While Vic and Anabel have their little spat, the Commander is left to his own devices. And while he's on his own, he'll have a lot to think about… and he'll have come up with a new idea! But what could this new idea be? And what ramifications will it have for the Battle Frontier project as a whole? And for that matter, what about Cynthia? What's her role in all of this going to be? It's time to shake some things up before moving forward! Remember to review!

The Semi-Final Round of the Pokemon Academy Best Girl Contest 3 has begun! This is the last day of the semi-finals, and we've only gotten three votes for girls so far! I know there are a lot more people who want to vote, so hurry up, the contest is almost in the final stage! 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! You can only vote for 3, so make sure to pick your favorites!

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

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1023

Anabel and Vic met up with Alden after a few minutes. Anabel still had the same inscrutable smile they always did, while Vic's lips were pinched into a tight frown. On the surface everything seemed to be the same as usual, but to a keen eye, it was clear that there was a tension beneath the placid and peaceful exterior.

Unfortunately, Alden didn't have keen eyes when it came to matters like these. He took the fact that everything seemed normal on its face, and asked them how it went.

"We talked," Anabel said. "And while we didn't fix all of our issues, I think we came a long way in terms of understanding one another, don't you agree, Victoria?"

"…Yeah, whatever," Vic muttered. She didn't even want to look at them. Or at Alden for that matter. She wanted to go back to Agate Village, and it was only her loyalty to the Commander and his goals that she didn't.

Alden just smiled and accepted that, as she knew he would. It was stupid of her to think about talking about something serious with him; he barely even noticed her, of course he wouldn't really be concerned about her mood.

He didn't even look to her anymore for her battling prowess. It was like the bonds of respect and trust that had been built up between them had only ever mattered to her. It was a painful thing to acknowledge, but she couldn't see it any other way given the way he always acted around her. To that end, she could only think about doing her best and hoping that maybe, just maybe, he would appreciate how hard she worked for his sake.

But honestly?

She doubted it.

In the meantime, Alden had some thoughts of his own. His smile soon faded, and his eyes leapt between them.

"While you two were talking, I had a thought," he said. "And it would be better if we wait until everyone is together before I share it."

"Of course, sir," Vic replied automatically. While she couldn't have the bond with him that Anabel did, she could at least take his commands better than anyone else.

"What's up?" Anabel asked, their eyes shining. "I'm excited now! The suspense is killing me, come on Alden!"

But they would just have to wait. Alden wore a mysterious smile as the trio headed back to the main entrance and the tents. The suspense kept Anabel bouncing on the balls of their feet, and they were asking all sorts of questions, as if they had a chance of guessing what the Commander was thinking about.

Much to their fortune, they managed to arrive at the entrance just as the others were converging as well. Keya and Tommy came from different directions but appeared to be on the same page, as everyone gathered together in the main tent.

"So this is what I was thinking," Alden said. "When we went to go check out the Battle Tower… I had a vision. I pictured the completed Battle Frontier, with the tower standing above everything. People were coming from all around, visiting the different facilities. It was bright and peaceful, and it was also the most excited I've been in a long time."

A whimsical smile crossed Alden's face and his eyes glazed over like he was picturing that dream again right now.

"…But unfortunately, we're not quite ready yet," he admitted, returning back to earth and looking at the others with a solemn expression. "We still have a lot of work to do before the Battle Frontier is ready to accept guests."

Chloe raised her eyebrow. That was putting it mildly.

"At the same time, Anabel thought that it would be a good idea to turn the Battle Tower on," Alden continued, nodding to Anabel. "Light it up and get it running to show everyone that we were ready for whatever came our way, to mark the beginning of the Battle Frontier here and now."

"Yeah, that's right!" Anabel cheered, pumping their fist into the air. Vic rolled her eyes in frustration. Alden looked at the others and smiled.

"…But we're not going to do that," he said.

Vic raised her eyebrow curiously. That was interesting. Alden actually disagreed with one of Anabel's ideas? She felt vindicated.

"What? Why not?" Anabel asked. To Vic's chagrin they didn't sound frustrated or disappointed, just curious and confused.

Alden quickly clarified things.

"The reason why we're not going to do that is because I don't think we're ready," he said. "The Battle Frontier hasn't been fully mapped out yet."

"Uh, yeah, isn't that why Anabel suggested we light the tower up first?" Tommy asked, confused about what he meant.

Alden shook his head.

"While I agree with the idea that we should restore and switch on the Battle Tower before we begin any other construction projects, I don't think we're at the construction stage just yet. There's still something left to."

Rob every bank on the continent for funding? Chloe was tempted to ask, but held her tongue.

"There's still someone who hasn't completed her idea for the Battle Frontier," Alden reminded everyone. "And until she's finalized her plan, I don't see how anybody can say that the Battle Frontier is ready to go forward."

