The first chapter of the new year! What could be more exciting? The both of us hope you'll enjoy our works (and this in particular) in the year ahead! For now, Chapter 4 time!
Chapter 4
An Appeal of Beauty
"That was delicious," Ash cried out while rubbing his stomach in content. Letting out a light sigh, Ash noticed that Pikachu himself was imitating his action, the duo were stuffed from all the food. "I couldn't eat another bite even if I tried to."
"Piiiikaaaa," Pikachu replied happily as the Electric Mouse Pokémon smiled up towards his trainer. Ash could tell Pikachu was in the same condition, as both could only smile at each other now that they were fully content. Slowly getting up and off of his back, Pikachu scurried off to go find Piplup as Ash watched Clemont carry Bonnie back to their cabin. It was late now, and most of the others had already gone off to bed for the night. Except for himself and Pikachu, of course; the two still eating away until just recently.
Deciding that it was best to get some sleep, Ash quickly called for his buddy and told him that they would play with Piplup tomorrow. For now, Ash decided it would be best for them to get some rest, especially with the cruise officially beginning the next day. Plus, though he would never admit it to anyone, Ash felt a little exhausted from running into everyone the past couple days. Especially Serena. He had been excited about seeing her, yet, something seemed off to him and caused him to be a little quieter at dinner; something that he thought was odd for himself. Not paying attention to the room numbers, Ash was about to pass right by his own room if not for Pikachu calling out to him.
"Pikapi! Pikachu!" The Electric type cried out as Ash stopped in his tracks. Turning around, he quickly noticed that he had passed his own room and let out a light chuckle.
"Thanks, Pikachu. I guess I lost track of where we were since I'm so tired," Ash quickly stated as he opened the door to their room. Moving softly, he quickly noted how both his mother and Mimey were already asleep. He also noticed that his mother had started to get a light tan from today. Deciding it was best not to disturb them, the young trainer motioned to Pikachu as they tiptoed across the room and slipped into their bed.
Lying down across the warm, soft, mattress, Ash found his eyes starting to grow heavy. However, as he laid in bed, he soon found himself unable to sleep, much to his annoyance. His brain was running at a thousand miles an hour, something he noticed only happened during an intense battle for him. Yet here he was, trying to sleep while his mind made it impossible for him to relax. Watching the clock, minutes turned to hours as the time changed from around eleven at night to close to one in the morning.
"Why can't I sleep? !" he quietly hissed out while running his hands through his hair, making sure not to wake up his mother, Mimey or Pikachu at all. Tossing around slightly, but not enough to disturb his buddy, Ash got out of his bed and slipped his sneakers back on. He figured the best way to clear his head was with a late night walk on the main deck. He hoped the fresh ocean breeze would help.
Making his way back onto the main deck, Ash noticed Dawn making her way over to the lady's bathroom. Exchanging a friendly smile, Dawn walked into the bathroom as Ash continued on by, the Kanto native making his way towards the railing. Looking out into the ocean, Ash watched as the ship passed a few small islands that were off in the distance. The smell of the sea filled his nostrils as he allowed the light breeze of the night to flow through his hair. Letting out a content sigh, Ash felt more at ease now than he had at the beginning of the night.
"Mind if I join you?" a familiar voice asked as Ash lightly jumped. He hadn't been expecting anyone to be out here with him, yet when he heard that voice, not only was he surprised, but also a little bit happy. Looking to his right, Ash saw Serena standing right next to him as the light created by the moon bounced off of her body. "I couldn't sleep, so I decided to come get some air. And when I saw you, I figured I'd join you… If that's alright."
"Sure," Ash responded quickly and simply, unable to think of a better reply. The two friends smiled at each other before casting their glances back at the ocean. "You know, it's been weird without you, Clemont and Bonnie around."
"I know what you mean," Serena responded as she placed a hand on the side of her face to keep her hair out of her eyes. "Some days I'll wake up and wonder what you three are all doing now that we've gone our own ways. I never would have expected to see you all so soon, though."
"Well, I really haven't been up to much myself. Just helping my mom out around town, whenever I'm not off training with my Pokémon, of course," Ash responded happily as he thought about all of his Pokémon back at Professor Oak's lab. They had been happy to hear he had made it to the Finals of the Kalos League, even if they weren't the ones responsible for it. Ash watched as Serena let out a light giggle from the unsurprising news.
"So, how's Hoenn been?" he finally asked as they both leaned against the railings of the boat.
"It's been interesting," Serena explained as she thought back to her arrival in Hoenn. Ash had been wondering how she had been doing by herself. He knew she would be fine, but a part of him was still thinking of her. "Like Lisia explained earlier, during my first Contest Spectacular I made it all the way to the Top Four. Of course, Lisia won that competition, but since then Braixen and the others have worked really hard. We've even won once since then."
"That's great, Serena! I knew you would do well in Hoenn," Ash said as the Performer blushed slightly from the compliment. The sight of Serena's blush brought back the image of her riding down that escalator back at the Lumiose Airport in Kalos as the scene replayed in his mind.
