The Slateport City Contest Hall was growing louder and louder by the minute.
Nearly the entire region of Hoenn had its eyes on the Grand Festival, the culmination of months of contests and thousands of performances and battles. The main auditorium of the contest hall was filled to the rafters with eager fans, some of whom had camped out for days to see who would win the ultimate championship and be declared Top Coordinator. After hours and hours of competition, the Grand Festival had been whittled down to three well-known coordinators. Now the crowd was waiting for the two remaining semi-finalists to come out onto the stage… and waiting… and waiting.
Backstage, an assistant bearing an official uniform, long green hair, and a clipboard barged into the locker room for the fifth time in fifteen minutes. She let out an exasperated groan as she saw the two competitors she was looking for: a blonde and a brunette, both of whom were focused intently on the television attached to the locker room wall. Nearby, a girl with turquoise hair was watching less raptly and more curiously, her arms folded. All three girls were wearing similar outfits: multi-colored skirts and blouses, with large bows affixed in different places. In addition, a young boy with glasses and black hair was watching from mere inches away, looking as if he wanted to merge with the screen.
"May! Serena!" the assistant pleaded. "You were supposed to be on fifteen minutes ago! The crowd is practically feral! You have to go out there!"
"This is important!" May and Serena snapped at the same time, briefly turning their heads toward the older woman before returning their attention to the television. The two of them barely blinked as they watched the final match of the World Coronation Series, where the world's greatest Pokémon Trainer would be crowned as Monarch. A powerful, orange, dragon-like Charizard flew around the arena on the screen, breathing fire in an attempt to scorch a small, yellow Pikachu that both girls were intimately familiar with.
The assistant groaned again, grasping her hair tightly. Under normal rules, both of these girls would be disqualified, and the tournament would continue without them. In this case, however, that would result in the third competitor, Lisia, being declared Top Coordinator by default. Such an anticlimax after such a long wait could potentially lead to a full-blown riot.
"I'll just go out there and do whatever for a few minutes," the third girl conceded, stepping toward the door. "That should get them to calm down while these two watch their long-distance boyfriend finish their battle."
"Thank you, Lisia," the assistant replied, feeling a bit of weight being lifted off their shoulders. "Those people might eat me alive if I ask them to wait any longer."
"It'll be fine," Lisia responded. She turned back toward the two girls glued to the television. "You two better put on an amazing battle after this! Or I'm kicking you both out of the you-know-what!"
Serena and May nodded wordlessly, not giving much heed to her words. Both of them were deeply invested in the battle on screen, as the reigning champion, Leon, battled against their mutual friend, Ash Ketchum. Ash had come so far so quickly, and now he was getting his shot at the big time, like he had always dreamed of. Neither girl was going to miss that.
At the moment, however, it seemed like those chances were slipping away. Ash's Pikachu was panting heavily, his legs trembling as he tried to stay upright. His cheeks sparked weakly with the electricity that normally coursed through his body. Moments later, his legs gave out and he collapsed to the ground, and the stadium audience all gasped as one.
"Pikachu!" Ash pleaded, loud enough for the television cameras to pick up. "Come on, buddy, get up! You can do it! I know you don't want it to end like this! Not when we're so close!"
Serena was barely breathing as she watched Pikachu's eyes battle to stay open. Her heart was pounding in her chest and starting to sink down into her stomach, as the prospect of Ash's defeat looked more and more certain. She knew this was how the battle would likely end, but… this wasn't how it was supposed to end.
She barely reacted as she felt May's left hand sliding into her right, slightly moist with nervous sweat. Serena gripped her hand tightly, feeling their two pulses pounding together through their skin. They continued to watch, hands clasped, as Pikachu's eyes suddenly snapped open. The mouse Pokémon rose once again to all fours, letting out a powerful battle cry as his body arced with electricity that filled the stadium and touched the sky.
