Three’s a Crowd [Nicole, Z, Eira]

Z walked into the hall wearing a new set of formal clothes that he had had made for when he had important meetings as the leader of the Starfort Mining Corporation.

 He wanted to do well in this contest, as he had yet to win a single one he entered.  It was more of a competitive thing now.  Having entered so many and not come out on top, he wanted to try and win one just for the sake of winning now.  He felt that it would give some closure.
Sparky was resting in her pokeball and Z hoped she would be ready for an attempt in the contest hall.  Z went to sign up with the guards and went to pay the red queen his respects.
"Lady Akane," said Z as he bowed formally, "I am honored to be back in these halls.  I would like to speak with you later about opening lines of trade between our lands."

Nicole gave a small sigh as she looked around the hall she had been many times.  This time, however, was a little more somber due to what this contest was being held for.  She wondered how Akane was holding up, especially since she couldn't imagine losing a Pokemon in the first place.  Yes, they were living beings too, but they could deal with so much more than any human could.

Signing her name on the entry sheet, she noticed she was the last contestant to arrive.  That seemed to be a reoccurring trend now...  She just hoped she hadn't missed her chance to speak to Akane and ask how she was doing.  Straightening out her dress some, she waved off the guard who offered to lead her to where the contestants were supposed to prepare and began to make her way to that area herself, having practically memorized it the last time she had been in the hall.  If she was lucky she would make it in just enough time to meet with Akane and see who it was she was in the contest with.  As she walked, she hoped that she would be able to honor Akane's Pokemon well enough with her performance, considering which she had brought with her.

Nicole didn't know how to feel about the suddenness of her being asked to go first, but she nodded and gripped one of the Pokeballs that rested on her dresses belt.  "Of course."  She muttered nervously, hoping that she was making the right choice by choosing who she had decided on.  Sure she wasn't going to get any bonuses with him most likely, but he was one of the only ones at the moment she could think of using.  Taking the Pokeball in her hand, she pressed the button to open it.  Immediately, the red light of the Pokeball took the form of the Pokemon she had chosen.  Cael stretched as he was released and gave a small call as he looked around the building from his place in the air.  "Cael, I need your help with this."  She said as the bird-like Pokemon flew down to face level with her.  Cael tilted his head, but gave a nod of confirmation before headbutting her gently on the cheek in his form of affection.  He could see her nervousness and he didn't like it.  Nicole gave Cael a smile and tapped the top of his head with her forehead.  "Thanks Cael."  She said, giving him another smile as she looked at Akane.

"Whenever you are ready for Cael and I to start."  She stated with a little more confidence.

Nicole gave a small nod to the comment and looked back at Cael.  "Let's give them our all."  She said watching as the Pokemon gave her a nod of understanding before landing lightly on her outstretched arm, trying to keep most of his weight from resting on her arm, as he knew he was heavier than she could handle if he placed it fully.  She hoped she would be able to dazzle the crowd, and Akane, with what she had planned, especially since Cael had never been in a contest before, nor in a battle.

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As she walked a little closer to the middle of the stage, she took a deep breath and called out the first of many moves she had planned.  "Cael...  Fly!"  She called out, and Cael immediately answered with a strong call while taking off with a force that made Nicole's arm fall fast to her side.   His form was a blur as he shot to the ceiling of the hall, his coloring the only thing that made it clear where he was.  As soon as he had reached the ceiling, Cael stopped and turned in the air gracefully before beginning his dive downward with the same amount of speed.  "Acrobatics!"  Nicole shouted, watching as the fast moving Fly was turned into tricks, such as turns and flips, in the air, still at the fast pace of the Fly.  Nicole then threw her arm out, and waited as Cael's speed began to slow and the Acrobatics ended with him calmly landing on her arm where he had first started.

"Good boy.  Now...  Acrobatics again!"  She said, letting Cael fly off her arm once more, this time the Acrobatics were slow and easier to see, each turn graceful, each flip a beautiful arch.  "Add in a Dragon Pulse."  Nicole called when Cael was in the middle of one of the flips.  The call was met with the sight of a white light mixed with blue, red, and purple tones that shifted in lightning patterns around it.  Now each turn and flip was graced with the beam, accenting them.  The beam was also controlled enough to dance around the edges of the audience in a brilliant light show, but wild enough that it was creating patterns within each of the movements of the flying Pokemon.  Soon, the beam started to flicker out, and Cael stopped the Acrobatics in favor of flying back to Nicole's once again outstretched arm.

