It is early on the second day of the Indigo Grand Festival, and Ash, Pikachu, Serena, Bonnie, Clemont, Grace, Brock, Holly, May, Max, Dawn, and Piplup are walking from the Pokemon Center to the Main Stage stadium after having breakfast. Serena, May, and Dawn lead the group with smiles on their faces as they eagerly head to the next round of the competition.
"Hmmm, I feel so rested," May says as she stretches her arms.
"Tell me about it. I feel so energized after a good night's sleep on a comfy bed," Dawn says.
"Piplup," Piplup says cheerfully.
Serena nods in agreement and says, "I can't wait to continue competing in the festival. The way I feel right now, my Pokemon and I can handle anything."
"Be careful with what you say, Serena," Grace warns. "You only just made it to the first round."
"That's right. You still have a way to go," Brock says. "There's one more appeal round to get through."
"She can do it. I believe in her," Ash says confidently.
"Pika, Pika," Pikachu says with a smile.
Serena turns her head to give Ash an appreciative smile before she looks away as her cheeks begin to heat up. Dawn, May, and Holly smirk at their honey blonde friend before the auburn-haired woman looks at Brock, confused.
"So, there are two rounds during the appeal stage?" She asks.
"Yep. In the second round, coordinators can use from one to three moves to impress the judges," Brock says. "After that, the judges pick which sixteen coordinators will move on to the battle stage and send the other forty-eight home."
"Wow, so only sixteen of the three hundred and fifteen people who are competing will make it to the battle stage?" Holly says, shocked. "That sounds rough."
"Yeah, but my big sister can handle it. She made it the semifinals during the last Indigo Grand Festival," Max says proudly.
"And Serena is a wonderful performer. One to three moves is all she needs to wow everybody," Bonnie boasts cheerfully.
"Agreed. I think Serena's going to make it to the next round without any problems at all," Clemont says.
"Thanks, you two," Serena says with a smile.
"Hey, what about me? Do I get any special support?" Dawn complains.
"Sure, I'll do that," Holly says, giving the blunette girl a wink. "We Sinnoh ladies oughta support each other, so show them how it's done in our region, Dawn!"
"That's better," Dawn says with a grin.
"Piplup," Piplup
The group enters the stadium, and so Serena and May hug Grace and Max respectively before they and Dawn and Piplup head to the waiting room while everyone goes to find seats in the stands. The three girls and Piplup find a bench to sit on together while they wait for the next round to begin with the other sixty-one competitors.
"So, do you guys know what Pokemon you're going to use for this round?" May asks.
"I sure do," Serena says, smiling.
"I have a couple of ideas," Dawn admits.
"If you still have a couple options, then you might want to pick one fast," Solidad suggests, walking toward him. "You never know when it might be your time on stage."
May nods and asks, "So do you already have your Pokemon decided for this round?"
"I sure do," Solidad answers. "And so does he."
May, Dawn, and Serena look at Solidad, confused until they see Drew walking towards them with his hands in his pockets. May stares at the green-haired boy taken aback as Drew turns to her.
"Hey, May," Drew says nonchalantly. "I see you made it to the second round."
"Yeah, I did," May says bashfully. "I missed your performance yesterday because we completed around the same time. I'm sorry."
But Drew just shrugs and says, "I figured as much when I didn't see yours either. It's a shame. I wanted to see what you came up with."
"So did I," May says softly.
Serena and Dawn look at each other with the former grinning teasingly at their Hoenn friend. Dawn clears her throat to get May and Drew's attention as she stands up.
"You must be Drew," she says. "Serena and I have heard a lot about you."
May blushes lightly while Drew nods, unfazed.
"And you're Dawn," he says plainly. "I watched you compete against May at the Wallace Cup a while back. You gave an interesting display with your Piplup's Bubble Beam."
"Of course. Piplup and I worked very hard to get that right," Dawn says proudly.
"Pip, Piplup," Piplup says proudly.
Drew nods before turning to Serena.
"And you, your Fairy Wind was adequate, but I hope you have more up your sleeve in the next round," he says.
Serena feels hurt by his words until Solidad gives her a smile.
"Don't take it too hard, Serena," she says. "Drew is just very skeptical when it comes to contests. He's very passionate about it, you know."
Serena smiles, feeling a little better while Drew turns back to May.
