Summer Sunshine

At Mikan Island in the Orange Archipelago, all sorts of people were gathering for a big event. The citizens of the island were not used to getting so many visitors, but this was an exception. They were all preparing for the contest – a contest which would bring together Pokémon trainers from all over the world, all in hopes of capturing the crown awarded to the champion. Rumors had it that even the champion of the Sinnoh League – Cynthia – would be travelling here for this huge event.

Lorelei of the Elite Four was preparing to go to the event herself, as she gathered her things at her house on Four Island. Before she left, she made sure to set up her Pokémon plushies on her bed in what she considered to be a lucky formation. She laughed to herself, because she realized how unnecessary it was for her to be superstitious. After all, she had won this contest three straight years, and she was prepared to win it a fourth.

She arrived at the site of the contest, where all the participants had gathered. She looked around at her competitors, seeing that none of them had nearly as much talent as she had. But then she noticed someone sitting off to the side whom she was shocked to see.

"Lance! What are you doing here?" she asked.

"You know, just to check out the sights," he replied. "And my, are they gorgeous."

"You were supposed to be keeping things in order at the Pokémon League, but instead you're here?" Lorelei questioned.

"Hey, I want to see who wins," Lance responded. "Although I have no doubt that you will… you're so brilliant."

Lorelei rolled her eyes, always used to Lance flirting with her. "Come on, Lance," she said before beginning to walk away.

"I'll be rooting for you, beautiful!" Lance called to her as she walked away from him.

It was finally time for the contest to begin. A man walked up to a microphone and addressed the trainers.

"Welcome to the fourth annual Mikan Island Swimsuit Contest!"

The man's announcement was greeted with cheers, except for one potential contestant.

"Swimsuit contest? I thought this was a Pokémon tournament of some sort!" Ash Ketchum yelled.

"No, I'm sorry to say," the man replied. "This event is only for women."

He then pointed at someone standing next to Ash.

"That means you can't participate."

"Awww… but I'm wearing a bikini!" James protested.

"Sorry, girls only."

Meowth pulled a disappointed James away, following Ash out of the way.

"And let's meet our judges!" the announcer said.

The three judges walked out next to the announcer.

"We have here Raoul Contesta, a Pokémon Contest judge!"

Mr. Contesta waved to the crowd.

"Also judging will be Mr. Suziko, president of the Pokémon Fan Club! How are you today, Mr. Suziko?"

"Remarkable!" Mr. Suziko replied.

"And finally, we have here our guest judge, someone who claims to know a lot about girls – his name is Brock!"

Brock, however, immediately rushed out onto the beach and grabbed Nurse Joy's hands.

"Oh, Nurse Joy, you're so lovely, obviously the only one for you is me – ow!"

"Get back here," Misty said, pulling Brock by the ear back to the judges.

"Hey, Mist, why aren't you competing?" Brock asked her.

"I was told that I didn't have enough talent," Misty replied with an grumpy look on her face.

"I can't argue with that," Ash replied, causing Misty to growl.

"Okay," the announcer said, "we are ready to begin. Each competitor will get one chance to impress the judges, and receive a score between 1 and 10. The highest score wins the competition! Let's meet our first contestant, May!"

May stepped out in front of the judges wearing a one-piece red swimsuit.

"Let's see," Mr. Contesta stated. "Well, I can say for sure that she is more talented that girl who just pulled you away by the ear, Brock."

Misty scowled, while May smiled.

"But this is a contest for grown women," Mr. Contesta added. "You, girl, can't be much older than 12! I'm sorry, but you are not what we are looking for. I give you a 3."

Mr. Suziko held up a 5, while Brock held up a 2.

"That's a 10 total!" the announcer said. "I'm sorry, but that is a very poor score. You can forget about winning with that. On to our next contestant!"

Jasmine, the Olivine City gym leader, stepped out in front of the judges wearing a one-piece white swimsuit.

