Beyond the Battlefield: Twinkle Twinkle, Little Flash
by neptunesxdaughter
PITCH PERFECT AU
ø,,ø¤º°°º¤ø,Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ,ø¤º°°º¤ø,,ø
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or Pitch Perfect. :)
Rating: T.
Genres: Romance, Friendship, Humour, Drama.
Cover: None at the moment.
Warnings: The shower scene has been interpreted into this fic as well, so if you found that uncomfortable, don't hesitate to skip it. :) I found it a little odd to write, but it was funny in the movie, so I'm glad I added it in. The fic is rated T anyway, so you've expected it...
Type: Multi-chapter.
Inspiration: Another story that I'm working on, actually. And the Pitch Perfect movie.
Summary: All Misty wanted to do was to go to uni to complete a course to become a photographer, not compete on some battling team that is made up entirely of girls in order to compete nationally and against the boys' team from the same school. She wanted a normal experience, not this. Oh, Mew, help?
Pairings: [mainly] Pokeshipping, Ikarishipping, maybe Oldrivalshipping and others later on.
"The aperture is the part of the camera that decides how much light is allowed to enter the lens, while the shutter speed controls how fast the camera takes pictures. When you have the camera set to manual, you control both of these things. It may be tricky when you're first learning how to…"
Misty sighed, drumming her pencil against the desk while she pressed her hand against the one ear-phone she had in. The stuff that they were being taught was almost like a recap, things that she had learned in high school when she had first taken up an interest in photography. She felt one of her pokéballs move around and she hissed in frustration. 'Don't you dare come out.' She thought icily. Why had she brought her psyduck along again? Oh, right, because he couldn't swim and Daisy didn't want to take care of him.
She began to zone out as the lecturer droned on about how, under her guidance, they would be master photographers by the end of the term. It seemed almost impossible, judging by the looks of the eager looking students at the front and the losers chilling in the back, that these people were just amateurs. Not that she was that skilled, herself, but they didn't seem that experienced in the field.
Misty then decided to open up her sketchbook and flipped the pages to one where she had done little sketches. She had drawn Dawn's piplup the night before when it had fallen asleep on her bed. It was a rough outline, so she retrieved a blue pencil and started to define the lines a bit more.
"…so after the shutter speed and aperture workshops, we're going to begin our first major task; painting with light. This exercise will be to not only test the knowledge you would have gained through the workshops, but you will interpret this into a physical art form."
She smirked at the idea, her head already filled with ideas with what she could do. It had already been two weeks since school started up again, and they had hardly learned anything in the class, and the lecturer was already talking about a task? Hardly anyone would produce a decent enough final unless the teacher actually decided to teach them something relevant.
She glanced around; even the perky students who always sat at the front appeared bored out of their minds, occasionally blowing bubbles of gum or staring at the clock above the white boards.
Psyduck's pokéball rattled around again, and she immediately tensed up, hoping to Arceus that the stupid duck wouldn't pop out and that a flash of bright light wouldn't fill everybody's vision and almost blind them.
"Hey, it's about time you got back!" Dawn said, jumping up from her cross-legged position on the floor, a snake lolly hanging from the corner of her mouth. The room stunk of nail polish, curtesy of the blunette whose nails were freshly painted red. She looked ridiculously happy at the appearance of her roommate. "How was class?"
"Boring," Misty replied with annoyed sigh after she slammed their door shut, chucking her bag in the corner and sliding onto the floor with her hands on her knees. She reached towards the bowl of lollies right in the middle of their room and snagged a few for herself, popping a few into her mouth.
Dawn sniggered at the response. "I know something that could cheer you up!"
"And what would that be?"
"Joining the Girls' Battle Team!"
Misty shook her head, and her oceanic eyes hardened at the mention of it. "Would you stop telling me to join them? You've been pestering me non-stop for a solid two weeks now, and I haven't budged once. What makes you think that I will sign up eventually at all?"
"I'll find a way to make you sign up, don't you worry." Came Dawn's sly response.
Misty raised her eyebrows in confusion, allowing them to scrunch a little bit in the centre as she tried to figure out what scheme Dawn was now plotting silently in her head. The blunette was now donning a smirk and biting her bottom lip at the same time, a sign that she was indeed well on the way to planning something, and once she set her mind to something, it was hard to make her change her mind.
