Episode 276: The Hoenn Grand Festival Part 2
Last where we left off, Kairi was getting some training done before it began. On the day before the Preliminary Round, Kairi met up with her family, Ventus, Terra, Aqua, and the Pichu who met Team Choatix as well. Riku, Naminé, Eevee, Azurill, Brendan and Wally came to support May along with her mom as Drew had arrived at the scene along with Harley who is plotting his revenge on May for his defeat at the Purika Pokémon Contest.
As the Preliminary Round had concluded, Kairi, May, Drew, and Harley were among the 64 out of 247 Coordinators who has made it to the second round. These four Pokémon Coordinators had come so far and only one of them is going to make it to the top.
Before the main competition could officially begin, Sora and Kairi decided to have themselves a lunch date.
"So, which one sounds good to you, Kairi?" Sora asked.
"I was thinking of that place. I heard some good things about that place," Kairi said.
Just then, a young woman approached them. She has waist-length salmon hair that has bangs swept to the left and blue eyes. She wore a collared orange long sleeved shirt with a red belt at the waist, a red fingerless glove on her right hand albeit with the thumb intact, a burgundy skirt and knee high socks and red boots. She approached the couple.
"Hey there. You're Kairi, aren't you?" The woman asked.
"Yes, that's me," Kairi said.
"I'm not sure if you noticed, but I made first on the Preliminary Round and you made second. I just wanted to meet you personally and to tell you that the performance with your Togetic has impressed me," the woman said.
"Thank you. I appreciate it," Kairi said, shaking her hand.
"I should introduce myself. My name is Soledad," she introduced. She looked over to Sora. "And I take it that he's your boyfriend?"
"Yeah I am. The name's Sora," Sora introduced.
"As in Sora Ketchum, the Pokémon League Champion of Kanto and Johto?" Soledad asked.
"The same," Sora said.
"I thought I was hearing some rumors about you, Sora. I never would have imagined that a Coordinator would date a trainer as powerful as him," Soledad said.
"I'm just as powerful as he is," Kairi said. "He's the reason I started training Pokémon." Soledad smiled to see how close the to of them are.
"How about we meet up again later. I don't want to take up more of your time," Soledad said.
Brendan was taking a walk around the grounds when he spotted Harley.
"Okay, how am I going to get May out of the Grand Festival? I could have May go with Silver Wind repeatedly. If only if she can be gullible enough to fall for it," Harley said.
"Knew it. He's out to get May. Not gonna let him get away with it," Brendan said in his thoughts. "Better let May know about this." Brendan went to inform his crush.
Over to Sora and Kairi, they had themselves a nice lunch, being some salami sandwiches with some mustard and mayo on white bread. Luckily that the competitors and their guests were eating free just like the Pokémon Leagues.
"This sure a nice place, Kairi. Glad you suggested it," Sora said.
"Well, I thought it might be nice if I would be the one who would treat you for a meal just like you did for me," Kairi said. Sora beamed lovingly to his girlfriend.
Over in Pallet Town, Delia was tending to the sickly Mr. Mime. Mimey had an ice pack on his head and a thermometer in his mouth.
"There, there, Mimey. Let's have a look at your temperature," Delia said, taking the thermometer from the barrier Pokémon's mouth. She examined it. "Oh my! 101 degrees. Well, there's nothing like a good rest can't fix. Also, some chicken soup to help with what ailes you." A knock came from the door. She answered it to see Isa at the door. "Hello there, Isa."
"Hi Mrs. Ketchum," Isa greeted back. He took out some medicine. "I got the medicine you asked for." He hands it to her.
"Thank you very much, Isa. And it's the exact thing I asked for," Delia said.
"Not a problem. Lea would have ended up with the wrong stuff," Isa said, laughing.
"All the same, I appreciate the help. Before you go, would you like some soup? I was about to make some for Mimey when you came knocking," Delia said.
"Thanks. I'm pretty hungry anyway," Isa said. He entered the house.
Back in Slateport City, Riku, Naminé, Eevee, and Azurill were in the dorm with Team Chaotix. Naminé was shocked at first and thought they were gonna scare Azurill.
"So, you said that you came from another world and got here when a weird doorway opened up and brought you here right?" Riku asked.
