Supplements for the Heart

by stringdog

Not all events can make it into the main story. Some just don't fit or add enough to the plot to merit inclusion. This doesn't mean that they shouldn't be told. Here is a collection of events that occur during 'Dreams Come From the Heart' that didn't make the cut but do supplement the series in some way. A fun, lighthearted, pearlshipping collection set during the Hearts Series.

8. Advice For Rookies

Here is the eighth Supplement for the Heart, released at the right time in the Heart Series timeline. The events of this Supplement take place immediately after the events of Part XXX as well as during the first half of the events of Part XXXI hence why they are being released at the same time. This is the second of several Supplements that focus on Dawn's relationship with Emily, a suggested OC who is one of the coordinators new to the circuit this year and who Dawn has taken under her wing at times to help her out during the season. As this is involves an OC it would detract from the main series so the more detailed parts of Dawn's friendship with Emily will take place here rather than in the main series but the results will be seen in Emily's sporadic appearances. Anyway, there were no questions in regards to the Supplement since the last one dropped so that is all for now, please relax and enjoy the latest Supplement for the Heart: Advice For Rookies.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.

Advice For Rookies

Dawn walked into the coordinator's waiting room after the Saffron Contest to see Emily sitting there waiting for her as Dawn had expected. The brunette rookie coordinator was the only one left as everyone else having already left when they lost or after Dawn won. Dawn smiled, she was glad to see that the bubbly girl had stayed, she had potential, she just needed a little advice just as Dawn had needed back when she was a rookie.

"Hey Emily, thanks for waiting." Dawn said with a smile as she approached the younger girl. "Sorry that took a little longer than planned, winning two early Contests brings out the media unfortunately."

"Dawn that was amazing." Emily said standing as Dawn approached clearly not minding the wait before sitting again at a gestured from Dawn. "You really are the coordinator to beat this year. The media is right to fawn over you."

"I try not to think of that but I guess after the last two seasons I should have expected it this year." Dawn said with a sigh as she sat down next to Emily. "It started in Johto thanks to my run there and seems to have continued here. I am as beatable as anyone though, it all. depends on the day."

"I doubt that." Emily said with praise in her voice. "You are the best I've ever seen. Other than the Grand Festivals, when was your last regular Contest loss?"

"The Lilypad Contest in Sinnoh when I first tried to use Mamoswine in a Contest." Dawn said after some thought. "He was strong and won his first battle with a quick Battle Off but he got frustrated against Jessilina's Carnivine and was easily beaten in the semifinals. It was my first, and only, loss to her but she was better that day and deserved the Lilypad Ribbon she won. We met again in the semifinals in the Grand Festival that year and I won but I never underestimated her again. It was a learning experience for both of us and I used that loss to train harder with Mamoswine so that we won the next Contest we entered."

"When was that?" Emily asked curiously. "Like how many Contests ago was thee Lilypad one?"

"Technically I have won the last 10 Contests that aren't the Grand Festival that I have entered." Dawn admitted not fully comfortable with the praise but it was clearly helping Emily to hear about her success and Dawn knew how Ash being a mentor helped so she decided to embrace it. "That is probably why I have the reputation I currently have but I know that I can be beat and that knowledge keeps me humble. I don't expect to breeze into the Grand Festival. Someone will beat me this year, probably more than once, and show me where I can improve. Confidence is good, overconfidence isn't, trust me."

"But you swept Johto." Emily reminded her. "It was during the Johto Grand Festival when I really started to notice you as a coordinator and knew that I wanted to be one as well. Facing you in the finals of my first ever Contest was huge for me, even if you destroyed me."

"Well it was a mismatch between Mamoswine and Clefairy." Dawn said sheepishly. "And I was going for the quick win to get off on a good foot and boost my own confidence for this season. From this Contest on I will be using my new Pokémon whenever I can because they need the practice more than my old ones right now. Johto was different as I said I had a specific motivation to win the few remaining Contests to reach the Grand Festival. That motivation is now by my side supporting me so I can be more experimental as I work towards my dream."

