This chapter has a little more build-up, for kicking us off into a new type of conflict! Plans get initiated in this one, or at least one plan in particular. Review!

KedharS: Yup, it's a killer.

Hellraiserphoenix: Yup, Ayame looks out for her friends, especially when she thinks someone might be a threat.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: I throw Kate the occasional bone every now and then, it's true.

Duskzilla: Misato doesn't need to study. She just commits it to memory immediately.

Superblal: At this point, I'm posting a chapter pretty much daily.

JoshGamerV: That may or may not have been intentional. In order to see if anyone actually bothered to do the practice test at any time before the night prior to the midterm. Leaf is kind of a bitch like that.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 140

Dakota let out a long sigh, staring at her computer in the Newspaper Clubroom. What a pain in the ass. It had been nearly a month since the Fall Festival Tournament, and in that time the number of stories that were front page material had drastically decreased. Where were the love scandals?! The noteworthy feuds building up, the conflicts? The Daevas Summit earlier that week had been good for a day's work, but nothing had come from it! No huge blowups, no nothing! She'd been secretly hoping for it to fail, of course, since conflict was better than stability, but there hadn't been anything significant to actually occur in the aftermath. And with midterms on the eve, there would be nothing of note the students would be doing for a while.

"Argh, come on!" She muttered, scratching her messy red hair in frustration. "There's gotta be something… a major scandal, a new power couple, something!"

"Dakota." Dakota glanced from her screen to the club president, Mirar. The rather normal, dull-looking brunette was staring blankly at her. His expression was unreadable as always.

"Yeah, what is it?" Dakota sighed. "I'm still trying to come up with a story for the front page next week."

"I had a suggestion about that, actually," Mirar said. "I've been informed that Elaina Bishop has awoken from her coma."

Dakota blinked, and her eyes grew wide. A smile spread across her face.

"When?!"

"A few nights ago," Mirar answered.

"This is perfect!" Dakota cried, pushing back from her desk and rising to her feet. "She's still in the infirmary, right?!"

"Yes, they're holding her for another day or so," Mirar replied. "If you want to get that story, then I suggest you go interview her."

"Damn right!" Dakota said, nodding. "The infirmary!"

She turned to leave, and then paused.

Infirmary…

Akira's face flashed through her mind. He was still there, too…

"N-no, why am I thinking of that?!" She cried, running out of the newspaper clubroom, her face bright red. I already got rejected, after all, so I shouldn't be…

"But I guess I could pay him a visit… since we're still technically friends, I guess…" She said to herself, trying to come up with an excuse to go see him, even though she was still trying to convince herself that she was getting over him.

"My my, you look so troubled, Miss Newspaper Girl," a playful voice called out from behind her. In her haste, Dakota had completely missed that she'd just run past a certain individual in a gothic Lolita dress. Black frills and white lace covered the girl's body, highlighted by her wispy, shoulder-length blonde hair. Her smoky black eyes flashed and her lips were curled up into a smirk, waving towards Dakota playfully. Floating over her shoulder was a Shuppet, who shared her master's smirk.

"Sylvia Driscoll!" Dakota gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"Who, me?" Sylvia smiled, strolling up to Dakota, her smirk widening. "I'm just here to play, is all~"

Dakota frowned. She was fully aware of Sylvia's allegiances, and knew that there was no way she'd come all the way here without an ulterior motive. She could feel it in her bones. This had the makings of a phenomenal story… perhaps even better than the interview with Elaina Bishop, who was entirely likely to ignore Dakota's questions altogether.

"…Play how?" Dakota asked, putting on her best professional smile. Get her talking…

Luckily for Dakota, Sylvia was a naturally chatty person, even if her words were not always the most trustworthy. Her dark eyes flashed at Dakota's receptiveness, and she decided to throw the gauntlet down here and now.

"I'm not here to play with you," she said, shaking her head. "No, no, actually, I'm here to see your club president."

"Mirar?" Dakota asked, frowning. "Why him?"

"Before that, did you hear?" Sylvia asked. "About what recently went down between Gerard and Gabrielle in the Gym Leader Training Club?"

Dakota's eyes widened. No, she hadn't. Something had happened? What was it? She was about to ask those questions, and about a dozen more, but Sylvia pressed a finger to her lips the moment before she opened her mouth, shaking her head.

"I'll tell you all about it," Sylvia promised. "And after we're done, there's something even more salacious that you might want to know."

Sylvia was speaking her language, and Dakota smiled conspiratorially.

"No need to talk with president," she replied. "I'm perfectly willing to listen to what you have to say."

"Gabrielle tried to oust Gerard from his position as president of the Gym Leader Training Club?!" Dakota gasped. She and Sylvia had relocated to a café in the mall to continue their conversation.

Sylvia nodded, taking great joy in the look of excitement on Dakota's face.

"And… Gerard used a mythical pokemon, Diancie, to defeat her?!" Dakota gasped. "I had known that Gerard had gotten famous using a Diancie to win tournaments in his youth, but I had thought he'd stopped using her in battles! This… this is a great scoop! And after her defeat, Gabrielle has been kicked out of the Gym Leader Training Club?!"

