Here's another chapter! What will happen next in the trial? We're moving onto the second day!

Hellraiserphoenix: Bokutachi wa Benkyou ga Dekinai. Basically, after spending weeks covering the arc of the girl I was rooting for and seeing the main character declare his love for her and kiss her, the next chapter hastily ends the "route" and reveals "1/5" with the other four girls routes starting right after hers. Bull. Shit.

Tambry96bj: Maybe similar.

Pokemonking0924: Well, I'm sure one of those things will happen.

Aakareo Kokokuhikari: Tall, grey hair, and a condescending sneer. He looks like a standard generic snarky douchebag.

Duskzilla: It was like in my top 3 romances until this last chapter ruined everything. A total waste of 3 years of my life. What do you mean by interests and confuses you?

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 117

Petal walked through the forest, arriving at the bank of a large river. This was the precise location where her monitor had said a capture styler had gone offline, but for some reason there wasn't anything there, except for the broken remains of the styler.

It would be unadvisable to randomly explore this island after losing you capture styler, even if you have great faith in your partner pokemon. What's going on here?

There were several trees that had been knocked over from what appeared to be a battle, something had certainly gone down. Ritsu jumped off Petal's shoulder and ran over to a large tree, pointing desperately at it.

"Pichu! Pi!" Ritsu shouted.

"Oh? What's this, now?" Petal asked, walking over to kneel down beside the tree where Ritsu was indicating. She picked up the fine material.

Fishing wire…? And the ends are all rounded… what is this?

She sniffed at the wire, smelling something sweet and strong.

Acid?

She stood up, running her hands over the segments of wire. She slipped the pieces into her bag.

It seems like someone was tied up here… but they managed to escape. Was it the examinee whose styler was broken? Or was it someone else, who broke the styler…

Petal frowned. She placed her hand on her sword. She felt as though she was being watched… no, not watched, but… there was something in the air. Even now, she couldn't rightly say that anything was going off the rails. The expected number of applicants had dropped by this point in the third exam. And there were no overt signs that anything unusual was happening, even with the scene she'd just walked in on. It could most certainly be the result of some overzealous and unqualified examinees' struggle. An yet… There was a tension that told her that something was wrong about all of this. Her guard was up now. If someone was going to interfere with the exam… or worse, the Nature Preserve itself… she was going to be ready for it.

The question is, what do I need to be ready for? Is it about the Nature Preserve? Is someone trying to make off with some of the endangered pokemon to turn for a profit? But we're keeping them under watch until the exam is over, at least all the non-obstacle ones. Do they not know that, or… could it be the exam itself is their target? Me, or one of the candidates? What would be the motive, then? Could it really just be a coincidence, that something would be happening just when we arrive at this island? Normally, human presence isn't permitted here… this island is carefully monitored, nothing gets on or off without our say-so…

Her eyes widened. That left the applicants. Could someone have snuck their way into the exam, and made their way to the island under the guise of earning a Probationary Ranger License? But why? What would be the benefit of that? Petal didn't quite get what any motive would be to sneak onto an island like this, but she'd always been a paranoid sort. Still…

If I call in backup… then the exam will have to suspended. That wouldn't be fair to everyone that came this far… there are multiple schools to consider as well… it may even be canceled entirely, left up to the winter exam… But is there any other choice? I should be prioritizing the wellbeing of the examinees… but then again… I don't have anything concrete. But my instincts… everything is screaming at me that something is going very wrong.

She turned and walked into the forest, heading back to the beach.

I'll radio the Ranger Union… tell them to prepare a team on standby. I won't act until I've confirmed my suspicions. Hopefully nothing is wrong, but if there really is something going on here…

Petal shook her head. There was only one thing she could think of, a rumor that she'd heard about something that was hidden away on the Nature Preserve, a rumor that had never been verified, only spoken in whispers.

Could it be… maybe…

She broke into a run.

"I'll have to find it, then. Somehow."

