Instead of beginning the battle between the Commander and Raizer, I thought it might be nice to get a look at the insight of some of our characters, and what might be going on in their heads at such a tense moment, especially after how intense it had gotten in the match between Ian and Gerard. Relaxing time.

Pokemonking0924: Definitely not something to be pleased with, that's for sure.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Yup, sorry, he ended up losing. But losing is just the first step! Where does he go from here, I wonder? As for pairings I don't like, well, I don't really tend to think about those. Why not give me some and I'll tell you if I like them or not?

KedharS: To be fair, Gerard's win was inevitable the instant Iron got trapped and everyone knew it, so really he was just giving Ian the out to keep his pokemon from getting too hurt. Perfectly valid.

Aquahaze675: Interesting, I wouldn't have thought it was something that many people would like.

Guest: Definitely dark, but really highlights the kind of person Gerard is.

JoshGamerV: Gerard and his Diancie really are just that powerful.

Rus0804: People like him remember their successes, not their failures. As for the ships, a little surprised you don't like Ayame with Blake, putting it so low. Rough. Though fans of Sango are always nice. And yes, Will and Misato kissed, as arranged by Sylvia to see what Misato's reaction would be. Results are still waiting to come back. And I think Dakota is slowly getting better. It's a learning process. At the end of the day, though, she's still a pretty rude person. Like Kate, I wouldn't count on her ever really turning over a new leaf and no longer being at least somewhat of a jerk. Not sure what to do about Reiner, tbh.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 563

The sun had set and the stadium was lit by the large spotlights, the tone around the crowd hushed. The end of the last match had left a bitter taste in the mouths of much of the audience, and the tension in the air was thick and weighed heavily over the stadium like a dense fog.

"Poor Ian," Sango murmured.

"That was a dirty trick," Cynthia huffed. "Still, you gotta give him credit, Gerard really did pull it out in the end, that Diancie of his wiped out three of Ian's pokemon in a row, after doing a ton of damage to that Haxorus, too."

"That dirty piece of-!" Kate had to hold her tongue, not wanting to curse Gerard out in Alcea's presence, even though she knew that her idol probably agreed with what she was feeling right now. Kate was feeling unusually toxic at the moment, Ian's pathetic showing in spite of trying his hardest with poison moves just made her want to scream.

"Regrettable, is it?" Alcea murmured. She was doing an admirable job at hiding her discomfort, but not even she could hide the disappointment slipping into her gorgeous features. "Ian certainly did an admirable job, fighting against Gerard with the skill that he did. Truly an excellent showing, is it? Oui, he could not win, but he has nothing to be ashamed of."

Her expression softened and a tone of sorrow slipped into her voice, a rarity of emotion displayed by the normally mature and stoic girl.

"Unfortunately, it does not seem like Ian will accept that, I fear," she sighed. "The way he lost must have been quite disheartening, after all."

"I know how he feels," Ayame grimaced. "I fought Gerard too, and tried my best. But it wasn't enough. Still, my loss against him wasn't nearly as bad as what Gerard did to Ian, bullying him and talking down to him like that, what an ass!"

Kate gasped, her eyes widening, wondering (or more like hoping) whether or not Alcea would chastise Ayame on her language. She gave a disappointed frown when it turned out no, she would not. That was disappointing.

"I would be tempted to agree," Alcea said. Kate's jaw hit the floor and Cynthia began snickering, hearing Alcea agree with Ayame's vulgar exclamation.

"You did your best," Blake said, patting Ayame on the hand. He didn't want her to feel bad, and he also didn't want to admit that he was upset that yet another person had failed to defeat Gerard. Seeing Gerard's attitude and the way he had treated Ian made him loathe the older student even more. It reminded him of how he treated Elaina. Viewing his pokemon as tools, talking down to Ian for thinking he would be able to fight against him as an equal, it was burning him up inside. He so badly wanted someone to tear him down, beat the snot out of him, and at this point it didn't even matter who it was, so long as Gerard lost.

But he was seething with rage and disappointment at the fact that it wasn't going to end up being him. He wanted Gerard to lose, but he knew that he didn't have the skill to pull that off himself. He couldn't defeat the monster that was that Diancie. And even Gerard's normal pokemon, he wasn't sure if his team could face them, not after he was torn apart by Dokukage.

So he had to hope that someone else would be able to do it.

And that left him where he was, holding Ayame's hand tightly in part to comfort her, and in part because if he didn't, then he would probably run off and start training his team as hard as he could to get them strong enough to win against that asshole.

