Chapter 6: The First Contest
"You're finally going to get to see a Pokemon Contest," Dani said to Gary as they walked with her sisters to the Straiton City Contest Hall.
Gary smiled and nodded. "This will be fun." He glanced at Shelly, who was biting her lip nervously as she walked. "You'll be fine. Just relax."
Shelly smiled slightly at him. "Right. Thanks."
"Have you ever seen one of her contests?" Gary asked Gabri.
"Just the Grand Festivals she's been in," Gabri said. "This will be interesting."
The group grew silent until they approached the backstage of the hall where the coordinators gathered. They noticed May and Max talking to each other and started towards them.
"Oh, hey, guys," May said when she noticed them.
"Good luck, May," Dani said, giving her a small smile.
May nodded. "Thanks."
"We're going to go watch in the audience."
"I'll go with them," Max said, stepping aside to stand next to Gabri. "Good luck to both of you."
"We'll see you after the contest," Gary said. Then the four of them (plus Mo and Dragon) were gone.
"Are you nervous?" May asked her friend.
Shelly nodded. "Are you?"
"A little bit. The first contest is always tough. Let's do our best in the appeals and meet each other in the second round?"
Shelly smiled. "Sounds good to me." It would be fun to battle her in the second round. Right now, though, she had to focus on her appeals performance. She looked up at the TV screen in the backstage room as the mc began the contest.
"Welcome, everyone!" a women with curly, light brown hair exclaimed as she stood in the middle of the stage. "Our Pokemon Contest in Striaton City is about to begin! I am your mc, Astoria, and I welcome all of our coordinators to our stage today. Get ready for some beautiful performances. The winner today will take home this beautiful prize: the Striaton ribbon." She pulled out a blue contest ribbon to show the crowd. "Those coordinators skilled enough to earn five ribbons all across Unova will have a chance to compete in the Grand Festival. Alright, let's get started!
"Let me first introduce our panel of judges." She swept her hand over to the table where three people sat. "Our head judge, Estabon Contesta."
"It's a pleasure to be here," he said.
"Up next, head of the Pokemon fan club, Mr. Sukizo."
"Thank you," said the judge. "This contest will be remarkable."
"Finally, Striaton City's very own Nurse Joy."
"It's an honor to be here," Nurse Joy said.
"Now, let's get to the first round of the contest," Astoria said as she faced the audience once again. In our appeals round, we will critique both Pokemon and coordinator technique and performance. Are you ready?" The crowd got on their feet and cheered. "Please welcome our first contestant, Shelly!"
Shelly wore a light yellow sun dress with red trimmings as she walked onto the stage. She stopped and tossed a Pokeball in the air. "Come on out, Gloria!" The Ponyta appeared with a 'neigh.' "Use Fire Wheel!"
Gloria rolled into a ball of fire. She then began to move in a circle all around the stage and her trainer.
"Now Stomp!"
Gloria suddenly stopped in front of the coordinator and stomped her hooves on the ground while she threw back her head and neighed. Shelly then hopped onto her back, her arms around her neck securely. Ponyta and its evolution where the only fire types that could control whether or not their fire burned the person touching it. "Flame Charge!"
Gloria began to stomp her feet repeatedly. As she did so, flames started to engulf her body. Soon, she and her trainer were covered with fire. Then she began to run back and forth on the stage.
"Now Fire Spin!"
Gloria stopped suddenly in the middle of the stage. While she was still covered in flames, she tilted her head back and released a powerful spin of fire that flew into the air before disappearing in a puff of smoke. Shelly then slid off her back and ground.
"That's how you show off a fire type!" Dani said from the audience.
"What an impressive display of fire and the bond between Pokemon and coordinator," Astoria said while the crowd cheered. "Let's see what our judges thought."
"Those were some impressive attacks," said Contesta.
"Simply remarkable," said Sukizo.
"it's great how the coordinator and her Ponyta have such a trusting and loving relationship," Nurse Joy said, "and they real brought out the beauty in both of them."
"Thank you, Gloria," Shelly said as she returned her to her Pokeball. She then left the stage with a smile. It certainly was easier to perform once she was on the stage. She passed May as she made her way backstage and nodded at her in good luck.
Shelly watched as May performed with her Beautifly. She thought she did quite well, and so did the judges. Then Drew stepped on stage with his Roserade. She thought he was also quite good. She and May stood together as they watched the rest of the coordinators perform. When it was finished, they waited with baited breaths to find out if they would be moving onto the second round.
The photos of eight coordinators appeared on the screen, including Drew, May, and Shelly. The pink-haired girl let out a breath of relief. "We made it," she said to her friend.
From the stage, Astoria explained how the second round worked. "This eight will be paired up randomly by the computer," she said. "There will be single elimination contest battles."
