In this chapter, we finally answer the question of what happened to Dakota! Is she going to be alright? Is she alive? Hopefully she'll pull through okay!

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 story is finally completed! Thank you for reading!

ON ANOTHER IMPORTANT NOTE! The contest has reached the judging stage! And one of my stories, Love Bites, has made it to the semi-finals of the Impossible Romance category! But I need votes! If you would like to support me, go to MyAnimeList/MAL, find the flag for Impossible Romance, and download the app to cast your vote! It would be much appreciated!

The Pokemon Academy Best Girl 2 Finals are up and running! Who do you think is deserving of the title of Best Girl in the second year of the contest? Cast your votes! We've only gotten one vote so far, and I know that a lot of people are reading, so come on guys! The poll's in the profile, who do you think deserves to take the crown?

Finalists: Sylvia, Marion, Sango

KedharS: Well, we'll have to see. Alive? Or Dead? Who can say.

JoshGamerV: Yes, we'll know. The question is, will that answer be satisfactory? Somehow, I doubt it.

Rowlets and Oshawotts: I hope this chapter will do good to assuage some doubts and calm down the tension.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 694

Hearing what had happened to their daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Evans had taken the first flight from the Kalos Region to the Port City hospital where their daughter was in intensive care. Dakota had just come out of surgery and was on life support, and the doctor was explaining her condition to the distraught couple.

They couldn't believe what they were hearing.

"I don't understand what you're saying," Mr. Evans said slowly, trying to put together what the doctor was telling him. His wife looked numb, her eyes distant and glassy.

"We managed to save her vital organs and keep her alive with a transfusion," the doctor explained. His voice was solemn, and attempted to be soothing. "However, with blood loss this severe, and the period of time she was unconscious, it resulted in a severe reduction of oxygen to the brain. We can continue to keep her alive, but as for recovery…"

A hard look crossed the doctor's face.

"…When dealing with this condition, all we can do is make her as comfortable as possible," he explained. "I'm sorry to say this, but we can't detect any signs of brain activity, so we have to classify her as brain dead. There's nothing else we can do."

"So you're saying our daughter isn't going to wake up again?" Mrs. Evans asked. Her voice was tiny and distant.

"I'm sorry," the doctor apologized, shaking his head.

"Now, hold on doctor, are you telling me that we have the technology to bring a pokemon back from the brink of death in seconds, but we can't heal my daughter?!" Mr. Evans exclaimed.

"Sir, I know this is an intense time, but please, calm down," the doctor urged. "This isn't something as simple as an injury, when dealing with the brain-"

"Listen you-"

"Mom! Dad! How's Dakota?! Is she okay?!" The couple turned from the doctor to see a woman in her twenties standing down the hall. Like her mother she had curly red hair and a freckled face, and the dark brown eyes of her father, hidden behind a pair of glasses.

"Harper…" Mrs. Evans ran to her other daughter and held her, breaking down crying. The doctor calmly informed her of Dakota's situation as Harper cradled her mother in her arms.

"…I see. Brain dead."

"It's ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous!" Mr. Evans scoffed. "I refuse to believe it!"

"Dad, if she's really brain dead, then we have to accept that," Harper said quietly. She turned to the doctor. "Listen, I once covered a story where a woman who was diagnosed as brain dead woke up ten years later out of nowhere and asked what her daughter wanted for dinner. Are you sure there's nothing we can do?"

The doctor looked a little flustered. "…Y-Yes, well, there are always… strange instances such as that. But medical science-"

"The hell with medical science!" Mr. Evans exclaimed. "I refuse to accept that!"

"Dad, you're a journalist, you can't just ignore the truth," Harper snapped. "I don't want to believe it either, but let the doctor speak!"

The doctor cleared his throat. "Yes, ahem. Anyway, as I was saying, yes, technically, as long as she's on life support there is the possibility that she could, somehow, wake up, but I must stress that hoping for that is not-"

"Hah!" Mr. Evans laughed. "There, you see?"

