Chapter 140 (OLD) (Patreon)

NOTICE: There is an updated version of Chapter 140 that has been posted. There are issues in this battle that the alternative version fixes, but I'll be leaving this post up for now.
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"After sixty-two incredible battles and over a hundred incredible performances, we've reached the final match of the Grand Festival!"

As Marian's voice echoed out over the audience, I adjusted my gloves to make sure everything was just right. In a way, this would be the last time Robin would make an appearance on a main stage, so I wanted everything to go exactly right.

"Two amazing Coordinators will battle it out for the right to be called a Top Coordinator! It takes skill, grace, and most importantly, the determination to win it all to make it to the top!

"In the red corner—"

A stage assistant, a woman holding a clipboard, waved me to start walking out. I cooled my expression under my mask and made sure my Pokémon's Pokéballs were in their correct slots in my gloves, too. I then headed out onto the field with the most confident stride I could muster.

"...is the enigmatic Robin!"

The audience burst into cheers as I, as Robin, strode onto the field. I could hear "my" name being chanted in the stands, and funnily enough, there was a good number of people wearing cheap, knock-off, imitation masks of the one I was currently wearing.

A staircase brought me up onto an elevated platform that overlooked a dirt field. Marian continued.

"Robin is a Coordinator of mysterious background, and as far as we can tell, a powerful Fairy Type specialist, too. They're notable for winning the Wallace Cup, but that doesn't make their other Contest victories are any less impressive."

Marian paused for a moment to let the cheering die down.

"And in the green corner—"

Excited screams and shouts exploded into deafening noise as Dawn emerged onto the field. Countless people yelled her name as she gracefully waved to the audience.

I eyed the stone she was wearing around her gloved wrist.

"...is Dawn!" Marian's voice continued. "Daughter of Johanna, a previous Top Coordinator, and winner of not five, but six different Contests, her skill as a Coordinator is not to be doubted! “Already, she has demonstrated impressive control of her Pokémon in previous rounds, and I know there isn't anyone around who isn't excited to watch these two battle it out!"

Dawn took up a spot on her own elevated platform, and we locked eyes from across the field. I wasn't going to underestimate her in the slightest, and I knew she was striving to do the same.

Marian went over the rules—discussing how this would be a two-on-two match where points would be adjusted based on how well the Pokémon showed themselves off—before telling us to send out our Pokémon.

I brought my arms up to cross in a V-shaped posture, causing a Heavy Ball and a Heal Ball to "magically appear" in my hands. Tossing them forward, both Florges and Mawile appeared on the field, the pair or them prepared to give it their all to win this match.

Dawn, at the same time, spun and tossed forward her own pair or Pokéball, sending out her Lopunny and Togekiss onto the field.

My eyes lingered on the Togekiss, as its appearance was a slight surprise to me. Not only was Dawn bringing out her own Fairy Type for this match, but she was bringing out a Pokémon she had obtained as part of a fortuitous encounter.

If the anime had any truth in it, Dawn would have received Togekiss from a random princess who looked exactly like her. The coincidence was astounding, but it wasn't like I could complain with how many things worked out like that in my own life.

I mean, Togepi was pretty much randomly given to me by Cynthia, as well. Perhaps that species could only be obtained through random strokes of luck?

As our Pokémon puffed themselves up in preparation for the match, my train of thought was interrupted by Dawn doing something dramatic.

"Alex!" she yelled to get my attention.

Dawn brought up an arm, revealing the stone I had been focusing on since she first entered the room. As part of a bracelet filled with stones representing each individual Pokémon on her team—which included a purple one to represent her handed off Ambipom—there was a brilliant, rainbow Key Stone ready to be used.

I pulled back my sleeve to expose my own bracer, but shouts from the audience started to be called out.

They were no longer calling out for "Robin," but now they were yelling "Alex" intermittently.

I hadn't caught it when Dawn had done it, and clearly neither had she. As someone who knew Robin's identity, she had mistakenly used my real name instead of my disguise's name.

Dawn's hand immediately smacked down to cover her mouth as she stared at me with wide, apologetic eyes. I let out a half-disappointed sigh, but in truth, it wasn't as if Robin was ever going to last forever.

And, if there was ever a place to unmask, the finals of the Grand Festival was a pretty good option.

