Learning that she has the power to read minds certainly came as quite a shock to Dakota! But what will she do now? Does she have other things to test? Will she be able to handle this new ability, or will it corrupt her? And how's Akira doing? Has he managed to come to a decision of his own? This can't be an easy situation to be in, that's for sure! Remember to review!

KedharS: Yeah, it definitely would be. That's why it's a good thing she's become such a better person. Now the question becomes whether or not she'll be able to resist the temptation.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: There's definitely a risk of Dakota getting overloaded with information, let's hope that doesn't end up happening.

JoshGamerV: Something like that.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 849

Dakota and Serefina had discovered something new about Dakota's abilities. It wasn't just that she was able to read minds, she was also capable, if she focused enough, of sending her thoughts into someone else's head. The communication was a two-way street.

It wasn't perfect, of course. Like with the mind reading, if someone didn't want to hear what Dakota was thinking, then it was like there was a big wall I their mind that would repel Dakota's thoughts back at her. But if not, then she could really engage in a serious conversation with them, just by thinking in their direction.

Of course, doing that resulted in her getting a nosebleed.

"I wonder," Dakota mused, dabbing at her nose with a handkerchief, "if I can project my thoughts onto someone else, do they need to be here?"

Serefina frowned, reaching for the box of Kleenex again. She didn't like the way Dakota's brain was thinking. "What are you talking about?" She asked suspiciously.

Dakota shrugged. "Well, think about it. If I can read minds and project my thoughts to anyone, then maybe I don't need to be around them? We haven't really tested this thing for range yet, have we? We've just kind of been thinking about it with the two of us here."

Serefina could understand wanting to test a power like this, but she was reluctant to do it. After all, they had JUST solved a serious concern when it came to Dakota's mind reading abilities, one that would require her being a good person to succeed at.

And now she was asking to not only keep using the power, but even experiment with it? Serefina didn't think that was a very good idea.

"Look, Dakota, I know you're excited and want to test out your abilities," Serefina said, trying to smooth things over without making her friend upset. "But I don't think this is a very good idea. After all, weren't we just talking about how dangerous it was for you to get too dependent on your new abilities? Well, that goes double for something like mind reading!"

Dakota sighed. She knew Serefina had a point, but that didn't mean she had to like it. There was something else, though, another reason she wanted to test this power out, and it wasn't because she was too dependent on it. Rather, if it worked the way she hoped it did, she would be able to do something important.

"Look, I know, Seri, trust me, I'm not going to get overly dependent on this ability," Dakota assured her, and Serefina wished she could trust that.

"Then why do you want to keep experimenting with it?" She asked suspiciously. "Because I don't think it's just to see what you're capable of."

Dakota sighed. "Yeah, Seri, you're right, there's something else," she admitted. "I wanted to use this power because… if I can really communicate with someone across a really long distance and insert my thoughts into their head, well…"

She was embarrassed. She didn't want to say it out loud, but she also didn't want to put the thought into Serefina's head, either.

Ultimately, she decided that it would be better to just say it, and show Serefina that she really was trying to be good with her abilities.

"…I could maybe… talk to Aki this way?"

Serefina gasped. She hadn't even thought of that! "Wow, do you really… yeah, I mean, I guess you could, if it was possible…"

Akira had been impossible to reach all week. Longer than that, in fact. They'd been trying to call him since Dakota woke up from his coma, but to no effect. Either his phone was off, or he was in a no-contact zone. Or maybe his phone was broken, or it had been confiscated by Misty, the gym leader, because it was a distraction.

Or, most like, maybe after Sylvia took his phone and answered it for him, and heard who was on the other end of the line, she took his phone for herself or just smashed it to pieces. Neither girl would put it past that witch, she was that kind of person.

