After Darla's interesting suggestion, Olivia decided that it was a great idea, and now she'll be preparing a special exhibition event to try and win Reed over to the side of Pokemon Contests! How will this exhibition contest work out? We'll have to see! It should be quite a show!

KedharS: Definitely, hope it's exciting.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Reed is too old for the Pokemon Academy, lol. She's a few years older than Olivia. As for the bedroom, who knows?

Hellraiserphoenix: We'll definitely be seeing from some of them, don't worry.

Omesta: He seems very edgy.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 801

"I don't get why I have to be included in all this," Allen grumbled. He was backstage at the Milotic Dome, preparing his Flygon for the upcoming contest. "It's late and I want some sleep."

Celia scowled back. She was usually nice and friendly, but she didn't like people like Allen, who put up a false smile. If she had any say in it he wouldn't have been included at all, but the Empress's instructions were very clear.

And besides, she was in the Battle Course. What say did she have in Appeals Course business? So she kept her comments to herself, and tried to deliver her feedback in the most constructive way she possibly could.

"It's a special performance," she simply replied. "For a trainer who adores Dragon type pokemon. So that's why you're here, because you're one of the people in the Appeals Course who trains Dragon types for contests."

"Why hold a private show this late, anyway?" He muttered.

Celia shrugged and rolled her eyes. "The boss's orders are her orders," she replied. "Let's just stick with that."

Allen muttered something under his breath, and that was enough for Celia. A nice girl like her wasn't comfortable being around a jerk like that, because he made her feel… not nice things. So she held her tongue and turned around, walking out of the room.

Her next stop was someone who definitely needed a bit more support.

Celia knocked on the door.

"Come in!"

Celia entered Eli's dressing room, and it was clear she was a lot less prepared for the performance tonight than Allen was.

"I-I can't do this!" That was the first thing to escape Eli's lips as her eyes landed on Celia. Her face was even paler than usual, and as nice as she looked with her wavy red hair tied up into a ponytail, and in her elegant violet dress, she was scared stiff. Her Sliggoo, Annie, was staring warily up at her.

"You can do it," Celia assured her, walking over to the girl and placing her hand on Eli's shoulder. "I mean, hey, I'm not much into contests myself, but I've seen a lot of them, and you definitely do great, you know?"

Eli shook her head frantically. "B-But… But I'm gonna be onstage… with the Empress! And Darla Drake! Stars like that, and I… I mean, I'm…"

She gulped, and shook her head. "No, nope, gonna go. Just tell her that I'm not ready to compete on that level, that I decided I was just gonna go."

"Hey, hey, come on, you can't leave!" Celia urged. "You were the first person we could get ahold of with such short notice! We need you for our fourth!"

"Remind me to kill Blake when I see him again," Eli grumbled, holding her hand over her chest to try and push down her heartbeat. "This is gonna be terrible…"

Celia sighed. She didn't know Eli well, but they'd talked a few times considering Eli was looking to enter the Appeals Course next year. And while Eli was quiet and insecure about her skills off the stage, when the spotlight was on her it was like she was another person entirely, bright and vivacious and full of energy.

The problem was getting her out there.

"Look, Eli, there's no pressure here," Celia urged her. "Remember, this is just an exhibition match. You're just putting on a show, there's no competition here, no winners. You don't even have to perform an appeal of a specific category, you can do Coolness, Beauty, whatever you feel like doing! You're just showing off your appeals for this girl Reed, doing whatever makes you comfortable! Okay? So what's the big deal?"

Eli swallowed, and nodded. "Y-Yeah, that… that makes sense," she agreed. "It… it's not a big deal, right? Even if I make a fool of myself?"

Celia nodded, now she was getting the idea! "Yeah, that's it! Think of it like practice, like you're training yourself in preparation for future contests! You get to perform beside Olivia Himeko and Darla Drake, stars of the contest stage, without any pressure! It's a great way to measure your abilities, don't you think?"

…And Allen, I guess, she silently added with a roll of her eyes. Not that a guy like him would amount to very much.

