I Want To Lay the Very Best!

208 – Team Cameo-flauge

Brandy walked into the belly of the cruise ship and had to shade her eyes immediately. She'd been expecting something a little fancy, but this glittered. It was like she'd fallen headfirst into a box of fairy lights. 

Her marvelous eyes at least did the work of adjusting quickly to the light, turning the colorful blur into something a bit more comprehensible. She was on the balcony overlooking a room of little tables, bright lights strung between them to make a swirling miasma of color. There was a dance floor with a Deerling on it spinning madly in circles, absolutely freaking out about how festive it looked. A massive bar covered an entire side of one wall, sections of it walled off with some fish-patterned partitions to give people some privacy if they needed it. It was both immensely tacky and also very expensive looking. Like a casino floor if you stripped out all the gambling and replaced it with a dining area. 

Brandy's eyes locked on to the outfits the servers were wearing immediately. Sharp white teeth painted onto the sides of their cheeks like a demented clown and tight-fitting blue dresses with a white stripe up the front and a nibbled-on fin at the back.

"This is awesome," Sparky gasped, hopping up to swing on the railing, feet kicking in the air. "Oh shit, Sharpedo waitresses? Brandy, do you fancy a nibble?"

Brandy leaned over and nipped Sparky's ear, teasing it with her teeth as the Joltik flailed underneath her. She let her go with a lick through her buzzing yellow hair and rested on top of her, trapping her between Brandy and the railing. 

"Trust you to remember the Sharpedo posters from my room. That was forever ago!"

"When it comes to Brandy lore, every moment is archived forever." Sparky grinned, "So if I'm ever dumb, it's because my head is full of moments like when you tried to eat that hot dog without us snickering."

She'd failed. Miserably. 

Brandy scanned the bodies below as she felt up Sparky, making the Joltik giggle madly underneath her. The tournament wasn't huge, but even if there were only twenty entrants, that meant forty people in this room plus staff. It filled the place up fast. No purple armband, though. Was she in a booth? Or were they early? That seemed unlikely. They'd not exactly been bright and early. 

"We got a great view, but I don't see our opponent." 

"Me neither," Sparky said breathlessly. "But holy shit, you won't believe what I do see." 

Sparky pointed out, hand wavering with excitement. Brandy followed the line to a table with a few drinks piled atop it. Two golden armbands looped over the golden candlesticks in the middle. The trainers were both a colorful pair, but Brandy didn't have time to give them a proper glance because one had a Pokémon that was simply breathtaking.

"No fucking way." Brandy swallowed, "Glad we're not fighting her."

"You kidding? I want to fight her so bad!"

One of their Pokémon was standing on the table, eyes glowing a bright purple, her shaggy grey hair almost hiding two bouncing cat ears with white tips. She looked spaced out, rocking on her feet in her oversized cardigan as she stared down her absolutely breathtaking opponent. 

She was tall, really tall, and bent over the table to stare down the cat who was giving her looks. Long white legs poked out of a flowing white dress with a green inside trim. Not white like pasty skin, but pure marble white, so spotlessly bright it outshone the tacky furnishings. She was resting her head on the balls of her fists, elbows on the table as she stared down the wild-eyed catgirl. One eye glowing a bright red, while the other was covered by an artful sweep of green hair. 

Someone here had a Gardevoir! Not exactly Legendary, but among Trainers, it certainly was a big deal. Gardevoir only bonded with the most pure-hearted souls, and they threw around as much power as they did mouthwatering curves. 

"We're gonna go say hello," Sparky said, worming out from under Brandy.

"What? No, we can't bother them."

"We absolutely can! I love bothering people, and you want to meet them," Sparky grinned as she grabbed Brandy's arm and gave her the big sad bug eyes. "You can come with me and look after your precious bug, or I'll go say things that'll make that Gardevoir snap me in half with those lovely legs." 

"I'm feeling jealous now!"

"You should be. Look at those pins she's got. They're almost as good as yours."

"Pins? What are you eighty?" 

It was hard to be mad at someone saying you were prettier than a Gardevoir, but Brandy had to watch Sparky cackle as she slid down the brass banister and then charge at the Trainers' table cackling. Brandy used Sparky's choker to darn well choke her when she caught them, tugging at it and ruffling Sparky's head as she waved hands at the table. Thankfully, she hadn't had a chance to cause a scene yet; the two Pokémon were still staring at each other. 

