The Phantom tried his hardest to seduce Ange to his side, but he wasn't biting. Ange made the right call, probably, I don't think the Phantom is someone you should trust, after all. But what will come after this? What else will the group do today?

Saad: Those are some interesting thoughts. You're making great progress.

KedharS: Nah he's lying.

REDMASTEROFPOKEMON: Okay.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Well, those are all valid points, and part of the reason why Ange wants nothing to do with the idea.

Venoms Cross 2: Yeah that's not his master plan, don't worry. They're just pretty words.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 904

Ange may have been insulted by how bold the Phantom had been in trying to bullshit her, but she was also slightly impressed. He hadn't hesitated for a second to tell her all about this ideal world he was planning, like he'd had this explanation prepared specially for her.

She knew how he worked, after all.

The Phantom was a manipulator. That was his greatest skill, it was what he practiced in order to amass the power and influence that he had. He would find the weak point of someone, and then use that weak point to get them to work how he wanted.

For example, he knew that as much as Ange might hate the idea of working with him due to how much value he put on science and his work with creating Shadow Pokemon, he could still get her to work with him by offering her something she wanted. She wanted the Oracles, and he could help her get them, so she was obligated to work with him.

That was the way he operated, and that was the reason he had told her about this "idea" of his to create a system where there would be no more pokemon battles because everyone would be equal through Shadow Pokemon.

It was an attempt to play to the things that Ange desired, namely a system where pokemon weren't exploited by trainers and forced into conflict with each other. A type of olive branch to help coax her into seeing his work in a positive light, so she would continue to work with him without seeming so hostile about it.

And she believed it about as much as she believed that his name really was "Richard Valon".

Ange wasn't a fool. She knew that every word he had spewed were lies stacked up upon lies, manipulation after manipulation. He wanted to turn her into another puppet on a string in order to control her. Because she was strong? Because the information she had access to was valuable? Or more likely than not, because he didn't want to keep his end of the bargain.

Whatever the reason, Ange was confident that the Phantom wasn't creating these Shadow Pokemon in order to have balance in pokemon battles with deterrents or whatever other bullshit. If he was, then he wouldn't need Ange in the first place.

It was concerning that he was trying to force their partnership even more, though, because that meant there was a chance, even a small one, that he saw Ange as a threat. After all, if she could be kept on the leash she already wore, then he wouldn't need to win her over. The fact he had tried meant that Ange could no longer trust that this partnership would be lucrative in the long run.

She had given him a lot. Her knowledge of history was crucial for the next phase of his plan with Shadow Pokemon, and right now, she was the one who held all the cards. But she couldn't exactly back out of it, either.

Because as much as she hated the steps that it took to get there, the next phase of the Phantom's plan was something that she needed to see through to completion herself. Otherwise, there wouldn't be a chance for any progress at all.

So she wouldn't let her manipulate him further than this. She'd continue down this path, and then she'd make him give her everything she wanted.

Then, and only then, would his Renegade System be completed.

"I believe I've said all I'm going to say on the matter," Ange coldly rebuffed any attempt for the Phantom to continue his disgusting thoughts. "If there's nothing else you want, then I suggest we return to our seats before our chaperone gets any more suspicious about what we're doing out here. You wouldn't want to draw attention to yourself after all, isn't that right?"

The Phantom smiled at her, but it wasn't even a fake smile at this point. The smile he wore was leaking malevolence, and that made Ange feel much better.

"I agree, we've spent enough time talking for now," the Phantom said, nodding. "But before we head back, I'm curious, Ange, were you able to find that Oracle after all?"

Ange tensed. She hadn't expected that question from him, and she froze at it. What… what did he know? What had he heard? Did he know that she had snuck out last night to go to the Under? That couldn't be the case, right? She'd made her escape flawlessly. But the way he was talking made it sound like that's exactly what he thought.

"…I don't know what you mean," Ange calmly replied, trying not to lose her cool.

"Well, you went to the Under last night, didn't you?" He asked, his eyes glinting with triumph as a scowl broke out across Ange's face.

…So he did know. She didn't know how he'd figured it out, but he had.

"…So what about it?" She muttered. "What's it to you what I do with my time?"

"Oh! So I was right," Valon said, brightening up. "That's good. I figured it was something like that. After all, Ange, you're the kind of girl who plays things pretty close to the vest, so I couldn't be sure. But knowing the kind of person you are, I doubted that you'd let even a single night in Pyrite Town go by without trying to find that Oracle for yourself."

Ange could only glare at him furiously. So he'd just guessed. "Yeah, I guess we're all predictable to someone as clever as you," she said sarcastically, moving to walk around him. But he held out his arm to stop her.

"So how far did you get?" He asked next. "I don't think you actually managed to find it, after all, if you did, your mood would be a lot better. But judging by how sleepy you seem, I'd say you probably spent all night trying, didn't you? Did you even manage to get to the Under?"

