Olivia vs. Alcea. We've explored the perspective of a lot of characters in the Coolness Competition, and now here's another one. The Miss Pokemon Academy Contest is certainly shedding enlightenment on a lot of our cast! What will we learn about Olivia?

Epifanio Therion: We'll see just what awaits Olivia.

KedharS: Just good, old-fashioned, hard work.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 754

Olivia had always been terrible at pokemon battles. She just didn't have the talent for it. Anticipating her opponent's moves, planning out a long-term strategy, training her pokemon for fighting, they just weren't things she was good at. As smart as she was, it just never seemed to work out for her no matter what she tried.

And oh, had she tried. She'd tried for a long, long time to appeal to her father, in the hope that she could get some tiny little speck of approval from him.

But it had never been enough. No matter how much she tried, she simply couldn't reach that level of talent, she couldn't draw the eye of her father, because she simply wasn't capable of being a powerful trainer.

Accepting that had been hard. But she had found something that made her life worth living; she loved being a coordinator, and she loved being an actress, and a model, and all the other things that helped build up her reputation around the world.

She was an amazing girl on the cusp of womanhood, someone blessed with beauty and brains, and the charisma to put them to perfect use. And all of it had been earned by the sweat on her brow. She worked harder than ever to be as perfect as she could be, to do better than everyone at anything, to put to rest all those comments that she wasn't worth it.

Once, after a particularly exceptional contest performance that Olivia had nearly killed herself mastering, an enraptured Aya had told her that Olivia was like a Swanna. She was beautiful, majestic, perfect on the surface, but below the water, where no one could see, she was kicking just as desperately as anyone else.

Olivia liked that comparison. She wasn't some spoiled rich girl who expected things to just be handed to her because of her family status, or even her looks. She'd worked for everything she had, trying her hardest to show that she was capable of being better than all those experts and geniuses, all those people who had everything. Olivia worked harder than anyone, because she had more to prove than anyone else.

She worked so hard and accomplished so much, that sometimes she thought there was nothing that she couldn't have if she set her mind to it.

Nothing except skill as a pokemon trainer. That was something that all the charm and sweet words in the world couldn't fix for her. And it irritated her. It irritated her more than it had any right to irritate her, honestly.

Because being reminded of her inability to win pokemon battles was like being reminded that she wasn't perfect. That she was just some flawed girl who couldn't do EVERYTHING, and that was something Olivia refused to acknowledge.

Because the truth was a frightening thing. It meant that those looks everyone gave her were correct. The way they ignored her, like she was a piece of trash, not someone worthy of their consideration, every time she faced treatment like that it stung just a little more, and she felt herself sinking a little further down into emptiness.

And the presence of women like Alcea Vermeil who WERE perfect, who DID have it all, reminded her that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't compare to true nobility like that; Alcea was everything she wasn't. She was certain that if she'd set her mind to it, Alcea could have reached a level comparable to hers with her pokemon's performances, and her own elegance and grace.

Which made Olivia hate her even more. She wanted to see that bitch's composed face shatter. She wanted to see her get nervous, flustered, worried, embarrassed, humiliated! Alcea always held herself like she was so much better than everyone, better than Olivia, that Olivia just wanted to drive that proud, haughty, kissable face into the mud!

…Wait, what was that last part?

Olivia shook her head, clearing her thoughts as she glared across the battlefield at Alcea, a look of smug triumph crossing her face. Alcea hadn't seen that one coming, she was certain of that. It was exactly why Olivia had implemented such a tactic in the first place. She didn't know anything about battles, of course, but there was something she knew.

Alcea.

Olivia had never been talented as a battler, but now that was all going to change. She was going to prove to everyone that she could defeat such a "perfect" girl, the so-called "queen of queens" at her own game, through nothing but preparation and hard work, and show everyone once and for all why she was the one who should be worthy of praise.

Alcea had been expecting an easy victory, that's what her look of surprise said. And that was one of the reasons Olivia hated her so much, because she was always looking down on girls like her. Girls without talent.

