Scene 29: A Child's Dream! Part 3- Shelly's Debut!
"Mamma. Papa. I have something important to say to you!" Shelly looked at her family in the dense silence. They've never seen her looking so serious before.
"I know you think me saying I want to become a Top Coordinator is just a 'child's dream,' and you may be right about that, but… But I don't care! It's my dream!" They sat staring at her, a smile pulled at the corners of Nick's mouth. She was finally standing up for herself, "I know you're worried about me being out on a journey on my own, but that's the point isn't it? To learn and become stronger as a Trainer and as a person!" She looks at them all. No one is standing up to her- she's gaining momentum now.
"I want to perform on stage and compete as a Pokémon Coordinator, and… And I really am scared, but… I want to at least try! So please..!"
Cleo looks to her husband, "I don't know, Sweetie." Axel nods, "I don't know how I feel about you leaving on your own." Nick is now standing at his sister's side, "You know, Kari was only 8 years old when she left home to start her journey! And Shelly's way older than her- she's ready. I know it!"
Axel stands and puts a gentle hand on Shelly's head, "I know you're actually stronger than you look Shelly. And I know how scary it can be out there- that's why we want to protect you." He sighs, "Let us think this over, alright?" Shelly smiles at her brother. At least this means there's a chance.
The months pass quickly. The holidays bring in the cold weather, Shelly completes her online classes, and as suspected by Shelly, Richard ends up winning the Johto Grand Festival- originally from the Kanto Region, this is his 2nd Ribbon Cup victory. Shelly hopes to have an answer from her parents by the time her 11th birthday comes in March, but they continue to dodge the question. The month passes without any word from them…
Nick continues to hold out hope for his sister. He invites her to train with him, but her heart's not really in it. At the start of the summer Shelly catches a news article about Kari. She's taken on another challenge already: the Kanto Battle Frontier. While Shelly's been sitting on her butt all year, Kari's been getting stronger. She crumples up the paper, "That's it."
It's the first weekend of May and Shelly's parents are ready to hit the beach.
"This is the first warm day all year!" Cleo is thrilled. She turns to her daughter at the breakfast table, "Would you like to join us, Shelly?" Shelly finishes off her toast, "Sorry, Mamma, but I have other plans." The others look at her curiously as she puts her dishes away. At the entrance to the kitchen she stops. Shelly turns to face her family. She takes a deep breath, "I'm going to compete in the Chrysanthemum Contest today at noon."
Nick is absolutely beaming. "No way!" Shelly nods at him. She shows him her registration card. "I filled out all the paperwork this week. I'm officially registered to compete in the Kanto Region." Nick is bouncing around her with excitement. "So, I'm sorry Mamma. But I'm going to be a bit busy." And without another word, Shelly leaves.
Nick has to practically beg his parents to let him watch his sister perform. He's bouncing up and down, pulling on them, "Come on! Mamma! Papa! Shelly's going to be amazing!" Axel isn't too happy that Shelly went behind their backs. Cleo sighs, "Come on." He looks at his wife, his eyes wide at her response, "No matter what, we have to be there to cheer our Shelly on!"
Down at the Contest Hall, the party is in full-swing! Shelly's donned an old princess dress from Halloween: powder-blue with frills and puffy sleeves, her white shoes sparkling. The Contest MC, Lilian Meridian, takes the stage to tremendous applause. Shelly recognizes her curly hair, blue two-piece and visor, and know-how attitude. Shelly is blushing at seeing the famous Master of Ceremonies. She's only ever seen her on TV.
The panel of judges take their seats- Mr. Contesta, the Director of the Contest Committee, Mr. Sukizo, President of the Pokémon Fan Club, and Chrysanthemum Island's Nurse Joy.
"Now! Let's get busyyyy!" Lilian is getting the crowd excited. Shelly watches from backstage as the other Coordinators go before her. She's shaking. She acted all tough when she spoke to her family, but it was so different actually being here…
She'd filled out all the paperwork in advance in order to register, she'd left her home and spoke with the lady at the front desk, she'd even dressed up for the occasion… She thought she was ready for all this, but- MUNCH-MUUUNCH! Shelly looked up. Munchlax was giving her a thumbs up. He seemed pretty confident. She thought back to that day- the day they watched Fantina perform. And the feeling of hearing the raucous applause from the audience… Yes. That's what they wanted now. Shelly knew she could do this.
