The Pinnacle of Performance - Part One
Brendan woke up slowly, feeling sore but full of personal pride. It had been two weeks since the Pacifidlog Contest, and he was now sleeping in a first-class hotel room in Slateport. Last night, Brendan could swear he'd been to heaven and given Hugh Hefner a high-five just from the extreme pleasure he'd received from both May and Lisia. It had been an amazing ride to say the least. While Lisia was a bit more petite than May, she was definitely more experienced. And to make it better, Lisia had even taught May some little-known tricks that literally took Brendan's breath away more often than not.
That morning, Brendan had both women sleeping next to him, both thoroughly exhausted from the previous night. Brendan was wedged between them now, with Lisia on his right and May on his left. Brendan smiled, but he had something else on his mind. He wanted to check something, but he knew he couldn't move, or he'd risk waking the two women. Hey, Gwen, could I get some help with something? Brendan called telepathically.
Oh, you're finally awake? Gwen said. You know it's almost noon.
Yes, I know. But I need your help with something. Can you first teleport me out of the bed without waking Lisia or May up? Brendan asked.
Sure, what's your plan for when you get free of your "prison"? Gwen said, clearly just making fun of him and trying to make it harder for him to be productive.
Promise you won't tell May? Brendan asked.
Is it a bad secret or a good secret? Gwen asked.
Oh, come on, you can tell exactly what I'm thinking. You know what I'm planning. Brendan put some force behind his words, making Gwen laugh as he suddenly found himself in the bathroom. Thank you. Brendan showered quickly and went into the room's small kitchen, where Gwen was already drinking some coffee.
So, want me to join you for the excursion? Gwen asked, sounding sincere now.
"Actually, could you stay here with May and Lisia. I need you to keep them occupied. Besides, May could use some help developing her performance for the Festival. It's only a week away, after all," he said.
Gwen sighed slightly. Alright, I'll stay, she said. Get the best that you can find, but make sure it fits her.
Brendan smiled. "Why would I cut corners with my fiancée?" With that, Brendan grabbed a bagel, then went to the balcony, sending out Avery before she flew from the building. "Alright Avery, to Fallarbor Town. With any luck, Mt. Chimney erupting didn't destroy the jewelry shop there," he said. There was a gentle tailwind for the trip, speeding them through the mainland of Hoenn.
Within an hour, Brendan had landed in Fallarbor, seeing that, aside from a few new impact craters, the town was unharmed. Brendan sighed with relief as he approached the shop, and saw the shop was completely in-tact without so much as a scorch mark. Talk about lucky, he thought to himself as he opened the door of the shop.
"Hello, welcome!" the shop keeper, Jared, said. "How can I he-." He stopped when he saw Brendan. "Oh, Brendan! I wasn't expecting you to be back here so soon."
"Yeah, I wasn't expecting to be back here so soon either, but life is moving at its own pace. With all the events that have happened recently, May and I wound up getting engaged. So, like we agreed, I'm here to get her ring," Brendan said.
"Congratulations on the engagement," Jared said. "Now, I need to ask, what's your budget?"
Brendan pulled out his trainer card and saw that he currently had over 2 million PokéDollars from all of his battles recently. "I might be able to afford one of your more expensive pieces."
"In that case, I think I have a few that you'll like," Jared said as he led Brendan to a display case in the back. It was full of engagement rings, but none of them had diamonds on them. The bands of the rings were all made of either white, yellow, or rose gold. There were multiple different types of gemstones on them.
"Wow, these are beautiful. You have very good craftsmanship," Brendan said as he saw a section of rings that caught his eye. He had a feeling that they would be the best choice to fit May's personality, and even though these rings were all gorgeous, Brendan needed to look at them individually.
It took him about half an hour of checking each one, and even though he felt there were a few that would be better than others, none of them seemed like the right one for May. Brendan then glanced over at a different display case, and a ring there that he hadn't noticed caught his eye.
"Jared, could I see that one?" he asked. Jared smiled.
