The group, accompanied by Lyra, visited the Pokemon Contest hall the next day. Once they arrived Dawn stiffened when she recognized someone. And then she went pale when she saw two very cute Pokemon, a Plusle and a Minun.

"Hey Dane are you okay?" asked Lyra. Nobody was sure if it was her accent or a strange quirk that resulted in her calling Dawn, "Dane" but Dawn didn't mind.

"It's Ursula," Dawn said. Harry looked at her in confusion.

"Who's Ursula?" he asked.

"Dawn's newest rival," Ash said, "You would probably call her a total bitch." Harry smirked. The "total bitch" turned to the group and raised her eyebrows.

"Oh," she said, "It's you guys."

"Hi," Dawn said cautiously, "How many ribbons do you have Ursula? I've got four."

"So do I," Ursula said and smirked, "And today I'm going to get my fifth. Let me introduce the Pokemon I'll be using in my double performance." Plusle and Minun jumped onto both of her shoulders and waved happily. Dawn fell onto her knees and covered her head.

"No, no, no, no," she cried. Everyone looked confused by her weird behaviour.

"What's the matter?" asked Lyra, "Look how cute they are." She took out her pokedex.

"Plusle the Cheering Pokemon. It cheers on partners while scattering sparks from its body. It climbs telephone poles to absorb electricity."

"Minun the Cheering Pokemon. It cheers on its friends and if they are losing, its body lets off more and more sparks."

"How rude can you get?" Ursula scolded, "If you keep this up you'll hurt Plusle and Minun's feelings."

"Sorry," Dawn mumbled and stood up. Plusle and Minun were looking up at her in confusion. Ursula had her hands on her hips, "Excuse me." Dawn picked up Piplup and hurried away. Even Piplup didn't know what was wrong.

"What's up with her?" asked Ursula.

"Not a clue," Harry replied and glanced at Ash and Brock who also shrugged.

"Hmph," grunted Ursula, "Well she'd better pull herself together so I get more satisfaction out of creaming her in the contest." She stalked away and Plusle and Minun followed her.

"Come on," Brock said, "We need to find out what's bothering Dawn."


They found Dawn in the Contest Hall lobby. Lyra sat beside her while the boys sat in front of her.

"What's up, Dane?" Lyra asked. Dawn sighed.

"I don't like Plusle and Minun," she said.

"Why not?" Ash asked, "Did you try to catch them once and fail?" Dawn shook her head.

"No," she said, "It happened before I even met Piplup. I was just a little girl and Kenny and I were in school together."

"Who's Kenny?" Harry asked.

"A friend of mine," Dawn said, "Anyway our class had a Plusle and Minun and Kenny and I were told to clear up their play pen. But when Plusle and Minun were running around I had to catch them. When I did they shocked me and my hair was made all spikey and sparkly. Kenny decided to call me Diamond Dandruff or Dee Dee for short from then on. Then the whole class saw me and it was so embarrassing."

"So that's why you don't like being called Dee Dee," said Ash and Dawn nodded.

"I just don't know why Plusle and Minun did that to me," she muttered, "I was just trying to be their friend."

"Pokemon rarely attack a human unless they feel provoked," Brock told her. Dawn thought about that.

"Well I don't know what I did to provoke them," she said sadly.

"Maybe you squeezed them too hard when you caught them?" suggested Ash. Dawn tried to remember. Then she stared at the floor.

"Maybe I did," she muttered, "So it was my fault."

"Hey Dane you were just a little girl," Lyra said comfortingly. At that moment Riolu perked up; he'd been so absorbed in Dawn's story that he had ignored the Aura emanating from behind one of the pillars.

"Riolu?" Harry asked and Riolu jumped down and glared at one of the pillars. Harry and Ash looked at each other then used their very limited Aura senses to get a vague idea of who was there.

"Ursula!" yelled Ash, "We know you're there!" Ursula appeared looking amused. Plusle and Minun were on her shoulders.

"That story was cute," she said smugly, "Thanks for telling me how to beat you today." She strode away. Dawn was flushing with anger and embarrassment.

"Hey you cream her today and Plusle and Minun won't bother you anymore," Brock said.

"Yeah, I mean you beat her last time with Pachirisu even though she was using Gabite," Ash said.

"Yeah," Dawn said, then smiled and jumped to her feet, "You're right. Thanks guys." She hurried away to get changed for the contest.


Dawn and Ursula were the last two coordinators to perform in the appeal round. Dawn was first.

"Piplup, Buneary spotlight!" she called and sent out the pair, "Bubblebeam and Ice Beam!" Piplup jumped into the air and spun before sending Bubblebeam in all directions. Buneary froze all of them with Ice Beam, "Buneary Bounce!" Buneary jumped and bounced from one frozen bubble to the next, "Alright Dizzy Punch and Piplup use Drill Peck!" Buneary shattered frozen bubbles with her powerful ears while Piplup smashed them by spinning while his beak glowed white. The stage was showered with sparkles and the crowd cheered.

