The party begins! How will Blake, Cynthia, and Maddi find their first real party on campus? Will Olivia have some surprises in store at this fun event?

As for the Best Girl nominations, still going strong. Anyone else left to add?

Currently Nominated: Sango, Cynthia, Elaina, Kate, Dakota, Ayame, Marion, Kitty, Serefina, Madison

Pokemonking0924: Blake's got some decent patience, but people like Gerard who dig too deep and cross too many lines can make him snap. Now the question is if Sylvia goes that far.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: But… what if Sylvia went as Ayame? As for me… Idk. I don't care too much for dressing as pokemon.

Hellraiserphoenix: It will certainly be interesting.

Rus4408: Thanks for taking the time! Hope you can keep going strong!

Rosealine gold: Some nice stuff, some… things that shouldn't be in a T story, and will not be elaborated much on.

xEverlastingDarknessx: Welcome back! How do you like things so far?

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 196


"We're almost there," Cynthia said, glancing at her phone. "Blake texted me and said he'd be coming to meet us, but where is he?"

She glanced up at the large dormitory the Empress had appropriated from the faculty. It was about a 5 minute walk from the tree they were standing under, and the two lower floors were radiating flashing colored lights as people could be seen filing in. The thrums of music could be heard emanating from the building. It must have been loud if they could hear it from there.

"Hey, Maddi, you listening?"

"Wh-what?" Maddi turned her attention from the music caught on the wind to glance back at Cynthia. "No, I wasn't."

"Geez, where is he? He agreed to meet us under this tree, if we keep waiting any longer, a line will start to form," Cynthia grumbled, opening her contact list to call him.

"I'm right here."

Cynthia jumped so high she nearly crashed into the tree branches above her. When she landed on the ground she whirled around, startled.

"Bl-Blake?!" Cynthia gasped, staring at his costume. "Is… is that you?"

"Of course," Blake said. It was understandable why Cynthia didn't recognize him, though. He didn't look much like himself in this outfit.

Blake's clothes were replaced by a black robe that almost looked like a mantle of some sort, though it was tight in the middle more like a kimono. His collar was a bright red color, the only trace of color on him. He wore a wig like Cynthia, but it was a messy ash-white and pulled back into a long ponytail that billowed down his back, while also drooping over his face like Caelia's hair did, covering one of his eyes.

"You realize this isn't a crossdressing costume party, right?" Cynthia asked. "What are you going as?"

"I don't think I've ever seen a pokemon like that." Even Maddi was intrigued by Blake's choice in outfit. It looked dark and gothic, and she knew a lot about dark-looking pokemon. And she'd never heard of this one.

"…Uh…" Blake had a sheepish look on his face. "I… I don't really know what it's called. I was thinking of a pokemon to go as last week, and I was looking through an old book detailing sightings of pokemon that are rumored to be myths or legends, and this one kind of stood out. Maybe because I thought it would be easier to dress as?"

Cynthia nodded, that made sense.

"So it's a legendary pokemon?" Maddi asked. Blake nodded.

"What's it called?" Cynthia asked.

"…I don't know," Blake sheepishly admitted. "The book didn't say."

"So you don't even know what it's called?" Cynthia asked, holding her sides and cackling.

"Whatever, it looks cool," Blake said, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Maddi nodded in agreement.

Once Cynthia sobered up, the three headed towards the large building up the hill, joining in on the line of various pokemon waiting to get inside. At the front of the line, another student was checking the tickets. He wore a white shirt and pants, with blue and red hollow triangles covering it. Small white wings stuck out of the back of his shirt, and his hair was a bright white, and spiked up into a crown shape. When they reached the front of the line, Cynthia's eyes widened in recognition as she saw just who the tall student was.

"Cynthia? Is that you?" The boy asked, his dark eyes widening.

"…Lukas!" Cynthia said, nodding. "Hey, it's been a while!"

"Ugh, it's so tragic," Lukas pouted, holding his hand over his chest in a dramatic fashion. "I heard you've joined with the Commander, as well, if only you could have joined up with the Empress, things would have been so much greater!"

Maddi's eye twitched in irritation.

"Shouldn't you be inside?" Cynthia asked, peaking around him as she handed her ticket, looking at the party going on inside. "Seems like a party would be just your style."

"Alas," Lukas sighed, giving an exaggerated shrug. "I'm on ticket duty tonight. But perhaps I'll see you inside later in the evening!"

"…Yeah, maybe," Cynthia said noncommittally. Lukas let the three of them inside.

"Lukas is a nice guy, but he can get a little annoying in large doses," Cynthia whispered as they entered the house. "Still, he's a lot of fun!"

Like you're one to talk… Maddi wanted to say, but anything she had to say would have been blocked out by the speakers blasting recorded music, nearly deafening them.

