New chapter time! Wow, I just sounded like Cilan :P

Last time: Ash, Misty, and Elizabeth arrive to support Michelle in her next Contest. Elizabeth soon runs off, however, and finds a Skitty in the forest. It turns out the Skitty is a friend of an old lady named Gale. Unfortunately, the Skitty is a little crazy and mischievous, using its sing attack on people as a prank. By Gale's suggestion, Michelle captures Skitty and attempts to calm it down, but to no avail. Now it's time for her next Contest...what will happen?

Chapter 31: Contest Redux

"It's Contest morning!"

"Pi-ka!"

"Dad, you're more excited than I am."

Ash smirked sympathetically and looked down at his older daughter, who was hesitantly shuffling by his side. Like her father, who had Pikachu on his own shoulder, Michelle carried Pichu on hers. But unlike her father, the girl didn't look too enthusiastic about the upcoming competition.

"Shelly, there's no reason to be so nervous," Ash comforted his daughter. "I know that last Contest wasn't your best performance, but that's okay! I'll bet hardly anyone remembers it! Just go out there and do your best. Confidence is key!"

"Pi!" Pikachu trilled again.

Michelle frowned and looked up towards the sky, as if she would get some divine intervention. Before anyone could help her, however, Aiden's voice broke her out of her trance.

"Are you still gonna' use Eevee, Michelle?"

The redhead looked towards Aiden, who was beaming, and twisted her mouth in contemplation. "You know, I've been thinking a lot about it. And I think…I've changed my mind."

Everyone stopped in their tracks and turned towards Michelle, throwing her stunned looks. Even Pichu gave her trainer a shocked expression.

"But sweetheart, I thought you wanted Eevee to redeem himself!" Misty tried.

"I did, and I still do," Michelle confirmed. "But…since I just caught Skitty and everything, I thought using it in the Contest might be a fun thing to do!"

"But you and Skitty have barely trained together!" Aiden argued.

"You really think you can trust Skitty up on stage?" Brandon added.

Michelle frowned once again and shifted her eyes around the circle of people, obviously beginning to doubt herself. Ash, however, wasn't about to let that happen to his daughter.

"I think it's a great idea!" Ash remarked.

"Huh?" Aiden murmured. "Why, Dad?"

"Sometimes, winging it works out, especially with a Pokémon who's as hyper as Skitty," Ash explained.

"A personality like Skitty's will just shine on stage!" Misty trilled, obviously agreeing with her husband.

"And she's cute!" Elizabeth giggled.

"She?" Aiden repeated.

"Skitty's a girl Pokémon," Elizabeth squeaked. "The lady told me!"

"Well, Skitty is a very cute little girl," Misty giggled. "And I think that she and Michelle will do just fine!"

Michelle, for the first time that morning, smiled. She was beginning to feel a little more confident, thanks to the encouragement of her parents. They were both extremely talented trainers, after all. And if anyone knew what they were talking about, it was those two.

"Come on," Michelle urged, her voice becoming stronger. "Let's get to the Contest Hall! I want to start getting ready!"

Ash and Misty exchanged happy smiles before following after their daughter, who had broken out into a full sprint. Aiden and Brandon followed along as well, both boys holding onto the hands of Elizabeth, who had demanded it as soon as they'd left the hotel.

They soon arrived at the Contest Hall, which was a round white building with a pale yellow roof. Michelle walked right through the sliding glass doors, while the rest of the group followed up right behind.

"I'm going to go register," Michelle informed them, pointing at the front desk. "I'll be back really quick!"

As soon as Michelle disappeared, a different girl appeared in her place, looking all around the room with a sense of admiration. As she looked around, her orange eyes locked themselves onto Aiden, and that's when it felt like her entire world had stopped.

"Oh…my…GOSH!"

Aiden blinked and turned his head, shrieking and nearly stumbling backwards. He hadn't expected to come face-to-face with a…girl. Especially a girl he'd never met or even seen before. And, unfortunately for him, his frantic cry had caught the attention of his parents, younger sister, and his best friend.

"Aiden, what's wrong?" Misty asked curiously.

"Uh…uh…" Aiden stammered, raising a shaky finger to point at the girl standing in front of him.

