This chapter draws an official end to the Miss Pokemon Academy Contest. Where will we go from here? We'll move onto a new arc!

KedharS: She really tried her hardest, she definitely deserves it!

Pokemonking0924: It definitely did wonders for her self-esteem. And you're right, those two do need to sort out their issues.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Yes, it's finally over. Our girls really tried their hardest, that's for sure!

JoshGamerV: This arc had a lot more characters to work off of, that's probably why.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 778

Darla was the first one up the cliff. Standing up and catching her breath for a second, she removed her harness and glanced down at Lila climbing up below her and reached out a hand to help her up. But Lila didn't take it.

"No," Lila said, shaking her head. The look in her eye was adamant, and Darla was so stunned by it she couldn't do anything but smile and nod.

"Okay," Darla agreed, retracting her hand and stepping back. If Lila wanted to do this on her own, then Darla would let her.

Lila strained every muscle she had, but she managed to pull herself up, climbing onto the peak. Panting, she flopped over and spread out across the plateau, drained of energy. "I… I did it… I actually managed… to get to the top…"

She burst out laughing, rolling across the ground. She sat up, looking at Darla with a renewed sense of excitement.

"I did it…" She beamed up at her partner. "I don't have the strength to stand, but I managed to finish it, and it's all thanks to you, Darla. Because you believed in me."

Darla smiled back, crouching down next to her friend. "You did a great job, Lila. I'm really proud of you for making it that far."

A smirk crossed her lips.

"Has this opened your eyes to a new appreciation for working out and keeping in shape? Maybe give you some new thoughts?" She purred.

Lila shot her a dirty look.

Clearly, she had not changed her position THAT much.

"Whatever," she grumbled, wincing a little as the soreness she'd been ignoring began to sink into her bones. "This whole thing was dreadful! And I'm definitely going to be in last place! After this mess, I need a spa day!" She wailed.

Darla rolled her eyes.

Meanwhile, Alcea and Olivia were still climbing, and had managed to reach the peak. That was when the competition was formally concluded. All that was left was to calculate the totals, telling everyone what they already knew.

Sango did the math. She did it three times, because she was really bad at math. And it still added up properly.

She really had won.

A few hours passed between the official conclusion of the Miss Pokemon Academy Contest and the awards ceremony. During that time, Olivia was rushed to the infirmary to take care of the wounds from her fall. Alcea was taken to get looked at as well, to make sure that her wounds sustained during the fall weren't critical either, so that was two of the eight finalists who didn't even attend the awards ceremony.

It would have only been five, but Darla refused to let Lila go take a shower until the contest was officially over.

Back in the Milotic Dome, Sango stood center stage with her head held high, Silver floating beside her. She had a giddy look on her face, a mixture of joy and disbelief. Standing in her mussed-up ranger uniform, soaked in sweat with her hair a mess, she didn't feel like Miss Pokemon Academy. She could barely see with the hot spotlights aimed at her, and she squinted her eyes trying to make out her friends' faces in the crowd.

She couldn't see them, of course, the lights were blinding and everyone looked like shadows. But the knowledge that her friends were out there, watching her, made her feel lighter than air.

Kanone had received the honor of bestowing Sango her regalia. It was great, she got a nice little trophy, and a tiara, and even a sash that read "Miss Pokemon Academy". She'd never won a sash before, it was kind of nice.

"Congratulations," Kanone said. "You really tried your hardest out there, giving it your best in all the competitions. I can't think of anyone here today more deserving of the title of Miss Pokemon Academy! Do you have anything you'd like to say?"

Kanone stepped aside and let Sango have her time in the limelight, handing her a microphone so she could address her eager audience.

Sango swallowed and looked around again. She cleared her throat. "W-When… *ahem* when I first got informed that I'd made it to the finals of the Miss Pokemon Academy Contest… I'll admit I wasn't very enthusiastic about it."

"That's an understatement!" She heard Cynthia's voice echo from the crowd.

