There is definitely a lot to prepare for before we head out to the Orre Region. And if you think that the first years are anxious, just imagine what the seniors and juniors who are actually going on the trip will have to deal with!

KedharS: She hasn't really been free. She just has her own complicated relationship between the two of them.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: There is definitely going to be some difficult issues going on in the Orre Region, that's for sure.

Tambry96bj: It's going to be rather exciting.

The Harmonium: Yeah, Marion's backstory is definitely an interesting one, and we're just getting started. This isn't even the half of it.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 806

While the first year students were dealing with the anticipation of most of their peers going overseas to the Orre Region, or out to various gyms, they weren't the only ones facing the coming weeks with apprehension and excitement.

The people who were really excited were the students themselves.

Ayame was sitting in the common room of Olivia's dorm. She knew that she was supposed to be paying attention to what the boss was saying, but her thoughts were on her relationship with Blake, and their date this weekend.

Blake wasn't the only one who was worried. They'd talked, and he'd explained how anxious he was about her going to the Orre Region, talking about how scared he was that she might get hurt or even killed and he wouldn't be there to help. She had assured him that everything was okay and she didn't need to worry about her, because she could take care of herself.

But honestly, she didn't feel any better about being separated from Blake than he felt being separated from her. Not because she was scared he might get hurt, but because she was worried that he was so scared for her; he might slip back into a bad mental state, feeling depressed and angry like he had been before they got together.

She could feel that nagging feeling in her gut, that this was wrong, but she didn't want to admit it. Even though she loved Blake and wanted to help him, the time of their separation was coming, and coming faster than she liked.

And even if they were still together after that, they wouldn't be together. She wouldn't be there at his side to soothe his pain. She knew that she was fostering his dependency on her, just as dependent as she sometimes felt towards him.

Blake would need to be able to cope without her. She just hoped he would be able to. This trip would be a test run of that, and if they were able to make it, then… then that would be absolutely perfect, and she would be over the moon.

But if they couldn't, if Blake broke down…

She was trapped in a corner. She loved Blake, she wanted to be with him more than anything, she didn't want a day to go by without seeing his smile. But if she was the one causing him pain, what was she supposed to do?

She was realizing the position that Blake had been in all those months ago when he turned her down, knowing that as much as he liked her, he had to hurt her.

She shouldn't be thinking this way. She should be looking forward to her date this weekend, not worrying about-

"Aya, are you with the rest of us?"

Right. She should be paying attention.

Ayame's head shot up, her face red with disbelief. Olivia was standing in the center of the circle, hands crossed in front of her chest.

It wasn't a look of amusement on her face.

"S-Sorry," Ayame stuttered, looking down in shame. "I-I was just…"

"Planning out your big date this weekend?" Allen smirked. Ayame glared daggers at him. How the hell did he know about that?! And who the fuck was he, saying something like that in front of everyone here?! She could strangle him.

"Allen…" Olivia narrowed her eyes as a warning.

The people present were members of Olivia's inner circle. Ayame, of course, as well as Darla and Lila. Celia was there, and Allen and Giselle as well. Even Lukas. They were the people who Olivia felt she could trust most. Even Allen.

Olivia sighed, and rubbed the bridge of her nose. Her irritation slipped away and she replaced it with a calm smile. "Now then, let's not waste any more time thinking about this, okay? We've got issues of our own to deal with. And the most important issue, I'd say, is our little business with the Phantom and his cronies."

Ugh. Ayame definitely didn't want to deal with that. The Phantom was on her shit list, and she hoped that she wouldn't have to be involved with this mess. She hadn't joined Olivia to deal with Daeva politics, she just wanted to support her best friend.

"What's the big deal?" Allen scoffed. "That Phantom only cares about the Commander, he doesn't give a rat's ass about people like us."

"Don't bet on it," Olivia said, narrowing her eyes into a glare. "The Phantom is concerned with power and control. The Commander is the most direct threat to that power and control, but he's far from the only one."

Allen rolled his eyes. "Then don't threaten it. I've been saying from the beginning, working like this against the Phantom and the other Daevas isn't worth it. It's not like any of us joined here to put you on top, Olivia, we might as well just ally with one of them and be done with it."

Celia gasped in disbelief. "You can't be serious!" She already didn't like Allen, but this was a whole new level of low.

"Sure I am," Allen shrugged. "The boss here is in the kingmaker position, whoever she allies with, that side will have the most influence and power there is! Like, if you join with the Commander, and use your funds and influence to promote his trainers, then that's just set! The Commander's the head of the school for sure, then. Same thing with the Phantom, funding his research projects, boss, you're the belle of the ball."

"The Empress doesn't need to ally with either of them!" Celia scowled. "She's good enough to be the undisputed empress of the school all on her own, right, Ayame?"

