The contest arc comes to an end! We bid goodbye to Olivia and her cohorts here, but will Cynthia and the others leave them in triumph, or in defeat? Did Olivia manage to surpass Lisia? Or was her secret weapon just not up to snuff?

KedharS: Yeah, but it's still nice to build up the tension.

Rosealine gold: It was certainly a cool performance, I can't imagine her getting less than 28 points.

Thunder Fire: Gotta love that confidence!

JoshGamerV: Probably because her entire life was changed by Cynthia, and so she modeled herself after her in a lot of ways.

Hellraiserphoenix: What comes next will certainly be interesting, that's for sure.

Aquahaze675: Well one Cynthia was clearly named after the other one, so it makes a little bit of sense. I'm sure Olivia appreciated the irony when she met OUR Cynthia.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 448

As the judges finished their deliberations, Olivia looked up at the screen and the score of her appeal flashing upon it.

28

Olivia's performance with Cynthia had scored her a 28. It was an amazing score that would have made her heart soar with joy under other circumstances. She had scored a 28, the same score that Lisia, her rival, had scored. The judges assessed their coolness, compared it to Lisia and Ali, and decided that Olivia and Cynthia did not come up short in comparison.

But that wasn't enough.

Their scores in the Appeals Round were tied. But Lisia had scored a fraction higher than her in the Introductions Round, where the judges deemed that Ali's condition was slightly cooler than Cynthia's was.

Which meant that Olivia had lost. Victory was within her grasp, but she hadn't been able to come out ahead. If Cynthia had been even slightly cooler… no, it was her fault. She was the one who should have put more effort into bringing out Cynthia's coolness, displayed something more dazzling and impressive in her appeal that would have completely blown Lisia out of the competition.

Olivia, of course, did not allow her discontent to show on her face. She kept her smooth smile on her face without even a twitch, showing no apparent care about her loss, remaining the consummate professional as she and Cynthia stepped aside to make room for the next appeals.

Olivia didn't pay attention to anything that followed. She stared blankly out and applauded when the opportunity signaled her to, and watched silently as Lisia was presented with the Coolness Hyper Ribbon, and the same ribbon was pinned to Ali's down. She applauded to Lisia, and it wasn't like she wasn't happy for her, but… Lisia was just competing for the sport of it. Olivia needed the win more, in order to move to the next round.

…What kind of shit thinking is that? Olivia slapped herself across the face mentally, hating the train of thought she'd just gone down. What? Lisia is just supposed to let you win? Why? So you can get to the Master Ranks and lose against her there, instead? You have no one to blame but yourself for losing to her, for not being good enough to surpass her and get to that stage on your own. Don't fucking blame her talent and success for your failure.

Olivia recalled Cynthia as they headed to the dressing room, Lisia accosting her just as she stepped out into the hall.

"Liv, you were amazing!" Lisia gushed, her eyes shining so brightly it nearly made Olivia wince and shield her face. "That performance?! First, your Garchomp was all, like, 'argh!' and then he went 'woosh!' and then you were just like 'fwft, fwft, fwft!' that was like super-duper amazing! The crowd was eating it up! They were all like 'raaah! Raaah! Olivia! Raaah! Raaah! More!' girl, you were just-! I was so totally blown away!" Lisia moved her hands and flailed all over the place as she acted out Olivia's appeal, brimming with excitement as she stared at Olivia with eyes filled with energy.

The fact there was not even a speck of guile to be spotted in those shimmering pools of greenish-blue made Olivia's heart ache. Lisia had one, and yet still praised Olivia's performance from the bottom of her heart.

Could Olivia bring herself to do the same?

Certainly, there was no denying that Lisia's performance was spectacular. Olivia could name a hundred things that had astounded her and nearly moved her to tears. She could not deny for an instant that it was a phenomenal performance deserving of victory.

And yet Olivia found herself completely unable to praise the girl for it. The feelings of sickness in her gut was overpowering her genuine awe. Was that because she had lost? Would Lisia act the same towards her, if Olivia had been the one to win and not Lisia?

The minute the thoughts popped into her mind, Olivia wanted to take them back. How could she think something so rude? One look at those beautiful eyes answered everything. Of course Lisia would be just as positive about Olivia's performance, whether she had been the one to come out on top of the contest or not. Lisia was simply that sort of girl. And the thought that she could be otherwise, that Lisia appreciated it as anything other than a performance to excite the audience, it was a horrible insult to the wonderful girl.

Olivia gave her a smile. Not a fake one, as genuine a smile as she could call up, drawing on all the excitement that the contests over the day brought out in her, and shoving it all on her face so she could congratulate Lisia without lying.

