Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Pokémon: Sinnoh no Isekai

Chapter One-hundred and seventy-one: Perfect Performance Pledging

It was sometime midday when the heroes were walking the streets pf Coumarine City; Serena's first Pokémon Showcase aside, there was also a festival going on, or at the very least a festival was being set up. "Wow, even though it's still being set up, the festival looks so pretty," Bonnie remarked as she and the others looked around.

As the heroes continued to look around, they stopped when they saw Ramos, the local gym leader of Coumarine City, being assisted by Ideku, the roaming trainer from Johto. The heroes recently learned that Ideku, who had become the Champion of Unova, was stripped of his hard-earned title because Unova's government passed a bill through their legislature designed to keep foreign born persons in Unova from outranking folks who are Unovan born and raised while on Unovan soil. Dawn looked up the matter earlier that morning, and Unova was being roasted to some degree in inter-regional news.

"Hey Ramos, Ideku!" Dawn called out, "How are you guys doing?"

"As fine as we can, I suppose," Ramos said, "My Pokémon are resting at the local Pokémon Center after Ideku and his Talonflame, Dragalge, and Vanilluxe gave our hides a tanning." To showcase the point, Ideku took out his badge case and opened it, showing he had earned the Plant Badge, as well as the badges from Viola's gym, Grant's gym, and Korrina's gym. "Ideku is one strong young man," Ramos said, "I can see why he can contend with Champions."

"So what's with the festival?" Ash asked.

"According to Ramos," Ideku began, "The Coumarine City Festival is a yearly event that is held to honor the bonds of friendship between trainers and their Pokémon. It's capped off with gathering under a large tree, called the Pledging Tree, at sunset where the trainers present their Pokémon with various gifts."

"...That actually sounds rather nice," Ash said, "I say we all participate."

"But the question is," Dawn began, "What do we get for our Pokémon as gifts?"

Shrugging, Trip said, "I was thinking of making special snack treats for my Pokémon. I've been meaning to stretch my culinary muscles again."

"I was thinking about going around town to see what all was on sale," Kenny suggested.

Clapping her hands together, Bonnie said, "Shopping sounds like fun! I say we-"

"I was actually going to make something for my Pokémon," Clemont said, "I have my pride as an inventor, you know."

Kenny turned to look at Clemont, shot him a suspicious look. "...It's bad enough you made alarm clocks for your little sister that blow up. If you make something for your Pokémon that tries blowing them up, then I'll have Godzilla throw YOU into the air."

"D-duly noted," Clemont replied, a bit nervous about Kenny's threatening promise.

And so, the heroes went about obtaining gifts for their Pokémon. Even Ideku got in on it, saying that he owes it to Meganie and the others. Dawn and Kenny went with Ash and Serena, meanwhile Trip found a kitchen he could use and Clemont was tinkering with a few things in the Pokémon Center lobby. Serena was initially a bit nervous because she was going out shopping with Ash; it reminded her of a date. Luckily for Serena, she was kept calm by Dawn and Kenny being there. An example of how Serena wasn't too nervous was when Ash and Kenny were lured over to a vendor stall.

As the boys looked over the items, Serena said, "Ash, Kenny, I don't think these gifts would be very practical to get."

Pointing something out, Dawn said, "Actually Serena, that Rocky Helmet there would be a rather useful item to get. It's a decent held item that Pokémon can make use of in battle."

"Yeah, Imma actually buy the Rocky Helmet," Kenny said as he got out some money to buy the Rocky Helmet.

Clapping her hands together, Dawn said, "You know what, I think I might just get some half-iced tea half-lemonade for my Pokémon."

Serena turned to give Dawn a quizative look. "...Half-iced tea half-lemonade?"

"It's a drink that I myself am rather fond of," Dawn began explaining, "As the name suggests, it's equal parts iced tea and lemonade." What Dawn didn't say out loud was that it was a drink she enjoyed in her previous life, especially the variety made by a name brand of canned tea drink.

"I... never heard of a drink like that," Serena said.

"Yeah, I'm as lost as Serena is," Ash admitted.

Checking the time on her phone, Dawn said, "Well we still have plenty of time until the festival tonight, I'll just go buy what all I'll need." Dawn then turned around and took off.

Nodding once, Ash said, "Dawn's a lot more confident than I am when it comes to the business here on getting slash making gifts to give to our Pokémon."

"Maybe we can try meeting up later after searching on our own a bit?" Serena suggested.

