AUTHOR'S NOTES: (1)

As mentioned in the last chapter, this one is going to be a little bit different! All of the appeals in this are poems. I hope you can enjoy them! I'm by no means a poetry master (or even a poet), but I highly recommend that you read the poems out loud, as I find it's the best way to truly understand and appreciate poetry. Anyway, thanks for reading! Please enjoy!


Chapter 56 - Fancy Grape Juice


The day of the Kanto Grand Festival had finally arrived. The whole group had moved into the hotel where they were able to enjoy five-star food and spa treatments. None of them took up on those offers though, as everyone wanted to train and prepare for their upcoming challenges.

Yurie and Reina managed to get Logan, Seshiru, and Yuta good tickets, and they were allowed to sit in some of the front rows. The dome was packed with thousands of people who came from all around Kanto and the world. It was a bigger arena than the one in Slateport City, and the crowd was a lot more lively.

When the time came, the lights dimmed. There was a concentrated explosion of light, putting the focus on a woman who took to the stage. She had light brown, curly hair, and wore a blue crop top and short shorts.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Kanto Grand Festival! My name is Lilian Meridian, and I'll be your host for the festivities!"

The crowd started to cheer loudly, louder than any crowd either Logan or Seshiru had ever performed in front of.

"Over one hundred of the best coordinators in Kanto have joined us today. Ultimately, they will be competing for the Ribbon Cup! One hundred seems like a big number, and we have to, unfortunately, whittle that down to the Top 16!"

A hush went over the crowd. Going from over one hundred contestants to only sixteen in a day seemed like a steep cutoff. A lot of contestants were bound to be disappointed, but that also meant that they'd be seeing incredibly intriguing and top-tier performances.

"Our first round will be the performance stage! For the grand festival, it's being divided into a preliminary and main round. During the preliminary round, trainers and Pokémon are only allowed to use one move! In that move, they must find a way to strike a balance of power and elegance to impress our judges!" she announced. "Speaking of which, let me introduce our panel!"

The lights shone near the edge of the stage where a long table with five judges were sitting. In the middle was Akane, who got the loudest cheers when her name was announced. There were also two Nurse Joys and the commissioner of contests, who were popular, but not as popular as Akane.

"Now, without further ado, let's begin!" Lilian yelled into the microphone once all of the judges were accounted for. "Our first contestant is a favorite with the female audience! Everyone, please welcome to the stage, Kitahara Omori!"

The screams and screeches of the girls in the crowd were too much for Logan and Seshiru. Omori slowly walked onto the stage and soaked in all of the adulations. Despite acting like he didn't care what Reina had to say, he wore his black suit with the purple trim, as it went well with his eyes.

He raised his hand and expanded his Poké Ball. The crowd went dead silent and held their breath, waiting for the first command of the festival.

"Kingdra, show them your majestic Draco Meteor!"

Arcane energy

Exploding like fireworks

Purple raining down

Omori's move had impressed the judges and fans. Had he not moved forward for whatever reason, there were bound to be riots. The next few contestants came and went, most of their appeals able to dazzle the crowd.

And eventually, Reina was called to the stage. She was dressed in a poofy white dress and had the crowd not known that she was competing, they might have mistaken her as a runaway bride. Reina couldn't look at the crowd though. Her nerves set in, and her legs shook violently under the dress. Luckily, it was so large that they couldn't see. She threw her Poké Ball into the air and made her command.

"Use Hurricane, Butterfree!"

The personal storm

Shaking shutters of the dome

Confusion sets in

While not as well-received as Omori's performance, Reina still got a good ovation from the crowd. No one would have believed that she was having a full-blown anxiety attack on stage. The next few contestants went until Michika was called to the stage.

Michika had shoulder-length black hair that she tied back into a ponytail. She wore a black top and a long yellow skirt. Out of most of the performers so far, she put in the least effort into her outfit, but some people in the crowd liked the simplicity of it. And she was a crowd favorite, so they were simply eager to see what she'd do.

"Ivysaur, stun them with Grassy Glide!"

Skating as on ice

Through blades of forest green grass

Nature filled finish

More competitors went by, including some that were recognizable from Yurie's past contests. To Logan's dismay, Kitty from Sinnoh also appeared, and her performance was great. He wished that he had sat in the back rows, so he wouldn't have had to listen to her puns.

But all of those feelings of anguish went away when the next name was called.

"Up next is without a doubt a future star! Can she win the whole thing? We'll just have to see! Please give a warm welcome to Little Miss Yurie!"

