Michelle's POV

"Togetic, spotlight!" I cried, tossing the Pokeball.

"Toe!" Togetic cried happily as she appeared.

"Well Togetic, the contest is soon. Are you ready?" I asked.

"Togi! Togi!" Togetic cried happily while spinning in a circle in the air.

Togetic's happy, free spirited mood made me even more excited and happy than normal. I guess what people say about Togetic being able to share its happiness with others was true.

"Okay then, let's practice!"

Adam and Jason were off practicing somewhere else. I was using Togetic for the performance round of the contest, so I didn't need to practice battling with anyone. Just me and my Pokemon for today. As much as I loved being with my friends, it always felt nice to spend time alone with my Pokemon once in a while.

"Alright, Togetic. Let's start this off with Sweet Kiss!" I cried.

"Togetic!" Togetic flew and released hearts from her mouth.

Hmm...it looks too basic with Togetic just doing Sweet Kiss on its own. Add a twirl and...YES!

"Togetic, use Sweet Kiss again and twirl upwards!"

"Togi!" Togetic spun upwards, creating an illusion with her speed. It looked like a red ribbon was following Togetic and the ribbon had hearts in it.

"Now use Magical Leaf!"

"Toe!" Togetic flipped so she was directly above the hearts and then shot leaves to hit the hearts.

"Perfect!" I cried.

"Hey!" a voice called. I stopped and turned to see Blair and Nikki walking over.

"Blair! Nikki! Hi there." I said.

"Hi, hi!" Nikki cried. I was glad to see that she was her peppy self again. I decided to ask her why she wasn't herself the last time I saw her.

"Why weren't you your peppy self the last time we met?" I asked Nikki.

"Oh, that. Well, Trevor and I had a fight. But we're okay now." she replied.

"Oh! When did you get Togetic?" Nikki asked, noticing Togetic, who was floating next to me.

"Pretty recently. She's my newest member. Say hi, Togetic."

"Togi! Togetic!" Togetic cried.

"Hi, Togetic!" Nikki cried happily.

"Hey," Blair said.

"Planning to use Togetic in the contest?" Blair asked.

"Yes, Togetic is very excited. It's her contest debut. And trust me when I say that she's been looking forward to this for quite a while." I said, remembering that Togetic had been following me from Lavender Town, wanting to perform after watching me perform in the Lavender Town contest.

"Is Togetic going to battle?" Nikki asked.

I shook my head. "No, Togetic is my appeal round Pokemon. I'm going to use Gastly, since Gastly did so well the last time." I said proudly.

"Well, good luck, Michelle." Blair said to me.

I glanced at Blair and there was a glint in her eyes for a moment, but it vanished.

"Well, see you at the contest. I have to go and practice." Blair said.

"See ya. I gotta practice, too." Nikki said, waving as she backed away.

"See you in the contest!" they cried out to me as they left.

I looked back to Togetic, but then looked back towards where Blair and Nikki had just gone. Adam and Jason were walking back from their training. They walked over to me and Adam looked at me.

"Michelle, be careful. I think Blair's planned something. She's seen Gastly perform and she knows your techniques with Gastly. If you have to battle her, be careful. I think she has a strategy to use against you if she has to face you and Gastly in the contest." Adam warned me. He had said the same thing to me back in Lavender Town when Blair was watching my performance.

"Blair wouldn't do that...that's just going low. I mean, you and Jason see each others' techniques, but you don't use them against one another. You both have different techniques for every battle. I have something different planned. I know better than to use the same strategy twice." I replied.

Adam just nodded his head and I turned back to Togetic.

"Okay, Togetic. Let's continue."

I stood waiting behind the curtains. In this contest, I was up first. I was scared to go first, but this was Togetic's debut. I'd have to make it wonderful. The first ones up always put on amazing performances.

"Good afternoon, everyone! Time for another wonderful contest! In this contest, the coordinators will be competing to get the Saffron City Ribbon! I'm your host, Jillian! Now let's meet out wonderful judges!" Jillian cried.

"We have Shawn Contesta!"

"Glad to be here. I'm looking forward to what each coordinator has in store for us."

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

"Have fun, everyone!"

"And lastly, our very own Nurse Joy!"

"I want to wish everyone good luck and I can't wait to see the performances."

"Well, we've met our wonderful judges. Let's get this contest started. Entry one is...Michelle!" Jillian cried.

I took a breath as the curtains parted. I ran out onto the stage and jumped over the stairs, did a small twirl, and released my Pokeball.

