Normal POV
"Showtime, Poliwag!" Michelle cried, as she spun and tossed her Pokeball into the air.
"Poli!" Poliwag cried, landing on the ground.
Adam and Michelle had decided to have a practice battle. Adam hoped to learn something from practicing with Michelle. Ash had learned a lot of new battling techniques from Dawn, so Adam was hoping to learn a thing or two from a coordinator as well.
Michelle was currently working on her appeals first, and then she would have the battle with Adam.
"Poliwag, use Bubble!" Michelle cried. Poliwag shot bubbles up into the sky.
"Jump and pop the bubbles with your tail!" Poliwag jumped and popped the bubbles. Poliwag landed on the ground and water droplets fell down on the Water Pokemon.
Michelle had a few combinations in mind, but only planned to try out two. She had tried out the others earlier today.
"Poliwag, use Rain Dance!" Michelle cried. Clouds formed and rain poured down.
"Now, Hypnosis!" Poliwag's eyes glowed a blue color and they popped against the rain that was falling.
"Awesome, it worked!" Michelle cried happily.
"That was different, Michelle. I've never seen that done before." Adam complimented.
"Thanks, Adam. Ready for the practice battle?" Michelle asked, returning Poliwag.
"Yeah, I'm ready." Adam said as he walked to the other side of the field.
"Showtime, Eevee!" Michelle cried to her Pokemon standing beside her. Eevee ran onto the field and waited.
"Charmander, let's show 'em!" Adam cried, tossing his Pokeball.
"Char! Char!" Charmander cried. Adam's Charmander had learned Metal Claw earlier that day after some practice. Since Jason's Charmander had already learned it, Adam felt that his Charmander should, too. It would help against Rock Pokemon.
"You can go first, Adam." Michelle called.
"Charmander, use Flamethrower!" Adam commanded.
Michelle smirked, glad that he had called out that move. "Eevee, Shadow Ball!" she cried.
The Flamethrower shot towards Eevee while Eevee charged the Shadow Ball.
"Vee!" Eevee cried, launching the Shadow Ball towards the Flamethrower.
The two moves fought for dominance and finally the two moves cancelled out each other, causing a blast of smoke.
"Looks like you caught onto that contest move you saw." Adam said.
"Yep, but I've always had a move like that in mind. After all, many coordinators use it." Michelle replied.
"Charmander, Smokescreen!"
"Eevee, use Sand Attack!"
The two moves combined to make a huge cloud of smoke and sand.
"Shadow Ball!"
Before Adam could call out for Charmander to dodge, the Shadow Ball headed towards Charmander and hit him.
"Char!" Charmander cried.
"Quick Attack and Bite!"
"Charmander, wait until Eevee is close, then use Metal Claw!"
Eevee was quickly coming towards Charmander as her teeth started to glow. Charmander's claw started to glow, too. The two moves collided with one another, causing dust to stir up and both Pokemon to be hurt.
"That's enough. I'm not going to spoil any more of my moves. I want to surprise people if I make it to the battle round." Michelle said as she picked up Eevee in her arms.
"I'm sure you'll make it to the battle round, Michelle." Adam said, returning Charmander and walking over towards his friend.
The two headed back to Misty's house, where Jason was.
"Mom, we're back!" Michelle yelled as she closed the door.
"Did you have to yell?" Jason asked as he sat up on the couch.
"What were you doing? Sleeping?" Michelle asked.
"Yes, I was sleeping. You two went to practice and I was tired." Jason replied, annoyed.
"Sorry, didn't know you were sleeping. Do you know where my mom is?" Michelle asked.
"No. The last time I saw her, she was in the kitchen, I think."
Michelle's POV
"Okay. Thanks, I guess." I muttered as I left the living room.
I walked into the kitchen to find it empty. I then decided to head to my mom's room.
"Mom?" I asked as I opened her door.
"Hi, Michelle. Are you and Adam done with practicing?" she asked.
"Yeah, are we going to get my contest outfit?"
"Yes, Michelle. We'll go now."
My mom walked out of her room and I followed her back down to the living room.
