Episode 160: Grand Opening

Gillian Meridian proclaims, "This is it! It's that magical time of year where we get to see the best of the best both perform and compete in the biggest Contest Hall in Tenno! The Grand Festival is about to begin!"

The grand Festival! It feels like just yesterday that Brenda was starting her journey, and now she's made it as far as she can go as a coordinator. Now it's the Ribbon Cup or bust!

Ash and Brock, joined by Serena, make their way to their seats. Serena notices something on her seat. "Oh?" It's a piece of paper marked with Serena's name.

Before she can pick it up, Ash asks, "What's that?" and grabs it. "It's a note from Brenda." He reads, "Serena, I made sure the ticket I got you was for a seat next to Ash. Enjoy." Ash laughs. "That was thoughtful of Brenda. I'm sure she knew we'd want to catch up between performances."

Serena is blushing profusely. Her eyes dart from the empty seat, to Ash, who's sitting down.

Ash questions, "Aren't you going to take your seat?"

Serena makes an awkward nod and forces herself to sit down.

Brenda watches Gillian's opening speech via television backstage. She's sitting completely erect with her fists clenched tightly.

"You ready for this, Brenda?"

Brenda nearly jumps out of her seat at the sudden sound of Michelle's voice. Once she realizes who it is, she breathes a sigh of relief. "Oh, Michelle."

Michelle laughs and takes a seat next to Brenda. "Wow, you look like you're nothing but one big bundle of nerves."

"What a coincidence. I also feel like I'm one big bundle of nerves."

This gets another laugh out of Michelle.

"How are you not nervous?"

"Who said I'm not?"

"You certainly don't look it."

"That's because when you don't have a wellspring of natural talent, you have to learn to deal with nerve-wracking situations."

Brenda shoots a look of disapproval at her friend.

Michelle holds her hands up in innocence. "I was joking. Come on. You know I'm past that pettiness stuff. But come on, Brenda. You're the one here who walked right into a Contest Hall barely knowing the first thing about Contests and still somehow managed to grab second place. Probably would have been first if Will wasn't there. If you can do that without batting an eye, then competing in the Grand Festival after all the experience you've gained should be a walk in the park."

Brenda sighs. "I kind of miss when things were that easy for me. Back then, Contests were just for fun. But now…now they mean something more to me…"

"But hey, they're still fun, aren't they?"

Brenda nods. "Yeah."

"Then go out there and have some fun. Not as much has changed as you seem to think."

Brenda grins at her friend. "Thanks for supporting me."

Michelle returns the grin. "Thanks for being my friend. Even after I was such a jerk to you." The two friends hold hands as they watch the opening ceremony together.

Gillian explains, "As the Grand Festival is an extra special Contest, we'll be using extra special rules! The Grand Festival will be divided into two parts! The first day of this massive two-day event will be the preliminary performances! As always, we'll kick things off with an appeal stage, from which we'll narrow down the competition from our nearly hundred competing coordinators down to 64! Those 64 coordinators will then randomly face off against each other in a battle round! The 32 winners will move on to Day two's performances! Day two will begin with the secondary appeal stage, halving our coordinators again to 16! That sweet sixteen will then battle it out in a standard tournament format until we have our next Top Coordinator! Oh, and did I forget to mention? Day two will consist entirely of double performances!"

Brenda unconsciously tenses up at the mention of double performances.

Gillian continues, "I hope you're all ready for two days of some of the greatest talent this region has to offer! I certainly am! And you know who else is? Our wonderful panel of judges! First, we have our head judge and the chief of the Pokémon Activities Committee! Without him, Pokémon Contests would be little more than a local talent show! It's Raul Contesta!"

Mr. Contesta stands and takes a bow. "I started the Pokémon Activities Committee to ensure that Pokémon Contests could provide a show that everyone, everywhere could enjoy. The Grand Festival is the epitome of those shows. Not once before have I been let down by a Grand Festival, and I know this one will be no different!"

