The Miss Pokemon Academy Contest draws to a close. Who will ultimately win the title of Miss Pokemon Academy?! Wait no longer, the answer lies ahead!

KedharS: I'm glad I could build some tension!

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: It's definitely an exciting turn of events alright!

Guest: Sango winning would definitely be good for her self-esteem. As for Olivia and Alcea, well… this is certainly not the end of their conflict. There is definitely more to come.

Thunder Fire: I had hoped that it would be obvious she was the kind of person who would do something like that.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 777

Dawn. As the rays of sun colored the blue sky, the warmth of the morning light bathed the mountain in its soothing glow, signaling the end of the Toughness Competition, and a decisive finale to the Miss Pokemon Academy Contest.

"The sun's already risen," Olivia noted bitterly, staring at the bright orange sunrise on the horizon. They were almost to the top of the plateau, but in the end, it didn't matter. When the sun rose, that meant everything was finished. "The Toughness Competition is over. It doesn't matter if we make it to the top now, anyway."

"Oui," Alcea said solemnly, watching the sun from where she stood beside Olivia. She glanced at the other girl. "So we should stop now, is it?" She asked.

"Fuck that," Olivia said with a scowl. "If it doesn't matter who wins or loses anyway… if I've already lost… then I might as well see this through to the end for my pride."

A thin smile crossed Alcea's lips. "I see. Pride, is it? Very well. Indeed, my pride will not allow me to not put in my best effort either."

It seemed unlikely that the two girls would ever be friends. But in spite of the bad blood between the two of them, there was a lot they both had in common. Dedication and resolve, care for those closest to them, an unshakeable faith in their own ability, and a sense of pride that carried them through any adversity.

They may not have gotten along, but they had reached an odd sort of understanding walking up that mountain together.

It's strange… I should be outraged that I lost… Olivia thought. After all… I had tried so hard to win this contest… four years in a row as Miss Pokemon Academy would have been groundbreaking and would have cemented my position not only in the academy history books, but in the eyes of a lot of people in powerful places of influence. It was a competition that I absolutely had to win… and yet I don't even feel that upset…

Olivia was certainly disappointed that she hadn't won, no amount of good will on Alcea's part would have changed that. But even an hour earlier the idea that she lost would have caused a violent eruption from deep within her doubtful heart.

And right now, she was just a little saddened by the news.

I wonder who won? She mused thoughtfully. Sango? Or Aya? I would put money on Aya, but it could honestly have been either one…

The faintest of smiles touched her lips, so thin that it might have been missed in the early morning light. But it was real. So this was what it was like to not be a sore loser.

Alcea and Olivia walked up the hill in silent recognition of each other's hard work. Neither had words of kindness to spare for the other, but the gesture of respect was felt by them both, fleeting as it was. And for once in the competition, it was a moment where the two girls had total privacy, without the watchful eyes of the cameras upon them.

And that was because a winner had been decided, and every screen was focusing on that at the moment.

Earlier, Sango and Ayame had been neck and neck. Both girls had put everything they had into running, ignoring the aches in their legs, the searing pain in their hearts, and the fatigue that had been building up all night that threatened to overwhelm them.

All that remained now was the chance to seize that flag and emerge the winner. It was a bitter rivalry with the opportunity for a final payoff, a reward for all their hard work, and both girls were desperate to emerge the winner.

For Ayame, it was a matter of ending things on a high note. Her time at the Pokemon Academy had been a complex one, to say the least. Her first year here, she'd been the same mousy, scared girl that she'd always been, beaten down by a complex about her gangly body while trying to live up to the running shoes her sister had left her to fill.

But like a Metapod evolving to a Butterfree, with the help of her best friend Olivia and a first love long forgotten, she'd emerged as a figure of beauty, strength, and pride, seizing a starring role in the club and causing confidence to bloom in her like never before. But that hadn't been enough. The next two years were still tense and awkward, trying to live up to the expectations that her newfound fame had caused to be thrust upon her.

They were tough times, moments she didn't want to relive.

And then Blake had come into her life, and helped her see all those issues were nothing to worry about. Oh, she wished that she had met him YEARS ago, some of her best dreams were imagining that Blake had been in her freshman year, that the two of them had met and fallen in love, and how happy those times would be together.

