here's my chapter regarding the 'Pokémon Advanced Challenge' episode of 'Come What May'. I finally got it over and done with. it's ten-thousand-three-hundred-ninety-three words long. can you believe it? it's gotta be my longest chapter yet in this whole fanfiction. the chapters that are based on episodes of the Pokémon TV series Hoenn branch franchise will be the longest chapters of all in this particular fanfiction. the rest of the chapters in this fanfiction will be shorter and depending on how much of them I write on Microsoft Word before I actually upload them onto this site, they will have their own lengths. I am genuinely sorry for not mentioning that earlier in even chapter one.
disclamation: I don't own the 'Pokémon' anime series in any way, shape, or form, nor do I even own most of my own fanfiction's storyline. I don't even play the video games. I just watch the anime series. the original blogger who came up with the storyline behind this fanfiction of mine is another blogger who blogs fanfictions under the penname of IWriteFandomStuff. I am simply rewriting their fanfiction's storyline into a more family-oriented version. Satoshi Tajiri-san, his staff and the Nintendo Gaming Company own the Pokémon franchise, itself.
We all separated in the common room. May made the decision to stand by some girl with bright red pigtails. I just sat alone on a bench and attentively watched the screen to observe the other appeals this contest could offer.
The contest rules in Fallarbor Hall this year were a bit different than the standards for all of the other contests that I entered in this year's contest circuit throughout Hoenn. For one thing, there was the standard of the Fallarbor contest appeals round being a singular move appeals round in the preliminaries this year. In other words, coordinators in this contest were only allowed to show the judges what their pokémon could do in the appeals round in just one move and no more.
There was also the contestants' need to consider that of all twenty-five of them who entered this year, only four of them were going to advance to the battle stage that was the secondaries. Those were some slim odds for sure, and Roselia and I knew just how high the stakes were this time, too. Who knew? Maybe I was finally going to receive a challenge out of this contest.
When my turn came, I released my Roselia from her pokéball and together, we summoned a brilliant petal dance. This one was even more sparkly and fragrant than any of the other ones I had ever seen from my prized first pokémon partner. Once again, Roselia had managed to bring me so much pride with the twenty-nine-point-six that she managed to score for our appeal.
Other coordinators went on strong that day as well, particularly May's friend with her Medicham when they pulled off a terrifyingly powerful High Jump Kick. It had resulted with a twenty-nine-point-five, which came dangerously close to mine and Roselia's own score. I knew I would have to watch out for her just as I had been watching her.
When May's own turn came in the appeals round, she had opted to use her Beautifly and its Silver Wind just as I knew she would. She did, however, do a lot better than the last time I had watched her on stage, since she was cool, calm, collected and above all else, confident about the contest. Her Beautifly was at the top of its game because of it, too.
The two of them had managed to score a twenty-five-point-nine. It might not have been much, but it was a huge improvement from the previous time in Slateport City. She deserved to be proud of her grade in the Fallarbor Contest. I would have been lying, though, if I did not admit to being worried about anyone surpassing her because of that score.
While May performed on stage with her Beautifly, I managed to meet up with her friend in the contest who had the Medicham; a coordinator by the name of Grace.
Yours Truly: Your Medicham was astounding.
Then, Grace burst out laughing hysterically at my compliment to my surprise, thanking me for the compliment and returning my praise back to Roselia as a result. She was a lot like a version of Soledad who was hyped up on all of the coffee in the world. She also radiated positivity at an alarmingly high level while Soledad was more reserved. I had to admit that it felt a bit awkward just being near her in the first place. I could not help but thank the god-like pokémon of every region I could think of when May was finally back in the common room with us and stood between me and her friend.
It was just then that all three of us turned our attention back to the screen for the other appeals on the stage. Grace and I threw in a few criticisms here and there, while May just stayed quiet throughout the whole thing in hopes that no one would top her appeal round grade. Much to the girl in the red bandana's luck, no one had… just yet.
One of the final appeals in the first round, however, was strong enough to top May's. The person was someone named Jessica, who looked weirdly familiar yet seemed to be an unknown. She was also an exceedingly eccentric entity, for sure.
For one reason or another, I think I might have seen her compete in the Rustboro Pokémon Contest just before I had ever met May back at the contest in Slateport City.
Jessica was dressed in the most ridiculously poufy dress, and she dramatically descended down to the stage from the ceiling. It was far too dramatic for a Hoenn contest of any kind, however, if it was even allowed. This woman definitely needed to be in Sinnoh for its super contests.
May: Wow, is that even allowed?
It was the very question that everyone else in the common room was thinking, for sure. Of course, Mr. Sukizo's comment about it was nothing short of his usual catchphrase in contest judging.
Mr. Sukizo: That was remarkable.
The slanted-eyed judge even held up a sign of approval in his right hand, as May, Grace, and even yours truly all sweat up a drop, unsure of what to think of it. Yep, this woman on stage was definitely more built for the super contests of Sinnoh than for Hoenn and its natural contests. As Soledad would always put it; even Jhoto contests were a lot less gaudy than this little display.
Still, I refused to rule a competitor such as her out for it just yet, and rightfully so, since this Jessica managed to dazzle everyone in the audience with her Dustox and its entry which was one for the contest history books, as MC Vivian dubbed it. It was a comment that felt rightfully so, too, because Jessica's Dustox's entry certainly was all that and more since the pokémon in question had managed to achieve a rainbow-trailed Tackle, paint a picture with seven different colors of Poison Sting, and lift its own coordinator on a multicolored Whirlwind attack, and in that very order.
Even May seemed to think it was a beautiful appeal, even if it was technically outside of the rules for a singular-move-appeals-contest. How these two could have managed to pull it off, I could not fathom. In fact, not even the judges, themselves, could figure out how this Jessica and her Dustox had managed to pull it off.
