Aquadome Contest

Today the gang arrived on Aquadome Island. The island got it's name because it was famous for it's many swimming pools and saunas and outdoor baths for tourists and a lot of water type Pokemon lived around the island. May of course wanted to check out the saunas, but the boys had to remind her why they came to Aquadome Island in the first place. There was a Pokemon contest going on today, so the gang didn't have time to go to the pools or saunas until after the contest.

When the gang entered the contest hall, there was a surprise waiting for them. Robert, the Pokemon coordinator the gang met back in Slateport City was there.

"Hey Robert, it's been a while." Ash said.

"It certainly has Ash." Robert agreed that it had been a long time. "Are you going to enter the Pokemon contest here?"

"Yes May and I are." Ash answered.

"Well I hope that I get to battle you again Ash." Robert said.

Robert had hoped to face Ash again ever since their battle at the Slateport Contest. The gang found out Robert had four ribbons and only needed one more for the Grand Festival.

"It's not going to be easy to defeat Robert." May pointed out. "I remember how strong he was back at the Slateport contest."

"So do I." Ash added. "But I've been training in the event I face him again and the Pokemon I'll be using in this contest will defeat Robert."

"What Pokemon are you going to use Ash?" Brock asked.

"It's a surprise." Ash smiled.

Soon the contest was about to begin. Tomo, Growlithe, Brock and Max were in the stands while Ash and May were in the waiting room. Vivian did the normal introductions and showed off the Aquadome Ribbon. The Aquadome Ribbon was aqua green with white bubble-shaped patterns and an aqua blue outline.

Robert went first in the appeal rounds. Instead of Milotic, he used a black Pokemon that resembled a mud statue. This Pokemon was a Claydol, a ground/psychic type Pokemon.

"Wow, what a Pokemon." Max said.

Tomo looked Claydol up on the Pokedex.

"Claydol, the Clay Doll Pokemon and the evolved form of Baltoy. Claydol are said to be dolls of mud made by primitive humans and brought to life by exposure to a mysterious ray. This Pokemon moves about by levitating."

Robert told his Claydol to start off with Sandstorm and then he ordered Claydol to use Rapid Spin. The spinning swirled the sand around.

"Now use Psychic Claydol." Robert said.

While using Psychic, Claydol rose into the air raising the sandy whirlpool as well and then Claydol made it look like a statue on top of a sandy fountain. The audience loved it and the judges thought it was very clever. Robert received a score of 30.0.

"Robert is very good at this." Tomo said.

"You're right." Brock agreed. "I think Robert has what it takes to become a top coordinator."

"I hope May and Ash will be alright when they have to battle him." Max said.

Soon it was May's turn. This time she was using her Marill.

"Okay Marill let's start off with Bubble Beam." May said.

Marill shot out a stream of blue bubbles.

"Now use Bounce." Marill started jumping around in between the bubbles and popping them. This was showing off Marill's adorableness.

"Okay now finish it with Aqua Tail." Marill's tail glowed blue and then Marill spun her tail around and water spiraled around it.

To finish it off, Marill hit the ground with Aqua Tail and then struck a finishing pose. The audience liked the performance and so did the judges. May received a score of 28.9.

"May's getting better at being a coordinator every time." Tomo said.

"You're right, and that's because of all the new things she's learned from previous contests." Brock pointed out.

Ash was last. To everyone's surprise, he was using Latias this time. The audience and the judges were surprised to see a Latias, and the coordinators in the waiting room were surprised to know Ash had a Latias.

"Okay Latias fire a Mist Ball and then use Dragon Claw." Ash said.

Latias fired a ball of mist into the air and then slashed it with Dragon Claw. A mist started to cover the area.

"Now use Safeguard and fly around." Ash said.

Latias glowed light blue and then she started to fly around in the mist. It was like watching a mysterious creature roaming around in the mist. Then the mist cleared and Ash and Latias did a finishing pose together. The audience loved it, especially the judges. To them it was like seeing the mysterious side of a dragon type Pokemon. Ash received a score of 30.0.

In the waiting room Robert spoke with Ash.

"I can't believe that you have a Latias Ash." He said.

"I also have a Latios too." Ash smiled. "I caught them sometime before I started my journey in Hoenn."

Ash had no intention of saying what happened in Alto Mare; he promised Bianca and Lorenzo that it would keep it a secret.

"Why did you decide to use Latias Ash?" May asked.

"Well Prof. Oak told me that he and Tracey had been watching the Pokemon contests on TV and Latias ended up watching them too." Ash said. "And because of that Latias was desperate to participate in one. So that's why I decided to use her."

"Got it." May said.

Just then the results for the battle round were up. It was eight trainers that could enter the battle rounds and Robert, Ash and May were three of them.

"Ash, May I look forward to getting to battle any of you." Robert said.

"Same with me." Ash replied.

"And me." May added.

Ash, May and Robert easily defeated their opponents in the top 8, but when it came to the top 4 Ash had to battle Robert while May faced another opponent. May was worried about Ash because Robert defeated him at the Slateport Contest. But Ash told her not to worry because he believed Latias could defeat Robert's Claydol.

It was now time for Ash and Robert to battle and Latias and Claydol were ready to fight.

"Latias let's start off with Dragon Pulse." Ash said.

Latias fired a Dragon Pulse at Claydol.

"Counter that with Hyper Beam Claydol." Robert said.

Dragon Pulse and Hyper Beam collided and exploded.

"Use Sandstorm Claydol." Robert said.

Claydol started to cover the battlefield with sand. Ash smiled, knowing what to do in a situation like this.

"Rain Dance Latias." Ash said.

Latias made it rain and Claydol's Sandstorm disappeared.

"Claydol is in trouble now." Brock told Tomo and Max.

"Yeah because Rain Dance powers up water type moves and Latias knows some water type moves." Tomo said.

"And Claydol is a ground/psychic type Pokemon so water is one of it's weaknesses." Max said.

Brock was right about Claydol being in trouble; Ash commanded Latias to use Water Pulse and it hit Claydol dead on. Claydol fainted on the spot. So Ash was the winner of this battle round. Robert congratulated him.

"Your Latias is a powerful Pokemon Ash." He said. "And I hope I will get to battle your Latios someday too."

May was defeated by her opponent, a boy named Trevor, because he used a Breloom. Breloom was a grass/fighting type Pokemon so Marill was easily defeated by it's grass type moves. When Trevor battled Ash, his Breloom was quickly taken out by Latias' Mist Ball. Mist Ball was a psychic type move so it was 2x effective against Breloom. So Ash was the winner of the Aquadome Contest and the Aquadome Ribbon. This was now Ash's fourth ribbon and he only needed one more for the Grand Festival.

When the contest ended, the gang hung out at a sauna to relax.

"Finally a relaxing evening." May said. She was enjoying the sauna. "After I'm done with this sauna I'll get into a nice bath next."

"Just try not to faint May." Max teased.

Ash was happy to have a fourth contest ribbon and he hoped to earn his fifth ribbon in the next Pokemon contest.