Hey everyone! It's good to see you here again. Who is ready for chapter 36. Let's see what kind of mess our boys will get in this time!

This chapter was beta read by my regular beta reader Killer_Squids. You can find their work 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.

Any Artwork you may see associated with this fic (on AO3, or Tumblr) has all be created by my good friend SlothyClaws. That is their instagram also have a website ( .com). They do commissions and their commissions are open to anyone that is interested. Go and give their page a look if you are interested.

I don't have a particular song for this chapter unfortunately. I probably won't have one for every chapter. Maybe you can recommend your favorite Pokemon theme to me!

I choose you, chapter 36!

Pop-Up Showcase

Yamaguchi had to admit that he truly did enjoy traveling alongside Tsukki when it was just the two of them. Things were a lot quieter, but at the same time very comfortable. It didn't take them long to fall back into their old routine before Kanoka had tagged along. While Tsukki spent his time training his team, Yamaguchi would study for the next Showcase or work on improving Eevee's attitude towards Riolu.

As the two traveled along the cliff coastline the days passed by much quicker than Yamaguchi would like to admit. Before he knew it, they'd arrived at the location where the next showcase was due to be held. The particular showcase he'd be entering was much smaller than the last he had participated in, and it was to take place in a large portable tent. While it was still going to be broadcasted like any other showcase, Yamaguchi had a feeling not as many people would be tuned in.

He made a quick beeline for the check-in tent, which was located just outside the large performing tent. Tsukki followed after, quietly observing their surroundings as they did so. There were a lot fewer people, and it looked as if most people attending had arrived just that day.

"Hello sir," a kind lady greeted as they entered the tent. "Are you here to purchase seat tickets or sign up to perform?"

"I'm here to perform," Yamaguchi replied, pulling out his Pokedex so he could flash his ID at the lady.

"Let me see that for a moment," the lady hummed as she plucked the dex from Yamaguchi's hand. She did a few things on her end of the counter before handing the dex back to Yamaguchi. "You have been entered into the showcase! It is due to take place later today. Please be back here an hour before the showcase is due to start, and as we do not have a dressing room provided at the venue, please come dressed and ready to perform."

Yamaguchi gave a nod of understanding as he took his Pokedex back from the lady. He warmly thanked the worman, then bid her goodbye as he and Tsukki made their way back to their campsite.

"This is nothing like the contest in Camphrier Town," Yamaguchi laughed awkwardly as he sorted himself out at the campsite.

"I suppose not all contests can be as flashy as that one," Tsukishima said, taking a seat by the extinguished campfire. "How are you feeling?"

"Okay, I guess," Yamaguchi awkwardly shrugged. "It's all just happening so fast."

Tsukishima gave a knowing 'hm' as he examined Yamaguchi from across the campsite.

Yamaguchi did feel quite numb to the situation. He had a lot less time to prepare for this showcase. In fact, he'd only heard about it from Noya a few days ago. Noya had advised he join as many showcases as he could if he planned on collecting the five keys he needed to join the Master Class competition and get a shot at becoming the Kalos King at the end of the year.

'If you don't play, you can't win!' Noya had advised Yamaguchi the morning they had bid their farewell, and those words echoed in his mind as he sorted out his suit.

A speck of worry settled in Yamaguchi's gut. He wasn't the type to just rush into something without preparation, but it seemed the nature of showcases was to keep going so as to not fall too far behind. There were only so many showcases in the year, and if Yamaguchi took too long preparing between each one he might lose his chance.

This particular showcase came on so fast he hadn't any time to even create a new routine, but Noya had told him not to sweat it. According to him, many contestants often use the same routine many times in a row and still win. Plus, Yamaguchi believed in the routine he and Popplio had created. He knew he could use it to win again. The only problem was making it past round one. Yamaguchi had no clue what round one was going to be. If he was lucky it would be another baking challenge.

"You've been sighing an awful lot," Tsukishima mumbled from where he sat.

