Not Listening Has Its Advantages

NOTE: Enjoy this chapter and the little surprise that I put inside of here, as well. I promise that the next ones will come much earlier!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokemon, a creation of one Satoshi Tajiri, and is produced domestically (in the United States) by Pokemon USA/The Pokemon Company, and internationally by Shogakukan and OLM. I personally own nothing and make nothing by writing this. Please do not flame.

(Chapter 4- The Ones Always In Your Business)

Late last night a frontal wave hit Snowpoint City and all points north with a tremendous cold snap, which seemed to do its job well, as it ended a warm spell that had hit the Northern city and lasted for several days.

What was once the surface of the city, cleared of any indication of snow or ice by unseasonably high temperatures, has now been covered again with a nice coating of snow. This blanketing of the ground continues on into early Saturday afternoon, with the temperatures rapidly going below freezing, and allowing for such a scene to occur in the midst of such unpredictable and erratic weather patterns.

Now, on this day of the city's biweekly Pokémon contest, a large group of fans have nevertheless bared the elements for this big event. The crowd, at not quite capacity, awaits the time to strike at one o'clock so that the contest may officially begin with the appeals round. Already in the front row of the audience, awaiting the festivities is Brock and Brock alone, who came in his winter gear, but has put his coat behind his chair given that the contest hall is heated to room temperature. Absent among him is Dawn, who is currently in the dressing room concentrating on victory this afternoon and Ash, who's tending to other pertinent matters at the moment.

He will be joining Brock momentarily, but for now, he's outside in the lobby, with Pikachu on his shoulder, awaiting some invited guests of Zoey so that this weekend can continue in the way they planned about two weeks prior. They are walking together hand in hand just outside of the entrance to the contest hall, where a couple of snow movers work to clear the empty parts of the walkway and the lot so that the walk back to the cars and out of the hall is not a slippery one. Zoey just got the call from her parents informing her that they would be on their way there before it was time for introductions and appeals. Given that she is a 'hometown' coordinator, she is given priority by the contest directors and allowed the final appeal of the day before the elimination rounds to save that moment for last and showcase the other talented names here on what is a day under conditions of heavy snow.

Four of the top ten coordinators in all the Sinnoh region have gathered here today for the Snowpoint City ribbon and aside from Zoey and Dawn, the field today contains their fellow Sinnoh region citizens Nando and Kenny. Zoey has either met or spoken to all of her competition today, with the exception of a few, but now, she has to help facilitate moving her family into the VIP section, introducing them to Ash for the first time, changing into her contest garb and doing her appeal to, hopefully, vault her to the elimination round and win her home contest.

But it all starts with escorting her folks inside.

"You know, I've always thought it to be a real big irony that I lived on the opposite end of the city in comparison to the contest hall," Zoey remarks as she and Ash watch for additional vehicles entering the parking lot. "I mean, I can remember always going whenever I had a Saturday to myself. I'd just take a bus ride over here or just walk and I'd be absolutely captivated by what I saw, and I knew that I wanted to be just like them and do what they do."

"And now, you are…to some great success," Ash admits. Pikachu agrees and notices two large vehicles pull into the lot of the hall. Ash gets his girlfriend's attention after his friend points to what's pulling into the parking lot. "Oh, wait. Zoey, would that be them?"

"That's a…Toyota Sequia and a Honda Pilot—yeah! That's them! All of my relatives that were here this weekend to catch me at this contest are here!" Grabbing the young man by the arm, Zoey charges him to "Come on! Get your coat on, and you can meet all of them!" Though the redheaded kid is definitely anxious about this meeting, she has enough sense in her head to know that she shouldn't be running around the parking lot, even though much of the snow has been plowed off and the surface has been treated with salt.

So while she has the hand of her boyfriend and is taking up to the two necessary sports utility vehicles, he watches from a distance as a woman in her late thirties or early forties comes out of the Honda and a man of similar age exits the Toyota. Zoey first gives a hug and a kiss to the man, he presumes is her father and then does the same to the other people in the Honda before going about this same ritual with her mother and those in her vehicle. "Thanks so much, you guys, for coming here."

"Zoey, you know it's never a problem being there for you, seeing that it is what we're supposed to do, after all," says the person that Ash is now sure is his girlfriend's father. Then, when he least expects it, she pulls him over to this extended semicircle of unfamiliar faces.

"Okay, everyone," she begins, directing these words to her family. "I'd like you to meet someone really special in my life right now that is as giving and as trustworthy as anyone you'd ever meet. While he'd be a great friend, I'm proud to say that we're more; much, much more." Now holding the hand of the young man she mentioned, Zoey continues, "This is Ash Ketchum, and he is a Pokémon trainer from Pallet Town in the Kanto region. On his shoulder is his Pikachu, whom he travels with along with Dawn Berlitz, who I told you about a while back and there are plans for us to do the same very soon."

