[IC] Pokemon: Nexus [Accepting Two More!]

[Lord Santa]

Steven started at the fellow trainer's voice, startled at the sudden presence and question. He sighed, calming down enough to give a quiet answer. He certainly had expected someone to come, but not behind him. Thankfully, it was someone he was at least vaguely acquainted to. Vaguely.

"It's team Nexus." Steven said quietly.

Steven stared ahead as he talked, watching the Nexus blockade ahead. In the short time he'd been waiting, the crowd had hardly thinned any. It wasn't like a full mob or anything, but there was an difficult amount to deal on with just one person.

Make that two, I guess. He thought, correcting himself.

He glanced back quickly at the trainer as he shot out another question. Queen was shying away from Alex a little, cautious around someone she'd never met. Steven thought about the trainer's question, turning his head again to look at the blockade. Alex's statement could be true, but if it was, they wouldn't be just standing around. If they were hunting for trainer's pokemon, they would hunt up and down route 2, or even route 1. Which likely meant that Steven's initial hypothesis was correct.

"They're probably waiting for someone." Steven said with certainty. "But we do have to do something about it..."

Steven took his pokedex out and checked the information for Queen. It was important to know what she knew to do for the oncoming battle. Tim kept watch

Hm, gust and sweet scent? Steven read.

Mulling over his options, he suddenly grinned. Queen bumbled curiously closer.

"Queen, I'm going to need you for this." Steven whispered. "Tim, you're on standby."

Queen buzzed a question, but Tim warbled his understanding.

"Just trust me on this." Steven said, sporting a distinctively mischievous grin.

He really shouldn't be grinning like this, but it seemed so juvenile to him (despite him still being a kid), and it would be incredibly funny if pulled off correctly.

"Use sweet scent." Steven told her.

Queen buzzed nervously but did as she was told, covering the surrounding area with a honey-like scent. Fortunately, Steven and co they were far enough away from the nexus group to alert them, even as the scent spread. But the first stage of Steven's brilliant plan hadn't yet ended.

"Use gust. Direct it to those guys." Steven whispered.

Queen complied, buzzing up a storm, gathering the sweet scent and sending it in the direction of the team nexus goons. The scent wafted towards the outlying goons, slowly getting into their attention zone. Before it could get there, Steven got up slightly, still out of sight, and scurried quietly behind a conveniently close by tree. Before hiding there, he grabbed Alex.

"Come with me." He said, dragging his impromptu teammate with him.

He hid behind the tree, Queen following confusedly, while Tim had gleaned what was going to happen.

"Here's what I'm trying to do." Steven said, addressing Alex and Queen. "Basically, I wanna bait them into coming here, so we don't have to deal with them all at once."

Some of the goons were noticing the sweet scent, and it would only be a matter of time before they went to investigate.

"They might come in groups, so I want you to brain them when they come close." Steven told Alex. "We need to hit them fast, without the others noticing."

Steven glanced out from behind the tree, trying to see if his plan was going to work.

"We don't want much of a commotion. It's a pre-emptive strike, so we need to take out as many as we can." He said. "If we take out a few, the others might come looking for them."

((@AbysmalDemon and maybe @1Charak2))

[Sho Minazuki]

Blair Aschenford | Vanessa Von Goshe's Studio

@MissFortune

"W-well... I certainly never planned to join the auditions, and were I to do so now... I would make a fool of myself, I haven't put nearly as much time into this kind of thing as you have", he responded. They arrived to the ground floor now and the studio was easily within sight.

"I will definitely stay to watch though and give my support, this is a rare opportunity after all", he said. it was indeed what he said it was, a rare opportunity. A famous coordinator holding auditions, it would give great insight into the kind of level a coordinator must reach. It didn't affect him much, but he was always amazed with the ways a coordinator would use their Pokemon.

[MissFortune]

Fantasia Heirloom - Vanessa Von Goshe's Studio

@Sho Minazuki

"Here we are!" Fantasia stood at the tall, pane glass doors in awe; taking a moment to picture her new life as it may be.

"Do I look okay?" She said while fluffing up her frilly dress, "-I wanna make a good impression!"

