"So this is the Grand Festival's main arena..." I say.

"Awesome... we finally made it." May says as we all look at the main arena for the Pokemon Contest.

At the front desk, we sign our Pokémon and all five of their Ribbons in, and the receptionist gives us each a ticket, and a guidebook containing all of the rules, maps of the stadium, and restaurant locations.

Alice, Mark, and I are sharing a dorm room while Minami, Max, Reisa, and May are in another room.

"Wow, this is so big!" Max says in awe as he looks around.

"You are right, it looks like a hotel." Minami says.

"Guess who?" Just then, we turn to see May's mother. "It seems you're surprised to see me."

"Mom! We've been missing you so much!" Then Max and May hug her, and she says that she's here to watch the Contest battle.

"I don't see Dad, isn't he here too?" May asks.

"No...I'm sorry, but Norman is busy at the gym to come." Caroline says. "But don't worry, he'll be watching you on TV and I promise he won't miss a single thing."

Then we enter the rooms and see the awesome view, and we also receive some letters from the other coordinators who couldn't come.

After we head to the lobby, we also see Lisia waving to us. "Ash! May! You finally arrive!"

"It's nice to see you again, Lisia." I say. "How are you?"

"Everything is going fine." Lisia says to me. "I know both of you won't let us down."

East also arrives and says, "There you are, Lisia. Oh, Ash, guys, nice to see you again."

"Same here, East." I say. East and Lisia also notice Reisa and East says, "Congrats on winning the Sinnoh Grand Festival."

"Thanks. I couldn't have done it without my Pokemon." Reisa says. "But since you asked to be the judge, shouldn't you go prepare?"

"Oops, gotta go, see you guys later." She says as Ari takes her away.

And it seems that they are not the only ones who arrive, Insey and Trenor are also here as we greet them. "Insey, Trenor, you guys have come as well!"

"Of course. How can we miss your performance?" Insey says.

"So you guys are traveling together, that is not fair." Trenor says as they laugh.

"Sorry, maybe you'll get your turn." Mark says.

Minami says, "It sure is fun traveling together."

Caroline asks, "So have you guys know the rules of the matches?"

"Oh, you see, just like in Rubello Town, different Pokémon are to be used in various rounds, and just like any normal Contest it has preliminary matches, followed by the main Contest matches. 247 Coordinators compete in the preliminary matches, but only 64 Coordinators move on to the main Contest matches. We should practice to prepare for the preliminary rounds."

"You're right." May says with determination.

Then we decide to do some training, and we have been showing the others about our moves. Although Snorunt still has some problems with the Ice Beam attack.

"Same old Snorunt..." Alice sighs.

And we also notice Munchlax trying to take the other coordinator's food, so we try to stop him. And that's when we also notice Drew.

"Drew! Hey! So you are here after all!" May says. "Bet you're surprised I'm here, you didn't think I made it, did you?"

"I have to admit I had my doubts." Drew says. "Just saying it doesn't make you so."

"What's that?" May gets annoyed and begins to yell at Drew, but she quietens down when Drew presents her with a rose.

"I do accept your enthusiasm. And congratulations on reaching the Grand Festival." May is shocked as she takes it, but then Drew says, "But I have to tell you that you have enthusiasm, but that can't replace pure talent." This causes her to get annoyed and looks about to yell at Drew before stopping herself.

"Oh yeah? You are going to regret it after you see my performance at the Grand Festival." May says.

"Wow, they are very special." Insey says.

"That is Drew. May lost to him a lot of times, but she didn't give up and still tried to beat him." Mark says

"Kind of like Reisa and Ariel." East says.

"Yeah." Reisa sighs.

Just then Harley makes an appearance and runs over to May. None of the group is happy to see him, especially not May.

"And who is he?" Trenor asks.

"He is just a cheater who tries to make May lose in the last contest." Minami spats.

"You are wrong, I have turned over a new leaf, I am very sorry about my behavior last time." Harley says to May, but we know that he is lying.