But because of that, they were both worried about not being able to get in contact with Akira. It was tricky, after all, and Dakota was particularly anxious about it herself; she hadn't wanted to call him, she'd wanted to go and see him. But Serefina had talked her out of it. Not only was she still medically unfit to travel, but what if one of the abilities that she had triggered while she was in the middle of her flight? What if she accidentally created a psychic barrier in the middle of the plane, or what if she panicked and sent a pulse of psychic energy that shifted the throttle, and crashed them all into the ocean? Or what if she tried teleporting, but when she snapped back the plane was long gone, and she would fall out of the sky?

Dakota had to agree with Serefina, until she got a better handle on her powers, flying was definitely out of the question.

Which, unfortunately, left her in a precarious position, where she had to think about what she was going to do next. Since she couldn't get in contact with Akira, and couldn't go see him, she had reluctantly agreed to just wait until he came back and hope for the best. That insecurity and uncertainty was part of the reason she'd buried herself so fervently into practicing her abilities, to serve as a distraction from the fact that she couldn't get in contact with her boyfriend.

But now she could get in contact with him. Maybe. Kind of.

Serefina had to admit, if Dakota had the ability to reach out to Akira across a long distance with her psychic powers, then it was definitely something worth trying. It was risky, there was no doubting that. As they had soon found out, these powers, even the mind reading, were a strain on her body. She'd had her fun at first but when it all wore off…

Well, her nose had been bleeding profusely for the last few minutes, even when she wasn't projecting her thoughts or reading any minds. And that was a really bad sign. Serefina didn't want her to end up in another coma.

It was always stuff like this in the tv shows and comics. Psychic powers were strong, but they put a strain on the brain, and that resulted in nosebleeds. She didn't want that to happen to Dakota, but it looked like it was growing more and more likely.

Thankfully, Dakota was able to see the bigger picture herself.

"Look, Seri, it'll just be for a little bit. And if it doesn't work, then we'll stop, okay?" She asked, hoping her friend would let her go through with it.

That was the compromise Dakota had proposed. She knew how powerful her gift was. She knew what she could do with it. And she didn't want to go overboard. So she relied on Serefina to be the one in charge of whether or not Dakota could use her gifts.

Serefina was more mature, nobody could deny that. And she wouldn't let Dakota do anything unless she was damn sure it was the right thing to do.

Dakota admired that about her friend. It was why she trusted her to make the right decision in the end, and let her use her power only when she needed to.

And as much as Serefina was worried about Dakota, she could tell that this was the kind of situation where she needed to.

"…Okay," Serefina sighed, still not sure that this was the right thing to do. She doubted that this would go well, if it worked at all. But she knew how badly Dakota wanted to get in contact with Akira, and she figured this would at least give her peace of mind.

Dakota, of course, was over the moon with joy at the prospect.

"Oh, thank you Seri!" She gushed, pulling her friend in for a tight hug. "You're the best, the absolute best! Mwah!" She kissed Serefina on the cheek and nuzzled up against her before pulling back, her blue eyes shining with excitement.

"…So how are we going to do this?" Serefina asked as her pink-haired friend pulled away from her. "I'm assuming it's not the same as placing a phone call."

Dakota scrunched her face up in contemplation. "Hmm… it's definitely tough… I'll have to think about it," she agreed. "I guess I can just… concentrate really hard, and try to reach out to him, maybe?" She suggested.

Serefina was hoping for something a little more concrete than that. "Are you sure that's going to work?" She sighed.

Dakota shrugged. "Hey, I managed to do it with you, and I wasn't even trying. So maybe if I try hard enough, it can reach him?"

Serefina would have preferred testing this out a little more before trying something so large. They had no idea what the range was for this mind projection thing, and Akira was practically across the planet. That was a long way to go.

But on the other hand, more tests would just mean more stress placed on Dakota's already-tenuous mental state, and she didn't want that, either.

"Just be careful. Akira's in the Kanto Region after all, that's not a short distance away," Serefina warned her.

Dakota frowned. "I know, I know," she muttered, rolling her eyes. "I did almost teleport to him a few times, if I could do that, then I should be able to do this. But first, let's get the mood right, okay? It might help."