"Well, it was thanks to all the help you and the others gave during our travels in Kalos. I really took your advice to heart, Ash. I know you'll never give up, and that determination...that determination fuels me to continue on no matter what hardships will come before me. When I first reached Hoenn and took part in a Contest Spectacular, I felt overwhelmed by how much better Lisia and the others in the Top Four were. Almost...almost like I didn't belong there. But," Serena began to say as she smiled at Ash. Seeing her warming smile, Ash couldn't help but smile back as he felt it was contagious. "But I just thought of what you would do and knew I could never give up on my dream. And so I pushed on through all the hardships and grew stronger because of it. Because of you."
Ash just nodded his head slowly as he listened to Serena go on about her travels through Hoenn. He knew that they had helped each other out in Kalos and that his determination meant a lot to her, but to be her driving force in Hoenn took him aback slightly. Once more, the scene back at Lumiose Airport played through his mind. You are my goal. Serena's voice rang through his head as he remembered those words. Ash still wondered to a degree what that meant and began to think that perhaps she wanted to be just like him. Ash, though flattered at the thought, would rather Serena be herself instead of copying him.
"Serena?" Ash began to ask, wanting to figure out what she had meant back in Kalos. The young trainer watched as his friend turned her head to look at him, her eyes shining in the moonlight. He began to get distracted by them and nearly forgot what he was going to ask, only to be cut off by another voice.
"What are you two doing up at this hour?" a voice Ash knew too well as Gary's asked. Turning around, Ash saw the yawning figure of his oldest rival walk out of a storage room and approach them. "Isn't it a little late to be up in the main deck?"
"Shouldn't I be asking you that," Ash shot back as the two rivals smiled at each other before clasping their hands together. Pulling away, Ash couldn't really remember the last time they had met, only that it had been so long ago. Ever since Gary began to work for Professor Rowan, the old man had him running around on all sorts of activities to help with his research.
"I'm working," the researcher responded before covering his face as a yawn escaped once more. "That box needs to be guarded since inside is a very rare object."
"An object?" Serena asked as both Ash and Gary looked at her. Gary then looked at the young girl with a quizzical expression on his face, unaware of just who she was. It was at that moment, Ash realized he had never introduced the two of them at all.
"Gary, this is Serena. She went to the summer camp your grandfather hosted when we were kids. I actually ran back into her while traveling Kalos and we caught up. Though, I might have forgot who she was at first," Ash explained as he rubbed the back of his neck at the thought of having forgot Serena.
"Gary Oak," the researcher stated as his eyes traveled from the girl and back to Ash. "Ash, since no one is out here, I guess I can let you in on what's inside the box. After all, you have helped me out in the past quite a bit. I can't say what it does, though," he decided before looking around to make sure no one else was nearby for sure. Once it was safe to speak, Gary leaned in close to the two trainers as he explained what he could to them. "Consider this as a sort of thanks for all the times you've helped me out before. Inside that box is an ancient artifact that has powers you would never imagine possible. Or so they say. In any case, I'm helping escort it in the event anyone tries to steal it.
"You see, the Devon Corporation recently dug it up and Professor Rowan and Cynthia want to study it, so they've agreed to ship it to Sinnoh following the cruise and its sojourn at the island laboratory. From what I've been told, its powers are not something to mess around with, though," Gary explained. Ash continued to look on, hoping for a little more information, like what it could do or the name of it, but Gary wouldn't budge. "Listen, I would love to talk more to you two, but I have to get back to the artifact. Even if everyone is sleeping, I can't take any chances at all. You better be ready for a battle the next time we meet, though. Smell ya later, Ashy-boy." Turning back around, the grandson of Professor Oak softly waved at the two trainers before he returned to his post, leaving the two alone on the main deck once more.
"So, Ash, what was it…you...were going to ask?" Serena asked in between yawns that cut up her sentence. Seeing how tired she was, Ash knew it wasn't best to ask now. He didn't want to keep her up any longer and he too felt a little tired, himself.
"Oh, it wasn't important," he quickly fibbed as he ran one hand through his hair. "I do know that we should get some sleep. You have a Contest Spectacular to compete in tomorrow and you'll need your rest to beat everyone! I'll be cheering for you and everyone else with everything I've got!" he stated happily, though a part of him felt like cheering for Serena just a little bit more than the others. He would never let anyone know about that, however.
"Sounds like a plan," Serena replied as she smiled one last time at Ash. Turning around, Ash watched her retreating figure as she appeared to be illuminated by the moonlight.
"I think I'm going to need some sleep as well!" Ash managed to yawn out as he turned around and made his way back to his room. Making his way past the bathrooms once more, he quickly noticed Dawn leaving the restroom and called out to her. However, she appeared to have not heard Ash, since she walked by without giving him their usual high-five. He quickly chalked this up to her being exhausted and decided to shrug it off before making it back into his room. Climbing under his covers, Ash managed to quickly fall asleep as he thought of seeing Serena perform live again.
Morning came a lot sooner than Ash had expected as a few rays of light passed through the window in the room, waking him up. Sitting up in his bed, Ash looked around the room and noticed that his mother, Mimey and Pikachu had all left and he quickly assumed that they had gone to go get some breakfast. Quickly getting changed, Ash threw his hat onto his head and grabbed his backpack before walking out into the hallway and heading straight for the dining hall to join the others for breakfast.