"Such an action would be considered no less than a miracle," the doctor rebuked. "Her brain would need to repair the lost brain cells itself, and the human body isn't capable of self-repair on that level. There may be a lot about the brain that we don't understand, but a situation like this-"

"I believe in my daughter," Mrs. Evans stated. "Dakota is a fighter! You've never met a girl with more persistence!" She turned to look into the room, where Dakota was hooked up to a ventilator, pumping air into her lungs. "She's in there fighting for her life right now, and you're telling us we should just give up on her?"

The doctor shook his head, his voice turning very kind as he tried to comfort the grieving mother. "No, that's not what I'm saying at all. We can keep her body alive, on life support, indefinitely. All I'm asking is that you measure your expectations and understand that we're doctors, not miracle workers. There are some things that we just can't do."

"And that's what's so worthless about you lot." All heads turned to see a girl standing in the hallway, hand on her hip and face bathed in smug superiority. She had pale skin that stood out against her frilly black and white dress, and blue eyes that shined. She twirled an errant strand of blonde hair with her other hand as she confronted them, and over her shoulder hovered a small Shuppet. Both trainer and pokemon wore wicked smiles.

"Who… who are you?" Harper was the first to recover from the shock of this girl.

"My name is Sylvia Driscoll," Sylvia said, walking up to them and brushing the doctor off. "I'm the girl who makes miracles that doctors aren't capable of."

"Listen, I don't know what-"

"Once," Sylvia interrupted, cutting the doctor off, "I met a girl who every doctor around said was going to die, more likely than not. The odds of her survival were so low that the surgery was a Hail Mary, nothing more than a formality."

She smiled. "Of course, I figured out how to cure her within a 75% chance of success, because I'm a genius. And now she's alive and well. As for your daughter, well, the doctor says that she's not going to wake up? Brain dead, is it? Well, I've never known Dakota Evans to let a little thing like being brain dead stop her, so you shouldn't, either."

"Wait, you… you know our daughter?" Mrs. Evans asked, surprised.

"Who, me? We're the closest of friends!" Sylvia lied through her teeth. "If not for my support, she wouldn't have gotten together with her boyfriend!"

"Wait, wait, are you serious?" Harper asked.

"Yeah, I was surprised, too, but Dakota was actually able to get a boyfriend," Sylvia said.

"What?! No, not that! Of course not that!" Harper exclaimed. "Are you seriously saying that you can help my little sister?!"

"Oh! …Yes, absolutely!" Sylvia said. "Well, probably. Maybe. I will say that Dakota isn't the kind of girl who believes in the impossible, and neither am I. A reality where something can't happen? That's not something I want to accept."

"…Oh," Harper deflated. So this blonde girl didn't have an actual plan.

"Listen, this is a hospital," the doctor said, stepping between Sylvia and the family. "I don't want people like you coming around and offering miracle cures to take advantage of grieving families, not here! How did you even get inside in the first place?"

Sylvia found that the doctor was really starting to get on her nerves. She sighed, and pinched the bridge of her nose. "This is why I hate doctors, they're always so boring and predictable. Fine, fine, I'll go." She turned to the Evans family and lowered her head into a bow.

"I'm sorry about what happened to your daughter. I hope you can take care of her. Please excuse me." She turned and walked down the hall. Three… two… one…

"W-Wait!" Mrs. Evans called out.

Sylvia's face lit up with a smirk, and she turned on her heel. "Yeeeeeeeesss?"

Mrs. Evans swallowed. "C-Can you… really help our daughter?"

Sylvia's eyes flashed. "I can certainly do more for her than some doctor telling you to pull the plug or watch her sleep forever."

"This is ridiculous," the doctor protested.

"I think they made their decision," Sylvia said, relishing in the doctor's frustration. She turned to the Evans with a diplomatic smile. "Now, may I go see your daughter?"

"Y-Yes, of course," Mr. Evans said, nodding. The doctor stormed off and the four of them walked into Dakota's room. Harper immediately rushed to her sister's side.

"Oh, Dakota…" she winced, placing her hand over her sister's. Sylvia was more clinical in her observation of the girl.

Dakota had been sewn up well, and received transfusions to keep her alive, but she didn't look like she was in very good shape. Bandages were wrapped around her head, hiding her red hair from sight, and her skin was deathly pale, as though she was still short on blood. The respirator forced oxygen into her, and she was hooked up to more machinery still.

