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!]

Comments

Just squeaked under the word limit!

[forsaintcecilia]

Contest Category: Cute
Trainer: Kazuki Hihara
Pokemon: "Honky Tonk" (Brionne)
Move: Disarming Voice

Costume: Brionne is already known as the Pop Star Pokemon, so Kazuki takes his visual cues from his Pokemon rather than the other way around. And man, he isn’t afraid to get REAL cute. The two of them are wearing matching sparkling yellow vests, and identical treble clef pins on their breasts. Honky Tonk already has his own little dress thing going on with the ruffles on his tail, so that’s all that he’s wearing. But Kazuki’s gone all-out.

He looks like a Korean idol. Aside from the vest, yellow newsie hat, slick shoes with white spats and white fingerless gloves, he’s all decked out in various shades of blue. His pants are a navy hue, almost mistakable for jeans with how form-fitting they are, and on top of that he’s wearing an armless powder-blue duster that has a distinct ruffle at the ends that’s meant to emulate the same ruffle on Honky Tonk’s tail. It honestly looks a lot like a skirt! But hey, if his Pokemon is going to challenge gender norms, Kazuki is totally willing to follow his lead.

He wears the costume like a pro, unafraid to really flounce all the girlish aspects of it. Going shopping and putting outfits together is one of his favorite past-times, so he obviously had a lot of fun organizing this for both himself and his Pokemon. And so did the seamstress that did all the tailoring for them. They both know they have at least one fan rooting for them out in the stands!

“You look like a pro,” Kazuki reassures ‘Tonks as they wait in the wings for their turn up next. He gets down on one knee to straighten his Pokemon’s pin. “We practiced really hard, so I promise it’ll be great! Remember what I always say—if we have fun, and everyone has fun with us, we’ll always be winners, no matter what!”

Act: Before the performers enter the arena, the stage is set for their act. If you’ve ever seen one of those cheesy night time family shows from the 60’s or 70’s (looking at you, Laurence Welk), their set up is going to look familiar. Blue curtains are draped around the rafters, and a circus-y obstacle course of platforms, hoops, and in the middle, a big tank of water are arranged in a semi-circle. At the forefront, one last, elaborate blue-and-gold platform is assembled.

Kazuki and Honky Tonk enter the stage with a bouncy, energetic gait. Both of them wave to the crowd with cheerful enthusiasm, making sure to give attention to every part of the audience before they make their way to the center, where Honky Tonk leaps up onto the fancy platform with impressive agility. Kazuki stands next to him, his only prop being the silver trumpet held loosely in his hands.

Once the perfunctory greeting cheer from the crowd ends, Kazuki gives one last wave, and subtly motions for quiet.

“It’s great to see everyone here today in the Cute Contest tent! Haven’t the acts been super adorable? We’ve been having so much fun backstage watching everyone, we almost forgot it was our turn!”

He pauses for a moment to let a hum of chuckles pass through the audience.

“My name is Kazuki, and my act has always been tooting my horn here! But ever since I became Pokemon Partners with my friend Honky Tonk here, and learned all about how much he loves to sing and dance and do acrobatics, I’ve been thinking up new acts to share with everyone! This is one of our first collaborations, and we’re really, really proud of it! Thank you all for coming to see it!”

“Before we start—‘Tonks, do you mind setting the mood?”

Honky Tonk nods enthusiastically. He then takes a deep breath into his chest, and blows out a hearty Bubblebeam around the stage and into the seats. There are oohs and ahhs as the bubbles, shining with a pinkish hue, hang like sparkling stars in the air.

“There, perfect! I think we’re ready now!” Kazuki and Honky Tonk turn back to the audience. “This is an old jazz routine where I’m from, and we picked it because of its title. Everyone, please enjoy Cute by Count Basie!”

Kazuki taps his toes three times, then raises his trumpet to his lips. That’s the signal. A percussion track begins to play from the speakers, and he then starts the song.

For the first part, the trumpet is the focal point. Kazuki shows an impressive range of tones, and an incredible ability to improvise and make the jazz sections really shine. While he’s the spectacle, Honky Tonk simply dances in place and occasionally makes gestures towards his trainer to let him take the lead. But the first part of any act is just a warm-up. Kazuki pulls his lips away from the trumpet and does an under-handed high-five with his Brionne, and spins in a tight circle as he begins his Disarming Voice.

The part of the song that would normally be played by the flute is instead sung by Honky Tonk in a sweet, tinny tone. He too is an excellent jazz artist, and has a flair for improvisation. He dances a little as he sings, and Kazuki follows him with a little shimmying of his own. When his part is over, they both slap hands again, and then launch into the next bit of their act.

They run back to the obstacles while a percussion solo plays, and Honky Tonk deftly follows Kazuki’s hand through each of them, jumping from platform to platform, over hurdles and through hoops, sometimes flipping, sometimes spinning, and always landing on the beat of the music. When he dives into the water tank, he uses Aqua Jet for some extra speed, enough to do some impressive maneuvers and even clear the water for a full breach, leaping high in the air and splashing back down dramatically. He jumps out one last time to follow Kazuki’s hand back through the remaining obstacles and up to the main platform again before the next bars of music.

Kazuki and Honky Tonk play and sing together this time, Honky Tonk using a full-throated Sing this time rather than his softer Disarming Voice. They really seem to have the most fun when they’re working off of each other! While the acrobatics were a spectacle, this feels like the best part of the show. If it weren’t for time limits, and the timing of the percussion track they got a hold of, they would have continued jazzing off of each other for some time.

But all good things must come to an end. The percussion takes over once again as the music softens, and Kazuki tries his hand—or rather, his foot—at a simple tap-dance, and Honky Tonk uses Bubblebeam once again to suffuse the air with pink sparkles, then does a flip, and lands squarely on one flipper with his flukes high in the air, while he flourishes to the crowd with the other. Kazuki simply tips his hat, not wanting to steal the show from his Pokemon.

Kazuki believed that it was best to leave the audience applauding, so they finished their bows and waves while claps were still ringing in the air. Honky Tonk launched himself into Kazuki’s arms, trilling happily, and Kazuki laughed heartily as he carried him off stage. Kazuki meant what he said. As long as they had fun, they would always feel like winners.