Vic and Alden have had a very strange relationship. Vic's loyalty to him has always been absolute, until now. But how did they start? What was their relationship like in the past, before we got to where we are in the story? Let's take a break from our fight, and look back into the past, to when they were both still first-year students.

KedharS: He's always been a great guy.

Gyvarius: That's quite an amusing theory, and one I assure you is completely coincidental. I would have made the similarities much more overt if that was the case.

Guest: Unfortunately, that would require my writing well over 16 million words, and even I'm not sure that will happen in this story.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1114


Three years ago…

"Uwaah!" Vic stumbled back, falling on her butt. She clutched her stomach, feeling the force of the damage her pokemon went through. Valkyrie lay on the ground, unconscious, with Corin standing triumphantly over her.

"Damn it…" Vic winced, her head throbbing with pain. She was still getting used to her harmonia, and her emotions were out of whack due to the ability. Frustration burned inside of her. She'd fought so hard in order to win her very first battle at the school, and yet her opponent had defeated her like it was nothing. All her hard work, all her effort, even her harmonia hadn't been enough to help her, he was just too strong.

If only it had been a double battle… then I would've been able to…

She was so distracted that she didn't even notice the fact that her opponent had already called his pokemon back and come up to greet her.

"Hello there," the blonde boy said with a smile. "That was really some battle, huh?"

"Whatever," Vic spat, her eyes shifting to the side. She didn't accept the hand he offered to help her back up.

"I'm serious you know," he continued good-naturedly. "I really thought this was a lot of fun! Didn't you enjoy yourself?"

Vic's eyes widened and her head jerked up to stare at the cheerful grin on his face. "…Fun?" The battle had been fun for him?

"Yeah! You're a really exciting trainer! The way your pokemon seemed to get stronger in the middle of the fight really got my 'Sense' surging!"

"…Sense?" He certainly wasn't making any. Why would someone have fun fighting against a trainer like her?

"Don't worry about it," he dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "I'm just saying that your pokemon were really tough and fun to fight against. I'm looking forward to seeing how much you improve. You've got to promise me that we'll fight again really soon, okay?!"

"Oh-Okay…?" Vic's cheeks turned red as he crouched down and grabbed her hands. His eyes were shining so brightly. She'd never seen such pure eyes. Not even from her parents. They were eyes of pure passion, eyes that cared about nothing but battle. Her heart skipped a beat.

"Oh, and this is going to sound really weird, but have you ever considered fighting in double battles?" The boy suggested. "I think you have a real talent for it, given how well you think on your feet, and how good you seem to be at multitasking in the heat of the moment. I mean, well… I'm just getting carried away," he sheepishly admitted. "But I think you should really give it a shot!"

"F-Fine!" Vic ripped her hand away and stumbled to her feet, recalling Valkyrie to her pokeball. She turned and ran away, her face hot.

Wh-Why am I feeling this way?! She asked herself frantically. She'd never felt this exhilaration, not even in a pokemon battle before.

She hadn't even learned the boy's name.


A few months later, she finally had. Alden Volt, that was his name. She'd already known he was a first-year, but he was clear he was heading to the Battle Course, like she was. She'd kept a watchful eye out for him, following him around, keeping track of his record in school. He'd won the Fall Festival Tournament, even though he was just a first-year, but she hadn't doubted that at all. Because Alden was strong. Not as strong as her dad, but certainly stronger than her, stronger than pretty much everyone in her grade and the grade above it as well.

That made her feel a little better about her own ability. It wasn't that she was weak, the trainer who'd defeated her was just strong. After all, "weakness is a sin" was the mantra of the Orre Region. And as much as she loathed those words, she couldn't help but internalize them sometimes. But fortunately her own battle records, when she chose to participate in them, showed that she was pretty strong herself. She didn't enter the Fall Festival Tournament, of course, because the battles there were single battles and she specialized in doubles. But she did still want to fight against Alden.

It was another week before she finally summoned up the courage to challenge him to a rematch, and this time it was with her specialty, a double battle.

He still defeated her soundly.

Vic sighed. She'd tried her best, but he was just that much more powerful than she was. This time, when he approached her, she was aware of him, her heart pounding in anticipation.

"That was fun!" Alden grinned. "You've really gotten a lot better since the last time we fought!"

Vic's eyes widened. He… he remembered. He remembered their previous battle!

The exhilaration at Alden's acknowledgment caused her to blurt out "I-I've been doing a lot of double battles!" Then she realized how that sounded, and quickly corrected herself. "B-But not because you suggested it or anything. I was doing them before! Before school, I mean." She was babbling. What the hell? She NEVER did that! She was proud of being composed and stoic like her mother!

Taking a second, she regained her composure, clearing her throat. "Sorry," she apologized. "I'm still a little worked up from our fight." It wasn't exactly a lie. She just didn't see fit to tell him that what had worked her up was fighting against him in particular.

