Megan's POV

I walked into the contest hall with Espeon walking beside me and I made my way to the waiting area. Since Eevee had evolved, I'd had to decide on if I still wanted my Pokemon outside of her Pokeball, since she was now too big for me to carry or ride on my back and shoulder. I'd decided to keep her outside and could tell that Espeon enjoyed it as well.

As I walked, I thought back to everything that had happened since arriving in Fallarbor Town.

We had arrived in town a few days ago and we had spent most of our time training for my contest and the boys' gym battles. In order to have enough room for his recently-caught Zangoose, Adam had sent Houndoom back to the lab in Pallet Town. I was happy to see that my newly-caught Zangoose and Espeon fit in well with the rest of my team and I had gotten plenty of new ideas for appeals and double performances.

As I reached the waiting area, I told Espeon to wait on the bench for me while I went to get ready. Espeon nodded her head and jumped onto the bench and laid down and I went to the changing area.

When I was ready, I closed my lip gloss and checked my looks in the mirror one last time. I then walked back out to where Espeon was and took a seat beside her, waiting to see who else would show up.

One by one, my sister and my entire group of friends arrived. Once they got ready, they rejoined me at the bench I was sitting on.

"Hey, Eevee evolved!" Skye noticed in excitement.

"Everyone, meet Espeon. This will be her contest debut since evolving, the first chance we have to show off her new attacks." I commented.

"You're taking such great care of Espeon's coat." Ashlyn stated.

"Yeah, Espeon's fur is a lot different than Eevee's. Her fur has gone from thick and soft to short and smooth. So short, that I don't even have to brush it anymore. Her fur is always perfect!" I said, comparing the two.

"You now have two Psychic Pokemon, the other being Kirlia. Espeon was always one of my favorite evolved forms of Eevee, because of how beautiful it looks." Amber commented.

A small silence fell over us for a minute until Adrian walked over.

"Well, Megan...congratulations on evolving Eevee into a beautiful Espeon. Your Pokemon are growing to be just as beautiful as April's Pokemon." he said, and winked at me.

I blinked in surprise and I felt a slight heat come over my face.

"Uh...thank you." I said hesitantly.

I wonder if he's interested in both me AND April? Does he really like me or was that compliment just a compliment on how I take care of my Pokemon? I thought to myself, a little uncertain. Still...it did feel nice to hear.

"Good luck to both of you." Adrian said, looking at me and then at April before he walked off.

April leaned over to me. "Do you think he has a crush on you, too? Like how you said he has one on me?" she questioned softly.

"I'm not sure. Maybe he does, but we'll have to wait and see if his actions change." I whispered to my sister.

"So has anyone here won any new ribbons since we all last competed together?" Ashlyn asked, forcing mine and April's conversation to end.

"I won my second ribbon." Amber said.

"Same here." Skye replied.

"Well, I still have only one." said Ashlyn.

"I haven't won my second ribbon yet, either." April added. "But the Fallarbor contest was the first contest that my mom ever won. So I want to win this ribbon too, just like she did! It's very fitting."

"Maybe you will, Sis. But we don't know yet. I wish you the best, but if we face each other, I won't let you win so easily!" I replied confidently.

After another pause, Amber said, "I have something to ask you girls about. It's been on my mind for a while now."

We all turned our attention to her.

"I recently called my dad to see how his work is going and he asked me a peculiar question. He asked me how I would feel about him dating again and me possibly having a new mom. I told him that I wasn't sure how to feel and that I would tell him later. I also wasn't sure if he was just speaking hypothetically, or if it meant that he'd actually found someone that he has feelings for.

"So I need your advice and thoughts, girls. I don't even know how to feel or think. My mom died when I was a baby and my grandma raised me. I...have no memories of my mom."

"Well, he'll always keep your consideration in mind when making a big decision like this." Ashlyn said.

"Yeah, I agree with that. But...if he's found someone who makes him happy, then doesn't he deserve happiness? Don't both of you deserve happiness?" I asked.

"And it wouldn't be a betrayal to your birth mother, either. She would want you both to be happy and have love again." April added.

"Yeah, I see your points. And even after my dad came back into my life, I've felt like something was still missing. But...I still need to think all of this over before I tell him my thoughts." Amber said. "But for now, I'll just focus on winning this contest."

We all smiled, satisfied and happy that we could help our friend.

