Part CXLI: A Showcase to Remember

"Welcome one et all to ze Dendemille Town Showcase." Monsieur Pierre said to the cheering crowd as he opened the showcase by appearing in the center of the stage with a flash of smoke though the light was only on him keeping the Theme hidden as his outfit shone in the spotlight. "Zis time we 'ave 9 lovely ladies competing for zis, ze Dendemille Princess Key!"

As he was speaking there was a jangling sound and everyone looked up to see Pierre's Klefki float gracefully down from the rafters in a series of arching moves, the light on him to add to the focus and showing off his gleaming polish. In short order he was in front of Pierre and had the latest Princess Key on the end of his loop.

All Princess Keys were different and the Dendemille one was as distinct as the others. As with the Coumarine one, the Dendemille Key was gold though the teeth of it was flat and instead of a heart at the top it had a blue sapphire in a diamond shape there that was bordered in gold with a blue X edged in gold beneath it.

Once Klefki was sure that everyone had seen the key he floated down onto his usual resting place at the end of his human's cane where he would stay until it was time to present the key to the winning performer. It was time to open the Showcase.

"Et now ze format for zis Showcase." Pierre said as three beams of light shot down behind him to illuminate 3 baking stations in the same spots that had gazebos on them in Coumarine showing that the once again the Theme round would be a 3-performer showdown. "Behind me are ze stations for ze theme round; Poke Puff Baking."

As he was speaking a new light cut down and showed that where the runway had been in Coumarine there was just a short jutting out area that ended in a table. At the table sat 3 people, a well-dressed man with long gray hair swept back into a pony tail and a small moustache thing that somehow worked for him, a familiar looking woman with long strawberry blonde hair in a chef's outfit, and an older woman in a pink and white dress with immaculately done hair and makeup.

"Of course, zis wouldn't be a bake off wizout our panel of amazing judges." Pierre said gesturing to the judges. "Today we have Pokémon Connoisseur Santo, Kalos's world famous Poke Puff Patissiere Gena, and Showcase expert Deliliah."

As he said their names the judges nodded and revealed the Pokémon that they would be using to evaluate the Puffs as the winner was based on how much the Pokémon liked the Puffs. That of course made sense given that the food was for Pokémon.

Santo was the male judge who had a Mime Jr. as his Pokémon assistant. Gena the familiar one as she'd been the judge when Miette, Serena, and Misty had faced off in a bake off when Miette showed up for the first time that year had a Jigglypuff that thankfully Ash and Pikachu couldn't see given their fear of that species of Pokémon for very good reason. Lastly, Deliliah had a Furfrou with a trim that perfectly matched her own outfit.

"Each round shall 'ave zree performers et our judges, via zeir Pokémon, will chose ze winner who shall advance to ze Freestyle Round." Pierre explained to the crowd and the performers who were watching from the dressing room or listening in their starting positions. "So, wizout further ado, presenting ze first zree Performers…"

Misty ignored the introduction of the first three performers as she suddenly began to strategize for her baking, releasing the Pokémon who'd be best to help her in it and who was one of the trio she would use if she advanced. She was up in the third and final group, so she had the time to prepare for this. She also had the perfect Pokémon for it, and it was the only one she was willing to reveal before the Freestyle Round as she wanted the other two to remain secret.

Unlike the last Showcase Misty was in, she wasn't nervous for this one. She'd gotten all her nerves out during the last one and this time she was ready to show what she could do. She had a routine that was down pat, one that she knew had never been seen before in Kalos, she just needed to get there. As such, Misty began to strategize with her chosen Pokémon about the baking.

It was just under a week since Ash and Misty had reached Dendemille Town. With May and Serena out at a nearby village for a Contest that May was one of the judges for they had a few days to themselves in the charming town which they used to familiarize themselves with it and enjoy some alone time while Misty got ready for the upcoming Showcase.

May and Serena had joined them a few days later and helped with both Ash's training for his gym battle with Olympia though Serena's Meowstic still refused to battle as she didn't like getting hit or dirty so Ash couldn't actually train against what he was most likely to face. Still, he was getting ready while Misty put the final touches on her own preparations in case she got past the Theme Round. Other than that, things had been uneventful for them in Dendemille Town as they got ready for why they were here.

