The Grand Festival!
"There it is, the Grand Festival's Contest Hall!" Chloe breathed out as a large stadium could be seen in the distance, it was quadruple the size of a standard Contest Hall as it needed to be big enough to house the large number of Coordinators along with the spectators. The Grand Festivals gathered a significantly larger crowd than most other Contests, the only one that even came close to rivaling it was that of the Wallace Cup!
The group had just arrived in Mulberry City right on time as the festivities would begin in a matter of hours, allowing them more than enough time to eat and while Chloe was busy getting herself registered for the competition, the boys were planning a path through Victory Road as they'd practically be there as soon as they left Mulberry!
"Alright I think it's best if you bring Kabutops, Kingler and Gengar with you." Brock suggested. "The terrain is full of powerful Rock and Ground types, and there are some powerful Fighting type Pokemon around the area like Machamp! The Pokemon around the area won't be as willing to let us pass by as other Pokemon have in the past, we're more than likely to get into multiple fights!"
Ash nodded in agreement to Brock's suggestion, it was the final challenge for a reason after all. The Pokemon there weren't going to just let him pass unless he proved himself to them!
"Chloe, so glad you could make it!" Solidad exclaimed as the two friends met at the registration desk.
"Solidad!" Chloe turned to face her friend, a smile quickly spread across her face before they greeted one another with a hug.
"Looks like you managed to get the final ribbon, I saw you were competing but unfortunately I couldn't see the end result as something came up."
"More than that, I also won Ash's heart! He and I told each other how we felt and we're officially together now!" Chloe exclaimed in an excitable fashion.
"Really?" Solidad's eyes widened upon the realization. "That's great! I-I was actually thinking about telling Drew how I feel once I win here!"
"You totally should, you'll feel a lot better once you let your emotions out. Besides I'm sure that he feels the same way, you've known each other since you were kids! He's bound to like you."
"I hope you're right." Solidad muttered as she looked doubtful.
"Have faith in yourself!" Chloe smiled while placing her hand upon Solidad's shoulder. "And this'll be my final Contest so I expect you to give it your all cause I sure will! I want my final Contest to be a great one!"
"You're quitting? Hahahaha!" Luna cackled as she approached the registration desk. "I guess you finally saw sense, eh? About time you learn that this isn't the place for a peasant such as yourself, only a princess is worthy of the Grand Festival crown!"
"Oh don't kid yourself you royal pain, you may be actual royalty but I have the looks of one!" Jessilina exclaimed as she appeared.
"You? I thought you of all people would be a fan of mine!" Luna snarled out.
"Oh please, us poor people have to stick together right Chloe?" Jessilina asked as she wrapped an arm around Chloe.
Chloe shot bright red from embarrassment as she couldn't believe Jessie was actually on her side, perhaps this was her way of paying her back for the Pokedolls?
Luna's eyes twitched from the remark while Chloe took a deep breath.
"No, I'm not afraid of you! A good friend of mine helped me come to the realization that this isn't the right path in life for me, I have no idea what my true goal in life is and that's okay! I could find out tomorrow or even two years from now! All that matters is that I had fun doing what I did and I intend on going out in style otherwise all the work that my Pokemon and I did was for nothing!"
Luna's eyes narrowed to slits as she glared at Chloe while Furfrou glared up at Eevee, Chloe and Eevee boldly stared back into the eyes of their rivals without backing down causing Luna to sweat after a few seconds before eventually turning away with a light scoff. "Y-Yeah well that doesn't change a thing! I'll win this thing and then you'll all be sorry!" Luna snarled as she turned her back to them.
Chloe turned to Jessie as Luna stomped off. "Thanks Jessi-er Jessilina!"
"Don't mention it twe-er Chloe just don't misunderstand my intentions, I intend on winning that crown so don't expect me to just give it to you!" Jessilina exclaimed.
"Wouldn't expect you to, let's give it our best shall we?" Chloe smiled.
"Welcome one and all to the Grand Festival!" Lilian's cries were followed by the loud eruption of the crowd as they were excited to see their favorite Coordinators compete against one another. "We've got over one hundred Coordinators competing here today but unfortunately only thirty two of them will advance to the next round, it's been a long and exciting journey for all our competitors and I'm sure they've come up with incredible performances and worked hard to ensure they do well so let's give them all a round of applause shall we?!"
The crowd applauded once more before Lillian continued.
"And now allow me to introduce our judges, as usual we've got Mr. Contest and Mr. Sukizo."
"Good to see you all again!" Mr. Contesta waved.
"Remarkable!"
"But we've also got two special guest judges! First up is Kalos' Kalos Queen, Aria!"
"Aria?!" Chloe's eyes widened as she waited alongside the other Coordinators. She sure didn't expect her friend to return to Kanto, at least not this soon! Aria stood alongside Mr. Contesta and Mr. Sukizo, a warm smile formed across her face as she waved at the crowd.
"Hello everyone, it's a great honor to be invited here!"
