Chapter 56:
The Grand Festival, Part I
Venesi City
It has been a month after Ash had won his seventh Gym Badge. Following his victory over Vaeryn, they returned to Venesi City and stayed there for the time being, helping Serena train until the day the Grand Festival arrived.
And such a day would be tomorrow.
Tonight, as it was custom for Grand Festivals everywhere, there would be a meet-and-greet event at the Contest Hall for the participating Coordinators and any friends that would accompany them.
Right now, after doing some last minute training, Ash and Serena were returning to the Pokemon Center in order to get ready for the incoming event. Despite the fact that the competition proper wouldn't begin until the next day, Serena was equal parts nervous and excited. Still, despite everything, she was eager to see all the friends and rivals she had made during her career as a coordinator.
"You know, sometimes there are TV crews in these kinds of events," Ash said. "Who knows, maybe you'll get interviewed!"
"You think so?" Serena asked.
"Sure! You're clearly among the favorites to win this!" Ash excitedly said. "Anybody who has followed the contests can tell."
"Pi, pika!" Pikachu happily agreed.
"Not to put down my own accomplishments and those of my Pokemon, but I'm sure that there are coordinators that have done better," Serena sincerely said.
"Well..." Ash replied, as he took her hand. "You're still my favorite."
The honey blonde couldn't help but blush and giggle a little. Just as she was about to reply, the two of them crossed the automatic doors of the Pokemon Center and walked into the lobby, which was way more crowded than usual for obvious reasons. They didn't take long to see Clemont and Bonnie, sitting on a table with a third person: a girl wearing glasses with black hair tied in two pigtails, and a Lopunny sitting next to her.
"Hey, is that...?" Ash began.
"Lilia!" Serena beamed.
Upon hearing her name, Lilia turned towards the coming Ash and Serena and smiled at them.
"Oh, hey, hello there!" she said, smiling. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"Lo, lop!" Lopunny greeted them as well.
"Indeed it has!" Ash said. "When did you arrive?"
"Only an hour ago," Lilia stated. "I wanted to make sure I came with enough time to see the Grand Festival. I promised that I'd be here to cheer for you, didn't I?"
"That, you did," Serena agreed. "It's good to see you again. Plus, it's also great to have more people in the public rooting for me, hehe!"
"So, did Clemont tell you that there's a small party at the Contest Hall the night before the Festival?" Ash asked. "All coordinators taking part in it are invited, and they can bring several guests if they wish so."
"So if you want to come, feel free!" Serena added.
"Thank a lot, guys," Lilia replied, nodding. "It will be a pleasure going with you. Plus, with how messy these past months have been, I could use a little night fun."
…
A little after sunset, the group arrived at the lobby of the Contest Hall, where multiple tables with appetizers and light snacks have been set for the guests to enjoy. There were already many coordinators, as well as the people that had come with them, spread around the place, forming little groups and chatting among themselves.
"Hey look at that! It's Ash and his friends!" a voice said.
Of course, it didn't take long for somebody already there to recognize them.
Turning in the direction of the voice, they saw Vitor and Natalie happily walking towards them. Natalie was carrying a small plate with a slice of cake on it.
"It's Natalie and Vitor!" Bonnie pointed out.
"Hiya, guys!" Natalie waved with the hand she wasn't holding the plate. The brown haired girl then looked at Lilia, and after a couple seconds she added: "Wait, you... you were there when Ash challenged Cali in Bealbeach City, right? Though, I think I have forgotten your name..."
"Name's Lilia. Nice to meet you again," the bespectacled girl said, smiling. "You're Natalie, and your brother's Vitor, right? Clemont and his friends talked about you. They said they met you in Snowbank Town."
"Oh, speaking of which!" Ash said in realization. "How did your Mega Evolution trials go?"
"They couldn't have gone better!" Vitor happily replied. "Not only did we earn our Keystones, Vaeryn even gave us a Mega Stone each as well."
"And I also got his Gym Badge!" Natalie added, cutting a bit of her slice of cake and taking it to her mouth. "I'd show it to you, but I have my hands occupied right now."
"It's been a while since we fought each other, Vitor. Or since I saw you in a contest," Serena began. "I can't wait to see how much you have improved since our last bout."
"I'm confident I will meet your expectations," the brown haired boy smiled sincerely. "Though I'm sure your skill on the stage didn't get any worse either since our last contest together."
"Looking for a rematch?" Serena asked a little teasingly.
"Yeah. Let's say the fact that we didn't get to compete against each other after the last time you beat me left a sour taste in my mouth," Vitor added.
"Well, even if we don't end up facing each other again, we can always see each other fighting other opponents," Serena said.
"Heh, true," Vitor agreed.
"Heya, friends!" a new voice said. "I was hoping you'd be here!"
That moment, Leona appeared next to Serena and threw her arm around her neck.
"Leona!" Serena said.
"That's Future Top Coordinator Leona to you, hehe!" the Alolan native said with a cheeky smile.
"I see someone's confident in her chances, huh?" Ash noted.
"Yep! I've been training like crazy since the last time we met!" Leona said, releasing Serena. "I'm ready for our rematch! And don't think the little trick you used the last time to stop my Z-move is going to work this time around!"
Vitor cleared his throat, and stared at the Alolan girl. "Well, if you want a rematch against Serena, get into the line."
"Ohhhh, it seems I'm not the only one aiming for you, Serena," Leona said, taking a look at Vitor and Natalie. "And who may you be?"
"Name's Vitor. And this is my sister Natalie," the boy said.
Natalie merely nodded as she finished her cake slice.
Leona smirked. "Well, if I have to beat you to get to Serena, so be it. After all, I'll have to beat a lot of people here before I can walk out with that big, shiny trophy!"
"Ha! Keep dreaming! My little bro is going to stomp you alongside everybody else unlucky enough to face him!" Natalie boasted on her twin's behalf.
"I doubt he'll be able to stand before my awesome Z-moves!" Leona fired back.
Natalie frowned, and tilted her head to the side. "Z-what?"
Both Leona and Vitor opened their mouths to answer, but somebody beat them to the punch.
"They're like, super cool and huge moves her Pokemon can do when she dances!" it wasn't neither Leona nor Vitor, but Bonnie, the one who answered.
"Indeed. Z-moves are as powerful as they're spectacular, which makes them perfect for Contest Battles," Clemont added, before adjusting his glasses.
Leona didn't say anything, merely nodded proudly with the explanation the Lumiose siblings had provided.
