Hey everyone, Toadettegirl2012 is back! And as you can see this is a new chapter of A differant Kind of Princess! Yes, I know it was like a four month wait, sorry about that. To be honset I almost didn't want to finish this fanfiction, but I knew if I left this one hanging 1) People would be heart broken 2) I'd proably get tons of reviews demanding that I finish it and 3) without this one being done my Hoilday Fun Collection won't really be complete (not to mention I still gotta do teh last like four chapters of Operation Winter Can Be Fun) so yeah. Anyway enjoy talking! Go ahead and enjoy this chapter!
IMPORTANT: IF YOU DON'T LIKE THIS FANFIC HIT THE BACK BUTTON NOW!
Discalmer: I don't own Pokemon
Chapter 11: Round Three: Beauty and Talent pt4
"Alright challenger Ash, are you ready to rock the battle field with an intense battle?!" Roxie said, almost screaming her sentence to the raven haired boy who stood across from her on the battle field.
Despite nearly having his ear drums blown out Ash nodded, "You bet I am!"
"Awesome, dude," the punk rocker pulled out a pokeball, "let's get this battle started! Go Scolipede!"
In a bright flash the giant purple centipede like Pokémon appeared. Pounding it's many feet on the ground it roared its name ready for the action of the battle ahead.
"Okay, Scolipede is a bug and poison type," Ash muttered to himself as he stared down his opponent, "I gotta use someone to handle its size and power and someone who can at least have an upper hand on one of its types…hmm, oh I know!" pulling out a pokeball Ash threw it in the air yelling, "Charizard, I chose you!"
In a flash of blue and white the large reddish orange reptile like Pokémon appeared, roaring it flared it's tail flame up as he glared at his opponent.
"Awesome! An intense powerhouse Pokémon to size up to my epically awesome Scolipede!" Roxie exclaimed as she fist pumped the air
"Alright let the battle begin!" Nurse Joy announced with a wave of her hand
"Alright, Ash do your best," called the green haired girl from the sidelines
"Pika pi chu!"
"Ax axew ax!"
The Tusk and Electric Mouse Pokémon also cheered on the raven haired boy. They were both perched on the girl's shoulder, watching the battle.
"Ash is doing so well," the green haired girl stated, as they watched Charizard unleash a Flamethrower on Scolipede who quickly deflected it with Protect, "if he beats Roxie he'll have three silver tickets, and three votes for Iris!"
"Ax axew ew," Axew agreed with a nod, and then cringed as he saw Scolipede slam into Charizard with the move Steamroller.
"I still wonder what, she's be doing for round three," the girl with green hair stated
As the battle progressed, Axew was fully absorbed in the action of it, but Pikachu couldn't stay focused. It wasn't only because, there were people everywhere and they sometimes blocked his view, it was also because he couldn't help but noticed how the green haired girl was acting odd. She wouldn't stop turning her head left and right, as if looking for something, and every so often his sensitive ears would pick up some mumbling that she made. The electric type tried to decipher what she was saying but he couldn't, it was just too noisy around him.
"Pika pi chu?" Pikachu asked, waving a hand in front of the girl's face, after her eyes had been fixated in a certain direction for a long period of time.
"Huh?" the green haired girl asked, looking at Pikachu. She gave a smile, "Oh, I'm sorry I was just looking for my friend," she started to scan the crowd again, "she's been gone for a while now…"
"And that's it! Scolipede is unable to battle!" Nurse Joy shouted, after Charizard had let lose the finishing move of Flamethrower. "The winner is Charizard! The battle goes to Ash!"
"Pi chu pika!" Pikachu cried seeing that Ash had successfully taken down Scolipede.
"Ax axew ew!" Axew added also happy.
"Awesome I got my last ticket!" Ash exclaimed as he came over to the group after his victory. "Now I got all three for Iris," he proudly showed everyone all three sliver tickets, Pikachu and Axew marveled at them but the girl with green hair still seemed distracted, "hey, uh aren't you happy?"
"What? Oh, why of course I am!" she quickly said, flashing a smile, "great job battling Roxie!"
Ash made a face as the green haired girl then continued to look around, "Uh, did you lose something?" he asked.
