It was the day Dawn had been waiting for, Celestic Town, a chance to get her fourth ribbon. With her new outfit, a killer strategy plan, and a new member to her group, she was beyond pumped.
"Alright! Today's the day I earn my fourth ribbon!"
"And you're going to win it for sure Dawn!"
Both Ash and Dawn radiated the same level of excitement and endearment for Dawn's upcoming match-ups. And being stuck in Dawn's arms, Paul was getting irritated with both of these troublesome idiots. Though that wouldn't be so bad if only he could get over this eerie feeling he was getting from the room. As they just arrived, they were in the registration center for the contest, as he didn't expect, there were an impressive amount of people here to compete. Though he was sure that this was normal, he had this sense that something, or someone, was watching them.
"I better register before it gets too late." Dawn waved to the guys as she approached the stand. While she did that, Ash and Brock went to get tickets to get good seats.
Not feeling the sense dissipate in the least, as Dawn spoke with the sign in girl, signing and initialing the papers, Paul climbed atop her head. He had seen Piplup and Pikachu do this many times, it couldn't be that hard. Getting up there wasn't a problem, trying to stay balanced, that he was having difficulties with. There wasn't a lot of grip for one; her hair under her hat wasn't giving him any stability. After a minute of frustration, Paul was able to shakily stand on his hind legs in order to get a better view of the area.
On a whim, everything looks normal, so where is it?
"Alright, Pichu, let's get going." Grabbing Paul off her head, just before he was tucked away in her arms, there! He got a higher view when she lifted him, he saw it out the corner of his eye, and he found what he was looking for.
`I know what I saw,` Paul was glaring off to the side, trying to use his hearing to pin point any sounds that could confirm what he had witnessed. `This competition is going to be hell. `
Dawn had walked to the competitor room where there were already people and Pokemon ready to go up on stage.
"I better get ready. Pichu wait here, I'll be right back." Setting Paul on a bench beside her stuff, Paul was able to get a good look at the competition. Most of these Pokemon were still in their starter stage, not many were evolved, and the rest were at their last stage of evolution. Looking around, trainers were brushing their Pokemon, putting some in ridiculous outfits; others were given subtle accessories like a ribbon or a bow.
"AWE! What a cute little Pichu!"
Turning around to hear a high pitched voice right behind him, Paul looked up to see a very hyper girl with really short black curly hair with two pink bows on either side of her head.
"You are just the cutest Pichu I have ever seen! And with such an unusual color to boot!" The girl picked Paul up to get a better look at him, in turn showing off to the other coordinators who started gathering around to look at the different colored Pokemon.
The attention was not much appreciated; Paul's glare was that of an angry Gyarados and was using his Charge attack. His attitude went unnoticed however, do to everyone admiring his appearance, and with that he let out a massive Shock Wave.
"Pi CHU!" – ('Let GO!') He stunned the nearest four people, including the one holding him. The girl's hands cramped and opened, dropping Paul back on the bench, to which he was on all fours, fur standing on end and growling like a rabid Houndoom. His glare didn't falter and he was scaring and intimidating the four that couldn't quite move yet, bringing the girl to tears.
The bright purple sparks made everyone else back away and much to his dismay, drawn in a Contest Supervisor and a Nurse Joy.
Just as they were about to try and subdue Paul, Dawn came out of the changing room.
"What are you doing?!" She ran and grabbed Paul off the bench, holding him protectively to her chest.
"Is this your Pichu, miss?" Asked the Supervisor.
"Yes, he is, now what are you doing?" Fear and confusion was clear in her voice as she looked around at everyone who was whispering and looking at her like she was some kind of tyrant.
"Attacking contestants is not permitted on or off this event and will not be tolerated." Dawn had a look of disbelief as he continued. "Your Pokemon assaulted these people and as such must be removed from the premises."
"Look!" She said in a very assertive and motherly tone, as she turned to keep Paul out of hands reach. "I admit that he isn't very sociable but he wouldn't DO anything unless he felt uncomfortable or threatened!" She gave the Supervisor the same look she gave Ash when he started complaining about Paul in her tent.
Before the supervisor could retaliate, he was interrupted.
"It's true, I saw the whole thing." They both looked to see who had spoken, as soon as Dawn met his eyes, her face flushed ever so slightly.
It was Alex; he was there for the contest too. Giving Dawn a sweet smile, he turned to the Supervisor with a serious look on his face.
"The girl grabbed Pichu without his consent and started poking at him like a toy. He didn't like the contact and that's when everyone gathered around and it made him nervous. He attacked out of defense, not aggression."
