Megan's POV
I felt my usual mixture of excitement and nerves before a phase in a contest as I stood in the Grand Festival's main arena hall, alongside my friends among all of the other coordinators, not to mention the guests wishing them luck.
"Today's certainly looking to be a big day." Adam stated as he observed the sheer size of the crowd that we were currently standing amidst.
"It's the day of a contest." Jason stated. "And the Grand Festival, at that. Would you expect any less?"
"Your excitement is certainly appreciated, though." Amber said before directing a companionable smile towards Adam. "Especially considering that this is the third Grand Festival that you're attending. And I know that sometimes even a Grand Festival can lose its 'wow' factor if you see enough of them."
Adam chuckled and replied, "Don't you worry, Amber. Grand Festivals haven't lost their 'wow' factor for me yet. Heck, my dad's seen even more of them than me, and he's always still amazed."
"You know, the Hoenn Grand Festival has definitely changed since our parents' time." I mentioned.
"You're right, Sis." April agreed, before looking at Adam and Jason. "From what Mom told Megan and I, when she first competed, the Hoenn Grand Festival required a second appeals round just to narrow down the top 64 to the top 32. Only then would the battle rounds begin. But nowadays, it appears that there's only one appeals round, just like in all of the other contests, and the top 64 is where the battles begin."
I nodded my head and added, "The first round of battles are one-on-one. The top 32 and onwards will all be double battles."
After a brief pause, I said, "Well, we'd better get going. We still need to get dressed and prepared."
"Agreed." said Amber. "Here's to a good show!"
"Have fun up there!" Adam said encouragingly to us.
He and Jason then turned to follow the rest of the spectators to take their seats while the rest of us all headed to the backstage area. One way or another, today would certainly be an eventful day!
Fifteen minutes later, I'd gotten dressed into my contest outfit and was positioned at a mirror to apply some finishing touches.
"Just stay calm." I whispered under my breath. "I need to be at the top of my game if I'm going to make it into the top 32."
"Won't we all?"
Eyes widening in surprise, I turned my head to see an amused Amber, dressed in her own contest outfit, standing not too far from me. I also noticed that she was wearing her lucky bracelet, just like how I was currently wearing mine.
"Glad to see that I'm not the only one of us who still needs to make some finishing touches before we go out onstage today." She then pointed at the mirror directly to my right. "Is this spot taken?"
"No, not at all." I said. "Go ahead."
Amber sat down next to me and got to work, brushing her hair.
"I'll admit, I really hope that Adam enjoys what I've got to offer today. Especially after how much he enjoyed what I had to offer yesterday."
I chuckled stiffly at the hopefully unintentional reminder of how she'd scored just one point higher than me yesterday.
"Took the words right out of my mouth." I managed to state diplomatically.
"I'm glad that we're on the same page. Especially considering that I'm planning on finally confessing to him about how I feel for him, if I win the Ribbon Cup."
Hearing this, I tensed up in surprise and gaped at the mirror in surprise and mild alarm. But then I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth, trying my best to get myself composed once more.
"What a coincidence." I eventually managed to say before opening my eyes with a noncommittal look of determination on my face. "I had a very similar idea in mind."
Amber raised her eyebrows in amusement and intrigue and said, "Really, now? I suppose that I shouldn't be surprised that we both had the same idea in that department. After all, we already had the same idea to wear our Wazoo Island bracelets as good luck charms, so why not have the same idea to confess to him if we win the Hoenn Grand Festival?"
At that moment, I briefly found myself wondering if it would be better for me to just stand aside and give up my claim on Adam. After all, as much as he'd enjoyed being in my company again over the last two days, he'd also seemed to be in noticeably good spirits in hers, if not in even higher spirits than when around me. Would it be better for me to step aside and let Amber have him without any further competition? Truly loving someone does mean putting their happiness before your own, after all. And if Amber and Adam truly loved each other enough to be happy together, then who was I to stand in the way?
But then I shook my head and clenched my right fist, thinking, No. I can't let her have him that easily. Truly loving someone may mean putting that person's happiness before your own, but it also means that you're willing to fight for them and give it your all for that person. And even if she does end up beating me in the Grand Festival, then maybe I can at least test her conviction to winning Adam's heart in the process, and let her prove just how much she truly loves him.
With this decision made, I extended my right hand towards Amber as if offering a handshake, with a determined smirk on my face.
"Then may the best girl win." I stated.
Amber now looked even more amused and intrigued as she reached over, grabbed my extended hand and gave it a firm handshake. Admittedly, part of me was still mildly alarmed and rather miffed that Amber had the same idea for confession timing as I did. But at the same time, I had to admit that I now felt more determined than ever to win!
Once Amber and I were both finished with our preparations, we entered the waiting area, where a sizable number of other coordinators had already gathered. And it wasn't long after we'd taken seats together that the rest of our friends started coming out to join us.
Christina came strolling out with a confident smile on her face and proudly stated, "Look who's ready to get the show on the road, girls."
We all nodded with approval as she sat down with us.
"Well, Megan," she said. "All that's left is your sister and future brother-in-law, and we'll all be ready."
I raised my eyebrow in mild amusement and replied, "Getting a little ahead of ourselves, don't you think?"
"That's one way to put it." said a voice.
We all turned our heads to see an amused April and a mildly embarrassed Adrian walking up from behind us. We all laughed as April and Adrian finally took seats alongside us.
I then took another look at the area around us, taking note of just how many coordinators were present. It was at this point that I found myself letting a nervous smile come onto my face as it fully sank in how, counting our little group, there were a full 64 coordinators performing in today's battle round. It was a noticeably bigger number than even the 16 that had been the maximum number for the Wallace Cup's first battle round. And I wasn't the only one starting to feel nervous about this daunting information.
