Chapter 37: Round Two 

"And here they are, folks! The next battle of round one! Give it up for Kenny and Dawn!" 

The crowd roared as they made their way to their places on opposite sides of the field. Kenny and Dawn released their Pokemon at the same time- his Breloom against her Quilava.  

Just what I wanted to watch... Kenny getting beaten. There was no doubt in my mind- Dawn would win. She'd had my training, how could that fail her? 

Smirking, I eagerly waited for the first move. 

Kenny started off with having his Breloom send an Energy Ball straight into the air, and then hitting it with a Bullet Seed. It exploded like a green firework and people clapped. 

Arceus, why did this moron even own Pokemon if he didn't even use them properly? Teaching a Special Attack like Energy Ball to a Breloom? What a waste.  

Quilava responded with Swift, which set off the light from the firework. As the stars collided, they caused more fireworks to erupt, but they were now shaped like stars. Quilava then used Flamethrower, causing Breloom to jump and dodge. 

Kenny's points decreased. 

Breloom then went straight up to Quilava after firing a Bullet Seed to distract him and used Mach Punch, making Quilava fly backward. Luckily, Quilava wasn't hurt enough to use Flamethrower midair at the ground to help him flip and land back on his feet.  

Dawn seemed to be enjoying herself. Kenny yet again tried a combination- a Mega Drain Mach Punch, though it failed as Quilava countered with Swift, dodging Breloom's arm, sending more stars at the Grass Pokemon who skidded back from the blow, wincing. 

Quilava used Dig and remained underground for a few seconds before Kenny cockily told his Breloom to go in after it. 

Bad idea. 

Suddenly, the field cracked and bulged, forming a small hill. A small plume of smoke slithered from the hole and I saw Breloom scrambling up, trying to get out of the massive hill, but not before a huge explosion escaped from the hole. Quilava had used Eruption, making the mound look like a volcano, fire and even pieces of the field blasting into the air. I could feel the heat from where I sat and smiled as I watched the flames burn. 

After a minute, the temperature cooled and the smoke cleared enough so that I could see that Breloom had fainted. Quilava climbed out of the hole and Dawn ran out onto the field to hug him. 

I sat back in my chair, feeling smug as I watched Kenny's look of horror as he studied his burnt to a crisp Breloom before returning him to his Poke Ball. So much for showmanship, chump. 

That's my girl. I smiled lightly, wondering if Dawn would do as well in the next battle. 

The other two battles dragged on for the entire five minutes and were decided by points. The Pokemon used were unevolved and didn't seem very well trained, so I tuned them out and began longing to train Bagon while I waited for Dawn's next battle. 

"Wow, I never would have expected that attack," Vivian commented with her bubbly enthusiasm that I'd been trying my hardest to ignore. "Now that we have our four winners, let's match them up again!" 

Dawn was now battling a girl named Merida while Zoey was battling a boy named Wesley. I watched with interest this time as Zoey sent out a Gallade to battle Wesley's Pidgeot. For having a type disadvantage, she did pretty well, though she still lost to the Pidgeot's speed and determination. I wasn't a big fan of Pidgeot considering its shallow move pool, but at least I could admire that Wesley and Pidgeot used graceful flying and power to dominate instead of focusing on appealing to the judges. 

Merida and Dawn were up next. Merida sent out an Ursaring and Dawn sent out Mamoswine. It seemed like it'd be a power against power battle. Mamoswine stood about two feet taller and with its bulk and tusks alone, it seemed like the odds were in his favor. 

The time started and the battle began. Mamoswine used Ancient Power, but instead of attacking he used the rocks as a shield as he charged forward to use Take Down. The Ursaring used Double Team and surrounded Mamoswine with a dozen false Pokemon, decreasing Dawn's points.  

She commanded Mamoswine to use Ancient Power and the rocks scattered, hitting multiple Ursaring, but not the real one. Four copies were left and their right paws glowed in preparation for Brick Break, a super effective attack on an Ice type like Mamoswine. 

I mentally winced. Come on, Dawn. Get your act together. 

Mamoswine used Ancient Power again, hitting the remainder Ursaring just as the real one was about to strike its head. The Ursaring got caught on one of Mamoswine's gigantic tusks accidentally and Mamoswine threw him into the air and used Ice Shard, aiming straight up. 

It hit Ursaring directly, but on his way back to the ground he righted himself and used Stone Edge. Mamoswine countered with Hidden Power, causing an explosion so that the audience couldn't see the field. As the smoke cleared, I noticed Mamoswine now had used the technique Ice Armor which Dawn had showed me before- he had swallowed an Ice Shard and was now charging at Ursaring with Take Down, a Hidden Power charged in his mouth. 

Ursaring used Brick Break, but it only stopped the Hidden Power from impacting. Mamoswine rammed into him, making the large bear skid backwards. Ursaring used Hyper Beam, forcing Mamoswine away as it hit. 

Both Pokemon seemed equally tired at this point. Mamoswine shot an Ice Shard into the air and then hit it with Ancient Power, causing meteor-like ice chunks to slam into the field. Ursaring was forced to dodge them; using Brick Break when contact was inevitable. This lost Merida points and her Pokemon looked exhausted.  

Once the assault was finished, she had her Ursaring use Hyper Beam again. Mamoswine attempted to deflect it with Hidden Power, but the attack was too powerful and it hit the mammoth-like Pokemon. 

Mamoswine collapsed suddenly, but stood up, limbs shaking. The Ursaring was unable to attack while recharging, but managed to use Double Team again and got ready to charge at Mamoswine with a Brick Break. 

