disclaimer: Still... I own nothing. Nothing but my precious plot Lopunny. --huggles Lopunny-- I don't own Pokémon, but I do own Anissa DeMont & Fordé Sourentis. Bwa!
Emerald's News & Nonsense:
Okay... My Quinceneara is coming up on the 21st of July, People! Don't be surprised if I don't update again until some time after that. It's my big day! And I gotta get off now to practice with my Escort a certain Waltz we're going to do at the party.
In other news, Fragment #13 is completed! Albeit a short chapter, but it works. I'll make it up to you in #14! I swear! LoL!
key:
" " dialogue
thoughts or emphasis
Pokémon Speech
Onomatopoeia
Now, then! Enjoy Fragment #11, Readers! X3
: Fragment No. 11 :
Competition Makes Mischief
Anissa, Fordé, and Wally stared with wide eyes as their fellow Coordinators were competing in a pizza-eating contest. Drew and Brendan were grabbing and eating every slice of pizza they could get their hands on, and eating them fast. The only person who wasn't stunned or surprised was May, who was confused and whining.
"Hey, you two! Can you stop fighting long enough for me to take a slice? I want some, too, y'know!" she pouted cutely.
The two boys stopped, looking at her and blinking with their cheeks puffed up from all the pizza they'd stuffed in them. She giggled, taking the last piece of pepperoni pizza and munching on it happily as the two boys watched. When she finally noticed, she tilted her head.
"What?"
"You ate twice as many boxes of pizza as we did put together, and you take our last piece?" Drew asked, easily keeping his words straight as he continued to chew the pizza he still was eating while covering his mouth with a napkin. He didn't want to look gross…
Brendan gave a massive gulp, swallowing all his pizza before speaking clearly, "It's obvious that you don't know May very well… Her stomach is literally a black hole. She can eat as much as she wants and still come out skinny and hungrier than ever."
The green-haired Coordinator glared at the white-haired Trainer, only to initiate another glaring contest. Who could last the longest without blinking?
May shrugged, "Actually, to tell the truth, I wasn't hungry anymore. I just took the last one so you guys wouldn't have any more to eat!"
The two just stared at her; did she even know that they were fighting over her? Drew sighed, leaning back in his seat beside May and looking up at the see-through glass ceiling of the food court. It was plain to see that it was a sunny day outside, even though many of the tall trees out there were shading them all inside from it.
Ding, ding, ding, ding!
Everyone looked up at the ceiling, having heard the loud bell-like sound echoing through the huge area. An intercom had just turned on and was now announcing something.
"Coordinators! It is now 12:30 PM, so you know what that means! It's time to head over to the Contest Stage and get ready for the Singles Appeals! We look forward to seeing your beautiful displays of creativity! That is all!"
Anissa smiled as she pushed herself out of her chair and look around at their group, "I guess we should get going now, then, huh? We've got about thirty minutes to get prepared, and then the actual Contest is going to start."
Fordé nodded, "Alright, looks like we'll have another chance to show off! Be sure not to do anything too similar to your Intro Appeal, Wally, because that can cost you."
Wally pouted, getting up as well, "I have other tricks up my sleeves, Fordé! Just watch and learn!"
Seeing this as another way to compete for May's heart, Brendan and Drew's glaring contest intensified as they realized how they could win her over using this Extreme Pokémon Contest to their advantage.
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"All right! Welcome back to the Extreme Pokémon Contest!" MC Lillian called over the microphone, waving to the now packed Contest Auditorium. From her spot on the stage, she jumped to the side of each judge, "If you weren't here last night for the Introductory Appeals, then here's your last chance to see your favorite Coordinators doing their wonderful Appeals in order to advance to the next round!"
Anissa, May, Drew, Brendan, Wally, and Fordé all stood by the entrance/exit where only the trio had been standing the night before. Wally and May were standing close to the seats, leaning over them to look out to the stage, Brendan and Drew were leaning against the wall (both on different sides of the door), and Anissa and Fordé were standing in front of the doorway and watching everything going on.
"Now, we have around 24 Coordinators left over in this contest, thanks to the narrowing down of the Petalburg Woods Search. Only 12 will advance to the next few rounds, which will only get better and better!" the orange-haired woman explained, pointing over to the judges beside her, "And, of course, we have our judges! The man who organized all of this, Mr. Contesta!"
"It's wonderful to be here!" the director said, smiling.
