June 30th, 2007

Kori and all of her pokémon were sitting together, eating breakfast.

"Chim?" Kori looked to see her starter, who was pointing at her new pokémon.

Kori smiled. "Swablu evolved in the middle of the night," Kori explained, leaving out specific details about last night's battle (which she obviously won by the way). At least she managed to stick as close to the truth as possible. Chimchar shrugged and went back to her pokémon food. Kori's friends and family came out of their rooms and sat at the table to eat breakfast with them.

"Good morning Kori," Cari greeted with a smile. She took the seat right next to Kori.

Kori smiled back. "Good morning mom."

Taylor waved at all of Kori's pokémon until she saw the former Swablu. "No way!" She yelled. "Swablu evolved!" Taylor suddenly hugged his longer neck. "That's awesome!"

He smiled. "Taria." He wrapped his wings around her and began humming.

Dewott and RazorMist sat next to each other. Taylor quickly sat next to RazorMist. Lyssa looked at the newly evolved pokémon and whistled. "That must've been some walk."

Kori and her pokémon, except for Chimchar, became bashful. Chimchar looked at them, confused. Then just shrugged. They were all acting weird.

Diana stayed silent and pointed her pokédex at the some- what new edition.

Altaria- the Humming Pokémon and the evolved form of Swablu. If it bonds with a person, it will gently envelop the friend with its soft wings then hum.

Kori looked at Altaria. "So you're an Altaria? Interesting."

Lyssa raised an eyebrow. "You didn't know what your pokémon evolved into?"

Kori shook her head.

Diana looked confused. "Then why didn't you just use your own pokédex to find out?"

Kori scratched the back of her head. "I really didn't think of that at the time..." Kori stayed silent for a while until she suddenly yelled. "Hey Altaria you didn't do that hug thing with me!"

Everyone felt a sweat drop. Such a random girl... They all watched Altaria hug Kori and hummed a soft, beautiful melody. They slowly laughed, all except for Diana that is.

"How do you feel Diana?" Lyssa asked.

Diana nervously tapped her fingers on the table. "I feel so nervous," she confessed. "I don't have anything to wear for it. I didn't get enough practice with my pokémon... what happens if I mess up?"

"Turtwig. Tur turtwig." Turtwig sat himself on Diana's lap and cuddled up to her. Diana nervously petted him. Shinx rubbed up against her as well, but even that didn't seem to help.

"Hey." Lyssa put a hand on her shoulder. "Everything is going to be alright. You did your best with the time you had. It's okay for you to mess up, as long as you do your best. There are other contests to compete in."

"You can totally do it!" Taylor yelled. RazorMist, Altaria and she went and hugged her. Diana felt somewhat calmer.

"Thank you." Diana said.

"Your welcome." Kori pulled out a white bag from under the table. "Also you do have something to wear for your first contest." Cari and Dewott both gave Kori the evil eye. Kori knew when to surrender. "Ok, it was my mom and Dewott that got it."

Diana smiled and took the bag. "Thank you Mrs. Day."

Cari smiled. "Please call me Cari." She turned to Kori. "Dewott and I also got something for you Kori." Cari gave her a small box.

Kori opened the box and pulled out a green pokétch. "Thanks mom!"

"We really should go." Lyssa pointed out, "If Diana wants to be on time to compete, we all need to leave now." Everyone nodded in agreement. Kori put Cherrim, Oshawott and Chimchar on Altaria's cotton back. They rode while the flying- type walked. Taylor put RazorMist on Altaria's back as well. Kori had begun to feel sorry for Altaria; those smaller pokémon had to have been a large load. But Altaria didn't seem to complain.

Cari and Dewott shook their heads at their antics. Lyssa and Diana laughed, all of their pokémon ran up in front of them as they made their way to the Contest arena.

Diana finally got out of the changing room. Her contest outfit consisted of a black tail coat tuxedo jacket, a white button down shirt with a leaf green vest over it, along white a pink bow tie. A pair of black shorts that reached down to her upper thighs, pink tights and black boots that stopped a few inches below her knees. Diana really liked it, as well as the pink pokétch that was included. She really needed to thank Kori's mom again after the contest was over.

She walked to one of the benches and sat. Shinx and Turtwig followed after her and Diana pet them both. She was still feeling so nervous. There were so many of them here to win the Floraroma ribbon. Did she even have a chance?

