Well, here we are again. Yet another update in the revision of Pokemon: Diamond and Pearl. I tell ya, looking back at how much I've written, it makes me feel like I'm might actually be making people happy. There must be people out there like myself who still think Misty deserved to be in the show all along, and I'm doing my part to make it seem that way! Next up is Dawn's contest in Celestic Town! I own nothing except the story.
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Chapter 33
Misty's POV
Well it happened again. Jealousy had overtaken me. And it was towards Dawn of all people! I felt so sorry for giving her the cold shoulder, but what could I do now besides apologize?
Basically what happened was that Dawn's Pachirisu had gotten sick the day before, and we were without help from Brock since he went to a nearby natural medicine store, which left me, Ash, and Dawn by ourselves in a hut in the woods.
We didn't know if it was the cold shower that Ash had accidently given it, or if it was the pancakes that Dawn had made for lunch. My guess was on the shower since we ALL ate the pancakes and only Pachirisu got sick.
At this point I was actually defending Dawn, not hating her, but that part came later. When Pachirisu showed signs of fever, we immediately put all our focus and energy on trying to get it better. We set it to bed and covered it in blankets. Dawn's little sweetie of a Buneary even offered up its special vest to help keep Pachirisu warm.
Then I remembered that putting ice on its head might bring its temperature down, so Dawn took Piplup and Buneary outside in order to make some ice. That left me and Ash alone for a few minutes. We were both obviously worried; I mean, neither of us had the first aid knowledge that Brock had.
We just looked at each other for a few moments, what else were we supposed to do? Then Dawn came back with the ice and we put it in a plastic bag and set it atop Pachirisu's head. Pachirisu didn't seem to be getting any better, so Dawn told us about how when she was little, her mom would mash up some fruit and feed it to her.
So Dawn went into the kitchen and peeled an apple for Pachirisu and mashed it up. When I went into the kitchen to check on her, she looked like she was crying. It had to be because of Pachirisu. After all, no trainer would care to see their Pokémon be sick, and Dawn was the kind of person who would feel bad for anyone.
I gave her a small hug to try and relax her, and she was able to compose herself long enough to finish peeling the apple. I smashed it up with a potato masher, at least I could do that much. Afterwards, Dawn attempted to feed the sick Pokémon a small spoonful of fruit, but Pachirisu refused to eat anything, only worrying Dawn even further.
Ash had suggested that he go and get Brock, but I insisted that I would do it since I was better with directions. Ash handed me Charizard's Pokéball and before I knew it, I was riding the dragon and looking for Brock.
After I found him, I explained the situation and he quickly hopped on and we headed back. When we finally got back to the cabin, and the next thing I knew I was angry.
I saw Ash holding Dawn in his arms, and she was sobbing uncontrollably into his chest. Ash gave me a small smile, but I was absolutely furious at the sight. I grabbed Brock by the wrist and dragged him into the cabin to work on Pachirisu. Ash and Dawn followed.
Brock figured out that Pachirisu was having an electrical buildup and we needed to get the extra power out. So Brock grabbed a battery meter and held it out to Pachirisu's cheeks. Pachirisu gave a squeal as the electricity left its body almost instantaneously, and Dawn started to tear up again seeing her Pokémon in pain.
I did feel bad for Dawn, but I felt like she was trying to steal my boyfriend by having him comfort her. When Brock announced that Pachirisu's fever had gone, we all gave a sigh of relief, and then I pulled Dawn aside.
Dawn explained that she knew what this was about, and she explained one thing that I heard that I didn't like. She said that while in Ash's arms, she did feel a slight attraction. But then she said that I would agree that Ash was definitely one of the best guys we'd ever meet.
I did agree, and then she continued. She said that no matter what, she was NOT a thief, and she understood that Ash was MY boyfriend, but if she needed someone to lean on as a friend, she should be able to count on Ash.
I knew then that she was right. Ash was my boyfriend, but that didn't mean that he was only allowed to hug me. If Dawn was feeling bad, there was nothing wrong with playing comforter and friend. I apologized to the saddened coordinator right then and there. I felt so ashamed for my brief but definitely not subtle behavior.
Honestly, I was fifteen years old. How long could I act like a spoiled brat? I did the same thing when Ash comforted Angie, and I barely even knew her. Now I was attacking Dawn, and I knew her really well by now. After I apologized, Dawn gave me a hug, as a way of saying my apology had been accepted. The truth was, Dawn was my friend, and it would stay that way. Dawn was not someone who would lie and cheat just to get her own way.
And that led us to where we were today. We were back in the Celestic Town Pokémon Center, where Nurse Joy was giving Pachirisu a quick checkup, and Dawn and I were trying to re-break the ice that I had foolishly put over our friendship yesterday.
Normal POV
"So Dawn, what did you plan on doing before the contest?" Misty asked. "Well, I'm supposed to get a call from my mom today, other than that, I thought I'd just hang around here. Dawn replied.
Silence overtook them again, until Dawn sighed and broke it. "You know Misty; I really am envious of you." Dawn said. "Why's that?" Misty asked.
"You've got an awesome boyfriend in Ash, and he'd do just about anything for you if you asked him. Meanwhile, I don't have anyone. Whenever you feel down, you can always count on Ash to hug you, tell you he loves you, and build you back up again. But when I'm down, I have to rely on myself most of the time. There haven't been any boys around that genuinely care for me the way Ash does towards you. Conway and Kendall were just people who wanted me for who knows what." Dawn explained sadly.
Now Misty knew the truth. Dawn didn't necessarily feel attraction towards Ash because she liked him; it was more because she was just so desperate for someone to care for her. "Poor Dawn…after seeing me and Ash act the way we do around each other for so long, she's started to want the same…I've got to try and help her."
"You know Dawn; I think your friend Kenny might have feelings for you." Misty said enticingly. "Kenny? You really think so? I mean, he teases me with the…Dee Dee name all the time." Dawn said. "You usually only tease the people you really like. You know how Ash and I tease each other all the time." Misty said.
"But…Kenny…I mean…you REALLY think so?" Dawn asked. "Try flirting a little the next time you see him. Who knows? You just might get a reaction out of him." Misty replied with a wink.
"I'll do that! Thanks Misty!" Dawn squealed. Just then, Nurse Joy came up to Dawn holding Pachirisu's Pokéball. "It's perfectly healthy. Oh, there's a phone call for you from Twinleaf Town." Nurse Joy said.
"It must be Mom!" Dawn squealed. Dawn leaped out of her chair and ran for the videophones. "Well, I solved that problem. Now I have to find a way to get Dawn and Kenny together." Misty said to herself.
Misty got up from her chair to join Dawn just as Ash walked into the Center with Brock. "Hey Mist, what's up?" Ash asked. "Nothing much, any luck on the anti-Hypnosis project?" Misty replied.
"Nope. I just can't figure it out." Ash moaned. "Did you try telling your Pokémon to run around panicking and hope that it misses?" Misty joked.
Ash gave a weak chuckle. "Uh…yeah." he mumbled. "You know I was just kidding, right?" Misty said. "I know, but I wasn't kidding." Ash mumbled again.
"Boy, you really are desperate aren't you? Tell you what; I'm in a good mood today, so I'll help you until we have to head to the contest hall." Misty said.
