Guess what? I'm uploading this chapter one day early. Because I can. Okay, no, I'm actually doing it because I'll be busy tomorrow. I have dinner plans. And when I'm not at dinner, I'll be watching THE OLYMPICS! Yes, best thing ever. I prefer winter (because of the hockey, duh) but summer has lots of great events too! The opening ceremony tonight should be awesome. ...I'll shut up now.

Last time: After doing extra training with her cousins under the watchful eyes of her Aunts, the time for Michelle to perform in the water ballet has finally come! But Team Rocket shows up and ruins the whole thing, kidnapping the gym's Pokemon and, unknowingly, Michelle! While in their posession, Michelle learns that Team Rocket is harboring a mysterious secret; something that has to do with Jason and Jewel. Right when she agrees to sacrifice herself for the Pokemon, Michelle is rescued by her parents, brother, and Brandon, who drive Team Rocket away and protect her. Where will Michelle and the boys go next? And just what is Team Rocket's secret?

Chapter Nine: First Contest, First Rival!

After spending one last night at home, Aiden, Michelle, and Brandon departed from Cerulean City, looking forward to the next event on their Pokémon adventure.

"So, where's our next stop?" Aiden looked at Brandon, who was in possession of the poke gear.

"Let's see…" Brandon booted up the map on his blue and black device. "Ah, on here, it says the closest place is Sunfire Town!"

"Sunfire Town?" Michelle repeated before beaming, "Hey, that's where they're holding a Pokémon contest!"

"I assume you're going to enter?" Brandon smiled at the aspiring coordinator.

"Of course!" Michelle giggled. "It's time to get my coordinator career on track!"

"Pipichu!" Pichu, who was perched atop the red head's shoulder, agreed.

"Have you even done any training for this?" Aiden scoffed.

Michelle stopped in her tracks and got right in her brother's face, who seemed bothered by the proximity. "Oh, please. You're going to question me about training and being prepared? I already went through the same thing with you and your first gym battle! Of course I've been training! I'm much smarter than you are!"

"Hey!" Aiden snapped.

"You asked for it!" Michelle huffed.

"If you think you're so ready for this contest, then why don't you show us your appeal, huh?" Aiden retorted.

"With pleasure!" Michelle smirked. "Pichu, let's show 'em what we've been practicing!"

"Pi!" Pichu jumped up into the air, performing a mid air flip before landing on her feet in front of Michelle, raising her paws in the air and tilting her head to the side. "Pichu!"

"I see they're going for the cuteness factor," Brandon chuckled.

"Who are you referring to?" Aiden grinned deviously. "Pichu or Michelle?"

"Ah!" Brandon covered Aiden's mouth. "Be quiet, you!"

Michelle, however, was completely oblivious to whatever was going on behind her. She was too busy preparing to give Pichu her orders. "Alright Pichu, start off with charm!"

"Pi!" Pichu raised her little paws to her mouth and blew a kiss, creating a shower of pink hearts.

"Now, spin!" Michelle called.

Pichu spun on her toes, the hearts swirling around her in rapid fashion.

"Hey, that looks pretty good!" Aiden awed.

"Now, Pichu, thunder shock!" Michelle ordered.

"Pi! Pi…chu!" Still spinning, Pichu unleashed electricity, the bright yellow light colliding with the swirling hearts and causing each one to explode in a shower of pink sparkles.

"Awesome!" Brandon marveled.

"Let's finish this up, Pichu!" Michelle was grinning from ear to ear. "Use-"

"Vulpix, stop it! Get back here!"

Aiden and Brandon blinked and looked beyond where Pichu was performing her appeal. A small, fox like Pokémon was charging towards the baby mouse, looking quite happy as she dashed without a care in the world.

"Hey, Michelle, tell Pichu to look out!" Brandon warned.

"Huh?" Michelle looked over her shoulder at the aspiring breeder.

Unfortunately for the coordinator, she didn't understand Brandon's counsel, and Vulpix collided with the still twirling Pichu.

