Hello and welcome to the next chapter!
Chapter 2: Is this a Contest or a Pokémon Battle?
"Pika-pi?" *Ash?*
Pikachu poked Ash.
"Piiika!" *Wake up!*
Ash grunted and turned away from Pikachu's claw.
"Pik-achu. Pi-pika." *For goodness sake. Only one option.*
"Pi-kaaaa-CHUUUUUUUUU!"
Pikachu used Thunderbolt on Ash to wake him up.
"Aaarggghhh! Pikachuuuuu!" Ash screamed as the electricity coursed through his body.
Pikachu stopped and pointed at the clock on the wall. Ash had overslept once again, a common theme to his life, especially when he had an important day ahead of him.
"Oh for the love of...why always when something is happening?!" Ash growled angrily as he jumped out of bed.
The Contest was due to start at 10:30am and it was now 10am. Ash would have to skip breakfast if he was going to get to the arena in time to see the contest as he would have to run just to get there as the contest was about to start.
'I could just not go and have some breakfast instead.' Ash thought as he put his clothes on.
Pikachu, noticing the look on Ash's face, and knowing his friend's appetite, suspected something was up.
"Pi-kaaaa-" Electricity started to spark out of Pikachu's cheeks.
"I'll skip breakfast!" Ash screamed madly, bracing for another shock.
Pikachu stopped and the charging electricity dissipated. Ash grabbed his backpack, tidied up quickly and zipped off with Pikachu jumping onto his shoulder at the last moment.
"Okay, go to the contest, see Dawn probably win then get some lunch!" Ash talked himself through his plans.
"Pika." *Not quite.*
Pikachu smacked Ash on the side of his head.
"Ow! Pikachu that hurt!" Ash glanced at Pikachu who had a stern look on his face.
"Alright, I'll see Dawn after the contest THEN get lunch." Ash corrected the last part of his plans.
"Pi-"
"Fine! I'll ask her to join us for lunch if that'll keep you happy." Ash interrupted Pikachu's protest.
"Pika. Pika-chu." *Excellent. That brain of yours does do some work.*
Ash ran at a consistent pace, taking in deep breaths to try and maintain as much energy as possible in his efforts to get to the contest arena on time. Having spent so many years travelling everywhere on foot he was in excellent physical condition and he had a tremendous amount of energy reserves and stamina as well as an amazingly well hardened iron will which was interlaced with his stubborn streak. This made him a hard person to wear down physically and mentally and this situation was perhaps the first in a while where he would have to draw on his wellspring of energy. If only he used all of this energy in other aspects of life...
'Please don't let me be late, please don't let me be late and miss her.' Ash thought.
Dawn cleared her throat as she thought deeply about which of her Pokémon to use in her contest. She had arrived 3 hours before the contest was about to start and had taken a lot of time to decide a lot of things regarding the contest. She had studied on everyone who had entered this contest and had spent most of the last few days bringing up histories on their past contests to work out her own chances of getting through the Attract Round, not to mention the rounds that would follow. She had surmised that getting through the Attract Round would be straight forward enough but there was no room for overconfidence - she had suffered from that in the early part of her first journey - and getting to the contest arena early, in her mind, would allow her to focus and strategise properly and hopefully avoid sloppy mistakes.
As Dawn sat on a bench in the locker room, Piplup jumped off the bench and decided that he was the best choice for the Attract Round.
"Piplup! Piplup!" *Pick me! Pick me!*
Piplup waddled around Dawn squawking constantly.
"Hmm, I think I'll stick with what I know and trust-"
Piplup became very excited and eagerly looked at his trainer.
"-and use Buneary!" Dawn unclipped Buneary's Pokéball and held it up.
Piplup froze in shock and collapsed to the floor.
Dawn clipped the Pokéball back on to her belt and looked over at Piplup lying on the floor. She picked him up and placed him on her lap with an small smile on her face.
"Next time, Piplup. I'll use you next time, I promise. I want you to be the cheerleader for Buneary again please." Dawn told her starter Pokémon as she affectionately stroked the back of Piplup's head.
"Piplup." *Cheerleader again.*
Piplup was clearly upset about this but he would do his best for Dawn, even if it meant wearing a silly outfit cheering on a companion that he'd rather be in place of.
"Piplup-pip." *I hate Buneary.*
Hearthome Contest Arena
"Welcome ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls and Pokémon alike to the Hearthome Contest! We've got a-
Berlitz Household
-talented group of hopefuls gathered here today all putting on the charm and the battle moves to compete for THIS ribbon!"
