I continued to wave as Satoshi disappeared from view down the forest path. Roisel ran after him a few feet and gave a whistling cry which Pikachu responded to even after they had disappeared from view. Even though he was kind of mysterious and obviously didn't want to give out his contact information, I knew that I would have given up today if he hadn't been there to encourage me. Looking down at the little shinx that had gone back to finishing off his second pokepuff I kneeled down and smiled at him.

"I'm glad you like them so much!" I said with a smile.

"Shi shinx!" the little pokemon called out happily, lifting his head to look at me with his big yellow eyes.

"Satoshi thinks that I should catch you," I mentioned with another smile, leaning back and sitting cross-legged on the ground. "Have you ever heard of pokemon contests before?"

"Shi?" Shinx tilted his head with a puzzled expression but I was happy to see that he hadn't made any move to leave even with his treat safely in his tummy.

"It's a kind of competition where it's my job to help my pokemon make themselves and their moves look as spectacular as possible. There are two rounds, one where you give a small performance to show off your beauty or cuteness, and another round where you battle against other pokemon and try to show off the most beautiful moves while you battle."

"Siii!" I flinched at the unexpected whistle from my left and then chuckled at myself as I looked down to see that Roisel had come to stand next to me, breathing rapidly in what seemed like excitement as she regarded Shinx with obvious curiosity. Shinx cocked his head, looking at Roisel expectantly.

Before I could say anything else, Roisel suddenly turned and dashed a few feet away. She stopped, raising herself up to her hind legs and I blinked in surprise as she started her appeal round performance. Without any prompting from me, she dashed around in a circle, releasing small Sweet Kiss hearts, and then expertly used Fairy Wind to swirl them around and up where they burst apart above her head. She leaped up, doing a backflip and then landed with her paws to the side, shaking them almost as if she were doing jazz hands and I couldn't help but laugh at how cute she was.

"Shinx shinx shi?" Blinking quickly I looked over to see Shinx walk over to Roisel, looking up at the remaining sparkles of the burst-apart Sweet Kisses.

"Siiii Roisii sii," Roisel spun around quickly in a circle and then bobbed her head up and down as she and Shinx conversed.

I propped my chin in one of my palms, watching their curious conversation and wishing more than anything that I could understand what they were saying. It seemed fairly obvious that Roisel was telling Shinx all about performances and Shinx seemed interested, but I wished I could speak to them in their own language.

After a few minutes, their conversation seemed to have concluded and Roisel bounded over to me with Shinx close behind. I looked between the two pokemon and felt my lips quirk up into an even wider grin.

"Does this mean you'll join us, Shinx?"

"Shi shinx!" the little pokemon said excitedly with a wide grin.

"Wonderful! Then here I go." 

Unclipping one of my empty Pokeballs I tapped it gently against Shinx's forehead and a red light engulfed him, bringing him into the Pokeball that I was holding. It shook twice in my palm before the little chime sounded for a successful capture and my grin widened even further.

"We've got another friend, Roisel!" I said excitedly.

"Siiii!" she whistled happily, romping around in the grass in a wide, excited circle. Before letting him out of the Pokeball I quickly scanned it with my Pokedex. Now that Shinx was my pokemon, a list of stats and the moves that he knew popped up. I released Shinx, patting his head affectionately before letting him and Roisel run off to go play in the last rays of the sun.

With a content smile, I turned my attention back to my Pokedex and puzzled over all of the information that was in front of me. Aryan and Satoshi had both briefly explained how pokemon stats worked but I was all so new to this that all I could really understand from looking at the stats was that Shinx was better at physically attacking than anything else. Swiping to the side to move on to the moves that Shinx knew, I was surprised to find that he knew four different moves.

"Tackle, Charge, Spark, and Round... What's Round, I wonder," I mumbled to myself as I clicked on the move. Just as the screen changed a little message appeared in the corner of my Pokedex.

