Woooo! It's finally time! MASTER CLASS IS IN SESSION, PEOPLE!
~
Soon enough, it was time for Master Class. Serena and the Sawyer sisters minus Shadow left early to get ready, while everyone else made their way there later on. In the process, Ash reunited with Goodra and they wound up running into Alain again.
"You've gotten your eighth gym badge," Shadow observed. "Will you be entering the Lumiose Conference in a few weeks?"
"Indeed."
"Nice! I look forward to seeing you there! I just got my eighth gym badge as well!" Ash exclaimed.
Alain dipped his head as he walked side-by-side with Shadow. "May the strongest win, and all learn from the experience.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Sawyer sisters were speedrunning the design process. The boutique where the three siblings were in was covered in various sketches of dresses, accessories, hairstyles, and routine ideas. Empty cups of coffee- twelve total, between Zenith and Pine- and mugs of tea- five, for Crystal- sat on the tables and unused chairs.
Hours of hard work and many edits later, they were finally able to submit their designs and all had their ideal routines in mind. Zenith grabbed her things and let Star jump onto her shoulder, while Pine had Pepper in her hat and Crystal had Melody in her arms.
"Alright, they should be ready by tomorrow!" Crystal exclaimed.
Melody nuzzled against her arms. "Eev!"
"You two ready to lose again?" Zenith challenged them.
"Oh, it's on, Sky!" Pine exclaimed, chasing after her.
"Some things never change..." Crystal followed behind them with a shake of her head and a smile.
~
Finally, Master Class was in session. Serena was busy up until the last minute getting everything ready, but now it was finally time. She arrived backstage, meeting Miette, Shauna, and Nini.
"Hey, Shauna!"
"Serena, hi!" Shauna pulled her into a hug. "You got all three Princess Keys, too?"
She waved the ring of all three. "Yep! I'm ready to win!"
"Not if I can help it!" Miette showed off her own Princess Keys. "I'll be the one to take Zenith's crown this year!"
Nini was about to respond, but froze when she saw who walked through the door. Everyone went silent except for their chatting, but they soon stopped as well, looking around. "Uh... Hi?" Pine said hesitantly.
Nini broke the silence. "It's the Sawyer sisters!"
"Oh my gosh, it's really them!"
"I LOVE YOU GIRLS!"
"Good luck today!"
"If they're performing, I don't stand a chance..."
"Can I get an autograph?"
All sorts of responses greeted them, but Zenith easily pushed through the crowd to greet her friends. "Serena, you made it! Shauna, you're looking lovely as always! Best of luck, everyone!"
"Hi, and thanks, Zenith! I'm sure you'll be doing your best as well?"
"Of course," she replied before looking down at her watch. "Oh shoot- WE HAVE TEN MINUTES!"
Everyone started freaking out and getting ready with renewed fervor, while the sisters sprinted to the dressing room with their bags to start getting ready. Once it was almost time, Zenith walked out. Her outfit was beautiful in its simplicity.
She was dressed in a sleeveless white dress that went down to her ankles, with a train of thin glittery fabric across her back. Most of her golden hair was down, while the rest was pulled into a half braid. There was a wreath of white leaves crowning her head, with matching white ankle boots on her feet and white gloves that covered most of her arms and hands. In many ways, it resembled her sorceress form. She had hurriedly applied light makeup and silver glitter to her face before grabbing Star from Pine and heading to the doorway.
"Good luck to all of you!" She waved as she exited, stepping onto the stage as Monsieur Pierre finished his introduction. Proceeding down the staircase, she released Zoroark, Noivern, and Ninetales. "Flamethrower! Heat Wave! Will-O-Wsip!"
A dazzling sun appeared in the air above the crowd, surrounded by brilliant flames.
"Hello ladies and gentlemen, each wonderful viewer out there, and Pokemon of all sorts!" The audience erupted into cheers. "It's finally here: Master Class is in session!" She got to the bottom of the staircase and raised her hand. "Dark Pulse! Draco Meteor! Fire Blast!" The sun was shrouded in darkness, just to be blow away and explode into sparkles, a gleaming light show ending the display. "I, your current Kalos Queen, welcome all to this spectacle!"