"Hey guys, can you watch Eevee for me?" I asked.
"Sure." the boys replied.
My mom and I left the house and walked towards this shop that sold anything you could need; dressy-clothes-wise. We walked for fifteen minutes and stopped in front of a store called Dresses & Tuxes.
"So Michelle, what type of outfit are you looking for?" my mom asked, opening the door.
"I'm not sure, to be honest." I replied as the cold air conditioning hit my bare legs.
I looked around the store. I had only been in this store maybe two times at the most. Clothes were everywhere. From casual attire to formal attire. We walked through the store and I picked up a few outfits before heading to the dressing rooms.
I walked out wearing a gray dress that came to my knees. A black ribbon was around my waist. I also had on black gloves and black flats. It looked too bland for my taste.
"Well, Michelle?" my mom asked.
"Gray is not my color." I said as I walked back to the dressing room to try on another outfit.
I tried on another dress that ended below my knees. It was white and red.
"No, too much like a candy cane." I muttered.
I tried on a few more dresses and came to a conclusion: Dresses didn't suit me. I walked back through the store and finally found an outfit that I liked. I grabbed the outfit and walked to the dressing room once again.
"I like this one. You like this one?" I asked mom, walking out and doing a small twirl.
I wore a gypsy-looking outfit. The top was cut a few inches above my bellybutton, a skirt that was to my ankles flowed around my legs as I twirled, and I was bare footed right now. The top was white with a dark blue border. The skirt was white, too; except for the waistband that was dark blue. Lines of dark blue beads and white beads that were attached to strings made sleeves down my arms.
"I like it, Michelle. You look beautiful! Now all you need are a few accessories." my mom said. My mom walked off and returned with a dark blue and white beaded hairpiece and white heels.
"Heels? Seriously, mom?" I asked looking at the white heels.
"With the heels, you won't trip over the skirt, since it's loose." my mom said.
"I can't walk in heels. I'll break my neck...or legs!"
"I couldn't walk in heels at first, either. But now I can."
"Fine..."
I took the heels and made sure they fitted with the outfit. I also made sure the hairpiece fitted too. Then I looked at myself in the mirror and cried, "I love this outfit!"
My mom paid for the outfit and we headed back to the house.
I stood in the changing rooms adjusting the hairpiece in my hair. I looked at my outfit once more and nodded, pleased with how I looked. I had to talk to Adam, Jason, and my mom before the contest. I made my way to the waiting area and found them with their backs to me.
"Hey guys, hey mom." I said, walking up behind them.
"Hey sweetie." my mom said turning around.
Adam and Jason turned around and looked shocked. I wasn't surprised they were shocked. After all I send off the tomboy look most of the time and now I'm in a skirt and a top that showed my stomach add heels, too. I looked like a girly girl.
"Are you ready?" my mom asked.
"Yeah, I'm ready. A little nervous, though." I replied, giving a small smile.
"You'll do great, Michelle." Adam said suddenly.
"I hope so."
"Don't worry about it Michelle, you'll do fine. After all, you've watched Adam's mom in some contests." Jason said.
"Thanks, guys. I needed that." I said, giving a small smile.
"Where's Eevee?" Jason asked.
I held up a Pokeball and said, "She's in here for now."
"We have to go and get our seats now." my mom said.
"Okay, bye."
They left the waiting area and I felt a presence approaching me.
"Hi, hi!" Nikki cried as I turned around.
"Hey, Nikki. That's so pretty." I said, complimenting her outfit.
"Mine? Michelle, YOUR outfit is so pretty!"
Nikki wore a dress that was red at the top and faded to pink as it went down. The dress ended at her knees. On her feet were white flats. She also had white gloves that went to her elbows with a pink design on them. The design was at the top of the gloves and the wrists. I could see that two lines crisscrossed and I saw that a small heart was made when they connected. She also had a pink choker around her neck.
"So, ready for your first contest?" Nikki asked as she placed a Pokeball in the ball capsule.
"Yeah. I'm a little nervous, though." I replied, placing a heart sticker on my ball capsule.
