victory_road | Come alive, come alive!

Current Location: Olivine City

Entry tags:

Come alive, come alive!

Who: Everyone attending the Contest Spectacular! (For more information about this event, check out the info post here!)
Where: Olivine City
When: August 17th-19th
Log:

With summer getting ready to turn into fall, what better way to send off the warm weather than another Contest Spectacular?

For the past six months, Johto has been clamoring for a chance to host an event of its own, and after the booming success it had in Kanto, the organizers were all too happy to bring the magic even further west. In the end, Olivine City received the honor-- not only because it happens to be one of the top summertime tourist spots in the region, but also because it's the major port where ships from the Sevii Islands come in... and boy is that port ever decked out for the occasion!

Banners and flags fly from every mast, and the marketplace normally devoted to fish, fish, and more fish has been transformed into a colorful whirlwind of Contest Spectacular merchandise and attractions. Like last time, there are photoshoots and rentable costumes, as well as swag featuring the likenesses of the Hoenn contest champions. But among the unfamiliar faces, those who were around for the Kanto Contest may notice some familiar ones... an adorable plush Rattata with a bell attached to the tail, brightly-colored skull-print stationary featuring a punk-rock Popplio with its flippers crossed coolly, and a big cozy flannel with faux-Bunnelby fur lining, to name just a few! ... There's even a chunky robot action figure with a top that pops off to reveal that it's being piloted by a plastic Trubbish, with spoon accessories (this one's really popular with the Youngsters). This last one is, notably, not "official" Contest Spectacular merchandise... but that isn't stopping vendors from selling it by the dozens.

This time, in addition to the mountains of swag, there are also booths and rings set up for games and miniature competitions available to attendees! There's a grassy little racetrack for Rattata and other rodent Pokemon, an eating contest featuring a makeshift conveyor belt and as much fresh sushi (locally caught prepared!) as long-tongued Pokemon can gobble up, and of course the ever-popular Magikarp Jump, which manages to not only draw a crowd but get people really riled up. While the only prizes are cheap ribbons, the games are a great way to pass the time and make your Pokemon feel like a star even if they're not entered in the Contest proper!

Also of note are the bright white tents set up every few blocks or so-- that's right, the Aether Foundation is here! Even with the enormous success of the Kanto Contest, sponsors were needed to make the next one even bigger and better, and the Aether Foundation was more than happy to fill in. Their tents offer free water, sunscreen, and even little granola bars for any trainers or Pokemon who find themselves getting thirsty in the summer sun. Invariably, the Aether agents are friendly and helpful, although like any charity sponsors at a big event, they're also happy to talk your ear off about their mission and environmental cleanup work on the Sevii Islands.

But of course, it all comes down to the main event...

An enormous tent just like the one back in Celadon (albeit altered to be more suited for sunny beach weather than a cold Kanto winter!) has been erected in a large open area near the base of the Lighthouse, with easy access to the beach for anyone looking to swim or sunbathe while they wait for the category they’re looking forward to. As before, stages suitable for all types of Pokemon have been arranged, from the typical wood main stage, to tanks for water types and sandy arenas for enthusiastic fire types. Schedules for what contestants will be where and when are posted almost anywhere you turn. If you're lucky, you might even spot Anne and Liz making the rounds to sign autographs and chat with contestants. They're as busy as anyone else, though-- with the big tent more open to the elements than the one in Celadon, it's clearer than ever how much work goes into these things!

One thing's for sure, the bustling audience expects big things, and the organizers are determined not to disappoint!

The lights are on, the music is starting, the show is about to begin! BREAK A LEG, EVERYONE!

... Not Literally!

~*~

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

For anyone entering the Contest Spectacular, please reply to this comment with your entry using the template provided!

Contest Category: Tough
Trainer: Thida
Pokemon: "Oku" (Octillery)
Move: Octazooka

Costume: Oku has been rubbed up with some waterproof, hydrating lotions - they are Pokemon safe and smell like seaweed, but not unpleasantly so. This gives her skin an extra oomph of sheen for the stage lights even if she comes out of the water for long periods of time. She's sporting a pair of silver goggles over her eyes and the bridge of her snoot, and her two front tentacles bear shiny black sort of "gloves". The costume is intentionally reminiscent of an Octoling from Thida's world, and fittingly enough, Thida herself is bedecked with a headset with conical ear pieces, a black high-collared jacket with yellow safety vest, and black sneakers with lime green accents. She is also armed with what is essentially a Super Soaker, painted in blacks and limes, filled with water colored a dark blue.

Oh yes, fam. We're reenacting Single Player Campaign.

Act: The stage is set up in a bit of a strange way. There's a pool of water with a circular platform in the middle anchored by a beam underneath, and on top of the platform sit a couple of old, worn crates - ones that would take one good hit to blow to pieces. A wooden gangplank connects the platform to the rest of the floor. From the ceiling hang, funnily enough, trash can lids! Each has been adorned on both sides with a stylized squid in a kind of street art style.

When the act begins, the only light comes from low fixtures at the bottom of the pool, casting an eerie ripple around the stadium. The first proper sound is that of footfalls as Thida rushes out onto the stage and across the gangplank, Super Soaker hefted up as she surveys the area. There's a moment's pause, and then-

BAM!

The gangplank is shot from below, sent into the air, and Thida whips around towards it, a touch of authentic dread in her expression. The path back has been compromised, but by what?

The answer comes as Oku emerges from the water on the other side of the platform with a splash and a trill of her call. By the time Thida turns to confront her, another Octazooka bursts forth, smacking into the squid target above her. It's a warning - a signal - and Thida's on the move, shooting her Super Soaker in retaliation.

No matter where Thida goes on the stage - tumbling behind a crate, darting between them and past targets, Oku's Octazooka hits marks with startling accuracy, while Thida's shots always just miss. A couple of times the trash can lids are hit hard enough to send them clattering down, but most of them are left with dents right in their squid pictures. Crates are blown to smithereens until there's nothing left for Thida to hide behind - nowhere to run. She's left standing in the center of the platform, teeth grit as Oku hauls herself up over the edge.

There's a moment where the two stare each other down, Thida's Super Soaker leveled at her Pokemon. There's a visible twitch of her trigger finger and one of her eyes closes to aim - and Oku rears back, tentacles curled on the edge of the platform for support, and launches one last Octazooka - the biggest yet!