May is speechless, and Harley begs for forgiveness. May, a little confused, agrees to forgive Harley, who is overjoyed and May looks a little frightened at his intense manner.

"What a weirdo..." Max says.

"But it is better not to believe him." Lillie says.

"But he is so sincere..." Caroline says.

"Just to say, we'll have to keep an eye on him." I say.

Harley then spots the red rose in May's hands and asks, "Is this rose from this young man?"

Then Drew is introduced by May and then Harley seems to recognize the name and begins giving him a lot of compliments, saying that Trainers are all gunning for him and saying he is the one to beat.

"Wow you have such powerful friends!" Harley says.

"Drew actually made fun of me a lot of times..." May mutters.

Harley waves off her sentiments and sees the rose as a sign of a romantic connection between the pair, which embarrasses May.

"Looks like I was right." Then Harley takes a snapshot of Drew, who appears confused about the whole thing.

Harley then says goodbye, and Drew also walks off.

"He spoke so much, I don't know if I should believe him..." May says.

"Well, he is as big as a phony..." Max says.

"You're probably right..." May nods.

Then after we did some training, we heard from Harley that there is a stand with the Petalburg Gym Leader Norman having a counseling session. We rush there and find that it is actually Team Rocket who is scamming people again.

Insey asks, "Seriously? They are still following you around even here in Hoenn?"

"We did promise that after 1000 times we're going to kill them. Right now there is a quarter left..." I say.

Then we manage to send them flying in the end and continue training.

As the Grand Festival starts, Lisia is asked to have an exhibition show-off. She uses Mega Altaria to catch everyone's eye. And then

"Now let's welcome our first contestant, and it is no other than our beloved Johto Champion as well as the Top Coordinator, Ash Ketchum!"

As I take the stage, I decide to go with Swalot, and I decide to go with the purple rain. It amazes the crowd, and the judge really likes to see how the Poison Type Pokemon can show its beauty. In the end, I get a score of 97. Drew using Petal Dance while spinning, gets a 95. Harley's Cacturne's Bullet Seed attacks received a score of 84 from the judges.

Then it is May's turn, May is asked by Harley to use the Silver Wind for the preliminary rounds, so Beautifly sparkles brightly when sent out and then uses Silver Wind towards the sun which creates shiny sparkles falling to the ground. May receives an 88 score, much to the annoyance of Harley who earned 84.

"You did a great job, May." I say.

"Thanks, but I don't think I am good enough compared to you and Drew..." May frowns.

And then Harley also approaches to offer his congratulations as well, but Ash is still skeptical of him. The results are revealed showing that Ash earned second place in the round, Drew is third place, May is 48th place, and Harley also made it through.

After the round is done, Harley asks if May can practice with him, and she agrees. Max, Reisa, Alice, and I decide to train alone because we do not trust Harley. But then Snorunt's Ice Beam accidentally attacks a trainer, so we have Torkoal save him by melting the ice.

The man is named Anthony, and he has a Swalot. He tells us that he lost his Contest Pass and the Ribbon Case. I ask, "How did you lose your Contest Pass?"

"These three people I talked to yesterday... I can't say for sure if they robbed me, but I'm sure I had my ribbons before then, and after they left, I don't have anymore Ribbons."

Alice and I know what is going on and Alice says, "Don't worry, we'll help you look for those three. We know who's the culprit behind this."

Anthony is delighted, and when Max comes to help by bringing Officer Jenny, she tries to let Anthony compete if he reports to the main office, but without the Ribbons, he is too devastated to do so. Those ribbons are like a part of him and he won't have the confidence to enter without them.

"Hey, wait! Whoever took your ribbons might have taken your pass. So they might be trying to use you to enter the Contest. All we need is to look for someone who doesn't match your picture." Max says.

Then we decide to go to the main stage to catch the culprit. Alice is going to be the one who find Team Rocket that stole the boy's ribbon with Officer Jenny, while I'm going to prepare for the second appeal round.

The main competition round is opened, with 64 semi-finalists out of the original 247. Once Vivian introduces the judges, the main appeal begins.

