Chapter Eleven: Subtlety, or the Lack Thereof
The next morning, Serena and Dawn set out early to get registered for the Exposition, and then they headed for the docks to see the field.
"Of course the first Exposition I enter has to be one with an extra challenge," Dawn said as they walked.
"Are you going to compete in all the others as well?" Serena asked.
Dawn shook her head. "Not all of them. I'm definitely going to do Vermilion City, since most other Coordinators I know are going there, and then maybe a few others, enough to get me into the Grand Expo. I'm really just doing this as something of an off-season from Coordinating, and to see places I haven't seen yet," she said.
"You were always a Coordinator, then?" Serena asked.
"Yep," Dawn said with a grin. "I've wanted to be one ever since I was little. My mother was a really good Coordinator, and I wanted to follow in her footsteps. What about you?"
Serena smiled uneasily. "Well, my mother wanted me to be Rhyhorn racer, like she was, but I never really liked it that much," she said.
Dawn's eyes lit up. "Why not? It sounds awesome!" she said.
"Yeah, not if your mom makes you do it every single day," Serena said. "Honestly, I…never really cared about going out on a journey. I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life at all."
"So…what made you change your mind?"
"I…" Serena hesitated, feeling a bit embarrassed to tell the real reason, but in the end she decided to just go for it. "I saw Ash on TV and I recognized him from when we were younger," she said. "I knew he was in Lumiose City, so I decided to go there to get my first Pokémon and, well, here we are."
Dawn laughed. "That's a good a reason to travel as any, isn't it? But then what made you do Showcases?"
"Well…I like sewing, baking, dancing…and then I learned there was a Performer called Aria, the Kalos Queen, and I really wanted to defeat her. And, of course, my Pokémon like performing as well. That's why Pancham and Sylveon came with me," Serena said. "And after I lost the finals of the Master Class against Aria, someone told me that the Expositions here would probably a be a good place to get more experience, so I came here with Ash, and then he decided to take his Indigo League challenge again, so we kept traveling together."
The expression on Dawn's face suddenly became a bit too knowing for Serena's comfort. "Oh, so he decided to travel Kanto again after you said you were going to, huh? Isn't that interesting," she said with a grin.
"W-what are you talking about?" Serena asked, though she knew exactly what Dawn was implying, and hoping that she was right.
"Oh, come on," Dawn said with a suggestive look. "You know what I'm saying."
"No! It's not– we're not– I mean– Aren't you just trying to distract me for the Exposition?" Serena said, feeling herself get redder with each word she said.
"What? No! No no no no!" Dawn said, waving her arms and looking suddenly panicked. "I'd never do that! I want you to be at your best at the Exposition, okay? I want us both to go all out; just forget I said anything, implied anything, whatever, no need to worry!"
Despite her discomfort, Serena laughed. "Alright, I believe you," she said. "And don't worry, I always give it my all on stage," she added.
Dawn saw the change in Serena's expression and gave a bloodthirsty grin in response, that reminded Serena a lot of how Ash looked before a good battle. "That's what I like to hear."
Serena and Dawn weren't the only two Artisans to go and check out the docks. Many participants were gathering there to see what they had to work with. The temporary arena had been constructed between two docking piers and was accessible from both ends. It wasn't much more than a giant, white circus-tent-like structure from the outside, but on the inside a fairly good job was done to get waiting rooms and dressing rooms set up.
The battlefield itself actually used the sea for the water part of the field. A glass case closed it off from the rest of the sea, but the bottom was open. The other half of the field consisted of thick wooden boards affixed to the framing of the structure itself.
"Well, Stone Edge is probably out," Serena said, "unless I want to break down the entire arena."
"Yeah, it does look a bit shaky," Dawn agreed, "but that will just make it more challenging. What do you think, Piplup?" she asked.
Piplup, like Pikachu, clearly didn't like being in his Poké Ball, because Dawn had been carrying him all day.
Piplup said something with a cocky expression and Dawn laughed. "Good to hear you're confident, at least."
Serena looked at the field and the lighting. The tent was open at the top and the water shimmered in the sunlight, but the Location Rounds would be held in the morning, which might affect the lighting in the tent itself. She'd have to take that into account for her own performance, and come up with something that would work with any amount of ambient light. Something like what she did in Pewter City, which relied on the stadium being dark other than the light that came from her Pokémon's moves, wouldn't work on a sunny day here.
Still, the water part of the field gave its own unique options. Even though none of her Pokémon were Water-types, no one ever said they had to be the ones going into the water, but how could she use it best?
There was also the question of who to use in the Location Round. Braixen probably wouldn't be the best choice given Cerulean City's general aesthetic and focus, but not using her would mean she'd also be ineligible for the Showoff Round, which would make those matches more difficult. Surely, there would be a way to involve all her Pokémon in the performance somehow…
Serena frowned. What could she do that really symbolized Cerulean City? In Pewter City, she'd been lucky enough to see a spectacular sunset she was able to turn into a performance, but the odds of something that convenient happening twice in a row were pretty slim.