"I hope to face you in the battle stage again," he says. "And I expect you to be a bigger challenge than last time."
Dawn looks at May confused and asks, "What does he mean by that?"
May hesitates before she says, "The thing is, the last time I battled Drew was at the Johto Grand Festival. My Pokemon and I gave it everything we had, but Drew managed to knock out my Pokemon before the time went out."
Drew nods, confirming what May said. May then stands up and looks at Drew face to face with a determined look in her eyes.
"But don't worry about me, Drew," she claims. "My Pokemon and I have been training hard since that day. So I hope you are ready because I want to face you again, and I'm not going to lose."
For a moment, Drew doesn't do anything as if May isn't there. Then he gives her a smirk and flips the tip of his hair as he speaks.
"That's what I want to hear," he says. "Just do me a favor, don't get disqualified before we get to battle, okay?"
May smirks and says, "Same goes for you."
The two of them stare at each other while Solidad, Serena, Dawn, and Piplup admire the moment between them. The moment is short-lived, however, as a flamboyant singing voice is heard.
"Oh, May, darling!"
May snaps out her blissful state, and her pupils shrink in horror. Drew frowns, and Solidad chuckles in amusement as they and May turn to see Harley prance toward them, giggling as he walks. Dawn and Serena instantly become uneasy at the sight of the purple-haired man as he abruptly pulls May into a suffocating hug
"Oh, May, dear, it feels like it's been forever!" Harley exclaims. "You have been a naughty girl for avoiding your best pal, Harley."
May manages to free herself from Harley's grip and runs over to Dawn and Serena as if she's using them as shields against the man.
"Aw, look at May acting so shy," Harley coos. "Of course, it's easy to be intimidated when the winner of this festival is going to be me."
Solidad chuckles as if Harley said a funny joke.
"Oh, Harley, you're just as confident as ever," she says.
"You got that right, hun," Harley states proudly.
Suddenly, his eyes turn to Serena, and the honey blonde girl grows very uncomfortable as he suddenly takes both of her hands and holds them close to him with his leg sticking up.
"My, my, my, if it isn't the precious princess from Kalos herself, Serena," he says with a big smile. "I watched all of your contests here in Kanto. You and your Pokemon are magnificent!"
"Uh… thank you?" Serena says awkwardly.
"Oh, aren't you so polite?" Harley says. "I almost feel sorry that you came here just to lose to me."
Drew rolls his eyes and says, "That's what you said about the last couple of Grand Festivals, and you've never made it past the semifinals."
But instead of feeling ashamed or embarrassed, Harley just smiles with his mouth and eyes closed.
"Minor inconveniences, Drew," he claims. "But I know that I'm going to take that beautiful trophy this time."
Solidad chuckles again and says, "At least you're staying positive."
Harley nods before an attendant taps his shoulder from behind.
"Harley, we're about to start soon, and you're performing first," he says.
Harley gives the person a smile before he turns to everyone else.
"Well, I better get going. The audience doesn't get amazed by themselves," he says. "Ta-ta, everyone!"
With that, Harley walks away, shaking his hips as he walks. Once he disappears among the crowd of coordinators, May lets out a long, weary sigh.
"Harley just gets harder to be around every time," she groans.
"Oh, come now, May. He's not that bad," Solidad chortles. "If anything, Harley's presence keeps things exciting."
"Exciting is not the word I would use," Serena moans.
"Me neither," Dawn says.
"Piplup," Piplup agrees.
Drew nods in agreement just before music is suddenly heard from the waiting room's TVs. Everyone turns to see Lilian and the judges on the stage as the announcer gives the audience a bright smile.
"Good morning, everybody!" Lilian shouts. "I hope you are all rested because it's time for more amazing things with our remaining 64 competitors and their Pokemon."
The crowd can be heard cheering loudly through the TV speakers before Lilian continues.
"We have a lot to get through today," she announces. "After our sixty-four coordinators show off their Pokemon's moves, the judges will declare who will make it to the battle stage. After that, we will finish the day with the first round of the battle stage!"
"Wow, they're going to do all of that in one day?" Serena says, surprised.
"My, my, my, they don't want to waste any time this year," Solidad says with a calm smile.
"And now, here to start us off with the second round of the appeal stage, give it up for Harley!" Lilian shouts.
