A/N: Man. I just don't have the time on my hands that I used to. Hopefully, this isn't a continuing thing. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.
Chapter 34: Trials for Torchic
It was the following day after Serena had told Diantha she wanted to do the movie with her. She had gone back to the Pokemon Center after that to let her friends know her decision. They were all happy Serena had decided and supported her even though they were a little sad that she would have to depart for a little bit. Still, it was a quite a time away before Serena left so they wouldn't worry about it right now.
Afterwards, Serena had called up Lisia and Aria to tell her the news, as well. Serena almost went deaf after the huge scream of mirth from Lisia right into the Pokegear. Aria was really happy, too, but it was nowhere near on the level of Lisia's volume. They then spent about an hour chatting about what fairy tale they might do or what parts they could play. Serena was surprised to find she actually had a good time…even with Lisia. The hyperactive girl was actually starting to grow on her a little.
The group was now at the small airport in Fallarbor Town to see off Diantha and Aria. Since they weren't from Hoenn, they had to get back to their respective areas and continue their work there. Serena smiled sadly at them as she gave Aria a hug.
"It's too bad we didn't get to see each other very long," Serena said, "Especially since you just arrived yesterday."
"Yeah," Aria agreed, "Still, you know a Kalos Queen's work is never done."
"When we do the movie together, we'll have to make up for lost time," Serena suggested.
"Definitely! I look forward to it! I'm so glad you chose to do the movie, Serena," Aria told her.
"Oh yeah! It's going to be a blast!" Lisia agreed and stuck a pose.
"I'm really looking forward to working with all of you," Diantha, who had been silent to let the girls talk, spoke up, "Kathi Lee should be contacting you all within a month to let you know the details of the film and the parts you were cast in."
"Sounds good! Thank you!" Serena replied with a nod.
"Attention! The gate for the plane to Lumiose City is now open. Passengers should now make their way to the terminal," a voice said over the intercom.
"Well, I guess that's it. Diantha and I will head back to Kalos, and I'll make a change in Lumiose City for a ride to the Orange Islands," Aria said.
Serena then thought of something, "I'm surprised you're actually taking a public plane, Dia…Ms. Potts. I thought you would have your own private one."
"Well, Diantha does, but I'm just Ms. Potts," Diantha said with a wink.
"Of course," Serena replied with a giggle.
"Take care, everyone!" Aria chirped and gave Serena and Lisia another brief hug before she turned to Diantha, "I can tell you the best places to get sweets at in the Orange Islands on the plane!"
"Ooooh! I like the sound of that," Diantha replied with a smile as she and Aria left to head for the plane.
About thirty minutes later, Serena and Lisia watched out the large windows as the plane that contained both Aria and Diantha speed down the run way and lift off into the air. After watching a while in silence, Serena turned to Lisia.
"So, what are you going to do?" Serena asked.
"Me? I'm totally staying to watch the contest!" Lisia squealed.
"Wow! Lisia's actually staying to watch the contest! I'm going to compete in it! Can I have your autograph?!" a girl suddenly shouted and practically bowled over Serena to get to Lisia. Apparently, she didn't recognize Serena with her glasses and hat on. That suited Serena perfectly.
"You betcha!" Lisia cried, "I'll sign a hundred of them!"
As a small crowd began to form around them, Serena took this opportunity to slip away and go back to the Pokemon Center where the others were. May's contest was tomorrow, and Serena had to be there to see how she was getting along after missing out so much the previous day. May had told Serena that she thought of something that she and Torchic could do in the appeals round, and Serena was excited to see it.
Serena soon made it back to the Pokemon Center, and she was immediately met with a lot of floating objects. People were grabbing at purses, hats, and even their pokeballs. Serena's confusion soon turned to panic as she felt her own hat rise off of her head followed by her glasses. She frantically looked up and discovered a blue glow around the objects. A psychic Pokemon must've been doing this, but where?
"Oh, my gosh! I'm so sorry everyone!" a voice suddenly cried, "My Medicham is in a deep meditative trance and can't be awakened until it stops itself!"
Serena discovered the source of the voice was an older teenage girl who looked around seventeen with huge red pigtails. She was bowing apologetically to everyone she was coming across. Still, some people seemed rather annoyed.
Serena then noticed a hat fly past her face and realized it was Ash's hat. She made a grab for it, but it quickly went out of reach. It was soon followed, by Ash, Pikachu, May, and Brock. Serena also noticed that May was missing her bandana.
"Hey, Serena," Ash greeted before he chased after his hat again and almost ran right into someone else in the frenzy
"As you can see, you arrived at the perfect time," May said sarcastically, "I can't even find my bandana."
Serena then looked up and saw her hat and glasses floating away from her. She gasped and went after them and tripped over someone else who was already on the ground from being previous knocked over. The Pokemon Center was starting to become pretty chaotic.
"Everyone, just remain calm!" Nurse Joy cried as her nurse hat flew off her head, "There's no cause for panic! According to Grace, your possessions will all be returned to you when her Medicham wakes up!"
"Well, someone wake it up!" an annoyed voice yelled from the crowd.
"It's impossible to do that when Medicham is the way it is," the girl known as Grace replied sheepishly.
A collective groan sounded throughout the Pokemon Center before it went back the way it was before. As Serena pushed herself up from the ground, she knew they probably didn't have that much longer to wait. Already, there was a fight breaking out between two boys who had bumped into each other trying to get their stuff. A couch was even just lifted off of the ground! If a psychic Pokemon was causing this, maybe Serena could…
Serena hadn't tried out her ESP in a while, and she didn't know how much it would be able to counter a Medicham's own ESP. Still, she knew she could at least try. Serena took a deep breath and discreetly tried to awaken her ESP.
Serena soon discovered a presence that wasn't her own. Serena opened her eyes and discovered a stronger blue glow around the objects. There was no way that was hers. Serena saw all of the objects carefully lowered back to the ground and some even in their owner's hands. Serena saw Ash make a dive and catch his hat on his head with a smile. May soon got a hold on her bandanna and swiftly tied back around her head. Serena then noticed her hat and glasses right above her and quickly placed them back on her face. In the chaos, no one had recognized who she was which Serena was thankful for.
