As Cherry and the others went backstage for the second round, Serena cradled her Fennekin and went to sit up on the balcony with her Pancham. Little did they know; a gray-haired woman was watching.
Cherry and Shauna entered the girl's room again and were soon bombarded by the pink-haired woman. "Lose!? How could I, Jessilee, have lost! Mark my words, I'll be back! I'll get a Princess Key!" She cried out. Jessilee stormed out of the arena angrily.
"What was that about?" Shauna whispered. Cherry responded with a light shrug.
They both hurriedly practiced for their second round once the announcer spoke through the PA again.
"Performers! Our Freestyle Round will be beginning shortly! Have your partners ready, si vous plait!"
Serena came by to wish the girls luck then returned back to her post on the high balcony. Ash and Calem met their partners backstage while Clemont and Chespin went to sit with Bonnie.
"Good luck, Calem and Shauna." Ash said.
"As of now, we're really rivals." Calem replied nervously.
"Yeah, I won't give up until the end!" Ash cried out.
Calem smiled with determination. "Yeah, and neither will I!"
"Welcome back to the Coumarine City Pokémon Showcase! Now is the time for our second round, the Freestyle Round! The Performers and their Pokémon perform together on stage, making full use of the Pokémon's capabilities."
The teleprompter screen was once again scrolling with pictures. Fingers were crossed and prayers were made.
"Our first performers, Lucille and her partner, Tyson!"
Ash and Cherry watched the two dance with their two electric-type Pokemon, Emolga and Dedenne.
"It's just like mine!" Bonnie giggled.
"Thank you for that amazing performance! These two only set the standard for the remaining four teams! Remember, there can only be ONE winner! Next up…"
Cherry bit her lip as the screen showed their names. "Ash and Cherry!"
Cherry sighed, hanging back for a while as Ash made his way to the rising platform. "Hey Cherry, aren't you coming?" He inquired.
She scooped up her Pachirisu. "I dunno, Ash. I don't think I'm ready." She replied. Ash approached her and took Cherry's hand. "C'mon! We've got this performance in the bag!" He assured her with a large smile. Cherry returned with a nod.
The two performers rose to the top of the stage. The lights were dimmed before they sent out their Pokemon.
They two began twirling around together. "Alright Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Ash cried. His Pikachu stood in the middle of the dancing performers and performed his own move.
"Pika…CHU!"
Cherry performed twirls around the static that slammed against the floor of the stage. "Wow, that's dangerous. I hope she'll be okay." The gray-haired woman mumbled to herself.
Spreading out her arms, Cherry shouted, "Pachirisu, use Charm!"
The Elesquirrel pounced towards the front of the stage with a cute smile as little pastel pink hearts surrounded it. The crowd broke into a round swoons.
Ash and Cherry reunited with each other and Ash quickly spun his partner. Pikachu and Ash winked at each other as Pikachu's tail turned a steely gray. It whipped at the flying electric volts, sending them to soar between Ash and Cherry.
The crowd began cheering.
"Altogether now!" Ash cried. The four performers each chose their partner then Cherry cried, "Pachirisu, use Nuzzle!"
Pachirisu nuzzled cheeks with Pikachu who blushed a little. Ash and Cherry tangoed across the stage.
"And…. finished!" They cried.
They crowd began screaming happily as the performers gathered their Pokémon.
"See Cherry? It was nothing! You did great."
Cherry smiled at Ash. As they walked backstage, she stopped and turned towards him. "Thank you Ash, for your support. Thank you for being my partner!" She said bashfully. Ash replied with a hug. "No problem."
"Our last performers of the evening are, Shauna and Calem!"
"Break a leg!" Cherry said to Shauna. "You guys performed wonderfully. I hope we do as well as you two."
Cherry watched alone from the girl's teleprompter as Shauna and Calem performed a number with Bulbasaur and Espurr.
Bulbasaur used Vine Whip to carry Shauna in a circle while she twirled a pink ribbon. Calem instructed Espurr to use Psychic so he could assist her with his own blue ribbon. Bulbasaur shot a Solar Beam that illuminated the room in a neon green light while Espurr showered the stage with floating flowers from Bulbasaur's bouquet. The two ended with Bulbasaur's vines creating a heart around Calem and Shauna. Espurr kept their ribbons twirling while he used his psychic powers and the two performers clasped their hands together.
"We're done!" They shouted, breathlessly.
Cherry, Shauna, Ash, Calem, Lucille, Tyson, and four other performers joined each other on stage for the judging.
"Once again, please light your Glow Casters to vote for your favorite performers!" The announced watched from his post as the glow casters lit up with a various assortment of wonderful colors.
Ash and Cherry held their Pokemon in their arms while the teleprompter ran the pictures in the back. The keyholes began to fill up and suddenly, the luminous balls of light stopped.
"Our winners are…Shauna and Calem!"
Cherry smiled uneasily while Ash patted her shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll get 'em next time." He assured. Her own words being used but they sounded strange and distant. The noises in the arena, the cheering and crying, got tinny and hollow.
We lost
As the crew left that evening, Shauna showed off her Princess Key. "Now I'll surely have to catch up!" Serena said.
"It's onto our second win, right Calem?" Shauna smiled tenderly at her Bulbasaur. "I couldn't have done it without my partners."
They all said their goodbyes and went off to bed for the night. At the break of dawn, Serena and Cherry both slipped out of the Pokemon Center's resting area. Serena headed to the pier while Cherry went towards the lake.
Cherry held her Pachirisu in her arms and began to sob. "I'm sorry Mommy! I tried really hard, I promise!" She blubbered, wiping tears from her face. "I just couldn't win."
A seemingly real, more like surreal, image of her mother rippled in the lake. The red-haired, brown woman was a researcher in Sinnoh that she rarely got to see. She was a Sinnoh Coordinator along with Dawn's mother and they made a secret promise that she'd be a Kalos Queen in the future. Her mother was ill now and could only stay in the lab.
As Cherry cried into her Pachirisu's fur, Serena cried at the edge of the pier.
She didn't say much but just kept sobbing. Her Fennekin and Pancham stared at her with wet eyes, emitting noises to stop her from crying. Finally fed up with her sad tears, her Pokemon jumped into her lap and snuggled their heads against her.
"Oh you!" She giggled through her tears.
"You guys were always there to help me. When I saw you fall, I felt as if I couldn't do anything to help you. But now, I'll make sure that there is something I can do. That's how we will win! Thing is, I've never felt like this before." Serena walked towards the edge a bit more and took a pair of styling scissors from her backpack. As memories flashed through her mind, Serena assured herself that she had to do this. Caramel brown pieces of hair floated away in the wind, landing slowly in the cool ocean.
"These girls…aren't like other performers." The gray-haired woman said as her car began to drive away.
The next morning, Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie were getting ready to leave for their next performance. "Wait, where's Serena?"
"You don't think she gave up, do you?" Bonnie asked sadly.
"Hey, where's Cherry at?" He questioned. "I didn't see her get out of bed either." Clemont replied. Both girls returned with different looks. Serena's hair and clothes were different and as for Cherry, her hair was decorated differently and her clothes were replaced with a blue jacket with white stripes, a black skirt, and black leggings to pair it up. Her mary-janes were gone but a pair of blue sneakers replaced them.
"Whoa, what did you guys do?" Clemont asked in shock.
"Your hair, you chopped it all off!" Bonnie cried.
"That bow, is that?" Ash began to ask. Serena nodded. "I wanted to use it as a thank you!" She explained.
"I will practice even harder!" Cherry said. Bonnie's eyes gleamed. "Your hair is different too! Wow, and it's blue at the ends." She pointed out.