FlamingRuby
The magic of Pokemon
Episode 23: Getting the Pre-Contest Titters
[Hey, Stormy...] Tintri whispered as he bounded onto a rock near where Stormy was resting. [Want a tip on how to pull off electrical fireworks?]
[Yeah!] Stormy replied.
After checking to be sure Dawn was still working with Kori, Tintri began his lesson. [The trick to making fireworks is a big burst, okay?] he explained. [So rather than letting out immediately, charge your power a bit. This will make the resulting burst bigger.]
[Will you show me how?] Stormy asked.
[Sure...] Tintri paused to charge some power until his cheeks were almost white. He then unleashed a volley of sparkling electrical fireworks into the sky!
"WOW!!!" Dawn gasped, impressed. "I didn't know you competed in Contests, Tintri!"
[You can learn a thing or two about appealing to your audience when you battle too.] Tintri replied. He smiled, pleased his master and Brock were showing him the scorecard with the dark green 10 on it.
He turned to Stormy. [Okay, now it's your turn to try.]
[Okay...] Stormy charged some power in her cheeks until they too glowed white, then unleashed a massive burst of her own!
[There you go!] Tintri called as Dawn applauded.
"I think you deserve a Poffin for that little display." Dawn smiled as she offered Stormy a red Poffin.
[How'd I do?] Stormy asked Ash between bites.
"That was cool!" Ash agreed as he showed Stormy a green 9 card.
"I'd give it an 8." Brock began as he showed Stormy a lighter green 8 card. "Work on holding and controlling your power, and that should put the appeal over the top."
[Got it!] Stormy smiled.
Dawn froze when she heard a voice call "Hey, Dee-Dee!" in the distance. Oh great...Barry's back...
"Dee-Dee?" Ash asked, confused.
"Remember that blond haired boy with me when you rescued me at Lake Verity?" Dawn reminded the boys. "That was Barry. He's a childhood friend of mine."
"Oh yeah...that guy with a Turtwig that was always on the go." Brock remembered.
Just then, Barry joined the group. "I'll have you know that Flora evolved."
With that, he heaved a Poke Ball skyward. "Come on out, Flora!"
Ash decided to read up on on the large green and gold turtle Pokemon with bushes on its back:
"Grotle, the grove Pokemon. The shell is hardened soil. Some Pokemon come to peck the berries growing on the trees on its back."
Kori wasted no time in walking up to Flora. [Um...remember me?]
She did not expect Flora to whack her away with a vine! [WAUGGH!!!]
"Kori!" Dawn hurried over by a rock, where Kori rubbed her head in pain. "Are you okay? Does anything hurt?"
[Just a bit of a headache, that's all...] Kori replied.
"I am so sorry!" Barry gasped, bowing before Dawn. "Flora doesn't like when others get too close."
He turned business-like again. "I fancy myself a coordinator too, you know--I watched the Jubilife Contest on TV.
"Really?" Dawn asked, trying oh so hard not to laugh at Kori and Flora staring each other down. "I don't recall you ever being interested in Contests when we were little. In your words, you found them 'lame'!"
"After giving it a go, I found them pretty cool." Barry replied. "I was doing great in the Appeal round of my first Contest, but lost to some girl named Zoey and her Glameow, Sylvie."
"You've met Zoey too?" Dawn asked.
Barry, meanwhile, ignored Dawn completely. "Are you competing in the Floaroma Contest too?" he asked Ash.
"Actually, I plan to conquer the Shinou League." Ash replied.
"Remember the time you attempted to give yourself a perm?" Barry smirked. "You were so excited about lookin' all pretty for school picture day. But when you got to class on the big day, it looked like you stuck your finger in an electrical socket!"
"I quite LIKED my wavy hair, thank you!" Dawn shot back. "Mom supervised me the whole time to make sure I did it right."
"Remember the time you forgot her lines in the class play?" Barry went on. "All you had to say as the White Buneary was 'I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date!'. But you were so nervous, you ran offstage crying!"
Dawn growled even more. "That was in the third grade!"
Barry went on "Then there was the time you forgot to wear shoes to school. If I remember right, I showed you in the middle of math class!"
