Chapter 80: Old Wounds
"Well, here we are… Wingate Town." After quite a long drive the gang finally arrived in Wingate Town, where Nikki would try to win her third ribbon. The two trainers exited the car and took some time to take in the scenery. Though no bigger than the average town it appeared much busier, mostly in part due to the upcoming Pokémon Contest.
"Alright, time to lock in and win my third ribbon," Nikki said.
"As much as I'd love to stay and watch you compete I have to get back to the station," Officer Jenny said. Ash and Nikki thanked her for the ride and watched as she drove off.
"I guess the first thing we should do is head to the Pokémon Center and get our Pokémon healed up," Ash suggested.
"And after that it's Contest time," Nikki added. With that the two of them headed into the town on their way to the Pokémon Center. As soon as they left three figures stepped out from the shadows.
"Whew… it's a good thing that cop didn't see us," Meowth said. "That could have been bad for us."
"Indeed, but what's good for us is that the twerps are here," James commented. "That gives us the perfect opportunity to snatch them." Jessie, however, had other priorities in mind.
"Forget about that. Did you hear what that twerpette said? There's going to be a Pokémon Contest here," she said. "What a perfect time for me to take the next step in my coordinating career."
"But what about the twerps' Pokémon?" James questioned.
"The Contest comes first!" Jessie yelled as she headed towards the Contest hall, leaving James and Meowth to catch up to her.
"Your Pokémon are back to full health." Now that their Pokémon were all healed up Ash and Nikki were ready to head to the Contest Hall. On their way they passed by many shops and street side stalls, each one selling various Contest-themed merchandise.
"(Looks like everyone's in the Contest mood today,)" Pikachu commented.
"Seems that way, buddy," Ash agreed. Nikki, who was earlier focused on nothing but her Contest performance, was now looking at the different shops and stalls.
"Do you think I should buy a souvenir and send it to my mom?" she wondered.
"Do you think you'll have time for that?" Ash asked. "The Contest is starting soon."
"We should make it as long as we look while we walk," Nikki replied. Even though they had to make their way to the Contest Hall Nikki had convinced them that there was no harm in browsing the shops and stalls on their way. As they looked they saw various nick-knacks and trinkets, but nothing that caught Nikki's eye.
"Doesn't look like there's anything worth buying," Ash said.
"Yeah, it certainly seems like…" In the middle of replying to Ash Nikki spotted a magazine rack next to one of the stalls, and on that rack was a Pokéstyler magazine.
"Oh man, I can't remember the last time I read one of these," she said. She picked the magazine up and looked at the cover. On it was a young blue-haired girl in a pink dress, a Piplup on one side and a Buneary on the other. The cover read "Promising Young Coordinator Vanishes From Contest Scene".
"I can't imagine anyone quitting coordinating, especially if they're considered a promising coordinator," Nikki commented. "What do you think of this, Ash?" She showed him the magazine cover. As soon as Ash looked at it his eyes went wide and he let out a small gasp. Pikachu looked at the cover and, as soon as he saw it, his ears dropped.
"No… how could she…" Their reaction to the magazine cover left Nikki confused.
"Ash, Pikachu, you guys okay?" she inquired. However, she got no answer. She tried again, this time a bit louder, but got the same result.
"Hey!" she shouted. This time it appeared to snap Ash and Pikachu out of their trances.
"Huh, wha."
"Finally. You two were zoned out there for a minute," Nikki said. "You two doing okay?"
'Y-yeah… we're fine," Ash answered. "Come on. We should get going or you're going to be late for registration." As he walked off Nikki just stood back and watched him. He may have said he was okay but Nikki didn't believe him for one second. As soon as he looked at that Pokéstyler magazine his demeanor changed, almost as if he knew the girl on the cover.
"(What are you thinking?)" Buneary inquired.
"I'm thinking there's something Ash isn't telling us," Nikki responded.
"(You think it has something to do with the girl on the magazine cover?)" Buneary further inquired.
"Yeah," Nikki answered. Right then she had it set in her mind that she'd find out what it was that seemed to upset Ash and Pikachu about that magazine cover.
Thankfully for Nikki the group arrived in time for her to register. Now, as Christy went through her usual Contest introductions Ash and Nikki looked around the room at the other coordinators.
"Looks like we've got some tough competition today," Nikki commented.
"Yeah," Ash agreed. Nikki glanced over at Ash, remembering the incident from earlier. Seeing as they still had some time she decided that now was as good a time as any to get her answers.
"Hey Ash, can we talk?" she asked.
"Um, sure," Ash replied. "What do you want to talk about?"
