AN: It's been a very long time everyone, but I am still alive and still around. I've just been having a few issues as of late. First up, work. It had been seriously stressing me out and probably contributed to my second problem. That being I had been feeling burned out from writing since a few months ago. Just couldn't get myself to do any kind of writing for any of my stories. Writer's block probably didn't help there. Fortunately, I think I've gotten past the burn out, though pardon me working off some rust that may have built up. As for the stress work has been causing me...well, I'm looking for a new job. Granted, finding a new job is pretty stressful too, but no where near as much. That's all I intend to say on there. I'm sorry I didn't say anything sooner, but the rules of the site say you can't make a chapter for just an author note, and making a new chapter is one of the few methods I have of talking to you all, outside of pms but I can't just go sending out a mass of private messages.
But, now that I'm back, I can hopefully get some new chapters out soon, starting with this one. That said, there will be some changes to the fanfic lineup. I have too many stories I'm trying to focus on, and I think that may have aided my burn out. So, a couple of my stories will be cancelled, while a few more will be put on hiatus. With fewer stories, I can hopefully focus on the others better. Don't worry. Tales from Grimwood isn't going anywhere. I have WAY too many stories I'd like to tell in that series to cancel it now. However, the following stories are cancelled:
Another Day in the Void: I only got one chapter into this one, but I had made this story while my interest in Dead By Daylight was starting to wane, so yeah
A Lass Called Leni: Sorry, but I've kind of lost interest in continuing this story. I felt like I was going too fast with it (though honestly, when you take the songs out of A Man Called Flintstone, that movie isn't very long either) and wasn't giving myself a chance to give the mystery of the Gilded Swan's identity enough attention (Since there wouldn't be a Triple X to be the villain). Will I give it another try later down the road? Maybe, but right now, it's done.
The following stories are on hiatus:
League of Exceptional Louds: I was very close to cancelling this story, but ended up just putting it in hiatus. I do have plenty of stories to tell with the theme and setting, but I've hit a roadblock with The City that Time Overlooked. I'm just not sure where to go from where I left it. So until I figure it out (or decide to bookmark it and come back later. After all, the main point of this saga was to introduce the Great Lake Guardians, and I did just that), it'll be shelved for a while.
Louds and Dragons: I'm on the boss fight, but I realized I made the encounter too easy for characters their level and haven't really had the chance to fix it. Until I do, suspended animation.
Gregory Loud Horror Story: Just writer's block.
Lincoln-Juice: I have four chapters I could possibly work on for the Louds in the Neitherworld arc (since it doesn't really matter which order I put them in, since they'll all lead to the same place), but can't get anywhere with any of them. Hiatus.
Which leaves Tales from Grimwood, The Loud Creepshow, and of course, Louds Adventures in Micha. Hopefully, this means I can put more care and focus into these stories. Only time will tell. Just one more thing before we get into the story: Lola and Jordan will be doing the surprise trade next chapter, and given how long I've left the poll up for, I'm going to be closing the poll and taking the results as soon as I post this chapter. Thank you for your votes and here's hoping it'll be worth the wait. That's all from me for now. On with the show.
The show must go wrong
After their less than pleasant encounter with Charlemagne on Route Four, the rest of the journey to Oakenville went pretty smoothly for Lincoln, the twins and Girl Jordan. Outside of a few random trainers (dealt with fairly easily by Jordan and Lola) and Victoria getting distracted by anything that even resembled a flower, it was fairly uneventful. Compared to Glenvale and Royal Woods, Oakenville looked more like a city: with many more buildings and businesses in a more condensed area. From the moment the four crossed the city limit, they were met with a pokemon center, a few restaurants, a little motel, a car rental place, and a pokemart. Past that were a series of neighborhoods with single family houses that reminded them of home; clearly the suburbs. In the distance, they could see more densely packed, tall buildings: some of which could almost be called skyscrapers.
"Jordan...I don't suppose you have a driver's license, do you?" Lola inquired as she noticed how far it was to the city proper, crossing her fingers mentally.
"Heh. Trust me, Lola. If I did, we wouldn't be walking right now," Jordan responded.
"Nuts…"
"Don't be so fussy, Lola. It's not that bad hiking between towns," Lana piped up with a smile.
"Maybe not for you...I'm not used to walking so much…" The pageant princess complained. "I wish I had thought to bring my princess car."
"Aren't you too big for that?" Her older brother asked.
"Still better than walking…" Lola groused, feeling pretty jealous for Princess, who got a piggy back ride pretty much the whole time.
"Well, this might cheer you up, Lola. Oakenville has a contest hall," Lincoln reminded her with a soft smile. The prissy twin's eyes immediately lit up as that thought came to her, while Lana groaned.
"Oh yeah! That's right!" She exclaimed, zipping around in front of the white haired teen to block his path. "Can we go there now, Lincoln!? Please please please!" She pleaded in a pretty childish manner.
"Slow your roll a little, Lola," Lincoln said, holding his hands between him and the Loud in pink. "Let's recover our pokemon and get something to eat first. After that, we'll go to the contest hall." The man with the plan had a good point: all of their pokemon were quite tired, and Lola was feeling pretty hungry.
"Yeah. Food sounds good to me," The beauty obsessed Loud agreed, leading the way now as she skipped along.
"Do we have to go to the contest hall first…?" The tomboy twin asked in a whiny tone.
"Let's be fair, Lana. Lola's been waiting for a long time to participate in the contests," Jordan said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "And she was there to support us in the Glenvale Gym battle even though she didn't want to fight in the gym, right?"
"Yeah...Yeah, I guess," Lana replied. 'Doesn't mean I need to like it, though…'
"So, what's your plan for the contest, Lola?" Jordan inquired as the four of them and Princess were enjoying some hot, deep dish pepperoni pizza and pitchers of ice cold soda. The frillish especially seemed to enjoy the little slice Lincoln gave her.
"Well, Lincoln said they change contests regularly...I can only hope they have a beauty contest going," Lola said, bringing out her pokedex. She pulled up the internet browser on the device to see if the hall had a website. "...oh good! They do today. Looks like Brittany is going to shine!"
"Er...are you sure about that, Lola?" Her older brother asked her in a worried tone.
"Positive, Lincoln," Lola said with confidence. "I've trained Brittany in the art of beauty pageantry. She'll be a superstar in no time."
"...if you say so, Lola," He replied, though he still had reservations. He knew Lola knew pageants back to front; heck, so did he. However, while contests were similar, they had many differences in how they worked. Still, the beauty obsessed twin seemed confident enough, so maybe he was worrying over nothing.
"So, once the contest is over, maybe we can check and see if their main pokemon center has a surprise trade machine," Girl Jordan suggested as she sipped from a lemon-lime pop.
"Oh! I really like that idea!" The pink clad sister exclaimed, getting a few looks from other restaurant patrons.
