Marinette: Tikki (Ledian), Wayzz (Dottler), Longg (Vibrava)

Adrien: Plagg (Meowstic), Neufchâtel (Skitty)

Chloe: Kirlia

Kalos had abandoned the idea of a monarchy since before there was a Kalos and not a loose set of kingdoms constantly at war with one another. But even though the title of King of Kalos had changed to Champion to better match other regions, and even though there were plenty of male Queens, the title "Queen of Kalos" had stayed for some reason. The Queen of Kalos was an earned rank. She worked hand-in-hand with the Champion in order to govern the laws and regulations of pokémon ownership and battling, as well as working for the government to deal with any potential other issues pokémon may cause, such as sleeping Snorlaxes blocking roads and raging Gyaradoses attacking fishers. However, where the Champion earns her rank through battle, the Queen of Kalos had to prove just how well she knew pokémon. Each city's Showcase had a different trial that tested the Performer's knowledge, as well as her ability to work with both her partner pokémon and wild pokémon. If the Performer passed through the initial Theme Performance, then she could move on to the Freestyle Performance, where she would have to prove just how well she and her partner pokémon could use their abilities for something more than brute strength. The audience would vote on who performed the best, and the winner would receive a Princess Key. Three Princess Keys, and the Performer could move on to the Master Class.

Each Showcase stage had their own Theme Performance. Marinette knew this stage well enough. It had been watching this stage, nearly 10 years ago now, when she first decided she was going to become a Performer. She had watched nearly every Performance every Showcase season since she was 6, and now it was time for her debut.

Waiting for her cues in the greenroom, Marinette tugged the hem of her dress anxiously. Even with having to pull late nights patrolling with Mistigrix, the costume had turned out perfectly. The ribbons that wrapped around her waist and tied the second skirt were a little shorter than the cascading pools that she had drawn in the sketch stages, but she had made a point to save as much ribbon as possible to make matching bowties for Wayzz and Longg. Even if they weren't going to be in the Performance Round with her (if she even got that far), she still wanted them to know they were part of the team.

"Well well, look what the Trubbish dragged in."

Marinette fought the urge to roll her eyes as she turned to the source. Of course Chloé was here, too. No doubt she wanted her Showcase debut to be in Vaniville just so she could one-up Marinette.

The Beauty and her partner Kirlia looked like Hoenn pop stars wearing those frilly pink and white dresses. Even Sabrina and her Furfrou matched with them, with Sabrina wearing a pink apron with pockets overstuffed with grooming supplies and Furfrou sporting a Heart Trim.

"Didn't think you'd be brave enough to even make it to stage door." Chloé said, idly examining her nails. "But don't worry. Once Kirlia and I win Theme, you won't need to embarrass yourself in Freestyle. Just try not to fall on your face before then."

"Knock it off, Chloé." Marinette said, but it was halfhearted and they both knew it.

"Curtains in 15 minutes." M. Rolling's voice came over an intercom. "Performers, please finish your preparations and make your way backstage."

"Best of luck, Dupain-Cheng. You'll need it." Chloé sneered. "Come on, Sabrina. Let's put the finishing touches on my makeup."

"Right away, Chloé!" Sabrina squeaked. "By the way, Marinette, your costume looks lovely."

"SABRINA!"

"Sorry, Chloé!"

The two dashed off to who knows where, leaving Marinette alone with her thoughts. She hated that. She hated having 15 minutes of time to run through every doomsday scenario. What if she does trip and fall on her way to the stage? Or worse, during the Theme event? What if the ribbons of her dress unravel during her Performance? What if a stage-light falls on her head and kills her immediately?

"2 minutes! Places, Performers!"

She didn't have enough time to dwell on it. With a head full of worries, Marinette made her way backstage.

There were three other Performers waiting on the platform besides her and Chloé. A Lass with brown hair and a Bulbasaur, a Parasol Lady with blonde hair and a Swablu, and a Rising Star with short dark hair and a Castform. With five competitors, that meant that at least two of them would be eliminated before the end of Theme. And Marinette prayed she was not one of them.

Once the show started, the five waited patiently for their cues. Marinette knew enough of this stage to know what was going on above her. Former Queen Jagged Stone had been the MC of Showcases since he had been dethroned by former Queen Clara Nightingale, who was no doubt in the judge's booth. Jagged Stone would make some sort of grand appearance, hype up the crowd, introduce the rules of the Showcase, and then—

Then the platform Marinette stood on started to rumble as the Performers were moved onstage. She stumbled, trying her best not to face-plant under the sudden movement. She fell into Chloé, which was arguably worse. Fortunately, they were both able to get off of each other before they rose on stage.

