Hey everyone! I'm back again with a new Pokemon fanfic! But this one is gonna be a little different from before. This will be an entirely original story with nothing to do with the games whatsoever. Some of you might be disappointed and are no doubt waiting to see me adapt the Crown Tundra DLC from Sword and Shield. Don't worry, that's coming next. ;) Here, I binge-watched the Diamond and Pearl season of the Pokemon anime and decided "Y'know what? I'm writing a story about a Pokemon contest!" And thus, here we are with this new story. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1: Something New for the Region

This story takes place a month after The Isle of Armour.

"It's sure been a while, hasn't it Nessa?"

"Too long if you ask me. Our current careers don't leave much time for us to just hang out and have pie together like before."

"At least we have this time now, old friend. How's things been at the Gym lately?"

"Quiet. Me and my Pokémon are just undergoing training in preparation for the next Gym Challenge, whenever that maybe. Believe me, I'll make the next batch of trainers really work for my Water Badge!"

"Don't you always?"

The two women giggled.

Professor Sonia Cox and Gym Leader Nessa Rurina were enjoying one of their rare times they got to hang out together as their respective jobs didn't often leave them with a lot of spare time. Unknown to many, the two were good friends and had been since Sonia's days as a Pokémon trainer where she'd once been a rival of Leon's before he became Champion. Even though Nessa's double life as a Gym Leader and model took up much of her time, the two had remained in touch and never forgot to call one another from time to time. They were hanging out in the Motostoke City Battle Café, one of their favourite places to go to. The Battle Café was a popular brand of cafés all over Galar that sold cakes and hot drinks and even offered Pokémon battles with the Café Masters. Those that beat them would receive prizes ranging from Rare Candies to Casteliacones to different kinds of sweets for those with a Milcery on them to use to evolve them into Alcremie. This café was run by a Café Master named Dwight and he had his own Alcremie working alongside him to produce cream for the cakes and coffees that his café sold. The café itself had a quaint, quiet atmosphere to it with small square tables, red chairs, purple rugs on the floor and a display stand showing off the delicious goods on offer. A black menu hung on the wall with all the different drinks and small lunches that the café sold.

Sonia and Nessa had ordered a pair of teas each and a strawberry cream pie to share between them. It was made, of course, by Dwight's Alcremie providing some of its trademark cream to give it its sweet, refreshing flavour. The pie was easily big enough to go around both women and they'd already eaten through most of it as they'd been talking. Sonia was dressed in her usual attire minus her gran's old lab coat to emphasize that she wasn't working right now. Nessa was dressed in one of her more casual outfits, a baggy off-the-shoulder top and skinny white jeans, that she wore outside of Gym battles and work. Nessa pronged a large piece with her fork and shovelled it into her mouth. This was a luxury for her as her modelling career didn't often allow her to eat sweet goods like this very often for the sake of keeping in shape. If anything, it just meant Nessa enjoyed it all the more when she was allowed to treat herself to a delicious dessert. She imagined Gym Leader Bea from Stow-on-Side felt the same way whenever she was allowed to just gorge on sweet goods for once. Sonia couldn't help smiling at her friend.

"You look like you've been ready for that." she commented.

"As much as I like to keep to my diet, some days I just wanna devour as much pie as I can." Nessa remarked, "I don't half miss it when I have to keep myself trim for…you-know-what." she muttered.

"I imagine it can be hard sometimes." Sonia said sympathetically, "And for me, being a Pokémon Professor isn't all sunshine and rainbows either. I love the work, don't get me wrong, but it does get tiring at times and I often feel ready for a break."

"Like right now." Nessa agreed, "How's things at the lab? Is your new assistant a huge improvement over the last one?"

It still made Sonia grimace just thinking about the treacherous Margot Sprout that had been planted in her lab as a spy for the villainous Sordward and Shielbert as part of their wicked scheme to demonize the legendary Zacian and Zamazenta in order to keep up a centuries long ruse that their ancestors were royalty and the real heroes of Galar that had stopped the Darkest Day back in ancient times. It hadn't been hard for Sonia to find a replacement as she'd received an unlikely volunteer just the other week.