"But yeah. I'm surprised you noticed, but I'm really a specialist in double battles," Vic admitted. "I'm from the Orre Region so I kind of have to be."

Alden caught on to the way her face soured when she said "Orre Region". She couldn't help herself. Her hometown wasn't exactly something she was proud of. Even he had heard the rumors about the Orre Region, where people used battles to prove their superiority, and gambled on the outcome to make a living.

Vic wasn't proud of being from a place like that, no matter how beautiful Agate Village might have been. She shied under his gaze, wishing she hadn't said anything. What must he think of her, after admitting something like that?

But when she finally worked up the courage to look him in the eye again, she saw none of the judgment she'd been expecting. His eyes were as pure as always.

Oh… so that's it. Seeing those pure eyes up close again, Vic had finally realized what the strange flutter in her heart was every time she was around the other boy. She'd fallen in love with those pure eyes, and their owner whose pure love for battles was so unlike all the other trainers she'd grown up fearing.

"Well, I really had a lot of fun," Alden said. He was already moving to leave to heal his pokemon. "I can't wait to see how strong you get!"

"W-Wait!" Vic grabbed him by the hand, pulling him back. She couldn't let him get away. Not after she just realized how she felt!

"Oh?" Alden turned and glanced back at her, curious.

"M-My… my name is Victoria," she introduced herself. "Victoria Carver."

"Alden Volt," Alden introduced himself. "It's nice to meet you, Vicky."

She paled. "Pl-Please don't call me that," she begged.

"Sorry," he laughed, sheepishly scratching his head. "My dad works as a professional name rater, so I've always had a bit of a penchant for nicknaming people."

"Just, um… pick a different one, please," she begged.


"Hey, Vic! How's the battling going?" Alden waved her down from his seat in the Snorlax Commons. Vic's heart skipped a beat and she sat down across from him, appreciating the fact that he'd called out to her. That spared her the awkwardness of having to admit that she'd come here in the hopes of eating lunch with him in the first place.

"There aren't many school events focusing on double battles," she scowled, taking a sip of water. "This school is too biased in favor of single battles."

"I feel that," Alden laughed, taking a bite of his sandwich. "I'm fine with any style of battle, but I suppose for specialists it's kind of rough."

"I just can't wait until I enter the higher grades," Vic said, getting started on her own food. "There are classes in the Battle Course specializing in battle styles that I've got my eye on."

It had been about a month since their rematch, and their formal introduction. And meals like this had become commonplace. In that time, Vic had gotten to know a lot more about her crush on a personal level, and found that in spite of his affable personality, he didn't have many friends- or at least not many close ones.

Alden was the sort of guy who regarded everyone the same, whether they were a close friend or a stranger. He didn't reach out in friendship towards anyone, and was happy to take things at his own pace. Vic had always been the one to initiate things, besides battles of course. From what she could tell, the boy was practically a functional hermit. If it wasn't related to battles, he had no interest in pursuing social connections at all.

That was just fine with her. She had become practically his one and only friend at the school, and every time she thought about it, her heart fluttered.

She actually had something important to say to him today. She'd been preparing for about a week, but hadn't known quite how to build up to it.

"Has your day been okay?" She asked cautiously. In order to keep Alden from realizing how she felt abut him, she'd channeled her usual stoicism. Even if he made her feel fluttery, she made sure to stay as cold and composed as her father, so he wouldn't catch on. The last thing she wanted was to make him uncomfortable. And even if that was an unlikely fear, she was well aware that Alden had no interest in romance. He would reject her soundly, and then it would be much harder to obtain meals like this with him.

"It was fine. I've already gotten into two battles," he bragged. "Of course, my pokemon are exhausted now." He didn't say whether he won or lost; to him, it honestly didn't matter. But of course, Vic knew that he'd handily won both. He was Alden, after all.

"Actually, there's something I wanted to talk to you about." It was abrupt, and a complete break in the conversation. But it was something she needed to ask, and she didn't know how else to do it.

"Vic, if this is about a battle, you know I'd love to, but my pokemon-"

"No, it's not that," Vic said, quickly shaking her head. Internally, she sighed. His brain always went there, it seemed.

Alden stared curiously at her. "Okay… what's up?"

Vic reached into her bag and took out a pokeball, setting it on the table.

"My father has an Umbreon and an Espeon," she explained slowly. "They've been mates since before I was even born."

Alden whistled. "Wow, they must be pretty old."

Vic nodded. "S-So… they… well, before I came to the Pokemon Academy, they had an egg… and my dad gave it to me as a gift, hoping that I could hatch the egg, and take care of the pokemon inside of it someday."

It wouldn't be the first time. Her Togepi, now Togetic, had come from a pokemon egg her father had given her.

"…Well… she hatched," Vic finally said. She pushed the pokeball slightly closer to Alden. "And this is her."

She pressed the button and released the Eevee inside the pokeball. A baby Eevee, she was so small she could have fit on the plate Vic was eating off of.

