Welcome to my first MistyxLance (Kindrashipping) one-shot! Prepare yourselves for what awaits you!
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon... *sigh*
"No," a voice growled.
"Come on, it's for a good cause," another begged.
"He's not going to give up," Karen pointed out to the now thoroughly annoyed champion. "I've know Will for a long time, he doesn't give up."
"I don't need a girlfriend!" Lance protested.
"Oh come on! Steven has Cynthia, Wallace has Winona, Alder's married, and even Iris has admitted to having a crush! You're the only champion without a love life," Will whined once more.
"I'm perfectly happy without a girlfriend in my life," Lance stated, missing the mischievous look in Will's eyes.
"Wow Lance, I didn't know you swung that way."
"That's not what I said."
"I know that, Karen knows that, and you know that," Will smirked. "But the media doesn't know that."
"You wouldn't dare..."
"If you volunteer for the show, nobody will ever know about this conversation."
"... fine. But I'll only go on one date, and that's with the winner."
"Fine with me," Will nodded his head in acknowledgement. He left the room quickly before Lance realized what he agreed to.
"Karen?" Lance asked after a pause. "What did I just do?"
"Agree to be the first test subject for Will's new matchmaking show," Karen said, trying not to laugh. She knew that things were going to be entertaining, for everyone but Lance.
"Why am I doing this again?" Misty muttered to Jasmine. "What if the guy's a jerk?"
"I don't think Will would let a jerk be his first guest," Jasmine replied. "Karen wouldn't let him."
"How did Sabrina, Erika, Whitney, and Clair get out of this?" Misty asked.
"Well I heard Clair is busy at the Indigo League," Phoebe came into the conversation. "And Sabrina has a boyfriend apparently."
"Whitney's not allowed to date," Jasmine added.
"And Erika has a crush on some lucky guy," Phoebe finished.
"Well I heard this was an important league meeting, not some matchmaking scheme," Misty huffed.
"I was told this was going to be a photo shoot," Elesa supplied.
"I was her plus one," Skyla added.
"I was informed this was about my new book," Shauntal frowned.
"Will told me we'd talk about psychic Pokémon on his show," Caitlin yawned, slightly tired from getting up extra early to prepare for what she thought would be an interview.
"He told us he was going to interview Elite Four members so people could understand us better," Phoebe spoke for her and Glacia, who merely nodded in agreement. "And that he wanted to start with us."
"What did Will tell you Jasmine?" Misty asked, not as mad as before.
"... that he wanted me to help host a matchmaking show," she quietly answered. "I didn't know I would be competing."
"So out of all of us, Jasmine got the closest to the truth," Skyla observed. "Maybe it's because out of all of us, he knows her the best. Plus she wouldn't hurt him." This had silenced Misty, who was about to argue that she knew Will just as well as Jasmine.
Karen approached the eight girls, knowing full well that the majority were furious at Will. Her expression was emotionless, but her eyes gave away the pity to those who had been roped into doing this. Wordlessly, Karen motioned for the eight to follow her to their spots on stage.
"For the record, the guy Will got to do this isn't a jerk," Karen said.
Lights lit up the stage, letting the cameras capture the scene. Eight booths were set up, in front were the names of the girls that stood behind them. Below their names were screens which would show the answer that the girl standing there would write on the tablet on top of the booth. From the camera's left to right, the order they were in was Skyla, Jasmine, Elesa, Phoebe, Shauntal, Misty, Caitlin, and Glacia.
"Welcome everyone!" Will greets the now running camera. "Welcome to my show, Love Finder!" He moved aside as he spoke to let the girls behind him be seen. "We have these eight lovely ladies here to compete for a date with one lucky guy! Here's how things will work. These beautiful girls will be asked a question, and they'll write their answers on the tablet provided to them. When time's up, their answers will appear on the screens in front of them. At the same time, my assistant Karen, will be asking our mysterious man the same questions. If a girl's answers don't match his three times, she's eliminated. The last girl standing will get to go on a date of her choice with our lucky guy. Well it's time for our first question! After this is over, what do you plan on doing?"
