Chapter 12 - Fake Nachos Part 1
After Cyan had returned to the Pokémon Center, both Yurie and Phoenix had already fallen asleep. He wanted to share his experience in the sunflower field, but he decided it would be better at a different time.
A couple of days passed since the incident at Yurie's grandmother's house. She had not spoken a word about her family since, and Cyan and Phoenix were too nervous to bring it up. Cyan believed that he couldn't offer any real advice, and Phoenix simply didn't want to make her angry again.
The three spent their time training together. Yurie practiced for the contest with her Pokémon, and she tried to encourage Piplup to try some of his moves to make some sort of appeal. He didn't seem interested.
Phoenix's Pokémon sparred with Cyan's Venusaur, Urshifu, and Vulpix. The Pokémon were all around the same level, meaning Phoenix didn't have to hold anything back.
Cyan focused on Chimchar and Shieldon. Chimchar had a fighting spirit and clearly wanted to improve, but Shieldon was too relaxed and slightly dimwitted. After taking one of Chimchar's strikes, it often took a few seconds to register, and had Cyan not explained that they were training, Shieldon probably wouldn't have attacked back.
During his off time, Cyan returned to the sunflower field in search of the sound. But, he found nothing.
And before they knew it, the day of the contest had come. The contest was being held outside, making for a slightly different environment than usual. Instead of a lobby, Yurie had to register in a tent.
"Please take him," Yurie said as she held up Piplup. "I feel bad, but I think it'd be best if he watched the contest from the stands. Maybe he'll be into it then. But for now, I can't just leave him in the back."
Phoenix took the Pokémon and held him close to his chest. Piplup didn't bother to escape. He already knew that Phoenix was going to hold onto him tightly.
Yurie looked at Piplup and then stood still momentarily. Her mind seemed to wander, but before either of the boys could say anything, she took in a deep breath and smiled. "It's time to win my first ribbon in Sinnoh! Wish me luck!"
"Real winners don't need luck," Phoenix replied.
"We'll be cheering for you!" Cyan added.
"Vul-pix!"
"Welcome one and all to the Floaroma Town Autumn Contest!" the announcer yelled into the microphone. She was a teenager, and she wore a floral-print dress. "It's starting to cool down in Sinnoh, but that won't stop us from having one hot contest! My name is Shiho, and I'll be your MC for the evening! Are you ready to have a good time?"
The crowd consisted of mostly retired locals, which meant that the response to Shiho's question was timid applause. In contrast, Cyan and Phoenix wanted to cheer and shout, but they didn't want to stand out any more than they already did.
"We're gonna start this contest off with our appeal round! The top four trainers that make it through will go on to have battles in a small tournament! The overall winner of the battle round will take home this!" Shiho exclaimed while holding up a bronze ribbon with yellow lace.
The crowd timidly clapped once more.
"Let's start!"
Yurie watched the appeals in the back. She could hear the commands without the television speakers, and she took mental notes on all of the trainers. She didn't recognize anyone, which gave her a sense of relief, but she also knew that there could be a wild card among them.
And then, it was her turn.
"Welcome to the stage, Little Miss Kawahara!"
The crowd cheered and clapped louder for Yurie's entrance than they did for anything that Shiho had said. Yurie ran onto the small stage and tossed her Poké Ball forward. Minun exploded from the ball and did a few frontflips in the air before she landed. She struck a pose as sparks emitted from her small paws.
Yurie pointed her finger outward. "Electro Ball!"
"Mi-nun-nun!" the Pokémon called back. She leaped into the air and spun her body around. A ball of electricity formed at the tip of her tail. With one quick flip, she threw it upward. She landed back on the stage and did a pose.
Yurie observed the ball and shook her head playfully. "No, no, no. Minun, that won't do. This crowd wants to see something big! Use Thunder!"
"Mi-nun!" the Pokémon screeched as she unleashed powerful sparks from her body. The sky overhead rumbled before a bolt of lightning struck, connecting directly with Electro Ball. Everyone covered their eyes momentarily, but when they gained the confidence to reopen them, their jaws dropped. The ball had now almost become ten times its original size.
Piplup couldn't look away. He slightly leaned forward, and Phoenix was too distracted by the appeal to pull him back.
"We're gonna play with thunder now!" Yurie exclaimed. "Play Rough!"
