All right, here's the next chapter for you guys! I finished writing this chapter at the beach, but now that I have uploaded it, I'm no longer at the beach! Anyway, please review after reading, and enjoy this chapter!
Show Your Talents, Glaceon
"K-Konan? What's she doing here? Please don't tell me she's in this contest," whimpered Sakura.
"Judging from the way her Glaceon looks, Sakura-chan, I'm guessing she is," said Naruto.
"I don't stand a chance against her! Her Glaceon's super strong! She'll slaughter me in this contest! Not to mention she probably remembers me and will literally kill me afterwards," whispered Sakura.
"Sakura-chan, you'd better go. Just have a positive attitude! We'll be cheering for you!" said Naruto.
"Ok, thanks. See ya." Sakura ran off to the coordinators' lounge while Naruto and Sasuke went to find some free seats.
With the coordinators
"I'm dead. I am so literally dead in this contest," complained Sakura.
Sakura heard footsteps approaching her. She turned to see Konan. The pinkette froze for a while. Konan held out her hand and said, "It would be a pleasure to go up against you in this contest."
Sakura was surprised first, then shook Konan's hand blurting out, "Yeah, you too, though I know I won't stand a chance against you." She quickly retreated her hand and ran off in another direction. Konan stood there, staring after her. The blue haired woman smirked and turned away.
"This should be fun. I can see that the girl holds a lot of talent. She's just not confident enough yet," Konan thought.
"All right, people, are you all ready for our contest?" yelled Tsunami. She was answered by a wave of cheers, yells, and claps.
"You go, Mom!" yelled Inari from his seat. Like they said, Tazuna and Inari were at the contest. They sat with Sasuke and Naruto, who had great seats.
"Okay! Here, we have a group of talented coordinators who're ready to showcase their talents! So, come on up, our first entry!" announced Tsunami.
Konan calmly walked to the center of the stage and took out her Pokeball. "Glaceon, go," she whispered, throwing the Pokeball into the air. Glaceon came out of the Pokeball, first, curled up, then she did a somersault in the air, and landed gracefully on stage.
"A beautiful entrance by Glaceon!" commented Tsunami.
"Glaceon, use Ice Beam," commanded Konan. In a matter of seconds, Glaceon had turned the whole stage into an ice rink. (AN: Just like Brianna's Surskit did in her contest with May.) Without any further command from Konan, Glaceon had created four pillars of ice using her Ice Beam attack. Then, she gracefully jumped on top of one pillar, then leaped to each of the other three. At the same time, she was using her Ice Beam attack to make an arc of ice in the air. Finally, she jumped high, and crushed the ice arc with her tail. Glaceon did flips in the air as she fell back down, and destroyed the ice pillars one by one with her tail. She landed elegantly on the ice, with shards of ice falling around her.
"Wow, that's really beautiful! Let's see what our judges think," said Tsunami.
"Glaceon has been trained really well. She didn't even need more than one command from her trainer. This is one well trained Pokemon!" commented Anko.
"Glaceon's talents are outstanding. This is one beautiful appeal," said Tsunade.
"That was just beautiful! Glaceon look gorgeous as well!" squealed Shizune.
"Well, ladies and gentlemen, you heard our judges. So let's bring out our next entry!" shouted Tsunami.
"Crap, that's one strong Glaceon," commented Naruto, as the second contestant was performing his appeal. "Sakura-chan, she… can she even beat that Glaceon?"
"Dobe this is the first time you've doubted Sakura. Usually you would be screaming about how she'll win," said Sasuke.
"Yeah, but, that Glaceon! Sakura-chan's gone up against that girl, Konan, hasn't she?" said Naruto.
"Don't worry, Naruto, just stay positive, just like you always are," urged Inari.
"Yeah, but…" Naruto trailed off as he turned his attention back to the stage.
"Now, ladies and gentlemen, let's bring out our next entry!" announced Tsunami.
"All right, Eevee, take the stage!" shouted Sakura. Eevee did some back flips cutely when she came out, and finished with a handstand.
"That's such a cute entrance!" commented Tsunami.
"Eevee, use Double Team," commanded Sakura.
Eevee made only two more copies of itself. She braced herself for Sakura's next command. "Now, use Shadow Ball!"
All three Eevees created a dark, pulsing ball just above their noses, and started juggling them between the three Eevees. Since Shadow Ball was a newly acquired skill for Eevee, she had a little trouble stabilizing the ball of energy. First, the Eevees slapped the Shadow Balls in a circle, to each other, with their tails. Then, once all three balls were in the air, the Eevees jumped in perfect synch, and balanced the balls on their noses, like seals. When they landed, all three Eevees stood on one paw and kept balancing the balls.
"Isn't that a cute display?" cooed Tsunami.
