A/N: Thank you guys for the support of the first chapter. I wasn't too sure about this fic as there is not many pokemon fanfics centred around an OC with the goal of Kalos Queen, but your reviews make me more confident in writing and continuing this. I'd also like to apologize for the pretty short chapters, but I'm not really confident in writing long chapters just yet. I have just gotten back into the pokemon fandom and writing fanfics in general after around a year. I hope to use this as a basis for getting better, so your criticism is appreciated as much as your support. So thank you and I hope you enjoy!

"And the themed round for tonight's Showcase is…"

I held my breath.

"Poke Puff Baking!"

My chest loosens as I start to breathe again. Poke Puffs were not the worst of things to do. I was extremely glad that it didn't include the routine as well.

"Beautifly, you can help find and identify ingredients, and Kirlia you can help me mix and cut up the ingredients," I ordered quietly. They gave their affirmation, and didn't argue.

"Olivia, Crystal, Bella?" I heard a voice say from behind me. I turned round and saw a brunette with a headset on looking into the room expectantly. "You three are up first, so get ready."

I gulped in panic and struggled to remove their outfits quickly. I left them in my bag on a chair, hopeful they would be safe for when I returned. Then a girl popped into my view. She had on a dark pink dress with bunches of thrills, and her black hair was tied back in corn braids.

"I can watch your bag," she said. "If you want, that is."

I peered at her suspiciously for a second, as if she might turn on me as soon as I walk off. However, I heard the woman's voice a second time and on a whim I quickly relented.

"Yes, thank you," I exclaimed, before turning on my heel and running off.

I entered the little glass room and waited patiently, my heart hammering in my chest. All my father's recipes ran through my mind, only one actually involving Poke Puffs. Said recipe was just from the internet, and I had only tried baking it with my team a few times.

The glass room me and my pokemon were standing in suddenly shifted and I stumbled about a little bit. Beautifly steadied me, flying close and sitting on my shoulder. Just the feeling of having them close made me more at ease.

That feeling however, didn't last long once the glass room fell away to reveal me and the other two girls standing on-stage. There was no hope in me that I could see my family, the dazzling lights blinding my vision and disorientating me. Kirlia had to guide me forward to my kitchenette table ready with ingredients, just because my senses were already frazzled.

Contests shared little similarities. Showcases, from just what I could tell being up there for a few seconds, were bigger, brighter and more spectacular in every way. Yes, they both had performances that showed the bond of pokemon and human, but Showcases involved so much more.

As Monsieur Pierre announced the rules, I listened intently, not wanting to lose because of silly mistakes like I did back in Hoenn. Then the timer started above us and I rushed to work.

"Beautifly, can you find the berries that we need?" I ask the butterfly pokemon, whilst gathering with Kirlia all the utensils we needed. "I trust you to find the best ones."

She gave me a little chirp in return and flew down to the baskets of berries. I was extremely thankful that I had already previously picked Beautifly for this. Beautifly were well known back home in Hoenn for their proboscis and how sensitive their senses were when it came to flowers and nectar. That translated pretty well when it came to berries, and Beautifly had little trouble identifying the ones that were freshest and full of flavour. Berries never seemed to be very appealing to me as a snack, but I enjoyed working with them in baking and cooking. Especially since my pokemon love them so much.

As I start to make measurements for the base of the Poke Puffs, I feel my nerves start to kick in. Hundreds of eyes were staring at me intently, scrutinising my every move. I started to slip up, spilling flour over the counter. My teeth dig into my lip so hard it starts bleeding. Sensing this, Kirlia gently used her psychic powers to clear up the flour. She then held my hand tight with hers.

Being honest in that moment I had completely forgotten that Kirlia was the Emotion Pokemon. When a human shows negative emotion, it affects the kirlia's abilities, so I realised I needed to gain confidence whilst baking, or else both of our performances would suffer.