Sango laughed. Even though Cynthia had interrupted her, those three words had done wonders to break her tension. "Honestly, I thought that there were a lot of people here who deserved the title more than I did. After all, I received the least votes out of the finalists, I barely made it in. I wasn't… I wasn't confident that I could win, so I convinced myself I didn't want to win. But… I did want to win, deep down inside. And that's why I never gave up."

She could feel the tears start to build up in her eyes. She had no idea how much this had meant to her until now, but she embraced the emotions as they came. "You see, I've always been the kind of girl who gives her all in everything I do… everything except my femininity. I just… I thought it wasn't worth it, that I wasn't the kind of girl who could win votes for something like this. But… my fellow contestants showed me how wrong I was. They convinced me that it wasn't about who was prettiest or who could be the best girlfriend or anything like that. It was about being the best version of myself that I could be. So I tried my hardest, and I didn't give up, showing everyone who I was."

She took a deep breath, trying to keep her voice from cracking.

"And I think I learned a little bit more about who I am myself, too."

Sango had changed. It wasn't just that she had won the contest, though winning had certainly validated what she already believed.

"I have every right to be here, competing against all these beautiful, talented, special girls. And not only that, but I deserve to be Miss Pokemon Academy." Sango turned to Ayame, how was smiling and nodding encouragingly at her. Ayame gave her a thumbs' up that just melted her heart, and for a brief moment she didn't envy Ayame for being with Blake, but the other way around. "But it isn't just me who deserves this title," she said, turning her attention back to the audience.

She continued, "I think that every one of us on stage, every girl who tried her hardest in this contest… no, not just that," she corrected herself, shaking her head. "I think every girl in this school deserves to be 'Miss Pokemon Academy'. As long as you never give up and try your hardest, then I think that you should be considered Miss Pokemon Academy, too!

"…But I'm not giving back my sash, it's mine," she quickly added, pulling it close to her body like someone would snatch it away. Laughter rose out through the crowd. "But as I was saying, even though I've been titled Miss Pokemon Academy, I don't think that means I'm anyone special. And that isn't just me looking down on myself, either." She shook her head. "No, whatever the reason it was that I won, I know that never giving up was part of it. And all of us can do that. So this year, I'm Miss Pokemon Academy. Next year, it could be anybody. So let's all do our best, and make next year's contest just as wonderful as this one!"

She finished with a smile, wiping the sweat from her brow.

The crowd broke out into rapturous applause, and Sango basked in it. Her words had reached the crowd, and they agreed with her. It was an intoxicating feeling, she understood why Olivia loved competitions like this.

No one was cheering more for Sango than her friends. Cynthia was yelling so loudly she practically drowned out all the others, overjoyed that one of her best friends had won the contest. Swept up in the excitement of the event, she wasn't even thinking of the celebration party she was going to throw.

Blake was cheering loudly too, surprised at how happy he was for Sango. He'd certainly been rooting for her to do her best, but he couldn't imagine cheering any louder than he was for Aya if she had been the one to win, instead.

He was nothing but proud for all the girls who had done their best. Sango was absolutely right about what she said.

When the awards ceremony finished, Sango was faced with a new issue. She crouched down in her dressing room, her sash wrapped around her like armor and her trophy brandished ahead of her like a shield.

"Are they… still out there?" She asked nervously.

Ayame took a look through the peephole. Even though she had wanted to go to the infirmary to check on Olivia, she had accompanied Sango to her dressing room to make sure the girl would be okay. This had to be quite a shock for her, after all. And besides, she knew that Olivia was okay, it was just a bad sprain.

"Yup. A whole mess of 'em out there," Ayame confirmed.

Sango, on the other hand, needed as much help as she could get. When Olivia had won the Miss Pokemon Academy Contest the previous times, she had accrued more than her fair share of callers in the hours and days that followed. Whether people asking for an autograph, girls trying to cozy up to her in order to ride her coattails, or boys who hadn't gotten the memo that she was strictly a "girl's girl", there was no end to it.

