Hey, if you want, look back at the chapter, "Rival Survival," for something I added to the author's note at the end. I figured that from here on out, I'd tell where the Gym Leader names come from. No need to toy with you guys or anything.

As we catch up with our heroes, we find that they've finally made their way to Violetrose Town, which just so happens to be the site of Serena's first ever Pokémon Pageant!

Serena led the way as she, Ash, Vernon, Pikachu, and RotomDex entered Violetrose Town for the first time. It seemed to be a relatively quiet that had several rose and violet bushes surrounding the town border, and a large garden in the middle, circular in shape, filled with flowers, and with a fountain of a Roselia with water coming out of its flower hands.

"Alright! We made it to Violetrose Town!" said Serena. "I can't wait to get started around here."

"So, RotomDex," said Ash, turning to his personal assistant, "you know where the Pageant Hall is?"

"Let me see, yes, I've located it!" said RotomDex, scrolling through its map. "Should on the far end of the town."

"Hey, guys look!" said Vernon, pointing. "I think we got company."

Everyone looked over to see a familiar face, with a Cyndaquil riding on his shoulder, long, black hair, and orange jacket, and a black beanie.

"Hey! Slater!" Ash decided to call out. "Over here!"

Slater noticed the group and slowly walked over. "Oh, hey, guys, I was wondering if you'd shown up yet."

"What are you doing here?" asked Serena.

"Hmph, what else? I'm looking for a certain trio. A talking Meowth, Mareanie head, and a lady with a red Ekans clamping down on her scalp."

"Wait, you mean Team Rocket's here?" said Ash.

"I'm afraid so," said Slater. "Of course, I'm not exactly worried, those three are a joke. But they may hold some useful information I can get out of them."

"Hey, if you want to throw those three in the big house, we're not opposed," said Serena. "Be nice to go one day without being bothered by them."

"No worries, my friend and I will have them out of your hair in no time," said Slater.

"Friend?" said Vernon.

At that moment, Officer Jenny walked up to the group, followed by a Pokémon that was shaggy with gray fur, white face, wolf-like appearance, and icicles coming out of its back. "I'm sorry, Mr. Slater, it looks like Wolfang here has lost there scent," she said.

"Fang," the Pokémon said apologetically.

"Don't worry, they couldn't have gotten far," said Slater.

"Hey, Officer Jenny!" said Ash. "You and Slater and friends?"

"Eh, not really," said Jenny. "If I'm being perfectly honest, I'd rather not have to take orders from a kid. But let's just say my bosses are making me help him out. We got a common enemy in Team Rocket, and my bosses want me to see this thing all the way through."

"Wolf, Wolfang," Officer Jenny's Pokémon nodded.

RotomDex quickly scanned it and said, "Wolfang, the Sheer Cold Pokémon. An Ice and Dark Type. Wolfangs form groups of twelve in wild tundras and snowy forests they live in. The one with the biggest icicles sticking out of its back is usually made the leader of the pack. Evolves from Pupack at level 29."

"So you're telling me that Team Rocket is here now?" said Ash. "Great, they'll never leave us alone."

"Eh, I wouldn't worry about that," said Slater. "Frankly, Jenny and I are just background characters today, if you catch my drift. Don't worry about us, okay? You just do what you were going to do."

"Well, okay," said Serena. "We're actually on our way to the Pageant Hall. I'm going to participate in my first ever Pokémon Pageant."

Slater actually cringed at that. "Oh, yeah, that's... nice. Well, good luck with that."

As he, Jenny, and Wolfang walked away, Serena called after him. "Hey, you can come too if you want!"

"Not a chance!" said Slater.

Serena, Ash, and Vernon looked at each other before shrugging and walking off towards the Pageant Hall. Unbeknownst to them, James and Meowth were clinging to the top a tree near the entrance to the town.

"I cannot believe that the psycho twerp is here!" said James, practically shaking.

"I was hoping we left him behind before," said Meowth. "But now that's he's here, he won't rest till he has us locked up!"

"Let's just run for it," said James.

"I think not!" came Jessie's voice. The two looked over to see her decked out in her Jocelyn disguise, with Wobbuffet, Napiat, and Solarfly by her side. "Did you not hear? There is a Pokémon Pageant about to start here today! And Madame Jocelyn shall not miss a performance!"

"Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet agreed.

"But the psycho twerp!" said Meowth. "What are we supposed to do about him?"

"Just put on some disguises, like always," said Jessie. "We'll be incognito as long as we're here."

"Ugh, the things we do for you," said James.

