Hello, dear readers! Sorry this update took a bit longer. You know me and my battle chapters! They're much harder to churn out, because when I'm writing them, it starts to feel repetitive and I need to take more breaks. Luckily, this one is a bit more than a Contest! Why's that? Well, you'll see once you read the chapter! ;)
LAST TIME: Aiden battled Kenneth, leader of the Cinnabar Gym. Aiden ends up victorious, and Kenneth is impressed by the boy. He gives Aiden a fire stone, previously a gift from Blaine, and encourages Aiden to evolve Growlithe. Aiden is unsure of what to do, but when Growlithe is excited by the prospect of evolving, Aiden decides to go ahead with using the stone, giving him a brand new Pokémon!
Chapter 41: Michelle VS. Gemma…or Jewel?
"Alright, the Scarlet Town Contest! We're finally here!"
Aiden and Brandon both smirked as they watched Michelle pump both of her fists, a determined look settling on her face.
"Well, this is certainly a much different Michelle than we've seen at the last few Contests," Brandon marveled.
"That's because I'm not so scared anymore," Michelle replied easily. "I've really got my confidence back! And I'm sure that today, ribbon number four will be all mine!"
"And that means you'll just need one more to get into the Grand Festival!" Aiden gasped.
"Pi pichu!" Pichu squeaked.
"Try not to get ahead of yourself," Brandon warned. He was glad that Michelle was finally acting more like herself again, but at the same time, he was afraid that she might become too overconfident and end up with sheer disappointment. "Just focus on each round at a time, okay?"
"Of course," Michelle replied softly. "I know! I'm not going to make any of the mistakes I've made before. I'm out of my funk. I've figured things out."
"Like which Pokémon you're going to use?" Aiden inquired.
"Yep!" Michelle chirped. "See, Scarlet Town's Contest is a double appeal and battle, just like in the Grand Festival. So I need two Pokémon for each round. For the appeals, I've decided to use Pichu and Butterfree."
"Pi-chu!" Pichu cheered, her ears twitching excitedly.
"And the battle?" Aiden prodded.
"One step at a time," Michelle teased with a wink.
"I think that's a great appeal team," Brandon assessed. "Pichu and Butterfree both have dainty physiques and impressive moves. They'll work well together."
"I've got their moves all planned out and ready to go in order to complement one another," Michelle added. "Now all I have to do is get up on stage and do what I know!"
XXX
"I'd better do well in this Contest, or else!"
Jason and Sneasel exchanged worried looks, which didn't seem to faze Jewel at all.
"Yeah? Or else what?" Jason demanded. "We're not in charge of judging the Contest! We can't control who wins!"
"Maybe you should just try not to be so lame this time," Sneasel muttered.
"EXCUSE ME?!" Jewel roared.
"He's just kidding!" Jason rushed out, quickly covering Sneasel's mouth with his hand.
At this, Jewel scoffed and turned her back to the two, pacing back and forth with her brow furrowed. "Look, you two, I don't have time to deal with your stupidity. I've got a Contest to win! I've spent all morning working on my disguise, and of course it's flawless. I will not allow this portrait of beauty to go to waste!"
"You don't think your outfit is a little excessive for a non-Super Contest?" Jason murmured.
"NO!" Jewel fired back.
She was wearing a long, lagoon blue colored dress made up of flowy, ethereal layers, a split cut front, and laced up back. Her hair had been tied up into a ponytail sitting on the very top of her head, with a large, blue bow made of lace adorning its front.
"You're right, you're right!" Jason quickly squealed. "It's fine! Stunning, actually."
Jewel huffed and rolled her eyes, stomping away from her comrades. "You're darn right it is."
As Jewel stormed away, Jason and Sneasel exchanged concerned looks, both of their eyes full of trepidation and fear.
"I hate it when Jewel gets all worked up," Sneasel groaned.
"As long as she doesn't cut out heads off, I think we'll be fine," Jason sighed. "But just in case, let's keep our distance."
"Sneasel, agreed…"
XXX
"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the Scarlet Town Contest!"
Lilian Meridian beamed as the crowd cheered following her typical opening announcement, obviously excited for what was to come.
"As most of you already know, the Contest here in Scarlet Town involves both double appeals and double battles, following the same format as the Grand Festival! Today, we'll get to see all of our talented coordinators work with not one, but two of their fabulous Pokémon in an attempt to win the gorgeous Scarlet Ribbon!"
