[X] My Assistant

[Cube]

Spencer squirmed a bit in his seat as the other trainers entered the green room. There was a rich boy - Spencer guessed he was from Sinnoh - with a shiny Luxio and a haughty attitude. Shiny Pokemon were a fairly rare mutation in nature, and nearly as rare through breeding. Spencer suspected that this Luxio was a purchase to it's trainer, rather than a partner...

The next person to enter was one of those collector types. Spencer had seen a lot of them at his family's ranch. They were often more concerned with the rarity of their Pokemon then actually training them properly. Still... Spencer couldn't help but be a bit impressed by how he managed to have a Seviper and Zangoose out at the same time. The animosity between each species was well documented, and while they were capable of breeding in rare cases, a Seviper and Zangoose working together under the same trainer was a rare sight indeed. Spencer's skin crawled when the man mentioned how his pokemon were "worth collecting".

'Creepycreepycreepycreepycreepy!'

The last person to enter was a young girl in a white sundress, cradling an Espeon in her arms. The Espeon intrigued Spencer. As most experienced trainers know, Eevee has seven evolutions. Three are caused through exposure to various elemental stones, while two are caused by training the Eevee in a specific environment. Espeon and Umbreon did not require an evolutionary stone, nor did they require training in a remote location. Despite this, they were widely considered to be among the rarest of the "eeveelutions". In order for a Eevee to evolve into an Espeon or Umbreon, it must have a strong bond with it's trainer at the time of it's evolution. For this girl to have an Espeon must have meant that she had a strong bond with her Pokemon.

After Mr. Contesta left the room, Spencer tried to break the ice.

"Um... Hi, everyone. It's nice to meet all of you. Um... nice Pokemon. I'm Spencer Thorn, and this is Waker Faland, and our friends Connie and Verity. Waker doesn't really talk much, so..."

"Thorn? Of the Thorn family breeders?" said the collector, who was busy eying his Pokemon. Spencer nodded nervously.

"Oh, I Espy here from your ranch when she was just an Eevee!" said the girl.

"Really? That's great..." said Spencer, absent-mindedly fiddling with a nearby Gracidia. Accidentally plucking a flower from it, he quietly handed it to Celia. The Piplup wasted no time in threading the stem of the flower through it's feathers, making it look like it was wearing a flower in it's hair.

"Um... looks like we've got some tough competition, eh Waker?" said Spencer, with a very nervous laugh. Spencer wasn't so confident anymore. Maybe Stacy was right... maybe he was going for the wrong look with each of his Pokemon...

Behind the door, Spencer could hear Uta and Mr. Contesta arguing.

"Mr. Refson, I really think we should let them into the contest... I mean, they really want to have a go..."
"This is an invitation only contest! I saw their Pokemon at the center yesterday, and I just don't see any reason to have those... amazon girls in this contest!"
"But Mr. Refson, I think they'd do wonderfully! Besides, it's every little girls dream of becoming a coordinator!"
"I don't think so Mr. Contesta. I payed for this contest hall, I gathered up the sponsors for this event, and I won't allow it."
There was a small pause in the conversation.
"What if one of them wins? Uta, you're the master of PR. You could take credit for discovering them! It would be a Cinderella story!"
Another pause.
"...Well, alright. But I'm not liable for any negative PR if they lose."

"Wow..." thought Spencer. "Mr. Contesta really knows there sparkletooth's weak spots are..."

Mr. Contesta entered the room again, Uta thankfully electing to stay out of the green room.

"Alright everyone. There's been a last minute change in the contest Roster. I spoke to Mr. Refson, and we both think it would be a wonderful idea if Connie and Verity were to enter the contest as well. How about it?"

Charley and the Collector's jaws dropped almost simultaneously.

"Those... bumpkins!? In this contest?!" exclaimed Charley. "They would have never allowed this in Hearthome..."

"Mr. Contesta, I really think you should reconsider..." said the collector.

"I think it's a wonderful idea." Said Elysia, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. Charley in particular was quite shocked. "What harm could it do? It's only a practice contest after all. Are you really afraid that a pair of little girls are going to upstage you?"

"N- Of course not!" said Charley, his Luxio sparking in agreement.

"I think it would be a wonderful idea for them to get a chance to try out the contest scene." said Spencer, with a smile. "You can even borrow some of my accessories if you'd like."

"Well, how about it?" said Mr. Contesta, holding his hand to the girls. "We'd be honored to have you as contestants today."

[Verity Lily]

Inserting Connie's and Mary's reactions with discussion and permission from Romana.

Both Charley and the pokemon collector broke out into racous laughter at Verity's words. She blushed hotly, wishing she knew what she'd said wrong.

Verity's day was rapidly getting worse. The next entrant to the room was... well, in Verity's secret daydreams, this girl was everything that Verity daydreamed she would one day be - slim, graceful, elegant and pretty. Even the pokemon in her arms looked sleek and delicately powerful. Verity sneaked another glance at her own dishevelled appearance, and felt like crying. And her own pokemon - they were the best pokemon in the world, but they didn't look like the creature in Elysia's arms.

The whole atomsphere of the room changed on Elysia's entrance. Charley stopped looking so bored, and began to stroke his already perfectly styled hair further into place. The pokemon collector stopped admiring the boys' pokemon, and turned melting attention on Elysia as well.

Verity pulled Courage out of her hair at last, setting her free to devour pink pokeblocks, and scooped up her egg, hugging it tightly. She wished she dared get out her pokedoll as well. She didn't like to admit it, but she was used to being the centre of attention - she was Bill and Fiddy's world, Butchette was the most attentive pokemon partner ever, and Connie was the most devoted and protective friend. Even Emerance paid Verity close attention, either in delight at her learning skills or despair at her artistic attempts. But the moment Elysia entered the room, Verity felt forgotten.

At least, she reassured herself, Connie wouldn't forget her.

"Oh, oh my! Is that a Mareep?"

"Hello. Yes, she's a Mareep, she's called Mary." Mary opened her eyes wide at the sound of her name. "but she's been very naughty," Connie added sternly. Mary made a noise that sounded suspiciously like pffft. "I'm Connie, and this is Verity, my best friend, and Waker and Spencer, and this is Charley and, um-"

"Epaminondas, my dear, but you can call me Mondie." Ignoring Connie completely, the collector seized Elysia's hand - not a farm girl's hand, Verity couldn't help noticing, but a soft-skinned hand with perfectly manicured nails - and planted what seemed like a sloppy kiss on it.

"Charmed to have a real lady here," Charley agreed, casting a contemptuous look at the girls. "And someone with some style, as well," he added, looking scornfully at Waker. Spencer's tuxedo he passed without comment.

"Oh - nice to meet you -" Elysia said sweetly, and turned back to Connie. "Mary is so cute! And this is an espeon. She's a psychic type pokemon - I've had her since she was a fluffy little eevee."

Verity took in the way Connie was smiling at Elysia, and a horrible ache of jealousy started in her breast. Connie usually smiled at her that way.

She didn't feel any better when she learned that Espy came from Spencer's ranch. It seemed that girl was connecting with everyone. Connie probably thought Verity was horribly boring.

Somehow, it just made things worse when Elysia championed their entrance into the competition. She probably wanted to make better friends with Connie. After all, Verity was exactly that.. a bumpkin.

She got up, cradling the egg carefully, and crept over where the boys seemed to be hanging close together. She slipped her egg carefully onto the table, and reached out, taking Waker's left hand (so that he could still write) and Spencer's right for comfort. She felt better clinging to someone.

"I think it would be a wonderful idea for them to get a chance to try out the contest scene." said Spencer, with a smile. "You can even borrow some of my accessories if you'd like."

"You're so nice, but these pokemon are awfully impressive," she whispered. "I - I don't think Butchette is quite ready to be in a contest yet. Maybe she'll feel better when she's seen one. And Courage doesn't know much yet. I think I'll just watch and encourage you all. Besides, someone has to watch over Mr Retson's absol.

"But - they look awfully strong, especially that snake thing. There's going to be a battle round, Mr Retson said. Will all your pokemon be okay?"

oops - our posts crossed! I'm editing to make it more consistent with CubeB's. Sorry!

This post has been edited by Lindley: Jul 12 2009, 03:19 PM

[Ganymede]

Waker frowned at the two men's words - it seemed like Furoh was full of rude people. He wished he could just open his mouth and give them a piece of his mind, but had to settle for glaring at the men. Azzy growled softly, the barbs on his back rising slightly. Waker was just about to reach up to pet him when he felt someone grab his left hand.


Verity had somehow made it across the room and had slipped her hand into Waker's. "You're so nice, but these Pokemon are awfully impressive," she whispered to Spencer. Charley and Mondie looked at the girls contemptuously, while Elysia seemed to have hit it off with Connie. Waker squeezed Verity's hand reassuringly, smiling at her. Pora, still nestled on Waker's uninjured arm, gently tapped her arm with a small claw. The Poison Pin Pokemon looked up at Azzy and let out a tiny "Ni," which her counterpart responded to by grabbing a Gracidea off a nearby bouquet. He clambered onto Waker's other shoulder and dropped the flower onto Verity's arm. Waker suppressed a laugh, hugging Pora close.