At the Pageant hall, Serena was able to get her name on the list this time. "Alright! I wonder if anyone else is going up?"

"Out of the way, peasant," said came forth Jessie's voice, as she suddenly shoved Serena out of the way. "Now that Madame Jocelyn is here, the show can really begin."

"Madame Jocelyn?" said Serena. Suddenly she walked right back in front of Jessie. "I remember you! You're the rude lady from the Pageant in Corwald City!"

"You mean the victor of the Pageant in Corwald City!" said Jessie. "And the soon-to-be victor of this one as well."

"Not a chance," said Serena. "I'm in this one, so I've got it on lockdown!"

"Actually, you both are gonna lose," came a new voice. Serena and Jessie turned to see a short girl with purple hair facing away from them, signing her name on the list. She turned to face the other two girls, and her face looked pale, and here were a strange shade of violet. "Hello, name's Violet. The future pageant queen."

Both Serena and Jessie would be lying if they said this girl didn't give them the creeps. She looked like some kind of ghost, and her voice sounded haunted. "Erm, pardon me, but aren't you a little too, what's the word, creepy to compete in an event like this?" said Jessie.

"I prefer to think of myself as creepy cute," said Violet. "And I can dazzle these people. Just you wait and see."

From behind Violet's legs, there emerged a Krabby. Except... it wasn't like any Krabby Serena or Jessie had seen before. It's entire body was clear and milky white, and it had some rainbow-colored lights flickering under its shell, visible through the clear surface of that shell.

"Is that... a Krabby?" said Ash.

RotomDex quickly came forth and scanned it. "Krabby. Ralian Form. The Ghost Crab Pokémon. A Ghost and Water Type. This form of Krabby is believed to be an ancient species from prehistoric Ralia that was only reawakened by oceanic seismic activity. Using the glowing lights from within its body it can hypnotize its prey and any potential enemies. Evolves into Ralian Kingler at level 28 at night."

"Whoa, there are regional variants of Pokémon in Ralia?" said Ash.

"Huh? What's a regional variant?" said Serena.

"Oh, it's when a Pokémon takes on a different form and typing in another region," said RotomDex. "In Ralia, all Krabbys look like that instead of the kind of Krabbys that live in, say, Kanto."

"Well, Krabby and I need to get to work on our routine," said Violet, walking off with Krabby right behind her. "Good luck, you two."

"Ugh," said Jessie. "Well, on the bright side, a creepy little girl like that has no chance of defeating Madame Jocelyn in a pageant!" She quickly scribbled her own name on the list and walked off.

Serena couldn't help but look on after Violet. She wouldn't lie, it felt weird for a girl like her to come to a place like this. Just what would she even do?

"Welcome one and all to the Violetrose Town Pokémon Pageant!" said Fenwick, appearing on the stage and quickly making his presence known with flashy moves. I am your host, the one and only Fenwick!"

Sitting in the audience with Ash, Pikachu, and RotomDex, Vernon said, "I don't what it is, but I like this guy's style."

"I am so pleased to have you all here," said Fenwick, "and I'm sure it's an even bigger pleasure for all the lovely ladies who have joined us today!" The stage lit up to reveal the participants of the pageant, including Serena, Violet, and "Madame Jocelyn".

As the spotlight reached her, Jessie made so many ridiculous poses, milking her appearance on stage for everything that it was worth. "Yes, my disciples, your precious Madame Jocelyn has returned!"

From the seats, Meowth and James were both rolling their eyes. "She's enjoying herself way too much," said James.

The spotlight reached Serena, who had already put together an impressive red and black dress with red roses at the shoulders. She smiled, winked, and waved to the audience.

Finally, the spotlight reached Violet, but she had something else in mind. She was descending down to the stage by some wires, and once her feet touched the floor, she stood silent for a moment with her head looking down, until suddenly, she looked up, an aura of purple light spewing from behind her.

"Hmm, it seems Miss Violet has a different kind of lovely in mind for all of us!" said Fenwick. "Anyway, now it is time to get ready for the first round!"

Serena couldn't help but notice that the audience seemed to all look over at Violet, as if intrigued by her weird entrance. Just what about this girl was really "lovely"?

"Our first round will be 'Balancing Act'!" Our contestants will have two of their Pokémon balancing an appropriately sized stack of plates across the stage. The first four pairs of Pokémon to complete this will move on to the next round. The Pokémon's trainers may stay close to them to coach them, but they will be disqualified if they touch the plates themselves. Also, if their Pokémon drops their stack, or if they attempt to use a move to help them carry the stack, they will be disqualified."

