Author's Note: And here we have Serena's first contest! Will her contest debut be better than her showcase debut? Lets find out!
Also, the to the guest reviewer who ends their reviews with "as a fellow amourshipper i have this to say to you and to all my fellow amourshippers around the globe who support amourshipping, amourshipper and proud, remember that dudes and dudettes and keep up the good serenaandashshipping work dude" could you please... stop doing that? Like, the first part of your reviews are fine, so after that, whenever you're about to copy paste that meaningless word salad dump, instead... don't do that, and click the send button instead. You will? Thank you!
Chapter 4: A Spectacular Contest Debut!
Kevlar Town
Just like Serena had said, it only took the group another day of traveling to get to Kevlar Town. Just like with Moki Town, they were greeted by a sign that announced that they were entering the town.
Welcome to Kevlar Town
The Tiniest Town in Tandor!
"Tiniest town? Well... I don't think that's something to be proud of..." Bonnie mentioned, as she took a look at the town. Even from a distance, it really looked even smaller than Moki Town.
"I guess they also wanted to use an aliteration for their entrance sign," Clemont pointed out.
"Doesn't matter. Come on, let's head to the Pokemon Center first," Ash suggested, as he walked towards the town. Given its small size, he hoped they wouldn't take too long to find and reach the Pokemon Center.
"I can see the Contest Hall from here!" Bonnie cheered, before she turned towards Serena. "So, when does the contest begin?"
"In two days. We've been traveling at a pretty good pace, so we arrived with some days to spare," Serena said.
"You can use those days to do a little more training," Ash suggested. "That way you'll be extra prepared for your first contest."
"Though, I feel I should also do some training on my performing routines. All the training I've been doing lately have been combat focused, and while that's nice and good, it would be useless if I can't get past the Appeal Round," Serena said.
"Come on Serena, you reached the finals of the Master Class Shwocase! I'm sure you'll do great!" Ash said.
"I agree with Serena on that. Contests have two parts, and you can't neglect one part for the sake of another," Clemont added.
And just like Ash thought, they didn't take any time to find the Pokemon Center. They were surprised to find it a little more crowded than the one from Moki Town, who was rather empty, but it made sense, there was going to be a Contest soon. There was also one known face among the people inside the Center, that of a bown with brown hair, sitting on one of the Center's tables.
"Hey look! It's Vitor!" Ash said, and waved at the boy, who noticed them and waved them back. The group then walked towards the table. "Hey there Vitor!"
"Hello there, guys. Fancy see you again so soon," Vitor said. "Not that I'm complaining."
"So, I know it's only been a couple days, but how is your Pokemon journey going?" Ash asked. "Everything fine? Did something interesting happen to you?"
"Well, other than catching my first Pokemon, I didn't do anything special. You yourself said it, I just started my journey," Vitor said, before he chuckled. "I mean, it's not that a Legendary Pokemon is going to cross my path on the very same day I leave my hometown!"
"Yeah, the probabilities of such thing happening are so low as to be nonexistent," Clemont said, with Serena and Bonnie nodding.
"Actually-" Ash was going to say, but somebody else cut him.
"So, is Natalie with you?" Serena asked.
Vitor shook his head. "Not really. We aren't traveling together, you know. Not just because we want to see how far we can go on our own, but also because we have different goals. Since Kevlar Town doesn't have a Pokemon Gym, Natalie wouldn't have any reason to stay here other than rest and restock on supplies."
"You aren't doing the Gym Challenge?" Ash asked. The Pallet Town native had enjoyed the double battle against Vitor and his sister, the two of them showing talent for them, and Ash hoped that he could fight against the twins again in the future. But alas, it seemed that only Natalie and Theo would be his rivals. "What are you doing then, contests?"
"Exactly. Don't get me wrong, Pokemon battles are good and all that, but to me, Contests have a kind of depth that normal battles can't hope to match. They don't only measure the strength or skill of a Pokemon, but pushes their limits in new and different ways," Vitor excitedly explained. "This is going to be my first contest, and I can't wait for it to start!"
"Well, guess that makes us rivals then," Serena said while smiling so she didn't sound confrontational. "Since I'm also taking part on this contest."
"I'll be looking forward facing you then. It would be great if the two of us made it to the finals," Vitor commented.
"Indeed," Serena nodded.
"So, I guess you two are my rivals if you're going to take part in this contest," a new voice said.
Everybody turned around to see the source of said voice. It was a girl, the same age as Ash and Serena, with long raven black hair and black slanted eyes. But the most striking thing about her was her clothes: she was dressed as a ninja, wearing a sleveless black haori with leather shoulderpads, black matching pants, and a red obi tied around her waist. She was also carrying what appeared to be a short katana strapped to her back.
Her expression and body language helped her radiate an intimidating aura that tell Ash's group and Vitor that she wasn't planning to be friends with them.
"Are you... are you going to take part in the contest too?" Serena asked the newcomer.
"I'm not going to 'take part'," the ninja girl replied, as she narrowed her eyes at Serena. "I'm going to win it."
"Well, she isn't lacking in confidence," Clemont commented.
"And why shouldn't I? Given the level of my opponents, it's not that I should be worried," the girl replied.
"You really have a high opinion of yourself, don't you?" Ash asked, the girl's attitude beginning to tick him off. "Who do you think you are?"
"Oh my, where are my manners, I didn't even introduce myself," the ninja girl said. "My name is Sayaka, member of the Nami Clan of Tsukinami Village."
"Tsukinami Village?" Vitor repeated. "You're very far away from home then. That's on East Tandor!"
"What, did you expect that I'd begin the Contest Season just after getting my first Pokemon?" Sayaka asked, and upon seeing Vitor's face reddening a little and averting her gaze, she smirked. "No, I've been traveling the region and training my Pokemon for the past few weeks to make sure we're ready. I shall win every contest I take part on, right until I claim the title of Top Coordinator."
"Yeah well, I'm afraid that's not going to happen beacause you're not going to win this contest!" Bonnie shouted, before she pointed at Serena. "Do you think she's some rookie? No! This girl here is no other than Serena Gabena! She was the runner up of the Master Class Showcase in Kalos!"
Though rather than being impressed, Sayaka merely laughed.
"And I'm supposed to be intimidated by that? Showcases are nothing but a pale imitation of contests, and 'runner-up' is a just fancy way of saying 'loser'," Sayaka said, before she turned around and left. "See you in the contest. Try at least to be a worthy challenge."
The group spend a few moments in silence, before an angry Bonnie finally opened her mouth.
"Just who the hell thet girl thinks she is?" Bonnie said, crossing her arms, Dedenne mimicking her from within her pouch. "I thought she would be a good keeper for Clemont, but he's way too good for her!"
Clemont silently thanked for the fact that Bonnie didn't pull her usual stunt whenever they met a pretty girl.
"She's far from the first person I met that needs an attitude adjustment," Ash said, remembering not only his fair share of rude rivals like Gary at the beginning or Paul, but those of his traveling companions, such as Harley. "And that girl is screaming for a big ration of a humble pie. And you know what's the best way to serve it?"
