"I don't know if I can do this," Kaori whispered, hugging her knees to her chest
"I don't know if I can do this," Kaori whispered, hugging her knees to her chest. "I was so afraid last time, I don't want to go out there and make a fool of myself."
She heard the sound of the bathroom door swish open and then a shadow fell across her face.
"Griff told me you were in here," said Zoe, sitting down beside Kaori with a small smile. "So I guess you're a little nervous," Zoe said, looking at Kaori's trembling body, "Everyone's afraid Kaori, everyone's heat pumps when they get out there. But you can't let it beat you. When I lost at Cerulean…" Zoe faltered a little, embarrassed of what she had done. "I lost all confidence," she continued, "I was too afraid to battle, I couldn't bear to lose again. But I wasn't going to let it beat me." Kaori looked up and saw that Zoe's eyes had glazed over a little bit. "I trained as hard as I could, planned my strategies and defeated Lt. Surge. And now I realise, if I hadn't lost then I might never have tried so hard, I might never have trained so hard. So don't be afraid, worst that can happen: you lose and trust me, that can be a good thing." Zoe finished
Kaori rose slowly to her feet, "you're right Zoe, I need to go out there and face that snob. And if I lose, then at least I tried as hard as I could!"
Kaori marched out of the bathroom, leaving Zoe to stare at the swinging as it closed. "Wow, I'm really motivating," Zoe laughed to herself.
"Round 2 is about to begin with Alan from Petalburg city facing Kaori from right here in Vermillion. Following standard contest rules, this will be a 5 minute, one on one battle where each co-ordinator must try and lower their opponent's scores! So let's start the battle!" Announced the MC.
"Heracross, lets go!" Yelled Alan, unleashing an enormous stag beetle pokemon.
"Cyndaquil, together we can do it!" Cried Kaori, trying to ignore the crowd around her. Cyndaquil growled and flames burst into life on its back.
"Heracross, take down!" Cried the blond boy, his piercing eyes fixed on his beetle pokemon. Heracross pounded across the battlefield, preparing for a shoulder tackle.
"Cyndaquil, quick attack! Go!" Cried Kaori. Cyndaquil sprinted, its shape blurring as it gained speed, it slammed into Heracross at full speed, Heracross stumbled backwards, but Cyndaquil was thrown, skidding across the floor.
"Cyndaquil's quick attack was just not strong enough, Heracross has dealt it a lot of damage." Said the MC, as both scores above her began to slip.
"Cyndaquil get back up, smokescreen!" Cyndaquil belched out a stomach full of smoke, engulfing the entire stage in smoke so thick that it was impossible to see a thing.
"That smokescreen sure has covered up the stage! What will Alan do?" Asked the MC; above her the points were about equal at 80.
"Cyndaquil, Quick attack again!" Cried Kaori.
"Heracross, fly up!" Ordered Alan.
Kaori gasped as wings shot out of the back of Heracross' shell lifting it into the air. Cyndaquil passed just underneath it with quick attack.
"A good dodge by Heracross, that's going to cost Kaori points!" Cried the MC.
"Heracross, go for an aerial ace!" Heracross' wings began to glow as it swooped through the smoke towards Cyndaquil. Bursting through the smoke it discovered… nothing!
"Nice work Cyndaquil! Hit it with flamethrower now!"
Suddenly, from Heracross' left flank a jet of flames appeared, tossing Heracross from the air.
"A brilliant hit from Cyndaquil is going to cost Alan serious points!" Shrieked the MC. Alan's points hit 60 whilst Kaori's was still at 70.
"Heracross, brick break!" Yelled Alan, Heracross descended on Cyndaquil, horn aglow.
"Cyndaquil, dodge it!"
Heracross struck with its horn, but Cyndaquil hopped out of the way just in time. Unfortunately, on the second strike Heracross found its mark, smashing Cyndaquil into the ground.
"Cyndaquil, you've got to get up!" Wailed Kaori, tears forming in her eyes. Cyndaquil struggled to its feet, behind it Kaori's score dropped to a mere 40.
"We have just a minute to go! Will Alan claim victory or can Kaori stage a glorious comeback?" Shouted the MC, the crowd jumping with excitement.
"Cyndaquil, flame wheel!" Cyndaquil belched out more flames, engulfing itself, then began to spin, creating a rolling ball of flames.
"Heracross, all or nothing! Megahorn!" Yelled Alan, desperately willing the time to tick down faster.
