We took a quick peek at how things are going with the Commander, but there are other groups in the Orre Region you know! Let's check in on another handful of students and see how they're handling all this! The Orre Region has a lot to offer, after all.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Yup, Alden has a pretty chill atmosphere, and at the same time he's definitely the sort to get you all fired up. He's a charismatic leader, so it makes sense that even someone like Alcea would enjoy fighting him.

KedharS: Yup. It's not easy to change the minds of a lot of people, so they've got their work cut out for them, that's for sure. Hopefully they can make a difference though.

Aakareo Kokokuhikari: Yup, Kate can really do it when she wants to. She's got the magic touch when it comes to Poison types.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 864

If Olivia had had it her way, everyone in her group would be members of her organization. But unfortunately, she wasn't so lucky.

When Celia had pleaded with her to let her cousin, who didn't really have any other friends, join them, she had been begrudgingly okay with it. What could she say? This was important to Celia, and Olivia wasn't a MONSTER.

So she'd said sure.

Her and Ayame were in the same same group, of course. And Darla and Lila were a matching set, as usual. Celia and her cousin, Jessie, were also there, as well as Lukas, in spite of her dislike of him, Allen, in spite of several people's dislike of him, and Donoma, in spite of the general loathing that her presence elicited from most people who knew her.

Really the only other person she was kind of glad to have included in her group was Giselle, and that's because Giselle was a great girl.

And unlike Donoma, she wasn't annoying.

"Hhhhhhhh…mmmmmmmm," Donoma took a deep breath of the dry Orre air and exhaled, stretching. She flashed a coy smile towards Olivia. "So what do you think Livvy? Orre live up to your fine standards, I hope?"

Olivia flashed a diplomatic smile Donoma's way. The girl had a natural charm about her in spite of her… poisonous nature, and as long as she was being courteous, Olivia could at least do her a courtesy in turn and remain civil.

"Don't call me Livvy."

But she also needed to make sure that the line was clearly drawn.

"Ugh, personally, I hate it," Lukas groaned, fanning himself with his hand. "That bus was so stagnant, I hate this place!"

"Don't you come from the Hoenn Region?" Allen asked, raising his eyebrow. "I would have thought you'd be used to a warm climate like this."

"Hoenn's a lot more humid," Lila explained. "Arid deserts like these are a little a… a-a-a-a… achoo! Arid. They're a little arid."

Olivia turned to Ayame, whose expression was a little cloudier than normal. She frowned. "Hey, Aya, you good? Everything okay?"

"…Huh?" Ayame blinked, coming back down. She looked around, confused. "Uh, what? Oh, um… y-yeah, I'm fine, I just… you know. A lot to think about…"

Olivia sighed. Ayame had been a little stormy the whole flight here, and in spite of getting some sleep on the bus ride, she didn't look any more well-rested than she'd been a few hours ago. She knew what the problem was, of course, but that didn't mean she could do anything about it.

Her bestie had a broken heart, it was as simple as that. For all of Ayame's talk about how her and Blake spending some time apart from one another would be good for their relationship and a step in the right direction when it came to making real, lasting progress as a couple, it was pretty damn clear that Ayame was not enthused.

"Well, if you ever need someone to talk to, you know I'm here," Olivia assured her, giving her friend a comforting pat on the back. It was the most she could, circumstances being what they were and all. If she tried to force the issue, that stubborn tomboy would just double down and there'd be no reaching her at all.

"Thanks Olivia," Ayame said, smiling a little. Right away that was a signal that something was amiss. "Boss" was Ayame's affectionate name for her, the same way she let Olivia call her "Aya". She only used her real name when there was something serious.

Olivia winced. This was worse than she thought. If only there was something that would turn her mood around, some way to-

"Aaaayyaaaa!" A voice called out from the crowd.

Olivia snapped her head up and saw Ayame's face brighten as a sunny-looking figure broke through the crowd.

"Mom?!"

It was like night and day. Seeing her mom break through the other chaperones to greet her caused the sullen look on Ayame's face to fall away, and in its place a shining grin broke out. She ran over to her mom and hugged her tightly, practically lifting the woman off the ground.