"Now you are very cute," Mr. Contesta stated. "But do you even have a chest?"

Jasmine looked appalled at the judge's comment.

"I'm sorry, girl, but we're looking for girls with true talent!" Mr. Contesta exclaimed. "You're never going to cut it here! I give you a 2."

Mr. Suziko held up a 5, while Brock held up an 8.

"That's a 15!" the announcer said. "Not going to cut it, Jasmine. Let's move on!"

The Sensational Sisters of Cerulean City stepped up and showed off their swimsuits, Violet wearing a blue one, Lily wearing a red one, and Daisy wearing a yellow one.

"Very impressive," Mr. Contesta stated. "Now this is what we are looking for! I'm going to give you each a 7."

"Remarkable!" Mr. Suziko said, holding up a 7.

Brock looked over at the others, and decided to hold up a 7 as well.

"21 for all three of you," the announcer stated. "Not bad, but I doubt it will hold up long."

Next up came Flannery, the Lavaridge Town gym leader, wearing a black bikini.

"Now here's a girl with just what we want to see: a large chest, a beautiful body, and a pretty hairstyle!" Mr. Contesta exclaimed. "You receive a 9!"

"Remarkable!" Mr. Suziko said, holding up a 9.

Brock was too busy staring at Flannery to make a vote.

"Brock, would you please vote?" the announcer asked.

Brock finally decided to hold up a 9.

"Wow! A 27!" the announcer exclaimed. "That puts Flannery in the lead! She will be hard to beat with that score!"

Quite a few girls came by and showed off their swimsuits, but none of them were able to top Flannery's score. These included Winona of Fortree City, Roxanne of Rustboro City and Whitney of Goldenrod City.

"Flannery's score seems to be almost unbeatable at this point! Who is going to touch it?" the announcer wondered.

Next up was Giselle, the extremely arrogant student from Pokémon Tech, wearing a black two-piece suit. Her chest had grown larger than most of the other contestants.

"You might as well give me the crown already," she told Mr. Contesta.

"Well, you certainly are quite something," Mr. Contesta replied. "Very impressive, I think I'll give you a 9."

"Remarkable!" Mr. Suziko exclaimed, giving her a 9 as well.

Brock was enamored with Giselle, and he held up a 10.

"That's a 28, moving Giselle into the lead!" the announcer exclaimed. "We are getting near the end here, not too many left to go!"

Officer Jenny came up next, and while receiving scores of 8 and 7 from Mr. Contesta and Mr. Suziko, respectively, Brock of course gave her a 10.

"Sorry, Brock, your best efforts aren't going to be enough to help Jenny win, though a 25 is a pretty impressive score anyway," the announcer said.

Next up was Nurse Joy, the one who had a tan. She received scores of 9 and 7 from Mr. Contesta and Mr. Suziko, but Brock seemed to be reaching for the "8" sign.

"What's that, an 8?" the announcer asked.

"No, it's infinity," Brock replied, holding the sign sideways.

"I'm sorry, your vote cannot go higher than a 10," the announcer stated. "So that will give Nurse Joy a final score of 26, which is very impressive, but just not enough."

Next up came Sabrina, the gym leader of Saffron City. Her green hair waved in the wind as she stood in front of the judges with her matching green one-piece swimsuit.

"You are truly beautiful," Mr. Contesta told her. "I must give you a high score… how about a 9?"

"Remarkable!" Mr. Suziko added, giving her a 9.

Brock also gave Sabrina a 9, giving her a total of 27.

"Oh, so close!" the announcer said. "That's a 27, but it's just not going to be enough to put you in a tie for the lead. Very good performance, however, Sabrina."

Sabrina teleported away, not even making a response to the announcer.

"Next up, coming all the way from the land of Sinnoh, is their league champion, Cynthia!" the announcer exclaimed.

Cynthia walked out in a black two-piece swimsuit. She captivated the judges easily.

"You've got a fine chest, very beautiful," Mr. Contesta said. "I'm going to have to give you a 9."

