Part CLXIII: The Wallace Showcase
"Hello and welcome to this special, one off, Pokémon Showcase and a special showcase deserves a special MC." Jillian said as she appeared on the stage in a puff of smoke the way Pierre usually liked to do her arms wide and smiling broadly as she spoke. "Pierre can't be here due to another Showcase and the upcoming Master Class in a month's time and seeing as this is the special Showcase after the Wallace Cup it is only fair that I get to host it. Plus, Pierre gets to host all those snap Contests in Showcase cities so it's my turn to host a Showcase and what a Showcase it will be because this is the Wallace Showcase!"
At that the gathered crowd cheered and really began getting into it, even Ash, May, and Serena were applauding and smiling at it though the others with them were a little more confused as this was their first time at a Showcase. It was two days after the Wallace Cup and Serena's shock win over Ash in a final that few saw coming to begin with and her claiming of the first ever Misty Ribbon, which meant that it was time for the special regional Wallace event to thank the expansion region for hosting the Wallace Cup.
Serena's win was a fitting end to a Wallace Cup filled with surprise, suspense and shock, just what many had hoped for in the first Wallace Cup in an expansion region and the first without Misty and May in it since Ash challenged the Battle Frontier several years ago. Through many challenges, and some rather open hostility from two competitors who both reached the semifinals as well, Serena was able to emerge victorious and was now guaranteed a shot at qualifying for the Grand Festival via the special wildcard round.
Of course, Serena wanted to go for the full 5 and avoid it if possible but she wasn't sure if she'd be able to. They had the Wallace Showcase now, the last event of the special Wallace Week in Snowbelle City. After that the gym would reopen so Ash could challenge Wulfric and secure his last gym badge. Providing both he won that battle and Misty won today in the Wallace Showcase then they'd be qualified for their end of year events and with the Master Class so close they'd just head to Gloire City for that after they were done in Snowbelle.
It was the most logical place to head to next and Serena understood the need to prioritize that route. Plus, with the Master Class coming up Misty would need all the help Serena could provide so she'd focus on that, as well as how her own performing tied into her coordinating as she'd finally begun to get the hang of that thanks to the Wallace Cup. It would be a good way to repay Misty for all the help that she'd been to Serena over the year and good training for the Grand Festival as well.
Naturally, they'd still find a Contest for Serena as there would be time between the Master Class and the Grand Festival, which would take place in Lumiose City the week before the Lumiose Conference, to hit at least one more Contest and determine her path. If Serena won that Contest then she'd go for the 5th ribbon in one of the final Contests just before the Grand Festival. If she lost then she'd just focus on the wildcard and qualify that way.
During all that they would have to swing by the Chamber of Emptiness for Misty to try and get her first Mega Stone given how only she seemed to be able to retrieve it due to actually having a Banette. Yes it was going to be a rather hectic few months, but they were all looking forward to what was to come as well as any potential unexpected events, one had to always be prepared for those when you traveled with Ash Ketchum.
All this travel would also culminate in seeing many of their friends again when the time came. Most had already left Snowbelle in the wake of the Wallace Cup as they were on a set schedule so had to head out.
Lyra and Khoury had been the first to decide to head out and make their way to Anistar for the gym there where Lyra would secure her final gym badge while Khoury hit a Contest along the way to go for his 5th ribbon and thus qualify for the Grand Festival. As they were heading to Anistar, Max, Bonnie and Owen had all agreed to join them on the trip, in part for Owen and Khoury to exchange breeding notes and in part to train together as Max was also going for his 8th badge there so it made sense for them to go as a group.
Adam too would need to go to Anistar, but he also had the Laverre gym to beat as well, and Emily wanted to support Misty in the Wallace Showcase as she'd never seen one and, well, she did admire Misty a lot so wanted to watch her go for her third Princess Key though she was very confused by the whole thing. Adam was already ready to take notes and had agreed to stay so that he could watch and learn from Ash's gym battle with Wulfric before they headed out.
The delay also ensured that Emily didn't run into one of the other Big 3 or a dark horse like Tierno or Khoury in a Contest right away. This way there would be an easy Contest for Emily to win her 5th ribbon in along the way, so they had the time to wait.
The only other person to stay was Dawn because she had the time off and was going to enjoy it by supporting Misty in the Showcase and Ash in his gym battle as she hadn't seen him in one in years. After that she wasn't so sure as she would likely have to return to Kanto when they went to the Master Class as she couldn't leave her sisters in charge of the gym for too long, it never worked well when that happened. Still, having her around was good as it had been like old times with her and Brock.
Alas Brock himself couldn't stay as he and Lucy had had to leave right after the Cup ended. It turned out that the last challenger of the year on the Battle Frontier was ahead of schedule so Lucy had to hurry on back to face him and Brock would go with her as he did have some more Pokémon Doctor exams to take so unfortunately they couldn't be here for the Showcase and Ash's gym battle.
The last lot who'd wanted to stay but had ended up opting to leave had been Shauna, Tierno, Trevor and Miette. Miette went on her own, she knew of a Contest to the west that wouldn't have a Big 3 in it and intended to win it to get to the wildcard while Shauna was heading to one in the South the same reason. Meanwhile Tierno and Trevor would make their way back to Lumiose City together to train and hit a Contest for Tierno's 4th and 5th ribbons nearer Lumiose so that he could prepare for the Grand Festival right afterwards without much travel.
Thus, it was only Ash, Dawn, May, Serena, Adam, and Emily now left to watch the Wallace Showcase, but they were excited for it because it was looking like it would be an interesting of for sure. The ice battlefield from the Wallace Cup had been melted and expanded using the state-of-the-art facilities in the stadium to create a large pool in the center of the stage with various underwater obstacles like reefs, a small boat, a doorless car, and fake plant life. It was clearly for the Theme Round, but no one knew what it would entail.
The rest of the stage was decked out in water themed decorations the way the other stages had been decorated in the past and lit with a soothing blue light. The pool was optional for the Freestyle Round and all performers had already said if they would use it or not, though none of them knew Misty's plan for it should she advance past the Theme Round.
Even Jillian was decked out for the occasion in a sleeveless, blue and white flowing dress that looked like waves flowing down her and her hair done in a similar wavey fashion so that it cascaded down her back and over her shoulders. The one thing she didn't have though was a cane and of course she didn't own a Klefki so everyone was wondering what the Princess Key would look like and where it would be stored during the Showcase.
"Our talented performers who have gathered here for the Wallace Showcase will be competing for the most unique Princess Key this year, yes it is a valid Princess Key for qualification purposes, as it is one that will only be awarded whenever the Wallace Cup is in Kalos so once every 8 years from now on." Jillian said as the screen behind her that had been used in the Cup for the bracket and battle round lit up to reveal the Princess Key. "The Aqua Princess Key. The Aqua Ribbon may now be the Misty Ribbon, but the theme will remain for the Princess Key as an homage to the honored tradition of the Wallace Cup."
Jillian wasn't wrong, the new Princess Key was a tribute to both the old ribbon name and Wallace himself. The stem of the key was an aqua green color the same as what had once been part of the ribbon with a silver head and 4 small, leaf like tines that overlapped slightly with a red gem in the center. It took a moment for them to realize that the tines were modeled after a Milotic's tail fin, an homage to Wallace's primary Pokémon, with the head of the key resembling the seal, complete with crown, that the Aqua Ribbon had had.
To cap it all off, coiled around the stem was a cream-colored metal that wrapped around it before it reached the top where it shot up so that the end was above the head of the key. That end formed an intricately detailed head of a Milotic with the hook for the special keychain Princess Key winners had thus completing the key. It was an elaborate, fancy, intricate Princess Key, a fitting representation of Wallace, his Pokémon, and the prestige of it.
"To honor us, the key will be personally presented by Wallace and his Milotic to the performer who wins the audience vote in the Freestyle Round." Jillian said and the camera panned to show Wallace sitting at a special desk at the base of the stands, surrounded by his fans but with enough space for his Milotic to be present as well, with a special case in front of him containing the Aqua Princess Key. "A high honor in deed and a fitting end to the week where Kalos was graced with the first Wallace Cup to be held in an expansion region."