But Olivia didn't need talent. She had spent a lot of time preparing for this. Not for this specific contest, of course, she didn't have any idea that this would happen, of course, but she had expected something along these lines would happen at some point.

She knew that eventually she would have had to engage in battle with Alcea. The two were so opposed to one another in everything they stood for, she knew that it would come to a head at some point, to prove her superiority. She had hoped it would be in a contest, but of course that wasn't going to happen.

After all, the great Alcea Vermeil who only believed in pokemon battles, who only cared about contests as a form of entertainment, if that, would never "lower" herself to compete in such an event. It would be beneath her.

Olivia needed to prove she was better than Alcea. She cared more about beating Alcea than Alcea would have ever cared about taking her on in an equal battle. So that meant Olivia would have to fight her on her own terms, and fight her in the manner that Alcea would engage her in, even if it was something that Olivia was completely unsuited for.

So she had prepared to battle Alcea. Alcea, and no one else. Olivia had watched every single battle that Alcea had ever partaken in, poured over countless hours of footage and studied every tactic and trick, scheme and strategy, that Alcea had ever implemented. With an amount of dedication that Mirar would have been proud of, she had studied until it felt like her eyes would bleed.

Alcea thought that she was all that? Well, Olivia was no expert at pokemon battles. Against any given trainer, she probably wouldn't have held a candle. But she had put hours and hours of time into training her pokemon, so that they could defeat Alcea, and counter the witch's little Grass type strategies. She would tear them apart like they were weeds, and relish in her victory.

"Now, Cynthia!" She shouted. She knew that Venus had the speed to outrun her Garchomp now, and that Alcea would undoubtedly make use of it to put up some distance between the two of them, and have her Venusaur recover her health with a synthesis attack. It was exactly the kind of strategy Alcea always employed with her Venusaur, taking care to keep her as healthy as possible while she wore down her opponents with her pokemon's speed and powerful moves.

Olivia could respect tactics like that, emphasizing Alcea's haughtiness and her supremacy. She could respect the way a queen fought.

But just because she could respect it, that didn't mean it was at all acceptable! As Alcea gave the order for Venus to retreat and begin healing herself with synthesis, Cynthia was already preparing to counter the attack.

"GARCHOMP!" Cynthia roared, raising her fins. A massive tornado of sand erupted from around her, swirling through the air and blotting out the sun, severely hampering Venus's ability to absorb sunlight, weakening her healing powers and slowing down her solarbeam, while at the same time reducing her speed as well.

Alcea had expected that, however. She couldn't deny that she had been a little flustered at first by Olivia's initial performance. Could anyone blame her? Olivia was certainly not known for her talents as a pokemon trainer. And that had been why Alcea had believed that she could overcome the other girl, and defeat her without too much trouble.

"I believe I owe you an apology, is it?" Alcea said, startling Olivia out of her intense glare. The girl looked at her in confusion.

"An… apology?" Olivia asked, not sure she'd heard that properly. She didn't think that someone like Alcea would be capable of apologizing like that. Someone as arrogant as her, did she even know what an apology was?

"Oui. I mistook you for someone with no ability to battle, and because of that, I underestimated your ability," Alcea said, lowering her head and curtsying apologetically. "That was rude of me, and I apologize."

Olivia wasn't having it. She didn't want some flowery speech of apology about how Alcea had underestimated her. She knew Alcea had underestimated her, and that was why she loathed the girl so much. She glared at her, and shook her head. "You don't need to apologize for that," Olivia scoffed, ignoring Alcea's words. "I'll show you my skills, and show you WHY that arrogant way you dismiss me is so wrong!"

Alcea blinked. What was she talking about? Alcea never dismissed nor looked down on Olivia at all, she held a great deal of respect for the other girl, in fact. This rage, she didn't understand where it was coming from.

But that wasn't important. The important thing was that this battle was just beginning. Refocusing her attention, Alcea was prepared to defeat Olivia, now that she knew she was someone who wasn't to be underestimated. "Venus," she called, "use weather ball, now!"

"Venusaur!" Venus's flower flexed, and she fired an orb of compressed light into the sandstorm. The glowing orb gathered energy from the sandstorm and transformed into a dark dusty brown as it grew larger.

