Hi guys, I'm really sorry it's taken so long to finish this chapter, a few different things have stopped me. I've been fighting a bit of writers block, I'm from England and we've been having some unusually hot weather which has a negative effect on me I just can't work properly in it, add in work and that's the reason it's taken so long.
I know that some of you will be wanting to know what Meowth is building but that won't come in for a couple of chapters, he told me that there's a few pieces he's ordered and they haven't come yet.
Respawnzer has come close to guessing what Meowth is building but I'm not going to say anymore.
The next update might take a little while longer because someone I work with has challenged me to write a Doctor Who oneshot, like I said before I'm English and a Sci-Fi nut so it's natural for me to be a Doctor Who fan. The oneshot is next on the list just to get it out of the way.
It's time to get on with the story, hopefully it's worth the wait.
Chapter 22
Appealing Harmony
Just as the Contest started Glaceon came running up to Ash and jumped on to his lap, she was soon joined by Pikachu as he dropped down from Ash's shoulder. Glaceon moved closer to Pikachu so their sides lightly touched as they breathed in.
"I guess you want to watch May from here." Ash said as he stroked Glaceon's cool fur.
"Glace, Glace." The ice type replied pushing back against Ash's hand.
The lights on the stage dimmed as the first Co-Ordinator walked out, a single spotlight illuminating them. They walked out covered in a hooded cloak so no-one knew who it was, once they'd reached the centre of the stage a hand appeared from within the folds of the cloak releasing a Pokémon in a flash of light. As the flash distracted the audience's attention the figure threw off their cloak and revealed who they were, it was Kenny.
Kenny had been ambitious with his choice, he was covered head to toe in greyish blue body paint with red stripes on both his upper and lower arms. Just like the Machoke that stood alongside him. He'd dyed and styled part of his hair to simulate the fins on Machoke's head, the rest had been dyed the same greyish blue as his body, Kenny was also wearing red contact lenses to make himself look more like his Pokémon. Like his Pokémon Kenny wore a pair of trunks along with a large belt with a red letter P on it. There was one quite significant difference between Kenny and Machoke that couldn't be over looked, Kenny was nowhere near as muscular. He did have some muscle definition on his chest but he wasn't in the right shape to even look good with his shirt off, none the less Kenny and Machoke started to perform their appeal.
They performed a muscle flexing show, well Machoke did and Kenny tried his best to copy the Superpower Pokémon. Kenny and Machoke split up as they started their 'gun-show' going to opposite ends of the stage. The Sinnoh native Co-Ordinator would stop every now and again to try and flirt with one of the girls in the audience, Machoke knew this would happen so he slowed down making sure he moved at the same pace as his trainer. They finished their Appeal by moving back towards each other and throwing a punch, stopping it just before their fists met. The audience applauded as Julia walked onto the stage carrying Kenny's cloak, she passed the cloak to him thinking he'd put it back on but Kenny just draped it over his arm and winked at her.
"Well that was an unexpected Appeal, let's see what our Judges think." Julia said turning away from Kenny to face the Judges.
"That was a fine display of portraying the muscles that Machoke are known for." Mr. Contesta said.
"I agree, Machoke's muscles are remarkable." Mr. Sukizo added.
"The timing between Machoke and Kenny shows that they've been through a lot together and are very close." Nurse Joy said.
"That's it from our Judges now please give Kenny and Machoke one last round of applause." Julia announced into her microphone as Kenny and Machoke walked off the stage and the next Co-Ordinator waited at the end of the tunnel to be called out.
Just before the Contest started…..
May had sent Glaceon to sit with Ash and was nearly finished getting changed into her costume there were just a few details that she needed to put on and then she'd be done. For this Contest because the Co-Ordinators had to dress as their Pokémon the Contest Hall had separate waiting rooms for the male and female Co-Ordinators. May sat in front of one of the mirror and was about to start applying her make up when she saw the curtain for the changing cubicle behind her move. A girl poked her head out looking around when she saw May the girl smiled.
"Excuse me, can you help me with something?" The girl asked, May turned around in her seat to face the girl. The girl in her early twenties who had long red hair and fair skin with some freckles across the bridge of her nose, she also had green eyes which seemed to hold a mischievous spirit.
"Sure, what do you need help with?" May replied. The girl came out of her cubicle and May saw that she was wearing a white leotard which had white fur around the neck and waist, gold spiral shoulder pads and gold swirl designs on the chest.
"Could you zip the back-up please? I've tried but I can't reach it." The girl said turning around to reveal the open zip at the back along with a brown furry tail hanging just above her backside.
"No problem." May said standing up and walking over to the girl taking hold of the zip and slowly moving it up while making sure not to catch any of the girl's red hair.
"I'm Holly by the way." The girl said looking over her shoulder.
"Nice to meet you, I'm May."
"I know who you are, you're the Princess of Hoenn. I have to ask, did you come up with that name?"
"No, I don't know where it came from. I didn't like it at first because all the attention made me nervous but I've got past that now." May said as she let go of the zip, having zipped the leotard up. "There done, can I ask you for some help now?"
"Of course you can, what do you need me to do?"
"I just need a little help with my hair."
"Cool, just tell me what I need to do." Over the next few minutes May and Holly helped each other get ready for their Appeals. Once they were finished Holly now had her hair styled up with red, orange and gold glitter in it to make it look like fire, her arms, upper legs and face were covered in brown body paint, she had a white fur head piece on with a red ridge above her eyes and two brown fur ears attached to the sides. Her hands and feet were coated in a dark blue body paint with white fur lined shin guards on her feet, gold circular kneepads and gold spiral pads on the backs of her hands. The final part of Holly's costume was a set of dark blue contact lenses with a deep yellow, almost golden, sclera, she now looked like a human Infernape.
May had straightened her hair letting it cascade straight down her back and with Holly's help coated it in white powder, a small purple circle was clipped onto the crowd of her head a pair of small white ears rose from either side of the circle. Her hands, face and neck were now painted white and she wore purple eye shadow with had a pale yellow oval on her nose, there were two long whisker-like pieces of white fabric which ended in a pale yellow V shape. She wore a long sleeved white top with the sleeves ending in a purple V, the sleeves being long enough to extend past her hands May had cut the bottom of the sleeves off after they passed her hands so her hands could still be seen. A pair of baggy pants covered her legs the top half being white and the lower half was purple, a wide band of purple fabric was fastened securely around her waist and another long piece of fabric extended from just above her backside ending in a purple V shape. The last parts of May's costume were a pair of purple pumps with three pieces of white plastic stuck to each shoe to simulate the claws on Mienshao's feet and like Holly, May had put in a pair of contact lenses to give herself a pair of dark red eyes.
