Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.
Pokémon: Sinnoh no Isekai
Chapter Two-hundred and thirty-four: Shenanigans before the Alola League Conference, part two
The reborn trainers and Ash were sitting in the audience of a Contest Hall in Alola as they were watching the latest Contest. Serena entered in hopes of winning the fourth and final Tiki Necklace she needed to qualify for the Alola Contest Grand Festival, which she needed especially since she had lost multiple times in a row to May who ended up being the first Coordinator in Alola to earn the four Tiki Necklaces needed to qualify. If there was any silver lining to May beating out Serena in getting to qualify for the Alola Contest Grand Festival first, it was that Serena now has one less notable opponent to worry about in the Contest scene in Alola.
"Serena's on fire here," Kenny remarked as he and the others looked down at the stage; at this point in the Contest, it was the battle round, and Serena was currently facing a random opponent, a battle that saw Serena's shiny Clauncher against the opponent's Onix. Despite the sheer size difference between the two, Clauncher very clearly had the upper hand.
"Boy, I'll say," Ash remarked, "I have no doubt that Serena will win it big here!"
Dawn nodded once in agreement. Maybe the multiple losses in a row to May might have something to do with it, but Serena was going full force, as were all of Serena's Pokémon. Although the spectacle in front of them was at the forefront of their minds, it wasn't the only thing on the minds of the heroes. "...The rest of the class couldn't make it as they went to check up on Lana," Dawn said.
"Oh yeah, because she collapsed in class a short while ago due to hunger," Trip said, a hint of worry entering his expression and tone, "We also got it that Lana is much lighter than a girl her age and height has any business being." Turning to look at Dawn, Trip asked, "You... you don't think that Lana might be wrecking herself up in a bid to not gain any weight, do you?"
"What do you mean, Trip?" Ash spoke up, his attention now caught.
Turning to face Ash, Trip explained, "Sometimes, some folks get so obsessed with losing weight and being thin that it becomes something of a disorder. It can lead to bad things, like collapsing from hunger like what happened to Lana in class a few days ago."
"Didn't you say it might have something of a connection to Lana's adamant refusal to ever wear the fat suit I got for use in making the movies that come out of my movie studio?" Kenny asked.
Trip nodded once in the affirmative. "It's only speculation on my part, but if what I fear about the suffering Lana is going through right now is true, and it's quite clear that Lana is to some degree suffering, then it doesn't surprise me that she refuses to ever even appear fat, even if she isn't fat for real."
Dawn, a serious and grim look on her face, folded her arms over her chest. "...We're totally going to have to look into the matter here aft-"
"Onix is unable to battle!" Lila announced down near the stage, making Ash and the reborn trainers turn to see that Serena had won against her random opponent, "The winner is Clauncher! Serena will advance to the final round of the Contest's battle round!" The audience cheered as Serena was declared the winner of her battle, and even Ash and the reborn trainers relaxed from their seriousness over Lana's case in order to cheer and applaud Serena's efforts. Though they still had serious work to do ahead of them, they still wanted to take time to celebrate the wins of their fellows.
They needed some nice to balance out the not-so-nice.
Serena went on to win the final battle of the Contest's battle round, her opponent being Shauna; Serena's Sylveon ran the clock out against Shauna's Gothita, and while neither Pokémon went down in those five minutes, Serena had more points left and it was by a very considerable amount. With this win, Serena now had all four of the Tiki Necklaces that she needed in order to qualify for the Alola Contest Grand Festival. It won't be easy for Serena, especially as she has to contend against May at the very least. But Serena had qualified for the big event all Coordinators in Alola were wanting to enter.
Similar to how all trainers more keen on battling were wanting to enter the Alola League Conference.
Although Serena had scored a big accomplishment, and no doubt it was celebrated by the rest of the class, there was STILL the pressing matter of tending to Lana, who had just finished resting after her hospital trip following her collapsing in class from hunger. Ash, Serena, and the reborn trainers all went to visit Lana at her family's place, saw that Lana was in the middle of making lunch for her kid sisters Harper and Sarah. Ash, Serena, Dawn, Kenny, and Trip paid closer attention to Lana, to how she looked; now that they were more aware of Lana's issues, they could see that Lana, much like May's little brother Max, needed to eat more.
