Hello everyone! I'm back with a new chapter! I'm trying really hard to work on this story before school starts up again. Luckily, I go back a week late this year (yay for construction!) so I've got some extra time. It'll be tougher once I go back, but I don't want to leave this story (or any of my readers) hanging! We're getting to the good parts ;)
LAST TIME: Arriving in Tea Rose Town, the group stumbles upon a gorgeous mansion, which is owned by a very rich, older couple and their teenage daughter, Livi. Brandon falls madly in love with her (as he often does with pretty girls) but becomes flustered when the parents try to coerce them into an arranged marriage. At the same time, Michelle sets her sights on a Roselia living in the family's garden. In the end, Livi reveals her love for a "common" boy down the road, Jordan, breaking Brandon's heart (despite his reluctance to marry.) Michelle also catches Roselia, making it the sixth and final Pokémon on her team.
Chapter 44: Tea Rose Time for Two
"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the Tea Rose Town Pokémon Contest!"
Even from backstage, Michelle could hear the crowd roaring. That didn't distract her from keeping her eyes trained on the TV screen, however. Michelle had come to the Contest today with one single mission: to win her fifth and final Contest ribbon.
Once I get my hands on that ribbon, I'll be able to enter the Grand Festival! It's everything I've ever dreamed of! Just take the baby steps. First the fifth ribbon, then actually getting to the Grand Festival, and then winning the Ribbon Cup! I know I'm going to be top coordinator one day, just like May and Dawn, and I won't rest until I am! I just have to stay calm and focused. Like Dad taught me!
"Well, well, well. If it isn't the gorgeous Pokémon Master's daughter?"
Michelle sighed as she squeezed her eyes shut, knowing of only one person who would directly tell her just how cute she thought her father was. "Hello, Eryn."
The brunette huffed and gave Michelle a rather nasty side eye. "Your father is so renowned and worldly, didn't he teach you any manners?"
"Please, you don't know my dad like I know my dad," Michelle muttered. "besides, I don't even know what you're talking about."
"You didn't even have the decency to say hello to me!" Eryn barked.
"What?!" Michelle cried. "I just did!"
"I meant when you first arrived," Eryn sighed out of exasperation. "I saw you walk in with your adorable brother and that other boy, and you didn't even look in my direction!"
"Because I'm focused on the Contest!" Michelle hissed. "And please, for the love of Arceus, don't ever call my brother 'adorable' again."
"Well, I'm focused on the Contest too!" Eryn affronted. "That's no reason to be rude!"
"Just drop it, alright?" Michelle groaned. "I don't need all of this before I go out on stage. I'm focused! Don't ruin my happy place."
"What? Without even commenting on my gorgeous Contest dress?!" Eryn gasped.
Michelle rolled her eyes before looking Eryn up and down. The first time she'd met the opposing coordinator, it had been at a regular Contest. The Tea Rose Town Contest, however, was a Super Contest, and that of course involved getting dressed up. For this event, Eryn's hair remained in its pigtails, curled at the ends with the cream colored puff clips replaced with cream colored bows. Instead of her blouse and skirt, Eryn was wearing a mid-thigh length, off the shoulder brown dress with a cream colored sash wrapped around her waist, an obnoxiously large bow adorned on the back. On her feet were a pair of nude kitten heels, also bedecked by a single little bow on the front of the ankle strap.
"It's a nice dress?" Michelle commented weakly.
"Oh, I knew it was a waste of my time to go fishing for compliments from the likes of you," Eryn sighed, actually sounding genuinely sad about the whole situation. "After all, your dress isn't much of a stunner."
"Hey, I like my dress!" Michelle stormed, her cheeks turning red.
"Please, it looks like you're doing a poor impersonation of an onion," Eryn scoffed. "That petal shaped skirt? So lame!"
Michelle growled and allowed her fist to tense as she watched Eryn skirt away, still giggling at the redheaded coordinator and how she'd managed to rile her up.
"The winner of today's Contest will receive the absolutely gorgeous Tea Rose Ribbon!"
Ears perking, Michelle looked up at the TV screen just in time to see Lilian holding up the grand prize for the Contest. The ribbon was pale pink in color, folded around a silver, flower shaped charm in the shape of a rose. In the middle of the silver charm was a single orange stone, cut into the shape of a flower.
