After dealing with some of the personal issues between Cynthia and Ruka, our friends are ready to move forward and spend the rest of their time in the Hoenn Regio enjoying themselves! And when you think about Hoenn, that can only mean one thing… Pokemon Contests! …Yeah, right. No, we're going to the water, to have some sunny fun in Slateport City!

KedharS: I definitely would have slapped her, alright. She tends to deserve it. But at the same time, she's really trying her hardest!

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1058

"…Haaaaah…" Cynthia took a deep breath, smelling the salty sea air. The bus had just pulled up on Slateport City, and the coastal skyline could be seen from here. The boardwalk was sparkling in the distance, as well as the large roller coasters of the wharf.

"It's so pretty!" Kitty gushed. Last time they were in Slateport, the city was dark in the night. But now it was alive with activity.

"This is exactly the place to be," Julia nodded in agreement. "Slateport's got all sorts of fun activities to be in."

"Zorua!" Ruka was so amazed she didn't bother signing. She stared in awe at the city. Cynthia grinned at her pokemon. Ruka had spent her life growing up in a fancy mansion, and had spent some time on Jagged Pass and the neighboring Lavaridge Town. Slateport City, on the other hand, was absolutely shocking. It blew her entire worldview away.

Blake was a little excited, he had to admit. Things like amusement parks had never been a big part of his childhood, because Gwen hated large crowds and long lines. Which was why he was secretly thrilled about Cynthia's suggestion.

But on the other hand… there were two people who weren't exactly excited about the idea she'd suggested.

Cynthia had proposed that, since Caelia couldn't swim, the only way they could have a fun and wet adventure was to go to the Slateport City Water Park. You could enjoy the full thrill of a beach trip, without ever having to get in the water. But even so, Caelia didn't seem very enthusiastic about it. But then, she never did.

Elaina was in a similar situation. She was shaking a little. Blake placed a comforting hand on her shoulder to soothe her tremors.

"B-Blake…" She stammered, looking warily up at him.

"You worried?" He asked.

She nodded. "I'm not… good with crowds. And also, it's just… what if I lose control, you know? My powers…"

"Well, you you're your pokemon at home, right?" Blake asked. "Your harmonia isn't as dangerous when it's just you."

Elaina tried to smile.

"Just treat it like a normal outing with friends," he suggested. "You don't need to worry about anything. It's all going to be fine."

"…Yeah… maybe you're right," she agreed, giving him a noncommittal nod. She wasn't convinced, but it was the best Blake could hope for at the moment.

"I'm surprised your grandparents let us take the day off to come here," Reiner said, leaning over the seat to chat with Cynthia. Her grandparents had been working them to the bone for the last few days, so it was nice to have some time off. But he was still suspicious.

"They wanted me to bring my friends so we could all have fun together," Cynthia reminded him. "Of course they'd agree to let us come and spend the day here!"

She left out the part where her grandparents would probably force twice the workload on them the next day. They didn't need to have their good mood be spoiled by facts and reality.

Reiner stared blankly at her and just nodded lazily, slumping back down in his seat. "Well, okay then," he said.

It took another hour to make it to the water park. It was an amazing sight to see. Large water slides nearly the size of rollercoasters, and all sorts of other aquatic attractions. The air was so thick with chlorine Blake's eyes were stinging already.

"So that's admittance for 12 people and 2 pokemon out of pokeballs, then?" The ticketer asked when ther group got to the front of the line.

Cynthia shook her head. "Actually, it's 11 people and 3 pokemon, right, Ruka?"

She looked to Ruka meaningfully and the Zorua got her meaning. She returned to her pokemon form, startling everybody in line and the ticket counter girl as well.

"Th-That's… wow," she said, shaking her head. The shock lasted for a moment and then she regained her composure. "…I see. Well, that's quite something. But will she be riding the attractions in her human form?"

Cynthia blinked. "Uh…"

The ticketer shifted to a diplomatic smile. "12 people and 2 pokemon out of pokeballs it is," she said calmly. Cynthia grumbled and pulled out her purse, fumbling for the extra money. They all got their tickets and headed inside.

"ZORUAAA!" Ruka gasped in shock, looking around at everyone walking through the water park. She was overwhelmed. She began signing frantically. "There's so many people! This must be, like, ALL the people in the WOLRD! And they're all here?!"

Sango and Cynthia glanced at each other and laughed. Their mutual friend had grown up rather sheltered, and they were seeing the effects of that right now.

"Well, we should go put on our swimsuits," Julia said. She was really excited to go on the water slides, in spite of her usual coolness. "Where are the changing areas?"

"I've got mine on!" Ruka quickly signed. Her body flickered and the black dress she wore shifted into a black bikini with red flame patterns, showing off Julia's large chest on Sango's tight and toned body. Both girls felt a stab of envy seeing her figure.

"Okay, let's go," Cynthia said. She took Caelia by the hand and led her to the changing rooms. The other girls followed after her.

Blake had made sure to get a long-sleeved swimming shirt and long pants to swim in. Showing his friends his scars in the bath was one thing, but was nowhere near ready to go out in public with them on display.