"Thanks Misty! I could sure use the help; maybe you can massage my head so it doesn't explode while I'm thinking." Ash joked.
"You think I'm here to be your masseuse? Not on your life Ketchum. But I WILL help you with ideas in battle." Misty countered.
"Fine. But I'd still enjoy a massage." Ash mumbled. "If you play your cards right, maybe, MAYBE I'll give you one later, I know how much you enjoy when we have some alone time." Misty flirted, despite the fact that Brock was there watching.
Ash blushed and looked up at Brock who was staring in disbelief. Ash saw an opportunity to mess with his head even more, so he motioned to Misty, who nodded her head in response.
"You know Mist; I haven't kissed you in a long time." Ash said in the calmest and most natural voice he could muster.
"Well then pucker up and fix that Ashy." Misty replied flirtatiously. Ash coolly came close to the water-trainer and planted his lips onto hers right in the middle of the Pokémon Center lobby. Hoots and whistles rang through the air as their lip-lock continued for everyone to see.
This kiss had more passion in it than most of their previous ones, but mostly because they were really trying to mess with Brock. However as the kiss continued, they slowly began to lose track of why they were kissing in the first place, and simply started enjoying the waves of pleasure that surged through their bodies.
When their lips parted, both participants were in an unplanned daze. "Not bad Ash, a little more practice and you'll be a master at this." Misty said woozily.
They then looked at Brock, whose jaw had dropped all the way to the floor after seeing them share such a passionate kiss IN PUBLIC.
"Something the matter Brock?" Misty asked. "You think you're cool because of that? Watch this!" Brock, who was not to be outdueled in a battle of love, walked over to the help desk and rang the bell for Nurse Joy.
Nurse Joy walked out of the office holding a clipboard and a pen. "Can I help you?" she asked, in the typical Nurse Joy manner.
Brock made her drop the clipboard and pen when he grabbed her hands and held them tightly in his own. "My dear Nurse Joy, if you truly care about your customers, then show how much you care by coming with me on a daaaaate!"
Croagunk had slammed its poisonous hand into Brock's side, sending waves of pain through his body. "Oh come on…Ash can't win…(Groan)." Brock fell over and was dragged away by the poison frog, who didn't care at all about Brock's personal ego.
"Boy, we sure got him good." Ash chuckled. "Yeah, but I think Croagunk got him better." Misty replied. The couple shared a laugh and entwined their hands together as they headed over to where Dawn was talking to her mother.
"Hey Mom, did you ever talk to Kenny's mom? And did she possibly mention anything about Kenny…you know…liking me?" Dawn asked quietly so as not to let everyone around her hear.
"Well…I probably shouldn't tell you this…but…" Johanna didn't get the chance to finish. When Dawn saw that Ash and Misty were coming, she quickly started talking over her mother. "Wow Mom! Awesome story about that contest you were in!" Dawn exclaimed, trying to sound natural.
Johanna was now confused. "Contest? But I was just telling you…" Johanna looked at her daughter's face and saw that she was desperately sending her a silent message to play along.
"Oh right, yeah, that was quite a challenge for me." Johanna said with a wink. Dawn face-palmed. Could her mother be any more obvious?
"What's going on Dawn?" Ash asked. "Just talking to my mom, that's all. You remember Ash, right Mom?" Dawn asked.
"Of course I do, how are you Ash?" Johanna asked. "Doing great, thanks!" Ash replied.
"And who is this Dawn?" Johanna asked, averting her attention to Misty. "Oh, this is the girl I told you about! Misty, meet my mom!" Dawn exclaimed.
"Oh yes, you're the Gym Leader girl that got together with Ash that Dawn has told me so much about. Call me Johanna." Johanna said. "It's nice to meet you Miss Johanna. Dawn's told me a lot about you too. It's awesome that you were a top coordinator." Misty replied.
"Yeah, it wasn't an easy climb to the top though, my friend Lila managed to slow me down a lot in that contest she beat me in." Johanna said.
"Mom, you mean THE Lila? You actually battled in a contest with THE Lila?" Dawn asked in shock. "That's right. See, the truth is I hadn't lost a single battle up until that event. And Lila was the one who ended my winning streak." Johanna said.
"Lila who?" Ash asked. "You've never heard of her?" Dawn replied incredulously. "No, should I have?" Ash asked.
"Well here, just look!" Dawn held up a magazine article, "She's ONLY a top Pokéstylist, even YOU remember what that is. And she styles trainers AND Pokémon!"
"Impressive. Maybe I should tell Daisy about her." Misty said. "So what happened to Lila after the contest Mom?" Dawn asked.
"Sadly, she ended up retiring from contests and as a Pokémon Coordinator before I could get a rematch with her." Johanna said.
"So the loss still stands, huh?" Dawn said. "It's fine. Fond memories…plus she's doing very well these days as a Pokéstylist." Johanna said.
Brock had just recovered, and had heard the last part of the conversation. "You know, I seem to remember reading that her store is actually in Celestic Town." Brock said.
"Yeah, isn't it great? We all have to go!" Dawn squealed excitedly. "You do that everyone. Say hi to Lila for me." Johanna said.
"You got it Mom! Thanks for the call!" Dawn exclaimed. "Ok, I love you Dawn, and good luck, I'll be watching." Johanna said. "Love you too Mom, and thanks!" Dawn hung up the videophone and faced her friends.
"I wasn't just blowing smoke you know. I mean it! Let's all go see her store!" Dawn exclaimed. Dawn ran out the door of the Center, forcing her friends to follow along. She waited outside the door for the others, but then Ash and Misty turned to go the other way.
"Hey guys, aren't you coming too?" Dawn asked. "Believe me, I'd like to, but I promised Ash I'd help him figure out how to counter Fantina's 'Hypnosis' so his brain doesn't blow up." Misty replied jokingly.
"Oh ok, good luck." Dawn said, rather disappointed. "Let's meet at the Contest Hall." Brock said. The group agreed, and went their separate ways.
"Any idea where to start Ash?" Misty asked. "Well, maybe using one of Dawn's contest techniques could come in handy. It sure doesn't look like pure power will help here." Ash replied.
"Sounds like a plan to me; we'll gather our Pokémon and do some experimental battling." Misty said. "Uh, yeah, battling." Ash said nervously. Misty eyed her boyfriend suspiciously, but she let it go as nothing.
Meanwhile, Dawn and Brock had made it to Lila's store. "Here it is!" Dawn squealed. The duo opened the doors to the store, and bells rang to inform the employees of their arrival.
The two simply couldn't believe their eyes. "Awesome!" Dawn squealed for about the fifth time that day.
"Dawn, this is so great!" Brock ran up to a familiar outfit that had caught his eye, "Look! They've got Wallace's stage costume!"
"No way, really?" Dawn joined Brock to gape at the outfit, "That was when he was in the top coordinator carnival! Wow, Lila's amazing! I cannot believe she does the styling for Wallace too!"
Dawn briefly turned her head and saw a female employee standing at the checkout desk. Dawn walked up to her and said: "Um, excuse me, but I was hoping I would get to see Lila."
"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid Lila's going to be out for the entire day today." the employee replied.
Dawn's high spirits immediately deflated. "Aww man…bummer." she moaned. "However, I do think she said something about…" the employee was cut off by Brock who had just realized what time it was.