No one really called this Jessica person out for using more than just one move in her appeal because they were all far too busy trying to make sense of her seven-colored attacks being decorated with rainbows. I, myself, could not help but feel as though something was just a bit off about this Jessica and her entire appeal. Of course, May and Grace both had their own inputs about the appeal, too.
May: Wow.
She might have said 'Wow' but judging from the way the girl in the red bandana had said it, it had sounded as though May was still just too busy trying to make sense of it and wrap her mind around this Jessica's appeal… her and about everyone in the audience, perhaps.
Grace: I'm not sure how I feel about a pokémon being upstaged by its coordinator.
And with that kind of criticism, Grace had suddenly lost all of her hyperactive positivity towards the whole appeal. It was even more alarming just how right she was about this Jessica's appeal. While it was undeniably beautiful, the focus of the appeal performance was clearly divided between Jessica and her Dustox as she floated on air via that multicolored Whirlwind for one reason or another.
Of course, I had a thing or two to say about this Jessica's appeal.
Yours Truly: You ask me, she's got no class at all.
With my own criticism in addition to Grace's, I turned away from the screen if only so that I would not have to watch such a ridiculously tacky first round appeal any longer.
My reaction to her appeal, however, did not last long because despite Grace's criticism along with my own, the judges were so much more than pleased with the results and agreed that this Jessica deserved a twenty-nine-point-seven, scoring herself just above even me. She may have gotten the highest score in the contest yet, but on the stage, this Jessica person still had the nerve to complain about it.
Jessica: And, why didn't I get a perfect score?
Jessica might have been a bratty child about her score even with it being the highest in the whole contest, but her score still guaranteed her entry into the secondary battling round of the Fallarbor Contest. I, for one, just hoped that I would face off against this Jessica girl in the battle rounds so that I could teach her a thing or two about both how contests are supposed to work, along with some humility and a few good manners.
Vivian called for the contest to move along after Jessica's little complaint about not getting a perfect score. After all, there were still three entrants left in the first round to show what they could do.
I still noted that May clearly needed to remain in the top four if she wanted to move onto the battle round. It was all coming down to my last few opponents in this contest.
I suddenly noticed that May began shaking like a leaf. She probably started shaking when she realized that it came down to these final scores. Grace also seemed to sense May's anxiety. At least, that was the idea she gave me when she asked her…
Grace: May, are you alright? You look a little nervous. If you are, I can go get Ash, Brock and Max for support and to help you calm down.
May nodded to this.
May: Thank you, Grace. I could use some in person support from them all, right now.
I, myself, did not really know what I could do to help the poor girl in the red bandana calm down. This was exactly what I had warned her about just the day prior to the contest. So when Grace walked out of the common room to get May's friends from the audience to help give May some extra support, I left the common room, too. I had some contest battle strategies I needed to go over with Roselia, anyway.
May did not even protest my leaving the common room for the locker room. Her lack of protest to my departure made a lot of sense to me at least, considering that most of the encounters she had with me had been a lot less than friendly or pleasant. I supposed that May would have simply preferred me to leave her alone. That was actually fine by me.
Grace came back into the common room with May's friends quickly enough, and they all arrived at her side a few minutes afterwards, just while the last contestant was finishing up with his own pokémon on the appeal stage.
Ash: Only four contestants can go onto the second round, right, May?
It was said as a question, but I suppose the guy with his partner pokémon, that same Pikachu, at his feet really meant it as a comment that was just begging for confirmation.
May only nodded and voiced her confirmation to her friend in the blue hoodie. From the screen, Vivian was announcing the final contestant's results.
Vivian: Folks, we're down to the final contestant. How many points did he score?
May's kid brother, Max, had his own comments about the last contestant while doing the math for the very situation in which his sister was.
Max: You've got twenty-five-point-nine points, I think. Hopefully, he didn't beat that.
The little kid wearing glasses was right about that. His elder sister had entry to the battle stage locked if this last guy did not do any better than her.
Both Roselia and I watched their conversation and the screen for the results at the same time. Roselia seemed a bit scared that May would not make it through if this last guy on the appeal stage did better than her. I guess that Roselia might have liked May just enough to want her to make it onto the battle stage that was the secondaries.
That did not instantly mean that I had that same thought about the girl in the red bandana, though. I swear that it was just a coincidence that Roselia thought of my competition like that. Roselia and I both waited for the final result along with May and her friends.
Vivian: A total of twenty-five-point-eight… and that means that these four contestants will be competing in the second round.
With that, I watched as May's, Grace's, that Jessica girl's, and my pictures all showed up on screen.
I could hardly believe it. She did it! May was actually moving onto the secondaries in the Fallarbor Contest. While at first I did not know that she would be confident enough to make it further than just the preliminary round of the appeal stage, the girl in the red bandana seemed to suddenly radiate confidence the moment I turned around to look at her because she was celebrating getting past the first round with her friends.
I suppose that her nervousness from before the last entry's score from the judges was shown to the audience was merely just May preserving her confidence for if she actually would make it to the secondaries. While a little bit of stretch to do in any contest, it was definitely a smart move for any of the lower scoring entrants to save their confidence for if they would make it, at all.
Upon the judges deciding the results for the first battle on stage one, pure disappointment flooded my system when I learned that neither Grace nor I would be facing off against the woman known in the Fallarbor Contest as Jessica, but rather fate chose May for it. I think Grace might have just felt the same way about it as I had especially after looking at the expression on her face. I suppose she was simply hoping that May would be able to put this Jessica person in her place for the way her performance on the appeal stage looked to her and all the rest of the contestants.