"Oh, no I-I'm just looking for my friend," the girl answered, still scanning the area, "it shouldn't take her that long to get-I mean put her clothes away…"
"Maybe she got lost," Ash suggested as Pikachu hopped over to his shoulder.
She shook her head, "I don't think so-Oh! There she is!" the green haired girls exclaimed, seeming relieved as she waved her hands to get her pink haired friend's attention.
"Sorry I took so long," the girl with pink hair stated as she approached them, "I took a wrong turn and got a little lost. Did I miss anything while I was gone?"
"Yeah you missed the awesome battle between Roxie and I," Ash stated and then showed her the third shiny silver slip of paper, "and I got all three tickets!"
"Wow! That's awesome!" the pink haired girl said, smiling.
"Well since you got all the three tickets," the green haired girl said, "what do we do now?"
"Well, it's already six," Ash said, as he looked at the sky were the sun was begging to set, "I guess we should head back to the stadium, the performances for round three are going to start in an hour,"
"I guess," the pink haired girl said, "but…is it okay if we head back to Striation's Mall of Wonders?"
"What for?" Ash asked
"The mall is going to close soon and we just want to get one last shopping trip done," the girl with green haired explained, "I-I hope you don't mind, unless you'd like to come with us-"
"Uh, no thanks," Ash quickly declined, "it's still Princess Festival Day the last place I want to be is that mall before it closes, er um no offence,"
The girls giggled, "It's alright. We understand," they said
"So I'll make sure to save you two some seats!" Ash called as the two girls headed in the direction of the mall.
The pink haired and green haired girls gave their thanks as they waved and dispersed into the crowd, leaving the raven haired teen with Pikachu and Axew.
"Well guys, it just us now," Ash said as both Pokémon climbed onto his shoulders
"Ax axew ew,"
"Pi pika chu pi,"
"Since we got an hour to kill, how about we head to the Striation Café? I mean we don't want to watch Iris's performance on an empty stomach!" Ash exclaimed, causing the Pokémon to cheer in agreement. As he headed off down the road he couldn't help but grin as he added, "Maybe this time we'll be able to actually be able to eat something!"
"Come on, Faith please hurry up!" ordered Iris, who sat squirming in a chair as Faith was fixing her long purple hair as fast as she could.
"I know, I know! We're running out of time and I'm going as fast as I can," Faith said, pausing for a moment to adjust her glasses as they threatened to slip off her nose. "Now did you say you wanted your hair up or down, Iris?"
"Up, it has to be up in two pigtails!" Iris answered as she stared down at the notebook she had in hand that was covered in her squiggly handwriting; most of it was almost illegible. "If it's not, it won't work in the routine!"
"Right, got it, I'll put your hair up," Faith said as she grabbed another can of hairspray. "Besides everything has to be perfect if you want to impress the audience in round three,"
"Yeah…I-I know," Iris groaned as she continued to stare at the pen covered page.
This was where she had written everything for her three and a half minute routine for her performance in round three. It was a little sketchy since she had hardly any time to work on it, due to how long it took her to find her special area, the loss of the bubble machine and the replacement of the smoke bombs, but it was something and it was better than nothing. During the last few hours Iris had practiced non-stop on the dancing part while multitasking with choosing the hairstyle and Pokémon needed for her performance.
"Alright, Dragonite, Emolga and Zorua are all ready to go," Hope stated as she up her twin and the contest in the Princess of Unova Pageant and presented Iris with the three spheres. "And are you sure you only want to use those three? The judges said you can use up to four,"
"I know, but three is more than enough," Iris said before taking the pokeballs and quickly releasing the Pokémon inside. Then giving then a serious look the purple haired teen asked, "Okay guys are you ready to help be wow everyone in round three?" the three Pokémon all gave their cries of agreement. "Good, now I need you guys to give it everything you got, 110%, understand? Emolga you have got to look your cutest, give the crowd puppy dog eyes and everything, do you think you can do that?"
"Emo Emolga!" the electric/flying type chirped, giving an adorable wink.
"And Dragonite," Iris said turning to the Pokémon that had helped her achieve the bonus points but taking down Alteria and nabbing Roxie's wrist band in round two. "You got the flying routine down pat right?"
"Drag Dragonite," the dragon type confirmed with a nod of his head.