Battling with strength he shouldn't have had, Pikachu charged forward toward the opposing Charizard, who charged right back as he was wreathed in flame. The two combatants collided in the center of the arena, head-to-head, their wills battling against one another. Both girls' faces lit up as Charizard was finally forced back, roaring in pain to the sky, before collapsing onto his back. They dared not breathe as the referee floated over on a hovercraft, inspecting the Pokémon carefully before raising one of his flags.
"Charizard is unable to battle! Pikachu is the winner!"
Their combined shrieking could have been heard outdoors, if not for the crowd in the auditorium drowning them out. May and Serena latched onto each other, arms wrapped tightly around the other as they jumped around erratically, too full of excitement to move or speak with any sort of coherence or intention.
"He did it!" May squealed, beside herself with joy and excitement. "He won everything! He's the best!"
"I knew he'd do it!" Serena was spinning around the locker room with May in her arms. "He was just-whoa!"
The two girls tried moving in conflicting directions at the same time, and their feet became entangled. They instantly lost their balance, falling and crashing onto the floor, as the bespectacled boy with them yelped and jumped out of the way. Both girls began laughing with relief and joy and all sorts of other emotions, their arms still lightly wrapped around one another, as May rested her head on Serena's collar.
Perhaps they couldn't have been there to support their mutual friend in person, but celebrating here, wrapped up in each other's arms, was a close second place.
"Congratulations," came a voice from the nearby door. Both of them looked up, wide grins on their faces, to see the embattled assistant from before, gesturing toward the exit. "Now get up and get out there before the crowd tears down the Contest Hall!" The girls continued giggling as they scrambled to their feet, dusting off their contest outfits as they ran toward the door.
"Good luck, May!" the young boy called out to his sister as she ran by.
"Thanks, Max!" she shot back, before turning and disappearing around a corner. Max watched her leave before turning and running out himself, wanting to reclaim his seat in the audience.
After introductions and much-needed apologies from the host, Serena found herself standing across from May on the Contest Hall stage. Her pink-and-white Sylveon stood in front of her on the battlefield, while May had chosen her ice-blue Glaceon. Their two Eevee evolutions had carried both of them through the entire Grand Festival so far, and a miniature Pokémon Center backstage had helped keep both combatants in tip-top shape.
Serena could feel her pulse pounding as she looked across the stage into May's eyes, an excited grin on her face and determination in her eyes. She had just watched Ash give everything he had in his battle, and he had come out on top. Now it was time for her to do the same. Ash, May, Lisia, her mother, and all of her friends in Kalos… Serena was going to make all of them proud with this battle, win or lose. And she had every intention of facing off against Lisia in the final round.
"Our two coordinators are ready for battle!" the host declared, raising her arm. "Now, let's get busy!" She swung her arm downward, indicating the start of the fight, and a timer began counting down on a large scoreboard behind them.
May was the first to call out an attack, as she cast her arm out in front of her. "Glaceon, attack with Ice Shard!"
Her Pokémon let out an affirmative cry, and ice particles began forming in the air around her. They grew in size until they were the size of baseballs, each of them looking like a gorgeous, immaculately-cut diamond. Once they had grown large enough, they shot forward toward Sylveon, spreading out in a wide arc that covered a large area.
Serena responded with a command of her own. "Spin and destroy them with your ribbons, Sylveon!" Her Pokémon obeyed immediately, twirling about on one paw as her ribbons fanned out in a circle around her. As the ice approached, the deceptively-sharp ribbons sliced many of them into smaller, less-hostile pieces. One or two of the larger chunks still hit her body, however, leaving small patches of ice where they had made contact.
"A beautiful attack, met with a beautiful defense!" the MC declared. "Serena loses a few points for being hit, but it's not much!"
Serena grinned wider, encouraged by the positive response. "Let's see them try to dodge Swift!" she declared. Sylveon cried out, and a flurry of shining white stars began spinning around her head. The stars circled for a moment before shooting off toward Glaceon, arcing through the air on their way to their target.