"And lastly the Grand Coordinator Wallace!"
The crowd erupted into cheers once more though the female screams dominated those of the males this time, the opposite of when Aria was introduced to them.
"Hello my darlings, it is a great privilege to be invited as a judge. I look forward to seeing what you've all got in store for us!" Wallace waved to the cheering crowd.
"I've also got one last surprise for you all, next year we'll be changing up the Contest rules and we've decided to spice up the Grand Festival by introducing you to one such rule now." The Coordinators all turned to each other and began murmuring excitedly as they wondered what was to be expected of them. "From now on rather than using a singular Pokemon in the Performance and Battle stages, you're to use two! Allowing for more creative techniques and creating more tension on the battlefield as now you've got to work twice as hard at maintaining your points!"
"Makes sense," Solidad stated with a light smile.
"The rules clearly changed because somebody feels threatened by my presence here, they're trying to stop me from taking what is rightfully mine but they won't succeed!" Luna exclaimed.
"There is one change that will not go into effect yet however," Lilian continued. "It applies to the dress code, once the next season starts you'll all be required to 'dress up' rather that be a dress, a suit or something else! And don't be afraid to get creative!"
"Well that's convenient." Chloe thought to herself while feeling a sense of relief that she wouldn't be competing as she didn't have the right creative spark to design a Contest outfit of her own.
"Now we've got a lot of performances to get through today so let's get started shall we?!" The crowd cheered loudly as the scoreboard updated to showcase the image of a random Coordinator that Chloe recalled seeing at the Cerulean Contest.
"Jessilina you're up!" Lilian called out.
"Alright time to show you all how it's done!" Jessilina giggled out as she raced onto the stage. "Gyarados and Lickilicky let's do this!"
"GYAAAAA!" James's Gyarados burst out onto the stage followed shortly by Jessie's Lickilicky. Gyarados gave Jessilina a hard stare and only stopped himself from eating her because James told him to listen to whatever she said for the duration of the event!
"Licky!"
"Lickilicky wrap your tongue around me and roll towards Gyarados, Gyarados you swallow Lickilicky and send us flying with Water Pulse!"
"Well nobody can say she's not creative." Chloe sweated.
"Eevoi..." Eevee sweated.
"Licky!" Lickilicky wrapped his tongue around Jessilina before curling up into a ball. "Licki!" He cried out as he rolled towards Gyarados, the large water serpent leaned forward and swallowed the two before taking aim at the air above.
"GYA!" He roared out as a large water geyser erupted from his mouth, sending Lickilicky and Jessilina flying up into the air! For a second it appeared as if Jessilina would accidentally blast herself off as she frequently did, it was a wonder she even got five ribbons in the first place, but Lickilicky soon came crashing towards the ground in ball form before landing on his feet as he straightened out. His tongue unrolled and freed Jessilina who was quick to take a bow as the crowd began cheering out!
Wallace and Aria stared in shock as they couldn't believe what they'd just witnessed while Mr. Contesta and Mr. Sukizo applied their scores as they were quite used to Jessie's unusual but creative style. Aria and Wallace eventually looked at one another and gave a nod as they displayed their own scores.
"Ten, ten, ten, ten! Incredible! A record score for Jessilina, give her a round of applause folks!"
"She did it, she actually did it!" James laughed.
"Go Jess!" Meowth cried out.
"Wobbu!" Wobbuffet shouted out alongside them.
"Butterfree use Sleep Powder, Slowbro send the powder flying with Psychic!"
"Freeee!" Butterfree flapped his wings as a bright blue powder emerged from them, a blue glow surrounded the powder as Slowbro's eyes turned a similar shade of blue.
"Slowbro!" The powder began spiraling around the two Pokemon before it was launched ahead of them, the powder falling towards the ground as if it were confetti!
"What an incredible performance from Solidad! And now last but certainly not least we've got Chloe Cerise to wrap things up, come on out Chloe!"
"Go Chloe!"
"Pika pi!"
"You can do it!" Brock shouted.
Chloe waved to the cheering crowd as she took her position upon the stage. "Sakura, Nidoqueen let's put on a show!" She cried out while throwing forward the Pokeballs containing her very first captures.
"Freeee!"
"Nidoqueen!" Loud cheers erupted throughout the audience at the sight of the pink Butterfree.
"Nidoqueen use Sludge Wave, Sakura follow up with Psychic!"
"Queen!" Nidoqueen swished her tail as a large wave of purple sludge formed around her body.
"Freeee!" Sakura's eyes glowed bright blue as she began levitating the sludge into the air before maneuvering it into the shape of a large purple heart!
"Fascinating, Chloe's techniques sure have improved!" Professor Cerise remarked as he and Talia took their place alongside Ash. They'd have gotten there sooner but he had to help out with an emergency at the lab.
"They sure have!" Ash exclaimed as he watched on with a fond expression.
Cerise took notice and smirked to himself. "You two are together now, aren't you?"