Harley appears on the screen and starts blowing kisses at the audience in an over-the-top way before he tosses a Pokeball into the field, and a Cacturne appears. The Cacturne releases multiple white, fluffy cottontails into the air, and it stays still for a moment before the green patches in its arms glow white and turn into long needles. Suddenly, the scarecrow Pokemon jumps into the air and slices the cottontails to pieces, sending the remains flying all over the place so that everyone in the audience can see them floating down gracefully. The audience applauds, and Harley blows more kisses at them while his Cacturne stands proudly.
"Oh boy," Serena sighs.
"Harley has the audience right where he wants them," May says.
"Perhaps, but that looked like a downgrade to some of Harley's other performances if you ask me," Drew says bluntly.
Solidad thinks on Drew's critique and says, "I suppose it's not as special as his Octillery dancing on fire or the display his Banette showed yesterday, but it still looked well-rehearsed."
"Maybe so, but he still could do something about his arrogance," Dawn grumbles. "He's making Giselle look humble by comparison."
"Oh, is he?"
Dawn jumps, startled as she, Serena, May, Drew, and Solidad turn around to see Giselle glaring at Dawn and Serena with her hands on her hips. Serena becomes uneasy as Giselle marches toward her.
"You and I have some unfinished business, Serena," she declares. "Twice, you've humiliated me, and now I'm going to make sure you are humiliated this time."
"So, are you two are rivals?" Solidad asks.
"Rivals? Hardly," Giselle says. "I just need to settle the score with the girl who cheated me out of two contest ribbons."
"I didn't cheat you out of anything, Giselle," Serena says. "I simply outwitted you at Celadon City, and it was just unfortunate that your Rhyhorn ignored your commands."
Giselle scoffs and says, "Yeah, well, I'm prepared for you this time. My Rhyhorn has evolved into a Rhydon, and I've made sure that it will listen to me no matter what. So if we face each other again, I'm going to beat you and then win the Grand Festival and then the Indigo League."
"We will see who wins, Giselle," Dawn says. "You just focus on making it to the battle stage like the rest of us."
"Oh, I will make it to the battle stage. Make no mistake about that," Giselle says as she turns around and leaves. "I'd say good luck to you, but it would do you no good."
Serena and Dawn pout at Giselle as she walks away. May and Solidad look at her disapprovingly while Drew scoffs.
"At least Harley can be amusing once in a while," he says. "That said, I'd like to see if she's as good at coordinating as she is at boasting."
Everyone nods in agreement before another stage person approaches Solidad.
"Excuse me, Solidad, you're on soon," she says before turning to Drew. "And Drew, you're coming right after her."
Solidad smiles warmly and says, "Thank you," before she and Drew follow the backstage person.
"Good luck, you two!" May calls out as they leave.
"Thanks, May," Drew says, waving at May without looking at her as he walks.
Once the two of them are out of sight, Dawn turns to May and opens her mouth only for the brown-haired girl to stop her
"Save it, Dawn," May says firmly.
"What? I was just going to say how nice it was that Drew wanted to see your performance yesterday," Dawn says, acting innocent.
"Sure you were," May says with an unamused glare.
Serena covers a giggle with her mouth and says, "It was nice to hear that he was a little bummed about it."
May glares at Serena too until she sighs in defeat.
"Yeah, it was," she admits.
Dawn grins triumphantly while Serena gives her friend a kind smile.
"And now, coming to wow us once again from Pewter City, it's Solidad!" Lilian shouts from the TV speakers.
The three girls and Piplup look up to see Solidad take up the stage and toss a Pokeball into the air. The ball opens to reveal her Pidgeot flying into the air. With a wave of her hand, Solidad makes an order, and Pidgeot makes a circle of copies of itself. The multiple Pidgeot spread their wings, and their wings glow white before they shoot glowing white feathers at the center of the circle, creating a vortex of feathers. The crowd and the judges stare in awe at the display before Pidegot and its clones fly toward the vortex and cut all the feathers into pieces, sending them all flying high into the air sparkling in white for the whole stadium to see. The audience goes crazy as they applaud.
"Wow, what an amazing performance!" Lilian exclaims. "A creative use of Double Team, Feather Dance, and Aerial Ace! Nothing less from a previous Grand Festival winner!"
