Chapter Five: Preparing to Perform
"We're finally here!" Serena said excitedly when she and Ash entered Pewter City.
"And with plenty of time left, too," Ash said. "You'll be able to practice all you want before the Exposition."
Serena nodded happily. "I know! Let's go and get the registration over with, and then it's time to get started on the appeal."
Without thinking, she grabbed Ash's hand and pulled him along with her. Finally being in the town where her Exposition adventure would really begin had her fired up in a way she hadn't been since just before the Master Class and she wanted nothing more than to get started.
"Do you even know where the registration is?" Ash asked, stumbling a bit as Serena pulled him along.
"Of course I do; it's in the communal battle stadium downtown," Serena said.
"Right, and where's that?" Ash asked.
Serena stopped walking and looked around. "That's…a very good question," she said sheepishly.
("You've been around Ash for far too long,") Pikachu said with a shake of his head.
Serena gave an embarrassed smile and the pulled out her phone. "Okay, let's see… We're here, the stadium is here, so we have to go…that way!" she said, pointing at a street up ahead.
She started walking, and Ash scrambled to keep up with her. Serena could already feel her heart beating quicker. With all the things that had happened after the Kalos League and her time spent thinking about her feelings for Ash on the way here, she'd almost forgotten the giddy feeling she got from preparing to be on the stage. Even though the Exposition was still a few days away, it felt like she had go on in just a few minutes.
Not much later, they reached the stadium. It was a fairly large building, and posters on the front windows advertised the upcoming Exposition.
Serena and Ash entered the stadium and walked up to the registration desk.
"Good afternoon. How may I help you?" the woman behind the desk asked.
"Hello. I'd like to register for the Exposition, please," Serena said.
The woman nodded and handed her a form. "Please fill in this form, and we'll have you registered in a moment."
Serena quickly filled in the form and paid the registration fee, after which the woman behind the desk handed her a booklet.
"Please familiarize yourself with the rules ahead of the competition, and good luck to you!" she said.
Serena thanked the woman and walked over to a nearby bench, where she sat down to read the rulebook. Aside from the information Nikolaos had already given during the TV broadcast, the booklet also contained more detailed rules and regulations for each round.
"It says here that the Location Round can also be pure performance art where everything has been choreographed ahead of time, so the Artisan doesn't have to call out the moves," Serena said thoughtfully. That would give a lot of options to create an appeal that would be truly artistic and immersive. But what could she put in it? She'd read a bit in her tour guide and thought about it while walking, but to her frustration, she hadn't really come up with anything truly related to Pewter City yet.
She looked up at Ash. "Let's go and explore the city and the surroundings a bit," she said. "I need to come up with a good idea for the performance…"
"Right," Ash said with a nod. "Let's quickly visit the Gym first, though. I want to go and say hi, and ask Brock for a match for when the Exposition is over."
"I figured you'd want to do it right away," Serena said.
Ash shook his head. "You need time to come up with an appeal and I want to help you as much as I can. I just have to make sure my Pokémon and I are sharp for the battle; that's much easier."
Serena was touched by the thoughtful gesture and smiled to show her appreciation. "Thanks, Ash," she said.
"Anytime," Ash replied. "Now come on, let's get going."
"There's the Gym. Man, it's been a long time since I've last been here," Ash said as they approached the building.
They went in and walked over to the battlefield, which was strewn with rocks as befit a Rock-type Gym.
"Welcome to the Pewter City Gym," a boy with narrow eyes and spiky hair said from the other side of the field. "Are you here to– Oh, Ash, it's you!"
"Hey, Forrest! Long time no see," Ash said, as Forrest ran over to greet him and Pikachu.
Then, Forrest turned to face Serena. "Hello. I am Forrest, the Pewter City Gym Leader," he said. "Are you here to challenge me?"
Serena shook her head. "I'm not. My name is Serena. I'm here to compete in the Exposition in a few days," she said.
Forrest nodded. "I see. I'll be one of the judges, so I'm eager to see what you've got planned."
