Serena's sudden shift into serious mode left even Grace speechless. It was the first time she'd seen her daughter focus so intently on something.
"Thanks a lot, Serena. Next time I'm in Kalos, dinner's on me!" Kazuki offered his thanks just as earnestly, impressed by her dedication.
But Serena suddenly slapped the table with both hands, leaning forward in excitement. "You'll really come to Kalos?"
Kazuki's eyes landed squarely on the way her soft curves jiggled beneath her loose dress. It was clear she wasn't wearing much underneath—he nearly lost his composure.
From the floor, Grace noticed the hem of Serena's dress flipping up, revealing a pair of lacy pink panties. Panicking, she jumped up and yanked Serena back down into her seat, trying to keep her daughter from flashing the world.
Once things calmed down, Kazuki smiled lightly and added, "Of course. If I want to become a Pokémon Master, I'll have to visit every region sooner or later."
Serena nodded so hard she looked like a bobblehead. "Y-Yeah! That's great! When you do come, I can take you to—"
"Ahem!" Grace cut in quickly. "Serena, future promises can wait. Don't forget the task at hand!"
"Oh, right! Sorry, Kazuki! I got carried away," Serena said, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.
"So, who's the Pokémon you want to style?"
"It's a shiny Horsea," Delia answered, "but it's currently training for the performance. You can take a look at its picture first."
She brought up the photo on screen, and the moment Serena saw it, her eyes widened in awe.
"Oh my gosh, it's gorgeous!"
"It's silver-white… it looks amazing even without makeup!"
"So much prettier than our big, dumb Rhyhorn…"
From the backyard, the Rhyhorn let out a confused grrrhh?
"I'll send you the image file," Kazuki said. "You'll have time to think about it. The contest starts in three days."
"With a base like that, I'm definitely going to help it win!" Serena declared.
Over the next three days, she put her heart into designing the perfect look for Horsea—not just to help Kazuki win, but to prove to Grace that she had real potential in Pokémon styling. Even for products she'd used many times before, she still rechecked the ingredients to make sure everything would be perfect.
Delia, under Serena's careful, step-by-step instruction, used her natural talent and photographic memory to recreate the entire style flawlessly. Meanwhile, Misty's coordination with Horsea became more synchronized by the day.
By the time the three of them arrived at the contest venue, everything was ready.
That's when Gary showed up—with a whole six-girl entourage.
"Well, well, if it isn't Kazuki! Didn't think you'd already reached Porta Vista. Moving fast, huh?"
The moment he saw Kazuki, Gary's competitive spark reignited.
"Did you bring your girls for the beauty contest too?" he asked, eyes flitting to Delia and Misty.
"But they're dressed way too conservatively. They don't stand a chance against my squad."
Snap!
With a snap of his fingers, all six girls behind him dropped their towels. Every one of them was practically spilling out of their bikinis—barely anything left to the imagination.
Misty's face turned bright red as she stomped the ground. "Who would join a contest dressed like that?! No taste whatsoever!"
Delia calmly wrapped an arm around her. "Beauty isn't just about showing skin. Let's go, Misty. No need to stoop to his level."
She gave Gary a cold glance. "We'll go prepare now. You two catch up."
Kazuki smiled. "You heard them. I have no interest in contests like that. And I'd never let my girls flaunt themselves like that for strangers."
"Gary, you're a Pokémon Trainer. Why aren't you competing on the Pokémon side of things?"
"Instead, you're parading around six girls?"
"Is it because you don't have faith in your own team? Or maybe… you've got a thing for being cuckolded?"
"If that's your fetish—hey, no judgment! Smooth."
He waved it off with a teasing smirk and walked toward the Pokémon performance stage.
Still reeling from Professor Oak's lecture and now Kazuki's jabs, Gary started pacing and shouting.
"You—you! You just don't have girls good enough to show off, that's why you're chickening out!"
"My girls are the cream of the crop!"
"There's no way you can beat me! You're just scared!"
"Fine! When I win this thing, I'll be one step closer to the top!"
But Kazuki didn't care at all about the beauty contest. No matter how Gary shouted, he didn't even flinch.