The main Appeals Round begins with a Ninetales's Flamethrower, before giving way to Harley and his Banette, who terrifies Vivian and even May sidestage with its malicious smile. Banette uses Will-O-Wisp and then strikes itself with Thunder, scoring 89 out of 100. Several other Coordinators score well, an Alakazam, a Vaporeon, Sunflora, Ledian, Electrode, and Lickitung all scoring in the high seventies and eighties.

"Now for the next one, we have Anthony!" I notice that it is the real Anthony on the stage, which means Alice, Max, and Officer Jenny must have defeated Team Rocket and gotten the ribbons back. Anthony takes his place on stage with an impressive appeal by using Swalot's fluid body for an impressive entry. It then smashes apart its own Sludge Bomb with Bullet Seed and Swallows the whole lot for a clean finish, earning himself 82 points.

May is the next one as she uses Skity on stage, but then it turns bad as she keeps using Assist, and when the Assist turns out to be Solar Beam, she is left in a state of confusion.

"You did this to her, don't you?" I growl at Harley, who shrugs off his foul play as competition.

May is torn and thinks Harley has her best interests at heart, but decides to ignore his advice and tell Skitty to use Double Slap on itself, breaking it out of confusion. Harley is horrified, but Drew and I are satisfied. May orders Skitty to finish with Blizzard, creating a towering fortress of ice. May scores 79, which has the group in doubt as to whether she can advance.

I say to May, "May, you are being used by Harley."

"But why?" May angrily asks Harley, he replies that he wants to revenge her for the loss at Izabe Island. He walks away saying that May won't be advanced to the next round causing her to be mad.

Drew says, "Next time, you shouldn't listen to other people's advice. You should only do what you know in your heart i right." May takes the advice to heart and becomes upset at herself.

The last two are Drew and I. I go first and I have Absol create a Dark Pulse with Night Slash slashing over it, giving him a score of 100. The last is Drew and his Hidden Power-using Masquerain. The field is then covered in Bubbles, which are diverted with Silver Wind, giving Drew a standing ovation and a perfect 100.

The top thirty-two are announced. Drew and I easily make it through with Harley, and May scrapes through as well. The Coordinators who moved on are paired up for the Double Contest Battles and May is matched with Harley.

"Looks like May is facing Harley." Max says.

"That's good. I can't wait to see him lose." Minami says.

"What happened to him?" Insey asks in confusion.

"Didn't you see that May barely makes it through the Main Appeal Round? Because Harley is the one that makes her fail." After hearing Reisa's words, Insey and Trenor are feeling disgusted.

"That is so low." Trenor says.

"So are you ready to lose, May?" Harley taunts her once it is their match.

"I won't lose to the likes like you!" She says.

Harley starts his battle with May by having his Banette use Screech, while his Cacturne uses Bullet Seed. Both hit their marks and lower May's points. May has Venusaur attack with Vine Whip; Harley's Pokémon try to dodge it, but Venusaur grabs onto their legs. Beautifly then uses Silver Wind that lowers Harley's points. Venusaur releases its grip on Cacturne and Banette, which sends them both spinning. Beautifly whips up a Silver Wind, sending Cacturne and Banette into a spin and leaving them dizzy.

"Use Vine Whip again!" May yells. "Don't let her use it, use Torment!" Banette glows and then Venusaur is unable to use Vine Whip again unless he uses the other moves.

"Use Pin Missile!" Harley says. "Beautifly, help Venusaur out!" Then Beautifly carries the attack high into the air.

Banette then fires Will-O-Wisp, but Venusaur uses Petal Dance, which combines with Will-O-Wisp to create sparkling dust all over the field, costing Harley more points. Cacturne retaliates with another Pin Missile, but Venusaur and Beautifly are unharmed, and they retaliate with a Silver Wind and Razor Leaf combination.

May is the one advancing to the next round. Harley yells, "I'm out of here..."

As he is storming away, Drew and I are already standing at the doorway with an unimpressed expression. "I'm sure you're happy I lost, aren't you?"

