Chapter 16: Fashion Show
The troops showed sat in the lunchroom which was organized earlier to fit with the show. Our group sat in the front row, saved by Brock. "How did I know you would RSVP the seats on the side of the catwalk, Brock?" Max asked.
"What better way to support our teammates then cheering them on right next to the stage?" Brock replied.
"Or to see the girls in their swimsuits without anyone blocking your view," Ash added.
Brock smiled nervously. "That's just a bonus."
"So how does this Fashion Show work?" Max asked.
Brock opened the pamphlet he had in his hands. "According to this; the few that were picked will each walk down the cat walk wearing a single part of the new armor. Once they reach the end of the catwalk, then will pose and spin while detail is being discussed to us, then walk back and have the next one walk. After that is finished, then it will repeat with the new rifles. After that, the judges will vote on who was the best and they will get a bonus and a day off as the prize."
"I just can't believe after all of the girls that signed up, both May and Misty made it to the final cut," Max said.
"Well, that probably shows how much they were determined to make it," Ash stated enthusiastically.
But behind the scenes, Misty complained to May. "How the heck did I make it to the final cut? I didn't want to do this in the first place!"
"Calm down, Misty; just think that it shows you are capable compared to what your sisters think," May reassured her, "or is it just you secretly want Ash to take you to the Ball?"
Misty's face turned red then looked away from her roommate. "No, but I don't want to lose to you either."
May giggled. "I wouldn't want it any other way."
"I can't believe a shrimp like you made it," the shrilling voice of Daisy called out, both girls turning around to see her with Lily and Violet; with violet in a green swimsuit, Daisy in a red swimsuit, and Lily in an orange swimsuit.
"She probably bribed the judges," Lily added.
"Yeah, that's the only way I could see her this far," Violet added.
Misty's hand gripped tightly into a fist, slowly grinding her teeth hard, almost chipping them by the pressure.
"Well come on sister's, let's not let ourselves be seen with want-a-be models," Daisy replied, walking off.
May could easily see the look of frustration on her roommate's face, so she patted Misty on the back. "Don't listen to them; they are probably scared of you surpassing them. So let's get ready."
Misty took a deep breath and replied. "Let's get this over with."
The seats were packed, the lights started to dim as the stage was lit and Lt. Norman walked to the edge, holding a microphone in his left hand. "Welcome Elite Members of Team Rocket, to the first Team Rocket Fashion Show. Here the lovely women of our Organization will be displaying to you the new armor and weaponry that will be used to destroy the Poke'mon Menace once and for all!"
Every one of the troops cheered. "Now, let's hear some applause for the lovely ladies that will be presenting this to you today," He announce, with the five girls in one piece bathing suits walked out: consisting of Daisy, Lily, Violet, Misty and May, waving as they walked up the catwalk and back down it, finishing up by standing their backs at the wall.
"They look pretty good up there," Ash commented.
"If your talking to Brock, he's already long gone," Max commented as the two boys looked at Brock, who had heart shaped eyes.
The two laughed as Lt. Norman got the attention of the troops once again. "Our three judges are Captain Juan of the Gamma Unit, Captain Koga of the Beta Unit and Captain Flannery of the Alpha Unit. They will be watching their performance and rating them. So before we kick this show off, let us recite our national anthem."
Everyone stood up, saluting as they all said in unison. "To protect the world from devastation, to unite all people within our nation. To protect the purity of truth and love, to extend our reach to the skies above. Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light, surrender now or prepare to fight!"
"That's right!" Norman announced and motioned for everyone to sit back down. "Now, let's get this show started."
He walked off the catwalk and Daisy started it off, wearing a pair of red armor gloves that went up to here elbows. She walked up to the edge as Norman explained. "These new armored gloves come fully insolated, not only regulating your body temperature from the stress of a battle but also from the attack of a Charizard. The armor itself stimulates the muscles to make you lift twice your normal could, able to withstand the kickback from the new rifles which will be shown later. The armor is made from reformed Iron, the same used to increase the defense of the Poke'mon which can even withstand a hyper beam. But the most advance feature of these new gloves, is in the case you lose your rifle, they are able to fire beams of pure energy from the palms. But I must warn you, only use that feature for a quick escape because it depletes your power supply."
After he finished, she turned back down the catwalk, spotting Ash sitting by the side. She winked at him and continued to walk off.
This caused Ash to blush, but also caused Brock to have streams of tears flood down his face. "That's just not fair."
Lily then walked down the catwalk, showing off a pair of red armored boots which went up to her knees, even though they looked too heavy to walk in, Lily was walking if she wasn't wearing anything on her feet. "Like the gloves, these boots are insolated, highly armored and increases the strength so you are able to run faster, jump higher, and kick harder. You wouldn't believe how many soccer teams are requesting this technology."
Everyone had a good chuckle from his joke; Lily posed a few times and walked down the path, giving a wink to Ash as she walked by, once again causing Brock to burst into tears.
This time May walked out, wearing a red chest cover that reached down to her waist with the sleeves meeting at the elbows; a large bump could be seen extruding from the back, obviously where the battery pack is. I don't get why my dad insisted I wore the chest plate, she thought to herself as she walked down the catwalk.
"Looks like dad didn't want guys ogling his daughter," Max commented with a slight chuckle.
Norman watched as his daughter walked down the catwalk. "Now here is the key part of the entire armor; this not only comes with the same features as the gloves and boots, but it caries the power cell pack which powers the entire suit, not to mention protection some of the most vital parts on us. This even keeps track of your vitals then sends them directly to Team Rocket Headquarters and keeps track of your location at all times."