All four looked to the girl, who was currently being assessed by Nurse Joy, who had a defeated look on her face.
"I'm really sorry," she said in a low voice, "I didn't mean to make him feel threatened; I just saw him and I couldn't help myself." She stood up and bowed to Dawn apologetically. "He was just so cute that I guess I got over excited and reacted without thinking. Really, I didn't mean for any of this to happen."
After hearing the girl confess, the Supervisor sighed in relief that it wasn't a rabid Pokemon attack, but turned to the girl in a serious manner. "You need to be more careful around timid or nervous Pokemon," raising his voice to let everyone hear him, "Pokemon can be put under a lot of stress with contests and battles, every trainer and coordinator should know not to approach any Pokemon without discretion and keeping in mind the Pokemon's mood. Any unwelcomed contact will cause a Pokemon to act out with the thought of defending themselves. Is that understood?"
After everyone had agreed and went about their business, the Supervisor turned to Dawn.
"Though what happened was an accident, that doesn't mean you too are not at fault. If you know that your Pokemon can't handle being around others, it is your job to help him so that no one else gets hurt."
"Understood." Dawn said in a low voice.
"Take care and good luck in today's match up's." With that, he turned and left along with Nurse Joy who had tended to the others.
After everyone had left to get ready, Dawn turned to Alex.
"Thank you. If it wasn't for your help they would have taken Pichu away." She looked down to the mouse in her arms, a sad look in her eyes that didn't go unnoticed by both males.
"Hey, it's no problem, really. Things like this happen, and it wouldn't be fair if they didn't know the whole story."
It didn't seem as though Dawn was listening anymore after that, she was in her own little world.
Though he did help, Paul wasn't faltering his glare toward Alex.
"Anyway, I better finish getting ready." Alex said, snapping Dawn back to reality. "Good luck, Dawn." He waved bye to her and left. She sat, slumped a little on the bench, sitting Paul down next to her.
"What am I going to do with you?"
Paul looked up at her, being taken aback. With all the commotion, he hadn't realized what Dawn was wearing. She was in an onyx A Line dress with a silver-blue lining, a matching ribbon tied around her waist into a delicate bow hung at her lower back. Her hair was pulled in a low ponytail and was curled to give her a bit of volume along with her bangs which was off to the side a bit. To finish her look, she was wearing a black chocker with a round sapphire pendant.
`Wow` Paul thought, looking at her now, you would never have guessed that she was as troublesome as Ash.
She was still slumped with a sad expression on her features when the announcer cut into the room. This brought Dawn, along with everyone else in the room, to look up at the monitor displaying the stage and the three judges.
"And now is the time you have all been waiting for! The time to see who is best of the best, but before we start the rounds, please allow me to introduce to you our contest judges!" From the monitor Dawn and Paul could hear the crowd cheer as loud as if they were actually out there. "From our very own Celestic Town, Nurse Joy!"
"It's always a pleasure."
"Please give a round of applause for our next judge, Mr. Contesta!"
"Let's make this an exciting display."
"And our third judge, Mr. Sukizo."
"Remarkable."
"With our introductions set in way, let's start today with our first contestant, Alex Arekkusu!"
"Alex?" Dawn's eyes were glued to the screen as her hero from 15 minutes ago walked on stage wearing a black tuxedo with a red tie and a pair of snow white gloves. The crowd was going nuts, especially all the girls.
"Begin!"
"Center stage, Gallade, Mismagius!" From two poke balls, an array of glitter and stars sparkled down over two large and beautiful Pokemon that looked right at home on the giant stage and audience.
"Mismagius, Shadow Ball, following it up with Will-O-Wisp."
"Mag, magius" – ('Right, here it goes.')
The dark purple ghost type geared up to let out a dark ball of shadow energy that flew up to the ceiling. Before it could collide with the roof of the building, a long stream of small blue fire balls swirled around the attack, stopping it and making it hover in the middle, three rings of blue fire, each a different size, sat floating in the air. The view itself had the crowd in awe.
"Now, Gallade, Double Team and follow it up with Night Slash."
"Gallade!" – ('Right away!')
As the green and white psychic, fighting type multiplied itself into a circle around Mismagius' attack, his arms lit up, sending a barrage of dark energy blades to the floating attack. The moves collided and exploded out into a shimmering display of tiny lights that rippled and expanded over the audience.
The appeal was beyond beautiful and the crowd roared with applause. All three bowed to the judges before walking off stage.
Dawn, along with a few of those that watched the screen, was in awe at the sight.
