It has been three days since Ash, Pikachu, Serena, Brock, Dawn, and Piplup bumped into Timothy, Electchu, Coovers, and Scott. Ever since Serena got her Absol, the honey blonde girl has started to cherish taking care of her new Pokemon like she promised. It warmed her heart to introduce Absol to her other Pokemon, and despite feeling uneasy at first, it started to become good friends with Braixen, Pancham, Sylveon, and Poliwag. Absol and Poliwag have begun to become playmates as they like to chase and playfully tackle each other whenever Serena lets out her Pokemon for during meals. Serena also lets Absol out of its Pokeball at night so that it can sleep next to its mother figure in her and Dawn's tent because it doesn't like to sleep in its container.

On the sixth day since they left Cerulean City, the group find themselves in Saffron City. Dawn and Serena look around in awe as they walked down the streets of the city excitedly.

"Oh my, this city is huge," Dawn says excitedly.

"Piplup," Piplup chirps in Dawn's arms.

"Yeah, they don't call it the biggest city in the Kanto region for nothing," Serena says.

"Yeah, I guess it's pretty big, but I'm more excited to re-challenge Sabrina at the Saffron City Gym and see Haunter again," Ash declares.

"Pi, Pikachu!" Pikachu shouts, sharing Ash's enthusiasm.

"Of course you are, Mr. Ketchum," Dawn says, smirking while shaking her head.

Serena nods in agreement before she says, "But don't forget, Ash, Dawn, and I have a contest here too, and we need to register for that."

"I know," Ash says. "And I'm going to be rooting for you all the way."

"Pikachu," Pikachu agrees.

Serena smiles and blushes while Dawn pouts.

"Hey, what about me?" She whines.

"Well, of course, I'm rooting for you too, Dawn," Ash says scratching the back of his head.

"Sure, you are. I know how it is," Dawn grumbles before giving Serena a teasing look that makes the honey blonde girl blush even more.

"Speaking of which, isn't the contest today?" Brock asks. "I think we should make sure you have enough time to register on time."

"No problem, Brock," Serena assures as she takes out her tablet. "Registration doesn't close until -"

Suddenly, Serena gasps loudly, catching everyone's attention.

"Oh my gosh, they moved the time! We need to register by 10:30, and it's already 10:23!" She says, panicking.

Everyone gasps and Brock says, "We need to hurry, quick!"

Without another word, the four trainers start running as fast as possible with Pikachu struggling to stay on Ash's shoulder and Dawn still carrying Piplup. They keep running until they take a turn to a giant stadium and barge inside where Dawn and Serena almost ram into the help desk

"Please don't tell us we're too late to register!" Both girls desperately shout simultaneously.

"No, you still have a minute left," the woman at the desk says, chuckling.

Both girls and Piplup sigh in relief as they hand their registration cards to the woman at the front desk, and she scans them and gives them back to them.

"Alright, you're both set," the woman says. "We will need you to come to the back in five minutes with the rest of the competitors."

"Great, thank you," Serena says as she and Dawn turn around to Ash, Brock, and Pikachu, who all sigh in relief.

"Gee, that was cutting a little close again," Ash says.

"Pika, Pika," Pikachu agrees.

"No kidding," Dawn says before turning to Serena. "You should check on your tablet more often in case of something like this more often."

"I'll get right on it next time," Serena says, chuckling nervously.

"Are you sure you two are prepared for this?" Brock asks. "You both only had six days to practice from Cerulean City to here."

"No sweat, Brock. Six days is plenty of time to come up with a good strategy," Dawn says proudly. "Right, Serena?"

"Er, right," Serena says hesitantly to the blunette before turning to Brock and Ash. "Honestly, six days is not a lot, but I think my Pokemon and I have things figured out now that I've experienced the battle stage first hand."

"That's great, Serena. Remember to give it all you got," Ash says encouragingly.

Serena smiles and nods at the raven-haired boy. Then she remembers something and says, "By the way, Ash, I need a favor from you."

"Oh?" Ash asks, confused.

Serena plays with her fingers and asks, "Remember when my Sylveon was an Eevee during the showcase in Anistar City and then it got scared and ran away and when we found it you promised to look after it during the rest of the showcase?"