"Um... looks like we've got some tough competition, eh Waker?" Spencer said. Waker looked up at him, noticing how nervous he seemed. Waker shook his head and nudged Spencer in the side lightly, ignoring Charley's comment on his looks. We'll do fine, he thought, unable to write his thoughts down as his hands were rather occupied. We'll show them that we can win, even if we're not rich and don't have rare Pokemon!


Elysia turned and walked towards the small group, smiling now, Espy still cradled in her arms. She stopped just before Spencer, tilting her head to the side to get a good look at Waker and Verity, her Espeon mimicking her moves. "Doesn't talk much?" she gave a sympathetic frown. "Oh, I know how it is, to be so shy. And such darling Pokemon! They match!" she exclaimed, smiling again. Pora shrunk back a bit, moving slightly in order to be closer to both him and Verity. "What species are they?" As she examined the two, her gaze passed over the table. "Oh! What a cute egg! Does it belong to you?" Waker shook his head embarrassedly and held up Verity's hand. Azzy let out an amused snort.


There was a hearty cough from the other side of the room and all the trainers turned to Mr Contesta, who looked at them all with a smile. "Well, if everything's settled," he said, striding across the room to stand in front of a large curtain, "I'd like to see this contest get started." With a flourish, he pulled on the curtain, revealing a large glass door. On the other side of the door was a stage, raised slightly above the ground. Three podiums stood in front of it, flanked by three sets of risers emblazoned with the contest seal. The heavy curtains behind the stage were adorned in ribbons and streamers of the five contest colours - red, yellow, green, blue, and pink. Mr Contesta pushed the door open and bowed slightly. "Ladies first," he said, flashing a grin at Connie, Verity, and Elysia. "Please make your way backstage and get your Pokemon all dressed up and ready! The judges will arrive shortly." With that, the man waited politely for the girls to enter the Hall.

Sorry if I'm pushing this too fast - if I am, please let me know and I'll fix the post immediately!

[ROMANA]

I hope it's ok to decide on the bandanna like that, CubeB, let me know if I should change anything!

Connie was more than a little intimidated by the discussions over whether or not she and Verity should be allowed to take part in the contest. She had never even practiced with her pokemon but having been given the go-ahead by Mr Contesta, she wasn't going to back out now!

"Thank you, Spencer, I haven't quite figured out what will suit Mary yet." Connie returned Torchie to his ball and called Mary over to her. She smoothed down the Mareep's static-filled wool and studied her. "Maybe a little flower?" Connie took one of the white flowers from the Shaymin display, and tucked it into the curl that tended to flop over Mary's forehead. "No, that get's lost. Um, do you have a spare bandanna, at all, please, Spencer?" she asked, a little embarrassed. She tied a yellow bandana around Mary's head and then tucked the flower into it. The flower didn't get lost in the Mareep's fleece this time. "Much better, thank you," said Connie, smiling at Spencer.

"Ladies first," said Mr Contesta, opening the door for them to go through. "Please make your way backstage and get your Pokemon all dressed up and ready! The judges will arrive shortly."

"Verity, are you going to try with Butchette or Courage?" asked Connie as she stood up from adjusting Mary's flower. "I'm really nervous, aren't you?" Elysia and the pretty pink Espy were already out of the green room.

Verity took a deep breath. "I'm nervous too, but for you. Butchette, Courage and I are going to be cheering for you - we don't want to compete against you, this is your and Mary's turn, we'll try next time."

Connie was suddenly feeling a whole lot more lost. She had thought they'd be going together. She looked rather forlorn and hugged Verity tight, not quite ready to go through on her own yet.

"Oh, please," said Charley. "This is pathetic. It's a practice contest, not an execution!"

"Lux!" agreed Lord Sparkster.

The rich boy and his pokemon strode through after Elysia without waiting for a response.

Connie let go of Verity and, with a gulp, she reached down and patted Mary on the head. "Do your best, Mary, you're going to be great. Good luck Spencer, Waker, I know you two will be brilliant." Head held high, Connie followed the rich boy and the Luxio out of the green room.

This post has been edited by ROMANA: Jul 12 2009, 04:11 PM

[Cube]

Spencer was happy to hand Connie a bandanna for the contest. "Don't worry about not having practiced or anything. Some of the greatest appeals in history were improvised you know."

Following the others out of the green room, Spencer suddenly realized that he had overlooked something very, very important.

"Mr. Contesta, what category is this contest?!" he exclaimed, gathering a number of stares from the other contestants.

"You mean you don't know?" said Mondie, utterly appalled. "This contest hall doesn't use categories. It exists to judge your skill as a coordinator. Didn't they explain that to you?"

"Um... no..." said Spencer, obviously quite embarrassed. "Um... So this means I can use which ever Pokemon I want?"

"Of course!" said Mr. Contesta. "Though, I'm surprised you didn't have one in mind already..."

Spencer's face went pale. 'Oh Arceus, I just embarrassed myself in front of a judge! "Of course I have a Pokemon ready... Celia!"

Up to this moment, Celia was obediently following Spencer to the stage, but at the announcement that she would be competing, she literally leap for joy, the Gracidea flower falling from her hair. Meanwhile, Nils watched with mild amusement as he munched on a poffin from the tray. <"She's so weird...">

"Um... Give me a moment Mr. Contesta." said Spencer, as he stepped out of line for a moment.
Making sure that Mr. Refson was nowhere nearby, he released Vincent from his Poke Ball before calling Verity over.

"Verity, could you do me a favor and sit with Vincent and Nils while you watch the contest? I know they'd like to see us perform."

"Spencer, you're needed on stage." said Mr. Contesta.

"Gah! I've got to go!" said Spencer, running towards the door. "Just keep them close by, alright?"

[Verity Lily]

Verity might not be pretty or feminine, she thought, but at least she had really good friends. She hadn't thought that she and Verity would make friends outside the farm so quickly - especially not bigger boys! She squeezed Waker's hand back gratefully, and when the flower fell on her elbow, her eyes filled with tears. "You have some of the sweetest pokemon in the world," she told Waker.

Somehow, though, she still didn't like it when Elysia said they were darling pokemon. She wondered why she was suddenly so horrid - Elysia was just being nice, and socially graceful. She was obviously much more sophisticated than the other girls, and depsite obvious shyness, was trying to make an effort to connect with the others and make friends. Verity didn't know why that made her feel all rubbed raw and defensive, instead of making her want to be kind to the girl, which was how she usually responded to people who seemed as shy as herself. She hated the sympathy for Waker for not talking - but again, that was unfair, Elysia just didn't know - glad when Waker demonstrated that the precious egg was hers. After all, it was a present from her darling baby brother.

I'll never be a coordinator,Verity thought dismally. I'll never be anything like her, not in a million years of deportment classes. But Connie is different - Connie is always so self-possessed and brave, no matter what happens. She can do anything she sets her mind to.

She was astonished when Connie clung to her. Poor Connie - it was so new to her too! Verity had forgotten, in her own misery. And nop matter how bouncy and earnest and protective Connie could be, she was still only eleven. She hugged Connie as tight as she can.

"I'm proud of you, Connie, no matter what. You're so brave - this is your first competition!" She kissed Connie's cheek, glad Elysia was out of the room, and glared at Charley over Connie's shoulder. "Go get 'em, girl. We'll be cheering you on."

She smiled after Connie's brave sailing from the room, and then smiled at the boys and at Celia boucicng around in excitement. "I'm so looking forward to seeing you compete. I know you'll be awesome. Celia, you look beautiful."

"Verity, could you do me a favor and sit with Vincent and Nils while you watch the contest? I know they'd like to see us perform."

"I'd love to!" Verity had already given her heart to Spencer's pokemon. "Waker, would you like me to take one too?"

Sorrounded by pokemon, Verity felt safe, even with Connie elsewhere and her hair a mess. She handed her egg to Butchette, beckoned Courage onto her shoulder, and followed the contestants. "C'mon, guys, let's find a seat!"

It was more difficult than she had imagined. The stage was impressive, it was true - it looked ancient, with ornate wooden carveries with gilt coatings flaking off - almost as if they had been taken from a castle's ballroom or, Verity thought more disloyally, a circus. Floral sculptures of Jirachi and Manaphy, even more beautiful than that of Shaymin, filled the room with sweet fragrance. Spotlights had been set up in the corners, highlighting the dancing beams of glitter hanging in the air. But -

Somehow, Verity had imagined more of an audience. Rows and tiers of chairs, for example. Of course - the hall was only for practice and training. Maybe she'd been silly to think people would want to watch a practice round. Instead, there was a folding director's chair in which Uta already sat, absent-mindedly ruffling the fur of his beautiful absol, and a small group of plastic chairs on which a group of men with serious expressions and expensively tailored suits sat. The sponsors Mr Contesta had spoken of, Verity guessed.