"Next, we have the president of the Pokémon Fan Club and an all-around remarkable guy, Mr. Sukizo!"

Mr. Sukizo is the next to stand and take a bow. "I think you all know what I'm going to say, so say it with me! The Grand Festival is…"

He and all the audience shout together, "Remarkable!"

"Then there's the ever-caring healer of Pokémon! Nurse Joy!"

Nurse Joy stands and curtsies. "As a Pokémon Nurse, I'm normally only get to see Pokémon after they've been worn out or hurt. Being able to witness Pokémon in their prime doing what they do best is a treasure to me that I will always savor!"

"And finally, we have our special guest judge! She's an extremely busy woman, but her passion for Pokémon Contests have brought her here today. Rocket scientist, Elite Four member, and coordinator, it's Blaise!"

Blaise, the Fire-Type specialist of the Tenno Elite Four stands to take her bow. "I sometimes struggle to balance the various aspects of my life, but when I was asked to guest judge this year's Grand Festival, I knew I had to make the time to accept the offer. It makes me so happy to be here now. Contests are a special passion of mine, and I know that the performances ahead will show you all why I love them so!"

Gillian shouts, "I couldn't have said it better myself! Now, let's get this show on the road!"

Brenda clenches and relaxes her fists several times as she tries to work through her anxiety. She glances about the backstage dressing room. Michelle, Jessie as Jessileia, Damien, Will, and Moira are all staring intensely at the screen. They all show a mixture in varying degrees of nervousness, excitement, and determination.

Will notices Brenda's gaze and gives her a reassuring nod.

Brenda returns the nod, then looks forward again. She closes her eyes then takes a deep breath and exhales. When she opens them again, a new look of determination has crossed her face. She's ready for what's to come.

Gillian announces, "Our first appeal of the day will come from none other than the winner of last year's Grand Festival! She's aiming to be the first ever coordinator to win a region's Grand Festival twice! Here's Moira!"

Moira comes running with grace out onto the stage. In one fluid motion, she throws a Pokéball upwards as she jumps and twirls. "Enter stage left, Glimmora!"

Her Pokémon appears from an eruption of shimmering light. The flower-like crystal body of Glimmora reflects the shimmers of the seal, creating even more.

"Glimmora, use Power Gem and Mortal Spin!"

"Gliiiim!" Glimmora points its nose to the ground and spins rapidly about itself. As it spins, a purple fluid seeps out from its body and sprays into the air around it. Then beams of purple energy fire out from the facets of Glimmora's crystals. Disrupted by the spinning, the beams break apart into a flurry of sparkling light. It's a stunning enough sight on its own, but then the light of the Power Gem beams catches the purple mist left in the air by the Mortal Spin to reflect and refract even further.

"Rock Polish!" While finishing its spin, Glimmora performs a flip to reorient itself upwards. It closes its petals as it flies straight up. While doing so, its entire body begins to glow with a stunning silver light, which adds to the still existent sparkling from the Power Gem. Just as Glimmora's reaching the peak of its climb, Moira shouts, "Sparkling Flare, now!" Glimmora abruptly rips open its petals, the extra drag causing it to instantly stop where it is. As they open, a tremendous pulse of light rips out from the crystals within. Not only does the light sparkle on its own, but it reflects off of the now highly-polished surface of Glimmora's body, making the Pokémon look like a living chandelier.

This puts the audience in a state of awe. They're transfixed by the show of light.

Moira grins. "The show's not over yet! Glimmora, Mortal Spin and Power Gem again!" Without letting up on the Sparkling Flare, Glimmora starts to spin again. It moves faster and faster as it once again sprays out a whirlpool of purple liquid. Also like before, beams of light burst out from its body thanks to Power Gem.

The light from both the Sparkling Flare and Power Gems interact with both Glimmora's highly polished body and the mist from the Mortal Spin to create the densest display of light and sparkles yet. But it's not just in the air. The refracted light that hits the ground creates dancing rainbows across the floor.