"Yeah where is your boyfriend?" Emily asked as she looked around for Ash. "He isn't here."

"Ash and I had a moment just after my win." Dawn said with a light blush on her cheeks at the memory of what a moment was for them. "But I told him that I needed to talk to you after the Contest as I said I would so Ash headed back to the Pokémon Center taking my Piplup with him so that Piplup doesn't interrupt me looking for Poffins as he's still pissed at me for some training mishaps on the way. Ash does have a challenge against Sabrina soon to get ready for and he wants to discuss it now with his Pokémon while I am here."

"Oh yeah he is a trainer I remember you telling me about his plan." Emily said. "Well I hope he wins his battle."

"Same, he is really ready for it but no plan works out perfectly so he needs contingencies." Dawn said with a smile. "But we aren't here to talk about Ash, we are here to talk about you and your appeal."

"I, I don't know what happened." Emily said with a sad sigh as they turned to the topic Dawn wanted to talk about. "I thought that my appeal was good enough but it wasn't."

"When it comes to appeals, good won't cut it most of the time." Dawn said seriously. "I thought that early on, got a little overconfident after my first ribbon and it almost destroyed me. I made a similar mistake to you and that was the second time I failed to advance to the battle round."

"You have said that you didn't advance." Emily said. "I still can't believe that. You are so confident and skilled as a coordinator that the idea of you not advancing past the appeals round is really hard to believe."

"Well believe it, it happened, twice." Dawn said with a small smile. "At both the Hearthome and Solaceon Town Contests. They were my 4th and 5th Contests and I didn't advance both times. I had lost to a coordinator who would become my best female friend and rival in the semis of my first Contest in Jubilife City. I was also the runner up to a new friend and local called Allegra in the final of the Alamos Town Contest which was my third Contest so I was doing well. Incidentally that Contest was right after I began to fall for Ash but that is a story for another time."

"But you won your second Contest." Emily pointed out. "You told me that last time. This is my second Contest and look at me."

"I did win my second in Floaroma Town." Dawn said with a nod. "And that was what gave me too much confidence if I'm being honest. I messed up in the 2 Contests after Alamos Town and almost quit, even took a break for a while, but I got back into it and won the Wallace Cup for my second ribbon and from then on I was back. The Wallace Cup win also taught me one important lesson that no matter how well I do I will always remember."

"What is that?" Emily asked her sadness seeming to have gone, replaced with eagerness for Dawn's advice.

"Anyone can lose to anyone else." Dawn said simply. "In the semis of the Wallace Cup Zoey, who I have never beaten and lost the Sinnoh Grand Festival to, lost to May, a coordinator from Hoenn who traveled with Ash while he was there but was on the Johto Circuit at the time. I then beat May in the finals and May would go on to lose in the Johto Grand Festival final that year. At any time, on any day, anyone can win. We all have good days and bad days, you just have to aim for more good than bad."

"I see." Emily said nodding slowly. "So even you can lose despite your skills and being the most decorated and successful coordinator on the Kanto circuit this season, or at least the most of those that I know of."

"Yup and I learned that the hard way when I lost in Johto." Dawn said. "There will always be a coordinator who can beat, it's the same with trainers. All it takes is one good performance or one bad one and that's it."

"You mentioned that you and Ursula didn't get along." Emily said. "I watching that final and seeing a lot of trash talk between you two. It was clear that you didn't get on with each other."

"No we do not." Dawn said shaking her head. "Ursula is a talented coordinator, I mean she is now a Top Coordinator after her win in Johto which proves her skills, but she is also extremely arrogant and narcissistic. She believes that she is better than she really is and I was her target after I won the Wallace Cup while she didn't even advance to the battles. We met three times while we were in Sinnoh and I won all 3 but when it counted the most she was the one holding the Ribbon Cup and I was again a runner up at the end of the battle."