...But they were suspecting that Lana may not be so receptive to the idea of more food getting past her lips.
When Lana served up lunch for herself and her sisters, the heroes saw that Lana only gave herself and her sisters each a very small portion of the spaghetti rings she heated up on the stove. "Your sisters are gonna need more than what you gave them," Trip said flatly to Lana as she was halfway to putting the pot with the rest of the spaghetti rings back on the stove.
"Yeah big sis, me and Harper want more than what you gave us," Sarah said.
"You're stingy when serving food during meals," Harper went on, "Just like mommy."
"Hol' up," Kenny interrupted. Looking to Lana, Kenny said, "What's this about your mother being stingy when it comes to serving food?"
"Me and my sisters' mom is only looking out for our best interests," Lana said, her tone having a hint of defensiveness to it, "She's wanting us to keep from gaining any weight."
Rolling her eyes, Dawn muttered under her breath, "Oh for the love of Odin." Speaking up, Dawn said, "Lana, although your mom does have a valid point on wanting to keep you and your sisters from gaining too much weight, it's pretty clear she's pushing the envelope there too far. You do know what's going on with May's little brother Max, don't you? How he's really thin and needs to eat more? Yeah, I can tell from a casual glance that you've got the same thing going on yourself. You're really thin and you need to eat more."
Gesturing to Harper and Sarah, Kenny went on, "And pushing the slim pickings diet onto kids the age of your little sisters here is just... just wrong."
"Do you know what is REALLY wrong?" Lana said suddenly, "Being fat, that's what! That's what me and my sisters' mom has been protecting us from! We don't eat too much, we stay thin! We stay thin, we stay pretty! We stay pretty, boys will find us cute!"
"So it's an image thing," Trip said as he rolled his eyes, "Great."
Getting up from her seat, Dawn said, "Lana, we need to talk to your parents about this. It's clear you've got some degree of issues with this, and that some sort of intervention has to be done before you make said issues develop in your little sisters."
Lana looked a bit unsure. "...I'm not sure if it'll be possible to get them both together. They... had a rather nasty fight following my fainting at school a few days ago when my dad learned it was due to hunger." The heroes looked to one another with curious looks, some of them worried where this may lead.
...
Dawn was able to get Lana's parents to agree to sit down together while she and her group acted as mediators. Lana's mom had a worried and concerned look on her face, while Lana's dad looked wholly unamused, his arms folded over his chest. "Yeah, the boys, as well as Serena and I," Dawn began as she gestured to herself and the group with her, "Were wanting to ask you guys about Lana collapsing at school due to hunger a few days ago."
Jerking a thumb at Lana's mom, Lana's dad said to the heroes, "I'll tell you what the deal is here. My wife here has our oldest daughter thoroughly convinced that unless she's borderline bone thin, she'll never get a boy to like her!"
"And what's wrong with wanting to ensure our daughter will be able to attract a boy's eye?" Lana's mom said, "She won't be able to start a family of her own one day unless she's visually appealing, you know!"
"Looking like you're starving to death is NOT visually appealing!" Lana's dad snarled at his wife, "And if what happened to Lana at school a few days ago is any indication of what will happen if you don't back off, then our first born daughter WILL starve to death at the rate things are going!"
"So you're saying that our daughter will wither be pretty but die, or be unattractive but live," Lana's mom questioned.
"No, I'm saying that you brainwashing Lana into thinking she has to be as thin as possible regardless of the consequences will kill her if things aren't resolved," Lana's dad corrected.
"Ma'am," Trip began, "Why are you so fixated on Lana being thin to attract boys?"
Looking surprised to have been asked such a question, Lana's mom said, "Excuse me?"
Gesturing to Lana's mom, Trip went on, "It's pretty obvious that all of this mess was caused by you trying to push being as thin as possible onto Lana because you very clearly firmly believe a girl won't be appealing to boys unless she's super thin."