Ash, after considering the idea for a bit, eventually nodded in agreement. "...Yeah, that actually sounds pretty good." Turning to look at Kenny, Ash asked, "Hey Kenny, what do you-" Ash stopped short to see that Kenny had already left. "...Where did he go?"

And so, the solo gift searching commenced. For Dawn, this saw her eventually enter the kitchen that Trip was using and, explaining to him what she was up to, he let her set up what she needed in order to make her gift to her Pokémon. When Trip saw that Dawn was looking to make at least two gallons of the half-iced tea half-lemonade, Dawn explained that one of her on hand Pokémon is Tsukune, who's over thirteen feet tall. Trip nodded in understanding, knowing that a big Pokémon would naturally have a big thirst.

Meanwhile outside the monorail station, Ash and Serena met back up. "I was able to find the right presents for Fennekin and Pancham," Serena said, "What about you, Ash?"

Sighing in a resigned tone, Ash said, "No, I've had no such luck." As Serena tried reassuring Ash that he'll find the right gift for his Pokémon, the two of them entered the monorail station, with Ash going in ahead of Serena. Suddenly, Ash is approached by the monorail station employees.

"Congrats on being the one-millionth visitor to the monorail station," the first employee said to Ash.

Handing a ribbon to Ash, the second employee said, "Here's a ribbon as the prize."

...

On the ride down, Ash said while looking at the ribbon he got, "...No, I don't think that any of my Pokémon would be into this."

"Hey Ash, let me ask you something," Serena began.

Turning to look at Serena, Ash said, "Alright, shoot."

Gesturing to Ash, Serena asked him, "What would you like to get as a gift?"

Ash gave Serena a curious look. "Huh? What does me wanting something have to do with the matter?"

"Well, your Pokémon are all similar to you," Serena said, "So maybe they'd like to get something that you'd like to get."

Ash stared at Serena for a moment, making her nervous, before he suddenly exclaimed, "Serena, you're brilliant!" After the two of them got off of the monorail, Ash said, "I know just what to get for my Pokémon! I'll be back in time for the festival!"

Serena watched it as Ash ran off into the woods around Coumarine City, wondering just what it was Ash had in mind. Still, this was Ash she was thinking about, so she figured that there would be no need to worry about him pulling out all the stops when it came to his Pokémon.

Later that evening at the Pledging Tree which was decorated for the festival, the heroes presented their gifts to their Pokémon. To the surprise of Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie when they saw Ash with a big sack over his back, the sack turned out to be a bunch of berries that he presented to his Pokémon, letting them dig in. Serena then knew what Ash had thought of; his Pokémon were like him, and he liked having lots of food, so he got them lots of food. It's similar to how Trip had made some decent meringue pies for his Pokémon, and Trip made an extra for the humans, showing that Kenny wasn't the only cooking expert in the group.

Speaking of Kenny, he made more of his Poké Puffs that won him the cooking contest against Serena and Miette, and it was clear that the boys' Pokémon enjoyed their sweet foods, Kenny's shiny Scizor Cell especially. But whereas Ash, Trip, and Kenny got food for their Pokémon, something for them to eat, Dawn got for her Pokémon something to drink; she made up two gallons of the half-iced tea half-lemonade, experimenting around until she got just the right sweetness and taste. Dawn and her Pokémon drank from over-sized saké saucers, although Dawn's named Palkia downed one of the gallons by itself, and straight from the jug.

As for the others, Serena gave Fennekin and Pancham a pink ribbon and a special pair of sunglasses, and Clemont presented to Luxio, Bunnelby, and Chespin the music box he made them, featuring little dancing figures of the three of them. Godzilla looked over at the music box and, after seeing it was in no danger of blowing up, left things be and went back to enjoying the Poké Puffs. Looking around, the heroes eventually spotted where Ideku was; he was sharing a variety of good foods with his Meganium, shiny Talonflame, Dragalge, and Vanilluxe. Seeing Ideku's Meganium, Bonnie pointed at it and asked, "What's that green Pokémon Ideku has? The one with the long neck, big flower petals around the base of its neck, and the yellow antennas coming out of its head?"

"That's a Meganium, Bonnie," Trip explained, "And Ideku's Meganium there is the first Pokémon he ever got. According to Dawn and Kenny, Ideku got it as a Chikorita back when he first started as a trainer in Johto." Bonnie could now see why Ideku had his Meganium out with the Pokémon he used to defeat Ramos and earn the Plant Badge earlier that day.

...

As the festival was wrapping up, the older members of the heroes were talking among themselves and Ideku who they invited over when Bonnie came over carrying a box. "Hey Serena," Bonnie said, "This box is labeled for you!"

