{[( Never written a Pokémon Contest before, so this should be interesting.)]}

"Alright, you're all registered to compete in today's Contest." Nurse Joy said, smiling and handing Nat a case. "You can use that to carry your ribbons."

"Thank you." Nat said, smiling. "Alright, Luna. Wish me luck."

Luna nodded. "You'll do great, Nat. By the way, how was your talk with Dawn last night?"

"She was awesome. We just talked about contests and stuff. Turns out she's a huge fan of Marina too." She said, happily.

She gave Nat a smile. "I told you she was great."

Nat nodded. "You were right. Anyway, I'd better get going to the Contest Hall. I'll see you later."

"You've got this, Nat." Luna said, before her friend walked off. Luna sighed, wondering what she should do until the Contest starts.

Nat got backstage and took a deep breath. "Come on out, Seel." She said, her Seel appearing out of the ball. "Seel, this is the real thing, alright? Let's really get out there and knock this thing out." Seel clapped happily, making Nat giggle. "Keep that hype going, Seel."

"A Seel, huh?" Someone said, coming up behind her.

Nat turned around. "Uh, yeah." She said with a smile. "Seel here's been my partner for a while now."

The person she was talking to was a girl with long black hair, tied into a braid which fell in front of her left shoulder and tied with a red thread. She also wore a white collared shirt and a dark blue sweater over it with a black skirt. Her eyes were a deep blue color. "I see. It looks like you've taken good care of it." She said, kneeling down and petting it's head. "Well behaved too."

Nat nodded. "Seel really likes meeting new people. I don't think there's been a single person that it didn't like."

"Is that so?" The girl said, smiling. "My name is Aika. I'm going to be one of your opponents here, today."

Nat smiled. "My name's Nat. It's nice to meet you."

The two girls went over to a snack table, where there was food for both the Coordinators and their Pokémon.

"So, is this your first Pokémon contest?" Aika asked.

Nat nodded. "Yeah, how'd you know?"

"All newcomers have this aura to them." She said, smiling. "So is Seel your only Pokémon?"

Nat shook her head. "I've got three. But since Seel is only going to be competing during the Presentation Stage, I won't need to worry. I don't want to spoil the surprise for everyone after all."

Aika smiled. "That's pretty smart of you. I suppose, in that case, I should show you my Presentation Stage Pokémon." She said, pulling out a ball. "Okay, Chikorita, come on out."

Chikorita came out of it's ball and looked around happily. "Chiko?"

"Ah, a Chikorita, huh? Wait a minute… it looks a little different… is she okay?" Nat asked, concerned.

Aika nodded. "She's fine. She's just a different color than most Chikorita."

"Oh." Nat said, smiling. "Well she's beautiful. Her colors remind me of the color leaves turn in the Autumn."

Aika smiled. "I thought the same thing. Chikorita doesn't really like battles, but she loves performing for a crowd, so I thought this would be perfect."

"Oh, I see. Have you ever thought of doing Pokémon Showcases?" Nat asked.

Aika nodded. "Pokémon Showcases?"

Nat nodded. "As far as I know, they only have them in the Kalos Region. But I think it's something that your Chikorita would probably really like."

Aika smiled. "I'll have to look into them, I suppose."

Outside the Contest Hall, Luna was wandering around, waiting for people to be allowed inside the building. "Excuse me, Miss?" A boy asked, coming up to Luna.

"Yes? Ah! It's you!" Luna said, smiling.

Ryan laughed a bit. "Glad to see you still remember me." He said, with a smile.

Luna nodded. "Of course I remember you. How's your Poochyena doing?" She asked.

"Poochyena's doing great. After we went home, I took your advice and got some hard treats and toys for her to chew on." Ryan said, pulling out a Poké Ball. "She still bets kind of bitey when she's feeling playful, but aside from that she's gotten a lot better."

Luna smiled. "That's great. Is she in that Poké Ball?" Luna asked.

Ryan nodded. "Come on out, Poochyena." He said as Poochyena came out of the ball and let out a happy bark. "Poochyena, look who it is."

Poochyena turned around, looking at Luna before running over to her and leaping up into her arms, licking her excitedly.

Luna giggled. "It's great to see you too, Poochyena."

After a minute, Luna put Poochyena on the ground and the two started to catch up with each other.

"So you already won your first Gym Badge?" He asked, surprised. "You didn't waste any time, did you?"

