A/N: FINALLY! I've finally updated this story after one whole year and ten months! Praise the Lord! My sincerest apologies for posting this chapter nearly two year after my last update (So ashamed…). I could into this long explanation of why it wasn't posted any sooner but I won't. I'm ashamed to say that I had to read this story all the way from the beginning so that I could remember just exactly what this story was about! So embarrassed; So ashamed…Oh… But the important thing is that Chapter 11 was finally posted. (falls back on pillow and groans). And I PROMISE, the next chapter will be posted very soon! (sometime in January next year-which is only four days away!)
I must mention some important things about this story before you go on to read in order to avoid some confusion you may have about this chapter. First off, let me say that I've finally fulfilled my promise to edit this story. (Yah!) … But while editing, I was a little disappointed with some of my work. Some adjustments were made to the story, but again, not to the point where the plot is changed.
The first change made was with My OC Melanie. Now before you come at me with pitch forks and torches, let me say that I did not change Melanie and her persona at all! I left her just the way she was as when I last updated this story, so you can calm down (I don't plan on changing her character anyways, she she and Ash usually provide the humor in this story with their bickering). What was changed were the nicknames of her pokémon. I was thoroughly disappointed with the little nicknames I came up for these pokémon originally. So from now on, her Charmander will be called Blaze (not Amber); her Squirtle Shelly (not Aqua); her Bulbasaur Floret (not Venus) and her Mareep Volteen (not Sparkle). So that's the first major change.
The second thing that was altered, I think were the pokémon Ash decided to take with him to Orre and ones he will use in his tournaments. I decided to take advantage of the new setting and the characters being in Orre, and so I changed the pokémon that would fit the plot better. Some old and new pokémon will come into the picture as well. I'm not gonna say who but I guarantee you, you may not expect a few of them to pop up and it might shock you who does, so you can look forward to that.
The only other change I believe I made was with my OC Christine. I changed the nickname of her Jolteon from Jolt to Buddy. It's not something I consider a big deal but if you feel his name should have remained as Jolt, you could just add that in your review or send me a PM. If you want me to hold a poll, I will. Anything to make my readers happy (but still keeps my story on the path I want it to be )
I believe those were all the changes I made. I have noticed, though, that the format I wrote in for this story is completely different from the format I used for The More Things Change. This story seems to be in the moment, short-sentenced, and to the point, whereas the format of The More Things Change in more lengthy, providing more background information and more in-depth information regarding the characters mentioned. I've was contemplating whether I should change the format of this story to make it more like the one for The More Things Change, but then decided against it since you (my readers) are familiar with the writing style presented in this story (And seems to enjoy it). So that's that.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding this chapter or the story in general, please don't hesitate to send me a PM. I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can.
And so now, without further ado, I present the anxiously awaited, Chapter 11! Yah!
May smiled to herself as she continued to groom her Pichu while she sat on the bench in the coordinators area. She had been in a relatively good mood that morning. Unlike many times in the past, where she had to rush to get to the contest hall, nearly making herself sick in the process, May was able to get up early enough to get dressed and ready for the contest. In fact, she even had enough time to eat! The other miraculous thing, which improved her mood significantly, was that she knew she was ready to compete. She had worked long hours with her pokémon to get her routine just right for the contest. It was a difficult and strenuous process trying to put together the perfect routine with less than 24 hours to practice, but somehow May had managed to do it.
Her smile widened slightly when she saw Ash enter the room with Pikachu perched on his shoulder.
"Hey, Ash." She said, cheerily.
"Hey," he replied. Pikachu hopped next to Pichu, seemingly giving her some last minute advice. "Just came to see how you were doing."
"I'm fine. I'm just getting Pichu ready for its first contest."
"Pichu." The baby pokémon replied happily.
Ash nodded. "You're gonna do great, May."
May seemed to smile at that. "Thanks. And after I win that ribbon, it'll be your turn in Pyrite."
"You bet! Be sure to give it your all, okay?"
"I will."
With a smile, Ash exited the coordinator's area with Pikachu and went to go take their seats in the stands.
May smiled at her pokémon."You're gonna be great, Pichu."
The little mouse's smile spread into a full grin at her human's words, feeling comforted that she would do well in her first performance on the contest stage.
"Well, if it isn't May." A voice called from behind. The trainer approached her. She had on a violet off the shoulder side shirred top and black slacks.
May blinked a couple times before she recognized the trainer. Smiling she stood up.