Receiving the box from Bonnie, Serena said, "Really? For me?" Opening the box, Serena revealed that a lovely dress was inside. "Oh wow!" Serena said, "This dress is beautiful! I can wear it when I participate in the Pokémon Showcase!"

Nurse Joy, who saw Serena open the gift, came walking up. "Oh my, yes. You mom actually sent that ahead of time and asked it be given to you. She really seems keen that you pursue this Pokémon Showcase dream of yours, saying that it ought to keep you away from Rhyhorn racing."

Serena took pause at that, a mildly surprised look on her face. Grace actually said she wanted Serena to stay away from Rhyhorn racing, something that Grace would normally be trying everything within her power to push Serena into. Grace must really be worried that Serena might be attacked at a Rhyhorn racing event due to how Team Scorn had been phoning in threats to attack Rhyhorn racing events for the time being. Although Serena was happy her mom was encouraging her to pursue her dreams of taking part in Pokémon Showcases, she knew that her mom was besides herself with worry for Serena's sake.

As Serena stood still, a nostalgic look of contemplation on her face, Ideku stepped forward. "I heard about how Team Scorn had been threatening to attack any and all Rhyhorn racing events here in Kalos for some odd reason. I take it you or your mom is keen on Rhyhorn racing?"

"My mom, yeah," Serena said, tears gently welling up in the corners of her eyes, "I bet it must be eating at her knowing the sport she loves is under threat by Team Scorn. She'd normally be encouraging me to get into Rhyhorn racing, so for my mom to do whatever it'd take to discourage me from doing it instead..." Gently shaking her head, Serena went on, "...I bet it must be eating away at her on the inside."

"She clearly cares more about you," Ideku said, "And your safety and well-being, than she does about getting you into the sport that she herself is into."

Serena, although she was a little sad over how her mom must be besides herself with worry, couldn't help but crack a small smile in appreciation. "...Thanks."

...

Later, after Serena called Grace to thank her for the dress, the festival closed with a display of fireworks. After that, Ash gave the ribbon he won at the monorail to Serena. "Maybe you can use this as an accessory or something," Ash said as he gifted the ribbon to Serena, "Also, I've been wanting to say thanks for how you helped me pick out what to get for my Pokémon."

As Serena accepted the ribbon, the others watched. Leaning to his side towards Trip, Kenny whispered to him, "You're jealous, aren't you?"

"Shut up," Trip whispered back.

The next day was the Coumarine City Pokémon Showcase. Many people arrived on scene, including Serena and Shauna, along with other performers named Alouette, Blanche, Clarice, and Elma. Looking around, the reborn trainers were surprised to see no sign of Jessie of Team Scorn (formerly of the now defunct Team Rocket) dressed up in some manner of disguise so she could compete, as they remembered from the anime in their previous lives that Jessie competed in Pokémon Showcases. Kenny even rotated Elay, his shiny Sandslash, into his party to help sniff Jessie out.

But there was no sign of Jessie, or James or Meowth for that matter. Dawn supposed that they might have different plans now given that the Team Rocket trio was now in Team Scorn, but it still didn't hurt to check. However, the heroes were surprised to see May, Ash's traveling companion from his days in Hoenn, come up to greet their group. May was wearing what the reborn trainers recognized as the female player character contest outfit from the ORAS games in their previous lives. May had come up to the group accompanied by her Blaziken.

"Is that a shiny Sandslash?" May said as she pointed to Elay.

Kenny nodded in the affirmative. "Elay here has a keen sense for always sussing out Team Rocket when they're wearing disguises, and Jessie had been known to participate in Pokémon Contests and other similar events. We thus have reason to suspect that Jessie, James, and Meowth, although they work for Team Scorn now given that Team Rocket went belly up, may try to raise a ruckus here."

"Those criminals joined Team Scorn?!" May said, "Oh, of all the low things they could have done, they sunk to an even lower level than I thought possible for them!"

Gesturing to May, Ash said, "Well with you here in Kalos, I bet you'll be willing to help fend off Team Scorn if and when they show up."

"You're darn right I will be willing to fend them off!" May insisted, "I may be more about performing in events like Contests and Showcases, but I can still fight with the best of them if I have to!"

"What about your little brother?" Clemont said, "Kenny told me you have a little brother named Max who's around the same age as Bonnie. You wouldn't let him help fight off Team Scorn, would you?"

