First, let me apologize for how long this chapter took. You all know battles are super hard for me to write, but I've also gotten busier over the past few months, which didn't help matters. But I am so excited that this is finally finished and I get to share it with you all! It's actually a pretty long chapter, so that makes me feel slightly better about it. You guys waited patiently, so you get a longer chapter in exchange! And this, of course, is where the Grand Festival starts to get really good!

LAST TIME: The Grand Festival kicks off with the appeal rounds! Michelle, Clarisse, Zella, and Eryn all make it to the Top 64 after their impressive single appeals, and then again to the Top 32 after their double appeals! Clarisse is a little down on herself after her double appeal, however, which Michelle uses as a moment to give her rival a nice little pep talk! Now it's the night before the battle rounds begin, and one can only wonder what else is on these young coordinators' minds...

Chapter 67: The Grand Battles Begin

"Ash, quit spying on the kids."

The Pokémon Master pulled his head away from the door that separated the kids' room from the living room and frowned at his wife.

"I'm not spying on them," Ash refuted.

"Why else would you have your ear pressed up against the door?" Misty asked.

"I'm just…checking on them?" Ash replied lamely.

Misty smirked and put down the Grand Festival guidebook she'd been skimming through. "They're old enough to take care of themselves at bedtime, Ash."

"What about Elizabeth?" Ash challenged.

"She's with three older kids," Misty snickered. "Seriously, what's gotten into you?"

"Nothing's gotten into me," Ash argued. "I just…was curious about what they were doing in there."

Misty nodded her head and got up from the couch, clasping her hands together. "So…spying."

Ash narrowed his eyes at his smirking wife. "Why are you always on my ass?"

"I'm not," Misty teased, striding forward and running her hand along Ash's chest before pressing herself up on him from behind, wrapping both of her arms around her chest. "But if you'd like me to be…"

As Ash's face turned red, the door behind them opened, Michelle stepping out just in time to see her parents' compromising position.

"Guys! That's so gross!" Michelle whined. "You've got to be all over each other even at the Grand Festival?"

Misty, who had stepped away from Ash the second she heard Michelle's voice, was laughing nervously, rubbing her forearm with her opposite hand. "I'm sorry, Michelle. You weren't supposed to see that."

"But I always do," Michelle grumbled, scratching the side of her head. Now that her parents were separated, the girl walked around them, trying her best not to make any sort of eye contact.

"Sweetheart, where are you going?" Misty asked.

"For a walk," Michelle replied quickly.

"What about bed?" Misty prodded. "Don't you think you should be getting your rest before tomorrow?"

"I'm not tired," Michelle murmured, her back still facing her parents as she reached for the knob of the main door. "And just lying in bed isn't going to do me any good."

Misty opened her mouth to say something else, but Michelle had slipped out the door before she could. The gym leader groaned and walked around to stand at her husband's side, folding her arms across her chest. "That girl can be so stubborn."

Ash blinked and, without a single word, began to walk towards the door. Misty's eyes widened, and she threw her arms down to her sides. "Where are you going?"

Ash looked over his shoulder, throwing Misty a small smile. "Remember yesterday when I said I'd catch up with her later?"

"Yeah…?"

"Well, it's later," Ash replied, turning back around and reaching for the doorknob. "Keep an eye on Pikachu for me."

Misty started to stammer, but was cut off by Ash closing the door behind him. "Good talk."

XXX

Ash reached the balcony at the end of the long hallway of the Indigo Plateau's lodge. He knew that on this side, the balcony overlooked a nearby lake. When he peered out the doorway, he was not at all surprised to see his daughter standing there, her arms resting atop the railing. With a smirk, Ash opened the door, stepping out into the cool night air.

"Well then, I guess it's time for Father-Daughter talk round two," Ash announced.

Michelle whipped around, her eyes set wide. "Dad!"

"That's me," Ash teased through a chuckle, walking up to his daughter.

"How do you always know where to find me?" Michelle whined.

"I already told you, the water," Ash laughed, nodding his head towards the giant lake below them. "Besides, I know this place like the back of my hand, Shelly. I come to work here every single day. And…I stayed in this exact same building both times I competed in the Indigo League."

