Jaune woke up to someone pounding on his door.
"Jaune! Jaune, wake up! It's contest day!"
He groaned and checked his scroll. Six in the morning. The contest wasn't until two in the afternoon.
"Dawn, it's six AM."
"I know! I need to get my Pokemon ready! Their grooming takes hours! Come on, breakfast!"
'Coordinators are morning people. Noted.'
Apparently coordinators started early.
Jaune got dressed and met Dawn in the Pokemon Center cafeteria. She was already surrounded by grooming supplies, working on Piplup's feathers with intense concentration.
"Pip pip..." Piplup looked resigned to his fate.
"You need to look perfect," Dawn told her starter. "This is our first official contest! First impressions matter!"
Jaune grabbed some food and sat down to watch. Dawn worked with practiced efficiency, brushing, polishing, applying something that made Piplup's feathers shine. Buneary was next, getting her fur groomed until it was impossibly fluffy. Pachirisu kept trying to escape, forcing Dawn to chase her around the room.
"Pachi pachi pachi!" The electric squirrel thought this was a game.
"Pachirisu, please! We don't have time for this!"
Jaune caught the runaway Pokemon mid-bounce and handed her back. "Here."
"Thank you!" Dawn quickly got to work on the squirming Pachirisu. "See, this is why I need to start early. Someone always tries to escape."
"Do you do this before every contest?"
"Every single one. Appearance is half the score in the Visual Competition. If your Pokemon doesn't look amazing, you lose points before you even start performing."
It took three hours to get all three Pokemon groomed to Dawn's satisfaction. By nine AM, they looked like they'd stepped out of a professional photo shoot.
"Perfect!" Dawn inspected them one more time. "Okay, now we have five hours until the contest. Let's go explore the city! I want to see the Poketch Company!"
Jubilife City was massive compared to Twinleaf Town. Tall buildings, busy streets, people everywhere. The Poketch Company building was in the center, a modern structure with advertisements showing off their wrist-mounted devices.
"Poketch stands for Pokemon Watch," Dawn explained as they walked. "They're super useful for trainers. GPS, Pokemon health monitor, apps for everything. I got mine when I started my journey."
She showed him the device on her wrist. A colorful touch screen displaying various functions.
"That's pretty advanced," Jaune admitted.
"Sinnoh is known for technology. Well, and Hoenn. But mostly Sinnoh." Dawn checked her Poketch. "Oh! We should go to the TV station! Sometimes they interview coordinators before contests!"
They wandered through the city, Dawn pointing out landmarks and explaining things. The Trainer School where kids learned basics before starting their journeys. The Jubilife TV building where they produced Pokemon-related shows. The Global Trade Station where trainers could trade Pokemon across regions.
It was surreal. A whole world built around creatures with elemental powers, where ten-year-olds went on adventures and society just... accepted that as normal.
Around noon, Dawn started getting nervous.
"What if I mess up the appeal? What if Piplup slips during the dance? What if the judges hate my combination?"
"You'll be fine. You've been practicing for months, right?"
"Yeah, but this is my first official contest! What if I'm not ready?"
"Dawn." Jaune stopped walking and looked at her seriously. "I've seen you train. I've watched your Pokemon trust you completely. You're ready. And even if something goes wrong, you'll learn from it and do better next time."
She took a breath. "You're right. Okay. I can do this."
"That's better."
They headed to the Contest Hall around one PM. The building was impressive, designed like a theater with a large stage visible through glass doors. People were already arriving, families and trainers filing in to watch.
Dawn checked in at the coordinator entrance while Jaune bought a ticket for the audience section.
"I'll be watching from the stands," he told her. "Good luck."
"Thanks. And Jaune? Thank you for traveling with me. It means a lot."
"No problem. Now go show them what you've got."
She headed backstage while Jaune found a seat in the audience. The Contest Hall filled quickly, mostly families and young trainers. The atmosphere was excited, energetic.
A woman in formal attire took the stage. "Welcome, everyone, to the Jubilife City Pokemon Contest! Today, eight talented coordinators will compete for the Jubilife Ribbon!"
The crowd applauded.
"Our judges today are Mr. Contesta, Mr. Sukizo, and our local Nurse Joy!"
Three people took seats at the judges table. Jaune recognized the setup from the anime. Same judges, same format.
"First up in the Visual Competition, we have coordinator Dawn from Twinleaf Town!"
Dawn walked onto stage with Piplup, Buneary, and Pachirisu. All three Pokemon looked incredible, their grooming paying off.
The judges examined them carefully, taking notes. Dawn stood confidently, her nerves hidden.
"Excellent grooming," Mr. Contesta said. "The Piplup's feathers are particularly well maintained."
"Remarkable!" Mr. Sukizo added.
Nurse Joy nodded approvingly. "All three Pokemon look healthy and well cared for. Good work."
