Time to continue the story of Marion and all the other patients of Anja Karzat! Will Marion be able to make friends? What could be in store for her?

Aakareo Kokokuhikari: You're assuming both that Anja is 100% aware of everything that goes on in her facility, and that she has complete control over it. But yes, what we're seeing is supposed to seem contradictory to what we've heard.

KedharS: Trust that feeling.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: We'll just have to see. There's a lot more about the institution of Anja Karzat than what we can see on the surface.

TREBOR.E: October.

JoshGamerV: I don't think she's how any of us expected. Unless you're thinking from the perspective of being Kitty's mother, in which case she should be exactly what you expected. Adorable sweetness is hereditary, didn't you know?

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 172

The other kids had been so nice to Marion (well, not the boy named Rey, but Marion didn't like him very much, anyway.) Still, something about this situation made Marion feel uneasy. She still wanted to go home.

I'm just homesick, Marion told herself, trying to keep a positive attitude. Maybe… maybe it won't be so bad?

For now, Marion needed to unpack. There were lots of beds in the room, but she didn't want to take one that belonged to anybody. She walked over to a bed in the far-off corner and set Mana down on the sheets, the small blue pokemon bubbling happily.

"Why're you sleeping all the way over her?" Katrina asked, peeting over Marion's shoulder. Marion gasped and turned around, startled.

"Come on! Let's go over with the others!"

Katrina grabbed Marion by the hand and dragged her across the room, Mana bouncing after her.

"This is my bed," Katrina said, sitting down on the messy sheets. "Why not take that one?"

Katrina pointed a small finger at the bed right next to hers, smiling.

"Are… are you sure?" Marion asked, her eyes wide with surprise.

"Of course, silly? What's the big deal?" Katrina looked puzzled. "We're friends now, right?"

Katrina looked down, her expression cloudy.

"It's important… to be with each other."

"Wh-what do you mean?" Marion asked, confused.

Katrina blinked and then looked over Marion's shoulder, staring at the camera looking down at the kids. She returned her attention to the tanned girl, smiling slightly.

"That way, if anyone's feeling scared and lonely… there's someone who can be there for them…" her voice was soft and trembling. "Then we won't be alone…"

Marion swallowed and nodded her head. Katrina's Riolu, Leo, walked up to her and placed a comforting hand on her knee, smiling. Katrina glanced at him and smiled.

"Uh… um…" Marion sat down in her bed and took her backpack off of her back, setting it down on the ground. Mana bounced up into bed beside her. Marion unzipped the bag, and began fumbling through it. "Kat… Katrina?"

"Yeah?" The freckled girl asked, looking back at her. Marion pulled a big book out of her bag and showed it to Katrina, a shy smile on her face. The cover of the book was bright blue, depicting a large, wide ocean filled with more fish pokemon than Katrina could count.

"Do… do you like fish pokemon?" Marion asked. "I… I mean, my daddy is a fisherman, and he would catch fish all the time… he bought me a book filled with all the fish pokemon in the world, and we would read it before I went to bed every night… I was wondering if you might want to read it with me?"

Katrina blinked.

"It's a little soon to go to bed, but sure! I'd love to!" Katrina said, nodding.

"Hey, what's that?"

Marion jumped, glancing warily over her shoulder. The white-haired boy, Rast, was looking past her and at the book in her hands, his red eyes shining. His little sister, Alk, was taking her afternoon nap.

"Marion says it's a book about fish pokemon!" Katrina reported.

"Whoa, cool!" Rast said, scooting over the bed to sit down next to Marion. "Is fish a new pokemon type?"

"N-no, they're mainly… water types," Marion said. "But I mean, not all water pokemon are fish…"

"Huh? Why not just call them water types, then?" Rast asked, confused. Marion wasn't really sure, but the eager looks that Katrina and Rast were giving her made her feel uncomfortable.

"Um… I mean… uh…"

"It's about egg groups."

Marion glanced up at the new voice. The older girl, Flora, walked up to them.

"See, pokemon aren't just types, right? They also have egg groups. I think there's like three different water egg groups, and fish pokemon are mostly in one or two of them, but not in others, I think… like, Totodile is in the first water group, but it isn't a fish, right?" Flora explained. Rast and Katrina nodded in understanding.

"But… but Mantine are also in the first water group, and they're fish," Marion replied. "So I don't think it's that simple…"

The other three looked at her, and Marion held her head down. She shouldn't have said anything.

"Oh, wow, that's really good," Flora said, nodding. "I didn't think about that! You're right, I guess it isn't that simple, after all!"

"Um, I mean, but you really knew a lot, too, Flora," Marion said. "I… I've just been studying fish pokemon for a while thanks to my daddy… so it's nothing special… but you know almost as much as my mommy's friend, Miss Lusamine! And she's, like, really, really smart!"