Monsieur Pierre gave a grinning bow. "Today is a very special day. The performers will be competing with Lady Zenith for her crown."
"In years past, I've kept my title, but these performers are quite the bunch. Everyone backstage has worked so hard to accomplish their dreams and make it here. Every showcase that earned them a Princess Key was a higher hurdle to jump, and it all led up to this. Will one of our lucky competitors be able to snatch my tiara this year?" Zenith beamed, Star jumping onto her shoulder. "I can't wait to find out, so to everyone here tonight, and everyone watching from home, have a wonderful show!"
A storm of glittery mist was thrown up around her, decorated with glowing stars, and when it dispersed, she had disappeared.
The audience gasped and applauded; Ash thought it was a beautiful speech, and could barely wait to see the final performer go up against her. Even though there was a chance that Zenith could lose her crown, he wasn't worried. He believed in her.
Meanwhile, Monsieur Pierre had everyone turn their attention to an area on the stage where booths began to appear; every performer had one, and they had to use their Princess Keys to open the door and access the stage. Inside Serena's, she thought about everything that had led up to her entering Master Class, eyes narrowing with determination.
I'm going to become the next Kalos Queen!
In another booth, Pine and Crystal were standing side-by-side. They glanced over at each other without saying a word, turning their keys together.
We're going to beat Sky!
When they came out, the bright lights illuminated them. A total of 27 participants stood, lined up on stage. Cameras were broadcasting the event all over the region, and even to the Paradise.
"Today, we also have a special guest, who will take on the role of a judge for this Showcase! Everyone, welcome, one of our former Kalos Queens, Madame Palermo!"
Palermo waved nonchalantly as the audience cheered for her. "I am looking forward to seeing many wonderful performances today. To all the contestants, I wish you good luck." She locked eyes with her former protegee in Aria, who was smiling from the audience. Then, she glanced at her newest endorsements, a certain pair of performers.
I believe in you girls. Now, do your best, and show the world your spark.
Monsieur Pierre regained center stage and called everyone's attention back. "As most of you know, the Master Class consists of exclusively freestyle performances. Performers must show off the strong bonds they have developed with their Pokemon partners after coming this far; everyone here is beyond the early stages. There is also a tournament format, and performers must perform with a single Pokemon in the first and second rounds. In the semifinals, performers will be using two of their Pokemon, and the winner of the semifinals will challenge Zenith. If successful, they will be crowned the new Kalos Queen!
"Now, without further ado! For the first round, we have! Mademoiselles Nini, Jessilee, and the famous Duo, Pine and Crystal!"
Everyone else cleared out to wait for their turns, while the first group all took the spotlight. Each one did an individual performance with their Pokemon partner of choice- minus the two Sawyers, who performed together in a pair, like always- but the real interesting part happened during the simultaneous segment.
Jessilee used her Gourgeist to cover the other performers in smoke and prevent them from being seen while she stole the show. It was looking bleak, until Crystal cried out. "Sylvy, use Refresh!" Her Fairy-Type performed a dance with its ribbons as it used the move.
Pine grinned at her, quickly understanding, and exclaimed afterwards, "Jolt, Thunderbolt!" The Electric-Type ran across her shoulders and did a backflip, switching places with Sylvy.
A glittering wind swept through and cleared the smoke around both of them, blowing it into Jessilee's space. Then, a huge lightning bolt struck down, illuminating the two sisters before it disappeared into glitter as well.
"Thunder Wave"
"Wish!"
The two sisters grasped hands and twirled around one another as a shooting star coated in static electricity flew across the stage above them, while their Pokemon did the same, Sylvy's ribbons forming a five-pointed star shape that framed them.
The round came to a spectacular end, and few people were surprised by the results as Monsieur Pierre announced them. "And the winner is... Performers Pine and Crystal!"
The sisters locked hands and bowed, while Jessilee was in shock and Nini began to cry. Unfortunately, not many people cared- they were too busy cheering for the winners.