"Hey Christine, how are you?"
"Fine. Just came to see how you were."
"I'm fine. Pichu and I are ready to go out there and win that ribbon."
"Pichu!"
Christine smirked slightly. "Well, you haven't won that ribbon yet. Just make sure you bring it in the finals."
"I will. You just make sure you're ready."
The screen in the coordinators area came alive as the spotlight hit the emcee, who bared a striking resemblance to the emcees in Hoenn and Kanto. She had on a red knit shirt and blue denim jeans. According to her name under the contest staff members, she is the youngest sister of emcees Lillian, Vivian, and Marian Meridian—Gillian Meridian.
"Looks like they're 'bout to start. Guess I better get ready." Christine said, watching the monitor. "I'll be watching you, May." She told her friend, then she left the coordinator's area and went straight into the lady's restroom.
"Welcome everyone! And welcome also to all our coordinators and their pokémon! The Phenac City Contest with our brand new stage is about to get underway! Get ready for a display of love and creativity!"
The audience cheered. Brock, once again taking in by his inner romantic, clasped his hands together as he gazed upon the red-headed beauty. "I'm definitely feeling the love, Gillian!" He shouted.
"Our first contest in the Orre region! I can already tell this is gonna be great!" Max said with excitement.
"Yeah, let's cheer really loud for May." Ash said.
"Pika! Pikachu!"
Back on the stage Gillian began to speak again.
"Only one contestant will take home this fabulous prize. The Phenac City Contest ribbon!" She held up the spotted blue ribbon for the audience to see, "And the coordinator who takes this ribbon will be one more step closer to compete in the Orre Grand Festival, where our very own hero is expected to make an appearance!"
Again the crowd cheered.
"First, I'll introduce our fine panel of judges! Our head judge and Pokémon Contest Director, Raoul Contesta!"
"Thank you, it's always a pleasure to be here."
"Our next judge, the president of the pokémon fan club, Mr. Sukizo!"
"Thank you, this is as usual, remarkable."
"And our last judge is none other than Phenac City's own Nurse Joy!"
"Thank you, I'm so honored to be here."
Back in the stands, Brock stood to his feet. "Nurse Joy, the honor is all ours!"
"Give it a rest, Romeo. The contest is about to start." Max said, clearly irritated as he pulled his friend back down into his seat.
"So without further ado, let's get this contest started!" Gillian declared.
Just as before, the crowd cheered, this time louder than before.
"Wow, what a crowd." Max said, as the loud cheering shattered his eardrums.
"Orre fans really have some spirit, huh?" Brock said with a smile.
"Yeah and I'm feeling it myself." Ash said, with Pikachu agreeing.
In another section in the audience a blue-haired man and a talking Meowth looked down towards the stage.
"Think Jess will actually win this one?" James asked.
"Lemme put it tah yah dis way: Noda chance." Meowth replied.
"Now that we're all familiar with ourselves, let's get this shindig started already! Now give it up for contestant number one!"
As the spotlight hits the stage, a coordinator wearing a lavender colored dress and white gloves ran on stage.
"Christine looks great out there." Max said.
"Guess we'll finally see what she's really made of," Ash added, along with a cheering Pikachu dressed in a kimono.
With a flick of her hair, Christine reached for her pokéball and threw it in the air.
"All right Honey! It's Showtime!"
With a pop of the pokéball, blue flames shot out of the seal and a fox-like pokémon covered with thick, luxurious golden-white fur and nine orange-tipped tails appeared right out of the display, consuming the blue embers until they fade away on the stage.
"What an entrance," Max examined, clearly impressed.
"Now Honey, let's kick things off with Power Swap!"
The fluffy crest on the fox pokémon's head began to glow purple soon followed by her body. It increased nearly three times in size as the pokémon closed her gleaming red eyes..
"And Christine starts things off with a beautiful display of Power Swap." Gillian announced.
"She's right." Brock began, "Christine's doing a great job of showing off Ninetails ability to wield Ghost-type attacks."
"Now Energy Ball!" Christine commanded.
The Ninetales began charging up and a ball of greenish-blue energy formed at her mouth. The color of the orb instantly changed from greenish-blue, to a purplish-blue, along with the Ninetales eyes.
"Now release it!"
The Fire-type immediately shot the purple ball of energy off into the air.
"Heat Wave!" She instructed.