"Blake, are you okay?" Ayame asked, reaching over and placing her other hand against his cheek, her face filling with worry.

"Huh?" Blake gasped, surprised. "What… what do you mean?"

"I mean… you were hoping that Gerard would lose, weren't you?" Ayame asked. "That Ian would be able to beat him? I could tell by the look on your face, so you must be pretty disappointed that he wasn't able to defeat him in the end. So… are you doing okay?"

Blake was touched. How could Aya really be so perfect? She had seen through his tension so perfectly he just had to smile with joy.

"I'm doing better now," he assured her. Ayame sighed with relief, relaxing back in her seat at the sound of that. That was good.

"Hush up with the touchy-feelies you two," Cynthia scowled, her eyes shining with excitement. She nearly burst up out of her seat, she was so excited. "Calm down, the main event is coming up next! Forget the battle between Gerard and Ian, this is the Command and Raizer! This match is going to be amazing, are you kidding?! Move on already, guys!"

Cynthia didn't mean to be rude, but then, she never did, not really. No, she was just being casually insensitive as she often seemed to. She just wanted to watch the upcoming battle and see the Commander in action, and not have to listen to stuff that didn't concern her!

So yeah, standard Cynthia rudeness.

But she did have a point. The match was about to start, after all.

"And now, the last match of the quarter-finals!" Lila declared excitedly, her eyes flashing with excitement. "Raizer Volt vs. Alden Volt! A battle between brothers, to determine which one will manage to make it into the final spot in the semi-finals!"

"This should be an exciting match, is it?" Alcea murmured, stroking her chin. Her eyes never left the battlefield, glassy with contemplation. "I have fought against Raizer myself. I was able to win, although the fight was certainly close. And his Zeraora has only grown stronger since then…"

Alcea mused the thought about whether or not she would be able to beat Raizer and his Zeraora at their current level. She was strong, certainly, but she had only managed to defeat Zera through sheer attrition and the benefit of Venus wearing the mythical pokemon down with status afflictions, and even then it had come down to the skin of her teeth.

Alcea was not a fan of considering herself weak, but after losing against the Phantom she was willing to be open to the possibility that Raizer could defeat her, as well. And while she had longed to fight against the Commander, she never had gotten the opportunity for herself. In fact, she had been rather hoping that she would have the opportunity in this tournament, she would have liked to test her fighting prowess against his. Since her battle against Kanone Harker, she had taken what he had said to heart and sought out challenging opponents in a bid to make herself stronger. Fighting against that girl, Caelia Auburn, had been quite a surprisingly exciting experience. And of course, fighting against Gabrielle, testing herself against a trainer she had known and considered her rival since her first year here, and finally, fighting against (and, sadly, losing to) the Phantom had really helped her see where her limits were.

But that didn't mean she had to like it, of course. Watching a match like the one she had just seen, between Gerard and Ian… and the match she was expecting to see, that would be starting any moment, between Raizer and the Commander…

Alcea let out a low sigh as she stared at the two blondes as they walked out onto the battlefield, wishing for a brief moment that she could be out there again. On the surface, she was the picture of class and elegance. There was a reason, of course, that people referred to her as the Queen of Roses, because of her dignity and grace (not to mention her stunning beauty, of course. Alcea may have been humble, but she was by no means naïve) and her tendency to stand pristine and untouchable, not bothered by anything that opposed her, like a rose standing proudly in the garden.

But that was but a part of the Queen of Roses, the queen of queens. Every rose had her thorns, after all, and while the common joke was that her beloved Kate was the thorn that would drive away those who sought to grasp her, the truth was that she had thorns all on her own. A sharpness in her, a drive to fight and be the best, that made her not someone to mess with all on her own. And while other women of her social standing, breeding, and ability might characterize their desire to be the best with colorful affectations of "class" and an "obvious right" to stand above others, that was never who Alcea Vermeil was.

Not really, anyway.

Certainly, she had put on the air of someone who placed herself above others (and wouldn't be lying if she said that in her vainer moments she could not help but admit that, yes, she was superior than others in some respects) but that was a persona, an act. She wasn't Gerard, or the haughty Empress Olivia Himeko who needed to be seen as superior, she just "was" superior.

Although it was wrong to think of herself that way, she understood that.