How cute, the whole thing looks just like a rose! Michelle thought brightly to herself. That's it, this is exactly what I needed to see! I can't focus on someone like Eryn. She's nothing! I just need to focus on my goal: that ribbon. That's what I need to think of in order to succeed!
XXX
"Alright! Our next contestant on stage is…Eryn!"
Aiden's face paled upon hearing that name. "Oh no…not Miss Crazy!"
At this, Brandon chuckled. "Guess she's competing today too!"
"Yeah, or she's just here to try and stalk me again!" Aiden cried, eyes narrowing. "That girl is nuts!"
"Maybe so, but she is a pretty good coordinator," Brandon reasoned with his best friend.
"I guess," Aiden grumbled. "But what good is that when you're crazy?"
"Pi-chu," Pichu agreed, nodding her head.
The curtains pulled back, revealing Eryn in her formal wear. With a smirk on her face, Eryn strode forward and crossed her arms in front of her body, winking as she threw them out to her sides and tossed the capsule covered poke ball that had been held in her right hand.
"Spinda, go glitzy!"
The sphere popped open, red confetti bursting out and showering down upon a tan Pokémon covered in red spots. It landed on its feet, rocking side to side as it held its arms out to the sides, just like Eryn.
"Wow, that's a Spinda!" Brandon marveled.
"Spinda, huh?" Aiden murmured, pulling out his pokedex. "Let's check it out."
Spinda, the spot panda Pokémon. Its dizzying, dance-like movements are used to confuse its opponents. Every Spinda has its own unique spot pattern.
"It's got big ears," Aiden grumbled. "Like a Buneary. No wonder Eryn likes it so much."
"Spinda, dear, time to use teeter dance!" Eryn trilled.
"Spi!" Spinda cried.
"Wow!" Lilian commented. "And Eryn wastes no time calling for Spinda's signature move: teeter dance!"
"That's its signature move?" Aiden asked.
"It definitely makes sense," Brandon chuckled. "Spinda can hardly stand still…or upright! Teeter dance makes perfect sense for a Pokémon like that."
It began hopping, from one foot to the other, singing as it did so. The more Spinda moved, the faster it got, and before long, its body was surrounded by a glowing pink hue. It soon spread out to the judges and the audience, causing all of them to sway from side-to-side as well.
"I gotta say, it sure is infectious!" Aiden commented, moving in the same direction as Spinda.
"A different kind of appeal, that's for sure!" Brandon chimed in.
"Audience participation is just my favorite!" Eryn giggled. "Now it's time to show them that you're both strong and cute! Spinda, double-edge!"
Jumping up in the air, Spinda charged forward, a yellow trail of energy forming behind it as it soared through the air.
"Well, it's standing straight now," Brandon mused.
"Yeah, I'm surprised by all that power!" Aiden marveled. "That's actually pretty cool!"
"Add hypnosis into the mix!" Eryn commanded.
While it was still flying through the air, Spinda's swirly black eyes began to reflect a multicolored glow, freezing it in one place. That same rainbow hue soon spread to the previously yellow trail of energy that had been flowing behind Spinda, and transformed it into the shape of a cloud.
"Now Spinda is using its hypnosis to manipulate energy from its own attacks in order to create a beautiful effect!" Lilian commentated. "How wonderful!"
"Let's wrap this up!" Eryn called. "Spinda, use double-edge, one more time!"
"Spin-da!"
The normal type burst through the rainbow cloud, eyes back to black as its yellow energy collided with the rainbow cloud, creating a reaction that resulted in a burst of glitter. Spinda flipped over and began to twirl headfirst down towards the stage, wrapping itself up in the sparkling particles. Just when it was inches away from the floor, Spinda flipped right side up again, holding out its arms and legs in order to form the shape of a star. The glitter it was surrounded in did the same, keeping that shape even as Spinda's feet touched the stage. After a few seconds, it shattered, once again raining the sparkles down around the normal type, who bowed in response to the audience's cheers along with its trainer.
Brandon looked over at Aiden, whose jaw was dropped.
"Impressed yet?" Brandon teased.
"Fine, she's good," Aiden grumbled, shaking his head. "But that doesn't change the fact that she's crazy! And that I hope Michelle crushes her."
"Aw, you're such a good brother," Brandon drawled.