But Sango didn't have the same presence that Olivia did. She couldn't confidently rebuff the advances of others, because it wasn't the kind of attention she was used to. So when faced with a sudden, massive burst in her popularity, she hid away in her dressing room.

Sango acknowledged the irony of hiding out from her newfound fans after the inspiring speech she just gave about facing adversity and never giving up, but now wasn't the time to be chastising herself for her hypocrisy. She was used to facing physical challenges and obstacles of all sorts, but this was a field she wasn't exactly experienced in.

She had a lot more practice being an outgoing and excited friend than she did being an object of desire. That was something that she definitely wasn't comfortable with.

Still, she could at least be strong enough to not hide away and rely on Ayame's protection! She rose to her feet and walked over to her friend.

"So what's the plan?" Sango asked. "There aren't any windows we can climb out of or anything, and the idea of wading through that crowd of people is a little…"

"Castform?" Silver floated around the room, trying to find some hidden doors. Sango shook her head and laughed. She knew there weren't likely to be any.

"Well, when the boss one, she would just bathe in the adoration," Ayame admitted. "You know how it goes, signing autographs, breaking hearts, handing out phone numbers to the prettier girls who came by…"

"…I'm not really comfortable with most of that," Sango said.

"Nah, figures," Ayame said. "Still, I think the best thing you should do is go out there and face it for yourself, you know? After all, it's just going to keep happening now."

Ayame grinned and clapped Sango on the shoulder. "That's the weight you take onto your shoulders when you win the title of 'Miss Pokemon Academy', Sango! Congratulations!"

"…Is that why you're not upset about losing to me?" Sango dryly asked.

"Nah, I actually enjoy the spotlight a decent amount," Ayame laughed. "I'm just honestly happy for you, girl!"

Sango brightened, curious. "Oh, really?"

"Yeah. Ever since you won, you've just seemed a lot… happier, sort of," Ayame said. She scratched her hair in thought. "Well, maybe not happier, maybe just… lighter? Brighter? I don't know, I'm not good at putting my thoughts into words… it's just really clear that you've been in a better mood. I think winning was really good for you, and I'm happy for you!"

Sango blushed, averting her eyes from Ayame. "Th-Thanks," she said bashfully. "Honestly, yeah, it's… kind of been amazing. I mean… I'm the Miss Pokemon Academy, you know?"

"Exactly! You won, and you did it because you never gave up!" Ayame nodded vigorously. "So own up to it, girl! Walk out there with your head held high and show them all that you deserve to be Miss Pokemon Academy!"

Sango nodded. Ayame was absolutely right! So confrontations like these weren't something she was used to? Well, so what? She was going to have to get used to it, and the time to get used to it was right now!

"Yeah, you're right, Ayame!" Sango agreed. "Let's go, Silver! We can't keep hiding out in here forever, let's go and show them who their new Miss Pokemon Academy is!"

With her head held high, Sango walked out of the dressing room with Silver at her side, and was promptly swallowed by the crowd of people.

Ayame shut the door and closed her eyes, saying a silent prayer for her friend as her wails echoed from the hallway.

…So maybe she was a LITTLE miffed at not winning. That didn't change anything she'd said, she was overjoyed at Sango's victory, and the other girl absolutely deserved it! Still, she was allowed a little bit of fun at Sango's expense.

Sango didn't see it as "a little bit of fun" though. She was really fucking upset at the moment, and just trying to keep her head above water. She managed to wade through the crowd, clutching her trophy and sash tightly, realizing that this wasn't the sort of thing she was good at.

As a Pokemon Ranger, she would need to be personable. She knew that. But there was a difference between "personable" and whatever the heck this was. She finally managed to break free without punching anyone's lights out, which was about as good as she could ask for.

She was overjoyed when she finally managed to find her friends through the crowd of fans.

"Okay, okay, that's enough! Back it up people, best friend coming through!" Cynthia's obnoxious voice rang out through the chatter, and Sango couldn't be happier about her friend's overwhelming forcefulness and lack of respect for personal boundaries.

