Time for another breather before the final match of the tournament! It's been quite a long time, I think this is my longest arc yet! But it's finally coming to a close. And not only that, but it's brought with it something very exciting, we've made it to 2000 reviews! Now THAT'S something to be excited for! Thanks for your feedback, everyone, let's keep going strong! I'm going to keep going!

KedharS: Thankfully everyone seems to be in relatively passable shape.

Aquahaze675: Things are shaping up real well. This battle is sure to be an intense one!

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: That is definitely an accurate statement.

MikySP: Not really prizes, just fortune and glory, kid, fortune and glory.

Thunder Fire: Hint: What's special about the pokemon is not the species of pokemon.

MissBullet: Yeah, we've been building up to this one for a while. A lot of things are coming to a head here. Cynthia and Blake get their rematch, Blake and Elaina have their last fight as a team, Caelia fights Blake, whatever the Phantom is planning, Elaina's difficulties with harmonia, it's all coming to a head right here.

Hellraiserphoenix: We may see all of Maddi's teams, though I'm not sure if we'll get to see them all in action.

JoshGamerV: Then I've done my job properly.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 393

Elaina still felt dizzy, and her head was throbbing with pain. She held up her pokeball, and recalled her Aerodactyl. That caused the pressure on her head to lessen slightly, and she sighed, her body slumping over.

"Elaina, are you okay?" Blake whispered. Even now, there were still people that were booing her.

"…Fine," Elaina coldly replied. "One battle left."

Elaina turned and walked off the battlefield towards the pokemon center. Blake wasn't about to leave her behind, though. He chased after her, walking at her side.

"I saw that you were trying to control yourself in that battle just now," Blake said. "You didn't use your full strength at times."

"I sent her flying," Elaina snapped.

"It was an accident," Blake reminded her.

"You think that matters to her?" She snidely remarked. "Or to all of them?"

"Why don't you ask Kitty how she feels about it?" Blake asked. Elaina scowled at him.

"Pointless."

"You know that she won't hold it against you at all, don't you?" Blake asked. "But you're too scared to take that chance, so you're keeping your mouth shut, aren't you?"

"Shut up!" Elaina snapped. "You don't know anything!"

"I know that Kitty doesn't care that you gave her a few scrapes and bruises," Blake said. "You're afraid of people hating you for hurting them, but you won't accept that some people won't hate you. At all. They understand and accept that side of you."

"No one does that!" Elaina hissed.

"I will," Blake said.

Elaina stopped walking and turned to look at him, peering at him from behind her mask. Blake paused, and the two stood in the snow, not saying anything.

"You won't," she whispered.

"I will," Blake insisted. He reached out and grabbed her hand. "I don't even care if you go easy on me. I'll take anything you have to offer, and it won't make me give up on you."

"You're just saying that!" Elaina exclaimed, shaking her hand free from him. She pushed him out of the way and stormed towards the pokemon center. "You don't understand anything!" She shouted over her shoulder.

"Elaina!" Blake cried, chasing after her. "I'm promising you, even if you hurt me, that won't make me lose my faith in you, because I know that you wouldn't mean it! Can't you believe that?"

"I'll believe it when I see it!" Elaina growled. She began walking faster.

Blake reached out to her, but his hand dropped when he felt a curtain of wind blow snow in his face. Right now, Elaina clearly didn't want anything to do with him. He wiped off the snow, spitting it out of his mouth, when he heard a familiar laugh that sent a flutter through his heart.

"That's what you get for chasing after another girl when you're already seeing someone else."

Blake smiled, turning to see Ayame standing behind him, holding his Skoruki in her arms and wearing a coy grin on her face. She stomped through the snow up beside him, shifting Skorupi to one arm and punching Blake lightly in the shoulder with the other. Once that little nicety had passed, her expression turned serious again, much to Blake's disappointment.

"So how is she?" Ayame asked, turning to watch Elaina's back as she departed.

"I think I'm getting through to her," Blake sighed. "But she's really got heavy walls up. Every time I think I'm getting somewhere, it's like she puts up another barrier to keep me from going further."

"Yet it seems like you're giving her a lot more consideration than you gave me," Ayame snidely remated as the two walked towards the pokemon center. "Every time I tried to put up a wall you'd just thoughtlessly smash it down in spite of my words."

"Thoughtlessly? Not at all," Blake chuckled. "In fact, I put a great deal of thought into my words. 'What can I say that will get through to her best and make her open up to me' that was a question I asked myself quite a lot when considering what to say to you in the beginning. I'd say the results were definitely worthwhile."

