~ Chapter 21 ~

Floaroma Contest

"Alyssandra's second contest was a spectacle to behold. I never managed to be on time for another one after that—something always seemed to get in the way, I don't know why…but it was truly an amazing experience. When I saw her walk onto stage, I could see that she understood how I felt when I battled against Roark. I could see that to her, this was the single most important thing in her life—just like the Sinnoh League was mine. I was proud of her—and it didn't hurt seeing her in that beautiful dress I got her in Jubilife City; that was a bonus."

Niya combed through Alyssandra's hair with a brush as the latter sat, nervously chewing her nails as she prepared for the appeal portion of the Floaroma Contest.

"I can't believe it, why did I ever get involved in these contests?" groaned Alyssandra, "I should have stayed a Trainer and just taken the league challenge. Sure, I wouldn't have made it, but at least it wouldn't have been as nerve wracking as this."

"So how many contests did you say it took for the nerves to go away?" asked Sam as he watched Alyssandra break down in front of him.

Normally he wouldn't have been allowed backstage, but this time he managed to swing for the backstage passes early enough.

Niya shrugged. "I'm not sure," she responded, "Everyone's different. I was never nervous—although I should have been. I had a lot more riding on me than Lyss here. My Aunt Fantina is a Top-Coordinator."

"I know the feeling," said Sam, "My grandfather was like a god among men when it came to battle. I had to contend with that against Roark."

"You guys just don't get it!" shrieked Alyssandra, "I have to contend with Enzo and Valentina!"

"I don't understand what's so bad about them," said Sam as he shook his head, "I would love to have siblings who I could compete with."

"Hey, siblings aren't all they're cracked up to be," said Jeremy, "My brother's a pain in the butt sometimes—believe me, be thankful you're an only child."

Niya rolled her eyes at the two boys and continued Sam's train of thought for him. "I thought you were closer to your siblings than this?" added Niya, "You always seemed so bonded."

"That was before they went off on their Pokémon Journeys," responded Alyssandra.

"I still don't get it. Is there something I'm missing?" asked Sam, "Because I'm lost."

"Ditto," added Niya.

"Me too," piped in Jeremy.

Alyssandra sighed and took her hairbrush from Niya's hands, then turned to face her friends as she brushed it herself. "I suppose we have enough time before my appeal for me to explain," she said slowly.

There was a long pause where Alyssandra stopped to think, the brush still running through her long, brown hair. "You guys are right," she started off, "I do love my siblings, all of them; even the little ones. But I don't love living in their shadows—especially my younger brother's!"

"So, you're jealous of them?" asked Jeremy, "Why though?"

"I never said I was jealous!" said Alyssandra defensively, shooting a glare at Jeremy, "I'm proud of them, I really am! I just…I feel left behind. Ever since Valentina became Champion of the Sinnoh League by beating Cynthia she also became one of the most powerful Trainers in the Sinnoh Region."

"That's usually how it works," joked Sam, a small smirk crossing his face. He couldn't help it but shut his mouth quickly as Alyssandra glared at him and Niya elbowed him in the ribs.

"Well, since that happened, mom and dad have been talking about Valentina non-stop," explained Alyssandra, "Be like Valentina! Look at Valentina she's so strong! Look she's the Champion! Why can't you be more like Valentina? It wasn't bad enough I had to hear how my little brother got to do all of these cool things, but now I had to hear it from my sister. It was hard to hear about what my siblings were doing, while I was sitting at home knowing that I was never going to be able to do the same things. But then I started my Pokémon Journey recently, and all of these cool things started happening! We beat Team Galactic during our second week of being Trainers!"

Alyssandra let out a sigh, regaining her composure once more.

"But even that was taken from me by my siblings…even though I'm a Pokémon Coordinator now, I'll still never be special like my siblings. They've done it all before and seen it all before. Top Coordinator means nothing to Champion of the Sinnoh League, especially when that Champion is the youngest Sinnoh Champion in history."

