Ange's exploring the Under! But before we can see what's going on there, it feels like we've spent a lot of time with the Phantom and his group. So let's turn our focus back to the other groups for now, and see what Olivia and her friends are up to!

Rowlets and Oshawotts: Why would she?

KedharS: Yeah, she doesn't take any shit.

Omesta: Welcome back. If you want to submit a character you can, you can also join the discord server if you haven't already.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 879

While Ange was exploring the Under in the dead of night, in another part of the Orre Region something else was happening at night as well.

Olivia and Ayame were sharing a room, and the two couldn't have had more different night arrangements in they tried.

While Olivia was concerned with her appearance at all times, even when she was asleep, Ayame really didn't. That's why Olivia changed into her nightgown and was still brushing her hair, and Ayame was about as dressed down as possible in sweatpants and a ratty sweater.

"I didn't expect it to get so cold out here," Olivia groused, shooting an envious look to her roommate. Ayame didn't have to worry about the cold, she was used to it. "It's a desert, aren't they supposed to be hot?"

"Deserts can actually be very cold at night," Ayame said, looking up from her phone. Olivia was primping herself again, for reasons that remained a perpetual mystery to her.

Olivia sighed. She knew that Ayame was right. Still, her nightgown, like most of her nightwear, wasn't made for the cold. It was silvery-gold and slightly diaphanous, designed for other "night activities" than insulation.

She had to look her best after all. It had been a long day, and nothing went better with a long day than a little bit of self-care.

The two sat in silence for a while before Olivia finally broke the quiet.

"…So what did you think about today?" She asked quietly, turning back to her friend. "Orre's quite a place, huh?"

"Hmm?" Ayame was occupying herself with the pictures of Blake she had stored on her phone, so she hadn't heard what her friend had asked.

"I was wondering what you thought of the Orre Region," Olivia repeated, setting her brush down and walking over to the beds, lying down on the one next to Ayame's. "It's kind of a hot and buggy place, and there's not a lot of stuff to do…"

Ah. So this was another one of Olivia's complaining sessions. Ayame began to mentally check out, when she heard something that caught her ear.

"And tomorrow we're going to the beach with the Commander and his group… and Alcea's gonna be there, too… what a mess…" Olivia griped, staring up at the ceiling. She was feeling all sorts of twisted about this.

After the two groups had dinner together, Rui and Hiromi had really hit it off. As fellow youthful mothers excited to talk about their kids, they had a lot in common. And because they'd hit it off so well, the natural tide of the conversation had flowed into the idea of the two groups spending the day together at the beach. After all, with two sets of eyes on everybody, then the students would be able to have a lot more freedom!

It was a decision that had Olivia rather troubled. Normally, would have been delighted at the idea of going to the beach with Alcea. She'd get the chance to show off just how great she looked in her bathing suit and rub in the other girl's face that she looked so much better than her! She should have been looking forward to this.

But unfortunately she wasn't. Because it wouldn't just be Alcea there, the Commander would be there as well, and she couldn't stand him. Would it have been so difficult to just have Alcea spend the day with them, and not have to care about all those others? Then she could show off to the fullest, and Alcea would have choice but to look her way.

Ayame could tell that Olivia was frustrated. She knew that when it came to stuff like this, the right thing to do was to keep her mouth shut and mind her own business. While Ayame often sought counseling from Olivia when it came to serious matters, it was hardly ever the other way around. Olivia was a much more private person, and had the strength to solve her problems on her own. It was something Ayame admired about her.

At the same time, she also felt that it was a bit of a failing of Olivia's, if she was being honest. The girl found it so hard to open up to anyone, even her best friend. That couldn't be good for her self-esteem, even if she would insist otherwise.

Olivia liked to act like she had everything figured out, but even Ayame could see that wasn't the case at all.

"Hey, Aya," Olivia said, flopping over and turning to her friend. "Are you sure you should really be checking your phone like that all the time?"

