Sinnoh Region - Oreburgh City
"Good luck in your contest, we'll be cheering you on." Dawn smiled. She, Brock, and Ash were at the bus station to see Harry off.
"Thank you, and good luck with that new technique of yours."
Harry smiled at the girl before turning to a still-agitated Ash.
"Don't worry, Ash. I'm sure you'll do better in your rematch with Roark." He tried to comfort him.
Ash's battle with Roark earlier that day hadn't gone as well as Ash would have hoped. First, it had taken a combined effort of Aipom, Turtwig, and Pikachu to take down Cranidos. With Aipom being knocked out and the other two taking a considerable amount of damage. Roark's Onix had then made fairly quick work of Turtwig before finally facing down with Pikachu. Ash seemed to be making some headway toward the end of the battle when he had managed to circumvent Onix's speed when he had Pikachu use Thunderbolt on the field and use the erupting debris to their advantage. Their upper hand hadn't lasted long. Like with Harry, Onix's Screech had completely overwhelmed Pikachu and sent the poor electric mouse crashing through several large rocks.
Overall, Ash lost.
Harry was pretty sure the thing that upset Ash most, had been the fact that Paul had watched the whole battle. Though he had tried to leave before the battle was over and Harry had had to stop him from walking out halfway through. So Harry could sympathize with Ash. Nobody would ever want an audience for their loss, especially not their rival. Harry for sure, would never want Malfoy to get wind of his first time going against Roark.
Ash gave Harry a determined smile while raising a clenched fist.
"Yeah, you better believe it." Ash's smile dropped as he looked at his fist. "There's no way I'm gonna lose to him."
Harry frowned at the tone of the last word, feeling a bit uneasy.
"Um, Ash? You know you're battling Roark and not Paul, right?"
Ash's expression went from determined to baffled in less than a heartbeat.
"Even when you're focused on a battle, you're still distracted by a battle," Brock said with a chuckle.
The announcement of Harry's bus departure brought an end to the conversation.
Harry boarded the bus and made his way to an open seat.
He looked out the window and he saw Ash, Brock, and Dawn still at the terminal. As the doors closed and the bus started to pull forward, Harry waved at the trio who all waved back until they were completely out of sight.
After watching the scenery go by for a while and enjoying the calm he felt at the moment, he took out his ribbon case and opened it.
He stared at the singular ribbon inside and smiled as he felt the calm inside himself being replaced with determination.
The smile dropped from his face as he let out a startled gasp when the feelings of resolution inside of him seemed to amplify so suddenly it felt like he had been physically hit. Looking down at his waist pouch where his pokéballs were and the smile slowly came back to his face.
"Alright, then," He said before looking back ahead at the road throw the window. "We're all agreed. Let's give this next performance all we've got."
Sinnoh Region - Littlefield Town - Pokemon Center
"Up!"
"Murrkrow!"
Murkrow flapped her wings and went into a short dive bomb as she spun before opening her wings and darting back upwards, hardly losing any of her speed.
"Brilliant!" The green-eyed trainer gushed.
Harry had been training for the last five days since he had gotten to town and was trying to polish up the best he could for their performance the next day.
He and Murkrow were currently practicing her dives and reaction time.
At first, Harry had wanted to try and see if they could recreate the Murkrow Feint they had done during their battle with Ash, and then from there they had segued into trying different maneuvers.
Murkrow was very agile and had no problem executing whatever move Harry told her to but Harry had wanted to make her moves as tight as possible. So he was having Murkrow dive over and over again and giving her different commands at different times. Murkrow had steadily gotten quicker at immediately moving at Harry's call. Overall, he felt they had made good progress in the time that they had been training, especially as Harry was planning to use Murkrow in the battle round of the contest.
"Do it just like that and we'll be golden tomorrow." He praised, holding out an arm for the dual type to land on.
"I wouldn't go making declarations like that just yet, Newb."
Harry felt his good mood drop the moment he heard the familiar voice and name.
He let out a quiet sigh as he turned around and saw exactly the person he knew it was and didn't want it to be; Kyle. Harry couldn't figure out if the guy was mocking him or if he was just slightly irritating by nature. He still had a friendly enough expression and his tone of voice sounded amiable but, once again, he managed to say something that sounded like a thinly veiled insult.
The other boy was walking over from the side of the field. He was wearing a powder blue polo shirt, white slacks, and brown boat shoes along with a pair of sunglasses hooked in his collar.
"Crazy seeing you again. And it looks like you're entering the Littlefield contest too."
Harry stared at the other coordinator as he walked over to him before replying.
"Yeah, I am. And do you think you should be calling the person you lost to a newb?" Harry tried to keep his tone light and friendly, the same way Kyle did, but the words sounded too tight.
The brunette chuckled and shrugged. "Everyone has their off days. Besides," Kyles' friendly smile turned into a smirk. "a little bout of beginner's luck isn't going to last forever. So why should I worry."
Harry had to keep himself from, actually, growling at the taller boy. He couldn't hold back a glare though. Yes, he was sure, he was mocking him.