"Me too...though I kinda like all the pokemon I have in my team," Lana interjected. "Even Mankey, though she doesn't listen."
'Speaking of, I still need to have a chat with Pidove…' The white haired teen thought to himself, remembering how the pigeon pokemon seemed oblivious to being in a battle until he got hit first. It was causing no end of problems, but he wanted to give the little bird a proper chance. If he didn't improve...well, he'd cross that bridge when he came to it.
"Mmmmm...Frillish…" Princess said as she finished her little piece of pizza.
"Heh. You liked that, huh?" Lincoln asked before he handed her a few Anaba berries. The pink jellyfish pokemon nodded before she started to nibble on the pink, banana like berries. "Never would have guessed you would like pepperoni."
"She's got good taste!" Lana said cheerfully as she helped herself to another slice.
With lunch over, the five of them made a beeline for the Oakenville Contest Hall. As the building came into sight, Lana felt her dislike for it grow significantly. It was a large, domed building made mostly of cement. The curved roof of the structure was bright pink, and there was a large red bow with a pokeball in the center right above the glass automatic doors. One look made her shudder, but Lola didn't gripe too much when they were at the gym, so...she could tough her way through this.
"Looks like the contest is attracting quite a crowd today," The white haired boy commented as he noticed a large group of people in front of the building. They certainly seemed excited about something: yelling and screaming, taking pictures, and generally fanboying/girling. "Looks like someone famous might be there."
"Well, they are now," Lola said with a big smirk as she approached the crowd of excited city dwellers, who all had their backs to her. "Ahem...Here I aaaam~" She declared in her best, most adorable voice. A few people turned around to look at her with confused expressions.
"Er...I'm sorry, but...who are you again?" A woman with curly blonde hair inquired. This wiped the smirk from Lola's face.
"Oh, she's no one," came a voice she knew too well, and loathed with all her being. The mass of people parted to reveal a young girl with long red hair, a little taller than Lola and Lana, and in a glittery turquoise gown. She was wearing a shimmering tiara like the ones the pageant princess herself used to wear all the time. She was giving the Loud in pink a big, toothy grin. She wasn't alone either. Standing beside her was Lacey St Claire, with a haughty smirk of her own.
"Lindsey…" The beauty obsessed twin hissed with a snarl. "And you too, Lacey…"
"About time you caught up," Lacey taunted her.
"You two know each other?" Someone in the crowd asked in surprise.
"Please. She's barely worth my attention," Lindsey said dismissively.
"Oh, I don't know. I think I had your attention when I BEAT you in so many beauty pageants!" The short tempered beauty princess countered before she turned to the gaggle of looky loos. "As for who I am, I am Lola Loud."
"Wait...THE Lola Loud!?" The woman from earlier asked in amazement. "As in winner of the Micha Region Miss Graceful pageant!?" Lola just gave a small giggle at that.
"That is a highlight of my illustrious pageant career, yes, but only one of many,'' She answered in a soft, cool voice, smirking at the disbelieving expression on Lindsey's face.
"This is amazing! Two pageant heavy weights and a pokemon show star, coming head to head to head in Oakenville's own contest hall!"
"Heavy weights!?" Lola and Lindsey snapped angrily. However, before the angrier of the two twins could make a move, Lincoln moved in beside her to whisper into her ear.
"They were referring to the fact you and Lindsey were big in the pageant world, not your weight."
"Oh…" The hot tempered princess wanna be said, her temper being soothed. She blushed a bit and giggled softly as she said, "Oops."
"Well, if it were judged by talent, Lola wouldn't even be a flyweight…" Lindsey stung before she sauntered into the contest hall. Lacey followed shortly, her nose in the air as she went.
"It's ok, Lo. You got this," Lana told her, patting her on the shoulder. "Go wipe the snoot right off their faces."
"Oh, I plan to…" The pageant princess said through gritted teeth as she stormed in after them. It took a moment for her family and their friend to swim their way through the mass of people outside the building, so that by the time they got in, Lola was already signing up for the contest. The interior was much less pink than it was outside (much to Lana's relief). In fact, it looked a lot like the lobby of a theater. The walls were colored a very deep red color, with an orange carpet underfoot.
A pair of large stairs flanked a long, bluish counter where a trio of men were helping contestants sign up, directing spectators where they could watch the event or where snacks and souvenirs could be purchased, and answering questions about the contest themselves. They were all wearing fine black and white vests with gray shirts and black slacks. The only thing that differentiated them from one another was their hair: one had well combed, flat black hair, another spiky yellow hair, and the last long purple hair.
"Alright then, Miss Loud," The raven haired gentleman said as she finished up the paperwork. "You're all set. Your number will be 4." He handed her a plastic card she could hang around her neck with the number 4 on it.
"No matter what number I'm given, I'll be number one," She replied with confidence as she took the placard.
"The contest will begin in exactly twenty minutes. Dressing rooms are over yonder," He gestured over past the right hand set of stairs, where there was a hall lined with a series of doors on both sides. "Your number will indicate which room is yours. You can take the time to get yourself and your pokemon ready to wow the crowd and the judges. We wish you the best of luck."
"Thank you," The short tempered blonde said sweetly before she skipped off toward the dressing room. Lincoln, Lana, and Jordan were about to follow her when-
"My apologies, but only contest participants are allowed in the dressing rooms," The lavender haired gentleman informed them firmly. Hearing this made Lola skid to a stop.
"It's alright. They're with me," She told him. "In fact, my brother Lincoln is my coach." She pointed over at the white haired teen.
"Ah. Now that is a Starly of a different color. He may accompany you, but I'm afraid the others may not." Lola frowned, looking ready for an argument.
"It's ok, Lola. We'll still be in the audience to cheer you on," The teen girl with light brown hair told the little firebrand, patting her on the back.
"Well...ok, I guess."
"Come on. Let's go hit the snack bar before the show starts," Lana said, about to run off.
"Snack bar? But you just ate," Her twin commented with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm not hungry. I just want to get a soda," She countered before hurrying off.
"Heh. A drink actually sounds good to me. We'll make sure to save you a seat, Linc," Girl Jordan said before she chased after Lana.
A short time later, Lola was primping herself at the vanity desk inside the lavishly furnished dressing room. She was wearing a pink gown very similar to her old pageant dress. The main difference was that she wasn't wearing the sash, and she added a silver pokeball necklace to the ensemble. Meanwhile Lincoln was making sure Brittany's fur was just right. A task that proved most difficult with the poodle pokemon wanting to lick his face every time he got too close. The beauty focused twin was really glad he was there because, though she didn't want to admit it, she was pretty damn nervous. Her first pokemon contest and, though she thought she knew what was expected, she also believed that the competition would be bloodthirsty; particularly with Lindsey and Lacey around. "Ok, so you know what you're getting into, Lola?" The one son inquired.
