Chapter 11: The Contest

Ash, May, Misty, Brock, Lucy, Serena, and Drew all let their Pokemon out once they got to the beach. The large crowd of Pokemon ran around doing various games, many of them went in the water. The only exception to that was May's Torchic and Serena's Delphox who being fire-types didn't like water and played on the beach instead.

Ash joined Misty on a surfboard, May was a little reluctant to get on one as she'd never done it before but soon tried once Misty gave some encouragement. She fell off a few times but eventually got the hang of it and managed to balance as a wave brought her and Ash to shore.

"Whew that was hard, but fun!" May said with a smile as she got out of the water.

"Yeah, it's not easy," Misty said. "Of course, I've been doing it since I was little."

May grinned. She was starting to like Ash's friends. She looked around and saw Pikachu swimming with Eevee. She paddled nervously as she hadn't learned how to swim before but soon smiled and got the hang of it. Castform had assumed its water form and floated across the surface of the ocean. Plusle and Minun played with Delphox, Torchic and some other Pokemon that stayed on the land. Drew's Dragonair and the rest of the Pokemon that were water type moved through the ocean gracefully and May couldn't help but admire them when she swam down below. Some of the water types even took her and the others along as they moved through it faster than a human could hope to. She saw lovely coral reefs while holding onto Misty's Gyrados with Ash. The big dragon like water Pokemon was rather scary but worked to pull multiple people on its back.

All in all, it seemed like a perfect day. But they soon had to take a break from the fun. There was a contest tomorrow after all which both the couples of May and Ash as well as Serena and Drew would be participating in. Brock, Lucy, and Misty all got tickets to watch the contest and their friends. While May didn't expect to win, she wanted to do her best. So, they would need a bit more practice. There was also the issue that Serena had mentioned about evolving Eevee. So while Brock, Drew and Ash did some practice together, May, Misty, Lucy, and Serena all headed to the mall in Lilycove to look for stones, clothing and whatever else they could find. They changed back into their normal clothing and began the walk to the mall. On the way, May held Eevee in her arms as Serena showed her various Pokedex pictures of what Eevee could evolve into.

"Flareon, the Fire Pokemon, Vaporean, the Water Pokemon, Jolteon, the Electric Pokemon, Leafeon the Grass Pokemon, Espeon the Psychic Pokemon, Umbreon the Dark Pokemon, Sylveon the Fairy Pokemon, and Glaceon the Ice Pokemon. All are potential forms that Eevee can evolve into depending on the stones used as well as a type of move or the time of day they may level up once they have reached a certain level of friendship with their trainer."

"Wow, there are so many," May said before looking down at her second partner. "Remember Eevee this is your choice. I won't force you to do anything. If you want to stay the way you are that is fine."

Eevee nodded with a small smile as they arrived at the mall. May and Serena sat down at a bench with Eevee and continued to go over the possible evolutions. They scrolled through the pictures to see if they could one Eevee liked. Eevee thought for a moment, thinking hard. The images of her different evolutions ran through her head. Flareon, Jolteon, Vaporean? Leafeon, Umbreon, Espeon? Sylveon like Serena's? But then the last one, Glaceon entered her mind, and she felt as if she were drawn to that form for some reason.

"Eevee!" she said.

"You make a decision?" May asked.

"Lets see, shake your head until we find the one you want," Serena said as she ran through the pictures again, presenting them to Eevee for a few seconds before moving onto the next.

Eevee waited then said "That one!" when they reached Glaceon.

"You like Glaceon the best?" May asked.

"Yes!" Eevee said with a nod.

"Well, good thing there were ice stones discovered a few years ago," Misty said. "It used to be really hard to get the stone that could evolve Eevee to Glaceon but a while ago scientists discovered a more common type of stone that could be used and began selling it to other regions."

"That's right," Lucy said. "We might be able to find one here."

They headed into the mall and after climbing a few floors found a set of stones that could be used to make Eevee evolve. May brought an Ice Stone to the register and handed the clerk the money.

"Thank you," she said as she took the stone.

"No problem," the worker said.

May looked at Eevee who walked by her side. She and her companions then sat at a section of seats and May held up the stone.

