Pokémon Showcase
A Pokémon Showcase (Japanese: トライポカロン TriPokalon) is an anime-exclusive, girls-only competition held in the Kalos region. Trainers participating in them are called Pokémon Performers.
Competition
Pokémon Showcases are performance tournaments that take place in various places throughout Kalos and can be held in either indoor or outdoor theaters depending on the location. Unlike Pokémon Contests, where the Pokémon are always the main attraction, Showcase performances also focus on the Trainers and their ability to perform alongside their Pokémon. Contestants are allowed to use up to six Pokémon. In essence, Pokémon Showcases are similar to real-world beauty pageants, but involving Pokémon as well.
They are divided in two sections. The first is called the Theme Performance and can encompass activities such as baking Poké Puffs, dressing up Pokémon, or taking a quiz. The activity of the Theme Performance depends on the specific Showcase tournament. This section usually takes place in multiple rounds, with three contestants per round facing off against each other, though only the winner of each round will move on to the next section. However, as the Theme Performance varies between the Showcases, the criteria for winning them also differs, like taste testing judges being used for Poké Puff Baking, or answering the required number of questions correctly before the other contestants for the Pokémon Quiz.
The second section is called the Free Performance, which is the same in each Pokémon Showcase. The Performer and her Pokémon perform together on stage, making full use of the Pokémon's capabilities. Contestants seem to be allowed to supervise the placing and timing of the lights, music and special effects for their own performance, beforehand. It is similar to the Performance Stage of a Pokémon Contest, though unlike the Contests, the Performer has to be involved in an active part of the performance. Like the Performance Stage, contestants appear one at a time, put on their performance, and then leave the stage for the next Performer.
There are two classes of Pokémon Showcase tournaments, the Rookie Class and the Master Class. In A Showcase Debut!, it was implied that Pokémon Showcases used to be judged by at least one professional judge. However, after Aria became Kalos Queen, a famous judge called Palermo quit. In the present day, for the Performance Stage, contestants are judged by the audience. Each contestant gets a heart-shaped key used to receive votes from the audience. Each person in the audience can bring out one vote on a special luminous voting device called the Glowcaster (Japanese: ポケリウム Poké Lume). The device sends out small luminous balls of light that connect to the keys of the participants according to the color of their key. The participant with the key that absorbs the most lights is decided the winner. This type of voting may also be used to judge the winner in the Theme Performance, depending on the event, such as Pokémon Styling.
The winner of a Pokémon Showcase receives a Princess Key.
Themes
| Screenshot | Theme | Stage |
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Pokémon Styling: A Performer must dress up one of her Pokémon in a unique style using the materials given within the time limit and present her partner to the audience. | 
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Poké Puff Baking: A Performer must collaborate with her Pokémon and bake Poké Puffs within the time limit to be taste-tested by the judges' Pokémon. | 
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Pokémon Quiz: A Performer must answer three trivia questions correctly to pass, one of her Pokémon must do a task in order for her to be given the chance of answering the question. | 
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Poké Puff Performance: Like the Poké Puff Baking theme, the Performer and her Pokémon bake a Poké Puff but with a synchronized dance performance. After finishing, the audience judges the Performer's act with their Glowcaster and depending on how high the gauge is to a certain point, will determine their win. | 
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Showcase locations
| Picture | Location | Winner |
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| Rookie Class | ||
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Lagoon Town | Unknown |
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Coumarine City | Shauna |
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Dendemille Town | Serena |
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Anistar City | Serena |
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Couriway Town | Jessie |
Princess Key
A Princess Key (Japanese: プリンセスキー Princess Key) is an item which denotes a Performer has won a particular Pokémon Showcase, similar to how a Ribbon is awarded to a Coordinator who has won a Pokémon Contest and a Badge is given to a Trainer who has defeated a Gym Leader. They come in various styles and stone colors while the key itself is golden or silver. Judging from the Anistar Princess Key and Couriway Princess Key, the key does not always have a stone, as it has a glass ball that contains a watery dusty substance of some sort or a pink crown.
It is revealed in Performing with Fiery Charm! that after winning their first Showcase, Performers are given a large decorated keyring which they use to hold the Princess Keys they receive during their journey. In order to compete for the title of Kalos Queen, a total of three Keys must be collected to qualify for the Master Class tournament, the Showcase equivalent of the Grand Festival and the Pokémon League Conference.
Gallery
| Coumarine Princess Key | Dendemille Princess Key | Anistar Princess Key | Couriway Princess Key |
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In other languages
Pokémon Showcase
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Princess Key
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See also
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This article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of the Pokémon anime. |