FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"So then, this is Rusty?" the voice behind the counter asked.

The Arcanine puffed his chest out, trying to make himself look as big as possible as he looked up at the counter. He had to look the part; Determined, Powerful, Awesome.

"Yeah, that's my dog," Mark replied with a grin, patting the dog's side. The fire type instantly lost his edge, rubbing his head against the man's leg and murring away in a series of loving grumbles, "Think he's got a shot at the title?"

"Well, we here at the contest center always say that every pokemon's got a chance to win," the young lady behind the counter replied with a smile, "And you're looking nice too."

"Thanks, I rented this just for today," The trainer grinned, tugging at the uncomfortably tight tuxedo, "I should get my deposit back if Rusty can keep himself from getting fur all over it." he laughed.

The fire type grinned and panted, glancing between the two as his tail thumped back and forth. Today was the day, he would finally join the ranks of the hall of fame, the true visionary pokemon who saw a way of competing without battling to exhaustion. He was going to get up on that stage, show off his moves and win the Cool--

"I'm sorry, there aren't any places left in the Coolness contest." The woman interrupted the dog's train of thought as she looked up from the computer. She swivelled the monitor around to show the teenager, who leaned over to inspect the screen curiously, "They're all taken for this month. We do have an opening in another contest, but..."

"But what?" Mark replied, blinking slowly. Rusty glanced from his master to the woman, then back to his master again. He glanced up at the contest board. His pupils shrank as he stared at the board... there was only one it could be. He whimpered, pawing at his trainer's leg as he begged him not to-

"We'll take it. We came all this way, it'd be a shame not to compete." The trainer smiled awkwardly, crossing his arms, "Besides, It's like you said before. 'Any pokemon has a chance of winning', right?"

The Arcanine gulped, following after his trainer as they made their way backstage to get ready, the neon lights above the door reminding him of the humiliation he was about to endure.

'Beauty Contest! For the most Dazzling Pokemon!'

* * *

Rusty grumbled as he hid behind his paws, which were fortunately large enough to cover his eyes and most of his reddened face between them. His trainer had to pull something together at the last second, he didn't even get to wear the shades he had begged for... and he had gotten out the 'puppy dog look' to make sure that his master had bought those shades!

Instead, there he was... dressed up with a bow on each ear, his natural fluff covered in sparkling glitter. No matter how many times he shook it off it seemed to find a way of coming back. He had finally given up, laying on his back and chewing a squeaky toy as he waited with the other pokemon.

"Are you nervous?"

The Arcanine looked up, seeing a female Sylveon grinning down at him, "You don't have to be!" she chimed, bouncing around him as her ribbons twirled about in the air, "I was nervous my first time too, but it's not so bad. It's actually pretty fun when you get out there."

"Oh, uh. Thanks." Rusty replied, rolling onto his side to see the Sylveon the right way up. He shook his fur once more for good measure but the glitter just sparkled in the bright light of the room and continued to cling onto him. "I'm not scared though, just embarassed. I wanted to enter the Coolness contest, or at least the Toughness one."

"Well, if you ask me the Beauty contest requires five times the talent either of those contests do." The Sylveon replied with a giggle, gesturing to herself, "When I was an Eevee I'd always enter the cuteness contest, but I thought I might take the step up to Beauty now that I'm evolved." she perked her ears before bowing her head in greeting, "I'm Treat by the way."

"Treat, huh? I'm Rusty," The orange dog grinned, sitting up to greet her. "So this is your first too then? Well, first Beauty contest anyway." he asked, perking his ears as he found himself talking to a fellow newbie... still, the Sylveon had experience, just not in this particular category.

"It is, but I've been following them for years now, just trying to work out the best ways to dress, and how to perform," Treat replied with a grin, adjusting both her ear bows, then finally her bowtie, "I've got my routine all planned out, it'll be great!"

"I just hope my routine still works. I guess it's beautiful in it's own right." ...The Arcanine began to wonder whether he really meant that, but dreaded the Sylveon's reaction if she didn't agree. He began to look around for other pokemon, "Are we all first-timers here?"

"Oh, no. We're up against the best," The Sylveon gasped, her ribbons drooping as she reminded herself, "Spice the Ninetales is competing against us. He's never lost a single Beauty Contest, every time he goes up on stage he leaves the judges totally speechless!"

