Chapter 6

The day-long trip from Nacrene City to Stratosform Town actually ended up taking closer to two days for Ash, Jessie, and Shauntal. After getting lost somewhere between five and eighty-five times on the way, the trio finally arrived at the contest hall an hour before the contest. Once Jessilina is all registered, she and the others decide to sample Stratosform Town's famous seasonal desserts.

After spending almost the entire hour of free time on line, Jessilina, Shauntal, Ash, and Pikachu each take a bite from their chosen desserts. While trying to savor the absolutely delicious taste, all three trainers and the Pokémon close their eyes in ecstasy. After opening them again, they find that their desserts have vanished. Looking around, Ash spots a Pokémon rustling in nearby grass. He has Dexter scan it to find that it's a Snivy.

"Hey!" Ash yells at the grass snake Pokémon, "Those are our desserts!"

Snivy looks at the shouting trainer with disdain, before gulping down the last of the sweets and retorting, "Vi!"

Ash and Pikachu are now visibly angry, their faces red and electricity sparking from Pikachu's cheeks.

"I'll show you!" the always-hungry trainer yells, "Pikachu use Thunderbolt!"

"PIKA-CHU!" the angry rodent agrees as it unleashes a burst of electrical energy. Both Pikachu and his trainer get even more annoyed when Snivy dodges the attack. Snivy proceeds to wink at its opponent, sending a circle of hearts around Pikachu. When the attack is finished, the electric-type has hearts in his eyes.

Jessilina groans, recognizing the attack as one her own Woobat knows, "That was an Attract."

Pikachu can't move do to his infatuation, and Snivy takes the opportunity to unleash a barrage of Vine Whip attacks. Ash sees that Pikachu won't be able to move and jumps in front of his partner, blocking the attacking vines with his back. Snivy watches this display with interest before walking off through the grass.

"Ooh," Ash gripes before completely changing his mood, "I just gotta catch that Snivy!"

"But it's time for my contest," Jessilina objects.

"Then I'll just have to miss the first few minutes," Ash replies, "don't worry, though. I'll make sure to catch Snivy fast and be back in plenty of time to see you win."

While Jessilina is ameliorated by Ash's promise, Shauntal is conflicted. She still doesn't trust Jessie who pretended to steal Ash's Pokémon all too easily (plus, what sane woman would spend so much time trying to figure out how she disappears into plain sight knowing she's a ghost-type trainer?), but she really wants to watch Ash try to catch this Snivy. Making up her mind that the contest would be a great opportunity for Team Rocket to steal Pokémon, Shauntal decides that she needs to keep an eye on Jessilina while the show goes on. She still sends out her Banette to tail Ash and report its observations back afterwards.


Once she got backstage, Jessilina took a good look at her competition. The only person who seemed even remotely familiar was a young redheaded girl with a rose in her hair. No matter how hard she tried, however, Jessilina just couldn't remember where she had seen the girl before. As Jessilina tries to work out the identity of the familiar girl, the giant television screen switches on to the already-familiar face of Fabian.

"Hello to all the fans and contestants of this, the lovely Stratosform Town's Pokémon Contest!" he announces in his usual exuberant manner, "My name is Fabian and I'll be serving as your emcee this gorgeous afternoon. Also staffing this contest, it's my pleasure to introduce our judges. First, we have the razzle dazzle man himself, Nimbasa City's Mayor Fields!"

A yellow spotlight shines on a man in a suit with what looks to be genuine gold sewn into his suit. The man waves to the crowd and says, "Welcome to our talented coordinators and their Pokémon. I hope we see a show that shines with the light of all the stars in the sky."

"Our next judge," Fabian continues, "can tell the compatibility between Pokémon and trainer with barely more than a single glance. Please give a warm welcome to Sylvia!"

A green light now illuminates an older woman in the center of the judges' panel. She comments simply, "A delicious treat as always."

"Last, but never least," Fabian interjects, "we have a woman with one of the most familiar faces in the Pokémon world. How about a hand for Stratosform Town's very own Nurse Joy?"

A third, pink light shines on the instantly recognizable face of a Nurse Joy, who warmly states, "I'm very much looking forward to seeing these coordinators bring out the best traits of their prized Pokémon. It should be a wonderful sight."

