So. The ninth chapter. I promised some things were going to happen before the Nimbasa City Pokemon Contest. And that's exactly what's going to happen. So, let's continue. I do not own Pokemon.
Damien woke up the next day to a Poochyena sitting on his legs. "Hey girl." He groaned. "Can you get off please?" Poochyena loved getting out of her Pokeball when they were at home, but never really caused much trouble. She got up and jumped off the bed, disturbing the sleeping Ivysaur who was always out of his Pokeball at home. The two went out the door right as Damien's alarm went off, notifying him that it was seven in the morning.. He slapped the button to turn it off and got up. He went through his weekend morning routine of actually taking time to change clothes and brush his teeth. After that he went downstairs to see that Liara had grabbed his Pokemon and taken care of feeding them for him. Mareep was currently helping her in the kitchen as much as he could, Bagon was sitting on the dining room table, waving his hands in excitement, and Vulpix was laying next to the fireplace, with Luxio standing guard next to her. Eevee was sitting patiently on the deck outside, Poochyena and Swinub were running around, and Aron and Nidorino weren't able to be seen, but Damien assumed they were busy as well, likely having a conversation with each other. Ivysaur was out absorbing some sunlight to get himself energized for the day.
"Oh, thanks Liara." Damien said. "You didn't have to feed them for me."
"Nonsense." Liara said. "You have a long train ride, and it wouldn't do to have you tired before you even started it. I got you tickets, they're on the counter. Mike is going with you, and you should take the bag next to the tickets as well. It contains a map of Nimbasa so you don't get lost. I know you've been there before, but it should still help. There's also an outfit inside. I bought it last night for you. Oh, and remember that you need to register four Pokemon as the ones you're going to use in the contest. The performance round uses one, and the three battle rounds use one each, unless it's a doubles contest, then you need twice the amount, but repeats are fine there. Make sure you pay attention to Mike, he's there to help you. And don't forget-"
"I'll be fine!" Damien interrupted her. "Trust me. It'll be okay."
Liara sighed happily. "I'm just so proud to see my boy going out on an adventure again. I was so worried for you, I know how you are. You hate staying in one place for too long."
"Okay, Mom." Damien joked. "But seriously, I'll be okay. I managed to get around Unova on my own before, I think I can handle one city."
"Alright." Liara said. "But call me if you need anything. Now go sit at the table, breakfast will be ready soon." Damien walked into the dining room and sar at his spot. The table was large, as it was bought when Liara and her family ate together often enough to warrant it. But now it was just her and Damien. Which Damien didn't mind.
Vulpix jumped on his lap, a brush in her mouth. Damien got the message and started brushing. She was always a Pokemon who enjoyed being clean and presentable, and Damien figured she'd make a great contest Pokemon. Since Eevee was going to be used in the performance round, Vulpix would probably go first in the battles round, if he got there. Ivysaur was a definite choice, and would likely be used in the finals. But who to use in the in-between? Damien thought about it for a moment, and decided that Poochyena was his choice. She seemed excited to compete, and was a pretty decent battler. Liara set his plate down in front of him, and Damien started eating.
The train ride to Nimbasa wasn't long, it only took two hours. Damien got off the train and followed Mike to the contest hall. They went in, got registered, and then Mike turned to Damien. "Alright, we've got an hour until the contest starts. We're heading to go practice your performance. I've got plenty of ideas." Mike dragged Damien out to the practice field in the Pokemon Center. Damien was too busy trying to keep up to say anything, so he followed along.
"Alright, I'm certain you can handle the battle round yourself, it's the performance part I'm worried about." Mike said. "You haven't done any practicing, but you do have an advantage by having taken coordinating classes. While you don't start making your own performances until year three, it's still better than nothing, so you should get the hang of this quickly. Anyway, my idea revolves around Eevee's natural cuteness."
"Look, I just want to relax." Damien said. "I'm already nervous and I need to put my outfit on anyway, and Eevee's smart enough to figure out my ideas anyway."
"That's no excuse for no practice." Mike said.
"I've already got a performance in mind." Damien said. "I'm not an idiot. I've been doing some thinking."
"Then tell me." Mike said.
"I'll have Eevee start off with a Quick Attack, then Dig, then Swift and Charm, and to finish another Quick Attack." Damien explained. "I've run it through with Eevee too. While we've never actually practiced it, I'm certain we can pull it off. This is how Eevee works. He isn't one for continual practice, because then he gets bored of it and changes it."
"Look, I know you're confident, and that's good, be confident, but you should know-"
"That practice helps, I know." Damien said. "Now can you get off my back and go work on your own performance?" Mike glared at Damien. Then he sighed and walked off. Damien didn't want to blow him off, but he was just so controlling sometimes. Damien walked into the Pokemon Center to find a bathroom so he could get dressed.
