Regions Apart

CHAPTER 6

The week had passed quickly for Serena. She had spent most of her days practising with Braixen, working out combinations. Sylveon and Pancham helped too; getting food and water when necessary and cheering. Stephanie's parents had returned from Littleroot Town, where her brother did indeed choose Mudkip. She still came when she could, but it wasn't as often anymore.

Serena stood with Braixen, Sylveon and Pancham outside the contest arena. She walked up to the clerk sitting at a desk.

'Hello! I would like a contest pass please!' The clerk started typing away at a computer, and took a photo of her.

'Here you go.' She was a given a small blue card, with a photo of her, and her details. She was good to go! 'Are you wanting to do this contest?' Serena nodded. 'You're competitor number 12. Good luck!'

'Thank you!' Serena waved, and ran to the competitor's room. 'Let's get you ready Braixen!'

Braixen was dressed up (they can have costumes) in the costume that she wore for her first ever showcase, and now her first contest.

An offical came into the room. 'Competitor number 1? Please come to the stage.'

A boy older than Serena walked to the door, and took a deep breath. He glanced around the room one more time. His eyes fell on her. He winked.

Was he trying to flirt with her? If so, it wasn't going to work. Her heart already belonged to Ash. Serena shivered, repulsed.

The whole group turned to the TV that was attached to the wall. The presenter had already finished. Now the boy was on stage, waving and smirking to the crowd. 'We now welcome competitor number 1, Tyson!'

'So Tyson was his name.' Serena said to Braixen.

Tyson threw his pokéball. 'Go Toxicroak!' The posion pokémon appeared.

'Sludge Bomb, then Sucker Punch!' Toxicroak produced a sickening purple orb, then hurled it upwards. Then, one arm turned black, and hit the poison attack, sending globs of purple poison everywhere. 'Mud Slap, then Bullet Punch!' A spout of dust and dirt formed, then Toxicroak starting punching the spout. Dust went flying everywhere. 'Lastly, Bullet Punch!' Toxicroak pummeled the air. 'We're done, on our way to round 2!'

Serena disliked Tyson even more. He was very cocky and too confident in his work. Nonetheless, she was interested to see how he was scored.

Nurse Joy held up a 5. 'A good performance, but the bond is not clear between you two. It needs strengthening.' Tyson sneered.

One of the men, whom Serena had recently found out was called Mr Contesta, held a 4.5. 'Toxicroak may be a powerful pokémon, but it is not a pokémon that does well in contests. But you did well for a Toxicroak.' Tyson wasn't listening, but rather fidgeting with Toxicroak's pokéball.

The other man, called Mr Sukizo held a 6. 'Not bad, but could be better.'

Tyson's final score of 15.5 was presented on the scoreboard. He returned Toxicroak to it's pokéball, while muttering, 'Thanks a lot Toxicroak. Should've used Roserade, then I would have won.' He clenched his teeth, and stormed off.

He returned to the competitor's room a few moments later. He spotted Serena and mustered a sleazy smile. 'I'm usually a lot better. Toxicroak sucked.' He sat down on the bench right next to her. Serena slid away.

'You shouldn't blame your Toxicroak for getting that score. It was only following your directions.' Serena said, watching competitor number 3 send out her Azumarill.

'I'm going to go watch now. I'll be watching your pretty face.' He winked again, and Serena felt sick.

LINE BREAKJ

'Competitor number 12? Please come this way.' Serena stood up with Braixen, and followed the offical to the stage. 'Whenever you're ready.'

Serena took a deep breath and looked at Braixen. The pokémon nodded, and they walked out together.

The pair were on stage, but Serena didn't feel nervous. 'You ready Braixen?'

'Braixen bray!'

'Fire Blast!' Using her stick, Braixen produced fire in the shape of a star, and sent it towards the ceiling. It then exploded into orange sparkles. The crowd oohed.

'That was great! Hidden Power, then Scratch!' Braixen made a silver orb, and flung it to the ceiling. She then jumped up and stratched the orb into pieces, which slowly drifted to the ground. The audience wowed.

'Flamethrower, like we practised!' The fire pokémon sent flames out, and started twirling. It made a circle, then Braixen started lifting her arm, making the flame spiral, which made it a dome around Braixen.

'Let's wrap this up! Fire Blast, then Scratch!' Again Braixen made a star of fire, but this time she jumped up and cut apart the Fire Blast, making it split apart into small flames. The audience clapped and cheered. 'We're done!' The crowd roared.

Nurse Joy held a 9.9 'A amazing performance! The bond between you is perfect!'

'A truly perfect performance, a truly perfect bond!' Mr Contesta said, full marks coming from him.

'I agree. The bond, and this amazing performance were both perfect!' Mr Sukizo said, producing a 10. Serena's final score of 29.9 appeared on the scoreboard. She was top, the next closest had a score of 26.5.

'We did it Braixen! No no. You did it!' Trainer and pokémon hugged. Serena couldn't wipe the smile off her face. She was most likely going to the next round!

Hey guys! New chapter! Thank you so much to my cousin PrincessPippa who did the new amazing cover for me! It looks so much better than it was before! Also she helped me with some editing and she voted for all my chapters :)

QOTD: What is your favourite grass type pokémon? Mine's Sceptile, Meganium very close behind.

Don't forget to vote and comment :)

Hannah <3