"Ah, that one. You have fine tastes. This may be my best ring yet. It's a 22 carat rose gold ring with three blue garnets and three red garnets on the top, about a carat each. The price is 1.8 million PokéDollars."
"Well, that's in my price range, and, even if it sounds cliché, but when I look at this one, I think of everything we've been through together," Brendan said.
Jared nodded. "Then I think we've found the right one for May," he said. "Let's get you checked out, since I'm sure you want to get back to May as soon as possible." Brendan went to the cash register with Jared, getting his trainer card out for the payment.
On Route 110, just outside Slateport, May was practicing the routine for the Grand Festival, planning to use Miranda for both the appeals and the battle round. It would be her last contest this year. She might as well end it where it began, with her first Pokémon, and with Brendan watching happily from the crowd. Miranda had just finished their most recent run-through of their routine.
"Well, Gwen, what do you think? Was that good?" May asked.
Aside from a few minor adjustments should be made, it's incredible. It might honestly be your best appeal performance yet, Gwen said as she got a brief glimpse of what Brendan was seeing at the jewelry store. She saw the ring that he had chosen, thinking it was the perfect choice. Want to go once more?
"Sure, one more time before lunch," May said. "Alright Miranda, let's try that Thunder Punch and Flamethrower combo!"
"Hello everybody, and welcome to this year's Grand Festival!" Vivian said. "It's been an incredible year for contests. We've had highs, we've had lows, and now, we've got a phenomenal pool of coordinators here to show us just how far they've come since this year began. For the tradition, this contest will feature none other than Hoenn's top coordinator, Lisia!"
The crowd began to applaud loudly, many people seeming to go berserk. Brendan clapped normally with Gwen beside him, and his mother's Sylveon curled up in his lap. Right behind the three of them, sat both the Maple and the Birch families. "It should be interesting to see these performances in-person," Caroline said. "The last one I was at was the one in Goldenrod so many years ago."
Lily Birch nodded. "And I just know May will do well this time. I can feel it in my bones that she's going to do well," she said.
Meanwhile, in the dressing room, May was fully dressed in an outfit that her mother had given her. It was a sapphire mermaid sheath style dress made of silk. It wasn't just soft, it was luxurious. Her make-up looked great as well, with a small, perfectly drawn wing on each eye. She had on a pair of ruby earrings that, in all honesty, made her think of Brendan.
"Well, look at you. You look like a prime candidate for the runner-up spot," said a familiar and friendly voice. May turned and smiled.
"Grace! It's good to see you again!" she said as she gave her friend a hug. "How've you been since the Fallarbor contest?"
"I've been practicing my routine for the festival, mostly. Otherwise, it's been a bit boring for me," Grace said. "But, a little bird told me that a certain somebody is newly engaged."
May blushed slightly, smiling. "The wedding won't be for another few years."
"Oh, I figured as much. You're still a bit young for marriage," Grace said. "But it's still impressive that you found your match so easily." She paused for a moment. "Anyway, when are you going on for your appeal?"
"I'm last in line before Lisia," May said, laughing and scratching the back of her neck slightly. "And what about you?"
"I'm at the exact middle: number ten," Grace said.
"Well, look at these two lazy losers," said a nasally, annoying voice. May barely recognized it, but when she turned to the source, she saw none other than Chaz with Macherie by his side.
"This coming from the guy who lost to both of us. How did you even get enough ribbons to participate in the Festival?" May said.
"Wouldn't you like to know," Chaz said, looking angry at May's comment.
"So, you're saying you don't want to explain yourself. So, I guess it's safe to assume that you cheated somehow. Or, perhaps you just went to small name contests and competed against those who couldn't beat you," Grace said.
