Thank you to the people who reviewed! By the way, I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I got the idea for the Escargot Contest from the Wallace Cup. Wallace is a top coordinator, and so is Tsunade, in my story. Escargot means snail in French (according to the translator), so I named it the Escargot Contest. I don't know what slug is called in French, so I used snail instead. Enjoy this chapter!
Please read! An anonymous reviewer said that some author stole this story, but I can't find that author on fanfiction using the author search. I don't know if the review was a joke or something, but can you guys help me out? You can go to the reviews page to see what the anonymous reviewer wrote.
Battle On
"I do think she could've done better." Tsunade's words echoed in Sakura's head. The rosette tossed and turned in bed, hoping that she wasn't disturbing her roommate, Hinata. She thought about her newly caught Cherubi. "Can it do better? Will it be able to improve?" Those thoughts made her mind restless.
"Cherubi's new, but she seems to be a little, dare I say it, weaker than the others? No, I can't say things like that! Cherubi just needs more time for training. Yeah, that's it," Sakura had a mental debate with herself. She put down Cherubi's Pokeball with her other Pokeballs, and tried to go to sleep. This time, she gave in to her slumber.
The next day
The pictures of the contestants going on to the second round were shown on the huge screen behind Tsunami. "All right, everyone, I hope you all are ready to see what our contestants have in store for us! Let's get started, shall we?" Tsunami shouted.
Sakura was clenching and unclenching her hands as she watched the first round. Ino slapped her back and said, "Hey Sakura, you're ready right? Don't tell me you're still nervous." Sakura grinned weakly at Ino.
"My match is the second one, Ino. I'm trying to calm myself," replied Sakura.
The blond girl said, "Well, my match is right after yours. Make sure you win your first match, Billboard Brow." She ruffled Sakura's hair and walked away. The rosette tried to smooth out her hair again. The first match was over in a couple of minutes. It was Sakura's turn now.
"Good luck, Sakura. We'll be cheering for you," motivated TenTen. Sakura smiled at her supporters and rushed out on stage.
In the audience, Naruto was fidgeting. Sasuke, meanwhile, was getting tired to Naruto's restlessness. "Can you be still for one minute?" Sasuke hissed.
"It's Sakura-chan's first battle, teme. She has to win this one, she has to!" Naruto became more agitated every moment.
Kushina laid her hand on her son's shoulder. "You don't have to worry about Sakura so much, Naruto. I'm sure she'll do fine. Look, there she is!"
Sakura stood, looking confident. Her opponent, who was a young boy about the same age as her, with chocolate brown eyes and sleek blond hair, looked just as ready as is. "We have five minutes on the clock. It's Sakura versus Hiroshi. Ready? Go!" Tsunami announced.
"Eevee, the stage is yours!" Eevee popped out of her Pokeball gracefully, with confetti surrounding her.
"Poliwhirl, you're up!" Sakura's opponent called out his Poliwhirl, which popped out with lots of purple bubbles accompanying him.
Sakura prepared to launch her first attack.
In the audience, Naruto was watching in anticipation. He could barely sit still, and his hands were clenching and unclenching every now and then.
"Naruto, Sakura's going to be okay. You don't have to be so troubled," comforted Kushina.
Naruto whipped his head around to face his mom. "If she doesn't win this one, it's over for her!"
Kushina patted his head and said, "I know, Naruto, I know. Oh, that was a great attack!" Naruto faced the stage again. Sakura's Eevee had used Quick Attack to dodge the attack that the Poliwhirl had launched. Eevee, who was bouncing around on stage, dodging the bubblebeam attack, had left blazing trails of white light all around the arena. Once she was high in the air, she ended her Quick Attack, and launched a two Shadow Balls toward Poliwhirl.
"Sakura sure looks confident out there," commented Kushina. She patted Naruto's hand to ease his nervousness. "It looks like you're more nervous than she is, Naruto."
"Just relax and watch, will you? She'll make it through," said an irritated Sasuke.
To Sasuke, he said, "Shut it, teme." To Sakura, he shouted, "Sakura-chan, you can do it! You only have fifty seconds left!"
Naruto's voice seemed to carry through the crowd and reach Sakura. Momentarily, her eyes shifted to her blond friend. She gave a small smile. Sakura was leading at the moment. "Eevee, let's finish up. Make a Shadow Ball." Eevee created a dark Shadow Ball and launched it towards Poliwhirl.