"We've certainly got a lot of potential competition to go through." April admitted.
"Yeah." said Skye. "Not to mention that there's gonna be who-knows-how-big of a crowd watching today."
"No kidding." Christina stated, herself now starting to look mildly unnerved.
And with this being the first Grand Festival that April, Skye, Christina, and I had ever competed in, the idea of the insanely big crowd sounded quite overwhelming indeed!
"Don't be scared. Just treat this like any other contest." Amber reassured us. "You weren't afraid of performing in any of the contests that you took part in, prior to this one. The only real difference at this point is the potential size of the audience and the number of rounds. So with that in mind, there isn't really any more need for fear than there was in all of the other contests before this one."
"She's right." Ashlyn added. "Just approach this as emotionally as you've done in all of the contests leading up to this one, and have fun with your Pokemon. Simple as that."
April and I looked at each other, with Skye and Christina doing the same, all of us carefully considering what Amber and Ashlyn had just said. Then we nodded our heads in agreement.
"Well, when you put it like that, I suppose the potential size of the crowd awaiting us today isn't quite so daunting." said Christina.
Adrian nodded his head and placed a comforting hand on April's shoulder, telling her, "Regardless of who makes it to the top 32, let alone wins the Ribbon Cup, you'll always be a winner to me, April."
Immediately after he said this, he kissed April right on the cheek to further drive his point across. April let a small blush come onto her face, alongside a warm smile.
"Aw..." Amber, Ashlyn, Skye, and I all said in unison.
Christina, however, chuckled with an amused look on her face and said, "Get a room, you two."
Hearing this, we all couldn't help but chuckle in response, too.
"Well, you're certainly in good spirits today, Christina." said April.
"Agreed." I said, directing a more thoughtful look at Christina. "In fact, you look to be in much better spirits today than you did yesterday during the appeals."
"So you've noticed." Christina stated. "Making it past the appeals yesterday and ruining any potential hopes that my father may have had of me losing certainly helped my self-esteem. But that's not the only reason why I'm in higher spirits today."
She then looked meaningfully at me and the rest of the girls in our group and said, "I contacted my mom yesterday, just like you girls suggested...and you were right. Contrary to what my father was probably hoping I'd believe, my mom was, in fact, on my side in this whole business. She even congratulated me on making it to the battles, assured me that she'd seen me on TV yesterday, and also made it clear that what my father said the day before yesterday made her all the more disgusted with him and proud of me for doing the right thing in the wake of his scheme against May and Drew.
"So all in all, with things between my mom and I being infinitely better than my father probably wanted me to think, plus how I made it into the top 64 yesterday, I'm certainly feeling a lot more confident and at ease, compared to yesterday."
"We're very glad that things worked out between you and your mom." said Skye. "And trust me, I'm saying that with very good authority, given my past relationship with my parents."
I nodded my head and added, "Here's to things continuing to go well for you during the Grand Festival, Christina. And for the rest of us as well."
"Thanks, everyone. I really needed that."
"You're very welcome." we all replied.
"Alright, ladies and gents!"
The sudden sound of Sofia speaking startled us into looking hurriedly towards the screen, alongside the other coordinators, eyes all wide and alert as Sofia made the introductions for herself and the judges for the Hoenn Grand Festival's first battle round.
"And now, the moment you've all been waiting for! Here's a quick look at who's battling who today!" Sofia announced.
In that instant, all 64 of the photos from yesterday popped up on the screen before getting randomly shuffled around into appropriate positions to showcase who'd be going up against who today, as well as the order of the respective matches, with a big red line with the word "INTERMISSION" being written across it in big bold black font materializing into position across the exact middle of the screen to further divide the matches.
The very first match for today's battle round was ultimately set to be between Ramsey and some other boy.
"The Grand Festival organizers must have really wanted to capitalize on his popularity, after taking the literal #1 spot yesterday." April theorized.
Adrian sneered, his eyes narrowing as he stared at Ramsey's position on the screen and said, "Lucky him."
April directed an amused smirk at her boyfriend and inquired, "Getting jealous, are we?"
"Jealous? Of course not. Why would you suggest that?"
The rest of us rolled our eyes and looked back to the screen as the match-ups continued to be revealed. Ultimately, April and I would be having our match-ups before the intermission, and so would Ashlyn. Amber, Skye, Christina, and Adrian had their own battles during the second half of today's battle round.
Nodding her head, Amber looked towards me and said, "Best of luck."
"Right back at you." I replied, remembering our earlier conversation.
Before long, the first battle round had officially begun. And as shown, Ramsey's match was the very first one, with Ramsey using his Arcanine while his opponent used an Ariados. To no one's surprise, Ramsey won. And once that match was out of the way, another five matches unfolded before a member of our little group was finally called up to the stage.
... ...
"To my left, we have Dolph." said Sofia as a burly-looking blonde boy stood at attention on the left side of the arena. "And to my right, we have Ashlyn. Five minutes on the clock...and begin!"
"Showtime, Magneton!" Dolph yelled as he unleashed a Magneton from its Pokeball.
"Piloswine, curtain!" Ashlyn yelled as she released her own chosen Pokemon from its Pokeball.
I was wondering when her Swinub would finally evolve. I thought to myself.
I then caught sight of the visible look of alarm on Dolph's face as he clearly realized how his Magneton was not the most ideal Pokemon to use against a Piloswine. And his hesitance was something that Ashlyn was quick to capitalize on.
"Start with a bang, Piloswine!" Ashlyn yelled, a confident smile on her face. "Use Earthquake!"