"Pi!" Pichu cried out in slight agony as she lay on the ground.

"Ah, Pichu!" Michelle ran over to her Pokémon and gathered the small being in her arms. "Are you okay?"

"Chu…" Pichu's eyes filled with tears.

"Oh, please don't cry!" Michelle hugged her partner. "It's okay, cutie!"

"I'm so, so sorry!"

Michelle looked up and found a girl with an Espeon by her side to be staring down at her. The girl was very pretty, with long, platinum blonde hair that went down to her mid back and flipped outwards at the ends. She had light skin, hazel eyes, and appeared to be the same age as Michelle. The girl wore a light purple hoodie that was zipped a little more than halfway up to show off her white, lace trimmed tank underneath. On her bottom half was a short pink skirt and white strappy sandals.

Giggling softly, Michelle stood up and shook her head, adding, "It's alright! Don't worry about it."

"Vulpix, look what you did!" The girl sighed. The brown fox got back on its paws and cocked its head, not understanding why it was getting scolded. "You could've really hurt that poor little Pichu! Say you're sorry."

Vulpix simply blinked and swished its tails back and forth a few times before yawning and curling up into a ball.

"Ugh, you're such a piece of work," the girl groaned.

"Wow, is that your Vulpix?" Aiden marveled.

"Yeah," the blonde didn't seem too excited to admit this fact. "But she's still very young, so she's kind of a handful. I was just trying to give her some training, but…you see how well that turned out."

Aiden pulled his pokedex out of his backpack and held it up to the small fire type.

Vulpix, the fox Pokémon. Vulpix are born with one white tail that, over time, separates into six orange tails. They are often friendly, albeit spoiled, and, in hot temperatures, expel flames from their mouths in order to keep their bodies from overheating.

"Nonsense, don't be so hard on yourself!"

The girl shrieked in surprise, now locking her eyes on none other than Brandon, who had grabbed her hands.

"Uh…okay?" She blinked.

"It's not your fault, sometimes Pokémon can just be a little bit of trouble!" Brandon pulled himself up and smacked a hand over his heart. "I would know, since I am aspiring to be a Pokémon Breeder!" Leaning back down, he held his chin with his fingers and asked in a husky voice, "Does that impress you?"

"Uh…I…"

"Brandon, leave her alone!" Michelle yanked the boy back his shirt, nearly throwing him on the ground in the process. Sighing, she turned her attention back onto the blonde and quipped; "now I'm sorry."

"Don't be," the girl giggled. "Your Pichu looked pretty impressive, especially for a baby Pokémon! By any chance are you here to enter the Pokémon Contest?"

"Yeah!" Michelle nodded. "It'll be my first one!"

"Wow, how exciting!" The girl's eyes were sparkling. "Another coordinator!"

"You're a coordinator too?" Michelle's face lit up.

"Yes!" She confirmed. "My name's Clarisse. And right here is my partner, Espeon!"

"Es," the purple, cat like Pokémon mewled, licking her paw and rubbing it against her face.

"An Espeon?" Michelle gasped. "That's so cool!" She pulled out her sky blue pokedex and scanned the Pokémon.

Espeon, the sun Pokémon, and an evolved form of Eeevee. Espeon holds a great loyalty to both its trainer and the sunlight, and has fur so soft and sensitive that it simulates velvet. They are able to sense the future, as well as changes in weather and their opponent's next move.

"How cute!" Michelle kneeled down and stroked the appreciative Pokémon's head. "And so beautiful, too!"

"Eevee evolves into Espeon when you have a close bond and train it in the daytime, right?" Brandon asked.

"Yeah, that's exactly right!" Clarisse smiled.

"I wish I could have an Eevee!" Michelle's eyes sparkled. "I wonder what I would evolve mine into…"

"Impressive, isn't it?" Brandon once again moved closer to the blonde coordinator. "I really know my stuff, if I do say so myself!"

