Author's Note: Hey there! Sorry that we haven't updated in so long, but here's chapter 16!

Michelle's POV

I needed to practice with Growlithe for the contest that was today, I had asked Jason if we could battle and surprisingly, he said yes.

We had been practicing for only a short while, and already, Jason was so confused. My contest moves I had come up with for Growlithe were working and he didn't really understand contest moves, how they work, and how to deal with them, unlike Adam. So why did I ask him to train with me instead of Adam? Because Growlithe needed some Fire type training against Charmeleon. It would be better for Growlithe to battle Charmeleon rather than Adam's Charmander.

"Growlithe, Bite!" I cried. Growlithe ran towards Charmeleon and Jason waited for his chance.

"Metal Claw!" he shouted. Charmeleon used Metal Claw and it hit right as Growlithe was near.

"Growlithe, no!" I cried.

But Growlithe jumped up and shook itself. "Growl!"

"Alright Growlithe, let's finish this. Use Flame Wheel!" I cried. Surrounding itself in flames and spinning along the ground towards Charmeleon, I added a little something to the attack. "Use Flamethrower while you're spinning!" I glanced up and saw that Jason looked confused.

"Do it!" I cried. Growlithe's Flame Wheel continued and a Flamethrower came out and hit Charmeleon and then the Flame Wheel hit, too. Adam had shown me this Fire combo earlier after telling me about how his dad had used it in a gym battle in Sinnoh against a Ghost Pokemon.

"It worked!" I cried. "It looks like my combination moves are ready for the contest!"

"You done?" Jason asked. I nodded my head and Jason returned Charmeleon.

"Good job, Growlithe." I said, returning it. Jason and Adam walked over to me.

"That was...different." Jason said.

"I had you guessing and unsure of everything." I said proudly.

"Well, I'm not used to contest moves. I'm a pure battler."

"I know. You should learn, though. Adam knows about contest moves."

"His mom's a coordinator!"

"I know," I said as I smiled, thinking of my hero/idol.

"You know, my dad learned a lot from my mom about how contest moves can be used to win battles. He told me that he never would've become a Pokemon Master if it wasn't for her." Adam said to Jason. "I think integrating contest moves might help you become stronger trainer, too."

Adam then looked at me and said, "Growlithe is doing good. You two have a good bond."

"Thanks, Adam. With my new Pokemon, I'm sure to win today!"

Later that day, it was time for my contest. I stood backstage in my contest outfit, talking with Adam and Jason. I hadn't seen Nikki around yet.

"Good luck, Michelle." Adam said.

"Yeah, good luck and have fun." Jason said.

I nodded my head and thanked them.

"We gotta get to our seats or we won't get to watch. See you after the appeals round." Adam said, heading towards the doors.

Jason nodded towards me and left. I walked over to a chair and sat down.

"Hi, hi!" Nikki cried, walking over towards me.

"Hey, Nikki." I said.

"So are you ready?" Nikki asked, plopping down into a chair.

"Yeah, gonna try and get my second ribbon."

"Me too, good luck."

"You too,"

The buzzer went off signalling that the contest was starting.

"Good afternoon, everybody! It's time for another contest. Today the contestants will be competing for the Vermillion City Ribbon! I'm Jillian, your host! Now let's meet our wonderful judges!" Jillian cried.

"We have Shawn Contesta!" Jillian cried.

"Glad to be here and I can't wait to see what everyone has planned. Good luck to you all." he said.

"Now the President of the Pokemon Fan Club, Mr. Tatsu!"

"Pokemon Contests and Pokemon! Fun is in store!" he cried.

"Lastly, we have our very own Nurse Joy!"

"Glad to be here and I can't wait to see all the wonderful performances." she said, smiling.

"Well, now that we've met our wonderful judges, let's meet our wonderful coordinators! Entry one, you're up!" Jillian cried.

The contest continued on with some good performances and then some bad ones. One coordinator, a rookie's first contest got scared and she couldn't perform. I felt bad for her. She was so embarrassed and it didn't help when one coordinator was laughing and being mean to her.

My turn was next and I stood up and walked towards the door.

"Next up, we have Michelle!" Jillian cried.

I ran out and jumped over the steps and landed. "Eevee, spotlight!" I cried, spinning and tossing my Pokeball. Bubbles appeared and Eevee landed as the bubbles popped.

"Eevee, Shadow Ball!" I cried. Eevee lifted her head up and shot the Shadow Ball towards the ceiling.