The announcer walked on stage beaming with delight. "Now that's what I can an appeal! What a way to start today off with a bang! It'll be amazing to see what can follow after that display."
She kept talking, getting the crowd ready for more. Dawn couldn't get the image out of her head, however.
"I can't believe how well he trained his Pokemon…" her voice trailing off a bit. Looking down at Pichu, there was a blank look in her eye, how could she compete with that level of talent?
Noticing her mood, Paul turned to face Dawn. "Chu!" – ('Hey!') Getting her attention, Paul continued, "Pichu pi pichu pi pi-pi chu pichu pichu pi pichu. Pi pichu chu pichu pi picha pi pichu pi pi-pichu pichu pi pichu pi pi pichu! Pi pi pichu, cha pi pi pi pichu pi pichu." - ('I can't believe you're hesitating after the only the first competitor. If this is all it takes for you to question and give up all you have worked for you might as get up and leave right now! But if it's not, then get your act together and get ready.')
Looking a little dumbfounded, Dawn smiled. "You're right. I'm sorry for doubting myself. Thank you."
"With that said," the announcer cut in, "let's bring out our next contestant!"
Everyone looked at the giant monitor displayed over the judges for the next name.
"Everyone! Please welcome our next coordinator, Dawn Hikari!"
"That's us Pichu." Dawn quickly got up and headed for the stage.
The crowd was all the rage as Dawn walked out waving to the audience. Standing next to her Paul was both surprised and irritated, the applause was coming more from the guys in the crowd than the girls. Dawn would never notice which made his irritation grow.
"Begin!"
"Pachirisu, Quilava! Spot light!"
A wave of purple, pink, and blue little hearts flooded out of the capsules as the two Pokemon burst on stage.
"Pachirisu, use Sweet Kiss. Quilava, use Swift."
"Pachi pa!" – ('You got it!')
"Qui!" – ('Right!')
The barrage of tiny pink hearts floated to the sky as the bright yellow stars cyclone around them, a display of a colorful tornado like show was astonishing to the audience.
"Now! Pachirisu, Discharge! Quilava, Flame Wheel!"
Both began to spin in their own element, standing next to each other, the moves acted as gears, carrying them up within their previous attacks. The hearts and stars circled as they were drawn to the two until all the moves came together and broke out into a bright display of lights that filled the entire arena. Pachirisu and Quilava landed with the elegance of a Beautifly and posed right on queue.
The crowd boomed with excitement. Cheering and hollering as loud as they could.
"This day just gets better!" The announcer shouted as she ran toward Dawn. "Let's give another round of applause to Dawn, Pachirisu, and Quilava!"
It sounded as if the cheering was filled with more excitement this time around; Dawn was glowing as she waved to everyone, bowing to the judges before walking off stage.
"I can't believe how well that went!" The coordinator spun around with Paul in her arms. He wanted to snap but he was happy for her. All that hard work paid off.
"That was amazing."
Both turned to see Alex walking their way. He had the same breath taking smile as stood in front of Dawn. With him complimenting her and standing so close, Dawn couldn't hide the blush that was apparent on her face.
"Th-thank you." She was so embarrassed with herself she quickly looked down to avoid eye contact. "You were really good yourself." Her voice was shaky and she had the corniest smile on her face.
`You have got to be kidding me!` Paul yelled in his head. `How the hell are you attracted to that?!`
"I'm going to get a small bite to eat while the others perform, can I ask you to join me?" Alex had a tiny blush on his face as he asked Dawn out. He looked really cute but…
"I'm sorry," she said holding Pichu closer to her chest, "I was going to go meet up with my friends here in a bit."
"Oh…" The look of disappointment on his face gave Paul a sense of satisfaction and he didn't hold back the smile that appeared on his face. "What about tonight then?"
Paul's smile faded as Alex's came back. Before Dawn could answer though…
-THOOM!-
Everyone looked to the monitor in a panic. The ceiling over the audience was crumbling as people were rushing to get out of harm's way.
Without hesitation Dawn and Alex ran out to see what had happened and hopefully help.
"Pikachu, use Iron Tail!"
"Pika!" – ('Right!')
Pikachu leaped forward with full force at a large piece of concrete, knocking it away before it could fall on a group of innocent by standards.
"Ash, Brock!" Dawn yelled as she ran to her two friends. "What happened?"
"Dawn." They both looked at her with a sigh of relief that she was alright.
"I'll explain later," Brock said pulling out two pokeballs, "Croagunk, Sudowoodo! Come on out and help!"
"Sudowoodo!" – ('I'm here!')
"Croagunk?" – ('With what?')