All seven of the Pageants had let out two Pokémon who were now carrying some plates on their heads. Serena stood behind Braixen as the fox Pokémon struggled to hold the stack on its head, while Lunoth was flying at the other end of stage with a stack on its own head. Jessie had out Napiat and Solarfly, while Violet was using her Krabby and a Hattrem.

"On your marks, get set, GO!" called out Fenwick.

Braixen carefully made its way forward, as this Slugma-paced race got underway. It put one paw down in front of the other as Serena anxiously watched behind it. "It's okay, Braixen, just one foot in front of the other, slow and steady wins the race."

However, as Serena looked over, she saw that Violet's Krabby, due to walking sideways was making quick time, and was already halfway across the stage. Violet said, "Attagirl, Krabby. just imagine, you're scurrying across a white sandy beach, a somber voice beckoning you home."

Serena was looking at her in confusion, before quickly looking back at Braixen to make sure it was still doing okay. This Violet girl was so weird and unsettling, Serena just couldn't understand what to make of her. Everything about the way she commanded her Pokémon and showcased herself, it felt like the exact opposite of anything Serena would do. Sure enough, Krabby was the first to make it to the other side of the stage, and Violet quickly got behind Hattrem as it began making its own way across the stage.

Serena growled under her breath, but focused on Braixen. That's when Braixen felt the stack of plates on its head begin to lean towards the right. It tried raising a paw to stop it from falling over. Serena quickly took notice of this called out, "No, move towards the left, Braixen! Keep in alignment with the stack! That'll keep it from tipping."

Braixen quickly did as Serena said, and the plates were rebalanced. Carefully, Serena and Braixen moved closer to the other end of the stage, until finally, they were the second to make it.

"Okay, you're up, Lunoth," said Serena. Carefully, she picked the plates up off of Braixen's head and carefully put them on Lunoth's. However, at that moment she noticed that Violet and Hattrem had already made it back to the other end of the stage.

"And just like that, Miss Violet has secured herself a spot in the next round," said Fenwick.

"Grr..." Serena quietly growled to herself. "Okay, Lunot, let's go!"

Lunoth carefully flew forward in a straight line. It focused on only what was in front of it. However, flying and carrying plates on your head at the same time was kind of hard.

"You can do it, Lunoth! Slow and steady wins the race."

As the race continued, two other contestants had already finished. Now, Serena was neck and neck with Jessie.

"Don't let the twerpette take what's rightfully ours, Solarfly," said Jessie. "You know what to do."

Solarfly quietly used Psychic to push on the bottom plate of the stack on Lunoth's head. It was careful not let anyone see this, but now, Lunoth was struggling to keep the stack held up.

In the audience, Ash, Vernon, and RotomDex were watching the events onstage unfold intensely. "C'mon, you guys can do this!" said Ash. RotomDex had decided to film the whole thing, so it was in video camera mode.

However, as things continued, four new faces suddenly slipped inside the hall. Slater, Cyndaquil, Officer Jenny, and Wolfang. "I'm sorry, Mr. Slater," said Jenny. "But I don't think these goons are anywhere around here."

"But that's immpossible!" Slater whispered. "We've searched everywhere else! They must be in here somewhere. Ugh, I cannot believe I have to endure something as girly as a Pokémon Pageant-"

Slater suddenly trailed off as he noticed who was on stage. The red-haired lady, no mistake, that was Jessie of Team Rocket.

"There! That's the lady! She's up on stage!" said Slater, pointing.

"Huh? Her?" said Jenny. "No, that can't be her. The hairstyle's all wrong."

"What! You cannot be serious!" yelled Slater. "There is such a thing as changing your hairdo, Officer!" He noticed Ash and Vernon sitting nearby, and quickly went over to them.

"Psst! Guys!"

Ash and Vernon turned around to see Slater. "Slater? What are you doing in here?"

"I came for the red-haired lady on stage!" said Slater. "Look, you guys can see it's Jessie of Team Rocket, right?"

"Huh?" said Vernon, looking back at the stage. "I don't see her anywhere."

"What!?" screeched Slater. "How do you not recognize her!?" He suddenly spied James and Meowth a few feet away. "Gak! Look! There's James and Meowth too! They're sitting right over there!"

Ash, Vernon, and Jenny looked over to where James and Meowth were sitting but Ash simply said, "Nah, I've never seen them before."

"Are you kidding me!" hissed Slater. "I don't know if you noticed but one of those guys is literally a Pokémon! Have we not noticed the whiskers? Or the coin on his forehead! Or the white fur on his body!"

"Still looks like a normal guy to me," said Jenny.