"Congratulations," Olivia said, extending her hand. "Your performance was amazing too, truly deserving of your victory. Ali is an amazingly cool pokemon."

Not a word of it was a lie.

"The person who deserved to win today definitely won," she added.

Again. Not a word of it was a lie. Not even to herself.

"It's not about winning, silly!" Lisia laughed, shaking Olivia's hand with one while her other hand waved, dismissive of Olivia's position.. "All that matters was that we both put on the best performance we could for the fans, don't you think?"

Yeah. That was how Lissi saw things. Contests weren't a competition. She didn't have to "be the best" to have fun at them.

"We certainly gave them a performance," Olivia laughed.

"So what next? You joining another one tomorrow?" Lisia asked, tilting her head to the side. "I'm going to the Master Rank Contests in Lilycove City, what about you? You won ribbons for Beauty, Toughness, Cuteness, and Cleverness, right? I'd love to act on the same stage with you! What do you say? Wanna come along?"

Olivia laughed again, and shook her head.

"Your kindness stings quite a bit, actually," she admitted, trying hard not to sound bitter. "I may have won ribbons in four Hyper Contests… but something like that won't satisfy me."

She smiled.

"I'll stay here until I win the Coolness Contest, too," Olivia said. "Until I'm at the point where I can really perform on the same stage as you in every aspect, I won't try my hand at the Master Rank Contests. So you just wait for me to get there. I'll show you something so spectacular you'll be completely blown away!"

Somehow, Lisia's eyes managed to stretch even wider, her face filling with joy and anticipation. She squirmed in place, clearly wanting to let out a loud cheer, but still trying to maintain some level of decorum.

"Yeah! Yeah!" Lisia cheered, pumping her fist into the air and snapping her fingers, pointing at Olivia. "That's what I just love to hear! I can't wait! It's almost showtime, you better show me something great! Whatever you've got up your sleeve, I'll be waiting!"

Lisia reached out and took Olivia's hands, squeezing them tightly and raising them up to their chests as she leaned in so close Olivia could smell the sweetness of cotton candy wafting off of her, causing the blonde to blush.

"I'll await you in Lilycove!" Lisia chirped. "Come whenever you want! I can't wait to see even more phenomenal performances, Liv!"

Olivia stared at Lisia, her eyes brimming with determination to show her that she wasn't about to let this loss push her down. But even that determination… it was a lie. That voice in her ear was still whispering to her, that murkiness in her gut was still roiling, everything telling her that she was just putting on airs. She wasn't holding off on Lilycove out of some sense of completion, to work on training to be on Lisia's level, or even just taking a second run at the Coolness Contest and winning.

She was being stubborn because her pride had been wounded, and she didn't want to compete at the Master Level on the cusp of such a stinging loss. She could never say that to Lisia, but the darkness in her heart told her that was the truth. And even more… she was worried that she simply would not be able to succeed at that level. She had fought with her best and managed to tie with Lisia in the Appeals Round… but a tie wasn't a victory, and she had lost the contest as a whole. Who was she, to show herself at that level? She would face loss after loss, and that was unacceptable.

Losing?

Someone of her level wouldn't tolerate such an affront to her pride.

She knew that she saw contests with different eyes than her rival did. Lisia didn't see it as a competition. For Olivia, the competition was the fun. Lisia used contests to show off the condition of her pokemon, and took a back seat to her own performance. Olivia used contests to showcase not just her pokemon's charms, but hers, as well, to show off both herself and her pokemon.

They were different, so different, and yet Olivia couldn't help but be drawn to her. She wondered so badly, how could she get to that level?

Olivia smiled at Lisia one last time, and moved from her grip.

"I'll see you then," Olivia said. "You keep doing your best!"

Olivia cracked a smile, and gave Lisia a thumbs' up. Lisia returned the favor and pranced out, exiting the hallway and stepping out into the lobby, where she was barraged with paparazzi immediately, which was not a surprise in the slightest.

Olivia put a confident look on her face, and followed after her. Someone else might have felt so ashamed at their loss that they would duck from the cameras, hide from the attention, maybe even try to duck out a side exit.

But Olivia wasn't about to let her loss get the better of her, or let people think she was a sore loser. So she stepped out, ignoring the words being spoken, feeling fortunate that the attention was on the winner, and not on her. She spotted the people she was looking for, her group of followers and associated guests, and walked over to them.