"The President of the Pokémon Fan Club, Mr. Sukizo!"
"It's Simply Remarkable!" the short man just cried out.
Lillian blinked at his enthusiasm before she introduced the last judge, "And finally, our very own, Nurse Joy!"
"I can't wait to see all the lovely Appeals!" the pink-haired nurse said excitedly, her hands clapping together as she smiled brightly.
"Alright! Let's bring out the first Coordinator of the day! Wally Anderson!"
The golden-haired boy jumped up and down, "That's me, that's me!!"
"What're you still doing here? Go, Wally!" May encouraged, pushing Wally toward the back of the stage, "You can do it!"
Having been pushed and being the light-weight that he was, he tripped over the stairs and fell straight into the Coordinators' Back Room. Getting back up and regaining composure, he ran out to the stage, only to be greeted by several people cheering and clapping… the loudest coming from where he'd just been only but a few seconds ago. He couldn't help smiling at how confident he was beginning to feel, with everyone cheering him on and waiting for him to give them a great show.
If they want a great show, then I'll give it to them! He thought, taking out an Ultra Ball and tossing it up into the air, "Magnezone, we're up!"
A blinding white light filled the stage until at last; the strange-looking Magnetic Field Pokémon appeared for the audience.
Magna! Zo-zo-zo-zoooone! The seemingly mechanical Magnezone beeped, its bluish body shining in the stage lights. Electricity was already beginning to crackle at the two magnets it had for 'arms,' and its three 'eyes' were looking around everywhere.
Wally smiled boldly, taking out three metal spheres from his pockets, "Alright, let's use Lock-On and then Thundershock!" With the command issued, he threw them out into the air where Magnezone's eyes were each focusing on separate orbs.
Maaaagna! It cried in its computer-like voice as the electricity it'd been building up in its magnets was finally released toward the targets. Its stream of electricity shocked the spheres higher into the air.
"Now, Rain Dance!"
The strange, floating Pokémon's magnets began to spin around wildly as its body swayed to and fro. Dark grey clouds soon blurred the vision to the ceiling; the sound of thunder lightly booming in the storm clouds was very audible all over the room. After a few moments more, droplets of water had begun to rain down on them all.
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"Shit!" Fordé cursed, backing up into the doorway that led out of the auditorium in order to keep himself from getting touched by the rain.
"Huh? Is something wrong, Fordé?" May asked, blinking as she watched the boy curiously.
Anissa just chuckled evilly, "Silly ol' Fordé's afraid of the rain… Actually, he's not too fond of water in general. As far as I know, the only times he comes into contact with water is when he takes a shower and when he drinks it."
"And even then, I don't like it!" he admitted, watching everyone else get drenched from the inside of the nice and dry hallway.
May looked over to Brendan and Drew, only to find them both in the same position they'd been when they got there: leaning against the wall with their arms folded and probably just trying not to notice one another. Just what exactly was their problem? Deciding that she was going to have to ask sooner or later, she opened her mouth to voice her question, only to have a fierce burning in her nose. Her nostrils flared a bit before the burning feeling became too much to handle, causing her to let out a massive sneeze.
"Ah… A-CHOOO!"
All four of her current companions looked at her, grinning at her because of the randomness of that sneeze. It was easy to understand why she did it, though, considering that it was now raining indoors.
Drew closed his eyes, his grin apparent, "Heh… You should have worn something more appropriate, May."
The young girl glared at him, about to ask him what he meant, but she felt his hands on her shoulders and a comfortable warmth cover over her back, shoulders, and arms. Turning her head to look into his bright emerald eyes, she blushed lightly at the realization that he'd just taken off his jacket and given it to her.
"Uh-uhm…" she stuttered, quite speechless. Normally, Drew would just have left her there to sneeze her nose off, but he didn't… Come to think of it, he has been acting pretty different lately…
"You don't have to say anything but 'thank you.' Besides, you're probably the only one here who's not wearing a long-sleeved shirt." He explained, bringing his arms back to fold over his chest and watch her with a smug look on his face.
This confused her; she was the only one not wearing…? Her sapphire eyes darted from person-to-person in their group; he was right. Brendan was wearing his usual jacket; Fordé had on a red blazer with white linings, Anissa was wearing a long grey jacket that went all the way down to her knees, and Drew, though jacket-less as he was, was still wearing his black long-sleeved top.