The MC held up the grand prize for the event: a gold charm in the shape of an anagallis flower, with one tiny orange gemstone at each of its five tips, and one yellow one at the center. Emerging from the charm were four loops of scarlet colored ribbon, each one trimmed in gold. At the top, bottom, left, and right, between each loop, a single strand of scarlet ribbon appeared, these strips plain without the gold border.
"That's one of the most beautiful ribbons I've ever seen!" Michelle gushed, her eyes lighting up as she viewed the prize from a screen backstage.
"Too bad it's going to belong to me by the end of today!"
Michelle hummed curiously and turned to the side, where she found herself face to face with a confident looking coordinator.
"Hey, I know you…" Michelle murmured, earning a nervous squeak from the disguised Jewel.
Please don't tell me the bratette has chosen today of all days to wisen up! Jewel panicked in her mind. She and those stupid brat boys have never picked up on any of our disguises before!
"Yeah, you're Gemma!" Michelle declared. "I haven't seen you since the Sunfire Town Contest!"
An immediate sense of relief washed over Jewel. "Oh, yes, yes! Of course! That certainly was a long time ago, wasn't it? Ahaha!"
"I've won some Contests since then," Michelle informed the slightly older girl, who couldn't really care less about Michelle's Contest resume. "I've got three ribbons now, in fact! How about you?"
At this, Jewel tried her best not to scowl. She had to put up a front, for her own sake, but the real her wanted to do nothing more than smack the younger girl upside the head. "Well, that's nice and all, but for your information, I just so happen to have four Contest ribbons!"
Instantly, Michelle's complexion paled. "Wow…four, huh?"
"That's right," Jewel trilled. "I win this one today, and I'll be on my way to the Grand Festival!"
Michelle hummed worriedly, to which Jewel smirked. Of course, what she had just told Michelle was a blatant lie. In fact, Jewel didn't have a single Contest ribbon to her name. But that didn't mean she wasn't willing to completely throw the female brat off of her game. After all, what did Jewel have to lose? It's not like Michelle had been following her career, obviously.
"Well, good luck today!" Michelle chirped, her voice sounding a bit more strained than before. "I'm sure you'll do great!"
"Oh, I know I will," Jewel huffed, earning a turned off look from the redhead before her.
"With all of the formalities out the way, let's get started!" Lilian's voice boomed, reclaiming Michelle and "Gemma's" attention. "First up is Tyler from Mulberry City!"
Michelle looked away from the screen to once again face "Gemma," but by the time she had, "Gemma" was already gone.
"Man, why do I always run into the strange ones?" Michelle muttered, shaking her head as she glanced back up at the screen.
XXX
"Well folks, we've had a great appeals round so far, and up next, we've got another promising performance! From Cerulean City, it's Michelle!"
The curtains pulled back and revealed the young redhead, bringing up a cheer from the crowd. Among those fans were Aiden and Brandon, who had great seats front and center in order to watch her appeal.
"Yeah Michelle!" Aiden cheered. "Show 'em how it's done!"
Michelle ran up to the stage, one poke ball in each hand. With one last giggle, Michelle threw them both up in the air and yelled, "Pichu, Butterfree, curtain call!"
The spheres popped open, Butterfree fluttering above the stage where Pichu now stood after performing a series of backflips as part of her grand entrance.
"Pichu, use charm!" Michelle commanded.
"Pi!"
Pichu raised her little paws to her mouth and blew a kiss, releasing a flurry of pink hearts that began to float up towards Butterfree.
"Now, Butterfree, you use psybeam!" Michelle ordered.
"Free!"
Butterfree's eyes began to glow purple as they unleashed a colorful beam of power, stringing the hearts from Pichu's charm attack along into a swirling vortex.
"Beautiful!" Lilian marveled. "Butterfree's psybeam is taking control of Pichu's charm and forming a sweet, ribbon like appearance!"
"Michelle didn't wait to pull out that new attack," Brandon chuckled.
"No way!" Aiden added. "Psybeam looks really awesome in a Contest, so of course Michelle was gonna use it first thing!"
"Butterfree, swoop down and get Pichu!" Michelle called.
The butterfly Pokémon flew through an opening between two lanes of the combined psybeam and charm, emerging with rainbow sparkles around her. That shine only increased the more Butterfree moved, diving down in order to pick up Pichu and perch the baby mouse atop her head.
