After a rather interesting and informative (not to mention delicious) breakfast, our two groups are moving onto the next big activity of the day! That's right, it's the moment you've all been waiting for, the trip to the beach! What will our gang get up to on the beach? Hopefully there'll be some exciting fun in the sun to be had, and maybe some exciting drama to go with it!

JoshGamerV: I guess we'll have to see.

KedharS: Well, the beach is upon us. We'll have to see how smoothly our groups can handle the beach and everything that comes with it. There should be some fun to be had, at the very least.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 894

After the awkward but delicious breakfast, it was time for the two groups to move onto the main activity of the day.

The beach!

Everyone was teaming with excitement as they headed down to the water. But the differences between the two groups were quite pronounced. The socialites of the Empress's group were gossiping and talking about what fun they would have at the beach. Meanwhile, the Commander's group wasn't nearly as social. While still pleasant company, there were people like Maddi and Mason who intentionally kept their distance from others. Vic was as stern as she always was, and Chloe was on complete and total overload.

Marion, of course, the lone outsider to the two groups, was trying to get as many people to go fishing with her as she could.

Needless to say, the mood was kind of odd by the time they reached the shore. It was early in the day but already pretty warm out, so the beaches were decently crowded.

"I will say one thing about the Orre Region," Hiromi murmured. "Even with all the damage done to the environment by humans… it can still show some beautiful scenery, huh?"

"Absolutely," Rui grinned, nodding in agreement with her fellow chaperone. She clapped Hiromi on the shoulder. "You should really come with us to see Agate Village sometime, my hometown is a picture of loveliness!"

Hiromi grinned. "Well, if that's what the kids agree on, I'd love to take you up on that offer, Mrs. Carver! Agate Village sounds lovely!" As a retired Pokemon Ranger, Hiromi loved to see beautiful scenery, which was what made the Orre Region such a tragedy in her eyes.

She turned to Marion, and walked over to her. "Hey, Marion. If you like… I can chaperone you and anyone else you'd want to go fishing with."

Hiromi had grown attached to Marion. Not just because the girl seemed to be alone, for some reason. The truth was, Hiromi had already figured out that Marion wasn't on this trip with the other students. She'd called the trip organizers the night before to try and track down her group, and they let her know that Marion was studying in the Orre Region on a special practicum course; she was supposed to be there from the very beginning.

After hearing that, Hiromi could have just sent the girl on her way. But she didn't. Because she didn't want to.

Hiromi loved her daughters. She really did. They were the light of her life, and she hadn't for a moment regretted retiring from her ranger duties to take care of them. When she heard Ayame had a boyfriend, she'd been absolutely thrilled. And when she'd learned that Megumi wasn't really paralyzed, she'd wept tears of joy.

But she couldn't deny the fact that deep down inside, she felt a little lonely that neither of her daughters shared her passion for being a Pokemon Ranger. Oh, certainly, they loved pokemon and they loved the mountain they'd grown up on. But Hiromi had always imagined having a daughter who would one day take up her capture styler and bond with pokemon the way that she had.

That was all it was though, a dream. She had never once tried to force either girl down that path; she hadn't even brought it up with them herself, because she had always been afraid that she would pressure them in some way. And even then, she'd still made that mistake with Megumi by being too enthusiastic and supportive. Hiromi wasn't a perfect mother, but at the very least she wanted her girls to find their own paths in life.

And they had. Since abandoning her wheelchair, Megumi's paintings were more vibrant and full of life than ever, and now Ayame was running full steam towards becoming a Pokeathlete with her head held high and a smile on her face. Hiromi could not have been more proud of the futures that her daughters had decided on.

But she'd be lying if she said she didn't feel the tiniest bit lonely that she couldn't share her own interests with her girls.

Maybe that was the reason she hadn't said anything, and just let Marion stick around. Marion wasn't trying to become a Pokemon Ranger, sure, but she was aiming to be a Pokemon Conservationist. And in a way, that was a lot like what Hiromi was doing now. The conversation at breakfast had just confirmed it, she was someone that understood the value of pokemon and the natural world, and was dedicating her life to trying to preserve it.

…Well, a very specific subsection of it, anyway, but Hiromi wasn't aware of that.

So yeah, Hiromi had the tiniest little "mom-crush" on Marion, and wanted to get to know her better. And if that meant fishing with her for a little bit, no big deal. She'd actually had a lot of fun the other day on their fishing trip. It reminded her of that time she and Hideo climbed Mt. Silver when the girls were little and did some ice fishing in that tiny little cabin. One of her warmer family memories before things had gotten complicated.

Maybe they could go again when Ayame was done with school. She might even invite Marion along, that sounded like something she'd enjoy. But those plans were for later, right now she needed to focus on the fishing in front of her, and the smile of the girl who loved it.

Marion's face lit up with glee. "Really?! You mean it?!"

