Hellooo, everyone :P New chapter! You all waited a week, so of course, it's time to update :P Enjoy Michelle's contest debut!
Last time: Michelle and the boys arrived in Sunfire Town, where Michelle's first Contest would take place. While training, Michelle meets Clarisse, a fellow coordinator who is also going to compete in the Contest. She shows Michelle around and informs the red head that this Contest will be a "Super Contest", which involves ball capsules and dressing up. While figuring out how to get a dress, Aiden goes outside to train his own Pokemon, and by using Growlithe's ember, accidentally burns Clarisse's bike, although he won't admit to it. Now it's time for Michelle's Contest debut...how will it go down?
Chapter Ten: Contest Debut! Michelle's Grand Appearance!
The next morning, Aiden and Brandon were awoken by the slamming of a door, accompanied by a loud shriek.
Both boys shot out of bed, still clothed in their pajamas and sporting messier heads of hair than usual, especially in Aiden's case.
"Michelle, are you okay?!" Brandon gasped, his eyes locking on the coordinator.
Clearly, it was she who had created all of the noise. She was standing in front of the now closed door of the trio's bedroom, fully dressed in her daytime outfit and holding a brown package in her hands.
"Yeah, I'm fine!" Michelle giggled at the notion that she was anything but. "I just went downstairs to see if the dress Mom sent me was here, and it was!"
"That's what you were screaming about?" Aiden was wide awake now, and understandably ticked off. "I thought you were dying or something!"
"What are you, then, dumb?" Michelle rolled her eyes.
"Since when do you care about fancy dresses and gettin' all girly?" Aiden muttered.
"Never," Michelle answered simply. "But this is a completely different circumstance. This is the dress I'm going to wear in my first Contest ever! It's so exciting! I have to try it on!" And with that, she made her way into the room's bathroom.
Pichu, who had still been sleeping on Michelle's bed, sat up with a small whine and slowly twitched her ears. "Pi…chu…"
"Aw, Pichu is up!" Ash chuckled, approaching the baby mouse. He sat down next to her and patted his lap, cooing, "come here, little Pichu!"
The mouse furrowed her brow and squeaked indignantly. Aiden raised an eyebrow at this, not understanding why Pichu wouldn't just come to him.
"What's up with her?" Aiden frowned at Brandon, folding his arms across his green shirt.
"It's the morning, she's fussy," Brandon smirked. "And I think she's hungry, too." Kneeling down in front of the bed to be at eye level with the small electric type, Brandon asked, "do ya' want some of that tasty MooMoo Milk, Pichu?"
"Pi!" Pichu nodded, jumping onto Brandon's shoulder.
"Figures, Michelle's Pokémon are just like her," Aiden grumbled.
"What do you guys think?"
Aiden and Brandon picked their heads up, the sound of Michelle's voice once again catching their attention. Fortunately, it wasn't a disruptive command this time, so the boys were less panicked. Pichu was the first one to respond vocally, however, uttering a happy, "chu!"
Michelle stood in the center of the room, changed into her new Contest dress, the top of which was dark green and wrapped around her neck with a halter strap. The bottom of the dress was a much lighter green, to the point where it looked nearly white. There were four layers of petal shaped chiffon, floating out around the young coordinator. On her feet, she wore white ballet flats with green chiffon flowers on the toes, and while her hair was still down, her blue seashell clip had been replaced by one of a green flower.
"Wow, that's a really nice dress!" Brandon complimented his long time friend.
"Yeah, my Mom did a good job!" Michelle looked up with sparkling eyes, the emerald hue of which was really brought out by the color of her dress. "She left a note in the box, and said I should put my hair up in a ponytail, leave the two front layers down, and pull one back with the clip. I just didn't want to do that right now."
"I think that's a perfect outfit for your Contest debut," Brandon smiled at the girl before training his eyes on her twin brother. "Right, Aiden?"