"Let's hear another round of applause for our esteemed panel of judges," Fabian ends his introductions before moving on, "now to explain the rules of today's contest. This is a double performance, meaning each coordinator will simultaneously use two Pokémon in an appealing performance before the top eight move onto the battle round. For today, the Pokémon used in the appeals cannot be substituted and must be used in the next stage should their trainer advance. In addition, to show off the skills of two Pokémon together, no Poké ball seals may be used today. Now, let's see how each coordinator highlights their chosen duo! Let's start the appeals! First up, a fresh face to the contest stage, please welcome Marcus!"

The curtain opens revealing a slightly nervous kid in shorts and a T-shirt. He calls out a Darumaka and a Gothita.

"Darumaka start with an ember," he orders a little shakily before steadying himself, "and Gothita use confusion to move the fire around!"


In the grassy hills outside Stratosform Town, Ash and Pikachu have finally sighted the Snivy from earlier.

"Alright, buddy! This time we're gonna catch her!" Ash promises his longtime friend, "But maybe we should give Tepig a try since Snivy's a grass-type."

"Pika," the Pokémon conceded.

"Okay! Go Tepig!" Ash calls, releasing the fire pig from its Poké ball, "C'mon, Tepig, help me catch that Snivy. Use Ember!"

Unfortunately for Ash, Snivy dodges the Ember attack even more easily than she did Pikachu's Thunderbolt. She gives a grunt of annoyance before once again winking at Ash's Pokémon. Like with Pikachu, Tepig is helpless to the Attract and becomes infatuated with Snivy. The wild Pokémon releases her vines to wrap around Tepig before starting to slam him into the ground.

"No! Tepig!" Ash shouts, before sighing and pulling out a Poké ball, "come on back, buddy." The beam of red light removes Tepig from Snivy's clutches just before he hits the ground hard. Snivy considers Ash's actions before running off again.


Back at the contest hall, a rather tall young woman finishes her combination: "Blitzle use Double Kick and Venipede use Rollout!"

The electric zebra kicks a curled up Venipede into the air and proceeds to pull a few soccer-like tricks before the bug-type lands on Blitzle's back. The trainer and her Pokémon bow, and walk off stage after listening to the judges' comments.

"Let's give another big hand to Gina, everybody!" Fabian exclaims as he walks on stage, "And now, a warm welcome to a proficient battler who has moved on to contests. It's Harry!"

A man in his late teens runs on stage and sends out a Trubbish and a Ferroseed.

"Let's go guys," he shouts, "we'll show them that a tough battler is a great performer too!"


"Ugh! Where could Snivy have gone now?" Ash asks Pikachu, who shrugs.

The duo looks through the grass futilely before giving up and getting a drink from a nearby river. After the cool water the duo feels refreshed and Ash is struck with an idea so simple he can't believe he forgot he could do it.

"Pidove, c'mon out," he calls, releasing his flying-type from its Poké ball, "We're looking for a Snivy that lives around here. D'you think you could help us out?"

"Dove! Dove!" Pidove nods.

"Alright!" Ash replies as Pidove flies off looking for the distinctive green and yellow pattern of a Snivy.


"That was an excellent demonstration of type matchups. Trubbish's poison overpowering the grass, but being rendered null by the steel of Ferroseed was simply marvelous," Nurse Joy compliments Harry, who, finished with his performance walks off the stage.

"Wow, what incredible performances we have today!" narrates a delighted Fabian, "and I'm sure that trend will continue with the semifinalist of last year's Sinnoh Grand Festival and finalist in the Accumula Town contest, Jessilina!"

The curtains open and Jessilina runs out, accompanied by her Seviper and her Wobbuffet, both already outside their Poké balls. The trio get to the center of the stage and Seviper, at its trainer's nod, moves off to the left.

Jessilina blows kisses and giggles before crying, "Hello all my adoring fans, it's Jessilina! Now let's give them a show to remember. Seviper use Poison Tail and Wobbuffet, Counter!"

The fans, expecting to see Seviper attack Wobbuffet to demonstrate its reflective abilities, are surprised to say the least when Seviper's Poison Tail instead lands under Jessilina's feet, propelling her in the air towards Wobbuffet. Jessilina laughs as she lands on Wobbuffet and bounces off, making a sound akin to a pinball hitting a bumper.

As Seviper catches its trainer with another Poison Tail, Jessilina exclaims, "Ha! Now Seviper, use Dig!"