"No fucking way," Donoma said, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Did… Did she say 'mom'?" Lukas asked, his jaw dropping.

"Ayame came out of someone like that?" Even the usually cool Allen was shocked at the comparison between Ayame and her mother. "But she's, like, four foot nothing!"

Olivia had to suppress a smile. She'd been surprised herself when she'd first met Ayame's mother, but indeed, this was her. A woman with a smile that could light up Mt. Silver, with the same hazel-gold eyes and silky black hair as her daughter.

But of course, it would be hard to guess that particular family connection with the way Ayame towered over her. She looked more like a younger sister than Ayame's mother, or anyone's mother, for that matter.

"I gotta wonder what her father's like for Ayame to be as tall as she is," Lila told Darla under her breath, before quickly returning to her professional mood. She walked over to greet Ayame's mother. "Hello there, miss-"

"Why, it's such a pleasure to finally meet you!" Donoma gushed, practically knocking Lila over in her rush to greet their chaperone first. She had stars in her eyes. "Why, you're just as lovely as your daughter!"

"Oh, my, well, thank you very much, sweetheart!" Clearly, Donoma's flattery was having the intended effect as she shook the woman's hand eagerly. "…And you would be…?"

"I'm Donoma Marama," Donoma greeted, retrieving her hand and placing it over her bountiful chest with a proud grin on her face. "And as I was saying, it's a pleasure to meet you! I'm your daughter's biggest fan!"

"I'm Hiromi, but you all can just call me Romi," Hiromi smiled. She glanced at Donoma's chest. "Biggest? Well, I can certainly see-"

"Mom!" Ayame interrupted, her face getting hot.

"No, not at all, I don't mind," Donoma said, flashing a flirty smile Ayame's way. "I appreciate a lady with an appraising eye."

She stretched her arms up over her head to make her breasts stick out, and winked. Ayame rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to groan.

Thankfully, friendly lady that she was, Hiromi had already moved on from the flirtatious Donoma and began greeting the others. Olivia was first.

"Olivia! So good to see you again!" Hiromi said, pulling the girl in for a hug, which somewhat ticked Donoma off. She hadn't gotten a hug.

"Good to see you as well, Mrs. Toujou," Olivia politely replied, hugging her back with a sweet smile. "It's been far too long."

"Oh, for sure! We absolutely must have you back up at the cabin!" Hiromi gushed as they separated. "It's a pity your schedule is always so packed!"

"Yes, well, what can you do?" Olivia shrugged apologetically. "The life of a star is certainly a hectic one, after all!"

She certainly wasn't going to mention that the reason she kept giving Ayame's folks the brush-off was because she wouldn't be caught dead going back to that rustic shack in the mountains. There wasn't anything to do there!

Ayame gave her a cold glare over her mother's shoulder. No use hiding the truth from her. Olivia shrugged and gave her an apologetic "what are you gonna do?" sort of smile. She was just that sort of girl.

"Anyway, where's Blake?" Hiromi asked, looking around eagerly. "His name wasn't on the group list, is he in another group?"

The reminder that Blake wasn't here was like a knife in the gut for Ayame, whose face darkened as she looked down. Olivia giggled.

"Blake's not here," she explained. "He's a first year. This trip is only for juniors and seniors, Romi, sorry to break it to you."

"Whaaaat?!" Hiromi groaned, disappointed. "Boo. That's no fun! I was hoping that I'd get to see him again! The whole reason I signed up to be a chaperone is because I wanted the chance to see more lovey-dovey moments between the two of them!"

Her look of disappointment shifted into a wicked smile as she elbowed her daughter in the side. Meanwhile, Ayame's face turned scarlet and she covered it with her hands, unable to put up with being embarrassed by her mother in front of her friends.

Olivia smirked. There would probably be a lot of this.

But even as she took a small bit of joy in seeing Ayame squirm, she felt a pinprick of irritation in her chest.

Hiromi and Ayame… she'd be lying if she said the two of them didn't remind her of her own mother sometimes.

