Episode Thirty-Two
"Look at all these cute decorations, Amanda!" Michelle cried. "All sorts of balloons, ribbons, and even glitter crowns! That means today is a special kind of day. How special do you think it is?"
"It's our birthdays?" Amanda wondered. Michelle chuckled.
"No, silly." She said. "I already had my birthday and it's not even close to yours yet. Today is a special event known as a princess festival."
"How does that work?" Amanda asked.
"Listen carefully to the narrator, and he can tell you." Said Mark. Every year, the town that our heroes have arrived at holds an annual event known as the princess festival, a special once a year holiday that the girls love because it's the one day that they're entitled to additional power.
"Additional power?" Amanda wondered curiously.
"That means for today only, the boys have to do everything we tell them to do." Michelle answered.
"You know, Michelle, for never having been to a princess festival, you definitely seem to know a little bit about these things." Said Mark. "Why is that?"
"I'm glad you asked." Said Michelle. "You see, my dad used to bring me to these princess festivals a lot when I was a kid. Seeing all the beautiful decorations they always put up for this event always brings a smile to my face, and he even used to dress me up in princess dresses specifically for the occasion. It was always a great father and daughter bonding day for me."
"That must've been special for you." Said Mark.
"It was very special." Said Michelle. "Oh, and I almost forgot. Girls get other special benefits during the festival."
"What kind of benefits?" asked Amanda.
"Pika pi?" Pikachu wondered, which meant 'I want to know about this too.'
"The other benefits that girls get during the festival include being able to buy whatever they feel like at half the price they would normally pay." Michelle explained. "They also get to eat for free at all restaurants."
"That definitely sounds neat." Said Amanda.
"Of course, for a princess festival, both of us should look like princesses." Said Amanda. "Come on, let's do some shopping." The three of them headed off to the closest department store; meanwhile, Conrad and Sally were sitting on a park bench lamenting.
"We've been after those kids for several months now trying to steal Pikachu and Eevee. Each and every time, we've been beaten by them." Said Sally. "Sometimes, I wonder if we're really cut out to be Team Rocket members."
"I wonder the same thing myself." Said Conrad. They kept sitting on the bench for a little while, and then Sally noticed a poster hanging on a nearby tree.
"Conrad, come and look at this!" she cried. They both sprang off the bench and ran over to the tree where the poster was. Sally yanked it off and showed it to her partner.
"A princess festival." Said Conrad. "Honestly, that sounds kind of boring."
"Maybe for you, but I love these festivals." Said Sally. "I used to come here every year with my mom when I was a kid so that we could take advantage of all the great store discounts and free restaurant service. It was always a spectacular time, until one year when we decided not to come anymore."
"Did your mom ever say why?" asked Conrad.
"The only reasoning she would ever give me was that I was getting too old to go." Said Sally. "However, one's never too old to reminisce about childhood memories."
"I can't disagree there." Said Conrad.
"It's for that reason that we're both going to the festival." Said Sally. "Come on." She grabbed Conrad's arm and dragged him down the street. Michelle, Amanda, and Mark had arrived at the mall but found that it was extremely busy.
"Wow, look at all of these people." Said Amanda.
"Did I mention that these stores get higher than usual traffic during the princess festival?" said Michelle.
"Not until now." Said Amanda. Even Pikachu was surprised at the sight of that many people.
"Pika." He said, which meant 'I hope we don't get lost.'
"We won't if we stick together." Said Amanda.
"Smart thinking." Said Mark. They went into a clothing store, only to find it packed to the brim with shoppers.
"My goodness, look at this huge crowd." Said Amanda. "All the good stuff is probably sold out by now."
"You don't know that for sure yet." Said Michelle. They managed to squeeze their way over to a section that was selling elegant princess dresses of all colors and sizes.
"Look at all of these!" Michelle cried. She ran to the rack and grabbed a handful of dresses that were in blue, pink, yellow, red, orange and lavender.
"That's certainly a good number of dresses you have there." Said Mark.
"Each of them will be so beautiful to wear." Said Michelle.
"Don't forget, not all of them are for you alone." Said Amanda. She then spotted a grey dress that contained some of the most beautiful sequins she had ever seen.
"What do you think, Mark?" asked Amanda.
