Mariko knew that it was her turn next and thus she looked over at her Pokemon trying to decide who would be her best choice. Finally she decided to go with Finn and nodded to the Pokemon who tilted his head at her. “Would you join me on the stage?” She asked gaining a small, happy smile from the Scyther. He then flew forward and nuzzled up against her. “Then it is decided. Thank you for being willing to participate Finn. Let’s go show them your ways of theater.”
”Thank you my queen… you are-most gracious.” his voice was strong as usual, but slightly hesitant since he was not expecting to do very well since Kaname’s moves were mostly physical. Completely dumbfounded by the praise he received, he stood up straight and accepted his praise with a small smile, with Kaname standing tall at his side with a serious face as ever. But a familiar name echoed in his mind, Why does Zandrophin sound so familiar? He examined the people close to Eira and landed upon the blonde business man he had met before. Oh… That Zandrophin. He says nice things… but there’s nothing he can gain from befriending me. Perhaps he is genuine? Oh Tsubame, you idiot business men are never nice for no reason. In his last seconds on stage, his silvery eyes searched desperately to lock with Mariko’s for her reaction. But they instead ended up locking on a blonde woman’s shadowy face. She was standing in the door way, the same woman he had run into at a festival not too long ago.
What is she doing here? Isn’t the organization moving? Shouldn’t she be busy with that? His heart pounded. As he walked off the stage, he decided to try and find the blonde woman who seemingly disappeared from the archway she was under. If Mariko has no more interest in a loser like me and there's no way I could ever even touch a queen like Lady Eira, maybe I should join her… Aeronwen. But that woman... she has such a sickly sweet aura; why am I getting tangled up with her plans? He sighed not looking forward to meeting up with the woman. But some part of him hoped he would return to the contest in time. He told Kaname to go to the back with everyone else. Right… because I’m poor and need money… for Kaname and me… He passed through another archway and saw Mariko at a distance. Maybe if things were different… He sighed before meeting with the blonde woman and disappearing from the grounds for the time being.
"Damned if you do. Damned if you don't. Life's a game not meant to be won by people like me." -Tsubame
After Tsubame left the stage, Eira turned towards her audience with a large smile. She would have to be sure to talk to Tsubame later since it had been so long since they had gotten a chance to talk. "Now, ladies and gentlemen, for our final competitor. Please welcome a lovely lady from Celosia, Miss Mariko!"
With that, Eira sat back down so she could watch the final performance of the first round. It was honestly a hard decision on who was doing better right now, though she felt she may be biased against Z since she had seen him do such similar performances before.
Mariko told the rest of her Pokemon to wait for her as she and Finn entered the stage. Once they reached the center, Mariko then decided it was time for her greeting. “Hello, people of Eirlys. As some of you may remember, I am Yamada Mariko, and I hail from Ecruteak City Johto. I hope that my Pokemon and I can show you a good show.” She said before she and Finn gave a small bow to the audience. Once that was done, Mariko stood back at her full height and moved back slightly.
“Finn, would you be so kind as to start off with a Wing Attack?” She called getting a nod from the Pokemon who began to flap his wings at a fast speed and took off into the air, dancing in a pattern there as his wings cut through the air in sharp, yet graceful motions. “Now mix in X-Scissor!” Mariko added. Finn began forming the Xs in the air along with his claws, still gracefully cutting through the air with the Wing Attack. “Now, perform a Waltz for us.” Mariko called, thus changing Finn’s movements. The one beat of the waltz was a cut through the air of a Wing Attack, the two beat the X-scissor, and the three beat, a simple cut, his body moving gracefully in a circle in the air with the attacks. “Now, Hyper Beam with X-Scissor!” Mariko called out at last. Finn on command and still in the air started both the Hyper Beam charging whilst creating the form needed for the X-Scissor. Once charged to the power he wanted it, he released the Hyper Beam, and performed the X-Scissor sending the light beam in four different directions, each fizzling out gently into a rain of light sparkles. After that, Finn landed and Mariko walked to his side where the two of them preformed their respective bows, then stood up straight waiting for Eira to speak on their performance.
"That was a wonderful performance to finish the round, Miss Mariko. This scored well in my books and will set you up for a decent place in the second round," Eira told the competitor as she slowly stood, thinking about all of the performances as she did so. She paused for a moment as she secured their rankings in her head before she addressed everyone in a projected voice so the competitors could even hear her backstage. "Before I announce how everyone placed, I will explain how the second round will go. Unlike previous rounds, this one will have a bit of a challenge to it that will make all of you have to think on your feet. Instead of the stage being cleared between each performance, everything will remain as it is until the round is done, meaning each of you will have to work with whatever the previous trainer left you. That is why I said that having first place will give you an advantage, since you will have a clear stage to work with."
