I went to go see Hoshi in the prep room. This is where coordinators prepare before they go on stage. She looked nervous again. "I don't know what Pokemon to use for the battle rounds." she cried while she frantically brushed her hair. "I don't even know if I got through to the battle rounds!" she said. I don't think I have ever heard my sister talk this much ever. Usually, Hoshi was very quiet. Contests brought her out of her shell though. "Well what Pokemon do you have? I feel like you should use Squirtle, since he's the most agile." I said to my sister. "But I have a Tirtouga and Elekid too." Hoshi explained. "So use them for the next contest. Squirtle will get you a ton of appeal because of his cuteness. Plus, you need an offensive and fast Pokemon. Elekid is offensive but not fast and Tirtouga is defensive and slow." I explained to my sister. I had always thought contests were cool and I enjoyed watching them.
"Thanks Takumi, you're the bum. I'll go with Squirtle for this contest. By the way, I really want to have a battle with you before you go to your next gym battle." Hoshi said. The bum was an affectionate term used by people worldwide. It was like saying babe but to your best friend. It's kind of hard to explain. "Of course! That would be so much fun." I exclaimed. I hugged my sister and went to get some red licorice from the candy counter. It was by far my favorite candy. Hoshi and I always got along better than me and Rumi. I think it was just because Hoshi is very quiet and basically a pacifist. Rumi was so hot headed and whenever she needed to cool down she would hang out with Hoshi.
When I took my seat next to Osamu, the lights dimmed again. "And here are the results from the appeals." Gideon said as he pointed to a screen. Hoshi was right next to Taro, who appeared first. After that the screen showed who Hoshi would battle. It was some kid named Jiro. His appeal wasn't that good so you can only imagine how his battle was. By the end if the battles there was only 2 people left. I bet you can guess who they were. It was Hoshi versus Taro. Taro was using his Meowth. "And the final battle begins with Taro in this corner and Hoshi in the other. Now begin!" Gideon said. "Nicknack assist. Then use fury swipes." Taro commanded. A white orb appeared in the palm of Nicknack's hands. It shot out a large blast of fire. "That's flamethrower!" Tochi exclaimed. Nicknack crawled right underneath the attack. It's claws were glowing. It jumped up and scratched Squirtle. "No Squirtle use withdraw. Then use water gun." Hoshi cried to her Pokemon. The little blue turtle hid in its shell and blew water from one of the holes to get away from Nicknack. It also effected Nicknack because it was disoriented.
"Squirtle use bubble." Hoshi said to her Pokemon. Nicknack was still trying to shake the water off of itself when the bubble attack hit. The points were evenly matched both of them were half way done. They had 30 seconds left."Nicknack use scratch." Taro said. "Squirtle use water gun!" Hoshi cried. The timer sounded. "Times up!" Gideon called. "The winner of the Saffron City Contest is... Hoshi (last name) from Pallet Town." the announcer shouted enthusiastically. Roses flew and the crowd cheered. Hoshi smiled and waved. Squirtle did the same. Taro walked off the stage with a pout on his face. Gideon gave Hoshi a yellow ribbon. She raised it in the air and the crowd cheered even louder.
After the audience filed out of the hall, my family and friends went up to see Hoshi. "Congratulations honey!" my grandparents exclaimed. We all hugged Hoshi and congratulated her. "Hey Takumi, are we still gonna do our battle?" Hoshi asked. "Sure! Do you want to do it now?" I said. "Hmm hmm! Grandma will you judge it?" Hoshi said. "Yes dearies, I'd be happy to." she replied. We moved outside to a cleared field just outside the city.
"The battle between Hoshi and Takumi is a 1 on 1 battle. Ready? Begin!" my grandmother said. "Go Squirtle!" Hoshi said as she threw her pokeball. "Go Piplup!" I said as I did the same. The two water types came out ready for battle. "Squirtle use rapid spin." Hoshi said. "Piplup use peck to counter." I said to my partner. Squirtle withdrew to its shell and came flying at my Pokemon. Piplup defended himself with his beak. Squirtle skid back on its feet. "Squirtle water gun." Hoshi exclaimed. "You do the same, Piplup." I countered. The two attacks forced each other to go back and forth. "Piplup use pound." I said. This battle was going to be tough. "Squirtle use tackle!" Hoshi said. When both Pokemon hit each other they fell over. "No!" we both screamed.
The water types somehow managed to pick themselves up. They began to glow. "Uh, Piplup?" I said like a question. "Squirtle what's happening!" Hoshi nervously shouted. When the glowing stopped, the Pokemon no longer looked like themselves. My grandparents smiled. "Wartortle!" the Pokemon that used to be Squirtle exclaimed. "Prinplup!" my partner shouted. We took out our pokedexes to see what had happened to our Pokemon. They evolved! Now Prinplup could use metal claw. "You wanna finish this up Takumi?" Hoshi asked. "Obviously!" I replied. "Okay, Wartortle use water pulse!" the blue haired girl said. "Use steel wing Prinplup!" I exclaimed. Prinplup cut away the attack with steel wing and hit Wartortle.
"Wartortle is unable to battle, Prinplup wins." my grandmother said. "Great job Takumi!" Tochi and Osamu said. I went over to my sister and hugged her. "Great job sis!" I said as I squeezed her. "Thanks Takumi, I had a lot of fun!" she said. As we headed ove to our bags we saw something rustling the bushes near the woods. "Oh a Pokemon." Hoshi and I shouted. A small pink dog-like Pokemon popped out of the bushes. I took out my pokedex again. "Snubbull, the Fairy Pokémon. While it may appear gruff and grumpy, deep down, Snubbull is a kind and caring Pokémon." Dexter said in the usual monotonic voice. "I gotta catch it!" both me and my sister said as we threw a pokeball. Snubbull ran into the woods. Hoshi and I ran into the woods after our pokeballs.
One pokeball had caught the Snubbull but the other one didn't. "It's mine! That little fairy type would be awesome in contests." Hoshi said. "But it would also be great in a battle!" I argued. By now we were fighting like Persian and Stoutland. "Hey Takumi what are you doing!" Osamu yelled as he pulled me off of my sister. "Hoshi come on stop!" Tochi yelled trying hold my sister back. "I know exactly how to settle this!" Osamu said. "How?" Tochi, Hoshi and I all asked. "You see Pokemon like to follow around their trainers. Even though you two don't know who's Pokemon it is, Snubbull will know." Osamu explained.
So we let Snubbull out of its pokeball and walked in opposite directions of each other. Snubbull looked at both of us. It then toddled over towards me with a big smile on its face. "Yeah! Alright I caught a Snubbull!" I exclaimed. Hoshi looked upset. I felt bad taking Snubbull from her but she could always catch another Pokemon. We all decided to part ways. Hoshi was going to Vermillion City for her next contest. If she won this ribbon, she would only need one more to compete in the Grand Festival. "You better use Snubbull in your next gym battle!" Hoshi shouted as she walked towards route 6. "So where are we off to next?" Tochi asked me curiously. "Celadon City is the next place with a gym. So I guess there!" I answered. And we were on our way.