"What? Cynthia? Seriously?" Tommy groaned. "She's not even here!"

"Even if she's not here, she's still one of us," Alden reminded him. "We can't just skip over her for important moments like this."

"But she'll be choosing her location anyway, right?" Ross asked. "Does her decision really need to be finalized before we start?"

"In my opinion it does," Alden said simply. "The Battle Frontier is for all of us. Once we're all on the same page about our ideas, then we can get started. But until Cynthia comes up with something and gets a chance to weigh in, it just doesn't feel right to start the restoration of the Battle Tower, do you understand?"

A few glum, resigned nods went out around the others. It wasn't a popular decision, but even the people who didn't like Cynthia all that much had to agree that this was for the best. They'd all gotten a chance to share, it was only fair that she did too.

Vic was in a tough position though. She didn't like Cynthia. At all. She thought that the girl was an annoyance and that Alden had let her into the inner circle far too easily. She was just first year student, after all!

But it was thanks to Cynthia that Alden went against Anabel's decision, so she figured that she owed the girl a silent thanks. That was the level of pettiness that currently consumed Vic at the moment, and she didn't even care.

"But it's not like you can just ask Cynthia for her input," Maddi said. "After all, there's no phone service here. Otherwise we could just call her, right?"

"True, there's no service here," Alden admitted. "But that doesn't mean we can't get in touch with her, right?"

He turned to Rui.

"If memory serves, the closest hotspot for cell service is in Phenac City, right? That's about where we were before our phones crapped out on us."

Rui blinked, surprised to be involved in the conversation. "I-I guess that's right, why do you ask?" She wondered.

"Well, I was thinking… Rui, would it be possible to drive us back to Phenac City?" Alden asked.

Rui's jaw dropped. They'd just come here earlier, and now Alden was pressing her to drive all the way back to Phenac? It'd be night by the time they got there.

"Seriously?" She asked in disbelief. "You want to go all the way to Phenac to make a phone call to somebody?"

It was honestly absurd. But Alden wasn't deterred.

"Yes," he nodded. "It's only fair that Cynthia get a chance to contribute like the rest of us, don't you think?"

"I don't want to go all the way back to Phenac, though," Tommy groaned.

"It does seem a little… excessive," Ross admitted.

Mason didn't say anything, but the sharp look in his eye suggested that he felt similarly about the whole mess.

"Well, then Rui can just take me, right?" Alden asked, glancing hopefully to her. "After all, the people here can be trusted. And Anabel is basically an adult anyway so they can make for a good chaperone, don't you think?"

That put Rui in a difficult position. While she didn't want to reject Alden's offer and force him to compromise on his goals, at the same time, she didn't feel very comfortable about splitting up the group AGAIN to go back to Phenac. What if something happened and she wasn't there?

…Then again, what was she going to do if something DID happen? They were so far out in the desert it was half a day until the closest place with cell reception, and it's not like she had any pokemon to rely on herself. She was counting on the others in the first place, so was it really such a necessary thing for her to stay behind with them?

"Well, I'll go with you," Vic decided. "You can count on me, sir."

"Actually, Vic, I was wondering if you could stay behind," Alden said.

To Vic those words were like a slap in the face.

"Y-You… want me to stay behind?" She asked, her voice small and vulnerable. She'd just resolved herself to stay by the Commander's side and help him however she could, and now he was telling her that he didn't even need her for THAT?

"I would also feel comfortable if you were here," Rui admitted, looking hopefully to her daughter. "Assuming I agree to this, and that's a VERY big assumption, it would make me feel a lot better to know there was someone I could trust looking out for the others."

"That's exactly what I was going to say!" Alden beamed at her.

Vic wished she could be happy that the Commander was expressing so much trust in her. But at the moment it just felt like he was happy to be rid of her, and didn't care one way or the other what she did with her time.

After all, she was leaving Scott and Anabel in charge, not her. They were the adults who would look after the others, and she…

"I-I want to go, too," Chloe said, surprising everyone. "With you and Rui, I mean."

"Really?" Alden asked, surprised. He'd expected that someone as reserved as Chloe would want to stay back in camp with the others instead of doing more traveling.

Chloe nodded.

The truth was, she wanted to go because she was afraid that whatever crazy idea that Cynthia had would break the bank even more than it already was. The girl had a bit of a reputation as a partier among the first-years, and her flighty, lackadaisical depiction didn't engender any confidence in her financial modesty.

Chloe very much wanted to be there on the off chance that things went south, so she could guide Cynthia's ideas towards something a little more sensical.

"Great, works for me!" Alden said. "So Rui, is that okay? You just have to take me, Chloe, and Maddi to Phenac City for a couple days so we can talk to Cynthia, and then we can come back! Easy as pie, don't you think?"