The sound of this command quickly snapped Dolph back to attention as he tried to yell, "Dodge th-"
But it was too late. Piloswine lifted its front legs and stomped them down on the arena floor. The resulting shockwave swiftly slammed into Magneton and sent it flying backward with a screech of pain.
"Ashlyn's off to a ground-shaking start, everyone!" Sofia declared.
Dolph snarled, clearly humiliated at his rough start to the battle. But he was not about to let himself go down easily.
"We can salvage this, Magneton! Use Flash Cannon!" Screeching in rage, Magneton pointed all of its magnet arms towards Piloswine, all of them sparkling with what looked like steely white voltage.
"Don't let that hit you, Piloswine!" Ashlyn yelled, well aware of how Steel attacks would be harmful to an Ice Pokemon like her Piloswine. "Use Light Screen!" Piloswine summoned the requisite force field that came with the usage of Light Screen just in time to shield it from the worst of the damage when Magneton unleashed six beams of silvery white light from its magnet arms. But while largely shielded from the worst of the damage, the last remnants of the Flash Cannon managed to successfully break through the Light Screen and deal minor damage to Piloswine, costing Ashlyn some points.
"Don't stop now, Magneton! Use Gyro Ball!" Screeching determinedly, Magneton raised its magnet arms, all of which were glowing a bright electric blue, before its entire body started spinning like a top and went rocketing in Piloswine's direction.
"Hurry, Piloswine! "Use Ice Beam!" Piloswine was quick to obey, firing off a beam of icy blue energy that struck Magneton right in the center of its central head's face. And while its Steel typing prevented the Ice Beam from causing all that much damage, the surprise of getting hit in one of its eyes still threw off its concentration enough for it to end its Gyro Ball attack and land flat on the stage.
"Now's your chance, Piloswine! Use Ice Fang and combine it with Take Down!" Piloswine charged towards Magneton, its body glowing with a translucent gold aura while its tusks became encased in brilliant icy blue energy auras that expanded to make it look as if its tusks were enlarging. Piloswine then slammed into the temporarily downed Magneton and sent it bouncing back towards Dolph. But as soon as both auras faded out of existence, Piloswine briefly flinched and became briefly encased in mild voltage as it was affected by recoil from the Take Down.
"Excellent!" Ashlyn exclaimed with a smile as she noticed how she'd successfully knocked off another decent batch of points from Dolph's score while her own points still remained relatively high.
Dolph, however, had noticed Piloswine's recoil and cried, "Magneton, use Metal Sound, followed by Tri-Attack!" Magneton encased its body in light blue energy before unleashing a volley of silver-colored noise waves, causing Piloswine to flinch in discomfort as it shook its head to try to get the unpleasant metal-like noise out of its head.
"Fight through that, Piloswine! You can still do this!" Ashlyn screamed over the noise.
"We'll see about that! Here comes the finishing move!" Magneton caused its three screws to glow with white light that soon connected together and formed a triangle-shaped projectile of white light and sent this projectile flying at Piloswine.
"Hurry, Piloswine! Deflect it with Ice Beam!" Piloswine fired off another Ice Beam, successfully striking the Tri-Attack and pushing it right back in Magneton's direction. Its own Tri-Attack slammed into it, along with Piloswine's Ice Beam, sending it spinning.
"NO!" Dolph yelled.
"OH, YES!" Ashlyn yelled in delight.
"Now let's finish this, Piloswine! Earthquake!" A second Earthquake from Piloswine sent Magneton down for the count with two minutes to spare!
"Magneton is unable to battle!" Sofia yelled. "Ashlyn wins!"
... ...
With Ashlyn having won her match, another two matches unfolded before my turn finally arrived for the tenth match of the day.
I confidently made my way out onto the stage, ready to give it my all. And once my opponent and I were in position...
"On my left, we have Megan." said Sofia. "And on my right, we have Georgina! Five minutes on the clock...and begin!"
Georgina, a white-haired and yellow-eyed girl, nodded her head with a stoic glare on her face.
"Altaria, spotlight!"
"Flygon, curtain!"
In a flash, both Dragon Pokemon were unleashed, staring each other down.
"It's a battle of dragons, everyone!" Sofia yelled excitedly. "Let's see what they've got in store for us today!"
"Flygon, use Dragon Rush! Now!" Flygon hissed as it encased itself in a light blue aura before swooping straight at Altaria at high speed.
"Fury Attack!" I yelled. Altaria's beak glowed in preparation for the Fury Attack before she flew towards Flygon. Both Pokemon slammed into each other, a burst of smoke ensuing as a result of the impact of the collision before both Pokemon burst out of the smoke and went hurtling backwards towards Georgina and I. By sheer luck, both Pokemon landed on their feet and skidded to a graceful halt. Both of us had now lost points, but we were still currently neck-and-neck.
"You're gonna have to do better than that!" I yelled.
"Flygon, show this upstart who's boss with Dragon Claw!" Georgina hissed. Flygon coated its claws in a light green aura that expanded into elongated claw-like shapes and charged at Altaria.
"Dodge it!" I yelled. "And counter with Dragon Breath!" Altaria managed to fly upwards just in time to avoid the Dragon Claw. But right as she was readying her Dragon Breath...
"Now, Flygon! Strike upwards with Dragon Tail!" Flygon's green aura-encased tail slammed upwards against Altaria's stomach and sent her rocketing up high.
