AN: Hello guys, sorry it took me so long to post this chapter. I had to do a ton of research on a certain character's Pokémon (who will be introduced this chapter) and how the Contests work because I've only up to episode eight of the Advanced Generation anime which was before they introduced Contests. Hopefully though, it shouldn't take me to long to get the rest of the chapters out, and hopefully I got everything right.
And for those of you reading when I release this Merry Christmas!
-Chapter 1: Let the Show Begin-
Not much longer now, Serena thought to herself in the plane. In just a few moments Serena would be in Hoenn. Serena could barely contain her excitement. What were the Pokémon Contests like, what new friends would she make, and what new Pokémon would she catch? The moment the captain announced that the passengers could exit the plane; she got off as quickly as she could. She was here, Petalburg City, where the next phase of her journey would begin.
Moments later, Serena was inside the Pokémon Center getting a map of the Hoenn region, when Nurse Joy called, "Serena, there is someone wishing to speak with you over the phone. He says his name is Ash."
"Thank you Nurse Joy," she responded, walking toward the phone booths.
"Um, hi Serena," Ash's familiar voice greeted through the phone, scratching the back of his head.
"Hi Ash," she responded.
"Pika Pika!" his partner exclaimed.
"Hi Pikachu," she said through a laugh, starring into Ash's eyes for a few award seconds before saying, "So you're back in Kanto already?"
"Yeah, I just got here a few minutes ago, and I'm assuming you're in Petalburg right now."
"Yes,"
"You're taking part in Pokémon Contests too right?"
She nodded.
"Then while you're there, you might want to go to the gym, I've got a friend may be able to help you."
"Pika," Pikachu said, sounding disappointed for whatever reason.
"What Pikachu?" Ash seemed just as confused as Serena was, then he started laughing.
"What's so funny?" she asked.
"Nothing, I just made a joke without realizing it. You'll understand once you meet my friend."
"Okay," she was still confused, but decided to ask, "Um, Ash, about what I said at the airport…" she trailed off.
"I- well I don't know what to say," he said, "It's all I've thought about since you left. I've never felt this way about anyone before, and I don't know what these feelings are, but I think that I'm ready to find out. And I want to do that with you. It's all I thought about on the way home. I don't want to interrupt your journey though, so I can wait and will be cheering you on all the way. And, well I guess what I'm trying to say is, I love you too, Serena."
"Th-thank you Ash, you have no idea what that means to me." He really didn't, Serena wasn't sure she knew what that meant to her. Suddenly she heard an explosion from his side of the screen and thought she heard some very familiar voices reciting their motto.
"I better go see what that is," Ash said, leaving, "Bye Serena, talk to you later." He hung up, leaving the screen blank.
"Hey, Nurse Joy," she asked, "do you happen to know where the next Contest will be?"
"There actually going to be one here tonight, were you thinking about entering?"
"No, I'm just going to watch, I'm a Performer from the Kalos region and I want to see what a Contest is like."
"Oh, well I think you'll find they aren't very different than Performances."
"Thank you, Nurse Joy," Serena said, leaving the Pokémon Center. She decided that she would head to the gym after seeing the Contest. When it was finally time for it to begin, Serena brought out her Pokémon and told them, "All right guys, it's time to see what these Contests are all about, and let's look for some routine ideas too while we're at it," she raised her arm to the middle of their huddle, "On three. One, two, three!"
"Ladies and gentlemen!" the announcer began, "It's time. The moment you've all been waiting for, the Petalburg City Pokémon Contest!" the crowd erupted into cheers, "Now," the announcer continued, "I am pleased to present our judges. First up, the director of the Contest committee, Contesta! Second, Sukizo, the from the Pokémon enthusiasts club! And finally, our very own Nurse Joy! As you all know, the winner of this Contest will win the Petalburg Ribbon!" The board above her head showed a red ribbon with pink outlines.
The crowd cheered even louder, Ribbons? Serena pondered I guess those are like the Princess Keys
"To win this ribbon though are contestants must make their way through the preliminary round, where they are judged for performance quality on the acts they've worked so hard on."
That sounds a lot like the Freestyle Performance.
"And now, let us begin; please give a warm welcome to, May!"
If Serena thought the crowds were loud before, they were deafening now. Serena had only heard this kind of cheering when Aria was performing. On the stage was a girl with brown who looked the same age as she was, if not a little younger. Serena saw that the girl had a radiant smile; much like the one Aria wore on stage.
"Blaziken, take the stage!" The brunette called out. "Spin, with Blaze Kick!" she commanded before the Pokémon was even out of its Pokéball. Suddenly a flaming whirlwind erupted, when it died down it revealed the familiar form a Blaziken, who did a flip before landing. "Now, jump, spin, and use Sky Uppercut and Fire Spin together." The Fire-type did as asked, leaving a flaming tornado underneath it, the flames then expanded outwards. "Now, finish it with Overheat!" a flaming explosion erupted from the Pokémon's body, when it collided with the fire tornado, it burst apart, sending tiny sparks all over the stadium. Both trainer and Pokémon bowed now that they had finished their performance. The crowd was ecstatic at the performance, and Serena couldn't blame them, she herself was in awe.
"What a spectacular performance by May!" the announcer's voice snapped Serena out of her trance, "Now let's see what the judges have to say." Serena watched as the judges posted their scores on the board. The scores added up to 29.6 out of 30. The pair gave one last bow before walking off the stage. "And there you have it folks! Now let's move on to our next performance…" Serena was hardly listening though; she kept replaying the performance in her head. How had that girl May done it, the way she had captivated the audience in just a single move, it was incredible. It was the same thing that Aria had done in the Master Class. How was Serena supposed to compete with that level of skill? She kept thinking, half watching the other performances, none of them quite as good as the first, but still good. Before Serena knew it, the preliminary round was over. May had moved on (to no one's surprise) along with three others.