Chaz blushed with frustration, only for Lisia to come behind him. She was wearing a blue tutu with multiple white frills and lace. It was essentially a blue version of the costume she gave May for the double contest. The biggest difference was that Lisia's outfit was adorned with puffy white cotton on her wrists, around her neck and waist, and on top of her boots. She also wore a thigh-high sock with blue and white stripes on her left leg. Beside her was an Altaria, which May knew for a fact she had never met before. "Chaz, stop starting shit," Lisia said. "Besides, you know you're no match for Ali here." Lisia gave her Altaria a quick pet on his neck.
Chaz almost growled before he and Macherie stormed off. "We'll see what happens when I perform as the fifth coordinator! I'll prove that May isn't worthy to be Lisia's student!"
Lisia just sighed. "He's always so annoying, isn't he?" May nodded in response. "Anyway, May, I don't think you've had the chance to meet my Pokémon yet."
May smiled as she stood up and walked over to her mentor. "No, I haven't. You said his name is Ali?"
Lisia nodded. "Yep, he's actually my only Pokémon, but we work together so well that we became the top coordinator and Pokémon team," she said with a smile. Ali walked over to May, letting her pet his head and neck.
"Hello there, it's great to meet you, Ali!" May said. "I'm looking forward to seeing what you and Lisia do with your appeal."
Lisia smiled. "You should watch it from the tunnel after your performance. After all, I'll be right behind you," she winked at May when she said that.
May chuckled. "You won't win, though. I had Gwen helping me the entire time I perfected my appeal," she said confidently.
"We'll definitely see what happens, won't we?" May said.
"Yes, we will," Lisia said. Grace smiled confidently behind them.
How am I being so confident? May thought deep down. I lost to Grace last time, and Lisia seems to be on a completely different level.
Now, now, don't think like that, Gwen said. She had secretly been listening in on May's conversation, and she wasn't about to let her favorite girl doubt herself in the most important contest in her journey so far.
G-Gwen! How long have you been listening in? May asked.
For a few minutes now, but that's not important right now, Gwen said. You need to remember that you're here because you won five contests already. And don't you dare forget that you've beaten Grace a few times too. And Lisia would not have picked you as her protégé if she hadn't seen something in you. And, in all honesty, students almost always surpass their master if they study hard and practice. So, tell me, have you not been training hard all this time?
May smiled. I have been.
Then you're going to win this. Believe me! Gwen said enthusiastically.
May giggled silently. Thanks, Gwen. That means a lot.
"And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. The first perfect score of the contest comes with the fifth appeal, courtesy of Chaz and Macherie!" came Vivian's voice over the television in the dressing room. May looked shocked at the announcement.
"That moron got a perfect score?" May said quietly.
"Yeah, and it wasn't a fluke either," Lisia said. "That combo of Thunder Punch and Flamethrower was incredible."
May looked worried, then she watched the short replay, immediately getting furious, clenching her jaw. That's exactly what I was planning to do. Chaz was spying on me while I was practicing! How did he even watch us without us knowing
Lisia saw May's reaction, getting worried. "M-May, are you alright?"
"That…appeal stealing…jerk!" May said without fully hearing Lisia. The top coordinator looked more shocked now.
"What do you mean?" Lisia said, her tone serious now.
May heard Lisia this time, turning to face her, now starting to get choked up in frustration, like she was about to cry. "That was exactly the same appeal I was planning. I practiced it with Miranda, Gwen, and Brendan for a month, and that jerk just goes out there and steals it!"
Lisia looked angry now too. "Damn it. He just broke an unspoken rule for contests. You don't steal another coordinator's appeal," she said.
Grace walked over after having overheard their conversation. "Is there anything that can be done now?"
Lisia sighed angrily. "Not unless you can prove that you were planning on performing that appeal too. May, do you have any videos of your practice sessions?"
May now looked like she was about to cry. "No, Gwen would take mental notes for us when we were practicing, but we never took video," she said.
Lisia seemed upset as well. "Then, as much as it pains me to say it, you'll need to improvise."
That's when Chaz came back into the dressing room. "Well, Lisia, I guess you're thinking that I'm clearly the better choice for your stu-" Lisia made him shut up by slapping him across the face with all her strength, leaving a red handprint.
