I'll be honest, while I remember there being another showcase in a city that Ash has a Gym Battle in, I can't remember if it was Laverre or Anistar. So, I'm taking a gamble and putting the showcase in Laverre. If I'm wrong, then I'm sorry, but I won't be able to change it. Also, I'm bringing in a really uncommon ship that deserves more attention in this chapter. Hopefully this doesn't cause too many people to want to stop reading. Anyway, enjoy.

Chapter 53:

City of Fashion

When the pair arrive in Laverre, Max is simply blown away by what he's seeing. The best way to describe this city is a fairy garden. The buildings are surrounded by trees, with the gym looking like a house straight out of a fairytale. It's a building built inside a tree! Bonnie notices Max's awe and laughs. "It's pretty amazing, isn't it?" she asks him. Max nods in amazement. "This is the prettiest city I've ever seen!" he replies. Bonnie nods in agreement. "Come on," she tells him. "Let's have a look around. Then, I've got a badge to win." Max agrees, then the two head down yo look around the town.

Unfortunately for Max, the 1st place Bonnie wants to stop is a large clothes shop owned by the Laverre City Gym Leader, Valerie. Bonnie goes in immediately to have a look around, while Max, who suffers with many bad memories of May spending hours dragging him around shops, elects to wait outside. While he does, he pulls out his notebook and takes a few notes on some of the pokémon he sees around the city. Most of them are fairy types, he notes. As he waits, he notices someone else standing outside the shop. He's a tall boy of about 14, with slightly tanned skin, mean looking eyes, a well toned body, and long purple hair which he has tied into a ponytail. He wears an open purple jacket, and a grey shirt, with black trousers and black and grey shoes.

The two standing there for a while, waiting outside the shop. Eventually the two decide to start speaking. Or rather, Max does. "So," he starts, somewhat awkwardly, "who are you waiting for?" The boy shrugs. "Travelling companion," he replies curtly. "She shops like it's a professional sport." Max can tell the boy is from Sinnoh, and can hear the frustration in his voice. But, he also thinks he hears a hint of admiration in there too. Max nods. "I'm waiting for my friend," he explains. "She's not as bad as that, but still spends way too long in there! Seriously, how does it take so long to pick out clothes!?" The boy chuckles slightly at Max's words. "I wonder the same," he agrees. "I also wonder why she needs so many, since we spend a lot of time on the road." Max nods in agreement. The two boys continue to chat for a while, until Bonnie finally comes out, carrying a large shopping bag in her hands. Max begins heading over to her, but stops and extends his hand to the boy. "My name's Max, by the way" he says. Paul stares at his hand, and looks like he's going to turn his nose up at it. Instead he shakes it. "Paul" he replies. Max lets go of Paul's hand, then runs over to Bonnie.

The two arrive at the gym, only to find that it's closed. There's a sign on the door, explaining that the Gym is closed for today , since Valerie is throwing a fashion show. When Bonnie reads this, she breaks into a grin, while Max's eyes widen when he reads it. "No, no way," he says, reading her face. "Absolutely not!" "But Max, Valerie always challenges one random audience member to a battle during these shows," Bonnie replies. "If I get called and beat her, I win the badge without doing the gym!" Max thinks about this, weighing the pros and cons. "The sooner I win the badge, the sooner we leave," Bonnie reminds him. "The sooner we leave, the less likely it is that I'll drag you into a shop with me." That convinces him pretty easily. "Fine," he says. "But don't expect me to go with you to buy any of the clothes you like from the show." "Deal!" Bonnie agrees, happy to be able to watch another of Valerie's shows.

With this settled, they begin making their way over to the city centre where the show is being held. It doesn't start for another hour, but Bonnie wants to be as close to the stage as possible to increase her chance of being chosen. But as they walk down, they get distracted by the sound of a familiar voice. "Fancy seeing you two again!" Max and Bonnie turn to see Dawn and Zoey standing there, having just been walking down the street towards the show as well. Max and Bonnie run up to greet them. "Hey guys," says Max. "What brings you here?" Zoey holds up her princess key. "There's a showcase on here," she explains. "So we're here for that." "Where're Lukas and Barry?" Bonnie asks, looking around. "Oh, we decided to split up for a bit," Dawn explains. "We told them that it would be easier for Barry to earn his badges if he and Lukas didn't have to stop at every town with a contest." Zoey laughs at this. "In actual fact, we did this to get the two to work out each other's feelings." The four of them laugh at this.