Blake looked around warily. He wasn't much one for big parties, he preferred small get-togethers with friends. But Olivia had insisted that he come. He'd at first refused, but when she mentioned her regret that Ayame wouldn't be able to make it since she wouldn't be let out of the hospital for another week, and how lonely she'd be without Ayame by her side for her last great Pokemon Day party, he sighed and capitulated to her.

That woman really knew how to work him up.

He was still regretting it. The music throbbing in his ears was making it hard to hear, along with the lower chorus of talking voices by the clumps of students in costume gathering around drinking from red cups, standing in the hallways or sitting on couches. Someone had set some light strobe lights out in one of the larger rooms, where folks were dancing like they were in a club. Blake planned to stay far away from that room. Honestly, he just wanted to leave. The look on Maddi's face told him she felt similar. Maybe he should just go off and find a quiet portion of the house to…

Suddenly, Blake felt his keyring burning a hole in his pocket, under his robe. He could think of one room that he had access to, where no one else would be. He had a key after all, and-

Blake's face turned bright red.

Wait, no, what the hell are you thinking, doing something like going into Ayame's room when she's not here?! That's just creepy!

"Blake!" Cynthia's shouting voice pierced through the background noise. He looked down to meet her fierce eyes. "Let's go get some drinks! Come on! You too, Maddi!"

Cynthia grabbed Blake's hand and grabbed Maddi with her other, pulling the two down the hallway and past the clumps of students dressed as pokemon. Blake and Maddi glanced at each other, silently acknowledging the futility of resistance against Cynthia and her desire to join the party. The two let out a mutual sigh as Cynthia led them into the kitchen.

There was a lot of room to stretch out in the kitchen, it was rather large. There were multiple islands and counters, and the countertops were all polished black marble on deep ebony wood. On every space there was room, food and drink of various kinds could be found, including the small dining tables. The spread was rather nice, with meat, vegetable, and cheese platters, countertops covered in pizza boxes filled with multitudes of topping combinations, and two large bowls of punch, along with some glasses of colored liquid that Blake felt was probably not something he should be drinking from.

Is it really okay be serving something like this out of a school dormitory? Blake asked, considering the jello shots warily.

Cynthia had already ditched the two and walked over to pick up some pizza, chatting it up with the other students gathered around the food and drink. For the moment, Maddi and Blake were free.

"Blake? Blake, is that you? Quite the costume you've got there, I could barely recognize you!" Blake flinched, glancing back to see Olivia walk up to him, a winning smile on her face. As usual, her makeup was flawless and she strutted like a model, approaching the two with perfect poise and elegance that her lovely outfit only accentuated. Or, at least, maybe it did. It was kind of hard to tell.

"Well? What do you think of mine?" Olivia asked, tilting the brim of her light blue hat and giving him a wink. She was clearly wearing a wig, because even her hair wasn't as long as it was now. It cascaded down her body, concealing most of her from view. It was a rainbow of color, blending from the same shade of blue as her hat into a light pink closer to the center and then finally ending in bright white. If one looked the wrong way, you might even be concerned that she didn't actually have anything ON underneath all that hair. But if one looked closely, the faintest glimpse of a gossamer white dress could be caught, so thin it was easily lost in the colors of her wig. And on someone like Olivia… Blake felt a little embarrassed.

"And you're… Madison Whitmore, is that right?" Olivia glanced at Maddi. "I love your Totodile, so wild!"

Maddi was more than a little intimidated by the older girl. This was the first time she'd formally met the Empress that she'd heard so much about, and the beauty really cut an imposing figure. But she maintained a cool face, and didn't let her calm fade. She simply regarded Olivia with a stoic look and a nod.

"Olivia?!" Cynthia turned her attention away from the other gossips and ran over.

"Oh! And Cynthia!" Olivia smiled. "So it seems the two of you are who Alden and Victoria sent over in their place?"

"Uh, that's okay, right?" Cynthia said sheepishly. "Um, I mean, it's not bad of us to be here or anything, right? Er, well…"

"Of course not," Olivia smiled, leaning in and running her fingers across Cynthia's cheek. Olivia's wig smelled of mixed berries and cream, and Cynthia felt her cheeks flush. "I'm glad to see you. But I was wary about inviting freshmen to this party for… various reasons. There were a few exceptions of course, like Blake, but he's practically family since he and Aya got together."

"Wh-what?" Cynthia gasped, turning to look at Blake with her big red eyes. Blake shook her head.

"Oh, well, technically he's being stubborn," Olivia sighed, shaking her head. "Now then, Blake! And you girls, I'm glad you came. Would you like some refreshments?"

"You bet," Cynthia said, shaking her red cup excitedly, the punch inside sloshing. She gestured to her pizza as well.