That had all ended today when the Showcase was, and Misty had made sure to register early for it and head backstage to wait for it to start while the others took their seats for it. All the performers, a surprisingly small amount Misty thought, weren't told about the Theme Round until Pierre announced it other than that they didn't need to dress up for it and in fact it was recommended that they didn't. Now that Misty knew what it was she understood that advice and as such kept on her usual outfit rather than change into her Freestyle one.

"Sorry Piplup but I am not going to use you for this Showcase." Misty said as she placed Piplup on the counter in the dressing room. "This one requires dexterity and precision and unfortunately you lack both."

"Piplup." Piplup said sadly but he agreed, he wasn't the best for this unfortunately, so he'd be here supporting Misty the entire time. "Pip, Piplup."

"Malamar." Malamar said kindly patting him on the head with a tentacle and promising she'd make sure Misty advanced or she'd slap her for failing when she had such a good assistant in Malamar. "Mal, Malamar."

Yup Misty was going with Malamar as her assistant for the Theme Round. The moment she'd revealed that as her Pokémon, especially as the other two in her group were using a Miltank and a Bisharp respectively that both looked suited for the work and fitted the trainers' respective styles unlike Misty and her Malamar. Well, they'd see their mistake for underestimating Misty and Malamar in a moment as it was almost time to go out.

The competitors had 15 minutes to make one Poke Puff that the judge's Pokémon would evaluate and already the first group had gone and the second was well into it their baking time. Misty was ready as she and Malamar discussed last minute things and Misty tried to install a slapping ban during the baking that got her, well, slapped for being foolish in Malamar's eyes. That too was a surprise to those present but Misty wasn't fazed as it would throw them off.

Thankfully Machamp seemed to understand that he had to stay in his Poke Ball right now or else things could have gotten seriously embarrassing. Still, he was likely going to have words with Malamar for that slap when the time came.

Regardless of her protectors' strange behaviors, soon it was Misty's turn, and an attendant came out to get them. Misty and the two girls she was competing against left the dressing room and followed the attendant to the bowels of the arena. As with in Coumarine, they'd come from under the stage and to their cooking station to start as soon as Pierre gave the order.

The wait was the worst part for Misty as that did bring back some nerves, but Malamar put a tentacle on her shoulder to calm her down as they got ready for the baking. The others looked more nervous, and Misty took a few deep breaths to center herself before the platform began to rise showing that it was time.

"Alright ladies, you 'ave 15 minutes to make a poffin zat our judges' Pokémon will love." Pierre said as appeared on stage behind their stations ready to work. "Starting now!"

"Alright Malamar, use Psychic in conjunction with your tentacles to help me that way you can do three things at once if need be." Misty said quietly as she began to look through the ingredients that she had and what she was going to make while pulling out a box from her pocket that she'd taken from her bag when she'd learned of the competition and putting her apron on. "I know we learned that move for the Freestyle, but it works here as well. This is going to have to be something more general, good thing I know how that works."

"Malamar?" Malamar asked as she began to help Misty by setting up everything and grabbing a knife in a tentacle to chop up something that Misty pointed at, after using Psychic to put the thing there.

"We're dealing with two fairy types, a normal type and a psychic type." Misty said as she began to prep the oven for when she needed it and set to work with what she wanted to start with. "Plus, one is a canine physique while the other two are odder that I'm not used to dealing with. As such I'm going to make something that appeals to a wide range with a tangy mix of sweet and spice and a pleasant aroma to it to make a Pokémon want to eat it. After all, all Pokémon have different tastes so this will have to be broad to win."

"Malamar?" Malamar asked again confused at that.

"The aroma is for Furfrou." Misty said quietly guessing at the part her Pokémon was asking about and getting it right. "Remember mine has a sensitive sense of smell so I bet that one does as well, canine Pokémon are known for that though nothing is on the level of a Slurpuff, so I'm going to try and appeal to that as well."

"Malamar." Malamar said now understanding as they set to work.

