Megan's POV

Today was going to be a good day. That's what I was currently thinking as Adam, Jason, and I entered Purika City. It had been a week since we'd left Mossdeep City and things had been surprisingly uneventful in the time between that day and now. In fact, we'd actually spent the past three days on Izabe Island, prior to today's arrival at Purika City. But now that we were here, I was confident that things would start getting more exciting in the days to come, because Purika City was where my next contest was scheduled to be held and I was determined to put on the absolute best performance that I could muster.

I looked towards Adam, remembering that the upcoming contest wasn't the only thing that I'd been engaging in a lot of training for. Over the last week, Jason and I had done a lot of work in helping Adam in his training to control his Aura powers. He now seemed to really be getting the hang of it all. And considering just how useful his Aura powers could be, the fact that he appeared to be progressing well in his Aura training was definitely worth feeling happy about.

As I continued looking Adam's way, a small smirk came onto my face as I remembered how it would now be entirely likely that Adam would be taking part in the upcoming contest here, alongside me.

Here's hoping that he's got something excellent thought up for his appeal. I thought to myself.

"There's the Pokemon Center." Jason abruptly said, pausing in his footsteps and pointing in the direction of where, sure enough, the Purika City Pokemon Center was located. "Come on, let's get over there before Megan loses her chance at participating in the contest!"

I briefly glared towards Jason, somewhat irked that he'd thrown off my concentration on my earlier thoughts. But at the same time, I certainly couldn't deny that it would be nice to get to the Pokemon Center and successfully register for the upcoming contest while I still had time to do so. And so I nodded my head in agreement with a smile on my face as we all headed over.

Inside the lobby, my eyes widened in shocked delight when I noticed a familiar black-haired girl sitting to the right.

"Christina!" I yelled, lifting my hand and waving it around to ensure that she'd notice me.

"Glad to see that you made it, Megan." she said as she got up from her seat and headed over to where I was standing, alongside Adam and Jason. "And congrats on your older sister making it to the Grand Festival. "I'm sure that she and Adrian will make fine opponents for me to go up against there."

"Nice to see that you made it here, too. So what brings you here, Christina?"

"I figured that I'd drop by to watch this contest to gauge the competition for the Grand Festival, since I have five ribbons." she responded. "Of course, this contest also as some historical significance to you and I both, Megan. After all, it's where my dad and your mom met in a contest for the first time."

Hearing this, I couldn't help but whistle and nod my head, a half-smile and half-grimace forming on my face as I started remembering what my mom had told April and I about that day.

"That day's definitely been a source of equal parts amusement and embarrassment amongst my family." I admitted.

Christina nodded her head. "I'd be surprised if that weren't the case. Especially considering what my father tried to pull."

"Didn't Harley try to sabotage your mom's chances by giving her false advice on how to deal with an opponent's Surskit?" Adam asked, turning his head to look at me. "And when that failed, he attempted to undermine her ability to perform to the best of her abilities by broadcasting a recording he'd made of Max telling him an embarrassing childhood story involving your mom and a colony of Tentacools?"

I gritted my teeth into a tight smile and said, "Yep, that's what happened. And all because my mom thought his Cacturne was scary and considered his cookies only quote-unquote 'not half bad'."

"Yep, that's my father alright." Christina admitted, nervously chuckling. "But at least your mom managed to win anyway. Which of course, naturally, didn't improve my father's mood."

She looked meaningfully at me and admitted, "At least the reasoning behind my initial hatred of you and your sister had a much more solid and less petty reasoning behind it, compared to my father's hatred of your mom."

I winced as the memory of how my dad had been framed by Harley to look as if he were having an affair with Christina's mom rapidly began to reawaken in my mind.

"You're certainly not wrong there." I admitted.

After all, as much as her hatred of me had still been somewhat unfair to it, being based on a 'sins of the father' mentality involving something that I hadn't even been playing any part in, at least the apparent reasoning behind it had been a lot more understandably hate-worthy, compared to the rather petty and self-absorbed reasoning that Harley had used to justify his own ongoing vendetta against my mom.

Christina then hung her head and sighed, now looking rather downcast and saddened.

"For what it's worth, I really am sorry for how I acted. I truly was wrong to treat you and your sister the way that I did, especially since the reason behind it - as reasonable as it would have been if genuine - never actually existed. Your dad was entirely innocent the whole time." she said in a remorseful tone.

The sight of Christina looking so sad and remorseful was enough to make me feel understandably sorry for her, and I quickly put a hand on her shoulder with a look of sympathy on my face.

"It's not your fault." I said when Christina directed a saddened look of confusion towards me. "I mean, considering just how convincing a performance my dad was putting on when he got seen in the act of his deep cover work to get the proof that he needed to show my mom that he wasn't being unfaithful, I was honestly starting to believe for myself that he was indeed perhaps guilty of what you were accusing him of doing. So to put it frankly, you had every right to be angry at us with the context and information that you had at the time. Honestly, I would have been just as angry as you if I'd been in your shoes. So I don't blame you at all for initially resenting me and my family."

I then removed my hand from Christina's shoulder and continued, "And you know what? I'm also grateful that you at least didn't go to the same petty lengths that your dad stooped to. Even when we were still enemies, you always tried to beat me in contests the honest way, instead of trying to resort to cheating and similar sabotage like your dad did. And as you can guess, I'm especially relieved that you and I have managed to patch things up and become friends before our 'feud' could last long enough to potentially allow you to start acting more like your father. Not to mention, once we all found out the truth about my dad, you immediately apologized and admitted that you were wrong to hate us, especially for a reason that, as it turned out, didn't even actually exist in the first place. To make a long story short, I'm proud that you proved yourself to be a bigger person than your father, and very happy indeed to now call you my friend."

"Thanks, Megan." she whispered, smiling.

Then we hugged, warm smiles on our faces as we did so. I was glad that my words had helped her.

"You're welcome, Christina." I said. "And don't worry. What happened between our families in the past doesn't have to affect our friendship now. So you can move on and stop feeling sorry for yourself."

"I agree." She then nodded her head and allowed us to split apart from our hug. "For what it's worth, I'll be cheering you on in the contest here in a few days' time."

"Happy to hear it."

"Well, I'm certainly happy to see that you're still good friends now." said a new voice.

We all turned our heads in time to see none other than Amber strolling her way over, a warm smile on her face.

"Good to see you here, Christina." she said. "We really missed you at Mossdeep."

Christina chuckled and said, "So I've heard."

"Well, at least now she'll be here to watch." I said. "And on that note, I'm guessing that you'll be competing as well, Amber?"

But to my surprise, Amber shook her head and admitted, "Not this time."

I raised my eyebrow, visibly confused. This was a good chance for either of us to win the final ribbon that we needed to qualify for the Grand Festival. Why would she turn this chance down?

"Well, I guess that means I'll have to bow out this time around." said Adam. "After all, I did say that I'd compete in the next contest that both Megan and Amber competed in, not one that just you or just Amber were competing in. On the bright side, at least now I'll have extra time to research and practice. Especially since, now that I think about it, the appeal that I had in mind for today certainly still has some room for improvement."

Christina raised her eyebrow and queried, "Taking an interest in coordinating, huh?"

"He felt like taking a stab at it." I admitted. "After all, his mom's one of the best coordinators in the world and his dad occasionally took part in contests alongside her when they were our age."