They continue walking down to the city centre, catching up on the latest things that happened between Coumarine and now. When the pair told Dawn and Zoey about Team Terra's attack on them, the two girls are horrified by this. They keep walking, until they're stopped by another voice. "Hey," the voice calls, "aren't you Zoey Nozomi?" The 4 of them stop to see who's calling for Zoey. It's a girl the same age as Dawn. She has striking blue hair tied into two pigtails, with bright maroon eyes. She wears a milk white dress with a red cardigan, and yellow shoes. Bonnie recognises her immediately, and gets a bit nervous. "Who are you?" Zoey asks. "My name is Miette," the blue-haired replies. "I'm also in the showcase. I recognised you from the contests on TV. I just came over to let you know that I'm going to beat you in the showcase tomorrow." Zoey smirks at this. "Don't be so overconfident," says Zoey. "I'm used to this sort of competition." Miette grins at this. "As am I," she replies. "I tried this when I was 10, then stopped for a bit to train. Now, I'm going to win this, and defeat my rival!"

"Who's your rival?" Dawn asks. "The current Kalos Queen, Serena" Miette replies. "In more ways than one" Bonnie mutters. She hopes that no one hears her, but unfortunately for her, Miette does. "Are you talking about Ash?" she asks. Bonnie nods, somewhat nervously. Miette laughs at this. "Oh, don't worry, I'm not into Ash anymore," she tells her. "I've moved on to another guy." Bonnie brightens at this. In truth, she'd been a bit worried for a while that Miette might try to take Ash away from Serena. She was certain Ash would never leave Serena, but no doubt something like that would stress Serena out greatly. "You have a boyfriend now?" Bonnie asks her. Miette looks somewhat disappointed at this. "Not yet," she replies. "He's just a guy I travel with for now. He's a smart guy, but when it comes to romance, he's pretty clueless." "How clueless?" Zoey asks. "He makes Ash look like Cupid by comparison" Miette deadpans. Everyone laughs at that. "Funny," Dawn comments. "I know someone like that back in Sinnoh."

But before she can say anything else, Miette's travelling companion walks over to their group. Max and Dawn gasp as they recognise him. It's Paul. "Sorry I took so long," he tells Miette, looking down at some of Miette's bags thst he's carrying. "But I found the damn necklace, so let's-" He faulters when his eyes land on Dawn. "Dawn?" he says, half questioningly, half in greeting. "Paul?" she replies, entirely with shock. "You're travelling with Paul Shinji!?" "You teo know each other?" Miette asks. "Are you two exes?" Both of them stare at her with shock. "Oh, Arceus no!" they both cry. "She's way too energetic and aloof" Paul says. "And he's way too much of a douchebag!" Dawn adds. The two explain how they actually know each other, and Dawn tells them how he treats his pokémon. Max is horrified to hear this, but before he can say anything, Paul sticks his hand up to stop her. "I'm not like that anymore," he tells her. "I've since changed. I no longer treat my pokémon so horribly." "How do I know you aren't lying?" Dawn asks. "Well he did just call that way of treating pokémon 'horrible'," Max points out. "So, I think that's a good indicator." Paul doesn't exactly smile at Max for this, but the edge of his lip curls ever so slightly. Dawn seems to accept this point and drop the topic.

Now accompanied by Paul and Miette, the group head down to the centre, where Valerie's show is being held. As they walk, Dawn comments to Paul, "Never thought I'd see the day where you'd be travelling with someone, much less a showcase contestant. How did thst happen?" Paul glares at her slightly, and Zoey elbows her in the arm. "I realise how mesn thst sounds," Dawn quickly adds. "Sorry about that." Paul glares at her for a few more seconds, before chuckling slightly. "I was only messing with you," he tells her. "I knew you meant nothing by it." Miette laughs at this, and Dawn rolls her eyes. "Wow, you really have changed!" she comments. Paul rolls his own eyes at this, then he explains why he's travelling with Miette. "I'm here to participate in the Kalos League, and i felt it would be easier to get around this region if I was with someone who lives here." "As for me," Miette chimes in, "I didn't want to travel around alone this time, especially because a lot of creeps tried to hit on me during my travels. But Paul here doesn't care how pretty I am, just that I know my way around the region." "So, we came to an agreement," Paul finishes. "She would help me find my way around Kalos, and I keep her company and keep the creeps off of her back." "And given how intense you gaze is, I'd say you're a natural at that" Zoey comments. Paul sneers at her in response.

