Last time the grand festival began and Turquoise, Selena, and Emma were all fired up when suddenly a new rival Esmeralda entered the fray. Esmeralda threw the gauntlet with a very spectacular performance that won her the number one spot on the board. However, our three girls did not take it laying down and rose to the occasion as high as they could. While they did not get too far they at least made it to the second stage. Will any of them topple Esmeralda off her pedestal or fall themselves?
The next day Turquoise, Selena, and Emma were backstage with the other coordinators who made it to day two.
“Aside from her partner what else do you think she has?” Emma asked.
“We are about to find out, cause she is starting this round,” Turquoise said before Julian appeared on screen.
“Welcome back ladies and gentlemen, we have seen some very amazing performances yesterday now let's see what our remaining 64 coordinators have in store for all of us today, and starting us off is Esmeralda,” Julian said before Esmeralda walked onto the stage with her pokeballs ready.
“Oricorio and Maractus Rrrrazzle them,” Esmeralda said before sending throwing her two pokeballs gracefully like last time which caused them to pop open and unleash some pink and purple flower petals that had a red bird-like Pokemon and a green cactus-like Pokemon with flowers and yellow spikes both of which landed with grace before the flower petals burst. Turquoise pulled out her Pokedex for both of them.
“Oricorio, Baile Form, The Dancing Pokemon, This Pokémon is incredibly popular, possibly because its passionate dancing is a great match with the temperament of Paldean people,” The Pokedex said before moving on to the other entry. “Maractus, The Cactus Pokemon, With noises that could be mistaken for the rattles of maracas, it creates an upbeat rhythm, startling bird Pokémon and making them fly off in a hurry.
“Revalation Dance Oricorio, Petal Blizzard Maractus. Oricorio began doing some very elegant and graceful flamenco dancing while her body was heating up in contrast with the many flower petals that were falling down. “Now use Petal Dance. Maractus unleashed some more petals before joining Oricorio as her dance partner which really captivated the audience. Both Pokemon performed a big finish that looked like two dance partners in perfect sync. “Ole.
“Now that is starting things off with a bang,” Julian said before the judges gave their critique.
“The way Esmeralda showed off the Baile form of Oricorio was flawless, “Contesta said.
“Very Remarkable,” Sukizu said.
“It was like watching two very skilled flamenco dancers perform on stage,” Nurse Joy said.
“I would say Esmeralda is giving everyone here a medium-sized taste of what the Paldea region is all about,” Marina said. Esmeralda returned backstage confident she once again nailed the top spot.
“Let's see you girls beat that,” Esmeralda said.
“Oh we will see,” Turquoise said. After the current coordinator finished up it was now Turquoise’s turn.
“And now our next coordinator is Turquoise,” Julian said as Turquoise pulled out her two pokeballs.
“Milotic and Altaria let's dazzle them,” Turquoise said while spinning around before throwing her two pokeballs upward which caused them to pop open and unleash a bunch of blue and pink bubbles with Milotic and Altaria in the middle of them. Milotic landed on the stage while Altaria remained airborne. “Milotic leap high and use Ice beam. Milotic surprisingly leaped high into the air before spinning and using Ice beam to create what looked like an ice tower. “Now altaria use Moon Blast. Altaria gathered her power and fired her Moon blast into the hole on top of the tower which caused it to glow with a captivating light. “Milotic use Ice beam on the tower. Milotic leaped into the air and fired another Ice beam inside the tower now containing the moon blast that was still shining brightly. “Now Altaria use Dragon Rush to shatter the tower. Altaria nose-dived at the tower while cloaked in energy which allowed her to cut through the ice tower like butter. As soon as she reached the Moon Blast the two forces caused it to erupt into a massive blizzard of sparkling ice and light particles with Altaria and Milotic in the center of them.
“Now that truly was dazzling,” Julian said.
“The way she took advantage of the ice’s refractive properties to create this was truly marvelous,” Contesta said.
“Very Remarkable, “Sukizu said.
“All that sparkling light and ice makes me want to paint it,” Nurse Joy said.
“Turquoise really has a creative way to do things,” Marina said. As soon as Turquoise returned backstage Selena looked impressed.
“Where did you learn to do that?” Selena asked.
“I learned some of it from you, remember that time you KOed me in less than ten seconds?” Turquoise said.
“Oh now I remember,” Selena said.