Last week, for example, she had bought a pair of stilettos that had cost over $100 for one of the performances the Acting Club were putting on in about a month ("Plus I have a date this weekend, and I needed a new pair of shoes."), and it had annoyed Misty to no end because she had ended up borrowing $30 from her to help pay for the monster heels.
The youngest Sensational Sister pointed at her threateningly. "I won't give in."
Dawn just poked her tongue out at Misty and decided to put on a movie.
"So, do you want to tell me why the water isn't working?"
The actress directed her gaze from the television set above the doorway, so that both girls could watch it, onto her roommate who had poked her head through the door, wearing a dressing gown and holding a utility bag. Dawn raised her eyebrows. "How should I know? I told you that you should've had one this morning when I woke you up, but no, you'd rather sleep than be clean." she remarked, cheering inwardly at the view of Misty's face suddenly embarking to adorn the expression of pure and utter embarrassment.
It was seriously entertaining.
"I was tired, alright? Anyway, I'm going to take a shower downstairs."
The blunette scrunched up her nose in disgust at the mention of the other set of bathrooms that was made available to them. "You mean in the change rooms?" This university was slightly weird; to all residents, at least three bathrooms could be made available for showering; one in their own dormitory, one in the hall that everybody in that wing shared, and the public ones that people used after working out in the gym, going swimming or if they played for any teams. "They're gross. What about the one just outside?"
Misty shrugged, and held up her loafer. "Someone's inside it. I'll be back soon."
After the door shut, Dawn let out a giggle, glad that her façade worked. "Who says that you're not going to join the Girls' Battle Team? You definitely will after this."
The redhead was really oblivious to the fact that something was about to happen. When she got to the change rooms, she set her utility bag on a hook, closed the curtain and stripped off her dressing gown, hanging it up and allowing the hot water to drip over her skin, already feeling her tense muscles relaxing. She began humming a tune, allowing her hair to tumble down her back so that she could add shampoo.
That was when it happened.
The shower curtain was drawn back, making Misty scream so loudly that she was sure that the whole campus heard. "What the hell?!" Her dressing gown was pulled off its hook immediately and barely covered her at all. She turned around, ready to yell at whoever the asshole was who thought it was okay to pervert on her, only to see a girl in one of her battling classes, baring a large grin. But she was also nude.
"I knew it was you! You're Misty Waterflower, aren't you? Gym Leader of Cerulean City?"
Her eyes widened. "Dude, go away! I'm showering!"
The girl's long hair was tied up in a bun and she was really confident with her body, not even caring that she was completely naked, talking casually to Misty who was practically shrieking at her to leave. "Get out, you're naked!"
"I'm Leaf," the girl said, before glancing down and smiling sheepishly. "Oh, sorry, I'm just really confident in my own skin."
Misty looked up so that she wouldn't have to look. "And you should be, but can you please leave?"
"Only if you promise to audition for the Girls' Battle Team! We got creamed last year all because of that stupid Skunktank. I battled you ages ago for a Cascade Badge, but I couldn't beat you. I ended up versing one of your sister's and then got the badge from her. It'll be awesome to see how strong you've gotten since then." she replied cheerfully, green eyes shining. "Do you still have your Starmie?"
"For Mew's sake, I'm retired! Was it Dawn who put you up to this? It was Dawn, wasn't it?"
"Will you at least consider it, then?"
"Alright, fine, but get out!"
"Okay!"
Misty sighed in annoyance, slapping her hand to her forehead. Was she seriously going to audition? Leaf began to make her way out before the curtain was drawn back once again, revealing Gary in all his glory. He placed a hand behind his head tiredly and the other was draped across Leaf's shoulders. "I knew I had recognised you. You're really good." he said with a sleepy smile.
"Thanks!"
She appeared absolutely horrified by this point, tightening her grip on the dressing gown. Leaf laughed, and pushed Gary outside with her following.
"See you at auditions!"
It took a lot of things to make the youngest Sensational Sister nervous, or even the slightest bit stressed. Unless bugs were involved; she'd begin hyperventilating and screaming her head off in distress in no time. She was usually pretty laid-back until someone set off her nasty temper.
But this, oh this, had really done it. She was standing outside the Battle Complex, and could already hear the cheers and the cries from the creatures inside who were battling. She rubbed her hands together before reaching one down to clasp one pokéball, the cool surface reassuring against her sweaty palms. She hadn't battled in a while, so it was no secret that she was (no doubt) rusty. Was this going to be a good decision on her part? She really hoped it would be.