Hiromi grinned. "Of course! …As long as it's okay with Mrs. Carver, of course," she added, turning back to Rui. "You wouldn't mind looking after my other kids for a while, would you? Just for a little bit while I get some fishing done with Marion?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Marion said, nodding excitedly. "It'll only be, like, 10 hours minimum, not long at all!"

Rui ignored that with a laugh. "I'd be glad to," she agreed. "And please, you can just call me Rui. Us moms gotta stick together after all!"

They shared another laugh.

"Well… while they're doing that…" Donoma had a wicked thought cross her mind. She'd been content just to pick up some hunks on the beach, but she had a pretty good feeling that Giselle wouldn't be okay with her bringing someone back to their hotel room to screw. So she would have to get her entertainment some other way.

Donoma held up her fingers in the shape of a camera as an exciting idea took place. "I know! We can have a swimsuit contest!"

Everyone looked at her with confusion.

"A… what?" Callie asked.

Donoma rolled her eyes. "A swimsuit contest? Got, you Battle Course people are so thick. What I mean is that we girls go get changed into our swimsuits, and we have the boys here rate which ones they like the best! What do you think?"

Callie thought that sounded like the dumbest thing she'd ever heard. She didn't want the boys to rate her swimsuit! Comparing her figure to Alcea and Olivia? Hell, even Donoma! Not to mention the fact that even girls with more modest figures like Darla and Lila were still a higher level than she could hope to achieve with her scrawny frame.

Lukas, of course, thought it was a great idea. "I love it!" He said, nodding enthusiastically. "It's the perfect way to get in the beach mood!"

Everyone could read his ulterior motives like a book.

"…I also think it's an okay idea," Allen admitted. "But don't you think it's a little unbalanced? After all, you girls are in the Appeals Course. You can't really expect the Commander's group to be that interested in a glorified beauty contest, after all."

He dangled the bait in way that would have made Marion proud, and lo and behold it wasn't long before he got a bite.

"Hey! Are you looking down on us?!" Tommy demanded, falling for the goad like the idiot he was.

"No, no, I didn't mean anything like that," Allen smoothly lied. "I was just saying that while our group has a lot of girls that would be happy to flaunt their assets like that, your group, well…"

He glanced at the girls in the Commander's group and shrugged. It went without saying.

Vic's face was locked in a scowl filled with even more disgust than the one she usually wore. It was obvious what she thought of the idea of a swimming contest. Something like that was totally worthless to their goals.

Maddi looked even more put-off than Vic was. She already didn't want to go swimming to begin with. The notion of walking around flaunting off her body like some Cynthia Fafnir was completely out of the question.

Callie, of course, rightly believed that she didn't have the figure for something like that, and didn't want to even try.

Then there was Chloe. Unlike the other girls, Chloe DID have the body to pull off a swimsuit, and look damn good while doing it. Slender and petite, but with curves in all the right places. With her though, it was a matter of desire.

Simply put, the idea of showing off her figure in front of a bunch of people she barely knew was enough to make her die of shame. The face mask she wore and the bangs over her eyes spoke volumes about her willingness to go along with this idea, nothing more needed to be said.

So really, Alcea was the only person who would be a good candidate for the swimsuit contest. And she didn't really have the inclination herself.

But unfortunately for her, there was someone there who DID have the inclination to see Alcea compete in the swimsuit contest. And that person was a girl named Olivia Himeko.

Olivia wanted to prove that she was better than Alcea at everything. She wanted to show everyone that between the two of them, she was the one who would pull of a swimsuit better than her rival! Alcea may have upstaged her yesterday, but now she was prepared! Alcea couldn't back out of this, she wasn't going to let her!

And it was also definitely not because Olivia wanted to see Alcea in a swimsuit again. That was the furthest thing from her mind as she thought about how she could get the other group on board with the idea.

Luckily, it wasn't that difficult. She walked over to the Commander and stood directly in front of him, staring him in the eye.

Vic tensed up, prepared to start a scuffle if the Empress was looking to pick a fight. But she didn't need to worry.

"Think of it like a battle," she said simply.

Alden scrunched his face up in confusion. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"You like pokemon battles, right?" Olivia said, rolling her eyes at how obvious the statement was. "Well, why not try a battle on my turf for once?"

"…I'm not really following," Alden said, shaking his head. But his fingers were already tickling his belt. "But if it's a battle you want, sure, I'd be happy to-"

"Absolutely not," Olivia curtly rejected him. She'd had enough battle maniacs to last a lifetime. "This isn't a pokemon battle, it's a beach battle. Us girls showing just how skilled we are at drawing attention to ourselves, getting people intrigued by what they see. You're all about the excitement that can be found in fighting pokemon, right? But you know that's not the only way to get a thrill."

Alden shrugged. "I mean, yeah, people like things other than pokemon battles."

"So why not give it a try before you reject it?" Olivia asked, putting on her most professional smile. "You might find that it's more fun than you think."

This was a calculated manipulation on Olivia's part. She had a pretty good sense of the power dynamics of the Commander's organization, and because of that, she knew how often they moved according to his whims.