"I know, right?" Aiden crowed, completely missing Brandon's sarcasm.
XXX
"I hate to admit it, but Eryn is definitely a threat."
Michelle narrowed her eyes after muttering those words to herself. She was waiting in the hallway for her turn to go on stage, but she'd seen Eryn's appeal on the backstage screen before heading there. All of it.
She couldn't deny that Eryn was a talented coordinator. Yes, she was a total pain, and pretty creepy to boot, but she was good. That girl knew what she was doing. So Michelle knew she had to look out.
She just wasn't going to admit that to Eryn.
"Oh, please tell me you saw my appeal!"
Looking up from the floor, Michelle sighed as Eryn came running up to her. "Yeah, I saw it."
"All of it?"
"Yeah, all of it."
"I think that might have been the best appeal I've ever put on!" Eryn bragged, covering her heart as she fluttered her eyelashes. "Your brother is in the audience, right?"
"Uh…yes?"
"Perfect!" Eryn squealed. "The fact that he was here to see it makes it even better! Of course, I'm much more excited for him to see me battle. I know for a fact you left before the battle rounds last time! There's no need to be such a sore loser, Shelly."
Now Michelle was just annoyed. "Don't use my nickname! We're not friends!"
"No, but we are rivals!" Eryn giggled. "You can admit that, can't you, Shelly?"
"Maybe so, but we're not exactly the friendly version of rivals," Michelle muttered.
At this, Eryn pouted. "Do you really think that? That's so sad, Shelly! I really thought we could the best of friends! You know, have sleepovers, and paint each other's nails!"
"No, you thought we could be the best of friends because I'm a link for you to my brother and my dad," Michelle blurted, causing Eryn to blush.
"I'm offended!" Eryn cried.
"Yeah?" Michelle drawled. "Well, I'm offended that you're so into my brother and dad. That's creepy. Trust me, my brother isn't that much of a prize. Also, my dad is too old for you. And he's married! To my mom!"
"Yeah, but he's still so cute!" Eryn whined.
"Whatever, I don't have time for all of this…fangirling that you do," Michelle sighed, marching past Eryn.
"Hey, where are you going?!" Eryn called.
"On stage," Michelle replied, not bothering to look over her shoulder. "It's my turn to compete now, and I'm going to do just as well as you."
Michelle finally turned her head to look back at Eryn, who squeaked timidly in response.
"Maybe even better," Michelle remarked.
XXX
"We've had a wonderful round of appeals so far! Let's keep the streak going with our next contestant! Michelle, you're on!"
As the curtains pulled back, Michelle ran out on stage, throwing her poke ball right out in front of her.
"Roselia, curtain call!"
The capsule covered ball popped open, pink flower petals falling in a swirling fashion around Michelle's newly captured dual type.
"Roselia? Already?" Brandon questioned.
"Michelle has spent almost all of her time between catching Roselia and the Contest training with her," Aiden explained. "She really wanted Roselia to debut at this Contest! She's got a lot of faith in that Pokémon."
"Let's get started!" Michelle cheered. "Petal dance!"
Roselia put one foot out the side, then behind her before launching into a series of pirouettes. While she was turning, the dual type raised her roses high above her head and began to fire pink flower petals out of them. The petals quickly formed a swirling pink tornado, so high that it nearly touched the roof of the Contest Hall.
"Look at that gorgeous petal dance!" Lilian gasped. "Brilliant!"
"Break it up with poison sting!" Michelle commanded.
Roselia stopped turning and ceased firing petals out of its roses, instead switching over to glowing white needles. They sailed straight up through the middle of the "petal tornado," splitting it right in half. The two sections of pink petals began to float down towards the stage, white sparkles glittering between all of the petals.
"Now use aromatherapy!" Michelle called.
Holding her roses out to the sides, Roselia trilled as she unleashed a fine green powder, her roses glowing a leaden green along with it. That glow soon encased her entire body, while the green powder quickly formed a makeshift net of sorts and began to catch all of the falling petals.
"Time for the grand finale!" Michelle announced. "Roselia, throw the petals back up in the air and use magical leaf!"
Roselia threw her arms back up, the "net" of aromatherapy powder sending the petals back in the air. The aromatherapy helped to keep the petals floating while Roselia held up her roses and fired off the next attack, shooting glowing white crescents up towards the petals.