"I don't know. That's a bit too flashy for me." Mark answered.
"I kind of agree." Said Michelle. "It's also very loud."
"Then we'll get the six you have with you." Said Amanda.
"Hang on, we can't just flat out buy them right away. We have to try them on first." Said Michelle. They found a pair of changing rooms at the back that they could use to try the dresses out.
"I wonder how those are going to look." Said Mark. Amanda and Michelle came out a few minutes later wearing a different dress. Amanda was wearing the yellow one, which had a white circular collar and a gold flower pin beside one of the short sleeves. Michelle was wearing the pink dress, which had white dots on the sleeves as well as the skirt.
"Well, how do we look?" Michelle asked.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu cried, which meant 'I think the two of you look like real princesses.'
"Thanks, Pikachu." Said Amanda.
"That settles it. We'll take the yellow and pink ones." Said Michelle. They changed back into their regular outfits and paid for the dresses at the counter. As they left the store in one direction, Conrad and Sally entered from another direction.
"You never told me that it was going to be crowded." Said Conrad.
"It's always like this during the festival." Said Sally. "Come on, I have clothes to buy." The two of them went into the same clothing store that the trio had just come out of, and Sally was instantly amazed by the available selection.
"Shoes, boots, skirts, they have it all." Said Sally. Despite the large crowd, she was able to find some sweaters and skirts that she wanted and brought them to the cashier.
"Charge these to the Team Rocket account!" she exclaimed. Once her purchases had been placed in a large bag, the two of them went back to the park.
"I thought you were going to get something for the boss." Said Conrad.
"That can wait." Said Sally. "I want to take a little break first." She set her shopping bag down beside her right as a Lickitung came out from the bushes beside her.
"Lick!" it cried and pointed to her bag.
"Is there something in there that you want?" Sally asked it. Lickitung nodded and reached into her shopping bag.
"That's not food. Those are my new clothes that I just bought." Sally explained. Lickitung didn't care, however, and stuck its tongue out into the bag. It grabbed the clothes and started chewing on them.
"Hey! Don't do that! Some of those are hard to find!" Sally cried. "Find something else to eat!" Lickitung kept munching on the clothes before finally swallowing them.
"No! Some of those skirts were in my favorite color, too!" Sally exclaimed. "You're going to pay for that, Lickitung!" She grabbed a Poke Ball and threw it at the pink Pokemon.
"Ekans, attack!" Sally cried. The poison snake appeared and attempted to use Poison Sting, only for Lickitung to block the attack and then use its tongue to lick Ekans below underneath his neck, causing the snake to get paralyzed.
"Looks like Ekans just got licked." Conrad observed.
"How dare you!" Sally cried. She was now extremely furious. Lickitung just shrugged his shoulders and acted like he didn't care.
"Nobody chews up my clothes and gets away with it." She said and got out an empty ball.
"Poke Ball, go!" she yelled, aiming it at Lickitung. The Pokemon got sucked inside the ball and was captured instantly.
"See that? I'm just as good at catching Pokemon as the twerps are." Said Sally. She recalled Ekans and placed his ball on her waist.
"What are you going to do with the Lickitung you just caught?" Conrad asked.
"I'll take care of Lickitung later." Said Sally. "Right now, we have to go back to the store so I can re-buy everything that he ate." Conrad sighed but followed behind his partner. As for our young heroes, they had found a quiet little restaurant to have their lunch.
"Look at how these menus are designed for today." Said Michelle. Amanda had a look at her own menu and saw that it was all decked out in lots of pink.
"I guess they wanted to make these look special for today." She said. "How come Mark's menu isn't like that?"
"I think guys get the regular menu." Said Michelle.
"You'd think right." Said Mark. His menu didn't have any of the fancy decorations that the girls' menus had. The girls both got a deep dish pizza, but Mark only had a salad.
"They really know how to treat girls like royalty, don't they?" Amanda asked.
"They sure do, and the best part is that we don't have to pay for our food." Said Michelle.
"I wish I could say the same for me." Said Mark. "I have to pay for mine."
"If there's any positives to that, it'll help keep our total bill down." Said Amanda.
"Amanda's right." Said Michelle. She then noticed a billboard advertisement on top of another building close to where they were. That advertisement got Michelle excited.