Nodding once in understanding, May said, "I can understand your concern, and normally I'd have Max take cover while I fight Team Scorn off. But he has his own Pokémon that can fight, and to be honest he's probably more effective at battling than I am, given that I'm specced in performing and he leans more towards actually battling."

Shrugging, Kenny said, "Maybe that's why you're having a hard time getting Max's Mightyena and Furfrou to listen to you. The stage they're more used to is the stage of battle, not the stage of performing."

May nodded once in agreement to Kenny. "True. But I bet I can get through to them by the time the Master rank Showcase comes around, by which time I'll have all three of the Princess Keys I need to-"

"Oh! You guys are here for the showcase too?"

The heroes all perked up and turned to see Ochaco come walking up to them. she wore a lovely sleeveless hoop skirt dress that somehow was able to work being heavily inspired by the classical outfits one would imagine archaeologists wear when digging for fossils. "Ochaco?" Serena said, "You're competing in the Pokémon Showcase?"

Ochaco nodded once in the affirmative. "I figured me becoming Kalos Queen would help me gain some recognition to help with hooking me up with the right people so I can delve more into studying Pokémon revived from fossils."

"Oh ho ho," May said, "You certainly sound sure that you'll succeed in becoming the Kalos Queen."

Turning to look at May, Ochaco replied with a wry look on her face, "Let's just say that I... have an ace in the hole." Turning to look at the heroes, Ochaco said, "Is she friends with you?"

Nodding once in the affirmative, Ash said, "Oh yeah, this is May, an old friend of mine from Hoenn. She's gotten a lot of experience with events similar to Pokémon Showcases due to taking part in Pokémon Contests. But even so May's got a lot of stiff competition to face off against." Turning to look at Serena, Ash said, "Wouldn't you agree, Serena?"

Smiling, Serena said, "Oh yeah, I'm in it to win it!"

"Hey now, don't sell me short," Shauna said, "I'm pretty good too, you know!"

Clapping his hands together, Kenny said, "Well I say you ladies should all go get ready. Ash, you take Clemont and Bonnie into the audience to sit down and enjoy the show, meanwhile I'll lead Dawn and Trip to continue searching for possible Team Scorn trio shenanigans."

Nodding once, Dawn said, "It's better safe than sorry, especially since there is a precedent for Jessie to participate in events like this under a disguise." It still struck her as odd that Jessie hadn't shown up yet; maybe being part of Team Scorn changed things for Jessie, James, and Meowth. Dawn was about to leave with the boys, but she stopped short and turned to look at Serena. Dawn remembered, from the anime in her previous life, that Serena lost her first Showcase mainly because she failed to recognize that the ribbon she put on Fennekin was too long, leading Fennekin to trip on it.

Thanks to that knowledge, Dawn had a plan to help Serena out. "...Hey Serena," Dawn said, "Despite how I'm actually into Pokémon battles, I used to dream about taking part in Pokémon Contests. I actually did participate in one back in Sinnoh and surprisingly won. That said, I have at least some experience in a field similar to the one you are aiming to get into. That being said, if you're willing to listen, I'd like to offer you some advice."

"Well Ash and the others seem to trust you, so I'd be a fool to dismiss whatever advice you give me," Serena said.

Gesturing to Serena, Dawn said, "If you doll your Pokémon up before taking them out on stage, make sure you take a good, long look at their outfit and make sure it'd be practical. For example, if you planned to put some manner of ribbon on Fennekin, make sure it's not too long or else Fennekin may trip on it."

"I was actually planning on using Fennekin and having her wear the ribbon I got her for the festival yesterday," Serena said, "So if I put it on Fennekin and see it's too long, I could trim it down to size to prevent the risk of Fennekin tripping on it."

Dawn nodded once in acknowledgement. "Good to hear. Well anyway, I best go with the boys to patrol for any potential evil-doing from Jessie, James, and Meowth." The others waved Dawn, Kenny, and Trip good-bye as they left for their patrol. All that left was for the girls to get ready for their debuts in the Pokémon Showcase scene in the Kalos region.

Inside the Showcase hall, the rest of the heroes all looked at the stage as Monsieur Pierre announced that the Coumarine City Pokémon Showcase would be starting soon, even presenting the Princess Key that will be awarded to the Performer who wins. Pierre then said that the first round of the Showcase would be Pokémon styling, permitting the Performers ten minutes to doll their Pokémon up and lead them down the runway.