"Winning this contest?" Serena asked.
"Exactly! So let's make sure to train really good so you're ready to beat not just her by any other coordinator!" Ash exclaimed.
…
And indeed, Serena spent the next two days training, both on her own and with the help of her friends, Bonnie included. Even if it had been a while since the last time she had practiced her showcasing routines, neither she nor her Pokemon had lost their touch and managed to execute them flawlessly. The battle training filled her with confidence. This time, it was Clemont who was her sparring partner. She was never close to victory, but her Pokemon did really good. And if her Pokemon were able to hold their own against a Gym Leader like Clemont, then she had nothing to fear.
The two days passed very quickly, and the day of the first contest arrived. But Serena wasn't nervous. She wasn't a rookie anymore. She was ready to wow Tandor with her Kalosian charm and skill.
When they arrived at the Contest Hall, they were greeted by a long line of people who wanted to see the beginning of the Contest Season.
"And here I thought that we were early," Ash sighed.
"Guess not early enough..." Clemont said. He adjusted his glasses as he took a look at the long qeue before them. "Let's hope there are tickets left for us."
"Well, I better get going. I need to get both me and my Pokemon ready for my contest debut!" Serena excitedly said, as she headed to the backstage entrance. "Wish me luck!"
"You're going to do great, Serena!" Ash said.
"Yeah! And show that stuck up jerk what you're made of!" Bonnie added.
…
A few moments later, Serena arrived at the backstage entrance. Showing her Contest Pass, she was allowed to enter once the security guard checked that she was in the list of coordinators that would take part in the contest, and an aide guided her to a large room that appeared to be a dressing room. She was told that, once she was ready, she could go to the Coordinator's Box and wait there for the contest to begin.
Serena had chosen a white long gown with pink flaps and red trims and ribbons that bared her arms and shoulders, and a small silver-like tiara on her head. She was a bit sad that, unlike performances, Pokemon weren't allowed to wear dresses, but she found the Ball Capsules and Seals quite interesting.
She then pulled out two of her three pokeballs, and released the Pokemon inside, Braixen and Sylveon.
"Alright guys, we're about to take part in our first contest. Aren't you excited?" Serena asked.
"Brai!"
"Syl!"
"I'm glad to see that you're as eager to take part as I am. I'm sure you guys would do great no matter what. We have done this quite a lot of times already in Kalos, so no reason to be worried. And above all things, let's have lots of fun," Serena said, before returning them to the balls. She then picked her third ball, and said: "Sorry Pancham. I'll save you for the next time."
With that, the Kalos native left the changing room and went to the waiting area, where most other coordinators were. Most of them were unfamiliar faces, but she spotted Sayaka. The ninja girl was now wearing a dark blue kimono with lavender trims, decorated with light purple moon patterns, and her usually long hair was tied in a neat bun, held together by a golden headpiece shaped like a moon as well.
Serena was thankful that the black haired ninja hadn't spotted her.
"Hey, Serena!" a male voice said.
Serena turned around, and saw Vitor walking towards her. The Moki Town boy was now wearing an old time ship captain (or maybe it was admiral?) blue and white uniform, complete with a cravat and a tricorn.
"Hey there, Vitor," Serena said. "So, how are you feeling?"
"Truth be told, a little nervous," the brown haired boy replied. "I knew we'd perform in front of a lot of people, but the crowd out there..."
"I know the feeling. When I started doing Showcases in Kalos, I was also pretty nervous as well, though I eventually got used to it," Serena said.
"So... any advice to a newbie on how to deal with crowds?" Vitor asked, hoping his more experienced rival would feel kind enough to help him.
"While this may not work for everyone... try to focus on your Pokemon first and foremost. If you focus your attention elsewhere, you won't realize there's a crowd watching until you're done," Serena told him.
"Alright, I'll try that. Thanks a lot for the advice!" Vitor replied. "Given that we're rivals, I wasn't expecting you to help me."
"I'd lie if I said nobody helped me when I was starting, so I think it's appropriate for me to help others in the same situation I was," Serena said, smiling sincerely.
…
After waiting almost half an hour on the line, Ash, Clemont, Bonnie bought their tickets and entered the Contest Hall, finding three seats thankfully not too far away from the arena.
"I wish we could have gotten better seats to see Serena's contest debut, but guess these will have to do," Ash said in resignation.
"Pika," Pikachu said, patting Ash on the head sympathetically.
"At least there are screens around the Hall," Clemont said, pointing out to the many screens. The inventor then noticed that Bonnie was trying to look for something on her seat, with Dedenne helping her. "Bonnie, what are you doing? Did you drop something?"
"I'm trying to find the glow casters, but there doesn't seem to be any!" Bonnie said, panicking a little. "How are we going to vote for Serena without them?"
Ash couldn't help but laugh a little. Of course Bonnie would think like that. "This isn't like Showcases, Bonnie. The public's only here to watch and cheer. Contests have judges that decide who wins and who loses."
That moment, the light dimmer as several spotlights focused on the stage below, and the crowd went from murmuring to downright roaring.
"Look, it's about to begin!"
That moment, a woman in her late twenties entered the stage. She had fair skin and shoulder-length brown hair that curled up at the ends, was wearing a white sleveless crop top that exposed her midriff,, knee-length blue pants, and a pair of sandals. She tapped her mic a few times before speaking.
"Welcome everyone to the beginning of the Tandor Contest Season!" the woman replied, and the crowd exploded into a multitude of cheers. "My name is Jillian Meridian, and I shall be your host! Now, let's give a big applause to the three judges that will evaluate our wonderful coordinators!"
Jillian waved her free arm to a trio of booths with three people on it.
"Our first judge shall be Kevlar Town's own Nurse Joy!" Jillian continued.
"It's a pleasure to help," the blue haired nurse happily said.
"Next is the Venesi City Gym Leader, who also happens a Top Coordinator as well as a top notch theatre actress, Rosalind!"
"Did she said Gym Leader?" Ash asked, as he eyed the next judge. It was a young woman with a really bizarre appearance: half her hair was black and straight, and the other half was white and wavy. She was wearing a thigh-length dress, similar to the pink one Serena used to wear, except it was half white and half black and had a white cravat, with each short sleeve of the opposite color, a pair of shorts, one half white and the other half black, a white sock on one leg and a black one of the other, and shoes of the sock's opposite colors.
"Grazie!" Rosalind said, standing up, and started to wave at the public. "I can't wait to see what these new coordinators are capable of!"
"Hmmm..."Ash said, as he checked information on Rosalind on his Pokedex. While it wasn't unusual for a Gym Leader to be a contest judge –Fantina came to mind– they only did it in special ocassions, like a Grand Festival, but Jillian made it appear as if Rosalind was a regular. How could she do that, and still be a Gym Leader? He hoped she wasn't like Fantina and simply closed the Gym when she felt like it. "Oh, I see."
"Hm? Did you say something, Ash?" Clemont asked.
"I was looking information on Rosalind," Ash replied. "Here it says that Rosalind is one of Tandor's "Big Three", the three toughest Gym Leaders, all of them from East Tandor. Rosalind can afford to be a contest judge on a regular basis since she doesn't take challengers that have less than five badges. And since she has a pretty good victory track, the Pokemon League allow her to put such restriction."
