Hello and welcome to another chapter of Pokémon Journey: Hoenn!

Last chapter, the group stopped off on an island on their way to the Nishoa Contest, where Nulin decided to leave James's team and settle with a local colony of wingull and pelipper.

Upload Date: 16th December 2019

Chapter 110: Lightning Leaf

Nishoa City, Hoenn

4:48pm, 30th August 2006

It was a long journey to Nishoa City. And yet, somehow, it felt as though it passed even slower than it should have done. The four trainers had spent most of the first hour in silence, only occasionally stealing glances at each other.

But four hours was far too long to do nothing and say nothing. Even James joined the others when they started exploring the ship and watching the passing waves from the top deck. The melancholy mood that had hung over the group since parting ways with Nulin had finally started to lift somewhat.

Even so, it was still eating at James. Seeing how happy Nulin had been, surrounded by the other wingull and pelipper, he had done what he'd felt was right in the moment and released him. He knew that it would have been unfair of him to try and stop Nulin from pursuing his own happiness. He knew that he'd done the right thing.

But…

He wondered if perhaps it would have been better to have taken some time to talk things over. They'd been in a rush since they needed to catch the ferry, but there had been a little bit of time they could have used. Maybe it was denial? The hope that Nulin hadn't really wanted to leave. Or perhaps it was the fact that it felt as though he'd never gotten the chance to completely mend his fractured team before Nulin left?

Either way, he had reason to feel that way. Nulin hadn't been the toughest pokémon on the team, but his impressive skillset and experience with both battles and contests was going to be sorely missed. Especially now, with another contest waiting for him and both the Grand Festival and the Hoenn League now bearing down on him. It was going to be hard to fill the gap that he'd left behind.

Above all, there was an ache in James's heart. It wasn't just losing a valuable asset to the team; it was about losing a friend who he'd been travelling with constantly for the last five, almost six months. And, as a friend, it hurt to have their friendship side-lined for another priority.

It was only when they'd first spotted the island that the thoughts had started to fade. Galri Island was the largest in the northern part of the island chain that stretched out south. The only larger island was the one that hosted Ever Grande City and the Hoenn League.

Of course, the largest city on Galri Island, Nishoa City, was going to be a bustling hub of activity. With that, and the impending Nishoa Contest to look forward to, there wasn't going to be enough time to get hung up over what had happened on Kimea Island. By choice or not, James was going to have his attention drawn elsewhere.

"Guess we should make a beeline for the contest hall, huh?" Richard said as the ferry finally moored in the port in Nishoa City. "It closes soon."

"Yep," James said. He took a deep breath and tried to focus himself. "Of course, you guys don't have to come along if you don't want to."

"Nah, it's fine," said Will.

"I want to see the contest hall as well," Nicola added.

"Well, if you're fine with it." James stepped back from the railing, forcing his mind to focus on the task at hand. "Let's get moving."

7:32pm, 30th August 2006

Nishoa City wasn't a big place. Only slightly larger than Dewford Town, almost all of the key areas of the city were clustered in the middle of the small valley, close to the harbour. Aside from the many restaurants, shops and hotels, now far quieter as the summer started drawing to a close, this part of the city also hosted the pokémon centre.

"You're eating slowly this evening," Richard said to James between wolfing down mouthfuls of chips and peas.

"Hmm," James replied. He put another bit of chicken in his mouth and gazed off at the far wall as he slowly chewed it.

"Worried about the contest?" Nicola asked, putting her fork down. "It does sound like a challenge, but my team and I can help you out."

James swallowed. "I mean, I'm not that worried. Just thinking about it."

"You only think about things when you're worried about them," Will said before returning to attack his chicken again.

"Hmm." James stabbed a chip and tossed it into his mouth. He stared at the wall again, this time his mouth rolling as he ground the chip with his teeth. The wall was a brown, creamy colour. They really kept things simple in the pokémon centre.

Richard and Nicola looked at each other.

"A double performance, huh?" Richard said with a sigh. "I mean, you've fought double battles before, haven't you?"

James swallowed again. "Completely different."

"Yeah." Nicola nodded slowly.

That was the main thing they'd discovered from their trip to the contest hall earlier in the day. The Nishoa Contest had its own set of rules: all performances and battles were doubles. This didn't bother James so much with the battling—as Richard had said, he'd fought double battles before—but trying to work out how a double performance would work in the appeals round was playing on his mind.

It wasn't just a simple case of having two pokémon perform at once. The receptionist at the contest hall had made it very clear that a double performance meant two pokémon working together, not by themselves. The thought of attempting to coordinate two pokémon on stage at once made his brain hurt.

Across the table from him, Nicola was already starting to form ideas in her head. Even if she still couldn't compete in the contest, this was definitely the kind of knowledge she'd need going forwards. If this contest used double performances, then there was that chance at any contest. She couldn't let herself fall behind. Especially since it was only a few days until her ban expired.

