Part XXX: Trying To Go Two for Two
"Ash, Misty, to what do I owe this unexpected pleasure." Professor Oak said with a smile into the video phone from his end. "I hope that everything is going well for you two on your journey."
It was 2 days after Ash had caught Dratini on the way to Saffron City. They had arrived in the city the night before and had gone straight to bed given how late it was when they got in. The plan today was to call Professor Oak first thing and then Misty was going to go out to the battlefield the Pokémon Center had to practice one last time for the upcoming Contest tomorrow.
Dratini's capture had held them up a little but they had the time to call the Kanto Professor in the morning. Ash wanted to give Professor Oak an update while the memory was still relatively fresh in their minds. After what had happened on the way to Saffron City the Professor would want to know what they had seen.
"Everything's fine Professor." Ash said to his mentor. "Just calling you because I have an update for you regarding something that happened the other day on the way to Saffron City."
"Oh and that is?" Professor Oak asked curiously, his natural inquisitive nature peaked by Ash's words.
"Well I caught a new Pokémon when we stopped to rest and train." Ash said and opened Dratini's Poke Ball. The Dragon Pokémon proceeded to jump up and wrap itself around Ash's neck as soon as it was free. "As you can see it has already taken a liking to me."
"My is that a Dratini?" Professor Oak asked peering into the screen on his end and Ash nodded while the Pokémon looked quizzically at the man on screen before him. "That is a rare find even in Kanto where the species is native. Where did you get it?"
"I caught Dratini with a fishing rod out in a small lake between Vermilion and Saffron where we stopped off." Ash explained. "It's my first new catch of the year. Misty already has 3 new Pokémon so I have some catching up to do."
"Really?" Professor Oak asked turning to Misty. "And what have you caught Misty? As you took 3 Pokémon with you none of your new Pokémon have been sent back the lab yet so I wasn't aware you had caught anything new."
"An Oddish found me in Viridian Forest and persuaded me to help out an injured Pinsir that was her friend." Misty said remembering the odd but worthwhile afternoon early in their journey. "I healed the Pinsir and Oddish wanted to join me but only if Pinsir could come as well and the latter agreed. Then I got hit in the face by a shiny Eevee that Team Rocket was after on the way to Cerulean City. I helped her out and then defended her from Team Rocket so she let me battle her to catch her. I won so I have an Eevee as well."
"A shiny Eevee." Professor Oak said his eyes wide at that. "I don't think I have seen one before except in pictures, that is rarer than the Dratini Ash has. I hope you will allow me to look at her at some point, just for a day or two so that I can document her and then I will send her back. Shiny Pokémon are exceptionally rare and always fascinating to study. The only one here is Ash's Noctowl so it will be nice to study a new shiny Pokémon."
"I will send her to you for a few days after this Contest." Misty agreed. "While Ash is battling the gym here and I don't need her but I will want her back before we leave Saffron as I intend to use her in my next Contest after this one and want to get as much practice in as possible."
"Of course." Professor Oak said with a nod. "I will only need a day or two to get my initial data, pictures and scans. Now I know you two, there is more to this call than just an update on the Pokémon you caught, what happened that merited this call? You said something happened on the way to Saffron and I doubt it's just the catching of a Dratini."
"Yeah there's more." Ash said with a chuckle. "We had another interesting episode back when I ran into Dratini before I caught it. Its Dragon Rush didn't affect a Pokémon that was bullying it. It was a direct hit but nothing, complete immunity to the attack."
"What?" Professor Oak asked amazed. "You mean that there is another Pokémon out there other than Togekiss that has suddenly discovered an immunity to dragon type moves? Are you sure?"
"Actually we are certain there are two." Misty said confirming the Professor's question. "Though they are the same evolutionary family so that would explain it."
"Which?" Professor Oak asked immediately, his research mode fully activated. "Togekiss is great and really useful but if there is more data from other Pokémon that I can gather then I may begin to test a theory I have, one that will shock the world if I am true but I am months off that at the earliest. I hope that this is a species I can readily study."
"It is." Ash said with a smile. "The bully Pokémon was, of all things, an Azumarill and it had 4 Marills with it as part of its crew. None were affected by the Dragon Rush, though it was the Azumarill that took the hit directly. We know that Dratini's attack works fine, it was blocked by Misty's Gloom when we sparred yesterday but it was clearly working so it seems to be only select Pokémon."