So I took a deep breath, and steadied myself. Beautifly brought up all the berries needed for the Poke Puffs, along with some berry flowers to use for décor. I had to hold her off a little bit from eating them, but it made me giggle and cheer me up. A few giggles even came from the audience, as they saw Beautifly's eagerness to chow down.

Soon, though, we were back on track, and the bases were in the small oven below. I heard the sound of the halfway point and now gathered the decoration ingredients together. My colour and theme of choice was following the style of dress I had on: a black and white theme. I was going for a black and white checked design with a slice of cheri berry, oran berry, sitrus berry, lum berry and pecha berry, all arranged in a star shape. It was simple enough but still carried on the theme I had going for me. I had hope the judges would appreciate that.

The timer went off for the oven, and I pulled the bases out. A lump formed in my throat as they came out, slightly burnt. Realisation hit me that I must have set the timer slightly too long, but there wasn't time to worry and panic. They were supposed to be white in colour, though unfortunately once I had pulled them out of the oven they were an ugly grey colour. Because of this, I lathered on the frosting, so much so it was almost spilling over. Kirlia aided me with controlling where the icing was going. First the layer of white frosting went on, and then the black squares to make the plaid effect. Beautifly was carefully cutting up the fruit, doing it so intricately and cautiously it made me smile. She wanted this as much as I did.

Following her example, I placed the thinly sliced berries pieces onto the Poke Puff carefully. My hands were shaky, and I placed them wonkily, until they glowed pink and set into a neat shape. My gaze went to Kirlia, and the corners of my trembling mouth turned upwards into a smile.

"Thank you," I whisper gratefully. "You both are doing so much better than me at this."

Kirlia shakes her head, and goes to hold my hand again.

"And time is up!" I hear Monsieur Pierre's accented voice call out.

I look down wearily at my Poke Puff. It's certainly wasn't the most expertly crafted baked good. Frosting dribbled down the side slightly, and the black squares were starting to sink into the other frosting. Then I realise in my rushed state I had put the decoration on, whilst the base was still warm. That mistake meant the decoration was starting to dribble off, rather than set in place. All of my being hoped the judges' pokemon ate the Poke Puff before it all fell apart.

I grabbed my plate and made my way over to the judges table. Stealing a glance at the other two girls' Poke Puffs I immediately felt like I had lost. Their decoration was so much neater. They were simpler maybe, but definitely better looking to the eye. It also didn't help that one of the girl's partner pokemon were a swirlix, which evolved into a pokemon with an insane sense of smell, and a spritzee, a pokemon well known for its perfumed scent that could have affected the Poke Puffs and made them more appealing to the pokemon. It was a smart move for sure on the part of the performer.

Her name is either Crystal or Olivia, I thought to myself, as the golden haired performer walked back to her station, her two pretty pink pokemon flying proudly behind her, glittery sky blue bows in their fur and feathers.

I didn't really take much notice of the other performer, my interest being stolen by this mysterious blonde. She looked like she really was in tune with her pokemon, and a part of me deflated, as if I was using Kirlia's ability to see into the future, and I saw her winning.

The fact that I was supposed to be watching the judges try my Poke Puff completely slipped my mind, and I just kept looking around the stage. I knew this was what I wanted, but that didn't make it any less overwhelming. Then I heard Monsieur Pierre's voice once again, and my eyes darted to the judges. My Poke Puff was almost all eaten, besides a slice left, the frosting oozing onto the plate. I had hoped the berries worked well with the sweet frosting, balancing it out enough so the berries weren't too over bearing.

"The judges have decided!" Monsieur Pierre announced with a flourish. "The winner of the first Poke Puff Baking round is…"

I find myself once again holding my breath, eyes trained on the ground. A decision was formed in my mind to work on not being so scared when an announcement is being made. Kirlia was feeling the same way, as was Beautifly.

It's alright if we lose, I repeat in my head like a mantra, willing my negative emotions to dissipate. There are plenty of other Showcases and this is my first one.

"Bella!"