Hello and blessings to you all. Welcome back to another chapter. This chapter is going to be a little different than previous ones. It kind of serves as a break chapter between all the action before and what's to come. I generally plan out exactly where each chapter will go before I start writing but with this one I let it be a little more free flowing. I have a longer note at the end of this chapter so for now let's just jump right in.
Chapter 11: The Pokemon Showcase
"Daddy, that's like, so unfair!" Violet screeched as Daisy shouted obscenities at Misty and Lily broke down in tears.
"Please daddy, don't take away our gym." the girl cried.
Webster merely stuck up his hand though, "Girls, I have the authority to make this decision, and its final. You can continue to work under Misty though."
"Like I'd ever work for her!" Daisy spat as her usual beautiful face was now red and laced with a deep scowl.
"Well, it's your choice what you do. But regardless, Misty is now in charge of the gym."
For her part Misty was dead silent. It seemed to take quite a while for the words to wash over her fully, "I-I'm the gym leader." She said with a blank stare.
Webster smiled at her, "That battle was the most impressive I've seen in this gym in a long time. It's clear to me how much thought you've put into battling on water and I'm even more impressed with how well trained your pokemon are. You've earned this, Misty. Now don't let me down." He added the last part with a playful wink.
A broad smile crossed Misty's face, "I won't, Dad!"
Realizing they weren't going to win this argument the sensational sisters marched out of the gym in a huff. Serena and Brock were quick to surround Misty.
"Way to go Misty!" Serena cheered.
"Well earned." Brock added.
Ash remained frozen in his place until finally he shouted, "Wait a minute!" causing the three to look at him in surprise. Staring intently at Misty he finally said, "Your Dad is a former elite four member?"
Misty and Webster chuckled at this. "That's right." Misty said, "Guys, I'd like to introduce you to my father. Former member of the elite four and also the former Cerulean City gym leader, Webster Waterflower. And Dad, these are my friends. We've been traveling together for a few weeks now."
"A pleasure to meet you all." He said as his cool blue eyes scanned each of them.
This time it was Ash to step forward, "A pleasure to meet you, sir!" The raven-haired boy said as he took the older man's hand and shook it, "I used to love watching your matches when I was little! For my sixth birthday my mom got me the DVD of you battling Drake in Hoenn. I must have watched it a hundred times!"
Webster chuckled, his demeanor was like he didn't have a care in the world, "Always nice to meet a fan son. Although I wish you'd gotten another match to watch, Drake really whipped my tail."
"I still think if your Poliwrath could've held out for just a little while longer you would've won the match."
"Well, I appreciate that son. Though as my daughter learned firsthand today: sometimes in battling luck just isn't on your side. Now it's getting late. Why don't you all come back to my place to spend the night? I'll even get us some grub!"
The sun was now starting to set across the small city and with growling stomachs the group couldn't turn down a free meal.
As the group walked across the quiet neighborhoods Serena approached Misty, "Congrats again Misty. You really earned it!"
"Thanks, Serena." Misty said with a smile.
Serena though narrowed her blue eyes at the redhead. It was strange. Like earlier Misty seemed happy but her eyes showed something different. Maybe hesitancy?
"I hope your sisters aren't too upset." Ash said as he walked behind the two girls.
Webster laughed again, "They'll be fine. It's not like they love battling anyway. Besides, they get to be the judges for the showcase tomorrow. Those three have a knack for getting into the center of attention."
Serena looked up at the older man in confusion, "Showcase?"
"It's a bit like a beauty pageant with pokemon." Brock explained. "Girls compete alongside their pokemon at different tasks and are judged based on their teamwork and beauty."
"Misty's oldest sister Daisy won the whole Kanto showcase about seven years back and held the title of Kanto queen for a few years." Webster explained, "Personally I was never much of a fan of those kinds of competitions. But Daisy really flourished, and it was great watching her. Since she and her sisters took over the gym a few years back they've been working hard to get big events to Cerulean City. Tomorrow's showcase is the culmination of that hard work. It'll be the first showcase of the new year here in Kanto."
"Misty, did your other sisters compete as well?" Brock asked.