"Azumarill and Marill are water types, not flying and normal types like Togekiss so that isn't the connection." Professor Oak said rubbing his chin deep in thought. "Fortunately Tracy has a Marill so we can begin to work. Once I can confirm that Marill is immune I will also begin testing all the Pokémon here and in Pallet Town and see if any others have this new immunity. Gabite, Charizard, Pidgeot and Krookodile all know dragon type moves so they will come in handy in my upcoming tests. Hopefully there is at least one other Pokémon here with that immunity to help aid in my research."
"Is this the first new report you got on this issue?" Ash asked, he too was curious about the Professor's research as it had something to do with Pokémon but he was also hoping that one of his Pokémon had the immunity as it was something that could come in handy one day. "Since Togekiss that is."
"No I got a report a few days ago from Professor Birch out in Hoenn." Professor Oak said. "It was second hand but he heard tale of a Ralts that was fine after taking a Draco Meteor from an Altaria but he couldn't confirm it himself so it's not reliable. I have left a message for Max asking him to keep an eye out for me regarding his Kirlia just in case he faces a dragon type move with her so hopefully I get something soon."
"Max will easily respond to that." Ash said. "Anything to do with Pokémon research he will be on it, especially if it helps his own training out. Anyway that is all we have report Professor, we should probably go as Misty does have a Contest to prepare for."
"Of course good luck Misty, all of this calls for a poem." Professor Oak said before he hung up. "Mystery defense, what are you to defy it, Dratini beware."
"A poem from the poetry man!" Misty exclaimed happily as Professor Oak ended the call while Dratini looked around a little confused before resuming his relaxed position around Ash's neck. "He's always giving advice even in a poem."
"Yeah that is Professor Oak for you." Ash said with a smile. "Always there to help out. Well come on Misty, you have another Contest to win."
"Right." Misty said grabbing Ash's hand and almost dragging him out of the Pokémon Center to the battlefield out back. "Come on, I need you to make sure we are all set for tomorrow."
"Yes ma'am." Ash said dutifully as Misty dragged him out back to make final preparations for the Saffron Contest.
It had been a nice few days with plenty of surprises but it was time to really focus. Misty had her second Contest of the season soon and even if it was with her new Pokémon, she wanted to win it. Misty had one more day to prepare them for it, she was damned sure that she would be ready for it. The Saffron Ribbon was hers.
"Misty!" Misty heard her name called and turned to see a familiar girl running up to greet her.
The approaching coordinator was a bubbly and happy brunette with rosy cheeks who was practically bouncing as she ran up to Misty. She was still in the same outfit as the last time they had met, a simple the dark pink shirt and white shorts with sneakers that gave off a casual and practical look to her. Given the Pokémon Misty knew she liked it was a look that suited the girl.
"Hey Emily." Misty said with a warm smile as the girl made it to her. "I see you made it and are ready for the Contest."
"I wouldn't miss the Contest for the world." Emily said confidently. "Knowing that you are in it ensured that I would be here. This time I will beat you."
"Haha we shall see." Misty said with a laugh. "We both have to get to that stage first and everyone else will make sure that it won't be easy."
It was the next day and the Saffron Contest was about to begin. Right now Ash was in the crowd with Pikachu, Dratini, Piplup, Eevee and Buneary ready to support her. Only Mamoswine, who was too big, and her two registered Pokémon for the Contest weren't with Ash. Everything was in place and Misty was both nervous and ready to get the Contest started.
Right now Lilian was going through the announcements but Misty knew them as they were routine at Contests so she was only paying partial attention to them. She was slated to appeal 4th today and was waiting for her moment to go back stage, that was what she was waiting for.
Misty had been so focused that she hadn't noticed the other girl approaching her until Emily had called her name to get Misty's attention. Misty was glad to see her again as it was a good that she was really getting into Contests after her success at reaching the final in her debut. As a coordinator Misty loved helping others find it as a worthwhile trainer career to pursue and clearly Emily was one such new coordinator sticking it out it seemed.
"So who are you using?" Emily asked. "For the appeals at least."
"One of my new Pokémon this year." Misty said not giving anything more away, she wanted it to be a surprise as Pinsir didn't fit her usual preferences. "I am using two new ones in fact so that they get experience of Contests so even if I don't win it will be worthwhile as you learn more from a loss then you do from a victory in my mind. What about you?"