She giggled and took a small step back, hiding her hands behind her back and smiling at the still stunned boy. Now that she wasn't directly in his face, Aiden could get a better look at the girl. She had very long, light brown hair that was separated into two pigtails hanging down her back, with a cream colored, fluffy hair clip that looked like cotton adorning the top of each pigtail. She was wearing a white sleeveless blouse with buttons running up the front and a cream colored trim at the neck and hemline that matched her hairclips. Her long legs emerged from beneath a short brown skirt, while her feet were covered by cream colored strapped shoes.

"I know who you are!" The girl squealed, alarming Aiden once again. "You're the Pokémon Master's son!"

"Uh…yeah?" Aiden mumbled.

"I cannot believe it!" She gasped. "You are even cuter in person!"

"C-cuter?" Aiden stammered, his whole face turning red.

"My big brothers are so totally obsessed with the Pokémon Master," the girl continued. "So, I know everything about him! Which means I know everything about you!"

"As if," Aiden scoffed.

"Your name is Aiden Nash Ketchum," the girl began, causing Aiden's blush to deepen. "You were born on December 7th. You live in Cerulean City, where your mom is the gym leader. Your goal is to become Pokémon Master, like your dad, and your favorite Pokémon is Blastoise. You get hurt a lot, at least that's what your dad says. You have a small dent in your skull from hitting your head on the stairs as a toddler!"

"That girl knows more 'bout Aiden than I do!" Elizabeth marveled.

"It's a little bright frightening, no?" Brandon murmured.

"Okay then…" Aiden whistled awkwardly. "So…uh…what's your name, huh?"

"Eryn," the girl giggled. "I'm from Sandgem Town!"

"Sandgem Town?" Aiden repeated. "Isn't that in-"

"Sinnoh?" Eryn cut him off, giggling afterwards. "Yep!"

"Uh…so what are you doing here?" Aiden questioned.

"Well, you see, I'm a coordinator," Eryn explained, "and I wanted to start my journey out here in Kanto! I've got all the time in the world to hit up the Sinnoh Contest scene, and it's been my dream to start my journey in Kanto since I was just a little girl! So…here I am!"

"Great…" Aiden muttered sarcastically. He hadn't exactly been expecting a whole story in response to his inquiry.

"And now I'm so glad I did!" Eryn warbled. "I never, ever thought I would meet such a cute boy in such a little place like Jonquil Town! It must be fate!"

"Your idea of fate is a lot different than mine," Aiden remarked.

"Oh, isn't this adorable?" Misty crooned. "Aiden's got a little admirer!"

"MOM!" Aiden stormed, looking over his shoulder with sharply narrowed eyes. As he did this, Eryn followed his actions, and gasped when she realized that the boy's parents were standing right behind him.

"Oh my gosh, the Pokémon Master!" She squealed, pushing past a flustered Aiden and jumping up and down in front of an equally shocked Ash. "It's you, it's really you!"

"Uh…yeah!" Ash chuckled sheepishly.

"You're even more handsome in person!" Eryn sighed, her cheeks flushing a delicate pink. Misty scowled at the compliment, while Aiden snickered to himself.

"Not so cute now, is it?" He quipped.

While Eryn was still fussing over Ash and Aiden's presence, Michelle made her way back over to the group, so happy with having registered for the Contest that she didn't see Eryn standing there. The redhead collided with the brunette sending both girls tumbling to the floor. Michelle groaned and rubbed at her head, opening her eyes and gasping once she realized she was halfway lying on the other girl.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Michelle apologized, her whole face turning red. "I didn't mean to!"

Eryn popped back up and glared at Michelle, who recoiled out of obvious trepidation.

"You," Eryn seethed, pointing at Michelle. "Are you a coordinator?"

"Uh…yes?" Michelle murmured.

"Well then," Eryn huffed, dusting off her outfit, "I'll just have to beat you in the Contest and teach you a lesson that way. The proper way, as any coordinator would do."

Michelle furrowed her brow and watched as the girl flipped one of her light brown pigtails over her shoulder and trounced away with an overwhelming sense of confidence, to the point where she basically came across as cocky.

"Uh…who was that?" Michelle hummed.

"Eryn," Brandon answered with a small laugh.

"Eryn?" Michelle repeated.