The lights shone down on Yurie, who wore a black dress with small specks of blue glitter that could only be seen in the spotlight. Her hair was usually tied into a ponytail, but not today. It fell well past her shoulders and was lightly curled.

Logan froze, and Yuta looked towards him, surprised by his reaction. Yuta folded his arms and then sat back.

"You both are drooling," Seshiru said.

"Shh!"

Yurie took in a breath and then threw her Poké Ball straight above her head.

"Minun, use Shock Wave!"

Took into the air

And golden electric waves

Pulsed across the field

When all coordinators finished their one move appeal, Lilian walked onto the stage again, and the crowd cheered. Even after witnessing over one hundred performances, the audience was still very eager and loud.

"Our judges are now tallying up their scores, and we'll have the Top 64 contestants decided in a matter of moments! Are you having fun?"

The crowd screeched in response.

"Fantastic! Next up is the main appeal round! Each contestant will have three minutes to show us what they can do! In those three minutes, they can use as many moves as necessary to show off the power and grace of their Pokémon! If they want to use one hundred moves, they very well can!" She looked back at the judges, who confirmed that they had made their selection. "Let's see who's moving on!"

On the board behind the judges appeared sixty-four faces.

"There she is!" Seshiru said once she found Yurie.

"And Reina made it too!" Yuta exclaimed. "You can do it, Reina!"

"Omori," Logan muttered. "Dang."

"And Michika," Seshiru said. "They all made it. That's a relief."

In the backroom, the four were celebrating. They were all pretty confident that they were going to move on, but having it confirmed was a relief. Omori bought them fancy grape juice, and they shared a drink before preparing for the next round. Now, things would begin to get intense, as only a fourth of the Top 64 would be moving on.

"Kawahara Yurie, can we get you to the stage?" a voice called from the hallway.

Yurie nodded to her friends and then entered the hallway. She walked down to the entrance of the stage and waited while Lilian hyped up the crowd a little bit more. They would have to be energetic for sixty-four more appeals.

"Please welcome to the stage one more time, Little Miss Yurie!"

The crowd cheered when Yurie came onto the field. She lightly tossed her Poké Ball into the air, and Gloom materialized. In Yurie's other hand, she held an item, but no one could see what it was from afar.

Then, she made her first command:

She started by darkening the stage,

creating the sense of artificial night.

With the help and power of faeries,

she casted a healthy moonlight.

Then chose to poison that moon,

turning it into a vibrant violet.

She did what only came natural to her

and created a toxic environment.

They watched on in awe

while she danced inside dangerous petals.

Her unnatural beauty transformed,

the stone of sun, taking her to new levels.

The crowd cheered upon seeing Gloom take on the form of Bellossom. She finished her appeal in less than three minutes, and everyone watching ate every second of it. No one ever thought that they would have been entranced by the way a Gloom danced, but they were wrong.

Yurie and her new Bellossom bowed and then returned to the back, allowing Lilian to play with the crowd a little bit more. Yurie had set a high bar for the other trainers, and now nerves were high when she arrived in the backroom.

"When did she get a Sun Stone?" Logan asked.

Seshiru shrugged and then crossed her arms. "You're not the only one getting special treatment from me, Mr. Stephenson. After she won her fifth ribbon, I gave her the option between a Leaf and Sun Stone, and she made her choice. Must have kept it a secret from ya."

A few more of the contestants performed their appeals. Most were good, but Logan could tell when some of them had no chance of moving on. And eventually, Michika was brought to the stage. The crowd had enjoyed her first appeal with Ivysaur, so they were looking forward to what she could do with unlimited moves.

"Pachirisu, let's go!" Michika yelled while releasing the mischievous Pokémon.

Logan sat back. "She chose the same Pokémon for her appeals round last year. Interesting."

Michika raised her hand and pointed out onto the stage. She began her directions:

Looks were deceiving,

for Pachirisu was known as a cute Pokémon

and a cute Pokémon only.

But this cute little Pokémon, with adorable cheeks

began to laugh maniacally.

Looks were deceiving,

and they started to see that, as the Pokémon unhinged her maw,

extending out her knife-like teeth.

No one was surprised to see what came next

as the Pokémon became cloaked with electric energy.

Looks were deceiving,

and as while the terrifying creature dragged her teeth,

creating a terrible noise,

started to skate around the field with no care in the world,

much to the dismay of those who watched.