Yamaguchi released a loud 'Ack' as Tsukki's voice shook away his worries.

"S-sorry," Yamaguchi apologized. "I guess I'm just overthinking again."

Tsukishima released a small calm 'hum' as he examined Yamaguchi over his tablet. "Well, there isn't much more we can do now so it's best to just relax."

"Yeah, I know," Yamaguchi laughed. He knew Tsukki was doing his best to comfort him, but he just couldn't help that he was a worrier.

With another small sigh, Yamaguchi returned to preparations. As he did so, he thought of a strategy for round one. He highly doubted there would be any sort of baking competition happening at such a makeshift venue. He considered a fashion show, or perhaps it would be trivia or agility. He just didn't know what to do.

Before long it was time for him to make his way back to the Performance tent. At the entrance, he bit Tsukishima a very nervous farewell as he handed Eevee off.

"What happens, happens. Just go out there and do what you can," Tsukishima said as he took Eevee into his arms. Eevee gave a small pout as she looked to Yamaguchi, most likely not wanting to be separated from him.

"Right, I guess that's all I can do now," Yamaguchi anxiously shrugged as he gave Eevee one last pat on the head.

With that, the two trainers parted ways. Yamaguchi's stomach did a multitude of flips with each step he took, and he felt the overwhelming need to vomit. It took all he had not to spew his guts everywhere. He had to keep it together. For the sake of his team and his dignity, he was not going to allow himself to nerious-vomit all over the waiting room floor.

Yamaguchi's stomach did another fearful flip as it suddenly occurred to him that Tendō could very well be in this competition as well. He was not in the right mindset to face that crazy guy, and he would definitely lose it if Tendō were to pin him to a wall again, just like he did last time they met. He quickly scanned the room, and to his joy, he didn't recognize a single person in the waiting room.

There were only about half of the number of contestants as last time, but just as last time many of the contestants looked as nervous as he felt while several others looked quite ready. Yamaguchi shuffled through the waiting room and took an open seat next to a short trainer with light brown hair and brown eyes. The other trainer seemed to be in deep thought and didn't take any mind when Yamaguchi sat down.

Yamaguchi took a deep breath as he tried to calm himself. He was already this far, so there was no turning back. Everything was going to be okay. Besides, even if he didn't win the key it didn't matter. He would have so many more chances to win a key, so no need to worry over it!

"Hey, I know you!" the trainer next to Yamaguchi gasped. "You won the Camphrier Showcase! You're Yamaguchi, right? Noya told me all about you."

Yamaguchi nearly jumped out of his skin as he looked to the shorter trainer next to him. He stumbled over his words unable to get his thoughts together from his shock.

"Sorry if I spooked ya," the trainer smiled brightly. "The name's Yaku. Noya and I caught the Camphrier Showcase on TV, and he talked all about how he was your mentor." Yaku sent Yamaguchi a very bright smile.

"H-hello, I'm Yamaguchi," Yamaguchi replied awkwardly, still taken aback by how forward Yaku was.

"Hey, you seem kind of shaky, are you okay?" Yaku asked. Yamaguchi noticed immediately that Yaku was much more controlled than Noya was. Perhaps a bit more mature.

"I guess I'm just a bit nervous," Yamaguchi said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, those first few showcases can be the worst," Yaku laughed from beside him. "You'll get used to it eventually."

"Hopefully sooner than later," Yamaguchi sighed. He had a feeling he'd never be as chill as Yaku was now.

"Well, it's nice to finally meet you," Yaku carried on in an upbeat manner. "Your performance at Camphrier was really stunning. I couldn't believe it was your first Showcase."

"Oh, um thank you," Yamaguchi replied with a deep blush. "It wasn't anything amazing or something like that," he mumbled, unsure how to take a compliment.

"Hey, it was obvious that you and your Pokemon worked hard for that win, so no talking down about yourself or your Pokemon!" Yaku scolded, kind of like a mother, Yamaguchi noted.