"A very cute show of Eevee's moves! They go together pretty well!" praised Nurse Shizune.
"Wow, that little critter can handle those Shadow Balls really well. It's usually hard to balance Shadow Balls like that," commented Anko.
"It looks like Eevee learned Shadow Ball just recently. However, Eevee is very skilled in balancing them. I'd say this is a great appeal!" said Tsunade.
"Now, for the finale, Eevee! Combine!" shouted Sakura.
The Eevees used their tails to slap the Shadow Balls in the air and gather them to make one Shadow Ball. The three Eevees ran towards each other, and the fake Eevees vanished when the real Eevee ran into them. As the Shadow Ball came down, Eevee positioned herself so that the Shadow Ball would come into contact with her tail. She balanced herself on two paws and started to spin rapidly. As the Shadow Ball hit her tail, it burst into small particles, showering Eevee and Sakura.
"What a grand finale! Give a hand for Sakura and her Eevee! Now, let's bring out our next contestant," announced Tsunami.
"Woah, isn't Sakura-chan cool?" breathed Naruto.
"She sure is. That was one great appeal!" said Inari.
"Hn, that girl, Konan's appeal was more professional, though," said Sasuke.
"Gee, thanks for ruining the mood Sasuke-teme," mumbled Naruto.
Back at the coordinators' lounge, Sakura saw Konan leaning her back against the doorway. She predicted that Konan was waiting for her.
Just like Sakura thought, Konan walked up to her and said, "You have a great Eevee. I admire its talents as a Pokemon, and yours as a coordinator."
Sakura blushed at the praise and replied, "Your Glaceon's appeal was much better than mine. I swear, I thought you might be a first class coordinator."
Konan smiled and said, "Thank you. I'm not a first class coordinator, however."
"Hold up, why am I talking to her like we're old time friends? We fought on the abandoned ship! She's the enemy! She's working for an organization!" Sakura yelled in her head.
"Just go with the flow, girl. Go with the flow," suggested Inner Sakura.
"I cannot wait to face off with you in the second round. I'm very confident that you will make it," said Konan.
"Uh, me neither?" said Sakura, unsure of her answer.
"Until then, Sakura," said Konan. She walked back into the coordinators' lounge to watch the rest of the appeals.
"How did she know my name?" Sakura asked herself.
"Tsunami said your name out there, hello?" said Inner Sakura.
"Just consider me dead in the second round," mumbled Sakura to Inner Sakura.
"Come on! Stay optimistic! We'll get through this! Shannaro!" supported Inner Sakura.
"All right, all entries are now finished! The judges have decided that these eight coordinators on the screen will move on to the second round!" announced Tsunami. Konan, of course, made it to the final round, and, as she predicted, Sakura did too.
"Hey, at least we made it to the second round," said Inner Sakura.
"Sakura-chan made it to the second round! Go Sakura-chan!" cheered Naruto.
It turned out that Sakura had to fight and defeat two other people before she had to face Konan, who she knows, will beat the two other people she has to face. Sakura and another coordinator were up first.
In the second round, Sakura used Combusken, just like she said. She easily defeated her opponent with her fighting and fire type Pokemon. Konan was in the second match. Like Sakura predicted, Konan defeated her opponent with ease, knocking out his Pokemon in just one minute.
"Oh God, she's too good," thought Sakura as she watched Konan defeat her opponent.
Both Sakura and Konan defeated their next challenger, and soon enough, they were in the final match, facing off against each other. "Now, brace yourselves for the final match, ladies and gentlemen! It's a Combusken versus Glaceon match! We have five minutes on the clock so let's get started!" announced Tsunami.
"Combusken, take the stage!" shouted Sakura.
"Show your talents, Glaceon," said Konan.
Before Sakura and Konan gave their commands, Combusken and Glaceon had a little glaring contest of their own, since they remembered each other from their previous fight.
"Combusken, Ember!" shouted Sakura.
"Glaceon, dodge, then use Icy Wind," commanded Konan.
Combusken breathed fire towards Glaceon, but it quickly moved out of the way and blew out its Icy Wind, which froze Combusken's Ember attack and hit Combusken. The wind blew Combusken back, but the fire type Pokemon tried to stand its ground.
"Ouch, that's going to cost Sakura points," said Tsunami.
"Combusken, use Double Kick," commanded Sakura.
Combusken quickly disappeared and reappeared behind Glaceon, with its feet glowing. Then, he quickly kicked Glaceon twice, making the ice Pokemon slide back. Konan lost a few points for taking that attack. However, Glaceon quickly got back up, and, without any command from Konan, used Double Team. The clones surrounded Combusken. The tails of all the Glaceons glowed. Then, all the Glaceons jumped in the air, did a couple of flips, and all of them hit Combusken with an Iron Tail attack. Sakura lost some more points.
