I hope you all are ready for the show case because here it is! Let's see if our Yama really is ready for his debut or not.
As always I want to thank my current beta reader. They go by the name of Killer_Squids and can be found on AO3 here ( /users/Killer_Squids). They can also be found on tumblr under the name land-banana. They have done a wonderful job with betaing for me so if you have time please give there page a look
Let's all cheer on Yamaguchi!
Yama's First Showcase: Round 1
Yamaguchi could feel his pulse in his throat as he walked alongside Tsukishima to the castle where the showcase was due to take place. He had woken up that morning with barely enough time to slap himself together. He wore his normal clothes to the showcase for he had been advised by Shimada the night before to change in the provided locker rooms backstage so as to make sure he was as clean cut and fresh as could be.
Yamaguchi didn't say much as they walked. Most of what was going on around him was tuned out by his intense nerves and focus. Every step they took he would rerun the routine in his mind as well as recall the best way to pipe a perfect flower with buttercream. He knew he'd done all he could and more to prepare himself for the showcase, but he still wondered if he was really ready to face such a large crowd of people.
"You need to calm down before you dehydrate yourself from all your sweating," Tsukishima mumbled from beside Yamaguchi.
"S-Sorry, Tsukki," Yamaguchi replied habitually.
"You are so ready for this," Kanoka added with cheer. "You've been practicing nonstop for days!"
"It's not the routine I'm worried about," Yamaguchi admitted aloud. "With all those eyes on me. I've never been good being the center of attention."
"And yet, you still decided to go with showcases," Tsukishima sassed, giving Yamaguchi's shoulder a soft bump. Yamaguchi sent him a small pout.
"Ya know, I heard that with lighting it's hard to really see the crowds from the stage… not that I've ever been on one," Kanoka said, trying to console him.
"Well, I hope it washes out the whole crowd or I might just vomit," Yamaguchi burped as he put a hand to his mouth.
"Yamaguchi!" Tsukishima sighed stepping aside to not get vomited on. Fortunately for both him and Yamaguchi, the nauseousness passed before any vomiting occurred.
Once at the castle, the three trainers had to split up. Only being able to take his clothes and the Pokemon registered for the contest, Yamaguchi passed off his belongings to Tsukishima and Kanoka.
"It'd be great if you could get Eevee to watch while Swirlix, Popplio and I perform," Yamaguchi said as he passed Eevee off to Tsukki. "I'd like for her to get an understanding of showcases."
"You got it, boss," Tsukishima mumbled, gently cradling Eevee.
Yamaguchi sent him a look before carrying on with his instructions. "Then again, if she gets fussy and just wants to nap you don't have to force her to watch," he gently patted Eevee as he spoke.
"Spoiled," Tsukishima scoffed with much affection.
"Now you be good while your siblings and I win our first Key," Yamaguchi cooed as he bid farewell to Eevee. Eevee gave a small trill of affection in reply.
"Break a leg, Yamaguchi!" Kanoka sang from beside Tsukishima. "I believe in you."
"You have nothing to worry about," Tsukishima quietly added, his amber eyes lingering long and hard upon his best friend.
"I promise not to let you down," Yamaguchi replied more to Tsukki than anyone. "So please watch close when my turn comes."
Tsukishima gave a rare soft smile and a nod.
Yamaguchi felt his heart skip a beat as he savored the rare event. "I'll see you two after the show than," He barely got out, turning on his heels and heading for the locker rooms.
"We believe in you!" Kanoka shouted after.
As Yamaguchi entered into the area blocked off for contestants, he was handed a small key-shaped brooch and was told to fix it to his clothes while performing. It'd be used later for when the crowd voted in the 2nd round. The golden key brooch encased what looked to be a thermometer-like device that ran down the shaft of the key and ended at the heart shaped handle. The whole thing was about half the length of his hand. Yamaguchi carefully tucked the brooch away into his bag making note to remember to put it on.
There were two sets of locker rooms, one for the male contestants and the other for the female contestants. Both rooms led into a small waiting room decorated with large flat-screen TVs that the contestants could use to watch the competition. It didn't take Yamaguchi long to dress into his dashing blue show suit with it's shining white shoes. He fixed the key securely to his left lapel, making sure it didn't get in his way. Though his hair refused to cooperate, he still felt like a million bucks in the get up.
