So, the day has finally arrived! The Pokemon Academy "Best Girl" contest can now begin in full! We have 11 competitors to choose from, but there can be only one winner! But this process will take a bit of time. This will be a three-step process. First, each person can vote for five girls on the poll I'll post on my profile. Then, starting in August, the five girls who receive the most votes will make it from the qualifiers to the main competition. From there, you'll vote on your top three choices of the five listed. That will bring us into our final round, which will take place throughout all of September. Only 1 month. 1 vote. Which girl will win out of the three finalists? We'll have to find out! In the meantime, here are our current competitors! Remember to vote!

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

DJ Dib Dab: Alcea added, last minute.

Tambry96bj: I'm having fun writing her. It's a lot like writing Kate and her overreactions. Between you and me, I don't think Lana's as good at observing human interactions as she is at observing their battle strategies.

Badoobadoop: Okay, I'll consider him when the time comes for new freshman characters.

ConfusedCradily: Thanks for your character, I'll consider working him in when the time come for new characters.

Rus4408: Well, it sadly isn't as simple as that.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 241

The students gathered in the lobby, where Professor Reinhart was seated in a large armchair.

"Good, everyone's here," Professor Reinhart said, concluding his taking attendance. "Now, I thought it would be important to discuss our activities for the day."

The professor checked his watch.

"It's 10:00 right now. Our train to Stow-On-Side will be coming tomorrow evening at 11:30, so we'll spend today and tomorrow exploring Circhester and enjoying yourselves."

This response resulted in murmurs of joy and excitement rising up among the students.

"Everyone coordinate with your group chaperones, and determine what each of you want to do as a group. Maybe you want to go look at the city, or maybe you want to stay here. All I will say is that the only thing we have planned today is our dinner at 6, and then travel to the hotsprings at 8. So make sure you're back here by then, understood?"

The students split off into their groups, with Lana standing awkwardly to the side.

"So what do you guys want to do today?" Kate asked, her voice filled with excitement. "Circhester is such an awesome place, I was reading these brochures in the hotel, and-"

"Excuse me," Professor Reinhart interrupted Group 3's discussion.

"What is it, professor?" Kate asked.

"Sango, I wanted to speak with you," the professor said. "Your father called to inform me that he is on his way."

"My dad?" Sango gasped, her face lighting up with excitement. She glanced at Silver, who looked back at her, the two giggling. "My dad is coming here?"

"He should be here within the hour," Professor Reinhart confirmed. "He mentioned that he would like to speak with you, if you don't mind?"

"Absolutely!" Sango nodded eagerly. She paused, and glanced back at the others.

"Is… is that okay? I won't be able to go hang out with you, so…"

"Sure, sure, it's fine!" Kate said. She'd wanted Sango to come along, but she was definitely not going to stop Sango from seeing her father. "But what's your dad doing here?"

"My dad's an explorer," Sango explained, her voice full of pride. "He goes around to places like this all the time. He's helping out on the excavation."

Professor Reinhart nodded in agreement.

"Uboss Akana is well-respected in his field."

"Whoa, that's so cool!" Kate gasped, holding her hands over her mouth as she stared at Sango in admiration. "I wish my dad was a cool explorer like yours! You're so lucky!"

"He's great," Sango agreed. But Blake could see that her face looked slightly sad. "Still, I don't get to see him all the time, so it's a little..."

"That must be rough…" Nikita whispered.

"Yeah, so I can't wait to see him," Sango smiled. "Sorry, but Silver and I won't be able to hang out with you guys today. Maybe later, though? At dinner?"

"Sounds like a plan!" Kate agreed, nodding. Professor Reinhart headed off, sitting down in one of the large armchairs in the lobby, flipping open a large, thick book bound in leather.

"Okay, what about the rest of you guys?" Kate asked, her green eyes shining with excitement. "I was thinking we could go look at the large fountain, and then go check out the boutiques! We can get lunch in one of the fancy cafes, what do you guys think?"

Blake shrugged, and nodded his head in agreement.

Nikita and Reiner glanced at each other, a look of apprehension on their faces.

"Er, actually…" Nikita whispered, fidgeting from one leg to the other. Her eyes shot from left to right.

"We were thinking that we wanted to stay inside today," Reiner replied. He glanced out the window, where snow was already beginning to fall. "You know, me and Nikita wanted to watch some movies together, so we were just going to hang out in her room."