"That pretty much sums it up," Charmy said.
"We knew we were gonna meet you sooner or later," Vector said.
"And you're not sure how you're gonna head home, do you?" Riku asked.
"Eevee," Eevee said.
"If we did, we still wouldn't be here. And we wouldn't have met you," Espio said.
"I gotta admit, I was shocked to meet you at first, but if Sora can trust you, then I can too. And it's just like him to help someone out," Riku said.
"Eevee," Eevee said.
"Sora has such a good heart. A heart of pure gold, no less," Naminé added.
"Azurill," Azurill said.
Back to Sora and Kairi, they go on a stroll as they go over the guidebook.
"Look at this. Looks like you're gonna do a double battle during the battle part of the Grand Festival," Sora said.
"A double battle, huh? That makes it interesting," Kairi said.
"That's when you make it through the main competition. Each performance will be limited to three minutes. After that, 32 out of 64 of the original 247 trainers will be moving on in the double battles. And the battles will be limited to five minutes. And the Coordinator who wins the fifth and final stage will be winning the Grand Festival and recieve the Ribbon Cup," Sora said as he was reading the rules. "Any idea on which one you'll be using?"
"Hm," Kairi said, stroking her chin. "I think I'm going to use Gardevoir for this. I was thinking of using a Psychic and Magical Leaf combo. And follow up with a Dazzling Gleam finish."
"Great! That's a good match up," Sora said. "We should get ready for the main competition. Everyone else is probably waiting for us." Kairi nodded.
"Okay," Kairi said.
Over in Kanto, Wario and Waluigi had arrived in Vermilion City to try their luck.
"So, where do we start looking?" Wario asked.
"I dunno. It was your idea to come here. We might as well start looking around since we want to get our hands on much goodies as possible," Waluigi said.
"Excuse me," a voice spoke. They turned to see a man with a Hypno. "If I didn't know better, I could have sworn that you're treasure hunters, right?"
"What's it to you, bub?" Wario asked.
"I just know it when I see it. And I can help you fellas out with that," the man said.
"Hypno," Hypno said.
"And how do you plan on that?" Waluigi asked. The man took out a metal detector and held it in front of the duo.
"Just use this metal detector. This a metal detector capabilities to put a Nosepass to shame," the man said. Wario and Waluigi didn't know what a Nosepass was, but they knew a good deal when they saw it (or not).
"Okay, you got a deal," Wario said. He was thinking of handing him some gold coins, but they thought of some lint from his pockets.
"Keep your money. I'm giving it to you with no charge. Enjoy with good health and wealth," the man said. Wario and Waluigi set off to find themselves the treasure of a lifetime. The man cackled. "What a pair of gullible losers. And the way they dressed, what a joke. The only thing those suckers are going to strike is a huge rock." He cackles some more.
Back in Slateport City, May was doing some training when Brendan informed May about getting her dropped from the Grand Festival. May knew Sora was right not to trust a thing Harley said. She knew Brendan wouldn't give her any reason to lie to her.
"Thanks for the heads-up, Brendan. Trusting Harley would be like trusting a biker to mow the lawn," May said.
"You'd do the same for me, May," Brendan said. "I wanna see you succeed and be the best. In fact, you're the best Pokémon Coordinator I know." May smiled affectionately and nodded.
"I appreciate it, Brendan. Thank you very much," May said, blushing. Brendan was also blushing. Wally knew it was Brendan and May from the moment he saw them together. Wally wanted his crush to be happy with whoever. Drew was watching the scene and he knew she had support from someone. Caroline watched the scene and she smiled as she could tell there was love between the two of them. It reminded her of her younger days when she and Norman were dating.
"May," Wally said.
In Alola, the Mane Seven, Spike, the Kongs, Dingodile, Oil Man, Time Man, Hunter, Bianca, Shiela, Sgt. Byrd, Bentley, and Agent 9 were watching the Grand Festival coverage on TV.
"Can you believe how good it is?" Lanky asked.
"Thanks to Twilight's research, it was a cinch to hear about the world we're in," Oil Man said.
"Also, how did Sunset Shimmer know about that girl Kairi in the first place?" Chunky asked as he held Kiddy in his arms.
