Dark Contest

Today the gang arrived in the location of the next Pokemon contest. To Ash's surprise it was in Dark City.

"It's amazing that Dark City has a Pokemon contest hall." He said. "I mean the last time we were here the people didn't want anything to do with Pokemon."

"Yes, but that incident has been over for the last few years now so the people must have gotten over it by this point." Brock said.

"What incident?" May asked.

Ash, Tomo and Brock told May and Max about the gang war between Kaz and Yas and how they caused a lot of trouble in Dark City.

"Wait so Yas and Kaz went to war in this town just because one of them wanted to be a gym leader?" Max asked in disbelief.

"That's right." Brock nodded. "And because of that the people in this city became scared of Pokemon trainers."

"But thanks to us and this city's Nurse Joy we were able to stop them, and now Dark City is a peaceful place again." Tomo said.

"And Yas and Kaz repaired all the damage they did and stopped quarreling." Ash finished.

May and Max were amazed by this.

Suddenly the kids who Ash, Brock and Tomo met before ran up to the gang.

"Hey Ash, Brock, Tomo." One of the kids said.

"Hey kids." Ash said. "How have all of you been?"

The kids explained that they had just become Pokemon trainers and they had a starter Pokemon. One of them had a Bulbasaur, the second a Charmander and the third a Squirtle.

"Wow so you kids are trainers now." Brock said. "And I'm glad to still this city is still at peace."

The boys explained that Yas and Kaz abandoned their plans to become gym leaders and they decided to become builders with their Pokemon after they repaired Dark City.

"Well since they did a good job of rebuilding Dark City, I think that job suits them better than being gym leaders." Brock said.

The kids led the gang to the Pokemon contest hall. The hall was just outside the city and the building was made out of wood like the other buildings in the city.

"When did they build the contest hall here?" Brock asked.

"About a year ago." The kids said. "At first we weren't sure about having a Pokemon contest hall here because of what happened with Yas and Kaz."

"But after we learned what Pokemon contests were, we agreed to let it be built because they were nothing like Pokemon gyms." Another kid said.

"It's true, they're nothing like Pokemon gyms at all." Ash agreed. "And this is something Yas and Kaz won't fight over."

"Absolutely." Brock agreed.

Ash and May signed up to enter the Pokemon contest, but they weren't the only ones. Harley was there. When he saw the gang he tried his usual fake welcome, but the gang ignored him. Harley was thinking in his mind that today's contest will be the chance to defeat May and Ash. He still had the desire to defeat them. It was clear to Ash and May that they would have to face Harley again, but they weren't going to let him win that easily.

Soon it was time for the Pokemon contest. Lillian did the usual introductions and showed off the Dark Ribbon. The ribbon was brown with a light brown outline and it was a bow ribbon like you see on presents. The kids were sitting in the audience with Brock, Tomo and Max.

"Have you kids been watching the contests ever since this hall was built?" Brock asked.

"Yes we love watching them." One of the kids answered.

"We especially love to see the cool tricks the Pokemon do." Another kid said.

It made Brock happy to know that the people in Dark City liked Pokemon and Pokemon trainers now.

The appeal rounds soon began and Ash was up first. He called out Golduck and told him to use Bubble Beam. After Golduck blew bubbles he burst them with Mega Punch and then fired a Hydro Pump in the air. So Ash was mostly showing off Golduck's water type moves and punches. Next it was May's turn and she used her Combusken for the appeal rounds using Fire Spin and Sky Uppercut. Later it was Harley's turn and he used his Banette, doing the usual scary Will-O-Wisp and Scary Face combination. After the appeal rounds were finished the board showed four trainers who made it to the battle rounds. Ash, May and Harley were three of them. The kids were enjoying themselves watching the contest; this was better than when they saw Yas and Kaz fighting each other a couple of years ago.

When the battle rounds started, Ash had to face Harley first. Harley saw this as a good chance for him to beat Ash. He also had a new Pokemon, a Octillery. Ash's choice for the battle rounds was his Venomoth. Harley, being cocky and all, was convinced that his Octillery will triumph over Ash's bug type Pokemon especially since his Octillery knew Fire Blast. But Ash's Venomoth knew Protect and she didn't get hit by Fire Blast. Venomoth had another surprise for Harley's Octillery; she knew the grass type move Energy Ball. Thanks to Energy Ball, Harley's Octillery was defeated. Harley suffered defeat at Ash's hands, which of course made him mad and he left the contest hall in a huff.

After Ash's victory May was battling her opponent with her Butterfree. May's Butterfree had been training under Ash's Butterfree and gained a lot of experience. After using Psybeam on the opponent's Poliwhirl May won the battle and had to face Ash in the last round. To Max this reminded him of the time Chaz and Janet faced each other with their Venomoth and Beautifly, but of course with May using Butterfree. Brock and Tomo remembered that too. May's Butterfree put up a good fight against Venomoth with the moves Gust, Psybeam and Silver Wind. But Ash's Venomoth proved to be stronger with the moves Air Cutter, Sludge Bomb and Psybeam eventually defeating Butterfree. So Ash was the winner of the Dark City contest and won the Dark Ribbon, making this his fourth ribbon.

After the contest was over, the gang had dinner at the restaurant they visited before and the restaurant owner was happy to see Ash, Brock and Tomo again. The kids kept on telling Ash and May that their Pokemon were awesome and congratulated Ash for his victory. So today proved to the gang that Dark City was not a gang fighting city anymore and the people of the city accepted Pokemon trainers and Pokemon again.