Kate blinked. Blake could see the heart-crushing sadness crossing her face. It seemed she was really looking forward to going out on the town.

"Th-that's okay, don't worry about it," Kate said, giving a strained laugh to pretend like she was fine with the fact that no one in her group wanted to go hang out with her. Reiner and Nikita turned and headed towards the elevators, and Sango went to sit down in one of the chairs and wait for her father, leaving Kate and Blake standing by herself in the lobby. Kate still held a shaky smile on her face, trying to pretend like she was still having fun.

Seeing that smile made Blake wince out of sympathy. He knew that under Kate's sour and rude demeanor she was really a very lonely girl, who wanted to spend time with people she wanted to consider her friends.

"W-well, I guess that's that, then," Kate sighed, shrugging her shoulders. "I guess… I'll head back to my room, too."

Blake blinked.

"Really? I thought you wanted to go shopping in Circhester?"

"Eh?" Kate tilted her head to the side. "You… you what? What do you mean?"

"Well, I want to go explore Circhester City, but I can't. We aren't allowed to leave on our own, after all. So I need a chaperone, right?"

"Er, uh…" Kate looked back around in confusion. Was she being punked right now? Or did Blake honestly want to go walking around Circhester with her?

"Are… are you serious?"

"Of course I'm serious," Blake said, walking closer to her. "Come on, you said it yourself. Circhester is an awesome place, and you wanted to hang out and see the sights. What do you think? Nikita and Reiner are hanging out here, Sango is going to be with her dad, so it'll just be the two of us, but… well? Want to go?"

Honestly, Blake didn't really want to spend the day with Kate. True, Kate wasn't as bad on her own, but she still wasn't someone who he would have wanted to hang out with on this trip. Ayame, Sango, Cynthia, they were all much more fun to spend time with. But even so, he could see the pain on her face. She was lonely, and all she wanted to do was go out and hit the town for a few hours. Ditching her just to hang out in his room all day would have left a bad taste in his mouth. So he was perfectly happy with spending a few hours with her. And judging by the look of joy on her face, it seemed that she would have a very good time doing that, as well. Heck. Maybe he'd even have fun. In spite of how she acted, Blake was well aware of how Kate felt about him; she was standoffish, but she did have a crush on him, so if he was spending time with her, and just her, she might even be nice to him. There was more to Kate than just a toxic jerk, even if it was deep, deep down.

Kate was in a daze as she zipped up her puffy jacket, letting Blake escort her out of the hotel. Her brain was still catching up with her body.

Blake and I… we're going to go see the sights of Circheser City. Just Blake and I. Blake and I… together?! Isn't that… isn't that…

Blake and I together…

On a d-d-d-d-daaaaate?!

Kate's face was bright red, and not just from the cold. Kate didn't even feel the cold. Her face, along with the rest of her body, was overheating.

Lana watched the two of them leave.

They're going on a date! Lana noted. How suspicious! Blake and Kate, using today's lack of events to go on a date? This requires further observation!

Lana scurried after Blake and Kate, her eyes shining as she watched the two of them walking towards the large hot spring fountain in the center of the city square.

"Kate, you good?" Blake asked, waving his hand in front of her.

"W-what?" Kate asked, blinking. "Uh, yeah, totally, I'm fine! What's up?"

"You seem a little… out of it," Blake said. "I'm not sure if you're really having a good time."

"Er, um…" Kate turned away from him, staring at the steaming pool of water in front of them. A small smile crossed her flushed face. "I really am, Blake, believe me. I'm having a great time."

"Well, okay then," Blake said, nodding.

"B-but, just to be clear! Th-this is totally not a date, you got it?" Kate insisted, turning to glare at him. "We're just hanging out, because I'm your chaperone! Because it's against the rules for us to go alone! I… if I had the choice, I would definitely go by… by my…"

Kate's voice trailed off and she hung her head.

"No, no, never mind," Kate sighed, shaking her head. "Listen, Blake… can we… um…"

She took a deep breath. She felt like her face was on fire. She tried telling the truth, and it felt like she was choking on bile in her throat.

Blake stared back at Kate apprehensively. He was slightly worried about what she was going to say. It seemed like it was something that was causing her physical pain.

"Can… can we talk for a little?" Kate asked. "Just… just you and me."

