Time to begin the "absolutely not a date" between Kate and Blake! What will they discover about Circhester and themselves along the way? We begin in the boutiques of Circhester!

In the meantime, the Pokemon Academy Best Girl Elimination Round has begun! So far, we've only gotten 4 voters, which is a little weird. Also, a lot of people are only voting for 1 girl. That's no fair to the others! Vote for 5, or I may decide that your votes don't count. Only voting for 1 girl won't help me narrow the field down appropriately.

…

Well, either way, I'm just interested in getting more votes in general, so just make sure you vote! No one's in a definitive lead yet!

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

KedharS: I'm giving Sango her development now, because this arc is going to be the last time she gets story prominence for quite some time. And honestly, this is more Kate's arc than it is Sango's. Cynthia will get her chance to shine soon.

ConfusedCradily: Thanks for voting! But I would have liked you to vote for more than 1… The other girls need love, too!

Rosealine gold: Well, I'll definitely say that there's more to Doctor Skye than can be seen on the surface, for better or worse.

Tambry96bj: Well, it's going to be a long road. A long, long road with a lot of dead-ends and u-turns.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Yup, this arc will have a lot of focus on Kate and Sango, and their development.

Badoobadoop: That was not my intention.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 242

"Whoa! Look at all these styles!" Kate gasped, walking through the Circhester Boutique and looking at the different designer dresses and styled shirts.

Clothes shopping, of course that would be what she'd have suggested first. Why couldn't she have been a little bit more consistent and suggested they go check out a toxic waste dump or something? Why did she need to be so traditionally girly?

"Okay, I'll try on this one, and this one…" Kate was selecting outfits off of the rack. The first one was a pleated dress in a lilac-purple pattern, and the next was a maroon button-up shirt. She also found a shirt with a more punk look, with torn sleeves and a frayed hem, with toxic-yellow words scrawled across it. It was from the Night Shade brand, which according to Kate was a fairly well-known line. Apparently most of her casual wardrobe was Night Shade brand, Scary Face brand, or Nasty Plot brand.

How fitting.

Blake wasn't exactly the most fashion-forward kind of dude. His wardrobe was selected for function. And that function was concealing the large mass of scars covering his body. Dressing for "style" wasn't something he was particularly interested in for himself, so of course he wouldn't pay much mind to other people's fashion decisions, either.

"Blake!" Kate's voice caught his attention and he looked up. She was holding a big, fluffy green pastel parka. "What do you think? Is it better than my current one?"

The surface of the jacket was a strange, fuzzy texture and it looked like she'd be a walking bush if she wore it. Blake felt that seeing Kate in that state would be amusing, so with a straight face he told her that it would totally suit her.

Kate hummed and added it to the stack of clothes in her basket, and moved on to the skirts.

"Whoa, look at THIS!" Kate gasped, holding up a torn, punk miniskirt that was so short it was practically a belt. Her face turned bright red as she imagined herself squeezing into that skimpy as hell thing.

"You should wear it," Blake said, giving her a thumbs up.

"I won't!" Kate scowled at him, tossing the strip of cloth back onto the display.

There weren't many other selections for bottoms, just standard brand clothes. Kate found a nice looking skirt, and even though it wasn't as skimpy as punk miniskirt she'd found, it was still shorter than she was used to. But today was a field trip, so it was okay to be a little daring.

"Punk miniskirt," Blake reminded her. It was a blood red color.

"I won't!" Kate repeated, a little less resolute than before.

"But it'll look good," Blake insisted.

"It's like 25 degrees outside!" Kate exclaimed. "I'll freeze to death!"

"Then why are we even picking out skirts in the first place?" Blake asked. "All you're doing is trampling on my hopes and dreams."

Kate baulked, her cheeks flushing. She looked down.

"Do… do you really want to see me in… in something like that?" She scowled, glaring at Blake.

Blake nodded eagerly and gave her a thumbs up again.

"I…" Kate looked at the miniskirt, which would be more aptly called a microskirt. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her in something like that, not in the slightest. But he looked so insistent…

"Excuse me, miss." Kate turned to see a shop helper walking up to her.

"Yeah?" Kate asked.

"Are you looking for bottoms? Unfortunately our boutique has less variety, due to the fact that very many people here wear long pants."

Kate sighed, and shrugged her shoulders.

"But the skirt that your boyfriend has picked out is one of our finest brands," she continued, smiling. Kate's face turned bright red.

"He-He is not my boyfriend!" Kate snarled, practically spitting fire. "He's just a fellow student! That's it! And I am NOT wearing what he picked out just because it suits his tastes!"

"O-Okay," the attendant said, slightly flustered. "Th-then, can I pick out some nice denim jeans for you?"

"Tight denim?" Blake piped up.

"Shut up, Blake!" Kate exclaimed. The attendant quickly scurried off.

"Kate, you refusing to wear a punk miniskirt is stepping over the line," Blake said. "You said you wanted me to be honest when you're hurting me, and this is really causing me some damage."