"It was when Princess Twilight met her and her boyfriend when they were in Earthland when that Ultra Beast was terrorizing it," Sunset Shimmer said. "It was written into a journal I got from her."
"Hard to believe that there's someone like the Twilight we know," Bentley said. "It must have been hard not being able to see her since she's occupied in Equestria."
"Yeah, it's kinda like when the Professor told us about some other Spyro in a completely different world," Agent 9 said.
"The multiverse is a complicated thing," Applejack said.
"Indeed. I cannot imagine myself face-to-face with such a horrid beast, big enough to swallow a building in one gulp," Rarity said.
"If I ever came across that thing, I'd have nightmares for months," Dingodile said.
"I just don't see what else might happen," Sgt. Byrd said.
"Just about anything," Bianca said.
Back in Slateport City, it was still a few hours before the Grand Festival was bout to begin, Sora and Kairi picked up their Pokémon as they met up with Riku, Naminé. Lillie, Elio, Selene, Eevee, Azurill, Meowth, Ventus, Terra, and Aqua, and Kairi's family.
"Hey guys," Sora greeted.
"Enjoy your lunch date?" Yuta asked in a teasing tone.
"Yeah we did. Is everyone here having a good time?" Sora asked.
"Ven is certainly is. He got excited meeting some Pokémon around here. We could hardly contain him," Terra said.
"I can't help it. Those Pokémon are cool," Ventus said. Everyone all watched Kairi pick out Gardevoir's Pokéball and threw it.
"Come out, Gardevoir!" Kairi called out. Her Gardevoir comes out, making quite an entrance. "Now use Magical Leaf! Follow up with Psychic!" Gardevoir began with Magical Leaf and uses Psychic to manipulate the leaves. Gardevoir uses the leaves all around and creates all sorts of shapes. Everyone watching were at awe at the sight as how colorful and magical it looked. "Now use Dazzling Gleam!" Gardevoir uses Magical Leaf and they create sparkles. The sound of clapping is heard and it is Solidad who was watching.
"Impressive," Solidad said.
"Solidad?" Kairi asked.
"We meet again," Solidad said. "Again, that was very impressive."
"Thank you," Kairi said.
"We saw you in the Preliminary Round," Riku said. Solidad turned to see Naminé with Azurill.
"Naminé! I didn't expect to see you here," Solidad said. Naminé smiled.
"It's been a long time," Naminé said. Riku looked at his girlfriend confused.
"You know her?" Riku asked. Naminé looked at her boyfriend.
"Solidad used to babysit me when I was little. Hard to believe that you're here of all places!" Naminé said.
"And it looks you raised that little one right," Solidad said, looking at Azurill.
"Naminé rasied Azurill since she was an egg," Riku said.
"Eevee," Eevee said. Solidad looked at Riku and Eevee and smiled.
"So, you have yourself a boyfriend, I see," Solidad said.
"Yes. I want you to meet Riku," Naminé introduced.
"Hey," Riku said.
Solidad joins in the groul, explaining how she knows Naminé so well. She shared some stories abouther days as a young Pokémon Coordinator and how she met up with Drew. This bit of information was a bit of a shock.
"Drew? Nervous? Really?" Sora asked.
"Yes. He doesn't seem to the type to get nervous like he used to, but he's grown stronger since the first contest he ever entered," Solidad said.
"What do you mean?" Kairi asked.
"When Drew and I first met, he was very nervous. Despite this, he gained a little bit of confidence in himself and the way he handles his Roselia was truly beautiful. He ended up being my final opponent in the finals," Solidad explained.
"He made it all the way to the final round in his first contest?" Riku asked.
"Yes. Drew gave it everything he had, but he ended up losing to me. When he lost, I could see tears in his eyes; his Roselia's too," Solidad said.
"Wow, his contest and he lost," Sora said. Kairi hadn't lost a Contest since she entered, but she could understand how hard it was for him.
"Drew had gotten stronger ever since. I can tell. We still kept in touch. Drew had told me some things about Coordinators like this girl May," Solidad said.
"May? As in a red bandana, May?" Sora asked.
"The one. And he only spoke about her," Solidad said.
"Funny. He never mentioned you," Kairi said.
"Knowing Drew he probably had some other things to talk about," Solidad said.