"Of course, I do," Ash answers.

"Would you please look after Absol while watching the contest?" Serena asks. "I think it's still too young to compete, and I want it to see what Pokemon contests are like so that can decide if it would be interested in participating with my other Pokemon and me."

Ash looks at Serena for a moment and says, "Absolutely. I'll watch over it, no problem."

Serena smiles gratefully at Ash before she takes out Absol's Pokeball and opens it to reveal the recently-born Pokemon. Absol immediately turns to Serena and smiles happily, and Serena, in turn, gets down on her knees and pets it.

"Absol, I'm going to perform in this Pokemon contest, and I want you to stay with Ash," Serena says.

Absol instantly becomes uneasy, and Serena gives it a comforting look.

"I won't be long, I promise," she says calmly. "I'm just going to be performing on stage with Dawn and a lot of other contestants. I want you to watch the contest so that you can see if you would like to do it with me, Braixen, Pancham, Sylveon, and Poliwag."

"Don't worry, Absol, I'm going to take good care of you," Ash promises. "We'll have a great time watching Serena perform."

Absol still feels slightly scared. Even though it isn't afraid of Ash, Pikachu, Brock, or any of Serena's friends, it has never been apart from its mother figure ever since it hatched. Noticing this, Serena leans close to Absol's ear.

"When Ash says he's going to take good care of you, Absol, he's going to do it," she whispers. "Between you and me, I would trust Ash with my life and everything I have."

Absol's eyes widen, taken aback by its trainer's secret declaration. She moves her head back and smiles sweetly to back up what she said, making Absol feel better.

"Absol," It says cheerfully.

"Great. Thank you, Absol," Serena says kindly.

"Sol!" Absol replies before Ash picks it up. Then everyone hears a beeping sound from the stadium intercom

"All contestants, please proceed to the backstage," says a female voice from the speakers.

"Alright, Serena, we better get going," Dawn says.

"Okay," Serena answers before turning to Absol and petting it. "Please be good to Ash for me, Absol."

"Sol," Absol replies nodding.

Serena smiles and walks away with Dawn to the backstage. As they walk, Brock turns to Ash and smirks.

"So, she's trusting you with her newborn Pokemon, eh? Smooth," he says teasingly.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Ash asks, confused.

Brock chuckles to himself, knowing that his friend is acting clueless again and clears his throat.

"Ash, don't you think it's kind of peculiar that Serena specifically asked you to take care of Absol?" he asks.

"Uh...no," Ash answers. "I've taken care of other Pokemon for my friends before, not just Serena with Absol or her Eevee. All my friends trust me with their Pokemon. Right, Pikachu?"

"Pikachu," Pikachu says, agreeing.

"Right, but I think she asked for you as someone who looks at you as more than just a friend," Brock says.

Ash continues to stare at Brock, confused for a moment, and then looks down at Absol, who is looking up at him, equally confused.

"You know, my mom talked to me about something like that when Serena and I were in Pallet Town," he says. "She said something along the lines of how it's normal to love someone more than anyone in the world, even Pikachu. But I really don't get it. Can two people really feel that way about each other more than anyone else, even their Pokemon?"

Brock frowns and scratches the back of his head, unsure of how to answer that.

"Seems to me like maybe your dream for Pokemon has gotten too far into your head," he says. "Ash, there's nothing wrong with loving your Pokemon but still love a person more in a very special way. You can care for that person so much that you're willing to do anything to support their dreams and make them happy."

Ash keeps staring at Brock confounded and says, "But that just sounds just like what you would do for any of your friends, so how is this any different?"

Brock groans and opens his mouth to say something else until another beeping sound from the intercom.

"Attention, the contests will start in ten minutes. Audience members, please proceed to be seated," the announcer says.

Brock sighs, defeated, and turns to Ash.

"I guess we better find some seats quick," he says. "But I want to talk about this later."

"Uh...okay," Ash says as he, Pikachu and Absol follow Brock to the auditorium

***************************************************************************

"Good morning, Saffron City!" Lilian announces from the stage. "Welcome to today's Pokemon contest! I'm your host, Lilian, and I'm excited to see what our contestants today have in store for us!"

The audience cheers excitedly as Brock, Ash, Pikachu, and Absol watch from the first row.