"If anyone could be trusted to replace Margot, it was going to be Hop." Sonia said brightly, picking up her cup of tea and holding it close to her face, "I'm still amazed he offered as much! Leon's little brother never struck me as the scientific type but he tells me that he's talked to Ruby about it before. He says my promotion to professor even inspired the idea! I can't tell you how flattered I was to hear that. Still, I was keen to have him in. He's such a delightful chap. How could I say no?"

"I can't say I would've seen that boy taking up a role like that." Nessa concurred, picking up her own cup of tea, "But you never know what you'll get in life. I know I didn't expect to become BOTH a Gym Leader and a model for example! So for all we know, Hop could be a great assistant for you."

"I'm sure he will." the ginger woman said happily, "I know Ruby's really happy he's found his new calling after she defeated him in the semi-finals last year. Being Champion was his big dream but now he's settled for this."

"I hope he succeeds at it." the Hulbury Gym Leader said supportively, "Are he and Ruby still dating? I haven't been able to talk with Ruby for a while." she asked curiously.

"Oh those two are so close I doubt you could pry them apart with a crowbar!" Sonia chuckled, "They're still dating and I imagine that we'll be seeing wedding bells in their future…" she added thoughtfully.

"Give them time, they're still kids yet." Nessa teased.

Sonia giggled and both women took a moment to sip their teas. After eating some more pie, Sonia decided to ask something else.

"That's enough about me. How about you?" the Pokémon professor inquired, "Has there been anything going on lately that you'd like to talk about?"

Nessa's face lit up as if Sonia had just said the magic words. She'd been waiting for the right moment to steer the conversation into the direction she'd wanted this whole time. She clasped her hands around her cup and stared down at the tea as if everything she was about to say was hiding in the warm beverage.

"Actually…there is." the model said, "It's actually one of the main reasons I invited you here for this catch-up. You see…I have big ideas for something new we can try next year."

Sonia leaned closer in her chair, looking very much like an inquisitive child keen to hear more of an engaging story her parents were telling her.

"Do tell." she said eagerly.

Nessa smiled broadly. It was clear to her friend that she'd been wanting to share this for a while now.

"You remember that trip I had for a photoshoot in the Sinnoh region a couple of weeks ago?" the beautiful woman began, "One thing that stuck in my head ever since that visit was something I had the chance to watch while I was there. Have you heard of Pokémon Contests?"

Sonia's eyes widened with excitement.

"I think I see where this is going…" she said, keeping her voice low so no one would overhear her. She imagined Nessa wanted to keep it a surprise for now.

Of course, Sonia knew about Pokémon Contests. Even if the Galar region didn't actually host their own, Galarians could watch them on TV. The Hoenn and Sinnoh regions were the most famous regions for hosting Pokémon Contests and Sonia had grown up watching a few shows whenever she wasn't training Pokémon. Pokémon Contests were more akin to talent shows than typical Pokémon battles, though some battling was involved. People who participated in contests were called "coordinators" and their focus was having their Pokémon show off the most dazzling and captivating acts they could perform and those that won the contests would achieve the title of Master Coordinator.

"I'm sure you do." Nessa purred, "I thought it was a wonderful example of how Pokémon can be used for more than battling. And this may just be the model in me speaking, but the fact Pokémon Contests are just as much about a Pokémon bringing out their inner beauty and looking fabulous really spoke to me and had me wondering "why don't WE do something like that too?" And so I've decided…that over in my own Gym, I will host Galar's first ever Pokémon Contest! Don't you think that'd be a great idea?"

"Great?! Try "amazing"!" Sonia piped, "We could inspire our own generation of Contest Coordinators and it'd give those who don't particularly use their Pokémon for battling something new to try instead. I think this idea's going to be a big success, Nessa! How are you planning on organising the whole thing?"

