Chapter 7----

"And Now! The moment you've all been waiting for! The Goldenrod City Contest!" shouted the brown-haired Katherine. A cheer went up from the crowd. All the seats were filled with enthusiastic fans. "Right! We'll get on with the preliminaries!" Katherine continued, "First up I have Harley from Blackthorn City!" Harley ran on stage, waving to the psyched up audience. He stopped in the middle of the stage. He smiled. He tossed a pokéball in the air, "Go, Octillery!" A red octopus-like creature appeared on stage with a cry. "Substitute, then Flash Cannon!" The Octillery obeyed its master's command. It glowed a bright pink as it summoned power from within itself to make a copy. Eventually, a copy of Octillery emerged from the original's body. It then aimed its snout at the copy. "Ready, aim, fire!!" screeched Harley. A bright yellow orb appeared as it gathered energy. The orb was released at high speed towards the substitute. The copy exploded with a bright yellow light on impact. The audience cheered. "Next, we have Bobby with Squirtle!" Katherine told the audience as Harley ran off stage.

"Not bad, right May?" Harley sneered. May clenched her fists. She rose up from the waiting room bench. "What do you mean by that, Harley?"
"Hmph, I'm not wasting my breath on you!" said Harley coolly as he walked out.
"Grr…. That Harley!" May simmered.

"And here's Drew!" announced Katherine. The crowd roared with excitement. A couple of fan girls and cheerleaders squealed as Drew did his signature hair flicking.
"Come on out! Absol!" Drew jumped and threw a pokéball. The Absol appeared with a shower of sparks. "Use Will-o-wisp, then future sight!" Several blobs of fire appeared around Absol that flew out towards the sides of the stage. They reflected off the sides and started closing in on Absol. Just before they hit, they exploded into miniature purple fireworks. The crowd cheered in appreciation. "That was brilliant!" exclaimed one of the judges. "Remarkable" said another.

The other contestants performed their appeals as May watched the screen in the waiting room.

"And now, last but not least, May from Petalburg City!" The spectators screeched in delight. May ran up the steps, onto the stage and gave a wave to the audience. "Come on out!" She thought about it. Then remembered the secret pokémon her grandfather, Pryce, gave her. "Piloswine! Reflect!" The furry pokémon appeared with a grunt. It made a miniature force field around itself. "Now, Avalanche!" May's Piloswine shuddered and large ice blocks came down hard on it. The ice blocks bounced off the force field and shattered into little ice crystals that shimmered in the light.

"Now, all our contestants have impressed our judges, who will be through to the next round? Join us in five minutes while we count the scores and votes!"

An old man rose of his seat in a little house in Mahogany Town. "So, she's used it." he said to a Mamoswine who was eating its lunch. It looked up at the man, and then continued eating again.

"And, we're back with the Goldenrod Contest!" Katherine announced, "And the four contestants through to the battle round are, May! Drew! Harley! And Bobby! On arena one is May versus Drew, and on arena two is Harley against Bobby!"

"Blaziken! Flamethrower!"
"Absol! Dodge!"
The battle between May and Drew raged. Points were gradually going down on both sides. "Sky Uppercut!" Blaziken positioned its final attack. "Quick Absol! Double Team!" Drew's Absol split into a few copies. Blaziken lunged for an Absol. The wrong one. The copy faded away. "Shadow Ball!" shouted Drew. A purple and black orb struck Blaziken in the back. It fell to the floor, knocked out. "And the winner is Drew!" announced Katherine. "And over in arena two, Harley is the winner!" May's head drooped. She returned the worn out pokémon to its pokéball. She walked out of the hall. She sat slumped in the waiting room.

"Come on out! Absol!"
"Out you go! Wigglytuff!"
"Slash!" commanded Drew. The Absol obeyed.
"Dodge!" shouted Harley to his pink fluffy pokémon. It avoided the attack. Points went down. "Razor Wind!" said Drew. The Absol paused to build up power.
"Wrong move!" Harley giggled. "Focus Punch!"
The Wigglytuff ran in, building up power as it ran. The Absol was still building power. Just before it hit, Drew shouted, "Now!" The Absol hit the Wigglytuff in a weak spot, making it a critical hit. "Noooooo!" screeched Harley. "It can't be!"
"And the winner of the Goldenrod Contest is Drew!" The crowd cheered.

Later on, after receiving his prize, the tall, green-haired Drew strolled into the waiting room where May was sat, slumped in the corner.. "You gave a good battle May." Drew told her. She sniffed. "Hey, listen," Drew broke the awkward silence; "There's a ball tonight at the radio station. If you wanna go then..."
"You mean, on a date?" May asked silently.
"Must be your lucky day." Drew replied. As he walked out, he threw a gift to May: a yellow rose.

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