Both Holly and May looked at themselves in the mirrors provided and were pleased with their costumes but there was one other opinion May wanted to get before going out on to the stage. She took a Pokéball out of her bag and opened it releasing Mienshao, the Martial Arts Pokémon stretched and looked at May.
"Well, what do you think?" May asked. Mienshao slowly walked around May taking in every detail before stopping in front of the trainer and nodding with a small smile.
"Shao." The fighting type said with a nod. Mienshao had seen the costume in parts while May had been making it but this was the first time that she'd seen May wearing it along with the make up. May giggled and sat down to wait for her name to be called, she watched as Kenny finished his Appeal and the next few people went through their Appeals. One person had dressed like a Pidgeot but they had some trouble as feathers started falling from their costume though they managed to improvise and make it look like they were using Feather Dance, while another person performed a quick change act with their Ditto.
Once the quick change act had left the stage Ursula was the next Co-Ordinator out, she wore a pale pink shoulderless dress with long white sleeves, her hands were covered by purple gloves. She'd managed to tuck her hair into a pale yellow wig which flowed down her back stopping at her waist. Ursula walked to the centre of the stage swaying her hips as she went, when she stopped she threw a Pokéball into the air releasing her Pokémon. The Pokémon was dressed similarly to Ursula except she had a purple face and large pink lips, an additional flash of light was present in the form of a ring of sparkles signifying that this was a Shiny Pokémon. Ursula was now accompanied on stage by a Shiny Jynx, the Sinnoh Co-Ordinator and the Human Shape Pokémon started clapping a steady beat as they tapped their feet and swayed their hips.
They started to move around each other keeping their beat before they stopped clapping but kept their hips moving as they started to slap one hand on the side of their legs while the other rested on their hip. The hand on their hip came up and pressed to their lips, when the hand came away a couple of seconds later Jynx' lips glowed with a violet light signifying the move Lovely Kiss while Ursula had applied violet glitter to her lips to simulate the move. They started to dance again smiling and winking at the audience, Ursula's gaze locked on to Ash during the routine and she made sure that when he looked at her he would notice the wink and kiss she blew to him, while Jynx used Attract using the same actions as Ursula. Ash noticed Ursula winking at him he just smiled at her and kept watching the stage, Glaceon noticed the smile that Ash gave Ursula and started to rub her head against the back of his hand. Ash turned to look at Glaceon and lifted his hand up so he could stroke the ice type's cool fur. The Fresh Snow Pokémon was soon purring contently under Ash's hand causing the raven haired trainer to smile and lift his other hand to stroke Pikachu as well, while the image of the ice type's trainer crossed his mind.
After a minute Ursula and Jynx raised their hands to their mouths again and blew a kiss winking, a flurry of pink heart came from Jynx' lips at the same time Ursula blew metallic heart shaped confetti from her hand. They started to walk back to the centre of the stage still swaying their hips, Jynx used Swagger to add to the movement of her hips and they started clapping their hands again, once they reached the centre they stopped and curtsied to the audience and the judges.
"There you have it, now let's hear what our Judges have to say about our latest Appeal." Julia said as she walked onto the stage.
"As a species Jynx are always noted for the way their move their hips, this Appeal showcases that characteristic." Mr. Contesta said.
"I agree it was remarkable." Mr. Sukizo added.
"This Appeal showed how in sync this Co-Ordinator and her Pokémon are." Nurse Joy finished. Ursula and Jynx curtsied again to the judges and audience before turning to walk off the stage. As she left Ursula locked eyes with Ash nodding to him with a smile. The next few Co-Ordinators came and went before the next Co-Ordinator came out onto the stage her entrance differed from everyone else's up to that point. This Co-Ordinator came onto the stage by back flipping her way to the centre, during her last flip she somersaulted twice in mid-air and launched her Pokéball into the air before landing.
At the same time that the Co-Ordinator landed the Pokéball burst open releasing her Pokémon. Now the Co-Ordinator had stopped Ash could see the outfit she was wearing clearly, the outfit made her look like one of his own Pokémon she looked like Infernape. They then started to perform a gymnastics display that would put Olympic level athletes to shame, Holly was able to keep pace with the Flame Pokémon easily matching her move for move be it Acrobatics, Aerial Ace or just the natural agility of her Pokémon's species, though Infernape had lowered the speed of Aerial Ace and Acrobatics so that Holly could keep up properly. They flipped and somersaulted their way around the whole stage crossing paths and spinning around each other while in the air.
They ended their Appeal by flipping their way to the centre of the stage, Infernape reaching it first stopping in a handstand with Holly getting there seconds later and somersaulting one last time to land in a handstand as well but instead of being on the ground like her Pokémon she landed on Infernape's feet stunning everyone. The audience rose to their feet applauding at the sight in front of them, Holly leant backwards so she would land feet first as she got off of Infernape. The Flame Pokémon grinned and pushed herself into the air, somersaulted and landed next to her trainer earning another round of applause.
"That was a very impressive display, we now go to the Judges to hear what they have to say." Julia said as she walked on to the stage and stood next to the now panting Holly.
"That final move was a true display of how deep the trust between these two goes." Mr. Contesta said with a smile.
"That was truly remarkable." Mr. Sukizo said.
"If it didn't know better I would've sworn that there were two Infernape's on the stage." Nurse Joy giggled.
"And there you have it, please give our Co-Ordinator a round of applause." Julia called out as the audience did as she asked. During the brief break between Co-Ordinators Pikachu drew Ash's attention by tapping the trainer's arm with his tail.
"What is it Pikachu?" He asked.
"Pi Pikachu Pika." Pikachu replied, Ash chuckled and reached into his pocket.
"Okay but only because you haven't had any in a while." Ash pulled a small packet of Ketchup out of his pocket and passed it to Pikachu who took it quickly, tearing the top off the packet with his teeth. The electric type was about to dig in to the treat when he stopped and look at Glaceon after he noticed her lick her lips.
"Pika Pikachu?" he asked holding the packet out to her. Glaceon blushed lightly and moved her head forward sucking some of the sauce out before returning to her original position licking her lips again to remove any traces of the Ketchup. Pikachu then did the same, sucking the sauce out and enjoying the taste. Ash sat there looking at them slightly confused by what was happening, Pikachu had never shared his Ketchup before unless he was asked to.
