悪い

Entrant: Bell Kuycae of Paxem Class: Mage Song: 6.24 by Danger (with an extended intro) Outfit: Bell is wearing a dark green tuxedo jacket, black dress shirt (with white tie), a green cincher and dark green tights with black high-heeled boots. Their top hat and fancy cane match the same green as the jacket and cincher, but these don't stick around for long. Pokemon:

Boarome (Grass/Ground) Ability: Overgrow -Frenzy Plant -Power Whip -Earthquake -Stone Edge

Immolocust (Fire/Bug) Ability: Blaze -Blast Burn -Blaze Kick -Will O' Wisp -Infestation

Kiloguana (Water/Electric) Ability: Torrent -Thunderbolt -Liquidation -Thunder -Wild Charge

THE PERFORMANCE:

[0:00-0:10 on a loop] Bell walks into the middle of the ring, a giant circle of light sand put down beforehand by their Boarome and Heracross, and projects their voice, trying to make sure they can be clearly heard by everyone in the arena. "Esteemed guests! Valued friends, dearest family, hated foes, I bring you only the very best that my people, my region, my Pokemon, have to offer!" They swing their arms out, releasing the three fully-evolved Paxem starters; Boarome, then Immolocust, finally Kiloguana, all wearing white paint over their fur, chitin, and scales to evoke a different Ultra Beast. With their opponents now on the field, Bell continues. "We're a small region, but a veritable paradise with a wondrous history that we'd like to share! Through this dance, my Pokemon and I will spin you the yarn passed down from elder to elder, to elder, to me. The story of how our beloved Shubliette, the Pokemon who cares for the children of Paxem--" They interrupted themselves with a flourish of their top hat, flipping it inside out into a wooden mask shaped like a goat's head, and spinning around their cane, which once the blur stopped had become a spear with twin black ribbons trailing from its head. "--laid low the invaders that came to destroy us all."

[0:10] With the music finally kicking in, Bell released a wave of black mist with a wave of their arm, met by an Infestation from Immolocust, now looking more like a Blacephalon in the mixture of smog and fireflies. This was the cue for the other two Pokemon to back off for now, instead pacing around the ring like predators watching for an opening in their prey's defenses. The insect began to twirl a Will O' Wisp around their feet, eventually dribbling it up into a soccer ball-sized orb of flame as it squared off against its owner. [0:51] With its attack fully ready, the Immolocust uses a Blaze Kick to send the ball flying at Bell, who took it head on, flames washing over their body as they were pushed back into the circling Kiloguana, meriting a shove into the fray in response. Another Will O' Wisp was being readied, a stand-in for the ancient Ultra Beast's Mind Blown attack, and sent it at Bell, who caught it with the spear, swinging it around and leaving a ring of fire before the champion, then returning the ball to sender with a mighty slash downwards, ruining the third one it was working on. [1:06] With the ranged attacks clearly ineffective, the bug stepped in, and Bell lowered their spear in readiness, dragging it along the ground as the two combatants circled in an opposing direction to the outer two. Like a pair of samurai locked in a duel, they feinted and faked out the other, never quite landing a hit, the fiery Blaze Kicks and spear swings instead leaving crimson smoke trails behind them. [1:35] Sick of the charades, a Blast Burn is released, sending columns of flame around Immolocust, the first narrowly catching the sidestepping trainer, who then circled in for a jab only to be met with another flame pillar timed to the music. Bell was prepared for this, however, and quickly pirouetted around it, the lateral momentum of their body bringing the spear with it, finally connecting to the side of the Pokemon's head, but where there should have been a sickening crack or a cry of pain, there was only more of that crimson smoke, as Immolocust blew away in the spear swing's resulting wind.