Blair nodded, he too seemed to be impressed by the modern, sleek and professional design of the studio; in a way it almost looked like a dance studio with light wood floors and tumbling mats.

"Well, I guess this is me." Fantasia stepped closer to the automatic doors and smiled widely, "-Oh!"

She turned back towards Blair as she took a seat in the lobby, "Do you mind if I borrow Snivy for the auditions? I want to impress her."

[AbysmalDemon]

Now the kid had something going. But still, it was amateur, and easily predictable, and simple to get past. "Alright Sandile back to the top, and pepper the Ralts with a sand attack!" As the command was given, Sandile spiraled back up to the surface, from digging, and started to skid, and send sand everywhere. As the sand came down on the multiple Ralts, he could tell which ones were fake.

Then he had found the real one, blinding it with sand, making it lose its concentration. It then dug down, and sank its teeth into the Ralts' leg, and once more, flung it against the wall. "Alright, good job Sandile, but watch those leaves!" Garret was confident he had the win, but he stayed focused, knowing anything could happen.

@Eklispe

[Sho Minazuki]

Blair Aschenford | Vanessa Von Goshe's Studio

@MissFortune

"You look fine", better than around twenty minutes ago at least. At that time she was panicking and now she's overly excited plus nervous.

"And these are auditions right? Assuming you succeed and she finds out the Snivy isn't yours... It would be problematic, plus Alain is completely new to being handled by a trainer, much less a coordinator... Besides, you have worked hard with your Budew, I think you need to put faith in that", he explained. Not to mention as he has known lately, Alain was kind of a trickster doing things on his own... So it wouldn't be a good idea to even have him in something he wasn't serious about, that is if that Snivy could take anything seriously.

"Don't worry, I'll be supporting you and watching you with Empress here, I'm sure you'll do excellent".

[AbysmalDemon]

Alex nearly blacked out from the pull from the younger boys grip on his collar, that closed of his throat. He tried to keep his coughs light, and quiet, not wanting to draw more attention to the attention they already had. He understood that they would investigate it, but Alex did not understand why they wouldn't just be lulled into the incredibly sweet, and soothing aroma emitting from the Combee.

"Alright, me and slash can handle this. Well ju-" Alex stopped mid sentence, as he heard a rustling in the bushes, getting closer and closer. "Slash, get ready." Slash had a determined look on his face, ready to take out Team Nexus, but it was disappointed, as the source of the sound emerged, as a Skiddo.

The Skiddo met the odd team with a pair of wide eyes, not expecting people, and other Pokemon crouching in the bushes. It walked up to Alex, and then next to him, and sat in the grass to watch, intrigued in whatever the trainers were doing. "Anyways... Slash, when they come, send them a quick attack with your knee to the head, just not in the temple. Do it right here." He pointed to the spot on his head where he wanted Slash to attack. Slash then reared up, ready to charge at Alex. "No! Not at me. Do it when they come." Slash then had a look of understanding on his feathery face.

Then another rustle emitted from the bushes. With every rustle, Slash got even more ready, making sure his stance was right. As the Grunt emerged from the bushes, with another behind her, Slash shot of, taking the girl out, then the boy after. Taking note that the two noticed him before he striked, Slash took a more hidden spot, among the branches of a high tree from where the two Grunts entered.

As Slash took his new hiding spot, Alex began to pet the Skiddo on its head, in between its two horns. The Skiddo made a calm, "Ski." as a reply. "Well, what's next? We can't do this forever. They'll eventually start to be more cautious, and have their Pokemon out with them. A fight will be inevitable."

@Lord Santa

[Lord Santa]

"Yeah, that's the idea." Steven said, dragging the bodies out of sight.

It was good to see that his new team mate had the skills to make this work, because it would've sucked otherwise. The idea was to whittle down as many as possible before the big confrontation. The point of his plan wasn't to avoid fighting, it was to fight before the fight began, basically.

"Preferably, I wouldn't want to fight these guys," Steven said, peeking through the bushes at the remaining grunts. "I would want to destroy them. But as it stands, we're not strong enough to take on all those guys at once, so this'll have to do."