"Poliwhirl, destroy it with Focus Punch." Poliwhirl's fists glowed white and it destroyed the Shadow Ball with one punch. The only drawback to the attack was that the Shadow Ball spread out, instead of disappearing completely.
"Double Team, then Iron Tail," commanded Sakura. Poliwhirl was taken by surprise, as five Eevees came running at him. All five of them somersaulted once, then hit Poliwhirl right on the head with their tails. Poliwhirl staggered, then fell. The copies of Eevee vanished, and the real Eevee smiled victoriously.
The buzzer sounded then. "Time's up!" Tsunami stated. "The winner of this round is Sakura Haruno!" Eevee ran towards Sakura, and the rosette kneeled down to hug her.
"Eevee, you did a great job. I'll let you get some rest when we get back," said Sakura, soothingly. Eevee nuzzled her head against Sakura's neck. The rosette stood up, still holding Eevee, and went off stage.
Naruto sighed heavily, relieved that Sakura had won. "See?" Kushina said. "Sakura got through her first match just fine."
"Yeah, but sometimes, it's the first try that kills," replied Naruto.
"Looks like you survived, Sakura," said Ino.
"You're up next, pig. Go for it," said Sakura, ignoring Ino's first comment. She returned Eevee to her Pokeball. "You'd better win too."
As Ino was walking out the door, she faced Sakura and grinned. "I will win, Billboard Brow. Wait and see."
"I'd like to see what Ino does next. She looks girly on the outside, but she's tough inside," commented TenTen.
"I've known Ino for years. When she says she's going to do something, she does it until she finishes it. I can feel her determination when she walked out that door," said Sakura.
"Hinata, you're doing okay, aren't you?" asked TenTen.
Hinata had her head bent. "I'm trying t-to learn more about contests a-as this competition goes o-on. I hope I'll g-get through my first match."
"I'm sure you'll do great. After all, you're a gym leader." Hinata lifted her head slightly when she heard Sakura's comment. The dark haired Hyuuga gave a small smile.
"This next match is between Ino and Hitomi. We have five minutes on the clock. Begin!" announced Tsunami.
"Make me proud Azumarill, go!" Ino threw a Pokeball decorated with a heart seal. Azumarill materialized in the air, accompanied by small pink hearts.
Ino's opponent, a tall girl with platinum blond hair and sparkling green eyes called out her Mawile, who stood, glaring at Ino's Azumarill.
"Looks can really be deceiving with this Mawile. That Pokemon looks like it's ready to kill someone! I'll finish this match quickly. It's going to be hard, since Mawile's a steel type Pokemon." Ino thought of moves that could give her an advantage over Mawile's steel type status.
"If you're not going to attack, then I will. Mawile, use Vice Grip," commanded Hitomi. Mawile charged at Azumarill and opened her huge jaws, ready to bite the water Pokemon.
"Azumarill, stop it with Surf!" retaliated Ino. Azumarill cried out and quickly conjured a huge wave. Mawile stopped running and flinched as the wave crashed on her. Azumarill rode the wave, just like a surfer would. That docked some points off Hitomi. Ino smirked at her opponent. This match was going to get intense soon.
"Ino looks like she knows what she's doing," commented Kushina. "She's a childhood friend of Sakura's, right?"
Naruto nodded. "Those two are like sisters. Their personalities are really alike too." Naruto had calmed down after Sakura's match. He didn't worry about Ino as much. Mainly because she had been participating in contests longer than Sakura has.
"Naruto, I just noticed this now, but where's Sasuke?" asked Kushina. Alerted, Naruto looked around. The young Uchiha was nowhere to be seen.
"Maybe he went out. Sakura-chan's match is over now," said Naruto.
"He's very quick. I didn't even notice him slip out," mumbled Kushina.
"What do girls see in contests, anyway? The battles are a little more interesting, but why do Pokemon have to show off their beauty? It's unnecessary." Sasuke had slipped out of the stadium unknowingly. He was now walking along the beach, hoping to run into some trainers who are willing to battle. Unfortunately, almost everyone was at the Escargot Cup, either watching or participating.
The dark haired boy sighed. He kicked a small pebble and sent it flying into the sea. All of a sudden, he heard faint noises. There were some trees that separated the beach from the city. In the shadows of those trees, Sasuke could see the silhouettes of a couple of people.
He walked closer to them, careful not to make any noise. He was soon in hearing range. "You know we have to get to the bottom before Akatsuki does," a female voice stated.