The rest of the time was spent in silence with only orders from Misty to Malamar on what she needed and when while hoping she didn't earn a slap or two. Machamp might have been good at this as well, but he lacked the delicacy that Malamar's tentacles and Psychic could bring to this kind of work. That and Malamar was one of the three Misty was going to use in the Freestyle if she advanced so having her out already made sense. Plus, Malamar was pedantic about protecting Misty from her own idiocy, so she was really good at correctly mistakes.

"Zat is time." Pierre called as Misty added the finishing touches to her Poffin. "In order, performers present their works to judges."

First up was the Miltank trainer and Misty watched as she brough a white Poke Puff to them. Misty had noticed out of the corner of her eye that the girl was using Miltank's own milk in it which was clever as it was a great base for food, Misty had enjoyed it herself at the Moo Moo Café in Sinnoh as well as at the Johto Festival and when she was traveling Johto, and would look good to the judges but it seemed to be just that. It was a risk that didn't pay off as Jigglypuff adored it, but Mime Jr. clearly didn't like it and Furfrou was indifferent to it.

Next up was Misty and she brought forward her own Poke Puff, a cream and pink swirl blend with matching frosting that had red flecks in both parts along with her usual shaved poffin on top as that had been what had been in her box. She presented it to the judges with a smile recognizing Gena as the one who'd judged her previous bake off but saying nothing as she waited for the results.

It was clear that she'd done well as all 3 Pokémon enjoyed it. Jigglypuff wasn't as enthusiastic about as she had been about the first Puff but clearly enjoyed her piece while Furfrou barked in agreement at the scent and ate it in one bite while clearly liking it and Mime Jr. enjoyed it significantly more than the one before. Misty just smiled and bowed before returning to Malamar who'd already started washing up for some reason and ordered Misty to get to work as well.

She did but she watched the last trainer present her own poffin, one that was black and red with a gray icing topped with a slice of Tamato Berry. Instantly Jigglypuff rejected it, but Mime Jr. loved it and even ate Jigglypuff's piece for it while Furfrou turned its nose up at it but still ate it.

"Well, ze judges 'ave seen our performers' creations et now zey 'ave a decision for us." Pierre said as the judges briefly conferred before nodding and Gena stood. "And ze winner is…"

"Performer Misty." Gena said. "Her poffin was liked by all, especially Furfrou, and seems to have been a blend of sweet and spicy which appealed to both my own Jigglypuff and Santo's Mime Jr. making her the winner of this bake off."

"Zere you 'ave it folks." Pierre said as he gestured to Misty while the other two politely congratulated her and the crowd cheered at the result. "We now 'ave our zree finalists. We shall take a brief half hour break for our performers who 'ave advanced to get ready."

With that the platforms that Misty and the other two were on disappeared into the ground and the crowd began to talk amongst itself as their intermission began. As soon as Misty could, she left and went back to the waiting room to change and get ready for her performance while the others just headed off to get their things and leave or watch from the audience.

Misty had prepared an outfit for the freestyle should she advance and as soon as she was in the dressing room she went to her bag and got it out while Malamar picked up the blue studded key that would be her vote reciprocal in the next round so that she didn't forget it. Then, with the help of Malamar and Piplup, Misty changed into her outfit for the freestyle.

Everything had been choreographed for the freestyle and the outfit was perfect and elegantly simple. All Misty was wearing for the freestyle was a simple sleeveless white dress that fell down to her knees and only flared slightly in the skirt part while the top was simple and straight with a high oval that didn't show any cleavage.

She finished it off with white pumps and tights, a white belt with a small bow in one hip, the other free for her key, and a backwards white veil similar to the thing that May wore with her formal Contest outfit only Misty's had a white hat part, so her hair was covered. She also wore her locket and the leather cuff she always wore on her upper right arm but those were things she never took off unless she was showering as they contained things dear to her and in the locket's case given to her by Ash.

The only odd thing was that the gloves she was wearing, mainly because every girl wore gloves with Kalos formal attire it seemed, were simple white ones that came to just past her wrists and for once Misty wasn't wearing anything on her left forearm so the long scar there from Ash's destruction of Kenny was clear for all to see. It certainly got some raised eyebrows from her opponents, both of whom were going with much more colorful outfits that matched their Pokémon, but Misty didn't pay them any heed as she got ready.