"Wait... a guy is the Beauty Contest Champion?" The Arcanine chuckled at the thought before shaking his head, "Figures it'd be a Ninetales though.... so, what about the fourth pokemon? Is it another professional?"

"Oh, yes. Plumage the Swellow has never lost a contest either. Today's pretty exciting, they're going head to head to determine who's the most beautiful pokemon in Sinnoh." The Sylveon replied, glancing up at the ceiling as she looked for the bird, "That's weird... I don't see her anywhere. I thought she'd be practicing her flying routine."

The Arcanine glanced around the small pen briefly. There weren't many places a pokemon could get to. There were coloured blocks, a small feeding area and a set of curtains at the back, complete with racks to hang the contestant's outfits on. Hearing that the pokemon in question was a flying type he began to look around the ceiling as well. His ears twitched to a rustling in the corner of the pen and he bolted off towards it, making his way around a large 'practice podium' and finding himself almost running directly into a set of nine perfectly groomed white tails.

The Ninetales let out a girlish shriek as it leapt back, hugging its tails to its chest and pressing itself back against the wall of the pen before leaping behind the vanity table. The Arcanine tilted his head and stepped closer.

"Hey, I didn't mean to alarm you, lady." Rusty began, reaching out a paw to the fox in an attempt to calm it down.

"Lady?!" The Ninetales barked in response. He snatched a brush off the vanity table and swatted it at the Arcanine's head, "I am Spice Blasé, the undefeated Beauty Contest champion!"

The Arcanine quickly backed off, though the few times the brush did hit him all it did was bounce harmlessly off his fluff and knock some glitter out of it, "Oh, I'm Rusty." The Arcanine greeted him with a bark before glancing around once more, "Hey, have you seen Plumage anywhere? I still haven't met her yet."

"Oh, she won't be competing." The Ninetales replied with a grin. He adjusted his red scarf briefly before turning to the mirror and brushing along his tails, "I suppose she just didn't have the stomach for a real challenge like myself."

"Oh, she quit then?" The Arcanine asked. His ears perked as he heard the commotion near the door out of the room and bolted out. The Ninetales pranced along after him, swishing his tails from side to side as he walked.

"I just don't understand it. Where could she have gotten to?" An elderly gentleman asked, turning to the crowd of humans standing by. Rusty noticed his trainer in the crowd, as well as the woman from the front desk. He stopped by Treat's side, glancing down at her with a shrug.

"Calm down, I'm sure she couldn't have gone far." The woman insisted, lifting herself onto her tiptoes to look further into the pen, "Are you sure she isn't just hiding?"

"She's never had stage-fright in the past," The gentleman replied, adjusting his suit jacket as he turned to the rest of the group, "I do hope none of you left the door open though. She likes to scout the stage before she performs on it."

"Good heavens, what is that doing in the pen?" Another woman, this one dressed in fine furs and long red dress, gasped as she pointed to the Arcanine, "I do hope it's not broken in and eaten the missing Swellow!"

"That's not a wild pokemon, that's Rusty," Mark spoke up, leaning on the edge of the pen and reaching down. The Arcanine made his way over and leaned up into the petting hand, murring away. His trainer chuckled at the affectionate dog before turning back to the others, "See? He's friendly."

"Well, he looks ghastly! Who on earth do you get to groom him? a blind Scyther?" The woman gasped before snapping her fingers. The Ninetales trotted over to her obediantly and leaned into her hand as she rested it delicately on his cheek, "Not like my darling Spice. His fur is so soft you could pet it for hours and not find a single misplaced hair, and just look at how his tails sway in unison. Dazzling~!"

The Ninetales grinned smugly over at Rusty, swaying his tails back and forth as he murred and folded his ears back as they were petted over. As the Arcanine glanced down he noticed something on the Ninetales scarf. They almost blended in with the colour, but they were plain as day now that Rusty was up close... small red feathers dotted over the red silk. Treat gasped, covering her mouth with her paw as she noticed the feathers too, her pupils shrinking in a cocktail of confusion and fear... the Ninetales continued to smile gently at the two before sticking out his tongue at Rusty.

The Arcanine's eyes widened in revelation and he began to bark loudly. He pounced towards the Ninetales, leaving the woman shrieking and gathering up her prized pokemon in her arms as Mark held him back. He quickly waved a hand to the others, trying to calm them down as they backed away, "H-he's alright! He's just excited to get started!"