"I have heard about them in my research of new moves, but I never thought that I'd get to meet a trainer that can use them," Vitor stated, as his eyes went to Leona's Z-ring around her wrist. "Still, that doesn't worry me, at least not now that I have Mega Evolution. A single move is no match for a transformation that makes a Pokemon stronger and more versatile with no time limit."
"Yeah, but from what I heard, Mega Evolution only works with a few Pokemon! I can use my Z-moves with pretty much any Pokemon of my team!" Leona fired back.
Serena, sensing the growing tension, decided to intervene before the trash talking could escalate even further. "Come on guys, let's calm down a little. It's great that you have so much energy, but let's try to save it for the Festival, okay?"
To the honey blonde's relief, this seemed to do the trick, as both the Tandorian boy and the Alolan girl backed down.
"Yeah, Serena's right. Let's prove which one is the better coordinator in the stage," Vitor proposed.
Leona smirked at him. "I can't wait."
"Hey Serena, look who's here!" Ash said, pointing at the double door of the entrance.
Everybody looked where Ash was pointing at and saw Aisha walking into the lobby, though oddly enough no other member of the Dunsparce Gang was with her. She drew quite a few stares from many of the coordinators there, given that her biker punk attire contrasted heavily against the elegant dresses many of the coordinators were wearing. Still, she paid them no mind as she walked forward. Her neutral expression faded into joy when she spotted them.
"Hey there, Serena!" Aisha said, walking towards the group.
"Aisha! So great to see you here as well," the Kalosian said.
"Of course! After all, you saw me winning my last ribbon, remember?" the biker asked, before her expression turned fierce. "I hope you're ready for our epic rematch, because you have no idea how hard I've been training for this moment!"
"Another one? Wow, Serena really has a knack for rivalries, doesn't she?" Natalie observed before either Vitor or Leona could protest.
"Oh. I see that your group of friends have grown quite a bit since the last time we met," Aisha said as her eyes drifted from one unknown face to another.
Once again, Serena introduced everyone to Aisha, and Aisha to everyone, while specifying that Vitor, and Leona were also fellow coordinators. Of course, that didn't deter Aisha, who claimed that she would look forward to beating them as well.
"By the way, Aisha, where are the other bikers?" Bonnie asked.
"Yeah, you know you can bring guests to this event, right?" Ash added.
"Oh, I know. And don't worry, we agreed I'd come alone. If I brought all of them, well, some people might get nervous and others might think that we came here to mooch the free food," Aisha explained. "Plus, this isn't the kind of party they are used to, if you catch my drift. Don't worry though, they will be there to cheer for me once the Festival begins."
"Oh well. It's great that you came, at least," Serena said.
"Of course. I wouldn't miss this for anything," the taller girl nodded. "And girl, you really gathered quite a collection of rivals, huh? And here I thought that you and I had something special."
"What can I say? I'm a free spirit, I can't just bind myself to a single person," Serena said in a theatrical manner, followed by the two girls laughing.
"Uh oh. Speaking of rivals..." Clemont said, looking towards the entrance.
"Oh great, she's here," Bonnie grumbled, crossing her arms.
Lilia narrowed her eyes. "Isn't that... that other girl from the cruise?"
Because, indeed, Sayaka had entered the building. Like Aisha, her ninja getup drew some curious stares, but she didn't pay them any mind either as she confidently walked forward.
"Great, she saw us, and it's coming this way," Serena grumbled under her breath.
"Well, well, well, look at this," she said in an incredibly mocking tone. "An assortment of soon to be losers. And in the middle of them, the Kalosian peasant."
Before Serena could say anything, Aisha immediately put herself between her friend and Sayaka, the biker looming over the shorter ninja. "Listen, girlie, we were having a good time here, and we don't need you to bring your bad vibes the night before the festival. So if you don't have anything nice to say, I suggest you turn around and get lost, understood? Or else you and I are going to have a problem. And you don't want to have a problem with me."
"Please. I'm a member of the strong and noble Nami Clan of Tsukinami Village. Do you think I'd be intimidated by a dirty road vagabond like you?" Sayaka fired back.
"Now that's an interesting theory I wouldn't mind putting to test," Aisha retorted, her glare becoming fiercer.
"You think you're so brave, don't you?" Sayaka said, completely unfazed, as she narrowed her eyes at the dark skinned girl. "Let's see if you're so brave if you have to face me on the stage."
"I already did face you once, and I wasn't impressed with what I saw," Aisha replied, smirking mockingly.
Sayaka's onyx eyes burned with anger. "That victory doesn't count and you know it!" she snapped, pointing an accusatory finger at her. "If either of you had to face me alone in a one on one battle, both of you would have bitten the dust!"
"Well, I did face you in a one on one," Leona said, taking a step forward next to Aisha. "And it was you who bit the dust."
"You beat her?" Aisha asked Leona.
"Totally. You should have seen her. She threw such a childish tantrum she had to be dragged out of the stage!" Leona recalled, as she failed to contain her laughter.
"Heh, awesome! " Aisha said, and she and Leona shared a high five.
Still angry, Sayaka placed her fists on her hips. "You're so sure about your chances, aren't you? Let's see if you're that confident once the competition begins."
And with that, she left towards another part of the lobby. Everybody could feel the building tension rapidly deflated as the confrontational ninja walked away.
"I was hoping that she wouldn't be here, but I guess it was foolish to do so," Vitor said. "Somebody as good as her was bound to get five ribbons. Still, thank you girls for shooing her away."
"Do you know her too?" Aisha asked the boy.
"We've run into each other during a couple contests, and even fought," Vitor began, before slumping. "She beat me so badly."
"But with how much you've been training, if you happen to face her you will beat her this time around," Natalie said, clapping Vitor on the shoulder. "This is your moment, little bro! Don't let anyone tell you otherwise!"
Serena was torn between thanking both Aisha and Leona for confronting Sayaka before she could put in action any of her psychological warfare tactics. On the other hand... given what she knew about the ninja, she wished she could have said something to defuse the situation before the other two girls intervened. If anything, Sayaka's mood would be even worse now.
Then again, could she really do something to make the situation better? Serena had tried to reach Sayaka before, and all she got for her efforts was hostility and insults.
Maybe some smiles were lost forever.
"Serena?" Ash whispered to her. "You okay? You've been silent the whole time."
"What? Oh, yes! Don't worry, I'm fine," Serena assured her boyfriend.
"Sorry I didn't say anything earlier. I should have been the one to defend you when she insulted you," Ash said, looking a little down.