[1:50]With the music picking up, and the first of the three down for the count, it's now the Xurkitree-painted Kiloguana's turn! It slams into the ring, kicking up its own blue smoke as it does. This match is more timed to the increased tempo, with the lizard's various thunderbolts raining down in time with the beat, each time striking Bell, who keeps popping up somewhere else in the ring every time they're hit, each time getting closer and closer to the target. [2:21] With the song's stutter, Bell's finally right in front of Kiloguana, but uses the spear to vault over its head and onto the ground behind it. The beast immediately goes for an upside-down Liquidation, with Bell narrowly avoiding it by sliding beneath like an action movie character. Once it stops, Kiloguana tries it again with a Wild Charge, crashing directly into its trainer, who's holding off the physical barrage using only the spear, releasing more blue smoke among the arcing yellow bolts. And when the electricity finally stops, Bell uses Kiloguana's grip on the spear to flip it onto its side, the raising the spear up for a final jab. [2:50] In time with the drop, the jab is interrupted by a Thunder, the bolt from the blue striking the spear like a lightning rod, sundering it into two halves and sending Bell reeling back again. Another Thunder, completely missing the trainer, but once the flash of lightning subsides, Bell is closer. Another Thunder, aimed at where Bell had reappeared, but they're now even closer when the flash dissipates. Not wanting to continue this scene out of a horror movie, Kiloguana skips going for a third Thunder and instead just barrels at Bell, forming up a Liquidation mid-charge... [3:04]... That's then completely overridden by Bell rushing forward, too, suddenly behind the midair Kiloguana like an anime character who just landed the fatal blow, the "shwing!" in the backing track lining up perfectly with their own slice. But where there should be blood, there's instead more blue smoke, billowing out of its Pokemon-shaped form and spilling out across the ring, mixing with the low-hanging shroud of red and black.

[3:13] Now it's just Boarome, painted to look like a Guzzlord and still warily watching its victim-to-be. The two circle around each other again and again, Bell spinning the now-halved spear, before finally making the leap towards their foe. [3:19] Stone Edge after Stone Edge results in massive spikes jutting from the sand, trying to stop Bell in their tracks, but instead of becoming a hindrance, they become the path, with the warrior leaping off of them as they rise, moving closer and closer. [3:25] The stutter in the song again matches up to the events progressing, as Bell finally reaches Boarome's head, only to be Power Whipped back into a Stone Edge spike, green smoke erupting from their mouth as they impact the rock with the sound of SOMETHING breaking. They then drop to the ground, stumbling at first and still spewing the freaky fog, but then seeing something that makes them start moving in the opposite direction as soon as humanly possible. [3:34] Boarome charges, crashing through the spires it had constructed to slow down its trainer, who was now climbing up and leaping across them in an attempt to outrun the bigger beast. As Boarome's speed increased, so too did Bell's desperation, abandoning the ruined spear entirely in the mess of debris around them. [4:01] Finally, just when they were running out of rocky road to run through, Bell launched themselves upwards, onto the head of Boarome, whose following glance skywards was interrupted by the human landing feet-first onto its head, dropping it onto the very last Stone Edge shard in the ring. And for the third time, the Pokemon made no sound, no cry of anguish, just disappeared into smoke that filled the floor of the arena, as if it had never been there at all.

“Before we start, I want to make one thing clear: I’m not here for rumor mills or sensationalism. I want my article to be a proper reflection of what’s going on. So please don’t try to feed me rumors as truth, alright?”

“Of course, of course. No rumours or anythin’ like that here.”

“Tell me a bit about yourself, mon ami. Is this your first competition, or if it’s not, how long have you been participating, either competing or spectating? Have you participated, specifically, in a Trainer Showcase before?”

“This’ll be my first time, funny enough. Back in Galar, we don’t really ‘ave anything like this, so it’s all new fer me.”

“What sort of background do you come from-are you a trainer, a breeder, a coordinator, or perhaps something else? Do you see this giving you any advantage in the competition/do you think you’ll enjoy the performances more?”

“I mean... I’m a trainer, of sorts. Used t’be a Gym Leader, even, but that was never my preference. I’m more of a performer, an’ I’m hoping that’s gonna give me SOME way of evenin’ the odds, but if it doesn’t, then that’s fine.”

“What are your thoughts on the competition here today? It looks like we have quite a diverse cast of Pokémon fans present. Anyone you know? Rivals, perhaps?”

“Well, I recognize Leon, that’s fer sure. He an’ I go back a ways. But the one that worries me th’ most is Wallace. I figured this’d be a good entry-level bout to try something new, somethin’ fun fer the team, but the instant I saw that THE Wallace was involved... Yeeeeaah, there goes any chance o’ me winning.”

“How are you feeling about this showcase in general? Are you nervous at all?”

“Oh, of course, I’m nervous. I’m gonna go up on stage and make a gorgeous fool of m’self and my Pokemon. But whenever y’get the pre-show jitters, the only way to get rid of them is to just get on with it... And then maybe stay the night in someone else’s hotel room afterwards until the regret stops.”