"Wow! Lilian still looks so beautiful!" Brock shouts excitedly.

Ash rolls his eyes as his friend stands up and gazes at the host while she introduces the judges. As Brock is fawning over Lilian, however, two red eyes suddenly appear floating in the air a couple feet away from Brock's face. Brock looks in confusion until a big mouth appears a couple inches below the eyes and lets out a monstrous roar. Brock, Ash, Pikachu, Absol, and even some of the audience members sitting behind them scream in fear until they hear a woman laughing joyously. They turn around to see none other than Sabrina walking over to sit next to Ash with a friendly and amused smile on her face.

"Sabrina?" Ash says, surprised. "Then, that must mean..."

Ash turns his head to see the floating eyes and head dissolve into a laughing Haunter. The raven-haired boy only has a moment to smile happily before Haunter licks him right in the face.

"Hey, Haunter, glad you're happy to see me," Ash says, chuckling.

"Haun, Haunter," Haunter replies gleefully before it licks Pikachu much to the mouse Pokemon's delight and proceeds to lick Absol only to see the disaster Pokemon fearfully cuddled up in a ball on Ash's lap.

"Oh, dear, it seems like your Absol didn't enjoy Haunter's prank," Sabrina comments.

"Actually, this is our friend, Serena's Absol," Brock says. "It just hatched a few days ago, and it is very shy around meeting new people and Pokemon."

"Aw, the poor dear," Sabrina says.

Ash pets Absol comfortingly with a smile on his face and says, "It's okay, Absol. No need to be afraid. It's just Haunter. It likes to pull pranks, but it's actually friendly."

Absol continues to hide with its curled up body for a moment before it bravely looks up to face Haunter, who looks hurt that the young Pokemon is afraid of it. The young Pokemon slowly sits up on Ash's lap to look at Haunter, who slowly floats closer to Absol and smiles before going for a big lick on Absol's face. Absol whimpers and turns around and buries its head on Ash's stomach. Haunter stares at Absol crushed while Ash pets Absol again and gives Haunter a sympathetic look.

"Don't worry, Haunter. Absol is still young and shy. It'll get more comfortable around you before you know it," he promises.

Haunter smiles, satisfied with Ash's words, and floats to the empty seat next to Sabrina, who gives it a cheerful look that lifts Haunter's spirits.

"Wow, Sabrina, you are much more upbeat since we last saw you," Brock comments.

"Yeah, I guess Haunter staying with you really helped," Ash says.

"Oh, I can't get enough of Haunter," Sabrina says, gleefully. "It's just what I needed whenever I need to feel better. Honestly, I don't know how to repay you for bringing Haunter to me, Ash."

"Haunter," Haunters says gleefully.

"Aw, it's nothing," Ash says until it hits him. "Actually, there is something you can do for me."

"Oh, what's that?" Sabrina asks.

But before Ash can open his mouth, Lilian suddenly speaks up having finished introducing the judges and explaining the rules of the contest.

"Now, for our first contestant!" She declares.

Ash sighs and turns to Sabrina and says, "I'll tell you later," and she nods before they turn to watch the first contestant.

One by one, coordinators put on their best performance with their Pokemon. Each one amazes the audience and the judges in some way or another. Eventually, Dawn comes up next and wows everyone with her Quilava doing tricks while using Flame Wheel. Not long after that, Serena comes up on stage with a bright smile on her face.

"Poliwag, come on out!" She shouts as she throws her Pokeball, and Poliwag comes out of it with a cheerful smile on its face.

"Wow, so she chose Poliwag for the performance round," Brock says intrigued. "I wonder how this is going to go since this will be Poliwag's first performance."

"They'll both do great," Ash says confidently. "Serena told me that Dawn helped her practice with Poliwag."

"Pikachu," Pikachu says with a smile.

"Absol!" Absol cries out, happy to see its trainer on the stage.

Serena notices Ash, Absol, Pikachu, and Brock in the crowd and smiles fondly at Absol sitting comfortably on the lap of the boy she cares for before turning to Poliwag.

"Poliwag, are you ready for your first performance?" She asks.

"Poli, poli!" Poliwag happily replies, jumping up and down.

