“Hello, everyone!” the host announced. “And welcome to the Lilycove Beauty Contest!” The host continued, explaining the rules of the Contest, introducing the judges and contestants, blah, blah, blah. Same old stuff to Kitsune. His attention instead turned to one of his opponents.

[H-Hey.] he asked her, a Snivy. [Um… I-I was wondering… A-After this Contest is over…] He blushed before continuing. [W-Would you… Uh… G-Go out with me?]

The Snivy turned away from him. [No way.] she said. [First off, you’re my competition. Though I doubt you’re much competition at all. Second, you’re a male in a Beauty Contest. I’m way out of your league. And thirdly, we just met. You’ll have to do a lot better than that to get me.]

[…O-Oh…] the Vulpix said, his ears drooping. [O-Of course… S-Sorry, I was just… H-Hoping…]

“Our next entry: Rosa and her Vulpix, Kitsune!” the host announced, and the crowd around them cheered loudly. “And our final entry, from the far-off Unova region…” Kitsune tuned out the rest of it.

Don’t worry about her, Kitsune. his red-haired Trainer’s voice echoed in his mind. I still care about you.

Thanks, Rosa. he thought.

No problem. her voice replied.

“Now, if you’ll look up at the screen,” the host said, “we will now determine the order of the appeals!” Kitsune and Rosa looked at the screen with everyone else, including the Snivy. The results appeared on the screen: Rosa and Kitsune were the last appeal.

Last, huh? Rosa’s voice said. Well, that’s good. We can see everyone else’s appeals to see how we stack up.

…Yeah, I guess that’s right… Kitsune thought, intently staring at the Snivy’s location on the board.

---

Kitsune watched the screen in the contestant dressing room when the time came for the Snivy’s appeal. “Snivy, start with Grassy Terrain!” the Snivy’s Trainer commanded, and the Snivy obliged, the floor of the Contest stage becoming covered by a dense layer of grass.

“Now use Energy Ball!” was the Trainer’s next command. The Snivy put her hands in front of her, a green orb forming between them. She pulled her hands apart, further increasing the gap between them, as the orb expanded. When the orb reached its greatest size, she tossed it upward.

“Magical Leaf!” her Trainer called, and the Snivy spun around, several leaves flying from her body and spinning around her before ascending toward the Energy Ball, which eventually exploded into sparkles.

“Finally, Aqua Tail!” was the Trainer’s final command, and the Snivy used the force of the move to rocket skyward, the water surrounding her tail causing even more sparkles.

“A wonderfully beautiful performance!” the host said, congratulating the Trainer and her Snivy. Kitsune turned away from the screen, growling.

---

“And now for our final contestant!” the host introduced. “You know her, you love her, its Rosa and her beloved Vulpix, Kitsune!” Rosa waved to the crowd, stepping to the stage with Kitsune, a blue ribbon tied into a bow in his hair and at the base of his tails.

You know what to do, Kitsune. Rosa’s voice said to Kitsune, and he immediately created three Energy Balls, which floated slowly to the ground like bubbles.

“A tried and true routine we have here, folks!” the host said as he used his tails to bounce the Energy Balls into the air each time one of them fell too far. He continued this for a while until he tossed the three orbs into the air.

“And now for the finale!” the host said in eager anticipation as the Energy Balls lined up vertically high above Kitsune. He launched a Flamethrower at them when they reached that apex, causing them to burst and rain flaming sparkles down over the stage.

“A unique performance that never gets old!” the host cheered. “Let’s have one last round of applause for Rosa and Kitsune!” The crowd cheered loudly as the two left the stage. Meanwhile, in the contestant changing room, a certain Snivy stared, transfixed, at the screen.