"She's some creepy girl from Sinnoh who just started randomly hitting on me," Aiden added, his eyes shifting from side-to-side as though he were on the lookout for the girl…which he kind of was, in a sense.

"I liked her hair," Elizabeth squeaked.

"So…why does she want to beat me so bad?" Michelle muttered. "Because I accidentally knocked her down?"

"Probably because you interrupted her flirting session with Aiden," Brandon remarked. "And also…your dad…"

Michelle raised an eyebrow and looked up at Ash, who now had a considerable blush on his face. "I know that a lot of girls have a thing for me, but I wasn't really expecting it out of a ten year old…"

"Well, maybe she should get it through her head that you're married!" Misty blurted, turning her head away in aggravation. Everyone blinked and looked up at the flustered gym leader, her sudden outcry confusing them all.

"Mom, she's ten…" Michelle muttered.

"Your mother just gets very, very jealous is all," Ash sighed, though he still looked rather nervous. "And she really shouldn't, because she should trust me."

Misty rolled her eyes and looked hesitantly over her shoulder at Ash, who was smiling sweetly at her.

"You know that I love you more than anyone else in the world," Ash purred. "Especially a ten year old kid! The only ten year olds I love are standing right in front of us, and they're half yours anyway. So there's no need to get worked up, Mist. I don't like to see you all grumpy and jealous! You're too pretty for all of that."

Misty cooed softly and threw herself into Ash's arms, squeezing him to the point of suffocation as she kissed him hard on the lips. Aiden, Michelle, Elizabeth, and Brandon all whined and loudly complained about the action, making no bones about how uncomfortable they were with the sight.

"MOM! DAD! GROSS!" Aiden cried, turning his head away as he held his hands out in front of himself.

"Not in the Contest Hall!" Michelle groaned. "You're embarrassing me!"

"Icky!" Elizabeth chirped.

"It's sweet…but…a little much," Brandon admitted, wincing as he tried to avert his eyes.

Misty giggled and let go of Ash, who by now was panting for breath. "Sorry, kids. I guess I got a little carried away."

"A little?" Aiden muttered.

"Either way," Misty continued, warningly eyeing her son. "It's almost time for Michelle to go on stage, and I don't want to distract her any more than I already have."

"Thanks, Mom…" Michelle sighed, her cheeks still delicately flushed.

"Now, you go backstage, seashell," Misty murmured, walking forward and gently kissing Michelle on her forehead. "You do your very best. But remember that we're proud, no matter what."

"Thanks," Michelle said again, her tone sounding no livelier than it had the first time around. She turned on a heel and walked away with clenching fingers, Misty watching on nervously.

"Oh, did I mess her up?" Misty groaned. "I feel so bad…I need to learn to control myself."

"It's not you, Mist," Ash finally managed to choke out, still rubbing his sore chest. "She's a lot closer to actually getting on stage, so she's getting more and more nervous. Don't be so hard on yourself."

"I just can't help it," Misty sighed, rubbing her upper arm. "When Michelle is nervous, I'm nervous."

"I bet she's gonna be fine, Mom!" Aiden assured.

"Aiden's right," Ash agreed. "Since day one, Michelle's been a real tough girl. She's just like you, Mist! So what if she's a little nervous? She'll find a way to overcome the issue. I'm sure of it!"

Misty sighed and hung her head, nervously clenching her fingers as she bit her lip. "I hope you're right…"

XXX

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the Jonquil Town Contest!"

The crowd roared with applause as Lilian stood on the stage and made her grand entrance. As they normally did when they came to watch Michelle compete, Ash and Misty were sitting high up in a box, along with Aiden, Elizabeth, and Brandon. Ash was excited to see Michelle take the stage, but Misty was a little more nervous than anything else.

"Whoever wins today's Contest will take home the beautiful Jonquil ribbon!" Lilian continued, holding up the prize for this particular Contest. It was a five point ribbon that almost looked like a star. It was bright yellow in color, lined with metallic gold and adorned with a gold circle charm in the center.

From backstage, Michelle stared up at the screen in awe. She wanted that ribbon more than anything…she was going to do the very best she could.

"Hey! You again!"

Michelle turned away from the screen, where Lilian was currently introducing the judges, and found herself face-to-face with a still agitated Eryn.

"Oh, it's you again," Michelle murmured.

