Inside the waiting area, Coordinators stood in clusters, some calm, some pacing, some quietly rehearsing moves under their breath. Poké Balls were checked and rechecked.
May stood near the edge of the group now, just slightly apart. For a moment, she wasn't looking at anyone else; she was just looking forward.
Her fingers tightened lightly around her Poké Balls. It all led to this.
She let out a slow breath, "You've got this," she muttered to herself.
The lights in the hall dimmed slightly. A voice rang out over the speakers.
"Attention all Coordinators. The Grand Festival preliminaries will now begin."
"Contestants, prepare for entry."
A sharp mechanical tone sounded as the gates at the far end of the hall began to unlock with a deep metallic clack...clack...clack…
One by one, platforms began to rise in sequence, each marked with a number for the order of entry.
The Grand Festival was divided into two stages: the preliminaries and then the official rounds. The preliminaries would begin and would use the regular official Pokémon Contest format, or more specifically, the first round, where the participants would use their Pokémon's moves to charm everyone from the stage.
Among the 250 contestants who would make it through, only the top 64 could officially compete in the next round.
But right now, words like those were unnecessary. As the contestants all got into place, Vivian started.
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for being here with us at this very important time! Right now, here in Slateport City, we are beginning this year's Hoenn Region Pokémon Grand Festival that every fan and Pokémon Coordinator has dreamed of! The Grand Festival, the largest Pokémon Contest, will finally be held right now before your very eyes!"
"The exceptional Pokémon Coordinators who worked so hard with their partners to win all five of their required official Pokémon Contest Ribbons across the various official Pokémon Contests throughout the vast Hoenn Region will first stand here before us for the first round of the preliminaries, the Charming Stage!" Vivian said, sweeping her arm down as she announced the start of the contest.
Now, since there were so many people here and they wanted to get to the next stage as fast as possible, the contestants would be split into four groups. In each group 16 Coordinators would advance to the next round
And with that, the contest had started.
—
{Meanwhile}
Ash and Alain were still going at it back in the park area, where there was a small battlefield just for this.
In the air, Charizard was flying around, dodging Alain's Mega Charizard X's attacks one after the other, and he was still in his base form. Ash was also pretty casual about all of this.
Alain's eyes narrowed, "Take this seriously."
Ash didn't even look stressed. He just yawned slightly, his hands still in his pockets, "Yeah, yeah. I know."
Charizard flipped midair, letting a [Dragon Claw] slash pass under him by inches, then answered with a sudden burst of [Flamethrower] that forced Charizard X back a few meters.
Alain clicked his tongue, "Hmph. Then I'll just—"
"Too slow," Ash cut in.
Charizard suddenly vanished upward with a wing-assisted burst, reappearing above Charizard X's blind spot and slamming down with a heavy [Air Slash] that actually pushed the Mega Charizard off balance.
Alain's eyes widened slightly, "What?!"
Ash finally lifted his head a bit, "You're thinking too hard." He snapped his fingers.
Charizard followed it up immediately, dropping low and feinting left before blasting forward with a clean [Dragon Tail] that clipped Charizard X right across the side and sent him skidding through the air.
The Mega form flickered for a split second, but Charizard X managed to catch himself, return to his Mega form, and get back into the fight.
Alain gritted his teeth, "Get control of it!"
Charizard X roared and fired a massive [Flamethrower] straight down.
But Ash just snapped his fingers. Charizard didn't even dodge this time. He flew up and cut the fire in half.
A straight [Dragon Claw] from Charizard X came next, but Charizard caught it in his hand.
Then Charizard twisted, used Alain's momentum against him, and slammed him down into the airspace below with a brutal throw that cracked the ground barrier of the training field.
Alain's eyes widened, "Impossible…"
Ash smiled. He was going to say something else, but then he stopped when he heard cheering and music coming from the stadium off in the distance.
Ash's eye twitched, "…Tch." He clicked his tongue, "I played around too much."
Alain looked up looking confused, he didn't hear what he said, "What did you say?"
Ash didn't answer him. He just whistled once, "Charizard, finish it."
