On our way to the Grand Festival, we met with Johanna in Neighborly Town and ended up supplementing her in teaching a beginning Pokémon class, while she was invited to be a judge in the Neighborly Town Pokémon. It was a fun experience for Dawn, as it would be the first time she taught a class, Riley, and Ash already had the experience.
Though what happened next was more exciting. We came across a mysterious girl sleeping in a boat. A boat that was about to go over a waterfall! Fortunately, Riley and Ash acted quickly and dove in to save her. The girl's name was Marley and as soon as she realized who Ash was, she begged us for help. She needed to take a sick Shaymin to find a "secret garden" over the mountain. The poor Shaymin was attacked by a Seviper and had been poisoned. We ended up aiding them and the Shaymin in their Sky Forme left on their flower-bearing journey. That night I heard Pikachu-senpai commenting that once upon a time they would have been sure that Jessie, James, and Meowth were involved. It left Ash's whole old pokemon team laughing the night away.
But that was not the end of it. It never was when Ash is involved and you are traveling with him and his pokemon. On our journey, we met a ranger named Ben after he saved a Feraligatr from drowning in a river. One look at Ash and he was crying! Arceus! What is it with this exaggerated reaction to Ash?! When he explained that he was trying to rescue a rare Heatran and transport them to the National Park... I understood the situation a little better.
Then again, it was Ash the one who exploded after the explanation. Who in their right minds has a ranger who is not of Ace level hunt down a Heatran?! He had shouted, face burning with anger. Of course, he helped Ben and left with him to scream at his superiors. Oh, how I would have liked to be there! Watching him scold adults is one of the best things about traveling with him!
One would expect that without Ash around things would calm down... no, nop, rien, niet, and every other language out there! We ended up meeting Dawn's doppelganger... Dawn's doppelganger!
She is some kind of princess who wishes to be a coordinator...
Ash, why, why did you have to infect us? We could have lived a normal life without these messes happening to us at every corner!
Salvia, the princess, came up with the idea of switching places with Dawn and entering the Arrowroot Town's Contest. As you would have guessed, we went along with it. Salvia and her Togekiss entered the contest and won! However, she then tried to leave Togekiss with Dawn and give up her dream of being a coordinator now that she had had the experience. Oh, no, strike one and two, princesses. Now it was Dawn's time to explode. She showed us all that she is Ash's student in every matter... even the Ketchum scolding techniques implemented by the goddess but scary Delia Ketchum.
In the end, the poor princess was left crying and hugging her Togekiss as she trembled. But things worked out all right, and the princess and her pokemon stayed together by the time we left the town for the Grand Festival. Salvia even promised to talk with her parents about her dreams and show them the ribbon she had won on her own as proof that she can do it in the coordinator world.
Thankfully, the rest of our journey was calm... or calmer. We did meet this one trainer with two Dittos. However, what mattered was that we had finally reached Valor Lakefront and signed up for the Grand Festival. Ash and Pikachu-senpai were already in our room, waiting for us in his suit.
"Why are you wearing a suit?" Dawn asked him surprised, as she stepped into the room.
"Hi, Dawn, is good to see you again. I missed you while I was at the National Park. Did you miss me?" Ash laughed, opening his arms to catch Dawn when she jumped him for a hug.
"I missed you!" Dawn squealed. "But I really want to know why are you wearing a suit?"
"There's gonna be a meet-and-greet event for the participating coordinators, they heard I was in the resort and invited me as a guest of honor," Ash shook his head. "I am representing the Ranger Commissionary and will be doing a speech, so I need to dress the part," he explained gesturing to his wardrobe.
"Well, I think you look wonderful," Dawn praised him, before gasping and jumping away. "A meet-and-greet?! What will I wear?!" She threw her suitcase on the bed and started making a mess, throwing clothes everywhere.
"Good luck," Ash rapidly told Riley, as he and Pikachu-senpai escaped.
"Coward!" Riley hissed to his retreating back.
"Dawn! You need to calm down," I finally stepped forward and jumped on the bed, pointing at her fretting form. "You will look gorgeous no matter what you are wearing! So calm down!"
"You are right Piplup, I need to calm down," Dawn might not be able to understand pokemon when they talk, not like Ash. However, the bond between us is strong, so she is capable of understanding me in general. "I'll just use the white dress I entered in The Hearthome Collection Contest. Simple, yet elegant."
"Good," I nodded in agreement. "Leave your hair down!"
"Ok, hair down," Dawn agreed, with a sigh, looking much more relaxed now. "What will you wear Riley?"
"I'll use my Blue Knight outfit," Riley answered, taking out said suit. "In official events like this I am not only representing myself but my order and the Rota Kingdom. As Ash said, I need to dress the part."