I winced at the sight of this. This certainly hadn't gone as I'd hoped it would. But at the same time, I also couldn't help but take note of how Georgina had risked breaking the "no transfer" rule by having Flygon use Dragon Tail, a move that I knew had a chance of forcibly switching out an active Pokemon with another from its trainer's team. Since we could each use only one Pokemon, she would've been disqualified if it had succeeded. Clearly, Georgina was feeling very confident in her chances to be making risky moves like that.
Georgina let a smug smirk come on her face as she taunted, "How's that for 'better'?"
"Pretty good. But I'm not giving up yet! Dragon Breath! Now!"
"Counter with Uproar!"
Both Dragon Pokemon launched their respective attacks and they collided at the midway point between the two Pokemon, forming a beam-o-war. Rather annoyingly, both attacks proved evenly matched...before we were both ultimately forced to call off the attacks before the resulting convergence point exploded.
"Things are definitely heating up, everyone." Sofia stated. "But Megan's still below Georgina in points. Can she turn this around?"
"I'll go ahead and put that question to rest." Georgina hissed, pointing outwards. "Let's finish this, Flygon! Use Dragon Rush!" Flygon coated itself with a light blue aura before rocketing forward at Altaria.
But as it so happened, I had one other move up my sleeve that I knew Altaria had learned not too long after evolving from Swablu!
"Use Dragon Pulse!" I cried.
"DODGE THAT!" Georgina shrieked, her face blanched and eyes wide with horror as she realized what was about to happen.
But it was too late. Altaria opened her beak and revealed an orb of energy before spewing out a long serpentine dragon-shaped beam of multicolored energy straight at the charging Flygon, who was engulfed by the Dragon Pulse and sent crashing to the ground! And once the resulting dust cloud kicked up by Flygon's landing finally cleared, it was revealed to be completely out cold.
Georgina slumped, a visibly defeated look on her face.
"Flygon is unable to battle!" Sofia yelled excitedly. "Megan is the winner!"
... ...
Another two matches followed after my victory before April was finally called out for match #13 against a boy with dark blue hair named Nigel.
"Break a leg, Sis." I said as she got up from seat and began to stroll her way out.
She then exited the waiting area and made her way out onto the stage.
"On my left, we have April." said Sofia. "And on my right, we have Nigel. Five minutes on the clock...and begin!"
"Masquerain, charm up!" April yelled as she threw her Pokeball and released her Pokemon.
"Show 'em what you've got, Pelipper!" Nigel yelled as he released his own Pokemon.
I couldn't help but nod my head with a delighted smile on my face. I had to admit, it was certainly exciting to see that April had finally allowed her Surskit to evolve into Masquerain. And while Pelipper did have a type advantage by virtue of it being a Flying Pokemon while Masquerain was partially a Bug Pokemon, I still had full confidence that April would pull off the win.
"Let's wow them, Masquerain!" she yelled excitedly. "Use Aqua Jet combined with Agility!" Masquerain coated herself in both the Psychic energy of Agility as well as the water required for Aqua Jet before sending herself flying at Pelipper...only for Nigel to let a smirk suddenly pop up on his face.
"Right into my trap! Use Hurricane, Pelipper!" A burst of immensely powerful wind from Pelipper's flapping wings sent her flying back at April. When Masquerain finished coming to a rather rough landing, she was clearly in pain. The impact from the Hurricane and her subsequent landing had taken a lot out of her.
"Don't worry, Masquerain." April said in an effort at getting her Pokemon cheered up and back to fighting. "We can still salvage this!"
"Get her while she's down, Pelipper! Use Air Cutter!"
"Dodge!" April yelled.
Masquerain hurriedly took to the air and darted off to to the side just in time to avoid the volley of light blue energy blades that Pelipper tried to send her way. Nigel, not about to take his resulting loss of points sitting down, had Pelipper continue to fire off its Air Cutter attack, costing himself further points as Masquerain continued to dodge.
But I knew that Masquerain couldn't keep up this dodging routine forever. Fortunately, April was well aware of this fact, too. And once Masquerain just so happened to get within a very close distance from Pelipper's position...
"Now, Masquerain! Use Air Slash!" Masquerain's Air Slash slammed against his big beaked face and knocked him off-balance.
"Don't lose your momentum! Use Aqua Jet with Agility!" Masquerain did as ordered, causing Pelipper to be sent further off-balance with each subsequent time she slammed into him.
"Pelipper, give yourself some breathing room with Hydro Pump!"
"Dodge that!"
But it was too late, as Masquerain was blasted by the Hydro Pump that spouted out of Pelipper's beak, and was sent flying back at April. And with Masquerain temporarily out of commission, Nigel was quick to throw out another new trick from up his sleeve.
"Use Roost, Pelipper! Before she finishes recovering!" Nigel shouted. Pelipper landed calmly upon the stage while folding up his wings and closing his eyes. His body was then encased in an orb of nurturing bright green energy as he started healing himself. But while Pelipper did successfully finish utilizing his Roost move, April wasn't about to let this healing to keep her down!
"We can still win this, Masquerain! Use Stun Spore!"
"Counter with Air Cutter!"
"Dodge!" April promptly yelled. "And retaliate with Air Slash!"
And just like that, Masquerain and Pelipper both found themselves engaged in a rapid-fire duel of various bursts of wind-based energy blades, as well as the occasional Aqua Jet and Hydro Pump. For a decent while, April and Nigel remained neck-and-neck in points. But eventually...
"Time's up!"
In a flash, April and Nigel both looked to the scoreboard, with Masquerain and Pelipper doing the same...to see that April had just barely managed to edge Nigel out in points.
"The winner is April!"
Nigel nodded his head, a stoic look of acceptance on his face before he returned his disgruntled Pelipper.
... ...
After another three matches, the intermission began. We had an entire hour available for lunch before the battling resumed.