"Keep that savage beast away from my poor Ninetales before he eats him too! Oh, you'll scare him half to death if you keep barking like that, you wicked thing!" The woman cried, petting along the Ninetales back as it squirmed in her grasp, it's tails curling over it's stomach to keep the humans from seeing the noticable squirming bulge.

"Sir, I'm afraid I'll have to issue you with a warning," The contest woman spoke up, moving between the two trainers and their pokemon, "I must insist that your Arcanine behaves itself, otherwise we'll have to keep it in a room separate from the other pokemon while we prepare for the contest."

"That seems fair, he'll be on his best behaviour." Mark replied, though he maintained eye contact with the Arcanine as he made the promise, making it clear it was more of an order for the dog.

"And what about my Swellow?" The gentleman shouted, tapping his cane on the floor to get the attention of the group, "We must begin the search for her immediately! She can't be late for this competition!"

"Of course, sir. She couldn't have gotten far." The woman replied with a nod. She turned and lead the group in the search. Spice's trainer carefully put him back down in the pen, glaring once more at the mangy Arcanine before turning and making her way out with the rest.

Spice looked from Treat to Rusty as the door to the pen closed, and finally let out a loud belch, sending out a flurry of feathers and a pink collar with a red crystal on it flying from his mouth and forming a pile on the ground. He chuckled lightly, patting his stomach, "Excuse me, you two~. She was really flapping around in there, I almost didn't hold it all in."

"So YOU ate her! You jerk!" Treat snapped, bouncing on her paws in rage, "She was really excited to be in this competition!"

"Oh, she'll still be in the competition," The Ninetales replied with a smirk, patting his rounded stomach as he picked a final feather from his teeth, "I'm sure she'll be fine 'teaming up' with me, but of course I'll be the one taking the sash at the end... I'll make sure to wear it low though, so it'll be like we're sharing the prize~" he teased sadistically.

"Plumage was your only competition in this contest. You ate her so you wouldn't have to compete against her!" Rusty barked, his tail lashed angrily as his ears pinned back, "How could you stoop so low?"

"Oh come now, this is a Beauty contest." Spice giggled gleefully, wagging his tails back and forth, "Oh, but don't feel so bad. If anything this levels the playing field. With me not as slim as I usually am, they might actually take a second glance at each of you."

"I don't want to win like that!" Treat growled, stamping her paw as her ribbons wilted, "It's not fair! You spit her out right now!"

"I'm afraid she's a bit too far gone for that, I don't even feel her pecking anymore." The fox replied with a smug grin before turning to the Arcanine, "You know, there's a prize for second place, but none for third..."

"What are you getting at?" Rusty asked, his eyes narrowing on the fox as he prepared for more taunting.

"Well, there's certainly no chance you'll beat this Sylveon, she's gorgeous." The Ninetales replied, getting a blush from Treat. The fox sauntered over to the two, his tails and belly swaying with each step as he licked his lips, "You know, I bet you could eat her and no one would even notice under all that fur and fluff."

The Arcanine glanced down at the Sylveon before glaring at Spice. He didn't even give it a second thought as he began to growl again, spitting fire as he spoke, "I'm not going to eat Treat."

"Yeah, Spice. Rusty and me are friends." Treat stuck her tongue out at the fox, "I'm not eating him either!" ...Rusty couldn't help but snicker a little at the thought of the little Sylveon trying to eat a pokemon three times her size.

"What a pity, I suppose I'll have to do it then." The Ninetales murred, opening his mouth wide and revealing his pink maw, the sharp set of perfect white teeth glimmering as his wet tongue ran saliva over them, "Go find Plumage, Treat. She's down there somewhere~!" he teased.

The Sylveon gasped and leaped back, and Rusty quickly moved to action by bringing his paw down on the Ninetales' muzzle, holding it shut as he growled down at him, his eyes blazing brightly. The Ninetales looked up at the Arcanine and began to whimper and scrape his claws against the ground, the dog grinned down at him and let his drooling tongue hang out, some of the droplets of saliva even breaking free from his muzzle and splattering on the Ninetales' cream fur as he spoke,"Maybe_I_ should eat YOU! See how many contests you win after I'm done with you, Princess!"

"Rusty!"