He found himself a nice seat by a large TV as he did his best not to panic. The room was filled with about 30 other contestants, both boys and girls all ranging from around his age. Some of the girls wore beautiful gowns adorned with ribbons and shining stones while others wore most costume-like clothes that seemed to fit some sort of theme. One girl in particular, who was flanked by a Glameow and a Murkrow, wore what looked to be a witches costume. The boys in the room were also a mixed bag. Many of them wore suits, similar to Yamaguchi's but in different colors. Other boys, much like the girls, had on themed clothes. One boy was even dressed in a Pikachu kigurumi. Perhaps Yamaguchi had been a bit extra the day before about his suit. Looking around the room, he hoped he didn't come across as too bland.
It wasn't long before a man with glasses entered the room. Yamaguchi recognized him as Mr. Takeda from the festival. It seemed as if many other contestants in the room recognized him as well, for everyone silenced upon his arrival.
"I want to welcome all you new contestants to the Camphrier Pokemon showcase and thank you all for participating," Takeda stated gleefully. "As you know, the showcase is due to begin in just a short while. You will all be sorted into the groups of 5. If you are placed in group one you will be first to go on stage and perform in the first round. After that group is done than the second group will go, then the third, and so on and so forth," Takeda carefully explained.
Yamaguchi hoped with all his heart to be sorted into a group that wasn't first or last.
"For this first event, you will all be judged by a panel of judges including myself. I am going to tell you now what the objective for the first round is," Takeda carried on in his explanation. His eyes were now more serious and sharp. "You are all expected to create one-dozen Pokepuffs in 40 mins. You must incorporate the Tamato Berry as a main ingredient of your Puffs. Remember that you are going to be judged on both flavor and decoration," He paused for what Yamaguchi assumed was dramatic effect. "Also, keep in mind that only one contestant from each group will move onto the next round."
It was in that moment Yamaguchi felt all sorts of knots in his stomach. If he didn't pass the first round, he wouldn't even be able to perform the routine he and Popplio worked so hard at. Not only that but he wouldn't be able to show Tsukki just how much he had grown since that gym battle. Yamaguchi believed in his baking abilities, but that didn't mean he'd win. For all he knew, every last person in the room could be top bakers as well.
He scanned the room to find a variety of emotions on all the other contestants' faces. Some looked just as terrified, if not more, as Yamaguchi. A few looked contemplative while others looked excited. He hated to admit it but it was nice to know he wasn't the only one on the verge of shitting his pants. But he had to focus on the matter at hand. What was he going to make today? Fortunately for Yamaguchi, Pokepuffs were not a stranger to him.
Takeda than bid the group a short farewell before a few stagehands instructed the contestants to turn their attention to a large screen at the front of the room. On the screen were 5 rows each numbered 'Group 1' to 'Group 5'. The screen flashed once and a picture of the contestant's faces and their names appeared on the screen. Yamaguchi quickly scanned to see that he had been placed in group 4. He released a sigh of relief. This would give him plenty of time to decide on his recipe for round 1.
Another 20 minutes passed before the TV's in the room, aside from the one showing the groups, flickered on to revealed Takeda standing on the stage they'd all soon be performing on. Yamaguchi's eyes fixed on the closest TV as Takeda hyped up the crowd. He had called both Swirlix and Popplio out so that they too could see the start of the contest with him.
"We're definitely going to win this!" Yamaguchi declared in determination to both Popplio and Swirlix. The two faithful Pokemon cheered in agreement.
It wasn't long before the first round of contestants were gathered and lead onto the stage. There were six kitchenettes set up in two rows of three with just enough room for the contestants to work their magic. Yamaguchi only half paid attention as round one started and ended for group one. He only really paid attention during the judging where a creepy trainer with red hair and a terrifying stare won the match alongside his Haunter. He was able to catch the trainer's name, Tendō Satori, and made an effort not the make eye contact with Tendō when he arrived back in the room.
The next two rounds passed in a very similar fashion. Six trainers would leave and only one would return. The pressure started to build up in Yamaguchi as round two came to a close. His heart knew he was ready for this but his mind kept questioning if he really was.
"Okay group 4, it's your turn to get up on stage," a stagehand called from the door.
Doing his best to remain calm, Yamaguchi recalled Popplio back into her ball and picked Swirlix up. "Let's show them what we are made of," Yamaguchi whispered into Swirlix's ear.
The cotton candy pokemon growled in agreement.
Yamaguchi, along with the six contestants in his group were lead onto the stage. Each had been assigned a space, and to Yamaguchi's horror, he'd been placed front and center. He had hoped for the second row behind. Though he wanted to ignore the crowd, he could not help but look out over the auditorium.