Brenda watches the light show with absolute awe. She can't take her eyes off the display. "So beautiful…"

As it spins, Glimmora allows itself to float down to the floor. As it lowers, the rainbowy light that before danced strongest on the ground now races across the walls and roof. Slowly, the lights let up as Glimmora slows its spin. Moira bows.

The audience erupts into a frenzy of applause and cheers. Gillian takes several moments to speak. "Th-that was…beautiful…" Somehow, the performance moved her to tears. "Judges?"

Mr. Contesta says after a moment, "Light shows have historically been a traditional aspect of performances, but this one took things to a level I never thought possible. Such grace and beauty. A perfect way to begin this year's Grand Festival."

Mr. Sukizo states, "Remarkable doesn't cut it! That was beyond remarkable!"

Nurse Joy adds, "You took the natural beauty of a Pokémon made of crystals and amplified it with the precise application of light and movement. It was like watching poetry."

Blaise is silent for a moment as she considers her words. "I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to witness that display. Thank you."

Michelle shakes her head in disbelief. "That woman is good. Like really good."

Brenda nods in wordless agreement. She glances over to Will, who seems to be the only person in the entire Contest Hall not stunned by the performance. She says beneath her breath, "If she was your teacher, it's no wonder you're so good."

"And now, here's Damien!"

Damien casually strolls out onto the stage, as if he's not excited in the slightest. Once on stage, he pushes his glasses into place and pulls out a Pokéball. "Forward, Venimbus."

When the Pokéball opens midair, purple gas spews from it like a fog machine, thanks to the seal. The billowing smoke quickly obscures the entire stage. It hangs around long enough to get some confused murmurs from the audience.

Even Gillian asks, "If we can't see the Pokémon, how are we supposed to see the show…?"

But then there's the slightest bit of movement in the smoke. People in the audience notice it and focus on it in an attempt to see any view they can of Damien's Pokémon. After a few moments, everyone's eyes are locked on the spot that moved with their necks craned for a better view. Even the judges can't ignore their curiosity.

A faint smile of mischief manifests on Damien's face. Then then the smoke around the movement suddenly takes the form of a sinister face which shouts, "Veniiiiim!"

The entire audience recoils back from the jump scare. Cries of surprise, astonishment, and fear echo through the hall.

Damien's grin grows larger. He comments to himself, "Music to my ears."

The face that appeared in the smoke begins to pull in and absorb all of the smoke obscuring the stage. The clouds are pulled in to form a large body. The Pokémon, now fully visible, is made entirely out of billowing, purple and green smoke. Its upper torso is large with two well-developed arms, but the lower torso trails off into a legless tail. Its face features a sinister and jagged mouth as well as malevolent glowing red eyes. Additional puffs of smoke billow off of its body.

Serena crosses her arms and pouts. "Leave it to that jerk to scare the audience half to death. And he had the gall to call out Pokémon Showcases?"

Brock comments, "That's Damein for you. Always keeping the audience on their toes…"

Ash is taking a close look at the Pokémon now that it's fully visible. The Pokédex says, "Venimbus, the Poison Cloud Pokémon and a Poison-Type. The nastier the gases that compose its body, the nastier the Pokémon. Its very existence is a deterrent to air pollution. Evolves from Hazeard at level 41."

Before the audience can fully recover from the fright, Damien orders, "Smog and Clear Smog." Venimbus spins about as it releases purple smoke from one arm and white smoke from the other. As the two gases travel outward, they create a double spiral of contrasting light and dark clouds.

Ash comments, "Consider me surprised. Damien is actually making a display that looks pretty."

"Now use Belch." Venimbus burps, which creates a shockwave of sound.

Ash remarks, "No, I take it back. Now I'm disgusted."

Serena, with a look absolute revulsion on her face, agrees, "You and me both…"

Despite their disgust, the shockwaves from the Belch attack have interacted with the double spiral to create an even more intricate pattern of both destructive and constructive interference.