"Hey Diana!" Diana looked up. Both Dawn and Kenny were waving as they walked closer to her. She rose from her seat. "We've been calling your name before but you didn't hear us."

"H-hey," Diana greeted "Sorry about that." Kenny and Dawn could instantly tell that she was nervous.

"Hey, it's okay," Dawn answered understandingly. "No need to worry."

"But... I still feel so nervous..." Diana played with the material of her jacket.

"So do we," Kenny said. "It's normal, but it'll all work out."

Diana smiled. Both Shinx and Turtwig took that as a good sign and nodded.

"Shinx shinx."

"Turtwig."

"Ladies and gentlemen." All three of the competing coordinators looked up at the tv screen. Marian was announcing the start of the Contest.

"Ladies and gentlemen. My name is Marian and I will be your Contest Host." Everyone in the audience gave a big round of applause. Taylor whistled and laughed with RazorMist on her lap. Lyssa silently snapped a picture while Kori and Cari stayed silent. Brock, who was sitting next to Lyssa, and Ash couldn't wait for it to begin. All of the pokémon were out and ready to cheer as loud as they could for their friends.

"Now to introduce our panel of judges." Marian first pointed to an older man who looked to be in his fifties, wearing a red suit. "Here is Mr. Contesta, the Contest Director."

"Pleasure to meet you all," Mr. Contesta said. "I can't wait to see what kind of performances will be shown by the coordinators and their pokémon."

Kori definitely shared that sentiment.

Marian then pointed to a shorter, bald man sitting next to Mr. Contesta. "Next is Mr. Sukizo, President of the Pokémon Fan Club."

Mr. Sukizo smiled. "Remarkable."

Marian introduced the final judge. "Lastly, is the Nurse Joy of Floraroma Town."

Nurse waved. "Nice to meet you all." Now it was finally time for the Contest to begin.

"The coordinator who wins the Floraroma Contest will receive this ribbon." Marian help the orange ribbon for the audience to see. "A coordinator needs five ribbons to compete in the Grand Festival."

Kori wondered when Marian would finally get it started already. Marian's long winded speech was dragging on for too long.

"Now for the first performance in the appeals round," Marian gestured to the curtains behind her. "Give a big round of applause to Dawn from Twin Leaf Town!"

Kori and friends all clapped as the curtains opened. Dawn ran onto the stage holding a pokéball with a ball capsule on it.

"Pachirisu!" Dawn called as she threw the pokéball. "Spotlight!"

Pachirisu was released out of these pretty blue, glowing lines created by the seal. The EleSquirrel pokémon landed gracefully on the stage, standing on its tail. So far, everything seemed to be going according to plan.

Or so it seemed before Pachirisu slipped off its tail and rolled until it hit the judges table. Kori and friends watched as Pachirisu got up and looked at everyone in the audience, as if seeing them for the first time. The little electric- type became intimidated and started running around like a lunatic, looking for an escape route.

"Oh no," Brock said.

"This isn't good," Kori commented. Chimchar nodded in agreement.

Ash clasped his hands around his mouth. "Snap out of it Pachirisu!" All of the pokémon yelled the same thing in their own way.

Dawn stood there helplessly watching her Pachirisu.

"If Dawn wants any chance of winning, she's going to have to help Pachirisu pull it together somehow," Cari pointed out.

Dewott nodded. "Wott."

"But how is she going to do that?" Taylor asked. Kori wondered the same thing.

"Who knows?" Lyssa put her camera down. "But she needs to do something fast if she wants to make it past the appeals round."

Kori was pretty sure Dawn had no chance of winning, but the bluenette soon proved her wrong.

Dawn pulled something out from the pocket of her dress and threw it in the air.

"Pachirisu!" She called, pointing up. "It's your favorite Poffin! Go get it."

Pachirisu looked up and smiled happily. "Chipa!" It became surrounded by blue lights as it used Spark to jump into the air and catch the pink treat.

"What a relief," Ash sighed. Pikachu and Buneary nodded.

"Pika!"

"Bun!"

"She still has to go on with the performance," Kori pointed out.

"That's true," Brock pointed out. "We'll just have to see if they can make it up."

Pachirisu ate that Poffin after it landed on the ground.

