After that whole mess with the swimsuit contest, it's time to take things easy and have a nice, relaxing day lounging on the beach. We don't need to get too worried about anything, it's important to have fun and just treat it like a game, right? …Yeah, these guys can definitely be trusted to do that, nothing can go wrong here.

Saad: Yes I think she does.

KedharS: Yeah. It's nice to see their friendship taking off, it's some positivity that they both need, and I think it's a great thing about this arc, which is even better because I didn't plan it out that way at first, so it was a nice surprise.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 901

When it came to beach volleyball, the first thing was picking the teams.

It was already off to a rocky start.

"Well, it's simple," Vic scoffed. "We'll just split up by groups. All the people in the Commander's group will be on this side, all the people in the Empress's group will be on that side.

The teams were then divided into Donoma, Allen, and Lukas on one side of the net with Alden, Vic, Rui, Ross, Tommy, Alcea, and Callie on the other.

Vic looked at her team and nodded in begrudging approval. "Okay, looks good, let's start-"

"WAIT WAIT WAIT!" Donoma exclaimed. "What the heck do you mean 'looks good'?! We only have three people on our team, and you guys have seven! What's with that?! Why do you get so many people and I'm stuck with these two mouth-breathers!?"

Rui sighed. "Vic, this is supposed to be about building harmony between our two groups and having fun together, why are you trying to pick a fight?"

Vic scowled. She wasn't in the mood for building any harmony. Just like Olivia hadn't wanted to spend the day with the Commander and his group, the last thing Vic wanted to do was socialize with them, either.

"I think it's fine if we split the teams up," Alcea said. "After all, we can't really have an equal game like this, is it?"

Vic scowled at her. She was still nursing a grudge against Alcea for earlier, when Alden had given her a higher score in the swimsuit competition.

"Well, fine then," Vic sneered. "If you want to join their team so much, then go right ahead and to it, no one's stopping you."

Rui sighed and nursed her forehead. Vic was giving her a headache with all this hostility. She knew her daughter had inherited some of her husband's belligerence, but she wished that she could be a little friendlier.

This was exactly the sort of problem that she was hoping to avoid.

Alcea herself was taken aback, since causing a schism with Vic was the last thing she'd wanted to do. She was suggesting an alternative in order to calm down the tensions, but she didn't expect such a hostile reaction from the other girl. After all, she had no idea that Vic liked Alden in the slightest. She was numb to those sorts of things.

But she didn't want to press the issue, either. She just shrugged and nodded, going over to the other side of the court. She hoped that she hadn't done anything to sour her relationship with Vic and Alden too much, she still wanted to get along well with them in the hope that she could get their help with the Phantom.

How was she supposed to know that Vic was such a petty and vindictive person?

Luckily, Alcea wasn't going alone.

"I'll be on Alcea's team!" Callie chirped, skipping over to the other side of the net herself. And just like that, the two teams were equal, at least in a numerical sense. One side still had the tall Vic, Alden, and Ross, as well as the very athletic Tommy, and the other side was made up of a bunch of people who were more on the "aesthetic appearance" side of looking nice, but they would have to take what they could get.

Besides, it was just a game for fun, right?

Vic disproved the notion that this was all fun and games quite handily in the very first round. She had been the first one to serve on their team, and hit the ball so hard it traveled through the air like an actual volleyball.

Donoma was just barely able to return it, only to be faced by a powerful wall of the boys, with Ross knocking it back down onto their side.

"…Anyone else feel like this still isn't fair?" Lukas grumbled. They were already down five points, their team would be lucky if they could even manage to return the ball.

Callie was feeling a little anxious herself. Because of her height she had been placed in the back row, which she didn't mind too much. What she was concerned about was the mood in the air right now. She'd wanted to play volleyball because she wanted to have fun, but she was still kind of worried what would happen if she tried her best. If she made too much of a spectacle out of herself, it might make people look at her weird.

For all her tall talk about being able to play volleyball even while being short, Callie still didn't really want to stand out so much. She'd thought this game would be fun. But if she tried her hardest, then she might…

"Callie, is everything okay?" Alcea asked, glancing back at her.

"H-Huh?" Callie asked, confused. "I mean, we're losing, but that's okay, right?" She tried to laugh it off with a smile, but Alcea still looked concerned. The redhead broke her place on the net and walked over to Callie.

"You seem to be… holding back, is it?" She asked, frowning. "Did you strain something earlier, with those men?"

Callie gasped. Alcea thought she was injured? "N-No! No, nothing like that!"

"Then what's wrong? You're not moving like you were before," Alcea asked.

"W-Well… that was… wait, what?" Callie was surprised that Alcea knew what she was capable of. She began to put the pieces together, and realized that the other girl was so concerned because she had expected Callie to be really athletic and tough, but her performance wasn't bearing that out because she was holding back.

"If you're feeling off your game, then we could-"

"No!" Callie blurted out, quickly shaking her head. "No need! I'm really, honestly excited! I can do this, I can totally do this!"