As the smog patterns fade, Damien takes his bow with a smug grin.

Serena comments sarcastically, "Oh no…it's over. Just as I was getting into it. Oh well."

Gillian announces, "I…I'm just going to let the judges handle this one."

Mr. Contesta has to consider his words before speaking. "I know to expect the unexpected when I watch you perform, and I still come out surprised every time."

Mr. Sukizo looks oddly cheery compared to the other judges. "I love jump scares! They're remarkable!"

Nurse Joy looks the most distraught of them. "I could have done without the scare myself. Also, without the belching. But I do have to admit that the performance was unique, and it was…a performance…"

Blaise finishes, "I respect that you have taken what we assume a contest performance should be and turned it on its head. Quite an interesting transformation you've made."

Backstage, Michelle comments, "That guy just gets weirder and weirder. Doesn't he?"

Brenda nods in agreement. "I'm not sure he could get any stranger from this performance. But, then again, I've thought that same thought before."

Michelle stands up. "Well, I'm next. Wish me luck."

Brenda smiles at her. "Go break a leg."

Michelle pouts at her. "What? Afraid that I'll beat you if you don't sabotage me with physical injury?" After a second of Brenda frowning, Michelle giggles. "Joking!"

Brenda giggles with her. "But really, good luck. I'm cheering for you."

Michelle runs out onto the stage. She waves to the audience as she does. Wasting no time, she pulls out a Pokéball as she runs. "Shamoon, come on out!"

A serene silver light bursts out from the Pokéball thanks to a seal. And from that light emerges her Shamoon. This Shamoon is in its Waning Crescent Form with only a crescent sliver of the moon-like design of its mask visible on the left side. The rest of the mask, including the right eye hole, is covered in a shadowy black.

Michelle commands, "Moonlit Night!"

Shamoon hops from foot to foot in a quick dance as it chants. "Moo-moo-moo-sha-moon!" The very sky seen through the open roof of the contest hall turns from blue to black and a phantasmal full Moon appears at its apex. As the daylight was the primary source of light in the hall, it has become much darker inside.

Brock comments, "I don't know what Michelle has planned, but she's set the mood for it right away with this new lighting."

Serena muses, "That full Moon is so romantic. Don't you think, Ash?"

Ash shrugs. "I guess. If you're into that sort of thing."

Serena turns away from Ash and pouts.

"Okay, Shamoon!" Michelle announces. "Let's give them a dance performance they won't soon forget! Lunatic Dance!"

Shamoon begins to dance from foot to foot even more fervently than before. Its chanting also takes up a more rapid pace. A soft, silvery glow, like that of moonlight, cloaks its entire body as it continues to pick up the pace of its dance. The stage grows even darker as the phantasmal full Moon transforms into a crescent Moon to match Shamoon's mask.

Abruptly, Shamoon's tempo reaches a critical point, and the Pokémon breaks out into a frantic and feverish tribal dance. It leaps to and fro across the stage. As it dances, it never stays on one foot for more than a moment. Its entire body moves to an unheard beat, but in such a clear way that the beat becomes easy to imagine.

The entire audience seems enraptured by the dance. They can't take their eyes off of Shamoon's hypnotic movements. Many unconsciously sway to the imagined beat.

Serena comments, "Wow, Shamoon would have made a great performer in a Showcase!"

Michelle takes a moment to gauge the audience's reaction. She grins smugly when seeing that it's exactly what she wants. "Now let's sparkle! Dazzling Gleam!"

"Sha-moo-moo-moo-moo-moo-moon!" Without taking a break from its dance, the crescent Moon of Shamoon's mask begins to glow brightly. A rainbow of sparkling light erupts out from it. Now, as Shamoon dances, it leaves behind a trail of the sparkling light. The sparkles flitter about for several moments in the dancing Pokémon's wake before fading away. Both Lunatic Dance's silver glow and Dazzling Gleam's sparkling light create a light show which can only be fully appreciated in the dim lighting of the artificial crescent Moon night.

