Lucky Star - Part 1 of 2

A brilliant star shone over the Hearthome Contest Hall as its nightly show continued. Enthusiatic 'ooh's' and 'aah's' erupted from the stands as the competing Pokémon strutted their stuff.

After a heated competition, the latest contest was down to only four entrants: Peter, a young man in his twenties, had entered with his Milotic, Syren; beside him, the Johto Gym Leader Jasmine polished up her Steelix, Rusty; a young schoolgirl had entered with a gleaming, metallic Electrode; finally, a priestess from Mt. Pyre was petting her purebred Ninetales, an elegant, foxlike beast whose namesake train of ivory tails shone like liquid fire in the lights of the stadium.

Peter scanned the competition warily. Out of all of them, he thought that the priestess, Himiko, would be his toughest opponent. There was something about her that said, "I've beaten others at this game. You're next." It was a feeling concealed beneath an innocent miko's robe, but, in the eyes of both her and her Ninetales, it was obvious.

The other two he had few thoughts about. He wasn't one to underestimate a Gym Leader's Pokémon, but he questioned Jasmine's sense of style. On the other hand, the young girl was all-too-clearly planning a SelfDestruct strategy. However, they had both managed to get this far; he would have to see for himself what they could do.

"And now...Let's give a big round of applause to our semifinalists!" an announcer cued from the skybox. The crowd exploded into claps as Peter, Jasmine, Himiko, and Lola entered the stage. They all knew the routine: Smile and wave to the audience, then wait for the randomized matchup results on the giant screen beneath the MC's skybox.

There was a sound like slot reels rolling before a click! click! click! click! showed the matchups. Peter was going to show what he was made of against Jasmine; poor Lola had to deal with the Ninetales that, though well taken-care of, was probably absolutely ruthless when it came to contests.

The contests were set up thusly: The randomizer would decide which of the sixteen entrants would go head to head in the contest's theme - in this case, beauty - when it came to both battling and show. Those sixteen would be down to eight, then down to four in the semifinals. The showdown between the final two contestants usually made good rerun material.

They would first have to please the judges. It was the most beautiful psychological warfare ever, both because it was judged and because it showed what the participants were capable of. If one display was particularly impressive, the opponent might be intimidated. This was especially true if the attack (or combination) had been ranked highly by the judges.

Then came the battles. Those, too, had to be decorative. The goal wasn't just to KO the other Pokémon; no, just like the appeals, these attacks had to be both functional and fashionable.

Peter did not want to show the sweat on his brow as Jasmine faced him on the opposite end of the battlefield. She was blushing, and it certainly wasn't out of infatuation. The Olivine City Gym leader, with her tawny hair fashioned like a Dratini's winglets, was an extremely shy, gentle person. Of course she would be intimidated by all those eyes in the stands.

Nonetheless, she had made it this far, and her status as a Gym Leader certainly had not been handed to her.

"Our next match features Jasmine, the Steel specialist from Olivine City, against Peter, a veteran trainer from Jubilife City! Our worldwide audience'll be stoked for this one; both of these top-tier trainers are big names in the contest world!" the announcer declared.

More cheering arose from the crowd. Jasmine was looking really nervous, muttering "no...really...I'm not that great..." quietly while Peter soaked in the fanfare like a sponge.

"First up are the appeals!" boomed the voice from the skybox. They both knew the routine: Each Pokémon would have to impress the judges with a move or combination of moves, and would then be rated on the performance on a scale of 1-10.

Jasmine opened with her Steelix, Rusty. The moment that the gigantic, metallic snake was let out of its Poké Ball, Jasmine's demeanor did a one-eighty. That shyness was replaced by a vicious, almost fiery confidence. Peter had seen this odd shift before; although she seemed demure and gentle most of the time, the Gym Leader was confident in battle.  

"Go, Syren!" Peter called, throwing out a Poké Ball. A peachy serpent with a long, mermaid-like tail emerged with a "Mirruuu!". Coming from her crested head were both sensory 'whiskers' and a pair of reddish, flexible fins that resembled human hair. She shyly hid behind her blue and red tailfin like a lady of high status, revealing only her scarlet eyes to the crowd.