"Alright then, Poliwag, then use Bubble Beam up in the air!" Serena commands.

Poliwag nods and looks up at the ceiling before shooting several bubbles into the air.

"Now, jump up and use Double Slap!" Serena orders.

Poliwag nods and then jumps high into the air and starts kicking it each of the bubbles in the air with its feet. The impact causes the bubbles to burst into tiny sparkles, amazing the audience.

"Now, use Water Gun," Serena says.

As it is falling to the ground, Poliwag looks down and shoots water toward the ground right as it's about to land. The move causes Poliwag to propel itself into the air, much to everyone's surprise. The tadpole Pokemon repeats this process six more times until it flips into the air and lands on Serena's hands.

"Ta-da! All done!" Serena declares as she makes a pose while lifting Poliwag above her head.

The crowd roars in thunderous applause. Ash, Pikachu, and Brock clap and cheer while Absol cries out to Serena and Poliwag joyously. Sabrina gives a modest clap while Haunter claps vigorously like a little child. Serena's smile grows as she looks at all the people and Pokemon who are happy with her performance. She turns her gaze back to Ash, who is still clapping and cheering with Pikachu and Absol and feels her heartwarming up to see her new Pokemon and especially the boy she likes being so supportive of her. She lowers her arms to look at Poliwag who is smiling happily.

"Did you have fun, Poliwag?" Serena asks.

"Poli! Poli!" Poliwag replies, cheerfully.

"I'm glad," Serena says, smiling as she hugs her Pokemon. "You were really wonderful."

**********************************************************************

The remaining contestants and their Pokemon did their performances without a hitch. Once they were all done, Lilian came back on stage with her microphone.

"Alright, let's hear it for all of our contestants!" she says.

The audience cheers in response.

"The judges have made their choices, so in just a few seconds, we will find out who will be competing in the battle stage!" Lilian announces.

"I hope your friends will be able to continue," Sabrina says kindly.

"I don't doubt that they will. Their performances were great," Ash says.

"Pikachu," Pikachu says in agreement.

"Sol, Absol," Absol says proudly.

"I should think so," Brock says thoughtfully with his arms crossed. "Dawn's use of Flame Wheel with Quilava was clever, and Serena really showed her passion by being more creative than she was in Cerulean City. I must admit it seemed like a risk to pick Poliwag since it's a new Pokemon, and this is only Serena's second contest, but it clearly paid off."

"Alright, here are coordinators who will be moving on to the next round!" Lilian announces.

Everyone looks up to watch the large screen above the stage. With a loud "ding," thirty-two pictures appear. Ash, Pikachu, Absol, Brock, Sabrina, and Haunter look closely until they smile to find Dawn's picture in the top row and Serena's picture just a couple rows down.

"Alright!" Brock shouts.

"See? What did I tell you?" Ash says.

"Absol!" Absol shouts.

"Pika, Pika!" Pikachu yells.

"Excellent," Sabrina says.

"Haunter, Haunt!" Haunter says excitedly.

"And now, the computer will randomize the order in which the contestants will face each other," Lilian announces.

Everyone looks up at the screen again, which goes blank for a couple of seconds before the pictures reappear in a tournament bracket. Ash, Brock, Pikachu and Absol smile to find Serena in the first bracket.

"Our first battle will be Ginger versus Serena!" Lilian announces.

The crowd cheers again as Serena enters the arena again on one side while a chubby woman with green hair appears on the other side. The two of them look at each other from opposite sides of the battlefield and give each other respectable nods before they each take out a Pokeball.

"Braixen, I choose you!" Serena calls out.

"Tangla, come on out!" Ginger yells.

The Pokeballs open with Braixen and a Tangela coming out and facing each other. Serena looks at Ginger's Pokemon in confusion.

"I've never seen that Pokemon before," she says as she takes out her Pokedex.

"Tangela, the Vine Pokemon," her Pokedex says. "It's body is wrapped in vines. The rest of its form is hidden beneath these vines."

"I see," Serena says before putting away her Pokedex and giving Braixen a confident look. "Well, we're going to take it down no matter what it is. Right, Braixen?"

"Braix!" Braixen agrees.

"Battle begin!" Lilian declares.

The clock starts to count down from 5 minutes with a "ding."

