Author's Note: Anybody recognize what the real-life reference in the name of this chapter is?

Michelle's POV

It had been seven months since the three of us had started our Pokemon journey and we'd finally reached Fuchsia City. In the time since we'd left Saffron City, we still had no leads about the Temple of Legends, which Team Rocket was looking for.

I'd been practicing a lot since my loss in Saffron City. I had come up with some amazing combos and I couldn't wait to use them in the upcoming contests.

We walked into the Pokemon Center and I instantly spotted the candy cane-ish outfit of Nikki's. I also spotted Trevor, her brother.

"Hey," I greeted as we walked over to them.

"Hi, hi!" Nikki cried.

"When is the next contest, Nikki?" I asked.

"Here and it's tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?!" That gave me very little time to prepare, but with all of the training I had been doing while traveling to get here, I knew I'd be fine.

Trevor then looked down at me and said, "Don't even bother entering the contest. Haven't you embarrassed yourself enough already? Remember your performance the last time? Even my sister did better than you did! It makes sense that a weak coordinator like you would travel with two weak trainers."

I stared at Trevor in shock. He had had some nasty words before for Adam and Jason, but never for me! How could he say something like that?

"I've been training a lot harder since then, and I'm not weak! Neither are Adam or Jason!" I cried.

"Trevor! Do I need to remind you that you lost to-" Nikki started.

"Keep your mouth shut, Nicole." Trevor interrupted, calling Nikki by her real name.

Nikki looked at me. "It's a double performance contest, by the way." she said.

"Thanks,"

Nikki then waved goodbye and she and Trevor went towards the rooms.

"I'm going to go get a room. I don't know about you two, but I'm really tired." Adam said.

"I'm going, too. I'm exhausted." Jason said.

"Alright, see you guys later," I said. "I'm doing some last minute training for tomorrow's contest."

I walked out of the Pokemon Center and walked to the practice fields.

"Come on out, everyone!" I cried as Eevee jumped from my arms.

I looked at all of my Pokemon.

"Okay guys, there's a contest tomorrow. I need two of you for the performance and two of you for the battle round." I explained.

"Togi! Togi!" Togetic cried ecstatically. I knew that Togetic would want to perform for sure.

"Togetic, I'm going to use you for the appeal round."

"Eevee!" Eevee cried.

"You want to partner with Togetic?" I asked.

"Vee!"

Of course! Eevee hadn't been in a contest in a while.

"Okay, then it's settled. Togetic and Eevee for the appeal round." I said, smiling.

I looked at the remaining Pokemon. Gastly was upset after the loss it suffered in Saffron City. Gastly hadn't been acting like itself ever since then.

"Gastly, I'm going to use you again and give you a chance to recoup your loss. Now who could be your partner?"

I thought back to everything I had watched while growing up, all of the double performance contests I had seen, and of course, my idol, Dawn Ketchum. Suddenly, I had an idea!

I remembered Dawn using her Cyndaquil with her Mamoswine and creating a beautiful move. Something called...oh, what was it? Fire Ice? No...oh, yes! It was Flame Ice!

She was able to combine Fire and Ice. Maybe I could find a similar combo with my Fire Pokemon by combining Fire attacks and Ghost attacks!

"Gastly and Growlithe, are you two up for the battle round?" I asked.

"Gas!" Gastly cried.

"Growl! Growlithe." Growlithe said.

I had the perfect idea. Now if it could work, it would be amazing!

"Okay, now lets practice!" I cried.

It was now the day of the contest. My combo move had worked perfectly and I now had a "secret weapon" up my sleeve. A lot of work had gone into the move, making sure it would work, and it did. I was happy and I was ready. I would redeem myself and so would Gastly.

I walked into the waiting area and I spotted Blair.

"Oh, so you entered?" Blair asked.

"Yes, I entered. I'm ready for you this time!" I said and walked over to Nikki.