"Look at that sparkle!" Lilian crooned. "It's like both Butterfree and Pichu are enshrouded in glitter!"
"Butterfree, back up and use gust!" Michelle directed.
Butterfree went back inside the vortex and shot up at a perfect 90 degree angle, her wings spread out to wide in order to show off the pattern on each one. The psybeam remnants still sparkled around her, and were especially bright on the wings. Once Butterfree reached the top of the vortex, she began to rapidly flap her wings, clearing away the combination psybeam and charm into a burst of the same rainbow sparkle that had covered both her and Pichu before.
"Let's finish this up!" Michelle declared. "Pichu, thunderbolt!"
Pichu jumped off of Butterfree and fired off her strongest electric type move, sending it right down to the stage. It crackled wildly upon landing, bouncing off the floor in all different directions. It collided with the falling sparkles, lighting them up and causing each little particle to glow. In the middle of all of this, Butterfree fluttered down ever so gently, stopping right in the middle of the flurry. As the specks of flashing glitter landed on both Pichu and Butterfree, the two Pokémon began to shine as though they were both nightlights in a pitch black room.
"Amazing," Lilian breathed. "The combination of the shattered psybeam and explosive thunderbolt created a glowing reaction that literally lights up both Butterfree and Pichu! A dazzling performance!"
The audience cheered wildly as Michelle beamed and took a small bow. Butterfree flew back over towards her trainer, where Pichu jumped off and into the girl's arms.
"Wow, you two were just great!" Michelle breathed. "That appeal was even better than I imagined it! And to think I couldn't have done that just a few weeks ago! Daddy really helped us out, huh?"
"Pi!"
"Free!"
Backstage, Jewel had watched the whole thing on screen. She now stood with a tensed jaw and a clenched fist, her eyes burning with fire of bot jealousy and sheer anger.
"That bratette…showing off like that!" Jewel hissed. "Well, I'll show her! She's not the only one who can put on a crowd pleasing appeal! When I get up there, they're going to cheer ten times louder for me!"
XXX
"Next up, we have Gemma! Let's see what she's got in store for us today!"
The disguised member of Team Rocket came running out from behind the curtains, quickly throwing out her two poke balls.
"Nidoran, Venonat, start your engines!" Jewel called.
The two balls popped open, revealing "Gemma's" selected Pokémon. From backstage, Michelle narrowed her eyes and scrutinized the appearances of both creatures, waiting patiently to see what "Gemma's" next move would be.
"Nidoran, use poison sting, and Venonat, confusion!" Jewel commanded.
Nidoran opened up her mouth and unleashed a flurry of bright purple needles. At the same time, Venonat's eyes began to glow as the poison sting became enshrouded in a glowing purple hue, halting them in midair.
"Stunning!" Lilian gasped. "By using confusion to freeze the poison sting attack, it looks like Nidoran and Venonat are surrounded by beautiful purple glow sticks!"
"Nidoran, use scratch!" Jewel ordered.
Jumping up in the air, Nidoran performed a somersault before holding her claws out and rapidly scratching at the poison stings, shredding them up into nothing more than glowing purple specks.
"Now, Venonat, finish this up!" Jewel yelled. "Psybeam!"
"What?!" Michelle gasped from backstage, her eyes widening.
Venonat unleashed the rainbow beam from his two big, red eyes, the colors in the attack brightening as they combined with the falling bits of poison sting. The audience marveled in amazement as the colors intensified, continuously glowing brighter and brighter before bursting into a hazy aurora that floated above the stage. As Jewel smirked and bowed, the audience cheered wildly, and Michelle's entire face paled.
"Th-that was my special move…" Michelle muttered. "She used my special move!"
XXX
"So someone used the same attack as you. Big deal! Your appeal was still impressive!"
Michelle looked up at her brother and glared. Aiden couldn't possibly understand why Michelle was giving him such a look, but he wasn't about to back down from his opinion either.
"Just quit freaking out so much," Aiden muttered. "You're gonna become one of those crazy coordinator-zillas."
"I'm not going to!" Michelle argued. "I'm just…ticked off, I guess. I wasn't expecting someone else to use my new attack, let alone Gemma."