Alcea had had a longstanding rivalry with the Empress. Not that Alcea considered it as much of a rivalry. After all, she had no true desire to defeat the other woman; Olivia Himeko was a coordinator, a model, an actress, an aspiring fashion designer, so many other things that Alcea didn't give the slightest of thoughts towards that the idea that they would be rivals had always seemed so foreign to her. She wasn't quite sure what it was. Perhaps because of her title as "queen". But that had just been something that people had given her. She wore it with pride, because it reflected the love and respect that her dear friends had to her, a badge of honor more valuable than any she could hope to win in a gym. But that didn't mean she had any problem with the other girl herself, of course.

Not that saying that would help her case at all. The students at school played up the notion that there was some great tension going on between the two of them. Olivia, who resented Alcea for one reason or another, was a likely source of the spreading flame of discontent pervading Alcea's school life. But Alcea didn't mind.

She didn't mind that people around campus drew comparisons between the two. Or that the followers of the Empress and her faction had rather frosty interactions with her compatriots in the Gardening Club. Or even that the boys on campus were running an active poll on which of them was more "bangable" and were circulating photos discreetly between each other to cast their little private peep ballots.

…

Okay, she minded that last one a little. And with that irritant came a mental promise to someday wring the scrawny neck of a certain redheaded reporter. She was appreciative of the fact that this "certain someone" spurring on the betting and flooding the market with creep shots had at least the dignity to keep them tasteful, with no traces of nudity or perverse intent. Just beautiful pictures. If even underwear was shown, Dakota Evans might wake up one morning to find herself providing nutrients to one of Alcea's beloved designer blue rose strains.

But that was the most she ever cared about her "rivalry" with Olivia Himeko. Because no matter what anyone said, they were nothing alike. Both tried their hardest, certainly, and both loved winning, and doing their best to win. And while she could not guess at the Empress's motives for entering Pokemon Contests, she knew at least her own reasons for being a pokemon trainer. And it was not even close to that of Gerard. She didn't get into these fights in order to win. The reason she fought… it wasn't only to strengthen herself, but for the joy that came with fighting and emerging victorious against powerful opponents who were trying their hardest.

In that regard, though she couldn't say for certain (and even if she could, she would NEVER say it out loud) having never met the man, but she had a feeling that whatever the students thought, the daeva she had the greatest affinity towards wasn't the Empress.

It was the Commander.

From what she knew of him, what she'd seen of him, his drive to fight out of the joy of fighting, to improve himself as a trainer and be better than anyone, those ambitions sang in chorus with what her own heart told her as she went out to battle.

But how would that look? Alcea Vermeil, the gorgeous rose of the Vermeil Family, stained in a love of violence and a desire to be the best? Well, Alcea had been trying very hard to make it work. Balancing her appreciation of elegance and beauty with her love of fighting and her drive to win was a very difficult task, she would never deny that. At times, it felt like it had all but gotten the best of her, even with the support of friends like Kate. But compared to surviving on a desert island, clinging to life even as her stomach ate itself from the inside and her body wrinkled out of a choking thirst?

Bring on the difficult battles any day, that's what she said. She'd already gone a round in the stadium with death himself, and managed to come out on the other side.

And besides… The green stone hung from her neck, tucked away safely in her uniform (for once, she wasn't wearing her modified reds, as she was going for slightly more subtlety in her dress) throbbed in remembrance. She resisted the urge to clasp at it, but as she thought on it, she thought as well about the battles she was looking forward to, the trainers she wanted to beat, the look of admiration and pride on Kanone Harker's handsome face as she stood victorious before him, the picture of majestic triumph as he congratulated her on a battle well-fought, acknowledging how much work she had taken into getting that far, culminating in him getting down on one knee and-

For the briefest of moments, Alcea had a glimpse into living the same kind of life that her friend Kate did, and snapped out of her trance as she felt the cool throb of the stone around her throat again. She tried hard not to turn red.

No, no, I simply want his acknowledgment from me as a trainer, she reminded herself. As a woman…? I don't… I don't need anything of the sort.

…

Besides, he's much too old for me, anyway! She had to remind herself some more. Luckily, she was quite good at maintaining her image in front of others. Dokukage wasn't the only member of the Eight Leaders who was adept at keeping his feelings from others.

Sure, Kanone was a big part of why she wanted to become stronger than she was. He was the wall before her that she couldn't overcome. And now, she had faced a new wall, the Phantom. She had wanted to defeat the Phantom, and then hopefully fight against the Commander. It would have been an excellent battle, she was certain.

