After the other girls had their chances to show off their swimsuits, there are only three competitors remaining! And they're definitely going to be giving it their all. But who's going to emerge the victor? Who has the best swimsuit? Let's see!

KedharS: Well, she's the kind of girl who gets easily embarrassed. It's just part of being a shy introvert with self-esteem issues.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: I try very hard to get the personalities of the characters I borrow correct. It helps to have such a thorough outline, and it helps that Chloe is very similar to a certain half-elf I know as well, so it was easy to build off of.

Rowlets and Oshawotts: Hopefully she can be a little more confident.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 898

The swimsuit contest was off to a good start. But the best was yet to come. Three more girls still hadn't had a chance to debut their swimsuits, and they promised to be the most troublesome trio out of the contestants.

Vic, of course, didn't want to be there, and while Alcea didn't mind as much, she was certainly enough to attract the crowd's attention, which Olivia would probably not respond well to. It would encourage her to try even harder, and make an even bigger show of herself, and given how attractive Olivia was, that only had one foreseeable result.

Needless to say, from where Callie was standing this was going to be a really entertaining situation, to say the least.

"Okay everyone!" Lukas announced, rising from his seat and turning to the audience with a big grin on his face. With the recognition that this competition was now being held in front of a large group of people, he was starting to get a lot more animated, excitedly rooting for the girls and behaving like the showman he was. "We only have a few girls left to exhibit their swimsuits today, only three remaining! But they're definitely not to be underestimated!"

He had to suppress the smirk on his face. The next girl to come out would be an exciting one, alright, he almost felt a little nervous.

"So here's Vic!" He declared, sitting back down.

Vic stepped out of the changing room like a killer walking into a field of corpses. There was nothing attractive or alluring about the look on her face, a glare filled with contempt. But she made up for it with her body.

A utilitarian girl like Vic would never pick out a swimsuit that would look gaudy or flashy. She wasn't the kind of person interested in showing off to everyone. Because she hadn't picked it out with this competition in mind, it ended up looking almost plain.

But not on her. It was a black two-piece, very simple. It wasn't even that skimpy, a more modest bikini that didn't even show her cleavage, going all the way up to her neck as sort of a segmented sleeveless shirt that revealed her navel. It gave off a very sporty sort of appeal, the kind of swimsuit that Ayame might have picked out. And on Vic, it didn't look that out of place.

She held herself with a surprising amount of confidence for someone who didn't participate in events like these. That was because Vic was the kind of girl who wouldn't let herself be shaken or compromised.

Of course, Vic wasn't expecting to win, or even really stand a chance in a swimsuit competition against girls like Olivia Himeko, or even Alcea Vermeil. They were the type of women who were built for something like this, they made everything they wore look good. Compared to them, Vic was more normal, reserved, and cold.

But she wasn't interested in winning. It was the furthest thing from her mind, in fact. What Vic was concerned with was only what the Commander said about her. Alden's approval and what he thought about her were the only things that mattered to Vic, and as long as he liked it, she wouldn't care what the other two morons had to say.

So what, if Vic couldn't do sexy? She didn't care about sexy, and neither did Alden. So she would just go out into the sun and look her best, and hopefully he would understand that she was the one who deserved to win.

At the Pokemon Academy, there were a lot of rumors about the relationship between the Commander and his lieutenant, Vic. A lot of people took it for granted that the two of them were probably dating, while a bunch more who were intimidated by Vic's menacing aura were under the interpretation that because Vic was, well, Vic, Alden wouldn't want to date her any more than anyone else would have wanted to.

Because of that, Vic was a little sensitive to how other people interpreted their relationship. Because the fact of the matter was, she did like Alden, and she did want to date him. He had wormed his way into her heart with that dream of his, and she wouldn't have it any other way. The only problem was, now she was in a situation where she couldn't be sure how she was supposed to get his attention.

And it wasn't like she hadn't been trying. Vic had worked incredibly hard to try and get Alden to turn her way, but no matter what she tried to do it was like he just didn't care. It had gotten to the point where she had suspicions about whether or not he was even attracted to women in the first place, which would be a whole other issue for her.