"Not true. May is just better today." Drew says.

"Well, at least I can be honest about it. I will enjoy watching all of you lose." Harley says as he leaves.

When it's my turn, I have Solrock and Lunatone make a cosmos dance, and I defeat my opponent who uses Plusle and Minun. And for Drew, he also easily gets into the next round.

"Now you have to win 5 more battles and you'll win." Alice says to Ash.

"Yeah." Ash smiles. Then they see the next match and I'm surprised to see the opponent, it is Robert, who has a higher score than me during the Appeal Round. Reisa says, "Seems like you are in trouble."

"Yeah, but I'll show him." I say.

But when we are outside, we find Team Rocket again and they have a machine bound on Robert's hand. "Absol, use Razor Wind to free him."

"Not you again!" Team Rocket groans.

"Are you okay, Robert?" I ask, and he says, "I'm fine, thanks. But who are those clowns and what are they doing here?"

Team Rocket tries to recite their motto before calling out Cacnea and Dustox to attack. I have Snorunt to help and he tries to tell him using Ice Beam, but it fails while Team Rocket laughs at it.

"You're close, you just need to have Snorunt focus on its energy more." Robert says. "Give me a minute."

Snorunt is feeling down, and Robert says, "Snorunt, the way to use your Ice Beam is to store the energy on your head. Do that and control it will come naturally."

Then Cacnea uses Pin Missile and Dustox uses Psybeam towards Pikachu and Absol, but Snorunt jumps in front to take the hit and evolves into Glalie.

Alice says, "No way... Snorunt..."

"It evolves into a Glalie!" Reisa says.

Glalie: The Face Pokemon: Ice Type. Glalie has the ability to freely control ice. For example, it can instantly freeze its foe solid. After immobilizing its foe in ice, this Pokémon enjoys eating it in a leisurely fashion.

Glalie then uses Ice Beam, and it freezes Team Rocket and sends them blasting off. I turn to Robert and says, "Thank you a lot, Robert."

"Your welcome, but I didn't do too much. And it seems that we will be facing each other in the next round, and I am very looking forward to facing you."

"The same goes for me, I am really impressed with your Milotic as well." I say.

In the second stage and with thirty seconds remaining, May's Blaziken and Venusaur faced off against Anthony with Swalot and Pinsir. Blaziken tries to use Peck but Pinsir comes out of Swalot's stomach to pinch Blaziken beak shut. Time runs out in the end, but May wins the match and moves on to the third stage. Anthony respectfully congratulates May on the win and wishes her luck on the stage.

"Now we have a match between our top two contestants, Ash Ketchum versus Robert!"

The crowd goes wild as the two coordinators come to the stage.

Max says, "This will be tough since both of them pass through the round without breaking any sweat or scores."

Alice says, "But my Ash will win!"

"Your Ash?" Reisa winks at her, causing her to blush about what she just said.

"This is embarrassing." Alice covers her face with her hands, causing everyone to laugh.

I decide to go with Glalie and Walrein while Robert uses Milotic and Claydol. After the battle goes midway, I decide to take out my Key Stone and yell, "Glalie! Respond to me and Mega Evolve!"

Glalie then Mega Evolves, and the Normal Moves it uses all turn into Ice Type, which shows graceful colors and beauty. In the end, I win five more scores than Robert.

"What an amazing show-off. Both coordinators give their best shot and give us a wonderful performance." Vivian says.

Robert says, "Guess that I lost now. Good luck with your winning. Ash."

"You bet, and thanks for everything." I say.

In the third stage, May's Combusken and Skitty are up against Drew's Roselia and Flygon.

"A Flygon?" Max asks.

"I have to say that's a secret weapon he's hiding all this time." Trenor says.

"I raise this Flygon specifically for this festival and this match. So you get to meet his first appearance."

"Then let's make it a memorable one! Blaziken, Mega Evolve!" Blaziken Mega evolves and changes his form.

