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Alliance Calendar Year 3, July 8.
One week before the start of the competition, Alliance City became crowded once again.
Even the players from Japan were shocked by the sheer number of people in the city, the diversity of species, the variety of Pokémon, and the overwhelming enthusiasm and interest everyone had in the Pokémon Contest.
The players who had already managed to enter Alliance City through various means were fine—they could simply sit back and observe the excitement.
But those who had been unaware of the situation were in for a rough time.
Hearing that Alliance City was finally opening its doors today, many players excitedly packed their bags, eager to explore. However, as soon as they arrived, they found themselves stuck in long queues at the city gates, some waiting until the afternoon or even late at night just to enter the city.
And even after making it inside, they faced another struggle—finding an available hotel room. The lucky ones managed to grab a room from last-minute cancellations.
The unlucky ones? They had no choice but to follow others to the friendly store, buy tents, and prepare to camp out in the outskirts for the night.
But for the players, this was all part of the adventure. Even those having a tough time seemed to be enjoying themselves.
Meanwhile, the Coordinators who had been actively training in the city began winding down their intense practice sessions, preparing to be in their best condition alongside their Pokémon.
And, of course—shopping.
For Coordinators and Pokémon alike, the outfits worn during the first round of the Performance Stage could earn extra visual appeal points.
As a result, many Coordinators had at least some knowledge of Pokémon grooming and costume design. Even those who didn't could always turn to experts in the field.
Among them, students specializing in these fields at the Pokémon Academy were highly trusted by the Coordinators.
This was precisely why, at this moment, a Pokémon beauty salon on the city's leisure street was bustling with activity.
"Alvida-neesan, are you sure about this?"
Eleven-year-old Coordinator Carina sat inside the salon, looking at her reflection in the mirror, feeling a bit shy about her new look.
She was wearing a slightly mature black short dress, a long, luxurious velvet scarf around her neck, and her soft, lavender-colored hair had been styled into an elegant bun. A pair of stylish high-heeled shoes completed the look.
Her face wasn't heavily made-up—just her naturally delicate features and pure, adorable demeanor, paired with a simple yet elegant outfit, made her look like a proper young lady.
However, for an eleven-year-old girl like Carina, this was a "grown-up" outfit. It felt too mature, making her feel shy and unsure if she could pull off such a style.
In the original One Piece series, Carina appeared in One Piece Film: Gold as a songstress in the world's largest entertainment city. She and Nami had both been thieves in the East Blue, and while they often bickered, Carina later risked her life for Nami, proving that their relationship was more than just rivalry.
In this world, Carina and Nami still knew each other and remained close friends—but they had chosen different paths.
Nami was passionate about high-energy battle tournaments, while Carina preferred the dazzling spotlight of the Contest stage.
Carina was also one of the 'Four Little Fairies' among the 84 Coordinators participating in the Grand Festival.
The 'Four Little Fairies' referred to the youngest four competitors in the Grand Festival, all of whom were girls.
Among them, Carina was the third youngest, meaning there was only one competitor younger than her in the entire competition.
These four young girls were famous not just for their dazzling performances but also for the sheer talent they had displayed at such a young age. Their popularity and achievements had earned them the title of prodigies in the world of Pokémon Contests.
"Of course, it's fine! Don't you trust me?"
The one helping Carina with her styling was none other than Alvida, a character who had also appeared in the original One Piece series.
Alvida was an iconic character—anyone who had watched the first episode of One Piece had seen her.
She was originally introduced as the captain of the Alvida Pirates, later joining forces with Buggy's crew.
In the original story, she started as an overweight woman covered in freckles, known for her cruel nature, yet obsessed with beauty, calling herself "the most beautiful woman in the world."
After eating the Slip-Slip Fruit, she underwent a drastic transformation into a stunning, curvaceous beauty with smooth skin that repelled most physical attacks. Even her personality shifted, becoming far more seductive and confident.
In the original timeline, Alvida's village was massacred by pirates, and she herself suffered horrible abuse, which led her to develop a ruthless, twisted personality. She became a notorious pirate in the East Blue, indulging in gluttony and depravity, kidnapping handsome men and slaughtering beautiful women to satisfy her warped desires. Over time, her once-pretty face deteriorated into the grotesque form seen in One Piece's first episode.
But this world was different.
In this timeline, Alvida never became a pirate. Her father and brother became Trainers and worked for the Alliance's security forces, allowing her and her mother to move to Alliance City.