Then they were matched up with an opponent. Drew was up first against some girl who had used a Snivy in the appeals. Drew used his Bayleef against the girl's Ducklet. He quickly beat her and then returned backstage. He glanced at May as he passed the two girls, but she looked away.
Then May was up against another girl. "Good luck," Shelly said to her as she left for the stage, and she smiled at her in thanks.
Shelly watched as May and her Wartortle beat her opponent and her Purrloin. She glanced at Drew and noticed that he was watching the screen intently. She was too far away to see his expression, but he did not seem displeased that she had one. As soon as May returned, he fixed his gaze on something else. Shelly shook her head and turned to her friend. "Good job."
"Thanks!" said May. Together, they watched the third round. Finally, Shelly was up against a boy named Aaron. "Good luck!"
Shelly nodded at her as she made her way onto the stage. She took her place on one side and breathed deeply. Then she was ready. "Petals, come on out!" She threw a Pokeball in the air and released her Chikorita.
"Come on, Sandile!" said her sandy-haired opponent. A lizard-like Pokemon appeared before him and growled at Petals. "Use Bite!"
"Dodge that and use Magical Leaf!" Shelly cried.
Sandile bounded across the battlefield. Petals dashed to the side. Then she turned and sent out a swirl of leaves. Sandile's eyes widened as the leaves slammed into him.
"Sand Tomb!" Aaron called.
"Reflect!"
Sandile caused a great sandstorm to emerge, and he hurled it at the Chikorita. Petals built up a screen that reflected back most of the storm. Sandile closed his eyes as most of his own sand was toppled on him.
"Now Solar Beam!" Shelly said.
"Quick, Use Bite!"
While Petals gathered up energy in her large leaf, Sandile raced towards her. Just before he reached her, Petals released a white beam of energy that sent him flying across the stage, where he fainted by his trainer's feet.
"Aaron has lost all of his points," Astoria said. "Shelly will be moving on."
Shelly grinned at her Chikorita. "Great job, Petals." She patted her on the head before returning her.
May was there to greet her backstage. "That was a great battle!"
"Thanks, May."
They both looked up as the four remaining coordinators were matched up. The first battle consisted of Drew and the other male, while the second battle was Shelly and May. They glanced at each other and nodded. "Good luck," Shelly said.
"You too," said May.
They watched Drew win is battle. Then they were up. They both walked confidently onto the stage and took their places. "Wartortle, take the stage!" May said as she released her Pokemon.
"Petals, come on out," said Shelly, releasing her own. The Chikorita and Wartortle stood facing off, and then the clock started to count down from five minutes. "Petals, start off with Magical Leaf!"
May knew this attack well. It had caught her off guard during her very first contest battle against Drew. She may not be able to dodge, but she could still take away points from her opponent. "Wartortle, Rapid Spin!"
Petals released her leaves, and Wartortle got inside her shell. The shell started spinning, causing the leaves to bounce off before coming back to hit her. She was still damaged, but it looked kind of cool. She got close to Petals and knocked her rover.
"Now use Ice Beam!" May said.
Shelly and Petals both seemed surprised that Wartortle knew an ice attack. While Petals hesitated, Wartortle jumped out of her shell and aimed an Ice Beam at her, freezing her on the spot.
"Oh no!" Shelly cried. "Try to break free!"
"Aqua Tail!"
Petals could not move at all as the Wartortle came out her with a tail now enveloped in water. His tail struck the Chikorita, and the force of the attack caused the ice on her head to break free. Unfortunately, she could still not move the rest of her body.
Seeing the leaf now free, Shelly got an idea. "Use Solar Beam!"
"Bubble and then Ice Beam!" May said.
While Petals started to absorb energy from the sun, Wartortle blew out some bubbles. She then used her Ice Bram against the bubbles, freezing them. The frozen bubbled hit Petals, knocking her down and breaking apart her attack.
Shelly gritted her teeth in frustration. "Try Solar Beam again." There was no other attack she could do when the rest of her body was still frozen.
"Rapid Spin!"
Petals attempted to prepare for solar beam while on her side. Wartortle got inside her shell again and started spinning around. She rammed into Petals and broke her free of the ice, but she also stopped her from preparing her attack.
"Good," Shelly said, letting out a breath of relief, "now Solar Beam!" She needed to come back quickly, and Solar Beam would deal out a lot of damage to the water type.
"Continue to use Rapid Spin and then go into Aqua Tail!"
Wartortle spun around the stage until she hit the wall, which sent her flying into the air. She popped out of her shell and started up her Aqua Tail. Her tail was full of water as she came down hard on the Chikorita. This time, however, the grass type was able to hold onto the energy she needed for Solar Beam.
"Now use Solar Beam!" Shelly said.