He turned back to Ash. "So what brings you back here? Are you also going to enter the Exposition?" he asked.
"No. I'm actually going to try the Indigo League again. Only last time…well, you know what happened at my Gym Battle," Ash said sheepishly. "So I was wondering if Brock was around. I know he's not the Gym Leader anymore, but I'd like to have a proper battle against him all the same."
Forrest laughed. "That sounds just like you," he said. "He's out helping Nurse Joy at the Pokémon Center at the moment, but he said he'd drop by later. Feel free to wait for him, if you want to."
"Thanks, Forrest. So, how've you been?"
Ash and Forrest exchanged some stories about what they'd been up to in the time they hadn't seen each other, and Serena mostly just listened, only adding in a few things when Ash mentioned his adventures in Kalos.
Then, a young man who looked quite a bit like Forrest entered the Gym and came over. "Well, I'll be. Ash! It's been ages!" he said.
Ash and Pikachu both leapt up, smiling widely. "Brock! It's so good to see you again!"
"It is," Brock agreed. "I saw some of your exploits on TV, so I know you've been keeping busy…"
He turned to Serena. "Hello there. I'm Brock. Since you're here with Ash, I presume you're his friend?"
Serena nodded. "I am. My name is Serena. I'm here to compete in the Exposition," she said.
"Ah, yes, I'll be going to watch that. I've seen a lot of Contests when I traveled with Ash before, and I wonder if this will be similar," Brock said.
"We can go and watch it together, then," Ash said. "I'll be there cheering for Serena."
Brock smiled. "I hadn't expected anything else from you. So what brings you here, other than the Exposition?"
"I want to properly win my Boulder Badge," Ash said.
Brock was silent for a moment, but then he burst out laughing. "You know Forrest's the Gym Leader now, right? And anyway, you don't need to win the Boulder Badge; you already have it," he said.
Ash nodded. "I know, but we never finished our battle for real. This time when I enter the Indigo League, I want to enter it with all my badges earned fairly," he said.
Brock chuckled. "I'm sure Misty will be pleased to hear it. She's said more than once she'd like to battle you," he said.
Ash's eyes lit up. "She did? Awesome!"
Again, Serena felt a bit uncomfortable hearing Misty be mentioned, but she couldn't dwell on it long, as the conversation continued.
"But Ash, in all seriousness, I haven't really battled in a long time. I don't think I'll be much of a match for you. Forrest could give you a better fight," Brock said.
Ash looked troubled. "I really wanted to battle you, though." He gave Forrest an apologetic look. "Sorry, it's not that I don't want to battle you, it's just…"
Forrest nodded. "Don't worry, I get it. You and my brother have had a lot of adventures together. I understand why you want to fight him." He grinned. "And I think he's just being modest, too. He hasn't forgotten how to battle, so don't underestimate him."
Ash grinned back. "As if I would. I know how strong he is."
Brock sighed. "I really don't get a say in this, do I?" he said in mock-resignation. Then he smiled and said, "Alright, Ash, I'll accept your challenge. Just give me some time to prepare a bit."
"Yes!" Ash said, nearly jumping up in excitement. "I wanted to have the battle after the Exposition's over, anyway, so I can help Serena prepare a bit," he said.
Brock nodded. "Right, that sounds like a plan to me." He turned to Serena. "Do you have an idea in mind for your Location Round, yet?" he asked.
Serena shook her head. "Not really. I don't really know much about Pewter City, or any of the cities here in Kanto. I'm from Kalos, so…"
"I see. Well, then I'd suggest going down one of the hiking trails north of the city with your Pokémon. If you breathe in the fresh mountain air while you walk you're bound to get some inspiration," Brock said.
"That's a great idea, thank you!" Serena said happily.
Braixen, Pancham, and Sylveon will like a walk too, I bet, she thought to herself.
"Want me to come along, or do you want to this alone with your Pokémon?" Ash asked. "Might be easier to think of something with just them, without any distractions."
Serena thought about it for a moment. "Yeah, I think I'll go by myself," she said eventually.