But some things simply weren't meant to be, and she would have to accept that. She considered herself quite good at accepting adversity as it came, considering her history.

But as she was thinking of that island, waiting in anticipation of the Commander facing against her colleague, Raizer, again she wished that she could be out there, fighting. Not even fighting the Commander, or even fighting Raizer again!

Just fighting.

Just the chance to fight beside her pokemon, to face strong opponents, to grow stronger. She had played the good, responsible member of the Eight Leaders, joining the tournament with Gabrielle in order to defeat Gerard, and put a stop to whatever it is the Phantom was planning. That was what was expected of her.

But honestly, Alcea had joined for the fighting, as well. She hoped Kate wouldn't be too disillusioned by her desire to be the best, but it was undeniable. It wasn't just about beating the Phantom and stopping him, it was about fighting him, too.

And there were so many other trainers she had wanted to fight, as well! And yes, of course, the Commander was one of them. Anyone who prided themselves as a strong trainer and wished to face against other strong trainers would have felt the same. Not to mention a rematch against Raizer. Fighting Dokukage and his ninja Bug pokemon, to see if her Grass types would have a chance. Testing herself against Gabrielle, throwing herself in the battle, more battles like that would be nice as well! Or Ian, who she had fought in the previous year and managed to defeat, again, barely, and see how much stronger he'd gotten? How could she refuse? And of course, she wanted to take Gerard and tear him a Parfum Palace of new orifices.

But as Alcea watched the match begin, it wasn't just the famous ones she wanted to fight, either. Even someone who wasn't primarily a pokemon trainer, like Ayame Toujou. Or the tricky and yet overflowing with skill and savagery girl that was Sylvia Driscoll.

Alcea finally took her eyes off the battlefield to glance at Blake momentarily, before quickly shifting back. Yes, even him. Blake was one of the people she had greatly wanted to fight, a real, honest fight to test his strength.

Alas, it wasn't meant to be.

She took a deep, silent breath, radiating an aura of tranquil solemnity as she waited for the Commander to send out his first pokemon, and Raizer to send out his Zeraora.

There was no use thinking about it now. It was sad, but that was simply the way that it worked. She had done her best, and she had lost. And no matter how much she wished she could be out there, moving onto the next round, she would watch with a measured look an acknowledge this was as far as her strength could carry her, resting assured of the fact that she had higher peaks still that she could reach if she tried.

That was where she different from Gerard. And it was something that she was PROUD of. He wasn't just an ass who believed that his hard work was the only kind that mattered, that he was the only one who should be looked at and everyone challenging him were merely Bug types beneath his level, who he could easily defeat to establish his superiority.

They had had a conversation on it once. Back before she knew what he was, the way he viewed the world, back when she had been willing to give him some benefit of the doubt.

"People are like minerals, Alcea," he had wistfully told her while drunk off his ass on something that Alcea even now was too polite to report him for. "On the surface, you can just see the dirt and crime and crud that make up all of us. And sure, sometimes it looks a little nicer, a little cleaner. But it isn't until you break it open and see what's inside that you really know whether you've found something special, or just a dirty hunk of crap."

If that had been the end of it, then maybe she could have tolerated hearing more, but no, of course not. He had gone on to talk about how "people always judge each other without really looking any deeper than that surface level. They take the stones that look the nicest, the smoothest, maybe even the shiniest, and just accept that's all there is to them. Even if there's nothing beneath there but more grainy rock. And meanwhile other stones, who on the surface don't look like anything special… those stones that have spent who knows how long, growing such gorgeous crystals inside… they never get respect they deserve. They could be the most beautiful, most amazing thing in the world, and yet the rabble won't even pick them up out of the dirt because they look like nothing special. It's appalling, you know. I can't stand it…"

He had gotten drunker after that, and angrier, too. And it was about the point where he began ranting about needing to force people to understand how beautiful the crystals truly are that Alcea had excused herself, nurturing a discomfort and an eerie premonition that she was now realizing had been completely warranted all along, about the kind of man he was.

People weren't rocks. They were seeds. Nourish them with enough love and care, and no matter what they are, they'll eventually come out of the dirt and reveal themselves to you, honest and pure and kind, and with that it doesn't matter what they look like, because they're still something beautiful that deserves to be appreciated.

Alcea shook her head. Thinking about times like that wasn't helping anyone, all it was doing was making sure she was about to miss the beginning of what promised to be an epic fight!

So I bet you guys weren't expecting an Alcea-focused chapter right here, now were you?