Author's Note:
Here it is, the chapter for Dawn's contest. Not much else to say. From the last chapter, pretty much every figured out who I plan to pair Dawn with in this story. I would like to ask people not to bash the shipping because it is a girlXgirl ship. I know it isn't everyone's cup of tea but I got into a heated argument (for lack of a better term) with another user who I shall not name that tried to convince me not to do Appeal-shipping and used his religion as a main arguing point. Not bringing any of my belief into it, you can all like and believe what you want just don't try to force anyone down the same belief system. If you don't like it, don't read this story.
Onto another subject, I am considering re writing the Wallace Cup arc once this story is finished but before I move onto Kalos. Nothing major will change, I just want to flesh it out more. What do you think? Anyway, thank you for the support. Now that is done, let's get started, enjoy...
I do not own Pokemon... But on a plus side, at least the GAP between updates is smaller than I thought it would be (sorry for the bad pun)
Chapter 12: Battling the Generation Gap
On a contest field two young girls are battling it out to see who will win the Celestic Town Contest Ribbon. The first girl has purple hair and is using a Delcatty while the second girl has blue hair and is using a Glameow.
"Now Glameow, Iron Tail!" The blue haired girl called out.
Glameow wrapped Delcatty in her tail as it glew white. She sent the Prim Pokemon flying as Glameow mimicked his movements. Finally, Glameow landed on her feet as Delcatty landed on her side earning the blue haired girl some points.
"Well done, the way Joanna's Glameow utilises her opponent's momentum to make her pose is nothing less than outstanding." The MC announced as the crowd cheered.
"Oh really?" The purple haired girl asked with an inward smirk.
Suddenly, the Delcatty that took the Iron Tail disappeared into a cloud of smoke. Shocking the audience, Glameow and Joanna.
"Lila Pokemon was a decoy!" The MC announced with his voice filled with surprise. "But where's the real Delcatty?".
"Delcatty! Use Shock Wave, now!" Lila instructed.
Seeming to appear out of thin air, Delcatty jumped into Glameow's Tail but before either Glameow or Joanna could react the Prim Pokemon unleashed a massive electric shock which engulfed Glameow.
"Glameow!" Joanna cried out to her Pokemon.
"And the flowers have bloomed." Lila declared as she struck a pose while fanning a stream of flower petals.
"And there it is, Lila's famed Tiger Lilly smile!" The MC announced. The timer ran out and all eyes were on the score board. "Times up, and our big winner is Lila from Celestic Town!". The crowd cheered the contest winner as Joanna recalled her Glameow with a word of thanks.
"Wow, you actually fought a contest battle with the Lila!?" Dawn asked in shock. She is currently on the phone with her mother.
"That's right." Joanna replied. "The truth is, up until that point I hadn't lost a single battle and Lila was the one who ended my winning streak.".
"Lila who?" Ash asked from the side line.
"Yeah, I would like to know who she is as well." Serena added.
At the start of the conversation, she was introduced to Joanna. While a lot of parents would've teased Dawn about having a thing for Ash when she started travelling with him, Joanna knows her daughter enough to know Ash isn't her type and supports her daughter fully. The only issue she has is the age difference between this Zoey, Dawn keeps going on about but she would need to meet her before she could make a final judgement. Besides, they are only friends and rivals right now. Plus, she won't tell Dawn's travelling companions as that is something for Dawn to do when she is ready.
"You've never heard of her?" Dawn asked with surprise. She brought out a magazine and pushed it in Ash's face. "Look. She's only the top Poke-Stylist, and you remember what that is. But she styles both trainers and Pokemon.".
"Cool." Serena replied as her eyes scanned the magazine. She has been on a search to find her dream since their first encounter with Poke-Stylists back in Hearthome City. She has also been taking breeding and cooking lessons of Brock and while she is interested in fashion, not as much as Dawn is clearly. Then again, she enjoys designing her own stuff and not what other people design, plus she hasn't tried any designs for Pokemon other than what Fennekin wore in the fashion show.
"So, what happened to Lila after she won it?" Dawn asked.
"Sadly, she retired from contests and coordinating as a whole before I could get a rematch with her." Joanna explained.
"So, the loss still stands, huh?" Dawn asked.