"Brandon, quit it!" Aiden shoved the older boy away from Clarisse. She pursed her lips and stared at the raven haired boy, who looked flustered by Brandon's behavior. "Sorry, sometimes I think his brain stops working," Aiden rubbed the back of his neck. Chuckling, he opened his eyes and greeted, "Hi! My name's Aiden!"

"Oh…nice to meet you," Clarisse's eyes gleamed.

Peering down at the ground, Aiden pointed at his best friend and continued, "that's Brandon. He's my best friend…unfortunately."

At this, Clarisse giggled charmingly.

"And my name is Michelle," the red head properly introduced herself. Holding her arms out, she added, "And this is my partner, Pichu!"

"Oh, isn't she just precious?" Clarisse tickled Pichu's stomach, causing the baby Pokémon to shriek happily and wave her paws in the air. "I just love baby Pokémon!"

"Pichu's really excited about entering the contest too," Michelle smiled. "So, Clarisse, do you have any ribbons?"

"Yep!" Clarisse pulled out a lilac colored metal case, sliding it open to reveal a white velvet interior with five indents for the ribbons, two of which were filled.

"Wow, so you've already got two ribbons!" Michelle's eyes grew wide. Aiden leaned in next to her and examined the ribbons, smirking at the prizes that were associated with Pokémon contests.

"They're pretty," Aiden chuckled.

For some reason, this made Clarisse blush. Michelle took notice right before the redness disappeared, but Aiden didn't.

"Thank you!" Clarisse closed the case. "I only need three more until I'm eligible to enter the Grand Festival, but still, that seems like a lot!"

"I still need all five," Michelle sulked.

"I already have one badge, so I'm ahead of you," Aiden commented.

"Oh, who asked you?" Michelle bit.

"Wait…so you're not a coordinator?" Clarisse turned her eyes onto Aiden.

"Nah, I'm a gym trainer!" Aiden grinned. "It's my goal to become the Pokémon Master! And I've already got one badge! Do you wanna' to see it?"

"Aiden, she doesn't want to look at your dumb badge," Michelle rolled her eyes.

"How do you know?" Aiden snapped.

"Because I do," Michelle shrugged.

Clarisse watched the two argue for a bit before piping up, "you two have a pretty interesting relationship… I don't think I've ever seen friends argue so much before!"

"Oh, we're not friends!" Michelle blushed, waving a hand at the girl.

"Not even close," Aiden rolled his eyes.

"You're…not friends?" Clarisse seemed genuinely thrown off by this.

"No, we're brother and sister," Aiden stuck his tongue out at Michelle, who proceeded to push him away by the face.

"Really?" Clarisse's eyes widened. "So…who's older?" She pointed at Aiden. "Is it you?"

"Why, yes I am!" Aiden puffed his chest out, while Michelle narrowed her eyes. "I'm glad that you realize who the older one here is!"

Sighing, Michelle informed Clarisse, "Yeah, he's older. By TWELVE MINUTES!"

Aiden nearly fell over, sulking once he managed to compose himself. "But…I am older…"

"In your own mind," Michelle grumbled.

"So…you two are twins!" Clarisse finally came to the conclusion.

"Yep," Michelle giggled.

"That's so cool!" Clarisse clasped her hands together. "I've always wanted to know a set of twins! It seems like it would be so much fun to have a brother or sister that's exactly the same age as you!"

"Yeah, "seems" is the key word of that sentence," Michelle smirked.

"Michelle, I hate to break up this conversation about how you and Aiden can barely stand to be next to each other for more than five minutes," Brandon hopped back up, "but don't you have to go and register for the contest?"

Michelle yelped as a concerned look took over her face. "Oh, no! You're right! I totally forgot! What if I'm late and there's no spots left?"

"You should be just fine!" Clarisse laughed warmly. "Come on, I'll show you to the main building where you can register!"

XXX

"This is the Contest Hall!"

Michelle's jaw dropped as she stared at the giant building in front of her. It was so elegant looking, with a big pink ribbon sign on the front that read, just as Clarisse had stated: "Contest Hall."