The aspiring breeder held his breath, hoping and praying that Aiden would be nice to the girl. It was the morning of her very first Contest, after all, and riling up the girl wouldn't be the best idea, aside from the fact that it was just kind of mean.
"Yeah, you're gonna' look great!" Aiden agreed, a smile appearing on his face.
"Thank you," Michelle blushed, surprised by the fact that her brother had actually had a nice comment for her instead of his usual snide ones.
"Maybe you should get changed back into your regular clothes," Brandon suggested. "We'll do the same and then go downstairs to have some breakfast!"
"Sounds good to me," Michelle nodded with a smile. Before she walked back into the bathroom, she added, "Oh, did you guys know that Clarisse's bike was totally destroyed yesterday?"
"Really?" Brandon sounded surprised, while Aiden nearly fell off the bed.
"Yeah, she said an ember attack came out of nowhere and burnt her bicycle to a crisp," Michelle furrowed her brow. "I wonder if that was Team Rocket's doing."
"Guess we'll never know, huh?" Aiden laughed nervously, which went by unbeknownst to Michelle and Brandon.
XXX
The morning dragged on for Michelle, who was eagerly waiting to make her Contest debut. After what felt more like a thousand years rather than just a few hours, it was mid afternoon, and time for the Sunfire Town Pokémon Contest to occur.
Michelle had changed back into her brand new Contest dress, complete with her hair up in a ponytail with the two front layers down and one held back by her green flower hairclip. She stood staring down at her shoes, her hands balled into fists at her sides as she concentrated on her impending Contest debut.
A tap on the shoulder alarmed the young coordinator, who shrieked and jumped a few inches in the air. Whipping around, she found that it was Clarisse who had delivered the small knock, and was now giggling like a little girl.
"Oh, Clarisse," Michelle sighed, holding a hand over her heart. "You scared me!"
"I'm sorry!" Clarisse continued to laugh airily. "I was just checking in on you! You nervous?"
"Just a little," Michelle's face was far more pale than usual.
"That's completely normal," Clarisse waved a hand. "But you'll be fine! Turn those pre appeal jitters into an all out adrenaline rush!"
Michelle looked over Clarisse's Contest wear: a gold and white dress with translucent, flowy short sleeves, decorated with gold beading and a short tutu skirt with white tulle peeking out from underneath the pale gold material covering it. On her feet was a pair of dark gold ballet flats, and on her head a golden tiara, which matched perfectly to her platinum blonde hair that had been curled into tight, bouncy locks.
"Wow, your outfit is gorgeous!" Michelle awed.
"Oh, thank you!" Clarisse beamed. "Yours is too! The color green is perfect for you! So, what number are you?"
"16," Michelle replied. "What's yours?"
"8," Clarisse smiled sympathetically. "I'm sorry you have to wait for so long."
"Me too," Michelle sighed in an exasperated fashion. "As excited as I am for my first Contest, part of me just wishes it was over…"
XXX
Up in the stands, Aiden and Brandon sat and waited for the Contest to get underway.
"Do you think Michelle is ready for this?" Aiden frowned.
"I'm sure she is," Brandon assured with a smile. "She's been training like crazy! Not to mention, she's got your parents' blood running through her veins. I'm sure she's going to be just fine!"
"I'm so nervous," Aiden grumbled, burying his face in his hands.
"Is your twin telepathy thing working on you again?" Brandon smirked.
Aiden nodded his head without looking up. Since he and Michelle were twins, they could often sense one another's emotions or thoughts without even being in the vicinity of one another. Brandon found that to be pretty funny since the two fought so often.
"Good afternoon, folks! And welcome to the Sunfire Town Pokémon Contest!"
The loud, booming voice brought Aiden and Brandon's attention to the center stage. Standing in the middle of the stage was a woman, with very light, curly brown hair ending right above her shoulders. She had cerulean blue eyes and a charming smile, with a beauty mark on the right side of her face.
"My name is Lilian Meridian, and I'll be your MC for this Contest!" She introduced herself to the cheering audience.