Kyle continued smirking, not bothered by Harry's vexed expression, for another moment before turning toward Murkrow.
"So you caught yourself a Murkrow. Planning on using it in the contest, Newb?" He asked.
"Yes, I am," Harry answered tersely, before adding. "And don't call me that."
"Alright, alright I hear ya, I didn't mean to offend, " He said, his hands raised placatingly.
Suddenly the friendly demeanor Kyle had was replaced with a much more challenging attitude.
"Anyway, good luck tomorrow. You're going to need it."
Harry, feeling more at ease with the familiarity of competitive rivalry, than the mocking friendliness from before, smiled back determinedly.
"Careful, you might regret those words if this turns into a repeat of last time."
The two stared at one another for a few more moments before Kyle let his easy friendly smile take over his face and shrugging with a hum.
"I guess we'll just have to wait and see then."
He turned and started walking back to the pokemon center.
Just before he turned the corner of the building he called over his shoulder, in his typical friendly voice. "See ya later, Shorty." Then walked around the center out of sight.
This time Harry didn't bother holding back his growl.
Marian stood under the single spotlight on the otherwise dark stage.
"Feel the soft breeze, smell the fresh air, hear the echo of nature. It's contest time! Welcome to the contest from the town of simple pleasures; Littlefield Town!"
The lights of the contest hall came on and illuminated the stage
The crowd erupted in applause and cheers as the intro began.
"This is what the winning coordinator will receive, the coveted Littlefield Ribbon."
The MC continued with the standard intro; introducing the judges and explaining the contest.
Harry was watching them on the TV backstage with the other coordinators, but he was only half paying attention to the proceedings.
He would be going on third, much sooner than his last contest, so there wasn't much time before it would be his turn.
"Please put your hands together for our first coordinator. From Sunyshore City, it's Kyle!"
That announcement had brought Harry's full attention to the TV, where Marian was gesturing to the entrance where Kyle was standing. The other boy was now dressed in a dark green suit and cravat.
"Mantyke, you're up!" He called as he threw out a capsule-covered pokeball. Mantyke appeared in a shower of blue confetti with a happy cry.
Harry immediately took out his dex to scan the manta-looking pokemon.
Mantyke, the kite Pokemon. Mantyke are very friendly toward people and will approach boats closely. They capture the subtle flows of seawater using their two antennae. The patterns on their backs differ depending on their habitat.
"Mantyke, use Whirlpool!"
"Maaa~!" Mantyke squealed as it opened its mouth and released a large vortex of water above itself.
"Now use Ariel Ace!"
Mantyke's body became surrounded by white streaks of energy as it flew through the center of the whirlpool, pulling a trail of water behind it as it came out the top and headed skyward above the stationary whirlpool.
"Look at that~ The water from the Whirlpool has caught the glow from Ariel Ace and is glowing beautifully against Mantyke's blue body."
"Come down with Agility!"
"Maa~" Mantyke squealed as it flew down doing a variety of sharp zig-zags and loops while still being followed by the water trail that was slowly ebbing away at the end into a tail of blue sparkles.
" Now, back to the Whirlpool and finish with Mirror Coat!"
Mantyke's body became coated by a glowing reflective aura as it collided with the back of the whirling water.
Right when the Mirror Coat made contact with the whirlpool the whole thing burst outwards, the dispersing water particles making blue sparkles appear all around the stadium. However, the trail from wear Mantyke had used Agility was filled but an impressive looping rainbow.
Kyle and Mantyke struck a final pose and the crowd erupted in cheers and applause.
Wow! Would ya listen to that ovation? Sound like our first contestant has the endorsement of the audience, so now let's hear from our judges."
"Mantyke's moves did a spectacular job of highlighting its dule typing in an impressive and riveting way. It kept me transfixed from start to finish.
"And Remarkable."
"The perception and fluidity of Mantyke's movements were just marvelous. A truly top-tier performance to kick off this contest."
Backstage, Harry watched the proceedings of the contest on the TV, begrudgingly unsurprised at the high praise. He may find Kyle, enigmatically irritating, but there was no denying that he was a skilled coordinator. He hadn't forgotten the fact that it was his battle against the other boy that had gotten him his first ribbon. Harry also wasn't too proud or argent to acknowledge that, aside from Roark; a gym leader, Kyle had been the most challenging opponent he had faced to date.
Harry wrapped his arms loosely around his middle as he felt the same stone of anxiety in the pit of his gut tighten as the next coordinator came to the stage. He had been prepared to feel the same per-show nerves he'd had during his first contest or his gym challenges, but this time his nervousness was borderline painful with the way his stomach was twisted up.
The tall, dark-haired, young man in a green travelers hat and cape had just sent out a Kricketot when a voice pulled Harry's attention from the TV.
"So what'd you think?"
Harry turned and saw Kyle standing behind him, his usual friendly demeanor now shadowed with an obvious smugness.
The green-eyed trainer stared at the other boy for a long moment, needing a moment to think about the question; What did he think?