"Wait, what was that now?" Maddi gawked at Alden in shock. "Why… why am I involved in this?!" She sputtered.

Alden gave her a confused look.

"Well, you and Cynthia are friends, right? I would have expected that you would want to spend time with her and see how she's doing."

Maddi winced. While she and Cynthia could be considered friends based on the technical definition of the word, it wasn't exactly an association that she was particularly proud of. And she was actually quite content to not spend any time on this trip chatting up her friend, it was better that they stayed about a continent apart.

But at the same time, she couldn't exactly reject the Commander's offer directly, not when he seemed so sure of himself. He gave her a smile that seemed to urge her to agree, and she swallowed warily, glancing at the ground.

"…Fine," she sighed. "I'll go."

"Great!" Alden cheered. And just like that, they were all set and ready to go!

"Wait, you want to leave now?!" Rui sputtered. She just found herself swept up in the Commander's flow before even realizing it.

"…That's just the way he is," Ross laughed.

"But it'll be dark by the time we get there!" She reminded him.

"Which should line up perfectly with Cynthia's time zone," Alden dismissed the concern with a shrug. "It should be early in the morning for her over there. Can you really think of a better time?"

Rui just sighed and nodded. "Okay, fine. I guess the sooner we leave, the sooner we can come back," she admitted. She turned to the others. "Are you guys ready though? Like, what are you going to do for sleep? And food?"

"Oh, there are tents with cots set up, don't worry about that!" Scott assured her with a grin. "Yeah, we'll be able to take care of everything! Plus, we've got some food and stuff stored in the trailer. It won't be gourmet cuisine, but it's definitely enough to feed a handful of kiddies."

Rui was still reluctant. But at the same time, she wasn't sure what else she should do. It seemed that since these kids were mature enough to be buying land and starting their own business, maybe she ought to be showing them a little bit more trust.

"Okay, sure, let's go," she said, turning to the Commander. The four of them said their last goodbyes, and with a drawn-out hug between Rui and Vic, they headed out on their way to the truck and off towards Phenac City.

Their jeep was soon a blip on the horizon. And as they faded off into the distance, nobody was there to see that a certain someone was approaching the Battle Tower with a look of malevolence in their eyes and an ominous aura coming off of them.

Rui was right on the money with her estimation; the sun had already started to set by the time their jeep entered the borders of Phenac City.

"How's the service?" She shouted over to Alden. "Can you get any signal yet?"

Alden held up his phone, but he still couldn't connect.

"No, I don't think so!" He called back. "Maybe we should head to the Pokemon Center and use their facilities!"

Unlike the Pokemon Center in Agate Village, the Phenac City Pokemon Center was perfectly equipped to handle all the needs of the many trainers and tourists who stopped by the capitol city of the Orre Region.

Alden entered with Rui and the girls, and approached the far wall, where the PCs were installed. But instead of going to deposit any pokemon, he wanted to make a call first. He just had to hope that it wasn't TOO early in the morning for Cynthia.

He wasn't that lucky though.

The screen flared up, and the first thing everyone saw was Cynthia's bleary face staring out at them in confusion. She blinked a few times and squinted at her device, trying to figure out who was calling her from an unknown number.

When she saw who it was, she snapped awake.

"Oh! Commande! And Maddi, too! And, um… Jo-Josephine?" She guessed, staring at Chloe.

Chloe wasn't amused.

"That's Chloe," Alden said. "And this is Rui over here. Sorry we called so early. We didn't wake you up, did we?"

"Wha? No, of course not," Cynthia lied, yawning. "I always wake up at… six in the morning… hahumm…" She rubbed her eyes to keep from drifting back off to sleep. "A-Anyway, what's up? Why're you guys calling this early?"

"It's about the Battle Frontier," Alden explained. "I wanted to talk with you about what you wanted to do for your facility."

"My… facility?" Cynthia asked cautiously. "What… um, what do you mean?" She knew what he meant, of course, but she was scared to ask. After all, she'd put quite a bit of thought into this Battle Frontier idea in the first place, and unfortunately for her, she was a little bit stuck.

Still, though, Alden continued to explain to her. He told her all about the stuff they'd discussed earlier, and while he was getting busy with that, Rui excused herself.

Her phone was filled with notifications from Wes, and she hadn't received them until she'd gotten within the city limits. Now that they had some time to breathe, she could check in with him and see what was so urgent.

She took the first message and listened to what he had to say. And as her husband's voice reached her ears, her face got paler and paler. She swallowed.

"…What?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Uh-oh. What could be so important that Wes had to call Rui so many times? And what about Alden and Cynthia? What will they be discussing, and what ideas does Cynthia have for the Battle Frontier? And speaking of the Battle Frontier… who is this mysterious figure approaching it, and what could they want? Things are gonna get serious real soon!