"Yes, Lincoln. The pokemon contest is split into two phases," The pageant princes recited, as if she knew it by heart. She sounded a little exasperated. "The first is a show phase, where the pokemon shows off just how beautiful it is. And then there's the appeal or talent phase, where the pokemon exhibits beauty through its battle moves."
"Sounds about right," Her brother said as he finished brushing Furfrou's fur. "There we go, Brittany. You're looking marvelous."
"Fur fur!" The canine pokemon barked before bounding over to Lola.
"Tee hee. You're so pretty! We're going to knock all of their socks off in there!" Lola declared with a big grin as she put on her tiara. Just then, there was a knock at the door.
"Contest starting in five minutes, Miss Loud."
"Alright, Lola. You got this," Lincoln said with a smile as he turned her chair to face him. "You look great, Brittany looks great, you have a plan-" He said, while hoping in his mind this was true. "-It's in the bag."
"Right! Thanks Lincoln!" She said gratefully before giving him a big hug, which he returned.
"You're welcome, Lola. I'll be in the audience cheering you on the whole way. Knock 'em dead, sis...Figuratively speaking, of course," He added at the end. While he didn't think his sister would do it literally, he thought it better not to risk it. He bid her farewell before he vacated the dressing room, with his pageant princess sister turning back to face the vanity mirror.
"Showtime…"
When Lincoln entered the near packed auditorium, it took him a moment to locate Jordan and his little sister. They were situated in the center of the house, with Lana nearly fighting three people trying to take the spot they saved for Lincoln. Fortunately, his arrival on the scene made them give up and seek out new seats. "Looks like the contests are quite popular here," He said as Princess floated off his back so he could sit down and she could sit in his lap.
"No kidding," Girl Jordan commented with a chuckle. "I'll bet the hype around your sister and those other two girls being involved is helping."
"Yeah. Just hope it won't be too boring…" Lola's twin spoke up.
"I'm sure it'll be plenty exciting, Lana," Her big brother said, patting her shoulder.
"I dunno about that. I mean, that guy doesn't look like he wants to be here either," Lana pointed out, indicating the curly haired man sulking at the judge's table. He was a short, lean man in a bright yellow suit, with henna colored hair. And as Lana said, he looked very unhappy about his current location. To his left was a dark skinned man who was much taller with a large, bushy black mustache, and to his right was a chipper looking woman with her blonde hair done up in a bouffant.
"Looking forward to the contest, Simon?" She asked the taller of her two cohorts.
"You bet I am, Xelma," He answered enthusiastically, before turning to the gloomy gus sitting beside her.
"I'm not…" He groused as he leaned against the table in front of him, his head resting on one hand. "I should be judging the master circuit in Great Lakes City, not out in the boondocks watching amateurs embarrass themselves…"
"Oh, come on, Morris…" The cheery woman said, patting him on the shoulder. "The kids will do just fine."
"Besides, you were sent here for a reason," The mustachioed man commented with a serious look. "Causing all that ruckus back at the Master Hall…"
"She was asking for it," The grouchy man snarled. "That stage mom had no right to challenge our decision, insult me, or use that kind of language in front of children."
"Nevertheless, Morris, punching her in the face wasn't the appropriate response," Xelma informed him calmly and quietly. "Deserved or not."
"Just calm yourself, and go with the flow, man," Simon said as he got his notes in order. "Stay on good behavior and I'm sure they'll allow you back to judge in the Master Hall again eventually." Morris just scoffed in disbelief as the announcer of the contest strode out on stage. A peppy, bright eyed but pale skinned woman with wavy blue hair. She was wearing a bright green dress with a puffy white trim that hung just above the knees. Over her left ear was a headset, with a mic sticking out. She smiled out at the crowd before she began:
"Ladies and Gentlemen of Oakenville!" The MC declared with a voice full of energy. "Welcome to today's beginner class Pokemon Beauty Contest!" A thunderous round of cheers followed this announcement, which made the announcer smile even brighter. "I can see you're all excited for the competition, so let's get the ball rolling, shall we? Let's bring out our contestants!" She gestured to the curtain behind her as it started to open. It was pretty dark behind it, but there looked to be four child sized shapes standing upon pedestals inside the shadows. "Starting with contestant number 1, from Hazeltuckey; Amelia and Roli Poli!" A light shone over the first platform, revealing a young girl with braided green hair in a simple yellow dress with a white sash. Standing in front of her was a round, blue pokemon with no arms, two little legs, a tadpole tail, and a black spiral on its white stomach.
"Poliwag, the tadpole pokemon," Rip informed Lincoln, Jordan and Lana, after the one son turned down the volume on his pokedex so that it was barely a whisper. "Poliwag has a very thin skin. It is possible to see the Pokémon's spiral innards right through the skin. Despite its thinness, however, the skin is also very flexible. Even sharp fangs bounce right off it."
"Awww. It's adorable," Lana said, looking at the little water pokemon with wide eyed wonder.
"Looks like the competition is going to be even stiffer than we thought," Jordan commented, just as the Poliwag skipped its way off the platform onto the stage. When it got there, it simply hopped up and down excitedly, like it was happy to see everything.
"Well, isn't that precious?" Xelma said with a soft giggle as she made a few notes in her notebook.
"It is, but it's not especially beautiful, is it?" Simon countered with a slight frown.
"This is basically what I've come to expect from the beginner circuit…" Morris grumbled, looking quite bored. "I doubt she even took a second to prep her pokemon for a beauty contest." His fellow judges glared at him as Amelia's face fell, as did Roli Poli's.
"Wonderful!" Maria exclaimed, in an attempt to lift the mood again. "And our next contest hopeful, in position two from Royal Woods, Lindsey and Precious!" The light shone on Lindsey next, who was wearing a red and pink regal gown. In front of her was a tiny purple cat with a yellow muzzle, chest, fore legs, hind feet and a patch of yellow on her back. Over her eyes were an arc of pink, and her tail was shaped like a bladed pendulum. Once she was announced, the feline stood on two legs and strode her way to the stage like a supermodel, before strutting her stuff just like how Lindsey used to back in her pageant days.
"Purrloin, the devious pokemon. Its cute act is a ruse. When victims let their guard down, they find their items taken. It attacks with sharp claws."
"Sounds like a cat to me," Girl Jordan said quietly to herself.
"Devious pokemon...how appropriate for her," Lincoln muttered.
"That there is a pretty kitty," Xelma cooed, while Simon nodded in agreement. Morris, on the other hand, had raised his head when Precious made her way to the stage. He looked surprised.
"That...wasn't half bad," He had to admit. "Not master class standards, of course, but still…"
"Well now. Not so bad judging the beginner contests, eh, Mr Sour Puss?" The overly cheerful blonde asked with a smirk.
