With the intermission come to a close, let's get back to the Miss Pokemon Academy Contest! The Cuteness Competition is about to start, who will show off their talent the best? We'll have to find out!

KedharS: I think you mean "oh yes" don't you?

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Oh, yes, Ayame's performance is definitely going to be… exciting, to say the least.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 743

The curtain rose on the Miss Pokemon Academy Contest again, revealing Lukas standing center stage, with the judges in their seats behind him. None of the girls were present.

"Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen!" Lukas declared. "We will now continue with the Miss Pokemon Academy Cuteness Competition! For those of you who have forgotten, this event will be a talent show, where each of our lovely ladies is given the opportunity to exhibit their talents for the judges so that they may deem how 'cute' they are! And just to remind you, let's take a look at the scoreboard and see our point totals!"

Lukas turned and flung his hand out, displaying the results as they flashed onto the screen.

Alcea: 22

Olivia: 22

Darla: 18

Sango: 15

Ayame: 14

Lila: 9

Gabrielle: 8

Serefina: 7

"Now, normally, we would have the ladies present their talents in order from highest point total to lowest," Lukas explained. "But, as you can see, we have a tie! And so we spoke to our judges and decided that the only fair thing to do would be to have our two first place front-runners go in alphabetical order! So, without further ado, I present to you… Alcea Vermeil!"

Alcea stepped out onto the stage, to an audience filled with surprise. She had changed her wardrobe completely. Gone was the fancy red dress, and in its place was a black silk kimono decorated in red roses and tied with a scarlet wrap. It was the kind of outfit no one would have associated with the Kalosian, and gave her an exotic air that felt equal parts out of place and alluring.

"Aaaah, look at her!" Kate swooned, clasping her hands together as she gazed at Alcea, her eyes glistening. "She's the most lovely thing I've ever seen!"

Alcea did not walk out onto the stage empty-handed. She carried with her two things. In her arms was a large, heavy-looking pink box decorated with numerous colorful flowers and stems, and resting atop it was a large pot filled to bursting with multiple branch stems and equally colorful flowers, but these were real.

Alcea walked elegantly to the center of the stage and set the box down, kneeling behind it. She bowed her head, and removed the pot, setting it aside. She reached down and unflipped the box, opening one side lid and turning it out, then the other, like a surgeon revealing her tools.

And what tools they were. In the center of the box was nestled a flat bowl, and a second bowl beside it, filled with water. At the bottom of the flat bowl, the base was filled with sharp spikes. Alcea reached in and set aside a pair of clippers and a towel, as well as a thin measuring strip. She removed a silk wrap from the box and spread it beside her, and then took out a small ladle. She dipped the ladle into the bowl of water.

She was silent and delicate in her motions, turning the ladle and letting the water slowly fill up the flat bowl without making a single splash. Most people could see how much practice and skill was needed for something like that.

Unfortunately, "most people" was not "everybody".

"What's she doing?" Cynthia asked, confused by Alcea's performance.

"It's traditional flower arrangement!" Kate hissed, shooting a sideways glare at the redhead. "It's an art form practiced in the Kanto and Johto regions! Her highness learned it from the Celadon City Gym Leader herself!"

Cynthia sunk down a little in her seat. She was just curious, that wasn't any reason for Kate to bite her head off! She thought that Alcea was beautiful, gently filling the bowl with water like that. She looked positively flawless!

Once the bowl was filled with water, Alcea set the ladle aside and reached into the pot, withdrawing one of the long branches. She laid it flat on the silk cloth, and pulled the measuring tape out, beginning to clip it down, trimming away excess stems and twigs. The clippings landed safely on the silk. Again, her movements were perfect. Cynthia wondered if maybe she really did have the potential to be a surgeon, as graceful and delicate as she was.

Once Alcea finished one stem, she moved to the next. Trimming flower and branch alike, she carefully sculpted the flowers to fit the vision in her mind's eye, designing off a guide that only she could see. Then, when she had finished, and all the flowers and greenery were laid out before her on the silk, she REALLY began to get to work.