"Dawn! We gotta go; you still have to get ready for the contest!" Brock exclaimed. Dawn looked at her Pokétch and saw that he was right.
"Oh man! I still have to shower, find my dress, fix my hair, thanks anyway ma'am!" Dawn charged out of the store with Brock before the employee could get a word in. "Hmm, well if she's going to the contest, she just might run into her after all." the employee chuckled.
Meanwhile, Ash and Misty were sitting in a field, arms crossed and legs folded. "Ash, I thought we were gonna battle, not sit here and think." Misty hissed.
"Look, there's gotta be a way to stay awake when Fantina uses 'Hypnosis', so we gotta put our thinking caps on." Ash replied.
Misty sighed with exasperation and submitted. And so they quietly sat there, trying to think up an idea to counter Fantina. "Maybe we can rewind a few months when battling was Ash's only way to figure stuff out." Misty thought.
As time went by, Misty took note that Ash and his Pokémon were starting to doze off under the warm sun. Somehow she couldn't blame him. There was a calmly flowing stream of water, the sun was comfortably warm, there was a soft breeze blowing, it would've been perfect for an afternoon nap.
Suddenly a perfectly sneaky idea popped into her brain, and a sly smirk spread across her face as she thought of it. "Hey Ash, I gotta head to the little girl's room, I'll be back in a minute." Misty had to summon all her strength to hide the smirk that she was really wearing on her face.
"Yeah, sure, ok." Ash replied with a yawn. The Pokémon Trainer didn't know it, but he was slowly falling asleep and his Pokémon WERE asleep. Even the mighty Charizard had fallen victim to the beautiful day. Meanwhile Misty had ducked behind a nearby tree, and was about to pull off a prank she'd remember for quite a while.
She pulled out a Pokéball, and Surskit emerged from it. "Psst, Surskit, go and take Ash's hat and bring it to me." she whispered.
Surskit nodded and snuck up to the now snoring Pokémon Trainer. Surskit carefully and gingerly used its two skinny front legs to remove Ash's Sinnoh hat from his head.
Ash stirred a bit, giving Surskit a huge scare, but Ash merely switched sides and started drooling. Surskit wiped the fear-induced sweat from its brow and hopped over to Misty with Ash's hat in tow. "Good going Surskit, now get on his head." Misty whispered.
Surskit squealed in fear at Misty's request. "Don't worry about him waking up. Ash could sleep through an earthquake." Misty snickered. Surskit grinned and hopped over to Ash. It then gently crawled up onto his head, and squatted down.
Misty gave Surskit a thumbs-up and then pulled out another Pokéball. She tossed it and Staryu emerged. "Ok Staryu, you've got the best aim. Give Ash a nice and refreshing 'Water Gun' right from here." Misty said, holding back giggles.
Staryu nodded and aimed carefully. Aiming its point like a gun sight, Staryu fired the 'Water Gun' right at Ash's face, and even totally missed Surskit. Ash immediately woke up spluttering when the water hit his face. "Wha – Wha – What's going on here?"
Ash looked around in shock, and saw that Misty had apparently ditched him. "Misty! Where'd you go?" he called out.
Misty was giggling as quietly as she could behind the tree, just waiting for Ash to see that his Pokémon had fallen asleep.
She exploded into laughter when she heard Ash screaming. "Come on you guys, you gotta wake up and get cracking NOW!"
The steaming Ash heard the laughter and snuck up to the tree, knowing who he'd find behind it. "So you think that's funny huh?" Ash asked.
Misty tried to glance at him with a serious face, but she just exploded into another fit of giggles. "Yes!" she squealed through raucous laughter.
"You could've tried to keep me awake you know." Ash said. "Yeah, but that wouldn't have been as much fun." Misty replied, catching her breath.
Ash muttered under his breath. "Aw come on Ash, loosen up a little. I still love you you know." Misty said. Ash smirked and gave her a quick glance.
"Come on, we gotta get going. The contest starts in a little bit." Misty said. Ash shrugged and returned his Pokémon to their balls. Then he caught up with Misty who had gone on ahead.
"By the way, nice hat." Misty said. Ash gave her a confused look and took off what he thought was his hat, but what he saw was a smiling Surskit. "Waah!" Ash tossed Surskit up in the air in shock and Misty started laughing again.
"Thanks Surskit! You were awesome!" Misty fired the Pokéball's return beam and caught the twirling Surskit in midair. "Gimme back my hat Misty!" Ash yelled.
"You gotta catch me first!" Misty replied. Misty took off running, forcing Ash to chase her down. "I'm gonna get you Misty!"
Meanwhile, Dawn was preparing for the contest in the dressing rooms. "Come on, stay where you belong!" Dawn was once again having issues with her hair. She was trying to fit a yellow ribbon on the side of her hair and wrap it into a small pigtail, but it kept bouncing out of place. "NOW there's need to worry." she moaned.
Buneary attempted to console her master, but Dawn was feeling pretty disappointed that she couldn't fix her ever troublesome hair. She took one more attempt at fixing it, when all of a sudden a woman snuck up behind her, yanked on her hair and placed it into a perfect pigtail. "And the flowers have bloomed." she said proudly.
Dawn giggled and turned to thank the woman for helping her, but she couldn't believe who was behind her. "Thank you so – aah! You're Lila!" Dawn squealed.
Lila took a good hard look at Dawn, and a light bulb went off in her head. "(Gasp) Hold on, you're Dawn aren't you?" Lila asked.
"Yeah, but…how in the world did you know my name?" Dawn asked. Before Lila could respond, her assistant barged into the room and literally dragged Lila away.
"What is she doing here?" Dawn wondered. Dawn didn't have time to think, for the contest was about to begin and she still had some final adjustments to make to her wardrobe.
While Marian announced the judges, Ash, Misty, and Brock had gotten to their seats. Pikachu was wearing a green kimono to cheer in, and Dawn's remaining Pokémon were in cheerleading outfits. Misty had even called out Azurill to join the fun and cheer with its tail.
"You think Dawn'll be able to keep up her streak after winning the Wallace Cup?" Ash asked. "To quote a phrase: 'No need to worry'!" Misty replied.
Ash smiled and turned his attention back towards the stage.
"Presenting our first coordinator. This lovely lady's making her first contest appearance in twenty years! Please welcome the tiger lily of Celestic Town: Lila!" Marian announced.
The crowd roared with excitement, especially the Celestic Town residents who had seen Lila's performances when she was a child. "Lila's making a comeback?" Brock asked. "Awesome, can't wait to see this." Ash said.
Misty looked on with a forlorn expression. "Mist, what's up?" Ash asked. "I may have spoken too soon…I wonder how Dawn's holding up. I don't think she was counting on going up someone who beat her own mother in a contest." Misty replied.
"Yeah…I see what you mean." Ash said. They looked back onto the stage to see just what Lila was made of. "Now Cherrim, out you come!" Lila threw out her Pokéball, and the grass-type emerged in a flurry of pink flower petals. At first Cherrim shyly removed the leaves from its face, then it suddenly blossomed into a beautiful flower.
"You know, it's like Lila never retired!" Brock exclaimed. "Hey Ash, check the Pokédex for that thing." Misty said. "Got it." Ash replied.