"It's okay, Ash. Aisha was simply a little quicker than you," Serena assured him. "Come on, let's forget about that and enjoy this party."
Ash smiled. "Sure, let's."
"... anyway, did you guys see the commercial from the Grand Festival?" Leona asked, growing giddy. "Because I'm on it!"
"Whoa, really? When did you record that commercial?" Clemont asked.
That was something Serena wondered too, given that Leona was kidnapped by Team Omega shortly after winning her fifth ribbon.
"It's not that I recorded a TV spot or anything, but they used clips of several past contests, and one of them was of me and my Pokemon!" Leona excitedly explained. "I think I also saw Serena in the ad as well."
"That's only natural. Serena's a born star!" Ash praised her, making the honey blonde blush a little.
"And that's not the only thing. Apparently, there's going to be some special guest as one of the judges," the Alolan girl continued. "Kinda like that bard guy from the contest at the cruise. Do you remember him, Serena?"
Serena nodded. "So a guest judge, huh?"
"Nando did a pretty good job countering Ambrose's harsh criticism, so with some luck the new guest judge can curb that guy as well," Clemont hoped.
"Let's hope this new judge makes the Appeal Round more palatable," Vitor agreed.
"Did you remember their name?" Aisha asked.
The Alolan shrugged. "Sorry, it kinda slipped my mind. All I remember is that she's from out of Tandor."
With Sayaka out of the way, they continued to talk among each other and discussed the Grand Festival, having a fun time until it was late enough for them to decide that it was time to hit the bed.
…
Sleep didn't come easy for Serena that night.
On top of the usual jitters that preceded a competition of this caliber, there was something else that occupied her mind: the confrontation between her and Sayaka.
Or better said, the confrontation that almost happened and didn't, because Aisha and Leona didn't let it. And if they weren't here, Ash would have stepped in.
All while Serena stood there, silent, still. She didn't do anything while her friends protected her from Sayaka. Instead of confronting Sayaka herself. She had a chance to support others, but instead let herself be supported by her friends again.
Serena remembered the vow she made after losing the Legen Town contest, that she'd help Sayaka recover her smile, even if the haughty ninja wouldn't want her help. Serena was convinced that not only Aria could do it, but that it would be easy for her. So this was the bare minimum Serena needed to do if she ever hoped to return to Kalos with a chance to become its newest Queen.
…
While it took some time, the honey blonde finally fell asleep. Thankfully, the Grand Festival wouldn't begin until the afternoon, so she could sleep in a little if she wanted.
"Serena, you awake?" Bonnie's voice asked from behind the door.
The honey blonde stirred. She had woken up almost an hour ago, but decided to stay in bed for longer in order to rest a little more. However, it seemed that her friends wouldn't let them stay in bed for much longer.
"Y-yes...!" Serena replied, as she was unable to stiff a yawn. "Just give me five minutes. I'll be down there shortly..." she said, before looking at the hour on her pokegear. "Come on, it's not that late..." she grumbled.
It seems that Bonnie heard her. "I know it's not that late, but there's somebody here who has come to see you, and you wouldn't want to make this person wait," she said, adding an enigmatic giggle.
"Somebody who came to see me...?" Serena parroted. She yawned again, and added: "I'm sure they can wait a little bit."
And she went back to sleep.
…
Bonnie returned to the lobby, where the person in question was waiting.
"Well?"
"She doesn't appear she wants to get up," Bonnie said, shrugging.
The other person shook her head. "This girl... it seems that some things never change, do they?" she sighed, before looking at a Pokemon perched on her shoulder. "You know what to do."
The Pokemon nodded, and flew from her shoulder towards the Center's upper floor.
…
As the half asleep Serena continued to bask in the warmth of her bed, she heard what sounded like the flutter of tiny wings getting closer and closer, until the source of that noise entered the room.
Then, she felt something light land on her head...
"Fletch!"
...followed by the familiar pain of something small and sharp embedding into her head.
"AAAAAAAAAHH!" Serena screamed, the pain jolting her awake so suddenly she fell from the bed. She glared at the culprit, a tiny red and white bird Pokemon, who was standing innocently on the nightstand next to her bed. "Fletchling! How many times I have to tell you that... hey, wait a minute... Fletchling, what are you doing here? Does this mean... no way!"
Forgetting about the pain and frustration over how she was woken up, Serena quickly got herself dressed and brushed her hair before rushing down. There, in the lobby, there was somebody she wasn't expecting to see.
"Serena! There you are, sweetheart."
"Mom!?" Serena asked in shock.
Grace quickly got up from her seat and went to meet her daughter. The two of them met each other with a quick hug.
"Mom! You came to see me?" Serena asked, her surprise persisting.
"Of course, sweetheart. I wouldn't miss this for anything. Besides, I went to see you in person for your Master Class performance, didn't I?" Grace reminded her.
"I know, but that was in Kalos. Tandor is a bit far away from home..." Serena replied.
"Not that far. And even if that was the case, that wouldn't be enough reason to see my little girl winning the Grand Festival," Grace insisted.
"I see. I'm very glad to see you here, mom," Serena earnestly said.
"Also, I'm not the only one who came to see you on your big day," Grace said, before turning around and letting out a whistle.
Two Pokemon quickly walked towards her on command.
"Fle, fletch!"
"Rhy!"
"Rhyhorn too?" Serena beamed, and quickly went to greet her mother's Pokemon, as it started to affectionately lick her face.
"Oh, a Rhyhorn! So cute!" Bonnie squealed, as she also went to greet Grace's Rhyhorn.
"Last time I left them home and left them my laptop so they could watch the Showcase. But given that I'm going to stay here a few days, I decided to bring them with me. Since I heard you can bring Pokemon to the stands, I don't think there will be a problem," Grace explained.
"Wait a minute... you said you left your Pokemon your laptop?" Clemont asked, as the incredible statement dawned upon him. "Do your Pokemon know how to use it?"
Grace shot the inventor an enigmatic smile. "Rhyhorn Racers know things about them most trainers ignore."
Serena couldn't tell if her mother wasn't exaggerating or not.
…
Once the hour of the Grand Festival approached, the group, now with Grace tagging along, headed towards Venesi City's contest hall. The streets were packed with people heading in the same direction as them, some of them coordinators, but most of them just people who wanted to enjoy a good spectacle.
As with the Master Class Showcase as well as other Grand Festivals – or so Ash had told her – there were fireworks above the contest hall to celebrate such an event, filling the sky with lights and the air with booming noises. As they got close to the building, the murmur and of the crowd chattering filled the air as well.