Lifting one of the trimmed stems, she gently lowered it into the water, so carefully there were barely any ripples, and snipped the bottom again. Then, she moved to the other bowl, and set it down at an angle. Even from far in the audience, the camera was focused on her, meaning everyone could see what a practiced hand she had. She plunged the stem down onto the spikes just under the surface, leaving it to stand up tall.

Alcea repeated this for each and every flower and branch, arranging them in directions with slants, angling them to create an elegantly-designed sculpture of flowers and plants. She added more flowers, giving the arrangement depth, and then, after what felt like a solid hour of simply arranging and placing flowers, she was finished. She folded up the silk, clippings and all, and put them in the box. She rose to her feet, turned, and gestured to the arrangement, displaying it for all to see.

Kate rose to her feet and applauded loudly. The appreciation for Alcea's decoration was nice, but it did kind of ruin the graceful and elegant mood Alcea had established. But it was enough to break the tension, and give the judges something to comment on.

"I think that was quite lovely," Kanone said, stroking his chin. "A beautiful display of grace and elegance, that captures your affinity for flowers quite nicely. I must say I'm very impressed, Alcea," he complimented her.

Alcea felt her cheeks get hot, and stood up a little taller. She bowed her head in thanks, afraid to reply in fear of stuttering.

"I agree," Ian said, nodding. "That was quite beautiful! But the question is, are we judging on the talent itself, or on how cute it was? Because as lovely as it might have been, I don't know if I would necessarily call it 'cute', you see…"

Alcea's eye twitched slightly.

Ian turned to Akira. "Akira, you've been silent for a while, what are your thoughts about Alcea's performance?"

"…I liked it," Akira said. "It is the first performance, though, so I guess we'll see how it compares to the other ones. For now, though, I think it was very well done."

Alcea took the compliment. Normally, she would curtsy, but in a kimono it was more appropriate to lower her head in a bow. "Thank you for your kind words, is it?" She gratefully thanked the judges, turning to retrieve her things, including the nicely-decorated arrangement.

"Well, that was our first competitor!" Lukas said, waving to Alcea as she departed. "And what an opening performance! Let's give Alcea Vermeil a round of applause, everyone!" He cheered, the audience clapping for her as she stepped offstage.

Lukas was quick to capitalize on the momentum. "Now, for our other competitor for first place, I'm pleased to present Olivia Himeko, the Empress!"

Olivia stepped out onto the stage, and if Alcea's kimono had stunned the audience for being outside of her usual wardrobe, that was nothing compared to what Olivia was wearing.

It was a wedding dress.

And not just a fancy white dress with silk and lace, either, no, this was full-on gown with trails and runners and a large white veil to conceal her face. In her hands, she clasped a bouquet, and walked to the center of the stage. She stood silently, a vision of loveliness in lace, and the lights slowly died down until a sole spotlight shown down upon her.

At that, Olivia passed the bouquet to one hand and used the other to raise her veil, presenting her face to the audience. Rather than the smile she usually wore, her expression was a solemn one, the atmosphere around her tense and somber.

"Greetings," Olivia said, raising the bouquet closer to her lips. Cynthia suspected there was a microphone hidden somewhere in it. "For my talent, I will perform for you all a soliloquy from the theatrical production 'The Tragedy of Maiden's Peak'."

She took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. She slowly exhaled, fluttering them open, and to Cynthia's amazement she couldn't see Olivia anymore. All she saw was the sorrowful expression of a bride in mourning.

"Dearest love, my sweet Yukito… I've been waiting for you, for so very long… I'm waiting for you, come back to me… return to your beloved…"

It was clear to everyone there why Olivia was destined to be a world-class actress someday. She didn't just recite lines with heart. She became the maiden of Maiden's Peak with every breath, every gesture, every tear. As she expressed the pain in her heart of waiting for her beloved sailor who she knew would never return but she would wait for all the same, she seized the hearts of everyone in the audience, drawing them close and holding them tight in her grasp.