Gardevoir smiled and made a note to add a second part to the plan to get Ash and May together, that second part was to get Pikachu and Glaceon together but she wouldn't tell them that.
Finally it was time for the last Appeal which was May's, once again the lights died down and a spotlight shone on the entrance to the stage. May walked out in her costume the light reflecting off of her now white hair, Mienshao walked alongside her. Both of them had their arms crossed over their chests, hands hidden by their sleeves and their heads were slightly bowed until they reached the centre of the stage, they then raised their heads. Ash was blown away by May's costume, it was perfect right down to the last detail. Lucario, Gardevoir and Pikachu had the same reaction that Ash did, just staring at May with open mouths. Glaceon giggled quietly she knew what May's costume looked like and was proud that her trainer could get such a reaction out of people and Pokémon alike.
"Shao Shao Mienshao. Mien Mienshao Shaomien, Mienshao." May said before bowing. Ash felt Pikachu and Glaceon jerk a little when May started talking, he turned to Lucario.
"What did May just say?" He asked surprised. He didn't know anything about this and from her reaction neither did Glaceon.
Mistress May has just said 'Greetings to you all. We hope you enjoy our Appeal.' Lucario answered slightly stunned that May had spoken like Mienshao, Gardevoir nodded confirming Lucario's translation. Master, I do not sense an Aura link between Mistress May and Mienshao.
Ash's eyes widened and he focused his Aura on May and Mienshao but just as Lucario had said Ash couldn't sense any sort of link between them.
May and Mienshao turned and bowed to each other before taking a few steps apart and began to perform their Appeal. The Kata they'd had been learning was called Bassai Dai, May and Mienshao moved carefully making sure that each movement they made was right and keeping the same pace. During each turn May's hair would flow behind her and thanks to a little creative grooming Mienshao's fur did the same. Ash was transfixed on how May glided around the stage like she'd been practicing for years instead of days. He could feel a warm sensation bubbling away in his chest, it was the same feeling he'd been having since he started travelling with May again.
Ash knew that he enjoyed whatever the feeling was but was also scared of it as he didn't understand what it meant, he knew he'd have to ask someone but didn't know who. Having an X-Transceiver made it easier for him to call someone but so far he only had numbers for May, Scott, Professor Oak and his mother. Ash's mind then reminded him he had one more number safely tucked away in his bag, he had Adam's number so when they got back to the Pokémon Centre he'd input Adam's number and call him when he had a chance.
Ash returned his attention to May as he watched her glide from one move to the next, occasionally she was pause for a second to regain her balance or remember the next move but Mienshao would stay with May's timing no matter what. When a move required a Kiai May would shout like a Mienshao, as far as Ash could see they were doing perfectly but just before the end of the Kata May's foot caught on the hem of her trousers causing her to fall forward.
May knew she had to do something otherwise her Appeal would fail so she tucked her head into her chest and turned her fall into a roll with Mienshao following her less than a second later. They stood from their rolls and finished the last of the Kata before standing straight, turning to each other bowed then turned and bowed to the Judges.
When Ash saw May falling forward he felt panic course through his body but he soon calmed down as he saw May turn the fall into a forward roll and get back to her feet to finish the Kata. Julia walked on to the stage once again with her microphone in her hand.
"There we have it a wonderful Appeal from the Princess of Hoenn. Let's see what our judges have to say about it."
"You did something our other Co-Ordinators hadn't really thought of, you acted like your Pokémon right from the very start and even spoke like your Pokémon, truly a great display." Mr. Contesta said.
"Remarkable says it all." Mr. Sukizo added.
"I found the whole Appeal to be a fantastic performance showing the nature of Mienshao perfectly. Together you were able to demonstrate the reason Mienshao are known as the Martial Arts Pokémon." Nurse Joy stated.
May and Mienshao bowed once more to the Judges and the audience before walking off the stage to applause and cheers.
"That's the end of our Appeals round, the Judges will now decide who goes through to the next round. While they make their choices there is a new rule for this Contest, those who progress to the next round will have to battle with the Pokémon they have just used for their Appeals." Julia announced.
Some of the Co-Ordinators were nervous after hearing the new rule while others weren't too bothered by it. May was slightly taken aback by the rule but knew that it wouldn't be that much of a problem because Mienshao was usually a battle round Pokémon. May looked at the fighting type alongside her and smiled when she saw the excited gleam in her eyes.
"You're looking forward to this aren't you?" May asked.
"Mienshao." Her Pokémon replied with a nod.
"Me too." May giggled and stroked Mienshao's head while they waited for the Judge's results.
"Glaceon, do you want to go and see May?" Ash asked looking at the ice type, Glaceon shook her head surprising Ash. "Why not?"
"Glaceon Glace Eon Glaceon."
"Er…A little help here buddy." Ash said turning his gaze to Pikachu.
"Pika Chupika Pikachu." Ash nodded in understanding.
"There won't be enough time for you to get to May and come back before the Battle Round starts." He said.
"Glaceon Gla."
"Pi Pikachu."
"May already knows?" Glaceon nodded, "Alright then, guess we don't have to worry about May being angry about it." The two Pokémon on his lap nodded and lay back down while Ash stroked their fur, feeling the distinct difference between the icy chill of Glaceon's fur with one hand and the static tickle of Pikachu's. A few minutes later the Judges had come to a decision and returned to the stage, Julia stood on the stage which now had the battlefield lines on the surface. Ash noticed that Gardevoir was doing okay being around so many strange people so far, though she was sitting close to him occasionally putting a hand on his arm when the cheers would get too loud but that didn't bother him if she needed his help then he happy to be there for her.
"We'll now reveal the Co-Ordinators who have made it through to the next round." Julia said as she waved her arm in the direction of the screen. 8 panels appeared and started spinning around, the first slowed down revealing that Holly had made it through to the Battle round, the next panel showed May and once the rest had stopped everyone could see that Ursula and Kenny had made it through as well. The audience applauded the winners of the Appeal round. "There we have it, please give the Co-Ordinators who didn't make it through a big hand." The applause got louder and died down a few minutes later. "We'll now find out who are Co-Ordinators will be up against in the Quarter Finals." The panels on the screen turned over and shuffled around until they stopped in four pairs, when the panels flipped over it showed that May, Holly, Ursula and Kenny were each battling the other four Co-Ordinators.