Seviper burrows underground while Jessilina once again bounces off Wobbuffet's impenetrable Counter. Before the coordinator hits the floor, her snake Pokémon pops out of the ground under her and sends her back to the psychic blob behind them. This continues a couple more times before Jessilina's latest bounce sends her behind Wobbuffet. Seviper pops out of the ground beneath her, but does not retreat underground while its trainer bounces on the top of Wobbuffet's head before making a graceful landing.

"Now, Wobbuffet, switch to Mirror Coat and Seviper use Poison Tail!" Jessilina commands.

The judges and audience are a bit confused that the coordinator is trying to block a physical move with the special-reflector, Mirror Coat. Her reasoning soon become evident, though. While Wobbuffet takes minor damage from being hit with Seviper's tail, the poison part of the attack reflects off of Mirror Coat, covering both Pokémon in a bright purple glow.

As the audience applauds the performance, the judges prepare their reviews.

"A great show!" burst Mayor Fields, "A game of human pinball followed by a light show as brilliant as the Nimbasa carnival's"

"It was a delicious treat," agrees Sylvia.

"You really showed off Seviper's flawless aim and Wobbuffet's incredible defenses while also proving that you have a bond of trust with both of these Pokémon. I couldn't look away!" finishes Nurse Joy.

The audience gives another round of applause as Jessilina returns to the backstage area.


Ash and Pikachu arrive at the spot over which Pidove is circling to see Snivy getting a drink a moderate trek away from where the Kanto natives did the same thing. Snivy sees them and prepares to hop onto a stone a bit offshore.

"Oh no you don't!" Ash cries, pulling out a Poké ball, "This time you're mine! Oshawott, I choose you!"

Oshawott pops out of his ball ready for a fight. He sees Snivy about a third of the way across the river, and immediately jumps in, outspeeding Snivy's jumps with his swimming.

"Yeah! Go Oshawott!" the Pokémon's trainer cheers, "Now let's win this with Fury Cutter!"

Before Oshawott even has a chance to attack, Snivy lands yet another Attract, stopping the water-type in his tracks. She then knocks Oshawott out with a Vine Whip and launches him into the river before hopping the rest of the way across the river and into the forest on the other side. She turns her head to see Ash dive into the river and retrieve his unconscious friend, and wanders deeper into the forest at a far slower pace than before.


The appeals continue at a rapid pace as the Stratosform Town Pokémon Contest continues. A girl called Paula mixes mud and ice to great effect with her Boldore and Cubchoo. Tyler, a young man from Striaton City, attempts to pull off a psychic showdown with Gothorita and Duosion. Sarah, a middle-aged Pokéfan, uses Emolga and Audino in a cute but predictable manner. Another first time performer, Jimmie, wows the audience with a dazzling air show of various spores using Pidove and Cottonee. Two twins, Sheila and Maria, use Karrablast and Shelmet and Whirlipede and Swadloon, respectively. Helen, an elegantly dressed older woman, shows her Pokémon's power and grace by bouncing her Liepard's Shadow Ball off rocks created by her Gurdurr's Rock Slide. A Scraggy and Minccino, a Ducklett and Swanna, and two Klinks feature in the next three performances.

As the appeals wind down to the last couple of coordinators, Fabian introduces the next participant.

"Hailing from the faraway Kanto Region," he starts, "this coordinator has trained for years in preparation to enter her first Grand Festival. Please welcome, Brianna!"

The girl Jessilina vaguely recognized walks in from behind the curtain and begins her performance.

"Burning with wild energy, I call forth Pansear, and dancing with all the grace of a rose but with none of the thorns, I call forth Lilligant," she calls for her Pokémon, "Lilligant, give the audience a whiff of your aroma with Sweet Scent and Pansear, build your excitement with Work Up."

The noses of every member of the audience are delighted by the visible pink-tinged scent released by Lilligant, while the kids watching laugh as Pansear plays around the stage.

"Prove your unending beauty: Petal Dance and Ember!" Brianna orders.

Lilligant spins in an elegant waltz while releasing a flurry of petals, which a spinning Pansear sets alight. The burning petals sparkle and glow as they fall towards the stage, extinguishing on contact. Brianna and her Pokémon bow.

"Your performance was simple," critiques Mayor Fields, "yet you still made both Pokémon shine using multiple senses.

"The fragrance of Lilligant smelled simply delicious," adds Sylvia.

"You really highlighted Lilligants pure grace and Pansear's cheeky playfulness. And most importantly, everyone had fun!" Nurse Joy closes the judges' review.