“I simply adapted the idea and added my own twist to it,” Turquoise said. Soon it was Selena's turn.
“And now for our next coordinator, give it up Selena,” Julian said as Selena got ready.
“Gourgeist and Emolga take the stage,” Selena said as she threw her two pokeballs which popped open and unleashed some red ribbons that soon formed the shape of a contest ribbon that later exploded and revealed Gourgiesit and Emolga. While Gourgiest landed Emolga stayed airborne. “Gourgiest use Seed Bomb and Emolga use Discharge. Gourgiest fired some big seeds upward around Emolga before Emolga unleashed blue electricity which caused the seeds to explode which covered Emolga in a flash. A few seconds later Emolga flew higher while spinning and covered in a shimmering coat. Emolga soon began flying around Gourgiest. “Now Gourgiest use gyro ball. Gourgiest spun in place and absorbed some of the sparkles for herself. Soon Emolga landed on top of Gourgiest as soon as she stopped spinning for the big finish.
“Now that was quite dazzling,” Julian said.
“The timing between all those moves was perfect,” Contesta said.
“Remarkable,” Sukizo said.
“It was like watching stage magic,” Nurse Joy said.
“Selena sure knows how to bring the best out of her performance,” Marina said. As soon as Selena returned backstage Emma was all set to go.
“And now our coordinator, give it up for Emma,” Julian said as Emma grabbed her two pokeballs.
“Delphox and Smoochum Showtime,” Emma said before tossing her two pokeballs which caused them to pop open and unleash two scores of music notes that combined before A big anthropomorphic fox with a stick for a wand and a pink and cream-colored small humanoid girl-like creature with short blonde hair and kissable lips appeared.
“I’m guessing that is Braixen’s evolved form,” Turquoise said before pulling out her Pokedex.
“Delphox, The Fox Pokemon, and the evolved form of Braixen, It gazes into the flame at the tip of its branch to achieve a focused state, which allows it to see into the future,” The Pokedex said before focusing on Smoochum. “Smoochum, The Kiss Pokemon, It tests everything by touching with its lips, which remember what it likes and dislikes.
“Smoochum use Sweet Kiss. Smoochum made a kissy face before creating a bunch of pink hearts. “Delphox used Mystical Fire. Delphox spun her branch before pointing it upward and shooting a fireball at the hearts which caused them to explode into fire heart-shaped rings. “Now use Psybeam through the rings. Delphox fired her Psybeam through the fire hearts and as soon as it went through the last one it generated some heart-shaped fireworks.
“That was a sight to see,” Julian said.
“I will say that the idea of using mystical Fire to make fire hearts was creative, “Contesta said.
“Remarkable,” Sukizo said.
“I could see the amount of work they put into it,” Nurse Joy said.
“Emma is like a fairy tale princess come to life,” Marina said. As soon as Emma returned backstage she sat down and watched the others with Turquoise and Selena. The rest of the coordinators went on one by one and once the last one finished it was time for an intermission to decide who moves on.
“Do you think we will make it?” Emma asked.
“I think so,” Turquoise said.
“Me too,” Selena said. Suddenly Julian appeared on the screen.
“Sorry for the wait everyone but now without further ado here are the 32 coordinators moving on to the battle stage,” Julian said as the profiles appeared one by one with Esmeralda still in first, Turquoise in third, Selena, in fifth, and Emma in tenth.
“We made it,” Emma said joyfully.
“And now let's give the cards a shuffle,” Julian said before the profiles were shuffled and formed a bracket. The girls thought their way through the bracket and soon it was down to the final four. “And after so many battles we are down to our final four coordinators which are Esmeralda, Emma, Turquoise, and Selena. The pairings were Turquoise vs Salena and Esmeralda vs Emma. Turquoise and Selena made their way to the battlefield and were both determined since they had been wanting this rematch for some time now. “Now it's time for the first semi-final match, on my left is Selena, and on my right is Turquoise, five minutes on the clock, go.
“Ninetails and Emolga take the stage,” Selena said before throwing her pokeballs which unleashed some snowflakes and green lightning bolts that later became Alolan Ninetails and Emolga who looked ready to go.
“Espeon and Umbreon let’s dazzle them,” Turquoise said as she threw her pokeballs which unleashed a bunch of multicolored stars that turned into Espeon and Umbreon.
“Ninetails use hail and Emolga use Acrobatics on Espeon. While Ninetails filled the stadium with a cloud that created hail Emolga was flying really fast at Espeon.