Cynthia was enamored. She knew Olivia was beautiful, but she never knew she could be so lovely. It was a performance tailored for someone like her, whose bewitching good looks and soulful, pained eyes could draw in sympathy with but a glance.

It was like Olivia was the ghost of the maiden herself, an alluring spirit hypnotizing Cynthia with her beauty and drawing her to come join her in the next world. This was what she was capable of? No wonder Olivia had so many dalliances…

If they had been alone, Cynthia just might have risen from her seat and rushed into Olivia's arms, pressing her lips against hers.

Heck, she was tempted to do that anyway, right fucking now.

And then came the maiden's final lines.

"…And so, even now, at the end of my life, I still believe you will return to me, just as strongly as the day you departed. Until that day comes, I will wait for you here. Should my body turn to stone on this peak, and my spirit turn to whispers on the wind, I shall wait for you to come to me on the sea, and fulfill your promise. Even if takes a thousand years, two thousand years, or ten thousand years, I will wait for you… and we shall be… together forever."

With that, Olivia flung the bouquet into the air, landing somewhere in the crowd. She clasped her hands together and lowered her head, closing her eyes as the spotlight faded, flooding the Milotic Dome with darkness.

When the lights snapped back on, Olivia was nowhere to be seen. Like the ghost of Maiden's Peak herself, she had vanished completely.

The audience was stunned for a second, and then burst into applause and cheers, everyone loving the soulful performance.

Kate fumed. She supported her highness, of course, because Alcea's performance was obviously the best there was. But even she had to admit that what she'd seen on that stage had brought a tear to her eye.

But admitting that pissed her off immensely.

Lukas wiped his eyes. "That performance… was amazing," he whimpered. "I'm moved to tears, honestly. But what do our judges think?"

Ian was sobbing. He touched a handkerchief to his eyes to blot away the tears. "How moving… that poor maiden… waiting forever, for her beloved to return…"

"I think that Olivia did an amazing job of capturing the emotions of the maiden of Maiden's Peak," Kanone said, nodding. "No, more than that… she truly became the maiden, a performance so lovely none could call it something as simple as acting. Exceptional."

The only judge to not have shared his thoughts was Akira. But to anyone who knew him, his thoughts on the matter were clear to see on his face. He wore a scowl, his expression one of pain and frustration as he glared away into space.

A forsaken lover, waiting for an eternity for their beloved to return to them, holding out hope in spite of how hopeless they knew it was…

A performance like that spoke to Akira. And while that was usually the intention of an actor, it wasn't the sort of thing Akira was all that in for. But he knew that was just his own issue, and he didn't want to burden the Empress with his own baggage, so he held his tongue and said nothing, letting her performance speak for itself.

"After that touching display, our next competitor will be Darla Drake!" Lukas said. "Darla will be… wait, what's this?"

Celia came up from offstage, and whispered something into his ear. Lukas blinked, surprised, not sure if he had heard properly.

"Sorry, she what?" Lukas asked, confused.

Celia nodded, and whispered into his ear again.

"Really? And they're both okay with that?"

Celia nodded again.

"I'm… not sure how the rules will fit that," Lukas said.

Celia shrugged, and whispered something else.

Lukas sighed in resignation and shrugged himself. "Well, if that's what they want, who are we to say no? It'll be interesting, that's for sure. Thanks, Celia, go and tell them I said it's okay, if that's what they want to do."

Celia nodded, and headed offstage. Lukas put a smile on his face and turned to the audience. "Ladies and gentlemen!" He confidently addressed them, showing no sign of the previous shock that had colored his face. "There will be a slight change in our schedule! Now, as you know, the Cuteness Competition is intended to be a contest where each of our lovely contestants displays their talents for the audience and for our judges. The next girl on the list was intended to be Darla Drake. But at her request, and the request of another competitor, we'll be changing the rules ever so slightly! So without further ado, let me introduce you to your next competitors for the Cuteness Competition… the lovely duo 'Grimm Fantasia'!"

