Episode #49: Jessica vs. Armando!

Donovan and Kodou, who was still a Gligar, were both outside discussing about Darkrai's existance. He heard stories about his existence, one of which was a news article about a string of eternal nightmares in Snowpoint City, which happened to be near New Moon Island.

"So what did this news article say?" Donovan asked.

"Well," Kodou began, "I read that hundreds of children within Snowpoint City fell asleep and kept tossing and turning constantly, for days on end. They said that Cresselia, the Pokémon who can cure these nightmares, came and caused the victims to wake up."

"So where did you find this news article."

"It was in a news paper years ago. I'm not sure I still have it."

Donovan wasn't too pleased that Kodou didn't have the article, but he got a huge lead. If he could get information on Cresselia, then he might be able to learn about Darkrai.

"Thank you, Kodou," Donovan said.

"Oh, can I ask you something?" Kodou asked. Donovan wondered what he was going to say, since he was clicking his pincers nervously. "Can I...poke you with my stinger?"

Donovan slammed his foot on his face. Upon removing it, Kodou was dazed and sat down. Donovan then decided to walk off. He needed to find information and news on Cresselia and figure out her connection to Darkrai before it was too late.

"Now all I have to do...is figure out what role these two play in this little fairy tale."

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The contest finals were getting underway. Jessica and Armando both made it to the battle round of the Valor Lakefront Contest, along with two others for the semi final battle. Jessica was battling first, being paired with a kid named Hank. Rain watched from the contest lobby with Kodou hanging on his back. Kodou still felt dizzy after the kick he got from Donovan.

"Both coordinator's are ready, and begin!" Gina said.

Kodou looked over at Rain's back and then at his tail, wondering if he was able to use his newfound Gligar abilities like any other Gligar could use. Kodou then swung his tail and stabbed Rain in the back, making him freak out suddenly. He then grabbed Kodou, flung him over his head and pulled his face.

"YOU IDIOT, WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!?!?!" Rain shouted in anger.

"I wanted to try my abilities out---Gah, stop it!" Kodou said.

"Don't stab me in the back next time!!!!"

The two continued fighting until they realized that everyone was looking right at them, amazed that Kodou could talk. Rain was hoping no one would notice and now they know about his secret.

"Great, they know Kodou can talk," Rain thought. "I just gotta be straight...just say it like it is."

Rain let go of Kodou as he flew onto Rain's back once more.

"Funny story, really," Rain began. "You see, the two of us are huge fans of the Super Pokefriends and Gligar here likes them so much that he wanted me to teach him to talk. So I taught him and...well..."

Everyone remained silent. Suddenly they all rushed to Kodou and went crazy at his amazing power and cuddled him to bits. Rain was pushed aside as they all focused on his cuteness.

"Okay ladies," Kodou said happily. "One at a time, one at a time!"

Rain wondered if that was a smart move, but to him, it wasn't. Rain heard Jessica's points being lower than her opponent's, Hank's, Goldeen. Rain wasn't the only one watching this, though. Sharon, Jessica's longtime rival were also there watching the battles. They weren't participating, but they were both interested in seeing Jessica get her third ribbon after what they heard from Rain about Mr. Muto. Suddenly, Shannon leapt onto Sharon's back, almost knocking her off.

"Sweetie!" Shannon said happily. "How are you today?!"

"I'm doing fine and dandy, thank you," Sharon said. "What about you?"

"I'm just happy knowing you're here!"

Shannon poked his head near her ear and whispered something to her.

"I've been hearing about someone searching for information about Darkrai," Shannon said softly in a more serious tone. "You remember him, right?"

Sharon did remember the Darkrai they encountered a long time ago, the same one Donovan was looking for. In fact...

"That was when we first met, wasn't it?" Sharon replied

"Yeah," Shannon said. "I know that was a year ago, but he was looking for this Pokémon. You think we should tell him the story?"

Sharon didn't want to remember that fateful event they endured years ago. Shannon was locked into an eternal nightmare for weeks on end. Sharon's adventure nearly killed them both. It was a literal nightmare for both of them.

"But at least we're still here!" Shannon said. "We don't have to let that day haunt us, let's move on with our lives!"

Sharon smiled, knowing that he was thinking the same thing as her. But she couldn't forget that event no matter how hard she tried. It was locked in her memory forever.