"I'm still making all the right calls and necessary inquiries for now, but I know that we can make it happen." Nessa said confidently, "We'll host it next year. I'll talk to my marketing team to see about advertising the show to get people interested."

"Of course. But we're not a region that hosts Pokémon Contests so do you think we'll be able to entice any participants?" Sonia asked doubtfully, "And then there's the matter of people training their Pokémon for such an event. Do you think anyone will ever be ready for it?"

"Way ahead of you again, Sonia." Nessa replied with a smile, "I've contacted several big name coordinators in Sinnoh and they've agreed to create some tutorial videos on how to be a coordinator that they'll stream online and on TV for all to see. So if anyone's interested, we can help them get started on that transition from trainer to coordinator."

"Wow, it must be great to have contacts, mustn't it?" Sonia said with a chuckle.

"It's one of the benefits of being a successful model." Nessa agreed, "I sure hope my idea will be a success though. I'm in for a proper bollocking if it all blows up in my face…" she sighed, sounding a little nervous.

Sonia understood. She could already imagine that her friend's marketing team wouldn't be happy if no one was interested in the Pokémon Contests idea and all the money spent advertising and marketing the contest all went down the drain. She placed a hand over Nessa's to ease her nerves.

"I think it'll be very successful, my friend." the ginger woman reassured, "We already know contests are very popular, even outside of the regions they originated from. I think you may be starting something new with this idea."

Nessa was still anxious that this whole idea could be a disaster, but she appreciated her friend's support. If Sonia believed it would work, then it would work!

"You're right." the model replied, "I think my gym's going to have big success as a Contest Hall as well. I'm really excited to get this show on the road."

Sonia beamed. She too was looking forward to seeing how Galar's first ever Pokémon Contest would go. It was going to be interesting to see how many people would take an interest…if anyone did at all…

"Kerchak, use Drum Beating! Katana, use Dig!"

"Bugs, intercept with Pyro Ball! Raven, listen out for Katana and use Shadow Ball once she emerges!"

It was a typical day at the Silverlock household for Ruby and Emerald Silverlock. Whenever the two had nothing to do, they would spend many a long hour practicing and keeping their Pokémon in shape. Both sisters had a wide roster of Pokémon to choose from, which often made training all of them difficult as they had a lot to keep up with, but they would always make sure everyone got their time to shine.

Ruby was the eldest of three sisters and was currently Galar's reigning Champion after defeating Leon in the Champion Cup last year. Emerald was her younger sister, one of two twins alongside Sapphire, and she had finished this year's Champion Cup as a runner up when her battle with Ruby had ended in an explosive tie, a first in Galarian history. Ever since then, Emerald had expressed no desire to try again for the Championship title, feeling that Ruby deserved it more than she did and that going for it had been worth a single try, but not anymore after that. Nowadays, she and Ruby would only battle each other to keep their Pokémon active and to prevent them from feeling bored. It also helped keep both girls from boredom as well. There was no Gym Challenge and Champion Cup going on for now and Galar was safe from danger thanks to Ruby and her friends foiling Team Royal's schemes and Sapphire saving the Isle of Armour from a vengeful Zeraora so Ruby didn't have much to do in the meantime. Pokémon battles were her idea of taking time off, as unusual as some may think it is. Sapphire was still on the Isle of Armour undergoing training from Mustard and Honey to become the new Dojo Master after she'd saved the island and proven her worth by beating Mustard in battle so it was just Ruby and Emerald at home for now with their Pokémon and their mother, Annie Silverlock. Their father, Michael, was at work at his flower shop in Turffield.