"It's understandable, since it is your first contest, after all. This is my third contest. I lost my first contest, but won my second contest. I hope to win my second ribbon."
"I hope to win my first ribbon." I replied.
A buzz was heard and all the coordinators in the room looked at the television. The contest was starting.
"Welcome to the Cerulean City Pokemon Contest! I'm your host, Jillian!"
A young adult was standing in the middle of the stage. She had reddish brown hair that fell to her shoulders in soft curls, sky blue eyes, and she was pale. She wore a trench-coat that was tight fitting with a belt on her mid section to close the coat. You could see a medium shade of green showing from underneath the coat and her feet were covered with black boots.
"As you all know, the objective for each coordinator is to give a good show with unique moves! Let's meet our wonderful judges!"
"First off, we have Shawn Contesta!" Jillian announced.
"Glad to be here and I can't wait to see what everyone has in store for us." Shawn said.
Shawn had black hair that was slightly spiked, brown eyes, and he was tanned. He wore a suit jacket that was black with a red shirt, and black tie. He was the grandson of Mr. Contesta, who was a judge when Dawn was first competing in contests.
"Next, we have the President of the Pokemon Fan Club, Mr. Tatsu!" Jillian announced.
Mr. Tatsu was a short, chubby guy. He had squinted eyes, rosy cheeks, and a smile on his face. He had brown hair that was cut very short and a brown, bushy mustache. He wore a jacket that was white and under the jacket was a shirt that had a Pichu on it.
"Pokemon Contests and Pokemon! This will be fun!" Mr. Tatsu said.
"And lastly, we have our very own Nurse Joy!" Jillian announced.
"I can't wait to see the moves and Pokemon. Good luck to all of you." Nurse Joy said.
"Well folks, you've meet the judges...NOW it's time for you to meet the coordinators! Entry number one, you're up!" Jillian cried.
The contest went on for a while with many combinations. I was impressed and my nerves were trying to get the best of me.
"Well, I'm up next." Nikki said, walking towards the door.
"Good luck, Nikki." I said.
She nodded and walked out of the room.
"Next up, we have Nikki from Neon Town!" Jillian cried.
The curtains parted and Nikki stepped out. She smiled to the crowd and jumped down the stairs, landing gracefully.
"Nikki enters with grace! Let's see who she uses and what she has in store for us!"
"Vulpix, let's wow them!" Nikki cried, as she tossed a Pokeball straight into the air.
The Pokeball opened to reveal a fire. As the fire disappeared, Vulpix appeared and landed on the ground.
"Vulpix enters with a fiery entrance!"
Man, people make some cheesy sayings. I thought.
"Vulpix, use Will-O-Wisp!" Nikki cried. Vulpix used the attack, and now balls of fire were floating around Vulpix in a circle.
"Now, Vulpix! Use Attract!" Vulpix caused hearts to appear and the hearts formed with the Will-O-Wisp. Now flaming hearts were floating around.
"Wonderful! The two moves have made hearts that are on fire!" Jillian cried.
"Finish it with Energy Ball!" Vulpix charged up the ball of energy and shot it at the flaming hearts. The Energy Ball hit the hearts and caused them to explode. Embers and sparkles fell towards Vulpix and Nikki.
"What a wonderful performance!" Jillian cried. The crowd burst into applause.
"The moves were timed well. The attacks blended well, too." Shawn said.
"Vulpix looked like she was having fun! The performance made me smile!" Mr. Tatsu cried, smiling.
"This was very catching. From the entrance to the finish." Nurse Joy said.
Nikki walked back into the room and seemed to release a breath.
"That was a good performance, Nikki." I said, walking over to her.
"Thanks, Michelle." Nikki said, sitting down.
My turn would be coming soon.
"When do you go?" Nikki asked.
"After this guy's finished." I said.
"Good luck, Michelle." Nikki said.
I walked out of the room and towards the stage as the coordinator ahead of me finished. I waited behind the curtains.
"Next up, we have Michelle Waterflower from Cerulean City, making her contest debut!" Jillian cried.
The curtains rose and I ran out and jumped down the stairs.
