Galar has been very rough on our characters. And now it's come to an end. For better or worse, we're returning to the Pokemon Academy with this chapter, but will that mean that Blake is back to normal? I imagine that some hardships are not easily forgotten.

We've got a decent amount of votes in the Pokemon Academy Best Girl Semi-Finals! The current lead runners in the polls may surprise you! The shakeup really makes me realize how a girl may be in many people's top 5, but not necessarily in their top 3. So I'm certainly feeling more than a little surprised Looks like the girl I'm pulling for isn't going to win, but that's fine. They're all wonderful girls! If you want your best girls to make it to the final round and beyond, then make sure to get your votes in! You have 3 votes, make them count!

Semi-Finalists: Cynthia, Ayame, Sango, Kate, Marion, Alcea

Badoobadoop: "A little" traumatized.

Aquahaze675: Yeah, I don't think Blake's gonna be in such a great place.

PikachuKetchup12: Yes. Gwen has an affinity for psychic types. Because unlike people, they can read minds, meaning they can understand someone who can't communicate with others properly.

Tambry96bj: Yeah, I don't think Val will be too please.

Thunder Fire: It's always nice to get those small victories over her.

Mercury – mercuraneous: Not really an arc, but definitely.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 277

It had been two days since the incident at the mural on Stow-on-Side, and everyone had been aware of what had happened, including Professor Reinhart. It was hard to hide, what with the large group of rangers going around, and the injuries of Sango and Blake.

"So you're okay?"

Sango was walking with Elizabeth and Uboss through the town of Stow-on-Side. She'd stayed at their clinic for a little while, which was only about the size of a pokemon center. Silver was floating alongside her, relieved that his partner was doing alright.

"I'm fine, don't worry," Sango reassured Elizabeth. "The doctors said they were only light fractures. I just need to take some painkillers and keep from doing anything strenuous, and I'll be good in about a month. It could be worse, a friend of mine had her chest nearly caved in on Mt. Chimney last month, and she's still not in great shape."

"I swear, I'm going to have a talk with that school of yours," Uboss grumbled. "Allowing their students to get involved in something so-"

"Dad, it's fine," Sango said, shaking her head. "We were the ones who got ourselves into that mess in the first place. We were the ones who snuck up there, the professor would never have let us go off on our own, you know that."

"That doesn't make me happier," Uboss replied. "Sango, you, of all people, should have known better, I don't want you doing something like that again, okay?"

Uboss reached into his pocket and took out a stone, the dark purplish-red Oracle from within the ruins. He had wrapped it in cloth so no one would be able to tell.

"At the very least, it's a good thing that friend of yours managed to keep the Oracle safe," Uboss said. "I'll deliver it to Professor Reinhart once we're finished studying it."

"Are… are you sure that's a good idea?" Sango asked. She remembered what Petal had said about not trusting the professor. "What if he's… I don't know, working with them?"

Uboss shook his head, and reached out to ruffle Sango's hair.

"The professor is a good man," he reassured her. "I understand you're being cautious, but don't worry. He wouldn't work with people like that."

"Besides, he was the one who came to me in the first place to get me to open that door," Elizabeth reminded Sango. "Now, why would he do that if he was working with those folks?"

Sango nodded. That made sense. At the very least, it meant that she could relax a little around the professor, now that she knew he wasn't secretly in collusion with terrorists. Or at the very least, not these terrorists.

"Oh, and speaking of that friend of yours, how's he doing?" Elizabeth giggled, smiling at Sango. "I'm sure you're worried about him. He is the boy you like after all!"

"El-Elizabeth!" Sango gasped, her face turning pink. Silver giggled at his partner's embarrassment as well, joining the doctor in her teasing.

"What's this now?" Uboss scowled. Clearly he did not join in the joke. "Don't you think you're a little young to be dating?"

"Don't you think you're a little old?" Sango pointedly shot back, raising her eyebrow.

"Now, now, I think it's sweet," Elizabeth said, stepping between the two and placing a hand on each of their shoulders. "Now, Sango, don't you think you should tell your father the truth?"

Sango sighed, and looked down at the sandy road they were strolling down.

"She's right, dad. I do… I do like Blake."

She was smiling as she said this, but both the adults could hear the sadness in her voice. And the look in her eyes…

"But… I'm not the person he loves."

"What do you mean?" Elizabeth asked.

Sango turned her head up to look at the two. There were tears in her eyes.

"There's someone else that he's thinking of right now."