May smiles, happy to see her rival gaining such praise. Solidad waves happy at the audience before she returns her Pidgeot and exits the stage.
"And now, ready to show what he and his Pokemon can do once again, it's Drew!" Lilian announces.
May stares at the screen intently as Drew enters the stage and throws a Pokeball into the air to reveal his Masquerain. The eyeball Pokemon looks up and fires multiple bubbles into the air before creating a vortex with Silver Wind, causing the bubbles to spin around. Drew calls out to Masquerain and a ring of white circles appear over its head. The ring raises up and shoots at all of the bubbles, causing them to burst into colorful sparkles that float down at the audience. Drew gives the audience a bow as the audience, and the judges give him a loud round of applause.
"A Bubble Beam, Silver Wind, and Hidden Power combo, huh?" Dawn says. "Creative, to say the least."
"Piplup," Piplup says in agreement.
"It sure was," Serena says, turning to May. "What did you think, May?"
May keeps her eyes on the TV for a moment before she realizes Serena asked her a question.
"Oh, yes. It was a great performance," she says, chuckling nervously.
Dawn smirks at her friend again, and May grows nervous until she sees Solidad and Drew coming back toward them and quickly runs over to them.
"Great job, you two," she says, trying to hide her nervousness.
"Thank you, May," Solidad says, smiling. "I'm glad to see that Drew really put his heart into the entire routine this time."
"Hmmm," Drew hums bluntly without a care.
"And now, coming to dazzle you again, it's Giselle!" Lilian announces from the TV.
Everyone turns to the screen at the mention of Giselle's name and sees the girl enter the stage as it she's a movie star.
"Let's see if she has more than a pretty Psybeam up her sleeve this time," Drew says as he crosses his arms.
Giselle tosses a Pokeball into the air with a flick of her wrist, and her Golem comes out with a loud roar. With her eyes closed, Giselle commands her Pokemon confidently, and the megaton Pokemon pulls out a large chunk of ground with its hands and tosses it high into the air. When the large piece of rock begins to plummet to the ground, electricity starts to appear from Golem's fist, and it punches the piece of rock before it hits the ground, smashing it into pieces. The judges look impressed as the audience applauds before Giselle exits the stage.
"Rock Slide and Thunder Punch together. Interesting," Solidad says amused.
Drew nods and says, "I must admit having a Pokemon like Golem use a rock, and electric type move is a shrewd way to earn a lot of points."
"I hate to say it, but I agree," May says sadly.
Dawn pouts childishly and mumbles, "Great, then I guess she's going to make it to the next round. I hope you wipe that smile off her face one more time, Serena."
Serena smiles at her friend's childish attitude before she looks at the TV, where Giselle is still waving at the audience.
"I hope so too, Dawn," she says. "I hope so too."
The appeal round continues with many other competitors performing with their Pokemon. Halfway through the round, Dawn enters the stage and takes out her Parichisu. Parichisu uses Sweet Kiss to cover the stage with red and pink hears before destroying them all using both Sparks and Hyper Fang. The judges were impressed with the way her Pokemon went back and forth between both attacks to create a dazzling display. A little while later, May comes up and uses her Skitty to create a statue of ice using Blizzard and then surrounds it in a vortex of fire before it melts down using Blaziken's Fire Spin via Assist. The judges are amazed at how May executed the stunt, and even Solidad and Drew admires how she took the risk of using Assist in that way, much to her delight. Finally, Serena enters the stage as the very last person to perform.
"And now, to finish this round, it's our talented girl from Kalos, Serena!" Lilian announces
Serena smiles brightly and waves at the audience. From a distance, she can see Ash, Pikachu, Clemont, Bonnie, Grace, Brock, Holly, and Max sitting in one of the front row seats. Even though she can't hear them, she can tell that Bonnie is cheering at the top of her lungs, and Grace and Ash are both shouting out words of encouragement. She gives them appreciative looks before she takes out a Pokeball and throws it.
"Let's go, Pancham!" She calls out.
Pancham comes out of its ball and puts its sunglasses in front of its eyes before waving at the crowd.
"Pancham, create a circle with Stone Edge!" Serena commands.
Pancham slams its fist onto the ground and tall, blue pillars emerge, creating a circle that completely surrounds it.
"Now use Shadow Claw followed by Dark Pulse!" Serena shouts.