Charley had obviously come to the same conclusion. He advanced on them, hand extended, Lord Sparkster weaving around his legs and looking far more animated than Verity had yet seen him.

"Charley Drake. Charmed to meet you - so good of you to come to our rustic little town. Charley cast a disparaging look around. "I do hope we don't bore you too terribly. And this lovely lady is Elysia Ulright."

Elysia looked a little taken aback and uncomfortable, but she giggled shyly and said hello. "And this is Spencer, and Waker, and Connie, and Mondy -" Mondy beamed at the mention of his nickname - "and our friend Verity, who has come to watch."

Our friend? Verity wondered. That was... nice. And while Charley had only bothered to mention the chosen few, Elysia had tried to include everyone.

She looked around in case any spare chair had eluded her sight before, sighed, and took a seat on the floor. It wasn't as if her outfit could get any worse.

"Let's watch our friends compete, okay?" she told the pokemon. "They'll be less nervous if we're thinking of them and cheering them on. Butchette and Courage, I want you to pay special attention, because you'll be doing this next time." Butchette leaned against her side with a grumpy noise, and Verity reached down to pat the egg. More cracks were spidering across it's surface - maybe it was a very good thing she wasn't competing after all! She'd hate her new pokemon to hatch without her.

Verity blew an encouraging kiss to Connie, grinned at Spencer and Waker, and pulled out her new book, determined to learn everything she could as the contest progressed.

This post has been edited by Lindley: Jul 13 2009, 02:50 AM

[Ganymede]

"You have some of the sweetest Pokemon in the world," Verity told Waker, who blushed a little. Azzy puffed out his chest triumphantly, leading to Pora rolling her eyes. They work together for one minute and then they're back to ignoring each other, he thought amusedly. He was a little surprised that Verity wasn't entering the contest - maybe next time, when there'll be more nice people. He glared at the retreating form of Charley and his Luxio, determined to beat them no matter what.


"Mr. Contesta, what category is this contest?!" Waker jumped as Spencer stopped in front of him, blocking the way into the Hall. He stared at him blankly before realising that he himself didn't know rank this contest would be in - or even if he had a Pokemon he could enter in the rank. Suddenly nervous again, he bit his lip and held Pora close. Please be a rank we can enter...


"You mean you don't know? This contest hall doesn't use categories. It exists to judge your skill as a coordinator. Didn't they explain that to you?" Waker breathed a sigh of relief. He loosened his death grip on Pora, who squirmed a little before escaping his protective grip. Jumping to the floor, she ran over to where Verity and the other non-competing Pokemon sat, Azzy making a strange nose in his throat. Um, okay then...guess it's just you and me now, Azzy. The Poison Pin Pokemon let out a sigh, his ears drooping a bit. Waker frowned - he'd never seen Azzy this...glum, especially since they were about to enter a contest. Maybe he was intimidated by the other competitors?


One of the sponsors stood and smiled at the coordinators. "Welcome to the Practice Hall," he said smoothly, brushing nonexistent dust off of his expensive suit. The other sponsors huddled together, muttering to each other and pointing at some of the Pokemon. Waker felt a chill roll up his spine - there was something just not right about this.


"We hope you enjoyed our products," the man continued, his gaze passing over the group, lingering just a little longer on Spencer and the shiny Luxio. Waker inched closer to Spencer, Azzy swiftly moving to his other shoulder, muttering something to Celia. The man looked squarely at him and Waker gave him a shaky smile, resisting the urge to shudder.


"Well, without further ado, we'd like this contest to begin. Please, proceed backstage and get your Pokemon dressed up and in their Pokeballs. There will be four rounds - the Appeal Round, in which your Pokemon will be judged on their looks and entrance. Next are the two Battle Rounds, where we will pair you off to judge not only your skills, but your competency in battle." He looked over the contestants again and smiled wickedly. "Of course, that means some of you will fight against your friends. But, anything to win, am I correct?


"Finally, in regular contests here in Furoh, there is a Hall Leader Battle Round. However, as this is a practice Hall, there is no real leader." The man snuck a quick glare at Uta, who was still petting his injured Absol. The Disaster Pokemon glared back. "Instead, the three winners of the second Battle Round will be moved to the judging room for a poll based on how their overall performance was." The man smiled again and clapped his hands. "Ready to begin?"


Waker made his way backstage, his mind reeling. A judging room? he thought uneasily, recalling Azzy. He pulled the Pokeball off the hook on the strap of his bag and pulled out the sticker case. Why would they need a judging room? He selected a few bright orange and purple star stickers and placed them carefully on the Pokeball, trusting Azzy to know what to do for his entrance. Charley was murmuring to his Luxio in a stern tone, while Mondie was looking at the two Pokeballs in his hands, as if trying to decide which Pokemon to use. Elysia had already recalled Espy and was gently applying a few pink and purple bubble stickers to the Cherish Ball in her hands.

Waker stood up and pulled off his bag, wondering if there was still time to run out and give it to Verity for safekeeping. Throwing a quick glance at Spencer, he shuffled from behind the curtains and held up his bag to the sponsors, smiling nervously. Mr Contesta waved him by, and Waker dashed over to Verity and held out the bag, hoping she'd understand.

I hope this is an acceptable format for the contest.

[Cube]

It's perfectly acceptable for now.

Spencer dug through his accessory case, pulling out a large blue ribbon. Removing the Gracedia flower from Celia's hair, he carefully tied the ribbon around her neck before recalling her to her Poke Ball. Then, he carefully removed a Ball Capsule from his back, already covered in seals, and snapped it over her Poke Ball.

Now all that was left to do was to wait for the curtains to rise...

Meanwhile, Vincent and Nils watched eagerly from the audience. Nils had taken to nuzzling up against Verity while he munched on a Poffin, while Vincent's gaze alternated between the stage and Mr. Refson. He was starting to regret saving that Absol...

Looking up from his Poffin, Nils noticed that Waker was peeking out of the curtains, gesturing to Verity with his bag. Taking the initiative, Nils handed his half eaten Poffin to Vincent before scurrying to the stage and snagging the bag from Waker's hand. Moving considerably slower under the weight of the bag, the Treecko wobbled back to Verity and the others, before grabbing his Poffin back from the disgusted Charmander.

The lights dimmed, as a female voice echoed over the speakers.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" said a brunette woman holding a microphone. "Welcome to the Port Barley Contest Hall! I'm Jillian Merdian and..." The woman shook her head. "Mr. Contesta, is this really necessary? There's not much of an audience..."

"Mr. Refson wants this to be as authentic as possible." said Mr. Contesta. "Now go on, introduce our contestants."

"Fine..." The woman held up the microphone again. "I'm Jillian Merdian, welcoming you all to this Practice Rank Contest! Just look at this crowd! There's got to be at least 12 people here!"

"Just get on with the contest please, Ms. Merdian." said Uta, his Absol purring in agreement.

"...Okay then." said Jillian. "Our first round is the Visual Appeal round! Coordinators, are you ready?"

Spencer tightened his grip on Celia's Pokeball as he looked at his fellow contestants. Mondie, Charlie, Elysia, Waker...
He started to doubt himself... He took a deep breath.
'It's only a practice contest Spencer... it's fine.... just relax...'

Jillian stepped to the side of the stage as the curtains rose, raising her arm to the sky. "Let's get this contest underway!"

[ROMANA]

I hope you two don't mind if Connie gets her entrance over with first I really have no idea what I'm doing RPing this any more than Connie does doing it, so if this doesn't work, I apologise!

As the sponsor mentioned the products left for them backstage, Connie self-consiously adjusted her sleeve to cover the pokétch and pointedly didn't look at either Mr Contesta or Mr Refson. She blushed and shuffled nervously. She was almost beginning top wish she was down on the floor with Verity. She risked a glance at her friend and smiled at the sight of her all surrounded by pokemon, cuddling her egg. Connie smiled. She felt better all ready. And then the contest was described. Her heart sank. An appeal round, a judging room (that sounded scary) and a battle round. Well, she'd be surprised if she and Mary made it that far, so best not to worry too much about that for now.

Mary dressed and in her pokeball she could... probaby manage, she mused as she waited backstage with the others. After all, Mary had been trying to pull off Spencer's bandana to get at (and eat) the flower for ages now, and she had yet to manage it. She pulled out Mary's luxury ball and recalled her. Waker waved his bag through the curtain and joined them all again. Connie looked around at the others. They all seemed ready, pokeballs in hand. Mondie seemed to be having trouble choosing between his scary looking pokemon, though.

"Our first round is the Visual Appeal round! Coordinators, are you ready?"

Connie's grip tightened on her pokeball. She was really excited, even though the thought of doing this was rather scary, too.

