"Okay May, just breathe, remember to breathe…breathing is the key…RUBY I'M NOT BREATHING!" May shrieked so I clapped my hand over her mouth.
"Quiet May, or you'll wake the dead from their graves." I said before giving a sigh, shaking my head with a smile. "You really are nervous, aren't you?"
"Yeah. You could say that." May said as she gripped onto the rose she had been bequeathed by Drew. Her second rose since arriving here. Apparently Harley had quite the mouth, and had publically embarrassed May by noting how romantic the gesture seemed. As well as gripping the rose in her lap, May clung on to the charm necklace that I had given her, taking deep breaths.
"It's okay you know. I'm nervous too."
"You don't look it." She pointed out and I gave a short laugh.
"Ha! Yeah, probably because I've battled in sixteen different gyms and competed in the Johto League. I'm used to the nerves but you, this is your first huge competition, so this is healthy, don't worry. It keeps you focused." I assured her, taking her by the hand and walked with her to get some fresh water. "Now, just keep on breathing, make sure you drink plenty because I can imagine it's going to be very hot on that stage with all those lights, and then just remember to smile." I encouraged before my call came. Giving her a last wink and a smile, I left her to take my place on the stage.
It was much larger than anything I was used to, and there were so many people out there. Professor Oak had come just to see me, however there was no one else from home, no one from my family and that kind of hurt a little.
"It doesn't matter." I said, suddenly smiling. "I have someone who can break the ice. Jigglypuff, it's show time!" I called and I flung out her Pokéball. "Jigglypuff! Sing!" Instantly Jigglypuff appeared with a twirl, her body shining brightly from her well groomed coat, eyes sparkling clearly as she looked out to her audience and landed gracefully. She moved one foot back with long, elegant movements before beginning to sing.
"Ji…gglypuff, Jiggly…puff." I closed my eyes and soaked in the sound, allowing her voice to calm any nerves I once had until I opened them once more to find myself surrounded by music notes, all shining with different hues and colours, sparkling with tiny fragments as the entire audience awed with wide open mouths, Jigglypuff filling the entire stadium with her voice and musical decoration.
Once she had finished she took a bow, which I think scored her extra points as we managed to get a score of ninety. "Awesome Jigglypuff, you did it!" I squealed, picking her up and spinning around. "Come on, let's go back and find May." We hurried back, and then it was smooth sailing. Both May and I got through to the next round, where we could really show off our Pokémon.
We were outside of the stadium and May had let out all her Pokémon, though Jigglypuff still stood on my shoulder. Beautifly fluttered down and landed on May's head, making her smile before she turned to her Pokémon. "Okay, which one of you wants to pair up with Beautifly?" She questioned and they all called out, wanting their turn and she giggled. "Okay, okay, you'll all take turns!" She promised and I smiled.
"It's a good idea to use Beautifly, seeing as she's been in contests for the longest." I told her. "Which is why I'm using Jigglypuff for my second round too."
"Really? That's great!" May beamed but then I got serious.
"But you need to let your other Pokémon all have a chance too, they all really want to compete." I said, kneeling down and rubbed Combusken and Bulbasaur's heads as they smiled and leaned into my touch. "Isn't that right guys?"
"Well yeah but…Beautifly is the one I've been training for this moment." May said thoughtfully.
"Then let's start some new training! Jigglypuff, I choose you!" I called with a smile, leaping forwards and she jumped off my shoulder and we both landed one in front of the other. "Okay May, choose your first Pokémon!"
"You got it. Skitty! You're up!" May called and Skitty meowed excitedly before running forwards. "Mind if I go first?"
"Be my guest." I invited with a competitive smile, noticing that Drew had lifted his head, stopping his polishing of his Pokémon to pay some interest in what May was doing.
"Okay then Skitty, Assist!"
"Hold steady Jigglypuff." I told her as Skitty powered up. Suddenly String Shot fired out and I reacted upon impulse.
"Ice Beam!" Jigglypuff blasted the String Shot, freezing it over. "Now Double Slap!" Jigglypuff powered forwards, inflating herself slightly to appear more intimidating as she broke up the frozen String Shot.
"Counter with your own Double Slap!" May pointed and Skitty jumped forwards, twisting around then whipped out her tail, slapping at Jigglypuff who only hit her tail aside, the two attacks nullifying one another. "Now Assist!"
"Dodge it!" Skitty spun around as Jigglypuff leaped out the way, however as Skitty's Assist formed, it turned into a Petal Dance which blew Jigglypuff away.
"Puff!"
"Stay focused, use Ice Beam and Spin!" I ordered and Jigglypuff instantly did as I had said, spinning around with the spiralling Petal Dance and all the wind and petals froze over, forming a slide which Jigglypuff glided down before bouncing out at the end, blinking.
"Jiggly!" She finally cheered, laughing as Skitty became distracted with this new slide and instantly began to jump up and skid down it, the other Pokémon joining in as we all laughed.
"Skitty, we're in the middle of a battle!" May complained at her playful Pokémon before sighing and giving in. "Okay…I guess we can take a break."
"Wow May, that was just incredible! What you did with the Assist? Totally took my breath away! You know what? You should use it in your next round! Oh yes, the judges will love that." Harley had suddenly jumped up out of nowhere, scaring the hell out of May as he suddenly scooted around and gripped her hands. "You could a perfect combination with that Assist when it uses Silver Wind, then you'll be sure to go straight on through!"