Slater's eye was now twitching, and with no warning, he screeched at the top of his lungs and ran to the nearest wall, banging his head hard enough against it to cause the entire hall to shake.

Soon enough, this got people's attention, and James and Meowth in particular were horrified to see Slater. "Gak! It's the psycho twerp! Let's cheese it!" said Meowth. Quietly, he and James slipped into the crowd and scurried away.

The contestants on stage were shocked to see this, but Jessie quietly told Solarfly, "Worry about the psycho twerp later. For now, we must finish this!"

A security guard walked up to Slater and told him, "Sir, please, I'm gonna need you to calm down."

Slater turned to face him before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes, you're right. I'm sorry. Just had to... let that out."

He turned to face the stage again, and once it was clear to the contestants that he was calm, they quietly returned to the race. Serena and Lunoth were drawing closer, about to catch up to Jessie, but then...

"Now, Solarfly!" said Jessie. Solarfly's eyes glowed blue for a second before Lunoth's stack of plates suddenly fell over. Despite Lunoth's panicked attempt to catch them, they all fell on the floor.

"Ooh! Dear me!" said Fenwick. "It looks like that's the end of the line for Miss Serena."

"What?!" gasped Serena. "No!"

"Lu-Lunoth?" said Lunoth, before it looked like it was going to shed some tears.

Serena quickly took notice of this and embraced her Pokémon. "No, no, don't cry, Lunoth. Forget the Pageant. I just can't stand to see you cry."

Slater had seen the whole thing. But above all, he had seen Solarfly's eyes glow, and that it seemed to be looking towards Lunoth when it happened. The truth clicked in his head. He looked over at the heartbroken Serena and Lunoth, and then at Jessie and Solarfly having made it to the finish, becoming the final fourth contestant for the next round. Slowly, he clenched his fists as he boiled with rage at Jessie inside. You can attack people, you can try to steal their Pokémon, but if you chumps are petty enough to do that to a sweet girl like Serena, then I will not stand for it! Looking over at RotomDex, who was still filming, he had an idea.

Who's that Pokémon?

It uses an up-tempo song and dance to drive away the bird Pokémon that feed on its flower seeds.

"Well, folks, that's all for the race," said Fenwick. "I'm afraid we must say a somber farewell to the contestants that failed our race here today."

The other three losing contestants hung their heads and walked away with dignity, but Serena and Lunoth walked away more slowly with tears welling up in their eyes.

"That's right, peasants!" said Jessie, posing beside the winners. "Was there any doubt that Madame Jocelyn would cease the day?"

"HOLD IT!" came a certain voice. Everyone in the hall gasped to see Slater suddenly charge on stage, RotomDex flying behind him. "You guys cannot disqualify Serena! 'Madame Jocelyn' over there cheated!" Slater said, air-quoting the words "Madame Jocelyn".

"Hmm? What is the meaning of this?" said Fenwick.

"It's true! I have video proof!" said RotomDex. "Please let me show it, okay?"

Fenwick stared at them in confusion, but sighed, rubbed his forehead and said, "Alright, let me see."

RotomDex quickly started the video he recorded, and as Fenwick watched closely, his eyes grew wide. "What!? Quick, show it on the big screen for us!"

RotomDex nodded and flew over to the big screen on top of the stage, as Jessie stood by nervous. RotomDex placed a hand on the screen, causing it show the video it recorded. It then zoomed in on Solarfly, showing its eyes glowing blue, causing the entire audience to gasp.

"See? Solarfly used Psychic to push the plates on Lunoth's head off! I'm a professional on Pokémon moves, so you can believe me!"

"Mr. Fenwick, I urge you to throw that lousy woman out of here immediately!" said Slater. All eyes suddenly went to Jessie and Solarfly, who both anime-sweatdropped.

"Come now, that footage was clearly forged, now wasn't it?" said Jessie.

"The race only just finished," said Fenwick. "These two would have had no time to manipulate the footage!"

Serena and Lunoth, off to the side gasped, before looking at Jessie with rage.

"Disqualified!" said Fenwick, pointing at Jessie.

"Grr..." Jessie seethed, looking at Slater. "You think you're such hot stuff! Picking on a sweet girl like me?"

"That disguise may fool everyone else in here," said Slater, inching closer, "but it doesn't fool me... Jessie."

Jessie's eyes grew wide before she clenched her fists. "Fine! Let the twerpette come back! See if I care!" She stormed off stage, Solarfly right behind her.

Fenwick then turned to Serena. "Miss Serena, since dropping the plates was not you or Lunoth's fault, and since you were the next person after Jocelyn, please, I would like to have you continue on to the next round."