"So, you just weren't smart enough to come up with an appeal of your own. You had to steal May's appeal." Lisia said, her anger overflowing in her voice. "I will NEVER take a student as pathetic as you!"
Chaz just smirked. "Whatever, I just sealed my position in the battle rounds. I wonder how your little protégé will do when she can't perform what she practiced."
May clenched her fists tightly, then she went calm, something that sent a chill through the room. "No, I won't let your underhanded tactics beat me," she said as she glared at Chaz and walked toward him. "I may not be able to perform what I prepared, but Miranda and I are closer than you can imagine." She stopped right in front of the boy, starting to raise her voice in anger. "We even managed to beat and capture Kyogre together in Sootopolis. Something like you stealing my routine?" May scoffed slightly at the boy. "Don't insult me, you little prick!"
When she said that, not only did Chaz go pale, but the entire dressing room went silent and they had their undivided attention on May.
"M-May, is that really true?" Grace asked with a tone bordering on disbelief. May looked at her friend and smirked confidently, telling Grace that there was no exaggeration. Grace looked like she was in awe now. Was her friend really so strong a trainer that she took on the embodiment of the ocean?
Chaz shook his head. "Liar. Kyogre doesn't even exist," he said.
May smirked as she went to her bag, pulling out the Master Ball containing the Sea Basin Pokémon that she kept there. "Do you want to bet?" Hey, Gwen, tell Brendan that I have a new plan for the contest appeal. I don't want him to worry about me. She turned to Lisia. "Hey, Lisia, is there a way to make the stage expand for a massive Pokémon?"
"Umm, y-yeah I could help arrange that, but…" Lisia's eyes went wide. "May, you're not actually considering using Kyogre, are you?"
May took out her Pokédex in response, scanning the Pokéball for a full list of the Sea Basin Pokémon's attacks. "Yes, I am. Chaz seems to be giving me no choice this time, so I need to go to more extreme measures."
"But, can you even control that Pokémon," Lisia said.
"Don't know, maybe I can't. But Kyogre is the only Pokémon in my possession that I have yet to use in a contest, and he has attacks that no other Pokémon can perform," May looked confident now.
"Grace, you're on in five minutes," said the contest organizer, whose nametag identified her as Harley. With the surreal note, Grace walked out to the stage, composing herself, silently smirking as Chaz now looked worried. Lisia followed shortly to speak to the organizer.
"Ma'am, I'm really sorry about this, but there's a problem," Lisia said.
"Hmm…Ms. Lisia, what's the issue?" Harley asked.
Lisia took a moment to explain May's entire situation to Harley. "So, she needs to make a last-minute change in her Pokémon," Lisia asked.
"I'm sorry, I want to help, but the rules are set. All coordinators must use the Pokémon that they registered with for each round of the contest. I can't change the rules for anybody, not even you," Harley said, clearly conflicted.
Lisia sighed. "Alright, I understand. Thanks anyway," she said in a disappointed tone. "I'll let her know." She walked over to May, who was looking at the Master ball in her hand. "May, you should put that back on your belt."
May looked up. "What do you mean?"
"I couldn't convince the organizer to let you switch your Pokémon. You'll need to use Miranda this time, but you'll need to improvise a new routine on the spot," Lisia said.
May cursed under her breath. "I really hate Chaz," she said quietly. "Miranda already perfected that appeal. It took about a month of planning and practice. It's not fair to her that she'll need to go out and do something she's never even practiced with." May's tears began to well up again.
Lisia put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Hey, you can both do this. I think I have an idea for you to blow them away."
May looked interested as she let out Miranda, knowing the Blaziken needed to hear the new plan. "Okay, what is it?"
"Alright, first step…"
In the crowd, Brendan was fuming. "How did we not notice that douche? He had to have been watching us at least once while we were practicing, so how'd we miss him?" he said through gritted teeth.