At a single glance, Olivia could tell something was wrong. The air was heavy the minute she walked up, and the looks on their faces showed nervousness and discomfort. It wasn't much of a surprise, they were tense. Of course they were, after what had just happened, seeing her try her hardest and lose.

Olivie didn't let that tension get the better of her, she wasn't about to get swallowed by the cloud of discomfort.

"What's wrong, guys?" She smiled, draping her arm over Cynthia. "It's like a funeral here, did someone die? That's not the right atmosphere to have around this place!"

"You're… okay?" Sango asked, surprised. As the other looks of surprise clearly told her, they had indeed been expecting a reaction slightly larger than "not a big deal." But Olivia wasn't that kind of person. Even if it was a big deal, she wasn't about to let it show. She wore a smile, and shrugged her shoulders, laughing.

"That's just how contests are, you know?" Olivia asked. "Whether you win or lose, you just have to put on the best performance that you can! So sure, I lost, but I'm just gonna have to do better, next time! There's another contest tomorrow, and I'm going to sign up for it!"

Everyone's faces brightened at Olivia's positivity.

"Well, that's good," Eli said, smiling. "So you're going to do the next one? Awesome, we'll all come watch your victory!"

Olivia blinked for a second, Eli's support so surprising she was left momentarily stunned, not sure how to respond. But she recovered quickly, smiling and nodding at Eli's kind words, returning the nods of agreement from the others.

That fixed, Olivia leaving them to go sign up for the Hyper Rank Coolness Contest tomorrow. A brief separation from them allowed Olivia a chance to put that fake positivity she carried herself with aside, so she could let the irritation grow a little bit. She still kept it under control, though, ignoring the darker parts as she finished signing up. To their group's good fortune, everyone else was able to win their contests. She didn't expect them to wait for her. She honestly thought they would have left her behind in Slateport and gone onto Lilycove; she had lost, after all, and with that loss she expected to be left behind.

To not have that happen… it was nice.

Of course, not everyone was going to be able to watch her performance tomorrow. Cynthia, Sango, Maddi, and Violet were all heading back to Lavaridge by bus this evening. They wouldn't get to see it, but that was fine.

"So what did you guys think?" Olivia asked. Everyone had come to the bus station to see the girls off, even though Cynthia and Violet both insisted they could stay for another day. It certainly had nothing to do with the sisters wanting to get out of another day's work.

"It was so cool!" Cynthia gushed. "Contests are awesome! Not as awesome as pokemon battles, but still really cool!"

"Definitely," Violet agreed, staring at Olivia, already thinking about that sexy ninja outfit she had spied her in. Contests were like that? She definitely was looking forward to watching more of them, that was for sure.

"Learned a lot," Maddi said, taciturn as always.

"It was pretty good," Sango said, nodding. A nice middle ground between Cynthia's gushing and Maddi's silence.

"I'm glad," Olivia smiled. "I enjoyed showing you girls how wonderful pokemon contests really are. Maybe you'll give them a shot sometime, what do you think? When we get back to school, I mean. Maybe you can try it!"

"Y-Yeah!" Giselle said, nodding her head rapidly, her face filled with excitement. "Cynthia, when we get back, you gotta let me introduce White Snow to Aud! And compete in a contest with us! That's going to be so much fun!"

"Oh, absolutely!" Cynthia said, nodding, her eyes bright. "That sounds like a blast, I can't wait!"

The bus was idling, it was clearly time to leave. Olivia, affectionate as always, bid the girls goodbye with a hug for each, though Violet tried to turn it into more of a grope-fest. Cynthia was so affectionate, she hugged Eli and Giselle, too.

A minute later and the bus was pulling away, leaving Olivia with the other members of the appeals course. She let out a long sigh, and kept up her smile.

"Let's head back to the hotel," she said, turning to the others, her face bright in the dimly lit darkness. "We can unwind and get dinner to celebrate our victories, what do you guys say?"

"Sounds good!" Lukas grinned, giving her a thumbs' up. Olivia smiled back, and maintained her happy façade all the way back up to her suite, where she retired for a brief time of privacy before dinner, so she could go get changed into something appropriate.

The door closed behind her, and it all came out. She stripped off her purse and placed it gently on the bed, taking care to make sure that her pokemon were fine. They had worked hard today, and deserved a nice, long rest. She sighed, turning to look into the mirror on her dresser, where she had so finely prepared herself for the morning.

"RAAAARGH!" She shouted, flinging her arm and knocking her makeup to the floor. It was all too much for her to hold in.

"You ugly bitch!" She shouted at the top of her lungs, slapping her hands against the oak desk. "You fucking slag! How could you lose?! You fucking! Ugly! Whore!"