"That's strange. Medicham is still asleep," Grace muttered.
Serena realized it was a strange occurrence. There weren't any other psychic Pokemon in the room, and Serena herself hadn't been the one stop it.
"Hello, Serena," a chipper voice said from behind her.
Serena's eyes widened, and she turned and gave a big smile when she saw Riley and Yellow standing behind her. Ash, May, and Brock had noticed them, too, and hurried over with Ash being the first one to speak.
"Hey, Uncle Riley! Hey, Ms. Yellow!" he greeted.
"What's up, Ash?" Riley replied as he and Ash high-fived each other, "I thought we might run into you guys here eventually. We've been here for about a week."
"Right. We got here yesterday and saw the grand opening of Pokestar Studios," Ash said.
"Pokestar Studios?" Yellow said thoughtfully, "I would've really liked to see that, too, Riley."
"Well, we had work to do," Riley stated with a shrug and a smirk.
Though the exchange between Riley and Yellow seemed to be the typical playful banter between the two, there was just something…off. The group couldn't quite put their finger on it, but for some reason the two jut looked uncomfortable around each other as subtle as it was. Ash and Serena couldn't help but wonder if something had happened between their two mentors.
Before they could think too much longer about it, Grace was making her rounds in the Pokemon Center to apologize to everyone. She soon made it over to the group and bowed low once more in front of them.
"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I hope my Medicham didn't cause too much trouble!" she said frantically.
"It's okay. No harm done in the end," Ash replied.
"Still, I'm just glad it stopped when it did. I wonder how, though," Grace muttered and rubbed her chin.
"Sometimes, strange things just happen," Yellow said with a small smile.
Serena almost chuckled when Yellow said that. Since she and Riley were here, they all knew that Yellow had been the one to counter Medicham's ESP and return everyone's belongings. Yellow saw Serena's expression and winked at her to confirm it while Ash and Brock smiled, too. May, however, looked completely lost.
"Umm…did I miss something?" she asked.
"It's okay, May. Maybe another day," Serena told her.
May slowly nodded her head and seemed to accept it. The group then realized it probably wasn't very fair to May that she was the only one in their group who was out of the loop of Riley and Yellow's, or for that matter, their own secrets. They should probably find a time to tell her soon. Maybe after her contest.
"So, since you and Ms. Yellow have been here a while, did you…" Ash trailed, and Riley gave a sigh of frustration.
"Absolutely nothing," Riley huffed, "There aren't any members of both teams in the area. It makes me wonder if that lead was even real, or if they somehow knew that Yellow and I would be here. They probably have sympathizers with their cause all over Hoenn that could have told them. I hear both teams acquire more members every day. Maxie and Archie must be pretty convincing with their ideals."
"Really?" Ash asked in surprise.
Then again, that did sound a lot like Maxie and Archie. They were both highly intelligent and seem to have a way with words to persuade others to join them. If they had sympathizers all over Hoenn that would alert them at the first sign of trouble like Riley and Yellow would do, that would just make them all the more difficult to capture.
"Why do you think they would want to come to Fallarbor Town, anyway?" Serena wondered, "What business would they have?"
"I wish we knew," Yellow replied sadly, "With how extreme Team Aqua and Team Magma have become, there's no telling what they would resort to. It's almost scary to imagine why they would come to Fallarbor Town."
"If it was even real," Riley reminded.
"I think it was," Yellow said, "We just need to think about…you know…where they might be instead."
Riley and Yellow fell into silence after that. The group watched the exchange between the two and could tell how awkward it had gotten. Yeah. Something was definitely going on with them. Normally, Yellow and Riley had a lot to talk about when they were together, but now there was just tension. Luckily, Serena knew the perfect conversation topic to brighten up the mood.
"I've been chosen to have a role in a movie," she spoke up.
It was the next day, and the group had arrived at the contest hall fairly early to make sure they would get good seats. They had learned from experience by now that this place would be packed full if they waited too long and would have to sit in an awkward spot. Now, they were among the first ones there so they could virtually sit anywhere they wanted. This was fine for most of the group, but for one certain member, however…
Ash rubbed the sleet from his eyes again and gave a yawn. He couldn't believe they had to get here almost a whole two hours before the contest began just so they could get good seats. It was only 8 o'clock in the morning. This was the time he usually woke up. Pikachu gave a yawn as well to show it shared his sentiment.
"Man. Why wouldn't we get good seats if we showed up later again? It isn't like this is the Grand Festival," Ash muttered.
"Word got around that Lisia was here so you know everybody is going to flock to see her," Serena answered, "Besides, we've always been late before and had bad seats. This ensures that doesn't happen."
"Isn't there a nice, in between time?" Ash asked.
"Ash, wake up right now!" May said forcefully and got in his face which caused the raven-haired boy to reel back in shock, "This contest is very important to me, and this is definitely my moment! There's no way I can lose this time. Torchic and I practiced very hard for this all day yesterday, and we're definitely ready! I want all of you to see this for me. I would do the same for you!"
"Torchic!" Torchic added from next to May.
"Alright! Alright! Geez…" Ash muttered and forced his eyes wide open which made him look crazy.
"Much better," May said with small smile.
"I know you'll do great, May," Serena told her, "You showed me what you and Torchic had come up with yesterday, and it's a surefire way to get you past the appeals round."
"Thank you!" May replied gratefully.
The group then noticed a somewhat familiar face heading their way. Upon closer inspection, they discovered it was the teenage girl from the Pokemon Center whose Medicham's meditation had gotten out of control and almost caused a fiasco. Grace, was it? The girl gave a small wave before she made her way over to the group.
"Hi! I'm surprised you're already here! I thought I would be the first one!" she greeted.
"Well, we all decided to get here early so my friends could get good seats since we knew Lisia would be at this contest," May said.
"I guess that makes sense. I always come extra early before every contest I'm in so my Medicham and I can get in a good meditation before the crowds show up," Grace stated.
"Umm…there aren't going to be any floating objects this time, are there?" Ash asked hesitantly.
"Oh no! Definitely not! I'll be extra careful!" Grace replied with laugh before she looked at May, "So, I guess that means you're competing in this contest?"