Steven came back, out of the bushes and back to their hiding spot. Queen buzzed up next to him, wondering what Steven would do next. Tim, however, knew what Steven was planning, and flew off into the trees (not the one slash is on, mind you). Steven studied their hiding place a little and bent down at a nearby bush.

"The idea is that, since some of their dudes went missing, they'll send a few more to investigate." Steven explained, beginning to handle the bush. "And after that, even more dudes will come in, though I don't think it'll get to that stage."

Steven had made a little alcove in the bush, big enough for him and Queen to hide in. Before hiding in it, he turned back around to address Alex.

"Normally, it'd eventually get out of hand because of the amount of dudes there are, and you'd get too much attention." Steven explained. "But in this case, there weren't that many anyway, and that's exactly what we want. To get attention."

Steven began backing up into the alcove he made, going prone and shifting into the bush. Queen buzzed into the bush by his side.

"If we want to get them all out of the way, it's easier to whittle them down slowly." Steven said, settling in the bush.

Once he was comfortable, he grabbed the top of the alcove and brought it down a little.

"If I'm right, there'll be roughly 4 coming down this time. Should be the last wave before the big boss." Steven said to Alex as he covered himself. "Leave two to me, and I'd recommend you hide as well."

Steven completely covered himself now, and it was as if he was part of the bush. Queen hummed quietly inside, but it was hardly noticeable. Tim's eyes glinted mischievously in the trees, and Steven's own eyes shared the same sheen. Whoever was coming in next would be in for some pain.

@AbysmalDemon

[AbysmalDemon]

Right. Now to hide. The small patches of shrubbery weren't enough for him to hide in, and the smaller boy had taken the only sufficient hiding spot. He smiled at the Skiddo as he thought about, and looked for places to hide. The Skiddo, had taken quite a liking to Alex, and each time he stopped to look at a place to hide, it would nudge up, next to his side. Alex looked at the Skiddo's green top of its body, and an idea came to his mind. "Do you mind if I use you for something?" The Skiddo bounced in enjoyment, and let out a small noise. Alex then whispered something in the Skiddo's ear.

A few moments later, Alex was shrouded in the bushes, or what at least looked like bushes. Alex had found a decent sized bush, and put most of his body behind it. The rest of his exposed body, had Skiddo covering it, with only the top of his body showing, looking like the leaves of plants. "You ready guys?" Slash let out a small chirp, as it flapped its wings, and the Skiddo replied with a, "Sk-Ski!" The Skiddo was ready for action, and waited, unmoving, for Team Nexus to come.

@Lord Santa

[Lord Santa]

There were a few reasons Steven chose that particular bush. It was big enough to hide in, for one. The second reason was that it was on the outside of their 'ring of silence', as he'd like to describe it. They have to be silent in it, and it silences enemies. The third reason for picking the bush was because it seemed roomy enough to shift in.

Peeking out of the bush, he could see the Nexus grunts coming up. 4, just like he'd predicted. As they approached the ring, Steven turned back around. It occurred to him that he'd never made a signal to attack for Alex, but Steven just assumed he'd cover his back. He'd have to, anyway, otherwise the plan would go pretty pear-shaped.

Soon, the grunts trudged into the ring and saw their unconscious team mates.

"Larry! Dave!" One of them cried.

As the crew rushed in to help their fallen team mates, Steven and Queen emerged from the bushes and Tim came down from the trees.

"Tim, do it! Queen, gust!" Steven yelled. "Alex, get 'em!"

As he did, he pointed Queen towards the back grunt on the left while Tim swooped the one on the right. The right grunt turned around just in time to catch Tim's swooping peck right in the face. Before the left grunt could even fully turn, Queen's gust blew towards him, wrapping around his legs and throwing him off his feet. As the grunt flew, Steven ran in. The right grunt was only off balance, but that would soon be fixed.

As the right grunt tried to right himself, Steven jumped and extended his feet, sailing towards the off-balance bandit feet-first. Reaching the grunt, both of Steven's feet smashed into the grunt's face, knocking the grunt several feet backwards. Steven himself fell to the floor with a light thump. Gentle, compared to what he'd just done, and compared to what he was about to do.