It was the time for the main competition Kairi stood alongside Solidad. She looked over to Drew and saw some discomfort in his eyes. Harley was about to give May some advice, but she just ignored him like he wasn't there. Kairi knew May was seeing through him and ploy.
"I guess I'll have to hope that shrimp ends up being my opponent. I'll bump her out. And maybe bump off Kairi if she gets in my way," Harley said.
In Alola, Illima, Mallow, Kiawe, Lana, Sophocles, Acerola, Mina, and Hapu were watching the Grand Festival. The Mane Seven, Spike, the Kongs, Time Man, Oil Man, Hunter, Bianca, Sheila, Sgt. Byrd, Bentley, Agent 9 were also watching the event on TV. Sora sat with Kairi's family, Riku, Naminé, Eevee, Azurill, Meowth, Lillie, Elio, Selene, Ventus, Terra, Aqua, the Pichu, Caroline, Brendan, Max, and Wally were watching in the stands.
"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the main competition round here at the Hoenn Grand Festival! As you know, the original 247 contestants, only 64 remain. And now those 64 semi-finalists having made it through the preliminary trails on the Appeal Stage, will battle it out here on the Main Stage in what we expect will be elegant and fierce duels, until all but the very best are eliminated. And the one Coordinator who emerge victorious will awarded this, the magnificent Ribbon Cup!" Vivian announced as the crowd cheers. Contesta, Mr. Suziko, Lisia, Phoebe, and Glacia took their positions as judges. "And now, let's meet our distinguished and hardworking judges! Roul Contesta, head judge and Pokémon Contest Director. " Contesta spoke through the microphone.
"I am indeed honored to be part of such a momentous occasion" Contesta announced. "I know you will all enjoy the performances you're about to see, from the world's very best Pokémon Coordinators!" The crowd cheers again.
"I now introduce you to Mr. Suziko. Head of the Pokémon Fan Club!" Vivian announced.
"Happy to be here!" Mr. Suziko announced.
"Next, you know her and you lover her! Let's hear from our next judge, the Hoenn Popstar, Lisia!" Vivian announced.
"It's so nice to see so many happy faces out there!" Lisia announced. Lisia's fan club went wild for Lisia acting as a judge.
"And last and certainly not least, we have invited not one, but two members of the Hoenn region's Elite Four! The master of Ghost Type Pokémon, Phoebe, and the the elegant user of Ice Type Pokémon, Glacia!" Vivian announced. The crowd goes wild as two members of the Elite Four had made their appearence.
"Thank you, everyone!" Glacia announced.
"Glacia and I are looking forward for a Grand Festival that will go down in history as one the best and the stories that will be shared to generation to generations to come!" Phoebe announced.
Kairi sat with Angel on her lap as she brushes her fur.
"We made it this far, Angel. I know you haven't been with us at the begininng, but we're going to give it everything we've got, right?" Kairi asked.
"Eevee," Angel nodded.
"That's what I wanted to hear," Kairi said.
"The first round here on the Main Stage will consist of single Pokémon performances with time limited to three minutes each. Coordinators will be scored on their performances by the judges on the sae one-to-twenty point scale And only the top 32 of these 64 Coordinators will continue on to the Contest's Second Stage. Now, if our judges are ready, and if all of you are ready some Pokémon action..." Vivian announced as the crowd cheers, "... then let's bring out the first of our 64 semi-finalists and get this party started!" Fireworks goes off as the crowd starts cheering again. A male Coordinator comes running on the stage with his Pokéball ready.
"Ninetales! Flamethrower!" The Coordinator called out as his Ninetales makes an entrance and performes an elegant Flamethrower.
"Next up is Coordinator number two. Please welcome Harley!" Vivian announced. Harley takes the stage as he blow kisses to the cheering crowd.
"Oh, you're too kind, thank you all!" Harley boasted. "Now, I'd like to introduce..." Harley took out a Pokéball and threw it up in the air. A Banette came out of it. "Banette!" His Banette gave an intimidating grin, making Vivian shiver in fright.
"That's one powerful smile! Banette just dropped the temperature in here 25 degrees!" Vivian announced.
Back in Alola, Fluttershy was shivering in fright of the ghostly Pokémon.