She hates hearing about when her mother failed at contests during her journey, her mother is her role model and the one who got her into coordinating in the first place, especially since she has never met her father. She hasn't even seen a photo which means she assumed he abandond them before she was born although she never had the heart to ask her mother the truth since she doesn't want to upset her.
"It's fine, fond memories." Joanna smiled. "Plus, these days she is doing wonderfully as a Pokemon stylist.".
"I remember reading that her store is actually in Celestic Town." Brock spoke up. "It is one of the Town's biggest attractions.".
"Yeah, isn't it great. We all have to go!" Dawn jumped up with excitement.
Joanna smiled as she saw her daughter so happy and filled with life. Unlike her father that is. The truth is, her father never left them, he doesn't even know Dawn exists. Her father is one person who truly lacks a heart and while her friends and family tried to warn Joanna, she didn't notice until she fell pregnant. She knew she couldn't let that man bring up her daughter to be like him and so she ended the relationship before her bump even started to show. Joanna hasn't seen him since and she wouldn't be surprised if he ended up in prison or dead. All she knows is, she made the right call for her daughter and that shows with her current excitement for the world and everything in it.
"I second that!" Serena added with excitement.
She hasn't been clothes shopping in who-knows-how-long. Last time she went clothes shopping was when her mother took her to pick out an outfit for her journey. She was surprised she would let her do that but then again, she has no idea the first place she went to was Sinnoh and her mother even tried to get him to travel with her. Still, that is back in Kalos now and she doesn't have to worry about a thing, especially since she has Ash by her side.
"Well, I've got to go. Have fun Dawn and good luck in the contest." Joanna told her daughter.
"Okay, bye mum." Dawn replied before the video phone switched off. "Well whose ready to go and see Lila's store.".
"I am!" Serena cheered. "Are you ready, Ash?".
"But um, we were going to do some special training for our rematch at the Hearthome gym." Ash informed with fake disappointment. While he loves spending time with Serena, he has heard horror stories about girlfriends taking their boyfriends shopping and has a few nasty memories of when Misty and May dragged them fashion shopping in previous journeys.
"Right." Brock added as he stood by Ash's side. "And I said I would help him. Right Ash.". The tone of Brock's voice showed he knew nothing of Ash's plan but was jumping on board with it to also get out of shopping. Ash took the hint and knew if it was the other way around, Brock would have his back in this situation.
"Right." Ash replied.
Both girls seemed sceptical but sighed in defeat. After a sorry and goodbye kiss (for Ash and Serena that is) the boys left faster than one of Pikachu's Quick Attacks although they promised to meet at the Contest Hall for Dawn's contest. The Bluenette turned to her female friend who had a bright smile on her face.
"What are you so happy about? We need to carry our own bags now." Dawn asked with an irritated tone. Serena answered by pulling out pile of rolled up notes, just based on sight she had at least fifty Poke-dollars. "Where did you get that from?".
"Ash gave it to me when we started dating. He told me it was in case of emergencies and he wasn't around." Serena replied happily. "This seems like an emergency to me.".
Of course, she tried to refuse the offer but Ash insisted. She did wonder where Ash got that sort of money from but now that she knows he won both the Orange League and Kanto's Battle Frontier, it is obvious he put the prize money from them into savings.
"Well what do you know, looks like boyfriends are good for something after all." Dawn muttered to herself. Serena looked at the blue-haired girl with a questioning look. She couldn't quite make out what Dawn just said.
"What was that, Dawn?" Serena asked as she put the money back in her pocket.
"Oh nothing. Let's just get to Lila's shop." Dawn told her friend before dragging Serena out of the Pokemon Centre.
In truth, while she is happy with what she likes and is a very energetic and outgoing person, she is too shy to tell her friends her biggest secret which only her mothers know (mostly because she was tired about being teased about having a 'crush' on Kenny). Granted, she didn't tell her mother how she would've ideally liked but her mother is very supportive and has kept it secret for Dawn. It is probably Kenny's fault that she is too shy to tell anyone because of how he used to tease her with the Dee Dee thing. Still, she looks forward to his reaction since she knows he likes her.
"Our first issue is Hypnosis." Ash told himself. He currently has Monferno, Lapras and Pikachu in front of him. True to his regular battle style, he is planning on using the same three Pokemon against her.
