Episode 8: First Time's the Charm

Having made it out of the Sol Forest, our heroes now find themselves in the neighboring Sol Town. It would appear that a surprise is in store for Ash and Brock.

Ash and Brock have their eyes closed, and Brenda is leading them forward. She says, "Alright guys, just a few more steps…and look!"

Ash and Brock open their eyes. They are standing in front of a large building. Above the door is a picture of a yellow ribbon with a sun pattern on its center. Ash exclaims, "Wow, it's a Contest Hall! I haven't seen one of those since Sinnoh."

Brock deduces, "So, since you were so excited about showing us this, that must mean…you're going to enter."

Brenda nods. "Yep, in all honesty, before I left to get my first Pokémon, I had no idea what I wanted to do besides just go on an adventure with my Pokémon, but then I saw a Contest on TV, and I knew I had to become a coordinator."

Ash asks, "So are you saying that you hadn't even heard about Pokémon Contests before then?"

She nods. "Never. But does that mean that you have?"

Ash and Brock nod. Ash explains, "You see, we've had a few friends who were coordinators. I've even competed in a Contest or two myself, for that matter, Brock did too, once." Brock nods.

"Wow, so I'm actually the only one here who hasn't been in one."

Brock says, "Well, according to a poster I saw when we were coming into town, the Contest is going to start pretty soon, you better go get registered. Why don't you do that, and I'll go to the store to stock up on supplies?"

Brenda nods. "Alright."

Ash says, "I'll head out with you Brock. Good luck Brenda."

"Thanks." She runs into the Contest Hall, Ash and Brock go the other way.

Nearby, crouching behind a bush, is Team Rocket. Jessie looks ecstatic. She say happily, "Pokémon Contests, here in the Tenno Region, who would have ever thought?"

James asks, "So are you going to enter?"

"Of course I'm going to enter! What kind of question is that!?"

Meowth states, "Well, you can't enter looking like that."

Jessie nods. "You're right, I can't wear street clothes, I need a fabulous dress."

Meowth mutters, "I meant that you can't be seen in your uniform, but I guess that works too."

Jessie continues, "You two, go get me a disguise worthy of my natural beauty, I'll except nothing less!" James and Meowth run off.

Inside the Contest Hall, Brenda is waiting in line to register. She's next. After he person in front of her is done, she steps forward. The clerk says, "Hello, and welcome to the Sol Town Contest Hall. How may I help you?"

Brenda responds, "Hi, I'm a new coordinator, and I'd like to register for the Contest."

The clerk nods. "Of course, if I could just see your Pokédex please." Brenda hands over the Pokédex. The clerk inserts the Pokédex into a computer, which scans it. A picture if Brenda, along with her Kappaqua and Chrysalux are shown. A card prints out, and the clerk hands the card and the Pokédex to Brenda. "This is your Contest Pass, you use it to gain entry into contests anywhere in the Tenno Region." She pulls out a case and hands it over as well. "And this is your Ribbon Case, if you earn any ribbons, you can keep them in here."

"Thank you very much." Brenda turns around and starts to walk away. She's looking at her Contest Pass and Ribbon Case with fascination. Her lack of attention causes her to bump into someone else, causing her to drop her pass and case. "Oops, silly me."

She begins to bend over to pick them up, but the person she bumped into says, "No, excuse me, and please, allow me." He bends over, picks up the dropped items, and hands them back. Brenda gets a good look at him. He's slightly taller, and thus, slightly older than her. He has black hair, combed to the side in a refined way, fairly handsome features, and wears a silver tuxedo.

Brenda, after a few moments, says, "Thanks."

He smiles. "Don't mention it." He extends a hand. "My name's Will."

Brenda shakes his hand. "I'm Brenda."

Will looks her over. "I hope you don't plan on entering your first Contest looking like that."

Brenda is confused. "Why?"

Will laughs. "Have you never seen a contest before? Or maybe you come from Hoenn? Anyways, here in Tenno, as well as most other regions, you must dress your best while competing in a Contest."

Brenda forces a laugh. "Of course I knew that! Why wouldn't I know that? Everyone knows that!"

Will laughs. "Of course. I guess I'll be seeing you around." He walks off.