Michelle rolled her eyes at the response. "Did you just come out here to boost your own ego?"

"No, I didn't," Ash breathed, smirking at the girl. "I've wanted to have a talk with you since we first got here, but I know you've been too fired up to stay in one place and have a conversation. I think now you need it."

Michelle bit her lower lip. "I'm not upset like last time, you know. If that's why you thought I left the room so quickly- "

"That thought never crossed my mind," Ash interrupted. "There's no way you could be upset with yourself after those appeals today. They were amazing!"

"I know," Michelle muttered, her own smirk appearing. "You already told me that before."

"And I meant it," Ash pressed, his smirk having transformed into a genuine smile. Michelle smiled wordlessly before turning her head to look back out at the lake.

"You know, when you and your brother were born, I imagined both of you as competitive trainers," Ash continued. Michelle blinked and looked at her father out of the corner of her eye. He was now staring out at the water as well. "Actually, before you were born. I had the two of you listen to my battles while you were in Mom's stomach."

"Bet she appreciated that," Michelle quipped sarcastically.

"Nope, because it riled you both up like crazy," Ash chuckled. "That gave me a lot of hope! Once you two were born, I'd show you everything and anything I could about battling. Matches on TV, all of my badges and trophies, stories…I couldn't help but to imagine that one day, you and Aiden would face off for the title of Kanto Champion, and I'd be sitting in the stands not able to pick a side. I decided that would probably be the most bittersweet day of my life. But when you were 3 years old, you watched May and Dawn compete in a Contest for the very first time, and for you, it was love at first sight. You looked me right in the eyes and said that was what you wanted to do."

"At 3?" Michelle questioned, sounding disbelieving.

"At 3," Ash confirmed with a small nod.

Michelle smiled softly. "That must've been hard for you. You had all of these dreams of me becoming a great battler."

"It actually wasn't hard for me at all," Ash refuted, earning a surprised look from his daughter. "Yeah, it was a dream of mine, but the only thing I ever really wanted in life for you kids was to be happy. And even though you were very young then, I could tell just by looking in your eyes that becoming a coordinator was your own dream. That was what was going to make you happy. So I just smiled back at you and assured you that I would help you to become the most beautiful, most talented coordinator in the whole entire world, no matter what."

Michelle was now beaming at her father, her emerald eyes glistening with tears. Ash finally looked away from the lake to smile at his daughter, his expression perfectly matching her own.

"And you know what?" Ash continued, reaching out to gently grab the girl's chin. "You didn't need me at all. Everything you've accomplished, you've done on your own. You've grown so much as a coordinator, Michelle. No matter what happens in your battles, I couldn't be any prouder of you."

He slowly pulled her head down and pressed a loving kiss on her forehead.

"Dad…" Michelle breathed, picking her head back up. "I did need you. I've learned everything I know from you. Even though you're the Pokémon Master, and I'm a coordinator…I wouldn't have gotten anywhere if I didn't have you. I'm always going to need you, Dad."

Ash cast his eyes downward, not wanting his daughter to see that they were now full of tears just like her own. Letting go of her face, Ash wrapped his arms around the girl and pulled her in for the tightest hug, pressing one hand against the back of her head.

"I'll always be here for you," Ash assured quietly. "I promise, Michelle. I'll always be here."

XXX

"Welcome back to the Indigo Plateau Contest Hall! You've seen our coordinators' gorgeous appeals, and today, our Top 32 are back to give it their all in the battle rounds! We'll get today's matches underway with our first battle! It's Bruno versus Arthur!"

Michelle could hear the crowd going wild from backstage. She was sitting in the dressing room, having just finished curling her hair. She was used to putting it up for Contests, but this was the Grand Festival, and so she thought switching things up and keeping them interesting would be appropriate. Pichu stood before her on the vanity counter, reaching up to try and spring her trainer's freshly finished curls. As Michelle slipped on her jeweled headband, she saw Clarisse enter the dressing room through her mirror. With a bold smile, Michelle spun around in her chair to face the blonde.