Fabian calls out the last performer, a rather short girl who gives a forgettable appeal using an Oshawott and a Deerling, before announcing, "And that brings our appeals round to a close. Please give our judges a few minutes to calculate the results."


Banette watches as Ash, Pikachu, and Pidove track down Snivy once again.

"It's been a good chase," Ash says, holding a blue Poké ball, "but my next Pokémon will be sure to let me catch you. Go, Totodile!"

The blue crocodile pops out of the Lure Ball and immediately starts dancing.

"Use Bite!" Ash orders the water-type. Unfortunately, Snivy dodges Totodile's Bite and unleashes a fourth Attract, infatuating Totodile on contact.

"Vi!" cries Snivy in triumph, before using a super effective Vine Whip. To the Unova starter's enormous surprise, Totodile dodges the attack through his infatuation by dancing.

"Hah!" laughs Ash, "Totodile won't ever stop dancing! Good job, buddy!"

A begrudgingly impressed Snivy tries a few more Vine Whips before spinning her tail in circles, sending a blueish tornado flying at Totodile. As it leaves, through the dust scattered by the attack Snivy can see Ash run to catch the Johto Pokémon before it hits the ground.

"Whoa," Ash comments, "that was a Twister attack!"


"And the results are in!" Fabian announces, "The following eight coordinators will move on to round two!"

The screen displays the pictures of Helen, Jessilina, Brianna, Harry, Gina, Jimmie, Paula, and Marcus, all of whom seem quite pleased with the results.

"Now the computer will randomly pick the four battles in the next round!" Fabian explains.

Marcus battles Harry in the first battle. Marcus leads initially, striking Ferroseed and Trubbish with super effective Embers and Confusions, but Harry's knowledge of battles soon turns the tide. Trubbish coats Ferroseed in a Toxic attack, while the steel-type spins and releases an onslaught of poisoned Pin Missiles, taking down both opponents.

Battle number two sees Jimmie facing Brianna. Brianna leads in points from start to finish continuing the dance moves she started in the appeals round.

"Pansear use Will-o'-wisp and Lilligant fill the flames with your Stun Spore!" Brianna calls at the three minute mark. The flames burst on contact with Pidove and Cottonee, releasing the paralyzing powder inside and leaving both of Brianna's opponents unable to defend themselves from her ensuing attacks.

Moving forward, Jessilina initially has slight difficulties dealing with Gina's speedy Blitzle and Venipede. The faster Pokémon change tactics too fast for Wobbuffet to have the appropriate shield ready and move around the stage faster than Seviper can hit. Deciding her strategy isn't working, Jessilina has Seviper move in front of Wobbuffet. Gina doesn't let Jessilina's offense as the best defense strategy work however, and has Blitzle launch Venipede into a Rollout directly slamming Seviper's head to the ground and using its tail as a ramp.

Jessilina grits her teeth in frustration while Gina has Venipede land on Blitzle and the duo charges forward in a Spark and Double-edge combination. She sees Seviper lying stunned in front of Wobbuffet head down with its tail in the air and is struck with an idea.

"Wobbuffet use counter!" she cries at the blob, who complies, "and Seviper wait in that position until just before Blitzle and Venipede hit. And... NOW! Use Poison Tail on Wobbuffet!"

Seviper's powerful attack strikes Wobbuffet's Counter, and bounces back over the snake's head to hit Venipede and Blitzle at twice the strength it normally would. Gina's Pokémon are sent flying back across the stage, landing sprawled on the ground, unconscious leaving Fabian to declare Jessilina the winner.

In the last battle of the second round, Helen's Liepard surround a rock launched by Paula's Boldore with dark energy using Dark Pulse, before her Gurdurr sends the combination flying back at Cubchoo and Boldore with Wake-up Slap, ending the match in Helen's favor.


Ash pants as he finishes running up the hill atop which Pidove has tracked down Snivy. He doesn't pause to taunt the grass-type before sending out his Quilava.

"Start things off with an Eruption," Ash tells his fire-type. Snivy manages to dodge the attack, but only by a millimeter.

"Great job, Quilava! Keep it on its toes with lots of Flamethrowers!" Ash orders victoriously.

Snivy can't use Attract while dodging the constant stream of flames from Quilava. Still, while jumping to dodge one of the attacks, the grass snake gathers the moisture on her tail together, creating a spiral of water to put out the fires. While Quilava is distracted by his flames going out, Snivy manages to wink, putting Ash's fifth Pokémon out of commission with Attract. Another use of the water-type move has Quilava rolling downhill unconscious while Ash jumps to the bottom to catch him. Snivy gives a preoccupied Ash an impressed look, before moving on to a different part of the grasslands.