"Do you really want to evolve now, Eevee?" May asked her Pokemon.

Eevee seemed uncertain.

"There's no harm in waiting. I mean you can always do it later but you can't go back," Misty said.

"Yes, let Eevee evolve when she feels ready," Lucy said.

Serena smiled. "I agree."

May nodded. "You just let me know when you feel ready Eevee."

The Evolution Pokemon nodded. She'd chosen her evolution at least, but for now she'd stay an Eevee until she felt ready to evolve.

The group of young women made their way back to the men who were still training. Ash smiled as he saw his fiancé approaching.

"Hey," he greeted.

Pikachu saw his beloved approaching and smiled, his cheeks growing redder then usual. Ash also saw Eevee who was still unevolved.

"Did you not one Eevee liked?" he asked.

"Well, she liked the look of Glaceon but didn't want to evolve just yet," May said.

"That's okay," Ash said with a shrug. "Pikachu still doesn't want to evolve right buddy?"

"No way!" Pikachu said as he jumped up on Ash's shoulder. "No evolving for me!"

"You won't mind if I evolve thought right?" Eevee asked.

Pikachu shook his head. "I'll love you no matter what you choose."

She smiled.

They trained and got their moves perfected all the way then it was time for a good night rest.

The next day they headed to the Contest Hall, with Ash, May, Serena and Drew going into the performs room while Brock, Misty, and Lucy took seats in the stands to watch. They all dressed up in the clothes they'd gotten from the mall for the contest. Ash was in a gray tuxedo while Drew had a blue one trimmed in gold. May and Serena had matching outfits, May's pink and Serena's red. They all waited as the beginning of the contest was shown on the viewing screen. A reporter began the announcement.

"Welcome to the Special Couples Contest here in Lilycove city! We have a large number of contestants today, though that's likely to be expected since in this special rarely held sort of Pokemon Contest will feature couples working together! Now judging our contest is Mr. Contesta of the Pokemon Activities Committee, Mr. Suziko of the Pokemon Fan Club, and of course Lilycove City's very own Nurse Joy!" the reporter announced.

The screen then showed the three judges sitting together.

"Welcome!" Contesta said.

"Remarkable!" Suziko said.

"I hope to see some love in the air!" Nurse Joy said.

In the stands, Brock let out a happy sigh. "Ah… if I were still single I'd be flirting up a storm with you Nurse Joy!"

Hearts began to appear in his eyes, until he heard a low growl next to him as Lucy gave him a death stare.

"Sorry Lucy!" Brock said. "Old habits die hard."

She smiled and took her husbands hand. "Just control yourself. Or I'm sure Misty will be happy to pull your ear."

"Gladly," Misty said, taking hold and giving a light pull.

"Ow," Brock said rubbing it.

In the contest floor below, the reporter continued. "First up we have Joshua and Erica from Pacificlog Town!"

A young couple entered the stage holding hands with a Jynx and a Houndoom by their side. They stopped with Jynx taking a few steps forward.

"Jynx!" Erica started. "Use Blizzard and follow up with confusion!"

"Jynx!" Jynx blew out a large blizzard and her eyes glowed as she followed up with Confusion.

The ice encircled the ice witch like Pokemon. Then it was Joshua's turn.

"Houndoom Firespin!"

The black dog like pokemon leapt blew out a spiral of fire aimed at Jynx who looked at and wrapped in her confusion attack as well. Houndoom and Jynx were now surrounded by a perfect mixture of ice and fire.

"That's quite a combination! I'm getting hot and cold flashes!" the reporter said and she both shivered and sweated.

"A wonderful performance between Pokemon of opposing types!" Contesta commented.

"Remarkable!" Suziko said, that must have been his favorite word.

"Very beautiful," Nurse Joy finished.

Several other coordinating couples went until it was time for Drew and Serena, who would be followed by Ash and May in the next round.

"Good luck Serena!" Ash said.

She smiled over her shoulder. "Thanks Ash!"

Serena and Drew walked out to do their performance. They released their pairs of Pokemon, Roserade and Sylveon.

"Roserade use Magical Leaf!" Drew commanded.

