As Tropius soared through the air towards Lilycove City, Danica and Torchic relaxed on his back, looking through Danica's Pokénav at all the attractions the city had to offer.

"Wow. They weren't kidding when they said Lilycove has a lot to do. There's a Contest Hall, an Art Gallery, a huge department store, a renovated criminal hideout museum, and even a Pokémon Baccer stadium." Danica smiled.

"Anything that speaks to you?" Torchic asked.

"Nothing that jumps out at me. But I'm certainly willing to try anything." Danica replied.

"So what should we do first then?" he inquired. Danica thought for a moment before answering him.

"Some of my ancestors were really into Pokémon Contests. Maybe we should go watch one and check it out." She suggested.

"What's a Pokémon Contest?" Torchic asked.

"I've never seen one myself." Danica admitted. "But from what I've been told they're all about showing off your Pokémon in unique ways through performances and battles."

"That sounds cool!" he exclaimed.

"It sure does." She giggled.

"Trop!" Tropius suddenly alerted them. Danica turned her attention to him.

"What is it Tropius?" she questioned. Tropius nodded his head to the area ahead of them. Following his gaze, Danica saw that Lilycove City was just ahead. "Oh! That must be it!" Torchic looked as well and smiled.

"Wow! It's so big!" he exclaimed. Tropius landed at the entrance to the city within a few minutes. Danica picked up Torchic and hopped off his back, stroking his neck.

"Thanks for the ride, my friend." She said. "Take a well-earned rest." She recalled him to his pokéball before heading into the city. True to its description, the city was alive and bustling with activity as people walked down the streets from building to building, event to event.

"Where's this Contest Hall thing?" Torchic piped up. Danica shrugged and looked through her Pokénav.

"There it is." She answered, pointing down the street. Following the instructions on her Pokénav, she soon found herself at a large dome building with a banner across the front that said "Pokémon Contest." Danica headed inside and found her way to the front desk soon enough.

"Hello there. How can I help you?" the receptionist asked.

"I was hoping there was a Contest coming up soon that I could watch." Danica explained.

"You're in luck. There's one being held right here in just a few minutes. And we do have a few seats still available." The receptionist answered.

"Great! I'll take one!" the receptionist nodded and handed over a ticket once Danica paid.

"There you go. We hope you enjoy the show."

"Thank you." She replied before heading off into the stands. She eventually found her seat and sat down, holding Torchic in her lap. True to form, within a few minutes the lights dimmed and a spotlight was shone on the stage. A woman with curly orange hair and a sleek outfit ran out onto the stage and into the center of the spotlight.

"Welcome everyone to this year's Lilycove City Pokémon Contest! Let me know that you're excited to be here!" she called out to the crowd. In response, the crowd cheered loudly, Danica and Torchic included. "Glad to hear it! I'm your MC for the day, Jillian Meridian! Get ready to see some high-level performances and combinations today!"

"Sounds great doesn't it?" Danica asked Torchic.

"Sure does!" Torchic agreed as Jillian went along and introduced each judge on the panel.

"Whichever of our talented Coordinators wins today will receive this lovely Lilycove Ribbon!" Jillian explained, holding up the ribbon for the crowd to see.

"Just like a Gym Badge." Danica commented. Torchic replied with a nod as he watched.

"Now with all that out of the way we can begin our Appeals round! Each Coordinator will choose one of their Pokémon to give a great performance. The top 4 performances as picked by our judges will move on to our second-round battles. So without further ado, please welcome our first contestant! Fredrika from Bomba Island!" Jillian cheered. The audience applauded as a blonde young lady ran out onto the stage with a pokéball in hand.

"Tentacruel let's go!" Fredrika called, throwing her pokéball. Out of the pokéball came a large jellyfish-like Pokémon.

"A Tentacruel for a Contest?" Danica wondered as she pulled out her Pokédex.

"Tentacruel, the Jellyfish Pokémon, and the evolved form of Tentacool. Tentacruel uses its tentacles to capture prey and holds it until weakened from poison." The Pokédex recited.

"How will she show it off?" Torchic asked.

"I don't know." Danica admitted. "Let's watch and find out."

"Use Water Pulse!" Fredrika commanded.

"Tentacruel!" Tentacruel nodded. He looked up at the roof of the stadium and fired a concentrated ball of Water into the sky.

"Now use Screech!" Tentacruel fired off an ear-splitting scream up towards the Water Pulse. Once the soundwaves hit, they shattered the Water Pulse into a 360-degree spray of water down on the crowd.

"Hey!" Torchic yelled, hiding against Danica. Danica chuckled and shielded him from most of the water.

"Constrict now!" Fredrika called out.

