Author's Notes:

Ok, a lot of people have been pointing out the fact that Thorn has yet to evolve, and that at his level he should evolve soon. Charizard is my favorite Pokémon; I know when he evolves from Charmeleon as well as anyone else. There is a reason he hasn't evolved yet. It's plain and simple: He's not ready too. He isn't even a year old yet, he's still developing. He will evolve eventually; Thorn is not Ash's Pikachu.

Trust me guys, I got this. As I have mentioned multiple times, these evolutions are planned. Everything runs on a timeline. I may sometimes stray from that timeline, but I'm not doing this stuff at random.

It was brought up to me that the time lapse may have left a few people confused. In chapter 51, Jet gets a job from Bill a few weeks after the sinking of SS Anne. Chapter 52 takes place six months later. During this time, Jet has been running the battle club, training his weaker Pokémon, and dominating various tournaments held throughout Cerulean City.

I will give an update on everyone's level at the end of this chapter. Enjoy, and thanks again for all of your reviews!

The Color Pink

"Kenny, Anna! It's starting! Get down here, now!"

Mrs. Brown called her twin son and daughter down the steps so they could watch her eldest son compete on live television for a Contest Ribbon in Cerulean City. Her husband and sister were busy setting up the snacks on the coffee table while her sister and brother-in-law grabbed their own children from the backyard.

She knew her son, Jethro, wouldn't approve of the entire family watching him compete. He was so shy when it came to those things. However, her baby was now a professional trainer and why shouldn't she show him off? This was as much her moment as it was his, after all!

Everyone gathered in front of the TV screen as Mrs. Brown turned up the volume. There were three beautiful young women in different color dresses to match their hair hosting:

"Hello, everyone and welcome to the fourteenth annual Cerulean City Pokémon Beauty Pageant! My name is Lily and these are my sisters-"

One of the sisters chimed in, "Daisy!" While the other said enthusiastically, "and Violet!"

Lily giggled and said, "And we will be your hosts for this evenings show! We have a veerrry special show for you folks here tonight…"

Mrs. Brown and her family watched as the Sensational sisters did their opening speech, (complete with a small musical number), after which time they cut to a commercial break. Her husband laughed and asked, "Are you serious? They didn't even show Jethro!"

Anna replied, "Dad! Don't you ever watch these things? They always drag it out with commercials before getting to the good stuff!"

Kenny frowned, "What good stuff? This is a beauty contest! It's not like we get to see Jet battle! I haven't seen him battle at all since he got his Charmander!"

Anna sneered, "He's not a Charmander anymore! Thorn is a Charmeleon! They are much more powerful! Besides, he's not using Charmeleon, he's using Star and Bubbles!"

Anna's cousin, Ferris, asked, "Why's Jet in a beauty contest anyway? I thought he was a hardcore trainer?"

Kenny answered, "He is! He's won a bunch of battle competitions already! And he's got tons of Pokémon!"

Ferris then asked, "How come he never gave you any Pokémon?"

"Jet said he will when we get our licenses!" Anna replied. She then turned to her mom and asked, "We're taking our tests this summer, right mom?"

Mrs. Brown, who was having a checking a text from Jet, asked, "What sweetie?"

"You said you would take us to take the test for our Trainer's Licenses when school ends, right?"

Mrs. Brown rolled her eyes, "Not if you keep asking every five minutes!"

Anna smiled and made a hand gesture that mimed zipping her mouth shut. When the commercials were over, the Sensational Sisters brought out the contestants one at a time to present their Pokémon.

First, there was a tough looking guy with green hair who had a Butterfree. Then a lady with a rather posh looking Snubbull. Next was a pair entry; a Plusle and Minun.

"So, Ivan," asked Violet, "The standards for entering a pair instead of a single contestant have always been traditionally tougher due to the different grading system! Are you the least bit worried that entering two Pokémon for the ribbon instead of one may hurt your chances?

"Not at all, Violet!" replied Ivan the contestant, "I've always prided myself as an excellent Pokémon Coordinator, often specializing in pair entries! I know what the judges want to see and I know how to give it to them!"

The crowd chuckled as Ivan's Plusle and Minun began to flex their little arms cutely. Violet grinned and said, "Well you certainly are confident! Let's hope your little cuties can put on a great show!"