"Yes it's me again!" Eryn practically shrieked. "Where else would I be?!"

"I don't know, anywhere but near me?" Michelle lamely suggested.

"I won't let you live down knocking me over in front of the gorgeous Pokémon Master and his equally attractive son!" Eryn cried, her orange eyes narrowing. "That was so embarrassing for me!"

"No offense, but you calling my dad and brother gorgeous and attractive is embarrassing for me," Michelle quipped.

"Wait…" Eryn breathed, taking a step back from Michelle. "You…you're…"

"I'm Michelle," the redhead sighed, pointing a finger at herself. "You knew such a creepy amount about my brother that I assumed you already knew who I was."

"Oh my gosh, how couldn't I see it before?!" Eryn gasped dramatically. "The Pokémon Master's daughter! That's you!"

"How observant," Michelle grumbled.

"How silly of me," Eryn sighed with a slight giggle. "I even missed the hint of your fiery red hair! It's a perfect match for your mom's, you know."

"So I've been told," Michelle grumbled.

"In my defense, though, you're also a lot taller than I was expecting," Eryn continued. "I never would have guessed you're the same height as your brother! Then again, you do also have your mother's body type, which is most similar to that of a ballerina's. In fact, it's a signature on your mom's side of the family for everyone to have really long legs."

"And…how do you know that?" Michelle questioned, thoroughly feeling more and more creeped out by Eryn's vast knowledge of her personal life.

"I've read articles about your aunts before!" Eryn trilled. "They're professional models and actresses, so of course they always show up in PokéStar! I even bought the same perfume as Daisy. You know, the one she endorsed for the flower garden celebration in Celadon City?"

"Yeah…sure…" Michelle drawled.

"But…I'm sorry, Michelle, I'm still going to have to teach you a lesson," Eryn sighed.

"What?! Why?!" Michelle demanded, her hands balling into fists.

"You may be Ash Ketchum's daughter, but you still embarrassed me in front of him!" Eryn shouted. "Just because you're his child doesn't mean I can forgive you so easily. I still plan on wiping the stage with you and showing you what for!"

"Yeah?" Michelle bit. "Well I'm not going to let that happen! I'm not going to be embarrassed in front of my dad!"

"We'll just see about that," Eryn replied with a smirk.

"Let's get started with our first contestant of the day!" Lilian's booming voice broke through to the young coordinators once again. "Eryn, you're up!"

"That's my cue!" Eryn giggled, flying past Michelle and down the corridor. Michelle, in turn, narrowed her eyes at the Sinnoh girl's back and simply watched her leave.

It didn't take long for the brunette to appear on stage, still giggling as she tossed her poke ball in the air with a simple flick of the wrist.

"Buneary!" Eryn called. "Go glitzy!"

The red and white sphere popped open to reveal a cute, bunny-like Pokémon with a cheerful grin and tons of energy. This was declared as the little creature landed right on its feet and began bouncing up and down, giggling in a similar fashion to Eryn as she did so.

"Bun-bun!" Elizabeth shrieked, reaching out towards the stage with a tiny hand.

"A Buneary," Brandon noted. "She obviously brought it with her from Sinnoh."

"Mommy, Aunt Dawn has a Bun-bun!" Elizabeth squeaked as she looked up towards Misty, whose lap she was currently occupying. Misty, in turn, glanced down and giggled softly at her daughter.

"Yes, she does!"

"Buneary…" Aiden murmured, pulling out his pokedex to scan the creature.

Buneary, the rabbit Pokémon. Buneary curls up into its fur to sleep on cold nights. When it senses danger, its ears will perk up in an alert manner.

"Buneary, show them how cute your bounce is!" Eryn warbled.

"Bun!" Buneary complied, jumping up and down, getting higher and higher with each and every bounce.

"Wow, just look at the height Buneary is getting!" Lilian marveled.

"Flip it up!" Eryn laughed.

"Bun!"

While up in the air, Buneary began to perform series of front flips, back flips, and even side aerials. The audience was amazed with the normal type's gymnastic-like moves and skillset, and even the Ketchum family (Brandon included) had to admit they were impressed.

"Show everyone your dizzy punch!" Eryn called.