As it flew up, the magical leaf surrounded the petals, gathering them all up and forming one large circle above Roselia's head. The circle was soon molded into a more concrete shape: that of a fully bloomed rose. The magical leaf, meanwhile, settled behind the massive rose in two different sections, creating two equally large "magical leaves" behind the giant pink rose formed from petal dance.
"Amazing!" Lilian breathed. "Roselia has combined both petal dance and magical leaf to form the portrait of a beautiful rose overhead!"
Chirping delightfully, Roselia held one arm across her body and bowed to the audience, while Michelle stood behind and clapped her hands.
"That was great, Roselia!" Michelle cheered. "I'm so impressed!"
Roselia spun around and smiled at her trainer. "Selia!"
"Wow!" Brandon marveled. "You'd never be able to tell that Michelle just caught Roselia! That appeal looked like it's been a work in progress for months!"
"I wasn't kidding when I said she and Michelle have been training their butts off!" Aiden laughed. "Michelle's really not playing around. She wants that fifth ribbon more than anything!"
XXX
Once the appeals round was finished, Aiden and Brandon made sure to meet up with Michelle backstage, just as they normally did.
"I felt really good about that appeal! Did it look good to you guys?"
Both boys smiled at Michelle, who seemed like a complicated mixture of ecstatic and worried all at once.
"I thought it was great!" Aiden complimented his sister.
"Yeah, especially since you two haven't been together for very long at all," Brandon added.
"Wasn't Roselia great?" Michelle asked, beaming the entire time. "I was so worried about it, but Roselia is so easy to work with! The total opposite of when I was trying to catch her."
"Pi!" Pichu whined, glaring at her trainer.
"Pichu," Michelle giggled, reaching out and taking the little mouse off of Brandon's shoulder. "You know that I love working with you, too! No need to get so jealous, now."
At this, Pichu smiled and flicked her ears at Michelle, causing the girl to giggle happily.
"Sorry for the wait! But our judges have just finished deliberating, and we're down to our final eight contestants! And those coordinators moving onto the battle rounds are…"
Michelle gasped and whipped around in order to stare at the screen. One by one, the photos of the eight advancing coordinators appeared on the screen. Much to Michelle's dismay, Eryn's picture was the fourth to be put up, but that consternation didn't last for long: Michelle's own face popped up in the sixth spot.
"I did it!" Michelle cheered, turning back around to face her brother and friend. "I get to battle!"
"Well, we're not exactly surprised!" Brandon chuckled. "We told you your appeal was really good!"
"Yeah, you should believe us a little more," Aiden chimed in.
"I'll keep that in mind for next time," Michelle replied playfully.
"AIDEN!"
The boy let out a choking noise as a pair of arms wrapped tightly around his neck, squeezing as they held on. Giggles soon intermingled with his gagging, and a brunette head emerged from behind Aiden's raven mane and hat.
"Eryn!" Michelle gasped.
"Aren't you so excited that I made it into the next round?" Eryn asked the boy, whose face was quickly turning red…and not from embarrassment. "I hope you're as proud of me as I was of you when you won your sixth badge!"
"How did you know about that?" Brandon asked.
"Oh, that's an easy one!" Eryn giggled. "Misty was on TV the other day, and she talked about it! I was so excited to hear that! But now, I'm going to win this ribbon especially for you, Denny!"
"HEY!" Aiden finally squawked, wiggling out of Eryn's grasp. "The only person on this planet who's allowed to call me that is my younger sister! No one else!"
"Aw, Aiden! It's so sweet how much you love your little sister!" Eryn crooned, unaffected by Aiden's raised voice. "It's something I really admire about you! Other than your naturally good looks, of course."
"Help me!" Aiden hissed, grabbing Brandon's collar and shaking the boy.
"How am I supposed to help you?!" Brandon cried.
"I helped you get out of a potential engagement!" Aiden growled. "So now, help me get rid of Psycho Pants!"
Sighing, Brandon turned back towards Eryn and calmly explained, "Eryn, Aiden isn't looking for a girlfriend right now. Or a crazy obsessed fan. Besides, I think that maybe you should be focusing on the Contest."
"Or not!" Michelle butted in, earning a yelp from her brother. "Yeah, that's right, Eryn! You focus on Aiden! Let me win the Contest, and it'll be all good!"