"Hey Clarisse!" Michelle greeted, catching the other girl's attention. "Feel any better after yesterday?"

"I do," Clarisse confirmed, giving Michelle a small nod. "I actually called home, and my dad gave me this whole pep talk. It really lifted my spirits!"

"Sounds like our dads are kind of similar," Michelle giggled. "My dad gave me a whole speech last night too! It wasn't really a pep talk though. More like a mushy 'I love you so much' kind of speech."

Clarisse laughed softly at the comment. "I'm sure you appreciated it, though!"

Michelle smiled sheepishly. "I did. I really did. My dad is a great guy."

"He sure seems like it on TV and in all of those magazines," Clarisse pondered. "Even when the media tries to make him look bad…I don't believe it for a second."

"You're one of the few," Michelle sighed, although she was still smiling at the blonde. "You wouldn't believe how many people actually fall for that junk."

"I never do!"

Eryn came skirting into the dressing room, her orange eyes blazing. "I would never believe any of that drivel they publish about the gorgeous, talented, kindhearted Pokémon Master! People are just jealous, that's all."

Clarisse let out a nervous giggle, looking towards Michelle. "She's actually right."

"Of course I am!" Eryn boasted, stepping closer to Clarisse. "I'm always right!"

"Not in the head you're not," Michelle grumbled to herself.

"Pi-chu," Pichu agreed.

"I was so excited to know that the Pokémon Master was in the stands to watch me crush both of my appeals yesterday," Eryn sighed dreamily.

"Eryn, he came to see me, not you," Michelle sighed.

"So?" Eryn scoffed. "He still saw me!"

"Right…" Michelle sighed, standing up from the vanity. Pichu hopped onto the girl's shoulder, making sure to glare at Eryn as she perched herself.

"So, Eryn, who are you battling against?" Clarisse asked, desperate to get the brunette to stop talking about the Pokémon Master.

"That would be me."

Zella came skirting through the doorway of the dressing room, her silver eyes narrowed as she stared directly at Eryn. "I hope you're prepared to lose, bunny girl."

"I am not!" Eryn huffed, indignantly turning her head away. "You're the one who should be prepared to lose! Overconfidence is deadly, after all."

Zella snickered and strode over to one of the vanity mirrors, reaching into the small bag that was strung over her shoulder and pulling out a deep purple tube. "How cute. You think you can lecture me."

She unscrewed the top of the tube, pulling it out to reveal coarse bristles coated thickly in black. Leaning in towards the mirror, Zella began to brush her lashes with the wand, still smirking as she applied her makeup. Eryn found the blatant disregard to be obnoxious, and seeing as she was not a quiet girl, she was going to let Zella know about it.

"Don't you think you should look at someone when you're talking to them?" Eryn demanded, placing her hands on her hips. "Especially when they're being as rude as you are?"

Zella sighed and lowered her mascara, looking over her shoulder to throw Eryn a sharp glare. "Please. I wish I could block you out. Unfortunately for me, your voice is so squeaky and obnoxious that everyone a thousand miles away can hear it. I don't need to look right at you when you just keep squawking at me like a miserable Wingull."

Michelle and Clarisse exchanged quizzical looks as Eryn growled loudly at Zella's insult.

"So…she just talks to everyone like that?" Clarisse questioned, shifting her eyes towards Zella.

"I guess so," Michelle murmured. "Good to know I'm not her sole target, though."

Once she was sure Eryn wasn't going to say anything else to her, Zella smirked and closed up her mascara, whipping around to face the three other girls. "You romanticizing and idolizing some celebrity is a serious waste of time. You should be focused on yourself as a trainer, and clearly, you're not. Just watch. You coming up against me in the Top 32 is the worst thing that could've possibly happened to you. I'll show you just how ridiculous worshiping the ground someone else walks on is."

And with that, Zella exited the dressing room, leaving behind a bewildered Clarisse and Michelle and a flustered Eryn.

"Ooh, that girl!" Eryn seethed, balling her hands into fists at her sides. "She's going to be sorry!"