She had her own plan for this and had to focus on it. She had one more accessory to add, something she'd had specially made back when she decided this was what she was going for, that she didn't put on just yet. It would go on last, as would her other two Pokémon who weren't coming out until she was alone in the room, to preserve her shock value even for her opponents. She was going last which was a big boon to her because Kalos would never forget what they were about to see.

Soon, right as she was done changing and making final preparations with Malamar, the attendant came back to get the first finalist. That was a tanned Kalos girl from the south west who had one Princess Key already and was known for her use of rock and ground types with yellows and browns. She was doing that now with her dress and the Pokémon she was using, a Sandile and a male Hippowdon, that followed her out with the former on the latter's back.

Misty didn't bother to watch the performance, she just calmly waited with the other performer before she too was taken away though the first didn't return when she was done for some reason. The other girl was also from Kalos though she hailed from the area and was going with a maximum feminine performance dressed in various shades of pink and light blue and using a Luvdisc, Gorebyss, and a Flaafy that Misty had no idea what she was going for but didn't bother to dwell on it.

She had her own performance to focus on and that would be soon as the second finalist left, and Misty let out her other two Pokémon for this. They'd prepared and trained hard for this and now it was time to show it off as well as a debut that Kalos was not ready for in the slightest.

"Performer Misty it's your…" The attendant began as she came into the room to get Misty and take her to the starting spot, and she saw Misty's Pokémon causing her eyes to bulge out as she gasped at the sight of one of them. "What the hell is that Pokémon? It is a Pokémon, right?"

"Yes he is, isn't he magnificent." Misty said with a grin as she walked to the door with Malamar behind her while Banette and Spiritomb floated on either side though Misty knew exactly which Pokémon the attended was gawking at with a mix of shock and fear, there was only one that she had that could routinely cause that reaction. "Say hello to my darling Spiritomb."

"I've never seen a Pokémon like that." The attendant said as she led Misty out and to the area where she'd come up through the stage for her performance. "Where's it from?"

"Technically it's native to my home region of Sinnoh but I caught mine in Kanto and they take certain conditions to form so they can appear anywhere, at least in theory." Misty said patting his keystone as she took her position and put on the mask she was carrying. "He's the only one ever recorded in Kalos and one of only three known in the world. When I caught him and Banette here at the same time, though my handsome Banette was a cute little Shuppet back then, I became the second trainer to be confirmed to own one."

"That, that is…" The attendant said before she blanched when she looked at Misty. "Er yeah I don't think the crowd, or this region is ready for you."

"That's the point." Misty said her smile eerie under the half skull mask she was wearing over her nose, eyes and forehead leaving just her mouth and jaw visible. "These three are ghost, dark and psychic types between them. Shock is a way to win, and I have the biggest shock in all of Kalos."

All the attendants could do was nod in agreement as the platform began to rise. Misty just kept grinning as her Pokémon formed up around her. This was her plan, use here freakiest and strangest Pokémon, including her rarest that had never been used in Kalos before, to stun the crowd into only thinking of only her when the voting began. Her routine was also good so it would all work out, she knew it.

Course it had taken a lot of effort to get to this stage as it wasn't an easy routine and had caused issues, especially because she wasn't getting any help from Serena for it. Hell, the others weren't even supposed to know which of her 6 she was using had it not been for an incident at a Pokémon Center a little over a week ago.

During their rehearsal Misty had made a mistake that had been quite bad and Malamar, who's strategy for basically anything was to slap it until it was perfect, slapped her so that she wouldn't make it again as the routine required near perfection. However, she'd been very pedantic that day and Machamp wasn't happy from where he was watching, and well next thing Misty knew she was in the middle of another brawl between her big protectors only this time it had more involved.

Ash, May, and Serena had heard the commotion and come out to find a strange sight. Misty was in the air holding onto Spiritomb's keystone as he tried to pull her away, but Malamar had one of her tentacles around Misty's ankle and was trying to drag her back to be punished.