After that, Dawn took her things and entered the bathroom to get ready, leaving the bedroom for Riley. I followed her inside and helped her with her hair, as we've practiced for most of our journey. If you had told me a year ago that I would end up using Bubble Beam to tame the crazy hair of my trainer I would have used Peck on you... yet, here we are. No longer the rookies of the beginning. Having gone on more crazy adventures than a normal trainer in their entire training career, in our first year. But we've survived it and made it to the Grand Festival! The whole team, and what a big team ours has become. Vileplume, Buneary, Pachirisu, Ambipom, Mamoswine, Ribombee, and Cyndaquil.
You will never hear me say it out loud, but I was nervous as well. This is the big league! Coordinators that have been at this for years will be competing in the Grand Festival. We have big rivals participating as well: Zoey, Jessie, Nando, Kenny, Ursula... I don't know if we are ready for this. But we will do our very best for sure! We will show them all to take us seriously.
"How do I look?" Dawn's question snapped me out of my thoughts, I rapidly turned to look at her and gasped. She looked so beautiful! The white dress hugged her body like fallen snow, with her hair down and the elegant pearls on her neck... she took your breath away.
"You look lovely!" I praised her. I am so proud of having her as my trainer, of being part of her team... no, of her family.
"Thank you, Piplup!" She thanked me with a kiss on my forehead, before picking me up and exiting the bathroom. "Wow! Riley, you look so cool!"
"Thank you," Riley chuckled. "You look like a princess." Dawn blushed at the compliment, with a bashful giggle. "You should see Ash wearing this outfit, the aura he exudes... it's quite a powerful one." Riley had a far away look on his face before he shook his head and smiled at us. "We better get going, we do not want to be late."
"Right!" Dawn exclaimed, rushing for the door. Riley and Lucario followed us in a more subdued way but made sure to stay close to us. By the time we got there, the event had already started. The place was full! It was kind of intimidating to know that only 32 coordinators will pass to the battle stage of the Grand Festival... there are hundreds of trainers here! "Zoey!" Dawn exclaimed, putting me down to go and hug her friend.
"How-ya doing?" Glameow greeted me with an easy-going smirk.
"Good, and you?" I greeted her back.
"Fyan!" Glameow's smirk turned into a softer smile. "Though not as myuch as myan trainer," she pointed at Zoey with her tail, who was blushing red.
"Not another one," I moaned. "How does Dawn pick them up so fast?!" Kenny, Paul, and now Zoey! I lamented. "I turn around for a second and she finds a new admirer!" I ignored Glameow, who was laughing at my suffering, and went toward my trainer. I pulled her dress slightly, getting her attention, and raised my arms. "Up!"
"Of course!" Dawn beamed and kneeled to pick me up.
Once I was comfortably in her arms, I turned to look around for the rest of our friends. I caught Jessie and James socializing with other rich people, but they did nod to us in greeting, before turning back to their conversations. Ursula was mocking other coordinators, talking all haughty like always. While I was looking for Ash, Kenny and Nando joined our small group. Still, there was no sight of Ash or Pikachu-senpai. Where were they? Weren't they supposed to be here?
As I was mussing to myself, Raoul Contesta from the Pokemon Activities Committee stepped onto the small stage in the banquet room: "Good evening everyone! I am so glad to be here with all of you and would like to congratulate every coordinator and their pokemon for having reached this far." Cheerful applause and cheering went swept the room. "Today here with us, we have a distinguished guest that many of you might know. He agreed to say a few words," Mr. Contesta turned to the side and raised his arms with a greeting smile. "Please I'll ask for applause for Ace Ranger Ash Ketchum!"
The room was suddenly silent, I could see various coordinators gasping and looking at each other in stunned silence. No one could believe what Mr. Contesta had just said. "The Saint?!". "IMPOSSIBLE!", "I thought he was a gym trainer, why would he be assisting for the Grand Festival?", "Is he really here?!", "We are so lucky!", I heard the various whispers that broke after the shock faded away. However, uncomfortable those whispers and the tense atmosphere were, I preferred them over the deafening cheers and squeals that came from the crowd of coordinators, as soon as Ash stepped on the stage with Pikachu-senpai and Riolu hanging on his shoulders.
