Work Text:
By: Copper, Aero, Pika, Wes, Draco
Special Thanks To: Water and Advent
French Tip nails (exactly 2.5cm long) gripped the ancient burgundy curtains enough to make Ruby’s knuckles crack. He refused to cry. It would ruin his perfect wing-tipped eyeliner and gorgeous foundation he spent a little too much on last month. No, he couldn’t cry, even if… even if…
Down the runway — if you could graciously call a line of wooden planks held up by cinderblocks and covered with vaguely similar red rugs such a far-off dream of a structure — a young woman wobbled midway along the path. Unbecomingly. Not in the way he’d specifically asked her to keep in mind (shoulders back, boobs to the sky, and walk HEEL TOE, HEEL TOE.)
Her legs were stanced too wide in an attempt to balance. It looked as though she never did learn how to walk in those heels like she promised… and there they go! Right into the audience! He gripped his hair by the scalp in horror as he watched her grip the other shoe in frustration and aim it at the already hysterical crowd.
“How did we even get here…?” he whimpered pathetically. But he vividly remembered the day this trainwreck began, the very first domino into what he, innocently, thought was going to be his one true act of kindness…
𓂇
It had started at his mother’s house, in Littleroot. His dear mother had kindly invited him, as well as Sapphire and Emerald, to dinner. His two friends volunteered to help set the table, while he helped his mom prepare the meal in the kitchen.
However, it wasn’t long before he caught a sullen expression on her face.
“What’s the matter?” Ruby asked.
His mother looked up, then looked back down at the pot she was stirring.
“Have you watched the news recently?” she said.
His lips curled in disgust at the very thought. “Oh please…”
“Well,” she continued. “It looks like Littleroot is tight on money, again.”
“What else is new?” he said, flatly.
“It’s serious this time.” she explained, stirring the pot absent-mindedly. “They’re filing for bankruptcy. And they will be taking the whole town in compensation.”
Ruby stared at her, as if she were going to say more, but she didn’t.
Again, it wasn’t much of a surprise to him; this little town, in the middle of nowhere no less, was full of crumbling construction, abandoned projects, and a neglected populace. In fact, if he were to speak his mind, he would say it was only a matter of time.
“It’s inevitable, isn’t it?” he asked, before wincing. “I mean… look at this place. It’s not exactly up to par with the rest of the region, wouldn't you agree? ”
“Ruby.” she sighed, exasperated.
“Sorry,” he added quickly. “I didn’t mean it like that, that was harsh. I just don’t know what we’re supposed to do about it!”
It wasn’t as though Ruby wanted the town to fall apart, either. It took some time, but he had finally accepted the small town to be his home. It wasn’t Goldenrod, but he still felt an unmistakable attachment. It’d be a shame to lose that so soon after he’d come around.
He bit his lip and stopped suddenly. “We don’t exactly have funding, that’s the problem isn’t it? There’s only so much we can do to help. I have connections but…” he trailed off, his brows furrowing.
“Well, I don’t know.” she admitted. “But, I do know one thing. This town is full of wonderful people. People who took me in when both you and your father abandoned me. Now, they might lose everything they had ever known.” She placed the ladle down, gaze vacant. “I just can’t abandon them.”
A heavy silence filled the room, the echoes of dishes being placed on the dining table breaking the atmosphere.
“I could do a fashion show.” Ruby blurted out, the moment the idea formed in his brain.
His mom cocked an eyebrow at him, “Honey, I know you’re talented, but I’m not exactly sure if this is the bes—“
“No, listen. I really think I could, and I think it would work! I have fabric here, I could make most of the designs, I have friends who could model,” He hoped they could, at the very least. “I have experience, I’m not exactly a nobody here. I’ve won every contest rank, so I’m more than comfortable doing something like this. People aren’t that different from Pokémon, you’d be surprised.”
His mom seemed unconvinced, mouth drawn into a tight frown.
“I’m just not sure,” she sighed. “It doesn’t seem especially realistic and, well, do you think it’s fitting?”
“Realistic?” Ruby bristled, seemingly brushing over her last statement. “You’ve seen my designs, you know well enough that I’m more than capable.”
“Wha’s this about a fashion show?” Sapphire walked in, leaning against the counter. She narrowed her eyes on Ruby. “Don’t tell me ya expect ta save the town with one of your frilly little dresses. Littleroot ain’t about that!”
Ruby scowled as he turned to Sapphire. “If Littleroot Town wants to be saved, they have to expand! Try something new! A fashion show is exactly what we need to bring in money!”
“Nuh uh.” Sapphire wrinkled her nose. “Where would we even find a place to host? S’not like Littleroot has a stage.”
“I’m sure we can build one.” Ruby said confidently — or, semi-confidently, maybe… Well, he was sure they could figure it out. Sapphire still seemed skeptical, though, eyeing Ruby carefully.
