A few days go by and Booth spends his time battling trainers and practicing with his pokemon. Ben finishes teaching the ancient Art to Damon's pokemon, but he says he'll need some more time to teach it to Pansear. Since there's nothing he can do but wait, Booth thinks of something else to do in the meantime.
Booth wonders if he should go find another battle, but then he realizes today is Wednesday and the Pokemon Contest Hall is having their events today.
'It has been a while since I went to the contest hall. I've put more thought into leaving Clanton City to participate in the Loup Cup recently, and it would be a shame to not use my official contest pass before leaving.
Not to mention the contest hall would be a great place to get some input on my moves from people who know more about creating techniques.'
Booth takes a look for Gordon before leaving. He went with him last time, and they made plans to go again together another time.
Booth finds Gordon busy in the testing area. Since Gordon has already started a test, Booth waits outside to watch.
Gordon and his Seel swiftly clear each of the items on the test. Making powerful and confident movements which impress Booth.
When Gordon is done he sees Booth on the other side of the glass. He saves the results on his phone, and goes to meet with Booth.
"Hey Booth, what's up." Gordon stretches a little and sees what Booth is up to.
"Well, I was thinking of going to the contest hall for an official contest, and I was wondering if you wanted to come."
Gordon thinks about it for a second and answers, "Sure, I'm interested. What time is it at?"
"The contest is at 11:00, so we should have a few hours. We'll need to sign up before then though."
"I'll go. I have to go get my contest pass first though, so I'll meet you there in a bit."
"Alright, see you there."
Booth waves goodbye to Gordon and takes off to the contest hall.
Booth steps into the building a while later. He sees many people hanging out outside and in the lobby. Booth has a decent idea of the amount of people who go to these sorts of events, so the people attending must be here for something special. He goes to the trainer club to see the reason for the large crowd.
It doesn't take him long to find out.
"The crowd isn't really here for the contests, rather the contests are just something to visit in the morning. Later today there's a competition at the lake resort. The competition is more of a fundraiser, but it attracts a lot of attention for people wanting to have fun"
Booth gets some more information about the fundraiser competition while he waits for Gordon. He learns that any participants who donate to the fundraiser may join the competition, and even have a chance to win prizes. Booth makes sure to remember the information for later.
Gordon arrives at the contest hall and finds Booth inside. The two trainers sign up for the contest first. When they are done they sit down and talk.
"So how is your progress as a tiered trainer?" Gordon asks to make some small talk.
"Pretty good. I've collected quite a few power ups, and I'm finally starting to get the hang of my arts. How is your progress?"
"I started a new Art recently as my last one just wasn't for me. I'll need more time with my new Art, but it's looking a lot better."
"Great! I hope it works out."
"Yeah." Gordon smiles and nods. "I've also been wondering about a couple things related to battling. I figured I could run a couple ideas by you."
"Sure. Go ahead."
Gordon's basic concern is with fighting more experienced opponents.
"I've been battling a lot of trainers and I've noticed a couple things. The beginning of battles is generally pretty tricky. Neither I nor my opponent can guess anything apart from the pokemon we're using, yet they always seem to pull ahead. I'm not sure if this is a problem with my skills or knowledge."
Booth decides to think about Gordon's question for a bit.
'I wondered the same thing when I started doing battles. The biggest difference between me and Gordon would be my prior knowledge and our levels of confidence, but I don't think telling him to be more confident in battle is going to help. He seems like a pretty calculative trainer, so he would probably want a method that involves more thinking.'
When Booth is finished putting his thoughts together he responds.
"I think the main issue is your level of experience. I don't necessarily mean the time that you've been a trainer, but how you and your opponents have learned to recognize different situations. This isn't really an issue that can be overcome just by thinking about it. But I think that the best way to overcome this experience is by having a greater knowledge of pokemon and what kind of situations your actions will create.
