Outside, the cheers of the crowd rose and fell as Coordinator performances took place according to schedule. It had grown into a regular event since Katarina city first introduced this long-celebrated pokemon tradition to the continent of Zatao. Creatures of all shapes and sizes endeavoured to entertain an audience according to their trainer's tastes and whims, as if humanity could harness the powers of Pokemon with the depth and breadth required to deliver a real performance.
But today would be different. For the first time, they would witness true mastery by the only one who can- the pokemon itself. Awe would be struck into the chords of their hearts, and they would realize the limits of their being; how shallow their knowledge!
At the origin of these thoughts, a Galvantula hung from the ceiling of a prep room. She was counting down the numbers until her turn, listening to other's performances come and go. She was calm and unhurried, as the arachnid custom went for all matters of waiting for the perfect moment. After all, what reason was there to worry? She, the phenomenal Parnérique Jocelin Xavier Faustine d'Astel-Vivienne Syzygy, was going to win.
She and her faithful companion, Lore the human, to be precise. The human was sitting on a bench, elbows resting on her knees, leaning her face against a hand as she gazed lovingly at her fluffy bug daughter. Parn could tell even though Lore had sunglasses on. After all, from the very first day that she had held the tiny Joltik in her hands, the human had never looked at Parn any other way. It made her squirm with unease. <Uuugh...>
"Something th'matter, Parn?" She asked in a soft voice, hearing the Galvantula make a noise. She knew her pokemon was not the nervous type, but Parn had come up with the routine almost on her own. That had to mean something.
Parn chittered back at Lore reassuringly. <I am entirely composed.>
"Y'know, this may be your first time on the receiving end of a crowd's attention, but it's really nothing to fret about. Even I've entered a coordinating contest before with a friend's swablu and owned the performance round; trust me, it was nothing as cool as what we're bringing them today. You've GOT this. It's gonna rock." She stood up and lifted an arm towards the ceiling, first curled for props. If spiders could roll their eyes Parn would have, but she returned the fistpump with a light tap from a claw.
<That would have been very motivational, Lore, if it had anything to do with my actual feelings.> The bug chattered back again, in gals, vans and tulas.
"I know how much you wanted to do this- the pamphlet's still webbed to the fridge, heh. Don't worry, our turn's coming up soon!" The human smiled. For a person with so much yellow on their hoodie, t-shirt and shorts, getting even sunnier was almost a crime. Now Parn wanted sunglasses, too.
<Are you doing this on purpose? You are, aren't you. I recognize that grin. Very funny. Maybe I should start ad-libbing you too. Why yes, Lore, I am your god. Thank you for noticing.>
Aww, Parn was getting snarky. She was so adorable, Lore just couldn't help teasing her. She may not understand what pokemon are saying, but was familiar enough with the personalities of her adopted family members. How had she managed to raise such a smug Galvantula, though? ...Smugglebug. That's GOTTA be a good nickname.
Would contestant number 7, Lore Mimameidr and Parn-Eric... Joe-s, uh, somethingZIGGY, please report to the stage! Repeat, Lore Mimameidr and (oh goddsjgkakfj)Ziggy, to the stage!
"Ziggy takes the cake." Lore corrected herself, almost tearfully. There was never a regret when making other people say ridiculously complicated names... She looked up, but Parn had already left the premises. Oh dayum. The androgyne grabbed a large shiny object leaning against a wall and hurried out to the wings after her Galvantula.
«<●>»«<●>»«<●>»«<●>»«<●>»«<●>»
Parn discreetly scurried out to the edge of the arena, keeping hidden. She gazed up at the crowd through six calculating eyes, which began to shimmer as the lights dimmed. The walls took on a deep, reddish glow, more warm than suspenseful. Lore strode out in a straight line, hood up, jacket still open. Her outfit sported the same colors and lightning patterns as her Galvantula. She'd painted them on, herself. Most curious, however, was the thing she was holding, which appeared to be a thick bundle of metal sticks.
