Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, any of the games, and possibly, this idea.
Author's Note: This is a oneshot. Bearing that in mind, I'm just expressing the constant frustration from placing fourth in Master Rank smart contests, despite following the theme to a T during the visuals.
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Not a Sore Loser, just an Angry One
Richard was frustrated and was steadily getting angrier. Every time he entered his Mismagius, Nexvul, into a smart contest, she always placed last. Richard knew it had nothing to do with Nexvul, she had always shown astounding intelligence, almost to the point of speech. It was all because of the audience and the judges. When Richard played a legitimate game, he knew someone was cheating, and that's what was going on now.
He decided on trying one last contest with Nexvul to see if anything changed. "Hello, Richard, feel up to trying a smart contest again?" Apparently, the receptionist had learned his name. "Yeah, I guess so." "With Nexvul, I take it?" Richard only had one Pokemon, and that was Nexvul. They had been through everything together, ever since he had caught her in Eterna Forest. The only time they were separated was when another trainer had seen her in the wild and forced her to evolve. Of course, after that, Nexvul had placed a curse on the trainer who had stolen her.
"Yep, I know the drill from here. She's number four, right?" The receptionist smiled. "As always. Go ahead and change into your tuxedo. And you might see a few people you know in there." Richard laughed. "All the people I know live in Johto, where I used to live. I really do miss it. All the species of Pokemon you could find there."
Richard spun around four times and changed into a tuxedo. The receptionist led him in, but didn't go back to her desk afterwards. Instead, she took a seat in the audience. Dexter was now standing in front of the contestants and looked ready to speak. His pocket looked almost like it was bulging. "We are about to get underway with this Master Rank Pokemon Smart Contest! I'm Dexter, and I'll be serving as the MC and as one of the judges! The results of judging will be announced at the end, so please bear with me!" Dexter turned to his right. "Let me introduced our contestants!" Richard looked over the others. Fantina and Jasmine were there, so he knew he and Nexvul would be up against Rusty and Loony. And then there was that battle girl named Alexis.
Richard got angry when he though about how Ponder had won Ultra Rank contests so many times. "Entry Number One, here's Alexis!" Seven whistles. "Entry Number Two, here's Jasmine!" Six whistles. "Entry Number Three, here's Fantina!" Seven whistles. "And last but not least, entry number four Richard!" One long whistle and a few boos.
"Let's begin by having everyone get in proper attire for evaluations. Contestants, dress up your Pokemon for the visual Competition!" The theme was "The Natural". Richard nailed it down, and felt ready for evaluations. Alexis went, and at least eight people cheered for Ponder. Jasmine took her turn and seven people cheered for her. Loony received the same number of cheers as Ponder. When Richard brought Nexvul out, however, he only received five cheers. The loudest of which was one that Richard recognized as the receptionist.
He still felt angry, because every time he used the accessories that corresponded to the theme, he received less applause than those who used different accessories, and the one time he tried their method, he got boos rather then cheers. The dance competition was fine; he felt he did the best in that. The real problem was with the acting competition. Richard and Nexvul used the best moves they could bring out, but it still wasn't enough. Alexis ended up winning the contest, and when they were all leaving, she decided to throw it in their faces. "Hah! I won! I guess you're all just too incompetent to do something right."
Richard stood up on Jasmine's, Fantina's, and his behalf "You did the worst in the dancing competition, every time ponder slipped, you yelled at him, causing him to become flustered and mess up even more. When Loony messed up, Fantina just encouraged her to keep going. And Rusty… Well, I don't think he messed up at all. Nexvul, slipped a few times, but she regained herself in time." "Whatever, losers." Alexis walked off, and Ponder looked like he wanted to go with Richard, but Alexis grabbed him. Jasmine and Fantina turned to Richard. "Um… thanks for standing up for us, Richard, it was actually a very nice thing. Nexvul actually looked really good out there." "Yes, she was tres bien. However, I must return to my gym. Au Revoir." Jasmine and Fantina left.
"Richard, you really are pretty good at the contests. I don't understand why you keep losing." The receptionist appeared right behind him and made him jump. "Whoa! Thanks, but I think it has something to do with the judges. Dexter's left pocket seemed a bit full." "You mean he's taking bribes? That shouldn't be." Richard stopped her. "It's alright, I think I'm done with contests anyway." Richard left the building. "Richard, wait!" The receptionist stopped him before he left the city. "How about we get together and have dinner tomorrow?" Richard grinned. "Sure. What time should I come get you? Or better yet, where do you live?" The receptionist laughed. "Let's just meet in front of the contest hall around 6:30 and go down to the Lakefront restaurant."
"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow." The receptionist went back into the building and Richard let Nexvul out of her Poke Ball. That was when she spoke in the human language for the first time. "Alexis has been bribing the judges. Back when you were helping me get ready for the visuals, I saw her talking with Dexter. Most of the people in the audience were close to her anyway, so they'd do anything she said." Richard jumped and lmost screamed. "You spoke! How?!" "Those bitter poffins really were useful for more than contests, Richard. The last one you gave me pushed my thinking skills far enough to help me develop a way to speak in your tongue."
"Alright, that's actually pretty interesting. Now, how're we going to expose Alexis?" Nexvul turned to Richard. "We're not. We're going to dispose of her once and for all. And here's how…"
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By that night, they were ready. Nexvul had found out where Alexis lived and chanted a spell to make Richard invisible. "Once you're inside, grab Ponder, bring me out of the Poke Ball, and cover your ears. Make sure Ponder's inside his Poke Ball." "Understood." Richard crept in through a window that was left open for some reason. "I guess she really isn't the brightest bulb in the pack." Richard saw a Poke Ball and opened it. Ponder emerged from it. Richard closed the Poke Ball after Ponder was safely back inside and went up to Alexis's room.
Richard saw Alexis sleeping and released Nexvul. "You'll have to wake her up, otherwise, this won't work." Richard was no longer invisible, and he kicked at Alexis's bed. She sat straight up and Richard covered his ears. Nexvul immediately began the death chant. Alexis slipped into a coma and eventually died. "Done, you may uncover your ears now." Richard put Nexvul back into the Poke Ball and left.
The next day, Richard's date went smoothly, and he reentered the contests. He lost, but each time, he knew what was going on, so he and Nexvul entered the winner's houses, leaving behind an unexplainable death. The only time he didn't kill the winner was when it was either Fantina or Jasmine, because they didn't cheat.
As the years passed, Richard had an extensive collection of Pokemon, regardless of how crooked his methods were. He and the receptionist eventually married, and Nexvul had met a Ditto, and many Misdreavus resulted. The best part? No one could convict a Mismagius for murder.
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Not funny, I realize that, but still, I'm tired of placing 4th in contests when I have a Mismaius with maxed out smart stats. Also, if anyone can help me figure out exactly what accessories go best with which theme, it would be much appreciated.