If one good thing came of being connected with a father who works at Stern's Shipyard, it was being able to travel by boat [i]very easily[/i] wherever you go. It felt like he blinked and suddenly he was on the shores of Canalave City. It had its charm, with a quaint library and old chateau, but... He was never really the history type. Not when it came to stuff like this. No sooner had he arrived in Canalave did he leave it to run Route 218, encountering a Fisherman along the way that helped sharpen Tide on his way to the big city. Altaria was more than happy to body the man's gyrados. Poor thing got twisted like a pretzel before the old girl was done with it. It was kind of brutal, actually- more an execution than a performance. Not for the first time, Tide wondered what his mom and altaria got up to during her trainer days...

Altaria's brutality wasn't the only surprise in store for Tide; upon arriving in Jubilife City, he had to enter his pokemon into the local beauty contests. Or that's what he intended to do. In a wholely unforseen twist of events, gardevoir drew his attention to a poster depicting a kirlia doing balet. Tide didn't think it was actually balet, but the point was taken- Gardevoir was interested in [i]acting[/i], so, much to sylveon's disappointment, Tide chose to enter into the Acting Contest instead of the traditional beauty contest. To be honest, it was rather exciting- he's not sure he has ever entered a pokemon into an Acting Contest before, so this was a new experience for him!

The whole process to have his pokemon entered into the contest was straightforward and easy, despite his unfamiliarity with the contest in particular. It was just like entering into a beauty contest, only the details were slightly different. According to the nice woman at the kiosk, as is tradition, a Judge would be critisizing his pokemon, but instead of judging their appearance, they were going to be judging their, well, [i]acting[/i]. The word 'moves' was thrown around, but he got the feeling moves weren't the only things the judges would be paying attention to.

His opponents were Jasmine with her steelix, Rusty, Keira with her 'boogying' buneary, Mimmy, and Ashlyn with her Murky murkrow. A strange mix for an acting contest, but Tide assumed they had something special in store and wished them luck on stage. First up was Rusty who, to Tide's great surprise- and the amazement of the crowd -used Iron Coat to encase its body in a dazzling steely sheen of light. It twisted and slide across the stage like a silver serpent, displaying a dexterity that belied the giant's stony body. When it was over, and the pale glow left the steelixes body, Tide was left speechless from the display. Gardevoir, beside him, watched with her characteristic stoicism, watching the proceeding's with her arms crossed. Tide wondered if she was moved, or if she really was that unflinching, but he suspected it was the former. He had seen her with her guard down. Beneath that steely- pun intended -exterior was a warmth and compassion he had scarecely seen in pokemon or trainers. 

Next up was Keira with her boogying buneary. Seeing as this was not the Dance Contest, Tide was a little concerned with what Keira had in store, and... Well, buneary certainly got some cheers from the crowd. Tide had never seen so many Punch moves chained together, and he was cautious to label the varying punches and kicks from buneary as acting, but such is the way of pokemon Contests: sometimes you have it, and sometimes you don't. [i]It's only later that Tide would realize Keira was one of the side judges, adn she had decided to experiment a little to shake thing's up. And shake things up she did. Jordan, her counterpart, could not stop sighing the entire time.[/i] 

Third was Ashlyn with her murkrow, and the two hit it off immidiately. Murkrow began with a bow and a tip of its 'hat', before then taking to the air, several dark feathers left suspended in the air in its wake. The aerial manuevers that pokemon made between the feathers was something else, with rings of Dark Pulses adding splashes of color to the dark performance. If he stared long enough, it looked like a shadow made out of black feathers was chasing it through the air, each Aerial Ace a desperate gamble to escape its shadow, until at last it reached the apex of its flight, and the shadow came up and around it in a hurricane of feathers, and the murkrow came to a sudden, tragic half. For several heartstopping moments, it appeared suspended in time. Then, the shadow scattered, the murkrow was free of its pursuer, but at what cost? Slowly (Using Psychic, he noticed), it floating back down to the stage, feathers scattered around it like the remains of a lost dream. The murkrow bowed low once more, and the lights cut out. Again, Tide checked on gardevoir, guaging her reaction, and again, there was none to be gleaned.

The fourth and final contestant was Tide and gardevoir, and... To be honest? He wasn't sure what to expect. But gardevoir was always the most independent thinker amongst his pokemon. He was sure she had a plan, and so he settled in to watch and wait. To his surprise, gardevoir teleported into the middle of the stage, standing tall and gazing out into the crowd with her trademark stoicism. In the light of the stage, however, she appeared... Almost fragile, the light catching her elegant arms like blades of grass. It began slow, a hand to her heart, and then reaching out. For once, he saw an expression on her face. Surprise? Fear? He couldn't say. She stepped forward as if to catch whatever had caught her attention, then pulled into herself, her expression anguished now. She turns sharply away, showing her back to the crowd, and she kneels down, spreading her arms out wide, as if collecting the pooled shadows in front of her into her arms. Slowly, she rises, and she begins to slowly circuit the stage, holding her arms as if cradling an egg. She spins, and on her face is pure delight, as if nothing in the world could make her happier. Then, with one last turn, she throws her arms wide, as if releasing something out into the world. She raises one hand in the direction of this imaginary thing, the other placed over her chest. Something like mourning crosses her face, and it looks like she migth actually cry. But she holds it in. She bows her head, and her hand clenches into a fist. Slowly, she turns away, and begins gliding to the side, her arms down and outstretched as if guiding infant pokemon. Suddenly, she turns sharply towards the crowd, surprise on her face, and her arms are thrown back, as if protecting her imaginary charges. She steps forwards, begging with her arms and face. She pirouettes once, twice, three times in different directions, each time thrusting out her hand as if throwing an attack- and before she can make the fourth pass, she suddenly collapses to the stage. The lights almost seem to dim as th crowd regards her with silent concern. Tide is also concerned. What had happened? Eventually, gardevoir picks herself up, and turns away from the crowd. She kneels, as if she were about to scoop up another imaginar figure, but this time... All she can hold is herself, hugging herself and bowing her head almost to the floor. She stays this way for several long seconds, before he suffocating sadness becomes too much... And like a fleeting thoughts, she teleports off the stage. Tide could see her reappear a short distance away from him. She wouldn't meet his eyes, but he could swear he saw... Tears? She wipes them away before he can say anything, then stalks towards the exit, her composure slipping on like a funeral shroud. 

After the contest is over, it's little surprise that Tide and his gardevoir won the contest. Dexter, the head judge, Jordan and even Keira all approach him to give their personal thanks for the performance. All Tide can do is blush and deflect their praise onto gardevoir. It was her performance, after all. This seemed to surprise them, and they asked what had happened to her. Tide... Chose to omit the details. He found her in an alley in Castelia City. That's all he was comfortable sharing.

After the contest, Tide is beat. Who knew a performance could take so much out of you! As a treat, he takes his pokemon to get some ice cream.