Charizard's eyes sharpened instantly. In a blur, he dropped straight down toward Charizard X. A crack of lightning exploded on impact as his fist drove directly into Charizard X's stomach, hitting him with a [Thunder Punch] to the gut. The force knocked him out of his Mega form.
Before he could recover, Charizard spun, catching him with a tail strike that sent him flying down toward the field.
Before he could even hit the ground properly, Charizard was already there for a final dive, slamming his knee straight into Charizard X's stomach.
The impact cratered the landing zone, dust bursting outward in a shockwave, and after that, Alain's Charizard didn't get back up. He was knocked out cold.
Ash let out a small breath, finally pulling his hands out of his pockets, "…Alright. That's that," he said, returning Charizard to his Poké Ball.
Alain was still processing the fact that he had lost, but that wasn't really his fault. Because of everything Lysandre had done for him, he had come to believe he was the top dog. It was probably a good thing for him to get a reality check.
Ash walked up to him, "That was a good battle, but I really need to go. It looks like the performances are starting, and I made a promise."
Alain looked up and returned his Charizard to its Poké Ball, "You won this time, but next time I'll win, and I'll make sure you use your Mega Evolution!"
Ash waved his hand in front of him, "Sure, I'd like that, but right now I have to go," Ash said, turning and quickly picking up Pikachu and Vee.
But before he took off, a Poké Ball on his belt opened, and out came Aipom. She immediately jumped up, took Ash's hat, and sat on his head.
Ash looked up at her, "Really? I only said I'd bring you along if you behave. I can still put you back in the PC."
Yeah, Ash had gone ahead and brought Aipom because she really wanted to watch the Grand Festival since she was a fan. Ash agreed since it could be good for when he eventually gave her to Dawn, but only as long as she didn't pull anything again.
Aipom raised her hands like she was surrendering, but she still had that smirk on her face. Ash sighed, "Fine, but you're on thin ice. Let's go," Ash said as he started running toward the stadium, leaving Alain behind to think and plan how he needed to become stronger.
—
When Ash got to the stadium, he texted Brock to ask where they were sitting, then ran to meet them. As he did, he saw all the performances going on at the same time. In each of the four sections, they had three Nurse Joys judging the performances to determine the scores. None of them were the official judges for the finals.
As he ran, Ash caught a glimpse of Robert and his Milotic creating a dancing whirlpool in the sky and letting it rain around them. In another section, he saw Lisia and her Altaria, Ai, dancing together with cotton spores floating around them. Ash even saw Soledad in the third section, using her Slowbro to fire out [Water Gun] attacks and control them, turning the streams into ribbons in the air.
But when Ash got to the fourth and final section, he found where everyone was sitting and quickly moved through the crowd to reach the seat they were saving for him. He arrived just in time, having missed Drew's performance but making it in time for May's.
Ash didn't say anything more than, "I'm here," as he sat down. He simply got ready to watch.
May stepped out from the waiting area, wearing the new black dress she had gotten from Juan. Well, not exactly, the dress had been modified with a blue gemstone decoration that matched her eyes. As she stepped onto the stage, her eyes scanned the crowd, and there she saw everyone, including Ash.
When she saw that Ash had made it, she smiled, then grinned. It was showtime.
She threw out the Poké Ball she was using here, "Beautifly, take the stage!"
As the Poké Ball opened, Beautifly flew out and spun gracefully, letting off sparkling trails that made a good first impression on the crowd.
Then May raised her hand and spun, "Beautifly, [Silver Wind]!"
Beautifly copied May's movements, releasing [Silver Wind] with every flap of her wings. But she did not use [Counter Shield], not yet. They couldn't just use that here; it would lose its surprise factor for the next round.
Not that she needed it. With her [Silver Wind], the stage became covered in sparkling glitter that reflected the light of the sun.
Then, as the crowd and the Nurse Joys assigned to her section watched in awe, May smiled, stopped spinning, raised one hand into the air, and snapped her fingers, "Now, [Energy Ball]!"
Beautifly opened her mouth and fired a bright green orb into the sky. Everyone followed it as it climbed to its highest point before exploding into a brilliant green firework. It combined with the glitter from the [Silver Wind], creating a shower of green sparkles.
