#ws2019appeal

[konpeitocoordinator]

Well, time to finish things off! Who doesn’t love fairytales, right?

[blackmambacheren]

Appeal Results - June

@konpeitocoordinator

Bun-Bun had been watching the other Lopunny with sharp eyes throughout the entire appeal. She seemed almost singularly focused on Berry, though there were clearly other elements to the performance. Luckily, Cheren was there to watch the other two. It was funny... Lopunny tended to work well alongside princes. Maybe he was biased.

“Well, June... I think this was perfectly fitting to the Beauty category. There’s nothing out there that says tragedy can’t be beautiful. And the interplay of Grass, Ice, and Fire was a striking combination we don’t see often. I think this easily could have been a Smart appeal as well— a lot of Smart flavor this competition from everybody. But you definitely shifted the fairy tale vibe from Cute to Beauty.”

“There were some parts that seemed a little unnecessary, the flashback for one— although it was a neat effect. And it did seem as if Folie was doing a little more than Berry at times... but they worked very well together. You had good Pokemon choices for this sort of story— Though I suppose I sound biased.” He reached up to ruffle the fur on Bun-Bun’s head affectionately.

“And so with that, I have to give you a 93 out of 100. Excellent job, June. Thank you for participating in the Winter Solstice Festival!”

[ringsreachingout]

Mass Destruction

Metagross:

Ability: Clear Body Music: Mass Destruction (Tetsuya Kobayashi Remix) Props: Steel knuckles, Meteors Held Item: None Moves: Earthquake, Meteor Mash, Hyper Beam, Psychic

Appeal:

The music begins right away. 

Baby, baby, baby

The scarlet lit rocky stage shakes violently the center opening a levitating Metagross painted black and crimson rising up with their trainer standing on top arms folded. Steven still wears his attire from the dress appeal. Meteors from the floor began to rise with a glow as a result of Metagross’ Psychic.

Various colored boulders of diverse shapes and sizes float through the stage at varying heights. Steven jumps with a spin off of Metagross onto one of the meteors brass knuckles around his fingers for a later time the heavy guitar music playing in the back.

Metagross uses Meteor Mash on various floating boulders smashing them into oblivion. The meteors smash into pieces the crumbles incinerating within seconds. When Metagross approaches the boulder Steven stands on, he flips back on top of Metagross. Once the meteor is destroyed, Earthquake is applied to the surface so another set of boulders may float about the stage. Steven jumps onto another meteor this one sailing quite a distance away from Metagross. Using the brass knuckles, Steven punches a meteor to the star of the show. Metagross uses Meteor Mash on it along with the dozen other meteors sent their way.

Now it’s time to make things a little more interesting. The meteor Steven stands on is near the edge. He kicks the edge to bring himself closer to Metagross at a brisk pace. Metagross used Psychic to make the meteor spin in which Steven holds on flipping upside down and back up two where he can stand. He exaggerates his movements to act confused and uses the brass knuckles to take a swing at Metagross who swiftly dodges just as they had practiced. Metagross readies to mash the meteor but Steven blocks with the brass knuckles. The two exchange fast fluid jabs that are followed by equally as fluid dodges. Steven shakes his head back and forth quickly to gesture to the audience he has snapped out of confusion caused by the shaky meteor. He bows and Metagross lifts him onto their back and smashing the meteor with their arm.

Metagross readies themself and fires Hyper Beam all around the rocky floor turning it all into glass. This is followed by Psychic upon the glass lighting it crimson. The duo hit the floor with Meteor Mash shattering the glass into red dust scattering the floor. Steven cartwheels off of Metagross wincing as his right shoulder dislocates. He lets out no cry in pain despite rising to his feet and the arm throbbing heavily. Thankfully, the music just stopped meaning that he had just finished the routine. He keeps the arm close and raises his left arm and bows. Metagross makes a bowing gesture alongside their partner. 

[musesbygeoff]

Kenny’s 2019 Winter Solstice Appeal

Under read more. 

Kenny was on the stage to start his appeal. He had requested for the floor to be opened to reveal the pool underneath. He was still wearing his attire he had during the dress up. He held two Pokéballs in his hands, the ones that he will be using for his appeal: Empoleon and Corviknight.

“Come on out, Empoleon and Corviknight!” The coordinator from Twinleaf Town shouted. Two Pokéballs were tossed into the air. A popping sound echoed, and a white light formed eventually revealing the two bird Pokémon.