Blake blinked. He had a fairly good idea what this was going to be about. She was going to confess to him. That made him feel a little anxious. He didn't like Kate that way. At all. She was barely his friend. So if she would confess to him, it might make things a little awkward between them. But he was going to let her say what she needed to say. And hopefully, when she did, and the two of them resolved this, she'd stop being so standoffish and acting uncomfortable around him, and the two of them could actually be friends of some sort.

"Yeah, of course we can," he reassured her. Kate sighed in relief.

"See… the truth is… I haven't really done stuff like this before," Kate admitted. "I mean, back at my old school, we used to have field trips and stuff, but none of the other girls would want to be in the same group with me. They'd ditch me whenever they could, and I was forced to go with the teacher. And even last year, I didn't really have anyone I could consider to be a friend… it was just a different kind of loneliness, you know?"

Kate sighed. Blake could see her eyes start to water.

"So when I thought that we could all be in the same group together, it was like getting a second chance, you know?" Kate giggled, but it was a sad giggle. She sniffled a little, fighting back the tears that were welling up in the corners of her eyes. "I could actually have, like, a real field trip, spending time enjoying myself with friends. But… they all wanted to do their own thing, and now it's only the two of us."

Blake frowned. It seemed that as hard as he tried… he wouldn't be able to make Kate enjoy herself all by himself.

"Sorry," Blake said, looking down. "I guess just hanging out with me isn't enough."

"No no no!" Kate said, shaking her head frantically. A shaky smile spread across her flushed face. "I… I'm really happy to get to spend the day with you. I-I know I said that I would rather just go around by myself, but… I wasn't being serious."

Kate sighed.

"Look, Blake… I know I'm not very good at… being honest. I'm defensive, I know that. And I'm not trying to justify myself, but the reason why is because I've been through some rough stuff. Whenever I'd give the bullies at my old school a reason to shit on me, they would. So now, I can't… I can't even really have a conversation like this, you know? Being vulnerable…" Kate looked into his eyes. Her lip quivered.

"I… I'm trying to be better, more open. So… can you bear with me? I know I'm not the easiest person to get along with, I'm pretty hard to tolerate… but I'm making an effort to better myself, so… I-I won't ask you to stick around if you don't want to put up with my shit. But if you want to… then I want to, you know? Hang out. It… it would really mean a lot."

Blake smiled.

"Sure, of course," he laughed. "I already told you I was happy to spend the day with you, didn't I? If I can be friends with Ayame, then I can put up with you."

"Really?" Kate asked, wiping her eyes. "It… it's okay? You're fine with me being… you know? P-please, tell me if you want me to not do something, okay? Because I-I'm not the best judge of stuff like that, so I need you to tell me if I'm stepping over the line. And then I can try to do better, you know? I-I don't want to hurt you, honestly. So just… can you please be honest? And I'll try my best to be honest too, okay?"

Blake looked at the hopeful expression on Kate's face and smiled, nodding.

"Sounds like a plan. Where do you want to go first?"

Kate's face blossomed with a brilliant light of joy. A smile spread from cheek to cheek as she nodded her head eagerly. There was no trace of her usual scowl. Only happiness and excitement about getting to finally have the "outing with her friends on a field trip" that she had always envied other girls getting the chance to enjoy.

She and Blake walked down the street, side-by-side. Kate couldn't help her heart beating in her chest. This would be such a great day!

While Kate and Blake were walking the streets of Circhester, a certain girl by the name of Lana Canley followed after them.

Okay, this is totally a date, Lana observed, her eyes wide with anticipation. Look at them! They're walking next to each other! That's practically holding hands! I can't believe this, this is the greatest thing I've ever seen!

This was the most fun she'd ever had observing people and investigating them. Getting to see Blake work his moves on Kate was exactly what she needed to understand the kind of person he was. It was all for Richard Valon's sake. Certainly not because she was curious, like this was a soap opera or something. She was being very diligent in her investigation.

Lana was not the only one watching, however. Leaning against a lamppost, looking up from the phone in her hand, was a beautiful girl with curly black hair. Her golden eyes followed after the two.

That… isn't that… The girl mused, watching Kate and Blake. Her eyes were shining, and a small smile of nostalgia crossed her ruby red lips.

Sango was antsy, watching the door of the hotel. She was sitting in an armchair in the lobby, fidgeting in her chair. Silver was floating beside her head, glancing hopefully at his partner.