“How about this:” Ruby said, holding up a finger. “If we save the town from bankruptcy by doing this fashion show, I promise to go with you on a trip to the nasty, muddy Sinnoh Safari Zone like you’ve been begging me for the past seven months.”
“Wh— so you were listening!”
“Deal?”
Sapphire smirked. “Fine. Deal.”
𓂇
“The things I do for love…” he groaned at the memory.
And back to now. Okay, there were some hiccups. There were disasters. There was absolutely no money. But goddammit, they pulled something together and did NOT go to his shithole dad for help!
The heel Sapphire was holding sailed across the air. The cries of the crowd hit a crescendo as members of the audience scrambled to avoid the makeshift weapon.
“Oh, for the love of…!” he cried. Then he took a deep breath and grabbed one of the microphones.
“Oooookay everyone! After this next model, it’ll be time for an intermission! Thanks for sticking around!” he put up his best theatrical voice to mask any frustrations he had, then locked eyes with the rabid woman on the walkway.
Get the hell back here, he mouthed.
Sapphire gritted her jaw and stalked backstage.
As she made her way, he whirled around and gave a pleading look to Emerald out in the house, his usher and right-hand man (if you could even call him that).
Emerald rolled his eyes and shuffled behind the curtains just as the next model waddled out.
Professor Birch had been working in his lab on the feeble attempts to send out belated grant requests outside of this. However, he eagerly agreed to partake in the show to help out his beloved little town.
His outfit, in theme with “Mega Evolution”, was not as straightforward as Sapphire’s now disassembled Mega Gardevoir gown. Professor Birch strolled out in a fitted purple Alolan-style shortsleeved button-down and matching oversized purple swim trunks. Strapped on his back was a five-pointed shimmering purple bag. He walked the stage merrily, waving as he did so and hoping that Ruby knew what he was talking about for “niche viewership needs” for this design.
Regardless, as practiced, he stood legs spread and hands on his hips at the end of the runway.
“Mega Starmie Evolution!” He cried, rapidly unsnapping the buttons of his shirt and yanking the cord of the trunks, causing them to plummet.
There he stood, in all his hairy wonder, chest bare aside from the large golden chain holding a large red gem. His legs in all their hairy glory were actually laced in purple fishnets leading up to a prominently purple, bulging speedo.
As the audience took this in, Ruby was handling coordination backstage.
“Emerald, please,” he begged. “I need to talk to Sapph. Can you hold things up in the meantime?”
Emerald, as always, looked completely calm. “I got this. I knew things would eventually go to shit, so I hired a couple of entertainers as backup.”
“Hired?” Ruby fumed. He may as well have just dumped gasoline into his fire. “Emerald, we are trying to RAISE money, not splurge it, dammit!”
Emerald just picked some food out of his teeth (EW!), unfazed. “Don’t get your panties in a twist. These guys were willing to perform for free. In fact, they kinda begged me.”
They paused when they heard loud cheering, especially in the form of Gold’s voice (“YEAH, LOSE THE SHORTS!!!”), as Professor Birch hummed along with his turn over, retreating past them.
Emerald took one look and shook his head. “Naked-ass family…”
Ruby snapped in front of the blonde’s face.
“Commentary later! Get those goons onstage, pronto!”
Emerald disappeared for a minute, Ruby peering around to see two of his juniors hustling up to the stage, being handed a microphone to share. He slipped back to the stage manager as a set of new voices came from the other side of the curtains.
“Speaking of Pokémon!”
“Speaking of Pokémon~…”
“Oh, great…” Ruby groaned. Just what this fashion show needed: cheap comedy. “Just don’t ruin this for me, understand?! I’ll be back.”
“Yeah, yeah…” Emerald waved him away before ducking out and returning to his spot aside the audience.
Ruby turned on his sassy little sequined boots and left the green disaster child for the blue one.
“Blue disaster”, who had technically agreed to everything, had already covered up using a nearby stage crew (Wally) member’s cardigan. Her strapless gown, which was supposed to be a marvelous Mega Gardevoir tribute molded by Ruby’s blood, sweat, and tulle, fluffed out around Sapphire as she sat on a makeshift box chair.
“When I think about Pokémon, I think about Pokémon fashion shows!”
“Is that so~”
“Sapphire, you need to be careful with that dress,” Ruby scolded.
She nearly shot him a glare, but did her best to force it down, wriggling her mouth from the bitter taste. “...Fine, fine, I will.” She didn’t pick up that he wanted her to not sit on it.
“Yep! The possibilities are endless in the world of fashion!”
He sighed loudly, checking over his shoulder at where she had thrown her heels into the audience. It seemed like a couple of people– Gold and Platinum– chose to keep them like bouquets being thrown at a wedding. Weirdos.