"And Sylveon use Fairy Wind!" Serena said.

Both Pokemon unleashed their attacks which resulted in a similar spectacle of Joshua and Erica's performance. Glowing leaves and a bright visible wind that was pink in color appeared above the two pokemon, Sylveon maintained it for a moment and then the wind faltered and the leaves fell to the floor, though the glow from the fairy wind remained. Sylveon and Roserade then did a brief dance which caused the crowd to shout in awe. May and Drew did the same

"Another beautiful performance with a lovely dance from both the Pokemon and couple," the reporter said. "Now we have one last set for today! Ash of Pallet Town and May from Petalburg city!"

Ash and May passed Drew and Serena as they headed out.

"You were great out there Serena, you too Drew!" Ash said.

"Thanks Ash! Good luck to you!"

"Don't think we'll go easy on you if you manage to make it to the battle round!" Drew said.

"I wouldn't have it another way!" Ash said.

"We'll give you our best!" May agreed.

They then stepped out onto the contest stage, Pikachu and Eevee walking beside them. Pikachu looked at Eevee and saw she was nervous looking the stands full of people. They all looked at her, and she wasn't sure what they were thinking. For so long she'd assumed all humans were bad and the enemy, how many bad humans might be in that crowd? Would one want to steal her from the people that she'd discovered to be kind and grown to trust?

"Its okay, Eevee," Pikachu said putting a paw on her shoulder.

She smiled. "Thanks Pikachu. As long as I'm with you I'm sure I'll be fine."

"Begin!" Mr. Contesta said.

"Alright May, ready?" Ash asked.

She nodded. "Lets do it just we practiced! Eevee start out running around the stage with Quick Attack!"

Eevee nodded and took off, moving at an incredible speed. Perhaps not as fast Pikachu though, she'd been couped up for so much of her life and only recently been allowed to walk freely. Still she managed to move well enough to impress herself and Pikachu.

"Pikachu! Show them your Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded his partner.

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed. "You got it!"

Pikachu let off a series of Thunderbolts as Eevee continued running around the stage. The thunderbolts followed her, narrowly missing each time as Pikachu intended. They were kept to a low level but still looked impressive to the naked eye.

"Alright Pikachu follow Eevee and use Thunder to light the stage going!" Ash said.

Pikachu smiled and ran after Eevee who let him chase her with a smile. He quickly got up to her as he released a powerful thunder above for display.

"Now, Eevee leapt into the air and use Growl!" May said.

Eevee jumped up high and let out an intimidating Growl attack. The Thunder behind her, rapidly getting closer, added a scary effect.

"Ooh, Eevee's cute, but also scary when she wants to be," Misty said with a slight shiver.

Eevee dropped to the floor of the stage just as the Thunder subsided. Pikachu caught her and held her as static electricity shined behind them for a moment. Then they kissed as their trainers both held hands in the background. May tightened her grip around Ash's hand and they looked into each other's eyes for a second.

As Pikachu and Eevee broke apart, the crowd went wild.

"A lovely performance for a first time couple of coordinators!" Mr. Contesta said.

"Yes indeed! Very remarkable!" Suziko said, yep that was his favorite word it seemed.

"And I love the kiss at the end! Are you two mates?" Nurse Joy asked the two Pokemon.

They nodded, blushing.

"I'd say the power of your love and that of your trainers shined through," Nurse Joy said.

Ash and May returned to the coordinators area with Serena and Drew. Brock, Lucy, and Misty all came with smiles on their faces.

"Great performance you guys!" Brock said.

"Yes, quite lovely," Lucy agreed.

"Nice work Ash!" Misty said. "You might have been a better coordinator then gym battler!"

"Oh quit teasing me Misty!" Ash said.

"So how do you like your first contest May?" Serena asked.

"I loved it," May said. "A part of me felt as though it was where I belonged. Maybe if I'd been born in this time, I might have pursued this as a full time thing."

They laughed and waited for a few minutes. Soon four sets of couples were announced as those that would be allowed to move on to the battle portion. They watched the screen, and saw… Joshua and Erica, Serena and Drew, another couple, and … Ash and May!