"The battle is over!" Gina said through her microphone. "The winner is Jessica of Sandgem Town!"

Sharon was happy that she got through with her new Finneon, but she knew she had a long way to go before she got to her level. She still hoped for the best from her. Jessica headed back into the contest lobby to tell Rain about her victory over Hank, but she saw him smiling as he watched something across from him.

"Rain, I won!" she said.

Rain shushed her and pointed to the crowd that was enjoying their time with Kodou, the Gligar. Jessica wondered how this all happened.

"You're so adorable!" one of the girls said. "You watch the Super Pokefriends?"

"Oh yeah! Longshot's my favorite out of the bunch! His power is so cool!"

"Oh, he's my idol!"

Jessica was still confused by his situation, much less his fondness for the Super Pokefriends. They soon announced Armando's battle with Tiffany which was coming up next. She hoped he wasn't too strong to battle against, since she didn't want another loss this early in the game.

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Donovan was in the lobby of the Hotel Grand Lake, making a phone call to Professor Rowan of Sinnoh. Perhaps he had some information on Darkrai, or so Donovan thought. He got in contact with him as he saw his face on the monitor in front of him.

"Hello?" Professor Rowan said. "Who is this?"

"My name is Donovan of the Sinnoh Police Department. I'm here about the Pokémon I want you to give me information on."

"Oh, of course! I'm happy to serve anyone, officer."

"All right. Now, do you know of a Pokémon named Darkrai."

"Only in legends, but I've never had any photos of him in physical form."

"What about Cresselia?"

Professor Rowan was intrigued when he heard the name Cresselia. He went closer to the screen in joy.

"I just added her months ago!" Professor Rowan said excitedly. "I was so excited to finally get her entry on the Pokédex before I gave it to Rain and Jessica! Oh, apologies, I was rambling on. Those were the two I set off on a journey."

"I'm aware of that," Donovan said. "I'm actually traveling with them."

"Oh, really! How are they doing?"

"Well...Rain has three badges for the Sinnoh League, and Jessica has two for the Grand Festival. Each of them have caught three Pokémon so far."

"What marvelous work they're doing! I can't wait to see them!"

"Anyway, can you give me information on Cresselia or Darkrai?"

"Well, I don't really have anything to give the information to. My computer's going haywire and I can't really check right now. Rain should have the information on Cresselia right now."

Donovan looked behind him to see Ketsui, Rain's usual rival, talking to some mafia members sent by his father.

"Is there something wrong?" Professor Rowan asked.

"No, it's nothing...Look, I have to go. Can we pick up on this another time?"

"Of course. Sorry if you're in a rush."

"No, it's all right."

"Well, tell Rain and Jessica I said hello! Goodbye, Officer!"

Professor Rowan hung up, leaving Donovan to do the same. He looked back at the mafia members as they watched Ketsui walked off. He wondered what that was all about, but as long as they weren't going to be violent. The mafia members left as well, leaving Donovan to take his leave as he returned to Rain.

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Jessica and Armando were the next two to face off in the final round. Each of them were doing fabulous so far, but only one of them could take the coveted Valor Lakefront Ribbon and become one step closer to the Grand Festival.

"Ready?!" Gina said. "And begin!"

"Go, Prinplup!" Jessica said, throwing out her Poké Ball.

"Let's make some magic, Smeargle!" Armando said, sending his Poké Ball out.

Both Pokémon appeared from their respective trainer's Poké Balls as they were ready to battle.

"Prinplup, use BubbleBeam!"

Prinplup fired a Bubblebeam, but Armando had other plans in mind.

"Sketched Thunderbolt!" Armando ordered.

Smeargle charged up electricity and fired it at Prinplup, going through the bubblebeam and striking Prinplup hard.

"Prinplup, go forward!" Jessica said. "I have to at make this work!"

Prinplup charged forward to strike against Smeargle, but one again, Armando knew how to handle this.

"Sketched Thunderbolt, once more!" he ordered.

"Rip through with Metal Claw!" Jessica ordered as well.

Smeargle fired a Thunderbolt, but Prinplup cut through the bolt with her glowing fin, like a knife through butter. Armando was surprised, but Rain, who was watching through the lobby with Manny, was not. Both he and Manny were the ones who trained her to use Metal Claw like that.