"Pachirisu Discharge!"

"Chi pa!" Pachirisu gathered a lot of electricity. The build up actually went so high it almost touched the ceiling. The edges of the electric attack exploded like fireworks. It was all blue and dazzling. Kori could tell Dawn and Pachirisu put a lot of work into controlling that power.

"It's so pretty," Taylor said in awe. She looked down at RazorMist. "We're gonna do that too. Right?"

The little Oshawott looked up and nodded. "Oshawott."

"Now use Sweet Kiss!" Dawn ordered

Pachirisu made a kissing motion multiple times, creating some big, pink hearts. Then Pachirisu got up and hit the hearts with its tail. They broke into smaller hearts that flew towards the audience. Everyone was eating it up. Soon the performance was over and, after the judges gave their input, Dawn and Pachirisu bowed and left.

Lyssa sighed. "I'm glad that worked out for them."

"It was good," Brock said slowly, "but they still need to make up for that earlier fiasco."

Kori agreed, especially after watched the other performances after that. They all seemed good. How were the judges going to decide?

Diana sighed in relief. She had watched Dawn's performance, or huge fumble of an incompetent coordinator as the others have called it. She was glad the other girl was able to get it together.

Diana and Kenny both stood up when Dawn walked back inside the changing room. The other girl dropped into a nearby chair with a loud sigh. Her Piplup and Pachirisu both sat on her lap.

Dawn looked really nervous. "We should have practiced more," she said sadly.

Pachirisu looked down guiltily. Piplup patted the electric- type on the back. "Lup lup."

Diana patted Dawn on the back. "Don't worry," she said. "Even though you had a rough start, you both ended beautifully. Pachirisu looked great out there."

Kenny continued to look at the television screen. Jesselina was performing with her Seviper. "You did good Deedee."

The girls and pokémon looked towards the boy.

"I guess you knew what you were doing using an electric- type like that."

Diana thought it was a backwards way to offer a compliment. Dawn glared. "You think you're so smart," she muttered angrily.

"You better watch out though," Kenny said, ignoring the earlier comment. "This Jessilina girl is really good."

Diana paid attention the the red headed woman on the screen, performing with her Seviper. Diana had no choice but to agree with Kenny; she was good. The crowd seemed to love her and her pokémon. It made Diana feel so nervous.

Dawn appraised Kenny with a curious glance. "I don't ever remember you caring about contests before Kenny." Dawn pointed out. "When did get so interested in them?"

Kenny continued to look at the tv. "You just never noticed." Diana thought the boy sounded sad. It made her smile a little. She now realized what was going on.

Dawn, on the other hand, looked very confused but didn't say anything else. After a while, Jessilina's performance was over. Marian began to announce the next contestant.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, let's have a big round for Diana from Sunyshore City!"

"Oh," Diana said. She quickly put Shinx into his pokéball. "That's me."

"Good luck Diana!" Dawn yelled. "And let your hair out!"

Diana waved at them and undid the pigtails. She pulled her fingers through her hair while running through the curtain.

Kori clapped loudly as possible as Diana ran out of the curtains, holding a pokéball. "You can do it Diana!"

Diana stood, at first intimidated. What a big crowd, she thought. If they or the judges didn't like the performance, she didn't know what she'd do. Nervousness started to bubble, at least until she saw her friends sitting in the audience and rooting for her. She couldn't let them or her pokémon down. She threw her pokéball.

"Let's start the show Shinx!" Shinx was released from a multitude of stars, which disintegrated into sparkly dust that fell on to the Flash pokémon.

Lyssa paused from her picture taking. "So far, it's a great entrance."

Kori nodded in agreement. The pokémon, mostly Kori's and Lyssa's, began to cheer really loudly.

"Now use Swift!" Diana ordered, pointing into the air.

"Shinx!" Shinx shook his tail, creating an army of golden stars.

The stars traveled up to the air in a spiral shape. The audience watched, mesmerized, as the stars continued to circle around until the created a huge circle near the ceiling.

"Where did Shinx go?" Taylor asked suddenly.

"What do you mean sweetheart?" Cari asked.

"Shinx isn't where it was standing before," Taylor explained, pointing at the very spot. "I can't see Shinx on the stage."

Kori and the others quickly scanned the stage. Taylor was right; no Shinx.