There was no sound as Alyssandra sat there, staring at herself in the mirror. Tears stung at her eyes, but she did her best to hide them. Slowly, Sam walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, gently and reassuringly.

"Well, if that's all, then it's me to blame for this," said Sam quickly, not even realizing what he was saying until it was too late, "I told you to wait for me, and I told you to stay behind because I couldn't leave on a Pokémon Journey. I was foolish and young, and didn't feel ready to go, so I held you and Jeremy back by making you promise not to go either…and now you're paying that price like this, and I feel nothing negative from that deal…I'm sorry."

Alyssandra looked up at Sam slowly, her hand grasping the one on her shoulder tightly. She opened her mouth to say something, but was stopped when over the loudspeaker, a voice called her name.

Alyssandra looked at Niya, wheeling around in her chair, the nerves back in her system. "That's me!" she cried, "It's my turn to appeal! What if I mess up?!"

"There's no time to worry about that anymore," said Niya with a small smile, "But don't worry, you'll do fine! Just go and you'll be okay, I promise. I believe in you!"

"Just don't freak out!" called Sam after her, "You'll do fine!"

"Good luck, Lyss! We're rooting for you!" called Jeremy.

With that Alyssandra disappeared behind the curtain that led to the stage and could now be seen on the large screen in the middle of the preparation room.

Sam, Niya and Jeremy watched as she walked on stage to begin her appeal, but the enjoyment was cut short as a calm, cool voice spoke from out of nowhere.

"So that's what my sisters thinks of us, huh?" asked the voice.

The trio wheeled around, only to come face to face with a tall, young woman, with medium-length blonde hair, that was flaming red at the ends of her side bangs. She wore all black, with a sleeveless, high-neck top and pleated, black, dress pants. Over the pants she wore a long, black, open front skirt supported by a brown leather belt that had several pouches and Poké Balls strapped to it.

Sam recognized this girl instantly. "Valentina?" he wondered aloud, "What are you doing here?"

Valentina smiled as she joined the trio by the TV. "I came to witness my sister's contest," she answered, "I meant to reveal myself a while ago but then she started her whole rant about her feelings—I apologize for that by the way—and I just stopped and listened."

"She still loves you," said Sam reassuringly, "She never said she didn't, she just said that she doesn't like living in your shadow."

"No, no," laughed Valentina as she waved her hand, "I know she doesn't hate me, but living in my shadow, well, there she has a point. I can't blame myself for her living in my shadow, I'm the eldest; I was going to do everything first anyway. I think what bugs her more is that now she has to live in Enzo's shadow too, and she's older than him."

"Same old Valentina," chuckled Niya, "You take nothing to heart, do you?"

"Well that's part of my job as Champion," she said smiling, "I need to keep a level head all the time whilst I govern the Pokémon League here in Sinnoh. In and out of battle."

"Are you going to tell your sister that you're here?" asked Jeremy, looking back at the screen to watch Alyssandra's appeal.

Valentina shook her head. "No, I think it's best I don't show myself just yet. She needs some time to cool down from the nerves of the contest—but I will stay and watch; from the stands though."

"Well, I'm sure if she knew that she'd appreciate it," added Sam.

"She can't know I'm here either," warned Valentina cautiously, "I don't want the thought of me watching to ruin her performance in the battle portion."

"Fair enough," remarked Niya, "It was nice to see you again though. I didn't think we'd get a chance to do that for a while." "Well, the Pokémon League is a funny thing," laughed Valentina, "The Elite Four are pretty tough, and not everyone makes it through for me, so I have a lot of free time on my hands as Champion. Now, I had better get going, it looks like her appeal's almost over. Just one last thing before I go—to each of you."

