Chapter 14: Super Contest
After a three day trek from Oreburgh City through Mt. Coronet, where Lucas had to face the evil Team Cosmic and save a beautiful girl and her friends, the teen Trainer was totally exhausted. But this exhaustion seemed to temporarily melt away when the five young people finally arrived in Hearthome City. Hearthome was the most interesting town Lucas had ever seen. It was massive, stretching further than the pierced young man could see from the top of the hill just before the city gates. Unlike the big cities Lucas had been to before, such as Goldenrod City in his home region, and Saffron City in neighboring Kanto, Hearthome had an age and charm about it that the more modern cities lacked. There were no skyscrapers and very few modern buildings in the burgh, most of the structures were at least several-hundred years-old. The streets were paved with cobblestone and there was much more care and emphasis on craft and beauty down every street and pathway. Lucas thought if his gang were located here as opposed to his hometown of Cherrygrove, they would never deface or vandalize anything. The tiny cafes and quaint shops were the only thing keeping the worn out Trainer from just collapsing, and the only thing distracting him from Ashley.
Lucas initially went to Ashley and her friends' rescue because they had been attacked by the villainous Team Cosmic, a group with the morbid ambitious of eliminating weakness from the world by eliminating weak Pokemon, and the teen's newest enemy. But when the young man saw who he was rescuing, he fell for her, quite literally. During their final few hours before reaching the city limits, Lucas had tried desperately to think of things to say to Ashley that would make him seem worldly, charming and cool, but his crippling shyness around people he was attracted to made him fail miserably. None of the girls had been to Hearthome either, so now all babbling excitedly about the beautiful city and the upcoming Contest, the boy no longer had to try to talk to Ashley with awkward conversation. Though he was still desperate to find out if she found him as attractive as he did her.
The Pokemon Center was a welcome rest with the Trainers able to heal their drained Pokemon, as well as get a chance to rest themselves. Comfortable furniture, a chance for clean clothes and a hot meal separated Lucas from the girls for a while, and gave the teen boy a chance to get his thoughts in order and plan for his attack. He reminded himself he didn't come to the city to act like a brain-damaged puppy following a pretty girl around, he headed for Hearthome City to challenge the Gym Leader, and he needed to keep that goal in mind. Besides, a good match might inspire some classy line to say to Ashley, or impress her further with his Pokemon skills. She seemed genuinely delighted with him when they battled together outside the mountain. Lucas made a command decision, he would go to the Gym.
The young man caught up with the girls as they were seemingly preparing for their own ambitions. Ashley's friends were brushing and trimming their own Pokemon's fur and nails, and the pretty girl with bright blue eyes was pursing her lips as she scrutinized different items in a box with feathers and ribbons. Lucas' brain froze again as he watched the way her mouth moved as she had her mental debate, only nudged forward by Gizmo barking 'vi vi' to get his Trainer's attention. Lucas stepped forward, losing balance over his own untied bootlace and his voice cracked humiliatingly, "Oh, hey Ashley,"
"Hi Lucas, I see you got your Pokemon all healed up, would you like to see how we get ready for a Contest?" Ashley asked cheerfully, seemingly happy to distract herself from whatever difficult decision she had planned.
"Er, ah, um," Sweet Jesus, how is it physically possible for you to be this much of an idiot? He told himself, "Actually, no. I just wanted to say I'm off for my Gym battle. Would, er, you? I mean since you like Pokemon and everything. I'm going to the Gym to battle the leader. Do...you..ah...want to...come, watch? Or something. You know, if you're not busy,"
Ashley frowned, "Oh, we can't. The Contest is starting in about twenty minutes, we're running late as it is. If you go now that means you won't be able to see us either. Are you sure you can't wait with your Gym battle until the Contest wraps up?"
Lucas was already mentally screaming at himself for the previously pathetic strand of words his malfunctioning personality put together, but as the next set of words came out of his mouth seemingly on their own, he felt like he wanted to jump off of a cliff, "No, I really can't. I-I-I really, um, what's the word again? Wish I could. I need to go fight the Gym Leader now,"
"Oh..." Ashley said with a definite tone of disappointment. The other three girls recalled their Pokemon and Ashley gathered her things, "We need to go now, too. Maybe you can see one of our Contests in the future. Good luck with your Gym Battle, Lucas, I know you'll win,"
Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! As soon as Ashley and her companions left the Center, Lucas spent several minutes smacking his forehead against one of the building's columns. Only stopping when his bangs were light gray from being coated with the wall's plaster. He had a perfect opportunity to get close to Ashley and share her interests and for no other reason except he was physically incapable of declaring to a person, 'Hey, I think you're hot and we should go out sometime,' without royally screwing up. But what was done, was done, and he really did have to go to battle the Gym Leader. He certainly didn't have to do it that particular moment, but he still had a goal to achieve, girl or no girl.
