Author's Note:

Hello Poliwags, we're back with another chapter of our favourite heroine. This was originally going to be with what will now be chapter 27 but...oh boy that would've been long. So, instead it's two different chapters. But for now, hopefully you enjoy this one.

Chapter 26: Performing in Hoenn

Slateport City was as beautiful as everyone had said it would be. Bonnie had been amazed as they had pulled into Dewford Town on Briney's boat, but arriving at the docks of Slateport City on Drake's ship was somehow even more impressive. The beaches were sprawling, with people and Pokemon out enjoying the sunny day, and the buildings in the background towered over anything that had been in Dewford Town. She could even see what must've been the Contest Hall from where she was at the front of the boat, because dozens of people appeared to be crowding around a large building in the distance.

"I wish Beautifly could've seen this place," Bonnie whispered, as the ship was slowly coming to a stop at the docks. "She would've been amazed by it."

"I'm sure she would've enjoyed it," Roxanne acknowledged, giving Bonnie a sympathetic pat on the back, "but you know she'll be happy where she's going. Who knows, maybe you'll both be able to visit here together one day?"

"That would be nice," Bonnie said with a sigh. She hadn't quite managed to put the departure of Beautifly off of her mind since they'd gone their separate ways. The rest of the trip to Slateport City on Drake's ship had still been pleasant enough, especially with the lessons the Elite Four member had given Bonnie, but it had still been hard not to think of Beautifly.

As they made their way off of the ship a few minutes later, having removed their supplies from the cabin they'd been staying in, Drake met them on the dock below. He seemed to know Bonnie was still a bit upset by her Pokemon's absence, and he took her aside for a moment as some of the other crew members said their goodbyes to Roxanne, Clyde and Rotom. Rotom had become quite popular during the trip with those who had Pokemon with them, and he was showing off a variety of pictures.

"Well," Drake said, looking Bonnie in the eyes, "I suppose this is the end of our brief journey together. I hope our lessons together will be of assistance to you in the future. If you continue to work on the exercises we discussed, I believe you will learn to focus your mind very well in your future battles."

"It's been amazing getting the chance to learn from you," Bonnie said truthfully. "Sorry I've been distracted about Beautifly for the last few we had..." She looked away, feeling guilty for having somewhat wasted the opportunity she'd been given.

Surprisingly, however, Drake laughed, and when Bonnie looked back at him, he shook his head. "You did an admirable job of working through it. It's no easy thing to say goodbye to a friend. Especially one who joined you so early on your journey." He paused, glancing back to his ship for a moment, before his eyes drifted east, towards the direction he would be sailing to next. "I still find myself distracted even with minor things."

"Like looking for Latias and Latios?" Bonnie asked, following his gaze. "And that...Sky Pillar?" She shifted uncomfortably, remembering her flute. She had yet to mention it to Drake.

"Indeed," Drake said, turning back to Bonnie and raising an eyebrow curiously. "Is there anymore you can tell me of your meeting with those two?"

Bonnie exchanged a glance with Dedenne, and after a moment, they nodded to one another. If they couldn't trust Drake, who could they trust? Besides, Bonnie knew she would've probably told Drake more if she hadn't been so busy with the lessons, or distracted by Beautifly. She carefully pulled out the flute Latias had given her out of her backpack, making sure that nobody other than Drake could see what she was doing.

"Latias gave this to me when we saved her," Bonnie explained, carefully holding the flute out to Drake. "She...well..."

Drake looked amazed, but for some reason, as his eyes drifted from the flute to Bonnie, she didn't get the sense that he was completely surprised. "An Eon Flute..." he whispered, reaching out for a moment, but stopping before he touched the small instrument. He pulled his hand away, somewhat reluctantly. "An incredibly valuable item. One I was never quite sure existed until now."

Bonnie blinked in surprise at Drake. "What do you mean?"

Drake took a deep breath. "An Eon Flute is something only whispered about in legends. The odd story will mention a special individual that shared a connection with one of the Eon Pokemon, Latias or Latios. In some of those stories, the individual was said to possess a special instrument capable of summoning one of the two. The most recent reference to these instruments is so old that many have assumed it a myth made up by storytellers. I can sense the power in this flute, however. I've spent too much time around dragon type Pokemon to not be able to tell that this is the real thing."

Bonnie's hand shook a little as she held the flute. She looked at it in shock for a moment, before glancing back at Drake. He gestured for her to put it away, and she did so, glancing nervously around, before shouldering her backpack once more. Once she knew it was clear, she looked to Drake again.

"I thought you might want to use it if you're looking for Latias and Latios," she said, shuffling her feet. "Sorry...I meant to talk to you about it before."