Startled, Cynthia ducked underneath the attack, avoiding the orb. It was an instinctive reaction, even though the attack wasn't super-effective. That was because she wasn't used to fighting, or taking painful attacks.

Olivia was startled herself. She hadn't expected that move from Alcea. She knew everything about how the girl fought, and Alcea wasn't the type to waste time on such ineffectual moves like that! She didn't understand the strategy involved, or what Alcea was trying to accomplish. But she wasn't about to let herself be shaken!

"Cynthia!" Olivia cried. "Use your dragon claw!"

"Garchomp!" Cynthia emerged from the sandstorm and raised her fin, draconic energy swirling around her claw as she sliced at Venus.

"Protect," Alcea ordered. Venus created a bright green protective barrier around herself, the dragon claw harmlessly bouncing off of it. Olivia clicked her tongue. Irritated as she was, she had still seen the move coming, and knew what to do in response.

"If she's going to hide, then boost your strength with swords dance," Olivia ordered. Cynthia raised her sings and brushed the sharp blades against each other as she danced, boosting her attacking strength while Venus protected herself.

"As expected, is it?" Alcea noted, her lips tugging up slightly. She waved her hand. "I had hoped to save this trick for Kanone's Samurott, but I will use it now! Grassy terrain!"

Olivia's face darkened. She knew what that was.

"Venusaur!" Venus bellowed, beginning to glow green. She focused the light down into the ground, releasing a pulse of energy that spread across the battlefield, causing grass and flowers to sprout up all around the field. And as it did, Venus began to glow even brighter.

"Grassy terrain will increase the power of our Grass type moves considerably," Alcea said, smiling slightly. "But then, you already knew that of course, is it? After all, you've closely monitored my battles, haven't you?"

Olivia's eye twitched. So she knew the truth, did she? Well, so what? "That's right, I know all about your moves, your strategies, how you'll use your grassy terrain to boost your pokemon's strength, while also giving some slight recovery, but don't forget it helps me, too!"

"Then you are aware of the item that Venus just consumed, is it?" Alcea asked. Olivia blinked, and nodded.

"A grassy seed, to boost your Venusaur's defense," she answered.

"Oui. A seed cultivated by my own hand. And with that boost, we can stabilize, and use our next move," Alcea explained calmly. "Grassy glide."

"Venusaur!" Venus lowered her head and shot across the grass, slamming into Cynthia as Cynthia lunged at her with a dragon claw. The Garchomp may have trained to fight Alcea and knew what her pokemon was capable of, but that still wasn't a match for experience.

Venus barreled into Cynthia, knocking her backwards. But Cynthia didn't lose her balance. She might not have had much experience fighting, but one thing she did have was training in her footwork. Being a stage performer came with its own necessities, after all.

"Garchomp!" Cynthia roared, and raised her fin, preparing another dragon claw. But Olivia could see that Venus was already prepared to strike, and quickly called out to her Garchomp to let her know that the plans changed.

"Careful, Cynthia!" Olivia shouted. "She's going to use petal blizzard next!"

It was the expected follow-up. A powerful petal blizzard would overwhelm Cynthia, and likely limit her visibility. But she could still counter it if she was fast enough. She'd taught Cynthia fire moves for exactly this contingency. "Flamethrower!" She shouted.

Alcea smirked. "Bulldoze."

"Venusaur!" Venus raised her legs and stomped hard on the ground, sending tremors through the battlefield that shook the grass, knocking Cynthia off her feet for real this time, even though the attack itself didn't do that much damage.

"What?!" Olivia gasped in disbelief. "Why would you use that move? Grassy terrain weakens the power of moves like earthquake and bulldoze, that's why I didn't use them!"

"Oui, you didn't see it coming, is it?" Alcea asked. "You see, Olivia, there is more to pokemon battles than knowing the tactics of your opponent. Fighting a pokemon battle requires flexibility and judgment, not simply hard work and knowledge, is it?"

Olivia scowled. "Cynthia!" She called. "Get up!"