"Time is up!" Astoria exclaimed right when Petals was about to use her attack. "The coordinator who will be moving on is... May!"
Shelly stood there, dumbfounded. Realizing what had happened, she smiled sadly at her Pokemon. "Sorry, Petals. I should have come up with a better plan." She had become too dependent on Solar Beam, and it had backfired on her this time. She returned Petals and then looked across the stage at May. "Good battle."
May nodded at her. "Thanks." She grinned at her own Pokemon. "You were awesome, Wartortle."
"Wartortle!" the water type said happily.
"Aw, Shell lost," Gabri said from the audience.
"This next battle won't be easy for May," Max said from beside her. "She has to go up against another grass type, and Drew won't fall for that Ice Beam."
"Contests are quite complicated," Gary noted.
"This will be interesting," Dani mused.
Shelly and May both returned backstage or the break between battles. The two stood silently together until it was time for the final round. "Good luck against your boyfriend," Shelly said.
May flushed. "He's not my boyfriend!"
Shelly saw Drew on the other side of the room watching them with a smirk. Her own loss was soon behind her. She could not wait to see how these two would act in a battle against each other!
From the stage, Astoria was speaking to the crowd: "The Pokemon contest in Striaton City has come down to two contestants who will battle it out for the Straiton Ribbon: Drew and May!" With her signal, the clock started to tick down.
"Wartortle, take the stage!"
"Let's go, Bayleef!"
Coordinators and Pokemon alike appeared quite serious as they faced off against each other. "Use Bubble!" May cried.
"Magical Leaf," said Drew.
Wartortle shot out her bubbles. Bayleef whipped out a spiral of leaves that struck the bubbles, making a nice effect. Some of the bubbles hit her, but the water type was the one mostly damaged.
"Use Ice Beam!" May said.
Drew flipped his hair back. "Dodge and use Razor Leaf."
"Do it!"
Wartortle knew exactly what her trainer was talking about. Instead of aiming the Ice Beam at the grass type, she aimed down and started to freeze the field. When Bayleef started to shoot leaves at her, she froze them as well.
"Rapid Spin!"
Wartortle jumped inside her shell and started to spin. The frozen leaves bounced off her shell and flew back towards Bayleef, striking her.
"Bayleef, Magical Leaf!"
"Use Bubble!"
The Pokemon attacked at the same time. The bubbles crashed into the leaves, creating shimmers, though they still hit Wartortle. Bayleef was struck by the bubbles, and she shook her head to get the water out of her eyes.
"Now Ice Beam!" May called.
"Dodge that!"
Wartortle shot out a beam of ice at Bayleef, who jumped out of the way. Unfortunately, the whole stage was now covered in ice, and she jumped right onto it while Wartortle covered the spot she had jumped from with ice. Bayleef slipped and fell on her stomach. Wartortle took this opportunity to hit her directly with Ice Beam. The grass type was not frozen, but she had sustained a good amount of damage.
"Bayleef, you need to use Synthesis!" Drew said.
May's eyes narrowed. "No, you don't. Wartortle, Aqua Tail!"
Bayleef did not even bother to try to stand up as she started to heal herself. Wartortle easily slid on the ice right towards her. He used the momentum to slam his watery tail at her with great force. Bayleef cried out from the attack. A second alter, she seemed to shimmer as she finished Synthesis.
"Now use Bubble into Rapid Spin!"
"Razor Leaf!"
Bayleef remained on the ground while she whipped out her leaves. The leaves collided with the bubbles in an explosion. Some of the leaves hit Wartortle, and the force of both attacks caused her to slide back. When she was back away from Bayleef, she jumped into her shell and started spinning and sliding around the ice stage.
"Bayleef, use Poison Powder!"
"Aqua Tail!"
Bayleef stayed put and prepared to attack. Wartortle spun in her shell on this and moved towards her opponent. As soon as he got out of his shell, Bayleef sprayed her with purple dust. This did not stop Wartortle from hitting her with his watery tail.
"Time's up!" Astoria exclaimed. Everyone looked at the scoreboard. It was hard to tell who had won because the points were so close. "The winner of this intense battle is... May!"
"She did it!" Max exclaimed. He jumped to his feet and applauded, and his friends did the same.
"Wartortle!" The water type ran to her trainer and jumped into her arms.
May laughed as she hugged her. "That was amazing, Wartortle. Thank you."
Drew dipped his head in defeat. "Thanks for giving it your best, Bayleef." After returning her, he nodded at May in acknowledgement. Then he left the stage.
May smiled softly as she watched him leave. Then she and Wartortle walked to the middle of the stage to meet Astoria. She let out Beautifly so that she could join in the excitement as well.