The first three Performers to go were May, Shauna, and that Alouette girl. Alouette led her Furfrou who she had given a Pharaoh trim to, Shauna had arranged a bouquet of flowers on her Bulbasaur's bulb, and May had Blaziken dressed up in a rocking yet stylish and elegant butler outfit. The members of the audience used their Glow Casters to vote for their favorites, and Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie all voted for May. Coincidentally, May ended up receiving the most votes, so she was the one to go on to the next round.

...

After several more round one competitions, the competition that Serena would be in was up. Serena, as she styled Fennekin up, took a good look after finishing the outfit she had put onto Fennekin, due to remembering Dawn's advice. Sure enough, Serena saw that the ribbon Fennekin was wearing had long lengths that she could trip on, so she quickly trimmed them down to size to make sure Fennekin couldn't trip on them.

After that, Serena felt that she was ready. As such, when it was her turn, Serena led Fennekin out and walked down the runway. Despite how nervous she was, Serena found that not only was she able to maintain composure the entire time, but nothing bad happened in their go. The audience even cheered a bit for Serena, making her think that she might just make it into the next round, and had a shot of winning her first Princess Key.

...So as one could imagine, Serena was surprised when, after she was done, she heard the audience roar with excitement, more then they had for any other Performer thus far. Looking on a TV screen with other performers, Serena was shocked, as well as understanding why the audience was so excited, and could feel her heart sink as she and the other performers bore witness to Ochaco going down the runway with her Raichu.

...Which just so happened to be a shiny Raichu.

Ochaco was the last one to go in that batch of round one performances, and after which the audience all voted. To Serena's despair, Ochaco had gotten the most votes in that round, no doubt due to how she had wowed the audience simply by using a shiny Pokémon. In fact, looking it up, Serena saw that Ochaco had gotten the highest number of round one votes, even more than May who was the second best in that regard.

It was some comfort to Serena that she had the third highest amount of votes in round one, which told her that she had indeed been wise to follow Dawn's advice of carefully going over Fennekin's outfit to make sure it was practical. Even so, Ochaco winning in round one meant that Serena had been eliminated from the Coumarine City Pokémon Showcase. Serena's first Pokémon Showcase, and she lost.

Serena was crushed.

Changing back into her regular outfit, Serena went out into the audience to join Ash, Celmont, and Bonnie, who all consoled her over how she had been eliminated. They proceeded to watch the rest of the Showcase, which Ochaco ended up winning by having her Amaura and shiny Raichu put on a spectacular show during the Freestyle Performance. The audience cheered as they saw Pierre award Ochaco her first of three Princess Keys she would need to enter the Master rank Showcase.

...

Dawn, Kenny, and Trip met back up with the rest of the heroes and were told what happened. Despite how there were no hiccups with Serena's showing in the first round, Serena was still eliminated during round one due to how Ochaco had gotten a lot of attention for her use of her shiny Raichu. "Aw poo," Shauna scowled, "I was hoping to win this Showcase."

"Heh, sorry," Ochaco said, looking somewhat embarrassed, "I just really want to stand out so as to get the attention I need to help me further my dreams."

Gesturing to Ochaco, May said, "Well with a Pokémon like your Raichu, I bet you'll be able to go all the way to the top. Makes me wanna work double time to get Max's Mightyena and Furfrou ready, especially with how easily you won your bracket in round one."

Turning to look at Shauna who was still pounting a bit, Dawn said, "I'm sure you, May, and Serena will have plenty of chances to win other Showcases, Shauna. Oh, if you run into Tierno and Trevor again, can you tell them I said hi?" The rest of the heroes all wished Tierno and Trevor the best of luck as well, and Shauna said that she'd give the boys their regards before taking off from the heroes. Ochaco had to take off as well, and May similarly had to get going, saying that she had left Max alone to look after the rest of her Pokémon on top of all of his, so she had to go relieve him.

After May was gone as well, Serena clapped her hands together. "I say we get some food now."

"I agree!" Bonnie said, then took Serena and Dawn by their hands and ran ahead with them, saying, "Us girls will find a good place for our whole group! You slowpoke boys better catch up, or we'll leave you in the dust!"

After the girls got far enough ahead, Clemont said, "I'm worried about Serena. She came close, and it was her first Showcase, too."

"Serena is strong," Ash assured Clemont, "Stronger than you give her credit for. She'll be fine."

...

Early the following morning, Serena went out for a walk with Fennekin and Pancham, going near some docks overlooking the ocean. Serena had a look of recollection on her face, remembering how her go in her first Showcase went. She didn't mess up, even followed Dawn's advice and it led to her getting a good round of applause from the audience. ...And yet she still lost, was still eliminated from the first round of her first Showcase.