Cameras flashed as the announcer told the crowd more about these two Pokémon. Despite Rusty's seeming lack of beauty, the giant, shiny behemoth never ceased to please the crowd. Milotic, on the other hand, were popular in contests by default; Syren was no exception, and a fine specimen in her own right. This battle was going to be an epic clash between serpents of the sea and land.

Jasmine gave Peter an assured smile before saying, "Rusty, use Rock Polish!"

With a bellow, the Steelix began to gleam ever brighter in the stadium's light. When the light dimmed, its metallic body had a brilliant, opalescent sheen like mother-of-pearl.

"Now...Sand-Attack!" the rock-snake's trainer ordered. Another deafening roar was heard as Rusty gave a mighty shake along his body. Flakes of iridescent glitter shimmered to the ground, earning gasps of enthusiasm from an eager crowd.

One of the judges uttered "Remarkable!" as the scores were punched in: 8.0, 7.8, 8.5.  

Such positive reception was enough to make Peter mentally bite his lip. He had to admit that it was pretty spectacular to see a cloud of glitter raining down from the rainbow serpent. The Sinnoh-born contestant would have to think of something pretty amazing to beat that.

It was about time for an old,  reliable trick.

"Syren, use Surf!" Peter commanded. With an affirmative "mi!," a jet of water from Syren's mouth quickly swelled into a tsunami.

"Throw in an Ice Beam!" the Sinnoh trainer continued. As the wave started to recede, Syren fired an electric-blue, lightninglike beam from the crested horn on her head; it froze the wave into a perfect replica of a certain painting motif found in the Johto region.

It was still enough to merit a "remarkable!" from one judge, but the scores were a bit lower: The digital screens read 7.5, 7.5, 8.0. They had probably seen the trick done a million times before; since many Water-types could learn Ice Beam, many coordinators had trained them to use Ice-Type attacks in conjunction with Water attacks to form magnificent ice sculptures. The famous wave of Johto had been done countless times, but never ceased to look amazing.

The crowd gave lukewarm applause to the combo; they, too, had seen this many times before. Jasmine and members of the mass who hailed from Johto clapped louder than the rest.

"Ooh, fans, this is NOT looking good for our native candidate!" the announcer summarized. "Let's see if he can make up for it in the artistic battle competition!"

The shining star shone directly above the arena as the battle began. The two contestants were both burning with ambition, and it was watching to see who would burn brightest.

"Rusty, use Thunder Fang!" Jasmine commanded.

That Rock Polish hadn't just made her Steelix glitter like diamonds. It also made Rock-Types (such as Onix, the previous form of Steelix) faster in battle. Although Syren scarcely evaded the metallicsnake's sparking choppers, it look spectacular as the serpent's entire body glittered with lightning. It was as if a rainbow-colored dragon from an Eastern legend had made a guest appearance in the contest arena.

"Syren, use Twister attack, then combine it with a Water Pulse!" Peter ordered. The sand in the arena rose around the dancing Milotic; a small whirlwind was starting to form in the arena, and as the wind began to pick up, a stream of water became visible in the cyclone's swirls.

Jasmine, experienced as she was with Steelix, knew that he was aiming for Rusty's weakness to Water attacks. She was not going to make things that easy.

"Rusty, quick! Counter it with Stealth Rock!" the Gym Leader commanded. With a whip of the Steelix's shining tail, several gleaming rocks were thrown into the twister.

Oh, crap, Peter thought. Syren could handle rocks in a normal battle, but as she made a serpentine swandive towards Rusty, it was clear that the gleaming, polished boulders were as sharp as obsidian arrowheads.

Rusty recoiled from the pain when he was hit by the wind and water combination; at the same time, Syren was cut in several places along her scaleless body. She would probably need a Potion or two later, but there was no time for recovery with that sped-up Steelix for an opponent.  

It also did not help that floating, faceted, opaline rocks looked absolutely gorgeous in the stadium lights.

Syren looked at her trainer with a nervous "Mirooo?" This wasn't looking good. Peter gritted his teeth; of course a seasoned coordinator like Jasmine would be used to dealing with Milotic's rather odd scale pattern. Like most Milotic, Syren had a lot of bare, scaleless flesh that Jasmine had used to her advantage.