"Good, that part has to be flawless, besides the last thing we want is having an ambulance come here because I fell off your back and busted my head open," Iris sheepishly said, remembering how she had Dragonite had practiced a special flying act for the performance. It had taking them about fifteen tries before they could do it right, and she lots of makeup covering all the bruises to prove it. The dark skinned teen the Tricky Fox Pokémon and gave it a determined look. "Now Zoura, you've been given the most important role of all in the performance. You gotta transform right on the dot every time."
"Zour…" the black and red tailed tip Pokémon gave a slightly worried look. It was scared it wouldn't be able to meet Iris's high expectations.
"Zoura, I know you can do it," Iris encouraged, "It'll be just like in practice but with music and well…it'll be lots of fun!" she gave it a smile and reached down and scooped it up in her lap. "And besides your transformations have been flawless from the start, I mean you did fool me with that Venonat disguise!"
Zoura blushed, Iris had embarrassed it, but all the same it gave a totty grin and flashed it's mischievous grin, "Zour Zoura!" it chirped, now feeling excited.
Allowing the Zoura to leap down from her arms Iris gave one more determined look, "Good, with you guys helping me there be no doubt that we'll blow away the competition!"
Unfortunately as 6:10 reared its ugly head a short time later Iris was starting to panic again. Show time was almost here and despite telling the Pokémon that everything was going to be okay, the feeling of determination was quickly dwindling away.
'What if I forget the dance moves I came up with? What if the smoke bombs don't go off right? What if I just freeze up while I'm on stage because of all the people looking at me?!' all these thoughts kept running amuck in Iris's brain as she paced about the storage room, wringing her hands, her face creased with utter worry.
Faith and Hope watched the teen pace about, back and forth back and forth, over and over again until neither of them could take it anymore.
"Iris you're going to fine out there on stage," Hope encouraged.
The statement had pulled Iris from her thoughts and caused her to look up at the twin in blue. Iris shook her head, "No…no I won't…I'm just too nervous I'll mess up! I know it!"
"Come on, don't put yourself down Iris," Faith reassured, going up and grabbing Iris by the shoulders, halting her pacing. "Besides after all that hell that Misty girl put you through, now is not the time to give up!"
"Bu-But…well..." Looking down at her shaking hands Iris mumbled, "I'm just not sure about myself…I've never had…"
"Iris, Faith is right," Hope encouraged. "You have nothing to be worried about; I mean how could you fret when you look this beautiful?"
To illustrate her twin sister's point Faith turned Iris around so she faced the mirror that leaned against the wall, so that the girl could see herself. A smile formed on Iris's lips, no one, not even herself, could deny that Faith and Hope had done a spectacular job making her look wonderful for her performance in round three.
Her royal purple hair was styled in two sleek pigtails that were held together with rose pink hair ties, and due to the length of Iris hair they were almost long enough to brush against the floor. To contrast with the two long royal purple pigtails Iris was wearing a pair of pjs, the sleeping attire was constructed too look like a dress and there was nothing but straps that held the dressy pjs on the dark skinned girl, which exposed her shoulders and arms. The dress part went down to Iris's knees and rippled and fluttered with each of her movements, the fabric was a pearly white, like the face of the full moon, and cherry blossom petals decorating it. Yes the whole get up made Iris look like 'a little kid' but she insisted on wearing it, it was going to be part of her performance in round three.
Iris, not turning away from the mirror, allowed a smile to appear on her lips, "You guys are right," she turned and pulled the twins into a hug. "I shouldn't be worrying, no matter how nervous I feel,"
"That's the spirit Iris," Faith gave her a thumbs up.
"Beside you've done great in the other rounds, and we're positive that you'll do fine in round three to!" Hope added with a cheery smile.
Iris clasped her hands together, "Thanks," she turned back to the mirror and then muttered in a tone that only she could hear. "I just have to stay calm and do my best and everything will be-"
"Attention all contestants in the Princess of Unova Pageant!" came the shrill sound of Nurse Joy's voice over the loud speaker. "It is now 6:15 and we recommended that our three finalists come on back to the stadium to set up for their performances that'll be performed live for all of Unova at 7:00!"
"L-Li-Live?!" Iris sputtered, panic suddenly strangled her heart. "Th-They're going to be broadcasting the final round live?!"
Faith sweatdropped, "But haven't they been broadcasting the pageant live all day?"