"Good evening everyone!" Ash greeted them with a smile, ignoring the I love you's, you are so handsome, and marry me from the crowd. "It's an honor to have been invited to give a speech today. I know many of you might be thinking, what does a gym trainer know about contests? I honestly know much more than I thought I would when I started my journey. But I still do not know enough to tell you what you should be doing or give you advice about your appeals," Ash admitted, smiling as he held the microphone. "I am a trainer, though, and so are you. A few years ago I was in your shoes, I had started my journey with just my starter and a heart filled with dreams. I stood in a crowd full of trainers in the Indigo Plateau as the final chapter of my first journey began." The room was silent once more, everyone was listening to Ash attentively and with a silent veneration. His words did not only echo in the coordinators but with the pokemon in the room as well. "I was very nervous, something that I would have never admitted before. I was also excited... but so nervous!" He laughed, receiving happy chuckles from the crowd. "What I realized recently, is that during the Indigo League I believed that it was me against the world. But I was wrong," he turned to smile at Pikachu and then to Riolu, before facing us again. "This should be an amazing experience for all of you. You should be excited and nervous, afraid and determined. However, you should never be alone. Because you got this far thanks to the teamwork between you and your pokemon. Trust them, trust yourself, trust your teamwork, and win or lose you will never look back with regret. Good luck coordinators, pokemon!"
The crowd broke into applause and cheers. "The twerp is all grown up," I was startled by the voice of Jessie. I turned to the right to see her, her husband, and Meowth. Despite her mocking words, her tone was soft and her gaze was filled with pride as she looked at Ash shaking hands with Mr. Contesta on the stage. "We better get our act together and make sure not to disappoint him."
"We'll have to put the show of our lives!" Dawn exclaimed, I looked up and saw the fire in her eyes. Her posture was now relaxed and confident, determination radiating from her.
I've never felt prouder of having her as my trainer and friend.
The rest of the meet-and-greet went smoothly, with reporters and fans hounding not only Ash but the rest of his friends. This meant various interviews for Dawn and me, I never thought we were that popular. Then again, association via The Saint tends to do that. I forgot all about my nerves and went to sleep like a baby. The next morning... my nerves returned. But I tried to remain confident and happy with the fact that I was not participating in the appeal round. Good luck Buneary and Cyndaquil!
I tried to focus on anything other than the Grand Festival, which was easier than I thought it would be. Gible could not stop training Draco Meteor and for some reason, it always lands on me! The nerve of that dragon! But I should be thanking him, I spent most of the day trying to evade his attacks to realize it was already time for the Grand Festival. One last Bubble Beam to Dawn's hair and I left with Ash for the bleachers. Ash was not the only one who had grown up, and so had Dawn... she did not need me backstage holding her hand.
She is ready... no, we are ready!
Fireworks announce the beginning of the Sinnoh Grand Festival. Marian appeared on stage, introducing the Contest Judges. Raoul Contesta from the Pokemon Activities Committee, Mr. Sukizo from the Pokemon Fan Club, and three Nurse Joys. The special guest judge that had the crowd going wild was Fantina, the Hearthome City Gym Leader and famous Top Coordinator. Marian then explained that 108 Coordinators are competing, and therefore the Appeal Round will take place in three stages: red, blue, and green. There will be two judges per stage.
The first performer, to my disappointment, was Ursula, on the blue stage. Musical notes shoot upward out of the Poke Balls she threw in the air, revealing two Eevee.
"Two Eevee, what is she planning?" Ash murmured behind me.
"Maybe she is planning on evolving them?" Pikachu-senpai commented thoughtfully. "They are known as the evolutionary pokemon."
"She wouldn't! In a high-stress situation like this?" Ash was aghast. "They deserve better than that. Evolution is a delicate matter, not to be flaunted as a stage performance. She can't be that cocky!"
"Iron Tail!" Ursula commanded, both Eevee played with each other, tails clashing against each other, showing off their cuteness. "Now, Hidden Power!"
Both Eevee was surrounded by a cluster of silver bubbles around them. She then took out two evolution stones from the pockets in her dress. I heard Pikachu-senpai and Ash curse. She tossed a Water Stone and a Fire Stone, causing them to evolve into Vaporeon and Flareon. The crowd gasped in awe at the scene. If you ignored the fact that she had just forced pokemon to evolve for a show, watching the same pokemon evolving into different pokemon was mesmerizing. During the evolution, one was caught in a whirl of flames, and the small silver bubbles became red, while the other was covered in a wave of water, and its bubbles turned blue. The two flew together in the air and as they swirled in the air, the bubbles landed softly on the ground and popped into shimmering light.
"She will get high marks for that," Riley commented, as we watched the crowd cheer as Ursula and her pokemon bowed. "Especially, since this is a one-of-a-kind show that will only work once."
"This is a mess," Ash cursed, shaking his head in disappointment. "I hope she does not use any of them for the battle rounds."
Before he could continue with his rant, Nando stepped out onto the green stage, he used Kricketot and Altaria. Soon they were both flying through the air and spinning together. Altaria's use of Perish Song in synchrony with Kricketot's Sing was a show of Nando's style to the maximum. The combo made the music notes glow and enticed the crowd and judges.
