Seeing that she had successfully advanced to the second round of the competition, Dawn breathed a long sigh of relief, a brilliant smile blooming on her face.
Her first thought was to share this joy with her mother.
"Mom, I advanced!" Dawn said excitedly into the video phone screen, her cheeks flushed with excitement.
Ayako on the other end of the screen smiled gently: "I saw your performance, it was excellent, Dawn. But this is just the beginning; the upcoming Contest Battle is the real test."
"I know!" Dawn nodded vigorously, her eyes determined, "I'll do my best, I definitely won't disappoint you, Mom!"
"Mom believes in you." Ayako's gaze held encouragement and trust, "I'll be cheering for you in front of the TV the whole time. Go on, go meet the next challenge."
"Mm-hmm!"
After hanging up, Dawn took a deep breath and hugged Piplup tightly, "Piplup, we have to do our best!"
"Piplup!" Piplup waved its little wings, full of fighting spirit.
The half-hour break passed quickly, and the second round of the Contest Battle officially began.
The first pair to take the stage were Ash and Miku. Although Ash's Aipom was full of energy and had a strong desire to perform, it ultimately lost under Miku's calm and precise commands and Glameow's elegant yet fierce attacks.
Miku successfully advanced.
On the other side, Dawn also smoothly defeated her opponent and successfully advanced.
"Next up, Contestant Dawn will face Contestant Miku! This will be an absolutely spectacular showdown!" The host's voice ignited the atmosphere in the entire venue.
On the stage, the two girls stood facing each other.
"Buneary, make a charming entrance!" Dawn shouted loudly.
"Glameow, Ready Go." Miku's command was concise and confident.
The match began, with Dawn and Buneary taking the initiative to attack first. However, Miku's response was calm and unhurried; Glameow took no damage, and instead, Dawn's points were reduced significantly.
Just like that, the two fought back and forth. Soon, time ran out, and since Miku had more points, she successfully advanced to the finals.
Warm applause erupted from below the stage; Miku's performance was truly flawless.
"I lost..." Dawn recalled Buneary and walked off the stage dejectedly, her previous excitement and fighting spirit gone.
She ignored the surrounding sounds and headed straight for the backstage phone booth.
Seeing this, Shinji silently followed. He didn't approach to disturb her, but simply stood outside the phone booth, quietly waiting.
The call connected, and Ayako's figure appeared on the screen.
"Mom, I'm sorry, I lost." Dawn's voice was low, carrying obvious disappointment.
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by Ayako's serious voice: "What are you apologizing to me for? You should be apologizing to your Pokémon."
Dawn was stunned, feeling like she might cry.
"You are not allowed to cry right now!" Ayako's tone grew even more stern, "If you have time to cry, you should think hard about why you lost!"
"I..." Dawn bit her lip.
"Also, you can't call me to report every time you win or lose." Ayako's voice softened a bit, "Aren't you traveling with Shinji? And you have Piplup and the others. When you have companions, you should share things with them."
Dawn listened in a daze.
"Alright, don't be sad." Ayako's tone finally became completely gentle, "Mom will always be watching your performance on TV. One failure doesn't mean anything; what's important is to learn from it and keep moving forward."
"Thank you, Mom. I understand..." Dawn said softly, her mood indeed calming down a bit.
After hanging up, Dawn leaned against the glass wall of the phone booth, letting out a long sigh, but her expression was still somewhat downcast.
After all, this was her first time challenging a Pokémon Contest, and stopping at the semi-finals like this—it would be a lie to say she wasn't disappointed.
Just then, a hand reached out in front of her, holding an exquisite pink box.
Dawn looked up in surprise and saw Shinji standing outside the phone booth, his dark purple eyes looking at her calmly.
"Here, for you." Shinji's voice was still cold, but the gesture of offering the box was firm and left no room for refusal.
Dawn numbly took the box and opened it. Inside was a pink Pokémon watch—the very one she had glanced at a few extra times on the promotional poster before.
She had never told anyone she liked this watch; she had just lingered a little longer when passing by the store...