With a cry, the shot of gunk and ink hits Thida in the chest. Her Super Soaker goes flying, splattering colored water everywhere as she's launched off the platform and just over the water. She's down for the count, and Oku cries out in triumph.

On this day, Octillery-kind has won!

Contest Category: Beauty
Trainer: Yuuko Nishigori
Pokemon: "Ina" (Steenee)
Move: Sweet Scent

Costume: Since Yuuko and Ina are doing a ballet routine, it’s only natural that their outfits should play up the ballerina angle. Yuuko wears a pink ballet dress that’s decorated with tiny flowers, pointe shoes, and pink ribbons to hold up her ponytail and to wear around her right wrist.

Ina isn’t wearing quite as much since she already looks like she’s wearing a dress, but Yuuko still made sure that she would look pretty as well (and Ina was very insistent on that; she is going to be the star of this show, after all). She wears the same pink ribbons as Yuuko; two on each of her pigtail-like sepals, one around the stem that sticks up from the top of her head, and one around her left wrist. She also wears a flowery collar that matches the flowers on the bustline of Yuuko’s dress, along with a small, frilly white ballet skirt around her middle.

Act: For a competition, Yuuko would much prefer to do some figure skating, but obviously that wouldn’t be easy to pull off on a stage. However, she did take ballet lessons along with skating lessons while she was growing up, so she figures that dancing would be the next best thing. She just hopes she and Ina can pull it off since she hasn’t danced ballet in a while.

The stage is a very simple one, aside from the pale pink curtains as a backdrop (yeah, there’s a lot of pink involved in this performance). Yuuko and Ina enter from opposite sides of the stage and stop in the middle to both get down on one knee into their starting positions.

Then the music starts, and Yuuko and Ina get to their feet and begin to dance. The ballet moves they go through aren’t the most complicated ones—Yuuko’s skills in ballet are a little rusty, and she also wanted the choreography to be something that Ina could learn quickly and easily. But she’s found that the more they’ve practiced, the more she’s felt those skills coming back to her. In Ina’s case, the Steenee’s newfound delight over having arms and stronger legs serves her very well, since she’d taken to dancing fairly quickly so she could show them off. The two of them dance with an easy grace after several days of practicing, and they even manage to include a grande jeté, making a huge leap across the stage side-by-side and each landing on one foot.

About two-thirds of the way through the song, Yuuko moves to the side of the stage; now the performance is all about her Pokemon. Now at center stage, Ina winks and smiles to the audience as she goes into a retiré devant that leads into a pirouette. But it doesn’t stop there; Ina makes herself pirouette faster and faster until she’s almost a blur.

At that point, it’s Yuuko’s cue to say, “Ina, Sweet Scent!”

As Ina continues to spin, a pink, misty substance starts to come out from the top of her head, spiraling above her. Though at first it comes out in a neat spiral, the pink mist soon spreads across the whole stage, surrounding both Ina and Yuuko but still letting them be visible. Though the pink stuff doesn’t spread much further than the stage, the audience may soon find themselves smelling a pleasant, fruity scent.

Then Ina abruptly stops spinning…and begins to spin in the opposite direction, which somehow causes the pink, fruity-smelling mist to be sucked back into her body. The mist then completely dissipates, though the pleasant scent still lingers.

The last notes of the song are played, and then Ina concludes her spinning, her arms raised above her head in fifth position. Yuuko rejoins her and the two of them curtsy for the audience, though in the end Ina can no longer contain her happiness and she hugs Yuuko’s legs. Yuuko can’t help but smile at that, and the two of them break apart and exit as the lights dim.

Contest Category: Beauty
Trainer: Mabel Pines
Pokemon: "Diamond" (Onix)
Move: Rock Polish

Costume:
Mabel is dressed in what was most likely part of a kid's fairy costume at one point but she's left out the wings and made some new additions to the outfit. Stars decorate the head band and seem to shimmer in the lights of the stage while several more stars of various sizes decorate the under-layer of the skirt portion of her dress. She's also opted for flats instead of sandles to make it easier to perform.

Diamond was tricky but Mabel did her absolute best! A flower crown that may have once started life as a wreath rests around the point on the Onix's head, shimmering much like the stars decorating Mabel's headband. White ribbons with faint star patterns that gleam in the light are carefully braided around Diamond's body, flowing with her natural shape and winding all the way down to the tip of her tail where a bauble hangs in the shape of a crescent moon with two stars.

Act:
The duo take the stage in darkness, though it's hard not to see the looming shape of the Onix as she slithers out from the wing, and Onix curves herself around Mabel who stands center stage. The music starts as the lights come up, tinted shades of blue with a few white lights in the mix to illuminate the stage just right. The Onix moves first, curling around Mabel in a slow circle that makes her body seem to shimmer faintly in the light until she starts to stretch out across the stage revealing Mabel who twirls then hops after Diamond in mock-ballet steps (she's not formerly trained and she doesn't dare try!!), keeping time to the music as she reaches out to touch the Pokemon's side with a sad look on her face. Diamond lowers her head sadly then dips to the stage, allowing Mabel to climb up onto her back with practiced--a lot of practice!!--ease, only to rise back up as the chorus starts for the first time.

She starts to coil at center stage again and lifts herself high with Mabel on her head as the lights brighten as less blues are used and more whites flick in here and there as if stars were gleaming around them. Mabel stretched a hand up towards one right above her, reaching for one light in particular--

only for the chorus to end as Diamond sags back to the stage, Mabel sinking to her knees on the Pokemon's head.

Diamond starts to slither downstage again as Mabel slowly climbs to her feet, both of them swaying to the music though the little girl stumbles and flails briefly--comically--only to recover and strike her pose as Diamond stops at the edge of the stage. The Pokemon lowers her head and Mabel hops off rather ungracefully only to strike a pose the next moment and spin away from Diamond as the Onix slithers and spins carefully towards the other side of the stage. Each reach the wings and pause without going out of sight completely, the lights going back to all blue as the verse trails towards the chorus again.

Both look up, Mabel pointing while Diamond simply turns her head up, and white lights flicker about above them more prominently now, twinkling like millions of stars on a clear night. Mabel smiles brightly and prances out to center stage as Diamond slinks out to meet her, rumbling merrily as she twirls around her trainer then straightens up tall like she had before--only this time Mabel was in the center of her coils with a hand lifted towards the ceiling.