Steven got up quickly and ran up to the downed grunt. He raised his foot and let down an almighty stomp, straight into the grunt's testicles. As the grunt cried in pain, Steven kicked him again. Steven did it again and again, until the grunt stopped yelling and started crying. Then ran to the other downed grunt who'd been pinned by Tim but had seen just what had gone down.

The grunt cowered as Steven approached, trying desperately to roll away, but to no avail. Tim used his scary face, keeping the grunt still as Steven walked up menacingly.

"No, please, not the balls..." The grunt whimpered.

"Sorry." Steven said, smiling wickedly. "I'm the devil."

Steven proceeded to stomp on the man's balls multiple times. Now that he'd turned the two hardened grunts into whimpering men with bruised crotches, he turned to see how Alex was doing.

"Hey, you done yet?" He asked, pleased with his work. "Since this is basically the final wave, I figured I'd be really unsubtle about it."

@AbysmalDemon

[MissFortune]

Fantasia Heirloom - Vanessa Von Goshe's Studio

@Sho Minazuki

"Oh, no problem! Your right!" Fantasia smiled at Blair, "-I have to impress her with what I've got!"

Thus, Fantasia and Blair waited in the studio. Fantasia seemed amazed by the modern and intricate designs as well as multiple contest ribbons from all around the globe neatly displayed in a very flashy glass case that was mounted to the wall.

She noted that she was not the only ones auditioning for the apprenticeship with the world-renowned coordinator, there were roughly thirty to forty people all eagerly awaiting their turn in the waiting room; patiently sitting by until Miss Von Goshe takes her next batch of auditions.

Five minutes or so passed in the cramped waiting room before a man with a headset and a clipboard came into the waiting room, anticipating the crowd's excitement as everyone clapped for him.

“Alright, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of Miss Vanessa Von Goshe; I would formally like to welcome you to what may be your first step to stardom.”

Fantasia’s eyes lit up like a child at a festival seeing fireworks for the first time, Roselia and Alain seemed excited too, prancing around in anticipation as Duchess sat angrily on her trainers lap.

“Now, as part of this audition I must go over a few rules with you all.” The man flipped the page on his clipboard, “Ehm.”

“Rule number one, Shiny Pokemon Only; Miss Von Goshe doesn’t waste time with ‘average’ Pokémon. If you possess an ‘average’ Pokémon, please return them to their Pokeballs.”

“Rule number two, Do as you are told. Do not disobey an order by Miss Von Goshe. If you do or cannot perform the order correctly, you will be thrown out.”

“Rule number three, Do not speak unless spoken to. If you mutter so much as one sound out of turn, you will be thrown out.”

“Rule number four, if you did not dress appropriately for the occasion; your audition is already over.” The man then began to reap row to row in the audition room, kicking out people with cheap dresses or unmatching tuxedos out; He called out Blair but made an exception once he explained he was only spectating.

“Okay, finally rule number five. If you are to obtain a mentorship you are not to compete with Miss Von Goshe under any circumstances after taking these lessons.”

[Sho Minazuki]

Blair Aschenford | Vanessa Von Goshe's Studio

@MissFortune

The participants were thinned from forty to barely a dozen so quickly... Shiny Pokemon only? Only those who are well-dressed? Blair managed to stay on two reasons, that he was spectating, and that the man doing the announcements recognized his last name when he introduced himself. His name held a lot of influence. As he was listening to the rules whilst sitting in spectator seats, the rules were all... Incredulous. Absolutely unreasonable, but the one that was the most suspect was the last one... Why did Von Goshe even bother to mentor, if her student was not even allowed to compete against her? To be fair, nothing would stop them once they reached a certain point in fame... It would only mean to be on her bad side but...

"I see you too recognize how pretentious this is beginning to feel...", he said, Empress had a little scowl... She understood, and didn't like what she was hearing too.

"Well... I sure hope Fantasia will be alright... I'm not sure now whether I want her to succeed or not", for her to fail, would mean she were to become well, depressed. It would take quite some time for her to recover unless she had changed or her convictions to be a coordinator were not rooted to becoming Von Goshe's student. Though were she to succeed... Her path would seem soulless and without care...