"Yeah. For my first ribbon," May confirmed, "I'm May, by the way."
"Grace. Nice to meet all of you!" Grace said brightly before she turned and waved to the group, "Good luck in the contest, May. Just know I don't plan on going easy. My fourth ribbon is at stake!"
"You've…already won three?" May muttered in surprise as she watched Grace walk off.
"Well, we are well into the year now. There have been plenty of opportunities for people to get more than one ribbon," Brock reasoned.
"She must be pretty good," May said thoughtfully, "I'll have to be careful of her. She'll probably be using that Medicham."
May then turned to look at her Torchic who stared back at her. There was nothing wrong with May's appeal at all. However, she always appeared to struggle in the battling department. She certainly hadn't inherited that part from her dad. With the exception of Dustox, all of her Pokemon were still unevolved. She just hoped that Torchic would have enough firepower to take on Medicham, or any Pokemon, in a contest battle.
May then shook her head. She had to push those thoughts away. Her Torchic was going to give it all in this contest. There couldn't be any room for doubt. If she doubted herself, Torchic would doubt itself. May then nodded her head.
"Well, I'm going to go on ahead backstage. Tell Mr. Riley and Ms. Yellow hi for me when they get here," May said as she hurried off.
"Will do! Go get 'em, May!" Ash cheered after her.
"Our Fallarbor Town Pokemon Contest is now ready to begin!" Vivian announced with a wave and a wink.
The crowd then erupted into cheers just like usual. However, it was even louder today, and it was pretty obvious why. As amazing as most of the coordinators there probably were, everyone was eager to see the special guest, Lisia. It was only confirmed with Vivian's next statement.
"Of course, we're also excited to welcome Hoenn's very own star coordinator, Lisia, who will be joining us! Let's hear it for her!" Vivian stated.
There was no volume lost as Lisia twirled onto the stage along with her Altaria. She waved and blew kisses and winks to the crowd which only drove them wilder if that was possible. Ash, Brock, and Serena, along with Riley and Yellow were sitting in the front and watched Lisia's charismatic nature up close. Well, Lisia sure knew how to make an entrance.
May watched from the backroom as Lisia had her time. Everyone seemed to be so in love with her. It almost made May a little jealous. She was only known because she was in her father's shadow, and here she was trying to make a name for herself in Pokemon Contests. She was just another person in the contest, only the favorite by her friends. May shook her head again of those thoughts. She could get there starting with this contest.
"So, how ya doin'?" Grace suddenly asked which snapped May out of her thoughts.
"Oh, hello, Grace," May greeted, "I'm just thinking about Lisia and how much it must've taken to get there. I wonder if people will be too focused on her to watch us."
She was surprised when Grace scrunched her face up oddly and began to laugh, "Oh, don't worry about her! Still, if you're that worried, just deliver a performance the audience will never forget!"
May blinked a few times. That was simple enough advice, but it worked. She and Torchic just had to deliver a great show, and May herself smiled.
"First up, we have May from Petalburg City! Step up on stage, please!" Vivian called.
May looked up. Wow. She was actually up first. She gave a quick thank you and goodbye to Grace before she hurried on stage. Once she entered, she saw Lisia as well as all the judges watching her expectantly. May knew since she was first, she would be setting the bar for the rest of the contest. That meant she had to do well. May then smiled when she noticed her friends in the front just like they said cheering the loudest. She could do this.
"Torchic, take the stage!" May cried as she threw the pokeball forward.
Torchic popped out of the pokeball and did a twirl in the air before it landed and struck a pose along with May which caused some applause with the audience. Okay. The first step was completed with her entrance without any hiccups so far. Now came the main event. May then took a deep breath before she gave off her command.
"Okay, Torchic, use Sand Attack!" May told it.
Torchic nodded before it hurried around the stage gathering as much dirt as it could. Once it acquired enough, it quickly arranged the dirt into a large dirt clod. The audience looked on with interest as they tried to imagine what May was doing while Serena smiled.
"Torchic, use Fire Spin!" May called out.
Torchic took a deep breath and used the Fire Spin directly onto the clod of dirt. People were expecting it to break apart, but surprisingly, it didn't. It instead got pushed up by the Fire Spin and began to swirl around and around. Torchic the leaped onto the wad of dirt and began to ride it up as the Fire Spin carried it upward in a spiral motion.
May then followed up by tossing discs into the Fire Spin, and Torchic astutely was catching them with its beak despite it swirling around in the Fire Spin. The audience smiled and gave an applause at how the performance was going. May smiled, as well, that Torchic was doing such a great job.
"And May delivers a compelling performance with skill and accuracy!" Vivian commented.
"Let's finish it! Leap out of the Fire Spin, Torchic!" May said.
Torchic leaped off the dirt clod and let it crumble as the Fire Spin died down. May then tossed one last disc to Torchic who caught it in midair. Torchic then quickly popped the disc onto its beak and began to swirl it around on its tip while it fell. Everyone was half-expecting Torchic to drop the disc upon hitting the stage, but Torchic kept it up and spinning when it landed. It then tossed the disc up in the air and caught it one last time.
May and Torchic then bowed as the crowd erupted into cheers. May felt really proud of herself for that one. She and Torchic practiced nonstop for that one all for the last two days, and she came up with it almost all on her own. It was executed perfectly.
"Yay, MayMay!" Lisia shouted.
"What a great way to start the contest! Let's hear what our judges have to say!" Vivian said as she walked over to the judges.
"It was a surprising use of moves that I wasn't expecting would work well together. I am very pleased to say how well it went," Mr. Contesta said.
"It was remarkable," Mr. Suziko added as usual.
"May and Torchic were completely in sync. It was a treat to see!" Nurse Joy finished.
"Well, our judges seemed to like it! Let's see the score!" Vivian said as she motioned to the large screen behind her.
The numbers on the screen swirled around until they landed on the final number the judges gave. It was a twenty six out of thirty. It was certainly as good as May had hoped for. She set a good starter that everyone else had to follow. So far. So good.
"Way to go, May!" Serena cheered as she and the others clapped at her score.