Nodding, he simply follows along as Zoey does all of the talking at this point. She'll get no argument from him, and the reasons for this are twofold. One is that he's more than just a bit flattered at the comments that Zoey had for him in front of people she's known and trusted her entire life. Second of all, what would a fourteen-year-old male say to the parents of their twelve-year-old daughter even though they know that the two are dating, more or less, and are talking about traveling together very soon? Ash knew that there would be a lot of time for ironing out all of the specifics, but for now he has to hand it to Zoey for handling things right now as he prepares for introductions.

"Ash," she speaks to the young teen, "First off, I want you to meet my father and mother Peter and Valerie Aiken."

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Aiken," he begins, shaking both adults' hands. "It's a pleasure meeting both of you. Zoey has talked a lot about you in recent weeks and I've really been looking forward to this." It sounds kind and has enough complimentary language laden within it without attempting to butter both of them up too much in the process.

"Thank you, Ash," Peter responds. "I've heard much the same from Zoey about you and am really looking forward to knowing more."

"So am I," Valerie adds.

"Very good, and now I see where Zoey gets her lovely looking hair!" While Zoey brings her head down for a moment, getting the feeling that Ash is overdoing things too much here, the rest of the family heard the comment and thought it was quite funny. Even his little buddy found the remark to be in good enough taste to laugh his tail off and have everyone see a small amount of sparks come off of it.

Zoey's mom especially takes great pride in the quote from the young man and emphasizes this by saying, "And don't you forget it, either!"

"Okay, that's nice and all, but lest we forget the rest of the family," Zoey interjects. "We can talk about hair tips and genetics another day. We do, after all, have that time. Now, I should introduce you to the other members of my family and get them settled in inside here before it's too late."

At age eleven, he's just beginning to know what he likes in life, or so he thinks. Inside of the coordinator's waiting room, where each potential ribbon winner awaits their fate and the fate of others on a big screen, Kenny waits on something else entirely. Sure the contest is just a few moments away and the opportunity to add on to his ribbon collection beckons, but he's looking forward to a show of a different sort; this time seen not in the competition, but from one particular competitor he's had his eye on for a while.

Leading to this waiting area is a curtain that leads to both dressing rooms with the gentlemen dressing on the left side and the ladies on the right side. With only about fifteen minutes left before proper introductions, only a few people remain inside of the dressing rooms that are not in the waiting room, or have gone there and left to tend to something else right now. For a second, the curtain opens and an unexpected coordinator enters who has made his mark in contests in other regions, but is making his debut here in the Sinnoh region while attempting to keep this moment a bit hush-hush.

While all the other coordinators seem to turn a blind eye to this as they are working out their final strategies, one in particular remembers seeing him from just a month ago at the Ecruteak City contest. "Excuse me," Kenny says to the young man, "Are you Drew Hayden?"

Chuckling for a moment, he knows he couldn't escape people asking him the question for very long. "Guilty as charged," he answers, and then he shakes Kenny's hand. "So this is what a Sinnoh contest waiting room looks like…just like all the others with a lot more flare," he speaks while looking at the coordinators, some familiar but most not. "If you don't mind me saying, it looks like you're all having a Halloween party here. You look like you're about to fight a bull right after this."

"Like I'm gonna find any bulls here in near-blizzard conditions outside," he responds while rolling his eyes. He's not offended by the comment, because he gets it all the time from many of his peers, but knows that's the idea behind his garb. "And as far as how we dress, that would be the Sinnoh region staple, Drew." Forgetting something, he briefly sidetracks to say, "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Kenny Gilmer. And we here in the Sinnoh region understand better than any other region the right combination of style and substance in our coordinating. We…dress up because of this. We strive to be the epitome of an entertaining sport."

"That's a good way to put it," Drew remarks. "I mean, I did get what you're kind of saying when I saw the Wallace Cup with my friends, Harley and Solidad. You've heard of May Maple, right?"

"I have, and she really had quite the…she looked real good at the Wallace Cup, I'll just say, and that's what we've been aiming for ever since the 1970s; people to be creative through their coordinating as much as they are creative through themselves. Speaking of which, what brings you here to the Sinnoh region?"

Drew looks around the waiting area before leaning in close to Kenny and asking him, "Uh, you want to know the real truth?"

"Sure!" he answers as Dawn enters the coordinator's room in a pastel-green dress with frills at the bottom and pink ribbons surrounding the collar falling down to her ankles. At that point, all other words, actions and thoughts matter nil.

"The thing is that May and I have had a rivalry of sorts going on ever since we've been in Hoenn. We've propositioned each other to reach certain milestones while in Johto and she reached one before me and said that it would behoove me to go to Sinnoh for a contest and not make a big deal out of it. I essentially lost a bet with her and if I win, she has to do something for me, but if I lose, we're even because she lost the Wallace Cup to…Dawn Berlitz."

"Oh, wow," Kenny says, though such words do not pertain to Drew's story as he watches the aforementioned Dawn from the corner of his eye. "What a nice showing. It could look good for you, I'm sure. And it's not bad for a first time, either."

"Well, at least let me have my crack at the crop of coordinators here before you shower me with compliments," he says before patting Kenny on the shoulder. "Thanks for listening to me, though. I have to take care of some business before introductions, but…I'm sure I'll see you later. Take care, buddy."

