By the time we arrived in Mauville City, it was the afternoon. Over the time that we had spent traveling from Slateport City, Megan had kept up with her battle training, Kirlia had been meditating regularly to keep her mind and power strong, and I had continued to train my Aura.

I no longer had to keep my training a secret from Jason and Megan, but I still chose to train alone and kept a safe distance from them. If something happened and I lost control while training, I didn't want my friends to be close or put at risk. Training my Aura was a slow process, but I knew to be patient, since I knew that it took my dad years to master his own Aura powers.

As we walked through the city, taking in the sights, Megan pointed towards the contest hall.

"I'll register there for the next contest once we get a room at the Pokemon Center." she said.

We soon reached the Pokemon Center and went inside, where we instantly met Skye, who was in the lobby.

"Hey!" she greeted, running over to us. "The contest is in two days, Megan."

"Well, that isn't much time to prepare, but I'm not worried. I've been training during our travels and I'll be ready!" Megan said, determined.

Megan's POV

Two days passed quickly and today was the day of the contest. I had just finished getting ready and walked out to the waiting area. I saw my friends and sister sitting together, so I walked over. As I walked, I also saw Christina. Eevee wasn't with me, since I wouldn't be using her in this contest. Instead, she was in the audience with Adam and Jason.

As I reached the girls, I noticed that Ashlyn wasn't there.

"Have you seen Ashlyn?" I asked.

They all shook their heads.

"I guess she isn't competing this time. She's either taking time to refine her techniques or she didn't make it in time to register." I replied.

"I didn't see Adrian around, either." April commented.

"We all have one ribbon, so which of us will be the first to win their second?" Skye asked.

"I'm confident that we'll all make it to the Grand Festival eventually, so it doesn't matter who wins their ribbons first." Amber said.

"I like your positivity." said April.

The contest began soon and after a few coordinators, it was Amber's turn. She was the first in our group of friends to perform.

"Next up is Amber!"

Amber ran out and spun as she tossed her Pokeball.

"Spotlight, Whismur!"

Amber pulled out a frisbee as Whismur appeared, surrounded by confetti.

"Use Echoed Voice!" Whismur shot the confetti up into the air with waves of sound and Amber threw the frisbee.

"Okay, now use Hyper Voice!" Whismur shot the attack at the frisbee and it broke as the attack hit.

"Now use Pound!" Amber cried as she threw another frisbee towards Whismur. Whismur slammed its fist into the frisbee and hit it back towards Amber, who caught it.

She curtsied as the crowd cheered.

7.8, 8, and 8.4, totaling to 24.2 points.

A few more coordinators went before it was my turn.

"Next up is Megan!"

I ran out and jumped over the stairs and spun.

"Spotlight, Beautifly!" Beautifly appeared, surrounded by hearts.

"Use Air Cutter!" Beautifly's attack burst the hearts and created sparkles.

"Now use Silver Wind!" Silver Wind mixed with the pink sparkles of the hearts.

"Now use Gust!" Beautifly's moves created a silver pink twister.

"Air Cutter!" The Air Cutter hit the twister and broke it and glitter rained down across the stage.

I curtsied and Beautifly flew onto my shoulder.

8.2, 7.5, and 8.8, totaling to 24.5 points.

April was up next, since I didn't see her when I returned backstage.

"Curtain, Surskit!" April cried as she spun and threw her Pokeball. Surskit appeared, surrounded by bubbles.

"Use Mist!" Mist covered the stage.

"Now use Agility and Aqua Jet!" Surskit shot through the mist and made a watery zigzag before shooting forward into the air and landing.

7.5, 7.8, and 8.2, totaling to 23.5 points.

A few coordinators later, Christina was running out.

"Shuppet, show time!" Her Pokemon appeared with glitter.

"Use Will-o-Wisp!" Flames surrounded Shuppet.

"Now use Shadow Ball!" As the Shadow Ball went through the flames, it created a pretty color and effect.

"Use Will-o-Wisp once more!" This time, Shuppet shot the balls of flames forward and her performance ended.

8, 7.6, and 8, totaling to 23.6 points.

Lastly, it was Skye, who would be the last performer for the first round.

"Electrike, spotlight!" Skye's Electrike appeared, surrounded by hearts.

"Use Shock Wave!" The Shock Wave hit the hearts and burst them.

"Now use Quick Attack and Discharge!" Electrike sped forward and the Discharge made a cool-looking effect.