Annoying music began to play while the girls wrote their responses. Misty was seen furiously moving her stylus. Caitlin, Shauntal, Elesa, Glacia, and Misty glared at Will, while Jasmine, Skyla, and Phoebe hoped there wouldn't be any bloodshed, or releasing of powerful Pokémon. Soon the music came to a stop.
"Alright let's see what the answers are!" Skyla's screen lit up, reading "Train my Pokémon", Jasmine's read "Save Will", Elesa's read "Book photo shoot", Phoebe's read "Save Will", Shauntal, Misty, Caitlin, and Glacia all wrote "Kill Will" on their tablets. "Now it's time to see what Mr. Mysterious wrote!" On the big screen above the girls "Kill Will" appeared. "Nice to know I'm loved," Will frowned, realizing he was in danger. "That's one strike for Skyla, Jasmine, Elesa, and Phoebe. Sorry ladies, but it how's the game works."
Below the screens a red "X" appeared on the mentioned girls' booths. Will knew that the rest of the questions were multiple choice, so the odds of the answers matching would increase. Of course, with each round, someone would get a strike. There were varied personalities among the group.
"Next question!" Will smiled. "Which sounds more appealing: shopping, flying, or swimming?" This would definitely earn a few more strikes, and speed up the show a tad more. The sooner he could escape Lance's wrath, the better. "Time's up! Why don't you girls read your answers this time?"
"Flying," Skyla answered.
"Swimming," Jasmine replied.
"Shopping," Elesa said as if it was obvious.
"Flying," Phoebe said.
"Shopping," Shauntal frowned. "Only because writing wasn't an option."
"Swimming of course!" Misty smiled, as if she had been asked if she wanted a million dollars.
"Shopping," Caitlin and Glacia said at the same time. The word "Flying" appeared on the screen, followed by red "X"s appearing everyone but Skyla and Phoebe's boards.
"Would you look at that," Will commented. "Everyone now has at least one strike. Jasmine and Elesa are one away from being disqualified. Time to move on to question number three! Pikachu or Delibird, which would you add to your Pokémon party?"
Will knew Elesa would pick Pikachu while Glacia and Skyla would pick Delibird. Someone was going to be getting another strike. However, it occurred to him that once the first girl was eliminated, depending on who it was, he could be in grave danger.
"Time's up my dears," Will announced, ignoring the death aura from Misty. "Let's see what's on the those screens!" Skyla, Phoebe, Shauntal, Caitlin, and Glacia all had chosen Delibird. Jasmine, Elesa, and Misty all picked Pikachu. "And it appears our lucky guy picked Pikachu! It appears that only Misty has one strike while everyone else has two. The Tomboy Mermaid appears to be the most likely to win that date folks!"
"Not if I end up in jail for murder," Misty muttered loud enough for the other girls to hear.
"Misty," Shauntal spoke. "You wouldn't happen to still have your mallet would you?"
"Never leave home without it," Misty proudly smiled, causing Will to panic slightly.
"Next question!" Will almost yelled, still on edge after hearing about the infamous Misty Mallet. "Which of these three qualities do you think is the most important for girls to have, physical strength, good looks, or confidence? And to save some more time, you ladies can just state your answers. Let's start with Glacia and make our way to Skyla."
"Good looks," Glacia smirked.
"Good looks," Caitlin yawned.
"Confidence," Misty scowled at the two girls to her left.
"Confidence," Shauntal agreed.
"Confidence," Phoebe answered as well.
"Confidence," Elesa nodded as she spoke.
"Confidence," Jasmine said, knowing she didn't have much, but that it was still an important trait to have.
"Confidence," Skyla smiled. After she finished speaking, the word "Confidence" appeared on the board above the girls. Caitlin and Glacia's boards went out, the two Elite Four members having been eliminated.
"And it appears as though we've just lost our first two contestants!" Will announced to the camera, smiling as though he wouldn't get murdered afterwards. "Do either of you ladies have anything to say to the folks watching the show?"
"Never trust Will," Caitlin glared at said trainer.
"I must agree with Caitlin on that one," Glacia said coolly, Pokeball in hand.
"Bruno why don't you escort these two ladies to the green room where they can watch the rest of the show?" Will called out to the fighting type trainer, hoping that he could at least postpone his death a while longer.
