Cynthia's defeated Will's first pokemon! What's he going to do now? This has been an excellent battle so far, but the question is, how will things go from here? Will Cynthia maintain her lead? Or will he be able to turn things around and defeat Cynthia with a hidden trump card? These two are great trainers, and they're bonding nicely over their fight!

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: That's definitely true. He's dealing with a tricky issue, and he really has to think about what he wants out of life going forward. Hopefully he'll find the right answer.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1031

"Blake," Kitty whispered. She was staring at Cynthia with a surprising look of seriousness on her face. "I think you should really pay attention to this fight."

"Huh?" Blake wasn't sure why she'd say something like that. He was already paying attention to the battle between Cynthia and Will.

"I don't know how to explain it," Kitty murmured, staring at the light in Cynthia's eyes, the same light that Blake had been burning over. "But this fight… I don't think it's a normal fight for Cynthia, for some reason."

Blake raised his eyebrow. That was confusing. He thought that with the way Cynthia always was, this was just another battle for her; but at the same time, there did seem to be something a little different about her today. She'd seemed a little too perky. Even though she was naturally perky, today was a little more forced somehow. He wondered if maybe she'd been feeling anxious about the upcoming trip and asking Serefina, but maybe Kitty was onto something.

"Cynthia… I think she has something she's trying to find with this battle," Kitty said cryptically. She didn't know how else to say it, she couldn't even put what she was feeling at the moment into more tangible words.

"Come on, Will!" Cynthia called. "Send out your next pokemon!" She was burning with excitement to defeat his team.

Will nodded. He had one pokemon who he could count on in situations like this. "Ness!" He called, throwing out his pokeball. "Help me!"

"Lapras!" Ness emerged from her pokeball, landing on the grass. It looked a little unusual to see a water-based pokemon on land like this, but she was capable enough of fighting anyway, even if her mobility was limited.

Cynthia didn't mind. "Nice! Rose, use magical leaf!"

"Kirlia!" Rose raised her hands, and glowing rainbow-colored leaves appeared in the air around her. They spun towards Ness like dozens of razor blades ready to slice her into pieces.

"Lapras!" Ness withstood the attack, and her horn began to crackle with icy energy. She fired an ice beam at Rose, who spun out of the way.

"Rose, psybeam!" Cynthia ordered.

"Kirl!" Rose raised her hands, and fired a beam of rainbow light at Ness, hitting the Lapras directly. Ness cried out in pain.

"Wow, this is really one-sided," Blake said. He was almost disappointed. Will had put up a great fight so far, but by using a water-based pokemon on the grass like this, he was making it difficult for his Lapras to put up a good fight against Rose.

But Will was surprisingly okay. He didn't seem bothered by what was happening, he was prepared to fight, and his face was locked into an intense expression. The point was, he didn't seem like someone who was feeling pressured.

"Ness!" He called. "Ice shard!"

"Lapras!" Ness opened her mouth, and fired a burst of ice chunks from her mouth, flying too fast for Rose to evade. The ice chunks smashed against the reflective barrier and burst against her, knocking her backwards.

"Kirlia!" Rose cried. She stumbled to her feet, just in time to see a tidal wave crashing down towards her.

She was only able to just teleport out of the way in time.

When Rose reappeared, she landed in soaking grass. She raised her hands and prepared another psybeam, only for her psychic energies to flicker and fade. An eerie orb was floating across the battlefield, and Rose was entranced.

"Rose!" Cynthia cried.

"Too bad you don't have a safeguard," Will smirked. Rose was completely confused by the odd rays, and stumbled forward. Cynthia's words fell on deaf ears as she called out desperately for her Kirlia to snap out of confusion.

"Now, Ness, hit with surf!" Will ordered. Once again, the field was flooded with water, waterlogging the grass and turning the quad into marshland as the waves slammed into Rose, rolling her through the field.

"Kirlia…" Rose gasped in pain. She struggled to stand, but a final ice shard put an end to that.

Cynthia was stunned. "That… whoa, that was…"

"Ness is my strongest pokemon," Will said, smiling proudly. "But your Rose is pretty powerful too. Now then, are you going to send out your next pokemon?"