XXX

Ash groaned as he tried to look around his young daughter, but was instantly thwarted by her moving right back into his face.

"Daddy, hold still!" Elizabeth whined.

"Come on, Elizabeth, I want to watch the battles!" Ash complained.

"No, I hafta brush your hair," Elizabeth refuted, reaching up with a sparkly pink brush that she had brought along with her. "It's messy!"

Ash sighed as Elizabeth continued to fuss with his hair. She had been taken so many places ever since she was just a baby: vacations, nice restaurants, elaborate events, battle tournaments…and normally she was quite well behaved. She was still just a 5-year-old, however, and sometimes she didn't feel like sitting still. Right now just so happened to be one of those times, much to Ash's chagrin. He wouldn't have minded playing with Elizabeth, except that his favorite part of a Contest were the battles, and he wanted to be able to actually watch them.

Fortunately for him, Misty knew that, and she quickly pulled the little girl off of his lap.

"Hey!" Elizabeth cried.

"Daddy already told you he wants to watch," Misty gently scolded her daughter. "You can brush his hair later."

"But Mommy, Shelly's not even there yet!" Elizabeth whined, pointing at the stage.

"I know, but Daddy likes to see all of the battles, not just Michelle's!" Misty replied. "So we can be nice and let Daddy watch them, right?"

Elizabeth responded only with a pout, but remained seated on her mother's lap and didn't actually fight back, which was enough for Misty.

Delia, who had watched the scene out of the corner of her eye, giggled lovingly, catching Misty's attention. "You're so good with her. Of course, I'm not surprised! You always have been."

Misty blushed slightly at the compliment. "Thanks, Delia. As long as I can keep her out of Ash's hair! Literally…"

Delia smirked and turned her eyes back down towards the stage. "These battles have been very impressive so far! It could be my bias talking, but I still think Michelle is the best coordinator here!"

"She should be battling soon," Misty replied. "We're already 6 battles in, after all."

At the conclusion of the next battle, which saw a more seasoned coordinator named Lexie defeating a younger male named Thornton, the next battle was announced as Michelle versus Trinity.

"Finally!" Aiden cheered, leaning forward in his seat. "This ought to be a good one!"

Michelle appeared on one side of the stage, both hands occupied by a poké ball. Standing across from her was another female coordinator with dark blue hair and a set of piercing gold eyes.

"Vileplume, Dodrio, let's go!" Trinity cried, throwing her two capsule covered poké balls up in the air. They popped open and released an illusion of yellow lines, shooting upwards before curving back down in the shape of ribbons. Her two Pokémon appeared, striking a confident mid-air pose before landing on the stage, glaring across at a smirking Michelle.

"I've got this," Michelle assured herself before pulling out her own poké balls. "Ponyta, Eevee, curtain call!"

The spheres burst open with white confetti that showered down upon the stage. Ponyta and Eevee stood side-by-side, looking confident and ready to go.

"Alright, a battle between all Kanto-native Pokémon!" Aiden cheered. "This ought to be good."

"Let the battle begin!" Lilian called, throwing her arms up in the air.

"Let's get ahead early!" Trinity declared to her two Pokémon. "Vileplume, petal blizzard!"

Pink flower petals manifested around Vileplume as the flower Pokémon stood on its toes and raised its arms to the side. The flower petals quickly multiplied in number, and soon began to swirl around rapidly like a tornado.

"Michelle needs to stay alert," Brandon warned. "Not only is petal blizzard a really powerful move, but it hits every Pokémon in the battle."

"That's a good point, Brandon, but it also means that Trinity needs to think on her feet too," Ash added. "Because petal blizzard can hit every Pokémon in the battle, that means her Dodrio is also a target."

Trinity, however, seemed to have thought of that already. "Dodrio, agility, now!"

The triple bird Pokémon squawked and took off like a rocket, leaping right through the petals and bouncing off of Vileplume's head and into the air. Just as Dodrio lifted off, the petal blizzard barreled right towards Ponyta and Eevee.

"Quick, dodge it!" Michelle cried.