The crowd applauded as Ivan was led back off the stage. The next contestant was a handsome man with long hair and his Ninetales. This Ninetales, the audience was informed, had won the Contest ribbon for two years straight, and was the favorite for this year. Anna stared at the creature adoringly and said, "Oh, I want one sooo badly!"

Samson, the family Growlithe, nudged Anna with his nose to get her attention. Anna giggled and said, "Not jealous, are you boy?"

Mrs. Brown cut in, "Shh! Your brother is up!"

Jet walked onto the stage followed closely by a Clefable and a Wigglytuff. "Oh wow! There's Star and Bubbles! He evolved them!"

Mrs. Brown quieted her daughter yet again. Violet then spoke to Jethro:

"Wow, where did you get these two beauties from?"

Jet looked slightly nervous as he answered, "Found them both at Mt. Moon a while back. This is Star," Clefable struck a pose and winked at the mention of her name. The crowd laughed loudly.

"And this is Bubbles." Wigglytuff did a quick spin and struck another pose. Both Pokémon then did a curtsey to the crowd. They received a very positive applause.

Violet smiled at Jet and asked, "You have been making quite a bit of a name for yourself around Cerulean City in battle tournaments! This is your first Pokémon Contest, however, is that correct?"

"Uhh, yeah," Jet answered.

"Are you nervous at all about your first pageant? Especially considering you're entering two Pokémon instead of one? Knowing that the grading policies are tougher on pair entries than single entries?"

Jet gave a nervous smile and said, "I'm trying not to think about it to be honest."

Violet giggled and said, "Ok, Jet! We look forward to seeing your Pokémon's performance in the competition!"

Jet recalled his Pokémon and was led off stage when Mrs. Brown beamed at her husband, "Jet wasn't nearly as nervous as I thought he'd be! Remember when he was little he was so shy? He's growing out of it! I'm so proud of him!"

XXX

Jet felt as though he was going to start hyperventilating when he got back stage. He had just got finished presenting his Pokémon in front of a live television audience! His heart was beating outside of his chest. He had battled Team Rocket, faced a swarm of Beedrill, and went toe to toe against a former regional league champion in a Pokémon battle. However, after talking to Violet on that stage, he felt as though he'd rather have just gone another round with the Beedrill.

Daisy walked up to him and smiled, "Jeez, Jet! Misty said you were shy around crowds, but you look like you just survived a car crash or something!"

Jet felt himself go red and said, "I don't like being on stage."

She giggled and said, "C'mon, hotshot! You have to bring your Pokémon to the judges for inspection. Don't tell anyone, but we're all rooting for you!"

Jet allowed himself a smile, "Even Misty?"

Daisy took Jet's arm in hers and said, "Oh please! She'll never admit that! The fact that she still goes on rants about you at work though just shows how much she cares!"

Jet laughed and asked, "She say anything worth hearing?"

Lily came out of nowhere and took Jet's other arm, "Oh, just what an enormous asshole you are, and how you always pay more attention to your Charmeleon than you do her!"

Daisy added, "And also that you're too paranoid and that you have a stick up your ass."

Jet shook his head, "All that, huh?"

Lily laughed, "Oh she's just in love! That's how Misty show's affection!"

"She rant's," giggled Daisy.

Jet smiled fondly and said, "Sounds like her."

Lily grinned at Jet, "You two are totally going to get married one day, aren't you? You know, in a lot of ways you're just alike?"

Daisy smirked and said, "All you need is red hair and a menstrual cycle. Here we are! Just go straight over there and present your Pokémon to the judges!"

Jet smiled at Daisy and Lily, then walked forward to meet the judges. There were five of them, most of whom smiled at Jet encouragingly. Misty, however, didn't smile, but just said in a professional manner, "Please present your Pokémon to the panel."

Jet summoned Clefable and Igglybuff. The judges appraised the two pink Pokémon excitedly. Jet gave both Pokémon a mental command, Curtsey on three! Ready? One, two, three! Both Pokémon did their little curtsies and the judges found themselves absolutely delighted.

Misty's father asked, "You said you found these two at Mt. Moon?"