May didn't need much time to react to the attack, as it homed in on Glaceon. "Freeze those stars with Ice Beam!" Glaceon opened her mouth as well, and a glowing blue ball of energy formed in it before shooting out like lightning. The Ice Beam made contact with many of the stars, freezing them in place and sending them falling to the ground, but a small handful of stars still made it through.
"And Serena answers in almost identical fashion! These two are top contenders for a reason, folks!"
Serena could hear the sound of points dropping, her eyes darting off to her right. It looked as though she and May were on roughly equal footing, after two very similar attacks and defenses. She decided it was time to go on the offense and knock some real points off of May's score.
"Go in and hit her with Quick Attack!" she commanded. Sylveon took off like a rocket, her body glowing with a weak white aura as she dashed across the field at amazing speed. May called out her response almost as soon as Sylveon started moving.
"Dodge, and get her with Iron Tail!" Glaceon nodded and focused, her tail stiffening and turning as hard as iron. As Sylveon grew closer and closer, Glaceon leaped out of the way just in time, barely avoiding the attack. She swung her iron-hard tail toward Sylveon's back, but the Fairy-type Pokémon had already dashed out of the way, and the attack missed entirely. Once Sylveon finished dashing and turned around, the two Pokémon were on opposite sides of the battlefield again.
"Now, use Shadow Ball!" May ordered. Her Glaceon began charging a ball of dark energy in her mouth, which quickly grew as large as her head.
"Use Fairy Wind!" Serena retaliated. "Knock that Shadow Ball away!" Sylveon nodded and held her ribbons out in front of her, and a whirling ball of pink, glittering wind formed between them, growing to great size.
The two attacks were fired off at practically the same time, after reaching roughly equivalent size, and collided in midair above the center of the battlefield. Instead of straining against each other, the two attacks deflected each other, and were sent in opposite directions. The Shadow Ball shot upward, exploding against the rafters of the auditorium. The Fairy Wind flew downward and burst against the battlefield, sending a burst of powerful wind rippling across the stage. Both Serena and May had to hold their skirts down to prevent them from being blown up.
Serena's eyes met May's as the wind subsided, and she could feel her heart pounding from excitement. She'd had plenty of contest battles before, but this one with May didn't feel quite the same as the others. May wasn't just Serena's opponent in this battle; in a strange way, she felt like Serena's partner. Even as they tried to overcome each other, they were still working together to dazzle the audience, as they both knew how to do. It was almost like a dance that the two of them were sharing on stage. Now it was Serena's turn to lead.
"Sylveon, Quick Attack again!" she commanded. Her Pokémon responded immediately, taking off like a rocket toward her opponent. Looking across the stage once again, Serena could see a grin form on May's face, worryingly fast. Had Serena made a mistake?
"Use Ice Beam!" May responded. "Freeze the floor!"
Glaceon's grin mimicked her trainer's, as she opened her mouth and spat out another Ice Beam, freezing the floor in between herself and her opponent. Sylveon immediately lost all of her traction, starting to slip and slide uncontrollably across the floor. She tried to skid to a stop, but her limbs simply flailed instead.
Serena watched as Glaceon jumped away, unfazed by the icy floor, as her mind raced. Sylveon crashing to an inelegant halt on the other side of the stage would be a big point loss for her. She needed to recover. "Sylveon, don't panic! Use your claws to control yourself! Act like you're skating!"
Sylveon ceased her flailing, carefully pushing herself up into a full standing position. Extending one set of claws, then the other, she found she was able to drift slowly to the left or right. She carefully turned herself in Glaceon's direction, then dug her claws into the floor to push herself forward, preparing to tackle her opponent. Serena breathed a sigh of relief as Sylveon regained control. That had been pure improvisation, flying by the seat of her pants - much like a certain young boy she knew.
"Well, look at that!" the host called out excitedly, as the crowd cheered. "Sylveon was headed for a wipeout, but she's figured out how to control herself on the ice! That will save Serena from losing points!"