She pouted; he'd even switched his medium-sleeved lavender jacket for a fully long-sleeved lavender one for the day! Sighing in defeat, she slipped her arms through the sleeves and held it closed in front of her, instantly feeling quite a bit warmer than she had earlier. Perhaps it was from something else rather than the jacket, though…
Brendan glared over at Drew, who was watching May with that smirk of his and flicking his hair. Damn it; will he stop trying to act so cool!? He thought maliciously, one of his grey eyes twitching repeatedly.
CRACKLE! SNAP!!
The four Coordinators looked over to the stage just in time to watch as Magnezone shot a huge Zap Cannon attack at the three metal orbs from before and send them up into the now very, very dark storm clouds that had collected over the whole auditorium.
BOOM! BOOM!! BOOM!!! The three spheres seemed to have exploded in the air, making the rain begin to pour down on everyone.
"Now, let's finish it all up with Thunder!" Wally called with a wide smile over his excited face.
Magna! Zo-zo-zo-zoooone! The Magnetic Field Pokémon's magnets were spinning crazily until finally, the electricity crackling in them surged through its mechanical body to the antenna at the top of its head. The powerful Thunder attack shot up into the clouds from that antenna, causing it to boom loudly and lightning to flash brightly.
After it'd ceased sending the attack upward, the clouds themselves were crackling with energy before several beams of light crashed down on three separate spots on the stage.
All watched in amazement as the clouds slowly dissolved away, leaving the stage lights to light everything up as it had before. Everything looked the same as it had before Wally started his Appeal, excluding the fact that the audience was quite drenched and there were many puddles of rain water on the floor.
MC Lillian laughed as she jumped up beside Wally, winking at the crowds, "That was an awesome performance, Wally! Let's see what the judges thought!"
"Your obvious mastery over thunder made it look wonderfully controlled, like you could make it do just about anything you wanted it to!" Mr. Contesta explained his thoughts, smiling.
"Yes! Remarkable!" was all Mr. Sukizo had to say.
"I was on the edge of my seat! I was both scared that I'd get electrocuted thanks to the Rain Dance, but amazed by how your light show was working out." Nurse Joy commented, laughing embarrassedly.
"Alright! Now, let's see what you scored!" the redhead exclaimed, looking to the monitors on the Judges' podiums. In a matter of seconds, the numbers appeared on the small monitors.
Mr. Contesta: 9
Mr. Sukizo: 10
Nurse Joy: 8
"That gives you a total of 27 points! Well done, Wally!" she congratulated, spinning around to face the audience again, "How about we give him another hand before we bring out our next Coordinator?"
Everyone began to clap and cheer again, making Wally automatically bow. Funnily, his Magnezone followed suit and tilted itself forward to make it look like it was bowing, as well. With all that said and done, he returned his Pokémon to its pokéball and scurried offstage to the Back Room where all the Coordinators were supposed to wait.
However, his friends, being the kind of people that they were, were outside where the audience was so they could get a full-view of what was going on onstage. Running up the steps, he was greeted by a full-on glomp from May. He nearly fell back down the stairs, but he kept himself from doing so.
"You did it! I knew you could!" May cheered, laughing as she clung to her friend.
Wally smiled brightly, proud of himself and glad to receive praise. His eyes wandered over to Anissa and Fordé, who both winked at him. He knew he wouldn't get anything out of Drew, but when his eyes connected with Brendan's, he couldn't help feeling a lot better than he was already feeling.
His best friend was grinning at him, giving him a thumbs-up, "Good going, Wally."
He wound up blushing lightly at the compliment given by the one he wanted to be just like… the one he looked up to, "Th-thanks, Brendan."
CRASH!! Everybody winced at the sound of glass breaking before turning to look off to the stage. A Sealeo was lying belly-up on the stage with anime swirls for eyes and it was surrounded by pieces of ice. Its trainer made an embarrassed look, running to his Pokémon's side and returning it to its pokéball.
All four of the judges' monitors showed a bright red X, indicating that both the trainer and his Pokémon were out of there. With him walking off stage, all attention returned to Lillian as she called out for the next Coordinator to step up.
"Brendan Birch! C'mon up!"
The white-haired trainer pushed himself away from the wall and unfolded his arms, his grey eyes narrowed at Drew with a smirk on his face. Drew merely glared and frowned at him.
Let's see exactly how good or bad this guy is… he thought, watching his newest rival walk down the steps to the Back Room.
