The quartet was only a stone's throw from Violet City, but, because of Rose's intense hunger, they had to take a break for lunch. Gage had asked her a million times if she could wait five or ten minutes to find a restaurant to have lunch at in Violet City, but she insisted that she couldn't, so they set up a place to have a picnic lunch on the side of the path. Poppy and Dratini made the sandwiches for everyone, while Elliot and Deino, both anxious for their first Johto Gym Battle, were taking a walk in the surrounding woods while Elliot ate his sandwich.
Sighing, Elliot took a seat on a rock that he found, and released his other Pokémon he'd brought with him from Unova - Oshawott, Ferroseed and Litwick.
"So, are you guys all ready for our first Gym Battle today?" he asked. He was smiling, in an attempt to cover his own nervousness about the event.
His Pokémon all responded with smiles of their own, seeming much less nervous than their Trainer felt. That gave Elliot some reassurance. If his Pokémon felt confident and ready, than he had a better chance of getting his badge today.
"Well, good," he smiled again. He took out bowls for each of his Pokémon and filled them with Pokémon food, handing one to each of his friends, and said, "Here you go, guys. Eat up!"
So they did start to eat, as Elliot went to finishing the last of his sandwich, when, suddenly, a purple streak of a Pokémon swooped in, stealing the last half of Elliot's and Oshawott's bowl of Pokémon food.
"Hey!" Elliot called, rising to his feet. Oshawott did the same, leaping on the rock by its Trainer, shaking its fist. "Get back here!"
In a minute, Elliot found the culprit - a Gligar sitting in a nearby tree, laughing as it devoured the sandwich and the Pokémon food. However, as soon as Gligar tasted how delicious the food it had stolen was, it flew back at Elliot, landing directly on his face, where it stuck like glue. Elliot struggled to peel the purple Pokémon off of his face, but when he did, he was really smoking with anger.
"That does it!" he hollered. "Oshawott, use Razor Shell!"
Oshawott, just as irritated as its Trainer, followed directions, and its Razor Shell Attack scored a direct hit on Gligar. Gligar, now slightly injured, was not all that irritated due to its happy-go-lucky attitude, but decided to play along, and countered by coming in with a Tackle.
"Dodge, and use Water Gun!" called Elliot.
Oshawott did as it was told, and used a powerful Water Gun that knocked Gligar straight into a tree, with extreme force. Seeing that the Pokémon was nearly knocked out, Elliot threw an empty PokéBall out at it, and waited to see if Gligar decided to stay inside or not. When it did decide to stay inside of the PokéBall, Elliot let out a relieved sigh, and picked it up.
"Well, I always thought Gligar was cool," he muttered. "But this one just seems like a hand full."
After Elliot had rejoined the group and had shown off his new Pokémon, the quartet started their walk into Violet City. Out of everyone, Poppy was the most amazed to be in the middle of a city all of a sudden. She'd barely been out of Rowan Town in her lifetime, and when she had left, she'd always been with her brother. But now, here she was, without her brother and with her friends, ready for her first Gym Battle and to watch Rose in her first Pokémon Contest.
"Look!" screeched Rose, as she and Lily sprinted to a large flyer on the side of a building. Smiling and pointing at it manically, she screamed, "The Pokémon Contest is this Evening! We've got to run if I want to register!"
Before the other three could really process what Rose said, she and Chikorita had sprinted off, faster than lightning, in a cloud of dust. Elliot, Poppy and Gage only chuckled, then sprinting off after them with Deino and Dratini at their sides.
They found Rose and Lily in the lobby of the Contest Hall, just after they'd finished registering. The two seemed happier than ever, prancing around with stars in their eyes as they watched all the other Coordinators with their Pokémon preparing for the Contest.
"Rose," panted Gage as the group caught up to them. "Are you sure you really want to enter the Contest? Are you sure you're prepared?"
"Of course I'm sure that I'm prepared!" Rose hollered at him, angry. "And I'm going to win the Contest and all of you are going to watch me win it and eat your words!"
"Okay," the three mumbled, trembling. Rose was cute and sweet, but you did not want to mess with her when she was angry.
"Good!" she smiled. "Now, I'm Number 31 in the Contest, so watch for me! Here are you Contest Passes to get in."
"Thanks," the other three smiled.
"See you guys soon!" she waved, as she and Lily sprinted off, to wait behind the scenes until it was their turn to compete.
"There's really no stopping that Rose, huh?" Elliot chuckled as he and his friends took their seats in the Contest Hall. He'd put Deino in its PokéBall temporarily, since its biting was getting a little out of control around all the people.