Minun stuck out her paws to her side. They started to glow with a soft pink energy. She then leaped into the air and punched the ball of electricity once. With her strike, the ball released some sparks, appearing to take the form of electric fireworks. She repeated the process, battering the ball as much as she could. With every strike, more fireworks filled the air, and the crowd's attention never wavered.
Yurie observed the crowd and grinned. "Let's wrap this one up! Use Sweet Kiss!"
Minun separated herself from the orb. She did a backflip in the air and then put her paws to her mouth. She thrust her paws outward, and pink energy emitted from her mouth. The energy took the shape of human lips, and it connected with the orb. Suddenly, it exploded, causing one last outburst. Minun landed on the stage in front of Yurie, and the two struck a final pose in the light of electric fireworks.
The crowd was no longer silent or polite. They clapped and cheered for Yurie's appeal loud enough for anyone in Floaroma to hear.
"That was amazing!" Phoenix exclaimed.
"That's how a pro does it!" Cyan added.
"Piplup!" the Pokémon stated enthusiastically.
Yurie made her way to the back. None of the other contestants acknowledged her. A lot of them were focused on their upcoming appeals, but the ones that weren't were intimidated by her. She was the one to beat, and the reaction that her appeal received proved that.
And, one by one, everyone else made their appeal. Roughly thirty people were competing, and only four were going to make it to the battle rounds.
Usually, when a contest host would announce who was moving on to the next round, it was accompanied by a large screen that showcased the trainers. Before they were revealed, they were hidden by silhouettes. However, there were no big screens for the Floaroma Town contest. Instead, the judges wrote down who would move on, and Shiho was tasked with making the announcement. The crowd had to simply remember the names of the competitors. The four who moved on were the best, so it was more than likely that they'd get a reaction.
"Moving onto the battle round are these four competitors! Koma Yoshida from Floaroma Town!" Shiho announced, getting a reaction from the hometown crowd. "Michael Stevens from Unova! Emma Gyotoku from Eterna City!"
The crowd quietly clapped.
"And, Yurie Kawahara from Hoenn!"
The crowd erupted into cheers.
"It's definitely not hard to see who the crowd favorite is," Cyan muttered.
"Our first battle will be Michael taking on Emma! And, the second battle will be the hometown boy, Koma, versus Little Miss Kawahara! Are you ready?"
Half of the crowd cheered while the other half clapped.
"We will take a fifteen-minute intermission! Please get some food and drinks from the concession stands!"
While Cyan and Piplup went to get some food for the three, Phoenix went to the bathroom. He had expected there to be a long line at the portable toilet, but most of the elderly crowd decided that they'd go whenever they wanted to, not when they were told to by Shiho.
At this particular contest, there were food stalls. The choices varied from chocolate bananas to beer. However, Cyan's face lit up when he found a particular stall. On the long blue sign above the stall read nachos in big letters.
"Nix is from Unova. He's gotta love this kind of stuff, right?" Cyan asked Piplup.
Piplup looked up at him, unsure of what the boy was talking about.
"These are not nachos! These are Dortis with salsa on them! These, these are fake nachos!" Phoenix exclaimed at the sight of the food. He held one of the cool ranch chips between his fingers and looked at it with disgust. He took one bite and recoiled. But then, he eyed the chip cautiously. "Actually, these ain't bad."
"So, nachos?"
"No! Fake nachos! But, not bad fake nachos."
"Pip-lup?"
The first battle of the second round was over quickly. Emma Gyotoku was an experienced Pokémon Coordinator while Michael Stevens was still getting the hang of contests. She defeated him by having more points at the end of their time limit. Next was Yurie.
"And now, time for the second battle of our semi-final round! Everyone give a warm welcome to Little Miss Kawahara!"
Yurie ran onto the small stage, Torchic at her side. The crowd erupted as loud as their age would allow them to.
"And now welcome to the stage our hometown boy, Koma!" Shiho announced.
The crowd responded with the same amount of enthusiasm. Yurie couldn't help but imagine how big the reaction would have been had their battle been the final battle.
Koma was a young trainer in his first year. He had already done two contests but came up short in both of them. He had dark tanned skin and spiky black hair. He wore blue cargo shorts and a yellow shirt. He was excited to perform in his hometown, which showed by his ear-to-ear toothy smile.