At the same time the Overturning Pokémon was holding off and choking Machamp with her other tentacle as he used three fists to punch her with the 4th hand holding Piplup by the face as he flapped and squawked trying to help Malamar. To top it all off Banette had somehow gotten entangled by the middle of a tentacle and was being strangled while trying to pry it off though as he didn't need oxygen his actions made no sense.

The only one not present in the melee was Ninetales. He was in a far corner, as far away from the scene as he could be, his face buried in it and not looking back at the utter embarrassment that was the rest of his team.

All Misty could say to the others when they came across the sight was that this was exactly what it looked like before she let go of Spiritomb and slammed face first into the ground, followed by Spiritomb's keystone landing on the back of her head as he'd dropped from the shock of her letting go. Then, with the moment broken, it devolved. It took a good 10 minutes, and several other Pokémon to break it up and end for the day.

Still, it had been for a good reason and now the routine was down, and Misty knew that they wouldn't fail it. She just got ready as the eerie, somber, sad ballad that she had chosen began to play and the mist she'd requested on the chance she advanced sprayed as she ascended. It was through that mist that Misty came, Malamar behind her with her tentacles on either side of her and Banette and Spiritomb to each side.

"And last up, performer Misty." Pierre announced unfazed by the arrival as the crowd gasped at what they were seeing as he stepped back to the wings to give her the stage and hide his own shock at the Pokémon she was using. "Begin."

"Malamar, lift me up with Psychic." Misty ordered as her freestyle began. "Spiritomb, Toxic, Banette, come at me with Feint Attack before moving into Hex."


"Ah I see what Misty is going for, it was pretty obvious when she said who she was using." Serena said as the crowd gasped at the arrival of the third finalist, her attire, and most importantly her Pokémon which were uncommon, rare, and, well, unheard of in Kalos. "This is really clever of her to do."

"Huh, it is?" Ash asked as the routine began with Misty being lifted into the air by Malamar's Psychic as the ground beneath her turned to a toxic mess a second later and Banette shot up at her. "How so?"

"She's going for memorability and pure and utter shock value." Serena said as the crowd was captivated by the mix of music, Pokémon, and the strange red haired girl in white who twisted around her Banette's attack with the aid of Malamar's Psychic before engaging in a back-and-forth dance that had to be Banette using Hex with Misty playing off the moves. "Think of it from the point of view of us from Kalos who make up the bulk of the audience. Malamar is an uncommon and feared Pokémon to begin with that few know more than the stories of. Banette, while known here, is so rare that it's not actually known if there are any on the continent until now. Then, well…"

"Her Spiritomb." May said as said Spiritomb shot a Dark Pulse that tore between Banette and Misty upon which Misty fell back, still controlled by Psychic and in the air, towards Spiritomb who flew up to dance with her instead as they flew around each other while Banette flipped away moving in time with the music. "A Pokémon that few even in Sinnoh where it's supposedly from, and who their Champion is known to have one, know of."

"Yup, if you want to make a huge impression that will stick in people's minds when their voting then show up with a floating ghost and dark type that is a mesmerizing spinning pink and green wheel and that almost no one had ever seen before." Serena said as the dance continued with Misty moving between Banette and Spiritomb as if they were fighting to dance with her in the air using moves to butt into the dance, which as both were male kinda worked though only the trio knew that, while Malamar appeared to pull the strings with her Psychic that was making Misty fly with them. "Hell, I only know it because I know Misty. Few others will."

"It will shock the audience into forgetting anything else and that's before they saw this routine which is frankly unreal and really shows how good Malamar's Psychic is." May said her eyes wide as another Dark Pulse shot through to break Misty and Banette up before Banette shuddered in the air and Misty glowed an eerie, off purple color briefly. "Um, what did Banette do?"

"My guess is that that was Destiny Bond which he used on Misty." Ash said stunned by what he was seeing, not even he could have expected or thought up something like this. "Why I have no idea though but so far we've seen his Hex and Feint Attack, the other two are Dazzling Gleam and Destiny Bond and he's not used the former of those as we'd know so it has to be the latter."