To the absolute delight of practically everyone in the room, I started to move my hand under the edge of my mask. My movements were slowed and drawn out just to build the tension even more, and as my gloved fingers wrapped around my mask's bottom edge, I paused.

"I have to say, I've enjoyed performing as Robin, but for this battle, the finals of the Grand Festival, you all deserve something more. There's no point in holding anything back, so let's make this a true battle.

"It's been fun, everyone."

My mask was torn off my face, the long, braided wig coming off with it. I shook my head to make sure my hair wasn't being pressed down and gave the world the best smile I could make.

The audience was near deafening. Marian desperately tried to describe the reveal that just occurred for the people watching at home, but her voice couldn't be heard over the people shouting here.

Though, one voice stood out from the rest of the shouts. As my eyes scanned the field just to take in everyone's surprised and excited reactions, my eyes lingered on where Ash Ketchum sat in the audience.

"Robin is Alex?!" he yelled, absolutely stunned.

I gave him a small, amused wave.

It was hard not to laugh at how crazy the crowd was going. This reveal hadn't been planned, but it was still funny enough.

Turning back to Dawn, we locked eyes once more, and she seemed a little less upset at accidentally causing the reveal now that all was said and done. We gave each other a short nod, and I opened my mouth, not quite ready to start the battle just yet.

"So you want a Mega Battle, then?" I asked.

The audience cheered excitedly once more.

"I do," Dawn replied.

Both of us turned to face our Pokémon.

"Mawile," I said.

"Lopunny," Dawn said.

Our two team members turned around.

"We're winning this match."

Mawile locked eyes with me, as Lopunny did the same with Dawn. Both Pokémon looked as confident as ever as they returned to facing the field, and Dawn and I held up our arms.

The room was overtaken by two points of brilliant, rainbow light. On one side, its source was Lopunny, and on the other side, its source was Mawile. Mawile's jaws split and became cruel, and Lopunny's legs extended and became much more sleek and muscular. Mawile increased in height whereas Lopunny's ears gained long, tight braids.

When the light faded, it was clear the two Mega Pokémon were now significantly stronger than before. Lopunny rapidly hopped back and forth between each foot and threw some practice kicks while Mawile's jaws opened and closed in preparation for the match. At the Mega Pokémon's sides, Florges and Togekiss floated in the air, ready to assist their Mega Evolved partners.

"In a precedent-setting match, we have two Mega Pokémon facing off!” Marian practically screamed over the speakers. “You're seeing history being made here, folks, as both sides use Mega Evolution against each other in a worldwide Grand Festival first!"

Dawn and I both gave one another a confident grin. For a match that would determine the victory of the Grand Festival, we would both give it our all.

The buzzer went off.

The match began.

“Jump Kick!”

“Sucker Punch!”

There was hardly any time at all between Dawn giving the order to attack and her Pokémon leaping forward. Mega Lopunny jumped into the air and twirled with a flourish before smashing a leg right into Mawile. However, Mawile managed to lean in just the right way to slam her fist into Lopunny’s hip, both Pokémon taking damage from the exchange.

Wind burst out from the point of dual impact as the other two Pokémon began to move as well. Togekiss took to the air, leaving a beautiful Fairy Wind in its wave, and Florges sent out a brilliant pulse of green not too far away from Mawile to place a Grassy Terrain onto the field.

The terrain would serve to empower her moves while also keeping both Mega Pokémon in good shape thanks to the passive healing it provided. In most battles, purposefully allowing healing to your opponent would be a bad idea, but I wanted this to be a proper show.

“Air Slash!” Dawn yelled.

Lopunny pushed off where it was pressing its foot into Mawile to enter the air with another flip, starting a Bounce. Behind it, Togekiss swooped down to send a blade of solid Flying Type energy hurtling forward. Lopunny specifically positioned itself to line up with the attack and pressed its body tight like an arrow to hurtle downwards with both feet down. It looked almost to be standing on Togekiss’s attack as both moves hit Mawile at the same time with Bounce. For Lopunny, its attack hit even harder thanks to the Air Slash cutting through any air resistance it might have experienced.

However, using Bounce had caused the combo to be delayed slightly as the move required Lopunny to go up before it crashed down. Florges used this delay to send an orb of flame into the sky for a Sunny Day, and Mawile positioned herself to block the impact with Iron Defense. As the Air Slash and Lopunny’s foot crashed into one of Mawile’s hardened jaws, flames flickered around her teeth.