But at the end of the day, she still wanted him to fall in love with her. She might have been intimidating and strong, and scary to a lot of people, but deep down inside she was still a human being. A girl with a heart who wanted the boy she liked to like her back.

She tried not to let that get in the way of her better judgment, to varying degrees of success. But the problem was, Vic wasn't the kind of person who would give up. Maybe if Alden directly rejected her and told her he wasn't interested, then she would back down from her feelings and go on supporting him as his loyal subordinate, but that wasn't the nature of their relationship.

Alden was just too much of a dense, insensitive jerk for that to be viable.

So instead, it ended with Vic doing everything she could to get the boy she liked to look her way, and Alden remaining clueless as he encouraged her to do her best, not realizing that the reason she was doing her best was because she wanted him to like her.

But now it was all going to change. That was what Vic had decided with this swimsuit competition. It was a rare opportunity to put Alden in a situation where he had no choice but to look at girls, and maybe even begin thinking about her that way.

She could put up with a little public humiliation if it was for a goal like that.

So she walked confidently across the sand and up to the judges' table, holding her head high and looking down at them with a piercing glare, as if she was daring the boys to say something disparaging about the swimsuit she had picked out.

Allen wasn't one to be easily intimidated, though, so he gladly went first.

"Well," he began, "it's clear that the swimsuit you picked out highlights your figure nice. It's a very cheap brand, so that's going to cost you a few points, but the coloration is nice and the fabric is at an acceptable quality for a swimsuit. The design highlights your shoulders and midriff well, as does the cut of the bottoms, and it does an acceptable job of accentuating your athletic physique. As far as sporty swimwear goes, I've certainly seen worse, so I'm going to give you a 7 out of 10."

Vic didn't think that was a very good score, but she didn't mind. It wasn't his opinion that mattered to her anyway. She wasn't even looking at him. Her attention was focused solely on Alden, staring so deeply into his eyes it was like she was reading his thoughts as he studied her swimsuit extensively, trying to figure out what score he should give her.

While this silent discussion went on, Lukas came up and began giving his own approximation of what score Vic deserved.

"I think it's nice!" He decided, smiling lightheartedly in an attempt to lighten the mood. "Your swimsuit definitely suits you, and it gives you a real cool beauty air, even if your scowl kind of ruins it. But I can definitely imagine you getting a lot of attention in clothes like these that emphasize your body so nicely, and I think our audience really agrees!"

At this, Lukas turned and gestured at the crowd. Vic spared them the slightest of glances before returning her attention to Alden.

The crowd assembled for the swimsuit contest had predictably been a little off-put by Vic's intimidating aura, but once the shock of that had worn off and they'd been given the chance to really get a good look at the swimsuit she was wearing, things started to warm up.

After all, Vic was cold and intimidating, and on her best days she was still a real piece of work, but she was still a beautiful girl. If she put a little care into her appearance and tried smiling every now and then, she could be a real stunner.

Of course, the only person she wanted to look nice for was the Commander, so that was a moot point for her.

Right now, though, she was trying to look her best for him, which is why she'd put on makeup. (Well, she'd quietly pulled her mom aside and asked her to do it, but that was just a detail) Even though she hadn't done anything to fix the scowl on her face, she still looked nice.

And the crowd was loving it. Not as much as Lila, of course, or even Darla and Donoma, but they were definitely appreciative, and thought that she at least looked better than Giselle and Chloe.

Lukas continued, "so taking that into consideration, and seeing how hard you've worked to pull that off, I think you get an 8 from me."

That was a surprise. An 8 was a pretty high score. It was high enough that Vic actually took her focus off of Alden for a second to look at him in confusion, before recomposing herself and returning to match the gaze of the boy she liked.

Alden was going to be an important vote in this, that was for sure. Whatever score he gave her would determine her placement with the other girls. And everyone knew how unpredictable his tastes were by this point.