"We did it May!" Ash said.

"Yes!" May hugged her fiancé and knight.

Ash lifted her off her feet and spun her around. Serena and Drew likewise kissed. Brock and Lucy smiled and held hands while Misty made a disgusted face.

"Eh, get a room, you guys!" she said. "It was bad enough whenever I had to deal with Brock alone!"

They then cycled through the battles. Drew and Serena would be going up against the other couple while Ash and May would be taking on Joshua and Erica. The two more experienced coordinators made short work of their adversaries and then it was Ash and May's turn. They stepped out onto the stage which now had a battlefield arena on it. Joshua and Erica stood across from them, their Jynx and Houndoom already out as well.

"We're gonna show everyone that we're the number one contest couple!" Erica declared. "I've been waiting a long time for this! We win this contest we'll be in the Grand Festival!"

"Yes, I'm gonna win with Erica by my side!" Joshua said.

"Well we're just in this for fun," Ash said. "But we're gonna give it our all!"

"That's right!" May agreed.

Their Pokemon took their places in front of them. Pikachu and Eevee against Houndoom and Jynx. Neither side had an advantage over the other really, though Ash worried that those two Pokemon might have attacks that were too powerful for Eevee. He'd seen Jynx had Blizzard and Confusion, and Houndoom had Firespin. They could have a ton of other attacks as well.

The timer for the contest battle started.

"Begin!" the reporter said.

"Alright let's start things up Houndoom! Use Flamethrower on Eevee!" Joshua said.

The black horned dog Pokemon let out a powerful burst of fire at the little evolution Pokemon.

"Dodge Eevee!" May commanded.

Eevee leapt out of the way, mostly. Though her fur caught the edge of the flame and she winced in pain.

"Eevee you okay?" May asked worriedly as she saw this.

Eevee called her name in affirmation. "Eevee!"

The damage was far from serious, though it did sting quite a bit. A small blow had been done to May's points on the board, however since she dodged the worst of it, Joshua had lost many more points. Still, Ash knew they would have to end this quickly for Eevee's sake.

"Pikachu use Thunderbolt on Jynx!" he ordered.

"Pika-Chuuuu!" Pikachu sent his signature attack at the psychic and ice pokemon.

"Protect!" Erica said.

Jynx put up a barrier to protect herself from Pikachu's attack. It absorbed the Thunderbolt and she suffered no damage. Ash (and by part, May's) points suffered a blow, they were now slightly lower than Joshua and Erica.

"You can't use protect two many times in a row!" Ash stated. "And I know a weakness of your Jynx! Pikachu Iron Tail!"

Pikachu charged in and leapt, his tail glowing.

"No Confusion!" Erica said desperate to avoid a super effective steel type move.

But Pikachu was just too quick for Jynx and hit her with his Iron tail. The resulting points lost bumped Joshua and Erica down to nearly halfway. A minute had already gone by.

"Alright! Eevee use Quick Attack on Houndoom!" May said.

"Shadow Claw!" Joshua countered.

Eevee and Houndoom collided in midair, but the large Pokemon easily overpowered the smaller one. May and Ash's points were dropped down closer to Joshua and Erica's.

"Quick Attack Pikachu!" Ash said.

Pikachu charged at Jynx.

"Protect!" Erica said.

Ash smirked, to Erica's shock. Pikachu hit Jynx's barrier and it immediately dissolved upon absorbing the force of the attack.

"Thunder!"

Pikachu let off a powerful Thunder attack at close range against Jynx who let out a pained scream of her own name.

"JYNNNNXXX!"

She fell on her back with swirls in her eyes.

"Jynx! No!" Erica said.

The judge panels suddenly made a beeping sound and an x appeared on a black background on the display screens of the panels. Ash looked at them in surprise. It was over already? He'd expected to have to deal with Houndoom now with May.

"Jynx is unable to battle. As per the couple contests rules if even a single one of either sides Pokemon is defeated then their partner is forced to withdraw as well. Can't complete a couple's test without your significant other after all!" the reporter announced.

Oh, so for this event if just one Pokemon from either side was defeated it was over.

