- "Good afternoon, Mesa Verde Town! Greetings, fans and coordinators of all ages. We've all come together for a very special reason, and that's to find out who will take home the Mesa Verde Contest Ribbon! We've spent enough time waiting, so let us begin this fabulous Pokémon Contest!"—Marian, kicking off the Pokemon Contest
The time has finally come. After the usual introductions by our master of ceremonies, Pokemon Coordinator show their stuff for the Appeal Round. Dawn is the 10th participant to come up, using her Piplup to demonstrate a laminar flow. Aaron later performs as the last contestant of the round. His Mawile combines strength and grace in a single performance. Backstage, Dawn watches as she and Aaron are chosen to advance and announces to her male friends her game plan for the Battle Round. She and Aaron take care of business, and a parting high-five convey their intentions to meet in the final round.
This chapter contains examples of:
- Badass Longcoat: Part of Aaron's contest ensemble is a dark blue long coat.
- Chekhov's Gun: Prior to this chapter, Ian pocketed an Odd Keystone without a second thought during a cave-in at Kanto's Rock Tunnel and kept it since. Good thing it turned out to be useful a couple regions down the road.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Ian was mentioned in the previous chapter and makes his debut in this one.
- Early-Bird Cameo: It will take some time until Ian meets Ash, Dawn, and Brock.
- Establishing Character Moment: Ian's darker choice of clothing and grim demeanor contrasts with the brighter setting the narration makes. Then, his more manic side emerges when Gengar suggests scaring two girls, which he fully intends to do. His Odd Keystone gets in the way of that, but when Spiritomb arrives all its spectral and abominable glory, Ian is more than thrilled to take it on.
- An Ice Person: Aaron's Mawile knows and uses Ice Beam to artistic effect.
- Lady of War: Ambiguous age aside, Mawile proves she's all about this in her performance, skating along sheets of ice in wide circles and sinuous waves, occasionally doing flips, spins, and pirouettes. Triples as a Cute Bruiser and Pint-Sized Powerhouse when she destroys a large ice construct in a single Focus Punch.
- Mythology Gag:
- Ian is introduced on Sinnoh's Route 205 where the Hallowed Tower is located. To make the reference clearer, Ian places an Odd Keystone in the tower and nets himself a chance to catch a Spiritomb.
- Game Pokedex entries say Tangela can harmlessly regenerate their vines. Scizor is forced to tear some off, while apologizing, to escape its clutches.
- This chapter confirms Aaron's hometown, Metropolis Town, is located in Orre.
- Offhand Backhand: Ian punches a tree out of frustration and disturbs a Beedrill. His Gengar nonchalantly flings a Shadow Ball its way to get rid of it.
- Rule of Cool: Dawn and her Piplup steal the show with their recreation of a laminar flow using Whirlpool.
- This Is a Drill: Aaron's Scizor knows a variation of Silver Wind called "Spinning Silver Wind" where it becomes a glorified missile encased in wind and silver crescents for a close-ranged attack.
- Warm-Up Boss: Rare case in that it happens to the rival. Whoever used Tangela came close to beating Aaron and Scizor, but they go for the knockout to keep themselves around.