Ayame flinched and quickly covered her screen. "Wh-What do you mean?" She asked, trying to play it off. What, you think I'm watching p-p-p… something dirty? Don't lump me in with you, I would never do something like that!"

Olivia smirked. "No, I think you're staring at pictures of your boyfriend because you keep sighing and your face goes all moony."

Ayame turned bright red. "Th-That… THAT'S NOT A PROBLEM!" She glared.

"Wasn't the whole point of this trip about you two getting over your codependency and becoming a healthier couple?" Olivia nagged her with a shit-eating grin on her face. "Is it really all that helpful if you can't go a day without even staring at pictures of him?"

"It… It's just to help me sleep! Shut up!" Ayame wailed. She buried her face in her stuffed Wooloo to shield her blush from Olivia's eyes.

"…Aww, you even brought the Wooloo he bought you to Orre with you? That's gotta be the sweetest thing I've ever seen," Olivia cackled.

"Sh-SHUT UP!" Ayame wailed, flinging her pillow at the blonde.

Olivia was about to fire back with another jab at Ayame's affection for her boyfriend, but she was stopped by a knock on the door.

Ayame turned to her friend, confused. "Are… Are you expecting company?" She asked. She really hoped that Olivia hadn't picked up some random girl when she wasn't looking and invited her to the room, because that would be a recipe for disaster.

Luckily, it appeared to be that wasn't the case. Olivia looked as confused as she did, and shook her head. "No, I don't know what's going on," she admitted. "Come in!"

"Wait, you can't just invite them in!" Ayame sputtered. Sure, Gateon City wasn't as dangerous as Pyrite Town, but that didn't mean you could go around inviting guests in off the street! "What if they're, like, thugs or something?!"

"God, Aya, you're so paranoid," Olivia said, rolling her eyes. "It's not like the door's locked or anything, so even if they were, what would we do?"

"That… THAT'S EVEN WORSE!" Ayame exclaimed. How did Olivia not see the fact that the door was unlocked as being a problem?! That was a huge problem! "Lock the door! I don't want somebody to attack us in our sleep, are you crazy?!"

"Calm down. I'm not attacking anyone."

Luckily it wasn't a thug from the streets coming in to hunt for valuables. It was Darla, and she didn't look amused. Lila trotted in behind her, a bright smile on her face. But it was clear that the smile was just for show.

They were both wearing their night clothes, and like Olivia, it was clear that they were dressed for show rather than for comfort like Ayame was. Wearing nightgowns of black and hot pink, the saving grace was that their garments weren't partially see-through, like Olivia's was. It seemed more like traditional nightgowns than lingerie, which Ayame was grateful for.

"Oh, good evening girls, what's up?" Olivia asked, sitting up in bed and brushing her hair back so it looked a little neater.

"We, uh… we came to talk about something," Lila said, a sheepish grin on her face. "Something, um… really important." She looked deferentially to Darla, who looked as frustrated as either girl had ever seen her.

Darla opened her mouth to speak, but Lila cut her off with an excited squeal. "Oh, wait! First, before we talk, we really need to set the mood right!" She gushed, digging into the bag she'd brought with them. She pulled out a scented candle.

"Oh. A candle," Olivia noted, raising her eyebrow curiously.

Darla rolled her eyes. "Lila, is now really the right time for this?"

"Yes!" Lila huffed, puffing her cheeks up. She set the candle down on the nightstand. "It's an Alcremie scent! A blend of salted cream and caramel swirl with clover sweet! It's the perfect thing for soothing a tense mood!"

Darla sighed in resignation. There was no debating with Lila when she got like this. "Fine, whatever," she muttered, shaking her head.

Lila let out a squeal of glee and quickly lit the candle, and after a moment the aroma of salted caramel sweetness filled the room. Lila took a deep breath and swooned, falling into bed next to Olivia with a big grin on her face.

"Well, now that that's settled, do you mind if we get down to business?" Darla asked. She had a dour expression on her face, even for her. While she would usually get at least some joy out of Lila's antics, it was clear that right now something was really bothering her, and that was a signal to the other two girls to take notice.