"Interesting. I tell people not to challenge my Gym until they have four badges, but I mostly mean it as a recommendation. I guess other Gym Leaders aren't as flexible," Clemont mentioned.
"And last but not least, the S-Rank Connoiseur, Ambrose Reigns!" Jillian finished.
When Jillian introduced him as a Connoiseur, Ash expected somebody like his friend Cilan or his rival Burgundy, but Ambrose looked nothing like them: a broad shouldered man in his late thirties with short spiky black hair and a stubble, rather than the waiter-like uniform, Ambrose was wearing a plain black short sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans.
"Psche. Let's see if these kids can impress me," Ambrose said, as if he was expecting to be disappointed.
"And with that, let us commence! The coordinator who wins this contest shall earn the Kevlar Ribbon!" Jillian said, showing the ribbon to the crowd. "Five ribbons are needed for the Tandor Grand Festival on Venesi City, so whoever wins this contest will have an early lead over their fellow coordinators! Now, let's give a warm welcome to our very first coordinator! From Vaniville Town in the region of Kalos, Serena Gabena!"
…
Serena took a deep breath, and walked onto the stage. Time to show the public the fruits of her experience and hard work. She grabbed a pokeball, and tossed it into the air.
"Braixen, go!"
The pokeball opened up, releasing a wave of flames. The flames then condensed into single ball, which took the shape of a fox-like humanoid pokemon, before dispelling completely, revealing mid-evolved Serena's starter.
"Brai brai!"
"Time to make people smile! Braixen, begin with Flamethrower!" Serena ordered.
Braixen ignited her wand, and started to use the most well known fire-type attack. Though rather than streams of flame, Braixen would release them in the form of rings or coils, almost looking like a Fire Spin rather than a Flamethrower, sometimes making them clash against each other, or firing straight streams of fire through them.
"Very good! Now follow up with Hidden Power!"
Braixen summoned multiple energy orbs of swirling light of many colors, spinning in a circle.
"Combine them with Flamethrower!"
Once again, Braixen released a coil of flames from her wand, puhsing the multicolored orbs upwards.
"And for the big finish... Fire Blast!"
Braixen breathed a massive wall of flames that quickly took the shape of the kanji of fire, and send it upwards. Once it touched the Hidden Power orbs, they exploded in a shower of multicolored sparks, almost mimicking fireworks.
The public broke into loud cheers and applause, and Serena and Braixen made a polite bow as a thank you for their support. The public's reaction filled her with hope and confidence.
"And Serena opens the contest with quite a strong showing, setting the bar pretty high for the rest of the coordinators!" Jillian said. "Now let's see if the judges agree with the public!"
"Serena and Braixen's display was simply spectacular, perfectly showcasing their skill and experience," Nurse Joy said.
"A magnifico display! The use of the fire was so daring! I love it!" Rosalind excitedly said.
…
Back in the stands, Ash, Clemont and Bonnie were just as happy to see that Serena had pretty much aced the appeal round.
"Yes! She's doing so great!" Bonnie cheered.
"Well, of course she is. The Appeal Round of a contest is very similar to the Freestyle Performance. Serena is past the point of losing here," Ash confidently said.
They weren't really paying attention of what the third judge was going to say, since they assumed that he'd say something similar to the other two.
Boy were they wrong.
…
The spotlight focused on the last judge, and Serena was waiting eagerly for his evaluation.
"Watching your display left me completely stunned..." Ambrose began, much to Serena's joy. "...stunned, because I never imagined somebody would have the nerve to think that such a boring and basic showcase would be enough to get a high score!"
Serena gasped, and she wasn't the only one.
"You know, just because you used a Fire-type Pokemon doesn't mean that you have to stick sorely to Fire-type moves! Pokemon can learn a wide variety of attacks!"
"W-What? But I..." Serena stammered.
"But you what? Thought that because you've done showcases, contests would be the same? Yeah, you can see it's not the case! Now get the hell out of the stage, we're on a schedule and there are plenty of coordinators to judge!"
"Y-Yes..." Serena said, before returning Briaxen, and walking away from the stage, as a deafening silence reigned over the Contest Hall. Her mind was in a dazed state, still reeling and shaken from Ambrose's verbal beatdown. Did she fail that badly?
"Uh..." Jillian was trying to get the mood back up after Ambrose's savage verbal beatdown killed it almost completely. "Well, Ambrose's quite the hard judge to please! Maybe the next coordinator will do better? Everybody, let's welcome the next contestant, Sayaka Nami from Tsukinami Village!"
As Serena returned to the Coordinator's Box, she crossed paths with Sayaka, wearing a haughty smirk on her face.
"Does it sink now, Serena? What you're up against?" Sayaka mocked. "Now watch and learn how a true coordinator wows both the audience and the judges."
Serena didn't say anything, trying her best to ignore her rival, and returned to the waiting area. There, Vitor was waiting her, a look of concern plastered on his face.
"Hey," the boy said. "You okay?"
"Y-Yes, it's just... I wasn't expecting to fail my first contest so badly," Serena said, still shaken and a little saddened. Her mind was reviewing Braixen's performance. She knew something like that would have earned a lot of points in a Kalosian Showcase, but that apparently wasn't enough here.
"Hey, maybe you didn't fail. The other judges liked your performance," Vitor reassured her. "And for all it's worth, I think it was amazing. If you weren't able to impress him, I don't think what I'm going to do will do it then. Let's see if the Tsukinami girl does better."
Serena looked at one of the screens hanging from the ceiling of the waiting area, which displayed Sayaka, about to begin, a pokeball already in her hand.
"Heed my call, Luxi!"
The pokeball opened, releasing the pokemon among a storm of cherry blossom petals.
Sayaka's chosen Pokemon was a small creature, looking like a dog with rabbit features. It had a light gray body, whose forelegs, muzzle, ears and tail –which looked like a squirrel's tail– were green. Its neck was golden, and also had a pair of golden dots among its eyes, which appeared to be permanently closed, like those of an Abra or a Cyndaquil.
Serena and Vitor immediately took their Pokedex in order to check this new Pokemon.
"Luxi, the Lucky Pokemon. Dragon/Fairy. Simply being around a Luxi is said to increase one's fortune, which, alongside its rarity, made it for a valuable and sought out Pokemon. Ceramic statues of them are good luck charms."
"Wow... that's quite the impressive Pokemon..." Serena said, amazed.
"She has to be an excellent trainer to catch a Pokemon so rare..." Vitor added.
The public seemed to be just as wowed, since very few of them have seeing a Luxi in the flesh, making Sayaka's smirk widen.
"Alright Luxi, let's start with Energy Ball!" Sayaka ordered.
"Lux!" Luxi happily yipped, opening its small mouth to form a green sphere of energy which it threw into the air.
"Now, Thunder Wave!" Sayaka ordered.
Luxi's body started to crackle with electricity, as it redirected lightning bolts towards the Energy ball, still flying into the air, even if its ascension was beginning to slow down, until it stopped completely.