The hostess, Marian looked questioningly on the entire stage. "Oh my," she gasped. "It seems that Shinx has completely disappeared somehow. I wonder where it has gone?"

Brock looked thoughtful. "Maybe this is just part of the show?" No one seemed so sure. The rest of the audience looked just as confused.

"Now use Thundershock Shinx!"

Kori gasped. Shinx suddenly reappeared, standing on a bigger star that was just below the smaller stars moving in a circle. With a loud cry, Shinx sent a Thundershock, which hit one of the stars. Once that star was it, it exploded. The other stars continued to spin into the path of prolonged Thundershock, causing them to explode. Golden dust was soon raining over the arena.

"It seems Shinx used its Swift attack to fly into the air and finished the act by reappearing with a powerful Thundershock," Marian announced. "It was a beautiful act to follow."

"Chimchar!"

"Bun!"

"Corsola!"

"Osha!"

"Pika pika!"

"Bi doof!"

"Cher!"

"Taria!"

The pokémon all cheered as loud as they could for the pokémon and friend performing out on stage.

"You're doing great you guys!" Kori yelled.

"Yeah!" Ash yelled in agreement.

Shinx jumped off the star after he stopped the attack.

"Now use Thundershock on that last star! Then finish up with Spark!" Diana called.

Shinx used another Thundershock, completely destroying the last star he stood on. After that, Shinx was surrounded by the blue light created by the Spark. Shinx felt himself fall faster, but he did not panic. Instead, he performed the flips and tumbles like he practiced, landing gracefully on the ground in front of his trainer. They took a bow.

"That was so cool!" Taylor exclaimed.

"Osha!" RazorMist called in agreement.

Lyssa continued to take her pictures. "It seemed like they were in total sync with each other."

Cari nodded in agreement. "Diana didn't even have to tell Shinx to climb unto the star. It definitely helped add to the illusion that it had disappeared."

Brock smiled. "Looks like Dawn and Kenny are going to have some tough competition in Diana."

Kori couldn't help but to agree. It only took Diana and Shinx a couple of days to have that act memorized.

Marian struck a pose. "Now to hear from our judges."

"I found the act to be quite beautiful," Mr. Contesta replied. "Not only did Shinx look graceful, it showed how powerful and very adorable it is."

Mr. Sukizo nodded, as if he agreed. "And remarkable."

Nurse Joy smiled benevolently. "The way Shinx disappeared before first had me a little worried, but I was mesmerized by what followed afterwards. Excellent job to the both of you."

The applause continued, even as Diana and Shinx went back behind the curtain. Diana felt so warm and fuzzy inside. The judges made her feel so proud.

Dawn got up and ran over to Diana as she was coming in. "That was amazing!" The performance was great and way different from act with Pachirisu, even though Shinx was also an electric- type.

Diana smiled. "Thank you Dawn."

Shinx walked over to Turtwig, Piplup and Pachirisu and took a seat.

"Tur?" Turtwig asked, wondering what it was like performing on stage.

"Shinx shinx," Shinx answered in a nonchalant way. To be honest, it had been scary at first. He could understand why Pachirisu panicked before. But then it became really fun.

Piplup puffed his chest out and closed his eyes knowingly. "Piplup pip," he said, patting the Shinx on the back. The act wasn't bad, for a first time anyway.

Shinx seemed to raise an eyebrow. "Shinx shinx shinx," he said tauntingly. He definitely wanted to see the prideful penguin do better.

Piplup got angry and glared, but before a fight broke out, Kenny walked over. "Hey," he said, "good job out there."

"Thanks," Diana said. "Good luck out there Kenny."

Kenny smirked arrogantly. "Thanks, but I'm not going to need it." He walked away from the two girls and four pokémon that still present. Dawn groaned in irritation.

"That Kenny," she said. She crossed her arms. "Sometimes I just don't understand him."

It made Diana wonder how Dawn failed to realize Kenny's feelings for her. It was obvious that the boy was trying to impress her. Diana mentally shrugged. "We should go back to the monitor and watch."

Marian had just finished introducing Kenny. Kori cheered when the boy ran out on stage. The group watched with anticipation as he threw his pokéball. From flames, a brown pokémon was released. Kori didn't recognize it, so she pulled out her pokédex.