Michelle announces, "Now wrap it all up!"

Shamoon performs three cartwheels, quickly followed by an aerial backflip before landing in a flourishing pose as it allows the light to fade from its body. At the same time, the Moonlit Night wears away and daylight returns to the stage.

The audience applauses and Gillian announces, "I would say that's one of the greatest dance performances I've ever seen, but I'm not a judge! Let's see what they have to say!"

Mr. Contesta nods. "Gillian, you're right. That performance was one of a rare kind. The dance was flawlessly executed. No doubt due to a copious amount of training!"

Mr. Sukizo declares, "A dance so remarkable that it was…well…remarkable!"

Nurse Joy adds, "The dance was great, but I think it was the combination of the mood lighting and light effects that really sold the show."

Blaise judges, "The Moon is one of the greatest beauties of nature, and that beauty is clearly what inspired the performance. I love it."

Michelle can't help but grin profusely at the praise.

Who's That Pokémon!?

It will rub its fingertips together and sprinkle injured Pokémon with salt. Even severe wounds will promptly heal afterward.

"Performing next will be…" Gillian pauses to glance at a note card. "…Her Royal Majesty, Princess of the Stars and Sovereign of the Galaxy, Princess Jessileia the First the Gorgeous!" She mutters under her breath, "Is it just me, or does that title get longer every Contest?"

Despite the introduction, Jessie fails to appear on-stage.

Gillian looks about in confusion. "Um…Jessileia…?"

Suddenly, the lights cut out. Murmurs of confusion wash across the audience.

A deep and dramatic voice announces over the speakers, "Long, long ago, in very distant galaxy…"

Spotlights turn on and point upwards, revealing Jessie, who's seemingly floating in the air. She wears a simple brown cloak with a hood. She slowly begins a graceful descent towards the stage. A grand and bombastic orchestral theme begins to play.

The voice continues, "It is a period of civil war. Twerp spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have lost yet again against Princess Jessileia's Celestial Empire. During the battle, the Imperial forces managed to steal the secret plans to the rebels' ultimate weapon, the Pika Star, an armored space station with enough volts to blast off an entire planet. Pursued by the rebels' twerpish trainers, Princess Jessileia races home aboard her starship, custodian of the stolen plans that can lead to the capture of the Pika Star, and reinforce her iron will across the galaxy…" Jessileia gently touches the ground in a flourishing pose as the narration and music concludes.

Up above, in the rafters, James and Wobbuffet are operating the winch that was used to lower Jessie, while Meowth was speaking into a modified microphone that disguised his voice. He mentions to nobody in particular, "You know, as cool as this is, something tells me that Jessie was completely misinterpreting those movies."

Jessie pulls down the hood of her robe to reveal her face for the first time. Then she takes out a Pokéball and throws it. "Help me, Buzzsaw, you're my only hope!"

"Buzz zzz zzz zzz zzz!"

From the sleeve of her robe, Jessie produces a large rod. With the press of a button on the side, the rod lights up with a red to match her hair. "Buzzsaw, Night Slash!"

Buzzsaw flies at Jessie. Jessie tosses aside her robe to reveal an even more gaudy and ostentatious version of her normal Jessileia dress. She runs at Buzzsaw, brandishing her glowing saber. Another orchestral tune plays, this time a more dramatic one.

Jessie's saber and Buzzsaw's saws collide and create a cascade of sparks. They both pull back, only to lunge forward again, and again, and again. Each performs a complex dance with their blades as the duel. But beyond the typical swordfight, both throw flourishing moves such as spins, twirls, and flips. Jessie blocks one strike from Buzzsaw to her back by holding the saber behind her back, then spinning around to counterstrike, only to be blocked by Buzzsaw in turn. One slash from Jessie comes up from underneath Buzzsaw, but Buzzsaw performs an aerial front flip to block it from below.

