Salad 2.6

Aaron Fulan

Verdanturf Town, Hoenn Region

I lounged back in the waiting room and watched as Solidad took the stage. I was admittedly very curious about her. I knew that in the anime, she and Brock were childhood friends from back when he was still the Pewter Gym Leader. I also knew that some time prior to canon, she would go on to win the Kanto Grand Festival. That she was allowed in a normal contest here proved she hadn't yet, but regardless, she was a talented coordinator, and I didn't doubt that she was the woman to beat here.

Truthfully, I wasn't sure if I should feel intimidated or honored to watch her rise to fame. It was the equivalent of knowing Taylor Swift or Beyonce before they became stars, a personal insight into their destiny. I felt the same way with Lisia in Slateport, but I at least wasn't competing against her.

Just as interesting were the emotional responses I could see in my fellow competitors. Most were about my age, perhaps a year older, so we were all feeling the butterflies. Some hid it better than others, and I made sure to take note of those as the more likely to pass the appeals round. There was also a decent amount of envy or lust there too; Solidad was a very pretty girl after all, and she carried herself with elegance born of experience.

On the other side of the room, I saw Drew studying Solidad intently. Like myself, he seemed to have committed himself to studying her performance, not purely for the aesthetic value, but likely to see what there might be to gain from watching a more experienced coordinator perform.

I nodded. As annoying as I found him, it was good to see that he took his dream seriously. I could respect that.

"Welcome, one and all, to Verdanturf's normal-rank contest!" shouted the emcee, a pretty blonde with wide-rim glasses that brought out her hazel eyes. She'd introduced herself as Clara Royce, a popular radio host who covered the pokémon racing circuit, not that I recognized her. "Now, let's jump right into things. First, let me introduce the judges. From left to right, we have Chief Rubin of the Verdanturf Police Department, Head Nurse Westfield from the pokémon center, and a retired hyper-rank coordinator, Mr. Evans!"

The crowd cheered at that. Some of the coordinators perked up in recognition at the final name. He was apparently a fairly recognizable figure in the town.

"Now to the appeals round. Our first coordinator hails all the way from Pewter City in Kanto. She's done a tour of Kanto and Sinnoh and intends to make a splash on the circuit with a fresh start here. Put your hands together for Solidad Saori!"

More applause. That was the cue for Solidad to throw out her pokéball. "Take the stage, Martin!"

Martin the slowbro was summoned to the very center of the chalk pokéball. He immediately let out a loud Yawn. From his nose blew a large, pink bubble of psychic energy that clung to his nostril for a second before floating into the air.

"Martin," Solidad mock-chided, "we're supposed to put on a show, not put them to sleep!" That drew several laughs from the audience, though perhaps not as much as she would have preferred. She hadn't struck me as the comedic type; I wondered if this was a new act they were trying.

The psychic bubble rose into the air and popped, showering the stage with a small rain of purple lights. "Fine, have it your way. Yawn again!"

Martin took that as his cue to make another bubble. And another. And another. Soon, there were six in the air, all held in place by the slowbro's psychic power. Then, the slowbro made a tugging motion with his paw and the bubbles sank a bit.

A glow of psychic aura enveloped him before he raised his paws in the air in a grabbing motion. The slowbro rose into the air, as though pulled into the sky by the floating balloons.

Solidad let out an exaggerated sigh and palmed her face. "That's Martin everyone, always with his head in the clouds. Backstage."

She recalled her slowbro and took a bow, first towards the audience, then to the judges, before rising and awaiting their feedback.

The police chief spoke first, holding out a nine. "An excellent show of psychic control."

Then the nurse held out her ten. "I agree. It was an excellent performance, especially from a slowbro so recently evolved. You can tell by how the shell on his tail has such pristine spikes, not worn down with time. A month… no, three weeks ago?"

Solidad bowed again. "Yes, ma'am. Martin evolved three weeks ago, a bit before I came to Hoenn."

"Well, we're delighted to have such a creative coordinator. Although, I felt your comedy fell a little flat."

The retired coordinator, Evans, commented. "I don't disagree that the commentary was the weakest part of the routine, but it wasn't supposed to be a highlight of the routine, just add a bit of dry humor. It's fine, but nothing spectacular.

"Overall, I found the whole thing quite refreshing. So many new coordinators try to copy Wallace with a water type, and to be fair, the man is worth learning from, but seeing a glorified fountain for the fourth time in a contest can admittedly get a bit stale. No, the best part of your routine wasn't just that it showed off your young slowbro's marvelous control, but that it was completely original. That's harder than most might expect. Eight points."