It had been a long time since Kenny used a Pokémon to debut in its first appeal. After a quick trip to the Galar region, Kenny had secured a Corviknight. His newest Pokémon to perform alongside his most veteran Pokémon, Empoleon.

Kenny nodded to Empoleon, signaling to his Pokémon that it was time for their appeal to begin.

Empoleon started things off with a big breath, blowing out a long duration of snow. Blizzard conditions had caused the pool to freeze, leaving what is now no longer a pool, but an ice rink, and above the ice was 12 inches of snow.

After Empoleon was finished with his blizzard attack, Kenny signaled to the stage crew to turn the lights off.

The glow in the dark sequins on both Pokémon started to glow off, making them the only lights in the entire hall.

On Corviknight, the sequins were around his head and down his chest; while Empoleon fashioned the sequins around his flippers and down his body to his feet.

Corviknight flew off into the air. His face started to glow red, a signature scary face, however the way that the sequins were shaped on front, made it appear as though the audience was looking at a man’s face with a dress tie.

Corviknight flies down to clash with Empoelon, who’s sequins are outline through his body as well. Coming together, the face that Corviknight had made, coming together with Empoleon’s own body, made it look like the two Pokémon had illustrated a person. A person in a formal suit. Corviknight provided the head, face, and tie, while Empoleon provided the torso, and legs. Empoleon then took a few steps to make it looks like a walking man.

Scary face wouldn’t normally be thought of to use in a beautiful appeal, but Kenny felt he had the things going for him to impress the judges with this gimmick and could score him some bonus points, so he hopes at least.  

After a few steps from Empoleon to look like a walking man, that trick was over, and it was time to move on. Corviknight’s scary face had worn off and he flew back up. At this time, again as Kenny had gone through with the stage crew, the lights were turned back on at the conclusion of scary face.

As the lights came back on, Empoleon jumped into the snowbank, and using his body, started sliding around the snow in order to soften it some for the upcoming move by his partner.

Flying back up, Corviknight started to flap his wings down in the direction towards the snow. The gust picking up the soft snow and blowing it all into one place, piling up to make one giant pile, up to ten feet high. Corviknight then flew to the side of the big snow pile up.

With the snow now in one corner of the stage, the rest of the pool showcased one big ice rink. Kenny entered the performance floor, or performance rink in this case and skated over to Empoleon, who was standing on the opposite side of where the snow piled up.

From one end to the other, Empoleon slid on his body, with Kenny holding on towards the massive snow pile. The path that Empoleon slid on made a noticeable smooth surface on the ice, it was like watching a Pokémon Zamboni in action. After coming to a stop on the other side where the snow pile sat, it was time for the two Pokémon to show off their crafting skills.

Kenny got off of Empoleon and skated towards the center of the stage to give his Pokémon some space to move on with the appeal.

Empoleon’s front flippers glowed white, while Corviknight’s wings did the same. Empoleon clashed his metal claws against the snow structure, while Corviknight swooped down and clashed his steel wings against the snow.

Some of the snow on the structure started to fall off and, in the end, the snow pile was constructed into a snowmade watch tower.

Corviknight, slowly and majestically flew on top of the watch tower and perched himself on the top of the ledge. He spread out his wings to give the audience and the judges a good look at his massive, over 9-foot-long, wingspan.

The snow that was knocked off the pile and unused for the tower began to make its descent back down. Empoleon stepped up and took another breath. This time, however, it wasn’t anywhere near as strong. Instead, a light breath exhaled from the penguin Pokémon, and instead of a raging blizzard, it was a calmly blue mist escaping from his mouth.

With the mist colliding with the snow, the snow turned into what appeared to be light blue streaks of light falling back down towards the ground at a snail’s pace.

Kenny skated over to the snow tower and waved his Pokémon to follow him back to the center of the rink. Corviknight flew down from the perch and landed down to Kenny’s left, Empoleon waddled himself over and stood at Kenny’s right. To end off a beautiful appeal, the last thing to do was end the appeal with class. He and his two bird Pokémon took a bow to the crowd as the last of the mist-made light blue streaks fell on to the ice.

Afterwards, the two Pokémon were returned to their respective Pokéball.

“Thanks Empoleon! Thanks Corviknight! You both did a great job out there. I’m very proud of you both.” He put the Pokéballs in his pocket and skated off the stage and headed back to the backroom.