Hey! I got a notification that you caught a Shinx. That's a great catch! How did your contest go? -Aryan

I blinked in surprise and then felt my smile soften. It would have been nice if both Aryan and Satoshi could have come to the contest, but I thought it was really sweet of Aryan to message me even though he was so busy.

I passed the appeal round but got clobbered in the battles.

Aryan took a few minutes to respond so I read through the information about Shinx's Round attack. As soon as I read that it was a song that other pokemon who knew the song could join in with to increase the attack power, I started feeling excited.

This could be awesome for a double battle! I wonder if Roisel can learn this move too...

A small ping made me look back down at my Pokedex messenger to see that Aryan had responded.

That's awesome for your first time though! Sorry again that I couldn't make it. -Aryan

You were busy, I responded quickly. I completely understand.

Well, my lead is taking me towards Oreburgh City soon, so hopefully, I can watch your contest there! -Aryan

I rummaged through my backpack until I found the schedule of pokemon contests in Sinnoh. It looked like the only contest between now and the Oreburgh Contest was one in Sandgem town and I doubted I could travel all the way from Sandgem to Oreburgh on foot in time, so I decided I was going to have to get in some extra practice while traveling to Oreburgh. Hopefully, with the two weeks break to train and come up with some new combinations I could show Aryan how far I had come when he came to watch me.

That would be great! I hope you can find the man who was kidnapped.

Me too. I better go. Good luck with training your new Shinx! -Aryan

As soon as the last message was sent, a little notification saying that Aryan's Pokedex had been turned off came up, so I didn't bother sending a reply. Putting away my Pokedex, I pulled out my travel tent and my spare pillow along with the small cushion that Roisel slept on. It took a little while to find my two pokemon but they both followed me without argument when I said I wanted to call it a night.

I had been so nervous about the contest that I hardly slept last night and after the emotional day, I was dead tired. Shinx happily used my spare pillow as his own bed but I made a mental note to buy him a better cushion in the future. With that thought though I felt myself drift off into the blissful peace of sleep.

It took me a day longer to get to Jezin Town than I had anticipated, but my practices with Shinx had gone incredibly well so far. He seemed to enjoy practicing his moves as much as he loved my pokepuffs, which I was very close to running out of. He and Roisel got along together wonderfully and I loved watching them play together when we were taking breaks from practice. They both seemed to have an unending supply of energy, at least until it was bedtime, and then they would pass out within seconds of hitting their pillows.

Jezin Town was an extremely small town and I smiled as I walked out of the forest and saw the quaint little homes. It felt like I had stepped into a different time zone as I looked at the little log homes with colorful flower patches ringing them. I was so engrossed in taking in the scenery that I didn't think to look where I was going.

"Oof!" A small voice said as something bumped into my stomach. I stumbled back a step at the unexpected force and then looked down at a small girl who had fallen onto her back on the dirt road.

"Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry! Are you alright?" I asked, reaching out a hand to the little girl. She looked up at me sheepishly and accepted my hand, allowing me to guide her back up to a standing position.

"I'm the one who should apologize, I wasn't watching where I was going," the girl said with a small bow towards me.

"Pip pip pip piplup." I blinked as a small blue pokemon waddled over and began shaking its flipper up at the little girl in a scolding manner. The girl's lips puffed out in a pout and she dug her hands into the pockets of her baggy shorts

"You could have warned me you know," the girl said petulantly, turning her nose up into the air. This comment seemed to infuriate the little pokemon and it began jumping up and down in a mini temper tantrum while the girl clapped her hands to her ears and sang out "La la la la la."

I watched the strange interaction and couldn't help but feel slightly awkward. Roisel, however, seemed intrigued. She bounded from my side to stand directly in front of the little blue pokemon and began to jump up and down in synch with the irate thing. The little pokemon, obviously not expecting someone to literally jump in the middle of things, jerked backward, losing its balance and tumbling backward in a couple of somersaults before landing on its stomach.