"Wow, she's super gorgeous!" Brandon yelped, his cheeks reddening at the mere thought of the beautiful woman.
"Yeah, and super out of your league," Aiden muttered.
"As always, we have our esteemed panel of judges here!" Lilian waved her hand in front of the three podiums, with a judge sitting behind each one. "First, we have Mr. Contesta, our Contest coordinator!"
The crowd cheered for him, as Lilian continued, "next, we have Mr. Sukizo, president of the Pokémon Fan Club!"
"Remarkable!" Mr. Sukizo exclaimed, causing the crowd even more excitement.
"I've never heard that guy say anything other than remarkable," Brandon chuckled lowly.
"And, finally, our third judge, Sunfire Town's own Nurse Joy!" Lilian introduced the familiar looking Nurse.
"Beautiful!" Brandon shrieked.
"You're so weird!" Aiden hit the slightly older boy over the head.
"Now, let's get this Contest underway!" Lilian turned back to the audience, who applauded loudly.
Aiden and Brandon were unfamiliar with the first 8 contestants, but they enjoyed the appeals none the less. When it came up to contestant #8, the boys were pleased to finally hear the name of someone they actually knew: Clarisse.
The platinum blonde girl stepped out onto the stage, her hazel eyes twinkling as she held up a poke ball encased in a light blue capsule that made the top of the sphere appear purple. A music note seal was stuck to the top front of the capsule.
"Here we go," Clarisse beamed. Throwing the poke ball up in the air, she called, "Espeon! Time to shine!"
A burst of orange eighth notes gathered in the air, bursting to reveal Clarisse's partner Pokémon. The lavender eeveelotuion landed skillfully on her feet, letting out an airy "espy!"
"Espeon, use swift!" Clarisse ordered.
Espeon opened her mouth and shot out a flurry of yellow stars, which swirled around her elegant body like a tornado.
"Slow it down with confusion!" Clarisse commanded.
Espeon's body and eyes began to glow purple, a much brighter hue than that of her fur. The spell of stars around her became outlined in the same purple light and slowed to a halt, simply glowing in mid air.
"Excellent work, Espeon," Clarisse commended her partner. "Let's finish this up. Psybeam!"
The red gem on Espeon's forehead began to glow brightly. Once it was fully powered up, Espeon tilted her head back and, from the gem, shot off a multicolored beam straight into the air. The confusion encircled stars seemed to be attracted to the beam, as they flew towards the attack like a magnet, surrounding the psybeam and covering it up. Espeon managed to give the psybeam more power, causing the stars surrounding it to explode into nothing more than rainbow colored sparkles. As they fell, Espeon lowered her head so she was once again staring down the audience, her body being showered by the bright sparkles.
The crowd went wild, cheering and clapping as both Clarisse and Espeon took a bow.
"Wow…" Aiden blinked. "She's…amazing."
"Clarisse?" Brandon smirked.
"Huh?" Aiden looked at his best friend. "I meant Espeon. But Clarisse is pretty good too!"
At this, Brandon nearly fell on the floor.
"A wonderful performance by Clarisse and her Espeon!" Lilian announced. "Let's see what the judges thought about it!"
The screens in front of Contesta, Sukizo, and Nurse Joy's podiums lit up with their scores: 9.0, 9.5, and 9.0 respectively.
"27.5!" Lilian's voice boomed. "That's our highest score of the day!"
Clarisse and Espeon hurried backstage, with the eon Pokémon jumping right into her trainer's arms, who giggled in response.
"Oh, Espeon, you were incredible!" Clarisse squealed. "That was your best appeal ever! I am so proud of you!"
"Clarisse!"
The blonde looked up and found Michelle running towards her, a huge smile on her pretty, young face.
"You were amazing!" Michelle clasped her hands together. "Well…you and Espeon!" Michelle giggled after her modification.