"She really did do well," Yellow commented.
"So, you guys don't mind being here despite trying to look for Team Aqua and Team Magma?" Ash whispered.
"We already told you, Ash. We can't sense them anywhere in the area, right now, but if we get an update, we'll be sure to act on it," Riley told him.
"We're happy to be here to support May," Yellow added.
May hurried off the stage so the next person could get on. She held out her hands to Torchic as she ran off, and the chick Pokemon leaped up for a high five. May just had to keep this up, and she would be good to go. If she made it past the appeals round, the battles were next.
May watched the last person for the appeals round walk off the stage. Oddly enough, it was Grace that went last. She had just delivered a stellar performance with her Medicham. She had never seen that type of athletic ability on a Pokemon. Grace had seemed to be a little bit scatterbrained the other day with her Medicham meditating out of control, but she just proved to be a formidable opponent. It showed she couldn't judge a book by its cover.
The judges apparently liked Grace's performance, too. They heaped praise on it before they awarded her a twenty nine which had been the highest score that day. May bit her lip as she awaited Vivian to make her announcement on who the final four would be. May had thought she did well, but there was so many good performances that May lost count on whether hers was in the top four or not.
"What a strong finish that was to our appeals round! Thank you for that, Grace!" Vivian said as Grace left the stage, "Now, I'd like everyone to turn their attention to the monitor in the center as we await the top four coordinators moving on!"
The images of the coordinators appeared on the screen and shuffled around as everyone looked on in anticipation. The four finalists then appeared, and May smiled in relief when she saw she was one of them. Another one was Grace, of course.
"We did it, Torchic! Way to go!" May said in excitement.
"Torchic! Tor!" Torchic chirped.
"Now, for our second round, we will move on to our coordinator battles! Each trainer will have five minutes to execute their attacks gracefully while making their opponent lose as many points as possible! The trainer with the most points left, or the trainer who manages to knock out the opposing Pokemon, will be declared the winner!" Vivian announced, "Our first two coordinators battling it out will be Johnathan and May!"
Knowing there was no time rest, May quickly returned Torchic and made her way to the stage. Honestly, May thought it was a little silly that she had to return Torchic only to let it right back out once the match started. Still, she had to let it make a good entrance so she wouldn't lose points at the start.
"How do you feel about May battling with Torchic?" Serena asked Ash once May came on stage, since he was the better battler of the group.
"I think she'll be fine. She's already come a long way since we were in Verdanturf Town. I guess it depends on the Pokemon the others use," Ash guessed before he added, "I've tried to work with her a little bit, but she still usually ends up losing to me."
Serena frowned as she turned back to the stage. She had lost every practice match against Serena, too, and only won once against Brock with Dustox. It's true that Ash had won a league and Serena was Johto Queen and were obviously a lot better than May. Still, it was somewhat worrying to Serena how May would match up against stronger opponents like Grace. Assuming May and Grace won this battle, May would have to put out all the stops to win. Torchic definitely had its work cut out for it.
May ran out onto the stage and leaped up before she tossed her Torchic out. Torchic appeared from the pokeball and did a flip before it landed on the stage. Johnathan also leaped into the air when he came out on stage and unleashed a Pokemon that resembled a cross between a slinky and a pig with an orb on its head. May believed it was called a Spoink. She took out her pokedex along with Serena and Ash to scan it.
"Spoink, the Bounce Pokémon. Spoink moves around by bouncing on its tail. Its psychic powers are made stronger by the pearl on its head," the machines informed.
"So, a psychic type," May muttered. She had remembered the psychic moves Spoink had pulled off in the appeals round, and it was pretty good. She would have to be careful.
"Our two contestants appear to be ready. They'll have five minutes to completely wow us with their moves. Now let's begin!" Vivian called out as the timer started.
"Okay, Spoink! Let's show them your Power Gem!" Johnathan said.
A beam with the colors of the rainbow came out of the pearl on Spoink's head. The audience gave a slight murmur of awe that it managed to do that. It had been used during Spoink's appeal, and it appeared to pack quite a punch.
"Dodge it, Torchic, and use Ember!" May countered.
Torchic leaped out of the way of the incoming beam and shot out a barrage of embers at Spoink. However, Spoink merely bounced out of the way and seemed to taunt Torchic. Torchic got an aggravated look on its face as it continued to fire the Ember at Spoink. All Spoink continued to do was easily bounce out of the way before it would bounce away again and even did some tricks in mid-bounce.
"The embers from Torchic prove ineffective as Spoink makes dodging it look as easy as one, two, three!" Vivian commented as May lost several points.
"That's okay, Torchic! Try Fire Spin! It can't dodge that!" May told it.
Torchic took a deep breath and unleashed a spiral of fire around Spoink. Just like May thought, Spoink was unable to dodge, and the flaming swirl soon wrapped around it. However, Johnathan smirked.
"Use Confusion, Spoink!" he shouted.
There was a flash from Spoink's pearl as its eyes glowed blue. The Fire Spin soon unwrapped itself from around Spoink and formed itself into a stream of fire which began to head back at Torchic. Torchic leaped in fright and hastily ran away from the stream of fire.
"Tor! Tor! Tor!" Torchic cried as it ran around.
May grit her teeth and looked at the screen and saw she had lost more points on that one. She was trying to think of a counter that wouldn't cause her to lose any more, but the stream of fire soon caught up with Torchic and engulfed it. Torchic gave a cry as it was knocked forward and landed face first on the stage.
"Now, use Power Gem, Spoink!" Johnathan said again.
"Hurry, Torchic! Dodge it!" May cried.
The rainbow-colored beam once again shot out of the orb Spoink was using and blasted Torchic into the air. Torchic gave a cry of pain and landed face first on the ground again which caused May to lose only more points. May gasped as she saw she only had about a third of her points left while Johnathan only had a sliver of his taken. It had only been two minutes and she had lost so much in so little time. May knew she had to think of something fast or this match would be over quickly. She couldn't afford that.
"You have to get up, Torchic! Use Ember!" she said desperately.