"Michelle enters with grace! What does she have in store for us?"
"Showtime, Poliwag!" I cried, spinning and tossing the Pokeball. The Pokeball opened to reveal a heart. Poliwag landed on the stage once the heart vanished.
"Poliwag enters cutely!"
"Poliwag, use Rain Dance!" I cried. Clouds formed and rain started falling...only above Poliwag, though.
"Now, Poliwag! Use fountain!"
Yes, fountain was a move. A Water Gun, to be exact. Poliwag used Water Gun while aiming at the ground and shot up into the air. I had practised and Poliwag got it right the first time.
"Poli!" Poliwag cried, shooting into the sky.
"Jump and use Hypnosis!" Rain Dance was still going on. Poliwag stopped using Water Gun and twirled as the Water Gun stopped. Poliwag looked at everyone as its eyes glowed blue. Poliwag landed gracefully as the rain ended.
"What a wonderful water show!" Jillian cried as the crowd cheered for me. I felt very proud and happy.
"Very unique and practiced well. Wonderful performance for your first contest." Shawn said.
"Poliwag looked so happy! Wonderful!" Mr. Tastu cried smiling.
"What a fun and great way to show off Poliwag. A very good job for your first-ever performance." Nurse Joy said.
I walked back to the waiting area and Nikki ran over.
"Michelle, that was amazing! How did you ever come up with that?" she asked.
"I have a good idol, and I used some of her moves that I've seen before and crafted them into my own." I replied.
"Who's your idol?"
"Sorry, it's a secret."
"No fair!" Nikki cried, pouting.
Everyone was done performing. Now we were waiting to see who would move on.
"Now the time has come! Here are the eight coordinators who will be moving onto the second round!" Jillian cried.
Some guy, some girl, some guy, Nikki, some girl, some girl, me, and some guy.
"YES!" I cried happily.
"Made it!" Nikki cried happily.
"Congratulations to the eight who made it!" Jillian cried.
The coordinators who didn't make it past the first round gathered their things and left. Now it was just the eight of us, along with the friends and family of ours.
Nikki walked over to her brother who had just walked in. I looked and saw my mom walk in with Adam and Jason following.
"Good job, Michelle." my mom said, hugging me.
"Thanks, mom. I can't believe it! I made it to the battle round!" I cried happily.
"Good job, Michelle. Good luck in the battles." Adam said.
I smiled at him and nodded.
"Not bad. Good luck, you're gonna need it." Jason said.
"Now, above me is the screen. The coordinators have been randomly paired up against one another. Here are the battles for the first battle round."
I glanced at the screen to see who I would be facing off against first.
"Looks like you're going against a guy named Greg." my mom said.
I nodded my head.
Nikki walked over towards me and Trevor trailed behind her.
"Hi, I'm Nikki." Nikki greeted my mom.
"Hello, Nikki. That was a wonderful performance." my mom said.
"Thank you, Misty."
"Yeah. Good job, Nikki. And good luck." Adam said.
"Thanks," Nikki said, nodding her head. Trevor remained silent, as did Adam and Jason.
"We have to get back to our seats. Good luck, both of you." my mom said.
My mom, Adam, and Jason left.
"You might want to get back to your seat too, Trev." Nikki said, facing her brother.
"Don't call me Trev. I'm going," he said. Trevor turned to leave, but turned back around. He muttered something to Nikki and she just nodded her head. He then left the room.
"Are you two twins?" I asked.
"Why do you ask?" Nikki asked.
"You two look the same. The only difference is your eye color."
"Yes, we're twins."
"Okay. Sorry if that was just out there. It was bugging me."
"No problem, we get asked that a lot."
The room was now filled with only the coordinators. I would be battling second. The first battle started and soon ended with a girl named Rochelle and her Wartortle being the winners.
"Good luck, Michelle. Hey, make sure you make it to the finals. We're gonna battle." Nikki said.
I nodded my head and walked out of the room. I walked onto the stage and saw Greg already there. We released our Pokemon and were ready to go. We were pretty even until the end...
