Episode 159: Pre-Game Showcase

Brenda shouts, "Kappaqueous, Aqua Bomb! Glitterfly, Silver Wind! Rabbolt, Shockwave! Frostcicle, Aurora Beam! Wispirit, Illusory Flames! Lupine, Magical Leaf!" All six of Brenda's Pokémon use the commanded move with the utmost beauty and showmanship.

Ash and Brock both applaud. Ash shouts, "Way to go, Brenda! With all this training you'll nail the Grand Festival tomorrow for sure!"

Yes! You heard that right! Our heroes have arrived at the Rest Stop and the eve of the Grand Festival is finally upon us! By this time tomorrow, Brenda will be competing in the most important performance of her journey to date!

Brenda shakes her head in frustration. "It wasn't enough."

Brock asks, "What do you mean? Those moves all looked perfect to me."

"Maybe they were, but if we're going to win the Grand Festival, we need to be better than perfect! That's why we're going to keep on training! No stopping! No giving up! We've only got 22 hours left to train! Everyone, do it again!"

Her Pokémon all give an encouraging cheer before repeating their previous moves.

"She really has changed, hasn't she?" Ash and Brock look to the side with surprise to see Will has joined them.

Ash nods. "She has. Back when she started out, you'd think she was allergic to training. But now she trains with an intensity that's hard to believe."

After another round of attacks, Will raises his voice to comment, "Great job, but Rabbolt's timing could be better. And Lupine could do with some better finite control."

Brenda gasps, "Will!?" She nearly trips over herself in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

Will laughs. "Did you forget that I earned my five ribbons too?"

Brenda blushes with embarrassment. "N-no! Th-that's not what I meant!"

Will laughs some more. "To answer your question, I was looking for you because there's someone I wanted you to meet."

A woman steps up beside Will. But not just any woman. It's the woman who Brenda met before her double performance at the Ort City Pokémon Contest. Her white dress with golden trim is complemented by the bird Pokémon that perches on her shoulder, much like Will's Necrow perches on his.

The Pokémon has brilliant white feathers that are so light they practically glow. Much like Necrow, its body shape is a hybrid of a bird body with a more humanoid form. Its beak, eyes, and legs are all a stunning gold color. The pristine feathers that drape down from its outstretched wings give it the appearance of wearing a robe. A laurel crown fashioned from a leafy branch rests atop its head.

Brenda gasps, "No way! It's you! You're the one who helped me out before the Ort Contest!"

The woman grins at Brenda. "I'm glad to see you again. That was a marvelous show you put on at that contest. I'm glad you took my advice."

"I can't thank you enough! It was because of your words that I finally mustered up the courage to enter another double performance. And I won it, all thanks to you!"

The woman shakes her head. "You give me too much credit. I only helped you to see the potential you already had inside you."

Will looks to her. "You already met Brenda? Interesting."

The woman clarifies, "If memory serves, I never actually properly introduced myself. I'm Moira." She offers a hand for Brenda to shake.

Brenda shakes it. "I'm so glad to properly meet you. I'm Brenda. But I guess you probably know that already."

Moira chuckles as she looks from Brenda to Will and back again. "I'm just putting two and two together. Brenda, when you told me about someone who meant a lot to you, was that…William?"

The color of Brenda's face flushes. "Um…maybe…"

Will looks to Brenda with intrigue.

Brenda objects, "Hey, that's not what I said though! I said someone who's opinion mattered to me!"

Moira just chuckles knowingly.

Ash takes advantage of the break in the conversation to comment, "That's a really beautiful Pokémon you have there."

He takes out his Pokédex to look it up. "Dovine, the Holy Pokémon and a Light and Flying Combo-Type. Dovine spreads its message of peace to all who will listen. It always thinks of others first and will even transfer its own energy to others to heal them. Evolves from Calumba with a Shiny Stone."

Moira smiles. "Thank you. I take great care to preserve Dovine's beauty. Not that it needs that much help from me."

Brenda looks to Will. "How do you two know each other?"

