~ Chapter 46 ~
Solaceon, The Next Contest
"The remainder of the trek to Solaceon Town was uneventful. It was another two days of walking, and it was spent relatively peacefully. We gave the Rapidash a break, besides, there weren't enough for the Shrine Maidens who were escorting us, and we weren't going to make them run to catch up. Once we arrived at Solaceon Town we decided to have a well-earned break. We were going to spend a week in Solaceon Town no matter what. I even splurged a bit and checked us in to a nice hotel on the main street of town. I planned to see the Solaceon Ruins while we were in town too, but first thing was first: Alyssandra's Contest. That took priority, and she spent the two days we had between our arrival and the contest to train as hard as she could and practice her combinations. We all pitched in and helped too; which made her win even sweeter for all of us to enjoy."
Alyssandra chewed her bottom lip as she waited for her name to be called.
The Appeal portion had begun not too long ago, and Alyssandra was presenting towards the end.
It wasn't a big contest, and Solaceon Town wasn't a big place. There were only eight competitors; a shock to Niya who expected there to be more people participating in contests in the months leading up to the Sinnoh Grand Festival.
Sam merely chalked it up to the popularity of Pokémon Contests in larger cities. Jubilife and Hearthome were major cities whose contests many people were likely frequent, and even Floaroma Town, being as scenic as it was, was popular amongst Pokémon Contest enthusiast and Coordinators alike.
Whatever, the reason, it meant for Alyssandra that her mistakes would be noticed easier, as there were fewer participants vying for the ribbon.
"You're going to do fine, Lyss," assured Niya, patting her friend on the back, "You've trained long and hard for this."
Jeremy nodded in agreement. "You always get nervous before a Contest and you always pull through a win in the end."
"Chu-Pika!" piped in Pikachu, for once not munching on an Oran Berry.
"It's just like when I get nervous before a Gym Battle," added Sam, "You'll do just fine. Don't doubt yourself. You've got the skills; you just need two more ribbons to qualify for the Grand Festival anyway."
Alyssandra let out a "meep" and chewed her lip more fervently. "Way to go there, Mr. Sensitive," sighed Niya who walked Alyssandra off to the side to give her a pep talk.
Jeremy let out a chuckle, and Sam simply sighed and shook his head.
"Your intentions were good my boy, but your delivery needs work," Sam's grandfather blurted out as randomly appeared beside Sam.
Sam let out a yelp and jumped, causing Jeremy and the rest of the hall to look at him strangely.
"Sam are you okay?" asked Jeremy, worry written plainly on his face.
Sam nodded and let out a sheepish laugh. Passing it off as a sudden chill he felt, not expecting it he was unnerved. "I have to go to the bathroom, I'll be back," continued Sam quickly, before further questions could be asked.
Sam walked briskly towards the bathroom, and once he arrived, he locked the door behind him. His grandfather walked right through the wall like it wasn't even there.
"Where the hell have you been?" demanded Sam, not angry, but clearly not thrilled at his grandfather's now-you-see-me-now-you-don't act.
"I've been busy," explained Aurelio, shrugging, and very clearly trying to avoid the subject.
"You're dead, what could you possibly be doing that's so important?" asked Sam, astounded.
"I don't know, read? Have me time?" asked his grandfather rather rhetorically, "Don't question your elders!"
Sam let out a sigh and leaned against the countertop, facing the mirror and sink. There was a pause, then another sigh. "I could've really used some advice you know," said Sam calmly, "Between dealing with the Spiritomb and the Black Claw Gang."
"Yeah, I heard about that," said Aurelio, coming over to stand behind his grandson, "You've had a rough week."
"How did you hear about it?" wondered Sam, "No one else except me can see you."
Aurelio flushed pink, clearly caught in some kind of lie or slip of the tongue. He opened his mouth several times, only to close it, the whole time speaking in a jumbled mess of syllables.
"What did I just say about questioning your elders?" was what he finally decided to go with before turning away towards the door.
"There's something going on you're not telling me," said Sam calmly, yet with a sense of purpose, "And not just now. My whole life I think."
"I don't know what you mean," said Aurelio simply, again avoiding the subject.
"There's something you won't tell me, or can't tell me," continued Sam, pressing his grandfather for information, "What is it? Does it have to do with dragons? Why am I having strange dreams about them?"