"What a lousy night," Ash moaned out to himself while stretching his back. Despite managing to fall asleep late into the night, he still didn't have the best of sleep as his mind continued to wander all over the place. And yet, most of the time his thoughts had found their way back to Serena. He just couldn't understand why this was happening now. Yes, he had had dreams about his past companions before, but not the amount that he had of Serena, and it personally confused him. "Hopefully we don't do anything too crazy today. Otherwise I might fall asleep."
"Ash, you'll never believe this wonderful news!" Brock's voice rang out as the young trainer walked into the dining hall. Ash hadn't even took a step towards their usual table when he noticed his oldest friend making his way over to him. "My dream is slowly becoming true! Yesterday, Lisia asked for my help to show her around the boat! And today she's asked me to help be an honorary judge for the appeals round of her Contest Spectacular!" he cried out as Ash could have sworn Brock's eyes turned into hearts. The young trainer attributed it to his lack of sleep the night before and continued to listen on as the former Gym Leader entered into one of his usual spiels about love.
"I'll just have to continue to wow her with the old Brock charm, since no lady can ignore that. Soon, she'll be asking me to be her official partner when she competes at the Lilycove City Contest Hall. Oh, how the two of us would make an excellent pair and I'm sure Nurse Joy wouldn't mind giving me some vacation time in Hoenn to follow my love. Oh, the way her hair moves in the wind and how her voice sings to me. I could be a deaf man but her voice would return my hearing; that's how talented she is," he continued on as Ash just continued to listen before Croagunk appeared behind Brock. Ash waited to see if the Toxic Mouth Pokémon would do anything, but just as Brock stopped talking, Croagunk lowered his hand, seeing that his trainer was finished rambling for the time being.
"That's great to hear, Brock," Ash replied despite not really caring about who judged the appeals round. With his empty stomach, Ash knew it would only be a matter of seconds before it would rumble, and he needed to fill it up before any of the other passengers mistook the noise for an emergency with the ship. "But, if you don't mind, I need to go and get something to eat."
"Okay..." Brock replied weakly as he clasped his two hands together and walked off. "Oh to be young and in love! I just know our children will be the most beautiful and talented kids in the entire world," he muttered on before Ash heard a small yelp that was quickly followed by a thud. Chuckling a little, Ash didn't even need to turn around to know what had happened and instead made his way over to the table.
"Good morning, Ash," Serena said. Ash pulled a seat right next to her as Dawn returned from the bathroom and sat right next to him on his other side. "Did you sleep well?"
"As well as I could," Ash replied in a half-joking mood as a plate was placed in front of him. Looking up, Ash saw that Jasper was already giving him his breakfast, the same exact thing he had ordered yesterday, only this time the pancakes that had been a part of the plate had been replaced with waffles. Ash was confused, as he had never ordered his breakfast and yet once again Jasper knew what to get him. Ash had to admit, this guy was an excellent chef to have picked up on his clients' tastes in just a few days.
Seeing that Ash was looking at him in surprise, Jasper just smiled at the young boy and winked at him before speaking. "Well, after what you ate all day yesterday, I figured you'd want a similar meal. Only today I replaced the pancakes with waffles and kept the eggs and hashbrowns. Besides, you're my best patron, so I figured I'd deliver to your table personally. Bon appetite!" he cried out happily before making his way back into the kitchen where Ash could have sworn he saw the three workers getting barked at by Manectric for eating some of the food.
"I can't wait for the Contest Spectacular later today," Miette said as she broke the silence that was created by Jasper. "I just know I'll be the one winning the entire thing by the end of the day. Especially after all my training since the Master Class. I won't be losing to anyone this time."
"Sorry, Miette, but I'll be the one winning," Serena replied as Ash noticed the two rivals glaring slightly at each other before he took a bite of his food. "I'll have you know that a Contest Spectacular is much more difficult than taking part in a Showcase. It doesn't rely on fan voting and the Pokémon are considered the stars of the show instead of it being equal between them and us. So, you better be ready for a fight."
"If anyone is winning, it'll be me," Dawn replied as Piplup chirped in agreement. Both girls looked at Dawn. "I'm the one who'll win this Contest Spectacular and earn the right to challenge Lisia. Then I'll beat her as well," she continued on. Ash was a little surprised by her sudden demeanor of being so sure that she would easily win against a star like Lisia.
"Well, that's what I like to hear: some friendly competition," a voice sang out graciously and Ash could have sworn he heard Brock cry out in joy from across the room. Looking behind them, Lisia walked up to their table graciously. Ash had to admit, despite never knowing her, she did carry an aura of a superstar just by the way she walked alone. "I've always believed that when you have a great rival to push you along, a Coordinator will always rise up to new heights. And so, to see just how much I can push you three, I'll be entering the Contest Spectacular myself."
The three girls grew silent as they watched Lisia run a hand through her flowing hair and smile at the group before her. Looking at everyone's reactions, Ash soon realized that both Bonnie and Clemont hadn't been at their table at all. A fact Ash hadn't noticed as he had immediately begun a conversation with Serena.
"Yes, I was only meant to host the competition, but after this friendly competition between you three, I just had to enter. Besides, I can't let my rival get too far ahead of me, now can I?" She asked while winking at Serena. "And so, I'll have to find someone to host now. I'm sure it won't be too hard to find someone willing to help out. I'll be seeing you all at the competition later today! Toodle-loo!"