Will explains, "Moira was my mentor. She's the one who taught me how to be a Pokémon Coordinator." He pauses. "She's also the one who beat me at the Grand Festival last year."

Brenda gasps as she looks at Moira in a new light. One of awe. "Wow… You're a Top Coordinator for sure…" Then she freezes as she realizes something. "Wait…didn't you tell me you'd be competing in the Grand Festival? Why are you doing that if you already won it before?"

Moira grins. "Nobody's ever won the Tenno Grand Festival twice before. I'd like to be the first. I understand it's a little selfish of me to not give others a chance, but it's what I need to do."

Will points out, "Hey, don't speak as if you're a guarantee to win this. I've gotten a lot stronger since last year. I also bet Brenda could give you a run for your money."

Brenda's eyes widen. "You do?" She does her best to hide the blush that covers her cheeks.

Will grins. "Certainly. As I was observing when I first stepped in. You've grown a lot, Brenda. More than any coordinator I've ever seen. I may have a year up on you, but I consider you my equal."

Brenda objects, "But I'm not your equal. I've never beaten you before. Not directly."

Moira shakes her head. "That doesn't matter. Who wins and who loses is insignificant. There are far more important ways to judge the ability of a coordinator. And Brenda, based on what I've seen and William has told me, I'm very interested in seeing how I'll end up judging you." She turns around. "Come on, William, we should get back to our training." She walks off.

Will takes one glance at Brenda, gives her a confident nod, then turns to follow his mentor.

Once they're both gone and out of earshot, Brenda suddenly shouts in panic, "I not only have to compete against Will's mentor, but the one who beat him at the grand Festival last year!?" She pulls at her hair as she continues to freak out. "Everyone, we have to train harder! Harder! Rabbolt! Lupine! You heard what Will said! Work on your timing and control! Kappaqueous, you work on your power! Glitterfly, I need a wider spread! Frostcicle, make it faster! Wispirit, let's get more showmanship going! Go! Go! Go! Go!"

Her team all hurry to get back to training and to work on their assigned tasks.

"No! You're doing it wrong, Frostcicle! Don't sacrifice power for speed! We need both! Rabbolt, it needs to be snappier! Glitterfly, that's too wide! Aaaaah!"

Ash tilts his head as he watches Brenda. "Brock, I can't believe I'm saying this, but do you think there might be such a thing as too much training?"

Brock nods. "If there is, then this is it."

"Lupine, give it more focus! Don't get distracted! Wispirit, more, more, more!"

Ash asks, "Should we stop her?"

Brock answers, "That depends. Do you want to be the one to get in her way while she's doing this?" He beckons to Brenda.

"No. I'm good."

Brenda shouts, "We are not good! We are not good! Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Something in her snaps and she abruptly runs off.

Ash starts to say something but stops. "Um…"

Brock suggests, "I think she might just need some time to cool off."

Ash nods. "I think so too. Let's give her that."

Her Pokémon stare in the direction that she ran off in with concern.

Brenda isn't the only one hard at work training for the Grand Festival. Jessie, dressed as Jessileia, is surrounded by both her Pokémon and James'. She says to them, "Remember, my beauties, whichever ones of you prove yourself here and now will get to join in the eternal fame and glory that I'll be winning tomorrow."

"Wobbuffet!"

Jessie stares at Wobbuffet for a moment. "I might need to reconsider even giving you the opportunity to prove yourself…"

James and Meowth are watching from a little bit away. Meowth comments, "It's nice to see Jessie putting in some nice, honest work."

James agrees, "Yeah, ever since she beat Cassidy to get her fifth ribbon, she's been all in on this Grand Festival thing." He chuckles. "Honest work." Another chuckle.

Meowth chuckles too. A moment later they're both laughing together at the thought.

James calms slightly and comments, "Hey, we've got a rare commodity on our hands. What should we do with this Jessie-free time?"

Meowth grins. "It's time for a boy's night out."

James grins. "Ooh. I like the sound of that. What do you have in mind, old chum?"

"I hear there's a pretty great restaurant here at the Rest Stop. It's called the Immaculate Palace."

