Chapter 5

Sure enough, soon after the remaining girls went back to their rooms to change, Patricia's mother threw a fit in her room. Cinderella and her Pokémon could hear her screams across the hall from their room. She could make out things like "Who do they think they are?" and "How dare they talk that way about your dresses!". They also heard her rudely barking orders at the footmen and maids.

"Patricia's mommy doesn't sound very happy," Rose whispered.

"I just hope she stops." moaned Mikey, "I don't know how much longer I can take it."

Cinderella was still smiling. "Don't worry, she'll calm down. She always does."

"What, my Lady?" asked Cinderella's Lady-in-Waiting.

"Oh, sorry, I was talking to my Pokémon." said Cinderella, "What do you recommend I wear next?"

"Well, I believe there's an obstacle course outside or something." the lady-in-waiting replied, "There's no riding required, though."

"I think the clothes we first wore will do then," said Cinderella.


After getting dressed back in their normal clothes (and Patricia's Pokémon got out of theirs), the girls were lead outside to find what looked like a Pokémon steeplechase course made with ropes, netting, and wood. There was a large platform at the starting line with fifteen colored stands.

The first part was a hurdle course followed by a series of balance beams and a netted crawl-through. The second part was a climbing wall leading up to a platform with a circular wooden step walkway, double rope swings, tightrope bridges, and plank bridges with swinging planks. The last part was a flying area over a body of water. At the end of all nine obstacles were with fifteen scrolls with different colored ribbons.

Cinderella and the others looked at the course, fascinated. She knew one of the rounds was a Pokémon obstacle course with a twist. Patricia didn't give it one more thought about it as she waited for instructions from the host. He led them up onto a platform connected to the course. It had fifteen different tables with ink and parchment underneath.

"Welcome to the second round of this contest, ladies." said the host. "This round will be a Pokémon Steeplechase with a pop quiz."

Many of the girls were surprised. Patricia was also surprised.

"The winner of the contest mustn't only be beautiful." explained the host, "She must also be intelligent and have a great bond with her Pokémon, too. At each of the sections of the course is a scroll containing the quiz questions. There are ten scrolls in all. You will be the one answering the questions, but it is your Pokémon who must collect your scrolls for you. Three of your Pokémon will race around the course to each station, collecting your scrolls as they go. In the water and sky course is an underwater key that will help you unlock your last scroll waiting in a box at your stand. Once you're finished the course and the questions, you can ring the bell. Your score will be based on how many questions you answer correctly and how fast your Pokémon finish the course. The ten ladies with the best scores move on to the second round. Any questions?"

Patricia's faced dropped. She had no idea that the contest would require her Pokémon to be running or doing a puzzle or quiz. She wasn't the only one. Two other rich girls were also looking worried, but no one complained or asked questions.

"Very well," said the host, "We'll draw for spots and get started."

All the contestants drew for colored stones from inside a velvet pouch. Cinderella got blue, Katelyn got red, Bianca got green, and Patricia got purple. The contestants then chose which Pokémon to go out on the course and wrapped a sash of the same color on them. Cinderella chose Valiant, Mikey, and Rex under the names of Lucario, Absol, and Charizard. Katelyn chose Anna, Flash, and Pinky, Bianca chose Peter, Fuzz, and Splash, and Patricia chose Blair, Buttons, and Princess.

The girls all went to their pedestal stands while their Pokémon moved onto the course with the starting Pokémon holding satchels of their team's color. Mikey was up first with Buttons, Flash, and Fuzz. All fifteen Pokémon waited at their starting line. The audience and supporters all watched on the nearby terrace.

"Pokémon ready!" called the host. "You shall start at the sound of the gong in five, four, three, two, one…"

A Rapidash kicked and rang a gong with its hind legs on "go" and Pokémon raced off. The first obstacle was a series of twelve hurdles, starting at six inches and ending at six feet. Mikey flew over the hurdles like lightning, grabbing Cinderella's first scroll at the end. He quickly moved onto a ramp and quickly made it across the balance beams. He made it easy as he took the next scroll. He glided down another ramp towards a netted crawl-though. It was a little hard keeping his horn from getting caught in the netting, but he managed to move quickly and retrieve the scroll.

Flash and Fuzz were slower than Mikey, but they managed to collect their trainer's scrolls and make it through the courses. Buttons had trouble throughout her run. She could barely jump over the last few hurdles, she fell off her balance beam two times, and her jeweled collar got snagged in the netting at the crawl-through.