"Got that right." said Jason. "But unfortunately, his planned attempt at performing in a contest will have to wait. For as established, he promised to perform alongside BOTH Megan and Amber. And with Amber planning to sit this contest out, he'd be breaking his promise if he were to take part now."

"Don't worry, Megan. In the event that you don't win the upcoming contest here in Purika City, I'll be sure to compete alongside you in the next contest." Amber said to me.

She then looked to Adam and asked, "With that being said, would it be okay if I sat with you in the audience during the contest?"

"I don't see why not." Adam stated, a companionable smile on his face. "I'll be happy to let you sit with Jason and I."

"No problem on my end, Amber. Though I'll be happy to sit elsewhere if you'd rather sit with just Adam alone." Jason said with a cheeky grin on his face.

I let a tight smile come onto my face, for while Jason hadn't probably meant to frame his recent comment as a joke, it had allowed me to very swiftly put two and two together and realize a seemingly ulterior motive behind Amber's request that Adam and Jason clearly hadn't considered. And in the process, I now realized exactly what sort of especially good reason could be behind Amber's decision to bow out of the upcoming contest.

By not competing, and subsequently choosing to sit with Adam in the audience, she'd have all the more time to spend with him and potentially get ahead of me in our little "race" for his heart, while I would be busy competing. And worse, now that Amber had both made it clear of her wish to not take part in the contest AND had successfully gotten her wish granted to sit with Adam in the audience, I couldn't bow out of the contest myself without such an action looking like an obvious 'counter-strike' against Amber, or making things awkward for everyone!

Christina raised her eyebrow, seemingly realizing that something didn't appear quite right with me, and asked, "You okay, Megan?"

I quickly nodded my head, working my best to regain my composure, saying, "I'm alright, Christina. Nothing to worry about."

And in all fairness, that wasn't completely a lie. After all, as worried as a part of me was about Amber's potential ulterior motives behind her current plans involving the contest, the rest of me was now feeling extra determined to make a good impression during my performances in both the appeals and battle rounds of the contest.

I may not be able to compete against you directly, Amber. I thought to myself. But that doesn't mean that I'm not gonna compete against you at all.

Adam's POV

Three days later, I couldn't help but feel excited as I stood in the contest hall lobby, alongside Jason and the girls. Regardless of who won, I could already tell that today would almost certainly be a big day for us, just as the day of the Mossdeep City contest had been. At that moment, Amber and Christina were exchanging some last words with Megan before we'd have to part ways.

"Good luck out there today, Megan." Christina said as she hugged Megan before hurrying off to get a seat.

Megan chuckled as she watched her former-enemy-turned-friend depart. "Thanks, Christina!" she yelled, loud enough for Christina to hear.

Amber nodded and gave Megan a hug as well, saying, "Good luck out there." She then leaned her head somewhat closer towards Megan's left ear. "Believe me, you'll need it today."

Hearing this, Megan raised her eyebrow for a brief minute or so before she tightened her embrace around Amber, causing me to raise my own eyebrow in mild confusion and curiosity. What reason did Megan have to raise her eyebrow like that in response to Amber just wishing her luck? Was there some double meaning that I wasn't getting or something?

Then I saw Jason stepping forward to wish Megan luck and I shook my head to clear my thoughts. Whatever it was that had gotten Megan to react the way she'd just did, I could worry about it later. So I calmly walked up to wish Megan luck, alongside Jason.

"Good luck out there, Megan." said Jason.

"You heard him, Megan." I said. "Good luck out there. Show the people of Purika City what you've got!"

Megan chuckled and said, "I'll see what I can do."

With that, she ended her hug with Amber, turned, and hurried off in the direction of the backstage changing rooms.

"Right, then." Amber said, clasping her hands together. "Shall we go and find our seats?"

With a nod of our heads, Jason and I walked alongside Amber into the auditorium. It wasn't long before we found our seats.

"I just realized that we could perhaps use a snack or two, so I'm gonna go back out real quick and see if I can get a hold of anything available out there. Just save my seat for a couple of minutes." Jason said.

"Can do." I said, with Amber nodding her head in agreement.

Jason smiled, a vaguely Manectric-like grin on his face.

"Excellent." he stated, before turning around and rushing off to go and get the snacks.

What the heck was that grin supposed to be about? I thought to myself.

But before I could think about that matter for very long, I felt Amber tap me on the shoulder, and I promptly turned my head in her direction.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Depends." she said, briefly looking left and right, as if checking to see if anyone was watching or listening. "Can we talk while we're waiting?"

"Sure, no problem." I responded. "We've certainly got time before the contest starts. Go right ahead."

Amber took a deep breath, and then looked intently at me, asking, "How close of a friend would you say I am to you? Especially compared to other girls?"

I raised my eyebrow, mildly amused, and answered, "Do you even need to ask? You're one of my closest female friends. Right up there alongside Megan and Michelle."

"Well, that's good to hear. But...what drew you to me, if you don't mind my asking? I mean, what's allowed me to be just as close of a friend to you as Michelle and Megan are that Nikki, Christina, and Ashlyn didn't have?"

I thought carefully to myself for about a minute or two. In all honesty, I'd never really thought about this matter before. Fortunately, it didn't take long for me to answer.

"Three things, actually." I responded.

Amber raised her eyebrow, clearly intrigued. "Really? What things?"

"Well, to start...your beauty."

Amber blushed slightly. "You...really thought that I was beautiful?"

"I still do, to be honest." I admitted. "I mean, one would have to be a fool to think otherwise. But yeah, not to sound like my dad's old friend Brock, but your natural beauty, plus the outfits that you tended to wear both onstage and off did help get my attention. Not to mention, so did your becoming friends with Michelle. But it was the other two things that I'm about to mention that would ensure that I became such a close friend to you, beyond those initial days of intrigue.

"The first of those two things was your courage. You've always displayed it in your contest battles, never giving up, not even when things get tough. Win or lose, you always give it your all. And even in your defeats, you've always accepted them with grace and a humble smile, up to and including back in Mossdeep City."

I then let a proud smile come on my face as an especially appropriate memory awakened in my mind.

"But most importantly, you were brave enough to choose to keep following your own path in life, instead of letting your family's connections with Team Rocket dictate your destiny for you, even after finally becoming aware of said connections. And better yet, you were willing to give up your very life for the sake of staying true to your beliefs and who you were, instead of sacrificing your principles and letting yourself embrace your heritage as Giovanni's granddaughter, well and truly become his heir in crime just to save your own skin. You've gotta admit, you can hardly get more courageous than that! You honestly remind me of myself in that way."

"Thanks, Adam." Amber said, a blush forming once again as she hung her head bashfully. "And what was the third thing?"

"Your loyalty, of course." I responded, not missing a beat. "You've shown that to me and all of the others in our circle of friends by always being willing to lend a hand whenever we've been in danger, or even any lesser form of trouble. You also show it to your Pokemon. I mean, judging by how you use them in your contests and battles, it's pretty obvious to me how confident you are in their ability to succeed when you train them, always bringing out the best in them in the process.

"To make a long story short, those three things combined are what solidified my faith in you, not to mention my willingness to be your friend."

At this point, Amber's face was starting to turn as red as a cheri berry from all of the compliments that I was giving her. And considering how stunned I myself was starting to feel at my ability to so easily make them, I could already imagine just how good she must have felt to hear it all.

Better yet, I actually didn't even need to imagine how she was feeling. For at that moment, I could feel her Aura through our Aura Bond and see exactly how she was feeling in the process. And at that moment, I could easily recognize her current emotions as the exact same ones she'd been feeling during our time alone together in Lavaridge Town.