"Misty, did you not tell your friends anything about your family?" Webster teased, "Daisy, Violet, and Lily all left home together at the same time. While Daisy did showcases, Violet and Lily did pokemon contests. They actually became quite popular."
"That's only because they were pretty and ditzy." Misty spat, "They competed for three years and never even made it past the first round of the finals."
"Misty, don't speak ill of your sisters." Webster chided. Despite his words Serena noticed his voice never changed from its relaxed state. It's like he was chatting with a friend over a cold beer.
"Misty's sisters were never really into pokemon when they were younger." Webster continued, "After their third year, Lily and Violet gave up being pokemon trainers and traveled with their sister. It was in Daisy's second year that she managed to become Kanto queen. After their training days ended the three spent a couple years traveling the world doing modeling jobs. Then out of the blue they came home one day and asked about inheriting the gym. I was planning on retiring when Misty became old enough anyway, so I was happy to take an early retirement."
"Wait, so you became a gym leader after you were in the elite 4? Isn't that a bit backward?" Ash asked.
"You'd think so, wouldn't you?" Webster smiled, "You see I became an elite 4 member at the age of 30 and spent well over a decade at my post. The thrill of battling on the largest stages was great at first but soon I became depressed. My life just wasn't what I wanted. One day I decided to do a 180 and retired to become my hometown's gym leader. It lets me spend more time with my daughters as well as living a quieter life. Misty's mother wasn't a fan of the change though. We separated less than a year after the move."
"Dad" Misty grumbled; it was clear she felt her father had said too much.
Webster seemed to agree. His expression didn't change in the slightest, but he shifted a conversation to Misty's friends. Ash was quick to talk about his dream to become a pokemon master and recounted their journey so far. Brock spoke a little on his dream to be a pokemon breeder. Finally, Webster's attention turned to Serena, "And what about you, young lady? What are you traveling to do?"
"I, uh, haven't decided yet." Serena said awkwardly, "Telling everyone that her only real goal when she started out was to travel with Ash was obviously not going to be mentioned, "I thought about being a coordinator for a bit. I loved the first round, but in all honesty after battling against the likes of Team Rocket I just don't see myself ever being interested in competitive battling."
Webster scratched the dark stubble on his chin. "You might want to check out the showcase tomorrow, Serena. I think it might be up your alley. I was going to recommend Misty go tomorrow anyway."
"I really don't want to watch Daisy, Violet, and Lily prance around in the spotlight." Misty grumbled.
"No, but this is a huge event for the city. We don't get many big events like this and the gym leader should be there to show how much the city cares about the honor."
"You know I think Webster might be right, Serena." Brock said, "Showcases might be what you've been looking for."
"I'd like to see it too!" Ash cheered.
"All right, why not." Serena responded with a smile.
"Great" Misty cheered sarcastically.
Finally, after a few more minutes of walking the group stood in front of a small house. The house was a single story and looked poorly kept. As the group went inside, they noticed laundry thrown everywhere and half eaten food left out. Now Serena admittedly knew very little about pokemon leagues or the elite 4 but even she knew that making it to that level meant you were very well compensated. So it was a bit of a surprise to see Webster live in a single-story house that appeared to be mostly neglected. Brock and Ash seemed to notice too as the former raised an eyebrow at the messy kitchen while the latter looked around incredulously. Luckily though, Ash had the sense to avoid his habit of saying whatever came to his mind. Misty appeared to pick up on the group's looks as she grumbled, "Dad, you promised you'd stay clean when I left."
Webster chuckled and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, "I'm sorry sweetheart, I just got so distracted."
"My dad is a big believer in living with no more than you need." Misty explained, "So after my sisters started their journey we downsized to a smaller home. I usually made sure the house stayed clean though he promised he'd do a better job caring for the house when I left." She added the last part with a cold glare at her father.
"When I was younger I lived a life of wealth and luxury." Webster added, "Now that I'm older it all just felt so silly. I want to provide for my family of course but now that they're moving on with their lives I just try to live with the essentials. Although now that Misty will move back home to be the gym leader, I'll probably have to fix the place up a bit."