"Hang in there, Syren! Use Aqua Ring!" Peter ordered.

Syren's body began to glow a pale blue as a ring made of floating, condensed water washed over her body. The cuts made from the stealth rock were all but healed, but it was a seductive, "I'm in the shower; care to join me?" look from Syren that made the crowd go wild. There were even a few catcalls, quickly followed by slaps from what had to be contest-going wives.

"Not bad, Peter," Jasmine praised, "but it won't be enough! Rusty, use AncientPower!"

There was a low growl from the Steelix as the rocks hovering in the stadium quickly changed hue. One became a translucent sapphire; another, an emerald; another, a ruby, and so on. It was as though some titan's treasure chest had exploded with the contents, however briefly, hovering in the lights.

"GGRRROAAAR!" the Steelix bellowed as the gems suddenly moved, heading straight for Syren.

"Quick, Syren!" Peter improvised, "Dive and use Hydro Pump!"

With a loud, affirmative "Mirrooo!", Syren surrounded herself with a thicker coat of water as she dodged the gems. The stadium ground was soaked when she launched a torrent of water at the Steelix, making the metallic snake thud loudly onto the ground.

There were beeps of three...two...one...

"...Peter is the winner!" the announcer declared. An embarrassed Jasmine walked by Peter, saying "That was...a fine battle..." before vanishing backstage with the other contestants. Winning that battle had added enough points to his score and subtracted enough from Jasmine's score to edge him to victory.

"And now, a word from our sponsors."

~

There was a 15-minute pause as the final two contestants - Peter gulped a little when he saw that Himiko had indeed beaten that schoolgirl - prepared their acts.

"Hold still, Syren," Peter said. His Milotic had gotten more injured than he thought; since she had been a present from a friend, he tried to take extra-good care of her. The iridescent blue and red scales on her tail shone with a green luster in the locker room lights as Peter squirted her with a Hyper Potion. He could feel her sinuous body flinch a little with every spray.

"Sorry you got hurt today...It's been a while since we've been in a contest this intense," Peter apologized.  

"Mirrooo..." the serpentine Pokémon said. Peter interpreted it as the sort of "it's fine..." that came about when all clearly was not well.

"You have a type advantage over this next one," the trainer pointed out. "That should help." Sure, it hadn't helped that much last time, but it was something.

Then again, Himiko and her Ninetales were probably something, too.

BAAAAAANNN!

The buzzer beeped. Five minutes to showtime.

"C'mon, girl," Peter said as he headed to the contest arena again. Syren floated over with a "Miroo..."

She had a very bad feeling about this.

Himiko, an albino young lady with long, flowing hair and almond-shaped eyes, did not let her Ninetales out of its Poké Ball during the appeals. Even the announcer was stunned, but the judges seemed to know what she was aiming for.

"There's a legend in Hoenn..." she began.

"Yeah?" Peter asked. Something about her made him shiver, but he tried to act confident nonetheless. A purple fog slowly began to fill the arena as the red-eyed priestess began to tell her story.

"One day, a trainer saw a star moving about in the sky," Himiko told him. "Thinking it was a shooting star, he chased it far, far away..." A small light in the fog resembling a shooting star raced between them.

The fog was getting thicker. If one squinted, tiny tongues of blue flame were visible in the mist. Syren looked worried. She could sense something in those clouds.

"What happened to him...?" Peter asked.

"He was never heard from again. Nobody really knows what happened, but the spirits have told me...ah, yes, the spirits have told me..." Himiko dangled. Even though the fog did not allow for much light, she had a clearly visible, mischievous flicker in her eyes.

"Just tell me already!" Peter impatiently demanded. Normally, he wasn't so hasty, but she was thoroughly creeping him and Syren out with this act.

"They say that his corpse was found near Mt. Pyre," she answered. "Charred, torn...almost as if it had been devoured by a wild animal."

Suddenly, Peter could see vicious, black, flaming dogs with hungry mouths, aiming to satiate an eternal starvation. They looked almost like emaciated Mightyena with various cuts and other injuries. They were moving closer...closer...closer...

SNAP!

With a gulp, one got him. It swallowed him whole in a chomp of purple gas. He saw nothing but black.