"MICHELLE!" Aiden screeched.
"Nuh uh uh, you silly girl!" Eryn teased, wagging her finger at the overzealous Michelle. "I'd be a fool to not pay attention to this Contest! I've got a big chance at making it to the finals! Sorry, Aiden, but you'll just have to wait. I've got a ribbon to win!"
"Good, fantastic!" Aiden cried. "Win all of the ribbons you want! Just stay far, far, far away from me!"
XXX
Both Michelle and Eryn sailed through their first matches with barely any problems, bringing them both to the semi-finals, where as it would turn out, they were set up to face one another with entry into the finals on the line.
When it came time for the semi-final battle, Eryn and Michelle stood on opposite ends of the Contest stage, staring one another down with narrowed eyes, the tension obvious as it filled the air.
"This battle is gonna be awesome," Aiden remarked, a smile on his face.
"Yeah, if those two don't strangle one another first," Brandon muttered.
"Hey, part of me is hoping that Michelle does!" Aiden cried. "My life would be a whole lot easier if I didn't have a stalker."
"That's just the price of fame, buddy!" Brandon chuckled.
"Yeah, except I'm not famous! Not yet, anyway."
"Well, you kind of are," Brandon reasoned. "Your parents are famous! So that kind of makes you famous by default. You're famous just for being born."
"That's no fair, I've always hated that," Aiden scoffed. "I want to be famous when I'm older, once I've earned it! You know, like when I take over Pokémon Master from my dad. Then I can be famous! But I don't want to just be known for being their kid. I want to be a kid for now! I want people to not know who I am. Make a name for myself, you know?"
"I do," Brandon confirmed with a smile. "I might not live the same life that you and Michelle do, but it's not too far off. Children of gym leaders have to deal with this kind of stuff. You've got half of that. The other half just happens to be more intense."
"And it's people like Eryn who don't help," Aiden grumbled. "She like…forces it in my face! And I don't need any distractions from my goals. Michelle doesn't either."
"Well, I don't think you have to worry all too much about Eryn," Brandon hummed. "She may be totally into you, but you don't feel the same way."
"Exactly!" Aiden sighed.
"Oh no. There are other girls for that."
At this, Aiden's entire face turned red. "N-no there aren't! Sh-shut up, Brandon!"
"On stage now is the second battle of our semi-finals round!" Lilian announced, recapturing Brandon and Aiden's attention. "And on stage now are Eryn and Michelle!"
The crowd cheered loudly while the two girls stood across from another and glared, encapsulated poke balls held in hand.
"The only person standing between me and the finals is Eryn," Michelle muttered to herself. "I have to win, and that's that."
Smirking, Eryn threw her pokeball up in the air and cried, "alright, Lopunny! Go glitzy!"
The ball popped open, pink hearts flowing out in swirls before forming one large heart and bursting into pink sparkles that showered down upon a tall rabbit-like Pokémon.
"Lopunny?" Aiden murmured, pulling out his poke dex.
Lopunny, the rabbit Pokémon, and the evolved form of Buneary. When feeling timid, they cloak their body with its ears, and might even spring away. If its ears are handled too roughly, Lopunny will attack in retaliation.
"Why am I not surprised she's got a Lopunny?" Brandon asked aloud.
"Lopunny is my strongest Pokémon," Eryn informed Michelle. "I don't know if you can handle her!"
"Oh yeah?" Michelle huffed. "I'm not afraid! And neither is my Pokémon! Ponyta, curtain call!"
Michelle tossed her own pokeball, which opened up with several large puffs of white smoke. They soon dissipated into nothing more than a curtain of fog, Ponyta's flames burning brightly behind the fuddled screen.
"We've got five minutes on the clock," Lilian informed both the challengers and the audience. "Begin!"
"I'm not letting you have the first move, Shelly!" Eryn trilled. "Lopunny, ice beam!"
Lopunny began to spin around on her toes as she unleashed a beam of ice. It traveled towards Ponyta in a sloping fashion, creating a trail of sorts as it rocketed towards her.
"Ponyta, jump up on that ice!" Michelle commanded.
Leaning down on all fours, Ponyta leapt up in the air and landed on the ice, slipping for just a second before regaining her balance.
"Hey!" Eryn cried.
"Now, skate towards Lopunny!" Michelle ordered.