Cynthia frowned.

"I know who you're going to use," he added. "Come on, I've wanted to fight that Breloom of yours for a while now."

"Yeah, Tristan!" Blake cheered. "That's going to be an awesome showdown!"

Cynthia held Tristan's pokeball and thought about it. She looked surprisingly conflicted about whether or not she should use her ace pokemon.

"What's the matter?" Will asked, confused. "Isn't your Breloom your ace?"

"…Yeah, he is," Cynthia admitted. "He's my strongest. And I've still kept up my training with him. But still…"

She was given pause because she remembered what the Commander had told her about. How she was reliant on Tristan, and overusing him.

"I don't think it's okay to keep relying on him to win all my battles," she admitted. It was one of the several issues that she was dealing with in regards to her career as a trainer.

Will raised his eyebrow. "That's stupid."

"Hey!" Cynthia snapped.

"I mean, it is," he shrugged. "Look, you love your Breloom, right? And he's a strong pokemon. There's nothing wrong with relying on him."

"He's right, Cynthia!" Blake called. "Tristan's really tough! Just like Weiss! There's no need to shy away from that!"

"But I don't want to be held down," Cynthia said, shaking her head. She clipped her pokeball back onto her belt. "James, go!"

"Loudred!" James emerged from his pokeball with a howl, beating his hands against his chest. He stormed towards Ness.

"Well, no problem for me then," Will shrugged. "Ness, use ice beam!"

"Lapras!" Ness opened her mouth and fired a beam of ice at James. James jumped to the side, avoiding the attack, and raised his fist.

He slammed it into Ness in a powerful punch, and the Lapras cried in pain. The force of the blow was enough to lift her up off the ground, sending her flying through the air. Will was stunned by the raw power James had at his disposal.

"Whoa! What move was that?!" Kitty gasped in amazement.

"That was James' retaliate!" Cynthia said. "When he's sent out after one of my pokemon is knocked out, then the attack doubles in power! It's even stronger than a double-edge!"

"Lapras…" Ness winced. But she righted herself and fired an ice shard at James, who raised his arms to block the attack. The ice shattered against him, which caused him to wince, but he was as strong-willed as his trainer, and shook it off with a howl.

"Surf," Will ordered. Ness rose up high and summoned waves of water, sending them crashing towards James.

"Hyper voice!" Cynthia ordered.

"LOUDRED!" James opened his mouth wide and fired a blast of sonic energy. The shockwave burst the tidal wave in half, preventing it from hitting him, but the effects were painful. He recoiled back, stunned from the force of the sound, which gave Ness an opportunity for another attack.

"Now, ice beam!" Will shouted. Ness's horn began to crackle with ice, and she fired a powerful beam that hit James directly, encasing him in a cradle of ice.

"Loudred!" James wailed as the ice began to spread over him, starting from his arm.

"James! Don't worry!" Cynthia shouted. "Use your fire punch!"

"Loudred!" James' hand began to glow with burning flames, and the ice covering it started to melt. He punched his way free and charged forward, blazing fist raised.

"Fire punch?" Blake was amazed, that was a new trick up James' literal sleeve.

"I was hoping to save this for a certain someone's Scizor," Cynthia grinned. "But unfortunately we had to play our hand now! Go, James!"

"Loudred!" James slammed his fist into Ness's throat, knocking her head back. But she withstood it and snapped her head forward with a headbutt, smacking him right on the forehead with her horn. James stumbled back, but raised his fist again.

"Thunder punch next!" Cynthia followed. James charged forward and lightning began to discharge out of his hand. With a roar he swung at Ness, but to everyone's surprise, his fist didn't connect. Ness opened her mouth, and fire blast of water. But she didn't aim it at James. She aimed it at the ground, pushing her off of the grass with the force of her attack, propelling her away.

"Whoa, I didn't expect that kind of mobility," Kitty gasped in surprise.

"Yeah, I don't think those two did either," Blake said, glancing at Cynthia with a frown. "James is a strong fighter and has a lot of brute strength, but I don't think he has the speed or agility for this matchup."