Blake had made her the happiest girl in the world, she'd never felt the way she did with him ever before in her life. She only had a few short months left in her school life with him, and she wanted to make the most of them. She wanted to become Miss Pokemon Academy so everyone would know that her beloved boyfriend was dating the star of the school. It was the least she could do to repay him for all the confidence he'd given her, and neither Sango nor even Olivia would get in her way!

Sango's reason for trying so hard to win was a little more complicated. All her life, she'd grown up thinking that she wasn't the kind of girl people would find traditionally attractive. She'd heard the whispers behind her back, she'd caught the looks snooty girls had given her when they thought she wasn't looking (or, for the crueler ones, knowing full well that she could see and looking down on her anyway) and she'd withstood it all.

They'd been right, after all, she wasn't pretty or sweet or demure or any of the other things that boys liked about girls. She loved sports and video games and all sorts of things that boys found intimidating, and because of her looks she was never seen as "cute" for liking those things, so much as "strange". But she couldn't help who she was, and she couldn't change what she liked. She was just Sango, for better or worse.

The "worse" had been one day when a boy had asked her out because he'd lost a penalty game. She'd punched out two of his teeth when she'd heard. That had been a few years ago, just as she was coming to terms with the fact that puberty was not going to be her friend. Since then, love was something that she'd felt was wrong for her.

After all, no one wants the ugly girls.

Sango handled that realization as well as could be expected. She didn't stay up at night crying into her pillow that she wasn't pretty, because she wasn't some softie who cared about her looks. She acknowledged the hard truth and accepted it, and focused her attention towards other things that mattered more to her.

Internalizing the things other girls had said about her had made them come true. She never cared for her hair, because why would an ugly girl primp herself up? Who was she trying to impress? She'd spat at the idea of makeup, because why bother dressing up something that just wasn't appealing? And her clothes? Those were more about function, not to look appealing or stylish.

She'd gone through middle school without caring one bit how anyone else saw her, and had thought that high school would be the same.

Then she'd fallen in love. It was something that she'd never expected, something she'd assumed would be impossible, but it had happened. Sango had never been the kind of girl to think about love before, but then a boy occupied her thoughts constantly, and opened her up to a whole new world she'd never considered before.

And now he was with someone else, and she was happy for him.

Blake chose Ayame over her… no, it was ridiculous to even think of it in that context. Blake hadn't "chosen" Ayame over her, that would imply that she had even given him the chance to consider her as a romantic prospect.

Sango's insecurity, doubts, and shyness had seized her in the moment, and mixed together with a string of bad luck, she'd found herself unable to confess to him until it was too late, and she'd missed her chance entirely. She had been content with that being the extent of her love life, convincing herself that even if she'd confessed to him, he never would have chosen her, because Ayame was better than her in every way and no boy would ever find her attractive.

And then Aidan had confessed to her, and now she was just confused.

Aidan… she'd always seen him as nothing more than a friend. But apparently, he'd seen something more in her, thinking of her… that way.

It was a rather ironic parallel to her own situation with Blake, someone she wasn't even aware of could have feelings for her and only though of her as a friend had actually liked her this entire time, and she'd been caught completely off-guard.

Only Aidan had actually had the courage to confess.

It had hurt her to reject him, because she knew what it was like for the person you had feelings for to not feel the same way. But she couldn't lead him on, and she definitely wasn't going to treat her friend with the disrespect of dating him just to force herself to get over her feelings for Blake, Aidan deserved better than that.

But it had gotten her thinking. A boy liked her. A boy wanted to date her.

Maybe he was a weirdo who found ugly girls attractive.

Or maybe Sango hadn't given herself a fair shake in that regard. She'd always assumed that what the other girls had said about her was true, and hadn't thought much beyond that. She knew she wasn't the most attractive person in the world, but… maybe it wasn't impossible for a boy to like her, after all. Maybe love was something she could have in her life. It was something she'd started to believe in with the help of her friends. Back when Olivia had first showed her what she looked like when she actually put in work, with that pretty dress and her makeup, she had first started to imagine it was real, but… she hadn't really started to think that way until recently.