Serena and the rest of the group grimaced as they watched Torchic slowly get to its feet and fire off the attack at Spoink who continued to lazily dodge and knew that wasn't good. They knew May was starting to lose her cool again. She had been confident before the contest, but now that things weren't going her way she was starting to worry and use whatever she could to try to damage an opponent. That might be okay sometimes in a normal battle but not a contest battle. Sure enough, they looked up and May only lost more points. It was only made worse as some of the audience started to laugh at the game that seemed to be going on.
"Come on, May! Think! Don't panic!" Serena thought in her head.
"And May seems to be trying to do whatever it takes, but that doesn't make Torchic look too good," Vivian said with a frown as the judges frowned, too.
"Oh, no!" May thought frantically as Torchic continued to futilely try and attack the dodging Spoink, "Please! There has to be something I can do!"
Johnathan seemed to grow tired of the game of watching Spoink dodge, too. He held his arm forward and nodded his head.
"Spoink, let's wrap it up! Finish with a Psychic attack!" he said.
May's eyes widened in panic when she saw Spoink's orb flash, and suddenly they were instead wide with understanding. That orb seemed to be the source of Spoink's power. If she could somehow get that orb away from Spoink, she should be able to gain an advantage. That had to be it. As the blast of psychic energy came from the orb, May immediately called out to Torchic.
"Dodge it, Torchic!" May shouted.
With a last burst of energy, Torchic leaped high into the air away from the psychic waves. Johnathan gave an annoyed frown and pointed his arm upwards. With that, Spoink gave a mighty bounce and sprung into the air after Torchic. It seemed to be coming in for a Zen Headbutt. That's was exactly what May was hoping for.
"Use Peck!" May shouted.
Torchic pointed itself downward with its beak facing forward and began to spin through the air like a drill. Johnathan smirked as he didn't think there would be anyway Torchic would be able to stand a direct hit from Spoink. However, he was surprised when Torchic didn't appear to be aiming for Spoink's body. Torchic instead crashed right into Spoink's orb and continued to drill forward.
The Spoink gave a surprised cry as the orb shot off its forehead and flew backwards. Johnathan had to dodge as the orb flew straight towards him before it hit the wall behind him and rebounded back. Spoink turned around and prepared to catch the orb back on its forehead, but Torchic leaped over Spoink at the last second and intercepted the orb in its beak as the audience gasped.
"Nice!" Ash cheered as the audience applauded.
May took a deep breath as she began to relax a little. She then smiled and nodded her head to Torchic.
"You know what to do, Torchic!" May told it.
Torchic then tossed the orb into the air and began to bounce it on its beak. After a few bounces, it began to spin the orb around like a ball. The audience clapped as Spoink bounced around helplessly like a Magikarp out of water. May smiled as she saw Johnathan began to lose points. However, he still had a lot to lose, and she only had a minute and a half left.
"And May does a quick turnaround by taking Spoink's pearl, and Torchic even seems to be having fun with it!" Vivian commented.
"Hey! Give that back!" Johnathan shouted angrily, "Use Psychic, Spoink!"
Without the orb to power it up, Spoink unleashed a few pitiful waves of slow-moving psychic energy towards Torchic. The chick Pokemon easily dodged the waves this time and continued to spin the ball on its beak. Torchic found that the orb was actually easier to spin on its beak than those discs.
Despite how well it was doing at keeping the ball on its beak, May realized Torchic appeared to be quickly tiring out due to its earlier damage. She also only had a minute left, and Johnathan was still ahead of her in points. Spoink continued to bounce helplessly and could do little else. She had to wrap this up quickly.
"Well, Spoink wants its pearl back! Give it back, Torchic!" May said.
Torchic then chucked the orb at Spoink as hard as it could. Spoink's beady eyes widened as it the orb sailed straight for it and smacked it right in the middle of its forehead. Spoink hopped around dizzily for a few seconds and fell over on its back as the orb rolled a short distance away.
"Now, Fire Spin!" May yelled.
"Watch out, Spoink!" Johnathan warned.
Torchic unleashed the stream of fire from its mouth, and it quickly wrapped around Spoink before sending it high into the air. The flames soon stopped, and Spoink fell back towards the stage before it crashed onto the ground.
"Get up, Spoink!" Johnathan cried, but gasped when it didn't.
There was a buzzing sound as an X mark appeared on all the judge's booths which signaled a Pokemon was knocked out. May quickly looked up on the screen and saw she had managed to get Jonathan's points just a little bit below hers.
"It looks like Spoink is unable to battle! That means May wins and will be moving on to the next round!" Vivian announced as the audience cheered.
"Yeah! Way to go, May!" Ash cheered from his seat along with Brock.
Serena clutched her chest and gave a sigh of relief. That was pretty close. Serena was glad May had managed to notice what she had about Spoink. She was able to use that to her advantage and pull off a win.
"See, May? Once you relax and focus on the match rather than how well it's going, you can do it," Serena said, even though she knew May couldn't hear it.
May gave a big smile as she ran over to Torchic and twirled it in the air before she hugged it. She had somehow managed to win despite it looking pretty bad at first. She looked towards the front of the audience and saw her friends, as well as Riley and Yellow, all rooting for her. May couldn't resist and waved back at them before she left the stage. After all, she couldn't be here too long. There was still another match after hers. This wasn't the end of the contest. May knew she still had one more to win, and it would probably be even tougher than this one.
"That was totally fab, MayMay!" Lisia cried and gave the girl a dramatic thumbs up as she passed.
"Thank you, Lisia," May replied.
"The Fallarbor chapter of the Pokemon Contest is drawing to a close. Our final matchup will be against May and Grace! Whoever wins will receive the Fallarbor Town ribbon!" Vivian said and gestured to the two opponents. Both girls already had their Pokemon out. There was Torchic for May and Medicham for Grace.
May bit her lip. To the surprise of nobody in the group, Grace had indeed won her semifinal, and pretty handily at that. May was able to get a good look at everything Grace's Medicham was capable of in that match. While this would normally be a good thing as May could know what to expect, with Medicham it was almost impossible to tell. It knew such a variety of attacks that May could only guess. Torchic, meanwhile, only knew limited attacks, and there was no doubt Grace saw May's entire roster of attacks so there would be no surprises with her. That already put May at a disadvantage as Medicham was a formidable enough opponent on its own.
