Despite proceeding to the semifinal it left a bitter taste in her mouth. Still not in control of her Mega as much as she thought she would be. Already making plans to make sure that the next Contest she would enter there would be no more problems.
"You okay?" Ash had been waiting for Dawn backstage. He'd been worrying after Lopunny kept kicking away wildly.
"For once, there was a need to worry." She sheepishly laughed it off. This was not how Dawn was expecting her Mega debut today. Even after all the training she did with Ash and May, Lopunny still could go a bit out of control.
"You still did great though. Not bad for a Mega debut." Trying to cheer her up after her recent issue. Taking the compliment she still felt as if she could've done better.
"I'm just happy I made it through. Just one more battle before the final."
"You'll get there. Now it's just a question against who?"
The couple arriving back in the waiting room were greeted by May. Even if they were rivals today they were still friends tomorrow.
"You did it. Congratulations Dawn."
"Thanks." Taking the congratulations from her rival Dawn still had a bone to pick with May for blurting out their relationship. But that would have to come another time.
"Don't thank me yet."
Even if Dawn had won her first Mega battle she still had to pass two hurdles before she could call the Wallace Ribbon hers. And the two Hoenn Coordinators coming up weren't going to make it easy for her. The first of the semifinal coming up and it was May against Lisia. The Hoenn crowd eagerly awaited this one since both girls were home region favorites.
After the couple wished her the best of luck May made her way on stage. Her opponent stationed in the other side of it looking ready as well. May knew how experienced the Contest Idol was and she knew she had to pull out all the stops if she wanted to go on.
"May vs Lisia. Begin." The announcer of the event gave them the starting signal.
"Blaziken, on stage." May throwing her Pokeball the Fire Fighting type showed up wrists igniting in flames all fired up. His competitive spirit burned as wildly as ever and he knew that this was a battle they've been working hard towards.
"Ali, show time!" The Humming Pokémon appearing on stage letting the audience bask in it's magnificence. The starting signal was given and May wasted no time.
''I won't lose! The spotlight's are on you. Burn like never before. Mega Evolve!'' May touched her Mega ring the moment the buzzer went off. Blaziken surrounded by the purple light morphed into his Mega state ready to battle.
"Sing for us Ali!" The Humming Pokémon started to sing softly with colorful music notes trying to put his opponent to sleep.
"Kick them back with Blaze Kick." Both feet of the Fire type ignited and when the notes came closer kicked them. With the flames from his feet the notes changed color and came back to their sender.
"Use Mist!" Ali created a mist bank hiding himself away in it. Now without any clue where the Altaria was hiding in the mist May could only wait. If she attacked again and missed it would cause her to lose points.
"Tough it out with Steel Wing!" Silver wings started to appear from inside the mist bank giving away his location. Coming out of the mist bank the silver wings glowed a bit being mixed with water particles from the mist giving his already fluffy wings looked even more like clouds now.
"Fire Spin." The scorching flames passed by Altaria and mixed with mist and created a vapor cloud that started to cover the whole field.
"Sky Uppercut Blaziken." The Blaze Pokémon jumping high up with extended fist straight to Altaria which was now flying close to the ceiling.
"Sing Ali!" Musical notes came out of the Humming Pokémon and Blaziken being unable to dodge in midair had no choice but to listen. Being hit by the Flying type's singing he fell asleep. Still movibg upward from the Sky Uppercut his body grew limp and the sleeping Blaze Pokémon hit the ground with a loud thud.
"Like our heart pulse! Show them your Dragon Pulse!" Altaria's beak opened up and shot a purple energy with a dragon shape upwards. It came crashing down on his prone opponent still asleep. Taking a portion of May's points the brunette saw her Mega Pokémon's fur glowing knowing his Speed Boost kicked in.
"Steel Wing Ali!" Not that it would help May much at this point. The Flying/Dragon type wings glowed silver again and went in for a simple hit to make damage. Connecting with the Fire type again he winced a bit in his sleep.
May was starting to get a bit nervous. With the clock ticking down and her opponent slowly costing her points she hoped Blaziken would wake up fast. Calling his name in an attempt to wake him up it appeared to fall on deaf ears as Lisia made another attack.
"Dragon Pulse once more Ali!" Altaria flew high up and gained some distance in the air again. The moment he opened his beak May saw Blaziken wake up and planned to put his new speed to good use. May saw her chance to make it backfire on the Idol and took it.
"Fire Spin." Trapping the purple energy in a fiery tornado and changing it's coloring lost Lisia some points. Small purple and orange sparks started falling on Altaria.
"Ali! Show A Light That Shines On You Only! Mega Evolve!"
Touching the keystone on her tiara Altaria now started to Mega Evolve. A sphere started to surround Ali and he started to change shape. His wings grew even more fluffy as if the Pokémon became covered with even more clouds.