Jet nodded, "Hatched them there when they were just eggs, sir."

Misty frowned, "Aren't these your little brother and sister's Pokémon? I remember wondering how they ended up with such rare ones."

"Oh, no. They were too young to train when I got to Cerulean so I sent them to Ken and Anna so they could take care of them, like I did with Spark."

Misty bent down to inspect both Pokémon with the others. Jet could feel his Pokémon's emotions as they were being inspected. Clefable, like Jet, was experiencing stage fright. He calmed her with his mind, Take a deep breath and relax! Wink at the judges when they complement you; they are loving you girls so far!

Wigglytuff, on the other hand, was thoroughly enjoying herself. She did little cute poses for the judges as if she were modeling in a photo shoot. Jet had been training them for this Pageant for a month; in addition to working at the Battle Club and training other of his weaker Pokémon.

Both Clefable and Wigglytuff have been looking forward to this pageant for weeks. Jet had been on the fence about the whole thing, personally, but his mom convinced him otherwise. She had said all of the most prestigious trainers had tried their hands at Pokémon contests sometime in their life. She also insisted that collecting contest ribbons would be just as impressive as collecting badges. While Jet had his doubts about the whole thing, Star and Bubbles really seemed to like the idea; and so there they were.

"When did you evolve them?" Misty asked, "I remember them being a Cleffa and Igglybuff last time I saw them."

"I've been training them both for weeks. Told them I'd evolve them into their final form if they worked hard enough and got to their second form."

"Wait a minute," said Mrs. Duvall, one of the judges, "do you have a Moon Stone?"

Jet nodded, "Found one when I was training in Mt. Moon!"

"But my boy," persisted Mrs. Duvall, "those are incredibly rare! Do you know how much-"

"Eleanor," Misty's dad cut across her, "perhaps after the initial appraisal?"

Eleanor glared at Misty's dad, but said, "Yes, yes. These are fine specimens you have here boy. Although, they look as though they'd been training to fight rather than being groomed for Pokémon contests."

Misty said, "Mr. Brown here specializes in battles, Mrs. Duvall. He's not a groomer or a Pokémon coordinator."

"Does he really?" Mrs. Duvall turned to Jet and asked, "My dear boy! What are you doing in a competition such as this one? This is about showmanship, not all of that battle nonsense!"

Misty's dad rolled his eyes while the other judges seemed to be trying to hide their smirks. Jet smiled at Mrs. Duvall and said, "My Pokémon have multiple talents, Ma'am, and I think they'll surprise you tonight."

Mrs. Duvall gave Jet's Pokémon one more final glance and said to Jet, "Six point four. It would be higher but I honestly think it's a waste teaching majestic Pokémon such as these violence when they should be learning the finer points of pageantry."

Jet could sense his Pokémon's anger at these words, but he told them, Calm down! We'll show her during the talent event!

They simply smiled and curtsied at Mrs. Duvall. At which point the broken down old queen giggled and said, "Six point nine!"

Star and Bubbles beamed at her. Next judge, seven point two. Her husband, seven point four. Misty's dad, seven point nine. Misty, seven point five. Star and Bubbles did a curtsy after each of the judges ratings, as instructed by their trainer.

After being awarded their score, Jet was told to wait with the other trainers until the talent competition started. Jet did the math in his head, "I think our initial presentation scored us an average somewhere around a seven point three. That's not bad, considering the fact that they judge teams on a stricter standard then they do singles. Good thing you two were able to stay in sync with those curtsies, I think that's what saved us."

Both Pokémon smiled at Jet. He grinned at them as well and said, "Keep up the good work, you two. We'll get that Ribbon, and you two will be registered contest winners!"

Both little pink Pokémon seemed very excited at the prospect, but Jet couldn't help but feel like a father taking his preschool daughters to a beauty pageant. He preferred battling Pokémon, by far. All of these little routines he had practiced with them just seemed exhausting to him.

Soon Jet met up with AJ. AJ grinned at Jet's little pageant entries and said, "I think the color pink suits you!"

"Ha-ha." Jet said as he took a seat, "How'd you score?"

"Eight-point-o average."

Jet raised his eyebrows, "Really?"