"Come on, May. You can do this," Serena whispered from her seat.
"I've worked so hard to get this far. I will not lose again," May thought with determination despite knowing the tough battle ahead.
May could tell Grace looked equally determined to win. What made May knew she would be the winner was that May knew she wanted that ribbon more. She was done losing and feeling sorry for herself and thinking she wasn't good enough for contests. Her friends believed in her, and even Drew had surprisingly given her a push in the right direction. She wasn't going to let any of them down.
"It all comes down to this! Let the clock begin!" Vivian stated as the five minute timer started
"Okay, Torchic! Use Peck!" May yelled.
Torchic leaped forward and spun towards Medicham like a drill. Vivian and the judges smiled at Torchic technique, but Medicham simply closed its eyes and waited which made May frown. That Medicham looked much too calm.
"Use Meditate!" Grace said.
Medicham pressed its hands together and took a deep breath before it nimbly dodged Torchic's attack. Torchic went sailing by it.
"It dodged by meditating?" May questioned.
"Now, High Jump Kick!' Grace ordered.
Medicham leaped over after Torchic who was still spinning through the air and trying to stop. Medicham then brought its leg down for a powerful kick and slammed it onto Torchic's body. Torchic gave a cry of pain as the attack did stop its spinning but also sent it straight into the stage with a resounding crash.
"Torchic!" May said in worry.
"And Medicham nimbly dodges Torchic's attack and counters with one of its own!" Vivian commented as May lost a few points.
"Now, use Ice Punch!" Grace said.
"Oh yeah? Use Ember on Medicham's fist, Torchic!" May shouted.
As Medicham's hand began have pellets of ice swirl at it, Torchic carefully got up and shot the Embers directly onto Medicham's right hand. Medicham gave a hiss as the bits of fire canceled the Ice Punch, and Medicham dropped to the ground on one knee and clutched its hand in pain which caused Grace to lose a few points, too.
"Awesome, Torchic! Now, use Fire Spin!" May told it.
Torchic took a deep breath and flew the flaring spiral from its beak. The fire began to wrap around Medicham as it grimaced from the heat. Medicham understood what needed to be done and stopped massaging its stinging hand and stood up to meditate.
"Use Confusion!" Grace yelled.
May and Torchic gasped as they saw the spiral of flames stop spinning around Medicham as its eyes glowed blue. Unlike with Spoink who sent the attack back at Torchic, Medicham skillfully arranged the fire and created a massive wall of flame and thrust its hands out. There was no way for Torchic to dodge the attack unless it could fly or it left the stage. Torchic had no choice but to try and brace itself, but the fire proved stronger. Torchic was knocked into the ground by the rushing flames which gave Medicham a perfect opening.
"Now, use Ice Punch!" Grace yelled.
Knowing Torchic wouldn't recover enough in time to use Ember again, Medicham ran over to Torchic and brought its fist down. May expected Torchic to get pounded into the stage, but instead Medicham seemed to miss and used the attack beside Torchic. A pillar of ice shot up from the stage, and Medicham then used Ice Punch again on Torchic's other side. Torchic tried to use Ember to melt the ice, but Medicham was too quick. It then swirled its icy fist around Torchic, and a sparkling pillar of ice came up and entrapped Torchic into it.
"Torchic!" May cried as Torchic was completely trapped in the ice and couldn't move.
"Wow! Medicham was able to completely freeze Torchic despite it being a fire-type!" Vivian said as May lost more points.
"That attack was as sparkling as the ice!" Nurse Joy said.
"It was remarkable!" Mr. Suziko added.
Lisia watched from the sidelines in interest. While she wasn't judging, she was still analyzing everything May did and made her own judgements. Like with the group, Lisia knew this was May's third attempt with a contest as Drew told her about May's previous try. If May lost this one, Lisia secretly would wonder about her bestie's teaching ability. Surely, Serena would tell May how to get out of bad situations like this. May did in her previous battle, and she could do it again.
The group themselves knew this wasn't good. Unless Torchic was able to break out on its own, Medicham would have all the time in the world to do what it wanted. Medicham could even just sit there and do stylish moves without affecting Torchic and just let it sit there encased in ice until the clock ran out.
"Come on, Torchic!" Ash yelled.
Riley was about to shout encouragement to May, too, but his eyes suddenly widened as he felt a voice in his head. Riley closed his eyes and discovered that his Lucario was trying to contact him through its aura.
"Riley, Team Magma is active at Meteor Falls! I'm heading there, now!" Lucario spoke in his head.
"Got it. We're coming!" Riley said and quickly broke the connection before he turned to Yellow," We need to leave, now, Yellow!"
"What?" Yellow questioned before she understood, "Alright."
"You're leaving now?" Ash questioned as he and the others turned in surprise.
"We have to, Ash," Riley replied regretfully before he leaned in and dropped his voice down so it wouldn't be heard through the surrounding audience, "Team Magma's at Meteor Falls. We're heading there with Lucario, now. If we can catch them, we can end them there."
Ash slowly nodded his head. He and the rest were sure May would understand, well, as best as she could despite not knowing about Riley's aura. They knew Riley and Yellow wouldn't leave at a time like this unless it was an emergency.
"Okay, Uncle Riley. Please catch them," Ash responded.
"We will, Ash," Riley said and tipped his blue hat before he and Yellow made their way through the crowd.
"We'll be in contact with you!" Yellow shouted over the roaring audience.
As Riley and Yellow disappeared in sight, the group turned back to May's match which wasn't getting better. May only had two and a half minutes left and she had already lost half her points while Grace had only lost a little. Apparently, Grace wasn't content to just let the clock run out with what she called out next.
"Medicham, Meditate, and use High Jump Kick!" she told it.
"Come on, Torchic! Break free!" May shouted as Medicham leaped high into the air.
Medicham was soon over Torchic and did a short meditative stance before it prepared to use Hi Jump Kick. May sucked in air as Torchic showed no signs of getting out of that ice soon. Though the ice was slowly melting due to Torchic's heat, there certainly wouldn't be enough time for it to get out before it was attacked. She began to shout for Torchic to break free, but it fell on deaf ears.