"Braixen, use Scratch!" Serena commands.

Braixen's paw turns white, and it charges at Tangela.

"Tangela, use Constrict!" Ginger orders.

Tangela spins around and wraps several vines around Braixen just as it is a couple feet away from the vine Pokemon. Serena looks at the display, worried as Braixen struggles to move with the vines wrapped tightly all over her.

"Now, toss Braixen up in the air," Ginger says.

Tangela nods and throws Braixen, sending the fox Pokemon flying high into the air above it. Then Tangela catches Braixen as it's about to fall and tosses it into the air again. The judges watch intently as Tangela repeats the process and Serena's point bar toward down. Serena frowns as Braixen flies into the air again, panicking before she gets an idea.

"Braixen, use Flamethrower on Tangela at full power," she commands.

Braixen suddenly stops panicking, and as it's falling back into Tangela's vines, it aims it's stick right above Tangela and fires a large stream of red and orange fire comes out from the ends of the stick heading straight down toward Tangela. Tangela's pupils shrink in fear as the fire rains down right on top of its head, burning the Pokemon in the process. Braixen then uses the force of the attack to propel itself into the air and land several feet away from its opponent gracefully. Ginger grinds her teeth, frustrated as she loses a lot of points from the attack.

"Whoa, Serena had Brixen propelled itself with Flamethrower just like Poliwag did with Water Gun," Brock observes.

"Clever," Sabrina says amused.

"Tangela, use Knock Off!" Ginger shouts.

Tangela regains its focus and sends several vines heading toward Braixen.

"Use Scratch to deflect those vines," Serena calls out.

Once again, Braixen's paw glows white, and with inhuman speed, the fox Pokemon swats all the vines away one by one. The judges look at each other, impressed with how Braixen is defending itself, and they remove more points from Ginger's point bar. The green-haired woman grinds her teeth again, growing more frustrated.

"Tangela, Tackle!" She yells.

Tangela nods and starts running straight toward Braixen.

"Hmmm, that sounds like a reckless move," Sabrina comments with a frown.

"I agree," Brock says, crossing his arms. "It's clear that Ginger is losing her cool, and that is giving Serena an opening to finish the battle."

"Braixen, use Fire Blast!" Serena shouts.

Braixen points its stick at the charging Tangela and releases a 大-shaped figure from the tip of the stick. The attack hits the Vine Pokemon and sends it flying into the air and landing just a few feet away from Ginger with swirly eyes. Ginger gasps, shocked with what just happened while all the judges hit their buzzards.

"Tangela is unable to battle," Saffron City's Nurse Joy declares. "Serena and Braixen are the winners."

The screen changes to Serena's picture appearing at the center with the "winner" text below it. Serena smiles as the crowd cheers, and she walks over to Braixen.

"Well, done, Braixen," she praises. "Now, we just need to do this a few more times, and we'll win the ribbon."

"Braix," Braixen says with a nod.

**********************************************************************************

Over the next couple of hours, the coordinators battle each other with both Serena and Dawn winning each of their matches. On the last two matches before the final round, Serena and Braixen defeated a boy with a Meowth, and Dawn practically crushed a woman's Vaporeon with Mamoswine. Afterward, Lilian allowed a short break before the two remaining contestants faced each other.

"So, both of your friends are going to face each other, eh?" Sabrina asks. "This should be interesting."

"Haunter," Haunter says.

"Yeah, I wonder how it's going to turn out," Brock says with his arms crossed. "Serena has been improving since Cerulean City, and her Braixen has the type advantage against Mamoswine, but Dawn is more experienced. What do you think, Ash?"

Ash thinks for a second before he says, "I just hope they give everything they got into the battle, and I'll be happy with whoever wins. Although, if I had to choose one to root for, it would be Serena."

"Oh, really? And why is that?" Sabrina asks.

"Because I told her I would be there to cheer for her before we went on this journey, and that's what I'm going to do," Ash answers with a proud smirk.

"Absol!" Absol shouts to express its own support for its trainer.

"Oh, I see," Sabrina says. "For a moment, I thought you had another reason to root for her over Dawn."

"Huh? Like what?" Ash asks.

Sabrina stares at the raven-haired boy, dumbfounded with his obliviousness, making Brock chuckle. Before she can answer, though, Lilian appears back on stage and clear her throat.