And looking further within, it was clear as day that there was something in her heart that she desperately wanted to say, but was holding it back, alongside what I could recognize as a small bit of fear. Obviously, she was nervous about something and whatever it was that made her nervous was enough to make her reluctant to fully come clean about what she wanted to tell me for the time being.

But as it so happened, I already knew exactly what she wanted to tell me. For at that moment, I was also recognizing that the way her Aura felt was exactly the same kind of feeling I myself had originally felt for Michelle. Amber was in love with me, but couldn't bring herself to tell me, regardless of just how badly she wanted to. It was no doubt because she was afraid of me possibly rejecting her. And I had to admit, after how things had unfolded between me and Michelle after I myself had confessed to her about my own feelings for her at the time, I could hardly blame Amber for her reluctance to tell me.

Now that I thought about it, I was honestly still not entirely certain if I returned her feelings or not. On the one hand, with how easily I'd been able to truthfully compliment her on all of the traits that had allowed me to view her as such a good friend, plus how happy I was feeling at this ability to do so, I couldn't deny that it was certainly possible that I felt a lot more strongly for her than I'd originally thought. But at the same time, much like during the other times I'd thought this matter over, there was no denying how, instead of the warmth and happiness it had felt around Michelle, my heart was currently still feeling confused and conflicted.

But then I thought to myself some more, remembering what my mom had said to me when I'd previously talked to her about this matter. She'd said that my heart was subconsciously remembering how I'd put it on the line for Michelle, only to end up rejected, and that it was afraid of coming back out of its shell for anyone else, as a result.

And as these thoughts crossed my mind, I remembered how my friends and I had heard about a girl that seemingly looked an awful lot like Michelle, who had been traveling through Hoenn and had even asked other people about me, as if she was looking for me. And while I'd been nervous about the idea of meeting up with her again, after how badly things had unfolded between us the last time we'd seen each other, perhaps having this girl turn out to indeed be Michelle was a blessing in disguise. Not only had my friends brought up some valid points when I'd previously discussed my worries about seeing Michelle again, but perhaps having a talk with her and finally clearing the air would help me finally clear my heart and mind and allow me the ability to move on and understand how I currently felt about Amber.

And as I continued considering this idea, the more it started to seem honestly quite appealing. I surreptitiously clenched my right hand into a fist, a determined glare coming onto my face.

I hope that it's really you out there looking for me, Michelle. I thought to myself. Regardless of how we now feel about each other, it's high time that we both have a much-needed talk about where we now stand. Especially if I'm to have any chance of figuring out how I currently feel about Amber, not to mention possibly moving on and finding happiness with her if I turn out to return her own current feelings that she has for me. And besides, she's one of your closest friends. Surely, you'd be happy for the both of us if she and I were together, wouldn't you?'

In that moment, after what had to have been a pretty long pause, I noticed Amber nodding her head out the corner of my eye and I immediately turned my head to directly face her once more.

"I really am glad that you had all of those nice things to say about me." she admitted. She then looked directly at me, a somewhat sheepish look on her face. "I mean, even with all of the things you've just said that you admire about me, I was honestly really afraid for a while that none of that would matter once you learned about my family's connection with Team Rocket. I mean, sure, your father didn't really have that much direct experience with my grandfather during his quest to become the Pokemon Master, but with the experiences that he and your mom DID have with him, not to mention with Team Rocket as a whole, I'm sure that it wouldn't have been unreasonable to expect him to not necessarily have a high opinion of anything or anyone affiliated with Team Rocket.

"And with that in mind, plus just how far worse of an experience you and your friends have had against my grandfather's old organization, I was honestly afraid that you'd hate me and want nothing more to do with me if it came to light how I was not directly related to Team Rocket's old leader, but actually the direct heir to his old position, after my father."

I immediately put a hand on her shoulder, a part-sympathetic, part-proud look on my face, assuring her, "I'd never hate you, Amber. I mean, sure, I was surprised to learn about you being the granddaughter of Giovanni, but like I said before, you've always stayed true to yourself and your beliefs, even choosing to risk dying for such, instead of letting what your father and grandfather have done in the past influence how you live your life.

"Besides, as much as I personally feel quite happy with the opportunity that I have to hopefully live up to my dad's legacy, I do somewhat have an idea about how you feel, in more ways than one. I mean, my cousin Brittany hasn't allowed her father's past as a Pokemon hunter for Team Rocket define her any more than you've allowed your father and grandfather's history in Team Rocket's hierarchy define you. And much like your father, my uncle Darien - Brittany's dad - has been working as hard as he can to prove himself to be a changed man, ever since he chose to defect from Team Rocket.

"So to make a long story short, as long as you remain true to yourself and never allow your heritage to make you be the kind of person that your grandfather would have wanted you to be, I'll always be your friend, Amber. Always."

Hearing this, Amber let a warm smile come onto her face as she said in a heartfelt voice, "Thank you, Adam. You really have no idea how happy I am to hear you say all of that."

As it so happened, I, in fact, COULD tell exactly how happy she was, thanks to our Aura Bond. But I figured that it would be impolite to point that out, so I simply nodded my head with a warm smile of my own on my face.

"You know," she then said, "Considering all of these similarities between us, are we like...kindred spirits?"

To be completely honest, I'd never thought of it that way before. And as I continued thinking it over, I found myself letting a large grin come onto my face.

"Well, when you put it like that," I admitted, "I can't deny that we certainly do seem that way."

Amber nodded her head, a warm smile on her face. Then she laid her head on my shoulder.

"You really are a good friend, Adam." she said, an almost longing tone to her voice. "I hope that you stay that way forever."

"Right back at you, Amber. Right back at you." I replied, putting my arm around her shoulders.

In that moment, I truly couldn't help but think of just how much the idea of the two of us perhaps being mutually in love with each other was starting to feel rather appealing. My final talk with Michelle to clear the air was starting to feel like it couldn't come soon enough!

"Did I miss anything?"

In a flash, Amber and I turned our heads in time to see Jason coming to a stop nearby with an armload of snacks that he'd evidently managed to buy outside.

"Nothing you'd want to see." I stated, chuckling.

"That's one way to put it." Amber admitted.

In that moment, the lights briefly dimmed. It wouldn't be much longer before the contest began.

Megan's POV

As I stood backstage, intently watching the video feed for the contest as it began and unfolded past the first few coordinators to take the stage, I had quite a lot on my mind. Naturally, I was hoping and praying like mad that I'd do well in today's contest, not to mention make it a lot farther than I had in the previous one. But at the same time, I also couldn't help but think to myself about what Amber and Adam could be doing or talking about while I wasn't around.

There's so much that they could be talking about right now. I thought to myself. For all I know, they could both be confessing their mutual love for each other and there would be nothing that I could do about it! Or what if she tries to distract Adam while I'm on stage? That would certainly be a way to give herself even more time with him, with his attention on her!

Then I shook my head vigorously side-to-side while gritting my teeth.

No, don't think like that, Megan! You know Amber better than that. She's not one of THOSE types of girls. She and I may both be in love with Adam, but she and I have both mutually made it clear that we're to keep this as friendly of a rivalry as possible and let HIM decide for himself. And she's always loyal to her friends.

I looked back at the screen, trying desperately to see if there was any hint as to who'd be called up to perform next. For at that moment, I really needed a distraction from my thoughts, lest I drive myself crazy or start becoming a paranoid jerk!

