Marinette: Tikki (Ledian), Wayzz (Dottler), Longg (Vibrava), Rainn (Surskit)
Adrien: Plagg (Meowstic), Neufchâtel (Skitty)
One of the downsides to Adrien's Performer career being on hiatus was that his modeling career was busier than ever. His father was designing more casual clothes than ever before, and it was up to Adrien to showcase the clothes instead of his pokémon. Instead of the usual blur of Performance routines with the occasional fashion shoot, Adrien's days were now almost nothing but fashion shoots with the occasional day of school. If he did not know any better, Adrien would say this was Father's way of making him pay for not competing this season. But that meant that when he did finally get a day off (bless the chefs of Restaurant Le Wow for giving his photographer a bad plate of spaghetti), he couldn't afford to lose his chance.
"Are you sure that you're okay with me missing your Showcase?" Adrien said.
"Of course!" Marinette said. "I mean—it's not like I don't want you there or anything, but I know you're busy and I'm busy and—"
"Just as long as you're sure." Adrien said. "I'll miss you at my gym battle, too, but I wouldn't ask you to miss your Showcase. This could be the one!"
"We'll see about that." Marinette mumbled. She didn't sound too sure.
But that's okay. Adrien was sure. Their practice times had grown scarcer as well, but Adrien was constantly floored with how much improvement she made whenever they met. Not to mention, Marinette told him that she had been working with Ivan and his ranch whenever they couldn't meet, meaning she was more prepared for the Theme Round than any Performer Adrien had ever met.
"How about this then: when I'm done with my battle and after you won your Showcase, let's go grab dinner together and you can tell me all about it." Adrien said. "I've been meaning to go to Restaurant Le Wow for a while now…"
Marinette's face turned a brighter shade of red than any Leppa Berry sauce Restaurant Le Wow was capable of serving. Maybe that was a little too much? It wasn't like Restaurant Le Wow was know for being low-key and casual…
"Let me know what works for you." Adrien said. "But you should probably get going for showtime. Break a leg?"
"Y—y—yeah!"
Uh oh. Now he had just made her nervous. He hoped she didn't actually break a leg as she stumbled towards the Performance Hall. It was a wonder that she could shine on stage that much but be so skittish off of it.
Speaking of skittish, it was time to finalize his strategy for Ramos. Ramos was know for three pokémon. Weepingbell would be easy; just a few psychic blasts from Plagg and it would be over. But then there was Jumpluff. He had been working on strategies to counter grass type pokémon with Marinette, but he would rather have them in reserve for Ramos' signature Gogoat. No, he would have to rely on Neufchâtel to do most of the heavy lifting against a very lightweight pokémon.
But there was no more time to kill. The sooner he finished this battle, the sooner he could go out with Marinette. Platonically, of course.
Rhyhorn Herding was perhaps the most challenging of Showcase Theme Performances, but it was also the most practical and rewarding. On paper, it seemed simple: simply lure as many Rhyhorn to your side of the stage as possible. But then you consider the practicalities of having 30 Rhyhorn on a single stage, what could happened if you angered one, what would happen if your attempts to lure them were too eager and triggered a stampede. Most Performers liked to skip this one out, but there was not much of a chance for substitutions now that the Vaniville Showcase stadium was still under construction.
And to be honest, it wasn't the one Marinette had hoped to compete in, either. At least, at first. The prospect of facing down a horde of Rhyhorn was terrifying, still is even after every time she had faced them down at Ivan's ranch to practice. But so was facing down Team Prismillion battle after battle, and she was handling that just fine. She wanted to be just as strong, kind, and beautiful as Coxyclaque without the mask on, and this seemed like the perfect first steps.
For this Performance, she had swapped out her usual Performance costume for black shorts, black stockings, and a red tie-neck blouse; practical without losing her style, perfect in case she tumbled on a Rhyhorn on accident. It was only Wayzz she was going to be competing with, and although she missed having Tikki and Longg by her side, it was Wayzz who was best suited for this competition. She was ready as she was ever going to be.