Besides, she already knew that she'd be helping James prepare for the contest. She wasn't going to pass up that opportunity to get to grips with how double performances worked, and it seemed as though he could use her input anyway. She needed to make sure she had plenty of ideas for when they started training in the morning.

10:34am, 31st August 2006

The following morning, the public arenas in Nishoa City were packed full of coordinators and their pokémon, all furiously preparing for the contest later in the day. With all the chattering of trainers, the shouts of the pokémon and the noise of their attacks, it was anything but a quiet day in this part of the city.

The public arenas were down at the seafront, overlooking the harbour. James and Nicola had been sure to get up early so they could rush down there from the pokémon centre and grab a spot before the crowd arrived. They'd even skipped breakfast and abandoned Richard and Will in the process.

Not that either of them had really minded.

After a lie-in and taking their time over breakfast, they'd both wandered down to the seafront to see how everyone was getting on.

"Still can't believe you actually got up at five to get down here," Will said, shaking his head.

"Like you'd be any different about training when you enter a league," James replied.

"Nah, I'll just train in the evening instead."

"It's a bit late for that now."

"Try thinking ahead next time, like me."

Ignoring James and Will, Richard turned to Nicola. "So, how's it been going?"

"Could be better, could be worse," Nicola replied. "I'm glad the appeals are only one round."

"So where are we at?" Richard asked.

"Kelaar and Kacha are going into the appeals round," Nicola said. She lowered her voice. "I tried suggesting other options, but…"

"Not happening, huh?" Richard glanced over at James. Knowing him, it was probably a symbolic rather than practical choice. Kacha probably felt that he needed a chance to prove himself again after the disaster in Lilycove, while Kelaar was likely filling in the empty space on the team left by Nulin. Still, unlikely combinations were sometimes the most effective ones.

"We came up with a good idea though," said Nicola. "It just hasn't worked out as well as we thought it would."

"What is it?"

"James calls it 'Lightning Leaf'." Nicola turned to James. "Let's show them that new combination."

"Got it." James nodded. He called over to Kacha and Kelaar, who jumped up from where they'd been resting at the side of the arena. Meanwhile, Charka and Lusk skulked off the arena to make room for them.

Kelaar took up his position, while Kacha hunched down just in front of him. He spread his leafy wings out wide, then swung them forwards. With a soft sound, air rushed forwards. Then, a volley of sharp leaves shot forwards from the leading edges of Kelaar's wings.

With a cry, Kacha fired a blast of electricity upwards. Half of the leaves had already passed over by the time the electricity reached them. The rest were hit and immediately reduced to blackened dust.

"Yeah, I can see how that would be a problem," Richard said.

"So, what are you trying to do?" Will asked.

"We're trying to electrify the leaves," James replied. He reached out and patted Kelaar, and then Kacha, on the head. "Nice effort, you two. I think we just need to lower the power a little bit, Kacha."

Kacha nodded, frowning as he thought about it.

"Is that even possible though?" asked Will.

"Even grass-type pokémon spark electricity for a short while after being electrocuted," James said. "It…should be possible." He sounded like he was starting to doubt himself.

"It's a bit of a challenge," Nicola said. "But I think we'll be able to work it out with some more training."

"Do you have any other combinations?" Richard asked. "I mean, even if you get Lightning Leaf working, you can't just use the one combination."

"We've also got something where Kelaar blows Kacha into the air with Gust, fires a bunch of leaves at him, and he swats them all away with his tail," James replied.

"And another where Kelaar stomps across the stage while Kacha 'avoids' him using Agility," Nicola added.

"Those sound okay, but…" Richard frowned.

James nodded. "Exactly. We need something with a little more impact."

"Hey," said Will. "If the problem is that Thunderbolt is too powerful, why don't you try lowering the voltage?"

James, Richard and Nicola looked at each other. "Won't that make it a little too weak?" James asked.

"Worth a try though, don't you think?" Richard said.

James paused for a second. "Nothing to lose, I guess."

"I agree," Nicola said.

"Let's go then, Kelaar, Kacha!" James turned back to the arena.

Kelaar and Kacha were already back in position, waiting eagerly for James's command. There was already electricity sparking from Kacha's cheek pouches, though the colour was a little duller than it had been earlier. Kelaar had pulled his wings back, ready to begin.

"Use Lightning Leaf!" James called.

Kelaar hurled his wings forward. Leaves cascaded across the arena. Below him, Kacha fired a blast of electricity upwards. It missed the first wave but hit the rest.

Nothing.

"Ugh, that's frustrating," said Nicola, watching as the noncharged leaves dropped to the arena floor.

"I guess that one was too weak," Richard sighed.