"Geez Blake, you might as well be wearing a wetsuit," Reiner teased as they headed outside to wait for the girls. Of course, the girls all took the longest to change. All the boys were already out. And it wasn't just girls that were feeling envious either; Aidan's muscular physique made the boys a little jealous, especially Nick and Will.

"Okay guys!" Cynthia broke out of the changing room with a big smile on her face and a bright red two-piece with a skirt attachment. "Ready to take a look?"

"NO!" Kitty squeaked from inside. She hated being put on the spot like this. But Cynthia didn't care, dragging her out of the changing room.

Kitty's swimsuit was a black one-piece with white frills on the edges and over the chest, giving her the appearance of having some amount of boobs. But there was no fooling reality.

On the other hand, Julia's swimsuit was a lot less modest. That wasn't to say it was skimpy, but she definitely wasn't shy about her figure. The black bikini highlighted her slightly-tanned skin and the lines of her curvaceous body, and her long black hair danced behind her as she stepped out of the changing room. Heads were turning but she didn't pay them any mind, greeting the others with a smile and a cool wave.

"Wow, your swimsuit looks so pretty!" Kitty gushed, her eyes shining. She felt a strange combination of insecure and interested. She definitely felt jealous of her friend.

"Thanks," Julia smiled. "Yours looks pretty fitting too."

"What about mine?"

Everyone turned to see Sango step out of the changing room. When she felt everyone's eyes on her she glanced to the side, wrapping her arms around her belly. She was wearing a sporty two-piece with a top that was a little more conservative than a bikini; not having much cleavage to speak of, the top covered most of her chest, reaching up to her neck in a way the emphasized her shoulder blades, while she had daringly chosen to wear bikini bottoms instead of swim shorts. It was a surprisingly girly decision on her part, which Cynthia found interesting. Perhaps Sango was having second thoughts about rejecting Aidan after all, and was setting her mind on seducing him instead?

She shook that idea out of her head. Maybe, like her, Sango had just wanted to look nice. She should stop making assumptions that her friend was looking to date, especially since she knew that Sango already had someone she liked, and it was unlikely that he was on the trip with them.

Sango began to get irritated at the fact that nobody was giving her any compliments. The boys had clearly been receptive to Julia's swimsuit, even if they had been polite about it. Even BLAKE had been checking her out a little, and he had a girlfriend!

…No, she wasn't being paranoid, thank you very much!

"I think it looks pretty good!" Nick complimented her, and she relaxed a little. She thanked him and her eyes slid past him and over to Aidan for a brief second. She caught his hea jerking away, and resisted the smile that tug at the edges of her lips. He'd been looking at her slyly, how amusing. He hadn't said anything, though, which was reassuring. She didn't want things to get awkward between them, and it was clear he didn't either.

But there was someone whose thoughts she definitely wanted some feedback on. It was selfish and honestly kind of skeevy, but she wanted to know what Blake thought. It wasn't like she was trying to seduce him away from his girlfriend or anything, she just wanted him to make her feel a little good about herself.

"So, uh, Blake, what do you think?" Sango asked, placing her hand on her hip. She had too cool it. She was being a little too flirty. She reined herself in before Cynthia said anything or got the wrong (right) idea.

"About what?" Blake asked innocently.

Sango's eye twitched involuntarily and her fingers flexed open and closed. She wanted to strangle him so goddamn bad.

You're your swimsuit, you mean!" Blake realized, examining the dark blue swimsuit. "Yeah, it looks fine I think."

Well, that was about as good as it was going to get. Sango forced a smile to her face and nodded, thanking him for his honesty.

"So that leaves just two people then," Cynthia said. She turned back to the door. "Elaina? Are you coming?"

"NO!" Elaina shouted from inside. "Absolutely NOT!"

"Come on, it looks good on you!"

"This-! This is impossible! There's no way I could go out wearing something so… so-!" She couldn't even SAY it she was too humiliated.

"…How could you buy me a swimsuit like this?!" Elaina screeched. After coming up with her great idea of going to the water park yesterday, Cynthia had gone out swimsuit shopping and picked things up for Elaina and Caelia to wear.

"Hey, it's not my fault!" Cynthia scowled, placing her hands on her hips indignantly. She was sick and tired of everyone assuming the worst of her and thinking that her motivations we strictly out of sexual desire. "I would have been fine getting you something more conservative, but they had a limited supply of bathing suits in your size, you know! Those measurements made a bikini the only option on such a short notice!"

"Th-That's…" There was anxious resignation in Elaina's voice. She was losing ground fast on her moral outrage.

"Have you ever bought a swimsuit before?" Cynthia asked, crossing her arms over her chest and raising her eyebrow.

"…No…"

"Well, in the future, I would advise you get one custom tailored if this style isn't to you liking," Cynthia advised. "Otherwise, something like this is just going to keep happening. So come on, you can't stay in there all day! Let's go have some fun!"

Elaina let out a long sigh. Women were walking in and out of the changing room for a while before she finally summoned the courage to come out.

Cynthia was immensely grateful that she did.

"Well that's… wow." Reiner didn't have anything else to offer, his brain just kind of stopped working when he saw her.