"S-Sorry!" Yamaguchi quickly apologized, feeling a bit guilty for having not thought of Popplio's and Swirlix hard work. "I guess we did train quite a bit leading up to that Showcase."

"That's more like it," Yaku praised, giving Yamaguchi's back a strong pat. "We performers have to keep our heads up, even when we are feeling nervous."

"Right, head up!" Yamaguchi nodded, doing his best to smile with confidence.

"Much better," Yaku smiled in approval.

It was then that Takeda entered the small waiting room. Yamaguchi couldn't believe his eyes seeing Takeda yet again. Did this guy announce for all the showcases or something?

Takeda took no time separating the trainers into three groups of five, and Yamaguchi felt his stomach do a crazy flip as he was sorted into the very first group to go up. This meant he wasn't going to have as much time to prepare for the first round!

"Today's first round is going to be game show style. Your Pokemon will race to one end of the stage and tag a target! Whoever gets there first will win their trainer a shot at answering a question. You will have 30 seconds to answer the question before it gets passed onto the next contestant. If you answer incorrectly, then the next contestant gets a shot at the question. Whoever has the most points at the end is the winner of the round and can move on," Takeda explained to the group.

Yamaguchi felt a shiver run down his spine. He was not very good at trivia questions, and it was what he had spent the least amount of time studying in the past week. He felt an overwhelming urge to kick himself. With that, Takeda exited to the stage to allow the contestants time to ready themselves for round one.

Yamaguchi sat back down into his seat. He released a long sigh, unsure of what to do to prepare. He looked around to see many others looking just as distraught as he was while other trainers skimmed through various books.

"Man, I hate trivia-based challenges! You never know what they are going to ask," Yaku sighed from beside Yamaguchi. "You just have to hope the others know less than you do."

"Tell me about it," Yamaguchi sighed. He was pretty sure the others wouldn't know less than he did.

"Trivia is always the trickiest, so don't let it get you down," Yaku hummed. "There is no way for us to know what exactly they are going to ask us so there isn't much we can do."

Yamaguchi gave a silent nod. He guessed today he would find out how many random facts he knew about random stuff.

Yamaguchi called out Riolu from her ball. She was the fastest of his team, and the one with the most dexterity. He had no doubt that she would knock out the racing aspect of the first challenge.

"You ready, girl?" Yamaguchi asked, giving her head a soft pat. Riolu gave a joyful bark as she leaned into his hand. She seemed more than thrilled to have been picked for the first round.

It wasn't long before the first round of contestants were gathered up and brought on stage. Yamaguchi held Riolu in his arms as he entered. With this contest being in a tent, the lighting was much less bright and he could see out into the crowd with no problem. Despite there being much fewer seats, every last one of them was filled. Yamaguchi felt his brow start to sweat at the many eyes looking at them. He scanned the sea of people and found Tsukki and Eevee sitting in the back center seats. The two made brief eye contact, causing Yamaguchi heart to do another flip. Tsukishima's gaze was stern but comforting in a way that both calmed Yamaguchi down and made him very excited.

Yamaguchi swiftly placed Riolu on the racing track. He whispered words of encouragement to her before making his way to his assigned pedestal. In no time at all the contestants Pokemon had been placed on the small track that stretched along the stage. Along with Riolu, there was a Treecko, a Buneary, an Aipom, and a Pichu.

Riolu seemed pumped to be amongst so many other Pokemon. She would give small excited jumps here and there as the other Pokemon behaved in just as exciting of a manner. Yamaguchi hoped that Riolu didn't get too distracted. This was her first time on stage and all.

"Our round one challenge is a Trivia relay!" Takeda announced to the crowd. He briefly went over the rules, just as he had done with the contestants in the waiting room.

Yamaguchi rolled his shoulders as he readied himself to answer whatever question went his way. Riolu readied herself on the track, her eyes zoning in on a button on the far end of the track she had to be the first to tag to win her trainer the first chance to answer the question.