"You were still gracious in defeat." Emily said. "I remember watching it and seeing how you handled it with nothing but respect that the whole crowd was on your side despite losing. Your reaction to such a loss was expected but after that you were the first to congratulate Ursula in her victory. You showed so much class in defeat that day. That was when I knew that you would be my role model when I began to compete this year. I just never expected we would be on the same circuit as you, let alone get to face you in a final or even talk to you."

"Thanks, it wasn't easy to do that but it was the right thing to do." Dawn said remembering the brutal loss to Ursula in Johto though she was a little uncomfortable with the praise that Emily was giving her, Dawn wasn't like Ash, she wasn't a role model. "Thanks for your kind words and now we are rivals seeing as we are on the same circuit this year. Still, that doesn't mean that we can't be friends."

"You mean it?" Emily asked amazement in her voice as her eyes went wide. "That would be great!"

"I would rather be friends with my rivals then enemies." Dawn said with a kind smile at the younger girl. "Zoey and I always made each other better when we got together despite being rivals at the end of the day. It was the same with Nando, Jessilina, and Kenny, though the latter is likely now in the same camp as Ursula I fear."

"Huh?" Emily asked. "You have another bad rival who used to be a good rival?"

"Not your concern." Dawn said dismissively. "Personal issues that shouldn't come up again if I can avoid it. Anyway, my rivals always helped me a lot and I did the same for them. Now it is time to do so again. You are a rookie on the circuit but after reaching the finals in Cerulean you clearly have the potential to make the Grand Festival and I will help you unlock it."

"You will?" Emily said hopefully. "Thank you so much Dawn."

"I will help as best I can." Dawn said with a nod. "Which means that the first thing I want to ask is why do you think you failed to advance today?"

"That's the thing I don't know why I failed." Emily admitted sadly. "I am still new so I don't know the nuances as well as you do but I thought going with the juxtaposition of cute and scary by mixing Charm and Scary Face with Bite being used to burst the hearts would work. A dark type move felt like the best to show off that Snubbull was more than pretty and pink but also vicious and deadly at the same time."

"All of that is true and you did a great job showing that contrast." Dawn said and meant it. "Your idea was great, one I know works, it was the execution of your appeal that wasn't great."

"What do you mean?" Emily asked confused.

"You wanted to show off that Snubbull is cute but dangerous and not to be underestimated because of his appearance, right?" Dawn asked and Emily nodded in confirmation. "A good idea and one I had a variant on myself as I wanted to show that Pinsir may not be classically attractive but that she can make a great appeal that shows her unique beauty. Now I wasn't confident I had advanced as Pinsir's move set isn't great for appeals but somehow I managed it. Once you reach the battle round it's a whole new game with a clean slate."

"Yeah your Pinsir was amazing." Emily gushed. "Not my kind of Pokémon, too brutish for what I'm going for, but it looked great."

"Poffins and a special wax I got in Vermilion that is for her carapace." Dawn said. "I will give you lessons on Poffins tomorrow afternoon if you want but that is not what we are talking about right now. Why didn't your appeal work?"

"I am not sure." Emily said as a thoughtful look crossed her face. "I showed off the moves and Snubbull looked good doing it. It was very appealing in my opinion but I knew it wasn't the best I could manage but it should have been enough."

"The problem was that the judges couldn't see Snubbull." Dawn explained and Emily's eyes went wide at that realization, clearly she had been thinking about the moves and not the Pokémon just as Dawn had done in the past. "Snubbull isn't a big Pokémon in the world and you covered him with hearts that couldn't be seen through. It looked great in terms of the move itself but you didn't show off the Pokémon and that is the key to an appeal. Remember in Cerulean I used water that can be seen through with Piplup which worked, pink hearts are a different matter."

"I, I did didn't realize." Emily said realization in her voice. "I was so focused on the move looking great that I kinda forgot about Snubbull I guess. I was going with the mix of cute and scary but I showed it in the moves and not the Pokémon."