“Fire Fang!” I called out.

As I did, I sent a glance over to Florges to signal her next step.

Mawile’s teeth glowed a brilliant red hot, now encompassed by flame and empowered by the sun. She pushed Lopunny off of her and tried to lash out at the rabbit with her teeth, but Lopunny hopped off and then tried to hop back again to make some distance on the ground. That was when Florges’s prepared Grass Knot wrapped around Lopunny’s leg.

The Mega Evolved Pokémon wasn’t quite brought to the ground, but it was certainly locked in place as a Sheer Force-boosted Fire Fang slammed into the center of Lopunny’s body. The attack sent glowing embers into the air, beautifully illuminating Mawile under the light of the faux-sun above. Unfortunately, despite Mawile landing a powerful attack that sent Lopunny back, Togekiss was able to swoop down and act as a midair platform that Lopunny braced itself against.

“High Jump Kick!” Dawn ordered.

“Sucker Punch and Fairy Wind!” I called out in response.

Lopunny entered the air to hurtle downwards at Mawile. She braced for impact and readied a Sucker Punch, but when the rabbit landed, it wasn’t on her. Lopunny had only faked using High Jump Kick to position itself a pace away from Mawile, causing her counterattack to fumble. A rapidly used Fairy Wind was sent out to encompass the pair, making the most of Mawile’s resistance to the move and Lopunny’s vulnerability to it. Lopunny, not willing to linger in the painful, sparkling mist, jumped forward to slam its head into Mawile’s own head before leaping out of the attack.

The Headbutt didn’t do much damage, but it did cause Mawile to flinch. She stumbled back, eyes blinking furiously to try to recover her focus.

At this point, I glanced over to the scoreboard. Neither one of us had lost too many points, and we were both a third down. We needed to do something to get into the lead.

“Florges, Mawile. Homing Stones,” I ordered.

While Mawile was still stumbling, Florges floated forward to place her hand on her ally’s back to help Mawile regain her balance. Across from them, Togekiss floated down to be next to Lopunny, ready to use a combination move, themselves. There was a moment of tense standoff before both sides acted, Dawn yelling out the name of the combination move she wanted her team to use.

“Ping-Pong!”

I blinked at the strange name as both sides acted at once.

Following my commands, Mawile went ahead and used Stone Edge, but instead of sending many small shards of rock forward, she had them appear in lesser numbers and somewhat larger shapes, instead.

Across from her, all around Togekiss, tiny Moonblasts formed and floated in the air, not doing anything but sitting in one place without being launched forward.

Then, the other Pokémon contributed.

With Florges, she took advantage of the time Mawile was preparing her attack to use a Calm Mind, and that enhanced focus allowed her to use Psychic to control the rocks to be better aimed and track our foes. For Lopunny, the rabbit’s long legs rapidly kicked each Moonblast, causing them to be fired out like bullets right into each of the stones.

The attacks collided in a storm of dust and sparkling Fairy Type energy in the center of the field. Mawile burst through the cloud with her two jaws glowing for a dual Iron Head, and Togekiss tried to retaliate with a Dazzling Gleam.

What the flying Pokémon didn’t expect was a Solar Beam to strike it before its attack went off, Florges giving up the combination move to catch it off guard. The laser made Florges glow in the rapidly diminishing sun, and it sent the Togekiss hurtling back through the air before it could stop Mawile’s move. Yet, Lopunny just barelymanaged to duck under the slam and kick Mawile from behind.

She let the move launch her. Just like how Lopunny used Togekiss as a platform earlier, Mawile was sent back in the same direction as Togekiss had been a moment ago and kicked off its back. Togekiss responded with an unhappy shout and a Dazzling Gleam that only served to light up Mawile as she jumped forward. Her legs might not have been anywhere near as strong as Lopunny’s legs, but she managed to land on the ground just right, placing herself right between Lopunny and Togekiss.

“Mawile, get ready for another Iron Head,” I ordered.

I sent another glance at Florges and twisted my fingers together for a silent command.

“Lopunny, Togekiss, mist combo!” Dawn yelled.

