Olivia has lost! The battle has come to a close, and thankfully, Alcea is alright. But what will this mean for Olivia? Will she be okay, having lost in her state? Is she still under Samarra's control, or was Alcea able to break her out of it? What will this mean for the two of them going forward? Here's the resolution and aftermath of that difficult fight!

The Semi-Final Round of the Pokemon Academy Best Girl Contest 3 has begun! These are our semi-finalists! Make sure to get those votes in, and choose which of these girls you think should make it to the finals! So far, only three people have voted, we need more votes for the finals! You can only vote for 3, so make sure to pick your favorites!

Semi-Finalists: Ayame, Chloe, Cynthia, Elaina, Kate, Marion, Sango, Vic

Jjjdunk1: It's a good thing that Alcea was able to win. If that pokemon announcement had come a few days later, she might have been doomed.

KedharS: Hopefully so. But you never know.

Epifanio Therion: There are still a lot of issues Alcea and Olivia have to work out with one another. Hopefully they'll be able to repair things, if given the chance. It all depends on whether or not Olivia is receptive I suppose.

Hyphenman: I'm glad I could make a suitable battle for this situation. This rivalry has been building for a long time, and the emotions have now finally bubbled over. The question is, what will come of all this?

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1016

"Olivia!" Alcea saw Olivia collapse, and ran to her side. Olivia was lying unconscious on the ground, blood smeared across her face. Everyone rushed in after her, gathering around the two as Alcea knelt down to check on her.

"Mmnnuh… wha…?" Olivia's eyes fluttered open and she looked around, confusion crossing her face. "Where am I… what happened?"

Alcea frowned. "Olivia, are you feeling okay?"

"Alcea?" Olivia peered at her rival with bleary eyes. She glanced down at her present state and screamed.

"What the hell?! My dress is ruined!" She exclaimed, pulling herself free of Alcea. "It's soaking wet! And… and my hair!" Her fingers danced around her head until she felt the blood, and screamed again. "And there's blood on my face!"

"Hey!" Marion gasped. "Mom, I don't feel that weirdness anymore."

"Yeah, you're right," Yellow nodded. "How strange…"

When Shaymin defeated Cynthia, the resulting burst of power had caused the strange overwhelming harmonia both women had sensed coming off of Olivia to wither away, like a sand castle being hit by a hydro pump. They couldn't feel anything coming from Olivia but herself.

"My head… it's killing me…" Olivia rose to her feet, glancing at the battlefield. She saw Cynthia lying unconscious in the grass. "Cynthia!"

"So… you don't remember what happened?" Hiromi asked, a suspicious look on her face. "The battle with Alcea, none of it?"

"I… I…" Olivia squinted, trying to remember. Now that she was thinking clearer, there were definitely shades of the fight that she could remember. How strange… she couldn't see everything, but there were flashes of the battle. She could see herself doing and saying those things, and the more she concentrated, the clearer those images became.

"It's strange… I know I did all that stuff… fought against Alcea… but it's like… I couldn't control myself… like someone was making me do those things, things that I would never bring myself to…"

More memories. Everything she'd confessed in that fugue flooded into her, sharpened to crystal clarity. Words that she'd never be able to take back.

The blood on Olivia's face started to blend in with her complexion.

"I… that was-!"

"We know," Hiromi assured her. She walked over and laid a comforting hand on Olivia's shoulder. "It's okay, Olivia. You weren't yourself. It was like someone else was controlling you."

"Samarra," Alcea said quietly. "That's what she called herself. Samarra."

"Samarra…" The name sounded familiar on Olivia's lips, but no matter what she tried to do, she couldn't remember anything more about it.

Across the mountain, Samarra stumbled and fell.

"Are you alright?!" Kiana cried, rushing to help her up.

"Samarra, you're bleeding!" Lana worried.

Samarra held her hand under nose, staring down at the trickle of blood dripping onto her palm. How strange…

"I can't feel her anymore…"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Gerard asked.