"You know a lot, too," Rast complimented her. "Is all that stuff in that book?"

"Yeah," Marion said, hugging the book to her chest. "It's really important. It's my absolute favorite."

"Can I look at it?" Rast asked. "I… I really like water pokemon too, so…"

"Uhm… sure," Marion nodded, opening the book and scooting it between the two of them so they both could look at it. She glanced hopefully up at Flora and Katrina. "Do… you guys want to read too?"

Katrina beamed at her and nodded, her rusty hair bouncing around her shoulders.

"That sounds like fun," Flora agreed, and the four kids gathered around Marion's book to read.

From a few beds over, Rey glanced up from a book of his own to watch the group of kids.

"You know, you could go over there and ask to join."

Rey's expression soured and he stared up at Kyrese, giving the older boy the stink-eye.

"Who would want to join in with them?" Rey pouted, pointedly looking away from the crowd of giggling kids.

"You're so shy, Little Rey," Kyrese laughed, ruffling the boy's black hair. Rey's cheeks turned pink and he swatted Kyrese's hand away.

"Stop calling me that!"

Marion glanced away from the two boys in the corner, and looked back to her book. She didn't want him to join anyway, he probably wouldn't be any fun. She was having way more fun with Rast and the others. She continued showing the different pages of fish pokemon to the others, pointing out ones she had seen already, and ones that she wanted to see someday (which was all of them) and talked about how much fun fishing for pokemon was.

"You've actually been fishing?" Rast asked, stunned.

"My daddy takes me out every day! We have a blast!" Marion explained. She paused as her words sunk in. It wouldn't be 'every day' now, would it? She had no idea when the next time she would go fishing would be. Maybe she'd never be able to spend those sunny days again, sitting in her daddy's lap and hold onto his fishing poll as he guided her. She might never smell the scent of the ocean as the boat rocked her, or walk on that rickety deck that was big enough to hold a mountain of fish… she'd never taste the stinging salt water in her mouth from when she'd laugh as a particularly big wave crashed against them.

"Marion…" Katrina gasped. Marion blinked, not realizing how blurry her eyes had gotten. She blinked, her tears streaming down her face.

"Daddy… mommy…" Marion hiccupped, and Flora reached out to put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry…" Marion sobbed.

"Don't apologize," Flora whispered, glancing up at the camera in the corner. "It's okay if you miss them. Hey, how about this? When we all get out of here, can you take us fishing sometime?"

Marion paused, rubbing her eyes. She looked up at Flora.

"Wha?"

"It's a game we like to play," Flora explained. "We don't have a lot to do in here… so we talk about the things we want to see when we're cured and they let us out! Places we want to go, pokemon we want to see, all that sort of stuff. So when we all get out of here, how about you take us out on a fishing trip on your dad's boat?"

"Really?" Marion asked, her eyes wide. "Really, really? You'd want to?! That… that would be great! I've never had a friend to go fishing with! You guys wanna?!"

"Sure, it sounds like fun!" Rast smiled. "I've never gone fishing before, either. Heck, I've never even seen the ocean up close before!"

"Oh, it's great!" Marion gushed. "Just blue everywhere! The ocean is, like, gigantomazing! It goes out for like, millions and billions of trillions of miles!"

"Hah!" Marion turned in the direction of the loud laugh.

"What are you, stupid?" Rey smirked at her. "No way it's trillions of miles long. Trillions? That's like as big as three millions!"

"I am not stupid!" Marion scowled at him.

"Why so interested, Rey?" Flora asked. "Curious? You could just say you were interested in going fishing like the rest of us."

"Really?" Marion asked, her eyes shining. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all!

"Was not," Rey said, scowling at her. "Why would I want to do something lame like fishing?"

Marion glared at him. He was such a-!

"Well fine! I didn't want you to come anyway!" Marion exclaimed, sticking her tongue out at him. She shook her head. "You can't! You can't, you can't! I'll invite Mana, and Rast, and Katrina, and Leo, and Flora, and Alk, and Kyrese, and Doctor K, and mommy, and daddy, but not you, Rey! You can't come! Even if you beg me, you can't! So there!"

"I don't wanna go in the first place," Rey smirked. He reached up and pinched his nose. "The ocean is stupid and smelly, and your dad's boat probably stinks like fish, just like you!"

Marion gasped and jumped to her feet, her book falling to the ground. She stormed over to him, glaring down at the boy.

"It does not!" She cried, stomping her foot on the ground. "Does not, does not, does not! Daddy's boat is super-duper cool!"

"Does so! Does so!"

"Does not! Does not!"

"Does so!"

"Does not!"

"Does so times infinity!"

"Does not times infinity+1!"

"Does so times infinity+2!

