Lumiose University - A Degree In Pokemon

Chapter 44: The Absol-ute Best

Author's Note:

Hello all, and once again, apologies for the gap in chapters. Got excited with writing the Bonnie story and had a bit of a block on this one. Some important stuff coming up, though, so hopefully it was worth the wait. Hope you enjoy.

Chapter 44: The Absol-ute Best

The break from school had been quite nice so far, with no assignments, no rushing to classes, and no stressing over important battles or performances, or just figuring out what to do next. Well, for Serena, there was a part of her wondering about her future, but she had told herself not to think too much on Hala's proposal during the break. For the Performer, this was the perfect opportunity to just enjoy a couple of weeks with two of her friends and spend some quality time with her Pokemon.

The first week hadn't been too busy so far, and Serena and her friends had taken plenty of time to just stroll through Vaniville Town, hang out with her mother's Rhyhorn, and do a few mini training sessions with their Pokemon. Both Shauna and Dawn were staying with her due to their families being busy with work over the holidays, so Serena had done her best to make Vaniville feel like home to them.

It hadn't been too hard, with Grace having immediately taken to Dawn, and already knowing Shauna. The four of them had plenty of fun at meal times, and Grace wasn't strict about various house rules Serena had as a child, knowing it was their break, so it was quite nice for the three girls. Serena could tell that both of her friends were still a little disappointed they couldn't have gone home, particularly Dawn, but they were still making the best of it.

And today, was a particularly interesting day, as Serena and Shauna had asked Dawn to take them through the rules of Pokemon Contest battling from the perspective of a professional. Obviously they were both reasonably familiar with contests at this point, and each had participated in a couple of minor contest battles but they were eager to know what a Coordinator could teach them. Serena had been quite looking forward to it, knowing that Absol had a bit of a battler's spirit, so she thought letting him try out some contest battles would probably be fun for him.

Maybe Absol and I can learn a few tricks before our visitor comes, Serena thought, checking on the clock in the living room of her mother's house before she and her friends set off outside.

As Dawn led the way out, Serena grew more excited about the day ahead, thinking back on the offer she'd received in regards to Absol back in Coumarine City. Much like learning about contests from an expert like Dawn would be beneficial, learning about what else she could do with Absol from an expert would be extremely helpful in the next stage of their journey together. They'd made a great deal of progress so far, but there was much to be done. Hopefully she'll have some good advice, Serena thought, holding Absol's pokeball and thinking about who would be coming later on.

She was going to have to think about that later, however, as Dawn was now running out into the field where Serena used to do much of her Rhyhorn racing training. Piplup was out in front of her, while she was also calling out her Vivillon to join them. Serena and Shauna both stopped a few feet away from Dawn as the Coordinator turned to face them, her Pokemon lining up in front of her.

"So the most important thing you guys should know about contests, is the big difference in judging compared to performances. We're always judged by a panel of judges, even outside the IPL." Dawn paused there, seeing both Serena and Shauna nodding, both knowing that part already. "The most important thing is how points are awarded, though. In performances, you are part of the show with your Pokemon. In contests, the Pokemon is the star. The focus needs to be on them."