"I'm glad that Nando did not change and stayed true to his style," Pikachu-senpai complimented as he applauded alongside the crowd. "That was a soothing and beautiful performance."
Many more coordinators stepped out and performed. Some I like, others I felt were repetitive. It was only when Jessie, as Jessilina took her position on the red stage, that I felt excited once again. This was another unique coordinator that will show us an incredible performance!
"Come out Seviper and Yanmega!" Jessie called out. "Seviper, use Haze!" Jessie commanded as Seviper created a circular spiral of smoke around him. Then Jessie surprised us and jumped onto Seviper's head without disturbing the Haze. "Yanmega, Silver Wind!" The Bug-type then aimed the attack directly at Jessie, making many in the crowd gasp in worry. However, Jessie was fine. A glow surrounded Jessie, the attack had shed her original contest outfit, revealing a brand new one beneath it.
"That's so Jessie!" Ash laughed, standing up alongside Fantina to applaud Jessie's fun performance.
"Magnifique!" Fantina praised Jessie. "She did not even flinch! Truly wonderful the bond and trust between pokemon and trainer!"
"You can always expect Jessie to steal the show," Pikachu-senpai laughed as we watched Jessie and her pokemon throw kisses to the crowd.
After several more coordinators came and went, it was finally Zoey's turn on the blue stage. "Go get them!" I shouted my support, she was Dawn's best friend after all.
I gasped when the stage's center opened up to reveal a pool of water. So, it will be a water performance, I thought, as Zoey released a Lumineon and Gastrodon.
"Lumineon, Aqua Ring! Gastrodon, Water Pulse!" Both attacks collided together, bursting into a brilliant light. The light formed into three rings that floated over the water's surface, which Lumineon jumped through, followed closely by Gastrodon. The rings then floated closer to the surface and flattened out and shot up into water spouts. Zoey then jumped onto the center and her two pokemon next to her for their finishing pose.
"That was a good performance," was all Riley could say, before turning back to the red stage for Kenny's performance. But I did agree, that Zoey is a wonderful performer.
Kenny called out Floatzel and Empoleon. "Floatzel, Aqua Jet" Kenny commanded, as his pokemon shot up into the air. "Empoleon, Hydro Cannon!" Three shots of Hydro Cannon at the Aqua Jet trail after, it turned into a large waterfall. "Razor Wind!" The attack hit the water, which dispersed into many beautiful flying discs around the stage. "Empoleon, now! Metal Claw!" Empoleon shattered the discs, creating a colorful mist. "For the finish! Whirlpool and Flash Cannon!" Floatzel used Whirlpool and Empoleon went for the Flash Cannon.
"That won't work," I was distracted from the beautiful performance by Ash's worried murmur. Just as he had said, the whirlpool collapsed, throwing Floatzel back. "That Flash Cannon was too powerful for the Whirlpool," Ash shook his head, looking at the frustrated Kenny with worry in his eyes. "Poor Kenny, he will lose many points for that. Which is quite a pity, it was an amazing performance until that point."
We all looked at Kenny clench his teeth and leave the stage with concern. But our attention did not stay with him for much longer, as Dawn was the next one to step out. She was on the green stage, wearing the beautiful yellow dress that James' parents had bought her for Christmas. She called out Cyndaquil and Buneary, she had used the Line Seal which set off a large blue ribbon.
"Buneary, Ice Beam!" Dawn ordered. Buneary bounced into position while letting off a powerful Ice Beam. The twirling while using the move created a large Ice-type rollercoaster, one that took over the whole stage. "Flame Wheel!" Dawn called next, and Cyndaquil rolled down the path, melting a trench and creating a slide for Buneary.
"That's so much fun! I want to play too!" Ash complained with a playful pout, making us all chuckle.
It did look like a lot of fun!
"Now, Smoke Screen!" Dawn ordered, cloaking both pokemon above the large center ice spike.
Many gasped in the crowd at having their sight disturbed and I heard Marian comment on it. But I just smirked, and waited for the show time! A glow was seen through the Smoke Screen, which prompted more gasps as the smoke was blown away, revealing a Buneary inside a large ice Poke Ball. But the icing on the cake was Cyndaquil above her with a pair of beautiful flaming wings. Buneary bowed inside the ice Poke Ball, while the flames illuminated the ice to give off a brilliant glow and cause sparkling snow to fall.
"That was amazing!" I exclaimed, jumping in excitement. "Well done guys! Perfect!"
Marian then announced the end of the first round, and we all waited impatiently for the results of who made it through to the second round. A few minutes later it was revealed...
Dawn had made it! I exclaimed in my head. So did Zoey, Jessie, Nando, and Ursula.
Looking at the 32 pictures on the screen I gasped.
"Kenny did not pass," Ash murmured behind me. "He was eliminated."