So, the Valetty and the Valdette are actually pokemon! What an astounding revelation! And what will Blake and Sylvia do with this information, I wonder? How does that help them learn more about this strange place, or find a way home? It's definitely a curiosity…

Also, thank you to everyone who read my story "The Heir to the Dragon". I would appreciate if you continue to read and support it in the future! You can get there through my profile!

The votes for the Elimination Round have begun to pick up, that's pretty good! Hope we can start getting them to role in! I've been very surprised by the results of this poll so far, some people are leading that I never would have expected, and some people are trailing behind who I thought would be frontrunners. Just goes to show how much things have changed since last year!

Nominated: Alcea, Ayame, Carrie, Caelia, Cynthia, Dakota, Darla, Elaina, Elizabeth, Julia, Kate, Kitty, Lila, Maddi, Marion, Nikita, Olivia, Sango, Sylvia

FinLay Real: I've been waiting for a while to play this aspect up about the two of them.

Thunder Fire: Who knows what the Guardians are?

JoshGamerV: Let's just say it's complicated.

KedharS: I mean, "HumanShaped" is an egg group, so…

Guest: Definitely mind-blowing.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 636

Blake couldn't believe it. It just didn't seem possible.

These were really pokemon? These Valetty and Valdette? It made sense. It made a lot of sense. What had happened to the Valetty- err, well, now she was a Valdette, but she had been a Valetty, and then she had transformed into the form she was now. She had glowed brightly, just like a pokemon evolving into their next form.

Hell, the Valdette had even called it evolution.

But he couldn't believe it. The woman in front of him… she looked like she was his age! Without her pointed ears and sharp teeth, she was like any other woman! There was just no way that she could be a pokemon like Tara or Weiss.

"I just can't see how that's possible," Blake said, shaking his head. "I mean… to think that they're pokemon?"

Sylvia stroked her chin in contemplation and shook her head. "It's definitely weird, I won't deny you that. But that doesn't mean it's impossible. Rather, all evidence says that it must be possible, in fact, I've suspected it from the very start."

Blake gasped, stunned by that admission. Sylvia suspected they were pokemon already? "What… what are you talking about?"

"They were using shadow claws in the desert when they attacked us," Sylvia replied. "You forget, I'm a Ghost type trainer. I know Ghost type moves when I see them, and I knew what they were immediately. After that, everything continued to confirm my suspicions and so I thought 'maybe…' and then this conversation just confirmed it."

Blake could understand her reasoning. The idea had just never occurred to him. And the more he thought about it, the more he knew that it just had to be the case. It interested him and frightened him at the same time, to think that these Valetty and Valdette were pokemon, just like his own pokemon. Pokemon that could be even captured with pokeballs?

That made him feel a little sick himself, considering what he'd seen of them.

"Plus, that ritual reminded me of something else, too," Sylvia continued. "Remember how the Valetty evolved into a Valdette, after she 'fed' on our pain?"

"Yeah, what about it?" Blake asked, confused.

"Well, thin about it like this," Sylvia said. "You know how there are some species of pokemon that evolve based on happiness and friendship with their trainers?"

"Yeah, but-" Blake gasped. "Wait! You're telling me that because she experienced so many negative feelings from the other Valdette, and from us, that it just caused her to evolve, like when a pokemon feels happy and evolved?"

"Indeed," Sylvia nodded. "It might be how their species of pokemon evolves. Being empathic like they are, if they receive enough negative emotions like pain then it could trigger evolution… quite an interesting species of pokemon, I find it fascinating, if you ask me. I wonder what other things about them are different from the pokemon in our world? It definitely begs many questions to be answered, if you ask me."

Blake had to agree. He was definitely becoming more and more fascinated with these odd pokemon, even if he had been suspicious of them not long ago. The fact that they were pokemon somehow made it a lot easier for him to accept them, since he knew that they weren't crazy monster people but just another kind of pokemon.

Blake was pretty good with pokemon, all things considered.

"I'm confused," the Valdette interrupted. Blake and Sylvia both looked at her. She'd been listening to their discussion in silence the whole time, and wore a perplexed expression on her face. "What is a 'pokemon'?"

Blake glanced at Sylvia. "Want to handle this one?"