As Drew leaves, very little changes in the occupied mind of young Master Gilmer. "Yeah, sure," he replies; proof that there was still room in his head for stories of Drew and May proposition betting. Heading over to Dawn, who is now selecting which Pokémon she will ultimately use in her appeal. The decision is a tough one as it requires the one that will deliver the most bang for his or her buck. On a day like this with formidable competition to her left and her right, she can't make a flippant choice and expect results.

"Uh, hey Dawn," Kenny says, nervously sauntering in the direction of his childhood friend turned much more in his mind.

"Kenny, hey!" she responds. Seeing him actually took a lot of the stress off of her that was caused from wanting so badly to win a fourth ribbon in her drive for five. Getting up from her seat on a bench, she gives the boy a hug, which causes him to blush and sweat even more than what he was doing by just looking at her from across the room. "I had a feeling that you'd be here to compete against me. There's just something about this contest that brings out some of the best."

Talk about coordinating has become an alleviator for the love stricken boy. Though he knows that he has to shake these thoughts or risk an early exit, it's not like he can help it as much as he can help the dreams he has in his slumber. "Yeah, you're right," he admits with noted hesitation in his voice. "Really, you even get the crowd that isn't coming here from the Sinnoh region, as well. Did you see Drew Hayden over there by me earlier?"

"That was him?"

"Oh, yeah," he answers. "He's here to get a feel of Pokémon contests done in the Sinnoh style and to make good on a promise that he made while coordinating in Johto. I get the feeling that by next year, he'll be competing to get into the Sinnoh Grand Festival. It should be fun for him and all those who aren't familiar with the game. I wonder if he'll dress up like us and May?"

"I'm sure he will do it. He's a showman by heart, from all that May told me when we competed, so while I don't think he really has a penchant for the eccentric, he can pull it off, for sure."

"Yeah, that's putting it well, but I still get the feeling that he's a nice guy. I mean, we had a good conversation just now and would he do that if he was the snobbish type that so many people claim?"

"No, you're right. That's a good point."

"And…I get the feeling that people have already said this, but nice dress, Dawn. Is this a new one?"

"Somewhat," she answers, checking over her garb once more. "This design actually was the suggestion of a few people who thought that I needed to give my dress some contrast in small amounts. That gives you what you see here."

"You make it look real nice, Dawn."

As she was about to thank him for the compliment, Dawn feels something vibrating in one of her pockets. It's her cell phone, which she reaches for in a compartment around the right side of her midsection. Pulling it from out of there, she opens up the clamshell model and sees that she just got a text message from Zoey. While brief, the message does contain much, including that her family, Ash and Brock are now seated along the press box in the hall's second level if she wants to see them. She also alerts Dawn that she is in the dressing room and about to change into her costume for the afternoon. She promises something new, but interesting for herself for this special day.

Letting Kenny know all of this, he is not too surprised to learn it. "I'm sure she will dress to impress today. We'd do the same if Twinleaf Town ever hosted their own Pokémon contests."

"We really should have them given all the talent that's come out of there," Dawn admits. "I mean, you, me, Leona, Lucas, Barry and so many others—my mom! Why in the world wouldn't we host one?"

"Politics," he simply answers. "If you combine that, along with the fact that bringing people to a small town to watch a contest is not something that the directors are interested in as much, then you've got your answer. They are much more interested in the big towns with all the flashy entertainment, expensive shopping, places to stay and the like. Small towns with a much greater tradition tend to fall by the waist side because of it."

"Unfortunate," she remarks. "Well, I do have to head back in the dressing room to check on Zoey and…"

"Oh, sure! Go right ahead," he calls back, stepping aside to let his friend take care of whatever she needed to do in the back with about ten minutes left before business picks up in Snowpoint City.

"This is a really nice view!" Ash says, making a point of never getting treatment at this level before from a league conference director, but also realizing that Pallet Town is another small area not really known for being a battle palace.

"Well, this is what comes from garnering all the success Zoey has in recent months, Ash," a member of his girlfriend's family speaks. Ash thinks that it was her cousin Neil, but can't remember for certain.

"That and they will always roll out the red carpet for a coordinator in his or her hometown," Peter Aiken adds. "But I feel that a lot of that does have to do with Zoey, as well. Ever since she was young, she has been a real show woman. That much I doubt will ever change for her even with a young man like you around her."

"Me? Oh, no," Ash assures them. "I'm not one to stand in anyone's way and keep them from doing what they love to do. Coordinating is Zoey's trademark, and we would all be hard pressed to find anyone that can deliver quite like her. I want her to just be happy, and if she feels that I should be a part of that happiness, be it large or small, I want to be there."

While it might have appeared fleeting to most other observers, Valerie Aiken is a bit shaky right now. Ash, on the outside might seem like a guy whose mind and life has been about Pokémon and training to be the very best. For a time, that might have been the case, but Zoey's mother didn't get that impression hearing him speak about her only child the way he did. Sure, he was two years older and it would not surprise him to hear that he might have more on his mind than mere 'puppy love', but for that moment, she got the sense that there is more to Ash Ketchum than meets the eye, and that her daughter had much to do with this.