"Good afternoon, everyone! It's time for another Pokemon Contest! This contest is a double performance contest, which means twice the dazzling appeals and twice the fierce battles! This is the Fuchsia City Contest and the coordinators will be competing for the Fuchsia City Ribbon! I'm your host, Jillian! Now let's meet our wonderful judges!

"We have Shawn Contesta!"

"I'm always looking forward to double performance contests." Shawn said.

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

"Double everything!" he cried.

"And our very own Nurse Joy!"

"Good luck to all. I can't wait to see the wonderful combos." she said.

"Without further ado, let's get this contest started! Entry one, you're up!"

The contest went on and there were many amazing performances. Blair was performing now and I was up after her, followed by Nikki. Blair performed with Buneary and Pachirisu. It was attack of the cuteness!

"Beautiful performance!" Shawn cried.

"Two cute Pokemon and a cute performance to match!" Mr. Tatsu cried.

"Adorable! Both Pokemon had fun and they were in perfect sync." Nurse Joy said.

I passed Blair as I made my way to the curtain.

"Weren't they just cute?" she asked.

"They were. Good performance." I replied.

"Next up is Michelle!"

I ran out and spun, throwing my Pokeballs.

"Eevee, Togetic, spotlight!" I cried. They both appeared with bubbles around them.

"Eevee, use Shadow Ball at Togetic!" I cried. Eevee started firing several Shadow Balls at Togetic.

"Togetic, flip! Use Magical Leaf!" Magical Leaf pierced the Shadow Balls, bursting them.

"Now, Togetic! Land on the ground and face the crowd." I said. Togetic landed and waited.

"Sand Attack, Eevee!" Sand covered Togetic.

"Safeguard!" A green glow emerged from the cloud of sand.

"Now, Togetic!" Togetic flew out of the sand, glowing green with specks of sand in the glow. Togetic spun and the performance was over.

I curtsied as the crowd cheered and waited for the judges' opinions.

"What a unique performance!" Shawn cried.

"Outstanding!" Mr. Tatsu cried.

"A wonderful trio. A perfect bond between both your Pokemon and yourself." Nurse Joy said.

I walked backstage and passed Nikki, who was on her way out to perform next.

"That was awesome, Michelle!" she cried.

"Thanks. Good luck, Nikki."

"Thanks!"

Nikki performed with Electabuzz and Dratini.

"A great way to show how the moves can be combined." Shawn said.

"Wonderful!" Mr. Tatsu cried.

"Lovely performance," Nurse Joy said.

Soon, the eight coordinators who would be moving on were being decided.

"Now, to show the eight coordinators who will be moving onto the second round." Jillian announced.

Some guy, some guy, me, Blair, some girl, Nikki, some guy, and some guy.

"Yes!" I cried.

I had to battle some guy and his Poliwag and Squirtle, which I won against. Nikki didn't beat her opponent, but it was a close call. Blair beat her opponent.

Now it was me, Blair, and two others. Whoever won these matches would go to the finals. I was facing the girl who had beaten Nikki.

I fought until the buzzer went off and I realized it was because both Pokemon on my opponent's team had fainted.

"Moving on to the finals is Michelle!" Jillian cried.

I waited backstage, watching as Blair battled. She was using Roselia and a new Pokemon that she hadn't used before; Beautifly.

"And the coordinator who will be joining Michelle in the final round is...Blair!" Jillian cried.

So I was going to be facing off against Blair again for the second contest in a row. It would be Growlithe and Gastly vs. Roselia and Beautifly.

I made my way to the stage.

"Now it's time for our final round. On my left is Blair, and on my right is Michelle! Five minutes on the clock and begin!" Jillian cried.

"Beautifly! Roselia! Showtime!" Blair cried.

"Gastly and Growlithe, spotlight!" I cried.

"Roselia, use Petal Dance! Beautifly, Silver Wind!" Blair cried.