"He got Bruno in on this?" Lance asked, watching the television screen with Karen.
"And Koga," Karen replied. "Bruno he agreed to leave alone for a year while he promised Koga to leave Janine out of this mess."
"How did Will get you to agree to this?" Lance questioned, wondering about the girl's motives.
"I agreed to do it on my own," Karen shrugged, not noticing the light bulb go off above the Champion's head.
"I see," Lance mused, trying not to smirk.
"Well it's time for the next question," Karen redirected the conversation. "Do you think a couple should have more differences or similarities?"
"Differences," Lance answered.
Karen texted someone the answer, someone being whoever was in charge of putting Lance's answers on the screen above the contestants. After the remaining six girls answered, his answer was shown. Phoebe and Elesa's screens blacked out, two more contestants had been eliminated.
"Is there anything you girls want to say before leaving?" Will asked, the camera on his face before moving towards Phoebe and Elesa.
"Well I wish everyone good luck and hope things work out for whoever wins," Phoebe smiled at the remaining girls.
"Don't try to drag me into anymore of your schemes Will," Elesa glared at the off screen host. Bruno then returned to escort them to the green room, where Caitlin and Glacia waited.
"Well it looks like it's time for a commercial break! Don't change the channel 'cause we'll be right back!" The Elite Four member smiled at the camera. Lance and Karen watched the screen until the first commercial started.
"Why did he wait so long for a break?" Lance asked the dark type specialist.
"Will thought we would go overtime, but now it looks like we may be under. Plus it looks Misty finally remembered she could always use her mallet on Will," Karen replied. "Out of everyone Will tricked into doing this, she's the most furious."
"I guess Misty really hasn't changed too much in her temper since I first met her," Lance smiled at the memory of an eleven year old girl with a Togepi in her arms. "She and Brock were traveling with Ash Ketchum at the time..."
"It's a shame what happened to him," Karen softly said, remembering the tragic news everyone had received years ago.
"He would have made a great Pokémon Master," Lance mused to himself. "I'm glad people have been able to move on but not forget what happened."
"Looks like the break is over," Karen said bringing their focus away from the past.
"Welcome back to the show everyone!" Will smiled, his mask slightly crooked. Misty had managed to get one hit with her mallet before Jasmine, Bruno, and Koga managed to get it away from the water type Gym Leader. "It's time for part two in our matchmaking show! The four remaining girls will now be asked questions individually, by none other than our mysterious man himself! After each round, our lucky guy will pick one girl to eliminate. Since we're going to keep his identity a secret, my assistant Karen will be asking the questions for him!"
Karen walked out onto the stage, a small stack of cards in her hands. She kept her face void of any emotion. To those who knew her best, it was a way of hiding how she truly felt. To others, it was her normal expression.
"Skyla," Karen spoke, her voice not giving anything away. "Why did you pick flying types to specialize in?"
"The way they fly so freely in the air," Skyla smiled. "It makes me feel like I could do the same."
"Jasmine, you show such a great love for all Pokémon, yet of all the types to specialize in you picked steel. Why?" Karen asked, not knowing what Lance was looking for.
"Because it's what I want to be like," Jasmine replied. "Steel types are strong, it takes a lot to hurt them. I want to be able to protect others like that."
"Why did you pick shopping earlier Shauntal?" Karen read off her card.
"Well besides writing, it's one of my favorite past times," the ghost type specialist replied.
"Wait, how did he know about that?" Will demanded.
"We were watching the TV," Karen shrugged. "I figured he deserved to at least see who you were trying to set him up with."
"But that's against the rules!" Will whined to his fellow Elite Four member.
"Do you want to be the target of a live demonstration of Houndoom's Flamethrower?" Karen glared. Will's silence was the only answer Karen needed. "Misty, why did you pick Pikachu over Delibird when ice types are closer to water types than electric types are?"
"An old friend of mine had a Pikachu," Misty sadly smiled. "They were the best of friends. It was because of his Pikachu we met in the first place. Pikachu brings both good and bad memories."