A warm feeling of being quietly noticed and carefully cared for instantly surged through her body, dispelling the gloom of failure.
Dawn suddenly understood the meaning of what her mother had said about "companions."
She looked up, her eyes feeling a bit warm, but this time it wasn't because of sadness.
"Thank you..." Dawn said softly, then raised a bright smile, "Then I won't be polite!"
She happily put the watch on her wrist. The pink strap made her wrist look even fairer, and the Pokémon pattern on the dial was exquisite and cute. The more she looked at it, the more she liked it.
Seeing Dawn's smile return, Shinji secretly breathed a sigh of relief and reminded her, "Miku's match has already started."
"Oh right! I need to hurry and cheer for Miku!" Dawn remembered and quickly ran towards the direction of the arena.
Shinji followed behind her, watching the girl's re-energized back, the corner of his mouth lifting almost imperceptibly.
In the end, Miku advanced all the way with outstanding performances and won the ribbon badge of the Jubilife City Pokémon Contest. At the award ceremony, she held up the ribbon badge with a composed smile on her face.
After the Contest ended, participants and spectators left one after another. Dawn and Miku said their goodbyes outside the venue.
"Miku, congratulations on winning the ribbon badge!" Dawn said sincerely.
"Thank you." Miku nodded, then looked at Dawn, "Your performance was also very good, especially since it was your first time participating in a Pokémon Contest."
Dawn felt a bit embarrassed by the praise, but then she said seriously, "Miku, even though my performance isn't good enough now, one day, I will become a Coordinator who can showcase the charm of Pokémon even better than you."
She clenched her fist, her eyes determined, "Because losing to you really makes me quite unwilling."
Hearing this, Miku was slightly taken aback, then showed a genuine smile: "Still saying such cute things, but I still look forward to our next match."
After saying that, Miku put on her sunglasses, turned around gracefully, and left. Glameow followed at her feet with elegant steps.
On the other side, Ash seemed to have matured quite a bit after this Pokémon Contest. He simply walked up and said goodbye to Dawn and Shinji: "Dawn, Shinji, I'm going to continue my journey too. Next time we meet, I'll definitely be stronger!"
"Mm, do your best!" Dawn nodded vigorously.
Shinji had no comment on this.
Ash and Brock waved goodbye, their figures gradually disappearing at the end of the street.
"We should set off too." Shinji said.
"Mm, the next stop is Iron Island City, right?" Dawn rallied herself, her eyes reigniting with fighting spirit. The pink watch on her wrist shone with a soft light under the sun.
"That's right."
The two packed their luggage, left Jubilife City, and headed towards Iron Island City.
...
Iron Island City, located in the central part of the Sinnoh region, is a city famous for its steel industry.
The entire city is surrounded by continuous mountain ranges. Tall chimneys and large factories can be seen everywhere in the city. Although the air carries a hint of industrial scent, it remains fresh due to the dense surrounding forests.
This place is not only an important industrial hub in the Sinnoh region, possessing advanced steel smelting technology, but also a key stop for Trainers challenging Gyms.
The Steel Gym is one of the official Gyms in the Sinnoh region. Gym Leader Roark specializes in Rock-type Pokémon. Defeating him earns the coal badge.
After several days of travel, Shinji and Dawn finally arrived in Iron Island City.
Upon entering the city, they could immediately feel an atmosphere completely different from Jubilife City—there was less fashion and bustle here, replaced by a heavier sense of industry.
"So this is Iron Island City..." Dawn looked around curiously, "It feels so serious."
"First, challenge the Gym." Shinji was brief and to the point.
Following the road signs, the two quickly found the Steel Gym.
The Gym building looked like a giant rock fortress, with dark gray exterior walls that appeared exceptionally sturdy.
Pushing the door open, inside was a spacious battlefield with a rough, rocky ground. Mineral specimens were embedded in the walls around them, shimmering with different lusters under the lights.
As they walked in, they heard a familiar sound of battle commands, accompanied by the roars of Pokémon.
Following the sound, they saw a familiar figure on the Gym's battlefield, commanding a Pokémon in battle. It was Ash and Brock, whom they had just parted ways with.
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