"Olivia… I can't feel her anymore… we're no longer friends…" Samarra wiped her hand in the sand and rose to her feet, brushing away the rest of the blood. "When she fought Alcea and lost, it was like I lost my connection to her."

She could still sense her connection to Ayame. She could still see everything that was going on in Agate Village through her other friend's eyes, which is how she knew that Olivia was still alright. It wasn't like she'd died or anything.

So if one of my friends loses a pokemon battle, the shock of all their pokemon fainting is enough to sever their connection with me… I see, that could be quite a problem… Samarra had lived a very lonely life, and was desperate for friends. Until now, she thought that the friends she had made were forever; but it turned out there was a way to take her friends away after all.

Well, that simply won't do. Ayame, play it cool for now. Don't get into any fights, and don't let them catch on that you're my friend too, okay? Samarra didn't even have to ask, she knew that her friend would come through for her.

The bigger concern was that now that she lacked Olivia's connection to her, all the information that she'd gained through that friendship was gone as well. She no longer had Olivia's extensive knowledge about the skills of the other students in the Empress's faction; she knew a little, thanks to Ayame, but Olivia was far more well-informed.

And not only that, without Olivia, there was a lot that she was missing on her brother Kanone and her mother. Ayame was a good source of intel when it came to Blake, but there would be time to play with her little brother later. Olivia was the real expert when it came to the Harker family, and what limited information Gerard had wasn't gonna cut it.

So for now, Ayame was just going to play it safe and not draw attention to herself. That was the best thing to do in the current situation.

"Olivia, are you okay? Really?" Ayame asked, walking over to her friend.

"…Yeah… I… I guess I am…" Olivia nodded. She recalled Cynthia to her pokeball. It was clear that she was still shaken and exhausted by everything that had happened, and she was so embarrassed she refused to even look Alcea in the eye. She didn't even have time to be upset over having lost to the other girl, that was how stunned she was.

Ayame pressed her anyway. "Are you sure you're okay? You're not still feeling… I don't know…" She had to watch herself. She was about to describe the exquisite feeling of being friends with Samarra, but that would tip her hand. She needed to be more composed.

"…I'm still me, if that's what you're worried about," Olivia assured her with a smile. She leaned in and hugged Ayame tightly. Ayame hesitated for a moment before returning the hug. That was good. Apparently Olivia didn't remember everything.

"I still want to know how this happened," Yellow said. She wore a serious expression for once. "That feeling I got from you… that wasn't normal. You were definitely controlled by somebody else, it was almost like… almost like a human being using harmonia on another human being."

It sounded absurd, but it was the only way Yellow could think to explain what had happened. But harmonia affecting someone else?

"Is that even possible?" Marion asked, shocked.

"I mean… it is," Callie said. She turned to Alcea. "That's what you said happened, right? Victoria, she used her harmonia to heal me…"

"Shaymin," Shaymin nodded.

"That's right," Alcea confirmed. "Victoria and Rui both used their harmonia to heal people, not just pokemon."

"It's similar to my power, then," Yellow said. "So supposing that's possible, I guess it would be possible to use harmonia on another human being like that…"

"So I was just… puppeted?" Olivia asked. Her shock and confusion had worn off, and anger was quickly rising up to take its place. "I can't believe this! That's… that's horrid! I feel so violated!"

"But it wasn't exactly like she was controlling you, at least not for the entire time," Hiromi reminded her. "A lot of the stuff you were saying… it sounded a lot like you were saying it. Weren't those your real thoughts?"

Olivia turned red again. "N-NO! Not at all, not whatsoever! There's no way I would ever have such thoughts as those! Someone like me… someone like me could never-!"

She turned to Alcea, her face filled with a mix of shame and humiliation. "And for the record, just because… because what she said happened to be true, don't you dare think that's how I really feel, you got that?!"

Alcea stared dryly at Olivia as she desperately tried to walk back all of her proclamations.

"I didn't have control of myself, so it doesn't count! You got that?! It doesn't count! And you beating me doesn't count, either!"

"Here we go again," Donoma sighed, rubbing her temples.