Pokevice in hand and Gizmo on his shoulder, Lucas found the Gym, easy to spot as it was the only modern looking building on the block. He read the sign to give himself an idea of who and what he was up against.
Fantina: The Alluring, Soulful Dancer.
"Well, that tells me nothing," Lucas snapped irritably. His bad mood was only getting worse, but his final straw snapped when he saw a second, handwritten sign on the Gym's front door: Closed for today, come back tomorrow. The teen reread the sign over and over, eyes bulged in rage, examining the looping scrawl as though he may have missed something the six words may have meant, "What the hell is wrong with this region? What is it with Gym Leaders never being in their goddamn Gyms?" Lucas almost punched the wall when a sudden thought occurred to him, "Wait, if the Gym is closed for today that means I can go watch Ashley. And if she asks why I came back I can tell her the truth!"
Bad mood instantly erased, the young man headed towards the Contest pavilion. Like the Gym, the pavilion was easy to find. Not only was it modern in design, it was also the largest building in the city, and brightly decorated to get attention for the day's events. Lucas pushed himself through the crowd of onlookers and competitors, scanning desperately for Ashley in the crowd. Once inside Lucas spotted her immediately, his thorough scanning completely unnecessary. He suspected he'd be able to see Ashley even if the crowd were ten times as large. She was with her three friends, nervously fiddling with her Pokeball, but instead of her simple, but stylish, blue skirt and white blouse, she was wearing an off the shoulder ballgown with long, white gloves. She looked like a princess from a fairytale, and dazzled by her appearance, Lucas completely missed the table that was right in front of him, sending both himself and the piece of furniture hurtling to the ground.
"Imbecile!" a voice shrieked angrily with a heavy accent. A lady wearing a garish purple dress and elaborate purple hair was scowling from above where the teen landed on the ground.
Lucas tried to disentangle his sore limbs from between the bent legs of the aluminum table and not do further damage to the brushes and bottles he sent flying from his initial fall, "Sorry about that,"
"You utter fool! Idiot! Why don't you watch where you walk?" The woman continued to scream, her speech punctuated by sentences of French the young man could only assume weren't G-rated, "How dare you interrupt me as I prepare for the Contest? Especially with your disgusting, tasteless clothes!"
"Hey, you old hag, I said I was sorry! Next time don't stick your damn table in the middle of where people walk! And you should go around insulting people's appearances when you're about one step from being a Drag Queen!" Lucas barked back, once again unleashing his temper.
The woman slapped him across the face with her left hand and walked away, muttering more French under her breath. Lucas rubbed his the sore spot on his face when a voice from behind startled him, "Oh Lucas, are you all right?"
The boy spun around to find he was face to face with Ashley and her figure-hugging ballgown. He felt his face flush once again, Oh my god. Please tell me she didn't just see that.
"I understand she was mad but she really had no right to strike you, the table was an accident and you were right about not putting it in the walkways. Those are clearly marked so these things don't happen," Ashley put matter-of-factly. Lucas barely heard the words, instead he contemplated asking Franky to bite his head off and put him out of his misery, "What are you doing here, anyway? I thought you were going to challenge the Gym Leader,"
"I was. She wasn't there. The Gym was closed so I figured, you know, I'd still be able see you in your Contest. And cheer you on. Or whatever," Lucas tried to say nonchalantly. He at least was pleased with himself that he was able to spit out a sentence without completely crashing at it.
"Well, I'm really glad you're here. The Tough and Beauty contests are the last two events. I hate going last. I get so nervous when I see everyone else compete," Ashley confessed. The teen boy hadn't previously paid much attention to anything but the dress, but now he could see the girl almost looked sick, and as though she was about to cry.
"I know you'll be great," Lucas said genuinely. Ashley flashed him another one of her knee liquifying smiles and together they waited just outside the show ring.
From the sidelines Lucas was finally able to see how the contests worked. Initially, the judges walked around the ring and examined the Pokemon. The Pokemon themselves were dressed with decorations reflecting a theme described on a large projection screen. Then the Pokemon danced to a piece of music to judge their coordination and speed and finally they displayed the strength of their attacks. All three of Ashley's friends entered in the Cute, Smart and Cool categories before her first round in the Tough category began. Her friends had varying levels of success but none of them had won. All three did well with the costumes and grooming, but one wasn't able to keep in step to the music, and another got psyched out by one of its competitor's attacks. Their mistakes seemed to rattle Ashley more and more and when the announcer asked for the Tough entries to come to the ring, the girl was trembling.