Miss Royce took over. "Wow, give it up for Solidad! She starts off the contest with a strong twenty-seven. Think anyone can top that? Let's find out with our next contestant!"

I could literally see the emotions of the contestants uplift. Solidad's performance wasn't particularly flashy and her attempt at comedy fell a little flat, so they thought they judges were being generous with points. I shook my head. It would have been nice if that were the case, but I doubted it.

Yawn wasn't a persistent attack; it was just a bubble of aura that induced sleep. It popped in seconds and wasn't meant to be maintained for long. Most of all, it was extremely delicate.

Martin had maintained six of them at the same time, encasing them with psychic energy without popping them. He had then lifted his own bulk and coordinated his rise to give the image of being carried off by a bundle of balloons. Coordination. Power. Finesse. He showed that he had it all. It was the kind of thing even one of mom's gym trainers would have been impressed by.

The judges weren't easy; Solidad was deceptively good.

And sure enough, the second coordinator, a girl with a flareon, managed a lackluster twenty-two points. The third an eighteen. The fourth a ten. I made a note to never try to make a shroomish tap dance.

After that, no one got higher than a sixteen and I laughed as I saw the mood in the room visibly plummet. Sure, I was in the same boat, but I was also the only one who could see everyone else's undisguised reaction. Besides, I didn't need to beat Solidad; I just needed to beat number four.

Things progressed in this manner until only Drew and I, completely new to the circuit, were left.

"Next, please welcome Drew Greenwald and budew!" the emcee called.

Drew Greenwald, I didn't know that was his last name, stood on stage with a confident grin. He had an excellent poker face for a kid; I might have bought it had I not seen the turmoil of emotions around him in the waiting room. Still, he held himself well and I could see the three judges paying him a bit more attention due to his composure compared to the last few contestants.

He tossed budew's pokéball a few times in his hand before sending it off on a low, underarm throw to center stage. "The stage is yours, budew," he called.

Everything he did was supposed to bring to mind a man of casual confidence. Unfortunately, though Drew himself was great at hiding his nervousness, his budew was not. It appeared on stage with the customary cry of its own name, landing on its stubby, root-like feet. Then it saw the audience and the spotlights trained on her and developed an acute sense of stage fright. With dozens of eyes on it, it could do little more than shiver in place.

"B-Budew?" it asked as it turned to its trainer. I'd never seen a grass type look so mechanical before.

A rapid-fire set of emotions warred across his face as the camera zoomed in on the trainer. He swallowed thickly and got a hold of himself, speaking reassuringly. "Just as we practiced, budew. Ignore the rest and follow my voice."

"Budew… bud!"

"Now, powder rainbow!"

The budew began to spin in place and let out three different clouds of powder. Though its movements were stilted and reminiscent of a wooden puppet rather than a dancer, it did get through the full routine. I could identify the gold of Stun Spore, violet of Poison Powder, and emerald of Sleep Powder. Rather than mix into a ruddy brown, the clouds formed separate layers that clung to the air for a minute.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

The budew then let out a happy cry, its confidence having returned, and began to fire a spray of water into the air that refracted the light. The light struck the powders and cast a rainbow into the sky that captivated the audience for several seconds before the powders settled back to the earth.

"Marvelous, Drew," the nurse spoke. "It's always a pleasure to see young trainers encourage their pokémon and their pokémon respond in kind. The show itself was good too of course. That's a seven from me."

"Six," the police chief said. "While I agree with her that you handled it well, that encouragement shouldn't have been necessary in the first place. I trust you and budew will both improve and merit higher ratings in the future."

The retired coordinator let out a small yawn. He'd been the hardest to impress by far. "Four. Your budew lacks confidence but that was already touched on by my co-judges so let's talk about the performance itself. Using powders to wow the audience is very basic and something almost every grass type coordinator does at one point or another. For a young pokémon like budew, it was a good option. Or, I suspect, the only option you had.

"But it's because the routine is so basic that you need more flair and finesse to stand out. All you did was layer the powders together, hope they don't blend, and then use Life Dew to make a rainbow effect. It's pretty to look at, but demonstrated very little of the skill I'd expect from a well-trained pokémon. You'll have far more options as budew grows, but for now, I'm not sure you cut it."

Drew hung his head, unable to refute the criticism. "Thank you for your advice, judges."

Miss Royce took over for the judges. "Thank you judges for both the encouragement and brutal honesty. Now with seventeen points, Drew is in fourth place with only one last contestant. Can he keep his ticket to the next round? Let's find out. Please welcome, Aaron Fulan!"

