636: Opposites Interact!
Dodgy Synopsis
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642: Manmu, Pachirisu! Kimero Kori no Shanderia!
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So the Grand Festival is on, Dawn is up against a number of rivals including "Jesselina", Ursula, Nando, Zoey and even Kenny. Except Kenny is already done and dusted after an embarrassing performance that saw him lose out on his spot so to some no-name nobody who will never go anywhere unless by a huge stroke of luck they get introduced to the main cast and given a name, at which point the chance of them winning the entire Grand Festival and disappearing into oblivion forever with their trophy and fake promises of "meeting again one day" go up to 97%!
Now the final 32 are up, and some of the rivals are sure to face off, with an interesting blend and mixture of styles, we're going to see....
Outside the hotel, Dawn is practising her moves, having her Pokémon use moves against each other - dodging and taking hits and using abilities while Ash and Brock watch. Ash can't bear not to be taking part though and decides to practise Draco Meteor with Gible. It shoots the energy up into the air and once again it fizzles out... but this time into TWO meteors rather than the one. Both - of course - head straight towards a panicking Piplup, but Togekiss hauls its fat "dancer gone to seed in middle age" body into the air and bats them aside with a happy look on its moon-face, and this time the two balls of energy slam into Ash and Gible itself, leaving them dazed and confused.
Zoey and Nando arrive to offer support (and a sneak peek at the competition?); Zoey with arms on hips and crotch thrust earnestly in Dawn's direction. Brock points out that whoever wins the Festival is going to have to win five more times, so they'll need to be ready to face anyone, including each other. Dawn points out that this is why she's training hard now, so there'll be "no need to worry" later on, and Zoey looks slightly surprised and then pleased to see how the girl she is grooming (yes, just like that, filthy Dodgers) is shaping up.
Meanwhile, James, Meowth and Wobbuffet are eagerly chowing down on some of the food provided to the Festival Coordinators and their crews. Jesse isn't taking part though, wrapped up in the new costume she revealed in Round 1 and absolutely confident and assured of her eventual victory. She laughs that she doesn't need them to cheerlead for her; she couldn't lose if they paid her... but then insists that they don't give up their dayjob. James and Meowth aren't entirely sure what the hell she's talking about as she cackles crazily to herself for juuuuust a little too long, and then she reveals her plan - they're going to be selling merchandise!
Backstage at the Festival Arena, Dawn has explained to the others that she'll be using Pachirisu and Mamoswine now for the combination of their Ice and Electricity. Ursula arrives to snipe some at Dawn, telling her she was unfortunate enough to see Dawn's "performance" yesterday and that she wasn't impressed at all. It's clear that Dawn is getting by purely on luck, she doesn't have what it takes to win AT ALL and she hopes Dawn's dumb luck gets her through to the Final just so Ursula can defeat her soundly and make Ursula look all the better. Dawn gets irritated at this while Ash furrows his brow and tries to process this information, then angrily declares that actually it is DAWN who is going to win the Contest.
This.... this isn't him sniping back, Gentle Dodgers, he honestly doesn't understand the concept of somebody trying to get a rise out of Dawn and is confused and angry as to why anyone wouldn't see him and his friends as the centre of the world and thus the eventual winners of their respective events.
Round 2 begins, with an explanation that the 32 Coordinators will be divided into four groups of eight, and Bracket A is revealed as six nobodies up against each other and Dawn up against.... URSULA!?!?!
As Brock whispers to Ash that Ursula will be difficult to beat based on her Performance in Round 1 (she did a one-off trick that was all shine and no substance!), outside the Arena, James, Meowth and Wobbuffet aren't getting to cheerlead as, true to Jesse's word, they're shilling merchandise such as keychains, pennants, ribbon displays and.... glossy photos of female coordinators!?!
Oh dear, so the Festival attracts THAT type of fan, eh?
A bunch of creeps arrive to try and get their hands on the stuff (hilariously some of the photos of "Jesselina" show her clearly pissed off and frowning at the camera), one quavery voiced young man nervously asking,"Uhhh... can I have a photo of Nando.....?"
