• "Is this painting almost done?!"
    That would be me asking the question.
    "Be patient, Miss Zangoose, talent does require steady effort."
    My mother had Smeargle arrive to paint the poster for the contest. My job was to sit on a rock and stare straight ahead without moving. In my opinion, time spent doing nothing was wasted when I could be training with Aunt Fury.
    "A few strokes here... Some minor details there... And it is done!"
    I exhaled loudly, to get my point across that I was relieved.
    "Madame Zangoose," Smeargle called to my mother, "The poster is finished, and I must say, it is my best yet!"
    "Let's see..." My mother walked over to look at it. "Ah Smeargle, you have truly outdone yourself!"
    I got up and walked over to see it. Not that I was interested, but I wanted to see if this was really worth such a fuss. I was surprised to see the portrait. Smeargle managed to paint my eye color right, for though my clan had pink eyes, I somehow had lightly colored lavender eyes. In the portrait, Smeargle gave me a somewhat fierce beauty.
    "Pft!" I scoffed. "You're not trying to trick them, are you Mother?"
    She didn't hear me, but she said, "It is a striking resemblance, Smeargle. It was the right choice to send for you."
    "I'm flattered, Madame!"
    "Yeah, I think I'll leave for now." I turned and walked off. A striking resemblance? What was Mother thinking? But as I walked past a quiet stream and looked at my reflection, I was horrified to see that I did indeed possess savage yet fair looks.
    "Why couldn't I be the homely one in the family?" I groaned, slapping a paw to my forehead. I tried to search for a more optimistic thought. Maybe I'll look so scary, I'll frighten them away. But it was a dim hope. I spotted Stubby munching a Mago Berry. "Y'know, maybe I didn't hear all of what you said, but why did I only hear you wishing you were ugly?"
    "It's complicated, Stubby," I said, waving it away. "Like this whole courtship contest... Ugh, I still shudder each time I hear that word."
    Stubby finished off the Mago Berry, and licked his paw. "You'll get used to it. Anyways, if you're trying to find my mother, she's out trying to find Pelipper to advertise the poster... Not that she wants to, though."
    "At least Aunt Fury is with me on opposing this." I looked around at the trees.
    "Unfortunately, she's only your aunt. She doesn't have much of a say in your fate."
    "Yeah, don't I hate that a lot."
    From a distance, I heard my mother calling me. "Daughter! Where are you?!"
    "Great," I muttered. "I'll see what she's yelling for. See you, Stubby."
    But Stubby was already busy climbing for another Mago berry. Even with one arm, he could still climb, for past climbing exercises wore footholds in the tree.

    "Yes, Mother?" I asked, as soon as I arrived.
    "My daughter, you must bathe! You're fur is covered in dirt!"
    I looked down at my fur. It was coated with dust, but did that really matter?
    "I can see that, Mother, but I'm not filthy."
    "Go wash, now. What if a competitor arrived now?"
    "I hardly doubt a competitor would arrive now," Aunt Fury said. "I have no doubt that Pelipper is a swift delivery Pokemon, but he is not as fast as you think." Fury looked me over. "But if one were to come, it would be good to appear clean. Appearances are deceiving, and any competitor would think you an easy opponent."
    "Very well, then," I said, but even with that advice, I still was reluctant.
    After I had dipped into the river, I saw someone farther downstream, sitting down. The sun reflected off of his fur in the most unusual way, but I wasn't disturbed. It was only Grandfather Patriot, who was named after some humans who caught him long ago. He escaped from them to return to the wild. Not that he had been abused; on the contrary, he told us they were okay as far as friendliness went.
    "Hello, Grandfather!" I called. He turned his grizzled face up, and at seeing me, invited me over. Grandfather Patriot wasn't Stubby, but he was good company.
    I walked over, and as I did, his fur patterns became more clear: blue coloring replaced the red, and instead of black or purple claws, they were red.
    "Watching the fish, I expect?" I asked him. He nodded in response.
    "So I've heard of this courtship tournament," he said to me.
    "Yes, you've heard right," I sighed. This tournament was haunting me.
    "I'll tell you something interesting," Grandfather Patriot paused, as if he were about to share an amazing secret. "Whenever a human male and a human female become mates, they have a ritual called a 'marriage'."
    "Marriage?" I asked. "What's a marriage?"
    "That's when the pair are to be bonded for life. During the ceremony, the male is called a groom, and the female is called a bride."
    "Does the 'bride' fight the 'groom' in a tournament?" I asked.
    "No, they make oaths vowing to stay together forever in any circumstance."
    "Charming," I said, sticking my tongue out in disgust.
    "But in some cases, they have another ceremony called a 'divorce'."
    "What's that?"
    "It's when the pair decide to separate and not be mates anymore."
    I perked my ears up. Now things started to be interesting. "Do you think that would work in the tournament?"
    Grandfather Patriot grinned. "I expected you would like that bit. No, it would not work. Remember: We are Pokemon, and our customs are different from human customs."
    "I rather liked the idea," I said.
    "Anyways, I'm returning to the clan territory. I expect you should, too."
    "Yes, I should," I replied.
    We both walked up to the territory. I was still toying fondly with the idea of this "divorce".