She smashed her hand against the mirror, shattering it. She couldn't stand the sight of the ugly woman staring back at her for a second longer.

"This is all your fucking fault, you fucking piece of human garbage. You think you're cool?! You think you're hot?! Look at you! You couldn't win one fucking contest?! What the fuck is the matter with you?! Didn't you try? Or are you just fucking stupid? You think you can carry Cynthia's legacy?! Don't be fucking ridiculous, if she was still here she would laugh at you for the failure that you are! Trying to show off to her?! What are you going to show off, your utter lack of dignity and talent?! All those fucking adds and commercials, you think they make you hot shit? You're no one, NO ONE! A stupid, ugly, fucking mutt, a fucking daughter of some Sinnoh whore, no wonder you didn't win! No one would ever think someone like YOU could ever deserve to stand on a stage like that!"

Olivia whirled away from the mirror, unable to bear the appearance of her cracked visage. She picked up the closest thing she could find, a vase, and flung it as hard as she could against the wall. The sound of it shattering into a million pieces like her heart brought her a sickening sense of relief. She clutched her head, taking every bit of self-control she could muster to not rip her hair out as she screamed her frustrations out until her throat was raw.

"You fucking failure, no wonder people look at you like some dumb bimbo," she sobbed, falling to her knees and bashing her hands against the carpet. "You think someone could love a slut like you? Someone who can't give a simple performance to save her life, whose only skill is opening her fucking legs?! You thought that was a performance? Fucking dodging?! What's fucking cool about that? You better fucking try again if you want to fucking win your next contest, 28 points? You think that's good? You think that matters?! That's NOTHING you should be able to get 28 points just by having your pokemon stand fucking still! You call yourself an Empress? A Queen? You think you're like Alcea Vermeil?! No wonder she looks down on an ugly, filthy whore like you, you're fucking repulsive, and everyone fucking knows it! You're just some mindless thot whose only value is in her repulsive, used up body, where do you get off thinking you could actually try to compare yourself with someone like Lisia or Ayame?! You think a slag like you deserves to breathe the same air as amazing people like them?! You've got to be fucking kidding me, they have talent, you fucking leech, and you, you-!"

"YOU'RE COMPLETELY WORTHLESS! YOU HAVE NOTHING! NOTHING!" She curled up into a ball on the floor and sobbed, her strength draining away from her as she acknowledged herself for the utter failure that she was.

Olivia's breakdown, like all her others, went unheard by anyone. But she was not the only member of the Daevas whose emotional state had gone from composed and neutral to completely off the fucking wall in the span of a second.

The sky was dark when Marion finally returned to the Akai-Sou, humming to herself as she dragged a cooler behind her with one hand, the other cradling her precious fishing rod. As she walked up the walk to the inn, however, she sensed something from the two girls that were leaving it. Something that shouldn't have been there.

On instinct, Marion's head snapped up as one of the blondes' heads snapped towards her, their harmonia informing each other of their presence before they could get a good luck.

And when they finally did get a good look at each other, it was something else.

Marion's jaw dropped to the ground and she shook her head. No, no way, it couldn't be. She had to be seeing things, in the dark. Sure, the porch was lit, but, well… It didn't make sense. But it did. That feeling of kindness coming off of her was the same as it had always been. She was older now, sure, but there was no mistaking those kind amber eyes, or that familiar swirl of blonde hair. And that look of shock, the smile it shifted into and the joy behind it was unmistakable.

Flora, similarly, could not believe what she was seeing. When Rey- Preya had told her he had met Marion again after all these years, she had been intrigued. But that was different from seeing her. Who else could it have been? If there was a girl other than Marion Rivers who would be walking through Lavaridge with a cooler and a fishing rod when the closest body of water was in Fallarbor or Mauville, Flora would have wanted to meet them. No, there was only one girl who was so obsessed with fishing to do something like that. Even if Flora didn't notice the tan of her skin, or the sparkling blue of her eyes, or the hair the color of a foamy sea, and the nostalgic look of a straw hat that after all these years finally sat upon it as a perfect fit, she couldn't mistake the girl in front of her for anyone other than who she really was.

"…Flora?" Marion asked, her voice cracking with hope.

"Marion?" Flora asked, herself, equally hopeful.

Both girls stared at each other for a long moment as they reaffirmed what they already knew to be true, tears streaming down their faces as they were finally reunited.

After a bit of a painful chapter, I wanted to end on a positive note.

…

Which will, of course, result in another painful chapter, no doubt.