Cynthia's begun a heated battle with Will, and started strong! She showed off some new tricks, and has seized a pretty big advantage in the first exchange! Can she leverage that advantage for more success, or will Will be able to stabilize and overcome her tricks with his own tactics? And what are Blake's thoughts on the matter, seeing his rival's newfound skills?

The Final Round of the Pokemon Academy Best Girl Contest 3 has begun! Get the votes going in soon! There are three girls in the finals! Who's going to win? Chloe? Cynthia? Or Vic? One of those girls will become the third best girl, so get those votes in as soon as possible! You've only got one vote this time, so make it count!

Finalists: Chloe, Cynthia, Vic

KedharS: Of course she has. Cynthia's been getting up to a lot of training while we haven't been looking, she is part of the Commander's group after all, her skills need to be sharp.

Hyphenman: Let's not forget that the only time Blake and Cynthia had a full six on six battle she managed to beat him. And the next time he won, was because he had Elaina's overwhelming harmonia to back him up. Cynthia's strong, even though it's easy to forget due to how she acts. And a big part of that strength is the fact that as much of an airhead as she might seem, she's got incredible strategizing skills and killer instincts to boot.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1030

Will quickly realized that things were in a bad situation for Pixie. "Pixie, return!" He called her back to her pokeball, knowing that she wouldn't be of any use fighting Aud in her current condition. Luckily, he had a pokemon or two that were.

"Agni, Rudra, go," Will said, sending out his Doublade. The two swords hovered in the air, slashing at Aud.

"Aud, use you quick attack to avoid them!" Cynthia ordered. Agni and Rudra slashed at her, their blades cutting at her from different sides. Aud picked up speed to evade the slashes, keeping on her toes as best as she could.

"Good evasion," Cynthia called. "Ice shard!"

"Vulpix!" Aud opened her mouth and fired a shot of ice at the Doublade. Agni and Rudra slashed the chunks of ice into chips, but before they could continue to press their attack, Cynthia had already recalled Aud to her pokeball.

"If you can call your pokemon back, so can I," Cynthia grinned. "Like I'd let you cut up my precious snowflake baby! But that's okay, I've got more pokemon to fight with!" Cynthia unclipped another pokeball and flung it into the air. "Rose! Let's do this thing!"

"Kirlia!" Rose emerged from her pokeball with a twirl, curtsying before Agni and Rudra, to the surprise of Will and Blake.

"That's a bold play," Blake gasped. "Rose is a Psychic/Fairy type, and that Doublade is a Steel/Ghost type. Talk about type disadvantages."

"Something like that isn't a big deal for me," Cynthia smirked. "Rose and I can overcome type disadvantages easily! Now, Rose, let's do this thing!"

"Kirlia!" Rose nodded. She lifted her hands, dragging them through the sky, and fired a blast of psychic energy at the Doublade.

"Doublade!" Agni and Rudra separated, allowing the psybeam to pass between them, and then moved through the air to flank Rose. But they were as cautious as their trainer.

Cynthia's skilled. She wouldn't make a reckless move like this if her pokemon wasn't capable of making up for the type disadvantage, Will judged. "Agni! Rudra! Be careful! That Kirlia isn't to be taken lightly, got it?"

"Doublade!" They agreed, and ghostly energy began glowing across the length of their blades. They swung at Rose with twin shadow claws from both directions.

Rose closed her eyes as the pokemon shot forward, and as they swung at her, she disappeared in a flash of light. Agni and Rudra collided, their shadow claws striking each other.

"DOUBLADE!" The twin pokemon cried as one, falling out of the air. They had been on the receiving end of each other's attacks, and because they were both preparing to attack themselves, neither had expected Rose to disappear like she did. This meant they had no preparation to defend, which coupled with shadow claw's natural advantages meant that the attacks scored critical hits.

Rose reappeared a few feet away with a smug grin that her trainer would be proud of.

"Be careful," Cynthia warned tauntingly. "My Rose can't be beaten with tactics like that! Better watch out for what moves you use, or they might be used against you, you know?"

Will scowled, unimpressed by the display. "Agni! Rudra! Be more careful!" He warned. "That Kirlia is a master of teleportation, so be wary of how she's going to move!"

"Doublade!" The twin swords agreed, floating up into the air. They shifted into a new formation, floating side by side, both blades turned towards the patiently waiting Kirlia.