"Don't worry about it, Bonnie," Drake said gently, smiling down at her. "I know your mind was focused elsewhere. Besides, as much as I would like to find Latias and Latios, I believe it would be wrong to use your flute to do so. Latias trusted you with it, so you must use it only when you know it is right. As for me, I shall continue on my own quest, and see where it takes me."

"Do you think we'll see each other again?" Bonnie asked, looking over and seeing her friends now waiting for her.

Drake grinned, and he patted her on the shoulder as he began to lead her back towards the others. "I know that we will."

"How?"

"Because we'll need to have a rematch once you've trained some more Pokemon!"

It was a strange feeling, only a few minutes later, walking through the streets of Slateport City and knowing that there would be no more sea travel for quite a long time. Bonnie had asked Roxanne what their route looked like to get to the next gym, and they would be heading through Route 110 towards Mauville City after they had passed through Slateport City. After that, there likely wouldn't be anymore travel by boat until they needed to go to the last couple of gyms Bonnie would likely be challenging.

"I hope Drake's going to be okay," Roxanne said as their group continued walking, making their way towards the Pokemon Centre after passing by a large crowd heading towards the Contest Hall in the distance. "It sounds like he's going to be keeping himself quite busy trying to find out what Team Archaic is up to."

"Drake will be fine," Clyde said confidently. "He's an Elite Four member. He's strong enough to deal with anything that comes his way."

"I suppose," Roxanne said, sighing as she glanced back towards the docks where the ship still was. Drake would still be in port for a little while, as his crew gathered supplies, but he had suggested Bonnie and her friends move on, as there wouldn't be much else to do.

"Are we going to stay here, or do you think we should get an early start on getting to Mauville City?" Clyde asked, glancing at Bonnie. "We can stock up on supplies and get going I guess."

"Slateport City is too beautiful to rush past it!" Roxanne argued. "And maybe we can check out the Pokemon Contest. Lisia is supposed to be here, remember?"

Bonnie smiled at that suggestion, thinking it would be interesting to get a close up look at the different version of performing Serena had been competing in for the last year. "That sounds pretty fun. After we go to the Pokemon Centre, we should go to the Contest Hall and see when it starts!"

With their decision made, Rotom hooked up to Bonnie's PokeNav and quickly found the quickest way to the Pokemon Centre. It wasn't too far from where they were, being fairly close to the Contest Hall. On the way there, Bonnie and the others were glad to get the chance to see the many coordinators out and about getting ready with their Pokemon. Nobody seemed to be working on any particularly difficult combinations with so many people around, but Bonnie was still very impressed by the elegance of some of the moves she saw.

As they finally reached the Pokemon Centre, the group was buzzing with excitement already, and Rotom was happily showing off the pictures he'd taken and talking about the data he'd collected. It was all quite a relief for Bonnie. With something like this to look forward to, she was able to avoid dwelling on Beautifly's departure. She knew, deep down, that Beautifly was happy, and that her old Butterfly Pokemon would be pleased that she was going to enjoy a nice day watching an exciting Pokemon Contest.

Unfortunately, things didn't feel so nice a moment later as Bonnie walked through the front doors of the Pokemon Centre.

"TORRR!"

"OUCH!"

"Oh no! I'm so sorry!"

"Bonnie, are you okay?!"

"What?! Bonnie? Is that you?"

"It is her! Bonnie, hi!"

"Careful, give her some space."

It took a few moments for Bonnie to get her bearings and figure out who was talking. She looked up as she rubbed her nose, realizing that she had fallen over and that a Torchic was currently sitting on her chest. Dedenne, who had managed to leap off of her as she'd fallen, was looking threateningly at it from her side, his cheeks sparking. Roxanne and Clyde, meanwhile, were on her other side, looking at her in concern.

There were three other people there as well, and Bonnie noticed them watching her with concerned gazes from behind Torchic. The one in the middle, who was closest, was wearing a lab coat, and Bonnie instantly recognized him. "Professor Birch?" she asked, wondering if she had hit her head and was imagining things.

"That's me!" he said cheerily. "I'm sorry about Torchic. Clearly it remembers you from your short stay in Littleroot Town."

"Torchic..." Bonnie glanced at the small fire type that was still on her chest. It tilted its head curiously as it stared at her. "The same one from your lab?"

"Chic! Torchic chic!" Torchic chirped excitedly, doing a little hop.

"Aw, it's happy you recognized it," another voice said, and Bonnie sat up to get a better look, allowing Torchic to sit in her lap as she did so. She gave Dedenne a reassuring gesture to stop him from glaring at the Chick Pokemon.

"May!" Bonnie said in surprise as she stared at the Coordinator.