While Buttons struggled, Mikey moved to the next section and gave the scrolls to Valiant, signaling him to move on. The next course was a tall platform with a vertical climbing wall, which Valiant scaled effortlessly. He got to the top and grabbed the fourth scroll before running across the wooden step walkway. He swung across the double rope swing like a Mankey, grabbing another scroll. After that, he ran over the tightrope bridge without falling or using his paws. He was slower and patiently took his time on the swinging plank bridge.

All the girls watched Valiant in amazement. They had never seen a Pokémon move so swift, sure, and nimble.

Valiant made it to the end of his section and handed off the scrolls to Rex. The Charizard spread his wings and flew the last and longest part of the course; the sky and water course. He flew over the water and dodged wooden pillars and obstacles as several bird and water Pokémon tried to hit him with attacks. Rex collected all Cinderella's remaining scrolls hanging on ropes and dunked his head underwater to retrieve the key.

While everyone else was halfway through the course, Rex made it to the end and gave Cinderella the scrolls and key. She quickly unlocked the chest that had her final scroll. At once, she opened the first scroll and began to work on the quiz. She read the questions.

What Pokémon has been in charge of protecting the kings of Kalos for centuries?

Eevee has many evolved forms. Name its Fairy-type evolution.

Altaria as two types. One is Flying and the other is… what?

What berry cures a paralyzed Pokémon?

True or False: Male and female Torchic and their evolved forms look alike.

Cinderella wrote her answers down and covered them so no one could copy off her. She knew the first four answers were Furfrou, Sylveon, Dragon, and Cherri Berry and the fifth question was false.

As Cinderella worked on her questions, everyone else was only halfway done on the course. Peter, Anna, and Blair took their time climbing up and crossing the rope course. Peter had some trouble on the climbing wall and rope swing but made it through with Bianca's scrolls. Anna was faster but not as fast as Valiant. Blair has as much trouble as Buttons as she fell all the obstacles once except the tightrope bridge.

Splash and Pinky both took off as soon as Anna and Peter handed off their satchels. The two moved well on the course but were slowed down by the barrage of Pokémon attacks. When they were halfway through, Blair finished and Princess took off with the scrolls. She made up a lot of time as she collected Patricia's key and the last of her scrolls.

Pinky returned first with Katelyn's scrolls and key. She got her last scroll and also began to work on the quiz. Both Princess and Splash return with their trainer's scrolls and keys. Bianca worked on her questions as soon as she got her last scroll. Patricia snatched hers away from Princess and unlocked her final scroll as she started the quiz. As Patricia worked fiercely and others started to panic, Cinderella, Katelyn, and Bianca were patient and took their time.

Cinderella had a several minute heads start thanks to Valiant's, Mikey's, and Rex's training and skills. She soon answered all of her fifty questions and rolled up the scrolls to keep others from seeing her answers.

There was also a bonus question which read: How many wooden planks are there on the course?

Cinderella swallowed. This question was very difficult. There was no way she could leave her stand to count all the planks. Getting an idea, Cinderella gestured the host over and whispered a question to him.

"That's just fine, my Lady," he said, smiling.

Now Cinderella urged Valiant, Rex, and Mikey over and whispered to them in a tight circle. Valiant nodded in understanding and he, Mikey, and Rex hurried back onto the course. They looked around the place and pointed at things. Patricia saw this and was confused.

"What are those Pokémon doing?" she asked herself.

After looking around the course for a minute, Valiant, Mikey, and Rex huddled together for a moment, then Valiant returned to Cinderella and whispered into her ear. Cinderella wrote down her answer to the bonus question. She rang a bell to signal to the host that she was done, the first one. After ten minutes, Bianca finished second and Katelyn finished later in third. Twenty minutes later, all the girls had finished answering their questions. Patricia was the seventh to finish.

The host and judges went to each girl and began to read everyone's answers. Some were pleased and some were disappointed. They gave Patricia, Katelyn, and Bianca each an approving nod. Cinderella was the last to be judged. When they saw her answers, the judges' and host's faces lit with surprise and delight. After that, they placed a small pouch in front of each girl. The host spoke up.

"In the pouches we gave you is a gem." he said, "If it's a diamond, you won the course, if it's an emerald, you move on, but if it's a ruby, you don't move on. Everyone reveal."