Sango didn't explain things any further. She and Blake had spent the night in the same room in the clinic, after the incident had occurred. But while she had been awake for periods of time, Blake had slept the whole time. And he spoke in his sleep. So Sango knew. She wasn't the one in his heart. And she would be fine with that. Eventually.

This trip, she had planned to confess her feelings to Blake. Not only would that be callous and out of place to do now, she had once again reaffirmed it would be pointless. So she would put her feelings aside, and give him a smile.

"Oh, sweetie…" Elizabeth draped her arm over Sango's shoulders, Sango tilting her head to the side and resting against her.

"I'm fine," Sango lied. "But he's still asleep, even though it's been two days. I'm more worried about him than I am sad for myself."

"He's sedated?" Uboss asked. "Are his injuries that bad?"

Sango shook her head.

"His hands only have some small lacerations on them, it isn't as bad as I thought it was. And he doesn't even have whiplash from the fall. As for his throat… I guess he irritated it, but the doctor said he didn't cause any serious damage."

Sango sighed.

"But he won't wake up. They don't know why. I guess… I guess he's just so exhausted."

"But aren't you all leaving tonight?" Elizabeth asked. "Is he going to be okay?"

Sango frowned. Due to the events that had transpired, the field trip expedition had been cut short. After the students were questioned by the rangers, it became clear that they would not be able to continue the expedition as it was. So the professor had arranged for them to call a quick end, and fly them back to the Pokemon Academy. Sango wasn't happy. They hadn't even been there a week. But there wasn't anything she could do about it. They were flying back tonight, but Blake… would he be ready?

"I guess we'll see," Sango sighed. She looked up at the overhead sun. Blake… I hope you're okay.

Blake was still asleep in the bed at the clinic. The doctors weren't certain if he was in a coma or not. He had moments of waking, but they were very brief. It seemed that he was just drained of energy, and needed to sleep.

"So you are back," Ryoko murmured. Blake found himself in the white room once more. But this time, the room was no longer white. There were red stains splattered across the pristine walls and floor, as though Blake had entered the scene of a gruesome slaughter. In a way, that wasn't too far off.

"You knew," Blake accused, glaring at the girl standing in front of him. But even he knew this was a worthless charge. She knew? Knew what? She was just a construct of his mind, not someone with her own will. She didn't "know" anything that he didn't. Accusing her was just pointing a finger at himself, that he had known the whole time.

But still, he wanted to be mad at someone, even if it wasn't real.

"If I knew it is only because you yourself knew, deep down inside," Ryoko reminded him. Blake knew this, of course. "So now that you know, what path will you take? You cannot hide from the truth any longer."

"I know that," Blake sighed. "It's clear now. It took losing what I had been chasing to realize everything. But now… there's no point anymore."

"Why is that so?" Ryoko asked.

"Because there isn't any hope on the path I've chosen," Blake replied. "I thought you would understand that there isn't anything I can do. There's no point anymore."

"And yet I am here," Ryoko replied. "So clearly some part of you believes that there is hope after all."

Blake's eyes snapped open and he sat up in bed.

What the… what? Blake rubbed his eyes, noticing that they were wrapped in bandages. As he turned his hands over, he remembered what had happened.

So Gwen… really is gone…

"Ah, you're awake."

Blake raised his head to see a doctor walk into the room, clipboard in hand. He took a look at Blake, a concerned frown crossing his face. The boy was sitting up, but his eyes were so vacant, it looked like he might possibly be sleepwalking.

"…You are awake, yes?"

"I am," Blake nodded.

"Good. Now, your condition is quite good. How does your throat feel?"

"Fine."

"And your hands? Do they hurt?"

Blake shook his head.

"I've had worse…" he murmured.

"Good. It seems that your body was recuperating to get your strength back. Did you know you were out for two full days?"

Blake shook his head again.

"I was surprised by the amount of scar tissue on your body. Thankfully, your back is in good shape, now, onto the subject of recovery…"

Blake zoned out at this point. He didn't really care anymore.

"What about my pokemon?" He interrupted the doctor.

"Oh! Yes, they're fine."

"I see… that's good…" Blake was happy about that. But it wasn't moving to him the way it should. He was happy… but for some reason he didn't really FEEL happy.

He just felt… numb.

"You're in luck, I think we can give you a clean bill of health," the doctor finished. "Go speak at the front desk, and we'll get you on your way back, sound good?"