"Sam don't," warned his grandfather, "I can't—I don't. Don't"
"What's wrong with me?" demanded Sam further, "Why can I see ghosts, and dream things that I've never seen before? Why, when I shook Alexios' hand, did I feel like I entered a whole other world? How was that even possible?"
"Don't ask me what I can't tell you," said Aurelio sternly, "I can't, and I won't. It's not my place."
"So, there is something different about me?" asked Sam, still trying to get some kind of affirmation.
"Maybe," was all Aurelio said, "And that's all you're getting out of me."
Sam leaned back against the wall, and then sank to the ground till he was sitting with his knees against his chest. "When will I be able to know more?" asked Sam, almost content with what he had learned.
"I don't know," shrugged Aurelio, "Whenever the person who is going to tell you feels you're ready."
Sam was tempted to ask who it was, and though he had his suspicions, he kept his mouth quiet. "That's good enough for me," said Sam, conceding defeat, "For now anyway."
"Well, that's good, because that's all you're going to get for now," smiled Aurelio, offering his hand out for Sam to take.
Sam took it and was lifted from the ground on to his feet. "Come on now, my boy," smiled Aurelio, "You're going to miss Alyssandra's appeals. I already cost you the one in Hearthome, I won't cost you another one."
Sam laughed and the two walked from the bathroom.
Sam didn't have all the answers he wanted, but he had enough to hold him over for now. He just hoped he wouldn't have to wait too long to find out the truth.
"And now, for our final contestant of the day, Alyssandra De Rossi!" cried the Contest announcer.
When her name was called, Alyssandra walked out on to the stage—still nervous to the core. The small audience of friends and family members of the other contests and interested citizens of Solaceon watched her intently. So, did the judges.
Two of the judges Alyssandra didn't recognize, but she assumed they were recognized members of the community, alongside the local Nurse Joy.
Now was her turn to Appeal to the judges, and Alyssandra knew there was no turning back, once the announcer finished her introduction; that was her moment.
"Alyssandra hails from the quiet little hamlet of Twinleaf Town," explained the announcer, "She's currently travelling the Sinnoh Region with her friends and has so far won a ribbon at the Hearthome, Jubilife and Floaroma Contests, and has come here today to achieve her fourth ribbon!"
There was a customary applause from the audience, and then, the announcement that she was to begin her Appeal.
This was it.
With a deep breathe, she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, and then released her Roselia onto the stage. "Go, Roselia, time to shine!" she cried.
Roselia responded cheerfully and energetically, excited, and eager to do well during the Appeals.
Alyssandra had never used Roselia, formerly her Budew, in an actual Contest before, but she knew she would have to eventually, and Alyssandra felt that now was the time.
Alyssandra's first command was simple, to use Magical Leaf.
Roselia obliged and fired several multi-coloured leaves in a rainbow of colours from her flowery hands. The petals flew around the arena, swirling in all sorts of colours, shining in the spotlights like a fluid rainbow.
"Keep it up Roselia!" cried Alyssandra, remembering the training she went through with Roselia so that the Pokémon could maintain the attack like a puppet show.
"Selia!" responded Roselia, aware of what was to come next.
This was the hard part. Roselia would need to concentrate on the Magical Leaf and continue it while she focused on another move entirely.
"Now use Grass Whistle and maintain that Magical Leaf, just like we practiced!" continued Alyssandra, keeping a calm head just like Sam had taught her.
"Roselia!" cried Roselia in a short, sharp tone.
Roselia produced a single leaf in one of her hands and placed it to her mouth. She blew against the leaf, and created a melodic, buzzing noise. Roselia played her Grass Whistle with ease, playing a song that enthralled the audience and kept them all silence.
As the music played, the Magical Leaf before began to dance and take shape. It turned into a rainbow-coloured dragon and flew across the arena, out over the crowd, circling around the judges and then Roselia and Alyssandra.
Then it slithered into a snake and slid across the stage floor where it danced in tune to Roselia's music.
The music reached a crescendo and the snake split into two separate swirling vortexes of petals, which reformed into two rough reproductions of a Kirlia.
The two Pokémon danced and leapt across the stage with grace and elegance as if real Kirlia stood before the audience, entertaining them.
When Alyssandra finally had Roselia finish off her tune, the music died out in a low hum, a single solitary note, and the Kirlia flew apart as the petals burst out from the stage and hung above the audience for a moment.
Roselia released her control of the Magical Leaf, and the multi-coloured leaves fell like snowflakes over the audience, showering them.