May grinned excitedly, thrilled that her partner was giving such a strong performance. The crowd certainly deserved it, after all the time they had spent waiting. But only one of them could win, and May was going to make certain it was her.
"Turn that floor into Ice Shards!" she called out. Glaceon lifted her front paws up before slamming them onto the ground, sending cracks throughout the ice covering the battlefield. Another slam sent the ice flying outward as shards, directly toward the oncoming Sylveon.
"Destroy them with Swift!" Serena shot back. Her Pokémon quickly formed another ring of stars around her, which shot forward and collided with the oncoming ice. Each shard exploded into a beautiful flash of glittering light, like a combination between a firework and a chandelier, before disappearing. The audience ooh'd and ahh'd at the spectacle.
Serena clenched her fist, feeling pumped, and took the initiative to make the next move. "Now, jump and hit her with Dazzling Gleam!"
Sylveon leaped into the air, just before she hit the edge of the ice, and she opened her mouth to gather a mass of glowing, glittering, pink light. May, however, was ready with her response almost immediately.
"Shoot back with Shadow Ball! You're the stronger Pokémon! You can stop her!"
Her Glaceon opened her mouth as well, gathering a mass of dark energy in her jaws. Both Pokémon grew their attacks as they approached, wanting them to be as powerful as possible, in the hopes of knocking the other out. It wasn't long before the attacks were ready to fire, and both combatants lunged-
A loud buzzer sounded throughout the contest hall, causing both Serena and May to jump. They had gotten so caught up in their battle, they had entirely forgotten about the time limit. Sylveon landed on the ground, as the energy for her Dazzling Gleam disappeared anticlimactically; Glaceon's Shadow Ball did the game. They both turned their heads toward the scoreboard instinctively.
"And time's up!" the host declared. "A beautiful and elegant battle, just as we expected from these two accomplished coordinators! But there can only be one winner, so let's see who has the most points!" She turned to face the scoreboard like everyone else. "And the winner is…"
Serena watched the scoreboard with wide eyes, her adrenaline vanishing from her body and leaving only nerves behind. She was already second-guessing her decisions, trying to figure out what had gone wrong, what had gone right, and what needed fixing for next time. After five agonizingly long seconds, the scoreboard shifted from a head-to-head display to a victory screen, prominently featuring a photograph of… May's face.
"It's May!" the host announced, as the crowd burst into applause. "May wins on points, by the smallest of margins! She will advance to the grand finals against Lisia, to see which of the two girls will become Top Coordinator!"
Serena let out a long, slow exhale, breathing out half of the energy in her body as she did. Try as she might, she was unable to stop a wave of disappointment from washing over her. All of her hard work over the past several months had just come to an abrupt end, as she fell just short of the title she had sought. Now she was just another coordinator once again, competing with the thousands of others in the contest circuit. At least she had lost to the Princess of Hoenn, one of the most popular and talented coordinators in the region… and her close friend, she reminded herself.
She walked onto the battlefield, reaching down and scratching a saddened and frustrated Sylveon behind her ears. "You were amazing, Sylveon. We came really close. We just fell a little bit short. Don't blame yourself." Sylveon cooed and nuzzled Serena's leg, and the two watched as May excitedly embraced her Glaceon, thanking her for a battle well fought.
When May looked away from her Pokémon, her eyes instantly met Serena's, and she stood up fully and rushed forward with an apologetic smile on her face. "You did a great job, Serena. Both of you did. You should be proud." She extended her hand.
Serena smiled gently and accepted, shaking hands. "Thanks, May. You were amazing out there. Do you best against Lisia, alright?"
"Trust me, I will." May smirked as her eyes sparked. "I'm finally going to take the title away from her."
Serena's smile grew wider, and more genuine. "I'll be rooting for both of you… but maybe I'll cheer more for one than the other."