Leading Michelle, Aiden, and Brandon inside, Clarisse explained, "not only is the Contest Hall where the actual Contest takes place, but you can also have your Pokémon examined, meet up with other coordinators, and get your Contest Pass which will enable you to enter any Contest being held in the Kanto region!"

"This place is so cool!" Michelle's eyes were sparkling.

"Shelly, why don't you go get your pass?" Aiden nudged his sister.

"Oh, right!" Michelle giggled sheepishly.

Clarisse led her to the front desk, where a young woman with medium length strawberry blonde hair and silver eyes sat. She looked up at Michelle and smiled sweetly, prompting, "Hello, miss. What can I help you with today?"

"I need to register for Contests," Michelle replied, "I don't have a Contest Pass yet…"

"No problem!" The woman grinned. "I'll just need your pokedex for a minute, please!"

"Sure, no problem!" Michelle once again fished out the light blue device and handed it to the woman behind the desk.

The group watched as the receptionist pushed Michelle's pokedex into a machine slot, pressing a few buttons after doing so. Michelle's picture and information popped up on a screen, and with the prodding of a few more minutes, a plastic rectangle was ejected from a smaller slot right above where Michelle's pokedex had been placed.

"You're all set, Michelle!" The woman handed Michelle back her pokedex and the newly printed Contest Pass. "I have just a few more things for you…" Michelle waited patiently while the woman gathered up some objects behind the desk. Once done, she handed off quite an impressive heap to Michelle, which surprised the young girl. "By registering for Contests throughout the Kanto region, you also receive a Contest rule book and a ribbon case! And specifically for today's Contest, a ball capsule and seals."

"Capsule and seals?" Michelle repeated, looking questioningly at the purple sphere and sticker sheet. "But I thought these were only used in Sinnoh Contests…"

"In recent years, Kanto contests have become more elaborate," Clarisse explained to Michelle. "Some Contests will be "Classic," which means there are no capsules and seals. In other cases, the Contest organizers will decide to make it a "Super Contest," which involves dressing up and using the capsules and seals. It keeps things more interesting!"

"So…this one is a Super Contest?" Michelle blinked.

"That's right!" Clarisse nodded.

Michelle just stood there for a minute before letting out a wail. "Ugh! I don't have a Contest dress!"

"That's not a big deal," Aiden scoffed. "Just call Mom! I'm sure she'll know what to do."

"Good idea," Michelle sighed.

"There are video phones right over there!" Clarisse pointed at the row of green phones. "I have to train with Vulpix some more, but I'll see you later!"

"Okay, see ya'!" Michelle smiled at the blonde. "Thanks for all of your help!"

"No problem!" Clarisse shook her head. "It was the least I could do after all of the trouble that Vulpix caused…"

From behind a nearby potted plant, a familiar, devious trio watched the four young trainers with narrowed eyes.

"Looks like the bratette is entering a Contest," Sneasel observed.

"And neither of her parents are coordinators?" Jason rolled his eyes up and down Michelle's figure. "How strange."

"Ooh, I will not let that stupid girl get the better of me again!"

Jason and Sneasel looked over to the side, where Jewel was snarling to herself and holding up a shaking fist.

"What do you have in mind, Jewelley?" Jason tilted his head, using the nickname he'd had for the girl ever since they were children.

"I'm going to enter this Contest and bury that stupid, good for nothing brat!" Jewel bit.

"That's the spirit!" Sneasel grinned.

"But Jewel, you can't enter as yourself!" Jason panicked. "We can't blow our cover as Team Rocket operatives by entering a Contest!"

"Jason, don't be dumb," Jewel huffed. "Don't you know that we're the masters of disguise?"

"Uh…" Jason had no response to that.

Before he could even formulate a response, however, Jewel had whipped on a disguise: tying her waist length blue hair up into a high ponytail with braids on either side of her head. She had traded out her white Team Rocket uniform for a strapless, royal purple dress with a silver, brown, and green feather design on the bodice and sequins trailing down from the waist. Silver high heels had replaced her black, knee high boots, and she wore a silver masquerade mask over her eyes that resembled a Butterfree's wings.