"Good morning everybody and welcome to the Nimbasa City Pokemon Contest!" A tall woman with ginger hair said. "Coordinators will be competing for this!" She held out a ribbon that had a bronze thing that looked kind of like a circle sitting on top of a square, with blue and black silk trailing off both sides. "The Nimbasa City Ribbon! This ribbon will count towards one of the five required to enter the Unova Grand Festival. I'm your host, Cherrienne, and allow me to introduce our panel of esteemed judges! Up first is the director of the Pokemon Activities Committee, Mr. Contesta!"
A middle-aged man with salt and pepper hair was sitting on the left side and he said, "Hello there! I look forward to seeing many talented coordinators put on beautiful performances today!"
"Up next is the head of the Pokemon Fan Club, Mr. Sukizo!"
"I'm certain that everything I see will be remarkable!" said a shorter man who looked older than Mr. Contesta, and was bald on the top of his head.
"And finally, Nimbasa City's very own Nurse Joy!"
"Greetings." Nurse Joy said. "I look forward to seeing many well-raised Pokemon in today's contest."
"You heard them folks!" Cherrienne said, "Now let's get on to our first performance! Making his contest debut, it's Damien from Anville Town!" Damien walked out onto the stage, and the crowd roared with applause. He was wearing a white dress shirt with a blue vest, blue dress pants, and black dress shoes and dress socks.
"Alright Eevee, come on out!" He said, throwing the Pokeball. He was extremely nervous, but hid that fact by acting like it was a gym battle. Plenty of them had audiences, so it wasn't that hard for him to do. Eevee came out of the Pokeball, clean and shiny from the bath and brushing he'd given his Pokemon at the Pokemon center. "Now, use Quick Attack!" Eevee immediately hopped into action, quickly running around the room with a white streak trailing behind him.
After a few seconds, Damien called for another move. "Now use Dig!" Eevee stopped for only a second before leaping into the ground with Dig. "Now use Swift!" Damien could hear Eevee use the move. "Now out of the ground!" Eevee burst from the floor, a barrage of stars following him. "Now Eevee, use Charm!" Eevee winked, and a circle of pink 3D hearts appeared and mixed with the stars from Swift. "Now, jump on them!" Eevee landed on one of them, jumping up higher and higher. "Now use Quick Attack!" Eevee jumped up high before falling down, a familiar white streak behind him. He crashed through the previous attacks, each Swift bursting into yellow sparkles and each Charm into pink dust. He landed on the ground, pink and yellow spraying down around him. The performance was finished, and the crowd was cheering.
"And what a way to start off our contest!" Cherrienne said. "But what do the judges think?"
"An amazing performance, it's hard to believe this is his debut." Mr. Contesta said.
"And, remarkable!" Mr. Sukizo said.
"What a great way to show off how cute and powerful Eevee can be." Nurse Joy said. "He's clearly raised Eevee well."
"Thank you Damien for that wonderful performance." Cherrienne said. Damien returned Eevee and walked through the hallway again, back to the dressing room. He walked past Mike on the way through, and they only gave each other a small nod. Once Damien went into the room, he sat down to calm his nerves.
"Hey, you were good out there." A voice said. Damien looked up. In front of him stood a girl with blonde hair piled up in curls, with light skin and blue eyes. She wore an ankle-length poofy yellow dress with white ruffles on the skirt, with yellow one-inch heels. "For a first-timer, you did really well."
"Uh, thanks." Damien said. "Who are you?"
"My name is Elizabeth." She sat down next to Damien. "I think you're very talented. It'll be interesting to see how far you go."
"I'm surprised you aren't trying to belittle me." Damien said.
"Why would I do that?" Elizabeth asked. "I can recognize talent when I see it. I'm not dumb."
"Well, I wouldn't say I'm talented. I'm taking classes at my school." Damien said, looking away slightly.
"You're still in school?"
"Yeah." Damien said. "I plan on finishing highschool. I'm a sophomore right now."
"That's surprising. You'll probably only be able to do weekend contests then." Elizabeth said.
There was a bit of a pause before Damien asked. "So, how many ribbons do you have?"
"I've got one." Elizabeth said, pulling out her ribbon case. She opened it to reveal a ribbon that was only a circle with plain red silk. "The Mistralton City Ribbon."
"So that just means you need four more, right?" Damien asked. "Then you can compete in the Grand Festival."
"Yep." Elizabeth said. "I plan on becoming a Top Coordinator."
"Are you going to do Silver and Gold Tier contests too?" Damien asked.
"Do what?" Elizabeth asked.
"Silver and Gold Tier Contests. And their respective festivals. And the Diamond Festival." Damien elaborated.
"I've never heard of that stuff." Elizabeth said. "Tell me about it." So Damien did. He told her as much as he could remember of what his aunt told him.
"She never went into any details about them though." Damien said. "So I can't help but wonder what the Gold and Silver Tiers do that make them different. The Diamond Festival sounds incredibly difficult."