Kanoka was right. The light on the stage really did wash out the crowd for the most part but he was able to make out the tiers of seats in the back as well as the balcony seats that looked down upon the contestants. There had to be over five-hundred people in the room, watching them. For a moment he thought of Tsukki. He was somewhere in the sea of people watching him. He scanned the crowd one more but could not make out any faces. He wondered where Tsukki sat. Was he close up or in the balcony. He calmed as these thought's of Tsukki filled his mind.
"Contestants! Are you ready?" Takeda asked, his voice booming through the room drawing everyone attention. "You have 40 minutes to created your very best Pokepuff using Tomato Berries as a main ingredient!"
With a determined nod, Yamaguchi readied himself. He tied the provided apron around his waist and he gave Swirlix a small nod.
"On, your marks… Get set… BAKE!" Takeda shouted as the crowd erupted into a cheer.
Yamaguchi and Swirix jumped into the immediate action. They both made their way to the back of the stage where a pantry of any ingredient they could think of sat. Tripping around the other contestants, Yamaguchi, with the help of Swirlix's keen nose, were able to collect all the ingredients needed in record time. Being the first back at their station, Yamaguchi gave himself a small pat on the back.
"And it looks like first-time contestant Yamaguchi Tadashi has decided to go with what looks like a chocolate-themed Puff!" Takeda announced as Yamaguchi organized his ingredients on his counter space.
Takeda was right, as Yamaguchi had decided to go with an old family recipe that he'd been making with his mother and grandmother since he was small. Their famous decadent chocolate Pokepuff. The perfect treat to be paired with the spicy tomato berry.
He and Swirlix got to work, preparing the ingredients and mixing them together with expert precision. They would do a step in the recipe, tase and edit if needed. With Swirlix's nose and tongue, they were bound to have the most scrumptious Puffs in the group. He was in the zone and able to drown out everything around him. Yamaguchi didn't bother to look up from his station for he knew if he did he would encounter stage fright.
With his puff batter in the oven, he and Swirlix got to making the milk chocolate buttercream. The frosting has to be just right or his decorations were sure to fail. He could feel the pressure from all around. If his puffs didn't come out in time than they would not cool in time and his frosting would melt off the top. He had to be sure his decorations were on point this time.
Every now and then he would check the puff to see if they were done and with only 20 minutes left on the clock they'd finally risen enough to come out. He felt his stomach do an odd flip as he tossed them into the small freezer under his counter. He had to get them cool enough or he wouldn't have enough time to decorate.
"Okay Swirlix, just one more step and we can decorate," Yamaguchi instructed as he handed a freshly made bowl of vanilla buttercream to his partner Pokemon. "You mix in the red and I'll do the yellow for this one.
The two worked in unison as they made a variety of different colored of vanilla buttercream ranging from red all the way to purple. Once done with the mixing Yamaguchi looked to the clock to find that they had just over 10 minutes to decorate. He tried to fight his panic.
His limbs shaky with nerves, he juggled his tray of puffs out of the fridge and turned them out onto the table. He sighed in relief when none of them stuck to the pan.
"Let's decorate!" He declared as he passed a piping bag of chocolate frosting to Swirlix. The two worked in tandem to top each Puff with a swirl of chocolate frosting. They worked in precision making sure each swirl of frosting was just as precise and identical as the last.
It took them less than 5 Minutes to top off the puffs.
With his hands shaking he got to the decorating bit of the challenge. On each puff, he piped the most delicate of colored buttercream flowers as he could. He had spent weeks working on his piping skills, and it all added up to this moment. Each flower he piped was inspired by the flowers that grew back at home in Alola. As he piped his way through each puff, Swirlix would gently place them onto the serving tray.
As he frantically piped the last Puff the crow began to count down from ten. His heart almost jumped from his throat as he threw the last puff onto the tray with only 2 seconds to spare. Yamaguchi's was covered in sweat and vaguely aware that his face was smudged with globs of buttercream. He was pleased to see that his suit had made it out clean thanks to him rolling up his sleeves.
His eyes then wandered to his tray of 12 puffs. They were all uniform and it looked as if he was looking upon a small bed of freshly bloomed flowers. He felt pride well up in his chest. These flowers were a million times better than the ones he had made at the festival weeks ago. They were flowers he could be proud of.
"Now, contestants, let me introduce you to your three judges," Takeda sang as two men and a lady made their way onto the stage. "Our first judge here is the local Nurse Joy and her Audino."
"Hello contestants, all your Puffs look mighty delicious," Nurse Joy greeted as her Audino gave a cheerful trill.