I, myself, did not know how May would even be able to pull off showing that Jessica woman a thing about the meaning of the appeal stage. I still refused to rule her battle against that arrogant weirdo of a competitor out, however, because it was after all a Beautifly battling against a Dustox. There was not just that; it was also because a battle between two bug-type pokémon where both of species of bug pokémon evolve from a little Wurmple was always the exact kind of battle that held far too much promise and potential to pass up viewing.
There was also a consideration that when she made it to the secondaries, the confidence that had left May when she was faced with the probability of being eliminated in the preliminaries almost instantly made it back to her after the final contestant in the appeals round scored just below her with a 'twenty-five-point-eight'. So, I guess I sort of did believe she could put that Jessica person in her place for treating the appeal stage like it was her own instead of her Dustox's.
I chose not to dwell on May getting to battle that Jessica in mine or even Grace's stead because I still had my own battle with Grace after May's battle.
The battle between them had barely even started, however, and May had already lost points. Well, I supposed that that was it for her. She was bound to get nervous and begin to panic, and panicking was all she needed to do to lose her momentum along with the possibility of her victory for the first battle.
The girl in the red bandana surprised me, though, when she did the exact opposite and kept her cool even with the lost points. May just continued to keep a leveled head and called for dodges, counter strikes, the whole package deal needed to do great in any contest. She was battling her opponent just like a professional coordinator would have. She even managed to send a few of her opponent's attacks right back at the woman's Dustox.
May had improved tremendously since her first contest in Slateport City. How on Earth was this girl even the same person I met that one day on the beach in the very same city?
I was amazed by the astounding display of showmanship that the girl in the red bandana incorporated into her battling since the pokémon contest back in Slateport City, I was even entranced by her level of showmanship and confidence. It was like watching the rise of a new coordinator come into her own. I actually almost applauded for her from the common room when she basically demolished her opponent's last remaining points. That spinning Tackle attack she called for was so perfectly timed, words could not describe it.
As for May, she and her Beautifly cheered for their win on the stage. I had to say that it was the best I had ever seen her do in any contest, and I was admittingly proud of her for it.
That was when everything suddenly seemed to blow up in both May and the audience's collective faces, because that Jessica woman flat out refused to accept her loss very well, or even at all. She even shot right back up and snapped at May.
'Jessica': Listen, twerp, our battle has just begun.
'Twerp'? Did that 'Jessica' woman just call May what I thought she had? May and everyone in the audience were all quite shocked by the pitifully immature display that this Jessica girl was putting on. Even Grace and her Medicham's concentration on their meditation and psychic attacks was broken by what was happening on the stage.
Then, a device of some kind fell off of that Jessica's Dustox and leaked out rainbow-tinted sparkles. The device had without a doubt taken damage from some of the bigger hits of which May and her Beautifly had managed to pull off against their unsportsmanlike opponent during the battle.
Grace: That was where all of those rainbows came from.
Yours Truly: I knew that act couldn't have been for real. I just hope they kick her out for that kind of cheating.
With that, everyone in the audience seemed to finally catch on to the falsified schtick and started booing and ridiculing that 'Jessica' woman for her obvious cheating. Then as though that cheater could not have looked any more unsportsmanlike to everyone in the entire arena, that 'Jessica' woman actually had the gall to treat this contest like it was the spectacle that mattered the most, and not the pokémon. How stupid could she have been? The pokémon is always, always the star of the show in any contest.
Jessica: Can it! In the end, you got a good show, didn't you?
Needless to say, Grace and her Medicham were quite ticked off by the sore loser that was on the battle stage at that time.
Grace: I can't believe this woman. She is tragically missing the point of competing in any pokémon contest, never mind even being a coordinator, at all.
Her Medicham spoke its name in agreement with its trainer/coordinator.
Of course, I had a thing or two to say about that immature brat of a contestant.
Yours Truly: If this is some kinda joke, it's very unfunny. The show that any coordinator puts on means nothing if they don't make it into the second round based solely on what their pokémon can naturally do.
Back on the battle stage, Mr. Raoul Contesta did not hesitate to finally kick that 'Jessica' woman out for mucking up the Fallarbor contest and treating it like she was the only one the audience came to see. How arrogant could she have possibly been?
Raoul Contesta: You are disqualified, and I insist you leave immediately.
It was then that the battle stage was suddenly blanketed by a smokescreen.
Raoul Contesta (continued): What happened?
Back in the common room, Grace and her Medicham immediately shot up from their seats, and so did Roselia and I.
Grace: What's going on out there?
Once the smoke cleared, I saw two people and a talking Meowth standing in the center. It was those extra annoying bluk berry thieves from back in Slateport City.
Grace (continued): Not those criminals again.
Yours Truly: Not those criminals again.
We did not notice until afterwards that the two of us both said it at once.
Grace: You know them?
Yours Truly: You know them?
We asked one another the same question at once, again.
Grace: Of course, I know them.
Yours Truly: Of course, I know them.
After that 'talking-at-the-same-time' episode between me and my opponent for the next match on the battle stage, we finally began to speak separately for the first time since the smoke cleared from the stage and those three crooks showed their ugly mugs.
Grace: They sold everyone fake pokéblock while pretending it was magic. Then, they tried to make off with their own customers' pokémon.
Yours Truly: They tried to steal something May and I battled our hearts out over fair and square back in Slateport City.
Those three awful thieves were going to pay big time for mucking up the contest with their lying, their cheating, and… oh yeah, definitely their stealing.
'Jessica': And my prize, please?
Her partner: All your pokémon.
Talking Meowth: We're takin' 'em, now.
Luckily for everyone in the audience, those worthless criminals were just as easy for May's friend, Ash, and his Pikachu to get rid of as the last time. That little yellow mouse-like pokémon once again proved to be a gigantic powerhouse for a creature so small. The little creature ejected the trio of thieves promptly for everyone else in the arena.