"Tenta!" Tenacruel responded. He stretched out his tentacles in every direction with lightning-fast speed. His tentacles were able to snag every last drop of water that was still airborne and bring it back to him. He moved his tentacles back to his own body, bringing the water with him before wrapping it up with his tentacles, creating another tight ball of water within his tentacles.

"Wrap it up with Blizzard!" she called. Tentacruel's entire body started to shakes as a powerful wind filled with ice and snow began to come from him. The Blizzard expanded across the entire field, blinding the audience momentarily. Danica even had to hold Torchic close to keep him from being swept away. Once the Blizzard faded away, the audience looked back to the stage to find Tentacruel standing atop a large ice tower made from the water he had collected. He posed as Fredrika bowed and the crowd cheered wildly.

"Wow! That was amazing!" Danica exclaimed.

"So cool!" Torchic agreed.

"What an amazing way to start off our Contest!" Jillian smiled as Fredrika and Tentacruel left the stage. "Now let's move on to our next contestant!"

"I can't wait to see more!" Danica nodded. The Contest continued on without a hitch. Several more Coordinators put their skills to the test in really amazing performances until the top four were chosen. The finalists battled it out in the semi-finals and then in the finals with Fredrika finally emerging as the winner. She was presented with the ribbon and soon everyone was dismissed out of the building. By then the last of the sun was setting and Danica decided to call it a night. She walked through the city and arrived at the Pokémon Center just before dark. Torchic yawned tiredly in Danica's arms which earned a small smile from Danica.

"So what did you think? Interested?" Torchic asked sleepily.

"It was very cool. And I think I would definitely watch one again. But I don't think Contests are the path for me either." Danica replied. "I like how they show off their Pokémon, but I'm looking for something that shows them off in a different way."

"Ok. We'll keep looking." Torchic agreed with another yawn. He then cuddled into her arms to sleep, but then they both suddenly heard a massive thud from outside that shook the ground.

"What the?!" Danica gasped.

"It came from outside!" Torchic informed her. Danica ran out the Pokémon Center doors as did several other people and they saw a massive robot that strongly resembled a Tyranitar walking slowly through the streets, destroying buildings as it walked by with energy beams from its mouth that looked like Hyper Beams. It swung its arm into a building and easily destroyed it, sending the debris flying towards Danica. Torchic's eyes widened in shock and he jumped from her arms. He put all his strength into a Peck, narrowly destroying the debris before it could hit Danica.

"Whoa! Thanks, Torchic!" she yelled. Torchic smiled at her, causing him to not notice the robot destroy another nearby building, this time with a swing of its massive tail. The large chunks of debris fly from the building and head right for him at high speed. "Torchic! Look out!" Danica gasped in horror. Torchic turned around and saw the debris flying right at him. The shock and speed of the second attack paralyzed him with fear, his legs refusing to move him out of the way.

"Oh no!" he yelled, bracing for impact. This prompted Danica to run in, without thinking, as her Aura suddenly flared to life. Danica ran over and covered Torchic with her entire body, and unbeknownst to her, the Aura inside her body burst forth and formed a shield around them both. The debris harmlessly bounced off her shield and landed in the street. Danica slowly looked up just in time to see the shield around them fade.

"What the…?" she asked in confusion. Torchic glared at the robot with fury, the fact that it had almost hit Danica enraged him.

"How dare you!" he yelled. He ran around Danica and faced the robot, standing between it and Danica. He suddenly started glowing with a bright white light.

"Torchic...?!" Danica gasped. Torchic's body glowed brightly and he began to change shape. He grew considerably taller and gained long arms with claws at the same time that his legs grew even more powerful. The glow faded as a new Pokémon stood in his place.

"DON'T HURT HER!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. He then leaped up towards the robot. The robot took a swipe at him with its large arm, but he dodged it easily, landing on his arm and jumping up again, coming level with the robot's face. He spun his body around and landed a powerful Double Kick on the robot's face with such force that he was able to rip right through it. The force of the attack sent the robot crashing to the ground, landing in the now-empty street.

"Whoa...!" Danica said in awe. Her partner landed back on the ground between her and the robot. Breathlessly she pulled out her Pokédex and scanned him.

"Combusken, the Young Fowl Pokémon, and the evolved form of Torchic. Its quick and powerful legs are capable of dishing out ten kicks in one second." The Pokédex explained.

"Combusken…?" Danica asked cautiously. Combusken looked back at her and then smiled his familiar smile.

"Are you ok?" he questioned. Danica nodded as she put away her Pokédex.

"Thanks to you. You saved my life. You evolved to save me...?"

"Of course I did...we're partners. You know I'd do anything for you." Combusken reminded her.

"Same here for you partner." She replied, unable to help but smile. Combusken smiled back at her until a voice suddenly rang out loudly.

"Absolutely brilliant!" a booming voice exclaimed.