"Ee?" The small Eevee tilted her head to the side, staring up at Vic and Alden.

"Oh, she's so cute!" Alden said. He glanced up curiously at Vic. "So… why are you telling me?" That part he still didn't fully understand.

Vic felt her face start to heat up, and she demanded that she stop blushing immediately. Blushing like this was humiliating!

"I… well, she's adorable, and I would love to use her," Vic admitted. "But… I already have a full team of six pokemon. I don't know if I can raise her up properly, you know? So I was hoping, well… would it be possible, maybe… for you to take care of this little one? You only have five pokemon right now, isn't that right?"

Alden was taken aback. "Wait, seriously?" He asked. "You want me to take care of your baby pokemon?"

"She-She's not a baby anymore," Vic quickly clarified. "It's not like her egg just hatched yesterday! It's just that last week she finally outgrew the infancy stage, so now I can let someone else take care of her. You know, responsibly."

"Yeah, but still, why me?" Alden asked. That part didn't make sense to him. "After all, I'm not exactly the most nurturing dude around. Don't you know anyone else you could have take care of her?" In his eyes, anyone would be a better caretaker than him.

Vic looked down. "No… I-I…" She didn't have any other friends. But that wasn't the reason she was asking him.

The truth was, the biggest reason, besides not being confident in her own abilities to be a caregiver for such a young pokemon, was the fact that she simply wanted a part of herself to be with Alden at all times.

"She's the child of my father's pokemon," Vic explained. "He's an incredibly talented trainer. And I thought that Eevee… that she would be happy, being looked after by someone who was as talented as you were."

These weren't empty words Vic was spouting. Because of her harmonia, she could feel Eevee's inner voice, and new that she was a battler at heart. She would be happy, being with Alden. But she couldn't exactly say that without revealing her own abilities, and honestly…

She was afraid that Alden would reject her if he knew what she was capable of.

Alden stared thoughtfully at her, and she squirmed in her seat. It was like those pure eyes were staring right into her soul.

Finally, Alden reached out and ran his hand gently over Eevee's head, petting her kindly. The warmth in his eyes told her that she'd made the right decision. She sighed in relief, and he graciously accepted the little Eevee onto his team.


The next time she saw the two of them together was when he was training the little Eevee, now named Eifa. It was only a few days later, but she'd already grown immensely, and Vic was amazed. Vic was sitting out in the quad beside him, watching as he threw a ball for Eifa to retrieve. He explained that it would improve the pokemon's reflexes, but Vic suspected there was more behind it.

"You know, I was thinking, the students at this school sure do love battles, don't they?" Alden mused thoughtfully, throwing the ball out again.

"Of course they do," Vic nodded. The Pokemon Academy advertised five separate courses that a student could enroll in, the Battle Course, Appeals Course, Ranger Course, Research Course, and Caretaker Course. But in practice, things were a lot more skewed. The Battle Course accounted for roughly a third of the student body, to start. The Appeals Course and the Research Course were the next highest, both containing somewhere between a fourth or fifth each, with the Ranger Course and Caretaker Course being the least populous; even combined they still just barely matched the Appeals Course in number of students.

So saying that the Pokemon Academy cared more about battles than anything else wasn't a wild claim, or one that Vic felt too strongly opposed to. It's not like she cared much either way what the other students did, nor did he understand why Alden did. But she still hung on his every word.

"But see, the thing is," Alden continued, "I feel like the students here just don't really have fun when they're battling. They just do it in order to win, you know?"

Vic nodded. She knew what he meant, because a lot of the time, she felt the same way.

Alden just sighed, picking up Eifa as she ran up to him with the ball in her mouth. He placed her on his lap and she curled up cheerfully.

Alden stared out over the river. "I guess… I've always loved battles for the sake of the fight, you know? I have fun when I'm battling. Whether I win or lose, it doesn't really matter to me."

To Vic, those words would have held a lot more weight if he lost regularly. She still had not scored one single win against him.

"I… to be honest," she said, turning in her seat to stare into his pure eyes, "I think that there just aren't a lot of people who see things your way. They just want to fight in order to win."

Including me…

Alden frowned. It was a rare thing. But he was still gently petting Eifa.

"Well, that's just not good," he said, shaking his head. "You know… if we had a place where everyone could just enjoy battling, without having to worry about winning or losing… if people could just have fun, then that would be nice. Don't you think?"

He turned to her, and she felt herself being swallowed by those pure eyes. She imagined the Orre Region, and all those people she'd seen growing up who fought against each other for such filthy reasons. She imagined their glares and scowls shifting to bright smiles like Alden's.

And that was when Alden's dream became her dream.


Well, this was a nice little chapter celebrating Vic's growth and her budding friendship with Alden. But don't worry, we'll be getting back to the pokemon fighting next chapter! We just needed a bit of a break in the tension to see the nature between the two of them, because that nature is what has caused them to reach this point!