The boy in blue's Pikachu had also seemed like it was almost strong enough to have even evolved into the coveted form of a Raichu by now, even without the need for any such rarity as a Thunderstone, its Thunderbolt attack was so immeasurable in power. That kid's Pikachu once again reminded everyone who knew it well that it may have looked harmless, but I had to admit that even I was slightly intimidated by its electrical strength. It might have been cute on the outside, but that little Pikachu was clearly quite deadly on the inside, especially with the strength it always drew from its own cheek pouches.
It was then that the contest carried on, albeit with Vivian sweating on her forehead a little the minute those thieves were finally out of the arena.
Vivian: Uh, we're sorry about the little incident.
If Vivian were really sorry about it, I firmly believed that she and the judges should simply try to never again let it happen in this or any other contest. Grace and Medicham then dropped back down into their seats.
Grace: Those three loser criminals are a load off all of our shoulders that we could certainly live without.
With that, Grace finally felt satisfied enough with the way it ended to get hers and her Medicham's concentration back on track. I, on the other hand, just continued to stay standing until I could finally see May back on screen, for one reason or another.
Vivian: Now, back to May and Beautifly as they head over to the final stage.
Once the camera was on May, I finally let out a breath I was not even aware I was actually holding in. I even sat right back down afterwards. Not only was she perfectly safe and unharmed, but she was also moving on to the final match. I could not even help but feel proud of her. I was also quite relieved when she was confirmed to be safe, for one reason or another.
Yours Truly: You're tellin' me.
I still, however, could not let anyone, anyone, under any circumstance, distract me or even my pokémon from my own ultimate goal of winning the Fallarbor contest, though, and it was definitely not as though the girl in the red bandana was ever going to be a special exception of any kind to my self-enforced policy regarding every last one of my pokémon contests. I was a pokémon coordinator after all, and not a lover.
Later, the next match on battle stage number one was my match against Grace. Vivian announced the match up.
Vivian: Second match on stage one between Grace and Drew will now begin.
Yours Truly: Roselia, let's go!
My trusted first pokémon partner emerged from her pokéball upon being called forth, ready, willing and able to battle.
Grace: Medicham, I choose you!
It was a pretty standard pokéball release call, for sure, but I will say that her partner's entry certainly screamed finesse.
At least, our battle had just as much promise as May's match had at being a good battle… until that 'Jessica' woman had to go and cheat. Grace and I were both really strong and experienced coordinators.
I could just picture the girl in the red bandana watching this match from where she was back in the common room at the time, saying something like;
May: OK, so I'll battle the winner.
Like I said before, I constantly prided myself on being a gentleman, and that much always included making sure not to keep a lady waiting. Despite my own hatred in having to do this to Grace, I did still have another rival after her to battle and a fourth ribbon to win. Roselia and I, at the very least, had plans to grant Grace and her Medicham a swift and painless loss.
After a bit of battling, however, the battle had not gone the exact way I had expected it to, at all. In fact, I was not even the one with the winning points. Let's just say that I had a strong feeling I was going to lose the battle the minute Grace and her Medicham sent my own Petal Dance right back to Roselia with their use of Confusion attack.
What could I say other than that I was clearly up against an opponent who could send any and every one of my attacks right back at me. I could wholeheartedly admit that it was a battle I could not easily win, but I was also quick in realizing that I would fall short of winning the Fallarbor ribbon entirely unless I could land a big hit on Medicham.
I thought about it for a moment. Magical Leaf and Petal Dance were just going to be either dodged too easily with Meditate or sent back to me with a vengeance via Confusion, and Stun Spore would not take enough off of Grace's points. Solar Beam was my only hope for the knockout against Medicham.
I dared to pray that it would be too powerful to deflect with Confusion, so I took a gamble… and I never take a gamble. It was going to be hard to pull it off, however, especially without any real sunlight in the arena, because that would only make Solar Beam take even longer to charge. I could only hope that Grace's Medicham did not have any psychic-type-attacks that would be strong enough to combat my Roselia's Solar Beam under its arsenal.
Grace: Medicham, Ice Punch at the ground!
Medicham complied to its trainer's orders and began pummeling at the ground with its Ice Punch. Just what was Grace planning to do with that kind of strategy? Whatever she was planning, I could only hope that Roselia could pull off a Solar Beam powerful enough to stop Grace and her Medicham before she could go through with her plan.
Roselia had finally charged up and fired off her Solar Beam at her opponent and the beam of light and color went soaring towards Medicham like a flying-type pokémon or even a seaplane to the skies. I even dared to hope that it was strong enough to work against whatever strategy Grace had in mind. Roselia's Solar Beam, however, was just not strong enough for the battle strategy I had ordered from her to work; not in our favor, that was.
As soon as her Solar Beam reached the other side of the battlefield, Medicham shot forth huge pillars of ice to rebound Roselia's Solar Beam several times just before it went right back at her. It sent her flying backwards.
Grace and Medicham did not even spare Roselia so much as a second to recover from being hit by her own Solar Beam, they were so fast and ruthless. Roselia tried her hardest to bounce back from it, but she could barely even stand.
Meanwhile, Grace's Medicham came rushing in towards Roselia with its High Jump Kick, and there was just no time to dodge.
Yours Truly: WATCH OUT!
Medicham landed right in front of Roselia, just before it had finally used its fast flowing High Jump Kick on her.
Vivian: That High Jump Kick scored a direct hit.
The next thing I knew, Roselia was sent flying backwards into the wall. I ran to her.
Yours Truly: Roselia!
Vivian: Is it able to continue battling?
The judges had already X-ed Roselia out of the battle.
Vivian: Roselia cannot continue.
With that, I lost the rest of my points.
Vivian: This match is over. Will Grace and her Medicham please proceed to the final stage?
The entire audience cheered for Grace.
Yours Truly: Roselia, return! You were awesome. What a great show.