"Let's get this contest underway!"

Looking back on things afterwards, Connie wasn't quite sure how she got from backstage to being in the middle of the stage with a spotlight on her. She seemed to have tripped over something (possibly her own feet), and was disoriented and wasn't really sure which way she should be looking. She was clasping Mary's pokeball tightly and the feel of it in her hand reminded her what needed to happen next.

"Go, Mary!" she said, realising only afterwards that she probably needed to speak up a bit if anyone other than Jillian was going to hear her.

Mary popped out of her pokeball and, in a stunning replay of Connie's entrance looked confused and bewildered and not really sure where she should be looking. There didn't appear to be anyone to fight.

"Mareeeep?"

"And here we have...." Jillian paused, trying to read the scribbled addendum to her contest entrants list. "Constance.... something with her... Mareep, apparently."

The lights caught the static in Mary's fleece wonderfully as the little pokemon made her way to the nearest sculpture to sample the flowers.

"Mary, come back," hissed Connie, "Charge!"

Mary trotted back to the centre of the stage and used her Charge attack. A glow started in the electricity that surrounded her fleece. The glow was a beautiful gold that made the gilt decorations sparkle impressively. It was a real shame that Mary didn't know any other electric attacks to follow it up.

"Um... Tackle!" said Connie decisively.

Mary looked at her trainer rather quizzically. There were no other pokemon on the stage. Who, exactly, was she supposed to tackle? There was the poncy Luxio backstage. She could have sworn he heard it laugh when she came out of her pokeball. Maybe she should tackle him? That might be best, even if he was still in his pokeball. Decision made, Mary raced off the stage at top speed.

There was an crash and it sounded almost like someone swore. Moments later, a rather less composed and more rumpled looking Charley appeared on the stage, followed by an angry looking Luxio and Mary, who Connie could have sworn was smirking.

"What do you think you're doing?" he demanded. "This is the APPEALS round, you little idiot - we aren't supposed battle yet!"

"I'm really sorry!" said Connie, "I didn't tell her to..."

"This is ridiculous!" he snapped.

"And next this morning," announced Jillian, gamely trying to keep up with events as they unfolded, "we have Charley Drake with his impressive Luxio, Lord Sparkster!"

"What?" Charley looked taken aback. "Wait a minute, I'm not ready!"

"You're onstage," said Jillian.

"But... I haven't, I mean..."

"And so is your pokemon."

"But, I... he... we... she attacked me!" he said, pointing at Connie.

"Only by accident!" said Connie. "I'm really very sorry, Mr Drake. Please, it's ok, you don't need to apologise for spoiling my turn, I'll let you carry on." Connie recalled Mary and went to sit with Verity to watch. Competitions were definitely harder than they looked on the television.

"Lord Sparkster, return," said Charley, grumpily recalling the pokemon, glaring at Jillian. "Lets do this properly, since we're here, then."

He released the pokemon from the ball in a shower of blue and gold spark ball seals. The Luxio roared impressively as it sailed gracefully out of the ball. The Roar was combined with a Charge more powerful than Mary's. The lion pokemon's beautiful golden coat gleamed and glowed with static, little sparks rippling from its ears all the way to the star at the tip of its tail as it landed centre stage.

"Spark!" called Charley.

The build up of electricity was released in a positive fireworks show of electrical power. Again the electric attack was combined with an impressive sounding Roar and finished off with an aggressive Bite in the direction of Mr Refson.

There was, considering the sparsity of the audience, an appreciative round of applause.

Charley bowed, and he and Lord Sparkster moved to the side of the stage, clearing the way for the next contestant, while staying where he could watch his opponents.

"He's awfully good, isn't he?" said Connie to Verity as the applause died away. "What a shame about that big black mark on his trousers where he fell over."

You could have heard a pin drop.

[Verity Lily]

"It's his own fault for wearing such an impractical colour," Verity said, safe in the knowledge that her pink dress was hidden away in her jigglypuff backpack. "I think you and Mary were awfully good for a first try, too. That Charge was so pretty! And you'll make it up in the battle round. Mary, you were very clever not to eat your flower."

Charley shot them both an evil look as he and Lord Sparkster took their places at the side of the stage, the Luxio moving to try and shield any costume malfunctions from sight.

Jillian, visibly relieved that events were back on track, announced: "Miss Elysia Ulright and her beautiful espeon, Espy!"

Elsyia moved so elegantly onto the stage that she was almost dancing. She tossed her pokeball lightly into into the air, and Espeon somersaulted gracefully into the air as it appealed with a perfect Sand Attack, the tiny motes of sand glittering like gold in the soptlights, as the stickers on the pokeball produced a cascade of hearts. As Espy came down, its forked tail moved in a skilful Tail Whip, shaping the cloud of sand into a perfect heart shape, as the tiara on its head flashed silver in the lights. The sponsors oohed, and Verity oohed right along with them.

At that moment, however, her attention was completely distracted, and she missed Elysia's. The egg on her lap shook violently once, twice... and the shell fell off in a shower of fragments. Right on Verity's lap was the cutest thing she had ever beheld in her life. She felt as if a pink rosy glow was creeping up and illuminating the entire room, softening and sweetening the very air.

The newly hatched pokemon looked up at her with big ruby eyes and chirped, "Iggly!"

"Igglybuff..." Verity whispered, in awe.

She was dimly aware that Elsyia had finished her round. She only woke fully up when the girl, leaving her espeon at the side of the stage, crossed over to them.

"Can I sit with you girls?" Elysia asked. "I get so nervous standing there on display!"

Even through her rapture, Verity was conscious of a cold sinking in the pit of her stomach when Elsyia took a seat next to Connie. Nils snuggled comfortingly against her side.

The igglybuff looked around with its bright eyes, catching Nils' gaze. "Iggly!" it said, earnestly. Nils dreamily handed it a pokeblock.

Igglybuff munched it happily, and looked around for new targets. Mondie had begun his appeals round, having apparently finally decided on Zangoose, but the little pink pokemon paid it no mind. Its attention had been caught by the tiara sparkling on Espy's lovely head.

"Iggly!" it cried in delight, and slipped from Verity's lap, running on its tiny legs to the stage.

"What are you doing?" Verity asked in horror. "Come back, um - " she tried hastily to think of a name, "Candyfloss! That's right - come here, Candyfloss! Come back!" The three girls began to sotly call Candyfloss's new name, with increasing desperation, trying to win it back without drawing too much attention to what it was doing.

Candyfloss, oblivious, made it all the way to Espy and stopped. It looked shyly up at Espy, then raised its gaze longingly to the tiara. "Iggly?" it plaintively begged. "Igglybuff?"

Espy, mesmerised, bent down its head so that Candyfloss could remove its tiara, then used its tail to help crown the little pokemon.

Mondie's Zangoose, who seemed to have projected it's owner's interest in Elysia onto Elysia's pokemon, finally lost its temper at this outrageous manipulation of the espeon's affections. It ignored its trainer and instead gave Candyfloss an irritated swipe, bowling the tiny pokemon over and over.

As its paw - fortunately not the deadly claws - made contact with Candyfloss, something very odd happened. Its eyes crossed, its expression softened, and it let out one long "Gooooooooose!"

Verity was sure that Candyfloss hadn't been hurt much, but it sat down and started to sob. A torrent of tears flooded from its eyes, soaking the nearest Sponsor, who seemed oddly weakened by the contact.

Butchette took matters into her own hands at last. Marching over, she scooped up Candyfloss and strode back with the igglybuff - tears magically dried up and tiara still on its head - firmly lodged under her arm. Verity sighed with relief, which turned to horror as she realised that the Zangoose, dreamy with infatuation, was following adoringly in their wake.

"This is ridiculous!" blustered Mondie. "These children should never have been allowed in here! Now I need to start all over with Pythoness instead!"

Verity blushed and subsided, trying to make herself as invisible in the pile of pokemon as a small girl with a lovestruck Zangoose sitting gazing at her igglybuff could look. She hoped they wouldn't be thrown out before she could learn more about contests.

She couldn't help the secretly pleasurable thought, however, that even if Connie and Verity's pokemon had indeed been very naughty, they had given Spencer and Waker a head start in the appeals.

Sorry for taking over Elsyia's appeal when she isn't my character - feel free to add in more details or let me know if you want me to make any changes. By the way, Candyfloss used Covet (twice) and Fake Tears - and, obviously, her ability is Cute Charm. <3

[Cube]

Spencer struggled to hold back a laugh at the chaos the newly hatched Igglybuff was causing.
'It looks like Candyfloss is quite the charmer...' he thought, instinctively pulling out his PDA to snap a picture.
Dutifully, the PDA pulled up an appropriate entry.

'Cute Charm
Certain species of Pokemon - such as the Igglybuff family - secrete special pheromones when touched. Pokemon exposed to these pheromones cause any attackers to become infatuated with the Pokemon. The infatuation wears off after the the affected Pokemon is removed from the charmer's presence.'