"Well, we're just going to have to keep working on it," said James. He patted Kelaar on the head as Kacha jumped up onto his shoulder. "I'm sure we can control Kacha's electricity enough to get it low enough to work." He scratched the pikachu behind the ears. "We've still got time."

"I hope you know what you're doing," Richard said with a sigh.

"Always do!" James grinned back. "Don't worry – we're a team, we can get through this together!"

"I'm just worried about wasting my morning helping you with a failed combination," said Richard. "But whatever, your choice. We'd better get to work. Time's moving on."

Try as they might, no amount of adjusting the voltage Kacha was blasting electricity out at seemed to correct the problem. Every successful hit with Thunderbolt was either too weak to charge the leaves and jump between them, or too strong and fried all of them to a crisp. The only consolation was that Kacha had finally got his timing right and was frying all of the leaves now instead of only some.

"I think we're going to have to give up on Lightning Leaf," Richard said, after several hours of near-fruitless training.

"Not yet." James frowned as he watched Kacha and Kelaar start another attempt. Once again, the arena lit up with the flash from the pikachu's electricity and the blackened ashes of leaves scattered in the sea breeze.

James was sure there was something he was missing. There had to be a middle level of power that would light up the leaves without destroying them. The image in his head of yellow bolts of electricity arcing between soaring leaves simply wasn't prepared to leave without a fight.

"There must be something we can do differently," he mumbled.

"Maybe we're thinking about it the wrong way?" said Nicola.

"What do you mean?"

Nicola was silent for a second while she thought. "Like, maybe we should look at the leaves rather than the electricity? There might be something we can do?"

"Like what?" Richard asked. "Get Kelaar to fire more leaves?"

"That probably wouldn't help," said James.

"I know, I know." Nicola sighed and glanced over at the two pokémon. "I meant, like, the leaves themselves. Is there anything we can do to change them?"

"I don't think so," James said. "They're a part of Kelaar's body, after all."

"Hmm." Will stared at Kelaar intensely.

"Got an idea?" Richard asked.

"I was just thinking," Will began. "What conducts electricity?"

"Steel!" said Nicola.

"Water!" said James.

Will nodded. "Exactly! Water." He ignored Nicola's answer. "What if we cover all of Kelaar's leaves with water so that they'll conduct electricity better?"

"That actually sounds like a pretty good idea," said Nicola.

James nodded. "Worth a shot."

"Problem," said Richard. "How are you going to cover all of Kelaar's leaves with water?"

"Oh, that's easy," James replied. "We can just use Nulin's Water…" He trailed off. There was an uncomfortable silence for a couple of seconds.

Richard cleared his throat. "I was just thinking," he said as the others looked round at him. Plants have water in their leaves so they don't dry out. What if we got Kelaar to put more water into his leaves? Maybe that would make them conductive enough to be charged by a weaker Thunderbolt?"

"Sounds good to me," said James. He turned to Kelaar. "What do you think? Can you fire leaves with more water in them?"

Kelaar was silent for a couple of seconds, staring into space with an inscrutable expression on his face. Finally, he turned his head to one side and dipped his neck. He didn't know for certain, but he was prepared to give it a try.

"Do your best," James said, trying to sound reassuring. He turned to Kacha. "So, try and keep your Thunderbolt to the same level as before. And make sure you aim ahead of the leaf cluster."

Kacha nodded and dropped down onto all fours. There was a soft crack as he started charging electricity. Loose sparks flashed from his red cheek pouches as he waited for James's order. Next to him, Kelaar had spread his wings and arched them.

James took a deep breath. "Alright, use Lightning Leaf!"

In that instant, Kelaar hurled a cluster of leaves from his wings. They were a deep, lush green colour, far darker than the ones he'd been firing earlier. As they started flying forwards, Kacha squeaked loudly and emitted a weak blast of electricity upwards.

It sailed through the air ahead of the leaves, missing most of them and only just catching the leading edge.

"Argh! I forgot that Kelaar's leaves would be heavier this time!" James slammed his palms against his temples.

"Wait, look!" Nicola called.

James looked back at the cluster. Though it was only at the leading edge, there were yellow bolts of electricity jumping between the leaves. They continued jumping as the leaves started losing momentum and plunging towards the ground.

"We did it," he said, almost disbelievingly. "Our timing was off again, but we did it!" He grinned at Kacha and Kelaar, who both grinned back at him.

"Great work, Kelaar, Kacha," Richard said. "Looks like you'll be able to use Lightning Leaf in the contest after all."

"Thanks for the idea, Richard," said James. "We couldn't have done it without you."

"Don't forget I'm the one who suggested using water in the first place," said Will.

"Yeah, yeah," James replied. "Thanks, Will."

"There's no time to celebrate," Nicola said, glancing at her watch. "We need to finish practising before the contest begins."

"Back to it then, guys." James turned to Kelaar and Kacha. "Let's get this perfect!"