There were doubts, doubts that had wiggled their way into her heart and whispered in her ear that maybe it was possible. And those doubts were something that had caused her to change the way she looked at things.

Her doubt in what she knew to be true was what carried her forward. It was what had caused her to do her best in this tournament. She had entered mainly because of her obligations to Marion and the other students in the Ranger Course who were rooting for her, and hadn't thought much of the idea that she could actually be Miss Pokemon Academy.

But she had done well. Better than she could have imagined. She hadn't won the Beauty Competition, but people had still celebrated her performance and cheered for her, no one had laughed or called her ugly. She hadn't won the Cuteness Competition, but people still thought highly of her performance, following Olivia's advice and showing that she could be cute in her own way.

Somewhere along the line, doing her best in this contest had become less about living up to the expectations of others, and more about wanting to validate that someone like her really COULD become Miss Pokemon Academy. That even if she wasn't the prettiest girl, or the sweetest girl, or the sort of girl who would turn people's heads when they walked into the room or make boys fall all over themselves to ask her out, she could still be desirable.

Maybe it was shallow, but by the end it was something she WANTED.

But wanting wasn't the same as having. And as much as she wanted it, as much as she knew that if it happened, it would be amazing… in the back of her mind, there was still that little voice telling her that she was getting too big for her britches. Telling her that there was no WAY she could ever win, that no one would want a "Miss Pokemon Academy" like her. She'd tried to ignore it, pretend she couldn't hear it, but those doubts had persisted.

So she couldn't believe it when she grabbed that flag seconds ahead of Ayame and yanked it out of the ground, nearly losing her balance and falling flat on her face.

It was heavier than she imagined.

She looked at the flag, confused, and then looked at Ayame. Ayame seemed just as shocked as she was, and for a brief instant neither girl knew what to make of it. They just stood there, staring at each other, their lungs screaming at them to catch their breath.

Then Ayame smiled, and nodded, gesturing to the flag Sango held.

And that's when it became real for Sango.

"I… I won?" Sango murmured, turning the flag over in her hands. She… she had won. She had won the Toughness Competition.

"Well, nicely done! Our first two girls to make it to the top!"

Sango whirled around in surprise, realizing for the first time that she and Ayame weren't alone on the mountain peak. Kanone Harker was here! And Akira, too, and Ian, the judges from the earlier parts of the contest had been waiting there for her!

"I… I did it, I won," Sango said, a little more confidently.

"That you did!" Ian said, nodding in agreement and applauding her. "You're the first one to get to the flag, so that means you've won the Toughness Competition of the Miss Pokemon Academy Contest! Congratulations!"

The other boys were clapping for her as well, and for a moment pride surged in Sango's chest at the knowledge that she'd gotten first. Then reality sank in like a lead balloon, and she deflated as she realized that it wasn't over yet.

She'd won the Toughness Competition, sure, but that didn't necessarily mean she'd won the entire contest! If Alcea or Olivia were right behind her and Ayame, then that would mean she would lose! That would mean…

Sango glanced at the cliff, waiting to see who would come up next. If it was Alcea, that was it. The girl would have enough points to win.

And then Serefina pulled herself up onto the plateau, her boobs shaking. In that instant, Sango felt like Cynthia, desperate to throw herself into that massive chest and bury her face in Serefina's boobs, she was so overjoyed.

After Serefina came Gabrielle, cementing Sango's victory once and for all.

She'd done it. She'd won.

Like all her fatigue from the contest was catching up to her at once, Sango fell to her knees and gasped for air, giggling giddily to herself as she thought about what that meant.

Sango… She had won.

Back at the Milotic Dome, the crowd was going wild.

"And there you have it!" Lukas declared. "It came down to a photo finish! But I don't think there can be any doubts left that Sango Akana has won this Toughness Competition! Now, let's wait for the rest of the girls to return, so we can calculate the points all of our lovely young ladies have accrued in this competition!"

Even as he said that, he knew he wasn't fooling anyone. The audience could do the math, and they knew that Sango hadn't just won the Toughness Competition, she had won the entire Miss Pokemon Academy Contest.