The Arcanine paused, glancing up with his mouth wide open and the squirming Ninetales trapped under his paw. The crowd of humans had returned from their search. His trainer was angry... Spice's trainer looked traumatized, and the rest just held their breath in case, staring at the scene. Before the Arcanine could even bark Mark yanked him off the Ninetales by his scruff, "I thought I told you to behave!"

"I'm sorry, we can't keep him with the other pokemon. It's too much of a risk to their safety." The staff lady insisted, gesturing with her hand, "If you'll follow me to the other waiting room? He'll only be there for a few minutes more anyway."

"Come on, Rusty." Mark sighed, tugging along his Arcanine by his scruff. The dog let out a series of short concerned barks as he looked back towards Treat, who leapt up at the wall of the pen and yapped away as she tried to reach out towards him. All at once the door closed again, and the Sylveon was trapped in the room with the Ninetales.

"Well, that went better than I expected," Spice grinned to himself, swaying his tails as he got back to his feet. He sauntered over towards the smaller pokemon again, keeping himself low as he prepared to pounce her with each step, "Now... where were we?"

Tink... The Ninetales glanced down as he paw touched against something metal and sparkling with drool. He picked up the trinket curiously, looking into the ruby crystal, "Oooh, this is pretty. Is this one of yours?"

"That was Plumage's... you burped it up before, remember?" The Sylveon reminded him, pressing her paw against one of the soggy wet feathers. Her eyes snapped to it, then reached out towards it with her ribbons. The Ninetales immediately cottoned onto her plan and pushed her back with a paw, holding the collar out of reach.

"Oh, I see what you're getting at~" Spice grinned down at her knowingly as he wrapped two of his tails over her to hold her in place. He held the collar up, turning it about so he could watch the light as it twinkled through the drool covered gemstone, "You know that if anyone saw this, they'd know that I was the one who ate that little birdy."

Treat remained silent, staring up at the Ninetales in fright as she squirmed between the two tails, trying to pry them off her. Spice continued to loom over her with a smirk, shaking the collar and causing it to jingle softly, "How about a little wager, my tasty Treat?"

"Wh-what?" Treat asked. As the Ninetales continued to grin down at her, she knew this would her last chance to hear him out. Her ears pinned back as she thought over her decision... a wager would be better than the alternative. She breathed out a sigh of defeat, "Okay, what's the wager?"

"Simple, if you win the contest, I will expose my actions and take whatever consequence comes with doing so," The Ninetales explained, holding a paw to his fluffy chest in an attempt at honesty.

"You would do that? Really?" Treat gasped, "Why?"

"Because if I win," He began with a foxish smirk, leaning down to the Sylveon and running his tongue along her ear, "You have to feed yourself to me willingly... I prefer prey with a little more dignity and poise, a willingness to serve." he explained, bringing the Sylveon close enough to his stomach that she could hear it gurgling and growling, "Plumage spent the whole time flapping around like she was trying to take off, I'm just glad she's finally settled down."

Treat whimpered in response. The Ninetales grinned and raised one of the tails just enough to allow her to free her paws, "How about a few bellyrubs for luck?" he suggested with a sadistic chuckle, "I'm sure Plumage couldn't have any worse luck right now, but I consider this quite a lucky night for myself~"

The Sylveon's ribbon shot from between the Ninetales tails and wrapped around the collar, though as it yanked it back towards Treat's paw the Ninetales brought his jaws down around the collar with a loud snap. The two wrestled as Treat yelped, tugging the ribbon back desperately as the Ninetales slurped it in, murring away at the Sylveon's delicious flavour. He opened his mouth just enough for the ribbon to escape, but his saliva had left it too slippery to hold onto the collar.

Treat pushed the second tail off of her quickly and nursed her wounded ribbon. She glanced up at the Ninetales to yell at him, only to see him responding by taking a heavy gulp, the bulge of the collar moving down his slender neck until it disappeared behind his chest fur. He grinned smugly, swishing his tails and licking his lips, "I think I'll leave that with Plumage for now, shall I? It'll give you something to play with when you're in there after the show~"

"I'm not going to be in there after the show, because I'm going to win!" Treat yelled, hopping up and down in frustration. The Ninetales giggled behind his paw and made his way back to his vanity table, he needed to start over on brushing his tails after the fright that the Arcanine had given him.