Alakazam- the Psy Pokémon and the evolved form of Kadabra. Its superb memory lets it recall everything it has experienced from birth. Its IQ exceeds 5,000.

"Now use Light Screen!" Kenny called.

"Ala!" Alakazam created the yellow Light Screen, boxing itself in. Kori wondered what the point of that was.

"Now use Shadow Ball!" Alakazam crossed the metal spoons in its hands and created the Shadow Ball within the confines of the Light Screen.

"Oshawott?" But wasn't Alakazam going to be hit by that attack? Oshawott wondered if it would be alright. Kori took the pokémon into her arms.

"Don't worry," Kori answered. "I know Kenny. He never does anything without some sort of plan. Alakazam is in good hands." They then went back to watching the show.

"Now Teleport!" At that moment, the Shadow Ball destroyed Light Screen. Yellow shards flew into many different directions and a billow of smoke came from the spot that once housed the captive psychic- type. When the smoke finally cleared, Alakazam reappeared, with its legs crossed and levitating.

"Kenny is working really hard to showcase these moves," Brock said.

"Yeah," Ash said in agreement. "You can also tell that Alakazam is strong in battle too."

Taylor smiled when Alakazam used Hidden Power. "Mom," she said. "I'm gonna have an Alakazam too one day."

Cari smiled indulgently. "Alright, but you and RazorMist will have to work hard if you want any pokémon you catch to perform at such a high level."

Taylor and RazorMist laughed. "We'll do it!"

Kori hadn't paid too much attention to Taylor or her own mother. All her attention was on Alakazam, who continued to use Hidden Power. The attack moved in a circle around the levitating pokémon. They floated higher and higher into the sky. Kori couldn't help but to admire the control Alakazam had.

Alakazam stopped floating higher and the Hidden Power was destroyed, creating beautiful dust that fell all over the Contest stage. The show had concluded.

Lyssa removed her camera from her face. "Kenny is no slouch," she said.

Brock nodded. "Definitely not."

After the judges gave their input, Marian announced a brief break, before the judges would reveal which eight coordinators would advance to the second round. Kori got up from her seat to congratulate their friends on the great performances.

"No need to worry, no need to worry," Dawn prayed. Diana sat next to her with their pokémon.

"You really have no need to worry," Diana added comfortingly. The girl hardly looked comforted though.

"Dawn?" Both girls looked up. Their friends had come into the dressing room. Ash and Brock went to immediately comfort Dawn. Diana got up and walked over to the others.

"That was such a great performance," Lyssa complimented.

Taylor quickly nodded. "You guys looked like naturals out there." At that moment, Kori noticed Kenny was standing alone, looking at a TV monitor. She walked over. "You did great out there too Kenny. I was impressed."

Kenny looked at her and smiled. "Thanks."

Kori noticed and frowned. Kenny looked strained. She knew Kenny wasn't looking at her. Typical, she thought. She leaned closer to the boy. "Why don't you just tell her?"

Kenny looked startled. "How did you know?"

Kori stared at him, deadpanned. "You're my friend," she said, as if that explained everything. "I wouldn't have been a good friend if I couldn't at least tell who my friend had a crush on."

"But how come you didn't say anything?" Kenny knew how Kori and Dawn could be towards each other.

Kori shrugged. "You never brought it up." Kenny had no chance to ask for a better explanation because at that moment, Marian came back on the screen.

"The judges have made their decision," she said, pointing top the large, electronic board behind her. "And here they are." Eight different faces showed up on that screen. Of those eight, Kenny, Diana and Dawn were in.

"I'm in!" Dawn yelled. She sighed in relief. "I'm in."

Diana smiled. Kori was happy for them all.

Kenny just smirked, like he knew he was going to make it all along.

"Now it's time for the computer to randomly pick the match ups," Marian said. The pictures randomly selected themselves so the battle would take place.

Dawn gasped. She would be facing Jessilina in the first battle. Kori remembered the Jubilife Contest. Jessilina's appeal was questionable, but she was a skilled battler. She has gotten to the finals for a reason. Dawn was going to have to be at her best if she wanted to win.

"We better get to our seats now," Brock said.

"Yeah," Lyssa nodded. "Good luck you guys!"

"Good luck on your battles," Kori stated "Dawn. You can beat Jessilina."

Dawn smirked. "No need to worry."