Ash pulled out his Pokédex and scanned the small Pokémon on the stage. "Cherrim, the Blossom Pokémon. Cherrim stays quiet until its flowers bloom when it becomes quite excitable." the Pokédex chirped.
"Before Ash or Misty could comment, Lila started up her performance. "Cherrim, 'Magical Leaf'!" Lila ordered. Cherrim spun around like a top, spraying glowing leaves in all directions. "Now 'Sunny Day'!" Lila ordered.
Cherrim launched two white spheres of energy up to the roof, and they detonated into incredibly bright flashes of light. The leaves that Cherrim had previously used glowed in a glorious display of green in the homemade sunlight.
"It almost looks like she painted that onto the ceiling." Misty said in awe. "And it also show's off Cherrim's unique qualities perfectly." Brock added. Even the Pokémon that were supposed to be cheering for Dawn couldn't help themselves, they jumped around with excitement with Dawn's Pokémon waving their pom-poms, Pikachu waving his two fans, and Azurill swinging its tail around like a pom-pom.
That was all Lila did. Her performance lasted a mere thirty seconds, but the audience and the judges were left in astonishment nevertheless.
Mr. Contesta: "Celestic Town's tiger lily is STILL blooming!"
Mr. Sukizo: "Which means, remarkable!"
Nurse Joy: "It feels like a flower has just bloomed in my heart!"
After such high praises, Misty couldn't help but feel a little tense. "You're worried about Dawn, aren't you?" Brock said. "I'm just hoping she doesn't get intimidated by Lila's performance." Misty replied.
Inside the waiting room, Dawn was feeling a slight bit of anxiety, but she was apparently handling herself pretty well since Buneary wasn't squealing for help while in her arms.
The contest continued with all sorts of different coordinators and Pokémon showing what they were made of. Whether it was beauty, grace, or even power.
"Next up we have the Solaceon Town contest winner Jessilina!" Marian announced. Jessilina walked in an oddly familiar hairstyle and dress. "You don't suppose she was spying on us when we were with Fantina do you?" Misty asked.
"I wouldn't be surprised. It'd be just like her to use someone else's style." Brock replied. Jessilina walked onto the stage with a confident smile and fire in her heart, but her originality would get a zero.
"The queen of fabulous fortune and fame! And today I'll be doing something inspired by the ALMOST as fabulous Fantina!" Jessilina said in a bad French accent.
"Ok, it's one thing to steal a battle style, but stealing someone's accent is downright pathetic. Especially when it's that bad." Misty said. Ash and Brock chuckled and sweat-dropped for the same reasons Misty had.
"Now Dear Yanmega, you're on!" Still using her horrid French accent, Jessilina tossed up a Pokéball and a Yanmega emerged in a shower of pink hearts.
Without even an order, Yanmega flew towards Jessilina at full speed and knocked her into the sky. "Wow, Jessilina's flying!" Marian announced, feigning excitement.
"A new spin on my past win! How do I top this? With 'Silver Wind'!" Jessilina exclaimed. Yanmega flew down beneath her and started holding the predictable and downright unoriginal coordinator in midair. "Round and round and up and down and where she goes; now nobody knows! And la dee da and tra la la!" Jessilina chanted happily.
Jessilina may have been enjoying herself, but the audience was practically bored out of their skulls. "Oh man, she sure likes to fly." Ash said.
"THAT'S an imitation of Fantina? I'm sure Fantina wouldn't repeat the SAME act like four times in a row and still think people like it." Misty added.
While Jessilina was lowered, two guys and a Pokémon in the stands were banging their heads against the railing in disbelief. "This may be the first time I've ever thought thievery was wrong." one said. "If dat's the most sincere form of flattery, I quit." the other groaned.
Jessilina landed and started laughing with joy. But once again, NO ONE was applauding her. "You think it'd be wrong if I booed her?" Ash asked. Misty stifled a laugh but managed to tell Ash not to do it.
Mr. Contesta: "Well well, a most uh…unusual display."
Mr. Sukizo: "Heh heh, eh, and remarkable too…of course."
Nurse Joy: "Uh well…there's no substitute for enthusiasm."
Jessilina left the stage with a complacent look on her face, positive that she'd be moving on thanks to her "Fantina inspired act".
"Well after a performance like that, I bet Dawn's feeling really confident." Brock said. "Yeah, following up Jessilina will be a walk in the park for her." Ash added.
Dawn walked onto the stage just as Marian cleared her throat and tried to pretend that Jessilina's act never happened.
"Ok, moving right along…next up we have the Wallace Cup champion, Dawn!" Marian announced, this time with sincere excitement.
Dawn had an air of mystery to her when she walked onto the stage, she had her eyes closed and her right hand was on her chest, as she stared down to the floor with an intense look on her face.
"You don't think she's nervous, do you?" Misty asked worriedly. "Why take chances?" Ash replied. Misty uttered a confused "Huh?" as Ash got up to yell above the crowd. "Just stay cool and you'll be great Dawn!"
Misty smiled and looked to the stage with anticipation, Especially since she was satisfied that Ash cheering for another girl meant nothing more than him being his usual encouraging and supporting self. "I'm gonna fight to remember. Ash is the nicest guy that anyone will ever meet. And that's exactly what he'll be to EVERYONE that comes his way."
Dawn looked up and smiled, holding her Pokéball at the ready. "Now Buneary! Spooootlight!" Dawn tossed the ball and Buneary appeared in a flurry of red confetti.
Ironically enough, Pikachu started cheering sooner than any of Dawn's Pokémon, which earned him looks from the other cheerleaders, except for Azurill who didn't get why they were looking at its Uncle Pikachu like that. "Pika." (Sorry.) Pikachu sweat-dropped.
The other cheerleaders rolled their eyes and waited for Buneary's first move. "Use 'Bounce'!" Dawn ordered. Buneary obliged and hopped high into the air. "Now spin on your ears!" Dawn ordered.
Buneary shifted her body weight and began spinning upside-down in midair, showing off Buneary's cuteness for all to see.
Ash and Brock yelled encouragement to the rabbit-Pokémon, and Dawn's Pokémon and Azurill were now cheering with all the enthusiasm they could muster. But Misty was the only who spotted that Pikachu was NOT cheering for Buneary.
Instead, Pikachu was gaping at the small rabbit in awe. Misty giggled quietly and turned her attention back to the stage. "Pokémon love is so sweet."
"Ice Beam', go!" Dawn ordered. Buneary came out of her spin and fired a freezing beam towards the ground. She angled it so that a ramp of ice was made. Buneary landed and skated down the ice, gracefully and happily moving along the frozen field.
"Whoa, where'd Buneary learn to skate like that?" Ash asked. Just then, a white light flashed from Misty's pocket. "Psyduck, not now! Wait…Surskit, what are you doing out of your Pokéball?" Misty asked, wondering why her pond-skater Pokémon had chosen now to appear.
"Alright, use 'Dizzy Punch'!"
Buneary flipped upside-down and started skating on its ears, and even began spinning like a ballerina. Now Misty had the answer to her question as Surskit mirrored Buneary's moves in place. Except Surskit was a bit more polished with its movements.
