Well, the reviews are still going wonky, but we shall persist! Let's keep going, will Kate be able to make it through this mess with her willpower going strong? Come on, Kate! You can do it! Stand up to those bullies! Yeah!

Pokemon Academy Best Girl Elimination Round is still going strong! Keep those votes coming, a few girls are pulling ahead, and a few people are still voting for only one girl instead of 5. But don't worry, things aren't all cinched yet! Get your votes in, folks!

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

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 245

What's going on? Lana looked at the incident with an expression of confusion. She'd been following Blake and Kate on what had appeared to be a date. They'd gone to a clothing store, then a hair salon, and now they were eating lunch, when three girls dressed in school uniforms (from one of those prestigious girls' schools in Kalos, maybe? But what were they doing here?) had come up to them.

No way… could it be that Blake is planning to get with all four of them?! She gasped, holding her hand over her mouth as she peeked around the corner. She wanted to get closer to hear what they were saying, but she didn't want to risk giving herself away.

While to an outside observer (or maybe just Lana and her overactive imagination) it looked like the beginnings of something scandalous, anyone close could feel the tension in the air, an uncomfortable feeling that signaled this event was not going to go well.

Blake looked past Kate at the three girls standing on the walkway behind them. One had tanned skin and golden hair tied in a loose ponytail that curved over her shoulder, and cruel blue eyes. Another was pale, with sleek and shiny straight brown hair down her back, and black eyes. She was leaning against the fence dividing the patio from the street, wearing a playful smile that showed no trace of honest joy. The blonde was leaning back with her arms crossed, a scornful look on her face as she looked at Kate like she was trash.

The third girl, though, was slightly different. Unlike her friends, who had approached them immediately, this girl held back. She had curly black hair that reached down to her shoulders and golden eyes, and the look on her face was, to Blake's best estimate, a look of apprehension. It seemed that she was as uncomfortable with this as he was, and just wanted to go. It didn't take a genius to figure out who these girls were. They didn't even have to open their mouths. The look on Kate's face was more than enough of a clue.

Kate looked like she wanted to run away and curl up into a ball. Her face was pale and sickly, like she was about to lose her lunch. Blake frowned. They had made a mistake, sitting beside the street to get a better view of the bay. Now only a thin fence separated her from these girls.

"Hey, Nomia!" Brown hair purred, leaning a little closer. "It's been a while. We haven't seen you in what? Two years? Three?"

Kate swallowed, trembling slightly, but didn't say anything.

"Come on, don't be like that," the girl continued, twirling a lock of her hair like she didn't have a care in the world. "Like, aren't you happy to see us again? A surprise reunion with old classmates should be fun! Like, I know Val is thrilled we ran into you, isn't that right?"

Blake's eyes widened slightly and he followed the turn of the girl's head to glance at the third girl, with the golden eyes. Val? The girl who had abandoned Kate. What a bad encounter to have right now. Indeed, Kate was obviously not feeling great about it, either. She lowered her head, not even able to bring herself to look.

"Um… whatever…" the golden-eyed girl said. "Come on, Bree, Maya, let's just go."

"Come on Val, like, don't be rude," the blonde girl (Blake was not yet sure if she was Bree or Maya) said. "Aren't you happy to see your old friend again?"

"…Whatever," Val said, turning away, not even looking at Kate.

"What are you doing here?" The other girl, the brunette, asked, turning her attention back to Kate. "Like, what, they don't have any of those ratchet-ass poison types back home?"

"Um, that's…" Kate managed to choke out a response, but the brunette cut her off.

"Like, whatever, we're just surprised to see you. Right, Maya?" She turned to the blonde and snickered. Ah, so the blonde was Maya. That means this girl must be Bree.

"Like, totally," the blonde, Maya, scoffed, rolling her eyes. "I was hoping you'd stay locked up in your room forever or something, after you behaved like a total bitch back at school."

"But look at you now!" Bree continued, turning back to Kate. "Like, I didn't recognize you at first. What, with the makeup and those fancy clothes. And look, you finally turned that ratchet hair into something, like, passable! Well, almost."

She reached out and placed a hand in her hair, messing up her new hairdo. Blake had to resist the urge to punch this bitch in the face.

"I'm surprised you can try so hard, like, does anyone even care if a skanky sludge girl like you actually dressed up?" Maya snickered. Her laughter was cruel.

