Marinette: Tikki (Ledian), Wayzz (Dottler), Longg (Vibrava)
Adrien: Plagg (Meowstic), Neufchâtel (Skitty)
Chloe: Kirlia
Sabrina: Barkk (Furfrou)
The Aquacorde Showcase stage was very familiar to Adrien. He got his first Princess Key here, after losing in two other Showcases. But it was less familiar to Marinette, who had only one Showcase under her belt that ended with a loss. No wonder the poor girl was shaking as the two walked inside the auditorium.
"Relax. This stadium is the exact same design as the one in Vaniville. The stage is the exact same size." Adrien said. "If you can handle that, you can handle any of them."
"But did she really handle that one, Adrikins?"
The two spun around. Chloé was power-walking up the them, tailed by Sabrina, Kirlia, Furfrou, and…oh! A yellow Floette Adrien did not recognize. Chloé had mentioned that she had caught a new pokémon just for this Theme Performance last time they had talked to each other…
"We all saw how she got dead last in Theme." Chloé said, inspecting her nails like she did not care. "Really, you should be hedging your bets on someone who might actually win."
Adrien opened his mouth to ask her to stop, but Marinette beat him to it.
"And we all saw how you got second to last, too!" Marinette said. "Face it Chloé, we both have a way to go. But at least I'm working hard to get there and not riding off of my mother's coattails!"
Chloé fumed. She opened her mouth to say something, but they were all cut off when the flash of a camera went off in front of them.
"Such passion, such emotion…fantastic!"
"V—Viola?"
Sure enough, that was the gym leader behind the camera. She snapped a few more quick shots before she bothered to look up at them.
"My sister Alexa asked me to take some photos of the Showcase today, but I think she really wanted me on standby in case Team Prismillion appeared again." Viola explained. "Are you here to perform, Adrien?"
"No, actually, I'm a spectator today. I'm here to watch my friends."
Adrien gestured, and Viola began to snap more photos of the two Performers. Chloé preened under the attention, her temper subsiding. Marinette looked like she was too astonished to forget she was mad.
"Then I expect the best Performer to win!" Viola said.
"I intend to." Chloé said.
And with that, she stomped off, Sabrina and her pokémon rushing after her.
"Sorry about Chloé." Adrien said. "I know she's a bit…"
"'Impossible'?" Marinette said. "Trust me, I know that. But I'm going to win this time."
Viola's camera went off again.
"Fantastic aura, just fantastic!" Viola said.
Making a Poképuff was kind of like making a cupcake, except it wasn't anything like that. But Marinette had enough experience making both to know that she wouldn't panic during this Theme round. There were ten other Performers, which meant that five of them would be eliminated. But Marinette was confident that this recipe would make her stand out from the crowd.
She was going to win this Theme round. She knew it.
"Poképuff Baking…s'il vous plait!"
"Alright! Wayzz, Longg, you two work on the topping! Tikki and I will work on the base!" Marinette ordered.
Combine the pokebean flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt, and set aside. Then combine the vegetable oil, vanilla, buttermilk and egg. Stir, then add dry ingredients and hot water. Tikki and Marinette knew each other well enough to know how to divide the work. The base was in the oven in minutes.
That gave Marinette some time to work on the chocolate.
"Wayzz, you work on the ganache. I'll take care of the designs!"
She wished Larvesta had hatched by now, that would make the process of melting the chocolate easier. Half she gave to the boiling pot of cream that Wayzz worked on. The other she poured into a plastic bottle, and Aquaed into designs.
The oven timer went off. Perfect. They still had plenty of time on the clock.
"Alright Longg, let's cool these puffs!"
Longg hovered in the air above the oven. With his two sets of wings beating in harmony, he set a steady gust to cool the Poképuffs down with.
The cream was done, too. By the time Marinette had piped it into the frosting bag, the Poképuffs were cool enough to serve. The first layer was the cream. Then the ganache. And then the chocolate designs, a thin sketch of a Meowstic and a star.
Perfect.
"Time is up, Performers! Let's dig in!"
The three judges plus their partner pokémon sat at the table in front of them. Jagged Stone and his Krookodile, Clara Nightingale and her Altaria, and Palermo Yashio and her Gallade. Marinette gripped tightly on her serving plate in an attempt to stop her hands from shaking. She knew that this recipe would work. It had to.
Jagged was the first to reach for a puff. He tossed one to his Krookodile, who caught it in his mouth and swallowed it without a bite. Then Jagged took a bite, and his eyes lit up.
"Rockin!"
"Mmmh, delicious!" Clara said as she took her bite. "Bitter chocolate and sweet cream in every bite, you've made a puff that tastes just right!"
"A chocolate cheesecake Poképuff? Did you make this recipe yourself?" Jagged asked, slurring his words with how full his mouth was.
"Yup!" Marinette said. "I used the standard recipe for a chocolat Poképuff, but I made the topping with—"
"Mascarpone, made from MooMoo milk."