"Not necessary, Ash." Brock spoke up. While he did come along to get out of clothes shopping, he did mean it when he told Ash he would help him. Ash looked to the Pokemon breeder with confusion.
"What do you mean, Brock?" Ash asked.
"Hypnosis, like many attacks can be avoided through dodging it. I would say your first issue is coming up with a counter to how the ghost types move." Brock explained as he fed his Happiny her bottle of milk. "Remember, both Driftloon and Mismagius floated freely through the air and that made hitting them a lot harder.".
"Right..." Ash replied thoughtfully. It was a couple of minutes before he spoke up again. "I guess we could fill the air with attacks but Driftblim is a big Pokemon so that could take a lot out of you guys.". Ash ended by gesturing to the three Pokemon.
"Maybe you shouldn't try and overpower them but restrict their movements in the air." Brock suggested thoughtfully. Hearing the suggestion, Ash realised it would make a lot of sense but how exactly could they do that? "Unlike flying types, Ghosts can easily change direction.".
Ash entered a deep thought as he considered what Brock just told him, but what can he do to counter those free movements?
"Here it is..." Dawn squealed in excitement as she and Serena entered Lila's fashion shop. "Awesome!".
"Dawn, this is so great." Serena replied with excitement as one of the displays instantly caught her attention. "Look, they have Wallace's stage costume.".
"I didn't know you was a Wallace fan." Dawn replied with a raised eye browl.
"I'm not, really. It's just that I feel like I owe him since it was his cup where I reunited with Ash." Serena replied honestly. Dawn rolled her eyes before going to look at something else.
After doing a little searching, Dawn went up to the shop assistant who was at the tills.
"Excuse me, but I was hoping I would get to see Lila." Dawn spoke to the older women.
"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid Lila is out for the entire day today." The women apologised.
"Oh, bummer..." Dawn groaned.
"Ladies and gentlemen, look around you. Feel the excitement." The MC announced. "With every step we take together, we make history. And history is about to be made again because Marina is back in Celestic Town. Which means, of course, the time for the Celestic Town Pokemon contest is here.".
The crowd cheered in response as Marina had a spot light shine on her.
"The Celestic Ribbon will be rewarded to the coordinator who emerges victorious." Marina continued as Dawn worked on her hair in the dressing room. "And all trainers who earn all five contest ribbons can compete in the grand festival.".
"Oh no..." Dawn cried as her hair popped out. "Now there's need to worry.".
"Quick ma'am, right this way." A security guard told a female passing by the room Dawn is in, where the door was left open.
"Come on, I told them I didn't want to do any work today." The women sighed.
Looking into the room, she saw the blue haired coordinator having trouble with her hair. Jumping into action she grabbed a brush and went to work. After less than thirty seconds, Dawn's hair was fixed.
"And the flowers have bloomed." The women declared as Dawn looked at her hair in the mirror.
"Hahaha, thank you so mu-." Dawn cut herself off as she turned around. "Huh, your Lila!".
"Hmm, hold on your Dawn, aren't you?" Lila asked after examining the blue haired girl.
"Yeah, but how in the world did you know my name?" Dawn asked shocked.
"Come on, we don't have time." The security guard told Lila before dragging her away.
"And now I get the honour of introducing our three judges for this contest." Marina announced. "First, our head judge and chief of the Pokemon activities comity, Mr. Contesta.".
"Thank you, I look forward to the fruits of all the coordinators today." Mr. Contesta replied.
"Next we have the head of the Pokemon fan club, Mr Sukizo." Marina moved on.
"Hello Celestic Town, your remarkable." Mr Sukizo replied.
"And last but not least, Celestic Town's own Nurse Joy." Marina announced the last one.
"I am very excited to know there are many cute Pokemon for me to see." Nurse Joy replied with a friendly smile.
"Alright, let's get things started. We will start with the beautiful and always fun appeals round." Marina announced. "Now our first contestant is making her first contest appearance in over twenty years. It's the tiger lily of Celestic Town, Lila!".
The crowd roared as Lila ran out on stage with a Pokeball in hand.
"Now, Cherrim, out you come." Lila called as she threw her Pokeball.