Ayame's face turned hot and she lightly punched him in the arm again.

"…Still, it feels like you're focusing a lot on her," Ayame said. "You must be worried."

"Are you jealous?" Blake asked. "I love when you get jealous."

"I want to scream 'stop paying attention to her, dote on me a bunch' at the top of my lungs," Ayame admitted. "But I'm not that selfish a girl. Even I can see how much you care about that girl's wellbeing, and it's clear she needs your help."

Blake glanced at the wistful look on Ayame's face. He knew that even though she put on a tough exterior, she probably was more than a little bothered by things.

"You know, I don't think I've ever told you that when you blush it goes all the way to your ears," Blake said. "It's one of the most adorable parts of teasing you, they get all red and twitch frantically when you're flustered."

"They-they do not!" Ayame exclaimed. She reached up, but then realized she couldn't cover her ears and hold her boyfriend's Skorupi at the same time.

"They're doing it right now."

"That's not fair! I can't cover them while I'm holding him!" Ayame wailed, holding the Skorupi in front of her face as a makeshift shield.

"Well, you two look like you're having fun."

Blake and Ayame turned to see Nikita and Kitty walking down the path to them. Of course, they had to heal their pokemon up, too.

"Kitty!" Ayame gasped, lowering Blake's Skorupi and staring wide-eyed at the short girl. "Are… are you okay? That was a bad fall you had…!"

"Okay…? …Oh! You mean this!" Kitty glanced at her scraped up arm and leg. She waved her arm to show that it wasn't having a problem. "Don't worry! It's totally fine! It hurts a little, but-"

"Nonsense, we're going to the infirmary, right fucking now," Ayame snarled. She loomed over Kitty, glaring down at her.

"…Meep." Kitty's face went pale.

Ayame handed Blake his Skorupi back, leaned down, and wrapped her arms around Kitty's back and legs. She hoisted the small girl up into a princess carry.

Blood trickled out of Kitty's nose as she looked up at Ayame, her heart skipping a beat at the handsome girl's gallant figure as she carried her. Kitty turned bright red and shook her head frantically. No, no, she's Blake's girlfriend and… and I have Julia, anyway! Kitty peeked out through her fingers. But… I suppose it's okay if I just enjoy this for a little, right?

"You're lucky you have such a caring girlfriend," Nikita chuckled.

"I just wish she would dote on me like that sometimes," Blake sighed. Nikita patted him on the back, shaking her head.

"Well, maybe when you get in an accident she will."

"Let's not wish that on me, thanks," Blake said, holding his Skorupi a little tighter. He glanced down at the pokemon. His Skorupi was wrapped in a warm thermal blanket, looking back at Blake with those large, sharp blue eyes of his. Blake sighed. He hadn't spent as much time with the little guy as he would have liked. Honestly, Ayame had spent more time looking after him than Blake had. And she'd be looking after him for a little longer, at that, because Blake's day wasn't done. He still had to fight in the finals, after all.

I just hope my pokemon will be up for it… he thought, heading off towards the pokemon center down the road.

"Well, what's with that gloomy look?" Nikita tagged along with him, giving him a teasing smile.

"I liked you better when you were shy," Blake replied.

"Come on, I can always tease my friends, right?" Nikita asked, elbowing him in the side. "You seem kinda worried. Nervous about the upcoming match?"

Blake nodded, sighing.

"Makes sense," Nikita said. "Your pokemon could use a good rest. And even if Cynthia is your opponent, and you know her pretty well, Caelia's going to be a challenge too, especially because Weiss isn't a very good opponent against her…"

"It's not that," Blake said.

"It's Elaina, right?"

Blake twitched.

"…That obvious?"

"Well, it would be weird if you weren't worried," Nikita said. "I fought on Kitty's team for the last two weeks, so I know a thing or two about seeing someone lose control of their harmonia and feeling helpless to get through to them. So I know you're kind of putting yourself in a tough spot. With that being said…"

Nikita reached over and flicked Blake on the forehead.

"Don't you think you're being a little inconsiderate?"

"Inconsiderate? Of Elaina?" Blake asked. "But even if she wants to be left alone-"

"Not Elaina," Nikita said, shaking her head. "I meant you're being inconsiderate of Ayame."

Blake glanced away He couldn't exactly deny that.

"How do you think she feels, seeing you spending so much time with other girls? I tell you, no way she was happy that you abandoned her to go help Kitty, even though it was the right thing to do," Nikita huffed.