The petal blizzard was moving too fast and taking up too much space, however, and Ponyta and Eevee were left unable to escape. Both were struck by the swirling petals, crying out in pain as Michelle's points started to dwindle down.

"Well, looks like Trinity got that head start she wanted," Misty grumbled.

"Michelle's got this!" Aiden cried. "She's not gonna let some flowery attack like that stop her."

Down on the stage, Michelle ground her teeth as the attack disappeared, Ponyta and Eevee left shaking off its physical brunt.

"Our turn now!" Michelle called. "Ponyta, use fire spin! And Eevee, shadow ball!"

Ponyta opened her mouth and unleashed swirling flames, while Eevee jumped up and did a flip in the air as dark energy built up by his mouth, building up to its full size and being released to barrel through the middle of Ponyta's fire spin.

"Look at that!" Lilian marveled. "The fire spin is surrounding the shadow ball like a fiery cloak! Impressive!"

That alone was enough to shave off some of Trinity's points. The blue-haired girl grimaced, and her determination to win quickly flared up again. "Vileplume, protect!"

A large blue force field appeared over both Vileplume and Dodrio just as the combined fire spin and shadow ball was coming in close range. Both attacks hit the shield dead on…and evaporated away into nothing. The crowd cheered fervently, and Michelle growled to herself.

"And Vileplume shows off its very well-controlled protect!" Lilian announced. "Being able to use protect on both itself and Dodrio helps give Trinity a real advantage in this battle!"

"Dodrio, show them your drill peck!" Trinity commanded.

Dodrio jumped in the air, its three heads moving rapidly back and forth as all three of its beaks began to spin.

"Eevee, get out of the way by using dig!" Michelle ordered.

"Vee!"

Eevee quickly managed to dig a hole, jumping in just as Dodrio came near him. Dodrio had already lowered its heads, however, causing its beaks to collide with the surface of the stage instead of Eevee. The triple bird Pokémon quickly recoiled from the attack, picking its heads up and shaking them fiercely.

"Oh, quick thinking on Michelle's part!" Delia crowed. "That's my smart granddaughter!"

"Ponyta, use take down while Dodrio is still dazed!" Michelle cried.

Ponyta neighed and lowered her head as she charged right at the triple bird Pokémon, sending it flying backwards and colliding with Vileplume.

"No!" Trinity gasped as more of her points disappeared.

"Let's start to wrap this up!" Michelle declared. "Eevee, quick attack!"

The normal type tunneled quickly beneath the stage, jumping up right in front of a startled Vileplume and Dodrio.

"Vileplume, use protect again!" Trinity ordered.

The blue force field once again appeared around her two Pokémon, and Eevee went bouncing right off of it. Michelle's eyes widened, while the smile returned to Trinity's face.

"That protect sure is tricky," Misty sighed.

"True, but Trinity needs to start being careful with it," Ash warned. "Overusing protect is never a good idea."

"Okay, Ponyta, use fire spin!" Michelle barked. "And Eevee, bolster it with shadow ball!"

The two Pokémon began to team up their attacks once again, but Trinity knew exactly how to thwart the redheaded girl's plans.

"Vileplume, use double team!" Trinity commanded. "And Dodrio, you use agility! Don't let those two figure out where you are!"

The combined fire spin and shadow ball shot directly through what was only an illusion of Vileplume, as the flower Pokémon had seemingly cloned itself into a large circle. On the outside of that circle, Dodrio ran around furiously, leaving behind only a blur of brown that Michelle knew would be impossible to catch just by firing off attacks.

"Ponyta, spin around and use ember!" Michelle called. "Find the real Vileplume!"

The fire horse Pokémon did as she was told, swiveling around on her hooves as she spit out a stream of fire. The attack collided with each Vileplume, the decoys disappearing as they were struck. When it got down to only three copies, Michelle smirked to herself, knowing that they were about to get a hit.

"Vileplume, protect!"

That order was enough to cause Michelle's heart to sink. For the third time, the blue shield of energy appeared over the final Vileplume, Dodrio finally coming to a halt right behind it. Just as Michelle's frustration was beginning to reach its peak, however, something incredible happened.