Ange broke his arm free and stormed past him. "What I do on my own time is no concern of yours," she growled over her shoulder.

But he wasn't letting up. Before, it had been a gentle extended arm. This time though, he grabbed her by the wrist, and Ange lost it. She shook herself free, and whirled upon him, letting out everything she'd been forced to endure.

She'd been bottling it up for so long. All that rage and hatred that had been building up during her time in the Pyrite Colosseum. She couldn't stand it! It was all ready to come out, and the Phantom's face made the perfect little punchable target.

But her fist never connected. Before it even came close, Misato grabbed her other wrist out of the air with the speed and precision of a machine, holding her in place with enough force to stop her but not enough to cause any damage.

"It is not permitted for you to physically engage with the Phantom," Misato calmly rebuked Ange. "It is advised for you to desist from any further attempts to harm him in my presence. I will proceed to escalate the physical response from this point forward if you do not comply. Is this understood?" She asked.

"…Yeah, it's understood," Ange growled.

Misato let her go.

"That was a rather sensitive response from someone who's usually so well-composed," Valon mused. "It seems to me like you've got some temper problems, is that because of frustration, or fatigue, I wonder? Or maybe both?"

Ange was right about ready to try for a second punch, "escalated physical response" be damned. But she controlled herself.

"Just leave me alone," she growled. "I'll find the Oracle on my own, I don't need the help of someone like you."

"That's rather ambitious of you, I can respect that," Valon said, nodding in agreement. "But if you ask me, you do still need quite a bit of help. Again, have you managed to find the Under? If not, I could always-"

"Like I said, I don't need the help from someone like you," she repeated. "Now, are we done? Or are you going to continue to be annoying?"

Valon only smiled and shook his head. "Oh, I think we're done," he agreed. "Congratulations. I didn't think you'd have it in you, making it down to the Under like that. But I guess I should stop underestimating you."

Ange's eye twitched in frustration and she clicked her tongue. So he'd seen through that one too, huh? This prick was really starting to piss her off.

Valon could see how upset she was, and continued. "Knowing you, if you were really stuck on finding a way into the Under, I think you would ask for my help," he explained. "You may have your pride, but you know as well as I do that once you've joined with me once, there's no harm in asking for assistance a second time."

The big, fake smile on his face was one of the biggest she'd ever seen from him.

"I like taking care of my friends," he explained to her. "So if you're really in need of help, you know that I'd be happy to step in at any time. But since you aren't asking, that means you must have found your own way in. And that's great! Good luck trying to find it!"

He leaned in close and she flinched, pulling away from him. The disturbing chill he gave rocked her to the core.

"But remember, we won't be here forever, you know," he reminded her. "And you should really think about finding it sooner, rather than later, if you don't want any problems down the road. We're only in Pyrite Town for a few more days, after all."

"…What are you talking about?" Ange snarled, finally goaded into a response. This was the first she'd ever heard about that. "Where are you planning to go next?"

Valon smirked. "Oh, somewhere very special," he assured her. "The kind of place that you'll just despise. And there aren't any Oracles there, either."

Ange narrowed her eyes. So he was putting her on a ticking clock, then. Trying to bait her into asking for his help.

"You can ask Kiana, but I already discussed it with her," he continued. "She agreed that we'll be leaving Pyrite Town in a few days. So if you need any help finding that Oracle, now's the time to ask. The Under must be a pretty big place, after all."

Ange wanted to scream. He'd gotten her, there was nothing she could do about it. But she held her tongue and recomposed herself, making sure that the frustration wasn't apparent on her face. Then she smiled.

"Thank you for looking out for my interests," she thanked him. "It's really appreciated. I'll let you know if I need any help, okay?"

Valon smiled back at her. "That will be just fine. I'd like to keep my promise to you however I can, after all, you getting your hands on that Oracle works out perfectly for me."

The Phantom was trying to use Ange, and Ange didn't like him or trust him. That was the relationship that existed between the two.

An air of tension burned between them for a moment more, and then the tension snapped.

"Well, if there's nothing else, I think it's about time for us to head back," Ange said. "Kiana must be concerned about us by this point, and if she finds out we've just been loitering in the hallway that could lead to complications."

"I couldn't agree more," Valon laughed, and the two headed back to the stadium with Misato following behind them.

They were practically walking arm in arm, not showing a trace of their prior hostility.

Kiana sighed with relief when she saw the students return. "Oh, thank god…" she murmured, going unheard over the fervor of the crowd. The match had reached a critical point, and it wouldn't go on for much longer.

People were starting to get passionate, and that passion was starting to make even the most composed of the Phantom's group start to feel a little anxious. It was like a brawl was about to break out among the spectators.

Willa watched lazily from her seat, fingering an aerosol can. If worst came to worst, she could start spraying the people around them with knockout gas, but that might be the cause of even bigger problems.