Neighing, Ponyta began to run on the ice, her hooves gliding across the smooth surface. As Ponyta skated, Eryn lost points on the board, causing the brunette to scowl.
"Fire spin, let's go!" Michelle called.
While skating, Ponyta opened her mouth and unleashed a swirling burst of flames. The attack was reflected in the ice, which began to glow from the fire's reflection. Before Lopunny could get out of the way, she was hit by the attack, causing her to sail back. That caused Eryn to lose more points…and become even more aggravated. Ponyta, on the other hand, successfully made it to the end of the ice trail, and hopped off effortlessly to the side.
"Unbelievable!" Lilian commentated. "Ponyta took advantage of Lopunny's attack and used it as an ice track, getting her own attack off at close range!"
"I'm not going to let that happen again," Eryn hissed. "Lopunny, quick! Hidden power!"
Lopunny held her arms out to the sides, her ears following suit. A white glow emanated from around her body, while her eyes were soon glowing white as well. Balls of light blue energy began to float around her in a circular motion, as though they were planets in her orbit. And then, without any warning, the balls of energy flew in a straight line towards Ponyta, colliding with the fire horse and causing her to cry out in pain.
"Ponyta!" Michelle gasped.
"What an impressive hidden power!" Lilian breathed as Michelle's points went down on the board.
"Man," Michelle hissed, shaking her head. "Alright. Ponyta, take down!"
As the fire horse charged towards Lopunny, Eryn smirked, obviously amused by Michelle's plan of attack.
"Not a wise move, Shelly!" Eryn taunted. "Lopunny, dodge it!"
Just as Ponyta was about to make contact with Lopunny, the rabbit Pokémon jumped up high in the air, looking down at Ponyta with a smirk that was near identical to Eryn's.
"That jump really shows off the power in Lopunny's legs!" Lilian remarked. And, of course, that cost Michelle more of her points.
"Ponyta, ember!" Michelle called.
The fire type picked her head up and glared at Lopunny, firing off a flurry of fire bits.
"Protect!" Eryn ordered.
Lopunny's ears crossed themselves around her body while an orb of deep green energy formed around her. The ember attack bounced right off, leaving Lopunny completely unaffected.
"What?!" Michelle gasped.
"Break the protect and use ice beam!" Eryn commanded.
Throwing her arms and ears out, thus destroying the protect, Lopunny leaned over and unleashed her ice beam attack at Ponyta once again.
"Jump back!" Michelle cried.
Ponyta tried her best, but the ice beam was too fast and ended up hitting one of her front hooves, freezing it to the ground. The fire type began to neigh incessantly, trying desperately to break her hoof out of the ice.
"I know!" Michelle breathed. "Ponyta, use ember on the ice!"
Snorting, Ponyta fired an ember attack at the ice, melting it away and freeing her hoof.
"Nice!" Michelle cheered.
"Hey, no fair!" Eryn whined.
"Life's not fair!" Michelle yelled back. "Ponyta, flare blitz!"
Stomping her hooves just once, Ponyta's entire body became engulfed in flames. Her mane and tail became bigger and longer, the heat radiating off of them both. With the flames intensified, Ponyta began to charge towards Lopunny, who by now was once again standing on the stage. As she ran, the fire billowed off of her body, creating a fiery replication of herself, complete with glinting red eyes. The attack hit Lopunny dead on, knocking the normal type straight to the floor. As soon as she stopped, Ponyta returned to normal, her mane and tail back at their regular sizes and heat. Red sparks wrapped around her body like a net, causing Ponyta to wince.
"Right, the recoil damage," Michelle murmured. "But it was worth it! Flare blitz is so incredibly beautiful! Not to mention powerful!"
Eryn scowled and looked up at the screen. Right now, Michelle was in the lead, but just barely. Their points were very close, and Eryn intended on changing that in her favor as soon as she could.
"There's just thirty seconds left!" Lilian warned.
And that "soon" would have to be now.
Smirking, Eryn winked and cried, "Lopunny, attract!"
Michelle watched on in confusion as Lopunny spun in a circle with one leg up before winking at Ponyta, sending a shower of bright pink hearts towards Ponyta. They hit the fire type dead on, but she remained unaffected.
"Attract?" Michelle wondered aloud. "Lopunny and Ponyta are both female, so that's a useless move! I guess Eryn just decided to give up. Oh well! I'll be happy to take her spot in the finals! Ponyta, use…huh?"
