First Hearing of the Pokémon Contest

"I finally got the Stone Badge!"

As Rosa and Gary walked out of the Rustboro Gym together, Rosa looked at the Stone Badge in her palm and excitedly shared her joy with Gary.

"Congratulations." Gary was generous with his congratulations as well.

"Gary, then let's hurry to the next Gym city and win our third Badge!"

Looking at the second Badge she had earned, Rosa's fighting spirit soared even higher. She wanted to clear the third Gym as quickly as possible.

"There's no need to rush that much, is there?" Gary could not help but laugh at Rosa's impatience.

"We haven't been in Rustboro City for long. There's no need to leave so soon."

"Ah." At Gary's words, Rosa's high spirits immediately wilted. Looking dejected, she asked Gary, "Then how much longer are we staying in Rustboro City?"

"Well, I'm not sure either." Gary spread his hands in response to Rosa's question.

"Gary, do you have something to do in Rustboro City?"

Hearing that Gary planned to stay in Rustboro City for an uncertain amount of time, the clever Rosa quickly guessed the reason. Frowning, she asked him.

"That's right." After nodding, Gary explained, "I'm waiting for a friend."

Earlier, Gary had asked Roxanne, the Rustboro Gym Leader, whether someone named Ash had come to challenge the Gym before.

Roxanne's answer had been definite. Before Gary's challenge, no one named Ash had come to challenge the Gym.

Gary had also learned online that the Rustboro Conference of the Pokémon Contest would soon be held in Rustboro City.

With those two pieces of information, Gary confirmed that Ash, who had set out before him, had yet to reach Rustboro City.

Gary had left for Hoenn several days later than Ash, yet Ash had somehow arrived in Rustboro City even later than him.

Putting everything together, Gary's final conclusion was that Ash had probably gotten lost in Petalburg Woods again.

So, the friend Gary had mentioned to Rosa was Ash.

"A friend?" Upon hearing Gary's answer, Rosa's tightly furrowed brow immediately relaxed.

She had thought Gary was in some kind of trouble and had worried for nothing.

"Gary, you have friends in the Hoenn Region?" Rosa knew Gary was from the Kanto Region, so she was quite curious about his Hoenn friend.

"No." Gary shook his head at Rosa's question. "He's from Pallet Town like me, and he's here to challenge the Hoenn League too."

Gary then briefly told Rosa about Ash and his circumstances.

"So it's that Ash!"

After hearing Gary out, Rosa immediately recalled that Norman had mentioned Ash back at the Petalburg Gym.

"That's him."

"Since you need to wait for him, then we'll stay too."

When Rosa heard that Gary intended to wait for Ash in Rustboro City, she readily agreed.

"Perfect. We can also watch the Pokémon Contest that'll be held in Rustboro City soon."

Gary could see that Rosa was not in high spirits, so he brought up the Pokémon Contest.

"A Pokémon Contest? What's that?"

Hearing Gary mention an unfamiliar competition, Rosa looked at him curiously and asked for an answer.

Although Pokémon Contests had existed in the Pokémon World for a long time, they were far less famous than the mainstream Alliance Conferences and Pokémon battles.

Moreover, Pokémon Contests were currently popular only in the Hoenn Region and the Sinnoh Region. The Kalos Region had the similar Pokémon Showcase, while Pokémon Contests had yet to reach the other regions.

Rosa's home region, the Unova Region, was also one of the regions Pokémon Contests had not reached.

However, as the reputation of Pokémon Contests had gradually grown in recent years, coupled with the fact that Wallace, the current Champion Trainer of the Hoenn League, was also a very famous Contest Master, they had slowly begun spreading to areas around the Hoenn Region.

It seemed that the Kanto Region and the Johto Region had already begun introducing this type of competition.

So it was understandable that Rosa did not know much about Pokémon Contests.

Faced with Rosa's eager gaze, Gary promptly filled her in.

"A Pokémon Contest is a competition where Trainers and their Pokémon use combinations of various moves to showcase the Pokémon's charm. Trainers like that are called Coordinators."

"I see." After listening to Gary's explanation, Rosa gained a basic understanding of Pokémon Contests.

"Also, Wallace, the current Champion Trainer of the Hoenn League, is a top-tier Coordinator." Gary added another detail.

"I see. It sounds really interesting."

After hearing Gary talk about Pokémon Contests and Coordinators, Rosa immediately became interested.

Seeing the interest in Rosa's eyes, Gary looked at her and asked, "What? Do you want to enter?"

"Enter?" Rosa thought carefully after hearing Gary's question, but ultimately shook her head and declined.

"I still prefer Pokémon battles. I'll stick with entering Alliance Conferences."

"Gary, are you going to enter?" After sharing her thoughts, Rosa also wanted to know what Gary thought.

"I'm not interested either." Gary shook his head as well.

Then Gary changed the subject. "But we can go watch the Pokémon Contest. What do you think?"

After saying that, Gary turned his gaze toward Rosa.

"Great idea!"

Rosa's eyes immediately lit up at Gary's words. She nodded repeatedly, making her twin ponytails bounce and drawing Gary's attention.

"Then let's go get our Contest Passes together."

"Okay."

Seeing that Rosa was interested in watching the Pokémon Contest, Gary went with her to the Pokémon Center and got their Contest Passes.

(Just to clarify, Contest Passes can also be obtained at Pokémon Centers.)

Since the Pokémon Contest was scheduled for the day after tomorrow, Gary and Rosa rested in Rustboro City for a day before heading together to the contest venue the following morning.

However, just after they arrived at the Pokémon Contest venue, they spotted several familiar figures ahead.

"Say, what are they doing? It doesn't look like pre-match training, does it?"