"I-I call... T-Team Brave!"
Pika and Beast look at me with dumbfounded expressions. Beast leans over so he can whisper in my ear. "Uh, Togetic, Team Brave did not sign up."
"I-I know, but they're in the a-audience, and I th-think they're o-our only ch-chance at w-winning!" I whisper back. (Just gotta hope they don't leave me hanging...)
Thankfully, I see Sneasel leap onto the stage with Booker on her head. Pika rushes over to the duo and ushers them towards the back of the stage and behind the curtain so they can get dressed. A few moments later, Sneasel walks out from behind the curtain, wearing a pure white sundress and a blue bow behind her left ear. Booker's wearing a blue bow tie to compliment Sneasel's bow. He looks nervous, while Sneasel looks oddly confident. "Wasn't expecting ya' to call us up here Toge, but I'm glad ya' did, cuz I'm not going to take any attacks against the guild lying down. Now, what do I have to do?"
"W-Well... U-Uh... j-just act c-cuter than th-that Skitty," I respond.
"Pfft, this will be easy," Sneasel says.
"A-Are you sure about this, Sneasel?" Booker asks. "You haven't really done anything like this before..."
"Come on, there's no way I'm gonna lose this," Sneasel confidently struts up to the front of the stage, next to Shelby. She puts her claws on her hips, and then... does nothing. She completely freezes up and doesn't move, as if she finally realizes what the competition expects of her. Looking closer, I can see Booker leaning down towards one of her ears and whispering into it, and I can just barely make out what the two are saying.
"... you have to do something cute! Like striking a pose!" Booker whispers.
"But I don't know any cute poses! And I can't do any cool poses cuz of this dress, it'll make me just look stupid!" Sneasel frantically whispers back. Her composure breaks and she turns her back to the crowd. She holds one of her arms in her claws, and her previously confident expression has been swapped for a timid one. Her cheeks are flushed, and she stares down at her own feet. "I... I can't do this! This is too embarrassing!"
(Welp, looks like her bravado wore off quick. I thought her tomboyish charm might be enough, but now she looks so shy and timid... It's kinda... wait, that's it!) I wave to get Booker's attention, and I lift up one of my arms to my chest, then use my other arm to circle around it to do a "turn around" motion. Booker gets my idea and nods, then whispers into Sneasel's ear.
"Turn around! You're already cute enough now!"
"Huh? But... But...!" Sneasel's voice nearly cracks due to how flustered she is. "... Alright, I'll trust ya' on this..." Sneasel takes a deep breath, and returns to facing the crowd.
Shelby seems to be in awe of Sneasel. "Wow, you two look super cool! I bet you two have a cool team pose! I don't have a badge yet, but when I get one, my pose will be this...!" Shelby chases her tail, and while doing so she takes out an imaginary badge with one of her front paws before turning to the crowd and lifting up her non-existent badge for all to see. The crowd lets out a mix of "aww"s and cheers, and Shelby puts her imaginary badge back into her bag.
"Not... bad?" Pika says in a confused tone. "Surely Team Brave has a cuter pose than that though!"
"S-Surely..." (If Sneasel's being the nervous one now, then Booker will have to try and be the more confident one to complete their dynamic. You can't have two nervous and meek mons on a team, they need to compliment each other!)
Booker stands up on Sneasel's head. "Thanks... but our team pose is cuter than yours!" Suddenly Booker flies into the air, and circles around Sneasel, spreading some sparkling pink fairy dust around her. Sneasel looks a little shocked by Booker's action, and she stares at him for a few moments before realizing she's supposed to do something. "Twirl and strike a pose with your badge!" Booker says softly as he flies around Sneasel. Sneasel quickly takes her badge off of her dress, and turns to do a twirl, but she trips over her own feet and stumbles! She tries to regain her balance by waving her arms around, almost swatting Booker out of the air, but he gracefully dodges her accidental swipes. Her badge flies out of her claw as she flails, sending it into the air. Unable to regain her footing, Sneasel falls flat on her face, and it looks like her badge is about to hit the ground. However, Booker suddenly raises his arms, and some of the fairy dust floating around the badge flows upward, as if in an updraft, launching the badge into the air. While this happens, Booker circles above Sneasel's head, then carefully lands on it. Sneasel's badge gently floats down to Booker, who's holding both of his hands above his head, which the badge neatly lands into.
The audience is completely silent. Booker quietly asks if Sneasel is okay, but she only replies with a limp groan.
(I... I don't even know how to overanalyze that. Wow.)
After what feels like an eternity of awkwardness, someone in the audience coughs, then someone says. "That clumsy Sneasel is pretty cute."
Sneasel, still lying on the ground, covers her face in embarrassment while various Pokemon in the crowd begin to express how cute they thought Team Brave were. Most are quiet murmurs that I can't hear, but as the audience continues to chatter, they get louder and more lively.
"I thought that lady-like outfit didn't fit how tomboyish she acted at first, but now it looks good on her."
"She looks so precious! Do you think the brave part of their team name comes from that Ribombee?! He looks so dashing, what a lucky gal!"
"A brave heroic little bug protecting their timid princess, ooh that's adorable!"
"Erm... Pikachu and Togetic?" Beast says with a slightly worried tone. "I think the two of you should calm down the audience and declare the winner already. If not, I fear for what Sneasel will do to us if you let this humiliation carry on any longer."
(A very good point.) "A-Alright, c-call it h-here, Pika."
Pika nods, and gets up from the judge's table and walks up to the front of the stage. "Well, I think we have our winner! Who here thinks Team Brave is cuter!?" The audience cheers, and weirdly enough Shelby cheers as well.
"You may have tripped, but that was still pretty cool!" Shelby says as she walks up to Team Brave. "Do you need help getting up-"
Shelby's offer is cut off by Sneasel suddenly getting up and running to the backstage area. As she passes me she gives me a vehement glare, while Booker gives me a sympathetic and somber look, as if he knows my days in this world are now numbered. The moment Sneasel disappears behind the curtain, I hear the sound of fabric being sliced into a million pieces.
"Hey, wait up!" Shelby follows Sneasel behind the curtain, only to run out seconds later, looking terrified with her fur standing on its end like a scared cat's. As Shelby scampers off the stage, I can make out Sneasel muttering "Never again... never again!"
(I'm dead, aren't I? Oh well, getting to show the world Sneasel's cute side is a worthy thing to die for.)