Glancing around the room, I saw Christina standing alone against the wall. I left our group and grabbed April's arm along the way.

"We need to talk to Christina, now that Dad has been proven innocent. He was the main reason why she hated us, and now that reason has been resolved." I explained to my sister, who nodded in approval.

We stopped in front of Christina, who looked at us. She seemed sad instead of hostile toward us.

"I don't know if your mom told you, but our dad has been proven innocent. YOUR dad was the reason for all of the problems! He was trying to frame our dad as being unfaithful in order to break up our parents because he hates our mom. So it's been proven that your dad was the instigator. Our dad was innocent. So you have no reason to hate us anymore."

"My mom called and told me everything that happened. She no longer knows if she can trust my dad anymore. So your family might be fine now, but now my family is the one that may be torn apart instead. I...need time to process everything, regarding how I feel about you two. I can't believe that my family is the one that may now be torn to pieces." she explained in a sad tone.

Any further conversation was ended as Sofia's voice began the introductions to the contest.

... ...

As we watched coordinator after coordinator, it was eventually Amber's turn, the first of our friends to go on stage.

"Next up is Amber!" Sofia announced.

Amber ran out and spun, tossing her Pokeball.

"Spotlight, Rapidash!" Rapidash appeared, surrounded by sparkles.

"Use Agility!" Rapidash sped across the stage, showing off its incredible speed.

"Flame Wheel!" With the added speed, Rapidash left embers and little wisps of fire as the Flame Wheel shot around the stage.

"Now use Quick Attack!" The Flame Wheel ended as Rapidash jumped out and shot forward. Lines of fire were left on the stage, creating a pattern of flames in the shape of a ribbon before burning out. Rapidash came to a stop beside Amber, who curtsied.

She received scores of 7.8, 8.3, and 8.5, totaling to 24.6 points.

So far, Amber was one of the highest scoring coordinators, and with good reason, judging by her amazing appeal.

... ...

"Next up...Ashlyn!"

Ashlyn ran out jumped as she tossed her Pokeball.

"Dragonair, curtain!" Dragonair appeared, surrounded by flames.

"Use Twister!" The flames mixed in with the Twister, creating a fire tornado.

"Aqua Tail!" The water hit the flames and extinguished them as it wrapped in the twister, now becoming a water tornado.

"Now use Hyper Beam!" The Hyper Beam hit the Twister and it rained down droplets of water as it fell.

Ashlyn curtsied and waited for her score. It was 8, 8.2, and 8.5, totaling to 24.7 points.

... ...

Soon, it was my turn and as I waited backstage for Sofia to announce me, I took a breath. I was nervous, since this would be Espeon's contest debut. We had practiced and I only hoped that things would work as how we had practiced.

"Next up is Megan!"

I ran out from the curtain, jumped over the stairs, and spun as I tossed my Pokeball.

"Spotlight, Espeon!" Espeon appeared, surrounded by sparkles which shone beautifully against her silky coat.

"Use Swift!" Stars shot all around the stage.

"Confusion!" Espeon's eyes glowed and the stars also glowed as Espeon began to control them and combine them into one big star.

"Now use Psybeam!" I watched as the combination was executed, but something about it wasn't like how it was when we had practiced. We hadn't been able to pull it off flawlessly. I wondered if the judges noticed it as I curtsied and waited for my score, uncertain of my odds.

7.7, 8.1, and 8, which made 23.8 points. We had scored on the lower side, compared to my friends who had performed so far.

As I made it back to the waiting area, Skye wasn't there, so she had to have been up next. I turned my attention to the screen, where I saw her.

"Showtime, Natu!" Skye cried as she tossed her Pokeball. Natu appeared, surrounded by a ribbon that swirled around it.

"Use Psychic!" Psychic caused the ribbon to glow and Natu now had control of it.

"Now use Psyshock!" The ribbon burst into pieces as the Psyshock hit it. The glowing pieces fell down over Natu and Skye as she curtsied.

She looked towards the judges to see her score: 7.5, 8.3, and 7.2, equaling to 23 points.

I saw a slight frown come across her features. She had scored on the lower side, just like I had.

... ...

"Next up is April!"

April ran out and spun, tossing her Pokeball.

"Curtain, Roselia!" Roselia appeared in a heart.

"Use Poison Sting!" The attack shattered the heart, which caused glitter to rain down on Roselia.