"I get it, but when did you teach Buneary how to skate so well?" Misty asked. Surskit didn't respond, and continued spinning in place. Dawn looked to the sidelines, and each of her friends gave her a thumbs-up. She also noticed that Pikachu was gaping in awe at Buneary. "Buneary, you've definitely hooked Pikachu now." Dawn thought.
As Buneary continued to spin, she also stole a split-second glance at the sidelines to look at her friends. But when she saw that the only one not cheering was Pikachu, she became hurt inside and started losing her form. "What happened? Buneary!" Dawn cried. Dawn looked to the sidelines in a panic, looking for any source of help. The whole group pointed, signaling to catch Buneary before it got hurt.
Surskit hadn't heard the cries from the field yet, so it kept spinning, when it finally stopped spinning, it saw that Buneary was having balance trouble. Dawn ran to catch her Pokémon, who had totally lost its form and was now spinning out of control.
Dawn made the catch with one hand and held Buneary up high to salvage the performance. "Now, just smile and sell it." Dawn said.
Buneary sweat-dropped and struck a pose. She glanced over to the sidelines and saw Pikachu waving one of his fans at her, and she more than happily waved back.
Mr. Contesta: "Now that showed off just how cute Dawn's Buneary can be!"
Mr. Sukizo: "Remarkable for sure!"
Nurse Joy: "The thing I enjoyed watching the most was how much fun Dawn and Buneary seemed to be having."
That last round concluded the appeal rounds, and so the coordinators headed back down the long corridor to the waiting room to see the results. On the way there, Ash, Misty, and Brock caught up to Dawn.
"Hey Dawn, nice job out there!" Misty exclaimed. "Thanks, but I DID mess up a little." Dawn said with a small laugh.
"But you also managed to pull it together for the finish!" Ash said. "Yeah, I suppose." Dawn replied.
"Not to sound negative or anything Dawn, but what exactly happened out there?" Misty asked curiously. Dawn looked to the ground with a thoughtful expression. Her gaze had inadvertently switched to Buneary, who was walking in front of her.
"I'm not really sure, for some reason Buneary lost her balance and went out of control." Dawn replied. Pikachu hopped off of Ash's shoulder to talk to Buneary, who seemed a bit shy to talk to him.
That's when it Dawn like a load of bricks. When Dawn glanced over to the sidelines the first time, she had seen that Pikachu was standing still instead of cheering. "That's it." Dawn thought.
"Dawn, what is it?" Brock asked. "I think I know what happened after all." Dawn replied. She had the humans huddle together so that the two conversing Pokémon didn't hear. "I think it was because of Pikachu." Dawn said.
"Wait a sec, what did Pikachu do?" Ash asked defensively. "Chill out Ash. I said it was BECAUSE of Pikachu. I did NOT say Pikachu was at fault." Dawn replied. Ash grumbled under his breath. "So what happened?" Misty asked.
"Well, when I looked at you guys the first time, I saw that Pikachu was staring at Buneary in what looked like an awestruck haze. But I think Buneary might've seen Pikachu standing still and thought that Pikachu didn't like her performance." Dawn explained.
"That makes sense! With Buneary spinning as fast as she was, she probably didn't have any time to study Pikachu's expression and decipher why Pikachu wasn't cheering. So she thought that he was disappointed." Misty said.
The humans looked down and saw that Pikachu was trying to explain to Buneary why he wasn't cheering. But what could he say that wouldn't embarrass him? Misty then came up with an idea.
"Let me take Buneary and go up ahead of you guys, I wanna try and talk to her." she said. Dawn nodded in agreement. Misty scooped up Buneary and sped up her walk a little so that she was ten paces ahead of the others.
Ash scooped up Pikachu and placed him back onto his shoulder. The small, electric-mouse's ears were drooped. He felt bad that he had made Buneary feel sad and even cost her her perfect performance. "Don't worry buddy, Misty will take care of it." Ash reassured.
"What happened Buneary? You were doing so well." Misty said. Buneary's ears drooped. "Bun buneary bun?" (Why didn't Pikachu cheer too?) Buneary asked.
"You think Pikachu didn't enjoy your performance because he wasn't cheering?" Misty asked. Buneary nodded and moaned.
"You wanna know what I think? I think Pikachu enjoyed it more than anyone else." Misty said. Buneary's ears stood upright again, as she looked at the water-trainer in curiosity. "Yep. Pikachu wasn't cheering because he was frozen by your cuteness. In other words, you left him awestruck." Misty said with a smile.
Buneary peered her head past Misty's body, and looked at Pikachu, whose ears were drooped in guilt and sadness. Buneary then blushed slightly and turned back to Misty. "Go on Buneary, go make him feel better." Misty said.
Buneary gave a big hug to the water-trainer in thanks, and bounced over to the others. Misty slowed her pace so that she was parallel with the others once more, and watched as Pikachu hopped off of Ash's shoulder to talk to Buneary some more.
When Buneary gave Pikachu a small peck, Pikachu blushed and put his paw behind his head. "And so ends this week's dramatic broadcast." Misty joked. The group had a good laugh and continued on.
When they finally reached the waiting room, Dawn saw her mother talking to Lila over the videophone. "Johanna! Great to see you! Were you watching?" Lila asked.
"Of course Lila, that was quite the surprise." Johanna replied. Dawn immediately ran up to the videophone. "Hi Lila! Hi Mom!" Dawn exclaimed.
"Well hello Dawn, that was quite a performance you gave us all out there." Lila said. "That's so nice. Thank you!" Dawn said, "So…Mom said you two had a contest battle…wow…it sounds like it must've been totally amazing!"
Lila and Johanna took a quick glance at each other before facing back to the young coordinator.
"It was…in fact, the battle between your mother and I was the most important battle in my life." Lila said, "I may have won, but when I saw how energized your mom was about battling, I started asking myself a few questions, 'is this really what I wanted to be doing with my life?'" Lila continued,
"Back then, I wasn't sure which path I wanted to take. Coordinator or Pokéstylist. Then, I got an opportunity to study to be a Pokéstylist abroad! Not knowing what to do, I asked your mom for some advice. It was then we decided we were both going to do what we REALLY wanted to do. What we'd be best at. And that's why I decided to pursue becoming a Pokéstylist, and your mother decided to concentrate on becoming a coordinator." Lila concluded.
"Yeah Lila, but I never thought you'd be going after becoming a coordinator AGAIN." Johanna said. "Well it's all thanks to your sweet daughter." Lila replied. This information shocked Dawn.
"Huh? Thanks to me?" Dawn asked in confusion. "You see, of course I find the kind of work I do now fulfilling, but when I saw Dawn battling on TV, looking so full of life, the memories of my days as a coordinator flooded back in my head! So I started thinking how wonderful it would be to stake winning my fifth ribbon in a battle with you, Dawn." Lila explained.
"Which means if you win, you'll be able to enter the Grand Festival!" Brock exclaimed. "But that's not the real reason Lila's doing it." Johanna said.
"(Giggle) Never could get anything past you, could I?" Lila shrugged, "I knew I could learn something about myself by battling Dawn the same way I used to battle with Johanna, and I will tell you, we went at it back in the day."
"It's obvious some things never change." Johanna said.
The group stared silently at the two friendly rivals, just pondering what they had just heard. Before a comment could be uttered, Marian came on the screen with the results of the first round.