She paused there to glance back at the audience before she continued her explanation. "You will be judged on how well you can incorporate what the others have done into your own performance that shows off the spirit of either the winter that is to come or the fall that we are leaving behind. Your scores from the first round will be wiped clean for the final judging, so do your best with the challenge that you have been given. First off, we will have our first place from the first round, Miss Nicole. Then our second place, Kaname, our third place, Z, and our last place, Miss Mariko to round out the competition. Good luck to you all."
With that, she sat back down to watch things play out with the new challenge she has given.
Post by Zandrophin on Jan 30, 2015 23:20:32 GMT -6
Zandrophin couldn't help but scoff and shake his head.
"What a fool I was, Lady..." he said.
He paused for a few moments, just long enough for Eira to wonder what it was he meant. He gestured widely as he spoke.
"Creating a competition where the performers must adapt to the previous round? What a lovely game...full of opportunities for sabotage and tilted scales of advantage....I was a fool to drop out."
Do not worry, Sir. I'm sure spectating will be even more enjoyable.
He crossed his arms and gave a melodramatic "harrumph", as a pouting child would, before letting out a quiet, yet sinister, chuckle and shaking his head again.
"This should be interesting....the true savage nature of our performers will be tested. I'm anticipating quite a show..."
Zandrophin sat back in his chair, Mentus floating erratically around the box, unable to contain his excitement. The Abra and his trainer did so love a spectacle of guile and trickery.
Do not fight for a cause or for what you believe in: Fight for yourself, because who you are rarely changes. Zandrophin
Nicole nodded to herself upon hearing her name as the first one to go. She didn’t know what to expect from a challenge like this, but she was going to put her faith in her Pokemon and go from there. Looking down at the Luxury ball in her hand, she took and deep breath and steeled herself to be called on to come out and perform while simultaneously opening the said Luxury ball to release Rhea into her hold. She was going to be putting her trust into the oldest of her baby Pokemon and that was her final decision. The Togepi gave a happy chirp from her hold, clapping at the fact she was being held, which made Nicole smile slightly. Even though she was nervous, the other was not, and that would help in the long run. Especially since this part of the contest seemed to be where her advantage of before seemed not likely to happen again.
"I guess normal was never supposed to be a word for me." - Nicole
"My thoughts exactly, Zandrophin," Eira laughed, standing up once again to address the audience since she believed that her competitors had had long enough to prepare for their possible rounds. Like Zandrophin, she couldn't wait to see what was going to happen with the new round beginning. She hoped for quite the show and couldn't imagine certain members of the competition failing to meet her expectation for an exciting round. Clearing her throat to gather their attention, Eira addressed the audience. "Ladies and gentlemen, I believe it is time for our second round to begin! Let us all welcome Miss Nicole to the stage to start things off!"
Nicole took a deep breath and let it out slowly upon hearing her name be announced to the crowd. “Ready to go Rhea?” She asked the Togepi in her arms who giggled and clapped while looking up at her. “I guess that means yes?” She asked rhetorically giving a small smile to the baby Pokemon who gave another giggle and continued to clap. With that she made her way onto the stage.
Once she was in the center of the stage, Nicole leaned down and placed Rhea on the ground. Rhea looked surprised at the fact she had been placed down, and looked up at Nicole with wide eyes that questioned what was going on. Nicole gave her a small smile before looking to the audience. “Ladies and Gentlemen of Eirlys I would like for you to meet Rhea.” She introduced, thus making the Togepi look away from her to the audience. The Togepi then gave a small giggle and clapped. Knowing she had gotten Rhea’s interest, Nicole decided then would be the best time to start the show.
“Rhea, would you please perform a Metronome for me?” She asked causing the Togepi to stop and look at her briefly before she started swaying her arms back and forth, a little light forming. The light then turned into seeds as the Metronome took the form of Worry Seed. The seeds fell to the stage without much enthusiasm behind them, but Nicole still thought it was an alright way to start considering it had warmed Rhea up for what she was about to ask next. “Good girl Rhea. Now use Ancient Power.” She called. Immediately Rhea began to move her arms back and forth once more, rocks appearing out of nowhere and shooting out in different directions.
‘Now please let this work in my favor…’ Nicole could only help but think as she called out the next attack. “Can you show me another Metronome please Rhea? It might make those rocks flying around more fun.” Again, Rhea’s arms began to glow as water shot out from them in the form of Water Gun, each spray made hitting one of the rocks created by the Ancient Power and directing them around in interesting little patterns in the air before they finally made contact with the stage. “Alright Rhea, I think you’ve done enough. Give the audience a good-bye kiss.” Nicole watched as Rhea did just that in the form of a Sweet Kiss before turning to her and giving her a pleading look to signal that she knew she was done and she wanted to be back in Nicole’s arms now.
Picking her up, Nicole gave her a small smile. No matter what her placing was in this competition, she couldn’t help but think it didn’t matter because she was proud the baby Pokemon in her arms was able to follow her commands, and showed her trust for Nicole in the process.
(I did use a metronome generator for Rhea's moves. I even have the screen shots. If you want the pictures, I will send them to you in a PM so they don't take up space here.)