The four just watched on in shock as Lisia left their table and the entire dining hall without issuing another word. Instantly looking over at Serena, Ash noticed she seemed a mix between excited and worried, and without thinking placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, don't worry, Serena, I'm sure you'll do fine. Besides, Clemont, Bonnie and myself will be cheering you on with everything we've got!" Ash said, smiling at the Kalos native. Serena didn't speak anything in reply but instead just nodded in an almost hesitant manner before smiling in agreement.
"And what about me, Ash Ketchum?" Dawn asked in a voice Ash had never heard before. She sounded almost hurt, yet Ash wasn't sure if he had heard correctly and ignored the thought as he watched her glaring at him. "Are you saying that I won't be able to win?"
"What? !" Ash stuttered out in nervousness. He didn't want to get Dawn upset, especially since she could make his entire day a nightmare. "O-Of course not, Dawn. I know you'll do great, as well. And I'll be cheering for you, too!" he quickly replied in a defensive manner while waving his hands. His answer appeared to calm Dawn slightly as her glare turned into a neutral expression. Deciding it was best to leave the three girls alone until the Contest Spectacular started, Ash looked down to Pikachu in a manner that told the Electric type they were going to go train.
"Pikapi, pipi, cha," Pikachu said happily as he leapt off of the table and onto Ash's shoulder. Standing up, the young boy threw his backpack over his shoulder and picked up his empty plate before dropping it into a pile of dirty dishes. Rushing out of the dining hall in a flurry, Ash made his way out to the battlefield where he sat on a nearby bench.
"Pika?" Pikachu asked, as he had expected some training for the time being, judging from Ash's words. Jumping from Ash's shoulder, the Electric Mouse Pokémon sat on the bench next to him as they just watched the ocean pass by them. Ash had finally realized they were really far out at sea now, as the islands were less frequent and were much further away than before. He shortly wondered where exactly the cruise was headed to, only to be interrupted by the ship's loud speaker.
"Attention, mateys!" Lisia's voice sang out over the loudspeaker. Looking up to the captain's quarters, Ash noticed the young girl up there as Captain Ryker steered the ship safely along course. "If I could have your attention, please! Could all those competing in the Contest Spectacular please make their way over to the stage and register if you haven't already. That would be greatly appreciated. We'll be starting right at ten, so please hurry," she sang out happily as the connection was cut. Ash had noticed she had recently put the radio down and realized that there was obviously a short delay between the radio and the speaker system. He shrugged it off as he just a little observation; something Clemont might have found interesting.
Looking up at the clock, Ash realized that the Contest Spectacular was to begin in just about ten minutes as the clock read 9:50. "Pikachu, we can't be late. Everyone's expecting us to be there to watch!" Ash yelled out as the duo jumped up in shock. Running across the deck, the duo ran past some other vacationers who weren't aware of the upcoming competition and saw Gary and Sawyer switching off to watch the artifact. Waving at the two, the former nodded while the latter waved back to Ash while smiling at him. Ash didn't pay much attention to them as he picked up the pace and rounded a corner as he came into view with the stage.
It wasn't anything special at all. In fact, it was just a plain stage that had been built just for the Contest Spectacular. A few curtains flowed down and the area that the competitors stood on was all carpeted, but otherwise it was not much different than the normal deck. Standing up there, to his surprise, was Mr. Cecil. Ash assumed right away that he had been picked to host the competition upon Lisia's decision to join in on the fun and he had to admit, the man seemed like quite the natural as he heard him speak.
"Firstly, I would like to thank Ms. Lisia for choosing myself to be the host of her wonderful competition," Mr. Cecil's voice rang out as Ash looked around to try and find his friends. However, despite his best to find them, they appeared to still be missing. "This looks to be quite the Contest Spectacular as fourteen Coordinators have signed up to compete in such a fun and prestigious event. Allow me to read off the rules for the first two days before introducing you to our special judges."
"With a total of fourteen competitors, we cannot allow all of you to advance into the final four, as that would be impossible since, well, it's the final four, not the final fourteen," he began to say as Ash hoped the man was going for a joke. Moments ago he seemed comfortable up there, yet if that hadn't just been a joke like Ash had hoped, he wondered if the older man could handle hosting the event. "And so, ten of you will be eliminated based on our judges rulings until there are four of you left. Seven of you will advance onto tomorrow and from there the four with the highest scores will move onto the finals which will be held two days from now! And to judge you on how well your Pokémon perform for the crowd are these four wonderful volunteers!"
Upon that cue, Ash was shocked, to say the least, when he witnessed his mother, Brock, Bonnie and Captain Ryker walk out and sit down at the four makeshift judge seats. Clemont, likewise, was with them as it appeared he had tried to keep Bonnie under control. But with her now sitting down, he made his way over to Ash.
"Can you believe who they got to be judges?" Clemont asked while rubbing the back of his neck out of embarrassment. "Lisia tried to get me to be a guest judge all day, but, I don't feel comfortable judging them all. And so, Captain Ryker helped me out by offering to fill in the last spot."
"Well, I think they have a good set of judges," Ash joked as he watched the first Coordinator begin, a male and his Honedge slicing up pieces of wood and tiles to show off its extremely sharp blade as well as the duo's excellent timing and precision. It looked like to him as if Bonnie was gushing over the Pokémon with joy in her eyes, and his mother likewise was praising everything about the entire appeal. Brock, however, appeared a little out of it as he waited for Lisia to go on stage. Clemont had told him how excited Brock was upon hearing Lisia herself was going to compete, after all. And Captain Ryker looked to be just having a lot of fun, or so it looked like it to Ash.