"Psyduck, now's our chance! If we can knock down Ms. Kawahara, then we'll win!" Koma said while he tossed his Poké Ball forward. A plump avian Pokémon materialized from the Poké Ball and quacked at Torchic.
"Battle, begin!" Shiho yelled into the microphone.
"Water Pulse!" Koma commanded.
Psyduck lifted his tiny arms and formed a ball of water in his hands. He quickly thrust the ball into the ground, and it exploded forward. Rings of aquatic energy blasted straight for Torchic.
"Aerial Ace! Be as precise as you can be!" Yurie instructed.
White energy exploded off of Torchic's beak. He let the aerial energy carry him, and he swiftly flew through the aquatic rings, easily avoiding their strike. He continued forward, ramming directly into Psyduck's large bill. Torchic did a backflip once he connected, creating distance for his next attack.
"Wil-O-Wisp!" Yurie ordered while putting her fingers into the air.
Torchic spun in a circle on the tip of one of his talons. Blue fire emitted around his body, and once Torchic locked onto Psyduck, he unleashed the attack. The embers wafted out, washing over Psyduck. The Water-type appeared confused, but then a red haze came over his body. He knew he was in trouble.
"Show them your fighting spirit! Body Slam!" Koma ordered.
"So, cool!" one of the audience members cheered.
"Go, Psyduck!" another one called.
Cyan leaned into Phoenix. "Should we cheer or do you think there will be a mob on us?"
Phoenix looked around at the elderly crowd. "I think we could walk away safely."
Psyduck ran as quickly as his chubby body allowed him to. He heaved and slammed his stomach into Torchic's beak, sending him backward. However, Torchic quickly recovered and waited for Yurie's command.
Before she could say anything though, Koma yelled, "Confusion!"
Psyduck stuck out his arms and pointed his fingers at Torchic. His eyes began to glow blue, but his concentration was quickly interrupted. The red glow around his body intensified, and a burning sensation forced him to wince with pain.
"Time to make a splash! Use Rock Slide!" Yurie ordered.
Torchic chirped, and roughly a dozen rocks exploded from the stage. Torchic's eyes glowed with yellow energy as he forced the rocks to slide down to the other side of the battlefield. However, instead of violently pelting into Psyduck, they surrounded him.
"Before they can do anything else, use Disable!"
Psyduck glared at Torchic. His eyes turned blue once more. But this time, the kinetic energy was not as focused. The same blue energy in Psyduck's eyes surrounded Torchic's body, and the rocks suddenly stopped.
However, neither Torchic nor Yurie appeared bothered. They had already accomplished what they wanted to do.
"Flamethrower! Bring some fire to Floaroma Town!" Yurie ordered.
"Tor-chic!" the Fire-type cried out as flames bellowed from his mouth. The fire raced down the field, connecting with the rocks. What followed was an upward explosion, taking the appearance of a miniature volcano. Psyduck was engulfed by smoke, flame, and stone.
"Don't panic, Psyduck!" Koma shouted. "Use Confusion!"
As the effects of the explosion slowly faded away, Psyduck managed to focus. He unleashed violent kinetic energy from the entirety of his body, blasting away the rocks.
"Now, Body Slam!"
"Wait for it," Yurie muttered.
Psyduck quacked, and carried by adrenaline bounced into the air. This version of his Body Slam was set to be much more devastating. He extended his arms and small feet, intending to put his whole body weight on Torchic.
"Aerial Ace! Get under!"
Torchic rocketed forward, propelled by the white light. He easily avoided Psyduck, who landed on his face with an embarrassing thud. Torchic then spun around and took in a deep breath.
"Flamethrower!"
Torchic unleashed his flames once again. He controlled them so that they wouldn't blast off of the stage, and he managed to engulf Psyduck. He kept the attack going until a buzzer sounded. The battle was over. It was clear who won.
Yurie and Koma turned to the judges. They conferred with one another before nodding toward Shiho. Shiho held the microphone to her mouth.
"Our judges have come to a decision! By way of complete point deduction, Yurie and Torchic are the winners!"
As the crowd erupted into conflicted cheers, Koma's shoulders slumped. He ran onto the small stage to greet his Psyduck. The Pokémon hadn't fainted, but he was sore from the burns. Koma quickly withdrew Psyduck, but he couldn't seem to find the energy to immediately stand up.