Brenda runs to the nearest videophone and dials a number. Within a few moments, her mom appears on screen. Brenda says with panic, "Mom, I need a dress, now!"

Her mom laughs. "Are you entering the Sol Contest?" Brenda nods. "I thought so. I also thought you might not know the requirements for a Pokémon Contest. Don't worry, I've already sent a package to the Sol Town Pokémon Center with everything you'll need, including a dress, ball capsules, and seals. It should be there by now."

Brenda breathes a sigh of relief. "Thank you Mom, I don't know what I'd do without you."

"I don't know either. Good luck at the Contest, I'll be watching on TV." She hangs up.

Later, Ash, Brock, and Brenda are now outside the Contest Hall. Brenda seems to be explaining something. "Yeah, I was so embarrassed. But luckily, my mom had a dress ready for me."

Brock asks, "Have you even trained at all for this?"

Brenda shakes her head. "No, I kind of figured I'd just wing it, you know, make it up as I go."

"I don't know if that's the best idea, especially if you've only seen that one Contest on TV."

Ash exclaims, "Hey, I know, why don't you train against me right now?"

Brenda smiles. "Okay, let's do it!"

They each step away from each other and face each other. Ash throws a Pokéball. "Go, Apprentichick!"

"Apprenti!"

Brenda also pulls out a Pokéball. "Chrysalux, center stage!" Chrysalux appears in front of here, and just sits there. "Alright Chrysalux, let's start this battle off with String Shot!" Chrysalux sits and does nothing. Brenda is confused. "Hey, what gives!? Why won't Chrysalux attack?"

Brock shouts, "Chrysalux is a cocoon Pokémon, in this state it can only use the moves Harden and Flash."

"What!? I can't use that in a Contest!"

Ash smiles. "Come on Apprentichick, let's take this chance to attack! Use Wing Attack!" Apprentichick dives at the cocoon Pokémon.

"Chrysalux, use your Harden!" Chrysalux flashes silver for a moment, and absorbs the hit.

"Keep up the Wing Attacks!" Apprentichick goes in for another dive.

"Flash, now!" A bright light flashes from the Pokémon, and Apprentichick veers off course, missing its mark. However, it shakes it off and goes in for another hit. "Use Harden again!" Chrysalux takes several hits in a row without budging. Brenda sighs. "Chrysalux is great and all, but if all it can do is absorb hits and lower accuracy, I'll never get anything done with it."

Brock suggests, "Maybe you should just use Kappaqua the entire time."

"Yeah, I guess, I just wanted to use all my Pokémon, not just one." Suddenly, Chrysalux begins to glow a harsh white light. Brenda gasps.

Ash exclaims, "It's evolving already!"

Brenda exclaims, "That's great!"

Chrysalux loses its shell shape and wings unfold. The light ceases and Chrysalux is replaced by a Glitterfly. It cries, "Glittererererfly!"

Brenda jumps for joy. "This is perfect!" She hugs Glitterfly. "You evolved just in time for the Contest!" Glitterfly looks happy.

Brock suggests, "Why don't you use your Pokédex to see what moves your Glitterfly can use now?"

Brenda does so. The Pokédex says, "Glitterfly can use the moves Flash, Solar Beam, Signal Beam, and Sparkling Flare."

Ash says, "That's wonderful. This reminds me of the first Pokémon I ever caught." Ash reminisces about his Caterpie. "I had barely caught it, and it evolved into a Metapod, and then a Butterfree…" Ash gets lost in memories.

Brenda looks back at Glitterfly. "Are you ready for our first Contest Glitterfly?"

It replies with an excited, "Glitterererfly!"

Who's that Pokémon!?

Hiding in people's shadows at night, this Pokémon absorbs their heat. The chill it causes makes the victims shake.

Ash and Brock are waiting in the backstage of the Contest Hall. Brenda steps out from a changing room. "Ta da!" She's wearing a long, red and white dress, reminiscent of her normal clothes. She's taken off her hat and instead wears a white ribbon. "So, how do I look?"

Brock says, "You look great Brenda."

Ash nods. "You'll fit just fine out there."

Brenda looks up at a TV screen. "Hey, look, it's starting!"

