A Guide To Her Heart (A Poke'mon Fanfic)
Posted: February 27th, 2012, 9:09:57 pm
A Guide To Her Heart
Episode 1: Winning in the Shadows
It was just another normal day in Lavender Town, but at least the Poke'mon Contest was today; it was the only thing Violet ever looked forward too. She sat on the lilac bedding inside her room on the seventh and top floor of Poke'mon Tower. You see, her parents ran the grave site and the family's "house" was upstairs.
Her two Poke'mon made themselves comfortable in their arrangements in the room. Her Poochyena, Dark Thorn, lay curled up inside its little fluffy bed in the corner and Onyx Ice, a Sneasel, sat Indian-style in the opposing corner.
Obviously, Violet loved Dark Poke'mon, as well as Ghost Poke'mon, since she did grow up here in Lavender Town. She never had to worry about the Ghost of Poke'mon Tower; they even seemed to except her as one of their one. A particular Gastly had taken quite a liking to her and was always just outside the door to greet her in the mornings or when she returned from a Poke'mon Contest.
You see, Violet didn't get to speak to people much. Staying in Poke'mon Tower most of the time, the only people she came in contact with were to busy mourning to be her friends. And her parents just flat out didn't seem to care. Poke'mon Contests on the other hand were where Violet was accepted…and stood out. Lavender Town had hosted four Poke'mon Contests, and Violet had won all of them. This was going to be Lavender Town's final contest and if Violet won it, that would make five ribbons, then her parents would let her go to the Grand Festival.
Last season, Violet had wanted more than anything else to go to the Kanto Regional Grand Festival, but her parents forbid her to go. This time, she made a bet with her parents. If she could get all five of her ribbons here in Lavender Town, then they would let her go to the National Grand Festival being held in the Hoenn Region, which was bound to be the greatest assembly of top Coordinators from all around the world. Her parents of course agreed to this because the task was about as impossible as catching the legendary Poke'mon Entei with a month-old Caterpie. The mission involved Violet winning everyone of Lavender Town's Poke'mon Contests this season, and as far as her parents knew, she hadn't won any of them, which Violet actually found highly amusing. Actually…no one knew she had won those four contests. But she had all the confidence in the world in herself and her Poke'mon, and was sure she was going to win this one as well, because once she won this contest, Lavender Town would probably never see her again.
One person once told her that she was too beautiful to have to deal with such cruel parents. She didn’t think that she was beautiful, at all. She had long, slightly wavy mauve-colored hair which shimmered in the moonlight and was matched by bright eyes of the same color. She had a gentle-shaped face, a narrow waist, and gracefully small hands. She always wore a mint green and white shirt and a black and white striped skirt. That person who had told her she was beautiful, had been her Grandmother Angelica, who was a Channeler here in Poke'mon Tower. She had taught Violet everything about Ghost and Dark Poke'mon. Her parents, even though they ran Poke'mon Tower, didn't believe Grandmother Angelica's activities were real. Violet herself wasn’t sure or not if she believed in channeling spirits, but she did believe in developing connections with them. Either way, her grandmother had a straighter head on than her parents.
Looking down at the purple Haunter-watch on her wrist, Violet noticed that it was 11:30, half an hour until the contest. Dark Thorn, who seemed to have an excellent sense of time, jumped up out of its bed and pranced into Violet's closet. It then came out a moment later with a long, black cloak between its teeth. The purple-haired Coordinator flashed a sweet smile at the small Poke'mon. "Thanks Thorn," she grinned, taking the article of clothing from the Dark Poke'mon. "You ready guys?" she asked, looking at her two allies.
"Rwarf!" the Poochyena barked.
"Sneaz!" the other one replied, elbowing the air as it showed off its sharp claws.
"Good," Violet nodded and stood up. "Let's go win this thing!"
After putting on the black cloak, and putting up the hood to where it hid her eyes as well as half her face, she opened the door to her bed room. Walking through the tombstones on the floor, a familiar Gastly began to float around her head.
"Gaaaaaasss," the shadow-like Poke'mon greeted.
"Morning Dark Smoke," Violet acknowledged. The Gastly of course didn't actually belong to her, but the two were so close that Violet had proceeded to give it a nickname anyways.