"Yeah," Gage nodded as he took a seat. "I just hope she's not too disappointed when she doesn't win."
"Oh, give her a chance," Poppy said, as Dratini coiled up comfortably on her lap. "She might just surprise us all."
"Unless she comes up against a Fire-type, Flying-type, Poison-type, Bug-type, or Ice-type in the battle rounds," Gage told her.
"Shh, the Contest is starting!" Poppy exclaimed, whacking him so she'd shut up.
Suddenly just as the Contest Announcer, Katherine, came to announce the first Coordinator, one of Elliot's Pokémon let itself out of the PokéBall. To the surprise of the three, it was Elliot's Gligar that had released itself. It seemed pretty happy, though, as it took a seat on Elliot's head, much to his dismay.
"Wanna watch the Contest, huh, Gligar?" Elliot chuckled, as he tried to get comfortable with the purple Pokémon on his head. "Well, okay."
Backstage, Rose was preparing Lily for their debut Contest performance. She'd put even more pretty flowers around the leaf that grew from Lily's head than usual. Rose herself had changed into a nice outfit for the Contest, a below-the-knee length dress that was white with red roses and pink lilies. She'd put her green hair, which she usually wore down, into two long braids, which she'd intertwined flowers into. She also had on a pair of ballet flats that resembled roses and pearl bracelets on her wrists.
"Are you ready for this, Lily?" Rose inquired, kneeling down to adjust the flowers on her Pokémon's head.
"Chiko!" the Pokémon answered, seeming happy and excited. "Chiko, Chiko!"
"Good," Rose smiled. "Because we're really gonna go give them a show, aren't we!"
"Chiko!" Lily replied, leaping into Rose's arms.
After the two shared a quick, but meaningful hug, Rose stood up, taking a deep breath. She said, "Well, let's go get 'em."
"Coordinator Number 31 to the stage, please," called a voice over the loudspeaker.
"Time to shine, Lily," Rose said, calling her Pokémon back into its PokéBall, only temporarily.
Elliot, Gage and Poppy stood to clap as they watched Rose make an entrance to the stage. They were all in we of her in her Contest attire as well.
"Now everyone, give a warm welcome to our next Coordinator!" Katherine announced. "Welcome Rose Wood of Cherrygrove City, in her debut Contest with her Chikorita, Lily!"
The audience cheered and applauded, as Rose looked confident down on the stage. Tossing out Lily's floral PokéBall, she called, "Alright, Lily, c'mon out into the spotlight!"
Lily emerged from her PokéBall, swirling through the air to land gracefully onto her feet in the middle of the stage.
"Alright, Lily, let's get started by combining your Sweet Scent and Aromatherapy!" Rose called.
Lily followed commands, sending out the two scent attacks in a graceful whirlwind. The attacks melded together into a soft pink color, that then spread over the judges and the audience. Both parties seemed to like it, as Rose's friends in the audience heard people around them saying they felt calm, that it smelled amazing and their headaches were soothed. It seemed to be a great grand entrance - soothing and calming the crowd before Rose and Lily dazzled them.
"Now, Magical Leaf, Lily!" Rose added.
Lily launched the Magical Leaf attack, which formed the shape of a heart, then a flower in the air overhead. The crowd cheered, as the judges stared up in awe.
"What a lovely use of Magical Leaf!" Nurse Joy commented from the judges table. "I've never seen it used in such an artistic manner!"
"You heard it from Nurse Joy, folks," Katherine said. "That Magical Leaf was lovely and artistic!"
"Okay, Lily, finish it off with a Solar Beam!" Rose called.
"Solar Beam?!" Elliot, Gage and Rose all inquired at once.
But, to their surprise, Lily pulled off a beautiful Solar Beam that swirled around in the air as it crashed into the Magical Leaves that were still suspended in the air, creating a fireworks-like explosion of light and beauty. That really got that crowd roaring, and amazing comments from the judges all around.
"What a beautiful and awesome debut performance from our pair from Cherrygrove City!" Katherine announced when Lily and Rose took their bows. "Thank you, Rose and Lily!"
Now all the pair had to do was wait to see if they'd make it through to the next round.
POPPY's current team:
Dratini, Chikorita, Chinchou & Clefairy
GAGE's current team:
Ivysaur, Raichu, Hitmontop & Snorlax
ROSE's current team:
Lily (Chikorita) & Flora (Sunflora
ELLIOT's current team:
Deino, Oshawott, Ferroseed, Litwick & Gligar