The contestants were divided into groups of three. Marinette recognized the brown-haired performer with the Bulbasaur she had met in Vaniville; Shauna. She also recognized Chloé, but not the new additions to her team. By her side were Kirlia and Floette, as expected, but then there was also a Mawile. Had she captured that pokémon just for this competition, hoping to get a stronger physical attacker on her side in case the Rhyhorn stampeded? Who knows? Marinette certainly wasn't about to ask.
The platforms began to move them on stage. Marinette closed her eyes and took one steadying breath. She could do this. She had to do this.
When she opened her eyes, she was met with 30 Rhyhorns staring back.
"Rhyhorn Herding…s'il vous plait!"
"Bulbasaur, Sweet Scent!" Marinette heard Shauna call.
Good idea on paper, horrible for anyone who knew what they were doing. The Rhyhorns were immediately invigorated by the sweet scent, and started to stampede towards the Performer.
"Wayzz, keep them contained with a Light Screen!"
It was a little earlier than she had planned to set up a Light Screen, but it was that or literally crush her opponent. But this was just as much for her own benefit as it was Shauna's; only a few escaped to Shauna's side before the others were boxed in to Marinette's side.
"Good! Now Psychic Terrain!"
The Psychic Terrain was perhaps not strictly necessary, but it gave Wayzz a much-needed boost to his psychic abilities while also keeping the Rhyhorn at bay. Both were going to be necessary.
"Just like we planned, Wayzz! Confuse Ray!"
Just as planned, the Rhyhorn were immediately started to stumble under the effects of the confusion. They did not mind at all as Marinette and Wayzz began to shepherd them to the other side of the stage. One even let Marinette climb on top in order to shepherd others around it.
"Two can play at that game, Dupain-Cheng!" Chloé called out to her. "Kirlia, Hypnosis!"
Marinette had thought of using Hypnosis originally as well, but the downside to such an attack quickly became clear. And it was becoming clear to Chloé as five Rhyhorns quickly collapsed and fell asleep, still within Marinette's side of the stage.
"What? Urgh—Mawile, bring them over here!"
Ah, that was why Chloé had gotten a new pokémon for this Performance. With both its mouths, Mawile started to drag two Rhyhorn over to Chloé's corner of the stage.
Now time for part 2 of Marinette's strategy.
"Wayzz, Light Screen!"
A series of Light Screens formed, surrounding Marinette's side of the stage. Trapping Mawile and the two Rhyhorn it was trying to steal inside.
"Only a minute left, Performers!" Jagged Stone announced.
"Fine! Mawile, beat that bug with a Play Rough!"
Uh oh! Marinette hadn't accounted for that in her plan! Mawile lunged, ensnaring Wayzz in its back jaw before Marinette could do anything about it.
"Struggle Bug, quick!"
Wayzz struggled, and eventually managed to shake his way out of the steel type's grasp. But they were running out of time. The Light Screens were down, and Shauna's was using their distraction to start grabbing Rhyhorns for themselves. What now?
"Sorry Wayzz, but we're going to have to use Psychic!"
The average Rhyhorn weighed 115.0 kg. That was more than Marinette could lift with her actual arms, let alone through psychic energy alone. Wayzz was only able to get two more Rhyhorn back to their side before the buzzer went off.
"That's time!" Jagged announced. "Now, who did the Rhyhorns love the most? Only the contestant with the most will be allowed to continue to our Freestyle Performance."
Marinette turned to watch the screen behind her. Chloé's was the first to stop, counting her with 5. Then Shauna, who had managed to grab 11. That left Marinette with the remaining 14.
"Marinette, congratulations! You did it!"
Marinette let out a sigh she did not know she was holding. But the fight wasn't over yet. She turned to Wayzz.
"You okay, Wayzz?" She asked.
Wayzz poked his head from out of his shell and gave her a wary chirp. Between Mawile's attack and the Psychic strain…
"It's alright. We'll get your healed up before the Freestyle Performance."
Adrien had never had a chance to climb a tree before, so the Coumarine Gym was a dream for Adrien that he had not even realized he had. Father would not doubt freak out if he saw Adrien swinging on vines and climbing across rope bridges like a Simisage, but Adrien was having the time of his life.
When he finally reached the top, he was surprised to see how different it was from Viola and Grant's gyms. Stadium bleachers were replaced with picnic baskets and hammocks, hidden under the thick canopy of the tree the gym called home. But there was a sizable crowd, and at the end of the field was Ramos, the old growth that was still in bloom.