"Well, like, it looks like somebody does," Bree's cold black eyes turned to Blake, and her smile widened. "Like, who are you? No way you're a boyfriend, and Kate doesn't have any friends. Well, not ones that actually bother to stick around! So, like, you her brother or something?"

"Bree, that's rude," Maya laughed. "Come on, he's way too good-looking to be related to Nomia, lol."

"Yeah, totally," Bree agreed. "So, like, who are you buddy?"

Blake wasn't sure how to answer, but the brunette didn't give him the time to do so anyway.

"Oh, wait, I got it! He's gotta be one of those, like, what are they? Gigolos or something? She's probably paying him to keep him around, lol."

"Oh, god! That's, like totally it!" Maya snickered. "Wow, you're, like, so desperate, sludge girl! You actually gotta pay a guy to hang out with you?"

"Well it's not like any of them are going to want to be with her for free, right?" Bree cackled. "At least with her daddy's money she can afford to buy a boyfriend."

She turned to Blake, curling her hair with her finger.

"Sucks to be you, though. Did you know that this girl is, like, super-into grody-ass ratchet poison types? Ugh, so disgusting! What sort of trash girl likes trash like that?"

Blake scowled at her.

"Of course I know that," he growled. Bree blinked, her smile widening. Blake realized he had just engaged with them, crap. He'd been hoping if they both kept quiet, the girls would leave.

"Wow, so, like, you know that she plays with grody Grimers and Koffings?" Bree laughed. "Ugh, that's so ratchet! She's a freak! Sludge Girl Kate Nomia, the toxic freak!"

"Like, how much is she paying you to keep you around and stand up for her?" Maya snickered. "The brave rental boyfriend defending her freaky hobbies."

"You don't know the first thing about her," Blake growled.

"Blake, don't…" Kate whispered, her eyes fearful. She shook her head desperately.

"So you're Blake, huh?" Bree laughed. "What, so you aren't here for the money? What's wrong with you, then? I mean, you're not what I'd call a catch, but you certainly don't look desperate enough to play with a disease gutter like that skank."

"God, kissing her must be like making out with a sewage pipe," Maya made a face like she was going to barf, and the two girls burst out into a chorus of cruel laughter.

"So what, you just like playing with desperate girls?" Bree asked, grabbing Kate's hair again. "I guess when you shoot so low, a skank like this will do anything to keep a boy interested. Look at how much effort she put in, lol!"

"God, that shirt is so hideous, too, and she probably thinks it looks good on her!" Maya laughed. "Guess your daddy isn't as wealthy as he used to be, that's what happens with new money."

"Oh, come on now, Maya, her dad doesn't care about her," Bree laughed. "He's probably too busy banging one of those product models to give a damn about his family. That Olivia Himeko is probably real talented, right?"

"Like, but would you want to get with a guy if his daughter was as ratchet as her? He was probably so desperate to get away from his dumpy wife that he got into perfume and cosmetics hoping to score with a hottie and toss those ugly tramps away."

Kate looked like she was about to cry as these girls not only mercilessly tore into her, but trashed her family as well. She looked like she was ready to curl up like a Sandshrew just to hide from these bitches. They were tugging her hair and wrinkling her clothes, and she was just sitting there taking it.

Blake had had enough. He rose from his seat and stepped forward, slapping the girls' hands aside. He glared at them, turning his body into a wall between Kate and the girls.

Bree and Maya were clearly not amused. Their cruel smiles finally faded, replaced with vicious snarls. Now he was seeing the real venom on their faces, they were unmasked.

"Like, what the hell?" Bree growled. "What's the matter with you? We're just having some fun, you don't need to get all serious."

"Lol, this is hilarious," Maya smirked, looking haughtily at the two. "The rental boyfriend coming to her aid like a knight in shining armor."

"Fucking pathetic is what it is," Bree barked out a laugh, her smile returning, but far harsher than it had been moments earlier.

"You two don't know the first thing about her," Blake growled. "She's not perfect, but she does the best she can. Compared to people like you who tear down others that try their hardest, she's an amazing girl."

"Blake…" Kate blinked away the tears in her eyes, smiling softly.

"And I'm not hanging around her because she pays me," Blake said. "I'm with her, because I can see the kind of person she is. A wonderful girl who's a little off, but not someone to be looked down on by bitches like you. So back off and let us enjoy our date in peace."