"I guess you could say that," Clemont agreed while fixing his glasses. "I don't know how much of a good idea it is to have Bonnie judging anyone at all. She might be a little too excitable for it. Plus, with our friends in it she might play favorites just a bit."
"She'll be fine. Bonnie knows that she can't play favorites here. Besides, I know they'll all make it through to the end. I know it," Ash replied as the second contestant ended her appeal with her Sunflora using a Sunny Day and Hidden Power combination to light up the entire stage while the Grass-Type danced around. Ash thought it looked well done, but not to the degree he was used to seeing. He was extremely confident that Serena, Dawn and Miette would all advance to the very end at this rate.
"Quite the display if I do say so myself," Mr. Cecil's voice rang out as the audience applauded the young girl while she left the stage with Sunflora. "Now, please give a warm welcome to our next participant, Dawn!" With quite the loud welcoming, Dawn ran out onto the stage, dressed in her usual pink outfit for Contests and raised a small pokeball up towards her face as a smile formed.
"Buneary, spotlight!" She cried out as the capture device was tossed upwards and over her head, opening up to cause thousands of tiny hearts to rain down over the stage as Buneary appeared in front of Dawn. Ash could tell she was taking this seriously, despite it being just a friendly competition and wondered just how much she had improved.
"Buneary, start off with an Ice Beam and then go right into Dizzy Punch!" Dawn called out while pointing her index finger forward as the Normal type hopped around the stage. A streaky, blue beam shot out of Buneary's mouth as the object froze all over the stage, glistening in the sunlight. The crowd appeared to enjoy it, considering that Ash heard them immediately clapping for the small display, but that was soon drowned out by the 'oohs' and 'ahs' he heard as Buneary destroyed the ice displays and made it look as if it was now snowing on the ship."
"Perfect job, Buneary! Now, use Bounce and dance around the stage!"
"Buneary!" She cried out in agreement as she hopped all around. Ash had seen this before, having been close to what Dawn had used in the Hearthome Collection and wondered just what she was up to. However, before he could try to predict her next command, he overheard her issuing an Ice Beam that covered the entire stage and made it seem like a winter wonderland while Buneary slid around on it.
"And let's finish this with the big one, Buneary!" Dawn continued on as Buneary jumped from her wintery slide and up into the air where she spun around, almost like a ballerina in Ash's opinion, before landing in front of the entire crowd. Opening her mouth once more, the familiarity of an Ice Beam attack soon formed before a large frozen heart was created in front of Buneary. Moving in front of it, the Normal type struck a pose before winking at Pikachu. Ash laughed a little as his best friend rubbed the back of his head from Buneary's display of affection.
"Fantastic! I've never seen such a performance like that!" Mr. Cecil cried out happily as he clapped away. The crowd appeared to agree as they cheered at their loudest while Dawn and Buneary bowed before leaving the stage. "Well, I'd hate to be the next contestant to follow up that routine. Quite the balance between technique and just having fun. It might be hard for the judges as well, based on their looks."
Ash then turned to see the judges, both his mother and Bonnie seemed speechless from the display and he figured they were going to give Dawn a high ranking from it. Even Captain Ryker looked extremely impressed from it as he nodded his head up in down while smiling. Yet, Brock seemed confused and Ash couldn't help but wonder why. Perhaps he was thinking the same thought as Ash was. They had traveled with Dawn and she never seemed like the kind of person to take the easy way out by repeating an appeal.
Yet, despite his inner thoughts, Ash decided to just shrug it off for the time being as another Coordinator made his way up onto the stage. Though Ash seemed a little worried for the boy since he appeared to be extremely nervous up there, even dropping his pokeball onto the stage floor by accident. Turning his attention away from the stage, as he figured it would be quite a while until Serena came up, Ash put his focus on Clemont and the two immediately caught up on lost time. As everyone competed in the background, the two boys told stories about what they had been up to since separating. To what seemed like Clemont's surprise, the young trainer explained how he had been taking it easy around Pallet Town for the most part. Though, he did enjoy hearing about Clemont's crazy adventure through Lumiose City a while back. He found it amusing how Clemont had to race through the subway system with the help of a man he had just met to rescue Bonnie (the name of the man having slipped Clemont's mind at that moment in time).
One by one, the Coordinators went. Ash stopped talking briefly when Miette's turn came up to give their friend the same respect he had for Dawn and planned to do so for Serena. Her appeal was no different than what she did for the Master Class and Ash could tell she was having a little difficulty allowing the majority of the spotlight to be on Slurpuff compared to how in Showcases the Performer was the star of the show. However, the blue-haired Performer managed to turn it around and finished it up with a dazzling combination of Fairy Wind and Cotton Spore. Ash began to clap for his friend, only for his pace to pick up speed as he watched Serena make her way out onto the stage next. It was finally her turn and he could hardly wait to see how much she had grown on her journey.
"And next up we have a newcomer to the Contest world," Mr. Cecil read from a notecard (no doubt having been given it by Lisia). "Despite her relative newness to the world of Contest Spectaculars, Serena is quite the competitor! Now, give this young girl a round of applause!"