Serena stood there shocked, before getting a huge beam on her face and saying, "Thank you all so much!" She and Lunoth joyfully went over to the other winners.

"Well, there you have it, ladies and gentlemen!" said Fenwick. "Miss Serena is still in the game! Let's please give our winners a round of applause."

The entire hall erupted in claps, and Serena jumped when Violet suddenly appeared beside her and said, "Congrats. I certainly didn't wanna see you leave just yet."

After a short intermission, Serena met with Ash, Vernon, Pikachu, and RotomDex in the main hall. "Whew, that was close," said Serena.

"Yeah, but you hung in there," said Vernon.

"Well, that Madame Jocelyn was the one that actually hurt you guys in there," said Ash, "but no worries! Now that she's gone there's nothing stopping you now!"

"Aw, thanks," said Serena, before turning to RotomDex. "I have to tell you thanks for showing that video, RotomDex."

"You should be thanking Slater," said RotomDex. "He's the one who found the incriminating evidence against Jocelyn and showed it to us."

Suddenly, Jessie, still dressed as Madame Jocelyn, angrily marched through the hall in huff, as she spotted James and Meowth near the door.

"So, it didn't go so well, I presume?" said James.

"Oh, can it!" said Jessie. "Let's just get out of here."

"Not so fast!" called out a certain voice. The Team Rocket trio turned in horror to spy Slater, with a Volcarona flying behind him. "Blow their disguises off, Volcarona, now!"

Volcarona flapped its wings to use Gust, and soon enough, Team Rocket's disguises were blown off, leaving them in their Team Rocket uniforms.

"What?" said Ash, looking at the scene. "T-Team Rocket? So that was you!?"

Serena stared in shock, before she focused on Jessie. "Y-you? What were you doing in there!? You trying to ruin things for me? You trying to steal the medal from me just to spite me!? Isn't it enough that you're always trying to steal our Pokémon?!"

Serena suddenly paused as she considered something else. Now that she thought about it, 'Madame Jocelyn' looked familiar...

"And you were against me in Kalos too, weren't you? In all those showcases! Yeah, I remember now!"

Ash paused too, as Serena last comment made something click in his head. Madame Jocelyn looked similar to red-haired ladies in some Contests that he watched in Hoenn and Sinnoh...

"Well, well, well," said Jessie. "Look who finally got a clue. I've been doing this long before I knew you, twerpette. Whether it was Hoenn, Sinnoh, Kalos, or Ralia, a Contest, Showcase, or a Pageant, there wasn't a twerp in the world who could put two and two together." She eyed Ash on that last statement, which made him growl.

"Enough!" came another voice. Everyone turned to see Officer Jenny and Wolfang. "Looks like we found our perps! I'm taking you downtown!"

Team Rocket gasped. "Uh, Choaking, quick, use Smog!" said James, throwing his PokéBall. Choaking appeared and quickly used Smog to blind everyone in the room, and once it cleared, Team Rocket was gone.

"Grr, quick, Wolfang, after them!" called Jenny, as she, Wolfang, Slater, and Volcarona ran out the door.

"Well, that was... unexpected," said Vernon. "Well, while they chase those three chumps, Serena, shouldn't you be getting ready for the Performance Round?"

"Oh, right," Serena nodded. Letting Braixen and Lunoth out of their PokéBalls, she said, "C'mon, guys, let's see if we can squeeze in some last minute practice."

Serena was outside the hall, and Braixen was twirling its stick to spread an Ember, which Lunoth then spread around with Silver Wind. Lastly, Lunoth flew up above to launch three different Dark Pulse attacks at the ground surrounding Braixen.

"Okay, I think we got it," said Serena.

"Sure, if that's whatcha wanna call it," came a sudden voice. Serena jumped and saw Violet and Krabby standing right behind her. "If you ask me, that performance is too cute."

"So?" said Serena. "'Cute' is just what I do. It's what we're going at."

"I'm just sayin' no one likes a one-trick Ponyta," said Violet. "If you wanna rely solely on 'cute', then find, knock yourself out. But if you want my opinion, 'cute' isn't right for a Lunoth."

Serena turned to Lunoth before looking back at Violet and saying, "What do you mean?"

"I mean that Lunoth's just not a 'cute' kind of Pokémon. I mean, I don't mean that it isn't actually cute, it's just not the kind of 'cute' that you're going for here. You gotta learn that there's many different types of 'cute'. If you wanna be Pageant Queen, you gotta show that there's nothing you can't do."

Violet and Krabby turned to leave, and Serena was left to think about what she said.