"That was a very nice thing to say, Ash," Brock says, commending him for his words and patting him on the back as the crowd sits at attention while Sinnoh contest announcer, Marian takes center stage.

"Coordinators from across the region and in all parts of the world have convened here for an all important contest, and through rain, sleet and, yes, even snow, they come for the opportunity that all dream of; the prize, available for only one of the sixty-eight coordinators this afternoon is the Snowpoint City ribbon," the aforementioned award is held high by Marian for all to see. The ribbon, with a silver snowflake in the middle, has three stripes; two white ones on the ends and a sky blue one in the middle with snowflakes sewn in the middle blue section to top off the design.

"The one coordinator who can work to the optimum level with their Pokémon by putting together a class appeal over the course of two minutes will then work to carry that momentum into the final elimination round, but sixty of you here today will not even be able to make it that far. Only eight of you can compete in the second round and of that eight, we will determine a winner of the Snowpoint ribbon, which will put one coordinator another step closer to the ultimate playground for contest experts; The Sinnoh Grand Festival!"

This introduction brings the crowd to their feet and causes them to wildly cheer and applaud at levels that would be expected of crowds about ten times this size. While the house is not packed, it matters very little. The Snowpoint City crowds have always been known for being hardcore in their love for the sport, but also respectful of the role coordinating has played for so many years in their part of the world. So this crowd of more than 2,500 people makes the contest hall truly come alive.

"So, I just have a question for you, Snowpoint City. Are you ready for some coordinating action this afternoon?"

Overwhelmingly, as expected, the response was more wild and raucous cheering from true fans. "Are you ready to see your hometown girl, Zoey Aiken, come back, prove that old saying wrong and win the contest ribbon?"

Even more wild cheering, much louder than the previous two times, comes from the crowd, and it becomes very clear who they want to win the whole thing this afternoon.

"Stick tight, Snowpoint!" Marian assures the audience. "We've got plenty of coordinating action to come, and I promise Zoey will be here!"

"If not, there'll be a riot," Ash remarks and once more, Zoey's family finds his words to be quite humorous.

"For now, ladies and gentleman, we do have a special guest here that has made his mark in contests throughout the Hoenn region and is currently competing in the Johto region, and training for their Grand Festival. Let's give him a hand right now. Coming all the way from LaRousse City in the Hoenn region and starting us off this afternoon with appeals is Master Drew…Hayden!"

Some people didn't expect this coordinating superstar to be anywhere near the area, but having secured himself very well by not announcing his appearance at Snowpoint City, and through the use of a very thick winter coat concealing his very noticeable facial features, he was able to register for the contest and get on the list of coordinators for this afternoon's procedures.

He has not been able to dress up for this occasion, but did promise Kenny right before the start of the contest that he would dress up for his next Sinnoh contest, whenever that may be. Saying hello to the judges and the announcer, Drew gets the appeals round underway.

Pulling out a Poké Ball with a ball capsule covering it, he throws it out, declaring, "Masquerain, the stage is yours!" Upon opening the ball, a large amount of stars fly out like fireworks and then appears a bug Pokémon with wings.

Masquerain began the appeal with the attack Water Sport, immersing itself in a sheet of water all around its body. After this command, the Hoenn coordinator then calls for gust, which causes the water to shift upward above the flyers head. Afterwards, Drew seems to count down the seconds he needs in order to pull off what he wants to do right now. After a while as the water begins to form a funnel above the head of Masquerain, he calls for his Pokémon to perform Quick Attack. To the surprise of most everyone in the contest house, Masquerain charges to the other end of the floor and the funnel remains intact. At this moment, Drew quickly calls for Air Slash, splitting the water funnel into two parts, which each flow out onto the floor. The scene was reminiscent of the parting of a sea and was an interesting conclusion to an appeal that many would expect out of water Pokémon. Nevertheless, the people of Snowpoint cheer Drew for the accomplishment and feel that if nothing else, they got entertained by his efforts.

Going down the line, Contesta remarks that Drew has always shown great appeal prowess, but that everyone should watch out as he remembers that the young man is an even better battler. Sukizo affirms that the appeal was quite remarkable for a debut and the Snowpoint City Joy commends Drew for stepping up to the plate and coming out unannounced and with little fanfare to get the job done, giving him kudos in the process. Drew bows to the judges and salutes the fans before heading back to the exit and getting the same treatment from his Sinnoh peers.

Appeals continue on through the hours with Kenny using Alakazam about an hour and a half into the round and Nando taking out Roserade for his two minute chance, which causes Drew to sit back and carefully watch how this hybrid trainer/coordinator uses the grass Pokémon to his advantage. Drew even makes the silent comment that one of the elimination matchups might be a Roserade versus Roserade matchup of top caliber, should both of them make it to the next round.