"Look at that, Amanda!" she cried excitedly. "They're having a tournament to determine the queen of this year's princess festival. First prize is five hundred thousand dollars in cash!"
"I don't think I've ever seen that much money in my life." Said Amanda.
"Me either." Said Mark.
"Oh, but it's not just money that's involved." Said Michelle. "The sign also says that whoever wins the tournament also gets a brand new set of rare Pokemon dolls!"
"You must be pretty excited about that part." Said Amanda.
"I'm more than excited." Said Michelle. "When I was little, one thing I wanted more than anything else was a set of Pokemon dolls. I would ask my daddy about that several times, only to be greeted by a no answer every time. 'Dolls are expensive, honey.' he would always say to me. I ended up going through my whole childhood without any kind of dolls, but now I can win my own set."
"You know, Michelle, I hope you win those dolls." Said Amanda.
"Me too." Said Mark.
"Eevee." Eevee squealed, which meant 'Pikachu and I hope you win them too.'
"Thanks, everyone." Said Michelle.
"Just remember that there's going to be a lot of other girls trying to win those too." Said Amanda.
"Exactly how many other girls are we talking about?" asked Michelle.
"I'm not sure, but I can tell you right now that I'm one of them." Said Amanda.
"I guess I shouldn't be surprised considering that we've done practically everything together so far on this journey." Said Michelle. Once they finished eating and left the restaurant, they heard an announcement over the intercom of a nearby store.
"Attention princess festival participants. Please report to the battle stadium for the special festival tournament." Said the voice.
"That's us." Said Michelle. "Let's go, guys." The three of them ran off toward the stadium, unaware that Sally had also seen the same billboard ad.
"So, they're having a tournament for the right to be festival queen." She said. "You know what that means, right?"
"We ruin the whole thing?" Conrad wondered.
"Ordinarily, I would say yes, but that's not the case this time." Said Sally. "I'm going to enter that contest so I can win those dolls for myself."
"You mean you're actually going to obtain them legitimately?" Conrad asked. He was certainly surprised about this turn of events.
"Yes, but just this one time since I'm in such a good mood today." Said Sally. "Come on." She grabbed Conrad's arm and rushed down the street towards the stadium, carrying her partner in tow. Meanwhile, Michelle and Amanda had just finished registering for the tournament when they both got a tap on the shoulder. The girls turned around and saw a familiar trainer with red hair, a yellow top, and blue overalls.
"Hey guys, remember me?" she asked. "We first met back in Viridian City."
"I can't say that I've met you before." Said Michelle.
"I know who she is because I have met her." Said Amanda. "You're Misty, right?"
"The one and only." Misty answered with a smile.
"Misty, these are my friends Michelle and Mark." Said Amanda.
"Hi there." Said Michelle.
"Nice to meet you, Misty." Said Mark.
"So, Misty, what brings you here?" asked Amanda.
"I was out in the Orange Islands with Ash and Tracey, and the three of us were riding on Ash's Lapras when I heard about the annual princess festival." Said Misty. "Naturally, I got here as fast as I could."
"Does that mean you're competing too?" asked Mark.
"I wish I was, but I already participated last year, so I don't feel the need to do that again." Said Misty. "Since I'm here, though, I can root these two girls on."
"That's very kind of you." Said Michelle.
"Speaking of Ash, how is he doing?" asked Amanda.
"He's doing very well." Said Misty. "His Charizard is still having some obedience issues, though, but I think we're on the verge of a breakthrough in that department."
"That's good to hear." Said Michelle.
"I really hope I get to battle Ash at some point." Said Amanda.
"That might be a bit difficult considering that he's always traveling, but don't give up hope." Said Misty. "That opportunity might just come before you know it." The intercom then came on.
"Trainers that are participating in the princess festival tournament, please report to the battle arena immediately."
"That's us, Michelle." Said Amanda.
"Good luck, you two." Said Mark.
"We'll be watching from the stands." Said Misty. She and Mark headed to the spectator area, while Michelle and Amanda made their way to the battle arena. They found that there were at least a hundred other trainers battling in the tournament.
"Woah, look at all of these girls that are here." Said Amanda.