"Well, guess this is where we separate," Serena stated once they reached the hall.
"We'll see you inside," Clemont told her.
"We'll be cheering for you the loudest!" Bonnie added.
"I'm sure you'll do great, Serena," Grace said. "And remember to-"
"-go for broke?" Serena finished with a half smile.
Grace couldn't help but giggle a little, and nodded. "That's my girl."
For some reason, Ash didn't say anything.
"Alright, I better get going..." she said, as she began to walk towards the coordinator's entrance, while her friends headed towards the main entrance.
"Serena, wait!" she heard.
The honey blonde turned around, and saw Ash running towards her.
"Ash?" she asked.
"Sorry. I just wanted to wish you the best of luck for the Festival," he said, panting a little. "I also wanted to give you something, but it felt a little awkward with everybody else looking at us."
"Thanks. And what do you want to give me that you had to get away from the others?" Serena asked.
Ash didn't say anything, he merely smirked as he grabbed Serena by the wrists, softly pulled her towards him, and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips. Such action took Serena by surprise, but the Kalosian quickly recomposed and returned the kiss. Once the kiss ended, the two teens looked at each other and smiled.
"A kiss for good lu-"
"Oh. My. GOODNESS!" a familiar, female voice loudly squealed.
"Well, well, well, look at that!" another familiar voice, also female, said, though this one sounded between pleased and taunting. "Coming to Tandor has been worth it just to see that!"
Both Ash and Serena turned towards the direction of the voices to see a tan skinned, green eyed girl with brown hair styled in twisted pigtails, next to a blue haired girl with brown eyes and a shit-eating grin.
"Shauna? Miette?" Serena incredulously asked. "W-What are you doing here!?"
"It isn't obvious? We came here to see you compete," Miette said, placing her hands on her hips.
"Really? But... how did you know that I was in Tandor, or that I was going to take part in the Grand Festival?" Serena asked.
"Because we saw you in the commercial, silly!" Shauna giggled.
"The commercial...?" Ash parroted.
"Come on Shauna, show her," Miette told the brunette.
Shauna nodded, and pressed a couple buttons on her holocaster. The device projected a hologram of said commercial, showing bits and clips from past contests. Not only was Serena among them, but she could also see Sayaka and Leona, just like the latter had told her. However, her appearance on the ad wasn't the most surprising element about it.
"... and as a special guest star judge, the Tandor Grand Festival will have the honor to count with none other than Aria the Kalos Queen!" the commercial revealed, as it played a clip of Aria doing one of her famous performances.
"Wait, Aria is going to be here!?" Serena almost yelled.
"And as a special judge, no less!" Ash added.
"Yup. That's another reason we came here. We get to see Aria and cheer on Serena. Double whammy!" Shauna stated.
"Don't get me wrong, I really appreciate that you came here to cheer me but... what about you? Aren't you worried about neglecting the showcases?" Serena asked.
Wordlessly, Miette and Shauna showed Serena their keyrings with three Princess Keys hanging from each of them.
"Your concern is very touching, but as you can see we already have that part covered," Miette explained. "This year the season started early because they felt that after the mess those Team Flare jerks made last year, people in Kalos could use a pick me up."
"Gloire City was one of the many places that suffered a lot of damage in that catastrophe, and they haven't finished the repairs just yet, so the Master Class Showcase will be later than usual. So Miette and I had some time to kill, and we took a small vacation to come here," Shauna explained.
"Nini would have come, but she has yet to earn her last key," Miette added.
"Oh well. I hope that Nini is able to-" Serena was about to say, but was interrupted by Miette invading her personal space, her lips curving into a dangerous grin.
"But enough talking about us. Let's talk about what's important today," Miette said, wrapping an arm around Serena's shoulders. "The fact that you finally got your hooks on Ash!"
"M-Miette!" Serena squeaked.
"Her hooks on me...?" the kantonian parroted, scratching his head.
"Pika...?" Pikachu shrugged, just as confused.
"I was so worried that you'd let him slip away. I mean, I know that you didn't have much to work with since the boy is even denser than average, but I'm so, so proud of you, Serena!" Miette said, as she pretended to wipe a nonexistent tear from her eyes with her free hand. "Now tell your good friends everything about it! Leave no details out! When did that happen? How far have you taken it? I see that you're comfortable with kissing, but is that all you-"
"Um, Miette? Could you leave Serena a little space to breathe? I think you're making her a little uncomfortable. Plus, Serena needs to go, since she has to prepare for her performance," Ash gently reminded. Serena inwardly thanked him for his timely intervention.
"Look at that, such a gentleman!" Miette laughed, letting Serena go much to the honey blonde's relief. "Coming to the rescue of his lady when she's in trouble!"
"So romantic...!" Shauna sighed.
"Though, if you're that curious about our relationship, you can ask me about it," Ash offered, though he looked at Serena as if silently asking her if it was okay. She nodded, and Ash smiled.
"If you insist," Shauna said with a cheeky smile, quickly latching onto one of Ash's arms.
"Make sure you spare no detail," Miette added with a smirk that matched Shauna's, while grabbing Ash's other arm.
"Cool. Come on, let's get inside. I'm sure Clemont and Bonnie will be happy to see the two of you again," Ash said, as he began walking away.
"Oh and by the way, Clemont has a girlfriend too," Serena added. She didn't really know if Clemont and Lilia had made it official, but anything to make Miette focus on somebody other than herself. "And she came with us!"
"Clemont? A girlfriend?" Miette asked, raising an eyebrow. "Now this is something I have to see myself..."
As Ash walked away with Miette and Shauna in tow, Serena sighed. The bluenette could be exhausting, but deep down she was happy to have more of her old friends cheering for her.
…
On their way to their seats, Ash and his friends ran into Natalie, who joined them when she was offered to sit together. After that, they only had to wait less than fifteen minutes until the lights went out and a spotlight shone over Jillian, the hostess.
"Welcome everybody to the Grand Festival of the Tandor region!" Jillian excitedly announced. "Where more than a hundred coordinators will compete for the title of Top Coordinator!"
The crowd cheered as the orange haired woman explained the rules of the contest, and how the first day would be exclusively dedicated to the Appeal Round, which would filter the more than a hundred hopefuls to a more manageable thirty-two coordinators.
While most people were paying attention to the hostess' words, eagerly waiting for the Festival to begin, three individuals had their attention elsewhere.