Ayame sat up so Darla could sit next to her.

"So tell me, what's wrong?" Olivia asked, all business for once. "Judging from your mood I take it this isn't a social call."

Darla's expression darkened, if that was even possible. "It's… about my family. I still wanted to talk to the two of you about it. Alone, since… you know."

She didn't have to say more. Darla's family issues were well-known amongst the people in this room, and everyone could understand why she wouldn't want to talk about her issues around other people in the group. Especially folks like Donoma and Lukas who would turn it into a topic of gossip. This was something that required secrecy.

"So what is it then?" Olivia asked, cutting to the chase. "Are you in trouble because your family is looking to come after you again? I thought we solved that problem with Reed already, don't tell me they still-"

"No, no, thank Rayquaza it's nothing like that," Darla assured her, shaking her head. Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief. It seemed like no one was in the mood for another encounter with Reed after what had happened last time.

Sensing everyone's relief, Darla explained a little further. "Reed's going to take care of my family as best she can and throw them off track, so we don't have to worry about them tracking me down to the Pokemon Academy again."

"Well, that's good, at least, so what's the problem?" Olivia asked. She still wasn't sure what Darla wanted to talk about if it wasn't how her family was going to find them. She didn't have time to play around, if Darla was in trouble she needed to know about it.

"Well, like I said, it's about my family. And it's about…" Darla averted her eyes. She didn't want to talk about this, but she knew it was important that Olivia know. She sighed. No use beating around the bush after all.

"…It's about the Phantom."

That changed the entire atmosphere of the room. Before, it had been serious, but still relatively relaxed and lighthearted. But now that the Phantom was involved in the discussion, things had taken a darker turn for sure.

"…What about the Phantom?" Olivia asked cautiously, and Ayame could see the sparks of suspicion begin to flare up in the girl's eyes. Ayame could see where she was coming from. Things with the Phantom's organization had been quiet… too quiet.

The Daevas had been in the center of a power struggle for months, and that had been the entire purpose of the Phantom Cup; the Phantom had wanted to prove that he was the better trainer over the Commander.

But what had happened was the opposite. The Commander had defeated the Phantom, and since then it was undisputed that he was the "strongest" trainer in the Pokemon Academy. It hadn't made the Phantom lose any sway or influence yet, but it had caused him to be much less direct about his attempts to seize power.

It was like he'd gone underground. He wasn't planning or scheming, no one had heard anything from him, not even Olivia, and she had a fairly wide information network.

But even if he was on his best behavior, they all knew that there was no way he was going to take his loss to the Commander lying down. And as the school year was approaching its end, everyone knew that he would have to act soon if he wanted to cement his position at the head of the Daevas once and for all.

The reasons he had for doing such a thing were unfortunately unknown.

But it was enough for everyone to be on their guard. Olivia had been waiting for the Phantom to make a move, and she'd also been concerned for another reason as well. She couldn't put her finger on it, and she definitely didn't have any evidence, but something just felt wrong.

The Phantom wouldn't be this secretive if he wasn't planning something. Olivia was very good at reading people, and she knew that was the kind of guy that Richard Valon was. So for him not to be making any moves, it must have been because he had a fairly good idea of what was going on, and he thought that he was ahead. And that could only mean one thing.

The Phantom had spies.

It was the only logical conclusion to draw. The Phantom had a spy somewhere in her organization who was keeping tabs on her, and reporting back to him. She didn't like the idea of suspecting one of her friends, which was why she'd only shared her concerns with Ayame before this point. The trip to the Orre Region provided the perfect venue for the Phantom to make a move, and in a situation like this, it couldn't be a coincidence that Darla was coming to talk to her now about her own issues with the Phantom.

Could it?

"So you have something to do with the Phantom?" Olivia asked, trying not to sound too accusatory. She didn't want to suspect that Darla was the spy, because Lila would be crushed if that turned out to be the case.