All of the action has been going real well in the minds of the Aiken family, but it's very clear who everyone is waiting for with just a few more appeals to come.

"And now, ladies and gentleman, here comes another top ten ranked coordinator ready to do her appeal. From Twinleaf Town of the Sinnoh regions, here's Dawn…Berlitz!"

Yet another popular coordinator is up to bat in an attempt to make it through to the elimination round. Much of this popularity, whether deserved or undeserved, has to do with the long history of this family line competing and the fact that many of the people in the audience remembered the fun they had watching Dawn's mother, Johanna, in the stands or on the television screens. It's something that the young girl has just had to live with as a part of the reason for this reception.

Slowly but surely, Dawn wishes to shed this stigma and go on with just being the best coordinator she can. Throwing out her Poké Ball, she calls for Aipom to take center stage with a ball capsule of hearts and stars flying out and about in the hall.

Ash, looking on in the special section, can't help but think that this is the same Pokémon that started it all for him and Zoey. He made no bones about it and was honest when it came to the role of this playful type. It's just that on this day, when he meets Zoey's family, he finds it very interesting that he shows up.

Something happened at that moment. Unexpected as it was, he just felt the need to congratulate his traveling partner on taking such good care of Aipom, a Pokémon he truly loved, and keeping him so healthy and well. Ash got out of his seat and says, "All right, Dawn! Good job! You got it! Make this one count! I'm with you 100 percent!" As he explained to Zoey on the night of their date, he would cheer just as loudly for her as he would for any of his friends, because they always come first in his life. This doesn't come without some minor controversy in the booth, though, as a relative of Zoey's makes a point about Ash's conduct.

"You know, the way you cheer for Dawn, it would almost seem as if you had a thing for her." This comment comes from Zoey's aunt, Bridgette, who seems to be the splitting image of her niece.

Even Ash had to take account of his actions and admit, while still standing up in the section that he might have gone a bit too far, though he won't admit that to any of the people in this booth. Instead, he'll say, "Well, I…really—I've known Dawn a bit longer than Zoey. I just have fond feelings for her, but they don't go beyond just great friendship. Even Zoey doesn't have a problem with me cheering my friends on in victory." Sitting down, he continues, "In fact, I have to say that Zoey has been real good about my friends and secure about our relationships. Even if we're young, I doubt age has much to do with it. I know that one of the big points has been…the fact that I travel with Dawn, who is just a bit younger than my girlfriend, and I don't travel with Zoey, but believe me when I say that I want that to change and soon. I think that by the end of this weekend, it will. We just need this time to level. Zoey hasn't met with my family as of yet, but I plan on that happening real soon. I mean, afterwards, the holidays are coming. Thanksgiving will be here in two weeks and Christmas comes in six. There will be a lot of time for us to do all of that. It just—it's all on the way, you know?"

"I guess," Bridgette replies, "but to me, it would seem that if it is the case, you wouldn't want to let Zoey stroll too far from you, even if you are going in different directions on your journeys. From what I heard, the confession between you two was a real emotional one that took place in front of quite a few people. That's fine, and I'm sure you had people applauding you afterwards, but would you care to explain how you two left each other not even an hour later?"

"Well, there is a way—oh, no!" Ash realizes that all the back and forth conversation that he's had with Zoey's family, he missed Dawn's appeal. "Man, I just wonder what she'll think about this. I have this conversation with all of you and I miss my friend."

"I've got you covered, man," says Brock, who pats his friend on the back once more. "She used Aipom and a net with a lot of swift attacks and used tail whip to play tennis with about a thousand different stars."

"Brock Harrison Slate, you are a lifesaver!" he declares, pounding the fist of his longtime friend, as he prepares for the inevitable moment where Dawn will eventually ask him how she did in her appeal. As Dawn leaves the stage, Ash has to wait through a few more appeals before Zoey makes her way to center stage; something that he really couldn't afford to miss.

Dawn entered the VIP section where her friends and Zoey's family were sitting not that long afterwards and without her even asking anything, Ash lets Dawn know how much of a good job she did on her appeal. Pikachu feels that even this might have been too much, and shakes his head, feeling for his trainer like only a best friend can. Dawn sees nothing wrong with the tone of Ash's commendation and gladly accepts it, thanking him for being so supportive of her over the months. She admits, however, that she isn't sure if it will be quite enough to get into the elimination round, so she's gonna be biting her fingers awaiting the results after all the appeals.

"Ah it's not a problem, Dawn," he speaks nonchalantly. Inside, however, he knows he dodged a bullet, given his occupancy with the questions of the family members. Changing the subject, he asks the coordinator, "Say, Dawn. Did you get a look at what Zoey is wearing for this appeal?"

"Yeah, and…I think that everyone's gonna be quite impressed with this. I was, for what it's worth, and…Zoey certainly did put a lot of work into this look to get it down pat."

"All right, folks!" Marian speaks into her microphone. "I know you've been waiting patiently for this moment."

"We sure have," Peter remarks.