"Well, don't let it phase you," Brandon advised, jumping into the conversation. "Who cares if her Pokémon knows Psybeam too? You both used the attacks in different manners. I'm sure they'll both stand out to the judges."
"Pi-chu!" Pichu squeaked, patting her trainer's head.
"I hope you're all right," Michelle sighed through a giggle. "Thanks for cheering me up, guys!"
On the other side of the room, Jewel was smirking at her two companions, who had been forced to disguise themselves as well so the "brats" wouldn't be able to recognize them.
"Did you see the look on the bratette's face?" Jewel giggled. "She was horrified!"
"It was certainly an attack from behind," Jason trilled, trying to hold back a laugh.
"Yeah, priceless!" Sneasel agreed.
"Do you think it was enough to throw her off of her Contest game, though?" Jason asked warily.
"Who knows," Jewel muttered. "But then again, who really cares? I'm totally confident in my abilities to destroy that little brat with my own two hands! She's going down, if I have anything to say about it."
"Sorry for the wait! But our judges have finished deliberating, and we now have our final eight coordinators! So let's see who will be moving on to the battle rounds!"
At exactly the same time, both Michelle and Jewel whipped around in order to stare up at the screen in the center of the room. One by one, the images of the advancing coordinators appeared, causing each girl's heart to race. Much to Michelle's relief, her image was the fifth to pop up, meaning her appeal had been a success.
"Way to go, Shelly!" Aiden cheered.
"Pi!" Pichu added.
"Thank goodness," Michelle sighed, covering her heart. "I was so nervous!"
Jewel, on the other hand, scowled and kept her eyes on the screen, waiting not so patiently for the final three photos to appear. Luckily for her, Jewel's picture was the second-to-last one revealed, causing the girl to whoop with joy.
"I'm in!" Jewel shrieked. "Just as I thought!"
"Yes!" Jason cheered along. "Now all you have to do is beat that girl brat!"
"Hmph," Jewel scoffed, smirking at her male counterpart. "That should be easy enough."
XXX
Both Michelle and "Gemma" faced no real issues in their respective first two rounds, and before they knew it, the two girls were poised to face off against one another in the finals.
Neither one was exactly nervous. In Michelle's case, she had managed to gain more and more confidence as she'd progressed through each around. Jewel, however, had been confident the whole time, and fully believed she could beat Michelle; probably without even trying.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we're certainly in for a treat this afternoon!" Lilian announced. "These two young ladies have been lighting up the Contest stage all day, and now they finally meet in the finals! Competing for the Scarlet Ribbon, it's Michelle versus Gemma!"
The two girls scowled at each other across the stage. The tension in the air could be cut with a knife, and no one felt it better than Aiden.
"Man, those two are ticked," the boy muttered.
"I'm not surprised," Brandon admitted. "They're both very competitive. And it doesn't help that Gemma's a little bit arrogant."
Aiden turned his head towards Brandon and raised an incredulous eyebrow. "A little bit?"
"Alright, fine, she's completely and totally arrogant," Brandon corrected. "Hopefully Michelle manages to stay level headed in her presence."
"Pi," Pichu huffed, pouting as her ears twitched.
"Speaking of level headed…" Brandon chuckled.
"Yeah, Pichu's not too happy that she's not going to be battling today," Aiden laughed. "Michelle still doesn't think she's ready for two rounds in one day!"
"Well, she does have a point," Brandon commented, earning a growl from Pichu. "Er…but you will be ready one day, Pichu! Count on it!"
In turn, the baby mouse huffed and turned back around to face the stage. Sure, she was mad about not being utilized in a battle, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to cheer for her trainer to win the ribbon.
"Alright," Michelle sighed, pulling out her two chosen poke balls and throwing them up in the air. "Eevee, Skitty, curtain call!"
The two small Pokémon appeared before their trainer, adopting her expression and glaring across the stage at "Gemma." The purple haired girl, however, didn't seem at all bothered by such looks, and simply huffed as she took out her own two poke balls.
"Nidoran, Ariados, you're on!" Gemma called, tossing the spheres and releasing the two Pokémon.
"Hey, didn't she use a female Nidoran during the appeals?" Aiden asked, pointing down at the pink creature standing before the coordinator.
"I guess she's got one of each," Brandon murmured.
"And I bet that Ariados is just making Michelle's skin crawl…" Aiden sighed, pulling out his pokedex to scan the bug type.