Kate rolled her eyes.

"Dressing to suit your tastes is not what I meant when we had that conversation, don't use my sincerity against me you scum."

Blake shrugged.

"Well, it was worth a shot."

"I'm going to go get changed!" Kate cried, running off to the changing rooms. She pulled the curtain closed behind her, her heart pounding in her chest.

He… he didn't really want to see me in that skirt, right? He was teasing me, right? But… but if he did… then maybe if I wore it, he would…

Kate blinked, turning to point her butt towards the mirror for a closer look. It was a little difficult to make out in the baggy pants she wore, but… it wasn't the worst shaped ass, right?

Blake is an ass man, I almost forgot. Then could he want me to wear a skirt like that… so he could see…

Kate's face grew even hotter.

And… and what would he do when he saw me in that? He would certainly push me down, and… and!

Kate held her hand over her chest, trying to calm herself down.

It's a good thing I refused him, she thought, relieved that he wouldn't… do those things that she was imagining. She… she would never want something like THAT to happen! I… I wouldn't want him to do something like that, obviously! Of course not, not at all! But I mean…

A rustling behind her caught her attention. She turned and looked down at the ground. Someone, meaning Blake, had slid a tattered punk miniskirt under the curtain and it was now sitting there at her feet. Kate scowled.

Blake said nothing, and sat patiently outside the changing room. This was basically harassment at this point. But it was Kate, so he didn't really feel that bad about it. Plus, he knew it would look pretty damn good on her, so there wasn't that much of a problem in his mind.

Kate swallowed, picking up the miniskirt and turning it over in her hands. Now that she got a look at it, it was way, way shorter than she had thought. Like… impossibly short. It really was practically a belt. No way. No way! This wouldn't fit me at all, no way! My panties… if I move the wrong way, they'll be totally visible! Not a chance!

Kate decided to try on the lavender dress first. It looked nice, the pattern making the colors really stand out. She turned and opened the curtain.

"Blake! What do you think?" She asked, striking a pose.

Blake took a look at her. She looked almost normal. Shades of purple looked nice on Kate, this pleated dress being the perfect example of it.

Kate was expecting him to tell her that anything that wasn't the miniskirt was awful, but much to her surprise, he actually complimented her.

"I think it's a pretty good fit," Blake admitted. "The pattern is nice. What do you think?"

"Oh, uh…" Kate stammered, catching a glance of herself in the mirror. She did look nice, but the pleated dress was a little too… ladylike. Not that Kate couldn't do ladylike, of course! But her hair was a mess, as usual, so maybe something a little more casual would be suitable.

The miniskirt was burning in her hand.

No, let's do something a little more casual first," Kate insisted. She tossed it into the basket, and took out another skirt, this one a more modest, frilly thing. Kate didn't really do frilly. She'd just grabbed it in protest, when Blake seemed to be more insistent that she try on the punk skirt. She put that one aside as well, and found a nice pair of denim pants, a deep navy blue. That would go well with her slender figure.

She picked out her next shirt, a maroon button-up, and paired it with the pants. She walked out to show Blake this next outfit.

"Wow, now that one is a little more like you," Blake said, nodding. Kate had to agree. The color wasn't perfect, but the maroon really made her creamy skin stand out, and highlighted the blush on her cheeks. It made her look a strange combination of professional and casual, fairly well-suited for either.

"Yeah, I think this one is pretty nice," Kate agreed, spinning around and checking her reflection. "Let's try the other-"

"Punk miniskirt."

Kate growled, rolling her eyes. She pulled the curtain closed behind her.

"Come on, Kate, we both know it'll look great on you," Blake laughed.

"Rrrgh…" Kate muttered, picking the skirt back up. The more she looked at it, the more she had to admit that it would go well with the torn shirt she'd picked out. She… she supposed she could, right? She was a little curious.

Plus Blake would definitely compliment me… n-not that I want that, of course! And I certainly wouldn't want him to… um…

Kate gulped. She looked left and right, afraid that she was being watched even though she was in a changing room. Her fears reassured, she began stripping her previous outfit off, and replaced it with the, um…

God. It was worse than she though. Staring at herself in the mirror, she looked like some trashy girl. And not the kind of trashy that she was used to being, this was a kind of trashy that was a little too high a level for Kate. She swallowed, shaking her head. No. Not a bit. This was definitely not something that she was going to be wearing in her everyday life.

She pulled the skirt down, it kept peeling up. She'd have to walk with her thighs pressed together to keep it from riding up over her hips. She could FEEL a breeze tickling against her in all sorts of places that should have been feeling nice and comfortable. No way, this was a level of daring that was absolutely not suitable for Kate.

Right, so she should just change now. There was no reason that she had to keep wearing this outfit. And no way was she going out into the store scantily clad like this, right? Showing Blake what she looked like? She wouldn't.

Right?