"You're super proud of your sister," the scruffy-haired catgirl said with wide-eyed surprise. She had a sing-song voice and a sweater whose sleeves were longer than her arms, waving them at the Gardevoir animatedly. "A Gardevoir on a team, and you're not even the star? Is she a Milotic? Does she have two Gardevoirs?"

" You should be able to work it out," the Gardevoir grinned. "You're a strong Psychic, right? It should be easy. I know you think of your team as family. A ... bratty sister and a big one? Hrm. You're actually protecting that mind rather well. But I'm going to get in."

The cat must be an Espurr, which means they were doing a bit of a Psychic duel. Trying to guess the other team? From where Brandy stood, it looked like the Gardevoir was toying with her, her casual lean on the table, the flick of her hair, and the kick of her legs. But still, that the Espurr had got anything at all was impressive. Gardevoir were at the tippy-top of psychic power.   

"She's a Gallade!" the Espurr's face lit up. "Oh wow, she's pretty too. I can feel how much you love her. It's like a warm hug."

The Espurr's Trainer smirked. A light blue and pink-haired woman wearing a finely tailored tunic-style grey suit, she'd left it hung open with a dark blue strapless dress underneath. It was simply gorgeous, and her light blue eyes didn't seem the least bit bothered that her Espurr was up against a Gardevoir. A kind of iron-hard confidence you could bounce rocks off. 

"There's a third," she said, stroking the back of the Espurr's neck. "But good job, Telly, keep pressing. You got one right first. Her shoulders have tensed up; she's struggling more than she acts."

The Gardevoir quirked an eyebrow at the Trainer, flicking her hair back, but Brandy could see she was right. Her casual look was put on, very carefully managed, while her Trainer behind her just leaned in to rub her shoulders, shyly smiling at home, much like her Pokémon was acting up. Gardevoir Trainers were meant to be the nicest people in the world, and the embarrassed smile she flashed at Brandy was cute enough that Brandy would have forgiven any sin for her. She had her Pokemon's green hair and wore a ballgown white dress that almost perfectly matched her Gardevoir. They had the figure for it, smooth-toned and like she'd stepped out of a storybook. Prettier than it should even be possible to be.

Gardevoir inheritance was so unfair. They made Brandy feel like the gawky redhead she'd felt when she started. Was every Trainer here going to be weapons-grade hot?   

"I mean, obviously, Ms Nice Suit has a Hatterene," Sparky said, hopping up onto the side of the table, taking the stare of both psychics dead on. "She looks like the hot daughter of one."

"Completely right," the Trainer in the suit said. "But my mother isn't on the team. Camila here still hasn't guessed any who is."

"When you look that good, you can take it easy." Sparky grinned. "Want a clue?"

"Thank you, little bug, but I don't need help. Gorgeous dress though, you look great."

Hey! No one called Sparky little bug but Brandy, even if they did compliment her outfit afterward. 

"She's quite big, actually, in the ways that matter," Brandy said as she joined the table, "Sorry, my opponent is missing, and we couldn't resist meeting new people."

"An even hotter Maid approaches! But your intentions are pretty easy to read. You wanted to see me," Camila said, a hand on her chest, the red spike of her heart fin poking between her fingers. "I am pretty incredible, I completely understand."

Brandy blushed, trying to pass a white lie past a Gardevoir was pushing her luck too far. Morgan needed to let her inherit much more to escape that. "Never seen a Gardevoir before."

"We're rare," Camila said, "Fiery-haired Maids are rare too and equally welcome on the eyes. You're an interesting one, red hair with a Joltik? You must be a mixed trainer. Or a mama's girl who inherited hard. Just like bubblegum hair Annie here ."

"Camila!" Her Trainer said with a snort of a laugh. "Don't be so mean. You promised you'd behave."

"Annie's Pokémon is winning the game. My jabs are just rolling off her."

"Telly is a wonder," Annie said, taking the Espurr's hand through her cardigan and giving it a squeeze. "She had to learn a lot of control to get here. I'm going to enjoy letting her cut loose."