"That was well done.  Now...  Can you do another Dragon Pulse, and mix in a Zen Headbutt?"  She asked holding her arm up above her head.  Cael's feathered, arm-like wings shot out on either side of him, and, with a call, and another dazzling mixture of white, blue, red, and purple shot out of his mouth at the same time a light shot out from his back, flickering in the form of an orb, the orb shot forward and was hit by the beam and Cael threw his head up, as though he had practiced the combination before.  The combination burst into splinters and star like flickers while the lightning like Pulse danced around them as they went falling to the stage.  Then, for good measure, Cael flapped his wings to send the stars and splinters a little closer to the audience, each one dying as they flickered out over a few of the ones in the front.

As he finished this combination, Nicole lowered him down and tapped her forehead to the top of his head.  "That was beautifully done.  For your first contest, you're doing very well.  Now I need you to do one more thing okay?  Give me one more Fly, but add a Zen Headbutt in when you're descending okay?"  She asked, and, when she got the confirmation nod, she allowed herself to throw her arm out at the same time Cael took off to do as he was asked.  With the same speed as before, he flew up to the ceiling, this time circling it before started his descent.  While he was deciding, the same sphere of light as before appeared over his back and shot out in front of him, a little ways in front of where Nicole was, and where he was descending.  The sphere burst as soon as it hit the stage once again forming splinters and stars, this time, however, accenting Cael's slowing to landing on Nicole's once again outstretched arm.

Once he was fully landed, Nicole held him a little higher above her as she dipped into a bow.  Cael, taking his cue, also bowed from his perch.  Once the two rose from the bows, Nicole brought him back to the normal height she had him at and gave the crowd a smile.  "People of Celosia, it was a pleasure to be on this stage to perform for you again.  For those who have seen me before, I thank you for coming again, to those who haven't, I am Nicole."  Nicole stated before lifting her arm signalling to Cael that he was free to fly again if he wished.  Cael took to the air then and flew in a circle above her head.  "And the lovely Pokemon who performed for you was Cael.  I hope he was able to entertain you, as this is his first contest, and his second time out of our home.  The world around him is brand new, just like it is for all fossil Pokemon when they are returned to life.  I hope I have helped contribute to Bastille's memory tonight.  Thank you."

Kazi walked onto the stage with a small bag of items that he had prepared in anticipation of this contest.  Turning to the Red Queen, he bowed respectfully, "I hope this performance is a worthy honor for your friend and partner, Lady Akane."  Pulling a pokeball from his belt, he threw it in the air.  the ball opened, releasing smoke and fire from the seals on it and sparky landed in the center of the field in a crouch.  Slowly she rose to a standing position and faced the audience, flames blazing on her wrists.  Flames blazed forth on her feet and she began to go through an elegant and fluid exhibition of flaming kicks that left streaks of fire through the air as she worked.

Z then pulled two objects from his bag and tossed it at her.  Sparky caught the items out of the air in a fluid movement, revealing them to be two nunchaku that resembled two kitchen knives connected by a chain with blades glistening with some sort of coating.  Sparky then began to go through a flowing freeform with the bladed weapons, the metal flashing in the light as they were swung around her body.

As sparky did this, z pulled out several balls and threw them at Sparky.  the fighting type shattered the balls with swings from her weapons, not breaking form for a second, each swing being part of a flowing attack.  As the balls were shattered, they released colored smoke that blended together and formed a multicolored cloud that shrouded Sparky from view.  Z then raised his right arm and brought his left hand to the keystone embedded in the bracelet on his wrist.

Energy began to glow from inside the smoke cloud and suddenly the smoke was dispelled by the energy being released, revealing sparky in her Mega-Form, holding the weapons with one end in her hand and the other held under her arms.  Letting the weapons swing again, she breathed fire onto the blades, causing the coating on them to ignite in a blue flame, causing the nunchaku to blaze through the air as blue glowing streaks that left trails of light in their wake.

As the blades swung, they picked up speed, Sparky using her Speed Booster ability to move faster and faster until the weapons were a blazing blur.  she then moved over to one of the dummies and cut through it several times with her weapons, the blades looking like blue streaks of light that sliced through the dummy.  when she was done, sparky blew out the flames and the dummy fell to the ground in flaming pieces.