Besides, for Eli, guys were basically the equivalent of a sack of potatoes, so there wasn't anything to worry about in that regard, at any rate.

"Feeling better?" Celia asked, placing a hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

Eli looked up with a grin on her face and nodded her head. "Yeah, you're right," she agreed. "I don't need to worry. I think I'm ready now."

Celia smiled back. "I'm glad." She really was, too. As a quiet person herself, she could understand the dilemma that Eli was going through better than most people in the Appeals Course could, and was glad that she was getting some confidence in herself. She couldn't wait to see what performance Eli and her Sliggoo would put on.

Eli turned to Annie. "Annie, you ready girl? We're going to prepare something that will knock their socks off!"

"Sliggoo!" Annie cheered, nodding eagerly.

Celia grinned and turned to leave, glad that her friend would be doing the best she could. She looked forward to what she would be capable of.

"Good luck," Celia called over her shoulder, winking at Eli. "I'm looking forward to seeing an awesome performance!"

"We'll do our best!" Eli called back in agreement.

Celia headed off to take her seat. There wasn't much more preparation that needed to be done at the moment.

The Milotic Dome wasn't very crowded. Only half a dozen people were in the audience. Besides Celia, Danica had also come, with her Bulbasaur and Snorunt. As a first year in the Appeals Course, she had come to study the performance and take notes, even if she didn't have any Dragon type pokemon of her own.

Blake and Ayame were also there, Ayame eagerly telling Blake all sorts of stuff. Celia couldn't hear because they were whispering, but it put a smile on her face. She remembered when they first met, and the sight of them now, so close and sweet, always made her grin.

If she was bolder, Ayame would never have heard the end of her teasing. But instead, she just took a seat close enough to the front where she could watch them from afar and silently cheer the two of them on.

The last two girls were the people who the contest was being thrown for in the first place. Of course, Lila didn't have any Dragon type pokemon of her own, so she couldn't participate, or she would absolutely be up on that stage. But Melody was getting rest, and that was the only pokemon of Darla's she would even consider using.

And beside her was an interesting sight indeed. That woman, Reed Blackthorn, was a curiosity for Celia. She hadn't really met her, but apparently she was a friend of Darla's, visiting her from home. Darla didn't often talk about her home life, which made this Reed woman quite mysterious.

But Celia hadn't gotten to a trusted place in the Empress's organization by prying into things that were none of her business. She didn't know why Olivia had decided to throw an impromptu exhibition contest for this woman's benefit, but she was going to sit back and enjoy it all the same.

"Just watch," Lila told Reed, squirming excitedly in her seat. "This is a Pokemon Contest, and it's going to be awesome, I promise!"

Reed laughed. "You've been saying that a lot."

Lila huffed. "Well, that's because it's true! Darla's gonna wow you, I promise!"

Reed patted her on the shoulder. "As long as there are dragons, I'm going to love it no matter what, don't worry."

The lights dimmed, and the stage brightened up. The curtains rose.

An exhibition contest wasn't the same as a normal Pokemon Contest. They were sort of "openers" for contests, where people would be able to show off their abilities for fun. There wouldn't be any judges, the contestants would come up one at a time and display whatever appeal they wanted, all get the audience excited for the upcoming main event.

But this time, the exhibition was the main event.

"Ladies and gentleman!" Dressed in a nice tuxedo, Lukas stepped out onto the stage with his head held high, a broad grin on his face. He winked to the audience. "Today, we have a special event for your viewing pleasure! Olivia Himeko! Darla Drake! Allen Alastair! Elizabeth Salridge! Some of our finest coordinators will be giving a performance filled with fury and ferocity; it's time for the Dragon Showcase to begin!"

Everyone cheered for the coming competitors, ranging from Blake's polite clapping to Lila's furious applause.

Lukas stepped aside and raised his hand with a flourish, beckoning someone forward. "For our first competitor, we'll begin with the lovely Miss Elizabeth Salridge!"

