Chapter 2: A Coumarine City Showcase Debut

A/N I made this chapter different from the anime episode at the end of the chapter. You'll see why. Read and review, please!

Serena and Shauna run over to the theatre to prepare for their next showcase.

"I'm excited for my first showcase!" says Serena.

"I can hardly wait! May the best performer win!" says Shauna.

"We'll be rooting for you two in the audience." said Clemont.

"But mostly for Serena." hissed Ash under his breath.

The two performers go in the theatre to check in and make there way to their dressing rooms, while Ash, Clemont and Bonnie take a seat in the audience. "I'm so excited!" Bonnie says. "I hope Serena does well." she adds.

"Well, it's only her debut." Clemont says realistically. "But I hope she does well too."

"Quiet! the show is starting." says Ash.

xxxx

Elsewhere, a woman named Palermo steps out of her limousine, intending to watch the showcase. A flurry of people and reporters surround her, asking her questions. "Why are you here?" "How come you didn't come back earlier?"

Palermo sighs and walks to the theatre entrance with a guard. Her only intention was to watch the showcase and see which girls had potential.

xxxx

Team Rocket arrived at the theater as well, with Jessie muttering, "These wannabe performers! I'm going to beat them all and get that Princess Key!" James and Meowth sweatdropped.

"Well, at least we don't have to join her backstage." muttered James angrily, as Jessie went into the theatre.

"We have to at least watch. Maybe she'll get some money for Team Rocket by being Kalos Queen." Meowth said, excited at the prospect of money.

"If we weren't on Team Rocket, frankly, I'd want her to lose the showcase." James mumbled.

With their last complaints (hopefully) stored away for the time being, James and Meowth go and find a seat in the theatre.

xxxx

The crowd is quiet as a spotlight shines on the stage. "Welcome! I am Monsieur Pierre and I am your guide into the world of showcases! Today, 18 girls are competing for the Coumarine City Princess Key!" he said, gesturing to Klefki. "But first, we must choose a Theme Performance! Today's Theme Performance is ... Pokemon Styling! Performers will be given 10 minutes to style their Pokemon, then they will walk down our runway with their styled Pokemon. The performer with the most votes will move on to our Freestyle Performance! Before we begin, let me notify you that the woman who has started the careers of most potential Kalos Queens is here today, and her name is Palermo." A round of applause followed. Now, spotlight, si'l vous plait!" he finished.

Backstage, everyone was getting ready for their performance. "Shauna, Jessile, Anne, you're up first." a stage woman called to them.

"Good luck, Shauna! You'll be great!" called Serena.

"Thanks! Come on Bulbasaur, let's go!" said Shauna.

Jessile walked haughtily saying "I'll beat you all! Then you'll see who's the best."

The platform rises, and the performers begin styling their pokemon. Shauna puts some flowers on Bulbasuar's bulb and a flower tucked on the side of Bulbasuar's head. She makes a few more changes before time is up, and steps out of the dressing room.

"Here is Shauna and her Bulbasuar!" says Monsieur Pierre, introducing Shauna. They strut on the catwalk, both of them excited, with the crowd cheering loudly. Palermo had an indifferent look on her face.

"That's all!" she said, her hands in a peace sign.

As the other performer, Annemarie, walked on stage with her styled Floette, she got a minimal amount of applause, though not as much as Shauna. When Jessilie, who was really Jessie, walked on with her Pumkpkaboo's dark costume, she received no applause and Bonnie and Clemont yelled "What the heck is that?" Other responses to the costume were "This is horrible," "How'd she get here?" and "I can't look, Mommy!"

Monsieur Pierre continued. "Audience, use your glowsticks to vote for the performer you thought was the best!" The votes came in and Shauna's green pendant was filling up quickly. "And the winner moving on to the Freestyle Round is..Performer Shauna!" said the French host.

"Yes!" she yells.

Below the stage, Serena is ready for her styling round. "Have fun, Serena!" Shauna says as Serena walks to the platform.

"I will." she affirms. "See you after the performance!" she adds, walking with Fennekin.

Serena and two other performers step onto the platform with their Pokemon and begin styling them in the dressing rooms. Serena puts beads on Fennekin's tail, a hat on her head, and a ribbon on her neck. When the ten minutes are up, the three performers step out of the rooms.

"Here is Performer Serena and her Fennekin!" says Monsieur Pierre. Serena and Fennekin do well at first, until Fennekin trips on her long ribbon. Slowly, she gets up, and Serena and Fennekin manage to finish the walk. Her outfit was decent, Palermo commented silently. She still received applause for Fennekin's outfit. The other two performers had Pokemon outfits that weren't as good as Serena, but their Pokemon did not trip. In the end, a girl with her Fletchling got first, Serena got second, and a girl with a Meowstic got third. Serena was devestated.

Serena went down the stage platform, and by the time she was down, Shauna was done with her performance with Flabebe and Bulbasaur. After her performance, the performers that moved on to the Freestyle Round lined up. "Now, use your glowsticks again, and vote for the person who's performance is most worthy of this Princess Key!" announced Monsieur Pierre in a booming voice.

"Congratulations to Performer Shauna!" said Monsieur Pierre. "Here is your Princess Key, we hope to see more wonderful performances from you in the future." he said to her.

There will never be a Kalos Queen or performer like Aria, Palermo thought. But I will find one.

"One more announcement!" yelled Monsieur Pierre, shushing the crowd. "Outside this venue, there is a plaza where we are going to do street-performing. Anyone came come, and performers who were in today's showcase can participate! We hope to see you!"