Luna smiled. "Well, I wanted to get my battle out of the way to cheer on Nat today."

Ryan smiled. "So, I'm guessing you two are traveling together?"

She nodded. "At least, I'm pretty sure we are."

"Well then, I hope you don't mind my intrusion, but I'd like to take you up on your offer to travel around with you." He said.

Luna smiled. "Wait, really?"

Ryan nodded. "Yeah. I wasn't really sure about it when you asked me at first, but after I got home I kept thinking about your offer. I still don't really know what I want out of a Pokémon Journey… but I thought if I went with you, maybe I could find out." He said, smiling.

Luna nodded. "Yeah. I'll do everything I can to help you figure out what you're looking for."

Ryan smiled. "Thanks. So, when does your friend's Contest start?"

"They should be opening up to start seating in a few minutes." Luna said, looking over to the security guards at the front doors.

Backstage, Luna and Aika carried on in their conversation.

"That's a really cute tie, Nat." Aika said, smiling. "It looks great on you."

Nat smiled. "Thanks, it was a gift from a friend. I actually only just got it yesterday." She said, stroking it.

"Well your friend has excellent taste." Aika said.

The P.A. System came on in the backstage area. "Attention, Coordinators. The Contest will begin in 20 minutes. Will Entrant Number 1 please come to the Green Room?"

"Well, I guess that's me." Aika said, sighing.

Nat looked at her, somewhat surprised. "Wait, you're up first?"

Aika nodded. "I registered for this contest in advance. I prefer to go first, otherwise my nerves can sometimes get the better of me." She said, a bit awkwardly.

Nat smiled. "Well, looks like we'll be bookending this thing then. I'm up last, so I get to feel all the nerves." She said, laughing a bit. "Good luck."

Aika nodded. "Thanks. I'll see you after."

In the audience, both Luna and Ryan had found somewhere to sit. It was up near the front so Luna could be there to cheer as loud as she could.

"So, your friend is up last?" Ryan asked.

Luna nodded. "Yeah. But like a good meal, the last bite is always the best."

"I've never heard that saying before." Ryan said, a bit confused.

"Really? My dad says that all the time." Luna replied.

Ryan smiled. "Your dad seems like he's a pretty interesting guy."

The lights shut off and a presenter appeared in front of everyone on stage. "Greetings Pokéfans! Welcome to this year's Pewter City Pokémon Contest!" Everyone applauded and the man went on to explain the rules of the contest.

"Hey, I thought Coordinators had to dress up for Pokémon Contests." Ryan said, somewhat confused.

Luna nodded. "In other regions, like Sinnoh, yeah. But here they don't."

The man then went on to introduce the judges, two of which were representatives of Kanto's branch of the Pokémon Contest Company and one being the Pewter City Nurse Joy.

"Now, please welcome our first Coordinator. From Cinnabar Island, Aiko!"

Aiko ran out onto the stage. "Chikorita, spotlight!" She said, tossing the ball in the air.

Chikorita appeared in the air, letting out a happy cry. "You know what to do!" Chikorita spread Sweet Scent and used Petal Dance, causing a beautiful blend of pink petals with a pleasant aroma to spread through the room. Accompanied with the slight sparkle that came from her when she came out of the ball.

"Whoa, a Chikorita!" Ryan said, surprised.

Luna nodded. "But there's something different about it's colors." She said, smiling. "It reminds me of Dad's Noctowl."

"Oh yeah, he has that odd colored Noctowl, doesn't he?" Ryan said, remembering watching one of his battles on t.v.

"What a beautiful performance! Let's see what the judges have to say!" The judges all gave the performance an 8.5/10.

"It was an above average performance overall, but what really caught our attention was your Chikorita's unique appearance." Joy said.

Aika smiled and walked off the stage so the next Coordinator could go on.

"That was great, Aika!" Nat said, coming over to her. "You really highlighted your Chikorita's beauty."

Aika smiled. "Thank you, Nat."

Chikorita looked up at Nat smiling. "Chiko!"

Nat knelt down. "You really are a pretty little thing." She said, petting the leaf on her head.

After everyone else had gone, it was finally Nat's turn to go on.

"And now, our final Coordinator. Making her Pokémon Contest debut, Nat from New Bark Town!"

Nat came out onto the stage and seemingly froze up. She was so sure of herself when she entered the Contest today, but now that when was actually in front of everyone and the last one up, the pressure was getting to her.

"Nat!" Luna shouted, calling her attention. "Nat, you can do this!"