"Next up, also hailing from Royal Woods, in position three: Lacey and Scruffles!" Lana's rival from home was next to be illuminated, along with her pokemon. He was a doberman pokemon with black fur, an orange muzzle and an orange chest. On his head was a kind of skull, along his back were a few rib bones, and around his ankles were some kind of bones. As soon as he joined the other pokemon, he raised his head upwards and exhaled a jet of fire from his mouth. The audience gasped as the flames formed a heart around him until he stomped his front paws, causing the fire to go out, leaving a heart shaped smoke cloud in its place before he sat down with a smug smile.
"Whoa now. Things are really heating up now," The african american judge said, looking quite impressed.
'Hmmmm. Perhaps there is some potential after all,' The once grouchy evaluator thought to himself after witnessing Scruffles' display. 'She was even better than the last one.'
"Houndour. The Dark Pokemon. Houndour hunt as a coordinated pack. They communicate with each other using a variety of cries to corner their prey. This pokemon's remarkable teamwork is unparalleled."
"Oooo! That's a pokemon I gotta have," The catchaholic sister said with a big grin. Lincoln, however, was looking worried.
"And finally, also from Royal Woods, in position four: Lola and Brittany!" The lights turned on above the Loud in pink and her faithful Furfrou. The primped pooch sauntered her way to the stage, holding her head high with her hat like hair hiding her face from the audience. The moment she reached her place, she revealed her face to the crowd, sparkles surrounding her before she let out a dignified woof.
"Oh my! I haven't seen a Furfrou in a contest in a long time!" The peppy judge declared, looking positively delighted.
"Not as flashy as the last one, but I don't think that hinders her in the slightest," Simon said as he marked a few things down.
"...I won't lie...that is impressive," Morris said, much to everyone's shock. "Not just for the beginner level, but advanced and possibly expert too."
"Sounds like Brittany really wowed them," Lola's twin said quietly to her brother and their friend. "But then again, with Lola teaching her how to show, was there ever a doubt?"
"It's not the show portion I'm worried about…" The white haired teen said. As pleased as he was for his beauty centered sister, he knew this was just the beginning. As the judges debated among one another, Lola had snuck her pokedex from her gown.
"Pokedex, bring up a list of moves Furfrou knows that would be good for a beauty contest," She whispered to the electronic encyclopedia. She waited for a moment, her eyes on the screen. However, the screen remained blank. "Er, Pokedex, did you hear me?"
"I did hear you, Miss Loud," Her pokedex responded. "However, Furfrou doesn't have any beauty moves that it can learn naturally." Lola's eyes widened as she suppressed the urge to gasp.
"Oh no…" She gulped nervously. She spent so much time working on getting Brittany looking her best and acting her best, she overlooked her pokemon's moves for the talent portion of the contest. 'Well, maybe Brittany did so well in the show segment, I won't need to worry…' Lola hoped before she hid the electronic device.
"A spirited start to today's beauty competition!" The MC stated cheerfully, getting the attention of the participants, their pokemon and the audience. "And our esteemed judges have tallied the scores from the first phase of the contest! Let's take a look at the scores." She turned her head upward as a large flatscreen lowered from the ceiling high above. "In fourth place-" A little chibi Poliwag appeared, with a thin blue bar extending to the right. "In third place-" A Purrloin's face appeared above the tadpole pokemon, with a purple bar extending past Roli Poli's. "Second place-" Houndour's mug stood above both of them, with a red bar that stretched even further than Lindsey's pokemon. "And currently in first place-" An image of a standard form Furfrou topped them all, with a bar that extended a quarter of the way across the screen.
Lola had a big grin on her face when she saw this. She was in the lead! "And now, for the part most of us have been waiting for. Phase two, the talent portion!" Maria informed the onlookers, getting a fresh cheer from the contest lovers among them. "And since Brittany is leading the pack right now, she'll be going first." Any joy the pageant princess had just a moment ago sank with her stomach.
'What a rollercoaster…' She thought to herself.
"For those of you who are first time viewers, here's how this will work: each pokemon will get four chances to try and wow you and the judges with their moves that show off their beauty, starting with the one who earned the most appeal and ending with the least. If the pokemon are in need of a target…" A ditto shaped punching bag suddenly popped up from the stage floor in front of each of the participating pocket monsters. "...one will be provided. And now, Lola, Brittany, whenever you are ready."
'Here goes nothing…' The prissy twin steeled herself with a deep breath. "Brittany, growl." Her faithful Furfrou nodded and emitted a low, cute growl followed by a bark.
"Well...that was cute," Simon said, sounding like he couldn't really comment on anything else about it. Meanwhile, Morris looked like his good mood was fading.
"Yeah...that'd be real snazzy...if this was a cutie contest!" He said harshly. "But for a beauty contest, it's just blah."
"I wouldn't go that far, Morris…" Xelma scolded him with a frown. "But I do have to agree that, while adorable, it's not that impressive." Up on the screen, two hearts appeared beside the image of the Furfrou.
"Allow me to show you how it's done," Lacey said with a snide, smug smirk. "Scruffles, Nasty Plot." Lacey's Houndour suddenly looked deep in thought, before getting a charming, yet sinister grin. Morris groaned as he face palmed.
"She's probably setting up for something," The chipper blonde said, trying to comfort him, patting him on the shoulder.
"You clearly have more faith in them than I do…" He grumbled, a single heart appearing next to Scruffles' picture.
"Get ready, Precious. Fake out," Lindsey said with a mean grin on her face. A large ditto bag emerged from the stage in front of the Purrloin, but instead of aiming at it, Precious turned toward Brittany. She clapped her paws together to send a shockwave right at the poodle pokemon, making it jump with a frightened yelp.
"Oh…that's not good for Brittany," Simon commented while wincing, Lola's pokemon both the hearts it had earned, while the purple feline earned two of her own.
"Wait! That can't be legal!" Lana objected loudly.
"Unfortunately, it is, Lana," Lincoln contradicted her with a shake of his head. "Targeting others' pokemon during a contest has been a thing since the very beginning."
"But…that's not fair."
"It goes both ways, Lana," Girl Jordan whispered to her. "Lola could strike back…if she had a move that allowed it." Up on the stage, Lola was glaring daggers at the smirking Lindsey, but there was nothing she could do about it right now. Not while all eyes were on them. She simply plotted her revenge as Roli Poli pranced forward to do its stuff. It started to do some kind of jig, which caused a rain cloud to appear over the stage. It started to drizzle over the little blue tadpole, which, combined with the stage lights, caused a rainbow to form over it.
"Awwwww!" Xelma, Lola, and a majority of the audience all said, enchanted by the adorable move.
"Well, that's a little more like it," The grump of the judges table commented. "At least it was a well performed beauty move." Three hearts appeared beside the chibi Poliwag.
"And with the first round of the talent portion over, it looks like Roli Poli is starting to gain some ground," The MC stated to the onlookers as the water pokemon's image was moved to the top of the list, followed by Precious, Scruffles, and finally Brittany. "And poor Brittany is having a little trouble. But it's still anyone's contest as we go into round two. Roli Poli, if you please."