"Yup," said AJ as his Butterfree introduced itself to Jet's Pokémon, "They really liked the unusual designs on my Buterfree's wings. How'd it go for you?"

"Seven point three, I think." Jet said as Bubbles played with one of Butterfree's antennas, "I think that's good."

"Better than what some of these other jokers got. The real competition is that Ninetales. She got a nine-point-o."

Jet looked over at the fire-fox, "Seriously? How do I compete with that?"

"Hope that it does a terrible job in the talent show." AJ shrugged.

XXX

Ninetales as it turned out, scored an average of seven point one in the talent portion. She barked and danced to the Elvis Presley's Hound Dog. While her dance was very reminiscent of the king himself, her barking sounded less like she was singing with the song and more of just random barking.

Butterfree did aerial acrobatics, which garnered it a six point five. The real competition in this category, however, was a prodigiously talented Meowth who played the Charlie Brown theme song on the piano. His average score was a nine point eight, which averaged with his initial appraisal score of six point seven brought his average up to eight point three.

Jet was worried about the other team entry and what they threat they may pose to Star and Bubbles. Or at least he was until the Plusle and Minun started fire-juggling.

When it was Jet's turn, Lily asked, "You guys ready?" Both Star and Bubbles nodded nervously. Jet bent down and smiled at them, "You two will do fine! Just have fun with it like we do in rehearsals! I'll be cheering you on the whole time!"

Star gave a halfhearted smile while Bubbles winked at Jet. Violet said, "Good luck Jet! Just stare at the back wall! That way you won't even notice the audience!"

Jet thanked her, and soon found himself being led on stage arm in arm with Lily to introduce his Pokémon. Taking Violets advice, Jet looked at the back wall as he said into the microphone, "Ladies and gentlemen! It is my honor to present to you tonight Star and Bubbles, who will be dancing to Nat King Cole's Unforgettable!"

The crowd applauded politely and the lights dimmed. The spotlight suddenly shown on Side of the stage, where Bubbles and Star entered by way of the waltz while Unforgettable played over the loudspeakers. They were extremely light on their feet, and glided gracefully across the stage in perfect harmony. Jet found his heart beating inside his chest despite the soft music. He watched as his Pokémon dipped, spun and glided for the TV audience. He grinned as he saw the smiles on the judges faces through the dim light. Then, suddenly, the music changed. It picked up pace as the trumpets sounded, and Star and Bubbles transitioned with from the waltz to a little soft shoe as The Swing is Really the Thing played. They tapped danced across the stage in perfect sync, doing the routine that Jet had found YouTube weeks prior to the pageant.

Then the music changed again, to Michael Jackson's Beat It. They imitated the dance from the music video and lip synced the lyrics to the audience's delight. They did their little spins and crotch bumps. Then the music changed again to another Jazz beat, and both Star and Bubbles started doing the Charleston. Jet couldn't help but laugh as the little pink Pokémon kicked their feet and swung their arms to and fro. He could feel their excitement radiating from them as they picked up speed and did their routine. The music changed a final time and they went right back into the waltz as Nat King Cole sung:

That's why it's so incredible,

That someone so, unforgettable,

Thinks that I'm, unforgettable too!

Star dipped Bubbles and when the music stopped, both Pokémon took a bow. The crowd gave a standing ovation and cheered Jet's Pokémon on as they gave them a curtsy and joined Jet at the far side of the stage with Lily. Jet grinned at them and yelled, "You girls did amazing! I'm so proud of you!" Over the cheering crowd.

Lily gestured for Jet and his Pokémon to join her at the center stage. The stood there with her as the judges put up their scores. Misty put up a nine point four, and the crowd applauded enthusiastically. Her dad put up a nine and received more applause. Mr. Calloway; Eight point nine. Mrs. Calloway; a solid nine. Then Mrs. Duvall; a nine point six!

Jet felt as though his heart was beating out of his chest as Lily said, "A great score, for a great performance! How are you and your Pokémon feeling right now, Jet?"

She handed the microphone to Jet as his Pokémon jumped for joy behind him. He grinned at Lily and said "Incredible! These two did an amazing job!"