As the first four coordinators went by, Lila had made it already, but Dawn still wasn't there. Dawn groaned nervously as the next three appeared, leaving only one slot left. There was a moment of silent suspense before the last slot was revealed.
"We made it! And it's all thanks to you Buneary!" Dawn hugged her rabbit-Pokémon as tightly as she could, and her eyes got all misty with joy.
As the coordinators got paired up with their opponents, Lila confronted Dawn. "Now Dawn, let's make sure it all comes down to us." Lila said. "You got it!" Dawn replied.
Finally, Johanna had her say, "Dawn, Lila, I'm looking forward to watching you two battle."
"No need to worry! Ambipom, this time it's your turn!" Dawn exclaimed. Ambipom acknowledged excitedly.
"Well, guess we'll see ya later then." Ash said. Ash and Co. headed back to their seats, leaving Dawn with her mom and Lila. "Well Dawn, let's give them something to remember." Lila said. Dawn nodded and left the room.
"Be warned Johanna, I'm not showing any mercy just because she's your daughter." Lila said. "(Giggle) Don't get too confident Lila, you'd be surprised what she can do." Johanna replied.
The times of twenty years ago came back as Lila and Johanna razzed each other back and forth before finally hanging up. "Ahh, this all makes me feel like a kid again!" Lila said to herself.
The battles continued. Lila and her Delcatty dominated the battlefield with their technique, and Dawn and Ambipom also managed to blow their opponents out of the water. "It seems a little too easy if you ask me." Dawn had joked.
Finally the time that everyone was waiting for came. Dawn and Lila faced off against each other on the battlefield. Dawn's friends cheered as loudly as possible from the stands. At first she felt energized by the encouragement, but one thing Brock said brought her confidence down.
"Don't forget your mom will be watching too!"
Ash and Misty shot glares at the breeder. Even Ash knew exactly how much pressure Brock had just put on the young coordinator on the field. And sure enough, when they looked, Dawn was stiff and nervous.
"If I win, I'll get my third ribbon! But even my mom lost to Lila…can I really pull this thing off?"
"Brock, maybe you'd better leave the cheering section to me, Ash, and the Pokémon." Misty growled. "Sorry, I was just trying to help." Brock groaned.
"Come on Dawn, show 'em what you're made of!" Ash yelled. "Remember that you're here to have fun and that we're all behind you all the way!" Misty added.
Dawn glanced gratefully at her friends. "Misty's right, I'm here to enjoy myself! And if I lose, I can just train some more and try again! Come on, relax!" Dawn lightly slapped her face to snap herself out of her fear and uttered her famous catchphrase, "No need to worry!"
Ash and Misty loved hearing that come out of her mouth, and they breathed sighs of relief. "You're lucky Brock." Misty said accusingly. Brock slumped in his seat and avoided the icy glares of his friends. The contest clock started ticking down from five, and the battle began.
"Ambipom, spooootlight!"
"Delcatty, out you come!"
The two Pokémon faced off against each other before Dawn made the first move. "Ambipom, use 'Swift'!" Ambipom spun around like a top, firing a huge flurry of energized stars at the cat Pokémon.
"Substitute'." Lila countered calmly. The stars made contact with Delcatty, and smoke rose from the ground from the impact of the stars. "Way to go!" Dawn cheered. Dawn apparently spoke too soon. She gasped in shock when Delcatty seemingly disintegrated.
"THAT was a Delcatty 'Substitute'? Wow!" Brock exclaimed. "So where's the real one?" Ash asked, looking around.
"There it is!" Misty pointed behind Ambipom, where Delcatty was looming over it, ready to strike. "Now use 'Shock Wave'." Lila ordered.
Delcatty spun around, wrapping itself in Ambipom's two tails, and then launched a powerful electrical attack, hurting Ambipom and creating a beautiful display of controlled electricity. Then with rehearsed attack manipulation, Delcatty actually detonated the electricity, creating a rainbow flower of light in the air.
"Yes! Well done Delcatty! And the flowers have bloomed!" Lila struck a pose and blew confetti with her fan, as her famed "Tiger Lily Smile" came into play and depleted Dawn's points dramatically.
But Dawn wasn't going to take that lying down. "Double Team' now!" Dawn ordered. Ambipom escaped from Delcatty's grip and split into eight different Ambipom, surrounding it. "Now use 'Focus Punch'!"
All eight of the Ambipom swung a tail at the cat Pokémon, and punched it from all directions. "What a hit!" Ash cheered.
"But wait a second, why's Ambipom acting weird now?" Misty asked. Indeed, Ambipom WAS acting out of the ordinary. "Uh oh, it looks like Ambipom's been afflicted with 'Attract' status!" Marian announced.
"That explains it." Misty said. "You know, I had totally forgotten that Delcatty's special ability was 'Cute Charm'." Ash added.
"That's just great. Almost every time Ambipom hits Delcatty directly, she's gonna fall in love." Misty slapped her leg with frustration.
"Such a pretty flower deserves a lullaby. Alright Delcatty, 'Sing' please." Lila ordered. Delcatty began to sing, and the mystical melody lulled Ambipom to sleep.
"Look at that, that means Lila can use sleep skills like Fantina." Ash said. "Out of curiosity, how come that song didn't put US to sleep like Jigglypuff used to?" Misty asked.
"Delcatty doesn't have the same frequency a Jigglypuff does, but either way, Dawn's got problems if this keeps up." Brock said.
"Please Ambipom, wake up!" Dawn cried. Dawn's cry fell on deaf ears, Ambipom was fast asleep, and Lila was going to make sure to take advantage of it. "Now, 'Iron Tail'!"
Delcatty leaped toward the sleeping monkey and sent it twirling into the air. Delcatty landed gracefully on its feet just as Ambipom crashed into the ground. "So! Now the second flower blooms!" Lila struck a pose once more, as her "Tiger Lily Smile" depleted Dawn's points even more.
"This is bad." Misty said. "If Ambipom doesn't wake up soon, Dawn won't be able to make a comeback." Brock added.
"Ambipom, you've gotta wake up!" Dawn cried again. "I'm afraid a flower of cruel beauty is about to blossom. 'Shock Wave'!" Lila ordered. Delcatty fired again at the sleeping Ambipom, forcing Dawn's points to deplete even further. Just when it was starting to look hopeless...
"Ambipom's awake!" Brock cheered. "Get back in this thing Dawn!" Misty screamed. Dawn did just that. "Swift', let's go!"
Ambipom fired the retaliatory attack, only to have Delcatty dodge it again. "Substitute'!"
Delcatty rose to strike again, but this time Dawn had anticipated that. Ambipom caught Delcatty by surprise and snuck up behind it rather than the other way around. "Now use 'Double Hit'!"
Ambipom swung its tails and slammed Delcatty to the ground with a powerful one-two punch. But just when Dawn began gaining momentum, 'Attract' status activated again and caused Ambipom to become lovesick once more.
"As long as Ambipom attacks Delcatty directly, 'Attract' status is a risk." Brock said. "So what is Dawn supposed to do? Just sit back and do nothing?" Misty asked.
"Well…I guess I'll just have to go for broke." Dawn gulped and barked out another order, hoping for the best, "Use 'Double Team'!"