"Ladies and gentleman," said Astoria, "please join me in congratulating May on winning the Straiton Ribbon!" She handed the beautiful ribbon to a grinning May. Her Pokemon looked at it proudly. "Let's hear it for her!" The crowd erupted in cheers and applause.
Shelly had watched the entire battle from the side of the stage. She was happy for her friend and glad that she had won. She noticed Drew on his way out of the stadium and made a note of it. Then she saw her friends headed for the stage. She walked in that direction to meet them and May, who was walking to the edge of the stage with her Pokemon.
"May!" Max exclaimed as he ran forward. He stopped at the edge of the stage and grinned up at her. "That was an awesome battle!"
May smiled at him. "Thanks, Max. My Pokemon were great." She smiled at them. "You two deserve a long rest."
"Congratulations," Shelly said.
"That was exciting," Dani said.
"I enjoyed it," Gabri added.
"I didn't know what to expect from a Pokemon Contest, but that was pretty action-packed," said Gary.
"Thanks, guys!" May said, grinning. Her smile faded slightly as she looked around the stadium.
"He left," Shelly said, guessing what she was thinking.
"Oh," May said, seeming disappointed.
Gabri blinked. "Who left?"
Shelly rolled her eyes. "Oblivious."
Gabri glanced at Dani, who just shrugged. The eldest girl did have an idea about what she was talking about, though.
"Let's get out of here," May said. The others agreed.
Everyone remained silent until they stepped outside into the bright sun. "Are you guys heading out soon?"
"Yeah," May said. "We need to get on the road."
"I'm ready for my next gym battle!" Max said. He glanced at Gabri. "Are you going to challenge the Straiton gym again?"
Gabri nodded. "I'll do that tomorrow, and then I think we'll head out as well."
"What are you going to do, Gary?" Dani asked their companion. "You only said you'd stay with us until the contest. We'd love to have you for a little bit longer." Shelly and Gabri nodded.
"I have been thinking about it," Gary said, "and since I don't have anything else going on, I think I will take you up on that offer."
"Oh, so you just have nothing better to do?" Dani teased, a smile playing on her lips.
Gary laughed. "That's not what I meant. I would love to join you girls."
"That's great!" May said.
Shelly smiled. "Good."
Dani glanced at May and Max. "Where are you two-?"
May suddenly spotted Drew coming from the direction of the Pokemon Center and headed for the load that read out of town. Without warning, she left her friends to run after him. "Drew!"
Dani blinked. "Ok then." Shelly nudged her, so she took the cue and watched them.
Drew stopped and turned around. "Nice job in that last battle, May," he said calmly. 'You've turned into a tough opponent."
"Thanks," said May. "Where are you going?"
"I have a lot of training to do before my next contest."
"Oh, of course. Don't think I'll be going easy on you next time because I won today."
A small smile formed on his face. "I wouldn't want you to." He turned to leave. Then he stopped again, pulled something out from the inside of his jacket, and tossed it to May. "See you later, May." He finally walked away.
May instinctively caught the item and then looked down. It was a red rose. She could not help but smile as she looked back up and watched Drew's retreating form. "Goodbye, Drew!"
Shelly took the lead as the rest of the group walked to where she was standing. Shelly noticed the rose in her friend's hands and smirked. "Nice rose, May."
May blushed but made no attempt to conceal the rose. "Oh, Drew just has thing for roses."
"And you."
"Max, we need to get going too!" she said, turning to her brother suddenly.
Max smirked but said, "Alright. We'll see you guys again soon. Good luck at the Striaton gym, Gabri."
The youngest girl smiled at him. "Thanks. Bye, guys!"
"Quil!"
"Tepig!"
Everyone said their farewells as May and Max made their own departure. Once they were gone, the remaining trainers decided to return to the Pokemon Center for a break. While they walked, Shelly pulled Dani to the side and said in a low voice, "Do you believe me about May and Drew now?"
"Yes," Dani said. "There is something going on there."
"Do something about it!"
She blinked. "Why me? I'm not a matchmaker."
"Cynda?" said Mo from her shoulder.
Shelly held in a sigh. "Because Drew's obviously the problem if he hasn't done anything by now, and you're better at talking to guys than I am."
Dani frowned as she considered this. She normally let people figure out their own love lives, but she had a feeling there was something more preventing them from being together than the usual problems. Remembering what May had said about Drew always running off, she bet her sister was right about much of it coming from him. "Alright. I'll see what I can do. Just let me do this my way."
Shelly grinned at her sister. "Great! Thanks."
"What are you two talking about?" Gary asked, eyeing them suspiciously.
"Nothing," Shelly said, smiling sweetly.
"Nothing at all," Dani added.
Gabri and Gary exchanged confused glances. Then they figured they had better things to worry about than whatever those two were planning.