She could already picture the headlines now, "Once-Famous Pro's Return to Glory, The Diamond in the Rough Reemerges!"

Taking down Sylvia's statements eagerly, Dakota was excited to get started on writing her next article. This would capture the attention of everyone, that was for sure!

"Now, that's a story for your upcoming paper," Sylvia said, narrowing her smoky eyes at Dakota in a way that sent a chill down the reporter's spine. "But there's something even bigger coming up soon."

Dakota swallowed, eager to hear more. Something bigger than the strongest of the Eight Leaders using a legendary pokemon to deal with an attempted coup? That just wasn't even imaginable! The only thing she could think of more exciting than that was a wild legendary pokemon spotted on campus! Now that would certainly whip the student body into a frenzy! But unfortunately, the rumors she'd heard about the legendary Celebi being spotted in the forest around the time of the Fall Festival hadn't panned out.

"It's about the new change in membership of the Eight Leaders," Sylvia said, smiling. Dakota's expectations lowered in obvious disappointment. Something that obvious was not really worth getting excited over. Dakota had already covered the story about Elaina and Akira being chosen as the next candidates of the Eight Leaders, so something like this wouldn't really be new or exciting.

"You're talking about Akira and Elaina Bishop, right?" Dakota sighed. "Sorry, but I already know all about that. There's nothing new there, so-"

"Not at all," Sylvia said, shaking her head. Her expression was playful, and she giggled at Dakota's confused look. "I'm talking about a brand new member of the Eight Leaders. Not someone starting next year. Someone starting… very, very soon. And I thought that you would want to be the one to get the scoop on it first. The… inside track, as it were. Am I wrong in thinking that?"

Dakota frowned. This was… new, but what, exactly, was this girl talking about? An upset among the Eight Leaders? Was someone leaving in the middle of the term unexpectedly or something?

"If what you're saying is true, I can't say I'm not interested," Dakota admitted, "but what do you mean by a new member of the Eight Leaders? Who are you talking about?"

Sylvia smiled. Dakota had taken her bait flawlessly.

"Why, me, of course."

Dakota looked at her in confusion. Sylvia Driscoll? As a member of the Eight Leaders? And not next year, but starting this year? How? Why? That didn't make any sense.

"What are you talking about?" Dakota asked, frowning. "If you've come here to waste my time, then-"

"Oh, it most certainly won't be a waste," Sylvia corrected her, her tone holding an ominous tint to it. "No, no… this is something that you will most certainly be very interested in."

Her tone was intriguing. Dakota figured there was no harm in hearing her out at least a little. If what she said was true, this could possibly end up being a rather decent piece after all, when all was said and done. She nodded at Sylvia to continue.

"You see, after I was so tragically passed over for consideration in becoming a member of the Eight Leaders next year, I asked myself 'do I really just want to let things go like this?' After all, I've worked hard and trained my pokemon to be a master of the ghost types, wouldn't it be nice to get some recognition for what I've done?" The question wasn't rhetorical. She paused, staring insistently at Dakota for the girl to reply to her. Dakota shrugged. What she said made sense. But how would she go about doing that?

"I suppose so," Dakota agreed. "And what did you come up with?"

"I thought you'd be a little more in the know about this sort of thing," Sylvia grinned. "Someone as well-informed as you must have heard the rumors about students challenging members of the Eight Leaders to Title Defense matches."

Dakota's eyes widened. She had heard about that. But she'd dismissed it out of hand. After all, it was something would often occur right around this time, but nothing ever really came out of it. The Title Defense Challenge was a way for freshmen and sophomores to challenge members of the Eight Leaders to battles in defense of their title. The odds were seldom in favor of the challenger, after all, even with the restriction that the challenger wins in case of a tie. The member of the Eight Leaders gets to choose the time and place, as well as the style of battle and the number of pokemon used. With that much control, most challengers end up losing rather easily. Furthermore, as a student could only initiate a challenge once, the more ambitious challengers would drop out early and never be heard from again. It was something that existed on paper, but in practice, almost never occurred. The number of students who ever had made their way onto the Eight Leaders as the result of winning a Title Defense Match numbered almost zero. And yet, here Sylvia was, crowing about her near-certain victory in such an event.

"You seem very confident," Dakota replied. "I do note that there's been a drastic increase in the number of challengers in the past weeks compared to the standard, but come now, none of them have even come close. Are you telling me that you honestly think you have a chance of winning?"

"Oh, I don't think I do, I know I do," Sylvia nodded, her eyes glittering with ambition. "In fact, I'm certain that there's no way I can possibly lose, with the strategy I've prepared."

Dakota frowned. That would indeed be quite an upset… probably not as big of a story as the article on Gerard and his Diancie, but certainly would help move a few issues. Assuming, of course, that Sylvia could win. Dakota went over the members of the Eight Leaders again. Who would she plan on facing? It had to be… yes, almost certainly.