With an amazing stroke of luck, Ambipom, still lovesick over Delcatty, split into eight different Ambipom and surrounded the cat again. "You did it!" Dawn cheered.
"Oh man, talk about lucky! 'Attract' doesn't make you helpless, you can still battle with a little luck!" Misty exclaimed. "Alright you two, keep it going!" Ash yelled.
"Hey look, Lila looks like she's getting a little rattled." Misty said. It was true, Lila's confident expression was slowly disappearing, and for the first time during the entire contest, Lila was beginning to think she'd lose. "Sing' Delcatty!" she ordered.
Delcatty began singing once more, and the mystical sleep inducing notes filled the air once more. "No you don't! Use 'Double Hit'!" Dawn countered.
Ambipom swung its tails in a rather dazed fashion, but nevertheless, it managed to break up the sleep-inducing attack and knock Delcatty down with 'Double Hit', finally depleting Lila's points.
"Ash, did you see that? Ambipom just punched out that 'Sing' attack!" Misty exclaimed. "Yeah, that was awesome!" Ash replied.
"No! I mean do you realize what that means? Maybe you can counter 'Hypnosis' the same way!" Misty exclaimed. Ash suddenly realized what Misty was talking about. "Oh look, a little light bulb turned on in your brain." Misty giggled.
"Check it out guys! Ambipom's 'Attract' status wore off!" Brock exclaimed. The couple looked back towards the field and saw that Ambipom had snapped out of its love-induced trance.
"Alright, 'Swift'!" Dawn ordered. Ambipom spun like a top in midair, and launched a furious storm of golden stars with all its might. The result was simply amazing, Ambipom created a huge floating pyramid of stars in the air.
"Substitute'!" Lila ordered. Delcatty tried dodging it again, but the 'Substitute' didn't last long at all as the stars slammed into both it and the original.
"Quick Delcatty, use 'Shock Wave'!" Lila ordered. Delcatty regained its balance and launched its most powerful 'Shock Wave' ever, attempting to counter the enormous 'Swift' attack.
When the two attacks collided, there was first, an electrical buildup, and then a bright white light flashed and forced the entire audience and the judges to look away for a moment.
When the light dissipated, they saw the incredible sight as the two combined attacks merged into what looked like one huge swirling, yellow gas cloud.
"Hmm, a great ring of flowers has blossomed." Lila said. Lila looked at her opponent who was practically glowing from the bright light of the two attacks. For a brief moment, Lila was in a flashback, and Dawn looked exactly like Johanna in her younger days.
"Alright…here we go…flowers will blossom on a grand scale like the world has never seen before!" Lila exclaimed.
"No need to worry! Ambipom, let's go!" Dawn screamed.
The two attacks strengthened in intensity, both Pokémon were determined to come out on top. Everyone in the audience was speechless. Not even cheering was heard. The judges were awestricken, even Marian was at a loss for words.
"Look at all that power!" Misty finally exclaimed. "Come on Ambipom! Give it all you got!" Ash yelled. Ash and Co. started hollering at the top of their lungs, trying to keep Ambipom going. They took a quick glance at the clock which read ten seconds left.
"It's now or never!" Ash yelled. Ambipom and Delcatty continued to fire, but both Pokémon were getting exhausted.
"This is it! Finish the job Ambipom!" Dawn screamed. Ambipom pushed herself to the limit, and finally overpowered Delcatty and shot down the cat Pokémon with a whole storm of stars. With a shriek of shock and pain, Delcatty crashed to the ground just as the clock ticked down to zero.
The entire audience awaited the final result of the contest. There was no noise in the auditorium except for Marian's announcing over the P.A. system. After a few minutes, the winner was finally revealed.
"She won!" Ash and Co. leaped to their feet and started cheering loudly for their coordinator friend. Dawn herself was in a daze for a few moments, but when it finally hit her that she had come out victorious, an enormous smile spread across her face and she ran to hug her exhausted Pokémon. "I did it! Thank you Ambipom! It's all because of you! You're the best!"
Dawn then looked straight into the camera that was filming her on TV. "Hope you were watching Mom! I won it!"
Johanna was indeed watching, and she was wiping away tears of joy as she sat on her couch, watching her beloved daughter enjoy her victory.
Lila consoled the disappointed Delcatty, and then confronted her opponent. "That was a great battle." Lila held out her hand for Dawn to shake, and the blue-haired coordinator was more than content to do so. "It sure was, thanks Lila!"
Dawn was then led to the winner's circle by Mr. Contesta himself, in order to be presented with her hard-earned prize. "Congratulations, that was quite a spectacle." Mr. Contesta said.
Dawn accepted the ribbon and held it close to her heart. "Thank you so much sir!" she exclaimed, "I just won the Celestic Town Pokémon Contest and this ribbon is mine, all mine!"
Her Pokémon cheered along with her, and struck a pose to celebrate. After the closing ceremonies, the audience left and the winner and runner-up of the contest went to go change into their regular clothes.
Before Ash and Co. could go meet up with Dawn however, Nurse Joy came up and cut them off. "Excuse me, but there's a phone call for you all from a resident of Twinleaf Town." Nurse Joy said. "Is it Dawn's mom?" Ash asked. "No, it's a young boy…Kenny I believe his name is." Nurse Joy replied.
"I wonder why Kenny's calling us." Ash said. Misty smiled and told Nurse Joy that she'd be happy to take the call. Nurse Joy nodded and walked away.
"You guys wait for Dawn, keep her busy. I'll take care of this." Misty ran off towards the phones, leaving Ash and Brock confused.
Misty sat herself down in front of the videophone and clicked it on to reveal the caller. "Hey Dee D – oh, hi Misty." Kenny said, sounding slightly disappointed.
"Surprised to see me? Or should I say disappointed?" Misty asked knowingly. "What? I'm not disappointed, I was just expecting Dawn to answer, that's all. After all, she's known me longer than anyone else; I figured she'd wanna talk to her rival." Kenny explained.
"You know I never asked for an explanation." Misty said. Kenny dodged the question and changed the subject. "I just wanted to congratulate Dawn on her win today, she almost did well enough to reach my level." Kenny said cockily.
"Oh you did, did you? Well it may be a while before she comes out of the dressing room, that pretty pink dress she wears can be a lot of work. But she thinks it's worth it in the end." Misty said.
"Yeah, it sure is." Kenny replied. "Ah ha! I caught you!" Misty thought. Kenny wished he could take back what he had just said; it just slipped out of his mouth like a Piplup sliding on ice.
"So you think so too eh?" Misty asked, putting Kenny on the spot. Kenny was now trying to hide the fact that his ears were turning pink. "Well I mean…yeah. After all, the coordinator has to look good too in order for the judges to appreciate the performance." Kenny said, trying to escape.
It didn't work. Misty was determined to keep Kenny in a corner, and she was determined to help Dawn with her wish for a boyfriend.
"And Dawn definitely doesn't have any trouble looking good, does she?" Misty asked. "I guess she's got a good sense of style." Kenny hesitated in his reply, and Misty could see Kenny growing more and more uncomfortable.
"Well anyway, give Dee Dee my congrats and I'll talk to you guys later." Kenny said quickly. Misty didn't want to let Kenny get away just yet, so she asked the one question that would surely keep him there. "Why do you call her Dee Dee?"
