[X] My Assistant

[Living Arrow]

The cold winds of Arasam curled through the streets on their aloof courses around the mountain, drawing puffs of steam from the mouths of the pedestrians in the city. Four trainers walked those streets with a destination clearly in mind but none of them really knew what they would do once they got there. The lack of expectation was unnerving to all of them but one in particular was down right petrified.

Holy crap! I’m not ready for this! Two hours prep and hardly a combination worth mentioning between my two battlers? I might as well take the runner-up token now!

Darryn chewed angrily at the insides of his cheeks, silently berating himself for falling for Troy’s persistent charms. Despite having the support of his friends and the accessories needed to make a fine entrance in a Contest Appeal, he really didn’t feel all that appealing. The past two hours had flown by and now he was being herded into the second embarrassment of the day. How Darryn managed to get himself into these things was a mystery but he always was a sucker for pretty boys.

***

“The one thing you must remember is to use your Pokemon’s power completely. I don’t mean its strength or speed. What I mean is its inner ability to refine its attacks into their most efficient and impressive forms. Let’s take your Butterfree for example.” Troy coached Darryn from a bench on the side of the sparring field at the Pokemon Center. Jaima was busy with Meiko on the other field but for some reason, Tuesday had chosen to watch Darryn train for a while.
The topic of focus for the moment was the Appeal Round. Apparently, only one Pokemon could be selected and it was an opportunity to show of the Pokemon’s quality of care and raising by effectively showing off its attacks and abilities in a chosen category. Since he would have to save his strongest Pokemon for the Battling Round, Darryn had decided to go with India for the appeal. lady, November and Bravo would be with Joy for hours yet, still recovering from their Gym battle previously. Lady had protested that Darryn should take part in any form of battling without her there, but the Nurse had sedated her before she had oppotunity to burn his face off. Even so, Lady had fought the drowziness and managed to convince Darryn to allow her to come and watch, despite being wrapped in several bandages.

“She’s called India, by the way.” Darryn corrected Troy, smiling up at the round purple face looking down at him from her perch on the human’s head.

“You’re called India! Stop interrupting and listen up!” Troy whined, pouting like a child. Darryn didn’t really see the pout as such. Instead, the perfect formation of those full lips caught his attention, making him feel so…
“OK, so what you need to do is select an attack and perfect its execution while making sure you are able to move into the next move as smoothly as possible so it doesn’t look too rehersed.”

“O…K… doesn’t seem too hard…” Darryn held a finger to his chin in thought for a moment. “Now… what moves does India have again?... Right, I remember!” His Butterfree swept off his head and out onto the field, her wings wide and firm as she prepared to show off her moves. “Let’s go with Stun Spore, India.”

The Butterfree climbed higher in the air and squealed with delight, spinning slowly while beating her wings and released gold-yellow spores into the air. The shimmering motes of paralysing dust fell in a spiral cascade even as India soared higher, creating a golden-fountain.

“OK, India. Stop it now and use Gust to keep the spores in the air around you. Remember what Troy said though, and keep it smooth as possible!”

***

“So, Darryn. How did the combinations for your appeal come together? They’re probably not as good as Jaima’s, mind.” Meiko teased as they made their way up the street towards the Contest Hall. Darryn looked at her out of the corner of his eye and held his breath. Saying ‘I doubt it’ would be rude but saying ‘Yeah, you’re right’ would be defeatist.

“They looked really really good by the end of the training.” Tuesday piped up for once. Darryn hope she was right. He really wanted Troy, an experienced Co-ordinator, to be able to see that his beautification techniques were just as efficient even if he had been focusing on the strength and power of his battlers for Gym battles.

The Contest Hall came into view. A grand building that looked more like a sports arena from the outside by with so many bright lights and star-shaped ornaments, rippling banners and uniformed employees made it so much more garish than the bland counterpart Gym on the other side of town. Spectators, yes – SPECTATORS, were buying tickets at the entrance and making their way inside with big smiles on their faces and autographs books in their hands. One particular group of people had clearly come as fans of a particular Co-ordinator, all dressed in the same bright pink with a banner reading “The Grace of Stacie” shared between them. Darryn gulped.

“I had no idea it was such a popular event… There’s going to be an audience, like a proper one from shows on tv. Why wasn’t I told this before?!” Darryn demanded of no-one in particular, crying inside as they drew closer to the contestant registration booth at the side entrance, away from the growing crowd at the main doors. “We should probably just go to Petropolis instead.”

“Oh, man up, Darryn!” Meiko poked him in the ribs. “It’s just a few people – they can’t hurt you.”

“A FEW!?” Darryn gestured at the seething mass of people. “Does that look like a few to you?! They’ll all be watching and expecting so much and I’ve never even done this before! God, my routine is so stupid and I’m going to make a complete fool of myself… Let’s just go back to the Pokemon Center and saddle up for the south west? Next badge. Right, Jaima? How’s that sound instead?”