Celia winced. No wonder Eli was worried about competing. She was the first one up? That was a lot of pressure. Although, maybe it wasn't as much pressure as having to follow Olivia and Darla's performances.

Celia didn't know which one was better.

Still, none of that insecurity from before could be seen on Eli's face when she walked out into the spotlight with her head held high.

In one hand, she carried an elegant violin, and in the other, Annie's pokeball. With a flick of her wrist, she summoned her Sliggoo to the field, the purple pokemon's wet skin shining brightly in the light of the stage.

Eli raised her violin to her chin, and began to play.

As the melody filled the room, Annie slithered forward, raising her head. She called out a high song, and rainclouds gathered overhead. The clouds broke, and a torrent of rain fell in a circle around Eli. For a moment, it seemed like the downpour was about to drown out the sound of the music, but then it suddenly stopped.

And started again.

"Sliggooooo!" Annie sang, her warbling voice matching Eli's erratic tune beautifully. The rain danced in time with the beat, starting and stopping in such a way that the sound of it hitting the stage matched the pattern of the notes. As Eli twirled in her tiny circle of dryness, she continued to play, the rain parting so as to reveal her in all of her elegant beauty.

Celia was awed. It was like Eli could control the rain with her music, the water dancing and shaking with each stroke of her bow.

It was a lovely song she played, and a love performance as Annie sang with all her heart, the music alive as the rain pelted out a full orchestral melody that rocked the entire stage.

The song ended on a sharp stroke of Eli's bow, and the rain came to a halt. Eli leaned forward in a bow and held her violin up proudly, and the audience applauded her.

"That was amazing!" Lila gushed, jumping up out of her seat and clapping. She looked eagerly to Reed, hoping for some sign that Reed was appreciating the performance.

The woman wore a smile, the way she always did. But it was a smile that Lila couldn't discern. Was it her normal politeness? Or was she enthralled by the performance? Lila didn't know, but she hoped it was the latter. She was clapping, at any rate, so that was a good sign, wasn't it?

She was still clapping herself, but she was too unsure to keep urging Reed on. Lila sat back down in her seat and waited for the next performance.

Taking one final bow, Eli recalled Annie to her pokeball and walked off the stage, making way for Allen next.

Allen was quite a show himself, coming onstage. He was shirtless, for starters, with tribal symbols painted across his olive skin, drawing attention to his great physique. To preserve some amount of modesty, he had a brown feathered cloak draped over his shoulders and a red sash. He wore ragged brown trousers and a red, black, and yellow shemagh around his neck. He walked with a confident strut like he owned the stage.

"Let's go, Enkidu!" He declared, throwing a pokeball into the air.

"FLYGON!" Enkidu roared, the stadium shaking as he emerged from his pokeball. Reed definitely applauded that.

Allen wore a smirk, snapping his fingers. "Sandstorm!" He ordered.

A wild sandstorm roared up on the stage, a twister of razor-sharp grains of sand that threatened to cut anyone who got near it. It whipped around Allen, but he didn't seem fazed.

"Stone edge," he ordered, nodding to his Flygon. Enkidu nodded back, circling around the sandstorm. He gathered the sand together and compressed it so tightly it formed solid stones, and then the stones pressed together as well, squeezed together until the entire sandstorm had been compressed into a massive boulder.

The boulder dropped down upon the stage with a thud, and to everyone's surprise it didn't immediately crumble into sand.

"Michelangelo said that the Statue of David was always inside the marble," Allen proclaimed. "And it was his duty to bring him forth! Now, Enkidu and I will do the same! Enkidu, use your dragon rush and bring forth a masterpiece!"

"Fly!" Enkidu flapped his wings and shot forward, raising his tail. The fanned section glowed, sharp as a sword, and with a powerful swing Enkidu sliced a section of the rock off, the chunk crumbling away into sand.

Enkidu repeated this, slicing into the boulder at lightning speed with his sharpened tail, cutting away pieces of the sandy stone, and in a flash managed to carve out an entire Flygon statue, standing proudly on the stage.

