“#NOW! LET’S GO TO OUR JUDGES FOR THEIR SCORE!#” Julia Hail, the commentator announced to the audience.

Everyone in the audience turned and watched, the dark panels on the front of the judges’ table.

The first square dark panel left hand side was the first to light up.

       

*BEEP*

             

“#WE HAVE AN EIGHT!#” Julia announced.

Then next panel lit up.

“#NOW A NINE!#”

      

*BEEP*

        

“#AND, ANOTHER EIGHT!#”

                 

         

“”YYYEEEAAAHHH!!””                      ““BOOOOOOOO!!””

               

Jennifer cheered, but was startled into silence, when she realized the room was divided between cheers of adoration, and jeers of abhorrence.

Jennifer looked around at the crowd, and the divided groups of people cheering and jeering.

But to her surprise, they didn’t seem to be divided in their cause.

“Wha?!— what’s going on?!” Jennifer asked May in concern.

“They’re angry with the judges’ decision.”

“What? Why? It’s a good score!… is it because they think it’s to high or something?”

“It’s because they think it’s too low. They think the score deserves to be higher.”

“They want it high?! But it’s already high!” Jennifer pointed out.

May shrugged.

“They thought it was perfect.” May countered.

“I mean, I was good. Great, even!”

“You’re right. But it’s not perfect, was it?”

“What do you mean? Did you not think it was worth a ten?”

“I think what they gave, was a fair score. But, this is the life of being a judge.” May explained to Jennifer before pointing towards the judge’s podium. “Look who gave a nine instead of an eight like the rest of them.”

          

Jennifer looked at the middle most judge.

“The Mayor?” She questioned.

May nodded.

“Yeah, he gave a nine, while the other two gave eight.” She looked at her friend. “Care to guess why?”

“Probably because he doesn’t actually know what he’s looking for?”

“Close!” May suggested. “It was because the other judge choose eight.”

“Why?” Jennifer questioned.

“Because he wants to look good. He won’t look quite so bad to the audience, not that he gave the best score. The other two judges gave what I thought was a fair score; and while I think a nine is okay, or fair to give, I also think it’s generous.”

“Why is that?” Jennifer wondered. “What could have Greg and Vulpix done wrong?”

“It’s not about what they did wrong: it’s about, what they could have done better.”

“Huh? Better?”

May nodded her head, at Jennifer’s befuddlement.

         

“It’s like this, I thought Greg had an excellent choreographed plan, that he and  Vulpix have obviously been training for months to perfect.”

“Yeah?” Jennifer questioned May, like that should be obvious. “Even I can see that, and I’m sure Ralts did as well, and she’s never seen something like this before,” Jennifer looked down at Ralts from above, who looked back up at her. “Right?”

Ralts nodded her head in agreement. 

“Ralts, Ralts!”

“And that’s fair, but you’re missing the point.” May told them.

“The point?”

May nodded again.

“Yeah, if these two have been practicing this choreography for months, and it went this solid, without any hiccups; why did it look so by the numbers?”

“By the numbers?!” Jennifer questioned her friend’s judgement of what was good or not.

Good grief! She is a picky judge to please! Jennifer thought.

May went on with her explanation, none the wiser on what Jennifer thought of her judging skills.

“Yeah, they took the most basic moments, on every part of their performance, as to not take any risks; trying to maximize their points by using the least amount of moves in their performance.”

“The least amount?”

“Let me explain. A routine, and certain competitions, have rules and limits on what you and your Pokémon can do: because, as you may know, some Pokémon moves, are more deadly and more dangerous then others. And that is why using moves, such as Self-Destruct, or Metronome, are forbidden.

“What’s Metronome? Like the things musicians use to practice with?”

“Close,” May suggested to Jennifer, that she was on the right track. “Metronome is a powerful move, that allows a Pokémon to waggle its finger back-and-forth, while charging energy into it, then it allows them to use an entirely new move.”

“What move?”

But to Jennifer’s surprise, May shook her head.

“That’s the thing.” May told Jennifer. “It’s completely random.”

“R-Random?!”

May nodded her head.