The crowd really cheered as Wallace wave to them, and Serena at least let out a breath of relief. It was known to some, such as Wallace and Jillian, that Misty would be competing in this Showcase but clearly they weren't drawing unfair attention to her being in it.
That was good because Misty deserved to be judged fairly on her talent alone and not on her reputation, she'd want it no other way, and now she would. Still, Serena wondered how the Theme Round would be as it would have to be one of those non audience themes to be fair to all as that would eliminate any reputational advantage a performer might have, especially this late in the year. That would be answered a second later.
"And now for the rules of the Theme Round, a special theme for the Wallace Showcase and a rare theme that has a set criteria to compete in it." Jillian continued as she gestured to the pool that everyone could see in, but cameras were set up to view it from within during the round. "That requirement is a swimming capable Pokémon. This doesn't mean that it has to be a water type mind you, Pokémon like Dragonair and Stunfisk count as well, as all that is required is the ability to swim with its trainer."
"That's an awesome theme." Dawn said excitedly as the crowd cheered at the first part of the theme reveal. "So many beautiful water types to see."
"And Misty has Piplup." Emily added. "So, she's set for this."
"Clearly this is a swimming-based challenge so it will be interesting to see how she uses a Piplup in it." Adam muttered, the sound of him flipping through a notebook clear to all so he was no doubt looking up the information he had on Misty and her Piplup. "They're decent enough swimmers but lack the intrinsic abilities of more swimming adapted Pokémon like my Poliwrath and as a first stage Pokémon it's not the strongest overall. I guess the rules will determine how it is done though."
"Misty knows how to maximize her Pokémon, so she'll do fine whatever the challenge is." Ash said giving Misty his own seal of approval.
Serena and May looked at each other with a knowing glance. It hadn't been said but they knew that Piplup wasn't the only Pokémon that Misty had that fit this requirement and that other Pokémon was actually a better choice. The thing was, that Pokémon didn't have a water type, it lost it when it evolved, so it was likely overlooked making it a bit of a surprise, which they all knew Misty loved to show off.
"The rules are simple." Jillian said as she reached into her cleavage and pulled out a golden coin that she held up, the camera zooming in on it and Jillian twisting her wrist to show that one side was a relief of Wallace, the other a Milotic. "Each performer will dive into the water with their Pokémon and retrieve as many of these coins as possible with one breath of air from the trainer."
Well, it was clearly going to be a swimming or diving event with the pool and Pokémon requirement, but this limitation was a bit heavy it seemed. It certainly reduced the time of the attempt, which at a rate of one person per go would speed it up, and ensured that not all coins would be collected so perhaps it was a good limiter to the round.
"The Pokémon must ascend with the trainer even if it can breathe underwater." Jillian continued. "And they must work together to collect as many coins as possible from the various areas of the pool. While underwater, the trainer will place any coins she collects into a sack that the Pokémon will have on it, all Pokémon have been registered already by the way as that was part of the signing in process."
"Huh so it is a bit like the Rhyhorn rustling one." Serena said as she processed the Wallace Showcase's theme. "A collection challenge of sorts but with a rather strict limitation."
"While at the same time being a bit like the Poke Puff Performance in Couriway." May added. "They are going one at a time but rather than an audience vote it will be an amount threshold or a top 5 collections I guess."
"I think so." Serena said as Jillian opened her mouth to continue speaking so she shut up to listen.
"This will test the synchronicity under water between Pokémon and trainer for they must work together to retrieve as many coins as possible though there will be more than even a champion swimmer could gather on a single breath." Jillian said to the crowd. "Then, once the performer surfaces the time is up and she and her Pokémon will seal the pouch and bring the coins to me. Each performer has a different colored pouch by the way, so we know who's is who's."
"Ah so that's how they are ensuring fairness." Serena mutter. "Clever, so long as there is a minimum amount of coins then there can't be complaints of unfair rules."
"Well, this has likely been in the works since Wallace announced Kalos as the host region for the Cup this year." May said. "So, it's no wonder that they've thought of everything for this rather unique Theme Round."
"However, we won't be counting the coins right away." Jillian said surprising them and silencing any muttering in the crowd. "Instead, when all have gone, Wallace and I will count the coins before everyone to ensure transparency and the 5 with the most will advance to the Freestyle Round. Also, there is a set range of coins present at all times, we will have a rough sense after each performer goes so we'll add a little more than that estimate after each attempt, so the amount will be within fair margins."
"That is complicated." Ash said rubbing his temples as he tried to wrap his head around what was going to happen while the crowd slowly began to cheer as they began to get the rules of the Theme Round. "No contest between performers, no vote to see if they advance, and a wait until the end of the Theme Round to know if you've advanced rather than just at the end of your own attempt. That's a bit different from usual."
"Yeah, it's more like a Contest." Serena said her eyes widening as it hit her. "An advancement from appeal to battle round isn't known until the end of the appeals. They've tied a Contest aspect to this Showcase, amazing. They've really gone all out to make this Showcase standout from the others. Rhyhorn rustling was out there for sure, but this is something else entirely."
"It is Wallace." May said. "So, they'd have to, and it really makes this interesting because the whole event will hinge on the breath of the trainer herself. She'll have to plan around that when she strategizes how to approach this theme."
"Plus, the more coins you collect the heavier that pouch will be." Dawn said. "So, strength of the Pokémon is also a factor, as well as its own swimming abilities to navigate the pool and obstacles to find the coins as I bet they'd have a way to change it around each round."
"Lastly." Jillian said silencing the cheers and chatter that had arisen in the wake of her explanation of the rules and showing that there was still one more aspect to this that had to be explained. "The pool here is designed to cycle water at high pressure so while all the obstacles in it will be the same, we will be churning it up each time so that no performer faces the exact same layout while also redistributing the remaining coins and adding the new ones at the same time. A final factor to ensure fairness in this theme."
"As I expected." Dawn said. "This one is going to be all about swimming, how you use your Pokémon and how long the performer can hold her breath."
"Which means that tactics will be key as at most a performer has a minute to collect as many coins as she can." Serena said. "So, Misty will have to be smart to advance."
"I know she can do it." Ash said and the others all nodded in agreement at that. "Misty's got this."
"Well, that is all I have so first up…" Jillian began without anymore preamble and a whirring sound revealed the platform coming up from the pool with a girl in a one-piece lime green swimsuit with a matching swim hat and googles standing next to a strong looking Golduck with a matching pouch around its neck.
It was time for the Wallace Showcase to begin so they all sat back and watched it to see how the performers did with this Theme Round. It would be a wait for Misty's turn so hopefully she was ok and ready for it.
Misty was ready for the Theme Round as she stood in the special waiting room that was outfitted like a swimming changing room in a bright pink one piece swimsuit and matching cap that all her hair was under, her googles around her neck as she watched Jillian go over the rules. It certainly explained everything, the need for a Pokémon that could swim, a color choice when she registered, the bag, and the fact that Misty would be wearing a swim suit as well.
Personally, she'd have preferred a bikini, but this was a proper swimming challenge, so the one piece was better. That and there'd be no wardrobe malfunctions like when Dawn wore that excuse of a bikini in her full battle with Ash, which amusingly was the last time Misty ended up in a pool, that Misty had to worry about when it was her turn to go.
Next to her, standing on his tail fin thing and clearly not happy with the color of the bag on a sturdy string around his neck, was her Dragalge. He'd certainly gotten some raised eyebrows from the attendants when she'd registered him as her swimming capable Pokémon and not the Piplup smiling from her head, but the moment Misty knew of the requirement she'd known she'd be using him and not Piplup in the Theme Round.
She'd promised Dragalge, Helioptile, and her last Pokémon who'd not yet been used in a Showcase that they'd be in the last one she'd exploded herself out of in spectacular fashion. Only Helioptile had managed to be in it however as Misty hadn't advanced to that Freestyle Round so she was making it up to all of them by having them in this Showcase.
The fact that it was a water-based Theme Round meant that Dragalge was the perfect choice for this. Piplup was good but this was swimming based, Dragalge could breath underwater and was a stronger swimmer with a body better suited for speed underwater, so Piplup understood and accepted that he'd not be the choice for the round. There was a need to win this not just because they needed one more Princess Key but it was the Wallace Showcase so Misty's pride would have it no other way. That meant the best for the task was up and so it fell to Dragalge.