* * *

"Welcome everyone to this month's beauty contest!"

The audience applauded and cheered in response to the host, as Rusty peeked out of the curtain he could see the judges taking their seats. The Arcanine had been chosen to go first by 'luck of the draw', if anyone could call it a lucky circumstance for him. The dog breathed out a small flame before bouncing on his toes and wagging his tail to psych himself up.

"First on the list is Rusty the Arcanine, and he's going to be performing..." there was a pause of confusion, the announcer sounded as though he might've had to read it three times to himself before he said it out loud, "...Uhh... 'Fire Fighting Fury'? ...Ah, well, okay! Come on out, Rusty!"

The rock music began to blast through the speakers about the stage and the Arcanine dashed out onto it, leaving a trail of fire behind him. He pounced about the stage, geysers of fire bursting from the floor around him as the spotlight tried helplessly to keep up with the dog. He eventually hopped from one flaming geyser to the next, climbing higher and higher before leaping off the top. He landed, letting out a mighty roar as the flames curled around him in a hurricane of firey inferno... as the flames died down he remained, poised and waiting for the uproar of the crowd.

...it didn't come. The judges stared at him in silence, then slowly raised their charred boards one by one. In the distance he could hear the audience muttering and a child crying in terror. The announcer came back on the mic as the music faded, "Okay, looks like Rusty did... 'pretty well'. For that rather ruthless performance, he's got a 1 from Keira, a two from Jordan and a... hold on, what's that? It's a little too scorched, I can't make it out."

"It's another 1!" Dexter called back in a gruff voice, trailing his finger over the number... the board fell into two halves as he did and left his finger black with ash.

"A one from Dexter, bringing Rusty the Arcanine's total to 4 points. Hard luck, Rusty... maybe try something a little more 'beautiful' next time?"

The Arcanine sulked off stage, making his way past the snickering Ninetales and into the pen. Treat began to clap her paws together and cheer as he entered, though as he slumped over the beanbag in the corner the Sylveon went to investigate, "What's the matter? I loved that performance!"

"They didn't." Rusty sighed, raising his paw just enough to allow him to see Treat, "I think I might have set off the fire alarms. I knew this was going to suck."

"Don't feel so bad, Rusty. If this were the Coolness contest you'd have aced it." Treat replied with a wink before turning to look up at the small television screen. She watched as Spice stepped out onto the stage, holding her breath, "I just hope I can beat Spice's score... I've never seen his performance, but I hear it's mesmerising."

"He can't be that good." The fire type replied dryly, looking up to the screen curiously. The lights dimmed as Spice began his performance. The stage went completely black, and then a single spotlight appeared to light the Ninetales up. His fur glistened gently, it almost glowed as he slowly opened his eyes to begin. There was no music, no props... just him.

He sat there, staring towards the judges as his tails swayed back and forth... and that was it. The Ninetales just stayed perfectly still and stared at the judging panel, if not for his shining tails Treat and Rusty might have thought the screen was just displaying a frozen image.

Then the lights came back on, and Spice stood up and bowed solemnly, giving one final swish of his tails. Rusty snickered, then burst into laughter. He rolled on his back, holding his stomach and thumping his tail against the ground, "THAT was his act? He just sat there! He didn't even move! There's no way in heck he's going to-"

"And it's another perfect round for Spice! Three 10s in a row!"

Rusty's eyes snapped open and he bolted back up, sitting on his rear on the beanbag, "Wait... what?" ...he couldn't have heard that right.

"Three 10s..." Treat echoed, her ribbons and ears wilting as she stared at the screen. The judges were giving the Ninetales a standing ovation, even though the crowd stared on in confused silence. Treat shook her head, "I-I don't understand, how did he manage to get a perfect score?"

"Maybe it was a minimalist act?" Rusty suggested awkwardly, getting off the beanbag and padding his way over to her. "You know what these 'Beauty contest' people are like. No offense."

"Maybe... oh no, there's no way I'll win now," Treat whimpered, tears appearing in the corners of her eyes as she hugged onto the Arcanine's leg, "I knew I should've gone before him, now I'm never going to win the contest!"

"Calm down, Treat. It's only a beauty contest," Rusty replied, wrapping his paw around her comfortingly and pulling her to rest against his warm, fuzzy chest, "Hey, you'll still do better than me, and Spice said that second place gets a prize too."