"So scary," Fluttershy shivered.
"Will-O-Wisp, Banette!" Harley ordered. Banete swings its arms around as bluish flames appear all around it. "Follow up with Thunder, go!" Banette raises its arm and fires Thunder right into the air. Lightining comes crashing down and strikes Banette.
"Oh no! It's brought down a powerful Thunder onto itself!" Vivian announced. Banette was hurting bad as the Will-O-Wisp were floating around. Banette was also laughing despite the pain. "It not only survived, it's laughing. An incredible, but yet creepy performance! Let's see if the judges found it as impressive and unsettling as we did!" Harley had scored 89 points.
"Now, that's impressive," Terra said.
"And scary," Lillie said.
"That could give me nightmares for a while," Meowth said.
Up next a young woman with dark red hair and blue eyes came on the stage. She was dressed in Arabian clothing and she uses her Medicham to compete. Medicham performs with an excellent High Jump Kick, following with Ice Punch. She scored a 90. Next was Solidad and she uses her Slowbro as she uses Psychic and Hyper Beam, earning her 99. There were other performances that went on as some of them scored high points. Drew's Masquerain began with Hidden Power and then finished up with Bubble Beam and Silver Wind, earning him 95. Other Coordinators did the same with their own Pokémon.
"Wasn't that wonderful? Now, let's have a look into our very next Coordinator! She comes from Pallet Town in the Kanto region, Kairi!" Vivian announced as Kairi entered the stage. Sora and Yuta were especially happy to see her performance. Mirei took out a camera just so she can rewatch again and again.
"Take the stage, Gardevoir!" Kairi called out as her Gardevoir had made her entrance, kneeling and then stood up. "Begin with Magical Leaf and then use Psychic!" Gardevoir uses Magical Leaf first and then uses Psychic to manipulate the leaves. Gardevoir then does a little dance, moving the leaves and captivating the crowd.
"Kairi's Gardevoir uses Psychic to manipulate Magical Leaf and does a beautiful dance. So graceful," Vivian announced.
"So beautiful," Aqua said.
"Very beautiful," Kairi's grandmother agreed.
"Now, make some shapes!" Kairi said. Gardevoir takes the leaves and makes them shaped like a heart, a star, a cresent moon, and then a crown.
"It's simply the most magical thing I have ever seen! How is Kairi going to finsih it?" Vivian announced.
"Dazzling Gleam!" Kairi ordered. Gardevoir uses Dazzling Gleam and scatters the leaves and ceasing to use Psychic. The crowd cheers for Kairi's performance.
"Simply beautiful and magical! Let's see if the judges agrees!" Vivian announced. Kairi had scored a 99 along with Solidad. "And Kairi has scored a 99! She is tied with Solidad!" The crowd cheers for her.
"That's my baby!" Yuta said proudly. "My little girl is way better than those chumps!"
"Dear, sit down. It's not over yet," Mirei said.
"Next on our Grand Festival is Anthony!" Vivian announced. A chubby boy wearing orange overalls and a shirt came on the stage. He has blue hair and blue eyes. He took out his Pokéball and threw it.
"Let's go! Do it, Swalot!" Anthony called out as his Swalot rolls into the air, upon entry. Swalot's expandable body splats on the stage and regains form.
"Quite an entrance, demonstrating its expandable contractible body!" Vivian announced.
"Sludge Bomb, now!" Anthony ordered. Swalot begins by firing Sludge Bomb into the air. "Now do Bullet Seed!" Swalot fires Bullet Seed and explosions occur upon contact.
"Accuracy beyond compare!" Vivian announced.
"Now finish it all off with Swallow!" Anthony ordered. Swalot expands to the Sludge Bomb and Bullet Seed combo and swallows it all. A puff of smoke comes out its mouth.
"Now, that's what I call a clean finish! And let's find out what the judges thought!" Vivian announced. Anthony scores an 82. "A solid score, now let's move along! Here's May making another appearence!" May enters the stage all ready to go. She took out a Pokéball and threw it.
"Squirtle! Take the stage!" May called out. Her Squirtle comes out and does a twirl. "Begin with Water Gun!" Squirtle fires Water Gun all around, making a small water.
"Squirtle begins with a firing Water Gun attack!" Vivian announced.