Going into another front flip, Buneary began to fall head-first towards the ground. The audience gasped at the action, but Buneary knew exactly what it was doing. Unfurling just one of its ears, which caused the fur at the end to glow in a sparkling, multi-colored light, Buneary landed right on the puff and pushed itself back up in the air, though not as high as with its bounce attack. Once it went back towards the ground, its other ear unfurled and began glowing just like the first one, punching the stage floor in the same fashion as the first ear.

"Amazing!" Lilian commented. "Buneary is showing off its cuteness and its strength all in one go!"

Buneary landed back on its feet and beamed, holding its little paws up in the air like a gymnast who had just stuck the landing. Eryn cheered, clearly delighted with her Pokémon's performance. The judges also seemed highly impressed with what they had just seen.

"Eryn is good," Michelle muttered to herself backstage. "But I'm not going to let that stop me!"

Up in her family's box, everyone was exchanging thoroughly stunned looks. Aiden was especially surprised by what he had just seen.

"She may be crazy, but man is she good!" Aiden yelped.

"Michelle's got her work cut out for her," Misty mumbled in agreement.

"Come on, guys!" Ash whined. "You're not giving Michelle enough credit! She's just as amazing a coordinator as Eryn!"

"No one said she's not, dear," Misty assured her frustrated husband. "We just know how fragile she is right now. I'm afraid that seeing Eryn perform like that might give Michelle a little scare! I know it shouldn't, but Michelle's not very confident right now."

"Which is nothing like her," Brandon added.

"Maybe…" Ash trailed off. "But either way, I believe in my princess. And I know she's going to do just fine!"

As if on cue, Michelle stepped out on stage, sucking in a deep breath as she clutched her selected poke ball tightly in her hand.

"Next up is Michelle!" Lilian announced, earning more cheers from the crowd.

"Alright," Michelle whispered to herself, taking another step forward and throwing the red and white sphere she'd been holding onto. "Skitty, curtain call!"

The kitten Pokémon soon appeared before her trainer, letting out a bored yawn before licking her paws and rubbing them against her face.

"Oh my, what a cutie!" Lilian trilled.

"Skitty, come on!" Michelle urged. "Get into the spirit! Use assist!"

"Assist?" Aiden repeated.

"Assist is an awesome move," Ash commented. "The Pokémon using assist will randomly use the attack of any other Pokémon that the trainer has on their team!"

"But…can't that be a little dangerous?" Misty questioned. "After all, Michelle has no idea which attack Skitty is going to use!"

"True, but the intrigue is part of the move's appeal," Ash reasoned. "It especially works well in the case of a Contest!"

Meowing softly, Skitty smirked and stood up on her hind legs, waving one of her front paws in the air as a white orb formed. Throwing her arm forward, a spinning burst of fire emerged from the orb and up in the air.

"That's Ponyta's fire spin!" Michelle cheered to herself.

"Incredible!" Lilian gasped. "Skitty has created a fire tornado of sorts using fire spin!"

"Great work, Skitty!" Michelle complimented, her confidence building. "Now, use ice beam on that fire spin!"

Skitty, however, had other ideas. Getting back down on all fours, Skitty opened up her mouth and began to use sing. Michelle gasped in horror, while her entire family mimicked her frightened expression.

"Oh no," Misty breathed.

"Skitty, not sing!" Michelle wailed. "I said ice beam!"

Skitty just continued to use sing, colorful music notes floating around her body and entertaining the audience at the same time. Soon enough, the music notes floated over towards the judges and spun around their heads in a melodic, rapid fashion. For a split second, Michelle began to think that she might have caught a lucky break.

Then the judges all fell asleep.

"No! Skitty!" Michelle moaned.

The normal type ceased the attack and sat back down, once again preening herself with her tongue. While the judges were all slumped over on their podiums, Michelle just groaned and smacked a hand over her face.

There was no way she was moving onto the battle round now.

XXX

Once the appeals round was over, Michelle didn't even bother going backstage. She just stood in the hallway with her back against the wall, arms folded across her chest as she waited for the announcement she knew was coming.

At the same time, her family was now waiting in the lobby, keeping their eyes glued to the screen that would reveal the coordinators moving onto the battle rounds.

"Oh, I'm so nervous," Misty breathed.

"Chu," Pichu, who was perched up on Ash's left shoulder, squeaked in agreement.