"Wow Dane was great!" cried Lyra, "Maybe I should try that someday."

Finally it was Ursula's turn. She sent out Plusle and Minun, causing Dawn to swallow when she saw the two Cheering Pokemon.

"Minun use Light Screen and Plusle use Charge!" ordered Ursula and Minun formed a yellow box around both itself and its partner while Plusle sparked with electricity, "Alright Minun now use Charm and then Helping Hand!"

"Minun!" cried Minun and winked at the audience and hearts spun around both it and Plusle before rising into the air. Next Minun created a ball of light blue sparks on its hands and danced and cheered before putting its hands on Plusle. When the balls of electricity touched Plusle, it glowed white then multicolored.

"Plusle Discharge and Minun Agility!" called Ursula.

"Pluuuusle!" Plusle released a huge blast of electricity that was so powerful it smashed its way out of the Light Screen and shattered all the hearts above them sending pink sparkles raining down. Meanwhile Minun darted between the bolts of electricity, dodging each one flawlessly before leaping back to Plusle's side as the Discharge ended. Both Cheering Pokémon sparked enthusiastically, held each others paws and raised them into the air as the performance ended.

"That's it for the appeal round!" cried Marian, "Now it's time for our judges to decide who will move onto the battle rounds!"


Unsurprisingly, Dawn and Ursula both got past the appeal round and then began sweeping through their opponents relatively easily. They faced off against each other in the final round. Dawn looked extremely nervous while Ursula smirked.

"Plusle, Minun let's go!" cried Ursula and sent out the two Cheering Pokemon. Dawn went pale and fumbled slightly as she took out her Poke Balls.

"Mamoswine, Ambipom spotlight!" she cried and sent out the huge Mamoswine and the agile Ambipom, "Mamoswine Ice Shard and Ambipom use Swift!" Mamoswine formed a large orb of ice between its tusks and fired it at Plusle and Minun while Ambipom shot Swift which circled around the Ice Shard as it approached.

"Minun Helping Hand, Plusle Discharge!" called Ursula and Minun created blue sparks on its hands, danced and cheered, and then put its hands on Plusle to give its Discharge a boost. The electrical blast was fired with such precision and power that Dawn's combination was destroyed.

"Blimey even without Charge, Plusle's Discharge is really strong," muttered Harry.

"That's because Minun's Helping Hand powered it up," Brock said.

"Ambipom hit them both with Double Hit!" ordered Dawn and Ambipom's tails glowed purple as she leapt towards Plusle and Minun.

"Spark!" ordered Ursula and both Plusle and Minun lunged at Ambipom with an electrified tackle. Ambipom held off Plusle with one tail and Minun with the other but still received an electric shock in the process.

"Ambipom Double Team and Mamoswine Ancient Power!" ordered Dawn and Ambipom split into a dozen copies which surrounded Plusle and Minun while Mamoswine prepared Ancient Power. Unlike Fossil Pokemon, Mamoswine's Ancient Power consisted of its body glowing white and the glow coming off its body to form a silver ball on the end of its tusks. It then fired the ball at the Plusle and Minun. The Ancient Power passed through one of Ambipom's copies and blew Plusle and Minun into the air, "Double Hit!"

"Ambipom!" Ambipom jumped into the air and struck Plusle with one tail and Minun with the other before leaping away and landing on Mamoswine's back.

"Alright Mamoswine another Ancient Power!" Dawn ordered looking much more confident than she had at the beginning of the battle. Mamoswine fired the silver ball once more.

"Minun Light Screen!" ordered Ursula and Minun formed a yellow box around itself and Plusle which absorbed half of the damage from Ancient Power, "Now use Helping Hand and Plusle use Swift!" Once again Minun put its sparking hands on Plusle who then opened its mouth and sprayed stars over both Mamoswine and Ambipom, "Minun use Spark on Ambipom!"

"Mamoswine intercept Minun with Take Down!" ordered Dawn and Mamoswine charged towards Minun as it charged within a shroud of electricity.

"Dodge it!" cried Ursula and Minun darted right between Mamoswine's legs sending sparks along its underside as it ran. Mamoswine didn't feel the sparks due to being a Ground type but they still caused its fur to stand slightly on end as Minun shot out the other side and slammed into Ambipom.

"Mamoswine Ice Fang!" cried Dawn and Mamoswine's tusks glowed with ice as it turned and charged back towards Minun.

"Minun Agility and Plusle use Swift!" ordered Ursula and Minun darted away from Mamoswine and shot back to its partner while Plusle shot a Swift right into Mamoswine's backside, causing it to increase its momentum as it headed for Ambipom.

"Double Team, Ambipom!" Dawn shouted and Ambipom hastily used Double Team to avoid her partner's Ice Fang, "Alright Focus Punch!"

"Minun Helping Hand and Plusle Discharge!" cried Ursula and the pair used their favourite combination to not only destroy Ambipom's Double Team but also render Focus Punch useless as she was electrocuted.