Naturally, that had led to raised more eyebrows, this time from the performers that Misty was competing against, when Dragalge had come out in the changing room after all 22 girls competing had changed and let out their Pokémon they'd registered because few would expect one. They weren't a common species to begin with and they weren't a water type, they'd lost that when they evolved as it changed to a dragon type, so few probably expected to see one in the Wallace Showcase.
Still, there was a Skrelp present, so it wasn't too much of a shock and Misty's reputation, and the Pokémon she'd shown so far, blunted it once a few of the girls recognized Misty from other Showcases and began to mutter about it. She'd built up that reputation from her last two wins having shown off Machamp, Malamar, Banette, and Spiritomb to everyone's shock.
A Dragalge was almost tame by comparison it seemed, it was hard to top a Spiritomb short of a mythical or legendary Pokémon, but Misty didn't mind the mutterings. She was used to that from the year before when she was the top favorite on the Kanto Contest Circuit, so she just tuned it out. She had to focus and as the rules were being given she was already planning her strategy.
The issue was how long could she hold her breath for. She theorized she had probably 45 seconds at best, maybe a minute if she pushed it, so when the rules were done she had to prioritize how to use the limited time underwater that she had. She quickly pulled Dragalge to the side and began whispering to him what the plan was, and he nodded in agreement. It was a good one and as they were the 7th ones up they had a few minutes to plan though it wasn't as long as they would like given how quick the attempts were.
Sure enough, the longest any of the first 5 managed was 69 seconds, an impressive showing from an athletic girl in a white suit with a Dewgong as her partner, so it only lasted 15 minutes from the start of the Showcase to the time that Misty and Dragalge had to move to their spot. She hadn't even had time to think about the recent Wallace Cup because of the focus on preparing for her attempt but Misty knew she'd have time for that in a moment, first she had to do her best and hope she got enough coins to advance.
"Another good showing." Jillian's voice said as the platform descended and an attendant handed a towel to a girl in a bright yellow swimsuit as she got off it with her Stunfisk, one of two other non-water types present other than Misty's Dragalge, got off and Misty got on the platform that was air dried already thanks to the tech in it and the well-honed preparations the attendants had clearly had to ensure that the Wallace Cup ran smoothly. "Next up we have one of the few present going for her third Princess Key today, it's Misty and her Dragalge!"
Misty just smiled at the crowd as she put on her googles, also pink, and walked over to the edge of the water to look down into the pool as the contents settled from the quick churning to change it all up from the last attempt, some coins already glinting but they had a plan and were going to stick to it. As things settled Misty began to take a few deep breaths and got ready while Dragalge just stood next to her prepared to dive in as soon as he was allowed.
"Everything is settled so when you're ready." Jillian said as the final piece of fake plant life stopped moving and Misty was glad that the usually enthusiastic about reputation woman wasn't doing that right now. "Dive!"
Misty didn't hesitate as she leapt off the side and dove headfirst into the surprisingly lukewarm water as she took in a massive breath of air just as she hit the water. Dragalge dove in at the same time and instantly swam down and around to scan the pool as fast as he could manage.
The plan was simple, Misty would swim a little down while Dragalge used his size and strength to swim fast through the pool and find the largest single cluster of coins and then drag her too it, Misty using that moment to grab any nearby coins from her diving point. He was to then stay by her side as she grabbed then and then take her to the next largest batch if she gave the signal before heading up or just heading up if she was already at her limit.
Speed was key to this and Misty trusted Dragalge. He did not let her down as he quickly found a patch of 7 coins in and around the mock kelp area while Misty managed to grab two coins from the top of the randomly submerged car that had been right there after her dive. By the time she had them Dragalge had returned to her, and she grabbed one of his fin arms so that he could swim Misty to the coins he'd found. As soon as he stopped Misty placed the two coins she'd grabbed at the start in the bag before letting go and swimming around to grab the others.
Only by working together could they do this. Misty was a decent swimmer, but she was limited by her lung capacity and the fact that humans were naturally buoyant, so it took effort, which burned precious oxygen, to remain underwater. Dragalge was not limited like that and would thus be the key and showed it by dragging her to the coins that she grabbed and placed into his pouch as fast as possible.
Once they were there he turned his head to her, worry in his eyes but he trusted his human and knew she'd make the right choice, and if not he'd just save her anyway as he did not want to deal with Malamar's wrath if he let Misty do something asininely stupid in front of a large audience. Misty's lungs were already starting to burn but she nodded and grabbed his fin, the signal that she could go on for one more patch. As soon as she had a good grip, Dragalge tore off with her holding on to the next area, a reef like structure that had 5 coins on or around it.
Again, he pulled Misty to it but this time he actively pulled her to each coin so that she could use her free hand to grab one and then put it into his pouch one at a time to conserve energy. She was starting to slow though, and her lungs were really burning by the fourth, but she pushed through it for the 5th and then saw a 6th coin a few feet away from the reef on the floor of the pool. She knew she was at her limits, but she had 14 so far, she wanted that 15th and pointed to it and then up.
Dragalge understood and swam as fast as he could at it, Misty's lungs now screaming at her and her head was starting to feel fuzzy, but she narrowed her eyes, grabbed the coin and put it in the bag, only coins in the bag when she emerged would be counted, and synching it shut just to be safe before pointing up. Again, her Pokémon understood, and he shot up to the surface as fast but as safely as possible so that he broke it near the far side of the pool, Misty doing so a second later as she gasped for air, the sweet oxygen filling her lungs as she did, leaning on him for support.
It had been a tough but fast challenge that had really pushed her, but it was fun and unique as well. She'd swam with her Pokémon before but never like this, no doubt Dawn would be loving this Theme Round and wondering how well she could do which was probably very as she'd likely just use her Gyarados to destroy everything and then get the coins. Well that, and Dawn was a very strong swimmer which would help her immensely in a theme challenge like this.
Regardless, this had been fun, and Misty swam to straddle Dragalge's back and let him swim with her to the side, she didn't have the strength to swim herself, so this was fastest. Once there, he waited for her to pull up the bag and place it on the side.
Once it was safely there, Misty rolled off Dragalge's back and clambered out of the pool, removing the bag from around his neck and handing it to Jillian to signal that she was done with her attempt. She was pleased to see that the woman's eyes went wide at the weight of it, it looked like Misty had done well and smiled as she turned back to Dragalge and nodded.
He got the message and backed up before diving down. They'd also discussed this as Misty wouldn't have his Poke Ball at hand and his size was a bit too big for her to lift him out or for him to clamber out on his own.
Thus, he dove down and then rapidly swam up before bursting out of the water with all his power, flipping and spinning to land on the side next to Misty to the cheers of the crowd and annoyance of Jillian as she got wet. It wouldn't be the last time though as other performers with large, aquatic shaped, water types did the same later on in the round.
That was later though, right now Misty and Dragalge just bowed, ignoring Jillian's words and waited for the base to descend. As it did hot air came up from under their feet during it quickly and partially them. Misty just walked off the way she'd come on and was greeted by a towel from an attend and began to dry herself. There was a special chamber for Dragalge in the bowels of the stadium to dry himself, so he headed there as the platform rose with the next performer, this time a girl in a blood red swimsuit with a Barboach, on it.
Misty didn't really care though; she'd done her job and now all she could do was hope for the best. Once Dragalge was ready she'd go back to the changing room with him, and they'd wait there to watch the rest of the Theme Round and the count that would determine who advanced to the Freestyle Round. While there Misty planned to only idly watch the others as her mind wandered to the Wallace Cup and all that had happened during it as she finally had a moment to reflect on her first Wallace Cup that she'd been at and not competed in.
It had certainly been an interesting Cup to say the least and she was already thinking about it as she and Dragalge headed over to the changing room to wait. It had all begun with the shock request to change the ribbon's name to the Misty Ribbon, along with an already newly created design that paid homage to her personally, and for her to judge the appeals and ended in a climactic final none had expected.
