GC074

==Synopsis==
Rachel fumbles on stage when she has to rely on herself.
==Summary==
Rachel cannot figure out an appeal for Marshtomp on her own. She already registered him and cannot substitute for Minun, Jigglypuff, or Skitty, and she would not have an appeal for them either. Rachel needs Justin's help, but he will not give it to her. Andre looks from afar confused. 
When it's time for the Contest, Andre is among the early performers. He calls on Chinchou. Andre reveals his favorite style of performance is the use of light. Chinchou illuminates beautifully with Charge while gathering electricity. After holding the Charge, Chinchou releases the electricuty in a burst with Discharge to create a beautiful sparkling show. The appeal is met with stellar applause. 
Eventually, Rachel competes. She calms and calls on Marshtomp. Rachel opts for an older appeal combination of Rock Throw and Water Gun. However, instead of Water Gun, Marshtomp produces a Mud Shot. He "forgot" Water Gun upon evolution. While there is a sparkle, only a few rocks are destroyed as Marshtomp has not practiced the accuracy or strength his new move, and some oose mud still falls onto the stage. 
When the appeal stage concludes, Andre advances to the battle rounds in second place, but Rachel is eliminated. She is very upset and blames Justin for not helping her. Andre overhears their argument. He is disappointed. 
Rachel leaves to pout, but Justin watches the end of the Rubello Contest where Andre and Chinchou emerge victorious with a light strategy of Charge, Confuse Ray, Discharge, and Spark. 
After the contest, Rachel still does not want to talk to Justin. She accuses him of abandoning her. Justin says he left Rachel to figure out an appeal for herself for a similar reason he left his Johto Pokemon at home. Justin left his Johto Pokemon at home. Rachel has come so far with her Pokemon and learned so much; now she needs to figure out appeals on her own instead of relying on him every time. 
Before Justin can finish, Andre reveals he had been listening to the conversation, having wanted to confront Rachel on her lackluster performance with Marshtomp. As a fan and fellow coordinator, Andre wanted to encourage Rachel because they all know as coordinators that their appeals can fail or make mistakes. However, he is deeply disillusioned and disappointed to learn that Justin is the one who comes up with all of Rachel's appeals. Andre accuses Rachel of plagiarism and winning ribbons on Justin's efforts and ideas. Even more so, Rachel did not even know her own Marshtomp had learned a brand new move under her nose. He calls Rachel a fraud and leaves, hoping she does not make it to the Grand Festival. Disappointed that Andre's words may be true, Rachel is silent. 
Justin sighs and apologizes to Rachel for not fully explaining why he left her to fend for herself, which is the exact opposite of what a mentor should do. Justin refers to his own experiences in battle where he has to rely only on himself and his Pokemon to win, but most importantly his experiences. He hoped Rachel would use her past experiences to develop her own appeal. Justin still believes Rachel needs to come up with her own appeals some day, but leaving her stranded with absolutely no warning and only two days to prepare was a very bad move on his part.
Rachel gathers her thoughts to say Justin and Andre are both right. She thinks back to her flawless Verdanturf victory, and maximizing Jigglypuff's vocal abilities was Justin's idea. In addition, Justin motivated her to use Minun when Minun learned Encore, which led to Rachel to victory in Fallarbor.
Rachel apologizes for her behavior and asks Justin that they change the dynamic of their mentoring relationship. Rachel agrees that she start coming up with her own appeals but Justin can act as an impartial judge before she goes on stage while still giving tips, training, and advice along the way to improve her appeals. Justin agrees to the changes and the friends reconcile.
==Major Events==
*Rachel and Andre enter the Rubello Contest
*Rachel's Marshtomp is revealed to have learned Mud Shot upon evolution
*Rachel loses on the Appeal Stage for the second time
*Andrew wins the Rubello Contest for his third Hoenn Ribbon
For a list of all major events in this anime, please see Major Events (Grand Conquest). 
==Characters==
===Humans===
*Justin
*Rachel
*Andre
*Nurse Joy
*Judges
*Coordinators
*Civilians
*Audience
===Pokemon===
*Eevee (Justin's)
*Plusle (Justin's)
*Marshtomp (Rachel's)
*Minun (Rachel's)
*Skitty (Rachel's)
*Chinchou (Andre's)
*Emolga
*Delcatty
*Swellow
*Vibrava
*Chimecho
Category:Grand Conquest
Category:Episodes with Contests