"Immaculate. With a name like that, the place must be good. I'm down. Let's go."

James and Meowth step into the Immaculate Palace and take seats at the counter. They're both handed a menu by a server. "Can I start you fellows off with anything to drink?"

James looks over the menu. "Hmm… According to the menu, they're famous for their selection of iced teas. They have anything you could imagine."

Meowth laughs. "Surely not everything. There's no way they have something like, let's say, Tamato Berry iced tea." He looks at the server. "You don't have Tamato Berry iced tea, do you?"

The server laughs at the idea. "Something like that doesn't exist!"

James looks at him skeptically. "I don't know. Your menu very clearly states that you have every type of iced tea one could imagine. This one could imagine a Tamato Berry iced tea."

"Still don't have it."

Meowth points out, "So what you're telling me is that your menu is lying? You don't have every type of iced tea you can imagine?" Mostly as a joke, Meowth slams a fist onto the counter and demands, "Bring me a Tamato Berry iced tea, or I'll sue you for false advertising!"

He and James both laugh jubilantly together.

The server nods. "Well, how about you bring up the issue with our chef. You can sit at the chef's table while you discuss it."

James and Meowth glance at each other. James says with glee, "Ooh, a chef's table. Fancy fancy. Lead the way."

The server brings them to the kitchen. As he seats them at the familiar chef's table, he announces, "I've got two for the Tamato Berry iced tea."

The chef looks up from his cooking and nods. "Coming right up!"

Meowth tilts his head. "Wait…I wasn't serious. I don't actually want Tamato Berry iced tea. That would be disgus—"

He's cut off when the chef presses a hidden button, causing the very floor beneath James and Meowth to flip away.

The two are deposited into the secret room beneath the Immaculate Palace which is the International Police Tenno Headquarters. They look around in dazed confusion.

James asks, "Huh? What just happened?"

Meowth questions, "Did I end up drinking the Tamato Berry iced tea, passed out, and am now waking up with memory loss and hallucinations…?"

A man wearing the standard trench coat of the International Police approaches them. "Perfect. You must be the two tech experts we requisitioned from Central. You got here early. Wonderful."

James and Meowth glance at each other in confusion.

The International Police officer urges them along. "Come, your partner for the mission is already here too. We'll begin the briefing right away. What are your code names?"

James and Meowth stare at him for another dumbfounded moment.

The man crosses his arms. "You are tech experts from International Police Intelligence Division, yes?"

At the same time, James shakes his head no, while Meowth nods yes. Meowth aggressively whispers at James, "James, we just stumbled into an International Police base. If they learn who we are, we aren't walking out."

James abruptly turns his head shake into a nod.

The man nods. "That's a relief. For a moment I was afraid you were criminals who had stumbled into our base of operations for the entire Tenno Region. Now, what are your code names?"

Meowth announces proudly, "The name M, Double-O-M."

James whispers to Meowth, "But M's not a number."

Meowth whispers, "Neither is O."

"But Double-O-M is just Oom."

"No, it's Double-O-M. Just like the movies."

"What movies are you watching?"

The man interrupts, "And your codename?" He stares at James.

James gets nervous. "M-my codename…? It's…it's…um…James…"

"James?" This confuses the man.

"Yeah…James…James James." He says the last two James with as suave of a voice as he can muster. "That's a spy name…isn't it?"

"I see…" Despite his skepticism, he seems to accept it.

Meowth whispers, "I'm sorry, but is that one of those last name, first name, last name things they say in the movies, or is your codename literally James James James?"

James ignores him.

"Well then, agents Double-O-M and James James, this way for your briefing and to meet the field agent you'll be working with on this mission." He leads them elsewhere. "You two are very lucky. You'll be working with one of our best agents. Meet Agent Dashilisk."

He beckons ahead to a Dashilisk dressed in a trench coat and matching fedora.

"Dashi?" Dashilisk is confused to see them, but quickly covers its surprise.

Meowth asks, "Isn't that the Twerp's Dashilisk?"

James instantly dismisses the possibility. "Of course not. Does the Twerp's Dashilisk wear a hat and coat?"

