Arata's POV
Sitting up in the stands of the contest arena
I had to admit Marrie had talent. She and Princess had soaked up any and all tips and tricks I was able to impart the day before with ease. The little Pichu was talented for her age and species, able to fire off a couple of weak Thundershocks before running dry in her tank. But what she lacked in raw power, she more than made up for in control. She could tweak the direction of her attacks mid-flight with pinpoint precision, turning simple moves into something almost artistic.
And on stage, she proved it.
Marrie had just performed admirably in the appeal round. Princess danced across the floor, weaving delicate ribbons of crackling Thunder Wave through the air like glowing ribbons. Then, with perfect timing, she fired sparkling Thunder Shocks that burst inside the ribbons like tiny fireworks, creating a shimmering light show that lit up the entire arena. The crowd ate it up, clapping and cheering as the final sparks faded, drawing in a good review from the judges that had maagie jumping up and down in her seat with a huge puff of pink cotton candy in one hand.
"Wooo! Go, Marrie!" she screamed, drawing amused smiles from the people around us.
From behind us came an unpleasant snort.
"It was barely passable," a smug voice drawled. "The girl's Pokémon clearly doesn't have the strength to make it through the battle rounds. Unlike my daughter."
Maggie's face twisted into an angry little pout, and she started to turn around, but I put a hand on her shoulder to hold her in place.
Before she could say anything, a sharper voice cut in from our other side. "Oh? And where exactly is she then?"
The man in the expensive suit puffed up, glaring at the young guy who'd spoken. and prepared to continue his triad before the announcer's cheerful voice boomed over the speakers,
"That was an electrifying performance from the rookie coordinator from Viridian City! And now, for the final round of the Appeal stage, please welcome Solidad from our very own Pewter City!"
The rich man immediately forgot about us. He shot up from his seat, hollering at the top of his lungs while frantically waving a handmade banner he'd apparently pulled from somewhere.
"THAT'S MY GIRL! GO SOLIDAD!"
We all sweat-dropped in unison. Down on the stage, the girl in question looked up at her dad, visibly embarrassed as she quickly began her routine. She twirled gracefully and launched a Poké Ball high into the air. In a flash of light, a Slowpoke materialized, blinking sleepily as it landed on the arena floor.
Maggie leaned over quietly, nibbling on her cotton candy as the slowpoke began its routine, and quietly asked me.
"…Is Marrie going to lose?"
I mulled the question over in my head as I gave a glance to the little girl who was looking at me with those big eyes of hers over the cotton candy and sighed.
"Do you want me to tell you the truth?" I asked gently.
"I always want you to tell me the truth. I don't like people who lie, "she said, crunching her nose. I smiled at her, impressed at her willingness to ask for the truth at such a young age
"There's a high possibility that she would not win this contest, maybe a battle or two depending on the typing of her opponent's Pokémon, but winning the entire contest would be hard... and your sister knows this too."
As I looked back at the arena where the Slowpoke was inside a Giant Bubble, along with multiple other bubbles that it was controlling telekinetically, now that would require quite a bit more power and finesse from a Pokémon to keep a move powered like that for a continued amount of time
"Your sister knows this, too, and she still entered; that shows a lot of courage."
Solidad's Father piped up again from behind us, annoying us all in the process.
"Yes, the young man is right, it shows a lot of courage, and it is a very good learning experience, but my daughter will win this~" he finished goofily.
I sighed as Maggie quickly pouted at the man and humped, turning away,
Well, at least he wasn't just an arrogant ass, just an arrogant but dotting father, I thought
The contest played out pretty much exactly as I'd expected.
Marrie had put up a good fight, had actually won the first qualifier while cleverly utilizing princess speed against a marrep, and focused on bringing down the points of her opponent while using tactics like tail whip to make the mon stumble, effectively winning by a loss of point and moved onto to the quaters facing solidad but even with the type advantage, Princess just didn't have enough power. The battle was one-sided, and they lost handily.
Maggie was a little put out, her shoulders slumping as Solidad was crowned the winner with a ribbon and the crowd began filing out. Still, she followed me quietly as we made our way down to the staging area where the contestants were exiting.
We ignored the other contestants filing out and made our way down the corridor until we spotted Marrie.
She wasn't moping in a corner like I'd half-expected. Instead, she was standing there with a small smile on her face, chatting with Solidad
Maggie let out a happy squeak and immediately launched herself at her sister, wrapping her in a tight hug. At the same time, she shot Solidad a not-so-subtle stink eye over Marrie's waist.
"You did amazing!" Maggie said, muffled against Marrie's jacket.
Solidad gave a polite, slightly awkward smile i we both approvehded "Hi… I'm Solidad."
"I'm Arata," I replied, nodding. "It's nice to meet you. Good performance out there and congratulations on your win."
Marrie looked relieved to see us. Solidad continued, sounding genuinely kind. "Like I was saying, Princess's control was exquisite. She just needs to train up the power behind her moves and you'll both be winning contests in no time"
Maggie, still clinging to her sister, muttered loud enough for everyone to hear, "Your Pokémon are not really that strong. Arata's Pokémon are stronger… hump."
Don't drag me into this, you little gremlin, I thought, giving her a pointed stare.
"Ah…" Solidad trailed off, clearly unsure how to respond.
Marrie silently shot Maggie a look that clearly said cut it out.
Before things could get any more awkward, a loud voice boomed from down the corridor.
"Solidad! There you are! You were wonderful out there, my girl! Absolute perfection!" Her father came bounding down the corridor. Solidad's face turned bright red with embarrassment.
"Dad, not here—" she hissed, quickly grabbing his arm and dragging him away. "I'll text you later, Marrie!" she called over her shoulder, sounding mortified.
We all stood there for a second, watching them disappear down the hall. The girls had matching sad little smiles on their faces as they stared after the overly enthusiastic father-daughter pair. They were clearly feeling the absence of their own parents.
I felt a small pang of sadness for the two girls I had come to call friends in my chest. My own parents in this life had died before I was even born. I had Hailey, sure, and the perspective of having lived another life entirely…
Alright, I thought. Time to cheer them up.
"So," I said casually, "how about we go celebrate after we stop by the Pokémon Center?"
Marrie blinked at me. "…But I didn't win."
"You went further than most people would have in your position," I replied. "That deserves a celebration."
Maggie looked between us, hope creeping back into her eyes.
"What do you girls say? My treat," I added, smiling at them.
Marrie and Maggie exchanged a glance, then both smiled slightly at first, then wider.
"Yeah… sure, let's go," Marrie said.
I couldn't resist a little teasing as we started walking. "I meant what I said earlier, you know. I honestly thought you'd get washed out in the first battle. Not bad at all."
Marrie rolled her eyes, but her smile stayed. "Thank you for your overwhelming faith in me," she said dryly.
Maggie burst into giggles between us, and just like that, the heavy mood lifted as we made our way to the Pokémon Center.
Not a bad day at all