Medicham's leg smashed into the ice encasing Torchic and shattered it. The good news was that Torchic was free, but the bad news was now Torchic was getting pummeled into the stage by Medicham's feet.
"Torchic, no!" May cried as she lost more points.
At this rate, the timer probably wouldn't even last. Her Torchic would be knocked out before that. Unlike with Spoink, Medicham didn't seem to have any weaknesses. It and Grace were just too strong. They hadn't won three ribbons already for nothing.
"And things certainly don't look good for May as Torchic takes blow after blow!" Vivian said.
May began to shake as she prayed for something to happen. Anything. Each cry of pain from Torchic taking a kick was like a blow to her heart. Even after all this preparing, she was still going to lose. Even her determination hadn't been enough to take her far enough to win. May choked back a sob as she tried her hardest not to cry. This was supposed to be her chance to finally prove she had what it took.
Serena frowned as she watched May's state. She couldn't believe it. May actually looked like she was giving up! As Serena looked at the timer, there was still two minutes left. Two long minutes where anything could happen. Even if things looked bad. The battle wasn't over yet.
"May, it's not over! You can't just give up!" Serena screamed at her.
Despite the roar of the audience, Serena's angry words somehow reached May. May cast a look at Serena, and she knew Serena was right. This battle wasn't over until it was truly over. May then briefly wondered if the reason she had been unable to win so far was because she had given up too easily. She almost lost her last battle, too, because she panicked before it was over. Though the situation was worse here, it still wasn't done yet.
"Did you hear Serena, Torchic?! We're going to continue to fight until the very end! I know you can hear me!" May shouted.
Despite getting kicked repeatedly and feeling quite beat up, Torchic heard May. If she wasn't going to give up, it wasn't, either. Torchic summoned its remaining strength and kicked its talon up to meet with Medicham's foot and blocked it. Torchic then brought up its other foot and blocked the other incoming kick. It then used its talons to deliver two successive kicks to Medicham's shins which made Medicham pause just long enough for Torchic to leap out of the hole, quite worn out and on the verge of collapsing, but still able to fight. The audience applauded that Torchic broke free despite its bad state. May herself smiled before she realized the attack Torchic had used.
"Was that Double Kick?" May asked herself as she wondered if Torchic could even learn that move. She got her answer as Torchic began to glow white.
Torchic gave a cry as it began to grow larger. Medicham had to leap back as the whole audience watched in interest. May stared in wonder as Torchic stopped glowing, and in its place was a Combusken.
"Coooombusken!" the newly evolved Combusken cried and struck a fighting stance. Though it still appeared quite beat up, evolving seemed to give it a new fighting spirit.
"Woah," May mumbled as Serena and Ash took out their national dexes in excitement and scanned it.
"Combusken, the young fowl Pokemon and the evolved form of Torchic. As a Fighting Pokémon, it has the ability to breath raging fire from its beak and to unleash high-powered kicks," the machines informed.
"Awesome. So Combusken is a part fighting-type now like Medicham," Ash said.
It was only when May heard Grace call out her next attack did she snap out of the trance she was in. That's right! She couldn't stand there gawking at her new Pokemon! She was in the middle of a contest battle! Time was running out so she really had to make the most of the remaining minute and a half!
"Combusken, use Double Kick!" May yelled, "Then use Ember!"
Combusken leaped up in the air to match Medicham, and the two Pokemon's feet met in midair. However, Combusken launched out a surprise Ember that hit Medicham right in the face before it could break the connection. Medicham dropped to the ground and fell on one knee while Combusken landed and was still panting.
"May's new Combusken gives a scorching response to Medicham, but will she have enough time to come back from so far away?" Vivian asked as Grace only lost a few points.
"This isn't even close to being over!" Grace declared, "Medicham, Meditate and then use Ice Punch!"
"Dodge it, Combusken!" May hollered.
Medicham's ice-covered fist then began to punch at Combusken who dodged the attack. Medicham then swung its other fist, but Combusken dodged that one, too. Medicham then opted to start slamming its fists into the ground which caused pillars of ice to shoot up and freeze Combusken again. Though Combusken was good at dodging the attack, it was tiring out quickly. May looked and saw Grace wasn't losing enough points for this. She would have to think of something quickly that could really help out. Her eyes then lit up, and she smiled.
"Use Double Kick and Ember on the ice pillars!" May yelled, and upon Combusken quickly turning to look at her, May nodded her head with a wink. Combusken smiled back went back to dodging Medicham.
"What is she up to?" Grace wondered as Medicham continued to attack and miss.
Combusken then leaped above Medicham this time and began attacking the giant ice pillars. Everyone watched May in confusion as they wondered what she was doing. Grace, however, was smart enough to know that whatever it was would work against her, and she had to stop it.
"Use High Jump Kick, Medicham!" she commanded.
Medicham then leaped up to Combusken who dodged the attack again as it continued to attack the ice pillars. May looked up worriedly at the clock as she only had about thirty seconds left, and Grace still had a lot more points left than her.
"Come on, Combusken," May thought.
Combusken then leaped to the top of the ice pillar and gave a well-placed Double Kick to the structure. A lot of the outside broke away to reveal a sculpture underneath that was shaped just like Combusken. It wasn't perfect to every detail due to Combusken's lack of experience in the area, but it was still enough to impress the audience and the judges.
"Wow! May had Combusken use Medicham's Ice Punch as a means to make an ice sculpture! What a way to use an opponent's attacks against it!" Vivian exclaimed
"Yeah! Go, May!" Ash cheered as he, Serena, Brock, Pikachu, and Togetic all began to shout in excitement.
May saw that Grace lost a lot of points for that, but she was still ahead of May, and there was only fifteen seconds left. Grace decided that enough was enough and ordered Medicham to use Confusion to suspend Combusken until time ran out. May, however, had other plans.
"Give that ice sculpture your hardest Double Kick!" May yelled.
Combusken leaped to the ice sculpture and delivered two smashing kicks which shattered the sculpture into several ice shards. The ice shards went shooting towards Medicham just as its eyes turned blue. As such, it couldn't use Confusion in time and was pelted by almost every ice shard which caused it to cry out in pain.