Meowth nods in agreement. "Fair point."

Dashilisk breathes a sigh of relief.

The man announces, "Okay, your mission, should you choose to accept it, will be to capture the notorious criminal, Dr. Evilchu." A picture of said criminal appears on a screen behind the man. It's a Pikachu with a mean scowl on its face and wearing an eyepatch.

James and Meowth both grin confidently. Meowth declares, "If it's a Pikachu you want captured, consider it done. We're the undisputed Pikachu-catching experts."

Who's That Pokémon!?

If it spots a berry tree, it will immediately go to gather berries without a sideways glance—even if it's in the middle of a battle.

Brenda continues to run. She seems to have no destination, she just runs. But she suddenly comes to a halt when something catches her eye.

Three giant rings of fire have appeared in the air. Two Pokémon perform aerial summersaults as they leap through the rings in opposite directions. It's a Pancham and a Sylveon. Both Pokémon strike flourishing poses after coming out the other side of the rings and then land gracefully next to a Delphox, who is spinning its stick wand about to create the fire rings.

Brenda is awed by the show. "So pretty…" But then she realizes, "But wait…why are they practicing using three Pokémon? Will the Grand Festival have a triple performance? Is that even a thing?" Curiosity getting the better of her, Brenda walks towards the Pokémon.

With a closer look, she notices that Pancham is wearing red sunglasses atop its head.

Their trainer runs up and cheers, "That was great! The three of you are still in top performing shape!"

Brenda looks over to the girl approaching. She may be wearing a new outfit with a gray shirt, red plaid skirt, and gray hat, but it's unmistakably Serena.

Brenda says, "That was a great performance! I've never seen a triple performance before! Are you competing in the Grand Festival?"

Serena laughs and shakes her head. "Me? No. I'm just here to watch. I was hoping to get some inspiration for the Contest Spectaculars in Hoenn."

Brenda questions, "Contest Spectacular? What's that?"

Serena pauses for a moment to consider how to explain it. "A Contest Spectacular is kind of like a regular contest, but there's no battle round and you're allowed to use as many Pokémon as you'd like."

Brenda nods. "Huh. That sounds different. I'm not sure I'd want to participate in a contest without the battle round though. That's a big part of the show."

"It works better for me, because I come from a background of Pokémon Showcases."

"Pokémon Showcases?"

Serena laughs again. "Sorry, I keep throwing all these new things at you, don't I? Showcases are popular in my home region, Kalos. It's like a beauty pageant, but with Pokémon. That performance you just saw was an old standby from those days." She pauses to look Brenda over. "Are you competing in the Grand Festival?"

Brenda freezes at the question. "Well…I'm signed up to…"

Serena grins broadly. "That's amazing! Contest Spectaculars don't have something as climatic as a Grand Festival. Instead, we just compete at higher and higher ranks." She pauses. "But hey, what's up with the hesitation in your voice? Aren't you excited?"

"I was… Up until about ten minutes ago when I completely freaked out at the stress of competing in such an important competition."

Serena looks off into the distance. "Takes me back to before I competed in the Master Class Showcase. I felt the exact same way. My nerves got so bad that I almost gave up before it started."

"Why didn't you?"

"Because I was living my dream." She hesitates for a moment. "There's also what he said…"

Brenda looks at her questioningly. "Huh? What who said?"

"It's nothing. It's silly."

"Come on now. You can't say something like that and not explain."

Serena takes a deep breath. "Okay…well…there's this boy…"

Brenda grins broadly. "A cute boy?"

Serena blushes. "Maybe…" She pauses for a moment before forcing herself on. "You see, I first met him when we were really young at a summer camp. I hated that camp. I hated everything about it. I ended up lost, scared, and hurt. But then the boy appeared. He helped me out and told me words that I'll never forget. He told me, 'Don't give up 'till it's over.' I know those words don't sound all that significant, but to a lost little girl, they were awe-inspiring. So, I guess I didn't hate everything about the camp."

Brenda nods. "Don't give up 'till it's over." She thinks the words over in her head. "I've already come this far, so why should I give up when everything is so close to being over?"