Kacha and Kelaar nodded and called out enthusiastically in response.

2:55pm, 31st August 2006

The contest hall was more crowded than the group had expected when they arrived. Even though the summer was almost over, there were still plenty of people who had apparently stuck around in Nishoa City to watch one of the final contests of the season.

And, of course, there were plenty of competitors as well. It wasn't going to be an easy contest.

"Well, good luck, James," Will said as they stopped near the end of the queue to finalise registration. "You'll need it."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," James replied, too nervous to summon much of a retort. It wasn't just the fact that there was a lot of competition. A new setup, entirely new combinations that his pokémon had only used in training and never on the stage. And this was one of the last few contests in which he'd have a chance to earn the remaining ribbons he needed to get into the Grand Festival.

"Lightning Leaf needs to be really precise, but I think Kelaar and Kacha managed to get the hang of it," said Nicola. "Just make sure that you all stay focused, okay?"

James nodded. "Got it."

"See you later," said Richard. "I'm looking forward to the celebratory party tonight!"

"Don't tempt fate!" James groaned. He raised his hand as he stepped away to join the queue. "See you later, guys."

3:15pm, 31st August 2006

A large number of contestants combined with a unique new twist to the appeals round meant that the quality of the contest was a little lower than normal. As the appeals round wore on, Richard, Will, and Nicola saw countless double performances, some effective, others failing, but there were few that were truly spectacular.

Fortunately, James and his team had been up relatively early.

If they'd been feeling nervous when they all walked onto the stage together, then there was little to show it. No matter how he felt, James was serious and in control. And his pokémon were bathing confidently in that firmness.

"Contestant number five!" the MC announced. "James Burton from Pallet Town and his pokémon, Kacha the pikachu and Kelaar the tropius!"

There was a round of applause from the audience while the MC moved to the side and James's team took their positions. They shared a final, quick nod as the applause died away and hundreds of expectant eyes watched for the start of the performance.

With a nod from James, Kelaar began. He flapped his wings, gently at first, but steadily building until he was blasting a powerful gust of wind towards Kacha.

Their positioning for this part of the performance was vital. If Kelaar were facing the audience, they'd lose points for blasting air directly into the crowd. Yet, they would also lose points if Kelaar faced away from the audience, to say nothing of how he might obscure Kacha from view.

So, they'd settled on a sideways performance with Kelaar aiming his attack mostly towards the backstage area. There was a risk that some of the crowd sat on the left side of the hall could be caught up in the gust as well, but as long as they weren't blasting the judges, they'd probably get away with it.

With the powerful wind sweeping down to the stage and rising up again around him, Kacha held his balance well before jumping up and catching the wind as best as he could. He rose up slightly lower than they'd planned (they'd forgotten about the stage lights when practising), but that was okay. He was ready.

He fixed his gaze on Kelaar, who nodded and started firing leaves up towards him. His tail started glowing a dark red colour and, still riding the wind precariously, Kacha swung around to strike the incoming leaves.

With each precise swing of his tail, he scattered more leaves aside. They started falling back to the stage as they dropped out of the rush of air from Kelaar's Gust. Yet even with all their practice, Kacha couldn't quite keep up with all of them. He grimaced as a leaf slipped past his tail and slashed against his side but managed to keep his composure.

With a final sweep of his tail, he knocked the last of the leaves aside and dropped back down towards the ground.

As he landed, Kelaar started the second stage. He started walking towards Kacha, each step a deliberate stomp that sent small reverberations across the stage.

Kacha hunched down as Kelaar approached. Timing was crucial: go too early and the effect of the appeal would be reduced, go too late and he'd be crushed under Kelaar's massive feet. For a few moments, he was focused solely on his teammate's feet as he drew closer. Each thud made him crouch lower. He was like a coiled spring waiting to be released.

Kelaar finally raised one foot and a shadow fell over Kacha. As the tropius started to stomp downwards, the pikachu was suddenly gone. Faster than the eye could blink, faster even that the spectators could completely register it, he'd jumped back out of danger and now waited for Kelaar's next move.

A lot of effort had gone into preparing for this combination as well. Even though he knew what was happening, Kacha moved so fast that Kelaar couldn't coordinate his movements with the pikachu's. As he continued to stomp forwards, he was simply following the plan they'd put in place, counting on Kacha to be in and out of the right place at the right time. In turn, Kacha was relying on him to keep his steps consistent with their practice.

The continuing dodges and stomps were exhausting, and it was quickly catching up with the two pokémon. Kelaar misjudged his distance and started bringing his foot down a few centimetres ahead of Kacha, who jumped back with Agility anyway. He squeaked in surprise as Kelaar overstepped the next one and he lost his balance as he scrambled to get clear.

