So I know it's been awhile, but here's another chapter! Please remember to tell me your thoughts, which I love hearing, and which ships you'd like to see! Who do you want Ash shipped with? What about Ivy?
Enjoy!
The morning after getting rid of Team Rocket, Peter, Ivy, Ash and Daisy finally arrived in Valleyville for the Contest. As soon as they arrived, they saw hordes of Coordinators, dressed in their finest Contests clothing, with their beautified Pokémon by their side. Immediately, excitement began to pump through Daisy and Ivy's veins as they took in the sight and realized that, yes, they'd actually be competing in this Contest in just a couple of hours.
"I'm so excited!" Daisy squealed, as she latched onto Ivy's arm. "We're finally here! Can you believe it, Ivy?"
"I can," Ivy laughed, clutching Cleffa in the arm Daisy wasn't attached to. "We should go check in so we can get changed before the Contest."
After he'd finished gawking at all the fancy-dressed Coordinators, Ash asked, "So, everyone here in Abuna dresses up for Contests?"
"Yup," Ivy nodded. "Some regions do, some don't. Abuna does. Daisy and I are gonna go in and get ready. You guys can meet us in there - here are a couple of passes to get you into the Contest and that'll let you come behind the scenes if you need us. You boys think you can handle that?"
"I think so," chuckled Peter, accepting the four laminated passes from her, since they had extras. "I'll keep an eye on Ash for you."
"Hey!" Ash griped, as Peter playfully ruffled his hair through his hat.
"Before we go, can you hold my egg, Peter?" Daisy asked. However, before he could answer, Daisy had already shoved the green egg in his arms, and then squealed, "Thanks!"
"Oh, yeah, could you watch Cleffa, Ash?" Ivy chimed in, extending the little pink Pokémon towards her brother. "I think he's still too little to come with me."
"He?" Ash inquired, taking Cleffa into her arms.
"Oh yeah," Ivy nodded. "Cleffa's a boy."
"Hm," Ash pondered. He held the Baby Pokémon above his head, clearly trying to look for evidence of its gender, until Ivy slapped him.
"Don't do that!" she scolded.
Oblivious, Ash asked, "Well, I wanted to see. How else are you supposed to know if it's a boy?"
"I looked at my Pokédex, you dufus!" Ivy informed him.
"Oh," Ash nodded.
He shifted Cleffa in one arm, took his Pokédex out, and pointed it. Sure enough, the screen read: This Cleffa is MALE.
"Arceus, please keep an eye on him Peter," Ivy groaned.
"I will," Peter assured his friend, chuckling.
Meanwhile, Daisy was getting jealous again, at the fact that Cleffa didn't burst out in tears in Ash's arms. Quite the opposite, actually. Ash tickled Cleffa's belly, earning giggles from the cutest Pokémon on Earth, while Pikachu made funny faces that brought one of the biggest smiles to Cleffa's face.
"Let's go!" announced Daisy, while she snatched her friend's arm, and started tugging her towards the Contest Hall.
"Be good!" Ivy hollered over her shoulder, while being dragged by Daisy "That means both of you!"
"We'll be good!" the boys assured her in unison, as they waved the girls off.
Once the girls were out of sight, it didn't take Ash long to spot a food cart selling breakfast sandwiches, and he almost immediately started drooling, as did Pikachu. Before Peter could stop him, Ash, with Pikachu on his shoulder and Cleffa in his arms, sprinted off right towards the food.
While Ash was waiting not-so-patiently in line for a breakfast sandwich, someone unexpected approached him. That someone was Brock.
Feeling the hand that had been laid on his shoulder, Ash turned, and saw his old friend standing by him with a smile, and a beam of his own broke out on his face.
"Brock!" he exclaimed, as the two exchanged a brotherly hug. Upon letting go, Ash then asked, "What're you doing here?"
"Well, I was back in Pallet a week or so ago and I stopped by your place to see if you were there," Brock began. "Obviously you weren't, but you mom let me in for lunch. She told me that you came to Abuna, and the whole story about your sister and everything...and since I had some time off from school, I thought I'd come up here to see you. Plus, there's a great Pokémon Doctor in Flax City that offered me an internship in the fall, so I figured I could waste some time between now and then and catch up with you."
"Awesome!" Ash replied. "It's great to see you again."
"Good to see you too, buddy," Brock responded. He reached out to Pikachu to give it a scratch on the head, as he added, "It's been a long time, huh? Seems like you were just a ten year old kid from Pallet and I just left the Pewter Gym."
"Yeah," Ash agreed. "Now I'm so close to becoming and Pokémon Master and you're almost a doctor. Crazy stuff."
"I know," Brock nodded. He then gave Cleffa a good scratch on the head, earning a happy giggle from the pink Pokémon, and he asked, "Is this Cleffa yours?"
"Oh, no, he's Ivy's," Ash told him. "My...my sister's."
"Ah," Brock acknowledged. Looking around them, he asked, "So, where is she? I'd love to meet the female Ash Ketchum, the long lost sister."
"She's actually competing in the Contest, with her friend Daisy," Ash answered. "They're inside already, getting dressed and whatever else girls do before their Contest."
Interrupting the conversation, a breathless Peter finally caught up to Ash. He skidded to a halt, still holding Daisy's green egg close to his chest. When he did, he opened his mouth as if he was going to speak, but immediately closed it upon seeing Brock.
"Oh, Peter, this is Brock, an old friend of mine," Ash piped up, introducing the two. "And Brock, this is Peter, one of Ivy's friends and one of my travelling companions."
"Hi there," Brock said, extending a hand to shake. "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too," Peter grinned in response.