Brendan stood smirking on the stage, a Premier Ball in hand. He pulled his right elbow backward a bit before swinging his forearm outward and tossing the ball out to center stage.
"Feraligatr! I choose you!"
The white pokéball popped open, releasing the Pokémon that'd been trapped within. The Big Jaw Pokémon let out a roar as it stretched its arms out a bit.
Feraaaaligatr! It looked around the stage, a long grin coming to its huge mouth as its eyes settled on its trainer. Brendan nodded at it before giving it a command.
"Use Protect!"
It put its arms out at full-length to its sides before a huge green shield appeared all around it.
"Alright, now use Water Gun!"
What's he planning…? Drew asked in his mind, watching with narrowed eyes.
The Water-type Pokémon opened its massive jaws and let out a huge blast of water. With Protect still in play, the water fell to the floor and was quickly filling up the greenish protective bubble. Once it was full to the top and the water cleared, Feraligatr was visible floating in the huge bubble.
"Whoa…" Wally mumbled in amazement, leaning over a fan's seat to get a bit of a closer look.
"Oh, wow! That's so cool!" May exclaimed, clapping her hands together and holding them to the side of her cheek, "Brendan's really pretty good at this!"
Anissa smiled and chuckled, looking out the corner of her eye to Drew, only to see him scowl menacingly at the stage. It only made her laugh out loud, but she covered her mouth to keep it contained.
The Water Bubble began to roll around the stage, stopping in front of the judges and bouncing up and down. Apparently, Protect went all the way around the Pokémon, including at its feet.
Feraligatr rolled back to where it'd been before and looked to Brendan for another command. The white-haired trainer winked and gave it a thumbs-up.
"Water Pulse and Slash!"
A watery force was building up around the bubble until it all shot out in every direction like a wave, forcing the bubble up into the air in a huge SPLASH!
Feraligatr brought back its left arm as its claws began to glow bright white. It slashed at the Protect bubble and cut a hole in it, shooting itself out of the now-falling water. Feraligatrr!
"It seems that today's going to be a very wet day!" Mr. Contesta laughed, "Very good, my boy! That combination of Protect and Water Gun really captured my attention!"
Mr. Sukizo smiled widely, "It was simply remarkable!"
Nurse Joy giggled, "Your Feraligatr looked like it was really having a lot of fun! And I also agree with Mr. Contesta; that combination was very smart!"
"Now, then! How about we see your scores?" MC Lillian said, jumping over to the judges and holding her microphone to her face.
Mr. Contesta: 9
Mr. Sukizo: 10
Nurse Joy: 10
"That makes for an almost-perfect score of 29! Great job!"
Brendan smiled as the crowd cheered him on, bowing as his Feraligatr did the same. His eyes immediately fell upon May, who looked beyond amazed. He smirked, turning his gaze to Drew and finding an angry look on the Coordinator's face. Brendan would've laughed, but he was still on the stage.
He exited stage right and returned his Feraligatr to its Premier Ball before walking back to the others at their little spot. The two expected people ran up to him once he'd returned, both smiling and laughing.
"You were awesome out there, Brendan!" Wally complimented, smiling broadly.
"You really were! How'd you know that Water Gun would stay inside Protect?" May asked, deeply intrigued.
Brendan shook his head, putting a finger to his lips and winking at the two of them, "Thanks, but I'm not about to give away one of my little secrets."
Drew's eye twitched as he listened to their conversation, but he forced it to stop, Man! I'm spending way too much time with May! I'm starting to take over her bad habits!
Shutting his eyes, he tried to erase everything that was going on around him so he could focus on the task soon to be at hand: his Appeal. Which Pokémon should he use? Definitely not Absol, because he always finished its Appeals with Water Pulse, and he didn't want to copy Brendan, of all people.
So, then… it's either Roselia, Flygon, Masquerain, Butterfree, or… He thought; arms still folded as his head hung so that his green bangs covered over his face.
"Hey, what's up with you? Trying to think of a way to get a better score than me?"
Drew's eyes snapped open as he slowly looked up, only to see Brendan smirking at him. The green-haired Coordinator pushed himself away from the wall and put his left hand into his pocket.
"I don't even have to think about it to be able to score higher than that measly 29." He said arrogantly, flicking his hair out of his face with his right hand. At least, not hard He added in his mind with a smirk.