The Ghost Poke'mon accompanied her to the stairs, but then let her go her way as she descended into the lower levels and eventually out the double doors at the base of Poke'mon Tower.
* * *
The lobby at the Contest Hall was crowded with Poke'mon Coordinators and Poke'mon, but none of them noticed Violet. She wasn't even herself to them, yet there she was, dawning the mysterious ebony cape to conceal her identity. The moment she made an appearance, a path was cleared for her and murmurs began to fill the room. But 'Violet' wasn't the name that was heard; it was 'Shadow.' At Poke'mon Contests, Violet signed up under the name 'Shadow' and hid herself beneath her hood, causing suspicion as well as envy to erupt in the swarm of Coordinators at her skill. Little did everyone know that she was nothing more than Mr. Fuji's granddaughter beneath a dark covering.
Then, Violet felt a tugging at the bottom of her cloak. She looked down to see a lean little Pikachu. Violet smiled under her hood at the sweet Poke'mon and gave the little yellow mouse a nod; it climbed up her cloak and sat on her shoulder.
"Pikachu! Pikachu!" a trainer called on the other side of the lobby. He had spiky black hair underneath a vivid red cap and wore blue jeans with a black and yellow vest.
"Trainer," Violet called in a hiss; she had become quite good at using her "Shadow-voice." The boy looked her way and approached her quickly as he noticed the Poke'mon on her shoulder. "Would this be your Pikachu?" she asked, her voice like a ghost. The boy nodded with a grin as the Pikachu jumped into his arms. With a turn, Violet began to walk backstage.
"Thank you for finding Pikachu!" the trainer called. Violet stopped and replied over her shoulder.
"Not thanks required; it found me."
"Um…I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!" he smiled again.
Violet smirked. "I'm called Shadow," she said in an oily voice and walked on as she saw a tall, tan boy with dark brown hair and narrow eyes come up behind Ash. He was followed by a short black-haired kid, and a young brown-headed girl wearing red. Quietly, she disappeared into the backstage Coordinator's lounge.
"Thank goodness! You found it Ash!" May smiled.
"Where was it?" Max asked.
"It was with this girl, I couldn't see her face though. It was hid by a cloak," Ash replied.
"Gee May, you and your friends really aren't too bright!"
The group turned around to see a green-haired boy standing before them. He dawned blue jeans, a dark sweater, a purple jacket, and a well-practiced smirk.
"Excuse us," Brock muttered in mock politeness.
"And just what makes you so smart, Drew?" May retorted, hands on her hips.
"That girl Ash was referring to is Shadow," Drew informed them.
"Huh…who's Shadow?" May asked, a confused expression on her face.
"She's won every Lavender Town competition this year! Everyone's talking about her," he smirked knowingly, running a hand through his hair.
"Wow. Sounds good," Max said simply.
"DON'T PUT THE PRESSURE ON ME!!" May wailed to her little brother.
"Sorry! Sorry!" he cried and glanced away nervously. May let out a puff of exasperated breath, making Drew laugh out loudly at her.
"What's so funny?!" the mahogany-haired girl asked coldly.
"Shadow is the least of your worries as long as I'm competing too!" he told her, still smirking as walked off towards the backstage room.
"Oooh!!" May growled, clenching her fists as her rival left her sight.
* * *
"Alright, let's welcome our first Coordinator, Drew!!" Lillian Meridian announced as Drew appeared onstage.
"Flygon, let's go!" he declared. Flygon emerged from its poke'ball, shimmering with enthusiasm. "Sandstorm!" Drew directed. With its powerful wings, Flygon whipped up a sandstorm that gushed around the stage, throwing everyone's hair astray and sending up flurries and tufts of sand. "Now use sand tomb!" commanded the green-haired Coordinator. With Flygon's eyes glowing like gems, the sand began to morph, forming a tall pillar in the middle of the stage. "Wrap it up with hyper beam!" Drew instructed, a "full-of-himself" smile on his face. Flygon let loose a golden ray at the pillar and on contact it exploded into a shower of dusty sparkles.
"Wow! Not that's a way to start a contest! Let's see what the judges thought of Drew! Mr. Contesta?" Lillian spoke.