Honestly, Misty should have known that she was in for something from the very start when Wallace approached her during the event that was thrown to welcome him to Kalos the day before to have a private word. However, after he'd explained his desire, shown her the design, and gotten her permission to rename the Aqua Ribbon the Misty Ribbon she'd been so shellshocked that she'd not noticed the omen for what it was. It wasn't until now, when she got a moment to think on it all that she realized that that was just the start of the craziness.
That craziness began with the appeals. She'd been told of how the scoring would work, she'd made it clear that her boyfriend, two love rivals, two student of sorts though Serena was also one of the love rivals, a former Contest rival, and a several other good friends, including a former traveling companion, were all going to be in the Wallace Cup along with a girl who had serious issues with Misty for reasons too complex for Misty to bather getting into.
While Misty felt that she could be objective, the rules for how to judge had certain things in them for how to score with not as much subjectivity as one would expect, she knew how it would look and didn't trust Brianna to not cause issues. As such she'd rather back out due to a conflict of interest than cause any problems for those competing, or herself when it came to Brianna.
Thankfully, all that had been addressed prior to Wallace speaking with her as Misty's relationships with Ash, Serena, Brock, Jessilina, and Emily were all already known and taken into account. All that her point made was that she now couldn't judge Contests with any of the others she knew in it except for Shauna, Tierno, Trevor, and Amelia as all were deemed not enough to justify a conflict of interest. Hell, she'd been a judge in Amelia's first Contest win, so it was clear that Misty had no conflict there.
Regardless, the other conflicts had been taken into account and corrected with the highest and lowest scores being removed and the scores published the night after the appeals to be transparent. It was a system borrowed from other, lesser known, competitions in the world and would work well for a 5-judge panel in the Wallace Cup appeals.
That had been enough to convince Misty that things would be ok and agreed to be the 5th appeals judge. Given that the battles were much more subjective than the appeals and having 5 judges for them was a bit much, it was agreed that Misty wouldn't judge them, but she was allowed to watch them from the panel.
That was out of respect, because she'd be an appeals judge, and because as a judge she'd have to be segregated from the others for the duration of the Cup to ensure fairness. Well, that and because she'd present to Misty Ribbon to its first winner, so it was easier to have her on the panel throughout even if she wasn't judging the battles.
Honestly, that had been the hardest part for Misty as she couldn't be with Ash at night, help him and her other friends prepare, or even speak to them during for the sake of competition integrity. She understood though so went with it, using that time to craft various statements for each friend, or Brianna, should they win and scrapping them as they were eliminated one by one. Plus, this way she had a great view of the action and what a view it was.
The appeals were as she'd expected a great mix of styles and moves to enjoy, even those that didn't make it through. Misty had never seen a Contest using an ice battlefield, in fact she'd only ever known ice to be used in regular Pokémon battles and even then limited to those who specialized in the type and as a chance in the Conferences but not a Contest. Apparently it wasn't unheard of, but it was exceedingly rare for a Contest to use ice as its stage. It was done this time around as an homage to Snowbelle City and worked really well.
Usually, the Wallace Cup was water but with the expansion regions Wallace had decided not to always default to that and base it on a mix of the city and the region hosting so it was unknown how the next Cup would be when it was held in Lacunosa Town in Unova. Still, the ice had worked really well in Misty's opinion and almost gave it a fresh look what with the new Misty Ribbon being introduced, the first expansion region Wallace Cup and all that. Plus, many trainers utilized it really well that worked in their appeals.
During the appeals Misty had been as fair as possible and she'd be the first to admit that if you advanced her top 16 you wouldn't get the top 16 who did advance, though 13 of her top 16 score did advance. While that included those who'd many would be worried about in Ash, Brianna, Brock, Serena, Emily, and to a lesser extent Miette, none of them got her highest score.
However, not once was Misty's score removed for being too high or too low for that appeal, only Sukizo was more averaged than her. It showed that she had managed to maintain a good objective mind during it.
After that though it was just a chance to sit back and relax for the rest of the Cup. Misty wasn't judging the battles so she could just enjoy them, though she did use them to practice for future judging endeavors, and all that they had to offer. With the mix of trainers who'd advanced it was certainly interesting to say the least.
Some were solid Contest style battles, more than often those were the ones with the Kalos natives in them given the performance styles that Serena, Amelia, Shauna, and Miette displayed along with Tierno's personal style that was very good for Contest battles. It was actually a little embarrassing that the Kalos lot were more attuned to it but then again the other battles were, well, different.
The moment Misty saw the bracket fall she knew that Arceus was having a laugh with how the battle round would play out. Seriously, there was only a small chance that all 7 Kalos natives would end up in the bottom half with one of the 4 actual coordinators in Khoury, and given his skills Misty considered him a coordinator as well as a breeder, to round it out. That ensured that a finalist would likely be from Kalos while the top half was a brutal slugfest of raw talent and skill with an unpredictable match between Max and Owen thrown in for good measure.
The Big 3 had all made claims that year that they'd use the Wallace Cup for their 5th making it an attractive event for spectators and fans but also putting off some of the serious dark horses which likely contributed to almost all of those Misty knew advancing to the battles. Still, for all 3 of the favorites on the circuit that year to end up in the same half was practically unheard of and made that part of the bracket one hell of a gauntlet to run. Add in someone like Ash and you had unpredictability galore there.
Misty had expected both Jessilina and Brianna to advance in the first round, and Max as well but that was more battle talent than Contest skill. It was nothing on Brock, he was skilled, but it had been a while and Jessilina was arguably the second best on the circuit behind Brianna. She showed that with a tactical win over Brock to advance and really showed off coordinating skills in the process. Brianna, well Misty had agreed with her formal warning at the end of the Cup even if she couldn't vote on giving her it, that girl's behavior was beyond acceptable.
True, with the kinds of people in the Wallace Cup battle offs were going to be more common than usual but Brianna went overboard against Max and her constant unhinged rants before, during, and after battles weren't helping her. Back when she'd first met Brianna, Misty had thought she might be fully under the influence of Drew but after hearing May's original experience with her and seeing her attitude today, Misty was certain that Brianna was bad news without Drew, he just made it worse with his own negative views.
Regardless, she did have talent and showed it. In all honesty, Brianna should have won the Wallace Cup, she was the strongest coordinator there and Misty doubted that Serena could have bested her in the final short of a move like Horn Drill but again Brianna understood Contest battles more than Ash so she likely wouldn't have charged head on like he did in the final. Alas, at least for Brianna but a relief for everyone else, she had the misfortune of facing the one person who was a better battler than her in the semifinal.
Naturally Misty was supporting Ash from the start, she knew her boyfriend would do well as he'd improved from his first Wallace Cup top 8 appearance Sinnoh to a top 4 appearance last year in Hoenn and even with a path that would almost certainly take him through the Big 3 Misty was certain that he'd go deep again this year. He showed that and then some by reminding everyone that a trainer against a coordinator came down to one simple factor, battlefield control.
To beat Ash in a Contest battle all you had to really do was focus on evasion, well timed counter attacks, and not letting him dictate the flow of the battle so maybe a little out of the box thinking at the right moment to ensure that. Emily was in a bad position from the start as her type preference lent it to Ash going with Lucario. Even if she'd been able to expect that, and with Adam by her side she might have, Ash had that battle and a Carbink was the worst possible fairy type to choose thanks to its rock type. From there it was an easy win for Ash.
Jessilina was the wildcard of the three, she always had been as it was part of her style that she'd honed since Sinnoh, but Ash again controlled it with Goodra and solid tactics. Likely this was more to get Goodra the experience, but Ash would also know that Jessilina had a preference for grass types which was not a good matchup against his Goodra. That was shown and Ash advanced again to face Brianna who no one doubted would get that far.
There, well Misty was certain Ash chose Noibat for Noibat to get battle experience and not to humiliate Brianna by beating her Flygon with him, which was just a side product of it. Add in Ash being Ash and having Noibat evolve and the typing of Noivern v. Flygon and, well, he had control of the battle by that point, so Brianna had no hope of winning after the evolution.
Honestly, the hard part for Ash was the path the final, the actual final shouldn't have been hard. Misty had looked hard at the lower bracket and deduced that Tierno was the most likely to advance to the final from it which would make for an interesting Wallace Cup final for sure.