The girls all reached in and removed a gem from her pouch. Cinderella gasped and smiled as she held a perfect diamond in her hand. Katelyn and Bianca both got an emerald. Patricia scowled at first, but she smiled when she found an emerald in her pouch.

"You and your Pokémon all performed well." said the host, "Only one of you answered every question correctly including our bonus question. It was the Masked Maiden with fifty-two planks."

The girls all applauded except Patricia. She had missed five questions. Cinderella and Valiant smiled at each other. Katelyn, Bianca, and their Pokémon went over to Cinderella, smiling.

"Congratulations!" said Katelyn, "We're all moving on!"

"I know!" said Cinderella, "I can hardly believe it myself!"

"How did you know how many planks were on the course?" asked Bianca.

"I had my Pokémon go out and count them for me." said Cinderella, "I asked the host if they could do that and he said it was okay."

"That was clever," said Peter half to himself.

"I'm looking forward to whatever's next," said Cinderella.


After the five losing girls left, the remaining ten contestants were lead back into the palace and down to the royal kitchen. There were ten tables with cooking books, bowls, cups, and various baking ingredients. A giant oven stood by, already heated and burning. Patricia was surprised that they would come here.

"This is the third round, ladies." said the host, "This time you and your Pokémon will work together to bake Poké Puffs in the royal kitchen."

Patricia was appalled by this. She had never learned to cook before. She couldn't even boil water. Cinderella, Katelyn, Bianca, and the lower-class girls, on the other hand, were a little more comfortable. Having to cook and bake everything at home, Cinderella perfected everything in her cooking. Katelyn and Bianca baked as a hobby in their spare time.

"This is a new challenge requested by the prince as he and his Pokémon do this all the time." said the host.

This surprised many of the girls, including Cinderella. She had never heard of a prince who liked to bake before.

"You and your Pokémon will have only an hour to make a batch of Poké Puffs for the judges. You will be judged on taste, decoration and plating design, and the teamwork between you and your Pokémon. The top five ladies who do their best will move on to the final round. Those who fail to finish baking within the time limit will be out of the contest. We'll give you a minute to get set up at your tables and we'll get started."

Cinderella and her Pokémon quickly got to their table, put on aprons, and got out the ingredients and supplies they needed. They knew how to make fourteen different flavors and knew the recipes by heart. Patricia didn't know what to do and jittered at her table.

The Host spoke up. "Let the Poké Puff making… Begin!"

At once, the girls went to work. Rex and Mikey checked the temperature of their part of the oven and slightly heated it. Cinderella, Valiant, Rose, Bella, and Ariel measured ingredients and mixed them together, working with quick, but steady hands. Cinderella and Bella made the Poké Puff batter, Ariel and Rose made some macaron batter, and Valiant and Rex melted and tempered some chocolate.

The Poké Puff batter was poured into molds and the macaron batter was piped onto a pan. Ariel levitated both batters into the oven. Rex watched the baking while Cinderella worked with Rose, Bella, and Ariel to finish making the various icings and frostings. Valiant spread thin sheets of the tempered chocolate on a marble board and divided it into squares. Mikey used his Ice Beam to cool and harden the sheet. Valiant and Mikey then separated the chocolate squares.

Patricia was very fast and sloppy. She and her Pokémon read in a cookbook and mixed ingredients, but she didn't understand some words and mixed up the sugar and the salt. Patricia put her Poké Puffs into the oven but lost track of time while making the frosting. Her Poké Puffs came out burnt and stuck in the pan because she didn't line the molds with butter first.

Meanwhile, Cinderella's Poké Puffs and macarons were done baking and out of the oven. Rex gently fanned with his wings as he cooled off the baked goods. Once cooled, Ariel levitated the Poké Puffs out of the molds with Psychic and used Mikey's horn to poke holes in the top of each one. She also took the macarons and piped a Pecha berry frosting on them before sandwiching two halves together. Rose helped Cinderella fill the Poké Puffs with the same Pecha berry frosting.

Then came the decorating. Bella iced the tops with chocolate ganache followed by a lattice of white icing. Cinderella then piped on meringue rims which Rex flambéed with his tail flame. Ariel piped on a large peak of Pecha berry frosting on top and Valiant finished them off a square of marbled chocolate and a macaron in the center of the frosting. After a quick taste test from her Pokémon, Cinderella set out a silver platter and placed her finished Poké Puffs on it.