"Oh! Piplup, are you alright?" The little girl asked, moving over to help the little thing back to its feet. I walked over as well, stooping down to pick up Roisel as Shinx followed by my side, seeming to be perfectly happy to just be a spectator.

"I'm sorry if Roisel startled you," I apologized gently, kneeling down and giving an apologetic bow of my head towards the little Piplup

"Oh, don't worry about it! Piplup is easily startled in normal situations but put her up on a contest stage and she becomes fearless!" the little girl remarked proudly, apparently having forgotten their little spat that had just occurred. Piplup was giving Roisel a wary glance but I could see the corners of its beak tip up slightly at the praise from her trainer.

"You are a coordinator then?" I asked, feeling excited to meet another coordinator outside of a contest hall.

"That's right! Piplup and I have already won a ribbon! See!" The little girl held out a ribbon case displaying a green ribbon with a small crown decal on the top.

"Wow! It's so pretty! I exclaimed before a sigh escaped me. "I tried to win my first ribbon back in Jubilife City but I didn't stand a chance."

The little girl gasped and suddenly crawled forward looking at me with excitement sparkling in her brown eyes.

"No way, you're Serena!" The girl gasped in excitement before sitting back and placing a hand on her Piplup's head. "Remember, Piplup? She's the coordinator that used Fairy Wind to fly through a Whirlwind attack!"

"Pi piplup!" Piplup responded with a look of awe on her small face.

"That was so cool! Don't feel too bad about losing though. Keira's pokemon are insanely strong. That's why I didn't even sign up for the Jubilife City Contest," the girl admitted with a sheepish look. "My name is Theresa, by the way."

"It's nice to meet you, Theresa," I said with a smile, holding out my hand which she immediately took in her own. Excitement danced once again in her eyes and she leaned toward me.

"Hey! Why don't you enter our Jezin Festival Contest?" Theresa asked, her eyes sparkling so much for a second I thought they took on the shape of stars.

"Festival Contest?" I repeated, not remembering any mention of that contest on the list Nurse Joy had given me.

"Yah! Jezin Town has a summer festival every year and we put on a contest at the beginning of the first day, which is tomorrow! It's completely legit, you can earn a ribbon from winning it, but it's scheduled at the same time as the Sandgem Town Contest so Mr. Contesta and Mr. Sukizo never come to judge. But we always have cool guest judges that come! What do you think? Will you enter?"

Theresa's eyes were sparkling more and more as she scootched closer to me, her hands clasped under her chin in the classic begging position. I looked down at Roisel in my arms and Shinx sitting quietly next to me and then I smiled.

"Sure, I'll enter. It would be great if Shinx could watch a real contest before we try entering the Oreburgh Contest."

Theresa suddenly jumped to her feet, spinning around excitedly as Piplup jumped up and down. I wasn't sure why they were so excited but I found myself grinning widely as I watched their energetic antics.

"I'm so glad! We need at least eight participants for the contest to count as a real contest and so far we only have seven. I'm so glad you came!" Theresa said with a content sigh before grabbing one of my hands. "Come on! I'll take you to sign up!"

Theresa began running full tilt through the small town and I stumbled slightly before falling into an easy rhythm following her pace. Physical strength was an important aspect of being a rhyhorn racer. After following Mom's strict exercise regimens for the last seven years I didn't feel normal if I skipped out on my morning exercises, so keeping up with Theresa's energetic pace was no issue for me.

"I was too young to participate in the Festival Contest last year, but Jezin Town is my hometown so I knew that once I became a coordinator I DEFINITELY wanted to compete in our contest! It's the reason I decided to become a coordinator after all," Theresa rattled on happily as we ran through the small group of log homes and out into a large field where many stalls and game stations were being set up.

