CHAPTER 72

The contest hall worked similarly to a gym, but I was surprised to find that a group of salesmen was selling coordinators’ merchandise in the lobby, which was something I had never seen happen in gyms.

“Can they just do that?” I asked, pointing at them.

“Yes,” Emilia said. “Pokemon coordinators are much more commercialized than trainers, and the Contest Committee is completely independent from the League, so the same rules don’t apply.”

“Commercialized how?” Justin asked.

“Coordinators don’t have a bunch of regulations and rules to follow,” Emilia explained further. “But that also means that they don’t get League funding. All that free stuff we get from being in the Circuit? They don’t get that, and the Contest Committee doesn’t either, which means that money is a lot more important to them and contest culture in general. Here,” she said, now that it was our turn to see the receptionist.

Emilia hadn’t been kidding when she said the Contest Committee needed money, since we actually had to buy a ticket to spectate the contest instead of just showing up in the stands for free. It wasn’t expensive or anything, but it was surprising nonetheless. We slowly squeezed our way into the stands, and we luckily were given seats that were all next to each other. The arena below wasn’t at all like a gym arena. It was set up to be a large circle, and the ground was metallic instead of natural.

“Why is it so packed?” Louis complained. “I thought you said it wasn’t one of the ones where you could win a ribbon.”

“You mean that it’s not a grand contest,” Emilia specified. “You’re correct, but there’s a really famous coordinator participating today. Her name is Temperance. Temperance Porter. Isn’t that an amazing name?”

“Ugh,” Pauline groaned. “Not her again.”

“Okay, I have to admit, that is a cool name,” I said.

Emilia clapped excitedly. “I’m her biggest fan! She owns a Dragonair and has the most beautiful combination of moves that you’ll ever see!”

I felt more excited at the mention of a Dragonair.

“And she’s participating in this when you can’t win a ribbon?”

“Temperance was just passing by and decided to do so,” Emilia said. “Remember when I said that coordinators did a lot of things for money? She runs a website where you can donate to her, but she also uploads a lot of stuff, like vlogs and some of her training routines. That’s also where I heard that she’d be there before the news picked it up,” she continued proudly.

I kept waiting, occasionally asking Emilia more questions about Temperance. I had been scared that we were all annoying her by being so inquisitive, but she looked like she was having the time of her life. I supposed it was her first time talking about this to anyone besides Pauline. I tried imagining not being able to talk about battling to anyone… and yeah, that would suck big time.

“So, can we go over the rules so I’m not completely lost about this?” Denzel asked. “I know nothing about contests.”

“It’s a shame how ignorant most trainers are about this wonderful side of Pokemon sports,” Emilia sighed. “But sure. There are two stages of a contest, the performance stage and the battle stage. In the performance stage, a coordinator sends out two Pokemon and showcases beautiful move combinations. Usually, it doesn’t last long, and the first stage is what separates the top sixteen from the rest,” she said. “Following me so far?”

We all nodded attentively, except Justin and Pauline, who already knew about this.

“Grand contests where you can win a ribbon are always a double performance battle. This one will only have a normal contest battle, but since we have time, I’ll explain both. In contest battles, the goal is primarily showing off a Pokemon’s style and skill instead of just using brute force to beat the other side into submission—” she continued.

Uh, that was a gross oversimplification, but I’d let it slide.

“—you win by showcasing the beauty or ingenuity of the way you use moves, and you only have five minutes instead of twenty. To decide who wins, we use a point system in both stages. See that little podium to the side?” Emilia asked. I nodded. “That’s where the three judges will sit. They’re the ones who add the points in the performance or deduce the points in the battle.”

“So it’s completely arbitrary?” Cecilia complained. “How crude.”

“No! Obviously they’re professional judges who know what they’re doing! You’re just being daft.”

“What if a Pokemon faints, then?” Cece continued. “What if I just order my Pokemon to pummel the opponent.”

“Then you’re not playing by the unwritten rules…” Emilia groaned. “Why are you like this? Obviously, coordinators will prioritize showing off the capabilities of their Pokemon instead of just beating the other side into a pulp. But Pokemon do faint sometimes, and that just means the side with the remaining Pokemon is the winner— but!” She exclaimed. “If you start just being rude and just doing that over and over, you can say goodbye to any fanbase you’ll have, sponsors, and a long-lasting career in general. You’re not the first one to have had the idea.”

“Okay, so… points,” Denzel said. “And the one with the least points at the end of the battle loses, but in the performance stage, getting more points is good. Got it. What’s a double performance battle? And why is the name so confusing? Why call it a performance when it has nothing to do with the performance stage—”

“It’s not that hard to understand! It works the same as a contest battle, but it’s a double battle instead. That means that the possibilities of move combinations improve… almost exponentially. It’s important to note that you’re locked in using the same Pokemon for an entire contest in both types of battles, however, so it’s best to pick wisely,” Emilia said.