"Luna?" Nat said, smiling.

She closed her eyes, composing herself. "You've got this, Nat." She said, psyching herself up. "You've practiced for this. It's just like Dawn said last night. There's no need to worry." She lifted Seel's Poké Ball up and smiled at it, nodding. "Let's give it our best."

Nat tossed the ball in the air. "It's showtime!" Seel appeared out of the ball and without a single command, Seel blew bubbles up in the air and quickly froze them with it's Powder Snow. After landing on the ground, Seel managed to catch each frozen bubble and began to juggle them. "Alright, Seel, you're doing great, now toss them up and give this crowd a nice big finish!" Seel jumped up, flipping in the air and slapping the bubbles upward before firing a Swift attack upward, hitting all of the bubbles with stars, creating the illusion that they were exploding into small ice crystals. Seel then landed, standing upright and clapping as the small crystals elegantly floated down around it.

The judges gave her performance an 8/10.

Nat walked backstage again, letting out a sigh of relief. "We did it, Seel. There's no way we didn't make it through to the next round with that score." She said, holding her hand out to it. Seel began clapping again. "I was more asking for a high five, but I guess that works too."

"Nat." Aika said, coming over to her. "That was great. Was this really your first time in a Pokémon Contest?"

Nat nodded. "Yeah."

Aika placed her hands on her hips, smiling. "Well, I'm impressed. I've never seen a first timer do something like that. And to get an 8 too… you've got a natural talent for contests."

Nat shook her head. "You give me too much credit. That was nothing compared to experienced Coordinators."

Aika shrugged. "You're gonna be one soon enough, if you keep putting on performances like that."

"Oh stop. Oh, hey, during the intermission, do you think I could go talk to a friend of mine in the crowd real quick?" Nat asked.

Aika nodded. "I don't see why not. Just be back before the Battle Stage begins. You'll be disqualified if you're not back in time."

Nat nodded. "No need to worry." She said, before covering her mouth. "I guess I was talking to her too much last night…" She said, quietly before walking out the door.

Luna smiled, happy that her friend had gotten through to the next round. "I knew she could do it."

"Your friend and her Seel are really talented." Ryan said, smiling. "I've never been to a live Pokémon Contest before. They're way more interesting in person."

"Well I'm glad you're enjoying the show." Nat said, approaching the two.

Luna smiled. "Nat! You and Seel were awesome!"

Ryan nodded. "You two seemed pretty in sync. You've trained it well."

"You say that, but you don't sound like you know what you're saying." Nat said.

Ryan blushed. "Huh? Well, I um…" He didn't know anything about training pokémon, but thought it was the right thing to say. "Still though, you two seem like a great team. How'd you end up getting a Seel in New Bark Town, anyway?"

"My grandmother lives in Cianwood City and occasionally Seel show up on the shores there. A little one happened to wander into her house when I was visiting once and it just kind of decided it liked me." Nat explained. "Though, it seems like Seel just likes everyone."

"Hey, isn't that the girl with the Seel?" A woman asked.

Another one turned around. "Huh? I think so."

The first girl groaned. "I can't believe they gave an 8 for that thing. It's just so dumb looking."

The other girl laughed. "I know, right? There's no way that thing is getting through the battle rounds."

Nat cleared her throat, calling the two girls' attention. "As a matter of fact, Seel won't be the one battling in the coming rounds, but if you'd like I can show you just how wrong you are right now." She said, tossing Seel's Poké Ball up and down.

The first girl looked a bit nervous, seeing how confident Nat seemed to be. "I would, but… you only have five more minutes before you have to be backstage again."

Nat shrugged. "Eh, this won't take long. My Seel will crush whatever you have in a matter of seconds." She said, passively. "So, are we doing this or what?"

The second girl looked nervous. "Uh… we don't have our pokémon with us right now, so…"

"Oh, well that's a shame." Nat said. "You know, it's not wise to make fun of other peoples' pokémon when you don't have any of your own. Next time you do it, you might make someone or their pokémon really angry and end up getting hurt." The two girls moved away.

Nat sighed, putting Seel's Poké Ball away.

"That was awesome." Ryan said, smiling.

Luna smiled. "If you didn't say something I was going to."

Nat smiled. "Thanks, Luna, but you've done a lot for me already. Anyway, I should get backstage again. It was nice to meet you… uh… guy."

"My name's Ryan." He said, awkwardly.

Nat nodded. "Right."