Serena noticed Misty seemed to stiffen a bit at her father's words. Choosing to let it pass she refocused on the home. The young trainer found it a bit noble that Webster tried not to spend money wastefully, but of course he could do with cleaning it up a bit. Webster ordered pizza for the trio and chatted more with Serena and Ash. He even pulled out a few of his old trophies and pictures from his days as pokemon trainer. While this was happening Misty, and a polite but obviously disgusted Brock, got to work cleaning the place up. After eating the group took turns showering before going to bed. It wasn't particularly late but after a few days on the road the group was excited to sleep in a warm bed.
The next day the trio got up early in the morning. Webster wasn't home, as Misty told them he liked to get up before sunrise to do a little fishing. After getting dressed they departed for the pokemon center. Ash, Serena, and Brock all needed to call their families to check in.
"Brock! How are you son?" Flint called out jovially over the phone.
"Fine, can you call Forrest?" Brock responded.
Serena peered over the tan boy's shoulder to watch the conversation. She knew Brock was still not on the best terms with his father. A moment later a boy about 14 that looked identical to Brock popped up on the screen.
"Big brother!" He shouted with delight.
Instantly Brock's face broke into a warm smile, "Forrest, how are you? Is everything ok there?"
"Everything's great Brock. Dad has done everything you asked him. He's even let me come watch a few of his gym matches! How's traveling?"
Brock then proceeded to tell Forrest about his adventure and showed him his new Zubat. Over Serena's other shoulder she heard a much different conversation, "Mom, I told you I'm changing them every day." Said a red-faced Ash. Suddenly his face turned an even darker shade of red, "I'm not going to ask Serena to remind me to change them!"
Serena giggled to herself. Delia always had a way of pushing her son's buttons that'd make even Misty jealous. Finally, she turned her attention to her own monitor and typed in a number. On the other end of the screen came a young girl no older than 7. Like Serena, she was tall and slender for her age. With hair cascading down around her shoulder like Serena had when she was a child. Unlike the 16-year-old though, the girls skin was much darker and she had black hair and brown eyes, just like her father.
"Serena!" The girl cheered with a broad smile.
"Hi Emma!" Serena said to her younger half-sister, "Isn't it a little early for you to be up during summer vacation?"
"We have Prof. Oak's summer camp this week." The girl responded. "You should've seen all the awesome pokemon we've got to see. They even had this white Vulpix. It was so cute!"
Serena straightened a bit in surprise at the mention of the camp. That meant this week had been the 9 years anniversary of Serena and her mother moving to Kanto, and of course nine years since she'd met Ash. Serena had only been 7 years old like her sister now, but she could still remember it like it was yesterday. Her mother rushed her out of her home in Kalos in the middle of the night. Having to move into a new home in a strange region with no explanation.
"I hate it here Mommy! I have no friends, and everyone has weird accents. I WANT TO GO HOME!" Serena remembered herself crying.
"I know sweetheart, but we can't leave. This is our home now." Grace responded as she tried to sooth her daughter.
"B-ut wh-why can't we go ho-home?" Serena asked between fits of tears.
Grace looked around nervously before saying, "We just can't. Now why don't you try and get some rest. I signed you up for summer camp tomorrow. I'm sure you'll make lots of friends."
"They're just going to make fun of me and my accent." Serena cried.
The next day she had made a point not to speak with anyone and hide whenever she could. Leaf tried to talk to her but Serena was too scared to speak with her future best friend. When the group paired up to do a scavenger hunt in the forest, she snuck off alone and got hurt. It was there she met a young Ash Ketchum. He had wandered off from his partner chasing a Poliwag. He helped her back to camp, introduced her to his friends, and the rest, as they say, was history.
"Serena? Serena!" Came a voice snapping the teen from her thoughts.
"Oh, sorry Emma. I got a little distracted." The girl said apologetically.
Emma looked a moment like she was going to be upset but the young girl could never stay mad at her older sister, "That's ok. Just promise me you'll show me all your cool pokemon next time we see each other."
"It's a deal!" Serena responded with her signature smile.
"Emma, who are you talking to?" A voice came from behind Emma.
"It's Serena!" Emma responded enthusiastically.
"Oh, let me talk with her." Grace said as she stepped into the camera. "Emma, why don't you make sure your brother is getting ready." Grace said as her young daughter skipped off.