Inside the stage hall, Fenwick walked back out onstage. "And now, ladies and gentlemen, the moment you've all been waiting for, the Performance round. First up, Miss Violet!"

The stage went dark, until a single spotlight shown on Violet, who had her head down. Slowly, she looked up, but with her eyes closed. Then, multi-colored light appeared in the darkness, flashing until we could clearly see Krabby. Then, Krabby jumped onto Violet's head, who picked Krabby up in her arms to lift it up higher. That's when her Hattrem used a harmless version of Dazzing Gleam to display light into Krabby's transparent body. The result was the lights in Krabby's body being shined around the hall like a disco ball, with Violet twirling it around for good measure.

Then, as Violet set Krabby back down, Hattrem walked up to its trainer, before grabbing her in its long braids, tossing her in the air with Brutal Swing just as so many lights came on on stage. Violet was then pushed higher in the air as she was coming back down with her Krabby's Bubblebeam, before slowly coming back down to earth via Hattrem's Psychic. As she landed, Violet finally opened her eyes, as the hall erupted in applause.

"Man, Violet's got an unorthodox way of performing, doesn't she?" said Vernon.

"She sure does," said Ash. "I wonder what Serena's gonna try to do to top that."

Serena was actually watching the performance from the dressing room on a TV. Man, I don't know how, but she seems to have the whole hall on her side with that one. She thought back to what Violet was telling her earlier. What if my routine doesn't work? What if it falls flat after a showing like that?

She turned to face Braixen and Lunoth, who were looking at the TV screen in shock. Serena began thinking hard about her routine, but looking at her Pokémon knew only one thing for certain. If nothing else, I'll have to become one with my Pokémon, trust them, and work in perfect sync with them!

"And now, to finish the performance round, please welcome, Miss Serena!" announced Fenwick.

Serena anxiously walked out on stage, Braixen and Lunoth right behind her. They all tried hiding their nervousness as they stood up front. Serena closed her eyes, took a deep breath before opening them back up with determination.

Ash couldn't help but sense her uneasiness from the audience. Come on, Serena, I believe in you, okay? Don't hold back anything.

The act started with Lunoth shooting Silver Wind upwards, and Braixen leapt up to slice through them with Scratch, causing them to dissipate into white dust. After that, Braixen began spreading its Ember so Lunoth could spread across the stage with Silver Wind. Unfortunately, the audience didn't seem too invested in Serena's act so far.

Serena got anxious again, but remained determined nonetheless. Next up was the Dark Pulse. As Lunoth flew upwards, Serena looked at it intently as it rained down its Dark Pulse attacks. However, Serena noticed something else. Lunoth's wings seemed to have some white, powdery stuff flaking off of it. As Serena saw this, she recognized this as the move Powder.

"Lunoth," she whispered to her Pokémon. "That Powder from your wings, spread it across the stage." Lunoth looked confused, but quickly did as it was told.

"Now, Braixen," Serena turned towards the fox Pokémon, use Ember on it before it hits the ground!" Braixen nodded and shot off some embers towards the powder, and it caused the powder to burst in a display that looked like fireworks.

"Whoa!" said a few audience members, now a little more impressed. Serena smiled as she had another idea. "Braixen, fire three Flamethrowers up in the air. Lunoth, hit them with another Silver Wind."

Braixen shot three streams of flame upwards as Lunoth shot three Silver Wind attacks at them, exploding on impact, causing a rain of orange and white dust to sprinkle across the crowd, who were now beaming at the performance.

Serena smiled as she had an idea for a huge finale. "Braixen, shoot a Fire Blast! Lunoth, just fly in front of it with your wings pulled together."

Braixen launched a Fire Blast attack upwards as Lunoth flew in front of it. The result was Lunoth's wings casting a shadow from the light of the flames, that looked like a full moon being cast over the audience as the Fire Blast exploded.

At this, the audience all stood up and erupted in applause as Fenwick walked onto the stage. "Impressive! Miss Serena has toyed with our expectations, and every move she used has given us something unexpected and dazzling to look forward to!"

"Now then, please pull up your pads and vote for the contestant who you believe gave the best performance." said Fenwick. Everyone in the audience began tapping on the pads in from of them, until eventually, the votes were collected and displayed as bars on the big screen up top. Violet was the first place winner, but just behind her was Serena.

"Alright! Serena made it to the Battle Round!" said Ash.

"Then this Pageant is as good as hers," said Vernon.

"And with that, my friends, Miss Violet and Miss Serena shall be facing each other in the Battle Round!" called out Fenwick.