Rather than jumping forward, Lopunny opened its mouth to send out a crackling Ice Beam, and Togekiss flew around in a tight circle to create a cloud of Fairy Wind that drifted towards Mawile. The two attacks hit my Pokémon in a freezing pink burst, and the mist formed from the impact of the Ice Beam combined with the sparkling dust of Fairy Wind basically completely obscured Mawile’s position.

That made it even more confusing when Mawile suddenly struck Lopunny from behind.

The Iron Head slammed into the Mega Pokémon’s back, causing Lopunny to shout and flinch from the pain. It was knocked to the floor and caused Dawn’s points to be significantly reduced. Unfortunately, Mawile was unable to follow up her attack thanks to Togekiss releasing several sharp Air Slashes at her. She was forced to step back to avoid them, as taking them head-on would have likely lost us more points than the ones we lost when she dodged.

On the other side of the field, it was clear why Mawile was no longer there, as, now, Florges was revealed to have been the one to sustain the damage. The sun wore off overhead as she finished using Synthesis several times over to withstand the damage, bringing her to decent health but causing her to be rather tired. She was specialized in withstanding many attacks, but the draining Ally Switch and rapid-fire uses of Synthesis had worn her out.

I had a lead. A slight one, but it was a lead. As it stood, I had roughly forty percent of our overall points left whereas Dawn had about thirty. We needed to keep this up if we were going to win.

“Pollen Puff,” I told Florges.

She took a moment to breathe in and ready herself then shot out a ball of pollen from her flowers. Mawile snatched it out of the air with her jaws. She chewed on it with one of her large mouths, and what wounds she had sustained became healed as a result.

With my Pokémon healed, I could see Dawn clenching her fists. Florges may have been getting tired, but now it would now be even more difficult for Dawn to make a comeback.

Her eyes darted between every Pokémon and the scoreboard before she came to a conclusion. Taking a dramatic stance, Dawn pointed one hand into the air and shouted out a command for her Pokémon to follow.

“Skywards!” she yelled.

With the way her expression hardened, I could tell she was trying to finish this here and now.

“Florges. Can you finish this?”

Florges had been using several healing moves while also maintaining Grassy Terrain, but she looked just as determined as Dawn did when I asked her that question. Tired, she was still able to move to float above Mawile’s head as petals started to gracefully leave her body.

As for Dawn’s Pokémon, Togekiss flew straight up into the air while Lopunny jumped up to grab its feet. The pair were brought high into the sky as Togekiss began to prepare its next move.

The move caused Togekiss to glow.

“Mawile. It’s on you,” I ordered.

Mawile turned around to open her mouths and aim them skywards as the Petal Dance continued around her. The field was almost completely pink with the sheer number of petals Florges had under her control; the petals would be enough to faint any Pokémon caught up in them.

From above, Togekiss suddenly darted downwards, turning a brilliant white and accelerating to mach speeds in an instant. Lopunny was dropped right when it shot forward, and the rabbit sent forward an Ice Beam to hit its ally, to my surprise.

Mawile sent out a Shadow Ball, but it didn’t get sent up alone. Shadow Balls tended to suck in light as well as everything else around them, and I was having her use the same here. The petals from Petal Dance wrapped around the attack, turning the dark ball pink, and it was shot forward towards the plummeting Pokémon.

Togekiss continued using Sky Attack, but it was a bit different than normal. With Lopunny’s Ice Beam hitting it, the front of Togekiss was now frozen over and protected by the ice.

With the speed Togekiss was going, it took no time at all for it to slam into the petal-wrapped Shadow Ball. However, the attack seemed to mean nothing to it as its momentum carried it through, its body aimed right at the Mega Evolved Mawile.

There was a flash, and Florges was struck by the move instead. Ally Switch saved Mawile once more as Togekiss slammed into Florges.

Both Dawn and my points plummeted. Togekiss might have landed a devastating attack, but it was knocked out alongside Florges.

Mawile stared at the two fainted Pokémon in shock, and I called out to her only barely right in time. Her jaws snapped up to cover her from above as Lopunny’s High Jump Kick slammed down into her from above. The powerful impact caused her to be pushed back on the field, and Lopunny bounced off her body.

Lopunny clenched its eyes from the pain of the move failing, but it did not wince. When it landed, I spared only the briefest of glances to check the score.

We had roughly six percent of our points left. Dawn had five.

This match was still on.

“Play Rough!”