"I bet they all want to become the princess festival queen just like we do." Said Michelle. An official went over to the podium that had been set up.
"Good afternoon, ladies." He Said. "As you know, all of you are battling not just for the right to become this year's queen, but also for the championship of the festival tournament. Each match will be a sudden death showdown until one of you is left standing. Also, each trainer will be allowed to use a maximum of four Pokemon per battle. Choose your Pokémon carefully, and good luck." Amanda and Michelle went into the change room to decide which Pokemon to use. While they were in there, they also changed into the special dresses they had bought earlier.
"Which Pokemon should we choose?" Amanda wondered.
"I'm actually not sure." Said Michelle. "I know we're allowed to choose four, so we have to make our picks count."
"I think I know one Pokemon I'm definitely using, and that's Pikachu." Said Amanda.
"Pika pi!" Pikachu cried, which meant 'Good choice.'
"As for the others, I think I'll go with Wartortle, Venonat and Fearow." Said Amanda. "With Fearow's flying power and Pikachu's electricity, I can't lose." She began to reach for Fearow's ball when Michelle held up a hand.
"You just stop right there, little miss princess wannabe." She said. "Fearow never does what you want it to do."
"I know, but it's one of the strongest Pokemon I have, and I really need it." Said Amanda.
"Think about this for a minute." Said Michelle. "What do you think's going to happen if you only have one Pokemon left in your matches and you have to rely on Fearow?"
"I'd probably lose because of his disobedience." Said Amanda.
"Exactly." Said Michelle. "I don't want to see that happen, so I think you should choose a different Pokemon instead."
"Good point." Said Amanda. "I think I'll use Arcanine instead."
"That's definitely a much better choice." Said Michelle.
"Which four do you want to go with, Michelle?" asked Amanda.
"I'm definitely using Eevee as one of my four." Said Michelle. Eevee squealed happily with delight. "For the others, I'll use Electabuzz, Ponyta and Poliwag."
"A normal type, an electric type, a fire type and a water type." Said Amanda. "Sounds like a good selection to me." Just then, the bell went off to signal for all participants to head into the arena for their first matches. Sally, on the other hand, was trying to decide which Pokemon to use for the competition.
"What chance do you possibly have?" asked Conrad. "The rules say you can have up to four, and all you have are Ekans and Lickitung."
"That's not exactly accurate." Said Sally. Conrad looked over her shoulder and saw Zubat flying above her head.
"Sally, please, don't take Zubat!" Conrad cried.
"I need it for the contest. Otherwise, I won't get too far." Said Sally.
"Even so, that's only three Pokemon." Said Conrad. "What about your fourth one?" Sally reached over and grabbed a second Poke Ball from Conrad.
"Seriously? Beedrill too?" Conrad asked.
"Don't worry, you'll get them both back once the contest is over." Said Sally.
"I certainly hope so." Said Conrad. The brackets that had been assigned showed that both Amanda and Michelle were on different halves of the ladder, which meant that while the two of them battling in the finals was possible, it wasn't a guarantee. Amanda's first opponent had a team consisting strictly of poison types including Grimer and Muk. Venonat defeated all four Pokemon with no trouble at all. Michelle's first match was a bit tougher, especially because her opponent had a Rapidash. However, Poliwag was able to take out the fully evolved fire type after an intense battle.
"You go, girls!" cried Mark. Misty was also cheering them on, but her Psyduck decided to pop out and cheer himself. Misty let out a sigh, but Mark didn't seem to be bothered by that.
"The Psyduck that Michelle has does that all the time too." He said. "You should've seen the commotion he caused at the school we were at not too long ago."
"Exactly how bad was it?" Misty asked.
"It was pretty bad." Said Mark. "Fortunately, everything still worked out fine."
"That's good to hear." Said Misty.
"Of course, there was also an instance of one kid we met being captured by Team Rocket, but we were able to rescue her." Said Mark.
"Which Team Rocket are we talking about?" asked Misty. "The annoying duo of Jessie and James and their talking Meowth?"
"No. The two that we've had to deal with are different." Said Mark. "Their names are Conrad and Sally, but they don't have a Meowth with them. They've tried to take Pikachu and Eevee multiple times, but we've been able to stop them every time."
