Yay, 20th chapter special!
Nah, I'm just kidding. It's just a normal chapter. Even though it's still awesome! It is pretty cool to make it to twenty chapters on my first story though. Tell me what you think of our first twenty chapters in A Different Soul: An IkariShipping Story, and please, criticize away! It'll only make me better! Also, I'll be doing reviewer shoutouts at the end of this chapter so please read them if you've reviewed recently and please do so again! I do shoutouts almost every chapter.
I don't own Pokemon!
Chapter 20: Floaroma Contest
Wednesday, February 26th
I was going to be late for the Contest. Again. I was currently at Simone's Closet getting my hair and all done with just twenty minutes until the Contest began. My bare foot tapped nervously on the floor while the manager here did my hair. Suddenly her hands fell away from my long blue tresses and I nearly had a panic attack.
"If you keep doing that you'll never get to the Contest Hall in time Hikari!" I mumbled a quiet sorry and tried to merge my foot into the floor. It didn't work. I wanted to scream at the woman but held my tongue. There wasn't any time for screwing around right now. "And... finished! Your shoes are just over there and your Ponyta is already in her Pokeball!"
The woman handed me Ruby's capsule and I quickly slipped on the strappy red sandals with an inch high heel which matched my dress, thanking her as I went. The dress itself was also ruby red. It was short, like the one I'd worn for my first Contest, going down to about mid thigh or so. It had several layers in the skirt, and had one strap going around my left shoulder. The dress also featured light gold sparkles all over it.
I didn't even get the chance to look in the mirror, I was too concerned with getting to the Contest on time. Wrapping my long pink coat around myself I made my way into the frigid air outside.
The storm was here, and wind was whipping my loose fishtail braid around while snowflakes began to numb my exposed skin. What people do for beauty. I made a mental not to not only start getting up way way earlier on Contest mornings but get ready at the Hall instead of at the Pokemon Center or local Simone's Closet.
I tripped several times in my sandals until I grew worried I would fall into the snow and rip my dress, and resorted to running whilst tip toeing barefoot until I got to the Hall. Inside, I immediately ran into Trevion.
"Girl what you doin' out there in the cold like that?" I smiled lightly when I saw Trevion, until I saw the look on his face. "Hikari, you're up, now!" I looked up at the monitor, where the host was wrapping up the last judge introduction. Wow, what luck that I'd be up first.
Throwing down my coat, I began to run towards the enter area, tripping over my own feet as I slipped on my heels. I was absolutely pissed. Especially when I was placing the seal over Ruby's Pokeball, and ran into a wall. I swore loudly, kicking the wall then cursing again when my shoe came off.
"Screw the shoes!" I screamed rather loudly, then took off and threw down the other one as well, before continuing the much smoother run towards the stage, Pokeball ready.
"-Hikari Diamond!" Still about seven or so feet from pushing my way through the curtains, I chucked my fire type's Pokeball as hard as I could through them. Ruby knew what to do. She came out of her Pokeball in a blizzard of rainbow sparkles front flipping, and just before she hit the ground with Stomp, I flew through the curtains, landing with my feet spread far apart and my pointer finger of my right arm pointing straight into the air in an epic stance, with a proud smile on my face to top it all off. Inside though, I was horrified. We'd just barely made it. I really needed to work on my punctuality.
An added effect of Ruby hitting the ground so hard with Stomp and so near to me, was that even I was thrown off the ground a few inches, enough that it was quite visible to audience who cheered wildly. For my landing, I tucked in my head, arms, and legs and completed a smooth somersault coming to a kneeling stance.
By now Ruby was back up in the air from Stomp, and we were losing too much time, too fast. Ruby would be down if I didn't command her in time.
"Fast Flame Ruby!" As the horse Pokemon traced the design of a carnation in fire vertically in the sky, I did the same with my finger, sighing mentally. She was doing it. She was really doing it. Of course, the Float Stone given to me by Riley and Trevion was a great help. One of the girls at Simone's Closet had the idea of creating a decorative harness to hold the stone to Ruby, which they had amazingly completed within a few hours. It was colored an almost fiery copper color, and was able to hold the Float Stone on the front of Ruby's chest, halving her weight.