Olivia raised an eyebrow and took Cynthia's cup from her hand. She held it up to her nose and took a sip, her expression souring.

"Who gave you this?" Olivia asked, frowning. Cynthia turned to look at where the other students had been gathered, but by this point there was no one in the kitchen.

"I asked for some punch, and those guys said it was over there," Cynthia said, pointing at one of the bowls of punch sitting on the counter.

Olivia frowned, walked over to the sink, and tossed the drink away. She stomped over to the punch bowl Cynthia had indicated and gestured for her to come take a look.

"See this sticker on the side?" Olivia said, pointing at a large sticker on the side of the punch with the word "Alcohol" written on it. Cynthia blinked.

"Well, I don't min-"

Blake clamped his hand over Cynthia's mouth and smiled, Olivia giving him a questioning stare.

"Don't worry, we're just freshmen, we don't have any interest in drinking or anything like that," Blake replied. Although this problem could be resolved by you not serving alcohol to minors in the first place…

Blake figured this was just part of high school parties and didn't want to judge too badly, but he still felt a little more uncomfortable, like this was a part of school life he didn't want much to do with. He let his hand drop to his side, Cynthia inhaling.

"Well, good," Olivia commented. "I don't want anything bad happening to the two of you, so only drink if you think you'll be fine with it. Campo will really have some issues if this gets out, understand? That's why entrance is so selective. Don't want anyone ruining a good time, you know?"

She smiled.

"Even so, I bring in quite a bit of money to the school with my contracts, so they allow me some bit of leeway. But still…"

Olivia pointed to a stack of cups by the punch bowls.

"The red cups are for alcohol, the blue cups show that you aren't going to be drinking anything but normal punch, clear? If you don't want alcohol, don't drink anything from a red cup. In fact, don't drink anything anyone else gives you, period. And if someone does give you something with alcohol in it, find me or someone wearing a button like this."

Olivia pointed to a small red button on her chest.

"They're our designated chaperones," Olivia explained, cracking a smile. "They don't drink, and they're keeping an eye on the festivities so we don't get any mistakes. If you think something's wrong, call one of 'em over, and we'll sort out the problem, got it?"

"Oh yeah, Lukas was wearing one of those!" Cynthia said, nodding.

"…So you won't be drinking then?" Blake asked. Olivia winked, tipping the brim of her hat.

"And where would the fun be in that?" She grinned. "This is my party, after all."

Blake rolled his eyes. Olivia smiled back at him and giggled a little.

"I've gone to a lot of work to ensure that my peers can have fun at the parties I host without having to worry about their own safety. But I can't account for everything, after all. Make sure you keep a good eye on each other."

Olivia turned toward one of the openings leading towards other sections of the party, winking back at them.

"So long you two. And if anything comes up, don't feel afraid to call me over! Enjoy the party and have a blast! It's Pokemon Day, after all! Let's rouse things until the sun sets!"

"Wait… two?" Cynthia blinked, looking around. "Oh man! Maddi! Where'd Maddi go?!"

Unlike Blake, who had been swallowed up in the conversation by Olivia, Maddi had spotted her opportunity to escape, and took it without hesitation, leaving the two of them by themselves. She certainly seemed like the kind of person who wouldn't want to get into the party spirit and would prefer to be alone, at least that's how Blake saw her anyway.

"Should we go look for her?" Cynthia asked. "I mean, she's my responsibility, I did bring her, don't you think?"

Blake wasn't sure what to say, but Maddi seemed like the kind of girl who could take care of herself. If anything, he was more worried for Cynthia, because Cynthia was exactly the kind of person who would get in the party spirit, and without monitoring might end the night puking her guts out in the toilet. At the very best.

Luckily, she wasn't going totally wild. She walked over to the other punch bowl and grabbed a blue cup, writing her name with a sharpie and ladling some punch into it. From the complex expression on her face, Blake wondered…

"Cynthia, are you nervous?" Blake asked. Judging from her flinch, Blake figured he was right on the money. It seemed that what Olivia said had shaken her.

"M-me? Nervous? Don't be ridiculous, Blake! I love to party!" Cynthia tried to laugh it off, but her laugh was so fake that anyone could see right through it.

So of course, Blake wasn't about to buy her words. He crossed his hands over his chest and gave her a disapproving look, his visible eye narrowing. He walked over to her and got some punch of his own, staring down at the shorter girl.

Cynthia sighed.

"L-look, it's not a big deal," Cynthia huffed, glancing aside and sipping from her cup, stepping back. "I-I like parties, they're a blast! Just…"

Cynthia's voice dropped to a mumble as she withered under Blake's gaze.

"It's just my first time going to one, that's all."