She stared at the water half of the field, trying to will an idea into her head that would allow her to pass the Location Round. While it would be nice to be in first place again after it, for the time being she'd settle for making it through at all.
Her Pokémon wouldn't like to go into the water, she was sure of that. Sylveon might be able to walk on it with her Fairy Wind, but that was about it, and on its own it wouldn't nearly be enough to win over the crowd. This was going to be very difficult, and to think she'd even been confident enough to boast to Misty she'd give a great performance.
"I'm not losing to her," she said out loud.
"To who? Me?" Dawn asked.
Serena shook her head and gave her an embarrassed smile. "No, just talking to myself," she said.
"Good, because I'm taking the gold," Dawn said with a grin. "I can already hear it calling my name."
Serena's eyes widened. Of course! That was how she could get through!
"Thanks, Dawn," she said with a smile, "I've got to run now; I have an appeal to practice!"
And without giving Dawn a moment to respond, Serena ran off to get started.
It was fun to work on the performance over the next few days, especially since Serena and Ash usually had dinner together with Dawn in the Pokémon Center, who was hard at work on her own appeal, and Ash and Pikachu were just caught in the middle of the competitive spirit. Not that Ash minded, of course, as he himself was training hard for his upcoming match with Misty whenever he wasn't helping Serena get ready for her Showoff Rounds.
The Location Round's appeal had to be a surprise even to him, so Serena practiced that with only her Pokémon. Braixen initially hadn't been convinced of the piece, feeling that it wasn't exactly subtle, but she admitted that it would probably be good enough to get them through to the Showoff Round.
Though the Pokémon would be able to get away with nearly the same clothes as last time, just with a few alterations to the trim to make them seem different, Serena had something very different in mind for herself, and finding it turned out to be quite difficult. After some searching and some DIY, however, she'd managed to create exactly the kind of thing she needed.
Then she had to find music to go along with the performance, which was also more challenging than it had been in Pewter City. While there, she'd had quite a bit of choice, here she would be more restricted because she needed a specific kind of vocal track for it. The acoustics in the tent would make her own voice fall flat, and the water would certainly not play nice with a microphone, even aside from the possibility she might be off-key due to nerves. And of course, the performance needed to match the track and the correct beats, and so many exact requirements made it incredibly difficult to find something and then adjust the moves they'd already practiced to fit it. In the end, she found a track that worked and fit within the three-minute limit, so it would have to do.
When Serena went to bed the night before the performance, she was more nervous than she had been for the Pewter City Exposition, but somehow also more excited. This time, she was going to do it for sure.
"Y'know, it's moments like these I really wonder why I do this," Dawn said the next morning at breakfast. She yawned widely. "I'm supposed to be on vacation, here…"
"It's a bit on the early side, yeah," Serena agreed. Of course, she'd had a completely terrible night again, and the Expositions starting so early in the morning, especially compared to Showcases, really didn't help.
"Both of you will be fine, I'm sure," Ash said. He seemed to be the most awake out of all of them, and right at that moment Serena low-key resented him for it. Who did he think he was, being all fit and happy at this forsaken hour of the day? Still, she was incredibly grateful he'd be coming along to watch and support her. She wondered if Ash would catch on to what her performance symbolized when he saw it. It wasn't particularly subtle, as Braixen had said, but Ash could be pretty dense.
After breakfast, they set off for the docks, with Serena and Dawn beginning to wake up more and more as they walked. By the time they arrived at the tent to get registered, they were both fired up and eager to get started, so they quickly made their way to the dressing room to get ready.
"Well, good luck," Dawn said, holding out her fist to Serena, who returned the gesture and said, "Yeah, you too. See you in the finals."
"You bet!"
They split up to get ready in private, and Serena called out her Pokémon to get them ready as well.
("Are you sure we shouldn't have used different colors, at least?") Braixen asked, studying herself in the mirror.
"These ones work best with this piece, both Sylveon's silver and the contrast between your red and Pancham's blue."
Braixen gave Serena a look, but said nothing. She didn't need to, either. It was a coincidence that the colors fit as well as they did, but it certainly was serendipitous.
Serena checked herself in the mirror, and was satisfied with the outfit she'd created. The base of it was a shimmering blue-green two-piece bathing suit, combined with a long, flowing 'skirt' in the same color that was patterned like a fish's scales. If all went well, it would give the appearance of a mermaid's tail in the performance, while still allowing Serena to walk normally, which she'd have to be able to do in order to make it to the water relatively unseen while her Pokémon distracted the audience.
It was too bad she couldn't use actual darkness to start, like last time, but she'd have to make do with what she had. Hopefully, the rest of the performance would be good enough to make up for any slight hiccups to get positioned.
