Let's stick with the Commander and his buddies for a little longer! Anabel's joined the party, and they're certainly going to make things interesting. They're my favorite Frontier Brain of any battle facility, Battle Frontier or otherwise, of course I would take the chance to include them if I could! Remember to review!

KedharS: Yep, I love them.

JoshGamerV: Too late, already replied.

Guest: A little more complicated than that.

Thunder Fire: I spent a lot of care in crafting Anabel's character for this story, I'll tell you that much at least.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 582

Anabel greeted everyone with smiles and then walked to the far end of the long table and sat down at the end opposite of the Commander, which happened to seat them at the same corner that Cynthia was sitting at.

"Hello there," Anabel said. "We met earlier, right?"

"Oh?" Alden raised his eyebrow. "You and Cyn already talked?"

"No, no, nothing like that," Anabel laughed. "We just ran into each other."

Cynthia let out an awkward laugh, her cheeks turning red. She was still not sure whether or not Anabel was a boy, but their name was causing her to lean closer to guessing that they were a girl. But damn they made for a hot boy. And a hot girl.

Well, they were hot, and that's what Cynthia basically cared about.

Alden didn't press the topic, and resumed speaking with Anabel.

"So, Annie-"

"Anabel," they sharply corrected him, while at the same time maintaining their cheerful disposition perfectly. "Sorry, just… it's just Anabel. I hear you have a propensity for nicknaming, but… please, if you would?"

Alden blinked, and nodded. "Sure, if that's what you want. So, Anabel, what did you mean by wanting to test my strength in battle?" The grin on his face told everyone that, obviously, he was not averse to this request, however curious he may have been about it.

"Truthfully?" Anabel smiled. "I'm quite a bit of a 'battle maniac' myself, and I was excited to meet a prospective partner who shares my love of pokemon battles."

Cynthia's eyes widened and Anabel's declaration, and the tension in the room practically doubled in terms of weight. There was someone who did not take kindly to the statement that Anabel desired the Commander as a partner.

And that person was sitting at directly at his right, glaring at Anabel with golden eyes filled with contemptuous hatred.

Vic held her tongue, though, not willing to weaken the Commander's image in the eyes of Scott, or even this interloping Anabel.

Alden, of course, reacted to Anabel's comment good-naturedly.

"Oh? Partner?" He asked. Vic nearly leapt out of her seat turning back to him, her practice with keeping a stern look on her face the only reason her jaw hadn't hit the ground. But all her concentration couldn't keep her face from turning pale at the thought that the man she idolized might seriously be considering Anabel's offer.

"Of course," Anabel said. "When I heard about the Battle Frontier, I realized that it was something I would like to be a part of. If possible, I'd like to be one of your… what is it called again? The ones running the facilities."

"Frontier Bosses," Alden replied with a grin, to various subdued expressions of exasperation from his comrades. Everyone was collectively against that name. To their credit, Anabel didn't flinch in the slightest when they heard that.

"Ah, well, perhaps we can discuss the names at a different time," they smiled. "For now, though, I am intrigued. So could we discuss the matter of me taking part?"

Vic sighed in relief. So that's what they meant. Not partners in THAT way, but as a business partner. That made her feel better.

"That's an interesting offer," Alden said, his eyes shining with contemplation. But his face was serious. "We're always looking for strong trainers. But our numbers are getting kind of bloated, I'll have you know. With you, that would bring the total number of facilities up to nine. That's more than the number of gym leaders in a given region. And besides that, I don't know you that well. And I don't tend to get into business deals with people who I don't know."

Anabel had no reaction to his comments, their face in an even, warm smile.

Alden began to smile as well.

"And that's why I think your offer of a match is quite beneficial," Alden grinned. "That way, being able to feel your 'Sense' myself, it will be the perfect way to judge whether or not you're the kind of person we want to be a part of our Battle Frontier."

"Excellent," Anabel grinned. "But, there's something I want to correct you on."

"Oh?" Alden asked, intrigued.

"You aren't the one testing my qualifications for joining you," Anabel said, shaking their head. "Rather… I'll be the one testing you, to make sure that you're qualified to have me as one of your partners."