"Misty, relax, I'm sure everything will be fine," Ash comforted the woman, although his tone was a lot less certain than before.

"Alright, everyone! Sorry for the wait!" Lilian's voice came through the speakers. "Here's all of the coordinators moving onto the next round of today's Contest!"

The pictures of the winning coordinators flashed up on the screen, but none of them proved to be Michelle. Ash hung his head and sighed, while Misty groaned and squeezed her eyes shut. Aiden and Brandon could only exchange sad looks, while Elizabeth, who was completely oblivious to the situation, simply snuggled Teddi in her mother's arms.

"We have to check on Michelle," Misty murmured to Ash.

"Yeah," Ash agreed softly, picking his head back up. "Let's go find her."

They immediately headed for the back room, where the coordinators all waited for their appeals or battles. As soon as they got there, however, they saw that Michelle was nowhere to be found.

"She must've already left," Aiden murmured.

"This really isn't like Michelle," Brandon added.

"She must be heartbroken," Misty sighed, her own heart faltering at the very notion.

"I bet I know where to find her…" Ash all but whispered, turning and running out of the back room. Aiden, Brandon, and Misty were hot on his trail, eager to see if he was correct in his premonition. Ash ran straight out of the Contest Hall, down the cobblestone path and back towards the hotel they were all staying at. It was there, by the outdoor pool behind the large, elegant building, that he found Michelle. Her head was down and her bright red hair was covering her face, but Ash could tell from a mile away it was his daughter. Smiling sadly, he walked in through the iron gate and slowly approached the downtrodden girl. From behind the fence, the rest of the family (plus Brandon, of course) watched, not wanting to disturb whatever Ash's master plan for confronting Michelle was.

Pikachu remained silent and still on Ash's shoulder, but on the other side, Pichu was a little less calm. She, of course, was very close to Michelle, and could sense that the girl was upset. Additionally, she was too young to fully comprehend that her trainer needed space. Pichu believed that cuddles were in order, and would help. So, with a high-pitched and obviously concerned squeak, Pichu jumped off of Ash's shoulder and scurried into Michelle's lap, visibly surprising the girl.

"Well, I guess that gives that away…"

Michelle looked up timidly and found her father smiling down sweetly at her. She scoffed quietly and looked back down, gently stroking Pichu's head while the baby Pokémon chattered happily in response.

"I knew I would find you here," Ash continued when Michelle didn't respond to or question him, sitting down next to the girl. "You take a lot after your mom. More than you know, I think."

Michelle still refused to answer. Ash's delicate smile slowly turned into a frown, while Pikachu perfectly imitated his trainer's expression.

"Pipikachu…" Pikachu murmured.

"Come on, princess, it'll be okay," Ash assured. This is what finally got a response out of Michelle.

"I'M FINE!"

And a very volatile one at that.

"Michelle, it's okay to be upset," Ash tried again, though his daughter's expression just continued to grow even angrier. "You don't have to be embarrassed! Losing is a part of life."

"No it isn't!" Michelle argued. "Not here! Not in this family! Not time and time again!"

"Shelly, do you really think your mother and I expect you to win all the time?" Ash pressed. "And do you think that we win all the time? Because we don't. We may be famous, but we're only human. Just like you. We can't win all the time."

"I'm a disgrace," Michelle whined, her eyes narrowing. "I can never do anything right! I should have won today. I should've at least gotten to the battle rounds! But I couldn't. I'm a bad coordinator. I'm the worst coordinator."

Ash twisted his mouth and stared down at Michelle. It was obvious to him what the problem was. Because of the two loses in a row, and especially because of how disastrous the most recent one had been, Michelle was lacking confidence. She didn't believe in herself the way she had before. She needed someone to push her…someone to help her realize that she was talented, and that she was a good coordinator. Someone to restore her confidence.

"Michelle Ketchum," Ash announced sternly, getting to his feet and glancing down at the bewildered girl as he stood up. "I challenge you to a battle."

CLIFF...HANGER.

I was going to put it all in one chapter, but I feel like a lot happened in this one (the Contest, a new rival, new potential ship, etc etc) so I decided to separate it. Besides, saving the suspense of a father/daughter battle is kind of fun, no? ;)

Who will Michelle use? Who will Ash use? Will his plan work? Find out next time!