"Well of course girls won't be able to catch a boy's eye unless they're thin," Lana's mom said, looking like she was snapping, "It's why I'm trying to make sure that my daughters will-"
"Wait a minute," Lana's dad said suddenly as he turned to look at Lana's mom, "Daughters? It's not just Lana you're doing this with, you're also pushing it onto Harper and Sarah?!"
"I just don't want them getting fat!" Lana's mom defended, "If that happens, then none of them will ever get a guy!"
"Lana has lost too much weight!" Lana's dad snapped, "And now I just learned that Harper and Sarah are running the same risk as their older sister!"
Originally, Lana's parents were just cooling off from one another after their first argument concerning what happened to Lana at school a few days ago. But now, upon Lana's dad learning that Harper and Sarah are being subjected to the same deal that Lana's got and are running the same risks, Lana's parents are doing a trial separation. They aren't divorced, but Lana's dad says that unless his wife cleans up her act and drops the need for their daughters to starve themselves thin, then it was quite possible that a divorce could be in their future.
Lana's mom is staying with her own mom, who is Lana's grandmother. Lana's dad, as well as Lana herself and Lana's two younger sisters, are remaining at the house where they all live. The reborn trainers were surprised to hear that Lana's dad was already taking several precautions to ensure that, in the event a divorce DOES occur, he will not only be screwed over as little as possible, but he'll also have custody of his daughters. Harper and Sarah at the least, upon realizing that their dad will let them eat as much as they want rather than give them only slim portions, automatically declared that they want to stay with dad if a divorce does happen and there's a battle for custody.
"Given that the main reason there's strife between Lana's parents right now is because Lana's mom is set on keeping the girls thin with slim pickings that hardly put any food into them at all," Kenny said as he, Trip, and Dawn were discussing things at the hotel on Akala Island, "I'm fairly certain Lana's dad will have an easy time winning custody. It helps that the girls themselves say they wanna go with dad in the event that a divorce does happen."
Trip let out a troubled sigh. "...I was always kind of iffy on how Lana was adamant about never wearing the fat suit you got for your movie studio Kenny, or otherwise ever appearing fat. But to think damage like this was laying right beneath the surface of that issue..."
Dawn was about to speak up, but she got cut off before she could get a word out when Lana came walking up to them where they were at in the hotel lobby. "Oh, 'sup Lana?" Kenny greeted, "How are you and your sisters doing with your parents doing the trial separation?"
"Well Harper and Sarah are both happy that dad allows them to eat more than mom does," Lana began, "Although dad had to convince me a little to drop the practices that mom had ingrained into me."
"Yeah, we told May about what was going on due to how you're similarly skinny like May's little brother Max," Kenny said, "May said that if she ever caught wind of you trying to force a slim pickings diet onto Max, she would not hesitate to break you in half like the twig that she says you're trying to become."
Lana let out a sigh. "I understand. It's... it's just that I've been going on for so long convinced that girls are required to be thin in order for boys to find them appealing."
Kenny looked like he had been struck with a brilliant idea. "I bet you that I can find at least one guy who wouldn't mind romancing a girl who just so happens to have a little bit extra to love."
Lana had a piqued look of curious interest on her face. "How will you do that?"
...
Later, when Dawn and Trip entered the make up room Kenny uses when prepping an actor for one of his movies, they saw that Kenny, aided by the pink ninja girl from the Kantonian Gym tourist attraction, had finished doing work on Lana. The pink ninja girl was actually out of her ninja outfit and in a casual outfit, consisting of a really baggy pink hoodie with the sleeve ends hanging loose around her wrists rather than cling to them, a very baggy pair of dark tannish cargo shorts held up with a belt, a pair of white socks that reached a little over halfway up her shins, and a pair of rather clunky looking sneakers.
As for Lana, she was wearing the fat suit Kenny got for when he needed a fat female character for a Kenny Harris Studios movie. Over that, Lana wore a baggy dark grayish hoodie, a pair of pants pulled up over the fat suit's bells, white socks, and black shoes. Lana's hair was styled to be wavy, and she wore a pair of glasses that weren't prescription. The pink ninja girl handed a few books to Lana for her to carry, and then Kenny and the pink ninja girl presented Lana to Dawn and Trip for them to see following the movie makeup transformation.