"...and then she confessed not only that she was in love with me, but she had been keeping those feelings to herself pretty much since we started traveling together."
"And she said that, while the two of you were on a luxury cruise, during the sunset? Aw, that's so romantic! Don't you think, Miette?"
"Yeah. I gotta give it to Serena. She might have waited a lot, but she couldn't have chosen a better moment."
Miette and Shauna, sitting at each side of Ash, were practically squeezing the boy of every detail regarding his relationship with Serena. Ash hoped that he wouldn't accidentally share something Serena would consider off-limits, but then again, it's not like they've taken their relationship that far, so he allowed himself to relax.
"And then what did you do? You said yes, right?" Miette asked.
"Uh, no... actually, I ran away..." Ash sheepishly admitted.
"You what!?" Shauna practically shouted. "Serena poured her heart out to you, and you just ran away!?"
"And now, let's welcome the judges for this very special event!" Jillian announced, as a spotlight shone over one of the entrances to the stage. "First, Venesi City's Gym Leader, our very own Rosalind! Next is S-Rank connoisseur Ambrose Reigns! Also, not only the Nurse Joy of Venesi City, but also her sisters from Kevlar Town and Burole City!"
The Gym Leader, connoisseur, and thee nurses walked into the stage, waving at the public – or sneering at them in Ambrose's case – as they took a seat on their panels. Of course, everybody noticed that there was one seat vacant.
"And as a special guest judge, coming from Kiloude City in Kalos, the very Kalos Queen, Aria!" Jillian finally announced.
"Hello, Tandor!" the redheaded performer said, practically skipping into the stage. "It's so great to be here!"
"Oh, there she is!" Shauna squealed, her attention no longer on Ash and now fully on the Kalos Queen. "Go, Aria!"
"And before we begin with the Appeal Round, our special guest will delight us with one of her amazing performances!" Jillian announced, and the public roared in anticipation. "Aria, the stage is yours!"
"Thank you, Jillian," Aria said, as she took center stage, two pokeballs in one hand and a third in the other. "Vivillon, Amaura, Liligant, to the stage!"
The three Pokemon materialized around her, Amaura and Liligant at her flanks while Vivillon hovered above the redhead.
"Oh. I knew she had a Vivillon, but the Amaura and the Liligant are new," Ash observed.
"It's been a while since the last time we saw her. It's only logical that she, like any other trainer, would catch more Pokemon," Clemont stated.
"Aurorus, Blizzard! Lilligant, Petal Dance! And Vivillon, Hurricane!" Aria began.
…
After getting changed, Serena went to the coordinator's waiting area, where as usual, there were several TV screens set up so they could see what was going on in the stage, and they were currently showing Aria's performance. Needless to say, many coordinators were now crowded under the screens, trying to get a look.
Naturally, Serena was among them.
"It's been a while since I last saw you perform, Aria, and you're just as good as I remember, if not better," Serena thought, as she watched Liligant being carried into the air by Vivillon while sprinkling sparkly powder over an iceberg created by Amaura. "The public is completely enthralled by her performance, despite not being nowhere near as popular here as she is in Kalos... that's the level I need to reach if I want to achieve my dream."
Aria's performance ended to a thunderous applause not only from the audience, but also from many of the coordinators present. Jillian thanked Aria, and then went on to explain that, due the large number of contestants, the appeal round would be held at three different stages with two judges each: one Nurse Joy, and one of the other three judges.
"It would be great if I got Aria's stage, but knowing my luck I'll end with Ambrose," Serena whispered to herself. She then shook her head. "Alright, no, no negativity today."
A woman with a clipboard entered the room and called for the first three coordinators to come out, and which stage they would be performing at. While the first three contestants walked into the stage, Serena also took the chance to walk out of the waiting area, and navigated the building until reaching an empty backstage area used for storage.
Empty and spacious, just like she needed.
"Come on out, everyone!" Serena said, throwing all her pokeballs at once into the air.
One by one, the members of her team materialized before her (Coatlith had to twist her body a little, since the room was only big enough to contain her). No one said anything, they just waited there, expecting their leader to address them.
"Alright, here we are. The Grand Festival. This is our moment, the climax of our journey. And we wouldn't be here if it wasn't for all the effort you put into winning those ribbons, so first of all, thank you," Serena began.
All her Pokemon cried back in gratitude for the praise.
"So now, let's go outside and do our absolute best, alright? Let's make our friends proud, and let's make everybody who watches us smile in joy!" she said.
Another chorus of affirmative cries.
"That's what I wanted to hear. Delphox, Oblivicorn, the Appeal Round is in your hands. Or hooves," she said.
"Del, delphox!" Delphox cried in agreement.
Oblivicorn nodded as she stomped a hoof twice.
"And before we begin, one last thing. Pangoro?" Serena asked. "Give me your hand."
"Pan?" the panda said, taking a step forward and extended one of his paws at Serena.
Serena pulled something from under her dress, and placed it on Pangoro's paw. "Ta-dah! This is for you!"
Pangoro could see that Serena had placed a red box with a black bow on his paw. Tentatively, the Daunting Pokemon opened the box.
"P-Pan!" Pangoro gasped in shock, before looking at Serena. "G-Goro?
Oh, that reaction was so good. "You thought I had forgotten, hadn't you?"
Inside the box there was a shiny pair of sunglasses. The lenses were big, shaped like wide hexagons, mounted on purple frames with pink and yellow glitter.
"Come on, try them on!" Serena encouraged him.
Pangoro nodded, and carefully took the shades from the box, and put them on. After a couple seconds, he clicked his tongue and made finger guns at both Serena and the rest of her Pokemon, all of which cried happily to praise how cool Pangoro looked with his new sunglasses.
"Now let's go there, and make this Grand Festival once worth remembering!"
…
And thus, the Appeal Round began. Coordinators came and went, all of them pretty good, given that this wasn't a normal contest, though few drew the interest of Ash or his friends. However, after a few rounds, Jillian announced that among the next three coordinators it would be Aisha.
The announcement drew a loud response from a certain segment of the audience.
"Go Aisha!"
"Show them who's boss!"
"Make the Dunsparce gang proud!"
Aside from the noise, the Dunsparce Gang was easy to locate not just because of the blue sleeveless jackets all their members wore, but also because of their more punkish attires compared to everybody else in the audience.
"Oh, so that's Aisha's biker band, huh?" Lilia noted, looking at the Dunsparce Gang. "They seem like a lively bunch."
"Heh, if you only knew," Ash replied.