"Diamond, use Rock Polish!"

The twinkling lights stopped as the Onix rumbled and used the move, a single light above the Pokemon shining down on her as the stage went mostly blue again. Her entire body seemed to glimmer like a thousands stars all on it's own and she began to slowly twist again, Mabel disappearing from view as Diamond stayed in place like a music box ballerina on a peg. Using some well placed extra ribbons and skill from practice sessions, Mabel scaled Diamond out of view of the crowd as her Pokemon spun and just as the music came to an end she reappeared on the Onix's head doing a mock-pirouette as Diamond stopped moving and the blue lights faded leaving just a spotlight on the pair.

Once the performance was over Mabel collapsed in a giggling pile of frills and ruffles on top of Onix's head, hands thrown up with a loud whoop of joy.

"We did it, Diamond!"

Sorry to everyone for the answering roar of joy she gets. It's kind of loud.

Contest Category: Tough
Trainer: Lance
Pokemon: "Bruce Whalis" (Wailmer)
Move: Water Gun

Costume: Here you have two cool guys wearing leather jackets and sunglasses. On Bruce, he has a black bandana around his head (aka around his whole body because he's a Wailmer and we're working with the space we got.) Bruce also has some scars drawn on him in black eyeliner. There's one that looks like it still has the stitches in it on his right fin and something that looks like a terrible rendition of a stab wound on the bottom of said fin. The left fin features circles reminiscent of gun shots, looking like Bruce ran through an active battlefield one too many times. Of course, Bruce's face just needs some scarring too, so one is drawn under his blood and sweat (actually just ketchup and saltwater) splattered bandana, ends stretching beyond the fabric. The line is drawn on in red eyeliner, making it look fresh and still raw because tough guys don't have time to bandage up head wounds.

Lance is dressed just the same as Bruce, minus the scars and bandana, but he's clad from head to toe in black leather, with a nice (fake) gold chain and fingerless gloves and sunglasses. In his hands is a water gun shaped like a machine gun because why not. All projections used in the act are courtesy of Pidge helping Lance create them on the computer.

Act: There's a plain white cloth backdrop on stage and for a moment, it looks out of place and weird amongst all the other brightly colored decorations the other contestants use. But then the cloth suddenly bursts into a clash of color: red, orange, brown! It's a series of explosions! Bullets fly from speeding cars driving right to left and back again. But don't worry, it is only a projection. A very realistic looking one, especially when four brawny men jump out a black unmarked van and appear against the cloth. One punches his hand with his fist, looking like he woke up this morning spoiling for a fight. Another one has a machete strapped to his back and the other two wave big guns in the air.

But none of them intimidate Bruce Whalis. No way, no how. He rolls onto the stage and meanmugs the scene behind him. It's a mess. The cops are shady and won't come to the help of some hostages waving out of the windows of speeding cars. This is a job for Bruce. He is a whale of morals, the marine life here to set human life right. And with his trusty trainer by his side, this is just another day on the job.

One of the goons starts yelling about how Bruce has come to the wrong neighborhood to be a hero. Them's some fighting words, so Lance barrel rolls onstage, screaming at the top of his lungs as he points his water gun at the projection.

"Bruce, Water Gun 'em!"

The fight is quick, but dirty. Water flies everywhere from trainer and Pokemon both, possibly splashing a few contest spectators in the process, and Bruce gives his all to spurt as much seawater at the backdrop because that's where the enemies are. Each video goon goes down easy, but not without a fight. The Machete Guy is the toughest one and he pulls out his weapon and swings it around as if he's some kind of ninja, but Bruce shoots one well placed Water Gun that knocks the machete out of his hands and then another shot to the face to put the fool down on the ground next to his useless buddies.

There's cheers from the hostages who run out of the cars and towards their hero who just stands there with a neutral look on his face. Bruce doesn't do this for his own personal happiness. He does it because it's what's right. These people are trainers too and now they are free to go back home to their Pokemon.

Both Bruce and Lance turn their backs on their adoring fans cast against the white bedsheet Lance stole from his own bed, not interested in making a name for themselves at a time like this. And as the pièce de résistance, the projection explodes into a firey ball of flames as both of them nonchalantly walk off stage. Because cool guys never look at explosions.

Contest Category: Tough
Trainer: Wrath
Pokemon: "Mad" (Deino)
Move: Work Up

Costume: Wrath is wearing a football helmet with a huge dent in the side, and two large white pillows strapped to his arms with bungee cords. He's also wearing kneepads. They're bright orange. Other than that? He's in normal clothes-- a black t-shirt, cargo shorts, and no shoes whatsoever. There's black paint smudged under his eyes.

Mad is wearing a giant pair of googly eyes taped onto her hair (in a rough approximation of where her eyes would be if her species had them), and a pair of giant blocky black eyebrows cut out of construction paper, fixed in the "angry position". Like so.

Act:

After some of the more high-tech acts, the scruffy barefoot youth shuffling out onto the stage might seem a little underwhelming. First he comes out with a crate of assorted props, and then with another crate that has a much-more-lively occupant, judging by the growling coming from within and the sign taped to it that reads "DANJER". He sets both down, a decent distance apart from each other, and then silently and seriously begins to don his protective padding. All the while, the "Danger Crate" growls and scoots an inch or so across the floor in random directions.

He gives his helmet a couple of knocks with his fists and then, seemingly satisfied, turns to the audience.

"Hi. I'm Wrath."

He steps over to the Danger Crate and opens it, lifting out the star of this show-- an incredibly furry green Deino with a pair of angry googly eyes taped on. Once set down, she tramps around in a circle, the eyes spinning madly as she snaps her teeth at the air. A chuckle runs through the audience, but Wrath's stony expression doesn't change.

"This is my daughter, Mad. You can tell we're related because of our similar appearances and also because our names are words that mean the same thing."

Another chuckle, and some "awws". At least one PokeFan whispers loudly to her husband that this act belongs in the 'Cute' category.

Wrath continues. It's clear that he's not really used to being in front of so many people at once, because he sounds a little stilted, even compared to normal.