People cheered and screamed and whistled and hooted. Several shouted for an encore, and everyone reached up to try and grab one of Alyssandra's petals before it hit the floor or fell into the hands of another audience member.
The judges stood up and clapped fervently, and behind the stage in the waiting area, Niya, Sam, Jeremy and Pikachu cheered like they were mad, hugging each other at Alyssandra's perfected Appeal.
The plan for the Appeal was a group effort, everyone adding a bit to it until it became what it was now. Everyone had helped Alyssandra practice and prepare and finally it had paid off.
All that was needed was the call from the judges.
Even Aurelio cheered for Alyssandra unreservedly. "Was that all her idea?" Aurelio whispered to Sam.
Sam waited until his friends were distracted by the judges' opinions before responding. "For the most part yes," explained Sam, "We all helped add to it."
"Ingenious," smiled Aurelio, "You guys have perfected teamwork."
Sam let out a small chuckle as he looked back at the screen to see the verdict. "Yeah, most of the time," he whispered before returning to silence.
Nurse Joy and the elderly couple had been muttering amongst them calmly for the last few minutes and were finally ready to weigh in on what they had just seen.
First came the elderly man, whom the announcer called Hideo Yamamoto. His name garnered a massive response from the crowd, and Alyssandra was embarrassed that she didn't know who he was.
"I've seen many well-trained Pokémon in my years," began Hideo, "But this is truly remarkable. I understand you just became a Pokémon Coordinator in the last few months correct?"
Alyssandra nodded in response.
"Very well done indeed," clapped Hideo, spinning around to encourage the rest of the audience to clap as well, "You must either have a very natural skill at raising Pokémon, a very good teacher, or some lucky combination of both. Either way, I will not be surprised if you reach the Grand Festival. You get a nine from me."
"Thank you," responded Alyssandra, hiding a blush from being flattered.
There was an applause, and then the elderly woman, introduced as Hotaru Yamamoto, Hideo's wife, stood up to speak. She received the same warm reception as her husband, and again Alyssandra was lost as to whom she was, though made a point of finding that out after this Contest was over.
"My words are the same as my husband's," smiled Hotaru, "You've got such skill, and for me it's not a question of if you'll make it to the Grand Festival, but when. I look forward to seeing great things from you, Ms. De Rossi. You get a nine from me as well."
Aurelio looked in nostalgic amazement at the TV screen as Hotaru and Hideo spoke. "It's good to see him again," he smiled, "I'm sorry to say I didn't get to visit Hideo as much as I would have liked as I got older, but I always thought about him. He looks well respected."
"You know him?" asked Sam, curiously.
"Of course!" responded Aurelio, as if shocked that someone hadn't, "And you should too, being an Accardi."
Sam looked confused, and Aurelio didn't wait for Sam to ask why.
"Your grandfather mentored him! Taught Hideo everything he knew about Pokémon Breeding; hell, once he made it big, your grandfather gave Hideo the loan he needed to get started," explained Aurelio passionately, "He runs what he calls a 'Pokémon Day Care' right here in town. They care for, raise, and help train Pokémon for people for short or extended periods of time. They even breed Pokémon for people. I know he wanted to pass on the art but from what I recall your grandfather made Hideo promise not to pass on what he learned from the Accardis to anyone but his family. Hideo had to get permission to even teach his wife after they got married."
"My family always did guard our secrets very well," smiled Sam, though he knew his father's father would've relented for Hideo's wife. He was a good businessman, but he wasn't heartless.
"He's about my age if I remember correctly," smiled Aurelio, lost in his memories, "I met him when Rowan and I travelled across the Sinnoh Region. We were passing through Solaceon Town. He was just a kid like us then; he was so full of spirit and ambition. I'm glad he followed through."
According to Niya, as Sam had zoned out the last little bit of the judge's thoughts to speak to his grandfather, Alyssandra slid by with three nines, and was among the lucky four contestants to pass on to the first—and technically second last—round of Battle stages.
Alyssandra returned shortly, her Roselia in her arms and her friends crowding around her, cheering for her and her success.
"Now you just have to win the Battle Portion and you'll be on your way to your fifth ribbon," exclaimed Jeremy.
Pikachu cheered as well, shouting his name as he hopped on top of Alyssandra's shoulder and began to nuzzle her cheek.
Though Alyssandra was cheering on the outside, part of her knew not to get cocky. It wasn't over yet, not by a long shot. She still had at least two battles ahead of her.