Their act done, Z and sparky bowed to the queen and Sparky reverted to her normal form.

(make sure to watch the links)

Eira had been pleased to see that Akane had been doing well even with the loss of one of her precious partners, though she was surprised by Akane rushing them to get the contest started without much more catching up. She made a mental note as Nicole took the stage to catch the fellow queen later so they could talk more in private. As it came to be her turn, Eira decided that there was only one Pokemon she could choose to give Akane the wow factor that she wanted, though she wasn't sure if this was going to be the obvious choice for her when she was known for using Water and Ice type Pokemon the most.

"Thank you for your consideration, Queen Akane," Eira said formally as she stepped onto the stage for her own turn, one of her hands resting on her slightly swollen stomach as the other clutched the pokeball she had chosen. She chose to address her audience for a moment before she began, knowing well from the cheers that she had received time and time again that she was a well loved contestant in Celosia. "I am sorry to say that I will not be moving around nearly as much as I normally do, for obvious reasons, but I still plan on this performance being as spectacular as I am known to give. Thank you for all of your support, Celosia, and I hope my performance is just what you expect of me."

She stepped back and took a deep breath for a moment before she sent out the Pokemon she had chosen to compete with today, Bullet shooting out of his pokeball like a rocket in his excitement to be on stage.

"Bullet, start with your Leech Seed," Eira instructed calmly, showing the excited Pokemon that having energy was just fine but they had to be professional while on the stage. Bullet nodded eagerly as the bulbs on his tail began to glow to signify that he was charging up his attack. After a moment, Bullet pointed his mouth up to spit out seeds that were glowing a bright, neon green towards the ceiling, vines growing from the seeds rapidly as they moved.

"And now your Bullet Seed," Eira instructed, smiling at her partner who was giving this contest all that he had. Bullet didn't hesitate as he began to shoot miniscule seeds at a rapid pace towards the glowing seeds that were just beginning to fall from the ceiling. When she bullet-like seeds made contact with the glowing ones, the seeds exploded one by one to form bright green fireworks that shimmered as they cascaded down towards the stage.

"And now finish with a jumping Headbutt," Eira told Bullet as she eyed the vines that still had a bit of glow coming from them even though their seed bases had been destroyed. Bullet took a step back before he began to charge towards the middle of the stage. Suddenly, Bullet stopped with one clawed foot and jumped with his powerful leg into the air, his head tucked so his mushroom cap would create a bullet-like tip for him to go faster. Bullet was now moving through the air so fast, white air currents seemed to be coming off of him, mixing with the green sparkles that were still hanging in the air to make the speedy Pokemon seem to sparkle himself.

Bullet twisted near the top of the stage so he seemed to land on both feet on the ceiling before he pushed himself off with both of his powerful legs. The shimmering green Pokemon now came barreling towards the stage as a perfect embodiment of his name, twisting to gather up the vines as he passed them. When he finally landed in the center of the stage, there seemed to be small burst of green as the sparkles that he had caught now fully exploded and the vines that had moved with him flew outward across the stage to create a small field around him.

Eira stepped forward to be beside her Pokemon, who seemed to wag his tail in happiness and eagerness to be praised by her and her fellow queen. She gently placed a hand on top of his cap before she gave as much of a bow as she could in the tight dress and with her ever growing stomach, Bullet bowing towards Akane along with her.

Nicole gave a nod to Akane before she looked Cael in the eyes from his perch on her arm.  "Cael, hold back just a little bit okay?  You heard the judge, no knockouts."  She said getting a nod in return from the Pokemon.  She then looked to Z and gave him a small smile.  "Let's give them a show huh?"  She said in a kind tone that was meant as a goodwill gesture.  In her mind, whoever won, won.  That's just how it would be.  "Alright Cael, it's our start.  Start setting up for a Dragon Pulse.  But for the attack we use now, use a Zen Headbutt!  Defense move into Acrobatics after you hit."  She commanded, watching as Cael began to form the familiar sphere for the Zen Headbutt before sending it towards Sparky for his attack of the round.  He then flew off of Nicole's arm, with the Dragon Pulse forming for his next round as he flew into the defensive Acrobatics Nicole asked for.  Nicole could only hope that making Cael into a moving target would make for an interesting defensive set up.

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Nicole Post: 1

(Please let me know if this seems to be done right or not...)