"Poli!" The Poliwag chirped as it sucked in a deep breath of air, then exhaled a powerful jet of water from its mouth toward the rain cloud. The cloud burst upon contact with the Hydro Pump, sending sparkly drops of water down all over the stage. The crowd was clearly loving this as they cheered for the little pokemon.
"Now that was a crowd pleaser!" The blue haired young lady said energetically, looking up at the scoreboard to see four hearts appearing beside Roli Poli, which then got doubled. "And a judge pleaser too. A wonderful combo!"
"Combo? They have combos in contests?" The mechanically inclined twin inquired quietly.
"Seems like it," Jordan answered. "It makes sense. Rain does boost water attacks, so it would naturally make them more appealing too, I suppose." Precious was next to go, smirking over at Scruffles and Brittany. In the blink of an eye, it disappeared, and reappeared beside the Houndour. It whispered something into his ear before moving quickly beside Brittany and saying something quietly into her ear. The dark hound flinched a little at what the purple cat said, but maintained his composure. Brittany, however, seemed petrified with terror.
"Brittany? Brittany, what's wrong?" Lola asked in concern.
"Ooooh…A nasty Torment…" Simon said with a cringe of sympathy. The crowd didn't seem at all pleased with this, actually booing the kitten pokemon Two hearts appeared by Precious' icon, but then one went away.
"Looks like Precious succeeded in not only getting on Brittany's nerves, but the audiences' too," The MC said with a disapproving look at the Purrloin. Legal or not, it was still fighting dirty. Scruffles moved forward to make his appeal, steam billowing from his muzzle. He breathed a torrent of flames at his feet, sending him a few feet into the air. While he was airborne, he continued to breathe fire while turning his head in strategic directions. When he was finished, he landed on the ground, a cloud of smoke and embers in the shape of the symbol for fire over him. The crowd seemed to adore that as much as Roli Poli's combo, earning the dog pokemon eight stars.
Then, it was Brittany's turn. However, it seemed the Furfrou was too scared to even make a move. The beauty centered Loud gasped as she sprang from her platform to run over to her poor pokemon. "It's ok, Brittany…You can come back from this," Lola said in an attempt to comfort her Furfrou, though her own confidence was shot at this point. She brushed and stroked Brittany's fur, which seemed to help calm her down a little. Unfortunately, it was too late. She missed her chance to appeal and got a zero that round.
"We've got a fierce competition for first place now, between Roli Poli and Scruffles!" The MC said as the Houndour's face moved over Precious' to show the shift of points. "And sadly, Brittany is still trailing behind…"
"Where she belongs," Lindsey commented under her breath snidely as Lola returned to her place. Roli Poli started this round of appeals off by diving into a pool of water that raised from the floor, earning it three hearts. Scruffles followed up by sending a burst of searing flames at the Poliwag, but the pool of water protected it and only netted the fire doggo two hearts. Feeling Lola was no longer a threat to her, Lindsey commanded Precious to hit Scruffles with a Fake Out, causing him to lose two hearts and the Purrloin to gain two.
Lola gulped in concern as she instructed her poodle pocket monster to do a Tail Whip. She braced herself for more harsh criticisms as Brittany pranced forward and wagged her tail in an adorable manner. To her surprise, that actually earned her quite a few stars, even if it didn't exactly impress the judges. "And here we come to the final round of the appeal phase, and is it ever getting rough," The announcer lady stated to the audience. "Precious continues to pick on her competition, and even Scruffles is getting in on the act. However, Brittany is starting to fight back as she takes the top spot for this round. Can she maintain this upward momentum?"
'I hope so,' Lola thought as her precious pupper awaited her instructions. 'Ok, think, Lola…Lindsey is probably going to target Brittany again, so I should have Brittany do something to protect herself.' She took a moment to clear her throat before she said, "Brittany, use Cotton Guard." Her Furfrou barked in compliance and started to shake. Little puffs of cotton flew out from her fur, and then grew to large size as they fluttered back down. The pillowy soft wads surrounded the canine pokemon in a shield of cotton.
"Not very appealing, but a wise move," Lincoln said quietly as Brittany only earned one heart. Roli Poli was next in line, and the little tadpole sat on its tail as it tapped its stomach with its feet as if it were playing bongos. Its Belly Drum attack earned it a number of giggles from the crowd, and a large number of hearts from the judges.
"Precious, you know what to do. Fake Out!" Lindsey commanded. Her purple kitten smirked as she turned toward Furfrou and clapped her paws together to create a shockwave. However, Brittany's Cotton Guard cushioned it from the burst of sound, keeping her from getting startled. "What!?"
"Again? Young lady, repetition is a sure fire way to bore the audience," Morris harshly scolded her as Precious gained two points, and promptly lost them again. "Not to mention the judges."
"Amateur. Watch and learn from a show pro," Lacey said with a smug grin on her face. "Scruffles, Heat Have." Her Houndour barked before he exhaled a kind of magma mist across the whole stage. The mist waved and flowed with red, yellow and orange colors, creating a kaleidoscope of warm colors. It was a lovely sight for the audience and the judges, who looked very impressed. To Scruffles' opponents, however, it was less beautiful, since they were getting scorched by the super heated mist, causing Roli Poli and Precious to squeal in fright and pain. Brittany, however, was protected by her soft, fluffy shield.
"Hey! You can't do that!" Lindsey objected loudly, glaring at Lacey St Clair.
"Considering that's what you've been doing all contest…" The Loud in pink grumbled under her breath, rolling her eyes.
"Ha! Serves you right!" Lana exclaimed, only to get shushed by Lincoln and Girl Jordan. Up on the screen, the Purrloin had gone into negative hearts, and Roli Poli lost four hearts of its own.
"Well done, contestants," Simon said after the judges had made their final tally.
"You've all done remarkably well. You should be very proud of yourselves," Xelma told them all. The wet blanket among them just looked at the two of them as if they were complete idiots.
"...I must admit that the appeals exceeded my expectations," Morris finally said, before adding under his breath, "...but considering I had no expectations, that isn't saying much." His fellow judges frowned at him, but seeing as how the kids didn't hear him, they let it go.
"After that exciting appeal phase, let's see how things stand now," The MC said, gesturing up at the scoreboard. Brittany, who was in first place before, had gained hardly any points this phase, so her bar barely moved. Precious also didn't get much further, but had edged just past Lola's pokemon. Scruffles and Roli Poli, on the other hand, gained a significant boost, both of them surpassing Brittany by a fair margin. Lola's heart sank at the sight, thinking that was it. She had lost. "Things have taken a drastic turn. Scruffles and Roli Poli have soared ahead, while Brittany has fallen to the bottom."
'Oh sure…twist the knife deeper…' Lola thought sourly.
"But it's still anyone's contest as we reach the third phase."