Alyssandra looked at her opponent; a young boy, maybe two or three years younger than her. From what Alyssandra could gather, he was a local, and judging by the small town and the fact that the boy shared his last name with two of the judges, she was going to guess they were related.
Genji Yamamoto was how the announcer had introduced him.
They had seen each other Battle in the previous round and Appeal in the first half of the Contest over a TV screen, but for the first time in the Contest they had now come face to face.
Alyssandra had no personal feelings about him and couldn't say she liked or disliked him; the two had hardly spoke, but now they were standing there, facing each other, a Roselia against a Machop.
The fight had just been started, and the two were taking a few seconds to prepare an attack method, one that looked good but still held up in a battle. Alyssandra had an idea; it was risky, but she was sure she could make it work.
Alyssandra took this nervous young boy's hesitation to strike.
"Roselia, we're going to turn your Appeal into an attack, sound good?" asked Alyssandra, a smile on her face as she felt a confidence surge through her.
"Roselia!" cried the Pokémon in response, knowing exactly what she had to do. Alyssandra's sudden attack left the boy a bit speechless, giving her time to strike.
He had seemed nervous in his last battle, and this one, being the battle that could win him the Ribbon or not, added to the fact that he was performing in front of his family only made the nerves worse.
Alyssandra felt bad for taking advantage of his nerves, but this was a competition, and Alyssandra wanted this victory.
"Roselia, you know what to do," said Alyssandra confidently, "I'm leaving this in your hands. I trust you."
"Selia!" replied the Pokémon, once more producing a leaf, and placing to her mouth.
The Grass Whistle began again, this time the tune was less whimsical and majestic, and instead was more frantic and quick-paced, matching the mood of a Pokémon battle.
Then, with her free hand, Roselia produced the multi-coloured leaves of death known as Magical Leaf. Roselia started off small, not wanting to garner too much grandiose and ruin the charm of the build-up.
She shot several leaves towards Machop, striking the Pokémon, and causing Genji's points to go down slightly.
By now Genji's nerves had been overcome enough for him to strike back and he instantly called for his Machop to attack with a simple Karate Chop attack.
Roselia countered without Alyssandra even having to say a word however and formed the continuous flurry of leaves into a storm that surrounded Machop and impeded his progress to his target.
Each time he thought he neared Roselia, the leaves fluttered about and pecked at him like so many angry little birds.
Eventually Machop got distracted by the leaves and began to fight them instead.
The damage taken was minimal, but still added up to some lost points, and the distraction cost Genji even more.
Then, Genji had Machop use Low Sweep.
This time, the Machop's efforts paid off, and he was able to slip from the leaf barrage, using the wind from his Low Sweep to blow them away enough for him to slip through an opening and approach Roselia for an attack.
This lost Alyssandra a few points, as Roselia was unable to stop the advance of Machop.
Then Genji called for another Karate Chop, all the while Roselia's Grass Whistle music still matching up to the tone and pace of the battle. It sounded like a shakuhachi flute, blowing its tune at a climactic moment in a Kabuki drama.
Roselia was, however, able to dodge, and moved the leaves over in her place, to continue to confuse and slow the Machop.
More points, minor still, deducted from Genji, who was getting slightly annoyed at the constant barrage of leaves.
That's exactly what Alyssandra wanted though and was hoping to unnerve Genji and thus his Pokémon, making it easier to win the battle.
Roselia was smart, and Alyssandra knew this and trusted it.
The flute music continued and Roselia began to go on the offensive. She formed another Roselia from her Magical Leaf. A solid being that looked and acted like a rainbow coloured version of herself. She sent the clone Roselia to attack Machop.
The two clashed repeatedly.
Clone Roselia blasted a Magical Leaf—of course—at the Machop, which struck the Pokémon.
Machop then retaliated with a Karate Chop, which would break the Roselia apart temporarily before it fused itself back together again.
This went on back and forth. Dodging, striking, dodging, dodging, missing, fluttering leaves, defending. Points were being deducted from both Alyssandra and Genji until they were equal.
They were getting down to the wire too.
Their five minutes was now forty-five seconds and Alyssandra had to do something quick to gain the upper hand. Both Pokémon jumped back, Alyssandra calling for Roselia to "make it a grand finale."
Genji called for a Dynamic Punch.
This final strike would decide the match.
Roselia let loose as many leaves as she could, forming them into the head and snarling maw of a long, serpentine dragon.