“Alright, I think I have the gist of it,” Denzel said. “the people who named all of this must have wanted to confuse people as much as possible…”

“Oh! The judges are here!” Emilia yelled excitedly.

The lights dimmed, and stage lights began to track the three men making their way to the podium. The audience clapped as they took their seats.

“Who decides who the judges are?” Justin asked. “I’ve actually never thought about that.”

“They’re always selected from the Contest Committee. Some judges get really famous too, but since this is a small contest, I don’t really know who they are,” Emilia said.

One more person— this time, a woman walked at the edge of the circular arena. Everyone was dressed up incredibly nicely, which was a change from what I was used to seeing from people in gyms.

“That’s the commentator,” Emilia said. “We’re about to start.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another one of Eterna city’s contests!” She paused, letting the crowd go wild for a few seconds. “As usual, my name is Lily Garnette, and I’ll be your commentator this afternoon…”

She went on to hype up the contests for a few minutes, including dropping Temperance’s name, which made the crowd practically explode. After introducing each judge, the first coordinator was introduced, and the contest finally started. The boy, who looked to be about our age, was introduced as Terry Lars and then released a Volbeat and an Illumise.

“And to start us off, we have a combination that’s actually less common than we would think, Illumise and Volbeat! Let’s see what Terry has for us today!”

“Volbeat, Shock Wave! Illumise, Dazzling Gleam!”

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In a combination of moves I absolutely did not expect, Volbeat shook itself until electricity burst out of its body. The attack was surprisingly slow and too weak to deal any damage to anything, but then again, that wasn’t the point. Illumise’s entire body began to slow as beams of pink, glittering light shot out toward the electricity, this time much faster. The result was a beautiful light show that was accentuated by Shock Waves, and the two bug types danced around each other.

“Woah,” I said before looking around. Emilia didn’t seem too impressed with this display. Maybe her standards were insanely high from only watching top-level contests. Either way, the teenager continued with these two moves until his time was up, and the judges apparently agreed with Emilia. He got terrible scores.

“This feels so much more ruthless than gym battles for some reason,” I heard Denzel whisper.

In a way, he was right. Losing any battle was painful, but to have the fact that you’re inadequate told to your face by judges whose entire job revolves around contests? Arceus, that would stay with me for a long time.

Either way, the contest was just beginning.

——

The contest organizers had seemingly kept Temperance Porter for last, and the girl walked onto the stage with a confident stride. She was short and had her hair in a bob cut dyed completely white with a glittering hairpin. Her dress was also sparkling— as if it had diamonds in it, and it was also way too long to be practical. The back of it dragged on the ground behind her. She wore multiple rings on her fingers that also looked like diamonds.

“She sure knows how to make an entrance,” I whispered.

“She does!” Emilia said in an upbeat tone, grinning..

In fact, the audience was so stunned by her appearance that they hadn’t even begun to clap yet.

“And now, the last contestant of the performance stage, Temperance Porter—”

The girl— who was probably around eighteen or so— raised her hand at the commentator and shushed her.

“You’re killing my concentration,” she said in a smooth voice reminiscent of Gardenia. “My manager will probably kill me for saying this, but please shut it. Let my performance speak for itself.”

I was utterly taken aback that this was even allowed, but apparently, Temperance had so much clout in the contest game that they let the entire thing slide. I understood her reasoning, however. Commentators were great when you were a spectator, but they were extremely distracting when you were actually battling and thinking. It must have been the same for her.

“She’s so cool,” Emilia said. Her eyes were practically shining.

“That was kind of rude,” Denzel winced. “I feel the secondhand embarrassment from up there.”

“She is rude. The only reason people tolerate her is because she’s a good coordinator,” Pauline said, rolling her eyes.

“That’s ironic, coming from you,” I jabbed.

“You haven’t seen nothing yet from me! Even when we just met in Floaroma, I was holding back,” she replied. “I can actually be rude if you want me to be!”

“Wait… what do you mean, you were holding back?” Denzel asked with a look of pure horror.

“Temperance isn’t rude, she’s just misunderstood!” Emilia slightly raised her tone. “Now hush, she’s starting.”

Temperance took a deep breath and released a Dragonair and a male Meowstic onto the stage. The dragon immediately sang and took flight while the psychic type bowed slightly. I expected a command to be given, but Temperance only gave us silence. Instead, she walked onto the stage.

Dragonair dove down and wrapped around her as she somehow spun in the opposite direction with incredibly high heels. A Twister began to form, obscuring them from view. At the same time, Meowstic jumped, its ears unfurled, and its eyes shone as it floated into the twister. A few seconds later, it was on top of the draconic tornado, riding it like it was solid. The Twister began moving around the stage, and small psychic orbs began shooting out of the attack like bullets. Instead of continuing on their path and ramming into the familiar barrier I had gotten so used to, they instead slowed down and rotated in the opposite direction, moving all in unison and at the exact same speed.

