A/N: Thanks a lot for your support, it means a lot to me! Here's another chapter :)
To Guest: Haha, yeah, Pikachu sure is happy he stayed downstairs XD Thank you very much!
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or the picture used as cover, though I did edit it.
Days
The day of Paul's first Contest
Paul
Wednesday, November 20th
"Hammer Arm!" Paul commanded loudly, and his Ursaring ran and swung its arm towards the small blue water Pokémon. The Squirtle tried to hide in its shell and it spun away almost gracefully, but the attack was just too strong for it and the Pokémon was knocked out. Paul allowed himself a smile when the Squirtle was announced to be unable to battle. Another opponent down, another step closer to the that one necessary Ribbon.
"Well done." He nodded to Ursaring, who let out a loud victory roar before it was recalled to its Poké Ball. After giving a nod to the young girl opposite him, Paul retreated back to the warm dressing room to rest his Pokémon (though that was hardly needed) and to wait on the results of the other match.
He had just won the semi-finals. Paul smiled and weighed the Poké Balls in his hands. Just the final battle… Despite knowing that it would be premature to think so, Paul still couldn't help but imagine how it would be if he won his very first Contest. Certainly, he had not won things the Contest way, relying on strength, speed and simply overpowering and knocking out the opponent's Pokémon, but still…
"And the finalists of this Contest in Jubilife City are now known!" sounded over the speakers. Paul looked back at the screen, mentally scolding himself for not paying attention to the last match, though apparently it had been very short. "What an exciting match-up this promises to be!" On the screen the loser of the previous battle was still seen, a teenage girl cradling her fallen Nidoran. "We have our newbie Coordinator Paul Rebolledo, facing off against Top Coordinator Dawn Berlitz!"
The screen showed the beaming, blue-eyed, blue-haired girl and Paul felt himself freeze.
Well.
That was unexpected.
Paul had admit to himself that he felt quite uncomfortable. He shouldn't have- He shook his head. That was all in the past and he couldn't do anything about it. He should focus on the future and the upcoming battle.
During the (admittedly awkward) training session at Maylene's Gym, Dawn had shown him some of her techniques (and if he hadn't had that knowledge, he doubted he would have gotten through the selection of the Performance Stage). But perhaps he could use that knowledge against her and overwhelm her with raw power- He wasn't arrogant enough to think he could beat her pure Contest style.
Before the last battle, there was a short break, and Paul debated whether he would stay here or go outside and try to find out what happened during Dawn's battle. Best to know what he was up against, he decided, and got up from the bench. Just as he was walking out, he came face to face with the last person he wanted to see.
"Oh." At least he wasn't the only one who hadn't wanted to see the other. "Paul, hi."
Dawn smiled brightly and Paul had difficulty discerning whether she meant it or not. Probably not. "You did really well! This is your first Contest, right? Great." Her smile diminished slightly and her eyes narrowed. "I won't make it easy for you, though. Good luck."
The smile on her face made it seem as if she wanted to say that he would need it.
Paul felt a biting reply rise but instead pressed his lips together and simply walked past her. He heard her huff behind him and he smiled to himself. He found a row of screens that showed scenes of the previous matches, and then especially his and Dawn's. She was using a Mamoswine… The freezing weather would give the ice-type an advantage, but that would hardly be a deciding factor.
Soon, the break was nearing its end and he made his way back to the dressing room. Dawn walked in a few moments later, but he kept his eyes in front of him and they waited in the silence. Before he knew it, the match was starting and he walked on the now familiar field while Dawn stood on the opposite end.
"The match for the Jubilife Contest Ribbon will be between Dawn Berlitz and Paul Rebolledo! You know the rules, folks, let's get started! Good luck to both of you!"
"Ursaring!" The big Pokémon appeared on the field in a flash of white light and roared challengingly.
"Mamoswine, I choose you!"
Another giant Pokémon appeared on the field, and with a loud "Mamoo!" it accepted Ursaring's challenge.
Dawn started the battle by calling for a Hidden Power, but Ursaring avoided it with ease. He tried to retaliate with a Slash but Mamoswine was surprisingly fast.
