A/N: Because I'm terrible with describing things like clothing, Lillie and Dawn's dresses for this chapter come from their appearances in Pokemon Masters EX, and Chloe's dress is pretty much the same one she wore in episode 105.

Disclaimer: Do I own Pokemon? Man, I wish.

Chapter 76: Take the Stage! Lillie and Chloe's debut!

Luckily, the next few days after the incident with Pokemon Hunter J were pretty normal. Despite Ash's concerns, no further problems arose involving legendary Pokemon, so he let the problem go.

Right now, the five friends are in Eterna City for the Pokemon Contest, though Ash was surprised by Dawn's interest in it.

"Are you going to try the SInnoh Contest Circuit again, Dawn?"

"Actually, I'm training to be the host!"

"Really?"

"Yep! After they saw my win in Johto, I was approached by the commission and asked if I wanted to become more involved. My mom put in a good word for me, so Marian agreed to take me on as her apprentice. After this season is finished, she'll officially be promoted to the head of the commission, and I'll be the new announcer."

"Wow, that's so cool! Congrats!"

"Thanks!"

Dawn then turned to the other three.

"Are you guys going to compete?"

Chloe rapidly shook her head no.

"Oh no, not me! I'm terrible with crowds!"

But Yamper and Eevee nudge her, giving her pleading looks until she relented.

"Alright, if my Pokemon want to give it a try, I guess it couldn't hurt."

Goh, however, wasn't sure either way.

"Eh, I don't know. Flashy, over the top performances really aren't my style. No offense, Dawn."

"None taken."

"'Please, Goh? I'd really feel better if you were competing too."

Goh tried to resist her Growlithe eyes, but couldn't.

"Alright, I guess it wouldn't hurt to do it once."

Chloe clapped happily, and gave him a big kiss on his cheek, making him smile. With that, Dawn turned to Lillie.

"What about you, Lillie?"

Lillie thought for a minute. Like Chloe, she wasn't a fan of performing in front of crowds. But the encouraging looks her friends were giving her made her think she could do it, so she nodded.

"Alright, I'll do it."

"Great! Let's get you guys signed up!"

After a day to prepare their routines, the contest was ready to start. Marian took the stage, much to the crowd's applause.

"Thank you, thank you! Welcome to the Eterna City Pokemon Contest! I'm your host, Marian, bringing you live coverage of this amazing display of trainer and Pokemon cooperation! But I'm not alone this time, for joining me today is my new apprentice, Dawn Berlitz!"

The crowd went wild as Dawn stepped onto the field, waving to her fans in her new outfit.

"Thanks Marian, happy to help! But of course we can't run the show by ourselves!"

"No we can't, so let's introduce our judges! First, the president of the Pokemon fan club, Mr. Sukizo!"

"Hello, thank you! I can't wait to see how our Coordinators compose themselves."

"Next, the chief of the Pokemon Activities Committee, Raoul Contesta!"

"Always a pleasure, Marian."

"And last but not least, Eterna City's very own Nurse Joy!"

The Pokemon Nurse gave a simple wave, but the cloud clapped for her all the same.

"But we all know you're not here for us! So let's get this show on the road!"

"Couldn't have said it better myself, Dawn! As always, we'll start with the appeals round!"

In the backstage area, Lillie was putting the finishing touches on her dress. Ash was there, giving her a pep talk.

"Don't worry, you'll do great!"

"I'm just worried. What if I mess up and everyone laughs at me?"

"They won't, I promise."

"And now, making her contest debut, all the way from the Alola Region, its Lillie Aether!"

"Guess that's my cue."

"You'll do great. Just remember, Pikachu and I will be cheering for you from the audience."

"Pika Pika!"

Lillie smiled, and gave him a quick kiss before heading out to the stage.

"Let's give a big round of applause for our first time Coordinator, Lillie Aether!"

Lillie nervously stepped onto the stage, awed by all the people watching her. Knowing she needed to perform, she composed herself and sent out her Pokemon.

"Cubone, I choose you! Use Mud Slap!"

The crowd oohed and awed as Cubone bounced onto the field, starting their performance by shooting mud into the air.

"Now use Icy Wind!"

Cubone began spinning his bone, creating cold gusts of wind that froze the mud solid.

"Now use Bonemerang!"

Before the frozen mud could hit the ground, Cubone threw his bone around, breaking the balls and creating sparkles that rained down on the audience.

"Wow, what a spectacular start!"

"Agreed, Marian! And by the looks of things, our audience couldn't agree more!"

Chloe and Cubone bowed, while the audience gave them a big round of applause.

"Next up, we have Chloe Cerise!"

"Go, Yamper! Start things off with Baby Doll Eyes!"

Yamper stood on his hind legs, making the biggest pleading eyes he could, making the audience "Aww!"

"Now, use Nuzzle, like we practiced!"

Yamper immediately flopped onto his back and began rolling around on the floor, creating static shocks around his body until he was one big ball of electricity zipping across the ground, making the audience coo at his cuteness.

"Now, finish it up with an Electro Ball and Discharge!"

Yamper launched a ball of electricity with his mouth, Then sent a bolt of electricity from his body. The two attacks met in the air, exploding into a dazzling array of light.

"And Chloe finishes strong! But will it be enough?"

"I don't know, Marian, but the audience sure seems to love it!"

Chloe smiled, happily scooping Yamper up into her arms and waving to the crowd as they applauded.

"And last, but certainly not least, Goh Ikuo!"

Goh ran out in a suit and top hat, eager to prove his worth.

"Go, Dratini!"

The crowd awed when the little dragon appeared, making her flap her tiny wings happily.

"Alright Dratini, let's start things off with Thunder Wave!"