Rule one was an aesthetic, he had seen many non-shiny Pokemon perform incredibly well, a shiny coat only meant they looked unique, so it was a bonus. Rule two completely defeated the purpose of being a student and learning. If you fail an action, then there is where you learn... If they could do everything perfectly, there was no reason to teach them. The only reasonable rule was the fourth but that was stretching it...

[Eklispe]

As soon as Hadaron saw the gym leader's plan he shouted, "Don't worry about the sand, focus on your opponent." Ralts nodded closing its eyes and attempting to feel out where the Sandile was. Though Sandile's dark nature made is impossible to affect with physic powers it made a very visible, 'hole', of sorts. Ralts could sense a void and that was where the Sandile was. As soon as the void began moving towards Ralts it trilled, the hair covering its face lifting up and it opened its eyes staring directly at the Sandile and hurling the magical leafs at it, though the Sandile immediately latched onto Ralts leg causing both of them to suffer the full brunt of each others attacks. As he expected the Sandile once again hurled Ralts against the wall, but this time Ralts was ready as was Hadaron.

"Ralts, attack now!" Hadaron shouted, as the Ralts sped through the air it was already summoning more leaves behind it. Ralts attacked with half of them and brought the other half behind him cushioning his impact. Hopefully the sudden attack before Ralts had even fully recovered from the attack would catch the Sandile off guard. Though when Ralts impacted against the wall and regained its feet it as clear it was suffering the effect of the battles, it was panting heavily and leaning over slightly, one eye peeking through its hair to look at the Sandile.

[MissFortune]

Fantasia Heirloom - Vanessa Von Goshe's Studio

@Sho Minazuki

With the man finishing the list, only a few short moments passed before he stood the silent trainers up and walked them into a very large, dance studio; lining each person against the wall with their corresponding Pokémon, across the room the auditioners could see Miss Von Goshe finishing her last session; Fantasia could hardly contain her joy.

“Good Luck,” the man whispered, “-Miss Von Goshe will be with you shortly.”

Fantasia held Budew tightly in her arms as she listened to the previous class, still auditioning infront of her and Blair. She noted, Vanessa was speaking with one of her assistants; whispering loud enough for Fantasia to pick up.

“-Oh my god, how times have changed; these girls must be blind or completely deranged. –I mean have they not heard?” She snickered with the assistant, “To get a crown or a ribbon you must be attractive and have class.”

Vanessa walked over to a woman who was slightly overweight with glasses and possessed multiple shiny Pokémon. She coordinated beautifully but to no avail; Vanessa simply kicked the pleading and crying woman out of the audition.

“-please come back when you lose a few pounds.”

The snobby rich kids in Fantasia and Blair’s group with perfect figures laughed loudly at the poor girl who was booted from the audition. Fantasia however, felt very uneasy and sad about these confusing conditions Miss Von Goshe was making.

After the shunning and laughter, Vanessa strutted back to the center of the room and dismissed her last set of auditions; then pivot-turned towards Fantasia and Blair’s group.

“-You may laugh, but this was all a test.” Vanessa walked over to a man whom was slouched over, “-don’t do this-“ Vanessa snapped her fingers and had two muscular men escort him out of the building, then she moved on to her next target.

A girl whom was wearing what had to be a hundred dollar dress, which was not enough for Miss Von Goshe whom promptly pointed and laughed at the insecure girl’s wardrobe, once again getting her removed from the studio.

“-don’t do that, and remember that Miss Von Goshe always knows best.”

Fantasia could feel a cold sweat and an unnerving butterfly feeling in her stomach as Miss Von Goshe walked closer. Fantasia had a feeling this would be the hardest thing she would ever have to do.

[Sho Minazuki]

Blair Aschenford | Vanessa Von Goshe's Studio

@MissFortune

Blair didn't laugh. If there was anything his father had taught him, it was that talent was a far greater asset than appearances. Appearances will help in negotiations, but talent is what brings something to those negotiation tables. He looked to Fantasia who also seemed rather distraught by all of this. The few who were left were... Well, some of them Blair did recognize, class mates, or former class mates. None of them seemed to notice he was here, likely because they were too focused on this whole thing. Watching all of this transpire was just like a page out of old history textbooks about tyrants. It made him cringe, because he simply didn't understand why someone who was so great could ignore the finer qualities of the people around them... It made him disgusted, and never more did he want to use his influence to bring her down. Such a thought is still too early though as he's realized... First and foremost he had to see how this would play out.