He thought about the performance had just seen from Kyle, and then he thought back to the battle he'd had with the other boy, then to his battles that led him to the semi-finals and his first appeal performance and how he felt during the completion and what he felt from his pokemon.
His pokemon. He had his pokemon with him to think about, if he was a nervous mess then they would be too.
Harry unwrapped his arms from around himself and straightened up. It wasn't just his next contest it was his pokemons contest as well, they were doing it with him, together. And if they were together he had nothing to worry about. His stomach was still knotted up, but his nerves had receded a bit and were replaced by anticipation.
A determined smile spread across his lips as he came back to himself and looked at a now slightly perplexed Kyle.
"I think, we're going to give this performance all that we can." He said in a surprisingly, slow and even voice. He turned on his heel and started making his way toward the stage entrance, ignoring the other coordinators confused and curious "Huh?"
Harry stood ready behind the curtain. He held up the ball capsule and tried to focus as much of his confidence as he could on the ball inside.
He was met with a small burst of determination, making him smile.
"Now time for our next entry, It's Harry!"
The curtain rose and Harry wasted no time in rushing forward and throwing out the pokeball.
"Sylveon, you're on!"
Sylveon came out of the ball capsule shrouded in mist, its outline the only thing visible.
"Alright, use Swift all around!"
"Syl!"
Sylveon's silhouette spun around as pink glitter-dusted gold stars erupted from its ribbons and began circling it and dispersing the mist.
"Now, swirl your ribbons and use Fairy Wind!"
Sylveon brought its ribbons together before pulling them apart in a spinning motion, swiveling them around, and unleashing a glittery pink whirlwind around and above itself. As the Fairy Wind and Swift collided the stars started spinning faster as they picked up speed, leaving bright pink glittering light trails as they spiraled upwards like a gigantic maypole without the pole.
Harry felt unbelievably giddy at seeing the effect come together, the two of them had been working on this technique since he caught Ralts.
"Finish with Disarming Voice!"
"Syl-Vee-On~" Sylveon cried out, releasing a single glowing heart-shaped shockwave up towards the middle of the fusion move. When the three-way move all collided, they burst outward in a glittering heart, sending the golden stars and pink sparkles sprinkling over the stage.
Finished, Harry gave a dramatic bow, one arm over his stomach and the other raised slightly behind him with Sylveon doing the same with its ribbons.
"What a thrill! It's not every day you see a performance like that." Marian announced before letting the judges give their thoughts.
"Using moves to complement each other is a key skill in contests and we were treated to a grade-A example of how that's done."
"Agreed! Remarkable."
"The timing between pokemon and coordinator was perfect. Excellent and well trained."
Harry felt a rush of pride at the praise. And not just for himself, he looked down at where Sylveon was, looking up at him. Harry could feel the satisfaction Sylveon felt as the two made their way backstage.
Harry watched the remainder of the appeals round in relative peace.
A Smoochum had melted the crowd with its cuties through the use of Covet and Fake Tears.
One girl's Banette used Icy Wind and Will-O-Wisp to make a creepily captivating show.
Another coordinator had his Venonat use its Confusion on the three powders it produced to make a culdoscopy in midair.
He wasn't feeling as anxious as he had been before and for whatever reason Kyle hadn't approached him again.
He smiled to himself at the humor of the interaction before his turn. When Kyle had asked him what he thought when he'd been panicking, it was clear the other boy had been flexing about his performance. But it had got Harry thinking; about Kyles and his skills as a coordinator, which had led him to think about his own experiences as a coordinator, and from there about what he'd felt from his pokemon and finally, to his pokemon. Thinking about his partners had finally had him coming back to himself, and focusing, and thinking through the trains of thought that got him there had diminished his pre-show jitters.
So it was thanks to Kyle that he had been calm enough to give the performance he had.
Now he was sitting, helping Murkrow with her preening while Sylveon munched on a pokepuff, waiting for the judge to make their decisions.
As Harry ran some feather oil down Murkrows body the TV came back on.
"And now the moment you've been waiting for. Here are the eight coordinators who made it through. These lucky eight contestants have so impressed our judges, that they're going on to be part of round two. The exciting battle round."
Harry and every other competitor were watching the TV with wrapped attention. On the screen, eight squares were displayed and just like last time, they started flipping over revealing the picture of the coordinator that would be moving on. The first was the guy with the Kricketot, and Harry kind of wished he'd been paying more attention to his performance. At the fourth square, Kyle's picture was shown. Then, at the fifth square, Harry's smiling picture was revealed.
Harry couldn't stop the face-splitting smile if he'd wanted to.
"Krow!" Murkrow cried out.
Harry could feel the anticipation rolling of the avian.
He slowly stroked her back as she turned and looked at him with sharp red eyes.
"Let's give this all we've got." He said, feeling both of their resoluteness passing between them.
"Krow!"
Harry looked back up and the TV screen. They had already gotten over the first hurdle, now they just needed to finish the race.
They weren't going to stop until it was over.
AN:Yikes I tried to have this out before the end of last year...that didn't happen. But hey better late than never. Right?
Age
Kyle:15