"Now finish up with Double Kick!" The design in the sky completed, Ruby did another series of flips as she spiraled downwards, landing first on her back hooves denting the ground slightly, then went back up into the air to land a second time for the 'double' kick. This time she landed in a battle stance on all fours, leaving a sizable dent in the plastic floor.
Ending our routine, I had jogged up next to Ruby and put my left arm around her neck. Then, she turned her head moodily to the left, as we had planned, and I did the same only to the right with my right hand resting on the back of my head. My braid whipped over my shoulder, and it ended suddenly, with both of us panting.
There was little sound from the crowd. I didn't know what to do, for a moment I was heartbroken. What had we done wrong? Ruby had completed her part flawlessly! Then suddenly, the audience burst into hyper applause. There were cheers and whoops, and even a standing ovation from much of the aren! I was grinning up a storm.
"Thank you everyone! Thank you!" I began to curtsy, only to see Ruby watching me curiously. "It's like a bow girl, all you do is cross your feet like this," I did as I told her, then bent down a bit. "Then bow like so!" Ruby whinnied, smiling as best any Ponyta could, and we curtsied together, soaking up the attention. The judges had nothing but good to say about our routine.
"Well you heard it ladies and gentlemen! It sure will be tough to impress the judges when our first performance was such a doozie of a good time!" Once the hostess was finished up, I waved to the audience once more then trotted with Ruby off stage and to the waiting area for the other coordinators. Many of them congratulated and complimented me, and I even grew a bit red in the face from such kindness. Of course though, there were the few dirty looks shot at me for setting such a high standard so early on. I was positive we were going to make it to the Battle Stage, and had high hopes that we would win the whole thing!
"Well done Hikari!" I smiled at Riley, who was wearing the same nice purple blouse and pants as last time.
"Thank you so much! There was no way we could have done it though if it hadn't been for the Float Stone you and Trevion gave me!" The other boy I had mentioned wrapped his arms affectionately around my shoulders.
"Well no prob girly! Next time though, don't scare us like that!" I knew he was referring to the whole almost missing my cue thing. I rubbed the back of my head and laughed nervously.
"Yeah, that won't be happening again anytime soon!" The two of them complimented both our routine, Ruby's abilities, and my strategy of a powerful routine and my outfit. I was absolutely ecstatic about the whole thing. I watched contently as the rest of the routines ended with complete confidence.
"Alright lovers of Contests, I'm sure we're all filled with anticipation as it comes down to the cuts! Judges, who are the lucky Coordinators continuing on in the Battle Stage?" Out of the thirty seven original contestants, only sixteen would make it to the next round. Our portraits flipped over one by one, revealing that hard working sixteen. Mine was the first.
"Yes!" I shouted, jumping up and clapping joyfully. I wasn't sure if being first there was just because of my being first up to perform, or because I had been the best, but it didn't really matter either way. Ruby whinnied next to me and nuzzled my hand. "You're the reason we made it Ruby, good job!" Out of the three of us unfortunately though, only Trevion and I made it to the next round. Riley would have to sit it out. When I tried to comfort her, she stopped me.
"It's alright Hikari, really. As a coordinator and a trainer, you have to learn to accept a loss and move on. Rolling around in it forever will never do you any good." I wrote that wise Riley quote down in my mind for future use.
The three of us ate a quaint lunch together at the same cafe Riley and I had first eaten at when we'd first arrived at Floaroma, and I got to know the two of them much better. I was in a great mood, as were the two of them, and we had a lot of fun.
Turns out Trevion and Riley had known each other since they were each five years old, and both grew up in Canalave City. And, they'd also hated each others guts back then. After Riley had beaten Trevion's butt in a fight while they were both seven, he'd started to respect, and even follow her into the the coordinator life. Three years ago, right after both of them had left home to compete in their Contests, Riley and Trevion became lost in Eterna Forest together, with only the other to help them escape. And since then, they've been the best of friends.