"Growlithe, use Fire Spin while lying down! Gastly, use Shadow Ball and stay close to Growlithe!"

Growlithe used Fire Spin, just like when the boys and I caught our Ghost Pokemon. I had Adam to thank for showing me how to do that Counter Shield. The Petal Dance was burned away and the Shadow Ball hit Roselia. My Pokemon were hit by Silver Wind, though.

"Now use Night Shade!" I cried. Gastly shot the dark beams at Blair's Pokemon.

"Hyper Beam, quick!"

"Growlithe, use Flamethrower!"

"Beautifly, counter!"

Beautifly flapped its wings and caused the Flamethrower to be blown back. The Night Shade and Hyper Beam fought for dominance before canceling each other out.

"Gastly, Hypnosis and then Dream Eater!" I shouted. Gastly emitted sleep wave from its body, putting Blair's Pokemon in a deep sleep. It then began to drain away their energy as they slept.

Blair was very surprised. "Your Gastly knows Dream Eater?!"

"Yep. It's a new move that I taught Gastly after losing to you the last time we battled. You weren't expecting that move, were you?" I replied confidently.

But the battle wasn't over yet and I knew that Blair wouldn't go down that easily.

"Less than a minute left and both coordinators are neck and neck!" Jillian cried, later in the battle.

I glanced at the points and the clock quickly. "Alright, it's time for our secret weapon!" I announced.

"Secret weapon?" Blair said with a confused look.

"Gastly! Growlithe! Use Black Fire!" I cried. Gastly used Night Shade and Growlithe used Flamethrower. The two moves merged together, the orange flames became black flames, and they were infused with Ghost type power.

Blair was stumped. She didn't know what to use to try and counter THAT combo! The move struck her Pokemon and the buzzer sounded.

"The winner is...Michelle!"

I looked at the points on the screen. Black Fire took away a ton of Blair's points!

"Way to go! Our combo worked perfectly!" I cried, praising my Pokemon.

"Here is the Fuchsia City Ribbon."

I took the ribbon and smiled. My fourth ribbon. I was closer than ever to having five and getting into the Grand Festival.

I walked backstage and Blair stood, waiting for me.

"Michelle..." she said.

"That was a good battle." I said.

"Yes, it was. Your Black Fire was amazing. I thought I knew the tricks you had up your sleeve, but wow. I never knew Fire and Ghost moves could do that. You proved me wrong. You really deserved this win. See you later."

"Thanks, and bye."

Blair walked out and I went to change. Then I walked out of the contest hall to find Adam and Jason waiting.

"Way to go, Michelle. That last attack combo was incredible." Jason said.

"Awesome job, Michelle! You and your Pokemon did really good." Adam said.

"Thanks, guys. Only one more ribbon and I can enter the Grand Festival!"

"You're lucky. Adam and I still have to get three more badges to enter the Pokemon League." said Jason.

"Michelle!" I turned around and saw Nikki running over. "Just thought I would let you know where the next contest is being held." she said.

"Thanks, where is it?"

"My hometown! Neon Town!"

"Awesome! Thanks, Nikki."

"Mhmm. No problem. Congrats on winning. See ya later!" Nikki ran off.

"Well, it's time for your gym battles now." I said, facing Adam and Jason.

"Yeah. Hey Adam, who's the Gym Leader?" Jason asked.

"It used to be Koga, but he's a member of the Elite Four now. So I don't know who it is." Adam replied.

"Well, we'll find out when we go to the gym." I said.

Author's Note: Back-to-back contest chapters! We hope you liked them. Michelle now has four ribbons, only one away from being able to enter the Grand Festival.

Now it's time for Adam and Jason's next gym battles. But who is the gym leader, since Koga is now a member of the Elite Four? If you have a guess, let us know! You should know who it is if you've played the Pokemon video games.

And don't forget to let us know if you recognize the reference with the chapter's title!

Stay tuned for the next chapter of Pokemon NG!