"Yeah, but how are we going to get a submarine that can withstand the deep sea pressure?" asked a male voice.
"The bottom? The bottom of the sea? What do they need to get there for? What does Akatsuki have to do with it? Wait, a submarine? The incident at Slateport; a submarine was involved!" Sasuke was so focused on recalling his memories that he didn't sense a Pokemon creeping up behind him.
Sasuke was suddenly attacked by a String Shot attack, which stuck him to the ground. "Well, what do we have here? An eavesdropper?" A girl with fiery red hair stood in front of Sasuke. The Uchiha forced himself to look up.
"You're the one at Petalburg Forest," he stated. Another person appeared behind the girl. He, strangely, had three pairs of arms, which creepily, makes him look like an insect.
"You remember me. I'm touched," snickered the red-head. "Since you're here, we should just shut you up."
The insect like man commanded, "Ariados, finish him." As Ariados was about to attack Sasuke, the Uchiha managed to get a random Pokeball and call out one of his Pokemon. Incidentally, that Pokemon was Houndour. Before Ariados could hurt Sasuke, Houndour jumped up and tackled the huge spider. Then, swiftly, the obedient Pokemon burned the sticky webs that held Sasuke down.
The young Uchiha scrambled to his feet and called out his other Pokemon. Sensing a battle, the red-head released her own Pokemon. Sasuke and his Pokemon were now surrounded by an Ariados, a Chimecho, a Loudred, and a Chatot.
"Chimecho, use Psychic. Loudred, Uproar, and Chatot, use Wing Attack," commanded the girl. All three of her Pokemon charged toward Sasuke's Pokemon in sync. The insect-like man's Ariados contributed by launching a Night Shade attack.
"Houndour use Flamethrower to cancel out the Night Shade, then use Bite. Grovyle use Bullet Seed. Sneasel…" Sasuke was interrupted by a loud Uproar attack. He blocked his ears with his hands as his Pokemon charged at their opponents.
Sneasel ran towards the Chimecho to attack it, but the Psychic attack just lifted Sneasel off the ground and threw it back. Grovyle covered for Sneasel by launching multiple seeds at Chimecho and Loudred. Unfortunately, the Chatot swiftly hit Grovyle with its Wing Attack. "Super effective," whispered the red-head, smirking. Houndour was doing a better job with Ariados. However, the Chimecho used a Double Edge attack on it, sending it flying into a tree.
"Sneasel use Ice Punch on Ariados," commanded Sasuke. Sneasel's claws became enveloped in white energy, and punched the huge spider, hard. The Ariados slid back, but was still able to stand. Chimecho had used its Yawn attack on Grovyle, making it go to sleep. Unable to battle, Grovyle was attacked by Chimecho's Psywave and Chatot's Fly attacks. Both the psychic and flying attacks were super effective against Grovyle.
Sasuke returned Grovyle to his Pokeball and continued to battle with Houndour and Sneasel. All of a sudden, Ariados scrambled up a nearby tree. Then, Loudred used Earthquake. Since Ariados was on a tree, and Chimecho and Chatot were levitating, the attack only affected Sneasel and Houndour.
"Ariados, use Poison Sting," said the six-armed man. Ariados shot multiple barbs of poison towards Sneasel and Houndour. Both Pokemon were now poisoned.
"Now, Chatot, use Sing," commaded the red haired girl. Chatot sung a beautiful lullaby which lulled Sasuke's two Pokemon to sleep. The red-head and her partner smirked victoriously. Sasuke was getting angrier by the minute. He pulled out one last Pokeball and released the Pokemon inside. "An Absol huh? You must have tried pretty hard to capture it. You have determination, kid," mumbled the red haired girl.
"Absol, use Razor Wind!" commanded Sasuke. Absol cried out in fury and launched a white crescent shaped mass of energy towards the two members' Pokemon.
"Use Light Screen, Chimecho," said the red-head. Said Pokemon put up a cube like barrier around all the Pokemon, reducing the attack power of the Razor Wind. "Chatot, use Peck. Chimecho, use Heal Bell."
"Ariados, String Shot." Ariados launched many sticky webs to keep Absol stuck in place, but the Disaster Pokemon was faster. He avoided the attack, only to get pecked by Chatot. Chimecho, on the other hand, was healing Team Sound's Pokemon.