"Quick Attack!" I cried to Eevee.
"Take Down, Ponyta!"
Eevee shot towards Ponyta and Ponyta charged towards Eevee. Both Pokemon were getting closer.
"Now, Bite!" I cried. Eevee jumped into the air to avoid the Take Down and with Quick Attack still going, the Bite was coming quickly! Her teeth glowed and she fell towards Ponyta and latched on.
The buzzer went off and I snapped my head towards the screen as Jillian cried "Time's up!"
"The winner is...Michelle!" Jillian announced.
My points were halfway gone while Greg's were slightly lower. The third battle went on and the winner was Wen and his Jigglypuff. Nikki and a guy named Kyle were now battling and Nikki was winning.
"Electabuzz, use Thunder Punch!" Nikki cried.
"Meowth, use Slash!" Kyle cried.
The two moves collided with one another causing dust to fly everywhere.
"Electabuzz, Swift!" Nikki's Electabuzz jumped into the air and used Swift before Kyle had time to react. Then the buzzer went off.
"The winner is...Nikki!" Jillian announced.
"That concludes the first round of the battles. Now to see who will be facing off in the second round of battles!" Jillian cried.
"Good battle, Nikki." I said to her backstage.
"Thanks, Michelle. You did great, too." Nikki said.
"Here are the match-ups!"
I was going against Rochelle and Nikki was going against Wen.
"Wartortle, use Water Gun!"
"Eevee, Shadow Ball!"
Eevee's Shadow Ball tore through the Water Gun to my surprise, and Rochelle was even more surprised. The Shadow Ball slammed into Wartortle, causing her to lose more points.
"Skull Bash!"
"Jump, Eevee!"
Wartortle ran towards Eevee and Eevee jumped to avoid.
"Use-" I started, but the sound of the buzzer cut me off.
"Time's up! The coordinator moving onto the finals is...Michelle!" Jillian announced.
The crowd cheered loudly. I was very shocked. I was doing the best I could, but never thought that I would make it this far in my very first contest! I walked backstage and Nikki hugged me.
"Good job! Now I'm gonna win this battle and we're gonna battle for that ribbon!" she said, pulling away.
"Yeah!" I cried, agreeing.
Nikki and Wen were currently battling. Nikki was winning, but it wasn't that much of a lead. Wen and his Jigglypuff were putting on a good defense.
"Electabuzz, Swift!"
"Hyper Voice, Jigglypuff!"
Jigglypuff's attack made the Swift's stars burst and glitter fall down. It was very pretty.
"Low Kick!" Electabuzz ran and hit Jigglypuff. Fighting Type attacks are super-effective on Normal Pokemon.
"Jiggly!" Jigglypuff cried. Jigglypuff didn't get back up and a buzzer went off.
"The coordinator moving onto the finals is Nikki!" Jillian announced. The crowd cheered.
Nikki returned to the room and walked over to me. "Let's give it our all, okay?"
"Okay. I will as long as you do, too." I replied.
"Oh, I will, Michelle."
After a few minutes, it was time for our battle. We walked onto the stage and took our sides.
"It's time for the finals! To my left is Michelle and to my right Nikki! Five minutes on the clock and...BEGIN!" Jillian cried.
"Electabuzz, let's wow them!" Nikki cried, tossing her Pokeball. Electabuzz appeared, surrounded by lightning bolts.
"Showtime, Eevee!" I cried, tossing my Pokeball. Eevee appeared as flower petals surrounded her.
"Electabuzz, use Swift!" Nikki cried.
"Eevee, use Quick Attack!"
Eevee glowed white and ran towards Electabuzz. As she ran, she burst through the stars from Swift and slammed into Electabuzz.
"Thunder Punch!"
"Jump!"
Eevee went to jump, but Thunder Punch intercepted her leap in mid-air and stopped her, knocking her to the ground.
"Vee!" Eevee cried.
"Shadow Ball, Eevee!"
"Electro Ball, Electabuzz!"
The two moves collided causing sparkles to fall.
"Eevee, use Quick Attack and Bite!" Eevee glowed white as she sped towards Electabuzz and her teeth started glowing.