They all turn to the screen. Up on stage is a woman who looks reminiscent of Vivian, Lillian, and Marian, hosts of Contests in other regions. She's wearing a blue gown. She announces, "Welcome one and all to the Sol Town Pokémon Contest!" The crowd cheers. "I'm your host, Gillian Meridian! Who's ready for the show?" Everyone cheers. "Let's meet our judges! First, it's the Contest Director, and our Head Judge, Mr. Contesta!"

Mr. Contesta smiles. "I'm looking forward to seeing what all you coordinators have come up with!"

"Next, the President of the Pokémon Fan Club, Mr. Sukizo!"

"Sol Town is remarkable!"

"And finally, it's Nurse Joy!"

"I wish you all the best of luck."

Brenda asks, "Did they bring Nurse Joy all the way from Aster Town to judge this Contest?"

Ash laughs. "No, that's probably her sister or something. The entire family looks exactly same."

Brock comes in, "First of all, it's cousin, and she happens to looks far different from the Aster Town Nurse Joy…she's much prettier." Brock pulls out a picture showing an entire family of different Joys on it. "See, she's right there on the left."

Brenda laughs. "Right…"

Gillian continues, "Now, let's get his show on the road! During the first round, coordinators will work with their Pokémon to show off their beauty to the best of their abilities! Without further ado, here's our first contestant!"

Brock says, "We better get to our seats. Come on Ash."

As they're leaving, Ash calls, "Good luck Brenda!"

It's Gengar!

It's a little latter in the Contest. Gillian announces, "And our next coordinator is none other than Will!" Will steps onto the stage. The crowd cheers.

Backstage, Brenda thinks, That's the guy from before! I wonder how good he is…

Will throws a Pokéball into the air. "Grace the stage Cryogonal!" A flurry of snowflakes emerges from the Pokéball's seal, and Cryogonal appears from the blizzard.

Brenda pulls out her Pokédex. "Cryogonal, the Crystallizing Pokémon and a Ice-Type. Cryogonal constantly change the form of their body, depending on the surrounding temperature. If it gets to hot, it will vaporize, only to reform when the temperature lowers again. Cryogonal does not evolve."

Will commands, "Cryogonal, Icy Wind!" Cryogonal adds its Icy Wind attack to the seal's snowflakes. "Now, Rapid Spin!" The Pokémon begins to rotate rapidly, causing the snow to spin around it like a tornado.

Gillian exclaims, "Breathtaking, Cryogonal is creating a whirlwind blizzard! It's a sight that you'd have to see to believe!"

Will keeps it up. "Let's step this up with Light Screen!" A golden light surrounds the spinning Pokémon, which scatters and reflects through the ice whirlwind. The crowd is in awe.

Brock says to Ash, "This guy is no joke. He's good."

"Time for the grand finale! Cryogonal, Aurora Beam!" The Pokémon stops spinning and creates a beam like the Northern Lights. The whirlwind slows, and then scatters across the field, and each individual snowflake sparkles with an array of colors.

Gillian exclaims, "And now that the whirlwind has dissipated, the thousands of tiny snowflakes are each reflecting the combined light of the Light Screen and Aurora Beam! Brilliant!" Will bows. "Let's see what our judges have to say.

Mr. Contesta is first. "The combination of light and snow is an awe inspiring sight."

Mr. Sukizo. "Ice-Type Pokémon are remarkable!"

Finally, Nurse Joy. "It was the perfect combination of beauty and grace."

Will walks off the stage.

Backstage, Brenda clenches her hands. She thinks, Wow, he's really good. Am I really cut out for this?

Gillian announces, "And now let's give a round of applause to our next contestant, she's a self-proclaimed Princess of the Stars, it's Jessileia!"

Running out on stage is a woman in dress with a starscape printed on it. She has long red hair that is loosely curled up into a bun on either side of her head. She blows kisses to the audience, shouting, "Greetings to all my fans! It's your pleasure to see me!"

In the audience, James and Meowth are cheering with the crowd. Meowth says, "Great job with that costume James, I can barely tell myself who she is. She looks like she came right out of a movie."

James nods. "It may have cost me one of my rarest bottle caps, but it was worth it."