"Togetic, spotlight!" I cried as I landed.

Togetic appeared, surrounded by hearts. "Togi! Togetic!" Togetic cried, ecstatic.

"Oh, wow! A Togetic! Being a rare Pokemon, we don't usually see them on the contest stage. Well folks, we're in for a treat!" Jillian cried.

"Togetic, use Wish!" Sparkles fell over Togetic's body as she flew around happily. The crowd watched in amazement.

"Now Togetic, twirl and use Sweet Kiss!" I cried. Togetic used Sweet Kiss and made the ribbon illusion, just like in practice.

"Now finish with Magical Leaf!"

"Toe!" Togetic cried, flipping directly over the hearts. The leaves hit the hearts, bursting them and causing sparkles to fall.

I curtsied as the crowd gave a loud cheer. Togetic looked at the cheering crowd, taking in the moment, her eyes shining with joy. Her dream to perform in a contest had finally come true! Overcome with emotion, Togetic flew into my arms.

"You were amazing, Togetic!" I cried, hugging her.

"Togi! Togi!"

"Well, this certainly was a great performance to start off the contest. Togetic performed well and had a lot of fun. I can also see that there's a lot of love between you and your Pokemon." Shawn said.

"I agree, Togetic had a blast!" Mr. Tatsu cried.

"Togetic performed well and had a lot of fun. It clearly showed in the performance, a really cute performance." Nurse Joy said.

I walked backstage and Nikki ran over to me.

"That was amazing, Michelle! Togetic was so...oh what's the word?" Nikki was at a loss for words.

"Thanks, I'm just happy that Togetic had fun. Togetic's dream came true today." I said, smiling.

"Good performance, Michelle." Blair said from the wall that she was leaning against.

"Thanks, Blair."

Blair just nodded her head. For some reason, I felt like something was off about Blair. Was Adam right? No, Blair couldn't...could she?

Blair did a cute performance with her Buneary. Nikki did very well with Dratini.

While waiting for the results, Adam and Jason came and talked to me.

"Togetic did an awesome job." Jason said.

"Both of you were in perfect sync." Adam said.

"Thanks, guys."

"Now to show the eight coordinators that will be moving on." Jillian said after minutes of waiting.

I looked to the screen. Some girl, some guy, Nikki, some guy, some girl, me, Blair, some guy.

"Yes!" I cried happily.

"Now to show who will be facing off against who." Jillian said.

I looked at the screen in shock. I tore my eyes from the screen and looked at my opponet. I had to battle first.

"Well Michelle, time to see how well Gastly battles." Blair said.

That glint in her eyes was back and my stomach was tightening. Something was defiently up with her, right? Maybe I'm just thinking too hard about everything.

"It's time for our first battle of the second round! To my right is Michelle, and to my left is Blair! Five minutes on the clock and begin!" Jillian cried.

"Gastly, spotlight!" I cried. I know Blair said she had a bad past with Ghost Pokemon, but she seemed unfazed. Blair smirked slightly and removed her Pokeball.

"Umbreon, time to shine!" Blair cried.

Oh no...Ghost Pokemon are weak against Dark types!

"Umbreon, use Quick Attack!"

What was she doing? Normal moves are useless against Ghost Pokemon. "Gastly, get ready to use Shadow Ball."

"Now! Use Faint Attack!" Blair cried.

"Dodge!" I cried.

Now I knew why she had used Quick Attack. She was just getting close to us to use Faint Attack, a Dark type move that would hurt Gastly. The attack landed and Gastly couldn't dodge in time.

"Gast!" Gastly cried.

"Now use Pursuit!" Blair cried. A direct hit yet again, and these moves were super effective!

"Gastly, use Hypnosis!"

"Umbreon, don't allow that to happen! Rest!"

Umbreon went to sleep so Hypnosis did nothing. If only Gastly knew Dream Eater. Then we could do some real damage.

"Gastly, attack Umbreon with Shadow Balls!" I cried. The Shadow Balls hit Umbreon as it slept.

Looking at the points, I flinched on the inside. My points were so low while Blair barely had any missing. Thirty seconds left...

Umbreon then woke up and Blair yelled, "Umbreon, now! Use Assurance!"

"No!" I cried.

Gastly was hit and the buzzer buzzed. It was over.

"The winner is...Blair!" Jillian cried.

I had been beaten...badly. Blair praised her Pokemon and returned it.