"Absol, use Bite on Chatot now," said Sasuke. While Absol was still close to Chatot, he somersaulted behind the bird and bit him hard. Both Pokemon crashed down. "Now tackle the Ariados!" Absol swiftly changed his target and charged towards the huge spider.
Unfortunately for Ariados, he wasn't quick enough to avoid the attack. After Absol was done with Ariados, he turned to Chimecho, but the smaller Pokemon hit Absol with a Double Edge attack. Chatot managed to recover and used Screech to distract Absol. While Absol was frozen in place, Ariados managed to hit the Disaster Pokemon with his Night Shade attack.
Absol was knocked back. Then, quicker than the eye could follow, Chatot flew up to Absol and used Take Down. Out of nowhere, Loudred caught Absol and slammed him on the ground, and used his Stomp attack. Absol was being knocked around by the four Pokemon and soon, he was out cold.
"I'll give you some credit, kid. You put up a pretty good fight, considering the fact that you were outnumbered," said the older man. By now, Sasuke was kneeling on the ground.
The red haired female advanced toward Sasuke and kneeled down as well. She told him, "You have a lot of potential. You could use your skills in so many ways. Why don't you join us? Join us, and you'll improve much more." Sasuke lifted his head to stare at the girl.
"What are you doing, Tayuya?" asked her partner.
"Orochimaru-sama needs someone strong right now, doesn't he? This boy is pretty strong, and has a lot of potential," answered the girl. She turned back to Sasuke. "Well? What do you say, boy?" Sasuke kept his mouth shut. Many thoughts were racing through his head at the moment. When he opened his mouth to speak, a powerful stream of water came between him and the red-head.
"Hey! What do you two think you're doing to Sasuke?" demanded a voice. The Uchiha turned his head to see his traveling partner and close friend.
"Naruto," he rasped. "What are you doing here?"
Naruto looked annoyed. "What do you mean what am I doing here? Why did you come out here in the first place? Today's battles are almost over. Why did you suddenly take off?"
"Kidomaru, let's go. I don't want to get tangled up in any more messes." The red haired girl returned her Pokemon to their Pokeballs and started to follow her parter. She stopped for a while and turned to look at Sasuke. She smirked. "The name's Tayuya. When we meet again, I hope you'll have your answer." Then, she took off.
Naruto ran to Sasuke's side, helping him up. The Uchiha returned his sleeping Sneasel and Houndour to their Pokeballs and walked off. "Hey, Sasuke-teme! Wait!" shouted Naruto.
"What is it?" asked Sasuke, his eyes clouded in confusion.
"Why don't we return to the stadium? Maybe watching the contest battles will cool you off," offered Naruto.
"No, you go. I'm heading back to the Pokemon Center. I need to clear things up," replied Sasuke.
Naruto looked confused. He returned his Marshtomp to his Pokeball. "Okay, teme. Those two looked like they beat your Pokemon up." Sasuke flinched. Without a word, he walked towards the city.
"So did you find him?" asked Kushina when Naruto sat back down in his seat.
"Yeah. It looks like he was defeated by two people," replied Naruto. "Those two are definitely from Team Sound. The emblems on their clothes are dead giveaways," thought Naruto.
"Oh, is he going to be okay?" asked Kushina, concerned.
"I think so. Teme will be fine once he calms himself," said Naruto.
"I hope so. I know his mom really well. She's a close friend of mine," stated Kushina.
"You know teme's mom?" asked Naruto.
"Yes. We were pregnant with you and Sasuke at the same time," explained Kushina.
"I see. So how were the other battles?" asked Naruto.
"They were all so-so. You already watched your friends' battles," said Kushina.
"What about the red-head named Karin?" Naruto kept asking.
"She made it to the next round too. I have to say, she has a pretty tough Golbat," replied Kushina.
"This is the last round, right?" Naruto asked again.
"Yes." Kushina and Naruto watched the last battle in silence.
"Thank God we all made it," sighed Ino.
"Hinata, it's you against me tomorrow. You'd better be ready for it," said TenTen while grinning.
"U-Um, yes, I'm ready t-to face you, TenTen. E-Even if you have trained with Neji nii-san for a long t-time, I'm confident," stuttered Hinata.
"That's the spirit, girl!" cheered TenTen.
"Hey Billboard Brow, you'd better win tomorrow's match too. If you and I win, we get to face off the day after tomorrow," reminded Ino.
"Of course I'll win. I can't wait to fight you again, pig," said Sakura.