'That explains why everyone is fawning over that little thing...' thought Spencer 'Nils is even sharing his candy!'

Meanwhile, a flustered Mondie tossed a Pokeball into the air, releasing a Seviper in a flash of lightning and smoke.
"Pythoness! Use Wrap!" shouted the collector, as the Fang Snake Pokemon spun in a rapid spiral in midair.
"Now! Use Dig!"

Spinning like a drill, The Seviper dived off the stage, drilling headfirst through the floor of the Contest Hall. Several of the sponsors went pale, as the Pokemon burst through the ground at the otherside of the warehouse, did a flip in mid air, and landed precariously on it's tail, back on stage.

After a brief moment of stunned silence, one of the sponsors spoke.

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH THAT WOULD COST TO FIX?!" he shouted, causing Mondie to recoil in fear. He quietly recalled his Seviper before joining the others on the floor.

"A proper contest hall wouldn't care if a Pokemon damaged the floor..." he muttered, glaring at the newly hatched Igglybuff. "If it weren't for these kids, I would have been able to show them my Swords Dance - Crush Claw Combo..."

Jillian stepped back on the stage, just as stunned as everyone else.

"Um... Next up is Spencer Thorn, with his Piplup Celia!"

Spencer's heart raced. 'This is it... My big moment... NervousNervousNervousNervous... OhScrewIt!'

Spencer tossed the hand painted Pokeball toward the ceiling. "Do your best, Celia!" he shouted.

The Poke Ball released a burst of cerulean bubbles that swirled around a central point of light, before each of them exploded in a flash of color and light. The bubbles seemed to merge into a larger single bubble, which exploded in a rain of blue and white sparkles, revealing a very excited Piplup.

"Celia! Please use Aqua Ring!" shouted Spencer. Obliging, Celia began spinning rapidly in midair, as a veil of water surrounded her. A delicate water spout extended from the veil to the ground, slowing the Piplup's decent. As Celia was lowered to just scant inches off the ground, the veil broke up into delicate rings, orbiting around the Piplup like a gyroscope.

"Great! Now lets show them your Bubble Rain Appeal!" Obediently, the Piplup fired a mass of bubbles toward the ceiling, where they hovered a moment before bursting in a shower of water. The delicate shower of water captured and refracted the stage light, briefly forming a complex rainbow above the stage. As the last of the droplets hit the ground, Celia let her Aqua Ring fade, before joining Spencer for a final bow. Spencer grinned, the appeal was better than he could have imagined. The rainbow thing was an unintended side effect, but it worked perfectly!

"Thank you Mr. Thorn!" said Jillian, as Spencer and Celia rushed off stage to join their companions.

Spencer greeted Connie and Verity with a big hug, still running off of pure adrenaline. "You did great Connie!" he said, taking a seat with his Pokemon. "And Verity, that Igglybuff of yours is adorable. Though I wouldn't recommend using Fake Tears of a judge again..."

Spencer turned his attention back to the stage as Jillian announced the next performance.
"And now, here's Waker Faland and his Nidoran, Azzy!"

[Ganymede]

Peering from behind the curtain, Waker smiled at the havoc the newly hatched Pokemon created. Pora was fawning over the baby Pokemon, circling it protectively; Mondie's Zangoose stood enraptured. Face beet-red, Mondie sent out his Seviper instead, resulting in the destruction of part of the Hall. Waker ducked back behind the curtain, holding Azzy's ball tightly. As the sounds of Spencer's appeal filtered through the cloth, Waker noticed that the bandage on him arm was unraveling. Setting Azzy's Pokeball down, he attempted to retie the trailing ends of the bandage with his free hand. He had just settled for a hasty knot when he heard scattered applause.

"And now, here's Waker Faland and his Nidoran, Azzy!" Waker hurriedly stood and grabbed the Azzy's Pokeball, pushing past the curtains onto the stage. He took a deep breath, the spotlights burning through his closed eyelids. He waited...just a moment...


...and tossed the Pokeball high in the air. With a loud snap it opened, shooting purple and orange stars in a circle around Azzy, who somersaulted to the ground. Holding his head high, the Poison Pin Pokémon's ears stood straight up. Waker slid one of his feet back and brought his hands together in an audible clap. Azzy spun in a circle and burst forward, the horn on his head glowing as he used Peck. Waker slid his foot forward and stomped down hard, twice. Azzy, still charging, lept into the air and performed a Double Kick. As he landed, he slipped on a stray banner and fell. Waker bit his lip, feeling a coppery taste in his mouth. Growling softly, Azzy used the remainder of his momentum to somersault out of the fall, stopping just in front of the sponsors.


Waker ran over to his Pokemon and picked him up. Azzy was panting heavily, but there was a triumphant look on his face. He buried his nose into Waker's shoulder happily as the boy moved offstage to sit with his friends, feeling his lip where it had split open. He hoped the judges wouldn't notice.


"Great appeals, everyone!" Jillian shouted into the mike, the look on her face saying otherwise. The sponsors had huddled together again, murmuring to each other and sending dirty glares at Mondie's Seviper. Waker slid to the floor, Pora jumping on his lap excitedly. She nudged Azzy out of her way and "Ni!"-ed happily, cuddling against Waker's shirt. Waker pulled the two off of him and set them down on the floor, where Pora immediately grabbed Azzy and pushed him over to the Igglybuff. Waker smiled at the others, still shaky from the appeal.


"The judges have decided the pairings for the first Battle Round!" The group looked up at Jillian, back onstage from where she had been conferring with the sponsors. Glancing back at the suited men, he noticed that Uta and his Absol were gone. Frowning, he turned back to the stage.


"The pairings will be..."

Leaving it open in case anyone wants to be paired with a certain person.

[Verity Lily]

Verity had been alarmed and terrified by Pythoness' performance. She was very glad that it hadn't been the huge snake that had fallen for Candyfloss - having a zangoose, with its terrifying fangs, so close was bad enough, although it didn't seem inclined to do anything but stare besottedly at the pokemon on Butchette's lap. She was also slightly alarmed that Butchette had produced a satisfied and emphstic Chop! at the display. She did want to persuade Butchette to attempt competitions, but she did hope that Butchette wouldn't agree on the basis that she could smash the arena up. She hadn't won enogh battles to have much poke at all.

She clapped Spencer as hard as she could, her hands already stinging from clapping Connie. She hugged Spencer back when he returned to them. "I'm so proud of you! Celia looked awesome out there!"

<<You didn't do badly, Piplup.>> Butchette agreed. <<Better than Mary.>> She gave the mareep a stern look. <<But that poison type - that was some display. Maybe contests aren't all that bad.>>

"And Verity, that Igglybuff of yours is adorable. Though I wouldn't recommend using Fake Tears of a judge again..."

"Candyfloss is the cutest thing in the whole world, isn't she?" Verity said happily. "I always did want a jigglypuff." She flipped her eyes at her bag, and grinned. "A baby igglybuff is even better!" She managed not to say that she was concerned that Candyfloss was a little too adorable - watching Butchette cuddle a normal type, let alone one that had just mortified them all, was a bit unnerving. It was as if Verity's Mamma had suddenly taken to frolicking with beautiflies. Verity was a little concerned that her adorable baby pokemon was going to be too much of a handful to control - but Verity loved her like crazy already and would not have parted with her for the world. Candyfloss was just so... little and round-eyed and pink! And... she just looked so cute with Espy's tiara sliding down over one eye. She probably didn't even know she was being so naughty.

Waker's performance brought another round of enthusiastic applause from Verity. "That was awesome, Azzy!" she said happily. "You were so brave and clever to recover like that. Waker, you were wonderful! Oh - are you okay?"

"The judges have decided the pairings for the first Battle Round! The pairings will be..."

Verity looked up in anxious dismay. She really hoped that Mary wouldn't come up against that awful Seviper - but then, what if she had to fight Spencer or Waker? Connie woul hate to fight her friends! AQnd - where was the Absol? Verity had been determined to watch over it - surely Team Deception hadn't done anything awful to it while she had been distracted by Candyfloss or by the appeals?

In her concern, Verity didn't notice the dangerous proximity between nidoran and igglybuff until it was too late. Candyfloss seemed to like Azzy as well. It fact, she liked Azzy so much that she fixed ruby eyes on him and began to sing crooningly to him, a lilting lullaby that crept around the surrounding pokemon like a pink miasma.

Butchette's eyelids began to droop, and she dropped her head onto the igglybuff's little round shape. Zangoose closed his eyes in what seemed like bliss... and then slowly topped backwards. The group of pokemon snuggled around the humans began to yawn...

Verity realised, through dazed senses, what was happening. "Candyfloss, sweetie..." she managed, although her voice seemed to be coming from a long way away. "Please don't Sing right now... Everyone has to battle..."