"Well, the moment is finally here, ladies and gentlemen. So everyone, please welcome Snowpoint City's finest native daughter and one of the truly great ambassadors of the sport. Today, she has come back…in black. This is Zoey…Aiken!"

After the introduction, a few chords which open one of the top rock songs in history playing over the loudspeakers. While most of the competitors would often put on a J-Pop tune or a classical piece of studio music to send them out to the ring for contests in the event of a victory, Zoey seems to go beyond anyone's call of duty. But given that this is her hometown, there were those attending that just weren't surprised to hear AC/DC played loudly on the speakers.

What came next was likely the most unique appeal garb in at least one or two years. Zoey came out to the crowd, strumming an air guitar while wearing a black sport coat, a white buttoned-down shirt, black tie, a pair of black shorts and white sneakers. She had much of the older crowd in the palm of her hands with her tribute to the classic rock band from down under and even had the judges cracking up for a bit as her abilities as a show girl were put to test here all before ever releasing a Poké Ball.

Upon making her way up to the stage, she shakes Marian's hand before taking her place and saying that she's ready for her appeal. She calls Shellos out for her qualifying effort and unlike many of the top coordinators before her, her Pokémon did not come out with a ball capsule entrance.

The first command is a surprising one, as Zoey uses harden. While it has been a long, long time since Ash has used that attack in battle, he can still remember, to his shame, the lengthy Metapod versus Metapod battle he had with a young samurai in the woods of Kanto. Knowing that it doesn't behoove Zoey to put up a defensive effort in her appeal, Ash wonders just what's going on inside of his girlfriend's head with this call.

After hardening, Zoey then calls for Double Team from Shellos, and it quickly gets to work making copies of itself, forming a large circle in the middle of the playing field. For a second, though he is quite a distance away from her, Ash notices a smirk on her face as she's about to go through the concluding motions of this appeal with just one minute left in her time.

"All right, Shellos! Are you up for a game of 'Whack-A-Shellos'?" Her Pokémon responds positively to such an idea and readies for whatever his trainer has planned.

"Good, now let's get rid of these fakes with some rapid fire mud bombs!" Shellos gets to work and quickly moves about again to knock out each doppelganger and does so by throwing mud balls at each of them. But instead of disappearing immediately, the copies act as if they have been forced off of the platform. At that point, they start to disappear and the real Shellos reveals himself, standing directly in front of Zoey the entire time…but with a mud ball coming right in his direction.

Just about everyone in the contest hall cannot believe that Zoey is not making any sort of command for Shellos to just get out of the way. The feelings move from non-belief to shock as Zoey does, indeed, make the command for Shellos to "Stay right where you are," even though the mud ball is heading right for her Pokémon.

Ash stands up and is about to loudly protest what appears to be abject recklessness on the part of Zoey, but once the mud ball hits Shellos and everyone fears what might happen next, they soon learn that there is nothing to fear. Shellos used Harden at the very start of the appeal and it had its effect through a nice offensive display of speed and stability, but came back to be of great benefit to coordinator and Pokémon as the mud ball rebounded off of Shellos, then unceremoniously splattering onto the ring area. Two seconds pass and then the horn blares, informing Zoey that the appeal is over.

For a moment, everyone sits silently. They aren't sure what to think of what they saw. Zoey had just gone so unconventional with her thinking when it came to this appeal. She didn't use much in the way of offense, yet it didn't matter as it kept the fans on the edge of their seats. The fans then slowly begin to applaud the creativity used by Zoey to use an equal amount of defensive and offensive maneuvers to form her appeal.

This is the opinion of Ash who whoops and hollers for Zoey and the same opinion held by the judges, with Contesta remarking that this is a very refreshing change of pace compared to the other appeals of the day. It had ups, downs, points of relaxation and times of thinking and understanding all pack into its two minutes. Sukizo, once more, remarks of the remarkableness of the demonstration and Snowpoint's Nurse Joy commends Zoey for a fine performance and feels that this might be enough to get to the second round based on creativity alone.

Two minutes later, Zoey heads back over to the waiting room and finds, to her pleasant surprise, her mom, dad and Ash waiting for her. She smiles before running to the trio to give them a group hug.

"You did a fantastic job, Zoey!" Valerie commends. "Every single time you come out and perform, it seems like you wanna just keep on topping yourself. You had them for a while, including me."

"Thanks, mom," she smiles while now in an embrace with just her.

"What did you do for that? I mean what were you thinking when you came up with this appeal?"

"Well, Ash," Zoey responds, "I do have to keep some secrets, you know? I mean, my competition is here, some of them out of the region. What if I just revealed it in front of all of them right now?"

Rolling his eyes for a bit, he then asks, "Will you at least tell me later?"

Kissing, of all things, his nose, Zoey acquiesces with the request and says, "Sure thing…sweet thing."

Thinking that she said that softly enough, Zoey is content to look at the big screen and await the results of who would make the cut, but just seconds later, she gets an earful from Drew, who walks by the foursome and hums a bit and raises his eyebrows twice before making his way over to the screen. Zoey's reaction to this is more awkward than angry as she plays out the scenario in her mind. 'Oh, man. Ash and I might have officially become public with that kiss.'