And with that, that concludes Kenny’s appeal at the 2019 Winter Solstice Event.

[heartists]

zoey’s @wintersolsticefestival appeal is now live!

[diamontha]

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Time to show them everything we've got.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1p_3Ktd0GpW5VUAiG2YmYNWy2910VUNI0ctfFCRj084g/edit?usp=drivesdk

[coldbornthief]

Winter Solstice 2019 Appeal

Elijah’s new outfit, though it should be blue to match Noel’s pattern.

song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amJ_WLmOKS0

Moves: Ice Beam Shadow Ball Protect Rain Dance

It was... an incredibly odd feeling. On one side, he was scared what others would think- but only a select “others”. The judges didn’t matter. The audience didn’t matter. Most everyone watching on TV at home didn’t matter. His older sister would support him, surely, as she always had and always will. But his older brother, mother, and especially father were a different story. Most likely his brother would watch it, but he truly didn’t know if his parents had ever seen him preform in contests. They never spoke of it. Elijah wanted it to stay that way. With any luck, they would not be watching, and he would not be punished. On top of that fear, he also felt rather exposed. This wasn’t the first time he cross-dressed; far from it at this point. But when he did so, it was only in front of his sister or very close friends, if anyone. Usually he did it alone. He felt as though he needed some kind of revenge after that swine of a judge gave him a zero. Now, though, countless people would see him in a dress, and on top of that, his large ugly scar. Again and again he thought of covering it with make-up, but people had already see glimpses of it in the dress up round. He couldn’t pretend now that it didn’t exist. He told himself that whether anyone would realize it or not, wearing this dress and showing that scar were, in his own personal way, a way of showing toughness. A different kind of toughness. So many had defended him by saying the kilt was masculine, and therefore tough. While he greatly appreciated it, Elijah felt as though he should show femininity could be tough as well. All of his worry was swept away as his Glaceon rubbed her head against his leg. Other than her helmet not yet being put on, she was all ready for the show to begin. Elijah knelt down to give her some chin scratches. “Are you ready, my little princess? You don’t seem nervous in the slightest!” Noel let out a yip; she was certainly ready! There was no need to be nervous! Even if they didn’t win it hardly mattered; she couldn’t eat the ribbon, so what was the big deal? Either way, Elijah was sure to get them treats afterwards! And that was certainly worth giving her all today. The duo walked onto the stage, with about a 5 foot pile of bones in the center. They were prop bones-not real- but were incredibly convincing and proportional. Clear rope-like string, about 40 yards of it, was laid from the pile of bones towards where the two would halt their walk. Once the music began, Noel cast Protect over the pile of bones, but leaving a small subtle hole so that they could pull off their stunt. Cast next was Shadow Ball, which gave the Protect dome a purple gas-like coating, but not so much that the audience couldn’t see the inside. Next, she blew an Ice Beam into the hole, and the bones began to shutter and take form with their new clear ice muscles. The bones Rapidash and Dewgong formed together to make three separate kelpie puppets. Yet another Rapidash puppet formed, though this one was twice the size and on it’s back it had the top half of what may have been human, but it’s arms hung all the way down to the horse’s knees, and it had long claws in place of fingers. The nuckelavee (with help from Elijah using the clear rope to puppeteer) slashed at the dome, not only causing it to shatter, but also for the purple gas to fall and be absorbed into the beasts.

One of the kelpies, now with a purple aura, immediately lunged forward towards Noel, who leaped backwards, following with blowing an ice beam directly below her. An ice tower sprung up underneath her, about two stories high. From the top, she blew out more beams, creating a small creek-like canal from one side of the stadium to the other.

Unhappy with its target being out of reach, the kelpie tackled into the tower, forcing it to become unsteady. The Glaceon made yet another tower, only shorter, and hoped to that one. Once again, the kelpie attacked it, having the same result. One more tower, one more attack, and before the kelpie knew it, it was trapped and crushed by the falling ice. Back on the ground, Noel faced her next opponent. The horse attempted to whip its tail at the fox, but with a direct jump up, she blew ice to freeze its tail to the ground. With the kelpie stuck, Noel used Protect to surround herself in with the enemy. Lifting herself up with the help of ice, multiple (around 30) small Shadow Balls formed in a circle in front of her. With a stomp of the foot, the balls shot at the other like a firing range, but causing small dark explosions upon impact. When the force field and smoke vanished, the kelpie was left full of holes that pierced through both ice and bone.