But that wasn't why his appraisal was important to Vic. As far as Vic was concerned, everything began and ended with Alden's appraisal. His was the only opinion that mattered to her.

And he gave it gladly.

"You look really cool, Vic," he grinned, giving her a thumbs' up. "I think… 7 out of 10!"

The change was instantaneous, and it shut the entire crowd up.

Vic smiled. Her whole face lit up with a grin so bright it could go head to head with Lila's and wouldn't go down without a fight. It was like looking at an entirely different woman, so bright and happy that not even Lukas could believe what he was seeing, and he always looked for the best in people.

He had to rub his eyes to make sure it wasn't heatstroke or something.

"Thank you," Vic said, with just a hint of bashfulness. She opened her mouth to say something else, when a cheer rose out from the audience, followed by some whistles and catcalls. Folks had REALLY taken positively to Vic's transformation, and why wouldn't they?

Vic, while hot, was cold as hell. Seeing her melt so directly and suddenly was like flipping a switch in the audience as well, it was so sudden and so strong that it wouldn't be unreasonable to assume that her earlier coldness had been fabricated. People were all-in on the "mean girl has a hidden happy side" trope that they forgot that Vic was, in fact, a very mean girl.

She was quick to remind them of that fact, however. Thoroughly incensed by how callously the audience had ruined the mood, Vic turned on them with the glare to end all glares, silencing the entire beach with tension.

Without another word, she stormed into the changing room, not even stopping to present herself with the other girls.

Lukas cleared his throat. It took him about a minute to regain his voice, and he was about to thank Vic for her time when the door to the changing room was flung open and she stormed back out again, dressed in her normal clothes. Her face was cold with rage and she walked over to where Callie and the boys were watching from the side.

Callie gulped and shrank down even smaller, not wanting to be in front of Vic's rage.

There was more awkward silence. Lukas checked his phone, wondering what the heck was taking Alcea so long. He needed something to break the tension, damn it, the only reason the crowd was still here at this point was because they were so frightened their legs weren't working!

After an agonizing five minutes, he finally got the notification beep.

"…Well," Lukas said, clearing his throat again. "That was Vic. Anyway, our next contestant is a girl known as the Queen of Queens at our Pokemon Academy, the Lady Alcea Vermeil!"

Like a cool spring breeze, Alcea stepped out into the sun and washed away all the stress and tension left behind by the previous competitor.

Callie was stunned. Alcea was beautiful. That was something that was commonly accepted as a fact by pretty much anyone who had eyes.

But she'd never looked more beautiful than she did right now. She looked so beautiful that Callie began feeling like she owed Nick an apology she was staring so hard.

She was so beautiful that people forgot to cheer. They didn't even gasp in shock.

There was just silence. But it wasn't the awkward silence that had followed Vic. No words were spoken, but it was clear as she passed the crowd by that their moods were changing. They were looking at her almost reverently, heads turning like waves to follow after her.

Like with Vic, it was a questionable decision to wear makeup to the beach. Alcea hadn't even done so herself, initially, which was why Callie had been caught off-guard. But now she was, and she was gorgeous. It was like a master craftsman had taken the most perfect piece of marble in the world and chiseled out a goddess.

She walked elegantly across the sand with all the poise of a real lady. Everyone who looked at her agreed that she outshone the other girls that came before her, and not even her fellow competitors themselves could manage to think otherwise as they watched that red mane trail behind her in the gentle wind.

Callie was so blown away by her beauty that it took her a second to realize that Alcea was wearing a different swimsuit from yesterday.

It was still a bikini, and it was still red, but when one managed to regain their composure enough to take a second look it was clear that there were differences. For one, the straps were bright green, like the stem of a rose, and they didn't come up over her shoulders. Rather, they crisscrossed over her sizeable chest and wrapped around her neck, with a ring in the center above her cleavage. It was a rather seductive look for a girl so normally modest, and on anyone else, it would be clear that was the intention. But Alcea made it look classy, because, well, anything that she wore looking the way she did would look classy by association.