Serena soon fell to her knees and, unable to hold it in anymore, proceeded to cry her eyes out. She had done well enough and made no screw ups but still failed, had gotten close but was still so far. Fennekin and Pancham tried to reassure their trainer that things will be alright, but Serena was a human and thus she couldn't quite get what her Pokémon were trying to say. But the gist of it got through.

Unbeknownst to Serena, at that moment a limo drove by and stopped. The window went down and Palermo, a leading authority in Pokémon Showcases, looked out to where Serena was crying her eyes out. "...She's one of the Showcase first timers in yesterday's performance," Palermo remarked to herself, "She did pretty well for her first go, only being eliminated because someone in her round one bracket had a shiny Pokémon."

"That girl with the shiny Raichu ended up winning the Showcase and getting the Princess Key," a companion in the limo with Palermo said, "What do you make of her?"

Palermo closed her eyes, gave a wry smile. "...That Ochaco girl has some skill for a first timer, I'll grant you that. But I can tell that Ochaco's overall skill level is actually somewhat below that of the Serena girl over there. Ochaco won yesterday mainly because of all of the wow factor using her shiny Raichu got her. I bet that, had Ochaco not used her Raichu, then Serena would have won the first round instead." Palermo opened her eyes again, cast a glance at where Serena was still crying. "...Serena has a lot of promise for a first timer," Palermo said before signaling for the limo driver to drive off.

After the limo was gone, Serena was able to settle down. Although upset with her loss, Serena was still elated to have finally begin her dream. She drew a pair of scissors from her backback, grabbed her hair above the shoulders, and brought the open scissors in to make a bold statement to help finalize her vow of refusing to give up, of sticking with her dream of making it big in Pokémon Showcases.

...

The rest of the heroes were surprised to see Serena in a new outfit, as well as her shorter hair. Serena was also wearing the ribbon Ash had given her during the festival prior to the Showcase. The reborn trainers recognized this outfit change as they saw it in the anime in their previous lives, but they were still a bit surprised by it, given that the nature of Serena losing her first Showcase was different here.

"So," Serena said, "What do you guys think?"

"You look awesome!" Bonnie said, "And the short hairstyle suits you!" Turning to look at Dawn, Bonnie asked, "What do you think?"

"I will admit, Serena's hair does look nice," Dawn began, "But as for myself, I'll stick with keeping my hair long."

Giving Serena a thumbs up, Ash said, "I think you look terrific, Serena! Good job!" Serena blushed a bit in embarrassment from the compliment from Ash, but she still accepted it and, with nothing else keeping the heroes, they proceeded to make their way back to Lumiose City, where Ash and the reborn trainers will take turns duking it out with Celmont.

Out all of the challengers he was going to have among his friend group here, Clemont was the most apprehensive of Kenny. Clemont wasn't sure why that was.

END, CHAPTER ONE-HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-ONE

Author's notes;

This chapter covers the Pledging Tree events and the events of Serena's first Showcase. The events concerning the Pledging Tree remain largely unchanged aside from how Dawn, Kenny, Trip, and Ideku all participated as well. As for Serena's first Showcase, May from Hoenn participates as well, as does Ochaco the fossil Pokémon researcher girl. Surprisingly it's Ochaco who wins, although Palermo notes that Serena had somewhat more skill and, at the very least, would have made it past round one were it not for Ochaco's use of a shiny Pokémon. Serena still has her important haircut and outfit change, and the heroes are able to proceed to Lumiose City. The next chapter will cover more important events, as well as see Kenny expand the cringe posse.

Dawn's Pokémon: (on hand) Chi-Chi (female Infernape), Zancrow (male Volcarona), Argent (male Arcanine; alpha; Hisuian), Ieyasu (male Aerodactyl), Leni (female Lucario), Tsukune (Palkia)

Kenny's Pokémon: (on hand) Roshi (male Torterra), Elay (male Sandslash; shiny), Hovernyan (male Meowstic), Goofy (male Houndoom), Godzilla (male Tyranitar), Black (Giratina; Origin Form)

Trip's Pokémon: (on hand) Mr. Popo (male Magmortar), Dovahgex (male Sceptile), Myde (male Empoleon), Kululu (male Greninja), Deelia (Dialga), Mitsu (male Helioptile)

Ash's Pokémon: (on hand) Pikachu (male), Charizard (male), Goomy (male), Frogadier (male), Fletchling (male), Braviary (male; alpha; Hisuian)