Ash's cheeks turned bright red as he shifted his gaze away from Cerise. "Yes..."
"No need to be afraid, I'm glad it's you! I couldn't think of anyone more suitable for the job than you, I'm sure that you'll both watch out for one another!" Cerise placed his hand on Ash's shoulder before squeezing it as he looked Ash dead in the eye. "Just no funny business until you're married, okay?"
Ash began nervously sweating as the thought hadn't even crossed his mind until now. "Y-Yes sir!"
"Pika!" Pikachu giggled out in response before glancing towards the field as Lillian called out once more.
"And that wraps up the first round, let's give our Coordinators a round of applause before taking a break for lunch. When we get back we'll begin the first round of the Battle Stage but first let's see who will be paired against one another!"
Lillian motioned towards the scoreboard which displayed the images of Jessilina, Chloe, Solidad, Luna and various other Coordinators before shuffling them around. Jessilina and Solidad got paired off against random Coordinators while Chloe and Luna got paired off against one another.
"No way!" Brock gasped.
"They're really facing off in the first round?!"
"Pi Pikachu?!"
Chloe gasped as she stared at the screen in disbelief. "What are the odds?"
"Pretty good in my favor," Luna remarked with a smirk as she approached Chloe. "You may as well give up and go home now peasant."
Chloe narrowed her eyes as she shot Luna a glare. "Never, if I did that then all my work will have been for nothing!"
"Eevoi!"
Luna scoffed as she shook her head. "Well then don't come crying to me when I destroy you," Luna cackled.
Chloe was rather silent as she ate her lunch, not joining in the other's conversation as they all talked about the upcoming round. Chloe was busy thinking it over and playing the possibilities over inside of her head. Luna was a toxic jerk for sure but she never imagined having to face her during the very first round of the Grand Festival, she almost feared how the princess would react if she lost. She was far more unhinged than Jessie and James' Gyarados and that was saying something!
Ash noticed her look but mistook it as her being deep in thought over her strategy so he merely placed his hand upon her shoulder in a supportive manner and didn't pry as he didn't wish to interrupt her thought. Before long a loud chime echoed around the stadium, calling the Coordinators back as preparations for the next round were getting underway!
Chloe watched on as Jessie's Arbok and James' Weezing overcame the opposing side's Flareon and Vaporeon with Solidad following on with her Lapras and Pidgeot besting a Wigglytuff and Clefable team up! A few other Coordinators followed on before it was Chloe's turn to face off against Luna.
"Alright everyone put your hands together for Chloe and Luna!" The crowd erupted into cheers as the two Coordinators stepped forward.
"How many times do I have to tell you dirty peasants?! The name's Princess Luna, Princess!" Luna screeched out.
"More like Princess Karen!"
"What the-?! Who said that?!" Luna turned around only to be greeted by a rotten tomato to the face as the crowd laughed out.
Chloe quickly covered her mouth as she attempted to hide a smile but it was too late as Luna turned around and took notice. "You! I don't know how but I know you have something to do with this!"
Chloe tilted her head. "Huh? I'm standing right here how could I do that?!"
"Don't you dare try and confuse me with your peasant language," Luna scoffed as she enlarged a Pokeball. "The kid gloves are officially off, I paid top dollar to get this baby imported from the Unova region and he's all I need to destroy you!" Luna's eyes turned to flames as she tossed the ball forward. "Hydreigon annihilate her!" She hissed out.
"Not so fast, you need to use two Pokemon or else you forfeit!" Lilian called out.
Luna scowled as she lazily waved a hand. "Fine, Furfrou just stand there and look beautiful!"
"Furfrou!" Furfrou left her side and leaped onto the battlefield as the menacing three headed Pseudo Legendary Pokemon of the Unova region came bursting out alongside him!
"HYDRE!"
"Whoa!" Ash nearly fell from his seat at the sight of the intimidating Pokemon.
"Pika!"
"What is that?!" Brock gasped.
"A Hydreigon! I never imagined that I'd get to see one in person!" Cerise fanboyed at the sight of the rare Unova Pokemon before quickly shaking his head as he remembered his daughter was facing against it! "Go Chloe, you can do it!"
"Go Chloe!" Talia called out.
Chloe tensed up at the sight of the Dragon before quickly reaching for her Rotom Phone as she needed information on this intimidating new Pokemon!
"Hydreigon the Brutal Pokemon, there are a slew of stories about villages that were destroyed by Hydreigon. It bites anything that moves!"
"Alright Eevee it is,"
"Eevoi!" Eevee leaped from Chloe's shoulder as she took position on the battlefield.
Chloe reached for another Pokeball and enlarged it. "Alright Jigg-"
"Togepriiii!" Togepi suddenly leaped from her bag and took position upon the battlefield causing panic to spread across everyone's faces.
"Oh no!" Brock went pale.
"Togepi..." Ash facepalmed.
"We're about ta see scrambled eggs!" Meowth, Jessie and James covered their eyes.