Her doubts had only been momentary, but it was nice to hear Alcea alleviate them. It felt like Nick was hear, encouraging her. If he'd been here, then she wouldn't have cared what any of them thought, she'd have done her best to show off to him.

And now she was gonna do that anyway.

"Hey, are you done?" Vic called from the serving line, tossing the beach ball from hand to hand. "Some of us still want to play!"

"I… did not expect… beach volleyball to be this strenuous…" Donoma groaned. She'd agreed to play because she was expecting a casual thing, just knocking the ball back and forth, maybe giving her a chance to show off her body in action in case some cute guy who hadn't been scared away earlier came by and wanted a peak.

But no, apparently that was too much to ask for, because she was dealing with fucking crazy people. She just wanted to end this whole mess.

"It's fine," Callie called back, reinvigorated. "I'm gonna switch though!"

Callie and Alcea switched places, much to the other side's confusion. But Vic didn't really care what they did, right now she only cared about winning and making her team, the Commander's team, look that much better.

"Okay, let's go!" Vic said, hitting the ball as high as she could. It sailed over the net, and was immediately smacked down by Callie. She must have jumped ten feet straight up into the air to block that shot!

The ball soared down to the ground like a meteor, colliding with the sand so hard it kicked up a miniature tidal wave.

Everyone stared in shock.

"Wooo!" Callie cheered. "Our ball!"

"Nice one!" Alden complimented her from across the net with a grin, which only soured Vic's mood even more. She picked up the ball and chucked it over to the other side, where Callie caught it. The team switched up their order, and she passed the ball to Donoma to serve.

"Uh… thanks. But I can't," Donoma said, shaking her head. Her body was already aching due to how hard she'd been exerting herself, and she was in no mood to continue playing this stupid game while that crazy bitch was on the court. "I'm dropping out… gonna go get some sunbathing done."

"What?!" Callie pouted. "You can't leave! We won't have even teams then!"

Donoma shrugged. "Sorry, but I'm not wrecking my body so that you guys can have fun."

"Donoma, the only problem is that you're trying too hard," Allen scoffed. "Lukas and I are doing fine, maybe you're just in bad shape?"

Donoma flipped him off in response, and stormed off the court.

"…Well that sucks," Callie groaned, hanging her head in disappointment. She'd gotten so worked up with excitement now, hoping to finally let loose and really get a good workout, and the game was ending without her even getting a chance to serve? What a bummer.

"Hey, I can always sit out, that will make the teams even," Rui volunteered. It was kind of an empty ask, since no one really thought it would be possible to play with only four people, but the gesture was appreciated anyway.

Rui sighed, and glanced back at the parasols. "Unless, does anyone else want to…?"

If Giselle, Chloe, and Keya had all been reluctant to play before, seeing Vic's performance had turned that reluctance into a nice and healthy fear. They all shook their heads frantically, and Rui sighed again in disappointment.

She'd just wanted to take the kids to have some fun, but it looked like beach volleyball was a bust. Why did Vic have to turn everything into a competition?

Her daughter might have said that she hated the tone of the Orre Region that dictated every battle was a matter of life and death and the only thing that mattered was victory, but she certainly did an excellent job of embodying it anyway.

"If you don't want to keep going, I guess you guys will be surrendering then?" Vic asked. She almost sounded a little disappointed, she had been enjoying herself.

"I guess that's the game, then," Rui agreed. It was getting kind of late anyway, maybe it was a good time to turn in and get some lunch.

"What're you guys doing here?"

Everyone turned to see Hiromi and Marion's group returning from their little fishing trip with confused expressions on their faces. It was plain to see that there wasn't a single fish among the six of them, but Marion still wore a smile.

Donoma froze halfway back to the blankets and whirled around, running back to the court with remarkable speed for a girl who'd just been complaining about her exhaustion earlier. She practically threw herself on the newcomers.

"Ayame!" She cried, grabbing Ayame's hands, her eyes shining with excitement as visions of new opportunities flashed in front of her eyes.

"…What?" Ayame asked, scowling. She broke free of Donoma's grasp and eyed the curvy girl suspiciously.

Donoma pulled back and twirled a lock of her hair like a flirty teen. "Oh, nothing… just, we were playing a little bit of beach volleyball, you see? And the game was going really well, but I got pretty tired so I needed to take a break. But with only a few people, they won't be able to keep playing, so… could you be a great group member and take my place? Puh-leeeeeaaze?!"

Ayame didn't really know what to say. After a rather boring fishing trip, she'd come back with her mother telling them it was time for lunch. She hadn't expected to be roped into a sporting event all of a sudden.

"Yeah!" Callie cheered, waving at Ayame excitedly. "You can be on my team, Ayame! It'll be a lot of fun!"

Ayame couldn't say she wasn't tempted. While she regarded anything Donoma suggested with suspicion, the fact that Callie was asking as well made her a lot more amenable to the idea. But it was still quite a surprise.

"Well… I thought we were going to eat?" Ayame asked, glancing at her mom.

Hiromi's eyes showed nothing but support though. "Oh, Ayame, it'll be fine! We have more than enough time for you kids to play your silly little games, that's the whole reason we came to the beach in the first place, to have fun!"