Dawn moved off stage as the next coordinator came up. Jaune watched the other competitors. Some were clearly experienced, their Pokemon groomed to perfection. Others were obviously new, making small mistakes.
After all eight coordinators presented in the Visual Competition, the judges announced the scores. Dawn placed fourth. Not first, but solidly in the middle. Respectable for a first-timer.
"And now for the Performance Stage!" the announcer declared. "Coordinators will showcase their Pokemon's abilities in five-minute appeals! First up, Kenny from Floaroma Town!"
A boy about Dawn's age took the stage with a Prinplup. He performed a solid routine with water-based moves, creating impressive visual effects.
The other coordinators went in order. Some were amazing, combining multiple Pokemon and moves into dazzling displays. Others were less polished, making timing errors or having their Pokemon mess up.
"Next up, Dawn from Twinleaf Town!"
Dawn stepped onto stage with her three Pokemon. Music started playing.
"Piplup, Bubblebeam! Buneary, Ice Beam!"
Piplup shot bubbles into the air while Buneary froze them with precision, creating floating ice spheres that reflected the stage lights.
"Pachirisu, Discharge!"
The electric squirrel sent controlled sparks through the ice spheres, making them glow from within. The effect was beautiful, like floating lanterns.
The crowd loved it.
Dawn moved through her routine smoothly, her Pokemon responding to every command. Piplup and Buneary performed a coordinated spin while Pachirisu created an electric pattern in the background. The timing was perfect.
Five minutes later, Dawn finished with a flourish, all three Pokemon striking a pose as ice and electricity created a final burst of sparkles.
The audience applauded loudly.
"Remarkable!" Mr. Sukizo declared.
"An excellent first performance," Mr. Contesta added. "The coordination between three Pokemon is difficult, but you pulled it off admirably."
"Your Pokemon clearly trust you," Nurse Joy said with a smile. "That's what matters most."
Dawn beamed, returning her Pokemon to their balls and exiting the stage.
The remaining coordinators performed. Some were better than Dawn, some worse. When all eight had finished, the judges tallied the scores.
"And our finalists are... Kenny from Floaroma Town and Natalie from Hearthome City!"
Dawn didn't make the finals. But as she came out to the lobby after, she was smiling.
"Fourth place!" she said excitedly when she found Jaune. "Out of eight coordinators, I placed fourth! That's amazing for my first contest!"
"You did great up there. That combination with the ice and electricity was impressive."
"Thank you! I was so nervous, but once we started performing, it just felt natural." Dawn hugged her Pokeball. "Piplup, Buneary, and Pachirisu were perfect."
They watched the final round from the lobby screen. Kenny won with a strong performance, earning his first ribbon.
"That's okay," Dawn said. "This was my first contest. I learned a lot. Next time I'll do even better!"
Her optimism was infectious.
As they left the Contest Hall, Jaune checked the system.
[Day 2 Complete]
[Mission Status: Dawn remains safe and successful]
[Days Remaining: Less than 24 hours]
[Quest will conclude tomorrow morning]
Less than a day. By this time tomorrow, he'd be back in Remnant.
"Want to get dinner?" Dawn asked. "There's a good restaurant near the Pokemon Center. My treat! To celebrate my fourth place finish!"
"Sure."
They found a place that served both human and Pokemon food. Dawn ordered way too much, still riding the high of her contest performance.
"I can't wait to call Mom and tell her! Fourth place! She's going to be so proud!"
Jaune listened to her chatter, smiling. This world was strange, but there was something nice about it. Simple goals, clear paths, kids chasing dreams with creature companions.
No Grimm. No Salem. No world-ending threats.
Just contests and journeys and growing up.
After dinner, they headed back to the Pokemon Center. Dawn immediately called her mom, excitedly explaining every detail of the contest. Jaune retreated to his room.
He pulled up the system.
[Quest Completion: Tomorrow at dawn]
[Estimated time: 6 AM local time]
[Prepare for dimensional transit]
[Mission Summary: Success on all objectives]
[Rewards will be granted upon return to Remnant]
One more night. Then home.
Jaune looked out the window at Jubilife City, lights twinkling in the darkness. Somewhere out there, Team Galactic was planning their next move. Cyrus was working toward his goal of remaking the world.
But that wasn't his problem. His mission was to protect Dawn. He'd done that. She was safe, happy, and pursuing her dreams.
That was enough.
Tomorrow he'd go home, collect his rewards, and prepare for Beacon.
His scroll buzzed. A message from his father.
"How's the wilderness training going? You've been gone three days. Check in when you can."
Three days. The time dilation had been close to one-to-one then. Good.
Jaune typed back. "Going well. Learning a lot. Be home tomorrow."
He set the scroll aside and lay down. His last night in the Pokemon world.
It had been a good tutorial. He'd learned that his training worked. That he could protect people. That he could handle himself in another dimension.
Now he just needed to keep doing it. More quests, more worlds, more challenges.
'Until I'm strong enough for what's coming. One quest at a time.'