“Dodge and use Swift and Umbreon use Quick attack on Emolga. Espeon dodged Emolga’s attack before Umbreon nailed her with Quick attack which pushed Emolga into the line of fire for Swift to hit which cost Selena a good amount of points.
Selena: 80%
“Not bad but let's see how you survive hail,” Selena said as Espeon and Umbreon were pelted by it which cost Turquoise a small amount of points.
Turquoise:95%
“Time for some defense, Ninetails use Aurora veil and Emolga use Encore on Umbreon. Ninetails created an aurora on their side of the field while Emolga prepared to hit Umbreon with Encore.
“Espeon block that Encore and Umbreon use shadow ball on Emolga. Emolga unleashed the power of Encore only for Espeon to block it and use her magic bounce ability to send it back forcing Emolga to repeat Encore.
Selena: 70%
The clock reached the four-minute mark and things were already interesting.
“Not bad but you still taking damage,” Selena said as Espeon and Umbreon got pelted again.
Turquoise: 90%
“Ninetails use Ice beam on the ground. Ninetails fired her Ice Beam on the ground now covering the stage in ice while also forming ice pillars. Turquoise knew exactly what Selena was planning. Unfortunately, Espeon and Umbreon were caught off guard and were slipping on the ice which cost turquoise points.
Turquoise: 70%
Even worse the Encore wore off as they reach the three-minute mark.
“Time to use our ace in the hole. Umbreon use Shadow Ball and Espeon use Psybeam. Selena was not just going to stand there and let them do whatever they were going to do.
“Like I’m going to let that happen, Fly higher Emolga and Ninetails use Dazzling Gleam. Espeon and Umbreon were pushed back on the ice when they unleashed their moves while Ninetails use Dazzling gleam which covered the field in a very bright pink shine that was focused through the ice pillars. Selena was sure her attack worked until she saw that the light was being absorbed by what looked like an energy shuriken around the shadow ball Umbreon fired. As for Espeon and Umbreon, they were still standing due to sliding out of range of the pillars.
“And that daring escape and shuriken cost Selena a truckload of points,” Julian said as Selena’s points went down more.
Selena: 45%
The shuriken kept going towards Ninetails and Selena was not going to let it hit.
“Emolga use Discharge to stop that thing. Emolga tried to use Discharge but instead was nailed by it and sent flying at Ninetails. The shuriken was then stopped by the aurora veil for a few seconds before it faded along with the hail. Suddenly the shuriken nailed them for an explosive finish which caused both Emolga and Ninetails to faint and the judges to hit their buzzers.
“And after that explosive finish Turquoise moves on to the final round,” Julian said as Turquosie’s picture appeared on the jumbotron.
“Well Turquoise congrats on winning and I must say that is a powerful combination you came up with, How long did you have that up your sleeve?” Selena asked.
“It's quite an interesting story but right now let's cheer Emma on since I have a feeling she will need it,” Turquosie said. Before the next round started Fluttershy met up with the girls.
“That was a good battle, even Sprigatito was excited,” Fluttershy said as Sprigatito looked like she was in absolute bliss. Sprigatito wanted so badly to compete but Turquoise told her she was still not ready.
“Listen Sprigatito I can’t let you compete now, however, our journey is not over yet so after you get a little bit stronger I will consider using you in contests,” Turquosie said while putting her pinkie on one of Sprigatito’s front paws to form a promise.
“Now let's go back to the stands,” Fluttershy said as she took Sprigatito back to the stands with her. As for Turquoise and Selena, they returned to the back to watch the second semi-final match. Things were not looking good for Emma as Esmeralda's Pokemon were too strong and their combos and dodging were on point.
“Now end this with Revelation Dance. Esmeralda’s Oricorio managed to make quick work of Emma’s Smoochum thus winning her the match.
“And that’s it everyone joining Turquoise in the final round is Esmeralda,” Julian said as Esmeralda basked in the glory while Emma left in a somber mood. Luckily Turquoise was there to cheer her up.
“Don’t look so down, The top four is not bad for your first journey,” Turquoise said.
“I know but how will you handle Esmeralda?” Emma said.
“You're just going to have to watch and see,” Turquoise said. And so the pairing for the final match has been decided. Will Turquoise win her second grand festival in a row or will Esmeralda put an end to her climb to the top?
TO BE CONTINUED