"Remarkable!" Mr. Suziko stated, giving her a 10.

"Oh, you are so beautiful, would you mind spending the rest of your life with me?" Brock asked, running up to her.

"Just vote," the announcer said, pulling Brock away by the ear.

Brock quickly held up a 10.

"Cynthia receives a final score of 29!" the announcer exclaimed. "That puts her in the lead! If Cynthia's score holds up, she will win the crown that goes to the champion of our contest!"

"And I shall be queen," Cynthia added.

"But you'll have a hard time defeating our next competitor," the announcer stated. "Now, we move on to our final contestant, from Four Island, it is our three-time defending champion, Lorelei!"

Lorelei walked out before the judges wearing a mesmerizing purple bikini. Mr. Contesta wasted no time holding up a 10.

"You truly are the most talented girl here, with that huge chest of yours," Mr. Contesta stated. "No one can match your beauty."

"Remarkable!" Mr. Sukizo exclaimed, holding up a 10.

"Wow!" Brock shouted. He held up a 10 as well, while being held back from running up to Lorelei by the announcer.

Cynthia looked disappointed, while Lorelei began to celebrate.

"And that does it! For the fourth consecutive year, our champion is going to be-"

The announcer was interrupted by a messenger, who gave him a note.

"Well, it seems we have one last late entrant to the contest," the announcer stated. "From Valencia Island, here is our final competitor, Professor Felina Ivy!"

Lorelei stared over at this last competitor. Professor Ivy wore her navy blue swimsuit, while giving the judges her bewitching smile. Lorelei could not just sit there and watch as this happened. She had won, but now she was being challenged by-

"Mother!"

"Yes, Lorelei?" Professor Ivy asked, still smiling.

"You can't enter this contest!"

"And why not?"

Lorelei searched for the words, but could not find them. Professor Ivy then turned away from Lorelei, while receiving quick 10s from Mr. Contesta and Mr. Sukizo. As for Brock…

"Don't mention that name!" he cried while curled up in the fetal position underneath the judges' table.

"You're going to have to vote," the announcer stated.

"I can't vote!" Brock yelled.

"In the case of a judge being unable to vote, we will take the average of the other two judges' votes and use it as the third vote," the announcer explained. "So, in this case, the final vote will be a 10!"

Professor Ivy simply smiled at Lorelei, who looked infuriated.

"How can you do this to me, mother?" Lorelei asked. "How can you spoil my moment in the spotlight?"

Professor Ivy gave no answer, just looking over at the announcer.

"We have a tie, as two of our contestants have received the maximum score of 30!" the announcer exclaimed. "Now, according to our rules, the tiebreaker is age – the winner is the contestant who is the oldest! And since Lorelei claims that Professor Ivy is her mother, obviously Professor Ivy is the winner!"

The crowd applauded and cheered as Professor Ivy smiled and waved to them.

"Now, the crowning of the champion, by last year's champion," the announcer stated. "Lorelei, come over here."

Lorelei was in tears as she pulled out the silver crown that she had worn for the last three years during this contest. She took it and placed on Professor Ivy's head, while Professor Ivy simply smiled.

"The Mikan Island Swimsuit Contest Champion is Professor Ivy!" the announcer exclaimed.

Everyone began cheering, except for Lorelei, who merely cried.

Meanwhile, Ash and Misty were left to dragging away Brock, who remained curled up in a ball.

"I still don't get why he gets so upset over Professor Ivy," Misty commented.

"Don't say that name!" Brock cried.

After the contest was over, Lorelei had a conversation with Professor Ivy, who still was wearing her crown.

"Mother, why did you have to do this to me?" Lorelei asked. "Why did you have to show me up? Why couldn't you let me have the glory to myself?"

"Oh, it was nothing against you, Lorelei," Professor Ivy replied. "I just wanted to prove that I've still got it."

She pointed to the crown on her head.

"And I do."