“Like Gardevoir gowns?”
“Yeah! And Audino attire!”
Ruby turned back to Sapphire, crossing his arms.
“How are we supposed to do the finale properly if you sacrificed your heels to the audience? I’m not asking someone to go fetch them from Gold, of all people…”
“Why the hell does he– naw, he can keep it, I can’t stand on those things!” Sapphire snorted.
“It’s a friggin’ stick stabbin’ my foot! If I wanted stilts, I would’ve asked Rald for his!”
“And Sharpedo speedos! Say, do you ever wonder why they named Sharpedo after speedos?”
The Master Coordinator curled his dainty little French Tips into claws of frustration. “And how are you supposed to elegantly dance with me barefoot?! We’re supposed to be matching beautifully!”
The Gym Conqueror looked Ruby up and down. He was in an outfit that looked much more comfortable to her, modeled after Mega Gallade. A unique white suit with green accents, gorgeous pink cuffs, a pink tie, and a feathered cap to capture Gallade’s unique headshape… Even the lace-up boots seemed so much nicer to Sapphire right now. They sure as hell weren't stick shoes.
A resounding SMACK was heard at the other side of the curtain.
“They’re named after TORPEDOS, dimwit!”
“Ohhh! Then why did I see a trainer in a speedo next to one…?”
Wally, who had been quietly standing by dutifully this whole time, shuffled his feet and tried to interject.
“I, um—”
Another smack was heard from the front of the stage.
“Anyway, how do you suppose we’re going to fix this now? The finale can’t be scrapped, we need a finishing moment. It’s how you do these sorts of things!” Ruby said, unable to hear Wally’s tiny voice.
Sapphire frowned. “I dunno, ya had it alllll figured out for everyone else! They all seemed pretty happy with their clothes!”
A few of the other models backstage were crowding around to watch now, including Ruby’s mother. She instinctively went to Wally’s side as Ruby and Sapphire continued to bicker.
Ruby scoffed indignantly enough to crack his voice. “And? What’s that supposed to mean?”
She growled, standing up to look him in the eyes. “You’re playin’ puppetmaster for this thing, and ya can’t even tell what your models prefer? Or is it just me that ya can’t tell?” She pointed at each of the models backstage as she said their names.
“Your mom's a Mega Audino in a pretty dress that fits her style. My dad'sa Mega Starmie because he’s a star in his own right an' whatever ‘bear physique’ ya mentioned. My mentor's Mega Skarmory, and she's dressed sharp an' beautiful, like she typically is. Your mentor's Mega Malamar, and he’s lookin’ a little pretentious and flashy as always,”
Winona snickered at “pretentious”, and Wallace tossed his psychedelic-style scarf. “I prefer the term ‘flamboyant’, thank you.”
“...Even Lisia is Mega Altaria, and full of all th’ frills and fluff ya know she likes. But why’s it that I’m the only one feelin’ like… like I’m not in the right outfit for me?”
The crowd of models looked expectantly at Ruby. It was true, out of all the designs, only Sapphire’s didn’t seem to actually play into her strengths and personality.
It was Ruby’s turn to frown. “Well, I… We have matching Pokémon, and I thought you wanted to match…?” He was not clicking, and everyone felt the frustration of it.
Finally, Ruby’s mom placed her hand on her son’s shoulder.
“Ruby… I’m so thankful for all of this that you pulled together for our little town. Even if the turnout wasn’t large, the heart and joy brought to everyone who lives here from such a formal event we would never see otherwise… I really appreciate it.”
“Thank you, mo—”
“But,” she shushed him before he could go on another tangent, “if you truly are doing this out of your own desires to grow your design experience, you shouldn’t neglect or force anything onto one of your models just for your own sake.” She raised an eyebrow. “Especially for Sapphire, who doesn’t even care for fashion in the first place.”
Sapphire’s watery eyes looked up at Ruby’s mom in all her fluffy pink glory. “Mizz Ruby’s mom…”
Ruby looked at his mom. At Sapphire. At all of the models. Even at Wally (he waved sheepishly). He pouted and racked his brain. Sure, it wasn’t Sapphire’s style, but her “style” was being one with the forest like an animal! He kept her properly clothed for these past years, if anything! What was her style, if not what he designed at this point?
He thought of how she likes to move around on a day-to-day basis. Running around, throwing things, jumping around like a Mankey, all kinds of nonsense… but she liked to be able to move. He looked at the enormous skirt hiding most of his close friend’s legs.
…Oh.
“Ugh… well, I could wear it better, anyway…” He barely conceded.
Sapphire’s temper shot up again. “Then YOU wear it! An’ I’ll wear YOUR stinkin’ outfit with the cape!”
Wally beamed. “That’s what I was going to suggest…!”
Ruby rolled his eyes so hard he saw the back of his skull.
