Team Petal-Purr
Day of the Summer Festival
Part 1-One Day Before
Part 2-Morning
"Shelby's Day"
Shelby held out a sticky paw as she gestured towards a large bundle of skewered berries just out of her reach.
"Can I have a blue one, please? And another one of those square things with the sauce on it?"
She leaned onto the counter as she pointed out what she wanted. The Munchlax that was serving her waved his hand to shoo her down and she took a step back.
"Sticky feet off the counter, please." He sighed and handed her a stick of berries glazed in a thick layer of syrup, making sure not to make contact with the Skitty's grubby fur.
"Thank you!" Shelby yowled at him with her mouth full, while he walked away and came back with her little square pastry. It was covered in a spicy sauce and topped with something she did not recognise, but she scoffed it down in record time. The server glanced at her for only a moment, with what could almost be described as a look of concern, disgust and confusion.
"Alright, slow down. It ain't a race."
This time, she swallowed her food before speaking.
"There's no time to slow down! It's all so good, I have to eat everything before the festival closes forever! It's a promise I made to myself, just now!"
The Munchlax was no longer listening and was serving another customer, but Shelby hardly noticed at all and leapt to her feet.
"Now I'm going to go get an ice cone! With the red flavour!" She announced, to nobody, then took off running.
After a few more trips around the stalls, there was not much left to eat that Shelby had not already sampled. The rush of it all was beginning to fade and with a stick of fried dough carried delicately between her teeth, she decided to take a short break near the stage in the center of the festival grounds. She sat down in the grass and wiped a paw against her dress, smearing the fabric with a sticky blue stain. Setting to work on the fried dough, she struggled through several bites as she felt her body screaming at her to stop eating. Unable to finish it, Shelby let the stick of sweet bread drop to the ground as she hung her head in shame.
"I'm a failure."
After trying to rub her eyes and realising her feet were still stuck with sugar, she decided to have a quick wash and lick them clean. Glancing over to the stage, she noticed a crowd beginning to form and a figure emerged from behind the curtain. Curiosity immediately got the better of her and she ran over to find out what was going on. She thought it might have been that band Heidi had seemed so fond of, but it was an entirely different group of Pokemon without any instruments at all.
A Pikachu stood center stage, with her two companions sat in chairs on either side of her. To the left was a Togetic, who looked nervous as he perched awkwardly in his chair. To the right sat someone she recognised by his apron, the Munchlax who had served her earlier in the day.
~"Wow! What a busy guy!"~ She thought.
Making her way through the crowd to get a better look, she heard the bright voice of the Pikachu ring out.
"We're glad you're all here to come and experience the kyuteness the Clover Guild has to offer! The way this will work is that the guildmembers or guild teams will take turns showing themselves off on the stage, and me and two other judges will rate their kyuteness!"
Shelby's ears pricked up, finding the concept of a cuteness competition very intriguing. The young Skitty fancied herself about as cute as you could get, with her fluffy pink tail and wily kitten ways. She wasn't just cute enough to enter the contest, she believed she had what it took to win it all. Forgetting all about her messy fur and stained dress, she excitedly pushed her way to the front of the crowd, hoping to catch the announcer's attention before the contest officially began.