For everyone who sent their characters, thanks! Some of you will show up in the next chapter though, so sorry about that! Now, here's what you guys have been waiting for!
Serena's POV
I let out the breath that I had been holding in as they called me into the stage. I made my way up the stairs, my boots clanking on the metal stairs. The only thing I heard was the echo from my steps and the faint roaring of a crowd.
"Here she is! The one who made all this possible, the brain behind all of this! Serena Yvonne!"
The crowd cheered and I closed my eyes shut for a second as they adjusted to the spotlight. I put on a smile and touched the mic on my ear as I spoke.
"Hi Melemele! Thanks for making it!" I shouted enthusiastically.
The crowd cheered as I looked over them. I had to admit, I didn't expect this many people to come. It was a full house! My eyes glittered in excitement, any piece of anxiety suddenly gone.
"To be honest, I was starting to doubt if anyone was going to come or not," I started honestly. "A random girl appears in the middle of the square to reveal herself as a recently crowned Top Coordinator who says to meet her at a huge dome that's been under construction for a few months. Sounds suspicious huh?" I laughed.
"This whole thing couldn't be done without the help of many others who have devoted themselves and their ideas to the making of this place and what we do here itself. If you will, can we get a cheer for everyone who helped out?"
The crowd shouted out in answer. I smiled and then put on a straight face.
"I understand that some, maybe most of you, came here out of curiosity. But I'll be able to make sure that next time, you'll come here because you want to see something that you can't see anywhere else on TV!" I smirked. "Everyone, welcome to the Alolan Showcase Hall!"
The crowd roared as the confetti cannons around the stage went off. I waited for a few seconds for the crowd to calm down before speaking again.
"Luckily, we've been able to gather a few contestants from both Melemele and Akala island with some of the posters that we've put around. Hopefully, the live broadcast that is recording this whole thing will help give Alolan Showcases a push! Now, enough with the talking. Let's get to the reason you came here!" I grinned.
The crowd cheered and I stepped to the side as the stage started shaking. Hatches opened in the floor and a new stage appeared. Multiple ovens and counters appeared, with trays and baskets of ingredients at the back. The first stage was the Theme Stage. For this round, the coordinators would have to bake PokePuffs, Poffins, or even make Pokefood and PokeBlock. The judges' pokemon would decide which they licked the best out of three, and the winner would move onto the next stage.
"Come on out, Coordinators!" I shouted into the mic.
From the backstage, exactly thirty two Coordinators and their pokemon, experienced and beginners, lined up and faced the front as the crowd cheered. Among the faces of the Coordinators were a few familiar faces. Including Hannah and Crystal, and even Miette, who we had met at Akala Island while gathering inspiration. But one of the most familiar faces among them was Bonnie. It had already been two years and she was finally able to get her Trainer's license. She and Clemont came over to Alola as soon as Ash told them about it.
"Alright! Up on the screen we've got the number of rounds everyone is assigned to! First up are Crystalieh, Marshall, and Skyler! Each one of you take an oven and everyone else can go back to the waiting room and watch. Second round's Nathaniel, Hannah, and Gisell, be prepared!" I said as everyone nodded in response.
I turned back to the audience and said, "Now to introduce our judges!"
A set of tables and chairs were brought up on the side of the stage for the judges. There were four chairs for four judges. I walked over to the table and held out a hand to point at it.
"Dawn Berlitz," As I said her name, Dawn appeared out of no where and was sitting on one of the chairs. She waved at the crowd as they cheered.
"May Maple." May appeared in the seat beside Dawn. She smiled as the cheering got louder.
"Drew Hayden." Drew appeared next to May and he gave his award winning smirk to the crowd. The cheering got louder, mostly from the girls.
I almost laughed out loud as I heard Drew wince after getting kicked under the table by May.
"And finally, myself. I'd also like to introduce Kim, our announcer who you all will be seeing more of!"
A short girl with amber hair and green eyes appeared on the stage. She wore a simple pastel yellow t-shirt with overall shorts and yellow converse and white knee-length socks. She smiled at the crowd and waved, the mic in her ear amplifying her voice.
"Hello Melemele! Thanks for being here! I'm Kim, and it's just about time to start with the Theme Stage! Thank you, Serena, for introducing me. Now let's get started!" Kim shouted enthusiastically.
The crowd cheered with her as a clock on the TV screen appeared. I glanced backstage and saw Dawn's Gardivor staring at us. I winked at her and made a mental note to thank her after all of this for teleporting everyone out here. I made my way over to the last empty seat and sat down as Kim started explaining the rules.
"Everyone has twenty minutes to bake, make, and decorate! The judges of this round will be our judges' pokemon! Once the time runs out, you have to stop what you're doing, finished or not. Sabotage is forbidden and leads to immediate disqualification. You can use the tools in the cabinets and the ingredients in the back. You can make any poke-dish from puffs to poffins. With that being said, get ready to use your creativity!" Kim pointed at the screen. "Start!"