"Next up is Ashlyn!"

The sound of Sofia announcing her name brought a big smile to Ashlyn's face as she started strolling off to take her place on the stage.

"Wish me luck, everyone." she said as she exited the backstage area.

"Go get 'em, Ashlyn!" I cried.

"We know that you can do it!" Skye yelled in encouragement.

Upon reaching the stage, Ashlyn was very quick to get down to business.

"Showtime, Swinub!" Swinub was swiftly released from its Pokeball, squealing in delight upon materializing. Swinub was surrounded by snowflakes as it materialized into view.

"Swinub, use Light Screen!" Swinub summoned the distinctive energy barrier that came with the use of Light Screen. Combined with the presence of the snowflakes surrounding Swinub, the effect proved quite dazzling.

"Now use Take Down on the Light Screen!" Swinub immediately obeyed, its body glowing with an aura of golden light as it charged towards the Light Screen. And it had clearly gotten very strong indeed, judging by how the Light Screen almost instantly shattered into shards of light.

"Now let's finish this, Swinub!" Ashlyn yelled. "Use Ice Beam on the light shards!" Squealing in delight, Swinub opened its mouth, already starting to fire off its Ice Beam at the various shards of light left over from the shattered Light Screen. And with each successful hit, the shard of light that got hit exploded into light particles and drops of snow, all of which came descending down onto the stage between Swinub and the audience in a dazzling shower, much to the clear amazement of the crowd as they started to go wild.

Ashlyn curtsied, swiftly taking a peek to see her score. Skye and I, naturally, also got a good look at her score on the screen.

She scored 9, 8.5, and 8.8, resulting in a score of 26.3. I couldn't help but nod my head in approval.

"That's a higher score than her score back in Mossdeep City." I whispered to Skye.

"Got that right." Skye agreed.

Ashlyn nodded her head, a satisfied grin on her face as she called Swinub back into its Pokeball and departed offstage.

As this happened, I briefly found myself thinking of just how strong Ashlyn's Swinub had gotten. Considering how long it had been since I'd last seen it prior to now, and how it had already demonstrated its knowledge of Take Down during the previous time I'd seen it perform in a contest, I was honestly surprised that it hadn't already evolved into Piloswine by now. There was probably a good reason behind either Ashlyn or her Swinub seemingly choosing to delay its evolution. But regardless, I could only imagine how things would unfold for her, in the event that her Swinub ever did evolve.

"Here's hoping that the two of us do an equally good job with our appeals today." said Skye.

When Ashlyn arrived back in the backstage area with us, she said, "So far, so good. Here's hoping to seeing you two join me in the next round!"

After another five coordinators or so, Skye's turn was announced at last. Giddy with excitement, Skye hurriedly rushed out on stage, extra quick to get down to business.

"Electrike, spotlight!" Electrike yipped gleefully as it materialized from its Pokeball, a ring of dazzling sparkles surrounding it in the process.

"Let's wow them, Electrike!" Skye yelled. "Use Shock Wave!" Electrike surrounded its body with light blue electricity to charge up the Shock Wave before finally opening its mouth with a loud yelp and unleashing a beam of similarly-colored voltage at the sparkles surrounding it while jumping into the air and spinning around in circles, resulting in quite the mesmerizing effect as the sparkles exploded into glimmering golden dust and harmless sparks of blue voltage.

"Good job, Electrike." said Skye. "Now do a quick race around the stage with Quick Attack and combine that with Thunder Fang when you're finished!" Snarling determinedly, Electrike did so, with the Thunder Fang it unleashed immediately after it came to a stop from its use of Quick Attack resulting in quite the dazzling crescent-shaped burst of voltage in the air directly ahead of it.

"Give it up for Skye and her electrifying performance!" Sofia yelled.

Skye curtsied with a smile on her face, with Electrike even taking the time to make a quick bow of its own. The crowd promptly went wild, much to me, Ashlyn, and Skye's mutual happiness as we all looked to see her score from our respective positions.

The score, as it turned out, was 8.5, 8.5, and 8.7, resulting in a solid 25.7.

Skye nodded her head, clearly satisfied. She then returned Electrike and hurried off the stage.

Nodding my head, I clasped my hands together in anticipation. In my excited state, it seemed to not take too long before I was finally called up. I hurried off to take my place on stage.

You'd better be watching, Adam. I thought to myself as I came to a stop on stage and drew out my Pokeball, containing Swablu.

"Swablu, curtain!" Swablu let out a squawk of delight as she materialized out of her Pokeball, surrounded by dazzling sparkles, much like Skye's Electrike in the process. Naturally, I had every intention of not making my appeal TOO similar to Skye's.

"Let's wow the audience today, Swablu! Use Mist!" Swablu started spinning around while releasing a thick white mist from her body. The rapidly expanding cloud of mist, combined with the sparkles from her materializing from her Pokeball, resulted in quite the eye-catching display from Swablu, much to the delight of the audience.

"Excellent start, Swablu. Now let's clear things up with a Disarming Voice!" Swablu obeyed, opening her beak and unleashing a large beam of pink sound waves, surrounded by hearts and musical notes, while spinning around in circles in midair, proving quite effective at getting rid of all the lingering mist while also illuminating the stage quite well. And it wasn't long before another round of applause burst from the audience, including, much to my delight, Adam, Jason, and Amber.

Perfect! I thought to myself, an especially delighted smile now starting to form on my face. Now to REALLY bring the house down!

"You're doing great, Swablu. Now let's end this on a high note with Round!" Swablu positioned herself to face upward in a diagonal line towards the ceiling above the audience before opening her beak in preparation to unleash her planned usage of Round...only to then catch herself and me off-guard when, instead of the blue sound waves that had always come out of her beak before during all of the times she'd used Round, a transparent beam with energy rings of white energy surrounding it came bursting out instead!

"What the?!" I stated in surprise as the unexpected burst of Dragon Breath came blasting out from Swablu's beak instead of the Round I'd been expecting.

Thankfully, as surprised as Swablu and I both were, Swablu was able to gracefully pull off the move and shut it off when she was finished without causing any damage. And even better, the entire audience proved very excited indeed as they burst into a loud roar of applause.

"Well, look at that, everyone!" Sofia yelled, an excited smile on her face. "Talk about a happy accident! Looks like Megan's Swablu learned and utilized Dragon Breath for the first time at an incredibly opportune time indeed!"

Yes, apparently so. I thought to myself as I curtsied.

Still, it took all of my willpower not to show any sign of nerves as I surreptitiously turned my head to see my score. Thankfully, as it turned out, the judges had respectively given me a 9, 9, and 8.7, resulting in a pretty respectable 26.7, which was just slightly higher than the score I'd gotten in my previous contest's appeal.

I silently let out a breath in relief as I returned Swablu and departed from the stage.

Skye and Ashlyn were very happy to see me as I returned to the waiting area.

"That was really awesome, Megan!" said Ashlyn.

"No kidding!" said Skye. "That could have easily become a huge disaster in the hands of a less capable coordinator."

I chuckled in relief and replied, "Well let's just be glad that everything worked out. Don't forget, we still need to see how good the remaining coordinators do and which of us end up moving on to the battle round."

And so, we patiently waited for the remaining coordinators who hadn't yet gone out for their appeals to get their performances out of the way, and then for the announcement of who'd made it to the battle round.