As it turned out, only four people got through to the Battle Stage. Aika won hers already, but Nat was busy getting ready for her battle and so she missed the battle. Now Nat was up against a boy named Jon.

"This will be a 1 on 1 battle with a 5 minute time limit. If either Coordinator's pokémon is unable to battle or their points go below the designated line, they will lose this round. Are the Coordinators ready?" Said Nurse Joy, acting as an officiator for the match.

Nat nodded. "I'm ready. How about you, Jon?"

Jon nodded. "Good luck to you." He said, smirking.

Nurse Joy nodded. "Then let the match begin."

Jon smirked. "Alright, here we go. I choose Murkrow!" He said, Murkrow coming out of it's ball onto the field.

Nat smirked as well. "Oh, Jon, I was hoping you weren't going easy mode on me. Mareep, it's showtime!"

Mareep came out of it's ball as well.

"What the?" Ryan said, surprised. "Its that Mareep's wool pink?"

"Alright, Murkrow, use your Peck attack, now!" Jon shouted, Murkrow rushing in to attack.

"Mareep, do your thing!" Nat said, simply.

Mareep, without a moment of delay used Double Team, forming what looked like a ring of light pink Mareep all around Murkrow, bringing the attack to a stop and causing Jon to lose points.

"Perfect. Now, Mareep, hop over Murkrow!" Nat shouted.

Mareep began leaping over Murkrow, but as Double Team was still in effect, it looked as if multiple Mareep were constantly jumping over Murkrow, confusing it even more and causing Jon's points to fall again.

"This isn't fair! You're not even fighting!" Jon shouted.

Nat smirked. "Oh you want me to attack? Alright then. Mareep, Tackle."

Mareep, in her Double Team, tackled Murkrow over and over, causing Jon's points to fall even more.

"Murkrow!"

"Alright, Mareep. Discharge." Nat said.

Mareep let out a stream of electricity into the confused Murkrow.

"Murkrow is unable to battle. The winner of this Battle Stage is Nat!" The announcer said.

Ryan looked surprised. "Wow, I didn't think Nat would be such a strong battler right off the bat like that."

"Yeah, I didn't either." Luna said.

Nat walked backstage with Jon.

"You're really good. Is this really your first Pokémon Contest?" Jon asked.

Nat gave him a nod. "It is. But it's far from my first time battling, especially with Mareep. No hard feelings, right?"

Jon smiled. "Oh of course not. You were just in the moment, I can respect that. Anyway, I have to say, you've trained your Mareep well. I've never seen a Mareep that fast before." He said, petting it. "And you've kept her wool so soft. How do you do it?"

"Well, actually I just-" Nat began to answer.

"Nat!" Aika shouted, coming over to her. "Your secret battler was a Mareep?" She said, excitedly. "And it's a pink one too! Hey wait…" She said, confused. "How come you thought Chikorita might have been sick because of her color, but you had a pink Mareep?"

Nat thought about it. "I guess I'm just so used to my Mareep being pink, I forgot that they aren't all pink."

Aika nodded. "Well, your Mareep is super cute. It's too bad I'm going to have to beat her in a battle."

"We're not gonna make it easy for you." Nat said, with a smile.

After a few minutes, the two girls went out to the battlefield.

"Are you ready for this Nat? I won't be going easy on you." Aika said, smiling.

Nat nodded. "I don't want you to. I'm coming at you with everything I've got, so I suggest you do the same."

Aika nodded. "Alright then. Smoochum, spotlight!"

"Mareep, it's showtime!" Nat shouted.

The two pokémon came out onto the field and the clock started running.

"Alright Smoochum, Ice Beam!" Aika shouted, the attack landing and lowering Nat's points right away.

"Mareep, Double Team!" Nat called. Mareep did the same thing as before.

Aika smirked. "That trick won't work twice in the same Contest. Smoochum, use Ice Beam on Mareep!"

At first Aika's points lowered, due to her miss, but Nat's lowered again when Mareep ended up slipping on the ice left behind by the attack.

"Mareep!" Nat shouted.

Aika smiled. "Now, Smoochum, Heart Stamp!" Smoochum ran over to Mareep and planted it's lips on Mareep, before being shocked by it's fleece. "Smoochum? What happened?"

Nat smirked. "What happened is your Smoochum got zapped. Mareep's fleece carries tons of static electricity in it. Especially when in battle."