The Ninetales exhaled a spiraling breath of hot air. The spiraling orange flames surrounded the energy-filled ball in a fiery tornado.
"And Christine creates a wild dazzling display with a combination of grass and fire attacks." Gillian shouted.
"Finish it up with Swift!"
The nine-tailed pokémon shot multiple purple-colored stars from her mouth, hitting the Energy Ball, popping it and causing it to break from the spiraling flames. A shower of embers and sparking glitter fell to the stage as Ninetales stood elegantly in the center, bowing along with her trainer soon after their routine ended.
"A spectacular performance by Christine and her Ninetales! Let's see what our judges have to say." Gillian said as the camera shifted from her to the three judges at panel.
"A marvelous display that showcases Ninetales many special abilities." Mr. Contesta responded.
"Yes. Quite remarkable." Mr. Sukizo commented.
"Christine does a great job of showing the beauty of her Ninetales. I'm eager to see how our other contests will fair." Nurse Joy replied.
Back in the audience, Brock, Ash, and Max gave their evaluation on how well they think May's new rival did.
"How did she do that?" Max asked, clearly impressed.
"I've never see anything like that." Ash said as he looked back towards the Ninetales, who had already returned back to her golden complexion.
"That's gonna be a tough act to follow. Christine raised her Ninetales very well. May certainly has her hands full." Brock observed.
In the coordinator area, a nervous May held her slightly frightened Pichu.
"PiPichu."
"It had to take lots of training to teach that to Ninetails." May said uneasily.
The camera once again shifts to Gillian.
"What a way to start off the show! Let's keep that excitement level high as we welcome our next entrée!"
The few trainers to perform included a Staraptor using Ominous Wind, an Absol usinng Swords Dance, a juggling Mr. Mime, and a dancing Octillery.
"And now, let's welcome our next coordinator, Empress Jessamine!" Gillian shouted.
A masked coordinator wearing a strapless pink dress and yellow high heels appeared on stage. She wore white gloves and pink chocker necklace.
"Jess is up!" James cried excitedly!"
"Do it Jessamine!" Meowth shouted as he rose his paw in the air and made a tiny fist.
"Jessamine? What happened to Jessilina?"
"Jessa-gone!" Meowth replied.
"Come on out, Seviper!" The mask coordinator cried as she threw a pokéball into the air.
A blast of blue flames shot from the seal on the pokéball. Immediately after the seal was released from the pokéball, fierce red eyes lit up within the flames and a figure soon shot out of it, revealing a rather large Seviper.
"And Jessamine makes an eerie entrance with her Seviper!" Gillian declared.
"Now Seviper, use Haze!" She commanded.
The Seviper opened her mouth and a cloud of thick black smoke came out, covering the entire stage.
"Now Poison Tail!"
The poison-type pokémon hissed as her tail began to glow a light purple. She started swaying it from left to right in the black smoke, creating a beautiful wave of purple within the smoke. An illusion of three tails swaying from left to right was revealed to the audience.
"And Jessamine starts things off with a bone-chilling performance by showing how Seviper can create horrible poison by channeling it through its tail!" Gillian commented.
"Show the crowd your elegant eyes once more!"
Once again, the Seviper's glaring fierce red eyes penetrated through the smoke.
"Now, Seviper, in the air!"
The snake pokémon jumped high into the air, doing several fluid tricks by using Wrap. When the poison-type pokémon reached the center, she opened her mouth wide, revealing the purple poison that was channeling through her elongated sharp fangs. She then bit down on her glowing tail and started spinning around the same way she did in the Daybreak Town Pokémon Contest in Sinnoh, creating a purple ring in the center of the black smoke.
Gillian continued to watch the performance intently. "What speed! Seviper's spinning like a hyped-up Hitmontop!"
"Now finish!" Her trainer commanded.
With one swift move of her tail, the cloud of smoke faded away. Seviper concluded her performance by wrapping herself around Jessamine once she landed.
The crowd roared its approval.
"Now there's a glowing performance from Seviper's skillful spinning and luminous Poison Tail! Just gorgeous!" Gillian exclaimed, "And now, let's hear what our fabulous judges have to say."
The camera then shifts to the judging table.
"A beautiful way to show off Seviper's special abilities." Said the man known as Mr. Contesta.
"Yes, and remarkable as well." Mr. Sukizo added.
"This performance was full of surprises. I can't wait to see what the other contestants will bring to the table." Nurse Joy stated.