"Ooooh...I demand a duel for your embarrassing me!" Dawn roared. "Flora vs. my team! Singles or doubles, I don't care--name your terms!"
"I'm more interested in dueling your friend's Pikachu here..." Barry mused. "If only for the experience.
"You're on!" Ash replied as he led Barry into a field.
---------
A referee's whistle pierced the air some moments later; signaling the match between Ash and Barry was underway. "Okay! Open with Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.
He balked as Flora used Razor Leaf to block the attack, sending it back in a flurry of charged leaves. "How'd you do that?"
"Even outside the Contest Hall, we battle with pizazz." Barry grinned. "Flora, use Heavy Slam!"
"Watch out, Tintri!" Ash called.
Tintri managed to spin away from the charging Grotle. He next smacked his opponent with Iron Tail. [Top that!] he taunted as Flora went flying towards the line Brock had designated the Pearl safe zone.
He watched as Flora created a patch of grass to land on, cushioning her fall. [What move was that?]
Brock noticed Flora heaving in exhaustion, and blew a quick blast. "No contest! This match is a draw!"
---------
The Contest Hall hummed with activity as people filed in to watch the contest. "I hope you're ready, cool Meowth!" Dawn taunted as Barry emerged from the dressing room in a pale yellow suit. "You wouldn't dare taunt a princess, would you?"
Try as Barry might to think up a retort to the green clad girl before him, he couldn't think of a taunt. "Told you." Dawn smiled.
Just then, both coordinators heard the call of "It's time--all competitors, line up for the opening parade!"
---------
In the backstage area of the Fantasy Stage's outdoor theater, Brock emerged from a dressing room in costume. [Lookin' sharp, coach!] Kage raved.
"Glad you think so..." Brock replied as he retrieved the harp he had received from Nando and started tuning it.
He looked out a window at the Contest Hall across the street. Dawn--I hope you reclaim your honor after what happened yesterday. Barry had no right to embarrass you like he did.
[Parade of Minstrels in five minutes!] he heard Hinata call.
"Okay." Brock replied before making sure his instruments were tuned and his bow was close by...
To Be Continued...
[Hey, Stormy...] Tintri whispered as he bounded onto a rock near where Stormy was resting. [Want a tip on how to pull off electrical fireworks?]
[Yeah!] Stormy replied.
After checking to be sure Dawn was still working with Kori, Tintri began his lesson. [The trick to making fireworks is a big burst, okay?] he explained. [So rather than letting out immediately, charge your power a bit. This will make the resulting burst bigger.]
[Will you show me how?] Stormy asked.
[Sure...] Tintri paused to charge some power until his cheeks were almost white. He then unleashed a volley of sparkling electrical fireworks into the sky!
"WOW!!!" Dawn gasped, impressed. "I didn't know you competed in Contests, Tintri!"
[You can learn a thing or two about appealing to your audience when you battle too.] Tintri replied. He smiled, pleased his master and Brock were showing him the scorecard with the dark green 10 on it.
He turned to Stormy. [Okay, now it's your turn to try.]
[Okay...] Stormy charged some power in her cheeks until they too glowed white, then unleashed a massive burst of her own!
[There you go!] Tintri called as Dawn applauded.
"I think you deserve a Poffin for that little display." Dawn smiled as she offered Stormy a red Poffin.
[How'd I do?] Stormy asked Ash between bites.
"That was cool!" Ash agreed as he showed Stormy a green 9 card.
"I'd give it an 8." Brock began as he showed Stormy a lighter green 8 card. "Work on holding and controlling your power, and that should put the appeal over the top."
[Got it!] Stormy smiled.
Dawn froze when she heard a voice call "Hey, Dee-Dee!" in the distance. Oh great...Barry's back...
"Dee-Dee?" Ash asked, confused.
"Remember that blond haired boy with me when you rescued me at Lake Verity?" Dawn reminded the boys. "That was Barry. He's a childhood friend of mine."
"Oh yeah...that guy with a Turtwig that was always on the go." Brock remembered.
Just then, Barry joined the group. "I'll have you know that Flora evolved."
With that, he heaved a Poke Ball skyward. "Come on out, Flora!"