I don't know, I honestly don't know. And I should've been able to sense him…unless he has a Pokémon that lives on Route 110, put a camera on its head, and had it film us for him, Gwen cursed a little. I thought I sensed and Electrike that was spending a lot of time watching us one day, but I just assumed it was territorial.
That was when Grace came on stage. "Alright, Arya, time to shine!" She sent out the Beautifly that Brendan and May had seen in the Petalburg contest when they had first met Grace. Arya then looked at Grace, nodded, and flew up into the air, spinning slowly as she used a soft Silver Wind, sprinkling the stage with a gorgeous array of silver dust. Arya then combined Sunny Day and Morning Sun. The attack made the stage glitter and sparkle with a rainbow. Arya then used a new take on Gust, drawing all the powder toward herself, then firing a glittering, rainbow Solar Beam. It went straight up, before she used a Signal Beam to hit her Solarbeam. It resulted in multiple fireworks going off over the stage, wowing the audience. Arya landed on Grace's outstretched arm and they both took a bow.
The audience erupted into cheers, and the judges talked among themselves, putting the final score at a perfect 30. "And another astounding performance from Grace, one of the top-runners of this contest. With that score, she has likely secured her spot among the four who will move on to the battle round." Vivian said happily. Grace took another bow before leaving the stage.
Back in the dressing room, May and Miranda had just cleared all of their concerns. The routine they now had in mind was one they knew would get them a perfect score, even if it was improvised.
Lisia, however, had another talk with the organizer, Harley, in the back of the room as the next coordinator went forward. "So, I think you and I both know that May and I will be in the battle rounds too. Would it be possible to make it so I battle Chaz first?"
Harley smiled deviously. "You want to teach the kid a hard lesson?"
"Not officially," Lisia said, smirking back.
"I'll make sure it gets done," Harley said before touching her earpiece and getting back to business. "Sam, you're on in five minutes!"
Back with Miranda, May smiled brighter than before. "We can do this," she said. All the performances were superb with no mediocrity among the ranks, so far, making it clear that this was not a contest where May could relax. It was thoroughly enjoyable to watch for them, but sure enough, the call came.
"May, you're on in five minutes," Harley said.
May smiled, returned Miranda, and walked to the tunnel. "I can do this. I can do this," she said.
"And now, we're down to our last two coordinators. It's now time for the rising star of contests, and the student of Lisia Rain. Here's May!" Vivian said. May stepped onto the stage, her keystone bracelet on her wrist and she had a moment where she felt everything, yet felt nothing at the same time. It was a moment where she felt like everything she had been through was culminating to this exact moment. She took a breath before throwing out Miranda's Pokéball.
"Miranda, let's show them what we can do!" May said as she sent out her first Pokémon. Miranda appeared on one knee and her fist planted on the ground. May raised her arm, putting her keystone across her heart, touching it. "Alright, Miranda, MEGA EVOLVE!" This earned multiple gasps through the crowd. Other than Lisia, nobody else ever used Mega Evolution in their appeal. Even the judges seemed already impressed. Miranda began to glow and her body morphed into her Mega form. "Now, you know what to do from here!" Miranda threw a Thunder Punch into the ground, causing exactly twenty rocks to fly into the air, electricity coursing through them already. Miranda then powered up a Blaze Kick, getting a running start before flipping upside-down and beginning to spin on her head almost like a break-dancer, kicking out her legs easily, breaking through the rocks, which were still charged with electricity, releasing it into twenty columns of lightning that stayed in place for a while. Miranda then flipped back to her feet, leapt in to the air, and charged another Thunder Punch, drawing the electricity to her hand as she flew overhead. She landed smoothly, starting to get faster with her speed boost ability, and she then gathered flames into a Flare Blitz attack. She then leapt high into the air, spiraling as she ascended to nearly 40 feet in the air. She seemed to stay suspended in the air as she spun around her z-axis, sending the combination of fire and electricity into the air around her, almost like she was using a Discharge attack. She then took a dive, the remaining fire and electricity still surrounding her as she did a superhero landing, sending the electric fire into the sky, making her temporarily look almost like a Super Saiyan from Dragon Ball Z.