"I think I understand your plan," Dakota said slowly. Sylvia raised an eyebrow. "Let me guess, you're going to challenge Callie Crawford, right? Because your ghost types will have an overwhelming advantage over her fighting types. It's certainly a bold strategy, I'll give you that. Maybe you really could win that way, by taking advantage of your pokemon's immunity."

"Mm, that is a good idea," Sylvia admitted, draining the last of her coffee. "But it isn't quite as… certain as what I had in mind."

Now Dakota's interest was piqued. What did she mean by certain? Maybe she really did have some plan up her sleeve…

"Would you mind sharing it with me, then?" Dakota asked, smiling. "Who are you planning to face? That would make for quite a compelling article, if I do say so myself."

Sylvia smiled, batting her eyelashes at the redheaded reporter.

"Mirar Christian, in fact," she replied. "I think he would make quite a good foe for my pokemon to face."

Dakota nearly spit out her coffee. This girl… challenging Mirar? That… that was what she thought of as a certainty? Certain defeat, maybe! Mirar never lost in single combat! He was… practically incapable of losing!

"Him? Are you serious?!" Dakota gasped, her mouth falling open in shock.

"Yes, indeed," Sylvia purred, Dakota suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. She didn't want to remain in the presence of this girl for a moment longer if she could help it. This felt less like an interview now, and more like she had stepped right into the jaws of a Sharpedo, and it had just bitten down.

"If you think it's because he uses normal types, then-"

"No, no, I know full well what his… 'specialty' entails," Sylvia interrupted her, shaking her head. "And I also know how I can match up against it. Mirar, your president… he's always so prepared. But while preparation can be fun… I prefer my matches to be a little more flamboyant, a little more free-verse, if you know what I mean."

"That's why you were going to see him today?" Dakota asked, frowning.

"Indeed, I got an email this morning about our match time. It's officially been confirmed, and so I wanted to pay him a little visit, that's all."

"Oh? And when is it?" Dakota asked. "I'd like to know. For the sake of my story, of course."

"Well, this is why I came to you," Sylvia said, sighing. "You see, Mirar just had to schedule it for the day of the freshman field trip! Can you believe that? So now, the freshman student body and the senior chaperones are all gonna miss it! That's no fun, no fun at all! And it only gives me a few more days of preparation! Seems to me like he just wants to get this whole thing over with, and where's the fun in that? I'd like to savor my victory, make a big show of things! You're going into the Appeals Course, you know what I'm talking about! But since he's so insistent about having this match in private, where no one can see how it goes, I was forced to use… other means at my disposal."

"You mean me," Dakota said, glowering at the playful girl and her ominous air. Sylvia's Shuppet glared back at her, but Sylvia herself remained unfazed.

"Yep! I'd like you to get a full detailing of events," Sylvia explained. "Think of it like a press release! You handle the match, and then release all the details in the paper! It should be just in time for the freshmen to come back and see, and then pick up on everything that they missed!"

Dakota frowned. Mirar was kind of an annoyance, but it still didn't sit well with her to make a big public spectacle about his defeat. Assuming, of course, that Sylvia wasn't severely overestimating herself by claiming she'd be able to handle him so easily.

"Unless, of course, your bias is going to affect your ability to cover this story impartially?" Sylvia frowned. "That would be rude! I brought this to you in good faith, because I thought I could count on you to record the truth, whatever it ended up being! But I guess, in the end, all those rumors about you being a hack are true… you won't cover a story that will end up putting your president in a negative light, especially when it involves him falling from power."

Dakota knew that a lot of people felt she was a hack, even the boy she loved. No, scratch that, she was over him! Totally over him! …But anyway, even if she was a hack, and you could certainly argue that she was, getting so blatantly called out like this was really pissing her off.

Dakota sighed, giving Sylvia a cold glare that would make Akira and his disdainful stares proud.

"Don't question my ability to record things fairly, Sylvia," Dakota said, her voice carrying an icy threat to it. "You brought this to me, remember that. So I'll handle the story. Whatever it ends up being. I have enough respect in myself for that. But don't you dare think this is going to be an easy match. Mirar isn't someone you can just push over so easily. If he knows he has to fight you, then mark my words, he's preparing for that fight. And when the time comes, I'm quite certain that whatever you throw at him, he'll throw right back at you."

Sylvia returned her cold words with a calm smile that just pissed Dakota off even more.

"Maybe so. But I do know, with absolute certainty, that no matter what strategy Mirar comes up with… he will never be able to defeat me. It simply can't be done. Not someone who fights on the level that he does."

Sylvia rose from her seat, sliding her card through the machine at the table to settle her bill. Her smile widened, and she tilted her head to the side.

"We'll see just how things go. I'm certainly looking forward to it. You'll have a big scoop on your hands soon, Miss Newspaper Girl."

Sylvia cackled, her laughter holding an evil, hollow ring that continued to echo in Dakota's ears even after the blonde had long since walked away.

Things seem to be heading in an interesting direction… what could Sylvia have planned to defeat Mirar, who never loses in one on one matches?