"It is a good idea and one I think you can work on for a future appeal but Snubbull has to be seen for it to work." Dawn said. "I knew at once that you were going to struggle to advance right after the appeal as soon as I saw Snubbull disappear from sight in the midst of those hearts."

"You did?" Emily asked. "How?"

"Because I made the same mistake in the Solaceon Town Contest." Dawn said honestly causing Emily to looked surprised at her. "I had messed up in Hearthome so I overcompensated in Solaceon Town. It was my first Contest with my Ambipom, she was originally Ash's but I traded my Buizel for her back when she was still an Aipom and we realized that Ambipom loved Contests and Buizel loved normal battles. It was tough decision but the right one. Sorry, I just saw Ambipom again for the first time in over a year, she is now a professional Pokémon ping pong player training with someone else so she is fresh on my mind. Hopefully she will return for the Wallace Cup though, I want her to have at least one Contest this year."

"That is understandable." Emily said. "It helps contextualize your Ambipom for me. What happened in Solaceon?"

"I went with beauty and grace when I used Ambipom, who had also recently evolved, in that Contest." Dawn said thinking back to Ambipom's debut with her. "I used Swift and it looked great but we got over enthusiastic and she ended up hiding herself in the stars and wasn't seen by the judges so I didn't advance. I didn't understand why I had messed up until Zoey told me, pretty bluntly, why I had messed up. That was my second failure in a row so I fell into my funk but you already know that part well."

"Yeah it's hard to imagine you dealing with that but I believe you." Emily said. "Seeing you now makes me forget that you were once a rookie too."

"It was one of those rookie mistakes that we all make." Dawn said with a smile. "I got over it and learned from it so now I can give you this advice so that you don't make it again. I think that you have the potential to be great but no one can do this alone. Always talk with other coordinators, we have all been there before and the good ones will help out with things like Pokémon care and training, all you need to do is ask."

"Thanks, that means a lot and I will heed your advice Dawn, you are someone who I want to beat in a battle one day." Emily said with a smile at her that Dawn returned, she could see the fire in Emily's eyes and was looking forward to that day. "But until then, I want to learn everything I can from you. I am planning on heading out to Lavender Town tonight and then backtracking towards my birthplace of Celadon City in a few days and hit at least 3 or 4 Contests between here and there over the next 2 months for the experience and hopefully a ribbon or two. However, I have some time to kill before the next Contest and I would love a few lessons from you before then."

"I'd be honored to help out." Dawn said with a smile at Emily. "Meet me at the Pokémon Center tomorrow after breakfast and we will have a lesson, one that Ash has taught me in the past but adapted for this. That will be the morning, the afternoon will be about Pokémon care and presentation which is just as important."

"What is that?" Emily asked eagerly as Dawn got up and headed to the door before turning to look at Emily who was still sitting.

"A double battle." Dawn said with a grin. "Best way to evaluate someone and their Pokémon while also training is to have a battle. Tomorrow we will battle again, Contest style naturally. Use Clefairy and Snubbull against me as they are who you have. It will teach you all to work together and learn trust between your Pokémon and yourself."

"Who will you use?" Emily asked.

"That's for me to know and you to find out." Dawn said her grin turning into a smirk. "I'll see you tomorrow Emily, bring your A game, because I will."

"Looking forward to it." Emily said as Dawn turned and left the coordinators waiting room.

She was looking forward to the training with Emily and teaching her but that was for tomorrow. Right now Dawn had to get back to the Pokémon center and to Ash and Piplup. She had a victory to celebrate and Ash was going to really like the celebration tonight, well so long as Piplup didn't ruin it that is.

---

"Alright send out your Pokémon." Dawn said to Emily as they stood on either end of the battlefield that behind the Saffron City Pokémon Center.

It was the next day and Emily had arrived earlier than Dawn had expected for their battle. Ash was still at breakfast, well second breakfast technically, and was going to spend the day in Saffron with Pikachu looking for supplies for the next leg of their journey and likely doing some training as well. That gave Dawn and Emily plenty of time to practice and for Dawn to teach Emily a few other things about being a coordinator.