She had expected Serena to beat Bonnie, which was a known matchup to both girls given their only prior battle and Bonnie's newfound control over Chandelure, but it was one that Serena would be ready for this time. That was it however, Misty had expected Serena to lose to Tierno after that.
Tierno was generally better than Trevor so that win was expected but his subsequent loss to Serena wasn't. Shauna's win over Khoury was an upset but after seeing Jessilina's Misty understood the clever tactics Shauna had used, along with noting that without a ranged move Feraligatr was at a disadvantage against the much smaller Floette. Lastly was Miette v. Amelia, which had been the unpredictable one.
Misty had not expected such a negative aura from Amelia when that girl came out to face Miette in the final battle of the first day. She'd only seen her once before at the Couriway Contest and the girl was certainly talented there but clearly she had some deep-seated issues, and the other performers were the root of it. That was clear as day in her trash talk with Miette, Shauna, and Serena, and Misty learned of her backstage attitude after the Cup, as well as why Amelia was like that. The fact that Amelia backed up words in battle only added to it.
Her match with Miette really could have gone either way though. A few lucky hits landed that gave it to Amelia and it pissed her off that she didn't get the Battle Off. That was clearly why she destroyed Shauna in the quarterfinals but that was likely also fueled by Serena's upset of Tierno and to Misty that was an upset, but it was the match that would set the tone for the rest of the Cup.
Amelia had shown the true potential of a performer in a Contest battle, but she lacked something, likely due to her rage or inability to reflect on her own flaws, but Serena didn't lack that as she embraced her flaws to get better which was the difference between Amelia and Serena in the end. It was from this rivalry that Misty finally saw why her friend was seen as the most likely girl to unseat Aria one day.
It began with Serena's battle against Tierno, while a little too carefree on the misses, showed how a performer could coordinate. She used her skills, the rules for scoring in a Contest battle, and what Pancham was trained for to properly outlast and turn the tide on Tierno to win on points despite a deliberate handicap. It was impressive but it was just the start.
Honestly, the best match of the whole Cup, to Misty as a coordinator and to showcase Contests to Kalos as a whole, was Serena and Amelia's semifinal bout even with all the negativity behind it. It was everything a Contest battle should be, a fusion of grace, power, moves, and timing as Delphox and Dragonair literally danced around each other to Misty in a duel of power and skill, both trainers showing their performer pedigree to the fullest to try and claim victory.
It was actually a shame that there was a time limit to it to Misty as it almost robbed them of a full battle to the end, but such was the Contest rules and in the end Serena's skills just outlasted Amelia's though the lack of being able to use Attract did hurt Amelia. Still, she should have overcome that but didn't and Serena earned her spot in a shocking final without a Big 3 favorite in it.
Then there was the final, Misty was impressed to say the least with it. She knew what Pokémon were likely at play and did expect it to be Talonflame on Ash's side, he was the best for facing Serena's remaining two while also avoiding dealing with the slipperiness of the ice. On Serena's side, Misty had expected Rhydon but wouldn't have put it past Serena to surprise Ash with Vivillon. Still, it was a new final with new Pokémon and every bit as exciting as her ones with May had been.
As Misty had thought at the time, Serena was at a disadvantage against Ash because of the gulf between their battle skills so she needed to be perfect and yet she wasn't and still won. She did so despite being on the back foot the entire time, Ash's raw skill clearly superior, but in the end it was Serena's own unique talent and style that won it for her in a way only Serena could have pulled off. Misty had prepared her speech for Serena and gave it, meaning every word, it had been an honor to pass the torch onto her friend and after that final Serena had deserved it.
There was still a long way for Serena to go, her potential was now clear for all to see but she still had to match it with talent and Misty would enjoy seeing how that transitioned to the Grand Festival no matter how Serena reached it because Misty was certain she would. Misty had told Serena as much that night when they'd all celebrated her win and Serena had thanked Misty properly for all she'd done even if Misty already knew that much from Serena's statements against Amelia. It meant a lot to Serena to win the Wallace Cup and Misty was happy for her.
Now though, it was her time to win as well. Misty may not have been able to defend her Wallace Cup title again, but she wasn't going to come out of this week empty handed. No, she was going to win the Wallace Showcase and soon she'd know if she'd advanced.
"Alright that is it, we will now take a moment to count the coins our performers collected and see who advances." Jillian said breaking Misty from her thoughts and causing her to look up to the screen to see the 22 differently colored bags now in a row in the order the performers had gone in with Jillian behind the first bag in line and Wallace behind the last one. "The numbers will appear on the screen next to the performer's name as we count. The top 5 will advance. If there is a tie for the final spot then all will advance rather than have a tiebreak or other decider."
That made sense and Misty nervously watched as the screen lit up with the names of each performer in order, a bar next to it in their chosen color, and a tally column at the end. Now it was a matter of waiting to see where 15 coins got Misty as Jillian and Wallace opened the bags and began counting, holding up each coin to the camera to confirm before placing it Wallace head up on the ground in front of the bag. Once that was done they turning the bag over when they were done to show that the bag was empty before the coins were returned to it and the bag placed to the side.
All this was clearly done to ensure a fair count, which made sense, but it was still going to be one agonizingly long wait. That just added to the suspense as Misty and the other girls in the changing room watched the count nervously.
The only good thing about the wait was that it didn't take too long to see if you'd done enough or not as the scores went up right away. Misty was still nervous, but she was feeling good by the time her number of 15 appeared on the board next to her name as only two others were above 10, one being 11 and another being 13, and that was after 14 of 22 had been counted. She just needed to be higher than 4 more and she'd have secured it.
That unfortunately didn't look so good when the 15th performer's score went up as a 17. That pushed Misty down to second and still left her needing to beat 4 of the remaining 7. Thankfully though it soon became clear that she'd advance as the next few were all lower than her ensuring her a spot in the top 5. In fact, she never dropped from second place in the Theme Round as only one more score, the last one counted, was in the double digits with a 10. There were 3 with 9 coins but only 5 performers got 10 or more so the freestyle participants was set.
"And there you have it." Jillian said excitedly as the stage was cleared of bags and coins, Wallace returned to his seat, and the board shifted to show the top 5 in the order they'd gone which would also be the order they'd go in for the freestyle making Misty the second one up after the break. "These are your 5 finalists who advance to the Freestyle Round and fan vote to determine the winner of the Aqua Princess Key. That is to come but we will now take an hour-long break for lunch and so that our performers can get ready."
With that Jillian signed off and the TV just showed the 5 remaining performers on the board. She was right, this was the time to prepare and as those who'd failed dealt with it, changed, and left, Misty let out her other two Pokémon for the Freestyle Round and began to change into her costume for it. They had the time to take over a corner of the room and go over it one more time as they prepared their freestyle performance for the Wallace Showcase.
"Well, that was about as I'd expect it to be." Dawn said, her skill with water types making her the best analyst for the Theme Round in terms of technical skill in completing the task the girls had been assigned. "The ones who advanced all used a similar style to Misty other than that Dewgong trainer, she relied more on her breath to get her into the Freestyle Round."
"True." May said with a nod. "Misty opted for using a stronger Pokémon that could swim well and pull her through the water. Dragalge easily scouted out to find the coins so that he could help. From there Misty just relied on his strength to conserve her own and get her to the coins. The others with more than 10 did that and all had strong water types for it, other than the aforementioned Dewgong trainer."
"Indeed." Serena concurred. "A Frogadier, a Sharpedo, and a Kingdra. All are powerful, all fully evolved except for the Frogadier, water types that the performers used as both scout and transport to maximize what they could pick up, especially the Sharpedo, that one is fast."
"An interesting mix for sure." Ash said. "And Misty made it which was good."
"Yes though can someone explain something to me." Dawn said. "That Pokémon she used, how is it not a water type? It's so graceful and skilled in the water, it should be a cute water type but apparently it isn't."