I stood. That was my cue. I palmed Jeanne's ball and felt it vibrate with excitement. We were in agreement. My appearance raised a few eyebrows from the judges and those who recognized my surname but I paid them no mind. Drew was right about one thing: They didn't matter. The only thing worth my attention right now was Jeanne.

I held out her pokéball in front of me and pressed the release button. You could aim the beam more accurately while it was in your hand so why did people insist on throwing it? I grinned as Jeanne appeared center stage. "Let's light 'em up, Jeanne."

Where I tried to appear cool and collected, a necessity to rep my gym, she had no trouble providing enough enthusiasm for both of us. "MAREEP!" she bleated, both forelimbs aimed at the sky in an adorable Y-pose. Her stubby horns and tail glowed a brilliant yellow and the violet bow pinned to her head caught the light beautifully. I could already see some of the audience coo at her.

"Terrain!" I ordered.

"Mareep!" The electricity she'd been storing in her horns and tail traveled to her hooves with an audible crackle. She brought them down and a shower of sparks erupted from the ground. A yellow field of supercharged earth spread out from her in all directions.

"Now, let's really show them a light show. Chain lightning!"

"Maareep!" With another cheery bleat, she let loose a dozen large Cotton Spores. It took a lot of work to get her to cut down on the quantity in favor of size and seeing the fruits of our labor brought a smile to my face.

The spores hung in the air like balloons, slowly sinking down to the ground. Before they could, electric charges from the terrain rose up into the air and met the oppositely charged wool, creating a cage-like effect around the mareep.

My excitable lamb then tossed out several Thunder Shocks, each traveling to the closest one before the static took over. The charge then knocked the woolen ball further into the sky, breaking the ground-to-air lightning that seemed to tether them in place. As the ball drew near to another, the charge hopped to the next, then the next, creating a dazzling display of lights that reminded me of tesla coils.

I watched with a mixture of pride and genuine bafflement. I wondered how any of this was possible. Everything I knew about electricity from my past life said this wasn't how it worked. Wool didn't float like a balloon. Electricity didn't travel like that. And yet, somehow, with a healthy dose of encouragement and training, my little lamb told physics to go fuck itself.

I let out a low whistle. She got the cue and stopped firing Thunder Shocks, allowing the sparking wool to slowly sink to the ground. She rose on her hind legs again and, as the balls touched the terrain and erupted into a final shower of sparks, the two of us took a bow towards the audience.

Jeanne, excitable as ever, ran over to my side and nuzzled into my leg. I winced as a jolt of static ran through my leg but remembered to bow to the judges as well. I'd have to coach her to do that in the future. I already had, but it seemed she forgot courtesy in her excitement.

The crowd filled the stage with applause and I gently nudged Jeanne to turn and face the judges while we waited our evaluation.

"That was positively dazzling," the nurse gushed, holding out a nine, but she'd been the most generous with her points so far so I held my breath. "What a wonderful way to close the appeals round! Your mareep not only knows a rare move, but her enthusiasm was electrifying."

I laughed politely, though it probably sounded a little wooden. It seemed I'd never escape electricity puns even without Wattson. The crowd seemed to eat it up though.

"It was a good show," the police chief agreed as he lifted a seven. "The lights, the sounds, and of course the sheer enthusiasm of your mareep were all delightful to see. I think your pokémon has a lot of potential, but I noticed that one of the balls didn't land in the Electric Terrain. Points off for that. A bit less enthusiasm and a bit more finesse perhaps."

I nodded. No matter, a single ball out of line was much better than she had managed just a week ago. Considering this was her first contest, my mareep's performance was more than satisfactory. Jeanne really did love the stage.

The retired coordinator looked at my mareep, then back at me. He nodded as he too held out a seven. "Not bad. Not amazing, but you've got a lot of potential, kid. You knew the Electric Terrain couldn't cover much ground so you spent all your time trying to focus the spread of Cotton Spore, right?"

I nodded. "Yes, sir. I found out about the tesla coil effect her wool balls have and decided to make it the highlight of our routine."

"You thought right. Although, I will say that the weakest point of your performance was you, the trainer. You thought carefully about the limitations of your pokémon. You even planned out your routine and set the Electric Terrain first for a great finisher. All that's great, but your own stage presence was lacking."

"I felt I should represent my sponsor well. Knowing her, she favors discipline and composure above dramatics."

"Yeah, that sounds like her. But that clashes with your own pokémon's enthusiasm. Find a way to mesh the two together. Otherwise, good job."