"Yeah, but all I was doing was battling and running from the Cryogonal!" Iris started to pace back and forth again as she thought back to rounds one and two. "But this is different I'm going to have to go on stage, to perform my routine with practically everyone in Unova watching me! I-I can't do that…I-I just…" Iris felt like she was going to have a mini panic attack! She just couldn't go up on stage and dance and stuff knowing that all eyes would be on her, Iris never liked being in the limelight!
"Iris we can see you might need some time to recollect yourself," Hope said in a soothing tone that broke Iris's troubled thoughts.
"So to give you some time to think, how about we go ahead and bring all your stuff for your performance down to the stadium for you?" offered Faith as she pushed her glasses up on her nose.
Iris cracked a smile at the kind gesture, "Thanks you two,"
The purple haired teen helped them collected the pokeballs that contained Dragonite, Emolga and Zoura, the pouch of smoke bombs, and the CD that contained the Cinderella song on it and then the twins were on their way.
"See you two later!" Iris called as they left the storage house. "And thanks for everything!"
The twins replied with smiles and waves of their own before they hurried off. Once they were gone from sight Iris closed the door and sunk down to the floor of the storage house, not even caring how the cold the hard floor felt against her bare legs.
"Okay, Iris you've been doing awesome all day in this stupid pageant. Now you gotta go up there and pull it off for the final stretch," Iris said to herself as she hugged her knees to her chest and peered down at the notebook that contained the plans for her performance. She was telling herself not to worry, but just telling herself that all would be fine didn't seem to calm her nerves. She just couldn't perform…no she had to perform…but what if she ended up making a fool of herself on stage?! And if that happened there would be no doubt in her mind that her winning streak would go down the drain.
'I wish I had an easier time being up on stage,' thought Iris in dismay. 'I mean performing for a small crowd of maybe twenty five people would be no problem, and performing for that huge audience in the stadium was kinda pushing it, but now I'm going to be on stage for everyone in Unova to see! I just can't! There'll be no way…I-I just…' Iris sighed; there she went second guessing herself again, a thing that she did often and was a horrible habit of hers, well until Ash told her how much he loved her.
A small smile pulled on Iris's lips as the warmth of blush settled on her cheeks, "Ash…" she murmured out loud.
The only guy who told her that he genially loved her. The guy she loved with her whole heart. The guy that always made her smile and helped he get through rough times. The guy who had stolen Iris's heart with her first kiss…oh that lovely first kiss. Her smile widening, Iris allowed that wonderful memory to replay in her mind. Ash and her perched up high in that tree in the woods, his soft lips pressed gently against hers, the sudden electrical static feeling that rushed through her veins as the love blossomed between them.
"Oh that kiss…" Iris sighed whimsically as she set a hand over her heart. "It was amazing," but her feeling of happiness was slowly drained away as something came to her realization. "Now that I think about it…I haven't seen Ash ever since the end of round two,"
She turned her attention to the clock on the wall and saw that it read 6:20. She grimaced at the sight, knowing that she had to get to the stadium and all, but also because of the fact that Ash had been gone from her sight for the past 3 and a half hours.
"I've been so busy getting my performance together that I didn't noticed how much I miss him," While messing with a lock of her hair Iris couldn't help but think about how much she missed the smiles, the complements, the hugs, the company…and of course the kisses that she would receive from her new found love. "I wish Ash was here now," Iris said to herself, as looked at the mirror to make sure she hadn't messed up her hair while twirling it on her finger. "Then maybe I wouldn't be so nervous, but of course I had to be stupid and say no to him and those two girls when they offered to help me out,"
Biting her lip Iris felt the butterflies of nervousness reenter her stomach as she thought about what she had to do in less than an hour, 'No Iris you can't be nervous…not when you know you'll have Ash there to cheering for you,' Turning to her reflection in the mirror Iris gave herself a look of confidence, 'Besides like I said up in that tree: Ash you always find a way to make me feel better when I'm at my lowest!'
Turning and headed towards the door Iris knew that she wouldn't be scared to go up on stage, no matter how many pairs of eyes were watching her, because she knew she had to win. Not only for herself, but for Ash, the guy that had been routing for her all day long. So with the new fire of determination burning inside, Iris walked out of the storage house ready to face the stadium. Ready to face round three!