While surrounded by light pink petals, Cherrim appeared on centre stage as her form changed to the Sunshiny form thanks to the bright spotlights.
"Cherrim, Magical Leaf!" Lila commanded with power.
Cherrim started spinning while shooting multiple glowing leaves.
"Sunny Day!" Lila continued.
Cherrim glew white before the Sun ball shot into the sky leaving the grass type alone. The Magical Leaves appeared around the Sunny Day to create the image of a flower. The crowd cheered.
"Celestic Town's tiger lily is still blooming." Mr Contesta announced.
"It's remarkable." Mr Sukizo announced.
"It feels like a flower has just bloomed in my heart." Nurse Joy just commented.
Lila returned her Cherrim and left the stage to let the other contestants preform. Out of the Pokemon who performed, there was a Delibird, Crawdaunt, Nosepass, Donphan, and a Yanmega which provided a... Unique display.
"Um, moving right along next we have the winner of the Wallace Cup. Dawn from Twinleaf Town." Marina announced as Dawn appeared on stage.
"Now, Buneary! Spotlight!" Dawn shouted as she released her normal type. "Use Bounce!".
Buneary appeared on the stage and started to bounce around like a Tiger, with many happy cheers.
"Now spin on your ears!" Dawn instructed.
Whilst in the air, Buneary rotated her body so she was up-side down and as she started falling towards the floor, she started to spin. Landing on the ground with a spin, she bounced up into the air where she did a loop to get back to the right way up.
"Now use Ice Beam!" Dawn shouted with excitement.
Buneary fired an Ice Beam at the floor and tilted her head so it started to cover more of the field, creating an ice ramp. Landing on the top of the ice ramp, the normal type slide down with a combination of style and cuteness.
"Dizzy Punch." Dawn requested with elegance.
The tops of Buneary's ears started glowing multiple colours as she jumped onto her head, using her ears to skate. While the top of her ears are normally sensitive, the move Dizzy Punch is protecting them from the cold surface created by the Ice Beam.
"Just look at that form." Marina commentated as Buneary got a little over confident and started to spin whilst skating. "Oh no, looks like Buneary is starting to lose that form.".
"Buneary!" Dawn cried as her normal type went spinning out of control.
She ran to help and was able to catch her Pokemon in one hand without messing up. Buneary came to her senses and sweat dropped.
"Just smile and wave." Dawn whispered in Buneary's ear whilst trying to look professional.
"Now that really showed off, just how cute Dawn's Buneary can be." Mr Contesta spoke.
"Remarkable, for sure." Mr Sukizo added.
"The thing I enjoyed watching the most, was how much fun Dawn and Buneary seemed to be having." Nurse Joy smiled.
"I did mess up a little." Dawn replied sheepishly.
Walking down the corridor with her friends, Buneary and Ambipom is Dawn.
"But you also managed to pull it together for the finish." Serena told Dawn.
"And nobody watching would be able to tell the difference." Ash added.
"Those were some preformances." Brock added.
Dawn started a nervous chuckle at the praise as they are turning into one of the waiting rooms. The surprising thing was, Lila was talking to Dawn's mother on the phone.
"Joanna, great to see you." Lila greeted. "Were you watching?".
"Of course, Lila." Joanna replied with a friendly smile. "That was quite the surprise.".
Dawn ran up to the two of them. With the others following shortly behind.
"Lila! Hi mum!" Dawn exclaimed in excitement.
"Hello Dawn, that was a wonderful performance you gave us all out there." Lila greeted.
"That's so nice, thank you." Dawn replied bashfully. "Sooo... Mum said you two had a contest battle? Wow, it sounds like it must've been totally amazing.".
The two grown-ups looked at each other before letting out a light chuckle.
"It was, as a matter-of-fact, the battle between your mother and I was the most important battle in my life." Lila explained.
"Huh?" Dawn questioned with a perplexed looked.
"I might've won but when I saw how energised your mum was about battling I started to ask myself a few questions. Is this really what I want to be doing with my life?" Lila explained. "Back then I didn't know what path I wanted to take, coordinator or Poke-Stylist. Then I got the chance to study as a Poke-Stylist abroad. Not knowing what to do, I asked your mum for some advice. We decided than that we would both do what we really wanted to do. What we would be best at.".