Ash watched on in interest as he wondered who she would use for this round. She was up on the stage in none other than the same outfit she used in all of her performances in Kalos and Ash noticed she was holding a pokeball up to her chest. "Alright, Sylveon, let's show them what we can do!" With a bright light, the Fairy type appeared on the stage with a light cry as her feelers whipped outwards and released a light Fairy Wind without the need of a command. Ash could tell they had practiced some sort of routine with this as the opening.
"Alright, that was great, Sylveon. Now, break off into a Swift and aim them for the Fairy Wind! Then follow it up with one concentrated gust of Fairy Wind!" Serena's voice echoed out, and Ash could pick up on her happiness. With quick and successive movements, Sylveon launched off a barrage of the golden stars as they danced through the original Fairy Wind and captivated the audience with their little dance. Then, before anyone even knew what was coming, Sylveon released off a small twister comprised of nothing more than a Fairy Wind attack as it collided with the original combination. In a display of colorful lights and sparkles, the two combinations collided while Sylveon danced underneath the falling remains, much to the crowds amusement.
As Ash watched, he found himself clapping along to each and every movement as Sylveon soon jumped from Serena's arms and twirled up in the air before landing gracefully on the stage floor. To Ash, the duo appeared to be in complete sync with each other. However, he soon found his eyes trailing over to Serena herself, and he couldn't help but smile while watching her have the time of her life up on the stage. He didn't really understand why, though, but whatever was making him continue to stare wouldn't let him look away, and he didn't mind it.
Snapping from his trance, Ash noticed that both Serena and Sylveon were bowing as the duo were finished with their appeal. Seeing that someone he didn't know was coming up now, Ash decided it was best to go and get a quick snack from Jasper; he had felt himself growing hungry during the other appeals. Explaining to Clemont where he was going, Ash offered the inventor a snack but Clemont declined. And with that, Ash was off to see Jasper. Making his way back down the side of the boat, Ash could hear the crowd applauding for the current Coordinator but it was nothing compared to what he had heard for Serena and Dawn. Knowing they were safe to advance made Ash feel good for them as he entered the dining hall and made his way right over to the counter and waited for Jasper or one of his helpers to come out.
"Ah, young Mr. Ketchum," Jasper's voice rang out as he walked back into the dining hall. Ash hadn't even thought that the man may have been away when he made the decision to come see him for something to eat. "I must say, your friends are quite the skilled Coordinators. You can see from the way they competed that they're no beginners. I snuck away for just a few moments to see the talented Lisia in person when I got caught up in watching the other contestants as well."
"Lisia already performed?" Ash asked, unaware that he may have missed the young star's turn.
"Why yes, she was quite captivating with the way her Altaria moved around the stage. She really has earned her popularity. The fact that she's helped Contest Spectaculars become something more than just a different form of Contests is not easy, yet she makes it look flawless. How I wish I could perform like that! Oh, the world isn't ready to see my skills in a Contest just yet; perhaps after a few more rehearsals," Jasper joked around as he put his apron on and made it around the counter to take Ash's order.
"I'm sure you and Manectric would do just fine if you tried," Ash reassured him as he grabbed a menu that was resting on the counter. Looking it over, Ash decided on having just a grilled cheese sandwich with a side of french fries. Upon handing the menu back over to Jasper, Ash watched the chef yell something into the back and a rattling sound could be heard. Within moments, he could see Jasper's three assistants cooking up a storm while Manectric watched them closely.
"Well, I'm not quite sure about that. We're not the best when it comes to combinations like the one your friend Serena pulled off. She was quite captivating. The way her Sylveon controlled the entirety of the stage through the use of just Swift and Fairy Wind was quite the feat for anyone to witness," Jasper stated happily before a smirk crossed his face. "Though, from what I saw, it seemed like you were captivated by the girl herself," he added in with a snicker while handing Ash his food.
"What?" The Pallet Town native replied, somewhat confused by what was being implied by the chef. "Of course I would be watching, I want to cheer Serena on with everything I've got."
"Yes, yes, I understand, but you should really just talk to the girl alone. A stare such as the one on your face said more than just wanting to cheer her on. Perhaps you don't understand now, but over time it'll all make sense. Just make sure you don't regret anything, Ash. Feelings are such a weakness for some, letting their lives be controlled by them. And time...well, time is a most fickle thing. None of us want to lose it, and if it were snatched away from you...Well, don't miss out on life because you're afraid," Jasper told the young trainer, who began to lose his appetite as the thought of feelings and that same moment back in Lumiose entering his mind yet again. How he wished he knew why that one moment was always coming back up.
"You know what, I'm actually not that hungry anymore. You think I could get this to go?" Ash asked in an apologetic manner as Jasper just nodded before handing him a small container. Placing the contents of his order in it, Ash thanked the chef and made his way back towards the Contest Spectacular in hopes of seeing Serena and the others. However, he was soon distracted by the sounds of a battle that was happening nearby and decided to go check up on it. Making his way out to the battlefield, Ash watched as a Golduck launched off a Scald attack that crashed hard into the opponent's Lairon and defeated the Steel type.