"Glad to hear it. Well, have a nice evening, girls. I'm going back to my room." Ino grabbed her bag, slung it over her right shoulder, and headed off to her room.
"You go on ahead, Hinata. I'm going to pay the boys a visit," said Sakura. Hinata stalked off to her room, along with TenTen. Sakura ran off to the Pokemon Center to chat with her two traveling partners.
"Teme, stop brooding, will you? It's affecting the atmosphere!" argued Naruto.
"Hn, you actually know some big words, dobe. Congratulations," said Sasuke, sarcastically.
"Why won't you tell me what happened with those two, teme?" asked Naruto, fuming.
"It's none of your business, Naruto!" retorted Sasuke.
Sakura stood outside their door, listening to their argument. "What are those two fighting about? What does Naruto mean when he said 'those two'? Can't they just get along? They were getting along fine almost all the time. What caused this blowup?" Sakura thought.
"You're a friend, Sasuke! If those Team Sound goons did something to you…" Naruto was soon interrupted by Sasuke grabbing Naruto's shirt collar.
"They didn't say anything, okay? Just lay off, Naruto!" shouted Sasuke. He threw Naruto to the ground soon after. Then, Sasuke flopped down on his bed and turned his back on his blond friend.
Naruto sighed heavily. "Fine, be that way, teme! Don't expect me to help you next time you're in trouble!" Naruto lied down on his own bed, turning his back on Sasuke as well.
Sakura had opened the door a little, and was watching the fight. She stood, agape and as stiff as a board. "Why was Sasuke-kun so troubled? What happened?
Sakura was back in her room now, sitting on her bed and staring down, still deep in thought about the argument between her teammates. Hinata soon came out of the shower and noticed an agitated Sakura in the room. "Sakura, w-what's bothering y-you?" asked Hinata.
Sakura looked up and replied, "Naruto and Sasuke-kun had a huge fight. Sasuke-kun seemed to be really mad at Naruto. I don't know what happened between them."
"I-Is Naruto-kun okay?" asked a concerned Hinata.
"Don't worry, he's fine. Naruto's always okay," reassured Sakura. "It's just, I haven't seen them fight like this. Sure, they have squabbles here and there, but this argument is just huge."
"I-I'm sure they'll m-make up sometime. T-They always d-do, right?" Sakura looked at Hinata, hoping she was right.
"Well, I hope they make up soon too," mumbled Sakura.
Tsunami ran out on stage and announced, "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome back to the Escargot Contest! Today, we'll be continuing the battle round! Yesterday's victorious competitors will get to face off against each other today! Tomorrow, we'll have the semi-finals and the finals right here! Don't miss it! Now, let's get started with our first battle! On the right side of me is Sakura, and on the left side is Aiko! We have five minutes on the clock. Begin!"
"Skitty, take the stage!" shouted Sakura as she threw up Skitty's Pokeball. A huge heart formed in midair, and soon, it separated into smaller hearts, with Skitty in the center. The small cat-like Pokemon landed lightly on her feet and posed cutely.
"Smoochum, it's your turn," said Sakura's opponent. Hearts surrounded the small psychic/ice type Pokemon as it materialized. Once both sides were ready, they attacked.
"Skitty, start off with Tackle," commanded Sakura. Skitty charged, head on, towards the Smoochum.
"Dodge then use Fake Tears." The Smoochum dove out of the way of Skitty's Tackle, and once the cat-like Pokemon faced Smoochum again, the Kiss Pokemon's eyes were filled with tears. Skitty eased up and got closer to the Smoochum, her face full of pity. Despite Sakura's yells, Skitty kept nudging Smoochum. "Now, Powder Snow!" Smoochum quickly blew out snow from its mouth, successfully hitting Skitty. Now the cat Pokemon was frozen solid.
"Oh great. Skitty's frozen and I can't even focus on this match. I wish I didn't see Naruto and Sasuke's fight," thought Sakura. She shook her head to clear her thoughts.
Aiko shouted, "Use Pound, Smoochum!" Smoochum jumped in the air, and somersaulted down. Once she got close enough to the frozen Skitty, her hand glowed white and hit Skitty's head. The ice encasing Skitty shattered, and the cat-like Pokemon slid back from the impact.
"Skitty, Sing," commanded Sakura. Skitty sung an alluring lullaby. Musical notes accompanied her voice as well. Smoochum became a little drowsy, then it fell asleep.
"Wow, the melody of the sing as well as the colorful notes in the air is a treat for both our ears and eyes," commented Tsunami.
