So, because no one took the offer (which is completely understandable) I have to write 2 performances by myself. A warning, this will probably end up being shite, since I am wholly inexperienced with writing this sort of thing. Also, on the chance that this is coming out on Saturday instead of Friday, I'd like to apologise for that. Anyway, with all of that said, enjoy.
Chapter 57:
Night of Performances
After Bonnie's victory, she and Max leave Paul and Dawn to go and celebrate her victory. While they go out for lunch together, the other two head back to the hotel to help out Miette and Zoey respectively. As they head back to the hotel, Dawn can't help but joke, "Wow, I never thought I'd see the day where you willingly helped someone!" Paul responds to that by saying, "I'll help you unlearn how to walk if you're not careful!" Max and Bonnie end up spending much of the day together, desperately trying to ignore how awkward they're feeling. Eventually, they decide to head back to the hotel and see if they can find some of the others.
Upon arriving back, they find that Zoey and Miette aren't the only performers preparing for the showcase. They have to squeeze past many different women and girls who are getting their and their pokémon's outfits ready for the showcase tomorrow. Eventually, they manage to find Miette and Paul. Miette is wearing a bright blue dress with dark blue frills and pink ribbons. Her pokémon, a Slurpuff, is wearing a tutu the same colour. She's showing Paul how her outfit looks. Much to their amusement, they can see him staring at her, once again feeling his cheeks, as though he's puzzling over why they're warm. He turns away from Miette, and spots Bonnie and Max approaching them. A look of relief seems to pass over his face when he sees them and beckons them over.
When they show up, the first thing Miette says is, "Hey guys, what do you think of the dress?" She does a twirl, and is probably going to do more, but Paul does a loud fake cough and indicates to Bonnie, before miming a badge on his jacket. Miette's eyes widen. "Oh right, how rude of me!" she says. "Congrats on winning your badge Bonnie!" Bonnie blushes and thanks her. "It wasn't just me," she says. "I couldn't have done it without Max!" Max goes quite red at the compliment and turns his head away so that Bonnie couldn't see. "So, uh, where're Dawn and Zoey?" he asks, trying to change the subject. Miette shrugs. "Somewhere around Laverre," she replies. "They left the gym about 10 minutes before you arrived, so Zoey could practice her routine in peace." "What about you?" Max asks. "Aren't you going to practice your routine?" Miette shakes her head. "I've already done loads of practice today, and I'll be doing more later. This is my break, so I'm seeing what Paul thinks of the outfit I'll be wearing tomorrow." "It looks fine," he says, trying to sound nonchalant. "But I am the wrong person to ask about this, since I couldn't care less about clothes." Max agrees wholeheartedly with this, then he, Bonnie, and Paul go sit down at a table while Miette runs off to change clothes.
The group spends much of the evening discussing what they're going to be doing tomorrow. Bonnie has already promised Zoey and Miette that she and Max will be in the audience of the showcase, which Max has mixed feelings about. On the one hand, it'll be cool to see Zoey perform again, and to see Miette perform for the first time. But on the other, it'll mean an increased chance of being lugged around several shops by Bonnie. Judging by Paul's expression, Max can tell that he knows how Max feels. Luckily for the both of them, Bonnie and Miette see their expressions and promise not to take them along should they decide to go shopping at any point before they leave. This fills the two boys with immense relief. "I heard from Dawn that Zoey doesn't like shopping either," Miette tells them. "So you three can do something together while we go shopping." Both Max and Paul agree to this plan very quickly.
The next day, the reception of the hotel is even more full of performers than before. Everyone is getting ready for this performance. According to Miette and Zoey, some of the people performing here have yet to earn a Princess Key, so this competition will be even more stiff than before. In fact, it's not just the reception that's full of performers. When Max gets a bit overwhelmed by all of the performers, he steps outside to get some air, and sees that several greener areas, including the spot he and Bonnie trained the Magneton, are full of performers trying to perfect their routine. The sight strongly reminds him of his time travelling with Ash, May and brock, and seeing all of those coordinators getting ready for the next contest. As much as he believes that either Zoey or Miette will win, he has to admit that they're up against some stiff competition this time round.
Soon enough, it's time for the Performers to make their way to the Performance Hall. Zory and Miette say goodbye to the others, with Zoey receiving a good luck kiss from Dawn, then the two of them head off to the Hall. Miette tries to get something from Paul, but he just nods to her and wishes her luck. Slightly disappointed, but not surprised, she smiles back at him, then leaves the hotel after the rest of the performers. After waiting around for maybe half an hour, Max, Bonnie, Dawn and Paul leave the hotel as well and head to the Hall. The hall is huge, possibly bigger than the one in Coumarine. It's covered with flowers and vines, and is wildly decorated like a fairy house, almost exactly like the Gym. Max and Bonnie are blown away by how cool the building looks, but Dawn and Paul look nonplussed. "Some of the buildings Miette has performed in looked grander" Paul states. "Same with Zoey," Dawn adds. "But this still looks really cool!"