"Ah, looks like we missed it, Pikachu," Ash said as he placed his container down on a nearby table. Not hearing a response, Ash looked around, only to realize that Pikachu wasn't there with him before remembering that his best friend had run off to watch the Contest Spectacular with Piplup. Deciding to just sit there for the time being, Ash watched as the two trainers shook hands before heading off in their separate ways. A smile crossed over his face, remembering all the times he was in similar situations of making a new friend thanks to a battle.
"Brings back a lot of memories, doesn't it?" a new voice asked as Gary was soon recognized as the owner of the voice. Ash, not quite understanding what his rival meant, just looked on in confusion. "The joy of battling against a new opponent. It always got my adrenaline going and it still does. The thrill of meeting new friends through our same enjoyment of Pokémon. All of it. It brings back good memories, such as our battles. Speaking of which, I'm still leading two wins to your one," he teased as Ash smirked at the researcher.
"Well, why don't we have a battle right now," Ash offered before standing up. He had already made up his mind and figured a battle would do them both good. It would allow him some time to get his mind clear and allow Gary the chance to do something fun while on the cruise. "We can have a quick one-on-one right here!"
"Hmph, still the same Ash as always," Gary muttered while smiling at his longtime rival. Running a hand through his hair, Gary reached for a pokeball with his free hand and raised it up to his face. "Sure, why not? Sounds like a good idea Ashy-Boy. Why don't you show me one of your Kalos Pokémon that Gramps been talking about? They have to be well trained to get you through the entire Kalos League on their own."
"Well, you're in luck since I brought them along with me!" Ash cried out in agreement as they made their way over to the open field. Gripping a pokeball, Ash was extremely excited with the prospect of facing Gary again and knew just the right Pokémon to use. "Hawlucha, I choose you!" He cried out, excitement filling his voice as the capture device exploded open to reveal the Wrestling Pokémon.
"That's a Hawlucha!" Gary called out in excitement as he watched the Flying and Fighting-Type striking his poses. "I've only ever heard about them and have really wanted to study one. This will be a great chance for me as a researcher to get the necessary information I need." Gripping his own pokeball, Gary tossed it outwards before Umbreon appeared from it. "We'll take the first move, Umbreon use Quick Attack!"
"Umbre!" the Moonlight Pokémon cried out mightily before dashing right at Hawlucha, a white light trailing behind him as he ran. Ash watched as the Dark type approached at an alarming rate and had no time to command a counter attack. Hawlucha felt Umbreon crash hard into his stomach.
Rolling backwards, Hawlucha skidded to a stop as he used his knees to slow his momentum. Looking up at the field, both Ash and Hawlucha were surprised to see Umbreon charging right at them. But, the duo remained calm and, thinking quickly, Ash managed to come up with a counter.
"Hawlucha, drop on your back, quick!" He yelled out while clenching his two fists. Doing as his trainer commanded, Hawlucha dropped backwards right as Umbreon would have smashed into him once more. Now underneath his opponent's body, Ash smirked as he looked at the situation Hawlucha was in. "Alright, now use High Jump Kick from that spot!"
"Lucha!" Hawlucha cried out energetically, his right knee glowing a bright white. Moving swiftly, Hawlucha pushed his knee upwards and right into Umbreon's stomach as the Moonlight Pokémon was shot up into the sky. Jumping back onto his feet, Hawlucha spread his arms out wide while waiting for Umbreon to fall back onto the field.
"Hmph, don't think it'll be easy for you, Ash," Gary taunted while watching Hawlucha pose. Ash knew it wouldn't be easy; Gary had been one of his hardest opponents ever, and he knew that both himself and Hawlucha would have to be prepared for anything. "Now, Umbreon, use Double Team and then Shadow Ball!"
Umbreon glowed a bright white for a second as multiple clones of himself soon appeared to be falling around the field. As they all fell, the clones managed to form a sphere of energy in their mouths before launching the attack off at Hawlucha. The Wrestling Pokémon didn't know which one to block and so, the entire attack landed perfectly. It was just as Ash had expected from Gary, which was one of the reasons he chose Hawlucha.
"Lucha, lucha, haw, hawlucha," the Wrestling Pokémon could be heard while the smoke around him faded. Ash could tell that Gary was shocked to see Hawlucha was perfectly fine from the attack, seeing as the researcher's mouth was wide open as he stared at his healthy opponent.
"Gary, it'll take a lot more than just a strong attack to take us down. You see, Hawlucha likes taking his opponent's moves head on. It allows him to heat up, in a sense, and use those attacks to his advantage," Ash explained Hawlucha's little quirk as the Flying and Fighting type hopped on his feet. "Now, let's show him our strength! Karate Chop and use it continuously!"
"Haw!" Within less than a second, Hawlucha had appeared right in front of one of the clones and slashed downward with his glowing forearm. Ash felt good for how surprised Gary seemed, since it looked like the researcher could barely keep up with Hawlucha's movements. Every time he appeared, he would just as quickly destroy one of the clones before vanishing. Within no time at all, all of Umbreon's clones had been destroyed, leaving just the original to battle.
"Alright, let's try out X-Scissor now!" Ash called out while throwing his right fist forward.
"Umbreon, counter with a Quick Attack!" Gary decided upon as he threw his left fist forward.