"We're certainly off to a good start, Sis." April said as she sat directly across from me and alongside Adrian while we ate our lunch.
"Yes, we are. And I will say, good job with your Masquerain. I'm very pleased that you finally allowed your Surskit to evolve, by the way." I told her.
"I must agree." said Skye. "And I'll freely admit, for a Pokemon you've previously mostly relegated to appeals as Surskit, your Masquerain has certainly proven herself to be a good Pokemon to use in battles, after evolving."
"I'll admit, I wasn't entirely certain at first of how good of a job she'd do in transitioning from being a full-time appeal Pokemon to taking part in battles. And her sacrificing Bubble Beam and Quick Attack for the sake of learning Air Slash and Stun Spore is definitely something I regret. But at the end of the day, she's certainly shown her chops as a battler." April admitted.
"I certainly know how you feel about Masquerain having to forget Bubble Beam and Quick Attack," Christina said. "My Shelgon had to forget Scary Face in order to learn Protect, immediately after evolving from Bagon. And considering both the relative low power of Ember and how long I might have to wait for him to learn Flamethrower, I had to teach him Fire Blast, so that he'd have a somewhat more powerful Fire attack to go with his current level of power."
Amber nodded her head and added, "No kidding. I had to have my Loudred sacrifice Echoed Voice so that I could teach him a new move that would allow him to be slightly less overspecialized. But regardless, I'm just hoping that the rest of us will be able to make it into the top 32 once the battling resumes. After all, Megan, April, and Ashlyn have certainly put pressure on the rest of us to make it there with them."
"I doubt that you have any need to really worry, Amber. This is your third Grand Festival, after all." I said, then looked at Christina and Skye. "You two, on the other hand, might need some extra luck."
"Har-har." Christina muttered.
"Oh, you." Skye stated while rolling her eyes in mock annoyance.
"Good to see you all in good spirits."
The sound of Adam's voice caused us all to turn our heads in time to see him and Jason walking over to join us with their own trays of food in their hands.
"Not to mention that we'll be able to join you all for lunch today." Jason added as he and Adam reached our table and took seats to join us.
"I'll certainly say this much, Megan: you, April, and Ashlyn certainly did good today." Adam said.
"Yeah, no kidding." said Jason. "That Flygon certainly had your Altaria on the ropes for a bit before you finally turned things around."
"It was also nice to see that Swinub and Surskit have evolved." Adam then mentioned. "And with how good of a show we've already been treated to during the first half of today's round, I'm already looking forward to seeing what Amber, Christina, Skye, and Adrian have in store for us today."
Amber chuckled, a slight blush coming onto her face as she brushed a hand through her hair, and said, "Thanks, Adam. I won't disappoint you."
"I'll definitely be bringing my A-game today. Especially considering my mom might be in the audience today." Christina added.
"It sure is nice having a day of contests without any major drama or chaos." Skye said.
"You can say that again." April agreed.
"And I'm sure that you'll appreciate being able to successfully take part in the Hoenn Pokemon League without having to worry about Team Rocket causing any trouble. Especially after what happened last year in Johto." Ashlyn said to Adam.
"Don't remind me." Adam said, shuddering.
We all chuckled briefly before we resumed eating. After a while, about half of us had finished eating. Then Amber spoke up.
"I'm curious, Adam. Are you considering battling Wallace and the Hoenn Elite Four if you win the Hoenn Pokemon League?" Amber asked.
"Honestly, a part of me is considering at least going up against the Elite Four." he admitted. "I mean, I turned down the chance at going up against the Kanto/Johto Elite Four after I won the Kanto Pokemon League. However, I can still issue a challenge to them whenever I want. I have that right, as a Kanto Pokemon League victor."
"Look on the bright side, Adam. When I won the Johto Pokemon League last year, at least I didn't go up against Lance and the Kanto/Johto Elite Four, either. Granted, that was partially a result of Team Rocket bringing things to a premature close before I even had the chance to give an answer when asked if I'd take that opportunity after winning, but still." said Jason.
With that, we all laughed in good fun. All in all, things were definitely still going strong between us all. And I already couldn't wait for further fun between us as the Grand Festival continued over the next few days.
... ...
When our break was finally over, we were all very excited to resume the battle round, especially in light of how the very first match of the 2nd half (and 17th match overall), would feature Skye. Skye's opponent was a fair-skinned girl with bright electric blue hair and similarly colored eyes.
"To my left, we have Skye." Sofia said as she made her announcements. "And to my right, we have Aqua. Five minutes on the clock...and begin!"
"Manectric, charm up!" Skye yelled as she unleashed her Manectric.
"Showtime, Samurott!" Aqua yelled as she unleashed her Pokemon.
"Skye's chances are definitely looking promising, judging by the types we've got on display here." I said.
"Don't get cocky." said Amber. "Adam's dad has always made it clear that type match-ups don't always guarantee a victory."
"Use Water Pulse, Samurott!" Aqua cried. Samurott spewed out a jet of water that was surrounded by energy rings straight at Manectric.
"Dodge that!" Skye yelled. "Then counter with Discharge!" Manectric did as asked, with Samurott howling in pain after getting hit on the receiving end of the Discharge.
"Skye's off to a good start, everyone!" Sofia yelled in excitement. "But could Aqua have a trick or two up her sleeve? Let's find out!"
"Aerial Ace! Now!" Samurott coated itself in white energy and flew right at Manectric.
"Meet that with Quick Attack!" Skye yelled. "And combine it with Thunder Fang!"
Samurott could only howl in pain as it found itself on the painful end of Manectric's now-electrified teeth.