“That’s right, you won’t know what kind of move you may use of you do.” She looked towards Jennifer. “It may even end up being Self-Destruct.”

“O-Oh!… that sounds… umm?!….”

May raised an eyebrow at her friend.

“Dangerous? Reckless?”

“Something like that, yeah.” Jennifer admitted. “That’s kind of scary, to use a move, that you won’t know the outcome too.”

“But that is why some trainers use it in battles.” May explained.

“Why?”

May shrugged.

“For the luck of pulling from a move, that could help you turn the tides of battle.” May explained.

May looked back at Jennifer and smiled.

“But we got side tracked, allow me to explain what Greg and Vulpix could have done better.

          

“Let me ask you a hypothetical,” May said to Jennifer. “If you and Ralts had to take time to work with her psychic abilities, how long would it for the two of you, to learn to draw a circle in the dirt with a stick, then build a tower out of blocks?”

Jennifer snorted at May’s question.

“May? Are you serious? That wouldn’t take any time at all, anyone could—!!!”

Jennifer realized what it was that May was implying.

May nodded as she realized that Jennifer had caught on.

“While flashy and very technical, he choose to use the minimum amount of moves required to perform a routine; which gave them loads of points, then did flashy, spectacular moves; along with having a very cute, variety type of Pokémon.”

Jennifer sat there, staring at her friend in disbelief. At how May had seemingly transformed, into some sort of adult and professional analysis commentator.

“Holy shit May! I didn’t,— I just!—….. Then?!” Jennifer questioned. “What could he have done differently? What could he have done better?”

May smiled.

                 

“Actually,” May boasted. “It’s quiet simple. He could have had Vulpix use agility, then jumped up and used Ice Beam, to make the tower first, before making the circle surrounding area: I’m sure he realized it too, but he choose a variant Pokémon, to make up for points in this routine.”

“But why? Why was he trying to make up points?”

May shrugged.

“I won’t know, unless I ask him.” May concluded. “But if I had to guess,” She pondered. “That he was trying to also limit the amount of move he needed to use, in order to pull off the routine he had in mind, and my guess, had to do with the Blizzard and Aurora Beam Vulpix used.”

“Why those two?”

“Because of Ice Beam.”

“Huh? But I thought you said—“

“It’s because he made Vulpix use Ice Beam in a circle like that: Ice Beam, creates an ice so cold, so quickly, that in could last for hours, even out in the middle of summer sun.”

“Geez!” Jennifer murmured.

“But that’s not all…” May added. “He used this fact in his routine, and made use of the cold emanating off of the ice Vulpix created, to help her create a stabilized Blizzard, in the shape of a sphere.”

Jennifer gapped at what May was suggesting.

“Are you telling me, he planned to make use of convection and thermodynamics, to help his routine?!” Jennifer stared out at the trainer in the arena, still giving his bows before stepping back. “That’s amazing!”

“It is,” May agreed. “But he lost points in style, by trying not to go over the minimum move points advantage: and I believe the maximum move count in this contest is six or eight. I’m not sure.” May said as she tried to remember what the maximum allotted move use was.

“So?! Was he not even judged on those points then?! On how he used science to his advantage?!” Jennifer questioned.

May shrugged.

“He probably was, but I’m not his judges down there,” May said, before pointing back at the Mayor. “That is why I said a nine is fair, if not generous: but that’s the score I would have given him.”

        

Jennifer folded her arms grumpily.

“Well! Now I understand why the crowd is booing the judges at least!” Jennifer grumbled.

This got May chuckling at her friend’s sullen mood, who was just confused earlier, on why Greg and Vulpix only got twenty-five points out of thirty.

               

Jennifer, Ralts and May, all watched as Julia worked the crowd, and got them calmed down from the scoring, then got them hyped up again, for the next contestant.

“#NOW, YOU LOVELY PEOPLE! PLEASE GIVE ARE NEXT CONTESTANTS A FRIENDLY AND WARM WELCOME TO CENTER STAGE: ARIA MELBROOK! AND HER LOVELY SHINY ARBOK!#”

                  

“”YYYYYEEEEEAAAAAHHHH!!””