"I'm here, too!" the third person said, and Bonnie turned to see Anita waving happily, her Pidgey on her shoulder. "I'm entering the Contest!" she almost shouted in excitement. "May offered to give me some pointers. I might even get to meet Lisia!"

"I..." Bonnie stared blankly at the three of them. This was quite a strange greeting, and she was a little overwhelmed. Fortunately, Birch seemed to recognize this.

"How about you three get your Pokemon to Nurse Joy for a checkup, and then we can sit down and get caught up?" he asked. "It looks like you must've just arrived, correct?"

Roxanne answered this time. "Yes, our...ride just got in."

"Well, we'll get some seats then!" Birch said, taking Torchic as Bonnie picked it up and handed it to him. It seemed a bit disappointed, but perked up as Birch gestured to a table and some seats and said, "We'll meet you over there."

As Birch, May and Anita made their way to the seats, Bonnie and the others quickly got in line to see Nurse Joy. Now that Bonnie's face wasn't hurting as much from Torchic's Peck, she was able to smile, happy to get the chance to see Professor Birch again, along with May and Anita. She was excited to tell them about how far she had come since seeing them last.

"So Anita is entering contests," Roxanne said, smiling as she glanced back at the young trainer. Bonnie stared at her for a moment, before remembering that Anita had been Roxanne's student at the Trainer's School in Rustboro City. "I always thought her future lay outside of standard Pokemon battles. She's still capable in battle, but I expect contests will suit her well."

"Hey Bonnie," Clyde said, getting her attention. He looked quite excited. "Do you think Professor Birch will know about fossils? It would be awesome if he could look at mine, don't you think?!"

"Um..." Bonnie looked down, seeing that Clyde already had the fossil in his hands. She wasn't exactly sure if Professor Birch had any special knowledge in that area, but she simply shrugged. "I guess he might. He's pretty smart."

Clyde didn't seem to be put off by her vague answer. Instead, he just continued to ramble on excitedly about what Birch might be able to tell him. Bonnie doubted it would be much, considering Steven and Sawyer didn't seem to have much to say about it, but she didn't want to dampen Clyde's spirits. Instead, her mind wandered to why Professor Birch was here in the first place. And why Torchic was with him.

Did Anita decide she wanted a starter Pokemon from Professor Birch even though she has Pidgey? Bonnie thought, glancing back at the group. It didn't appear as though Torchic was with the soon to be Coordinator. Instead, the Chick Pokemon was sitting in Professor Birch's lap and staring at Bonnie with wide eyes. Maybe its new trainer is here, Bonnie decided, looking back around the Pokemon Centre. It would make sense that not every trainer could make it to Littleroot Town right away to get their first Pokemon, so perhaps Birch had come to Slateport City.

She shook the thought from her mind as she and her friends reached the front desk, Nurse Joy waiting in front of them ready to take their Pokemon. Dedenne and Treecko quickly hopped onto the cart that her Chansey was next to, while Bonnie, Clyde and Roxanne all placed their remaining pokeballs on the tray next to them. Nurse Joy promised to give them all a checkup, before taking them to the backroom and leaving Bonnie and the others to head over to join Professor Birch, May and Anita in the lobby.

Once they had taken their seats, May was the first to speak up, looking excitedly at Bonnie and Roxanne as she leaned forward. "So Bonnie, last time we saw each other you guys were heading into the Petalburg Woods? I guess you made it to Rustboro City all right and challenged Roxanne, so how did you guys end up travelling together?"

"Well...it's kind of a long story," Bonnie said, rubbing her neck sheepishly. "See...I lost our first match, but..."

She explained briefly about having seen Kenny's battle before she had challenged Roxanne, and how she had narrowly lost. Roxanne continued from there, describing the tour of Devon Corp. and how Team Archaic had attacked. She finally finished with a fairly dramatic retelling of the rematch, and explaining that Bonnie and Clyde had reminded her that school was not the only way in which a trainer could learn, and that she wished to become a better teacher by joining them on their journey.

"That sounds like an admirable quest, Ms. Roxanne," Professor Birch said, appearing as though he'd been quite interested in the story. "Must've been quite the pair of battles to convince you to set off!"

"Oh they certainly were!" Roxanne agreed, grinning. "Bonnie and her Pokemon really gave it their all. But Clyde's determination against Team Archaic was influential as well. These two are quite the pair."

"That's too bad about Kenny, though," Anita said sadly. "I haven't seen him since we were in Petalburg City," she explained to Bonnie. "He must've been really disappointed."