"That won't matter if I'm in his belly," Treat whimpered, beginning to tremble nervously, "I-I made a wager with Spice that if I won he'd confess about Plumage, b-but if he won."

"Do you want me to roast you now and get it over with, Treat?" The Ninetales chimed as he pranced into the room. Rusty glared across at him, but the fox continued to prance around, one of tails snaking under Treat's chin and tickling it, "Oh, who am I kidding? You're much more of a dessert than a meal! I'll lend you some of my berries and we'll see if we can find some icecream. I've always wanted a Sylveon Sundae."

"Hey, she still has a chance to perform, you know." Rusty barked back at Spice, causing the fox to take a few steps back from the two. The Arcanine leaned down and nosed at the Sylveon, "You better hurry, you're about to go on."

"What's the point? I'll never get a perfect score." Treat whimpered. Beyond the Arcanine's paw she could see the Ninetales, who noticed her looking his way and licked his lips, his tails swaying back and forth. Treat's eyes locked onto the tails... she felt strange... tired... "Maybe I should just... get it over with..."

"Treat the Sylveon to the stage!" The intercom blared, "It's time to perform!"

The voice on the intercom snapped the Sylveon back to reality. After shaking her head free of the daze she gave Rusty a lick for good luck and dashed out the door. The Arcanine watched her go before glaring over at the Ninetales.

"Well, don't look at me like that. She was the one who brought it up," Spice replied with a pout, checking his claws for dirt.

"Somehow I doubt that." The Arcanine growled in response, his fur fluffing out in aggravation, "I should kick your tails to Hoenn and back. How the heck did you get a perfect score? You just sat there and did nothing."

"Ah, not nothing." Spice giggled as he wiggled his tails playfully, "My beautiful tails caught their attention... they're how I get my trainer to do whatever I say, how I managed to get Plumage to 'check my teeth for stuck food'," he murred and licked his lips. A wicked grin crossed his muzzle and his eyes flashed as his tails began to sway once more, "And how I'll get you to not interfere while I'm devouring your little friend."

"Hypnosis..." Rusty muttered, finding himself staring the glorious tails as they swayed back and forth. He tugged his head back, trying to resist the pull, but he only found himself pulled in further. He took a step towards the Ninetales... he felt himself getting numb, as if he were falling into a deep sleep.

A sharp yank on his scruff brought him back to reality, and soon he found himself being dragged out of the room backwards away from the Ninetales, who shrugged off the interruption and turned his attention to the screen. The lady dragging him along shook her head, "You were supposed to go back to your pen, not the main one!"

The Arcanine whimpered and whined the whole way back, though as he was dragged behind the curtain he caught the end of Treat's act. Glistening sparkles came down over her like a shower of soft ethereal petals, whatever she did seemed to have left the judges leaning over their table for more. The audience cheered loudly and the judges clapped. Treat breathed in as she prepared for the score.

Keira turned her board over, '10'

....

Jordan turned his board, '10'

...

Keith turned his board... Treat held her breath and closed her eyes, unable to look as her fate was revealed.

'9.8'

"An almost perfect score for Treat the Sylveon, but Spice is our winner for today!" The announcer yelled. All at once the victory music began to play, leaving the Sylveon falling back onto her rear in surprise. She staggered back to her feet and glanced up at the screen behind her.. it was true, Spice was plastered over it with the words 'Winner!' in gold letters underneath his picture.

The Ninetales marched out onto the stage, grinning away as he wagged his tails, one of which made sure to knock Treat over on his way past her. He took center stage and bowed his head, receiving the blue sash from the judges, the words 'Best in Show' written across it. As the other two pokemon took their places either side of him, the audience began to yell in protest and outrage. Dustin tucked his ears back, looking over at Treat sulkily as the Sylveon's ribbons wilted either side of her.

The podiums raised beneath the three pokemon, raising Spice to the top with Treat slightly lower on his left and Rusty at the bottom on his right. The fourth spot below Rusty remained empty, and he exchanged a glance with Treat as they caught eachother looking down towards it.

"Thank you, Thank you." Spice cheered and waved, apparently not hearing the booing audience over his inflated ego, "This sash is tacky and drab, but it's the thought that counts~" he grinned cruelly over at Treat, raising his tails enough to allow her to see his stomach, "After all, it's being _in the competition_that's the real prize!"