"It seems like the three of you are definitely similar to Ash, Tracey, Brock and me." Said Misty. "We've also had our fair share of Team Rocket interference, but fortunately, we've also been able to stop them."
"That's definitely good to hear." Said Mark. On the field, Sally was commanding Zubat to use a Wing Attack on her opponent's Mankey. Zubat flew so fast that Mankey didn't have a chance to dodge. It got sent right into the wall and was knocked out.
"Mankey, no!" the girl cried.
"And that's win number one for me." Said Sally. She gave a warm smile as she recalled Zubat. For Amanda's second match, she was facing a girl that had a team of water Pokemon.
"Now that's the kind of trainer I like to see." Said Misty. The battle was a bit more difficult, and it took a combination of Pikachu, Weepinbell and Venonat to defeat the trainer and advance. Michelle's second opponent had a more balanced team, which included an Exeggutor. A powerful Fire Spin from Ponyta ended up knocking it out and sending Michelle into the round of thirty-two. Sally also had some trouble with her second round but was able to move on thanks to a Poison Sting from Ekans. For the third round, Sally faced an opponent that only had grass types, so she was able to use Zubat's flying power to knock out the grass Pokemon and move to the round of sixteen. Michelle and Amanda also moved on easily. The round of sixteen was a bit harder for the three of them because all of their opponents had well rounded teams. All three of Sally, Michelle and Amanda still managed to win and go on to the quarterfinals. In that round, Sally finally met her match as her opponent kept having her Pokemon use Double Team and other defensive type moves. As a result, Sally was eliminated from the tournament.
"That's okay, Sally. You did your best." Said Conrad.
"I know, but I wanted those dolls so badly." Said Sally. She gave Zubat and Beedrill back to Conrad and took his hand.
"Let's get out of here." She Said. The two of them quietly left the arena; meanwhile, Michelle and Amanda were getting ready for their respective quarterfinal matches. Michelle's match came down to a situation where the next hit would win.
"Eevee, use Swift attack!" Michelle cried. The rainbow stars that shot out of Eevee's body laid a strong hit on her opponent's Shellder, resulting in the win. Amanda had a bit of a hard time with her own quarterfinal, but still managed to get a win after Venonat dished out a powerful Psybeam on her opponent's Scyther. For the semifinals, Amanda took on a trainer with flying types, all of which Pikachu was able to take down with its electricity. Michelle also won her own semi-final match, which meant that the championship match would be between the two friends.
"It's down to Amanda and Michelle for the finals." Said Misty.
"I don't think either of them are going to give in to each other easily, if at all." Said Mark. The intercom then came on.
"Folks, we've seen some incredible battling today, and it now comes down to this final round between Michelle Greenwood of the Viridian Forest and Amanda Cooper of Fuchsia City. Both girls will be allowed to use up to four Pokémon each with no time limit and no substitutions. Let the battle begin!" The bell dinged to start the battle.
"I know this is the final, and I know we're also friends, but don't expect me to go easy on you." Said Michelle.
"I wouldn't want it any other way." Said Amanda.
"Trainers, select your first Pokemon please." Said the referee. Michelle grabbed a Poke Ball from the waist of her dress and threw it.
"Electabuzz, go!" she cried. The feisty electric type appeared instantly.
"Starting with Electabuzz, I see." Said Amanda. She grabbed one of her own Poke Balls and threw it.
"Arcanine, I choose you!" she cried. The tall fire dog appeared in a blaze of white light.
"I don't know who I want you root for here." Said Mark.
"Just be neutral." Misty advised.
"Arcanine, use Take Down!" Amanda cried. The fire dog nodded and charged at Electabuzz.
"Electabuzz, try to stop it with Double Team." Michelle ordered. Electabuzz put up clones of himself resulting in Arcanine hitting one of the fakes. The fire dog just shook his head.
"Don't give up, Arcanine!" Amanda cried. "Use your Flamethrower until you find the real one!" Arcanine shot powerful fire lines at each one of the fake Electabuzz until only the actual one remained.
"You may have gotten out of Double Team, but let's see how Arcanine likes this next move." Said Michelle. "Electabuzz, use your Leer attack!" Electabuzz focused on Arcanine and gave a red glow from its eyes, causing the fire dog to cry a bit.