"Togepi not now!" Chloe groaned out as Luna began cackling out.
"Oh this is perfect, I was hoping to wipe that peasant Pokemon from existence!" Luna's eyes burned even brighter than before as they were now dead set upon Togepi. "Hydreigon wipe that annoying pest out with Hyper Beam!"
"Hydre!" Hydreigon's three heads began charging up the orange-yellow beam of energy as it's eyes locked onto the baby Pokemon.
"Eevee block Togepi and use Sparkly Swirl!" She cried out while hoping that Eevee's newest attack would be enough to stop the mighty beast!
"Eevoi!" Eevee stretched herself out and cried out as a vortex of pink sparkly swirls formed around her before spiraling towards her opponents! Furfrou grunted out and immediately dropped to his knees while the attack merely pushed Hydreigon back. The three headed beast shook his heads before shooting a murderous look as he fired the attack towards Eevee, the orange-yellow energy beam flew towards Eevee before exploding upon impact sending her flying across the field where she collapsed to her side as swirls filled her eyes. "Eevoi..."
"Eevee no!" Chloe gasped out.
"No way, they just knocked out Eevee in one shot!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pi Pikachu?!"
"That Hydreigon sure is strong..." Brock clenched his fists.
Chloe frowned as she looked towards Togepi. 'Togepi's in no shape or form to take on a Pokemon like that! I have to forfeit before they get themselves killed!' They didn't even know what gender Togepi was as the Pokemon was that mysterious! "I for-"
"Toge toge toge! Priiii!" Togepi wiggled it's fingers as the usual joyful expression spread across it's face. A sheer cold air filled the battlefield before a powerful and freezing cold wind blasted across the field along with a storm of ice and snow!
"That's Sheer Cold!" Professor Cerise exclaimed.
"Man Togepi sure picks convenient attacks!" Brock remarked.
"Well that's the thing maybe unlike most Pokemon, Togepi has full control over what comes out!" Professor Cerise theorized before shrugging. "Of course it's just a theory, I have no way of proving this."
"H-Hydre..." Hydreigon shivered from the cold before dropping to the battlefield with a loud and heavy thud as swirls filled his eyes. "Gon..."
A loud buzz rang out as Mr. Contesta, Mr. Sukizo, Aria and Wallace displayed large red X's upon their scoreboards.
"And in a surprising twist Luna's Hydreigon was taken out by Chloe's Togepi allowing for Chloe to advance to the next round!" Lilian exclaimed.
Luna's eyes twitched. "No... no... it can't end like this! H-How could I lose?!"
"Toge! Toge!" Togepi excitedly chanted out as it danced in place. The crowd laughed out in amusement before gasping out as a bright blue light engulfed the baby Pokemon's body!
"T-Togepi?!" Chloe gasped out.
"No way!"
"Pika!"
"Togepi's evolving!" Brock exclaimed.
"Incredible, we'll get to witness a newly discovered species' evolution!" Cerise excitedly exclaimed while his wife held his arm.
Togepi's egg shells fully removed from it's body as a pair of small wings emerged from it's back. It's body began changing form to shape a small head attached to a small slender neck which sat atop a small round body. It's body lost the cream color and now resembled that of it's former shell as it was primarily white while the blue and red patterns laid across it's belly and backside!
"Togetic, Toge!" The newly evolved Pokemon cried out.
Chloe's eyes lit up at the sight of her newly evolved Pokemon as excitement began filling her body. "Y-You evolved?!"
"Togetic!" Togetic flew towards it's trainer before nuzzling against her in an affectionate manner. "Toge! Toge!"
"Togetic..." Cerise smirked to himself. "That is it's name!"
Luna scowled at the newly evolved Pokemon as she returned Hydreigon to his ball before taking her leave. "That damn Togepi ruined things for me yet again! I must learn it's secrets so that I can have it's power for myself!"
The next day Chloe and Jessilina stood across from one another as they prepared to face off in the semi finals!
"Well Jessi-Jessilina, looks like this is it! Our final showdown." Chloe grinned as her hands reached for a set of Pokeballs.
"Heh, it was fun twe-Chloe but I've come to win so don't expect to win easily!" Jessie smirked as she reached for a Pokeball. "Victreebel and Meowth you're up!"
"Oy vey..." Meowth groaned as he threw off his disguise before leaping down into the arena, where he scampered across the field like an ordinary Meowth before taking his place beside Jessilina. "Meowth!"
"Treee!" Victreebel screeched out as he burst from his Pokeball before suddenly turning around as he leaped up and swallowed Jessie's upperhalf much like he did to James' on a normal day.
Chloe sweated at the sight. "Omastar, Jigglypuff let's put on a show!"
"Jigglypuff!"
"Omastar!"
Jessie pulled Victreebel off of her before pointing towards her opponents. "A-Alright Victreebel use Sludge Bomb, Meowth follow up with Night Slash!"