"Woah, that Glaceon can really make its moves seem graceful," commented Naruto.
"I have to say, that lady's got a well trained Glaceon," said Tazuna. "Sakura got a nice Combusken herself, but even with the type advantage, I'd say the gap between their powers is like heaven and earth."
"Aw, come on. Don't underestimate Sakura-chan that much. She's really determined, though," retorted Naruto.
"Her determination's not gonna get her far in this match. It all comes down to experience," said Tazuna.
"No! Hard work and determination also counts! How can anyone improve without those qualities?" shouted Naruto, standing up.
"Dobe, shut up. You're going to attract attention," said Sasuke, forcing Naruto back down.
Naruto shut up and sulked in his seat. His eyes were filled with hope; hope for Sakura. "Sakura-chan, come on, you can handle it. Don't lose!" Naruto cheered in his head.
"Use Shadow Ball, Glaceon," commanded Konan.
Glaceon and her clones created Shadow Balls, much like Sakura's Eevee did, only more powerful; much more powerful. Before Glaceon could launch the balls towards Combusken, the fire type Pokemon used its strong legs to jump, high, into the air. At that point, the Glaceons released their Shadow Ball attacks.
"Uh-oh, Combusken's in trouble," commented Tsunami.
"Combusken, Fire Spin!" shouted Sakura.
Combusken blew out a large column of fire, which collided with some Shadow Balls. However, a few others didn't crash towards the fire. Instead, those balls of energy made their ways toward Combusken. They hit Combusken and made the Pokemon fall, headfirst, to the stage. As a result, Sakura lost a lot more points.
Combusken quickly rebounded and waited for Sakura's next command. "Flamethrower, now!" Using that powerful fire attack, Combusken finally got rid of the Glaceon clones. In the process of eliminating the clones, the flamethrower attack hit the real Glaceon as well, which took some points from Konan.
"Only one minute left, ladies and gentlemen, and it doesn't look too good for Sakura," said Tsunami.
"Combusken use Double Kick again!" commanded Sakura.
"Glaceon," was all Konan said.
As Combusken was rearing up to use its attack, Glaceon sprung into the air and froze the whole stage. As a result, Combusken stopped in mid-attack, and starting slipping on the ice. Sakura lost a few more points for clumsiness. Then, Glaceon blew a very strong Icy Wind attack towards Combusken; the same attack that froze the fire type Pokemon back on the abandoned ship. The same thing happened in this match: Combusken was frozen.
"Finish it, Glaceon," commanded Konan.
"No! Combusken!" shouted Sakura.
Glaceon's tail glowed white, and it rushed towards Combusken, leaving a trail of white light behind it. In one slash, Glaceon hit Combusken. The ice around Combusken shattered, and the fire type Pokemon fell, knocked out.
"That was a mixture of Glaceon's Quick Attack and Iron Tail. It's very effective in battles and contests," explained Konan.
Tsunami shouted, "Wasn't that a great battle? Ladies and gentlemen, we have our winners!" The crowd went wild and cheered their butts off.
Sakura ran to Combusken and tried to heal him as much as she could. All of a sudden, she saw her own tears spilling on Combusken's face. Sakura didn't even notice that she was crying until she saw her own tears. Konan looked at Sakura and walked towards her. Sakura heard her footsteps and quickly wiped her eyes.
"You put up a great fight. You could become a first class coordinator someday, Sakura," said Konan.
"T-Thanks. I already knew that I didn't stand a chance against you," sniffled Sakura, trying not to let the tears well up.
"It's okay to cry. Crying releases all those feelings you have cooped up inside you," suggested Konan.
Just after Konan said that, Sakura started to sniffle, and bawl. Konan kneeled down in front of her and hugged the pinkette like she was her own daughter. Sakura cried on Konan's shoulders, right on stage.
"Sakura-chan's really upset about this," mumbled Naruto.
"Poor Sakura," said Inari, shaking his head slowly.
"Sakura…" whispered Sasuke, his expression showing concern for his pink haired teammate.
When Sakura had completely finished crying, she smiled at Konan, her tears still glistening on her cheeks. "Thank you, Konan. You were right about crying. I feel much better." Konan said nothing. She just smiled sweetly back at Sakura. Konan got up and picked up her Glaceon. She nodded at Sakura, then went to the middle of the stage to receive her ribbon.
"You have shown us an outstanding performance, and you deserve the Slateport ribbon! Thank you, Tsunade for making the presentation," said Tsunami.
"Would you look at that. Konan's not that bad after all," said Inner Sakura.
"Yeah. She's actually pretty nice. We just didn't get along that well when we first met," replied Sakura, mentally.
"You two were literally at each others' throats on the abandoned ship," snorted Inner Sakura.
"It looks like our passion for contests drew us closer," said Sakura.