“Were you here for the last Sweet Love Soiree, or did you tune into that? If so, has that affected any of your choices going into this event?”

“I can say with one hundred percent certainty that I have no [BEEP]ing clue what happened in the last one.”

“Which have you decided to pour more energy into: your Theme or your Freestyle? Why? Which do you feel more confident about?”

“I’m going with... Uh... I think it was Theme? The one about love. Feel like that’s more in m’wheelhouse than doing something about forgiveness.”

“Can you give us any hints about either of your performances? Without spoiling it, what do you think will make your entries stand out?”

“Prolly the aesthetic of it. It’s gonna be perfect.”

“How did you chose the Pokémon partners you’ll be using in this competition? Are you trying to pick Pokémon to stick with the themes, or going with Pokémon that have experience competing?”

“Y’could say mine’ve got experience, yeah. Jobber’s been with me since day one, an’ Serj is a member of his own band, back in Galar. Only odd one out’s Insky, but I figured if I need t’make a spectacle, who better t’bring than a Malamar?”

“Speaking of themes, what are your thoughts on them? They’re obviously tied too very strong feelings. If you care to share, are you going to play directly to either of them, or diverge?”

“I’m absolutely going t’play to the theme of love. I sing songs fer a living, love is one of the easiest things to do anything with, an’ I fully intend to play t’that because it’s the safest possible option here. Wallace is involved, so I’ve already lost, might as well lose with as much grace as possible.”

“Are you concerned about the scoring? With the three judges prioritizing different elements, it seems like it might be hard to appeal to all three. Do you worry about any drama erupting, or do you believe the talents of you and your Pokémon will shine through and make things go smoothly?”

“Look. We’re gonna go out there, we’re gonna do our best, we’re gonna be beaten by someone who held the title of Champion somewhere in the world, and then we’re gonna go home. This song may be new, but our dance to it remains the same, drama or nah.”

“To say there’s been drama in the past, both with All Hallow’s and the Sweet Love Soiree, would be a terrible understatement. How do you think things will differ this time around, given the circumstances? Do you think they’ll change at all? Are there any other changes you think should have been made for the sake of transparency or fairness?”

“Only change I c’n think of is that there’ll be an Obstagoon-lookin’ cadaver of an ex-Gym Leader wonderin’ what the hell’s happenin’ as it all comes collapsing down around ‘em. History may repeat itself, who knows, but this time I guueeessss I’ll be ‘round to see it?”

“What are your thoughts on the judges in general? Do you think we have a good, well-rounded group this time around? Do you think more judges will lead to more accurate, unbiased scores? Or are you worried about anyone playing favorites or holding grudges?”

“I don’t know the judges, but I bet they’ll hold grudges... Wait, hang on, can I change my answer there, that came out as a rhyme... I mean that they’ll likely be playin’ faves, everyone does. It’s just how humans are. Can certainly say that at least two of ‘em look the sort that I’d try t’play to, though.”

“’Forgiveness’ and ‘change’ are major themes surrounding this event at large, and for good reason. On a personal level, how strongly do you believe in these themes?”

“I’d rather not comment on this. Do come down t’Spikemuth sometime, though!”

“Similarly, what are your thoughts on the change of venue for this event? Do you think this will have any effect on what plays out? Why or why not?”

“I don’t think so. Why, was it somewhere else before?”

“Do you think, given the quality of assistance she’s had, Ursula is capable of change and growth as she wants us to see? Or do you think that faith is misguided? If you think she hasn’t changed, do you think Zoey, Tobias, and Ezra can keep her in line for the event?”

“I don’t really know this Ursula, but from what I’ve heard, an’ speaking from experience, I wouldn’t trust her to tell me the time of day. Good luck reelin’ that piece of work in, judges.”

“How would you describe the current atmosphere here, in light of these changes? Hopeful? Uncertain?”

“I dunno, just... An atmosphere? I’m not really here to read the room, I’m more just here t’compete and see how I do. Might even try this more regularly, depending on how it goes...”

“Is there anything else you’d like to say about this competition? I’m admittedly going to leave soon to get this article going, but I hope everything goes smoothly for you!”

“Not really? But thank you fer the luck, and your time. And look forward to seein’ me possibly bin it out on a major stage.”

“Do you have any other thoughts about this event, or any suspicions? I’m not going to publish them since, like I said, I’m not one for rumors. But I personally want to know what I might want to be keeping an eye on in case things do happen. Have you seen or heard anything suspicious?”