"I guess that training paid off, huh?" Rain said.

"Yeah," Manny replied. "Now we just have to let Jessica finish it up with what I taught her."

"What you taught her?"

Prinplup struck Smeargle hard as he was sent back a lot from the strong force of the Metal Claw.

"Sketched Magical Leaf!" Armando ordered.

Smeargle fired a Magical Leaf attack towards Prinplup, which struck her hard from the type disadvantage.

"He's got so many attacks that just surprise Jessica," Rain thought, "it makes me wonder how far she can go before she loses!"

"Sketched Thunderbolt!" Armando ordered.

Smeargle prepared its attack, but it wasn't until Jessica decided to use her secret move.

"Prinplup, use Brine!"

Prinplup slammed the ground and shot numerous water pillars, one after the other in a straight line towards Smeargle. Smeargle fired the Thunderbolt, but it hit the brine that was closest to it and struck Smeargle, electrocuting it as well. Smeargle fell to the ground. Prinplup shook her fins, but Smeargle slowly got up, not ready to back down.

"Now that both of them are even in points," Gina said, "what's Armando going to do to get back at them?!"

"Smeargle, sketched Solarbeam!" Armando ordered.

Smeargle prepared for a powerful solar blast, and since they were out in the sunlight, Smeargle was going to launch it quicker than the norm.

"Brine, quick!" Jessica ordered.

There were only 30 seconds left on the clock. Both Pokémon fired their respective attacks, with Smeargle's beam going straight towards Prinplup, hitting it hard. Smeargle wasn't safe yet, since the brine hit it as well. And since the beam fired from his mouth, and he looked down as the attack hit it, the blast exploded on the ground, damaging it hard, as well as Prinplup who took the full brunt of the attack. Both Pokémon fell to the ground as the buzzer timed out. They all looked up to see that Jessica was leading in points, but it wasn't over yet.

"Jessica won!" Rain cheered.

"No she didn't," Manny replied. Rain looked up at him, wondering what he meant. "Both Pokémon are so weak, they could fall at any second. Even if Jessica was leading, if Prinplup was knocked out, she would lose the match!"

Prinplup was struggling to get up and so was Smeargle, but both of them were at their limits. Prinplup suddenly fell to the ground hard, leaving Jessica stunned. The buzzer rings on the main board, but to everyone's surprise, Armano was marked with the big fat X over his picture.

"What's this?!?!" Armando looked at Smeargle, who was out long before Prinplup fell, staring in shock at his surprise loss.

"What a surprise ending. After all that, the winner is Jessica from Sandgem Town!"

Jessica went over to Prinplup, who could barely move after that. She returned her to her Poké Ball, leaving Jessica to smile at her success. The secret move Manny taught her paid off well, but she felt she could have done better.

"That was an exciting match, I will admit," Armando said, walking up to her. "Though I must be like you, not wanting our match to end that way."

"Will you..." Jessica said nervously, "Will you be in the Grand Festival?"

"Of course. Let's both go far."

Armando and Jessica both shook hands, leaving the crowd to cheer happily. Soon after, Jessica was awarded the Valor Ribbon, a blue ribbon with two straps, plus a middle strap going across, leaving her to accept it gracefully. The contest was finally over and everyone was satisfied.

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The gang finally decided to head off to Pastoria City to meet Rain's father at the lab, but the crowd who was obsessed with Kodou in his Gligar form was waving goodbye and cheering for him.

"Bye ladies!!!" Kodou called out happily. "I'll see you again someday!"

Kodou was riding on Rain's back, despite him stabbing him before. He turned away from them, looking ahead, and sighed happily.

"That was so much fun," Kodou said. "I never want to be human again."

"Well, you'll have to give in sooner or later." Rain said.

"I mean think about it. Pokémon have such a better life than I do!"

"Well, your Pokémon are inside of you," Manny said.

Kodou didn't realize that until now. He cried on Rain's shoulder, while the gang sort of felt bad for him, but it was time to move on. The Eidoh Labs awaited them and so was Rain's father, Jun Eidoh. It was going to be a happy reunion, but there was also someone else waiting for them as well. The Gym Leader of Pastoria City!


To Be Continued!