"Oh no!" cried Amanda.
"That attack doesn't actually hurt." Said Michelle. "Don't worry, you'll find out the effects of it later."
"Lovely." Amanda said with a hint of sarcasm. "Arcanine, use Take Down!" Arcanine charged hard at Electabuzz and readied for the attack.
"Electabuzz, dodge it by jumping out of the way!" Michelle commanded. Electabuzz nodded, but Arcanine was running too fast and pounced on Electabuzz before it had a chance to react. Arcanine then started to give Electabuzz a playful lick, but Amanda wagged her finger at it.
"This isn't the time to play, Arcanine." She said. "Use your Fire Spin!" Arcanine got off of the electric type so that it could get up, and then Arcanine spit out a circle of fire around Electabuzz to keep it immobilized.
"Uh oh, Electabuzz doesn't have anywhere to go." Said Misty.
"That's the whole point of Fire Spin." Said Mark.
"Finish it, Arcanine. Fire Blast!" Amanda commanded. Arcanine shot a large flame star at Electabuzz, scorching it and sending it to the floor in a knocked out state.
"Electabuzz is out of the match. Arcanine is the winner!" the referee announced.
"Way to go, Arcanine!" cried Amanda. Michelle recalled Electabuzz and grabbed another ball.
"Poliwag, get out here!" she cried. The small little tadpole Pokemon appeared in a blaze of light and happily squealed.
"I know you're excited, Poliwag, but you need to focus up now." Said Michelle. "Use your Water Gun attack." Poliwag nodded and shot a stream of water right at Arcanine, knocking it out in one hit.
"Arcanine is defeated. Poliwag wins." The referee declared. Amanda recalled Arcanine and praised it for a job well done, but she was a bit confused.
"How did that happen?" she wondered.
"Remember that Leer attack I had Electabuzz use?" Michelle asked. "That lowered Arcanine's defense to the point where a single water attack from Poliwag was able to beat it."
"I see." Said Amanda. "All right Weepinbell, it's your turn!" The small plant Pokemon appeared instantly in a blaze of light.
"With how small Poliwag is, beating it shouldn't be a problem for you." Said Amanda.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that if I were her." Said Misty.
"Why not?" asked Mark. Poliwag suddenly began to give a white glow.
"That's why not." Said Misty. "Poliwag is evolving."
"Toge pri!" Togepi squealed excitedly, which meant 'I've never seen an evolution before!'
"You have, actually." Misty told her little baby Pokemon. "We saw Ash's Pidgeotto evolve into Pidgeot right before heading to the Orange Islands."
"In Togepi's defense, I don't think it remembers that." Said Mark. "After all, it's still just a baby."
Fair point." Said Misty. On the field, Amanda couldn't believe her eyes.
"Looks like Poliwag evolved into Poliwhirl." She said.
"So, you were saying something about size?" said Michelle.
"Maybe I shouldn't have opened my mouth." Said Amanda. "Go, Weepinbell! Razor Leaf attack!" Weepinbell shot green leaves out of its body, but Poliwhirl punched them away with his hands.
"No way!" Amanda cried. Michelle just nodded.
"Poliwhirl has strength and abilities it couldn't use as a Poliwag." She said. "You should consider yourself lucky to be the first to witness these abilities first hand. Poliwhirl, Mega Punch now!" Poliwhirl reared his hand back and gave Weepinbell a hard punch that sent the grass type flying a bit. Fortunately for Amanda, the grass type was able to shake it off.
"Try a Vine Whip attack!" Amanda ordered. Weepinbell shot out its dark green vines and smacked them over and over again on Poliwhirl's chest. The water type didn't seem to be affected too much, however.
"That attack should've done a lot of damage to Poliwhirl." Said Mark. "For some reason, though, Poliwhirl didn't feel it.
"I wonder why." Said Misty.
"Poliwhirl's body is nice and sturdy." Said Michelle. "You're going to have to do better than that to get past him. Okay, Poliwhirl, use your Hypnosis attack." Poliwhirl concentrated hard on the grass type, sending it into a deep sleep.
"Weepinbell!" Amanda cried.
