Slateport Contest Entrance

Dawn was sitting next to the entrance, trying to calm down.

"I can't believe this. No, I can't understand this." Dawn said in a sad tone.

She heard footsteps coming towards her, and when she turned her head she noticed it was her mother.

"Should have figured you be here Dawn." Johanna said

Dawn didn't respond to her mother's comment.

"So you probably figured it out then?"

Dawn didn't respond but she did nod her head.

"Listen, I understand that it's not natural but there's more you need to understand than what you believe."

Dawn then decided to chime in.

"You honestly think I am upset that you did that? I am 19 Johanna, I am not 10 anymore. The reason I am upset is because you lied to me about it. Didn't you tell me that lying to someone is worse than being honest?" Dawn said.

Johanna then sighed and sat down next to her daughter.

"You're right, I did tell you that lying to someone is worse than being honest. I just didn't know how you would handle it so I tried to hide it from you. Was it a good idea? Of course not, but I didn't know how you handle it. Listen, this secret was between the two of us and we would tell you eventually, but we thought that the newspaper would be an easier way." Johanna said.

"So why her?" Dawn asked

Johanna sighed in response.

"I wish I could tell you Dawn, it just happened. But I will say this, it's not like me and your father, it's more like a friendship type. You've heard of it before Dawn haven't you?"

Dawn reaches into her pocket to pull out a tiny dictionary.

It took her a few moments but she was able to find the word her mother was describing.

"Ah, here it is. The term is Romantic Friendship, a non-intimate relationship between friends."

"Exactly. That idea worked better for us since the standard one is disgusting." Johanna said.

"But that's not the point, I got to get going for my match, are you going to be okay Dawn?" Johanna asked before standing up.

"I'm fine, I just needed an explanation." Dawn responded.

"Okay, see ya soon. Love you" Johanna responded before ruffling Dawn's hair and leaving.

Contest Arena

In the arena Lila and Allegra were about to compete.

Lila was wearing a purple kimono with white flowers painted on some parts of it, had her hair tied up and was ready for battle.

Allegra looked to be around 6 feet tall, had her crimson hair tied up, with crescent moon styled hair on the sides of her head, and was wearing a white kimono with black dress shoes underneath.

"The wheel has decided that this round will be a single battle, so let's begin!" Marina shouted.

"Delcatty, let's go!" Lila shouted as she threw her pokeball into the air and released her Pokémon.

"Infernape, stabilize!" Allegra shouted as she opened the pokeball, releasing Infernape.

The wheel was replaced with a 5 minute timer on the Television Screen.

"Infernape, Mach Punch."

Infernape charged at Lila's Delcatty at max speed and landed a direct hit.

"Flamethrower!"

But Infernape wasn't moving.

"Infernape?"

"So I see Delcatty's ability kicked in that fast." Lila said.

Both Coordinators lost a few points on the screen as a result.

"Delcatty, Shock Wave!"

Delcatty raised his tail into the air as it began to generate a spark of electricity.

"Infernape, dodge it!"

But Infernape wasn't moving.

"Fire!" Lila shouted.

Delcatty's Shock Wave attack fired at Infernape and landed a direct hit, electrocuting Infernape and causing Allegra to lose points.

But Allegra wasn't scared of losing for some reason. If anything, she was smiling.

"Why are you smiling?" Lila asked.

"Infernape, use Mach Punch!" Allegra shouted.

Infernape charged at Delcatty again and was able to hit him with a Mach Punch, combined with electricity.

Lila lost a lot of points as a result of this, but before Infernape could finish the attack, Delcatty disappeared.

"Substitute?"

Infernape was looking all over the arena to find Delcatty but with no luck.

"Delcatty, use Sing!" Lila shouted to her Delcatty

Delcatty appeared behind Infernape and used Sing to cause Infernape to fall asleep and resulting in Allegra losing points.

"Infernape, get up!" Allegra shouted.

But Infernape was still asleep.

"Delcatty, use Shock Wave again!"

Delcatty fired his attack at Infernape, causing Allegra to lose more points.

"That's it. Infernape, Close Combat!"

But Infernape was still asleep, and wouldn't wake up.

"One minute left!"

"Keep hitting Infernape with electricity!"

Infernape kept getting electrocuted and was unable to wake up.

"Come on Infernape wake up!" Allegra shouted.

Infernape finally got up enraged, activating his Blaze ability and charging at Delcatty.

Lila was shocked; she couldn't believe Infernape woke up that fast.

"Infernape, Close Combat!" Allegra shouted.

"Delcatty doesn't have enough HP to use Substitute!" Lila said scared.

Infernape hit Delcatty with Close Combat, sending him into the wall.

"TIME!" Marina shouted.