Misty hesitantly began to walk, already knowing what awaited her inside. Dawn had already snuck in to watch the auditions because even though she came to the university as an aspiring actress, she had come from a battling background, competing in coordinating competitions since she was ten and was actually the daughter of one of the previous champions of Sinnoh, Joanna Berlitz. It was interesting because trainers battled a lot differently to her ("Coordinators have to focus on the complete appearance mainly; poise, grace and all the sparkles that they can where.")
"Starmie, we can do this, right?" she whispered, twirling the sphere carefully. She was really not looking forward to it.
She pushed open the double doors, and everything seemed to slow down. The gazes didn't change to look at her, but she felt odd about being there. Without anyone noticing, she slipped behind a door labelled 'Back Stage', and waited in the wings while some kid battled Brock.
"Alright, Steelix, use Iron Tail!"
Misty grinned when she watched her old friend's Pokémon execute the move perfectly, hitting the Noctowl head on, causing the bird to fall to the ground ungracefully. She could hear claps coming from the audience, and a series of whoops and whistles after the referee pronounced that Noctowl was unable to battle, and therefore, Brock and Steelix won. The guy who had been versing him looked like he was about to cry. "It's okay, Noctowl, maybe next year." he said, returning it to its pokéball.
She watched as Tracey Sketchit, one of Brock's friends who had been introduced to her by him last week, clapped his hands as he walked onto the stage with another boy, this one with a big belly and a huge smile to match. "Thanks to everybody that auditioned! That wraps it up, and if you've been chosen, the Battle Teams will contact you directly. Please make your way towards the back exits to leave."
"Wait, there's one more."
Misty slowly walked out, hands inside her back pocket. Leaf was grinning from ear to ear at the sight of the redhead, and Dawn let out a, "Go, Misty!" The girl sitting beside Leaf didn't look impressed, in fact, she couldn't tell exactly what she thinking. She had long black hair, and side bangs that had been coloured red. Her legs were covered in jeans, making them looked stretched out, so it was obvious that she was unusually tall. Maybe she was the captain? "This was the girl I was telling you about." Leaf whispered to the girl.
Misty directed her gaze out towards the audience, noticing that a few boys were already sitting together. "Uh, I didn't know that we were supposed to be actually battling a member of a Battle Team, so I haven't really prepared myself properly for this."
"It's okay, just do whatever you want."
She didn't notice that Ash had heard her come in, and had walked with Pikachu right on his tail to see her and her abilities. He was now staring at her from where he was standing in the wings. He didn't know who she was, still, but all he knew was that there was something about her.
The big-bellied boy stepped up to play referee, holding up two flags, one green and the other red. "This is an audition match between Tracey Sketchit and testee, Misty Waterflower as a one-on-one battle. As soon as either of you withdraw your Pokémon without it being called to the other trainer, you're immediately disqualified."
The redhead nodded, and Brock motioned for Tracey to join her on the stage. He was already taking out his own pokéball, so she followed his example. They both walked to separate stations on either side of the stage, and the ground began to shake, opening to reveal a rocky course. 'Great,' she thought, knowing that Brock would have put them up to this. Oh, well, she might as well get this over with, right?
"Scyther, you're up!"
She watched as her opponent threw the sphere containing the Bug-Flying type, and raised her eyebrows at his choice, for bug types were weak against rock, and the battle field was now excessively ledgy. A flash of light emitted itself from the pokéball, and eventually took form of the large, green creature with long-blades for forearms. The Pokémon looked like it had aged considerably, but she could tell that it still had the determination of a warrior and the fighter's spirit it most likely had when it was younger.
Misty rolled her own pokéball in her hand a few times before throwing it up in the air so that yet another flash of light appeared to reveal her Pokémon. "Misty calls Corsola!"
The coral Pokémon called out its name once the bright light shaped itself as the pink creature, and it already had a determined look on its face. See as Corsola was part-rock, she would have a potential advantage over Tracey's Scyther unless it had really high defence stats, which it seemed to have. Bug types were weak to rock types, and were resistant against water types, so Misty was not only prepared, she was perceptive.
"Okay, Scyther, start off with a Double Team!"
"Scyther!"
Corsola began to panic as the bug Pokémon began to clone itself and surround the water/rock type, looking around frantically to try and decipher the real one. "Corsola!"