"I see," Karen said, picking up on the younger girl's sorrow. "Well now we wait to see who will get eliminated."
"The unfortunate girl's name will appear on the screen," Will added, not wanting to have Karen steal too much of the limelight away. Everyone looked up at the screen, wondering whose name would appear. Well Karen wondered if Lance would try to use this time to sneak away rather than go along with Will's plan. Shauntal's name appeared after a few seconds on the big screen. The Unova Elite Four member merely shrugged over being eliminated, knowing that it was better to take a loss calmly and not look like a fool.
"Perhaps my love interest will make himself known someday," she said before walking off stage.
"Well Shauntal took that pretty well," Will commented. "Karen the stage is yours once more."
"This time I'll start with Misty," she stated. "How would you feel about being in a relationship with someone who travels a lot?"
"Well," Misty started, being reminded of Ash with each question. "I would be okay with it as long as he came to visit me and I got to join him occasionally."
"Jasmine, the same question as Misty," Karen replied.
"I'm not it would be enjoyable for me," Jasmine replied. "I'm not much of a traveler myself."
"Do I have the same question?" Skyla asked Karen. Karen nodded at the pilot. "I'd want to go with him whenever I had the time. It would be kind of fun to travel just because I could."
"Did he really ask them all the same question?" Will muttered. "Well now we wait for the poor girl's name to appear-" Will stopped speaking when Jasmine's name appeared followed by "You're a nice girl, but not the one for me. Hopefully you'll meet your match soon." on the screen. "I didn't think he'd do that. Any words before you leave Jasmine?"
"A few," the steel type specialist smiled. "Don't hurt Will for tricking you into doing this. He has good intentions." Will smiled kindly at the girl, until he caught her next words. "Will's doing this because he's too scared to confess his own feelings to the girl he likes."
"Um, Bruno!" Will called, not liking the evil smirk forming on some of the faces in the studio. "Why don't you take Jasmine to the green room before we need to go to another commercial break!"
"But Will, it's not even close to time for another one," Karen smirked. It wasn't every day she got to see her best friend so nervous. "In fact it's time for the mysterious man to come out and ask the final questions himself."
"What?" Will nearly screeched. "That's against the rules!"
"Sorry Will," a male voice said, not sounding sorry at all. "But this is what happens when you trick people into going along with your plans." Lance walked on stage, a smirk on his face. Skyla looked shocked to see who the mysterious guy was, while Misty had a hopeful gleam in her eyes.
"Hey Lance, you wouldn't happen to have Dragonite on you would you?" Misty asked, looking in Will's direction.
"In fact, I do," Lance said, quickly catching on.
"Now, now," Will started, realizing how much trouble he was in. "No need to get mad about this."
"Do you happen to have a spare mallet?" Lance smirked, enlarging on his Pokeballs.
"Of course," Misty said, pulling out her spare. "I carry just in case someone gets the idea to try and steal my first one."
"I'd run if I were you," Karen said, taking one large step away from the masked man as Lance summoned his most powerful Pokemon and Misty brought out a large mallet.
"Dragonite use Hyper Beam on that idiot!" Lance ordered, pointing at Will.
"You're dead meat!" Misty yelled, waving her mallet above her head.
"Gaaaaaaaaah!" Will yelled, running away from the terrify trio.
Skyla and Karen watched the three run after Will, no mercy was shown in Misty's or Lance's eyes. Dragonite seemed to be the only one who show mercy on the Elite Four member. Karen sighed in disbelief while Skyla seemed to be trying to process the whole thing.
"I think Misty won," Skyla finally spoke. "If anyone can keep up with Lance, it's Misty."
"They're certainly not the couple you would expect," Karen mused. "However this should be interesting to watch playout."
"Well when are you and Will getting together?" Skyla asked, catching the Elite Four member off-guard.
"W-W-What?" Karen stuttered, a light blush starting to form. "He's my best friend, nothing more!"
"You know what they say about best friends of opposite genders," Skyla smirked, enjoying Karen's reactions.
Bruno walked on stage, ignoring the chaos around him. He stopped in front of the camera, since everyone else was too busy to wrap things up. "That's the end of the first, and most likely last, episode of Love Finder."