When that time finally arrived, we were all very happy to see that we'd made it into the battle round. Three boys had also made it, along with two other girls. And from there, we were swiftly matched up with our opponents for the first round of battles. Ashlyn would be up first, against one of the boys. Skye would go up next against one of the two other girls. And I would go up against one of the boys.

... ...

A couple of minutes later, the time for the first battle had arrived, with Ashlyn standing opposite a fair-skinned boy with black hair and brown eyes.

"To my left is Ashlyn and to my right is Rocky." Sofia announced. "Five minutes on the clock...and begin!"

"Cloyster, spotlight!" Ashlyn yelled.

"Nuzleaf, curtain!" Rocky shouted.

"Quick, Cloyster! Use Icy Wind!"

"Jump over that. Nuzleaf! And strike with Leaf Blade as you land!"

"Hurry, Cloyster! Defend yourself with Iron Defense!"

Cloyster was only just barely able to cancel its usage of Icy Wind and close its shell in time to activate Iron Defense before Nuzleaf's Leaf Blade slammed down upon it. And while the blow did deal a somewhat fair amount of damage, the impact against the hard shell was enough to seemingly leave Nuzleaf bouncing around a little in pain, as if its arm had been numbed by the impact.

"Alright, Cloyster. Now use Razor Shell to give yourself some breathing room!" Cloyster was quick to obey, sending Nuzleaf stumbling backwards from the successful strike with Razor Shell.

"Hurry, Nuzleaf! Counter with Sucker Punch!" Growling determinedly, Nuzleaf suddenly dashed off fast enough to be a blur before suddenly slamming its fist against Cloyster's back.

Come on, Ashlyn. You can do this. You can do this. I silently pleaded.

... ...

Four minutes later, time was rapidly starting to run out. So far, despite the rough start on Ashlyn's end, she and Rocky had managed to keep themselves fairly evenly matched in regards to points. But at this point, one of them would need to make the crucial move to tip the scales. The only question was which one of them would successfully get it done first.

"Don't give up now, Nuzleaf!" Rocky yelled. "Use Razor Leaf!"

"Cloyster, counter that with Icicle Spear!"

Groaning in unison from the effort it took, Nuzleaf and Cloyster sent their respective storms of sharp leaves and equally sharp shards of ice flying at each other, with both volleys swiftly coming to a stop in midair as they battled for dominance. But with the obvious type advantage in play, it wasn't long before Cloyster's Icicle Spear won out over Razor Leaf and plowed through to start raining down upon Nuzleaf.

However, as it would soon turn out, Rocky would have one last little trick up his sleeve in the 30 seconds that now remained.

"Now's your chance, Nuzleaf! Use Payback!" Nuzleaf let out a determined scream, jumped out of the way of the last of the ice shards while placing its now-black aura-encased hands together before suddenly jumping right at Cloyster with its hands at the ready to smack at Cloyster in an x-shaped strike. But as it turned out, Ashlyn had not been completely caught off-guard by this last ditch trick.

"Now, Cloyster! USE ICY WIND!" Cloyster opened its shell and blasted Nuzleaf in midair, just seconds away from getting within appropriate range to unleash its Payback. Nuzleaf had just enough time to shriek in shock and pain as it was engulfed in the Icy Wind before getting sent flying backwards before landing hard on its back, completely out cold at the exact moment that the timer ran out.

"Nuzleaf is unable to battle." Sofia stated. "And with a clear lead in points on top of that, Ashlyn wins!"

... ...

"To my left is Skye and to my right is Nancy." Sofia announced as Skye and a light chartreuse green-haired girl with yellow eyes stood opposite each other across a small pool of water with floating pads on the water's surface. "Five minutes on the clock...and begin!"

"Showtime, Breloom!" Skye yelled.

"Sharpedo, spotlight!" Nancy screamed.

In a flash, Breloom took a stand on one of the floating pads while Sharpedo dove straight down into the water. Ashlyn and I held our breaths as we watched. This looking to be quite the battle!

"Alright, Sharpedo." Nancy said as she pointed at where Breloom was standing. "Let's get this show on the road with Brine!" In a flash, Sharpedo rose its head from out of the water in the very center of the pool, jaws gaping as it began to spew out a very strong-looking stream of salty water from its mouth, straight towards Breloom.

"Dodge it!" Skye yelled. "And counter with Seed Bomb!" Miraculously, Breloom managed to successfully jump in time to avoid getting splashed, opening its mouth and spewing out a stream of glowing green seeds that slammed into Sharpedo before instantly exploding on impact. Sharpedo howled in pain as it got sent flying backwards and slammed straight against the back wall of the pool.

Nancy gritted her teeth, clearly not amused by the type disadvantage she'd have to deal with, despite seemingly having the environmental advantage.

"Don't give up, Sharpedo! Dive under the water, then jump out with a Liquidation!"

"Get ready, Breloom." Skye said as Breloom stood tall upon its current floating pad position. "I'll need you to dodge as soon as Sharpedo surfaces."

After about half a minute, Sharpedo came bursting out of the water, howling determinedly as it started engaging in a front flip while bright blue water encased its face and extended into a long sword blade of the same type of water. And it wasn't long before said blade of water began swinging down towards Breloom.

"Dodge! Now!" Skye yelled. But sadly, this command came too late. And with a loud splash, the Liquidation slammed down on Breloom, knocking it off of its floating pad and into the water.

"This isn't looking good." Ashlyn whispered in my ear.

"No kidding." I admitted, with my teeth gritted from nerves as I continued to watch what was unfolding.

Nancy, as it soon turned out, at least had a small degree of honor to her style, as she chose to wait until Breloom had surfaced to breath before calling her next move, instead of having Sharpedo go on the attack while Breloom was still helplessly submerged under water. But the instant Breloom's head burst out from under the water...

"Now, Sharpedo! Use Crunch!" Sharpedo moved through the water in preparation for lunging forward with Crunch, its fiendishly sharp teeth already glowing solid white in preparation for this vicious move.

"Hurry, Breloom! Ready yourself for a Dynamic Punch!" Breloom drew back its tail, the tip of which was now glowing with solid white light from under the water.

Ultimately, Sharpedo would move first. With a preemptive howl of triumph, Sharpedo lunged forward, its jaws agape as it readied itself for the moment that it would sink its teeth into Breloom for the Crunch. In that instant, Skye's eyes widened as it seemingly looked as if Breloom would, at the very least, be given some serious damage, if not outright defeated entirely.

But then, right as Sharpedo was inches away from unleashing its Crunch upon Breloom, Breloom suddenly did a rapid backflip motion that sent its tail pounding against Sharpedo's chin with Dynamic Punch! Howling in surprise and pain, Sharpedo went rocketing backwards before slamming against the back of its side of the pool once more.

"Wow! What a comeback!" Sofia yelled as Breloom took advantage of its newfound moment of breathing room to swim over to a nearby floating pad and hop aboard.

Skye exhaled in visible relief, saying, "That was a close one."

But now, Nancy looked visibly outraged. "That's it!" she hissed. "No more Mrs. Nice Girl!"

She screamed, "Sharpedo, use Agility and race in circles around the pool!" Sharpedo obediently began speeding in circles around the edges of the pool, the resulting spray coating the sides of the pool and some of it even landing on the audience members closest to the stage.

"Don't loose your footing, Breloom." Skye said encouragingly as Breloom worked as hard as it could to avoid falling off of its new perch. "Just stay where you are and prepare to use Mach Punch!" Breloom drew back its right fist, now encased in a white orb of light as it readied itself for the all-important moment.