As Kelaar paused, noticing that Kacha had fallen, the two pokémon heard a brief, sharp clap from James. It was time for them to move on.

This was it. The main act of the appeal and their grand finale.

Kacha jumped back to his feet and took position just in front of Kelaar. The tropius arched his wings and prepared to fire. For a long second, it felt like the entire room had disappeared as Kelaar, Kacha, and James all focused on what was about to happen.

There was a swoosh as Kelaar swept his wings forward. Deep green leaves shot forwards, slicing through the air with a smooth, precise movement. Squeaking loudly, Kacha lit up as electricity erupted from his body. Yellow bolts flew upwards, prodding the group of leaves.

Kacha stopped firing. Above the stage, the small sparks of electricity jumped between the leaves as they continued flying forwards and started dropping towards the group. There were a few impressed gasps from the crowd. It had worked perfectly.

With their remaining time, Kelaar and Kacha fired off two more Lightning Leaf combinations before the MC returned to the stage and the crowd applauded them as they departed for the holding room.

5:05pm, 31st August 2006

"Well, I think it's safe to say we made it through with that performance," James had said to Kelaar and Kacha as soon as they were out of the stage area. There had only been a handful of small hiccups and Lightning Leaf had worked perfectly. Given how complicated the appeal was, and how new they were to double appeals, they could hardly have hoped for anything better.

However, there had been a number of other good performances as well. James's team had finished in seventh place, only just making it through to the knockout rounds. What had seemed like a near-perfect performance to James, Kelaar and Kacha's untrained eyes had had a number of issues that didn't slip the judges by, even if they appreciated the efforts that had gone into Lightning Leaf.

Still, getting through the appeals round was all that mattered. And with the double appeal behind them, James and his team got stuck into the slightly more familiar double battles. Muro and Kelaar easily swept through the first round, with Muro's Hyper Voice proving to be an excellent way to keep opponents still while Kelaar pummelled them with Razor Leaf.

The semi-final was harder. Charka and Kacha had a hard time in the face of their opponents' skilful and tricky combinations. However, a mixture of Thunderbolt and Flamethrower, as well as Smokescreen and Tail Break, eventually won the day.

And so, James found himself stepping back out onto the stage for the fourth time that day. He'd seen the other semi-final, so he knew that his last opponent—Marcus Thorne—was going to be a tough one indeed. His pokémon had proven overwhelming in his previous battles and his opponents rarely had a chance to get their moves in.

"It's time for the final of the last Nishoa Contest of 2006 Season!" the MC called. "On my left, Marcus Thorne! On my right, James Burton!"

There was applause from the crowd. James tightened his grip on the two poké balls he'd chosen.

"Begin!"

"Go, Puffer! Go, Twink!" Marcus called, throwing out his poké balls.

A wigglytuff and a starmie burst from the balls and materialised on the stage.

"Go, Charka! Go, Lusk!" James called, hurling out his poké balls.

Charka huffed impatiently as he materialised. Lusk was silent, her lone eye fixed eerily on her opponents. It was her first contest and, while there were no signs of nerves, a small part of James still wondered if she'd be able to cope with the limitations of a contest battle.

"Whoa! A wigglytuff and a starmie?" Nicola pulled out her Pokédex and pointed it at Marcus's two pokémon.

"Wigglytuff, the balloon pokémon and the evolved form of jigglypuff. A wigglytuff has large, saucerlike eyes. The surfaces of its eyes are always covered with a thin layer of tears. If any dust gets in this pokémon's eyes, it is quickly washed away. A wigglytuff's body is very flexible. By inhaling deeply, this pokémon can inflate itself seemingly without end. Once inflated, a wigglytuff bounces along lightly like a balloon."

"Starmie, the mysterious pokémon and the evolved form of staryu. A starmie's centre section - the core - glows brightly in seven colours. Because of its luminous nature, this pokémon has been given the nickname "the gem of the sea." A starmie swims through water by spinning its star-shaped body as if it were a propeller on a ship."

As Nicola put her Pokédex away again, Richard spoke. "James is going to need to be careful with them. They're both flashy pokémon, but they pack a punch."

"And Charka is a fire type," Will said, watching Twink the starmie.

Down on the stage, the two teams launched their opening moves.

"Fire Spin and Shadow Ball!" James called.

"Twink, use Swift!" Marcus called.

Twink jumped up and fired a blast of stars from their core. Charka and Lusk were both struck: the charmeleon was blasted back before he could attack, but the rays simply passed harmlessly through Lusk.

"Sing!" Marcus said, nodding at Puffer.

A soft, soothing melody filled the air. Puffer sang gently to Charka as he struggled to pull himself back to his feet.

Sensing the danger, Lusk jerked away from Twink and fired her attack at the wigglytuff instead. The shadowy ball simply passed harmlessly through him.