Blake didn't really care that much, honestly. The doctor had mentioned something about going home. Apparently, the field trip had been called early, and the students were heading back to the Pokemon Academy tonight. Blake nodded his head at that, it didn't really matter either way. What was even the point anymore?

"I can't believe we have to leave!" Nikita complained. She was packing her suitcase with a scowl. All of Group 3 was in the tent doing the same, save Blake. "It's not fair, just because of those stupid terrorists!"

"Just be glad we aren't getting in trouble," Kate said. "We might have gotten expelled if things had gone badly."

"I guess…" Nikita nodded.

"What's up with school trips at this place, anyway?" Reiner complained. "Every time we have to call it early due to some terrorist thing."

"Yeah, same with my probationary exam," Sango added. She wasn't packing up her stuff, since it was all back in her tent, instead just hanging out with the others.

"I'm just glad we're all okay," Sango continued. "That could have gotten really bad. Luckily, my injuries were the worst."

That wasn't quite true. Sango knew full well that compared to Blake, her injuries were nothing at all.

"What about Blake?" Kate asked quietly. It had been the elephant in the room for the last two days. "Is he coming…? Is he… okay?"

Sango opened her mouth to answer, but the answer made itself known.

Blake pulled the flap of the tent open, and stepped inside.

"Blake! Are you okay?!" Kate gasped, dropping her bag and running over to him.

"…Fine," Blake murmured, nodding his head. Kate paused. He clearly wasn't fine.

"Are you sure? You don't look good, dude," Reiner said, also seeing that Blake wasn't in the best condition. Sango had filled them in on what had happened. They all knew about Blake's sister. So Reiner didn't believe Blake for a moment when he said he was fine. He looked so… hollow.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about it," Blake walked past Kate and over to his cot, doing what little packing he had left to do. Kate looked after him. She was worrying about it. His face was so dull, like he had just given up. She wanted to cry seeing him look so devoid of life like that.

"Blake, we're just-"

"Kate."

Sango put her hand on Kate's arm. The girl looked back at her in confusion. But she could see it. Sango… Sango wasn't feeling any better about this, either. Kate could see her own pain reflected on the younger student's face. They both wanted to help Blake.

"Blake," Sango said, turning her attention to her despairing friend. "You don't have to pretend that you're doing okay."

Blake glanced up at her. The muddiness in his brown eyes was painful for her to see. She wanted to help him. But she knew that she couldn't.

"We know that you're hurting," Sango continued. "And everyone in this room wants to help you, however we can. But at the same time…"

She took a deep breath. The next words were hard to say, but she needed to let him know that she was there for him.

"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it. It's okay if you don't think you need or want our help, but we're all here for you. Whatever you need, Blake. Even if that's just to give you time and space, so that you can deal with this on your own."

Kate shot Sango a look. She didn't agree with that. Blake didn't need time or space. He needed friends he could lean on! They should be comforting him, not leaving him alone!

"Thanks, Sango," Blake murmured, nodding appreciatively at her. But his voice sounded so… empty. "That means a lot."

Kate sighed, and nodded her head. She wanted to help Blake. But she didn't know how.

"Are you all done packing?" Lana peaked her head into the tent. "We're leaving soon."

She noticed that Blake was there, and raised her eyebrow in surprise.

"Oh. So you're here."

"Mhmm."

"Well, the plane just landed. Luckily we're in a desert, so there was plenty of flat ground. Get your stuff together, everyone. We're heading home."

Lana eyed Blake as he and the rest of his group headed out. Something was different. She'd heard that he was involved in the events that had occurred several nights prior, and clearly something had happened. She'd asked the other students in Blake's group, but they had kept quiet about the whole thing. It was such an irritation. How was she supposed to uncover the truth if they were all keeping it from her?

Indeed, the school's private plane had landed outside the town, in the flatlands. It was late, practically morning. The students walked towards the aircraft, all exhausted and more than a few disappointed they had to leave so soon. Sonia, Elizabeth, and Uboss were there to see them off as Professor Reinhart ushered the students inside.

"Sorry about everything that happened," Sonia apologized. "We really wanted to make this trip special for you kids, I'm so sorry it had to end this way."

She looked contritely at the kids. This had been such a fun time, and it had ended so poorly. She felt like a complete failure of a professor.

"It's fine," Nikita reassured her. "Thank you for having us. Although I won't be in your field, you're still a good inspiration for being a Pokemon Professor, I really learned a lot while I was here."

Nikita smiled at Sonia, her face bright. Sonia's eyes widened.