Lily turned to the camera and said, "Well it looks like the newcomers this year are scoring higher than expected. Who will be the one to win the Contest Ribbon? Find out, after a word from out sponsors!"

Lily then turned to Jet and said, "You can wait back stage with your Pokémon now! Great job by the way!"

"Thank you!" Jet said breathlessly. He then caught Misty's eye and mouthed the words, I love you! Misty tried to hide her grin but was unsuccessful. Jet laughed and went back stage. Star and Bubbles were elated once they got back there and began hoping around again. Jet smiled at them and tried to calculate his score.

His markings from the talent portion averaged out to about a nine point one. Average that with his initial presentation and that brought his new score to about an eight point two. That put them just above Ninetales, who had an eight point one, and just below Meowth, who had an eight point three. He felt as though he were in an exciting battle and both trainers were down to their last Pokémon. Just one final event and they were as good as in.

XXX

The final event of the pageant was the move presentation. Because this was a beauty contest, the judges were grading each Pokémon not on the power or effectiveness of their attack, but rather the style in which the attack was used.

In this category, everyone seemed to be having trouble. Plusle and Minun came first. A generic attack dummy was brought out on center stage. Both Pokémon were ordered to attack and they chose to use Thundershock in unison. While the double attack was no doubt effect and set the attack dummy ablaze, the judges did not find the attack very stylish and scored it low.

A new dummy was brought out and it was Butterfree's turn. AJ had Butterfree do a form of Gust in which it flew around its target at high speeds creating a small vortex. It then shot a powerful gust of wind at its target. The target was completely destroyed, and the pieces of the dummy flew around in the vortex for a short while before dropping to the ground. AJ was scored an eight point five for this attack, which gave him the highest score he received all night.

Meowth had scored low with his Night-slash. He cut the target completely in half, but did so without the flair the judges were looking for. Snubbull used Fire Fang, but ran into the same problem as Meowth; the attack was effective but it just had no flare.

It was Jet's turn, and he led his Pokémon onto the stage. The attack dummy was at the center of the stage. Jet turned to his Pokémon, and said, "Star, Bubbles, use Bounce!"

Both Pokémon rolled into little pink balls and hopped into the air. Once they were about to land, they hit the ground hard and bounced high into the air. Star and Bubbles bounced around the stage, striking midair poses as they reached the height of their trajectory. Jet was using his mind to tell them where to bounce next, what poses to do, and coordinating their trajectories so they regularly crisscrossed in an acrobatic fashion.

After about thirty seconds of their little acrobatic show, it was time to strike. Star, hit 'em high! Bubbles, use Rollout to hit 'em low! Ready? Go!

Star bounced high into the air and floated near the ceiling. Meanwhile, Bubbles transitioned from a Bounce attack to a Rollout on the opposite end of the stage. They both flew at their target at once with very satisfying results. Star dropped down until she was on the side of the dummy, and then Bounced up and crashed into her target's torso at the same exact time Bubbles smashed into the dummy's lower half. The reduced the attack dummy to splinters, all before doing a little spin and standing up simultaneously to give a bow.

The crowd applauded at their showmanship and the judges gave them an average of eight point four. That gave them an overall average of eight point eight, putting them in first place. The crowd cheered louder as Jet's Pokémon began to hop around again in elation. Jet couldn't stop grinning, and thanked the judges as they were led back stage.

Next up was the final contestant, Ninetales. Her trainer, a guy who went by the name of Mark, confidently told her, "Use Fire Spin!"

Ninetales released a large torrent of flames which engulfed her opponent in a beautiful, fiery vortex. The crowd clapped at the beautiful display, and Mark told his Pokémon, "Now for the grand finale!"

Ninetales lifted her head and howled as her eyes began to glow. Suddenly, the vortex rose and condensed itself into a ball of fire. The fire ball lowered itself on the dummy and engulfed it once more until it ran out of energy and smoldered itself out. While this form of Fire Spin was probably not very effective in battle due to the time it took to use, it was beautiful to look at and required a tremendous amount of control on Ninetales' part. The crowd gave Ninetales a standing ovation and the judges gave her an average score of eight point five.

XXX

"Ok, so the competition this year has been pretty fierce," Violet announced to the audience once the final event was over, "but it looks as though we have not one, but two ties tonight!"