Mainly that was because of the Commander's lieutenant, Victoria Carver. A woman who ruled over the group with an iron fist. If she could get Victoria on board, then the others would fall in line. And hopefully that peer pressure would be enough to convince Alcea to take part.

While Olivia was thinking about this, Alden was having some thoughts of his own.

The entire purpose of starting the Battle Frontier in the Orre Region was because Alden wanted to introduce the trainers of Orre to a style of battling that they weren't open to at the moment. He wanted to show them how fun it was to battle just for the sake of the fight, without having to worry about winning or losing.

The problem was, the people of the Orre Region weren't receptive to that idea. Alden didn't expect to change their perspective overnight, of course, and he'd only been in the region for one day. But he couldn't help remembering his fight with Alcea before.

They'd both given the fight their all, and battled with their "Sense" at full blast. And the crowd had picked up on it. They'd gotten invested, excited, but in the end, it had been for nothing. Their interest just kind of faded away.

Alden wasn't one to get discouraged, but that situation had opened his eyes to the scope of the issue that he was dealing with here. Getting the people of the Orre Region to change their perspective was going to be an arduous task.

So maybe, if he really wanted to undertake that challenge, it would be better if he changed his perspective as well?

Alden had never really tried Pokemon Contests before. There wasn't anything he really found exciting about them. And even now, he didn't want to participate in one.

But maybe that was limiting his thinking. Maybe he needed to open his mind to other kinds of competitions and different ways to have fun and get excited. It might lead to a new understanding of how to reach the people of Orre.

Could he really change their minds about Pokemon Battles while being close-minded himself about something like this? The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like a bad decision.

Olivia wasn't perceptive enough to understand the mental dilemma running through Alden's thoughts right now. But she was lucky that her interest just happened to coincide with his own confusion at the moment.

Alden made his decision. "You know what? Sure, why not? It could be fun!"

Olivia was actually taken aback for a second. She hadn't expected him to just go along with it, but she wasn't going to complain, either. If Alden was onboard, then that meant-

"You can't be serious!" Vic exclaimed, her jaw dropping with disbelief. "Commander, you wouldn't actually expect us to take part in some… tawdry fashion show?!"

…Or maybe not.

Alden shrugged. "What's the big deal? Olivia's right, maybe it would be fun!"

Vic couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was about to say something else when Olivia approached her directly, putting her on the defensive.

"…What is it?" Vic hissed, eyeing the other girl suspiciously.

Olivia just smiled. She leaned in close and whispered in Vic's ear, "you know, if you were interested… this might be the best chance you have at getting your Commander to seriously look at you while wearing a swimsuit, you know."

Vic's scowl froze on her face. She couldn't formulate a reply to Olivia's goading words, she didn't even know what to think about them!

Olivia may have been blind to the Commander's dilemma, but when it came to girls and feelings, that was something she knew very well. Most people who looked at the relationship between Vic and the Commander probably wouldn't see anything romantic. They behaved very professionally, almost like a superior and a subordinate, with Vic being slightly more aggressive and dedicated to the cause than he was.

But Olivia saw further. She could see the signs of a girl who wanted the attention of a boy, and she was willing to take advantage of it.

Meanwhile, Vic was at war with herself. It wasn't like she had any opposition to wearing a swimsuit, after all, she had brought one on this trip for a reason. And she did want the Commander to see her in it, and think she looked good in it.

But that was a lot different than strutting around the beach for the sole purpose of showing herself off to a bunch of guys!

…Even if she did want the Commander to look at her…

…Even if the Commander did want to participate…

Vic realized pretty quickly that she was the only one who was really objecting to the idea on principle.

Objecting to something that, deep down, she kind of wanted to do.

"…Fine," she barked. "We'll do it. The Commander said so, so that's what we're going to do, you girls understand?!"

Vic's glare wasn't something to be argued with.

But her mother was a different story.

"Now, now, Vic, let's not get carried away," Rui said, stepping up and placing a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Not everyone here necessarily would want to join in the contest, isn't that right? After all, you were just objecting to it a second ago."

"Maybe, but it's the Commander's orders," Vic grumbled. Although if she was being honest with herself, she actually wanted Chloe and Alcea to sit out. The Commander was getting a little too close to them for her comfort, and they had better figures than she did.

"How about this?" Rui decided. "Let's do it! A swimsuit contest! But if you don't want to, that's fine! You can just sit out, how about that?"

"Oooh!" Marion piped up. "How about they come fishing with me and Hiromi instead?! It's gonna be a lot of fun!"

"I'll do that," Celia said automatically. She wasn't thrilled about a swimsuit contest, and she liked fishing quite a bit. It was the perfect match.

"I'm in too," Jessie said, agreeing with her cousin. Swimsuit competitions weren't really her thing, and there was zero chance of her winning.

"Great!" Rui said, clapping her hands. "We're all in agreement!"

So it looks like the swimsuit contest is a go! But which girls are going to participate, and which girls are going to sit it out to go fishing with Marion?