Dark purple auras shaped into sharp claws appear on both of Pancham's arms, and it uses the claws to cut the pillars into pieces and tosses the pieces high into the air. The playful Pokemon immediately fires Dark Pulse while the pieces of blue stone are in the air, and the dark-type move destroys them, causing blue and dark purple fireworks to explode in midair. Serena and Pancham do a pose to show that they are done, and it takes a moment before the crowd roars in joyous applause. Pancham jumps into Serena's arms, and the two of them hug, glad to see their audience so happy before Lilian steps in.
"Let's hear it for our contests!" She says.
The crowd cheers again as Serena returns Pancham to its Pokeball, and Solidad, Drew, May, Dawn, Giselle, Harley, and the other contestants enter on stage beside Serena.
"All sixty-four coordinators gave great performances during the entire appeal round, but only sixteen of them will make it to the next round!" Lilian continues. "The judges have tallied up their scores, and the sixteen coordinators with the most points are going to compete in the battle stage. And hheeeeerrrrreeeeee they are!"
Everyone looks at the large screen above the field, and sixteen images appear. It takes a moment before forty-eight contestants frown and glumly leave the field while sixteen of them, including Giselle, Harley, Solidad, May, Drew, Dawn, and Serena, smile happily to see their picture up there. Once again, Serena, May, and Dawn cheer together.
"Alright! We made it!" Serena exclaims.
"I knew we could do it!" Dawn says.
"Yeah, but now we're in the battle stage, so we could be facing each other," May points out with a smirk. "So we better give it our all if we do."
"Right," Serena and Dawn agree at the same time.
"And now it is time to shuffle the deck and find out who is facing who in the first round of the battle stage!" Lilian announces.
The pictures on the screen start moving around at random until they line up together again in a bracket. Serena studies the bracket closely and gasps when she sees her picture and Giselle's picture close together on the top left of the screen.
"I'm facing Giselle already?!" She exclaims. "How can it get any worse?"
"I think I know," Dawn says worriedly as she points at the pair of pictures below Serena's and Giselle's. "Looks like if you win and Harley wins his first battle, you two will be facing each other."
Serena looks at where Dawn is pointing and indeed sees Harley's picture standing close to hers. She groans wearily until Dawn puts her hand on both of Serena's shoulders and forces her to look at her friend.
"Hey, you got this, okay?" Dawn says seriously. "Just remember to keep on smiling."
Serena gives Dawn an appreciative look before she makes a confident pose.
"You're right. I've beaten Giselle twice before, and I can do it again," she says. "And Harley is not going to beat me either no matter what he claims."
"That's our Serena," May says, smirking.
"Now, it's time to start the first round of the battle stage!" Lilian announces. "Our battle stage will be double battles, and our contestants can change what Pokemon they can use for each battle. So let's not waste any more time and get started with the battle between Giselle and Serena!"
The crowd applauds as Dawn and May give Serena looks that say, "Good luck," before they and the other fourteen competitors leave the stage so that only Serena, Giselle, Lilian, and the judges are left. Serena and Giselle glare at each other as they take positions on opposite sides of the battlefield.
"I hope you realize that you're not going to beat me in a double battle by dumb luck!" Giselle calls out.
"That's fine by me!" Serena replies. "I've improved a lot with double batting since Cinnabar Island, so I'm ready to take you down no matter what you throw at me!"
Giselle laughs out loud mockingly before he bluntly says, "I doubt it."
"Alright, our contestants are in position, so let's get our first Grand Festival battle underway!" Lilian does as the clock on the screen begins to count down.
"Braixen, Poliwag, I choose you!" Serena shouts as she throws two Pokeballs into the field.
"Marowak, Rhydon, time for battle!" Giselle says as she throws two of her Pokeballs.
All four Pokeballs open to reveal Braixen, Poliwag, Marowak, and Rhydon. Giselle smirks mockingly at Serena's Pokemon before she makes the first move.
"Marowak, use Screech and Rhydon, use Stone Edge!" She shouts.
Marowak lets out an ear-splitting screech, and Braixen, Poliwag, and Serena cry out in pain with Braixen and Serena trying to cover their ears. Rhydon takes advantage of this and stomps on the ground, creating blue pillars that hit Poliwag and Braixen. The honey blonde girl's Pokemon lie on the ground in pain while Marowak stops screeching.