Dawn's mother, Johanna Berlitz, sat on the sofa in front of the television watching the contest. She was quite excited about this one, knowing the Dawn had told her all about the special move she had been working very hard on over the past 3 years to perfect and now Dawn felt ready to use it in the contest arena. That wasn't the only reason she was excited though, she knew Ash would be there too. Or he SHOULD be there.
*Flashback*
Johanna walked over to the ringing video phone and answered the call, for voice only.
"Hello, Johanna Berlitz speaking."
"Erm, hey Mrs. Berlitz, it's Ash Ketchum."
Johanna picked up the phone allowing the call to be viewed on the screen. As Ash's face appeared on the screen, Johanna instantly noticed that Ash seemed very tense and nervous.
"Oh, hello Ash! It's been a long time since I've heard from you. Congratulations on your runners up spot in the Indigo League last year. Dawn was glued to the TV for the entire tournament, not to mention all the loud cheering she was doing."
"Yeah, uh, erm, thanks, just wish I could have won it."
"Please Ash, call me Johanna. I assume you are calling for Dawn yes?"
"Yeah, I am. Is-is she there?"
"Not at the moment I'm afraid. She's out training for the start of the Coordinator Contest this year. I can tell her you called if you like."
"Oh, no, please don't Mrs Berli- I mean, Johanna. I was going to tell her that I'm coming over to compete in the Sinnoh League again this year but if she's out, then I could surprise her and turn up at one of her contests."
"I think she would be very surprised, and quite pleased to see you. I can find out the dates of the contests and give you a list if you like."
"That would be awesome! I can plan my Gym Challenges around her contests! Man, it'll be like old times again."
"Make sure you stop by here first, Ash, I'd love to have a chat with you before you start your next adventure here."
*End Flashback*
When Ash did stop by, a detour from going to Professor Rowan's Laboratory, Johanna saw for herself just how much Ash had grown up since she last saw him. She had insisted on him staying the night and preparing properly for his journey, especially since he would have to journey extra fast to catch up with Dawn, who had left a couple of weeks earlier.
Now after he had called her last night, Johanna knew that Ash had made it to Hearthome City and was expecting a call from Dawn probably later in the evening or tomorrow at some point in which her daughter will be throwing her a barrage of abuse for fully knowing that Ash was here and not telling her. All this after Dawn will undoubtedly give Ash the barrage first for not letting her know he was here again.
The Attract Round rolled by as contestants all vied to show that their Pokémon was the best at showing off moves and gracefully utilising their strengths. The last entrant was Dawn.
"Now, our final contestant is a young lady who aspires to be a top coordinator like her mother was! Let's-
Hearthome Contest Arena
-give a warm Heathome welcome to Dawn from Twinleaf Town!"
The crowd gathered in the arena gave Dawn a rapturous cheer as she calmly walked into the arena.
'Dawn sure is a fan favourite.' Ash thought as he watched her, applauding her entrance.
Dawn was wearing a long, flowing ruby dress with her hair tied into a long ponytail which swayed gently form side to side as she walked. She sported a diamond bracelet on her right wrist and a sapphire necklace with pearl earrings and a pair of stilettos.
"Hey Pikachu, looks like Piplup is playing cheerleader again." Ash smirked as he pointed at Piplup at the back near the arena entrance wearing his cheerleader outfit.
Both Ash and Pikachu laughed lightly as they watched Piplup cheer, albeit both knowing Piplup was feigning the apparent excitement.
On the Arena floor
"Buneary! Spotlight!" Dawn shouted as she threw Buneary's Pokéball into the arena.
The ball opened and an array of red and purple hearts twinkled as Buneary appeared.
"Looks like Dawn will be using her Buneary for this round!"
"Okay Buneary, show off how graceful you are with Bounce!"
Buneary bounced up and down, landing perfectly before springing up again several times. The crowd applauded the well executed move.
"Now Bounce again and flip upside down then use Dizzy Punch to charge forwards!"
In the crowd
As Buneary executed what her trainer had ordered, Ash frowned.
"She's got something planned, Pikachu, something big."
"Pika." *You're right.*
On the Arena floor
"Now Buneary use Ice Beam to create a wall of ice!"
As Buneary created the wall of ice, the crowd and the judges gasped.
"Oh my, what does Dawn have in store for us?"
"Now Buneary, finish it off by shattering the ice with your newest move!" Dawn commanded, a large grin forming on her face.
Buneary flipped over to stand on her feet. Taking a deep breath, she ran at the ice wall at full speed bringing her right arm back, powering up the final move.
In the crowd
"Is that...?" Ash was shocked when he saw Buneary's fist burst into flames.
On the Arena floor
"Go Buneary! Fire Punch!" Dawn yelled.