"Thank you for saying that," Sonia smiled, wiping her eyes.

"Are you going to be a good girl at school?" Elizabeth asked Sango.

"I'm a high schooler, don't treat me like a kid," Sango huffed indignantly.

"Make sure you write, okay?" Elizabeth reminded her. She wrote down her mailing address on a slip of paper and handed it to Sango. "Your father and I would love to hear from you."

Sango took the paper and looked at it, blushing a little.

"M-maybe, who knows?" Sango turned her nose up and rushed towards the plane, Silver following after her.

"Take care of Sango, Silver!" Elizabeth called after the Castform. She reached out and grabbed Kate as the girl walked by.

"O-oh," Kate said, turning back to Elizabeth. "Doctor Skye-"

"Elizabeth," she corrected her. "You good?"

Kate shook her head. Seeing Blake in his condition was hard.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Elizabeth replied. "Remember, believe in yourself, okay? And make sure to go on the path that's perfect for you. No one else, got it? Just be yourself."

Kate nodded, smiling a little. "I will."

Elizabeth turned to Lana next, but the girl cut her off with a raised hand.

"I don't need it," she replied, walking past her.

"…I see. Well, good luck then," Elizabeth wished her well, waving her off. "And keep trusting your pokemon!"

The students finished getting into the plane, leaving the three adults standing in the sand, watching the plane tax through the desert, framed by the midnight sky.

"Do you think they'll be alright?" Elizabeth asked, glancing up at Uboss.

"They'll do their best," Uboss said, nodding. "But the nerve of that kid, not being interested in my daughter? What, does he not have eyes or something?!"

"Oh, come on now dear," Elizabeth laughed, slapping him on the back. "I think they'll be fine, even that boy Blake."

She took a deep breath of the dry air, the cold desert sending a shiver down her spine. But she didn't mind the cold. She exhaled, the wind blowing around her.

"The wind's with them, after all."

The flight back to the Pokemon Academy wasn't as nice as the one they had coming to Galar in the first place. For one, this was not a first class luxury jet like initially planned. They were using the school's private plane, the one that Sango had used to go to the Pokemon Ranger Probationary Exam. It could only hold 20 people, so it was a tight fit. At least Silver could come this time.

But still. A long flight, THIS long of a flight, in such cramped conditions… it wasn't fun. At all. And it didn't help that Sango and Kate in particular were spending the flight watching Blake, who was apparently sleeping, once again, and still as troubled as he had been.

Kate and Sango looked at each other. They shared the same concern over Blake. And at that glance, they both knew. It went without being said at this point. Their eyes widened, and they gave each other sad smiles.

"You too, huh?"

They commiserated their feelings together.

The students were all groggy when they arrived on campus. It was night when they arrived, late in the evening. And in the week they had been gone, the weather had taken a turn towards winter. The plane landed on the school runway in the midst of a rain storm, which was fortunately light enough to permit their arrival. But one look out the window and you could see waves of water outside.

"Ugh, this is awful," Kate scowled. "Miserable. Sango, can't Silver do anything about-"

"Shh!" Sango held her finger up to Kate, shushing her. She was cradling a sleeping Silver in her arms, the pokemon having shifted into his rain form while he napped. Kate sighed.

"Well, sorry everyone, looks like we've got some bad weather out there," Professor Reinhart said, rising to his feet and opening the door, rain already heading inside. "We'll make our way to the waiting area, there should be some umbrellas and ponchos. Sorry if you don't want to get your luggage wet, but we can't just leave it on the plane."

The professor headed down the plane's stairs, gesturing towards the building at the end of the runway. The other students began to head down after him. Kate and Sango were the last ones to leave, with the exception of Blake. He was just… standing there.

"Blake, you coming?" Reiner asked, sticking his dripping head back inside.

"…Fine…" Blake muttered, rising to his feet. His backpack was abandoned beneath the seat in front of him, but he didn't seem to care. He walked down the aisle, past the two girls, not even sparing them a glance. It was like he couldn't even see where he was going at this point. Sango and Kate shared a glance. He was in even worse shape than he had been.

"Hey, what about your suitcase? And your backpack?" Reiner asked, stopping Blake with a hand on his shoulder.

"…Whatever," he muttered, shaking his friend free and walking past him. "I don't really care about it… it's just clothes."

Blake walked to the exit of the plane, Sango and Kate chasing after him. Reiner grumbled, but being the friend he was, he wasn't going to just let Blake abandon his stuff here to be confiscated. So he grabbed Blake's suitcase out of the overhead bin and followed after them.