"What a cunning combination!" Lilian comments. "Giselle has Marowak use Screech to lower Braixen and Poliwag's defenses before Rhydon hits them while they're disoriented!"
Serena's eyes widen upon learning that her Pokemon's defenses are lowered. The judges remove a fraction of her points while Giselle smirks proudly.
"Come on, Serena, don't tell me I won already," she calls out mockingly. "I thought you said you got better at double battling."
Serena grinds her teeth and glares at her opponent before turning to her Pokemon worriedly.
"Can you two keep going?" She asks.
Braixen and Poliwag stay still for a moment before they slowly get back up and smile at their trainer to assure her that they can continue. Serena smiles in relief while Giselle merely scoffs.
"Marowak, use Bonemerang, and Rhyhorn, use Horn Drill!" She shouts.
But Serena smirks and commands, "Braixen, you knock that Bonemerang back with Fire Blast, and Poliwag hit Rhydon hard with Ice Beam!"
Rhydon charges at Serena's Pokemon with its horn spinning while Marowak throws its bone at their opponents. Poliwag takes a deep breath and fires a large Ice Beam at Rhydon. The attack hits, and within seconds, Rhydon is turned into a stone of ice. Shortly after that, Braixen uses Fire Blast, and it hits Marowak's bone. The bone gets sent in the other direction, and it hits Rhydon, causing the frozen Pokemon to fall down on its side with a crash. Giselle looks in shock as the judges take away a large portion of her points.
"How do you like that, Giselle?" Serena boasts.
Giselle frowns bitterly and shouts, "Marowak, use Screech and get your bone back!"
"Braixen, Poliwag, dodge, and use Flamethrower and Bubble on Marowak!" Serena shouts.
Marowak uses Screech again, but its opponents jump out of the way on opposite sides of the field. The bone keeper Pokemon then runs toward the middle of the field to retrieve its bone lying beside Rhydon, but Braixen and Poliwag use Flamethrower and Bubble right as it's about to pick its bone up. Marowak barely dodges the attacks in time and hides behind Rhydon still without its bone. Giselle grows frustrated again until she gets an idea.
"Marowak, use Fire Punch all over Rhydon!" She shouts.
Marowak's fists catch fire, and it punches at its teammate multiple times. The fire breaks the ice, and Rhydon manages to rise up, free from its prison.
"Alright then, Poliwag, use Ice Beam again!" Serena calls out.
"Not this time!" Giselle claims. "Marowak, use Fire Blast to take out that Ice Beam, then Rhydon, you use Bulldoze!"
Marowak takes a deep break and releases a Fire Blast from its mouth while Poliwag uses Ice Beam again. The two attacks collide and cancel each other out while Rhydon starts stomping on the ground. Its stomping creates a shock wave on the ground that hits Braixen and Pancham hard. They plummet to the ground with their bodies covered in scratches, and Serena's heart sinks.
"Braixen! Poliwag!" She screams.
Giselle smirks as the judges take away points from her opponent, and Marowak picks up its bone. Serena looks devastated as her Pokemon whimper while lying on the ground with their eyes shut.
"Too bad, Serena. This was starting to get interesting," Giselle says. "Maybe if you practiced a little more with double battling, you might stand a better chance."
Serena glares at her opponent, growing irritated with Giselle mocking her. But then she hears some faint cheering among the crowd, and she looks around to see Ash, Pikachu, Clemont, Bonnie, Grace, Brock, Holly, and Max cheering for her in the distance. Her eyes go to Ash as he stands up from his seat and tries to encourage her even though he's too far away to be heard. Serena smiles sweetly and puts her hand on her ribbon before she closes her eyes.
"Come on, Serena, think!" She thinks to herself. "Don't let Ash, Dawn, and Timothy's teachings be only good for just one battle. You can beat Giselle again. Just keep on smiling like Ash and Dawn said."
With that, she takes a deep breath and looks at her Pokemon with a supportive smile.
"Braixen, Poliwag, we're going to be fine," she says calmly, earning their attention. "We can beat Giselle, Rhydon, and Marowak. I know it. I need both of you to keep going and believe that we will win and keep going to the very top, okay?
Braixen and Poliwag groan hesitantly before they give their partner weak smiles and slowly start to get up.