[Cube]

<<"Thank you!">> chirped the Piplup, high on an adrenaline rush from being on stage. <<"We worked on that appeal for weeks!>>.

In the months prior to his departure to Furoh, Spencer had occupied his time by teaching his newly hatched Pokemon creative uses for their inherited moves. Celia's appeal was by far the most complex, and the most difficult to master. The water spout suspending her in midair was incredibly delicate, and the slightest touch could send her toppling to the ground.

Spencer wildly applauded as Waker finished his appeal. Giving him a thumbs up as he joined the rest of the group.
"That was great Waker! Nice save with the slip too. You've trained Azzy well."

"The judges have decided the pairings for the first Battle Round! The pairings will be..."

Spencer quickly turned his attention the stage, as Jillian Merdian read from a small notecard.

"For round one, Charley Drake's Lord Sparkster shall be battling Spencer Thorn's Celia!"

"Lord Sparkster? Against a water type?" laughed Charley. "Ha! This will be cake!"

"For round two..." Lillian suddenly went silent, as a soft melody filled the room...

"Iggilybuff, Iggly... buff... Iggilybuff, Iggly..."

A pink cloud seemed to hover around the group. The rhythmic sound of Nils's munching grew slower and slower, until the Treecko finally fell face first into a pile off poffin. Vincent's tail flame flickered as he yawned, nuzzling up against Verity's leg. Even Celia was succumbing to the hypnotic melody, falling unconscious in Spencer's Lap.

"Oh no! Verity! Put Igglybuff into a Pokeball, quick!" said Spencer, as he frantically dug through his bag and pulled out a small, sweet berry to distract the Balloon Pokemon, shoving it into it's tiny arms.

Pulling out his PDA, Spencer furiously tapped through the various menus before finally ending up on the radio tuner. "PokeFlute channel... PokeFlute Channel... Please let Furoh have a PokeFlute channel! ...What do you mean this region doesn't have a PokeFlute channel!? GAH! Where's Nurse Joy when you need here?!"

[ROMANA]

The hatching of Verity's egg rather distracted Connie from the events onstage, even though Elysia's Espy got off to very pretty start. She was incredibly curious to see what would emerge - she would never have guessed it would be an Igglybuff, even though it did seem to suit Verity. Connie grinned and leaned over to stroke the little pokemon. She had been going to whisper to Verity to ask what her friend would call her team's newest addition but she felt as though she was drifting away from the contest and the hall, lost in clouds of pink cuteness. She was brought back to herself by Elysia shyly joining them and, moments later, by the little Igglybuff determinedly setting off across the stage to Espy.

By the time all was more or less as it should be, the little gaggle of girls and pokemon had acquired an adoring, if still rather alarming Zangoose but thankfully all had calmed down in time for Connie to watch Spencer and Waker's performances properly. She did so with a new found appreciation. There was more to contests than met the eye! You would never have known she was competing too from the way she clapped them both until her hands were sore.

"You did great Connie!" said Spencer as he joined them all.

"Thank you," she replied, "but Mary and I will need a lot of practice to be as good as you and Waker. Or Elysia," she added, smiling at the girl that seemed to want to be friends too.

Connie's attention was drawn back to the stage as Jillian Meridian started announcing the battle matchups. Spencer was up first against Charley, much to Cherley's delight, apparently.

"Oh, poor Celia!" said Connie. "Good luck, you two. I bet Celia's faster than Lord Sparkster, anyway."

As Jillian began to announce the next battle pair, Candyfloss started to Sing. Poor Azzy was taking the brunt of the little Igglybuff's attention but Connie could barely keep her eyes open and she wasn't the only one. Spencer was rummaging in his bag and gave Candyfloss a berry before muttering and fiddling with his PDA.

Candyfloss interrupted her song for a moment to sniff the berry. She put it on her tongue and then spat it at the Zangoose with a disgusted "Buff!" Evidently she did not approve of sweet berries. It was just long enough for Verity to pull the Luxury Ball she'd picked up in the green room out of the Jigglypuff backpack and pop Candyfloss inside. Connie had a feeling she might learn to like that particular pokeball very much.

"Thank you, Spencer," said Connie with relief. "Is Azzy ok, Waker? And Espy? We need to get everyone properly awake again to battle!" Connie shook her head to clear away the last vestiges of Candyfloss' song. "Here, I've got some lava cookies." She reached into her rucksack and pulled out her paper bag full of cookies. "I don't know if they work well on humans but I'm sure they can't hurt."

Onstage, Jillian Meridian also seemed to be coming to. "For round two," she said again, "Elysia Ulright and Espy will face Constance... something and her Mareep."

Connie's jaw dropped. She had thought she was unofficially disqualified for accidentally attacking an opponent in the appeals round and she hadn't been expecting to carry on.

"Oh dear," she said. "Really? Oh dear."

[Ganymede]

"For round one, Charley Drake's Lord Sparkster shall be battling Spencer Thorn's Celia!"


Waker opened his mouth indignantly. That's not fair! he thought, not noticing how close Azzy had gotten to the baby Pokemon. That Luxio is an electric-type! It'll...it'll hurt...Celia... Waker's eyes felt incredibly heavy. He vaguely heard himself yawn before everything was enveloped in a pink haze. Head drooping, Waker swayed sideways as his eyes closed and he fell fast asleep, head landing on Spencer's shoulder.


Pora shook her head violently before diving into the candy-pink cloud, dragging Azzy safely out of the danger zone. She slapped his face with a tiny paw and Azzy quickly came to, rubbing his sore cheek. "What was that for? he asked incredulously. "It was just singing! 'S not like it hurt anyone-"


"Look at Waker!" Pora said sternly, shoving Azzy over to their unconscious trainer. His lip had stopped bleeding, but his bandages had unraveled again. "You fix his bandages. I'll see if I can wake him up." With that, Pora dug her tiny claws into Waker's shirt, careful not to rip the fabric as she pulled herself onto his shoulder. She tapped her paw against Waker's cheek; no reaction came from her trainer. Frowned, she tapped him again, a little harder this time. "You're seriously not going to sleep through a contest, are you?" she said exasperatedly. Azzy snorted from his place on the ground, each of the trailing ends of the bandage held in one paw. "Good luck, he sleeps like a Snorlax."


"And for the last round, it'll be Mondie and Pythoness versus Waker Faland and Azzy!" Jillian nodded at the sponsors, who were still busy muttering amongst themselves. Turning back to the group, she held up her microphone and all but shouted into it. "Okay! Let's get Round One started! Charley, Spencer, please get your Pokemon and make your way onstage!"


"Come on!" Pora said, tugging on Waker's cheeks. "It's starting! Wake up!" She tugged one final time before her paw slipped, sending her tumbling into Waker's lap. Azzy snickered, holding a strange-looking sweet in his mouth. "Is...that a lava cookie?" Pora asked, righting herself. With an affirmative nod, Azzy swiftly climbed to Waker's shoulder and waved the cookie under his nose. Their trainer blinked and came to, sitting upright slowly. Pora sighed. "Suck up..."


Shaking his head to clear the last of the pink fog, Waker nibbled on the edge of the cookie. That was....weird, he thought, watching as Charley haughtily made his way onstage, his Luxio following him. Can't remember why I fell aslee- wait! Waker dived into his bag, grabbing his notebook and pen. He wrote frantically before holding it up to Connie, Verity, and Elysia.

did they already say who im fighting?

[Cube]

"Thank you Connie!" said Spencer, as he pulled a trio of Lava Cookies from the bag. Carefully propping open each of his Pokemon's mouths in turn, he slowly fed each of the sleeping Pokemon a cookie, even moving their mouths to help them chew.

Nils awoke almost immediately at the taste of Baked Goods. Vincent and Celia took a little bit longer to wake up, but soon the Piplup and Charmander were wide awake.

Charley on the other hand, had come prepared. Lord Sparkster was already wide awake, as Charley tossed an empty Full Restore aside.
"Lava Cookies? Honestly..." he muttered. "You really are a bunch of country bumpkins."
"Lux!" said Lord Sparkster, his tail held up high as he followed his trainer to the stage.

"Mr. Thorn, we're waiting for you on stage!" Said Jillian, impatiently tapping her foot.

"Gah! Come on Celia!" said Spencer, grabbing the now fully alert Piplup from the ground and rushing to the stage.

"Thank you..." said Jillian, as both trainers reached the stage and readied their Pokemon. "And for the benefit of Mr. Faland, who was indisposed during the last announcement." the announce glared at Verity. "You will be battling Esm... Mondie and his Seviper."

With a deep sigh, the Jillian trudged back stage, leaving Spencer and Charley alone with their Pokemon. The lights dimmed, as spotlights shone on each of the trainers, their Pokemon engaged in a staredown... Lord Sparkster's fur crackled as he let out a deep growl, causing Celia to waddle back in fear.

"Lup! Lup!" she cried, frightened by the Luxio's display.