Julia shot him a glare. "I'll tell Nikita you were drooling," she threatened.

"For good reason though," Kitty mumbled under her breath.

Elaina's swimsuit was the color of the sky, and looked a size or two too small for her. Cynthia had done her best, but her best apparently wasn't good enough. It was a bit of a struggle for her to move with her large breasts pushed against the fabric, but at least to her relief it didn't feel like it was so tight that it might snap off. The bottom was almost as embarrassing, rising high on her hips as a reminder that her figure wasn't solely relegated to her chest.

Reiner wasn't the only guy stunned silent by Elaina's alluring appearance. The contrast between her hot body and her incredible awkwardness and embarrassment was adorable, and it was clear that she was having trouble with everyone's eyes on her.

A few men in the crowd were whistling at her, which just made her even more anxious. That was enough to snap Cynthia out of her stupor, though. She wiped the drool from her lips and stepped forward, shaking her fist.

"Back off, ya Mandibuzzes!" She snapped. "She's not some peep show!"

Elaina relaxed a little thanks to Cynthia's support, giving her the composure to look past herself and see what the others thought.

Mainly she was interested in Blake's reaction. It wasn't like she was trying to put herself on display, but if he liked her, well… was that so bad?

"Um… Blake… is this really okay to wear?" She asked shyly. She didn't mean to sound so… so coy, but she couldn't help herself!

"I mean, it fits, right?" Blake said. She brightened when she saw the redness in his cheeks and how he was avoiding looking at her. That was just what she wanted to see!

"…Yes, it does, thank you," Elaina said, tucking her hair behind her ear. "It's kind of embarrassing though," she admitted.

"I, uh… I can see why." Blake may have a girlfriend, but that wasn't to say he was totally immune to Elaina's charms. She was a lovely young woman after all, and her body was certainly…

…Yeah. He wasn't going to think about any of that.

Sango crossed her arms over her chest, wearing an indignant scowl. She didn't like the way that he was almost drooling over her. He had a girlfriend! …And Sango may not have been Ayame, but that was beside the point!

Cynthia, spotting a perfect opportunity, cleared her throat.

"Ahem. Blake. You realize that you have a girlfriend, yes? Would you like me to tell Ayame what I heard just now?" She asked, smirking. Blake glared at her.

"She's my friend, Cynthia. Are you saying I can't give my friend a compliment to help her feel better about herself?" He demanded, completely ignorant of the damage he'd just inflicted onto Elaina's self-esteem.

Elaina winced. It wasn't like she expected anything… but still, being reminded that Blake had a girlfriend was a little painful.

"Anyway, should we get going then?" Nick asked. He was a little embarrassed to be around such a hot girl as well, even if he'd gotten more used to Elaina over the last few days than he had been. But he kept Callie in mind and put those thoughts aside.

Cynthia shook her head though. She scowled. "Hey, come on now, don't you think you're forgetting someone?"

"Oh, that's right!" Kitty gasped. She'd almost forgotten Caelia! The quiet girl had been a complete statue on the bus ride over here, she'd completely slipped her mind!

"Caelia, are you ready?" Cynthia asked, heading into the changing room. She tilted her head out with a sheepish look on her face. "…Sorry. There are some… issues with changing. I should have seen this coming…" She mumbled under her breath, ducking back into the room.

A few minutes later, she stepped out, raising her hands in presentation.

"Here she is, everyone! Caelia Auburne!" Stepping aside, she made room for Caelia to walk out in her swimsuit.

There was some tension from the people who knew Caelia's condition, wondering what she would look like in a bathing suit. Kitty was worried that they might get kicked out, while Blake was concerned what effect revealing her scars would have on the girl's self-esteem.

Neither one of them needed to be concerned, though. Caelia wasn't wearing a traditional bathing suit. Blake had taken steps to conceal the damage to his body, but Caelia had gone one step further than that: she was actually wearing a wetsuit.

The clingy black material wrapped around her figure, highlighting her gaunt form. It covered her hands and feet completely, concealing the majority of her scars, and even reache up to her neck. There were some signs of her scarring if one knew where to look, but between the diving suit and her face mask, she looked almost normal. Almost.

"Caelia, wow!" Blake said, approaching her. "You look great!"

"…Thanks," Cynthia mumbled, her cheeks turning pink.

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" Sango asked cautiously. "You know, with your face mask? Can you get it wet?"

"…Won't," Caelia muttered. "Not going in water…"

Well, Sango supposed that if the other girl was going to keep from getting her face close to the water, there shouldn't be a problem. But she also thought that was kind of a waste. But then, it wasn't her position to speak, was it? Caelia was the one dealing with her issues. And unlike Cynthia, she wasn't going to pry.

"Well I think you look great!" Cynthia said proudly. "Come on! Let's head out, guys, I have so much stuff I want to try today!" She grabbed Caelia's and Ruka's wrists with one hand each and charged ahead into the park. The others followed after her.

They hadn't even been here for an hour yet, and already they were exhausted.

So we're going to have some fun in the sun after all! It's not exactly a beach episode, but it's definitely something fun! What shenanigans will our friends get up to in the water park? We'll have to find out next time!