Hearthome Collection

Today the gang came back to Hearthome City. Ash and Tomo were hoping they could battle the gym leader. But when they got to the gym they saw it was still closed.

"Oh come on!" Ash whined. "We haven't been here for a while and the gym is still closed."

"Do excuse me Brock." Tomo said. "But didn't you tell me gym leaders weren't allowed to leave their gyms for too long?"

"They're not really." Brock said. "I guess the gym leader must have gotten special permission from the PIA system to leave the gym this long."

Just then a limo came up and a lady with a Lopunny emerged from it.

"Hello there." The lady said. "Are you trainers looking for the gym leader?"

"We are Ma'am." Ash said.

"I am sorry, but the gym leader Fantina is still not back. She's out training to find another way to battle."

Ash and Tomo were still disappointed.

"I can't believe she is standing in front of us." Dawn said.

"You know that woman Dawn?" Tomo asked.

"What you don't know?" Dawn said.

"Dawn, Tomo and I aren't from the Sinnoh Region." Ash reminded her.

"Sorry." Dawn sheepishly apologized. "Her name is Paris and she is a Poke stylist."

"A Poke stylist is somebody who sketches and designs clothing and accessories for Pokemon." She had a magazine about Paris and showed it to the boys.

Suddenly Dawn's Buneary who had been out of the Poke Ball bounced over to Lopunny to say hello. Lopunny said hello back to Buneary.

"Oh tres bien what an adorable Buneary." Paris said.

"Thank you. Buneary is mine and my name is Dawn." Dawn said.

"Are you by any chance a coordinator Dawn?" Paris asked.

"Yes and I'm aiming for the top." Dawn answered.

"Well Dawn, the Hearthome Collection is tomorrow so you and Buneary should sign up." Paris said.

"The Hearthome Collection is a fashion show where people get to model themselves and their Pokemon with their own designs." She explained.

Dawn and Buneary loved the idea of competing in that since the two loved to dress up.

"The winner will receive the chance to work on the Poke Chic campaign photo shoot." She continued her explanation.

Dawn definitely decided to enter the Hearthome Collection after hearing that.

"Ash, you should enter with Pikachu." Paris insisted. She thought Pikachu was adorable.

He wasn't too interested in participating as he wasn't into fashion, but with nothing else to do he wasn't able to refuse.

Ash and Dawn signed up for the Hearthome Collection right away at the Pokemon Center. Suddenly there was a commotion. A beautiful blond-haired lady walked into the Pokemon Center. Her name was Lady Cocoa and she was a famous Poke stylist in Hearthome City who had famous designers working for her. Unfortunately she had a very snobbish, rude and spiteful attitude.

"Keep your filthy paws off." She rudely told Buneary.

The gang didn't like her, especially Dawn.

"That Lady Cocoa's fashion is just plain gaudy, though she does have a lot of Poke stylist's secrets up her sleeves." A voice said.

The voice was from a lady wearing brown glasses.

"Excuse me, but what is one of Cocoa's secrets?" Dawn asked.

"That is something for you to find out." The woman said. "You are a coordinator right? Poke stylists and coordinators are the same."

*That night...*

Dawn and Ash were preparing for tomorrow. Ash had come up for an idea with a design for him and Pikachu. Brock was fixing up the costumes as Ash didn't know how to sew. Dawn had no idea what to do; she had drawn some good designs, but they didn't feel right to her. But then she remembered what the woman said and what Zoey told her about Pokemon being stars of the show.

"That's it." She said, returning to drawing.

*The next day...*

It was time for the Hearthome Collection. The mayor of Hearthome City was the announcer of the collection. The two judges were Paris and Hermione. Hermione was the woman from yesterday and she was a famous Poke stylist and the editor-in-chief of the Poke Chic fashion magazine. The contestants came one by one. First there was a lady dressed like her Bellossom and they both had matching purple flower hats and dangling jewels. Next was a man and his Magikarp wearing matching jewels. Next came a lady wearing a green dress and both her and her Chikorita wore matching jewels. Then came a man and his Toxicroak wearing spikes on their shoulders and around their wrists. Then a woman wearing a green dress and both her and her Roselia wore matching flowers. Then came a woman and her Arcanine wearing matching jewelry. Hermione, being a critical weapon, thought this was boring because none of the designs were standing out. Next came Ash and Pikachu. Ash was wearing a lightning striped kilt that reached his knees with a matching shawl around his neck, bracelets around the bottom of his legs and around his wrists, a white shawl and a blue wig on with horns protruding from it. Pikachu wore exactly the same thing, but he wore a red wig instead of a blue one and had a drum on his back. They were like Fujin and Raijin the gods of wind and thunder.

"Okay Pikachu, you are the god of thunder." Ash said.

Pikachu jumped onto the stage and used his tail to bang on the drum on his back. Then he let out some electricity. Hermione wasn't keen on the outfits but was glad Ash was able to show Pikachu off. Next came Lady Cocoa with her Pokemon Mismagius. Lady Cocoa was wearing a pink-red dress with white collars and gloves, and her Mismagius was wearing a red dress with lots of long white ribbons. When Mismagius got onto the stage, the ribbons unveiled while it floated into the air. Then Mismagius used Psywave to create rainbows on the ribbons. The audience loved it, but Hermione wasn't convinced. Last of all came Dawn. Dawn was wearing a light blue dress with matching shoes, a yellow bow and a blue necklace with her hair down. Buneary was wearing the same thing but without the shoes.

"Buneary, you are a snow spirit on a white mountain of snow." Dawn said.

Buneary jumped onto the stage and created some glaciers with her Ice Beam attack. Then Buneary began jumping around like a playful spirit. Not only did Paris and the audience like it, but Hermione liked it as well.

After the contests presented their designs it was time for the judging. The mayor explained only three contestants will be in the finals and among those three will be chosen who wins what. There was a prize for 1st, 2nd and 3rd. The three finalists turned out to be Ash, Lady Cocoa and Dawn. Ash came in 3rd place earning the unique award for originality. Paris revealed who the winner was and she declared Dawn and Buneary to be the winners. Lady Cocoa was not happy with this decision.

"How come I didn't win?" She asked.

"The only thing that stood out was your dress and accessories, not you and Mismagius." Hermione explained.

As Cocoa came in second place, she earned the accessories award for best accessories.

Both Paris and Hermione were happy with how Dawn showed off her Buneary and plain style. Dawn and Buneary were given beautiful silver tiaras as their prizes.

"I hope I will be working with you on my next Poke Chic fashion magazine." Hermione said.

"Thanks Hermione." Dawn said. "But my goal is to become top coordinator. And I still have a lot of work to do with my Pokemon."

Dawn didn't want to switch her goals just yet. Hermione understood this and hoped Dawn will always shine with her Pokemon.

So the Hearthome Collection had come to a end and Dawn was happy with her victory. It certainly taught her some new experiences as a coordinator.