"He did an excellent job of combining moves and showing off his Poke'mon's secondary type even though its known for being a dragon and not a ground-type," Raul Contesta said professionally.
"Remarkable!!" Sukizo grinned.
"He's raised Flygon so well, and the two perform wonderfully together!" Nurse Joy beamed. Drew's scores appeared across the board. From Mr. Contesta, he received a 9.5, from Sukizo a 10, and another 10 from Nurse Joy.
"Outstanding! With a score of 29.5, Drew's fired up this contest already!" Lillian proclaimed as Drew walked off stage.
"Top that May!" he challenged as he brushed past her in the Coordinator's lounge. May then mumbled something under her breath that sounded something like "Jerk!" as soon as he was out of earshot.
* * *
A couple Coordinators later…
"Okay, let's welcome May!" Lillian broadcasted. Once on stage, May released her poke'ball high into the air the flash of white light signaled the arrival of her Combusken.
"Fire spin!!" May chimed. Combusken produced a ring of fire from its beak that rose up into the air, forming a flaming sphere. "Okay, sky uppercut!" May finished and her Poke'mon jumped into the air. Claws glowing, it struck the flames directly, making the embers shower down over the field in a beautiful, fiery rain.
"Wonderful! Judges?" Lillian asked. "She showed off both of Combusken's types in her performance. Well done!" Mr. Contesta said.
"Remarkable!" Sukizo added.
"Yes! Simply beautiful!" Nurse Joy agreed. Between all of the judges, May received a 28, enough to get her into the finals.
* * *
"Alright, the appeal you've all been waiting for! Here's the mysterious Shadow!" Lillian publicized, attempting to make an eerie ghost face to which she failed miserably.
Violet emerged onto the stage, hood mysteriously hanging over her eyes and most of her face.
"I choose you, Onyx Ice!" Violet announced and the crowd cheered, her Sneasel obviously being a crowd-pleaser.
"Ah, it's her Sneasel that she calls Onyx Ice. We've seen this Poke'mon before but has Shadow cooked up anything new?!" Lillian questioned.
"Onyx, ice Beam!" Violet called. Gracefully, Onyx Ice shot the ice beam, a mini-glacier appearing in the middle of the stage. "Get behind that thing and use night shade!" The Sneasel placed its claws against the ice and released the shadows from its palms. Darkness oozed into the ice, bubbling like lava inside a lava-lamp, causing the crowd to ooh and ah at the glacier. "Now, brick break!" Violet exclaimed. Onyx Ice pummeled into the sheet of ice and it burst, beautiful dark sparkles making the stage shimmer like it was surrounded in onyx crystals.
"What an amazing display!" Lillian squealed with excitement. "Judges?"
"Not only did she use a variety of Sneasel…er, excuse me…Onyx Ice's moves, she also performed two different displays that were both very beautiful!" Mr. Contesta complimented.
"Remarkable!" Sukizo grinned.
"Such a healthy Sneasel and such a wonderful appeal!" Nurse Joy beamed.
* * *
May gasped in the backstage room as Shadow received a perfect score of thirty. "She's unbelievable!"
"I warned you that she was good," Drew told her, arms crossed.
The screen revealed that the finalists were Drew, May, Shadow, and Charlie, a Coordinator with a Noctowl. May wished she could face him, but she had to go up against Drew, while Shadow got to battle Charlie.
Her victory was incredible! When Noctowl launched an attack, she had Onyx Ice just stay put and then use ice beam when the owl Poke'mon was only about a foot in front of it, knocking it out in one hit!
May and Drew were up next, Combusken and Flygon appearing on stage shortly after their Coordinators. With that, the timer started.
"Fire spin!" May called and Combusken opened its mouth, sending a fiery vortex racing towards Flygon.
"Flygon, take flight!" Drew commanded. Flygon surged upwards into the air, managing to get out the way just in time.
"Sky uppercut!" May shouted again and Combusken jumped into the air after the dragon.
"Now, grab it!" instructed Drew. Flygon easily caught Combusken despite its scrawny forearms, rendering its uppercut useless. This pulled a gasp from May while her opponent flashed a smirked. "Seismic toss!" Drew directed and Flygon obeyingly flipped in the air, sending Combusken crashing into the ground.