"Don't let him Intimidate you Celia..." said Spencer, as he did a quick scan with his PDA. The results looked grim...

'CAUTION!
Type and Level Disadvantage Detected.

Piplup: Level 8 Water Type < Luxio: Level 15 Electric Type

Proceed with Caution.

'Why did it have to be the Electric Type?' thought Spencer, as he sized up his opponent.
'If I have any chance of winning, I have to avoid those spark attacks... But Celia isn't fast enough for that!"

"Well... If I'm going to lose... I might as well lose with grace!"

Charley made the first move. "Lord Sparkster! Charge!"

"Luxio!" shouted Spark Pokemon as it's fur bristled with electricity.

"Good! Now Spark that ugly bird!"

"Celia! Please use Aqua Ring!" shouted Spencer, as he braced for the worst.

Glowing like a comet, Luxio rushed head on toward the Piplup like a bolt of lightning. Just as it was about to strike, a swirling sphere of water surrounded Celia, knocking the Luxio back. Unlike the delicate veil from the appeal, this Aqua Ring was more of a waterfall then a hurricane. The Veil broke up into numerous rings, circling Celia at high speeds, still crackling from taking the blunt of the attack.

<"How dare you call me ugly!?! I'll show you ugly!"> cried the Piplup, as it released a torrent of bubbles. The bubbles caught onto the swirling rings of water that surrounded the Piplup at high speeds, using the currents to gain momentum. The rings aligned with each other to form a four way cross, pointed directly at Lord Sparkster. Finally, at maximum momentum, the bubbles were ejected from the cross like a machine gun, slamming directly into Lord Sparkster, soaking him (and the stage!) in water.

Spencer was stunned by Celia's display. Sure, he had taught her how to manipulate her veil of water in creative ways, but he never taught her how to do that! Did that even obey the laws of physics?!

Charley just smirked. "Hm... so your Piplup knows a few tricks. Cute. Very well then... Lord Sparkster! Charge again!"

The Luxio's fur crackled as it charged electricity, almost smirking at the Piplup.

"Now! Use Spark Attack!"

Just like before, the Luxio shone like lighting as it prepared to attack, but something strange happened... Instead of a controlled spark, the attack turned into an out of control flash that seemed to illuminate the pool of water Luxio was standing in. The Luxio cried out in pain before quickly ceasing it's electric attack, smoke rising from it's fur.

Spencer's eyes lit up. "A short circuit?! Of course! Celia, you should have been in Smart Contests, because you're a genius!"

"Lup!" said the Piplup, obviously quite proud of itself. Of course, creating a short circuit wasn't her intended effect, but she wasn't going to let anyone know that.

Jillian was obviously surprised as well, as she watched from a safe spot backstage. "It seems that by soaking Lord Sparkster in water, Celia has created a situation where Lord Sparkster can't use it's electric attacks without risking self injury! An incredible strategy!"

Charley was not amused. "I suppose I underestimated you... I hope you don't think this means you have a chance at winning."

Spencer smiled. "I hope you don't think that winning this contest will make you any less of a pretentious jerk."

Charley glared at his opponent, infuriated. "LORD SPARKSTER! BITE THAT PIPLUP'S HEAD OFF!"

"Celia! Do that Bubble thing again please!" shouted Spencer, as the Luxio leapt toward them. The Piplup released another torrent of bubbles, slightly weaker than before, but still powerful enough to knock her opponent back. The Luxio did a backflip as it landed, slipping a bit on the wet stage. Completely enraged now, Charley ordered the Luxio to attack again.

The Luxio charged toward, teeth and claws bared, as Celia stood at the ready. Finally, a split second before striking, Celia leapt into the air, completely shattering her veil of water. Lord Sparkster now completely soaked the Piplup did a quick flip in the air before coming down hard on the disoriented Luxio's head.

"Lux! Io..." whimpered the Spark Pokemon. Unable to take another blow, the Luxio simply allowed himself to faint, causing a dull splash against the water soaked stage.

"Lord Sparkster is unable to battle!" said Jillian, running back on stage. "The winner is Celia!"

In the audience, Nils and Vincent cheered.
<"I didn't think she had it in her!"> said Vincent, as the Piplup on stage took a final bow.

Spencer, on the other hand, was totally shocked. "I won..." he muttered. "I actually won... how on earth did I actually win?"

"HOW THE HELL DID THAT STUPID BIRD BEAT MY LUXIO!? DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I PAYED TO HAVE THAT THING TRAINED?!" shouted Charley, as he recalled his Pokemon.
Shoving Jillian aside, the enraged boy marched back stage, muttering several very rude words.

Still stunned, Spencer carried a slightly damp Celia back to the audience, where he rejoined the others.
"Celia..." he whispered, hugging the Piplup in his arms. "You were great. Even if we don't end up winning, you did wonderfully."

"Lup!" chirped Celia, as she tried to hug her trainer with her tiny flippers.

Jillian, upset by Charley's outburst, took a few moments to regain her composure, before announcing the next match."Our next battle round is between Constance... something's, Mareep, and Elysia's Espy! Would the contestants please come to the stage?"

This post has been edited by CubeB: Jul 15 2009, 05:30 PM

[ROMANA]

Connie released Mary from her pokeball again. She wanted the Mareep to watch the other battles so that she'd get an idea of what Connie needed her to do - no more running offstage, for a start! Connie watched Celia and Spencer's battle open-mouthed, hanging onto Verity's arm in excitement. Mary seemed quite interested, too. She watched the Luxio's attacks intently. Some sparks crackled in her fleece as she watched the Luxio perform the Charge attack. They seemed to crackle and coalesce around her horns as the Luxio went for its second Spark attack.

Connie never would have thought that the little Piplup could defeat the Luxio but she managed it by manipulating her water attacks in a way that would never have occurred to Connie. Preparing for contests could obviously really help your skill in pokemon battles. Connie was more and more determined that her pokemon would be trained with an eye both to contest ribbons and gym badges.

"Well done, Celia!" she shouted as she applauded. "You two were great!" she said to Spencer as he rejoined them.

And then it was Connie's turn. She felt as if she'd gone pale. At least it was the pretty Espeon she was facing and not the scary Seviper. She smiled at Elysia as the pair of them made their way onstage. She pulled out her new pokedex without thinking and pointed it at the Espeon. Psychic type, higher level than Mary.

"Ok, Mary," said Connie. "Let's start with a Growl."

The little sheep pokemon glared determinedly at the serene psychic type she was facing and gave her very best intimidating growl. It was more endearing than intimidating, however, and Espy looked almost amused as it used Sand Attack. Mary shook her head, the sand making it hard to see.

"Follow up with tackle, Mary," said Connie. "You can do it!"

Unfortunately the Sand Attack had the desired affect and Espy was able to dodge the tackle easily.

"Try another tackle, Mary," said Connie, hopefully.

Mary shook her head, again trying to clear her vision and seemed to be building up the static in her coat. Connie was surprised - Mary wasn't usually directly disobedient in battle, no matter how naughty she was. Elysia took advantage of Mary's disorientation to have Espy tackle the Mareep. The tackle hit and Mary stumbled back a couple of steps. Touching the static-ridden fleece seemed to paralyse the Espeon. Unfortunately the Psychic power of the pokemon meant that the effect was shared with Mary.

Mary's fleece still seemed to be charegd with electricity. "Mareep!" said the little sheep pokemon, determinedly. "Eeeeep!" With that, the sparks coalesced around her horns again, and a weak electric bolt shot at the Espeon. It didn't have much of an effect but Connie was practically bouncing in the air in excitement - Mary was trying to learn a new attack! Remembering that she had her pokedex to hand, Connie checked to see if she could work out what Mary was trying. The pokedex informed her that Mary was attempting Thundershock. She obviously had some work to do on it, it barely seemed to have registered as a hit on the Espeon but Connie was incredibly proud of her pokemon.

"Well done, Mary!" she called out. "Try Charging first, and then your Thundershock again."

Espy's tail was waving at Mary, beguilingly, distractingly, letting the Espeon get closer to Mary, ready for her next attack. Mary was distracted, following the Tail Whipping about with her eyes, not realising how near to her Espeon was getting. She started her Charge attack, building up the electrical power in her coat, glowing and sparking, but it was too late.

"Confusion, Espy," called Elysia.

The powerful Psychic attack hit Mary head on. The little sheep staggered under the mental assault and fell over.

"Mary!" yelled Connie, rushing over to her. "Mary, you'll be ok." Connie scooped up her Mareep into a hug and patted her gently. She remembered her manners well enough to squeak a "Well done, congratulations" to Elysia, before struggling back to sit with Verity, the boys and the huddle of pokemon. Mareeps were heavier than they looked!

"I'm proud of you, Mary," she said, encouraging the pokemon to sip some water. "You did really well and we'll practice your Thundershock together, ok?"