"Your words are not going to do you any good, Serena!" Giselle shouts. "Marowak, Rhydon, keep them down with Fire Punch and Megahorn!"
Marowak's fist catches fire again, and Rhydon's horn glows white and extends. The two of them begin to charge at their opponents. Serena grows worried again, as she realized they will hit her Pokemon before they fully stand up before it suddenly hits her.
"Braixen, Poliwag, use Flamethrower and Water Gun at each other!" She shouts.
Braixen and Poliwag look at Serena, shocked, but the honey blonde girl just gives them a smile, telling them to trust her. The fox and tadpole Pokemon hesitate before they decide to obey and release their attacks at each other. The Flamethrower and Water Gun collide and cover Serena's side of the field in steam. Marowak and Rhydon stop charging and try to find their opponents while Braixen and Poliwag manage to fully stand up.
"Great job, you guys!" Serena cheers, encouragingly. "Now use Ice Beam on Marowak and Fire Blast on Rhydon!"
Serena's Pokemon smile and nod before they release their attacks. Marowak gets hit with Ice Beam and suddenly turns into a block of ice while Rhydon gets hit with Fire Blast, but only appears to be partly hurt. The steam clears away, and Giselle is shocked at what had just happened before she smirks at Serena.
"Nice trick, Serena, but you should be aware that Rhydon is resistant to fire attacks, and it can free Marowak from that ice," she says. "Rhydon, use Horn Drill to free Marowak!"
But Serena smirks, already knowing just what to do next.
"Poliwag, use Water Gun on the floor!" She instructs.
Poliwag shoots water on the ground right as Rhydon begins to charge at Marowak with its horn spinning. The drill Pokemon's feet start slipping from the water, and it struggles to stay in balance before it falls on top of Marowak. Rhydon's weight breaks the ice surrounding Marowak's body, but it takes a moment before Rhydon rolls over to free Marowak, who is hurt from being crushed underneath its teammate.
"Now, use Water Gun on Rhydon and Fire Blast on Marowak!" Serena shouts immediately.
"Dodge it!" Giselle yells.
Rhydon and Marowak only have a moment to realize what is happening before they are suddenly hit by Braixen and Poliwag's attacks. Giselle grows frustrated as she turns to Serena, who smiles at her Pokemon.
"Smile as much as you like, Serena, but it will take more than that to take down my Pokemon!" she barks.
Serena looks at Giselle and just gives her a smug look.
"We don't have to," she says plainly.
Giselle looks at her opponent, confused until she hears a loud "ding!" Her pupils shrink, and her mouth drops open before she slowly looks up at the screen to see the timer is at 0, and she only has 20% of her points, whereas Serena has slightly less than half of her points.
"That's time, and the first winner of the battle stage is Serena!" Lilian announces.
The audience cheers, and Serena, Braixen, and Poliwag hug each other in celebration. Giselle stands in shock while Rhydon and Marowak look at her sadly.
"This...can't...be…" Giselle manages to say.
She watches Serena, and her Pokemon break their group hug and start to give the crowd several bows before exiting the field. Giselle turns to her Pokemon and sighs sadly as she takes out their Pokeballs.
"Return, both of you," she says nonchalantly.
Both Pokemon come back into their balls, and Giselle robotically exits the stage from the other side.
Within less than forty minutes, the other seven battles passed by after Serena won. Harley defeated his opponent with his Cacturne and Banette, much to Serena, Dawn, and May's grief. Two battles after that, Dawn won her battle by knocking out her opponent's Dragonair and Bayleaf using Mamoswine and Quilava. Solidad knocked out a boy's Scyther and Onyx with her Lapras and Butterfree in less than two minutes into the match. Drew took away nearly all of his opponent's points with his Absol and Flygon before the timer went out. Finally, May's Venusaur and Beautifly took down a girl's Sirskit and Clefairy within three minutes into the match.
Once all the battles in the first round were done, Lilian and the judges commented on all of the battles before they announced that the Grand Festival will continue tomorrow. As soon as May, Dawn, Piplup, and Serena have met up with their friends and Grace, they all go back to the Pokemon Center, where Serena gives Nurse Joy Braixen and Poliwag's Pokeballs.
"Nurse Joy, could you make sure that my Pokemon are well rested for tomorrow, please?" Serena asks.