Ariados, the long leg Pokémon, and the evolved form of Spinarak. Ariados are a nocturnal species who forage for food after dark. In order to catch its prey, Ariados will use its silk to track its target.
Just as Aiden had predicted, Michelle felt a violent shiver travel down her spine, her entire face turning bright red as she stared dead ahead at the creepy, crawly Pokémon.
"What's the matter?" Gemma crooned haughtily. "Afraid of a little bug?"
"N-no!" Michelle bit, shaking her head. "I'm not!"
"Look at that little brat," Jason huffed from the stands. "How dare she be disgusted by my beautiful Araidos! I worked so hard with my Spinarak to make sure it would evolve into an even more powerful Pokémon, and now it has! But of course, how could I expect a brat to appreciate such a thing?"
"I don't think I've ever heard anyone talk about an insect like that before," Sneasel remarked dully. "Maybe you should keep it to yourself next time, buddy."
"We're all ready to go here!" Lilian announced, snapping Michelle and "Gemma" out of their tension filled stare down. "So, with five minutes on the clock, let the battle begin!"
"I'm going to take care of this nice and fast!" Michelle cried. "Eevee, use quick attack on Nidoran, and Skitty, you use ice beam on Ariados!"
Eevee raced towards Nidoran, streaks of white appearing around the small Pokémon as he darted. Skitty, on the other hand, stood in a handstand and fired off a powerful ice beam attack at Ariados. Both attacks came too quickly for "Gemma" to make her own command, and both Pokémon were hit almost immediately.
"Ah!" She shrieked before glaring at Michelle. "You'll pay for that! Nidoran, use poison sting on Skitty! Ariados, leech life on Eevee!"
Nidoran spit out a series of glowing purple darts, which were heading rapidly for Skitty. Ariados, on the other hand, scuttled directly beneath the poison sting, revealing its fangs to a nervous looking Eevee.
"Both of you, dodge it!" Michelle ordered.
At the last second, both Eevee and Skitty jumped out of the way, causing Ariados to stop short and get hit by the poison sting.
"Nidoran and Ariados' attacks were certainly fast, but not faster than Eevee and Skitty!" Lilian announced as more of "Gemma's" points slipped away on the board. "Incredible!"
"Ugh!" Gemma shrieked, clenching a trembling fist in front of her face.
"Great work, you two!" Michelle complimented her Pokémon. "Now, let's try a combination! Eevee, use shadow ball, and Skitty, ice beam!"
Eevee unleashed a series of dark orbs, which Skitty then fired an ice beam off at. The spheres were soon covered in ice, their dark purple hue just barely visible beneath the thin layer of blue. The combined attack hit Nidoran and Ariados head on, dissipating more of "Gemma's" points.
"Beautiful!" Lilian breathed. "And powerful as well!"
"I can't stand this brat!" Gemma wailed. "Ariados, scary face! Nidoran, scratch!"
Ariados leaned down on its front legs, a dark shadow casting over its face. This look intimidated both Eevee and Skitty, who took matching steps back at the action, resulting in a points deduction for Michelle.
"Don't let that get to you!" Michelle encouraged the pair.
Nidoran suddenly jumped up above Ariados, his claws glowing as they were both held out towards Skitty and Eevee.
"They're using the scary face as a distraction!" Michelle cried. "Skitty, quick, counter it with assist!"
"Assist?!" Aiden gasped. "But Michelle doesn't know what move is going to come out!"
Skitty jumped up in the air in the same fashion as Nidoran, holding up a paw as a glowing white orb appeared at its pad. From that orb, bolts of electricity emerged, shocking Nidoran before he could get anywhere near Skitty or Eevee.
"Wow, lucky shot," Brandon remarked.
"Yeah, she got thunderbolt!" Aiden cheered.
"Pi!" Pichu squealed, delighted to see her own move being used in battle, even if not by her.
Fortunately for Michelle, that thunderbolt proved to be lethal to Nidoran. The poison pin Pokémon fell to the ground, squeaking miserably before lying still, much to "Gemma's" horror.
"And it looks like Nidoran is out of this battle," Lilian commented. "It's just down to Ariados on Gemma's side now!"
"Well, it's a good thing I've been saving this move!" Gemma huffed. "Ariados, shadow sneak!"
Ariados lurched forward, its shadow stretching across the stage. The shadows of its legs suddenly rose up from the stage, attempting to attack both Eevee and Skitty.