"Dragalge is one of those odd Pokémon who's physiological makeup and habitat defy it's typing in a similar way to how your Azurill is a normal type, well normal and fairy as it added the latter, miss." Adam said still scribbling notes for some reason though the others didn't bother to ask him about it. "Though with the glut of water types it is rare for an aquatic Pokémon to not have the type. Think of it like a Beedrill or Venomoth, both are flying insectoid Pokémon that should be bug and flying but are actually bug and poison. Dragalge is similar though it actually changes type upon evolution, it's water type as a Skrelp becomes a dragon type."
"Ignoring the creepy use of bug Pokémon, I think I get that." Dawn said as she thought on the odd boy from Hoenn's words. "My Gyarados, when he Mega Evolves, he changes his secondary type from flying to dark, so I understand that it does happen. Still odd to see with a water type."
"Dragalge is one of the few aquatic Pokémon like that, others include Stunfisk, Clobbopus and Grapploct, though Dragalge is odd in that it actually loses its water type upon evolution." Adam said. "Those last two are Galarian Pokémon that are pure fighting types by the way, the former evolves into the latter, but they look like water types and live in water according to Owen. I really want one if I ever go to Galar."
"And don't forget that Dragonair and Dratini are pure dragon types that like to live in water." Ash said. "And Goomy needs to be near water at the very least. It's not common but some Pokémon do have strange types that don't look like it on the surface."
"True, I remember our adventures with that Sudowoodo in Johto after all which proved that it was a pure rock type Pokémon and not a grass or dual grass and rock type." Dawn said. "Still just annoying to see it happen to a cute water type, but it can swim so it get's let off the hook. Plus, that dragon type is useful, makes it go from weak against electric and neutral against grass to resistant to the former and super resistant to the latter and that poison type ensures that it's not weak to fairy types. Not a bad type change all in all."
"Typical Dawn." May said with a chuckle. "I do wonder what Misty will do in the Freestyle Round though now that she's in it."
"No one knows." Serena admitted. "She didn't ask for help like for the Anistar Showcase so it's probably what she had planned for Couriway before she blew herself up."
"Come again?" Dawn asked while Emily let out a gasp to their side. "Misty blew herself up?"
"A malfunction in the oven for the baking during the Theme Round made it susceptible to overheating if it was hit with an electrical charge." Serena said. "Misty used her Helioptile as one of her partners in that round and his electricity hit the metal oven by accident and triggered the malfunction. Apparently the oven wouldn't stop heating up as the control to stop it at the set temperature was now broken so it overheated and blew up. Misty failed to advance as a result though she only suffered minor injuries, nothing compared to what happened when Ash beat Kenny."
"Sorry for that." Ash said again though everyone just dismissed it, they'd forgiven him for his mistake right afterwards.
"Damn that is serious bad luck." Dawn said. "Poor Misty."
"It is but I think she's fine with it." May said with a smile. "Because if she'd won the Couriway Contest then she'd have gotten her third Princess Key before the Wallace Cup and thus been unable to compete here and we know the Wallace Cup queen wants to win the Wallace Showcase after being denied the chance to compete again."
"True though her name will go down for years to come with the Misty Ribbon." Dawn said. "Fittingly won by one of us I might add."
"While I defied my own expectations, and really boosted my confidence, by winning it I can't deny that it is fitting." Serena said with a smile. "I won it my way and really found my style in the process, it's just what I was looking for by trying my hand at coordinating. To win what Misty is known for as the first winner after her and claim a ribbon named for her accomplishments, it means a lot to me."
"And you beat Ash." May said with a nudge though Ash was distracted now by something Adam was doing so was lost to them, not that he'd pick up on any of the subtleties of the conversation. "Few can claim that."
"The cards fell for me at the right time, and I took it." Serena said. "It might not be the same if we were to have that battle again now that Ash knows about Rhydon's Horn Drill attack."
"From what we've heard, and what I know of Anabel's skills, Misty's win over her was like that." May said. "All it takes is for those cards to fall the right was at the right time once though for a win like that to happen. The Grand Festival is where it will be at though."
"And I'll be ready for that." Serena said seriously. "I'll make it with 5 ribbons or as a wildcard qualifier, but I'll be there. First though we have to support Misty now as she goes for that final Princess Key that she needs and then takes on the Master Class which is sooner."
The other girls nodded and began discussing what to expect from the coming performances and beyond. The day was far from over and soon it would be time for the Freestyle Round of the Wallace Showcase.
Misty stood nervously in the wings as she watched the aquatic freestyle of the girl before her with her Dewgong and a Huntail. It was impressive and really made use of the pool, she was one of only two of the five finalists to have requested its use should she advance to the Freestyle Round apparently, and Misty knew that it would be a tough act to follow. However, she'd spent her break going over her own final preparations with her Pokémon and now they were all in position and ready for it.
As with her freestyle performance in Anistar, Misty and her Pokémon weren't all entering at the same place, though they would be entering at roughly the same time. Dragalge would start beneath the stage and come up while Misty walked out with her other two Pokémon from the wings. It was all for the performance aspect she had planned, and it was certainly different from the last ones.
She was ready though and set herself as the performer before her finished with an impressive display of acrobatics that launched her and her Pokémon out of the water to land on the stage, though their timing wasn't in synch and them water hid it a bit which could cost her, to end their routine. They bowed to the crowd that cheered and Jillian said a few words before the stage fell, the pool cover began to whir as it slid back into place, and Misty got into the zone.
"What a start to the freestyles." Jillian said excitedly to the cheering crowd. "Next up we have the second of the 5 to advance, give it up for performer Misty."
Again, Misty was glad that Jillian wasn't going with titles or anything as it helped her forge her own performing identity and didn't emphasize her history with Wallace. This performance would certainly help solidify her performing identity as Misty walked out and the center rose, the music beginning, and the crowd let out a gasp at her look. Then again it wasn't what one expected every day from a performer with her notedly feminine fashion sense.
That was because Misty had decided to honor Kalos culture a little and play into their honorable knightly nature with her outfit and routine today. As such she was wearing dark blue, military tunic with golden epaulets and embroidery on her cuffs.
It was double breasted with a white center and gold buttons, edged in gold as well while her belt that was at a slight angle around her waist was white. The end of the tunic hung just over her waist with a forked tail coat style behind her and the snow-white pants she wore tucked into knee high black boots with gold edging and soles.
To complete the look, she had swept her hair back and tied it off in a simple pony tail with a gold ribbon and wore a simple gold circlet as crown of sorts to further add to a slight princess vibe while also helping keep her hair off her face. She did have to have her key broach with the hot pink receiver that she used to hold a blue ascot at her throat, so it was clear for all to see. The final thing was an actual saber at her left hip, though the blade was naturally dulled, that she drew and held point first at Dragalge.
Dragalge was to play the monster, the dragon that the loyal knight would try to slay in the routine with her faithful companions, so his outfit was simple, just special accents to make him more draconic than he already was. They'd practice this intensely when they'd had the time, the whole segregated as judges actually allowing them to really hone it down when Misty wasn't thinking of what to say to the various potential winners, so Dragalge knew his role and when to use his moves as Misty wouldn't be commanding him like she was her other two Pokémon.
Those where the two remaining who'd never been in a Showcase Freestyle Round, Helioptile who rode on her shoulder in a squire's outfit cut and made for him while walking next to Misty was Pyroar in the get up of a noble steed just feminized as she was clearly a female and styled to suit her look and lion-like physique. It was certainly a striking and visually strange image for Misty to show but then again this was the girl who'd done a dance of death and then a traditional Kalos waltz in her last two freestyle performances so it should be expected.
"Pyroar, start us off with a Flame Charge." Misty said holding out her saber and pointing it at Dragalge as the music started to the tune she'd picked; the outfit deliberately flame resistant. "Helioptile, back her up with Thunderbolt."
Dragalge let out a roar as Pyroar coated herself and charged at him, meeting the Flame Charge with a blast of Dragon Pulse that Pyroar dodged and continued her charge as Helioptile let off a Thunderbolt to help cover Pyroar's approach. Dragalge of course knew what was coming and twisted away, his tail glowing with poison as he used the spin to whip it around and slam it into Pyroar's face as she reached him with a boom that sent her flying back but she rolled in the air and landed on her feet snarling as she slid back a few feet. It was time to kick this up a notch.