"Quick, Samurott! Break loose with Slash!" Samurott swung its horn down upon Manectric's head with Slash, jarring Manectric into releasing its hold on Samurott's neck. Samurott then jumped back to its starting position while Manectric went loping back over to his own starting position.
"We're still in the lead so far, Manectric." Skye stated confidently. "Use Howl!" Manectric did as requested, lifting his head and howling upwards as his strength increased.
"Two can play at that game! Swords Dance! Now!" Samurott began performing Swords Dance to boost his own strength.
"Now, Samurott! Use Aerial Ace!"
"Use Quick Attack combined with Thunder Fang!"
Snarling in unison, both Pokemon went rushing at each other and it wasn't long before they both collided in the center of the arena, with a burst of smoke ensuing from the impact!
"Looks like a real knockout performance, everyone!" Sofia yelled.
But then Manectric leaped out from the smoke, landing gracefully at his starting position directly in front of Skye. And when the smoke cleared, Samurott initially appeared to still be standing and ready to continue...until a closer look at its head revealed that it had already fainted. And sure enough, with one last weak gurgle, he collapsed to the floor, completely out cold. The sight of this caused Aqua to close her eyes and grit her teeth in seeming embarrassment.
"Samurott is unable to battle!" Sofia yelled. "The winner is Skye!"
... ...
Another three matches unfolded after Skye's victory before Amber was called to the arena for match #21. She was set to go up against a dark-skinned and black-haired boy named Tyson.
"On my left, we have Tyson." Sofia announced. "And on my right, we have Amber. Five minutes on the clock...and begin!"
"Let's get it on, Pangoro!" Tyson roared in excitement as he unleashed his chosen Pokemon.
"Loudred, curtain!" Amber shouted. In a flash, Loudred was released, letting out a roar.
"Amber had better act carefully." Christina said.
"I wouldn't worry too much, girls." said Ashlyn. "I have faith in her chances."
Tyson, feeling pretty confident in his chances of winning, chose to make the first move.
"Let's wow these people with Brick Break, Pangoro!" Pangoro growled as it rushed over while preparing the glowing white karate chop that came with usage of Brick Break.
"Hyper Voice! Now!" Amber yelled.
"Get back!" Tyson yelled, only for Pangoro to be sent flying backwards by the resulting noise waves expelled from Loudred's mighty jaws.
"Don't let this setback stop you, Pangoro! Show this Loudred some manners with Body Slam!"
"Have you learned nothing? Loudred, use Hyper Voice again!"
Loudred had only just opened his mouth and started charging Hyper Voice before Pangoro suddenly jumped into the air! Eyes widening, Amber hurriedly changed tactics.
"Strike that! Use Bite!" In a flash, Loudred used Bite just in time to snap his teeth around Pangoro's right fist. But as it would soon turn out, Tyson had planned for this possibility!
"Now, Pangoro! Use Vital Throw!" Pangoro swung its right arm upwards and sent Loudred flying sky-high. And when Loudred started hurtling down, Pangoro was ready to subsequently grab him and slam him head-first into the stage's floor with a viciously strong impact!
Amber couldn't help but wince as Pangoro jumped back to its starting position.
"Loudred, are you okay?!" Amber cried in concern.
Loudred grumbled in pain. Nonetheless, he managed to get back on his feet and glare irritably at Pangoro, clearly more than willing to give his opponent a serious retaliatory beating.
"Go ahead." Tyson said calmly. "Make your move. I'll be ready."
I was entirely willing to believe that he'd be ready. And judging by the look on Amber's face, she believed him, too. Clearly, she'd have to be careful if she were to secure a victory against Tyson. But after about 30 seconds of thought, I saw a smirk appear on Amber's face. Evidently, she'd thought up a plan of attack.
"Here goes nothing, Loudred! Use Uproar!" Amber ordered. Loudred roared as he unleashed his Uproar attack.
"Come now, you're making this too easy. Pangoro, jump over the Uproar and land with Body Slam!" Pangoro growled before jumping over the Uproar and positioning its body so that it would land on Loudred with a Body Slam.
"Dodge that." Amber said in a rather oddly calm tone of voice. Loudred jumped aside just in time for Pangoro to harmlessly land on the spot where he'd been standing. And mere seconds later...
"NOW, LOUDRED! USE BULLDOZE!" she screamed. In a flash, Loudred stomped his foot hard enough to unleash a shockwave that sent Pangoro bouncing back towards Tyson.
"Don't stop there! Follow up with Hyper Voice!" Amber ordered. Loudred screamed, the beam of blue noise waves bursting from his jaws in time to slam into Pangoro and send it flying back at Tyson.
Amber chuckled and said, "Not bad for a girl who merely got lucky."
"Indeed." Tyson stated, a look of respect on his dark face. "But don't think that we're finished yet. Pangoro's still got plenty of fight left in him."
"Time's up!"
Eyes widening, Tyson and Amber looked to the scoreboard, with Pangoro and Loudred doing the same.
"Amber wins!"
Tyson shrugged stoically and returned Pangoro.
"Good match." he told Amber.
"Agreed." Amber said as she returned her Loudred.
And with that, the two coordinators departed from the stage.
... ...
The 27th match was when Christina finally got her turn.
"On my left we have Christina and on my right we have Nolan." Sofia announced as she gestured towards Christina and an orange-haired and gray-eyed boy. "Five minutes on the clock...and begin!"
"Shelgon, spotlight!"
"Bring the noise, Abomasnow!"
"Another instance of one of our friends having a type disadvantage against their opponent. What are the odds?" I muttered in disbelief.