"That couldn't be helped!" Blake protested. "She's working with the Empress, there's no way that Maddi was going to let her walk into the Commander's base!"

"Yeah, I know, but that isn't the point," Nikita replied. "And I know, I know you had to do it for Kitty's sake. And it's not really my place to get in the way of your relationship. I just…"

A sad look crossed Nikita's face.

"When I thought about Reiner and that Rui girl who was hitting on him… it stung. So I think Ayame… maybe she's feeling the same."

Blake imagined Ayame wearing the same look on her face as Nikita was, and that thought made his heart sting.

"Aya… she's put up with so much from me," Blake said. "Even before we were going out, the amount of shit I put her through… it really isn't fair to her. Honestly, right now… I wish I could just give her all the time in the world. I could spend all day watching that smiling face of hers. But as much as I wish I could devote all my time to her… some things are more important than what I personally wish. If I abandoned someone in need to spend time with Aya… then I wouldn't ever forgive myself. And I know damn well that she wouldn't, either."

"She'd probably beat you up a few times, to pound some sense into you," Nikita agreed. She smirked, glancing slyly his way. "So… 'Aya' huh?"

"Err… did I say-?"

"Oh, yeah you did," Nikita grinned. "Aya… how adorable. Maybe you haven't been taking her for granted after all?"

"When did you become this mischievous?" Blake scowled. She was nothing like her diligent self in class, except for her determination.

…Well, both versions were annoying, but he wasn't about to say that.

"Maybe Cynthia's rubbing off on me?" Nikita shrugged.

"Shouldn't you be teasing your boyfriend?"

A wicked smile crossed her face.

"Heh…"

Condolences, Reiner, Blake thought.

"Like I said, it's not my place to tell you how to handle your relationship," Nikita returned to their topic of conversation, her expression turning serious. "But I bet Ayame really wants you to treasure her, you know. So maybe don't spend too much time with Elaina? At least not more than you need. There's a party tonight, after all."

Blake reached into his pocket, feeling the ribbon that sat there. Since Ayame had given it to him, he hadn't been without it.

"I do cherish her."

"I know, but show her," Nikita insisted.

"Why are you my relationship counselor all of a sudden?" Blake dryly asked.

"Because Cynthia wants to bang you, Nick and Callie are so lovey-dovey their advice isn't applicable for normies, Julia has the relationship awareness of a brick, Reiner can't be bothered to help, Kitty is way too shy and nervous to have any helpful advice, and Sango, well…"

Nikita sighed.

"Sango isn't a good choice for… multiple reasons. So you're stuck with me!"

A smile crossed her face.

"So I hear you two are going to her house over the break?"

"…Yeah, why do you ask?" Blake asked, raising his eyebrow. That question was a little too "Cynthia" for his tastes.

"I was just thinking, well… maybe over break, the two of you could… I don't know… do something?" Nikita gave him a coy smile. "Maybe… something to show her how you feel? That she's really number one? It's Christmas, after all."

Blake's face turned bright red.

"That-! That's-!" Blake sputtered, seeing a miniature Olivia sitting on Nikita's shoulder. He desperately changed the subject. "Well, what about you? Are you and Reiner going to be doing anything over the break?"

"…Urk!" Nikita flinched. She swallowed, looking away.

"Not so fun to be on the other side of things, huh?"

"Sh-shut up!" Nikita exclaimed. "R-Reiner and I, we-we're taking things slow! We're not doing any… any of 'those' things!"

And like that, teasing Nikita was replaced with the shy Nikita he remembered well.

"What things are those, again?" Blake asked. Nikita's mouth kept moving, but her voice had died off in her throat, much to Blake's amusement.

The two flustered students decided to let the conversation end there, heading into the pokemon center to heal their pokemon up.

Meanwhile, back at the battlefield, a one-hour break had been called for everyone to stretch their legs and to allow pokemon to recover. It was late in the afternoon, and the sun was starting to set already.

"Oh man, I can't wait!" The Commander, Alden Volt, had his own private box that he shared with the other members of his inner circle. Maddi was the girl of the hour, even though she had lost, getting the enviable position of sitting next to the Commander, a privilege shared only by Vic. "My Sense is going off the charts, this is going to be a great battle!"

Maddi still wasn't 100% on what the Commander meant when he talked about "Sense". She felt this was a shared experience. Vic, of course, ate it up with a big spoon, but the others…

Maddi glanced at Tommy, who seemed just as interested as the Commander. Battle maniac that he was, he was even more invested than Vic, who was watching diligently out of respect for the Commander, but not interested in it personally. Ross was likewise watching with the same placid smile spread over his pale face, unreadable as always.