Charka staggered to his feet, fighting through a sudden lightness in his body. His eyelids were getting heavier and heavier. He staggered slightly as he tried to keep his balance. Then, he suddenly found his eyes closed and unwilling to open. He was asleep before he hit the ground.

"Water Pulse!" Marcus called.

Twink fired a blast of water directly at the now prone charmeleon. Just before it reached him, however, a shadowy fist suddenly came from the side and struck the orb of water. There was a burst and water splashed off to the left. Lusk glided over and stood between her opponents and her incapacitated teammate. A quick glance back at James received a nod in response.

The brief break in the action gave James the chance to check the scores.

About even. Probably thanks to Lusk intercepting a blow to protect Charka. James knew that contest fans liked that kind of thing. "Stay strong and keep Charka safe!" he called to Lusk. Puffer and Twink were stronger than they let on. James could tell. He needed to stay defensive and focus on taking advantage of their moves.

Unfortunately, they seemed content to keep at a distance and avoid engaging Lusk up close. While Twink occasionally sprayed a little water in Lusk's direction, Puffer opened his mouth and started to sing again. Marcus was trying to put both of James's pokémon out of action.

James's point bar was already ticking down slowly with each second Charka stayed under. He couldn't have both pokémon out of the battle.

An idea came to him. "Lusk, use Curse!"

A black aura cloaked Lusk for a few seconds. There was a cry from across the stage as Puffer broke off his song and flailed his arms at the murky blackness that was starting to surround him too. He cried out as the lingering pain started to eat into him.

Curse wasn't an appealing move. It looked dull and unimpressive; the opposite of the flashy moves normally used to win contests. And it was brutal. Unashamedly brutal. At the sight of Puffer writhing in agony, James's point bar took a sudden dive.

Even so, if it kept Lusk in the fight, it was the only thing James could do.

Marcus frowned. "Twink, use Water Pulse!" he ordered through gritted teeth.

Twink fired an orb of water at Lusk, only to be intercepted by Shadow Ball. Puffer then made another attempt to sing to the dusclops, but his voice broke continuously as Lusk's curse sent pain shooting through his nerves.

"Will-O-Wisp!" James called.

Lusk summoned up a cluster of ghostly flames. Instead of simply hurling them as she might have normally done, she whirled them around herself briefly before flinging them. The audience seemed to approve.

Then, as Puffer continued struggling and Twink, having avoided the ghostly flames, prepared to fire another Water Pulse, there was a sudden snort from nearby.

Bleary-eyed, Charka started pulling himself up as he reoriented himself. Shaking the remaining sleep from his head, he looked over at James and called out.

"Glad to have you back, Charka!" James said with a grin. He glanced at the point bar. Still lower than Marcus, but they had two minutes left.

With Charka back up, Puffer seemed to be redoubling his efforts to sing and put him back to sleep. Thankfully, the soft melody was punctuated by sharp gasps and groans as the curse continued to eat away at him. Twink was also keeping their distance.

Having looked at Marcus's strategy so far, James was starting to recognise the patterns. He tried to fight on his terms and, ideally, to prevent his opponents from even fighting back. Was his aim to have the stage entirely to himself so he could otherwise treat this round like an appeals round?

As an added bonus, his opponent would lose points while their pokémon were incapacitated.

It was a good plan, James had to admit. He wondered how Marcus would react to being pushed onto the defensive…

"Smokescreen!" he called.

Another less than ideal choice, he thought as Charka filled the stage with thick, black smoke. Still, it was a means to an end.

As soon as his team was hidden from sight, he gave his next orders. "Fire Spin and Will-O-Wisp together! Let's move!"

Charka and Lusk both surged out of the smoke, heading in different directions. They both fired their attacks at Puffer.

Stumbling as the pain gripped him again, Puffer couldn't escape and found himself suddenly caught up in the vortex. Lusk's Will-O-Wisp merged with the tornado and vanished after a brief flare.

Disappointing. Despite all their practice, Will-O-Wisp was still simply too weak to create a combined tornado with Fire Spin.

Still, Marcus's points were dropping, and he was clearly rattled by the sudden counter attack. He called out to Twink, "Use Water Pulse!"

As Twink fired, Charka stopped his attack and turned to face the new threat. Taking a deep breath, he expelled a surge of flames towards the oncoming orb of water. There was a flash and an explosion of steam.

"Shadow Ball!" James called.

As the steam cleared, Lusk was already gathering up dark energy. Panicking, Twink fired another Water Pulse. There was another explosion as the two attacks collided.

Then Lusk surged forwards, shooting out a shadowy fist while Twink was still reorienting. She struck the core and sent the starmie toppling backwards. Charka, meanwhile, had begun jumping and whirling through the air in an aggressive Swords Dance while spewing fire around. As he finally landed, he unleashed a powerful burst of flames towards Puffer, who just managed to roll clear at the last moment.