Treat stared in horror at the Ninetales' gut, watching the last of the former Swellow gurgle away and leaving him as slim as he had ever been, save for a little more fat on his haunches. Even with the crowd yelling she could hear the stomach growling loudly for her, the look in the Ninetales eyes made her wonder if she would even get off the stage before he devoured her. Her eyes shifted to Rusty, then back to the Ninetales. She had to act NOW! Her ribbons whipped around from her sides and grabbed the Ninetales by the torso, starting to squeeze him as the audience and judges gasped in surprise.

The Ninetales yelped, then choked... After a few hard coughs the collar came flying out of his mouth and onto the fourth place podium, a few half-digested feathers came fluttering down after it and rested along it's edge. The crowd fell silent as the Slyveon dropped Spice, who quickly tried to hide the evidence.

"That's Plumage's collar, I'd know it anywhere!" The gentlemanly trainer cried out as he stormed towards the stage, "That little minx devoured my beloved Swellow!"

"Oh come now, it's only nature." Spice's trainer replied with a chuckle, "It was prey and he was a predator. You won't find that level of intelligence, of raw passion, among most contest pokemon these days," she grinned, putting a spin on the events that left the gentleman snapping his cane in anger. She pouted, much like Spice had before as she examined her nails through her red silk gloves, "...Perhaps it's my fault for keeping him on such a strict diet... either way, he still won fair and square!"

"He didn't win fair and square!" Mark called as he pointed to the screens above the stage, which continued to play a 'highlight reel' of the winner's performance, "He just sat there swaying his tails, the only way he could have won is if he hypnotized the judges!"

The audience jeered and booed as the Ninetales tried to keep his grin, though the longer it went on the harder it became to keep up the act. Rusty glanced to Treat, then nodded up at Spice... Treat grinned at him and nodded in agreement, wiggling her ribbon playfully before curling it around the Ninetales' leg. She yanked it hard, causing him to trip with a yipe and land with his head in the Arcanine's open maw.

Rusty wasted no time in taking the first gulp to bring the head of his prey into his throat, his large paws pinning the Ninetales dainty legs to his sides. His tongue lathered over the Ninetales sleek fur, Spice had certainly earned his name, the fox was hotter than a furnace, though the delicious berries he had used as perfume gave him an irresistable flavour. The Ninetales let out muffled yells of aggravation as he tried to get free, but his struggles only brought him deeper into the hungry dog.

"Stop eating my Ninetales!" Spice's trainer cried out before turning to the other trainers, "Do something! That mongrel won't stop until he's swallowed him whole!"

"Just like your mongrel didn't stop until he swallowed my Swellow?" The gentleman replied, crossing his arms, "If you ask me, this is a fair trade... unless you'd rather the police were involved? I'm quite sure that this isn't the first pokemon to go missing in a contest against your Ninetales."

The woman stared at the gentleman, then turned back to the scene on the stage. The Ninetales was already half his way down the Arcanine's gullet, and even as his tails flailed and his legs kicked it didn't seem the fox would be escaping any time soon. She made her way up onto the stage and grasped one of Spice's dainty back paws...

"Well Spice, it was nice working with you. Good luck!" She stammered as she shook it. She quickly withdrew his hand once the 'handshake' was complete, not wanting to share the fate of her pokemon. She turned and hurriedly made her way towards the door, waving to the audience, "Goodbye! Thank you for joining us tonight!"

"What about your pokemon?" Mark called out as she passed, "Do you still want me to try calling Rusty off or-"

"I'll get another one!" she replied sharply before slamming the door behind her. And with that, Spice's only chance of escape had walked out... the fox was nothing but a meal now.

The Arcanine shrugged and continued. He grinned around the Ninetales rear as the crowd cheered him on, raising his head so they could all see the bulge that the squirming fox was making In his neck. The Sylveon giggled as her ribbons tickled at the arcanine's stomach, hearing Spice's yells and pleas as he was drawn deeper still. His curvacious rump passed the throat threshold and soon all that was left of him was his many tails, which continued to wave through the air in a last-ditch attempt at hypnotising his predator.