For a brief moment Lucas forgot his own awkwardness and only focused on Ashley's. As she got up and shuffled to the ring, Lucas grabbed at her hand without even thinking, "Ashley. I've never seen a Contest and I don't know anything about them. But in the short time we've known each other I've gotten a good idea that I know you. You will kick these guys' ass. And you will do it in a damn sexy dress,"
Ashley smiled again, one that seemed greatly relieved. She gently slipped her hand from Lucas', her finger tips brushing his, and took a deep breath. With renewed confidence she marched into the ring and lined up with her fellow competitors. Among her rivals she stood out for one main reason, in the Tough Contest, she was the only female. While dressed in nice suits and tuxedos, the other Coordinators were all burly, stern-looking men who looked like Hikers and Fighters. The announcer introduced the competitors and they all released their Pokemon, mostly fighting, rock and ground-types. Ashley was using her Pokemon, Rex, which Lucas found out was a Lucario. He stood sternly and confidently, patiently waiting as the judges examined him and his accessories. After they finished the music started to play. The Pokemon began to dance, trying to do the movements the lead Pokemon was doing in time to the rhythm. While the other creatures kept their eyes on the leader, Rex didn't take his eyes off of his Trainer, watching her gestures and staying in time. Finally it was the Lucario's turn as the lead dancer and Ashley gave him a gesture and mouthed the word 'now'. The Pokemon began dancing, moving gracefully and quickly, doing complicated moves so fast his rivals had no way of keeping up with him or matching his rhythm. When the music ended the winner of the round was clear, but there was still the final part of the competition: the display of moves.
Once again, the Coordinators and their Pokemon took turns, displaying their most powerful Tough moves as well as trying to unnerve their opponents, but Ashley and Rex stayed calm and in charge. Each one of Rex's moves dazzled the judges, and after the final move the competitors lined up once again to hear the announcement of the winner. The choice was clear, Ashley and Rex were victorious. When her name was called out the ring filled with applause. Lucas screamed and whistled like he was at a rock concert, much to the ire of the people standing around him. He didn't care, Ashley had won. Ashley tried to hold back tears of joy as the Super Contest Tough ribbon was placed on Rex. She wrapped her arms around her loyal Pokemon and showered praise. The Coordinator pulled herself together quickly though, as she still had one more competition to face.
The Beauty Contest started immediately after the Tough Contest, so Ashley didn't bother to leave the ring. She recalled Rex and summoned out her next Pokemon, the other creature she had used in battle when she and Lucas had teamed up, her Lopbunny, Luna. The other contestants entered the ring and the entire Hall erupted into a roaring cheer when one particular Coordinator entered the ring, Lucas immediately recognized the flamboyant purple dress and elaborate hair. The woman everyone was cheering for was the woman who had slapped him. The announcer tried to introduce everyone's names over the deafening noise but Lucas was able to hear this woman's name as clearly as if it were the only sound in the room. The woman who had slapped the teen's name was Fantina. Fantina was the same name as the Gym Leader who had shut down the Gym for today. Fantina was the woman he had called an 'old hag'. He had insulted the Gym Leader he was planning on fighting. Lucas let out a groan and covered his face with his hand.
The young man's momentary concentration on his own bad temper ended quickly as the next competition began. The Coordinators sent out their Pokemon and the next round started. The judges examined the competitors and the music once again came booming from the speakers. Like Rex, Luna looked at her Trainer, not her opponents and when it was her turn as the dance leader Ashley's Pokemon once again put on a dramatic set of choreography that the other Pokemon couldn't match. None, that is, except one. Fantina's Pokemon was a ghost-type called Mismagius and it was moving with the same grace and speed as Luna, not missing a step. Mismagius then became the leader herself and put on a complicated routine. Luna focused only on Ashley, but Ashley was beginning to look intimidated, her non-verbal commands to her Pokemon becoming shaky. Then she made a mistake. Luna took a tiny step right instead of forward. To the audience, the mistake was probably invisible, but the judges didn't miss it. Ashley's confidence began to waver. The attack display came up next and ended up focusing on just two Pokemon, Fantina's Mismagius and Ashley's Lopbunny. The other three competitors fell to the wayside when their attacks were clearly no match for the Beauty of these two opponents. Neither Pokemon missed, neither creature wavered, neither of the two made even the tiniest error. It would look like this competition would be a Stalemate.
After the final attack the judges huddled to themselves and talked urgently, almost to the point that they were looking like they were arguing. Ten minutes passed, then twenty, and still no consensus from the judges. Finally, after almost forty-five minutes the judges made an announcement. Ashley and Fantina stood side by side, waiting for the judge holding the ribbon to present the winner. The teen girl tried to remain calm and poised, but Lucas could see her bunched fists tremble slightly. The judge seemed like she was leaning towards Ashley, but then quickly turned around and handed the ribbon to Fantina, "The year's Super Contest, Beauty Category winner is Hearthome's own Soulful Dancer, Fantina!"
As the building once again exploded in applause, Lucas' snarl of protest was drowned out. Fantina mugged to the crowd, blowing kisses and curtseying dramatically. Ashley slumped her shoulders sadly, but embraced her Pokemon lovingly nonetheless.