Their eyes flashed and their smile widened. "After all, I've seen that you're quite a powerful trainer just by observing your matches over the last few days. Indeed, Scott did not undersell you in the least. However, it isn't enough to be strong, wouldn't you agree? I need to make sure that you're capable of fighting in a way that's compatible with me, after all. I'm not sure I want to work under a trainer that can't give me the kind of challenge that I'm looking for. And I should be able to get a sense of whether or not I can work under you from our battle." They cleared their throat and continued. "That's the sort of thinking I was working under."

And that was what finally set Victoria off. Alden was about to respond to Anabel's counter, but he never got the chance because Vic leapt from her seat, practically throwing herself down the table at the androgynous trainer, and yelled at them "what do you mean by that?! You can't honestly suggest that the Commander would lose to you!"

Stunned, Anabel flinched, their eyes wide.

"I-I meant no disrespect," they said, shaking their head, "I was just stating things as I see them. The Commander is an excellent trainer, but so am I. And the only way to test which of us is stronger is in a fight, wouldn't you agree?" Anabel glanced at Alden, their eyes flashing. "And personally, I'm quite excited to find out."

Scott, who had been sitting on a chair in the corner and fanning himself, chose this time to speak up. "Hey now, tensions in here seem to be getting a little high. It's pretty late and Alden's got a big battle tomorrow, so why don't we all turn in for the night and get some rest, and resume this conversation tomorrow, what do you say?"

"I'm not done," Vic growled, narrowing her eyes at Anabel. "Just so you know, there's a policy here about newcomers, Anabel."

Anabel blinked. "Oh? Is that right?"

"Yeah, it is," Vic said. "And that policy is that if a girl wants to join our inner circle, she doesn't get the right unless she can beat me first!"

The room was silent. That was quite an… unfairly weighted policy towards women.

"Vic, that isn't actually a policy," Ross piped up, the redhead aiming a smirk in Vic's direction. "I think that's just you being jealous."

Vic ignored that, crossing her arms in front of her chest indignantly, daring Anabel to take on the challenge.

Staring at her quietly for a while, Anabel finally responded

"Well… the thing is, I'm not really a girl," they replied with a smile. Cynthia made a quiet fist pump of victory, she had been right all along. Anabel rose from their seat, their eyes shining. "But nevertheless… I would love a match with you, Vic, was it? If we'll be working together in the future, I would love quite a bit to see how well we match up as opponents, wouldn't you agree? It's going to be a fun battle, I'm sure."

"My thoughts exactly," Vic smirked. She glanced at Keya, to see if the dark-skinned boy felt the same thing that she had. He nodded to her. They could both sense it. "It's been a while since I fought against another harmonia user."

THAT revelation sent up a wave of surprised gasps around the table. Even the bored Tommy, and Maddi, who had been dozing off to sleep, were now both leaning forward and watching the exchange with renewed interest.

"Harmonia?" Scott asked, confused. He was the only one in the room unfamiliar with recent events at the academy. "What exactly is that?"

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with," Alden assured him, standing up as well. He clapped his hands together. "Now then! If you two really want to do this, then I think we should do it right, don't you? We've got a lot of battlefields we can use, so let's all head over there! I bet we all can't wait to see how exciting this match will be!"

Maddi let out a grunt. She may have been interested in the notion of Anabel having harmonia, but at the moment she was more interested in getting sleep.

But the Commander was having none of it. He led everyone out of the meeting room and down the hall towards the arenas. As they were heading down the hall, Cynthia pulled Anabel aside to speak with them privately.

"Sorry about before," she apologized, staring bashfully up at the taller trainer. "You know, about running into you." Now that she knew for sure that Anabel was a boy, she was a little more contrite. Anabel was more to her tastes as a boy than they were as a girl, though either way she still found them very appealing.

"Oh, don't worry about it, I already told you," Anabel laughed. "But if you want to make it up to me, how about a battle sometime?"