The first Battle was Holly versus a Co-Ordinator who had entered with his Sandslash, it was an intense battle which eventually ended with Holly gaining the right to move on to the next round. The same happened in Kenny's and Ursula's battles, Kenny had scraped out a narrow win by knocking his opponent's Ditto as the timer counted down the final 15 seconds. Ursula's battle had gone better than Kenny's, she managed to completely reduce her opponent's point by redirecting any attack the opposing Kecleon used and sending them straight back. The last battle of the Quarter Finals was May's and she was ready for whatever they might send at her and so was Mienshao. May walked on to the stage with Mienshao by her side, she knew that she didn't need to act like her Pokémon anymore but did it just for fun.
"Now we have our last Quarter Final, the winner of this battle gains the remaining place in the Semi Finals. To my left a Co-Ordinator who needs no introduction, the Princess of Hoenn herself, May Maple!" Julia said and the audience started to cheer and whistle, May kept in character and politely bowed to the crowds. May was sure that she could hear Ash's voice above the noise along with Pikachu and Glaceon, she smiled to herself and made a note to thank them later on. "And to my right," Julia shouted to be heard over the audience, "we have Jeremy Collins from Goldenrod City." The audience cheered again as Jeremy waved to them, after a minute the audience stopped allowing Julia to speak again. "Our Co-Ordinators are ready, our Judges are ready, you our glorious audience are ready so all that left to do it put 5 minutes on the clock and let the battle begin!"
As soon as she said begin Mienshao leapt onto the field and Jeremy released his Pokémon. Jeremy's Pokémon burst out of his ball and landed on the field with a flip, standing opposite Mienshao was a Grovyle. May had a slightly unfair advantage as she was used to seeing Ash's Sceptile train when they first travelled together so she knew how their evolutionary line moved. There was also the fact that Max had been watching recordings of Ash's battle against Tobias during the Sinnoh League on repeat whenever he could, May had seen that battle thousands of time thanks to Max and it was not so entrenched in her memory she could probably recite every move made during the match without making a mistake.
"Grovyle, Quick Attack." Jeremy said, the Wood Gecko Pokémon shot forward leaving a trail of white light in his wake. May didn't have time to react but Mienshao waited until the last second before jumping to the side, evading the grass type and causing Jeremy's points to drop slightly.
"Mienshao, Force Palm." May called out, the Martial Arts Pokémon ran at Grovyle's exposed back and drove the yellow ball of energy in her palm in the his back. With her being Contest Trained Mienshao's Force Palm was brighter than it would normally be as would any other energy based attack she used. Grovyle cried out as the attack hit and threw him across the field, May noticed that Jeremy's points had dropped again to just under the quarter. "Now Drain Punch." An orb of swirling dark green energy enveloped Mienshao's fist as she once again ran at Grovyle launching herself in to a forward flip to close the remaining distance.
"Detect!" Jeremy shouted out desperately, Grovyle's eyes glowed blue as he leaned to the side letting Mienshao's fist pass him barely getting grazed by it. "Now Fling." Jeremy shouted again, a smirk crossing his lips. Grovyle grabbed Mienshao's arm and hurled the fighting type over his shoulder, Mienshao was caught off guard by the move and landed hard rolling across the field but she managed to right herself and land on her feet. The way Mienshao was able to control her landing and get back into her stance lessened the amount of points that May lost.
"Mienshao are you alright?" May asked, Mienshao nodded and remained ready for the next phase of the battle. "Okay then, use Aura Sphere." Mienshao formed the fighting type attack between her paws, the light from the orb bathing her in a pale blue glow. She fired the Aura Sphere towards Grovyle, "Now use Swift." Mienshao performed a round kick as her foot was enveloped by white energy, as her kick swung across opposite Grovyle a barrage of stars flew towards the grass type. The Swift attack soon caught up with the Aura Sphere, each star absorbed part of the fighting type attack turning the stars from gold to a vivid sea green. Grovyle tried to dodge the incoming attack but due to the fact that an Aura Sphere locks onto the Aura of its target there was no way to evade the attack, wherever Grovyle went the stars followed.
Though Aura Spheres have been known to miss their targets that is normally because the user is either inexperienced or in the midst of a battle. Most of the time when a Pokémon used Aura Sphere during a battle their concentration is split on creating the Aura Sphere and watching their opponent this means that the user is unable to fully lock on to their opponent's Aura, therefore making the attack evadable though still difficult to dodge. While Ash had been working with May on her Kata, Lucario had been helping Mienshao learn to split her focus so she could watch her opponent and still get her Aura Sphere's to fully lock on to her target.
Grovyle dove and flipped but couldn't lose the combined attack as it tracked him around the field, eventually the attack hit its target. The force of the attack was enough to throw Grovyle to the ground and before the grass type could get back to his feet Mienshao was on the attack again, racing forward with an Aerial Ace. Grovyle was just able to use Detect and rolled out of the way at the last second feeling the breeze from Mienshao as she grazed his side.
"Bullet Seed." Jeremy said. Grovyle spun on the ball of his foot and spat a volley of glowing yellow seeds at Mienshao's back.
"Knock them out of the way." May said, Mienshao charged forward as the fur that extended past her paws started to glow white. The fighting type then started using Double Slap to bat away the seeds one by one still moving towards the Wood Gecko Pokémon. When she was close enough Mienshao dropped low and delivered a Drain Punch uppercut to Grovyle's jaw, shutting the grass type's mouth and lifting him off the ground. Grovyle landed on his feet and waited for Jeremy to decide what to do next, as the male Co-Ordinator's points dropped again.
"Spin and use Leaf Blade." Jeremy said, Grovyle once again launched himself at Mienshao, the three leaves on each of his forearms turned green and extended into a single curved energy blade. While in mid-air Grovyle started to spin around closing the distance between himself and Mienshao quickly as he added Quick Attack to the mix. Mienshao bent backwards to dodge the attack but was still hit and sent sprawling across the ground, she was just getting to her feet when Grovyle came back around to attack again. The swirling green spiral appearance given by Grovyle's attack knocked some of May's points down.
"Bounce!" May shouted as Grovyle was only inches away from Mienshao. The fighting type used all the strength in her legs to jump high into the air completely evading Grovyle's assault. "Now High Jump Kick." Mienshao's knee glowed purple as she hurtled back to the ground aiming at the still spinning grass type. Grovyle had to get his feet back on the ground to stop himself from becoming too dizzy to finish the battle and this gave Mienshao a golden opportunity. She slammed her knee into Grovyle's back making the Wood Gecko crash to the ground, May was about to call out another attack when the buzzer went off signifying the end of the battle.