"But I can't know whether or not I'll get Silver Wind, it could be anything." May stammered slightly as I narrowed my eyes and glanced to Caroline and Brock who were looking on with similar faces. Having had enough of Harley invading May's personal space, I grabbed the back of his jacket and hauled him a few steps away from her.
"Okay cactus man, I think it's time you go plant your feet somewhere else." I told him, folding my arms and stepping in front of May. "You're not fooling anyone with this guilty act of yours, you're just trying to set May up for failure." Harley gasped in mock horror.
"No! I would never do such a thing!" He declared and I arched an eyebrow.
"And Surskit are slow." I pointed out, making him chuckle.
"Oh honey, that was all in the past! Now scoot over cowgirl, May and I need to talk, don't we sweetie!" But before he could get past me, I had grabbed his jacket and spun him around without even shifting a foot.
"I don't think so." Harley blinked before placing his hands on his hips, strutting his stuff.
"What is it with you? Wait, you're not being over protective of May because…oh dear…you're not in love with her are you? Oh that's so romantic!" Instantly I wanted to vomit.
"Jigglypuff?" My Jigglypuff questioned as she stomped over and stood beside me.
"Of course I love May." I said and everyone instantly gasped, staring at me in shock. "She's like my own sister, just like I love Max and Brock and Ash. So don't you dare go trying to mess with anyone, or you've got me to deal with." I warned Harley, who giggled a little manically.
"Okay sugar, whatever you say." He said, waving a little hand at me. "But you might want to freshen up on your little puffball's act. It's a little snooze-ville, if you get my drift." I didn't even try to stop Jigglypuff as she yelled in anger and leaped at Harley, making him yell before he fell backwards with a Double Slap to the face.
Bursting into a fit of laughter I shook my head then snapped my fingers, getting Jigglypuff's attention then winked at her. "Now Jigglypuff, what have I told you about hitting mean, weird, nasty people? It's very wrong." I said to her sarcastically then gestured with my head so she jumped back onto my shoulder. "Get out of here Harley, before I call out my Charizard to barbeque you."
"Hey! You won't get away with this, no one makes a fool out of me!" Harley practically shrieked as the guys behind me just laughed, so I stretched out my arms, slid back a foot then took an elegant bowing curtsey.
"I apologise, perhaps you should have told me before I made a fool of you." I told him before turning and walking away. I gave a wink to the other Pokémon who all cheered as I stepped up to May.
"Wow, you're so awesome Ruby. I wish I were more like you. You're so tough and strong." May said. "Just like your Jigglypuff."
"Jiggly." Jigglypuff agreed and I gave a chuckle.
"It comes with practice." I said before giving her a comforting hug.
The next rounds came by swiftly and soon, I was back on stage with Jigglypuff's Pokéball in hand. "Alright Jigglypuff, it's show time!" I told her confidently and flung out her Pokéball. "Use Flash!"
"Jigglypuff! Jiggly…puff!" She cheered, instantly exploding out of her Pokéball with a bright golden light which shone out like a miniature sun, hovering in the air as she inflated her body, causing the entire audience to awe at the mystifying move.
"Now Jigglypuff, use Ice Beam." I directed calmly and Jigglypuff began to twirl, spouting her Ice Beam with strong yet artistic flare.
"Amazing! Look at this folks, Jigglypuff's Ice Beam is actually creating tall ice pillars which reflect the light of Jigglypuff's astonishing Flash, which…oh my goodness!" Vivien gasped as the light hit fully and the stage burst into seven different colours, shining out into the audience as Jigglypuff giggled to herself. "How…how beautiful…I've never seen anything like it before!"
"And to finish, use Sing. Lull them with your beautiful voice Jigglypuff." I said as Jigglypuff landed on one of her pillars. Taking a deep breath Jigglypuff began to sing, her voice carrying out and everyone sighed, relaxing.
"Folks, if you've never met this Jigglypuff before, then I can promise you that once you've heard it use Sing, you'll never forget its sweet and stress easing sound." Vivien murmured sleepily into her microphone as Jigglypuff continued to sing.
Smiling proudly I looked up at her, perfectly at ease in front of all these people. Even if I'd been a nervous wreck, Jigglypuff wouldn't have bat an eyelid at such a small thing as thousands of people watching her. She's enjoying every second of it. "And now finish Jigglypuff." I said to her. "Use Pound!" Instantly Jigglypuff pounded against the ice, shattering it into tiny fragments which glittered everywhere, their delicate coldness reviving the audience and they all gasped in awe at the beautiful sparkles that now surrounded Jigglypuff who bowed and smiled as they cheered.
"A perfect performance, using a tough Pound to break the ice, Jigglypuff has woken up her audience and they can't seem to get enough of it. You can hear them chanting for more!" Vivien giggled as Jigglypuff sprang back and flipped as I walked forwards, landing on my shoulder as we both lifted our hands and waved. "Now, let's see the scores. What will it be?" She wondered aloud and we both looked to see numbers flit by before finally, it landed on a solid ninety seven. "Amazing! A very high score, a great effort from Ruby and her now famous Jigglypuff, you'd better watch out folks, this one is tough to beat when it comes to stage presence."
"You got that right!" I cheered, swinging around with Jigglypuff as she cheered.
"Jigglypuff! Jigglypuff Puff!" She jumped on my shoulder as I put her there and walked off stage for the next performance, however I now felt perfectly at ease. I didn't care about Sophia, I didn't care about Harley, I didn't even care that my parents weren't here. I'm just glad that I'm here, and more importantly, here with my friends.