Left without a reaction to feed off, Gary huffed, muttered something about "he's just scared," and marched off with his group.
"Let's go win this crown and show Kazuki who's boss!"
Backstage, Kazuki watched a few of the early performances. That's when he really understood Serena's talent.
The other trainers' directing skills were miles behind Misty's, and the Pokémon routines were amateurish at best.
It was obvious this contest had been thrown together to boost tourism.
But with Serena, Misty, and Delia's collaboration?
It was a dimensional stomp.
When Misty entered with the glittering Horsea, the crowd erupted.
Their synchronized performance dazzled the audience, blowing every other contestant out of the water.
[Ding!]
As the confetti rained down and Kazuki held the trophy, fireworks went off in his head.
[Congratulations! You have won the Porta Vista Pokémon Costume Contest!]
[Minor Champion Aura activated – 7 days remaining]
[Friend of the Oceanactivated]
Kazuki checked the rewards, and a full seven-day power-leveling strategy immediately popped into his head.
Meanwhile, Gary, leveraging his girl group's numbers, managed a decent result—second place.
But first place went to a long-haired lady with a classic, refined charm.
"Tch. Too bad. She was impressive though… even I would've voted for her."
Gary chuckled and told himself second place wasn't so bad… better than what Kazuki would've managed!
Then, seeing the long-haired woman step out, Gary rushed over.
"Hi there! Beating me takes skill. I'm Gary Oak, grandson of Professor Oak and future world champion!"
"Can I get your number?"
"Uh… Grand… what? Sorry, I don't know you. I have something to do—excuse me!" the woman said politely, brushing past him.
She jogged toward the crowd—where Kazuki and his team were gathered.
"Wow! That really is the shiny Horsea! You're Kazuki, right? I love your Pokémon!"
"I've liked and reposted every one of its videos!"
"Could I get a picture with you and your team?"
Kazuki noticed the golden trophy in her hand and realized she'd beaten Gary's team in the beauty contest.
"Of course," he smiled, glancing toward the sulking Gary in the distance.
Gary looked on in silence.
As Kazuki disappeared into the crowd, Gary stared down at the silver trophy in his hand, laughing bitterly.
"What the hell is this?"
"Why am I wasting time on stuff like this?"
"These flashy contests… none of them matter more than Pokémon."
Watching Kazuki leave, Gary clenched his fists and made a vow:
Kazuki… at the Indigo League, I'll make you admit I'm stronger.
With that, he tossed the silver trophy aside and walked back toward the path of a true Trainer.
—
When Kazuki told Serena they'd won, she literally jumped on camera.
"Mom! Mom! Did you hear? Kazuki won! He actually won!"
"I heard, I heard! Serena, if you bounce on me any harder, I'm gonna faint!"
"Oops, sorry Mom! I was just so excited!" Serena gradually calmed down, her gaze growing softer as she looked at Kazuki through the screen.
"Thank you so much, Serena. When I visit Kalos, I'll treat you to a massive meal."
Serena brought her fists to her chest, shoulders twitching bashfully.
"Okay. I'll wait for you to come find me!"
After a few more goodbyes between Delia and Grace, the call ended.
Misty quietly floated to Kazuki's side, eyeing him with suspicion.
"Hey, Kazuki… that Serena girl was looking at you kinda weird, don't you think?"
"Oh? Was she?"
Kazuki turned to Misty. "How weird, exactly?"
"I-I… how should I know?!" Misty's heart was thudding. She broke eye contact, turning her head away.
"Well, if you're not going to tell me, I'll just go swap Butterfree back in and start power leveling."
Kazuki had seen Misty's pouty face too many times to be fazed. Now with the Champion Aura active, every second counted.
After he left, Delia sidled up beside Misty.
"Misty, Serena seems pretty straightforward."
"She definitely seemed interested in Kazuki, don't you think?"
"You'd better move fast!"
"Hmph. If she likes Kazuki, that just proves he's got charm. Good for him," Misty huffed, still acting tsundere.
"Don't worry, Delia. Even if Kazuki gets more girls, I'll be fine!"
"I'm heading to the beach. Gotta see if I can catch a good Water-type!"
"I want a Horsea too!"
With a wave, Misty dashed off into the waves.