"Okay, I think we're all set!" Silver said. "Are we all set?"
He glanced at Latias. "You're better with audio video stuff than me… is it all connected up right?"
"Hold on a second, let me check," Latias requested, and her eyes glowed. The nest of cables around them vanished, replaced by the Secret Garden of Altomare, which was full of Pokémon all facing a big projector screen.
The projector screen that was showing a pause image from one of Latias' game consoles.
"Oops, wrong one," Latias squeaked, and hit a selector switch. The pause image winked out, replaced by a broadcast from the Sinnoh Grand Festival. "There we go! And phew, Dawn hasn't gone on stage yet!"
She stopped sight-sharing. Thanks for the help, Latios!
I just floated here, Latios replied. But you should come up to watch, now.
He shrugged. And don't forget to thank Dad for cloaking the sound, as well.
First was an Appeal Round, which – like all the other rounds at the Grand Festival – was a Double round.
Dawn was about halfway through the list of competitors, and when it came to be her turn she opened by sending out Cyndaquil.
"Start up a storm!" she called, and Cyndaquil used Charge and Rain Dance – generating a crackling dark cloud overhead, one which rapidly billowed up into a thunderhead, rising so it towered high over the stage and ominous flashes came from inside.
Dawn counted under her breath, then threw the second Pokéball. It bounced off the ground, and opened inside the storm – producing a white flash that looked like an especially powerful sheet lightning bolt, which drew admiring nods from some of the judges.
"And bring the lightning!" Dawn commanded.
A whirl of electricity flashed up on Cyndaquil's back, tugging on the charges in the cloud, and forked lightning flashed between him and the cloud along with a rumble of thunder.
Togekiss emerged from the stormcloud with her wings chased by the rolling echoes of the storm cloud, and it streamed behind her in an inky trail that suddenly flicked over into lightning bolts hammering down behind her. It was like she was painting the front of the storm, not touched by it but trailed by it, and Cyndaquil ran along beneath her with lightning stabbing the ground around him.
Behind the lightning came a brief period of rain, then the cloud turned white, and dissipated with glittery pink and blue light behind it that hung in the air. By the time Togekiss had made a complete loop, the whole storm cloud had been drained away, and a rainbow was starting to form.
"That was great!" Whitney said. "I was too busy focusing on Buneary, during training, what was Togekiss using to do that again?"
"It's more of an Ability, mostly," Ash shrugged. "She used Fairy Wind for the pink-and-blue glitter, but most of the rest of that was Serene Grace. See, Serene Grace is all about having things that sometimes happen happen more often, so it's really making things more likely, so it's being lucky!"
"Makes sense to me," Whitney said. "But most things do!"
In the first Battle round, just like in the Appeal, Dawn started out with just one Pokémon on the field.
"Hmm," Mr. Sukizo said, leaning forwards. "This is interesting! We've seen that Riolu before, of course."
"We have?" asked one of the other judges, a Joy.
"Well, Raoul and I have," Sukizo explained. "Dawn's a lot like May Maple, from Johto… you really need to watch out for the twist or the trick, with her. Even more than other trainers."
He pointed, as Riolu used Flash and did a backflip – his pointy hat wobbling around on his head, as the Fighting-type made it look like he'd just used some kind of magic spell to move from one place to another. "This Riolu has a good sleight of paw, but that's not the only thing that's going on. Sooner or later, Dawn's going to pull a rabbit-out-of-a-hat trick."
Riolu took his hat off, held it out, and the Houndoom and Octillery chasing after him were abruptly having to deal with Buneary using Hammer Arm.
"Like that?" Joy asked.
"Like that, yes," Sukizo replied. "Though I didn't expect it to be quite so literal."
He leaned forwards, and watched as Riolu scooped up Buneary with his hat – the actual catch masked by a flash of white light – then backflipped twice, each time with further flickers of light and blue Aura, before flinging his hat into the air and making both his opponents flinch away slightly.
Which was when he threw Buneary from his paw, and Mr. Sukizo nodded.
"I see it now," he said. "An artfully coordinated Minimize, there, with an excellent ongoing theme of magic tricks – you'd almost believe that Riolu was actually a Braixen."
He paused.
"You'd almost believe that Riolu was actually a Braixen," he repeated, then shrugged. "Well, it was worth trying!"
"You're sure this is going to be temporary, right?" Piplup asked, backstage. "I really didn't follow that explanation you gave."
"Well, it's all to do with eddies in time," Pichu began.
"He is?" Piplup asked. "Also, who's eddy?"
"No, I mean like water swirling around, only it's time," Pichu clarified. "It returns to the place it was before. So yes, it's temporary, because once it's been done it didn't happen in the first place. Got it?"
"No," Piplup replied.
Pichu sighed. "Okay, hold on a second…"
She flicked her paws.
"Apparently if I try explaining it doesn't help," she said. "So, just trust me, okay? And if this does go wrong, we can sort it out."
Piplup shrugged. "Fine, then, whatever."
"Ready?" Dawn asked. "It looks like we're facing Kenny!"