"I gotta say, I'm surprised," Sango said. She and Marion were standing at the island's shore, Marion waving goodbye to her fish pokemon. "To think that such a small fish could do so much damage."

"Yup! Solo's great!" Marion nodded. "But only when he's working with his friends! Wishiwashi work great together in their school, they can gather together and turn into such a beast!"

Sango nodded, Marion bidding the large school of fish goodbye. She turned to Sango, her expression turning serious.

"It's getting late, Sango. The sun might be setting soon, and we haven't even seen a sign of a Pichu yet. We'll need to head back to the clearing soon… that might be the best option, I think. We're probably a day behind the others with what happened here… and we have to find two Pichu for the both of us…"

The anxiety was clear on Marion's face. How many Pichu were still out there, after a full day of their peers searching while they had been waylaid by that… whoever he was? Would they be able to solve it in time?

Sango looked down.

"This is all my fault. If it comes down to it… and we only find one… you take it, Marion."

"No, no, that isn't fair," Marion said, shaking her head. "If I hadn't been taken hostage, then we wouldn't have-"

The two looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"Let's not worry about it anymore, yeah?" Marion said.

"That's right, we can only give it the best effort we can," Sango agreed. "Us Pokemon Academy students need to stick together, after all."

By the time they made it back to camp, it had gotten dark. Sango was feeling hungry again, the girls having only eaten the fish that morning. And Sango hadn't exactly found it filling. She walked toward the shelter as Marion propped herself in her usual fishing position at the lake, when Sango's belly rumbled in a noticeably loud tone.

"Cast?" Silver tilted to the side quizzically, Sango's face turning red in embarrassment.

"I know, Sango!" Marion said, looking up and reaching into her bag. She pulled out several small rods and screwed them together, assembling another fishing rod to match her own. "I have a spare! We can fish together! It'll be a blast, you'll see! Oh, I just know you'll fall in love with fishing if you give it a shot! What do you say?!"

Sango sighed, nodding. She didn't know how long it would take Marion to catch enough fish for dinner on her own, so she decided she might as well pitch in. She sat down next to the girl and took the fishing pole, not sure what to do.

"It's simple," Marion said kindly, touching her hands. "Just cast it out."

Sango swung the pole forward, hearing a plinking sound in the distance.

"And now we wait," Marion said, "and feel. Just close your eyes and relax. Feel the water around you… the ebb and flow lightly nestle the thin line…"

Sango followed her instructions and closed her eyes. There wasn't much difference, since she couldn't see anything thanks to the night to begin with. Even so, she wasn't really feeling what Marion was talking about.

"Are you sure-"

"Shhh," Marion said. "Don't talk, feel. Right now, that line is your link to a world beyond your eyes. Feel the pole not as a tool, but an extension of your body. You're now part of the lake, reaching out to the fish and saying 'hello.' See with your heart. Not with your eyes. Just… let go. Of everything. Of all your worries, all your cares… give yourself to fishing entirely… and embrace your inner peace."

Sango nodded. Worries… cares…

She thought of all the things that had been worrying her.

The strange man, Preya. The feeling of killing that still followed her, all these hours later. The worry of disappointing her mother. The difficulty of what the test had in store for her, Silver, and Marion. The unknown future before her, and her dream of being a ranger. Failing the test. Marion failing. The daeva conflict a million miles away, that her friends were all involved in, and she couldn't do anything to help them. Kitty and her harmonia. What Blake was strangely up to. Her feelings for Blake… their potential future together… confessing her feelings… her fear of rejection. The jealousy needling away at her when she saw him with someone else. The pain in her heart when he went out on that date. Ayame's smiling face, and her inability to hate her as much as she so desperately wanted to.

To let all of that go… It was liberating. She smiled to herself. Yes… it was fun to just let herself sink into the lake, happy as could be, without a care in the world. No wonder Marion loved this so much, it truly was-

Her reverie was broken with a tug on her line.

Eh?