"Your second Judge is the curator of the lovely castle," Takeda announced as an old man and a Honedge walked onto the stage.
"I am very excited to try your creations," the old man wheezed joyfully.
"Your final judge for today is the chairman of the Pokemon Club," Takeda a as he motion to a balled man with a bushy mustache. In his arms he held a small Pichu who looked more than excited to get eating.
The three judges and their Pokemon sampled each contestant starting from the back. Yamaguchi heard comments such ranging from "Oh my, how pretty" to "It's a bit dry and I can't taste the Tomato Berry". As the judges moved down the line, Yamaguchi looked out over the crowd. He scanned for Tsukki once more but really could not make out any details of the faces looking back. It wasn't long before the judges rounded on Yamauchi's workstation.
"Yamaguchi is it?" Takeda greeted. "I remember you from the festival."
"I-It's good to see you again," Yamaguchi greeted with a very ridged bow.
"I'll be happy to let Sugawara know one of his favorites from the festival has finally debuted," Takade gave a soft smile as he spoke. "And it looks like your decoration skills have greatly increased."
"Oh my, It's almost like I'm looking at real flowers," Nurse Joy sighed.
"They are all quite uniform, too," the curator wheezed. "Almost too pretty to eat."
"Such delicate piping work shows how much care was placed into each pokepudd," the club president added as his Pichu gave a happy squeak.
Once again Yamaguchi felt pride fill his chest. He did his best not to tear up too much from the joy he felt. This feeling of accomplishment was still so new to him.
"Shall we dig in, then?" The Curator asked, looking to the other two judges.
Each judge and their Pokemon took a Puff to try. Yamaguchi watched with bated breath as they all took large bites from his Puffs. All three Pokemon seemed to melt in joy upon their first bite. The anxiety in his chest melted away as Audino gave a small cry of joy before taking another bite.
"Oh my, these are quite delicious," Nurse Joy swooned. "So decadent, even my Audino is getting lost in the flavors."
"Yes, it's quite moist, and the spice from the Tomato Berry really shines through," The Curator said with a knowing nod. "It really is quite the treat."
"It seems I can't find a single flaw with this Puff," The Club President said, almost on the brink of tears. "Truly the best Puff we've had all day."
"Th-Thank you!" Yamaguchi barely got out. For the first time in his whole life, he felt like he was sure to win. All his nerves were gone and he felt nothing but confidence in himself, his Pokemon, and the Pokepuffs they had worked hard to make.
"You and Swirlix did a fantastic job. You should both be proud," Takeda praised.
Yamaguchi smile was as bright as the sun as he gave Swirlix a proud pat on the head. "I really couldn't have done it without her."
With that, the judges move to the next table. Yamaguchi's eyes followed them and saw that the last contestant was a girl who looked horrified to be judged after Yamaguchi. He felt bad for the girl but at the same time an odd sense of pride filled his chesr. No one had ever feared Yamaguchi as an opponent. The feeling was something new and he sort of liked it.
Once done with the last contestant, whose puffs were underbaked, the judges took their seats as Takeda took center stage.
"We will now announce the winner of group 4," Takeda announced.
Yamaguchi felt his heart give a fluttery beat from within his chest.
"It was a unanimous decision that Yamaguchi Tadashi is the winner of this round!" Takeda announced as the stage when dark except for a bright spotlight that shone done directly on Yamaguchi and Swirlix.
The crow roared with applause. Yamaguchi's body went numb as the moment sunk in. He had won. He had made it to round two! He and Swirlix had done it. Swirlix gave a shall cry of joy that snapped Yamaguchi back to the moment.
With a whoop of joy Yamaguchi scooped Swirlix up and gave her the largest hug he had ever given anyone.
"We did it! We made it to round 2!" Yamaguchi sang in utter glee. For the first time ever, he hadn't failed.
Yay! Out Yama made it through round one with flying colors. I knew he could do it. Let's see if he is able to keep the momentum going through round two now. Show us all the work you've been doing for your performance Yama! I believe in you!
So I should be getting the next chapter up in time by next weekend. Once March rolls around my upload schedule may go a bit wonky since I am going to be making a move. I will do my best in March and April to keep my uploads as consistent as I can but it may fall to a every other week upload until I get settled in at my new place.
As always, thank you all for such wonderful comments and and reviews. I if you have a moment feel free to go on down and leave a comment letting me know what you think of this chapter and the story as a whole. I love to hear from my readers more than anything. I also want to think people for leaving kudos, following me and bookmarking the story. I love to know that people are enjoying it.
Well, that is all for now. See you all next chapter!