"I think he was disappointed, yes," Roxanne acknowledged, giving Anita a sympathetic smile, "but Kenny was also quite impressed with Bonnie's battling. He seemed quite determined to set off and improve before challenging me again. I don't think that will stop him from challenging other gyms, though."

"Speaking of other gyms," May said, looking to Bonnie once more, "how about your next badge? Did you go to Dewford Town?"

Bonnie nodded, and pulled out her badge case, opening it up to reveal the two badges inside. "Beautifly and my Wingull won the match for me!"

"Awesome, well done!" May exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "Max told me he won as well using his new Aron. He was pretty excited about managing to win even with the type disadvantage."

That made Bonnie frown, thinking about how she had needed every advantage she could get. Before she could say anything, though, Professor Birch spoke up again, leaning forward in interest. "May mentioned that you had a shiny Beautifly. Where did you manage to find one of those?!"

"I..." Bonnie felt her throat tighten and she couldn't help but look away as her eyes teared up a little bit. She'd been so excited to tell them about her gym battle, that she hadn't thought of what had come to pass afterwards.

Birch appeared confused by her reaction, so Roxanne quickly spoke up, looking a little awkward herself. "You see, the thing is..."

Bonnie managed to steady herself as Roxanne told the story, briefly going over their journey on Drake's ship, before explaining how they had arrived at the migration point. May appeared to be the most affected, tearing up almost as much as Bonnie. Having a Beautifly of her own, she was likely imagining the difficulty of the idea of ever having it leave. When Roxanne was finished, the group was silent for a moment, before Professor Birch finally spoke.

"I see..." he said slowly, absentmindedly stroking Torchic's head, which seemed to please the Chick Pokemon. "That must have been very difficult for you, Bonnie. I must say, however, that only the best of trainers would have made the difficult decision that you did. To say goodbye to a Pokemon that you have bonded with and grown with is no easy thing, but you allowed Beautifly to move on to a life that it was meant to live, and that was very brave."

"And you'll see Beautifly again one day," Anita said, smiling encouragingly at Bonnie. "I remember it using String Shot on you as a Silcoon. It probably still has a thread connected to you so it can find you!"

May grinned at that. "She's right, Bonnie. No way Beautifly doesn't find you again!"

"Thanks, guys," Bonnie said, wiping her eyes briefly and smiling. "I hope you're right."

"Zzt!" Rotom then blurted out, snapping everyone's attention on to him. "Sorry, Professor Birch, sir," he said, "but speaking of Pokemon growing together with their trainers...I am very curious about this Torchic. Does it not have a trainer?"

Professor Birch glanced down at Torchic, looking a little sad as he did so. "I'm afraid so. We've unfortunately had a bit of a difficult time finding a trainer that's wanted to select it. Not that Torchic has made it particularly easy..."

Clyde frowned as he peered at the Chick Pokemon, who appeared disgruntled by Birch's words, its eyes shifting to Bonnie. "But didn't you say Bonnie met this Torchic when she was in Littleroot Town? That must've been awhile ago. How could it not have a trainer after all that time?"

"Well that's the thing," Birch said, giving Torchic a sympathetic smile as it ruffled its feathers, appearing somewhat embarrassed. "Torchic had only recently arrived at the lab with the other starters when Bonnie first arrived in Hoenn. It was in the process of getting acclimatized to the lab and the various Pokemon and people that were around before I could introduce it to any potential trainers. The introductions since haven't gone well, unfortunately."

"What kinds of issues has it had with new trainers?" Roxanne asked, tilting her head curiously. Bonnie supposed she was thinking of potential issues her students might've had in the past.

Birch shrugged, looking somewhat bewildered. "I think at first Torchic might've simply come off as a bit moody. The first couple of trainers were merely drawn to the Treecko and Mudkip I had at the time. After that, the problem became a little more noticeable. Torchic hid from us on a day a trainer was coming to see us. Another day, there was an incident with a burnt pant leg. A few other things as well. It was all very strange, because when Bonnie had come, Torchic had appeared quite interested in the excitement of a new trainer being around."

"So did you bring it here to try to get a new trainer in Slateport City to take it?" Clyde asked, moving forward and cautiously reaching out to Torchic. The Chick Pokemon glanced at Bonnie, who smiled encouragingly, before it nuzzled his hand with its beak.

"Well, I figured exposing Torchic to some of the things it could be involved in once it was someone's Pokemon could be valuable," Birch explained. "I thought that if it saw the excitement of a Pokemon Contest or even a regular battle, it might make it a little more eager to make a new friend. May and Anita were very happy to help once I met up with them here."

"Unfortunately Max was no help," May muttered in frustration. "He offered to battle it, and nearly scared poor Torchic half to death."