"Now, time to give it an old fashioned Seismic Toss." Said Michelle. Poliwhirl grabbed the sleeping grass type, spun it around in a circle, and flung it against a wall, doing some big damage. Amanda ran over to her grass type and saw that it was knocked out.
"Weepinbell is out! Poliwhirl wins!" the referee declared. Amanda sighed and recalled Weepinbell.
"Just two Pokemon left." She thought. "I wonder what I should use next." She then reached for another Poke Ball and threw it as high as she could.
"Wartortle, I choose you!" she cried. Her water type starter appeared in a blaze of light. In the stands, Misty had a bright smile on her face.
"Two water types going head to head!" she cried. "I wonder how this one will turn out."
"Wartortle, start off with a Water Gun!" Amanda ordered.
"Poliwhirl, you use your Water Gun too!" Michelle commanded. Both water types shot their attacks out, with both of them hitting at the same time.
"A dead heat." Mark observed.
"I'll have to try something else." Said Amanda. "Use your Bubblebeam attack, Wartortle!" Wartortle shot bubbles out of his mouth.
"Poliwhirl, use your own Bubblebeam attack!" Michelle ordered. Both of the attacks collided with each other yet again.
"Another tie." Said Mark.
"Both of them are certainly strong." Said Misty.
"Let's not quit, Wartortle." Said Amanda. "I know Poliwhirl's strong, but you're strong too, and it's time to show some of that strength. Skull Bash, now!" Wartortle lowered its head and ran at Poliwhirl and got ready to attack. However, Poliwhirl anticipated the move and picked Wartortle up.
"Seismic Toss again." Michelle ordered. Poliwhirl spun Wartortle around and flung it across the field. Wartortle got hurt a bit, but it was tough and got right back up.
"There has to be a way to land a hit on Poliwhirl." Amanda thought. Just then, an idea sprang into her mind. "I've got it. Wartortle, get into your shell and spin around Poliwhirl to try and confuse it!" Wartortle nodded and hid into the shell. He slid to where Poliwhirl was and spun around him several times, leaving Poliwhirl very confused. Yellow stars appeared above Poliwhirl's head.
"Uh oh." Said Michelle.
"Okay, Wartortle, give it a Mega Kick." Said Amanda. Wartortle kicked Poliwhirl's legs repeatedly until it finally fell down and fainted.
"Poliwhirl is defeated. Wartortle wins!" the referee declared.
"That's it, Wartortle! Well done!" cried Amanda.
"That's definitely something Ash would've done." Said Misty. "Nice going." Michelle recalled Poliwhirl and reached for another ball.
"That was a clever strategy you did on Poliwhirl." She said. "But now I'm done playing around. Ponyta, I choose you!" She threw the ball and the fire horse appeared in a blaze of light.
"This should be better for you, Wartortle. Water types can douse flame types easily." Said Amanda. "Water Gun!" Wartortle shot a line of water right at Ponyta, dousing the fire type and doing a lot of damage.
"Shake it off, Ponyta." Said Michelle. "Stomp that turtle." Ponyta ran at Wartortle and used one of its hooves to stomp Wartortle's shell.
"Keep up that strength, Wartortle." Said Amanda. "Use Take Down now!"
"Ponyta, you do the same!" Michelle ordered. Both Pokemon ran toward each other, only to bump heads. The impact sent them both down and knocked out both Pokemon at once.
"Both of Ponyta and Wartortle are unable to battle." The referee declared.
"And now it all comes down to this, folks. Only one more battle to decide the princess festival queen." Said the announcer over the intercom.
"Pikachu, you're my last chance." Said Amanda. "Get out there and win this!" Pikachu jumped off Amanda's shoulder and into the arena.
"Eevee, you get out there too!" commanded Michelle. Eevee nodded and ran onto her side of the field.
"Looks like we've come full circle." Said Michelle. "If you recall, the first time we met, my Eevee battled against your Pikachu."
"A battle that you won." Said Amanda. "That won't happen this time. Pikachu, Thunderbolt attack!" Pikachu unleashed its yellow bolt, but Eevee dodged successfully.
"Quick Attack, Eevee." Michelle commanded. Eevee sped toward Pikachu and sent the electric mouse back a little bit.
"Hang in there, Pikachu!" cried Amanda. "Dodge whatever Eevee tries throwing at you with Agility!" Pikachu nodded.