"That's the end of the battle we now look to the scores to see who out winner is." Julia said as she walked onto the battlefield, all eyes went to the scoreboard. Both May's and Jeremy's points were just above the three quarter mark thanks to the agile dodges their Pokémon were performing during the battle. "Our winner by a few points is…. May Maple. Congratulations May and commiserations Jeremy." May and Jeremy met in the centre of the field and shook hands with their Pokémon doing the same.
"Great battle Princess." Jeremy said with a smile.
"Same to you and don't call me Princess." May chuckled.
"It's a deal as long as I get a rematch some time."
"Deal." After that May and Jeremy walked off the stage with their Pokémon behind them.
"Now let's hear what our Judges have to say about this battle." Julia said, all attention went to the Mr. Contesta, Mr Suziko and Nurse Joy.
"I have to say Jeremy and Grovyle's use of Fling was very inventive, in all the Contests I've seen this is the first time I've witnessed something like that. The way that Mienshao was able to make her Swift attack follow Grovyle was also something I've never seen before. Well done to all of you." Mr. Contesta said.
"I agree simply remarkable." Came the expected words of Mr. Sukizo. (AN can't he ever say something other than remarkable?)
"The way Mienshao's Swift and Aura Sphere combined together was beautiful, just like Grovyle's spinning while using Leaf Blade." Nurse Joy said.
Jeremy and May bowed to the Judges thanking them for their praise and left the stage.
There was a few minutes break while the field was repaired, allowing the Semi Finalists to heal their Pokémon and prepare themselves for the next round. They watched from inside the Co-Ordinator's room as the matchups were revealed for the next set of battles. On the main scoreboard above the field the remaining four panels which held the faces of the Semi Finalists shuffled around the screen until they came to a stop and slowly turned over.
"The first match of the Semi Finals will be between Kenny Hudson of Twinleaf Town and May Maple of Petalburg City. Will our Co-Ordinators please make their way to the field." They heard Julia say over the speaker system.
May and Kenny stood up and nodded to each other, Kenny smirked with over-confidence while May smiled normally before she walked out of the room with Mienshao at her heels. Kenny left the room shortly after her, he looked down the corridor to see which way May had gone and then walked in the opposite direction to get to his side of the battlefield.
A couple of minutes later May and Kenny were stood opposite each other, Mienshao stood perfectly still at May's side and a Pokéball tightly gripped in Kenny's hand. May had walked onto the field in the same way she had for her Appeal and previous battle, she still acted like her Mienshao entering onto the field.
"There's five minutes on the clock, our Co-Ordinators are ready so let the battle begin!" Julia said as Kenny's threw his Pokéball over the battlefield releasing Machoke. Mienshao and May looked at each other, May nodded and Mienshao walked calmly onto the field.
"Choke, Choke Machoke." Said the Superpower Pokémon, Mienshao's serene face disappeared as a look of disgust raged on her features and she launched into a devastating Double Slap attack sending Machoke off his feet on the last strike. May didn't know what happened and was shocked to see Mienshao attack so violently.
Up in the audience Ash felt the Pokémon surrounding him tense and start to growl, he had to move his hand away from Glaceon due to a drastic decrease in temperature and her fur bristling into needle sharp icy points. Ash shook his hand to try and shake off the chill that was settling into it and turned to Lucario.
"Do I want to know what happened then?" He asked as he extended his Aura and felt the anger rolling off of Mienshao even though she kept it in check.
Machoke made some…inappropriate suggestions to Mienshao. Lucario translated as he fought the urge to go and defend his student's honour.
"Machoke use Bulk Up." Kenny shouted as his Pokémon rose to his feet, Machoke was briefly surrounded in a red Aura as the fighting type flexed his muscles as they seemed to grow larger. "Now use Thunder Punch!" The Superpower Pokémon charged forward with his fist started arcing with golden electricity.
"Mienshao dodge and counter with Swift." May said. Mienshao gave no indication of hearing and simply sidestepped Machoke's attack and sending the Swift attack into his face. "Follow it up with Drain Punch." Mienshao pulled her arm back as a ball of swirling green energy came into existence around her fist, she then launched her fist forward landing the punch right between Machoke's eyes. Mienshao's dodge and counter attack managed to take Kenny's points close to the quarter mark.
The Superpower Pokémon stumbled back using one arm to try and clear his eyes from the Swift attack. Machoke staggered about wildly as Mienshao kept coming with blow after blow, Kenny was shouting out to his Pokémon to dodge or counter attack but he could only watch as everything failed and his points fell further.
"Down Fall." May called out to Mienshao, the Martial Arts Pokémon shot forward and swept Machoke's legs out from under his with a Low Kick before leaping into the air using Bounce, as she reached the apex of her leap Machoke landed on his back having the air forced from his lungs. As Mienshao started to drop to the ground purple energy formed around her knee as she used High Jump Kick, this was a technique May had developed shortly after catching Mienshao but something different happened this time.
While Mienshao was falling towards Machoke she say he was starting to get up, she knew that if he managed to evade the attack it would hurt a lot. As she thought this something clicked in her mind and Mienshao started to move faster, streaks of shining white energy streamed around her mixing with the purple energy that engulfed her knee, Mienshao hurtled directly at her fallen opponent looking like a lilac falling star due to the mixture of energies from her combined attacks.
Within seconds she'd closed the distance between herself and Machoke, slamming the fighting type into the ground once again. Mienshao back-flipped off of Machoke to get some distance from her opponent but when her feet hit the ground she stumbled and fell to one knee. The unexpected increase in her attacks power due to her learning Aerial Ace had put too much pressure on her knee injuring it. The appearance that Mienshao gained from learning Aerial Ace mid High Jump Kick deducted even more points from Kenny's score taking the Sinnoh native's points below the half full point. May's points took a slight dip due to Mienshao falling to one knee.
May was worried about Mienshao and didn't notice that Machoke was slowly rising from the crater that had formed under his body, swaying unsteadily on his feet but willing to carry on the battle.
"Machoke, Revenge." Kenny said, a smirk returning to his lips when he saw the panicked look in May's eyes. Machoke charged forward with his fist glowing with golden energy, as he closed in on Mienshao he faltered for a second when he saw the look on the Martial Arts Pokémon's face. Mienshao was smirking, it was then that Machoke realised he'd just run into her trap.
Mienshao whipped her fur sleeves at Machoke's face making him falter again before launching a small Aura Sphere at him. Machoke jumped back to avoid the attack, his Revenge attack dissipating from around his fist which gave May an opening.