"Combusken, use double ki-" but May was cut off by the buzzer.
"Times Up! And looks like Drew's the winner!" Lillian announced, a picture of Drew and Flygon appearing on the big screen.
* * *
"It's okay May. You can still get enough ribbons in other contests!" Ash said assuringly.
"Good effort."
May looked up to see the hooded figure of Shadow hovering just over her.
"Thanks," she said with a smile and a nod as Shadow headed for the stage. "Shadow, will you do me a favor?" May called. The cloaked girl stopped and looked over her shoulder. "Beat Drew!" May exclaimed. Shadow smirked and arrived on the stage without a word.
"I hope you’re as good as you seem," Drew whispered to the mauve-haired girl on is way to his side of the stage. "I could use a challenge!" he smirked yet again. His shoulder brushed hers as he went by, sending a cold chill through both of them. The girl beneath the hood shook off the strange sensation as she called out Onyx Ice and Drew did the same with Flygon, and the battle began.
"Dragonbreath, Flygon!" Drew called.
"Onyx, slash through it!" Violet instructed. Onyx Ice dove into the flames, its claws seething right through the embers.
"Oooh! That's gonna take Drew down a couple of points!" Lillian exclaimed.
"Aerial ace!" Drew commanded. Wings spread wide, Flygon dove for Onyx Ice.
"Stop it in its tracks!" Shadow hissed. Onyx Ice abruptly grabbed Flygon by the wings, stopping it dead. "End this! Night shade!" Shadow directed, and the stage was engulfed in blinding darkness.
"What?! No one can see!" Lillian gasped.
"I've never seen night shade used like this before!" Drew mumbled in frustration.
"Tell me Drew…are you afraid of the dark?" Shadow's slithering voice snaked through the darkness to Drew's ears.
"Oooh! Listen to that taught! It's sending chills down my spine!" Lillian said in the darkness. Then, Drew heard his Flygon wail and everyone knew that the Sneasel had finally attacked. The buzzer went off and the darkness dissipated, only for the crowd to see that Flygon was slumped to the ground, its eyes spinning and its wings twitching slightly.
"And that's it, Shadow is the winner!" Lillian announced.
"Finally…" Violet thought to herself. "I did it."
Episode 1: Winning in the Shadows
It was just another normal day in Lavender Town, but at least the Poke'mon Contest was today; it was the only thing Violet ever looked forward too. She sat on the lilac bedding inside her room on the seventh and top floor of Poke'mon Tower. You see, her parents ran the grave site and the family's "house" was upstairs.
Her two Poke'mon made themselves comfortable in their arrangements in the room. Her Poochyena, Dark Thorn, lay curled up inside its little fluffy bed in the corner and Onyx Ice, a Sneasel, sat Indian-style in the opposing corner.
Obviously, Violet loved Dark Poke'mon, as well as Ghost Poke'mon, since she did grow up here in Lavender Town. She never had to worry about the Ghost of Poke'mon Tower; they even seemed to except her as one of their one. A particular Gastly had taken quite a liking to her and was always just outside the door to greet her in the mornings or when she returned from a Poke'mon Contest.
You see, Violet didn't get to speak to people much. Staying in Poke'mon Tower most of the time, the only people she came in contact with were to busy mourning to be her friends. And her parents just flat out didn't seem to care. Poke'mon Contests on the other hand were where Violet was accepted…and stood out. Lavender Town had hosted four Poke'mon Contests, and Violet had won all of them. This was going to be Lavender Town's final contest and if Violet won it, that would make five ribbons, then her parents would let her go to the Grand Festival.
Last season, Violet had wanted more than anything else to go to the Kanto Regional Grand Festival, but her parents forbid her to go. This time, she made a bet with her parents. If she could get all five of her ribbons here in Lavender Town, then they would let her go to the National Grand Festival being held in the Hoenn Region, which was bound to be the greatest assembly of top Coordinators from all around the world. Her parents of course agreed to this because the task was about as impossible as catching the legendary Poke'mon Entei with a month-old Caterpie. The mission involved Violet winning everyone of Lavender Town's Poke'mon Contests this season, and as far as her parents knew, she hadn't won any of them, which Violet actually found highly amusing. Actually…no one knew she had won those four contests. But she had all the confidence in the world in herself and her Poke'mon, and was sure she was going to win this one as well, because once she won this contest, Lavender Town would probably never see her again.