Iris began the trek down the streets of Striation City that lead to the stadium, but as she went, the pigtail wearing girl didn't noticed how the eyes of bypassers were getting glued to her like a magnet. She was so engrossed in her own thoughts Iris didn't hear how the people were whispering her name and talking about the Cryogonal she had tackled in the fear challenge and the wonderful battle she gave in round two. For theses whispering, pointing, pedestrians were not only staring at Iris because it was rather particular to see a teen dressed in dressy style pjs in broad daylight, but also because they were the large group of fans Iris was able to gain throughout the first two parts of the Princess of Unova Pageant, and she probably wouldn't have noticed them if one hadn't screamed out to her.
"IRIS! IT'S REALLY HER!"
Jumping from the loud noise the purple haired teen turned only to see a little girl, who looked oddly familiar, running up to her with a wide grin and an annoyed looking Purloin in her arms. "Iris! Iris! You remember me, don't you?"
Iris blinked, "Um…well uh…" Iris stared down the girl, from her big shining eyes to her frilly pink outfit and her irked looking Purrlion that wore a bright sparkly pink hair bow and collar.
"It's me Stacy! You know from the movie theater in the Striation's Mall of Wonder?" she beamed.
"Stacy? Um well I-I think er-"
"Come on you gotta remember! You were going to see Wonder Launchers 3 with your boyfriend!"
Iris flinched and then sweatdropped, "B-B-Boyfriend?! I-I er I mean h-he's not m-my bo-boyfriend…well he's a b-boy that's m-my fr-friend but-"
"Hey Iris, what's with the pjs?" hollered another fan as a crowd started to accumulate around her.
"Um it's for round three, it's part of my performance-"
"What's your performance going to be about, Iris?"
"Um I-I'd rather keep that information to myself-"
"But you gotta tell us!"
"We're your fans!"
By now the people were suffocating close, and Iris not being a very good with attention slowly back away, "Er um…it's great that I got lots of wonderful fans like you guys," she turned and started off into an all-out run on her bare shoeless feet, "but I gotta head to the stadium!"
"Iris, you never said if you remembered me or not!" screamed the little girl named Stacy as she chased after the teen. But as Stacy started to chase Iris, the others started to pursue her as well.
"Oh no, not a paparazzi!" Iris mumbled out in horror as she kicked up her pace.
"IRIS! IRIS! IRIS!" her fans screamed.
"Is it true that Roxie likes you best?"
"Do you know if you'll be able to win round three?!"
"Iris, do you remember me! I'm Stacy?!"
"Is it true that the guy you hang out with is your boyfriend?"
Iris cringed again upon hearing that question, as she panted for air and rounded a corner Iris couldn't help but wonder how celebrities dealt with people prying into their private lives all the time! But not wanting gossip and social media to blow up and exaggerate the fact that she didn't give an answer to Ash and her dating, she threw an answer over her shoulder, "Like I said before, um we're not dating…well I-I mean I d-don't think we a-are!"
Iris rounded a corner and accelerated in hopes of getting away from the crowd of fans, as her ragged breath was sucked in and was forcefully ejected from her lungs, as her legs began to ache, as she tried to ignore the screaming from behind, Iris couldn't help but think one thought.
'Is Ash really considered as my boyfriend now?'
Yes, neither she nor Ash had actually stated they were boyfriend and girlfriend, but I guess one could assume that they were, considering how much time they spent together, especially today. And besides Iris did love Ash and Ash loved her back and all, plus that kiss in the tree…had to mean something. So were they dating? Were they not?
But before Iris could even try to organize her thoughts on the topic of Ash being her boyfriend, she was forced to hit the brakes and skid to a stop to prevent herself from running face first into a wall.
"What in Arceus name-" Iris panted as took a quick scan of her surroundings only to see that her plethora of fans had cornered her! Whirling around a small squeak of horror escaped the girl's lips as the screaming fans grew closer and closer, leaving Iris with no choice but to press herself against the wall.
"So are you and that guy dating or not?"
"You still didn't tell me why you're dressed like that!"
"Iris! You gotta remember me!"
"You and that guy would be so cute together if you were dating!"
On and on, one after the other, the comments and questions came like rapid fire Close Combat attack! And as if the words that were flying at her were capable of giving physical blows Iris soon found herself cowering on the ground practically begging for them to stop with the questions!