And with that, May gave a bow as the crowd and the Nurse Joys clapped. The Joys also wrote down May's score, but they didn't reveal it yet. That was saved for the end.
May looked up and saw all her friends clapping for her, especially her parents, who were both cheering loudly. She blushed and waved at the crowd before running back to the waiting room.
—
The rest of the contests went off normally, and soon the top 64 were decided.
Among them, Lisia took the number one spot, followed by Soledad and Robert in second and third. Chaz placed fourth, May fifth, Drew was 48th, Harley landed somewhere in the 50s, and Jessie, competing as Jessilina, barely made it in at 61st.
They had all made it past the first round, but next came the main competition. This time, the real judges were being brought in, consisting of the Chief of the Pokémon Activities Committee, Raoul Contesta; the President of the Pokémon Fan Club, Mr. Sukizo; and, of course, Juan, the Gym Leader and Contest legend.
First was the final Appeal Stage, where the contestants would do what they had just done again, but this time the format was doubles, meaning they would use two Pokémon at once, which, by the way, was a death sentence for some contestants.
You see, a lot of normal contestants only really trained one Pokémon to excel in Contests. The rest were kind of like backup dancers at best, but that was kind of the point of this round. It weeded out the Coordinators who relied almost entirely on a single Pokémon.
And finally, after this, the total number of Coordinators would go from 64 all the way down to just eight, who would then compete in a 1v1 battle tournament.
The floor beneath the stage lit up with glowing grid lines as the contest field recalibrated for double performances.
As everything was getting ready inside the waiting room, May rolled her shoulders once, "Okay…" she muttered, exhaling slowly, "Double Appeal."
Her fingers moved to her belt and rested on two Poké Balls.
Lisia would have been next to her to talk, but she was getting swarmed by other competitors who wanted her autograph, even at a time like this. Heck, she was already the person everyone thought was going to win since Lisia had already won three Grand Festivals before. Behind her was Chaz, who had won two.
Which, to be honest, was kind of disgraceful. These so-called contestants weren't even going to try for victory since they all assumed Lisia was going to win anyway. For many of them, getting this far was already good enough.
So Robert was the one standing next to May instead of being in the crowd surrounding Lisia. He looked down at her, "So, are you nervous?" he asked.
After all, May was a rookie. This was her first year competing, so it would have been understandable if she had been nervous.
But May just shook her head, "No, not anymore."
As she said that, the computer began randomizing the order. Everyone's faces cycled across the screen until it finally stopped on May's.
"May of Petalburg City, please proceed to the stage."
Almost instantly, Vivian's voice followed over the speakers, bright and excited.
"Ahh! Everyone, listen up! This is a very special moment! One of our Top 64 Coordinators is actually making her Grand Festival debut today, and not only that, she only started competing this year!"
A wave of murmurs spread through the crowd.
"That's right!" Vivian continued, "May is competing in her very first Grand Festival! Let's all give a warm cheer for our rising star!"
As Vivian spoke, May walked out onto the stage once again. This time, the applause was even louder now that everyone knew this was her very first year competing, yet she had already made it this far.
May walked to the center of the stage and took a deep breath. She grabbed a Poké Ball in each hand, looked up with a smile, and spoke loudly enough for the entire stadium to hear.
"Alright...Let's go!" She snapped both Poké Balls open at once, "Bulbasaur! Wartortle!"
Two flashes of light erupted. Bulbasaur landed first, touching down in front of her, while Wartortle came out next in the middle of a little ballerina pose.
The crowd immediately reacted with a wave of cheers, the screens around the stadium zooming in on the two Pokémon as the lights shifted into a soft blue-green palette.
May smiled and raised her hand, "Bulbasaur, [Sunny Day]!"
Bulbasaur let out a cry, and a pulse of light shot upward, breaking through the simulated stage lighting. The arena brightened instantly as warm sunlight flooded down, making the entire field glow.
Then she pointed with her other hand at Wartortle, "Wartortle, [Water Gun]!"