"She is angry almost all the time. Even angrier than me. But for this show, um, we're going to see what happens when we raise her anger levels even higher. I believe in her. And so should you."

With some difficulty thanks to his arm-pillows, the boy extracts a slightly-crumpled paper from his pocket and smooths it out.

"To achieve maximum anger, I will now read off some things that Mad hates." He clears his throat. "One... other dragons."

The Deino stiffens, stumpy tail standing straight up, and bares her teeth. The two googly-eye pupils are pointing in different directions, exaggerating the motion even more. Other dragons?! WHERE?!

"Two... dry kibble."

A sharp bark, followed by more stomping-- as though she's crushing imaginary dry kibble under her feet. Take that, fake food!

"Three... vacuum cleaners."

The little dragon-type starts to hop in place, snapping and snarling and tossing her head. VACUUM CLEANERS SUCK!!!

"Four... the government."

Flecks of white spittle start to fly around-- she's literally worked herself up into a rabid-looking foam, quivering with sheer, unbridled rage. SMASH THE STATE!!

Wrath lowers his list and drops to a crouch, briefly squinting at his furious Pokemon, who is gargling and clawing at the stage. After a moment, he nods.

"Yeah... she's pretty mad."

He now steps over to the crate of props.

"Now that she's worked up, I'm going to show you her incredible power... starting with this ball."

Pulling out a soccer ball, he slowly and deliberately tosses it at the Deino.

What happens next can only be described as carnage.

Within three seconds, the tiny dragon has popped the ball and shredded it into ribbons with her sharp teeth. It has basically ceased to exist. She spits the last of the leathery material down onto the floor and stamps on it decisively, snorting and curling her lip for all to see.

Undaunted, Wrath next pulls out a pillow like the ones he's wearing and throws that.

An explosion of feathers and a cacophony of fabric-tearing noises follows as it is consumed in a whirlwind of claws and fangs. It's like he threw it into a wood chipper, if wood chippers sounded like a deranged poodle mauling a
pinata.

And so it continues. One by one, the silent youth pulls props from the crate and throws them, where they meet their violent end at the jaws of what is apparently a green, quadrupedal version of Taz from the Looney Tunes. The props themselves get more and more outrageous with each round-- a whole cabbage, a child-sized wooden chair, an entire beanbag, a fake Christmas tree... all of them, noisily demolished within seconds and, sometimes, even in midair.

By the time he pulls out the pièce de résistance: a human-sized Aipom doll made of woolen purple socks, with a piece of paper taped to it that reads "PEPL WHO R MEAN 2 ME", the audience has pretty much divided into two categories: people who have gone silent in awe and horror, and people who are laughing even harder. But Wrath continues to look dead serious as he tosses the apparently-symbolic sock monkey to its fate.

Its gruesome, violent fate.

Mad the Deino is now surrounded by an ocean of debris that can only be compared to what it might look like if you emptied the contents of a McDonalds playplace ballpit into an industrial-grade paper shredder. She is panting, drooling, and one of the googly-eyes has slide down to the very tip of a strand of her mane, where it now dangles. Part of the sock-monkey's face is still dangling from her jaws.

Wrath finally pulls off his helmet (which, while not dented any more than it was before, is splattered with drool-soaked scraps of Mad's ten minutes of destruction) and steps forward to scoop her up and hold her aloft, Rafiki-style. He's been pretty calm this whole time, but like daughter, like father: both trainer and Pokemon throw their heads back and let out awful, feral shrieks to the stage-lights above.

And then Mad reaches down with her horrible little mouth wide open and starts to shred one of Wrath's arm pillows.

~Fin~

Edited 2018-08-18 22:11 (UTC)

Contest Category: Cool
Trainer: Matt Holt
Pokemon: "Halley" (Minior)
Move: Cosmic Power

Costume: When they step out onto the stage, Matt is wearing something that looks like an orange version of a Paladin Uniform. Behind him, is his Minior, who has been polished and glittered until it looks like it is sparkling. Around its middle, and streaming out behind it is a comet-like tail, which flaps as it moves around. Matt also has rigged the 'jetpack' of his suit so that it works just a bit like a real jet pack. He's also added a few details here and there on the armor to make it look more like a stereotypical space suit, including a few pouches on his belt. It's obvious that what he's going for is space.

Act:

Matt comes out on stage first, flying in with his jetpack, and landing right in the middle of the stage. Reaching into one of the pouches, he pulls out a pair of binoculars, and starts scanning the 'sky' for something. That's when Halley comes floating in, its tail flapping cheerfully. Halley swoops down towards Matt, then back up, much like a real comet. As it is in the top of its arc, Matt points up to it. "Cosmic Power!"

Minior sparkles for a moment, then starts pulling beams of light in towards itself. Tiny blips of starlight, small nebulae, and shining light are all drawn into the small meteor, who shines like a star itself for a moment, before flying back up and away.

Matt watches it go, and then jetpacks away himself, hoping that he didn't make an utter fool of himself.

Edited 2018-08-18 23:54 (UTC)

Contest Category: Clever
Trainer: Ryner Lute
Pokemon: "Glen" (Joltik)
Move: Spider Web

Costume: It's no surprise that Glen is wearing his usual dapper tiny top hat with an eviolite sewn into it, but for this contest, he has added a tiny bow tie just under his mandibles. He may have taken a bath in (Pokemon-safe) gold glitter earlier to make his fuzz sparkle and stand out more. (Rose may have been the one to suggest it.)

Ryner, after much prodding from his mons, has dressed to match his tiny spider companion, in a plain black tuxedo. Standard white collared shirt underneath, dapper but plain black bow tie, the works. He also has a top hat, though his is obviously standard size, and unlike the rest of his outfit, the hat is allowed a slight bit of customization with a glittery silver thread embroidered around the rim. He even combed his hair for this, gasp.

Act: The stage is set up with four wooden poles, each about six feet tall, standing upright in a row about five feet apart. Behind them is a black curtain, and in front of the gap between the first two stands Ryner, looking... well, about as sleepy as ever, but. Glen is sitting on top of Ryner's top hat, looking much more into this than his person is.

"Ah, hello," Ryner starts, and whether his awkwardness is real or more to sink into the background so that his partner takes the center stage is a good question. (It's likely both.) "My partner had a few words for everybody, so. Why don't you start by introducing yourself?"