Palermo's words took Marinette aback. She was right, of course, but she did not expect for any of the judges to pick up on her trick. She even pronounced mascarpone correctly! Her face was stubbornly still as she took another bite.
"Yes ma'am." Marinette managed to sputter.
Marinette did not know much about the former Queen. She was the Queen before Emilie Agreste, and had reigned for nearly 10 years, an eternity for Performers. But after she was dethroned, she spent most of her time behind the scenes, organizing the Grand Showcase and producing Performers she saw as worthy. Supposedly, the current Queen was one of her proteges. Marinette did not know what to expect from her.
"I—I made the mascarpone myself." Marinette said, trying to sound more confident than she felt. "With MooMoo milk directly from my friend Ivan's farm."
"Mmmh." Palermo hummed noncommittally. But she did take another bite before she wrote something down on her scorecard.
Next was Chloé, who practically pushed past Marinette as she served her Poképuffs. A honey and Floette petal puff, another custom recipe, although Marinette doubted that Chloé came up with that herself. But the judges seemed to like it, and Marinette made a note to experiment with that flavor herself.
The other Performers fared less well. Some were sloppy, some were inedible, some were just less well-received. But Marinette felt confident all the way until Jagged called for the the final tally.
And there she was, right at the top. Chloé managed to sneak up to second place due to added points from working well with her pokémon, but Marinette did not move from first place.
"Rock 'n roll!" Jagged said. "There will be a short intermission, but when we return, we will have our Freestyle performance with our top five Performers!"
This was the first time Adrien had seen the Freestyle Performances from the audience. He had seen other Freestyle Performances, of course, but it was either waiting in the wings or on the Holocaster as Natalie drilled him on what to remember about his opponents. Maybe he had watched some of his mother's exhibition Performances when he was young, but it wasn't like he remembered them. So he was determined to enjoy this.
Chloé's routines he knew by heart by now, perhaps even as well as she did. He had been with her as she choreographed them, after all. It was a duet between her and her Kirlia, the Swanna Lake pas de deux. Where Chloé lacked in her poses, Kirlia's psychic powers bended her into place. Once Chloé leaped, Kirlia would catch her in the air, and the rest of the dance would be carried out above the crowd.
It was a beautiful display, showcasing the two's strongest assets. And yet the aura was stifling. The somber song of the symphony, the dark lights of the stage, and the impossible grace of Kirlia and Chloé's movements…it was not just a showcase of their beauty, but of their power. It was a reminder that Chloé and Kirlia were not to be messed with.
It was the same kind of Performance that won her mother Grand with her Gothitelle all those years ago.
But right now, it was being well-received. Maybe it was because of the nostalgia, or maybe it was just because of Chloé's impenetrable aura. But the auditorium was lit up with Glowcasters.
And then there was Marinette. Adrien thought he knew what to expect. He had been helping her just the same way he helped Chloé, after all. He expected the halfway point between dance and spar that she had shown him, and he expected her aura to be just as strong as Chloé's (if a little more polite).
But then Marinette and her Ledian started their Performance, and Adrien saw just how much they had refined it. The basics were still all there; Ledian's punches, Marinette's steps, a showcase of strength. But the steps had changed. Ledian and Marinette now moved in a perfect unison with each other. When Marinette raised her leg in a high kick, Ledian flew under it. When Ledian threw her Comet Punches, Marinette hit the floor and spun around her partner. When they had to tangle out of each other, they jumped into cartwheels and soared.
But throughout it all was the look on Marinette's face. She looked like she was having the time of her life. The bright lights of the stage could not quite hide the way her eyes lit up at each flip, each time they join back together into the more familiar waltz pose. She shined, and he was enchanted.
In the back of his mind, he felt a psychic nudge from Plagg, the same time the psychic type gave him when he was forgetting something. That's right. Marinette's aura may not be as strong as Coxyclaque, but it was just as infectious. He wondered if, if he hadn't met Coxyclaque, he might have fallen for her instead. But no. His heart only belong to his lady.
Adrien cast his vote.
The stadium was awash in the bright lights of Glowcasters as the audience made their votes. The Performers had gathered onstage, waiting with baited breath for the outcome. Marinette tried to fight back her nerves. She held on to Tikki's hand like a lifeline. In a way, it was. It reminded her that no matter the outcome, she was proud of the Performance the two did together.
"Alright, the winner has been determined." Jagged said. "The one to receive this Princess Key…"
Marinette's heart soared.
"Chloé Bourgeois!"
Marinette's heart plummeted.
Chloé didn't even have the sense to look surprised that she had come out on top. She strode up to Jagged's side like it was rehearsed, nearly snatching the Princess Key from the MC Klefki.
"With that, this Showcase is finished! Au revoir!"
Before the curtain was pulled on them, Marinette felt a nudge from Tikki. With one of her other hands, Tikki pointed towards the scoreboard behind them. Sure, Chloé was up on top. But Marinette was right behind her, and not too much of a overall point difference either.