"Alright, everyone, it is time for the final round," she announces on the microphone. "Who will win the Saffron ribbon? Will it be Dawn or Serena?"

The crowd cheer to express their excitement.

"Alright, let's have our contestants come on stage and find out who wins," Lilian says.

The crowd continues to cheer while Serena and Dawn enter the battlefield on opposite sides and take out their Pokeballs.

"Braixen, I chose you!" Serena calls out while throwing her Pokeball.

"Mamoswine, spotlight!" Dawn shouts as she twirls and tosses her Pokeball into the air.

The two Pokemon come out of their containers and glare at each other, ready for battle.

"Just so you know, Serena, we're not gonna go easy on you," Dawn says.

"Mamo!" Mamoswine roars while letting out icy wind through its nostrils.

"I was going to say the same thing to you," Serena says, smirking. "Braixen and I are going to give it everything we've got."

"Braix!" Braixen shouts pumped and armed with its stick.

"Battle begin!" They hear Lilian declare, and the clock starts to countdown from 5 minutes.

"Alright, Mamoswine, let's start things up with you using Ice Shard and eating it!" Dawn commands.

"What?" Serena asks, confused.

Mamoswine creates a large light-blue ball if ice between its tusk and eats it. Serena and Braixen stare in confusion as the fur in Mamoswine's back freezes over, creating large icicles on its back.

"Now, use Take Down!" Dawn calls out.

Manoswine's body becomes surrounded in an orange aura and charges toward Braixen.

"Braixen, stop it with Flamethrower at full power," Serena says.

Braixen points its stick at the charging Mamoswine and fires a giant stream of fire. The attack hits Mamoswine, but despite letting out a painful grunt upon impact, it continues to charge at Braixen. The fox Pokemon only has a moment to realize what is happening before Mamoswine rams into Braixen, nearly sending it flying straight into a wall. Serena's eyes widen in shock, and her points bar goes down a little.

"You like that move, Serena?" Dawn asks proudly. "I call it Ice Armor."

"Ice Armor?" Sabrina asks, surprised. "What a clever idea."

"Yeah, I'd hate to say it for Serena's sake, but I knew that wouldn't work like it did with Ginger's Tangela," Brock says. "Mamoswine is weak against fire attacks too, but that Ice Armor protects it from most of the damage. Serena is going to have to be more creative than that to win this match."

Absol grows worried, taking in Brock's words until it feels Ash petting it with a smile.

"Don't worry, Absol," he says assuringly. "Dawn and Mamoswine are strong, but so are Serena and Braixen."

"Pikachu," Pikachu says happily.

"Sol," Absol says, uplifted by Ash's words.

"Mamoswine, now use Hidden Power!" Dawn calls out.

Mamoswine's tusks glow yellow, and light blue circles appear between them. Serena thinks for a second before she gets an idea right as the twin tusk Pokemon fires.

"Braixen, you use Hidden Power as well!" She commands.

Braixen forms a light blue ball of energy and fires. The two attacks collide and explode, causing a large cloud of smoke to cover the entire area.

"Now use Flamethrower again and keep at it," Serena commands.

Braixen fires another Flamethrower in the direction where it last saw Mamoswine. The fox Pokemon is unsure of whether or not it aimed correctly until it hears a low groan of pain and smirks as it continues to use Flamethrower. Dawn gasps, worries for her Pokemon as the smoke slowly clears to find Mamoswine struggling to stay up and a large stream of fire constantly hitting it face first and its Ice Armor completely melted away. She starts to grow nervous as the judges take off a large amount of points.

"Mamoswine, use Ice Fang!" She calls out.

Despite still getting hit by Flamethrower, Mamoswine's tusks turn light blue, grow large and become covered in ice. It charges again at Braixen, who realizes its attack isn't working anymore.

"Braixen, dodge Mamoswine," Serena says.

Braixen jumps away from Mamoswine just as its opponent is about to hit. Mamoswine growls, irritated, and charges at Braixen again.

"Braixen, dodge repeatedly by jumping the way you would hop on each of Pancham's Stone Edge," Serena orders.