Back down at the stage, Jessileia, apparently Jessie, has stopped blowing kisses. She runs up to her position and throws a Pokéball. Many large musical notes of different colors emerge and swirl around each other until they hit the roof. Upon impact, they separate, revealing Wobbuffet, hanging in the roof from a hook. The music notes continue to fly around the room, creating a tune as they move. Jessie snaps her fingers. "Lights please." The lights shut off. "Wobbuffet, Mirror Coat!" Wobbuffet begins to glow. Jessie pulls out a mechanical device and switches it on, and places it on the floor. It's some sort of spotlight that shines up at Wobbuffet. Upon hitting the Mirror Coat, the light scatters across the stage, similar to a disco ball. Wobbuffet even starts to spin, increasing the effect.

Gillian states, "What an odd technique! What is Jessileia up to?"

Jessie runs into the center of the stage, where the music notes are still floating around, creating music. Jessie twirls around and dances in the brilliant light reflected from Wobbuffet. Jessie looks up. "Alright Wobbuffet, come on down and use Counter!" Wobbuffet drops and glows a different colored light, hits the ground and bounces high because of the Counter attack. Jessie does one last twirl, Wobbuffet lands, and they both strike a pose.

The crowd cheers. Gillian announces, "It seems the audience loved it, but let's see what our judges say!"

Mr. Contesta is first. "A unique blend of both the Pokémon's and the coordinator's talents."

Then Mr. Sukizo. "That dance was remarkable!"

Finally Nurse Joy. "Who could have ever thought of turning a Pokémon into a disco ball?"

James and Meowth are clapping and cheering. James says, "Our girl hasn't lost her touch!"

Meowth responds, "Not a bit. And there we were, prepared for trouble."

"I made it double."

"She protected herself from devastation."

"And united fans into her nation."

"She showed the beauty of truth and love."

"She's extending her reach to the stars above."

"That's Jessie!"

"And I'm a proud James."

"She's blasting off at the speed of light."

"Those other coordinators should prepare to fight."

"Meowth, that's right!"

It's now a little later in the First Round. Gillian announces, "And now it's time for our final performance! She's a new coordinator from Launch Town! It's Brenda!"

Brenda runs onto her platform. She waves to everyone. She tosses a Pokéball. "Kappaqua, center stage!" Out of the Pokéball comes a small wave of water. As it travels forward, it grows larger. Kappaqua appears on top of it, surfing. "Jump up and use Aqua Bomb!" Kappaqua leaps up and fires an Aqua Bomb straight down. It hits the wave and explodes, sending water droplets flying in all directions. "Now catch the water with Confusion!" Upon landing, using its psychic powers, Kappaqua stops the drops in midair.

"Look at the rarely seen beauty of water suspended in midair!"

Brock comments, "So far, so good."

Ash says, "Don't worry about her, I'm sure she'll do fine."

Brenda shouts, "Now, send it all upwards!"

"Kappa!" All of the water goes straight up into the air and coalesces into a large orb of water.

"Let's finish this up! Aqua Bomb, followed by a Water Gun!" Kappaqua fires another Aqua Bomb straight up. After a few moments, it aims a Water Gun, hitting the Aqua Bomb and speeding it up. The combined attack hits the orb of water and explodes, splashing a fine mist of water across the audience and creating a rainbow.

Gillian exclaims, "Nothing beats the feeling of a cool mist on a hot summer day!"

Mr. Contesta states, "I never would have guessed this was your first Pokémon Contest."

Mr. Sukizo simply says, "That was remarkable!"

Nurse Joy explains, "A performance that showcased the simplicity and beauty of a Water-Type Pokémon."

Brenda looks overjoyed. She takes a bow.

Backstage, Will is intently watching. He thinks, There's no way that this is her first Contest. It took me many tries until I was that good! She's one to look out for.

Brenda is back backstage. She looks nervous. Gillian's voice comes over the TV, "Alright folks, after a few hard decisions from our expert panel of judges, we've narrowed down the competition to the eight top performances! Here they are!" Brenda, Will, and Jessie all look to the screen intensely. In the audience, Ash and Brock lean forward for a better view.

With the first round of her first Contest behind her, Brenda now waits for her results. Will she move on to the Second Round? Will she win her first ribbon? There's only one way to find out. Stay tuned!

To Be Continued…