Kori nodded. "And you can do it Diana!"

Diana nodded. "Yeah."

Kori looked at Kenny. "I'm rooting for you too Kenny."

Kenny smiled.

"We'll be watching," Taylor said with wave. They left and went back to their seats. The second round began without further adieu.

With one last Peck attack from Dawn's Piplup, Jessilina's Dustox had fainted. Everyone clapped as Dawn was allowed to go to the semi-final stage. Kori had to admit that it had been impressive.

The battle after Dawn's didn't seem as eventful. The battle was between a Sneasel and a Solrock. The battle was a lot shorter than the five minute mark and it ended with the Sneasel being knocked out.

Once that battle was over, Marian announced the next battle. Diana's battle. Kori looked at all of her pokémon sitting nearby.

"When it starts," she said, "we have to cheer the loudest we've ever cheered ever! Diana's battle is coming up!"

All of her pokémon nodded and yelled in agreement. Lyssa smiled and snapped more pictures. Taylor and RazorMist yelled their agreements while Cari and Dewott ask their heads in amusement. Ash and Brock thought it was a great show of support. The rest of the pokémon wanted to get in on it as well.

So when Diana had finally walked onto the stage, they cheered their hearts out.

Diana continued to watch the monitors. Dawn's battle against Jessilina seemed like everything a contest battle should be about. Both coordinators used moves that readily show how beautiful their pokémon were. While Diana was glad that Dawn had won her battle, it made her wonder about her own chances in the contest. Diana had never taken part in many battles. She didn't really have any contest experience. She was nervous. Diana looked at her Turtwig as she played with the material of her jacket. Turtwig feeling the intensity of the gaze, met it.

"Twig?" He asked in confusion. Diana shook her head. No need to worry him.

"It's nothing," Diana answered quickly. Turtwig didn't get to ask anything else because Marian's voice suddenly began calling her name. What? Diana thought in confusion. There was another battle before hers? The five minutes couldn't have passed that quickly.

It didn't seem to matter because Marian still continued to call Diana's name. She snapped out of her confusion and returned Turtwig to his pokéball. "We'll do our best," Diana said to the ball. It grew warm in her hand, almost as if Turtwig was agreeing. She broke into a run to the stage.

"Good luck!" Kenny yelled after her, "Win your battle!"

Shinx nodded in agreement. "Shinx shinx!"

Diana waved after them as she continued to run to the stage. As soon as she got on the stage, Diana was bombarded with loud cheering. She looked into the crowd and immediately saw Kori, waving and cheering her hear out. The other girl looked like a crazy person, but she appreciated the support. Diana waved at her friends before she looked at her opponent. An older teen wearing an elaborate purple suit, looking very confident of win.

It didn't matter. She would do her best.

"Alright," Marian began. "Our next battle is between Diana in one corner." Kori and the pokémon cheered extra hard for her. Marian than pointed to the other coordinator. "And Nicholas. Both coordinators will battle each other for five minutes. The coordinator with the lowest points or fainted pokémon loses. Now begin!"

Diana threw her pokéball first. It opened to reveal small pink flower petals popped out in a cluster. The petals soon scattered to reveal Turtwig. "Tur!"

Nicholas threw his pokéball. Out of dark, black lines, his pokémon was released with a cry. "Scyther!"

Kori watched, confused. "What pokémon is that?"

"It's a Scyther," Ash answered.

"So far, this other coordinator has at least two type advantages," Brock assessed. Lyssa nodded as she snapped a quick shot.

Kori was still confused, so she pulled out her pokédex.

Scyther- the Mantis Pokémon. It is nearly impossible to parry its attacking scythes. Its movements are like a ninja's.

So Scyther is part bug and flying- type. Kori knew that was going to be a tough match up for Diana's Turtwig.

"Diana will deal with the type disadvantage," Kori said confidently.

Diana knew that Scyther had type advantages over Turtwig. Wanting to overcome it quickly, she called the first attack.

"Turtwig! Use bite!"

Turtwig ran towards the Scyther at a very fast pace. "TUR!" He yelled, jaw wide open and ready to clamp down.

Nicholas just smiled confidently. "Scyther use Quick Attack."

"Scy." The mantis pokémon ran to the side, successfully dodging Turtwig's attack.