"Thanks!" Clarisse's eyes were shining. "And I'm sure you'll do just as well! Do you know what seal you're going to use?"
"I think…this one," Michelle held her hand out to show Clarisse the seal she had selected. Sitting in the center of her palm was a pink heart seal. "It'll go well with Pichu's charm attack."
"I agree!" Clarisse nodded. She saw Pichu still sitting on her trainer's shoulder, looking quite cheerful. "But you should probably get Pichu in her poke ball."
"Pi?!" Pichu seemed alarmed by this.
"Oh…right…" Michelle bit her lip.
"You'll be fine," Clarisse smiled at the girl. "I promise!"
As the blonde haired girl skipped away, Michelle took Pichu off of her shoulder and held the baby Pokémon in both of her hands.
"Pi?" Pichu tilted her head to the side.
"Pichu, listen, you have to go in your poke ball," Michelle frowned as she said it.
"Pi! Pichu!" Pichu argued.
"I know you don't like it in there, but that's how you have to enter the Contest stage," Michelle continued, a sympathetic look on her face. "It'll only be for a few minutes, okay?"
"Pi pi pi!" Pichu was practically screaming, throwing a fit like a little kid.
"Pichu, please!" Michelle begged. "If you go inside your poke ball, I'll give you a special treat later."
"Pi?" Pichu huffed, her beady black eyes narrowed in frustration.
"I'll give you an entire apple," Michelle offered, knowing how fond the baby Pokémon was of the fruit.
"Pi? Pi…Pichu pi," Pichu finally agreed, nodding her little head so her ears bobbed back and forth.
"Great, thanks cutie!" Michelle gave her partner Pokémon a tight hug.
"Next, here's entry number 13, Gemma!"
The sound of Lilian's booming voice caught Michelle's attention and caused her to look up at the television screen which broadcasted the Contest to those who were waiting backstage. Now on the stage was a girl with bright blue hair tied up in a ponytail and sporting a purple dress and a masquerade mask.
"Nidoran, let's show them our star power!" The girl tossed her capsuled poke ball.
A shower of stars burst from the sphere, eventually bursting into a flurry of gold sparkles to reveal the small blue Pokémon.
"Ni!" She cried, looking up into the audience with an air of confusion.
"Nidoran, use poison sting!" Gemma commanded.
"Ni?" Nidoran looked back at her trainer, blinking her big, red eyes.
"Nidoran, do it!" Gemma hissed.
"Ni…" Nidoran fired off the bright white spikes, sending them floating in the air.
"Excellent!" Gemma clapped her hands together. "Now, use scratch!"
As the needles fell, Nidoran held her claws out and scratched the attack, causing them to burst into white sparkles.
"Not too bad," Gemma smirked, "finish this off with toxic spikes, dear!"
Nidoran fully turned around this time and let out a tiny squeak, her ears flicking back and forth.
"What is she doing?" Sneasel raised an eyebrow.
"Of course," Jason buried his face in his hands. "Nidoran doesn't know toxic spikes!"
"How could Jewel not know that?!" Sneasel looked like he was going to lose it.
"Nidoran, why aren't you doing what I ask?!" Gemma cried.
"Ni…ni…" Nidoran's ears fell.
"Oh dear…" Lilian rubbed the back of her head. "Well…let's see what the judges thought about Gemma's performance…"
Contesta, Sukizo, and Nurse Joy each gave out the same score: a 5.0.
"A 15.0 for Gemma," Lilian announced. "Better luck next time!"
"What?!" Gemma fumed, gathering her Nidoran in her arms and huffing, "the nerve of these people! They wouldn't know a good appeal if it bit them in the face! Come along, Nidoran, you and I are too good for this place."
As she walked back behind the stage, Jewel, still disguised as Gemma, brushed past Michelle, who was now looking more nervous than before.
I really hope I don't mess up like that, Michelle thought dully to herself.
XXX
There were only two other contestants in between "Gemma" and Michelle, but for the first time Contest participant, it felt like an eternity.