"Now you're talking!" Cynthia cracked a smile. She loved a good battle. Then, her expression turned serious again. "Also, um, I need to apologize about something else, too." Cynthia glanced at Maddi's departing back heading down the hall. "See, my friend Maddi says I should be more conscious of when I'm inadvertently offending someone, and even though it was only happening in my head, it was still kinda rude, so… well…"

Anabel could tell that Cynthia was having a little trouble spitting out whatever it was she wanted to say, so with a grin they placed a hand on Cynthia's shoulder to comfort them. They had a pretty good idea what it was that she was going to apologize for too, this wasn't the first time they had had this conversation with someone.

"Don't worry, whatever it is you wanna say, I won't get offended, promise," Anabel assured her.

Cynthia sighed with relief. "Oh, good. See, because I thought that, well, you must get this a lot, because you're so pretty, and you look so feminine, you know, plus your name, Anabel, it's just, well…" Cynthia knew she was babbling and everyone was getting farther and farther down the hall, so she took a second to catch her breath and then finally said "so, um… sorry. For a little bit there, I thought you were a girl."

Anabel opened their mouth, but before they could tell Cynthia it was okay, Cynthia quickly interjected "but don't worry! I totally thought you were a boy first! So it's not like, you know, a problem or anything it was just a little bit of doubt when I heard your name, is all!"

Having gotten closer with Sango and Ayame, Cynthia knew how annoying it was to some girls for them to be mistaken as boys. She figured that the other way around probably wasn't much better.

"…Still, sorry," she said again.

Anabel chuckled, and shook their head. "Don't worry, Cynthia, it happens all the time. Actually, I-"

Once again, Cynthia cut them off. "And, I mean, it might not make you feel better, but you're a total hotty so it makes sense that people would make that mistake! You're a really pretty boy, after all, so some-"

"Cynthia!" Anabel raised their voice a little to cut Cynthia off, but their tone remained kind and good-natured, showing they weren't mad. "I said it's fine." Then, they gave Cynthia a playful wink. "But actually… I'm not exactly a 'boy' either."

…And Cynthia was back to confused. She rubbed her eyes, wondering if she was more tired than she felt.

"Sorry, what?"

"Come on, let's catch up," Anabel said, draping their arm over Cynthia's shoulder. "And don't worry, you're not the first person to make that mistake. But actually, well… boy, girl… stuff like that… it's a little more complicated with me. I'm not… well, either."

Cynthia let that sink in for a moment. Processing what Anabel told her with her tired brain took a little longer than normal, but as she was figuring it out her face went deathly pale as she stared up at Anabel in horror at what she'd just done.

"I am SO SOR-"

Anabel pressed a finger to Cynthia's lips and shook their head. "I told you! I'm not offended! Trust me, I'm used to it."

"So wait, so you're not… either, then, is that right?" Cynthia clarified. "Like… you don't identify as a boy or a girl."

"I'm neither," Anabel confirmed, holding a hand over their chest. "I was born biologically female, though."

So that explained the slender frame. Maybe she was binding her chest? Cynthia wondered. Then she mentally slapped herself. No, not "she"! This is exactly the kind of stuff Maddi's always getting on your case for!

Anabel could see the frustration on Cynthia's face so they made it a little easier for her. "I use they/them pronouns, refer to me with those," they informed the girl. Cynthia nodded. That made it a lot easier.

"Again, sorry," Cynthia mumbled. It felt like she was saying that a lot tonight. "If you don't mind me asking, um… no, nevermind."

"No, please, go right ahead," Anabel assured her. They could tell just from Cynthia's attitude that she wasn't being thoughtlessly insensitive, so they were happy to explain whatever they needed to to help her get a better understanding. "Ask me anything you like, this is all stuff I'd have to explain to everyone else anyway, after all."

"Okay, so, and tell me if this is rude, but, like… how long did you, um…" Internally, Cynthia was pounding on herself like a Machamp using close combat, this was unbelievably rude.