The people at the merchandise stands get to see what is going on inside the Arena thanks to a giant screen for all the freeloaders who didn't get tickets. The Contest Battle between Dawn and Ursula is beginning, with 5 minutes on the timer and Mamoswine and Pachirisu going up against Gabite and Flareon. Fantina gets overexcited and leaps up (bending over to hide her erection) while Joy tries to calm her/m down. Backstage, Jesse is grumpy that they have to go through all this nonsense when she is clearly going to be the winner and they should just declare her the victor of the entire Festival already.
Dawn has Pachirisu use Discharge, and Ursula immediately gets Gabite to block. This is exactly what Dawn wanted though, as one of the crackling arcs of discharge (eewwwwwwww) hits Mamoswine who then charges straight into Gabite while crackling with energy, knocking it back into Flareon and surprising Ursula with a 10% point loss in the opening 10 seconds of their match.
Ursula is irritated at Dawn actually using a smart move, and insists that it won't last long. She has Gabite use Sandstorm, Flareon jumping to dodge being hit by the move as well, and a giant sandstorm whips up in the middle of the battlefield. Dawn tells Mamoswine to use Ancient Power to break up the storm, and Ursula sounds surprised and irritated at the gall of Dawn suggesting this and orders Flareon to use Scary Face... and it's actually pretty scary!
Mamoswine becomes alarmed and Dawn loses a quarter of her points with just that one combination, but Ash is too stupid to be worried and declares Dawn is sure to win. Mamoswine and Pachirisu recover, and with the Sandstorm now gone, Dawn has Pachirisu use Super Fang and Mamoswine use Ice Shard, but Gabite uses Double Team to surround both Pokémon and confuse them, allowing Flareon to hit them both with Shadow Ball, Mamoswine letting out a roar of pain that surprisingly sounds like it is crying,"WHHHHHYYYYY!?!?!"
The two recover and stagger back to their feet, but a smug Ursula chuckles that yes it is very important that they try. Dawn must try, try again and fail miserably, it's important that she make Ursula look great. Dawn grinds her teeth and tries to not lose her temper too badly, but it's not looking good for her Pokémon which are still surrounded by Double Team. Flareon fires rapid Shadow Balls in their direction, and Dawn can't get a move in edgewise, she is getting her ass handed to her on a stick by the psychotic little midget. But finally Double Team faded and Flareon ceases Shadow Ball as Mamoswine and Pachirisu stumble to the ground, and Dawn realises that now is her chance. She has Mamoswine form Ice Shard and has Pachirisu run in, but Ursula expertly fizzles out Ice Shard with Flareon's Fire Spin, and Gabite slashes a talon into Pachirisu's soft belly and sends it flying backwards.
Outside, James, Meowth and Wobbuffet are exhausted but happy, they've sold all their merchandise and have nothing left but wonderful, wonderful money. Oh yes, and one last card, a photo that Meowth lifts up, commenting that for some reason it didn't sell. The card? Jesselina posing of course! A sour "waaaaahhhhhh" musical note plays as the trio stares uncomfortably at the photo of their Bitch Goddess Queen in a pretty dress mugging for the camera - like finding a Glamour Photo of Queen Elizabeth II or the Virgin Mary.
On the big screen they hear the 2 Minute Warning and see that "a troubled twerpette" is getting her ass handed to her by "the twirly haired twerpette" and decide to head inside and lend their support to Jesse, since they've sold all the merchandise and are rolling dough, so why not see the show!
Flareon uses Fire Spin and fizzles out the Ice Shard again, creating a sparkle of ice shards that impresses the Judges... on Ursula's behalf. Ursula can't resist rubbing it in on Dawn even further (Zoey was hoping to do that, too!) and "thanks" Dawn for making her Fire Spin look even better, after all, that's what this is all about, making URSULA look good. Dawn frowns and looks at her terrible points total and the time running low, and tells Mamoswine to do the same old thing, yet another Ice Shard! Pachirisu moves out in front again, and Ursula goes back to the same counter, but this time Pachirisu dodges Gabite and hits Spark on Flareon, and Mamoswine gets Ice Shard off and surrounds Pachirisu with a hollow ball of Ice, and Pachirisu uses Discharge and creates a glowing ball of Ice that comes rocketing down the battlefield towards Ursula, costing her a MASSIVE amount of points as she's left staring wide-eyed and completely flummoxed by the Fusion Move while the Judges are utterly enthralled.
Ash belatedly remembers all the training Dawn did to get that move working, and the Ice Chandelier charges straight for Ursula's Pokémon... but she recovers and has Gabite use Dig to escape, and Flareon follows it down the hole and Ice Chandelier.... doesn't hit anybody and crashes against the wall, leaving Pachirisu dazed.