"Now jump and use Bite!" I cried. Eevee jumped into the air and bit the Shadow Ball in her mouth. I heard people go "Ohh" and "Ahh" and "Wow" as Eevee performed that move.

"Sand Attack and Shadow Ball!" Eevee landed and used Sand Attack. The sand covered Eevee ever so slightly and before you lost sight of her completely, she used Shadow Ball, with the sand mixing into it.

Eevee stood still and I smiled, pleased with the result of Sand Attack and Shadow Ball.

"What a wonderful performance!" Jillian cried.

"A good performance. For a second, I thought Eevee was going to be completely covered." Shawn said.

"Eevee had a lot of fun!" Mr. Tatsu exclaimed, smiling.

"Wonderful performance." Nurse Joy said.

I walked backstage and released my breath. I looked for Nikki, but she wasn't there. She was next.

"Next up is Nikki!" Jillian cried.

Nikki ran onto the stage and ran down the stairs and tossed her Pokeball.

"Electabuzz!" Electabuzz cried, landing on the stage.

"Electabuzz, use Swift!" Stars shot into the air and formed together to make a huge one.

"Now Thunder Punch!" Electabuzz jumped into the air and punched the big star that the little stars had formed. Electricity circled around the star before it burst. Electabuzz landed on the stage and Nikki curtsied.

"A wonderful electric performance!" Jillian cried.

"What a wonderful performance! Brilliant!" Shawn cried.

"So much static and power!" Mr. Tatsu cried.

"A change for normal performances. Wonderful all the same, though." Nurse Joy said.

Nikki walked back to the room and walked over to where I sat.

"Wow," I said.

"I know. It might have been two simple moves, but we worked hard for that to work." she said.

"That was good, though. Nurse Joy was right. That IS a change from usual performances."

"Yeah, I know."

A few more coordinators performed and then we were waiting to see who would move on.

"Now to show the eight coordinators who will be moving on to the battle rounds!" Jillian cried.

The screen popped up and this was the order; Nikki, some guy, some girl, me, some girl, some girl, some girl, and some guy.

"YES!" Nikki and I cried.

Adam and Jason walked into the room and over to me.

"Good job, both of you." Adam said.

"Thanks," Nikki and I said.

"Yeah, you two did good." Jason said.

"Thanks,"

Trevor had just entered the room. Nikki excused herself and walked to her brother.

"Now to show who will be facing who." The screen popped up and I was paired with some girl and we had to battle first.

"Well, I gotta go. Wish me luck!" I cried, placing a seal on my ball capsule.

"Good luck," Adam and Jason said to me. I laughed and walked out of the room towards the stage.

Soon, it was the semifinal match. So far, I was winning all of my battles and Nikki was, too. "It's time for the semifinal match! On my left is Nikki, and on my right is Michelle! Five minutes on the clock, and begin!" Jillian cried.

"Growlithe, spotlight!" I cried, tossing my Pokeball. Growlithe landed on the stage and cried its name happily.

"Dratini, curtain!" Nikki cried, tossing her Pokeball to reveal Dratini.

"Growlithe, use Flamethrower!"

"Dratini, use Twister!"

The two moves collided, but the Twister extinguished the Flamethrower and hit Growlithe. My points decreased a good bit from that one move!

"Now, Dratini! Use Aqua Tail!"

I waited until Dratini was close and told Growlithe to dodge and use Bite. It worked and Nikki lost some points.

"Dratini, use Slam!"

"Flame Wheel, Growlithe!"

Both Pokemon ran towards one another, Growlithe becoming a wheel of fire. When Dratini was close, I smirked, ready to use my move that I practiced.

"Flamethrower!" With Flame Wheel still going, Growlithe used Flamethrower. Dratini was caught off-guard as the Flamethrower hit, damaging it. Growlithe, meanwhile, slammed into Dratini with Flame Wheel. Now that's what I call a one-two punch!

My points were now a little higher than Nikki's, thanks to that combo. We had about two and a half minutes left.

"Dratini, Twister!"

"Growlithe, dodge!"

Growlithe dodged at first, but the Twister followed and it got hit.

"Growl!" Growlithe cried, struggling to get up.

"One minute left!" Jillian cried.

"We've got to try to make a comeback. We've lost more points..." I muttered. I tried to figure out a way, but couldn't get one.