She kneeled down, pulling out the Pokéball, "You ready for our debut, Munchlax?" MUNCH! She returned him inside his Pokéball. She held it close, "With you by my side, I know we can do this."
"AAaaaand next to take the stage!" Lilian announced, "We have a Trainer from right here in Chrysanthemum City! Everyone welcome: Shelly!" She runs out, throwing her Pokéball just like she always practiced with Nick. Munchlax appeared, giving a loud cry. He spun midair and posed with his back to Shelly's. "We can do this… We can do this!"
"Use Blizzard!" Munchlax sent a stream of snow throughout the hall, twirling at the same time. The flakes sparkled in the sun. Of course, Shelly knew this stage in and out. She always loved how the Chrysanthemum Contest Hall could change from being closed to being opened. And on a beautiful day like this, the roof was wide open. She could use the sun's rays to her advantage as well.
"Now! Use Metronome!" Munchlax stopped spinning and began to wag his fingers. Everyone watched with bated breath to see what kind of move Munchlax would use. He suddenly opened his mouth and shot out a powerful beam of light- a Solar Beam. She smiled, "Yes! Perfect!" Shelly had hoped for such a display by taking the risk. The Solar Beam shot straight through the flurries of snow, causing the entire arena to sparkle. And that was it. As Shelly posed with her Munchlax, the audience applauded. Some were even on their feet. Shelly was stunned. It had been on that day when she stood up here with Fantina when she had last felt this elated.
She had actually done it. Shelly felt like crying, her heart was beating so fast she thought it might explode. She closed her eyes as she soaked up the audience applause and the warmth that came with it. This was her dream… And thanks to Munchlax, she was really making it come true.
Nick was practically in tears as he stood on top of his chair cheering for his sister. Cleo was clapping, too, while Axel sat in amazement. Nick was louder than any of the others, "Way to go, Sis! Whoooo!" The judges had a few kind words of encouragement and Lilian thanked her for joining them onstage. It took a moment for Shelly to catch her breath and return from cloud nine.
"Oh! Sorry!" She took Munchlax's hand and they left the stage. She stopped. She almost had tears in her eyes. Shelly threw herself onto Munchlax's shoulders, "We actually did it! That was amazing!" She pulled away, "You were amazing." Shelly wiped away her tears. She could hear Lilian announcing the next Coordinator to the stage. Shelly looked straight at Munchlax, "We're not done yet." He nodded.
Once everyone had competed, the judges gave the final scores. Out of the 20 Coordinators who competed, only 8 would move on to the 2nd Round. Shelly held onto Munchlax tightly as they made the announcement. They had done it! The two of them started bouncing around. Now it was time for the hard part.
Shelly was in the 1st match against a boy from Johto and his Houndour. They were quick and their Bite was strong, but Shelly and Munchlax held their own. Axel watched in awe at the sight of Shelly on the stage. This was like he'd never seen her before… So determined..!
Munchlax hit Houndour with a powerful Double-Edge, knocking it out and moving them on to the next match! The other Coordinators were amazing, and Shelly was extremely nervous, but she knew she had to keep fighting in order to win.
"Now! Use Blizzard!" Munchlax's attack froze the poor Wartortle in its tracks making it unable to battle. Munchlax jumped into Shelly's arms. They had made it to the final match. Up against her is a young girl named Marie. She's wearing a pink and white frilly dress with polk-dots. Her hair is jet black, short, and her skin is pale. She seems kind and gentle and extremely shy, but Marie's been able to win her way through to the final match with her Pokémon. Shelly grins, "And that means she's a good Trainer, so we can't let our guard down."
Shelly throws her Pokéball. Munchlax comes spinning out, landing neatly on the field. Marie calls out her very own Happiny. Up to now Marie has been using a cute little Totodile, so Shelly doesn't know anything about this new Pokémon. Lilian starts the 5min Timer and the match begins.
"Use Double-Slap, Happiny!"
"Quick! Double-Team! Go!" Happiny's attack misses, causing them to lose points.
"Now! Use Double-Edge!" Munchlax knocks Happiny when she's least expecting it.
"Double-Edge! Again!" But Happiny Dodges it. Shelly's meter goes down slightly.