"Bathe it with Dragon Rage!" she commanded.
Luxi took a deep breath, and released a stream of blue, purple and fuchsia flames towards the falling electricity-imbued Energy ball, giving it a coat of flames.
"And finish with Protect!"
Luxi was encased inside an energy bubble of its own creation just seconds before the Energy Ball crashed on top of it, producing an explosion of green light, yellow lightning bolts and blue and purple flames, with the Pokemon in the middle.
Like with Serena, people got up to cheer and clap.
"And Sayaka manages to meet up with the expectations set by Serena, and then some!" Jillian cheerfully said. "But let's see if the judges agree with such assesment!"
"I do agree with that statement, Jillian," Nurse Joy said. "We only saw two coordinators so far, but the two of them were so talented!"
"Indeed! Sayaka made such a masterful use of color and lights in her display!" Rosalind gushed.
Sayaka nodded and smiled. Two out of three. She then directed her gaze towards the last judge, Ambrose.
"Luxi is quite the rare Pokemon. Only the most skilled and determined trainers are able to get their hands on one," Ambrose began. Sayaka's smile widened, basking on the connoiseur's adulation. "However, if you think that having a rare Pokemon is going to be enough to become a Top Coordinator, you're sorely mistaken. Being a coordinator is a matter of talent and hard work, not just rare Pokemon!"
Sayaka's smile dropped. "W-What? But I-" she tried to articulate a reply, but Ambrose cut her.
"In fact, I'm sure that you didn't even catch that Luxi. You're from one of Tsukinami's two founding ninja clans, so your family must be pretty loaded. Let me guess, your rich parents bought that Luxi for you? Well, if there's one thing your parents won't be able to buy is the talent needed to become Top Coordinator. Now shoo."
Shock was replaced by pure anger at such an insult. Sayaka's face was burning red, and it almost looked like steam was pouring out of her ears. "WHAT? How dare you! I demand you to-"
"Didn't you hear me the first time? I said 'shoo'. Like I said to the other brat, we're on a schedule and you're making other people wait," Ambrose dismissively said, as he gestured her to leave the stage already. "Perhaps there's somebody with some smidge of talent among this sorry lot..."
An angry Sayaka recalled her Luxi, and stomped her way back towards the waiting area.
"Wow, that Ambrose guy is hard to please," Vitor said, letting out a whistle.
"Try 'impossible'," Serena added. "Sayaka's performance was great, I daresay better than mine, yet that guy reacted as if watching it made him lose several years of his life," Serena mentioned. While she wasn't going to voice it out loud, she was now feeling better over the verbal beatdown she got from him. Not because she enjoyed seeing her unpleasant rival getting chewed–well, that too; somebody needed to knock that arrogant girl down a peg or two–, but because that means that her performance wasn't so bad after all.
Though, that dig about her rich parents was uncalled for. Rich or not, Serena could see that Sayaka was somebody who was both genuinely talented that worked hard to hone her skills.
The rest of the coodinators were called for the Appeal Round one by one. Some were good, others, not so much. Yet Ambrose's judgement were negative to the point of being caustic.
"You call that a dance number? Because to me, that Leafeon looked like it was having a seizure. If your Pokemon is sick, take it to a Pokemon Center."
"Watching your Lombre flailing its limbs without rhythm nor reason made me long for a tall glass of Arbok poison."
"The point of the Appeal Round is to captivate the audience with an eye catching performance. Your Spritzee fluttering around aimlessly was a cure for insomnia."
"I knew that I chewed that other girl for trying to come up with a fancy Pokemon but... a Chynimunk? Seriously? Couldn't you catch something a bit less overwhelmingly mediocre?"
It was now Vitor's turn.
"Come out and play, Pahar!"
Vitor's Pokemon was a red bird whose wings were ended in yellow feathers, white belly surrounded by a yellow circle, and a trio of yellow feathers on its forehead. Serena once again checked her Pokedex to look for info on this new Pokemon.
"Pahar, the Cinder Bird Pokemon. Fire/Flying. They are intelligent and are commonly kept as pets. They can even be taught to talk, although not to the degree of Chatot." The Pokedex said.
"Huh. Interesting Pokemon," Serena said to herself.
"Pahar, Will-O-Wisp!" Vitor ordered.
Pahar spread its wings, summoning several blue and white balls of fire that started to spin around it, slow at first, then faster and faster.
"Now, use Air Cutter!"
Pahar's wings started to glow with a blueish white light, right before he flapped them, releasing several blades of wind towards the fireballs spinning around. Whenever a blade of air crashed against one of the blue spheres of fire, it produced a flash of blue light, followed by a cloud of sparkly blue smoke.
Once the scenery was set, Vitor gave the next command." Fly around those clouds and use Flame Burst!"
Pahar then started to fly around the resulting sparkly clouds, making intrincate maneuvers around them. Then, it opened its beak, forming a fireball within it, before throwing it into the air. The fireball then burst into multiple streaks of fire that fell down to the ground, finishing its performance.
For a beginner like Vitor, his showcase was rather good. Perhaps not good enough to make it to the next round, but acceptable. And indeed, while Nurse Joy and Roslind had nothing but kind words for the Moki Town native, Ambrose was much less kind.
"So, setting a bird on fire is what passes for a showcase this days. Disgraceful."
Vitor merely sighed, returned his Pahar, and walked back to the waiting area, as Jillian called the next contestant.
Unlike Serena and Sayaka, the coordinators that came after them barely reacted to Ambrose's harsh to the point of being insulting criticism. Guess the shock of his words kinda died off after hearing it so many times.
About an an hour later, the Appeal Round came to an end, and all the coordinators were waiting in the Contestant's Box. All eyes were trained on the screen, showing Jillian, who was about to speak again.
"Those were amazing performances, don't you think so? Unfortunately, only the best eight contestants can go onto the next phase, the Contest Battle!" Jillian said. "Now if you turn your attention to the monitors, you will see which coordinators earned the highest score!"
Eight faces appeared on the monitors, with their respective scores under them. The images were arranged from the highest score to the lowest. Sayaka was the first, Serena was third, and Vitor managed to snag the very last spot.
…
"Yes! Serena passed to the next round!" Ash said, jumping from his seat in excitement.
"Pi-Pika!" Pikachu added, sharing his trainer's joy.
"So did Vitor!" Clemont pointed out. While he was rooting for Serena first and foremost, both he as well as Ash and Bonnie were happy that the Moki Town boy did pretty good as well.
"Too bad the ninja jerk managed to score first place," Bonnie lamented, crossing her arms.
"Well, you have to admit that, regardless of her attitude, she's a pretty good coordinator," Ash said, as he sat down on his seat, before he smiled again. "Then again, the spot on the Appeal Round matters little. Even if Serena didn't rank first, she's now in the Contest Battle phase, and with all her experience and training, I'm sure she'll sweep the competition."