"Sure, Clefairy, Snubbull fairy lights." Emily said as she threw out both balls at the same time though the motion wasn't smooth, Dawn would have to teach her how to duel throw as well so that it looked good.

The Poke Balls burst and the 2 small, pink, normal type Pokémon appeared before Emily. Dawn decided to start by actually checking them out on her pokedex as she hadn't actually had the time to check them out in the past.

"Clefairy, the Fairy Pokémon." The pokedex chimed as it identified the Pokémon native to Emily's home of Mt. Moon. "It is said that happiness will come to those who see a gathering of Clefairy dancing under a full moon."

"Huh I think Ash has seen them dance a few times." Dawn muttered. "At least if he hasn't told me he's seen it wouldn't surprise me if he has. Alright, what about Snubbull."

"Snubbull, the Fairy Pokémon." The pokedex identified when Dawn shifted it to the other Fairy Pokémon. "Small Pokémon flee from its scary face. It is, however, considered by women to be cute."

"Well it is cute in its own way." Dawn said with a nod though she didn't think she could own one. "Alright so you have two normal types which is pretty standard for any trainer. Normal types don't have any real advantages and ghost type moves don't affect them but the only type that has an advantage on them is fighting so that is a plus for you. Also a normal type Pokémon can learn almost any type of move which is a plus as it gives them more versatility than most Pokémon though you should consider a few other types in the future. Anyway, my turn. Piplup, you're up!"

"Piplup." Piplup said proudly as he strutted onto the battlefield, he wasn't used in the last Contest so he had to make up for that now.

"I have seen your Piplup in action, it is as strong as it is cute." Emily said praising Piplup as he walked.

"Piplup." Piplup said with a nod at his praise, he liked any human who acknowledged how amazing he truly was. "Pip, Piplup."

"Please try to not feed his massive ego, it is already larger than a Wailord." Dawn said with a sigh as she pulled out a Poke Ball. "Now for my other Pokémon. Eevee spotlight!"

Dawn threw the ball into the air where it burst and a series of stars exploded from it causing Emily to gasp at the odd but pretty sight. Eevee materialized from it spinning before she landed gracefully next to Piplup looking at her opponents of her first ever battle.

"This is Eevee's first real battle so it is training for us as well." Dawn said. "She needs the practice so I figured now was as good a time as ever."

"She's so cute." Emily squealed. "And that is not the normal color of an Eevee. Aren't they usually brown, not whatever color that is?"

"Yup my Eevee is a what is known as a shiny Pokémon so really rare." Dawn said with a smile. "That is also apparently what causes the sparkles when she comes out of the ball which looks really good. Ash has a shiny Noctowl that does the same so it's probably common for shiny Pokémon."

"How did you get one?" Emily asked. "They're super rare from what I know and that's just the normal colored ones. I really want one but I can't find it."

"She fell from the sky, literally." Dawn said then chuckled at Emily's bemused expression. "Long story that I will tell you when we break for lunch but basically we ran into some bad people we've tangled with before on the way to Cerulean City that were after Eevee and we got in the way to protect her. We beat them and then I asked Eevee to join me. She agreed if I beat her in battle which I did so I was able to catch her. She'll debut at my next Contest but this will be a good training exercise before I send her to Professor Oak for a few days so he can study her different coloring."

"For sure." Emily said with a nod. "This will be great practice for you as well, I expect nothing less from someone like you. Even as you teach me you are making sure that you get something out of it as well."

"Shall we begin." Dawn said with a grin, Emily was right this was training for both of them and Dawn wanted to start right away.

"With pleasure." Emily said grinning back.

"Then show me what you got." Dawn said as she began to get into the battle, setting a timer on her watch for 5 minutes so that they knew when to end. "Bring your best to bear Emily, if we meet in the Grand Festival it will be like this. Don't hold back."

"Alright Clefairy tackle on Piplup, Snubbull Scary Face on Eevee." Emily ordered. "Let's show Dawn how good we are."