"Croagunk, use Brick Break. Sudowoodo, use Mimic and help clear the debris."
"Woodo!" "Croa!" – ('Right!')
"Dawn, help lead these people out of here."
"On it!"
It took nearly an hour to empty the stadium of the people, there were some caught under blocks of concrete, thankfully no serious injuries were reported, only bad bruising and a few concussions. After the Nurse Joys and Officer Jennys left and everything was settled did Brock sit to explain the incident.
"So what exactly happened?" Dawn asked, sitting Pichu on the seat next to her, as all four of them sat in the lobby to wait on what was going to happen next. The rest of the coordinators were wondering what happened and those that were within earshot were trying to listen to Brock's explanation.
"At first everything was going alright, nothing was out of the ordinary. After you left, the next coordinator came on stage, calling his pokemon, it was routine."
Paul noticed the gossip coming down to a whisper as people were turning their attention to the group.
"The first move was completed without a problem, it was when his second pokemon was drawing up the next attack did it start to turn south."
"Both of the pokemon started acting confused," Ash chimed in, "Even Pikachu was experiencing the same effects." He said patting the little mouse on the head.
"The pokemon were crying out, frantically running around and trying to cover their ears."
'Their ears?' Paul's attention perked at the information. 'Could it be related?'
"There wasn't enough time for anyone to react to what was happening, before anyone knew it, the attack flew off target and hit the balcony over the audience."
"I have a feeling that this wasn't an accident," Alex mumbled, all eyes were on him as he continued, "if the pokemon were acting out on their own would be one thing, but since your Pikachu was involved, I doubt that was the case."
"You're saying this was intentional?" Dawn asked, noticing that the other coordinators had a look of fear on their faces and started whispering amongst themselves.
"It's possible, however, we have no way of knowing for sure if that is the case."
"Could someone be trying to sabotage the contest?" They turned around to see who had spoke, it was that same girl as before, the one with the bows in her hair. She had a terrified look on her face and she was on the verge of crying.
The other contestants were starting to panic at this point as well.
"I'm not going to put my pokemon in harm's way for a stupid ribbon!" A young man barked. "I can wait for the next contest, I'm out of here."
He and a few others got up to leave, including the girl, walking to the registration counter to talk to the girl at the desk.
"But it could also just be an accident, right?" Dawn spoke to try and calm the rest down, bearing a half-hearted smile.
"I'm sure that's all it was." Ash laughed, trying to follow Dawn's example.
`Somehow I doubt that.` Paul was ignoring Dawn and Ash's attempt to put everyone at ease, he was too busy glaring at the redhead sitting next to Dawn. `Why do I get this feeling that you know more about what happened than you let on?`
"Is it possible that it was from a speaker with twisted wiring?" Attention turned to Alex as he continued, "there are high pitched frequencies that only pokemon can hear that people can't, it's possible that it was just an accident, that a wire came loose after we finished our act."
"That is a possibility…" Brock thought it through a bit more before speaking, "If that's the case, then I'll go inform the technicians, see if they can go over the equipment and check for any defects."
"I'll go with you." Ash said, Pikachu hopping on his shoulder.
They both got up and left, looking around, the coordinators had relaxed significantly so. However, that didn't get rid the bad feeling Paul still had. There was a connection to what he saw and the incident that just happened; he just needed to find that connection.
"Now that everything has calmed down, do you want to grab something to snack on before you go eat with your friends?"
'You have got to be kidding me!' This wasn't the time to be asking someone out, the fact that this guy doesn't seemed bothered by what had perspired was off on all counts. Looking up at Dawn, he saw a look of confusion, but it was quickly overshadowed by her blush. 'Oh, don't you dare agree to that!" Paul was getting angry just knowing that there was a possibility she was going to say 'yes,' he needed to think of a way to stop her.
"Pichu pi! Pichu pi-pichu, picha! Pi Pichu!" – ('Back up now! This was your fault, I know it! Now Leave!') The purple sparks surrounded his body as Paul glared up at Alex with intense rage, even if he was wrong about his accusation, he didn't want Dawn alone with him, not without Brock or the idiot.
"That's it!"
Paul was snapped out of his state as confusion and surprise overtook him, turning to look at the girl who had stood up, she had a look of anger herself.
She grabbed Paul by the loose fur on his neck and started her way back to her room. Tucking him, not so lightly in her arms and without turning around, she spoke up.
"I'll meet you in front of the stadium in 10."
The redhead couldn't stop the grin from spreading on his face. She agreed.
I made a small addition to this chapter, let me know what you think, R&R