With one of the smaller enemies left, Noel created a Protect field around both herself and Elijah, with tiny holes that allowed them to continue to move the puppet. While the creature continuously tackled the field, causing it to slowly begin cracking, the fox using Rain Dance inside. At the end of her dance, the dome was shattered, but the dance was a success, and heavy rain began to pour down from the sky. The enemy tried to attack now that the field was gone, but was only greeted with Noel’s small sword in its forehead when it charged, followed by a dozen sharp spikes shooting from the ground and impaling it from many directions.

All while Noel was fighting the three enemies, if the audience looked for the trainer, he would be hiding from the monsters (though he was also helping control them). Usually he would be behind boulders of ice, the aftermath of the falling towers.

With only the nuckelavee left, both trainer and pokemon turned tail and ran to the creek she had made at the beginning, both leaping over the now gushing water from the rain. The monster chased after them, but abruptly screeched to a halt upon heading towards the water. Nuckelavees were unable to cross flowing fresh water, after all. Pacing back and forth along the creek, the creature waited for the duo’s next move. Elijah turned to leave, but Noel let out a battle cry, psyching herself up enough to jump back over to the enemy. Her bravery forced Elijah to reluctantly follow suit, going after something terrifying that he didn’t want to face. But with her help, they show together a different kind of toughness; simply facing one’s fear. Drawing his sword, chopped of one of the abnormally long arms. Noel blew ice to form a new tumor-like arm for the nuckelavee, which caused it to topple over from the weight, allowing Elijah to cut of the human head, followed by the horse head. As both heads rolled, the Glaceon shot two ice spears out of the ground to pierce and hang them high. The rain stopped, and the purple hue evaporated along with Noel’s trainer’s fear.

[blackmambacheren]

Appeal Results - Zoey

@heartists

Throughout the entire appeal, Bun-Bun had been holding Cheren’s hand under the judge’s table. Her teeth chattered quietly and rapidly in a rabbity imitation of a purr, trying to keep him calm throughout. Cheren had an incurable phobia of ghosts, and an entire appeal that centered around one was almost unbearable to him. One where the ghost, and its powers and its old life and its death, were all prominently on display... It was difficult for him. But his Lopunny kept him grounded.

“Right,” he said quietly, finally managing to speak. He looked down at his clipboard and realized he hadn’t taken a single note. Winging it. “It was certainly... a story. A very intricate one. Symbolic. One that definitely requires the audience to think. Deduce. Analyze. All hallmarks of a great Smart appeal. I... don’t think I’ve ever seen one like it.”

He took a deep breath, trying to gather his thoughts and judge normally. “There were a lot of unique techniques at play... With the—” He paused, then moved on to a completely different subject. “It was quite long, and I think the audience may have gotten restless near the end. Always best to keep things moving at a steady pace and picking up in intensity right when the crowd wants it...”

“It... was quite solid. There was very obviously a great amount of effort put into this, and with it being a personal story... There was passion. I judge it at an 86 out of 100. Th-Thank you for competing in the Winter Solstice Festival.”

He reached into his pocket and began to puff on his asthma inhaler as Bun-Bun sighed, embarrassed.

[blackmambacheren]

Appeal Results - Kenny

@musesbygeoff

Bun-Bun’s nose twitched, highly interested in the Corviknight. She had never seen one before. Neither had Cheren, though he had seen many pictures of them before. It was fascinating to see one up close... Alas. They weren’t judging based on Pokemon species. Bun-Bun seemed charmed by the performance, and Cheren glanced down to see her little tail wagging happily.

“Well, this was an interesting Beauty appeal, I thought. Came in two parts, it seemed... They were a little disconnected at first, but I think you brought them together at the end. There was an overall theme of class, which I think fits nicely into the Beauty category. Very black tie. Though the winter theme is very common here, especially in Beauty appeals, it was plenty charming here.”

“There were a lot of elements I would have considered more Smart than Beauty... though that seems to be a running theme here this contest. Everyone has been so creative with their moves and costumes. We’ve seen a lot of illusion work... and yours was nice, if simple! But I could see the joy your Pokemon had in putting in this show, and they certainly seemed to have fun with their trainer. That connection is quite important.”

“All things considered, I award you 70 points out of 100. Thank you, Kenny. I hope you enjoyed the Winter Solstice Festival!”