Aika looked up at the points, hers just a bit lower than Nat's. "Alright then, Smoochum, Confusion!"

Mareep suddenly began floating in the air, clearly being damaged by the attack as it lifted her. "Mareep!" Nat shouted. "Try to use your Discharge!" Mareep tried to, but all she could get going were a few blue sparks. Nat looked over to the board, seeing that the points for her were dropping more and more. "Mareep, come on! I know you can do it!" Mareep closed it's eyes, concentrating. After a moment, Mareep began to have blue sparks shoot around all over it's wool, and after that a blue bolt of lightning hit Aika's Smoochum.

Nat smiled. "Alright, Mareep!" She said, smiling "Alright, tackle it, Mareep!"

Mareep ran up to Smoochum, missing it's tackle attack twice before finally hitting Smoochum from behind. "Alright, Mareep, finish this with-"

"The battle is over!" the announcer shouted.

"What?" Nat asked. "What are you talking about? We still have plenty of time left… what?" She said, looking at the board. There was, indeed, plenty of time, but her points had gone down below the line. "But how?... Those last two attacks." She said. "I lost enough when her Smoochum had Mareep up in the air and when I missed those last two Tackle attacks…"

Luna looked at Nat, sadly. "Nat…"

After the contest was over and the ribbon was awarded to Aika, Nat left and went to a park that was near the Pewter Gym.

"Nat!" Luna said. "There you are. We've been looking everywhere for you." She said.

Nat looked up at Luna, surprised. "You were looking for me? Why?"

Luna came over to her. "Because, you're my friend, silly." She said with a smile.

Nat smiled. "Thanks Luna."

Luna nodded. "Hey, uh… I'm sorry you lost the contest today."

Nat looked down and nodded. "Me too. I can't believe I slipped up like that…" She said, looking at Mareep's Poké Ball. "I let Mareep down."

"You didn't let Mareep down, Nat." Aika said, coming over to the two girls.

Nat looked at her surprised. "Aika? What are you doing here?"

Aika smiled. "You and Mareep did great. If it weren't for that second Tackle missing, I would have lost for sure. I just got lucky is all. Besides, this was your first Pokémon Contest and you made it to the final round. Now many of the top Pokémon Coordinators did that in their first contest. I told you you have a natural talent for this."

Nat smiled a bit. "Well… I guess you're right. I should be happy I got as far as I did."

Aika nodded. "Not only that, but your Mareep did a great job in that battle. For an electric type, Mareep is slow, so for it to use Double Team like that… it must really care for you."

Nat smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Mareep goes all out for me, no matter what. I guess she forgot that Contest Battles work differently than normal battles."

"Where did you learn to battle like that, anyway?" Luna asked.

Nat smiled. "Well, actually, back in Johto I did a few Gym battles. I beat Falkner and Bugsy with my Mareep." She said, pulling out her two badges. "I figured I may as well try it before I commit to Pokémon Contests, but I just wasn't really feeling it, to be honest. I decided to make a fresh start in Kanto as a Pokémon Coordinator."

"Why did you do Gym battles to begin with?" Aika asked.

"My family has a history of becoming powerful Pokémon Trainers and I wanted to try to follow that legacy… but I just can't push myself to do something I'm not passionate about." She shrugged. "Though if I told them that from the start they would've told me to follow what I want to do anyway."

Aika smiled. "Well, I'm glad you came around. You're gonna make a pretty good rival for me."

Nat nodded. "Wait a second. Did you just say rival?"

Aika nodded. "Yeah. After the presentation and battles you gave today, there's no way I could see you as anything but my rival."

Nad smiled. "Well, I suppose I'll have to live up to that role for you then." She said, confidently. "You really better not go easy on me now."

"Oh no!" Luna shouted. "I forgot to let Ryan know I found you."

Nat giggled. "Why don't you run off and get him."

Luna nodded. "Okay, but what about you?"

Nat looked over at Aika. "It may not be in the Contest now, but my rival and I have a battle to finish."

Aika smirked. "Yes we do."

Luna smiled. "Alright then. I'll be back soon. You've got this, Nat."

Nat nodded. "Thanks, Luna. Don't worry, this won't take long."

"Admitting defeat already, huh? At least you're mentally prepared." Aika said, confidently.

{[( Alright, not really sure about the way I ended this, since I feel like it needs another line or two, but I can't seem to get anything down that doesn't sound forced or pointless. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and I'm going to start working on chapter 8 now, so here goes something!)]}