476: Arrival of a Rival!
Dodgy Synopsis
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480: Kontesuto Batoru! Raibaru Taiketsu!
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And Dawn announced the title!
Marion announces the top eight and... they all made it! Dawn, Zoe, Ash and "Jesselina"! Dawn rushes off in excitement to call up her mother and ask her, her Glameow, and her horrendous bouffant hairdo up for some motherly advice.
The second round begins with a random shuffle that puts the top eight together, and it's Jesse versus a nobody; Dawn versus a nerd; two pretty princesses against each other; and Ash versus Zoe!
An excited Ash starts babbling that he'll win the Jubilife City Contest Ribbon first, and then go for his Gym Badge! Zoe overhears and suddenly the friendly androgynous girl becomes a very hostile androgynous girl. She refuses to shake Ash's hand and telling him that he obviously can't tell the difference between Contests and Gym Battles and he'd better remember that. Then she turns and walks away, leaving behind a confused Ash... though only momentarily, as Dawn asks what that was about and a grinning Ash laughs,"WHO CARES!?!!"
Jesse watches with a grin, thinking to herself that she is the one who is going to win out of all this hostility and stupidity... and then turns to see a battered and dirty James and Meowth stagger in moaning that they're the end result of mob rule.
Yes it seems that the angry mob that chased them out of Jubilife for sealing Ball Case Seals earlier in the day caught up with them. She takes them outside and asks what happened and where their profits went, and they explain that they're penniless. Jesse is surprisingly upbeat though, telling them that her victory is all but assured and they're pleasantly surprised in turn.... she actually made it through to the second round!?! She grins that there was never any doubt and seems to shine with radiance, and they bow in awe before their Bitch Goddess Queen, as the camera pulls back to reveal the source of the light.... a patiently pleased Wobbuffet!
Dawwwwww
The second round starts with Ash versus Zoe, Jesse watching from the stands alongside James who... well he isn't exactly well disguised, sitting as plain as day in his Team Rocket outfit.
Ash sends out Aipom with a burst of stars and it back flips into place as Dawn calls out Glameow. Aipom rushes in but Glameow sits in place, and Ash orders a Focus Punch... and Glameow grabs its ass-arm with its tail and freezes Aipom in the air, costing Ash big time points. Glameow tosses Aipom through the air, but Ash recovers by calling for Swift and pounding Glameow, and Zoe actually loses more points than Ash. Glameow zooms in with Fury Swipes but gets Confused by Double Team, and then the monkey tries Swift, but Glameow dodges and sends Swift back at Aipom, sending it crashing to the ground, much to Jesse's delight.
Ash sends Aipom in with Focus Punch and Glameow tries Iron Tail, and they both hit at the same time... or so it seems, until Zoe smirks and tells Ash not quite, and tells Glameow to straighten out its coiled tail. The shift in momentum sends Aipom spiralling backwards and crashing into the ground right on its head, and Ash has lost almost 75% of his points with only 30 seconds to go. Zoe seems quite satisfied with herself, until Ash snaps,"SO!?!" and tells Aipom they can't give up and sends it rushing back in. He orders a Focus Punch, and Zoe calls for Shadow Claw - a Ghost Type move that won't affect Aipom! But Brock warns that Zoe isn't going for a hit, and as the two moves hit together and Aipom begins to dominate, Glameow leaps high and crashes its tail down on Aipom's face with Iron Tail, putting it down and o.... NOT OUT!
With only nine seconds to go and Glameow completely exposed, Ash surprises Zoe again by sending Aipom charging in for a blow that will put Glameow out and give Ash a thoroughly undeserved victory! It rushes in and Glameow gapes in horror and.... time runs out! It's too late, Ash loses!
Zoe seems surprised, then bows to the audience as the Judges give her credit and Ash tells Aipom it did great in taking an ass-whomping. He heads backstage where Dawn also applauds him but Brock says that it got a little wild, and Ash admits he forgot about making his moves look good, concentrating on whomping some ass instead like it was a Gym Battle. Zoe shows up and Ash offers a hand again in order to wish her good luck. Zoe just stares at him, and then says that the power of Aipom's final Focus Punch caught her completely by surprise and left her unable to come up with a counter. If the time hadn't run out, she has no doubt she would have lost (quite unfairly, since she was clearly the superior Coordinator).... and so she shakes his hand at last! Ash is delighted, but Zoe tells him that Contest Battles aren't where he shines, and he agrees. Dawn explains that it was really Aipom's idea to be in the Contest, and they turn and stare at the little monkey happily chowing down on a bowl full of food and not paying any attention to any of them. Zoe smiles, and then makes a surprising suggestion, telling Dawn that SHE should raise Aipom!