As much fun as it would be to have Ash along with her, he was right in saying that coming up with a performance would be much easier if she could just freely talk with her Pokémon while she walked. Besides, they'd be traveling together throughout the entire region, and she'd probably ask him for feedback while she was working on the performance over the next couple of days. There would be plenty of time to hang out with Ash.
Ash seemed to agree with her thoughts, because he smiled and said, "I'll just stay here to catch up with Brock for a bit, then. Just head to the Pokémon Center when you get back, and I'll get us a room there."
"Right! Thanks, Ash. I'll be off, then!"
She bowed to Brock and Forrest, waved at Ash, and left the Gym. Time to get to work.
"So, does anyone have any good ideas?" Serena asked.
She and her Pokémon were walking on a sandy path that headed into the mountains surrounding Pewter City. According to the signpost at the outskirts, this particular trail had some beautiful sights and she'd be back in the city just after sunset, which was exactly what she wanted. Surely, she'd be able to come up with something good here.
("I think our normal dance routine might be a bit too…general for this appeal,") Braixen said. ("It doesn't really have anything related to Pewter City in any way.")
("My Stone Edge does,") Pancham said. ("I mean, mountains are made of stone, so…")
"The local Gym badge is called the Boulder Badge," Serena mused, "so I think we should definitely use Stone Edge in it."
Pancham puffed himself up importantly and Serena giggled.
("Are all three of us going to be competing?") Sylveon asked.
"All four of us," Serena corrected. "According to the rules, we all need to be equally involved in the performance."
("What about the second round?") Braixen asked.
"Assuming we make it there, I'll probably use you, Braixen," Serena said with a smile. "You were my first partner, and I think it's only right you get to show off in my first Exposition, too."
("Aw, man, I wanted to show off,") Pancham grumbled.
"You still get to," Serena promised. "Besides, there are eight more Expositions after this one, and the Grand Expo at the end of them. You'll get your chance. You as well, Sylveon."
("I just want to dance, really,") Sylveon said quietly. ("I don't really care about showing off, just that people like my dancing.")
("What are you talking about? Showing off is great! Everyone's eyes are on you and you get to amaze them with all the things you can do!") Pancham said, gesturing wildly.
Sylveon shuddered. ("I don't like it when everyone's eyes are on me. It's like they're all judging me.") She looked at Serena. ("But having you all with me and supporting me makes it fun,") she went on.
"I'm glad to have you here as well, Sylveon," Serena said. "And in the first round, all four of us are going to make an impression that the people of this city won't soon forget."
Now if I could only come up with a performance that will do that…
Serena and her Pokémon walked further down the hiking trail discussing possible ideas, but while the environment was beautiful, nothing about it seemed to be truly specific to Pewter City.
But maybe she was just overthinking things. Pewter City billed itself as 'a quiet city nestled between rugged mountains and rocks', which was something fairly straightforward. There were plenty of similar cities in other regions, but in Kanto, this was what made Pewter City stand out.
Even reasoning like that, though, what could she do that incorporated those traits? It was vexingly difficult, and for a moment, Serena was afraid she wouldn't be able to think of anything. But then…
("Wow, look at that view,") Braixen said.
Serena looked up, shaken from her thoughts, and gasped at the sight.
The trail, which snaked along the south face of the mountain, overlooked a sheer cliff here. The buildings of the city below were bathed in the orange light of the slowly lowering sun, which was already beginning to dip behind the western mountains. Faintly, Serena could already see two or three of the very brightest stars in the eastern sky. A gentle mountain breeze ruffled her hair.
"It's…beautiful," she said.
And at that moment, an idea began to form in her head, an idea that would capture this sight, this feeling…
"I've got it," she said quietly, and her Pokémon looked up at her. "I know what we're going to do for our performance," Serena said. She gestured at the stunning view below them. "Take a good look at all of this. Remember everything it makes you feel. And that…that is what we're going to make the audience feel as well."
Next chapter, we finally get to the first Exposition. I'm looking forward to writing it already, so I hope you're looking forward to reading it, too. See you then!