Misty watched carefully, trying to notice any signs of movement from her Pokémon's opponent.
Tracey clenched his fist in triumph, a grin on his face. "Now head in with a Quick Attack and then use Slash!" His Pokémon suddenly stopped using the confusing tactic of Double Team while Corsola had its back turned, and started to speed right in towards its opponent, arms raised threateningly.
"Corsola, Mirror Coat!"
The former Gym Leader's Pokémon began to glow, belting out its name as Scyther flew back and landed on one of the rocks protruding the ground. It groaned painfully, and slowly stood up. Corsola turned around, appearing angry. "Tackle attack!" Misty called out, smiling inwardly at the rush of battling had on her again. Her Pokémon obeyed immediately, and Scyther was thrown across the room once again, landing beside a series of large boulders.
Tracey was biting his lip. Misty was fierce in battle.
Plus her Pokémon was extremely strong, just by telling from the Tackle it had just performed with clear precision. "Can you still go on?" he asked cautiously, a bead of sweat falling down the side of his head. He sighed, his stubborn Pokémon standing up slowly. It was shaking from pain. It must have hit with a lot of force. It spread its arms out wide, and yelled out its name.
"Scyther!"
He smiled at the sight.
Misty grinned at the creature's determination.
"Okay, Scyther, use Skull Bash!"
"Spike Cannon, now!"
The bug-type used its blades to block the attack, swiping them across its body while it continued towards Corsola. The coral Pokémon paused, and was hit square-on, falling on its side on impact. "Corsola!" the redhead yelled out in panic.
Corsola struggled to get up, one eye glaring at Scyther who was glaring right back coldly. Flames of determination were lit up in both of their eyes. They were both breathing really heavily, dust from the rock moving around from the their bodies hitting the hard ground. The coral Pokémon finally managed to get back on its feet.
"Alright, Skull Bash, Scyther!"
"C'mon, Corsola! Tackle, again!"
It was like this moment had happened in slow motion. Misty's nails began to dig themselves into her palms, and Tracey had resumed biting his lip hard in anticipation. Both Pokémon's heads hit each other, but Corsola was stronger in the end.
"Cor!"
Scyther fell back, groaning again. It landed on the floor in a heap, a small thud from its body hitting the ground. The dust had begun to shape itself into a cloud, so no one could see the outcome of the head-on collision. They waited for it to clear, and cheered at the sight of the fallen Scyther, and Misty's Corsola about to collapse itself. Even though the battle was short, both of these Pokémon were very strong.
"Scyther is down! The match goes to Corsola!"
"Scyther, return!" Tracey, had a proud but sad smile on his face as he held out his hand, holding the pokéball, and a red beam, the large bug Pokémon was encased inside it. "You did a good job, buddy."
Misty ran forward and scooped up Corsola into her arms with a large smile adorning her face. "Great job, Corsola! You did it!" she cheered. The Pokémon in her arms let out a pained but proud vocalisation of its name, smiling softly as its trainer to out a pokéball to return it "You deserve a good rest." After that, the redhead placed the sphere into her bag, before rummaging through for a Hyper Potion bottle. She walked over towards Tracey, who was talking to the referee. She handed him the potion, and he looked at her gratefully.
"Thank you!"
"You're welcome! Your Scyther is really strong; you've trained it well."
Tracey seemed surprised at the compliment. "That means a lot, coming from a former Gym Leader. Scyther is very strong naturally, and he didn't trust me much when I first met him. But eventually, we became really good friends. He's getting old, but he loves battling and wants to continue doing that."
"Sounds amazing."
The audience was silent throughout the conversation between the two trainers, before Dawn began clapping again, calling out her roommate's name.
"Great job, Misty!"
The redhead glanced down at Leaf and the girl beside her who was staring up at her curiously. She then began writing on a slip of paper she had in front of her, and Leaf's mouth started to turn into a small smile. It was tiny, but Misty caught sight of it.
Why had she decided to come?
A/N: So, I actually had no idea who to put as the leader of the Girls' Battle Team; I had completely disregarded that fact, so I chose Lucy, as in the Frontier Symbol person. I know she's hardly a control freak, but I couldn't think of anyone else.
Also, if you have any suggestions of who you want on each of the Battle Teams (both boys and girls), please let me know. :) It would be a huge help.
Word Count: 3,437
Please consider leaving a review. :)