Dratini flapped her tiny wings, creating small waves of electricity.

"Now, Extreme Speed combined with Dragon Rage!"

Dratini let out a beautiful blast of energy from her mouth, and using Extreme Speed managed to hit the thunder wave before it vanished. But instead of creating a sparkling effect like Goh wanted, the two just fizzled out, leaving Goh flustered.

"Um…tada?"

Despite this, the crowd still gave him a round of applause, making him feel a little bit better.

"Weren't they great, folks! Give them a big round of applause!"

"We'll have the results for you shortly! But I think everyone did an amazing job!"

"Spoken like a true professional, Dawn!"

A few minutes later, everyone gathered in the waiting area to find out the results. Only eight competitors could move on, and all three of them were hoping they would be one of them. At last, Dawn came on with the results.

"I wish all of you could move on, but only the top eight will remain! But all of you should be proud of your performances, and keep on being the best that you can be! Now for the results!"

Chloe and Lillie breathed a sigh of relief when their pictures came up in fourth and seventh, respectively. Goh didn't make the cut, making Dratini sad, but he cheered her up.

"Don't worry, it's not your fault. I should've thought that move out more. But don't worry, you did great!"

Dratini perked up, flapping her wings happily. Goh then turned to the girls.

"I'm gonna go join Ash in the stands. Good luck!"

After two more rounds, it was Chloe and Lillie up against each other in the finals. Once the two were on the field, Marian and Dawn began their introductions.

"This is it, folks! It all comes down to this final match!"

"That's right, Dawn! They both have worked so hard to get here, but who will come out on top?"

"Both coordinators will send out their Pokemon at the same time. The coordinator with the most points after 5 minutes will be the winner! Are you ready?"

Chloe and Lillie nodded.

"Then Coordinators, send out your Pokemon!"

"Sobble, I choose you!"

"Take the stage, Eevee!'

"And…go!"

"Sobble, use Tearful Look!"

"Don't let him fool you, Eevee! Use Attract!"

Sobble tried to lure Eevee into lowering her guard, but Eevee didn't fall for it. Instead, she winked flirtatiously, blowing a kiss. This got Sobble's attention, and he immediately fell in love, much to Lillie's frustration.

"Ooh, looks like Sobble has a crush! Lillie tried to set Eevee up for a fall, but Chloe turned the tables."

"Ouch! That's going to cost her some points."

Indeed, Lillie's score started to go down, but she wasn't worried.

"Eevee, use Swift!"

"Whirlpool, Sobble!"

Luckily for Lillie, Sobble managed to push through his newfound love, blocking the shooting stars with a torrent of water, creating a dazzling display that wowed the crowd and knock down Chloe's score as well.

"Water Pulse, Sobble!"

"Fake Tears, Eevee!"

Sobble was just about to launch a Water Pulse when Eevee began to cry. Still struck with infatuation, Sobble immediately stopped his attack, making Lillie's score fall further.

"Don't let her manipulate you like that, Sobble! Use Mist!"

This time Sobble managed to perform, creating a thick mist that covered the field. While the audience could still see the two Pokemon, they couldn't see each other.

"He can't fall for Eevee if he can't see Eevee, can he?"

"Not bad, but I'm still going to come out on top! Eevee, use Swift again!"

"Counter with Ice Shard!"

The two attacks met in the middle, creating an icy blast of light that made the audience ooh and awe.

"Keep it up, Eevee!"

"You too, Sobble!"

The two kept at it, their stars and ice shards meeting in the middle, wowing the audience and deducting points from each other until…

"Time! It's a close call, but Chloe Cerise is the winner!"

"Yes! We did it, Eevee!"

Eevee smiled, leaping into Chloe's arms as she waved to the crowd. Sobble sniffled, sad that he couldn't win, but Lillie patted him on the head.

"Don't worry, Sobble. I think you did amazing."

"Sobble!"

Later that evening, the five were having dinner at the local Pokemon Center. Chloe couldn't help admiring her new ribbon.
"Can you believe it, Eevee? All that practice, and we won!"

"Evoi!"

"Congrats, Chloe!"

"Thanks, Ash! I might just try Pokemon Contests again."

"So, what's next for you guys?"
"I have a World Coronation Series Match against Palmer in a few days."

"Palmer? The Tower Tycoon and Barry's dad?"

"Yep! And this time, I'm going to win, right buddy?"

"Pika!"

"Can I come with you guys? The next contest won't be for a few weeks."

"Sure, Dawn! It'll be just like old times!"

And so, with Dawn joining them for their trip to the Battle Frontier, the gang got ready for their next adventure.

"What're we doing here, James? The contest is already over."

"Yeah, what gives, Jimmie?"

James didn't respond, just leading them through the city.

"James, I swear, if you don't tell me what's going on-"

"I just came to pick up a friend."

"What are you-oh."

The point of this visit became clear as the Eterna City Gym came into view. James knocked on the door nervously, and Gardenia soon answered.

"Hello, are you here for a Gym Bad- Oh, James! Are you here for Cacnea?"

James nodded.

"Is…is he available."

Gardenia smiled, and let the three of them in.

"Just a moment. James is here!"

From the shadows of the gym stepped James's Cacnea. Or rather, what was once Cacnea, but had since evolved into Cacturne. James could only stare in amazement and his evolved Pokemon.

"Cacnea? Is…is that you?"

Cacturne nodded, then ran right into James's open arms. James let the tears flow freely, not even caring that he was being stabbed by his Pokemon's needles.

"Oh Cacturne, how i've missed you. And look how much you've grown!"

"Cacturne!"

Even Jessie and Meowth couldn't help but shed tears at the beautiful reunion. After saying goodbye and thank you to Gardenia, the trio left with one extra party member in tow.