Welcome back again! Hope you have fun reading this next chapter!

Performance Time: Part 1

Hoenn Region 9:00 AM

Lilycove City

Ruby took a deep breath before entering the Lilycove City Contest Hall. Upon entering, he saw the other male dex holders standing in a big group at the registration desk. Just then, Black made eye contact with Ruby and ran up to him.

"So, you ready?" Black inquired.

Ruby sighed, "I hope so. In the end it'll be all my fault if it doesn't work out."

"C'mon you don't have to worry about anything," Black said as he shook his head. "Just know that the rest of us are here with you."

Ruby look up at Black who was smiling at him. He then gave Black a look of confidence, and Black gave a quick thumbs-up before both of them ran back to the group of dex holders. Upon returning to the group, Ruby could hear Green talking with someone at the registration desk.

"Like I said before, what good reason do we have to do any of this?" Green asked the person at the registration desk.

"Oh come one Green. You know that in the end you'll enjoy it. You've never even experienced something like this have you? Might be a good chance for you to do so," the person at the registration desk replied back to him.

Green gave a cold stare back to the person and walked to the group of holders. All the other holders ran up to him.

"No luck huh?" Red said.

"Unfortunately not. We're just gonna have to do what we're told for now."

Ruby heard this and was confused. He didn't know that someone forced all the male dex holders into doing this event. He looked up at the person who was standing behind the registration desk. He was shocked to see that it was Blue who was standing behind the desk.

'So she was the one that forced us into doing this, I should've known' he thought to himself. Ruby tried to keep his self-esteem high but it wasn't working ever since he found out that Blue was the one that planned the event for them.

Flashback to 3 days ago

Ruby was in his secret base planning a new routine for the next contest he was going to have at the Lilycove Contest Hall.

"Hmm, I can get Nana to enter the first round of performers, then we could switch it up to Zulu after that. But I have no idea what should come last."

As Ruby racked his brain for ideas, Sapphire entered his secret base.

"Heya Ruby!" She yelled.

"Oh hey Sapphire, what brings you here?" He asked her.

Sapphire held up an envelope in her hand. "This thing was outside your base but ya didn't seem to have read yet, so I brought it in ya."

"Thanks," he said as he took the envelope from her hand and opened it up to read what was inside. "Lilycove Sing and Dance Contest," he read aloud. "You have been invited (along with the other male dex holders) to take part in a sing and dance contest sponsored in the Lilycove City Contest Hall. Any act is welcome."

Sapphire jumped up in down. "Ooooooh, a sing and dance contest. I've never seen ya perform one of those so it might be a blast for me ta watch."

Ruby shook his head, "I don't think I have time for this, especially when I need to prepare for my next contest. It's even on the same day as this contest right here and..." Ruby looked at the letter again. In big bold letters it read 'The Master Rank Contest held in the Lilycove City Contest Hall has been postponed to another date as this contest will be taking its place.' As Ruby read this, his eyes grew large in shock. He then let out the loudest shriek (not as loud as last chapter's scream) he could belt.

"AAAUUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH NOOOOOOOOOOO! I'VE BEEN PREPPING FOR THAT CONTEST FOR AGES, AND YOU'RE TELLING ME IT GOT POSTPONED?! WHYYYYYY?!"

"Oh cheer up. At least you're still able to perform in both contests," Sapphire said as she tried to calm him down. "And as a bonus you could spend more time with your dex-holder family."

Ruby lied flat on the ground with his face covered and muffled a reply. "Fhe ast ing I eed s tu to dis."

"Say what now?" Sapphire looked perplexed.

Ruby put his head back up. "I said 'The last thing I need is to do this' and no, I'm fine just staying in my base while I prepare for more contests. Thanks but no thanks."

He knew nothing was ever going to work out ever since he became the rank of being a dex holder. Ruby ran into problems every single day and nothing ever went as he planned.

Gold stood up from the couch he was sitting on. "Since we can't do anything might as well hurry up and get it over with, am I right?" This was the first time the other holders agreed with Gold. "And plus, this isn't the first time that Blue has forced us into doing something she planned has it?"

"I agree with him," Pearl agreed as he stood up. "And I think there are some people who might enjoy this experience," he said as he eyed Diamond, Lack-Two, and Sun.

Gold walked over to where Ruby was sitting and held his hand out to pull him up. "C'mon, we can get back at her some other time."

Ruby grabbed onto his hand and gave a smile that was half filled with worry but half filled with tranquility. He has his dex holder family to rely on so what could go wrong?

"Besides," Gold continued, "I can't wait to pull some pranks on her. You with me buddy?" He said as he turned to Emerald.

Emerald's expression brightened up. "Stink bombs?" He asked.

"Stink bombs."

'Oh no,' Ruby thought to himself. But before he could think about what little tricks Gold and Emerald had devised, the contest security guards cane up to the group of male dex holders.

"Hey there, looks like everything is set up for you guys," one of the guards had said.

"So in the meantime, why don't you follow us. We'll take you backstage to your rooms," the other guard followed up.

Red stood up along with Green. "You heard that fellas. Let's go," he said as he followed the guards.

The other male Dex Holders followed their seniors and tried to avoid eye contact with the female Dex Holders, who were watching them go backstage. Crystal, Sapphire, and Platinum were giving them thumbs-up while Yellow, White, and Whi-two cheered them on. Ruby couldn't help but grimace as he stepped through the authorized personnel doors. It wasn't his first time going through them, but it was a pain to see that he was going through for a different purpose than a contest. The male Dex Holders went down a hallway and turned right and left couple of times until the arrived at a room with a door labeled "Special Guests". The Dex Holders stood and stared at the door. Then Gold broke the silence.

"Well, here we are. Shouldn't we get going in?"

"Yeah you're right. What are we doing just standing out here? Let's get going!" Pearl added on.

Red and Green were the first to enter in. Silver and Emerald gave a groan and followed the two. Diamond, Black, and X just shook their heads as the followed their seniors. Lack-Two and Sun shook with excite as they walked through the room. Ruby ignored the other Dex Holders and gazed at the door. Then he took one huge sigh and went into the room.

To be continued...

Alright so sorry that this chapter seemed a bit short as well as ending on a cliff hanger. I planned to have this a bit longer but I wanted to get this story out ASAP and I have other story ideas so we'll have to put this on hold for a bit. No worries, there will be a part two eventually coming out, just don't have any idea when that will be. Hopefully sometime soon. Anyways, see y'all in the next chapter. (Also, thanks to everyone who gave reviews and some constructive criticism. Hopefully my writing will get better through each chapter).