"Does not times-"

"Okay, that's enough of that you two," Kyrese laughed, stepping in between them. "This isn't going to get us anywhere."

Marion peeked over Kyrese and stuck her tongue out at Rey. Rey did the same, but he hooked his fingers into his cheeks and pulled them apart. Marion's eyes widened, and she scowled at him, flipping her eyelids and cringing at him.

"Marion…"

"But he started it!" Marion whined. "He said that fishing was stupid and lame and that my daddy's boat was smelly!"

"It's gotta be smelly," Rey laughed. "It's covered in fish guts, it probably smells just like you!"

"Stop provoking her," Kyrese said, frowning. "Now, how about you guys apologize and shake hands?"

"I don't wanna, her hands smell like fish." Rey said, crossing his arms and looking away from her.

"So?!" Marion cried. "You… your hands smell like… like…"

She wasn't really sure what to say, and Rey looked triumphantly down at her.

"They… they smell like doo-doo!" Marion cried. Rey scowled at her. Kyrese rolled his eyes

"Why do I have to apologize to her?" Rey demanded.

"It's not fair, he started it!" Marion cried.

"Look, Little Rey, you did start it," Kyrese agreed.

"It's her fault for getting so upset in the first place!" Rey replied. His cheeks turned pink. "And don't call me that!"

His eyes slid to Marion, and when he saw the look of joy in her eyes his face turned pale.

"Little Rey!" She chortled, smiling victoriously. "What kinda name is that?! Ha! Little Rey!"

"Don't call me that!" Rey exclaimed, getting out of bed. Marion blinked, getting a good look at him, and then burst out laughing. He was shorter than her by a little bit! She was a girl and he was still shorter than her! He really was a "Little Rey"!

"Ha! Little Rey, Little Rey, Little Rey~" Marion chanted. Rey chased after her as she laughed at him, repeating herself over and over.

"Shut up! Don't call me that, you stupid fish-for-brains!"

"You take that back! Fish aren't stupid! They're really smart!"

"No, they're stupid and ugly and smelly, just like you!"

"Are not!"

"Are so!"

"Are not!"

"Are so times-"

"Enough, both of you!" Kyrese and Flora stepped between the squabbling kids. As the two oldest, they were big enough to pull the two apart. They glanced at each other in exasperation.

"Let's just keep you guys on opposite sides for now, okay?" Flora said, placing a hand on Marion's shoulder.

"Fine! I don't want to talk to that stupid Little Rey anyway!" Marion huffed.

"I don't wanna talk to you, either!" Rey shouted back.

The two turned away from each other and walked to separate corners of the room, Marion returning to the other kids and her book.

That stupid Little Rey! He was so mean! She hated him, the hated him the most! All the other kids were like nice fishies, but him?! He was… he was… Marion tried to think of a fish pokemon she hated. But she liked all of them too much. Then she tried to think of another pokemon she didn't like, but she only knew fishies.

He's… he's just a Little Rey! That's bad enough! Stupid Little Rey! He just says mean things for no reason! Marion reassured herself that Little Rey was just a dumb doo-doo head, and went back to reading with her friends. I'm not gonna let him go fishing on daddy's boat! All of us are going to go on a fun fishing trip, and Little Rey's gonna be left out! He'll kneel down and beg to go fishing with us, and I'm not going to let him! No matter how much he begs and pleads! He deserves it, that stupid!

Marion was enjoying herself so much, she didn't realize how hungry she was until her stomach had started rumbling. She'd had lunch with her parents, but now it was almost dinner time.

"Um… when are we gonna eat?" Marion asked. "I'm hungry…"

"Don't worry, the doctor's gonna be here soon to eat with us," Katrina reassured her, smiling.

Marion gulped. Not the mean doctors, she hoped.

"Doctors?" She asked.

"Yeah, Doctor K eats with us as much as she can," Katrina said, smiling. Marion sighed in relief.

"But didn't she say she'd come back tomorrow?" Marion asked. Katrina gasped, holding her hand over her mouth. Flora rolled her eyes.

"Oops, that was supposed to be a surprise…" Katrina said, smiling sheepishly.

The door swung open, and everyone turned to look at who had arrived. Doctor K walked into the room, a big smile on her face. In her hands she pushed a large cart filled with food, followed by two doctors (thankfully not the ones from before) also pushing food cards.

"Surprise!" Doctor K chirped. "Marion, it's time for your welcome party!"

"Doctor K!" Marion cheered, jumping up. Her eyes were shining. She ran over to the doctor, who knelt down and hugged her.

Doctor K took Marion by the hand and led her and the other kids into an adjoining room, where a large and simple table was set with a bunch of chairs. Clearly, this was meant to be where the kids would eat their meals. Even stupid Little Rey came along. The other doctors left, leaving just the kids and Doctor K. Doctor K sat down at the end of the table, and Little Rey sat in the seat next to her. Marion was conflicted. She wanted to sit close to Doctor K, but she didn't want to sit next to Little Rey.