"Now that your Garchomp has been slowed, we can begin," Alcea determined. "Sleep powder, for real this time."

"Venusaur!" Venus sent a wave of green spores through the air. The curtain of sand tried to reflect it, but Cynthia was sprawled on the ground, still struggling to stand, not fast enough to disappear into the sandstorm. And it didn't help that she was becoming drowsy, her eyelids heavy as she drifted off to sleep.

"No!" Olivia wailed.

"I know the kind of person you are, Olivia," Alcea calmly said. "You always work your hardest, dedicating yourself to whatever you set your mind to, is it?"

Olivia gasped, her eyes widening in surprise. She had no idea that Alcea thought of her that way. She had no idea that Alcea thought of her at all.

"That's… well, I mean… huh?" Olivia had taken her mind completely off the fight now, and was just staring dumbly at Alcea in confusion.

Lukas checked his watch. This felt like the longest five minutes of his life.

"It isn't enough to work hard, however. I know that you've trained to defeat me. That you've memorized all my tactics and strategies, is it? Oui, if that is so, then my path forward is simply to take actions that I would never take, is it?"

Olivia sputtered. "Th-That's…"

Alcea gave her a beaming smile. "I've always admired you, Olivia. Working as hard as you do. But that hard work won't be a match for experience. Venus, use giga drain to finish off that Garchomp, immediately."

Olivia wasn't even paying attention. When Alcea's words had touched her ears, her entire face lit up, a shaky smile of disbelief crookedly spreading its way across her cheeks.

"…R-Really?" Olivia asked.

"Venusaur!" Venus began glowing bright green. Energy wrapped around the slumbering Cynthia and she began to glow as well, Venus sucking the energy from the dragon pokemon and finishing her off just as the timer hit zero.

"And Olivia's Garchomp is unable to battle!" Lukas said, grateful that the sandstorm had died down. "That means Alcea is the winner of the second semi-final match! She'll be advancing into the final round to face off against Sango!"

"Wh-What?!" Olivia exclaimed, snapping back to reality. She'd been so lost in the light of Alcea's smile she'd had no idea that she was about to lose.

Lose. She had lost.

She had tried her best, studied for hours and fought her hardest, but in the end she was still that same pathetic bastard girl who wasn't fit to show her face at her father's parties. Tears threatened to reach her eyes, but she clenched her jaw and held strong, refusing to let her expression be swayed by her emotions.

She was an actress. She wouldn't allow herself to be compromised. She could act the part of a gracious loser, even before Alcea Vermeil.

"Well done, Alcea," she heard her voice lie, feeling her lips spread into a lying smile. "It appears battles are not truly my forte, as I always knew." She recalled Cynthia to her pokeball. "Good luck in your next battle."

The words tasted like poison in her mouth.

Oh, wait, no, those were the shrieks of joy from that little Venonat of a girl who always sniffed Alcea's rear end. Olivia disregarded them.

Alcea returned Venus, and turned to Olivia. She curtsied.

"Thank you for an excellent battle," she said politely, and it almost made Olivia's loss not seem so bad in the end. Olivia sighed, and turned away from Alcea, keeping her head held high as she walked off the battlefield, not losing her composure until she reached the privacy of her dressing room.

She threw herself onto her couch and roared in anger, flinging the pillows across the room as she slammed her fists against the armrest until they turned red, screaming obscenities at the top of her lungs as tears streamed down her face.

She had fought so hard. She had given the match everything she had, but in the end it wasn't enough. Alcea was a noble. She was someone who Olivia could never hope to reach, no matter how hard she tried. And that thought enraged her. She wanted… she wanted revenge, for the torment Alcea had inflicted on her, all those years ago. She wanted to show her just how pathetic she really was. She wanted to break that bitch down into nothing, but she wasn't able to.

The only thing she could do was let out her emotions, her frustrations, where no one would hear her disgrace.

"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!" Olivia shouted to the heavens.

Olivia has lost. Alcea has moved onto the semi-finals. What will the result of this be, I wonder? Sango vs. Alcea, will Sango defeat Alcea before Blake has a chance to, I wonder?