"Hmm?" Kitty glanced at him curiously. "What do you mean?"

"Her Loudred is definitely the raw muscle of her team," Blake said. He remembered his fights against the brute. "But unlike her Breloom, he's pretty slow. Which isn't, in and of itself, a problem, but against a bulky pokemon like that Lapras, I don't think brute force would be enough."

"So you think she should have used Tristan after all?" Kitty asked worriedly. "I mean, James DOES have thunder punch to work with… and Lapras's ice beam IS super effective against Tristan since he's a Grass type…"

Kitty was trying to sound optimistic, but Blake could see that Cynthia was starting to lose her cool. Her smile wasn't as bright as it usually was, and he could see a bead of sweat on her forehead. Will's Lapras wasn't messing around.

If I'd used Tristan, I could have gone for spore now that the safeguard has fallen, Cynthia groaned internally. Then she smacked herself internally for good measure. No, no, don't think about that. That's the same trap you keep falling into! You can't rely on Tristan for everything, you need to count on your other pokemon too!

James was the only member of her team with the raw physicality to match the Lapras. Ruby didn't have the coverage, and Leon and Elise were both weak to ice. So she would have to rely on James, and hope he could do it.

"Come on, James!" She cheered, switching to a more positive attitude. "Use your thunder punch again, keep up the pressure!"

"Loudred!" James barreled forward, fists raised. Current surged through his two speaker-ears, and traveled down to his fists. He prepared a double thunder punch assault.

Will smirked. That was exactly what he was counting on.

"Ness!" He shouted. "Use your surf attack!"

"Lapras!" Ness rose up on the water, sending a tidal wave across the grass. The wave engulfed James, and the effects weren't pretty.

"LOUDRED!" James wailed, the electricity from his thunder punch electrocuting him.

"James!" Cynthia cried.

"You can't just rely on elemental moves," Will cautioned her. "Electric types are resistant to their own electricity, of course, but a pokemon without that advantage needs to be careful when using a move like that, in case it's used against them."

"Rrr-!" Cynthia ground her teeth together. The elemental punches were a new weapon in James' arsenal, and she hadn't the time to fully test them out. Unfortunately, Will knew what he was doing with them.

"Loud…" James panted, rising to his feet. He was soaking wet, and sparks of electricity still jumped across his body.

"He's paralyzed!" Kitty cried.

"Not good," Blake frowned. James' agility was already minimal; with paralysis he was in a difficult position. He'd done a lot of damage to Ness already, but unfortunately he just couldn't seem to close the deal.

"And here's a little more!" Will shouted. "Thunderbolt!"

"Lapras!" Electricity began to crackle around Ness's horn, and she tilted her head forward, unleashing a devastating bolt of lightning. The water that soaked James conducted the electricity perfectly, scoring a critical hit that sent him back to his knees.

"James!" Cynthia cried. "We need to use full power! Time for your hyper voice! Maximum strength, you can do it!"

James took a deep breath, shrugging off the electricity that seized his muscles. He then unleashed the loudest shout he could, sending a massive shockwave of sound across the battlefield. Kitty and Blake clutched their ears and nearly fell over, and even Cynthia was knocked off her balance from the powerful attack. Luckily the quad was mostly empty, and they were far enough from any building so no windows were shattered.

"LOUDRED!" James continued to roar, sending sonic shockwave after shockwave at Ness. Ness winced, withstanding the blasts as best as she could.

"Hold on, Ness!" Will shouted, but his cries fell on deaf ears, in a literal sense. Ness couldn't hear anything over the assault to her eardrums. She just had to endure.

Unfortunately, James' lungs gave out before he could finish things. He fell backwards, temporarily deafened by the explosions of sonic power he'd unleashed.

"James!" Cynthia cried, but her pokemon couldn't hear anything. Ness couldn't hear Will's orders either, but she didn't need to. She spotted her opening as the stunned pokemon tried to regain his balance, and fired an ice shard at his feet. The chunks of ice burst against his knees and he tumbled forward, face-planting on the ground.

"James!" Cynthia cried again.

"Not good," Kitty winced.