"Yes! We're back on track. I'll have to be more attentive from now on," thought Sakura.
"Sakura seems to be a little distracted. It's not very noticeable, though. Did something happen?" asked Kushina. Naruto kept staring at the stage. "Naruto? Did something happen?" This time Naruto's head jerked up and turned to look at his mom.
"Oh, I don't know, Mom. Sasuke's acting like a stuck-up jerk now. I don't know what got into him," answered Naruto.
"Okay, that wasn't really what I asked, but, did Sasuke do something to you?" Kushina asked again.
"We had a huge fight. I was just trying to help him, but he just had to get violent. What's with that jerk anyway?" Naruto was staring off into space once again.
"He's not very sociable, is he?" Kushina asked. Naruto shook his head 'no'. Kushina nodded once. She fixed her eyes on the ongoing match. "I hope he'll open up to someone one day."
"Thirty seconds left, Sakura-chan," mumbled Naruto, nervous once again. He glanced at the scoreboard. Sakura and her opponent were tied. "Get further ahead, Sakura-chan."
Skitty fired a Fire Spin attack at the Smoochum with her Assist attack. Kushina flinched. "Ouch! That's got to hurt," commented Kushina. The Smoochum staggered and fell, unable to battle.
"That's it for Smoochum, ladies and gentlemen! The person who will be advancing to the semi-finals is Sakura!" announced Tsunami. Cheers erupted from the crowd. Naruto enthusiastically cheered for his close friend.
Kushina smiled. "At least he's still enthusiastic about Sakura's contest. I hope he training well too. If he's going to challenge Kakashi, he'd better be in good shape. I've seen Kakashi practice with Minato before, and I have to admit, that kid is talented." Kushina closed her eyes lightly and let the memories flood her mind.
Naruto watched intently as Ino battled. "If Ino wins this, she'll have to battle Sakura-chan tomorrow," thought Naruto. He glanced at his mom. She looked like she was thinking about something. He decided not to disturb her, and fixed his eyes on the battle.
As five minutes passed by, the tension grew. The scoreboard and Tsunami claimed that Ino was victorious. The blond girl happily hugged her Drifloom. Then, she exited the stage. Now, it was time for Hinata and TenTen to fight against each other. Naruto was looking forward to this match. He tensed slightly in his seat as he waited for the contestants to appear.
"Now, it's time for the match between Hinata and TenTen! Ladies, you two have five minutes on the clock. You can start now!" said Tsunami.
Hinata daintily threw her Pokeball. "Come on out, Kirlia." As Kirlia materialized, flower petals rained around her. The Pokemon twirled once, skillfully, like a ballet dancer, completing her entrance.
"All right, Croconaw, it's your turn to shine!" shouted TenTen. "Use Water Gun!" Croconaw swiftly lauched a powerful stream of water towards Kirlia.
"Confusion!" commanded Hinata. Kirlia calmly stood her ground and stopped the Water Gun attack. Then, she launched the water back at Croconaw.
"Scratch, Croconaw!" said TenTen. Croconaw ran towards the water and cross-scratched it, showering himself with sparking droplets of water.
"That was a smart move! Using the water to its advantage, Croconaw has managed to dock some points from Hinata!" commented Tsunami.
TenTen continued, "Now, charge towards Kirlia!" Croconaw started running towards the Feeling Pokemon.
"Calm Mind," said Hinata. Kirlia stood, unmoving. Then, she started glowing softly. Before Croconaw reached Kirlia, the Feeling Pokemon opened its eyes abruptly. "Psychic!" Kirlia, then, unleashed a wave of blue psychic energy towards the charging Croconaw. TenTen already lost a few points because of Kirlia's beautiful Calm Mind.
Crocnoaw was too close to dodge the attack, so he ended up getting hit. The alligator-like Pokemon was sent flying into the air. TenTen lost some more points. "Water Gun again!" shouted TenTen. Another stream of water was sent towards Kirlia. Again, the water was stopped by Kirlia's Confusion and hurled back at Croconaw. This time, however, Croconaw managed to dodge the water, which got some points off Hinata.
Croconaw was now diving down towards Kirlia. "Ice Fang," said TenTen. Croconaw somersaulted once and landed on Kirlia. The Feeling Pokemon tried to shake him off, but failed. Croconaw sunk his teeth into Kirlia, and after a while, jumped off. Now, Kirlia was frozen.
