as soon as he disappeared offstage, heâd started running.
that glitter. all that glitter. dawn had loved it, and maybe the crowd did too, but that didnât really matter compared with what the glitter really meant.Â
heâd just put a pokĂ©mon in glitter.
he ran to a corner of the contest hall that heâd all but staked out for himself since day one--not a particularly comfortable spot, but at least it had a chair, and given his reputation, it wasnât as though anyone would approach him (which worked to his advantage when he wanted to be alone). there his gallade waited with a drink that heâd promised: a cup of hot milk tea, seasoned with milk just the way he liked it.Â
he was not in the mood to talk about what heâd just been forced to do. but of courseâŠ
âźhey, ruilin, howâd it go?⯠his gallade said via telepathy, using his chinese name. âźno, wait, i donât even need to ask. it was brilliant, wasnât it? my idea was really brilliant!âŻÂ Â
âcan we not,â he muttered, slouching into his seat and grabbing the drink.
âźcan we pleeeeease?⯠gallade leaned in closer. âźi saw you on the cafĂ© TV, you know. houndoom looked absolutely--âŻ
âyou heard me. she looked stupid.â
âźbutâŠbut i thought you liked my idea. it was your first time doing a dress-up round at a contest, so i just had to give it my all!âŻ
âfirst and last,â he muttered. âthe whole dress-up thing is pointless. i donât care if it costs me points in other contests, iâm not doing it again. i mean, contests are a whole are pointless in general, but why do we need to dress up if weâre already showing off moves?â
âźbecause itâs fun, which you donât seem to have a sense of?âŻ
but his pokĂ©mon wasnât done there.
âźyou know, iâm actually really offended by the way you treated my idea,⯠he said. âźyou want to call it stupid? what if houndoom was out of her ball? would you have said it then?âŻ
âyeah.â he snorted. âwhy wouldnât i? itâs the truth.â
âźshe was having such a good time out there, and all youâre gonna say is that she looked stupid.âŻ
âiâm not letting any of you dress up ever again. i have to tell you the reason why,â he snapped. âwhen you come up with my cute appeal, could you maybe try a lot harder not to make it half as embarrassing?â
âźum, excuse me--did you say when?⯠gallade huffed.Â
âźNot with THAT sort of attitude. Youâre on your own, mister.âŻ
he whipped out galladeâs pokĂ© ball, recalling the pokĂ©mon before he could do anything to stop him. but out of the corner of his eye, he noticed one of his fellow coordinators standing nearby, close enough to have overheard the whole exchangeâŠ
the tea had gone cold in his hands.