Pokemon Mini-Series

Nightmare

**AN: This was a chapter in @SylviaMoonbeam 's PKMN Evolution series, titled "Bad Dreams and a Nightmare". In the PKMN Evolution chapter, you only get the end part of Kira's nightmare, so here is the rest of it!

Kira stood in what appeared to be a dressing room, kneeling in front of her Pachirisu. The electric-squirrel Pokémon was hunched over, its bushy tail curling around itself. "C'mon Patches, what's wrong?" The Coordinator pleaded with him. "I've never seen you scared in all the years we've been together. Why are you afraid now?"

Patches gave a shaky "Risu..." and hid his face in his tail. Kira sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose between a forefinger and thumb. "Alright, it's okay. You don't have to perform. I'll get someone else, okay buddy?" She gently patted his small head, before he scampered off to hide.

The girl gave another sigh, before pulling out one Luxury Ball and one Pokéball. "Alright, Duchess and Silky, come on out!" The two orbs were thrown up into the air before they opened with popping sounds and let out their energy forms. A Sneasel and a Dragonair solidified on the ground before their trainer, each looking at her expectantly. "I'm counting on you two. I know we haven't practiced the routine that much, but I have faith that you guys are top performers. Can we do it?"

The blue dragon-type stared down at the dark-and-ice-type, before they both turned away from each other with indignant huffs. Kira seemed to deflate, but before she could say anything, a spotlight appeared on the other side of the room and a booming voice announced, "And now, we welcome Coordinator Kira to the stage!"

As the blinding light settled, Kira looked down to realize that her outfit had changed. Instead of a sleeveless jacket over a black midriff and cargo pants, she now wore a bright pink dress that had puffed out sleeves and came down to her knees. Her azure hair had also turned the same shade of fairy-type pink and had been tied into long pigtails with ribbons. "What the-? Why did I choose this?" She picked at the fabric with a look of disdain on her face. "Ugh, I don't have time to change! Come on!"

Coordinator and Pokémon ran to the stage to take their place in the spotlight. Stands of darkened faces surrounded them, silent as the grave and obscured by the spotlight. After a moment to breathe and collect themselves, Kira looked up with a brilliant smile on her face. "Alright, let's go! Silky, use Aqua Tail!"

The Dragonair took to the air, the bells on its tail glowing with energy as they gathered moisture around them. Once enough water had cultivated, Silky began drawing designs in the air, letting the droplets fall onto the invisible crowd. But then a cold wind began to take hold of the stage, its gusts almost blowing Kira off-balance. She turned to find her Sneasel was dancing out of sync with her and Silky, charming up the air on her own. "No, Duchess, I didn't say to use Icy Wind! You're going to-" She faltered, as the designs Silky had made turned to ice and began crashing down around them.

"Crap," Kira hissed under her breath, keeping the smile plastered on as she had been trained to do in the event of a mishap. "W-we can fix this! Silky, use Rain Dance! Duchess, let's use Black Hole Eclipse!" Duchess took a pose while Kira twirled about the stage, each improvised step looking as if it were planned. Silky shifted and arced in the air around her, trying to match its trainer. It was only a little awkward as the Coordinator tried to decide what rhythm worked with the arm motions of the Darkinium Z-move. The black, evil-looking crystal on her armband began to glow as she crisscrossed her arms in front of her before bringing them up in a pose resembling claws, just as lightning flashed around her as Silky finished its Rain Dance.

Duchess began to glow with a dark aura and the ground below her feet began to tremble. The lights around the space began to go out one by one as a colossal rift opened up above center stage. The concept itself seemed to work, as the ice shards and rainfall began encircling the black hole, covering the stage in sparkles. But then pieces of the stage started to rip out of the ground before disappearing down the Z-move's gullet. "Duchess, enough! Close it!" Kira shouted, struggling to stay on her feet as the ribbons were ripped from her hair and dress.

Silky dropped to the ground, curling defensively around its trainer until the eclipse eventually wore itself out. When Kira peered out from under her dragon-type, the entire stage was a disaster. Duchess looked rather proud of her wreckage, puffing herself out proudly. After a moment, a weak spotlight opened on Kira. The girl looked sheepishly out into the crowd, her hair a tangled mess and dress ripped to shreds. "Ta-da!" She managed, holding her arms up.

A murmur started in the crowd, first quiet, but then eventually becoming louder and louder until the whispers were overwhelming.

"How horrible!"

"Destroyed the contest!"

"Look at her outfit- just like the other girls."

"Didn't even make an effort."

"Typical moves for those Pokémon."

"Nothing creative; how unoriginal."

Each sentence appeared to strike the Coordinator like a slap to the face. She dropped to her knees, holding her face in her hands. "No. No! I'm a failure. I'll never stand out! What am I even doing here when I can't control my own Pokémon?" Kira and the contest stage slowly disappeared until Ryanne was once more left in darkness.