Serena, onstage, looked over to spy Violet, who looked back at her with a half-smile, oozing confidence.

It's Maractus!

Finally, it was time for the Battle Round. Serena and Violet stood on opposite sides of the stage, as the spotlights rained down.

"So the rules of the battle round are simple," Fenwick explained. "Both combatants will be given point meters, which will decrease whenever their Pokémon takes damage, or when their opponent has shown a more pleasant display. The first to make a K.O., or possess more points when time runs out, will be the winner. Miss Violet won our coin toss backstage, so she may choose a Pokémon first."

"Okay, Krabby, it's all you!" Violet declared, pointing out her finger. Krabby then scurried forward onto the stage.

"Krabby, huh?" said Serena. "Then I'll choose Lunoth!" She threw her PokéBall and sent out Lunoth.

"Since Lunoth is a Dark Type, it should have an advantage over a Ghost Type like Krabby," said RotomDex from the audience.

"You know, I've never seen Serena do a Battle Round before," said Ash.

"Well, she always watches you battle," said Vernon. "She must have picked up something."

"Alright, begin!" called Fenwick.

"Krabby, use Shadow Ball!" called Violet. Krabby manifested a purple ball of energy before launching at Lunoth.

"Use Protect!" said Serena. Lunoth covered itself in a barrier, causing the Shadow Ball to be nullified. As such, Violet lost some points.

"Okay, now use Dark Pulse!" Lunoth emitted a Dark Pulse attack at Krabby.

But then, Violet called for an Acid Armor, and Krabby turned its body into gelatinous liquid, absorbing the Dark Pulse and spraying it back out in a fantastic fashion. As such, Serena lost more points than Violet did.

Serena growled before calling for a Silver Wind attack. Lunoth launched some silver crescents at Krabby, but Violet asked it to use Vice Grip. Krabby grabbed the crescents with its claws, squeezing them until they burst in white dust. Serena lost even more points.

"Not good," said Vernon. "All the attacks in the world won't matter if Serena can't make one hit."

"C'mon, Serena," Ash muttered to himself. "You know what to do."

"Serena, Serena," said Violet. "Do you still not get it?"

"Hmm?" said Serena.

"You just too straightforward. You never think outside the box. Krabby, use Hypnosis!"

The lights from within Krabby's body lit up and flashed, and Lunoth felt a trance overtake it.

"No, Lunoth, focus!" Serena cried. "Use Dark Pulse, now!"

Lunoth blinked, but then it shot another Dark Pulse, and since Krabby was already doing another move, the supereffective attack hit, and took a bunch of points from Violet.

"We're not done yet, princess!" said Violet. "Bubblebeam!"

Krabby shot a torrent of bubbles from its mouth, but with Serena's command, Lunoth soared above the stage, elegantly dodging each and every one. Violet's points dropped even further.

"Jump and use Vice Grip!" Krabby leaped into the air, grabbed Lunoth with its claws and brought it back to the ground, making Serena lose even more points. Serena grimaces, and looking at the timer, she saw that the round was almost over.

Suddenly, she saw Ash in the audience, who was looking at her with encouraging determination. She smiled slightly at seeing that, since it was the same way she always looked at him during one of his battles. "Don't give up until it's over," is what he was thinking.

With new determination, she commanded, "Fly over Krabby right now, Lunoth!"

Lunoth flew above Krabby, and Violet yelled, "Bubblebeam!"

"Protect!" Serena said, and Lunoth shielded itself just as Bubblebeam made contact. The attack pushed Lunoth upwards, the bubbles spreading over the stage, costing Violet even more points.

"Use Hypnosis!" said Violet. The lights within Krabby's body flashed again, but as Serena looked at Lunoth above the stage, she noticed how shiny its wings were, even reflecting the Krabby's lights...

Wait, that's it! "Lunoth, make a full moon of your wings! Reflect the light back!" Lunoth brought its wings together, now resembling a full moon, and Krabby saw the lights from within its body reflected back at it. Now, it was feeling groggy, as if it was putting itself in a trance.

"Now, use Dark Pulse!" Lunoth bombarded Krabby with another supereffective hit, costing Violet even more points.

Krabby was able to stand up after that, but by then, the buzzer had sounded.

"And that's that, folks!" Fenwick said. "By a huge lead, our winner is... Miss Serena!"

"We did it, Lunoth!" Serena said as her Pokémon came over to celebrate with her.

"And just like that, our Pageant comes to a close!" said Fenwick, standing with Serena at the front of the stage. "Miss Serena, for your victory here today, we award you with your first of three medals, a bronze medal!"