Jillian once again tapped her mic to draw everybody's attention. "Now, time to begin the second phase of the contest! Our coordinators will engage each other in a Contest Battle using one Pokemon each! They will have five minutes to execute beautiful attacks and combinations to make the opponent lose as many points as possible! To win, a trainer must have more points than their opponent when the timer reaches zero, make the opponent lose all their points, or knock the opponet's Pokemon out! Our first two coordinators fighting will be Vitor, from Moki Town, versus Nico from Nowtoch City! Five minutes on the clock! Begin!"
"Eletux, come out and play!" Vitor said, sending his starter.
"Go, Feleng!" his rival, another boy with short green hair, said, sending his Pokemon. It was a little cat with white fur and two stubby tails, with the top of its head, its back and front paws were half red and half dark brown. Each of its tails was one of those two colors as well.
Ash pulled out his Pokedex to scan the new Pokemon.
"Feleng, the Kitten Pokemon. Normal. Although small and weak, it can manipulate other Pokemon just by giving them a pleading look and meowing cutely."
The fight started even, but soon it became evident that Vitor would be the winner, as his opponent lost points at a faster rate than he did, and overall, Eletux seemed to be dominating the battle. Vitor had been diligent with his training, given that Eletux knew how to use Double Team and Charge Beam, two attacks Ash didn't remember using during their double battle with Natalie and Theo.
With a well aimed Water Gun, Nico's points dropped to zero. A buzzer rang.
"Nico has no more points left! The winner and first semifinalst is Vitor!" Jillian announced, as the main screen showed Vitor's face with Eletux besides it, with the word "WINNER" under it in big, bold letters.
"Yes!" Vitor cheered, pumping his fist. "Way to go, Eletux!"
"See? That's what I was talking about," Ash began. "Vitor scored the lowest of all the eight finalists, yet he managed to win his battle and advance to the semifinals. That's why I'm sure Serena is going win this even if she didn't score the highest during the appeals."
"And now, for the next battle, Trey from Bealbeach City versus Sayaka from Tsukinami Village!" Jillian announced, as the two coordinators took their respective spots. Sayaka's rival was a blond guy wearing sunglasses dressed like a stereotypical surfer. "Five minutes on the clock! Begin!"
"Glaceon, heed my call!"
"Lombre, time to show off!"
"A Glaceon. So that's the Pokemon Sayaka is going to use for the Contest Battles," Clemont mentioned.
"Too bad Serena can't use Braixen. It would be an easy win if she could," Bonnie said.
Sayaka managed to get an early lead even quicker than Vitor. Her strategy consisted on using Hail from the very beginning, let the enemy attack first, dodge their attacks, and countering.
"Boy, that Glaceon is really fast. The way it dodges..." Bonnie began, as she watched how Glaceon dodged a Bubble Beam in such a casual way it was almost insulting.
"I guess it's because that Glaceon's ability is Snow Cloak, which makes it faster during a snowstorm," Clemont explained. "That's why Sayaka had it use Hail from the beginning."
"Glaceon, Shadow Ball!" Sayaka commanded.
Glaceon opened its mouth, forming a sphere of pure darkness in front of it, before firing the sphere of shadows towards the already weak Lombre, blasting it backwards.
"Lombre, no!" Trey cried. A buzzer then rang.
"Lombre can no longer fight! Sayaka is the winner!" Jillian announced, as the main screen changed to display Sayaka and her Glaceon as the victors.
"Another unworthy adversary falls before my skill," Sayaka said, before returning her Glaceon and walking away from the stage.
The next battle was between a girl with blond girl with a pink streak named Zoe, and another girl with pink hair named Tina. Zoe used a Fortog that defeated Tina's pokemon, a green chrysalis with the face of a pink bear, and pink insect wings poking out of its sides. Once again, the Pokedex revealed what this new Pokemon was.
"Cubblfly, the Love Bug Pokemon and Cubbug's evolution. It scatters pollen and seeds in order to help flowers grow. It always smells like flower petals."
…
While Serena was the first one to perform during the Appeal Round, now she was stuck with the last fight. As she walked towards one side of the battleground, she took a deep breath to calm herself down.
"Come on, Ash helped you train for this. You can do it," Serena told herself
At the other side of the stage was her opponent, a boy the same age as her with dark purple short hair named Alex. He had used a Birbie on the Appeal Round, but she couldn't tell what Pokemon would he use now.
"And now, for the next battle, Alex from Rochfale Town versus Serena from Vaniville Town!" Jillian announced. "Five minutes on the clock! Begin!"
"Sylveon, go!" Serena said, releasing her Fairy-type Pokemon, emerging around pink clouds that burst into a shower of sparkles of the same color.
"Misdreavous, show them what you're made of!" Alex said, sending his Pokemon, come came out from a dark vortex. "Begin with Shock Wave!"
"Mis!" Misdreavous said as its body started to crackle with electricity, before it fired multiple streams of lightning towards Sylveon.
"Shock Wave can't be avoided, but it can be countered! Sylveon, stop it with Switft!" Serena ordered.
"Veon!" Sylveon cried, waving her feelers, releasing a flurry of golden stars that blocked every single one of Misdreavous' lighting bolts.
"And Serena manages to nullify Alex's attack!" Jillian commented, while Alex's points dropped.
"Oh no!" the boy cried, taking his hands to his head.
"Our time to attack! Fairy Wind!" Serena ordered.
"Misdreavous, quick-" Alex was about to say, but his Ghost-type was hit by Serena's attack, costing him even more points.
"Fairy Wind again!" Serena ordered, and Sylveon repeated her last move.
"Misdreavous, block that with Shadow Ball!" Alex commanded.
The Screech Pokemon formed a sphere of darkness among its stubby arms, and tossed it towards the incoming sparkly pink wind. The two attacks clashed, resulting in an explosion of darkness and pink sparkles. This time, it was Serena who lost points.
"Alright, I didn't want to use it this soon, but let's go for our combo! Use Will-O-Wisp!"
"Dreeee!" Misdreavous sang, as it summoned several blue fireballs that rotated around itself, before sending them towards Sylveon.
"Sylveon, dodge them with Double Team!" Serena said.
"Veon!" Sylveon cried, as two dozen duplicates appeared around Misdreavous. Some of them were taken away by the blue fireballs, but it seems that none of them found the original. Alex lost even more points.
"M-Mis?" the Screech Pokemon whimpered, looking around the many Sylveon copies.
"Sylveon, Fairy Wind again! Rapid fire!" Serena ordered.
Every Sylveon began to bombard Misdreavous with Fairy Wind. Once the attack hit, the original would switch with a copy, and repeat the process. Every time Misdreavous was hit, Alex's points would drop further and further.
"Misdreavous, quick, dispel those copies with Psybeam!" Alex ordered.
Misdreavous tried to do so, but every time it charged the attack, it was interrupted by a Fairy Wind smaking it from a blind spot.
The buzzer rang.
"Alex's points are down to zero! That means that the winner, and last seminfinalist is Serena!" Jillian announced, as the main screen changed to show Serena's victory.
"I did it," Serena said, letting out a sigh of relief. "I won my first Contest Battle!"
…
Right after the match, Serena walked towards her defeated opponent to congratulate him for a good battle and to wish him good luck for his next contest.