I knew we fell short of winning my fourth ribbon here, but I was still proud of Roselia, nonetheless. Still, after my defeat, I pondered just leaving the arena altogether and not even staying to watch the final match.
If I had just up and left, however, I would not be able to watch how May could handle herself against Grace. True, I could have reviewed the Fallarbor Contest in online clips afterwards, but it just would not have been the same as watching how May would deal with Grace and Medicham in person.
There was no doubt that watching my loss against Grace probably terrified her into a mess of fear in addition to having to go up against Grace, herself, at that very moment. I could even practically sense her in the common room, probably saying something like;
May: If she can beat Drew like that, then how will I beat her?
If May was asking herself anything even close to that, she would most likely need something, anything to help boost her confidence. I made my way to the common room after the match was over.
I actually managed to pass May in the hallway on her way to the final match. Just as I had suspected, she was indeed a fit of nerves and fear… so much so that she was vibrating with it. Our eyes met just before we passed by one another, and she looked at me with uncertainty written all over her face.
I had only one thing to say to her.
Yours Truly: Trust your pokémon, May.
After Vivian called out her name, she rushed towards the stage, while I shuffled back into the common room. Once she had stepped onto the final battle stage, the crowd cheered and roared in applause for her entrance.
Back in the common room, I decided to just sit down and re-summon Roselia from her pokéball… if only to make sure that she was not too beat up to at least watch the final battle with me.
Yours Truly: Are you doing alright, Roselia?
My first ever pokémon partner just nodded at me, though her entire face was completely downcast. I could immediately sense that Roselia was a lot more ashamed and embarrassed about the way our battle with Grace and Medicham went than she was injured at the time.
Yours Truly: Come on, Roselia. There's nothing you need to be embarrassed or ashamed about. It wasn't even your fault that we lost. In fact, you did better than I could've expected outta you today. If anyone, it was my fault we lost the battle. I was the one who messed the whole battle up for us. We have plenty of time to get our last two remaining ribbons before the Grand Festival, anyway. I actually know we can do it because I believe in us and the rest of the team.
What I had said seemed to perk Roselia up, even if it was only a little bit. Then, she began eating the pokéblock I had laid out for her to munch on.
Once I had felt satisfied that Roselia was now well taken care of, I turned my attention back to the screen to watch the final match. Both Beautifly and Medicham had been summoned from their pokéballs onto the final battle stage and the clock had begun.
May called for the first move against Grace and Medicham.
May: Beautifly, Tackle now!
Her Beautifly complied to her orders using the same spinning Tackle attack that had won them the battle against Jessica, the fraud. Vivian just did her job as the master of ceremonies for any and every contest here in the Hoenn Region.
Vivian: Beautifly starts off with Tackle.
Unfortunately for May, Grace knew just what kind of dodge to order from her Medicham.
Grace: Medicham, Meditate!
It was an easy dodge and the timing on the command for it was so perfect. Vivian even had her own comments on the showmanship from the dodge. May just grew confused about it and had her own input from on stage.
May: Was that a dodge?
Of course, it was a dodge… duh! Really! She needed to get her head together if she actually wanted to win against a coordinator like Grace.
MC Vivian, of course, had her own comment about the Meditate that Grace and her Medicham had managed to pull off.
Vivian: Amazing! Medicham dodged that Tackle without breaking Meditate.
That was just about when Grace told her Medicham to launch its counterattack.
Grace: Medicham, use Ice Punch!
It did not look too good for May and Beautifly. Still, though… if she was indeed as nervous as when I saw her on the way back to the common room before, it certainly did not show when she kept her cool in calling for her next attack.
May: Beautifly, Gust attack!
Beautifly complied to the command for a Gust from its coordinator, and it more or less managed to stop Ice Punch from hitting its mark and send Medicham falling… though not before Vivian could give her own input of Beautifly's counterattack with Gust.
Vivian: Beautifly's Gust is right on target.
Of course, Grace, however, was not willing to let her or her Medicham go down against May and her Beautifly without a fight.
Grace: It's not over, yet. No way! Medicham, Confusion!
Everyone in the arena, even May and the judges, grew surprised by this display of total Confusion control when Medicham used its psychic-type attack on itself. Of course, Vivian was the only one who could bring herself to say anything about the display, though.
Vivian: Medicham is limiting the number of points it can lose by using Confusion on itself.
On the screen, Grace's points began to fall, and May managed to achieve a lead over her. She did not, however, gain as much of an advantage as she would have if Medicham had poor Confusion control. Grace had her own comment towards May. It was stated as more of a question to the girl in the red bandana, though.
Grace: Not bad. What do ya think, May?
May seemed to be mumbling something about having been so close to finally defeating Grace, like she had expected it to be a lot easier than it was turning out to be. Fat chance! This was a contest battle, after all. She should not have expected it to beat her opponent just like that.
Had she learnt nothing from Slateport City? Or even my own battle with Grace just a mere few minutes before her own?
May: Beautifly, use String Shot, now!
I almost face-palmed myself when May had called for her Beautifly to use such an attack. While she had learnt how to keep her composure in battle since Slateport City, she seemed to have not learnt anything from my battle with Grace just moments before this one.
Of course, that little Beautifly had no choice but to follow its coordinator's command. Vivian also had her own comments on the call.
Vivian: And Beautifly counters with String Shot.
If the poor girl in the red bandana's nervousness could not do the trick, then I guess May's frustration with the way the battle was going was guaranteed to prevent her from thinking clearly for her next call. This was it for May and her Beautifly. Grace was just going to order her Medicham to use Confusion to send Beautifly's String Shot right back at it. This attack formation of May's was practically doomed to failure.
Grace: Medicham, Confusion!
As though it were right on cue, Grace called for a Confusion attack from her pokémon.
Vivian: Medicham has stopped the String Shot just before it hit.