Aisha got the blue stage, which was overseen by Rosalind and a Nurse Joy. The biker tossed her pokeballs forward, releasing her Umbreon and a Chimaconda.
"Oh, look! Aisha's Chimical has evolved!" Clemont pointed out.
"You know that girl?" Grace asked.
"Yeah. She's one of Serena's rivals. Despite her tough appearance, she's a really nice girl," Ash said.
Aisha's performance involved Umbreon using Psychic in order to hold the sea of flames Chimaconda exhaled with Overheat, and shaping it into terrifying monsters that then Chimaconda pretended to battle. Such an original performance earned her both a round of applause and positive comments from her two judges.
The next two rounds had coordinators that were complete unknowns to Ash and his friends, so they didn't pay them that much attention. The round after those, though, finally got somebody they were familiar with.
"Oh, oh, oh! There he is! Come on Vitor, you can do it!" Natalie shouted, as she got up from her seat.
"Another rival of Serena?" Miette asked.
"Yeah. We met Vitor, alongside his sister Natalie, shortly after we arrived on Tandor," Ash explained. "And while Vitor does contests, Natalie plans to compete in the Tandor League, so she's my rival."
"I don't plan to compete, I plan to win," Natalie stated. "Just like Vitor will win this!"
Ash smirked at her proud statement. "We'll see about that. On both accounts."
The Moki Town native walked towards the red stage, which was overseen by Aria and one of the Nurse Joys. Vitor's Pokemon of choice were his Leafeon, and a bipedal stone elephant Ash had never seen before, but looked familiar.
"Dermafrost, the Mountain Tusk Pokemon, and Snopach's evolution. Ice/Rock. It charges forward with the unstoppable force of a glacier, and its punch can shatter solid rock. They were hunted to extinction by early humans." The Pokedex explained.
"Huh. Not just Aisha, but one of Vitor's Pokemon has evolved since the last time we saw it," Ash noted.
Vitor's performance involved Leafeon doing acrobacies on a stone pillar that Dermafrost had summoned with Stone Edge, while said pillar was lifted by the Mountain Tusk Pokemon, twirling it as if it didn't weight anything. Dermafrost then launched Leafeon into the air, ending with an spectacular clash between Solar Blade and Ice Punch the moment the Verdant Pokemon came down, which produced an explosion of golden light and ice crystals. Such performance was received positively by both the audience and the judges.
"Yes! You showed them who's boss! Go Vitor!" Natalie loudly cheered.
They didn't have to wait much to see the next familiar face, as Sayaka was among the next batch of coordinators called. Much to her displeasure, she got the green stage, where Ambrose was, alongside the last Nurse Joy.
"Oh great, it's her," Ash scoffed.
"Sayaka," Lilia said.
"Heh, she got the jerk judge. It would be great if she didn't even pass the Appeal Round," Bonnie said, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes at the ninja.
"So, another rival, I assume?" Grace asked.
"Though given the sudden tension and hostility that wasn't here a second ago, I guess she isn't a friendly one?" Shauna asked.
"Yeah, the mood went really down the moment you saw that girl..." Miette commented.
"She's a total asshole," Natalie said.
"Unfortunately, her bad attitude is only matched by her skill, meaning that Sayaka not passing to the next round is highly improbable, even with Ambrose as one of her judges," Clemont observed.
Sayaka began her performance, which would be carried out by her Voltasu and Glaceon. Voltasu began with a Thunder, which Glaceon somehow managed to freeze using Ice Beam. The frozen lightning was then surrounded by a Hurricane, which was then frozen too, creating a cylinder of ice. Voltasu then delivered another Thunder onto the first one, shattering the ice and causing multiple lightning bolts to launch out of the ice tube in every direction in a rather spectacular display.
Naturally, this drew a huge reaction from the audience, who cheered and clapped loudly, as well as the Nurse Joy. Ambrose, as usual, tried to nitpick Sayaka's performance with his usual disdain, but the ninja paid him no heed.
"Okay, you guys weren't exaggerating. She's pretty good," Shauna admitted.
"Yeah. That display could have easily won her a round at a Master Class Showcase," Miette added.
"There's a reason as to why she's among the favorites to win this competition," Clemont said.
"So what? Serena is among the favorites too!" Bonnie protested.
"Well said," Grace nodded at Bonnie approvingly.
There were no familiar faces among the next trio of coordinators, but there were in the trio after that, given that Leona was among them. The Alolan girl walked towards the blue stage, and called out Cocancer and Alolan Golem.
"Wait, is that a Golem?" Shauna asked, squinting her eyes at the Rock and Electric-type Pokemon. "It looks like a Golem, but its appearance is kind of weird..."
"It's a Golem, but a unique variant that only lives in Alola," Clemont briefly explained. "We'll tell you more about it later."
Cocancer summoned a Sandstorm, followed by a Rock Slide, forming a ring of rocks spinning around the sandstorm. The Alolan Golem used Thunderbolt on the rocks, connecting them through threads of yellow lightning. The process was repeated multiple times, leaving the sandstorm surrounded by several rings of electricity.
"Bloom Doom!"
As it was usual, Leona used a Z-move as a finisher, her Cocancer summoning a massive glowing green flower under the sandstorm. The flower bloomed, firing a massive golden beam with green edges upwards, dispelling the tornado of sand and destroying the electrified rocks in the form of yellow fireworks..
"WHOA! What the hell was that move!?" Miette asked in shock.
"It's a Z-move," Ash said. "Er, we'll tell you about it later."
"You better do it. My performances could be so much better if my Pokemon could use attacks of that scale," Shauna said, sharing her fellow Kalosian's awe at the spectacular attack.
After the three coordinators finished their performances, the next batch of three were called into the stage. And among them was a name that got most of the group excited.
"There she is, there she is! Come on honey, do your best!"
But none more than Grace.
…
Meanwhile, in a private box above the audience, a Kalosian middle aged woman contemplated the coordinators performing in hope of scoring high enough to pass to the next round.
Most of these people were good, and would probably reach far in the world of showcases should they choose to give them a try, at least the girls. Palermo was of the belief that showcases being a girl-only affair actually hurt the industry, and had many times voiced her objection to such restriction. And she was always given the same answer, that no boys ever showed interest in taking part in showcases.
"Of course, they don't realize the irony of restricting it to girls only, many boys will feel that they can't be performers without sacrificing their masculinity, despite contests proving such a thing false," Palermo scoffed to herself.