Nolan, clearly well aware of his type advantage, chose to act first and called out, "This will be easy! Use Sheer Cold! Now!"
All of our eyes promptly widened. Sheer Cold was a one-hit knockout move! And judging by the wide-eyed and pale-faced look on Christina's face, she was clearly well aware of this fact as well. And as Abomasnow charged up its attack and unleashed it in the form of a blueish-white beam of energy from its mouth, Christina reacted in the best way that she could think of!
"Protect! Hurry!" Shelgon quickly summoned the force field that came with the use of Protect just in time for the Sheer Cold beam to strike that shield instead of Shelgon himself.
"Just a minor setback, Abomasnow! Jump at Shelgon with Ice Punch!" Growling, Abomasnow jumped at Shelgon, its right fist glowing with icy blue energy.
"Defend with Dragon Breath!" Christina yelled. Shelgon obeyed and spewed out the Dragon Breath attack, which crashed into Abomasnow and sent it back to its starting position.
"You're only delaying the inevitable. Jump at Shelgon again! This time with Wood Hammer!" Abomasnow lunged at Shelgon once again, its right forearm becoming encased in a bright green aura that eventually took on a shape resembling a tree stump.
"This isn't looking good." I stated nervously.
"No, it is not." April agreed.
"Don't write her off yet." said Amber. "I'm sure she'll turn things around."
Little did any of us know that the moment Amber was hoping for would come sooner than we realized.
Mere seconds later, right as Abomasnow was seemingly minutes away from slamming its Wood Hammer down on Shelgon...
"NOW, SHELGON! USE FIRE BLAST!" she screamed. Abomasnow was blasted by the fireball that Shelgon spat out...which subsequently exploded into the star that Fire Blast usually took the shape of, sending Abomasnow flying back towards a stunned Nolan.
As this happened, I had a shocked expression on my face similar to his. I had completely forgotten about how Christina had mentioned back at lunch how she'd worked to teach Shelgon a stronger Fire attack as a replacement for Ember. At this point, I certainly had to admit that Fire Blast was certainly a strong choice of move to replace Ember.
And as it would soon turn out, Christina was just getting started. Now that she'd finally allowed herself to achieve the momentum, she was ready to continue piling on the attacks from Shelgon!
"Don't let up now, Shelgon! Use Zen Headbutt!" Shelgon's face began glowing with light blue energy before it rushed forward and rammed into the still-downed Abomasnow.
Shelgon then jumped back to his starting position by Christina as Abomasnow got back to its feet, now looking visibly outraged. Nolan also looked less than pleased, clearly not appreciating the recent change of fortune.
"That's it!" he snarled. "No more mister nice guy! Abomasnow, use Ice Punch! Now!"
"Protect!" Christina yelled.
Once again, Protect was successful, with Abomasnow's icy fist slamming harmlessly against Shelgon's force field. As soon as Protect wore off, Christina immediately followed up with...
"Dragon Breath! Now!" Abomasnow howled in pain as it was knocked back by the Dragon Breath.
Nolan audibly growled in frustration and yelled, "You like your long range attacks, huh? Well, two can play at that game! Abomasnow, use Blizzard!" Abomasnow charged up its Blizzard attack, then thrust its head and upper body forward in time to send the Blizzard spewing from its mouth and towards Shelgon.
"Shield yourself with Fire Blast!" Christina cried. I raised my eyebrow, feeling more than a little confused at this somewhat unconventional use of the attack that Christina appeared to have in mind. But miraculously, this idea ended up actually working, with the fiery blast managing to halt the momentum of Blizzard in time to prevent it from getting near enough for Shelgon to even feel the cold!
The judges were equally impressed at this thinking-outside-the-box defense, judging by just how many points ended up docked from Nolan's score.
"Beat that!" Christina yelled, a confident grin on her face.
Nolan snarled, visibly outraged, and shouted, "Finish this, Abomasnow! Use Sheer Cold!"
"Counter with Dragon Breath!"
Miraculously, both Pokemon acted in time to use their moves in unison, with the two resulting attacks colliding together in the center of the stage and beginning to duel for dominance.
I watched with bated breath and gritted teeth as I saw this unfold, with the rest of our group watching with similar expressions. We had no idea exactly what Christina had in mind, but what she was currently up to was not without risk.
And the type advantage was clearly coming into play in Nolan's favor as the Sheer Cold slowly began to gain ground against Dragon Breath. And it wasn't long before Sheer Cold appeared inches away from fully overpowering Dragon Breath and striking Shelgon!
"NOW, SHELGON! JUMP AND USE FIRE BLAST!"
"NO!" Nolan screamed, eyes wide with horror as he realized the trap he'd unwittingly sent himself and Abomasnow into.
But it was too late, for Shelgon stopped his Dragon Breath and jumped into the air just in time for the Sheer Cold to harmlessly strike the floor where he'd been standing. And while in the air, Shelgon launched another Fire Blast, which flew at Abomasnow while it was still in the midst of shutting down Sheer Cold. The fireball then crashed into Abomasnow and exploded, much to the clear joy and awe of the crowd as they started cheering.
"Well, Christina's certainly got the crowd all riled up!" Sofia admitted. "But let's not get too excited just yet. Let's see the end result."
The Fire Blast finally wore off and faded away to reveal Abomasnow laying on its back, entirely out cold.
"Abomasnow is unable to battle!" Sofia cheered. "And with 30 seconds to spare! The winner is Christina!"
"No fair." Nolan grumbled before returning Abomasnow. He noticeably didn't even bother to say anything to Christina as he turned and started to storm off the stage before Christina had even returned Shelgon.