"Mina here and I plan to take the disguised Lana out to see a few places," Kenny said, "Go to places where boys she could potentially catch the eye of tend to gather, and do some poking around to see what boys think about Lana here, who we will introduce as Kaori."
Gesturing to the pink ninja girl, Trip said, "I'm guessing she's Mina?"
"Yeah, sorry I didn't introduce myself before," the now identified Mina said, "Anyway, I'm here because Kenny said he needed help in running a little social experiment to gauge how guys would react to a fat girl."
"Lana will be wearing a brooch that has a mini camera and microphone in it, that will send visuals and sound back to a camera room where you two will keep an eye on things," Kenny said to Dawn and Trip, "You guys will have to run mission control on this one."
Shrugging, Trip replied, "Fair enough." Dawn nodded in agreement, and soon the Berlitz siblings saw off Kenny, Mina, and 'Kaori' on their social experiment after they were shown to the camera room that was mission control.
...
The first place that Kenny and Mina took the disguised Lana to was the Malasada shop. There, Kenny was recognized as the head creative mind at Kenny Harris Studios, and when a few people crowded around him and the girls to ask about the next movie, Kenny explained that it may be a while, and that right now Mina was helping him show around a potential new actress, introducing Lana to the crowd as Kaori. None of them recognized the geeky looking fat girl as Kenny's classmate Lana, and as such they assumed her to truly be... just some geeky looking fat girl.
Lana was actually surprised by how warmly received 'Kaori' was by the people looking at her and thinking she might grace the next Kenny Harris Studios movie, and Lana was further surprised when two boys commented on how she looked cute. "R-Really?" Lana said to the two boys in question, acting the part of Kaori in the process, "You think that I'm c-cute?"
Shrugging, the first boy said, "Well why not? Why wouldn't we think you're cute?"
Gesturing to Lana, Mina said, "Kaori here... has had some issues with self-confidence concerning her appearance due to her weight. She's been led to believe that her being fat means she'd never get guys to notice her."
"I... fail to see why her having extra weight would mean she's not cute," the second boy said.
"My... my mom has always said girls have to be thin to get guys to notice them," Lana admitted.
"Well your mom can go to hell," the first guy said in a causal tone, "You're grade-A cute, regardless of what your shallow mom thinks." The time at the malasada shop was one point towards proving to Lana that she doesn't exactly have to follow her mom's word to the letter to get a guy to think she's cute.
...
The second place that Kenny and Mina took 'Kaori' to was a comic book and gaming store. Surprisingly, they ran into Sophocles there, who was browsing various comic book graphic novels with aquatic themes. "Yeah, I got a call from Misty's sisters that Misty might be woken up from her medically induced coma soon," Sophocles said, "So I took it upon myself to get a few things of reading material for her. I know how much Misty likes the water and water type Pokémon, so I decided to start there." With a curious look, Sophocles pointed to Mina. "Ain't she the girl that runs the fansite for your movie studio?"
"Yeah, this is Mina," Kenny said, "She's helping me with showing Kaori here around to see how others feel about her, given that she may potentially get a role in the next Kenny Harris Studios movie. Kaori is worried that she may not do well on the basis she doesn't think she's cute enough to be an actress."
Scoffing, Sophocles replied, "If it weren't for the fact I'm dedicated to helping and staying with Misty, I wouldn't mind trying to romance... Kaori, was it?" After getting an affirmative nod, Sophocles continued, "Yeah, Kaori here is cute, no doubt about that. Not at Misty's level, but still plenty cute."
"So... so you think I can pass for being cute is what you're saying," Lana said.
Nodding once, Sophocles said, "Yeah. Why? Do you think you don't pass as cute?"
"Kaori has been told she wouldn't be able to land a guy due to her appearance," Mina explained, "Multiple times, in fact."
Arching a wry eyebrow, Sophocles remarked, "Let me guess, she was told that her being fat and geeky disqualifies her." Gesturing to himself, Sophocles said, "I myself am fat, and admittedly rather geeky too. And yet I have a girlfriend. If I can get a girl, then Kaori can get a guy." Mina nodded in agreement, and Kenny was relieved that Sophocles failed to recognize Lana's voice.