Marinette could not see the audience in front of her; the stage was too bright and the theater too dark. All she could see was a sea of lights from the Glow Casters. She knew her parents were going to be there, they had even closed the bakery early. Alya had also promised she would be there, too. But who else was here? Anyone from class? Any other Queens? Was Adrien here?

"Welcome, Performers!" Jagged said, his booming stage voice shaking Marinette out of her thoughts. "Now that you are all here, it's time to go over the rules for our Theme Performance. And our Theme today is…"

Jagged trailed off, letting the stage lights speak for him. Above-head, a series of lights flashed; a Razz Berry, a Bulk Berry, a Pinap Berry, and then a Sudowoodo.

"BERRY PICKER!"

The crowd roared.

"The rules to Berry Picker are simple: Performers, you must work with your pokémon to obtain the Berry shown on-screen and return it to your basket." Jagged said. "But remember: more points are awarded based on how the berry is acquired. The more fabulous your performance, the more points. Are you ready?"

The Performers gave a quick nod. Marinette joined them, although she did not feel ready.

"Rock 'n' roll! Then…"

The stage moved again. Five pedestals rose in front of them, each one marked with their picture and holding a chute. Marinette jumped as the stage shook behind her. A sea of Sudowoodo stormed the stage.

"Berry Picker…s'il vous plait!"

The Performance had started. There was no more time for Marinette to be afraid. She turned her attention to the screen above-head. First Berry on the list was an oran berry. Each Sudowoodo shifted their branch hands so each appendage held a berry. Even with this many Sudowoodo on stage, it should be easy to find the simple blue berry in a sea of green…there it was!

"Tikki, center left!"

"Ledi!"

Tikki flew through the Sudowoodo and grabbed the berry. Marinette rushed to drop it off on her station. By the time she had returned, the next berry was chosen: a Tamato Berry.

"Over there, Tikki! Way in the back left!"

"Don't give them the chance, Kirlia!" Chloé spoke up. "Confusion!"

What? Before Marinette had time to react, Tikki was being knocked from the sky by Kirlia's psychic attack. The other three trainers were already speeding towards their Sudowoodo.

"Chloé, what—"

"No rules against using your Performance to knock out the competition." Chloé said with a calculated shrug. "Kirlia, Teleport center stage."

"Wait!"

Kirlia was already gone. And Marinette was losing time.

"Tikki, let's pick up the pace. Agility!"

It was too late for them to get the last two berries, but that just gave Marinette plenty of time to prepare for the next one. A nanab berry…there!

"Tikki, right in the center! Hurry!"

Tikki dashed, flying through the Bulbasaur's Petal Dance and the Castform's Hail. By the time Marinette had dropped it into her chute, the next Berry was on screen.

"Tikki, the bluk berry in the back left! And use Agility again!"

Tikki was there and back in a flash. Marinette took the berry from her partner, then froze.

"Wait, this is a wiki berry!"

They looked similar enough; Marinette did not blame her partner. But still, they had to think of something fast. Marinette scanned the rest of the stage. Her attention focused on Kirlia, who could have easily Teleported back to her trainer but seemed to be taking great glee in fighting with the Swablu for their bluk berry. Well, if attacking other pokémon was not against the rules…

"Tikki, Bug Bite on Kirlia! But be careful not to eat the whole berry!"

Tikki dived in and caught the berry in her mouth before the Kirlia could react. Hopefully even half-berries still counted towards the overall point total.

Next on the list was a sitrus berry. Marinette could spot it, but it was all the way in the back row…

"Tikki, Swift on that Sudowoodo back there! Try and get it to drop the berry!"

Tikki complied. The sea of stars did knock the berry out of Sudowoodo's hands, but it knocked out most berries around it as well. It would be impossible for Marinette to find it now. But apparently not impossible for the Bulbasaur, whose vines swooped in from behind Tikki and took the berry before Tikki could even see it. So much for that plan.

"There's not much time left!" Jagged announced. "Time for the final round: any pink berry will suffice!"

Well, the plan had not worked for one berry, but if any pink berry would suffice…

"Tikki, Swift on every Sudowoodo!"

Tikki gave her a look, but complied. The stage became littered with berries. It was no longer a test on how well the pokémon could use their moves to get there, but who could get there the fastest. And that was Tikki's specialty.

By the time the buzzer sounded, Marinette had poured three pecha berries, four nanab berries, and a payapa berry down her chute.

"That's time!" Jagged said. "Now, time for us to see the final results! The lowest two scores will be eliminated from the Freestyle round. First, we'll calculate how many berries each trainer managed to capture."