"Treee!" Victreebel fired several globs of sludge from his mouth as he took aim at his opponents.
"Freeze Victreebel's attack with Ice Beam!" Chloe hastily instructed. "Jigglypuff take the hit from Meowth!" It may sound risky but she hoped to take advantage of Jigglypuff's ability.
"Oma!" Omastar fired off a beam of ice, freezing the sludge and causing it to drop from the air while Jigglypuff leaped in front of Meowth to take the hit! Hearts suddenly appeared in Meowth's eyes as his attention became unusually focused upon Jigglypuff.
"Why hello there beautiful..."
"Jiggly..." Jigglypuff had a stern look across her face as she slapped Meowth silly before making her way back to Chloe.
"Leaf Tornado! Meowth snap out of it and use Play Rough!" Jessie shouted revealing the fact that they had helped Meowth learn a new technique since the last time they crossed paths with the twerps!
"Meow..." Meowth groaned out and quickly slapped himself across the face to help snap himself from his infatuation as Victreebel sent a twister full of razor sharp leaves towards Omastar, pelting the prehistoric Pokemon's body as points were deducted from Chloe's score. Chloe clenched her fists as she watched Meowth come flying at Omastar with his claws unsheathed!
"Gyro Ball!"
"Jiggly!" Jigglypuff began rapidly spinning in place before launching off across the field, her body flew towards the air where it met with Meowth's. The two colliding forces struck and a series of punches, slaps and kicks could be heard as dust surrounded the two midair!
"Puff!"
"Meoooowth!"
"Blast Victreebel with Water Pulse!" Chloe shouted. Points were important so she couldn't risk repeating Ice Beam so soon and she didn't dare risk using Surf with Jigglypuff in the way!
"OMA!" A water geyser erupted from Omastar's mouth and blasted across the battlefield, splashing across Victreebel.
"Treee!" Victreebel cried out in a soothing manner as the water struck his leaves.
"Poison Jab!"
"TREEE!" Victreebel's leaves turned a venomous shade of purple as he leaped forward and lashed out at the prehistoric Pokemon, knocking Omastar back as a purple tint formed across his face.
"Oma..."
"Meoooowth!" Meowth finally overcame Jigglypuff as he kicked her out of the dust cloud, sending her falling towards the ground below!
"Puff!" Jigglypuff slid across the ground before coming to a halt in front of her trainer and for a second it appeared as if she'd been taken out but after a few seconds she slowly rose back to her feet. "Puff..."
"Your team's looking worn out twerp, not too late to give up and go home!" Jessilina smirked while showing a bit of mercy to her opponent.
"I'm not giving up, I never will!" Chloe exclaimed with a determined expression as she turned her gaze towards the scoreboard. While her team may be worse off than Jessie's the points were pretty much even with both of them having a quarter remaining! "Jigglypuff use Sing!"
"Jiggulypuff jigguly ly puf!" Jigglypuff began singing causing Victreebel and Meowth's eyes to droop shut, Meowth placed his paws into his ears to drown it out and keep himself awake while Victreebel fell asleep.
"Now Omastar let's follow up with Surf!"
"Oma!" A large wave formed beneath Omastar and made it's way towards his opponents before crashing down on top of them! Meowth let out an annoyed hiss while Victreebel continued snoring away as Jessie's points were reduced to a mere sliver!
"Ugh... Meowth use Night Slash!"
"On it!" Meowth's claws glowed a sinister shade of purple as he raced towards Jigglypuff once more before slashing out! Jigglypuff cried out as she fell to her back before going limp as swirls formed within her eyes, Chloe's score adjusted to accommodate for this leaving the two on even ground once more!
Chloe clenched her fists as she needed to think her next attack carefully, she played the possibilities over in her head before coming to a realization. 'Victreebel's asleep and all Meowth knows is Physical attacks... I know what I need to do!'
"Ice Beam the stage!"
"Oma!" Omastar fired a beam of ice at the battlefield, freezing it solid as it began taking the form of an ice rink!
"Play Rough!" Jessie ordered without really thinking it through.
"Meowth!" Meowth gave Jessie a look but listened as he didn't want to blow his cover in front of all these people. The feline leaped onto the ice and began rushing towards his opponent but began sliding and slipping up as he was halfway there! "Meooowth!" Meowth collapsed face first against the ice and began sliding across on his belly as a loud buzz rang out, indicating Jessie had lost the remainder of her points!
"Alright folks it looks like Chloe Cerise will be joining Solidad Saori in the finals, stay tuned as we'll get to that momentarily!" Lilian called out as the crowd erupted in a series of loud cheers. Aria flashed her friend a light smile but kept to herself for now, she didn't want to make the other coordinators get the wrong idea if they knew that they were friends so she was keeping her distance for now as she remained impartial.
Jessie collapsed to her knees as her eyes filled with shock. "I-I lost?"
Meowth groaned out as he stood back to his feet, the feline gave his partner one look before tensing up as he feared she was about to lose it. "Oh no..."