Even Sylvia had to admit she was disturbed by what she saw. Dakota… there was no trace of the energetic and excited girl that Sylvia had grown to enjoy torturing. It was honestly sad, like seeing an annoying yapping pokemon that had been knocked unconscious in battle.

Pitiful thing…

She had to keep her thoughts quiet as she stared at the girl. It wouldn't exactly be diplomatic of her to let her true thoughts slip out, not while she was playing the concerned friend. Luckily, Serefina was currently occupied with taking care of Akira; if she knew that Sylvia had ducked out of the investigation to come here and see Dakota's condition, then she might come herself, and that would make everything so much more difficult.

"So you said that you think it's possible to help our daughter somehow?" Mr. Evans asked. Even though he believed so desperately in taking care of his daughter, and wanted her to wake up, Harper was right. He was still a journalist. Just like his wife, and his daughters. He might want to believe in conspiracies and possibilities, but even he had to admit that in spite of a few corner cases, the idea of healing a girl who was brain dead was a little Farfetch'd.

"It's certainly a possibility," Sylvia said. "I don't want to make any promises. Everything I've heard, it's only about a rumor. But it's a good rumor."

She glanced at Dakota.

"And even if it's not the best we have, it's still better than the state that she's in now, don't you think?" She asked.

The Evans parents glanced at each other. This was their daughter's life they were dealing with, and here was a complete stranger, offering to help her.

They wanted to believe, but as journalists, they were naturally skeptical. Not even their love for their daughter and their desperation to see her restored could overcome the doubts and suspicions brought on by their professions.

It was Harper, the news anchor, who was the first to speak.

"If you can help my sister, then please, let us know," she begged. "What are you asking of us?"

"Well, I'm not going to tell you what it is," Sylvia said, shaking her head. "This is a very… experimental procedure."

Her voice dropped to a conspiratorial tone.

"To be honest, I still haven't received permission from any medical boards, or from the person who pioneered this technique," she admitted. "So I won't give you false hope right now, not until I know for sure. I just came here today to see if you would be… amenable to the procedure."

"You're asking for permission to operate on our daughter without even telling us what you plan to do?" Mr. Evans asked. He was growing more and more suspicious of this girl who claimed to be Dakota's friend.

"As much as we love our daughter, I don't think that we can just agree without even knowing what could happen…" Mrs. Evans said cautiously.

"It's okay," Sylvia assured them. "You don't have to decide right now. I'll clear everything, and then I'll come back and tell you. Then, when I get the OK, you can make the decision about whether or not this is something you'd like to pursue. Is that okay?"

The Evans family took a moment to consider what she was asking.

"…Can we have some time to think it through?" Mrs. Evans finally asked. Sylvia gave her a smile, and nodded her head.

"Of course!" She cheerfully declared, walking out into the hall and letting the family discuss the situation themselves.

Sylvia considered what was going to happen next. Dakota was brain dead. That meant things became a lot more complicated. When she mentioned to the Evans family that she had an idea about how to save Dakota's life, she hadn't been lying when she called it a Hail Mary. The chances of it working were slim to none, because it was essentially theoretical.

But that didn't mean that it COULDN'T be done.

The important part was securing the necessary help. Fortunately, she already knew just where to look on that front.

From the Pokemon Academy here, and then back again, sometimes I feel like I have to be everywhere at once, Sylvia mused. Well, you never know. They might decide not to go through with it. Maybe they like their daughter better as a potato, she's certainly much less of an irritant this way.

Sylvia laughed softly at her little joke, preparing her plans.

While Dakota's family grieved and considered their options, on an island off the bay more difficult decisions were being made, by people who were just as worried about her. But if Serefina knew what had happened to Dakota, she might be in an even worse mental state.

She knew Akira was basically toast right now.

"She's not dead," Satsuki said. "I don't feel her soul passed on. She's alive. She's not well, but she's alive!"

Serefina was relieved to hear that, she really was. It felt like a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders, knowing that her friend wasn't dead.

It wasn't all good, though. Serefina still didn't know if or when Dakota would come back, but she was happy to hear that her friend was okay. Tragically, Satsuki had no idea of the concept of brain death, or any clue about Dakota's medical condition at all. Just being "alive" wasn't all there was to being a human, after all.