A short time later, the crowd watches as Jesse uses the insanely happy Carnivine to wrap up and defeat a massive Rhyhorn; and then unseen it appears that Dawn wins her battle as well, as she is now facing Zoe.
It's five minutes on the clock, and Dawn sends in Buneary against Zoe's Glameow. Brock tells Ash that they've all ready shown what they've got by winning their first second round battles, and now it is time to prove they can mix it up. Buneary kicks things off with Ice Beam, but Glameow uses Shadow Claw to "grab" the Ice Beam and contrast the black and white colours. Buneary bounces forward and Glameow mimics by springing on its coiled tail and zooming high above Buneary and coming back down with Fury Swipes. It zooms down with Iron Tail, but Buneary throws its fluffy ears up and catches it!
Zoe is impressed, but points out that Dawn didn't follow up. Glameow spins its tail and twists Buneary about, then flings Buneary away. Dawn tells it to spin around and use Ice Beam and Glameow dodges.... then lands on the now icy surface of the Contest Ground and loses its legs out from under it. Dawn sends Buneary in to smack it around the face with its fluffy ears, then Bounces roughly about on Glameow's back, draining points from Zoe as they get to the last 30 seconds.
Buneary goes for Dizzy Punch, but Glameow hits the ice with Shadow Claw, sending shards of ice up and into Buneary before leaping high and hitting the fluffy bunny with Iron Tail and knocking it down. Dawn tells it to be strong, but the time is up and the contest is over, and Zoe goes to the Final Round!
Ahhh, poor Dawn.
But her reaction is surprisingly mature, as she sighs, smiles and says,"I guess that's it," and tells Buneary that it did a great job. The Judges were impressed by both, but tell Dawn that she needs to be sure not to try too much to overpower things (that's an Ash strategy!).
Dawn heads out of the Contest Stage and puts a call through to her mother, apologising for not winning her first Contest. Her Mum is surprisingly harsh, telling her if she's going to apologise to anyone, it should be her Pokémon.... and when Dawn starts to cry, she snaps at her to stop crying dammit!
She then tells her that she also shouldn't call her every time she wins or loses, and should talk to the two strange boys who she travels around with now instead.
Finally she smiles, and tells Dawn that of course she'll always be there for her and always be looking out for her, but she needs to go now and support Zoe in the final. A rather shell-shocked Dawn agrees and heads away to see the final match of the Jubilife City Contest.
with a minute to go, it's Zoe versus "Jesselina", the wide-eyed, delightfully insane Carnivine having wrapped up Glameow. James and Meowth are delighted to see that Jesse is actually winning! She orders Carnivine to chomp down on Glameow with Bite, but it hits out with Shadow Claw to knock the insane Venus Fly Trap back.
Now the points are roughly equal, and Glameow leaps high and scratches up Carnivine with a furious Fury Swipe, sending Carnivine staggering back. Jesse orders Bullet Seed, but it dodges and hits an Iron Tail that puts a dent in Carnivine's head, and with 21 seconds left on the clock, there is a new winner.... ZOE! Jesse is horrified, it's over!?! Just like that!?!
The gathered Coordinators and friends clap and cheer, and shortly after the twerps meet with Zoe outside and congratulate her on her win. Zoe asks Dawn what she thought of her first contest and Dawn gasps it was a great experience, like a great rollercoaster ride! She tells Zoe that she might not look like much now, but she's going to get better and better and better, and she's going to beat her!
Zoe stares at Dawn with wide eyes, then grins and says she'll take that as a sideways compliment, and then slides on some sunglasses and heads off, waving her goodbye.
Brock notes that now Dawn has a rival all of her own, but she's going to do great in her future contests - after all, she did fantastically well for a FIRST Contest, using one Pokémon she only caught a few days earlier and another she's only had a week or two! Dawn thanks them, and tells Ash that she knows he'll do great too, and he smiles, because the Contest is over now and androgynous girls who like brushing the hair of girl's in short skirts admonishing him and offering advice have flown right over his head - because now it's finally time for him to head for his first Sinnoh Region Gym!
| BEST QUOTES |
 "Why didn't you yahoos get out of there while the getting was good?" "....good salesmanship?"
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