Out on the field, Piplup materialized first, then Pichu landed neatly on top of his head.
Her paws flickered blue, and she waved. "Hi!" she said, smiling at the Floatzel and Empoleon that Kenny had sent out to battle. "Hey, want to see a cool trick?"
"That depends," Floatzel replied, arms folded. "What is it?"
Then the announcer called for the round to start, and Kenny told both his Pokémon to begin with Hydro Pump. Piplup did a pirouette, turning it into a Whirlpool, and they dodged aside from the joint attack.
Pichu clapped her paws together, producing a sort of bundled ball of blue light, then dropped it on Piplup.
There was a peculiar lurching movement, and when it faded Piplup was instead an Empoleon.
"...I'm sorry, what the hell was that," Kenny said, blinking several times.
"Whirlpool!" Dawn said. "Pichu, slice it!"
"Hydro Focus Punch!" Kenny replied, cueing Empoleon to use a water-jet and launch Floatzel at their opponents.
When Floatzel was about to make contact, though, Pichu did something else and Dawn's Empoleon turned back into a Piplup. Floatzel missed, going sailing over and crashing at the far end of the arena, and then Piplup was back to being an Empoleon again.
"I don't know how Dawn keeps up with what her Pokémon can do," Kenny winced. "Because I can't…"
Dawn had one more Battle Round to complete in her group stage, which would let her advance to the semi-finals, and after a few quick questions for one of the organizers – and a couple for Pichu – she sent out her Pokémon for the Contest battle.
Shinx came first, appearing in a flash of sparks and then corralling them into something like a blast of confetti, and Swinub materialized next to her a moment later.
Her opponent sent out a Pelipper and a Houndoom, then the battle began, and Dawn pointed. "Shinx, she's your rival! Swinub, Dig!"
Houndoom howled, fire flashing up around her, then did a double-take as Shinx did exactly the same thing – down to fire flashing up around her, instead of electricity.
"Huh?" her trainer asked. "Oh, what now?"
He frowned for a moment. "Fire Blast!"
Houndoom used Fire Blast, and Shinx was hidden from view completely as the attack roared over her. When the attack was gone, however, there was still no sign of Shinx – instead, there was a little circle of disturbed earth.
"Conversion 2," Dawn said. "Now, Scald and supersize!"
A gasp rippled around the Contest hall as Shinx was suddenly fired out of the arena floor by a geyser of steaming water. She got about halfway from the floor to the ceiling before stopping, but that was also when she used her unusual variant of Charge and turned into a giant rock-construct shaped like a Midday Lycanroc.
Houndoom looked up at her new opponent, and seemed to be quite nervous – which wasn't really in keeping with which one of the two had Intimidate.
Johanna shook her head.
"You know, Dawn, it's not nice to keep doing that to the poor judges," she said.
Then Swinub launched himself out of another tunnel opening, did a triple flip on a snowboard he formed out of Ice Shards, and landed on Pelipper.
"Or that," she added.
Dawn's semi-final match was against Nando, the trainer who had a passion for playing the harp, and he sent out both his veteran Kricketune and a new Lopunny Dawn hadn't seen before.
"Oh, that's a lovely Pokémon," Dawn said. "My Buneary isn't sure about evolving, but I suppose your one must have been."
"Quite right," Nando agreed, and his Kricketune did a dainty bow before taking Lopunny's paw. "They're a fine pair, and Lopunny is something of a secret weapon. Though I see you've sent out your rather… notorious… Nickit, to go with your Pachirisu."
Nickit flicked her gaze at Dawn, who gave a nod, and the Dark-type's tail darted into her shadow for a moment.
"No publicity is bad publicity, is a thing I've heard said," Nickit countered. "Thank you, Dawn."
She flicked her tail again, and Dawn smiled. "And… there we go," she replied. "But I've got a secret weapon of my own lined up, though you'll have to wait to see it."
Nando smiled. "I look forward to it," he promised, then played a rippling glissando on his harp.
"Both of you ready?" the referee checked. "Begin!"
"It's always interesting to see how a skilled trainer trains their Pokémon," Ash said, from the audience. "Even the same Pokémon can be trained in so many different ways, it's so cool – look at what Nando's Pokémon are doing!"
The Bug-type used Fury Cutter, flipping around and swiping at first Nickit then Pachirisu, and Dawn's Electric-type used her Aura Wheel trick to punch herself backwards. Nickit stole the momentum, sending her flicking back out of range instead, then Pachirisu repeated the manoeuvre and got herself clear.
That wasn't what Ash was paying attention to, though, because once the Fury Cutter attack was finished Kricketune swept down in a fluid bow with one blade facing towards Lopunny. The Normal-type took the offer and ran up one blade, onto the other, before springing into a forwards roll and a High Jump Kick aimed right at Nickit.
"Swap!" Dawn called, and Nickit stole Pachirisu's location.
The Electric-type brought both forepaws up, Aura Wheels compressing like springs, and caught Lopunny before flinging him away again.
"Somehow, I feel like you're not allowed to steal a Pokémon's position and velocity in the same battle," Pikachu said. "But I'm uncertain why."