"Hyper Beam!" Nikki cried. Dratini started charging the attack.

"Flamethrower!"

The two moves went at the same time and collided. Growlithe started sliding backwards and tried to stay in place. Try as it might, Growlithe couldn't hang on! The Hyper Beam overpowered the Flamethrower and hit Growlithe.

"Growlithe, no!" I yelled.

The buzzer rang and then Jillian's voice said, "Time's up!"

"The winner who will be moving on to the finals is..." she trailed. "Nikki!"

I walked over and knelt down beside Growlithe. "You did your best. Thank you," I said, petting Growlithe's head and returning it. I knew Dragon Pokemon were strong, but I never thought that they'd be THAT strong!

I stood up and walked back to the room to get changed and also congratulate Nikki when she came. Nikki ran into the room behind me.

"That was a good battle, Michelle. You're a great rival to have." Nikki said.

"Thanks. You are, too. You kept me on my toes today." I said.

"Well, wish me luck?"

"Good luck, and that was a good battle today."

I grabbed my bag and went to change. When I finished changing, the finals had started. I walked out of the room and went to sit with Adam and Jason, but I couldn't find them. But after a second look, I noticed them..

The battle continued and Nikki won the whole thing. When we were leaving the building, we ran into her and Trevor.

"Congrats,"

"Thanks,"

Trevor then looked at Adam and said, "By the way, I managed to beat Lt. Surge in a rematch today. So don't think that you're any stronger than me." And then the two of them left.

I walked behind Adam and Jason, who were talking to each other. I was sad that I had lost, but it was only my second contest. You win some and you lose some. But still, I had worked so hard to pull off two moves at once like that, and it still wasn't enough.

"I'll be back later." Adam said, walking away from Jason and I. Before we could reply, Adam walked off.

"Okay then..." Jason said and muttered something else.

I silently wondered where he was going.

Back at our room in the Pokemon Center, I laid on the bed with Eevee napping beside me. I sighed quietly so Jason wouldn't hear. I was replaying the battle in my mind, hoping that I could figure out what I had done wrong and what I could've done differently...but I came up with nothing. Tears of frustration fell from my eyes and slid down my cheeks. I had tried to hold them back, but couldn't.

Suddenly, there was movement outside our door and then the door opened. It was Adam. He slid the key into his pocket and walked into the room. He looked at me with some concern. He must've noticed that I was crying.

"Where did you go?" I asked, wiping my face.

"Oh, just down to the Vermillion Harbour."

"Why?"

"I got us tickets for one of the luxury cruise ships."

I stared at Adam in shock. Was he just pulling my leg?

"Really?!" I cried. I mentally hit myself for sounding like such a girly girl, but I had always wanted to go on one of Vermillion City's luxury cruise ships.

"Yeah, three tickets. I noticed that you seemed kind of sad after losing today, so I thought this would be a good way to cheer you up. Besides, I've wanted to go on one of them ever since we got to Vermillion City. It leaves tomorrow at noon."

I was so happy, that I ran over and hugged Adam warmly. He hugged back after a second of surprise. I guess he wasn't expecting me to react THAT happily! "You sure know how to cheer me up! Thank you so much, Adam!"

"Don't mention it, Michelle." he said, releasing me from my hug. "Besides, you and Jason are like family to me. It's very important to me about how you all feel, just like when you guys comforted me when I found out about my dad."

"Well, you've made my day...brother." It felt good to call him that.

Normal POV

In the lower levels of Team Rocket's hidden base, a long row of submarines were lined up in the water in their docking stations. Darien stood beside one of the subs, overlooking the final preparations as the grunts worked to get it ready. Suddenly, a voice came from his earpiece. It was the boss of Team Rocket, who was also his father.

"Darien, is the submarine ready yet?" he asked.

"Almost, father." Darien replied. "We should be ready to leave tomorrow."

"Excellent. Just remember to keep a low profile."

Unknown to everybody, one of the grunts that was working on the sub was contemplating a way to stop Team Rocket from accomplishing this mission.

Author's Note: Even with all of her hard work and preparation, Michelle ends up losing in her contest to Nikki. Luckily, Adam seems to have found a way to cheer her up: a cruise! What will the three of them experience on this ship?

But Team Rocket is preparing to strike again! And what are they planning to do with their submarine? Team Rocket also appears to have a traitor in their ranks. Who is this grunt that's secretly planning to try and stop them?

Find out next time on Pokemon NG!