"Hmph, seriously! Who even is that girl? I don't remember her at all."
Dawn frowned, clearly annoyed, as she watched Ursula storm off in a huff after losing her temper.
"Don't let it get to you," Ash said casually, tugging gently at Dawn's puffed-up cheeks with a teasing grin. "People with real talent and strength don't have to worry about what others say. That girl's probably just jealous. I bet she's competing in the Chocovine Contest too. Just beat her there and show her what you're made of."
"Ash is right," Anabel chimed in, her voice warm and reassuring. "Don't let other people's opinions bring you down. What matters is how you feel. And more than anything, believe in yourself and your Pokémon."
"Exactly! This time, I'm going to win the Chocovine Contest no matter what!"
"Piplup!"
Meanwhile…
Up in a tree not too far away, Team Rocket's trio was using binoculars to spy on Ash and the others.
"Meowth, Jessie, are you entering the Chocovine Contest this time?" Meowth asked curiously, glancing at her.
"Of course I am!" Jessie declared, already halfway into a dramatic costume change with blinding speed.
So fast, in fact, that Meowth and James barely had time to blink before she was done.
"But what about our plan to catch Pikachu, meow?"
"That can wait till after I win this contest, obviously! Now let's go, and you two better be cheering me on all the way. Got it?!"
"Wobbo!"
Wobbuffet popped up out of nowhere with his usual loud cry.
The next moment, the overloaded tree branch snapped.
And down went all four of them — Jessie, James, Meowth, and Wobbuffet — crashing to the ground in a heap.
Later that day, 2:00 PM…
The crowd buzzed with excitement at the Chocovine Town Contest Hall, where the elegant host, Ms. Marian, stood center stage with a microphone.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Chocovine Pokémon Contest, the dazzling spectacle of Chocovine Town!"
"We are live from the Chocovine Stage, and our esteemed judges today are none other than Mr. Contesta, Mr. Sukizo, and of course, the lovely Nurse Joy of Chocovine Town!"
"And now, without further ado, let the Chocovine Contest… begin! Let's see what our talented Coordinators have in store for us!"
The audience roared with applause as Bai'an exited the stage, leaving the spotlight for the performers.
First up: Ursula.
"Wormadam, use Rock Blast!"
Ursula's Wormadam — in its Sandy Cloak form — burst onto the stage, surrounded by a flurry of jagged stones.
"Now, use Psychic! Smash the rocks into dust!"
The rocks collided mid-air under Wormadam's psychic, shattering into sparkling clouds of mineral dust — visually stunning.
"Not done yet! Sandstorm, then Psychic again!"
The stage swirled with a wild sandstorm. But then, Wormadam used Psychic to compress the sand into a swirling veil, encasing itself in a glittering sand-form silhouette.
The performance earned loud cheers from the crowd. Ursula walked off the stage, brimming with smug confidence.
Next came the second contestant… then the third… then the fourth…
And then it was Jessie's turn.
She entered with a Yanmega she had caught during some downtime from chasing Ash.
With Yanmega's Speed Boost ability, Jessie choreographed a whirlwind routine that dazzled even the judges.
Yanmega zipped in a circular pattern around Jessie, unleashing Silver Wind. Then, it fired a Sonic Boom that collided with the wind stream, creating a sparkling burst of silvery light.
Jessie stood atop Yanmega midair, waving to the crowd with a grin — and she was met with roaring applause.
Finally, it was Dawn's turn.
She chose to lead with Buneary.
Buneary opened with an Ice Beam, spiraling the move across the stage to create a stunning helix-shaped ice slide.
With perfect grace, Buneary glided down the frozen slide. Near the bottom, it used Dizzy Punch, switching to its long ears instead of its feet, twirling down with a burst of energy.
And for the finale — a perfectly-timed jump!
Buneary landed right back at the top of the ice slide with a stylish flip, earning massive cheers from the audience.
The first-round results were announced soon after: Dawn, Jessie, and Ursula all advanced to the next round.
Just as Ursula wanted.
The Top 8 battles began — Dawn beat two opponents, and so did Ursula.
Using Gabite, she even defeated Jessie, who had borrowed James's Carnivine.
That left just two contestants standing: Ursula vs. Dawn.
The winner would receive the coveted Chocovine Ribbon.
"Let's go, Gabite!"
"Pachirisu, take the stage!"
"Stone Edge!"
"Dodge it!"
Ursula attacked relentlessly, her spite toward Dawn practically oozing from every command.
Her strategy was simple: brute force.
It worked in previous rounds. Against less experienced Coordinators, her powerful tactics bulldozed everything.
It was the same path May once stumbled on — using overwhelming strength instead of finesse.
That approach only works if your Pokémon are exceptionally strong.
Most Contest Pokémon aren't.
Which is why, when she faced Dawn, her rhythm at first caught Dawn off guard.
But Dawn quickly adapted — and the battle shifted in her favor.
"Gabite, don't give up! Another Stone Edge!"
"Pachirisu, stay calm! Dodge it, then use Super Fang!"
BAM!
Time ticked down.
At last, the final bell rang.
Five minutes were up.
Ursula, confident as ever, sneered. "Hah! I definitely scored higher than her!"
She turned, full of unshakable self-belief.
"I, Ursula, am the best!"
Then she saw the scoreboard.
"…What?!"
"And the winner of the Chocovine Contest is… Miss Dawn!"
Thunderous applause.
The crowd erupted into cheers, a storm of clapping celebrating Dawn's hard-fought victory.
Ursula stood there, stunned, unable to believe what had just happened.
How… how could I lose?
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