Cinderella was done with only five minutes left on the clock. Patricia finished her Poké Puffs at the last second. One of the girls was unable to finish in time. With the baking done, Pokémon servants placed the platters on trays and covered them with lids. The contestants were taken back to the dining room which had been set up with a Pokémon table.

The contestants all sat down as each girl came forward one at a time. Purrloin servants brought out the Poké Puffs in their covered trays. The King's Furfrou, the Queen's Delcatty, and Duke Grovyle tasted the treats and Duke Grovyle translated what the Pokémon thought of the taste. Between tasting, the Pokémon rinsed their mouths with water to taste the next set. Most of the girls didn't make impressive ones, but Katelyn and Bianca had ones that were okay.

Patricia was the second to last to be judged. She smiled nervously as she walked in front of the judge's table with her Pokémon. The Purrloin servant placed her covered tray on the table and removed the lid. The Pokémon failed to not wince at the first sight of it. The King, Queen, and Archduke tried really hard not to show what they thought.

"My, they look, um…interesting." said the Queen uneasily.

In truth, the Poké Puffs were a mess. Frosting dripped down torn and uneven sides and various toppings were just hurriedly dropped on top. Everyone could smell that they were burnt. The King and Archduke looked uneasily at the Poké Puffs. Blair and the others frowned. They knew this wasn't going to end well. Furfrou, Delcatty, and Grovyle had a Poké Puff set before them on plates and took a bite.

At once, Furfrou and Delcatty gagged and stepped back. Duke Grovyle urgently gestured a Purrloin servant to bring him a basin which he spat up his Poké Puff into. Cinderella could understand the Pokémon as they complained.

"I can't get this taste off my tongue!" whined Furfrou.

"Mine's burnt with lumps in it!" hissed Delcatty upset.

The Pokémon servants quickly brought Furfrou, Delcatty, and Grovyle water to rinse their mouths. Patricia covered her face, very scared. Duke Grovyle frowned.

"What are these things?" he asked, "They taste like salt, are burnt and hard with lumps, and are a mess! These are the worse things we ever tasted in our lives!"

"That's what I thought." said the Archduke, "I'm sorry to say, my Lady, that due to your poor work, you are disqualified."

Patricia frowned, but she looked to be really scared. She looked as if she had been caught stealing and was going to be badly punished. Patricia walked back to the other contestants, very upset. She walked her way past the other girls and into her waiting spot.

Now it was Cinderella's turn.

She walked over with her Pokémon and smiled at Furfrou, Delcatty, and Duke Grovyle. The Pokémon judges smiled when the Purrloin brought the tray in and they smelled something good. It lightened up the Pokémon's dull mood a bit. When the lids were removed to reveal the Poké Puffs, everyone in the room all gasped in amazement. They had never seen anything so beautiful or smelled so good. Furfrou, Delcatty, and Duke Grovyle each tasted one. Soon they ate their Poké Puffs, smiling.

Then they had seconds!

"These are delicious!" barked Furfrou, wagging his tail.

"I love these!" purred Delcatty. "They're the best things I ever had!"

Duke Grovyle smiled at Cinderella. "These are the best Poké Puffs we have ever tasted. With all the flavors and decorations, it's like we're in a dream. The flavors are rich and the macarons and filling make it fun to eat. We can tell these Poké Puffs are made with love and teamwork. You and your Pokémon worked together to make the best Poké Puffs out of all our contestants."

"I agree." said the Queen, "Even the palace baker can't make something this beautiful. It's like I'm looking at a painting instead of a Pokémon treat."

"These are perfect, my Lady." said the King. "You also made everything within the time limit. That is not an easy thing to do and you all seemed to enjoy it."

"Thank you, Your Highness," said Cinderella.

"May we have some more of your Poké Puffs?" asked Duke Grovyle.

Cinderella smiled. "Yes, you may. Help yourselves."

"You've surprised us again, my Lady," said the Archduke, "You will move onto the last round of the contest without a doubt."

"Thank you, Your Grace," said Cinderella. She curtsied and returned to her seat.

Cinderella glanced at Patricia. She was upset that she was out of the contest and that this new girl was better than her. Blair and the others cowered in the shadows. They knew what was going to come to them after this. The King, Queen, and Archduke spent ten minutes with their Pokémon before they made the final judgment. Katelyn and Bianca were moving on with two other girls.

"Alright, ladies," said the host, "Follow me to the final round."