"The way they all work together though." Serena said amazed as Banette then used Feint Attack to move between Misty and Spiritomb to resume his own dance with her again using Hex. "It's what I'd expect from myself or Shauna or Miette. The love those two ghost types have for her to act like that in concert while Malamar manipulates everything, the trust and way they work as a unit, it's really on display here. Misty has seriously upped her game with this."

"Well, they are the Pokémon who brought home Misty's Ribbon Cup in the Kanto Grand Festival Final and there needs to be an extremely high level of trust and coordination between coordinator and Pokémon to do that so no wonder she paired them together for this while using Malamar to ensure that she can match their movements." May said as Spiritomb let out a wail followed by Misty actually screaming from the air which shocked everyone, including them. "Ok that was extreme, not even Ash would do that, and I don't know what that was."

"If I had to guess that was Curse, it's basically the only thing it could be." Ash said stunned. "And again, Misty had her Pokémon use it on her."

"Curse?" Serena asked as Spiritomb interjected into it and Banette shot up to the air above them from the change.

"It's Spiritomb's fourth and final move." Ash explained. "Misty almost never uses it in battle because it is a sacrificial move that halves Spiritomb's remaining health, which can cause him to faint if his health is low enough, as he curses his opponent. That opponent will faint in 4 moves though, so it has a pretty good tactical advantage in a standard multi-Pokémon battle."

"Misty's only used it once as far as we know in all of the times she's used Spiritomb." May said remembering the move now as Banette suddenly flashed with a blinding light that was Dazzling Gleam. "And it was when she knew she couldn't win a matchup, so she used it to win the overall battle. It's the only time someone has ever defeated Spiritomb in battle and only because Misty was forced to use Curse to try and win overall. If she's using it now then we are near the climax I think."

That was clear as the light faded and Spiritomb wailed before slowly vanishing into his keystone in what had to be acting which was surprisingly good. Misty yelled as she drove down with Malamar's aid catching it before it hit the ground and floating up carrying it in her arms miming a wail as she cradled the keystone to her chest having never touched the ground on the move. She then turned to Malamar and said something.

They all watched stunned as the Psychic ended dropping Misty to her knees on the stage and Malamar's eyes flashed oddly as she looked directly into Misty's while Banette wailed from above and dove down as if to try and stop it. However, it was too late as the Hypnosis attack hit Misty, the third time she'd used an attack on herself, and she slumped back in an unnatural sleep. At the same time, and again likely acting, Banette fell from the sky as if affected as well to show off the Destiny Bond he'd used and crashed into Misty.

There, on the center of the stage, Misty lay in a white heap in an unnatural sleep with Banette lying to one side and Spiritomb's keystone to the other as the last notes of the song played. Malamar just looked sad before she bowed her body to pick Misty up in her tentacles and hold her gently in them there as the song ended and the freestyle routine came to a close.

The lights went out to show the end and the crowd, and even Monsieur Pierre in the wings who had not expected this, just gaped in stunned shock at what they'd seen. What they'd witnessed, and what Misty would explain to the others later when they asked her about it, was that her routine was called the Dance of Death and meant to represent her as a female spirit all in white dancing in the afterlife, hence the floating, with her two male ghost types as they fought over her.

That was the purpose of the moves as Misty flew around and danced with each causing both to get jealous, all acting of course, and use their moves that tied them together in Banette's Destiny Bond and Spiritomb's Curse. When explained it all made sense and really added to the whole thing once the full story the dance was telling was revealed.

That was because the next stage of it was when Banette went one further with Dazzling Gleam which 'ended' Spiritomb due to the dark type, and a distraught Misty holding Spiritomb's keystone turned to Malamar to end it to take Banette with her. Malamar obliged with her Hypnosis that caused Misty to pass out and Banette as well from the Destiny Bond he'd used. It ended with Malamar picking her up to show the foley of it all.

It was a stunning, mesmerizing, and surreal performance made more so by how Misty was dressed, the Pokémon she used as they were ghost types other than Malamar, and the fact that she used three moves on herself during it. It caused a stir in the days to follow and put Misty out there as a new and up and coming rookie performer. First though they all had to see how the crowd reacted at the time.