Looking across the stage, Michelle was stunned to find that Lopunny was no longer there. She instead had a perfect view of Eryn, who was positively beaming.
"You fell for it! You fell for it!" Eryn teased in a sing-song voice. "Lopunny, let's go! Hidden power!"
"Lo!"
Both Michelle and Ponyta looked up just in time to see Lopunny flying through the air towards Ponyta, her eyes and body glowing as she twirled rapidly, repeatedly firing off blue balls of energy, one after the other. They all hit Ponyta like a brigade, causing the fire type to whinny in pain.
"Ponyta!" Michelle shrieked.
"That's it! Time!"
Both Michelle and Eryn gasped, turning their heads towards the Contest screen. They were greeted by their smiling faces, a clock that read 0:00, and two points bars that looked almost too close to call. Of course, that was not the case, and there was still a clear winner.
"And the coordinator moving onto the finals is…Eryn!"
The brunette giggled delightfully as her picture and Lopunny's took up the full screen. Michelle, in turn, sighed before smiling sadly at Ponyta, who looked rather defeated.
"It's okay, Ponyta," Michelle assured the fire type, moving towards the horse and stroking the back of her neck. "That was an amazing battle! You fought so hard! It was really close in the end. You couldn't have battled any harder, and I'm so proud of you!"
Ponyta neighed softly and nuzzled Michelle's cheek, causing the girl to laugh.
While Michelle was reassuring Ponyta, Eryn made her way over to the two, an antagonizing smile present on her face.
"Yeah, that was a pretty good battle!" Eryn trilled. "I'll give you that! You actually put up a fight!"
At this, Michelle narrowed her eyes. "Why wouldn't I put up a fight?"
"I just never really knew if you were a serious opponent," Eryn teased, earning a glare form Michelle. "You know, just because everyone else in your family does battles! Where in the world would you get Contest skills from? But…you did! That's really impressive, actually."
"Um…thank you?" Michelle squeaked. She didn't know if she should be flattered or offended.
"I mean, you're still nowhere near as talented as your dad, but I guess that's to be expected," Eryn trilled.
Now Michelle knew exactly how to feel. "Gee, thanks a lot, Eryn."
XXX
"I can't believe I lost. To her."
Aiden and Brandon both chuckled as Michelle sunk down in her seat, Pichu sitting on her trainer's lap and looking just as dejected.
"Come on, Michelle, you put up a good fight!" Brandon encouraged the girl.
"Yeah, that battle was really close!" Aiden agreed. "I didn't know who was gonna win! You should battle like that all the time."
Michelle glared up at her brother with deeply narrowed eyes. "Are you saying that I don't try when I battle?"
"No!" Aiden quickly refuted. "I'm just saying that battle was really great! Sometimes Contest battles can be boring, but that one reminded me a lot of a gym battle! But more tactical."
"Tactical?" Michelle repeated. "Where'd you learn that word?"
"From Brandon," Aiden replied effortlessly.
"We're all set for our final battle of the day!" Lilian announced. "To my left, we have Eryn, and to my right, Kristina! On the line is the beautiful Tea Rose Ribbon! And with five minutes on the clock…begin!"
XXX
After an intense battle between Eryn's Lopunny and Kristina's Furret, Eryn came out the winner, and in turn, received the Tea Rose Ribbon.
"My fourth ribbon!" Eryn cheered, jumping up and down with the ribbon in her hands. "Now I only need one more for the Grand Festival! And to win Aiden's heart!"
"You're gonna need a lot more than that," Aiden grumbled, narrowing his eyes.
"Great, now we're tied," Michelle groaned. "Eryn and I both have four ribbons!"
"That just means you have to work even harder if you want to beat Eryn to the fifth ribbon," Brandon teased. "Think you can do it?"
"Oh yeah," Michelle breathed, smirking as she glanced down at the still celebrating Eryn. "I know I can do it."
So no fifth ribbon for Michelle this time. But it sure was a close one! And fortunately for Michelle, there are other Contests coming up ;)
But before we get to another one of Michelle's Contests, we've got a gym battle for Aiden! In...Viridian City! Who is the gym leader there now? What are they like? This you'll find out...next time! So stay tuned, things are getting good!