Sylvia smirked and shook her head, her eyes shining. Blake let out a sigh. He turned to the Valdette, who stared eagerly at him.

"In the world we're from, there are these creatures, called 'pokemon'," Blake explained to her. She nodded.

"And they look like me?" She asked.

"They look like all sorts of things!" Blake said. "They come in all shapes and sizes and colors… There are countless species filling our world!"

"They sound quite interesting," the Valdette said slowly, her face scrunching up in confusion. "But… I can't really picture it… I've only seen people who look like us, and humans. Are they like that? I don't really get it…"

She looked up at him with pleading eyes, and Blake remembered that not long ago, she was just a little girl, and felt the urge to give into her pleas.

Then, he remembered that she lived on this world, where people didn't age. Hell, she was a pokemon, so she would probably look like a child for quite some time even if she WAS aging normally. She was more likely than not many, many years older than him!

Then he remembered he'd seen her all but naked and the feelings of guilt stemming from that made him try to explain a little better. He began drawing pictures of pokemon in the sand, showing her what they looked like.

The Valdette stared in fascination, the look of childlike wonder on her face making Blake relax. It seemed that Sylvia may have been right all along, that these people from this strange place weren't all that bad, after all. Maybe he had just been letting his fear get the better of him. That would be nice. A bit of pleasantness on this otherwise horrible world.

"Wow! There are so many amazing creatures!" The Valdette ran from picture to picture, energy radiating off of her. Blake felt all warm and fuzzy. She looked back his way, and dashed over to him. "And you say that, in your world, these creatures are abound? That they are crawling through forests and deserts and flying in the sky and… what is that word you used? Swimming? The swim in… the sea, is that it?"

"Yes, exactly," Blake said, nodding.

"It must be quite nice," the Valdette murmured. "And I am one of these… pokemon? All of us are? That sounds quite interesting… I wonder what would await us, if we were to travel there? It sounds like it could be quite nice."

"If I had to guess?" Sylvia mused. "You all'd get captured in pokeballs."

The Valdette tilted her head to the side and glanced at Sylvia, confused. "Pokeball? What is a… 'pokeball'?"

Sylvia smirked.

"It's a special device that we use to capture pokemon," she explained. "Pokemon trainers take them and throw them at pokemon that they wish to capture, and then they get captured in the ball. And from there, they follow our orders. Think of it like… when you had us tied up. Only you would be let out whenever someone wanted you to fight."

Somehow, the pale skin of the Valdette turned even paler. She glanced at Blake, her mouth slack and eyes wide with horror.

"…Capture? Capture Valetty? And Valdette?!" She gasped in shock. "You want to capture me and trap me in a tiny ball?! No! No capture!"

Like a startled Wimpod she scampered off, hiding behind a tent and peeked out cautiously at them. She was shaking.

Blake shot Sylvia a dirty look. "What happened to diplomacy?"

"I was only explaining to her the truth," Sylvia replied. "Besides, it's not like we can even be sure a pokeball would work. They're coded for our pokemon, but these creatures… they may act like pokemon, they have a lot of abilities like pokemon, heck, they basically are pokemon. But I'm not exactly sure if our technology would interact with them the same way as it would our pokemon. There's still so much we don't know about them…"

Sylvia sighed.

"I just wish I could take the time to study them. It really is something that I never thought I would have had the chance to see. A brand-new species of pokemon on an alien world, entered through a stone tablet…" A dopey smile crossed her face, which surprised Blake. He wasn't used to her acting so… obvious. She turned to him, her eyes shining. "Our world… it's all so boring and predictable," Sylvia sighed. She swept her hand out over the desert and tents, staring off into the dark forest in the distance. "But here… even wandering the desert, there's so much I don't understand. So many new experiences to find… I can't help but get giddy! I haven't felt my mind stimulated like this in so long…"

Blake glanced at the wistful expression on her face. It made him think about something that he had suspected for quite some time, but hadn't felt comfortable enough with asking until now. He put the Valdette aside momentarily.

"Sylvia," he asked, "You keep talking about how you're going to get me back to our world. But… if it was up to you… if just you were here… would you even be trying to get back? Seriously. Or would you just stay here, exploring this world?"