"Yeah, that's right!" Ayame said, nodding in agreement. "Olivia doesn't need to be the belle of any ball, she can be on top all by herself!"

"Oh, stuff it," Allen scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Celia, we know exactly who you'd want the boss to ally with, and that's all because of your cousin!"

Celia turned red, she was at a loss for words. Luckily, Ayame had her back.

"Hey, Marion Rivers isn't the worse person in the world," Ayame growled. "Just because Olivia doesn't need to work with anyone else doesn't mean you should look down on her."

"Well, I'm glad you aren't suggesting we join them," Allen said. "I don't even know why that woman has the position of Daeva in the first place. She's just some nut that likes fishing, her whole status as a Daeva is due to the fact that she's just hiding away from the actual conflict, not because she has any chance of winning."

Olivia could see that this discussion was very quickly coming off the rails. She needed to do something to bring it everyone back on the right track, so she clapped her hands loudly, drawing everyone's attention to her.

The scowl on her face said everything.

"Are we done?" She asked, glancing around the room. "Is it my turn to weigh in on what I'm going to be doing?"

Everyone was silent. They waited to see what she was going to say.

"As I was saying before Allen decided to enlighten us with his opinion, we're dealing with a major issue with the Phantom," Olivia calmly explained. "And that's why we need to figure out how we're going to approach the other seniors during this upcoming war."

"What are you talking about?" Giselle asked, looking down warily. She was starting to get worried. She glanced at Ayame and saw that she was just as flustered and nervous as she was. She swallowed her anxiety. "You… You aren't really suggesting that you think that the other Daevas are going to start another war in the Orre Region, are you, boss?"

Olivia nodded solemnly. "Unfortunately I am," she said.

The room went quiet.

"I know how the two of them work," Olivia said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "More specifically, I have a pretty good idea about what the Phantom is going to do. We're going to be in Orre for 44 days. That's a very long period of time. And most of the people going on the trip with us are already allied with one of the existing factions. It's the perfect setup, all those grudges and issues building up to a boil. And you can bet that the Phantom is going to take advantage of that, and try to seize control."

"You really think that the Phantom will do something?" Lila asked, looking anxiously at Darla and then back at Olivia.

"I would put money on it," Olivia said, nodding. "As sorry as I am to say it, yes, there will definitely be problems coming. And that's something we have to prepare for. That's the real reason that I called this meeting, so we can figure out how we're going to address the upcoming war, and more importantly, keep from being dragged into it."

She sighed and lowered her head. "After all, the majority of us… our pokemon aren't for battling, they're for performing. Our strength is in our appeal, our influence, the people who sponsor our performances and the connections our talents can bring us. We aren't exactly suited for pokemon battles in the streets of the Orre Region, you guys have to get that."

No one could debate that point. Even Celia and Ayame, who were competent at pokemon battles, knew that they were the exception and not the rule. If it came to a head-on skirmish there was no way they were coming out on top.

"So what are we going to do?" Darla asked. She was willing to go right to the heart of the issue, which a lot of people appreciated.

"What we're going to do… is we're going to stick together," Olivia said. "Make sure that we watch each other's backs, and stay safe. This isn't just a field trip, it's not a study abroad, it's a situation where there's a real chance of danger striking, and that's something we have to be prepared for, or else we could seriously get in trouble."

She looked around. "Am I making myself clear?"

One by one, everyone nodded in agreement. Even Allen, who had a bad habit of stirring up trouble, could see the merit in what she was saying.

Olivia sighed in relief. "Good. That's really good. Now that we've got that settled, now we can get started figuring out what we're going to do specifically. Sound like a plan?"

So everyone in the Empress's inner circle began to come up with ideas of what they could do to keep themselves safe while they were in the Orre Region. If there was going to be some big war, then they weren't going to be dragged into it.

Meanwhile, across campus, another member of the Daevas was directly preparing for the war that was to come.

Olivia had been right on the money; this was an opportunity, and the Phantom was not about to let this opportunity go to waste. Especially not considering how much work he had put in to get to this point already, how far his research had come.

"Orre Region…" he mused, leaning back in his chair while looking at the cover of an old, old book. "It's been quite some time since then… but now, it's all going to be washed away… washed clean, like it never happened."

He raised his head and turned to Misato.

"Misato, how are the preparations going?" He asked. He expected that, as efficient as she was, she would have settled everything easily.

He was proven right very quickly, of course.

"Every assignment you gave has been completed," Misato replied. "All preparations have been completed."

"And the research materials?" Valon checked.

"They have been prepared for travel. They are ready to be shipped to the lab in the Orre Region upon your instruction," Misato answered.

"Excellent work as always," Valon smirked. "Well done. I suppose that only leaves one other thing to account for. Have you contacted Evangeline?"