"Sheesh." I muttered, narrowing my eyes. "Talk about a sore loser."
But even so, I felt very happy for Christina, who looked only mildly annoyed at Nolan as she returned Shelgon, before letting a bright and joyful smile come onto her face as she turned to face the audience and curtsied for them.
All in all, things were going very well for us. All that remained was another four matches, and then Adrian would finally have his chance at joining April and the rest of us in the top 32 in the final match for today.
... ...
A good bit of time later, the 32nd and final match of the day finally arrived. We were all holding our collective breath in sheer anticipation as Adrian stood opposite a fair-skinned boy with streaks of red in his brunette hair. And while Adrian had a determined glare on his face, his opponent had a confident smirk on his own face, as if eager for an especially good fight.
"On my left, we have Andre." Sofia announced. "And on my right, we have Adrian. Five minutes on the clock...and begin!"
"Showtime, Machamp!" Andre yelled as he threw his Pokeball and summoned Machamp.
"Mightyena, curtain!" Adrian yelled as he summoned his Mightyena onto the stage.
"Well, this is an easy win if I ever saw one! Machamp, use Cross Chop!" Machamp rushed towards Mightyena, its top two arms already crossed in an x-formation and glowing with bright light.
"Dodge that!" Adrian yelled. "Then follow up with Bite!" Mightyena was quick to obey, successfully jumping aside in time to avoid getting, then snapping its teeth right on Machamp's backside!
"Ooh!" the entire audience yelled while wincing.
"Looks like someone's already made a Mankey out of this Machamp!" Sofia announced.
"Not for long." Andre stated in a surprisingly calm voice. "Retaliate with Dynamic Punch!" In a flash, Machamp swung around to face Mightyena, all four of its clenched fists now glowing with bluish-white light before punching Mightyena right in the face and sending it flying and crashing to the center of the stage floor.
"Now use Cross Chop!" Machamp eagerly rushed at the temporarily downed Mightyena, already preparing another Cross Chop.
"Jump over that, Mightyena! Then use Snarl!" Mightyena got to his feet in time to jump over Machamp, right as it was about to use Cross Chop. As soon as Mightyena came to a landing behind Machamp, he blasted the four-armed Fighting Pokemon with a Snarl, sending it stumbling off-balance.
"Good work, Mightyena." Adrian stated with a smile. "Now give them a nice Scary Face for dramatic effect once Machamp turns around!" Mightyena did as requested, snarling savagely in the process, to double the effect.
"Higher speed won't do you any good if you're too weak to withstand getting hit! Machamp! Bulk Up!" Machamp flexed all four of its muscular arms while its entire body glowed with a blazing red aura.
"Fair point. Time to distract Machamp for a little while. Mightyena, use Taunt!" Mightyena jumped and turned around so that his back was directly facing Machamp, then turned his head and let a smug toothy grin while waving his tail, as if making a sarcastic and mocking wave.
"MACHAMP!" Machamp shouted, visibly outraged now.
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Easy, Machamp!" Andre yelled, visible concern on his face as Machamp became at risk of ignoring his commands as a result of the successful Taunt.
"Mightyena, use Taunt again! See if lightning strikes twice!" Mightyena did as requested, this time going so far as to stick his tongue out while doing the same smug grin and mocking tail wave as before.
"MACHAMP!" Machamp screamed, bolting towards Mightyena without Andre giving him a command first.
"Machamp, wait!" Andre yelled.
"Jump aside before Machamp can reach you, Mightyena!" Adrian yelled. "Then use Snarl!" Mightyena waited until just the right moment to jump aside, managing to avoid getting hit by Machamp's four wildly flailing fists. He then unleashed Snarl on Machamp, sending the incredibly startled and unfocused Fighting Pokemon stumbling to the left while spinning in circles before finally coming to a stop. Machamp fell down hard on its back.
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, the brunette coordinator cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, "Machamp! Are you okay?!"
Machamp grumbled while raising its top right arm while flashing a thumbs-up.
"Okay." Andre said, a look of relief coming onto his face. "Just get back up when you can, and we can try this again."
Nodding its head, Machamp got back up and hurried back to its starting position while Adrian and Mightyena waited patiently. At this point, there wasn't much time left.
"Whatever it is that Andre and Adrian have in mind, they'd best make it quick!" Sofia declared.
"Machamp, rush over with a Dynamic Punch!"
"Defend against that with Bite!"
Machamp rushed towards Mightyena, a fist already drawn back and glowing for a Dynamic Punch...only for that fist to get chomped upon by Mightyena's Bite, right as the fist was halfway to reaching Mightyena's face.
Mightyena growled as his teeth remained tightly locked upon Machamp's fist.
"Oh, come on!" Andre grumbled.
"Time's up!" Sofia declared.
In a flash, all eyes looked to the scoreboard.
"Adrian wins!"
The audience burst into applause as Andre shook his head with an annoyed and grudgingly amused look on his face before returning his Machamp.
"I'll admit, you certainly knew how to pull off an unorthodox strategy to overcome the type disadvantage." he admitted.
"What can I say? Sometimes it pays to expect the unexpected." Adrian stated.
Adrian then returned Mightyena and both coordinators departed from the stage.
"Well, that's all for today, ladies and gentlemen!" Sofia announced proudly. "Starting tomorrow, we move on to the battle round between the top 32, where all battles will be double battles!"
Author's Note: Megan and her friends all pass the first battle round and make it into the top 32. Amber also has the same idea as Megan, to confess her feelings to Adam if she wins the Grand Festival.
But they all still have a long way to go before they can win the Ribbon Cup! Stay tuned as the battles continue in the next chapter of Pokemon NG!