Hey all! I hope you're doing well. Are you ready for chapter 67? It's finally time to see if all that hard work at the training camp has paid off for our dear Yamaguchi.
This chapter was beta read by my regular beta reader Killer_Squids (they are also back from their vacation). 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 been 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 choose you, chapter 67!
Ambrette Town Showcase: Part 1
Yamaguchi woke early the next morning. Today was the day! He'd win his next key and confess his feeling to Tsukki. He knew he would. He could feel it in the sea air. Nothing could get him down today! Nothing at all!
It had been hard last night when Tsukki texted him that he had arrived safely. Yamaguchi so badly wanted to see him then and there. He knew that if he asked Tsukki to meet him outside Tsukki would have done so. But Yamaguchi wasn't ready to see Tsukki again. He needed to try for this key first. Tsukki had to see how he'd changed.
Once he was ready to leave, Yamaguchi took a moment to look out the window over the ocean. The sound of the waves reminded him of his home, which reminded him of Tsukki. This whole showcase was for Tsukki and he couldn't help but wonder if Tsukki would realize that today. His heart swelled at the thought of Tsukki watching his performance. Today was going to be his day, he just knew it.
Not wanting to run into Tsukki on the way to the showcase, Yamaguchi left early. After much fussing and promising Eevee he wasn't abandoning her, he left the small shiny with Sugawara. He had recommended putting Eevee in her ball but she, as always, refused and made do with spending the day with uncle Suga.
Yamaguchi was more than nervous when he arrived at the showcase stadium. He checked himself in and headed to the locker rooms. He took his time getting changed and even applied a bit of stage makeup to help smooth out his complexion. It was something they had gone over at the camp.
Yamaguchi had decided to go with just Riolu for both rounds. He was almost certain that the first round would be a trivia round, and Riolu was the fastest on his team. She'd win him the opportunity to answer the questions first for sure. He just hoped his feeling was correct. Though even if the first round was something else, Yamaguchi still felt confident to win.
By the time he finished preparing himself the locker room was filled with other contestants. While he wore his normal showcase outfit from Shimada, many others wore costumes that resembled researchers or ancient Pokemon. Yamaguchi half worried his normal attire wasn't the correct choice. Maybe he should have also gone with a costume.
With a shake of his head, he decided he wasn't going to let it get to him. His nerves were settling in. He wondered if he really was ready. What if he messed up on stage? What if Riolu experienced stage fright like Eevee did? No! He had to keep it together. Think positive. He and Riolu were ready.
Yamaguchi checked his dex once more and saw a message from Tsukki.
'Good luck! Can't wait to see you on stage.'
Yamaguchi's heart swelled. Tsukki would be watching him. Soon he'd be back by Tsukki's side. Soon all would be as it should.
A wave of warmth filled Yamaguchi. It was comfortable and calming. Tsukki's always knew just how to make him feel better. He held onto this warmth, not letting it go.
Once in the waiting room, Yamaguchi called out Riolu. "We have about 30 minutes before Takeda will come in and explain round one. Let's do a bit of warming up," Yamaguchi explained. Riolu replied with a loud cheer.
The waiting room slowly began to fill with other contestants, both male and female. Pokemon and trainers alike took time to prep their teams as the clock counted down. Too caught up in his pep talk, Yamaguchi didn't notice a dark shadow loom over him. It was only when Riolu growled at the person behind him that Yamaguchi turned to see who it was.
Yamaguchi felt his heart do a horrified flip as he came face-to-face with Tendo. The older trainer had a wicked smile as he looked at Yamaguchi. From behind him, a Galarian Yamask floated idly as if it were unaware of the relationship between it's trainer and Yamaguchi.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Tendo said with a cackle. "I didn't expect to see you of all people back on stage after that humiliation in the last contest."
Yamaguchi's cheeks went pink but he wasn't going to let Tendo get to him. He'd met worst people in the past few weeks then this guy.
"What do you want?" Yamaguchi frowned, his voice holding no hesitation.
"Oh, what's this?" Tendo mocked, showing a little surprise at Yamaguchi's sudden backbone. "Looks like somebody had finally grown out of their sniveling coward phase."