"She won…" Cynthia said, tears of joy streaming down her face. "Sango won! Can you believe it, Maddi?! She actually won the whole thing!"

She grabbed Maddi by the shoulders and shook her back and forth, crying with glee at the fact that Sango had managed to win.

"…Oh, sorry," she chuckled awkwardly, letting go of Maddi and pulling back sheepishly. "I didn't mean to."

Maddi smiled. She actually smiled. That made two unbelievable things in one day. "It's okay," she assured Cynthia. "I don't mind."

"I gotta say, I was on the edge of my seat for a little," Nikita admitted. "But I'm glad Sango managed to win. She really did do her best."

"That's for sure," Reiner said. "She really showed that you don't have to be pretty to win a contest like this!"

He got an elbow in his side courtesy of Callie for that little remark, and Nikita was happy to lend a hand of her own in a slap.

"Rude!" Callie huffed. "She really did amazingly!"

"I agree," Nick said. "Seeing her like that, it really made me feel a little bit more confident in myself. I'm glad she won."

"What, I don't inspire confidence?" Callie asked, giving her boyfriend a sideways look.

Nick went pale. "N-No, that's not what I meant!" He said, shaking his head frantically. "I was just saying that, well… I mean, you're definitely an inspiration, it's just that… well…"

While Nick tried to dig himself out of the hole he'd found himself in, Kitty was just blossoming with joy at the results.

"She was amazing," Kitty said, nodding along with her friends. "Don't you guys think?" It was dumb to ask the thoughts of the others, because they were all agreeing with her. But verbalizing it made the victory seem a lot more real somehow.

"Definitely did good," Julia grinned. "I'm almost tempted not to tease her about her victory when the time comes."

That was something that Cynthia was looking forward to as well. A victory party, for sure, and then a lot of playful ribbing. She could already imagine it.

While everyone was celebrating Sango's inevitable win, there was someone else who was lost in thought, not joining in on the festivities.

Claire glanced at Blake. He had a stoic look on his face. "…So?" She asked. "What do you think? About Sango winning, I mean."

Blake was quiet. And then he smiled. It was a small smile, but an unmistakable one. "I'm happy for her," he said, and Claire brightened.

"Really?" She asked, relieved. "You're not upset that Ayame didn't win?"

Blake shook his head. "Aya did her best. She fought hard and never gave up until the end. Even though she lost, there's nothing she should be ashamed of. For me to be bitter about her loss would be an affront to how hard she tried." He gave Claire a brighter smile. "And besides. Sango did her best. She deserves to win, too. So I'm glad. If Aya had to lose to anyone, I'm glad it was to her."

He glanced at the girl sitting on the other side of him. "Kate, on the other hand-"

"I couldn't be happier," Kate said, holding her head up proudly. "Her highness may not have won the contest, but certainly she showed just how deserving of the title of Miss Pokemon Academy she was with her good deed!"

"…Well, as long as you're happy," Blake dryly replied.

"And there we have it! The last two girls have made it to the peak!" Lukas's announcement cut into Blake's thoughts, interrupting the gossip. "Now, let's calculate what points they earned! And remember, because Olivia and Alcea didn't make it to the top before the sun finished rising, they will receive no points whatsoever!"

Sango – 10 Points

Ayame – 8 Points

Serefina – 6 Points

Gabrielle – 5 Points

Darla – 4 Points

Lila – 2 Points

Alcea – 0 Points

Olivia – 0 Points

"With these points added to their total scores, we'll be able to see just who our Miss Pokemon Academy for this year will be!" Lukas declared, knowing as well as anyone in the audience just who it was going to be.

Sango – 38 Points – First Place

Ayame – 36 Points – Second Place

Alcea – 33 Points – Third Place

Darla – 32 Points – Fourth Place

Olivia – 30 Points – Fifth Place

Serefina – 25 Points – Sixth Place

Gabrielle: 24 Points – Seventh Place

Lila: 23 Points – Eighth Place

"And it's official!" Lukas declared. "Our Miss Pokemon Academy is… Sango Akana!"

Sango managed to win! She's the next Miss Pokemon Academy!