"Drain Punch!" She shouted, Mienshao threw her fist forward and hit Machoke in the stomach. At least that was the plan but Machoke was able to grab hold of Mienshao's arm and attack again using Revenge, though it wasn't as powerful as it would've been a few seconds earlier. Mienshao was thrown backwards by the attack and managed to roll to her feet narrowly avoiding a Karate Chop Machoke was using to follow up his Revenge attack.
Kenny was about to shout out another attack when the buzzer went off, Machoke walked back to Kenny with a slight limp in his step. Unbeknownst to everyone watching Mienshao's Drain Punch had managed to make a small amount of contact before Machoke managed to catch it but instead of hitting his stomach the attack had hit just below the belt.
"That's the end of the first Semi-Final match, we now look to the scores to see who progresses to the Final." Julia said as she walked onto the battlefield, all eyes went to the scoreboard and the winner was clearly visible. "By a clear margin of points May and Mienshao are our winners and we'll be seeing them in the Final."
"It appears that whatever Machoke said at the beginning of this battle made Mienshao eager to put him in his place. This was truly a match that showcased exactly what Mienshao are capable of." Mr. Contesta commented.
"Truly remarkable." Mr. Sukizo said.
"I could see that whatever was said at the start of the battle put Mienshao in a bad mood and I was impressed to see that she was still able move gracefully throughout the match." Nurse Joy added.
"Ladies and Gentlemen please give our Co-Ordinators a round of applause." Julia said, the audience started to cheer and clap for both May and Kenny along with their Pokémon. "We'll now take a few minutes break to repair the field and then our second Semi Final match will begin." Julia walked over to the Judges as May and Kenny left the stage, Mienshao walked along side May while Kenny had returned Machoke to his Pokéball. As soon as the stage was clear a group of five people came out and released a small collection of Pokémon, 3 Sandslash and 2 Donphan, they then told the Pokémon to level the ground.
The Sandslash dug under the ground, repairing any underlying damage and pushing the compressed earth to the surface, when the Mouse Pokémon came back to the surface the 2 Donphan used Rollout to smooth the surface of the field. The Pokémon repeated this pattern for a few minutes before stopping and the field looked as good as new. The Pokémon were returned to their Pokéballs and the group of people walked off the stage, a bell rang to let anyone who had left the hall that the next match was going to start in a couple of minutes.
"We now have our second Semi Final between Holly from Arrowroot Town, Sinnoh and Ursula from Gerbera Town also in Sinnoh. Please welcome our Co-Ordinators to the field." Julia said, causing the audience to applaud. Holly came onto the field in the same fashion she did for her Appeal, she flipped and cartwheeled her way up to the Trainer's box. There was one difference between her Appeal entrance and the one she was performing now, Infernape was copying Holly's movements and when she stopped in the Trainer's Box the Flame Pokémon flipped onto the field ready for the battle.
Ursula walked to the Trainer's box on her side of the field confidently and when she stopped she threw the Pokéball she held in her hand over the field releasing her Jynx with an additional flash of light sparkling around the ice and psychic type signifying her Shiny nature.
"Let the battle begin." Julia said before leaving the field.
"Jynx, Sing!" Ursula shouted knowing that Infernape's speed and fire types gave Holly an advantage over Jynx, she hoped that Sing would give her the edge in the battle.
"Get in close with Aerial Ace." Holly countered quickly, Infernape nodded and shot forward leaving a trail of white light behind her, she moved so quickly that it seemed like she blinked in and out of existence. "Fire Punch." Infernape appeared behind Jynx and her fists burst into flames as she launched an assault on the Human Shape Pokémon's back.
"Reflect!" Ursula called out desperately, a clear wall coalesced into reality between Jynx and Infernape blocking the Fire Punch, as the eyes of the ice and psychic type lit up in a pale blue. "Now Ice Beam and Double Slap." Jynx spun around and as the wall faded a ball of icy energy formed in her hands. The ball of energy quickly launched a beam at Infernape's feet holding the fire type in place, she then slapped Infernape's fist away before moving her attack to Infernape's face.
"Backflip." Holly said calmly and Infernape did as instructed although she added in a Blaze Kick on both feet to melt the ice and then caught Jynx under the chin (AN Do Jynx actually have chins?) causing the Human Shape Pokémon to stumble backwards. "Don't let up Pyrobatics." Pyrobatics was a move that Holly had created, it was a combination of Fire Punch, Blaze Kick and Acrobatics.
Infernape charged in leaving afterimages in her wake, she started to disappear and reappear all around Jynx landing blow after burning blow. There would be a Fire Punch from the right, then a Blaze Kick from behind as far as anyone could tell there was no pattern to the attacks and they came so fast neither Ash or Lucario were able to follow them, even when they used their Aura to try and track the attacks. Jynx didn't know what to do she was flailing around trying to knock Infernape way with Double Slap but kept missing. Due to speeds that Infernape was moving it seemed that parts of Jynx' body were spontaneously bursting into flames. This effect caused Ursula's points to drop as quickly as Infernape was moving.
"Jynx use Psychic to give yourself some space." Ursula cried out as she saw her points dropping steadily. Jynx blocked out the flaming attacks that battered against her body and sent a shockwave of Psychic energy out throwing Infernape backwards, the fire monkey landed on her back sliding along the ground for a few feet before stopping and rolling back to her feet. "Now Shadow Ball." Ursula wanted to keep the momentum going and reduce Holly's points some more since sending Infernape backwards had taken some away. Jynx launched a volley of Shadow Balls towards the Flame Pokémon.
"Dodge them." Holly said, Infernape started to cartwheel and spin around the incoming projectiles. Jynx kept up her barrage, a few of the Shadow Balls managed to graze Infernape but none actually made a complete connection. As Infernape evaded the ghost type attacks Ursula's points dropped slowly, this caused the peach haired Co-Ordinator to change tactics.
"Use Psychic." Jynx' eyes shone blue as she stopped Infernape in her tracks before making the fire type move into the path of all the Shadow Balls.
Up in the audience Ash noticed that Infernape's hand was twitching and had energy flickering around it. He used his Aura and focused on Infernape's hand, Ash could see the energy a little clearer and he had an idea of what was happening.
"Lucario do you see that?" He asked, Lucario nodded.
It seems that Infernape is on the verge of learning a new move Master.
"That's what I thought….and don't call me Master."
As you wish Master. Ash sighed and shaking his head before turned his attention back to the field as Pikachu, Glaceon and Gardevoir laughed to the exchange.