Right now, though, she was blissfully naïve, and considering something else now that she knew that her friend was okay.

"Satsuki…" Serefina looked at the flash drive in her hand. Dakota's laptop might have been smashed, but Serefina had one of her own. The only question was, should she turn the drive over to the authorities, or take a look at it first.

"Don't trust the fuzz, Seri! They're just going to cover up the evidence! It's the job of a reporter like myself to uncover the truth, even if that means going at it alone!"

It was Serefina's inner Dakota that ultimately made the decision for her. She looked at Satsuki, and nodded her head.

"Yeah, you're right," Serefina agreed. "I'll take a look at it myself, first. When Dakota gets back, she's going to want to know that her life's work wasn't leaked to the world before she got a chance to do it herself."

In spite of saying that, she wasn't sure that she should keep this quiet. That might result in the rest of them getting attacked, and this time, they could be killed. But a look wouldn't hurt. Once she knew what was on that flash drive, she would be able to make a decision about what to do with it.

She was about to plug it into her laptop, when she saw a tense look cross Satsuki's face.

"Hey, are you okay?" Serefina asked, concerned.

"S-Sorry," Satsuki said, shaking her head. "It looks like I don't have as much time left as I thought I did… sorry about this… but I can't hold on."

Her voice was shaky, and she fell over, slumping down on the bed. Serefina was tempted to call out to her, but she knew that this was just a natural thing. Satsuki was a ghost, if she tried to hang on, she could really hurt Akira.

"I can… feel my Dear Akira…" Satsuki whispered. "He's hurt… and very scared. When he wakes up… he's going to need you to be there for him… 'kay?"

"Of course," Serefina said, nodding, giving the ghost girl a smile. "And don't worry. When I tell him that Dakota's alive, he'll definitely feel better."

The light of "Satsuki" in Akira's eyes began to fade.

"I'm so happy… my Dear Akira… has such sweet friends…" Satsuki smiled. "Hey… you're… Serefina, right?"

Serefina nodded.

"You always take… such good care of his pokemon…" She said, her voice warm and nostalgic. A vision of Akira's Gyarados flashed through Serefina's mind, and how she'd taken care of her. She was named Satsuki, too…

Serefina's reminiscence was broken by Satsuki's words.

"D'you think… if I had… been human… could we 'a been… fr… ie…" Her voice faded away, she could barely keep going. She swallowed, holding on for just a little longer. Akira would be okay, she had to ask this last parting request of the girl in front of her.

"Don't tell him about me," Satsuki managed to get out, her voice as faint as her expression. "I don't… want him to worry. He always… worries… so much about… me…"

"I won't, don't worry," Serefina assured her. Akira had enough to deal with right now, he didn't need to know about what happened with Satsuki.

Satsuki smiled back one final time. "Thanks Serefina… bye bye…"

And with that, Satsuki was gone. Seconds later, Akira blinked, sitting up.

"Serefina…?" He asked, looking around, confused. "What… where… DAKOTA!" He sprung out of bed. "Dakota, she-!"

"Akira, Akira, it's okay!" Serefina quickly jumped to her feet, grabbing him to keep him from going nuts. "Dakota is fine! Don't worry!"

Akira looked at her. "Really? She's really okay?" He asked suspiciously. "I saw her, she was attacked, I don't see how-"

"She's fine," Serefina assured him. "Well, no, she's not fine. You're right, she was attacked. But she's alive. She's in the hospital right now, and she's alive, I promise."

Akira looked warily at her, but her words DID do a good job of calming him down. He swallowed, and nodded, sitting back down.

"Oh-Oh, okay," he said.

"What do you remember?" Serefina asked, worried about what he retained from Satsuki's possession of his body. How much was he conscious for?

"I don't know," Akira admitted, shaking his head. "I was sort of distracted and confused, I feel like I've been asleep all day. What happened?"

Serefina didn't know how to answer that. He was somewhat right, in a way.

Well, Dakota is brain dead. So she's perfectly fine, nothing's changed! …No, but this is pretty serious. What's going to happen to her?