"Um… Doctor K…" Marion said quietly. "Where should I sit?"

"Oh? Don't be silly, dear," Doctor K said, smiling. She scooted her seat back and patted her lap. "Today's your welcome party, don't you remember? So you get the special seat for the guest of honor!"

"R-really?" Marion asked, excited. She didn't mind even sitting next to Little Rey if it meant she got to sit with the doctor! She sat down in Doctor K's lap and smiled, feeling the warmth from the kind older woman.

"Marion, hats off at the dinner table," Doctor K smiled. "It's tickling me."

"Oh-h sorry!" Marion giggled, taking off her hat, which was a little big on her anyway. Little Rey laughed at her, much to her irritation.

"Man!" Marion glanced down at Mana, who was bouncing up excitedly. She'd almost forgotten about her best friend.

"Um, Doctor K… what about Mana? Does she have somewhere to sit?" Marion asked. "Oh! Maybe she can have my special seat, too?"

"Don't be ridiculous, sweetie," Doctor K laughed, leaning over and picking up the small blue pokemon. "She gets a special seat of her own."

Doctor K deposited the bubbly pokemon into Marion's tiny lap.

"There's no seat more special than the guest of honor, isn't that right?"

"Uh huh!" Marion said, nodding eagerly. She looked out over the food, licking her lips. Her eyes were shining. But then she frowned.

"It's all… fish…" Marion said.

"Yup," Doctor K said, smiling. "I heard that you grew up fishing, so I had our cooks prepare an array of seafood for you! Eat as much as you like!"

Marion swallowed. She'd loved seafood all of her life, it was practically all she ever ate. But even so…

Since she had begun hearing the voices of fish pokemon… since she began hearing Mana's voice… she had begun questioning things. She didn't eat fish anymore. It just… it felt so wrong. So she was only eating vegetables and fruit these days.

"What's wrong?" Doctor K asked.

"Heh! We should get her some fish food," Little Rey smirked, sticking out his fork to grab a piece of grilled Goldeen.

"Rey!" Doctor K chastised him. She turned to Marion. "Are you… not hungry?"

"How… how can I eat fish?" Marion asked quietly, looking down at Mana. "I didn't… I didn't used to think about it, but recently… I've been hearing the voices of the little fishies… they're alive, and thinking, just like me! I can't… I can't eat them! Like… it's like eating Mana! She's my friend! How can I…"

The table fell silent, not sure what to say to the girl who was practically crying. Doctor K reached up and gingerly stroked Marion's hair.

"Marion… do you want to eat Mana?"

"No!" Marion cried.

"Then why do you need to worry?"

"Because… because they're my friends! Or… maybe they're someone else's friends, or…"

"I understand," Doctor K smiled. She reached down and wiped the tears out of Marion's eyes. "All of us… we can all hear and speak with pokemon. We know that they live and breathe and feel, just like us. There are even people out there who don't share our gifts… that think that pokemon are sacred and we shouldn't eat them. It's not wrong to think that way, I know. But Marion… we all live and die. We're all living creatures. Fish eat other fish all the time. Is that wrong?"

Marion blinked. Mommy had said stuff like this before. She worked with those Eater Foundashion people to protect pokemon from predators.

"I think sometimes…?" Marion asked, not sure what to say.

"It's part of the natural cycle of life," Doctor K comforted her. "Pokemon understand things that we humans sometimes have difficulty with. They know how limited and precious life is, and so they live their fullest. Because they know the time we have on this earth is finite." Doctor K's face was distant and sad, like she was remembering something painful. "Life is sacred, Marion. You should certainly treasure it. But that doesn't mean that you should disregard the natural order of the world out of fear. You can still love fish pokemon all you like… and value their place in the world…"

She poked Marion in the cheek and giggled.

"But they still lived full lives in the wild. And by giving up a part of themselves, they've now become a part of us. I think… to die, and be left to rot in some landfill… that would be meaningless. These pokemon gave up their lives to help us live another day. Don't you think it's only right to honor their sacrifice?"

Marion blinked, and nodded. Doctor K wrapped her arms around Marion, taking her hands. She closed her hands together, and Marion's along with them.

"Thank you for your sacrifice, my friends," Doctor K said, closing her eyes and expressing her gratitude. Marion did the same. When their prayers were done, Marion reached towards the food with her fork, and began digging in.

So Marion seems to be getting used to life in Anja Karzat. But we all know, sadly, that it won't be fun and games forever. Honestly I feel like I'm kind of dragging it out because I don't want to have to write more scenes where I make the poor girl cry.