"Ho! So yeh've made it clear up here!" The gym leader exclaimed. "So what'd yeh think, whippersnapper? Did yeh enjoy the garden playground I made with all these sturdy plants o' mine?"
"It was really fun! Me and my pokémon loved it!" Adrien said.
"A good answer! But there's more to being a trainer that having fun with your pokémon." Ramos said. "This gym is a sign o' my strength as a gardener and a Gym Leader! Yeh sure yer up to facing all that?"
"Of course! There's more to my pokémon than just having fun, too, you know!"
Ramos smiled again. It was nice and warm, like the smiles Marinette gave him when she got out of her shell enough, but like Marinette, there was an underlying current of strength and determination. It was just as much a challenge as it was an answer.
"Very well then. Let's begin. Go, Jumpluff!"
"Neufchâtel, I choose you!"
The two trainers threw their pokéballs to the field.
"Neufchâtel, Play Rough!"
There was no type advantage against Jumpluff, so they had to give it all they had.
"Slow it down with a Leech Seed, Jumpluff!"
Not a bad idea to try and put them at a disadvantage as early as possible, but it wasn't going to matter. It did nothing to slow Neufchâtel down and it did nothing to prepare the Jumpluff for the attack that followed.
"Good job, Neufchâtel. Now Double Edge!"
Double Edge was just as much a risk as it was a reward. It may mean that Neufchâtel wouldn't be able to finish off Gogoat if something happened to Plagg. But it was a chance that Adrien was willing to take.
"Don't give it the change, Jumpluff! Acrobatics!"
The Jumpluff began to flip through the air as soon as Neufchâtel pounced on it once more. Neufchâtel was tossed to the ground, perhaps with a little more damage than it would have taken with just the recoil alone. But the attack was successful. Jumpluff looked like it was barely hanging on. As for Neufchâtel…
"You alright, girl?" Adrien asked.
Neufchâtel got back up on its feet quickly, giving a cute little meow as she did. Still, it was probably time that Adrien dialed back on high risk attacks like that.
"Let's keep things simple, Neufchâtel. Disarming Voice!"
"Jumpluff, Acrobatics again!"
The Jumpluff began to charge towards Adrien once more, but Neufchâtel did not give it a chance. The sheer volume of the Disarming Voice caused the Jumpluff to stagger in the air, and the sheer energy of the attack caused Jumpluff to be knocked out of the air.
Ramos recalled his pokémon. This seemed like as good a time as any for Adrien to follow suit.
"Go, Weepingbell!"
"Alright Plagg, I choose you!"
Ramos gave a hearty laugh.
"You know yer time match-ups, sprout!" Ramos said. "But yeh can't take things too quickly when it comes to forming a friendship with yer Pokémon!"
Marinette was back in her regular costume, and Tikki was by her side once again. It was time to Perform.
It was going to start the same way as their usual Performance. They had worked out a way for Tikki to drag her on to the stage in a way that seemed playful and carefree, when in actuality Marinette was only halfway sure she could have made it to the stage on her own. But this part of the dance came easy. They had practiced it so many times that it would be impossible for Marinette to forget it. But it was right at the first cartwheel, right at the apex of the jump…now!
Marinette reached down on her belt and pressed the buttons on her pokéballs. Tikki was recalled, and Marinette landed too fast for the audience to tell who she released until Longg's wings extended from her back.
Marinette spun to the top of the stage. Her movements were obscured by the blue smoke-like stream of Dragon's Breath that surrounded her. The earth shattered under her feet as she moved faster and faster, right to the edge of the stage. They did have a plan if she did accidentally fall over, but she didn't need to this time.
She held out her arms, and Longg let out another stream of Dragon's Breath, making it look like she was sending the energy out through her hands. It was probably surprising for the audience to see the attack moving in two opposite directions at once. But Marinette had moved too fast, obscured by too much smoke, for them to see that Wayzz was attached to her back and Reflecting the attack to create the illusion.
Longg flew around Marinette's arm and out towards the audience, making his grand exit with a Boomburst and another Dragon Breath that made it look more like a firework. While the audience was distracted, Marinette recalled him to his pokéball.