Jessie clenched her fists as she slowly stood to her feet, returning Victreebel to his ball without a word as she made her way towards Chloe. Chloe couldn't help but freeze up as she was worried Jessie might hit her or scream at her but what came next was truly a surprise as rather than act hostile, Jessie extended her hand and showed good sportsman ship as a sincere smile appeared on her lips.
"That was a good match, Chloe. I almost had you for awhile there!"
"Y-Yeah I guess you did," Chloe nervously laughed as the behavior was still shocking to her. "It was fun wasn't it?"
"That it was,"
"So what are we friends now?"
"Heh, not even close! We're not going to rest until we've captured Pikachu and Eevee and deliver them to the boss! But I do believe that you twerps have earned a bit of a break, we'll call a truce for now but only until the Indigo League is over. You better watch out though as once it's over, we'll be waiting to strike!" Jessie smirked before lifting a hand as she waved to Chloe before taking her leave.
Chloe watched Jessie walk off, Meowth appeared to be just as shocked as she was as he stood there for a moment before quickly following his partner. 'Maybe they're not so bad after all, maybe someday we will be friends!'
"Jessie are you okay?" James asked as she joined him and Wobbuffet in the audience.
"Of course James, why wouldn't I be?" Jessie asked.
"Well you... you just lost."
"And?"
"Well it's just that..." James started.
"We thought you'd be taking it harder than this." Meowth finished.
Jessie let out a laugh as smiled at her partners. "There will be plenty more Grand Festivals, let the twerpette have this this. It's her last one while I have many more to come besides I do believe she's earned a bit of happiness!"
James and Meowth gave each other a look as if they couldn't believe what they were hearing.
"Now come you two, maybe it's not too late to put together a disguise and sell some food!"
"Right!"
"Wobbuffet!" The blue blob chimed in before the group excitedly rushed off.
Chloe didn't have much time until the finals started so she decided to stay backstage and make good use of what time she had, thinking over some last minute changes and techniques as Solidad's team was even more impressive than what she initially thought as the Coordinator had Slowbro, Lapras, Pidgeot and even a Butterfree of her own in her possession on top of Sylveon whom Chloe suspected would be utilized in the finals. She just wasn't sure which Pokemon would be fighting alongside Sylveon or better yet which one she should choose to fight alongside Eevee!
Her thoughts were soon interrupted by a soft chime as Lillian called her and Solidad out to the stage. Chloe took a deep breath before walking out onto the battlefield, loud cheers erupted throughout the stadium as she and Solidad walked out. The two friends offered each other a smile as they stood across from each other.
"Some luck it took us this long to be paired up, eh?" Solidad playfully joked.
"Heh, at least it wasn't the first round!" Chloe joked in response. "Let's give it our all shall we?"
"Yes, let's." Solidad smiled as the two reached for their Pokeballs before tossing them into the air. "Sylveon, Lapras I'm counting on you my friends!"
"Eevee and Nidoqueen let's put on a show!"
"Eevoi!" Eevee cried out as she leaped onto the stage.
"Queen!" Nidoqueen cried out as she burst out alongside Eevee before staring her opponents down.
"Sludge Wave!" Chloe quickly ordered out. "Eevee follow up with Sizzly Slide!"
"Nido!" Nidoqueen swished her tail as a large wave of purple sludge formed around her body, Nidoqueen locked her eyes onto her opponent as she directed the sludge wave towards Sylveon. The Fairy type Eeveelution let out a cry as the sludge splashed down upon her while flames ignited around Eevee's body as she raced across the field and slid towards Lapras!
"Laaa!" Lapras weakly cried out before quickly shaking itself off.
"Sylveon use Dazzling Gleam, Lapras use Blizzard!"
"Sylve!" A rainbow colored sphere formed around Sylveon's body as she threw herself at Eevee, knocking her pre-evolved form back as points were reduced from Chloe's score. Lapras stretched out her neck and sang out as a fierce chill filled the air shortly before snow and ice began pelting against Eevee and Nidoqueen's bodies! Eevee and Nidoqueen shivered and edged closer together for warmth as the attack hit them.
"Warm yourself with Sizzly Slide!"
"Eevoi!" A bright flame lit up the blizzard as Eevee ignited her pelt causing quite the show as the flame raced through the blizzard before striking against Sylveon!
"Nidoqueen use Superpower!"
"Queen!" An orange aura surrounded Nidoqueen's fists as she leaped forward and performed a powerful blow to Lapras' neck!
"L-Laaa!" Lapras gasped out for air.
Solidad clenched her fists as things were too evenly matched, she needed to even the odds fast!
"Sing!"
"Laaaaaa!" A melodic tune escaped from Lapras' mouth.
"Block it out with Sappy Seed!"