"Third phase? What third phase!?" Lola, Lindsey and Lacey all asked at once.
"What third phase?" Lincoln, Lana, and Jordan also inquired in unison, all as lost as the three young ladies on stage. They appeared to be the only ones, however. The judges weren't the least bit surprised, and neither was anyone in the audience.
"I'm referring, of course, to the battle phase!" The crowd cheered in excitement at this declaration. Lola and Lana's rivals both looked horrified at this prospect, while Lola grinned broadly. Lindsey admitted before that she didn't battle often with her pokemon, and judging by the look on Lacey's face, she didn't either.
'Maybe I can turn this around after all,' The pageant princess thought to herself.
"Now you wait just a darn minute!" Lacey exclaimed as she stormed toward the judge's booth. "What is the meaning of this!? When has there ever been a battle phase in Pokemon contests!?"
"It's something that had been implemented as of two weeks ago," Simon calmly explained to her, while Xelma was ready to try and hold Morris back. However, the sour faced judge was sitting calm as could be, showing no hostile signs. In the audience, Lincoln just nodded lightly. It made a certain degree of sense to him that they didn't hear of it in that case, since they were on their journeys. They didn't have much opportunity to see any news regarding the contests on the road. "The Elite Four believed it was important for contest trainers to learn how to battle so they can protect themselves. After all, criminals are drawn to successful people."
"Not to mention that it helps differentiate our contests from those held in the Hoenn and Sinnoh regions," The cheeriest of the judges interjected.
"My pokemon are show pokemon, not brutes," Lacey snapped, crossing her arms in front of her. "And I refuse to let them participate in such a barbaric act."
"That goes double for me!" Lindsey agreed, looking aghast at the idea. Morris held his fingers together as he leaned forward, looking Lacey right in the eyes.
"Then the both of you will receive a zero for your score," He told her, flatly and calmly. "Is that what you want?" The two spoiled brats were silent for a moment as Lacey leered back at him.
"...this isn't fair. We didn't know about this third phase," The pokemon show contestant objected, hoping it would curry a little favor from the judges. She was bitterly disappointed.
"That's not our fault," He responded without an ounce of pity in his voice. "The change has been on the website since before it was officially implemented. If you didn't check it at all before you came to the hall, that's your problem. Now, you only have two options here: either quit your whining, get back in place, and see the rest of this contest through, or don't and take a zero. Which is it?" The two remained locked in a staring match for nearly a minute before Lacey grunted in annoyance and returned to her platform, while Morris didn't even blink. "That's what I thought."
"I think I'm starting to like that guy," Lana said quietly with a satisfied smirk, delighted to see her rival put in her place.
"He's probably been judging contests for a long time," Lincoln theorized with a slight smile of his own. "No doubt used to that kind of behavior."
"Ahem…with that out of the way, let's see who is going to be battling who," The aqua haired contest announcer said in an attempt to keep things moving along. Up on the monitor, a colored wheel appeared on the screen, split into four sections with a chibi image of each pokemon on each section. "Round and round it goes…" The moment she said that, the digital wheel started to spin. "And where it stops, nobody knows." After a few seconds of spinning, the wheel slowly came to a stop on Precious. The disc changed into one with three sections, and the Purrloin's picture was missing from the bunch. Once more it spun and, when it stopped, it was pointing at Brittany.
"Yes," Lola cheered quietly, a devious smile on her face. "Payback time."
"And there we go. In the first round, we'll have Precious vs Brittany, followed by Roli Poli vs Scruffles."
"Hmph. At least I can say I have the pleasure of beating you…" Lola's pageant rival said snidely as she moved from her position to one side of the stage, while Lola took her place across from her. Amelia and Lacey both cleared the way to give them room, the platforms lowering back into the floor. Precious and Brittany both moved in front of their respective trainers, the latter looking confident with a grin, the former sweating a little.
"Contestants, are you ready?" The MC inquired, raising her hand. Both Lola and Lindsey nodded, not taking her searing gazes off one another. "Begin!" She exclaimed, swinging her arm downward as if she was waving a starting flag.
"Ok, Brittany. Let's teach her a lesson. Bite attack!" The prissy twin ordered, pointing a finger toward the Purrloin. Lindsey flinched as she tried to think of a move to fight back with, but she was too slow. Precious screeched in fright and tried to run away from the charging poodle. This only gave the Furfrou an opening to bite her tail. The purple cat pokemon yowled in pain and sprang up onto Lindsey's face, knocking her down to the ground as she clung to it, mewing as her tail hurt. Lola, her family, Girl Jordan and most of the audience laughed uproariously as Lindsey screamed into her pokemon, trying to pull it off her face. She eventually removed Precious from her, getting scratched several times in the process.
"Hey, no fair!" Lindsey screamed.
"What's not fair about it? You said you were ready, and I was ready," Lola countered. "Now let Precious down and let's finish this." Brittany barked, looking eager to continue fighting. The opposing Purrloin, on the other hand, squeaked in terror and hid behind Lindsey's head, once again clinging to her while shivering.
"P-Precious isn't used to battling…"
"All the more reason you both should get used to it," Simon piped up with a serious expression. "Now, is Precious going to get back in the battle, or is she forfeiting the fight?" Lola's rival gasped and tried to get her scared witless kitty off the back of her head. However, the Purrloin refused to let go. After about five minutes of (admittedly amusing) struggles, Simon decided enough was enough. "Due to Precious refusing to return to the battle, Brittany is declared the winner." Lola threw her fist into the air in victory, while Lindsey's face turned bright red in humiliation and fury, stomping off the field. The beauty centered twin also cleared the stage as Amelia and Lacey have moved forward for their battle.
"Alright, Scruffles…we may not be used to battling…but we can do this…" Lacey muttered to her dark canine. "We're the best, after all."
"Good luck," Amelia called out to her in an effort to be friendly. Lacey just hmphed at her and turned her nose to the green haired girl.
"Begin!" The announcer called out, starting the battle.
"Now, Scruffles, attack with Flamethrower!"
"Not so fast! Roli Poli, Rain Dance!" Amelia instructed her little Poliwag.
"Hey! I gave the first order! I get to go first!" The brown haired rich girl protested. However, the tadpole pokemon was faster to react, and kicked up a rain storm on the stage once more. The Houndour unleashed a torrent of searing flame at Roli Poli, but between the rain and its water typing, the attack barely stung it.
"Good work, Roli Poli. Now use Bubblebeam!" The young lady from Hazeltuckey said, looking quite pleased. Before Lacey could scream in fury, Roli Poli spat a ray of foam and bubbles right at Scruffles. The attack hit the fire puppy right in the chest, knocking him right off his feet and onto its side. The pokemon was out cold, much to Lacey's rage, and Amelia was declared the winner.