The purple energy of Mega Evolution dissipated and started to mix itself with the Dragon Pulse Blaziken had set on fire. The particles mixed from the two attacks and Mega Evolution energy made Altaria stand out from any Pokémon that was seen today.
"She used Mega Evolution as an appeal?" May being shocked Lisia used her keystone as a way to counter instead of just the power boost. This act cost May a huge chunk of her points.
"Steel Wing Ali!" With his wings still glowing a bit from the mixture of multiple energies flew towards Blaziken. May saw Blaziken's fur hello again giving them another Speed Boost.
"Acrobatics and Blaze Kick." Nimbly dodging the oncoming Flying type with his speed he quickly kicked Ali in the back making the Flying type drop down and skid along the ground.
"Acrobatics again." Cartwheeling backwards to the Flying type on the ground he rapidly closed the distance giving the Flying type another hit sending it back in the air. Ali opened his wings again and now hung in midair.
May knew she was being reckless with their attacks but she didn't have not have much choice. She needed to be on the offensive if she had any chance to turn it around.
"Sky Uppercut Blaziken." With his fist glowing he quickly jumped up, closing the distance between him and the other Mega Pokémon.
"Quick! Steel Wing!" Altaria made a small adjustment and o e of his silver wings clashed with Blaziken's fist. The clash went on for a short time till they were interrupted.
"Time's up." The announcer told the crowd. Blaziken and Ali both stopped their attack and landed back inn front of their trainer.
Everyone in the arena looked at the screen to see which one would go through the final. May seeing her points circle not as lit up as the Idol's knew the result.
"And after such a Mega Battle, our winner is Lisia." Both Mega Pokémon transforming back May went to her Fire type and despite losing, still being proud of him.
"Thank you Blaziken. You were great." Thanking her starter for the effort he put in today. While Lisia still accepted her cheers from the crowd.
"Smart move. I still have a lot to learn."
The brunette made her way back where her two friends were waiting. But after battling the girl who introduced Mega Evolution to Contests she learned a lot. Even if she was a top Coordinator now she still had stuff to learn. Maybe it was time for another journey someplace new.
"Sorry May." Dawn and Ash a bit sad their friend didn't make it to the final. All of them were looking forward to seeing a rematch of the Wallace Cup in Sinnoh but sadly it wasn't meant to be today.
"It's fine. I did my best and that's all that matters."
May couldn't feel to down. She did well enough to impress the audience against the girl who introduced Mega Evolution to the Contest circuit. Already making plans for her next Contest in how she could incorporate an opponents move in an appeal like Lisia did.
The Idol knew exactly how to handle Mega Evolution and when to use it. The brunette had a lot of work today after today. Making a note that the next time they would meet the Contest Idol would be on the losing end.
"Now it's your turn. Go and book your place in the final." Now it was time for May to support Dawn now. No need to feel bitter about it. And if Dawn went on to win the whole thing she did help her in the end. A thought that was somehow soothing her.
"No need to worry. I'm going for it." After Lopunny's last outing her nerves calmed down a bit. The same couldn't be said about her motivations today.
After the recent battle Dawn was all pumped up and ready to book her place in the finals. Being called on by the worker backstage she and Ash shared one high five before Dawn would leave and get into the final. The bluenette now gone May meanwhile tried to make small talk with Ash. There's something she's been wondering after finding out he was dating Dawn. Really wanting to know if Dawn brought up the subject this early in the relationship.
"Has Dawn asked you about entering a Contest with her?" Ash having no interest in facing Dawn. If he was going to battle her it would be just a friendly sparring match and not a full fledged Contest battle. May needing to be more specific explained further.
"There are Contests now where Coordinators can work together to win a ribbon." Ash and Pikachu hearing this were surprised. It has been a while since they delved into the Contest circuit and apparently a lot has happened in the time they were gone in other regions. They needed to get back up to speed sonce Ash and Dawn were planning to stick together for a long time.
"They've just introduced them recently. After the success of tag battle tournaments all over the world, the Pokémon Activities Committee wanted to have something similair. Two artists working together to create an even better display. That's how the tagline goes at least."
"Why didn't she tell me this? I would love to do one with her together!" The couple have been in so many tag battles together Ash was sure that if they entered one they would surely win. Needing to find an appropiate time to approach her about it after the Wallace Cup was over.
Note to self. Lisia always talks loud and excited. Always end her lines with exclamation marks!
Home stretch. Just a bit more to go. Dawn vs Lisia coming up. Uh…spoilers? And then to write the sequel. Which plot I've hinted at here. Barely.
Argh! You don't know how many times I've switched villians and thinking about what direction to take that story to. It sucks. I've got the next four months for GS ball unlocked all figured out and yet I'm doing this one on the fly.
Who's the better singer? Primarina or Altaria? Yeah spoiler for that other story I'm doing.
See you around.