"Eeeeevoi!" Eevee stretched herself out and uttered out a fierce cry as the large vine burst from the ground, large seeds began growing off of it and forming along the sides before dropping towards the ground as a loud series of explosions ranged out across the battlefield, blocking out Lapras' cries while also causing harm to the opposing team. Lapras groaned out as a seed dropped on top of her before promptly exploding, taking her out along with it causing Solidad to lose a good chunk of her score. It wasn't perfect though as Nidoqueen was hit by friendly fire, the blue reptile Pokemon collapsed onto her side as swirls filled her eyes. A loud buzz could be heard as she was deemed unfit to continue with Chloe's score being adjusted as Sylveon and Eevee were left standing face to face with one another. Both Pokemon panting and breathing heavily as the two locked eyes with one another.
"Moonblast!"
"Sylve!" A pink energy sphere formed within Sylveon's mouth as she took aim at her opponent. Chloe quickly thought her options over as Eevee couldn't afford to take anymore hits and the score was getting dangerously close for them both! Her eyes widened as she recalled one of Rex's Championship battles that Ash had taken her to before their journey had begun.
"Rai!" Raichu's tail glowed a bright silver color as he took aim at the approaching Shadow Ball, Raichu quickly swerved his body as he took a hard swing at the approaching attack and sent it flying back into the mouth of Agatha's shiny Gengar! Gengar's eyes widened as the attack flew down his throat before it exploded inside his stomach! Gengar's eyes turned to swirls as he fell onto his back with a dazed expression as the crowd began cheering loudly for their Champion!
"Eevee use Iron Tail and send it flying back to Sylveon!"
"Wait is she doing what I think she's doing?" Ash asked with a light tilt of his head.
"Eee... VOI!" Eevee's tail turned a bright silver color as she leaped into the air before taking a hard swing as the pink sphere came flying at her, Eevee's tail slammed against it and sent it flying back towards Sylveon where it promptly exploded against the Fairy type Eeveelution's face! Dust kicked up as visibility around her weakened for a brief minute before the dust lightened up, showcasing the downed figure of Sylveon as the Eeveelution laid in defeat with swirls visible within her eyes.
"She did it!"
"Pikachu!" Ash and Pikachu excitedly cried out as the crowd began cheering loudly for Chloe.
Chloe stood there in stunned silence for a moment before a large smile spread across her face. "I-I did it, w-we actually did it!"
"Eevoi!" Eevee leaped up into her arms before delivering an affectionate nuzzle to her trainer as she laughed out.
"We did it, you were great out there Eevee!"
"Eevoi!"
"And there you have it folks, Chloe Cerise is our newest Grand Coordinator!" Lilian excitedly shouted out while Mr. Contesta and Wallace approached Chloe with the Grand Festival trophy and crown in their hands. "Give her a round of applause!"
Chloe glanced around the crowd as she heard them clapping and loudly cheering out. She could make out Daisy, Lily and Violet sitting in the front row cheering for her while behind them sat Ron Oneoff and Flash who was accompanied by Giselle, Ron cheered loudly for her while Flash delivered a silent salute as he caught her looking towards them, Giselle gave Chloe a brief nod of approval while offering a smile of her own. Chloe smiled at the sight before looking further up the stands where she could see what appeared to be the Rocket Trio cheering for her in the guise of snack vendors while behind them were Ash, Pikachu, Brock and her parents who were all cheering loudly for her. A warm smile formed across her face as she waved towards them.
"Well done Chloe," Mr. Contesta spoke while holding the trophy out to her. "Not many rookies can say they managed to win their first Grand Festival!"
"Indeed it was quite marvelous darling," Wallace grinned as he held out the crown to her. "I trust I'll see you in next year's Wallace Cup?"
Chloe sweated at Wallace's suggestion before hastily shaking her head with an apologetic expression. "S-Sorry but this was actually my last contest ever, i-it was fun but it's not the right path for me! My true calling is out there somewhere and I intend on finding it!"
Mr. Contesta and Wallace didn't appear the least bit offended though Wallace was the one to speak out. "That's okay, I wasn't always a Grand Coordinator you know. I used to be a Gym Leader and then even a Champion before I realized that battling wasn't the right path for me, so I moved on to Contests and have been a happy man ever since! I'm sure you'll find your true calling someday Chloe but for now celebrate, you and your Pokemon worked hard and you deserve to enjoy your success!"
Chloe offered the former Champion a smile before giving him a respectful nod. "I will, thank you so much."
Wallace handed over the crown and began walking away though he couldn't help but glance back towards Chloe as he and Mr. Contesta walked off. 'It's strange but I feel as if this won't be the final time our paths cross...' He thought to himself before shaking his head with a light smile.
"You did it!" Ash and Chloe gave each other a brief light kiss, not lingering too long as it was awkward with her parents being right there. Ash, Chloe and the others now stood inside of rather fancy restaurant where Professor Cerise was treating them all to a nice meal in celebration of Chloe's victory, of course he was going to do so regardless of the result as he knew she put in a lot of hard work!