A countdown srated, and as it hit zero a buzzer sounded and the Pokemon raced down the track. The Pichu fell behind quickly followed by the Buneary. Treecko, Aipom, and Riolu were neck and neck before Treecko also fell behind. Riolu gave a small grunt of determination as she pushed in front, almost slamming into the button at the end. She had done it! She had won Yamaguchi the first question.

"Great job, Riolu!" Yamaguchi praised from the stand. Riolu barked in joy.

"Yamaguchi, your question is... How many heads does an Exeggutor have?" Takeda asked.

Yamaguchi thought for a moment before the answer came to him. "They have three heads unless they are in Alola, then they have an extra head on the tail making it four heads," he confidently replied.

A chime sounded as Takeda sang "You are correct."

Yamaguchi felt a smile bloom on his lips. Perhaps this wasn't going to be so bad.

The next round involved the Pokemon racing over several hurdles and to Yamaguchi's dismay, Aipom was the first to the target. Aipoms trainer answered his question with ease.

The next race involved the Pokemon jumping through a number of rings as they raced down the track. It was close, but Riolu made it to the target just before Treecko did.

"Yamaguchi your second question, what is necessary for Snorunt to evolve into Froslass?" Takeda asked loud and clear.

Yamaguchi hesitated for a long moment. He knew Snorunt needed a stone to evolve but he didn't know what stone. His shoulders went stiff as he tried to recall what stone it was. "A Snorunt needs an Ice Stone to evolve," he answered, but his tone sounded more like a question.

A buzzer sounded indicating that his his answer was incorrect. "Sorry Yamaguchi, but it is not an Ice Stone that is needed to evolve a Snorunt in to a Froslass," Taketa said with a frown.

Yamaguchi felt his shoulders deflate as Takeda asked Treecko's rainer if she knew the answer.

"A Snorunt must first be female to evolve into Froslass and you use a Dawn Stone," She answered loudly.

Yamaguchi felt the need to kick himself. How could he have forgotten about the Dawn Stone! He made an effort to shake it off and keep focused. There was still a chance.

The next race involved the Pokemon jumping from platforms, and surprisingly Buneary was the first to make it to the target. The trainer correctly answered an easy question about Alolan Vulpix. After that the Pokemon had to serpentine around small flying objects and this time Aipom was the winner. It's trainer answered their question with ease, putting them in the lead. Yamaguchi felt his stomach do a crazy flip.

"Our net question will be our last unless the score gets tied up," Takeda announced.

Yamaguchi tried to calm his heart. He believed in Riolu. He knew she could do it.

This time the Pokemon had to swing from one end of the field to the next. Yamaguchi felt a wave of dread. This was Aipom's specialty.

"You can do it, Riolu!" Yamaguchi called from his pedestal. This seemed to super charge his Riolu as she swung like a bullet past Aipom. With determination in her red eyes she landed her paw on the target just before Aipom.

"Yes!" Yamaguchi shouted from where he stood. He really was blessed with amazing Pokemon.

"The next question is your's Yamaguchi," Takeda sang as he address Yamaguchi. He had a cheeky smile on his face. "What is necessary for a Riolu to evolve into a Lucario?"

Yamaguchi felt his heart do an excited flutter. He had a Riolu so he should know this one for sure. Yamaguchi's smile faded as his mind went blank. What did Riolu need to evolve again. He couldn't remember. Was it a stone? "It needs… It needs…" Yamaguchi stammered as all eyes were on him. He could hear whispers from all around "It needs…" Yamaguchi stammered as a buzzer sounded. The sound broke his heart.

"I'm sorry Yamaguchi, but you are out of time," Takeda frowned before addressing Aipom's trainer.

Yamaguchi looked to Riolu who shot him a very confused look. Yamaguchi had failed her. Riolu didn't understood what happened. She didn't understand why Yamauchi looked so upset.

