Astro.
Morning of the Contest.
In the Waiting Room.
"How...how do I look?" Mark blushed with an angry look on his face, probably embarrassed to be asking the opinion of teenage girls. "Be honest."
Lee had managed to convince King Kong to do the contest with Amber and Dee and Lucian, because apparently he was half-decent with pokemon contests. I found that odd, considering how they only mentioned Mark challenging gyms.
Amber smiled a gentle little smirk. "You look handsome, Mark."
"Nervous," Dee added brusquely. "Relax, dude, you're practically the only person in this room who's even brushed against puberty."
To be fair, he did look underdressed and tense; under his green t-shirt, his shoulders looked like a straight line.
Mark rolled his eyes, muttering, "Where's that prissy dude...?"
Natural assumption was that 'prissy dude' translated into Lucian.
"Mark! Good morning." Speak of the prissy devil, he approached us, a bottle of water in hand. "I didn't know you we-"
"I didn't, either." Mark sighed, eyes drifting to the ceiling. "Lee talked me into it. Imagine, Leon Higgins, an extortionist."
I snickered, although I didn't know what extortion was. "You ready to get your butt kicked again, Lucian?"
Might have been my imagination, but I thought I saw the young man's almost-invisible eyebrows twitch. He cleared his throat, put on a fake smile, and answered, "It's likely I am. At least Mime Jr. stayed conscious long enough for Dee to defeat him."
That comment struck a bit of a cold nerve. Amber's arms tensed around my body, hurting me a little.
"That really wasn't called for, Lucian," Dee told him sternly, sticking up for me.
Lucian kept the fake grin. "Neither was what he said." Then, with a hint of sarcasm, he added, "Deadra."
Ooh, girl. Dee actually pulled her arm back, ready to punch Lucian. Mark grabbed her by the elbow, looking nervous. Two weeks with her can do that.
"You can't call me Deadra," Dee growled at him through her teeth. "Leggo, Mark, leggo and let me beat a bitch!"
Lucian looked unfazed at Dee's threats. He was a pretty brave person, not to even flinch. Dee settled down in a second, lowering her fist.
Like always, the contest started with some friendly banter and threats on each other's life.
Mark.
During the Appeals Round.
"...Marcus Lowe, from Slateport City of the Hoenn region!"
I was close to one of the last trainers to make an appeal.
I came out of the waiting room, wearing a green t-shirt and jeans, looking nothing like a coordinator. Because I wasn't.
As I plucked a pokeball from my belt, I made eye contact with Lee, sitting in the third spot at the judge's table. "Blaziken, let's go!"
Lee sent me a challenging glare, daring me to impress him. Nurse Joy and Dexter, the official head contest judge, looked half as intimidating as him.
Blaziken stomped on the ground, flames lighting around his ankles. "Bllllaziken!" He roared.
I thought over the combinations Lee had recommended to me the night before. "Blaziken, use Sunny Day!"
At my command, Blaziken raised his taloned hands to the air, a fiery red ball glowing between them. He threw it upwards, at the uncovered roof of the contest hall, and it dissolved into the sky. The few scattered clouds vanished, the sunlight intensifying. The temperature of the dome increased exponentially, and I started sweating a little.
"Now use Blast Burn, Blaziken!" Either this would work, or I would burn up alive. Either way worked fine.
Blaziken dropped to one knee, and punched the ground hard enough to crack. Pillars of fire sprung up around him, burning powerfully as the sun blazed on. It was an attack worthy of a lengardary pokemon, and the crowd went wild with applause.
"Wow!" Marian warbled into her microphone. "Look at the sheer power! Blaziken's Blast Burn could easily take down anything he battles!"
Eventually, the flames died, and Blaziken rose to his feet. He gave the judges a courteous bow, grunting. Half the field was scorched black.
Nurse Joy was the first to speak, once her shock wore off. "What a dangerous attack! If Blaziken had lost control, everything may could have caught fire!"
My confidence wavered. Mr. Dexter cleared his throat. "A fine effort, young man, but lacking in both subtlety and finesse."
Blaziken looked crushed at the dim responses he recieved. I wanted to crawl under a rock.
Nurse Joy glanced at Lee, sitting beside her. "Leon? Do you-?"
"I believe," Lee drawled, interrupting her, "the opposite of what both Nurse Joy and Dexter mentioned. The attack is both dangerous and blunt, but I've known Mark for six years, and those are two striking qualities about him. Most coordinators look to make beautiful appeals, but Mark is most definitely not a coordinator, and chose what he thought would just impress. That takes guts, and I like it."
I'd known Lee would like my appeal, but damn. He really didn't have to lay it on so thick. The smirk he flashed at me made my face heat up in a blush.
Quickly, I returned Blaziken to his pokeball, more than ready to be done for the day. Hopefully, the two 'no's before Lee would be enough to keep me from the battle rounds.
Amber.
"Oh, my. Mark really knows how to make an impression, doesn't he?."
Dee rolled her eyes, scowling. "He'll probably get in because of Lee," She grumbled. "Having pokemon that strong, it ain't fair. He's been a trainer practically since we had training wheels on our bikes!"
The three of us-four, counting Astro-had mixed opinions about Mark's appeal. Dee was critical as ever, but Lucian stood in wide-eyed shock.
I mean, sheesh. Blast Burn is literally the strongest fire move I can think of. More than a little overkill.
('Sheesh'? You're such a white girl, Amber.)
Shut it, Maxwell, you aren't even relevant. Little smartmouth. And Astro, quit snickering, he's not even funny!
(Christ on a crutch, Amb, you really sound like a mother.)