Wartortle spun in place, firing a continuous stream of water that arced upward. Instead of falling, the water caught the light from [Sunny Day] and turned into shimmering ribbons suspended in the air.
Then, while the crowd was watching, May stepped forward slightly, "Now, Bulbasaur, [Energy Ball]!"
Bulbasaur charged the orb in her bulb and then fired it directly into the sky. As the bright green orb climbed higher, it clashed with the water and exploded, sending the water scattering and creating a soft mist that caught the light from the sun. At the same time, the [Energy Ball] burst into a brilliant green firework.
Then May quickly continued to bring it all together. This was it, "Wartortle, [Rapid Spin], and Bulbasaur, use [Vine Whip] on Wartortle!"
Everyone was confused about what May was doing, but that didn't stop her Pokémon. Immediately, Wartortle leaped into the sky and began spinning, while Bulbasaur shot out her vines, wrapping them around Wartortle's shell. Then, almost instantly, Bulbasaur was lifted off the ground and began spinning together with Wartortle.
While everyone else was confused, May didn't panic. She smiled and held both of her hands forward. She winked at the crowd, then snapped, "[Counter Shield]!"
The two spinning Pokémon began rotating together, and they started getting faster and faster. Soon, the falling mist and green energy began gathering around them. As their speed increased, a small tornado of green and blue energy formed around May and continued to grow, yet not once did she flinch.
Then, as the blue and green energy spun, a third light joined it. It was a brilliant white, creating a swirling combination of three colors. The crowd was completely captivated by the colorful tornado.
Then May's voice rang out, "And...end."
May spoke calmly, and in an instant the tornado stopped. Wartortle landed gracefully in front of her, striking a pose. But next to Wartortle, it wasn't Bulbasaur who landed, she had evolved into an Ivysaur. All three of them performed an elegant bow together.
For a moment, everyone was stunned. Then the entire stadium erupted into cheers. The three judges quickly discussed the performance among themselves, and after they finished, they looked toward May.
Out of a maximum possible score of 100 points, May received a 97.
The main reason she lost three points was because, for a brief moment, the performance looked like it had gone out of control, giving the judges a bit of a scare.
But May had done it. With a score of 97/100, everyone knew that had practically secured her place in the finals. May couldn't have been more excited.
She waved at the crowd with both hands and laughed as her picture was taken before finally heading back to the waiting room, where Robert was waiting to congratulate her.
"You really have improved. I'm glad to see it," Robert said with a smile, "I suppose I'll be the one who has to keep up with you."
"Don't worry. There isn't a doubt in my mind that both of you will make it," Soledad said as she walked toward them while the next contestant, someone they didn't recognize, was called to the stage.
"Ah, thank you for the kind words, Soledad," Robert said politely, giving her a small bow.
"It's not just that," Soledad clarified.
After all, she could tell just by looking at most of the contestants crowding around Lisia that they didn't really have the conviction to make it to the next round, because personality and conviction also played a part in the judging.
The three judges were all seasoned veterans, so they could tell at a glance how committed someone was to Pokémon Contests, whether they truly loved them or were just there for fame, whether they were genuinely serious about winning.
Take someone like Harley. He might be sleazy and use underhanded tricks, but he truly did love Pokémon Contests. That was how he managed to get so far. But no one had to worry about him cheating here, since this was the Grand Festival. Harley couldn't get away with the things he could in smaller competitions. If he tried, he'd probably get his Coordinator license revoked.
And anyway, Soledad could also tell...well, mostly because May and Robert were two of the few people who weren't crowding around Lisia.
As if to prove her point, the contestant currently on stage gave a beautiful performance, yet only ended up with a 63/100. So it wasn't nearly as simple as it seemed.
"Well, thank you," May said, accepting the compliment with a smile, "And for what it's worth, I know you'll make it. And as for certain other people..." May said slowly, giving a side glance over to where Drew and Harley were standing, "Well...let's wait and see."
Before Soledad could say anything, her face suddenly appeared on the big screen.
"Ah, looks like I'm up," she said with a smile. Then she gave them one last wave, "I'll see you when I get back."
"How about I see you in the finals? I still want a rematch!" May called after her. Soledad smiled back as she walked out.