Thus, began yet another unique Misty freestyle as Dragalge let out another roar and a Scald attack that was intercepted by a Thunder Shock from Helioptile that caused both to explode in a pretty shower of sparks and hot water high above the stage. He was the range and fought from Misty's shoulder while Pyroar charged in with a Take Down this time, the explosion really highlighting her charge nicely.
Again, Dragalge avoided it in a dance like pattern while lashing out with another Poison Tail that Pyroar effectively avoided, and flames came to her mouth for a Fire Fang attack that Misty ordered. They continued the dance, never once touching the other all the while Helioptile was launching well timed electric attacks at range that either missed were blocked by Dragalge's own ranged attacks as Misty gave orders and used her saber to direct the battle as if conducting it.
She wasn't as much a part of it as she'd been with the last two, but she was making moves and even leapt to the side of a second Scald and blocked a Dragon Pulse on the blade that pushed her back a few paces and slightly marked her outfit to the awe of the crowd. It was an interesting and unique freestyle performance that excited the crowd with the showmanship of it. That was the key to how to counter a lesser involved performer. Still, it had to end and that would be a climactic one.
For most of the freestyle Dragalge had been using three moves, his two ranged ones that Misty and Helioptile dealt with and played off, and his Poison Tail to engage in his cat and mouse game with Pyroar who showed off her own skills by evading often and with a Fire Fang active and snapping most of the time. It was this elegant dance between the Pokémon, punctuated by Helioptile's attacks, all to the music, that really sold the performance.
All of this was until a Scald forced Misty to dodge, the way the moves were being done were meant to show Dragalge learning as Misty avoided Scald but blocked Dragon Pulse with the saber. That was the opening Dragalge needed as he slashed a Poison Tail to back up Pyroar.
Then, as soon as Pyroar was backed up, he let loose with a move not used yet and his newest that he'd been taught especially for this performance, Twister. The dragon type move slammed into Pyroar sending her flying back and she faked being more hurt as Misty showed this with her acting and dancing, evading another Scald while Helioptile blasted a Thunderbolt and Pyroar began to glow bright red where she lay.
This was her finale and Misty shouted out the Overheat order to let loose the maximum power fire type move at Dragalge that hit him though he was resistant to it. The move was of course for dramatic effect and show, a last blast of maximum power to bring the performance to a crescendo.
Dragalge let out a theatrical wail as he was engulfed by the Overheat and danced as if badly hurt as Pyroar fell to the side and lay still. Misty showed this through her own actions as she rushed forward and used one last order to have Helioptile leap off her shoulder and use Parabolic Charge to take down Dragalge as she fell to her knees over Pyroar's prone form.
Again, Dragalge sold the hit as he theatrically wailed and crashed to the side to lay still on the ground as the fire and electricity died down and Helioptile came over to lay his head on Pyroar's side as Misty fell over her downed Pokémon, her saber clattering to ground as she theatrically wailed at the cost of victory. That was of course the moment the song ended, and the lights went down.
It took a moment for everyone, including a rather stunned Jillian, to realize that it was over before they burst out in cheers. It was a proper performance that Misty had once again put on and something very different to her other freestyle performances. Jillian began to comment on how different and unique it was just as one would expect from Misty, but she wasn't listening to Jillian. Instead, Misty was pulling out the necessary healing berries and giving them to her Pokémon as the floor descended to end her freestyle performance.
She couldn't be prouder of her Pokémon. They'd taken hits and performed perfectly as far as she was concerned. Now it was up to the crowd to see if she'd done enough for them to give her the win.
"Well, that was different." Dawn said as Misty finished her freestyle. "Um, is she always like that with these things?"
"Pretty much." Serena said her voice low as the next performer was introduced with a Frogadier, a Braixen, and a Quilladin. "Her first freestyle was a little stiff and more like a double Contest appeal with her in the center, so she adapted to my advice to be more central to it because a freestyle is about the performer and her Pokémon working together, not just showing off what her Pokémon can do. I think Misty still doesn't get the full nature of a freestyle, to win over hearts and be core to it herself, but she compensates with a mix of unpredictability and originality in how she goes about it."
"Her first winning freestyle she had Malamar use Psychic to make her fly as she danced with Banette and Spiritomb and had them fight over her while wearing white and a creepy skull mask thing." May said. "It was a sinister dance of death effectively where Misty was like a spirit with her ghost types and Malamar pulling the strings. She even had all three use moves on her during it to add to the effects of the performance. Between the visuals, the willingness to take hits herself, and, well, showing up to a freestyle with a damned Spiritomb of all Pokémon she won by a landslide."
"That ghost and dark type of hers really is something else." Dawn said shaking her head. "Seriously, it's shock value alone is half its strength."
"And most of the rest is that it's Misty of all people using it." Ash said and they all nodded at that. "Well, that and it's a naturally strong Pokémon with only one type weakness and that wasn't the case until recently."
"It set her persona for this and then she absolutely shattered it with her next Showcase." Serena said. "Where she did a traditional Kalos waltz with her Machamp, who was also her Theme Round Pokémon, while her Furfrou helped out by adding effects to it to really highlight the dance. She even had it rain and had Machamp toss her up into the air with a Seismic Toss. It was a full 180 from her first success. She was up against Jessilee who's arguably the favorite this year along with Amelia, a woman called Kayleigh and now Misty after she upset Jessilee in Anistar. Her win there was closer than before, but she still won."
"That is a stark contrast." Dawn agreed. "Going from the sinister nature of ghost and dark types to a dance of grace with one of the peak fighting types, that really must have thrown people."
"It did." May said. "Built Misty a good reputation in the process for her acts, unpredictable freestyle performances, and her range of Pokémon."
"Add in that most top tier performers use at most 3 Pokémon with a few like Shauna having a 4th just in case and Misty's ability to produce freestyles with so many is strange and new to most people." Serena said. "And then she completely changed with this one and I'm not just talking about that masculine outfit she went for."
"Still looked good on her." Dawn said. "I hate to admit it but dark blue really is her color and she's got the right body type to pull off that look well. I'm too thin and May's too stacked for it though you could probably pull it off Serena."
"Possibly." Serena said thinking on Dawn's words. "I'm about as feminine as Misty is so it would be a stark contrast as well but with the right colors I could manage it I think."
"It matched her hair, that's what sold it for me." Emily said as the third performer finished an unassuming freestyle and left the stage. "Misty always looks pretty when she dresses up though, even in that more masculine getup she just wore."
"It's a Sinnoh thing from her Contests there." Serena said. "It's why she adapted so easily to Showcases and me to Contests with the fancy dress requirement here, it plays to our femininity but for Misty to switch up to masculine with that princely knight getup, it shows more range, differentiates her and really works for the crowd."
"How so?" Ash asked as the 4th girl appeared, she was the other using the water and had her Sharpedo and a pair of Remoraids for it.
"This is the special Wallace Showcase which is only done for the Kalos region as part of the whole Wallace Cup event." Serena explained. "And, well, Misty is a rather unique name, and her look is well known, especially her blue hair and pink and black outfit. There is little doubt that after the Cup few here don't know that she is the same Misty as the queen of the Wallace Cup. She could have used that to her advantage, used Piplup and played to her position there but she did not. Instead, she's honored Kalos with her freestyle so rather than play on her Contest prestige she's decided to be respectful and that will go a long way to appealing to the crowd."
"It will?" May asked. "But she is the dominant Wallace Cup coordinator."
"True but we don't really care for that as much here, Contests are new to us after all." Serena said. "Misty showed that she embraces Kalos as Kalos embraces the Wallace Cup by dressing as a knight in a Kalos fashion. You've seen our culture for almost two years May, and a year for Ash, Emily and Adam, you've seen our style of castles or chateaus as we call them, our reverence for honor, tradition, and rank even if most of that is gone but for some local nobility here and there. Hell, our Pokémon are noted for that just think of the entries for your Aegislash, May, or Misty's Furfrou."
"Huh I did notice that and how it is a richer tradition that say in Hoenn." May admitted. "Johto was a bit like that but it's the only one of the four regions there with such a similar cultural history. Sinnoh is basically two cultures with the mountain in the middle while the northern tip is almost its own culture in and of itself. I can't say much for the other regions though."