"Ah, that Drew," Ash remarks. "He's…he is…I need to check a dictionary to really describe it for you."

"Shh! Everyone!" Dawn interjects. "Quiet! They're about to announce who's in the second round." While Dawn did not mean to come off rude with what she just said, she's on a bit of a tightrope as far as these results given that she is not too sure if her appeal made the cut or not.

"You'll be okay, Dawn," Zoey assures her friend. "I think you might have gotten enough points from Aipom's attitude in the appeal to seal the deal."

"And now, of the sixty-eight coordinators who appealed this afternoon for the Snowpoint city ribbon, let us all find out, together, which eight among these sixty-eight will go to the next round. Here…is your top eight!"

All attending watch the screen carefully. A few seconds pass and the results are revealed to all. Zoey made it, the first step to her amazing come back home. Also moving onto the next round is Drew, Nando, and Dawn, much to her relief.

Those on the outside looking in of great significance include Kenny and Jessalina, who will have to try their luck elsewhere in Sinnoh for their next ribbons. Their frustration, along with that of the other fifty-eight coordinators who wished they could get into the next round is apparent, but they hold it together in the waiting room, and see who's competing against whom in the round of eight.

The names and faces of the elated eight are placed on the screen and then shuffled into a random order to form the four matchups this afternoon. Zoey will have to match wits with a young coordinator named Clyde while Nando will go up against Xavier and Emery will compete against Janet. Dawn must go against Drew, the matchup that she was afraid to draw, but will have to wage in just a few minutes because she is first.

She looks real nervous, and that's saying very little. Like Brock had been doing for Ash earlier in the afternoon, Zoey is now here to give her friend assurance as she's being called to center stage for the second round match. "Break a leg, Dawn," Zoey speaks while she awaits her bout upcoming.

Dawn doesn't say anything, much to the surprise of her friends, but nods her head as she goes back onto the stage, shakes Drew's hand and waits for the five minutes on the clock to begin.

She calls on Pachirisu and he brings Roserade to the table, and they're off.

"Pachirisu, start with spark!"

"Roserade!" Drew begins, "Dodge that and use bullet seed!" The fact that electric attacks are not as effective on grass types has not escaped Dawn at all. She knows this to be the truth, but Pachirisu still feel victim to the attack bringing down her percentage points to eighty for the match.

Weakened, but still determined, Pachirisu gets back into the game with a call of sweet kiss. Pachirisu then looks back to her trainer for a second before Dawn motions for the squirrel to 'go on', which she does. While it won't bring down hit points, it can lead to something greater down the line. Drew attempts to have Roserade dodge the 'attack', but to no avail. The grass Pokémon just catches a kiss right on the lips; a fact that is not lost on Ash and Zoey.

"Oh, wow. That was Pachirisu…kissing Roserade. Dawn must really be pulling out…all the stops. I know that Pachirisu is a female, though, and Drew never…"

"Ash, I..." Zoey begins as a form of protest. But thinking it over, even she isn't too sure about what she just watched. "You know what? I don't know, either. This is my first time in a contest with Drew, I've seen Roserade a few times."

"This is interestingly shocking…"

"In more ways than one, yes," she finishes. While they go over that unique strategy of Dawn's, she has placed Pachirisu next to a very confused Roserade. She is close enough, in fact, that the type disadvantage is very much negated, so she calls for discharge, which takes about thirty-five percent of the hit points away from Drew, leaving him having to come back to get out of this current rut.

"Roserade, I know that was…I actually don't know what that was, but let it go," Drew pleads with the Pokémon. "There's a first time for everything. Now let's get back into things with poison sting."

"Pachirisu, attempt a dodge!" Dawn immediately calls, knowing that the attack would come quickly and not without a great deal of damage. Somehow, the squirrel Pokémon is able to escape the poison, but by the hair on her coat, she does it.

"Now, let's use magical leaf!"

"Pachirisu, charge towards Roserade with your super fang!" Knowing that an attack like magical leaf will hit the opponent each and every time, Dawn seeks to spare her losses and provide Drew with some by using an immediate command. This strategy only works somewhat, as Drew has another idea up his sleeve.

"Solar beam, Roserade!" he calls at the same time that Pachirisu is charging directly at his Pokémon. Because of this, Roserade is able to get off the attack at the moment where Pachirisu is only three feet away from her, giving the attack even more impact than it would already have. The aftermath of this exchange has Roserade very fatigued, but still able to continue. The same cannot be said for Pachirisu, unfortunately, as the judges use their discretion and stop the match, seeing that the squirrel Pokémon has truly had enough.

The field judge confirms it with only a minute left to go in the battle and declares Drew the winner, sending him to the finals with either Xavier or Nando.

While a bit taken aback by the result, Dawn is still happy that she got here to the second round and really had a nice battle with a Grand Festival competitor with great success. Dawn shakes Drew's hand and he commends her for a nice performance, but adds that she probably could have had more success if she did not use an electric type. While they walk to the back, Dawn says that she'll keep it in mind, and that she'd love to face off against him again in the future.