"Well she said it's supposed to be the best of the best." Elizabeth said. "So I'm not surprised."
"Elizabeth, you're up." a contest official said.
"Well, looks like I better go." Elizabeth said. "See you in the next round." She got up and left, heading down the hall.
Damien sat there for a few seconds before he heard someone say, "Have a good chat with your new friend?" Damien whirled around to see Mike.
"Don't do that!" Damien said.
"You were so absorbed in your conversation with her that you didn't notice that a good dozen or so coordinators already went." Mike said.
"There's no way it was a dozen people." Damien said.
"You're right, it was more like only ten." Mike said, shrugging. "But still, you were quite into that talk."
Damien flushed. "Sorry for missing your performance."
"Don't worry about it." Mike said. "But it seems like you got yourself someone to compete against."
"Weren't you going to fulfil that role?" Damien asked.
"I was, but you know me pretty well," Mike said, "so it wouldn't make things very interesting. But let's watch her performance and not miss it this time, hmm?" They turned their heads to the screen.
"Spritzee, dazzle them!" Elizabeth called as she tossed her pokeball into the air. It had a ball capsule on it, and a seal. When the ball opened, a burst of flower petals came out, along with her Spritzee. "Now, use Fairy Wind!" The Spritzee flapped its wings a few times, and a gust of pink sparkly wind blew through the stage, carrying the petals along with it. "Now, ride that wind!" Spritzee flew forward, following the wind. "Alright, use Dazzling Gleam!" Spritzee started glowing, and the move pushed the wind and petals outward into a ring, leaving Spritzee surrounded by them. "Now, use Attract!" Like when Eevee used Charm, Spritzee winked and pink hearts appeared, flowing into the ring of Fairy Wind and flower petals. But these hearts were merely outlines, and two dimensional. "Finish this up with Moon Blast!" Spritzee Fired off a ball of concentrated moonlight into the ring, causing a ring of small explosions to go off, raining down in pink. Elizabeth raised her hand, and Spritzee sat down on it. The crowd cheered loudly for the performance.
"What a delightful performance from Elizabeth and Spritzee!" Cherrienne said.
"That performance helped showcase just how much control Spritzee has over its moves, perfectly fitting of a Fairy-type." Mr. Contesta said.
"Very remarkable!" Mr. Sukizo said, like he did with Damien's performance.
"It's clear that the bond between Elizabeth and her Spritzee is very strong." Nurse Joy said. "The two are obviously close." Elizabeth walked down the hall as Cherrienne announced the next coordinator.
"You did really good." Damien told her when she got in the room.
"Thank you. We've been practicing that for a while." She said.
"Now it's just a wait to see who moves on to the next round." Mike said. They sat there and watched the remaining coordinators give their performances until the last one was done. Then the judges started talking amongst themselves. Damien, Mike, and Elizabeth all anxiously waited for them to finish.
"Alright, the judges have decided! The eight coordinators moving on to the next round are…" The screen changed to all black as portraits began appearing on it. Up first was Elizabeth. Right next to her was Mike. Then multiple portraits passed, and Damien was afraid he didn't make it. But his face appeared. Right on the last portrait. He let out a sigh of relief.
"We all made it." Mike said.
"Now it's just time to see who of us will make it to the finals." Elizabeth said. Damien felt a little more comfortable. He was used to battling. While contest battles were different from regular battles, they were still battles. And Damien knew how to battle.
"And here's the matchups!" Cherrienne said. Damien was up against some random trainer, but Mike and Elizabeth were up against each other. The two looked at each other.
"Well, may the best coordinator win." Mike said.
Elizabeth nodded and said, "I'll tell you one thing. A victory against me won't be easy."
"I wouldn't have it any other way." Mike said.
Now you've met Elizabeth. If you couldn't tell, she's going to be Damien's contest rival. I know Mike promised to be that for him, but Elizabeth was created before Mike was, so she takes priority. I've got a plan that makes sense, don't worry. At least, in my head it makes sense. But now that that's over, time for the next team showcase! This one belongs to Katie.
Character: Katie
Team: Torracat, Spheal, Pawniard, Electrike
Torracat:
Level: 27
Ability: Blaze
Nature: Bold (Up Def, Down SpDef)
Moveset: Lick, Fire Fang, Double Kick, Bite
Spheal:
Level: 32
Ability: Thick Fat
Nature: Calm (Up SpDef, Down Atk)
Moveset: Body Slam, Aurora Beam, Water Gun, Hail
Pawniard:
Level: 33
Ability: Inner Focus
Nature: Serious (Neutral)
Moveset: Slash, Assurance, Metal Claw, Feint Attack
Electrike:
Level: 34
Ability: Lightning Rod
Nature: Mild (Up SpAtk, Down Def)
Moveset: Bite, Thunder Fang, Quick Attack, Howl