"Maybe. She is a really nice person though. I wonder what the name of the organization she works for is called," wondered Inner Sakura.
"No clue. We'll need to know someday, though," replied Sakura.
Once Sakura was out of the contest hall, she was tackled by Naruto in a hug. "What the--, Naruto, get off me!" shouted Sakura, trying to shake off Naruto.
"Sakura-chan, you okay?" asked Naruto, deeply anxious.
Sakura saw the concern in Naruto's eyes. She softened and answered, "Yeah, I'm okay. Don't worry about me."
"B-But, you were crying your eyes out!" yelled Naruto.
"Dobe, when she says she's okay, she's okay. Now shut up," said Sasuke, annoyed.
"You shut up, teme. Why don't you care about Sakura-chan?" asked Naruto.
"I do care about her you idiotic dobe!" retorted Sasuke.
Naruto, Sasuke, Inari, and even Tazuna were shocked at Sasuke yelling. "Sasuke-kun, you…" Sakura started to say.
"Never mind. Let's just go," said Sasuke, quickly turning around so that no one would see his face.
"Ha ha! Teme's blushing!" joked Naruto.
Sasuke didn't let Naruto's little comment stop him from walking. Naruto and Sakura quickly said their good-byes to Inari and Tazuna, and followed Sasuke.
"Hey, Sasuke-teme, would you calm down? Can't you take a joke?" asked Naruto slyly.
"Shut it, dobe," said Sasuke through gritted teeth.
"Sasuke-kun, where are we heading next?" asked Sakura.
"To Mauville. That's where the next gym is. However, we still have to pass through Route 110 before we can get there," explained Sasuke.
Sakura messed around with her Poketch and said, "Hey, there's a cycling route, but you need a bicycle to go on that route. It would've been much quicker."
"No problem! We don't need the cycling route! We'll just walk there, like we always do, Dattebayo!" urged Naruto.
"Speaking of Mauville, isn't Kakashi-sensei the gym leader there?" asked Sakura.
"Oh yeah! He is! Ha ha! I can't wait to show him how much stronger we've all gotten!" boasted Naruto. "Well, what are we waiting for, let's go!" Before anyone knew it, the hyper blond was already tearing down the route.
"Geez, he's as hyper as ever," said Sakura.
"Let's go before he gets lost again," murmured Sasuke.
Sakura sighed and commented, "He has a PokeNavi, and he doesn't even use it. What's the point of it?" Suddenly, Sakura's eyes widened. She had completely forgotten about Sarutobi's request! Sakura started to panic, but she quickly calmed down, not wanting Sasuke to think that she was going crazy.
"I don't know if Sasuke-kun will know, but, it's worth a shot," thought Sakura.
"Um, hey, Sasuke-kun," started Sakura.
"Hn, what?" replied the stoic Uchiha.
"Uh, well, this is out of the blue, but … do you know, or have you seen a person named Jiraiya?" asked Sakura, taking a chance.
"Yeah," answered Sasuke.
Sakura gaped. "Y-You know him?"
"I've seen him," said Sasuke.
"When? Where?" asked Sakura.
"Back at the Granite Cave. He helped me and Naruto train," answered Sasuke.
"Huh? But I watched them train too, and I never saw that guy," thought Sakura.
"We were only there for a while, remember?" said Inner Sakura.
"D-Do you know where he is now?" asked Sakura.
"Before he left, he did say that he was heading to Mosdeep. Why are you so curious, Sakura?" this time it was Sasuke's turn to ask.
"Oh, no reason, it's nothing, Sasuke-kun," replied Sakura.
"Mosdeep??!! Now I'll never get that letter to him! No, I can't give up just yet! I don't want to let Sarutobi-sempai down. Come on, Sakura, you can do it, girl!" Sakura urged herself.
"Sakura, like I said, we'd better go before we lose Naruto, again," said Sasuke, stressing the "again" part.
"Yeah, let's go, Sasuke-kun," replied Sakura. The two of them ran off towards Naruto.
Yeah, this chapter's finished! What did you think about the contest? Too bad Sakura lost. She can't stand a chance against Konan! Konan's too experienced. Team 7 will keep getting stronger, no matter what! If you guys have questions, or see something wrong in my story, please send these comments in reviews. I really appreciate them. ^_^ So, please review! (I've finished this chapter, and I'm still at the beach! This is my last day though. However, like I said, since I have no Internet at the beach, by the time I upload my chapters, I'll not be at the beach anymore… sniff. I will be glad to get my Internet back though.)
I said this in the last chapter, but, if you guys have time, please check out my second main story, "My Girl's Ex-Boyfriend". Please send me your thoughts, questions, comments, in reviews! In that fic, if you guys see something wrong in my story, or you're just confused about something, please tell me in a review! Thank you!