"Eevee close your eyes now and use Quick Attack to get close." Dawn said as Snubbull bared his fangs and Clefairy began running at Piplup. "Just run forward Eevee and you will be good. Piplup dodge that Tackle and use Ice Beam, whatever you do, don't let Clefairy touch you."

Piplup instantly leapt out of the way of Clefairy just as the Pokémon reached him. Then in one smooth motion he turned, opened his beak, and sent out a blast of ice that caught Clefairy on the side and sent her sprawling, ice forming on her side and slowing her down.

Meanwhile Eevee had shut her eyes tight and run forward at full speed trusting that her trainer knew what she was doing. Piplup had explained to her how good Dawn was as a trainer was and to trust her orders so she did, running towards where the Snubbull had been. The point of the move was to ignore the Scary Face while getting in close and it worked much to Snubbull's surprise.

"Snubbull, dodge with a pirouette just as we practiced." Emily said and as Eevee reached him he spun gracefully on a one paw and Eevee missed him by inches, her eyes still closed but she felt the air of Snubbull's skirt thing as she passed it. "Clefairy, Sing to Piplup."

"Not bad, that dodge would be worth some of my points but you let Eevee get too close." Dawn said as Clefairy began to use Sing. "Eevee open your eyes and use Attract on Snubbull. Piplup, Bubble Beam counter shield now!"

Piplup knew that Dawn was going to use that as soon as he heard the first notes of the sleep inducing attack and was already ready. He opened his mouth and spun gracefully sending up a bubbles and coning them around himself. The notes of the Sing attack that Clefairy was belting out smashed into the shield but didn't break it just as it had done when Mamoswine had defended against it.

Meanwhile Eevee had opened her eyes, skidded as she turned much less gracefully than Piplup but managed to look at the pink Pokémon that she was facing and from less than a yard away she winked at it. The hearts instantly shot out at Snubbull and hit him before he could react or dodge the attack causing Snubbull to get infatuated with Eevee.

"Finish it with Quick Attack." Dawn said. "Snubbull can't defend against you now."

"Snubbull dodge." Emily said a hint of desperation in her voice. "Clefairy Wake-Up Slap on Piplup."

"Piplup dodge again and use Hydro Pump!" Dawn ordered.

The next moment showed why Dawn was the experienced coordinator and Emily the rookie one. Snubbull had been infatuated and as such was not obeying his trainer. As a result he took a full Quick Attack from Eevee and was thrown back hard, hearts still for eyes but not out. However, he wasn't a threat at the moment and Eevee turned and ran to aid Piplup as she had seen in Dawn's training of the other Pokémon in their team.

As for Piplup and Clefairy, that was closer and showed why Emily had promise providing Dawn advised her correctly. Had Emily used the Sing as a distraction as soon as Piplup put up a counter shield and used the distraction to close the gap she may have gotten the attack off but Emily had instead kept up the Sing instead. As such Piplup was able to get out of the way, barely but he managed it, open his mouth and send out a torrent of water that slammed into Clefairy sending her upwards and back with a wail.

"Eevee, finish Clefairy with a Quick Attack." Dawn said noticing Eevee heading over to help and playing to the move.

"Eevee." Eevee yelled happily as she sped up, jumped and smashed into the still airborne Clefairy having been set up by Piplup.

Clefairy was sent hurtling to the ground and hit it hard and rolled on impact. When the dust settled Clefairy was on her back with swirls for eyes and Emily had her mouth open in shock at the unexpected combo. Just then Snubbull snapped out of the infatuation but Dawn called the battle then and there.

"Stop Emily, this match is over." Dawn called out ending the battle. "If it had been in competition we would have continued but after losing Clefairy I had the advantage and momentum. You could have come back but with a new Pokémon against my starter it would have ended quickly and that's if I didn't use Eevee as well."

"I understand and concede defeat, I know when I have been bested." Emily said without any anger or sadness before running over to Clefairy with a less injured but slightly perplexed looking Snubbull on her heals. "You ok Clefairy?"