"Dodge the shadows, both of you!" Michelle cried.
Eevee and Skitty jumped up and down repeatedly, dodging the attempted jabs of the shadow legs. They had to do this quite a few times, and nearly collided on some of the runs, but the two managed to avoid hitting one another, and also avoid getting struck by the shadows in the process.
"What?!" Gemma nearly screamed.
"Nice work!" Michelle giggled. "Eevee, bite, and Skitty, double slap!"
Both Pokémon, who were already in the middle of the field after escaping from Ariados' shadow sneak, continued running, this time to attack the bug type. Eevee opened his mouth and bit down on Ariados' side, while Skitty used her tail to repeatedly slap Ariados across the face. Once the two jumped back, Ariados fell to the stage, crying out a few times before lying still, just like Nidoran before.
"And Ariados is unable to battle!" Lilian announced. "This means that the winner of the Scarlet ribbon is Michelle!"
The red head gasped happily, opening her arms in order for Eevee and Skitty to run up to her. "We did it! You guys were so awesome! Thank you!"
Across the stage, "Gemma" fumed furiously, her entire face turning red as she watched Michelle celebrate. This was perhaps the worst anger she had ever felt…even worse than when Jason had cut her hair when they were little kids! That anger only intensified as Mr. Contesta walked up to Michelle in order to present her with the Scarlet ribbon. The ribbon that should've been hers!
No. Enough was enough. She was not going to take it anymore.
"Hold it right there, you fraudulent Contest coordinator!"
Michelle squeaked, while Mr. Contesta hummed curiously and turned around.
"Gemma, is something the matter?" Mr. Contesta asked.
"You bet your badly dyed hair there is!" Gemma snapped, leading Mr. Contesta to glance up self-consciously at his head. "That ribbon belongs to me, not that little red headed brat!"
"Hey, I won this ribbon fair and square!" Michelle cried.
"Yeah?" Gemma questioned through a smirk. "Well too bad I don't play that way!" Throwing off her disguise in order to reveal her true identity, Jewel tossed a poke ball and yelled, "Venonat, confusion!"
The fuzzy purple Pokémon used its psychic attack to take the ribbon out of Mr. Contesta's hands, floating it back over towards her.
"Hey!" Michelle cried. "That's my ribbon!"
"Team Rocket!" Aiden gasped, jumping out his seat.
"How didn't we see that beforehand?" Brandon muttered, raising an eyebrow.
"I don't know, but we don't have time to think about it now," Aiden grunted, running down the aisle. "We've got to get Michelle's ribbon back!"
"Thanks for the prize," Jewel snickered, snatching the ribbon out of midair. "Don't worry, this is in much better hands now."
"That ribbon isn't yours!" Michelle wailed. "Skitty, ice beam!"
The cat Pokémon meowed just once and fired off the ice attack at Jewel. The female Team Rocket member, however, slid easily out of the way and then tossed another poke ball. "Oh please. Nidoran, double kick!"
"You join in as well, Nidoran!"
Jewel gasped and whipped around, finding Jason to be standing in the entrance to the stage with Sneasel by his side.
"Ah, perfect!" Jewel squealed.
Both of the Nidoran flew towards Skitty with their back legs out, simultaneously kicking the normal type back and forth.
"Skitty!" Michelle gasped.
"Hey you creeps! Get away from my sister!" Aiden roared, throwing his own poke ball. "Wartortle, use rapid spin!"
The turtle Pokémon emerged and immediately went into his spinning attack, knocking into both Nidoran to get them off of Skitty.
"Cranidos, keep them down with rock tomb!" Brandon ordered.
His red and white sphere released the rock type, who quickly summoned his power in order to bury both Nidoran beneath a pile of rocks, effectively trapping them.
"Busted by the brats!" Jason gasped.
"Give it up, Team Rocket!" Aiden barked. "We've got you three surrounded!"
"You'd better give me my ribbon back!" Michelle added. "Or we'll attack you again!"
"Please, like we're scared of a pack of twerps!" Jewel scoffed. "Nidoran, get out of that rock tomb! Scratch!"
"You use scratch as well, Nidoran!" Jason ordered.
Both Pokémon managed to scratch their way out of the rock tomb, much to Aiden, Michelle, and Brandon's horror.
"But…how?!" Michelle gasped.
