I'm guessing the Saga is nearing its end, but never fear...It shall go on.

Let's see how everyone's doing in the Grand Festival, Round 2 and 3.

~~~Season 9: Johto League Elites~~~

Opening: Pokemon Johto

Chapter 57: Divine Beauty

"Now that the judges have chosen the Top 64, we will convert the stage!" The two panel stages slid together sideways to conjoin one huge stage, and the judges panel was seated the edge of the stage, facing the major part of the audience. Jillian stepped in the back of them. "Now, each one of our wonderful Coordinators will come out with a single pokemon appeal of their choice. This is a Sudden Death round, so if it's a yes you move on, and if it's a no, you leave right then! Now, only sixteen people can qualify, so the judges are going to be extra hard on our Coordinators!" Jillian stepped back.

The first Coordinators came speeding out, pokeballs flying, their pokemon making dazzling, yet some not enough, appeals. The judges buzzed out the first ten Coordinators. A girl came out, long black hair flowing through the air up off of her green dress.

"Okay, Jumpluff, come out!" She sent out a blue pokemon with three white puffs, two on arms and one on its head. "Jumpluff, use Cotton Spore!" Jumpluff shivered and cotton poured off of its body, floating around the arena. Jumpluff hopped to the foor. "Okay, Silver Wind!" Jumpluff stood on its tiptoes and started spinning. Glittering wind spewed from it and caught the cotton inside, spinning in a tornado. "Jumpluff, now Bounce!: Jumpluff sprang off of the ground and floated evenly throughout the wind, as if it was swimming.

The judges chattered. "Victoria," Mr. Contesta started, "you're moving on to the next round!" He cheered. Victoria smiled and withdrew her Jumpluff, whirring back, her silver eyes glaring at the stage she walked back upon.

In the back room, Victoria came in, and Jim walked silently out. "This is me!" He thought to himself.

He dashed out onto the stage and sent Flareon out in a gust of blue fire that twirled around the small orange body. Flareon stomped to the ground. "Flareon, take the blue fire and inhale!" Flareon took a deep breath and sucked in the glowing fire. It released in a wave of beautfiul steam. "Now, Flamethrower!" Flareon breathed again and released an open blast of fire. It clashed with the steam and twisted, the air slicing them apart. Flareon dove through it, coating itself in sparkles and heat. "All right! This is the one we trained for! Use, Will-o-Wisp!" Flareon formed a ball of heat at its mouth and fired it at the fire and steam. It collided with the middle, but suddenly, it all flashed back and smacked Flareon, throwing it across the floor.

The judges shook their heads. A buzzing sound echoed across the room. Jim took on an expression of devastation as he was buzzed out of the Grand Festival. He flung his arms in a distraught manner and shot down the stage and into the hallway. Flareon frowned and followed, running desperately after him.

"And Jim has been buzzed out!" Jillian declared.

In the back room, Jim collapses inside and sits down. His Flareon appears and hops into his lap. Some tears slide down the flat of his cheeks and fall on Flareon's tail, turning them to steam.

Lyra looked on at him sadly.

Natalie was called out and she quickly headed into the hall.

She came out and twirled, sending her pokeball darting through the air like a missile. It released a flurry of dark hearts that turned in a tornado around the Delibird that came out.

"All right, Deli, use Present, then Ice Ball!" Delibird reached into its bag and pulled out a small orb. It threw it into the air and then formed a pristine ball of ice it shot at the ball. It clashed and froze, shining brightly. "Okay, now Icy Wind!" Delibird breathed wisps of cold, silvery wind. They passed through the glowing ice and it shimmered, a large glow bouncing off of the ice. "And finally, use Present!" Delibird drew another ball and shot it into the air. It came into contact with the ice and it exploded into shaved ice that scattered across the audience and judges.

The judges didn't take much time to think and they finally chimed her on to the next round. Natalie was only the second person to pass.

She headed to the back and smiled, holding up two fingers.

"Good luck, Lyra!" Natalie whispered. She looked back and saw Jim had left. "Where'd he go?"

"He said he was going to head to New Bark Town...I don't know why..." Lyra replied.

"And he passes!" Another Coordinator had tried out, and he successfully passed. Only about twenty people had gone, three had passed.

"Now, Lyra!" Lyra blinked and she smiled, darting out.

On the field, she drew a ball. "All right, time for...Meganium!" Lyra sent out her large green pokemon with the fluffy floral necklace on the field. "All right, keep it simple! Meganium, Petal Dance!" Meganium released a flurry of flowers from its petals and they floated in the air. "Now, Seed Bomb!" Meganium shot large bullets of white power at the petals. They came in contact and exploded in a wild, loud dispersion. What was left was pieces of petals floating down. "And now...Vine Whip!" Meganium lashed out its whips and swept them to the side, showering the crowd in the exquisite smelling petals.

"That was unique...and simple!" Mr. Contesta was heard speaking to Nurse Joy and Mr. Sukizo.