Medicham obliged its coordinator's command. I just knew that Grace would order her Medicham to do that with Beautifly's String Shot, effectively immobilizing the bug-and-flying-type by wrapping it in its own String Shot.
Vivian: Medicham's Confusion worked. Beautifly's all tangled up in those threads.
Grace: May, let me know what you think of that defense.
Back up on the screen, May's points dropped at the rate of which Grace's would have had the Gust from earlier actually hit were it not hanging by the probability of the damage from it being cut in half by Grace and Medicham's masterful use of Confusion. It was not looking good for May and her Beautifly, and the only thing she could even think of to do about it was to finally begin panicking and tell her pokémon…
May: Beautifly, hang in there!
Of course, Beautifly tried its hardest to break free from being wrapped up in its own String Shot, but it was foolish hope.
Vivian: Beautifly can't break free of those strings.
Grace: Alright, Ice Punch! Go!
And with that, Medicham obeyed its coordinator's command and unleashed a successful Ice Punch at its opponent, effectively encasing Beautifly in solid ice.
May: Beautifly!
Vivian: It's another direct hit with that Ice Punch.
Each one of the judges had their own opinions about the way the battle was going.
Nurse Joy: That Ice Punch attack was as sparkly as the ice.
Raoul Contesta: Wonderful!
Mr. Sukizo: Truly remarkable.
Of course, since Beautifly was a bug-and-flying-type and weak against ice-type attacks, it was no doubt going to take some damage from its opponent's Ice Punch… especially if it could not break free of the clutches of its opponent's attack.
With what the judges could all agree on, May's points just continued to drop until the halfway point was reached in her points, but she had barely even noticed her points dropping. She only shouted encouragements for her pokémon to find a way out of the ice.
May: Break free! Come on!
Roselia had finally rejoined me after her little pokéblock snack, and we both watched intently to see if May's encouragements could even reach her Beautifly from within the ice.
I would obviously had to have been the first to admit that I was even a little surprised with May's pokémon managing to actually hear its coordinator's encouragements from within the ice, never mind breaking free from the solid water. Even more to my surprise, the String Shot that had been sent back at Beautifly even broke off of it along with the ice.
Still, it did at least mean that the battle was back on.
May: That's the way! Good job!
Beautifly acknowledged its coordinator's praise gratefully. Grace was just not ready to concede to defeat, though… not without a real fight, that was.
Grace: Time to finish up! Medicham, use Meditate!
Medicham, of course, obliged to its coordinator's command, but Grace was not done with her order for attack just yet.
Grace: And then, High Jump Kick!
With that command, Medicham flew just over Beautifly to launch its High Jump Kick… which it had.
May: OK, now! Dodge it!
Beautifly obliged its coordinator's command and easily dodged its opponent's attack with the greatest of precision and the easiest of grace, it was timed so expertly.
May: Silver Wind! Let's go, Beautifly!
Just that one call for a Silver Wind from her pokémon, and the battle suddenly took a turn in May's favor.
I still could not help but wince, however, when Medicham had been slammed onto the floor, knee first.
Medicham tried to flexibly recover from landing on the floor knee first, but it still took damage from its High Jump Kick getting dodged.
Grace: OH NO!
Judging by Grace's reaction to the rebound effect alone, it sounded like she knew what had happened to her precious Medicham.
Vivian: A Silver Wind bull's eye. Since Medicham's High Jump Kick was dodged, Medicham has just lost some serious points.
Beautifly's Silver Wind did more than just take away Medicham's points… the Silver Wind added to the damage Medicham took when its High Jump Kick was dodged. Just when I thought that the girl in the red bandana could not surprise me any more than she had already, May actually managed to call for even a combination attack.
May: Here's our chance. Beautifly, use Tackle.
With the command, her Beautifly went into the same spinning Tackle attack that had won her the battle against that cheater from that annoying team of thieves we had encountered back in Slateport.
May (continued): Then, use String Shot.
Beautifly complied to its coordinator's command and unleashed a String Shot while performing its spinning Tackle attack, making it the first effective combination attack which I had ever seen her pull off.
Vivian: Beautifly launches into a Tackle and String Shot combination.
It would have been very effective, too, if Grace had not ordered for what she had ordered from her Medicham next…
Grace: Medicham, use Confusion.
… and effectively stopped May's combination attack when Medicham saw all reason to comply to its coordinator's command.
Vivian: Once again, Medicham's Confusion is stopping the string.
May, however, seemed to have a thing or two prepared to do about the Confusion.
May: Beautifly, Silver Wind!
Of course, Beautifly was only too willing to comply to its coordinator's command.
Vivian: That little spin Beautifly took has turned into a silver tornado.
Not only had Beautifly's combination of Tackle and Silver Wind done that, but it also seemed to throw off Medicham's concentration on its Confusion.
May: Tackle attack now, Beautifly!
I remembered her messing up this very combination just the prior day, but today in the contest arena it actually seemed to be working since they seemed to finally have even a hint of control over it, I could hardly believe it. Beautifly had even managed to pull off its Tackle and String Shot once the Confusion hinderance to its attack combination was finally nullified by the Silver Wind tornado it had created along with its combination attack.
Vivian: Beautifly is pulling off yet another perfect attack combination.
Once the silver tornado it managed disappeared, Beautifly and Medicham emerged from it with the latter being trapped in the former's String Shot weaving. It even dealt some serious damage to both Medicham and Grace's points on the scoreboard.
Grace: Darn it! Medicham hasn't recovered from when they dodged the High Jump Kick.
May: Now, we can finish this up. Beautifly, Tackle!
With that command from its coordinator, May's Beautifly once again launched itself into that very same spinning Tackle. Grace, however, was still not willing to go down without a fight.
Grace: Don't think you'll get away with that twice. Medicham, dodge!