"I guess normal was never supposed to be a word for me." - Nicole
Eira had to hold back her squeals at the adorable baby Pokemon that had entered the stage, trying to be more professional about the performance that was going on and be a partial viewer. When the performance was over, Eira gave herself some time to think it over before she stood to address the trainer on the stage. "Miss Nicole, your Togepi is probably one of the cutest Pokemon that I have ever seen and it showed wonderfully in this performance. The trust that the two of you share is remarkable and the fact that you were able to use Metronome twice and still make it work made your score very solid to begin this round. Thank you for performance."
Zandrophin, even with his strict grasp of professionalism, couldn't stop himself from groaning slightly and rolling his eyes at Eira's emotional aura.
Sir, it isa rather...pleasing...thing to see a baby pokemon on stage. I can understand why her thoughts are locked on its...cuteness.
Old friend, what have I told you before? Appearances are meant to be acknowledged for their usefulness as distractions, not to be enamored over; that only perpetuates their usefulness.
Of course, Sir.
Zandrophin leaned in after Eira finished speaking to give his input to the judge,
"An interesting choice...using a move as unpredictable as Metronome. It seems to have worked out alright. Those rocks wedged into the stage may prove hazardous...or may give whomever is next a nice tool to use. We shall see, I suppose."
Do not fight for a cause or for what you believe in: Fight for yourself, because who you are rarely changes. Zandrophin
Be there. I won't accept anyone else for the job. Her words were like poison and Tsubame felt almost sick. It was only now he realized just how toxic money really was, as if he already had the promised funds and they were draining his body; like a fly caught in the blonde-haired spider's web. 'Just what is your game Aeronwen?' Realizing what time it was, he hurried back, near panting when he ran into Kaname. The sneasel practically drug him to the stage because they were late; Nicole had just finished her routine and there was an awkward silence that filled the icy hall.
Once again hurrying to the stage, it must of looked off; Kaname barely breathing at all, but Tsubame's chest was heaving and his breaths brisk and quick. "Lady Eira, I am ready." He huffed and bumbled back to the stage with Kaname who still looked worried, but he was already calming down his breathing. "Alright buddy, first let's clear these troublesome rocks."
On command, Kaname used double team and at the height of his speed, one by one, his copies ended up in front of a rock each and one by one, their claws illuminated with a powerful, cerulean crystal like aura that glimmered when the small frozen particles caught the light and with so many of them, the room began to fog with a frozen mist- ice punch. One by one, the sneasel's copies landed their marks, hitting the rocks with a solid, central hit. For what seemed like a frozen moment, the rocks formed threatening masses of ice that, like glaciers, crept up and engulfed each of the rocks entirely, the crackling and bellowing of the rocks being encased echoed through the halls. Once they were all fully encased, Kaname's copies dissapeared and revealed himself to be behind one of the center most rocks, his clawed fist still firmly lodged within the rock.
Within mere miliseconds of revealing the real sneasel, the rocks began to burst and shatter, causing the frozen dust and mist to nearly cover the groud of the stage to which, Kaname used the particles to bounce off and release a powerful icy wind around them that created massive ice spikes outward from the floors and ceiling that stopped seconds before they impaled those audience members in the front row. The stage now looked like a sharpedo's mouth, with rows of frozen, dangerously glimmering teeth outstretched as if it were going to eat the audience.
Quickly and quietly after catching Eira's attention, the duo bowed and patiently awaited their scores from behind the dangerous icicle spear fort; their only means of escape being the back door off the stage. Tsubame then picked up Kaname who was exhuasted and now he was the one out of breath-the icicle storm taking so much out of him. Kaname didn't actually have a pokeball, nor did he need one, but he hoped this was it for the contest, the silver eyed man realized Kaname would need a good long rest.
"Damned if you do. Damned if you don't. Life's a game not meant to be won by people like me." -Tsubame
Eira watched curiously at what Tsubame was doing, her eyes trying to follow Kaname through its performance. She had to admit that the little Pokemon was quite powerful, but it was not equipped to properly handle contests with the moves that it had. To her, physical moves such as Ice Punch and Double Team were far too tricky to be used effectively during a contest, especially one that did not require battles like hers. Making up her mind, Eira stood to address Tsubame so he and his Pokemon could go rest up.
"Your performance was technically very well done, though it did not fall under the fall or winter theme that I wished to see," she told him slowly, making sure her words were just right. "I am sure the moves that you used could have been better used against the field that Miss Nicole had left you and you now have left quite the tricky field for your opponents to work with. Very well done, Tsubame."
(Hey everyone, due to the reboot and the long time it is taking to do this thread, I am going to cut everything short. I went back and rescored everyone's performances from the first round and only the first round to keep it fair. Incidentally, the scores still line up with the way everyone placed to begin with.
So congratulation Nicole on wining this contest, Tsubame for getting second place, Z third, and Mariko last. Please feel free to participate in upcoming contests after the reboot.)