"My first new Pokémon." Emily said happily taking out a Poke Ball that had been attached to her belt under her shirt. "I caught a Snubbull few days after leaving Cerulean and we have been practicing ever since. I am looking forward to using him in the appeal today as I think he will really shine in it."
"Him?" Misty asked quirking an eyebrow at Emily. "You already know Snubbull's gender?"
"Clefairy's Cute Charm is a really useful ability." Emily said with a nod of confirmation at Misty's question. "I found Snubbull and knew that I wanted to catch him right away. He's a feisty one and tried to used Tackle on Clefairy. It worked but it also caused him to become infatuated thus confirming his gender. From that point it was easy to weaken and catch him. He's my first capture so there have been growing pains but he likes me now so I know we will get through this. A Contest is a great place to really see what he's made of and show me where I need to improve as a trainer."
"Yeah it is great way to really see what a Pokémon is made of." Misty agreed. "I have done that plenty of times in the past and even when something goes wrong it is worthwhile. The first is always the toughest for them but in time you learn how to maximize your Pokémon's abilities and styles in the best way to make them shine. Remember, they are the performer, you are just the conductor making sure that they are doing the right thing at the right time."
"Misty, you're up next." An attendant said poking her head into the coordinator waiting room before Emily could respond.
"Thanks." Misty replied before shrugging an apology at Emily. "I guess I have to go. Good luck and hopefully I will see you in the next stage."
"Same." Emily said as Misty left and got into the zone for her appeal.
It was a short walk to the back stage area so Misty was there in moments. A few seconds later the appeal of the coordinator before her ended with a loud bang and applause from the audience. There was a separate exit so Misty didn't see who it was but she did hear Lilian's words after the appeal.
"What an ending!" Lilian said as the judges murmured their own opinions on it. "Now it is on to our next coordinator. All the way from Twinleaf Town in the Sinnoh region and the winner of the recent Cerulean Contest, it's the Prodigy of Sinnoh herself, Misty!"
Misty hated that moniker but it had stuck after she had been given it by the announcer midway through her impressive Johto run. Still, she had a genuine smiled as she ran out pulling out Pinsir's Poke Ball as she ran. This was her element, her show, her passion. It was time to shine again.
"Pinsir, spotlight!" Misty yelled to gasps from those who knew her, including Lilian, at her surprising choice in Pokémon.
Misty didn't care, though she was pleased with the reaction. Her Pinsir was as beautiful and special to her as any of Misty's Pokémon. Misty was going to show them just how great a Pinsir could be in an appeal round. A great coordinator could use any Pokémon in either round and Misty was about to prove that she was one of the best on the circuit today.
Pinsir chittered happily as she formed and spun in the air upon release just as they had practiced. She landed with grace and style that stunned the crowd into silence. Misty grinned, they hadn't seen anything yet.
"Pinsir let's start this off with Harden!" Misty ordered.
Pinsir instantly used the defensive boost move. Her carapace flashed and sparkled in the lights, enhanced by Misty's ministrations and special Poffins, to really add to the look. Pinsir dazzled more than usual with the move and showed just how beautiful her carapace truly was.
"Excellent, now X-Scissor!" Misty said pointing up. "Jump in the air with it."
Pinsir chittered and obeyed Misty. Her horns glowed white and she leapt up high in the air. At the apex of the leap, she slashed the horns and showed them off perfectly in a powerful bug type attack. The attacked created a small shockwave that amazed the crowd and added to the appeal. Misty wasn't done yet.
"Now Harden again!" Misty yelled as she calmly walked out to be underneath Pinsir. "Show them you can do that in midair!"
Pinsir used the defensive move again, this time her carapace truly shone as she began to fall down to the earth showing off her training and control to perform the move while falling. Tucking herself into a ball she flipped a few time before extending her arms as she fell right to where Misty was, trusting her trainer implicitly.
Misty didn't let Pinsir down, this was what they had trained for and they pulled it off to near perfection. Misty caught Pinsir with her arms extended and only a slight wobble in them. She held Pinsir up above her head as Pinsir splayed her arms causing the crowd to look amazed at Misty's odd decision to get personally involved with the appeal. It wasn't against the rules, just not common and only done at the end.