"I suppose that's the kind of girl she is," Ian said with a smile.

"Hey, I don't see what the big deal is," Raizer shrugged. "That was an amazing battle, Empress, if I were you, I'd be proud of how good you did!"

"Well, you're NOT me!" Olivia snapped. "And that wasn't me, either! It was Samarra, and she was controlling my body, and that's all there is to it!"

"…Well, whoever this Samarra is, if she was controlling your body, it seems she isn't now," Erik mused, giving Olivia a suspicious glance. "Assuming you weren't yourself right up until Alcea defeated you, anyway."

"I can confirm that," Marion said, raising her hand like they were in the classroom. "The whole time Olivia was fighting, she was surrounded by like this… it's sort of a big swirly mass of words, only they weren't written, it's more like I could see what sounds they were, and they were all tangled and clustered like a big knotted fishing line, only you couldn't really see the cluster so much as… well, you know, right?!"

She was doing a bunch of swooshes and loop-d-loops with her hands.

"Get it?"

"…No, not at all," Lukas said matter-of-factly, shaking his head.

"It's hard to describe," Yellow said, stepping in to bail out her daughter. "But basically, it's a fact that Olivia was being affected by this strange harmonia right up until Alcea and Shaymin defeated her in battle."

"Hey, yeah, and didn't she say something about wanting to defeat Alcea, and making her… a friend, I guess? Is that what it was?" Giselle tried to remember.

"That's right," Mirar confirmed. "She wanted to defeat Alcea in order to make Alcea 'acknowledge her' and 'become her friend' but really it was probably in order to possess her, like Olivia was possessed. Factoring in that, it's clear that if Olivia beating Alcea in a pokemon battle would be the key to possessing her, then Alcea defeating Olivia was what freed Olivia."

Donoma turned and stared at Mirar.

"…How long were you here watching, again?"

He didn't bother dignifying that with a response, and instead continued his analysis. "With that in mind, it's possible that whoever possessed Olivia was doing it in order to gather more trainers under their sway. That might have been how she was possessed in the first place."

Everyone glanced at Olivia, but she quickly shook her head.

"No, absolutely not. I don't use my pokemon to fight, remember?" Olivia insisted. It was a pretty compelling argument, given her history.

"So if you didn't get possessed because you lost a pokemon battle, then what happened?" Allen asked curiously.

"The only thing I can think of is that it had to have happened sometime when you ran off," Andrea said. "It's the only thing that makes sense. You went out for a walk in the forest, and then someone must have done something to possess you."

Olivia sighed. "Yeah, that line of reasoning makes sense, I guess," she admitted. "But honestly, I don't remember."

"You don't remember anything?" Hiromi asked, raising her eyebrow.

Olivia shook her head. "All I know is that I was really upset, so I went for a walk to clear my thoughts. Everything after that is just kind of a jumble, I don't remember running into anyone, or even how I got back. I just remember the battle."

"Aya, you were the one who found her," Hiromi said, turning to her daughter. "Was she okay? Did anything seem off?"

It was a bit of good fortune for Ayame; if Olivia couldn't remember the circumstances of how she became Samarra's friend, or how she'd lured her in to become Samarra's friend as well, then her position would be protected.

Ayame shook her head. "Sorry, I just thought that the reason she was acting so weird was because she was upset about what had happened with Alcea. I didn't think that she was possessed or anything like that."

"Well, nobody would think that," Lukas said. "I sure didn't. I thought Olivia was just being her usual self around Alcea."

Olivia turned a glare on him that made him freeze in place.

"Well whatever happened, it's clear that this is a really bad situation," Andrea said. "There's someone out there, doing… I don't even know what they're doing. What do we do? It's not like I can call the Ranger Union and say 'hey a student I know was possessed, can you send backup'?"

"I don't know either," Hiromi said, shaking her head. "We should wait for Wes to get back, maybe he'll know what to do. This is his home, after all, he might have some idea…"

"…What if he's possessed by this Samarra too, though?" Allen asked quietly.