"Listen, if you're just here to pick on me then please stop," Yamaguchi said, doing his best to stand up to Tendo.
Tendo studied Yamaguchi with a critical eye. "I'm surprised to see that you even bothered to come here after that hilarious pee path."
Yamaguchi didn't take the bait. He was long over that incident and he knew Tendo was just trying to upset him.
"And I see that the little Eevee of yours is nowhere to be seen," Tendo carried on in a hum. "Traded it away after it embarrassed you like that? I'd also toss out a Pokemon who couldn't handle the stage."
"Don't you dare talk about Eevee like that," Yamaguchi growled, doing his best to stand up to Tendo. Riolu gave a threatening bark as well.
This did little to deter Tendo. Instead, it just seemed to interest him even more. "It's finally nice to see you have some fight in you," he said, sounding genuinely surprised. The shock wore off quickly.
"I don't have time for this nonsense," Yamaguchi replied, turning away to show he wasn't interested to carry on with the conversation.
"Wow, no time for little old me?" Tendo sighed dramatically. "What, you think you're too good for me now that you're a bit braver?" He growled, stepping into to Yamaguchi space.
Yamaguchi stumbled back as Tendo clenched his fist. Riolu gave a loud warning growl that alerted many trainers in the room. Tendo's Galarian Yamask was blissfully unaware of the confrontation taking place in front of it.
"Haha, made you flinch," Tendo sneered as he booped Yamaguchi's nose.
Yamaguchi frowned as he did his best not to let Tendo get to him. He wished the scary trainer would just go away.
"You're kind of cute when you pout," Tendo teased, stepping out of Yamaguchi's space.
"Coming from you, that's kind of creepy," Yamaguchi flatly replied. The idea of Tendo thinking of him as cute sent a shiver down his spine.
"Playing hard to get," Tendo chuckled with interest in his eyes. "I like games."
Yamaguchi scrunched up his nose while Riolu stood in front of her beloved trainer.
Before anymore could be said Takeda stepped into the room. He called all of them together and with that the tension in the room was dispelled.
"Good luck today, Yama-chan," Tendo cooed. "You better make sure you make it to round two so I can beat you into the ground." with that he walked off to where Takeda was asking people to gather.
Yamaguchi looked after Tendo frowning. He couldn't figure that guy out for a moment. Did Tendo hate him or not? He felt like he was being picked on by a bully who was crushing on him. The idea made him uneasy on many levels.
The group of about thirty trainers gathered around Takeda. An excited murmur filled the room only to quiet down once Takeda motioned for them to listen. Yamaguchi squeezed to the front to both get away from Tendo and get a better view of Takeda.
"It's good to see you all here today to participate in Ambrette Town's fossil themed showcase. As I'm sure you have all guessed today's round one event will be a trivia style event," Takeda announced.
Yamaguchi wanted to shout in joy. He had known the first round would be trivia and by the looks of it so did every other contestant. Perhaps Ambrette Town's fossil themed showcase was always trivia style.
"For a player to win themselves the chance to answer a question, your Pokemon of choice will have to dig in a pit of dirt, and whoever finds the hidden fossil first will win their trainer a chance to answer a question. The first to get three questions correct wins the round," Takeda explained.
Riolu gave an excited bark as Yamaguchi patted her head. Yamaguchi was confident in Riolu's digging ability.
"We will split you all into teams of 5 and we will have six rounds. Please look to the screen to see what group you'll be in," Takeda said as he motioned to one of many screens in the room.
Yamaguchi turned and as he did so the screen organized the group by pictures. Yamaguchi found he would be in group two. He was happy to find that Tendo was in another group. The last thing he needed was that ass on stage with him heckling him the whole time.
"Whoever wins round one will go on to round two, where you will perform in a routine. Round two's voting will go as normal with viewers voting on who they enjoyed best. The one to collect the most votes not only wins the Ambrette Town fossil key but will also win an extra grand prize," Takeda carried on in excitement.
Excited chatter filled the room. Yamaguchi couldn't help but wonder what the grand prize was. He wouldn't have to wonder for two long for very soon it would be his.