Roselia begins with a sparkling Petal Dance while Flygon flies right through it to attack. Skitty counters with Assist which comes out as Fire Spin and burns the opponents' combination. Blaziken uses Sky Uppercut but misses Flygon as it dodges and Flygon falls and lands on top of Skitty.

"Drew's really good at this open stage format and it looks to me that he knew exactly how May is going to counterattack him." Insey says.

"Yeah. How is May going to win?" Max asks.

Flygon uses Flamethrower and Roselia uses Solar Beam towards the opponents while May has Blaziken use Fire Spin to push the combined attacks away. Drew loses a lot of points because of that. Blaziken uses Fire Spin again while Flygon counters with Sandstorm which blows the attack away. Skitty uses Blizzard as Roselia jumps on top of Flygon to fly away and dodge it.

"Wow...Flygon sure is fast...I have to figure out a way around..." May says. "Then I'll trust this attack."

Putting her trust in its unpredictability, May orders an Assist attack from Skitty, which turns into a Vine Whip. She orders Blaziken to use the Vine Whip to jump high into the air. Roselia calls for a Magical Leaf which Skitty counters with Blizzard.

"Use Flamethrower." Drew commands Flygon, but May says, "This is what I wanted to happen! Blaziken! Follow the flames and then use Sky Uppercut!"

Drew is caught off guard as Blaziken follows the flames towards Flygon and lashes it with a Sky Uppercut.

With little time and even fewer points remaining, May says, "I can only hope for a knockout..."

"Wow, May is really doing well." Minami says to Caroline.

"Yes. I am very proud of her. I think Honey is going to be proud, too."

She calls for Skitty to use Tackle and Blaziken uses Quick Attack. Roselia replies with a Stun Spore that hits and paralyzes the pair. Flygon finishes the match off with Steel Wing.

"Time's up! The winner of this match is Drew! Who will be advancing to the quarter-finals!"

"I lost..." May says as she kneels down. "Hey guys, thank you, you're both great."

Drew walks over to her and says, "Nice battle." He holds her hand, trying to help her stand up. May is upset, but she still puts on a brave face as she stands back up. The crowd begins cheering for May and her wonderful performance, only Harley is thinking otherwise.

"Hey, why does she have a lot of cheers? She lost the battle." Harley says in a displeased tone.

At the backstage, May, who manages to get over her loss, tells me, "Win this. For me and our friends."

"I will. You can count on me."

In the quarter-finals, Ash battles a Mightyena and a Manectric using Pikachu and Absol. They all show off their teamwork very well and Ash advances. Both Drew and Ash are facing each other at the finals.

"Whoever wins this match will get the Ribbon Cup! Now send out your Pokemon!" Vivian comments.

"I wish to fight you here, and that promise is fulfilled. Roselia, Masquerain." Drew tosses the two Pokemon.

"Milotic, Latias, I choose you!" Once he sends out his two Pokemon, all of the audience is shocked at the appearance of the legendary Pokemon.

Mark says, "Latias is showing off now?"

Max says, "Cool! I am dying to see this!"

"Ash has a Latias?" Insey gasps.

"Of course, we have Latias and Latios from Alto Mare and they come with us in the end." Minami says.

"That reminds me, Latios will want to see this match as well." Alice says while sending out the invisible Latios to watch the match.

Drew says, "So you possess a legendary?"

"Yes. This girl likes me a lot. We're not holding back, you know." I say.

As Drew is shown facing off with Ash in the final stage, he is losing by a lot of points. Milotic uses Twister while Latias comes through the Twister and finishes Masquerain and Roselia off with Hyper Beam.

"It is settled! The winner of this Grand Festival is Ash Ketchum! Right now he has won the second grand festival in a row! Please give him cheers!"

The crowd goes wild. I say to Drew. "I am sorry that you lost."

"It is fine. There are still improvements I have to do." After a shake of hands, I was awarded the Cup by Lisia.

"Ash, You did it! You did it! You won the Grand Festival! Eeeee! It's truly incredible! That's it! I can't wait! I've got to do it! "Wait for Me! Everyone's Idol Contest Star!" That's right! The movements that you used back then... I couldn't tear my eyes away! Ohhhh! That's it! I've got to work even harder! If we do our best, we may stand on stage together someday!" She winks, I sigh and say, "Thanks."