Sango wasn't sure how she would feel when she saw her father. The last time they had talked, they'd gotten into a huge fight over her future and her mother. And then, even after that fight, he had agreed to help her, and loaned his Skarmory, Crest, to her. Then, after everything that had happened on the boat, she'd realized that he'd had a point. She was still a child, and she was over her head. But… how did she feel about talking to him? What was she going to say? Was she going to curse him out, or give him a hug? She honestly wasn't sure. That was something she'd have to figure out when she saw him again.

When Uboss Akana walked through the door, Sango's eyes widened and she leapt from her seat, running up to him.

"Dad!" Sango said, her eyes shining. Before she hugged him, she remembered that her relationship with her father was a little strained. That's right! She hated him!

…Well, not really. It was complicated. She was really mad at him before, but then he'd helped her. She regained her composure, standing tall. The anger she'd felt before, it dissipated. She still resented him a lot. But that didn't compare with the joy of being able to see him again. Even though their relationship was strained at times… he was her father, and she loved him.

"Sango," Uboss smiled at her, a grin breaking out across Sango's face as well. "How are things? I heard that there was an incident with Team Rocket. Are you okay?"

"I'm doing good," Sango said. "No need to worry about me. I've been through a lot of trouble, but… I know what I want to do going forward."

Uboss smiled.

"That's good."

"Oh! Is this your daughter?"

Sango heard a woman's voice, and she tensed up. Coming up beside Uboss was a woman, a beautiful woman, about her father's age. Not that you could really tell. She looked like she was in her twenties, not her thirties or forties! Hell, her face was so youthful she could have been a college student! The only way Sango could even guess at her age was from the composed and mature way she carried herself. She even styled herself to look young. She had brown hair cut into a pixie cut about the same length as Sango's, and wore a pair of stylish black glasses. She unzipped her jacket and stripped it off, revealing a black sweater clinging to her curvy figure, which, like her model-gorgeous face, looked far too young for a woman of her age. The youthful looking woman smiled at Uboss, and then at Sango, as well. Her eyes were the color of the sky, and her cheeks were rosy. She had a look of kindness like a mother, a smile that reminded Sango all too much like her own mother, in a way that made Sango tense. Something about her was just… uncomfortable.

"You're Sango?" The woman asked.

"Um, yeah," Sango said, frowning. "And you're?"

"I'm Doctor Elizabeth Skye," the woman replied. The lilt in her voice reminded Sango of a bell ringing. She stepped forward and pulled Sango into a tight hug. Sango could feel the woman's sizeable chest pressing up against her, and her tight grip made Sango felt like she was being hugged by a Bewear.

Sango looked over the woman's shoulder at her father, flashing him a questioning look. Uboss's expression looked almost… guilty?

"Sango, this is Elizabeth," Uboss introduced her, the woman letting Sango go. "She's, um…"

"It's so nice to finally meet you," Elizabeth smiled, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "Uboss has told me so much about you, I've been waiting to meet you for myself! I'm… I'm really happy. He's so lucky to have a cute and sweet daughter like you."

The words she said were kind, but Sango picked up a trace of sadness in them. That look in her eye, was that… regret? Or guilt? She couldn't quite make it out, but there was something more than sweetness in the atmosphere that surrounded this beautiful woman.

"Uboss, dear, I'm going to go check us in, okay?" Doctor Skye said, leaning up and pressing her painted red lips against his cheek. Sango felt the hair on the back of her neck stick up in irritation. "You catch up with Sango."

The lovely doctor skipped off, Sango watching after her with a venomous glare. This "Elizabeth Skye" might be beautiful, and kind, but Sango couldn't stand her. Who did she think she was, being all friendly with Sango? And clinging to her father like some… some… groupie?!

All the good will and benefit of the doubt Sango had built up with her father evaporated like the steam from the springs outside. There was something there that she clearly didn't want to think about. It was a possibility that had existed since her mother's passing, one that Sango had gone to great lengths to convince herself was not a possibility in the slightest.

"Father," Sango said, trying to keep her tone as even as possible, and push the traces of sourness out of her scowl. "That woman… is she…?"

Uboss's uncomfortable expression seemed to say it all. She was. He scratched his head, unable to meet his daughter's gaze.

"Sango, we… we need to talk."

Oh boy. Here it comes. The good old "wicked stepmother" confrontation.