Back in the stands, James and Meowth were thoroughly please with the way their teammate performed.
"She a hit! They loved her!" James exclaimed.
"No way she's not makin' it to da finals now!" Meowth added.
In another section of the stands, three trainers were also impressed with the way Jessamine performed.
Ash shook his head. "Man she's good,"
"Piii-Kaaa…" His starter added, agreeing.
Brock folded his arms as he analyzed the masked coordinator's performance. "May definitely has some tough competition. These Orre trainers really know how to showcase their pokémon well. This trainer's no joke, alright."
"But May still has a chance, right Brock?" Max asked, concerned his sister wouldn't make it to the next round.
Brock smiled. "Of course. Right now we just need to focus on helping May by giving her the highest level of support and encouragement that we can give her." He replied, calming Max's nerves a little, though he wasn't too sure about it himself. May had very limited time to put together her routine. He couldn't help but wonder if it was enough to get her through to the next round after all.
"And now, let's welcome our next entrée, May!" Gillian shouted.
Taking a deep breath, May ran up to the center of the stage. She was wearing her Arabian style dress (the same one she wore during the Wallace Cup in Sinnoh). It was a pink half shirt with a yellow heart on it with a yellow border on the sleeves and neck. She also wore a peach veil with a green gem on top, and a long peach skirt with a piece of pink fabric at the waist. Her entire midriff was exposed here. She also wore brown flip-flops with toe rings and a yellow necklace with a red heart.
"Alright Blaziken and Pichu! Take the stage!" she yelled as she threw the two pokéballs and they snapped opened in midair. Black smoke came out of the first seal, covering the entire stage in a black fog in almost the same manner as when Seviper released its Haze. Soon after the first seal snapped, the second one popped as well. Many yellow lightning bolts flew out of black smoke. After a few moments, an electrical shock enveloped the ebony cloud. Brilliant lights flashed through the thick smoke and when it died down, a Blaziken stood tall and erect center stage, with a bandana wearing Pichu on its shoulder.
Max shot out of his seat. "What an entrance!"
"Let's go May!" Ash shouted.
"Pika! Pika!" Pikachu added, waving the two small fans he held in his tiny paws.
"All right Blaziken, let's start things off with Fire Spin!" May ordered.
A vortex of fire was released from Blaziken's hooked beak, going high into the air.
"And May's starts things off with a dazzling Fire Spin." Gillian shouted.
"Now Pichu, use Quick Attack!" May commanded.
The tiny mouse pokémon began running towards the fiery vortex; a trail of white light followed her as she ran.
"Now jump!"
Using her tail as a spring, the electric pokémon propelled herself upward into the Fire Spin, spinning as she entered the vortex.
"Wow! Amazing! That Pichu gorgeously is riding that Fire Spin with ease!" Gillian commented.
"What control. May really must've trained hard with her pokémon to get that down packed" Christine observed from the coordinator's area.
"Now Pichu! Use Grass Knot!" May instructed.
Pichu's eyes began to glow green. Not too long after it does, that two blades of grass shot out from the ground, also growing green. The sprouts then tied together in a knot before shooting straight up towards the vortex, slicing it into four sections.
"How did she do that?" Melanie asked from the stands, completely astound. Ash also questioned how May was able to get an electric-type pokémon to learn a grass-type move.
"Alright Blaziken, Sky Uppercut!"
The Blaze pokémon's fists began to glow a light blue, and with her mighty legs, the fire-type leaped into the air, cutting the vines and gathering the flames as she made her way to the top of the vortex. Two little fiery balls formed in her claws.
"Now finish!" May commanded.
The fire-type shot the two inferno balls high into the air. Recognizing her cue, Pichu then spun around and with a cry, shot a lightning bolt from her small tail to the two balls of fire. As the two collided, a display of fireworks began to form. Catching Pichu on her way down, Blaziken landed firmly on her two feet as the fireworks she and her partner created began to fall towards the ground as glistening embers and sparks.
May ended the routine with a bow while her pokémon did the same (Pichu was now perched on Blaziken's shoulder)
The crowd roared its approval as the cameras once again focused on Gillian.
"Wow! May has just pulled off an excellent combination of Sky Uppercut and Charge Beam! What a terrific way to mark the end of our first round!" She exclaimed.
Again, the crowd roared.
"All right! That's my sister!" Max yelled, jumping out of his seat.
"Yeah, I knew she could do it! Way to go, May!" Ash screamed.