Naturally Misty knew none of this at the time as she was peacefully asleep in Malamar's tentacles to finish her performance. As the lights went out, the stage sunk with her on it and the crowd found their voices to cheer, Spiritomb popped out, Banette opened his eyes and Malamar lay Misty down on the ground. The sounds all hid what happened next, Malamar repeatedly slapping Misty first to wake her up and then to remind her that this whole routine was beyond stupid to do but they pulled it off mainly because of her.

Misty didn't mind though as she came to and got up with Malamar's help to embrace all three of her Pokémon. She loved them all and they'd all done their part. It had taken a lot of work and coordinating every single bit to get the flying, dancing, and moves right, not to mention persuading Banette and Spiritomb to use their moves on Misty. Malamar needed no persuading though, she seemed happy to oblige, and Misty had a feeling she knew the reason. Whatever the case, it had worked, and she knew that she'd pulled it off.

All that was to do was wait for the others and go up for the audience judging. Misty kept the mask on and stood grinning with her Pokémon much to the shock of her other two finalist when they appeared and took their places with her on the stage with their own Pokémon. She didn't care though; the stage was rising, and it was time to find out who had won.

"Well, after zree beautiful, graceful and stunning performances we 'ave come to ze end of ze Dendemille Showcase." Monsieur Pierre said as the platform came to a stop with Misty, the other finalists and their Pokémon on it and the crowd roared at the sight. "But before you vote for which of ze lovely ladies you want to win zere is one thing I must announce. In 2 days' time, thanks to two Top Coordinators being 'ere in Dendemille Town, ze Contest Committee 'as announced a special, fully recognized, Contest here for zen with me as ze MC."

This got a big cheer from the crowd. It seemed that they were really happy at the idea of a Contest as well which warmed Misty's heart as it showed how accepting Kalos was of the thing that she loved the most, well other than Ash and her Pokémon that was. Thankfully it hadn't been announced that she was actually one of those Top Coordinators, but she was sure that when she finally judged the cat would be out of the bag about her also performing.

"Zat is all I 'ave so grab your glowsticks, flick to the color of who you wish to win ze Princess Key, et vote." Pierre said interrupting Misty's thoughts and focusing on the upcoming vote. "It is time we crown ze winner of ze Dendemille Showcase."

With that the crowd grabbed their glowsticks, ignited them and voted. Misty's color was blue while the first finalist was yellow and the second pink. Almost instantly it was clear who was going to win and even Misty's jaw dropped at the sheer tidal wave of blue orbs that gracefully flew towards her key receptor with only a smattering of yellow and pink in the ocean of blue. It was a clear and decisive victory showing just how noticeable Misty's performance had been.

"Well, zat is a surprise." Pierre said equally stunned as the thermometers with the scores in them appeared above the girls and it was clear that Misty had won with well over 70% of the audience vote at least. "But zen again we 'ave never seen a Freestyle Round quite like zat before nor seen zat Pokémon zat performer Misty used which I 'ave been told is called a Spiritomb, who has now debuted in a Showcase along with only ze 3rd Banette et ze 12th Malamar in 'istory. Well, it is clear, ze winner of ze Dendemille Princess Key with the highest vote total in a Showcase this year so far is performer Misty, her first Princess Key."

Misty had to shake her head to clear it of her surprise at her vote total as she stepped forward while the crowd cheered and even her opponents clapped for the overwhelming win as they too had watched the freestyle from where they were and knew they'd lost after seeing the Pokémon Misty was using and how she was using them. Misty just smiled as Klefki came towards her and unfurled his loop to hand her her very first Princess Key.

With slightly shaky hands, Misty took the key and held it up as the crowd cheered. She then brought her hands down to look at it as her Pokémon surrounded her smiling and congratulating her as the crowd seemed to fade from her hearing. Misty knew that there was a lot coming up for all of them but for now this was her moment. She'd actually won a Showcase and had her first Princess Key. Just seeing it fueled her and now she knew she wanted to win two more so that she could qualify for the Master Class.

All in good time though. Now she was going to celebrate her win for tonight was hers and she fully intended to celebrate as she embraced the moment and her Pokémon and gave herself over to her win.