One person once told her that she was too beautiful to have to deal with such cruel parents. She didn’t think that she was beautiful, at all. She had long, slightly wavy mauve-colored hair which shimmered in the moonlight and was matched by bright eyes of the same color. She had a gentle-shaped face, a narrow waist, and gracefully small hands. She always wore a mint green and white shirt and a black and white striped skirt. That person who had told her she was beautiful, had been her Grandmother Angelica, who was a Channeler here in Poke'mon Tower. She had taught Violet everything about Ghost and Dark Poke'mon. Her parents, even though they ran Poke'mon Tower, didn't believe Grandmother Angelica's activities were real. Violet herself wasn’t sure or not if she believed in channeling spirits, but she did believe in developing connections with them. Either way, her grandmother had a straighter head on than her parents.
Looking down at the purple Haunter-watch on her wrist, Violet noticed that it was 11:30, half an hour until the contest. Dark Thorn, who seemed to have an excellent sense of time, jumped up out of its bed and pranced into Violet's closet. It then came out a moment later with a long, black cloak between its teeth. The purple-haired Coordinator flashed a sweet smile at the small Poke'mon. "Thanks Thorn," she grinned, taking the article of clothing from the Dark Poke'mon. "You ready guys?" she asked, looking at her two allies.
"Rwarf!" the Poochyena barked.
"Sneaz!" the other one replied, elbowing the air as it showed off its sharp claws.
"Good," Violet nodded and stood up. "Let's go win this thing!"
After putting on the black cloak, and putting up the hood to where it hid her eyes as well as half her face, she opened the door to her bed room. Walking through the tombstones on the floor, a familiar Gastly began to float around her head.
"Gaaaaaasss," the shadow-like Poke'mon greeted.
"Morning Dark Smoke," Violet acknowledged. The Gastly of course didn't actually belong to her, but the two were so close that Violet had proceeded to give it a nickname anyways.
The Ghost Poke'mon accompanied her to the stairs, but then let her go her way as she descended into the lower levels and eventually out the double doors at the base of Poke'mon Tower.
* * *
The lobby at the Contest Hall was crowded with Poke'mon Coordinators and Poke'mon, but none of them noticed Violet. She wasn't even herself to them, yet there she was, dawning the mysterious ebony cape to conceal her identity. The moment she made an appearance, a path was cleared for her and murmurs began to fill the room. But 'Violet' wasn't the name that was heard; it was 'Shadow.' At Poke'mon Contests, Violet signed up under the name 'Shadow' and hid herself beneath her hood, causing suspicion as well as envy to erupt in the swarm of Coordinators at her skill. Little did everyone know that she was nothing more than Mr. Fuji's granddaughter beneath a dark covering.
Then, Violet felt a tugging at the bottom of her cloak. She looked down to see a lean little Pikachu. Violet smiled under her hood at the sweet Poke'mon and gave the little yellow mouse a nod; it climbed up her cloak and sat on her shoulder.
"Pikachu! Pikachu!" a trainer called on the other side of the lobby. He had spiky black hair underneath a vivid red cap and wore blue jeans with a black and yellow vest.
"Trainer," Violet called in a hiss; she had become quite good at using her "Shadow-voice." The boy looked her way and approached her quickly as he noticed the Poke'mon on her shoulder. "Would this be your Pikachu?" she asked, her voice like a ghost. The boy nodded with a grin as the Pikachu jumped into his arms. With a turn, Violet began to walk backstage.
"Thank you for finding Pikachu!" the trainer called. Violet stopped and replied over her shoulder.
"Not thanks required; it found me."
"Um…I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!" he smiled again.
Violet smirked. "I'm called Shadow," she said in an oily voice and walked on as she saw a tall, tan boy with dark brown hair and narrow eyes come up behind Ash. He was followed by a short black-haired kid, and a young brown-headed girl wearing red. Quietly, she disappeared into the backstage Coordinator's lounge.
"Thank goodness! You found it Ash!" May smiled.
"Where was it?" Max asked.
"It was with this girl, I couldn't see her face though. It was hid by a cloak," Ash replied.