"Infernape try using Flare Blitz to get out of there." Holly shouted but she started to get concerned when she saw Infernape's body relax. The fire type stayed like that for a few seconds before her eyes snapped open flashing yellow and she broke out of the Psychic hold in a blur of motion. The sudden burst of speed combined with her body relaxing, which weakened the strength of Psychic's grip, enabled her break Jynx' hold. Infernape moved at a pace which was hard to follow, she weaved in and out of the incoming Shadow Balls. The Flame Pokémon's fist was enveloped in light blue energy as she got closer and closer to Jynx. The move Infernape was using was obviously not Flare Blitz, it was Mach Punch.
Jynx kept trying to grab Infernape with Psychic but when the fire type saw Jynx' eyes start to glow blue she would speed to somewhere else on the field. The energy from Infernape's fist travelled up her arm seconds before she launched the attack. Jynx was caught in the face and rocketed backwards hitting the ground back first, skidding towards Ursula and as the Human Shape Pokémon slowly rose to her feet the buzzer went off.
"That's all we have time for let's see who's won this Semi Final." Julia said as she walked onto the field. "Our winner, by points, is Holly and Infernape. The Final of this Contest will be a battle between Holly from Arrowroot Town and May from Petalburg City." The crowd cheered, applauding Holly and Infernape. The fire type jumped back to her trainer as they celebrated their victory, Ursula returned Jynx to her ball and slowly walked across the field towards her opponents.
"Congratulations, that was a great match." Ursula said holding her hand out to Holly, a sad smile on her lips.
"Thanks, we should have a rematch sometime." Holly replied, shaking Ursula's hand smiling back at her. Infernape, though tired, was still stood next to Holly bouncing on the balls of her feet. Even after a hard fought battle the fire type still had some leftover energy.
The Co-Ordinators left the field as some other people walked on and cleaned away the scorch marks and remains to the ice that held Infernape from the ground. There was a fifteen minute break allowing May and Holly to have a break and heal their Pokémon before the last battle.
"Now we have the battle to decide the winner of the Porta Vista Contest and recipient of the Vista Ribbon. Please welcome onto the field Holly and May!" Julia said, her voice getting steadily higher until she was shouting. The audience exploded in cheers and yells of excitement, Pikachu and Glaceon let loose a couple of low power attacks to create a small display. Lucario even joined in with everyone else barking out May's name so that only Ash and May could hear him.
Holly and May came onto the field the same way they did for their other battles, they walked out still acting like their Pokémon. May walked out with her arms crossed over her chest and her head bowed slightly while Holly bounced from foot to foot occasionally flipping and cartwheeling towards her side of the field.
Mienshao and Infernape faced each other at the centre of the field waiting for the battle to begin. Mienshao kept her calm demeanor while Infernape was still bouncing and grinning like a maniac. May and Holly stared at each other with similar expressions to their Pokémon. May wore a small smile and her eyes flickered with a fire of excitement while Holly was openly grinning and letting the eagerness in her eyes burn like the fire on her Pokémon's head.
"It seems that our Finalists are more than ready to start this battle so we'll put five minutes on the clock and begin the battle." Julia said, retreating to the safety of the sidelines. Everyone was expecting the battle to start instantly but as soon as the timer started Infernape and Mienshao locked eyes, not moving they then bowed slowly to each other and took up a fighting stance after they rose from the bow.
"Mach Punch." Holly said, starting the battle. Light blue energy rippled up her arm as she drew back her fist and launched herself towards Mienshao.
"Dodge it!" May shouted, Mienshao waited until the last second sidestepping the punch. She wrapped one of her 'sleeves' round Infernape's arm pulling the fire type off balance. "Aura Force." May added, Mienshao formed a small Aura Sphere in the palm of her hand before adding the energy of a Force Palm to it changing the blue ball of energy to a ball of green energy due to the added yellow from Force Palm.
The combined attack was then pushed into Infernape's face as she fell into it, the Flame Pokémon was knocked backwards sending out a Blaze Kick but Mienshao leant back to evade the arcing attack. Infernape put a hand to her face rubbing her eyes before staring back at Mienshao, the ever present grin now missing from the fire type's face. The two fighting types walked closer to each other, May and Holly fell silent as they watched their Pokémon start to spar.
The first few moves they exchanged were just grazes and glancing blows to test reflexes and the strength of blocks, this was all to assess their opponent's level of skill. The real sparring session started properly after they'd determined what their opponent was capable of. Both Mienshao and Infernape wore serious expressions while they fought, everyone watched in silence as the fighting types battled using their innate skills and experience from their years of battling.
May and Holly just watched as their Pokémon fought without being told, they both noticed that as the fight went on their Pokémon started to lose their serious concentrated expressions and begin to smile. It was slowly at first but eventually they were grinning and enjoying a battle against an opponent of equal skill. Occasionally a move would be used there would be a flicker from Fire Punch, a flash from Force Palm or a streak of green from a Drain Punch.
Infernape attacked with a round kick which Mienshao ducked under pushing Infernape's leg around before rising up again with a Drain Punch at the ready but was caught up in Infernape's tail. Mienshao's arms were trapped at her sides and as much as she struggled it was useless she was unable to escape.
"Infernape use Close Combat." Holly said and Infernape did just as her trainer said, she launched a blistering assault on Mienshao. "Use Fire Punch as well." Infernape's fists burst into flames as she continued her attack making it look like Mienshao was being pelted by a meteor storm.
May's mind raced as she tried to think of a way to get Mienshao out of Infernape's grasp, her points were dropping and there was nothing she could do to stop it. All she could do was watch and worry as Mienshao was getting hit again and again, until something occurred to her a move that Mienshao had learnt a couple of years earlier but they'd never used in a battle before. She'd only found out about the move when she'd scanned Mienshao to see what it actually did.
"Mienshao, Confide!" May shouted, Mienshao dodged an incoming fist and whispered into Infernape's ear. The fire types attack faltered as her concentration broke from whatever Mienshao had said, as the Flame Pokémon's tail slackened May took advantage of the lapse. "Aerial Ace!" Mienshao slipped out of Infernape's now loose tail at high speed, trails of white energy streamed from her form as she slammed into Infernape over and over from all sides.
"Close Combat again." Holly said, Infernape lashed out with another high speed attack she managed to stop some of Mienshao's attacks but Aerial Ace still managed to make contact a few times. "Dodge with Acrobatics." Holly added trying a different tactic, Infernape gave an almost unperceivable nod before starting to flip and somersault out of the way of Mienshao's attacks. The fire type managed to evade a large number of the attacks but some still found their target.