Her total was 24.4 points.

As the first round came to an end, we all waited backstage for the results.

As we were waiting, Adam came backstage to see me.

"That was a great performance, Megan! Beautifly was great." he said.

"Thanks, Adam. All of that practice is paying off so far. Now I just need to wait and see if I can make it through the battles."

"I'm sure that you've got this." he encouraged me.

Then Amber walked over and asked, "And what did you think of my performance, Adam?"

"It was great, too. Whismur looked fantastic." he said, causing Amber to smile.

It was obvious that Amber was trying to insert herself into what Adam thought of the contest and wanted to see if he was taking notice of her. It also looked like she was developing more of a crush on him and she wanted to see if he liked her as well. I wasn't sure how to feel about that, but it was strange.

"Here are the coordinators that will be moving on!"

We were all making it to the second round, along with Christina.

"Good luck!" Adam said as he hugged me before leaving and going back to his seat.

As I hugged him back and released him, I noticed that Amber looked disappointed. She apparently wanted Adam to hug her as well and was hurt that he didn't do so or wish her luck personally. Maybe I had more of a chance with him than Amber so far, if we both felt the same about him. But I was still unsure of how I felt for him.

"And here are the first round of battles!"

I was up against a random girl, Skye was against a random guy, April would face Christina, and Amber was facing a random guy.

... ...

I was up first for the battles and I made my way out to the stage.

"The first battle will now begin. To my right is Megan and to my left is Caroline. Five minutes on the clock and begin!"

"Kirlia, spotlight!" I cried, tossing my Pokeball.

"Arcanine, let's go!" Caroline cried. "Use Flamethrower!"

It was time to see of all of that battle training had paid off.

"Dodge it, Kirlia! Use Psybeam!"

... ...

"Flame Wheel!"

"Use Psychic and stop it!"

Kirlia's attack stopped Arcanine as it spun in a wheel of fire.

"Bring it down, Kirlia!"

"Flamethrower, Arcanine! We have to get out of it!"

But Arcanine couldn't use the attack, since Kirlia basically had control of it and had a protection layer of psychic power over it. Arcanine was slammed down into the stage.

"Psybeam!" I cried as the buzzer sounded.

"The winner is...Megan!"

So far, so good. But I couldn't relax yet! Not until that ribbon was in my hands.

... ...

"To my right is Skye and to my left is Riley. Five minutes on the clock and begin!"

"Corphish, spotlight!" Skye cried.

I saw Riley frown before he enlarged his Pokeball.

"Torchic, go!"

That was why he'd frowned; he was at a type disadvantage.

"Use Ember!"

"Bubble Beam!"

... ...

"Use Peck!"

"Dodge it! Use Crabhammer!"

Torchic was too hurt and wasn't able to dodge as Riley commanded his Pokemon and Skye's Corphish's attack hit.

"Now Water Gun!" Skye wasn't letting up and took the opportunity to strike while her opponent was still recovering. Then the buzzer sounded.

"Skye wins!"

... ...

"To my right is Christina and to my left is April. Five minutes on the clock and begin!"

"Bagon, curtain!" Christina cried.

"Roselia, curtain time!" April cried.

"Use Ember, Bagon!"

"Dodge it and use Petal Dance, Roselia!"

Roselia successfully dodged and launched the attack.

... ...

It wasn't looking good for my sister. Because Bagon knew a Fire attack, it had a big advantage over a Grass Pokemon like Roselia!

"Use Dragon Breath!"

"Quick, dodge it!"

Roselia wasn't able to dodge it and took the full force of the attack.

"Use Zen Headbutt!" Christina was ruthless once she had an opening with her opponent weak.

The buzzer sounded.

"Christina wins!"

... ...

"To my right is Amber and to my left is Stevie. Five minutes on the clock and begin!"

"Spotlight, Absol!" Amber cried.

"Volbeat, go! Use Double Team!" Stevie cried.

"Focus, Absol. We can do this." Amber instructed as Absol was surrounded.

"Jump and use Quick Attack! Get out of there!" Amber commanded. Absol jumped and was now behind some of the copies.

"Night Slash!"

... ...

"Use Quick Attack, Volbeat!"

"Dodge, Absol! Use Night Slash!"

... ...

The buzzer sounded as Absol had just landed a direct hit with Bite.

"...Amber wins!"

... ...

In the semifinals, I was facing Skye. Christina and Amber would face one another.