"Now use Metronome, Happiny!" Shelly hopes to end this match quickly, "Use Blizzard! Quick!" Munchlax sends its attack, but Happiny's is also finished. A powerful Solar Beam! It blasts through the Blizzard, hitting Munchlax and sending it flying. Axel is on his feet in the audience, "How did that Solar Beam charge up so fast?" He's furious. Nick tries to calm his father, reminding him about the strong sunlight coming in from the open ceiling. He takes his seat again, folding his arms, "A lucky shot, then." Axel huffs. Cleo smiles. If only Shelly could see how her father is on the edge of his seat.
"Use Metronome again!" Happiny starts to wag her fingers back and forth.
"We can do that too, you know. Show them, Munchlax." He starts his own Metronome. At the same time, their moves attack- a Fire Blast from Munchlax and a Thunderbolt from Happiny. The attacks collide in the middle. Both Pokémon are thrown backward and both sides lose points. None of them realize just how much time they've lost but neither of them are backing down. Happiny uses Rollout while Munchlax tries to confuse them with Double-Team.
"Now! Metronome again!" While Happiny continues to miss its attacks, Munchlax powers up. He sends out an Ice Beam. The field is frozen over and Happiny stumbles about, "Oh, no! My Happiny!" Marie's points are dropping fast.
"And again!" Munchlax prepares another Metronome attack. Nick sinks into his chair, "Aw, man. What's she doing?" They both know that it's too risky to use such a random move so often.
"Then we'll use Metronome, too!" Happiny is able to summon up a powerful Hydro Pump while Munchlax uses Splash. Shelly's plan had backfired and her points took a dive, "We're not done yet!"
"Let's keep going, Happiny!"
"USE METRONOME!" Both Pokémon prepare their moves as the audience is watching. But before they can use their attacks a buzzer sounds. Time is up!
Shelly, Marie, and the whole audience stop to check the screen. Barely, just barely, Shelly wins. Her points only just higher than Marie's. The audience is cheering at her victory, Shelly's family on their feet. Axel and Nick are both in tears. Cleo chuckles at the two boys, "There, there…"
While Marie returns her Pokémon, sad that she's lost, Shelly is still staring up at the screen above her head.
"…We won..?" MUN!MUNCH-LAX! Munchlax practically topples her over with excitement. She stumbles to catch her footing, but Shelly receives his cheerful attitude well. Tears are falling from both their eyes, "We won! We actually won!"
"Well done, Shelly." She looks to see Marie standing before her. She offers her hand, "This is the first time I've lost a match before, and to a beginner, no less." She smiles, "But it was a good match." Shelly takes her hand, "T-thanks!"
"I'm new this year as well, but I've already got two Ribbons." They release their grip. Marie turns to leave. "I hope to see you at another Contest real soon!" "Oh, wow." Shelly watches her go. Her eyes are sparkling at the idea- "Does this mean I officially have a rival!?"
Lilian makes the final announcement and the judges stand to meet with Shelly center stage. Mr. Contesta hands her the Chrysanthemum Ribbon. It's ribbon is a teal with white trim, a twisted golden shape and crown at its center. Munchlax is on Shelly's shoulders as they look at it together. She just can't contain it any longer, "We did it… We got our first Contest Ribbon!" She poses, Contest Ribbon held high.
Besides the Ribbon, the winner receives a basket of fresh island berries and waters. Just outside in the lobby, Shelly hears her name being called. Nick jumps her. He's bouncing around and around, his eyes with pride. But he's not the only one. Shelly is actually surprised to see her parents there. She had no idea that they had come.
"Of course! We wouldn't miss your debut for the world!" Cleo smiles. Out of nowhere, Axel pulls out a flag with Shelly's face on it. He starts waving it around, "Just you wait!" He calls out to anyone who will listen, "My daughter is going to be a Top Coordinator someday!" Shelly is turning red, "P-papa! Please!" He stops, looking at her seriously.
"Shelly. I'm sorry for before. I'm sure you thought we didn't believe in you, but that's not true. It's just…" He was struggling to find the right words, "It's just hard to see you grow up." Cleo put a hand on his shoulder, "We were wrong, Sweetie. You are ready to leave the nest. And we are so proud of you." Shelly sniffled a bit, "Mamma… Papa..!" She ran forward into their arms. She was so happy. To hear those words… All these months, that's all she wanted to hear…