"You've got a bite, Sango," Marion said, wrapping her hands around Sango's hands. "So what you need to do… tug gradually, and begin reeling in slowly. Time it with your breathing. Gently now, gently… stay calm… don't rush. Let the pokemon move in time with you, don't fight it. Feel where it's going… and use its momentum to pull it in. Gradual moves, only."

Sango followed Marion's instructions, taking her time, and managed to begin reeling in the pokemon. The Goldeen flopped up on the end of her line, Sango reeling it in and unhooking it, rising to her feet as she set down the fishing pole. She stepped away from the water and placed the Goldeen down in the grass, frowning.

"Do you need help again?" Marion asked her quietly.

Sango glanced back at her, and then down at the Goldeen, and swallowed. While they had been fishing, Silver had started the fire again, and she could clearly see her actions in front of her. She was in the same position she'd been in this morning. And yet she felt much different than she did back then. Maybe it was standing up to that Preya guy, or maybe it was the realization she'd arrived at when she'd taken down that Goldeen in the morning… Or maybe she'd grown since then, in ways she hadn't known. But now… now she could do it.

"No… I can do it. I just… need the knife."

Marion nodded, and set down her fishing pole, walking over to her. She placed the knife down next to Sango and Sango picked it up, turning it over in her hands. She set it down on the ground again, closed her eyes, and held her hands together to say a prayer over the pokemon whose life she was soon to take.

Thank you… I'm so sorry.

With no more hesitation, she brought the blade down and severed the Goldeen's head in a single swing.

She cleaned it like Marion had shown her, although it was a lot harder than she could have imagined. It was a slow, clumsy process, and by the time she had finished, Marion had already caught, cleaned, and prepared two more Goldeen with her spare knife. The two girls began cooking the meat over the fire in silence.

Silver glanced worriedly at Sango. His partner was not the kind of person to kill a pokemon. He had always heard her talk about how much she loved pokemon… it made him anxious to see her kill one just like that. Even if her hands were still shaking afterwards, and the weight of her actions was evident in the turmoil on her face. He floated up next to her, rubbing her cheek comfortingly.

"Thank you, Silver," Sango said, patting him on the cheek gratefully. "But I'll be fine. I'm stronger than I was before. So even if it hurts to do… I'll keep going forward."

Marion nodded silently. After they finished eating, the two girls turned in for the night, nestling together along with Silver in the shelter of their overhang, drifting off peacefully to sleep.

They started the morning early, finishing off the rest of the food they'd saved from the night before. They had lost time to make up for, after all.

"We should check on those cliffs up there," Sango said, glancing up at the large cliff overlooking the lake. "I've been looking for berries that can lure electric types. We could make a trap… but we can't be sure if it will work. Pichu are fast, and smart. It might be better, rather than trying to actually trap it, for us to lure one into an open area where it can't scurry away into a bush or anything.

Marion nodded in agreement. She trusted Sango's insight into non-fish pokemon and their habits. After a few hours of searching, Sango had gathered together a respectful pile of berries as they walked up the incline of land that led up to the higher portions of the Nature Preserve, raised highlands overlooking the forest.

"Here's probably one of the better places," Sango said, gesturing to a large slab of grassy land a few feet above the forest. She built a small pile of the red Cheri Berries, and the two girls stepped back and hid behind a rock to wait.

"Maybe there aren't any in the area," Marion said worriedly. "Maybe they've all been caught… Maybe…"

"Marion, shush."

"But I'm antsy! We left early, so I didn't get to fish this morning!" Marion complained. "That means I haven't done any fishing since last night! I'm getting super-antsy, I just want to… I mean… you know, you felt it, so-"

"I said shush," Sango hissed. "Look!"

Scurrying up the hill, sniffing the air with its tail raised, was a small electric Pichu.

"It's there!" Marion whispered. "Look! Go for it!"

"I can see," Sango said. "Let's wait until it starts eating, and then we can go after it!"

Marion nodded eagerly.

The Pichu eyed the pile of berries greedily, drool dripping from its mouth. It scurried up quickly, and began shoving the small berries into his mouth.