Eventually both Infernape and Mienshao had to stop, they faced each other from opposite ends of the field, panting heavily as they tried to regain some of their energy. May noticed that Mienshao wasn't breathing as heavily as Infernape so decided to attack before the fire type had the chance.
"Swift!" She shouted, Mienshao spun into a round kick sending a volley of golden stars at the tired Flame Pokémon. Holly saw the stars and made the decision to use one of Infernape's moves that she didn't call for very often.
"Flamethrower!" She countered, Infernape took a deep breath before letting out a stream of fire. Holly's Infernape mostly used physical moves to take advantage of her natural speed and flexibility though she did have a few special moves in her arsenal. The Flamethrower spewed out of Infernape's open mouth crashing into the incoming Swift attack, some to the fire type attack fused with the normal type attack giving it the appearance of burning stars. Some of the now burning Swift attack exploded into a small fireworks display further depleting May's points while other managed to push through the Flamethrower and hit Infernape. As the attack hit it triggered something May hadn't thought of during the battle, Infernape eyes turned a solid blood red as a fiery orange Aura surrounded her body and the flames that burnt atop her head grew to an immense size. Blaze had been activated.
May knew that she was in trouble and swore under her breath, she'd had experience with the Blaze Ability from battling with Blaziken but she'd never had to battle against it before. Infernape's fire type attacks were now more but it also meant that Infernape was nearly out of the battle, May risked a quick glance at the time seeing there was less than a minute left.
"Aura Sphere then Drain Punch." Mienshao formed and threw an Aura Sphere at Infernape, not bothering to lock the attack onto the fire type's Aura, and followed it straight afterwards running mere inches behind the orb.
"Overheat!" Holly shouted, Infernape took another deep breath but this time let out a much bigger stream of fire which was now glowing white hot. Overheat instantly destroyed the Aura Sphere and Holly expected to hear Mienshao cry out in pain but was confused when she heard nothing but the roar from Overheat. Infernape stopped the powerful attack once the flames disappeared both Holly and Infernape saw that Mienshao was still running towards them. The small fighting type had ducked under the column of fire, taking a little damage along her back to the close proximity. Mienshao made a decision to use Aerial Ace to get in close fast now that she'd been discovered. "Dodge and use Blaze Kick!"
Infernape jumped into the air, turning horizontal and spinning she evaded Mienshao's Aerial Ace and launched into a Blaze Kick which sliced down in a vicious arc. The kick smashed into Mienshao's head causing the Martial Arts Pokémon to slam into the ground, the collision of Aerial Ace and Blaze Kick created a lightshow that sparkled in the dust cloud that came up from where Mienshao had landed on the field.
As the dust cloud drifted back to the ground Mienshao could be seen struggling to get up, the fighting type slowly rose to her feet swaying side to side. Mienshao took a small step forward to continue the battle when the buzzer rang, ending the battle. Infernape stepped forward and caught Mienshao as she started to fall forward, they shared a smile and nodded to each other. May knelt down and took Mienshao from Infernape's grasp, having run onto the field after seeing the Martial Arts Pokémon start to fall, she thanked the fire type and took her Pokémon into a tight hug thanking her for all of her hard work.
Julia walked onto the field at the same time Holly did, Holly stopped next to Infernape putting a hand on the fire type's shoulder. May stood still holding Mienshao in her arms and waited alongside Holly to hear the results of the battle.
"And that was a battle that I won't be forgetting anytime soon. Our winner and recipient of the Vista Ribbon is…Holly!" Julia announced causing the audience to give Holly a standing ovation, Ash, Lucario and Gardevoir got to their feet with Pikachu and Glaceon perching on Ash's shoulders. They were happy for Holly but were sad that May had lost.
"This battle was a display of the prowess that these two fighting types possess, it was a true privilege to watch." Mr. Contesta said.
"Truly remarkable." Mr. Sukizo added.
"I can see that both of these Pokémon put their hearts and souls into this battle, they did everything they could for their trainers and should be proud of what they did today." Nurse Joy said. The three Judges then stood up and walked onto the field, Nurse Joy opened a small box that Mr. Contesta held, took out the Vista Ribbon and presented the Ribbon to Holly.
"Congratulations Holly, that was a great battle." May said holding out her hand to Holly. Holly gave May a wide smile shaking her hand.
"Yeah it was, hopefully we'll get the chance to battle again soon." Holly replied.
"Let's hear it one more time for both of our finalist and their amazing Pokémon!" Julia shouted causing the audience to explode in cheers and applause. May and Holly turned and bowed to the Judges and the audience before leaving the stage.
After an hour May and Holly came out of the Co-Ordinator's room wearing their normal clothes. They'd showered and scrubbed as much of the body paint off as they could though some traces still remained, a spot of paint or a faint mark of eye shadow. While they'd been cleaning themselves Nurse Joy had taken their Pokémon to heal them. May was in her usual attire while Holly walked out wearing a yellow floral summer dress and yellow heels.
"I'll see you around May." Holly said before walking off with the sunlight shimmering off the remaining glitter in her hair. May smiled, waving after her newest rival who waved back, Ash was waiting with the Pokémon and Glaceon ran up to May rubbing against the brunette's leg. May knelt down and stroked the ice type earning a pleased purr from her. While Ash had been waiting he'd seen Ursula and Kenny leaving the Contest Hall, he'd had brief conversations with them but they'd each wanted to get back to the Pokémon Centre as soon as possible to let their Pokémon rest after everything they'd done during the Contest.
"You did great job May, next time you'll win." Ash said putting a hand on her shoulder, May smiled at him and stood up.
"I know it's just that this time Holly managed to take more of my point than I could take hers." May replied before placing a quick a peck on his cheek. "Thanks for all the help and believing in me. Hey where's Lucario gone?" Ash, May and the Pokémon looked around but couldn't see the Aura Pokémon, Ash closed his eyes and focused on locating Lucario's Aura. After a few seconds he'd found the missing Pokémon and, with May and the other Pokémon following him, he started to quickly walk down the road.
Holly was walking down the road looking at her new ribbon when a shape appeared in front of her causing her to stumble a little to stop herself from falling over. She found a Lucario stood in front of her, the Lucario bowed to her and to her surprise spoke.
I have a request to make, may I please battle your Infernape?
Hope you liked it. I'll try and get the next chapter out quicker and if you like Doctor Who there's the oneshot to read in the meantime.
Until Next Time
Basic Trainer