Serena nods enthusiastically. "Exactly! That's it!"

"Wow, whoever told you that must be really wise."

"He is. He doesn't act like it at times, but once you get to know him, then you learn that there's a whole lot more to him than meets the eyes."

Brenda grins. "I can see why you like this boy."

Serena freezes up as she blushes. She squeals, "I never said I like him!"

Brenda laughs. "You didn't have to. I can read it all over your face."

Serena sighs. Looking to change the topic, Serena says, "By the way, my name's Serena."

Brenda grins at her. "Nice to meet you, Serena. I'm Brenda." She looks to Serena's Pokémon. "Hey Serena, if you don't mind, would you show me another performance? I think it could be a great inspiration to me for the Grand Festival."

"I'd love to! Come on, guys! It's showtime!"

It's Greedent!

A Machamp walks into an office. In three of its arms, it carries James, Meowth, and Dashilisk. They've all been hogtied. The Machamp throws them to the floor.

From face-down on the floor, Dashilisk looks at James and Meowth, rolls its eyes, and complains sarcastically, "Dashi dahilisk."

Meowth takes offense from the remark. "Excuse me? How is this our fault?"

"Dashilisk dash."

Meowth turns his head away in offense. "How dare you? We were only doing what any good secret agent has to."

James agrees, "If we don't recite a motto, how will the bad guys know who they're up against?"

Dashilisk rolls its eyes again.

Someone laughs. The three look up to see a chair at the desk swivel around to reveal the evil Pikachu with an eyepatch. It says menacingly, "Pika pik pikachu. Pik pika pikachu." It laughs evilly.

Dashilisk shouts, "Dashi dashilisk!"

Dr. Evilchu shakes its head with disapproval. "Pika pika pika… Chu pik pika pik. Pikachu pik pi."

"Dashilisk!"

James whispers, "I feel left out. What's going on, Meowth?"

"By the sounds of it, these two have some history. Dashilisk is always chasing after Dr. Evilchu, but Dr. Evilchu always escapes and comes up with another scheme."

James nods. "Huh. I empathize with Agent Dashilisk. What else?"

"This time, Dr. Evilchu has a plan to steal all of Tenno's electricity and funnel it into its own body to increase its power a millionfold."

James gasps. "It would be unstoppable!"

Meowth asserts, "And I am not about to be out-villained by a Pikachu!" He leaps up, uses his claws to cut through the ropes that bind him and pulls out a remote control. "I've been saving this one for a rainy day, but I guess we'll be using it here instead! Activate Ultimate Pika Catcher!"

"Dashi!?"

"Chu!?"

The Machamp henchman rushes at Meowth to stop whatever he's doing, but a precise shot of water from Dashilisk disables the Pokémon and knocks it back against the wall.

The entire room rumbles, then the wall behind Dr. Evilchu suddenly explodes away to reveal a floating machine behind it. The machine is a multi-segmented body lifted in the air by a rotor on either side. Two long mechanical arms snake out from each side of the bottom of the machine. The Team Rocket R is painted on its front.

Dr. Evilchu wastes no time attempting to electrocute the mech with a powerful Thunderbolt, but an energy field appears around the robot and absorbs the electricity.

As Meowth cuts James loose, James asks, "What is that thing, Meowth?"

"It was meant to be our trump card next time we tried to capture Pikachu. I combined all of our greatest ideas into one. This baby's got electro-absorption, super insulation, a titanium-reinforced hull, a hyper power core, and more. No Pikachu in the world, not even the Twerp's could possibly stand a chance against it."

James' eyes widen in wonder. "Wow! I believe it!"

Dr. Evilchu curses, "Pik!" It tries again to attack the machine, but to no further avail.

Meowth grins. He presses another button on the remote. "Activate capture mode!"

The Ultimate Pika Catcher launches an arm at Dr. Evilchu. The evil Pikachu attempts to leap out of the way, but a net launches from the palm of the hand and ensnares Evilchu before it can escape. Evilchu attempts to break free of the net with Thunderbolt, but the conductive metal net just shocks it instead. The hand then grabs ahold of the net and Evilchu to reinforce the capture. Evilchu tries again to escape, only to be shocked by its own electricity once more.