And while these coordinators were skilled – they wouldn't be here if they weren't – Palermo didn't believe neither of them could pose a challenge to Aria. The current Kalos Queen wasn't just talented, she also had a natural charm and charisma that made her performances simply unmatched. And her exhibition show was enough proof of such belief.
There will be no Kalos Queen like Aria.
Of all the six judges, her protegé was by far the kindest with her evaluations. Perhaps a bit too kind. Of course, Palermo knew that Aria wouldn't just give everybody a full score; she could easily tell which coordinator was being graded with good score and which poor schmucks would be getting a low one based on the way Aria worded her evaluations: she was always sweet, smiling and full of kind words, but while she sometimes praised a coordinator's efforts, their bond with their Pokemon, or something general and generic, other times she would point out something she liked about a performance, something a coordinator and their Pokemon did particularly well, or the finer details of an intricate display. The most observant people would notice that the latter evaluations were rarer than the former, and thus those would be the ones to pass.
"And let's give a warm welcome to the next trio of coordinators!" Jillian began, as she introduced the next batch.
Palermo didn't even register the first two names, but the last one jolted her up. Did she hear right?
Leaning forward, she confirmed that yes, she had heard that right: among the new trio of coordinators walking into the stage was Serena, the one girl who came the closest to dethrone Aria.
She remembered her last conversation she had with the honey blonde; she recommended that contests would be a good way to continue honing her abilities, and that she should go to the Hoenn region, the birthplace of such discipline. And while she was content to see that the girl had followed her advice, she wasn't expecting to see Serena in Tandor of all places.
Poor girl, she got the panel judge with Ambrose. Oh well, one could never see what they were truly made of if they never faced adversity. Serena's challenge would be greater than most of her peers, but if she expects to win this, she'll have to tackle this head on.
"Delphox, Oblivicorn, go!" Serena said, tossing her pokeballs into the air.
Hmm, so Serena's Braixen had evolved. Still, Palermo approved of the choice, since Delphox was the most experienced and trusted of her Pokemon. She didn't know anything about the other Pokemon – Palermo was completely unfamiliar with Tandor's native Pokemon. Compared to the other Pokemon Serena had – a Pancham and a Sylveon, if her memory didn't fail her – it stood out a lot, and wasn't the kind of Pokemon she'd expect Serena to include in her team, given its terrifying appearance.
"Alright Serena, let's see how much you have improved since the last time I saw you perform," Palermo whispered to herself.
The performance began with Oblivicorn using Fairy Wind with Delphox setting it ablaze, creating a tornado of flames. Delphox then followed with Hidden Power, sending several spheres of energy around the spiraling inferno. Oblivicorn jumped from one light orb to another as if they were platforms, gracefully climbing upwards.
As the equine climbed, Delphox used Psybeam onto the tornado of flames, coating it in a bright rainbow aura. Shortly after that, Oblivicorn jumped above the elemental whirlwind and once she was in the middle, coated herself in black sparks as she barreled down fast as a missile, making it explode in a rain of rainbow flames.
Palermo found herself applauding alongside the rest of the audience after seeing such a display. Any worries that Serena might have lost her edge were indeed swept away.
Though, the question is, did Serena impress the judges?
The Nurse Joy gave a positive judgment, nothing out of the ordinary there.
Unfortunately, Ambrose's judgment wasn't out of the ordinary, at least when it came to him.
"You'd think that people at the Grand Festival would have upgraded their skills in order to match the stakes of such a competition, but people like you prove to me that you believe yourselves above hard work," the black haired man began. "The same predictable and uninspired routines with only a little change here and there. It's like you guys only see this as fun and games without an ounce of care."
Despite the distance, Palermo could feel the anger building up inside Serena. Fortunately, the honey blonde proved to have a good reign on her emotions, merely recalled her Pokemon and walked back to the backstage...
"Huh?"
...before suddenly stopping after taking five steps.
Palermo narrowed her eyes at her fellow Kalosian, anger and worry gnawing inside her. "What are you doing, Serena? Just go back and forget about him. Don't do something stupid this late into the game."
Serena turned around and walked back towards the judges. Palermo had to suppress the urge of facepalming.
"What the hell are you doing? Come on, we have a lot of hopeless people to evaluate-" Ambrose began, but Serena didn't let him finish.
"Above hard work? Not caring? That's what you think of all of us?" Serena began, raising her voice. "Do you have any idea of how much I have worked? How much every coordinator that made it to this festival has worked? Being a coordinator isn't easy, and not just because all the work it entails. We, alongside our Pokemon, expose our hard work, our creations, our spectacle, that we make together for the world to see."
An absolute silence befell upon the stage. Even the coordinators and judges on the other stages were looking at Serena with a mixture of awe and worry.
"Listen, girlie, if you don't-"
"No, you listen!" Serena snapped, her voice carrying so much fury the man was intimidated into silence. "It's easy to just sit there and tear apart with poisonous words all the sweat and tears coordinators and their Pokemon shed into doing their best just so people can laugh at them, isn't it? But I'd like to see how well you or any of the people that demanded somebody like you to be a contest judge would do in our place. I tolerated plenty of things from you. The snide comments. The petty insults. The way you talk to us as if we were the lowest of garbage. But if there's ONE thing I'm not going to tolerate-" Serena's voice grew louder, raising a single finger for added emphasis, making Ambrose flinch. "-is some pompous man speaking from a high Ponyta denying all of us our hard work!"
Serena then turned around and stomped away. The audience remained silent even after she was gone, with only a few people murmuring here and there breaking the silence.
Palermo couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
"Well, that was unexpected."
…
"Dayum! Serena really showed that idiot who's boss, huh?" Bonnie asked, a huge smile plastered on her face.
"Wow. Remind me not to make Serena angry!" Shauna said, looking a little shocked. "I never knew Serena could be so intimidating!"
"I wonder how close I've been to getting such a verbal beatdown whenever I teased Serena about Ash," Miette said, sharing Shauna's sentiment.
"I don't think Serena would have reacted so strongly to something like that. At worst she would have been annoyed but that's about it," Ash said, his voice carrying an uncharacteristic gravity. "But that man... he didn't just insult Serena, he basically called her out for not putting any work in her routines, something that's completely out of place."
"Exactly. No matter what path you choose, be Rhyhorn Racer, Trainer, Performer, Coordinator or anything else, you won't get anywhere unless you give your all," Grace agreed. "Had it been me I would have reacted like that. Except I would have sicced Rhyhorn on him as well."
"Rhy!" Rhyhorn agreed.