A solemn smile spread across Sylvia's lips. She turned to Blake, and he was surprised by the depth he saw in her eyes for a flash.

"It would be tempting… but as boring and predictable as our world is, there are still some things about it I like," Sylvia admitted. "So no, I don't think I would want to stay trapped here. But if I could travel from one reality to the next, then it would be absolutely marvelous."

Blake nodded. He understood that.

"Now that we're done playing twenty questions, let's take care of our cute little friend over there," Sylvia said, nodding at the Valdette, who was still watching the two of them with caution and more than a little fear.

Blake felt bad that she was scared. He stood up and slowly approached her, relieved that she didn't run screaming in the other direction.

"Hey there, sorry," Blake said, keeping his tone gentle. "My friend over there is kind of a jerk, we aren't going to try and capture you."

"But… you humans do that, don't you?" She asked cautiously, glancing past Blake at Sylvia. "You do… capture pokemon?"

"Well… yes, we do, but that doesn't mean we would catch you," Blake said. "On earth, well… pokemon like being captured. So it's not a big deal. But if one didn't want to be captured, I know that I wouldn't keep one against my will. And Sylvia-"

The Valdette gasped, her eyes bugging out. She ducked behind the tent. Blake turned and looked back to see Sylvia, mouth curled into a savage expression and raising her hands like claws. He gave her a glare. Not funny.

"Yeah… I understand what you're saying," Blake said. "It might not be for the best if you were to come, even if you would get to see other pokemon."

"Even in spite of all that… I still might want to go," the Valdette admitted, smiling wistfully. "To see such interesting sights… yes, indeed, your world sounds quite lovely, Blake. I would like to go there myself, if possible."

"Preaching to the choir, sister," Sylvia said, walking up to them. The Valdette gasped in surprise, glancing frantically at Blake. Blake gave Sylvia a look, and she held her hands up to show that she meant no harm, even though she still wore her smirk. "Hey, sorry about before. But as I was saying, we're trying to figure out how to get back ourselves."

The Valdette frowned. "Oh… then you will be going as well…"

Sylvia and Blake looked at each other for a second. Blake spoke first. "Hey, um… Valdette, the other Valdette we spoke to, she mentioned that, too. That you guys have interacted with other humans, but that now they're all gone."

The Valdette nodded, but she looked reluctant about it. "They, um… they're all gone, yes. Unfortunately."

"Why?" Sylvia asked. She stared curiously at the Valdette, picking up the way she was fidgeting and looking around nervously. Sylvia began to grow suspicious. There was definitely something that she was hiding from the two of them. "What does it mean to be 'gone'?"

"They… left," the Valdette replied. "We… see, we bring humans when we run into them, bring them to the altar to Feed, so that we can evolve into Valdette. We need to do it, it's the only way. We can feed on our own emotions, but without a human present we can't evolve."

"It's as I expected," Sylvia nodded. "Just like how some species of pokemon need human love to evolve, these guys are the same, but with human pain."

"It needs to be a lot of pain, a lot," the Valdette said. "Just a little bit of pain isn't enough. But we don't want to cause too much pain to the humans, it isn't nice." She sighed, a guilty look crossing her face. "Once we've absorbed enough pain from them, it takes a long time for them to build up to the level of pain needed to Feed. And we don't want to keep them forever, suffering, so… we let them go after the first Feeding."

"Well, that certainly makes it better," Sylvia said sarcastically.

Blake shot her a look. "What?" Sylvia replied, shrugging her shoulders. "I'm just messing around, I don't blame 'em. Like I said before, different standards of morality and all that, plus, they're pokemon, I don't judge pokemon hurting humans."

Blake still hadn't fully wrapped his head around the idea that the Valetty and Valdette were exactly the same as their pokemon. They seemed… to be working on the same level of intellect as humans like him and Sylvia.

…Well, humans like him. Not many people were on the same level of intellect as Sylvia.

"It's been a long, long time since the last feeding," the Valdette said, looking down. "I'm grateful to you, Blake, Sylvia, for coming. It's been my time to Feed and evolve for so long I can't even remember." Her face brightened. "So thank you."

"So what happens to the humans?" Sylvia asked. "After you Feed? After you let them go?"

