Paradise Pokeball System

But, Wait! There Is More!

I headed over to a spot between some buildings and closed my eyes. I opened the in Joy's Habitat, and I immediately heard the sounds of girls laughing and talking coming from behind the Poke Center, but then they stopped.

Frowning, I started to make my way to head around the building, but Lusamine came running around with her hands up, making me stop.

"Wait! Joy said that you can't come back yet, or at all! You are just going to have to wait like everyone else to see them. The girls are all very excited, so you better be the loudest one out there cheering for them all, got it?" Lusamine instructed, and I grinned at her.

"You think I wouldn't?" I chuckled, and Lusamine smiled.

"Joy and I will come out, and you can go with her to where the girls will be waiting to drop them all off. I will come and still be with you if you want, but I think the girls will be better with Jolene and Joy back there. They are much more motherly than I could ever dream of being," Lusamine said with a sigh, but I took her hand.

"You are just slowly getting used to things now. I am sure that all the girls are going to warm up to you soon. You have come a long way since I first met you, and I am happy that things are finally starting to smooth themselves out," I said, and she nodded.

"I guess so, but I really have to admire their patients. I kind of wish it was Jolene in here now. She would do better at this than me. I am not used to helping anyone but myself, and I was taught to be self-sufficient because there was no one that would help me otherwise," Lusamine explained, and I nodded.

"Give things time. I think that you will slowly get used to relying on us for things, and maybe you will even let us help you in the future," I said, and Lusamine smiled sadly.

"I guess so," She whispered and then looked up to the sky. "You should get going, though."

I pulled Lusamine into a hug that she returned, and the two of us stood there for a moment before breaking apart. She smiled at me this time, and I closed my eyes.

The moment I opened them, I flinched slightly at how close Nemona's face was to mine.

"Ha! Found you! I knew this was where you had disappeared from! So crazy that there isn't even a trace of you here, and then poof! You just appear in a flash of light!" Nemona laughed and then dragged me over to where Tallia and Jolene were waiting for us.

"How are the girls doing?" Jolene asked as Nemona let go of me and then drug Tallia off and out of earshot.

"No clue. I tried to check on them, but I was turned away and told to wait until they were ready. Even then, I am just supposed to take you to the back of the stage, and let Joy and the girls out, also while not looking at them," I sighed with a smile, and Tallia's mother giggled.

"Well, the girls all want to impress you, and it would ruin the surprise if you got to see them before they were all ready. Part of a girl's fun is being able to show off for the one she cares about. You just happen to have a lot of women that care about you," Jolene said as the crowd got quiet, and Clive stood up on the stage with a microphone.

"Welcome everyone to our Quarterly Beauty Pageant! Tonight we have a fine lineup of contenders and their trainers!" Clive said, and then ten people got up on stage, Nurse Miriam being one of them. "But, wait! There is more! After the show, we will be having a special trainer showing off his very special Pokémon!"

The people started to cheer, but now that we were getting closer to the time, I was getting nervous for the girls. I was sure that everyone would love them as much as I did, but at the same time, I was worried that there might be someone or people that didn't like it or thought it was wrong. The last thing that I wanted was for the girls to feel embarrassed, or they weren't very likely to want to do this type of thing again in the future.

"Landon? You look like you are worried about something," Jolene said from beside me, and I looked over with a look of surprise. I had gotten so wrapped up in my thoughts that I had almost forgotten that Tallia's mother was standing beside me.

"I'm just a bit nervous," I admitted. "This pageant means a lot to the girls, and I want it to go well for them. All of their hard work has paid off, and I feel like so much is riding on this performance."

Jolene smiled at me and patted my arm reassuringly. "Trust me, Landon. The girls will do wonderfully. And I'm sure you have trained them very well, so they are more than prepared for something like this. Just remember to encourage them from the sidelines, no matter what happens. That support will mean the world to them."

I gave her a grateful smile as she finished speaking, feeling somewhat better now that someone had reminded me not to let my nerves get the best of me. Inhaling deeply, I turned my attention back to the stage where Clive was introducing all the parties involved in the main event.

"Hey! They are starting!" Nemona said as she pulled Tallia back over to beside us.

"Yeah. I am surprised to see Miriam up there," I said as both girls came to stand with Jolene and me.

"Her? Nurse is always up there! She has a Tinkaton that she only uses for the pageants, and she tries to join them all if she can get time off," Nemona said, and Tallia nodded.

"Yeah, Miriam usually gets first or second, but they are really great performers, and they always get everyone going!" Tallia said excitedly and then waved at the stage. "Look, they are starting!"