The two sisters were having a double battle with Ruby using her starter Pokémon, a Cinderace she'd nicknamed Bugs, and a sardonic Gengar she'd named Raven. Emerald was using her starter, a Rillaboom she'd nicknamed Kerchak, and an honourable warrior-like Ninjask she'd named Katana. Kerchak pounded on his wooden drum kit and conjured up huge vines that erupted from underground and snaked their way towards Bugs and Raven. Bugs kicked a pebble from one foot to the other, looking like a football player playing keepy-uppy and the pebble soon became engulfed in a ball of fire that grew and grew until he eventually kicked it and burnt away the vines that came towards him and his partner. The Drum Beating vines were reduced to cinders by the Pyro Ball, stopping Kerchak's attack dead in its tracks. But Bugs had other problems as Katana had dug underground and was no doubt lurking somewhere, waiting to strike. Bugs had a type-disadvantage to Ground attacks so it would do a lot of damage if Katana hit. He listened out for the sound of Katana digging, but it wouldn't help him dodge as Katana moved too quickly for him to react. Ninjask were fast Pokémon and their Speed Boost ability made them go even faster so Katana was already erupting from underground below Bugs's feet in the time he'd heard her approaching. Raven had also heard Katana moving and had launched her Shadow Ball attack just as Katana hit Bugs and sent him flying.

Although Bugs had been hit, Katana had too and the Bug/Flying type Pokémon was knocked down to the ground by Raven's Shadow Ball. Bug landed on his back and winced as he picked himself up while Katana slowly ascended back off the ground with a buzz of her wings. Ruby could see that Katana was stunned for the moment and seized her moment.

"Use Thunderbolt before she recovers!" the silver-haired teen cried.

Raven held out her stubby hands and fired a jolt of electricity at Katana. But Emerald was ready for the move.

"Kerchak, use your drum to shield Katana!" the brunette teen ordered.

Kerchak jumped in front of Katana and held up his drum just as Raven's Thunderbolt hit. Electric attacks weren't very effective against Grass-types like Kerchak so he was barely affected by the blow. The gorilla Pokémon grunted but otherwise showed no other signs of pain. Katana buzzed beside him, her face as stoic as ever.

Good shielding. I am grateful for your aid." she said, though she didn't sound particularly happy about it.

"Don't mention it." Kerchak replied.

"Good work you two! Now Kerchak, use Darkest Lariat on Raven!" Emerald commanded.

Kerchak spun around like a top, his body coated in dark energy as he picked up speed. Raven showed no emotion as her opponent came spinning towards her. It looked as if she didn't care that she was about to get hit.

"Oh boy, this is gonna hurt…" she muttered grimly.

But Kerchak's super-effective hit never landed as Bugs had recovered just in time for Ruby to order him to use Pyro Ball again. The blazing fireball slammed straight into Kerchak and knocked him down onto his back. He skidded to a halt at Emerald's feet, the back of his head and shoulders buried by a mound of dirt. He grunted heavily, very clearly struggling to get back up. Katana was worried. If Kerchak couldn't get back up, she was done for! She'd never handle both Bugs and Raven by herself! Even with all the speed she had, she'd only be able to evade them for so long before they finally defeated her. Emerald watched with baited breath. Could Kerchak carry on fighting?

In the end…he couldn't. He stayed down and passed out. Emerald could see this was a losing battle. She had a Bug/Flying type Pokémon left and Ruby's Pokémon both had super-effective moves that would take her down easily. While Katana's digging might give her an edge against Bugs, she had no real advantage against Raven. In the end, Emerald made the most sensible decision she could.

"I forfeit." she said, sounding incredibly defeated.

"You sure? It's not over yet, Em." Ruby said encouragingly, "It's possible to still win a double battle with one Pokémon."

"I think you've got it, Ruby. Besides, I don't want to push my pals too much!" Emerald said, sounding more cheerful, "They wanted a good workout and that's what they got! They battled really well and I'm proud of them for it."

Ruby smiled approvingly.

"Good answer." she agreed, "It was a good battle anyway and our Pokémon are still in excellent shape. A workout well spent, I say."

"I would've preferred an actual win at least." Raven muttered.

"N'yah, a win's a win." Bugs said casually, "As long as we didn't get it through underhanded tactics, I'll take what we get. Besides, it's really fun battling Kerchak. Dat Rillaboom really shows dat type-advantage ain't everything!"

Kerchak sat up and smiled weakly. Emerald patted him on his head.