"Let's go somewhere a bit more… private." Ash was a bit confused but did as Nikki asked and followed her to a quiet part of the room. Unbeknownst to them Jessie, who was in her Lady Jessica persona, was watching them with curious eyes.
"I wonder what's up with the twerps," she said to herself. Eventually Ash and Nikki found themselves in the back corner of the room where no one would hear what they were talking about.
"Alright, what did you want to talk about?" Ash wondered.
"Well, it's about earlier," Nikki told him.
"What about earlier?" Ash inquired, curious to know where she was going with this.
"When we were on our way up here and I stopped to look at that Pokéstyler magazine and I showed you the cover you acted… well, strange, almost as if you knew the girl on the cover," Nikki explained. Once he heard her explanation he cast his gaze downward.
"Oh… that," he sighed. Immediately Nikki could tell that she had hit a sensitive subject for the Kanto native.
"If you don't want to talk about it then I understand," she said.
"No, you deserve to know," Ash said. "It's just… not something I like to talk about." Nikki gave Ash her full attention as he began to speak.
"The truth is I do know the girl on the cover," he announced. "Or, at least I though I did."
"What do you mean?" Nikki asked.
"Her name is Dawn, and we used to travel together when I traveled through Sinnoh," Ash answered. "I guess you could say I was like a mentor to her as well as a friend." As she listened Nikki couldn't understand why seeing her picture on that magazine cover caused him such distress.
"I thought we'd still be traveling together to this day, but that's not how things played out," Ash continued.
"What happened?" Nikki asked.
"There was another trainer, Paul, my rival. He and I had battled a number of times with him beating me each and every time, including the championship battle for the Sinnoh League," Ash said. "After that Dawn decided she wanted to travel with him instead of me."
"So wait, just because this other trainer kept defeating you she wanted to travel with him?" Nikki asked, trying to understand the situation.
"Pretty much, but with the kind of trainer he is I didn't think it was a good idea," Ash replied.
"Just what kind of trainer is he?" Nikki wondered.
"Well, you've seen how I treat my Pokémon," he asked, to which Nikki nodded. "Well, Paul is the exact opposite. He treats his Pokémon like tools to be disposed of when they're no longer useful. If a Pokémon doesn't live up to his expectation he just gets rid of them and finds another."
"Oh my goodness, he sounds like a horrible trainer," Nikki commented. "I can't see why this Dawn wanted to travel with him over you."
"I couldn't either, but when I asked her why she said it was because he was the better trainer," Ash said, eliciting a gasp of shock from Nikki. "In her eyes the fact that he always beat me made him better than me." Now that she had heard the tale Nikki understood why looked so pained when she showed him the magazine cover.
"You know what the sad truth about all this is?" Ash asked. She once again gave him her full attention, waiting for him to continue.
"For a moment… I believed her," he admitted.
"What?! Come on now, you can't be serious," Nikki argued. "Sure, he may have beat you, but from what you've told me he's not a trainer I'd want to be around."
"Maybe, but…"
"No! No buts!" Nikki interrupted. "This Paul sounds like a cold-hearted person who doesn't treat his Pokémon with respect while you are kind and respect your Pokémon. I mean, just look what you did with Scizor. At first he didn't want to have anything to do with you, and even less after he evolved. But your kind heart eventually won him over. If what you say is correct Paul wouldn't have given him a chance." As she spoke Ash listened. He could tell that she meant every word of what she was saying.
"Know this, no matter hos good or bad of a trainer you are I'll never turn my back on you like she did," Nikki concluded. After she was done Ash smiled.
"Thanks," he said.
"Anytime," Nikki replied. By now Christy was finished with her introduction and was getting ready to call out the first coordinator.
"I'd better head to the stands," Ash said. "Good luck." As he headed towards the stands Nikki watched him. On her shoulder Buneary looked at her, noticing that Nikki had a worried look on her face.
"(Something wrong?)" the Rabbit Pokémon asked.
"I know he seemed happy when he left, but something tell me that this is still bothering him, and me bringing it up only made things worse," Nikki said.
"(Don't blame yourself. You couldn't have known,)" Buneary said.
"I don't want to, but…"
"Nikki, you're up next." It seemed like no time had passed and now it was Nikki's turn to perform.
"Alright, let's do this," she said, trying to psyche herself up.
"(Are you sure you're ready?)" Buneary asled.
"I have to be," Nikki answered. Buneary could only trust her trainer as she recalled her to her Poké Ball. Then, after taking a deep breath, Nikki headed out for her Contest performance.
It appears as though Ash still isn't over what happened between himself and Dawn at the end of their Sinnoh adventure. Now that Nikki know what will happen next? Can Nikki fully concentrate on her Contest performance? Find out in the next chapter of Search for Power!
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