"Of course," Nurse Joy says cheerfully. "Your Pokemon will be in perfect health by breakfast tomorrow."
"Thank you," Serena says as Nurse Joy leaves with her Pokeballs.
"I must admit that you put up quite a battle out there, Serena," Grace says, smirking. "Seems like you and your Pokemon have grown a lot stronger since you and Ash left Kalos."
Serena gives her mother a nod and says, "Yeah, we have experienced a lot of new things since we went on our journey. But I couldn't have done it without Ash, Dawn, and our friend Timothy teaching me how to double battle."
Ash gives Serena a toothy grin while Dawn smiles and winks at her. Suddenly, Giselle walks in from the lobby, and everyone immediately turns to her. She marches toward Serena with a serious frown, and Serena grows uneasy while her former opponent glares at her. Everyone doesn't know what is going to happen before Giselle sighs and gives Serena an amused smile.
"I hate to admit it, but you really got the better of me," she says.
"Huh?" Everyone says at the same time, not expecting her to say that.
"I figured out what you did, Serena," she says. "I was focusing more on taking down Braixen and Poliwag, but you focused more on getting rid of my points. You knew that you weren't seriously damaging my Pokemon apart from Ice Beam - leastways with using a fire attack against Rhydon, but it would still take away enough of my points to put you in the lead."
Serena blinks in surprise before she smiles.
"That's right," she says. "Your Rhydon and Marowak were very strong, and they came close to knocking out Braixen and Poliwag. I had to think creatively to outwit you and do enough damage before the timer ran out."
"And that's one of the smartest things you can do as a coordinator," May says. "After all, contest battles isn't just about beating your opponent's Pokemon. It's still partly about creating a performance that bests the other person's performance."
"Heh, when you put it like that, I guess I still have a lot to understand with Pokemon contests," Giselle says before giving Serena a competitive look. "But I learn from my mistakes. When I improve on contest battles, you won't stop me from taking you down no matter what you do."
Serena smirks and says, "We'll see."
Giselle then turns to Ash and says, "As for you, I'm coming back here for the Indigo League, and I'm going to win this time."
Ash just smirks back and says, "Not if I have anything to say about it."
"Or me," Max says, stepping in.
Giselle's smirks as she looks at her two rivals before turning to Serena, Dawn, and Piplup.
"Well, I better be off," she says. "Good luck with the rest of the festival, you three."
"Thanks, bye, Giselle," Dawn calls out.
Everyone else says goodbye to Giselle as she leaves the Pokemon Center. Once she's out of sight, Holly turns to everyone and says, "Well, she took her defeat a little better than I expected."
"You're telling me," Dawn says. "I guess she gets more frustrated when she gets humiliated more than when she loses."
"Pip, Piplup," Piplup says.
"Maybe so," Brock says, nodding before turning to Serena. "But in the meantime, you have bigger problems to worry about."
Serena looks at Brock, confused until it hits her.
"That's right. Now I have to face Harley tomorrow," she says worriedly before turning to May. "If there's anything I should know about him that you haven't told me, it might help me a lot if you tell me now."
May gives her friend a sad smile before putting her arm around Serena's neck.
"Leave it to me, Serena," she says. "I'll tell you all of my encounters with Harley to make sure nothing he does surprises you."
"And I'll help too," Ash days stepping in. "May's not the only one who has dealt with Harley in the past."
"Count me in," Max says.
"Me too," Brock says, standing behind Serena. "The more, the merrier, I say."
Serena smiles at her friend and says, "Thank you, everyone."
"Hey, I wanna join too!" Bonnie says with a childish pout. "I'd like to hear more about what that guy's deal is after those creepy roses he gave Serena and May."
"I second that," Holly says.
Grace chuckles and says, "Alright, everyone, settle down. Why don't we all get some food at a nearby restaurant, and then we can learn all about Serena's next opponent."
At that moment, Ash and May's stomachs growl, and they chuckle nervously.
"That sounds like a good idea," Clemont says. "I saw a spaghetti restaurant not too far from here."
"A spaghetti restaurant?!" Ash exclaims with stars in his eyes. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu exclaims.
With that, Ash runs out of the Pokemon Center with everyone calling out and chasing after him. But while Serena runs after Ash, who has no idea where he's going, she can't help but smile, knowing that all of her friends and her mom are here for her during the Grand Festival.