"What a great story." Dawn replied lamely, taken in by the story.
"And that is when I decided to pursue being a Poke Stylist." Lilia continued. "And your mum decided to concentrate on becoming a coordinator.".
"But I never thought you'd be going after being a coordinator again." Joanna added.
"Well it's all thanks to your sweet daughter." Lila replied.
"Huh, thanks to me!" Dawn exclaimed in shock.
"Of course, I find my work now fulfilling, but when I saw Dawn battling on TV, looking so full of life, the memories from my days as a coordinator flooded back into my head. So, I started thinking about winning my fifth ribbon in a battle with you, Dawn." Lila explained.
"Than if you win, you can enter the grand festival." Brock added.
"Not quite, those other four ribbons are twenty years old. Lila would need five current ribbons since they expire after two years." Joanna explained.
"It doesn't matter to me whether I compete in the grand festival, I made that decision long ago." Lila replied.
"I knew there was another reason for you doing this." Joanna replied.
"I knew I could learn something about myself by battling Dawn, just like I did with her mother all that time ago." Lila smirked before turning her attention to Dawn who seemed to shrink. "And I will tell you, me and your mother would go at it back in the day.".
"Somethings never change." Joanna shrugged her shoulders.
"Thank you for your patients, and now for the results." Marina announced as faces started to appear on the screen. "After careful consideration, these following eight coordinators will be moving on to the second round.". Lila's photo was the first to appear with Dawn's being the last.
"Alright, we made it!" Dawn exclaimed in excitement as Buneary jumped into her arms. "And it's all because of you, Buneary.".
"Now using our computer, we have randomly decided all our battles for round two." Marina explained as the match ups appeared on screen. Lila's was in the first match while Dawn's was the last match.
"Now Dawn, let's make sure it all comes down to us." Joanna told the blue haired coordinator.
"Okay." Dawn replied, clearly excited.
"Dawn, Lila, I am looking forward to see you two battle." Joanna told her daughter and old rival.
"No need to worry mum!" Dawn exclaimed before turning to her normal type. "Ambipom, this time it's going to be your turn.".
Both Dawn and Lila won their first two battles and made it to the final, where they will battle against each other.
"If I win I get my third ribbon, but... It's against Lila, who beat my mum back in her prime." Dawn thought to herself. "Do I have what it takes to beat her?".
"It's time Dawn, let's do this so neither of us have any regrets." Lila thought to herself with a confident smirk.
"Of course, if I lose I can just train some more and try again." Dawn reassured herself.
"They have five minutes... Let's go!" Marina shouted.
"Ambipom, Spotlight!" Dawn shouted as she released the normal type.
Ambipom appeared on stage surrounded by hearts thanks to the ball capsule. She struck a pose on the stage.
"Delcatty, out you come!" Lila shouted as she released her Prime Pokemon.
"Ambipom use swift!" Dawn shouted.
Spinning in the air, several stars shot out of Ambipom's twin tails.
"Substitute." Lila whispered so only her Delcatty could hear.
The swift struck Delcatty which vanished into a cloud of smoke. The substitute worked. Delcatty appeared behind Ambipom whilst both were in the air.
"Now use, Shock Wave." Lila commanded.
Delcatty had sparks around his body before a circle of electricity shot out towards Ambipom. Ambipom couldn't dodge and cried out in pain. The electricity caused an explosion with Ambipom at the centre where a multicoloured flower design appeared.
"And the flowers have bloomed." Lila declared as she struck a pose.
"There it is, the famous Tiger Lily smile." Marina announced.
"Double Team, now!" Dawn instructed.
Ambipom disappeared, startling the Prim Pokemon before multiple copies surround him.
"Ambipom use Focus Punch!" Dawn hollered in excitement.
Each of the copies had one of the twin tails light up as they all struct the Prim Pokemon. Causing Delcatty to cry out in pain.
"After a little circumstance, Ambipom's Focus Punch nailed its target." Marina announced.
Unfortunately for Dawn, that physical attack caused Ambipom to activate Delcatty's Cute Charm ability.
"Alright Delcatty, sing please." Lila requested.
Delcatty landed with grace before singing a song. The song caused Ambipom to fall asleep.