"Niya, keep watching out for my sister, and keep mentoring her. She needs someone near her age to act as a surrogate sister for her while she's travelling. Jeremy, nice to see you again, and although we've never been particularly as close as I am with Sam or Niya, I want you to know that I'm proud of you—all of you—but especially you. I heard from Professor Rowan about your dreams to become a Pokémon Ranger, and I think that's wonderful. You'll do well; but don't let your fears stop you from telling your family. Follow your dreams, and if that's what you want to do go do it. Finally, Sam," Valentina paused as she turned towards him, "Just ask my sister out already, damn it! Otherwise we'll all be waiting forever."

Everyone laughed, though Sam blushed lightly.

"I'll…we'll see," he said nervously, "I make no promises."

"Well, try at least," she joked, "Or I'm coming back here to hurt you."

"Jeez what's with all these girls and wanting to hurt me?" chuckled Sam sarcastically.

Valentina winked, and walked back towards where she had come from.

"Oh, and Valentina!" called Sam after her, "Don't get too comfortable in that Champion's seat just yet, because I'll be by in a few months, and I'm going to take it out from under you."

Valentina laughed and raised her hand in a backwards wave. "You can try," she called, "But you're going to have to try pretty hard; at least harder than you did in your match with Roark."

And with that, Valentina was gone, disappearing back towards the stands and the crowd.

Sam paused for a moment, and then realized what she said. "Wait how did she know about my battle with Roark?" he asked confused, "She wasn't there."

"Maybe she spoke with him?" suggested Jeremy, trying to be helpful to the weird situation.

Niya simply shrugged and turned her attention back to the monitor to watch Alyssandra.

Alyssandra timidly walked out towards the wings of the stage, waiting for her entrance to begin. In that time, she calmed herself—as much as she could, anyway—and entered the stage.

As she did, she released her Cherubi, and it jumped out onto the stage, happily crying out. "Cherubi! Cher, Cher! Rubi! Cherubi!"

Alyssandra smiled at the massive audience, and then at the judges.

Mr. Contesta, Mr. Sukizo and the Floaroma Nurse Joy were all gathered there, ready to judge Alyssandra's every move for the next few minutes.

Alyssandra reached the centre of the stage, and the announcer called her name once more, gaining a small cheer from the crowd.

"Alyssandra De Rossi from Twinleaf Town, everyone!" cried the announcer, "Today she will be making the appeal with her Cherubi! Some of you may remember her as the hip, young Coordinator who won the Jubilife Contest a few weeks ago! Let me tell you folks, if she lives up to our expectations today, then we can certainly expect big things from her! Now, let the appeal begin!"

Alyssandra's mind-set changed as the starting bell rang. Instantly she was filled with confidence and was ready to do anything to win this contest. "All right, Cherubi, let's make the best of what you got!" cried Alyssandra, knowing full well that her Cherubi knew two moves that could help her in contest, "Use Magical Leaf!"

Cherubi tightened up its body, and then shot several glowing leaves into the air. "Cherubi!" it cried.

"Now hold it and lift them high up into the sky!" Cherubi focused all of its power into the Magical Leaf, raising the leaves high up into the air so they glittered like purple-black lights in the sky, twinkling and sparkling in the sunlight.

"All right, Cherubi," said Alyssandra, "Now make them shine brighter! Sunny Day!"

"Cheeeeeeerubi!" cried the Pokémon, and a bright flash of light erupted from the sky above the Magical Leaf—that's why Alyssandra loved the open dome of the Floaroma Contest Hall, it was perfect for Cherubi's Sunny Day.

The light shone bright, making the Magical Leaf glitter and sparkle even more brilliantly than before.

"Excellent!" said Alyssandra happily.

"That's some powerful Magical Leaf folks!" said the announcer, "And that Sunny Day makes it even more beautiful, it's like a Magical Leaf Christmas Tree!"

Alyssandra smiled, not paying attention to the announcer, only looking for the balloons that floated from the crowd, cut free by backstage helpers who had been tipped off beforehand.