"I know you're my fans and you love me and all but would it be asking too much for you to shut up?!" Iris shouted loud enough for the crowd to hear, but her demand only fell onto deaf ears as the fans crowed closer and closer. Sweatdropping the pj wearing teen stammered out, "H-Hey...would you g-guy, um mind g-giving me s-some sp-space? I can't win round three if I get trampled to death!" but the crowd wasn't listening! Now terrified that this would be the end of her Iris cried out at the top of her lungs, "SOMEONE HELP ME!"
And then, as if hearing her pleads, an answer came in the form of a voice, a voice that commanded, "Go use Thunderbolt!"
Startled Iris let out a yelp of fright as she saw a powerful stream of crackling electricity cut through the air and shock the crowd with full force! Iris sighed in relief as the fans started to scatter in fright, and then grinned knowing exactly were that powerful Thunderbolt came from.
Turning around Iris smiled warmly and exclaimed, "Ash! Thanks for saving me I-" she already had her arms outstretched to greet him with a hug, but instead she halted as she saw that it wasn't Ash who was there, instead standing there stood the two girls. The ones with hair that could be identified with watermelon, each of them also had a Minccino with bow corresponding to their hair color. "Oh…um hi you two..." she greeted, feeling a bit sheepish for calling them by the name her raven haired friend. Glancing at the Chinchilla Pokémon she saw that their gray had yellow sparks flying off of them, indicating that they were the ones to use Thunderbolt.
"I guess you didn't know that our Minccinos here could use Thunderbolt," the pink one said, snuggling it to her cheek.
Iris grinned, "Um no I guess not…when I saw that Thunderbolt I was expecting-"
"Your boyfriend?" the green haired one asked, with a teasing grin.
Iris's cheeks flushed red like a tomato, "A-Ash?! No h-he's not my bo-boyfriend! Why does everyone keep saying that…" she messed with a lock of her long hair. "I mean w-were just fr-friends…um that er…kiss…" but then she face palmed, damn that sounded a whole lot better in her head.
Iris couldn't help but blush even redder at how her two friends giggled, "Sorry we didn't mean to make you blush so much, Iris," the girl with the hair the color of pink lemonade said, between giggles.
"Yeah, the last thing you need is to be all flushed before you head out on the big stage with all those hot bright lights shining on you in round three," the green haired one pointed out. "And speaking of round three, do you think it would be asking too much if you gave us a little intel on what your performance is going to be about?" she asked sweetly.
"Sorry girls, but after all the work I put in my performance, I'm not telling anyone," Iris simply said, with a shrug.
"Aw are you sure you won't tell?" the pink haired girl groaned, disheartened.
She then winked. "Nope, it's going to be a surprise for everyone!"
"Not even a teensy tiny hint?"
"My lips are absolutely sealed," Iris said. "Now I gotta get to the stadium, your welcome to come with me," with that Iris headed off down the road again, the two girls hot on her heels.
"Iris wait, now come on please tell us!"
"No,"
"We promise we won't tell anyone!"
"Still no,"
"But we need to know what your performance is going to be about!"
At this statement Iris stopped dead in her tracks as turned to look at them, "Need? What do you mean you need to know?" Iris asked, eyebrow arched.
The purple haired teen's question was simple but caused the girl with bubble gum pink hair to visibly stiffen as if the question was an impossible one to answer.
The pink haired one fidgeted in her place and the Minccino in her arms sweatdropped as she stammered out, "Um well…we really didn't mean need… er I mean-"
Her mumbling was halted as her friend outstretched her hand in front of her face and heaved a sigh. A sight hat sounded somewhat forced, the sigh was followed by that action of one of her green eyes twitching somewhat. "When we mean need, we mean that we were just wondering if the performance you put together is good enough to beat Pr- um Misty,"
Iris snickered as she started walking again, "Of course it'll be good enough to beat that red head jerk," but Iris bit her lip, "at least I hope it's good enough…I mean I worked my ass of thinking up my choreography and with the whole which with my special item-"
"Oh, you mean those smoke bombs you had in your suitcase?" asked the girl with hair like green leafs.
"Yeah, but actually I started out with a-" once again Iris paused mid-sentence and turned, wide eyed, at the two, "Wait…how d-did you know that?"