The timer went off. It was all over.

James's head shot around, heart hammering.

Two thirds of Marcus's remaining points had disappeared. It was a close, but convincing victory for Charka and Lusk.

James turned back to see his two pokémon looking at him, their eyes lighting up. He grinned at them and gave them a thumbs-up. "You did it, guys. Well done!"

"And the winner of the Nishoa Contest is James Burton's team of Charka the charmeleon and Lusk the dusclops!" the MC announced. "I'm sure that the judges will agree when I say that those were some excellent performances by both teams!"

The crowd applauded as James and Marcus shook hands.

"Well fought," Marcus said stiffly. "Really had me at the end there."

"Thanks," James replied. "Your strategy was good. It was a real challenge."

The two coordinators parted, and James turned to face the head judge as he stepped out onto the stage.

"That was a fine performance Mr Burton," he said. "And a well-deserved victory for Charka and Lusk." James suspected that he was more used to dealing with cuter and fluffier pokémon as he gave the charmeleon and dusclops a rather strained smile. "The way that Lusk threw herself into harm's way to protect her teammate was touching and the way she used her moves was surprisingly elegant. I have to ask though, was this her first contest?"

"It's pretty obvious, huh?" James replied with a sheepish grin. "Yeah. This was her first time on the stage."

"I thought so." The head judge gave a self-congratulatory nod. "There were some areas that were rough around the edges. And parts of the performance did seem a little… unpleasant."

"We'll work on it." James glanced at Lusk.

"As for Charka, I can tell that he's a seasoned performer," one of the other judges chimed in. "He knew exactly what he was doing with his moves and executed almost every combination perfectly. The ending flourish was very good."

"It was just a shame that he was caught up by Sing at the start," the third judge added.

"Still, a wonderful performance," the head judge concluded. "I'm happy to present you with the Nishoa Ribbon."

"Thank you," James said as he took the ribbon. That made four.

5:48pm, 31st August 2006

"Just one ribbon left to go until you're into the Grand Festival, huh?" Nicola said as the four of them walked back along the road to the pokémon centre.

"I mean, you're the same," said James.

"Only because you gave me the Ornlay Ribbon," Nicola replied. "If you hadn't, you'd already be on five."

"And you'd still be on three," Richard said. "At least this way, you both have a good chance of getting the last ribbons to get you into the Grand Festival."

James nodded. "Exactly. Now that your ban is almost over, it's time for you to earn yourself your last ribbon as well."

"Yeah." Nicola felt her stomach knot uncomfortably. It felt like a long time since the last time she'd competed. And with the Grand Festival closing in, there wasn't going to be much room for mistakes.

"So, where are we going to head next?" Will asked, interrupting her thoughts.

"Let's go out and celebrate tonight," said Richard. "I was worried James would lose his nerve after getting knocked out of the Lilycove Contest!"

"I was always going to come back!" James said, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, food's on you then, Richard!"

"Do you think the new gym leader has arrived in Sootopolis City yet?" Nicola asked.

"We can check at the pokémon centre," James replied. "If he's not back yet, then how about we explore some of the other islands around here?"

"Might as well since we're out here," said Richard. "But you two should start looking for some more contests before it's too late."

"Will do," said James.

"As long as we can have a well-deserved lie in tomorrow, I'm happy doing whatever," Will replied.

The others laughed.

It was a warm, late summer evening and, even though there were still challenges ahead, there was no point wasting it worrying.

Sorry that this chapter has taken so long to write. The last few months have been pretty tiring: work, heat, typhoons, bureaucracy, a colleague passing away unexpectedly, more bureaucracy, and a general downturn in my enthusiasm for Pokémon has eaten away at my motivation to write.

Still, a chapter delayed is better than a chapter never written at all (I hope, anyway!).

So, double contest appeals and battles made their debut this chapter. I was pretty pleased with the various combinations and tactics I was able to come up with for this chapter in the end.

To go into more detail about Nulin's departure last chapter, I was originally planning on him returning to James this chapter, with the idea being that James had misread Nulin's feelings slightly and released him before the wingull had resolved his internal conflict. In the end, I decided to abandon that plan because, while it may have been emotionally nicer for Nulin to return, I thought this would be the stronger narrative decision. As I'm making use of Pokémon Journey: Hoenn as a testing ground for new ideas, I figured I'd go down that route instead. If you've got any thoughts on this decision, then please let me know. I may well make a lot of changes when it comes to the rewrites in this regard!

And, on that subject, I've posted another survey on the Facebook page regarding both the future of Pokémon Journey: Hoenn and Pokémon Journey: Livvi's Johto Scrapbook's upload schedules, as well as about the future of the page in general. So, if you haven't already responded to it, I'd greatly appreciate your input!