The question made a cold silence fall over the group.

"That's… let's not think about that," Callie said worriedly. She knew how powerful of a trainer Wes was; if even the Commander couldn't defeat him, what chance did they have?

"I say bring it on!" Raizer said, punching his hand. He had a manic grin on his face reminiscent of his brother. "So what if someone's possessed? Zera and I will take 'em on, no problem! It'll be an electrifying match!"

"Can you take this seriously, please?" Callie snapped. "This isn't a joke!"

"I know it's not a joke!" Raizer protested. "I'm serious!"

"That's even worse!"

While they bickered, Alcea continued to stare at Olivia. She thought about how hard that battle had been, not just the fight itself, but the burden it had placed on her heart. She approached the other girl slowly.

"Olivia… I think we should talk, is it?" She murmured, reaching out to her.

But Olivia just swatted her hand away.

"I don't want to talk to you!" She snapped. "That whole mess was just… just leave me alone, okay? I have a headache!"

With that, Olivia pushed past the other girl and stormed inside, holding her throbbing head and wincing. She just wanted to lie down and sleep for, like, ever.

And she certainly didn't want to confront the mess that she'd just gone through!

With a wary look, Alcea hung her head and sighed. This was going to take some time, but if she wanted to convey how she felt properly, then she would need to wait.

"Shaymin…" Shaymin walked up to Alcea, and licked her hand. Alcea smiled down at her friend, running her fingers through the small pokemon's head.

"Thank you, Shaymin, but I'll be okay," she assured her. "For now, let's take you back, okay? You still need to conserve your strength."

Shaymin returned to her normal form, startling everyone.

"That pokemon, it just…" Giselle gasped.

"What pokemon even is that, anyway?! Shaymin? I've never heard of it!" Donoma let go of Ian and stormed over to Alcea, her eyes brimming with curiosity.

"Shay…" Shaymin curled up tight against Alcea's breast and Alcea glared at Donoma, who wisely decided that after all the crap the other girl had been through, now was probably not the best time to bother her with questions.

Meanwhile, Hiromi had another concern that she brought up with Andrea and Yellow.

"This is a really bad situation," she said. "You're right, Andrea. It's not like we can just go to the authorities. But there's something else we need to worry about, too."

Andrea could already see where the other woman was going with this. "Darla and Lila," she said grimly, nodding in agreement.

"Whatever happened to Olivia, it happened when she left the village," Hiromi said. "And right now, Lila and Darla are still gone. Who knows what could have happened to them. They could be possessed by whatever it was that got Olivia, or attacked… I don't even know what to think anymore."

It was only Hiromi's professional experience as a Pokemon Ranger that was keeping the panicked mother part of her at bay. She cared for all the kids that she was looking after, and she couldn't help but worry.

"Normally I'd suggest forming a search party like we did with Olivia… but I'm not so sure that's a good idea right now," Andrea admitted. "Not while we still don't know what happened to her in the first place."

"Good point," Yellow agreed. "That could lead to even more problems. But then, it's not like we can just leave them alone, either."

Andre and Erik watched the adults talk about what to do, and glanced at each other. "This is really bad, huh?" Andre muttered.

"You're damn right it is," Erik growled. "That stupid fucking girl… always causing problems."

His anger at Darla might have been a result of his frustration towards the Draconid people, but it's not like he didn't have good reason to be upset.

Because right at that moment, Darla and Lila were coming back from their forest hike, when they came across other travelers.

"Uh… hello there," Darla said awkwardly.

"Hi…?" Lila waved.

They weren't sure what to make of this.

Oh no! Lila and Darla have come across strangers in the woods! Who could it be? What's going to happen now? Will they become Samarra's newest friends, and join Ayame as sleeper agents in Agate Village? Well, at the very least, we can be happy that Olivia is back to normal. And now we know how to combat this strange power of Samarra's: as long as you can defeat someone in a pokemon battle, the shock of losing is enough to snap them out of it! That's good, at least. But winning a pokemon battle is easier said than done.