No, no, don't think about that, she told herself, shaking her head. Now was not the time to make everything about her! There were a lot of times when that was acceptable, but right now certainly wasn't one of them.

Hiromi finished greeting the other members of the group, and Olivia was glad that everyone was on their best behavior for now. A few of them could tend to rub someone the wrong way, Lukas most of all. But at least, like Donoma, he had the awareness to not flirt immediately upon meeting her, and was capable of being polite.

Plus, Ayame's father was a mountain of a man, Olivia liked to imagine that he would tear Lukas apart if he caught him flirting with his wife.

"Okay everyone!" Hiromi called, clapping her hands to get everyone's attention. "It looks like we're all here! Great! That means we can get started seeing the sights around Gateon Port! Anyone have any questions?"

Lukas immediately raised his hand.

"Yes, Lukas?"

"Can we check into the hotel? I'd like to drop my bags off," Lukas said, nodding to the large suitcase he was dragging behind him, and lifting up the duffel bag.

Luggage was a bit of a problem for everyone here, to be honest. While Ayame was the type to travel light, most of the students in the group had packed a fair amount more than the recommended articles of clothing.

Could anyone really blame them? They were from the Appeals Course, after all, they needed to look their best! Hell, Olivia had an entire foot trunk she'd dragged aboard, damn the extra expenses. The thing was basically a miniature wardrobe.

Everyone was trying their best not to complain. But even Olivia was feeling the heat, baking under the Orre sun like this, and would love to kick back in the hotel and relax. Hopefully they could get one with a pool. Sure, Orre was a desert region, but that didn't mean she wouldn't pack a swimsuit or sixteen, just in case.

"Romi, I think we're all a little exhausted from our journey," Olivia said, giving Hiromi the sweetest smile she could. "It's really hot out here, too, would you mind if we check into the hotel first and relax there for a little bit? Please?"

Hiromi deflated a little at the sound of that, it was clear that she'd been looking forward to exploring Gateon City a lot herself. But she understood that the needs of the students came first, and was willing to oblige their request.

To carry all their stuff, though, it was necessary to rent a van. And the guy who was doing rentals didn't exactly buy that the short, youthful woman in front of her was able to rent vehicles. That caused some frustrations as well, since it meant more delays, but Hiromi took it all in stride. After a thorough negotiation while they all roasted in the hot sun, they were finally on the way to the hotel.

It wasn't easy, fitting 11 people into an 8-seater van, but somehow Hiromi had managed to do it. Luckily Celia and Jessie were willing to double up, and Giselle had practically leaped at the opportunity to sit on Ayame's lap.

"Can you go a little faster, please?" Lila whined, glancing worriedly at her compact mirror. "The heat's causing my makeup to crack, and I really need to fix it."

"Don'tcha have a mirror right there?" Darla asked, rolling her eyes. Like Ayame, she'd been in a rather snappish mood since she'd arrived in Orre, and being squished onto a three-person seat with Lila, Donoma, and Olivia certainly hadn't done anything to improve it. "Just… I don't know, do it, what's the big deal?"

"I'm not like you, Darla, I don't have a natural tan," Lila snapped. "Some of us have more delicate skin than others," she sniffed.

Darla rolled her eyes. Donoma whistled, enjoying the tension. It was like she thrived on chaos and discord, like she was Sylvia Jr. or something.

Olivia sighed. Yeesh. If even Lila and Darla were on the outs, this was only going to get worse. When she'd first heard that the trip was going to be to the Orre Region, she'd been less than enthused. But she'd managed to convince herself that maybe that was just the rich girl who grew up in a mansion talking, and she needed to give it a chance.

Nope. She'd been right the first time. Deserts sucked. Sweltering heat sucked. Being trapped in a car with a pop idol's elbow jamming into her side sucked. This whole trip was a disaster of epic proportions and it hadn't even been a day.

And this was Gateon City. A port. They were on the ocean, and it was already this hot? Olivia didn't want to imagine what the sunlight would feel like when they moved further inland away from the cool sea breeze.