"He does. He's the best and that's why I love him so!" Emerald said sweetly.

"Aww, you say the nicest things." Kerchak said appreciatively.

He wrapped a muscular arm around Emerald and hugged her in gratitude. He looked like a father gorilla showing love to his child, even if said child was human instead of Pokémon. Everyone awed at the tender moment, even Raven and Katana. As stoic as they were, even they had to admit that was lovely.

"You two, you're gonna make me tear up, I swear." Ruby joked.

"Aww, are we too affectionate for you?" Emerald shot back, "I'd have thought you could handle this given your own affection for your Pokémon and your boyfriend."

"Alright you cheeky little Impidimp, I was only kidding." Ruby said with a slight chuckle, "Speaking of boyfriends…how's Tony been since you last called?"

Emerald blushed. Of course Ruby was only joking about the "boyfriends" comment as she and Tony weren't actually a couple yet. Tony was a childhood friend of Emerald's whom she'd met back in school before she'd become a Pokémon trainer. He'd been an orphan and Emerald had been quick to make friends with him, taking sympathy on him for having no parents. He'd since been adopted and as Emerald had learnt since the day after her Champion battle with Ruby, he'd become a Pokémon trainer himself.

"He's fine." Emerald answered, "He's still progressing slowly with his Pokémon training for reasons he won't tell me about. The most he's managed is evolving his Milcery into an adorable Alcremie, the mint-flavoured one to be exact. I still love how he called it "Flossy", that's such a cute name for it! But I'm kinda worried about him too." she said glumly, "I feel like…he's hiding something from me. Whenever I ask how he is lately, he seems uncomfortable to talk about it."

"That does sound concerning." Ruby concurred, "Maybe he's just the kind of guy that doesn't like to talk about himself much. Not everyone's an open book like you, Em. And I'm sure he wouldn't keep secrets from you. He doesn't strike me as that kind of guy."

"I hope not." the girl in green said solemnly, "I'd hate it if he had some dark secret that will change the way I see him forever."

"Maybe sometime soon, he'll be more open and let you know everything." the leather-clad sibling reassured, "And I bet he'd love it if you invited him over so me and you could give him a hand with his training. I haven't seen Tony in a while either and it'd be nice to see him again."

"Oooh, that'd be brilliant!" Emerald piped eagerly, "We can do it tomorrow! I'll call him up tonight and see if he's free and then we can spend the day tomorrow catching up, showing off our Pokémon and training together!"

"I knew you'd be up for it." Ruby teased, "It'd be nice if Sapph could see him too. We'll have to see if there's a day where he can see all of us again."

Emerald nodded agreeably. She was about to say something else until suddenly, a jovial voice called out to Ruby.

"Afternoon, Champion! I have a letter for you."

It was their local postman, a jolly bearded man named Tad who always delivered the post to the Silverlock family. Ruby and Emerald remembered days from childhood where they and Sapphire would excitedly wait for him to come with whatever they'd ordered and practically pounce on him like excited puppies when he arrived.

"Thanks Tad!" Ruby said as she ran over to him and took the letter from him.

Tad tipped his hat and turned around to set off on the rest of his route. Ruby looked at the letter, her eyes widening with interest as she saw who it was from.

"Oooh, it's from Nessa! I wasn't expecting anything from a Gym Leader." the Champion said in surprise, "I wonder what she wants?"

"No doubt she wants another rematch with you." Emerald suggested.

"Oh she won't want that. She's off duty for today." Ruby noted.

She opened the letter and looked at it. She recognized Nessa's beautifully neat and stylized handwriting that had a lot of curls at the tips of nearly every letter she wrote. Ruby read it with interest. It said:

Hi Champion Ruby!

It may surprise you that I'm sending you this letter and it isn't a request for a battle for once. No, what I'm writing to you about now may be of interest to you and your sisters for wholly different reasons.

Taking inspiration from my trip to the Sinnoh region, I have decided to host Galar's first ever Pokémon Contest in my very own Gym. We'll be hosting it a year from now, so don't worry, I'm not thrusting all this on you with no time to prepare.