They head inside and make their way to the stands, which are already beginning to fill with spectators, both from Laverre and outside of it. They could see a few cameras around the place, meaning this will be recorded for TV. While they wait for the showcase to start, Max pulls out his Rotom Phone and starts playing with it. Bonnie rolls her eyes and snatches it away. "The show is about to start," she scalds. "Pay attention." "Yes mum" he says sarcastically, before taking his phone back and putting it into his pocket. When he does, the lights dim, and the stage is brightly illuminated by floodlights. Soon, the announcer steps onto the stage, and begins this contest. "Welcome showcase lovers to this round of the Pokémon Showcase!" he announces, Pierre is his name if Max recalls correctly. "We have another amazing show in store for today!" The crowd cheers loudly as Pierre continues, before having the performers come onto the stage to show themselves. Then, they're split into smaller groups for the themed round.
Luckily for their group, both Zoey and Miette are put into different groups, meaning they'll both be in the main performance. Even better, they both win in their groups and are amongst the people who make it to the performance round. Some of the other performances are decent enough, Max has to admit, but he's still bored slightly. He's reminded strongly of the contests he's had to sit through while May performs. Thankfully, soon enough the people he came to see start coming on.
The first to perform is Zoey. She's wearing a bright orange sparkly tuxedo, with a white undershirt and a red tie, the same colour of her hair. Out of the corner of his eye, Max can see Dawn is smitten as usual. Standing beside her are her Leafeon and Glameow. Zoey claps her hands and her performance begins. Leafeon starts up a leaf storm with its razor leaf ability, and seemingly lifts Zoey up into the air with it. However, Max can see the vine whip that's actually doing it. While Zoey floats, Glameow slices as many leaves as it can, making small explosions of glitter appear out of them. Once the leaves are gone, Leafeon sprouts a few more vines, and Glameow uses its claws to scramble its way up to where Zoey is still floating. Glameow reaches Zoey and curls around her neck, then Leafeon lets go of Zoey, using the razor leaf storm to slow her descent as she twirls in the air. She lands on her feet gracefully, gets down on one knee and does jazz hands, signifying that she's done.
The crowd goes wild for her performance. She bows, then walks off the stage. A few seconds later, it's Miette's turn, who walks on stage with her Slurpuff and a navy blue cat pokémon that Max has never seen before. He quickly scans it with his pokédex, and sees that it's a female Meowstic. The Meowstic is dressed similarly to Miette and the Slurpuff, but with pink ribbons in her hair. Once the three of them reach the middle of the stage, Miette shouts her first command. Meowstic uses Psychic to lift both Miette and Slurpuff into the air. Once they are, Slurpuff uses Fairy Wind to cover the stage with bright pink dust. Meowstic then picks up a few items with Psychic and hops her way up to Miette. Once she jumps onto her head, she sets the items down gently, and doing her own separate dance on Miette's head while Miette does her own and Slurpuff continues to pump Fairy Wind into the air. Miette then pulls out a small stick, and waves it around. Slurpuff controls the Fairy Wind, making it look as though the move is gathering up around the stick. She then sets it in the air and the wind bursts out and disappears across the hall. The crowd stares around as Miette and Slurpuff are lowered to the ground by Meowstic.
The crowd cheers very loudly for Miette as she too walks off the stage. After her are a couple more performers, but Max has no interest in them. Eventually, the last of the performers leaves the stage, and Pierre comes back on. "What a delightful Showcase we had today!" he announces to the crowd. "But, there can only be one winner! So, let's bring put the performers again and have you all cast your votes. As Miette and Zoey come out onto the stage with the other performers, everyone in the audience, both in person and online, begin casting their votes. Bonnie and Max had decided before the showcase began that one will vote for Zoey and the other for Miette, just to keep things fair for their friends. Bonnie decides to vote for Zoey, so Max chooses Miette. The votes are all cast and are counted up. It's a close one between Zoey and Miette, but in the end, Miette comes out on top. Paul cheers loudly as the performers head back off the stage. Upon receiving a smug look from Dawn, he quickly says, "Hey, I've been travelling with her for months, of course I'm going yo be cheering for her when she wins!" Dawn can't argue with that, so she doesn't say anything, and instead leads the way out of the stands to the entrance, where they wait for the Performers to come out.
Yeah, that ending was a bit abrupt, but I had no idea what else to do with this. Besides, I've got very little plans for the next chapter, so I need as much as I can get. Also, sorry for this being one day late, but I was too tired to do much writing yesterday. However, I'm going to try to update this tomorrow in order to keep this schedule. But like I said, I don't have much of a plan for it, so it may end up being terrible. But, I'll see you in the next chapter regardless.