That last statement was directed at Glen, who nods and uses Spider Web to form a web between the first and second poles. In a fashion that would make Charlotte proud, the web is crafted in such a way that it forms readable letters: Hello! My name is Glen! It's nice to meet you! (It seems, then, that the black curtain is there to help it stand out.) His lettering is careful and neat.

"Thank you, Glen," Ryner comments as he walks over to the second gap between the columns. (He is a moving platform. He's being helpful!) "So, what is it that you wanted to tell everyone?"

Another spider web later, and Glen's second message reads Bug-types may look scary, but we're actually really nice when you get to know us! He then looks out at the audience with his most friendly, imploring expression. ...He's still a spider, but.

Ryner provides a moving platform over to the third and final section, commenting, "Well said, Glen. ...Er, well, written, anyway. ...Anyway, I guess it's time to wrap this up, so how about you say goodbye?"

Glen then uses Spider Web one more time, this time writing Thank you! I hope you have a nice day!

And then before the lights go out, Glen gives a cheerful wave to the audience with his front leg.

Contest Category: Tough
Trainer: Shadowmaru
Pokemon: "Spookmaru" (Yamask)
Move: Curse

Costume: Shadowmaru will appear on stage wearing a flowing version of this. His Yamask has fangs drawn on its mask, and little bat wings on a headband, and a cape dangling off its mask. Both of them are wearing pale makeup. The Yamask will occasionally dive behind its trainer, and pop up with a different expression taped over its mask -- happy, sad, excited, and angry eyebrows.

Act: Shadowmaru somehow appears on stage. Like, smokebomb explosion, appearing on stage. With his Yamask floating ominously over his head. A shower of black glitter accompanies them, as he settles in, spreading his hands. "Come, ladies and gentlemen! Dear Pokemon! Let us tell a story, hm?"

It turns out to be a rendition of Dracula. With Shadowmaru as the swooping, cape flourishing hero battling his evil Vampire Yamask -- complete with angry eyes on its mask. The music kicks on, playing all throughout the telling of the story, complete with dramatic flourishes from the pair. Chasing each other. Somersaults. There is no mention of why the hero is fighting the vampire. Only that he must.

It comes to a head as Shadowmaru begins to describe the dark, deary interior of a castle. With lightning flashing. With thunder! So many Zubat! Oh the horror of a thousand Zubat! The hero, Shadowmaru says, finds themselves face to face with the horrible vampire. The terrifying creature. There is a fierce battle!

... which apparently just involves the Yamask and its trainer twirling around each other with way too much cape flourishing and black glitter...

"ALAS!" he will cry out, as the music swells. "The vampire is... Triumphant!"

Which is precisely when the Yamask will use CURSE. The giant purple nail shoots across the stage and appears to embed itself in the young man's neck. He gasps, throws a hand to his forehead, and collapses to the ground in a pile of ... you guessed it, black glitter, rolling himself up in his cloak. Yamask swoops down, unrolling him. And both of them slowly rise. Arms crossed. Like real vampires.

"The curse of the undead... continues!"

Curtains.

Contest Category: Clever
Trainer: Stanford Pines
Pokemon: "Polymethyl Methacrylate (Polly for short)" (Sableye)
Move: Mean Look

Costume: Last time Ford did pretty well on his own, but the aesthetic last time was more in line with what he's good at. This time he enlisted Mabel's help and merely oversaw the process, offering gentle re-direction whenever the glitter quotient got to be a little too much for his taste (this is still his performance after all). The result is that Polly is the picture of a school girl in a fancy little uniform. It's a purple and orange plaid suspender dress over a white button up, with a matching plaid bow at her throat. On her legs are prim white tights and she's wearing shiny black mary janes. Tying the whole thing together is a black headband with a purple and orange rhinestone flower on one side. He thought it would be difficult to get her into it but since he put it on her a few days ago to make sure it all fit she has actively refused to take it off. Half the reason it looks so good on her is because she clearly is having a blast wearing it. Her twitchy motions make the bow and skirt rustle and allow all the sparkly patches to catch the light as she moves. All of the visible plastic chunks on her body have been cleaned and shined, most notably the d20 eyes that are a holdover of the time she ate half the inventory of a gaming shop. Her multicolored plastic teeth have each been filed to nice clean points. Ford made sure she was looking her best.

They had so much time to perfect her look because Ford's outfit took about five minutes to throw together. It's not that he didn't put thought into it, it's just that his normal look is 'cool Professor' already and so all he had to do was color-coordinate with his Pokémon. The rest kind of came together naturally. He's wearing an orange and purple sweater vest over a white shirt and brown slacks. Still the same brown boots, but they fit well enough. Because Mabel insisted, pinned to the white lab coat he's wearing over the whole ensemble is a rhinestone flower just like Polly's.

They both look like they stepped out of the most fashion-forward private school this side of the Ice Path.

Act: The stage is set up nice and simple. In the center is a wooden lectern similar to what you might see at a debate competition. It's turned a little so it's facing the lower left corner of the stage. Behind that lectern in the upper right corner is a large projector screen, big enough that despite being slightly tilted it's visible to the whole crowd. In the lower left corner is the stand where the projector itself is set up.

Ford enters stage right and stands by the projector. This is going to take a little more explanation than just punching a thing and that's basically his entire role this time around. It's also going to take a little more showmanship of the charming variety. That's fine. He'll just channel Stanley.

"Welcome, students." This, you see, is the conceit. "Today's lecture is on Pokémon intelligence. While battles are an integral part of keeping Pokémon healthy and happy, we can't forget to stimulate their minds as well. Your Pokémon partners can achieve just as much academically as they can on the field, and today my star pupil Polly will prove just that."

He turns to gesture stage right, where Polly is trotting out from backstage right on cue in her little mary janes. She stops by the lectern and waves at the crowd with a big plastic grin before scampering up to stand on a stool placed behind it. Already hamming it up. She loves being on stage.

Ford starts up the projector and the lights dim so that only the screen itself and Polly's lectern, illuminated by a spotlight, are visible. The screen itself now displays ___ + ___ in bold purple font. Below that is a smaller '10' in orange.

"Equations will appear on the screen and Polly will have a time limit of ten seconds to solve each one. Each equation is generated randomly as it appears. She has not practiced these problems before today's show. What you are about to see is pure academic skill. Are you ready, Polly?"