"This makes me wonder what mother and father think of her...", he muttered to himself. He had only heard good things about her, but the lady in person was far different from what he, or anyone had imagined in fact...

[MissFortune]

Fantasia Heirloom - Vanessa Von Goshe's Studio

@Sho Minazuki

“Excuse me?” Vanessa smiled condescendingly at Blair, "is there something you'd like to say?"

Fantasia loosened her collar nervously for her friend, remaining silent and watching in horror; afraid he may be kicked out.

"Hmmph?" She awaited a response that never came, "You're lucky that you are a familiar face, you may stay."

Vanessa turned back towards the auditioners, tossing her head back as she took the last word.

"One more outburst and your parents will be hearing from me." She smirked, "-Okay little boy?"

And just like that Vanessa was belittling her crowd again.

[AbysmalDemon]

As the Team Nexus grunts emerged from the bushes, the other trainer he was with, had already taken two. Slash had jumped on ones head, to annoy, and distract him, and the Skiddo, he was hiding behind, did a mule kick, to the other ones stomach. Alex emerged from behind the bush, and punched the nose of the one that Slash was annoying.

"Yeah, I'm done. We should probably get going, before more come. I don't want to risk my Pokemon getting hurt bad. Talk about unsubtle.

Alex gestured for the younger boy to follow him, making their way out of the bushes. Alex looked back to check, and noticed the Skiddo was following them. "D-Do you want to come, with me?"

"Ski-Ski!" The Skiddo jumped up and down with excitement, before tapping its head on the Pokeball, in Alex's outstretched hand. Alex then quickly made his way out of the bushes, they wee in luck, as it seemed the rest of the goons had made their way down the opposite way of route two, a helicopter landing before them.

---

Del Rosas' com buzzed. He answered it. It was from the boss.

"Don't worry about recruitment. You have a new mission. A helicopter to Grand City is arriving. More information will be given to you on your ride there. Over."

Without word to the grunts he made way for the helicopter, as they followed behind him. What did the boss want with him in Grand City?

[Lord Santa]

"Well, we gotta finish 'em first then. I have potions, so it should be fine." Steven said, pushing into the bush to spy again. "Actually, wait a sec."

As Steven watched, the leader led the remainder to his group onto a nearby mysterious helicopter.

"Huh, where are they going?" Steven wondered aloud.

Steven was a little confused. The team had just suddenly left, leaving their men behind, which made no real sense to Steven. He hadn't seen any signs of hesitation at all. Did they think nothing of their men? That couldn't be the case, because Steven's plan had worked. Obviously, they would've cared.

Nevertheless, team Nexus was gone for now. Steven's objective was technically completed. Despite that, Steven felt bummed out for missing out on a possible fight with someone who wasn't a complete chump.

Steven retreated from the bushes and caught up to Alex as Tim also appeared and landed on Steven's head. Queen bumbled to his side, slightly confused as to the result. Steven put a reassuring hand on his new friend, gently patting the combee.

"You did good, Queen."

Queen buzzed contentedly and Tim cooed in approval.

"Anyway," Steven said, turning to Alex. "For some reason, the remaining guys just got on a helicopter, and I have no idea why."

They could see the helicopter now, before it flew off into the distance. Steven stared at it as it went off, still wondering why they left as he talked.

"I mean, they left their guys behind." Steven said, gesturing towards the unconscious grunts. "What's up with that?"

@AbysmalDemon

[Sho Minazuki]

Blair Aschenford | Vanessa Von Goshe's Studio

@MissFortune

Smirk as much as she wants, his smile didn't fade, nor did his expression change. There was something he would indeed like to say, but given his own strength through his Pokemon, it would be foolhardy, so he kept silent. Maybe he will give his parents a call today... In any case, it made him laugh internally that she thought she had sway over him through his parents. He was the one who independently managed to avoid their assistance when he began his journey, he had his own ways. Well in any case, he shall have to observe.