"Yeah," Anita said, looking disappointed in her old friend. "He wasn't very nice. He seemed to be in a hurry to get out of here."

"Yes, well...I suppose Max has other things on his mind with his journey beginning," Birch murmured, clearly wanting to be diplomatic. "Anyway, the hope is for Torchic here to experience the fun of these kinds of events so that it may be more willing to take on a partner when the right trainer comes along."

"So Torchic is going to cheer for me and Pidgey!" Anita said proudly. "We decided to enter a Pokemon Contest not long after meeting you guys in Petalburg City and it was a bit tough, but we've done some training with May and I think we could win this one!"

"That's awesome!" Bonnie said, happy that Anita seemed to have found something she could work towards. It had certainly seemed like she'd been interested in coordinating when they'd met. "We'll cheer you on as well!"

"Yeah, it'll be fun!" Clyde agreed, while Rotom snapped a picture to emphasize their support.

"I'm certainly interested to see how you put your lessons to use!" Roxanne joked.

Anita blushed at that. "Well, I've been able to keep Pidgey healthy, strong and pretty, so that will help. Now we just need our routines to work."

"Why don't you show Bonnie and the others some of the things you've been working on?" May suggested. "It'll be good for Torchic to have a look as well."

"That sounds like a great idea," Birch said, glancing at Torchic, who appeared on board with the idea.

"Okay!" Anita agreed, already up and leading the way to the door with Pidgey ruffling its feathers from her shoulder.

As they headed outside, Bonnie noticed a few more trainers out and about working with their Pokemon. Their presence seemed to make Anita a bit nervous as she selected an open area to demonstrate in. Most were busy with their own routines to look, however, and those observing the various trainers had their attention divided.

"So," May said, as Anita and Pidgey readied themselves, "I guess you know a little bit about watching contests, right?"

"I watched some of Serena's when she was competing in the Grand Festival," Bonnie said. "I'm not totally sure about the rules, though. Ash told us about them before, but I wasn't sure how they were different from showcases in Kalos."

"Well, a Pokemon Contest is fairly similar from what I understand about showcases," May said slowly, looking as though she was thinking about the best way to explain things. "Showcases seem to involve a more balanced judging of Pokemon and their trainers, but in contests, the Pokemon is the sole focus. The trainer and their Pokemon demonstrate their bond by working together to show off the Pokemon's beauty and power in a variety of ways. First, in the Appeals round, and then in the Battle round."

"I think I've seen Contest battles before, but I don't know about the Appeals round," Clyde said, looking interested. "What are those like?"

"I think that's what Anita will be showing us first," May said excitedly. "You may find it a bit similar to showcases, though, Bonnie. Just with a bit more focus on the Pokemon."

With that, the group turned their attention to Anita, who stood a few feet away with Pidgey on her shoulder. She gave a small, nervous cough, but straightened up a moment later, before raising her arm up. "All right, Pidgey! Take flight!"

"Pidgawww!" the Tiny Bird Pokemon cried out, flapping its wings hard as it darted into the air. As it did so, Anita pulled out a small frisbee, much like the kind May had used when demonstrating for Bonnie and Anita in Petalburg City.

"Now, Pidgey turn and use Gust!" Anita called out, throwing the frisbee up towards her flying type with everything she had.

"Pidgaw!" Pidgey answered, spinning gracefully and flapping its wings. Immediately, a miniature tornado formed in front of it and struck the approaching frisbee. The flying disc appeared to get caught in the small tornado and spun rapidly around, gaining speed with every moment.

"Add in a Feather Dance!" Anita shouted, her nerves disappearing quickly. She seemed to be enjoying herself now, getting much more absorbed in the routine. Pidgey was no exception, looking quite determined as it answered her call and halted in midair and flapped its wings again, glowing briefly before dozens of glowing white feathers shot outwards towards the spinning tornado frisbee. "And follow up with Quick Attack!"

"Pidgawww!" Pidgey cried out once more, charging towards its own tornado, with feathers swirling around it in a brilliant white ring. As the Tiny Bird Pokemon hit its own attack, the frisbee soared down towards Anita, who caught it easily, while glowing feathers rained down on the rest of them waiting below. Pidgey landed on Anita's shoulder a moment later, both looking pleased with the short performance.

"Excellent work!" Birch said happily. "I can see you've learned how to use the frisbee well. I know May and Beautifly have some good routines with a frisbee."

"It really is very impressive," May said, nodding in appreciation. "You'll need to add in a couple more moves to highlight Pidgey itself a bit more, and not just the attacks it can do, but I'm very impressed."

"Yeah, it was really cool!" Bonnie said, eyes shining as she looked at the feathers still falling. "I can't believe you've only entered one Contest."