After a series of increasingly complex and fancy movements, Buzzsaw and Jessie both move back from each other and bow. Jessie holds up her saber and announces, "Long live Princess Jessileia!"

The audience, apparently enraptured by the performance, shout back, "Long live Princess Jessileia!"

The lights return to normal. Mr. Contesta gets right to judging. "Jessileia—"

"Princess Jessileia."

Mr. Contesta pauses for a moment, then continues, "Princess Jessileia, you never fail to come up with some of the most random and different appeal performances that I have ever witnessed. Sometimes they may work better than others, but this time worked."

Mr. Sukizo follows up with, "It was just like my favorite movie! Remarkable!"

Nurse Joy says, "You made it feel like we are all whisked away to a faraway galaxy. Thank you for that experience."

Blaise ponders, "I've never heard of a performance adding their own lighting and music effects. I'm not sure if that's fair to the others who didn't have the same opportunity, but either way, you put on a great show."

Jessie shouts at her, "Yeah, and I did it without your precious transpiration." She says the last word in a mocking tone.

Blaise is confused. "Umm…excuse me…?"

"Nothing."

It's Garganacl!

Brenda notices Will stand up and move to position for his performance. She says to herself, "I guess Will's next." She looks to where Will was sitting and sees Moira. She gets up and says, "I'll be right back," to Michelle.

Brenda walks over to Moira and asks, "What does Will mean when he calls you his mentor?"

Moira grins at Brenda. "I don't think there's too much ambiguity in the phrase. Most of what he knows about Contests, I taught him."

Brenda nods contemplatively. After a moment's hesitation, she admits, "Most of what I know about Contests, Will taught me… Does that make you mt mentor too…?"

Moira chuckles. "That's one way to look at things, I suppose. But no, I think that makes William your mentor. Perhaps he's passing what I taught him on to you, but he's added on his own experience to those lessons. They're no longer solely mine."

"I had never really thought of Will as a mentor before…but I think you're right… I'm not sure where I'd be right now without his guidance." She glances in Will's direction. He's waiting at the stage entrance for his cue. "How is he able to stay so calm? I wish I could be half as composed as he is." She looks back at Moira. "Is it because of what you taught him?"

Moira laughs. "Goodness, no. Last year, at William's first Grand Festival, he was every bit the bundle of nerves you are now. Worse, maybe."

Brenda hesitates. "Will?" she asks in disbelief. "A bundle of nerves? I can't imagine it. He always…so composed. He always knows exactly what he's going to do and how he's going to do it."

"The William you know only came after experience. Just like you practice with your Pokémon for a performance, you yourself are practicing controlling your nerves."

Brenda slowly nods. "That makes sense…"

"But why are you so nervous, Brenda? William told me you matched him in your very first Contest without showing a hint of nervousness."

Brenda sighs. "I was a different person back then. That was before I was invested in Contests. It was like a meaningless game for me then. But now I'm serious about it. Now I'm working hard to be the best coordinator I can. Not only because it sounds like fun, but because it's my calling. It's my dream."

"I see. But tell me, Brenda, how much has really changed? What's stopping you from having the same attitude now?"

"You're the second person to make that point. But I already told you. Everything's different."

"The only thing that's different is your perspective. Yes, you've changed as a person—for the better, I'm certain—but that doesn't change the fact that you still marched straight into something brand new without a single fear. That bravery is still inside of you. Your personal changes may have buried that part, but it's still there. Take William. As we just discussed, he's a very different person from the one I trained last year. He's worked hard to build his cool, calm, and collected persona. Normally, an attitude like that would diminish passion. But he's still just as passionate deep down as he was the day he asked me to teach him. I think you've seen that passion leak out before."

Brenda nods. "When he chastised me. It wasn't out of a place of malice; it was out of passion."

Moira snaps her fingers. "Exactly. And just like that passion still lives in him, I'm certain that bravery still lives in you. Just find it and pull it to the surface."