"Obviously our Pokémon are just super strong and very well trained!" Jewel bragged.
At exactly the same time, both Nidoran began to glow. Jason and Jewel became wide eyed, while their more well intentioned enemies let out gasps of awe.
They both grew larger, their spikes becoming more apparent. Once the light dissipated, it was revealed that both Nidoran had evolved: Jewel's into Nidorina, and Jason's into Nidorino.
"No way," Aiden muttered, pulling out his pokedex to scan the creatures.
Nidorina, the poison pin Pokémon, and the evolved form of Nidoran: female. It emits ultrasonic cries in order to confuse foes. When Nidorina gets separated from its friend, it develops severe anxiety.
Nidorino, the poison pine Pokémon, and the evolved form of Nidorino: male. It uses its ears in order to check out its surroundings. Nidorino are violent and easily angered creatures who prefer to be left on their own.
"Ah! Thanks for the evolutionary help, brats!" Jewel crowed. "Now we've got two shiny new Pokémon to beat you with!"
"Yeah? Like that's gonna happen!" Aiden bit. "Wartortle, water gun!"
"Pichu, thunderbolt!" Michelle called.
As both Pokémon attacked, Nidorina and Nidorino both jumped out of the way before charging towards Pichu and Wartortle, claws held out as a dark shadow appeared around them.
"What's that?" Jason wondered aloud.
"Looks like when your Pokémon evolved, they learned a new move!" Sneasel elucidated. "That's shadow claw!"
"Shadow claw?" Jason repeated before beaming. "That's excellent!"
"Useful, too!" Jewel crowed.
Both shadow claw attacks made direct contact with Pichu and Wartortle, knocking them both back towards their perspective trainers.
"Pichu!" Michelle cried.
"Wartortle!" Aiden gasped.
"Don't worry guys, I've got you!" Brandon assured the two. "Cranidos, headbutt!"
The rock type propelled himself forward by pushing off of his back feet, flying through the air towards Nidorino and Nidorina, who were standing next to one another. Cranidos managed to take both of them out with one hit, sending the two sliding backwards and into Jewel's legs. This in turn knocked the girl down, causing the Scarlet ribbon to go flying out of her hands. Michelle ran forward and snatched the ribbon out of midair, beaming once it was back in her possession.
"My ribbon!" Jewel shrieked upon realizing she no longer had it.
"For the millionth time, it's not yours!" Michelle groaned. "I beat you for it! And you trying to steal it doesn't make it yours, either!"
"Oh yeah?" Jewel drawled. "Says who?"
"Says me!" Michelle stormed. "Pichu, thunderbolt!"
Smirking, Pichu fired off the strongest thunderbolt she could manage, shocking all three members of Team Rocket along with all of their released Pokémon. The end of the attack led to a sudden explosion, which sent the group flying out of the Contest Hall through the roof.
"We're blasting off again!"
"Good riddance," Michelle sighed, clutching the ribbon to her heart.
"Michelle!"
The girl looked up and found her brother and Brandon running up to her. Giggling, Michelle held out the ribbon and proudly announced, "Look, I got the Scarlett Ribbon! Again!"
"Nice work!" Brandon chuckled.
"I still don't understand how we didn't know that Gemma was just Jewel in disguise," Aiden grumbled.
"Makes you feel kind of stupid, doesn't it?" Michelle agreed.
"It's only obvious now that we're looking back on it," Brandon assured the two.
"Yeah, but at least now we won't fall for any more of their disguises!" Aiden crowed.
"I'm more concerned about the fact that those three are still following us around," Michelle remarked. "Aren't they ever going to give up?"
"Guess not," Aiden commented.
"Oh well," Michelle sighed. "At least they didn't get my ribbon! That's all I care about for now."
"And rightfully so," Brandon agreed.
"Now you just need one more ribbon to enter the Grand Festival!" Aiden chimed in.
"Yeah!" Michelle cheered. "And you know I've got both eyes on it!"
Looks like Aiden and Michelle take after their parents, and Brandon takes after his uncle ;) They just can't recognize Team Rocket in disguise! And as for Aiden believing they won't fall for anything like that again...don't count on it :P
Now Michelle's got her four ribbons, and Aiden his six badges. One more ribbon for Michelle, and two more badges for Aiden! Where will they go next? Will any new Pokémon be caught? Keep reading to find out!