She made her way over to the waiting area and sat down, going over the entire appeal in her head again to make sure she had everything down.
Soon, the performance order was posted. This time, Serena would be ninth, while Dawn would be fourteenth. If all went well, that would give Serena a chance to observe her before the Showoff Round, but first she had to make it there.
When it was time for her performance, she shivered as she took her place in the short tunnel leading to the field. The water part was on the opposite end, and as she'd expected the light falling in through the opening in the roof made the battlefield easily visible even with all the lights turned off. Well…no turning back now. She took a deep breath and waited for the music to begin.
When the first notes played, Sylveon danced onto the field, whipping up her Fairy Wind as she did so. She flipped and vaulted through the air in a haze of sparkles.
From just off-stage, Braixen prepared her Hidden Power, which she then shot up into the air when the Fairy Wind was at its strongest and most densely packed with glitter.
Serena began to run, staying low to the ground to remain mostly obscured in Sylveon's attack.
Braixen fired her Hidden Power at the same moment Serena began to move, and Sylveon fired a volley of Swift stars at it, striking it in midair and creating a bright, white flash just as Serena jumped into the water.
It was shockingly cold, and the salt water burned in her eyes, as it obviously would, but she forced herself to keep them open regardless. Under water, she couldn't hear the music, and she needed to be in position for Pancham to make his move, only a few seconds from now. Furthermore, she'd have to pretend like she wasn't cold at all when she surfaced again in a moment, and it was taking all of her concentration and willpower not to get out of the water immediately.
Fortunately, a familiar blue glow soon appeared underneath her, and Serena was lifted out of the water on a Stone Edge pillar, emerging in what seemed to be a bank of sparkling fog, within which flickered the after-images of Sylveon's Double Team.
The breeze was pleasantly warm, which helped Serena focus on the music and made it easier for her to put on a faraway look while looking at the dry half of the field, on which Braixen and Pancham had been dancing together.
Serena unfolded her arms from her body, and pretended to vocalize along with the music's haunting tones. The swirling mist around her Stone Edge pillar began to billow onto the land, towards Braixen and Pancham.
Braixen took a step back, wary of Serena's sudden appearance, but Pancham looked interested and took a step forward. Serena smiled, and the vocal track became a bit louder.
Pancham took another step forward, and Braixen tried to pull him back, but he shook her off. Serena spread her arms wider, and the Fairy Wind rolled further inland, now reaching the feet of Braixen and Pancham.
Pancham began to take slow steps forward, towards the water's edge, and then Braixen fired off a Flamethrower at Serena, which was blocked before it got close by Sylveon's Protect, dissipating harmlessly around her.
Serena made her smile a bit more sinister and made a circling gesture with her finger. Pancham jumped and flipped around in the air, landing with his back to Serena and facing Braixen.
On the music's cue, he fired his Dark Pulse at Braixen, who cut through it with her Scratch and then stepped forward, seemingly pleading with Pancham, but Serena pointed at Braixen, still singing her siren song, and Pancham attacked her with Arm Thrust, while Braixen defended herself with Scratch, all in flowing motions along with the music.
Braixen then dodged Pancham's attack, pushed him aside, and fired a massive Fire Blast at Serena.
Again, Sylveon's Protect kept her safe from harm, but the Stone Edge pillar shattered and Serena hid herself beneath the surface of the water, counting the beats in her head to give her Pokémon the time to wrap up, before surfacing again and climbing out of the water to take a bow with them, while the audience applauded.
Without the Fairy Wind, it was incredibly cold outside the water, but she tried as hard as she could not to shiver while Nikolaos requested the audience to cast their votes.
While the result wasn't quite as one-sided as it had been in Pewter City, there was a still a very clear majority voting for Serena to advance, and then came the moment she'd both been looking forward to and dreading: the judges. Would they consider this performance to have enough of a tie to Cerulean City, or would they veto it?
Serena stared intently at Nurse Joy's table, willing it to turn green — and it did. She breathed a sigh of relief. That lessened the chance of a veto, at least.
Then, it was Misty's turn, and here, rather than staring at the table, Serena looked at Misty herself, who looked back at her. She expected the table to turn red, for Misty to take offense at what she'd clearly been portraying in her appeal, but to her surprise only a moment went by and then it turned green, and Misty actually smiled at her.
Serena was so stunned by it that she nearly missed the fact that Nikolaos also voted green, which meant that once again, she'd made it through the Location Round. Now it was time for the real battle to begin.
Complaining about how early a tournament starts is something of a tradition in my club, so obviously I wanted to throw it into the fic as well.
On the appeal's side, it was incredibly hard to come up with something that would work well without being a complete rehash of what I did before, but I think I did alright, in the end. A bit of a stretch, maybe, but I think it was serviceable enough, as well as being clear enough in its intentions. Next time, the Showoff Round. See you then!