Brenda nods. "I think I understand…"

Moira points to the screen. "Look. William's starting."

On stage, Will has just sent out a Reuniclus. He orders, "Light Screen, now." A shimmering coat of golden light surrounds Reuniclus' body. "Now Rollout!"

With the Light Screen still shimmering, Reuniclus curls up into a ball and rolls forward with great power and speed. The rolling adds to the effect of the Light Screen. Reuniclus reflects a dazzling light all across the stage, almost like a disco ball.

"Uplift yourself! Psychic!"

Rather than turning when it's about to hit the edge of the stage, the edges around Reuniclus now glow purple in addition to gold and the Pokémon lifts right into the air and reverses its direction of travel instantaneously. Now the Pokémon continues to roll like before, except while in the air, adding to the spectacle.

"Now amplify it all! Optical Illusion!"

The light emitting from Reuniclus' body seems to twist in on itself and create a spiral pattern. Despite not actually spiraling, the swirl pattern appears to be in constant twisting motion. It's an optical illusion that simultaneously makes you want to look away while not wanting to take your eyes off it. This garners several gasps of astonishment from the audience.

On an unspoken cue, Reuniclus ceases all four moves and lands next to Will so that the two of them can take a bow together as the audience begins their applause.

The first judgement comes from Mr. Sukizo. "Not only was that a dazzling show, but for your Reuniclus to use four moves simultaneously while never faltering, shows an extreme dedication to precision and control. What a treat."

Mr. Sukizo promptly agrees, "What else can I say? Remarkable!"

Nurse Joy adds, "Reuniclus might have been the one doing the spinning, but my head sure feels like it was me instead. Leaving an impact like that on your audience shows great talent."

Blaise finishes, "Around and around it goes, where it stops, no one knows. What can I say that my partners haven't? Good job."

Brenda thinks to herself, Control and precision. Those have always been Will's hallmarks. They're the results of countless hours training. Maybe I didn't train enough after all… Oh no! I need to train more! Maybe there's time before I go on stage!

Moira asks, "Brenda, aren't you next up? You should be getting ready to go on stage."

Brenda gulps. "Right…"

Moira smiles broadly at her. "Come on now. Remember what we talked about. You can do this. Deep down inside, you're brave enough to not sweat it in the slightest."

Brenda nods as she forces a look of determination onto her face. "Right." She marches forward.

Watching unnoticed nearby is Damien. He says to himself, "So, Brenda has a serious case of stage fright. This could be useful…" He chuckles in his creepy way.

On her way to the stage, Brenda passes by Will on his way back. They glance at each other and share a wordless exchange. After passing him, Brenda pauses for a moment and takes a deep breath. "I have it in me. I can do this."

"Here's Brenda!"

At her name being called, Brenda takes one last moment to gather her resolve, then runs out onto the stage.

Ash, Brock, and Serena all stand, clap, and cheer for her.

As Brenda takes her position, she also pulls out a Pokéball and throws it before stopping. "Wispirit, Center stage!" Wispirit's Pokéball practically explodes as it opens, releasing a shockwave of fire that rushes across the stage. Wispirit floats in its epicenter. "Pyromancy!"

"Wisp wisp!" Wispirit's eyes glow, as does the whirling shockwave of fire, which abruptly ceases all motion. The fire floats completely still. It's unnatural to see fire without so much as a flicker.

"Let's dance!"

"Wiiisp!" Wispirit spins about, and as it does, the ring of fire encompassing the stage spins in sync with it. Then, when Wispirit suddenly reverses its spin, the rotation of the ring reverses as well. Wispirit gets even fancier by changing its angle so it spins on its side, also spinning the fire ring sideways as well. As Wispirit continues to spin, it wobbles to and fro, adding a hypnotic quality to the movement of the flames.

Serena grins. "She's using one of the Showcase techniques I taught her. Wispirit is constantly in motion, never stopping. They're doing great!"