The petal dragon and Machop lunged towards each other. The dragon breathing a wreathing flame of leaves and Machop's hand glowing like a shooting star as the two aimed to strike down the other.
Roselia's music had reached a furiously heightened pitch, blowing hard and fast, whistling with such intensity that Alyssandra was surprised she had not broken the small leaf with all the intensity.
The two moves collided and there was a bright flash of light, an explosion, a cloud of smoke and a rain of rainbow leaves, some burnt or smoking, others still intact, falling down over the stadium, its audience and judges as the dust settled.
There was nothing but silence; the last few notes of Roselia's music had ended, being drowned out by the sound of the explosion caused by the colliding attacks and then the buzzer.
There was another pause however before the announcement was made as the clouds of smoke started clear, revealing Roselia standing still, calmly, quietly, collected, and happy.
Machop lay not too far from her feet, unconscious and exhausted, unable to battle and completely immobilized.
Roselia herself was out of breath from the concentration it took to maintain that Magical Leaf, and from all the blowing required for the Grass Whistle.
The crowded roared, cheering for Alyssandra's victory as Genji, holding back his pride and his defeat, simply sighed and went to retrieve his Machop.
Thanking the poor Pokémon for fighting so hard and insisting that they'd "get the Ribbon next time."
Alyssandra had a feeling she had made a new rival at that moment and wished to speak to Genji before people began crowding her, but he had already slipped off behind the stage and was gone before she could notice.
The announcer shouted Alyssandra's victories across the stadium and onto all the radio stations and television sets broadcasting the match.
Sam, Jeremy, Niya and Pikachu were in a group hug, cheering and jumping around like crazy people in the waiting area and Aurelio was whooping like some majestic bird, knowing full well that only Sam could see him like this.
Everyone was proud of Alyssandra for her feat.
The judges stood up and clapped, reporters from the local newspapers and some new fans in the audience came up on stage to greet her and ask her questions, crowding around her, causing Alyssandra to set them straight and have them ask, in an orderly and calm fashion, any questions they liked.
It went on like this for a while, all while her friends waited in the wings.
"That was risky, repeating her Appeal as an attack strategy," said Jeremy, "So was trusting Roselia so blindly like that. Alyssandra didn't give a single command."
"Not as risky as you would think," explained Niya, "The Battle portion is a combination of looking good, but also about doing damage to your opponent. Points are deducted if your opponent does a particularly fantastic move or manoeuvre, or, obviously, if they attack you successfully. They can also be deducted if a move fails to work, or if it has the opposite affect that you intended, like a Sweet Scent sometimes throwing out a bad smell when a Gloom prepares for the spring."
"And as for the Roselia," continued Sam, knowing full well the magic of trusting in your Pokémon, "That would only have been dangerous had it failed. But I trust Alyssandra and Alyssandra trusted her Pokémon, so I doubt it would have. Pokémon have a funny way of understanding us better than we do them."
"Amen to that," agreed Aurelio to no one in particular, though Sam heard him and gave a small smile, containing the much larger outburst of pride he felt inside.
"I suppose you're right," said Jeremy thinking over what his friends had said.
He was a Trainer, but not as avidly as Sam, and though he watched and learned about Contests, he certainly wasn't a Coordinator. Jeremy loved being somewhere in the middle though; it gave him a chance to learn so many things and apply them both to his battle strategies.
Niya slung her arms around the boys' shoulders, and Pikachu, avoiding Niya's oddly strong grasp, hopped from Jeremy's shoulder to Niya's.
"Pika!" he cried as he settled comfortable on his new, albeit temporary, perch.
Everyone gave a small laugh, and Niya, her arms still around the boys, walked them towards the stage.
"Come on boys, let's go save Lyss from those reporters," said Niya, more dragging them along than asking, "Newspapers in a small town are more aggressive to get the best story than in the bigger ones. We'd better make sure they don't maul her."
"She seems to be doing all right for now," noted Sam.
"Yeah, for now," replied Niya before she finally dragged the two of them onto the stage.
Alyssandra's fourth win, though predicted and expected, was just as fun and thrilling as the rest.
She enjoyed the challenge, all of her new rivalries, and the people she met along the way. Most of all she loved her friends and the support they gave her. They made the victories truly possible; their belief in her, and that belief she put in her Pokémon.
Four ribbons down, one more to go; then it was Grand Festival time.