Eventually, right as the timer reached the one minute mark, and Sharpedo had seemingly built up more than enough momentum for what Nancy had in mind, the chartreuse-haired girl raised her right fist.

"Now, Sharpedo! Lunge at Breloom with Crunch!" Howling louder than it ever had at any other point in the battle, Sharpedo lunged out of the water and went rocketing towards Breloom with its jaws at the ready for a second attempt at Crunch...only to then get utterly pounded in the face by Breloom's Mach Punch!

In that instant, time briefly seemed to stand still before the full force of the Mach Punch's impact caught up, sending Sharpedo flying clean out of the pool and straight towards Nancy! Eyes widened in surprise, Nancy hurriedly jumped aside to avoid getting crashed into by Sharpedo as it went slamming against the wall that had been directly behind her, before collapsing to the stage floor, completely out cold.

"Sharpedo is unable to battle." Sofia announced. "The winner is Skye!"

"NO!" Nancy screamed, fists clenched and yellow eyes electric with fury. "I WAS SO CLOSE!"

Skye, meanwhile, could only pant and gasp with visible relief on her face. I similarly felt relieved. That had been a very tough battle! And compared to how much of a rough start Skye had experienced during her first few contests, she'd really come far since then, if her performance today was any indication.

... ...

Eventually, after the battle between a girl named Susan and one of the boys, my turn finally arrived. And before long, I was standing opposite a fair-skinned boy with straw yellow-colored blonde hair and icy blue eyes.

"To my left is Megan and to my right is Calvin." Sofia said as she gestured to the two of us. "Five minutes on the clock...and begin!"

"Showtime, Zangoose!" I yelled as I summoned Zangoose from her Pokeball.

"Spotlight, Arcanine!" Calvin screamed as he summoned a rather imposing-looking Arcanine from its Pokeball.

Hoping that taking initiative would increase my chances of winning, I made the first move.

"Zangoose, dash in with Fury Cutter!" Zangoose went rushing off towards Arcanine, her claws already glowing with a bright green light as she prepared to unleash Fury Cutter. And in what seemed to be an extra strong stroke of luck, Calvin still hadn't yet given Arcanine any order to counter or dodge! Unfortunately, as I'd soon find out the hard way that there was a very good reason behind that latter detail.

"Use Extreme Speed!" Arcanine suddenly became surrounded by a clear white aura before rocketing forward at such an impossibly fast speed that he was seemingly invisible at the moment he slammed into Zangoose and sent her flying straight towards the ceiling! By the time I'd fully processed this fact, Zangoose had unfortunately landed flat on her face, directly in front of me.

Calvin chuckled, clearly feeling rather cocky, after how good of a start he'd seemingly gotten off to. I narrowed my eyes and clenched my right fist in determination.

"Oh, it is on!" I whispered under my breath. Thankfully, Zangoose quickly recovered and got back up.

"Blast Zangoose with Flamethrower!" Arcanine opened his mouth and began spewing out a large stream of flames. But I wasn't about to let him score another humiliating hit against Zangoose that easily.

"Jump, Zangoose!" I yelled. "Counter with X-Scissor!" Zangoose was quick to obey. And right as she was seconds away from colliding with the flames, she unleashed X-Scissor just in time to cause the jet of flames to divert into a single wall of flames across the center of the stage between the two Pokemon!

"Beat that!" I yelled proudly.

"Gladly." Calvin stated, looking to his patiently waiting Arcanine.

"Why don't we give this Zangoose and its trainer a wake-up call with Hyper Voice?" Arcanine took a deep breath and then roared loudly while unleashing a massive beam of white energy rings from his jaws!

"Jump over that!" I yelled. "Then dive down with a Slash!" Zangoose did as instructed, managing by sheer luck to score a hit with the Slash! Immediately upon landing back on the stage afterwards, however, I discovered just how disadvantageous a position Zangoose was now in.

"Flamethrower!" Zangoose squealed in pain as she was blasted backwards with the Flamethrower attack, just barely managing to get herself to skid to a stop by using her claws to slow herself down.

Calvin, eager to press his new momentum, pointed his finger at Zangoose, shouting, "Hurry, Arcanine! Extreme Speed!"

"Quick Attack!" I yelled.

Both Pokemon bolted at each other with their respective high speed moves, managing by sheer luck to collide head-on, right at the center of the stage, with the resulting impact sending the both of them flying backwards, and with Zangoose careening towards the wall behind me for good measure!

"You can do this, Zangoose! Use the wall you're heading towards to spring yourself forward with a Quick Attack! Combine that Quick Attack with a Fury Cutter!" By sheer luck, Zangoose managed to do so. And within minutes, Zangoose had managed to successfully slash at Arcanine with her glowing green claws four times as she proceeded to engage in her high speed Fury Cutter!

"Hyper Voice!" With a determined roar, Arcanine sent Zangoose flying back at me once more with Hyper Voice. Zangoose had only just brought herself to a halt at my feet once more when Calvin immediately ordered a follow-up attack.

"Enough fun and games! Finish this with Fire Blast!" Arcanine opened his jaws and spat out a massive five-pointed burst of flames straight at Zangoose.

I gritted my teeth. This certainly didn't look good. But I was not about to give up!

"Zangoose, counter with X-Scissor!" Zangoose jumped into the air, claws at the ready, and slashed at the center of the Fire Blast with X-Scissor just in time to make it harmlessly, yet still explosively, burst into a firework-like cloud of flames and smoke, much to the awe of the roaring crowd!

"Time's up!" Sofia yelled.

Eyes widened, Calvin and I both looked to the screen to see that I'd managed, by sheer luck, to just barely have a higher number of points left than him. I would be moving on to the semifinals! Calvin nodded his head, a begrudging look of acceptance on his face as he returned a similarly resigned-looking Arcanine to his Pokeball.

"Better luck next time." I said, for the sake of being polite before I returned Zangoose and departed the stage.

At this point, I didn't even care very much about whether or not Adam had been impressed with my performance. Right now, my only hope was that Zangoose and I would be sufficiently well-rested when the time came for our battle in the semifinals.

... ...

Fifteen minutes later, the semifinals were ready to start. Skye and Ashlyn were standing opposite each other on stage.

"Don't expect me to go easy on you just because we're friends." Ashlyn said.

"I'd be insulted if you did." Skye replied in a determined voice.

"On my left is Ashlyn and on my right is Skye." Sofia announced. "Five minutes on the clock...and begin!"

"Showtime, Cloyster!"

"Spotlight, Breloom!"

"Cloyster, open up with Icicle Spear!"

"Breloom, buy yourself some breathing room with Seed Bomb!"

Cloyster and Breloom unleashed their respective volleys, with both moves clashing together above the center of the stage in a duel for dominance.

I was holding my breath as I watched. I knew that Cloyster being a Water and Ice type would make it incredibly susceptible to damage from Breloom's Grass and Fighting attacks. Breloom itself would also be decently susceptible to damage from Cloyster's Ice attacks by virtue of being partly a Grass type. Simply put, this battle could easily go either way, depending on how Ashlyn and Skye played their cards.

Eventually, Cloyster's Icicle Spear managed to win out over Breloom's Seed Bomb, and the shards that remained in action came crashing down upon Breloom, much to its chagrin. But even as Breloom was already well at the mercy of the last vestiges of the Icicle Spear attack, Ashlyn was already ready to further push her momentum forward.

"Hurry, Cloyster! Put Breloom further off-balance with a Razor Shell!" Cloyster grunted in acknowledgement as it lunged at Breloom, already preparing a Razor Shell as requested.