There's no date for Chapter 111 at the moment as I'm still waiting to see the responses to the survey but rest assured that it will come eventually.

As ever, I appreciate any feedback you have on this chapter and don't forget to leave a like on the Facebook page and follow me on Twitter.

Until next time!

Team Listings:

James Burton:

Active:

Charka (Charmeleon): Male. Naïve. Often scatters things. Likes sweet food. Fire type. Blaze ability. Knows Fire Spin, Swords Dance, Flamethrower, and Slash.

Kacha (Pikachu): Male. Modest. Sturdy body. Likes dry food. Electric type. Static ability. Knows Thunderbolt, Agility, Brick Break, and Volt Tackle (in progress).

Muro (Exploud): Male. Careful. Loves to eat. Likes bitter food. Normal type. Soundproof ability. Knows Howl, Stomp, Screech, and Hyper Voice.

Kelaar (Tropius): Male. Bashful. Likes to run. Eats anything. Grass-flying type. Chlorophyll ability. Knows Gust, Razor Leaf, Synthesis, and Body Slam.

Lusk (Dusclops): Female. Mild. Likes to fight. Likes dry food. Ghost type. Levitate ability. Knows Curse, Shadow Ball, Will-O-Wisp, and Shadow Punch.

Richard Winter:

Active:

Naro (Nidoking): Male. Mild. Sturdy body. Likes dry food. Poison-ground type. Poison Point ability. Knows Thrash, Megahorn, Poison Sting, and Double Kick.

Chena (Mightyena): Male. Docile. Capable of taking hits. Eats anything. Dark type. Intimidate ability. Knows Take Down, Howl, Swagger, and Crunch.

Dish (Ludicolo): Female. Gentle. Capable of taking hits. Likes bitter food. Water-grass type. Rain Dish ability. Knows Rain Dance, Growl, Giga Drain, and Hydro Pump.

Arro (Aggron): Male. Naïve. Loves to eat. Likes sweet food. Steel-rock type. Sturdy ability. Knows Metal Sound, Iron Tail, Iron Defence, and Double-Edge.

Vortex (Claydol): Genderless. Lonely. Sturdy body. Likes spicy food. Ground-psychic type. Levitate ability. Knows Hyper Beam, Psybeam, Cosmic Power, and Ancient Power.

Pincer (Anorith): Male. Modest. Good endurance. Likes dry food. Rock-bug type. Battle Armour ability. Knows Ancient Power, Mud Sport, Metal Claw, and Water Gun.

Nicola Hewitt:

Active:

Kipa (Swampert): Male. Quiet. Somewhat vain. Likes dry food. Water-ground type. Torrent ability. Knows Take Down, Endeavour, Earthquake, and Muddy Water.

Mushy (Breloom): Female. Calm. Likes to relax. Likes bitter food. Grass-fighting type. Effect Spore ability. Knows Mega Drain, Mind Reader, Mach Punch, and Dynamic Punch.

Zaggy (Zigzagoon): Male. Adamant. Quick to flee. Likes spicy food. Normal type. Pick Up ability. Knows Belly Drum, Rest, Body Slam, and Dig.

Tricky (Manectric): Male. Quirky. Somewhat of a clown. Eats anything. Electric type. Lightningrod ability. Knows Bite, Spark, Charge, and Howl.

Mule (Numel): Female. Docile. Often lost in thought. Eats anything. Fire-ground type. Oblivious ability. Knows Flamethrower, Earthquake, Amnesia, and Take Down.

Blu (Altaria): Female. Brave. Strong willed. Likes spicy food. Dragon-flying type. Natural Cure ability. Knows Refresh, Dragon Dance, Peck, and Dragon Breath.

Will Burton:

Active:

Toya (Blastoise): Male. Modest. Very finicky. Likes dry food. Water type. Torrent ability. Knows Skull Bash, Bite, Hydro Pump, and Ice Beam.

Turkey (Swellow): Male. Mild. Alert to sounds. Likes dry food. Normal-flying type. Guts ability. Knows Aerial Ace, Steel Wing, Return, and Fly.

Gulpy (Swalot): Female. Mild. Nods off a lot. Likes dry food. Poison type. Sticky Hold ability. Knows Stockpile, Swallow, Sludge Bomb, and Toxic.

Blue (Shelgon): Female. Adamant. Proud of its power. Likes spicy food. Dragon type. Rock Head ability. Knows Dragon Claw, Crunch, Flamethrower, and Double-Edge.

Grum (Spoink): Female. Naughty. Hates to lose. Likes spicy food. Psychic type. Own Tempo ability. Knows Magic Coat, Psychic, Reflect, and Confuse Ray.

Shup (Shuppet): Male. Quiet. Thoroughly cunning. Likes dry food. Ghost type. Insomnia ability. Knows Shadow Ball, Spite, Feint Attack, and Will-O-Wisp.