"To my right is Megan and to my left is Skye. Five minutes on the clock and begin!"

"Kirlia, spotlight!"

"Corphish, spotlight! Use Bubble Beam!"

"Psychic!"

... ...

"Stop it with Psybeam!" I cried as Crabhammer headed towards Kirlia. Psybeam blasted Corphish backwards, but it wasn't done yet!

"Use Water Gun!"

"Dodge it, Kirlia!"

Kirlia spun away as Water Gun headed towards her. She was spinning away from the water as she danced along the battlefield.

... ...

"The coordinator moving on to the finals is...Megan!"

As I arrived backstage in the waiting area with Skye, she hugged me.

"Great job, Megan. Good luck in the finals."

I hugged her back and she left to get changed, since the contest was over for her.

I looked up at the screen to see how Christina and Amber's battle was going. I wanted to see their techniques, so that I would be prepared to face whoever won.

"Dragon Breath!" Christina cried.

"Dodge it!"

... ...

"Use Quick Attack!" Amber commanded.

"Headbutt!"

The two moves collided with one another and canceled each other out.

"Dragon Claw!" Christina cried.

"No!" Amber cried, since the attack was too quick for her to command Absol to dodge.

The buzzer sounded.

"...Christina wins!"

So I would be facing off against Christina in the finals. My most challenging rival and the one who hated me. We would compete to win the ribbon.

As Christina appeared backstage, she looked at me.

"Are you ready to lose to me again, just like you did in Petalburg City?" she asked as she walked out.

I took a breath to calm myself and not let her words get to me. I had been training a lot harder in battles lately and I was confident that I had a better chance at beating Christina this time. Plus, I would have an advantage, since Dragon attacks wouldn't affect Kirlia.

... ...

As we stood on our sides of the stage, waiting for the introductions, we were glaring at one another, determined. It was clear that neither of us wanted to lose to the other.

"The finals will now begin to determine who will win today's ribbon. To my right is Megan and to my left is Christina. Five minutes on the clock and begin!"

"Kirlia, spotlight!"

"Bagon, curtain!"

"Use Zen Headbutt!"

"Dodge it, Kirlia! Use Psybeam!"

... ...

I could tell that Christina was getting frustrated, having to rely on attacks that weren't Dragon-based moves. That meant that most of her long range attacks were useless. So far, things were going well for me!

"Ember!"

"Redirect it with Confusion!"

"No! Dodge it, Bagon!"

Bagon was able to dodge in time, but I wouldn't let up now!

"Confusion!" I shouted. The attack struck Bagon.

"Use Psybeam once more, Kirlia!" Bagon was recovering from a direct hit of Confusion and Psybeam made a direct hit, too.

The buzzer sounded.

"The winner is...Megan!"

The crowd erupted into cheers. I stared at the screen as my photo was shown. I had done it! I had won a ribbon all on my own for the first time and I had beaten Christina!

All of my battle training had shown just how much hard work and dedication I had put into everything for this contest and it had all paid off!

"We did it!" I cried as Kirlia levitated herself into my arms. "Thank you so much, Kirlia!"

Christina stomped off the stage and I released Beautifly to join myself and Kirlia as we went to accept the ribbon.

"We did it, guys! Thank you for all of your hard work for this contest!" I told my Pokemon.

As I was handed the ribbon, I raised it into the air as the crowd let out another loud cheer and my Pokemon did, too.

Once I changed back into my normal clothes, I made my way outside to find April and the boys waiting for me.

"Way to go!" they cried and hugged me.

Eevee cried out and happily leaped into my arms and nuzzled into me. She was happy for my victory as well.

"Thank you for your constant help and tips while training with me. I never would have won without your support and guidance." I said to Adam and Jason.

"We were happy to help." Jason said.

"Besides, what are friends for?" Adam added.

"We should call Mom and let her know about your win. Let's see what she has to say." April suggested.

"Yeah, it'll be nice to catch up and chat with her." I said.

"We're gonna start training for our gym battles while you girls do that." said Adam.

So with that, April and I went our separate ways from the boys and headed to the Pokemon Center.

But little did we know of the surprise that awaited us when we'd call our mom!

Author's Note: Megan wins her second contest ribbon, her first one that she's ever won on her own! Plus, she defeats her hated rival Christina to win it, making it feel even sweeter!

But what surprise could be waiting for her and April from their mom?

Find out in the next chapter of Pokemon NG!