After meeting up with Ash, Zoey and her folks, they assure Dawn that she did well and that five ribbons is not that far off for her. It's not that long afterwards that the remaining round of eight matches take place, with Zoey easily taking care of Clyde's Raticade with her Glameow and Nando having some hiccups, but still being able to best Xavier's Bibarel with his Cherrim. A fourth match, which took place right after Drew defeated Dawn, had another visitor, Janet lose in a match against Emery. Their Pokémon were Beautifly and Anorith, respectively.

Now the matchups are set; a final four in place with Nando up against Drew and Zoey up against Emery in battle. Before these all important matches, the competitors are allotted a fifteen minute break to stretch and prepare for battle. For Zoey, Ash and Dawn, this is a chance to talk about what's been happening so far and to speak more about that which is to come. They walk around the entranceway and away from the people so that they can talk. Zoey's folks have gone back to the VIP section for now.

"Drew was certainly a handful there, especially when I forgot the attacks and technical machines that would best get him where it's good," Dawn will admit, "but otherwise, he's a real good guy. He gave me advice; he wasn't out there to hurt Pachirisu or anything like that, so he's cool in my book."

"Yeah, I know this well," Ash says, speaking from experience. "At first, Drew wasn't like that at all. Both of you can talk to May about that, but I'm glad that he's since mellowed and it shows. Uh…Zoey and I have a question that we want to ask you, Dawn, and we don't mean to offend you, but...I know that Pachirisu is a girl, and…"

"What Ash is trying to ask is…did you try and throw Drew off his and Roserade's game by having what we're all but certain was a girl-on-girl kiss?"

"Yeah, but we didn't think much of it," Dawn reveals much to the surprise of Ash and Zoey. "It was nothing serious, clearly. Something of a Katy Perry deal, for what it's worth. Pachirisu was mostly concerned about whether or not Roserade would violently retaliate. Honestly, we didn't even know that Drew's Roserade was a girl until Pachirisu turned around in a bit of a protest. Drew said that I did a good job with it, but to use it sparingly because not everyone will take it as well as he did."

"Uh, ain't it the truth?" Zoey speaks. Knowing that she and Ash should start talking about another subject of far greater importance, she asks something else entirely. "So you're not upset about the results?"

"Nah, there will be other contests to come. No need to worry," she says, as only Dawn can.

"Good to hear. Now, Dawn, I know that there has been some…discussion between you, Ash and Brock about our traveling arrangements."

"Yeah?" Dawn is very interested in hearing this, though you wouldn't necessarily know it from her tone.

"You know we're buddies, right?" Dawn nods. It is the truth and Zoey did come to her with her most personal secret of all. "Well, with your permission, and Brock's, I'd like to travel with you all."

"Oh, my God! Ash Ketchum! Is that you?" Somewhat frustrated that Zoey is not able to get out everything that she wanted with this talk with Dawn because of an apparent fan meeting their idol at a contest house, she turns over to where the voice came from and gets quite the surprise.

This was no ordinary fan. In fact, she was a fellow trainer that Zoey knew from many years back. She had the same look as her, had the same spunk and determination, but was even more tomboyish and saucy in some respects and it was the biggest turnoff that she could possibly wish for at this moment.

"Angie?" she mouths, but Ash speaks as he watches the green-haired tomboy, not too different from the redhead next to him, walk up to him very quickly, giving him a big, squeezing hug.

"Oh, it's so good to see you!" she remarks while Zoey, sitting only a few feet away, gets Medusa syndrome and appears to sit still like a stone statue while this takes place. "I missed you since you left my folks' daycare. Man, I had no idea you'd be here! I was gonna go up against Candice, but she doesn't come back until later this evening. I put my name on a waiting list, so I'm gonna be battling her later tonight. Isn't that great?"

"Uh, Angie…"

"It would be so great if you could watch me battle against her, too!"

"Look, Angie…"

"I'd love it, and I'll take no answer but 'yes'," she interrupts. From this point, it gets really awkward as she lets go of the hug and gives Ash a peck on the cheek. "What do you have to say about my offer now?"

At this point, Zoey, who Angie hasn't acknowledged, along with Dawn, are really shaking in their shoes at the moment. The nerve of this girl, whom both coordinators know, to just barge into their conversation and kiss people and not even say hello to those around him. Dawn wasn't touching Zoey at the moment, but was certain that she was boiling hot under her collar after watching what she did.

She could tear this Angie apart if she wanted to, and Dawn wouldn't blame her a bit, but first, she has to let her know what's what. Then, she can pursue whatever means of release she deems appropriate for this sassy girl attempting to butt into her business without warning.

A/N: Here's…MorpheusShipping! But to what extent? Find out (I promise it won't be too long) next week! Believe it or not, you'll get the answer next week and you'll see who won the contest and hear the argument between Angie and Zoey. Oh, you think it won't be good because the fic is essentially rated 'G'? Think again, fans!

Until then (next week), it's been Rave!