They gave her a ding.

"Even though it was simple and barely drawn out, the simplicity was enough to take Lyra higher!" Jillian said, almost shocked.

Lyra snuffed her nose and headed off stage.

In the back, she high-fived Natalie, then glared at her.

A little while passed, and the sixteen Coordinators were finalized. Only those people were left in the back room after everyone had either left or joined the audience.

"Now, we will randomly pair the Top 16 in matches and we will get underway with our battles! Finally, our Coordinators can show how well they've synced with their pokemon! Let's see!" Jillian waved up to the screen. The matches were shown.

In the first round was Lyra vs. Victoria.

"That's just GREAT!" Lyra steamed to herself.

She was the fourth match, so she had to wait awhile.

On the field for the second match...

"Corsola, Spike Cannon! Ampharos, Thunderbolt!" Corsola fired off a round of sharp spikes. Ampharos released a thunderous shot of electricity. They molded together and shot down the Hitmonlee and Vaporeon on the field. Their points weren't gone, but the pokemon fainted.

"And Natalie has done it again!" Jillian shouted. The crowd got riled.

Lyra waited for her match to show up as Natalie got to talking to Lyra's opponent, Victoria.

"Oh yeah, I'll win against her..." Lyra could hear Victoria saying. She glanced back and saw Natalie having a bored, disbelieving expression on her face.

The third match concluded.

"And Andrew has won it!"

Lyra tightened her fists and breathed slowly, but heavily. "Okay, the battles are up. Battles are our strong point, we can do this!"

Out on the field, Victoria was giving Lyra a nasty stare, with a heavy, devious smirk. The clock started and five minutes was under way.

"Take the stage, Jigglypuff and Clefairy!" Victoria sent out a small ball of pink and a pokemon shaped like a star, also pink. "These will devastate you!"

"Right...Togetic and Furret!" Lyra sent out her two pokemon. Togetic hovered above the field and Furret was on all-fours.

"Jigglypuff, use Rollout!" Jigglypuff curled and rolled into a ball, shooting towards Togetic and Furret. "Clefairy, Gravity!" Clefairy's hand glowed black and Togetic was slammed to the ground. Suddenly, Jigglypuff threw itself into Togetic and Furret, skidding them across the ground.

"Amazing combination by Victoria!" Jillian declared.

"Togetic, use Steel Wing!" Togetic stood up and its wings glowed. Jigglypuff whirred around and slammed into Togetic's wings, throwing it back.

"Clefairy, Lucky Chant!" Clefairy chanted something quick, but nothing seemingly happened.

"Furret, use Water Pulse!" Furret formed a glowing ball of water and fired it at Jigglypuff. It was swallowed by it, throwing Victoria's points down a bit.

"Jigglypuff, use Hyper Voice!" Jigglypuff opened its mouth and shot a huge sound wave ripping through the tide. "Clefairy, Meteor Mash!" Clefairy formed a steel-looking fist and shot it at the pokemon in the center.

"Togetic, Furret, the Gravity's gone! Jump!" The two pokemon sprang into the air like rockets. The two moves clashed and exploded, moving Victoria's points down. "Back-to-back, use Magical Leaf and Water Pulse!" Togetic fired leaves at Clefairy, and Furret propelled a water ball at Jigglypuff. Jigglypuff dove out of the way and rolled towards Clefairy.

"Clefairy, use Light Screen!" Clefairy protected itself as the leaves smacked up against the wall. Jigglypuff rolled behind Clefairy.

"Perfect! Togetic, Metronome! Furret, Ice Beam!" Furret readied a flow of ice as Togetic wagged its hands. Suddenly, they both used Ice Beam. The Light Screen blocked the attack, but the power froze over the block of light and it was completely covered in ice. "Hmm, Furret, use Slash!" Furret skittered forward and hacked apart the ice with glowing, extended claws. It fell apart, and the pokemon fell back.

The timer buzzed, and time was up. Lyra had lost only a fraction of her points, while Victoria had one-fourth left.

"That was an unfair match!" Victoria screamed.

"Nope, you lost fair and...SQUARE!" Lyra echoed back.

Victoria steamed and recalled her pokemon.

"That was a rather short match..." Lyra said to herself as she recalled her pokemon.

In the back room, Lyra watched as the final matches were finished up.

"Well, we've seen some deafening matches, some amazing appeals and combinations!" Jillian announced. "Now, let's get ready for another exciting round of battles!"

The pictures were shuffled again, and this time, Lyra was paired with the rival from the Wallace Cup, Andrew.

The boy looked at her from across the room, and smirked. Lyra gave him an apprehensive expression back.

"This could be difficult..." Lyra thought to herself.

...

I've stared a draft of the beginning of the Sinnoh Saga. DO NOT WORRY, as I have still not figured out the complete ending to this :) Besides, it's just a draft O_O

Everyone, remember, this story will follow through to the Sinnoh Region after it ends~