She glanced out the window with a sigh and gasped, slapping the window. "Stop the car. Now."

"Huh?!" Hiromi glanced back, shocked. "But…"

"Stop the car!" Olivia snapped, already unbuckling her seatbelt.

Hiromi slammed on the brake, pulling into a parking space off by the side of the street.

"Olivia, what are you doing?" Darla asked as Olivia shoved her way past the girls' assortment of knees.

"Need to use the bathroom?" Lukas cheerfully offered. Olivia flipped him off.

"Sorry about this," she apologized to Hiromi. "Just drop me off here."

"Nope, can't do that," Hiromi said, shaking her head. "You're my responsibility, Olivia, I'm not letting you wander around Gateon City all by yourself."

Olivia groaned. Why did Ayame's mom have to be as stubborn as her daughter? "Look, I'm not going to be alone, okay? There are a bunch of students right over there. I'll just tag along with their group, and meet you guys at the hotel, okay?"

"Why? What do you want that's so important here?" Hiromi asked, already unbuckling her own seatbelt. "If it's so important, we can all wait here."

A chorus of groans rose out from the back of the van. Even with the air conditioning at full blast, nobody wanted to spend any more time on the road than they had to.

Olivia sighed. "Look, it's just… one of my… friends is out there," she said, and Ayame frowned. Olivia looked like she was going to vomit as the word "friend" passed her lips. "I just wanted to check in with them."

"Can't you do that later?" Hiromi asked, not convinced. She took another look at the crowd of students, they all seemed to be watching something that she couldn't quite see.

"Have her leave her handbag here!" Allen suggested from the back. "Our little Empress wouldn't be caught dead sneaking off with her outfit incomplete!"

Olivia silenced him with an icy glare before turning back to Hiromi.

"Pleeeaase? It's really important," she begged. "Look, I'll do you one better, I'll call you as soon as I'm done and you can come pick me up after, okay?"

Hiromi glanced at the students one more time. She sighed. "Well, I guess, as long as you stay with the chaperone. But I'm not leaving until I see you talk with an adult, okay?! I know how you teenagers think, you'll blend in with the crowd until I leave and then you'll book it and… I don't know, go make out with one of your boyfriends, or do the drugs or whatever! I know! I'm hip! Nothing gets by me!"

Olivia resisted the urge to break out laughing. Donoma was not so discreet.

"Yes, Romi," Olivia stated dryly. "Nothing gets by you."

"Don't worry, she's not going to make out with any boyfriends," Donoma called from the back, which led to a few more laughs.

Hiromi didn't get it. She shrugged in resignation and nodded to Olivia, letting her get out of the van. True to her word, she waited in her parking space until she saw Olivia go and talk to one of the other chaperones.

Olivia explained the situation to one of the chaperones, and he agreed to let Olivia stick around with their group for a few hours. Luckily, he was leading a group of other students in the Appeals Course, so they were at least some people she knew.

She honestly didn't care that she had to be supervised. This wasn't some strategy to sneak away, she was legitimately interested in what she'd just seen.

It was Alcea Vermeil! And she was fighting against the Commander, of all people! Olivia had managed to catch the tail end of the battle, but it looked like Alcea was actually winning!

Ugh. It made Olivia want to barf having to root for the Commander of all people. As far as "stupid males" went, he was one of the most stupid and most male. But it was either that or hope for Alcea to win, and that…

Well, one option made Olivia sick and the other one made her homicidal.

When the Commander turned things around, and Alcea lost, Olivia felt a surge of triumph shoot through her chest. Hah! Take that, rose bitch! She crowed.

Then she saw the way Alcea smiled at him after she lost, and all that joy immediately turned to ash in her mouth. She held her tongue to keep from storming over there and cursing that fucking pig of a blonde out.

Well, it looks like Olivia's time in the Orre Region isn't off to as great of a start as the Commander's was. But that's okay! With things going the way they are, hopefully everyone will be able to have a good time regardless! Even though there might be some friction developing between the Empress and the Commander's factions…