Blake turned to Kate, and smiled down on her. Kate glanced up at him in confusion. Blake reached out and caught her chin between his thumb and pointer finger, tilting her head up.

"Eh?" Kate blinked, confused.

Blake leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. After a moment, he pulled back from the kiss and turned back to the girls, glaring at them.

"Like, gross!" Bree gagged.

"Ugh, how fucking ratchet!" Maya spat.

The third girl, Valerie, had been holding back and not saying anything. But even she had a reaction to that, her eyes widening in surprise.

"I'm with Kate because I like her," Blake replied. "So get lost."

Kate's circuits were completely blown. She sat there in stunned silence. Blake had kissed her. Her. He kissed her! She wasn't paying attention to the girls any longer, her head was up in the clouds, thinking about that kiss.

Does that mean he likes me?! No, no, that… that was probably just to throw them off.

But… maybe?

"Man, you really are one fucked up dude, lol," Bree held her hand over mouth.

"Why would you kiss that sewage skank?" Maya shook her head. Blake frowned. He glanced down at the table, and particularly Kate's half-finished coke. His smile returned.

SPLASH

Bree and Maya looked down at their clothes. Big brown splotches of liquid were spreading over their pristine white shirts, beginning to stain.

"Oh, gross!" Bree wailed, leaping back. "My makeup is ruined!"

"Ugh, my shirt! You, like, totally stained it!" Maya exclaimed, brushing desperately at her uniform. "Like, we're going to get so chewed out by the teachers!"

Bree and Maya tore off, wiping down their shirts as they ran towards the Hotel Ionia, their faces filled with anger.

Blake turned his attention to the third girl, Valerie. Val. She had been too far away from the girls to be splashed, and hadn't run off after her friends.

"Kate…" Val glanced at Kate, and then to Blake. There was a look of apprehension on her face. She took a tentative step forward, but Blake flashed her a warning look that made her flinch.

"I… sorry about those two," Val said. She wasn't looking at Blake, all of her attention was focused on Kate. "It's not like I want to keep hanging out with them, but…"

Valerie hung her head with shame.

"You're Valerie Chiester, right?" Blake scowled. "Kate told me all about you."

Val winced. A look of guilt clouded her eyes.

"…I see. Then you know how I betrayed her," Val said, frowning. "I betrayed someone who thought of me as a friend, all for my own self-interest. And even when I see her again, I just hang back and don't stick my neck out. I'm a horrible person, I know."

Shaken from her haze by the presence of her former friend, and the absence of her former bullies, Kate was free to look at Val for the first time, a wary look on her tired face.

"Val…"

"You know, Kate, you're lucky you got out," Val said, smiling a little. "When you stopped coming to class, I felt awful. I regretted everything that I did, hurting you like that."

She turned and looked at Blake for the first time.

"That's why I'm glad that you found someone who cares about you so much," Val smiled. "I'm happy. You have a boyfriend who clearly loves you. Someone who won't betray you. And not… someone like me."

Kate and Blake glanced at each other. He wasn't her boyfriend, he had just pretended to be in order to shut those bitches up. Now it seemed they were stuck with it.

"Y-yes, that's right," Kate said, laughing nervously, her face flushing. "Blake is my… boyfriend, yeah."

Val nodded, smiling slightly.

"It's good that you're doing well," Val replied. "Maybe this was a miracle of some sort… though I guess you won't see it that way, running into those two again. …And me… But still, to see that you're doing alright, Kate… that's good."

Val shifted her weight from foot to foot.

"Um, look… I know it's… too late. After… after what I did, after the stuff they forced me to…"

Val shook her head, and started over.

"No, um… that's an excuse."

"No, no, it's okay," Kate said, rising up and shaking her head. "I know those guys threatened you, right? You didn't have a choice."

"I could have stuck with you," Val replied, her voice tinged with bitterness. "But I let you suffer to protect myself. What sort of horrible friend does something like that?"

Kate frowned. She wasn't really sure what to say. It seemed that Val was really blaming herself over what had happened.

Even though Kate did feel betrayed by what her former friend had done, she knew that the one at fault had been those girls, and the other bullies who had forced Val into a dilemma. It had hurt, and she had hated Val for quite some time. But it looked like Val had also suffered for her choice as well. And while Kate had managed to get away, Val was still around those girls. Was she their new toy?