With that order from its coordinator, Medicham ripped itself free from the string and tried to dodge Beautifly's Tackle but May proved herself to be relentless now that she was on a roll which she refused to let up on.
May: Silver Wind!
Beautifly complied to its own coordinator's command and produced a Silver Wind from each of its wings and entrapped Medicham once more. Even though I never would have thought of such a use for Silver Wind before that, I was so amazed by her newest use yet of that very attack. Not only did it shock and amaze me, but Beautifly had also managed to stop Medicham's supposed dodge with its Silver Wind through the incapacitation of its own opponent's hands.
Vivian: Ladies and gentlemen, it looks like Beautifly's attack combination has completely immobilized Medicham.
Now, May and her Beautifly finally had a clear path for its final and fatal Tackle attack to hit its mark.
Vivian: That combination of Tackle and Silver Wind creates one intense attack.
While Vivian gave her opinion on it, the judges had some things to say about the battle between May and Grace.
Nurse Joy: Gorgeous technique.
Raoul Contesta: That combination was impeccable.
Mr. Sukizo: Yes, and remarkable, too.
Grace's points plummeted as a result, while May's points continued to remain untouched for just about the rest of the battle as the timer of the battle finally hit and passed by the one-minute mark.
Vivian: There's less than a minute left on the clock.
Medicham might have still been standing, but now Grace was in the very same position I had been in during mine and Roselia's own battle with her and her Medicham. She looked desperate to make one final last ditch effort.
Grace: Oh, this battle's just begun. Medicham, turn it around with High Jump Kick!
Grace's Medicham all too swiftly complied to its coordinator's command, but it would not have worked out for her anyway, because May's only response was a call for…
May: Best defense is a good offense. Beautifly, Tackle! GO!
Of course, Beautifly complied to its coordinator's command. Only thing about it was that the bug-type was not going into a spin this time like the last few times it had worked.
Vivian: Beautifly is coming head on with a Tackle attack!
As the two moves contacted one another, there was a blinding light between the two of them that signaled a head-on collision between them.
Vivian (continued): Unbelievable, a head-to-head collision.
Their head-to-head collision, as Vivian dubbed it, resulted in both Beautifly and Medicham both being flung backwards by the other's attack. The clock ran out of time just as both pokémon fell into either the wall or the floor.
Vivian (continued): Our time is up. So who is our winner?
Everyone else in the arena held his/her breath, yours truly included. Then, the pictures of both May and her Beautifly lit up the screen. Everyone from within the audience took a moment to absorb the shock. May, herself, did so, too, judging by the look on her face when it was all over.
Vivian (continued): And that's that. The winner of this year's Fallarbor Pokémon Contest; May, you did it.
Yours Truly: She did it. She actually won. May had actually gone and won the contest. I guess miracles do happen, after all.
The only problem with my theory was that May's victory was anything except for a miracle. She blazed through the contest like a professional coordinator would have and made swift work of her opponent in both rounds. The silly, doe-eyed little girl I had met on Slateport Beach that day, the one who had actually tripped before she could even get her pokémon onto the stage; she was gone, by then. As hard a time as I had believing it, it was nothing short of the truth.
May still had a lot of work to do, that was for sure. She was still just beginning the stages of her coordinating career, and she also still had many obstacles to face going forward. The fact still remained, however, that that first ribbon was now hers and her Beautifly's.
The Fallarbor ribbon was now hers.
When the camera was focused on her, however, I found myself smirking up at the screen. May just stood there, frozen in place as though she, herself, could not believe that she had actually won the Fallarbor contest. The crowd was roaring their applause for her, but it was as though she was just trapped inside her own little world.
With the way she looked on stage after it the whole contest was over, one would have thought she believed her win on stage to have all been just a dream. That's right! May actually looked like she had expected to still be sleeping in her bed at the time and an alarm clock would interrupt her dream anytime soon.
Then bit by bit, reality finally kicked in for May when her Beautifly hovered in beside her. Next thing anyone else knew, May had snatched her butterfly pokémon out of its flying position and held onto it in a tight hug. I could not hear exactly what she had said to it, but I bet it was nothing short of praise for getting her the win against an opponent like Grace who could beat even me.
I stayed in the locker room for the ribbon ceremony. It might have because I was too surprised to even move, but it was also because I was not just yet ready to leave the locker room. There was just too much left for me to think about at the time.
I could not even think of a single thing I wanted to say to May about her victory. No one, not even May, herself, doubted her more than I had at the beginning of the Fallarbor contest. And yet, she had actually managed to prove me wrong in the sense.
The truth was that I had expected her to maybe win even just one contest so far into the circuit here in Hoenn, but I had the audacity to stress the whole deal about it being 'so far into the circuit here in Hoenn'. I had not given any thought to it if she were to win a ribbon as early as Fallarbor Town.
I actually managed to assume that the contest back in Slateport City would be how she would always be remembered in the contest circuit. While her unwavering determination had definitely hinted at her plans to enter more contests than just the one in the one in Slateport City, I had managed to assume that she would have needed to go through at least five or six before she could finally make to the final round in any of them, let alone win at all. Here she was, however, in her second contest ever, bringing home the grand prize that was the Fallarbor ribbon.
I had actually been wrong about May. The girl in the red bandana I met back on Slateport Beach that day had just that day proven me wrong to think her first ever contest actually defined her performances as a coordinator.
It took a lot of my self-control just to pull it off, but I finally managed to look away from the screen after May had been given and accepted her ribbon. I turned back towards Roselia upon turning away from the screen.
Yours Truly: I need another rose, Roselia, and please, don't say anything about it, this time.
Roselia just gave me look in response while giving me the rose, though. The look on her face, however, said just one thing to me;
Roselia's metaphorical voice: I assume this rose is finally for the coordinator in question as well as her pokémon partner?