When her quick march had reached the center of the stage, multiple things happened in the span of seconds. First, the trainer halted and began to announce the show title into her mic in a deep voice. It was rough, rambunctious, and declared with dramatic flair and gusto: "D-DUH-DUH-DEEEeeee. JAAAYYyyy. BUUUUUUUZZZZ!" She must have released a latch, because the metal object had suddenly unfolded in a series of snaps and clicks. Fully deployed, it was like a tall, storm-battered umbrella; stripped of fabric, with its ribs blown the opposite way. With such symmetrical polish, however, the design could only be intentional.
Secondly, a strand of crackling electric silk had shot out of the shadows, affixing itself to one of the spokes; as Lore gripped the rubber-coated pole end tightly, careful to be still, the Galvantula reeled onto stage. Before reaching her trainer she cut her string, speeding right past her, holding her legs close to her body- but she shot silk once more at the nearest spoke and swung up, unfolded, took downwards aim, and unleashed a fully formed electro-web. With a loud crack and sizzle, it stuck precisely to each of the spoke ends; Parn then landed on top of it with the slightest bounce and raised her pedipalps triumphantly to the sound of welcoming cheers.
By that time, Lore was finishing her sentence. -"And The EleeeeEEECTRIC SPINDLEeee!"
Both she and Parn leapt into action. The trainer walked the spindle around the stage as Parn swung off again on a lengthening strand of electric web, sweeping wide circles around her. She was also unleashing more of the conductive silk, in trails like the marks left behind by skates on ice. Though it wasn't as high charge as the electricity-loaded net used in attacks, in the relative darkness, the silk itself glowed. At the same time, an insectoid buzz began to echo a steady beat through the room, amplified by the small microphones in Parns fur; she had started twanging her tether string as well, filling the room with a throbbing electric rhythm as she swept closer and farther from the audience, picking up speed and momentum as it intensified.
After her circuit was done, Lore returned to the center of the room and firmly planted the pole onto the ground. Parn's spin culminated into a tight, practiced rotation above her trainer. Finally at the right moment, she let go and twirled up into the air, landing back on her hammock of electric web.
By this time it had became obvious what kind of geometric principle the pair had been enacting, for the stage was emblazoned with a splendid spirograph with the spindle at its center. Parn had held onto the ends of every strand of silk she'd used, and they now they led up to the spindle like a tent; or, as she may call it, her mixer.
Spiders were not only gifted in mathematical intricacy; dexterity was also their game. She didn't need to put power into any one attack, only finesse. How else to best display the skills of a Galvantula? She lifted her claws. They glowed, balls of bright energy forming around them. And then she strummed across with Volt Switch. The room was instantly filled with an intense thrum. The lighting began to alternate between blue and purple as the reverb echoed off the walls of the contest hall, accompanied by clear, ringing notes as she unleashed a series of Rounds. Her tiptoes moved, ever-glowing, across her mixer- tapping and plucking the strings with such speed and precision that it was almost a blur. Each weak Volt Switch sent a ball of lightning coursing down the silken conduit to circulate into the spirograph. From afar they were stars, pulsating to the electric music as they danced after each other in fractal patterns. The mesmerized audience was a sea of shuddering waves as they shifted and bounced to the rhythm from their seats.
Eventually, the song came to an end. Cheers slowly faded into hearing, since Parn was only just emerging from her intense focus. She was spent. Having shaken the tufts on the end of her abdomen for that long, she wasn't going to use bug buzz for weeks. Still in a trance, she looked down to see Lore lower her hood and bow to the audience.
The human was grinning ear to ear and then looked up, joining the applause. Bug types weren't popular. Parn had done them proud today. "They love you!"
<The biggest prey I've ever caught in my web.> The galvantula replied, satisfied.
[Word Count: 1515 sorry qvq]
[If the song link doesn't work try this one]