That's right. She could still do this. She would make it to the Grand stage.
Marinette hurried in the green room, eager to get away from Chloé's bragging to Sabrina about how "they should really just crown me Queen already". Once she was back in her street clothes, she rushed out the door.
Only to be assaulted by bright camera lights.
"Ah, Marinette! You were fantastic out there!"
"V—Viola!"
Viola poked her head out from behind her camera, her smile as bright as her camera's flash.
"I did not know there was a bug type specialist performing this year! You're giving us a good reputation!" Viola said. "And, Adrien said that you were the one that helped train him for our gym battle?"
"Y—yes?" Marinette squeaked.
"I see, I see…"
Viola reached into her camera bag and pulled out a pokéball.
"One of the other reasons I was in town today was because there was a Surskit swarm up on Avance Trail. I caught a few, hoping I could give them to some of the students at the Pokémon School, but perhaps this one can be better suited for the Showcase stage."
"Y—you're seriously giving me a pokémon?" Marinette gasped.
"Of course! I can't wait to see what fantastic performance you two can think up!" Viola said as she handed the pokéball to Marinette.
Already the ideas were buzzing in her head. Surskit was perhaps not the strongest pokémon (although she would not say that to Viola's face), but the idea of a bug/water type that became a bug/flying type was strong enough. Immediately, her mind went to the Performance possibilities; a sea of Bubbles carried by Whirlwinds, a Quiver Dance in Haze and Mist, a Rain Dance—
"Rainn." Marinette said. "I'd like to nickname her Rainn, if that's alright."
"Ah, a fantastic nickname!" Viola said. "I'm sure you two will get along fantastically!"
"Oh, there you are, Marinette!"
The two turned. Adrien rushed up to them.
"You did great out there!" Adrien said. "You really let your aura shine!"
Marinette felt her cheeks heat up.
"Y—you think so?" She asked, trying to fight her stutter and failing miserably.
Her mood was only slightly dampened as Viola took pictures of her blushing face. A compliment like that from Adrien…it meant the world to her.
Marinette: Tikki (Ledian), Wayzz (Dottler), Longg (Vibrava) + Rainn (Surskit)
Adrien: Plagg (Meowstic), Neufchâtel (Skitty)
Chloe: Kirlia + Floette
Sabrina: Barkk (Furfrou)
Author's Note: This is a little bit of a shorter chapter, but I find that monster of the day (or Pokémonster of the day) stories work better when there's a little bit of a breather in-between.
I actually intended for Marinette to be getting Rainn much earlier in the story, right after Adrien got his badge with Viola, but there wasn't really room for it. However, having Viola be photographing the Showcase makes a lot of sense for her character. Likewise, I originally intended for Chloé to have three pokémon at the start of the story just like Marinette. Kirlia, Floette, and another fairy type (Poképuffs if you can guess which one!). But there wasn't really room for it and it probably would not have made sense anyway why Chloé kept all of her pokémon after Team Prismillion's attack.
Not gonna lie, Marinette making a chocolate cheesecake Poképuff was because I was hungry for one at the time. Still haven't had one, yet. I'm pretty sure that Poképuffs are supposed to be more based off of macarons than cupcakes, but I've never made macarons and it seems like macarons would have been harder to make in a fixed time limit like this. Also, frosting is on top. I didn't even notice myself that mascarpone is not spelt "mars-ca-pone" until I was writing this. Mascarpone is a richer kind of cream cheese, usually used in Italian cheesecakes and desserts. Makes sense considering who taught her how to bake.
I'm sure someone is going to point out "wait, Marinette used an egg? What kind of egg? Are there pokémon embryos in that Poképuff?" which. First of all, chill. Second of all, how did she get vegetable oil if all of the plants are pokémon, too? How does anyone eat in the pokémon world anyway?
You might also recognize Palermo from the anime. I thought of changing who the current Queen would be from who it is in the anime, but the only option I had was Lila which like. Ew. Palermo is never said to have a pokemon, but I gave her a Gallade to match with her girlfriend Diantha and her Gardevoir. Currently, the timeline of Queens is Palermo, Emilie, Audrey, Jagged, Clara, and the current Queen.
I'm not much of a dancer, so I apologize if I got any of the dance terminology wrong. I based Chloé's dance off of the solo pas de deux at the end of the first season of Princess Tutu. That scene actually uses the music for No. 1 Scène: Allegro giusto. But in addition to the actual pas de deuxs in the play, there is a famous piece of music by Tchaikovsky that was intended for act 3, but was lost for years and is usually not performed as part of the ballet. Supposedly, this piece was written because the prima ballerina was dissatisfied with the choreography for Odette/Odile and wanted a more challenging piece to show off with. Sounds kind of like Chloé. On the other side of things, Marinette's Showcase was based off of this scene from Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Fantastic counter: 7