"YES! Go Serena!" Ash shouted, pumping his fists into the air.
"Show them who's boss!" Bonnie added.
"Nenene!" Dedenne cheered as well.
"Look, they're about to show the next matchups," Clemont pointed out as the main screen began to shift.
The matches were Serena vs Tina followed by Sayaka vs Vitor.
Serena won her match just as easily as the first one, despite fighting against a Pokemon with a type advantage. It was obvious that the girl, Tina, was much less experienced, and her Fortog didn't have that much training. She appeared to be a rookie trainer, just like Vitor, but with either less skill or work ethic.
Then, it was time for the second match of the semifinals, Vitor vs Sayaka. It was obvious whom Ash and co. would support this time around.
"Come on Vitor, you can do it!" Clemont cheered.
"Put that jerk in her place!" Bonnie added.
"Show her what you're made of!" Ash shouted as well. "Don't let her intimidate you! You can beat her!"
Clemont turned at Ash, a bit confused by what his friend just said. "Do you think Vitor feels intimidated?"
"Probably. It's obvious that Sayaka has an advantage in experience, and she will use such fact to demoralize Vitor," Ash explained.
"You don't think Vitor can win?" Bonnie asked.
"I didn't said that," Ash said, as he looked at the two coordinators. "Though Vitor will have to work much harder if he plans to overcome Sayaka's experience. I believe he can win this."
"And now, for the second semifinals battle, Vitor from Moki Town versus Sayaka from Tsukinami Village!" Jillian announced, as the two coordinators pulled out their pokeballs. "Five minutes on the clock! Begin!"
"Eletux, come out and play!"
"Glaceon, heed my call!"
Eletux appeared among a storm of yellow lightning bolts, while Glaceon emerged from a tornado of snow.
~Vitor (Eletux) VS Sayaka (Glaceon)~
"Glaceon, Hail!" Sayaka ordered.
"Glaaaaaa!"
Glaceon started to glow with a light blue aura as it reared its head back, summoning grey clouds above the battleground. Soon, a hailstorm formed.
"Eletux, use Thundershock!" Vitor commanded.
"Tux!"
Eletux's yellow tail bulbs crackled with yellow electricity, releasing several bolts of lightning towards Glaceon. Sayaka merely smirked. "Glaceon, stop it with Shadow Ball!"
Glaceon opened its mouth once again, creating a sphere of shadowy energy, before firing it towards the lightning bolts. The two attacks collided, resulting in an explosion of yellow bolts and dark purple streaks of energy. Vitor lost almost one quarter of his points.
"And Sayaka expertly counters Vitor's attack resulting in a spectacular contrast of lights and shadows!" Jillian commented.
"And that's just the beginning," Sayaka said, before thursting her open hand forward. "Glaceon, use Hyper Voice!"
"GlaaaaAAAAAAAA!" Glaceon yelled, amplifying its voice intio a powerful sonic blast.
Vitor, however, wasn't going to just stay there and take the attack. "Dodge it with Double Team!"
"Tux-tux!"
Eletux created almost two dozen illusionary duplicates, with half of them being instantly destroyed by the Hyper Voice, each destroyed illusion bursting into a shower of sparkles. This time, it was Sayaka who lost points, almost not as much as Vitor.
"And not only Vitor dodges Sayaka's attack, but manages to turn it into a visual display of sparkles!" Jillian commented. "And with so many copies remaining, what will be Sayaka's next move?"
Sayaka, however, remained as cool as her Pokemon. "Glaceon, stay clam and don't take your eyes away from the enemy," Sayaka commanded her Ice type. "The hailstorm will reveal the real one."
While the hailstorm wasn't strong enough to destroy the Eletux copies, it did made the real one flinch whenever he was damaged by the falling ice. Something neither Sayaka nor her Pokemon missed.
"There it is! Glaceon, move closer and use Icy Wind!" the Tsukinami Village native ordered. Glaceon rushed forward as cold mist spilled over its mouth.
"Eletux, counter it with Water Gun!"
Eletux expelled a stream of water from his mouth as Glaceon breathed a wave of cold wind. The Water Gun was instantly frozen into ice, but it didn't stop its momentum, and the frozen water continued towards Glaceon.
"Dodge it and keep moving forward!" Sayaka ordered.
At an almost imperceptible speed, Glaceon took less than a second to sidestep the chunk of ice coming towards it and return to its original track. This cost Vitor another few points.
"Now Quick Attack!"
Glaceon's speed increased, leaving a trail of white light behind it. Before Vitor could issue another command, Glaceon slammed into Eletux, sending it skidding backwards on its back, costing Vitor's even more points.
Meanwhile, at the stands, Ash, Clemont and Bonnie watched the match. Clemont and Bonnie had begun cheering Vitor, but their cheers became less and less enthused as the battle progressed and made it clear that Sayaka was going to win. Vitor continued to desperatedly trying to scratch more points from Sayaka's scoreboard, but the ninja expertly turned all of Vitor's attacks against him, making him lose more and more points.
"Just as I feared. Vitor is good, but not good enough to beat her. If the match continues this way, she'll win for sure," Ash said in resignation, as he continued to watch the battle, which was nearing its conclusion.
"Eletux, Charge Beam!" Vitor commanded.
"Glaceon, counter with Shadow Ball!" Sayaka ordered.
Eletux's raised his longest tail, the bulb at the end glowing with a yellow light, before firing a single bolt of electricity towards Glaceon, who countered the electric attack the same way it did before. When the two attacks clashed, it resulted in yet another explosion of yellow bolts and dark tendrils, draining the last of Vitor's points.
The buzzer rang.
"Vitor's has lost all his points! The winner of this match is Sayaka!" Jillian announced, as the screen changed to reflect the result.
Vitor's body visibly slumped, and lowered his head before returning Eletux.
"Good job, buddy. Maybe next time," he whispered to him as he turned back and walked towards the changing room, his time on his very first contests already over.
Sayaka also returned her Glaceon, and wordlessly walked towards the waiting area.
Bonnie let out a defeated sigh. "Boy, what a pity, Ash was right. Vitor lost."
"Yeah. That Sayaka is a force to be reckoned with," Clemont noted, as he adjusted his glasses.
"Oh well, even if it sucks that Vitor didn't make it to the finals, at the very least we'll see Serena kicking that girl's butt!" Bonnie said, as the idea of Serena being so close to her first contest victory renewed her good mood. "Right, Ash?" she asked.
Ash at first didn't answer. But then, he turned towards Bonnie, and smiled. "Of course. Sayaka is pretty good, but Serena is much better than her. Serena's going to wipe the floor with her."
…
Meanwhile, back at the waiting area, as she heard Jillian announce a ten minute break to give Sayaka and her Glaceon time to rest, Serena took a deep breath, trying to prepare herself for the battle to come. Most people competing here were not only rookies when it came to contests, but people who became trainers very recently, such as Vitor. Sayaka, however wasn't one of them.