            “”GO ARIA!!”               “”YOU CAN DO IT ARBOK!!””

              

Jennifer noticed that the cheers were loud and supportive for Aria and her Arbok. It seemed to her, that a majority of the crowd had already been won over by Greg and his Vulpix.

Jennifer watched as the woman and her Pokémon walk up, and take center stage. The woman had soft teal colored hair, which she wore back into a braided ponytail. She was also wearing a kimono, that was the same soft teal color as her hair, it also had golden leaf patterns scattered around on the fabric.

The crowd finally dies down, going silent as they watch in anticipation, as the next performer coming to the center stage.

     

Arceus! I love this part! Jennifer thought to herself.

      

As the crowd falls silent, so to, do their thoughts in a hushed deafening silence.

      

“Are you ready Stanly?” Aria whispers to her Pokémon.

“SscchhAArrbbokk!”

          

The woman then pulls a flute out from her kimono, then brings it to her lips.

Jennifer listens enraptured as a haunting melody starts playing from the trainer’s flute,

Then her Arbok then starts to slither over to her. He circles her feet, wrapping around her body, almost as if he was trying to constrict her.

What is going on? What are they doing?

The Arbok comes face-to-face with his trainer, after coiling around her. They stare into each other’s golden eyes as the woman continues to play her flute.

The Arbok’s head start to sway with the music his trainer is producing. Almost as if he was just as captivated by the music as the rest of the audience.

Arbok then suddenly rears up, opening its hood wide, exposing the markings on its belly, for full display for the crowd to see.

         

“””OOOOOOUUUUUU!!!”””

                           

           

“CCCHHHAAAAA!”

The Arbok hisses as he opens his mouth wide, seemingly about to bite his trainer’s head.

“”AAAAAHHHHHH!””      “N-NO!”

            “SOMEBODY STOP HIM!”

The crowd worriedly shouts, as they realized they were about to witness a rabid Pokémon attack.

          

Aira smiles while playing her flute at the crowd’s concern.

Without even lifting mouth from the flute, she changes the tempo of the song, to a more slow and sedated, sleepy melody.

            

Arbok at that moment, knows exactly what to do for this music, and does as trained.

“CCCCHHHHAaaaaaaa……”

A white misty haze, spills from his mouth. Totally enveloping his trainer, the arena floor, and himself.

All that is left of the trainer and the audience to see, is their silhouettes, as the Arbok continues to loom over its trainer.

The crowd is going mad at this point.

        

“STOP THE SHOW!”

“SAVE HER!”

“D-DON’T LET HER DIE!”

           

“CCCHAAARRRBBOOOK!”

     

“””K-KKYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”””

         

They watch as the Arbok, leaps towards his trainers head. Then disappears as he wrestles his prey towards the ground.

All is silent, not even the haunting melody is playing anymore.

The crows is silent with fright and worry.

            

Then, up from the foggy haze, a figure raises.

        

It stands stall and straight at first, then from the haze, its large hood flares out.

And a might Roar is heard.

“CCHHAAARRRBBOOOKK!”

       

“K-KYYYAAA!”

Someone from the audience screams at the roar and the sudden reappearance of the rabid Pokémon.

The Cobra Pokémon then arched up, and curled forward.

And as he did, the audience heard something that they shouldn’t at the time.

              

The notes of the flute slowly returned.

The melody chilled the audience’s souls, as they slowly heard its musicc raise into the air, once more. Then they saw it. They saw the trainer’s silhouette rise up, as it straddled her Pokémon while riding on it’s back.

The haze cleared from where the trainer was. Her facade had changed to one of a terrifying figure, with her hair down and wet. Along with a white head band tied to her head, and her kimono swapped out for a white one.

“K-KKKKYYYYAAAAAA! MISS ARIA IS A ZOMBIE!”

“S-SHE TURNED INTO A GHOST!”

         

“CHAAARRRBOKKK!”

      

Arbok’s head arose from the haze quickly, as it sends a Glare towards the audience, stunning them into silence.

         

Arbok then turned his face up word, and launched a ball of sludge, from its mouth straight up, high into the air.