"I think this is it," Blake frowned. James was trying to stand, but the backlash from his hyper voice was too much for him.

Ness lowered her head, and fired an ice beam, the strongest of her icy attacks. The water James was soaked in froze him solid, but he wasn't moving regardless.

"Nice work, Ness!" Will cheered, thrilled that his Lapras had managed to take out two of Cynthia's best pokemon. Even though she didn't hear him, she raised her head up with pride in her own accomplishments.

"Return," Cynthia sighed glumly, recalling James to his pokeball. She took a deep breath, and a bright smile returned to her face. "Wheew! That was really fun!"

Will blinked, surprised. That wasn't the response he'd been expected. "Wait, what? What are you talking about?"

"Hmm? What do you mean? I'm just saying, I think you beat me," Cynthia said.

"But you still have another pokemon left, your Vulpix," Will reminded her.

Cynthia let out another sigh. "I know… but honestly? Your Lapras is really strong. I don't think Aud will be able to defeat her, no matter how hard she tries. Not after she beat Rose and James like that, anyway."

Blake was stunned. This wasn't the Cynthia he knew. The redhead was one of the most stubborn people he'd ever met. Even if Aud didn't have a chance, she would have sent her out regardless and encouraged her to do her best.

"Cynthia, are you worried about Aud because you're trying to protect her?" Kitty guessed. "She is your baby after all."

"That too," Cynthia admitted with a resigned shrug. "I don't want Aud to get injured when she doesn't have to. But still… I just don't think it's worth it. I had a blast! This fight was more than enough fun, don't you think, Will? Nice win! Your Lapras really put up an amazing fight! She's super-tough, I can't wait to battle you two again!"

"I-I guess so," Will said. He'd been expecting a lot more, honestly. Cynthia hadn't used her trump card, and had called it after only using two of her three pokemon. None of that was what he'd known her for; he didn't even know if he could really count this as a win.

Cynthia skipped over to him as he recalled his Lapras, clapping him on the shoulder.

"We had a real fight, don't worry," Cynthia grinned, flashing him a thumbs' up. "And that means we're friends now! Congrats on the win!"

"Yeah… yeah. Thanks," Will nodded. He smiled. "I had fun too, honestly."

"All battles are fun ones! Even the ones you lose!" Cynthia assured him. He nodded in agreement. As long as she was happy with it.

Blake narrowed his eyes. He'd seen Cynthia after she lost battles. Even ones that were just for fun. She was a sore loser through and through, even though she didn't like that part of her. And honestly, he expected her to cry a little, too. But this was different; it was like she was dealing with something else entirely. He was curious, but he didn't want to pry.

"So, now that we're friends, you're coming with us, right?" Cynthia asked hopefully. "To the Hoenn Region!"

Will blinked. He'd completely forgotten about that, actually. He took a moment to think about it, scratched his head sheepishly.

Yeah… he really did want to go, honestly. Even though he was a little shy, he did want to make friends. He just wasn't good at inserting himself into those sorts of situations.

But Cynthia was. So yeah, maybe…

"…Sure, if you'll have me," he agreed. Maybe this trip would be a good way to make some more friends of his own.

"Great!" Cynthia clapped with joy. She turned to Kitty and Blake. "Did you hear, Blake? Oh, and Kitty, you're here, too! Hey! So, you excited for the trip?"

"Y-Yeah," Kitty mumbled, forcing a smile to her face. She just felt weirded out by how Cynthia was acting.

Blake, on the other hand, was full-on suspicious. "Cynthia," he said, "are you feeling okay? Everything alright?"

She was shaken for a second, but her smile kept its firm hold on her face. "Of course, absolutely! I just made a new friend!" She gave him a thumbs' up and a beaming grin. "Today's going great! And we still have someone else to invite, too!"

Blake didn't trust that smile as far as he could throw it. But he politely nodded. "Well, lead the way then."

So Cynthia actually lost, even after her strong start! But that's okay, she was still able to get Will to join on the trip! What's her next step? Who else is she planning to invite to go the Hoenn Region? And when will Blake figure out what's going on with her?