"Yes! Now Slash 'em!" Croconaw's claws glowed white. He jumped up, then slashed Kirlia, leaving white lines as an after effect of the attack. Kirlia was blown back from the attack. Hinata lost some points because Kirlia took some damage and because of Croconaw's appealing Slash attack.
"Croconaw, Bite!" As Croconaw charged towards Kirlia to bite it, Kirlia used Confusion to stop Crononaw and lift him in the air.
"Double Team, Kirlia!" commanded Hinata. While holding the Confusion attack, Kirlia duplicated herself. Then, Kirlia forcefully let Croconaw down. "Magical Leaf!" The Kirlias launched multiple glowing leaves toward Croconaw. The crocodile-like Pokemon was hit badly, and was trying to shield himself from the attack. TenTen lost more points for the super-effective hit.
"Don't give in, Croconaw. Deflect them all with Water Pulse!" Croconaw became outlined in white light. Then, he created a huge tornado of water around him, protecting him from the attack. Hinata lost points for that.
Once the Magical Leaf attack wore off, Croconaw lowered the Water Pulse attack and spun around while using Water Gun. The fake Kirlias disappeared while the real Kirlia took the hit. Croconaw abruptly stopped spinning and cut the Water Gun attack so that he would be showered with the droplets. More points were deducted from Hinata.
"All right, now get close, and use Crunch!" shouted TenTen. While Kirlia was still down, Croconaw quickly charged towards her with his teeth glowing white. Then, he chomped down on the psychic Pokemon. Hinata lost even more points. Kirlia struggled to get up, but her efforts were in vain. She was soon knocked down again by Croconaw's Take Down attack.
"Time's up!" warned Tsunami. "The contestant who'll be moving on to the semi-finals is…" Tsunami paused for some effect. Hinata and TenTen slowly raised their heads to the scoreboard. They didn't need to look twice to see who the winner was. "TenTen!" announced Tsunami.
TenTen grinned and Hinata gave a small smile. They both returned their Pokemon to their Pokeballs and shook hands. "You put up a great fight, Hinata," complimented TenTen.
"You did too, T-TenTen. I guess y-you'd be expected to win s-since you've been training with N-Neji nii-san for a l-long time," said Hinata. "I wish you l-luck in the s-semi-finals, TenTen."
"Thanks, Hinata. Contest battles aren't so bad," commented TenTen. The two girls exited the stage together.
"You two put up a great show!" complimented Ino when they got back to the waiting room.
"Thanks Ino. You and Sakura are up against each other tomorrow too," reminded TenTen.
"I'm not going to go easy on you, Billboard Brow," warned Ino.
"I don't want you to either, Pig. Let's give it our all," said Sakura. Ino nodded in agreement.
"Hey, by the way, where's Sasuke?" asked TenTen. All the girls turned to look at her. "I glanced at the audience once, and I saw Naruto, but not Sasuke."
"Sasuke-kun wasn't there?" whispered Sakura. "The fight was worse than I thought," she thought.
"What happened between him and Naruto?" asked Ino.
"I don't really know either. They had a fight; a huge one at that," replied Sakura.
"I wouldn't be too concerned about Naruto. He's always happy and hyper," said Ino.
"I wouldn't be too sure, Ino." Sakura kept the thought to herself.
The curtains were drawn. Light barely seeped into the dark room. A young, dark haired boy said on the bed, obviously troubled. He replayed the scene with the two members of Team Sound in his head over and over again.
"Why don't you join us? Join us, and you'll improve much more." Sasuke clenched his fists tighter. He felt like hitting the wall over and over again. "Out of all people, Naruto had to save me. We beat them in Petalburg Forest. Why can't I defeat them on my own? Am I weak?" Such thoughts floated around in Sasuke's mind. "I can't fall into their traps. I can't be tempted to join them. Then again, my goal of defeating my brother; my brother, one of the Elite Four." Sasuke was clearly confused now.
He lied down on his bed and stared at the ceiling. "I couldn't even bring myself to go to the contest," mumbled the young Uchiha. He remembered his pink haired friend. He remembered that the contest was important to her, but his mind was too clumped with confusing thoughts. He couldn't even make it to the stadium to watch her contest. "I've never really taken training sessions with that idiot, Naruto seriously. He may have been growing stronger, and I was just oblivious." Sasuke got irritated. "No, that dobe can't be stronger than me. That's not possible." He rolled on his side and tried to sleep, but his mind won't let him.
