"The Slateport City Pokémon Contest is reaching its grand climax!"
"Who will emerge victorious and claim the coveted Ribbon? Let's find out!"
Vivian's electrified voice echoed through the stadium, swirling above the cheering crowd.
On the edge of the stage, Kashiwagi and Dawn stood side by side, sharing a quiet conversation while the announcer finished the introductions.
"We finally made it this far," Dawn said softly, a determined smile on her face. "Great job getting here."
"You too," Kashiwagi replied. "You worked hard."
"I've really been looking forward to this match."
"Because you can finally go all out without holding back?"
"Exactly!"
"Then I won't disappoint you. I'm taking that Ribbon home."
"Not if I take it first!"
The two locked eyes, sparks of competitive spirit flying between them. At Vivian's signal, they turned and marched toward their respective command zones.
On the massive jumbotron, their portraits flashed onto the screen alongside the circular point gauges.
"Round Three, Match One—The Finals! Time limit is five minutes. No pauses, no timeouts. Let the battle begin!"
Ding!
The countdown started. In perfect unison, Kashiwagi and Dawn threw their Poké Balls forward.
Pop!
Pop!
"Piplup-pip!"
Piplup burst onto the stage amidst a flurry of translucent bubbles, flapping his tiny wings with adorable energy.
However, the moment he spotted his opponent—the elegant, poised Mawile descending through a shower of flower petals—his entire expression froze.
Even though he had prepared himself mentally, the reality of the situation was a lot for the little penguin to handle.
For the first time, I found a Pokémon I truly loved.
I had my Trainer's full support.
Two joys overlapped, creating a world of happiness... It should have been a dream come true.
So... why did it turn out like this?!
Piplup was forced to choose between his crush and his soulmate/Trainer.
The answer, of course, was already clear.
Farewell, my love! Let it scatter in the wind!
With tears pricking the corners of his eyes, Piplup gritted his teeth and clenched his wings into tiny fists.
He would turn every ounce of his heartbreak into raw power to defeat the goddess of his dreams.
"Piplup, dodge it!" Dawn shouted suddenly.
Piplup snapped out of it just in time to see a black blur streaking toward him. It was Mawile, propelled by an explosive burst of speed that defied belief.
"What incredible acceleration!" Vivian cried out. "Mawile is moving so fast she's practically a blur!"
"Piplup!"
Startled but experienced, Piplup didn't panic.
He leaped into the air instinctively!
Whoosh!
Using a mid-air spin, he narrowly avoided Mawile's frontal assault.
This graceful evasion caused Kashiwagi's point bar to take the first hit.
Kashiwagi, however, didn't look disappointed.
Instead, a "just as planned" smirk played on his lips.
"We're spinning too! Thunder—"
Before he could even finish the command, Mawile performed a forward flip, touching the ground with her toes.
Using the massive weight of her iron horns as a pivot, she whipped into a violent spin, chasing after the retreating Piplup!
Electric sparks danced across her body, channeling rapidly into her Great Jaw.
"Bubble Beam!"
"Piplup!"
Landing on the ground, Piplup opened his beak and unleashed a torrent of shimmering blue bubbles to halt the charge.
But Mawile was spinning too fast; the bubbles were pulverized by her electrified horns, turning into a cloud of sparkling mist.
Dawn's score began to drop, but Mawile wasn't done yet.
The terrifying Great Jaw snapped open like a blooming metal flower.
High-voltage electricity leaped between its jagged white teeth, humming with intimidating energy.
"Dodge again!" Dawn called out, keeping her cool.
One advantage of being small is agility. Piplup was a tiny target, meaning Mawile had to be incredibly precise. Unless the move had a wide area of effect, Piplup was hard to hit.
"Piplup-pip!"
Piplup leaped forward again, attempting to graze past the sparking jaws. The giant mouth slammed into the ground right where he had been a split second ago.
He had escaped by a hair's breadth!
He hadn't even had time to breathe a sigh of relief—or give his "goddess" a cool look—when a tiny, fist-shaped ball of concentrated lightning surged toward his face.
Mawile had been waiting for him.
She swung a Thunder Punch with such perfect timing it looked like they had rehearsed the collision a thousand times.
BOOM!
CRACKLE!
"PIPLUUUUP—!"
With a cry of pain, Piplup was sent flying sideways. Electricity coiled around his body like dancing silver snakes, illuminating the stage.
"Piplup!"
Dawn's face finally showed a trace of panic.
Fortunately, Piplup was far more durable than his species stats suggested.
Plus, his Defiant ability meant he wasn't going down that easily, and he managed to scramble back to his feet.
"P-Piplup!"
"What a masterful display by the Deceiver Pokémon!"
Vivian shouted over the roar of the crowd.
"Mawile used Magnet Rise and her Great Jaw as a distraction to hide her true intent: a point-blank Thunder Punch! A truly effective offensive maneuver!"
Dawn's points plummeted, stopping only after she had lost a full third of her bar. The judges were clearly impressed by Mawile's cunning.
"It's okay, Piplup! The battle is just getting started!"
Dawn cheered him on.
"Whirlpool!"
"Piplup!"
The penguin raised his wings, his body glowing with a brilliant blue aura. As Mawile lunged again, he conjured a massive, turbulent vortex of water and hurled it forward!
ROAR—!
The water crashed and churned with a deafening sound.
"Charge through it! Icy Wind!" Kashiwagi commanded.
Mawile didn't hesitate. She began to spin again, generating a frigid gale that slammed into the Whirlpool.
The freezing energy turned the swirling water into a massive ice sculpture in seconds—only for the spinning Mawile to shatter it instantly!
SHATTER!
The ice sculpture exploded into a million shimmering diamonds, raining down across the stage in a breathtaking display.
Seeing her Whirlpool neutralized, a sudden smile broke across Dawn's face. "Now! Piplup, Blizzard!"
"Piplup!"
In that instant, Piplup opened his beak and flapped his wings frantically.
The ice crystals lingering in the air were caught in the draft, merging into a literal white-out of snow and frost that engulfed Mawile!
Even with her momentum, Mawile couldn't break through the sheer force of the storm. She was frozen solid in mid-air!
"Liquidation!"
Dawn pressed the advantage. Piplup leaped into the air, encasing himself in a spiraling torrent of water, and slammed directly into the frozen Mawile!
CRASH!
Ice shattered, water sprayed!
"Piplup-pip!"
Piplup landed gracefully, looking like he was dancing.
The combination of water and ice created a glittering mist that sparkled around him as the groaning Mawile tumbled to the floor.
On the big screen, Kashiwagi's score took a massive hit, dropping by nearly a third!
Dawn's counterattack had been so stylish and effective that the scores were now almost neck-and-neck!