"Show time," Michelle murmured, holding Pichu's poke ball out in front of the pouting electric type. "Sorry, Pichu, but you'll be out in just a second!"
A ray of red light emerged from the sphere, illuminating Pichu's small frame and sucking her into the ball. Sighing, Michelle encased the poke ball in its capsule and stuck the heart shaped seal on the front, holding the ball against her own heart as she stepped right behind the curtain and closed her eyes.
"Last, but certainly not least, we have contestant number 16, and that's Michelle Ketchum!"
The curtain broke apart, but even before it did, Michelle could hear loud murmurs rise from the crowd from behind the thick velvet screen. She knew why they were all talking amongst themselves, staring down at her seemingly small figure with looks of shock and even amazement.
It's just because of my name, that's all, Michelle silently assured herself. But I'm going to show them that I'm not Dad, and I'm not Mom. I'm my own person, and that's that.
Gripping the poke ball more tightly, Michelle tossed it up in the air and cried, "Pichu! Curtain call!"
The poke ball opened up, the seal that had been stuck on its capsule emitting a swirling display of tiny pink hearts. They all scattered to the sides, revealing Pichu in the middle, who still looked slightly terrified from being stuck in the "ball of evil." Despite the look of slight fear, Pichu managed to perform a small flip before landing on all fours, uttering a soft, "chu!" as she landed.
"Wow, Michelle actually managed to get Pichu into her poke ball," Aiden muttered.
"I'm sure there was some bribery involved," Brandon smirked.
"Alright, Pichu, let's get the show started!" Michelle giggled softly, just once. "Use charm!"
Pichu stood up on her hind legs and held her paws to her mouth, blowing a kiss that sent out a flurry of pink hearts. They swirled around the Pokémon's small body like a calm tornado, with Pichu looking up to watch them fly.
"Nice work, Pichu!" Michelle complimented her partner. "But we're not done yet. Use thundershock!"
"Pichu!" Pichu began to charge up, her body glowing a light shade of yellow as the electricity built up in her cheeks.
"Incredible!" Lilian awed. "Pichu is building up all of her electric energy to create a magnificent glow that shows off her beautiful coat!"
"Do it!" Michelle ordered.
"Chu!" Pichu unleashed the attack, which came out stronger than usual due to the fact that it had been charged up. The electric strikes found their way to the hearts fluttering around Pichu, making contact with the pretty pink shapes and causing them to glow brilliantly, just as it had done to Pichu's fur.
"Almost done," Michelle smirked. "Pichu, use charm one last time!"
Pichu once again blew a kiss, but this time, spun on her toes as she did so. The hearts surrounded her body, and with a flick of the paws and tail, Pichu sent the attack flying in every direction, causing them to collide with the glowing hearts floating in the air. The clashing hearts all burst, forming a magnificent, pink hued aurora curtain around Pichu, with tiny yellow sparkles glittering the translucent screen.
"Unbelievable!" Lilian gasped. "Pichu and Michelle finish off their appeal with a dazzling pink tinge! What a great show!"
The crowd applauded, causing Michelle to laugh and blush as she rubbed the back of her neck. "Wow, I guess they liked it!"
"Michelle did great!" Aiden beamed, a proud feeling surging through his body as he looked down at his sister.
"Yeah, but let's see what the judges have to say about her appeal," Brandon added.
Contesta, Sukizo, and Nurse Joy, who had all been looking down at their podiums, had now raised their eyes to Michelle, smiling gleefully at the young girl as their scores appeared on the lighted boards in front of their platforms: 8.0, 8.0, and 8.0.
"A 24.0!" Lilian announced. "Not a bad score for a first try!"
"Pi?" Pichu looked up at Michelle, confused as far as what to do next.
"Pichu, come here!" Michelle beckoned sweetly to her partner. The little yellow Pokémon ran up to her trainer, tail bobbing as she smiled. "You were amazing!" Michelle lifted Pichu into her arms and hugged the young Pokémon. "I am so proud of you!"