Allen grinned and winked at the audience as Enkidu landed beside him. The small crowd applauded, and he took a bow.

"Whoa, awesome!" Blake said, taken aback by the performance he saw. He turned to Aya to see what she thought, but he was surprised to see she was less than pleased.

Ayame crossed her arms and sat back in her seat with a huff. That performance of Allen's, it was really similar to one that Olivia often did. She loved using her Garchomp to carve statues out of glass, just like the Flygon just did.

And now, she wouldn't be able to do that, because Allen had already done it first.

It was obvious that Olivia would be using her Garchomp, since this was a Dragon type showcase, so of course Allen had known that. And he had used a performance that was incredibly similar to one that she often did.

There was no way that was a coincidence. He had done it on purpose.

Like Ayame, Celia was upset herself. She didn't know much about Pokemon Contests, but she knew that one of the biggest taboos of a Pokemon Contest was repeating a performance; doing something so similar to the previous showcase that it looked like you were copying them.

So because of Allen's little trick, Olivia would have to do something new. Suddenly, impromptu, without any preparation.

This was just supposed to be a casual little exhibition match with no stakes, and Allen had sabotaged one of the other coordinators, just because he was a dick who wanted to make himself look a little better.

Ayame and Celia were on the same page, but neither voiced their issues. They applauded Allen all the same, even if they were fuming inside. No sense in ruining the festive mood, after all.

Although Celia was a little worried that Ayame might have done differently if Blake wasn't here watching the performance himself.

"Well, weren't those some excellent performances?" Lukas grinned. "What did you guys think, are you excited for the next girl?"

"Woooo!" Lila cheered, and the others applauded too. Even Reed seemed to be a little more energized, which Lila took as a good sign.

"That's the energy I like to hear!" Lukas grinned. "Then I'm happy to present Olivia Himeko next, here to show everyone what's up!"

Olivia walked out onto the stage with a proud smile. It was like her leg wasn't even injured she walked with such surety, and Celia couldn't help but be impressed.

"Yeah!" Ayame called. "You can do it, boss!"

Olivia didn't seem to hear her. Her focus was aimed at the audience itself.

Celia had to admit, she was impressed. In a pokemon battle, things like performances and originality didn't matter much. People used whatever moves and strategies would win, even if they were ones that the audience had seen a million times before.

But Olivia was different. She had that fire, that flare, that sense of uniqueness that made a shy girl like Celia take notice.

She had to admit she had a little bit of a crush on the other girl. Most people who liked girls even a little bit did. But she would never make a move, she was far too shy for that.

So instead, she applauded Olivia, and admired her strength of character. Olivia didn't seem bothered by the fact that Allen had used a similar performance to one of her classics; she stood with her head held high, like she didn't have a care in the world.

She wore a beautiful dress, royal blue with fiery patterns of red and gold, like the Garchomp whose pokeball she held in her hand. It made her look even more beautiful than she already was, and her hair was even a little wild and free just like how someone would expect from a Dragon type trainer, matching the wildness in her eyes.

But she wasn't just wild. She was cool, too. Reserved. Idyllic.

It was the kind of air that separated her from amateurs. She was confident and cool, and everything Celia wanted to be herself.

She was slapping herself inside for being worried about this. After all, Olivia was the Empress. Even someone like Allen beating her to the punch wouldn't be enough to steal her thunder.

Of course she was prepared.

"Cynthia, let's show them what a real dragon is capable of!" Olivia proclaimed. She flung her pokeball into the air.

"Garchomp!" Cynthia landed on the stage with a roar, raising her fins and slicing them against each other to sharpen herself in preparation.

Everyone cheered and applauded in anticipation, and Reed's eyes were glowing with excitement. Lila felt her heart skip a beat. This was absolutely what Darla wanted! To show Reed just how wonderful contests were; she was finally starting to get it!

Olivia began her appeal.

Next, we'll see the appeals from Olivia and Darla, and Reed's opinions of the performance! How will it go? Will Reed's love of dragons help to win her over?