"Um, look. It's not… I know that I don't have a right to apologize for what I did, so I won't," Val said, shaking her head. "I… I'm just happy that you're happy. Um… I'm glad to see you again, Kate, even… even if it had to be like this."

Seeing that pained expression on her face made a wave of nostalgia roil up in her gut. She missed Valerie. She'd missed her a lot. Once upon a time, the girl had been her closest… no, her only friend. And it wasn't just the betrayal that stung. It was the fact that she had lost the only person who supported her.

"Um, I know… it's not okay to ask this, but, um… Our class, well, my class… we came to Circhester for a field trip," Val explained. "We… we're staying at the Hotel Ionia, so, um…"

Val looked awkwardly down at her shoes. Blake and Kate held their tongues, not wanting to bring up that they were likewise staying at the hotel on a field trip with students from their school.

"I… I really want to make things up with you," Val said, glancing at Blake, and then at Kate. "I… I know we can't really be friends again… you wouldn't want to be friends with a coward like me, not when you have someone so amazing in your life… but, I mean…"

Val swallowed, her golden eyes shining hopefully.

"Maybe, um, we can get dinner?"

Kate blinked. That was certainly a surprise.

"I mean… we have activities right now, so we have to get back," Val hastily replied. "S-so, maybe tonight?"

"We can't," Kate said, shaking her head. "We, um… we already have plans." Professor Reinhart had arranged for them to eat in the Hotel Ionia's dining hall for their first dinner together in the Galar Region, and attendance was mandatory.

"Oh…" Val said, her face falling. "Sorry, of course, I was stupid for asking. I just… I wanted to catch up, to maybe… go back to before, for just a little. But you wouldn't want to do something like that, of course, it was a stupid thought…"

"No, no, really, we have plans," Kate insisted. "Um, listen. We're leaving tomorrow night close to midnight. But, um, if you wanted… we could meet up together before then? Come and get dinner here, maybe? Just the two of us?"

Val's eyes widened, and Blake's did, as well. He had expected for Kate to want nothing to do with this girl. But that hopeful look in her eye…

It seems that she wants to believe in her friend. Blake knew this could very easily end in her getting hurt again, even though Valerie seemed like she honestly wanted to be friends with Kate, or at least make amends with her, Blake was not so trusting a person.

But then, I don't really know much about this girl at all, Blake admitted to himself. Kate was the one who was friends with her. It wasn't really his place to say anything.

"Um, I… I would love that," Val glanced at Blake warily, noting the concern on his face. "Um, if you want, it doesn't have to be the two of us, you know. If your boyfriend wants to come, then that's fine, too."

Kate glanced at Blake, and then back at Val.

"Are… are you sure? That won't make you uncomfortable, spending time with a guy you barely know?"

Val smiled at him. "He's your boyfriend, right?"

Wrong.

"So it's fine. I… I want to meet the guy who knows how good of a person you are."

Kate smiled softly, her cheeks turning pink. She nodded. He wasn't her boyfriend, but she definitely trusted him. He knew who she was. Having him around… would that make things better?

She'd have to keep pretending he was her boyfriend, but that was fine, right?

"So… tomorrow night, at 7?" Val asked, her eyes shining hopefully. "You're both coming, right?"

Kate swallowed. She was anxious about being around Val again. A small pit in her stomach told her that she was being put up to this by Bree and Maya and the other girls, and she was going to be betrayed again. But Val had been her best friend, once. And she wanted to have faith in the kind Valerie Chiester that she remembered. And Blake would be there, he'd stand up for her if it was an ambush of some kind.

Kate glanced at Blake. Would… would he be willing to-

"Absolutely!" Blake smiled, draping an arm around Kate's shoulder. Kate's face turned crimson and she froze in place, trembling in embarrassment.

He's touching meee!

Blake was holding her, his arm around her shoulder like a boyfriend's would be! Kyaaaah!

"Good…" Val smiled softly, nodding her head. She blushed a little, as well. She glanced between Blake's smiling face and Kate's embarrassed one, and smiled a little more. Clearly she liked what she saw.

"I'm really glad I ran into you," Val giggled. She walked back to the hotel, peaking over her shoulder and smiling. Kate smiled after her and gave a little wave. Her heart leaped from her chest when she was the girl give a soft wave back.

Kate went through some difficult stuff. But it looks like there was a happy outcome after all!

Plus, we get to see Blake and Kate forced to pretend like they're dating. That's gonna be great.