But looks were deceiving,

and shagrin turned to shock and surprise,

as the Electric Squirrel created colorful calligraphy,

writing her trainer's name

like a firecracker made of lightning and mischief.

The crowd clapped for Pachirisu and Michika while the electrified kanji (道香 今村) slowly faded away. They returned to the back and let the next contestant go.

When they walked into the back room, they were greeted by Yurie and Bellossom.

"You did wonderful!" Yurie exclaimed. "I love how you switched it on them!"

Michika grinned. "My Pachirisu has a reputation for being kind of devilish. I decided to flip that on its head by showing off her great writing skills!"

"Pachi!" the Pokémon exclaimed happily.

Michika looked over Yurie's shoulder, finding Reina with her head buried in her knees, sobbing. With how she was dressed, one might have thought that she had been left at the altar. Yurie and Michika were going to force her to change dresses if she managed to move on to the battle rounds.

"She okay?" she mouthed.

Yurie slowly shook her head. "The pressure is getting to her. With every contestant that goes, she gets more nervous. I'm sure she'll be fine though! She's incredibly talented."

"Eguchi Reina, you're up next!" the voice called from the hallway.

Reina stopped shaking, and Michika and Yurie looked at her with their eyes wide. They watched as she stood up in a mechanical fashion and slowly made her way out of the room. They poked their heads out of the door to make sure that she didn't dash away, but to their relief, Reina was headed straight for the stage, her arm extended, a Poké Ball in her hand. She entered the stage, and everything changed. Reina remembered why she made it as far as she did. She closed her eyes, hearing the chants of the city folk of Celadon.

She threw her ball into the air, and a Starmie colored darker than any that Seshiru or Logan had ever seen materialized, allowing for Reina to start:

Swirling through the air, and filled with cosmic power

The mysterious Pokémon began with a defensive attack

Done without fear, becoming its personal meteor shower

With a light so intense, it erased the shadows and black

It's jewel, dark blue and free of a single crack,

Lit up and generated psychic energy and rainbow light

Engulfed in its own power and hard to keep track

It started an icy wind, making the stage cold as night

It's spinning never ceased, forming a cocoon of white

Until that was overtook by an aquatic tower

And the crowd watched in awe and in fright

As Starmie finished spinning, becoming the talk of the hour

Yurie and Michika watched the television slack-jawed. Reina had managed to pull off an array of attacks that made the stage appear to be a planetarium. The energy of Starmie's Cosmic Power combined with Psybeam, Icy Wind, and Whirlpool to create an appeal that none of them had ever seen before. They were stunned into silence. If Reina didn't move onto the next stage, they were unsure if they could.

The performance stage continued with familiar faces making their appeals. When it got down to the sixty-fourth and final competitor, Omori was asked to go to the stage. As he was one of the most popular contestants, the reaction he got when he stepped foot into the spotlight was the loudest of the night. The crowd was worn down, and their voices were shot from cheering, but if it meant encouraging Kitahara Omori to move onto the next round, they'd continue to scream.

He expanded his Poké Ball, silencing the crowd, and then pushed the button. His first-ever Pokémon partner, Meganium, appeared and waved his flower around, wafting a sweet scent into the air. And then, he began:

The two had a story to tell and only three minutes to make a case of their bond.

With shared goals of greatness and a vision of stardom, they were in unison.

He cracked his thick whips against the ground, slicing the air in a blink of an eye;

the field shook with a concentrated magnitude, informing the crowd of the creature's power.

And that was not the only controlled disaster that Father Nature would perform.

Blocking out the light and all visibility, he created a blizzard of pink and golden petals.

It was a spring night, perfect weather for his beautiful concoction.

And to conclude his wrath, he appealed with what could only be described as the calm.

A ball of white escaped his mouth and took into the air, bringing sunlight to the field,

bringing comfort to the hearts of those who watched up close,

and bringing the boy born with a silver spoon in his mouth one step closer to stardom.

Yurie put her hands on her hips. Omori may have annoyed her endlessly, but he definitely knew how to put on a show. If it weren't for how he approached their relationship, she'd probably be more open to learning the showmanship side of being a coordinator.

Omori and Meganium bowed. Omori looked at Lilian and winked, getting a loud reaction from the crowd. When they came back to the locker room, they were greeted by Reina and other fangirls. He signed autographs while the judges made their decision for the next round.

Lilian came onto the stage and the crowd quieted, waiting patiently for the announcement.