"Go for Skull Bash." Said Michelle. Eevee lowered its head and tried to attack, but Pikachu's Agility usage made it go fast than normal.
"Eevee, try smacking Pikachu with your bushy tail." Said Michelle. Eevee ran in close, and right as Pikachu was about to move, Eevee hit it with its tail.
"Pikachu, hang in there!" cried Amanda. "Use Slam!" Pikachu jumped up and slammed down on Eevee's body, making the fox Pokemon cry out in pain.
"Eevee!" Michelle cried.
"That's it, Pikachu." Said Amanda. "Now, use Thunder Wave!" Pikachu shot yellow waves from its cheeks, which hit Eevee and paralyzed it.
"Eevee, try a Swift attack." Said Michelle. Eevee was able to shoot out a few stars before the paralysis kicked in. Pikachu took some damage and then stared down at Eevee.
"Thunderbolt." Said Amanda. Pikachu unleashed another yellow bolt, which hit this time. Eevee collapsed to the ground and fainted.
"Eevee is unable to battle. The winner of the match, and the doll set, is Amanda Cooper of Fuchsia City!" the referee cried.
"You did it, Pikachu!" cried Amanda. Pikachu ran up to her partner and gave a high five. Eevee slowly walked back over to Michelle.
"Eevee." It squealed sadly, which meant 'I'm sorry.'
"You did your best, Eevee. I'm very proud of you." Said Michelle. Ten minutes later, the festival trophy was brought out, along with the set of dolls. Amanda smiled as the crown was placed on her head and her photo taken. The next day, she wrote out a shipping label onto a big box.
"You're sending the dolls back home?" Mark wondered. Amanda nodded her head.
"Right back to the Safari Zone." Said Amanda. "I can't wait to see the look on my mama's face when she sees this package show up." The delivery drivers loaded the box onto the truck and drove off.
"Be careful with those!" Amanda called after them.
"Well, as much as I've enjoyed being a spectator in all of this, I have to get back to Ash and Tracey." Said Misty. "Later, guys." Misty ran off with Togepi, and shortly afterward, Michelle let out a sad sigh.
"Is something wrong?" Amanda asked.
"I'm glad you won, but I was hoping to win those for myself so I could finally have my own dolls." Said Michelle, and she started to sob a little bit.
"Hey Mark, I have an idea." Amanda whispered, and the two of them went back to the store. Michelle went back to the Pokemon Center and sat down in the lobby.
"We worked so hard, Eevee, only to fall short at the end." She said sadly.
"Eevee." Eevee squealed, which meant 'You'll get them next time.'
"I'm glad you're feeling confident." Said Michelle. "I'm not sure how long it'll take me to get over this loss, though." Thirty minutes later, Mark and Michelle came into the center with a gift box in hand.
"Michelle, since you didn't win the real dolls, Amanda and I thought we could cheer you up by giving you these." Said Mark. Michelle quickly tore off the wrapping paper and found a set of beautiful porcelain dolls.
"They're beautiful!" she cried. "This is the nicest thing anybody has ever done for me! Thank you both so much!"
"You're welcome." Said Amanda. In my opinion, Michelle definitely seemed to get over her loss fairly quickly. She also learned a lesson from this, which is to not let losses in contests drag her down. Every Pokemon trainer's path has bumps and bruises, but what's important about those is to get over them quickly so that they can continue down the path, just like how our three heroes will in the next exciting episode.
TO BE CONTINUED
Amanda's Party: Pikachu, Fearow, Wartortle, Weepinbell, Arcanine, Venonat
Michelle's Party: Eevee, Electabuzz, Doduo, Poliwhirl, Ponyta, Charmander
Mark's Party: Bulbasaur, Charmander, Diglett, Gastly, Lapras, Nidorino
Amanda's Spare Pokemon at Oak's Lab: Rattata, Haunter, Magikarp, Butterfree, Zubat, Abra, Tentacruel, Pidgeotto, Dratini, Clefairy, Scyther, Flareon, Nidoran Male, Rhyhorn, Goldeen, Dragonair
Michelle's Spare Pokemon at Oak's Lab: Gengar, Sandshrew, Nidoran Female, Psyduck, Tangela, Chansey