After his announcement, everyone filed out of the theater, and the performers went to put their street clothes on, with some moans from Jessilie along the way."Congratulations Shauna!" said Serena, in an effort to be happy. Serena was anything but, with a tear in her eye that was threatening to spill.

"Hi Serena!' said Shauna. Are you going to the street-performing event after this?

"Maybe. But I can't get over how badly I lost in the showcase." Serena said dejectedly.

"You did fine for a debut." Shauna said. "You'll get better over time. I might go to the street-performing thing so, maybe see you there?"

"Okay." said Serena. Outside of the theatre, Serena met up with Ash, Clemont and Bonnie. "Hi Serena! Good job on your debut!" says Ash. "I was wondering if you wanted to go to the street-performing event. "

Serena thought about this carefully. I might embarrass myself again, but then again, maybe it will be fun. "Sure!" she finally replies.

"Well then, let's head over!" said Clemont. The foursome headed over to the plaza, where a team was setting up and a crowd was forming. Palermo was there as well to watch, unbeknownst to anyone else.

Shauna was there already. When she greeted them she said, "I'm glad you guys are here! This is going to be fun!"

A host walked on stage. "Welcome, one and all to this event! The crowd here wants to see some raw talent from performers! Now, who would like to go first?" Shauna shot her hand up into the air.

"I believe you were the girl that won the showcase! Well, let's see what you can do."

Here we go, thought Shauna. "Flabebe, use Fairy Wind!" she said, the Fairy Wind blowing like a gentle breeze. "Now Bulbasaur, lift me up with Vine Whip and toss me in the air!" she said happily, flying like a fairy "Now, finish with Petal Blizzard!" she said, the final petals falling as her feet touched the ground. Shauna finished in a pose with Bulbasaur holding her with vines.

"Wonderful performance! Who wants to go next?" yelled the host.

"Why don't you raise your hand, Serena?" said Ash.

"Yeah, do you want to go up?" said Clemont.

"You can do it, Serena!" said Bonnie. "Fennekin and Pancham think you can!"

Serena raised her hand. "How about you, young lady?" said the host.

"Me?" she said? I feel nervous, why did I raise my hand? she thought.

"Yes, you." said the host. Serena nervously climbed on stage and sent out her Pancham with Fennekin. She was going to do the performance she might have done if she went past the Theme round.

Let's do this, thought Serena, You can do it. "Okay, Pancham use Stone Edge!" she said while rising up on the stones and jumping across them. "Now Fennekin, use Psychic to move the stones, then Pancham and Fennekin, Dark Pulse and Ember on the stones!" she shouted while jumping off the last stone gracefully. "We're finished!" she said, as Fennekin fired a Fire Blast arch over the top of her head.

"Great job, Serena!" said Ash, hugging her. Serena blushed bright red.

"We'll leave you two lovebirds to it." yelled Bonnie, as Ash and Serena's faces reddened, Ash's more so (surprisingly).

"No offense, but your faces would make a great chili pepper." said Clemont while trying not to snicker at the potential couple.

"This reminds me, I should get you a girlfriend." said Bonnie. Clemont sweatdropped at his sister's antics.

As the next performances continued, Bonnie kept searching for a potential girl for his brother. Clemont suddenly jerked Bonnie by the shoulder. "Bonnie, you don't need to find me a girlfriend because I'm going to ask Korrina out some time." he said while sighing.

"Do you mean that fighting-type gym leader Ash battled at the Shalour Gym and the person we helped with Mega-Evolution?" she asked.

"Yeah, and I think we both like each other, but we're both to scared to say it." Clemont responded regretfully.

"Well, say you like her soon!" Bonnie said.

The performer that was dancing on stage said "Litwick, use Willow Wisp! Butterfree, use Silver Wind!" The performance was finished, with applause to boot.

The host got on stage and said, "I hope you had a wonderful time watching performers with their Pokemon and that you had fun today. Enjoy yourselves for the rest of the day, and we'll see you later!"

As Ash, Clemont and Bonnie began to leave, Serena said, "I'll catch up with you guys at the Pokemon Center. There's something I want to do first."

"Okay," said Clemont, "just don't take a long time!" As they left, Serena headed to the direction of the water, which was near the plaza. Little did she know that Palermo had her eye on her. As she headed to the pier, she practiced with her Pokemon, perfecting their routines for a while. Serena checked the time on her watch. "It's 6:15?" shrieked Serena. "I should go back right now."

Palermo was smiling, because this reminded her of how so many people get caught up in whatever activity they were doing. Her expression turned neutral again.

"Before we go back," Serena told her Pokemon, "I want to do something." So she stood by the dock, got her styling scissors out of her fashion bag, and cut her hair. Not too long, and not to short, but it was perfect, and her Pokemon thought so too.

"Fenn fenn!" and "Pan cham cham!" were their way of approving. As Serena headed back, she felt happier and more relaxed. In no time at all, she was back at the Pokemon Center. "Guys! I'm back!" she yelled. They all came running to her, and then it dawned on them..

"Serena, what did you do to your hair?" asked Clemont.

"I liked it longer!" moaned Bonnie.

"I think it looks cute!" said Ash.

"Aw, thanks Ash! I decided I want a new Showcase style." she said, while twirling around.

With Serena not feeling sad about her Showcase loss, she can now focus her efforts on the next showcase and perfect her routines. With this thought in mind, she went to get dinner.

A/N Was that chapter too long? Too short? Review and tell me what you think!