"How long did I know that I wasn't a girl?" Anabel cut to the chase, knowing Cynthia was too flustered to ask the question herself. "Well, ever since I was little I didn't really feel much like a girl. Didn't have a fondness for dresses, or dolls, or any of the other things that girls are supposed to care about. I did like pokemon battles though. And as I got older, I just sort of didn't like the look of myself in the mirror. A little too girly, it just wasn't… it wasn't 'me'. So I tried cutting my hair short." Anabel reached up and flicked at the loose strands of curly lavender hair dancing around their neck. "And I thought 'yeah, this is more like it'. I wore more clothes for boys, started binding my chest, but you know, I didn't really feel much like a 'boy' either."

It didn't really make sense to Cynthia, but then it wasn't her story, was it.

"As I grew up, I eventually realized that male, female, neither one of those mattered to me as much as my identity as a pokemon trainer," Anabel explained. "So I guess that's what I am. Stuff like gender, I just don't think it applies to me."

Their eyes flashed with harmonia.

"I'm just a person looking for an exciting battle, that's all. And I don't need to be a boy or a girl to do that."

That part Cynthia could definitely understand. When she was battling, she wasn't a girl either. She was just a pokemon trainer, trying her best to defeat her opponent. And while she still felt like a girl in other parts of her life, it didn't mean she could fault Anabel for not feeling like that themselves. When "Trainer Cynthia" was done fighting, "Girl Cynthia" would take her place, with the occasional guest appearance from breakout character "Pervert Cynthia".

For Anabel, maybe they just didn't have a "Girl Anabel". Maybe there was just "Trainer Anabel" and that was who they were.

"If you don't mind me saying so, I can imagine what that's like, but I also kinda can't," Cynthia admitted. "I mean, I totally understand, having moments when you feel like it doesn't matter your gender, but feeling like, I don't know, that you don't have a gender at all, it's just… I guess I'm too tired for this."

That was an excuse. Cynthia wasn't sure she could fully understand even if she was wide awake and hopped up on eight cups of coffee.

"It's okay, I don't expect you to fully 'get it'," Anabel assured her with a laugh. "But if it makes it clearer, think of it like this. If someone came up to me and asked me 'are you a boy or a girl?' I would tell them that I don't really feel like either. Not feminine, not masculine. Make sense?"

Cynthia could roll with that. She felt like an idiot for not being able to put together the thought process that led to it, but she could definitely consider Anabel as neither male nor female, and would start thinking about them in that context.

And most importantly, they were going to be entering a battle soon, and Cynthia couldn't wait to see what they were like when they were fighting! Especially if, as Vic and Keya had asserted, they did in fact have harmonia.

Cynthia was tempted to ask a question about that, actually, but she figured that she would probably see for herself. And there was another question that she was slightly more interested in, if she had to be honest with herself.

"So, um, you don't identify as male or female," Cynthia clarified. "But does that mean, well… do you ever get attracted to people? You know, boys, or… or girls…? Like, that isn't… part of your gender, right?"

Anabel giggled, shaking their head. "Just because I don't identify as male or female doesn't automatically mean I'm not attracted to boys or girls, no."

They winked at Cynthia.

"But… I'm not. Sorry, just not what my interest is, I'm too busy focusing on battles," they replied. "And speaking of battles… here we are."

Anabel walked into the stadium, they and Cynthia the last ones to arrive. Everyone else was sitting in the bleachers watching eagerly as Vic stood confidently on the other side of the battlefield.

"Ready for this?" Vic barked out, Anabel shooting her a thumbs up. They patted Cynthia on the back with their other hand and gave her a wink.

"Watch my fight. I'm going to give it my all, 'kay?" They asked. Cynthia nodded eagerly and scurried over to sit with the others while Anabel walked over to their side of the field, smiling at Victoria.

"Don't worry, Vic," they said, smiling, their harmonia flaring up to match that of the girl standing across from them. "I'm ready."

A quick match between Anabel and Vic to whet our appetites for the finals of the Phantom Cup! Hopefully it should be interesting, seeing two harmonia users facing off against one another. And yes. Anabel is non-binary. In the games, they are female (Salon Maiden of course) and while I don't disagree with that interpretation (and see them as female canonically, this isn't me trying to insert fanon into my story) for their character in my story, I think being non-binary makes sense for them here. So yes, Anabel is non-binary.