"Know what?" the pink haired girl inquired, her tone sounding oddly rude as the Minccino in her arms gave a mischievous smile, almost like the one Zoura would give expect instead of being playful…the smile was all mischief. "That your suitcase originally contained a bubble machine?"
"But then was mysteriously switched out for a pouch of little green smoke bombs?" finished the green haired girl as she gave a knowing look at Iris.
Eyebrow shot up and Iris's jaw went slack with shock. How? How did they know all this? Before Iris's vocal cords could even start to ask her question the girl with leaf green hair answered her.
"There's no need trying to rack that big head of yours to figure out how we knew all this. We just know because...well we have out ways." she declared with a smirk.
Still stunned by confusion, Iris shakily let words fall from her lips, "B-But…I thought…well I mean aren't we-"
"Friends?" the pink haired girl guessed. She looked at her friend and gave a fake expression of pity. "Aw, the jungle freak though we were her friends!"
The comment was like a blow to the face, "J-Jungle…freak, why did y-you call me th-that?"
"Oh…I'm sorry I had no idea that you found your little pet name offensive," the green haired girl said, fake sympathy tainting her voice. "How about we call you…wild thing, or jungle girl weirdo, how about balloon head, those all fit you perfectly,"
Iris was so dumbfounded by what was going on she didn't even notice how the two girls with hair that would match a slice of watermelon were backing her into an ally way, away from the bustle of the streets. By the time she did noticed there was no way of running, so putting on a brave face Iris demanded, "What is the matter with you guys? Why are you doing this to me?"
However her attempt to intimidate them failed as the girls shared a laugh, "Why you ask?" the one sporting the color pink from head to toe sneered.
"Because we're just following the orders Princes Misty gave us," the one that could be mistaken as a cucumber said in a matter of fact tone that was sharper than a Leaf Blade attack.
"…P-Princess Mi-Misty?" Iris repeated, her face scrunched up as if she had just smelled something ghastly as the sound of the name of her nemesis caused her blood to boil. And know learning that her two so called friends were part of that red head's little fan group was like a knife to the heart! It was totally coldhearted! Totally unforgivable! Also something Iris didn't really see coming! Now angered at all this Iris spat out, "I can't believe you two were working with Misty the entire time!"
"Oh dear, looks like I've said far too much," the green haired said, dramatically placing a hand over her forehead.
"And it seems like the wild thing's getting mad! Do you think it'll attack us?" the pink haired asked, which earned a laugh from her friend and the pair of Minccinos.
Iris grinded her teeth together, and no longer being able to hold back her anger she lunged forward, "Why you little good for nothing…ARG!" Iris balled her hand into a fist, getting ready to slug one of the girls in the face, but before one blow was delivered the two girls attacked first.
"Minccino, use Strength!"
With their given command the two bow wearing Chinchilla Pokémon leaped from the traitor's arms and with their small paws aglow, infused with the power of Strength, they latched onto their target. The one with the green bow grabbed roughly at Iris's lower legs, just below her knees, and made sure there was no way of her taking a step. While the one wearing a pink bow pinned Iris's arms to her side, by catching her around the middle, so there the idea of trying to attack their owners wouldn't even be possible. The added weight, the loss of balance, the laws of gravity and having no choice but to surrender to it all equaled to Iris toppling to the hard dirt filled ground.
"OW!AUGH! What the hell?! T-Tell them to let go of me!" Iris demanded as she struggled to get free, but her attempts were in vein, the fury gray Pokemons' grip was far too tight and there was no way of moving to try to loosen or shake them off, the Unovaian girl was completely helpless! "Let me go, please!" Iris said, hoping that she didn't sound like she was begging.
"Let you go? Ha, in your dreams jungle freak," Iris made a face, the owner of that voice…it was unknown to her.
Craning her neck the teen with purple hair was surprised to see the third girl, the blond one! It was the same girl that had been with Misty earlier today while she was still on the lookout for Venonat, she was the one those watermelon heads claimed was the enemy but Iris now knowing that their claims were false she knew that the blond girl, which was displaying the bright color of goldenrod yellow all over and also had a Minccino with a matching yellow bow tied to its ear in her arms, was their friend.