That was exactly the point that Misty was at. With a slight bend of her arms Misty threw Pinsir up and off her. Pinsir flipped and spun in the air and then landed gracefully next to Misty who had turned to face the judges in the process. As soon as Pinsir landed, they gave the judges a curtsy in unison with a bow of their heads to end the routine.
The crowd instantly burst into applause and cheers at the appeal as Misty breathed a sigh of relief. She knew that it hadn't been her best appeal but she was certain that she had done just enough to advance. The crowd clearly thought so as she hugged Pinsir close in pride at her new Pokémon's first Contest appeal.
"Wow what a performance from a seasoned coordinator like Misty." Lilian said into her mic as the crowd began to quiet down. "I never thought I would see a Pinsir used like that, not many coordinators could pull this off but Misty has. How do our judges feel?"
"The elegance and grace Misty showed really highlighted that any Pokémon can make a beautiful appeal." Mr. Contesta said with a nod. "It has reminded me why I love Contests."
"Yes, remarkable." Sukizo said in his usual tone.
"I have never seen a Pinsir's shell shine like that before." Nurse Joy added a look of amazement still on her face. "It was simply gorgeous. That is one well cared for Pokémon."
Misty smiled and curtsied again, as did Pinsir only a second behind her, before Misty returning Pinsir to her Poke Ball and running off as the next coordinator was announced. Misty hurried back to the waiting room to watch the other appeals and see how well Emily and the other coordinators did in them to see how good her own chances of advancement were.
Misty reached the waiting room just as the person after her was finishing his appeal. Misty looked around and noticed that Emily wasn't present in the room and while she recognized a few faces she recognized from the Cerulean Contest, Misty didn't know who they were so there was no one to talk to. Ash would come with the Pokémon at the end of the appeals so for now it was all about watching the TV.
"And now from Mt. Moon, one of the many talented rookies on the circuit this year and the runner up in the Cerulean Contest, Emily." Lilian called out as Emily calmly walked out onto the stage.
"Snubbull, fairy lights!" Emily said sending out her Poke Ball.
It burst open and a small, pink, bipedal dog looking Pokémon in what looked like a dress appeared and landed on the stage. Misty had seen, and beaten, a Granbull, Snubbull's evolved form, before but not a Snubbull. It was cute in its own way though probably a little too brutish for some. It was very much like the Clefairy that Emily had. Misty thought that it suited her well but she should probably caution Emily about sticking to similar Pokémon and expanding her repertoire.
"Alright Snubbull, let's start this off with a spinning Charm!" Emily said happily as Misty watched.
Snubbull grunted and then pirouetted on his foot and sent out a stream of hearts from his mouth. It was a good appeal idea, Misty had used something similar before, but Emily was making a mistake that Misty herself had made in the past. The spin worked well and looked good but Charm was a dense attack similar to swift and quickly Snubbull, not the largest Pokémon by any stretch, was hidden from sight by the hearts.
Misty groaned. This was not going to go well; she could feel it. She hoped that Emily could pull it out at the end but after what Misty had already seen and with plenty more coordinators to go she had a feeling that Emily was going to have pull out all the stops to salvage this. It was a shame but Misty could use this as a teaching moment for Emily just as Zoe had done for her.
"Alright Snubbull now get out of the Charm with Bite!" Emily said clearly trying to contrast the hearts that Charm created with the dark type attack that was Bite. "Then end this with Scary Face!"
Hearts began to burst sporadically within the vortex as Snubbull used Bite to destroy the hearts. Misty had to admit it was a good idea and showed off something that Snubbull was no doubt known for but it wasn't done well. She would have to tell Emily afterwards if she didn't advance what went wrong and offer her some more one on one help for the future. Soon though Snubbull was free and gave the crowd a Scary Face to end the routine.
The crowd was shocked by the Scary Face despite knowing it would come but applauded when they recovered though it was nowhere near as loud as they had been for Misty or a few other coordinators who had already gone. Misty thought it was good but when it came to appeals good was often not enough to advance to the battle stage. Misty knew that truth all too well.
"That was certainly cute and fierce at the same time." Lilian said when it was over. "It will be up to the judges to determine how that worked out."
"Snubbull is certainly a cute Pokémon and that was shown in the appeal." Mr. Contesta said neutrally.
"Remarkable." Sukizo said as expected.
"Snubbull was adorable." Nurse Joy added in her normal demeanor as Emily bowed, returned Snubbull and left the stage.