The fox Pokemon smirks, understanding what its trainer is thinking. As Mamoswine constantly tries to hit Braixen with Ice Fang, Braixen jumps away, spinning and twirling in the air as it jumps from one spot of the arena to another. The Pokemon repeat the process multiple times, making it look like Braixen is performing an acrobatic show while dodging its opponent's every attempt to hit it with its tusks of ice. The judges are impressed with the performance and deduct more points from Dawn. The blunette girl becomes even more nervous until she gets an idea.

"Mamoswine, wait for the right moment when Braixen is going to land on its feet then hit it with Ice Shard," she commands.

Mamoswine grins under its large coat of fur and waits until Braixen is landing on the ground from another jump and fires an Ice Shard straight at it. Braixen notices what is happening and tries to dodge, but the blue ball of ice hits it on its side, causing half of its body to be covered in ice.

"Braixen!" Serena calls out worryingly as the judges take out more of her points.

"Now use Take Down again," Dawn says with her confidence regained.

Once again, an orange aura surrounds the twin tusk Pokemon and charges at Braixen, who is struggling to move with half of its body frozen.

"What do I do?" Serena asks herself. "There's no way Braixen can free herself unless..."

As she thinks about it, her mind goes back to when she watched Ash face Viola in Santalune City. When Pikachu was on the verge of falling asleep because of Vivillon's Sleep Powder, Ash had Pikachu use Electro Ball to stay awake. Serena thinks carefully, wondering if she should do something similar.

"It's worth a try," she says to herself before turning to Braixen. "Braixen, use Flamethrower on yourself."

Braixen stops struggling and then points its stick at itself and fires another Flamethrower. The fire hurts the fox Pokemon slightly but also melts all the ice.

Serena smiles, happy that her plan worked, and says, "Now jump over Mamoswine and use Fire Blast!"

At the last moment, Braixen jumps over Mamoswine just as it's about to hit the fox Pokemon. Braixen flips in the air and fires a Fire Blast at Mamoswine from behind. The attack hits Mamoswine in the back, and the impact causes the twin tusk Pokemon to trip and fall to the ground, causing Dawn to lose points again.

"Quick, Mamoswine, get up and create another Ice Armor!" Dawn says, desperately.

Mamoswine slowly gets up and turns around to face Braixen. It summons another Ice Shard and eats it, creating large icicles to appear on it's back again. Braixen raises its stick, prepared to face whatever its opponent is going to do next.

*Ding*

Serena, Dawn, Braixen, and Mamoswine look at each other surprised until they look up on the screen to find that time is up and Serena's point bar is bigger than Dawn's by just a couple points.

"Time is up, and Serena and Braixen win!" Lilian declares.

The screen changes to only Serena's picture and large texts appearing under it saying "Winner." The crowd applauds loudly, but not as loudly as Ash, Pikachu, Brock, and Absol. Serena stares at the screen, shocked for a moment before she smiles, and she and Braixen walk over and hug each other.

"Alright! We did it!" Serena shouts happily.

"Braixen!" Braixen shouts.

Mamoswine groans sadly as it walks over to Dawn, who pets it comfortingly.

"It's alright, Mamoswine. You did great," she says. "We'll get them next time."

Mamoswine smiles, appreciative of Dawn's words. Dawn then puts Mamoswine back in its Pokeball and talks over to Serena.

"Congratulations, Serena," she says. "Looks like you bested me."

"Thanks, Dawn," Serena says. "You and Mamoswine were great too."

"Braix," Braixen says in agreement.

The two girls shake hands just as Mr. Contesta walks over to Serena with a ribbon in her hand.

"Congratulations, Serena," he compliments. "I now present to you the Saffron Ribbon."

"Thanks so much," Serena says as she takes the ribbon out and presents it to the audience who cheer even louder

"Way to go, Serena!" Ash calls out.

"Pika, Pi!" Pikachu shouts.

"Absoooolllll!" Absol shouts joyously.

"Well done, Serena!" Brock yells.

Sabrina smiles and applauds with the group while Haunter claps vigorously like a child again.

****************************************************************************

Ten minutes later, Ash, Pikachu, Brock, Absol, Sabrina, and Haunter stand outside the stadium, waiting for Dawn and Serena to meet up with them. Eventually, the two of them and Piplup exit the building, and Absol excitedly runs over to Serena and jumps into her arms.