"Sweet Scent!" A pink aroma covered the stage.

"Now use Petal Dance!" Roselia began to dance and spun around before she launched her Petal Dance. Mixed in with the pink aroma on the stage and the glitter, the appeal was beautiful. April had to have been practicing a lot to perfect that.

April curtsied as Roselia bowed her head. Her score was 7.6, 8.1, and 8.5, totaling to 24.2 points.

After April, Adrian was next, since he had left the waiting area.

"Next up is Adrian!"

Adrian ran out and tossed his Pokeball.

"Showtime, Mudkip!" Mudkip appeared, surrounded by bubbles.

"Use Protect!" The bubbles burst as the golden shield surrounded Mudkip as it landed on the stage.

"Use Water Pulse, then Ice Beam!" Mudkip froze the spheres of water.

"Now use Rock Throw!" The rocks broke the ice balls and pieces of ice rained down onto the stage.

Adrian bowed and looked to see his score. It was 8.5, 8.8, and 8, equaling 25.3 points.

... ...

"And lastly, to close out the first round, we have Christina!"

Christina ran out and jumped and tossed her Pokeball.

"Shuppet, curtain!" Shuppet appeared, surrounded by smoke, giving it an eerie look.

"Use Will-o-Wisp!" The flames cast a glow to the smoke and Shuppet emerged from the smoke with the flames circling its body.

"Now use Shadow Ball!" The Shadow Ball shot downwards toward the stage.

"Sucker Punch!" Shuppet shattered the Shadow Ball with Sucker Punch.

She scored 7.9, 8.7, and 8.5, totaling to 25.1 points.

... ...

As we all sat, waiting for the results of who would be moving on to the second round, I was worried and I could tell that Skye was, too.

"We scored the lowest out of everyone our group. I'm afraid that we may not have luck on our side this time." Skye said, clearly not optimistic.

"My performance with Espeon wasn't perfect and could've used some more practice, but I assumed that Espeon could handle it...but I was wrong." I said in a sad tone.

I rubbed Espeon's head, trying to make her feel better. She was also disappointed with how she'd performed.

"You both did the best that you could do. You can only wait and see now." Ashlyn said.

"Right, you did your best. That's all that matters." Amber added.

"And there's always room for improvement." said April.

"Just learn from this experience if it doesn't go in your favor and use it to be better next time." Adrian added. (He had walked over to us.)

We just nodded our heads. I rubbed Espeon's head again as she nuzzled against my side, sensing my distress.

"You did your best, Espeon. Now we just have to wait and see." I told her softly.

"Now it's time to show the eight coordinators who will be moving on to the next round!" Sofia announced.

One by one, pictures were shown. Amber, Ashlyn, April, Adrian, and Christina's photos were on the screen with the other coordinators who qualified. Mine and Skye's picture weren't shown. We hadn't made it to the second round.

Espeon hung her head and I sighed, seeing the results.

"Hey, it's okay. We just have to work harder and practice a little more. We'll get it next time." I said, rubbing her head, trying to comfort her.

I would need to figure out how to make my appeals better, now that Eevee had evolved into Espeon. Our practice didn't quite fully pay off this time.

"I'm bummed, but I just have to work a little harder next time." I said.

"I have to work harder, too. I know I could've done better than what I did." Skye added.

I went to change into my usual clothes as the second round began.

Once I had changed, Espeon and I headed out of the contest hall, with heavy hearts. A cloud felt like it was hanging over me.

We walked to a park and I sat down on a bench. Espeon hopped up and laid her head in my lap. I ran my hand along her soft, smooth fur trying my best to comfort her.

As I tried to comfort Espeon, my mind went back to the contest and a few tears of frustration fell from my eyes. I hung my head and clenched my eyes, trying to keep the tears from falling. I'd put on a brave face in front of the others, but I was still frustrated and disappointed in myself and those tears were proof of that.

"Megan?"

I looked up and through the tears, I saw Adam looking at me with a worried expression. Adam sat down next to me as Espeon jumped down and sat with Pikachu on the grass.

"I was worried about how you would feel after not qualifying for the battles, so I left to come and find you. Jason stayed to find out who wins and he'll wait for us at the Pokemon Center with the others once the contest is over."