What Dakota meant by that was rather amusing. They dimmed the lights and lit some scented candles, placing them in a ring around her on the floor. She crossed her legs in a meditative pose in the center, and began to concentrate.

Serefina would have laughed at how stereotypical the ritual was, but this wasn't something to laugh at. She sat off to the side with her tissues at the ready; if something happened and Dakota began bleeding, she would put a stop to this immediately.

Dakota might have set the scene properly, but that was pretty much the extent of her knowledge on what to do.

Since she had no idea how to communicate with Akira, she tried thinking about him. She pictured his smiling face and tried his hardest to remember the feeling of his warm hand wrapped around hers. The joy she felt when he hugged her… the way he would look at her sometimes, blowing away all her insecurities and doubts…

Yeah. This was what Akira was to her. The person she loved. She could feel him. She wanted to see him again so badly, it had been an eternity since the last time she'd spoken to her boyfriend. After the coma, all of her memories had been jumbled, and she'd doubted who she was.

But she didn't doubt this. Not for a second. She knew that she needed Akira by her side. If she wasn't certain of anything else, she was certain of that.

So she called out to him, tried to get a hold of him.

Serefina was right, it was kind of like making a call on a cell phone.

And then she found him, asleep in bed. He wasn't in Cerulean City, he was in Lavender Town, and it was almost morning.

She didn't know how, but she could see him. Just as clearly as if she had teleported to his side. But she knew that wasn't what this was; she could still feel herself meditating in her room, but part of her was there, too, like she was in two places at once.

She felt his mind and then just… entered it.

Akira's dream had been surprisingly peaceful given the turmoil in his heart. He had a big decision to make, and he wasn't sure if he would make the right one. He was going to think on it, mull it over while he slept, and then come to a decision in the morning about whether or not to go see Mr. Fuji or leave it be for now.

But those thoughts were the last thing on his mind now. In dream, he was on a date with Dakota. They were getting ice cream at an ice cream parlor and joking around, he wasn't even thinking about the fact that she was in a coma.

It was just a nice date with his girlfriend.

But then the ice cream parlor fell away. The world turned white, and Dakota… she was gone.

"Dakota?!" He cried, looking around the blank world frantically. "Dakota, where did you go?!" As he called out to her, panicking, realization struck him like a bolt of lightning. That's right, he wasn't on a date with Dakota, he wasn't even at the Pokemon Academy. He was in Kanto, Lavender Town, to be precise, and Dakota wasn't there. She was back home, in a coma.

He was in a dream. That was all this was.

As he sighed in disappointment, realizing the decision he still had to make, he prepared himself to wake up. He could feel that sensation, the familiar tug of the dream world pulling away from him as he was brought back to consciousness, like someone lifting him out of the swimming pool kicking and screaming as he tried to stay.

But then a pair of arms wrapped around him from behind pulling him back and anchoring him in the dream again.

"It's okay, I'm here."

Stunned, Akira turned to see Dakota standing behind him, staring warmly into his eyes. She looked like she was crying tears of joy.

"Dakota…?" Akira stuttered, shocked. It was her, definitely her. She looked like she had in one of his previous dreams, her hair pink and her eyes blue. But that girl hadn't been Dakota, even though she'd worn Dakota's face.

But he wasn't mistaken this time. He couldn't deny that those were Dakota's eyes staring back at him, no matter what color they were.

"…Hey Aki," Dakota croaked out. She had done it. She had managed to make contact with him. It was only in a dream, but she was here, and she could talk to him!

Akira gasped in horror. "Dakota, you're bleeding!" He cried.

"Wh-What? O-Oh…" Dakota reached up and rubbed the sticky blood off her lip. "Sorry, it… it's a big strain, talking to you like this."

She didn't have much time. She could already feel the connection slipping away, the same way Akira could feel that he was starting to wake up.

It wasn't fair. There were so many things she wanted to say to him, but she couldn't. So she hugged him tightly.