Dawn seemed unsure of what to do, but ordered Mamoswine to use Take Down. The Pokemon ran towards each other and even the Ursaring's Double Team faded away because it was obvious that the one in front would be attacking directly. 

Right when the two Pokemon were about to collide, Mamoswine's tusks glowed an icy blue and jabbed at Ursaring, who was thrown into the air and then into the ground. Mamoswine then used Ice Shard as he tried to stand back up. The Ursaring fainted. 

The crowd roared and I sat, stunned as I studied Mamoswine's glowing tusks. It seemed like he'd just learned Ice Fang to win the battle. 

After the cheering stopped and Wesley had come back on stage, Vivian said, "Now it's down to the last battle- Dawn versus Wesley. Who will be victorious and win this week's Verdanturf Town Contest? Let's find out!" 

Wesley actually looked pretty tough. His clothes were pretty casual considering everyone else who had entered was either in a suit or dress. He wasn't wearing anything pink or oddly colored and stood rigidly on his side of the field. Wesley let out a Nidorino, which pawed the ground anxiously, tossing its head and snorting. Dawn released her Togekiss, which spun in the air, hovering over the field. 

"Let the battle begin!" Vivian called. 

The Nidorino charged, jumping into the air and used Horn Drill. Togekiss dodged and used Air Slash, which was batted away with Nidorino's horn as he landed. I'd never seen such a fierce, quick Nidorino before. Most were more solid than nimble, but based off the height of its jump it was very well trained to handle any situation it might encounter. 

Togekiss sent an Aura Sphere at Nidorino and I frowned. Why would Dawn use a weak move like that on a Poison type? The Nidorino's horn glowed purple as it whacked the Aura Sphere away. It jumped again, this time using Poison Jab. A white aura that I assumed was from Focus Energy surrounded its entire body much like an Aerial Ace would. Togekiss dodged easily and used Air Slash again, this time hitting Nidorino. 

He still managed to land on his feet, turn around, and fire an Ice Beam from his horn. I saw Dawn gasp as it hit Togekiss. The Jubilee Pokemon began spiraling down towards the ground before recovering and gaining altitude. Dawn ordered Togekiss to use Roost, surrounding herself in feathers and glowing white. Right as the process was ending, she began spinning and used Air Slash, becoming a giant tornado, the feathers whipping in the air and blowing all over the field. Togekiss slammed into Nidorino who used Horn Drill to counter, but her momentum proved too much for him and he rolled backwards. 

He got to his feet, shaking his large head angrily, dodging an Aura Sphere at the same time before sending an Ice Beam in Togekiss's direction. This time she dodged easily. Nidorino growled and ran towards Togekiss, jumping into the air, his horn elongating as it turned and glowed purple for a Horn Drill and Poison Jab combination. 

Togekiss didn't move out of the way and I almost swore- why was she going to let him hit her!? When he was feet away, he suddenly stopped midair and I noticed Togekiss's eyes were glowing purple. Nidorino was thrown to the ground, shaking as he tried to stand up. 

I realized Dawn must have taught Togekiss Extrasensory as well as Shadow Ball and silently approved of her choice. It seemed to have made Nidorino flinch as well as cause a lot of damage considering he was weak to Psychic moves. In the process, Dawn hadn't really lost many points, except when Togekiss had been hit with the Ice Beam attack. Wesley had suffered because of Togekiss's beautiful Recover and Air Slash combination.  

However, Togekiss twitched midair, crying out in pain, her whole body glowing purple. It seemed like she was now poisoned from coming into contact with Nidorino, whose ability was Poison Point. Dawn frowned and Wesley grimaced. Both of their Pokemon seemed pretty worn out. 

It seemed like a finale was coming up. Nidorino began running towards Togekiss, his horn spinning and glowing blue for an Ice Beam. Togekiss hurtled downward, spinning in her Air Slash tornado which glowed faintly purple- but from being poisoned or from using Extrasensory? 

The two collided, both holding their positions, battling for the upper ground. Suddenly, Nidorino was pushed backward and somersaulted over and Togekiss crash landed behind him, seemingly because the poison had taken effect again. 

The crowd watched, breaths held, as neither Pokemon stirred. Then, Togekiss moved, her wings pushing against the ground to stand up. Nidorino did likewise, its bulky limbs trembling from the effort. Both faced each other, glaring and growling. 

After a few seconds, Nidorino yelped, its breath leaving in a huff as it fell to the ground, defeated. Togekiss straightened as the crowd cheered. Dawn ran forward and hugged her Pokemon. I could tell she was crying from happiness. 

I smiled and stood up with the rest of the crowd, applauding slowly. The entire audience of people chanted her name and I could barely hear Vivian Meridian presenting Dawn with her Ribbon. The cheering increased and Dawn stood in the center of the stage with Togekiss, her Ribbon clutched in her right hand which she held high for everyone to see.

Hey Readers!

Wow, I don't know about you, but I've been busy lately. It's been weird not posting new chapters for First Light as often and I'm very sorry if you've been waiting eagerly for the next post. I hope this was worth the wait :)

I absolutely loved writing this Contest. The battles were fun and I got to pick my favorite Pokemon of Dawn's (Piplup, Quilava, and Togekiss specifically) to help Dawn win.

Here's my Pokemon Questions of the week: What Pokemon are you most excited about in X and Y? Do you like the newest evolutions of the starters? What about the Mega evolutions? There's just so much to look forward to! I can't wait for the games to come out. Less than a month now.

Last question, I promise. How'd you like the chapter? :) Make sure to show your love for First Light by commenting, voting, and following! Thanks so much for reading. Have an awesome day.

-Flips