She had been keeping a close eye on the East Tandorian girl, rightfully pegging her as the most dangerous opponent so far. The girl had a keen mind for strategy, and knew how to keep a cool mind when dealing with unforeseen situations. And her Glaceon was both strong and very well trained and groomed. Sayaka wouldn't be as easy as the two opponents she had to face before.
"Plus, just like how I've been watching her fighting style closely, she more than likely did the same with me, and her mind is now coming up with ways to defeat me and Sylveon," she reminded herself.
Speaking of the devil, Sayaka entered the waiting area that very moment. The two coordinators locked gazes. The East Tandorian smirked.
"Funny thing how many people used to be here a few hours ago. But all of them fell one way or another, and now, it's only you and me," Sayaka noted. "And soon, it will only be me."
Serena scowled. "Do you think you can intimidate me?"
"Please. I don't need to lower myself to such dirty tactics to achieve victory. My skill and hard work are more than enough to deal with you," Sayaka replied, crossing her arms. "I was merely stating a fact."
"I saw the way you treat the opponents you beat. You dismiss and insult them after you beat them, as if they were the lowest of the low! So yes, excuse me if I think you're not above such dirty tactics!" Serena snapped at her.
"You said it yourself. After I beat them, not before," Sayaka pointed out, taking Serena aback.
"And in the case you happen to face them again in another contest, they'll feel intimidated by you, making your victory all the easier," Serena retorted. "I wasn't born yesterday, you know."
Sayaka's smile vanished, replaced by a dismissive scowl. "If they can't withstand the pressure of being a coordinator, then they shouldn't be here to begin with. Everybody here comes with one goal in mind: to win. And I'm somebody willing to do everything that doesn't go against the rules to achieve said goal."
"Even if that means trampling over other people?" Serena asked.
"Those people would be willing to trample over me if I didn't do it first," Sayaka replied. "You know, I may not be that familiar with the world of Kalosian Showcases, but I did hear that their environment is just as cutthroat and competitive as contests. I'm unable to understand how somebody like you managed to reach the the very finals of the Master Class."
"Because being a performer isn't about winning or popularity or whatever cynical people like you may think. In order to be a good performer, one must be able to inspire others, to give them strength and advice. To make people smile," Serena began. "To lift them up when they're down, not to kick them further like you do!"
"Yes, I'm sure all the people you defeated to get to the finals feel very uplifted right now," Sayaka laughed.
Before the conversation could follow any further, they were interrupted by Jillian speaking once again. "Time for the contest's final battle to begin! Coordinators, please head to the stage!"
"Guess the time for words have passed. Prove me of your convictions' superiority in the battlefield then," Sayaka said, as she walked towards the stage.
"Oh, I plan to," Serena said, following her.
…
Ash, Clemont and Bonnie watched Serena and Sayaka move towards the opposite ends of the battleground, as they intensely stared each other down. They could tell that there was more at a stake in this battle than a simple ribbon.
"Coordinators, send your Pokemon!" Jillian told them.
"Sylveon, go!"
"Glaceon, heed my call!"
Serena's Pokemon emerged around pink clouds that burst into a shower of sparkles of the same color, while Sayaka's came from a tornado of ice.
"The final Contest Battle begins now! Five minutes on the clock! Begin!"
~Serena (Sylveon) VS Sayaka (Glaceon)~
"Glaceon, Hail!" Sayaka ordered.
"Glaaaa!"
Once again, grey clouds formed above the battleground, pelting everything below it with a constant rain of icy bits.
"Sylveon, use Fairy Wind!" Serena commanded.
"Syl!" Sylveon replied, as she began to flap her feelers, generating a gust of sparkly pink wind towards Glaceon.
"Dodge, and get close to Sylveon!" Sayaka ordered.
Once again, Glaceon seemed to develop supernatural speed with the way it dodged Sylveon's attack, while rushing forward Serena's Pokemon. This made Serena's points to drop a little.
"Quick Attack!" Sayaka said next.
Glaceon's speed picked up, its legs moving so fast they were little more than a blur, while leaving a trail of fading white light behind.
"Sylveon, now! Double Team!" Serena called.
Sylveon's body flashed white for a second, before two dozen copies littered the battleground. Glaceon's Quick Attack slammed against one of the copies, vanishing it. Due her failure, this time it was Sayaka who lost points, her score being the same as her rival. Sayaka sneered, but she was far from impressed.
"The other fool tried the same strategy, and it won't-"
"Quickly Sylveon, Fairy Wind again!"
All the copies repeated the same move as they did before, even if only one of them was real. Neither Glaceon nor Sayaka could tell which attack was the real one, and Glaceon took a hit as a result, making Sayaka's points to drop even further.
"Yes! Keep it up, Sylveon!" Serena cheered.
"Don't let that pink eyesore get away from you! Glaceon, get close and stop her with Icy Wind!"
"Protect!"
Cold mist poured from Glaceon's closed mouth, until it opened it, releasing a gust of freezing air, just as Sylveon encased herself inside a green energy bubble, safe from Glaceon's attack. Sayaka sneered as her points dropped even further.
"And with a well timed Protect, Serena's Sylveon avoids yet another attack! Sayaka started strong, but Serena seems to be in control of the macth right now!" Jillian happily commented.
"Now Sylveon, Fairy Wind again!" Serena ordered.
But much to Serena's confusion, Sylveon started to glow with a pink light, as it spread her feelers outwards. An orb of swirling white and pink light formed in front of Sylveon's face, before she used her feelers to push it forwards. The amazed public burst into cheers.
"Wait, that wasn't Fairy Wind, was it?" Bonnie asked, excited.
"Not at all! It was Moonblast! Sylveon must have learned it mid fight!" Clemont explained, just as excited.
"Yes! Serena's even closer to victory!" Ash said, thursting his fist forward.
Sayaka, however, wasn't intimidated in the slightest. "Dodge it and get closer with Quick Attack!"
Once again, Glaceon's Snow Cloak ability allowed it to easily dodge the attack, before rushing forward towards Sylveon at great speed, costing Serena more points.
"You won't be able to dodge this! Sylveon, use Swift!" Serena ordered.
Sylveon jumped into the air and waved her feelers towards the incoming Glaceon, releasing a flurry of golden stars that homed on the Ice-type Pokemon. Sayaka, however, smirked as if she was expecting it.
"Glaceon, Mirror Coat!" Sayaka yelled., causing Serena to gasp.
"Sylveon, quickly, Protect!"
Glaceon skidded to a halt, canceling the Quick Attack, as its body started to glow with a blue light. The golden stars hit the Ice type Pokemon squarely, costing Sayaka even more points, but the East Tandorian wasn't worried. Glaceon's body glowed with an even brighter light, before it released a wave of destructive energy towards Sylveon.
Sylveon, however, was unable to use Protect in time, and the powerful attack completely engulfed her, costing Serena so many points, her score was now lower than Sayaka's.
"Sylveon!" Serena cried, watching her badly wounded Fairy-type trying to get back to her feet. "Sylveon, are you okay?"
"Sy...Syl!" the Interwinning Pokemon replied, breathing heavily.
"Good! Now Sylveon, use Moonblast!" Serena commanded.