Blake wasn't headed to the rest area to get an umbrella, though, or even a poncho. That wasn't something he gave a damn about right now. He was fine with the rain. It was cold and wet, and it pounded down on him with every step he took. It was just the right sort of feeling for the state he was in right now.

"Hey! Blake!" Kate chased after him. "Where are you going?! We need to head inside!"

Blake shook her hand from his arm, not sparing the girl a glance.

"Blake, are you…" Sango caught up to the two of them, looking worriedly at her friend and crush. He was doing a lot worse than she had thought. "What I said yesterday, I was wrong. Even if you don't want us here, you need someone! You can't be alone right now, come on back with us, okay?"

Blake didn't listen. He continued his slow, purposeless walk down the runway, towards the main path back to campus. He wasn't sure where he was going. There wasn't anywhere he really wanted to go. He drowned out his friends' voices, and simply… walked. The girls could have chased him. But they were being called for, and was there even anything they could do for him?

"Just leave me alone," he muttered.

If they continued, they would just be a bother. So even though they both wanted to call out to him, to stop him, they couldn't bring themselves to burden him any further.

"I guess there isn't anything we can do for him right now," Kate sighed.

"Not us, anyway," Sango echoed glumly.

How long had he been walking? Where was he even going? Blake didn't know. Honestly, he couldn't imagine there being anywhere that he wanted to go. Even with the support of the others, it didn't make him feel any better. Blake put the girls, and his other friends, out of his mind. He wanted to be happy that Kate and Sango were there for him, he really did. But his thoughts and feelings were too muddled. He wanted to be alone right now.

Well, no.

He didn't want to be alone. It had taken such an ordeal to finally understand what Alcea had said to him. There was only one person that he wanted to see after what he had been through, but what was even the point? Hoping for a selfish miracle like that wasn't something he had any right to do.

How cruel, a rather fitting end to all this, for someone as miserable as me. If he had any trace of joy left in him right now, he might have laughed at the absurd irony. Things had all been so clear, ever since he woke up. Or maybe even before. If he hadn't been so blind and stubborn, he could have seen the truth for what it was. But his heart was a fickle thing, and what he thought had convinced it thoroughly. And now here he was, all alone.

Blake had feared that Valerie was right about him, about how he was a bad person. He had dragged his friends into his own personal vendetta, and nearly gotten them all killed. And for what? For something that, in the end, was utterly pointless. No matter what he did, Gwen wouldn't change. He could see that now. He'd blindly chased her all the same, unable to realize that for himself. Because he hadn't wanted to realize it. He'd wanted to be the knight in shining armor to save his sister from the wicked terrorists that had brainwashed her and kept her prisoner.

He was quite the fool, to the very end.

A tree root in the path caught him by the foot and he stumbled forward. He didn't even bother trying to break his fall. He hit the dirt hard, lying face-down in the ground. The rain pelted against his back, and he felt the energy sapping from his body as his already-drenched form was soaked even further. He didn't even care at this point. Was there even a point in someone like him standing up? It might be better for everyone if he just laid here forever.

Blake closed his eyes, focusing on the pounding of his heart beating in tune with the rain hitting him. It was peaceful. A peaceful emptiness that engulfed him as he felt himself letting go.

This is fine. It's all I deserve, I guess…

He couldn't imagine going any further at this point. He didn't want to die. He still cared for his pokemon. He still cared about his sister, his brother, his mother, even Richard Harker. He wanted to reassure the friends in his group that he was okay after what had happened. He wanted to see Ayame again, and Claire, and Cynthia, Kitty, Nick, Julia, Alcea, all his important friends that had stood up for him and supported him when he needed them most. He wanted to be okay. He wanted to stand up. But he couldn't bring himself to want it. Right now… the only thing he wanted was-

Splashes in front of him snapped him out of his thoughts, the sound of footsteps walking up in front of him. He was on the ground again, lying in the mud with rain soaking him down to his core.

Blake's eyes opened. Something was weird. Rain wasn't pounding against his back anymore. He could still hear it hitting the grass and feel it on his arms and legs, but it was like something was shielding the rest of him from the downpour. Or someone.

"Blake?"

Blake has been through some hard stuff right now. He really needs someone. But unfortunately, he's rejected everyone around him, pushing them away. Will he be able to find his way back to being the Blake we all remember? Will he find a way to heal his heart?