"I'm okay," she whispered. "Don't worry, Aki. I'm okay, I promise. We'll see each other again. Just make sure you come back to me, okay?"

Akira didn't know what to make of this. He knew he was dreaming, but something about this felt so much more REAL than a dream. It was like Dakota was really there, in front of him. He could feel her arms around him, this wasn't a dream, it couldn't be. But it had to be.

"I'll see you again," he promised her back. "I'm going to come home as soon as I can, and I'm going to find a way to help you, I swear." He wasn't going to let her stay in that coma. His resolve had been reignited and he knew that he needed to help her.

Dakota wanted to say so much more. But she couldn't. So she leaned up and pressed her lips against his in a warm kiss, desperately capturing as much of him as she could.

Then they were pulled away from each other. Akira catapulted up in bed, panting, and Dakota violently seized up, trembling in Serefina's arms.

"Dakota! Are you okay?!" Serefina cried, frantically wiping the blood from Dakota's face as she shook and shivered.

"Y-Yeah, Seri…" Dakota stuttered, a dopey smile crossing her face. "I'm… just fine."

Back in Lavender Town, Akira was doing fine, too. He felt well-rested, more than he'd ever felt this entire trip, which was odd, given how little sleep he'd gotten that night.

But it wasn't the length of the sleep that mattered, apparently, but the quality of it. That dream with Dakota, it had felt so real. He could still feel the warmth of his lips against his.

He walked into the lobby of the Pokemon Center with surety in what he was going to do. Those last seconds with Dakota had helped him reach his decision.

Misty and Sylvia were already waiting for him. They'd gotten coffee, and looked up warily to see him approach the table they were sitting at.

"…Hey there," Misty said awkwardly. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah, I slept fine," Akira said, nodding. She offered him a seat, but he didn't take it. "You guys?"

"I slept okay," Misty shrugged. She still didn't feel comfortable about all this; she knew that the right thing to do was returning to Cerulean City, but she still felt bad about forcing Akira to make that decision.

"Like a baby," Sylvia chirped. "So, Akira, did you decide what you wanted to do?"

Unlike Misty, Sylvia had no qualms about making a decision. She was downright thrilled at how much turmoil Akira was going through over this!

"Yeah, I did," Akira said, nodding. "And I really do want to figure out what happened to Dakota, and ask Mr. Fuji about the µ Gene."

Misty frowned. She'd been expecting that.

"But I think it's better that we go to Cerulean City and wait to hear from him," Akira added.

Sylvia raised her eyebrow. "Oh, really?" That had been the answered she'd expected. She knew that Akira was a nice guy; as much as he wanted to help Dakota, he wouldn't do it if meant that someone else might be put in a difficult position. Not if he'd been given the time to think about it. This wasn't like when he'd lost his temper with the Phantom. Or with her, for that matter.

"You do?!" Misty asked, trying not to sound too relieved. She knew that this couldn't have been an easy decision to make.

"Yeah," Akira said, nodding. "I want to help Dakota, yeah, but I guess… I just know that she's going to be okay, you know? I don't know how to explain it. But I guess it's not as urgent as I thought it was last night."

Sylvia was intrigued. She knew, of course, that Dakota was already awake, but Akira didn't. So how could he be so certain that she was okay? Maybe he was just that optimistic, or maybe he had to convince himself to believe that in order to validate making this choice. She wasn't sure. But she didn't get the chance to press him on it, because they were interrupted.

"Excuse me," someone cleared their throat from behind Akira, and all three of them turned to see who it was.

They were shocked.

Mr. Fuji was standing there, cane in hand, looking a great deal better than he had just a short few hours ago. He had a warm smile on his wrinkled face.

"Are you the ones who came to help me in the Pokemon Tower?" He asked.

And suddenly, Akira found that he could have his cake, and eat it, too.

Well, Mr. Fuji is certainly looking much better! And thankfully, Akira and Dakota were able to connect, even if it was only for a few seconds and even if Akira only thought it was a dream! At least he feels that Dakota is okay now! So where do we go from here?