"Did you enjoy the contest, Absol?" She asks.

"Absol!" Absol replies with a smile.

"So would you like to try competing with me?" Serena asks.

"Sol!" Absol answers nodding.

"I'm glad!" Serena says cheerfully as she hugs her Pokemon tightly while Ash, Pikachu, Brock, Sabrina, and Haunter head over to her, Absol, and Dawn.

"Congratulations, Serena," Brock complements.

"I knew you could do it," Ash says with a toothy grin.

Serena's cheeks turn pink, and she looks down at the floor while saying, "Thank you, Ash and Brock."

"Guess the two of you are tied at one ribbon," Brock says. "You both got a way to go before the Grand Festival."

Dawn gives Brock a sad smile and says, "I know. That's why I think we should part ways from here."

Everyone looks at her, surprised.

"What do you mean?" Serena asks.

Dawn looks at Serena with a kind smile and says, "As much as I love hanging out with all of you guys, I think I should try to grow stronger and gain ribbons on my own like I originally planned. Besides, it's less dramatic if Brock and Ash have to root for both of us constantly."

Serena looks at Dawn for a moment before she smiles and nods.

"I understand," she says before she takes out her tablet and searches through it. "In that case, there's a contest coming up soon at Celadon City and another at the same time in Vermillion City. Since we're going to Celadon City anyway for Ash's rematch at the gym there, how about Ash, Pikachu, Brock, and I go there where I will compete in that contest while you and Piplup compete in the one in Vermillion City?"

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Dawn says.

"Piplup," Piplup chirps.

"Wait, why are you after a rematch against the Celadon City gym, Ash?" Sabrina asks. "Don't you have all the badges you need to compete in the Kanto League."

"Uh, I'm sorry. Who are you?" Dawn asks with both her and Serena confused with the woman standing next to Brock, Ash, and Pikachu.

"Oh, that's right, I forgot," Ash says. "Dawn, Serena, this is Sabrina, the Saffron City gym leader. And Sabrina, I do have all of my badges, but I want to battle again against some of the gym leaders before I compete in the Indigo League this year, including you."

"Me? But you already beat me in battle," Sabrina says.

"Yeah, but only because Haunter made you and your Kadabra laugh, and he's not even my Pokemon," Ash points out. "I want to compete in the Indigo League again this year, showing how much I've learned and grown as a trainer since then, but I also want to prove that by having rematches with gym leaders who gave me my badges without really defeating them formally in battle. So I want to show that I am capable of defeating you the right way. So please have a battle with me?"

Sabrina looks at Ash surprised before she and Haunter look at each other and smile.

"That sounds like an admirable goal to have, Ash." She says. "Alright then, I accept your request. Just give me an hour or so to prepare, though. I closed the gym so that Haunter and I can watch the contest."

"Great. Thank you," Ash says appreciatively.

"Well, I'd like to watch you two battle before I go," Dawn says. "Why don't we stop by the Pokemon Center so that Mamoswine and Braixen can heal up."

"Sounds good," Serena says, smiling. "And Ash, while we wait, we could call my mom, Clemont, and Bonnie so that I can show them my first contest ribbon and see how they are doing."

"Great idea," Ash says before turning back to Sabrina. "Sabrina, I hope you will be ready for me, because my Pokemon and I are much stronger than we were before."

Sabrina quietly chuckles with her mouth closed.

"I'm looking forward to see you prove that to me, Ash," she says as she turns around. "Come along, Haunter."

"Haunter," Haunter says as it obediently follows Sabrina as she walks away. The group watches the pair leave until they are out of sight and then start heading to the Pokemon Center.

"So that was the Haunter that you tried to use to defeat Sabrina in battle?" Serena asks.

"Yup, and it looks like the two of them have grown very close since then," Ash says with a smile.

"Personally, I'm just glad that I can look at Sabrina in a friendly manner without having to worry about turning into a doll again," Brock admits.

Everyone laughs at his comment while they head over the Pokemon Center. As they walk, Serena takes out her contest ribbon and smiles warmly. Her mind goes back to how that audience enjoyed her performance with Poliwag, and she lets out a blissful sigh.