The three girls immediately started work. Crystal had her Umbreon help with mixing the batter as her Roserade used Leaf Blade to cut berries up and add them to the batter. Crystal herself was working on preheating the oven. Marshall and his male Marowak were getting ingredients while his Floatzel was taking out the pans and bowls. Skyler's Braixen was putting the batter into molds as she and her Eevee were working on cleaning up.
I leaned over towards everyone as they watched the Coordinators at their work. "No favoritism, guys."
As time went on and fifteen minutes were finally up, everyone stopped and presented their finished products on the plates. Marshall stepped up and showed his first. He wore a blue denim jacket with a white shirt and dark blue jeans. He had red high tops and his dark red hair was held back by a few hair clips.
"Since I'm from Sinnoh, I've known how to make Poffins for a while. I've used a home-recipe for the batter and added some Pecha and Oran berries for taste and beauty," Marshall explained.
(Guys I'm making stuff up here XD)
It was a simple pastel green Poffin with some chopped Oran berries and sesame seeds as a topping. May's Skitty was the first to take a bite out of it, followed by Dawn's Piplup, Drew's (Midnight) Lycanroc, and then Sylveon.
We weren't allowed to give an answer straight away, but Dawn's Piplup couldn't help but drool over the Poffin and eat the thing whole.
Crystal came up next with her pokemon.
(Her costume is basically this-)
(But light blue...)
"I'm from Kalos and my parents taught me their recipe for PokePuffs. I've added my own little taste for the pokemon, too, though. Pecha and Mago berries mixed in with the batter for the skin and fur, and my very own Sitrus and Oran berry recipe forthe filling," Crystal explained confidently.
It was a pastel pink and yellow PokePuff with a blue-green filling. There was whipped cream, chocolate curls, and a Cheri berry on the top of the puff for decoration.
All the pokemon took several bites out of it, eventually eating the whole thing, before yapping a few words about it to each other.
Then it was Skyler's turn. Her pink hair was down and there was a star hair clip in her hair. She wore a she wore a white and gold two piece dress with some star patterns and some black stockings to match her black flats.
She presented hers in a bowl. "I've made my homemade pokefood recipe that gives strength, energy, and beauty. I've used my pokefood batter and added in some chopped Nanab and Bulk berries." She said proudly.
The food was exactly as she had described, pokefood with chopped berries mixed in. All the pokemon ate it and chatted amongst themselves.
"Alright!" Kim popped up. "Now it's time for our judges to shine!" She turned towards our table and spoke to our pokemon. "Please push up the plate of the dish you thought was best! The one with the most votes passes on to the next round!"
After a few more words, the pokemon began choosing. Dawn's Piplup chose first, pushing up Marshall's Poffin plate. Then May's Skitty, who pushed Crystal's PokePuff plate up with her tail. Drew's Lycanroc pushed Skyler's pokefood up with his paw. It was Sylveon who was left. She would make the final, winning decision. She looked unsure, having a hard time picking which one. I placed a hand on her head and smiled at her encouragingly. Sylveon smiled back before using her ribbon to push the plate up.
"Aaanndd..." Kim stretched dramatically, "The winner for the first round of the Theme Stage is... Crystalieh!"
The crowd cheered as Crystal jumped up in glee before bending down to hug her pokemon. Marshall high-fived her in a sportsmanly way and Skyler shook her hand respectfully.
"She will be moving on to the next round, while the others may watch backstage or in the audience. And now for the second round!" Kim announced.
Crystal let out a relaxed sigh as she, Marshall, and Skyler made their way backstage with their pokemon.
"This is exciting so far!" Dawn said giddily.
"I can't wait for the next round!" May added.
Drew turned to me. "I know we've been saying this so many times, but really. Serena, this was such a great idea," He smiled.
I smiled in response and turned towards the stage. "Thanks, but it wasn't just me who made it happen."
Backstage, people were running around carrying out their jobs, making sure lights and effects were working, controlling the sound, taking requests, managing the whole thing. The people who helped build this amazing space were having a well deserved rest and some even amongst the crowd. Palermo was watching from a screen in Kalos. And Ash was watching in the crowd in the crowd with our friends and Clemont, who came with Bonnie all the way at Lumious.
So many people helped and gave me inspiration. And I wasn't going to let them down.
I haven't updated in so long oh my god someone help me. Either this chapter or the next one will be the last one of the series. I also want to say thank you all for 8k reads! I'm so happy! I'm glad so many people have read this, even though, to be honest, there weren't that many Amour moments. If any of you have time, please, please read my other fanfics. Check my other fanfics out and message me on my message board! I'd love to keep in touch with you all even after this fanfic is finished. With that, please vote, comment, and share! Ciao!
P.S. Who else is anxious about school starting next week? (it hasn't started here in Texas yet 😅) Also, if any of you know My Hero Academia, I've been uploading too much about it in my trash book XD go check it out too, please!
~Crystal
Word Count: 2069
8/20/18