Wearing the same evil expressions as her friends she approached them, and while doing so she said, "You know Princess Misty always says that 'a hungry fisherman never release a fish when it's caught'" she smirked as she stared down at the squirming dark skinned teen that she now loomed over. "And you Jungle freak, blow the top off our record of big catches…and you might even break the record of being the ugliest one as well,"
The insult stung worse than a Beedrill sting, but Iris wasn't going to take that from a stuck up snob! "I'm not ugly!" Iris managed as she continued to fight to get free, "you two double crossers and you low life lemon head might be dressed as princesses," she indicated to their frilly yellow, pink and green dresses that resembled Jellicent, "but your nothing more than three brainless puppets that bitch Misty uses to do her dirty work!"
The blonde gasped. "How dare you speak that way about Princess Misty!" she said, but being so dumb she didn't even know that the insult was directed mostly to her and her friends. But even so it didn't stop the girl from pegging Iris right in the cheek as hard as she could.
"Yeah your nothing more than scum compared to Princess Misty!" the ones in green and pink argued as they followed their blond friend's lead and proceeded in kicking dirt in the face of the purple haired girl.
At this point, Iris just took it. The throbbing pain of her now swelling cheek, the sting of their nonstop discriminating insults, the earthy taste of the dirt that clouded around her face, and worst of all the crushing disappointment of betrayal.
'How could they…?' Iris thought, as she winced at how a salty tear that slipped from her eyes stung her injured cheek, 'No…how could I be so stupid and actually think…that a freak like me could make friends? It's just like at Opelucid City those girls they didn't want to be my friend…they just wanted to humiliate me…but why…why does it always have to happen to me?...Why…?'
"Now you, jungle freak," the blond leader said, once their desire to pick on Iris was satisfied. "We need to fulfill Princess Misty orders, so you're coming with us,"
"I'm not going anywhere with you three jackasses!" Iris growled.
The blond girl gave an airy laugh, "Oh I'm sorry, but that discussion really isn't up to you," she turned to her friend. "Pull her up,"
The green haired and pink haired girl followed the girl in yellow's command but Iris wasn't going down without a fight. She squirmed and bucked, and even made an attempt to bite one of them but none the less Iris was forced up into a slopping standing position, the Minccinos still clinging to her.
"Now move you freak," the blond one ordered
"Make me, bitch," and with that Iris spit right in her direction. Unfortunately her aim was off and the saliva splattered on the front of her dress, instead of the desired spot of her face.
Either way, the blonde squealed in disgust and horror! "You disgusting animal!" she slapped Iris on the same cheek that she kicked, but Iris remained unfazed, ignoring the stinging pain. Upset by not getting a reaction the blond turned to her friends. "Girls, looks like this freak want to do this the hard way…"
And with that one simple sentence the two grabbed Iris's long flowing pigtails and yanked as hard as they possibly could. The forced caused the dark skinned teen's head to snap back and sent a shockwave of pain rippling through her head and down her spine, but to their annoyance Iris endured it. She bit her lip and refused to give them the viewing pleasure of seeing her squeal, Iris wasn't going to let them have the better of her, she wasn't going to beg for mercy.
From between gritting teeth, words leaked from Iris's mouth, "It's going to take a lot more than this 'hard way' to make me do anything for the likes of you three assholes,"
"Hard way?" the blond girl asked, as if surprised. She laughed, "Oh, that wasn't the hard way," she suddenly allowed the Minccino with the yellow bow to leap down from her arms which promptly scaled its way up onto Iris's head and then wrapped it's fluffy tail around her mouth.
"MMFTH! GRTFTH!" Iris cried, wanting to scream for help but it was useless, the tail made everything practically soundproof.
Now with a smirk on her face, the blond haired girl simply stated, "This is the hard way, Minccino, Thunderbolt!"
And with a loud cry of the three Chinchilla Pokemon's names the hard way began.
So what will happen to Iris? Will she be able to give her performance in round three? Who will win the Princess of Unova Pageant? Find out int eh next chapter of A Different Kind of Princess!
Okay guys, I don't know if you noticed the hints I gave but, BIG PLOT TWIST! Yeah those girls wre just Misty's playing pieces. Pretty crafty right? Anyway hoped you enjoyed this chapter. I'm estimating that they're will be only two more chapters left in this fanfic!
BYE: Toadettegirl2012
PS: You know what to do: REVIEW!