"Please Ambipom, wake up!" Dawn pleaded.
"Now Iron Tail." Lila commanded confidently.
Delcatty's tail was coated in metal as the Prim Pokemon swung it around and it struck Ambipom. Ambipom landed in a cloud of dust while Delcatty had a more elegant landing.
"So, the second flower blooms." Lila declared as she struck a pose.
"Ambipom you've gotta wake up!" Dawn shouted in a panick.
"I'm afraid a flower of cruel beauty is about to blossom." Lila informed with a confident smirk. "Shock Wave!".
Delcatty launched its second Shock Wave at the still sleeping Ambipom. That was enough to wake the normal type up.
"Swift, let's go!" Dawn shouted.
Ambipom jumped high into the air and unleashed another wave of swift attacks.
"Substitute." Lila instructed.
The swift struck Delcatty, who yet again vanished into a cloud of dust. Neither Dawn or Ambipom was going to be caught off guard again. Delcatty tried to go behind Ambipom but the monkey ended up behind Delcatty.
"Now use Double Hit!" Dawn hollered in excitement.
Ambipom's twin tails glew purple and she hit Delcatty to the ground, who landed in a cloud of dust instead of his regular elegant landing. Unfortunately, it caused Ambipom to become infatuated with Delcatty once more.
"Guess I will have to go for broke." Dawn told herself. "Use Double Team!".
Ambipom multiplied herself and surrounded Delcatty.
"Sing Delcatty!" Lila commanded. It is clear that she isn't happy that Ambipom could pull off a move like that despite the attract status.
Delcatty started to sing and the music notes started to fly towards the air born Ambipom.
"Double Hit, let's go!" Dawn shouted.
The clones took the sing and disappeared as Ambipom focused. Her twin tails glew purple and she spun around, destroying the sing attack and knocking Delcatty away. The hearts in Ambipom's eyes disappeared showing the attract status wore off.
"Alright Swift and keep it going!" Dawn hollered in excitement.
Ambipom started spinning and a large wave of stars shot out.
"Substitute." Lila commanded.
The swift struck Delcatty which fade in to a cloud of dust but the Swift continued and struck the real Delcatty as well.
"Use Shock Wave!" Lila shouted in a panick. For the first time in the battle, she isn't sure her victory is confirmed.
Delcatty unleashed his forth Shock Wave and it started to push back against the incoming swift.
"The flowers will bloom on a grand scale like the world hasn't seen before!" Lila declared.
"No need to worry!" Dawn declared. "Ambipom, let's go!".
The two Pokemon pushed their hardest but eventually the Swift overpowered the Shock Wave. Delcatty was pushed to the ground by the stars as the timer ran out.
"Times up!" Marina shouted. "And the winner of the Celestic Ribbon is... Dawn!".
"huh?" Dawn questioned lamely as the news sunk in with the crowd going wild. Once it hit, she happily charged onto the stage and hugged her normal type. "We did it! Thank you Ambipom, you're the best.".
"You were just great, thank you Delcatty." Lila comforted her Prim Pokemon.
She looked over to her rival's daughter and smiled, Dawn shares the same love for contests that her mother does. She stood up and approached the celebrating girl.
"Well done, Dawn. That was a great battle." Lila held her hand out.
"Thank you, Lila. It was an honour to battle you." Dawn replied.
It wasn't long before Dawn was on Centre stage being present with her prize.
"And now Mr Contesta will present the winner with the Celestic Town Contest Ribbon." Marina announced.
"Congratulation, that was quite a spectacle." Mr Contesta presented Dawn with the ribbon.
"Thank you so much sir." Dawn thanked the head of the Pokemon activities committee. "We just won the Celestic Town Contest Ribbon!". Buneary and Ambipom cheered alongside her.
Once they left the contest hall, Lila invited the group to her shop, much to the boy's dismay...
And... Done. As for the Pokemon trades for Tauros, I have a couple of new Pokemon to appear soon but I won't trade them all at once. The Eeveelution also won't be revealed just yet. While I could give him any of them, I will have my reasoning for which one I go with after seeing what you guys want... I don't want to spoil it after all. Next chapter is: Losing it's Lustrous. See ya later...