May giggled, a melodic sound in Serena's ears, and the two ventured backstage to get their Pokémon healed, as the contest staff got to work repairing the stage for the upcoming finale.
Ten minutes later, it was all over.
After a quick trip to the in-house Pokémon Center, May had pitted her Glaceon against Lisia's trusty Altaria. Glaceon sparkled and crafted beautiful ice structures to trap Altaria, but Altaria had let his aerial grace shine as he deftly avoid Glaceon's traps while delivering damage. It was a very close match, but once the timer had expired, one coordinator had the smallest of point advantages. Lisia had defended her title.
Serena stood and watched from behind the curtain, applauding with everyone else as Lisia was awarded her overlarge trophy. May, as the runner-up, was allowed to watch from the side of the stage, near the judges. One of them took the time to lean over and inform her that her battle had been "remarkable", in an attempt to cheer her up.
Lisia held the trophy high above her head as she soaked in the admiration of the crowd, before setting it off to the side. She stepped up to the microphone stand at the front of the stage, reaching up and adjusting it to point toward her mouth.
"Thank you so much, everyone!" She was beaming from ear to ear as she addressed the crowd. "It's been a lot of hard work to get here, and I just want to thank everyone involved in making this contest season happen!"
She let the crowd applaud once again, more politely and respectfully this time, before she continued. "But before we all leave tonight, I have an announcement I want to make!"
The crowd began murmuring curiously, causing Lisia to grin with anticipation. Turning around, she motioned for both May and Serena to come closer. Both girls grinned wide and practically sprinted toward Lisia, standing on either side of her, knowing exactly what was about to happen. Once they were close enough, Lisia reached out and snaked one arm around each of their waists, pulling the two closer.
"The three of us are all going to be performing together!" Lisia declared. "We've gotten together to form Hoenn's newest idol group, Crystal Heart! And our first concert will be in two weeks, right here in Slateport City!"
Serena thought the crowd had been loud during her battle against May, but what she was experiencing now was another strata of volume. She was certain her ears would be ringing when she went to bed tonight. Their excitement was validating, energizing, and it excited her in turn. If this was what the announcement was like, she could barely imagine a concert.
"We have so many great things to show you, and I can't wait for all of you to see them!" Lisia continued, soaking in the crowd's adoration. "All three of us have been working hard to make our performances the best they can be!"
Behind Lisia's back, Serena could feel May's hand sliding over hers, their fingers intertwining. Serena grinned wide, scooting the tiniest bit closer. The two of them certainly had been working hard. May had been over at Serena's place every single night since they first met up, planning, choreographing, practicing, and then talking until May either went back home or fell asleep on Serena's couch. It was hard for the two of them to have prepared more than they had.
"After that, we'll be going on tour all over Hoenn! We'll be hitting every major city, and plenty of places in between!" Lisia had slipped into her promoter persona, her announcement effortlessly transitioning into a sales pitch. "You're going to be seeing a lot of us everywhere, so we hope to see a lot of you at our shows! Tickets go on sale tomorrow!"
She waved to the crowd for a few moments as they cheered, and May and Serena waved as well, with their free hands. Soon, the MC of the Grand Festival stepped in front of Lisia, reclaiming her microphone in order to bid farewell to the contest season. As her closing words wrapped up, the three coordinators stepped away and started moving backstage, with Lisia picking up her trophy on the way.
"Well, now it's out there," Lisia remarked. "No turning back now. Hope you two are ready for what's to come."
"I'm ready," May answered. "I can't wait to show Hoenn what we've been up to."
"I'm ready… I hope," Serena added, much less confidently.
"You are," Lisia replied without a second thought. "Or you will be, when it's time. Trust me. You've got what it takes." May nodded in agreement.
Serena beamed, meeting the eyes of Lisia, then May. "I won't let you down."
The three girls returned to their dressing rooms, their tired eyes and sore feet begging them to return home and get some rest, while their minds dreamed eagerly of the future soon to come.