"Sweetheart, how are you?"
"I'm a good mom." Serena then gave Grace a quick recap of what they'd been up to since Pewter City. She skipped the part about Team Rocket in Mt. Moon of course.
"And today were going to check out a pokemon showcase. Misty's dad said I might like it but honestly I've never heard of one before."
"It wouldn't surprise me. Showcases are much more popular in the west. They are huge in Kalos and Galar. Out here it's all about contests."
Serena couldn't help herself but smile at this. At this point Serena could be easily mistaken for a Kanto native. Her accent was almost completely gone and she'd grown up completely in the culture. But it was even more intriguing to do something that was big in her native region.
"But Serena, showcases? Are you sure? Rhyhorn racing is a lot more action packed." Grace said snapping the girl from her thoughts.
Serena smiled softly at her mother, "Mom, we've been over this."
"I know, I know, I just want you to be happy." Grace said. "Anyway, I have to run Emma and Gabriel to camp. Will you give Prof. Oak a call next? He was telling me he needed a favor from you and Ash."
"Ok mom. I love you."
"I love you too sweetie." And with that the camera turned black.
"How was your family?" Ash asked. It seemed his conversation with his mother had just wrapped up as well.
"Oh, same old. I guess right now is Prof. Oak's summer camp."
"Really?" Ash said with surprise, "Already? Wow, I guess you kind of lose track of time when you spend so much time traveling."
"We've already done so much it's crazy to think about. And our journey just started… Anyway, my mom said Prof. Oak asked that we give him a call. Apparently he needs a favor."
"Awesome! We haven't heard from the professor since Viridian City."
Serena proceeded to type the number for Oak's ranch. On the other end came a pretty blonde girl that she recognized as one of Oak's many assistants.
"Oh Ash! Serena! So good to see you two." She said,
"Hi Amanda, I was told Prof. Oak needed to speak with us." Serena replied.
"Yes, he's been anxious to hear from you. Give me a moment and I'll go grab him."
About a minute later Oak emerged on the camera, "Ash, Serena! How've your travel been?
"Hi professor!" They both said in unison.
"How's camp going?" Ash asked.
"It's been wonderful… I do miss having you two here to lead it though." Ash and Serena went to camp a few more summers after they first met. When they became too old for it they became counselors for some extra money.
"Now down to business." Oak said, "I knew you'd be in Cerulean City about this time. I was hoping you could take a quick detour and travel about a half day's walk north. There's a large lighthouse there. It's owned by a colleague of mine named Bill. I sent Bill a special item to look into a few weeks back but haven't heard anything from him."
"Oh no, do you think he's in some sort of trouble?" Serena asked.
"I find it unlikely." Oak replied with a chuckle, "Bill is a brilliant mind but he has a tendency to get distracted easily. He's known to get lost working on a project and spend weeks at a time working on it without doing anything else. I'd normally leave him to work at his leisure, but this item was given to me to investigate by a respected colleague. I'd rather not be forced to tell him that after weeks of research we have no updates. Just stop by Bills' lighthouse and remind him about my request."
"Of course we will Prof. Oak." Ash said. "I wouldn't mind walking down by the beach for a bit."
"And maybe you could try to catch some more pokemon, Ash." Oak added, "I understand you only have two so far. "
"I know, I've just been waiting for the right pokemon." Ash said defensively.
"I respect the sentiment, Ash. But you need to understand you're on the clock. It might feel like forever but the Kanto league starts in about ten months. At a minimum I'd recommend you have eight pokemon by then to be well diversified."
"Ten months is plenty of time." Ash said confidently.
"Maybe so Ash." Oak said wearily, "But keep in mind catching a pokemon is only half of it. You'll need to train your pokemon up as well. If you're pokemon haven't had the proper training then I'm afraid you won't last long in the tournament. Just so you're aware, Gary already has five pokemon."
Ash seemed to sober up a bit at the notion of falling behind his rival. "I understand. I'll make sure to work harder at it."
Oak nodded with a smile, "I'm sure you will. Now I do apologize but I need to run. Camp will be starting soon. Thank you both for the help with this."