"Tur?" Turtwig skidded to a complete halt. The tiny leaf pokémon began looked around, trying in vain to follow Scyther's movements.

"It seems that Scyther is already taking charge of the audience. Scyther looks like its dancing on stage while Turtwig is fumbling to keep up."

Diana's points began to go down. It seemed to get lower and lower with every few steps Scyther was taking. She had to do something.

"Turtwig use Razor Leaf around the stage." Diana hoped this would slow Scyther down.

Turtwig jumped and flipped, causing many green leaves to fly from his body, towards the entire stage.

"Oh my," Marian squealed, grinning. "Turtwig makes an excellent show of power. Just look at all of those Razor Leaf attacks!" A little bit of Nicholas' points went down.

Nicholas still looked totally unaffected by the attack. "Scyther defend."

Scyther stopped running. Everyone watched as Scyther slashed the incoming Razor Leaf, cutting it to pieces that littered the stage.

"What a powerful and quick defense," Marian complimented. "With that, Nicholas is lowering Diana's points."

"Now hit Turtwig with a Wing Attack."

Scyther rushed towards Turtwig. One of his wings glowed bright white with power. Scyther hit Turtwig hard with his glowing wing.

"Twig!" Turtwig hit the ground hard, making the damage worse.

"Turtwig!" Diana yelled, panicked.

"Turtwig!" Kori watched as Diana panicked. Turtwig struggled to get back up from the ground.

"Chim?" Kori looked down at the fire chimp. She looked very concerned for her friends.

"Don't worry," Kori said. "Turtwig will be fine. Diana will find a way to beat Scyther." She hoped.

"But how?" Taylor asked, having overheard her older sister's declaration. "Scyther's beating Turtwig." Kori shrugged.

Lyssa sighed. "Diana has a little more than two and a half minutes to turn this all around. She either has to show Turtwig off in a way that will make Nicholas lose more points or Turtwig has to knock Scyther out."

Brock became thoughtful. "I don't really think Turtwig is will be able to knock Scyther out," he stated. "Scyther is really well trained and seems much faster than Turtwig."

Cari nodded. "Which is why Diana has to find a way to either slow Scyther down or to make Turtwig faster."

Kori cupped her hands around her mouth. "You can do it Diana!" She yelled. "Just stay calm."

Ash yelled as well. "Come on Diana and Turtwig!"

Diana was about to give up. Turtwig had just taken major damage from that Wing Attack. Turtwig struggled to get back up, but she was down to two minutes and lower now. There was no way Turtwig was going to beat Scyther. How was she going to win?

So when she heard the voices of her friends, - it still felt weird saying that word- she had been ready to give up. But the voice made her remember she had people who were cheering for her and her pokémon. Diana looked at the clock. Time wasn't out yet, she could still do it.

"Turtwig use Synthesis," she called out. Turtwig looked towards the sky, at the sun. The grass- type's body glowed bright as he healed wounds. Now that Turtwig's energy was restored, it was time to go on the offensive. "Now try to use Bite again."

"Tur!" Turtwig ran towards Scyther with his jaws wide open.

Nicholas smiled. Was she seriously trying this again? Whatever. "Hit it with your Silver Wind Scyther!"

"Scyther." Scyther stood and flapped his glossy wings. Those wings glowed as they flapped, releasing silver crescents from those wings, towards Turtwig.

Diana was struck by a stroke of genius at that moment. "Turtwig, jump over the Silver Wind and flip. Just like Piplup did before." Diana only hoped he remembered what she was talking about.

Fortunately he did. Turtwig had also been watching Dawn and Piplup's earlier battle. That one move was something he had been the most interested in at the time.

With a cry, Turtwig jumped into the air and over the Silver Wind. Turtwig curled up into a ball just before he started coming back down. Turtwig could feel the breeze that was being given off by the Silver Wind.

"Well if it isn't déjà vu!" Marian called, instantly recognizing the maneuver. "This same move had been used in an earlier battle by Dawn's Piplup! Diana and Turtwig are definitely making the move their own. That Silver Wind does an excellent job of bringing out the beauty of Turtwig's shell.

Nicholas' points went down by half. He still had the lead, but only by a slight amount. Diana still had a little more then a minute to change that.

The Sliver Wind had ended. Turtwig uncurled his body and launched himself at Scyther. He bit down on one of Scyther's scyths.