Once you have this kind of knowledge it's up to you to plan and predict to try to fill the gap between those with more experience."
Gordon takes a moment, then asks a question. "I think I understand what you mean by creating different scenarios, but how do you battle in unfamiliar situations? There's not really any time to analyze these things in battle."
"My advice is to just take note of each situation. You may lose some ground by doing so, but I think that it can help you later in the battle when you need it. I've lost a few battles by trying to remember a certain situation, but I've also been able to make some serious comebacks. If nothing else I think it helps for future battles."
Gordon is satisfied with the answer this time. "Thanks Booth. It helps a lot."
"Anytime."
Booth and Gordon talk until the contest starts. When the employees call the trainers back, Booth stops talking and starts working on a performance in his head.
Booth doesn't have to think too hard as he chooses something he has been doing everyday lately. He decides on a flashy Rebound technique and modifies it slightly.
'Because it's a contest there's not really a need to save on power, so I can use as much power as I need.
I can use Rebound Bone Rush for the main part of the combo. I just need something cool to finish it off.'
Booth ponders his options and picks something familiar to him. Learning from last time, Booth noticed that the judges like just about anything as long as it looks polished.
About 20 minutes go by and Booth has his turn.
Booth steps onto the stage with his Cubone. He powers up his Integrator and organizes Cubone's power. Booth breathes in and activates Rebound's power. Rebound saps Booth's mental stamina as he tries to control a large amount of power.
Booth loses some power, but he still has plenty for what he wants to do next. He adds his Guide power ups along with 8 of his Solid power ups. Rebound's power settles down into his arms and the bone club.
Cubone's small arms become much sturdier, while the bone club gains a white sheen. The whole process only takes a few seconds, but it feels like much more to Booth.
The audience suddenly becomes interested as the attack gets closer to completion. The bone glistens like a pearl in contrast to the dark black stage.
Booth pulls the bone club apart from both ends like he did in the Zoroark fight. The size grows into the proper size for Booth's technique.
Booth swings the first strike of Rebound Bone Rush like he practiced. The strike rebounds beautifully. Booth smiles and feels himself calm down. He follows with the second and third swing. The target is heavy, but it isn't fixed to the ground. The target gets farther away with each hit. Booth continues at an incredible speed and stops at sixth strike.
The target is too far for a normal hit to connect without special means. Booth releases the bone club with a sharp turn of his wrist.
"Thwack!" An improvised Bonemerang twirls into the dummy.
The bone club connects and spins back towards Cubone at a high speed. With Booth's improved reaction he catches the bone cleanly.
Applause comes along with cheering from the audience. Booth's smile grows wider as he accepts the applause. When things quiet down Booth returns backstage.
Gordon goes onstage next. His performance is much more tame. He sends out his Seel and leads with a Water Sport. A flood of water spits high into the air.
As the water is falling he lets out an Icy Wind and manages to freeze the mass of water falling down. Even Booth is surprised at Gordon's ability to cover such a wide area. Finally the Water Sport drops down on the stage like a hail.
Gordon also accepts his applause, and returns with Booth. The two wait until the contest is over to see the results. While their performances are good, it's not good enough to get a top spot.
Booth isn't disappointed as he gets the advice that he came for. The other trainers watched Booth's act and are happy to give pointers on how to make his moves connect more seamlessly.
"You put a good amount of strength and speed into your attack. If you worked on your balance a bit more, then I think you could manage the attack better than before."
"Thanks. I'll be sure to try it!" Booth takes his time at the contest hall while getting more advice on creating techniques.
'Not all of the advice is for me, but it's helpful to hear other people's perspectives on creating techniques.'
Booth stays around the contest hall for a couple more hours. After hearing more about the fundraiser event he and Gordon both decide to go.
"Bye, I'll see you at the fundraiser Booth!" Gordon says.
"Goodbye Gordon, I'll see you there."
With nearly 5 hours until the event, Booth goes back to his apartment to rest.