"You did your best, rest now." I said, returning Gastly.

I looked at Blair, but she wasn't looking at me. I walked backstage and changed out of my outfit. I walked out and saw Blair leaning against the wall again. Nikki wasn't around so I realized that she must be in her battle right now.

"You know what, Michelle?" Blair said as she pushed herself off of the wall.

"What?" I asked.

"I had this contest all planned out since Lavender Town."

"What do you-"

"I had a feeling that you would use Gastly in this contest. And when you told me yesterday that you would, I was so happy. I had a plan to beat you just in case we met in the battle round. I watched Gastly's battle in Lavender Town and made a plan on how to beat it. Thanks to you showing how Gastly battled, my strategy worked."

I realized that Adam had been right. I didn't believe that Blair would do something like this, but she had!

"Why? Why did you do that? Blair, poor Gastly looked like a fool out there! I couldn't even get attacks on Umbreon!" I cried, becoming angry.

"Michelle, it's called strategy, and being a rival. You have to learn the strategies of your opponents so that you'll know how they perform if you have to face them."

"Yeah? Well not like that!"

I ran out of the room and didn't go to sit with Adam and Jason. Instead, I went to the entrance of the contest hall and sat down against the wall, watching Nikki's battle on the screen. Nikki won, but she lost in the semifinals, and in the final was Blair and some guy named Todd. Umbreon did well against Todd's Wartortle. There was only a minute left and Blair had a huge lead.

"Umbreon, use Faint Attack!" Blair cried. Wartortle fell to the ground, fainted. The contest was over. Blair had won the ribbon.

"And the winner is Blair!"

Blair walked onto the stage and was presented her ribbon.

"Good job to everyone who participated. And congratulations, Blair." Jillian said.

I stood up and walked outside to wait for Adam and Jason. After about five minutes, they walked out and spotted me.

"Where did you go?" Adam asked as Eevee hopped out of his arms and into mine.

"I was in the entrance, watching." I replied.

I saw Blair walk out of the contest hall and my hands formed into fists by my sides. "Can we go?" I asked.

"Yeah, we can go." Jason said.

We started walking but I fell behind. Adam fell in step beside me. Jason glanced behind him and Adam gave a slight nod, indicating to Jason that he wanted to talk with me alone. So Jason went a few paces ahead of us.

"You were right." I said softly.

"Huh?" Adam asked, clearly confused.

"You were right. Right about Blair..."

"She admitted it?"

"Yes, after our battle. I couldn't get her points down. They were barely gone! She made me and Gastly look like we were both weak!" I cried. My vision was starting to blur.

"She said that it was part of being a rival, learning the strategy of her competition! That was her excuse! She..." I felt the tears falling from my eyes.

Wonderful, Michelle. Your anger and embarrassment has turned to tears. I thought bitterly.

Adam hugged me and I just cried onto his shoulder. At least he was letting me let it all out. He had been there for me the last time I lost in a contest, which was back in Vermillion City. I felt Jason's arms wrap around me, too. He must've heard me crying and came back.

"Michelle, Blair technically isn't wrong. It isn't unusual for some trainers and coordinators to observe their competition to get a better idea about how to battle them. My dad's done that lots of times in the past. But you should just consider it one more challenge to overcome. It'll push you to your limits and see if you really are prepared and ready to achieve your goal." Adam said to me.

"Adam's right, Michelle. Don't think of this contest as a failure. Think of it as a lesson, a stepping stone on the path to becoming a top coordinator. There will be falls, but you'll just have to pick yourself up, and Adam and I will be here for you to help you do just that. You're a wonderful coordinator so don't let this get you down." Jason added.

"Vee!" Eevee agreed with them.

"Thanks...to all of you. You guys are right." I said as I wiped my face. This was the closest that I had ever felt to the two of them. "I love you guys. You're like brothers to me."

"We love you too, Michelle." Adam replied.

"We sure do. You're like a sister to us." Jason added.

"Now, why don't we get going to Fuchsia City?" Adam asked. "Your next contest is there and so is the next gym."

"Sure. Let's get going right now." I replied.

Author's Note: So Michelle loses in the contest, despite her best efforts and Togetic's amazing appeal in her contest debut. Luckily, her "brothers" are there to help her stay focused along the way.

Next stop, Fuchsia City. Adam and Jason will be going for their sixth badges and Michelle will be going for her fourth ribbon.

See what awaits them in Fuchsia City next time on Pokemon NG!