Then it was gone.

The crowd went wild as Himiko's Ninetales, Izuna, ceased the illusion. His trainer gave him a satisfied pet on the head as the announcer explained exactly what happened:

"That, folks, was an Ominous Wind attack mixed with Extrasensory and Will-o'Wisp! By far, it is one of the most spectacular illusions that Izuna has pulled off today!" the announcer described. An experienced Ninetales could make illusions that could be seen by more than one person. In this case, the whole crowd had seen Peter getting devoured by starving dogs.

What?! Peter thought as the fog dissipated and the cheers of the crowd reached his ears. That had been her appeal?!

The scores were crystal clear: For the amazing presentation, Himiko had gotten tens across the board.

Peter had to think fast. It was going to be hard to beat such a realistic phantasm.

"Syren, use Mirror Coat, then Refresh!" Peter ordered. With a "Mirrooo!," Syren's body began to gleam with a pearly hue, shining with iridescent greens, oranges, and yellows. She looked absolutely brilliant in the hot stadium lights before -

POOF!

The water running beneath the Mirror Coat caused its film to rupture like a popped balloon. A storm of sparkling, iridescent confetti exploded into the arena. Syren held her tailfin up to her face in an act of modesty; cameras flashed and the crowd roared even more.  As usual, a "remarkable!" came from one of the judges.

Peter watched the scores anxiously: 9.0...8.5...9.0.

"Our local coordinator has a long way to go before beating a good Ninetales illusion, folks! Can he manage to pull out a win in the artistic battle competition?" the announcer asked the audience. There were mutters from the eager crowd; unlike Peter, they had seen what that fox was capable of.

The albino maiden on the opposite side of the arena didn't even flinch as the battle began. Her attitude was the complete opposite of Jasmine's; where the Gym Leader had been fiery, the priestess before him had the odd calm of an untouched lake.

Somehow, Peter found that iciness more disturbing.

"Syren, use Water Pulse!" Peter commanded as soon as the referee gave the signal to begin. The elegant serpent sprayed a jet of water from her mouth; the stream was ringed with odd, cyan loops, and hit the Ninetales in his lengthy train as he tried to dodge.

"Izuna. Show him what the vengeful spirits of nature are capable of..." Himiko ordered. At his mistress' command, Izuna conjured several blue-white balls of fire. As the flaming spheres raced towards his seasnake, Peter couldn't help but feel that there was something 'off' about that Will-O'-Wisp...

"Syren, dodge it!" Peter ordered. Too late.

"MIRROOOOO!!!" Syren howled. Upon making contact, the flames had exploded into a barrage of miniature Energy Balls that seethed with spiritual pain. The sea serpent had been singed and damaged in several places. She seemed almost too hurt by the attack to move, but, for her trainer's sake, she tried.

"Syren! Oh, Arceus...USE RECOVER! NOW!" Peter commanded. Syren's tender body began to glow white as her wounds rapidly healed, but, because of the burn that remained, she let out a small squeak of pain after healing.

Damn you... Peter thought. Himiko had cornered him. Even though Syren had the type advantage, Izuna was clearly leading both its opponent and Peter along. Syren could take hits, especially given the fact that the most spectacular moves weren't usually the most potent; both she and her trainer had been relatively unprepared for the burning Grass attack. Peter would rather have been facing the girl with the Electrode than the mysterious, terrifying combination that he had been pitted against.

"Ooh, folks, if it hadn't been for that Recover, our homebred hero would be outta here! Can he figure out a way to beat this clever priestess from Hoenn's most sacred point?" the announcer wondered. All eyes were on the contest; the silence was deafening. If anyone whispered a word, they were sternly quieted by the fixed, solid looks around them.

Peter had to succeed. Had to.

There's no way I'm gonna lose to a chick whose tactics include creeping people out! he thought as a purple fog began to fill the arena again.

"I must say, I admire your determination," Himiko praised. She was the only thing visible to him besides the violet haze that grew thicker with each passing second.

"Thanks. You're not bad, yourself," Peter responded.

"How very kind of you. We would probably get along well...but this ends here," Himiko stated. "Izuna...Heat Wave."