"PikaPika!"
"Great performance! Pichu and Blaziken were in perfect synch. That must have taken a lot of time and patience to get that routine down-packed. And considering the amount of time she had to put this together says a lot. May really worked hard on this." Brock replied, relieved that she was able to do a great job, despite the limited amount of time she had to put it the routine together.
In the coordinators area, a small smile spread across Christine's lips as she evaluated May's performance. "Not bad, May. Not bad at all."
The cameras followed Gillian as she walked up to center stage. "And now let's hear what our fabulous judges have to say!"
The camera shifted to the three judges at panel.
"Combining Charge Beam with fireworks was an impressive idea." Nurse Joy commented.
"Quite remarkable, indeed," Mr. Sukizo added.
"May does an excellent job of showing her love for her pokémon through her routine. True teamwork." Mr. Contesta added.
"And there you have it, folks! Now our judges will make their final decisions as to which eight coordinators will continue on into the second round." Gillian declared.
Back in the coordinators area, May sat back on the bench with a relieved sigh.
"You were great out there, Pichu. Now, all we have to do is wait." She told her young pokémon.
"Well, well." A voice called from behind, "Not too shabby there, Maple."
May chuckled slightly, recognizing the voice. "Thanks Christine. You were great out there too. I just hope I did enough to make it to the second round."
"Are you kidding? You had those judges in the palm of your hand. You're going to the second round for sure."
May smiled weakly.
"Looks like the results are in." Christine said, pointing towards the monitor.
May held her Pichu close. "Here we go."
"Pi…"
Back on stage, Gillian began to speak. "The first round of judging is complete. So please turn you attention to the main screen. Here are the lucky eight coordinators who will continue on into the second round."
The monitor came to life as it displayed which coordinators the judges decided would continue on the battle round. The first trainer listed was Christine, the third was May, and the fifth Jessamine.
May quickly stood to her feet. "I'm in!"
"Pipichu!"
Christine closed her eyes. "What'd I tell yah?"
"All right! I knew she'd make it to the second round!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pipikachu!" The electric pokémon said, waving his paws enthusiastically.
"Looks like Christine made it too!" Max observed.
"I'm not surprised. They both deserve it. The battle round to ought to be very interesting." Brock said with a smile.
In another section of the stands, Jessamine's two supporters were also pleased with the results.
James stood to his feet. "Jess is in!"
"Wow. She may be able to win dis ting yet." Stated the talking Meowth.
Back on stage, Gillian again took center stage. "Now, these eight coordinators will be paired in random by our computer for the single elimination contest battles."
Shuffling the coordinators ID photos as if they were a deck of cards, the monitor then divided them into four pairs.
"Looks like I'll be in the first battle." May said as she looked upon the monitor in the coordinator area backstage.
Christine smiled. "I'll be seeing you in the final round, then?"
"Definitely!"
A maniacal laugh sounded from the behind two girls. "Oh please," the coordinator known as Jessamine began as she approached the two, "I'll admit, you two did pretty well out there but I'm gonna be the one who's going to the final stage and taking home that ribbon!"
Christine crinkled her brow. She put one hand on her hip. "Talk's cheap. You want me to believe that, you gotta show it on stage."
"Like you said, we did pretty well out there during the appeals round. So I think we have a pretty good shot of winning that ribbon as well." May added.
"Au contraire, deary. Take a look at the screen." She pointed to the monitor, "You and I are matched round one, which means you're my next opponent. So the first battle will be your total humiliation."
May scoffed. "Your threats don't scare me. I say you're going down."
"Pi Pichu!' Her pokémon replied angrily.
The masked coordinator again started laughing. "This should be fun. See you on stage, twer—I mean, May." She nonchalantly waved goodbye before exiting the coordinating area.
May grimaced. A hand was placed on her shoulder and looked up to see it was Christine's.
"Don't let what she said get to you. You'll do fine."
May smiled weakly. "Thanks Christine."
She stood to her feet. "Could you do me a favor and watch Pichu for me while I go on stage?"
"Of course." She replied, taking the young electric pokémon from her trainer's arms. "I'll be waiting for you in the final round."
"Pipichu Pi!"
She nodded in response. "See you there," May said as she exited the coordinators area and made her way on stage to face her next opponent.
A/N: And that's the end of chapter 11. Again, my sincerest apologies for updating almost two years later. But like I said, you won't have to wait much longer for the next update.
I wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Please don't forget to review!