Yurie walked near him and offered her hand. When Koma looked up, his face was caked with tears, and snot ran down drained from his nose.
"I lost!" he exclaimed. Even though he was crying, he still managed to smile.
"You did great! Keep practicing! I'm sure you'll make everyone here proud someday!" Yurie said with a gentle smile.
Koma closed his eyes, stood up, and then stuck out his hand. "High five?" His shoulders shook violently as he cried, and Yurie was unsure of what to do. She obliged and gave the young trainer a high five. The crowd responded with another loud cheer and applause.
Yurie slowly made her way to the back tent. She had expected to find Emma alone, but she was surprised to see a crowd at the entrance of the small tent.
"So cool!" someone exclaimed.
"I can't believe it!"
"Can I get your autograph?"
Yurie was unsure if another popular coordinator was at the show. She knew very little about the other competitors. Usually, she wouldn't have looked to see who it was, but with how little the entrance and tent were, she had no option.
To her dismay, the small crowd did not encircle another competitor. Standing in the middle of the crowd, signing autographs and taking pictures, was her father, Hayato Kawahara. Upon seeing him, she immediately turned and walked into the tent. But, it was too late. He had seen her as well, and he used his large frame to get through the crowd. He slammed the tent door shut, and the crowd went quiet.
"I saw your battle! You're incredible!" Hayato exclaimed.
"Why are you here?"
"Why am I here? If a father has a chance to watch his daughter battle, he'd be a fool to not take that chance!"
Yurie was silent.
Hayato peered around the small tent. Emma sat on the other side of the tent. She was a few years older than Yurie. She eyed the two but remained quiet.
"You're Torchic is impressive. It's not very often that you see an unevolved Pokémon get so strong," Hayato said. "But, I think you'd win more if you evolved it!"
Yurie shot him a glare. "Torchic is fine the way that he is, thank you very much."
Hayato put up his arms and laughed. "Yes, yes, yes! Fiery attitude, Yurie. I like it!"
Yurie was silent. She looked to Torchic, who was unsure of what to do. She knew that the man bothered her, but he looked eerily similar to her, so he didn't feel comfortable pecking him away.
"I shouldn't be surprised, Yurie. After all, you are a Kawahara!" he exclaimed with a wide smile. After Yurie didn't reply for a few seconds, he looked unsure of himself. He closed his left eye and peered at his daughter through the right.
"How dare you," Yurie muttered. "How dare you think you can come back into my life. How dare you leave us in the first place."
"I-"
"You left us to chase a dream as an Elite Four member, and for the longest time, you were successful, but why didn't you come back when it was over? You haven't been on the Elite Four for years! Why didn't you even try to come back once? Not even a phone call!"
"Listen, Yu-"
"And how dare you claim that the reason why I'm successful is because I'm your daughter. I am successful in spite of who my father is. They don't know this, but the nickname Little Miss Kawahara stings. Sometimes, I hate that I wear your name."
Hayato lowered his arms. "I'm really proud of that nickname. I think it fits you."
"You should not have come here. You're not welcome backstage, and as far as I'm concerned, you're not welcome around me," Yurie exclaimed. "Goodbye, father."
"They recognized me, so that's why I was able to get back here," Hayato said, trying not to smile. Yurie simply replied with a glare.
"If you're not leaving, then I will. Torchic, let's go," Yurie said. She waved for her Pokémon to follow. Torchic eyed Emma and then Hayato. He glared at the man and then followed his trainer out of the tent.
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Decided to keep the contest in two parts. I've been so busy this past week, and I didn't get to write as much as I wanted to. However, all of my free time has happily been spent writing. I really love this outlet.
Next chapter, Yurie takes on Emma. But, is she in the right mindset to win?
REVIEWS:
pokemonking0924 - "We finally meet Yurie's father and I got to admit I excepted more yelling from Yurie but she handled things very maturely
Although she's bottling up what she's really feeling and hasn't told her current traveling buddies her family history involving that man, but I know the truth will be revealed when she's ready. As for her father he seems like a nice guy but we just meet the man and we still need to hear his side of the story, plus it was funny how he confused Cyan and Phoenix for Logan, not to mention his overprotective father moment despite it feeling too late given own his youngest feels about him." - We will learn more about that dynamic as this story goes on. Hayato is not welcome in Yurie's life, but that doesn't mean that he's leaving.