[blackmambacheren]

Appeal Results- Tobias

@drkvoid

Bun-Bun’s eyes were shimmering as the light show came to an end. It seemed she was very impressed with the visuals. Cheren heard her humming tunelessly along after the song ended, swaying a little in her seat as if she too wanted to dance. Indeed, the appeal had been quite the pretty display...

“That’s the problem, isn’t it?” he asked aloud. “It was all very stunning and beautiful to see... but this wasn’t the Beauty category. If it was, you would likely have very high marks, though! But I see what you were going for with the precision, the careful and exact movements. Like robots specially programmed to be perfect. It’s quite subtle and clever.”

“I think the smartest part of the appeal was the faux audience. It gave it a very futuristic sci-fi feel that matched your dress-up. The rising and descending light platforms were clever as well. Very unique move combinations and utilization. I rather liked it... though I think it might have worked better for a different category.”

“And so, I award you 70 points of 100. Thank you for participating in the Winter Solstice Festival!”

[blackmambacheren]

Appeal Results- Steven

@ringsreachingout

Bun-Bun’s nose was twitching with concern, and she let out a few rabbity squeaks, pointing to Steven’s shoulder. Cheren nodded as the other judges gave their takes, and he quietly spoke into his headset, calmly alerting the first aid folks that they might want to check out this participant after judging. When it came to his turn, he reached up and pet his Lopunny’s head, calming her.

“Steven, again I feel I must address the issue of focus. Metagross was doing quite a bit here, but I’m afraid I agree that your participation was a bit more varied and focus-drawing through most of the appeal. And the concept was a bit basic— smashing rocks.”

He took a deep breath. “But, you did have some creative moments. The bit at the end with the Hyper Beam and Psychic— I never would’ve have thought of turning the stage to glass. Nor changing the glass’s color! It was a very striking moment, and the highlight of the appeal, I think. I would simply recommend looking into safety measures if you’re going to be tumbling into broken glass.”

“And so, I award you 60 points of 100. Thank you both for participating in the Winter Solstice Festival!”

[blackmambacheren]

Appeal Results - Diantha

@diamontha

Cheren reached over and patted Bun-Bun’s back consolingly. The Lopunny, always moves by tragic romantic stories, was crying. But Cheren had to be made of sterner stuff. He was tough, darn it!

“Well, Miss Diantha, I think it’s safe to say that your cinematic background shone through here. The story was intricate and theatric, like a stage production. You and your Pokemon certainly seemed to be very in-character. I like a good story, and this one was quite nice, though I feel at times it strayed a little out of the Beauty category. And perhaps there were a few focus problems, bouncing back and forth between Pokemon... but overall, it was quite dazzling.” Ugh, had he really just said that? Dazzling? Bun-Bun gave a rabbity chuckle through her tears.

“I admit there were some elements that didn’t work as well. As was mentioned, the Z-Moves dances are difficult to make elegant... but that really was minor. You were clever with your moves and used them each to stunning potential. I know Bun-Bun enjoyed herself.” The Lopunny nodded in agreement, her eyes glittering as she looked the team over. Very pretty!

“As such, I award you 78 points out of 100. Thank you for participating in the Winter Solstice Festival!”

[blackmambacheren]

Appeal Results- Elijah

@coldbornthief

Bun-Bun was applauding wildly as the appeal ended, very much a fan of elegant battles. After all, her whole shtick was to be both beautiful and powerful... so she certainly appreciated the underlying theme of the appeal, whether she could express it or not. She certainly tugged on Cheren’s sleeve a lot throughout, pointing at certain elements she was impressed by. Cheren looked stoic as ever, however. He consulted his notes.

“Well, Elijah, I for one thought it was an interesting and fresh take on the Tough genre. Battles are common enough, but you don’t often get a story mixed in, nor large puppets. It was very theatric. I agree that this could have worked very well as a Smart appeal... even better as a Smart appeal, probably, what with the clearly researched folklore and the tricks used to create the puppets. But being Tough...”

“I thought Noel did wonderfully. She was very small compared to her enemies, but didn’t back down. There’s always something impressive about an underdog story. I rather liked it... and I think the audience did as well. You certainly seem to have doubled down since the dress-up round...”

“All this said, I award you 80 points of 100 in the appeal round. Congratulations, and thank you for participating in the Winter Solstice Festival!”