"Here." Dawn said pulling out an Oran berry she had stashed for after the battle. "I figured that this would be of some use to one of us afterwards."

"Thanks." Emily said taking the berry and feeding it to Clefairy as she began to come around, perking up as she ate. "That was intense."

"It was." Dawn agreed as they all moved to the side and sat down, Eevee and Piplup hopping into her lap as she petted them. "You did better than last time for sure."

"Well I didn't have to face your Mamoswine which was a plus." Emily said as she held Clefairy close while Snubbull rested his head on her lap. "Your Piplup is something else though, clearly a well-trained and skilled Pokémon."

"Piplup." Piplup said proudly with a nod as Dawn ruffled his head.

"He's one of a kind." Dawn said with a smile. "Unfortunately he knows it and it goes to his head but most of the time he can back up his ego."

"So where did I go wrong?" Emily asked shifting the topic back to the battle much to Piplup's irritation, he was enjoying being praised for being the perfect specimen that he was. "That was a lot harder than I expected but it was also my first double battle so there was a lot to concentrate on. I am much better at a single battle as it is easier to evade and use Sing then."

"You are going to have to practice it more especially if you make it to the Grand Festival." Dawn said seriously. "If Kanto is anything like Sinnoh or Johto, and I can confirm it when Ash gets back as he has been to the Kanto Grand Festival before back when he and May traveled together, then the battle rounds will be double battles. It is tough and you and both your Pokémon need to work in sync with each other but over time you will get the hang of it. I wasn't great at it at first but after deciding on set pairings and practicing with them before a Contest that has double battles I am usually confident enough to have a chance at winning."

"I see, I can do that I think." Emily said with a nod. "I will add it to my training. It will be good to have set pairings that work well so that when the time comes we can all battle together. Still, that wasn't all that I did wrong."

"No there was a lot there to breakdown but for a first start it wasn't too bad, better than mine was." Dawn said which she could tell Emily didn't believe but was the truth. "The Attract I used only worked because I knew that Snubbull was male and Eevee female. It is worth trying if you have it but it may not always work. If it fails it leaves you open to a counter attack that could be bad so always be careful with gender based attacks."

"After learning of Clefairy's Cute Charm ability I have used it to catch Snubbull." Emily said. "So I know that it comes in handy. Fortunately it's not an attack but rather something that happens in battle which gives me an advantage if it works."

"I learned from watching Ash that gender based attacks or abilities can be very useful if done right." Dawn said. "It's his Snivy's signature move and she's really good with it. It is one of the things that can give an edge and in a Contest battle it looks good which is bonus. Remember, a Contest battle is as much about style, grace and execution as it is about landing hits and beating the opponent. A Battle Off is not a common result in the later rounds despite what you have seen. When you reach the Grand Festival it almost never happens as all coordinators know how to last 5 minutes. You have the skill to do it, you just need the practice."

"I can probably do that with one unless I'm hit with a super effective move but I don't think I can with two Pokémon at the moment." Emily admitted. "How do you defend against something like infatuation? It's not the most common strategy but with Clefairy's cute charm I will use it myself so I should know how to counter it if it happens."

"Well the best thing to do is avoid it but with Cute Charm it is hard to do as it is an ability so you don't know when it will be triggered." Dawn said thinking back over her own experiences dealing with infatuation. "But I have dealt with the issue before when I was in the final of the Celestic Town Contest. Well I actually dealt with it twice."

"What happened?" Emily asked clearly eager for knowledge and to hear about one of Dawn's past Contests.

"Turns out that Delcatty has the Cute Charm ability as well and I faced one in the finals of that contest with Ambipom." Dawn explained. "I was up against one that belonged to a coordinator called Lila who had unexpectedly retired 20 years prior despite only needing one more ribbon to enter the Grand Festival in order to pursue her passion for Pokémon fashion. In that time she become one of the best designers in Sinnoh so she's very good. That was what I knew her for but she was also known for one other thing, she's the only coordinator who never lost to my mother back in their day."