"Breloom, use Mach Punch!" In a flash, Breloom hit Cloyster right in the face with Mach Punch, just as Cloyster was seconds away from unleashing its Razor Shell attack. Cloyster went rocketing backwards, coming to a rough landing at Ashlyn's feet.

"Wow! That must have hurt!" Sofia stated from where she was watching.

"No kidding." I muttered as I watched.

It would certainly be interesting how the rest of this fight unfolded.

... ...

Ultimately, the incident with Mach Punch to Cloyster's face swiftly taught Ashlyn that it would be wise to try to keep Cloyster a good distance away from Breloom, as she had Cloyster make liberal alternating usage of Icy Wind and Icicle Spear to keep Breloom at bay while also using Iron Defense every time Breloom managed by sheer luck to get past the Ice type moves.

Eventually, at around the two minute mark, Breloom was starting to look quite beat up and tired. But Skye wasn't about to give up just yet.

"It's alright, Breloom. We can still salvage this! Charge forward with a Mach Punch!"

"Icy Wind!" Ashlyn yelled. "Now!"

The Icy Wind from Cloyster's mouth engulfed Breloom and sent it skidding backwards before falling on its back, completely out cold.

"Breloom is unable to battle!" Sofia announced. "Ashlyn wins!"

... ...

"Good luck out there, Megan." Ashlyn stated as she and Skye returned backstage.

"You heard her, Megan." said Skye. "You'd better make it to the final round this time."

"Don't worry, girls." I said as I made my way towards the hall, leading to the stage. "I'll do my best."

As I subsequently got on stage and took my position, I finally got a good look at my opponent, named Susan. She was a fair-skinned brunette, just like me. But her hair was a much darker brown and her eyes were a dark ruby red. And in that moment, she looked rather confident as she drew out the Pokeball containing what I presumed would be the Mightyena she'd used against her previous opponent.

"You may have beaten my boyfriend and his Arcanine in the previous round." she said, evidently referring to Calvin. "But just because you beat him and are the daughter of two of Hoenn's most well-known coordinators doesn't mean that I'm gonna let you make it to the finals without a good fight!"

I nodded my head, taking careful note of just how determined and confident Susan was.

"On my left, we have Megan. On my right, we have Susan," Sofia announced. "Five minutes on the clock...and begin!"

"Showtime, Zangoose!" I yelled.

"Mightyena, curtain!" Susan shouted.

I was quick to act, not wanting to risk Susan catching me off-guard.

"Zangoose, use Quick Attack!"

"Dodge!" Susan yelled. "Then follow up with Sucker Punch!"

Mightyena managed to jump out of the way before Zangoose could crash into her with Quick Attack, proceeding to swiftly start running in circles around the area between me and Susan to the point of seemingly becoming a blur. Zangoose, caught off-guard by having unexpectedly failed to land the hit, started looking around, as if trying to pinpoint Mightyena's location...only to be suddenly sent flying when, right as she'd turned around to look towards the audience, Mightyena abruptly rammed into her from behind, her head pounding against Zangoose's back with Sucker Punch!

Susan was currently proving herself to have quite a ruthless battle strategy. As if to further prove this, she swiftly called out her next move.

"Use Crunch while Zangoose is still down!"

"Dodge that, Zangoose! Then strike back with X-Scissor!"

Zangoose jumped into the air in time for Mightyena's vicious fangs to snap down on empty air. She then dove down at her and slashed her across the back with X-Scissor. Mightyena howled in pain as Zangoose hurriedly jumped away from her afterwards and rushed back over to me.

"It's alright, Mightyena. We can salvage this! Use Dark Pulse!" Susan ordered. Mightyena turned her head as she opened her mouth and allowed the telltale signs of the Dark Pulse to take form before she spewed out a large beam of black and purple energy rings straight at Zangoose.

"Dodge that with Quick Attack!" I yelled. "And combine that with Slash!" Zangoose did so, successfully dodging the Dark Pulse as she rushed past the still-active Dark type attack.

"Stop the Dark Pulse!" she yelled. "Snap her up with Crunch!" Zangoose squealed in pain as she found herself trapped in Mightyena's vicious jaws.

"Excellent!" Susan yelled. "Now throw Zangoose into the air, then jump up and blast her down with Dark Pulse!" Snarling, Mightyena threw Zangoose into the air and jumped up while simultaneously charging another Dark Pulse. By the time she reached the appropriate position in the air from which to enact her trainer's command, the Dark Pulse was ready to be unleashed. And with a triumphant howl, she blasted Zangoose with Dark Pulse, sending Zangoose rocketing down to the stage with what I could only imagine was a quite painful impact.

"Now's our chance! Dive down and finish her off with Play Rough before she can recover!" Susan cried.

My eyes widened at this. For while I had no idea what this apparent "Play Rough" move was, I had a bad feeling that I did NOT want to find out. Fortunately, I could see Zangoose already starting to rise laboriously to her feet, so I was quick to call for a counter.

"Hurry, Zangoose! Defend yourself with Fury Cutter! Combine the finishing strike with an X-Scissor!" I cried. Zangoose jumped back into the air with Fury Cutter already charged up and at the ready. She proceeded to slam into Mightyena four times from different directions before finishing, as requested, with a Fury Cutter finishing strike combined with X-Scissor from directly above, causing Mightyena to come crashing down with a pained howl upon the center of the stage with a loud crash. And when the resulting dust cloud finally cleared, Mightyena was revealed to be completely out cold, with only two minutes to spare.

"Mightyena is unable to battle! Megan wins!"

... ...

"To my left, we have Ashlyn. To my right, we have Megan." Sofia announced excitedly, once the time for the final round had finally arrived. "Five minutes on the clock...and begin!"

"Go, Cloyster!" Ashlyn yelled.

"It's all up to you now, Zangoose!" I yelled.

Upon materializing, both Pokemon vocalized in unison as they stared each other down from opposite sides of the stage.

"Zangoose, use Quick Attack!" I yelled, eager to hopefully solidify my chances of victory by making the first move.

"Iron Defense!" Ashlyn shouted.

Cloyster closed its shell, but still managed to get hit by Zangoose's Quick Attack before it could subsequently activate Iron Defense, resulting in it getting sent spinning by the force of the impact.

"Cloyster, give yourself some breathing room with Icy Wind!"

"Strike with Slash!" I yelled. "Before it can release Icy Wind!"

Zangoose growled and lunged at Cloyster as it opened its shell, only to shriek in surprise as she got engulfed in the burst of Icy Wind from Cloyster's mouth and was sent flying backwards. I winced, gritting my teeth as Zangoose came to a landing. Now I was no longer in the lead!

"Blast Zangoose with Icicle Spear!" Ashlyn yelled. Cloyster, eager to please, swiftly obeyed as it unleashed its Icicle Spear attack on Zangoose, costing me more points as the merciless volley stormed down upon my Pokemon.

But as disheartening as it was to be losing the amount of points that I was currently losing this early on in the battle, I wasn't about to give up just yet!

"We can still salvage this, Zangoose!" I yelled encouragingly. "Strike at Cloyster with Fury Cutter!" Zangoose obeyed, her claws glowing green as she began rushing at Cloyster and slashing with her claws. But while I managed to dock several points off of Ashlyn's score with this strategy with three successful strikes on Zangoose's part, Ashlyn wasn't about to let my luck favor me as it had against Susan.