Ah. Just as he thought. As energetic and fun-loving as Cynthia was, even she was a little overwhelmed by the atmosphere. This was their first time going to a real party, after all, and they were freshmen in a sea of upperclassmen. It made sense that they felt a little out of place here.

Still, Cynthia wasn't about to let that get the best of her. She wolfed down her pizza in one hand and then drained her cup, slapping it down on the counter and wiping her lips off on her hands, her red lensed eyes brimming with resolution.

"Whatever!" Cynthia said, clapping her cheeks to build up her confidence. "I'm going to go have some fun! Let's get this party started, Blake!" Cynthia turned and bounded out of the kitchen, much to Blake's chagrin. He let out a sigh, walking after her.

"I'm going to spend this entire party keeping an eye on her, aren't I?" Blake sighed, taking a sip out of his punch. As the liquid touched his tongue, he spit it back into his cup, gagging.

"What the hell?!" Blake sputtered, nearly dropping the cup from his hands. He wiped away at his tongue to get the burning sensation out.

"Wow, seems like you really aren't used to alcohol," a familiar voice who was becoming all too annoying rang out. Blake hadn't even noticed her. He turned to see Sylvia standing beside him, a small flask in her hands and a wicked grin on her face. "Still using the blue cups, eh? Gotta be more vigilant, Blake. You were so distracted, you didn't even notice someone spike your drink right under your nose! What would you do if I was some stranger who wanted to get you drunk and have her way with you?"

Blake glared at her and poured the tainted punch out into the sink, much to Sylvia's chagrin.

"You know, if you didn't want it, you could have just given it to me," Sylvia huffed. "That stuff's 96% alcohol, you know, what a waste."

"96%?!" Blake sputtered, Sylvia dismissing his concerns with a shrug.

"If it wasn't that strong, you wouldn't have noticed." Sylvia unscrewed her flag and took a swig, and it looked like even she found the foul concoction disgusting. "But on a more pressing topic, what do you think, Blake? Like my costume? I saw you checking out Olivia's, what do you think of mine?"

Blake frowned. He refused to comment. That being said, Sylvia's costume was certainly… unsuited for her. It didn't look like the kind of outfit she'd wear for herself.

For one, this was the first time he'd seen her wear something other than a black dress. She was wearing deep orange shorts that clung tightly to her legs, and long black socks under orange cleats. She had on a white sleeveless tank-top with black lining, and on her head she wore a wig of white hair with an orange fringe that was rather wild. Most importantly, though, was the ribbon on her head, pure white in the shape of bunny ears. To finish off the bunny look was a big white cotton tail.

"…I'll just keep standing here unless you say something," Sylvia smiled.

"It doesn't suit you at all," Blake frowned. Sylvia giggled.

"Well, thank you, Blake! That was what I was going for. As for you…" Sylvia ran her eyes up and down Blake's body, her tongue darting out involuntarily to lick her lips.

"I think yours suits you very well."

Sylvia turned her back to Blake and tilted her head back to look over her shoulder, cocking her leg out to pose herself properly.

Sylvia flashed Blake a heated look.

"I wanted to wear some shorts this time to better appeal to certain… facets of yours," Sylvia purred. "What do you think? Does this get a passing grade?"

Blake raised an eyebrow at Sylvia basically propositioning him in the middle of the kitchen, with people coming in and out.

"…It's about 79 points," Blake acknowledged, nodding at her ass. Sylvia's eyes sparkled.

"Why, thank you, how kind," Sylvia grinned.

"But Ayame's is an 87," Blake smirked. "Close, but not close enough I'm afraid."

Sylvia turned back to him and crossed her arms, frowning.

"Poo, you're no fun."

"Can you get out of my way? I have to go find Cynthia."

"She'll be fine," Sylvia responded. "Before you worry about her… I think we have some more things to talk about, don't you?"

Sylvia stepped closer to him, tilting her lips close to his ear.

"Perhaps a conversation somewhere… private? Unless, of course, you'd like these passerby's to learn all about your secrets… my sweet demon child."

Blake flinched, glaring at Sylvia as she stepped back from him.

"Want to go find a place where we can… have some fun by ourselves?"

Sylvia batted her eyelashes alluringly, but Blake didn't exactly find it that appealing. He followed her out into another one of the rooms, where the party was going on in full swing. Cynthia's size and her costume made her easy to spot, and much to his relief he could see that she was chatting up some girls and looked to be having a blast. She'd be fine while he went to go settle things with Sylvia. Sylvia led him upstairs, away from the common area and up towards the private rooms, and Blake felt like he was being drawn in by a siren intent on luring him to his doom if he didn't stay the course.


So what could Sylvia have planned? What will Maddi and Cynthia get up to in the party? Are there any other surprises in store?