Polly clicks her teeth and wiggles where she's standing. The answer is apparently a resounding 'yes': she's ready. She's the smartest and best-dressed gremlin in this room. Possibly in all of Johto. She's that girl in your elementary school math class who had to be told to stop raising her hand and let somebody else answer for a change. She turns to look at the screen behind her where the blank spaces have now become rapidly-shifting numbers that eventually resolve themselves into 6 + 9.

As soon as the nine locks into the place the counter beneath it begins to count down. Polly takes in the equation, her eyes moving rapidly as she thinks. Perhaps more rapidly than normal eyes should. In fact there's something distinctly weird about it, but it's difficult to see...

She turns back to the audience when the timer hits eight and this is when it becomes apparent exactly how she's going to be communicating her answers. Her eyes begin to glow purple as she uses Mean Look. A shining projection of her grinning mouth and her d20 eyes flashes forward and hovers over the stage. The eyes themselves now read 1 and 5, respectively. Fifteen, the correct answer. The timer stops.

"Very good! Now let's try something a little more difficult."

The timer stops and then resets. The numbers begin to shift again as they pick a new equation: 18 + 28.

Oh, double digits! That is a jump in difficulty, but Polly seems unfazed. When she turns back to the audience and projects eyes reading 4 and 6 she even strikes a little pose.

From this point on Ford doesn't speak. Each time the timer stops and is reset the next equation begins to shuffle itself up automatically. It's a lightning round and Polly is loving the challenge.

45 + 83 is met with a cheeky 12 and 8 as the timer hits 6 and resets. A few more equations like that and it's clear she can handle double digit addition no problem.

237 + 381 is a little more difficult but there's still five seconds left on the timer when she turns and displays 6 and 18. Addition is too easy. It's time for subtraction. Polly doesn't seem worried: if anything she takes 986 - 470 as an excuse to show off. This time the timer gets all the way down to four before she turns to the audience and flashes 5 and 16.

And if triple digits only took her six seconds, multiplication should be no trouble. 177 x 8 puts her down to 3 on the counter before she hops right up onto the lectern itself with eyes that read 14 and 16. At this point it might be reasonable to wonder if it's actually taking her this long to solve these problems or if she's purposefully letting the timer run to increase the drama (it's that. It's that one. She is loving this).

Behind her the screen reads 14140 / 7. Division: the hardest, saved for last. She doesn't seem worried. In fact she spends about six of her allotted ten seconds painstakingly straightening the bow around her neck before miming an exaggerated 'oh, right, I was in the middle of something!' gesture that takes up another three. She turns toward the audience one last time. The timer stops on one as above the stage appears a grinning face with eyes that have rolled two perfect 20s.

Edited 2018-08-20 08:16 (UTC)

Contest Category: Tough
Trainer: Magnus Burnsides
Pokemon: "Fangbattle" (Lillipup)
Move: Tackle

Costume:
In two words? Sleeveless tuxedos. In the limited time available to him, Magnus has scoured any and all available thrift stores and second-hand shops in the area and managed to find or passably cobble together a pair of matching tuxedos, devoid of any sleeves. Not actual vests --though Magnus’ outfit does include a dark-blue waistcoat under the jacket-- but jackets and dress shirts with the sleeves removed and hemmed at the shoulders. The overall impression is generally much more homespun than you would think or want for tuxedos, but Magnus has clearly put a lot of effort into this. There is also clearly not a great deal of talent or ability to back up that effort, but the attempt has been made. The actual physical ensembles are completed with a set of spiked collars; or more specifically, a tastefully spiked collar on Fang the Lillipup, and a pair of leather wristbands with small chrome spikes on Magnus.

The outfits themselves are complemented by careful grooming; nothing fancy, but Magnus has been sure to comb out his sideburns and Fang’s coat has been washed and brushed to a nice shine, and any tangles of fur combed out on both trainer and Pokemon. And, because this is the ‘tough’ category, a pair of black felt eyebrows have been carefully affixed to Fang’s face in a permanent, angrily-determined expression.

Act:
“Okay Fang, you ready?”

The tiny Lillipup barks helpfully, looking up at Magnus from under its faux-angry eyebrows, waiting for their routine to begin. Magnus, for his part, is acting suitably dramatic. Or rather, what he thinks of as dramatic. Which in this case means being louder and more booming than usual and overemoting like hell.

“Great! Let’s show ‘em what you can do- ...sit!”

Fang sits immediately, tail wagging.

“Down!”

The Lillipup drops to the stage floor, still looking up expectantly.

“Roll over.”

If you guessed at this point that Fang complies, you would be correct. He rolls over and pops his head back up excitedly.
“Speak.”

”Pup!”

There’s a short pause during which Magnus glances at the watching crowd, almost certainly waiting to see if someone’s about to ask him if he properly understood the nature of this contest. His grin might charitably described as ‘cocky’ as he turns back to Fang-

“Okay, Fang. Now…”

Magnus swiftly reaches up and yanks on the curtain that has formed the backdrop of this act so far; it tugs loose from its mountings, falling to the ground and revealing a hand-built obstacle course. It’s essentially a short, twisting path leading to a steep ramp -decorated along the sides like a castle or tower- with a small squeaky dog-toy at the top. The path and ramp are periodically blocked with plywood obstacles, painted -or at least there has been an attempt made with paint- to look like gates or various monsters. Not Pokemon, but fairytale creatures and monsters. The set definitely has more skill put into it than the costumes Magnus and Fang are wearing; the painted enemies definitely mimic the homespun look of art that shows more passion and energy than skill, but the wooden obstacles themselves show competent construction and craftsmanship under the gaudy coloring.

“RESCUE THE HOSTAGE, FANG! GO! TACKLE!”

Fang bounds into action, carefully following the path at a run; and ramming through each obstacle laid out in front of it. A few are knocked over flat, the tiny pup Pokemon jumping over them without breaking stride, but many are just broken through with the force of Fang’s tackles, splintering into pieces as she barrels through them. Magnus loses the last semblances of professionalism at this point, shouting encouragements and short directions as needed from his starting position, ordering each Tackle attack in quick succession.

“You’re in the homestretch, go! Tackle tackle tackle!”