Besides, would a spy come right up to Olivia and tell her that she was a spy? That didn't seem very bright. So Olivia was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.

"Not at all!" Darla exclaimed. Lila switched beds to sit next to her and placed her hand over Darla's, and the other girl calmed back down. "At least… not in the way you're probably thinking," she replied, shaking her head.

Olivia's voice took on a gentler tone. "Then explain it to me."

And that's when Darla confessed everything. She told Olivia and Ayame all about how the Phantom had discovered her connection to the Draconids, and how he had used that to force her to take part in the Phantom Cup. She explained how she didn't have a choice, how much it revolted her to work with someone like that, but how afraid she was of her family coming to take her back to her home and separate her from everybody, especially Lila.

By the time she finished her explanation, she was practically in tears. And since Darla wasn't someone who cried, that was quite a sight to see indeed.

"I'm sorry, I know… I know I should have told you about this before," Darla admitted. "But it was just really hard to get it out, because…"

"No, it's fine," Olivia assured her. "I understand why this would be difficult for you to talk about. But that's all, right? You didn't give him any secrets about us?" She had tried to be comforting, but this was something else entirely. She needed to know what Darla had revealed.

"Wh-What? No, he didn't want anything like that," Darla said, shaking her head. "He just wanted me to fight with Rayquaza in the Phantom Cup."

Olivia sighed and massaged her temples. That was a relief, at least. So why didn't she feel relieved after hearing Darla say that?

"I think, um… it's okay… and besides, it's not like you're listening to him anymore, right?" Lila asked, trying to smooth things over.

"Y-Yeah…" Darla said, looking down.

"But you still could in the future, right?" Olivia asked, narrowing her eyes. "After all, he still has that over your head to control you."

Darla's face tensed and her glare turned serious. "No. Absolutely not."

Olivia raised her eyebrow. "Oh? And why not?"

"Because I'm not the same as back then. Reed's looking out for me now. She won't let the Phantom turn my family's eyes back here. And even if they do…" She turned to Lila and placed her hand over hers, "I'm not going to run. I'm going to do whatever it takes to escape from my family."

Olivia smiled. That was a relief. She didn't want to have to be suspicious of Darla. "I'm glad. Now, there's something else I wanted to talk to you about-"

"Hey gang!" Hiromi burst into the room with a big smile on her face, sending the girls scattering.

"M-Mom?!" Ayame exclaimed, turning red from shock. "What's going on?! What are you doing here?!"

"You can't just burst into our room!" Olivia blurted out.

"Sorry Olivia," Hiromi said, smiling apologetically. "But I saw Darla and Lila slip in here a little while ago, and I just couldn't help myself!"

She stuck out her tongue and winked, rattling her fist against her head. "I just couldn't wait to participate in a field trip sleepover! Gosh, it'll be just like when I was a little girl!"

Olivia forced a shaky smile to her face. They had been about to discuss some serious issues, and here came Ayame's mom, turning the whole thing into a fun field trip activity. She sighed, and put on a dignified grin.

"Why, I think that's a lovely idea, Hiromi," she lied through her teeth. Better to not let the serious topics bleed through. "Would you care to join us?"

"I'd love to!" Hiromi cheered, flopping down on Olivia's bed with a big smile.

Ayame sighed. She couldn't believe her mother could be this childish. But yeah, Hiromi was exactly like this.

"So, um… what do we do for girl talk then…?" Darla sighed in resignation. The tension she'd been feeling up until this point had completely evaporated, and now she was just exhausted.

"Weeeelll… one thing we could do… oh! I know!" Hiromi cheered. "What about love lives? Aya has a boyfriend of course, but what about you girls? Do you have any crushes?"

Hiromi's eyes were shining with glee. Olivia choked a little in shock and Lila's face froze as she turned pale.

Well, things were off to a great start.

Way to just lob a grenade into the room, Hiromi. Things are certainly taking an interesting turn back with Olivia's group, that's for sure.