"Heh heh heh. Looks like Lacey isn't liking her helping of humble pie," Lana said while snickering, watching as her childhood foe threw a full blown tantrum that could rival Lola's when they were children. Screaming, stamping her feet, demanding a redo, bawling her eyes out; but all it accomplished was making her tired. The judges refused to give her another try and she had to be escorted backstage by security, who also helped Scruffles off the stage to get healed.
"That was…interesting," The contest master of ceremonies commented, a sweat drop trickling down her head as she watched Lacey being forcibly removed from the field. She regained her composure and peppiness after a few seconds, turning back to face the crowd with a bright smile. "But now comes the big moment! The final match of the contest between Amelia's Roli Poli and Lola's Brittany!" The pink loving twin ran out onto the stage, feeling like she could possibly win this. Her Furfrou pranced out shortly after, all healed up and ready to party, while her opponent needed to step backstage for a moment to heal her tadpole pokemon so it would fight at its best.
"Alright. It's just you and me now," Lola stated as soon as Amelia returned to her place on the stage.
"So it seems. Good luck to you."
"Thanks. Same to you."
"Are all contestants ready? Then begin!" The MC called out.
"Brittany, attack with headbutt!" Lola commanded, hoping to end this fight quickly. The poodle pokemon ran forward, lowering her head as she aimed at the Poliwag. It couldn't quite get out of the way fast enough and was struck right in the breadbasket. The round water pokemon was rolled back several feet, looking like it was in pretty bad pain. However, it was able to get back up and hop back into place. Not only that, much to Lola's delight, not a single hair was out of place on Brittany's hair style.
"It's ok, Roli Poli. We've still got this. Set up the rain again," The green haired Hazeltuckey lass said. The armless tadpole started to do its little jig, which brought the rain cloud back to life. Lola gasped and pulled a parasol from behind her back, using it to block the rain. Fortunately for Brittany, her hat-like hairdo kept her front half dry.
"Alright, Brittany. Let's finish this. Give it another headbutt!" Lola called it with an excited tone and expression.
"Roli Poli, Hydro Pump! Quickly!" Amelia pleaded with her Poliwag. Much to the surprise of Lola and her well wishers, Roli Poli actually moved faster than Lola's Furfrou this time and blasted her with an incredibly powerful surge of water. Brittany tried to stand her ground against the attack, but as tough as she was, the Hydro Pump was just a bit too much for her and she knocked clear across the stage and into the wall. Lola screamed softly and ran over to her now unconscious pupper, while her opponent winced at the sight of the Furfrou slowly sliding down the wall. "Oops…sorry. I didn't mean for that to happen."
"Brittany! Are you ok!?" The third youngest Loud asked her fainted partner, a Nurse Joy rushing from backstage to check on her.
"...I think Brittany will be just fine," The pink haired nurse told her with a relieved sigh. "She took quite a blow, but we can fix her right up." She picked up the poodle pokemon and took her backstage. Lola wanted to go back there to make sure she'd be alright, but she was being called back to the stage for the final judging.
"Well, that was quite a climax, wasn't it, ladies and gentlemen!?" The blue haired announcer inquired, to which the audience responded with a cacophonous cheer. "The winner of the battle phase was Amelia and Roli Poli! Now, let's see how this affects the final totals." All eyes turned to the scoreboard one last time. Unlike the previous phases, all the bars of each contestant were extending at the same time. Precious' barely moved and she fell to the bottom of the pack. Brittany's line moved quite a bit, but she wasn't able to overtake Scruffles, even though his bar barely moved as well. Roli Poli's on the other hand, stretched far past the Houndour's.
"And there we have it! The winner of today's beginner level beauty contest is Amelia and Roli Poli!" Amelia's eyes lit up with glee and she started jumping up and down in celebration along with her little Poliwag. Lacey and Lindsey sneered at her, clearly upset that they weren't in first place. Lola, however, was looking up at the board with disappointment. She had lost the contest. She may not be last, but she still lost, and Brittany had gotten hurt pretty bad in the process.
"Congratulations, Amelia," Xelma said with a big smile as she handed her a beginner's beauty ribbon. "You've performed excellently."
"Indeed," Morris had to agree. "Your performance in the talent and battle phase was exceptional for one your age. However, if I may offer some criticism…" Simon and Xelma opened their mouths, but he raised a hand to stop them. "...you need to work on your show work. If you had trained Roli Poli in the art of beauty, or fed him a few beauty centered poffins or pokepuffs, you could have easily swept the competition. Work on that, however, and I think you'll be in the master class contest in no time."
"Yes, sir," Amelia said with a nod and smile. Xelma and Simon had to admit they were surprised at him; they were expecting something much more harsh from him.
"Miss St Clair, you also did remarkably well in the appeal phase," Xelma started off, turning to the runner up. "And you did very well in the show phase too."
"But you need to get used to battling," Simon interjected with a frown. "Not just for the sake of the contests, but for your own good as well." Lacey snorted in derision at his criticism, but nodded her head to show she understood. "As for you, Miss Loud, you've clearly got a knack for the show phase, and your battling wasn't half bad either."
"But your choice of pokemon was…well, there's a reason Furfrous aren't seen often in beauty contests, even if they look the part," Xelma told her with a sympathetic look. "They just don't naturally have the moves for the talent portion."
"Yeah…I found that out a bit too late," Lola admitted, looking down at the floor.
"It's not impossible, though," Morris cut in, causing her to raise her head. "There are a few moves a Furfrou could learn that may help there. While you may be better training Brittany for another one of the contests, if you're dead set on her being a beauty pokemon, look more carefully into the moves she can learn."
"And finally, we come to Miss Sweetwater," Simon said, the eyes of all the judges turned to her. "You showed some promise in the show phase, but I'm afraid that's about all I can say about you."
"I must agree. You've spent most of your time during the talent portion bullying your competitors rather than trying to get good appeals," The judge in the blonde bouffant said with a disapproving voice. "It may be well within the rules to hinder your opponents, but if you don't focus on your own talent score as well, you're setting yourself up for failure."
"And then there's your battling," Morris commented, shaking his head. "It was, for lack of a nicer word, pathetic. I think a Magikarp using Splash could have beaten Precious in a battle the way things are now."
"Hmph! My Precious was raised to be a superstar, not a common battling monster," The snooty redhead said angrily.
"Well, big whoop. Unless you're planning to move out to the Hoenn or Sinnoh regions for the remainder of your contest career, I suggest you both get over yourselves. Like Simon said, learning to battle is for your own good," He informed her flatly as he gathered up his notes and stood up from his seat before she could even spark up an argument. "We're done here." And with that, he started to leave the booth and the contest theater. His fellow judges soon caught up with him after the contest was officially concluded.
"I have to admit, Morris, I thought you were going to lose your cool there," The overly cheerful woman said once she was beside him.