Both Pokémon dashed forward as a white light trailed behind Umbreon while Hawlucha crossed his arms and formed an 'x' shape with them before they glowed a light blue in color. With a hard crash, both opponents rammed into each other, neither overpowering the other. Soon, sparks began to fly off of the two attacks as both Pokémon were putting everything they had into it. Hawlucha, however, had a trick up his sleeve.
"Alright, Hawlucha, let's use your legs to our advantage! Use High Jump Kick!" Ash commanded while fixing his hat. Nodding slightly, the Wrestling Pokémon managed to use his free legs and kicked upwards, making Umbreon lose his footing. With his traction gone, the Moonlight Pokémon was now no match at all as the X-Scissor crashed into his body.
Jumping backwards, Hawlucha appeared ready to end the battle, and Ash knew it based on the look on Hawlucha's face. Nodding, they duo decided it was time to pull out their finisher. "Hawlucha, time to end this match! Flying Press!" he issued, while punching forward with his left hand.
"Haw!" Hawlucha cried out before jumping upwards into the sky. Spinning around quickly, the Flying and Fighting type's body had a light glow to it as he spread his wings wide open. Soaring downwards right for Umbreon, the match looked to be over, but Ash knew better and realized this was all set up by Gary once his rival smirked.
"Umbreon, stop him with Flash!"
"Um. Umbreeooon!" The Dark type cried out with great strength as the yellow rings on his body released a bright light. Soon, the light covered the entire field, and even Ash had to cover his eyes. Knowing that he couldn't see, Ash knew that Hawlucha was in trouble and his thought was proven correct as he managed to make out the image of Hawlucha smashing into the ground.
"Hawlucha!" Ash called out as he squinted through the blinding light to make out the image of a worn out Hawlucha and a just as worn down Umbreon. Both Pokémon had taken a beating, even with their short battle and Ash felt that it would be best to end it now before Gary could come up with another quick counter. "Alright, let's end this now! We'll make sure this attack lands, use-"
"There you are, Ash! We've been looking for you!" Bonnie's voice screamed out as she interrupted Ash's command. As she did so, it caused both Ash and Hawlucha to lose their concentration by looking over to see the young girl standing with Clemont and Serena, allowing Gary the opening that he needed. Issuing another Quick Attack, Umbreon crashed into Hawlucha, defeating the Wrestling Pokémon.
"That was a good battle, Ashy-boy. However, it isn't complete, you were distracted at the end," Gary explained while recalling Umbreon to his pokeball. "We'll have a rematch during the tournament that's taking place in a few days." With a wave of his hand, Gary didn't allow Ash a chance to reply and walked off to another part of the boat. Ash assumed that he needed to get back to his job and allow Sawyer a break, but he wasn't entirely sure.
"Uh, sure, Gary," Ash said after the researcher had already left. Praising Hawlucha for his excellent battle, Ash recalled the defeated Pokémon into his pokeball and turned to his friends. "Hey, sorry about that. I went to get something to eat and one thing led to another and before I knew it, Gary and I were having a battle."
"Sorry for interrupting," Bonnie apologized in a sad voice. She was upset for ruining Ash's battle. "We just had amazing news and needed to tell you right away."
"Hey, it's alright, Bonnie. Hawlucha and I both know you didn't mean to distract us," he explained while smiling at the young girl. Feeling better, Bonnie smiled back at Ash as he was glad she wasn't going to hold this against herself. "So, what's this amazing news?"
"Everyone advanced onto the second round of the Contest Spectacular," Bonnie explained as Serena rubbed the back of her neck a little. "Lisia also advanced which wasn't much of a surprise, but if you don't include her, Serena scored the highest out of everyone! Dawn, Miette and her will have to face three other Coordinators along with Lisia where they all are on the stage at once and do another appeal, but this time they can interfere with the others or use their moves to help out their own appeals. It seems like a lot of fun!" Bonnie rambled on as Ash began to lose track of her words. All that he really remembered from that spiel was the fact that Serena and the others had advanced and he was glad for it.
"That's great, Serena!" Ash cried out, having forgotten about the ending of his battle. Standing back up, the young trainer smiled at Serena as he was truly happy for her advancement. "Next round, you'll advance onto the final four alongside the others."
"Well, I'll also have to beat Lisia, and the other contestants who advanced. I'm not already qualified for the last round. I'll just have to go out there and give it my all," she replied as the group of four turned to head back towards the main deck to go do an activity together.
"You'll be fine, Serena. I know you'll advance easily," Ash told her happily as he placed a hand on her shoulder. Smiling once again at her, Ash didn't understand what Jasper had meant to him earlier, but he decided that it would be best to take the man's advice. Starting tomorrow, he was going to spend time with the girl, since he had no idea when he would see his friend after the cruise. For now, that promise was enough.
Author's Note: Well, we've certainly got a kickoff going now, don't we? The Contest Spectacular has started with some impressive showings, Ash is still wondering about Serena's actions and there's a mysterious artifact aboard the boat...What will become of all this? Who knows? Well...except for us. But you get to wait to find that one out. Next chapter should be pretty fun, though.
potat lasaro: Hopefully the first round of that Contest Spectacular was interesting to everyone. Though, the big parts are yet to come. Though, how it all plays out is still up in the air. Any one of our three main girls could win, you'll just have to come back and read the next chapter. Have a Happy New Year and thanks for reading the story so far, it's only going to get more interesting as we continue on!
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