The first minute was spent like that, trying to get in a hit and getting a feel for the opponent's Pokémon and their strategy. Both their bar of points had diminished because of the missed attacks, though Paul was slightly behind because apparently Mamoswine dodged gracefully.
He still wasn't sure of Dawn's strategy, but time was not on his side and thus Paul decided that it was time to take the lead.
"Ursaring, use Bulk Up!" Ursaring had already done that two times before, and so Dawn didn't seem very alarmed. She was probably expecting another Feint Attack or Slash, but that wasn't going to happen.
"Now get close and use Hammer Arm!" Paul yelled, and Ursaring ran forward, its arm glowing white as it charged.
Paul had trained his Pokémon well, and it knew when playtime was over. The attack hit Mamoswine full on and Paul felt a rush of triumph.
The Pokémon was still standing, but barely, and Dawn immediately called for another Ice Shard, which did manage to hit his Ursaring as it tried to retreat to Paul's side of the field. Still, while Paul's points had also decreased, her points had taken a big hit and his lips turned upwards.
"Another Hammer Arm!"
"Ice Armor!"
Paul blinked. That wasn't an attack he had heard before. He hesitated, but when he saw they were just Ice Shards, he called, "Continue, Ursaring!"
Ursaring roared and continued charging, though its roar ended in confusion when it saw Mamoswine eat the Ice Shards. Paul stared, hesitating again. Suddenly Ice Shards appeared on the back and sides of Mamoswine, and it quickly turned its frozen side towards Ursaring's incoming attack.
It was too late to call it off, and Ursaring's Hammer Arm hit the icy armor, scattering them in a cloud of small, sparkling shards.
"Now, Ice Shard with Hidden Power!"
Before Ursaring could recover from its daze, an Ice Shard was launched at it, and the following Hidden Power lighted it up and broke it into small, fast pieces coming at his Pokémon. Paul yelled for Ursaring to avoid, but he already knew it was useless.
No matter, Ursaring would stand the attack, he knew. And even if Mamoswine had managed to defend itself, the Hammer Arm had definitely done some damage. He just needed to get in one more hit-
"And the battle is over!"
What?! Paul turned to the screen sharply. They still had more than two minutes, how-
With an ice-cold feeling he looked at the bars displaying the points; his was unforgivably empty.
"Paul's points have reached zero, so Dawn Berlitz and Mamoswine are the winners!" the Contest announcer yelled enthusiastically.
Three red crosses were shown on the screens below the judges, on the big screen above them the picture of a smiling Dawn and her Mamoswine appeared.
"What a creative use of Ice Shards," a judge commented.
"Remarkable!"
"And then being able to follow it up with an beautiful combination attack shows that you have a great bond with your Pokémon," Nurse Joy added.
The crowd cheered loudly and Dawn ran to the middle of the field to awkwardly pet her ice-covered Pokémon. Ursaring roared in confusion at the strange turn of the battle, and Paul recalled the Pokémon without another word.
Dawn looked up from hugging Mamoswine and caught his eye. She smiled, but Paul wasn't sure if it was mocking or not. He quickly looked away.
It was normal, he told himself. This was his first Contest. Dawn had had a lot more experience. The next one would be his. Yes, next time he would be better. Paul looked once more to the celebrating Dawn and then turned to leave.
A/N: Thank you very much for reading! Please tell me what you thought about it!
Thank you!
Recommendations:
Pokémon: Postcards From Far Away by dinobot (add spaces after each letter). FFN. A short but sweet story with some slight PokeShipping, about how Ash and Misty stayed in contact with each other during Ash's journeys. Thanks to PokeshipperByHeart for recommending this story to me!
Pokémon: Someone Like You by inklaced. FFN. This is a sad and angsty one-shot about Blue and Green, but very beautifully written. Blue meets Green again after some years and she does her best to stay strong…
Hobbit: The Heir Apparent by ChasingPerfectionTomorrow. FFN. An in-progress multi-chaptered story where Tauriel manages to save Kíli's life during the Battle of the Five Armies, and thus changes everything forever. Her feelings for the new king make things complicated, though. Very awesome story!
If you have any recommendations, whether they're your own or someone else's stories, feel free to share them!