"Right on time," she said, "All right, Cherubi! Let the Magical Leaf fly and hit those balloons!"

"What is she doing folks? She seems to be sending her Magical Leaf up over the crowd!" said the announcer grandly, his toupee and thick moustache twitching with excitement.

The Magical Leaf struck the balloons, causing loud popping noises to crack across the sky like invisible fireworks. As the balloons popped, hundreds of sparkles and confetti rained down gently on the crowd like a silver snowfall. The crowd cheered and tried to catch the falling flakes of paper.

Cherubi danced around Alyssandra and jumped into her arms.

Alyssandra hugged her Pokémon tight, and smiled down at it, laughing.

Alyssandra held her Pokémon close to her, facing the crowd, and bowed to them as they cheered for her performance.

"What a show folks, what a show!" cried the announcer, "I never saw that coming, this is amazing! Alyssandra's used the stadium to her advantage and made a beautiful display! Let's see what the judges think!"

Mr. Contesta went first, a large smile on his face, he said. "That was amazing. I've seen a lot of things in my time, but this is remarkable. Using not only your Pokémon, but your environment around you to your advantage like you did; amazing, and I think the announcer said it all when he said we can expect great things from you, Alyssandra."

The screen in the middle of his podium flashed with the number 9.0, and the judging moved on to Mr. Sukizo.

"Simply remarkable!" he cried, "Your display was beautiful, one of the best I've seen in a long time!"

His screen beeped, and again flashed with a 9.0.

Finally, Nurse Joy spoke, her name—being her usual mood—coming true in her speech. "Alyssandra, I remember you from the contest the other day," she started, "And I know that your Cherubi is a brand-new Pokémon to you. So, for you to use it as confidently and readily as you did today shows just how great of a Trainer you are. To put such trust in a new Pokémon and have that trust returned means that you have worked long and hard with Cherubi. For that, and for your excellent display I think you are very deserving of the points I am about to give you."

The screen beeped, and a perfect 10 appeared on the screen, the first 10 Alyssandra had received. She maintained her composure however, and bowed to the judges, thanking them heartily.

Alyssandra quickly left the stage and walked back to where her friends were; as she left the stage her composure left her, and she squealed happily until she was in the arms of her friends, who had tackled her with a group hug.

"We're so proud of you!" shouted Niya, "Congratulations!"

"You were amazing, I didn't know you planned that far ahead!" said Sam as the group pulled back.

"Yeah, using that Sunny Day was genius," complimented Jeremy, "The sun was up, and that Sunny Day made it even better for showing off the Magical Leaf. Overall, great way of making the best of what you got, especially when you had so little."

"Thank you, all of you," said Alyssandra happily, "I can't thank you all enough; you helped me train the past few days. It's because of you that Cherubi was so trusting of me, and I was so prepared to use it in this contest."

"Well it's not like you gave us a choice," laughed Sam.

Jeremy laughed as well, but Niya and Alyssandra rolled their eyes.

"Come on, let's go redo your hair for the battle portion," said Niya enthusiastically, "I'm sure you're going to move on—nobody else scored as high as you did yet."

With that, Niya grabbed Alyssandra by the hand and dragged her towards the changing rooms.

"My sister really has a talent for this," said a voice, strong and confident as ever.

Jeremy and Sam jumped at the sudden sound and turned around to see Valentina standing there again.

"I just stopped by to say goodbye to you guys," she said, "I can't stay; someone wants to challenge me back at the Pokémon League."

"They better not beat you before I do," said Sam determinedly, "I'm going to be the one replacing you."

Valentina simply laughed. "If you can manage to get past the Elite Four," she said, "Look, don't tell my sister I dropped by all right? I'll tell her later; I'll probably drop by again. I am proud of her though, and I know as long as you keep supporting her, she'll do amazing. My little sis is lucky to have friends like you."

Sam and Jeremy laughed. "We know," they said in unison.