All eyes turned to the screen once more. The screen filled with the Perfomer's photos on one side, and a rolling counter on the other. The counters settled. And there was Marinette, nestled firmly into second place with 15 1/2 points.

"Rocking! Now, time to add in the judge's score to see how well Performers and pokémon worked with each other!"

The counters started again. Marinette's breath hitched as her photo dropped lower, and lower again, and finally she was at the bottom with a 22 1/2.

She could hear Chloé (who was only a few points over her with a 24) arguing with Jagged, but she did not really process it. She did not really process anything as she left the stage and went back to the green room.

That was it. That was her first performance, and she got dead last. She may not have fallen flat on her face on stage, but it sure felt like she had.

Tikki swarmed around her, no doubt trying to get her to do her calming exercises. But Marinette did not feel like she was panicking, not really. She just felt numb. If she got dead last in her first Performance, could not even make it to Freestyle Round, then what hope was there that she could make it all the way to Master Class?

Marinette was so lost in thought that she did not notice that she was staring at the green room's TV until the next Freestyle performance started. It was that Lass with the Bulbasaur. The two of them moved in perfect sync with each other, dancing in a sea of pink petals. Even in the fog of self-pity, Marinette felt something watching the two of them. Like the first spring breeze hit her cheeks, simultaneously invigorating and refreshing. No matter what was going on in her head, watching the two of them having so much fun on stage still brought a smile to Marinette. Was this what Adrien was talking about when he had mentioned aura? If it was, then Marinette wondered what kind of aura she was showing on stage. There was no way that she could have shined like the Lass was between her bumbling through the contest and being preyed on by Chloé.

Marinette felt the vibrations rock the stadium before she saw their effects on TV. The Lass had been knocked to her feet. So had the cameraman. The camera remained knocked on its side as a crowd of people moved past it. Just out of the corner of the frame, Marinette could make out that a giant hole had been ripped through the stadium's walls. Hovering in the hole was a Fearow, and atop the Fearow's back was a figure too blurry to make out save the Team Prismillion purple suit and black mask on their face.

All of a sudden, the Performance did not matter. Marinette's anxiety did not matter. What mattered was making sure that the audience was safe and that Team Prismillion was dealt with.

"Tikki, let's get going!"

"Ledian!" Tikki chirped.

Marinette felt herself turn into Coxyclaque as she rushed out the door to the greenroom.

It took Coxyclaque a minute to find a way to rush on stage without rising on the platform like before. But that was just fine, since it gave her time to think of a plan.

The Lass was still on the stage when Coxyclaque arrive, although she had managed to pull herself into more of a sitting position. Her Bulbasaur hovered over her nervously.

"Need a hand?" Coxyclaque asked.

The two looked up, and the Lass' eyes lit up.

"You're that superhero girl!" She said. "Are you here to save us?"

"Y—yeah." Coxyclaque tried to hide her surprise. The last thing she expected was someone to admire her. "And you're going to help."

Coxyclaque jumped off the stage. The front row had avoided most of the damage of the blast, leaving behind popcorn, snacks, and sets of Glowcaster. She snatched a handful of them and handed them to the Lass and the Bulbasaur.

"You know the backstage entrance where the Performers enter?" Coxyclaque asked. "I need you to guide as many people there as you can. Get them somewhere safe. I'll deal with these goons."

The Lass and her Bulbasaur gave a curt nod before scurrying off to follow her instructions.

"And just what do you think you're going to do to stop us?"

It was a different Team Prismillion person than the one they faced at Professor Sycamore's lab, that much was obvious. Melodie had pale skin and blonde hair; the boy in front of her had dark skin and darker hair. But their uniforms were still the same flashy violet, flashier than the usual grunts. No doubt he was an admin too.

"So you must be the bug that was giving Melodie trouble on the last mission." He said. "Guess it's a good thing that they sent me, then: bugs are always weak against flying types. Fearow, Drill Peck!"

The Fearow charged closer. Its beak charged with energy, spun like a drill. Coxyclaque barely had any time to react. She jumped. Her hands pressed against the beak for just a moment, giving her the leverage she need to flip over it as it flew under her. But the Fearow kept moving, right up until it collided with the stage. The stage collapsed around it. Fearow could barely stick its head about the debris, its beak held shut by a piece of plywood.

Coxyclaque could barely hold back a laugh at the sight, even more so when she saw the admin's over-the-top reaction. He looked like the straight man in a comedy routine.

"Fine! Doesn't matter!" He said as he recalled his pokémon. "I've got more pokémon to deal with you!"