In the audience, Reisa says, "That Lisia, I feel like I want to strangle her."

"Just calm down, Reisa..." Alice says. "I want to, but just give them a moment."

Later that night, an after-party takes place to celebrate the conclusion of the Hoenn Grand Festival. we search for May and I ask, "Do you want a cone?"

She jumps when the Casteliacone appears in front of her. "Ash! Don't startle me like that!"

"Sorry, I thought you want some dessert." Then we notice Drew and May tells us that he's here to say goodbye.

"Just then, you and Drew are alone, maybe you have a romantic connection?" Caroline asks as May blushes.

"No, we are just friends! I admit that he did give me something to consider...but I am not going to give up until I become a Top Coordinator."

I say. "That's the spirit."

Lisia also arrives and she says, "You know, I've scouted a lot of Trainers for contests. Of course, they've all been great! But... But, May! You're really something special! It's not just 'cause you're the 100th person I scouted, either... It's like... It's like you've got something no one else has. I really want to know what that something is! "Idol versus Star! A Serious, Spectacular Battle!"

"Uh..." May is sweatdropping, and Lisia continues, "The next time you take part in a Contest, May... I hope Ali and I will take part, too! We... We won't lose to you! I've been doing my best as a contest idol for a long time, together with Ali. And I'm gonna use everything I've got against you! If you and I appear in a Contest together, the fans will love it. Most important, it will be really, really, really fun!"

"And what about me?" I decide to ask, and Lisia says, "I don't know, you got tons of fans, too! You're a force to be reckoned with!"

"Is that so?" We are also surprised to see Wallace coming here. Reisa says, "Dad! You're here as well?"

"It's nice to see you again, congratulations on your win, Ash." Wallace says.

"Thanks. Now I just need to enter the Hoenn League and win it as well." I say.

Then he offers to take us to the Ever Grande City, and we all accept and get there.

Now the grand festival is done, the next is the Pokemon League. All will be in one chapter. After the league, I will write the Delta episode. Which will replace the 7th movie in the anime in my story.

Ash Alice's Pokemon:

Butterfree x2 (One Pink), Pikachu x2, Lapras, Meganium, Espeon, Steelix (Crystal), Mantine, Sceptile, Blaziken, Swampert, Mightyena, Linoone, Beautifly, Dustox, Ludicolo, Shiftry, Swellow, Pelipper, Kirlia, Gardevoir (Shiny), Masquerain, Breloom, Slaking, Ninjask, Shedinja, Exploud, Hariyama, Nosepass, Delcatty, Sableye, Mawile, Aggron, Medicham, Manectric, Plusle, Minun, Volbeat, Illumise, Roselia, Swalot, Sharpedo, Wailmer, Camerupt, Torkoal, Grumpig, Spinda, Flygon, Cacturne, Altaria, Zangoose, Seviper, Lunatone, Solrock, Whiscash, Crawdaunt, Claydol, Cradily, Armaldo, Milotic, Castform, Kecleon, Banette, Dusclops, Tropius, Chimecho, Absol, Glalie, Walrein, Huntail, Gorebyss, Relicanth, Luvdisc, Shelgon, Latias, Latios, Kyogre, Groudon, Jirachi

May's Pokemon:

Venusaur, Blaziken, Beautifly, Skitty, Munchlax

Mark's Pokemon:

Blaziken, Swampert, Ludicolo, Pelipper, Surskit, Breloom, Hariyama, Medicham, Sharpedo, Wailmer, Camerupt, Torkoal, Whiscash, Crawdaunt, Milotic, Walrein, Huntail, Gorebyss, Relicanth

Minami's Pokemon:

Linoone, Swellow, Gardevoir, Slaking, Exploud, Delcatty, Mawile, Medicham, Grumpig, Spinda, Swablu, Zangoose, Lunatone, Solrock, Claydol, Castform, Kecleon, Chimecho