...
The third place that Kenny and Mina took 'Kaori' to was the local park. To Lana's surprise, her dad was there supervising her little sisters, and right now Harper and Sarah were playing with two boys their age and general height. The boys looked to be twins, fair skinned and with scruffy sandy blonde hair, tan cargo shorts, white socks, brown shoes, and they wore shirts that were pallet swaps of one another; the first boy wore a tan shirt with a light brown snake shape on it, and the second boy wore a light brown shirt with a tan snake shape on it.
Kenny, Mina, and Lana saw that Lana's dad was talking to a boy who looked to be Lana's age; he looked like an older version of the two boys playing with Harper and Sarah, although he wore a tan and light brown baggy shirt without a snake symbol on it, and his hair was more neat and combed back. "Yo, Mr. Lana's dad," Kenny called out as he entered with Mina and 'Kaori', "Who's this you're talking to?"
"Oh, this charming young man is named Draco," Lana's dad began to explain, "He and his family moved here to Alola from their home region of Galar for business. Those boys playing with Harper and Sarah are Draco's little brother, twins named Lucius and Scorpius."
"Lucius is the one in the tan shirt," Draco said, his voice carrying a hint of British (or in this world, Galarian) accent, "And Scorpius is the one in the light brown shirt."
Nodding once, Kenny said, "Fair enough. Oh, this girl with me and Mina is Kaori. We're showing her around as she has the potential to be an actress in the next movie out of Kenny Harris Studios, and she's worried she may not be a decent actress because of her appearance."
"Well bullocks to the idea she don't pass as cute," Draco said as he looked at the disguised Lana, "She's a fine girl from what I see. She's got a cute look, and I really like how she also gives off an air of being sharp as a tack at academics."
"Oh?" Mina said, "You like your girls cute and smart, huh?"
Nodding once, Draco said, "There was this one girl living in my home region of Galar, named Penny. She was really cute, and smart as I like my girls to be. Unluckily for me however, Penny's heart had already been won over, and by some Paldean bloke with long blue hair." Gesturing to 'Kaori', Draco went on, "But if Kaori here is single, I would love taking her out to get a coffee at least."
Gesturing to Draco, Kenny said, "So you wouldn't mind going on a date with Kaori, hmm? Her appearance doesn't bother you?"
"No, why?" Draco replied.
Clapping her hands together, Mina said, "Well there's more proof that Kaori has what it takes to grace the screen! Thanks for your time." Draco and Lana's dad waved the trio off, with Lana's dad never recognizing that it was actually his first born daughter wearing a disguise to look like a super fat geek.
...
Back at mission control, Kenny and Mina had helped Lana out of her disguise before they sat down with Dawn and Trip. "Well there you have it," Mina said to Lana, "You don't have to be rail thin like what your mom had been telling you in order to get male interest."
"I'm actually kind of interested in that Galarian family that moved here to Alola," Trip said, "Maybe we can learn more about the Galar region from them, particularly that Draco boy as he looks old enough to go to trainer school with us."
Dawn nodded in agreement. It might be useful for them to brush up on Galar, as that's the region they're going to after shenanigans in Alola wrap up. Additionally, the Galar anime was airing at the time that Dawn, as well as Kenny and Trip, died in their previous lives, so eventually they'll experience events they won't have any sort of knowledge in advance of.
Looking to Lana, Kenny said, "So Lana, are you gonna keep starving yourself, or have we managed to lessen the impact of your mom's words in your head?"
Looking right at Kenny, Lana said with a serious tone and likewise expression, "I'm hungry, get me something to eat." The reborn trainers as well as Mina all cheered, having successfully convinced Lana that she doesn't have to starve herself thin to get boys to notice her. Kenny went about getting some food brought in while Dawn and Trip proceeded to ask Lana about getting her help in making contact with the Galarian boy she encountered while disguised.