Kenny's blushing face soon turned back to normal, and a toothy grin spread across his face. "Well you see, it all started when…" That was as far as Kenny would get.
Almost like a magnet, Dawn charged in front of the screen and knocked Misty right off her chair. "If you tell anyone I will personally see to it that you will never win another contest again!" Dawn hissed.
"Ok ok, I'm sorry!" Kenny exclaimed defensively. Dawn was satisfied with that. "So, what's up Kenny?" Dawn asked cheerfully, almost as if she was never upset.
Kenny wanted to pass on his message, but Misty's previous interrogation had left him more than a little frazzled. Dawn's face seemed to sparkle in his eyes, and her long blue hair flowed down from her head like a waterfall.
"Uh, sorry, there's a glare on the screen." Kenny said, trying to hide his shyness and loud heartbeat. "Hey, are you alright Kenny?" Dawn asked.
"Yeah yeah! I'm fine! Just wanted to congratulate you on your win! You looked great – uh, you and your Pokémon that is!" Kenny said a little too quickly.
"Thanks Kenny! Buneary and Ambipom sure came through for me today, I owe it all to them." Dawn said.
"Well anyway, I'm gonna try to meet you at the next contest, but I may have to do some more training, you know? Of course, I can still beat you any day." Kenny said.
Misty, who was still lying on the floor, growled to herself when she heard Kenny using his and Dawn's constant rivalry to avoid talking sensitively. "Men, they're all the same."
"You really think so huh? Well guess what? The next time we have a contest battle, you're going down!" Dawn exclaimed determinedly.
"Yeah sure, Dee Dee." Kenny snickered. "Don't…call…me…Dee Dee!" Dawn growled through her teeth.
Misty saw this conversation crashing and burning, so she figured it was up to her to save it. She quickly got up and joined Dawn on the seat. "You know Dawn, I was just telling Kenny about how pretty you looked out there, isn't that right Kenny?" Misty asked.
Kenny's smirk quickly turned into a shy smile, and he refused to look Dawn in the eye. Dawn seemed to be a little pink herself. "Well uh, listen, nice job today, I'll talk to you later, bye!" Kenny hung up as fast as he could, leaving Dawn in a slight daze. "Bye." she mumbled.
Before either Misty or Dawn could say something, Ash and Brock walked in with Lila and her assistant. "Well Dawn, you were the spitting image of your mom out there. Well done." Lila said.
"Thanks so much Lila! I had a lot of fun battling you." Dawn replied. "Now if you don't mind, I would like you all to come with me back to my store." Lila said. "Sure." the group replied.
Ash and Co. followed Lila to her store, where she happily made an announcement. "Now Dawn, to celebrate your victory, you may pick out whatever you like! And of course, that goes for you three as well."
"Lila! Thanks so much!" they replied in unison. The group walked around the store and browsed, her store was filled with all sorts of things that would match any shopper. Lila and Misty went with Dawn to pick out dresses, while Ash and Brock just kinda had fun mixing and matching outfits.
Dawn's first target was a bright orange dress with long sleeves and white frills at the end. "Whaddya think of this?" she asked.
"It's really pretty, but it doesn't seem to match you." Misty replied. "Misty's right, orange doesn't compliment those beautiful blue eyes of yours." Lila added.
Dawn looked at the dress with disappointment and hung it back on the shelf. "Hey don't feel bad, listen, let's find you something that'll make Kenny squirm in his skin, ok?" Misty suggested with a wink.
Dawn blushed slightly and nodded. "What's this? Are we looking for something to impress someone?" Lila asked with interest.
"Uh…sure." Dawn replied shyly. "Girls, you come with me, and I'll give you dresses that'll make you look like supermodels!" Lila said excitedly.
Giggling, the trio of ladies went to the back of the store, where Lila began Misty and Dawn's transformation.
After a little while, Ash and Brock were starting to get bored of waiting. "Geez, what's taking them so long?" Ash groaned.
As if on cue, Misty and Dawn walked out, and the boys' jaws dropped to the ground. "Wow…"
Misty was wearing a strapless, cerulean blue dress that matched her eyes perfectly. It reached down all the way to her ankles, and when she twirled it flowed like water. And her short white heels had a water lily on the toe straps.
And Dawn wore a sea green dress with a strap on her left shoulder, and it had frills at the bottom. Her dress was a bit shorter than Misty's, allowing for a small bit of Dawn's legs to be shown. And her heels were taller and were a plain white, but it matched with the dress' design perfectly.
"I've done it again!" Lila said happily. Misty walked over to Ash, swinging her hips from side to side to add a little extra flirtatiousness to her appearance. And with the heels, Ash was no longer taller than her; they were eye to eye once more.
"You're lucky Lila didn't give me taller heels Ashy." Misty said flirtatiously. Ash gulped and gave a nervous chuckle. He had seen Misty in dresses before, but he had never seen her in one since he had known he was in love with her, and now Misty was blowing him away with the most gorgeous dress he had ever seen her in.
"I-I-I'm…I'm-I'm speechless." Ash managed to mumble, his blush furiously hot. Misty giggled at his flustered expression and gave him a soft peck on the lips. After that, Ash looked around for a chair so he wouldn't pass out from trying to stand in front of the girl he loved.
"You need to watch what you wear Misty, anything more than that and he'd pass out from lack of oxygen." Dawn joked. Misty giggled at that and Brock had a good laugh as well.
"And as for you Dawn, I'm willing to bet my reputation as a water-trainer that the next time you see Kenny, he'll be acting a lot shyer around you." Misty said.
"You really think so? I mean, he was acting weird on the phone but…that might not mean anything." Dawn replied.
"Trust me Dawn, how could he NOT like you, I mean, just look at you." Misty led Dawn over to a wall mirror, and the coordinator examined her reflection and smiled. "Just look at you Dawn, you're a beautiful girl that deserves the best. And I think Kenny wants to be that 'best'. You saw how he was on the phone, he even blushed." Misty said.
Dawn smiled and hugged the water-trainer in thanks, and Misty hugged back. "Don't you just love when the atmosphere feels light? You can feel the happiness in the air." Lila said.
"We can't thank you enough for this Lila, thank you SO much!" Dawn said blissfully. "It's the least I can do. Thanks to our contest battle I've re-experienced the enthusiasm and excitement that I haven't felt in a long time." Lila replied.
"And thanks to that battle, I think I may have figured out a thing or two about how to counter Fantina's 'Hypnosis'!" Ash exclaimed, getting back to his normal self.
"That's great! Let's all remember to work our hardest to achieve our goals, with Pokémon, and with life itself." Lila said.
The group cheered in agreement and they waved farewell to Lila as they headed back to the Pokémon Center with high spirits. Ash had finally figured out a strategy versus Fantina, and Dawn had another contest ribbon under her belt. And not only that, her spirits were lifted even higher at the notion of Kenny actually liking her past friendship.
You wanna know something Kenny? I think I might just like you too."
_
A/N: I would just like to apologize to my reviewers for not giving you a heads up on this chapter, but I just couldn't help myself! For some reason I couldn't wait to shoot this one out to you guys. In fact this chapter feels like some of my best work. I dunno if it is though until you guys give me some feedback. So make sure to review everyone!