They sold off everything they owned in their former world and saved enough money to rent a shop in the city's leisure district.
While her father and brother worked for the Alliance, her mother ran the shop—a Pokémon beauty salon.
Alvida was lucky enough to be accepted into the Pokémon Academy, where she studied beauty and grooming as her major.
On regular days, her mother ran the salon alone, but during summer and winter vacations, Alvida would return to help out and practice what she had learned.
It was during the past month, leading up to the Grand Festival, that she met Carina and began helping her train for the competition.
"I do trust you, of course!"
Carina quickly reassured her. "You've come up with so many dazzling ideas for my performance—how could I not trust you?"
She was deeply grateful to Alvida.
This past month had been stressful for her, but Alvida had always been there, offering comfort and helping her improve her performances with invaluable advice.
"That's more like it! Trust me, Carina —you may be young, but you're growing fast! Look at those long legs! It would be a shame not to show them off. I'm honestly so jealous."
As Alvida carefully added decorative accessories to Carina's hair, she gently brushed the girl's cheek with her hand.
"You seem really interested in Pokémon Contests, neesan?"
"Of course! I also want to dress up beautifully and perform on stage with my Florges!"
Alvida nodded naturally.
Florges was Alvida's Pokémon, a rather unique species.
Its pre-evolution, Flabébé, would choose a flower it liked at birth and treasure it for life. This flower would even influence its evolution into its final two stages.
In the Pokémon world, botanists specializing in floral Pokémon have even suggested that the color of the flower reflects aspects of a Florges' personality and abilities.
However, there were only five possible colors—red, blue, orange, white, and yellow.
Alvida's Florges had evolved from an orange Flabébé, and the flower it held remained orange.
"Floges~"
Beside them, Florges happily nodded in agreement while helping spray Carina with a gentle floral fragrance.
"Hehe, when the time comes, you'll have to call me senpai, Alvida-neesan!"
Carina smiled smugly.
"Yes, yes, my little senpai, I'll be counting on you to guide this newbie."
Alvida shook her head helplessly, playing along with Carina's antics.
Her studies were demanding, and whenever she had free time, she helped out at the salon, leaving her no chance to pursue a career as a Coordinator herself.
Though her major at the academy was beauty and grooming, she often attended battle and performance classes whenever she could.
Since Pokémon Contests consisted of a Performance Stage followed by a Battle Stage, both subjects were valuable to her. However, this also meant she had no spare time to travel the world and participate in lower-tier Contests.
"Hehehe~"
Carina giggled to herself, already imagining her future success.
"Stop daydreaming. So, do you think you can win? The first-ever Grand Festival champion will go down in history, you know."
Alvida playfully flicked Carina's forehead.
"Ahhh, no chance at all. I have zero talent when it comes to battles."
At the mention of battling, Carina's smile instantly faded. "But the other three are the same. The title of 'Top Coordinator' will probably go to one of the adults this time."
The "other three" she mentioned were, of course, the remaining members of the Four Little Fairies.
Since people always grouped them together, they naturally found themselves competing against each other.
Though, most of the rivalry existed between three of them.
The youngest of them all was Shirahoshi, the seven-year-old daughter of the mayor of Fishman City.
She was gentle, timid, and never argued with others. Even when upset, she would only retreat to a corner and cry quietly. Because of this, the other three girls never bullied her. In fact, they doted on her.
As for the other two:
First, Uta, a 12-year-old member of the Red-Haired Adventure Crew who had eaten the Sing-Sing Fruit.
Uta was cheerful, optimistic, energetic, and strong-willed. While Shirahoshi had the largest fanbase due to her adorable innocence, Uta's fans were the most passionate—and the most aggressive.
In fact, the security forces had even had to deal with incidents where Uta's fans physically attacked others for speaking ill of her.
Then there was Temari, the 10-year-old princess of Sunagakure.
She was reserved and composed in front of strangers but warm and kind to those she cared about. She was highly goal-oriented and rarely acted without reason—but she also refused to let others push her around.
Among the Four Little Fairies, Uta was the one who stirred up the most trouble. Temari often clashed with her head-on, while Carina preferred to throw in sarcastic remarks from the sidelines.
The only time the three of them got along was when Shirahoshi was present.
After all, they each wanted to be seen as a wonderful onee-san in Shirahoshi's eyes.
(End of Chapter)
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