Misty continued watching the next appeal waiting for Emily to return to the waiting room. She wanted to gage the other girl's reaction to how it had gone before talking to her about the appeal. Emily was still a rookie so she may not realize that it wasn't good enough so she would have to learn that the hard way just as Misty had learned.
"Well that went alright." Emily said with a small smile at Misty when she returned. "I felt like I did enough."
"It is always hard to tell." Misty said returning the smile and deciding to be diplomatic until the results came in as it may have been enough depending on how the other coordinators performed. "Every Contest is different so it is always hard to truly tell how well an appeal is until the judges announce who has advanced. Personally mine didn't feel great but this was Pinsir's debut so I wasn't expecting it to be as good as Piplup's was back in Cerulean."
"Are you kidding, that was amazing just as I expected and yet it was also different at the same time." Emily complemented causing Misty to slightly blush, she wasn't entirely used to having someone look up to her but it was clear that after the last Contest Emily was doing just that. "I just hope that one day I can be at your level of confidence and execution in your appeals."
"You will be." Misty said with a reassuring tone. "I was just like you back in my rookie year, it took a while for me to truly figure out how to do well with my appeals. Once you get a few ribbons it will get better, trust me."
"I hope so." Emily said as they continued to watch. "We will have to see first. I feel confident in the battle rounds, it's the appeals that always worry me."
Misty just nodded and went back to watching the appeals. They were for the most part good, any coordinator who was serious about the profession was, but some were clearly better than others. By the time they were all over and Ash had joined her with their Pokémon Misty was as certain as she could be that she was in the next round but she couldn't say the same about Emily.
"You were amazing as always." Ash said giving her a quick kiss while Pikachu and Piplup congratulated Pinsir who had been let out to watch the results with Misty, the others having been returned as soon as Ash arrived. "It looked even better today than it did in practice."
"Thanks." Misty said nervously but blushing furiously at Ash's compliment. "I just have the usual jitters as I wait."
"That's normal." Ash reminded her as he pulled her close to reassure her. "Just relax, it's out of your hands now so there is nothing you can do."
Misty was about to say something when the screen cut to Lilian and the room went silent in anticipation. The judging was over and the 8 coordinators who were advancing to the battle stage were about to be announced. It was the moment that always made Misty's heart race as she held tightly to Ash for reassurance.
"Well the judges have conferred and calculated their scores and the results are in." Lilian said with her dazzling smile. "These 8 coordinators are advancing to the battle stage!"
The screen changed to 8 profile pictures flipped over so as to not reveal the faces. Then one by one they flipped so as to add suspense for the spectators and waiting coordinators. Misty breathed a sigh of relief when hers was the 5th picture flipped. She had made it again.
However after the 7th Emily's was still not there and Misty could see that the younger girl was getting really nervous. Then the last one was flipped to reveal the male coordinator who had gone right after Misty and the 8 coordinators were officially revealed. Emily had not made it.
"Congratulations and now we will randomly generate the bracket for the battle stage." Lilian said the screen changed into one with a bracket before the pictures were added, Misty's picture appearing in the 3rd slot which meant that her battle would be 2nd. "Will the first two coordinators please report to the stage."
Misty looked over to the younger brunette and noticed the tears in her eyes. It was always tough to not advance but still Emily had potential and the desire to succeed and this would damage her confidence. Extracting herself from Ash's arms, Misty carefully put a reassuring hand on her shoulder causing the girl to look at her confused.
"It's ok, it happens to the best of us." Misty said kindly looking the rookie coordinator in the eye. "Remember I had it happen to me in two consecutive Contests shortly after I won my first ribbon. You will be fine. This is just a setback, a learning experience to grow and get better from."
"I, I don't know what went wrong." Emily said still upset and confused at the results. "We practiced that for ages, it should have been enough."
"I think I know what went wrong." Misty said cautiously, being as delicate as she could be. "I was watching carefully and I noticed something that didn't work for Snubbull."
"You do?" Emily asked recovering a little. "How? What?"
"I know because I made the same mistake once as well back when I was a rookie." Misty said kindly which seemed to get through to Emily as it was something they could share. "I can explain it to you afterwards and give you some advice and training as well if you want."
"Th, that would be nice." Emily said as she sniffled a little but held her composure. "I could use it. I guess I was overconfident after Cerulean and didn't expect the competition to be as good as it was today."