“Fine! We’ll do this your way! I guess!”
The sound of applause broke his tantrum, and they all realized they were limited on time.
“Quick, quick, give me the dress and I'll fix it,” Ruby hissed, before promptly being muffled by white and green fabric chucked directly into his face. He huffed at Sapphire's retreating figure, before pulling his mom closer. “Which means you're going to have to go — basically right now!”
She donned a pink and egregiously fluffy hat that he stopped to snip away at with trimming scissors until it looked like a baby Mareep has keeled over and died backstage. She hummed softly, and it focuses him, until the worst of his worries were how many stray threads were poking out (pretty big worry).
“I'm proud of you, Ruby,” she said softly. “Looks like saving all of Hoenn is only the start.”
“So you're going to want to heel, toe, heel, toe,” Ruby said, thinking about how the hat barely resembles a Mega Audino and that he's so glad this isn’t a proper contest, actually. “Back straight, and don't cross your legs too much, and gogogo —”
When she's out on stage, he thinks wait, what did she say? But there's no time to try to recall it. He pulled out his sewing case and got to work on Sapphire's outfit.
Ruby’s mom proceeded carefully down the runway, her lacey, fluffy skirt flowing angelically as she did her best to glide down the stage as Ruby requested. She didn’t want to do a transformative piece like the others, but she did enjoy the delicate craftsmanship of her son, and felt radiant in such an endearing dress and blush-pink kitten heels.
After awing the crowd with a lovely spin from her skirt, she carefully clicked back to a frantically moving Ruby, giving her son a thumbs up.
Next, Lisia bounced up from somewhere behind the stage, tapping Ruby on the shoulder for a quick ‘go-ahead’ on her outfit before she debuted. Her bubbly personality had a more placating effect, not that he thought their seniors would mind the chaos, but it’d be nice to get a hold of it all. The outfit she sported featured a fluffy corset with a similarly textured collar, much like her Altaria’s plumage. He’d painstakingly endowed teardrop-shaped gems into its wiring, which he was sure would stun. Sure enough, the crowd erupted into cheer from the other side of the curtain. It was a welcome affirmation while he modified the costume.
Lisia’s modeling was the last on the list before the planned finale, so Ruby barely got the alterations ready in time for him and Sapphire to rapidly strip and swap clothes backstage, much to the others’ amazement at how little they cared who saw. Ruby made sure to coach Sapphire on how to button, how to pop the collar, and the exact angle the hat needed to be at. Then he turned his attention to himself.
Ruby fluffed his gorgeous skirt out, admiring his own work. He didn’t have another pair of heels nearby, but Wally let him borrow his plain white walking shoes. They weren’t fancy, but he let the skirt out so that it hid them, so Ruby had to let it go. The bodice felt snug, and as he was about to peer around the curtain one last time, Sapphire held her hand out to him.
“May I have this dance, ya high-falutin’ fashionista?”
“Of course, my gruff gentlewoman.”
He let her take his hand and lead them onto the runway, stepping cautiously down the makeshift space to the end. Ruby saw all of the Dex Holders from Kanto, Johto, and Sinnoh. He saw all of his friends, even some he didn’t expect to be there! Gabby and Ty waved, facing their camera at him and Sapphire. Zinnia, looking tired but happy to be there. And a familiar black bob hiding in the back, just out of his view…
They folded into their dancing position. They really should have practiced more, as Ruby had insisted, but there was never enough time. Hopefully this won’t be a disaster…
Music was flipped on. The old friends awkwardly waltzed in circles before the audience. Mimi, as practiced, used a Light Screen around the stage, casting the Mega outfits in a beautiful sheen as the sun set. As Sapphire twirled Ruby and he leaned back, he gave a snap. Ruru released a Misty Terrain into the audience and the surrounding stage.
Popo, too eager to jump in, used a concentrated Hail a bit early. This made Zuzu have to scramble out of his contented seat to blast it with Hydro Pump in time, but Ruby’s team never failed to work together through it all.
Nana and Coco finished it off by hopping on top of the rafters of the outdoor stage and releasing a premade banner:
“THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING LITTLEROOT TOWN! DONATE HERE:” with a QR code next to the message for donations to the town.
Ruby and Sapphire laughed at the near hiccup and twirled away the evening, feeling comfortable and maybe even happy they put in all the effort for such a unique little fashion show. And when he was finally honest with himself… Sapphire really did look so handsome and dashing, and… beautifully herself.
And even better? His French Tips looked so much better with this dress.
It turned out that despite very low ticket sales, the final donation banner managed to rack them up more than enough for what they needed. A generous donation for “featuring my favorite comedians” by the Berlitz estate uprooted Littleroot from its financial weights, and the comfortable little town got to keep everything the way it was hoping for.
…As long as Ruby didn’t truly intend on making the event “annual”.