Brandy was very, very glad she didn't have to fight either of these two. Sparky's Bug-like thoughts might be resistant to Psychic moves, but they both had the feeling of Trainers who could barrel right on through that. Kind of like a certain ridiculously powerful Psychic Horse lady she knew. 

"It was nice to meet you all. I'm Brandy, this is Sparky." Brandy chirped. 

"The big deal," Camila said, giving Sparky a once over. 

"The biggest," Brandy nodded, trying not to look down the Gardevoir's top. It was hard. It was right there.

"Fiona," the Gardevoir's Trainer said. "It's lovely to meet you, Brandy! Your outfit is incredible, you'll have to tell me your tailor sometime. And this isn't a competition; Camila is just excited to fight, and Telly's an interesting puzzle for her. We thought we'd get the other team out of their head, but Telly's tough."

"I can do it," the Gardevoir said, staring at the Espurr. "She'll crack."

"Psychic types, right Brandy?" Sparky said with an eye roll. "Too stuck in their own heads. One of Annie's Pokémon is obvious if you think about it. Brandy knows it."

Oh shit, she did? Brandy was pretty sure she didn't. But Sparky seemed to believe in her, so there must be a way of knowing. Brandy turned her Joltik eyes on Annie and Telly, looking for a clue. There was a little of Telly's shedded fur on Annie's suit, but that didn't help. Telly looked snug in her cardigan, but it was a little stained on her swinging sleeves. A purple blotch that hadn't dried yet. None of their empty drinks had purple dregs, so where had it come from? A Muk was too viscous to stain like that. It needed something thinner. Something Brandy had actually washed out of their clothes before. 

"Tea," Brandy said, "Telly has tea stains on her cardigan. You have a Sinistea?"

"Wrong," Telly grinned, reaching out and going on tip-toes to pat Brandy's head. "Super good guess, though."

"Polteageist," Camila's trainer piped up. "Annie's eyes widened a little when she said tea. She was surprised you got close."

Brandy had seen that twitch in the blue and pink haired Trainer's eyes, but she wouldn't have guessed it was giving anything away. The connection just wasn't something she was used to making. Psychic types were good at understanding humans, so it made sense their inheritance would make their Trainer good at reading people. That and a generous scoop of incredible hotness. Hardly fair. 

"The Bug Ace is a better Psychic than I am," Camila sighed and took Brandy's hand, kissing the back of it. "Sexy maids can go with a Gardevoir's blessing. Clover's going to tease me so badly if I can't get into an Espurr's head."

Gardevoir kiss! Brandy could feel her Steam Engine stir to life in her chest. Warmth flooded her veins as her heart started to thunder. 

"That's our Bug Ace Brandy," Sparky cackled loudly, hopping into Brandy's arms, hanging off her as she looked upside down at the table. "Anyway, thanks for meeting ladies! We have an opponent to find. Good luck on your match; don't blow the whole cruise ship up."

"No promises," Telly and Camila said at the same time. Matching eyes, then smiling thinly at each other. Aw, they were bonding; that's sweet. 

Brandy staggered off with Sparky, who climbed onto her shoulders after a few tricky steps. "The Gardevoir thought we were a Bug Ace," Sparky whispered into Brandy's ear as she balanced on one shoulder. "We can totally hoodwink this chump when we find her."

That and keep a close eye out for clues. She'd gotten a lesson about the benefits back there; it'd be a shame not to learn from it. 

Brandy walked with one arm under Sparky's butt so she could sit like the most well-cushioned parrot. "Should we check at the entrance? I can throw you up there." 

Sparky's crackling fur stung her arms. 

"Ow! What was that for?" Brandy hissed, "I wasn't being serious."

"Sorry, sorry. Just I see our opponent," Sparky said, slowly looking down at Brandy. "But we have a bit of a problem. She's with one of the Celebrity Judges. Oh shit, I guess she does count as a celebrity."

"Why is that a problem?" Brandy said as she turned to look where Sparky was pointing. Straight at the bar, a woman in a lab coat with cute half-moon glasses looked up in awe at a tall, boisterous, rainbow-haired Pokémon stroking her cheek. One with a massive purple spiraled horn on her head and a self-confident smile that Brandy had been expecting to see for a while, though not like this. 

How the heck was Mercury a Competition Judge!?