He hugged me and held me as I began to cry. I hugged him back, grateful for his comforting embrace. I calmed myself down after a little bit of crying and spoke.

"I'm sorry that you're seeing me like this. I've cried a lot during our journey together and my mom did the same while traveling with your dad. You must think that I'm just a big crybaby who can't do anything for herself, don't you?"

"No, I don't think that at all. I know you're frustrated and hurt by the results, but I'll always be here for you if you need somebody to hug or a shoulder to cry on. That's part of what being a good friend is all about.

"And those tears are proof that you're not satisfied with your performance, that you know that you can be better, and that you want to do better in the future. And that's a good thing. Crying is just a sign that you don't want to give up, even though your feelings are probably telling you to give up. I know that you don't want to give up, so don't."

Adam's words made perfect sense to me. My heart was telling me to keep following my dream, even though my head was telling me to give up. And before leaving home, my mom had told me to always follow my heart and trust in my friends.

I pulled away from the hug and wiped my tears away. As I looked at him and thought about what he said, that same warm feeling filled my heart and made me feel happier. I wondered if Adam felt it as well.

"You're right, Adam. So instead of crying and feeling sorry for myself, I need to try and think about what went wrong and what I should've done differently."

"That's the spirit, Megan! You know, my dad had a similar issue when he was traveling across Sinnoh with my mom. His Turtwig evolved and basically, he had to learn how to battle with it all over again from scratch because Grotle was bigger and moved slower than when he was Turtwig, creating an entirely new battling process."

"You're right, and that's what happened with Espeon. I have to learn how to make her new Psychic moves work properly. We just need a little more training and time to figure things out. There's a lot more to do, since Espeon now has more Psychic moves instead of Normal moves."

"Exactly!"

"And you'll be there to help me along the way?"

"Of course, Megan!"

Espeon jumped into my lap and I hugged her. We had our confidence back!

We made our way back to the Pokemon Center, where we found Jason and April waiting in the lobby.

"Ta-da!" April said, showing her new ribbon in her outstretched hand.

"Way to go!" I cried, hugging my sister.

"I'm proud that I won the same contest as Mom. I hope that I made her proud."

"I'm sure that you did, Sis."

"Are...you okay, Megan?" April asked, her tone becoming more serious.

"I'm alright now. Adam came and gave me a pep talk. Now Espeon and I know what to do and fix for next time."

Adrian then walked over with his hand behind his back.

"April, congrats on winning your second ribbon. You've certainly improved since the last contest." he said, presenting her with not one, but TWO red roses.

April blushed and took the roses. "Th-Thank you, Adrian. I've been practicing, trying to be better."

"Well, it certainly paid off. See you girls later!"

As he walked off, April handed me one of the roses, saying, "Here, Sis. A gift to cheer you up."

"Thanks!" I said, hugging her.

"But I'll bet you wish that Adam would give you a rose instead, right?" she whispered.

"Maybe. I'm not sure. And besides, that's Adrian's style, not Adam's." I whispered back.

"How about you join us for lunch, April? I recently found a good place to eat in town." I offered.

"Sure, I'm game."

So the four of us headed out into town to get some lunch.

Author's Note: Megan's first contest with her newly-evolved Espeon ends in defeat. For the first time, she doesn't pass the appeals round!

Her sister ends up winning instead, just like how their mom had done so, many years earlier.

But with some comforting wise words from Adam, Megan is able to recover and knows what to do next time! She sees that Espeon wasn't able to succeed because she needed more time and practice to get used to her new attacks.

However, both sisters' Pokemon and coordinating prowess seem to have caught the eye of Adrian, who gives them both some kind words and a pair of roses for April.

Plus, Amber reveals to her friends that her father may possibly have his eye on a new woman!

And Christina, who had a vendetta against the Hayden sisters, may end up have her family ripped apart instead!

... ...

Will Megan do better in her next contest?

What was that warm feeling in her heart that she felt when Adam was comforting her? (It's the same feeling that she felt around him in the last chapter.)

What are Adrian's true intentions with Megan and April, given how kind he's been to them?

What will happen between Christina, Megan, and April moving forward?

Does Amber's dad really have his eye on a potential lover (and new mom for Amber) or was he just asking her hypothetically?

And where will our heroes be heading to next?

So many questions, huh? Let us know if you have any potential ideas for what the answers could be, and stay tuned for the next chapter of Pokemon NG!