The Contest Spectacular!

[indigo_events]

Who: Everyone attending the Contest Spectacular! (For more information about this event, check out the info post here!)
Where: Celadon City
When: January 18-20
Log:

It’s finally here… the Contest Spectacular! The whole city of Celadon has been bustling ever since the preparations for the contest began, but now with the addition of all the contestants, their friends, and the general crowds, the town is downright packed. Hotel rooms booked en masse (good luck getting into that big fancy one near the casino-- thank Arceus there's plenty of others!), the Center stuffed with younger trainers who are short on cash but couldn't pass up the opportunity to see the first ever Pokemon Contest in this region, and generally even more foot traffic than usual.

But nowhere is it moreso than in Celadon Center, where massive, colorful tents have been erected. Pink, orange, yellow, green, and blue! There's no missing what they're for-- enormous banners advertising the Contest Spectacular fly from every corner. The streets surrounding the square are packed as well-- food carts and merch stands line the sidewalks, eager to snag a bit of the glory. Teeny tiny portions of hoity-toity restaurant food usually too expensive to buy are being hawked to passersby right alongside Pokeblocks and Poffins of varying quality, in case your Pokemon need a treat (or a little extra oomph before the show starts!). In addition to the stands selling gobs of Hoenn contest celebrity memorabilia (contest nerds might recognize figures such as Contest Idol Lisia and her Altaria, Ali, featured quite prominently!), Celadon City's many fashion boutiques and clothing lines have gotten first dibs on available space, so any contestants still looking for an outfit for themselves or their Pokemon is in luck, because there’s absolutely everything you could imagine for sale if you find the right stall. Opportunistic photographers (some official, some... not) have also swooped in to set up booths with rentable costumes and fun backgrounds, for anyone who isn't performing but wants some cute souvenir pictures of their Pokemon being a contest star anyway.

But of course, for eager audiences and contestants alike, the real attraction lays within the tents themselves. Audience members will have to wait in line for the shows to officially begin at noon on Friday, but for those who entered the contest themselves, well, that's another story entirely!

Stages of all kinds have been arranged to suit most every type of act that’s been submitted, from the more traditional wooden stages to huge tanks to little fields (the oodles of hardworking staff making all of this possible are making good use of moves like Grassy Terrain!), and the Contest Hosts’ voices can be heard presenting acts and cracking jokes about said acts almost all day long.

After registering but before checking into their lodgings (prepaid rooms at the ritzy Celadon Hotel! Lucky you!), contestants and their Pokemon will be shown behind the scenes and made familiar with all the utilities at their disposal-- small refreshments, makeup stalls, a selection of props to make use of (although, as the harried-looking staff will tell them, bringing your own unique items is really the best way to stand out!), lights, camera, and of course action! Unsurprisingly, the entire back workings of the Contest is a flurry of activity-- it's a lot of people, Pokemon, and equipment to manage; and in true, bombastic Hoenn style, there are bright lights and flashy colors everywhere you look! But contestants will still find that no matter how busy or frantic they are, the staff will still find time to help them out with special requests or technical requirements for the act. It is, after all, their job!

But ultimately, the act is on you and your Pokemon. Don't get stage fright now-- the curtain's going up any minute!

~*~

[IMPORTANT: Please submit your contest entries here! For all other activities, feel free to make your own top-levels!]

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Henry and Flotsam

[no_ufo_ending]

Contest Category: Beauty
Trainer: Henry Townshend
Pokemon: "Flotsam" (Lapras)
Move: Ice Shard

Costume:
Flotsam's shell has been painted in shimmering opalescent pinks and blues. From her curly ears hang a pair of clip-on crystal earrings that dangle like icicles. She wears a fluffy pastel scarf around her neck and the tassels also end in little ice crystals.

Henry accompanies her wearing a puffy blue winter coat and a pastel scarf that matches Flotsam's. He's also wearing a pair of earmuffs with a swirly pattern that resemble Flotsam's ears. He's thankful he actually gets to bundle up in the January chill and match his Pokemon.

Act:

Flotsam is eager to get on stage though you wouldn't know that due to Lapras not being the most graceful Pokemon when moving over land. Nevertheless they have chosen an outdoor stage, one without a tent cover. She flip-flops her way into the spotlight with Henry keeping her between himself and the crowd. Realistically, he knows everyone is looking at her but standing in front of a crowd like this is so different from seeing the bustling crowd of the Pokemon Center. Either way, he's not going to get any show points himself for how much he's keeping his head down.

Meanwhile, Flotsam just looks placidly over the crowd and gives them a few slow, almost coy blinks. She turns her head so that her earrings catch the stage light. She is soaking this up. However, as she shows herself off, Henry is can't keep behind hid her head. He straightens up, finally approaching the microphone.

"Um. Hello. I--this is Flotsam and we're going to be using Ice Shard..." Henry glances back to her as though double-checking that's what they're actually doing but the Lapras's gaze has drifted upward. She's watching the clouds.

Henry shuffles his feet. "When...whenever you're ready."

Flotsam doesn't respond at first. She watches the clouds with slow, serene blinks. But then, suddenly, her whole demeanor changes. As a gap in the clouds appears and allows a little pale sunlight to stream down over Celedon, Flotsam rears her neck back and tucks in her chin. Brilliant icy blue light blossoms around her horn and in a burst of energy, a spray of glittering shards sharp as daggers fly upward in an arc. When they reach the peak of their ascent, they burst into smaller particles of ice and a rainbow shimmers through them, bathing the stage in swirling colorful light. The effect only lasts for a moment. The rainbows fade and the remnants of the Ice Shard attack fall down to the crowd soft and harmless as snow.

Back at the mic, Henry has stopped trying to hide behind it and is smiling almost as brightly as his Pokemon's display had been. While Flotsam basks in the applause, Henry just blushes. "Thank you."