Meowth smiles broadly. "A complete success."

James cheers, "We did it! And when we use this thing against the twerps, they won't stand a chance either!"

Meowth explains hesitantly, "About that…this was kind of a one-use deal. The power source for the thing is so rare that I was only able to get enough to power it for ten minutes…"

James looks to him critically. "So this was our one shot at catching a Pikachu…?"

Meowth chuckles. "Afraid so…"

James glances at Dashilisk, who is staring intensely at them. "For some reason, I get the sense that that's probably for the better, I suppose."

Serena and her Pokémon form up for the start of their show. Serena holds up a hand to signal the start of the performance.

She and her three Pokémon all begin to spin in place. As it twirls, Delphox waves its wand about to create a spiral of flames around them. Serena snaps her fingers, and on her mark, Sylveon and Pancham both perform leaping backflips and fly outwards through the gaps in the fire.

From above, Sylveon uses Fairy Wind to add a whirlwind of sparkles to the whirlwind of fire. Meanwhile, Pancham lands on the ground, slams its hand down and summons columns of stone from the ground with Stone Edge. These columns serve as pedestals that raise both Serena and Delphox above the whirlwind through its eye.

Serena announces, "Now, Delphox!"

Delphox leaps up and off its pedestal and uses Hidden Power. It fires multiple blue energy orbs straight down using its wand.

At the same time, both Pancham and Sylveon perform a series of cartwheels before jumping and using a move of their own, Dark Pulse and Swift, respectively. The three attacks all collide directly above the sparkling, burning whirlwind and explode in a firework-like display of sparkles, which rain down onto the now subsiding whirlwind and add to its beauty.

Serena announces, "Ta-da!" as she and her Pokémon take a bow.

Brenda applauds with great gusto. She runs up to Serena, who's climbing down from the rock pillar. "That was great! It's nothing like a contest performance! I think I understand the difference. A Showcase performance is kinetic. It's all about the motion. Nobody ever stands still. There's less emphasis on beauty of the moves used, instead the focus is on the Pokémon themselves and how the moves enhance that inherent beauty."

Serena nods emphatically. "Exactly it."

Someone decries, "And that's exactly what's wrong with the contest knockoffs Kalos likes to call Showcases."

Brenda freezes up at the sudden appearance of the creepy voice. She slowly turns her head to find Damien standing right behind her. Next to him is a bizarre Miltank. Instead of pink, tan, and black, it's colored purple, dark green, and dark purple. The colors give it a sickly appearance. The effect is amplified by its glossed over eyes. Pale lines crisscross its body and circle certain areas such as its udders.

Brenda slowly chuckles to try to force away the creeps Damien gives her. "Oh…Damien…hi…"

Serena asks, "Is he a friend of yours, Brenda?"

Brenda grimaces. "Friend might not be the right word… He's another coordinator.

Damien pushes his glasses up. "The superior coordinator. As proven by the fact that she's falling for that junk of a performance you just put on."

Serena puts her hands to her hips. "Excuse me? Junk?"

"Yeah, you heard me. I just said the truth that everyone else is too afraid to say. Pokémon Showcases are shallow and pathetic excuses for a performance."

"How so?"

"Do I really need to explain? Showcases focus purely on the so-called 'traditional' beauty. It's entirely focused on the outside. Unlike contests, which allow a Pokémon's inner beauty to shine. They're shallow and derivative. Glorified beauty pageants. Take my Miltank here."

The Pokémon says with an emotionless voice, "Mil."

"A Pokémon like it would be shunned in a Pokémon Showcase. But as I'll show in my performance tomorrow, it can shine in a contest." He crosses his arms. "And let's not forget the whole part where I wouldn't even be able to participate in a Showcase, even if I wanted to, on the account of me being a guy. Nothing but junk."

Serena looks like she has some nasty words to say to Damien, but she refrains.