"Pi! Chu!" Pichu cheered along with her trainer. Pichu still wasn't entirely sure of what she had done, but she did know that she loved getting hugs!
XXX
"I'm so nervous."
"Why?" Aiden raised an eyebrow as he glanced at his anxious sister. "Your appeal was awesome!"
"Maybe…" Michelle sighed.
"What do you mean maybe?" Aiden rolled his eyes. "You got a 24.0! That's only 6 points away from perfect."
"But how do I know if that's good enough to get me into the battle rounds?" Michelle huffed. "So many of the coordinators here did amazing. Maybe the judges liked them better than they liked me."
"Don't say that, Michelle," Brandon patted the girl's shoulder. "You'll be just fine!"
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your patience!" Lilian's voice caused everyone to look up at the monitor, where the Contest hostess had now appeared. "Our judges have narrowed the competition down to 8, so let's see who's moving on to the quarter finals!"
Michelle watched, biting her lip as the pictures of the passing coordinators were revealed. Clarisse's picture was the third revealed, which gave Michelle a sense of relief. Clarisse was her new friend, after all, so Michelle wanted to see Clarisse do well. She started to get nervous, however, when her picture wasn't being shown.
Just when Michelle thought all hope was lost, the eighth and final picture was revealed, and it was none other than her own face smiling back at her.
"I did it!" Michelle beamed, jumping up from the bench that she had been sitting and fretting on.
"Pi, pichu!" Pichu ran in circles around Michelle's feet.
"Great work, Michelle!" Brandon complimented the young coordinator.
"Yeah, I told you it'd be fine!" Aiden folded his arms across his chest. "You should listen to me more often!"
"As if," Michelle smirked teasingly.
"Hey, Michelle!"
The red head whipped around and grinned when she found that it was Clarisse running towards her and yelling her name out.
"Clarisse!" Michelle greeted cheerfully. "Congrats on making it to the battle rounds!"
"Thanks, you too!" Clarisse giggled. "I knew you would after your appeal. It was gorgeous!"
"Aw, thank you," Michelle blushed.
"Let's see the match ups for our eight finalists," Lilian's voice came through the monitor once again. This caught Michelle and Clarisse's attention, as both girls now stared intently at the video board, waiting to see who would be their quarter final opponents.
The pictures were all mixed up as the battle match ups were generated. When they settled back into place, Michelle found that she was battling an older looking boy by the name of Carter. Clarisse, meanwhile, was matched up against another young girl named Jane.
"My battle is first," Michelle murmured. Beaming, she continued, "Well, that's much better than having to wait forever like I did with my appeal!"
"Good luck!" Clarisse smiled at the girl. "Since my battle is second to last, I'll stay back here and watch yours!"
"And we'll go back to our seats now so we don't miss the battle," Brandon smirked. "Good luck, Michelle!"
"Thanks, you guys!" Michelle clenched her fingers into a determined fist. "I'll do my best!"
XXX
"GAH! HOW COULD THEY HAVE NOT ADVANCED ME TO THE SECOND ROUND?!"
Jason and Sneasel covered their eyes and peaked through their fingers as Jewel, still completely outfitted in her Gemma disguise, went on a rampage in the lobby of the Contest Hall.
"Because, Jewelley, you told Nidoran to use an attack that she doesn't know," Jason timidly deadpanned.
"And what was wrong with the rest of it?!" Jewel demanded.
"Nothing!" Jason and Sneasel both replied hurriedly, not wanting to feel the wrath of their female teammate.
"I'm bored of this, for now," Jewel huffed, whipping off her Butterfree mask. "I couldn't humiliate the bratette…this time. Come on, we're going to figure out a new plan to nab that dumb little overpowered Pichu of hers."
As Jewel stormed out of the Contest Hall, Jason and Sneasel exchanged defeated glances.
"Will she ever give up on this?" Sneasel asked.