"That was an Aqua Tail," a stunned Ash comments to Pikachu, "I wonder how Snivy learned that."

"Chu chu Pikachu," the electric-type replies.

"Good idea," Ash admits and pulls out his Pokédex.

Dexter answers his question in a computerized voice, "Snivy will often abandon a trainer it feels is unworthy or unkind. Many Snivys found in the wild present a greater strength than normal due to having prior training."

Huh. Ash thinks, I wonder what happened between this Snivy and her trainer?


The next round of battles consists of two coordinators dominating their opponents. Brianna's battle against Harry proves that focusing purely on coordinating can lead to winning battles too. She starts the battle by confusing Trubbish and Ferroseed with Lilligant's Teeter Dance and making them sleepy with Pansear's Yawn. Petal Dance and Ember make short work of Brianna's defenseless opponents.

Jessilina, meanwhile, completely controls her battle with Helen by coating the field in Seviper's Haze. Every time Gurdurr or Liepard moved above or below the fog, Seviper would launch an appropriately defended Wobbuffet in the path of the attacks, sending them back to their users and making Wobbuffet shine even through the black smoke.

Jessilina considers her opponent in the final round. She knows Brianna is from Kanto, but still can't place where she recognizes the coordinator from.


Still on the trail of Snivy, Ash and his Pokémon wander back into the forest. Pidove sees the grass snake up ahead, so Ash and Pikachu dash toward it, running straight down the trail until Ash's feet start to sink into the ground.

Oh no, quicksand! Ash thinks before calling out to Pidove, "Can you lift Pikachu off of me?"

The flying-type tries as hard as it can, but it's not strong enough to lift Pikachu. Ash gets Pikachu onto the top of his head, to give the Pokémon his best chance at escape. Shauntal's Banette arrives in the shadows of the scene and prepares to pull the two out when vines surround them. Snivy, after watching Ash's care of Pikachu above that of himself, is now satisfied at Ash's abilities and pulls him out of the quicksand.

"Vi! Sni-vi!" she cries combatively, calling Ash out for a battle.

"You wanna battle?" Ash asks, deciding which Pokémon to use, "You got it! Pidove, can you try this time?"

Ash's last party member coos affirmatively, so Ash calls, "Okay then, use Gust!"

Pidove flaps its wings and unleashes a jet of air, which Snivy promptly dodges. She then uses her oh-so-annoying Attract. As the hearts surround Pidove, Ash despairs that all is lost, just as the hearts fail to affect the bird Pokémon.

"That must mean-" Ash thinks aloud, "You're a girl!"

"Dove! Dove!" his friend confirms.

"Okay then, let's battle, Pidove!" Ash exclaims, giddy at the prospect of Attract being worthless, "Use Growl!"

Pidove proceeds to lower Snivy's attack power, but the wild Pokémon retaliates with the special attacking Twister.

"Blow that back with Gust!" Ash orders. The two wind-based attacks collide in midair, battling for dominance until the both burst, hitting both sides of the battlefield. Pidove, not being hit by any super effective attacks, recovers first so Ash has it use a Quick Attack, hitting the still unrecovered Snivy for critical damage.

"Okay, go Poké ball!" Ash calls, throwing the red and white device. Banette looks on from the shadows and can swear it sees Snivy smile just before the ball sucks her in and shakes three times before making a ding, signifying Ash's latest capture.

"Alright!" Ash cheers, making his signature victory pose, "We caught a Snivy!"

Ash then remembers his promise to Jessilina and runs back to the contest hall to see her perform.


"Well, folks," Fabian narrates, "the time is here. It's time for the final round of the Stratosform Town Pokémon Contest! On my left, it's Jessilina, and on my right it's Brianna! Who will win the coveted Stratosform Ribbon? Well, let's put five minutes on the clock and start the battle!"

"That ribbon is mine!" Jessilina declares while sending out her Pokémon.

"This win is for Drew!" Brianna shouts. At this point, Jessilina remembers the annoying kid from Kanto with a crush on the green-haired twerp. The flowers theme suddenly made sense as Jessilina tried to remember the detail of Brianna's loss to May.

"Let's end this battle before it begins! Pansear, Work Up and Lilligant, Teeter Dance," Brianna commands. Lilligant's elegant dancing has Seviper entirely confused, though Wobbuffet just stands there.