Alcea stopped in front of the judges and waited for their approximation. She wore a small, dignified smile on her face that concealed her inner surprise and joy.

She hadn't picked out this swimsuit, in fact. She'd started today planning to wear the one she had before.

Then Olivia stopped her in the changing room.

"…Are you seriously planning to go out like that?" Olivia demanded, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Alcea raised her eyebrow in annoyance, a thin scowl crossing her lips. "You have a problem with my swimsuit, is it?"

Olivia had been on her best behavior when the other girls were around, only being slightly passive-aggressive. But now that it was just the two of them, Alcea fully expected she'd be in for some ire from her self-proclaimed rival, and braced herself for one hell of a bitching out.

"You're damn right I do!" Olivia said, staring Alcea directly in the eye to resist the temptation to glance at her chest. "Sure, it's nice and all, but that's it. It's just nice."

"That's-! …Wait, what?" Alcea was taken aback. From her previous interactions with Olivia, she'd expected that the spiteful girl would have said something a little more…

Well, bitchy.

Olivia sighed and rubbed her temples. "Look, it's good, I get it, but it's so simple."

"Oui. …It's a swimsuit," Alcea said. Olivia might have been the fashionista between the two of them, but as someone who had been surrounded by fancy dresses and designer clothes all her life, Alcea knew a thing or two herself.

There was a time for dressing up, and there was a time where a simple swimsuit was just a simple swimsuit.

Olivia's eye twitched, and she looked like she wanted to smack the redhead across the face. But she refrained. "…You're really going to make me say it, aren't you?" She scowled.

Alcea didn't even know what "it" was!

"…Fine!" She groaned. "You're… not ugly."

Alcea gave the blonde a blank look. That… "compliment" seemed like it had taken everything she had.

"Look, what I'm saying is that you're coasting by on your looks," Olivia explained. "It's like… ugh, what's an analogy that would work with you… okay! So you're, like, a flower. An okayish-looking flower. Or… no, wait. One of those roses, you know, the ones that they freeze and put in a display case? Yeah, like that."

The blank stare of confusion continued.

"That's not a healthy flower, right?" Olivia asked. "I mean, sure, it looks nice, but it's dead. It's just preserved that way."

"…So you're saying I'm a dead flower, is it?" Alcea asked.

"No! It's just… look. Your swimsuit looks good on you, because, well, anything does!" Olivia said, her face twisting in frustration. Giving Alcea compliments was slowly killing her. "But that's just the thing, this is a swimsuit contest. You can't just coast by on something like that! You need to try harder!"

"…You want me to try harder, is it?" Alcea was still completely lost. She wasn't even sure if Olivia knew what she wanted at this point.

"You're… my rival!" Olivia finally shouted. That means you need to look the part! I'm not about to go out there and compete with someone who's half-assing it! Do you think a win like that means anything if you didn't try?!"

Alcea wasn't really that concerned with trying one way or another. And it wasn't like she just had another swimsuit on hand to change into. So what was-

Olivia slapped something down into Alcea's hands.

"Change into that," she scowled, turning and stalking away. "It should fit… probably. At the very least it'll look nicer than what you're wearing right now."

"Thank… you?" Alcea felt a little dirty thanking Olivia, but it was the polite thing to do. She just looked at the swimsuit in her hands, confused.

But it wasn't like it would hurt to try it on, right?

"And put on some makeup!" Olivia added, peeking out from behind the corner. "Your best! You hear me?! I want you to look your best so I can prove that I'm better!"

Olivia ducked back around the corner. Her heart was racing with excitement. She'd never felt this anxious before, not even before a major contest! She couldn't wait to see Alcea in that swimsuit that she'd picked out specifically for her, it would be an amazing feeling to defeat her after that!

So Alcea's wearing a brand-new swimsuit handpicked by Olivia! And she's certainly looking amazing! But what do the judges think? And how is Olivia going to top it? What about Vic? How's she going to take this, given how much she dislikes Alcea right now? The contest reaches its climax!