyed Shadow Ball remnants and it began to shine off her coat and leaving a glittery trail behind her. After she had ran in a circle 3 or 4 times she jumped in the air and did a somersault and then landed in the center of the showering Shadow Ball.
"Amazing Lillipup!" May cheered and then ran and picked up Lillipup in her arms and swung her around.
"I expect nothing less from you May" said Ash.
May blushed at this statement. "Thanks Ash…" she replied.
"BREAKING NEWS!" a voice said from behind them. Ash and May turned around and they saw that the monitor on the side of the Pokémon center was on and Wallace was on it with some reporter.
"Wallace has just decided that the Wallace Cup contest in Nimbasa city will now be a partners contest. Wallace, care to explain what that means because I have no clue" The reporter asked Wallace.
"Gladly, it means that anyone intending on entering the Wallace Cup must enter with a partner. You and your partner will perform a routine with two Pokémon in the appeal stage and battle together with your Pokémon in the battle stage. I know this may be a last minute change and all of you may be caught off guard, but I figure that this way all of the competitors will be pushed to their limits and become better coordinators because of it. Plus this will make you and your partner better friends" Wallace replied.
"Thanks for the information Wallace. You heard it hear folks, if you wanna enter the Wallace cup, find that special someone and join forces. That concludes this interview with Wallace. See ya later!" The TV then turned off. Ash and May were completely caught off guard by Wallace's announcement.
"Are you Kidding me!" Ash exclaimed with a mad expression on his face.
"I know, I mean what kind of person does this last minute!" May shouted, angrily.
Ash and May grumbled for a while but then Ash suddenly smiled. "Ya know, it's not that bad an idea if you think about it. This way, you and I can compete in the contest together and that way we can win together." He said while blushing.
"You, want me to be your partner?" May asked, her cheeks started to turn pink.
"I mean, if you want to, cause if not you can enter with Iris or brock…" he said while rubbing the back of his neck, slightly embarrassed. May took both his hands in hers and looked into his face.
"Ash, I wouldn't change my partner for anyone in the world" she reassured him. They were just inches away from each other's face and both were unknowingly leaning closer. Their lips were about to when Iris, Cilan and Brock ran up to them.
"HEY GUYS!" Iris yelled, making both of them yelp and separate, blushing madly. The three ran up to Ash and May. "Have you heard the update about the Wallace cup?"
"Yeah, we just saw it…" Ash answered, still blushing crazily. " I'm competing with May, what about you guys?"
"Aw man! I was gonna compete with May!" Iris whined. She then sighed an fell to her knees. "And now I don't have a partner cause Cilan is with brock… hey where is Brock?"
Everyone looked around but Brock was nowhere to be found. Ash suddenly grinned.
"I think I know where he is…"
"So would you like to go to dinner with me? I am a Pokémon Doctor in training so we have a lot to discuss…" Brock said as he held Nurse Joy's hand and gazed at her with loving eyes.
"Told you…" said Ash, "Where there's a nurse Joy, there's Brock"
Suddenly, Croagunk popped out of its ball and used Poison Jab in its owner's rear end, causing him to collapse on the floor in pain. Croagunk then pulled Brock off to a place that no one really knows the whereabouts of.
"That's Croagunk for ya…" Ash said with his hands behind his head. Everyone else sighed.
"Well can we work on finding me a partner for the Wallace Cup please?" Iris asked. "If I don't find a partner, I can't compete"
"Yeah that's a shame…" said Brock who just suddenly popped out of nowhere, causing everyone else to scream and jump back.
"Where the heck did you come from?" Iris asked, slightly angered.
"Not important…" He replied with a straight face. "Hey, why don't you compete with Cilan? I don't mind sitting out the Wallace Cup, I like watching contests instead of being in them"
"Are you sure Brock? You're really giving up a lot" Ash asked.
"It's fine, besides that just means one more outfit I have to make for everyone"
"Well Cilan would you like to be my partner?" Iris asked him.
"Sure, it's probably better anyway, I've been with you a lot longer than Brock" He replied.
"Great, now I suggest the four of us go sign up for the contest otherwise it won't matter who's with who" Ash suggested.
The five nodded and headed back to the contest arena.