The two nodded and said their goodbyes. Luckily Brock had finished his conversation at the exact same moment, so they were ready to join Misty for the festival.
As the foursome made their way to the Cerulean gym they couldn't help but get swept up in the pageantry. The entire downtown had been turned into a festival and seemed like the whole city had come out. The streets were littered with vendors selling various items whil rides and games sat at every corner.
"Wow, this is amazing!" Ash said as he happily munched on cotton candy they'd gotten from a vendor.
"Cerulean City sure did go all out for this festival." Brock noted.
"Of course they did, it's been all anyone can talk about since before I left. Cerulean City doesn't get a whole lot of attention you see. We're isolated by ocean, mountains, and forest from the rest of the region. So we often get forgotten about. Getting the first showcase of the year gets us a lot of eyeballs. We can show the entire world what our city is about." Misty explained.
They walked past the large statue of Webster and into the gym. The line to get into the gym was quite long but Misty was able to get them right through and into the front row due to her status as gym leader. Serena was quick to notice much had changed since yesterday. A large stage sat where Misty and Ash had been battling yesterday. A long, glass, runway crossed the pool to the center to where what looked like a judge's table sat. After another 20 minutes of waiting the stadium turned dark. A man emerged in the center wearing a flamboyant blue and black suit with a large key necklace.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" He called out in a thick Kalos accent. "Thank you for your patience and welcome to the start of another pokemon showcase season!"
The crowd burst into applause at this.
"I am Monsieur Pierre, and I will be your host for all the showcases in lovely Kanto this year. For those of you unaware, showcases are a competition where lovely young women work side by side with their pokemon to demonstrate true beauty. Teamwork, wit, creativity, and of course elegance are all the tenants of this beauty we strive to show the world. There are two rounds in showcases: the theme round and the freestyle round. In the theme round the ladies and their pokemon will compete in groups of threes to complete a contest we reveal to them. Only the best from each group, as decided by our judges, will advance to the next stage. After the theme is the freestyle round. Where the ladies and their pokemon create the most stunning display of beauty and grace. The judges will choose the victor after this round, and I will bestow upon her this."
He then pulled a small gold key with blue designs that looked like water droplets out of his sleeve.
"This is a princess key. If one is to earn three of these then she will be able to compete in the Kanto Master class tournament in the second week of March. The winner of that showcase will have the chance to face our current champion for the title of Kanto Queen!"
The crowd again roared at the mention of Kanto Queen.
"Now before we begin, please allow me to introduce our three judges for today. The Cerulean City gym leaders: The Sensational Sisters!"
At that three spouts of water emerged around the judges table in the middle of the pool. Riding them were none other than Misty's sisters. The girls waved at the crowds as bubblebeams burst from the pool and exploded around them in radiant bursts of blue.
"Bravo! Bravo! Please marry me!" Brock shouted with glee as his face turned red.
"Oh, shut up Brock!" Misty snapped as she yanked by his ear back into his seat. After the three girls took their seats at the judges table Pierre stood up again.
"Now for the theme round. And I'm pleased to announce that this week's theme will be a classic: pokepuff baking!"
The crowd cheered as the first three girls got to the stage. They quickly got to work with their pokemon baking pokepuffs.
"Baking? I don't really see what that has to do with pokemon." Misty noted.
"Look closely." Brock said after he finally composed himself, "The pokemon that are up there with their trainers need to contribute to get full points."
The group looked closer and watched a Bulbasaur cut ingredients with razor leaf, an Abra use psychic powers to stir a pot, and a Nidoran sniff ingredients to tell it's trainer which to pick.
"Remember what Monsieur Pierre said, teamwork, wit, creativity, and elegance. That's what is showcases are about. Anybody can tell their pokemon to battle but trainers finding unique ways for their pokemon to contribute in various events is what defines showcases."
"Wow you know a lot about this Brock." Ash said in surprise.
"I've always been a fan of showcases. Bringing out the most in pokemon while showing their natural beauty is also what breeding is all about after all… Plus all the girls are so cute." He said the last part with a blush.
"Oh great." Misty groaned watching him.