Sylveon's body started to glow pink once again as she spread her feelers outwards, forming another orb of swirling pink energy that she launched towards her fellow Eeveelution.
"Glaceon, counter it with Shadow Ball!" Sayaka ordered.
Glaceon opened its mouth, forming an orb of pure darkness, before firing it towards the incoming Moonblast. The two attacks clashed, resulting in an explosion of pink beams of light and dark purple tendrils. Serena's score dropped even further. One more good attack from Sayaka and it would be over for her.
"Time to finish this!" Sayaka said. "Glaceon, get close with Quick Attack!"
"Gla!"
Once again, the Fresh Snow Pokemon rushed forward, leaving a trail of white light behind.
"I won't make the same mistake again! Sylveon, counter with Swift, then prepare a Protect!" Serena ordered.
"Syl-VEON!" Sylveon cried, as she waved her feelers at Glaceon once again, sending a flurry of golden stars in its direction, before encasing herself inside a green protective bubble.
Sayaka, however, didn't order anything. Glaceon took Sylveon's Swift head on, costing the ninja more points, before Glaceon slammed uselessly head on against Sylveon's barrier, losing even more points, her score being similar to that of Serena. Meaning that, if Serena managed to land one more hit, the match would be hers!
"Sylveon quickly, use Moonblast! Even with Snow Cloak, it won't be able to dodge from such close distance!" Serena ordered, and Sylveon prepared the attack as quickly as she could.
However, Sayaka wasn't somebody who made such rookie mistakes. Even if she had to lose quite a lot of points, in the end, she got what she wanted, and now was ready to put an end to the match.
"Iron Tail!" Sayaka yelled.
"What?"
Glaceon's tail began to glow with a silvery light, and the Fresh Snow Pokemon slapped Sylveon with its metallic tail, causing her to cancel the Moonblast, sending her reeling backwards. Serena's points dropped, and the buzzer rang.
"Serena's points are down to zero! The winner of this match, and winner of this Contest, is Sayaka from Tsukinami Village!" Jillian announced.
Serena blinked, speechless. She took a couple seconds to register what Jillian just said.
"No..." Serena said almost in a whisper. How could she lose against this girl of all people?
"You said you wanted to make people smile," Sayaka said, as she recalled her winning Glaceon. "Well, look at the bright side. This victory is going to make me smile a lot! Hahahaha!"
Serena gritted her teeth but didn't raise to the bait. Sylveon then walked towards her, and wrapped one of her feelers around Serena's hand.
"Syl..." she cried, as if apologizing for losing.
Serena shook her head. "It's okay, Sylveon. You did your best and that's what matters. Next time, we'll do better."
Moments later, the three judges and Jillian were in front of Sayaka, all of them on a podium, with Rosalind holding an open box in her hands with the Kevlar Ribbon on it.
"Congratulations on your victory, Sayaka," the Venesi City gym Leader said. "We wish you luck in your future contests as well!"
"Thank you," Sayaka said, taking the ribbon. "But luck is for those who lack talent."
"And thus, the first Kevlar Town Contest comes to an end! I hope you have a great time, and see you next time!" Jillian said, officially ending the contest.
…
Half an hour later, the group was out of the Contest Hall, with Serena back in her traveling clothes. Ash, Clemont and Bonnie were comforting her after her loss.
"Such a pity. You did so well, but you ended up losing in the finals," Bonnie lamented.
"Though, you did pretty great for your first contest," Ash said, placing a comforting hand on Serena's shoulder.
"It's okay. I know I did good. I'll win next time," Serena assured. "Besides, it's not that I'm a stranger to losing. I mean, I also began my career as a performer losing. And losing even worse than now."
"You aren't going to cut your hair again, are you?" Bonnie asked. "Because you look so much better with long hair!"
Serena couldn't help but giggle at the young blonde. "Don't worry, I won't plan to this time."
"Boy, that ninja girl is tough," Ash commented. "Not even with Sylveon learning that new move were you able to beat her."
"Sometimes learning a new move mid-battle, or even evolving, it's not enough to win," Clemont said. "Unforeseen factors can throw a wrench in the opponent's plan, but they can only carry you so far."
"So, what do we do now? It's a bit too late to continue our travel. The sun is beginning to set," Serena pointed out.
"How about we spend the rest of the day relaxing? Maybe we could let out Pokemon out, play with them, have some fun...?" Ash suggested.
"Wait, you, Ash Ketchum, are suggesting for us to relax?" Serena asked in mock shock. "I thought you'd want to train or something."
"Hey, after this, I'm sure training is the last thing you want to do right now. Plus both your and your Pokemon could use some relaxation. To rest properly is just as important as training!" Ash stated.
"Guess we can't argue with that," Serena said. "Come on, let's go."
Before the group left the Contest Hall behind, Ash had one last thing to say.
"Hey, Serena?" Ash asked.
"Hm?"
"I agree with Bonnie. I think long hairs looks really good on you," Ash earnestly said.
"Oh," Serena replied, though it sounded almost like a squeak. Her cheeks turned a little pink. "I'll make sure to keep it long then.
Author's Note: Yep, Serena lost. Despite her experience in showcases, it was simply not enough for her to just walk in and get the ribbon. But hey, I'm sure that now that she got a taste of what contests are like, she will do better next time.
And Vitor is back, after a mere chapter of being absent! Yeah, he's going to be one of Serena's rivals. I wanted at least one of Serena's rivals to be a boy, hence why I had Vitor do contests instead of Natalie, despite the female player character doing the contest/showcase is the norm in the anime. That also allows me to give Ash a female rival in Natalie, since his other two rivals, one of them being Theo, will be male.
And speaking of rivals, Vitor isn't the only rival to show up here, since Sayaka meets her debut! One thing I always felt that Serena was missing was a more bitchy and ambitious rival. She's basically a combination of Dawn's rival Ursula (her best rival, fight me if you think otherwise) and oneshot character Amelia, with some elements of Kagami Tsurugi (from "Miraculous Ladybug") and Kaguya Shinomiya (from "Kaguya-sama: Love is War"). As shown in this chapter, Sayaka isn't going to be merely a roadblock to Serena in order to become Top Coordinator, but she will also challenge Serena's own beliefs and ideas. Those two, however, are only half of all the rivals Serena will have to deal with.
(Check the Ao3 version for a picture of Serena's contest dress, Vitor's contest costume, as well as Sayaka's casual clothes and contest dress, crappily drawn by yours truly)
You probably noticed that while I kept Nurse Joy, I replaced Mr. Contesta and Mr. Sukizo with Gym Leader Rosalind, and Ambrose Reigns, an OC of mine, to give contests a more original touch. I liked the idea of a Gym Leader being part of the judge panel, such as Fantina, even if she was only a judge during the Grand Festival. As for Ambrose, I liked the idea of putting an overly negative and caustic critic that's impossible to please. He's named after two of my least favorite wrestlers of all time, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns. Also, while I have nothing against Mr. Contesta, I can't stand the one-joke character that's Sukizo, who only ever says "remarkable" over and over again.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and don't forget to leave a review! Reviews are what keep non-professional writers such as myself going!