"I've been there for sure." Misty said sympathetically. "Please stay and watch the battles though, they are good learning experiences for you as you can see how other coordinators battle. Afterwards we can chat more. I can tell that you have the potential to be great, you were a finalist in your debut Contest which is something I can't claim, all you need a little guidance to push you in the right direction. We all do no matter what level we are at, it's not a bad thing to admit it."
"Thanks, I, I will stay, I was going to anyway." Emily said with a nod, her eyes no longer filled with tears but resolve after Misty's little pep talk. "And of course I will support you in your battles."
"And that is a Battle Off." Lilian said interrupting them as three X sounds came from the TV causing them to all look up and see an Exeggutor with swirls for eyes on the ground and a Sneasel over it celebrating. "Next up…"
"I gotta go." Misty said before turning and kissing Ash briefly. "Stay here and watch me win, I will be back shortly. Love you."
"Love you too." Ash said with a smile as Misty left, once again it was game time.
The battle stages were once again easy and straightforward for Misty. After so much time training with Ash and his battling style while learning how to fight, Misty always felt good at the battle stage. She was calm and confident in her battles as she had fun, her mind focused on winning and getting one step closer to the Saffron Ribbon.
It also helped that it was still early enough in the circuit that only a few coordinators seemed to have the skills to hold against Misty, or at least only a few had shown up so far. Misty knew that this wouldn't last and that there was no doubt many coordinators on the circuit who could challenge her that weren't present so she shouldn't get over confident but still, it was nice to be able to breeze through the battles.
Her quarterfinal opponent used a Castform which was tricky to begin with but the weather meant that it was in normal mode. It got a little harder when the sun came out and shone through a window right on the Weather Pokémon and it shifted into sunny mode which was a fire type that would give Gloom problems. Still Misty didn't panic and won on points with a decent margin at the end of the 5 minutes.
The semifinals were in some ways easier as Misty landed a Sleep Powder attack on the other Pokémon, a Pineco, with a minute left so Misty just waited out the clock as she had the points advantage at that point. With that win Misty was once again was in the finals of a Contest.
"Well we are down to our last 2." Lilian said enthusiastically as Misty and the other coordinator, a guy called Stefano from Hoenn, took their places with little fanfare. "The Prodigy of Sinnoh, Misty of Twinleaf Town verses Stefano from Verdanturf Town in the Hoenn region. As usual this will be a 5 minute round and the winner is either the coordinator with the most points remaining when time expires or the coordinator who knocks out the other's Pokémon. So with that, begin!"
"Gloom, spotlight!" Misty throwing her Poke Ball in the air as Gloom materialized.
"Blastoise, come on out." Stefano said throwing out his own Poke Ball.
The fully evolved Kanto starter burst forth with a roar and Misty knew that this would be tough. She'd heard Stefano's intro for his appeal, he had been to the Hoenn and Johto Grand festivals but never advanced to the battle stage in either. He was an experience coordinator with at least 10 ribbons to his name so Misty couldn't take him lightly. Still, Misty had the advantage and she knew it.
"Razor Leaf!" Misty ordered to start off the battle with an advantage.
"Iron Defense." Stefano ordered in response.
Blastoise withdrew into his shell just as the grass type attack reached it and glanced next to harmlessly off it reducing Stefano's points by a fraction but not nearly as much as it would have had Misty landed the attack normally. In addition a little of Misty's points were lost as she had not been successful in landing the attack effectively but it was less than the points she had taken off Stefano so she had taken an early lead. However that was just the distraction for Misty's real intention.
"Now Sleep Powder!" Misty yelled. "Speed mode Gloom!"
"Dodge it." Stefano countered as Blastoise began to come out of its shell.
Misty and Gloom had been practicing this particular variant of the attack for the last few days and knew that it would work. Gloom had gotten good at sending out the sleep-inducing attack faster than usual. It wouldn't last as long as it wasn't as strong as it should be but it would still work for at least a turn or two depending on the type and size of the other Pokémon. Dratini, who's ability was Shed Skin and as such could remove status problems easily, had been great in helping them perfect the attack after Ash had caught him and they had accidentally discovered its ability.