"That's right," said Daisy, "And we all know how we settle tie breakers in a Pokémon contest! Let's bring our out our winning contestants!"

Jet and AJ walked out with their Pokémon, as well as Mark, (Ninetales' Trainer) and Sonya, (Meowth's Trainer), and their Pokémon. Everyone waved at the audience as they clapped for the winning Pokémon.\

"Alright," Lily said to the audience, "So tied for third place is AJ and Sonya! Tied for first place, is Mark and Jethro! Here's how this is going to work!"

Violet spoke next, "First we'll have the battle for third place. Butterfree and Meowth will duke it out to see who gets the Contest Ribbon!"

Daisy then said, "Now with Jet and Mark it's going to be a little more complicated because one is a single entry and the other is a pair entry. And so, Mark can either battle with his Ninetales and one of his other Pokémon. Or, in the event Mark cannot provide another Pokémon to battle with, Jet must choose which of his Pokémon will go toe to toe with Ninetales."

"The winner, of course, gets the first place ribbon, (or ribbons in Jet's case!), and the loser gets the second place ribbon!"

"So, Mark," asked Lily, "Do you have another Pokémon you want to assist Ninetales for a two on two match, or would you rather Jet choose one of his Pokémon for a one on one battle?"

Jet's heart was beating fast. This is it! This will determine whether or not we go home with the first place ribbon! Battling I can do! Like that old lady said, my Pokémon are all trained fighters!

Mark looked at Clefable and Wigglytuff appraisingly and smirked. "Well, now isn't this a bit of a twist? They really are trying to make me work for my first place ribbon, aren't they? I suppose I'd rather do a two on two. Put on a better show for my fans!"

The crowd cheered loudly as Mark waved at them with a smug grin. Jet grinned too, Two on two is just fine with me!

Author's Notes:

The following is a full list of all Jet's Pokémon in the order of which they were captured:

Charmeleon/Thorn – Level 41, Male

Pidgeot/Sora – Level 34, Female (evolved early)

Rattata/Remi – Level 23, Male

Fearow/Foghorn – Level 24, Female

Primeape/Pugsly – Level 31, Male

Beedrill/Hornet – Level 26, Male

Butterfree/Butters – Level 22, Male

Raichu/Spark – Level 38, Male

Gyarados/Hydra – Level 37, Female

Graveler/Boulder – Level 33, Male

Clefable/Star – Level 22, Female

Wigglytuff/Bubbles - Level 21, Female

Golbat/Mina – Level 23, Female

Kadabra/Neo – Level 38, Male

Victreebel/Quasimodo – Level 27, Male

Gloom/Toadstool – Level 21, Female

Arbok/Cobra – Level 30, Female

Sandslash/Sonic – Level 25, Male

Goldeen/Dori – Level 22, Female

Noctowl/Hedwig – Level 23, Female

Krabby/Mr. Krabs – Level 22, Male

Scyther/Mantis – Level 36, Female

Diglett/Morocco Mole – Level 27, Male

Drowzee/Morpheus – Level 24, Male

Nidorino/Dino – Level 23, Male (Jet hasn't used the moonstone on him yet because he's clumsy as shit at a Nidorino!)

Nidoqueen/Fran Sinclair – Level 26, Female

Machop/Tyson – Level 24 Male

Magnemite/Magneto – Level 23

Electrode/Cell – Level 29 (Evolved early)

Grimer/Stinkmeaner – Level 27 Male

Staryu/Patrick Star – Level 25

Meowth – Sphinx – Level 25 Female

It should be noted that none of these Pokémon were caught in their evolved form. Jet prefers to catch them in their first form and then train them. Also, I was asked why Thorn is always the highest level Pokémon on Jet's team. It's mainly because when I'm playing the games, I always prefer to train my favorite a little stronger than everyone else. Call me vein.

You may ask why Hydra isn't stronger? It's a little harder to train her because she is already in her final evolution. Plus Jet usually doesn't pull her out in trainer battles due to her habit of intimidating anyone she meets. That's life I guess; they judge you before they even get to know you!

Next chapter will see the final event in the pageant; the battles! (aka the good shit!)

Please review!