Rusty stared at them briefly, watching them dance back and forth... then closed his mouth around the base and slurped them all down at once. He titled his head back and took one final gulp to bring the mass of tails down into his gut, which now bulged out to accommodate for it's new passenger. The audience fell silent, watching as the Arcanine gagged down the last of the tail tips... then belched loudly in victory, sending the Ninetales' prize sash flying out of his muzzle and landing with a splat on the floor of the podium.

The crowd errupted into applause and Rusty took a bow before stepping off the first place podium and onto the second place alongside the Sylveon. He nudged her rear with his nose and pushed her up onto the first place spot, causing the audience to stand up from their seats and cheer uproariously for the rightful winner. Treat giggled behind her paws and picked up the sash, she didn't even care that it dripped Arcanine drool onto her fur as she put it on.

She had finally made it to the top, and she wouldn't even have to spend the night in a stomach!

* * *

Rusty was on the beanbag when Treat returned to the pen, groaning loudly as he laid on his side and held his stomach. The Sylveon instantly ran over to his side with a gasp, "Are you alright? He's not poison, is he?"

"No, just really squirmy." Rusty replied, letting out another little belch of flame, "And apparently full of hot air, he hasn't stopped since I ate him. You'd think after two hours he might get the message he wasn't going to get back out."

"Some pokemon are just sore losers," Treat replied with a giggle, her ribbons trailing over the bloated gut. She could feel the Ninetales squirming about inside, kicking and punching the stomach walls with his paws. She even felt his tails as they thumped against the opposite walls, "Yikes, talk about an upset stomach."

"I'm enjoying it while it lasts, it's kind of like a belly rub from the inside," Rusty replied, rolling onto his back and letting his tongue hang out as his tail wagged back and forth, "Mmmph, and all those tails... they never stop~"

"Sounds like he's won the contest for 'best in belly'," Treat giggled, hopping up onto the Arcanine's stomach, causing the big dog to let out a wheeze of air as he did. She murred as she began to rub the belly over with all four paws, smiling away as she listened to the sounds inside, "Wow, he really IS squirmy! I can't believe I was ever scared of him. I knew you'd come through for me, Rusty."

"Well, I'm glad I could help, Treat." Rusty replied, though the last of his sentence was cut off as Treat's ribbons tightened around his midsection. He let out a long hard belch directly onto the Sylveon, who had to hold herself to the stomach as it slowly descended beneath her. She smushed the Ninetales around with her paws, trying to take away as much of his space as possible as Rusty took away his air... they made a pretty great team, in a weird sort of way.

Once the Arcanine was done 'deflating' Treat adjusted her bows and brushed down the fur that the belch had swept back. She felt about the belly, but she couldn't feel any movement from the other side. He certainly wasn't as lively as he had been before, "Heh, that shut him up."

"Thanks Treat, sorry about burping on you. Just really glad it wasn't the firey sort he's been giving me this whole time." he replied sheepishly, wiping a paw over his muzzle, "Mmm, I can kind of taste him again. Sweet."

"Certainly smells like it," Treat giggled, waving a paw infront of her nose to free it of the scent of Rusty's breath. The Sylveon hopped off him, grinning up at the Arcanine as she made her way to the door of the pen, "My trainer's going to be waiting for me, we're going out for icecream to celebrate. Thanks for making my first beauty contest memorable, Rusty."

"Thanks for making my last beauty contest memorable, Treat." Rusty replied with a chuckle as he pawed at his heavy gut, "But I'll still see you around the contest center, I'll just be in the Coolness contest next time."

"I know you'll win, Rusty. You're the coolest pokemon I've ever met," the Sylveon giggled, giving one final wave with her ribbon before making her way out of the door. She passed by Mark as he stepped in and made his way over to the pokemon's side, resting his hand on the fire type's belly.

"I still can't believe you did that, you know." he said, feeling along the bulge of the Arcanine's gut, "Or that there's a Ninetales in there... or maybe was, it's kind of hard to tell with you. I don't feel him though."

The Arcanine grinned up at him, his tail wagging back and forth as he waited for his master's approval. His trainer glanced back and forth, checking the room for cameras before rubbing the belly with both hands, "Good Rusty~ Good boy~"

Rusty rolled around and barked happily, his tail wagging as he let his tongue loll out to the side, panting away as his master rubbed his belly vigarously... it wasn't his plan to start his career as a contest pokemon this way, but he had certainly managed to stomach the challenge.