"You'll win this one for sure!" Clyde added, Treecko nodding in agreement next to him.

"It's incredible what you've done with Pidgey's moveset," Roxanne murmured, looking thoughtful. "As a less experienced Pokemon, I'm amazed at what you've been able to get out of those attacks."

"It's been hard to come up with routines for awhile," Anita admitted, smiling at Pidgey, "but once Pidgey learned Feather Dance, it gave us a few options. Now I have lots of ideas for us to do!"

"Just don't forget battling is important as well," May pointed out. "It may not be like battling in a gym, but Contest battling can be pretty intense, and you need to keep your combinations ready, while also fighting pretty hard."

Anita nodded, eyes shining as she looked at May. She seemed to be getting more and more excited as they discussed what she needed to keep in mind for coordinating. "I was thinking I'd like to do a bit of practice." She grinned as she then turned to Bonnie. "We haven't had a chance to battle, Bonnie. What do you think of having one now?"

"Against me?" Bonnie asked, blinking in surprise. "But I'm not a Coordinator."

"I don't want to try anything too complicated," Anita said. "But it would help to have someone who knows a bit about battling so that I can work on getting attacks through. May's a bit too experienced for more than a small sparring match."

"That's a great idea, Anita!" May said. "Bonnie, Ash used to help me train all the time. It'll be a big help for you as well."

"Well, if you want to, sure," Bonnie said, smiling as she glanced at Dedenne, who grinned back, eyes shining with anticipation. "We need to keep sharp for our the next gym anyway."

"I'll be the referee," Professor Birch said, placing Torchic down next to Clyde's Treecko. The Chick Pokemon looked more excited than anyone, watching the scene unfold with bright eyes.

"I'll help to judge the combinations from here," May added, moving closer to the centre with Clyde and Roxanne to get a better look.

Anita and Bonnie took their places a moment later, with Birch standing between them, across from where May, Roxanne and Clyde were watching. Rotom didn't seem too interested in hovering by Bonnie's side for this battle, instead opting to position himself so that he could take pictures of Pidgey as it flew. Meanwhile, Anita and the Tiny Bird Pokemon stood ready on their end of the makeshift battlefield, while Dedenne scurried down off of Bonnie's shoulder.

As Pidgey moved forward, and Dedenne was about to do the same, Birch raised his hand. "This will be a one on one battle between Bonnie and Anita. The battle will end when one Pokemon is unable to battle, or one trainer has performed enough to outshine their opponent. Please select your Poke-"

"Torchic!"

"Nene?"

Bonnie stared, dumbfounded, as Torchic stood in front of her, staring defiantly at Anita's Pidgey. Behind the Chick Pokemon, Dedenne was sitting up, having just been knocked over. He appeared to be too surprised to be angry, simply staring at Torchic himself, before glancing back at Bonnie in confusion.

"Um...Torchic?" Bonnie asked. "What are you doing?"

"Torchic tor!" the Chick Pokemon said excitedly, hopping in place for a moment as it turned to look at Bonnie, before turning around and stamping its feet. Bonnie saw a couple of small embers shoot out as well, showing how fired up Torchic seemed to be.

Professor Birch sighed in exasperation at the fire type's antics. "Torchic, this isn't your battle," he said, shaking his head and beginning to move forward. "Bonnie isn't-"

"Professor Birch, hold on!" May then called out. Everyone looked at her in surprise, but she seemed to be quite excited about something. "Why not let Torchic battle? It could be a great experience for it, and it seems unfair to stop it when it's so excited. As long as Bonnie's okay with teaming up with it of course."

"Team up with it?" Bonnie asked, still surprised by what was happening. She glanced back at Torchic, who was staring at her again, looking hopeful and tilting its head. Bonnie felt her heart melting from that look, but forced herself to turn to Dedenne first, seeing him still staring blankly at the Chick Pokemon. "Are you okay with that, Dedenne?"

Dedenne turned to her, and then glanced once more at Torchic. He sighed, looking a little disappointed, but ultimately nodded. "Nene," he said, before scurrying back to her side.

"All right, then I guess we're on board!" Bonnie said, grinning at Torchic, before turning to Professor Birch. "Is that okay?"

Birch smiled, looking quite pleased with this turn of events. "Sure! I'm sure Torchic will enjoy this!"

"Torchic! Torchic tor torchic!" Torchic cried out excitedly, hopping in place a moment, before resuming its stare down with Pidgey. As it did so, Rotom quickly floated back down to Bonnie's side, an image of Torchic on his screen, with moves listed next to it.

"Zzt! You will need to know Torchic's moves to battle!" he cried out. "I've done a scan and these seem to be the moves it is capable of using currently."