It was Wayzz's turn now. The stage was covered in another Psychic Terrain. Marinette was literally swept off her feet as she continued the dance. She moved higher and higher, bouncing off of Light Screens as she reached the top of the stadium. Time for the big finale.
At the height of her jump, Marinette reached for Tikki's pokéball once more. Wayzz caught her with another Light Screen, letting her stand in the middle of the air. But that Light Screen would not hold her forever. She held out her hands once more, and a gust of Silver Wind extended from her fingertips. It was not quite the same as when she was Coxyclaque and could control it on her own, but it looked close enough, and it dazzled the crowd nonetheless.
Marinette was so satisfied by the ending that she almost forgot her landing. Tikki managed to help lower her to the ground in a way that it looked almost rehearsed. Her two pokémon started to take a bow, and Marinette released Longg once more so he could enjoy this too. But Marinette herself did not bow. She had long forgotten it, too absorbed by the pink lights of Glowcasters illuminating the crowd.
They had done it. A routine that was certain to rock the judges. A routine that Incorporated everything she had learned from Adrien. A routine that made her feel like Coxyclaque.
It was perfect.
"Go, Gogoat!"
Plagg was still in the fight, and not looking worse for wear even after all of those Poison Powders that Weepinbell tried to throw at them. Maybe Ramos already realized Adrien's plan and was just trying to slow them down. But it didn't matter. There was no way they can lose now.
"Alright Plagg, remember what we practiced! Signal Beam!"
Plagg's ears unfurled and unleashed a beam of energy. But it was not the blueish purple of the MooMoo-Milky Way galaxy that was unleashed. Instead, it was bright reds and blues, the reflection of a million compound eyes. It was not psychic type energy, but bug-type. And grass types hated bug types.
The Gogoat shuddered under the brunt of the Signal Beam, but remained standing. It would take a lot more than that to take care of a full adult Gogoat.
"Stand your ground, Gogoat, and use Bulldoze!"
The gym floor was torn apart. Adrien wanted to tell Plagg to jump out of the way, but there was nowhere to jump to. The sheer force of the earthquake knocked Plagg to his feet, but he quickly got back up again.
Well, the damage to the gym floor was done now. No way it could get worse—
"Grass Knot!"
Shoot.
Grass Knot was a move that worked best of enemies of heavier weight. Plagg wasn't that heavy, but it still managed to knock Plagg off of his feet once more. Dozens of vines looped around the broken cracks of the gym floor, making it impossible for Plagg to move anywhere.
"Good, now Take Down!"
The Gogoat had no issues traversing the torn floor. It threw itself into Plagg. The psychic type took the full force of the blast, but he at least managed to catch himself with a Psychic before he hit the ground.
Wait…that was it!
"Plagg! Can you use Psychic and Signal Beam at the same time?"
Plagg looked over at his trainer and gave him a look that showed that clearly he couldn't.
"Okay, well…how about Light Screen?"
That seemed to work. Plagg cast a Light Screen under him and let himself fall onto it. It was still too high for Gogoat to reach, not unless it got really creative with its Grass Knot usage.
But then Plagg unfurled his ears and used Signal Beam once more, and all of a sudden, it did not seem that Gogoat would have the chance to get creative. It stumbled under the force of the Signal Beam, falling right onto the cracks in the gym floor it helped create.
Ramos recalled his pokémon before it could get too seriously hurt. After that, he started to clap, joining in with the cheers of the audience.
"Yeh believe in yer Pokémon... And they believe in yeh, too... Mighty oaks from acorns grow. Go on, then. Yeh've earned it. Here's yer own Plant Badge, sprout."
"Alright, the winner has been determined." Jagged Stone said. "The one to receive this Princess Key…Marinette Dupain-Cheng!"
Marinette did not believe it at first. It took gentle nudging from Tikki to even process what had happened. She had won? She had won!
The MC Klefki flew in front of her. It unclapsed its chain, allowing her to take hold of the Princess Key. It was hard to tell with a Klefki, but Marinette thought she had seen it smile before it flew off to rejoin the MC's staff.