He tossed out another pokéball, this time one of those shadow pokéballs. Released from the ball and clad in a thick dark aura was a Dedenne.

Coxyclaque braced herself. Even if this guy was a twerp, he was still using someone else's pokémon. And that was unforgivable.

"Surely even a puny pokémon like you can zap a bug out of the sky!" The admin ordered. "Thundershock!"

The shadow Dedenne did not get the chance. Before either of them could move Mistigrix was between them, knocking the Dedenne backwards with a Fake Out.

"Apologies for the delay, Bugaboo." He said. "Take it you missed me just as much as I missed you?"

Coxyclaque was starting to get used to Mistigrix's antics. Flirting was just part of the game for him. It wasn't anything personal…not at all.

"Save your flirting for after the battle, silly kitty." She teased right back.

"Oh, so we will be flirting after the battle?" Mistigrix asked.

"DEDENNE!" The admin roared, his anger getting to him. "Parabolic Charge!"

It was Coxyclaque's turn to shield her partner, stepping in between them with a hastily-thrown Light Screen. Once the attack was over, they switched places once again, and Mistigrix sent the Dedenne backwards with a Psybeam.

"That should be enough." Coxyclaque said.

Mistigrix nodded. He reached down on his belt, grabbed a Snag Ball, and hurled it towards the Dedenne.

Once Coxyclaque heard the click!, she dashed past the admin and over the rows of seats to where the ball had landed.

"Wh—hey!" The admin cried.

Didn't matter. All that mattered was finding that Dedenne…there! Coxyclaque snagged the ball, just in time to turn and see the admin had released another pokémon. One that was taking aim right at her.

"Spoink, Power Gem!"

In the blink of an eye, several boulders hovered over her. Coxyclaque did not bother to even raise a Light Screen. She jumped, pushing herself forward with Agility. She took aim at the Spoink, first with a Swift, then a Comet Punch as she landed. Needless to say, by the time Mistigrix tossed a Snag Ball her way, the Spoink was well taken care of. Coxyclaque did not have to wait long before she heard the next click!, and she snagged the Snag Ball up before the admin could react.

Coxyclaque thought the admin's reaction was funny before, but this was even more ridiculously over the top. He gasped and sputtered and reached for another pokéball.

"Sparrow, sir!"

All three of them stopped in their tracks. Even the admin's face evened out. Three more Team Prismillion grunts rushed up to them.

"Sparrow, sir, we're gonna have to retreat." One grunt spoke up. "Most everyone's gotten away, and the ones that haven't are really strong."

The admin, Sparrow, let out a sigh.

"Fine. Whatever." He said, and turned his attention back to them. "But this isn't over, bug."

He released his Fearow once again and flew off, creating a new hole in the ceiling as he made his getaway. The grunts followed suit, each on their own flying pokémon.

"Looks like this place won't be used as a stadium for a while." Mistigrix said. "Maybe they can make it into a church considering how hole-y it is!"

Coxyclaque rolled her eyes and elbowed her partner.

"But you did a great job, Bugaboo." He said. "You really shined out there!"

Shined? That's right. She had been shining as Coxyclaque. Why wouldn't she? Coxyclaque was strong, kind, and beautiful. She was risking her life to stop Team Prismillion. No wonder people were looking up to her. But Marinette? Marinette hid in on herself and panicked at the drop of a hat. There was no way she could shine on stage. Not like that.

But Coxyclaque could. And Marinette was Coxyclaque, in a way. So what was stopping her?

"Say," Mistigrix said. "After I run these off to the Professor, maybe we can get a Komala Coffee or something in Lumiose? I know a great café…"

"Sorry, kitty," Coxyclaque said. "There are some things I need to think about."

Specifically, she had some routines she wanted to work out.

Author's Notes: Writing this chapter was like pulling teeth.

Showcases to me are untapped potential. I feel like they could be a good way to explore human-pokémon relationships that weren't based on violence, but they feel too toned down and pandering to the young girl audience. Contents were also based on using pokémon's abilities to put on a performance, but I always felt like Dawn and May were taken seriously as trainers in a way that Serena and Aria weren't. It also doesn't help that there are no male Performers, which makes the pandering to the young girl audience even more extreme. Maybe it's just me; I barely watch the anime anymore anyway.

Speaking of shows I don't watch much of anymore (lol), I chose to base Sparrow off of the original Quantic Kids counterpart where they were male rather than the female Jess in the New York special. Mostly because I haven't seen the New York special yet. I'm still stuck in season 3 salt.

You can probably tell that the Lass with the Bulbasaur is supposed to be Shana, but what about the other two Performers? Free Poképuffs if you can guess!