    When Grandfather Patriot and I returned to our territory, many of our family members were gathered around.
    "Perhaps a competitor?" Grandfather Patriot asked.
    As it turned out, he was right. When I arrived, Mother grabbed my arm. "It appears to be the first contestant!" she said excitedly. As I joined everyone else, I could see who the first opponent was.
    There was some Gulpin who were standing guard around a massive Swalot, the only Swalot of the group. A Gulpin came to the front of the procession.
    "Our leader Swalot has heard of the competition, and has decided to fight for the Zangoose female!" he announced to our clan.
    I looked at the Swalot, who merely sat there, and was instantly consumed in horror. This Pokemon was who-knows-how much older than I! But I quickly relaxed. Aunt Fury didn't train me for nothing. If I knew her fighting techniques, then there wasn't anything to be afraid of.
    "Our leader wishes to see the opponent he shall fight!" Gulpin said.
    Everyone parted, and as they did, I decided to make myself intimidating as possible. When the crowd had parted all the way, I stepped forward and cracked my neck right, then left. "I am the opponent," I said with a menacing grin.
    All of the Gulpin gasped in shock. "B-b-but you're the one who is to be the prize!"
    "Then maybe you didn't read the poster so well," I said. "After all, that's what it said."
    "V-very well then!" the lead Gulpin stammered. "It shall begin!"

    Everyone moved to the arena like area with the rock pillars. Several of the Gulpin noted the smashed remains of my training handiwork with nervous glances. I stood on one side of the arena, while the massive Swalot sat on the other side. Aunt Fury, Stubby, and Grandfather Patriot were amongst the others within the large crowd.
    "Here are the rules!" my father declared in his loud voice, "The first to faint is the one who loses. The remaining Pokemon is the victor!"
    Father stepped back. "Begin the fight!"
    He had barely finished his sentence when I dashed forward, extracting my claws like a sword from its sheath, and prepared to use Crush Claw. But Swalot tensed his body and used Protect as soon as my attack made contact. I leaped back, already frustrated with this failed attack. "All right, I've got this!" I said fiercely, and rushed again, this time using Swift, an attack that shot star shaped beams. Swalot opened his mouth, and swallowed my attack.
    "What?!" I gasped. I hadn't considered the possibility that Swalot could counter that move. Then I realized: I had to consider who I was going up against. I rushed in to use Iron Tail, but right when I was about to strike Swalot with my tail, he slapped mud into my eyes in a Mudslap attack.
    "Arghh!" I shouted, staggering back and trying to wipe away the mud that had blinded me. I could hear boos directed from the Zangoose to Swalot, and cheers from Swalot's Gulpin followers. When I finally cleared the mud away from my eyes, I jumped just in time to dodge a giant purple ball coming right at me. That happened to be Swalot using Roll- Out.
    If I can get him to stand still, I thought, as I landed back on the ground, then I can finish this. One good move will be able to take out a physically unfit Pokemon like Swalot.
    I started creating some static by quickly extracting and retracting my claws. A massive electric pulse started to move throughout my arms, and I achieved the effect I wanted. Sprinting forward, I tightened my paw into a fist and aimed at Swalot, who had just uncurled from the attack. I pummeled him once, twice, three times with three powerful ThunderPunches. Swalot seemed to sink lower, and electricity ran over his massive body. He was now paralyzed.
    It was time to end the battle. I sprang upwards into the air, and upon hitting the ground, I began to Dig. I knew that a Poison type was weak to a Ground move, and here was my chance. I powered through the top of the small tunnel and tackled Swalot from underneath. Swalot flew through the air, hit the ground with a shaky impact, and didn't move. He had fainted.
    "The winner is our clan member!" my father declared. The Zangoose crowd cheered enthusiastically.
    I was mobbed by Aunt Fury, Stubby, and even Grandfather Patriot, who were cheering even more so. "You've done it!" Stubby cried.
    "I expected no less from you, niece!" Aunt Fury congratulated.
    One of the Gulpin turned from the fainted Swalot and announced, "Leader Swalot has decided that a heathen such as this Zangoose is not fit for him!"
    Aunt Fury took three steps towards them, extending her own claws with a malevolent smile. "Well, I think 'Leader Swalot' and the rest of you aren't welcome here. Leave, or face the wrath of Fury!"
    The Gulpin went pale. "The Fury?!"
    "Yes, the Fury," I answered for my aunt. "And I am her niece."
    All the Gulpin hoisted Swalot upon themselves (a somewhat impressive task) and ran off as fast as they could. Everyone watched in amusement.

    At dusk, Aunt Fury found me sitting on one of the stone pillars, watching the sun set. "That was excellent thinking in that battle, niece," she complimented. "I should doubt that any male would be able to defeat you."
    "I should hope so," I said. "My fate is not meant to be caged by some other Pokemon."
    "Certainly not," Aunt Fury agreed, facing the sun. "But it is late, and you need rest for tomorrow. Shall we?"
    I jumped off the pillar and followed Fury back to the territory.