Both Co-Ordinators returned their Pokémon to their pokeballs as Marina walked to the center of the arena with her microphone in hand.

"This was a close one, but the winner by 2 seconds is Lila!"

"Good job Lila." Allegra said.

"Likewise." Lila responded.

Waiting Room

"So it looks like Lila managed to beat Allegra after all." Dawn said

"It appears to be." Nando said.

"So it looks like it's my turn to fight."

May turned her head and saw Solidad behind her.

Solidad looked to be older than May and Drew by a few years and had long pink hair, green eyes and her attire was similar to a female detective with an orange jacket with pockets, a red skirt and red belt.

"Oh hey Solidad, it's been a while." May said.

"Yes it has May, I really have to give you my number sometime since I've kept up with Drew." Solidad said.

"So how's it been?"

"It's been fine, glad to see you two have managed to make it past the preliminaries." Solidad said smiling.

"Thanks." Drew said.

"No problem. Now where's that rookie, what was her name again? Oh yes, the Red Haired Huntress."

Suzy overheard that and got up to confront Solidad.

"You were talking to me Cotton Candy?" Suzy responded with an annoyed tone in her voice.

Solidad turned around and noticed Suzy.

"Yes I was, you only made it this far because of luck. Let me tell you Red Head, it takes skill to make it here."

Suzy crossed her arms and responded.

"If it takes skill, then how did you get this far?" Suzy responded with a smirk.

Solidad's tone began to change. She went from her usual tone to a tone of jealousy.

"Listen young lady, I got here because of skill, I beat these two when they were ten I think it's best you treat me with respect."

"Young lady? What are you a grandma? Do you need a cane to walk to the stage?"

Solidad clenched her fists and slapped Suzy in the face.

She grabbed Suzy by her shirt collar and responded with anger.

"You're a cocky young girl. If you honestly believe you can win your match, then you're living in a dream world!" Solidad shouted

She let go of Suzy and walked to the arena.

"Bring it on, Pinkie Pie." Suzy said smirking.

When Suzy got back up on her feet, May and Drew were glaring at her.

"Suzy, you shouldn't have done that." May said

"Solidad is one of the best Coordinators out there. She is one of the first Coordinators to win two Grand Festivals. Not even the likes of Fantina could pull that off." Drew said.

"You do not get in her way." May said

"If you do, she will tear you open like a can opener." Drew said.

"Listen guys, I appreciate the concern, but I will be fine. In fact, I am excited to win my match. Then I can rub it in Solidad's face." Suzy said.

Suzy returned to her seat and left May and Drew dumbfounded.

"That girl is weird." Drew said.

"Maybe, but we'll have to watch her match to see if she can back those words up." May said.

"Trust me May, she's always been like that." Trish said

May and Drew took a seat next to Trish to continue the conversation.

"How so?"

"Well…"

Flashback

In Johto's National Park, Suzy was sitting on a park bench.

She was at least 14 and wore a purple T-shirt and blue jeans.

Just then, her best friend Trish appeared with a boy next to her. They both appeared to be the same age as Suzy.

"Hey Suzy!" Trish shouted.

Suzy heard Trish's voice and responded.

"Hey Trish!"

Trish and the boy walked over to Suzy.

"Who's that guy?" Suzy asked.

"This is my old friend David." Trish said.

"Nice to meet you Suzy." David said smiling.

Suzy smiled in response.

Later

The three of them noticed a kid crying because a balloon he had in his hand was trapped in a tree branch.

"That stinks. But I don't think anyone can get that balloon out." Trish said.

Suzy then smiled.

"Wanna bet?"

Suzy ran over to the tree and began to climb.

It was a huge tree, over 20 feet tall and 10 feet wide, it was covered in leaves and branches.

Suzy started to get covered in the leaves, but she continued to climb until she reached the branch.

"Why did this tree have to be so big?"

Suzy climbed the branch and managed to retrieve the balloon.

Minutes later, she climbed down the tree and gave the balloon to the kid.

"Thanks." The child said.

"No problem." Suzy smiled.

Suzy walked back to her friends with leaves in her hair.

"Why did you do that?" David asked.

"It sounded like a challenge for me. So I wanted to beat that challenge." Suzy responded.

The three friends then began to laugh.

End Flashback

"So that's why she's excited? It's a challenge to her?" Drew asked.

Trish nodded her head.

"Well that's interesting."

"No. What's interesting is her weapon." Trish said.

Drew had a confused look on his face.

"David uses his scabbard to summon his Pokémon, I use a special weapon, and Suzy uses a sniper rifle to summon her Pokémon."

"So that's why she's called the Red Haired Huntress." Drew said.

"Correct. But I think it's time to watch Solidad's match." Trish said.