Ash decided to read up on on the large green and gold turtle Pokemon with bushes on its back:
"Grotle, the grove Pokemon. The shell is hardened soil. Some Pokemon come to peck the berries growing on the trees on its back."
Kori wasted no time in walking up to Flora. [Um...remember me?]
She did not expect Flora to whack her away with a vine! [WAUGGH!!!]
"Kori!" Dawn hurried over by a rock, where Kori rubbed her head in pain. "Are you okay? Does anything hurt?"
[Just a bit of a headache, that's all...] Kori replied.
"I am so sorry!" Barry gasped, bowing before Dawn. "Flora doesn't like when others get too close."
He turned business-like again. "I fancy myself a coordinator too, you know--I watched the Jubilife Contest on TV.
"Really?" Dawn asked, trying oh so hard not to laugh at Kori and Flora staring each other down. "I don't recall you ever being interested in Contests when we were little. In your words, you found them 'lame'!"
"After giving it a go, I found them pretty cool." Barry replied. "I was doing great in the Appeal round of my first Contest, but lost to some girl named Zoey and her Glameow, Sylvie."
"You've met Zoey too?" Dawn asked.
Barry, meanwhile, ignored Dawn completely. "Are you competing in the Floaroma Contest too?" he asked Ash.
"Actually, I plan to conquer the Shinou League." Ash replied.
"Remember the time you attempted to give yourself a perm?" Barry smirked. "You were so excited about lookin' all pretty for school picture day. But when you got to class on the big day, it looked like you stuck your finger in an electrical socket!"
"I quite LIKED my wavy hair, thank you!" Dawn shot back. "Mom supervised me the whole time to make sure I did it right."
"Remember the time you forgot her lines in the class play?" Barry went on. "All you had to say as the White Buneary was 'I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date!'. But you were so nervous, you ran offstage crying!"
Dawn growled even more. "That was in the third grade!"
Barry went on "Then there was the time you forgot to wear shoes to school. If I remember right, I showed you in the middle of math class!"
"Ooooh...I demand a duel for your embarrassing me!" Dawn roared. "Flora vs. my team! Singles or doubles, I don't care--name your terms!"
"I'm more interested in dueling your friend's Pikachu here..." Barry mused. "If only for the experience.
"You're on!" Ash replied as he led Barry into a field.
---------
A referee's whistle pierced the air some moments later; signaling the match between Ash and Barry was underway. "Okay! Open with Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.
He balked as Flora used Razor Leaf to block the attack, sending it back in a flurry of charged leaves. "How'd you do that?"
"Even outside the Contest Hall, we battle with pizazz." Barry grinned. "Flora, use Heavy Slam!"
"Watch out, Tintri!" Ash called.
Tintri managed to spin away from the charging Grotle. He next smacked his opponent with Iron Tail. [Top that!] he taunted as Flora went flying towards the line Brock had designated the Pearl safe zone.
He watched as Flora created a patch of grass to land on, cushioning her fall. [What move was that?]
Brock noticed Flora heaving in exhaustion, and blew a quick blast. "No contest! This match is a draw!"
---------
The Contest Hall hummed with activity as people filed in to watch the contest. "I hope you're ready, cool Meowth!" Dawn taunted as Barry emerged from the dressing room in a pale yellow suit. "You wouldn't dare taunt a princess, would you?"
Try as Barry might to think up a retort to the green clad girl before him, he couldn't think of a taunt. "Told you." Dawn smiled.
Just then, both coordinators heard the call of "It's time--all competitors, line up for the opening parade!"
---------
In the backstage area of the Fantasy Stage's outdoor theater, Brock emerged from a dressing room in costume. [Lookin' sharp, coach!] Kage raved.
"Glad you think so..." Brock replied as he retrieved the harp he had received from Nando and started tuning it.
He looked out a window at the Contest Hall across the street. Dawn--I hope you reclaim your honor after what happened yesterday. Barry had no right to embarrass you like he did.
[Parade of Minstrels in five minutes!] he heard Hinata call.
"Okay." Brock replied before making sure his instruments were tuned and his bow was close by...
To Be Continued...