Chapter Six: Concert

"Whew," Julie sighed, "we're back again." She raced to the Pokécenter, but in her rush to get to the door, she ran into a group of six girls with odd hairstyles.

"AAIEEEEEE! Not you!" she wailed as she scurried off her back.

"Not so fast!" said one with blue hair, grabbing Julie by her ponytail. "Things are different now."

"Julie, do you know these girls?" asked Joshua.

"They're…they're my sisters…" Julie started.

"Allow me, Squirt!" one with blonde hair interrupted, pushing Julie aside roughly, "I'm Chelsea, the one with the porcupine hair is Daisy, the one with the blue hair is Lilly, the little one is Sarah, the one in the prom dress is Lynn and the one with green hair is Darlene."

"Pleasure to meet you all." Said Gloria.

"Sis, howzit goin'?" Darlene asked.

"I-I'm okay I guess…"

"Great!" Lilly said clapping her hands together. "You're gonna' sing at the concert. Cheryl came down with the flu…"

"WHAT?!?!" Me? Sing?! I can't sing worth anything! You know I'm tone deaf!" Julie wailed.

"Well, someone's gotta' do it." Daisy said blissfully.

"I'll do it!" Gloria volunteered.

"Are you sure, Missy?" Sarah asked.

"Of course I'm sure! I'll gladly take Cheryl's place."

"Wonderful!" Chelsea exclaimed. "Concert's tomorrow!"

The next day…

"I feel like a pom-pom in this thing!" Gloria said staring down in disdain at the red, frilly dress she had to wear.

"Don't be ridiculous! You look great!" the manager said. "Get out there and make us glad we sent you in!" With that he shoved her out from behind the curtain.

"Okay…just sing the songs…" she thought to herself as she walked out proudly onto the stage towards the microphone.

"Okay," she said into the microphone "my first song will be #67. Hit it boys!"

As the orchestra broke out into song she sung, "I wanna' be the very best, that no one ever-OUCH!" something tripped her.

The audience roared with laughter. Gloria tried again. "To catch them is my real test, to train them is my- HEY!"

Bulbasaur jumped up, stole the microphone with its vines and begun to "sing" into it to the tune of the music! "Bulba, bulba bulbasaur! Bulba bulba-BULB!"

A Charmander stole it from Bulbasaur and too started to sing. "Charmander char! Char charmander, charmander-CHARMANDER?"

By now the whole audience was howling in mirth. By this time Gloria took the microphone back and had to race around the stage to keep the Pokémon away from it.

The chorus had finished their lines for now, and it was Gloria's turn. "Every challenge along the way, with courage I will f- OW!" another Pokémon tripped her, a Pikachu!

Gloria gave up. She buried her face in her hands to hide her embarrassed face. She could hear the Pikachu singing, but she couldn't concentrate. Not only did she look like a red pom-pom in the frilly dress, she would look like a fool. A foolish pom-pom.

When the song ended she just ran off. She couldn't stand it anymore.