"Ladies and gentlemen, we regret to inform you that due to a recent medical accident, Ms. Wanona Petal will be temporarily unable to open and close contests. She is, however, going to continue her support of the contests by being in the audience with her friend Brenden Birch, the Champion of the Hoenn League, as she recovers." The announcer proclaimed, gaining groans from people who came to only see Wanona open and close contests.

Wanona coughed a little as a slight burning hit her lungs. Grabbing her inhaler from her green bag, she took a puff of the soothing medicine, feeling the relief as it opened up her lungs and allowed her a full breath. Feeling a hand on her shoulder, she looked over to see Brenden with a smile and a thumbs up. "Good job responding to it immediately, like the doctor told you you should. " He praised with warmth coming from his smile. Wanona couldn't help but give a small smile back, as she put away the inhaler.

She was tied to it now, the inhaler. The doctor had told her that since she had breathed in the ash-laden air and been unconscious in the ash-covered grass for a good amount of time , that whatever endurance she had built up from her previous Pokèmon Gym Challenge two years ago had essentially been wiped out. So she essentially had to start at square one, which was being dependent on an inhaler and slowly trying to build up her endurance again. He had, however, cautioned that she needed to recover first before trying to build up endurance again, and had told the Contest Association that she needed time to recover from having essentially been unconscious for a good amount of time.

So here she was, in her front seat with Brenden, tied to an inhaler for her symptoms and unable to do what she loved the most for the time being: opening and closing a contest. Especially since she had missed the one in Fallarbor Town due to her having been unconscious.

And yet...she didn't mind at all.

Her fans, when they had seen her walking to the Mauville contest hall with an arm around Brenden for support from the local clinic that he had taken her to, had obviously questioned how she was doing. She had answered them with that she was doing better, that she was going to not be able to open or close contests for a good while, and that she would still try to at least be there at the contests and Grand Festival to watch the performers. Most of them had smiled and given her a hug, wishing her a speedy recovery and looking forward to sitting near her in the audience.

However, there had been a few who had been disappointed in her for missing the Fallarbor Town contest, and had told her that they wouldn't be supporting her anymore. And she had told them that that was fine, that she should have taken better care of how she was going to get to Fallarbor, and that she was sorry that she had lost their support, but that she was going to try her best to recover and win them back when she started opening and closing contests again, which had earned her a few smiles.

"You think you are ever gonna be Wally again?" Brenden asked, his eyes full of curiosity. Wanona shrugged, with her small smile still on her face. She honestly didn't know.

"I don't know, Brenden. I'm so used to being known as Wanona now that it would be a little weird being called Wally by anyone but you." She admitted, with a small quiet laugh. "But I will accept an ice cream or something for us to talk and stuff...and I promise I won't be a jerk this time about it." She adjusted her position in her seat as she looked down a little. Brenden must have noticed, as he lifted her face up and met her eyes with a serious look.

"Hey. No more of that. I forgave you, remember? We are gonna move forward and be good friends again, right?" He asked, as a smile crept unto his face. Wanona took a breath and closed her eyes, before smiling back and giving a hug to the boy in the white hat which caused him to blush. "wha-" he began, before she shushed him with a finger to his lips and nodded with her head to the stage.

"It's starting." she said simply, excitement in her eyes at seeing the stage lights turn on.

Brenden smiled and turned to the stage, putting an arm around Wanona as they watched the contest together and enjoyed each others company.

For the Kirlia Girl had learned to let go of her false notions and move on to allow an old friend to help her, and had regained a friendship that she would cherish for the rest of her life.