"Little girl, let your senior teach you what a Pokémon Contest is all about!"
Jessie started talking tough to Dawn. This little girl had ruined their plans a few times before, so this was the perfect chance to teach her a lesson. Carnivine was a Grass-type, and Piplup was a Water-type. Grass against Water-the advantage was hers!
Still, she was not entirely wrong. She could just barely qualify as a senior, since she had already won a Ribbon using Ash's Aipom.
"Hmph, then please show me the ropes, senior. Just don't lose to a junior like me~, right, senior~?"
Dawn was not intimidated in the slightest. Being around Xiaoyun had rubbed off on her somewhat, giving her a little taste for snide remarks, and she teased Jessie.
"What a sharp-tongued little girl. Carnivine, use Bullet Seed."
Hearing that the little girl was not frightened and had even talked back, Jessie immediately ordered Carnivine to attack.
Carnivine spat a torrent of green seeds from its gaping maw, firing them at Piplup like a rain of bullets.
"Piplup, fight back with Bubble Beam."
Dawn did not sit back and wait, either. She ordered Piplup to spit streams of pale blue bubbles to block the attack.
The two volleys collided, producing smoke but no damage, while both sides lost points.
"You rotten little girl! You actually blocked it. Carnivine, attack with Bite."
Jessie continued ordering Carnivine to attack. Carnivine pushed off with its tail and sprang forward, gathering power in its mouth as it opened its enormous jaws to bite Piplup. It looked ready to swallow Piplup whole.
"Piplup, use Aqua Jet to strike first." Deeply influenced by Xiaoyun, Dawn focused on never letting an opportunity slip by. Seeing the opponent approach, she immediately ordered Piplup to attack with Aqua Jet.
Since Aqua Jet was a priority move, Piplup transformed into a jet of water and struck first, ramming headfirst into Carnivine's belly. It knocked Carnivine back to its starting point halfway through its leap, and Jessie's score began dropping again.
"What's going on? Why do you get to hit me first?!" Jessie stomped her feet on the spot and shouted angrily.
"Piplup, use Bubble Beam again."
Ignoring Jessie, who was clueless about the theory, Dawn continued ordering Piplup to unleash consecutive attacks on Carnivine.
Piplup gathered power in its mouth and spat streams of pale blue bubbles toward the spot where Carnivine was falling. Carnivine had only just landed and raised its head when Bubble Beam pinned it to the ground and battered it repeatedly.
"Carnivine, get up!"
Jessie tried calling out to awaken Carnivine's resistance through their bond, but unfortunately, they had no such thing.
If it had been James, he might have had a chance. Jessie could forget about it~
"Carnivine is unable to battle. Dawn wins this match."
Carnivine was battered by Bubble Beam until it could no longer battle. Awkward as hell.
Marian, the host, promptly announced the result, and our Dawn advanced to the finals.
"It's all that rotten little girl's fault! My Ribbon~" Jessie burst into tears on the spot. She had just seen the Ribbon right before her eyes, so how had it been snatched back in an instant?!
Zoey also won her match with Glameow, meeting Dawn in the finals.
"Next, let's welcome contestants Dawn and Zoey for the final match to decide who takes home the Ribbon!"
"Piplup, take the stage in style."
"Glameow, go!"
"Dawn, now it's a match between us. Give it everything you've got." Zoey looked at Dawn, who stood across from her in a long dress.
"No problem. I'm definitely going to win this match." After several matches, Dawn's nerves had vanished, and she called out her declaration of victory to Zoey.
"Piplup, Bubble Beam."
Dawn seized the initiative, ordering Piplup to attack from a distance.
"Glameow, use your tail!" Zoey had Glameow bounce up with its spring-shaped tail, easily avoiding Piplup's attack. Dawn lost points.
"What?!" Dawn could not help crying out when she saw her opponent counter the attack that way.
"Now use Iron Tail!" Zoey did not let the opportunity slip by and immediately ordered Glameow to attack from above with Iron Tail.
"Piplup, block it with Peck."
Seeing that her opponent was already attacking, Dawn ordered Piplup to strike back. White light flashed over Piplup's mouth, and its beak grew several times longer. This Peck already showed the beginnings of Drill Peck as it clashed with Glameow's Iron Tail.
Bang!
"Glameow, use Shadow Claw." Zoey seized the opportunity and continued ordering Glameow to attack, turning the battle into close combat.
"Piplup, use Aqua Jet."
Dawn was not intimidated, either. She ordered Piplup to land a hit before Glameow could, but Glameow endured it and swatted Piplup back with its other claw.
"Glameow, don't give it a chance. Use Fury Swipes."
Zoey ordered Glameow to keep attacking.
"Piplup, block it with repeated Peck attacks."
Dawn spoke at the same time.
Clang, clang, clang, clang!
"Piplup, use Bubble..."
Fury Swipes and Peck clashed repeatedly, trading blows in a deadlock. After the two stopped and were about to prepare their next attacks, the five minutes were already up, and Marian announced the end of the match.
"Time's up! With contestant Zoey currently ahead on points, the final winner of this match is contestant Zoey from Snowpoint City!"
"Ah~, why did it turn out like this? I was only that little bit away."
Dawn pouted in disappointment. She had been so close to winning.
"Haha, Dawn, looks like I'm the one taking the first win this time."
Zoey laughed upon seeing that she had won. Dawn really was a formidable opponent. Looking at their nearly identical scores on the screen, she knew that if time had not run out, she would have been close to being unable to hold on.
"What a shame for Dawn. If she hadn't run into Zoey in this contest, she might have managed to win a Ribbon on her very first try at a Pokémon Contest. She still came up one move short."
Xiaoyun watched their match from below. There had really only been that tiny gap between them, but unfortunately, there was only one champion. Losing by a little was still losing. That was the nature of Pokémon Contests, he supposed. But the time limit was far too short. What could anyone do in five minutes?!
"Come on, let's go backstage and check on Dawn," Xiaoyun said to Teruhiko beside him.
"Sure thing."
At that moment, Dawn was backstage on the phone with Johanna.
"Mom, did you watch my contest? I came first in the preliminary round today! I was just a little bit away from winning in the end." Dawn gestured excitedly with her hands, then grew disappointed again as something occurred to her.
"I did. Honestly, it was quite a surprise. I didn't expect you to grow so quickly. Even though you lost today, I could see the results of your journey." Johanna did not dwell on whether Dawn had won or lost. Seeing Dawn's growth in this contest was enough for her, and the outcome did not seem so important.
"Oh, r-really?" Dawn had thought her mother would point out her shortcomings, and she had been ready for the criticism. Instead, she heard such warm words that her eyes reddened with emotion. (＞﹏＜)
"It's true," Johanna said with a smile. She felt that her daughter had become ladylike. Just a few words, and she was already about to shed little pearls.
It really was a scene of deep affection between mother and daughter.
But...