Gloom leaned forward and shot the purple powder out of her bulb right at Blastoise at a speed that surprised Stefano and the judges judging by their expressions. The Shellfish Pokémon was still coming out of its shell and preparing to dodge just as the attack landed. It was hit full in the face and instantly Blastoise was asleep and snoring on the floor.
"Now Gloom, Solar Beam!" Misty ordered and Bloom began to absorb the light for her most powerful attack while Stefano's points ticked down because of Misty's successful attack.
"Come one Blastoise wake up!" Stefano yelled but Blastoise continued to snore away as Gloom prepared her attack.
Right as Gloom was ready to fire Blastoise jerked awake with a snap of its jaws, the quick attack meaning that the effects didn't last as long as Misty would have liked. It gave Stefano the time to try an attack that had clearly been taught as a way to overcome Blastoise's type disadvantage to grass types.
"Now Ice Beam!" Stefano ordered clearly hoping to get off the super effective attack that in time.
Unfortunately for him, the attack wasn't ready in time. just as Blastoise rose and opened his mouth to form the ice type attack, Gloom's Solar Beam went off. With nowhere to go while in mid attack, Blastoise just had to take it. The super effective grass type attack made contact with Blastoise's chest and it was blasted back and into the wall with enough force to crack it, the only sound being that of Stefano's points ticking down.
When the dust settled Blastoise was on one knee but still in it. The continued ticking indicated that Stefano had lost a good chunk of points but he was still in it, for now.
"Now Blastoise, Rabid Spin." Stefano ordered clearly going full offensive after taking such an attack.
"Blastoise." Blastoise roared as he leapt forward and withdrew into his shell before he shot at Gloom spinning fast and low.
"Gloom when I say jump, jump." Misty ordered waiting for the right moment and as soon as Blastoise was at the midpoint of the stage Misty knew it was the right moment. "Jump!"
Gloom leapt high into the air and Blastoise soared harmlessly underneath her due to Blastoise's low altitude, had it been higher the dodge wouldn't have worked. However it had worked and Stefano's points dropped again but Misty wasn't done yet, it was time to end this.
"Now, Razor Leaf again!" Misty ordered.
"Gloom!" Gloom yelled as she twisted in the air and sent out the spinning leaves right at Blastoise.
Blastoise was still moving too fast to notice or avoid it and Stefano clearly hadn't expected the Gloom to be able to leap that high. The leaves slammed into the back of Blastoise's shell doing a lot of damage in the process and sending it into the ground.
Blastoise popped out of its shell as soon as it hit the ground and proceeded to skid across the stage and past Misty creating a deep furrow in it. Blastoise then slammed head first into the wall behind Misty kicking up a lot of dust in the process. When it settled Blastoise was face down on the ground, limbs spread and swirls for eyes.
As soon as that sight greeted the judges all 3 hit the X button and the match ended. Blastoise was out, Misty had won with a Battle Off.
"And again Misty from Twinleaf Town has won by Battle Off." Lilian announced as Misty rushed to embrace Gloom while Stefano returned Blastoise and thanked it for a great battle while taking the blame himself. "Another exciting Contest has come to an end. The winner of the Saffron Contest is Misty, the Prodigy of Sinnoh."
Misty looked up to see Stefano nod at her out of respect before turning and leaving her to her victory as the crowd began to cheer. Misty was ecstatic as she let Pinsir out as well to join her in her victory. Her new Pokémon had pulled through for her as Misty had hoped for.
Still she had to be professional and couldn't go over the top. Therefore Misty and her Pokémon made their way to the center of the stage as calmly as they could and waited as Mr. Contesta approached with a small tray.
"Congratulations Misty." Mr. Contesta said holding up the tray with a dark pink with lighter edges ribbon on it. "You won and here is your reward, the Saffron Ribbon. Your second if I recall, that is a fast start to the season indeed."
"Thank you." Misty said with a bow as she picked up the ribbon and then struck her victory pose. "Alright, I just won the Saffron Ribbon!"
"Gloom." Gloom said as she jumped up in to join Misty while Pinsir chittered excitedly and jumped as well.
The crowd cheered and Misty smiled ready to place the ribbon in her case and enjoy a kiss with Ash to celebrate her victory. Two Contests down, two ribbons won, three more to go. Misty was on a roll and she couldn't wait for the next Contest. First there was Ash's full battle with Sabrina and then it was onwards to the next city. Misty was ready, nothing could go wrong. It was time to celebrate.