"Unova is very modern, almost new in a lot of ways." Ash said. "While we saw how rich Alola's culture is at that fair so I kinda get it. We do see more fancy pomp and reverence for tradition and the past here in Kalos than I usually see, an older flair to things that I've only really seen in Johto."
"Precisely, I mean just look at how the Battle Chateau itself works with its rank titles and clothes you have to wear to battle there." Serena said. "Misty's style in her performance just now played into it perfectly, if not exactly the most feminine way but that's not a bad thing as it makes her stand out a bit and plays to her performance style of expect anything. Then there was the Pokémon she used."
"What about them?" Dawn asked as the fourth freestyle ended, it wasn't great and relied too much on the Sharpedo to the point that the Remoraids were all but ignored at times.
"This is the first time Misty has used exclusively Kalos native Pokémon in her freestyle performance." Serena said. "Sure, her Machamp was caught here but he's considered a Kanto origin Pokémon. All three of Misty's choices were Kalos and she used them perfectly. Pyroar is known as the Royal Pokémon, a play to nobility and the good that it should represent, while Dragalge is the scourge of the depths. It's poison is devastating, and ships sink when entering their waters, or so the stories go."
"So, mean to innocent, cute, water dwelling Pokémon even if it isn't a water type." Dawn said. "They're all good and cute."
"Even Tentacruel?" Adam asked.
"Such a beautiful Pokémon." Dawn said as the final freestyle began with a Kingdra and a Vanilluxe in a strange ice and dragon mix that ignored Kingdra's primary water type but still worked pretty well.
"Don't get her started on it." Ash whispered. "She once took being called like a Tentacruel as high compliment when I think it was meant as an insult, but Dawn knows her stuff, she's stopped a rampaging one in the past."
"Anyway." Serena said moving them along before they got bogged down by Dawn's love of water types. "Misty chose two notable Pokémon in Kalos lore. Her Furfrou may have been a good choice as well, but Helioptile worked for this as he was small enough to come off as her squire, another tribute to Kalos tradition, and she did something few do with her freestyle, she told a story. Most, like me, dance and show off which is how it is traditionally done but Misty's not traditional and she's not a Kalos native which helps sell her style more. It's a lot like how performers like me are affecting Contests, coordinators like her are affecting Showcases."
"I see." Dawn said. "So, Misty's style is rather different to most."
"It's going to broaden how performers perform their freestyles I think." Serena said. "And it will be interesting to see her in the Master Class given how that is set up. Soon we will know if she advances to that today or not."
The others nodded as they sat back to watch the rest of the last freestyle, which was almost as good as Misty's in the end. Overall, it would be hard to tell but they all knew who they'd be voting for and soon the winner of the first ever Wallace Showcase would be known.
"Well, that is it." Jillian said as the platform descended to collect all the finalists and their Pokémon and bring them up after the last freestyle so that they stood in a line for all to see, still wearing their outfits to help remind the crowd of their performances. "You've seen what our lovely finalists can do so now it is time to vote. Please take out those glow sticks, select your color form the 5 that our finalists are, and cast."
Misty was standing in the line in her position of second as they stood in order of when they went and waited to see if she'd won, her hand resting on the hilt of her saber as she tried to play it nonchalant as the results came in. She knew this routine well by now and just stood there as glowsticks light up in a smorgasbord of before a sea of light balls were basically tossed at them.
The girls patiently waited as the balls came down and found their receptors, filling the keyholes now above the girls' head to show how many votes they were receiving. In the past Misty had been able to get a sense from the sea of orbs flying at her and her color was hot pink which she saw a lot of but this time she couldn't tell.
There was a surprisingly even amount of colors coming at them so she couldn't tell what was the dominant color this time around. Add in that the other colors were white, navy blue, forest green, and light blue and it was a bit hard though the navy blue was clearly the least common of the orbs.
Finally, the last of the lights came in and it was time to see who'd won. Thankfully, it was all recorded by the technology that the Showcases used so they had a clear winner as it was hard to see and it would be the closest Showcase that Misty was in in terms of spread of vote as the winner had 29% of the vote compared to 26% for second, 22% for third and 17% for fourth.
"That is close but there is a winner, and it is…" Jillian said to build up suspense. "…performer Misty!"
Instantly the lights focused on Misty, and she had to blink at the sudden attention. However, that was nothing compared to what came next as Jillian finally gave into what she'd been clearly wanting to say every time that Misty had appeared in the Showcase so far.
"I do not believe it but it's clear as day." Jillian said excitedly. "Misty, the Prodigy of Sinnoh, the Top Coordinator who is trying her hand at performing this year, and who won the Wallace Cup three years running has just won the Wallace Showcase. All this just days after she presented the first Misty Ribbon to Kalos's own Serena in the first Wallace Cup without Misty in years, the ribbon being renamed in her honor by the way, and she goes and wins the first Aqua Princess Key. Not only that but this is her third Princess Key meaning she's now qualified for the Master Class. It must be fate."
Misty just smiled as the crowd cheered for her and the others clapped and nodded respectfully, the girls either side of her shaking her hand out of sportsmanship as they congratulated her on making the Master Class, promising to see her again there themselves. There was no doubt that Misty had fought hard to win it, she'd done well in the Theme Round and the final was a close one, but she'd won it fair and square.
"And now to present the Aqua Princess Key, give it up for Wallace himself." Jillian said gesturing to where Wallace was, and he rose to pick up the case and approached with Milotic slithering next to him. "I guess this kind of thing still has to happen even if it's not in the actual Wallace Cup."
Misty just ignored Jillian as she stepped forward with her Pokémon and the other girls left the stage to allow for the presentation. It took a moment for Wallace to reach her, but he was smiling broadly when he did and held up the case with the elaborate Aqua Princess Key in it. He then opened it for her.
"Misty, when I heard that you were performing this year I knew that fate would ensure that you competed for the first Aqua Princess Key though I know that this isn't your first attempt at that needed third Princess Key." Wallace said. "You may not have been in the Wallace Cup as you have in the past but as we discussed you are part of the Cup's lore before you graciously granted your name to adorn the new ribbon in honor of your accomplishments in it."
Wallace paused here for a moment as the crowd fully fell silent to here his next words. This was after all the first presentation of the Aqua Princess Key, and the next wouldn't be for 8 years at least given how many regions were now vying to host the Wallace Cup, so all wanted to hear what was being said. Add in that it was being presented to Misty, the most accomplished Wallace Cup coordinator and it only added to the importance of the moment.
"Now you can add the Aqua Princess Key to your three Aqua Ribbons." Wallace continued when he was ready. "I can think of no less fitting a person than the last Aqua Ribbon winner to win the first Aqua Princess Key. You are an excellent ambassador of coordinators to Showcases just as the latest Wallace Cup winner Serena is of performers to Contests. Congratulations and good luck in the Master Class, show Kalos what a coordinator can do."
"Thank you Wallace, it means a lot to me to still be able to compete in something that bears your name and prestige and to help continue to bridge the worlds of Contests and Showcases so that many more can find their paths in life." Misty said smiling at one of the most respected men in not just the Contest world but the world of Pokémon in general. "And it is an honor to win this key, I promise that I will make all coordinators proud in the Master Class."
With that Misty reached out and picked up the Aqua Princess Key. It felt heavier than the other two she had but she'd cherish it just as much as she raised it in one hand above her head and the crowd cheered for her. She'd done it, she'd won the Wallace Showcase just as she'd won the Wallace Cup and like her first Wallace Cup it was a bounce back after a setback she'd suffered that year. She'd treasure this key and all that it meant as she lowered her hand and cradled it, smiling as her Pokémon mobbed her to celebrate with her.
Tonight, they'd all celebrate, and Misty would add the key to her special keyring to see all 3 in one place. Next up was the Master Class, after Ash qualified for the Lumiose Conference with his impeding battle with Wulfric of course. That was next but for now it was Misty's moment just like Serena had had hers a few days' ago and she'd celebrate it to the fullest because she'd won the Wallace Cup and was going to the Master Class.
Things were looking great for all of them as their Kalos journey entered it's final phase. Nothing could stop them now as they celebrated another win and looked forward to what the future would hold in Snowbelle and beyond.