The protect faltered, and a burst of ember shot towards Vileplume and Dodrio. Both Pokémon were struck by the attack, leaving them howling in pain.

"Whoa, what happened?!" Aiden gasped.

"Every time protect is used, it weakens," Ash explained. "It looks like Trinity may have put a little too much faith in that move."

"So the protect is starting to fail," Brandon breathed.

"Now's a good time for Michelle to pull ahead," Misty added. "Let's hope she takes advantage of this!"

Her confidence boosted thanks to protect's failure, Michelle thrust her arm forward and commanded, "Ponyta, use flare blitz! Eevee, quick attack!"

The two Pokémon took off in a hurry, bolting alongside one another at blazing speed. A veil of fire soon surrounded Ponyta's body and streaked behind her, while Eevee was running so fast he appeared to be nothing more than a racing ball of blurred color. Ponyta slammed right into Vileplume, the flames that had engulfed her body fanning outwards as the flower Pokémon went flying backwards, burns present on its body. Eevee, on the other hand, had made head-on collision with Dodrio's legs, tripping up the triple bird and sending it crashing down violently towards the stage.

"Alright!" Aiden cheered.

"Michelle knows that Ponyta and Eevee's speed is unmatchable," Brandon commented. "What a great strategy after that protect failed!"

Trinity growled low in her throat, and opened her mouth to command her Pokémon's next attack, but the buzzer sounded before she could get it out.

"Time's up!" Lilian called.

Michelle and Trinity both whipped around, their wide eyes set on the scoreboard. The bar beneath Michelle's photo was significantly fuller, and as soon as the redhead saw that, she felt her chest inflate with a sweeping inhale of air.

"The winner of this round is Michelle!" Lilian announced. "Congratulations!"

The young coordinator released her breath, beaming once her victory was confirmed. Ponyta and Eevee went running back to her, excitedly prancing around with exuberance equal to their trainer's present on their faces.

"Look at that," Misty crooned. "I love seeing my little girl so happy! That's even more important to me than her winning."

"Well, technically it was the winning that made her happy," Aiden commented.

Misty sighed and cast a sideways glance at her son. "Oh, Aiden. You'll understand when you have your own kids one day."

Aiden scowled as his face turned red, while Elizabeth burst out laughing, due in large part to her brother's mortified face. Delia just smiled to herself, amused by the little exchange.

XXX

As soon as Michelle got backstage, she collapsed onto a bench and sighed tiredly. That battle had been exhausting, and at this point all she wanted to do was crawl in bed and take a nap. But as soon as she heard the next battle was going to be Clarisse's, she perked up right away. The young blonde was battling a boy named Oliver, and whoever won this match would be Michelle's next opponent.

The young coordinator watched on in mesmerized fashion as Oliver sent his Golem and Honchkrow out against Clarisse's Flaaffy and Girafarig. The battle took the full 5 minutes, with both coordinators going back and forth on the point scale. Their Pokémon's strengths were very evenly matched, and the attacks were all visual artistry. Michelle knew Clarisse could get frustrated with herself, but she struggled to understand why when she saw the attacks that her Pokémon fired off. They were so powerful and so beautiful…Clarisse was truly an amazing coordinator.

Ultimately, it was the combination of Girafarig's psychic and Flaaffy's electro ball that sealed Clarisse's victory. Michelle could hardly believe her eyes when the purple energy of the psychic overtook the bright yellow electro ball, tearing it apart into multiple pieces that trapped Golem and Honchkrow in a tight ring before closing in and striking with incredible force.

Once the battle hand ended, Michelle got to her feet and straightened out her skirt. She turned towards the door of the waiting area, and just as she did, Clarisse re-entered, an obvious look of relief on her face. Once she looked up and locked eyes with Michelle, however, that look gave way to another: one of determination. The two girls stared at one another across the room, neither one moving so much as a single muscle.

Until they both, at the exact same time, exchanged knowing smiles.

So there you have it! Michelle's battle in the Top 16 will be against Clarisse! Any guesses on who's going to win? Or which Pokémon will be used? I'm excited to see everyone's guesses before the battle gets underway!