"Affirmative," Misato confirmed. "She is waiting for you in the lobby. She expressed interest in speaking with you, and requested that I inform you her request is 'urgent'."

"I see, well, send her in then," Valon nodded. Misato walked over to the door to go bring Evangeline inside, but it wasn't a senior who walked through the door.

Sylvia pushed her way in with her head held high, a cold smirk on her face. It was a familiar expression for Sylvia, the kind of look she wore when she was holding all the cards, and was about to bend someone over a barrel.

Valon didn't like when it was turned his way.

"What is it now, Sylvia?" He scowled. "We're working on preparing for the trip to the Orre Region, I don't have time to entertain you."

"Make time then," Sylvia purred, leaning over his desk. "We have business to discuss."

"Don't you have a trip of your own to prepare for?" He asked, narrowing his eyes. "You should be busy minding your own business, not sticking your nose in matters that don't concern you."

"I'll stick my nose wherever I please," Sylvia shrugged. "And as for my travel plans, don't worry about me, I travel light."

"Where is it you're going to again? Cerulean City?" Valon asked. "How odd. I would have thought that you'd go to Ecruteak City, or Hearthome City, to a gym with a Ghost type gym leader. But no, it seems you're going somewhere else entirely, and I have to wonder why that would be…"

He looked at Sylvia, and Sylvia looked back at him. Her face gave nothing away.

"You know how it goes with me," she chirped. "I'm always doing things that are… unpredictable, isn't that right? It was just a passing whim of mine, nothing more."

Another stare down. The Phantom was starting to get irritated. Sylvia was unpredictable, to say the least, but she was still working for him. She shouldn't be leading him around like this, playing coy. It was an irritant that he didn't have to put up with.

But the longer she was going to spend here, bugging him, the less time he would have to work on his own projects, which meant that, as much as he hated being dragged around by her, he was going to have to hear her out for his piece of mind.

"Fine," he relented. "What is that's so important, Sylvia? Why did you come here and interrupt me? What couldn't wait until a better point in time?"

Sylvia smiled. "I was wondering… what you would do to gain a little bit of an… advantage over one of your obstacles?"

The Phantom raised his eyebrow. "And what obstacle would that be?"

Sylvia's lips curled up, and she shook her head. "Now, what would the fun be in that?"

Valon's eye twitched. "Sylvia, you are trying my patience."

"Sorry, sorry, but I can't help it," she laughed. She set down her bag and began digging through it, pulling out a file. She handed it across the desk. "Before you decide to disregard what I'm going to tell you, Phantom, I suggest you read through this, and tell me what you think."

The Phantom took the folder, and began looking through it. He was confused about what he was reading. He looked up at Sylvia for clarification.

"Are you saying that this is for real? You can verify this?"

"Of course I can," she smirked back.

"How? Where did you find out about this?" He demanded, rising from his seat. If what was written here was true, then this could be game-changing.

"I just did some digging around, that's all," Sylvia shrugged. "And one thing led to another, and here we are."

The Phantom couldn't believe this. He had maintained his position among the Daevas through pressure. By knowing what people wanted, and how to leverage that in order to get them to act the way that he wanted them to.

And this? This was the kind of pressure that could tip the scales for good.

She had found that just by digging around? He couldn't believe it.

"After all the work was done, and I found what I was looking for, with the help of a dear friend of mine, I just knew that this was something you would be interested in," Sylvia said, her eyes twinkling with delight. She could see that she had him on the hook. "So, what do you think? Have I gotten you properly intrigued?"

"…I'll check it out while I'm there," the Phantom said, dropping the file on the desk. He would have to figure everything out from scratch. His preparations could prove fruitless if he could figure out the secrets contained in this file. Sylvia clearly knew more than what she was saying, she knew what he would find, but she wasn't saying anything.

That was something he would have to deal with, as miserable as it might have been. She certainly knew how to get under his skin, that was for sure.

"Very well," he agreed, nodding his head. "You're right. This is something that would definitely help, if it bears fruit. Now, is there anything else that you would like from me? Or are you finished with ruining my afternoon?"

Sylvia gave him a cheery smile, straightening up. "That's fine! No need to worry! I'm going to head back now, good luck with your meeting!"

With that, Sylvia skipped out of the Phantom's office, humming a tune to herself as she thought about the seed she'd sown.

I hope you enjoy yourself, I can't wait to learn about what's going to happen with this, she thought to herself, only regretting that she wouldn't be able to see the results for herself. She had other matters to deal with, after all.

The Phantom sighed. He turned to Misato, who had been waiting diligently at the door for his next instructions.

"Okay, Misato, now you can go get Evangeline." This would be rather frustrating.

So things are getting interesting! People are preparing for the coming trip to the Orre Region. We still have a lot of preparations, though, before we're ready! What could the Phantom be planning?