"Thank you for your advice, sir," I said. I'd watched everyone else get reamed on camera, but it was hard to stand here and take criticism. He wasn't wrong. Just because mom wasn't the emoting type didn't mean I had to be like her. Truthfully, I doubted she'd care if I took on a more bombastic personality for contests. Perhaps I could take after dad instead? He and his clefable, Astro, were far more personable. It was something I'd keep in mind.

"And with that the appeals round is over," the emcee shouted. She pointed to the scoreboard. "Solidad remains first with twenty-seven points, but our last contestant Aaron takes second with twenty-three, unseating Kayla with twenty-two and Vincent with eighteen. Please put your hands together for these final four!"

I grinned ear to ear as I walked back into the waiting room. There were only the four of us remaining as the organizers had called for an intermission for the audience. Kayla and Vincent were both young-ish, around my age if not a year or two older. I vaguely remembered them.

Kayla had a flareon of all things and had gotten an incredible edge from the start thanks to the rare and adorable eeveelution. It was a truism that rarer and more conventionally attractive pokémon tended to receive better reviews, though it was far from the defining factor at higher ranks. Her flareon was decently well trained, showing off with a spray of Ember before nailing them all with swift, precise movements using Quick Attack. She'd received high praise from the police chief for her mastery of the fundamentals, even if the routine wasn't particularly creative.

Vincent's pokémon was the much more mundane skitty. It used a combination of Sing and Charm to draw in the audience while Vincent played the guitar. The song, a popular one sung by local farmers to make the workday go by faster, did as much to add to the performance as Vincent's guitar. He received a lot of points from the retired coordinator for his ability to read his audience.

I grinned as I saw the matchups: First versus third, second versus fourth. That was the best possible outcome for me. I didn't think Jeanne could fight a fully evolved pokémon and win. This way, I at least had a shot of making it to the finals.

"That was a good show you put on," Solidad said as she came to stand beside me. "The Cotton Spore was especially creative. I didn't know mareep wool did that."

"Thanks, I liked your Mary Poppins act too."

"Who?"

I winced. There was no Mary Poppins here. Solidad was easy to talk to, so I let it slip without thinking. "A children's book. Mary Poppins is a magical nanny whose schtick was her floating along with the wind on an umbrella. Your slowbro reminded me of the story. It was a compliment."

"Thank you," she smiled gently. "I'm glad our routine brought out some good memories for you. I think I'll work on my delivery for next time though. The judges were right; I did sound a little flat."

"And thank you for the bow. Jeanne looked adorable with it."

"She doesn't need any help from me there."

"Maybe, but it's a good lesson for me too. The contest is as much about me as it is about Jeanne. I'll have to put more effort into my stage presence next time. Maybe match wear something to match her outfit."

"Yeah, it can be a challenge to come up with something."

X

The battle round began after an hour of intermission. Vincent and I sat around in the waiting room while Solidad and Kayla duked it out. I'd say it was disappointing, but that implied I had any expectations at all. Not only was Solidad the more experienced trainer, she also had a type advantage to abuse. The outcome of the battle was never in question and I could see it on Kayla's face as she walked on stage that she knew it as well.

She gave her best effort regardless. Her flareon seemed to know quite a few moves from its time as an eevee and so she was able to put forth a decent showing using Swift, Quick Attack, and Bite. By using Ember and Martin the slowbro's Water Gun to generate steam, she was able to dash in for a super-effective Bite.

I saw the judges take away some of Solidad's points on the screen as a result.

That was the only hit she managed because then Solidad began to take her seriously. The flareon's next attempt at replicating the same trick fell flat when Martin used a focused Rain Dance to douse the Embers without generating much steam. He then used Slack Off to recover, seemingly leaving himself with an opening, but when the flareon tried to capitalize on it with another Bite, he Disabled it an inch away from himself.

After luring the flareon up close, a sharp Zen Headbutt ended the match.

I glanced up at the screen showing both coordinators' profiles. Solidad had eighty points remaining, having lost some thanks to her defensive battling style. I nodded. Countering the opponent's technique to look good was one thing, but it seemed like if I wanted to protect my own points, aggression would be the best bet. Much like kendo, really.

"Ooh, what a decisive Zen Headbutt from Solidad and slowbro. With that, let's jump right in to the second match, Aaron and Vincent, please take the stage!"

Author's Note

Contests are hard. Why did I make Jeanne a diva again? Oh, right, the "Praise the sun" meme… Fuck…

Thank you for reading. To reach a wider audience, and because I enjoy a more forum-like setup to facilitate discussion, I like to crosspost to a wide variety of websites. You can find them all on my Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/fabled.webs.