"A Riolu will evolve during the day time if it has a close bond with its trainer," Aipom's trainer almost sang. The chime sounded and round one was over.

Yamaguchi felt his eyes wet as he scooped up Riolu into his arms and made his way back to the waiting room. How could he had been so stupid? He should have known that last question. Riolu shifted in his hold to nuzzle his neck, doing her best to comfort him.

"I'm so sorry Riolu," Yamaguchi whispered as a tear ran down his cheek. He thought he had grown past this childish crying.

He took his seat in the waiting room as he blankly watched the rest of the showcase from the provided television. His heart felt heavy as he watched the other group for round one start and finish. Yaku made it into round two with barely any bumps. He really was a much more experienced contestant than Yamaguchi was.

Three contestants were left for round two. With Riolu in his arms, Yamaguchi made his way to the stadium to properly watch the final round from the audience. The first contestant performed a spectacular dance with her Vaporeon. The second contestant, Aipom's trainer, did a funny little ditty with a Mime Jr. that even made Yamaguchi crack a smile.

Yaku was the last one up and performed alongside his Alolan Raichu. The two danced in unison as Raichu sent waves of telekinetic electricity around them and the room. Yaku's movements were precise and each one held meaning. He didn't waver even once. Yamaguchi's heavy heart lightened as he watched the more experienced performer show their stuff.

Yaku has probably been in so many contests and lost twice as many as he'd won, yet still performs so magnificently on stage. Noya, Sugawara, Kiyoko, they were all so experience and never gave in. They got where they were today through standing back up no matter what. Yamaguchi wondered if his weak self would also able to do the same. He released a thoughtful sigh as he pondered this. Riolu released a sad whimper at her trainer's downcast gaze.

"Don't worry. I'm fine," Yamaguchi whispered as he held her close. "You did a great job today by the way. Extra treats for your hard work."

At this Riolu released a happy yip that caught the attention of the people around them. Yamaguchi had to apologize sevrealtimes for the disturbance.

It wasn't a surprise that Yaku won the key to this competition. His routine blew the other two out of the water. Yamaguchi was happy for Yaku. He had only just met the trainer but could tell that he and his Alolan Raichu had practiced hard. Yamaguchi was just an infant in the showcase world. He had a long way to go if he wanted to be on the same level as Yaku and Noya.

Yamaguchi didn't know what to say when he reunited with Tsukki and Eevee. Eevee was none too happy to see Riolu in Yamaguchi's arms and practically tackled him in her attempt to reclaim her rightful spot. Unfortunately for her today she would have to share that spot with Riolu.

"Well, you can't win them all I guess," Yamaguchi said with a sheepish laugh. "Sorry I couldn't bring home another key."

"You did your best," Tsukishima replied.

Yamaguchi gave a solemn nod. Had he really done his best? He didn't know.

That night was far more quiet than normal, even for Tsukki. Yamaguchi was in deep thought over the loss. He felt conflicted. Unsure what to do next time to avoid this scenario. He should have been able to answer that question no problem.

Despite not much conversation passing between the two Tsukki stayed closer Yamaguchi than normal. His presence was calming for Yamaguchi. It helped pull him from the dark thoughts that plagued him so. Did Tsukki realize this? Is that why he stuck so close to Yamaguchi that evening? Yamaguchi didn't know but appreciated the gesture none the less. Being with Tsukki always eased his heart.

Author Notes:

Poor Yamaguchi. Our sweet boy has to swallow his first showcase loss. Will he get right back up or stay down for a while? What is he going to do to remedy the mistakes he made so as to not relive them? Why was Tsukki staying so close to him that night? That and more will be answered if you stay tuned.

Hey all! As always, thank you so much for your views, kudos, bookmarks and follows. I love to hear from my lovely readers so please do leave a comment or review if you have time. The best kind of writing fuel is feedback.

I don't have much to say with this chapter so that is all for now. See you next chapter.