I was completely embarrassed by what the look on my first ever pokémon partner's face had said to me.
Yours Truly (continued): I have no comment.
I waited for her in the locker room. The arena slowly began to empty out of both contestants and spectators alike. May and her friends, however, just continued to stay in Fallarbor Hall, at least until May could get off of cloud nine. It took pretty long for her to get off of cloud nine, though. Still, I just could not blame her for staying on it as long as she had. Her battles were hard-fought, and her first ever ribbon was well-earned. It seemed as though it was actually going to take some time for her to even believe it. I could barely believe it, myself.
May never came back into the locker room when everything was over, though. While I just continued waiting for her in the locker room, she only went back into the stands with her friends. Her friends were all content to just let her stay in the arena on the sense of cloud nine that came with what was clearly her first ever ribbon for as long as she needed to stay there.
A few stragglers among the crowd let themselves out of the contest arena, but not before giving the girl in the red bandana their own congratulations. Judging by the tint of red that dusted itself across May's face alone, she clearly was not used to having fans among the audience.
It was the very same tint of red that dusted her face when I gave that first ever rose to her back in Slateport Hall's common room in the last contest we had both entered. I also remembered her having a similar tint of red on her face the day right before the Fallarbor Contest when I had called her out for having won no ribbons prior to said contest.
Eventually, May, her friends and I were the only ones left in the contest arena, other than a few janitors sweeping up the confetti from the ribbon ceremony off of the main stage. May had spent at least a few extra hours in the stands with her friends before she was finally ready to leave. Once the girl in the red bandana and all of her friends left the arena, I took that as my queue to leave the common room.
The sun suddenly decorated the sky with a brilliant golden orange hue just outside the Fallarbor contest hall at the time. I had even managed to beat May and her friends in the little race between all of us outside the contest hall's front doors. I stood near the door and waited patiently for them all to emerge from Fallarbor Hall.
To my surprise chagrin, not one of them noticed me standing there. May's friends all left the arena following her out. She actually stopped for a bit to make sure that her ribbon was still there, as though she had actually believed that it would have vanished from her ribbon case if she did not check it to be certain.
Yours Truly: Well, you did it, May!
May turned around to face me once she had finally heard my voice. I made sure that she could see the rose that Roselia had made earlier. I know I was going to give it to her this time, but I was not willing to give the girl in the red bandana the rose without a certain price, obviously. That cost, of course, was nothing short of being the price of the truth.
Yours Truly (continued): Of course, if you had been competing against me in the first round, things might have ended up a whole lot different.
After my comment on her victory that day, however, I tossed May the rose. Upon the delicate flower landing precisely atop her ribbon case, she looked a lot like she was debating on just how to take my comment. I was not all that sure if she was going to enter the Grand Festival at the end of the contest circuit. Her ribbon case was a pretty good indication that she probably would be entering the Grand Festival, though, wherever it would be held this year in Hoenn.
May finally reacted when she took the rose between her fingers, inspected it for a moment, and looked back at me in full and complete confidence. She now seemed unafraid of whatever I could possibly say to her. I suppose it meant that she was no longer afraid to compete in contests, at all.
It was then that I realized that she had left a mark on me, and I suppose she realized it, too. It was abundantly clear at the time that she most likely planned to leave her mark on the contest circuit in Hoenn, too. I did not know whether she was going to make a good mark or a bad one on the contest circuit. I suppose that only time would ever know the full answer to that idea.
As for me, I found that I was no longer too reserved to even call May a coordinator. If she continued on the path on which she currently was, she could actually become really great. She could probably even reach my level someday.
It was a frightening yet exciting thought; the very idea of someone to compete against and constantly try to outdo, all while working endlessly to surpass me. It would also give me some serious inspiration for any possible improvements for getting better as a coordinator.
The contest in Fallarbor Town that day had been a serious wake-up call for me. I just could not afford to be careless or overconfident. Still, I began to think that the constant source of pressure would be good for me in the long run and would be of great benefit.
There was a word to describe the situation, I just could not think of it at the time. What I knew about the word for it was that it was a specific term of which I was thinking. I believed that I could not think of the word at the time because the moment was just far too intense between May and myself. I could even sense that she had her own comment after picking up my rose.
May: I suppose this rose is for Beautifly, right?
The girl in the red bandana laughed at her own words. She did not even turn away from me. May just kept looking at me, determined and unafraid as she had been the whole day through that day.
I smiled back at her, flicked my hair out of my face.
Yours Truly: Yeah, something like that.
I then turned around in full and walked away from May and her group of guy friends. Then, I started on the route which led back to my hotel, as per my reservations. My pokémon and I had another two days stay in Fallarbor Town before it was time to set back out on the road again.
After finishing up our stay in Fallarbor Town, I would be heading to Verdanturf Town to try again for my fourth ribbon. The contest in Verdanturf was going to take place just a few weeks out from the Fallarbor contest in which Roselia and I had just finished competing.
I admit that I was a bit sad that I fell short of winning the Fallarbor ribbon, but I decided in the end that it was probably for the best that I lost this time. I could just tell that May was happy about succeeding where I had admittingly fell short of victory. I could even hear her shout to her friends just how excited she was just for her next contest. I found myself idly wondering where they would go from Fallarbor Town, now that their time staying at the pokémon center was most likely over with the win for the girl in the red bandana.
I thought about May the whole way back to my hotel, and it was a whole five miles away from the contest hall. The contest hall and my temporary residence for my stay in Fallarbor Town were practically on opposite ends of the town. I had even swore and vowed that I would forget the girl in the red bandana not even a month ago in Slateport City.
It seemed all too possible back when I first saw her compete and even battled against her. Now, it seemed like the hardest thing in the world to do just that because she had actually managed to prove me wrong about her.