"Iron Defense!" The subsequent clang of Zangoose's claws against Cloyster's newly-hardened shell caused her to briefly stumble backwards, off-balance with a ringing effect going on in her claws.

"Now's your chance, Cloyster!" Ashlyn yelled. "Use Razor Shell!" Cloyster unleashed its Razor Shell and sent Zangoose stumbling backwards even further. She then lost her balance entirely and came to a stop, not too far ahead of me.

Nodding her head, Ashlyn clenched her right fist and raised it up, a determined smile on her face.

"Let's keep the momentum going, Cloyster." she said. "Use Icicle Spear!" Cloyster grinned as it charged up another Icicle Spear. But I wasn't going to take this next attack lying down!

"Jump, Zangoose!" I yelled. "Hit Cloyster with X-Scissor!" Growling, Zangoose lunged through the air, managing to successfully hit Cloyster with X-Scissor before it could fire off its Icicle Spear! Groaning in surprise and mild pain, Cloyster went spinning away, back towards Ashlyn.

But Ashlyn was similarly quick to try to turn things around, once Cloyster had regained its balance.

"Don't let that stop you, Cloyster! Use Razor Shell!" Cloyster immediately obeyed, swooping off towards Zangoose with its Razor Shell already charging up and preparing for use.

"Two can play at that game, Ashlyn." I said, pointing at the incoming Cloyster. "Zangoose, block that with Slash!" With a determined snarl, Zangoose did as requested, timing the move just in time to allow her Slash and Cloyster's Razor Shell to clash together. In that moment, as the two Pokemon stared each other down past their respective interlocked "blades", I felt a confident smile come onto my face.

"You can do this! Just push Cloyster back and send it flying!"

"Not so fast, Megan! Cloyster, use Icy Wind!"

"No!"

But it was too late, and with a determined groan, Cloyster opened its mouth and unleashed another chilling burst of Icy Wind. Snarling in discomfort, Zangoose instinctively removed herself from her "interlocked blade" position against Cloyster to allow herself to get pushed away by the Icy Wind.

"Time's up!"

Eyes widening, Ashlyn and I both looked to the screen and my heart promptly sank as I saw that Ashlyn still had a clear lead over me in points.

"The winner of the contest is...Ashlyn!" Sofia announced.

I nodded my head, a stoic look of acceptance on my face. Ashlyn had earned her 5th and final ribbon to qualify for the Grand Festival. I had lost, and would just have to hope for the best during the next contest.

Later, we had all gathered outside the contest hall to congratulate Ashlyn. I had to admit, as much as it still stung to have lost today's contest after having managed to make it all the way to the final round, I honestly felt much better and more cheerful than I had felt immediately after my defeat, now that I was taking part in directly congratulating Ashlyn alongside our friends.

"Congratulations, Ashlyn." said Skye.

"You really did good up there today." Amber added.

"Couldn't agree more." I stated in agreement with a nod of my head. "You've definitely earned this victory."

"Thanks, girls." said Ashlyn, a giddy smile on her face as she continued holding up her newly-won ribbon. "I'm really happy to have my final ribbon."

"As you should be." Christina said, a smile on her face. "It'll be good to have you as one of my opponents at the Grand Festival."

"Don't forget my sister and her boyfriend." I stated. "They'll be competing against you there, too."

"No kidding." Amber stated, looking at me. "Here's hoping that you and I both manage to get our final ribbons required to qualify before the Grand Festival comes around. Can't let your sister and our friends have all the fun without us."

"Don't forget me." Skye spoke up.

"Don't worry, Skye." I stated with a smile. "We haven't forgotten you. Best of luck to you as well."

"I sure hope that you all make it to the Grand Festival." said Jason. "Considering how luck's been on our group's side in that regard during our earlier travels through Kanto and Johto, I'd hate it if our lucky streak suddenly ended during our travels through Hoenn."

"No kidding." said Adam. He then looked towards me. "I'd especially hate if you and Amber don't make it to the Grand Festival. Especially not after how hard you've both worked, not to mention how stunning of a job you in particular did today during the contest. I know that Amber and I were certainly impressed!"

Jason raised his eyebrow in mock irritation, saying, "Hey, what am I? Chopped liver? I was pretty impressed, too!"

I chuckled, my smile widening at the confirmation that, contrary to what I'd briefly feared before the contest began, Adam had, in fact, been able to successfully watch me perform. And since I'd also heard from both Amber and Adam about how much they'd enjoyed seeing my appeal and battle performances, I was even happier that she hadn't made any effort to prevent Adam from paying attention to me when I was performing. All in all, today was shaping up to still be a good day, despite me not winning the contest.

"Well, at any rate," Ashlyn eventually stated, "The next contest directly on our line of travel is going to be in Sootopolis City."

"Well, that's certainly good news." Adam stated. "That's where Jason and I will be battling to win our final Hoenn gym badges."

"It should certainly be interesting to see how Juan's been doing since your dad battled him." Jason admitted. "And if he's not around anymore, it will be equally interesting to see who's taken his place."

"My dad is from Sootopolis City. He was the gym leader there before joining the Hoenn Elite Four." Skye explained. "Even though I was born and raised in Fortree City, Sootopolis still has, and will always have, a special place in my heart."

"Well, you boys certainly won't be the only ones with an especially noteworthy experience there." Ashlyn stated. "Because according to some especially big news I've heard on the grapevine, the contest unfolding at Sootopolis City won't be just any contest. It will be the Wallace Cup itself!"

This news immediately got everyone's attention.

"Wait...what?!" Amber yelled, eyes widened in stunned surprise.

"Oh, wow!" Skye said, similarly wide eyed in surprise. "Really? In my dad's own hometown? I'm surprised that my mom and dad didn't tell me about this already."

"This is certainly a game changer!" I exclaimed, my eyes wide.

"No kidding." said Christina, nodding her head with a look of excited pride on her face. "I'll admit, as much as it sucks for me to not be able to perform in such a highly esteemed contest as the Wallace Cup, I'll definitely be going with you to watch you girls compete!"

Adam, meanwhile, whistled silently and said, "I'll admit, the idea of potentially making my first attempt at performing as a coordinator in the Wallace Cup of all contests definitely sounds daunting. But then again, I suppose that makes it all the more exciting. My dad did it once, alongside my mom, after all. And at least now I've still got a decent bit of time to practice and perfect my appeal."

"Indeed you can." Amber said, walking up to Adam and giving him a big hug from behind. "Good luck, Adam. I'll be looking forward to seeing what you've got to offer."

Adam chuckled and replied, "Right back at you, Amber. And with Megan obviously set to perform there alongside you, I suppose I'm now basically guaranteed to be taking my first shot at performing in a contest."

So we all planned to travel together to Sootopolis City, since we all would be watching or competing. Little did we know that some big surprises awaited us there!

Author's Note: Megan and Christina reconcile over how May and Harley met in the very same contest years ago, ensuring that their parents' pasts doesn't affect their own present friendship. In that contest, Ashlyn wins her 5th ribbon, leaving only Megan, Amber, and Skye needing their final ribbons. Adam and Amber also have an emotional conversation during the contest.

Next stop: Sootopolis City, where Adam and Jason will battle for their final gym badges, and the Wallace Cup contest will be held. Plus, Adam will be competing, just like his parents did in the past.

How will the boys fare in their gym battles? How will Adam fare in his first contest? Who or what surprises await the group there? Old faces? New faces?

Find out in the next shocking chapter of Pokemon NG!