Serena gratefully took the medal that Fenwick gave her. "Thank you so much, Mr. Fenwick." She quickly struck a pose for the audience as she held the medal high. "Alright! The first medal is mine!"

"Way to go, Serena!" said Ash, standing to clap.

"Was there ever a doubt?" said Vernon, also standing to clap.

"An impressive showing for sure!" said RotomDex.

"That's our show, ladies and gentlemen," said Fenwick, "so please, let's have one more big round of applause for all our participants here today!" And the hall erupted into applause once more.

"Congrats, Serena!" said Ash, as the group was outside the Pageant Hall. "Not a bad start, I'd say."

"Thanks, guys," said Serena. "That was a rush to be on stage again. It feels like forever since I've done this."

"Congrats, princess," came a sudden voice that made Serena jump. Turning around, who else would it be but Violet.

"Ugh, I wish you'd stop doing that," said Serena.

"So you won your first medal. I'm almost impressed," said Violet. "Almost. I hope you keep going from here. There's still a lot you need to learn. A lot I need to teach you."

"What are you talking about?" said Serena.

"I know you're dedicated to this whole 'princess' thing," said Violet, "but being on stage like that, showing off just what kind of Pokémon you have, it all has deeper meaning than just looking pretty. That's why I choose to be 'creepy cute'."

Serena looked confused until Violet began walking away, her Krabby right behind her. "Until next time, princess, just promise me that try to see that beauty is more than skin deep."

Serena looked on as Violet left. She just could wrap her head around this girl. It's like all she wanted was to troll Serena, and be the opposite of everything Serena knew.

Anyway, that's when the group spied Slater and Officer Jenny returning. "Well, fellas, bad news, those clowns got away again," said Slater.

"Oh, well, that's okay," said Vernon. "I'm sure you'll get 'em next time."

"I promise, Mr. Slater," said Jenny, "I'm putting out a call to every last bit of law enforcement out in this region. If we ever see those three again, they're going away for a long time."

"Hmm, I appreciate that thank you," said Slater as Jenny and Wolfang walked away.

"Hey, Slater?" Serena's voice got Slater's attention. He turned to face her only to get wrapped up in a hug. "I never got the chance to thank you for saving me back there. So thanks. I'd have been toast if it wasn't for you."

Slater felt really awkward having someone hug him, but he reluctantly patting Serena on the back and said, "No worries. Team Rocket does a lot of dispicable things, but crushing a young girl's dreams will not be one of them. Now, erm, please get off of me."

Serena let go of Slater, as he said, "So, um, let me get this straight, those three clowns have been disguising themselves like that for how long now, and you've never seen through it?"

"Well, they were good disguises," Ash said, nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh, really? Even if their ridiculous hair didn't give it away, weren't you suspicious that they used the exact same Pokémon as Jessie and James!? Huh? Did we ever take notice of that?!"

"It sounds a lot worse when you say it out loud..." Serena said sheepishly.

"No buts! Make a note of this! They have loud red hair, blue hair, or fur and coin on their forehead, and have a Napiat, Choaking, Solarfly, Possneak, Wobbuffet, or Mime Jr., then please be a little suspicious of them, alright!?" said Slater.

"Okay, okay, we promise!" said RotomDex.

"Good," said Slater. "Well if you'll excuse me, I'm back to square one. Ugh, I feel like I've wasted my whole day. I feel like the only reason I was here at all was to point out Jessie on stage for you. Like I've wasted so much potential for something cool to happen. Ugh, see you guys later, okay? And don't worry, I'll stick those three chumps behind bars someday, and you'll never have to see them again."

"I like the sound of that," said Ash as they all waved goodbye. "Well, see you later, Slater."

Slater just rolled his eyes as he walked away. Cyndaquil, on his shoulder, asked him, "Cynda, Cyndaquil?"

"Never mind those clowns right now, Cyndaquil," said Slater. "You and I both know my real grudge... is with Giovanni himself."

And so, Serena has won her first Pageant Medal, and hopefully now, she can take advantage of the fact that she actually knows who 'Madame Jocelyn' is. Not only that, but she even has her very own rival in Violet. More to come, as the journey continues!

TO BE CONTINUED...

Well, so sorry about the tiny role I gave Slater, but I needed him for one purpose here today- to make Serena realize who 'Madame Jocelyn' really is. This is something I'm going to do that no one else ever has! So yes, the gang's knowledge of Madame Jocelyn's real identity will stick! That's how you know that Slater is Team Rocket's worst nightmare: he can actually see through their disguises! Well, see you guys next time then.