The two's home lives were very different growing up, and kind of the opposite of what you'd assume. Trevion was raised by a single mother with an older brother. They'd always had a good amount of money and lived in the suburbs. Riley on the other hand, was raised in what Trevion referred to as the hood. She had five older and younger siblings raised by both parents who never seemed to have any money.
Riley's first Pokemon had been her Ralts, who had been a gift from her father. Each of her siblings had received a Pokemon for their tenth birthday, and headed out on a journey soon after. Riley, being the third child to leave for a journey, had been the first to pursue coordination.
Trevion's first Pokemon was his Shieldon, a gift from the Gym Leader of Canalave himself, who had been great friends with Trevion's father before he'd passed away of cancer before Tre had turned four.
I was much more elusive when asked questions by Riley and Trevion. I had never had a nice childhood, not with my father leaving, being constantly ridiculed and beaten up. I did try to answer a lot more questions about my likes and dislikes though.
Once we were finished I returned to the Pokemon Center and my room inside. The rest of the evening for me consisted of entertaining my Pokemon and getting them all pumped for tomorrow. And some light Youtube and television watching. Right after I'd finished my personal microwavable dinner and fed the Pokemon, I received a call from mom.
"Hey mom, how's it hangin'?" I asked, turning down the volume of the action flick I was watching.
"I saw you on TV today at that Contest Hikari!" I rolled my eyes, but smiled.
"I know mom, you watch all the Contests."
"Oh but honey you and your Ponyta were just stunning!"
"Thanks,"
"And the way you demonstrated her beauty and power, it was like you were a professional!"
"I must've gotten it from the best," I commented, causing my mother to choke up a little. We conversed for a little while, and ended with my mom talking about how much she wished that she had the money to come see me perform in person. I decided afterwards that somehow, I would eventually come up with the money to fly my mom out to see me both battle and perform someday.
The next morning I was sure to wake up extra early even though today, as far as looks were concerned, I was on my own. I put the dress on and this time french braided my navy blue hair, also tying the end of it with a gold bow. The shoes however, I left in my room. I was definitely not dealing with those things again. Instead I opted to wear my usual pink boots, even though they looked absolutely ridiculous together. Then I put on my coat and left the building.
I wondered briefly which of my three I should use in my first battle. On my way to the Contest Hall on the northern end of town, surrounded completely by flowers, though most of them were covered in snow by now, I decided that I should use Electra. She was the only one of my Pokemon who had not yet participated in a Contest. For a change I was actually one of the first coordinators to arrive, which gave me time to decide which seal to use on Electra's Pokeball and to relax for our battle.
I ended placing a pink party seal on Electra's Pokeball, then released her into my lap so that she could relax as well. I'd made some Poffins the night before as well, and fed two to the electric Pokemon. She soon fell asleep as I stroked her back.
Soon after people began arriving, I heard them discussing their opponents. The battles must have been put up in the waiting area, which I was sitting right outside of on a bench. I decided to wait a little longer before having to wake Electra up.
After a few minutes, I gently nudged the Shinx awake and she stretched. Then, a rather pretty girl approached us. She didn't say anything, just looked at us with a smirk on her face. After a second, it became rather awkward, at least for me.
"Um, hello! Did you need something?" She shook her head, and continued to stare. She looked pretty familiar, as most coordinators here did, though I'd never met her. She had long blonde hair, possible bleached, but I couldn't tell for sure. She had short bangs hanging over her forehead, with two large curls framing her face. The rest of her hair was in an updo ponytail which fell all the way down to her mid back. Her face was sharp, and her piercing ice blue eyes only added to that. She wore a teal and icy green sleeveless turtleneck dress, which was just about as long as mine, about to mid thigh, but was much tighter than my dress. She was also wearing about two or three inch high heel very pale pink nearly knee high boots. The only other thing she wore was a rubber purple bracelet.
"Are you gonna just stand there?" She nodded her head wildly, and her pony tail flapped back and forth. How someone could deal with that much hair, I would never understand. I could barely take care of my own. Electra and I stared nervously at the girl, who continued to stare smugly back. After some time though, she began to shake strangely.