The lights dimmed at the same time the stage brightened, and from opposite sides of the stage walked Darla and Lila, in full idol gear, wearing matching smiles on their faces.

"Hello, everyone!" Darla greeted the audience first, flashing a peace sign and winking. "I'm Darla Drake, the cool beauty with the heart of a dragon!"

"And I'm Lila Seelie!" Lila followed her partner with the same gesture, giving a peace sign and a wink. "The lovely maiden who dreams of fairy tales!"

"And together we're…" Their voices blended together as they met at the center stage, interlocking their fingers together and flashing matching peace signs to the audience. "Grimm Fantasia!"

The audience exploded with cheers and applause. Kate looked stunned, immediately turning sour at this revelation. "Hey!" She exploded herself, "that isn't fair at all! This is supposed to be an individual talent contest! You can't have two people participating! It's not fair!"

"Hey, calm down, I'm sure it's fine," Cynthia said, trying to keep things calm. She really wished Blake or Sango were here right now, they both could at least keep Kate on her best behavior, as little of an improvement as that may have been. But right now, both of them were gone.

And Kate was NOT going to accept Cynthia's assurance that she was 'sure it's fine' not for one fucking second.

As far as Kate was concerned, it was absolutely NOT fine, not one bit.

"Let me explain how this performance is going to work," Lukas explained. "Now, the rules of the Cuteness Competition is intended for our ladies to perform on their own. However, there's no rule that says that their performance MUST be a solo one. As long as all involved parties are okay with it, as many as three girls can perform at the same time! And should that happen, they will all receive the same score from our judges. This could be good or bad. If they score high, then the girls who are further down in the rankings will definitely get a boost, but the girls ahead of them would be assisting their competitors to rise higher, so we very rarely see such things. But with that in mind, the idea that there could be two girls who care enough about each other, and know enough about each other's talents to be sure that their dual performance would be amazing, then of course we would be okay with giving them a chance to perform! Those are the rules, after all, and the most important thing to keep in mind is showing off these ladies' performances to titillate our audience, and letting our girls show off the best talents that they can!"

"I get it," Cynthia said, nodding. "So like Alcea's flower arrangement equipment, or Olivia's dress and bouquet, it's sort of like the both of them will be using the other as a prop to make them stand out more, and show off how lovely they are. Yeah, that definitely makes sense!"

Kate scowled. She could understand the logic, but so what? That didn't mean she had to be happy about it, even if it was technically within the rules. And also fair. Fuck fair.

"Fine," she grumbled, slumping back in her seat.

"Now, I think I've kept you lovely ladies waiting long enough," Lukas said, turning to Darla and Lila, who were smiling brightly, remarkably good sports about this whole thing. Neither girl seemed particularly fazed by what was going on, both eager to just get on with the performance.

"Thank you, Lukas, let's give him a nice round of applause!" Lila cheered, clapping for Lukas.

"That's right, Lila, he's certainly put in a lot of hard work for us, hasn't he? So let's give him a nice break, and start the show!" Darla agreed.

"What were you thinking, Darla?" Lila asked, tilting her head to the side in confusion and touching her finger to her chin.

"Well, Lila, I was thinking, maybe these fine lovely judges of ours, and of course our beloved audience, would like to hear the new song we've been working on!" Darla suggested.

Lila gasped in a marvelous approximation of shock.

"I think that sounds like a great idea, Darla!" She agreed, nodding vigorously.

"What do you guys think?" Darla asked, turning to the audience. "Do you guys want to hear our newest hit single, before anyone else gets a chance?"

The audience, of course, went nuts. They were so loud that Kitty had to hold her hands over her ears, practically crying from the pain.

"Then," both girls said at once, "here's our new song, Heart's Full Restore!"

The girls began to sing, putting on the idol performance of all idol performances.

The Cuteness Competition comes out strong with some intense competition! Who will manage to come out on top? Can Sango hope to emerge the victor with such stiff opponents she has to overcome? Let's find out!