"Scyther!" Scyther closed his eyes against the pain. A little more of Nicholas' points went down.

"Now throw Scyther down on the field!" Diana ordered. Turtwig flipped and threw the mantis pokémon. Scyther went down fast.

Nicholas growled in frustration. "Scyther snap out of it!"

Scyther's eyes snapped opened. He twisted his green body in the air before gracefully landing on the floor. The maneuver cost Diana a small amount of her points. Thirty seconds on the clock. These last moves could decided the round.

Nicholas pointed in the air towards the falling Turtwig. "Scyther use your Wing Attack!"

Scyther jumped into the air, quickly towards Turtwig. Diana knew she had to time this perfectly. Scyther continued to fly towards her pokémon with his glowing wings. It wasn't long before Diana saw her chance.

"Flip over Scyther!" Diana yelled. Everyone watched in amazement as Turtwig used the momentum created by Scyther's Wing Attack to flip. Diana sported an uncharacteristic smirk. "Now use Razor Leaf!"

"Tur!" Turtwig managed to land a direct hit at Scyther's back, causing damage to the opponent and their points. As Turtwig landed on the ground, Diana swore that she could feel the last seconds ticking away. By the time Scyther fell towards the earth, it was over.

"Time!" Marian called. Both coordinators looked at the scoreboard. "The winner is," Marian announced, "Diana!" The crowd gave a big round of applause.

Diana continued to look at the scoreboard. She couldn't believe it; she had actually won her first contest battle. Turtwig ran towards her and jumped in her arms. Diana smiled. "We won Turtwig!" Diana laughed.

Turtwig seemed to be caught up in celebrating as well. "Tur!"

Both trainer and pokémon ran into the dressing room, ready to face the next challenge that came their way.

Kori just couldn't stop clapping. "Diana did it! She won!"

Chimchar stood and danced happily on her trainer's lap. "Chim!"

Oshawott smiled. "Wott," he yelled, holding up a paw.

Cari smiled at her daughter's antics. "Diana did a really great job working with Turtwig the way she did." Cari's smile turned into a thoughtful frown. "But make no mistake, things are only going to get harder from here."

Lyssa nodded in agreement. "She still has to face her opponent in the semi- final match. There is some tough competition."

Ash smiled. "Dawn and Kenny are going to be tough to beat."

"Pikachu!"

"Buneary!"

Kori grinned. "Then she'll just do her best." Kori had no clue about Diana's chances of winning, but she was ready to root for her friend while she was still in it.

They all watched and cheered when Kenny's match was next. In what seemed like a minute flat, Kenny and Prinplup defeated their opponents. With that, the quarter finals reached their conclusion. Now the remaining coordinators waited patiently as the battle match ups for the next round were decided. The pictures on the electronic board eventually finished arranging themselves. When Diana saw her match up, it left her speechless. She didn't know whether or not she would be able to face this opponent.

"So it's you and me in the next round?" a voice asked. Diana turned towards the person. "I'm expecting a good battle from you. Just don't expect to win."

Diana smiled. She planned on showing him exactly what she and her pokémon were made of because even if he was her friend.

Kenny would be going down.

Kori's Pokemon

1. CHIMCHAR (female): (EMBER, ACROBATICS, IRON TAIL, TAUNT, FLAME WHEEL)

2. ALTARIA (male): (SING, STEEL WING, AERIAL ACE, COTTON GUARD, MIRROR MOVE)

3. OSHATWOTT (male): (SCALD, AIR SLASH, RAZOR SHELL)

4. CHERRIM (female): (MAGICAL LEAF, PETAL DANCE, SUNNY DAY)

Lyssa's Pokemon

1. CORSOLA (female): (WATER GUN, ROCK BLAST, BUBBLE)

2. BIDOOF (male): (MOVES UNKNOWN)

Diana's Pokemon

1. TURTWIG (male): (RAZOR LEAF, EARTH POWER, BITE, SYNTHESIS)

2. SHINX (male): (SWIFT, TACKLE, THUNDERSHOCK, SCARY FACE, SPARK)

The Friends

Cari's Pokemon

1. Dewott (female): (MOVES UNKNOWN)

Taylor's Pokemon

1. RazorMist (OSHAWOTT) (female): (MOVES UNKNOWN)