It was Ange who finally gave them the excuse to leave.

"Kiana!" She practically had to shout over the angry roars of the audience. "Can we go back to the hotel?"

"What?!" Kiana shouted back, thinking for a second that she'd misheard Ange.

"The hotel!" Ange repeated. "I'd like to go back! I'm not feeling well!"

Kiana's eyes widened. That was perfect! Ange had given her exactly the excuse she needed to clear them out of here, and not a moment too soon. Another few minutes of this and she suspected a bloodbath would begin.

Then she realized that she had just been glad that one of the students under her care was feeling sick, and she felt a little sick herself. That wasn't something a good chaperone was supposed to do.

"Okay, we can go!" Kiana said, rising to her feet and beckoning for the other students to leave. For a moment she thought that she might get some pushback in case members of the group wanted to stay and see the conclusion of the tournament, but to her surprise, everyone agreed to go back without issue.

The group filed out into the hallway, and Kiana pulled Ange aside, concerned.

"You said you weren't feeling well?" She clarified. "What's the matter? Are you still feeling tired? Or was the match too intense?"

Ange shook her head. "No, nothing like that," she lied. "I just felt a little sick to my stomach. That's why I had to use the bathroom, I needed to throw up."

That part was true, anyway.

"Oh, no, that's awful!" Kiana winced. "I can't believe that!"

It was just a statement of sincerity, but a certain someone in the group took her words literally.

"You should believe what she is saying," Misato said. "She did indeed throw up in the bathroom."

Kiana gasped in surprise and Ange felt her face heat up with shame.

"That's…"

Misato clarified. "To be precise, I observed Ange discharging material from her stomach for a period of 17.85 seconds. After that initial discharge she took a break lasting 2.38 seconds and then resumed for an additional-"

Ange practically launched herself at the Mechadoll to shut the damn thing's mouth.

Kiana looked a little green around the gills herself.

"I-I'm sorry to hear that," she said, taking a step back in case Ange was contagious. "No wonder you looked so tired this morning… Okay, you're right. I think it's for the best if we head back to the hotel, if you really are that sick. You're going to need to get some rest."

When Ange said that she wanted to go back to the hotel, she had just meant that she wanted them to leave. But then she understood what Kiana was offering her, and realized this was something that worked out perfectly.

Kiana had just given her an excuse to stay locked up in her room, and presented it to Ange on a silver platter. She would be a fool not to take it!

"Y-Yeah," Ange nodded. "I think… that would be for the best. I don't know if the worst is behind me yet, after all."

Kiana was all business. She may have messed up earlier bringing the students to a place like the Pyrite Colosseum, but now was her chance to make it right and do what a good chaperone was supposed to do!

"Let's head back to the hotel so you can get some rest, okay?" Kiana gently suggested, slipping into big sister mode on accident. "It's getting pretty late anyway. Then the rest of us can go get some dinner, would that work?"

"I-I think that's fine," Ange said, trying her best to play up how tired and sick she looked, and not try to come off as too eager.

With that, Kiana led them back to the hotel so Ange could turn in for the day, completely blind to the fact that Ange was using her "sickness" in order to find another opportunity to sneak out.

If I have Levi stay locked in the bathroom while I'm gone, then I can just have her pretend to be throwing up whenever someone comes to check on me, Ange thought, resisting the urge to smile. It's the perfect disguise! No one would come in and blow her cover in that situation!

Ange would have all the time in the world to search the Under for the Oracle.

She just had to get back to the hotel.

Unfortunately, there was someone who was making that rather difficult. On the walk back to the hotel, she felt a tug on her sleeve, and turned in surprise to see Willa looking up at her with those dull, empty eyes of hers.

"…What is it?" Ange asked warily.

A crooked grin spread across Willa's tired face.

"So did you really throw up?" She whispered.

Ange, so focused on her plans that she didn't sense the danger in Willa's question, just muttered "yeah, why?"

Willa dug into her lab coat and took a bottle of pills out, presenting them to Ange.

"Here. Take two. It'll fix everything that's wrong with your stomach, I promise," she said, but the gleam in her eye betrayed her true intentions.

Ange felt a chill, and a wave of nausea washed back up over her. Maybe she really WAS sick.

"Uh… no, thank you. I'm fine, really," she said, terrified of the thought of trying one of Willa's special concoctions.

"Are you sure?" Willa pressed. "If you don't like pills, I also have an edible gel paste you can try!"

Ange picked up the pace, wanting to put as much distance between herself and the mad scientist as possible without giving anything away.

She couldn't get back to the hotel fast enough.

So it looks like Ange's little trip to the bathroom ended up landing her the perfect cover to explore the Under unhindered! But will it be enough? Will she be able to find the Oracle that's hidden down there, or will she be forced to rely on the Phantom's help?