Kate took a deep breath, her face turning bright red.

No, no, it's not that you want to show him, you just… you don't want him to keep bugging you about it! Yeah, that's it! If you don't show him you wearing it, then he'll just keep bugging you about it, and that would be annoying. So… so just put it on so he'll leave you alone! And to make sure that he doesn't have any reason to keep bringing it up, you need to make sure he gets a really good look at you in it!

Kate took a deep breath, turned, and flung the curtain open.

"FINE!" She practically shouted, clenching her eyes together tightly. "I-I wore it! Wh-what do you think, huh?! Is this good enough?"

Blake got a good look at Kate, and for once he was speechless. Kate stood in front of him in the shortest skirt he'd ever seen, but her face was a dark red. She was embarrassed as hell, which was pretty reasonable considering she was wearing clothes that wouldn't look out of place on someone with a less… conservative personality. She was practically trembling, standing ramrod straight with her arms at her sides, presenting her body to him like an offering. Kate was naturally rather scrawny, but even her legs looked amazing in such a tight, short skirt.

Blake's mouth fell open. He had just been teasing her, and now he regretted it. He had been treating her like he treated Ayame, and that had been rude. She wasn't Ayame, she was Kate. Even though they were both stern and abrasive and got easily embarrassed, Kate was Kate and he shouldn't have been trying to needle her so much.

Sorry… He mentally apologized, shielding his eyes. They were both standing still, neither one willing to look at the other.

Come on, what's the matter? Kate wondered. Look at how I'm dressed! He should be throwing himself at me right now! If I stand here any longer, I'm going to die of embarrassment, you jerk!

She cracked open her eye just a little bit, seeing that Blake was turned away from her, his hands over his face. She scowled. He wasn't even looking. That was disappointing.

"What, you don't think I look good?" Kate snapped, placing her hands on her waist. "You were the one who wanted me to wear this ridiculous thing in the first place!"

"I'm so, so sorry," Blake said. "I was teasing you!"

"So you didn't want to see it?!"

"Well, I didn't say that…"

"Does it look nice, or doesn't it?" Kate demanded.

"It… it does!" Blake exclaimed. "But please take it off!"

Kate gasped, stepping back into the changing room and pulling the curtain around her so her head was poking out, glaring angrily at Blake.

"I knew this would happen if I wore this! You're just a little pervert, Blake! That's what you are! How dare you tell me to… do something like that, huh?! Take off my… I won't!"

"I mean get changed into something else!" Blake sputtered, whirling around to face her. "In that miniskirt I feel like wherever I look I'm doing something bad!"

"What, so my body isn't worth looking at, is that it?" Kate huffed.

"That isn't what I-"

"Well, it might as well have been!"

The two glared at each other, Kate's eyes smoldering venomously.

"I'm getting changed!" Kate huffed. "This was a mistake!"

Kate closed the curtain all the way, and stormed over to her basket to look at the remaining clothes she'd picked out.

Why do I feel so angry, huh? Kate demanded. What was I expecting?! Blake's just a big old insensitive jerk!

Ignoring the hypocrisy of labeling anyone else insensitive or a jerk, Kate continued to fume at Blake, upset that he hadn't really taken that good a look. She'd gotten her hopes up for nothing, and-

Wait, hopes?

N-no no no! I wasn't hoping for anything! That's right! I shouldn't be mad! I should be thrilled that he isn't thinking of me in that way! Yeah, that's totally it! Phew, I'm glad he doesn't see me like that at all!

Kate sighed in relief, managing to repress her romantic attraction to Blake once again.

"I guess this is the only outfit left," she said. She put it on, and put the rest of her clothes back in the basket. She turned, and walked out.

"…Whoa," Blake said, raising an eyebrow. "I think you found one."

"Eh?" Kate had thought this outfit was suitable, but… Blake did, too? That was… odd, to say the least. Blake didn't give her many compliments. And that was a "many" with no "m". He really thought it looked good on her?

Kate turned and glanced in the mirror, and saw what he had seen. She hadn't really noticed it before, she was too busy thinking about her embarrassment, along with other things. But… yeah. Looking at her… like this…

The shirt was the same type as the maroon one that she had tried on earlier. But where that shirt had been a solid color, this one wasn't. It was a dark purple, styled with a flowery paisley design. The floral pattern created an excellent textile look that made Kate's… well, not necessarily "beauty", but "averageness" stand out. She'd combined it with light blue denim trousers that helped emphasize the subtle contrast between the shades of purple and make the pattern stand out more. And with the flowers themselves emphasizing her toxic nature and affinity with Alcea, it was a shirt that was perfectly suited for her on every level.

"Um, uh… y-you really think it looks good?" Kate asked.

"Absolutely," Blake said, nodding. "If you combined it with that miniskirt it would be perfe-"

"NEVER AGAAAAIN!" Kate cried, glaring at him. Blake chuckled.

Aww, that would have been nice, though. Oh, well. The date continues!