One by one the groups went and were judged by the three sisters, who seemed to take as much time judging as possible. Eventually came the freestyle round where girls performed routines with their pokemon. Some were simple: the Abra girl had her partner use psychic powers to have her gracefully fly around the gym. Others were more complex: The girl who won had a Charmeleon and Dewgong use fire and ice attacks to create a beautiful display of fireworks that shimmered off snow that fell on the crowd. Serena watched in awe at the performances. She especially loved watching the performances where the performers took part in the acts with their pokemon. By the time the group was leaving the gym she had bought a big book on how to make pokepuffs and proudly declared, "I want to try it. I'm going to go for Kanto Queen!"
"That's awesome Serena!" Ash said enthusiastically, causing the girl to blush.
"You'll be great." Added Brock.
"We'll need to map out where all the showcases take place so you can be there." Ash said.
Serena nodded, "Hopefully many will be in the same places as gyms so you can't get badges also."
"Right now, we both need to focus on catching and training more pokemon!" Ash said enthusiastically."
Brock cleared his throat but was ignored.
"We'll need to get to work right after we visit Bill." Serena said, "Prof. Oak was right, there's no time to relax.
Again, Brock cleared his throat but was ignored.
"I say we leave right now for the lighthouse. Based on what Prof. Oak said I bet we can get there by nightfall and be back on track by the mor-"
This time Brock cleared his throat as loud as he could, halting Ash and Serena's conversation. The two looked at Brock in confusion when he motioned to his left. Standing behind the three was Misty. Her eyes firmly stared at the ground as she appeared to be holding back tears. It was only then that Serena understood why she'd been acting strange the previous night.
"Oh Misty..." Serena said sadly.
"You know" Ash quickly cut in, "Why don't we stay with Webster again tonight and we can head out tomorrow."
"I think that would be smart." said Brock, "One last night to rest."
Misty took a deep breath to compose herself before looking up to smile at the group, "No, you guys are right you should leave now."
"Are you sure Misty? I'd like one more night together." Serena said softly.
Misty shook her head, "I'm sure we'll see each other again. Besides, Ash is right, with how hopeless you two are you'll need all the time you can get."
Serena eyed Brock wearily who fidgeted as if he didn't know what to say.
"This is my dream." Misty continued, "Being here gives me the best chance possible to be a water pokemon master. It's unfortunate, I… I had a lot of fun with you three. But now we need to go our separate ways.
Surprisingly it was Ash who stepped forward. Slowly he stuck his right hand out. Misty seemed shocked at this but again composed herself and shook his hand.
"We'll never forget all you did for us, Misty." Ash said sincerely, "If you ever need to get out of the gym and travel for a bit, you're welcome to join us."
Misty smiled sadly, "I'm glad to have met you. Come back someday and let's have another battle."
At this point Serena broke out into a full cry and hugged her friend, "Oh, please stay in touch!"
Misty smiled at Serena, "You're going to make the most amazing Kanto Queen."
She then looked over to Brock and gave him a hug as well, "You stay out of trouble now!"
Brock could only smile sadly.
With their last goodbyes the three left Misty. There were more than a few tears shed as they walked away.
And that's a wrap on another chapter. Misty has officially left the group to remain in Cerulean City. Will the group see her again? I guess we'll need to find out. Serena will be competing in Pokemon Showcases in this story. I'm sorry that I didn't put too much time into the actual showcases, but I wanted to save material for when Serena actually competes.
On another note, I want to give a quick shoutout to people leaving reviews. The reviews have been slowly starting to trickle in more often now and I want you all to know I read every single one and am truly humbled at all the kind words and interest this story is starting to generate. One reviewer I wanted to shoutout in particular was Heracoss0122. He left a pretty long review, so I won't share it in its entirety. But let's just say you and I think similarly and some of your points will be answered in coming chapters. As for the point as to why Misty's father could appoint and demote the gym leader: I hope this chapter fleshed that out a bit. Misty's father is a former elite four member and hero to the city, so he has major influence on league affairs and can make the call on his own. The process of someone becoming a gym leader will be fleshed out in greater detail in a future chapter though for those of you who spend too much time thinking about these things like myself.
Anyway, that's it for today. The next chapter should hopefully be out no later than this weekend. Thanks again and I'll see you all next time.