Cynthia's grin stretched across her entire face. Anyone with eyes could see she was having a blast.

"What's going on here?"

Blake snapped out of his awe, turning to see Kitty walk up with a curious look on her face. Cynthia didn't even notice her, she was so entranced in the battle.

"Oh, hey Kitty," Blake said. "Cynthia's having a fun match with Will. You know how she is, she's the kind of girl who considers someone a friend after getting the chance to battle with them.

"…Oh, I see," Kitty nodded. She was less interested in the battle itself, and more interested in how Cynthia seemed to be acting.

Now, since the discovery of Kitty's harmonia, she had become much more proficient in its use than she'd first been. She could sense the feelings of pokemon decently well, even if she wasn't as close to Cynthia's pokemon as she was with her own, or Blake's, for that matter. And it definitely didn't give her the power to read the feelings of Cynthia (any more than she already could, of course).

But she still found something curious in the way Cynthia seemed to be behaving. Cynthia had a certain style about her, always throwing herself into any battle. And this time was no different, but something about it… Kitty wasn't sure what, but she could sense something.

She shook her head to clear the absent thought, and walked up next to Blake, watching the battle with curious interest.

"Agni! Rudra! Shadow sneak!" Will ordered. Both pokemon shot down into the ground, merging with their shadows. They circled around Rose at high speed, attacking her from somewhere that her little teleport technique wouldn't be able to work.

But if there was one thing Cynthia was known for, it was having all sorts of tricks up her sleeve. And of course, she'd prepared for this one as well.

"Rose, use your telekinesis," she ordered. Rose closed her eyes and began to glow pink, and a psychic field appeared around her, levitating her into the air. She hovered high above the battlefield, only taking some light cuts from the shadow blades, and with a flick of her wrist sent herself soaring across the field, well out of reach of the twin swords.

"You won't get away," Will growled. "Use aerial ace!" His pokemon shot out of the ground and disappeared, reappearing behind Rose. They raised their blades high and sliced down at Rose's back, but before they could hit, they bounced off a glowing pink screen of light.

"You won't break through our reflect," Cynthia said proudly. "It'll deflect all those physical moves you love so much!"

"Kirlia!" Rose beamed as proudly as her trainer, spinning in the air to face her hovering opponents. She held her hands together and an orb of dark energy began to form between her palms.

Will gasped. "That's-!"

"Time for our secret weapon! Shadow ball!" Cynthia ordered.

"Kirlia!" With a burning cry, Rose fired the orb of ghostly energy through the barrier, hitting the space between the two hovering pokemon. The shadow ball expanded in an explosion of spectral force, engulfing both in the shockwave. They cried out in pain and shot towards the ground, trying to put as much distance between themselves and the dangerous Ghost type moves as possible.

"That's a trump card alright," Blake said in amazement. Cynthia had sent out a pokemon with a major type disadvantage in this matchup, but taking advantage of her Kirlia's natural skills she was able to lead her opponents into the perfect position to be blow away by a devastating attack. He was reminded for the umpteenth time today that she really was an excellent trainer.

"Nicely done Rose!" Cynthia cheered. Then she turned her attention to the fleeing Agni and Rudra. "But don't think I'll let you get away! Keep up the shadow balls!"

"Kirlia!" Rose soared over the pokemon and rained shadow balls down on them, aiming close and hitting hard. The twin swords were facing some serious pressure.

"Agni! Rudra!" Will cried, realizing he was in a dangerous position. He needed to turn the tide of this now. "Night slash!"

Blades of darkness engulfed the edges of the two swords, and they clanked their tips together. Then, swinging out in an arc, they created a massive gulf of dark energy the rippled out through the air, slicing into the shadow balls. Several were sliced in two before they even got close, and the shockwave traveled out farther, towards the others. They disappeared from sight.

"Well, I didn't think it would be completely easy," Cynthia scowled. "But still, nicely done, Rose!" Her Kirlia touched down in the grass, panting. She'd exhausted a lot of energy.

"Shadow sneak!" Will ordered. Both swords sank into their shadows again, shooting straight towards Rose. But luckily the reflective barrier held even against the shadows, barring their entry. That gave her enough time to regain her focus.