[Verity Lily]

"I'm so sorry, guys." Verity slid her luxury ball into her bag, sighing. Butchette had never been such a mortifyingly impish handful. Still.. she couldn't wait to get Candyfloss out and play with her. Or cuddle up to her and feed her an evening bottle of moomoo milk...

"It's perfectly all right," Elysia said kindly. "When Espy was just an eevee, she used to use Run Away and flee from every battle. I despaired of ever levelling her up. Your little one will learn to control its powers soon."

Verity flushed and tried to feel grateful rather than defensive and resentful. Whatever Candyfloss was, she wasn't a coward. She released the pokemon again.

"You be a good girl and stay with Verity-mama, and you can stay out and watch the battle round. Do you promise?"

"Iggly," Candyfloss said happily. It yawned a little, apparently tired out by all its exertions, and snuggled sleepily into Verity's arms. It didn't even protest when Verity shamefacedly lifted the tiara off its head and handed it to Elsyia.

"Oh dear," Connie said. "Really? Oh dear."

Verity reached over the pile of assorted pokemon and hugged her, hard. "You and Mary will do just great!" She smiled at the others, even Elsyia and Mondie. "You all will," she said, wth extra smiles for her friends.

She watched Spencer and Charley's match with her lips parted with excitement and her free hand squeezing Connie's very tight, forgetting all about the embarassment of before and even to wonder what had happened to the absol. She squealed with delight when Celia pulled off her magnificent victory. Country bumpkins indeed!

"Wow, Celia, you're as clever and tough as you're pretty! You two were amazing!" She beamed admiringly at Spencer, while Courage took flight and circled around her head in excitement. Even Butchette grunted approval.

When it was Connie's turn, Verity hugged her again, and dropped a kiss on Mary's fluffy head. "Whatever happens, I'm so proud of you two!" Leaning down to Mary's war, she whispered, slightly ashamed of herself for doing so: "You show that fancy pokemon what farm pokemon can do."

"Mareep!" the sheep pokemon replied, winking in what might have been a knowing manner, and might just have been a spark catching her eye.

The match didn't produce the stunning victory Spencer had pulled off, but Verity still glowed with pride. Mary had learned an electric attack! "You two were wonderful!" she told them as Connie hauled back her pokemon and collapsed. "You looked amazing out there! And Elsyia, you did great, too," she added generously. "Don't you think so, Candyfloss?"

"Buff," the little pink pokemon said sleepily, opening one eye.

"Your turn now, Waker," Verity said happily. "We're one all - let's make it one up. Mondie, can your Zangoose stay with us while you battle?" She reached down and scratched the Zangoose on the top of the head. It looked terrifying, but when you got to know it, she decided, it was really rather sweet. Maybe she'd catch a Zangoose of her own someday. "You're a nice pokemon really, aren't you?" she said, chucking it under the chin.

There was a soft snoring from her arms as Candyfloss dropped off to sleep. It took Verity a while to realise that the soft expression in Zangoose's eyes was beginning to... harden. It flexed its claws, almost as if it was realising that it had been disqualified from the competition and made a fool of in front of a group opf low-level pokemon...

Verity shrieked as the claws swept in towards the baby pokemon in her lap, and she stumbled back onto her feet, clutching Candyfloss protectively.

Like lightning, Courage zapped down from the air in a Quick Attack. When the Zangoose, distracted and angry, batted at it, the starly turned on one wing and slashed across its face with the other.

"Courage! Wing Attack! You're so brave!"

Unfortunately, the Starly turned to look smugly at her trainer, and the Zangoose caught her from behind in its terrible claws, smashing them slowly together in Crush Claw. Courage chirped in horror and decided discretion was the better part of valour, fainting. Zangoose turned back to Verity, its eyes fixed on Candyfloss in a distinctly un-infatuated way.

"Stop it, Crusher!" Mondie ordered, sounding somewhat frightened, but the pokemon ignored him and stepped forward again. Verity gasped with terror, feeling sick and clutching the baby desperately. She owndered if she could reach her pokedoll in time to distract the Zangoose.

"MA-CHOP!" Butchette stepped in front of the girl, paws on hips, and bared her teeth. A glow began to build up around her as she Focussed her energy on spotting the Zangoose's weak areas.

Zangoose shrugged contemptuously and began to whirl its claws around it like swords, raising its attack power.

Verity tried to remember that she was a trainer and that she had a type advantage. "Butchette! Jump up and karate chop!"

Butchette lept into the air and came down, hard, all her weight focused on the paw that landed on Zangoose's head. Zangoose dropped to one knee, the Swords Dance faltering, and Verity could have jumped with joy. But then the lethal claws whirled out again, and Butchette was caught between them.

"Maaaaaaaaaa..." Butchette struggled desperately, and the Zangoose grinned, tightening the Crush Claw.

"I surr-" began Verity, desperately, although she wasn't sure at all that giving in would help - after all, the only order Mondie had given had been ignored. But before she could complete the word, Butchette twisted in Zangoose's grasp and her foot flew out in a perfect Low Kick, catching Zangoose hard and critically on the knee still standing.

"ZAN!" The thing toppled over, and Mondie hastily recalled it.

Butchette fell weakly to her own knees, but the look she gave Verity was distinctly satisfied. Verty rushed over to her, Candyfloss in the crook of one arm, and hastily pulled bottles of lemonade from her bag to give to her precious pokemon.

"What on earth was THAT?" Mondie growled. "What do you have against Crusher, may I ask? You're not even competing! Are you TRYING to cheat on your friends' behalf by destroying my Zangoose?"

Verity frowned at him over Courage's head. "It's not my fault you can't control your pokemon." She was aware as soon as she said it that this was a case of pot and kettle, but she didn't want to draw attention to that and, ayway, he was an adult and she had only just got her trainer card. "Besides, you've got other things to worry about. You and Pythoness still have to battle Waker, and I warn you, he's very tough." She tossed her pink ponytail.

[Cube]

Spencer applauded as Connie and Mary valiantly battled the Espeon, leaping into a standing ovation as it performed Thundershock for the first time.

"Way to go Mary!" he shouted, his cried echoed by his Pokemon.

Sadly, though the Mareep did beautifully, it couldn't withstand the Espeon's mental attacks.

"You did great Connie!" said Spencer, hugging the girl as she returned to the group. "That was amazing!"

Of course, Spencer's excitement was short lived, as the Cute Charm on Mondie's Zangoose seemed to have worn off. The infuriated normal time lunged at Verity, ignoring it's trainer's commands.

"Get a hold of that Zangoose!" shouted Spencer, as he slid out of the way of a Crush Claw attack. Vincent -clearly upset by this sudden outburst - lunged for the Zangoose in a blind rage, only to be restrained by it's siblings.

<'Get a hold of yourself Vincent!'> shouted Nils, feebly trying to hold his brother back.
<'What's wrong with you?! He'll kill her!'> shouted the Charmander, his claws starting to shine with the gleam of steel. His tail flared up as he prepared an Ember attack, only for Celia to clamp her flipper over his mouth.
<'Wait! Look at Butchette!'>

While the Starly had fainted in the claws of the crazed Zangoose, Butchette was much stronger, and much more skilled, taking down the Zangoose with a swift low kick. The Charmander calmed as Mondie rushed to retrieve his Pokemon, accusing the girl of sabotage.

"It's not my fault you can't control your pokemon." said Connie, ""Besides, you've got other things to worry about. You and Pythoness still have to battle Waker, and I warn you, he's very tough."

"Yeah!" said Spencer, climbing to his feet. "Candyfloss didn't intend any harm. It's a baby. That Cute Charm thing is a defense mechanism from when your Zangoose attacked it. If it hadn't tried to attack it, then it wouldn't have been infatuated, and there wouldn't be a massive hole in the floor right now."
Spencer pointed to the twin craters created by Pythoness's earlier appeal.

Elysia chimed in. "Epaminondas, it doesn't seem like your Zangoose respects you very much, considering how it's behaving..."

Mondie turned beet red. "Crusher most certainly does respect me! I trained it myself! He even gets along with Pythoness!"

"...Mondie, your Pokemon are siblings aren't they?" said Elysia, scratching her Espeon behind the ear. "You bought them from a breeder, right?"

"Uh..." Mondie began to sweat. "Well... yes... But I still trained them and everything!"

"That's why they don't fight each other!" exclaimed Spencer. "I remember my dad mentioning that once. If you can get a Zangoose and a Seviper to breed, the offspring won't be hostile toward each other."

"There's a difference between teaching a Pokemon appeals and actually befriending the Pokemon Epaminondas." said Elysia. "Perhaps that's something you need to work on."

At the judging table, several of the sponsors whispered into each other's ears, taking notes on the conversation.

Completely mortified now, the collector shot a death glare at Verity and Spencer before taking his place on stage.
Jillian's voice echoed over the speakers. "Next up is Epi... Mondie and Pythoness, vs. Waker and Azzy! Will both contestants... Oh! Mondie's already here. Will Waker Faland please come on stage?"