Fang hits the ramp at top speed, ramming into and through each barrier with fresh bursts of power, gaining momentum as she goes, using each Tackle attack as a boost. She hits the top like a blur, the distressed hostage chew toy giving a panicked sort of squeak as Fang latches solidly onto it without stopping.

The Lillipup sails off the top of the ramp, chew toy in her mouth, managing an actually pretty sweet if obviously unintentional flip on the way down. She lands with a soft thump and another squeak from the toy. Fang pauses, shaking herself a second and dislodging one of her fake angry-brows before shooting back across the stage towards Magnus, happily squeaking the toy as she goes.

“Yes! Good girl. That jump was DEFINITELY INTENTIONAL and NOT AN ACCIDENT, good dog.”

Magnus squats to catch and pick up Fang as she returns, his arms dwarfing the tiny Pokémon as he lifts her. He turns to the audience, holding Fang in the air.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, the heroic Fangbattle Lillipup! Thank you!”

He nestles the Pokémon back against his chest, taking a bow as Fang already seems to be drifting into a post-competition nap, softly squeaking the rescued toy one last time.

Edited 2018-08-20 20:54 (UTC)

Contest Category: Cool
Trainer: Jinx
Pokemon: "Hex" (Honchkrow)
Move: Nightshade

Costume: Hex's normal feathery crest that looks like an elaborate hat has been decorated with a silk band of purple making it look even more formal. On her talons she's sporting a pair of crisp looking spats as well as an ankle bracelet featuring some small silver charms. A number 13, a dog , a lizard and a bird. By far the most eye catching feature however is the broach she sports through most of the performance. A glittering silver skull with ruby eye sockets.

Jinx's outfit is less glittery and more frills and lace. A short black skirt with black lace giving her a not quite petticoat look which leads down to her black and white striped stockings and black dance shoes. A matching corset laces up to give her the look of someone's goth doll. No sleeves but she is sporting a pair of black gloves. It all contrasts sharply with her pale complexion and strikingly bright pink eyes and hair.

Act:

A misty fog settles over the stage as the lights dim and the music starts to build. There's a faint purple glow under the fog as a slender graceful figure sets the mists swirling with her entrance. Several long strides turn into a spin kicking her long slender leg high and then tucking it in for a twirl before settling in the middle of the stage.

A twist of her wrist, a kick of her leg and the mist is swirling around her now. Her eyes seem to glimmer with mischief and wicked ideas as she manipulates the mist distractingly. Finally as the music builds to a rumbling bass and the purple light is at it's brightest around her a dark shadow swoops in from above dropping upon her and seeming to swallow the girl up whole!

A pair of sharp, piercing eyes watches the audience from the shadows and mist before spreading her wings and showing off her new form! Sleek shiny feathers stand on display as Hex continues the dance her trainer started. But this time the mist is weaving itself into images. While their forms are in shadow it's clear what they are meant to be. The alien creatures have returned to the stadium!

The appear aimless at first but they start to move in sync with the music, almost as if the feather sorceress is conducting a concert with them. The twist and writhe in the air winding their tendrils around one another and Hex takes flight through the center of them all.

And in the darkness and mist her eyes blaze with the power of her ultimate level nightshade. These nightmares are her play things and so too, is her trainer who appears again dangling from silk clutched firmly in Hex's talons. Like a marionette she twists and flips seemingly out of control but perfectly poised.

Around the arena now once, twice! By the third sweep the mist, the monsters and the light all seems focused in the center of the stage.

"KROW!"

Rising up to the very cealing she loops into the pillar of illusion she has created and crashes through it causing the aliens to melt away and the fog to rush out over the crowd leaving them with a refreshing burst of chilled air. When she's seconds away from hitting the stage all the lights shut off leaving everyone in complete darkness.

All save for a pair of fierce eyes, glowing in the darkness.

And then...she laughs and the music fades. A booming, cackling laugh that will follow you into your nightmares if you're not careful.

Then the lights rise up and Jinx and her Honchkrow bow once before leaving the stage.

Contest Category: Cute
Trainer: Lust
Pokemon: "Baby" (Eevee)
Move: Baby Doll Eyes

Costume: Baby the Eevee is dressed ear to tail-tip in pale, shimmering pink. There are pink bows at her ears and the fur on top of her head has been curled. So has the fur of her ruff. Her 'dress', most of the front hidden by her fur ruff, has little pearls at the straps. The skirt part begins with a belt of flowers and includes a paler pink petticoat to give it flare. A final bow rings her tail.

Lust, quite in contrast to Baby's pink and white dancing dress, is in a black short sleeved button down shirt and black jeans with black shoes. The first two buttons of her shirt are undone and it's tucked into her jeans with a black belt. Her hair has been slicked back and held tightly at the base of her neck...save for a few bits that have been brushed upwards and curled, mimicking a man's curled pompadour.

Act: It's a rather simple routine, honestly.

Lust and Baby take the stage on opposite ends, no props this time, simply a spotlight. A familiar sounding instrumental track strikes up. As the music swells, Lust points a finger to Baby and the act begins.

It's obvious, from the moment she stands on her hind legs and flashes Baby Doll Eyes as she starts to spin carefully in a circle, that this little Eevee is pouring her heart and soul into the act. She pirouettes with sheer glee amongst the illusory hearts produced by her move, tiny Eevee paws wobbling only slightly. Lust is mostly there to guide and offer a hand when need be, but this is Baby's show. She flicks her tail. She swivels her ears, first one then the other, in time with the music. Lust moves behind her, snapping along with the music, but making no effort to take attention away from her Eevee.

When the tempo picks up, so does Baby. She spins like a dervish on all fours, and cuts from side to side with all four paws at once with the beat. She runs up Lust's legs and does a flip off of them, fluttering her lashes and flashing Eyes again as she drops to the stage. Most of Lust's involvement is providing a ramp and springboard for Baby, the Eevee at times prancing across Lust's outstretched arms and shoulders, or leaping off her bend back.

As the music for the chorus hits, the pair are side by side, demonstrating some fancy synchronized footwork. Some possibly familiar footwork, all side steps and spins and smooth chasses. Lust holds her hand up and out, like she's leading a dance partner, and Baby spins beneath it and weaves between Lust's legs.