"Um… okay," she agreed.

"Great!" Callie practically slammed the ball into her face she threw it so hard. "You're serving! Give it your best, girl!"

Donoma was excited. This is exactly what she had been missing! She didn't give a fig about beach volleyball, but now that Ayame was playing, it was going to be an exciting show to say the least! She forgot all about her intention to join Olivia in sunbathing, she was focusing solely on the match, wishing she had a film camera to capture it!

Everyone else gathered around the scene, the excitement in the air was infectious! Both groups wanted to see Ayame join the game.

Needless to say, on the other side of the net, things were a little more tense. Seeing Ayame Toujou walk up, beach ball in hand, ready to serve, had Tommy and Rui secretly wishing even more that Vic hadn't turned this into some competition. Ross, of course, didn't let his true feelings on, and Alden was smiling as usual, filled with excitement at the prospect of a good challenge.

Vic didn't share in her superior's enthusiasm. She glared past the net at Ayame, tensing her body in preparation for what was to come.

Ayame smacked the ball, and that was that. She was tall, so tall that she could jump up and up and up, and swing down in an overhand spike from a serve. Even Callie was impressed by the force of the blow, she didn't think she could do any better.

Tommy rushed to the ball and lifted his hands to knock it back, but it nearly knocked him over to do so, he could barely get it over the net. And he happened to knock the ball right in Callie's direction, which she was quick to take advantage of.

Needless to say, the combination between Ayame's serves and Callie's frontline defense brought a quick and dirty conclusion to the "friendly game" of beach volleyball.

Rui sighed, shaking her head. What a mess. She was lucky there were no injuries. At least not physical ones, anyway. She didn't need harmonia to sense the seething rage coming off of her daughter, the product of her wounded pride.

She walked over to Vic and put her hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay, sweetie, you did your best," Rui tried. Truthfully Vic had done better than her best, and that wasn't a good thing. She could have taken it a lot easier. "I'm proud of you, you know? Those two were really tough."

"It's whatever," Vic nearly spat. She was seething. Not only was she angry at Callie and Ayame, she was angry at herself. Because she should have been comforted by her mother's words, but she wasn't. She hated that she was such a petty person and such a bad loser, almost as much as she hated the fact that Alden's attention had been focused on those other girls, and not on her.

"Dang Vic! That was a blast!" Alden laughed, clapping her on the shoulder as he passed her. "Wasn't that the most fun ever?! It was almost as good as a pokemon battle!"

"Uh…" Vic's anger fell away at the sight of Alden's smiling face, and she fumbled for words to agree with him. "Um, that's…"

"And you were great, the way you were moving? You really gave it your all out there!" Alden continued, filled with nothing but admiration for Vic's gallant form in that game. Even though it had quickly become clear that their team didn't have a prayer of winning, Vic had never given up, fighting valiantly until the end in order to win.

Vic was practically blushing with joy, like her previous bitterness didn't mean a thing. "Yeah," she said, smiling slightly. "It was pretty fun… I guess something like that isn't so bad every once and awhile, don't you think?"

Alden nodded in agreement. "Man, I really worked up an appetite, though," he said, rubbing his stomach. "Rui, you said we were going to go get food after this, right?"

Rui was so shocked by her daughter's transformation that she'd initially missed the fact that Alden was talking to her. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. "S-Sorry, what was that?"

"Food? Now? I'm starving," Alden explained.

"O-Oh! Oh, right," Rui said, nodding. "Sorry, I was just spacing out… must be the heat, hah!" She laughed, wiping the sweat off of her brow. "Yeah, we're going to go to one of the beach huts for lunch, I'll go check with Hiromi!"

She stumbled over the sand, surprised she felt that uncomfortable. Seeing that just now… it was a sight, that was for sure. It made her feel all fluttery inside.

It was always pretty clear Victoria liked that Alden boy… but wow, I had no idea she liked him THAT much! How sweet… Rui couldn't help but smile at the thought of her daughter's love life. At the same time, though, she understood that their relationship wasn't exactly the most perfect thing in the world, either.

Vic might have liked him, and she wasn't nearly as good at hiding it as she thought she was. But Alden? That boy, Rui just couldn't get a bead on him. She had no idea if he liked Vic as just a friend, or if he had feelings for her, heck, Rui couldn't be sure whether or not the guy had feelings for anyone, period! He was too much of an enigma.

She stopped halfway to Hiromi as a dawning realization struck her. Maybe Alden wasn't as much of a mystery as she thought.

The fact that he didn't care about romance and focused so much on pokemon battles that he would be completely blind to the feelings of someone right at his side, it reminded her of someone she knew all too well.

Oh good lord… he's just like my husband! She realized with a groan, burying her face in his hands. Alden might be all warmth and smiles where Wes was filled with cold scowls, but at their core the men were identical.

Rui said a silent prayer for her daughter's love life, she had a difficult road ahead of her.

So after a brief game of beach volleyball, we continue with our day! And in spite of Vic's efforts, she just can't get the Commander to see her as anything more than a subordinate, the poor girl. But she's still trying her best!