Brenda, looking for a way to change the topic, looks to Miltank. "That's a…um…very…interesting Pokémon you have there, Damien…"

Damien gives Brenda his creepiest smile. "It is, isn't it? Far more interesting than your average Miltank, I dare say."

Not sure how to respond, Brenda instead checks her Pokédex. "Miltank, Tennoan Form, the Abducted Pokémon, and a Poison-Type. In the Tenno Region, Miltank have been known to go mysteriously missing for several days. When they return, they aren't quite themselves anymore. Evolves into Miltaint by training with the move Tainted Milk."

The Pokémon stares at Brenda with its soulless eyes. "Mil."

Brenda puts away her Pokédex and backs away very slowly.

Damien turns away. "Admire what you like. It makes no difference to me. Just try to understand what you're admiring." He leaves with Miltank in tow.

Brenda and Serena both breathe a sigh of relief. Serena says, "That guy is…"

"Don't even bother. Every time I think I come up with a word to describe him, he just baffles me all the more."

Serena nods in concurrence. "I can see why."

Brenda adds, "He also doesn't seem to consider the consequences of his words. He speaks his mind not to insult you, but just because he has no filter. You'd best not worry over what he said."

Serena nods. "I'm not worried anyways."

Brenda grins at Serena. "Anyways, thanks for the show. It was really inspirational. It gave me a couple of ideas for some stuff I could train with my Pokémon for." Brenda freezes up in horror. "Oh no… Training! I only have 21 hours left to train before the Grand Festival! Aaah!"

Serena encourages, "Come on then! Let's get back to your Pokémon and do some training!"

"You'll help me?"

"I will!"

"Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!" The two girls run off together.

James and Meowth return to find Jessie exactly where they left her. Jessie notices their return and asks, "What were you losers doing without me?"

James shrugs. "Oh, nothing much."

Meowth says, "We got some Tamato Berry iced tea. That's about it."

Jessie looks at them with disgust. "Tamato Berry iced tea?"

James laughs. "Don't knock it until you try it."

Jessie shakes her head. "No, I don't think I will." She changes the topic. "Hey, Meowth, I was thinking. That Ultimate Pika Catcher you're working on. What if we added—"

Meowth shakes his head. "No can do."

"But you didn't even hear my suggestion."

"Doesn't matter. I had to scrap that project. Besides, any of your ideas certainly would have made the robot worse, not better."

"Excuse me!?"

Meowth instantly regrets his words.

Attempting to calm her, James points, "Jessie, shouldn't you be training for the Grand Festival?"

Jessie glares at him, then begrudgingly returns her focus to the Pokémon, but only after indicating that she was going to be keeping an eye on Meowth.

Once her attention is away, Meowth and James both breathe sighs of relief. James whispers, "I'll battle a hundred Dr. Evilchus before ever facing one Jessie."

Meowth nods in agreement.

Brenda shouts, "Ash! Brock! I'm sorry about before! I'm ready to train again!"

Ash and Brock are still with Brenda's Pokémon. Ash grins. "That's great!"

Brenda stops in front of them. "I met this Pokémon performer, and she helped me through my anxiety." She pauses and looks around. "Wait…where'd she go? She wanted to help me train."

Ash questions, "A Pokémon performer? Like someone who performs in showcases in the Kalos Region?" He looks around and notices someone behind a tree. "Hey, is that her?"

Serena sighs and steps out from behind the tree. She's wearing a strong blush and can't bring herself to look Ash in the eyes. She greets meekly, "Hi…Ash…"

Ash goes wide-eyed in surprise. "Serena! No way!"

Brenda gasps. "You know each other!?" Then adds under her breath, "I've got to stop being surprised by how many people Ash knows." Then something dawns on Brenda and her mouth drops. She grabs Serena by the hand and yanks her away. "We'll be right back!" Once out of Ash and Brock's earshot, she grins broadly and asks, "That boy you like, it's Ash, isn't it?"

Serena panics as her blush grows somehow stronger. "No! Not at all! Of course not!"

Brenda grins smugly. "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me."

Serena grimaces. "He…already knows…"

"He does!?"