Happy chatter abounded around us as Theresa dragged me deeper into the chaos. At the edge of the field, before the forest began again, I saw a large wooden stage erected. A small tent sat off to the side where another Nurse Joy was seated, smiling serenely as she watched the commotion of the festival being set up before her.

"Good morning, Nurse Joy!" Theresa called out, waving happily. Nurse Joy turned her smile towards us and waved demurely.

"Good morning, Theresa. Where has your Piplup gotten to?" she asked, her gaze becoming pointed and slightly accusing.

Theresa stiffened and spun to look behind her. I did as well and couldn't help but smile widely as my eyes landed on Shinx. He was weaving his way through the many legs of people setting up booths with ease all the while carrying Theresa's Piplup, who appeared to have passed out, on his back.

"Oh, Piplup!" Theresa called out, rushing over to my little hero and picking up Piplup from his back. I walked over and knelt down, smiling proudly at Shinx.

"Thank you very much for helping Piplup," I said quietly, rubbing his ear the way he liked it. Shinx puffed up his chest slightly and smiled.

"Shi shinx."

"I told you that your Piplup doesn't have a lot of stamina yet, Theresa. If you wanted a pokemon that could keep up with you you should have chosen a Chimchar," Nurse Joy said with a sigh. Her voice surprised me and I turned to see that she had left her post to come over and take a look at Piplup, whose eyes were swirling from fatigue.

"I'm sorry, Nurse Joy. But I just had to choose Piplup! All of my brothers and sisters chose Piplup as their first pokemon, and my Dad did too!" Theresa said with a sad bow of her head. 

Nurse Joy sighed and pulled an oran berry from her pocket. As soon as Piplup began munching on it she immediately perked up and finished the berry off voraciously.

"Please be more careful not to leave her behind again, okay? Now, have you found our last entrant for the Festival Contest?" Nurse Joy asked, turning her attention to me after passing off the re-energized Piplup to a repentant Theresa.

"That's right. My name is Serena," I said, feeling a little shy. Most of the Nurse Joy's I had met had a soothing aura about them, but this one seemed to be a little more on the silent and fierce side. She smiled kindly at me though and I felt my uncertainty melt away.

"It's nice to meet you, Serena. Come to the booth with me and I will sign you up. The Festival Contest is the first attraction of the festival so it is planned to start tomorrow exactly at noon. Our Pokemon Center is small here, but you are more than welcome to stay in one of our rooms for the night," Nurse Joy offered as we walked back to the booth next to the stage and she helped me to sign up.

"You could stay with my family if you want, Serena! My older sister is visiting and I bet you would get along great!" Theresa said with a happy grin.

"Oh, I wouldn't want to impose..." I began to say but Theresa and Piplup both began to pout.

"But it would be SOOOOOO fun! Please please please please please?!?!" Theresa begged, dropping to her knees again and bringing her clenched hands underneath her chin. 

I blinked in surprise at how strongly she felt about this. However, glancing down at Shinx and Roisel, who both were sniffing at Piplup as she copied her trainer, causing her to shriek with a chirpy laughter, I figured it would be fun to give them a playdate.

"Sure, why not?" I decided with a smile. 

Theresa jumped up to her feet with a happy "Hooray!" and I giggled when Piplup jumped onto Shinx's back, pointing her flipper towards the bustling center of the Festival still being set up.

"Come see me tomorrow morning and I'll make sure your pokemon are in tip-top shape for the Contest," Nurse Joy said with a smile and I bowed to her in thanks. Before I could respond though, Theresa grabbed my hand and I found myself being dragged once again at top speed through the chaos of the Festival being set up.

A/N Hey guys! Thanks again for your patience. I really do appreciate your support and patience.

Question though: I had not planned this, but after the next chapter there will be a chance of having someone join Serena in her journey throughout Sinnoh. (It would not be Satoshi or Aryan though). Would you like to see Serena have a travel companion, or would it be more fun for you to just see her travel with her pokemon through the region?

Thanks for the help!