He sorely hoped Fantasia did not seek to become Von Goshe though. Her fame may be admirable, but her as a person was the opposite of that. These conditions here were far too counter-productive. No cameras meant she was going to be as mean as she possibly could be. The rumours of her paying out all the judges became a lot more believable, and he assumed these rumours came from some of the people like the ones she kicked out of her studio just earlier... They were bitter, but seeing her in person, those claims felt real.

[MissFortune]

Fantasia Heirloom - Vanessa Von Goshe's Studio

@Sho Minazuki

Before Fantasia had time to cope with what had just taken place, Vanessa was at it again.

“Alright simpletons, listen up.” She paced to the front of the line, “Show me a glittering, dazzling show-stopping preformance with what Shiny Pokémon you possess! I wanna see something that will make the crowd scream 'encore'!”

Fantasia became pumped with excitement as she set Budew down on the floor, listening intently for Miss Von Goshe to produce further instruction.

“Ready? Begin!” and just like that, the judging began.

Vanessa snaked her way down the line, allowing some performers to stay for the second round while leaving others: kicking, screaming and crying as they were escorted out of the building. Regardless, she made her way down to Blair and Fantasia whom was trembling in the presence of her idol.

“Ehm, I am waiting.” Vanessa leered at Fantasia whom seemed to get the hint.

“Budew, Stun Spore!” Fantasia rose her arms as Budew charged up its bud, “-then use Vine Whip to shape a heart!”

Budew obliged her trainer as the glittery substance sprinkled down onto the twirling Pokémon, it sparkled beautifully with aid from the fluorescent lighting the studio was radiating; as the twinkling spores fell to the wooden floor, Budew had shaped the two vines peeking from its bud into the shape of a nearly perfect heart.

Fantasia smiled widely at the beautiful display, hardly containing her joy as she anticipated what Vanessa had to say.

“-I call that routine, ‘Stunningly Gorgeous’!” Fantasia chuckled, blushing a slight bit at her own pun.

Speechless, Vanessa smiled condescendingly at Fantasia for a few silent moments; there was a bit of hesitation in her voice as she was looking for the right words to say, “-Ehm... Tell me, is this some sort of sick joke?”

“Ehm…” Fantasia loosened her collar nervously, “N-no?”

Vanessa roared in laughter, enticing everyone in the studio to do the same in a outburst of emotion. Fantasia began to feet weak in the knees as her face began to turn a bright red, never had she felt this embarrassed before in the entirety of her life.

“First off, only a single shiny Pokémon?“ Vanessa peered down at the joyful Budew with a sickening look as she kicked the small Pokemon aside; drawing a small cry from the helpless bud.

Instinctively, Fantasia and Blair rushed to Budews aid in a moment of pure panic; making haste to scoop the weeping and teetering Budew back into Fantasia’s arms.

“-that had to be the most pathetic display of my whole career; simply the worst!”

“Miss Von Goshe!” Fantasia hollered, obviously flustered by the treatment she had received, “-you can pick on me all you would like, I can handle it; but the second you belittle and abuse a defenseless Pokemon; that’s where I draw the line!” she cradled her injured Budew in her arms, “-you should be ashamed of yourself! You cruel, cruel woman!”

Instantaneously, the studio became dead silent.

[Sho Minazuki]

Blair Aschenford | Vanessa Von Goshe's Studio

@MissFortune

Of course, what did this lady expect? These were students, not masters. You're looking for bloody potential, not a bloomed flower. As the events transpired, he hadn't really expected Fantasia to burst out like that, but considering her history with her precious Budew, and that the lady went on to abuse the poor thing... Well, guess everyone has their own berserk button, even he would be rather angry about that. As the studio fell silent Blair sat up and began clapping... It appeared Fantasia had become sick of this. He began to speak after a couple claps,

"Fantasia, are you ready to leave? The stink of pretense here is killing me...", the plan was to get out before they could recover from the shock, he was already walking towards Fantasia.

"Come on... You don't need someone else to become a great coordinator... That's why we're on a journey to begin with", he whispered to her as soon as he was standing beside her, he was urging her to immediately bolt for the door.