Then the finale. Following another syncronized display of feet and paws snaking around each other they turn and meet one another's eyes. Lust nods. Baby nods back. They turn their backs to each other and strut-dance to opposite sides of the stage. Baby does a spin when she reaches her mark, Lust bends her knees only slightly and makes a 'c'mere' gesture with her finger.

It's happening. Baby darts across the stage toward her trainer, picking up speed and trailing pink ribbons and glittering, illusory hearts as she goes. Lust reaches out her arms. Baby tucks her body in close, crouching, then leaps with all of her might into Lust's waiting hands. Lust catches her, and triumphantly lifts Baby over her head. All four of the eevee's paws are stretched out. Her head is up. She gives her biggest Baby Doll Eyes yet as Lust slowly rotates with the delighted Eevee held all the way over her head.

Baby nailed the lift.

Contest Category: Cool
Trainer: Bertolt Hoover
Pokemon: "Galliard" (Tyrantrum)
Move: Ice Fang

Costume: Unlike the last contest, Bertolt and his Pokemon aren't wearing anything flashy or out of the ordinary. Bertolt's attire is plain, consisting of a pair of jeans and a dark green sweater that appears to be carefully knitted with a T-Rex on the front with the words Ext-ROAR-dinary arched over the top of the dinosaur and a tan flannel undershirt.

Galli looks pretty ordinary himself, though he's had one hell of a scrubover to make sure he's nice and clean (what with his tendencies to roll around in the sand at the beach) and the thick ruff of feathers around his neck has been fluffed and preened to the standards of a king.

In short, there's no costumes for this duo - it's function and comfort over appearances here.

Act: Because of Galliard's immense size, the stage is simply an open space to give him plenty of room to move around. Scattered around the 'stage' are various objects ranging in size made out of metal and other materials, a few boulders, and an out-of-commission jeep-like vehicle. The largest objects on the field however are a few thick, very heavy looking sheets of metal that have to be at least three or four feet thick. How did they get them over here? Well, Bertolt did have some set-up help from some of his other Pokemon (and from a few helpful stage-hands too).

When the light switches on, it's only Bertolt standing in the middle. Those with keen eyes may notice something large in the shadows, and any camera flashes that go off illuminate a pair of eyes in the darkness. Alright Bertolt, deep breaths here. It's not like the last time.

"B-Back where I came from, we didn't have things like Pokemon. We had... W-Well, what we had wasn't pleasant. They were big, and when they walked the ground shook.

As of on cue, whatever it was started walking - slow, deliberate and heavy - and the arena rumbled with each step. And along with it was a low rumble. Galliard's head bobbed as he moved along, and after a few 'circles' he lowered it just enough to be at level with his trainer - but still out of view - and snorted to ruffle his hair. It's enough to get Bertolt to grimace a little and reach out to touch the hidden Pokemon on the snout. "Galli, your breath smells--"

There's some laughter, and Bertolt's ears and cheeks flush pink as he swallows hard.

"T-They were also terrifying but I like to think that if I had Galliard around, things would've been a lot better."

The lights come on with a snap, and a Tyrantrum stands patiently at Bertolt's side. He's still rumbling and nosing at his hands, and while he may look terrifying with his size, he's docile. It's also pretty comforting to have everyone's attention shifting to his Pokemon and Bertolt allows himself a shaky smile as he scratches at Galli's snout. "Some of the monsters we had back home were around his size and a lot of them could be even bigger, but they didn't have the power he does."

Go.

With a gentle pat-pat to the feathers on the Tyrantrum's chin, the Pokemon's rumbling can be felt, not just heard as he stands up to his full height and lumbers over to one of the boulders and bites it. It crumbles easily in his jaws, but it was small. Surely anything could crush a rock that size, right? "They could bite, but they uh... I've never seen one go after rocks. A-And while I've heard stories about one that could easily break through walls several meters thick, that was only one," he pauses and ducks a bit as Galliard's tail swings over his head, the Pokemon swiveling on his foot to turn to the larger rock to give it the same treatment. That one required a bit more force behind it, but it shatters just as easy.

"And it never bit at the wall. It ran into them."

Galliard shakes his head to get the rock dust out of his eyes (and to spit out the tiny rock fragments in his mouth), his attention turning towards the ruined vehicle. "We didn't have enough resources for this sort of stuff either so I'm not sure how well it'd fare against those things, but their skin was pretty tough--" The jeep groans as Gallard gets his nose under it and actually flips it, one foot effectively pinning it so he can sniff at the underside, but after determining that it's fine, he bites down at the nose of the vehicle and while he can't crush it as easily as the rocks, he still tries to pull it apart. Either it's tougher than it looks or he's holding back to ham it up.

Galli, no-- Okay, he doesn't say that, but the exasperated look he gives is enough to earn a bewildered growl from the Tyrantrum in question. Whaaaaat? They're eating this up! It's like from one of those movies on TV!

Still, it's also enough to get a laugh of some sorts from Bertolt (and from the crowd) as he beckons him back over to his side to gently coax him into looking towards the metal sheets. That's the real challenge.

"I don't know how much people know about his species, but they say that Tyrantrum has some of the most powerful jaws in the world and that when they existed in an ancient world, they were nearly unstoppable. Even though it was a challenge, ice couldn't stop them--" As he speaks, Galliard's teeth start to glow a brilliant orange. "Rocks couldn't stop them," he trails off as they start to glow a bright yellow and crackle with electricity, and Bertolt pats his nose again to get him moving towards the metal. "Though even with his weaknesses, his species can do things that a lot of others can't."

Galliard lets loose a loud, vibrating roar and he violently sinks his teeth into the thick metal sheets, his fangs turning bright and white. The areas of the metal where his teeth sank into start to freeze and frost quickly spiderwebs across the surface thanks to a well-placed Ice Fang. For a long moment the air is eerily quiet, only for the silence to be cut with a snarl and a hard crunch of his jaws, followed by a shriek of metal as it's torn apart like tissue paper.

"I... don't think our monsters would've stood a chance against him."

He repeats the same method for the extra sheets, and when he's finished Galliard stands straight up, drops the metal, and bellows a roar as the lights fade to darkness.

Edited (good job self I mispelled the name the first time) 2018-08-21 04:35 (UTC)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Come alive, come alive!

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Sure is a lot of pink and ballet in here

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