Heracross' horn glowed green as it stabbed once more at Cyndaquil, but this time Cyndaquil was prepared, bouncing into the air and hitting Heracross in the face. Heracross stumbled backwards with its eyes clenched shut.
"Now, Cyndaquil quick attack!" Still aflame Cyndaquil shot at Heracross, throwing it to the floor, flames curling around its body.
Crosses appeared on the judges screens as they declared Heracross "down and out."
"And there you have it folks! Kaori and Cyndaquil are moving onto the finals!"
Kaori almost fainted, pulling her Cyndaquil into a cuddle, she grinned like crazy, almost forgetting about all the people who were watching her. "We did it, we did it!" Was all she could say as she walked back into the co-ordinator area.
"Hey Kaori," shouted Alan, causing Kaori to turn back, "that was a good battle, I hope you win this thing," he said sheepishly before turning his back to Kaori and marching out of the contest hall.
"Are you ready Mac?" Asked Zoe as they watched Kaori enter the backstage.
"Of course I'm ready, I'm ready to win this ribbon!"
"Alright then Mac, lets go, I'm not going easy on you!" Laughed Zoe, as the two of them made there way to the stage.
"Next up is Mac from Pallet Town versus Zoe from… oh Pallet town as well! So these two grew up together, now its time to see who's ready to take on Kaori in the finals!" Shrieked the MC, starting the timer on the screen.
"Corphish, lets win this!" Corphish appeared, clicking its claws angrily.
"Nidoqueen, we can do this!" Cried Zoe. Mac gasped as an enormous blue dinosaur appeared, stomping the ground furiously.
"WHAT!" Bawled Griff backstage, "To get her Nidorina to evolve she would need a moonstone! And the only way she could get a moonstone…" Griff trailed off with a scream as he discovered the single moonstone still left in his backpack.
Zoe thought she heard a scream from backstage, but she decided to ignore it and focus on the battle.
"Corphish, Crab hammer!" Ordered Mac. Corphish's claws glowed white as it scuttled towards Nidoqueen.
"Nidoqueen, poison fang!" Nidoqueen opened its mouth wide and clamped down on Corphish's claw, expelling the light from it.
"Now, use double kick!" Mac gasped as Corphish was thrown into the air, then the enormous dinosaur launched itself after the crab and punted it across the field with a powerful kick.
"Wow, that attack showed Nidoqueen's awesome power, I would not want to be Corphish right now!" Gasped the MC as Mac's points dropped.
"Corphish are you okay?" Asked Mac fearfully, but Corphish quickly jumped back onto its feet, ready for more. "YES! Corphish, Bubblebeam!"
"Nidoqueen, dodge it!" Cried Zoe.
However the lumbering dinosaur was not quite fast enough and the stream of bubbles caught her head on.
"Now Corphish! Use swords dance!"
"Corphish is getting ready for an attack, but with only one minute left on the clock, is there enough time?" Questioned the MC, Zoe still had more points than Mac at this late stage and the match seemed decided.
"Nidoqueen, Earthquake!" Roared Zoe. The entire stadium shook as Nidoqueen slammed her foot into the ground splitting the earth before her. Corphish's eyes widened in terror as the ground burst open beneath it, throwing the luckless crab high into the air.
"It looks like this match is more or less decided at that!" Cried the MC, Mac's points hit less than 20 and were quite a long way of Zoe's.
"It's not fair," thought Mac, "I'm the one who's fought in a contest before. I'm the one who's been practicing my appeals, I'm the one who's been dreaming of that ribbon for the last month, why is she so good at this?" But Mac snapped out of his thought bubble to return to the battle and the final thirty second chance he had.
"Corphish, use this fall to give you power and go for another crab hammer!" Ordered Mac.
"Nidoqueen, toxic!" Shrieked Zoe, Corphish swooped down towards Nidoqueen just as she unleashed a stomach full of poisonous liquid. The liquid drenched Corphish, but did not take the crab out as it landed on Nidoqueen, slamming its claw into her. Nidoqueen slid across the ground and the entire crowd gasped, judges and MC included.
"Wow, Mac used Corphish's crab hammer combined with Nidoqueen's earthquake and his earlier swords dance, Zoe is going to lose a lot of points for that!"
"Nidoqueen, fury swipes!"
"Corphish, vice grip!"
But they were both too late as the buzzer rang out across the hall, signalling the end of their battle. Both trainers looked up to the board, but the two scores were so close that they could hardly see the difference just by looking.
"It looks like…" Cried the MC, holding one finger to her ear as she received the result, "Yes, Mac wins by two points!"