With the explanations over, Takeda bid his farewell and headed out of the room.
Yamaguchi and Riolu settled down on a small sofa near the front of the room. He spent the time reviewing facts about ancient Pokemon that he already knew by heart thanks to Tsukki. With the anticipation to start, time passed by quickly and before they knew it the first group of contestants were gathered up to go on stage.
Yamaguchi felt his heart do a flip as the TV's clicked on to show Takeda talking to the crows of people. It suddenly dawned on Yamaguchi that Tsukki was in that crowd and would be looking upon him very soon. He wondered if he'd be able to see Tsukki from the stage. Normally the stage lights were too bright for him to see anything but he'd keep an eye out. He wanted to see Tsukki so bad he felt his chest ache in pain.
With a loud cheer from the TV, the round one contestants finished up. The winner was a girl and her Espeon. Yamaguchi smiled at the TV before a stagehand came in to collect him and the others in his group. Yamaguchi's heart pounded wildly against his ribcage as he followed the group to the stage.
It had felt like ages since he had last been on stage. It caused Butterfrees to well up in his stomach, but he was equally excited. He held Riolu tight in his arms. She whined in excitement as they entered the stage. Yamaguchi supposed he didn't have to worry about her feeling any sort of stage fright. The claps and cheers from the crow seemed to energize Riolu.
In the center of the stage was a pit of sand. Behind the sand stood five pedestals for the contestants to stand behind. Yamaguchi was directed to take center pedestal. Being in the center made him nervous, but he did his best to focus on Riolu and ignore the million eyes watching him.
Along with Riolu in the stand pit was an Eevee, Drilbur, Trapinch and a Zigzagoon. Trapinch and Drillbur were both ground type Pokemon, and it mildly worried Yamaguchi, but he believed in Riolu!
"Ladies and Gentlemen, let us start the next Round! Contestants and pokemon! Are you ready?" Takeda cheered from the side of the stage!
Yamaguchi and the others gave a shout of confirmation.
"Pokemon! On your marks! Get set! DIG!" Takeda shouted and in a flash all five pokemon dug through the sand.
A cloud of stand filled the stage and made it next to impossible for anyone to see what was happening. From his pedestal, Yamaguchi cheered as loudly as he could for Riolu. Shouts from the crowd echoed through the large auditorium and the next thing Yamaguchi knew a spotlight was shining down on him! Riolu had succeeded in finding the first Fossil.
"Riolu!" Yamaguchi cheered in utter joy as she emerged from the sand with fossil in paw! She gave a proud bark.
"Contestant Yamaguchi's Riolu wins the first question!" Takeda announced to the crowd.
A roar of cheers filled the auditorium.
"Yamaguchi, are you ready for your question?" Takeda asked.
Yamaguchi gave an excited nod!
"What Pokemon can be revived from Old Amber?" Takeda asked.
"Aerodactyl!" Yamaguchi replied without missing a beat. That was an easy one.
"Correct!" Takeda cheered causing another roar of applause to erupt.
The screen on the front of Yamaguchi's pedestal flashed one point.
The Pokemon exited the sand pit as they readied it for the next round. It didn't take long and Yamaguchi was more than ready to answer another fossil question.
"Pokemon! On your marks! Get set! DIG!" Takeda shouted and once again the stage erupted in a cloud of sand.
Yamaguchi cheered and shouted for Riolu to do her best but this time the light lit up beside the girl next to him.
"Contestant Sammy's Trapinch is the winner this round," Takeda shouted.
Riolu deflated as she exited the sand pit but straightened up a bit when Yamaguchi gave her a gentle pat on the head. "We still have plenty of chances," he whispered to her.
"Sammy, what fossil does Cranidos come from?" Takeda asked.
Sammy thought for a long moment before replying with an unsure "Armor Fossil?"
An angry buzzer sounded and the grown released an array of disappointed sounds.
Quickly Yamaguchi slammed his hand onto his buzzer. The light above him turned on and before any more could be said he shouted. "Cranidos comes from the Skull Fossil fossil!"
"Correct!" Takeda cheered.