Ash and May shook hands with Erica and Joshua.

"You're really good Ash," Erica said. "Hope you and May there win the whole thing."

"Thanks," Ash said.

They advanced to the final round. Ash and May stood facing Serena and Drew.

"And here it is! The final round of the Pokemon Couple's Contest in Lilycove!" the reporter said. "Its Ash and May versus. Drew and Serena!"

The two sets of friends were now officially turned rivals for a brief time. Delphox and Roserade stood against Pikachu and Eevee.

"Begin!"

The timer started counting down again. This was it.

"Delphox use Flamethrower on Pikachu!" Serena said.

"Roserade use Solarbeam on Eevee!" Drew said.

Delphox waved her wand and shot a large flamethrower from it that Pikachu managed to dodge. Roserade meanwhile needed time to charge up her Solarbeam. Green energy charged from the flowers that formed her hands.

"Eevee use Bite!" May said, knowing that had a chance to cause Roserade to flinch and stop her from using the attack.

Eevee ran at Roserade and bit into the petals. It worked, the attack did a bit of damage and caused Roserade to flinch. The energy gathered for a Solarbeam dissipated.

"Pikachu Thunderbolt!" Ash called.

"Fireblast!" Serena said.

A blast of fire in a shape similar to a human to flew to meet Pikachu's Thunderbolt. It burned right through the attack and went on to hit Pikachu. Ash gritted his teeth. Fireblast was one of the strongest Fire Attacks, if he'd used Thunder it might have had a better chance. Pikachu had taken quite a hit there and so did Ash and May's points. They were already halfway down.

"Magical Leaf!" Drew said.

Eevee was struck with the glowing leaves and landed near Pikachu who called out to her.

"Pika!" he exclaimed.

"Sunny Day!" Serena said.

Delphox lifted her wand high. Light shined from it as though a new sun had been born in the room which heated up. Now Delphox's fire attacks would be even stronger, also-

"Solarbeam!" Drew said again.

"No!"

Roserade charged energy, but thanks to the sunlight shining directly above her from Delphox's Sunny Day, it was gathered much more quickly. The bright beam of gold energy flew at Pikachu and Eevee before they could dodge. It hit them both and knocked them down. Both of them lay defeated. The judges panels showed the red x on the black background again and buzzed.

"The match is over and Drew and Serena have won!" the reporter said.

Ash and May ran over and picked up their Pokemon.

"You okay Pikachu?" he asked in concern.

Pikachu gave him a weak smile and said his name with a nod, though Ash understood well enough to know it meant, "Yeah."

"Eevee, are you alright?" May asked as she cradled her injured partner.

Eevee looked up at her trainer with sorrow in her eyes. "I'm sorry I failed."

May only heard "Eevee, ee." But feeling as if she understood what her partner was trying to say, May shook her head. "It's okay, Eevee, you did your best. And you made me proud, going up against a set of fully evolved Pokemon."

May hugged Eevee who slowly returned the embrace.

The coordinators gathered on the stage as the reporter presented Serena and Drew with a special set of ribbons, one blue the other red, both of which had a heart centerpiece.

"It is with great pleasure that I present the winner of this couples Contest with this pair of ribbons! Both of which are equal to an ordinary ribbon in the grand festival! And I believe with this you two have obtained the necessary number of five ribbons needed!"

"That's right! So, we'll be seeing you at the grand festival!" Drew said as he and Serena waved to the nearby camera.

Ash and May smiled at their friends.

"Well this was fun," May said. "Maybe someday I'll do contests again. But for now we need to get your tournament done."

Ash nodded. "We can wait a day or two more and then head to Mossdeep city."

She nodded back. They'd have a little more fun with their friends and then continue their journey, not entirely sure what else they might find on the way.

Hope you are all having a good day or night, wherever you are. I have Mother's Day coming up and will be doing an extra story in honor of it assuming I can get this done before Sunday. And I have. Really worked hard so I hope it was good. Please review and let me know what you think. As always constructive criticism is welcome. Happy Mother's Day to all of you.

I didn't mean to initially put Joshua and Erica in but I thought it would be nice touch since they were a couple.