"Well isn't this a sight for sore eyes." Drew joked, walking up to the group.

"Drew, glad to see you could make it, where's everyone else?" Ash asked.

"No clue. May went off on her own as soon as we arrived and Harley is, well he's being Harley." Drew admitted.

"Wait, Harley's here!" Wally shouted, doing a double take.

"Yeah, why?" Ash asked.

"He tried sabotaging you, almost humiliated you on national television, and all around is just a bad guy!" Brendan argued. "Why are you so calm about this?!"

"Because he has nothing left to hold over me." Ash commented, standing up. "As far as I can tell he should get a second chance."

"Plus after the grand festival he approached me, wanting to speak to Ash." Drew said. "No tricks, no schemes, just apologize. I think he regrets doing what he did."

"Or he's just tricking you." Wally countered.

"Either way, we have to give him a chance if he's asking for it." Ash said. "He's my opponent and I'll give him it."

"So Ash, have you decided on which Pokémon you'll be using?" Drew asked.

"I've been working more with Milotic on her appeal." Ash said. "She really only appealed as Feebas in Hoenn."

"And what about for the battle round?" Drew asked.

"What about the battle round?" Wally asked. "Milotic is a plenty capable battler."

"Maybe, but contests in Kanto require you to use a different Pokemon for the battle rounds." Drew said. "You did know that, didn't you?"

"I've been a bit preoccupied since Hoenn." Ash admitted.

"Well, I'm heading off to registration, best of luck." Drew said. "And as fair is fair. My Flygon will be appealing in today's competition."

"Drew's using a Flygon for an appeal." Brendan said in shock. "Makes you wonder what he has for the battle round."

"Doesn't matter, we'll win irregardless." Ash said. "Come on guys, let's go register!"

"Pika!"

"Cynda!"

"Gro."

"Miii."

"Blublu!"

Later

"Hello Cerulean City! Welcome to the first contest in Kanto this season! I'm Lilian Meridian, and I'll be your host! Before we begin, let's meet our judges! First off our very own Cerulean City's Nurse Joy! Joining her is the esteemed Mr. Contesa, and finally a special guest, and no one shy to the stage. The mermaid of the gym herself, Misty!"

"Misty's a judge, why didn't she say anything?" Ash wondered to himself.

Ash's appeal round

"Alright, Milotic come on out!" Ash called out.

The water serpent spun onto the arena, with a shimmering sparkle around her.

"Now use Water Pulse and Attract!"

Milotic swung her tail back and forth, every time it flung in front of her, she sent a heart shaped ring of water forward, slowly creating a circle of them.

"Now use Dragon Breath!" Ash called out.

Blue flames shot precisely through each heart, filling the rings before they all burst into a spectacular finish.

"That's a new combo." Brendan commented from the stands.

"Wonderful." Nurse Joy said, giving Ash a score of 9.6.

"Remarkable, using a combination of fire and water, what skill." Mr. Contesa said, giving Ash a 9.2.

Ash watched as Misty's face twisted. He knew this would be a problem, she had to stay neutral as a judge, but they had so much history together.

"The beauty of the water, you and Milotic have surely had a lot of experiences together to create such a sparkling combination." Misty said, giving Ash a score of a perfect 10.

"That's great!" Wally cheered. "Ash has a score of almost 29!"

"He should, he's been working on that appeal since the Hoenn League." Brendan commented. "They had that one down to a science at this point, but now comes the hard part. Who'd he pick for the battles?"

Drew's Appeal Round

"Flygon take the stage!" Drew called out as his Flygon zoomed around him. "Use Sandstorm!"

"What a unique tactic, covering the arena in a storm like that! What is Drew's plan?" LIlian asked in wonder and amazement.

"Now Flygon use Flamethrower and Dragon Breath!" Drew called out.\

A swirl of red and blue flames shot out of Flygon's mouth, condensing the sand as it flew around the outside of the storm, until a glass object was left in the center.

"Now use Steel Wing!" Drew called out.

Flygon sliced past the object time and time again, making small, precise cuts with each pass, until a small figurine was left in the stage.

"What an incredible display of grace and power!" Lilian exclaimed, picking up the glass Flygon figurine. "I've never seen anything like this!"

"You would have if you saw Ash's second appeal in the Hoenn Grand Festival!" Wally half shouted.

Backstage

"Great work out there Drew." Ash said, congratulating his fellow coordinator.

"Really, you aren't mad I copied your previous appeal." Drew said surprised.

"Nah, you made it your own, plus I got into a bit of trouble for having a boulder launched into the arena." Ash said with a laugh. "Looks like we'll both be moving onto the next round though." Ash said, knowing Drew also scored high.

Battle Round 1

Ash walked on stage to see his opponent, a girl, probably a few years younger than he was, but she had scored up there with him and Drew.

"Come on out Clefairy!" The girl called out.

"Cyndaquil I choose you!" Ash said, grabbing the Pokeball from inside his hoodie.

"Clefairy use Metronome!"

"Cyndaquil use Flamethrower!"

Cyndaquil shot out a stream of flames engulfing th Clefairy from all sides. Moments later, Clefairy leapt into the air, Metronome having finally paid off.

"Cyndaquil obscure yourself with Smokescreen!" Ash called out.

He knew it was a risky move as he lost a few points, but that was better than waiting around for Clefairy to land. Speaking of which, Clefairy came crashing down on the arena, sending the smoke outwards, revealing the normal type to be stuck in the flooring.

"Now Cyndaquil use Flamethrower!" Ash called out.

The already prone Clefairy was set aflame once again, causing their points to plummet with plenty of time to spare.

"And Clefairy is unable to battle! That means that Ash and Cyndaquil will be going on to the final round!" Lilian announced.

Round 2

"Alright Drew, it's time to see how far you've come." Ash joked.

"You may have beaten me back in Hoenn, but remember I'm still the one who introduced you to a lot of mechanics." Drew said smugly.

"Cyndaquil come on out!"

"Butterfree I choose you!"

"Cyndaquil use Swift!"

"Butterfree use Poison Powder!"

A purple powder fluttered off of Butterfree's wings, covering Cyndaquil in the spores.

"Cyndaquil turn up the heat and use Flamethrower!"

"Butterfree use Whirlwind!"

The flames on Cyndaquil's back lit up as he shot out a stream of flames, only for them to be extinguished before they reached Butterfree.

"Cyndaquil use Flamethrower again!"

"Butterfree use Psychic!"

Cyndaquil was hoisted into the air by Butterfree's attack, as the poisonous spores continued doing their damage. When Cyndaquil finally managed to fire off an attack, it broke Butterfree's concentration, sending Cyndaquil crashing back down to the ground.

"Cyndaquil is unable to battle, that means the winner of the Cerulean City contest is Drew!" Lilian exclaimed.

After the contest

"Great work out there Ash." Drew said.

"You too." Ash said, shaking Drew's hand. "Next time I won't go down so easily."

"So you're saying I'll still win next time." Drew commented.

"In your dreams." Ash joked. "I'll see you around though."

"Thanks, and Brendan, good luck with the Battle Frontier." Drew said.

"Thanks, I think?" Brendan said. "How'd he know?"

"We talk while waiting too you know." Ash retorted. "Now come on, I know a fun path to get to Lavender Town."