Since Dawn had beaten Nando, and Zoey had won against a Coordinator Dawn had met before by the name of Ursula, they both went through to the final.
"This should be a lot of fun," Zoey said. "Though I've heard something about a secret weapon… are you willing to give me a little hint?"
"Sorry," Dawn shrugged. "Still, you'll see soon enough."
"I guess I will," Zoey agreed. "So, uh… I'd say good luck, but that's like saying I hope I lose. So, good luck us?"
"Good luck us!" Dawn agreed.
The organizer waited a moment longer, to be sure they were done, then stood back. "Ready… and, begin!"
Zoey sent out a Leafeon and a Gallade, both of them Pokémon who'd shown up in earlier rounds.
Dawn, by contrast, threw one Pokéball into the air and had a drink from her bottle.
"Oh, is this going to be-" Zoey began, then stopped and stared as, firstly, Dawn turned into a Plusle, and secondly the Pokéball opened to reveal Azelf.
Hello, everyone! Azelf said, waving. I'm very glad everybody's visiting, and this is my first chance to take part!
"Well, I suppose we are on the shore of Lake Valor," Mr. Contesta said, weakly. "Did any of you know about this?"
"Not at all," Mr. Sukizo replied. "My word, what a remarkable day it is today!"
"What I'm having trouble with is which of those two is Dawn's secret weapon," Nurse Joy said, leaning forwards. "Which of the two do you think is a secret weapon?"
"That's an extremely good question and one I wish I had an answer to," Mr. Contesta sighed. "Because whichever one it is, that implies the other isn't a secret. How did she even do that?"
"Are you talking about catching a legendary Pokémon or turning into a Pokémon?" Sukizo checked.
"The turning into a Pokémon bit," Contesta replied. "I know exactly how she managed to get hold of a legendary Pokémon, she's friends with Ash Ketchum and half her Pokémon at least are already equipped with some brand of complete nonsense."
"But you have to admit, it's quite a spectacle!" the elderly judge chuckled. "Now, let's see how this all plays out!"
"All right, ready?" Dawn asked.
I am absolutely full of conviction that I can do this! Azelf replied, clapping their hands together.
"Water Pulse!" Dawn said, and Azelf flicked out a palm strike. A bubble of water formed off their palm, suffusing the whole of the Grand Festival arena with the scents of Lake Valor and hyacinth and grass, then Azelf took a telekinetic hold of it and made it into a glittering ribbon of water. Dawn jumped up onto the ribbon, which zipped off at speed, and charged it with a Spark as it went flying towards Gallade.
"Razor and Magical Leaves!" Zoey called. "Break up that ribbon!"
Both Zoey's Pokémon unleashed a whirl of leaves, one green and the other multicoloured, and Dawn jumped off the ribbon before it got torn to pieces. Azelf caught her, waving their other hand to make a shield of Fairy-typed energy, and Dawn considered for a moment before nodding.
"Okay, let's do Nasty Plot and Baton Pass!" she said. "Like we practiced… magical transformation!"
She jumped out of Azelf's grip again, and a swirl of energy surrounded her as she landed on the ground. Dawn did a twirl, and flashes of light appeared around her ears, tail, paws and cheeks one by one as Azelf transferred the power boost to her.
All taken together, she looked an awful lot like an Alolan Raichu.
"I'm so happy!" Whitney said, hands clasped and her smile as broad as it could go. "And look her Thunderbolt is an actual tiny thunderbolt shaped staff! This is the best thing!"
Dawn and her Grand Festival winning team posed for a photograph, after the final, and while there were a dozen of them most of her Pokémon were quite small. Togekiss, the largest of the whole group, simply spread her wings and let most of the others stand on them, while Riolu struck a pose with his arms in the air and supporting Togekiss like a perch.
Mr. Sukizo said that it was the first time they'd ever needed to specially label a photo so the actual Top Coordinator could be identified.
It was another few hours after that before the potion wore off, and Dawn made sure to thank all of her Pokémon for their help all over again.
It was a pleasure, Azelf said, speaking for all of them. You're great fun to work with, and I can respect determination but what I really appreciate is that you're determined that we all have fun. Not just to win… I may be the Spirit of Willpower, but it's one thing to respect willpower and another to respect wilpower aimed at doing the right thing.
The Psychic-type spread their arms. Right?
"Honestly, I'm looking forward to when I can tell this story to Salvia," Togekiss said. "I'm going to try my best to work out how to communicate with both my trainers – Dawn and Salvia – and let the rest of you communicate with them as well."
Piplup raised a flipper.
"Without sign language," Togekiss clarified.
Piplup lowered a flipper.
"You know what comes next, though, right?" Togekiss said. "Because I'm pretty sure that it's cake."
Azelf immediately looked interested.
Thousands of miles away, Ghetsis rubbed his temples.
"This is going to be a tricky one," he muttered. "A very tricky one… I wonder if I could just convince N not to pay attention to the news for the rest of his life?"
AN:
It's not quite a send off, but it is the conclusion of Dawn's main arc.