Jessilina sees her points keep dropping as Seviper keeps dancing and implores, "Do something, you annoying blob! Please!"

Jessilina's always loyal psychic-type shouts "Wobba!" before giving a salute and surrounding it and Seviper in a green glow, ending the snake's confusion.

"Wow! That's an, um, impressive display of one of Wobbuffet's lesser known moves - Safeguard - brought on by the desperate words of its trainer!"

"Yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you, Wobbuffet!" Jessilina cheers, then with Seviper back in fighting form due to the lasting effects of Safeguard, she orders, "Stop Pansear from monkeying around, Seviper. Use Bite!"

The snake slithers over to the fire monkey and chomps down on its head.

"SEAR! PAN PAN-SEAR!" the simian cries in shock.

"No! Pansear, shake it off!" Brianna tells her panicking Pokémon, who barely manages to comply, "Now Lilligant, use Stun Spore!"

Fabian narrates in a confused tone, "An interesting choice by Brianna, as Jessilina's Pokémon are still protected from status conditions by the effects of Safeguard."

"Oh, but I'm just getting started," Brianna quips, "Pansear, light those spores up with Ember!"

The Stun Spore, which at this point had saturated the air around Wobbuffet and Seviper, bursts into flame with Pansear's attack, to the great excitement of the audience and the judges.

"Grr..." growls Jessilina, "Wobbuffet, block as much as you can with Mirror Coat, and Seviper try sending it back with Haze!"

A little known fact about the ice-type move Haze, is that the black smog produced is quite flammable. Ergo, when Seviper tried to blow the flaming powder back, its attack promptly combusted, sending a roaring Flamethrower back at Pansear and Lilligant. With Brianna's combination ended, Jessilina takes advantage of the pause and has Seviper move into position in front of Wobbuffet. Repeating her winning move from before, Jessilina orders a Poison Tail on Wobbuffet, which is sent careening back to Brianna's Pokémon.

"Dodge that!" the girl cries, and heartened by her Pokémon's success, she starts her next combination, "Use Petal Dance and Will-o'-wisp!"

The flaming blue petals hit both opponents for some major damage. At this point there's a little over a minute left and both trainers are low on points. Jessilina leads, but only barely. Deciding she needs to end the battle immediately she orders Wobbuffet to waddle up to Lilligant and Pansear. Thinking way back to her time following the twerps around the Battle Frontier, she recalls another Seviper's use of powerful fire-type moves.

"Now, Seviper, use Dig and get under Wobbuffet!" she orders, followed by, "Now! Use your new Flamethrower and Wobbuffet, Mirror Coat!"

The crowd is awed that Seviper managed to remember the feeling of a burning Haze, and takes a collective gasp when the fiery attack blasts from underground and hits Wobbuffet's Mirror Coat. The reflected flames are scattered burst by burst directly toward Jessilina's opponents, much like when Team Plasma's Super Flash Cannon was deflected. Jessilina's final combination is enough to reduce Brianna's points to zero, winning Jessilina her first Unova Ribbon.

As Mayor Fields presents Jessilina with the Stratosform Ribbon, the coordinator looks at where she knows Shauntal is in the crowd and sees, next to the elite four member, Ash who is panting, sweaty, and covered in grass stains and quicksand. The ex-gang member laughs at the twerp's utter determination to keep a promise.


Later that night, while the trio is camped out en route to Pinwheel Forest, Banette reports the days events back to Shauntal.

"Really?" the author comments, "Well it will surely be interesting to see how Ash works with a Pokémon that wanted to be captured."


A/N: I'm actually quite happy with this chapter. I personally think I managed to split the focus between Jessilina's contest and Ash's capture nicely. Brianna, if you don't recall, was a character of the day back in the Battle Frontier who had a crush on Drew. I hate using OCs as rivals and couldn't see too many established coordinators in Unova's trial run of contests, so I pulled one of May's one-time opponents to use. Brianna will recur as one of Jessilina's contest rivals. I also borrowed a bit from Jessilina's appeal back in the Wallace Cup. I actually thought it was a pretty good way to show off Wobbuffet in the single appeal format. Since the Sinnoh judges didn't seem to appreciate it though, I added Seviper and a couple of other elements. A last note is that this is the first chapter where Ash using his older Pokémon to train his new ones is seen outside the context of a specific battle. Totodile and Quilava were there to help out their Unova counterparts. Anyway

Until next time -Me