"Huh...?!" Danica gasped, trying to find its source. She turned back to the area near the robot and saw an eccentric guy about her age run up to her. He wore a very flashy suit and his blue hair was styled into a layered spike style.

"Miss you were brilliant! Those battle skills and those powers! Absolutely perfect for my very first movie!" he practically yelled as he placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Movie? Wait…that thing wasn't real?!" she realized.

"No no it was a prop from the studio that we lost control of! But you handled it so expertly! So perfectly!" he explained.

"I see…well I'm glad we were able to hel-"

"Have you ever thought about being an actress?!"

"Huh?!"

"My name is Sterling! Sterling Silver!"

"Danica…"

"I'm a new director at Pokéstar Studios. Have you heard of it?" he asked.

"Um…y-yeah kinda." Danica admitted. "Isn't it some kind of Pokémon battling movie studio in Unova?"

"Not just Unova anymore! Our brand has grown so large that we've opened other branches in regions across the world! The branch here in Hoenn just opened a few weeks ago!" Sterling explained.

"Oh…I guess that explains why it wasn't listed on my Pokénav…"

"It's been my dream to direct amazing movies that everyone goes to see and love! But it's been so hard to find people willing to try something new! Between the Gyms and Contests already dominating the region, no one wants to try this! Especially not on a first-time director such as myself…"

"Oh…I'm sorry to hear that…" she apologized.

"But you Danica! You would be perfect for the lead in my movie! Please say you'll join me in creating a masterpiece!" he begged.

"I don't know…I actually haven't decided what I want to do with my life…" she elaborated.

"You have a real talent for acting! You and your Pokémon! I can feel it!" Sterling smiled at both her and Combusken. He then handed her a business card from his coat pocket. "Think about it and please call me if you're interested."

"O-Okay...I'll think about it." She agreed. He smiled at her and then walked off to explain things to the police. Once she had given her statement and was cleared to go, she went back into her room at the Pokémon Center with Combusken. She sat down on her bed and let out the rest of her Pokémon, feeling as though she needed a sounding board to decide what to do about Sterling's offer. Combusken smiled at her as the other Pokémon came out of their pokeballs. Zigzagoon shook out his fur, Ralts yawned and rubs her eyes, and Tropius stretches out his wings. "So everyone, I have something I need to talk about with you all-"

"Ral!" Ralts suddenly interrupted as her eyes landed on Combusken. Her eyes sparkled as she blushed profusely. "Ralts ral ral Ralts ts!"

"Oh come on Ralts…don't make this a big deal…" Combusken said as a sweatdrop of embarrassment rolled down his temple. Zigzagoon snickered at the two of them as Tropius rolled his eyes at the younger Pokémon.

"Focus everyone!" Danica called. "I didn't bring you out just only to show you all that Torchic evolved!"

"Sorry." Combusken apologized for the group. Everyone turned their attention back to her as Danica took a deep breath.

"I wanted to tell you all about this offer I was given. Some new director named Sterling wants me and all of you to star in his movie new action movie. He kept saying that I would make a good actress and you all would be good actors." She explained.

"Isn't that a compliment?" Combusken asked.

"It is." Danica agreed. "But it's all a little sudden. I don't know him or really anything about Pokéstar Studios. I don't even know the first thing about acting."

"Ralts! Ral ral lts ralts!" Ralts smiled, an excited look on her face.

"Pius trop trop Tropius us." Tropius echoed with a nod.

"You guys really think we could? I don't want to force you into something you don't want to do." Danica reminded them.

"Zigzagoon zig zig zigzag! Goon!" Zigzagoon chimed in.

"You're all sure…?"

"The main thing to consider is whether or not you want to try it." Combusken told her. "We're your friends and will support you in whatever you want to do."

"Combusken…" Danica smiled at him before smiling at the rest of her Pokémon. "You guys…"

"After all you're looking for your destiny aren't you?"

"I am…" she nodded.

"Then if there's even a chance it'll work for you, then you should try."

"Thank you, guys. This has really helped me. You're all the best." She smiled, hugging them all in a big group hug. After a delicious dinner all together, all of her Pokémon fell asleep together on the floor. Tropius curled up around the others as he slept, allowing them to rest their heads against his body as they all slept. Danica sat at the desk in the room, looking at Sterling's business card for over an hour under the desk lamp trying to make her decision. Finally, she made the decision and got up from the desk. She walked quietly over to her Pokémon and sat down in between Combusken and Zigzagoon and gently leaned her back against Tropius. She stroked Ralts's head soothingly as she dialed the number listed.

"Hello?" Sterling asked, picking up the phone.

"Sterling? This is Danica." She greeted.

"Oh, Danica! So glad to hear from you! Have you made a decision?"

"Yes, I have." She nodded.

"Wonderful! Wonderful! And?"

"I'm in."

To be Continued...