Later, the reborn trainers were hanging out in a practice field near the hotel on Akala Island. All three of them were working with their Pokémon, although only Kenny and Trip were aiming to enter the Alola League Conference. Dawn, given that she already had a region Champion title and thus had no real need to enter the upcoming Conference, had a bit more freedom, which she was planning to put towards finding that Galarian family to ask them about Galar. The reborn trainers took a break from their training, and it was during said break that Kenny brought up a rather valid point.
"Hey, the Alola Contest Grand Festival is gonna go down soon," Kenny said, "Right before the Alola League Conference."
Nodding once in agreement, Trip said, "That means Serena will have her chance in the spotlight before the rest of us." Turning to look at Dawn, Trip asked, "What do you think about that?"
"Serena has proven herself, no doubt about that," Dawn began, "But she'll be facing stiff competition. Keep in mind that May had qualified for the Alola Contest Grand Festival before Serena. And I recently heard that Shauna had been earning Tiki Necklaces too, and in fact got her fourth earlier today."
Arching a wry eyebrow, Trip said, "How in blazes has she earned the four Tiki Necklaces she needed to enter as quickly as she did?"
"She earned them at Contests we didn't see," Dawn said, "Bare in mind, we DID have to go from island to island for grand trials, and there's also our work as Ultra Guardians. Shauna simply won her needed Tiki Necklaces in Contests that occurred during those incidents."
Shrugging, Trip said, "Well I kind of figured the big three names we're familiar with would get into the Alola Contest Grand Festival. I can't wait to see how it will go." Indeed, the upcoming Alola Contest Grand Festival was going to be one for the record books, and not just because it's the first one ever. A lot of well practiced names in the Contest scene would be taking part, all wanting to prove their mettle as Coordinators, all of them clamoring to win and be made a Contest Kahuna, the equivalent of a Top Coordinator.
The first Contest Kahuna in Alolan history. That made the distinction even more alluring.
END, CHAPTER TWO-HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FOUR
Author's notes;
This chapter sees Serena's fourth and final Alola Contest win before the Alola Contest Grand Festival, giving her the fourth and final Tiki Necklace she needed in order to qualify for said festival. But after that a fair bit is focused on the side-plot concerning Lana having collapsed in class from hunger. As Trip suspected, Lana's adamant refusal to wear the fat suit for the Kenny Harris Studios movies was in some way connected; long story short, Lana's mom had been pushing Lana to always be thin so that boys would be interested in her.
This leads to Lana's parents doing a trial separation, with Lana and her sisters staying with their dad who allows them to eat as much as they feel like. Lana, still unsure about eating too much due to still feeling she needs to be rail thin to get boys to think she's cute, is taken out on a social experiment by Kenny, who is backed by the pink ninja girl from the Kantonian Gym tourist attraction. During said social experiment, Lana is surprised to see how common it was for guys to not necessarily mind it if a girl just so happens to be a little on the heavy side of things.
Things were somewhat successful, as at the very least Lana's now a bit more willing to eat more. Putting that aside, the reborn trainers are then seen working with their Pokémon, especially Kenny and Trip as they got the Alola League Conference to prep for. But before that can occur, the Alola Contest Grand Festival has to go down, as it'll be the culmination of Serena's efforts in the Contest scene in Alola. She has a lot on her plate to deal with there, especially as she'll have to contend with the likes of May. Until then, take care.
Dawn's Pokémon: (on hand) Chi-Chi (female Infernape), Germany (male Garchomp), Lincoln (male Latios), Wyrmscale (Naganadel), Leni (female Lucario), Tsukune (Palkia)
Kenny's Pokémon: (on hand) Roshi (male Torterra), Badeeyaa (Xurkitree), Zamasu (Necrozma), Goofy (male Houndoom), Elay (male Sandslash; shiny), Black (Giratina; Origin Forme)
Trip's Pokémon: (on hand) Myde (male Emploeon), Deelia (Dialga), Gypsy Danger (female Togekiss), Alfred (male Marowak; Alolan; Totem), Foruze (male Electivire), Suzaku (male Primarina)
Ash's Pokémon: (on hand) Pikachu (male), Greninja (male), Inciniroar (male), Decidueye (male; Hisuian), Meltan (gender unknown), Vikavolt (male)