In the crowd
"Holy sh-" Ash caught himself before he swore. He was in utter shock.
Buneary threw her fist straight at the ice and as her fist connected, the ice immediately in front of her melted while the force of the impact completely destabilised the ice; the ice shattering completely seconds later after Buneary passed through the melted gap.
The stunned crowd kept silent for what seemed like an eternity to Dawn as Dawn looked around the arena. Without warning, everyone started cheering and applauding the show that Dawn and Buneary had put on for them.
On the Arena floor
"Great job Buneary!" Dawn smiled at her Pokémon as Buneary jumped into Dawn's arms.
"Bun Bun Buneary!" *That was the most fun I've had in ages!*
Dawn was selected through to the quarter-final where she faced a young trainer and his Staravia. True to her word she used Piplup, much to Piplup's relief and delight, and the experienced duo very comfortably won thanks to Piplup catching Staravia in a Whirlpool and then unleashing an onslaught of Bubblebeams to knock Staravia out with over 90 seconds left on the clock. Ash and Pikachu cheered loudly at the dominate performance, and back at Dawn's home, Johanna cheered with equal volume.
In the semi-final Dawn was once again victorious, this time using Pachirisu. Pachirisu went up against a Glameow and pulled out a narrow victory. Pachirisu had struggled to cope with the speed of this Glameow, adding to the fact that Pachirisu's electric attacks couldn't cause Glameow any paralysis because of Glameow's Limber ability, it looked like Dawn was going to lose. Dawn was saved by her opponent becoming highly arrogant and overconfident, Dawn saw that the coordinator wasn't even looking at the match, the girl was busy waving at her family in the crowd, so she got Pachirisu to hit Glameow with a Super Fang and Discharge. When the girl noticed it was too late, Pachirisu hit Glameow with another Discharge which knocked Glameow out. Dawn felt bad about how she won, but it was something she had to do. She found the girl's parents after the match and apologised for the way she won. The girl's parents, though, told Dawn that she had done nothing wrong and this would be a wakeup call to their daughter to focus on the match until it finishes not just assume victory is guaranteed when things are going well.
"Welcome to the final of the Hearthome Contest! To my right is a talented coordinator from Twinleaf Town, let's give a huge welcome to Dawn!"
The crowd cheered as Dawn made her way in to the arena.
"And to my left is a local young man making his first appearance in the final. Let me hear you cheer for Hearthome City's very own Danny!"
The crowd that had cheered loud for Dawn suddenly burst into an enormous scream of encouragement for their hometown boy. Dawn was shocked to say the least at the sheer volume the crowd was making.
'Guess I'm not the crowd favourite this time.' Dawn thought.
In the crowd
Ash was very unnerved by the reaction. He covered his ears as the crowd went wild over Danny's entrance and he saw Pikachu doing the same.
'Seems like Pikachu and I are going to be the only two cheering on Dawn this time.'
On the Arena floor
Danny grinned evilly at Dawn. He took a Pokéball out and threw it into the arena.
"Okay! Steelix let's go!"
"And Danny is going with Steelix. This is sure to be a difficult round for Dawn."
Dawn whimpered when she saw Steelix; Steelix was staring right at her. It's glare felt like it was burning a hole right into Dawn's soul. Dawn took out the Pokéball she was using for this fight and threw it into the arena.
"Here goes nothing. Mamoswine! Spotlight!" Dawn took a deep breath and steeled herself for the battle ahead.
"Dawn has chosen to use Mamoswine for this one! I get the feeling this will be more of a Pokémon battle than a contest folks, so buckle up and brace yourselves!"
Danny gave Dawn a dismissive look.
"Seriously? Is this the best you have? I expected more from you."
"Mamoswine is all I need to beat you!" Dawn's eyes narrowed. "Mamoswine! Use Hail!"
Mamoswine roared as a thick, dark layer of cloud built up near the roof of the arena and hailstones started to fall down rapidly. Steelix showed no signs of being bothered by the chunks of hail constantly pelting it's solid steel hide.
Danny: 97% points
Dawn: 100% points
"That won't do a thing to stop Steelix! Go Steelix and use Iron Tail!" Danny commanded.
Steelix slithered quickly to within range of Mamoswine and swung it's tail round to strike Mamoswine.
"Quick Mamoswine, use Protect!"
As Protect formed around Mamoswine, the Iron Tail attack landed and bounced off the shielding.
Danny: 86%
Dawn: 98%
"Okay Mamoswine, use Take Down!"
"Use Iron Tail again!"