"Altogether, we saw well over one hundred and fifty appeals in one day. It's been an exhausting few hours, but it's all worth it, because we're witnessing the best appeals in the world. Every single one of you did fantastically, but only sixteen can move onto the Battle Stage! It's my honor to present to you the Top 16!"

The board behind Lilian changed, displaying sixteen faces. It was much easier to find Yurie, Michika, Reina, and Omori this time around, only taking seconds. The four in the back all cheered happily, clanging more of their fancy grape juice together as soon as they saw the results.

Reina couldn't believe it. She'd be moving on and battling in the Kanto Grand Festival.

Omori wasn't surprised. He excelled at appealing, but now he needed to show the world that he wasn't just all talk and show.

Yurie and Michika exchanged looks. They made a promise to one another, and they were intent on keeping it.

"Yurie, Michika, Reina, Omori," Yuta said while looking at the different faces.

Logan squinted his eyes and then facepalmed. "Kitty too."

"And then there's Dana, Takumi, and Rory," Seshiru said while pointing at the faces of other coordinators that Yurie and encountered in the past. How she remembered their names, she had no idea.

In the backroom, the four were finishing their drinks. The door to the locker room opened, and Akane in her black dress entered. She looked around at the different contestants and grinned before approaching Yurie and her friends.

"Good job today," she said.

"Thanks!" Yurie exclaimed. "It's been really fun so far!"

Akane folded her arms. "It's good to enjoy contests, but try to remember that you're competing with one another. If it comes down to you and your friends, you still have to fight with everything that you have."

Reina looked at Yurie and Omori. "I don't want to battle either one of you, come to think about it."

"I'd crush you anyways," Omori said while checking his nails for dirt.

"At the end of the day, you're rivals," Akane said. "Show the world dazzling battles. I'm looking forward to tomorrow. All of you are very talented. I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up being the four of you in the semi-finals."

The four exchanged looks and couldn't help but smile at the compliment from the top coordinator.

It took a while, but the crowd eventually emptied out of the arena. The group gathered together at the hotel where they could celebrate everyone's success. When night came, Yurie called her mother using the videophone. She had to time it just right, as her mom was staying at a hotel in Johto.

"It was so good!" her mother exclaimed. "Your sister is also doing a great job! She passed and will be moving onto the Battle Stage tomorrow! Your Pokémon watched your performances on television, and they loved it!"

"My Pokémon!" Yurie exclaimed. "Do you think there's any way I can get them sent this way? Now that things are getting really intense, I'd like to battle with them."

Her mom winked. "I thought you'd ask, and I prepared for it. I'll send them straight over. Your little Aggron is such a sweetheart! Take good care of him!"


AUTHOR'S NOTES: (2)

I haven't written poetry in forever (it kind of shows), but I'm so glad that I decided to. It was so refreshing to do it this way (probably a one time deal). I ended up liking Yurie's the most. I was originally going to go with Vileplume for Yurie (because I think that Bellossom is kind of predictable), but Bellossom fits the theme of dancing a little bit better.

All four coordinators got through, and now it's time to start the battle rounds! Yurie will be calling upon some of her older Pokémon. I wonder who we're going to see first?

REVIEWS:

pokemonking0924 - "I understand that Cyan believes everyone is underestimating these new Team Rocket groups but he's a bit too obsessed with defeating them that it's starting to look a little unhealthy. He needs to calm down and think with a cooler head." - Imagine how he'd be without Skylar.

SceptileBlade - "Whew, Michika barely edged in her fifth ribbon. Good for her. I like the parallels shown between Cyan and Logan this chapter, both of them don't really pay attention to obvious social cues around them when they are focused on something. Maybe it was intentional, maybe it wasn't. Either way it was cool." - It was intentional to show their similarities, but their differences will be made more apparent in a couple of chapters.

CrescentApple - "Very glad Michika won enough ribbons to make it to the Kanto grand festival! I like the little ascent to Seshiru's bond with her friends. Before she wouldn't even train in person around Logan and Yurie. Now they train together!" - I love Himawari, but I think I've done a much better job at developing Seshiru as the third character. I think her arc has been wonderful. I'm glad you notice the small stuff.

wisdom-jewel - "Love how Logan showed Charizard showed his old trainer the hard work they both did so far. Maybe the old trainer would give some useful tips. I can't wait for Cyan and Skylar to interact with Logan and his gain." - Won't be for a couple more chapters, but I'm very excited to show off the interactions. Even if it's small.