
Rules:
We wanted contests to be more like whats shown in the TV show while still drawing from what's given in the games. Ultimately, what we came up with is as much a beauty contest as it is a competition of skill and perseverance. Winning's no easy task and it's not as simple as battling and beating a gym leader. This takes preparation to be good at, so without further ado, let's begin, shall we ?
Contests set four coordinators against one another in a three round elimination style competition. Each round has its own implications towards the end results of who wins and who loses. Mastering each round is key to victory. Those rounds are: Introduction, Exhibition and Battle. Neither is more important then the other, but a good coordinator can exploit one round to make up for their lacking in another.
Before each round there is a single RP post for preparation in which the coordinators can get ready for the next round. If you fail to include something during this post it can not be added on later on so be sure to cover everything you need !
The Introduction Round: Think of the introduction round as when the coordinators picks the pokemon they wish to enter. Each trainer can only enter one pokemon and its that pokemon they'll be relaying on to win with. Each coordinator steps onto the stages along with the pokemon they've chosen to enter in with. At this point the pokemon shouldn't be dressed up and it doesn't need to try and show off yet. The judges will take this time to inspect the Pokemon presented to them based by the quality of their physical health and appearance.
So this is when Grooming, Poffins and Pokéblocks all come into play and it gives you the single biggest boost towards victory in the competition. It's also the part most coordinators will focus on the most, and for good reason because the pokemon with the lowest score here is eliminated from the competition on the spot so preparation is key !
During this round, we calculate how much over all appeal your Pokémon has based on its natural appeal gained from eating Poffins and Pokeblocks which are made from berry's as well as how much grooming it received in preparation for this round. NPC's Pokémon's appeal levels vary based on luck and what contests you're taking part in. A dice roll is used to give a random number for NPC Pokémon appeal. This dice roll differes based on the contest rank your taking part in.
Normal: x1-D20 ( Min-1 / Max 20 )
Super: x3-D10 ( Min-3 / Max 30 )
Hyper: x4-D10 ( Min-4 / Max 40 )
Master: x5-D10 ( Min-5 / Max 50 )
Champion: x6-D10 ( Min-6 / Max 60 )
This round also indicates who goes first in the Exhibition round. The Pokémon with the lowest score goes first and is followed in ascending order by second place and lastly first place.
The Exhibition Round: Think of this round as your chance to shine ! The weakest coordinator of the four has already been eliminated and now you need to prove your able to go all the way otherwise your going to be eliminated next ! You'll be called one by one to put on a show for the audience and your going to be judged based on your creativity. You'll be given one chance to prepare your pokemon by dressing them up and using whatever other visually appeal items you could get a hold of because only the best make it to the battle round !
The Maiden's Ball, Poke'ball seals, Apparel, and Held Appeal boosting items all come into play during this round ! This gives you second biggest boost in appeal during the contest but you also get to perform a two move combo to further your appeal even more. In total before your combo your appeal can max at 30 and just like the introduction round NPC have a random appeal roll.
NPC Appeal chance: x3-D10 ( Min-3 / Max 30 )
But there are a few more factors to take into account during this round. Every move used also has 1 positive, 2 negative and 2 neutral category types that effect how the battle round plays out that also effect this round. Using moves of the positive category gives a +2 appeal boost, negative category moves have a -2 appeal penalty and neutral has no effect at all. In addition no secondary effects are considered for this round, only the base appeal gain. Finally items like the "Blue Scarf:" that gives a +1 appeal point to all of "blank" category moves used during the battle round also come into play here.
Once the three remaining coordinators have had their turn the judge's calculate who now had the highest appeal over all from both the introduction round and the exhibition round with the two highest scores moving onto the final round.
The Battle Round: Here is where it all comes together in a four round contest battle to out perform your opponent by earning the highest score and keeping your opponents score low. Held items can help, but ultimately it comes down to skill and timing. NPC moves are chosen either by a Crew member or a D4 roll depending on a few factors such as responsibility of the member in question and the free time the crew can devote to the contest in question. In the battle round, whomever has the highest over all appeal score goes first.
In addition, the moves you use can vastly affect your score in a few ways so its important to plan ahead. Here is everything you need to know !
Every move used has 1 positive, 2 negative and 2 neutral category types that effect how the battle round plays out. Using moves of the positive category gives a +2 appeal boost, negative category moves have a -2 appeal penalty and neutral has no effect at all.
If a move gets a +2 / +4 Appeal from the move used last turn that is in addition to the appeal the move gets this turn.
If a pokemon was startled this turn but performed its move anyway it wont gain any appeal boosts from category type.
If a pokemon was startled this turn and fails to perform its move it will get a appeal penalty of -4 appeal. -6 if the move it attempted to use was not of the positive category move type.
Startled: is a 1/3 chance of losing your turn, think of if like flinching in battle.

Category
Cool
+ Cool - Beauty & Touch = Clever & Cute
Beauty
+ Beauty - Cool & Cute = Clever & Tough
Cute
+ Cute - Beauty & Clever = Cool & Tough
Clever
+ Clever - Cute & Tough = Beauty & Cool
Tough
+ Tough - Clever & Cool = Beauty & Cute
Cool
+ Cool - Beauty & Touch = Clever & Cute
Beauty
+ Beauty - Cool & Cute = Clever & Tough
Cute
+ Cute - Beauty & Clever = Cool & Tough
Clever
+ Clever - Cute & Tough = Beauty & Cool
Tough
+ Tough - Clever & Cool = Beauty & Cute
Positive appeal: +2
Negative appeal: -2
In the end:
The Pokémon after all three rounds with the highest overall score wins ! It's as simple as that heart

Ranking and Obedience
Contests are broken up by category ( Beauty, Clever, Cute, Cool and Tough ) as well as Trainer ranking. ( Normal, Super, Hyper, Master and Champion ). Coordinators are ranked by how many ribbons they've earned within a single category, and this dictates what contests they can participate in in the future. For instance, if you beat the Normal Rank beauty contest, you're a "Rank1" beauty coordinator and can now take on a Super Rank beauty contest. However, winning a ribbon in one category doesn't increase your rank in the other four categories. You'll still need to win ribbons in those categories to earn the increased rank associated with them.
Normal: Rank-1
Super: Rank-2
Hyper: Rank-3
Master: Rank-4
Champion: Rank-5
Additionally, a Pokémon can only take part in the next rank if they've earned at least one ribbon from the current rank. In other words, for Timmy's Milotic to take part in the Hyper Rank beauty contest he'll first need to win a ribbon in the Normal and Super ranks first. Keep in mind a Pokémon that's won, say for example, a Super Rank beauty contest, is not eligible for a Hyper rank cool contest UNLESS it's also won the Super Rank cool contests.
A coordinator can take on the same category and rank as many times as they like. However, this won't increase their overall ranking and a Pokémon that's already beaten that category and ranking will earn significantly less EXP if they retake that contest later.
Ranking also effects Pokémon obedience. You'll need to beat at least 1 contest of each rank to increase the obedience cap of Pokémon you own. The category is irrelevant, however. There are 5 ranks of contest but only 4 effect obedience. You'll need to win at least 1 Ribbon from any one category of contests to increase the obedience cap.
At no Ribbons, Pokémon will obey up to level 20
Normal: Up to Level 30
Super: Up to Level 50
Hyper: Up to Level 70
Master: Up to Level 100