"No," Jason sighed. "I don't think that's very likely…"
XXX
Back inside, Michelle was preparing to face off against Carter for her quarter final battle. Pichu, who was sitting on Michelle's shoulder as they walked back out onto the stage, was quite happy that she didn't have to be stuffed back into her poke ball, so Michelle already figured she had an advantage.
"Alright, Pichu, get back out there!" Michelle ordered.
"Pi!" Pichu jumped off of Michelle's shoulder and landed on all fours on the battle field.
"Alright, Wigglytuff, let's go!" Carter tossed his own poke ball, revealing the balloon Pokémon.
"With five minutes on the clock, let the Contest battle begin!" Lilian called.
"Wigglytuff, use blizzard!" Carter demanded.
"Wiggly!" The pink Pokémon opened her mouth and unleashed a blast of cold wind and snow. It hit Pichu before Michelle could even consider a move, causing the baby Pokémon to cry out in pain as the cold overtook her.
"Pichu!" Michelle cried, seeing her points diminish out of the corner of her eye. "Alright, you'll be fine. Use thundershock!"
"Pi!" Pichu unleashed her electricity.
"Dodge it, Wigglytuff!" Carter commanded.
The balloon Pokémon jumped out of the way effortlessly, causing Michelle to lose more of her points. Gritting her teeth, Michelle watched as Pichu stumbled back, feeling the recoil from the thundershock attack.
"Michelle's gotta' do something, and fast," Brandon noted.
"Pichu, charm! Let's go!" Michelle ordered.
Pichu blew her kiss, sending out the shower of pink hearts. Carter and Wigglytuff did not seem deterred, however.
"Wigglytuff, use shadow ball to destroy charm!" Carter called without a second thought.
A dark purple, nearly black, ball of energy was formed between Wigglytuff's stubby arms, which it easily sent flying out towards Pichu.
"Pichu, stop attacking and dodge it!" Michelle cried.
Pichu heard her trainer too late, however, and was quickly taken down by the shadow ball. Michelle lost even more of her points, while Carter still had all of his.
What am I going to do? Michelle thought begrudgingly.
"Wigglytuff, flamethrower!" Carter called.
"I don't think so!" Michelle bit. "Pichu, dodge that now!"
The shot of fire charged towards Pichu, but this time she jumped out of the way, spinning high above the row of flames.
"What?!" Carter gasped.
"Yes!" Michelle cheered. "Pichu, thundershock, now!"
"Pi…CHU!" Pichu fired off her electricity, which made direct contact with Wigglytuff this time.
"Alright, Michelle's fighting back!" Aiden grinned.
"She's finally calmed herself down," Brandon added.
"One minute left on the clock!" Lilian warned.
"I'm just warming up," Michelle scoffed. "Charm, Pichu!"
Pichu went about her business of blowing heart filled kisses towards Wigglytuff.
"Oh, not that again," Carter narrowed his eyes. "Wigglytuff, dodge it and then use solar beam!"
Floating out of the way of Pichu's charm attack, Wigglytuff held its arms up as the tuft of fur on the top of its head began to sparkle and glow. Narrowing its eyes, Wigglytuff looked right at Pichu before unleashing its powerful grass type attack, sending Pichu flying into the wall behind Michelle.
"Pichu!" Michelle cried out worriedly.
The baby mouse Pokémon slid down to the floor, moaning in obvious pain.
"Can you get up?" Michelle asked hopefully.
Pichu tried getting back on her feet, but it was no use. As soon as she was up, she fell right back down, her ears twitching a few times as she laid helplessly on her back.
"Oh, Pichu!" Michelle ran over to her defeated Pokémon, gathering the little electric type in her arms. "Are you okay?"
"Pi…pi…" Pichu quietly affirmed, her eyes only half open. Michelle noted that Pichu was covered in scratches and cuts, her fur scuffed and matted.
"You tried really hard, Pichu, and I'm proud of you," Michelle smiled sadly at her partner Pokémon.
