The Quarterly Beauty Pageant
"I really can't argue with you. Nemona and Tallia both seem quite busy, and I get a bit nervous around the pair, so having a male to show me around might get me actually looking at what I am shown, if you know what I mean," I said with a sigh, and both men laughed at me as we made the short trip.
"Don't worry, Landon! Clive will make sure you get the most out of your days. You know, I heard there is a special competition for Pokémon in the park this evening," Larry said as we lowered down into the main square of Mesagoza.
"That is right! It is The Quarterly Beauty Pageant tonight! This would be a fun event for you and your Pokémon! I am sure the women would enjoy it as well! I am sure that yours will all take the show! Provided that they were all dressed, of course!" Clive explained as we landed, but I gave him an uneasy look.
"Are you sure that is a good idea? My Pokémon are clearly different, and they are beautiful in many different ways than normal Pokémon. I really don't think that it would be fair to the others, right?" I said, and Clive hummed as we got out of the air cab.
"You do have a point, but this might actually be a great chance to introduce your girls to everyone. There are a few other towns that also host them, and there are some of them that make a career out of it. I am not suggesting that you do that, but I might be able to get you your own slot to have your own contest between your girls. What do you think of that?" Clive asked me, but then I saw Joy, Lusamine, and Jolene, Tallia's mother coming to me.
Then everything started to slow down to a near stop, along with myself.
[Be careful how you answer Clive. Think about this carefully before you answer him. While a contest might be fun, there is only one winner, and I do not think that would be a good idea. From my simulations, there is almost 100% that at least one of the girl's bond levels will decrease, and feelings will be hurt. Each of them wants to be number one in your eyes and to be anything less than that in the eyes of the other girls would not be suitable for them.]
'Thank you for the advice,' I thought back, and I felt Cryo give me a mental nod as time sped back up.
"I am not too sure about a contest; I would rather just watch the other contestants and see what it is like. It is more for fun than anything," I said as Joy, Lusamine, and Jolene came right up to me.
"Oh great! You made it on time!" Joy exclaimed and then tugged at Lusamine's arm. "You should show Landon all the dresses you got! Not to mention the-" She tried to say, but Lusamine clamped a hand over her mouth.
"Show some tact, woman! Landon has a strange male friend with him that he looks to have beaten up. He looks like a seedy character, so I assumed that he deserved it," Lusamine said as she looked Clive up and down.
I was about to explain what happened, but Clive shook his head. "Yes, I tried scrapping with Landon, and he gave me a bloody nose for my trouble! Nothing to worry about now, ladies! We have made up, and I am going to show him around tomorrow! I was just going to take him to get some skewers as an apology!"
"Are you okay? Do you want me to take a look at it?" Nurse Joy asked, but Clive put his hands up.
"No, no, I am pretty tough! But I was just telling Landon about The Quarterly Beauty Pageant! I have seen his Pokémon, and I think they would do great if they had their own!" Clive said enthusiastically, but Joy and Jolene shook their heads no.
"That is not fair to the ones that don't win," Joy said, and Jolene nodded.
"True, and the girls all live together and want to be number one in Landon's eyes," Jolene added, and Joy nodded, but Lusamine put a hand up.
"Hold on. Don't just say no to the idea before thinking more about it!" Lusamine said, and the woman gave her a puzzled look.
"What do you mean? You seem to have thought of something, so let's hear it," Jolene said in a warm and motherly voice, and Lusamine nodded.
"I get that making one the winner of a beauty contest would be bad, but what if we gave them all prizes but none to do with how beautiful they are? I think that should be alright, and this gives the girls a chance to get out and for everyone else to get to know them. This is also considering that we can even get a separate slot since putting the girls against normal Pokémon wouldn't be fair," Lusamine suggested, and then cryo spoke up.
[Amazing. Something so simple as changing the parameters of the contest to include everyone. This makes everyone unique while not putting any one Pokémon in the spotlight. This is a very considerate suggestion, and from my simulation, it will result in not only 100% success but also is guaranteed to increase the Bond level of any of your Pokémon that participate.]
"I think that can be arranged! Clive said, but Lusamine gave him a slitted-eyed look.
"Just who are you that you can say such a thing with so much confidence?" Lusamine asked, but I put a hand on her arm to calm her, and she looked at me.
"This is the past director Clive Clavell. He is in disguise right now," I said quietly, and Clive looked around nervously, but everyone around us was out of earshot to hear, and he sighed.