"Gee May, you and your friends really aren't too bright!"
The group turned around to see a green-haired boy standing before them. He dawned blue jeans, a dark sweater, a purple jacket, and a well-practiced smirk.
"Excuse us," Brock muttered in mock politeness.
"And just what makes you so smart, Drew?" May retorted, hands on her hips.
"That girl Ash was referring to is Shadow," Drew informed them.
"Huh…who's Shadow?" May asked, a confused expression on her face.
"She's won every Lavender Town competition this year! Everyone's talking about her," he smirked knowingly, running a hand through his hair.
"Wow. Sounds good," Max said simply.
"DON'T PUT THE PRESSURE ON ME!!" May wailed to her little brother.
"Sorry! Sorry!" he cried and glanced away nervously. May let out a puff of exasperated breath, making Drew laugh out loudly at her.
"What's so funny?!" the mahogany-haired girl asked coldly.
"Shadow is the least of your worries as long as I'm competing too!" he told her, still smirking as walked off towards the backstage room.
"Oooh!!" May growled, clenching her fists as her rival left her sight.
* * *
"Alright, let's welcome our first Coordinator, Drew!!" Lillian Meridian announced as Drew appeared onstage.
"Flygon, let's go!" he declared. Flygon emerged from its poke'ball, shimmering with enthusiasm. "Sandstorm!" Drew directed. With its powerful wings, Flygon whipped up a sandstorm that gushed around the stage, throwing everyone's hair astray and sending up flurries and tufts of sand. "Now use sand tomb!" commanded the green-haired Coordinator. With Flygon's eyes glowing like gems, the sand began to morph, forming a tall pillar in the middle of the stage. "Wrap it up with hyper beam!" Drew instructed, a "full-of-himself" smile on his face. Flygon let loose a golden ray at the pillar and on contact it exploded into a shower of dusty sparkles.
"Wow! Not that's a way to start a contest! Let's see what the judges thought of Drew! Mr. Contesta?" Lillian spoke.
"He did an excellent job of combining moves and showing off his Poke'mon's secondary type even though its known for being a dragon and not a ground-type," Raul Contesta said professionally.
"Remarkable!!" Sukizo grinned.
"He's raised Flygon so well, and the two perform wonderfully together!" Nurse Joy beamed. Drew's scores appeared across the board. From Mr. Contesta, he received a 9.5, from Sukizo a 10, and another 10 from Nurse Joy.
"Outstanding! With a score of 29.5, Drew's fired up this contest already!" Lillian proclaimed as Drew walked off stage.
"Top that May!" he challenged as he brushed past her in the Coordinator's lounge. May then mumbled something under her breath that sounded something like "Jerk!" as soon as he was out of earshot.
* * *
A couple Coordinators later…
"Okay, let's welcome May!" Lillian broadcasted. Once on stage, May released her poke'ball high into the air the flash of white light signaled the arrival of her Combusken.
"Fire spin!!" May chimed. Combusken produced a ring of fire from its beak that rose up into the air, forming a flaming sphere. "Okay, sky uppercut!" May finished and her Poke'mon jumped into the air. Claws glowing, it struck the flames directly, making the embers shower down over the field in a beautiful, fiery rain.
"Wonderful! Judges?" Lillian asked. "She showed off both of Combusken's types in her performance. Well done!" Mr. Contesta said.
"Remarkable!" Sukizo added.
"Yes! Simply beautiful!" Nurse Joy agreed. Between all of the judges, May received a 28, enough to get her into the finals.
* * *
"Alright, the appeal you've all been waiting for! Here's the mysterious Shadow!" Lillian publicized, attempting to make an eerie ghost face to which she failed miserably.
Violet emerged onto the stage, hood mysteriously hanging over her eyes and most of her face.
"I choose you, Onyx Ice!" Violet announced and the crowd cheered, her Sneasel obviously being a crowd-pleaser.
"Ah, it's her Sneasel that she calls Onyx Ice. We've seen this Poke'mon before but has Shadow cooked up anything new?!" Lillian questioned.