Standing up, Michelle walked to the center of the battlefield and shook hands with Carter, congratulating him on the win before slinking backstage, frowning down at her injured Pichu. She was quickly met up with by Clarisse, who looked regretful.
"I'm sorry, Michelle," Clarisse piped up. "But that was pretty good for your first ever battle!"
"Yeah…" Michelle sighed. "I guess Pichu and I will just have to do better next time."
"Don't worry about it, there are plenty more Contests to be had!" Clarisse smiled encouragingly at the red head.
Finally, Michelle smiled and nodded. Clarisse was right. This was hardly the end for her. It was, after all, only her first Contest. Michelle would improve over time, and eventually, she would win the five ribbons that she needed to enter the Grand Festival.
"Now it's my turn to watch you," Michelle beamed at the blonde. "Get out there and win!"
"I will," Clarisse gave Michelle a determined look. "You can count on that!"
XXX
After leaving Pichu with Nurse Joy to be healed, and changing out of her Contest dress, Michelle sat up in the stands with Aiden and Brandon, watching the rest of the Contest with a transfixed demeanor.
And as soon as the quarterfinals were over, it was blatantly obvious that Clarisse completely owned the Sunfire Town Contest.
Using her Vulpix, Clarisse didn't even give Jane and her Psyduck a chance to win in the quarterfinals. The semi finals were a little bit closer, but Clarisse still easily took down a coordinator named Landon and his Makuhita.
The finals came down between Clarisse and Carter, which didn't surprise Michelle at all.
"Carter is a really strong Coordinator," Michelle informed Aiden and Brandon. "Truth be told, I was surprised I even got in that many attacks against him."
"You have to be more confident, Michelle," Brandon instructed the girl. "You and Pichu have so much potential! But to access it, you have to believe in yourself."
"That sounds like advice that my Dad would give me," Michelle giggled. "Guess you're right, Brandon!"
"Pichu should also probably learn another move," Aiden suggested. "She only knows those two, after all. It would help a lot for her to know a third attack."
Michelle nodded wordlessly. She'd been giving that a lot of thought, and knew that Pichu's two attack move set was probably a setback for the both of them. She would have to teach Pichu a new move, she just didn't know which one. Or how, for that matter…
"Vulpix, use ember!"
Michelle looked up at the stage, where the battle between Clarisse and Carter for the Sunfire Town ribbon was firmly underway.
"Wigglytuff, use shadow ball!" Carter demanded.
"One minute left!" Lilian's clearly excited voice announced.
"They're neck at neck!" Brandon exclaimed.
"Yeah, this is a great battle!" Aiden beamed.
Michelle watched the rest of the battle intently, her eyes darting back and forth between Vulpix and Wigglytuff as their battle raged on. After a minute, Lilian's call of, "time's up!" stopped the Pokémon dead in their tracks.
"So…who won?" Aiden blinked.
Everyone glanced up at the score board to check the points of both Clarisse and Carter. They still looked definitively close.
"And, the winner of the Sunfire Town Pokémon Contest is…" Lilian took a break before announcing the winner in a bold voice, "Clarisse and her Vulpix!"
"We did it!" Clarisse cheered, Vulpix running into her arms.
Michelle continued to watch on as Clarisse was rewarded with the Sunfire Town ribbon: a bright orange in color with a red and yellow border, and a gold sun shaped charm in the center.
"So that's Clarisse's third ribbon," Aiden recalled the day before, when Clarisse had shown them her ribbon case.
"She only needs two more to get to the Grand Festival!" Brandon added.
Michelle kept her eyes locked on the proud Clarisse. That would be her, eventually. Michelle knew it! She'd be just as good as her newfound rival.
So, Michelle loses in her first Contest. But, no big deal, there'll be plenty more for her to compete in! And, she found her first rival as well :)
Remember to leave a review and let me know what you're all thinking so far, especially of Michelle's first Contest!