A loud "NINE!" sounded as, from behind the priestess, the purple fog burst into flames. She seemed unaffected by the pyrotechnics herself, but her pink eyes widened when she saw the sea of flames being directed back at her.

"W-what?!" she gasped. Her eyes became round as saucers as the sea of fire escalated into a true tsunami.

"Syren...MIRROR COAT!" Peter declared. His Milotic had already been protecting her trainer from the fire, but at the mention of the attack, a swing of her shining, scaly tail forced the attack right back at Izuna and his mistress.

With a bark, Izuna swiftly leapt to take the attack for his trainer. Though the fire didn't hurt either of them, the force of his own Ominous Wind injured him considerably.

"Now, Syren! Combine your Dragon Pulse attack with Surf!" Peter commanded. With a loud "Mirrooo!," Syren conjured a giant wave. It at first seemed impressive by itself, but when a giant, Gyarados-like formation erupted from the wall of water to attack the fox, a unanimous gasp emerged from the crowd. A piercing "Niiiiinnnee!" rang throughout the arena as the vulpine creature was hit by the water dragon.

The impact was enough to render Izuna unable to battle. Himiko was at his side in a flash; he gave her hand a gentle lick as she sprayed him with a potion. She must have one of those trainers who didn't keep her favorite Pokémon in a ball.

"And with that spectacular sea serpent combination...PETER PENDRAGON IS THE WINNER!" the announcer decreed. The trainer gave his Milotic a great big hug; sure, it was their fourth time winning such a big contest, but it had not been an easy victory.

Like a rumble of distant thunder, the sound started small. As the storm grew closer, lightning came in the form of electric, crackling applause that greeted the victorious trainer.

"Come, Izuna," Peter heard Himiko and her Ninetales heading back into the building. Maybe it was something out of the corner of his eye, maybe it was Syren's gentle nudging, but whatever the reason, he glanced at Himiko's retreating back.

Was that a blue, furry tail swishing beneath her robe?

~

"Mi!"

Syren winced as the Hyper Potion sprayed across her skin. Those flames had been more than just showy; the Milotic's pink, scaleless flesh had been seared by that spiritual fire.

"We better get you to a Pokémon Center," Peter suggested. Syren gave a firm nod. Very few creatures were fond of doctor visits, but contests were far from painless affairs.

Peter was still tending to his Milotic's wounds while heading towards the Hearthome Pokémon Center when he saw it: A star in the sky that burned brighter than all the others.

"Mirooo?" Syren's attention shifted from her wounds to that odd star. It was easy enough for Peter to see that the odd star's reflection was moving in her bloodred eyes. She had her head tilted in a way that reminded Peter of a curious kitten.

"Huh? It's moving..." Peter observed. Syren nodded. The trainer was tempted to chase it, but Syren needed healing, and she came before any point of light in the sky, moving or not. He quickly recalled the Milotic into her Poké Ball, and, under the star's watchful gaze, dashed to the Hearthome Pokémon Center.

The moving astral body was still there when he got out. In fact, it seemed to be slowly edging closer and closer to Hearthome City, almost like a circling Pidgeot descending upon its prey. Instead of spiralling downward, however, it had a far vaguer aim. It was almost as though the light wanted to make sure that it had been seen.

Without hesitation, Peter took out the bike from his bottomless item bag. The star was moving towards the Southern end of Hearthome, and, by Arceus, he would catch it!

What was even odder, Peter observed, was that the star appeared to be aware that he was pursuing it. As he sped southward, the light's speed also increased until -

Until he had to get off of his bike to exit the city.

The trainer stopped, craning his neck skyward to watch where the light was going. It was getting lower and closer. Lower...closer. Closer. Lower. A Clefairy could have wagged its fingers in time with the circling rhythm of the star's path as it came closer and closer to the ground.

Then, suddenly, the trees around Hearthome were backlit with an orange glow. There was no smoke, but, judging by how it wavered in the darkness, there was fire.

Peter's heart raced as he dashed through the gate. Luckily for him, town gates weren't locked at night, nor were they well-guarded. He wouldn't say that he knew the area around Hearthome by heart, but he had been around that city before.

There was only one place that that light could have come from: The Trophy Garden!