"Um, are you alright?" Her eyes were now squeezed shut. "Miss?" Suddenly there was a pop and the girl vanished in a puff of what looked to be fog or steam. I shrieked, holding Electra who was more curious than frightened tightly to my chest. The cloud quickly cleared to reveal the girl, still standing there, but holding a small black fox Pokemon. The Pokemon giggled and licked the face of the girl. I stared in shocked awe.
"Sorry about that, Chesha just wanted to size you up." When I gave her a confused look, she explained. Well, part of it. "You're going to be our opponent, first round." I nodded, then looked back at Chesha.
"Chesha has the ability Illusion." I nodded, though I was still a little wary. "So is that what you're battling with?" She nodded towards Electra, who hopped down from my lap and sniffed up at the foxy Pokemon. In turn, it jumped from it's trainers arms, then in a small poof of smoke, had turned into an exact replica of Electra.
"Um, yeah. Her name is Electra."
"Hm." I wasn't quite sure what to think of this girl quite yet. She seemed... snooty. But, I couldn't quite say that just yet. I'd only just met the girl.
I watched the two Pokemon on the ground. Electra was sniffing around Chesha, who giggled again. While they were introducing themselves, I got the Pokedex entry on this strange foreign Pokemon.
"Zorua, the tricky fox Pokemon. To protect themselves from danger, they hide their true identities by transforming into people and Pokémon." Looking through the data, I saw that Zorua are originally from the Unova region.
"Long way from home," I mumbled quietly.
"So this your first rodeo?" I looked up at the girl who I've yet to learn the name of.
"No, this is my second Contest." She nodded, still with that smug look on her face. It was making me rather suspicious.
"No ribbons yet I'm assuming." I narrowed my eyes. This line of questioning was starting to irritate me, or rather assumptions.
"Nope. Hopefully though today will be the day!" The girl nodded, but I caught a little eye roll.
"My name's Avery Michaelson, by the way." She looked at me expectantly, and I almost just got up and walked away. This girl was starting to rub me the wrong way.
"Hikari. Nice to meet you." Meanwhile, while Avery attempted to make some sort of conversation, things were going sour with the Pokemon. Zorua, still in the form of a Shinx, was running circles around my Electra, and starting to nip at her. Electra, not one to take teasing of any kind, quickly became quite agitated, and after a particular hard nibble on Electra's tail, she whipped around to use Bite on Zorua.
Chesha poofed back into her original form, and began to cry. The dark type was barely nipped on the nose, and in my eyes totally deserved it, but, being not only a dark type but also an illusionist, it was easily able to turn itself into the victim. It jumped up into it's trainer's arms, crying large blobby tears. I was certain that they were fake. Avery gasped, immediately babying and checking Chesha for injury.
"You little beast!" She exclaimed, kicking out at Electra.
"Hey!" I scooped Electra up before Avery's boots could connect with her.
"That rat hurt poor little Chesha!"
"Excuse me?! Electra barely even touched her, and besides Chesha deserved it!"
"Hmph! We need to be leaving, our kind don't associate with filthy rats." Something broke. Maybe it was my patience, or self control, or just about anything else, but I would have been very happy to make baby Chesha an orphan at that point. Luckily, I held it in, and thought up a perfect way to combat Avery's rather rude comment.
"Ha, well why would rats like us want to associate with dogs like you anyways?" Avery whirled around gasping, with her mouth hanging open. I put a hand on my hip and smirked. She smartly turned back around and went on her way. Electra jumped from my arms to the chair I'd been previously sitting in, and I turned to her.
"We are most definitely going to destroy her, got it Electra?"
"Shii!"
Thursday, February 27th
Awesome chapter, and I finally got to introduce Hikari's Contest rival! Now it's time for shoutouts.
OblivionWings is up first who said that they totally forgot about my story until the last update, and I totally don't blame you! I don't have nearly enough time to write these days! They also can't wait to see Shinji again, and I promise he will appear soon, hopefully within the next two or three chapters!
Last is Black ninja, who simply asked me to keep going with the story, which I totally will!
Thank you everyone, please keep reviewing and reading!