She spun around at the edge, making sure everyone got a sight of the armor before heading down. From there, Violet walked down the path, wearing the waist part of the armor which stopped when it reached the knees. "This part of the armor is fitted to be more flexible for optimal mobility, also to release most of the kickback from the new rifles by keeping the troop stationed to the ground and standing up against the shock. I must warn you, if you are not wearing this piece of armor or it is damaged refrain from using the new rifles as there is a high chance that you could receive massive damage to your own body."
She posed at the end then headed back, giving a flirtatious look to Ash as she passed and causing Brock to use his arm to hold back the flood of tears.
Then last, Misty walked down the catwalk wearing a red helmet, the face plate a tinted screen. "Now the last piece is very crucial to the suit, this screen not only increases your accuracy and range of sight with its built in targeting system and zoom feature, but it also has a Rocketnavi, communications link to other teammates, and system monitors to your suit. This, combined with the rest of the suit, makes this the ultimate defense when fighting the Poke'mon Menace."
All of the agents cheered to that announcement as Misty posed at the end of the catwalk, even though she hated doing this her body acted like she had done this all of her life; which the judges made note of. Dang, I really wish I got the chest plate, she thought to herself, posing at the end of the catwalk.
"You know, Daisy; Misty isn't half bad at this," Violet stated.
"She might not have our looks, but she is still a Waterflower," Daisy replied.
Misty then walked back down the catwalk, noticing a small blush on Ash's face which in then caused her face to turn red, now thanking that she got the helmet.
She came back and May approached her cheerfully. "You were great out there, Misty," she then shot her roommate a sly grin. "Are you sure you haven't done this before?"
Misty nodded. "Yes I'm sure."
Then as she removed her helmet, May noticed her face was a bit red. "Misty, are you blushing?"
Her eyes went wide, trying to think of any excuse. "No, it's just without the power cells it can get really warm in that helmet."
Her roommate nodded, knowing that she was in the clear. "Well now we need to get in our kimonos for the rifle segment of the show."
"I still can't believe that those are called rifles, they should be called cannons," Misty chuckled.
Misty was just finishing up with her blue kimono with coy fish as May walked over wearing a pink kimono. "Well, are you ready for the second half?"
"More or less," she replied in a nervous tone.
May examined her roommate in her kimono, feeling as if something was missing. She then snapped her fingers. "Misty, you should try wearing your hair down for this part."
Misty instantly reached for the strand of hair protruding out the side of her head. "I don't know, I've had my hair like this for as long as I can remember."
"Come on," May pleaded, "I bet you will look great."
Knowing how May acts when she has her mind set on something, she admitted defeat and pulled at the band in her hair. It dropped down to neck level and moved gently with the slightest breeze; May didn't know why but she stood in awe from the sight. "Are you alright, May?" Misty asked, a bit startled from her reaction.
May snapped out of it, nodded to the question. "Yeah, I'm fine; but you look great with your hair down, you defiantly should keep it that way."
Using her palm, Misty pushed up a portion of her hair, feeling how light it is. "You really think so."
"Ladies!" a female Team Rocket agent announced, "your on in thirty seconds. Misty, you're up first with the new Water Rifle."
"Alright," she replied as the agent left the room. "Well, time to finish this."
She walked out to the catwalk, using both hands to hold the 2.5 meter steel cylinder which combined to a large tube connected to the dark blue backpack. The agents were awe with both the size of the new rifle and the new look of their hot headed teammate. Even the son of Akio Ketchum was blushing from the sight.
"Well here is the new official Team Rocket Rifle XL. This Water Rifle is able to take out a hoard of Rhydons on its own, firing at 150 PSI and the backpack fitted with a water converter, taking moister from the oxygen and converting it into H2O. Just one of the technological marvels the Team Rocket Organization is able to produce for the views of, once and for all, eliminating the Poke'mon Menace."
"That's right!" everyone cheered.
Max then looked over at their energetic teammate. "Don't tell me you are attracted to, Misty."
A shocked look came over the energetic Team Rocket agent. "No, it's just that, she does look more like a woman with her hair down."
"You're right, she acts like a tomboy most of the time, so this is a nice change," Brock added.
"Just don't hit on her, or she will threaten to throw you into a Tauros stampede," Max joked.
A large sweat drop appeared on the back of his head. "I wouldn't think of it."
It came to the end of the show and the five lovely ladies stood at the back of the catwalk. "Now, let's have a round of applause for the ladies that participated in the first Team Rocket Fashion Show," Lt. Norman announced as the agents applauded, "not to mention a round of applause for the man who came up with this idea, not to mention head of the Elite Organization of Team Rocket, Giovanni!"
A spotlight focused on the man of the hour as he walked to the edge of the catwalk, causing the audience to be in an uproar of cheers and applause. There, he motioned with his hands for them to silence as Norman handed him the Microphone. "I'm glad to see my agents have enjoyed this show to show off the new armor and weapons. But now it is time for the end and I announce the winner."
Flannery walked up to present the sealed envelope to the head of Team Rocket. "And the winner is," he opened the letter; everyone was on edge, feeling as those few seconds were hours.
He opened it fully, pulling out the slip of paper. He forced a cough, scanning it once with his eyes. "The winner is... Misty Waterflower."
Everyone either gasped or was too shocked to say anything, this was a given to the reaction of her older sisters. Misty was completely stunned but a faint clapping could be heard next to her, seeing it was May.
Then Ash added, along with Max and Brock. From there the audience applause grew till everyone but her sisters were applauding. She slowly walked down the catwalk, gently waving to the crowd as she stopped next to Giovanni. "Well troops, keep up the great work; because soon, with this new advance weaponry, the Poke'mon Menace will finally be wiped off the face of the Earth."
"That's right!" everyone cheered.
To Be Continued
Soon the battle will begin, what will happen before that time comes. Read and review to find out.