"Mamoswine catch Ambipom," Dawn cried and Mamoswine charged and stopped beneath Ambipom, cushioning her fall with its soft, furry back. Dawn took a quick glance at her points. She was down to half while Ursula still had about two thirds. The time limit had reached the halfway point, "Alright let's try something different. Mamoswine use Ice Shard and then swallow it!"

"Swallow it?" Ursula said in confusion as Mamoswine created an Ice Shard between its tusks and then opened its mouth and ate it.

"Ambipom Bounce!" called Dawn and Ambipom put both tails on Mamoswine's back and propelled herself into the air. While Ambipom was high above Mamoswine, icicles extended out of the latters fur. Ursula's points shot down so that they were level with Dawn's, "Now Swift around Mamoswine!"

"Ambipom!" cried Ambipom as she descended and sent a Swift spinning around her partner, knocking Ursula's points down further before Ambipom landed on the icicle sticking out of Mamoswine's forehead.

"Mamoswine Take Down!" ordered Dawn and Mamoswine charged with icicles on its back, Swift circling around it and Ambipom perched on the icicle on its forehead.

"Minun Helping Hand and Plusle use Spark on Ambipom!" shouted Ursula.

"Focus Punch Ambipom!" ordered Dawn as Minun powered Plusle up before the latter lunged, aiming for Ambipom who thrust forth both fists. The two attacks collided and there was an explosion but then Mamoswine charged on through and Plusle was sent flying with a squeal of pain.

"Plusle!" screamed Ursula. Plusle twitched and struggled to stand. The Swift around Mamoswine slammed its stars together creating a shower of sparks which reflected off the icicles. Ursula gritted her teeth in fury. One and a half minutes were left and she was down to a quarter of her points, "Alright Minun use Charm!" Minun winked and red hearts surrounded Ambipom and Mamoswine before hitting them and lowering their Attack by two levels.

"Plusle's the attacker, Minun's the defender," Harry noted, "They'll both find it much harder to fight without each others support so if Dawn knocks out just one of them, she'll win."

"Yeah but Ursula just cut down both Mamoswine and Ambipom's attack power with Charm," Brock said. Ash was looking at Plusle who was battered and bruised.

"I don't think that will make a difference in Plusle's state," he said confidently.

"Mamoswine Ice Shard on Plusle!" ordered Dawn and Mamoswine shot Ice Shard towards Plusle.

"Plusle dodge it!" cried Ursula and Plusle leapt away.

"Ambipom use Focus Punch!" Dawn ordered.

"Minun Spark!" cried Ursula. Ambipom's tail-fists glowed as she lunged towards Plusle but Minun intercepted her and knocked her away just before she made contact.

"Ancient Power!" cried Dawn and Mamoswine fired a silver ball from between its tusks.

"Light Screen!" Ursula countered and Minun protected both itself and its partner with a box of yellow light. Plusle looked at its partner gratefully, "Now use Helping Hand and then Plusle Swift!"

"Ambipom use Swift as well!" ordered Dawn as Minun powered up Plusle and Plusle launched the stars. Thanks to the Helping Hand boost, Plusle's Swift overpowered Ambipom's and went on to strike both her and Mamoswine. There were now thirty seconds left on the clock, "Mamoswine Take Down and Ambipom use Swift around it!"

"Mamo!" boomed Mamoswine and thundered towards Plusle and Minun while Ambipom surrounded it with Swift.

"Plusle destroy Swift with Discharge and Minun use Charm!" ordered Ursula and Minun lowered Mamoswine's Attack power by two more levels with pink hearts while Plusle destroyed Swift with a blast of electricity. Mamoswine slammed into Plusle but despite its much larger size, it didn't do very much damage because of Minun's Charm. Plusle was knocked backwards but managed to stay on its feet. Fifteen seconds remained.

"Ambipom Bounce then Swift!" cried Dawn and Ambipom sprang into the air with her tails and rained Swift down on Plusle and Minun. The Light Screen reappeared and absorbed it, "Double Hit!" With five seconds left Ambipom smashed Plusle with one tail and Minun with the other. Plusle was knocked out by the attack and by the time Minun forced itself onto its feet, time was up.

"That's it!" cried Marian, "Times up and Ursula's Plusle has been knocked out! The victor of this years Lilypad Town Pokemon Contest is Dawn!" The crowd burst into applause. Ursula knelt beside her unconscious Plusle while Minun walked sadly over to her. Ursula patted Minun's head gently while Plusle stirred.

"Thank you Plusle and Minun," Ursula said in a gentle voice, far different from her usual arrogance, "You were both brilliant." She looked at Dawn and scowled, then turned and carried her two Pokemon away.

"Well at least she's not like Paul," Harry said from the stands when he saw the way Ursula treated her Pokemon. He glanced at Ash, "So no Ash, I wouldn't call her a total bitch."


After Dawn received her fifth ribbon, Lyra announced that she was going back to Johto with her father. Her four new friends waved to her as she got on the plane at the Lilypad airport. Harry was holding the Cyndaquil egg as he waved goodbye.