"You said your mother is a former Top Coordinator." Emily said. "So this Lila must have been good if she could beat her."

"She is and she had decided to come out of retirement to try for her 5th ribbon in her hometown Contest." Dawn said with a nod. "She may have beaten my mom but she knew that my mom had the passion to win it all before she retired. As Arceus would have it I would compete in the same Contest as her so naturally we met in the final."

"So it was kinda like coming full circle." Emily said.

"It was and allowed me to do something my mom hadn't done, beat Lila." Dawn said with a smile. "Which I did despite having to deal with two Cute Charms."

"So your Ambipom got affected twice in the battle." Emily said her eyes going wide at that. "That must have been tough to overcome."

"It was unexpected for sure." Dawn said. "I knew that Ambipom was female but I didn't realize that Lila's Delcatty was male or that it had Cute Charm so it took me by surprise the first time and it is why I can recognize the ability now. I wasn't expecting it but I overcame that twice as well as a successful Sing attack in that battle to win."

"Wow that is impressive." Emily said her eyes going wider at all the issues Dawn had had to deal with in that battle. "How'd you manage to win after all that?"

"Patience and luck." Dawn admitted. "Sometimes that's just how it goes. The successful Sing attack got rid of the first infatuation and then an Iron Tail attack woke Ambipom up. The second time it happened I knew it would occur but had to land the hit and had to wait it out. I did learn one thing, you can still attack or pull off a move like Double Team while being infatuated."

"You can?" Emily asked confused. "I didn't realize that was possible."

"Neither did I but infatuation works a little like paralysis it seems, you can attack but not all the time." Dawn said. "As such I was able to pull off a Double Team and then used a Double Hit to defend against a second Sing. After Ambipom snapped out of it I had enough time to land a powerful Swift at the last second and when the dust cleared I had won on points."

"Wow that sounds intense." Emily said sounding in awe of Dawn's battle. "Nothing like our final."

"Well ours was different as you were in your first Contest instead of being a former coordinator who could beat my mother." Dawn pointed out with a smile. "Give it time and we will have one like it one day. As for my match with Lila, you're right it was intense and went down to the wire. Instinct, that is key to winning, at least that is how Ash explained it and he taught me everything I know."

"Amazing." Emily said. "I will have to remember that and work on everything so that one day we can battle just like that."

"Well knowing Ash we have all day before he gets back." Dawn said as her stomach growled and Emily laughed at that. "So I say we get some lunch while Nurse Joy looks over our Pokémon and then we resume this afternoon but focus on improving our appeals and Pokémon care."

"Alright I can pick your brain over lunch then." Emily said with a smile as she returned her Pokémon and stood up.

"I will teach you what I think you need to know as a rookie, but you won't get all of my secrets." Dawn said as she returned Eevee and picked up Piplup. "There are things you will have to learn on your own."

"Naturally." Emily agreed. "I won't beat you without finding my own way, of that I am sure."

"No you won't" Dawn said as they went in to drop their Pokémon for healing and went to grab lunch.

The rest of the day was going to be fun and Dawn was enjoying the teaching role. Emily had the potential but she had to learn a few things as well as find others out on her own to reach that level. Dawn would guide her as best she could but in the end they were rivals and Dawn was excited for the next time they faced when Emily had a few more Contests under her belt. Until then, it was training. Dawn was in her element and loving it. Hopefully Ash was having as great a day as she was having.

Well that is all for this Supplement and shows what Dawn was up too while Ash was shopping in Saffron during the day. This is the last Supplement for a while given the events that are coming up. The next one currently scheduled is going to be released after Part XXXVIII (if possible) and unlike all other Supplements will actually be looking back on something that occurred between Parts XXXV and XXXVI. There is a very good reason for this change but y'all will have to wait until for that reason. However that is all I have for now, please continue favorite and follow both me and this story to keep abreast with new releases and keep the reviews coming. Until next time.

Stringdog