After which, Arbok sprayed some sort of acid from its mouth, which hits the ball, sending it even higher into the air. Where it then, explodes into a shower of poison gunk and filth.

The Arbok quickly changed positions, so that he was hanging above his trainer, with his hood splayed out above her. Covering her from the acid and poison, raining down from above.

The audience, stared enraptured at this trainer’s choreography and performance that she had just given to each and every person here.

They watched as she stood there, acid and poison, raining down from above, the floor below her knees, covered in a fine mist. With herself, standing in the center of it, playing her flute, with her back rested against her Arbok’s belly, as she used them as an umbrella from the toxic rain they had created: all while looking like a zombie or ghost, herself.

      

        

*CLAP*

        

          

          

*CLAP*

             

*CLAP*                *CLAP*                *CLAP*        

*CLAP*           *CLAP*           *CLAP*            *CLAP*

*CLAP* *CLAP* *CLAP* *CLAP* *CLAP*

           

“WWWWOOOO!”

“GO ARIA!”

        “THAT WAS AMAZING!”      “YOU’RE THE BEST!”

        

“”””YYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”””””

                     

            

While the cheers for Aria’s performance started off slower and more sedated. The cheering for her was much more meaningful and genuine, then the audience’s, knee-jerk reaction to the flashy performance given by Greg and Vulpix.

             

      

“#OOOOOUUUUUUTTTTTT-STANDING!#” The beloved announcer, Julia Hail, started speaking, as soon as the crowd released their massive approval of Aira and Arbok’s performance. “#LET’S GIVE OUR WONDERFUL CONTESTANT ANOTHER ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR THAT WONDERFUL PERFORMANCE THEY’VE JUST SHOW TO US AND ALLOWED US TO SEE!#”

             

“””YYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!“””

         

“#WHAT A WONDERFUL SHOW THEY PUT ON FOR US! THE NAME OF THAT SPECIAL PERFORMANCE THAT WE WERE JUST PRIVILEGED TO WITNESS IS: A SNAKE’S DANCE, IN THE FOG AND THE POISON RAIN.#” Julia revealed to the crowed. “#VERY THEMATICALLY CORRECT AND ACCURATE TO WHAT WE JUST WITNESSED HERE TODAY FOLKS!#”

       

More cheers and claps were given, after the title of their routine was revealed.

     

“What an amazing performance!”      “What an outstanding trainer!”       “I can’t believe she controlled her Pokémon, with just practice and the sound of her flute!”

            

“My Arceus! That was scary!”

“I’ve never seen a performance like that in all my life!”

“I thought she really died!”

                   

Jennifer realized, while not as pretty or as visually colorful as the last performance.

And the fact that this girl didn’t use science to her advantage in this performance like Greg did. This woman…… Jennifer stared stunned at how well executed she had been with her entire routine. Was just magnificent and outstanding.

Jennifer was just blown away at how masterfully Aria and her Arbok were synchronized in their movements and what they were supposed to do with each other.

      

“It really was like they were dancing out there….” Jennifer observed as she let her words trail off.

She heard May chuckle off to the side of her.

“It sure can look like that sometimes,” May comments. “Especially if the trainer gets involved with the performance of routine of their Pokémon.” May then smirked at Jennifer as she said this. “You’ll see that reflected in her scores in just a second.

“Huh?”

           

“#NOW THEN! LET’S MOVE OVER TO OUR JUDGES! AND SEE WHAT THEY THOUGHT OF IT!#”

               

          

*BEEP*    *BEEP*    *BEEP*

          

With almost no deliberation between the judges, their numbers were already up and on display for all to see.

        

*GASP*

                

“#AND THERE YOU HAVE IT FOLKS!#” Aria said with a flourish of her hand. “#NINES ACROSS THE BOARD! WITH THAT! ARIA TAKES THE LEAD WITH HER PERFORMANCE OF TWENTY-SEVEN POINTS!#”

            

            

“…………………………”

          

     

Jennifer felt it, and knew what to expect this time.

≈Ralts! Cover your ears!≈

                          

             

                  

“”””YYYYEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!””“”