"Way to go, May!" Brendan cheered for his crush.
"That's doing it, May!" Max added.
"Now use Ice Beam!" May ordered. Squirtle fires Ice Beam into the air, making it look like it's winter.
"Christmas might have come early this year, especially with that Christmasy feeling with that Ice Beam!" Vivian announced.
"Now use Aqua Tail!" May ordered. Squitle uses Aqua Tail and it creates ice crystals as they sparkled.
"What a beautiful performance! Let's see what the judges have to say," Vivian announced. May had earned 93 points. "And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen! A wonderful performance by May and her Squirtle!" The crowd cheers. May comes on to the backstage, feeling satisfied by her work. Harley was steamed that she got a higher score than he did. Kairi went up to May to congratulate her.
"That was great, May. I knew you were gonna pull it off," Kairi praised her.
"Thanks Kairi. That means a lot from you," May said.
"Oh please! Don't give me any of that bullshit!" Harley spat. He wallked up to the girls. "You didn't use Skitty like I suggested? Why the hell haven't you?!" May just grinned.
"After that attempt to toy with me, I'm not easily duped! I know you were trying to get back at me after I beat you at the Purika Contest!" May hissed.
"I thought you would fall for it. But you didn't!" Harley snarled.
"I guess Sora was right about you after all, Harley," Kairi said, making Harley turn to her. "You're just a child who just throws a tantrum when he doesn't get what he wants."
"How dare you, speak to me like that!" Harley yelled.
"I'm saying it because it's true. Nothing gives you the right to be a jerk to everyone you meet!" Kairi said.
"How I treat people is nobody's business but my own! And why do you care how I treat May?" Harley exclaimed.
"May worked hard to make it to the Grand Festival just as much as you, Drew, and me! If you're going to be such poor sport about it, then you have no right to be here at all! I gave May nothing but respect ever since she became a trainer and decided to compete in Contests! Respect is key to any trainer! I learned that a long time ago. May is a much better person than you ever are and ever will be!" Kairi said, putting Harley in his place. Harley was angered by her statement.
"Get out of my way! I don't have to take this abuse!" Harley stormed out. "And if you get in my way, I'll crush you like a grape!" Kairi wasn't intimidated by his threats. May beamed as she placed her hand on Kairi's shoulder.
"Thanks for sticking up for me, Kairi," May said.
"I had to. Someone had to put that jerk in his place where he belongs," Kairi said.
"Also, he dresses weird, don't you know it?" May asked, making Kairi laugh.
"Yes, very weird," Kairi said.
Drew was amazed by how Kairi was able to stick up for May like that. He couldn't understand how a Coordinator like Kairi could respect May just like that.
"And that concludes the Main Competition, now we shall see who is going through and who is not! On the big board, the following 32 Coordinators have made it, and will compete on the Second Stage!" Vivian announced. The computer goes through the scores as Kairi, Solidad, May, Drew, and Harley were among the 32 finalists. "Good luck to you all and congratulations to the next round of winners!"
"Yes! She made it!" Yuta said.
"Of course she did. With a score like that, how could she not?" Sora asked.
"The same can be said for May," Aqua said.
"You must be proud of your daughter, Caroline," Mirei said.
"I am. To be honest, I never thought May would be so good with Pokémon, after she used to dislike them," Caroline said.
In the dorm room, Team Chaotix were cheering as Kairi had made it.
"Wow, I knew she was good, but she's even better than I thought," Vector said.
"Now, we just have to see whose against who," Charmy said.
"Agreed," Espio said.
"The computer will now pair the contestants based on their scores for tomorrow's match," Vivian announced. The computer has gone through the 32 remaining finalists as Kairi is paired up with the Coordinator with Medicham, and May against Harley. Drew and Solidad were paired off with other Coordinators "That concludes the Grand Festival's program for today. We'll see you all back here again tomorrow when things promises to get even hotter." Harley hoped that he would be against May first as his desire for revenge was so close, he could just taste it.
Now that the finals of the Grand Festival was about to begin, Kairi and her Pokémon had to give it everything they've got to make it to the top. We shall see how well things turns out in the end. Stay tuned for the next chapter as the Grand Festival is close to the finish.