Kitty's eyes widened in surprise at the sensations she was getting from Cynthia's Kirlia. "Oh wow… so that's what she did…"

Blake glanced at her. "Huh? What are you talking about?" He asked.

Kitty's reply came with a mischievous smile. Perhaps Cynthia was rubbing off on her just a little bit. "Oh… you'll see," she giggled coyly, turning back to the battle. "Come on, Rose!" She called. "You can do it!"

"Kirlia!" Rose nodded, and her body began to glow. A soft dew spread out across her wounds, restoring some of her health.

"Nicely done sweetie!" Cynthia cheered. "We're safe behind this barrier!"

"No, you're not!" Will warned. "Metal sound!"

"Doublade!" Agni and Rudra cried. They slammed into each other and began grinding their swords together, not only sharpening their cutting blades but also releasing a devastating sound across the battlefield, and therefore the rest of campus as well. Rose's hands slapped up to her ears and she cried in pain, her defenses weakening from the sonic assault.

She wasn't the only one. Blake and Kitty held their ears as well when faced with the noise, and even Cynthia was baulking. Which was exactly what Will was counting on.

His voice carried out over the sound of scraping metal. "Now! Flash cannon!"

"Doublade!" They crossed swords, and at the center where their blades met, a piercing ray of silver light shot out. It passed right through the reflect and hit Rose directly, scoring a devastating blow against her special defense.

"Rose!" Cynthia cried.

"Kirlia!" Rose coughed. Agni and Rudra's special attack wasn't anything to write home about, but with the boost from metal sound the attack had done serious damage.

"Okay, quick, set up light screen as well!" Cynthia ordered. But the two pokemon were already readying another flash cannon, and she realized it would be pointless. "No, wait! Use teleport!"

Kirlia!" When the flash cannon fired, Rose had already disappeared. It sailed off into the distance, thankfully not hitting any pedestrians or buildings.

Will was already on the lookout for where Rose would reappear. And lucky for his pokemon, they had two pairs of eyes instead of one to scan the surroundings as well. And when Rose appeared a few moments later, they'd already readied another flash cannon.

"Cynthia's good… but Will's pretty talented himself," Blake had to admit. "He set things up perfectly to keep Rose from regaining the momentum to conjure another light screen."

Rose teleported her way out of another flash cannon, but she was getting close to being fired at again. The blasts were getting closer and closer, and the pressure was on.

But Kitty smiled, because she knew what was coming. And it was the same reason that Cynthia was smiling as well. Even Rose wore a grin of defiance, sharing in the joke that confused the boys. Blake wondered what trick Cynthia had prepared, and as for Will… he was starting to get a little worried himself.

What's she doing? She doesn't seem fazed at all, even though Agni and Rudra are putting the pressure on her, he frowned. Rose reappeared once more, well across the battlefield, and the two swords shot towards her, firing another flash cannon as they flew.

No, this all smelled dirty. It reminded him of the Phantom, almost. The way that Valon seemed to manipulate everyone around him. Almost Sylvia-esque, and that thought sent a shiver down his spine. He felt like a Shuppet on a string, and he didn't like it.

Then Rose reappeared once more, this time, with a shadow ball in hand. She was only a few feet away, having taken their backs.

"Agni! Rudra! Turn and fire, now!" He cried. Luckily, his pokemon were well-trained. They were already building up energy as they spun on their axis, firing a beam of light right at the center of the orb of shadow. The shadow ball pushed through the flash cannon, refracting the blast across the battlefield, but neither attack was able to sustain a significant blow. They were locked in a perfect stalemate.

Then the sky over Agni and Rudra began to twist and warp. Cynthia's smirk widened and Will shot his head up in shock.

Two portals opened and shadow balls flew out of them, one aimed at each sword. And since both pokemon were stuck using flash cannon, they weren't able to escape.

"DOUBLADE!" Both shadow balls scored direct hits. The twin swords keeled over.

"What was that?!" Will sputtered in disbelief.

"Those were shadow balls!" Cynthia crowed. "When I fired a bunch at you before, and you countered with night slash? The ones on the edges, instead of letting them get engulfed in your attack, I had Rose use her future sight to send them off into the future!"

Will couldn't believe his ears. Sending attacks… to the future?

"So that's what you sensed," Blake realized, glancing at Kitty. She gave him a proud smile in return.

