I watched my daughter with pride as she hugged her best friend in comfort. Both girls did expectacculary. Pushing each other to be better but still keep their friendship strong. It reminded me of my old friend from back in my journey...
"You hesitated," I finally spoke up after the girls released each other.
"Excuse me?" Zoey asked confused.
"Mom?" Dawn was also confused.
"Between the Bug Buzz that destroyed your electrified Energy Ball and Kricketune's Sing," I explained. "You had a window and you..." I tried to find the right words to explain it, without kicking her while she was down.
But Zoey paid it no mind, and answered brutally honestly: "I wasted it."
"Yes," I sighed with a small smile. I like her, I thought to myself. "You doubted yourself and that cost you the win. Why did you?"
"The idea that occurred to me, was to trick him. Using Doble Team, to surround his pokemon and force him to dispel the clones one after the other, and accent my pokemon in a shower of lights from that," Zoey explained. Color me impressed, that was a good idea! But... "However, after Jessielina did something similar not ten minutes before? I had to come up with something else, and that hesitation allowed Nando to act first."
"Experience is what allowed Nando to act first and keep his cool," I corrected her. "You both did wonderfully... you simply lack the experience both Nando and Jessielina possess. You've got nothing to be ashamed of."
"We don't," Dawn agreed, hugging Zoey's arm and flashing her a smile.
So, this is how things are, I thought with a raised eyebrow, as I watched Zoey blush under the attention of my daughter. First Kenny, and now Zoey. Poor guys, Dawn is one of the most oblivious people out there. Not to mention, from all the video chats I had with her during her journey, she seems more interested in this Paul guy as a possible future romantic partner.
"Zoey, Dawn!" Ash rushed towards us and hugged both girls tightly.
"Johanna," Riley got my attention. "If you would like to share Dawn's room, I'll go stay with Ash in his suite."
"But won't the resort take it from her now that she was eliminated?" I asked him confused.
"Ash already dealt with the resort himself," Lucario informed me politely. "He said that with only one day left there's no way we won't be staying for the end of it. Both Dawn and Zoey get to keep their rooms and stay to watch Jessielina and Nando battle."
"That's very kind of him," I replied flustered. "But I can pay for Dawn's room."
"No need," Ash answered, smiling at me while having one arm wrapped around one of the girls' shoulders. "I have more money than I know what to do with, allow me this. Please."
"Fine," I sighed, not being able to beat his Lillipup eyes.
"Great!" He exclaimed in victory. "Now, let's get going. James' parents prepared a party for Jessie and Nando!"
"I've kept on noticing that sometimes you call her Jessie and other times Jessielina," I pointed out as he headed for the party.
"Her name is Jessie, but her stage name is Jessielina," Dawn explained to me with a smile, which warmed my heart.
Good, I thought. The loss did not crush her completely.
"Oh, Lugia! May! Max!" Dawn exclaimed as we entered a private party room in the resort, and rushed to hug the new Top Coordinator from Johto.
"Norman, Caroline, I'm surprised you followed May and Max to Sinnoh," Ash commented, walking towards the adults in the room, as all the kids rounded on the other corner of the room. I followed Riley and Ash, with Glameow on my heels. "What about the Gym?"
"It's off-season, the league is already over and I haven't gone on a vacation in a long time," Norman answered with a beaming smile. "And why would I not come with my Top Coordinator daughter?"
"Someone looks very proud," Ash commented with a grin, as May's dad beamed unashamed.
"Hi, I'm Caroline, May's mother," a beautiful woman presented herself, with a Gardevoir close to her. That was not May's Gardevoir, I noticed. "It's nice to meet you."
"Hi, I'm Johanna, Dawn's mother," I greeted her back. "The pleasure is all mine. Congratulations!"
"Thank you!" She beamed at me, looking just as proud as her husband.
One day, that will be me, I thought to myself with certainty, as I went to sleep that night.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are finally here. The last stage of the Sinnoh Grand Festival!" Marian announced to the cheering crowd. "All the way from Kanto, Jessielina!" I laughed at the wild shouting and tears coming from James and Meowth, while I clapped at a more sedate pace alongside Jessie's in-laws, as she stepped from the right side of the stage. "Facing her we have our own Sinnoh boy, Nando!" Many girls in the crowd swooned as he walked out from the left side of the stage. "Five minutes on the clock and... BEGIN!"
