"Ash! Ash!" Brendan shouted rushing into the Ketchum house. "Take a look at this!"
"Half off an order of thirty or more wings in Mauville?" Ash said in confusion.
"What? Sorry wrong paper." Brendan said. "Look, there's a contest here in Pallet Town, today!"
"That's great!" Delia said happily. "That would be your last ribbon, right?"
"Yeah, that would make five, if I had an appeal ready." Ash said. "But I haven't figured any out just yet."
"Well your in luck." Brendan said.
"We are not switching outfits and pretending to be each other again." Ash commented.
"One time!" Brendan exclaimed. "It was a great idea!"
"No it wasn't, I'm taller than you." Ash reminded.
"Anyways that wasn't my idea." Brendan said. "You have every reserve Pokemon right here, and Professor Oak said they were excited watching you compete in contests, maybe one of them has an appeal to show off."
"Wait Brendan, where is this being held?" Flannery asked.
"What does that matter, it's a contest, and Ash needs one more ribbon." Brendan pointed out.
"Because the only building in Pallet Town that's big enough to hold an official contest is Professor Oaks lab." Ash realized. "I won't get a ribbon from this."
"All the better, you can try a brand new appeal and if it sucks, you can work on it for next time!" Brendan said excitedly.
"Thanks for the support?" Ash said in confusion. "Look, even if I did, none of my Pokemon, old or new can improv an entire appeal in this amount of time."
"Pikachu could." Wally pointed out. "He's done it what three times now?"
"Once." Ash said. "And I wouldn't recommend trying one like that again."
"What about Quilava, he hasn't appealed since evolving." Delia pointed out. "What you really think that I don't follow my son's contest journey?"
"She's right." Flannery said. "Quilava has seemed to be a bit antsy lately. He'd probably like a contest appeal, and Milotic would be great for a battle round."
"Okay, okay, I'm going to enter, if it gets you to shut up at least." Ash groaned.
At the contest hall
"Okay, here's my contest pass, trainer I.D., and Pokemon I'll be entering." Ash said.
"Oh wow, I did not expect all of this." A guy with a unique scent said. "No, we just need the names of you and your Pokemon."
"Oh, I'm Ash Ketchum and I'll be entering Quilava for the appeal round, and Milotic for the battle round." Ash said.
"Sweet." The guy said. "You're number 13, head on back and wait for your name to be called. Will you four be entering? Because dude, the fur suit is pretty sweet." The guy said to Lucario.
"We are here simply to support our friend." Lucario said, holding a small bag.
"Lucario, what are you holding? You've been guarding it all day." Brendan said.
"It is nothing to be concerned about." Lucario said.
"Oh, I wasn't trying to pry or take it, I've just never seen you have anything before today." Wally said. "It's nice to see you've begun to warm up to more modern times."
"The bag is not mine. It is Ash's mother's." Lucario said. "She is worried that I do not eat enough, so she insisted I bring some lunch, and not to share it."
"That's moms for you." Brendan said. "They'll never stop worrying about their kids."
"I am not her child." Lucario said calmly. "Your point is invalid."
"Not like actual kids, but Ash's mom, she looks at all of us like her kids while we're in Pallet." Brendan said. "So she's just making sure you are safe."
"But I have done nothing to deserve this." Lucario said.
"You don't need to." Brendan said. "It's unconditional love. She cares because she wants to care."
"I see." Lucario said, deep in thought.
A bit later in the waiting area
"Ash Ketchum, you're up." A worker said.
"Alright, here goes everything." Ash said, gripping Quilava's Pokeball, as he walked on stage. "Quilava take the stage!"
Quilava flipped onto the stage, doing a quick spin and standing on his hind legs with a playful cry.
"Quilava use Lava Plume!"
Quilava dropped his front paws back onto the ground as lava arched out in front of him.
"Now Quilava, ride!" Ash said.
Quilava leapt onto the lava, diving into it and swimming around at high speeds, jumping out every now and then.
"Ash may not have had this ready, but this might be a winner." Flannery said.
"It's impressive, but he'll need more than this to get to the next round." Brendan commented.
"Now Quilava use Hidden Power!"
Orbs shot out from the lava, showing Quilava in the center, perfectly unharmed as colorful sparks surrounded him.
"What no ranking?" Brendan asked, as Ash was led backstage.
"I'm guessing that it will be done at the end of the appeals with how few coordinators there have been." Wally said.
A bit later Ash stood among the other competitors on the stage, awaiting who his opponent would be. Normally he would never be this overconfident, but he knew several of these people, and their appeals were definitely not anything close to what he was used to competing against.
"Our first finalist is our very own Ash Ketchum! The other finalist is Marco Giancolly from Viridian City!"
"Go Ash!" Wally cheered.
A few minutes later once the stage had been cleared, Ash and his opponent were standing on opposite sides of the stage.
"Coordinators, you have five minutes on the clock, battle begin!"
"Milotic, take the stage!" Ash called out.
"Let's go Nidoking!" Marco said.
"Milotic use Ice Beam!"
"Nidoking use Sludge Bomb!"
Nidoking overshot his target, hitting behind Milotic as the ground type was frozen to the ground.
"Milotic use Water Pulse!"
"Nidoking use MegaHorn!"
Nidoking broke free of the ice, rushing towards Milotic before it was hit by a ring of water, causing the ground type to get turned around.
"Now Milotic use Attract!"
"Nidoking use Thunderbolt!"
Hearts spun out from around Milotic, before shooting up and then back down, surrounding and immobilizing Nidoking, it's attack never going off..
"Let's end this. Milotic use Dragon Breath!" Ash called out.
Blue flames shot out from Milotic's mouth, engulfing their opponent, and knocking out Nidoking.
A bit later
"So Ash what did you even get for winning?" Brendan asked.
"You wouldn't believe the coincidence, four train tickets to Cremini Town." Ash said with a smirk.
"I hate to be the guy to point this out, but there are five of us if you count Lucario." Brendan reminded.
"Not a problem. I will not be continuing with you four from this point." Lucario said.
"Back on your own path to find your new calling?" Ash asked.
"No, I have a debt to repay to your mother, so while you are not here, I will stay and keep her safe." Lucario said.
"You love her cooking, don't you." Ash commented.
"That is also a reason to stay." Lucario said with a smile.
"Well Lucario, thanks for everything, and keep my mom safe." Ash said.