"Where's she been hiding that outfit?" Sneasel blinked.

"Gentlemen, meet my alternate persona," Jewel cackled as she held her skirt out to the side and gave her teammates a small curtsey, "Gemma!"

XXX

"A Super Contest…?"

"Mom, why are you making it sound like you think that I'm lying?" Michelle grimaced.

"Because your father never said anything about those being in Kanto," Misty raised an eyebrow. "I thought that was a Sinnoh thing."

"Apparently, some Contests in Kanto are like that now," Michelle shrugged. "But either way, I didn't bring any nice dresses with me. What should I do?"

"Don't worry, sweetheart," Misty giggled. "I'll just send a dress over to the Contest Hall! They take deliveries there, you know."

"Thanks, Mom!" Michelle's face lit up. "I knew I could count on you!"

"Of course, dear," Misty giggled airily. "I'll quick ship it, and hopefully it will be there tomorrow morning. The Contest is in the afternoon, right?"

Michelle nodded her head, red layers bouncing around her face.

"Perfect, the dress will be there!" Misty assured. "And your father and I will watch the Contest right here. Good luck, sweetheart!"

"Thanks, Mom," Michelle blushed slightly. "I'm going to do my best!"

"I know you will," Misty nodded.

When the call ended, Michelle turned around to face Brandon and Aiden, but was surprised to find only one of the boys still standing behind her.

"Where did Aiden go?" Michelle scanned her eyes around the main lobby of the Contest Hall.

"He said he was going to go outside and do a little training," Brandon replied. "Now, I don't know about you, but I'm hungry!"

"Pi! Pichu!" The baby mouse sitting on Michelle's lap agreed.

"Alright then," Michelle giggled. "I guess it's time for some lunch!"

"Should we go get Aiden?" Brandon inquired.

"Nah, leave him to his work," Michelle smiled as she stood up. "I'm amazed that he went to training without me having to tell him to do it! Maybe he's finally growing a brain."

"You two are so mean to each other," Brandon sighed.

"No we're not," Michelle smirked. "It's a sibling thing, you just don't understand it."

XXX

Outside, Squirtle and Growlithe were both standing before their trainer, watching with interest as he stood with his arms folded across his chest and his eyes closed; a completely pensive stance.

"Growl?" Growlithe barked curiously.

Finally, Aiden opened his eyes, a smile set on his face as he nodded his head. "Alright, got it!" Looking down at his two Pokémon, Aiden began, "guys, I know from all the things my Dad has told me that the next gym is located in Vermillion City, and that it's an electric type gym!"

The two Pokémon nodded, intently listening to the boy's chatter.

"But Squirtle, that puts you at a disadvantage," Aiden frowned.

"Squirt?" Squirtle raised an eyebrow.

"But that's okay," Aiden smiled encouragingly at the water type. "Just because you're not gonna' battle doesn't mean I'm not gonna' train with you! Today, you two will both get a workout!"

"Growl! Ithe!" Growlithe nodded.

"Squirt, squirtle!" Squirtle agreed.

"Awesome!" Aiden grinned and pointed at a nearby tree. "Now, Squirtle, use bubble on that tree!"

"Squirt!" Squirtle unleashed a stream of bubbles, which exploded as soon as they hit the trunk, leaving a visible scratch on the bark.

"Nice job!" Aiden complimented his starter. "Now, Growlithe, you use ember!"

"Lithe!" Growlithe fired off his own attack, but since Aiden hadn't given the puppy Pokémon a target to shoot at, he had just sent it off randomly into the field. Almost immediately after the attack was fired, however, a girlish scream threw Aiden off guard, and sent his eyes frantically searching.

"Whoa, what was that?" Aiden gasped.

He ran in the direction of where Growlithe had sent his ember attack, with Squirtle and Growlithe following closely behind. What they found was Clarisse, her back facing them with Espeon and Vulpix standing at either of her sides.