"Onyx, ice Beam!" Violet called. Gracefully, Onyx Ice shot the ice beam, a mini-glacier appearing in the middle of the stage. "Get behind that thing and use night shade!" The Sneasel placed its claws against the ice and released the shadows from its palms. Darkness oozed into the ice, bubbling like lava inside a lava-lamp, causing the crowd to ooh and ah at the glacier. "Now, brick break!" Violet exclaimed. Onyx Ice pummeled into the sheet of ice and it burst, beautiful dark sparkles making the stage shimmer like it was surrounded in onyx crystals.
"What an amazing display!" Lillian squealed with excitement. "Judges?"
"Not only did she use a variety of Sneasel…er, excuse me…Onyx Ice's moves, she also performed two different displays that were both very beautiful!" Mr. Contesta complimented.
"Remarkable!" Sukizo grinned.
"Such a healthy Sneasel and such a wonderful appeal!" Nurse Joy beamed.
* * *
May gasped in the backstage room as Shadow received a perfect score of thirty. "She's unbelievable!"
"I warned you that she was good," Drew told her, arms crossed.
The screen revealed that the finalists were Drew, May, Shadow, and Charlie, a Coordinator with a Noctowl. May wished she could face him, but she had to go up against Drew, while Shadow got to battle Charlie.
Her victory was incredible! When Noctowl launched an attack, she had Onyx Ice just stay put and then use ice beam when the owl Poke'mon was only about a foot in front of it, knocking it out in one hit!
May and Drew were up next, Combusken and Flygon appearing on stage shortly after their Coordinators. With that, the timer started.
"Fire spin!" May called and Combusken opened its mouth, sending a fiery vortex racing towards Flygon.
"Flygon, take flight!" Drew commanded. Flygon surged upwards into the air, managing to get out the way just in time.
"Sky uppercut!" May shouted again and Combusken jumped into the air after the dragon.
"Now, grab it!" instructed Drew. Flygon easily caught Combusken despite its scrawny forearms, rendering its uppercut useless. This pulled a gasp from May while her opponent flashed a smirked. "Seismic toss!" Drew directed and Flygon obeyingly flipped in the air, sending Combusken crashing into the ground.
"Combusken, use double ki-" but May was cut off by the buzzer.
"Times Up! And looks like Drew's the winner!" Lillian announced, a picture of Drew and Flygon appearing on the big screen.
* * *
"It's okay May. You can still get enough ribbons in other contests!" Ash said assuringly.
"Good effort."
May looked up to see the hooded figure of Shadow hovering just over her.
"Thanks," she said with a smile and a nod as Shadow headed for the stage. "Shadow, will you do me a favor?" May called. The cloaked girl stopped and looked over her shoulder. "Beat Drew!" May exclaimed. Shadow smirked and arrived on the stage without a word.
"I hope you’re as good as you seem," Drew whispered to the mauve-haired girl on is way to his side of the stage. "I could use a challenge!" he smirked yet again. His shoulder brushed hers as he went by, sending a cold chill through both of them. The girl beneath the hood shook off the strange sensation as she called out Onyx Ice and Drew did the same with Flygon, and the battle began.
"Dragonbreath, Flygon!" Drew called.
"Onyx, slash through it!" Violet instructed. Onyx Ice dove into the flames, its claws seething right through the embers.
"Oooh! That's gonna take Drew down a couple of points!" Lillian exclaimed.
"Aerial ace!" Drew commanded. Wings spread wide, Flygon dove for Onyx Ice.
"Stop it in its tracks!" Shadow hissed. Onyx Ice abruptly grabbed Flygon by the wings, stopping it dead. "End this! Night shade!" Shadow directed, and the stage was engulfed in blinding darkness.
"What?! No one can see!" Lillian gasped.
"I've never seen night shade used like this before!" Drew mumbled in frustration.
"Tell me Drew…are you afraid of the dark?" Shadow's slithering voice snaked through the darkness to Drew's ears.
"Oooh! Listen to that taught! It's sending chills down my spine!" Lillian said in the darkness. Then, Drew heard his Flygon wail and everyone knew that the Sneasel had finally attacked. The buzzer went off and the darkness dissipated, only for the crowd to see that Flygon was slumped to the ground, its eyes spinning and its wings twitching slightly.
"And that's it, Shadow is the winner!" Lillian announced.
"Finally…" Violet thought to herself. "I did it."