Bonnie took a quick look, nodding thoughtfully as she did so. "Thanks, Rotom."

"This will be great!" May shouted happily as Rotom took his place back in the air. "I bet you two will make a great team!"

"We won't go easy on you either way!" Anita said.

"We don't want you to!" Bonnie quipped back.

"Then let the battle begin!" Birch shouted.

"Pidgey, use Gust!"

While Bonnie was happy enough to team up with Torchic for this battle, she did feel a bit strange not knowing anything of its battling style. Nonetheless, she was quick to call her counterattack. "Torchic, fight back with Ember!"

"Torrr!" the Chick Pokemon cried out in response, and Bonnie was shocked as it opened its beak wide, and launched a barrage of small fireballs out towards the blowing wind that came rushing back from Pidgey.

Pidgey appeared shocked as well, watching as the fireballs came close to it, burning past the Gust attack, so it flapped its wings harder. "Pidgawww!" it called out, as its Gust grew stronger and stronger, ultimately turning the showdown into a battle of wills.

"Now, Pidgey, use Quick Attack!" Anita ordered.

"Pidge pidgaw!" Pidgey answered, flapping its wings quickly once more and darting forward. It burst past the dying out embers and then slammed into the surprised Torchic, sending it crashing backwards.

"Wow, Anita, great job!" May congratulated the young coordinator. "Pidgey really showed off its Gust attack, and looked beautiful flying through Torchic's fading Ember."

Bonnie clenched her fists as she watched Torchic struggle to its feet. She felt a bit bad, forgetting that she was supposed to be battling as though in a Contest. If she had remembered, she wouldn't have tried to force the attack through like that. Anita would likely steer clear of encounters like that, which was why she was able to land such a quick strike by ending the Gust so quickly.

"All right, Torchic, let's do something a little different," Bonnie said, giving the Chick Pokemon an encouraging smile. "Get in close with Peck!"

"Counter with Wing Attack!" Anita shouted back, grinning as she watched Torchic nod and rush forward, its beak glowing white. She seemed ready with some kind of plan, but Bonnie was intent on making sure it didn't work.

"Pidgaw!" Pidgey cried out, flying down and readying its wing as it approached the running Torchic.

"Now, Torchic, Ember!" Bonnie shouted, just as the two Pokemon were about to make contact.

"Torrr!"

"Pidgawww!"

"No, Pidgey!" Anita cried out in concern, eyes widening as Pidgey fell back, its wing smoking from where Torchic's beak had struck it, with Embers bursting out of it. As the Chick Pokemon hopped back, Bonnie could see its beak was glowing red, as though burning. It didn't appear bothered, however, instead ready for the next attack.

"All right, follow up with Scratch!" Bonnie said, pumping her fist in excitement. It felt as though they were getting into a bit of a rhythm now.

"Torchic!" Torchic answered back excitedly, rushing towards Pidgey and leaping out with its feet aiming towards the Tiny Bird Pokemon.

"Try to block with Wing Attack, and then use Feather Dance!" Anita shouted, desperation in her voice.

Bonnie watched intently, seeing Torchic swipe out with its left foot as Pidgey desperately turned and raised up its glowing wing. The attacks met, and for a moment, both Pokemon strained against each other. A moment later, though, Pidgey managed to shift slightly, allowing its other wing to raise up and flap quickly, shooting out a barrage of glowing white feathers that immediately surrounded Torchic.

"That would certainly be a few points!" May said, nodding approvingly. "Hope you've got a counter for it, Bonnie!"

"I do!" Bonnie said, grinning as an idea quickly came to her. "Torchic, use Ember all around you!"

"Torrr!" Torchic called out in response, and Bonnie could see it through the feathers desperately turning and firing off its attack. Before too long, the feathers around it were all lightly burning and falling to the ground.

"Now, use-"

"Oh what an amazing way to counter such a beautiful attack!"

"Huh?" Bonnie glanced over at where her friends were standing, and she was surprised to see a girl with them, jumping up and down next to a perplexed May.

"The way that Pidgey met that Scratch attack and managed to perform that beautiful Feather Dance was stunning!" the girl cried out, her turquoise hair flopping around as she rushed forward to examine the two Pokemon on the battlefield. "But then that Ember to disperse the feathers was a brilliant way to show off Torchic's fiery nature and assertiveness in battle."

"Um...excuse me...who are-" Clyde started to say, before Anita suddenly gasped and clapped a hand over her mouth.

"N-No way!" she exclaimed a moment later, raising a hand and pointing it to the girl. "Y-You're...you're L-Lisia!"

"Lisia?" Bonnie asked, turning to Dedenne in confusion, seeing him staring at the scene in front of them just as unsure of what was going on as she was.