As Mamoswine charged towards Steelix, the giant steel snake brought it's tail up and slammed it into Mamoswine, sending the behemoth crashing to the ground a good 15 feet away from the place where the impact took place.
Danny: 83%
Dawn: 80%
(4 minutes remaining)
"What a move by Danny! That has brought him right back into this match when he was just starting to fall behind!"
"Ah! Mamoswine are you alright?" Dawn called out, hoping Mamoswine was able to continue.
"Now Steelix, use Autotomize!"
In the crowd
"What's Autotomize?" Ash asked no-one in particular.
"It is a Steel type move that raises speed and lowers weight." The man next to Ash said to him.
"Uh-oh. A fast Steelix is going to be trouble for Dawn."
On the Arena floor
"Come on Mamoswine use Hidden Power!"
"Steelix, use Dig to dodge it!"
As Mamoswine unleashed Hidden Power, Steelix burrowed underground, leaving an enormous hole in the middle of the arena.
"Watch out Mamoswine!"
Danny: 79%
Dawn: 70%
"Alright Steelix, hit Mamoswine!"
Steelix emerged from underground with great force, sending Mamoswine well over 20 feet into the air with Mamoswine wailing in agony as he slammed on the ground.
"Mamoswine no!" Dawn cried in anguish.
Danny: 79%
Dawn: 43%
"And that Dig attack has given Danny a huge advantage over Dawn! What will Dawn do to recover? Can she even recover from this situation?"
'Mamoswine is in a really bad way, he won't be able to take many more hits like that. I've gotta think of something fast.'
"Steelix, let's wrap this up with Rock Throw!"
Steelix slammed it's tail into the ground, sending rock chunks flying towards Mamoswine, who was struggling to get up.
"Quick Mamoswine, use Protect!"
Mamoswine was able to use Protect just in time as the rock chunks pounded into the shield.
Danny: 75%
Dawn: 41%
(2 minutes 30 seconds remaining)
"Mamoswine use Hail followed by Blizzard!"
A large snowstorm started within the arena, snow blowing everywhere. A howling wind sent hailstones and snow throughout all corners of the arena, both coordinators becoming covered in snow as well as the judges, the referee, the announcer and all the fans. This, however, was Mamoswine's element, giving the creature some blessed relief. It was a smart combination move to bring Dawn back in contention for the match.
Danny: 63%
Dawn: 41%
"Steelix, use Dig again!"
Steelix dug another gaping hole into the arena, leaving half the arena unable to be used.
"Get ready Mamoswine!"
"Now Steelix!"
"Mamoswine! Protect!"
Steelix smashed into Mamoswine, but Mamoswine's Protect held strong. Mamoswine was sent into the air again, but this time he was in control of his landing.
"Use Ancient Power!" Dawn shouted.
"Counter with Iron Tail!"
Mamoswine unleashed his Ancient Power attack, the energy charging towards Steelix. Steelix was about to smash the attack with Iron Tail when it suddenly froze!
"Oh my! It seems that effects of Blizzard has caused Steelix to be afflicted with a Frozen status!"
The Ancient Power attack slammed into the frozen Steelix, causing a lot of damage to the steel monster.
"No! This cannot be!" Danny cried.
Danny: 38%
Dawn: 35%
(30 seconds remaining)
"Mamoswine! Use Take Down!"
Mamoswine charged as fast as possible and slammed into Steelix, sending the Iron Snake Pokémon into one of the holes it had made earlier when using Dig.
"Finish it off Mamoswine! Use Earthquake!"
Mamoswine slammed his front legs down hard. The ground trembled and shook as Earthquake rumbled out towards Steelix, destroying the arena floor even more. The arena floor crumbled around the holes made by Dig and debris rained down on the frozen Steelix, burying it.
"Steelix! Steelix!" Danny shouted out in concern.
As Blizzard and Hail both subsided, half of Steelix's head was left visible; it was knocked out.
"Steelix is unable to continue! Dawn is the winner!" The referee declared.
Of course there was only 3 seconds left on the clock, but a KO victory is an instant win nonetheless.
"Way to go Mamoswine! Now return!" Dawn recalled Mamoswine into his Pokéball. "You did an amazing job! Thank you for winning this ribbon for me."
The crowd cheered, Ash and Pikachu cheering the loudest at Dawn's superb victory.
Dawn was almost ready to leave, she was currently on the phone to her mother.
"Well done, dear. That was unlike any coordinator match I've seen or participated in." Johanna smiled happily at the daughter.
"Thanks mom. Yeah, I actually felt like I was at the Sinnoh League. I guess Danny using Steelix the way he did helped make that impression."
"I think that was the first time someone won all their matches by knocking out the opposition in a contest too."