"You don't give me enough credit," He replied without even looking at her. "It's one thing to punch a loud mouth stage mom in the face. She's a grown up. But kids are another matter. I'll tell them how it is. I'll put them in their place. But I'm not going to lose it over a mouthy, spoiled, arrogant little brat. They're just kids." He sped up his pace to get further ahead of his fellow judges before he finished by saying, "It's what I expect from them in contests."
Meanwhile, out in the hall lobby, Lincoln, Lana, Princess and Girl Jordan were anxiously awaiting Lola's arrival. While the pageant princess looked and sounded calm at the end of the competition, the two Louds knew their sister. Knew of her temper and her hatred of losing (though it wasn't as bad as Lynn's). The one son was considering going to check on her when they didn't see her after a while, but just as he was to act on this thought, Lola had finally made an appearance. She was back in her usual pink long sleeve and skirt, and was looking down and defeated, her pampered poodle by her side looking up at her in concern. Concern that Lola's family and friend shared as they converged on the contest hopeful.
"You did great, Lola," Her older brother said to her as he knelt down in front of her..
"You really did, Lo," Her twin agreed, patting her on the back in an attempt to comfort her.
"...how can you say that when I lost? And so badly…" The pageant princess asked, very close to tears.
"First of all, Lola, you didn't lose," Girl Jordan told her. "I mean, yeah, you didn't place first, but you weren't last either."
"And second, it was only the talent segment where things went awry, and that was partially because of Precious," Lincoln continued the thought that his friend had started. "You did good in the battle and you dominated in the show portion. Just do a little work for the second phase and you'll leave the competition in your dust next time." She slowly looked up at Lincoln, her twin sister, and the popular girl, her eyes rather misty. He gently hugged his little sister, hoping it would help her feel better.
"Ha! More like she'd be the one eating dust!" Came the voice of Lindsey Sweetwater, loud enough to get the attention of everyone in the lobby. She was smirking in spite of the withering looks she received from Lincoln, Lana, Girl Jordan and Princess.
"Big talk, seeing how you came in last," Lana retorted with a smirk.
"...Did I say I was talking to you?" The red headed sore loser growled before smirking at Lola's back again. "Besides, she got lucky. The judges were being soft on her because they pity her lack of talent."
"You didn't do that much better, missy…" The young lady with the light brown ponytail told her angrily. "And you even fought dirty."
"And Lola still stomped you in both the show and battle phase," The one son added.
"She got lucky!" Lindsey snapped in fury, her face going red. "If she had to fight that little blue beach ball in the first round, she would have gotten destroyed!"
"So would you. What's your point?" The hat wearing twin retaliated, sticking her tongue out at Lindsey to further irk her. It seemed to work, as the once prominent pageant participant was practically purple with rage.
"I still beat her in the talent segment!"
"...She's right. She did," Lola said quietly, getting startled looks from her friend and family, and even throwing her rival off guard.
"Huh? Oh, uh…Ha! See? Even she admits I'm superior to her."
"No. I admit you beat me in the talent part of the contest. I wasn't as prepared as I should have been…but neither were you," The short fused blonde said, quickly turning to face her rival. "The judges weren't any more impressed with your appeals than they were with mine. Literally the only reason you ended up with more points than me is because you targeted Brittany throughout the talent show." A big grin started to form on Lola's face as Lindsey's temper started to heat up again. "And Jordan's right…I may not have won the contest, I can at least take solace in the fact I did better than YOU!"
Steam was billowing from Lindsey's ears, her teeth grinding as she glared at her hated pageant enemy. While this was going on, Princess silently floated her way behind the fuming red head. Once there, she looked to be taking aim, while the sore loser started ranting at the top of her lungs. She took in a deep breath, and exhaled a large bubble. With a soft blow, the bubble came to hover right over Lindsey's head. Taking notice of this, Lincoln, Lola, Lana and Girl Jordan all started to snicker a little, while the pink Frillish reached toward the aqua sphere with a sly grin. Lindsey was so busy screaming, she never noticed what the water ghost pokemon was doing, until she had gotten drenched from the bubble being popped.
The crowd in the lobby started to laugh at the look of shock and outrage on her face, no one more so than the twins and Princess herself. Lindsey was so furious, all she could do was scream before she stormed out of the contest hall. With her out of the way, Lincoln approached his starter with an amused look. "Now, Princess…you know that wasn't a nice thing to do," He said in a VERY half-hearted attempt at a scolding, wagging his finger at her like she was a naughty child. This only succeeded in making her laugh even more
"Feeling better now, sis?" The tool savvy Loud inquired once she had calmed down and caught her breath.
"Hehehe…A little, yeah,"The beauty centered sister admitted, wiping a tear of mirth from her eye. "I'm still upset that I lost, but the fact Lindsey didn't win or beat me…I'll take it. But believe me, next contest, I'll be ready," She added with a look of determination. Then, she had a thought that wiped the smile off her face. "Uh…where is the next contest hall?"
"You don't need to worry about that, Lo," Her older brother said with a soft smile as he and his jellyfish pokemon rejoined the group. "We still have things we need to do here. We can wait a few days, right everyone?" Girl Jordan nodded and, after a moment of hesitation, so did Lana. Lola's smile returned as she pulled all four of them in for a big hug.
"Thanks guys. I promise I won't hold us up too much. Just one ribbon and we'll be on our way!"
"I'll hold you to that," Lana informed her as she returned the hug. "Now, who wants to check out that surprise trading machine!?" She asked before she ran out of the contest hall.
"Hey! Wait up!" Girl Jordan called out, chasing after the animal loving Loud. Lincoln just chuckled and shook his head as he watched them before he and Lola departed from the beginner's hall.
AN: Main Characters current pokemon teams:
Lincoln
Frillish aka Princess
Water Ghost
Ability: Cursed Body
Pidove
Normal Flying
Ability: Super Luck
Scorbunny
Fire
Ability: Blaze
Munna
Psychic
Ability: Synchronize
Vulpix
Fire
Ability: ?
Lola
Furfrou aka Brittany
Normal
Ability: Fur Coat
Pichu aka Brat
Electric
Ability: Static
Egg Move: Volt Tackle
Litleo aka Isabella
Fire/Normal
Ability: Rivalry
Goldeen
Water
Ability: Water Veil
Cutiefly aka Victoria
Fairy/Bug
Ability: Honey Gatherer
Roselia
Grass/Poison
Ability: PoisonPoint
Lana
Tympole aka Hops
Water
Ability: Hydration
Vivillion aka Dusty
Bug/Flying
Ability: Shield Dust
Zubat
Poison/Flying
Ability: Unknown
Mankey
Fighting
Ability: Vital Spirit
Alolan Grimer aka Flan
Poison/Dark
Ability: Gluttony
Durant AKA Sarge
Steel/Bug
Ability:Hustle
Girl Jordan
Timburr
Fighting
Ability: Guts
Pinsir
Bug
Ability:Mold Breaker
Goldeen
Water
Ability:Water Veil