Flareon pops out of the ground and hits Flareon with Shadow Ball, and they use the Dig Team-Up to avoid Hidden Power from Mamoswine too, hitting it right in the ass with Shadow Ball!
With less than a minute to go, Dawn only has a scrap of points left and the Dig/Shadow Ball combo is caning the fuck out of her Pokémon. Dawn is sweating and struggling to come up with a counter strategy, but luckily for her Ursula gets bored and decides not to continue this effective strategy and instead go in for the kill. Gabite charges in with Dragon Claw, and finally Dawn realises she can use all the holes made by Dig to her advantage. Pachirisu leaps into a hole and Mamoswine uses Ice Shard, absorbing a direct hit of Dragon Claw and Fire Fang to keep the move going, sending shards of ice down the various holes in the ground before Dawn orders a Discharge. Arcs of electricity zap out of the ground and Dawn tells a surprised Ursula that it's called "determination", and has Mamoswine use Ancient Power on the ground, which cracks and tears as Pachirisu, enveloped in a glowing Ice Chandelier is lifted from the ground to hover before a startled Gabite and Flareon.
Pachirisu runs its little ass off inside the chandelier like it's on a treadmill, sending the Chandelier zipping around the air. Ursula, to her credit, comes up with a Counter immediately and orders a Sandstorm/Fire Spin combo. Mamoswine uses Hidden Power to give the Ice Chandelier a boost though and it crashes into the two Pokémon. With just over 10 seconds left, Ursula is still confident she can win this, while Dawn is trying to press the advantage in the little time she has left. She orders Hidden Power/Discharge combo, and Ursula tells her Pokémon to dodge... and then the smoke from the previous attack clears and everybody realises that.... Gabite and Flareon are out! Dawn wins, Dawn wins despite Ursula having still had almost half her points left!
Ahahaha, that's got to burn!
The Judges are impressed by Dawn's comeback, Dawn is celebrating in delight, Zoey and Nando backstage are taking it all in with a mixture of respect/happiness and unease over the idea of fighting Dawn down the line. Jesse, meanwhile, is clenching her fists and sweating like a madman, muttering to herself to keep calm, it's just her life on the line, while other Coordinators and their Pokémon gather around to watch what looks to be an upcoming psychological breakdown.
The next two Coordinators are announced but we don't even get to see them because they're complete non-entities and to be honest.... they don't even have souls!
Backstage, Ursula sits in the dressing room staring at herself in the mirror... how.... how could she have lost!?! Dawn arrives and tries her best to bury the hatchet, telling Ursula she didn't think she could win until she did, and that Ursula was really awesome out there. Ursula takes it in and then squares her mad little midget jaw and declares that she really was, and that Dawn's victory was just yet another example of pure, dumb luck. She tells her they'll see how far that dumb luck takes "Dee Dee" now, and struts away with phony self-confidence, yet another victim of taking on a character with plot armour. Though at least she can say she did better than Kenny!
More battles in the other Brackets occur, and we only get to see Nando, Zoey and Jesselina of course, because the others are just there to make up the numbers. Jesse wins her battle, much to the delight of James, Wobbuffet and Meowth, but backstage she complains to them that she told them she didn't need the "peanut gallery" there to cheer for her. They insist there is no harm, after all they sold all the merchandise.... but stupidly Meowth has also brought a knapsack of what they DIDN'T see with him, and Jesse demands to see the pile of cards that was just sitting there "gathering dust", and discovers it was the pictures of her.
Yep.
But then her entire demeanour changes as she whips out a sharpie and starts signing the cards, declaring that these will move so fast that they'll get windburn. Much to their chagrin, she expects them to get back out there and sell all the cards, she'll be number one in Contests AND card sales! All they have to do is move the product!
As the sun sets, Dawn is relaxing outside the Festival Arena with Brock and Ash. They're pleased she made it through, as did Nando and Zoey (and Jesselina!), and now only tomorrow will show them what comes next - because with so many no-name non-entities making up the numbers, you KNOW that she is going to fight at the very least one of them next episode, Gentle Dodgers. We'll see you then!
| BEST QUOTES |
 "Okay, don't freak out now, or ever.... after all, it's just my life on the line..." |
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