"Mimikyu, Mareanie, come out!" Jessie's pokemon came out in a black ribbon.
"Altaria, Sunflora, it's your turn, my dear friends!" Nando's pokemon came out in an explosion of musical notes.
"Mimikyu, Wood Hammer! Mareanie, Pin Missile!" Jessie was the first to attack, her Mimikyu moving with a speed I would expect from a Pikachu. Their Wood Hammer caught the Pin Missile and became a Spike Hammer, looking both deadly but appealing at the same time. Something I'm beginning to understand is Jessie's style.
It cost Nando some points, but he had an answer for it.
"Flower Guard!" Nando's Sunflora received the shield in a beautiful flower bed, which defensive powerless was multiplied thanks to Altaria, making the hammer bounce softly and costing Jessie the same amount of points as Nando.
"What moves were those?" Dawn asked excitedly.
"Flower Shield, it's a Fairy-type move," Ash answered. "Altaria used Cotton Guard, a Grass-type move."
"Sunflora, Grass Knot! Altaria, Dragon Breath!" Nando commanded, holding Mimikyu in their place as Altaria prepared to attack.
"Oh no," Dawn murmured worriedly.
"A dragon attack point blank and so close will most likely take Mimikyu down," I agreed, even though I am not familiarized with the pokemon.
"What?" Dawn turned to me confused. "No, I meant..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Altaria attacked and Mimikyu made no effort to evade the attack. However, the one who lost points was not Jessie but Nando. When the smoke from the blast cleared out, Mimikyu didn't have a single scratch on them, if anything they looked amused- laughing creepily at Altaria.
"What just happened?" Caroline asked confused.
"Mimikyu is not just ghosts, they are also Fairy-types," Norman answered, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "They are immune to Dragon-types attacks."
"That's what you meant!" I turned to my daughter.
"Shadow Sneak!" Jessie commanded and Mimikyu disappeared into the shadows, escaping the Grass Knot. "Play Rough!"
Mimikyu appeared from Altaria's shadow and held tight to the dragon, before starting to trash Altaria around and finishing the attack by throwing the dragon against Sunflora, before disappearing into the shadows again and reappearing next to Mareanie. Nando only had two-thirds of his points left by then, while Jessie still had only lost one-fourth of hers.
"Sunflora jump on Altaria and take flight!" Nando commanded, and with great difficulty took the fight to the air. "Sing and Petal Dance!"
Mimikyu and Mareanie were then attacked by musical notes shaped by sharp petals, while Altaria and Sunflora danced elegantly in the sky while tunning a beautiful harmony. It was a performer's show, one that managed to lower Jessie's points to two-thrids.
"Venomous Claw!" Jessie commanded and her pokemon answered.
Mimikyu used Shadow Claw while Mareanie used Venoshock on it, creating a shadowy-purplish claw that slized the notes apart like butter, showering Jessie's pokemon in flowers. Nando lost many points by having his own combination used against him.
"Sunflora, Energy Ball!" Nando ordered. Sunflora threw the attack toward Jessie's pokemon, but that was not the end of it. "Altaria, Sky Attack!"
With Sunflora still riding on Altaria's back, the dragon went through the attack, hitting the Energy Ball on their way down and sucking the power into the Sky Attack. Now the white aura that had surrounded them, was blueish-green. I looked at the screen and saw Jessie's points lowering to the same amount as Nando's. They both had only half of them left.
Jessie did not take it laying down, but she did wait until the last moment to counter, making it impossible for Nando's pokemon to evade it. "Mimikyu, Thunderbolt! Mareanie, Ice Beam!" Both moves fusioned, and now there was a blueish-yellow beam heading towards the Energy Sky Attack combination.
It hit the bull's sight.
It threw Altaria and Sunflora backward in a cloud of smoke, while electrified snowflakes fell softly to the ground.
The buzzer went off and everything froze.
The stadium was dead silent, as we all turned toward the screen.
Nando had only one-third of his points left, while Jessie still had half of them.
Jessie won... JESSIE WON!
"Jessielina is the winner and the new Top Coordinator of Sinnoh!" Marian exclaimed in the dead silent stadium, prompting the crowd to go wild and cheer out at the top of their lungs.
She had done it!