Yamaguchi lit up with a bright smile as the crowd cheered for him. His screen flashed on with two points. He felt unstoppable.
The Pokemon got ready for the next round on Takeda's mark the sand flew into the air. This time the first to find the fossil was Drilbur. To Yamaguchi's dismay, it's trainer was able to answer their question no problem.
On round four Drilbur found the next fossil once again. Riolu looked more then upset and Yamaguchi felt worry overtake him as Drilbur's trainer answered yet again another correct answer. They were now tied. If Drilbur found the next fossil Yamaguchi would be out.
"I know you can do this, Riolu! I believe in you!" he whispered to her, ruffling the top of her head.
The crowd was quiet with anticipation. Yamguchi held his breath as the Pokemon readied themselves to jump into the sand yet again.
"Pokemon! On your marks, get set, DIG!" Takeda shouted.
Yamaguchi cheered with all his might! He put everything he had into cheering Riolu on! He knew she could do it. He believed in her. This was their day!
The pokemon's digging lasted longer than the past few rounds. A few time's the small Eevee has been pushed out of the pit all together. It looked like a sandstorm was about to take place. As quickly as it all started that sand stopped as a spot light showed over Yamaguchi and Riolu emerged with fossil in paw.
"Contestant Yamaguchi's Riolu has found the next fossil!" Takeda shouted.
The crowd roared in cheers. Yamaguchi shouted as well. The pride he felt for Riolu in that moment almost made him cry. Now it was up to him to answer one more question. Yamaguchi closed his eyes and channeled all the information about fossils Tsukki had poured into him all these years.
"Yamaguchi, are you ready for your question?" Takeda asked.
"Bring it!" Yamaguchi replied confidently.
"When was it estimated that Tyrunt and Tyrantrum went extinct?" Takeda asked.
Yamaguchi felt his heart bloom. Tyrunt and Tyrantrum were Tsukishima's favorite fossil Pokemon. He knew everything there was to know about these two. "100 million years ago!" Yamaguchi shouted into the microphone. He didn't need Takeda to tell him, Yamaguchi knew he was correct.
"That is correct!" Takeda cheered as a siren sounded indicating that the first round was over. "Contestant Yamaguchi is the winner!"
"We did it! We did it, Riolu!" Yamaguchi shouted as he took his small blue dog Pokemon into his arms for a hug.
Riolu cheered and barked in utter joy! She nuzzled her face into Yamaguchi's neck. It filled her with joy to see her trainer so happy.
The crowd erupted into cheers for the two as they were escorted off the stage. Yamaguchi wondered what Tsukki was thinking now. Who would have thought Tsukki's obsession with fossil Pokemon would have won Yamaguchi round one in his showcase? Yamaguchi would have to thank him for always reading to him about ancient Pokemon when they met after the showcase.
With Riolu in his arms and determination filling his heart, the two headed back to the waiting room. They had a round two to get ready for.
Author Notes:
On my isn't that wonderful! Our dear Yamaguchi has finally made it past round on in a showcase after so long. I wonder if his routine will be able to win him the key? Will someone else be just that much better? What is Tsukki thinking about all this? Is he happy to see his dear Yamaguchi on stage? That and more will be answered if you stay tuned!
Hey all! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I am so so excited for you all to read the next chapter. It's going to be a good one. As always thank you all so much for the kudoes, follows, bookmarks, comments and reviews. I love to hear from you all so please leave me a comment or review down below and let me know what you think.
OKay so who is loving Haikyu! Season 4. It's so great to see Yamaguchi and Tsukki animated. They are simply adorable (esspecally Yamaguchi). I think the art and animation is beautiful. While I do keep up with the manga I am just so happy to have new episodes of the anime coming out too. It's interesting to see how things play out animated as opposed to reading it in manga. I also saw this whole arc/section/saga/ whatever you want to call it live on stage and that two was interesting to see the difference. It's all so accurate but also some things come across slightly different… idk what I'm talking about.
I don't have much more to say. Winter tends to kick my but and I get sick so much so my mind is a bit bleh right now. I will do my best to get back to everyone in the comment section once I'm feeling better. I'll see you all next chapter.