Well, Kamehameha to you too! Gwen said jokingly to May. May smiled, and she giggled happily as Miranda stood back up before both trainer and Pokémon took a bow simultaneously.
The crowd was in silent shock for a while, but they all then stood up and broke into roaring applause, as did all the judges. May could even see Brendan, Gwen, her parents and her soon-to-be in-laws, and they were all cheering, Brendan even whistling for her. She then turned to the screen, seeing that she had a perfect score.
She couldn't contain her excitement as she leapt into the air, hugging Miranda and laughing with elation. We did it, we improvised our way to the battle rounds! May thought. Miranda reverted to her normal form after that, and the two walked off the stage, seeing Lisia waiting for them.
"Well, what'd I tell you? If there's anything that wins the judges over more than anything else, it's seeing the bond between a Pokémon and trainer," Lisia said. "Mega Evolution gets them every time."
May gave Lisia a quick hug in response. "Thank you for your help," she said. "Now, go out there and kill it." Lisia smirked and touched the brooch necklace she was wearing, showing off her own keystone.
"Oh, Ali and I plan to," Lisia said. "There's a reason I only do appeals once per year." She began walking toward the stage, stopping before the crowd would be able to see her.
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, this is the moment of the appeals round that you've all been waiting for. It's a special treat that only comes for the Grand Festival. You know her, and you love her. Give it up for Hoenn's top coordinator, Lisia Rain!"
The crowd then went nuts, a few of the people in the crowd even trying to claw their way forward to get better pictures of her. Lisia smiled to the crowd and waved before readying Ali's Pokéball.
"Alright, Ali, let's rock it!" Lisia said. The cloud-winged dragon-type flew majestically from his Pokéball, chirping beautifully. "Now, you know the plan!" Immediately, Lisia touched her keystone and Ali's form began to change. The fluffy downy feathers on his belly moved to his back, forming a five-pointed star of fluff, while he grew more fluff around his neck just under his jaw line and another set of feathers growing from the top of his head, making what looked like a hat. Finally, his tail extended to about three feet long. Once his transformation was completed, Ali began using Cotton Guard repeatedly, filling the stage with fluff, but he flew around the outside to make sure he was still visible. He then began using Dragon Pulse to burn off major pieces of the pile, quickly making it take a faintly humanoid shape with a strange bulge near the center. That's when the fairy dragon shouted, using Hyper Voice to remove the excess, making a perfectly detailed fluff statue of Lisia laughing brightly while she held a fluff statue of Ali. The entire crowd gave an "aww" before Ali flew into the air and began to glow pink as he gathered fairy energy. He fired the Moonblast at the statue making it break apart beautifully. He then flew down and Lisia did exactly what Ali had created with the statue. She happily laughed with her Pokémon nuzzling her before they took a bow.
Wow, she really is a great coordinator. To focus a Hyper Voice to do something like that is beyond impressive, May thought, a sentiment which Gwen and Brendan both mentally agreed. It was no surprise, then, when the perfect 30 showed up on the screen.
"Now, that's it for the appeal round. We hope you enjoyed that, but we will now be moving to the battle round!" Vivian said as Lisia and Ali came into the tunnel to greet May. "The judges have made their decisions quickly, and here they are!"
May looked at the screen, seeing that Lisia was paired against Chaz, while she was to go against Grace. "This should be fun," May said.
Lisia patted her on the shoulder. "Oh, and I promise you that Chaz will not get a pass for what he did today."
"Good, I wouldn't want him to go free," May said. "Just make sure he's humiliated."
Lisia scoffed playfully. "Oh please, like there's any other way to expose a cheater."
The two girls shared a laugh at that statement. This battle round was going to be quite fun.
Hey everyone, glad I got this done in less than a month this time (I know, not much of a speed record, but oh well).
Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. As always, please leave a constructive review and let me know what you thought of the chapter and where I can improve.
Anyway, until next time – jmoul18
