“Y’know, if you’d like I’d be more than happy to design some kind of outfit for your Pokémon that really lets those ribbons stand out. I can even put some kind of case in it so the ribbon stays protected.”
“Thanks but no thanks. I don’t let others design outfits for my Pokémon. Nothing personal, I’m sure you understand.” He waved his hand at her to emphasize that she didn’t need to do that. Outfit designs for his Pokémon were only ever going to be done by him or, if at all, his master. Though who knows if Wallace even did that as often as Ruby.
“Yeah. I never heard of the Pokémon actually wearing the ribbons…” she admitted. It was a strange prospect, no doubt. “I would get some kind of case for your ribbons. Oh! And you can make a sticker or something to put in the slot for which Pokémon won the ribbon!”
“Not a bad idea… I guess that could be something I can get on the side for later. I’ll looking into it. But really, you should let your Pokémon wear the ribb0ns every now and then. They can really bring out some cute features if you can pull it off right.” It seemed like the two of them were just going to try and exchange ideas for their ribbons now.
“I don’t know how you guys do contests, but at least in the Sinnoh Region we don’t have categories. And we don’t have the Pokémon who won the contest wear the ribbon. We keep our ribbons in a case, much like trainers do for Gym Badges.” she informed him. This was peculiar. Were things really that different?
“The Wallace Cup is a special tournament for coordinators, and some of them even use it as practice for the Grand Festival. It changes every year. Anyways, we also don’t have categories for ribbons. We award ribbons based on location. See. I have the Floaroma Ribbon, the Jubilife Ribbon, the Hearthome Ribbon, the Celestic Ribbon, and the Aqua Ribbon from the Wallace Cup.”
“Well… I think Master has a few questions to answer when I see him again.” Ruby wasn’t sure about a ribbon case, or any of those other ribbons, but it seemed like Sinnoh contests were greatly different than the ones in Hoenn. Either that or one of them weren’t really taking part and contests. The former seemed more reasonable though.
“My Pokémon wear the ribbons they won so they can show it off proudly, knowing that it was their own. I don’t always make them wear them though. I wouldn’t want them to get damaged or lost. That wouldn’t be good. When leaving home, the ribbons usually sit in my room.” At least he wasn’t completely against the idea of keeping them somewhere else but never of a case before. Maybe he should start doing that…
“Eh heh heh…. Y..yeah….” she said slightly nervously. This guy was full of himself, and… was that a microphone? Who was this person.
“Ruby, huh? That’s an interest… Wait, you trained with Wallace? That’s amazing! I’ve been in the Wallace Cup a few years in a row! I don’t really need the ribbons anymore but it’s so hard to stay away from contests. Especially that one! How many Ribbon Cups have you won?”
“Wait… Wallace Cup?” he asked, trying to remember something like that. He never heard of Wallace having his own contest before. When did he start doing that?
“Are we talking about the same Wallace here? I’ve never heard of anything called this ‘Wallace Cup;’ nor have I ever taken part in one. I’ve only won all the ribbons in each of the five categories.” He gestures over to the ribbons his Pokémon were wearing, showing that they were the ones to win the contests.
“Sometimes. There can be a double appeals round sometimes.” she explained. She knew the rules might have changed, but she must not have been in the contests with the old rules. This was interesting.
She watched gleefully as the other’s Pokémon pulled off an incredible appeal. “Wow! So pretty!” Dawn exclaimed with glee. ”You’re a great coordinator! By the way I never caught your name. I’m Dawn.”
Suddenly having a mic in his hand, Ruby made a grand pose to give himself a much proper introduction. He just had to impress everyone he met, huh? And just where exactly did he even keep that microphone at? This guy was full of surprises.
“My name is Ruby, and I am a well known Coordinator in the Hoenn region! I have won all of the contests possible and train under the most amazing coordinator I have ever met; my master Wallace! It was because of him that I have been able to get so far. I hope to keep impressing both him and any that see my contests in the future! My name will be known world wide one day!” Yeah, this guy was so full of himself when it came to contests. At least he was funny about it.
The discharge sends electricity through the bubbles, giving the water particles a unique shimmer. The two Pokémon come down from the combination twirling. Pachirisu sits on Piplup’s beak as he floats down balancing the pair on one toe. Dawn then takes a bow.
“Amazing! Though, I’ve never done a contest where you use two Pokémon at once. Is that a special form of contests where you’re from? The ones here have us use one Pokémon and the moves are rated based off appeal. It’s usually only one move at a time too.” If this was how contests were for the girl than that means Ruby would have a much different challenge there if he took them on.
Now his turn, Ruby looked over his team and gave a light hum. Which one should he use after such an astounding performance? Maybe Mimi would be a good choice. Though now in the back of his mind he was thinking of combinations for the future.
“Okay Mimi! Use Water Pulse!” he said, the Tender Pokémon listening to his command as she quickly used the move to send a majestic wave of water around her. It left her body and the air around her sparkling.
“As beautiful as ever!” Ruby shouted while giving her a hug.
“Alright everyone! Spot… light!” she shouted as her team was released.
“Meet Piplup, Buneary, Pachirisu, Quilava, Mamoswine and Togekiss!”
“Not too bad of a line up. Many of them are really adorable! And I can see you take great care at keeping them groomed and happy. Do you mind going first so I can see just what it is you do for your contests?” Yes, learning from the competition. Always a good strategy. You never know when a spark of inspiration might come from someone else.
“Yeah. I only use combat when I need it. Like when Team Rocket keeps trying to steal Ash’s Pikachu. Or my own Pokémon for that matter. It gets a little tiring, but that’s just the kind of life we live.”
“Say… You wanna show each other our appeals? I’d offer a battle but my Pokémon are still a bit tired from training.”
“Why not? I wouldn’t mind showing off my Pokémon and their beauty.” Holding six Poké Balls, a light came shooting out of each one to release each of his compaions, revealing that he had on him a Mightyena, Delcatty, Swampert, Castform, Milotic, and Kirlia.
“Aren’t contests just the best though?” she exclamed happily. “I’m glad to meet another coordinator! Everyone seems to have switched to being battle oriented after one contest season. Glad to see someone sticking with it!”
“They are! And don’t worry, contests will always have a special place for me. It’s not one of those things that I can just give up and walk away. Unless there is something more important I need to take care of, of course.” It had been so long since he got to enjoy such idle chat with a stranger about contests. It was actually kind of nice!