A tornado with lights dancing inside and outside of it. What a beautiful sight it was. The Twister slowly began to end, and Temperance was somehow unaffected by the attack entirely. Even her hair hadn’t been disturbed by the strong wind. Dragonair put its head against its trainer’s and closed its eyes, and Meowstic interrupted its levitation, dropping into his trainer’s arms. They stayed in that pose like statues for what seemed like an eternity.

And then the audience clapped. Louder than I had ever heard during any gym battle. They chanted her name over and over. Temperance. A name etched into my brain that would never be forgotten. Temperance. A performance that took even Cecilia’s breath away when she had been bored throughout the entire contest. Temperance. A brand, a presence, a name synonymous with Pokemon contests.

A phenomenon.

She bowed with her two Pokemon, and the judges all gave her tens. A full score— the first one of the day. And she honestly deserved it. Nothing had even come close to her. She recalled her Pokemon and walked off the stage.

“That was… that was amazing,” The commentator said with a shaky voice. “Next up, the usual twenty-minute break, and then we begin the battle stage.”

Needless to say, Temperance advanced to the top sixteen, and proceeded to wipe the floor with the competition with her Dragonair. The dragon type had such an affinity with electric, fire, and water type moves that could create any type of effect. For example, it used Flamethrower against a Cinccino in the finals, but in such a creative way that it took our breaths away. The attack had been thrown in the air, and then split apart as it fell to the ground exactly like Draco Meteor. She could use Rain Dance and Thunder to create hundreds of weaker lightning bolts at once, and instead of disappearing right away, they stuck there, linking the clouds and the ground, completely defying anything I knew about the move. Cinccino had to fight in a maze of thunder, but navigating in between them was nothing for Dragonair.

Temperance had won, and it hadn’t even been close. When we exited the stands, I asked a question that had been burning my tongue for the last few hours.

“How good is Temperance?” I asked. “Because she seemed way too skilled to be here.”

I had to ask the question again, since Emilia’s head seemed to be still in the clouds, reminiscing about the contest.

“Oh, sorry,” she said. “She’s been at the Sinnoh Grand Festival before, but she’s never been further than the top sixteen. So she’s one of the best in the region, but not the best. I think she’ll win, this year, though!”

“Grand Festival?” Denzel said. “That rings a bell. Is that like the Conference?”

“Yes, except you need five ribbons to get in instead of eight badges,” Emi explained. “Contests run all throughout the year. Unlike gym battles, there’s no summer break, but grand contests where ribbons can be obtained are held every few weeks at best, and almost none of them are in Eterna. Most of the time, they’re in Hearthome, Jubilife, Sunnyshore, or Veilstone, but there are exceptions. The Grand Festival is held at the end of every year though, slightly before the Conference. The League and the Contest Committee worked something out so that they wouldn’t eat into their viewer bases and tank each other’s ratings.”

“And there’s no stigma about traveling by plane, I presume?” Cecilia asked.

“Nope. In fact, if you asked a coordinator if they traveled through the routes, most of them would look at you like you were insane. Anyway, wasn’t that fun?”

“I have to admit, it was, but Temperance just stole the entire show,” Denzel said. “But the marketing side of contests looks fun. Having a large presence online and stuff is kind of what I want to try doing as a trainer. But the biggest question I have is, why even join this contest if she was going to destroy everyone?”

“Money, obviously,” Emi deadpanned. “Everything Temperance was wearing— even the rings— was from a sponsor, and you get a lot more money than from winning gym battles. As I explained, coordinators need money more than trainers, so joining a low-level contest as a top coordinator wouldn’t be as frowned upon as it would be when doing it as a trainer,” She winced before continuing. “That’s part of why you see so many of the same faces at the Grand Festival every year. It’s extremely hard to actually get a ribbon as a new coordinator because the pros will just all swarm to the first grand contest they see since the monetary gains are bigger— along with the ribbon, obviously.”

“Well, we’ll support you every step of the way,” Pauline said.

“But you’re starting late. Will you be able to make it to the Grand Festival?” Louis asked as he stretched. “What?” He asked after noticing Pauline’s stare. “I was just asking!”

“Well, if I’m being honest, probably not,” Emilia said sadly. “There’s a grand contest in Hearthome that I should be able to get to at the pace we planned, but the goal shouldn’t really be about that in the first year anyway. It should be about gaining experience and making connections with other coordinators. Connections are way more important in the coordinator world than in the trainer world. Favors and advantageous friendships go a long way.”

I nodded. It was certainly true that if you really wanted, you could try to be an independent trainer without a group or sponsors. Even if it was crushingly difficult, it was possible, as Cynthia had shown when she became the Champion. For coordinators, however? That looked to be impossible, or at least nobody had done it yet.

It was evening when we started to leave, but I had something important I wanted to do, still.

“Cece,” I said, pulling her aside. “Can we hang out together, just the two of us?”

“W—what? Of course we can, but what’s the occasion?” She asked.

“Nothing,” I lied. “I just want to spend some time with a friend.”

We let the others know we were going our separate ways, and Cecilia and I decided to hop on a tram. I was going to tell her that I liked girls tonight no matter what.