"Thunder Punch!"
"Cancel out the attack!"
Eevee clamped down onto the hand that would've used Thunder Punch and refused to let go. Nikki looked shocked by this defense move.
I looked at the points. I was winning, but it was a small lead. Nikki wasn't too far behind me and she could easily come back and win.
"Shadow Ball!" Eevee opened up her mouth and used Shadow Ball and jumped into the air and flipped then landed, causing Nikki to lose more points.
"Now that's a Shadow Ball launched with some impressive acrobatics!" said Jillian.
"Low Kick!"
"Quick Attack to dodge!"
Electabuzz was heading towards Eevee and Eevee quickly moved to avoid to attack. Nikki's points went down slightly.
"Use Swift to get back in the lead!" Nikki yelled. The attack headed towards Eevee.
"Eevee, jump!" Eevee jumped into the air and flipped then landed on the ground, avoiding yet another attack. "Now, Bite!"
"Get ready for a Low Kick." Nikki whispered to her Pokemon.
Eevee headed towards Electabuzz while Electabuzz stood still.
"Now!" Nikki cried. Electabuzz used Low Kick and slammed into Eevee.
"Eevee!" I cried. Eevee got up and nodded that she was okay.
"Sand Attack!" Eevee made a sand camouflage so Electabuzz couldn't really see Eevee.
"Now, Shadow Ball!" The Shadow Ball shot out of the sand and slammed into Electabuzz.
"Try to clear the sand with Swift!" Nikki said to Electabuzz.
"Quick-" I started saying. But the buzzer went off and we both snapped our heads towards the screen.
"The winner of the Cerulean City Contest is..." Jillian trailed and glanced at the screen.
"Michelle!"
My picture and Eevee's picture took up the screen.
"We did it!" I cried, picking up Eevee and hugging her.
Nikki walked over to me and stopped. "Good battle, Michelle. Congrats on winning your first ribbon." she said, smiling.
"Thanks, Nikki. That was a close call." I replied with a small smile.
I had only won by a little bit. I walked onto the stage where Shawn Contesta would give me the Cerulean Ribbon.
"Congratulations on your first win in your very first contest. Here is the Cerulean Ribbon." he said extending the pillow with the ribbon. I picked up the ribbon and looked at it. The ribbon was a blueish green color. I held the ribbon up.
"Alright! I won the Cerulean Ribbon!" I cried happily. The crowd cheered and soon I was back in the dressing room. Nikki was the only other person in there.
"Well Michelle, me and Trevor are off." she said.
"Yeah, I think we're heading off, too." I said, facing her.
"Well, we'll see each other again. Later!" Nikki cried as she ran out of the room.
I changed back into my normal clothes, picked up my bag, and pulled it onto my back. Eevee jumped into my arms and I left the room. I walked out of the contest building to find Adam, Jason, and my mom waiting for me.
"Way to go, Michelle!" Adam cried.
"Good job, Michelle." Jason said.
"Good job, sweetie. I'm so proud of you." my mom said, hugging me.
"Thanks, you guys." I said, smiling. "Well mom, we're gonna go now. Time for us to hit the road and travel to the next city."
My mom nodded her head.
"Bye, Misty. Thank you for letting us stay with you for so long." Adam said.
"Bye, Adam. Tell your mom I said hello." my mom said.
"It was good to see you again, Misty. I'll tell my parents you say hey." Jason said.
"Bye, Jason." my mom said.
"Bye, mom. I love you." I said.
"Bye, sweetie. Love you, too."
She hugged us all and we started walking.
I'm finally leaving Cerulean City. I'll be able to see Kanto. Thanks for everything, mom. I'll be able to achieve my dream.
Author's Note: And so, our heroes finally set out on the road once again, with Michelle winning her first ribbon, and the boys with two badges each. We hope you enjoyed the chapter.
Be sure to read the next chapter where we will take a look back in Pallet Town to see Dawn, who will be receiving an unexpected call from an old friend from Sinnoh. Any guesses on who it could be?
Find out next time on Pokemon NG!