"Tell me about it, despite how good all the moves looked and how well executed they were, I heard a lot of whispering from the other competitors saying I purposely went for knockout victories as I couldn't show the style and grace to win otherwise."
"You know better than to listen to them Dawn. You won because you deserved to win."
"Well, the Frozen status that Steelix suffered did mean I would have been really hard pressed to have lost, so it was down to luck really. If Steelix hadn't got frozen it might have been different."
"Ah, but it did get Frozen. Thinking what might have been otherwise is pointless as you can't change the past."
A short silence followed.
"So what are you planning to do now?"
"Well tomorrow I figured I'll go to the beach and relax with my Pokémon, then I might come home for about ten days. The next contest isn't for another twenty days and it'll be nice to sleep in my bed again for a bit. While I'm home I can practice some techniques and moves before heading out again."
Dawn noticed her mother looked a little...disappointed...at the mention of her coming home.
"Yes, okay Dawn. I've got to go now so I'll see you soon. Love you dear and take care."
"I...love you too mom, goodbye." Dawn ended the call and frowned.
"Piplup?" *What's wrong?*
Piplup had been standing next to Dawn for the duration of the call, listening to what was being said between mother and daughter. Dawn didn't answer, she just picked Piplup up and walked down the hallway.
'Why would mom be unhappy with me coming home for a bit? She was the one who suggested I do that between contests since I had no-one to travel with this time and take public transport to the cities.'
Piplup frowned at Dawn's refusal to tell him what was wrong. As Dawn walked down the hallway, still deep in thought, Piplup noticed someone watch them.
"Dawn Berlitz?" A male voice called from behind Dawn.
Dawn jumped in shock and turned around.
"Don't you dare do that! You scared me!" She scolded the man as she faced him.
Dawn noted his voice seemed familiar.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to." The man rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.
He was wearing a large pair of black sunglasses that fully hid his eyes so Dawn couldn't see them.
"Firstly, yes that is me. Secondly, what do you want? Thirdly, do I know you?" Dawn asked.
"You...should do."
Piplup looked at the man and studied his face before squawking excitedly.
"Calm down Piplup!" Dawn said as Piplup tried to wriggle free from Dawn's arms.
"Over here buddy!" The man shouted.
"Oh my-" Dawn gasped when she saw a yellow rodent Pokémon, a Pikachu, scamper across the hall and jump onto the man's shoulder.
"A-Ash?" Dawn asked tentatively.
"Depends. There are a lot of people named Ash in the world." The man smirked.
Dawn slowly reached out and held the frame of the sunglasses in her hand. She gently lifted them off the man's face and gazed at those chocolate brown eyes.
"Ash Ketchum..." Dawn whispered.
"Hello Dawn, it's been far too long." Ash smiled as he took the sunglasses back from her and put them in his jacket pocket.
"Pikachu-pi! Pikachu! Pika-pika!" *Dawn! Piplup! It's great to see you!*
"Piplup! Piplup! Pip-piplup!" *Pikachu! Ash! I'm so glad to see you again!*
Dawn put Piplup on the floor and he immediately clung on to Ash's leg. Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulder, while Piplup let go of Ash. Piplup and Pikachu hugged, happy to see each other again.
A wave of emotions rushed through Dawn as she gazed at Ash again. Ash moved towards her and stood directly in front of her. Her heart raced as he gently embraced her and hugged her close.
"I've missed you Dawn." Ash whispered to her.
Dawn slowly returned the hug before Ash broke off.
"Great contest by the way. Pikachu and I were cheering for you the whole time."
"Thanks Ash, oh and by the way..."
"Yes Dawn?"
*SLAP*
Dawn slapped Ash right across the face and glared at him angrily. A number of people stopped to look. Some giggled at Ash while others looked sympathetic towards him.
"Ow! Dawn! What the HELL was that for?!"
"THAT, Ash, is for not calling me for years!" Dawn snarled.
*SLAP*
Dawn slapped Ash's other cheek just as hard.
"THAT is for not telling me you were coming here!"
Dawn then threw her arms around Ash and held him as close to her as she could.
"And this, this is me saying sorry for not calling you." A tear escaped from her eyes.
When Dawn released him, Ash looked completely out of it. He didn't know what emotion he should be feeling right now so it looked like he had decided on an old favourite of looking utterly confused.
Dawn picked up Piplup and smiled at Ash.
"Come on Ash, I'll buy you lunch as a sorry for slapping you, even though you deserved them." Dawn said she she indicated for Ash to follow her.
"Awesome! Watching your contest has made me really hungry!" Ash exclaimed as they walked off.
To Be Continued...