The group makes it near the front of the crowd gathered around the makeshift stage. They continue to talk about various topics while they wait, until finally, the show begins. Dawn, Bonnie, and Miette are eager to see all of the clothes thst eill be presented, but the other 3 can't care less. Zoey is just here because her girlfriend loves Valerie's work, Max is here because he wants to see Bonnie battle Valerie, get the badge, and then they can leave without him having to sit through anymore shopping trips, and Paul is there do he can challenge Valerie himself. Max would like to check out some of the outfits, and maybe remember a few to bring back for May as a souvenir, but unfortunately for him, he ends up zoning out for most of the show. Bonnie can tell he's not paying attention, but decides not to try to snap him back into focus. She know he doesn't give a damn about fashion, so she decides to let him be. Eventually, the show ends, and Valerie herself steps onto the stage. Just like the time with Ash, Valerie tells the crowd she'll challenge one of them to a battle and give them a badge should they win. At this point, Max snaps back into focus and tries to subtly draw attention to Bonnie. Unfortunately for him however, her eyes meet Paul's intense gaze, and picks him.

Paul grins confidently, and steps up onto the stage. Valerie sends out her Spritzee, and Paul sends out an Aggron. Max resists the urge to pull out his notebook or audio logs, knowing it would annoy the crowd a bit if he does. "Valerie's got no chance," he comments. "Aggron is a steel type, and a total beast." But as it turns out, Max is almost right. While Aggron has the type and endurance advantage, Spritzee has the evasion and speed advantage. While it's attacks don't do much damage, Spritzee is able to hit Aggron quickly, and avoid all of its attacks. Had this kept going, Valerie would've won, however Paul eventually grows bored of this and taps something on his wrist. A Mega Stone. Aggron Mega Evolves, and hits Spritzee dead on with a Flash Cannon. Spritzee faints immediately from this attack, and the battle is declared over. Valerie hands Paul the badge, and congratulates him on winning. Then, she addresses the crowd. "I hope you all enjoyed this event!" she declares. "Now, I must go and help with cleaning this up. As a result, I will not be reopening my Gym until tomorrow! I hope to see many challengers tomorrow!" With that, she turns and walks off the the stage.

Max groans upon hearing this news. "Cheer up Max," Bonnie tells him. "If it makes you feel any better, even if I had beaten her we wouldn't be leaving here for a few more days anyway!" Max looks at her quizzically. "We've got to watch Zoey and Miette's showcase don't we!?" Bonie points out. Max realises she has a point, and nods his head. "Of course we do" he agrees, then he and Bonnie turn to Paul, who's being given a congratulatory hug by Miette. Dawn is laughing st this and takes a picture. "If you share that with anyone I will have Torterra crush you!" he threatens. Once Miette has let him go, the 6 of them set off together in search of a hotel. "This is going to be a long week" Max thinks to himself.

Wow, this chapter was longer than I expected it would be, and way more sexist than I'd like. It's not my fault the anime made most of the girls love shopping so much! About the whole Paul x Miette thing, I 1st came across it in a fanfic over on Wattpad called "The Secret Prince", and I thought it was an awesome ship, so I'm using it. (That fic also has Bonnie use Aura, but I swear on my life I had already started writing Bonnie with Aura powers by the time I read that!) Anyway, I thought this ship was cute, and Paul is one of my favourite characters, so I brought it into this story. Speaking of Paul, sorry that his battle with Valerie felt shortened, but I didn't feel like I needed to do much with it, since it isn't really that important. Also, I'm sorry for how messy Miette's introduction was. When I was 1st planning this chapter, I was going to have Bonnie dislike Miette, and for Miette to show that she has changed as well. But then I remembered that Miette wasn't actually a prick, and Bonnie didn't actually dislike her, so I had to completely rework the scene, which was difficult since I was a bit distracted and quite stuck, which is a lethal combination when you have ADHD (funny how I remember that but not which fucking city the Showcases happen in lol). Speaking of Showcases, I have a favour to ask. As you read in Coumarine, I'm not very good at writing them. So, I'd like a bit of help. If one of you could write two performances for me, one for Zoey and one for Miette, I would be extremely grateful. I won't be able to pay you unfortunately, since I'm a broke college student, but I will give full credit for your work. If you want to take me up on this, lmk in the comments or dm me personally. You have until Thursday the 15th of Feb to reply. No worries if no one wants to, I'll just write them myself, but they will be fucking terrible. Anyway with that long ramble over, I'll see you all on Friday with the next chapter.