"Bonnie!" Roxanne said, amusement in her eyes as she came over to join her. Apparently the battle was over for now. "Don't you remember when we were talking about the famous Coordinator that would be here? It was Lisia! That's her!"

"Lisia! Oh wow, it's so cool to finally meet you!" May then shouted, looking as though she was even more flustered by all of this than Anita was.

"Oh you're May, aren't you?" Lisia said, standing and turning around, smoothing out her blue and white dress. "I'm such a big fan of yours! The Princess of Hoenn! It's an honour to meetyou!"

As the two of them were getting acquainted, Bonnie and the others all made their way over, each of them a little too surprised by what was going on to make a noise. Bonnie could see that this girl, Lisia, was indeed popular, however, as she noticed people nearby all pointing over to their group now. Some were even beginning to crowd around at the edge of their makeshift battlefield.

"Oh, I see," Lisia said, bringing Bonnie's attention back to the coordinators in front of her. May had apparently just told Lisia something about her, because she found herself being stared at by intense blue eyes. "So you're not actually a Coordinator? You were helping out..." She turned to Anita. "Anita, right?"

Anita nodded, looking pleased that Lisia knew her name. Pidgey was now in her arms and she was hugging it tightly, but it appeared just as excited as its trainer and didn't seem to notice. "Bonnie was helping me train for the Slateport Contest. Torchic's not even her Pokemon, but she was letting it get some experience with her, because Professor Birch was trying to help it get used to seeing things like battles and contests."

"It seemed like they made quite a good team, actually," Birch said thoughtfully. "I was very surprised at how attentive Torchic was to your orders, Bonnie."

"Oh yes," Lisia said, turning her gaze back to Bonnie and beaming. "You two looked like a lovely team. I could sense your connection immediately once I noticed your sparring match. That Ember attack was a symbol of your burning desire to prove yourselves together. It was so beautiful to see!"

"Torchic!" Torchic said from where it now was at Bonnie's feet. It was hopping excitedly in one place, apparently quite pleased with Lisia's words.

"I get the feeling Torchic really enjoyed itself," Clyde murmured, staring at the Chick Pokemon. "Hey, I wonder if..."

He never finished his thought, though, and merely trailed off as his gaze went to Lisia and his mouth hung open. Bonnie rolled her eyes as he continued to stare at the Coordinator in a total daze, and she was glad that Lisia didn't appear to notice. Instead, she watched Torchic a moment, before looking to Bonnie once more.

"Such an interesting situation..." she said thoughtfully. "Do you have any interest in participating in a Pokemon Contest, Bonnie?" she asked.

"A Pokemon Contest?" Bonnie scratched her head, thinking. She hadn't really thought of doing it right away, but her mind had drifted to the possibility at different times. She'd watched Serena do it, and it had certainly looked like fun. "I guess it would be kind of cool."

Lisia clapped her hands together at that, turning immediately to Professor Birch. "Oh, Professor Birch, you have to let her participate with this lovely Torchic! I feel as though they were meant to do this together!"

"Hmm...now that is an interesting thought," Birch said, tapping his chin as he looked at Torchic, and then Bonnie. "I have no issue with that."

"It seems like a great idea to me!" May said.

"You should do it, Bonnie!" Anita exclaimed. "We can compete against each other!"

"But I haven't even practised," Bonnie said, feeling a little uneasy. It was a bit strange to have a famous Coordinator show up out of nowhere and ask her to compete in a Contest with a Pokemon that didn't even belong to her.

"Torchic tor!" Torchic then said, hopping and turning to face her. "Torrr!" The Chick Pokemon tilted its head, looking hopefully at her.

"How can you say no to that adorable little Pokemon?!" Lisia said, smiling once more as she looked at Bonnie.

"Well..." Bonnie took a deep breath. It was hard to resist the look on Torchic's face.

"I'll make your decision a little easier," Lisia added, before Bonnie could say anything else. "I'll help you prepare!"

"What?" Bonnie asked, eyes widening as she heard gasps all around her.

Lisia laughed, as though this was all normal. "I'll help prepare you for your Pokemon Contest debut!"

Bonnie gulped, locking eyes with the overly excited Torchic. Well, she thought, smiling awkwardly, I guess it's worth a try.

Author's Note:

And so, Bonnie will be trying her hand at a Pokemon Contest next time, and it'll be with a surprise partner in Torchic. Not only that, but Lisia's on the scene, and she'll be coaching Bonnie up a bit. I think everyone will be able to see where this is all going, but hopefully it'll provide some fun nonetheless. Next time, it'll be Bonnie's Contest debut, so see you then!