"I-I did..." Chloe blushed while offering him an affectionate smile, her hand wrapped around his as they took their seats. "Now it's all up to you, you've got to beat the Indigo League!"
"That won't be easy but I'll certainly try my best!" Ash exclaimed with a chuckle. "Gary, Leaf, Flash, Giselle, Samurai and so many others worked hard to get there so I'll have to give it my all in order to beat them and anyone else that gets in my way!"
Professor Cerise let out a laugh. "That's still a few days away, why don't you relax today and celebrate Chloe's victory? It'll be your turn to do so soon I'm sure."
A light cough could be heard upon Cerise finishing, Chloe turned and let out a light gasp as she was surprised to see Aria standing there with a box in her arms. "Hey Chloe, it's great to see you again!"
"Aria! I was hoping we'd get to see each other before you left again!"
"Well I couldn't exactly let them know we're friends, otherwise they'd think I'd be impartial." Aria giggled out. She'd never do that as she knew it wouldn't be fair to Chloe or the others. "I'm afraid I can't stay for long as I've got to catch a flight in a few hours but I thought I'd give this to you first," Aria pushed the box into Chloe's arms.
"W-What is it?" Chloe asked as she opened it up before uttering out a light gasp as her eyes rested upon a Pokeball. "I-Is that what I think it is?"
"Yep, it's a Fennekin!" Aria grinned as a look of excitement spread across Chloe's face. "You seemed to admire my Braixen and Fennekin aren't regularly available outside the Kalos region so I thought I'd do you a favor and get you one, raise it well and you'll have a Braixen of your own someday!"
Chloe turned to her friend with a warm smile before pulling her in for a hug. "Thanks so much Aria!"
"D-Don't mention it Chloe," Aria laughed.
"Aria why don't you join us? There's plenty of food here." Professor Cerise offered up.
"Yeah yeah join us!" Brock chanted with a goofy expression.
Aria couldn't help but utter out a light giggle. "Well I do have enough time to sit down for a small while."
Solidad stared at the Pokemon Center's video phones for what felt like an eternity to her as she tried mustering up the courage on how to reveal her feelings to Drew. Her fists soon clenched up as she began growing frustrated with herself.
"Sylve!" Sylveon cried out as she reached up to place her paw upon her trainer's shoulder in a comforing manner.
"Y-You're right, if Chloe was brave enough to reveal her emotions then I can be too! I shouldn't be afraid anymore, I-I came in second place at a Grand Festival on my first try!" Solidad took a deep breath before pressing the number belonging to her childhood friend. The screen soon lit up to showcase a handsome young man with short green hair and bright green eyes, Drew tilted his head at the sight of Solidad as he sensed something was up.
"Solidad? What's up? You don't usually call this late."
"I-I..."
"I saw your performance at the Grand Festival, it was amazing! I couldn't believe you actually made it to the finals, it was amazing!" Drew gushed causing Solidad to begin blushing heavily.
"T-Thanks Drew but that's not exactly why I called you," Solidad took a deep breath before continuing. "Drew I called because I wanted to inform you that... I love you!"
"Really? That's it?" Drew raised an eyebrow as a large grin spread across his face. "I'm glad to hear that Solidad because I love you too!"
Solidad blushed upon hearing those words and the newly formed boyfriend and girlfriend quickly began chatting it up as their love for one another was no longer a secret and they felt all the better for it!
"Take good care of those," Chloe placed her Grand Festival trophy and crown into the box that Aria had presented her with as she now held the box out towards her father.
"Don't worry Chloe, I'll put these in your bedroom first thing upon returning to Pallet Town!" Professor Cerise assured her while placing an arm upon her shoulder. She couldn't travel around with them so she was sending them home for safekeeping. The professor turned to face Ash as he offered the boy a smile of his own. "As for you Ash, I wish you luck at the Indigo League. I know for a fact that all your Pokemon are as excited about it as you are and are looking forward to fighting alongside you!"
"Tell them I'll see them all soon, I can't wait to battle with all of them!" Ash eagerly exclaimed.
Professor Cerise smiled while Talia was quick to give her daughter a hug before the married couple made their way to their car leaving Ash and his friends free to continue their adventure.
"So next step's Victory Road right?" Chloe asked.
"Right!" Brock grinned.
"Alright let's not wait any longer!" Ash suddenly shouted out as he pointed towards the vast mountain range in the distance. "Victory Road awaits!"
"Pi Pikachu!" The two excitedly raced off into the distance.
Chloe and Brock looked at each other and silently shook their heads before giving chase.
"Hey Ash slow down!" Chloe cried out.
"Eevoi!"
"Yeah wait for us!" Brock laughed.
I spent way too long on this one, I wasn't sure how to end it and I wanted to give all of Chloe's Pokemon a moment to shine here. I also finished up the remainder of the plot outline for this story, including the Orange Island arc. And started with the sequel so things should move along quicker now
Anyways I hoped you all enjoyed this, next time the beginning of the Indigo League!