Time went on as other groups of performers went, all of them with impressive skills and beautiful outfits. In what felt like no time at all, it was time for the fourth trio to duke it out. Sara Lee, Miette, and Serena were the performers this time around, and though it was a close one, Serena wound up winning the most votes alongside Braixen.
Backstage, Miette congratulated her rival for her victory, Nini showing up to do the same.
"I'll win the whole competition!" Serena declared.
Monsieur Pierre began to talk on the TV, and the girls turned their heads to see him announcing Shauna would also be moving onto the next round.
"That's our girl! Don't be too sure of yourself, Serena- seems like you still have another competitor!" Miette teased her.
"Not to mention the Sawyer sisters... That'll be a tough hurdle to overcome," Nini added. "They beat me!"
Serena was still hopeful, though. "Wish me luck in the next round!"
"You're gonna need it..."
Miette sent her a wink. "Even if I can't be Kalos Queen, if you give Ash my number, he'd still go out with me, right?"
The honey blonde turned around like she wanted to throttle Miette, but ultimately decided against it. "Why don't you shoot your shot already? Anything would be better than that perfect princess getting him," she muttered.
"Wait, Zenith has a thing for Ash!?" Miette looked mortified. "I don't stand a chance... I can't be a homewrecker to an idol! Serena! I'll never bother you about Ash again! Now go out there and win that round!"
Serena shook her head and went out to perform, alongside some of the other finalists.
After a while, Crystal and Pine also made their way onto the stage, and made it to the semifinals alongside Shauna and Serena. They were using the pair Blaziken and Lucario, while Shauna had her Ivysaur and Flabebe and Serena had Pancham and Sylveon. Whoever won this round would be going up against Zenith, so everyone was excited and full of adrenaline.
Shauna's performance was pretty successful, ending with sparkles and fireworks. Serena's also went well, but at one point she hurt her hand and almost slipped and fell; Sylveon caught her at the last second and saved both its trainer and the show. Then, after their competitor's performances, the Sawyer sisters were the last to go.
They began on the stage, standing back to back with their Pokemon at their sides doing the same. "Ember!" A small ball of fire appeared above their heads, lighting the stage.
"Extreme Speed!" Lucario began to punch at the air with blinding speed, to the point that the force and wind caused the flame to erupt into actual embers. "Thunder Punch!"
"Blast Burn!" A huge plume of flame created a vortex going all the way up to the ceiling, while lightning bolts surrounded it. "Now, Bounce!"
Blaziken grabbed both girls and leaped into the air, twirling them around the fire spire without letting them get burnt. As they reached the peak of the jump, the sisters cried out in unison, "MEGA EVOLVE!" Their Pokemon were enveloped in bright light and emerged in their much stronger and more elegant forms.
Without skipping a beat as they began their descent, Pike commanded from the air, "Meteor Mash! Brick Break!" Mega Lucario jumped into the air and put out the fire using its aura powers, replacing it with a metal spiral. Both sisters landed safely on it and began to gracefully slide down, their Pokemon performing a dance around them and taking turns doing more jumps. "Extreme Speed! Thunder Punch!"
"Focus Blast! Blast Burn!"
The Fighting-Type and Fire-Type energy built up and took the form of a miniature sun above them, while shooting stars and crackling lightning bolts appeared in the sky. The metal melted away as the sisters returned to the ground, taking twin bows as the sun exploded into beams of light and warm sparkles that went everywhere.
"And... that's all!"
Once again, the audience erupted with cheers. While their first two performances had focused more on the 'Cute' aspect, this time they were definitely favoring the 'Cool' side. Even as their Pokemon partners detransformed from their Mega appearances, the viewers kept cheering.
When the votes were cast and counted, it was pretty close, but in the end, the winner was...
"Serena!"
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(SIKE! YOU THOUGHT!)
"Crystal and Pine Sawyer!" Pierre announced.
~
What a twist ending, huh? Bet you weren't expecting that!
Jokes aside, who do you think will win? Will Zenith keep her crown, or will her sisters snatch it from her? Look forward to finding out!
Goodbye for now,
Zenith