"Hey, Clarisse, are you okay?" Aiden called out concernedly.

"M…my bike!" Clarisse turned around and gave Aiden a horrified look. "It's totally destroyed!"

Aiden's heart practically stopped beating. He looked around the pretty blonde coordinator and, just as she had wailed, her bike lay before her in a smoking, burnt to a crisp heap.

"Uh…" Aiden stammered, wanting nothing more than to find a cliff and jump off of it.

You must be kidding me! Aiden screamed in his head. Dad always teased me about this, but I never thought it would actually happen! This is too ironic even for my tastes…

"I don't even know where that ember attack came from…" Clarisse sighed. "At first, I thought it was Vulpix, but she was napping…"

Vulpix's ears twitched upon hearing its name and got up onto its feet, mewling out an innocent, "vul?"

"No, I know it wasn't you, Vulpix," Clarisse smiled, petting her young fire type on its head. The little fire fox made some more happy noises before turning its head and setting its big, brown eyes on Growlithe, who was looking fairly guilty as he stood next to Aiden.

"Pix! Vul, pix!" Vulpix skipped over to Growlithe, looking up at her fellow fire type with an expression full of admiration.

Growlithe seemed to sense this as he looked down and raised an eyebrow, uttering a soft, "growl?"

"Vul!" Vulpix ran over to Growlithe's side and nuzzled against him, causing the puppy Pokémon to yelp in surprise and jump away.

This caught the attention of Clarisse and Aiden, who both looked down to find Vulpix playfully chasing after an obviously flustered Growlithe.

"Aw, isn't that so cute?" Clarisse cooed.

"Yeah, they're playing," Aiden chuckled.

"No, I mean…I think Vulpix has a little crush on Growlithe!" Clarisse giggled.

"What?" Aiden's eyes nearly bulged out of his head.

"Yeah, look at how she's chasing him around, and how she's looking at him!" Clarisse clasped her hands together.

"So…your Vulpix is a girl?" Aiden blinked.

At this, Clarisse nearly fell over. She couldn't believe that, after taking notice of something so sweet, that Aiden's only comment was concerning her Vulpix's gender.

"You're…funny, Aiden," Clarisse laughed nervously.

Aiden just tilted his head, not entirely sure of whether Clarisse had just given him a compliment or a disguised insult.

"So…" Aiden wanted to change the subject as quickly as possible, "who do you think did that to your bike?"

"I don't know," Clarisse turned her attention back to her tarnished bicycle. "But…I'm not really too upset about it."

"You're not?" Aiden felt a rush of relief wash over him.

"No," Clarisse smiled, shaking her head. "That was an old bicycle. Maybe I'll get a new one when I go home…but for now, I don't mind walking! My Mom's been trying to guilt trip me into doing that for awhile now anyway."

Thank Arceus! A huge grin broke out on Aiden's face.

"Oh, well that's good to hear!" Aiden beamed.

"Aiden, where are you?"

The young trainer looked over his shoulder, and although he saw no one behind him, he recognized that voice instantly as belonging to his twin sister.

"Who's calling you?" Clarisse asked.

"Oh, my sister," Aiden shook his head, raven locks flying out around him. "I'd…better go see what she wants." Smiling up at the blonde, he concluded, "I'll see ya' later, Clarisse! Come on Squirtle, Growlithe!"

The water and fire types both nodded, following after their trainer as he dashed away, leaving behind an overjoyed Vulpix, and a thoroughly bewildered Clarisse.

Yeah, this chapter is a tiny bit shorter than usual. I had to cut it because if I had included the entirety of Michelle's first Contest in this chapter, it would've been impossibly long to read. Even I was getting bored while I was writing it...so, it had to be chopped up. But don't worry, you will see the Contest next chapter!

Excited for it? Leave a review and tell me what you think is going to happen! Which Pokemon will Michelle use? I'm excited to see everyone's guesses! So, get writing, and I'll see you all next week!