"I knew that, with your Doublade's power, it would be difficult to get a direct hit on you," Cynthia explained. "But if I could seal your movements somehow, then it would be an easy way to handle things."

"So you lured us, with those teleports," Will realized. "The future sight attack was set to come out at this precise time, at that precise location. So everything after you sent those attacks to the future was about stalling, in order to make sure that the attacks would arrive right where they needed to be."

Cynthia winked, tapping her nose. "Exactamundo! I had Rose play a little game of Ratatta and Meowth with your Doublade, luring you into the perfect spot! Then it was just a matter of keeping you locked into that attack with one more shadow ball, and their fate was sealed!"

Will stared at his twin swords. Neither Agni nor Rudra were in any position to continue fighting, the Doublade was unconscious on the ground. With a sour expression he recalled them to their pokeball as Rose bowed with a flourish that was mirrored by her trainer.

Blake was stunned. A masterful display if he'd ever seen one.

Then his sister's face came to mind. Her merciless power with her Gallade. He'd never seen Lancelot when HE was a Kirlia, but he imagined that the pokemon had been capable of feats just as impressive, if not moreso. Let alone the other psychic pokemon she no-doubt had up her sleeve as well…

Cynthia's grown so much in just a few months, when I wasn't paying attention… she's become an amazing trainer, while I…

For the first time, Blake began to question what he was doing. Cynthia had grown immensely, but as for him, well… what HAD he accomplished? He'd spent all that time locked up in that alternate world, and after that, well, he'd tried to train with Dokukage, he had, but right now…

He and Cynthia had been rivals since their first day. But now, he was staring at his rival as she'd soared to levels he couldn't even dream of. Their last serious one on one fight in the Fall Festival Cup had ended with Cynthia's very narrow win. Would it still be that narrow now? Or would she stomp him without breaking a sweat, the way she was doing with Will?

A shiver went down his spine. He was so happy with Ayame, he'd never enjoyed himself as much as he had in the months that they'd started dating. But to obtain that happiness, he'd let something else fall by the wayside.

If I saw Gwen again… would I even be able to put up a fight?

There was no doubt in his mind that his sister had gotten even stronger since the last time they'd fought. If Cynthia had grown this much, then Gwen, with her determination and harmonia must have gotten even stronger. If there was one thing his sister had it was resolve, and that was what mattered most.

When I fought Cynthia, I had resolve to win, in order to battle Elaina, and that still wasn't enough. But in the Phantom Cup, I didn't have anything to fight for, and the only "win" I had to show for it was something Sylvia gave me.

Blake couldn't say for sure if he'd gotten weaker, but he knew he hadn't gotten stronger. And if he wanted to fight on the level he was seeing in front of him, then he needed to be a lot more dedicated to his training than he was right now.

Cynthia's eyes were blazing bright. They were shining, and looking at something far off in the distance. They reminded him of Ayame's eyes. Like Cynthia, Ayame had something she was aiming for. The Pokeathlon. That dream was what gave her strength, and it was that same strength he'd fallen for. Ayame, Cynthia, Sango, Blake respected the strength and passion with which they strove to improve themselves, but for him…

Blake's future was Gwen. That was the desire that fueled his strength. But unlike the others, the path forward was dark and twisted. It was like he was groping blindly for an answer and he couldn't find his way through.

Did his eyes shine like that? He doubted it. Blake had no idea what it was Cynthia was looking at, what any of them were looking at, but he desperately wanted to see it himself.

But he couldn't.

As more shadows clouded over Blake's face, he felt a gentle hand touch his, and for a brief instant they were all blown away. He turned and looked at Kitty, who was staring gently at him. There was comfort in her eyes, and love on her smiling lips.

"It's okay," she murmured, squeezing his hand tightly. She had no idea what about Cynthia's battle could be troubling her friend like this, but she wanted to comfort him all the same.

And even though she didn't know, that warmth was more than enough.

Yikes. Blake's in a really tough spot. Hopefully he'll be able to find something from watching Cynthia's battle. It seems like he's finally realized that while he was having fun with Ayame, he was neglecting his training, and thus putting his goal of saving Gwen in danger. The question is, where will he go with this? How will he balance them? Or will he have to give up one for the sake of the other? I hope that's not what he decides to do, but you can never know.