Medicham then looked out up and saw Combusken's foot right in its face. Medicham was kicked right in the cheek and knocked backwards onto its back as Combusken landed on its feet, but they soon buckled due to its exhaustion. The clock then ran out just before Medicham hopped to its feet. May sucked in her breath as she nervously looked towards the screen, and her eyes widened at what she saw. Grace did the same.
"Our timer has now run out, folks, and what a match it was! The winner has been decided, and winning by just a sliver of points is…May!" Vivian announced.
The audience erupted into applause with the group being the loudest. Lisia did twirls of joy that she had a good bestie and rival teacher, after all. May blinked in surprise as she tried to process what she just heard. She actually did it. She won the contest. It was only when Combusken slumped over to her and gave a tired cry did May snap out of her trance.
"Combusken…we did it," May muttered as she looked at her Pokemon, "We actually did it!"
"Busken…" Combusken agreed and started to fall over, but May caught it.
"Easy there," May said and helped it steady its balance, "You were so amazing Combusken. I love you!"
Vivian then walked over to May with a small container and opened it. May looked inside and saw it was a blue contest ribbon. May felt tears come to her eyes once again, but this time, it was from joy. She actually won her first contest. Now, May had the confidence she needed to believe she could really do this. It was her first step.
"Here is your ribbon, May!" Vivian told her before she turned back to the crowd, "Let's hear it for her, everyone!"
The audience cheered once again as May took the ribbon and stared at it. Unable to contain her excitement any longer, May quickly got out her ribbon case and put the contest ribbon inside. She couldn't wait until it was full with five.
"Congratulations, May," Grace said as she came over and held out her hand to Serena, "I hope you get to add four more and compete in the Grand Festival. I look forward to seeing you there."
"Thank you, Grace!" May replied and shook her hand before she and Combusken struck a pose, "Yeah! The Fallarbor Contest Ribbon is mine!"
"Gee. I wonder who she got that from," Serena whispered to Ash as he chuckled.
The group was now standing outside the contest hall. They had met May as she came around and were the first to congratulate her. However, May was surprised as a few people whom she didn't know pass by and congratulate her, as well. It was strange for May to receive recognition like that outside from being Norman's daughter.
"So, how does it feel, May?" Serena asked her.
"Amazing. With this first ribbon, I know I can keep up. It just shows I can never give up until the end. Even when things looked impossible, we still pulled through," May replied.
"Yeah, and that ice sculpture was pretty creative and helped you win," Brock praised.
"Just keep it up, and you'll have five ribbons before you know it!" Ash said before he looked apologetic, "Sorry Uncle Riley and Ms. Yellow didn't get to see you win."
"Well, I know they had to go after Team Aqua and Team Magma so I understand," May replied.
Ash and Serena looked at each other and nodded their heads. May had been out of the loop long enough about what Riley, Yellow, as well as themselves, had. May was a trusted companion and had the right to know. Her first ribbon win seemed as good a time as any. They turned to Brock, and he nodded as well to let them know he would provide support.
"Is…everything okay?" May asked as she noticed her friends' strange looks.
"Well, we have something important to tell you," Ash began, "You see…"
"Congratulations, MayMay!" Lisia screamed from nowhere and gave May a bone-crushing hug.
"Thank you, Lisia," May coughed.
"And a hug to her teacher, too! Yay, bestie!" Lisia cheered and gave Serena an equally painful hug.
"Man…" Brock mumbled to Ash. Even if he was dedicated to Suzy, a hug from Lisia was probably every guy's dream.
"So, what now?" Lisia asked May as she released Serena.
"Well, I really want to call my parents as well as Uncle Ruby and Aunt Sapphire and…" May began, but Lisia cut her off.
"Awesome! What are we waiting for?!" Lisia exclaimed.
"We?" May questioned.
"Of course! We have to tell them! I can't wait to let Ruby know his niece won a ribbon!" Lisia said.
"But…you didn't train me. Serena did," May muttered.
"Doesn't matter! I'm just so excited. Come on! Let's not keep them waiting!" Lisia squealed as she began push May to the nearest phone.
"W-wait, Lisia! I can walk on my own!" May stuttered as the two disappeared from sight.
Serena sighed and turned to Ash and Brock, "Who wants to bet that Lisia will steal the conversation?"
"Me," Ash and Brock answered and raised their hands, along with Pikachu and Togetic.
"I guess that just means we'll have to wait for another time to tell her," Serena said with a frown, "I hope an opportunity presents itself, too, before we get to Meteor Falls."
"Yeah. That's where Uncle Riley and Ms. Yellow went to capture Team Magma," Ash muttered and looked off in the direction of it.
"Do you…think we should go, now?" Serena asked, "I don't want to get in the way of Mr. Riley and Ms. Yellow."
"I know," Ash replied with a sigh, "But there's a good chance Bagon is there. If Team Magma is there and Team Aqua shows up, it could be in danger."
The group nodded their heads. Bagon leaving Ash was still fresh in his head, and despite the horrible terms the two were on, there had to be some room for reconciliation. Despite how stubborn and unwilling to compromise Bagon was, there had to be room for at least something.
"I'm a little worried," Brock spoke up and folded his arms, "I know Bagon could be there, too, but you also agreed to try and stay of Team Magma and Team Aqua's way."
"I know," Ash admitted, "We just…have to be careful."
Serena and Brock nodded their heads to show they relented, and Ash smiled back, happy to have their support. He knew Bagon was in Meteor Falls right now, and he was determined to go get it. Hopefully, Team Magma and Team Aqua would be taken care of by the time they got there. If they were, everything would work out just fine. If they weren't, Ash just hoped that he wouldn't regret the decision.
A/N: May finally won her first ribbon. Torchic evolved, and Meteor Falls is coming up shortly! Big events happening soon so stay tuned!
I'll get the next chapter out when I get it done. I want to say two weeks, but yeah...that hasn't panned out. I still hope you guys don't have to wait too long as I'm excited for the next few chapters. Until next time, have a good one!
Chapter 35: Singin', Swingin', Swablu