I would be most delighted if you could not only help generate interest in the contest and raise awareness for it, but also take part in it as well. I know you're a Pokémon Trainer and not a Coordinator so I understand if you wish to decline the offer to be a participant. But me and my team are working with Sinnoh's top coordinators to create tutorial videos that we will stream online and sell DVDs of to help you out. Mind you, don't you know someone who's also a Coordinator as well? You know, that girl from Sinnoh who you defeated earlier this year? Maybe she can help you.

Just see it as a new learning experience and something new for you and your sisters to try with your skills in raising Pokémon! I'm sure you'll be fine Coordinators like you are fine trainers!

Hope to hear back from you ASAP. Stay well and I hope you'll enjoy the show when it happens!

Nessa Rurina. X

Ruby hadn't expected anything like this. It made her head spin to think that something big like this was going to happen. She looked to Emerald.

"Well this is big stuff. Nessa's planning to host her own Pokémon Contest right here in Galar!" she exclaimed, "That'll be bound to get plenty of people talking!"

"A Pokémon Contest? Wow, that's super!" Emerald cried, bouncing up and down excitedly, "I've always loved watching those on TV! It'll be great for our region to have its own Pokémon Contest like what they do abroad!"

"No kidding!" Ruby cried enthusiastically, "The whole thing could go to bust though as we aren't exactly a region of Contest Coordinators, but who's to say Nessa won't at least inspire many trainers to try something new with their Pokémon?"

"I know I'm up for it!" Emerald said eagerly, "I've not been sure what to do with myself as a trainer after our battle ended the way it did, so maybe being a coordinator could be that new something to strive towards."

"True that. Sapph went to the Isle of Armour to find a new purpose in life and look what happened to her!" Ruby acknowledged, "I bet you'd nail it as a coordinator."

"Aww, really?" Emerald said, flattered by the comment, "That's so nice of you, Ruby. But I'm going to need to learn about being a coordinator. I know for a fact it's not quite the same as being a trainer, and we've only got a year to learn a completely new skill too."

"Both me, you and Sapph became strong trainers in a only a few weeks. I think we'll become skilled coordinators in a year." Ruby said optimistically, "But you're right on needing to learn. We're trainers so we don't know what we're doing! Luckily for us, I know just the person to ask…"

Emerald winked. She knew exactly who Ruby was talking about. She smiled excitedly as Ruby took out her Rotom Phone and dialled a number. In a couple of seconds, the call went through and a familiar voice answered.

"Helloooo?"

"Hi Dawn! Long time, no see!" Ruby cried jovially, "How's life for you back in Sinnoh?"

"Great thanks! I still have people congratulating me on being a runner-up in the Galar League even though it's been months since our battle!" Dawn cried breathlessly, "I'm currently working on my contest skills for whenever the next contest is due to take place in Hearthome City!"

"Ah, funny you should mention that." Ruby replied, "For that's exactly what I've decided to call you about…"

And so here we are with Nessa hosting Galar's first ever Pokemon contest. Will it be a success? Will Ruby and Emerald be any good? With some help from Dawn, they should get the hang of it. Tune in next time was we undergo "Training for the Show"...

Trivia: No doubt anyone reading this story has immediately noticed that the story's title is an obvious pun on "Britain's Got Talent"/"America's Got Talent". I mean this is a story about Pokemon contests and the Galar region is based on the UK so what else was I gonna call the story? XD

The scene with Sonia and Nessa at the cafe eating pie together is a reference to Nessa's spotlight episode in the Pokemon Twilight Wings web-series. I highly recommend watching it, it's really friggin' beautiful. :D Nessa's episode is especially gorgeous to watch. :)

Oh and speaking of Nessa, her surname being "Rurina" is yet again a reference to her Japanese name.

And also, the postman who delivers the post to the Silverlock house is named after a postman you can actually battle in the Sword and Shield games. I just thought that'd be cute. XD