Brenda shouts, "Now add Flame Burst!" As Wispirit continues to spin, it launches fire ball after fire ball from its body. These flames join together to create a spiral as they move outwards from Wispirit. When they hit the outer ring, they join with it and enhance its strength.

After several moments of this, the flame ring has grown at least three times in size. Brenda commands, "Pull it in!" Wispirit, as well as the ring, stops spinning and Wispirit uses Pyromancy to drag the flames in closer to it. Before long, Wispirit is surrounded entirely by a shell of flickering flames. "Now Rain of Terror! Blazing Flower Shower!"

"Wiiiiiisp!" A shadowy energy bursts out from Wispirit, rips the shell of fire apart, and carries the flames with it. That energy burst then explodes again into Wispirit's signature flower petal transformation. But this time, each petal burns brightly with the flames, creating an even more dazzling spectacle than usual. Not only are there flaming petals, but embers that didn't stick to the Rain of Terror also flitter about in the flower storm.

With shadowy, yet burning bright petals falling all around them, Brenda and Wispirit both bow.

The audience erupts into cheer. Ash, Brock, and Serena cheer the loudest of all.

Gillian announces, "Simply stupendous! A dazzling show! I'm sure our judges all agree!"

Mr. Contesta nods. "I certainly do, Gillian. That performance demonstrated control, precision, and beauty. Arguably the three most important traits of an appeal performance. Well done."

Mr. Sukizo exclaims, "Remarkable, remarkable, remarkable!"

Nurse Joy says, "This is what Pokémon Contests are all about. You put on a show to remember. Thank you."

Blaise stares at Brenda silently for a moment. Brenda eagerly stares back. Finally, she grins broadly. "Bravo, Brenda. Bravo. You took Rain of Terror, and you transformed it. You have found a style all your own. I'm proud."

With that, Brenda allows herself to grin profusely. She whispers to herself, "I did it… I pulled it off…" She looks across the audience, all applauding for her. "Thank you, Will, Moira, Michelle, Serena… It's because of all my friends that I managed to make it this far."

All the coordinators backstage are eagerly watching the screen with anticipation. Gillian announces, "Our judges have decided! We now know the 64 lucky coordinators who will be moving on to the preliminary battle round! Let's put them up on the big screen!" She motions up to the screen.

Everyone backstage tenses up for the moment of truth. The first portrait to appear on screen is Moira. Then Will. A few later it's Brenda, followed immediately by Michelle. After a few more it's Jessie. Another few later has Damien. The rest of the images appear one by one.

Brenda and Michelle turn to each other, grab each other's hands, and jump up and down in celebration. They shout together, "We did it! We're moving on!"

Gillian continues, "Congratulations to those moving on, and better luck next time to those who aren't! Now that we know who will be competing, let's take a look at the matchups for the preliminary battle round!" The images on the screen are shuffled, then distributed in pairs. Notable matches include Brenda and Damien, as well as Jessie and Moira.

Michelle suppresses a shutter. "You'll be battling against that creep again."

"You know it's not nice to talk about someone behind their back, right?"

Michelle leaps up, then shudders after Damien suddenly appears behind her.

Brenda turns to Damien and offers him a handshake. "Hey, good luck. May the best coordinator win."

Damiens doesn't accept the handshake and laughs derisively. "Don't pretend to be nice to me. You're not my friend. And I know you want nothing more than to see me knocked out of the Grand Festival. Unfortunately for you, that won't be what happens." He turns and walks away without another word.

Michelle shakes her head in disapproval. "What is that guy's problem?"

Brenda sighs as she lowers her hand. "I wish I knew."

"Bet hey, don't worry about him. You'll beat him no sweat."

Brenda sighs. "I'm not sure I'm as confident as you about that. But I'll do my best, and that's all that matters."

"That's the spirit!"

The first round of the Grand Festival is officially behind us. Now only 63 other coordinators stand in the way of Brenda winning the Ribbon Cup and earning the title of Top Coordinator. Stay tuned.

To Be Continued…