As for the others, well… Maddi wasn't exactly known for being sociable. She didn't have the greatest relationships with her peers, and didn't really mind, either. Keya, a short boy with dark skin seemed very interested in the finals, fidgeting excitedly in his seat, while the dark-haired Mason had his nose buried in a book as usual, clearly not the least bit interested in what was happening. Then there was Maddi. Maddi couldn't say she WASN'T interested in what was coming, but, well…

A glance at the Commander assured her there was no way she could be that passionate about it.

"So what about you, Maddi?" The Commander asked, turning to her. "Are you excited? Cynthia got into the finals! And not only that, she's facing off against that harmonia user, and also that guy, Blake Harker? What do you think? These battles have been positively electric, my Sense is going wild! Same with you?"

"…Yeah, sure," Maddi said, not really sure how she was supposed to answer that question.

"Well, it's a tag battle, so you must be excited, right Vic?" The Commander turned to Vic, who gave him an even look that was almost a smile, nodding her head courteously.

"It's certainly a match worth getting excited about," Vic replied, Maddi noticing how tactfully she avoided mentioning whether or not she, personally, was excited about it.

"I know, right?" The Commander laughed. "This is going to be a blast! The final match of the semester, heck, the year, is always one to get my Battler's Sense going to the max!"

Maddi sighed. It was going to be another hour of this, wasn't it? And then it would get even worse when the match actually started. At the moment, her only comfort was Grim, the Duskull calmly sitting in her lap as she waited for things to finally get started.

"Finally back, huh?" Reiner asked, glancing up at Nikita. She had entered the sectioned-off area that Olivia had arranged, walking to the front row where her friends were.

"Just busy talking with Blake," Nikita said, taking the seat next to her boyfriend. She flashed him a smile and held up Blake's Skorupi for Reiner to see. "Jealous?"

"Not a bit," Reiner assured her. She frowned slightly. "So where's Kitty?"

"Ayame took her to the infirmary," Nikita said. She glanced past Reiner at Julia. "Julia…"

"I'm worried," Julia admitted. The tension on her face was clear. But she didn't get out of her seat, even as she squeezed the traveling sphere for Kitty's Clamperl. She glanced to Nikita, forcing a smile onto her nervous face. "But even if I'm worried… I'm going to believe that Kitty's okay."

"Well, actually she's-"

"Perfectly fine," Kitty interrupted her tag partner, walking past her and plopping down next to Julia, her arms crossed over her chest. Julia noticed the bandages wrapped around her left arm and left leg.

"They were just some cuts and bruises," Kitty huffed. "I didn't need to be carried all the way to the infirmary."

"What if you'd broken bones?" Ayame asked, sitting back down between Olivia and Sango. "It was important to make sure you didn't get injured."

Kitty didn't really have a good response to that. Instead, she took Pearl back from Julia and curled up in her seat, holding the ball of water to her chest as she pouted.

Julia reached over and patted Kitty on the head.

"You did really good, I thought," Julia said. Kitty glanced up at her and gave her a soft smile, her cheeks flushing.

"Th-thanks," she murmured, fidgeting in her seat.

"Ayame," Nikita said, getting out of her seat and walking over to Ayame. "Blake wanted me to give you this little guy to look after."

"Oh? Thanks," Ayame said, taking the Skorupi from her.

"He also wanted to tell you that he's really looking forward to the break," Nikita said. "I hope you two have fun!"

Ayame blinked, a little surprised. Her face softened into a lovestruck smile, her cheeks flushing. She nodded in agreement. "…Yeah."

"Alright, everyone!" Lila and Darla stepped out onto the battlefield again, mics in hand.

"Did you guys have a good intermission?" Lila asked.

"It's getting real late," Darla said, glancing at the setting sun. "We'd better get things started!"

"Oh, no!" Lila gasped. "The sun's setting! Darla, did we take too long?"

"Not at all, Lila!" Darla laughed. She held up a remote, pressing a button, and the battlefield was illuminated with floodlights from the Meloetta Ballroom, the bleachers' floorlights shining as well. The outside battlefield was now fully lit in defiance of the approaching night.

"The stage is set!" Lila cheered.

"And you know what that means," Darla added.

"The final round is about to begin!" Both girls announced.

The finals will begin next chapter! What surprises are in store? We'll have to find out!