"This match concludes our contest for today! Tomorrow will be the semi-finals. Don't miss the action folks! The Escargot Contest is starting to heat up! We'll see you tomorrow," announced Tsunami.
The girls didn't go to their rooms as a group today. Hinata, having promised Neji that she would come back as soon as she can, teleported herself to Mosdeep. Ino, TenTen, and Sakura went different ways. Ino went into Mauville City while TenTen decided to rest in her room. Sakura intended to let her Pokemon play on the beach.
"Come on out, everyone," said Sakura as she called all her Pokemon out. Combusken, Eevee, Skitty, and Cherubi happily ran around with their trainer.
Whenever some perverted person came up to Sakura, Combusken would either scare them or punch them away. "Overprotective, aren't you, Combusken?" asked Sakura, patting her Pokemon's head.
"Combusken!" The Young Fowl Pokemon eagerly replied.
"Cherubi! Bi!" Sakura heard her Cherubi's cries for help. She looked around and saw that the small Pokemon was being chased by two Starly. Two children were also chasing the Pokemon. Combusken quickly ran towards Cherubi and used Slash to knock out the Starlys. The two children chasing the Starlys started to sniff, then cry like they've never cried before.
Sakura panicked. She tried to calm them down. "H-Hey, um, d-do you um, want to play with my Pokemon?" The children sniffled and nodded their heads simultaneously. Sakura smiled. She called out to her Pokemon, and soon, they were all crowded around her. "Do those Starly belong to you?" The children nodded again.
One of them, a small boy no older than eight years, stuttered, "T-They're actually our s-sister's Pokemon. H-He lent us those Starly s-so that we can p-play with them. T-Then, they started chasing y-your Cherubi, a-and now, they're dead!" The young children started bawling again.
Sakura calmly explained, "No, they're not dead. They're just out cold. Once I give them this Revive, they'll be as good as new." Sakura fished out two small diamond shaped objects from her fanny pack and dropped them in the Starlys' beaks. Both birds' eyes fluttered open, and they were flying once again.
"Thank you, lady!" said the other child, another boy who looked like he was five. "May we know your name?"
"Sure! I'm Sakura Haruno, but just call me Sakura. What about you two?" Sakura said.
The five year old spoke up. "I'm Jun, and this is my older brother, Takashi."
Sakura smiled at them. "What do you want to play? Tag?" The boys looked at each other and nodded, beaming up at Sakura. "You saw them, everyone. Combusken!" Sakura pointed at her very first Pokemon. "You're it! Start running, everyone!" All of the Pokemon and the two children started running. Combusken looked around. He spotted Cherubi floating lazily behind Sakura.
Combusken locked onto his target. He jumped really high. Thanks to his developed legs, he was able to reach Cherubi in two bounces and grab onto the smaller Pokemon. Sakura looked back and saw that Cherubi had been tagged. "Cherubi, you're it now," reminded Sakura.
Combusken seemed to grin smugly as he started running. Sakura looked at Cherubi and saw that she wasn't trying to catch anyone yet. However, the rosette could see the small cherry-like Pokemon trembling. She circled Cherubi to look at her face and saw that it was feeling very upset. "Cherubi?" Sakura asked, concerned.
All of a sudden, Combusken fell, hard. Sakura ran to her Pokemon's aid and saw that some grass had tightly constricted Combusken's legs. "Grass Knot?" Sakura whispered. She looked at Cherubi and then back at Combusken. The Young Fowl Pokemon managed to get up and glare at Cherubi. "Well I see you two are getting along very well," said Sakura, sarcastically. "Come on, tag's not a game for anyone to get angry about. Cherubi, tag another person, or Pokemon, okay?" Cherubi slightly nodded and floated off towards one of the young boys.
"Grass Knot, huh? An attack that becomes more effective if the target is heavier. It would work well against Ino's Bayleef, but I don't know if she's using Bayleef tomorrow. Should I just use Skitty or Eevee again? I'm saving Combusken for the final round; that is, if I manage to get to the finals. I can't guarantee that Ino will be using Bayleef, but I think I'll put Cherubi in the match against Ino. The finals and semi-finals are both tomorrow, so, I hope Cherubi can get me to the finals.Okay, it's settled. Cherubi's battling against Ino." Sakura stopped her long train of thought and started to run again.
Whew! I'm finally finished with this chapter! So, how was it? Good? Bad? Please leave me reviews! It shows you care. =)