Cynthia elbowed her way through the crowd, the head of a line of her friends. She took Sango by the hand, and Sango could see the excitement in her eyes.

"Time for congratulations later," she hissed. "Let's get you outta here!"

Sango could just kiss her.

With the help of her friends running interference on the crowd of people, Sango was finally able to get some breathing room, and they stepped out of the Milotic Dome and into the early morning sunlight. Sango squinted. It was nice.

A slap on her back shook her out of it, and she turned to see Cynthia beaming at her nearly as brightly as the sun.

"Sango!" She exclaimed, pulling her friend into a tight hug. "You did it! You won! I can't believe you actually won!"

"…Gee, thanks," Sango said. She would have made a snarky comment about Cynthia's lack of faith in her, but she decided not to. She was so happy right now she would just bask in the compliments for a little bit.

"You were so cool up there!" Kitty was the next one to congratulate her after Cynthia finally gave her some room to breathe. While not a hugging sort of girl, Kitty's eyes still shimmered with adoration. "I thought you were really cool, saying all that stuff."

"Definitely," Julia grinned. "That line about how all us girls are deserving of being Miss Pokemon Academy? That was a lot of heart from you, Sango."

"I mean, it's true, right?" Sango said. "Julia, you could definitely be Miss Pokemon Academy, or you, Kitty, or Maddi, or Callie, or Nikita, heck, even Cynthia, you could do it, too!"

"Hey, what's with the 'even Cynthia'?" Cynthia laughed, elbowing Sango in the side. "You trying to start something, girl?"

Sango laughed back. This was way more her speed. Forget the attention of her adoring public, she was fine just joking around with her friends. And there was one friend in particular that she wanted to know the thoughts of, though she was too anxious to ask.

Sango glanced at Blake. She wondered…

"Congratulations, Sango!" Blake smiled at her. "You were amazing! Way to go!"

That was enough for her. A weight she didn't even know she was carrying suddenly slipped off her shoulders, and she was lighter than ever.

"Thanks, Blake," she grinned back at him.

This was a wonderful day.

While Sango was enjoying spending time with her friends and celebrating her victory along with her newfound fame, unbeknownst to any of them, someone was watching from the shadows of the Milotic Dome.

"Not bad, Sango…" Sylvia mused.

"What was that?" The voice on the other end of the phone sharply asked.

"Nothing, Phantom, don't worry about it," Sylvia shushed him. "It's not something we need to concern ourselves with."

"I see," the Phantom muttered.

Sylvia grinned. "Why, Phantom, if I didn't know any better, I would think you were in a bad mood! What's the matter? How can I help?"

"Haven't you already done enough?" He snapped. "No, on second thought, if you had done enough I wouldn't be asking, now would I?"

Sylvia sighed and shrugged her shoulders, twirling a knife between her fingers. "Now, that's not my fault! I sabotaged the Empress's harness just like you wanted. Who could have guessed that she would wear it out before she reached a point where the fall would be fatal? Or that Alcea would save her? You can't blame me for not seeing every possibility you know."

"I don't want to hear any excuses from you," the Phantom growled. "I asked you to take care of it! What do I keep you around for if not your ability to predict the actions of fools like those girls?"

Sylvia's smirk widened and her eyes glinted. "Because you know I would be a far more dangerous enemy?"

The Phantom didn't have a response for that. "…Just take care of her," he finally growled. "That girl is a problem. The mole I have in her organization won't mean much if you aren't able to cut the problem at the root before she gets found."

"It's not like your little spy has any suspicion cast their way, right?" Sylvia said, twirling a lock of hair absentmindedly. "Don't you think you're overreacting a little-"

"Just. Take. Care. Of. Her." The Phantom spat through gritted teeth.

"Fine, fine," Sylvia said, rolling her eyes and hanging up on him. She stretched. "Back to the drawing board, I guess."

So the Miss Pokemon Academy Contest has finally come to a close! But things aren't all sunshine and rainbows! There's some fallout coming, as we officially start moving towards war between the Daevas! What lies ahead on this path?