"No matter how righteous her reaction was, let's hope it didn't cost her her chances of getting a good score..." Clemont said.
…
"What have I done? WHAT HAVE I DONE!?" Serena shouted, grabbing her head with both hands. Now that the anger and adrenaline had finally faded, the honey blonde could think clearly, and realized that she had shot down her chance at passing to the next round.
"Serena!" an excited voice called her.
The Kalosian girl saw Aisha, Leona and Vitor running towards her, all three of them grinning in excitement.
"Oh my goodness Serena, that was AWESOME!" Aisha said, clapping Serena's shoulder. "Girl, I didn't know you had such a fire in you!"
"You surely put that jerk in his place!" Vitor added.
"Now that's a way to top a performance off!" Leona happily added.
"No, no! Guys, you don't get it! I pretty much insulted a judge to his face!" Serena wailed.
"So what? He insulted you first. Hell, he insulted all of us," Vitor rebutted.
"But... but he's a judge! He can have me eliminated for that!" Serena said, feeling like she could cry at any moment. "All that work went down the drain just because I couldn't keep a cool head..."
"Hey, come on girl, don't say that," Aisha said, gently patting the Kalosian on the back. "I'm sure you'll pass to the next round."
"You don't know that," Serena fired back.
"Actually, I do. Remember my official return to the contest circuit?" Aisha asked.
Serena tried to remember, and the image of Aisha chasing Ambrose around the stage after the latter insulted the former's Pokemon replayed in her mind. The memory managed to make her smile, even if only a little.
"Heh," she chuckled.
Aisha saw this and smiled in turn. "You do remember, don't you? Well, if I managed to pass after trying to give a judge a much deserved ass whooping, I'm sure a few mean words won't have much of an impact on your overall score."
Aisha's words served to soothe Serena a bit, but they didn't completely wash away her worry.
…
Sometime later, the last three coordinators finished their performances, putting an end to the Appeal Round.
"And thus concludes the appeal round! The scores are already in! Let's see which lucky thirty two coordinators will pass to the Contest Battle round!"
An absolute silence reigned on the coordinator's waiting area, the tension in the air so thick it could be cut with a knife. Every person in the room had their eyes fixed on one of the screens placed around the room, all while trying their best to hide their nerves from the rest. Some, like Sayaka, didn't look nervous, as they were sure of their chances.
Portraits began to fill the screen, their order determined by the scores. Leona was first, followed by Sayaka.
"There I am!" the Alolan girl cheered. "And first place to boot! Wohooo!"
Sayaka didn't say anything, she merely grumbled something under her breath as she furrowed her brow. While many people would have loved to score as high as second place, it seemed that wasn't enough for the ambitious ninja.
"There, I passed too!" Aisha shouted, her portrait being the 9th.
"And that's me!" Vitor followed, appearing the 16th.
"Come on, come on..." Serena whispered, both hands over her chest. But more portraits kept appearing, yet her face wasn't among them. "Come on...!"
But her portrait didn't appear.
"Look, Serena! There you are!" Aisha shouted.
"Huh?" Seren said, her friend's shout jolting her. She looked at the screen, which was now completely filled. And indeed, she saw her own face, on the 29th position, which she had missed the first time. Seeing visual confirmation that she had passed, Serena let out a huge sigh of relief. "Oh thank goodness...!"
"See? I told you that you were going to pass!" Aisha said.
"Yeah. Even if you cut it kind of close," Vitor observed. "Then again, given how good your performance was, it would be a crime if you were disqualified because you put that idiot in his place. That way, we can have our epic rematch! You have no idea how much better I got since Bealbeach!"
"That's nice and good, but it won't happen because Serena will face me in an epic rematch!" Aisha claimed. "Because I have improved a ton since Vinoville!"
"Excuse me? It's me who will have an epic rematch against Serena!" Leona chimed in. "Because I've been devising new tactics, and you won't be able to escape my Z-moves this time!"
As her three friends and rivals began to bicker over who had the greatest right to rematch her, Serena scanned the area looking for Sayaka, but was unable to find her. It seemed that once she knew she was safe, she decided to leave.
…
That night, Serena, her friends and her mother went to have dinner at a nice restaurant to celebrate that she had passed to the next round.
"To Serena!" Ash said, raising his glass in a toast. "Today, she passed the Appeal Round, and tomorrow, she'll be winning the Contest Battle Round and taking the Ribbon Cup home!"
"To Serena!" everybody else followed Ash's toast.
"Hehe, thanks. Though, tomorrow no one will be winning anything. The second round will be spread over three days: tomorrow will be the first two rounds, the day after that the quarterfinals and the semifinals, and the third day will be the final battle."
"Oh. I see..." Ash awkwardly said. "In that case, by tomorrow night Serena will be a quarterfinalist!" he amended, making everybody else laugh.
While Serena knew that this was only the beginning of the Grand Festival, and wondered what kind of opponents she'll have to face during the following days, the honey blonde decided that just this night, she could push her worries away and indulge in some fun with her friends and family.
She knew that, in the following days, she wouldn't have another chance to relax like this.
Author's Notes: And thus the Grand Festival is underway!
Man, I've been dying to get to this part. Not just because it's the climax of Serena's character arc (and has some moments I can't wait for you to see), but also because for all the people that are making a comeback. First of all, after a lengthy absence, Lilia is back! And this time is here to stay, though. And of course, there's no way I wouldn't have Grace show up to cheer her daughter during her big competition. And of course, it would be a crime for Ash and Serena to hook up and not have Miette to mercilessly tease them about it, right?And lastly, Aria and Palermo, because they were such important characters for Serena's development in XY. Yeah, I love how I get to use most of Serena's recurring cast in XY in this arc (seriously, one of the reasons XY was so good was its amazing supporting cast).
Funnily enough, of all the new characters, the one I enjoyed writting the most was Palermo. I dunno why, but it was really fun to get into her head and explore her thoughts on contests, performances and Serena's progress.
I guess many of you enjoyed Serena's very well deserved verbal beatdown she gave to Ambrose, didn't you? Yeah, I had that planning for quite a long time. Even somebody like Serena has her limits.
Also, I'm so glad that after this I don't have to write Appeal Rounds anymore. Contest Battles are fine, but writting Appeals was getting so incresingly harder it was basically torture. So good riddance!
Thanks to lipeghoul, hirowrite and ChaosBringer for reviewing the previous chapter.
Next time, the Grand Festival begins in earnest! Which one of her rivals will she face first? In the meantime, be sure to leave a review with your thoughts on this chapter.