The key was a bit bigger than a door key, but not so big that it was uncomfortable for her to hold. The head of the key was thick, covered with a heavy green gem carved into the shape of a heart. The teeth were barely functional, carved out to resemble a three point crown. Some might have gone so far to say that it was rather tacky, but…it was the first time she had seen a Princess Key so close. And it was hers. She had won it. Her team had won it.
"Congratulations, Princess Marinette!" Jagged said. "So, now that you won your first Princess Key, what do you intend to do next?"
Oh, that's right! Adrien had invited her for dinner if she won, hadn't he?
"I'm gonna go eat pasta at Restaurant Le Wow!"
The words were out of her mouth before she could process what she was saying. There was a light ripple of laughter from the crowd, and she could feel all her enthusiasm fade away, to be replaced with embarrassment.
"What a rock 'n' roll answer!" Jagged said. He seemed sincere, at least, but that was probably the first time someone had given him such a stupid answer and he was just happy to have something new. "With that, this Showcase is finished! Au revoir!"
Marinette scrambled to get off the stage an head towards the green room. But it wasn't her embarrassment that made her rush. No, it was the fact that she was going to go eat pasta at Restaurant Le Wow. With Adrien. After she won her first Princess Key. It was a dream come true! The enthusiasm was back as quickly as it had left, and Marinette could not wait.
She quickly scrambled into the clothes she wore during the Theme Round and paged for Charizard. She left a quick message for Adrien, letting him know she was on her way to the restaurant. She wasn't sure if the Princess Key around her neck showed up on the hologram or not, but she figured he would figure it out anyway.
It was a short ride back to Lumiose City, but it was just long enough for Marinette's nerves to return. Did this count as a date? Did Adrien want to count this as a date? What if she did something embarrassing, like spill pasta all over herself?
No, she told herself, today was a day where she was brave.
Adrien was waiting by the door for her, the Coumarine Gym badge pinned to his jacket collar. He smiled when she landed, which certainly didn't help with the Vivillons in her stomach.
"I thought I saw a Princess Key!" Adrien said. "I knew you would be able to do it!"
"Y—yeah!" Marinette said.
"Come on. I already grabbed a table; you can tell me all about it after we get some drinks."
It was her first time ever stepping foot in Restaurant Le Wow, and immediately she was stunned. It was nearly as extravagant as Pafrum Palace. But Adrien walked through like it was nothing, guiding her towards the back and to their table—
"Boy, a classy place like this you'd think they'd have pretzels on the table!"
"Nino?"
Sure enough, Nino and Alya were already sitting at the table.
"I know Le Wow is a little…much, so I thought it would be nice to bring some friends and make this less formal!" Adrien said. "Besides, I'm sure they want to hear all about your Showcase, too!"
That was true, but…
"Sorry, girl." Alya said as Marinette sunk into her seat, holding up her menu so the boys could not hear what they were talking about. "You know I couldn't pass up a free meal like this!"
No, Marinette did not blame her. In fact, the more she thought about it, the happier she was with this outcome. One of her oldest friends, her best friend, and her newest friend, celebrating together…
It was perfect.
Marinette: Tikki (Ledian), Wayzz (Dottler), Longg (Vibrava), Rainn (Surskit)
Adrien: Plagg (Meowstic), Neufchâtel (Skitty)
Chloe: Kirlia, Floette, Mawile
Author's Notes: Next two chapters are going to be a doozy, so have some fun times and victories before then!
Me: *throwing things at Adrien's head to get his attention* Hey Adrien! Hey! Is there anything you want to say to Marinette? Maybe ask her on an actual date you fool? (this applies for both this incarnation of Adrien and the show incarnation)
Hey what if I just replaced Ramos with Master Fu? Would anyone notice? Would anyone care? It's Ramos; he's like the easiest to forget gym leader. I never really had a plan for Fu in this universe, since Bond Phenomenons are on an individual basis and not really something that needs a Guardian. Maybe he's up in Hoenn studying the useless white rock of Mossdeep.
Don't worry, I'm sure the people who run the stadium already have plans for people who use ground and rock type pokemon and need to rip up the stage they perform on. It's still a little too soon for Rainn to be performing with Marinette, but I promise she'll get her time to shine soon. In other news, my outline of what pokemon evolve when is almost completely ruined!