The Valdette scowled.

"They run away. Immediately. When we say they can go, they just go. But not you humans! You humans stayed here! And you told me so much!" The Valdette's mood brightened, and her big toothy smile returned.

"So where do they go?" Blake asked suspiciously. "Do they just wander around in the desert forever? Because I can't imagine that."

In truth, Blake already knew where the humans probably went. And if he knew it, Sylvia probably knew it days ago. He just hoped that the ache in his chest was all just a trick.

But it wasn't likely.

After all, after having spent so much time no-doubt wandering around aimlessly in the desert, given the freedom to return or go elsewhere, of course they would choose to go elsewhere. Blake would choose to go elsewhere, if he didn't know just how terrible of an idea going "elsewhere" would be. The fear he felt told him more than enough.

"The forest!" The Valdette chirped. "They all go to the forest when we let them go!"

Yep. Just as he feared. She had asked that question when they first got there, actually, if they were going to enter the forest. And the answer was unequivocally "no" they were not. Or at least, he wasn't. Sylvia he could never really count on to anything specifically.

"The forest, huh?" Sylvia frowned, staring at the large arrangement of dead white trees. "It definitely has made me curious."

"Wait!" The Valdette gasped. She rushed in front of them and held her arms out to the sides. "You can't go to the forest! No! Bad! Very bad!"

Sylvia frowned.

"Why bad?" She asked, narrowing her eyes.

The Valdette gulped, and looked down. The worry and guilt on her face spoke for itself. She clearly wasn't talking, but she definitely knew a lot more.

Sylvia wasn't about to take no answer as an answer. She put on a big smile and clapped her hands together. "Alright! Forest it is then!" She decided.

"No! You can't!" The Valdette wailed. "I don't want you guys to go!"

Blake opened his mouth, about to agree with her, but a look from Sylvia shut him up. He understood her game, she was going to make the Valdette come clean about what was going on with the forest. So he let her.

Maybe she would know why he felt so frightened by the forest, why it felt like just going inside would result in horrible things happening.

"Then tell us why we can't go inside," Sylvia said simply. "Otherwise, we'll have to go in and find out for ourselves."

The Valdette sighed, clearly defeated.

"The Traveler says we can't go into the forest," the Valdette replied. "We can't. Because it's bad."

"The Traveler, your people mentioned her before. Who is she?" Sylvia asked.

"Valdette," the Valdette replied. "She was a Valdette who is said to have entered the forest… and come back out."

"Wait, so people don't come out of the forest?" Blake asked, shocked. The Valdette shook her head.

"The Darkness gets them," she whispered, looking around like there was someone watching. "It's in the forest, always, waiting for us. The Traveler said… that those who enter the forest, they will fall into Sleep."

Blake gasped. He'd heard the word before. "Sleep". The Valdette described it like death. So that's why it had been such a touchy subject with the other Valdette and Valetty.

"So if you go into that forest, then you fall asleep forever," Sylvia said. "That's what Dommy-Mommy said, right? That it is impossible to come out of Sleep."

The Valdette tilted her head to the side, confused. "Dommy… what?"

Sylvia rolled her eyes and suppressed a snicker. "Never mind, it's not important. But what you're saying is that you guys tell the humans this, and they go in anyway? Why? That's gotta be the dumbest idea I've ever heard, even wandering around in the desert sounds better than that."

Sylvia narrowed her eyes. "Unless you don't tell them that part, and just let them go on their way, of course…"

"We warn the humans, tell them not to go. But they go anyway!" The Valdette gasped in indignation. "Always, always! That's why I don't want you to go!"

"Well, that's fine with us," Sylvia assured her. "We don't want anything to do with that forest. No, we're looking for something else entirely."

The Valdette's face perked up. "Really? What?"

"Well…" Sylvia glanced at the large tent, where the ritual had taken place. A conspiratorial grin spread across her face and she looked back to the Valdette. "I was just wondering… could we go into that cave, the one from your Feeding? We would just love to check it out."

"Horrified disbelief" did not begin to describe the expression that crossed the Valdette's face when she heard Sylvia's request.

Well, we've learned some new details for sure. Stay away from that forest! Nothing good can come from there.