"I…um…might have…" she gulps nervously, "…kissed him last time I saw him…"

Brenda's jaw drops and her eyes go as wide as possible. "And you haven't talked to him since?"

"No…"

Brenda shakes her head in disbelief. "Then what are you waiting for!? Go! Talk to him!"

"I…I…" She suddenly composes herself. "No. You're right. I need to talk to him."

She walks up to Ash. "Ash…"

Ash turns to see her. "Serena! It's great to see you again! I never thought I'd see you in Tenno!"

"Yeah…I'm here to watch the Grand Festival… I'm competing in contests now."

Ash grins. "That's great! I bet you're amazing in them!"

Serena blushes. She refocuses herself. "So…um…about the last time we saw each other…"

Ash tilts his head. "What about it?"

"Well…you know…we…we…" She gulps as she fails to push out the next words.

Ash chuckles, "Hey, you don't need to be shy about it."

This surprises Serena. "Huh?"

"It was an emotional moment. We had been traveling together for such a long time and then saying goodbye. You know, it's the heat of the moment and all that. It wasn't so weird that I don't want to be your friend anymore."

Serena, suddenly deflated, hangs her head. "Right…friend…"

Brenda shakes her head in disapproval. "Typical dense Ash…"

Ash asks, "Serena, did you really help Brenda through her anxiety?"

The change in topic allows Serena's mood to normalize somewhat. "Yeah. I shared what you—I shared some words of wisdom I once heard and showed her one of my freestyle performances."

Ash grins. "Thank you, Serena. She really needed that."

Serena blushes at the kind words. "You're welcome."

Brenda walks up behind Serena and whispers into her ears, "Don't worry, by the time you leave Tenno, I'll make sure Ash understands exactly how you feel."

Serena tenses up. She rejects nervously, "Oh no! That's really not necessary! Please don't!"

Brenda laughs. "Sorry. Call it the romantic in me, but it's going to happen."

Having missed the first part of the exchange, Ash is confused. "Huh? What's going to happen?"

Brenda grins slyly. "Nothing you need worry about."

Brock points out, "I hate to bring this up, but speaking of worrying, shouldn't you be worrying about training?"

Brenda tenses up. "You're right!" She rushes to her Pokémon and urges, "We've wasted too much time! Everybody, we need to get back to training!"

Ash chuckles. "Brenda, I believe your Pokémon all have something to show you."

"They do?"

All her Pokémon gather around her and nod. They then turn away and each uses the move they were training with earlier.

Brenda gasps. "Perfect…they were all perfect…" She looks them over. "How did you guys manage this?"

Brock explains, "After seeing how much stress you were under, your Pokémon wanted to help out any way they could. So, they took it upon themselves to continue training without you. You didn't waste any time at all, Brenda."

A tear appears at the corner of Brenda's eye as she looks at her Pokémon. "You guys…"

All her Pokémon leap at her and practically tackle her for one big group hug. Brenda laughs uncontrollably at their affection.

Once she's able to speak again, Brenda says, "Thank you. Thank you all. You're all great. We can win this Grand Festival. I know it."

"Kappa appa aqueous!"

"Rab!"

"Glitterererfly!"

"Frost frost!"

"Wisp wisp wisp!"

"Lup lup!"

As they all separate, Brenda looks at them all and announces, "Okay, I've got something new that we'll all train with. You all up for it?" They all cheer affirmations.

While watching Brenda get back to training, Ash notices Dashilisk walking up behind him. "Oh, hey Dashilisk. Where'd you come from?"

Instead of answering, Dashilisk just does a goofy dance. "Dashi dashi dashi!"

Ash chuckles at the Pokémon and shrugs. "I'm sure it wasn't anything too interesting anyways."

The climax of Brenda's journey is now upon us. The Grand Festival will begin shortly. Nobody can accuse Brenda of slacking on her training anymore. But is she ready? She'll be facing off against Will, Moira, Damien, Michelle, Jessie, and more. Everybody wants to win the Ribbon Cup for themselves. With such a great show ahead of us, how could you not stay tuned?

To Be Continued…