"We've been trying to tell you that for years," said Jeremy, "At least you finally recognize it."

Valentina laughed and shook her head slowly. "Well, good luck you guys," she said calmly, "Jeremy, good luck with your dreams and Sam…well, I'm sure we'll see each other again before our fated match, but good luck just the same!"

Valentina turned on her heel again. She wasn't the same Valentina that Sam had known back in Twinleaf Town. There seemed to be something stopping this Valentina from seeing her sister…she seemed to love her sister as much as before; but the old Valentina would have never left an important event of her sister's, let alone drop in without saying hello.

It must've been what Alyssandra had said this morning that changed it. Valentina must've felt bad for putting up this wall between her and Alyssandra.

Sam sighed, she was already gone, it was too late to try and smooth things over. "Come on Jeremy," said Sam, "Let's go wait by the change room; they'll probably want our opinions on how Lyss looks."

"Ugh, I hate giving my opinion," sighed Jeremy in a mocking tone, "It's so opinionated."

Sam and Jeremy laughed, and walked towards the change rooms, waiting outside until Alyssandra and Niya returned.

Alyssandra shrieked with happiness over dinner as she beamed at her new ribbon.

"My second ribbon!" she cried, "The Floaroma Contest was a synch! I'm one step closer to the Grand Festival!"

"Would you put that thing away?" laughed Sam, "You're going to get it dirty, or lose it."

"Perish the thought," gasped Alyssandra as she pinned it gently to the strap of her bag.

Niya grabbed a piece of sushi from the middle of the table and dipped it in a small bowl of soy sauce. "Oh, let her have her fun, Sam," smiled Niya, "You wouldn't shut up for days after you beat Roark, remember?"

"Yeah, but that was my first badge, too," added Sam stiffly.

"Didn't make it any less annoying," laughed Jeremy.

Everyone let out a laugh, paused only by the waitress who brought another plate of sushi out.

"Man, this is the best idea I've had for dinner," said Sam as he grabbed one of the tempura rolls, "Next time I say we go to a yakiniku place."

"Oh, my goodness yes!" cried Jeremy, "I am down for that!"

Niya sighed. "You guys are going to make me gain weight with all of this food—it's so good, but so unhealthy!"

"That's why we walk, Niya," joked Sam, "To lose the weight I make you all gain."

Jeremy lay back in his seat and looked up at the ceiling; he had a whimsical look on his face.

"What's up, Jeremy?" asked Alyssandra as she watched her friend dream into the sky.

"I'm thinking on the advice that Val—"

Sam slammed his heel down on Jeremy's toe, and after a quick yelp and Sam's short apology, Jeremy continued, this time watching what he said.

"That Sam gave me today," stressed Jeremy as he stared hard at Sam, "He told me to follow my dreams and become a Pokémon Ranger…I think I'm going to."

"Really?" asked Alyssandra, "Congratulations! Are you finally going to tell your parents?"

Jeremy nodded. "Yeah, but I'm not going to become a Ranger just yet," he said, "I want to wait. I want to travel with you guys through Sinnoh, but once you finish the Grand Festival and Sam beats the Pokémon League, I'll go take the test and enter the profession."

"Why so long?" asked Niya, "If that's what you want to do, go now!"

"I can't," said Jeremy, shaking his head, "There's so much I want to see before I become tied down with this. I want to see you guys succeed, and I want to continue our adventures, but I promise myself that I'll go become a Ranger after."

"You better actually do it," threatened Niya, lightly though, "If you're the only one here that doesn't realize your dream, I'm going to hurt you. Even if I have to write your test for you, you're going to become a Ranger."

Jeremy laughed. "Don't worry," he said soothingly, "If I don't realize my own dream, I'll hurt myself."

Everyone laughed again and continued their dinner.

Sam knew at that dinner that a victory for one was a victory for all in this "family" of theirs, and that's what Sam loved about these people he called friends.