"Oh right," Misty suddenly asked while everyone leisurely walked out of the Gym together, "besides Ash, are any of you planning to participate in the Cerulean Water-type Pokémon Beauty Contest too?"
"Out of the three of us, only Gary has a Magikarp," Green replied while raising a finger. "Neither Clarissa nor I own any Water-type Pokémon, so we're not participating."
"But~"
She puffed out her chest proudly.
"I am going to be Feebas's personal stylist and makeup artist during the competition."
"Mm-hmm." Gary nodded. "I do have a Magikarp that qualifies for the event…"
"But honestly, I have no idea whether my Magikarp is actually handsome or not."
"Other than Ash's Shiny Magikarp, all Magikarp basically look the same to me."
"With Ash's Shiny Magikarp entering the competition, mine probably won't get very far anyway."
"I'm just joining for fun and to enjoy the atmosphere. I'm not expecting any rankings."
Gary was surprisingly self-aware.
"Huh?" Misty blinked in confusion. "Wait, isn't Ash entering with his Shiny Feebas? Then why are you suddenly talking about Shiny Magikarp?"
"Ah, that…"
Ash scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"Well, technically speaking, the focus of this competition is the Water-type Pokémon themselves. Even in the Finals, trainers won't have that much influence."
"And nowhere in the rules does it say you can't use someone else's Pokémon or lend Pokémon to another participant."
"So while I'll personally be accompanying Shiny Feebas in the contest…"
"I lent my Shiny Magikarp to Clarissa so she can participate with it too."
"Even though this isn't a battle tournament, Magikarp rarely gets opportunities to appear before evolving."
"So I want it to participate as well and build confidence in its appearance."
Ash had always cared deeply for his Pokémon.
As long as there was something that could help them grow—
Even a tiny bit—
He would gladly do it.
"I see…"
Misty nodded thoughtfully.
Ash's arrangement was perfectly valid within the competition rules.
"Will you participate too, Misty?" Clarissa asked curiously.
Toward this girl from a prestigious family—yet burdened with far greater responsibilities than herself—
Clarissa was already beginning to naturally treat her as an older sister figure.
"Mm!" Misty nodded confidently.
"I'll be entering with Marill."
"Wait a second," Green suddenly interrupted. "You're the Gym trainer of Cerulean Gym and the organizer of this event."
"Is it really allowed for the host to personally participate?"
"Of course it is," Misty answered calmly.
"Like Ash said earlier, the focus of this contest is the Water-type Pokémon themselves. Even in the Finals, trainers won't have a very strong presence."
"Besides, all rankings are decided entirely through audience voting. There aren't any judges or official evaluators."
"So even if I participate as both organizer and contestant, there's no problem."
"And after the contest, we'll publicly release the voting data from every round."
"As long as everything remains transparent and open, nobody will have grounds to criticize us."
"Exactly." Ash nodded approvingly. "That's the right way to handle it."
"I see~"
Green suddenly looked excited.
"By the way, Misty, I've never actually seen Marill up close before."
"Can I take a look at it?"
"Of course!"
Misty smiled brightly.
"Marill, come out and get some fresh air. Ash is here too!"
At Green's request, Misty released her Pokémon.
A flash of white light burst from the Poké Ball—
And a round little blue mouse Pokémon appeared.
Its belly was snow white while the rest of its fur was a vibrant blue.
It looked unbelievably adorable.
"Marill~"
The moment it appeared and saw so many people around, Marill instinctively shrank back nervously.
But then—
It spotted Ash holding Pikachu.
Its shiny black eyes instantly lit up.
"Marill~!!"
Excitedly bouncing forward, the little Pokémon rushed toward Ash at full speed and hugged his leg tightly.
"Marill~! (Ash!!)" it cried excitedly.
"System, scan Marill's data," Ash silently ordered.
"Scanning… Please wait…"
[Pokémon: Marill]
Level: LV.22
Type: Water / Fairy
Nature: Docile
Abilities: Huge Power / (Hidden Ability: Sap Sipper)
Potential: Red (Elite)
Moves (Copyable)
Proficient:
Charm
Defense Curl
Rollout
Slam
Bounce
Aqua Tail
Double-Edge
Superpower
Mega Punch
Mega Kick
Skilled:
Tackle
Water Gun
Bubble Beam
Novice:
Tail Whip
Helping Hand
…
When Ash first caught Marill and gave it to Misty, it had only been LV.7.
Yet after barely two months under Misty's training—
Its level had already reached LV.22.
Misty truly had remarkable talent when it came to raising Water-type Pokémon.
As for Marill's terrifying collection of physical attack moves—
Those had been secretly taught through Ash's system whenever Misty occasionally sent Marill over for training.
However—
To prevent Marill from becoming overly attached to him and neglecting Misty as its trainer—
Ash almost never opened its Poké Ball during those sessions.
He would simply use the system to teach the moves, then send it back after half a day.
In other words—
Ever since giving Marill to Misty—
This was actually the first time Ash had properly met it again.
"Marill, you've become much stronger than before," Ash said while crouching down and gently rubbing its head.
"At this rate, even Feebas might not be your opponent anymore."
"So? I picked a pretty amazing trainer for you, didn't I?"
Smiling, Ash lifted the little blue mouse and handed it back to Misty.
"Waaah!! It's so cute!"
Green's eyes practically sparkled.
"Misty, can I pet Marill too?"
Maybe because her own name contained the word "Green," she seemed especially fond of blue-colored Pokémon.
Back when she remotely directed Serena and Shauna to catch a Flabébé for her, she had specifically asked them to find one with a blue flower.
And now—
Seeing the adorable blue Marill in person—
Green was completely enchanted.
Of course—
Marill truly was irresistibly cute.
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T/N:
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