"Hey, so, do you want to come watch the Contest with us, Brock?" Ash asked. "Daisy and Ivy gave us passes, and we have a couple extra, so you can come if you want."
"I'd love to," Brock nodded.
Before anyone could speak up, Ash's stomach let out a thunderous growl, causing him to wince a bit and grin in an embarrassed fashion.
"Well, I guess we can't go in before Ash eats," Peter chuckled.
Behind the scenes at the Contest Hall, all the Coordinators were lined up, readying themselves. The action was beginning in about five minutes. Currently, the host, Katherine, was introducing the judges, as she always did. And Daisy was right behind the curtain, ready to make her entrance. She was Coordinator #1 and her stomach was overcrowded with Butterfree and nerves.
Taking a deep breath, she smoothed out the skirt of her baby blue skirt lined with pink lace that matched her hair, which she was wearing down, in tight ringlets. Her top, with puffy short sleeves, matched the baby blue of her skirt, to give the appearance of a dress. Her ballet flat shoes were the same bubblegum color as her hair and the lace of her skirt, pulling her outfit together. She clutched a Pokéball so tightly in her right hand that it seemed as though it'd break.
Finally, she heard Katherine announce, "And now, please welcome our first contest, Daisy, from Mauville City in the Hoenn Region!"
Well, it was now or never.
The curtain opened before her, as the crowd roared, and Daisy stepped daintily into the spotlight at the center of it all. She smiled up at the crowd who seemed to be loving it, and caught a glimpse of Ash and Peter and a boy she didn't know sitting up in the seats, cheering her on. She hoped she didn't screw up or make a fool of herself in front of Ash and Peter. They were both so damn cute that she didn't want to mess up her chances with either of them.
"Alright, Swampert, time to shine!" Daisy called, doing a ballerina-like twirl as she released her Pokéball.
"Swamp!" the blue Pokémon exclaimed, as it swirled regally to the floor and struck a regal pose.
"Swampert, use Water Gun!" Daisy commanded, looking both elegant and powerful as she did so.
The Pokémon obeyed, doing another ballerina-like twirl as it shot water into the air, creating a swirling vortex of gleaming water over its head, just like they'd practiced.
"Now, use our special combination!" Daisy requested.
They'd prepared this combination for Contests and worked hard on it. In anticipation, Daisy watched as Swampert released a dazzling Blizzard into the air, an attack they'd worked harder than ever to learn. The snow swirled and danced about the Hall, allowing the light to reflected on it in a beautiful way. Then, Swampert used Scald, and as the hot water collided with the cold Blizzard, heavy steam washed over the stage, hiding both Pokémon and Trainer. When it cleared, it revealed Swampert holding Daisy up in the air in a cheerleader-esque pose, surrounded by Swampert's protect.
Needless to say, the impressive performance earned praise from the judges and awe from the crowd.
Walking offstage, Daisy felt relief, but only momentarily. Now she had to worry about if she was good enough to go to the next round or not, and what she would do if she was.
"You were amazing!" Ivy praised, as she collided into Daisy with a hug. "That was awesome! You and Swampert were great!"
"Thanks," Daisy replied, doing her best to act humble. "I'm gonna go back to watch the others from the TV, so good luck."
"Thanks," Ivy grinned. "See you soon!"
"See you!"
Daisy left, leaving Ivy to wait her turn to go on stage. Ivy was in her Contest best just like Daisy was. She wore a red dress with blue spaghetti straps and a blue bow tied around her waist, accentuating her now more womanly figure. Her hair was down, wavy and shiny, and she wore blue kitten heels with red bows on the toe, along with a pearl necklace. She always looked way girlier for Contests than she did at any other given time in her life.
Ivy's turn came fast, and she walked onstage, cool as a cucumber. She was rarely, if ever, nervous, something that Daisy greatly admired and was jealous of.
Coming into the spotlight, Ivy gracefully pulled her Pokéball out from behind her back, as she called, "Gyarados, I choose you!"
The great blue Pokémon danced through the air upon its release, landing elegantly in the center of the stage. The crowd already seemed excited.
"Combine Aqua Tail with Twister!" Ivy told Gyarados.
The intimidatingly beautiful Pokémon did so, releasing water from its tail as it spun in a circle violently and beautifully, causing an awe-inducing swirling fountain effect. Then, Gyarados leapt into the air, leaving a swirling whirlpool of powerful water back on the stage.
"Dragon Rage!" Ivy called.
In mid-air, Gyarados spun like a dancer, releasing the attack. The purplish-blue dragon streak ran into the middle of the whirlpool, causing the water to explode and create a rainbow over the stage when it collided with the light. The crowd gasped in awe at the sight, and when the duo took their bows, the judges showered them with praise and compliments, before the two made their exit.
The judges began their deliberation.
Meanwhile, up in the stands, Brock commented, "Wow, your sister's a really talented Coordinator."
"Yeah, she is," Ash agreed, a bit in awe himself. He figured Ivy would be good, but, damn she was amazing.
"But she and Daisy both look like they have some fierce competition," Peter sighed. "There's a lot of talent here today."
"Mhm," Brock nodded.
"Okay, and now we're going to announce the ten trainers going onto the second stage!" said Katherine through her headset microphone. She gestured to the large screen, which was shuffling through all of the Coordinators' pictures, and as each face popped up, she called the name. "Patrick! Lucy! Clara! Jack! Pauline! Caleb! Naomi! Hannah! Oliver! And last, but not least…"
So, how do you feel about Brock making his first appearance? Have any predictions or wishes for his role in the story?
Also, who will go on to the next round of the Contest? Ivy or Daisy, or neither of them?
Leave all your comments and predictions for me to read, I love hearing from you guys!
Thanks for all the continued support!