"All right, ladies and gentlemen, let the Contest Battles begin!"
Contest Battles? What are those? But the announcer gave no explanation.
"The first battle will be May versus John!" The girl from before walked on to the stage along with a strange boy. Serena was surprised that boys could enter Contests. That was unlike the Performances in Kalos where only girls could enter. Or at least Serena thought only girls could enter; the title wouldn't be the Kalos Queen if otherwise, right?
"Blaziken!" the girl called, "On stage!" the boy summoned a strange looking Pokémon that looked like a ninja mixed with a tree. Serena pulled out her Pokédex to see what it was.
Shiftry: the Wicked Pokémon, a Grass and Dark type, and the final evolution of Seedot. Shiftry is a mysterious Pokémon that is said to live atop towering trees dating back over a thousand years. It creates terrific windstorms with the fans it holds.
Shiftry a Grass and Dark type, against Blaziken a Fire and Fighting type. Serena wondered why the boy would go for such a terrible matchup when he knew that May had a Blaziken.
"Let's start this with Razor Leaf, Shiftry!" John commanded. The Grass type did as told sending a torrent a glowing green leaves towards its opponent.
"Counter it with Fire Spin!" the girl yelled. A vortex of swirling flames erupted from the Fire type's mouth, incinerating the leaves and proceeding on to Shiftry. Serena flinched when the super-effective attack hit its mark, and noticed that there were bars on the screen above below the two combatants' pictures. The one underneath the John's went down for some reason.
"Spin and use Blaze Kick!" May shouted, with the same smile she had worn her entire time on stage. The Blaze Pokémon followed its orders, creating that same flaming tornado that it had used as its entrance in the preliminary round.
"Quick, use Feint Attack!" her opponent commanded, looking worried. The Dark type clashed, but was overpowered by the oncoming Fire type. John's bar dropped even further after that attack.
"Now, let's finish this, Sky Uppercut!" the brunette yelled. Her Blaziken rushed in fist glowing, and launched the Wicked Pokémon several yards into the air with a single blow. The boy's meter was empty now.
"And that's that, the battle goes to May!" the announcer called out. Both trainers returned the Pokémon to their Pokéball before waving and leaving the stage as the crowd cheered once again. Just like in the preliminary round, May had the complete attention of the audience. Still thinking on the two near perfect performances, Serena didn't notice the rest of the battles.
"And there you have I folks!" the announcer snapped back into focus, "The winner of this year's Petalburg Contest is, May!" the announcer handed the red ribbon that was shown at the beginning to May.
With the Contest over, Serena decided that she would finally head to the Gym. Unlike many of the other Gyms she had seen with Ash, this one was very simple. In the middle of the battlefield was a boy who looked about ten, he had black hair, a green shirt, and khakis on.
"Ah, are you a challenger?" he asked, "I'm the Gym Leader, my name is Max."
"Really, you're the Gym Leader?" she asked incredulously.
"Yup." He replied, then got excited and said, "Wait a second, it's you, you're that girl from the Master Class."
"You watched that?"
"Yeah, you're the girl who lost to Aria in the finals."
"Oh," she sighed, was that really what people remembered her as?
"Um, what's your name? Hold on, I'll think of it. Oh that's right, you're Sarah."
"It's Serena." She corrected, a little offended. "And remember, I did make it to the finals, not everyone can do that."
"I know, both yours and Aria's performances were great, but I guess that you and your team didn't make the cut, huh." This kid was really starting to get on her nerve now. "But that's not what you're here for though is it, you're here for a Gym Battle right."
"Well, no I-"
"Come on, I insist."
"No, no, that's not what I'm here for."
"Then why are you here? You must want a battle."
"Oh, leave her alone, Max." a voice called out. Serena looked over and saw the girl from the Contest.
"You, you're the girl who won the Contest," Serena said in shock.
"You watched?" the girl asked.
"Yeah, you were amazing. I'm Serena."
"Hi, I'm May, but you probably already knew that. I'm assuming you're not here for a Gym Battle."
"No, I'm not. I'm traveling around the Hoenn region to partake in Contests, and a friend said I might find some help here. His name is Ash."
"You know Ash? Why am I not surprised?" Serena was confused, which must have been obvious because May continued, "We used to travel with Ash, when he traveled through Hoenn." Serena now understood what joke Ash had made in the phone call, it was not funny.
"He does have a lot of friends doesn't he? Anyways yeah, I traveled with Ash through the Kalos region. I came here to take place in Pokémon Contests; Ash said you might be able to help me."
"Oh, sure. It would be nice to travel with someone other than Max. We're heading off to Littleroot Town for him to get his starter Pokémon."
"Wait, he told me that he was the Gym Leader."
"Well," the boy cut in, "technically it's true. I'm going to be the Gym Leader once my father retires."
"That's only if you become a good enough trainer," his sister teased.
"I'm gonna be a great trainer and you know it," he snapped back, "In fact, you may have to be the one running the Gym once I become Champion of the Hoenn Region."
"Well then you better stop arguing and get ready to go. The sooner you're ready, the sooner we can get to Littleroot Town and you can have your chance to prove me wrong." Max then ran off to pack the rest of his stuff in a backpack. "Do you want me to explain the rules to Contests while we wait?"
"Sure, thank you, May," Serena responded. It seemed like she had already found some friends to travel with, adventure appeared to be right around the corner.