Zoe felt her heart shatter. A picture of Mac, Corphish and Bulbasaur flashed jauntily on the big screen, mocking her. All her training, all that practice, earning the thunder badge; it had meant nothing, she still wasn't good enough to beat her own friends.
She felt tears sneak their way into her eyes and she turned to leave the stadium. But then a voice called her back.
"What happened to losing can be a good thing?" Yelled Kaori, hurrying across the stadium towards Zoe.
"What do I know?" She barked back, "I don't have the right to preach to you, I lost!"
"Good trainers don't always win," said Kaori, blocking Zoe's exit, "good trainers learn from their losses."
Zoe was silent for a moment. She looked across the stadium to where Mac was animatedly talking with the judges, she looked at the cheering fans and she looked at Kaori's troubled face.
"If you want to go, I won't stop you," said Kaori sadly.
"How could I leave? This final gonna be one hell of a battle." Zoe grinned and Kaori did as well.
"Anyway contests aren't you're thing, you belong in the Kanto league," explained Kaori and Zoe nodded.
"Yeh, you're right. I need to earn me those 8 badges. Cos two sure ain't gonna be enough!"
"Glad to have you back Zoe," smiled Kaori.
"The final will now begin, between Kaori from here in Vermillion and Mac from Pallet Town!"
"Cyndaquil, give it your all!"
"Corphish, let's win this!"
"Mac will be at a type advantage for this battle, can Kaori overcome it?" Squealed the MC excitedly.
"Cyndaquil, smokescreen!" The field was engulfed in black smoke, obscuring everyone's vision of the battle, just like her previous battle.
"Cyndaquil, quick attack!"
"Corphish, protect!"
A green glow emitted from the smoke, followed shortly by a crash from Cyndaquil hitting Corphish's protect. Cyndaquil toppled back out of the smoke, looking dazed.
Kaori whimpered as her points started to drop.
"Corphish, use swords dance!"
"That's what he did last time," muttered Kaori, "Cyndaquil, quick attack, stop that swords dance!"
This time Corphish was the one to emerge, blackened, from the smoke and Mac was the one to see his points fall.
"Bubblebeam, go!"
The bubbles parted the smoke, but Cyndaquil managed to dodge them at the last moment. Retaliating with a jet of flame. Corphish, defenceless after its attack, was hit head on by the flames and thrown backwards.
"Wow, that flamethrower is going to lower Mac's points!"
"Corphish, vice grip!"
"Cyndaquil, tackle!"
Both pokemon raced towards one another, Cyndaquil tried to connect with its shoulder, but Corphish hopped out of the way clamping its claws down on Cyndaquil. Cyndaquil squealed in pain and Kaori gasped fearfully.
"Now bubble beam!"
Corphish opened its claw for a second and blasted Cyndaquil across the field with a line of bubbles.
"Now, Swords dance!" Yelled Mac. Cyndaquil was too tired to stop it this time.
"Cyndaquil, flame wheel!" Cyndaquil rose slowly to its feet and began to spin, surrounding itself with flame.
"Corphish, crab hammer!"
"Will Cyndaquil take out Corphish with flame wheel or is Corphish just too strong?"
Cyndaquil span towards Corphish and the crab prepared to use crab hammer when suddenly a buzzer announced itself, signalling the end of the battle.
"And the winner of the Vermillion contest is… Mac from Pallet Town!" Screamed the MC and the audience burst into applause.
Mac exploded with excitement pulling Corphish into a hug.
He jumped onto the stage, where Mr. Contester handed him the yellow Vermillion ribbon.
Kaori looked over to the stands and saw Zoe vaulting her way onto the field.
"You were awesome Kaori!" said Zoe, both girls clapping Mac enthusiastically.
"Yes but Mac deserved to win," smiled Kaori.
"So, are you gonna enter more contests?" Asked Zoe.
"Are you kidding me? Mac had better watch out, because next time I'm going to win!" Kaori said, in a voice so much like Zoe's that Zoe couldn't help but laugh.
Mac held out his ribbon case in front of him, watching the way the ribbon sparkled in the dying light.
"Hey Mac," Yelled Zoe, "Hurry up we need to head to the gym and find Nate, I wanna see if he managed to beat Surge!"
So Mac won the ribbon
Kaori got some confidence
And Zoe learnt how to lose
Aww, everyone got something out of this chapter… except stupid Griff!
Anyhu please do read and review!
P.S I am still accepting OC's as small roles!