“Close Combat!”

As Dawn and I returned our fainted Pokémon, Mawile used her jaws to kick herself up into the air. One set of jaws, glowing pink, slammed towards Lopunny, but it kicked it aside with its legs, then it just barely dodged the follow up attack that came immediately after. Upside-down, Mawile spun and leapt in the air to re-right herself and let a Sucker Punch impact a sharp punch from Lopunny’s continued Close Combat. A Headbutt came down onto Mawile’s head, but this time, she was prepared and countered with one of her own.

Each Pokémon repeatedly demonstrated an absolute mastery of their own moves, laying into each other up close and personal. Lopunny’s moves flowed from one to the next, attacking with speed and grace but also with the power to support them. Mawile, however, was brutal and raw, demonstrating just how strong her own Mega Evolution made her. Where Lopunny danced, Mawile brawled. They countered each attack with their own preferred way of battling.

“Mawile!” I called out.

“Lopunny!” Dawn yelled.

“Finish this!” we screamed in unison.

One last High Jump Kick took to the air as Mawile prepared herself for another Iron Head. Lopunny hurtled downwards with a leg extended, aimed right at Mawile’s body, as Mawile slung her jaws above her head to try to slam them into Lopunny.

Then, the unexpected happened.

Lopunny grabbed Mawile’s jaws to swing around them in a circle. That let it position itself in just the right way to have one set of Mawile’s jaws protect it from the other, and its foot sailed towards Mawile’s stomach. She braced herself, knowing she’d be able to easily withstand this attack, but then—

I felt my heart drop as a buzzer went off right when the kick landed.

We ran out of points.

“And our new Top Coordinator is... Dawn, from Twinleaf Town!”

The audience burst into cheers as everyone remaining on the field looked shocked. The only one who seemed to see this coming was Lopunny, who had dealt the final, devastating blow.

Mawile looked crushed as both Mega Evolutions faded. She was trying her best to keep her expression level as she returned to having only two mouths.

To save her face, I returned her to her Heavy Ball and whispered a few short praises.

“You did a great job. You were incredible as always. There’s no need to worry,” I said, unintentionally quoting Dawn.

As Dawn looked around at the cheering audience, having a moment, I lightly clapped to cheer for her. I kept my expression in a tight smile as I knew she deserved to win, but this...

It did hurt. It honestly really did.

But I understood why I lost.

Florges and Mawile were amazing like always, and though we put in the time and practice to put on the best show we could, it was clear that we were battlers at heart, not performers.

Throughout this entire Contest, my Pokémon were able to show themselves off with impressive moves and combinations, but, truly, it was our power that got us this far. Between my Pokémon’s moves weakening their foes and the impressive control they all wielded, our training was properly shown off despite our relative lack of comparable Contest ability. Battling was a key component of succeeding in Contests, and it wasn't like we didn't deserve to be up here; it was just that Dawn managed to pull through this time.

When it came to Dawn, she was a genuine Coordinator through and through. Not only did her team go toe-to-toe with mine after only a year of training, but all of her actions had been planned to support that objective in one way or another. I couldn’t be too surprised at this outcome, just impressed at how strong she had become.

Ninetales and Florges were going to be the most upset, but I was sure they’d be happy we made it this far, at all. I was certainly proud of everyone on my team for working together and bringing us to the finals of the Grand Festival.

Turning around, I walked off the field, placing my mask back on the face. Marian shouted for one last round of applause for me as I left, but the true focus was still on Dawn. Flowers were being thrown onto the field for her as I disappeared back into the connecting hallway. Despite losing here, I looked to the future.

We lost the Grand Festival. That was clear. However, our journey wasn’t done. We might have been preparing for this tournament recently, but truthfully, the true focus of our preparation was the upcoming Lily of the Valley conference.

Tobias would be there. So would Ash. Two powerful trainers stood in our way to making it to the finals, and that didn’t even account for the rest of the powerful competitors that would be in the Conference. My team showed off here, but they hadn’t shown their true power. In less than a few weeks, we would be facing off against the strongest Sinnoh had to offer.

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Author Note:

THIS IS AN OUTDATED VERSION OF CHAPTER 140. Read the correct version here.

Dawn’s Princess Doppelganger

Pokémon mentioned in this chapter:
Lopunny
Togekiss

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