"Now," Sango signaled. The two girls ran from behind the rock, preparing their capture stylers. Silver floated after them.

"Pi!" Pichu whirled around, noticing the two coming after him, and turned and ran in the other direction. Unfortunately, the other direction was a cliff.

The two girls sent their stylers out, the light disks chasing after the small yellow pokemon. Pichu zigzagged around them, the girls having trouble fine-controlling their stylers to loop around the small, speedy pokemon.

The Pichu ran along the ledge, dancing out of the girls' reach as they pursued it. They made sure to lure him away from the hill, though. They were keeping him on the cliffside, pushing him further up the mountain rather than down towards shelter. If they could just pin the thing down, then they could do this. It wouldn't be easy, but it would be doable.

The chase went on for a while, and the climb was higher and higher. They were quickly running out of room to climb, nearly reaching the mountain's peak. And the Pichu remained well ahead of the girls, yet never quite managing to shake them. Finally, they arrived at what appeared to be a dead end, a cliff stretching out over the rocky base below.

The Pichu stared back at them, panting, standing on a rather shaky-looking ledge. He moved further across it, having a lot of room to stand with his small body.

Sango and Marion looked up at the thin ledge wrapping up the mountain, unsure if they could pursue the tiny thing farther. That ledge was looking really narrow, barely wider than their bodies, and far too fragile. It was entirely likely that it could give out under them, sending all three of them plunging down.

"Are… are you sure that we can cross over that?" Marion asked. "If we fall…"

"Then we won't fall," Sango said calmly. "We have to cross. We can't let him get away."

She narrowed her eyes.

"Besides… if he falls… it will be all our fault. It's not just about passing anymore. We need to make sure that Pichu gets down from here okay."

"I'm worried about us falling," Marion griped. "Besides, can't we just send Silver out after it?"

"I can't give him commands from here, and he's not used to battling," Sango reminded her. "If he gets hit by an electric attack, he could fall, and then-"

"I get it, I get it," Marion said, nodding.

"We have to do it, for our dreams," Sango reminded her. "Just… don't look down."

Marion nodded her head.

"I guess… I'm just not use to mountain climbing and the like," Marion sighed. "I'm not a climbing gal, you know."

"Just go slowly," Sango smiled. "Be patient. It's just like fishing."

"Except completely different," she added under her breath. She stepped out onto the ledge, holding one hand against the side of the mountain as she hugged the edge, keeping as close to it as she could. The ground was fairly stable. That was a good sign. The two girls followed after the Pichu, as fast as they could manage while staying safe, and the Pichu was tiring fast. He was slowly backed into a corner as they closed the gap. Closer, closer.

Just a little more… Sango bit her lip, taking another step. The Pichu was lying on the ground, out of energy. One more step…

She reached her hand out to the pokemon. Pichu noticed her, and climbed up, preparing to run again. But in a few more steps, she'd have closed the gap entirely, and then-

The sound of rocks and dirt crumbling rang out behind Sango, followed by a scream.

"Sango!" Marion shouted. Sango whirled around to see the green-haired girl fall from the cliff, part of the ledge having broken from under her.

Sango glanced back at the fleeing Pichu as Marion caught onto the ledge with her hand, her hat falling towards the rocks below her.

"Sango!" Marion cried again. "I… I don't know how much longer I can-"

Sango had already moved, grabbing the girl's arm tightly as she leaned over the edge, saving Marion from meeting the same fate as her hat.

"Sango!" Marion blubbered, looking up at her happily with tearstruck eyes.

"I let the Pichu get away," Sango sighed. "Let's go. Let's get you up."

"Sorry…" Marion nodded.

"Don't apologize, just give me your other hand," Sango said. "I'll pull you up."

Marion reached up to her, Sango taking her other hand. Suddenly, Sango felt a lot less stability beneath her. Her face went pale, and she realized exactly what was happening right before it happened.

The ledge gave out beneath her and the two girls tumbled through the air, toward the rocks below.

Oh no! What's going to happen to them?!