After spending a lot of time focusing on the students and their interactions with each other, and after a very awkward breakfast, it's time we really move forward with the story! We've spent a lot of time in Gateon City, way more time than anyone who actually PLAYED Pokemon XD ever spent there, that's for sure. So with that in mind, let's see where the members of Olivia's group will head next!

KedharS: Don't feel too sorry for Donoma, she's not a good person.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Yep, he went through some roughness, that's for sure. And there's probably more to come. But he managed to preserve his dignity, at least, and that's a good thing.

Rowlets and Oshawotts: Glad to hear it! Roller coasters are supposed to be enjoyable, after all.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 923

After breakfast, the students in Olivia's group stood outside the restaurant to plan out the day's activities.

Hiromi wanted to do something today in order to get the group's mind off of the tension that was currently hanging over their heads. The first thing that came to her mind was the idea that they could go to the beach again. After all, that had been what Donoma had wanted to do yesterday, spend more time at the beach, and she had been upset that Hiromi had made them leave early. So she hoped that by having them spend the day at the beach, Donoma's mood might improve.

"I'm not really in the mood," Donoma replied testily.

"O-Oh," Hiromi said, a little taken aback. She had thought that the beach would be the perfect thing for their group, but it turned out that the person who had seemed most interested in it had changed her mind overnight.

The reason was that Donoma no longer cared about the beach. Anonymous hookups weren't doing it for her at this point. She had changed her priorities. Now it was about getting to Lukas… somehow. She didn't know yet, she was still just upset.

Was she planning on seducing him again? Making another proposition where he couldn't refuse? Or was she going to forego that and focus on getting direct revenge? Both of them were tempting avenues to "win" over him. She wasn't sure yet at this point.

But what she did know was that she wasn't interested in hooking up at the beach anymore. That wasn't going to get her where she wanted to get. So when Hiromi proposed the idea, her reaction was less than pleasant.

Hiromi looked to the others for feedback. But not a lot of other people in the group wanted to go to the beach today, either. Lila and Darla had their fill yesterday, while the others were playing volleyball, and Allen didn't care one way or the other. Olivia would have liked to work on her tan, but other than that, the beach didn't have very much appeal to her, either. Ayame had fun playing beach volleyball, but without people to play with, the beach didn't have anything for her. Giselle and Lukas were too busy worrying about Donoma to have any fun, which just left Celia, Jessie, and Marion.

Marion always wanted to go to the beach, of course, because she loved fishing. But even fishing enthusiasts like Celia and Jessie were starting to get a little burnt out from fishing all day, every day, so they were on the side of "not the beach today", too.

When it came down to it, the Empress's group was just running out of things to do at Gateon Port, that was it. The beach was nice and all, but they'd gone to most of the shops, and checked out what few tourist attractions there were.

Hiromi was wondering what they should do next, should they leave? Maybe go to one of the other towns in the Orre Region? Of course, there weren't that many other fun activities to do in other places, either.

She was beginning to think that having the kids go on such a long field trip to the Orre Region might not have been the best idea. The reason they were supposed to stay there for 45 days was because they wanted to give the students time to not just work on their school activities, but also have enough free time to spend exploring the region and doing things they enjoyed. Travel wasn't instantaneous, after all, and there were a lot of sights to see.

That theory would have held up in another region, at any rate, and often did. But this year, the trip was to the Orre Region, which, while comparable in size to other regions, was filled with wastelands and uninhabitable areas, and only a small handful of towns.

So why were they spending so much time here? It wasn't like the region was that big on the tourism scene, after all.

Hiromi was wondering if they would end up getting bored, having to spend so much time in a place with so little to do. Heck, the kids seemed like they were already bored of Gateon City, and Gateon City had a beach! It was maybe the number one tourist destination in the Orre Region for anyone who didn't want to win money off of pokemon battles in the Colisseums, and that wasn't something she could condone the students doing, nor was it something that she believed they would find at all enjoyable, either, given their specialties.

Ultimately, it wasn't Hiromi who saved them from boredom with an idea of what they could do today to try and clear the tense atmosphere.

The suggestion came from the most unlikely of sources, Marion Rivers.

And for once, what she suggested wasn't that they go fishing.

"Hey, if we're not going to hit the beach, what about going to check out the Pokemon HG Laboratory?" Marion suggested. "It's a really cool place, even if there isn't a whole heck of a lot to do, you know? It could be fun!"

Everyone was surprised by her suggestion, especially since they were used to not taking Marion too seriously. But nobody had anything to say against the idea, even if it was a pretty unusual one to propose for a field trip.

"Seriously? You want to go to a freaking pokemon lab? And do what, look at computers all day or something? That's gotta be the dumbest idea I've ever heard."

…Nobody except Donoma, of course, who was just in a generally bad mood.

Hiromi thought that it was a great idea. From the map she had, she knew that the Pokemon HQ Lab was only an hour or so away from Gateon City by bus. They could be there and back in the blink of an eye, or heck, maybe even more on to another location if that's what everyone wanted.

Plus, she personally wanted to go check out the pokemon lab. It was where Marion had done her practicum, and from what she'd heard of the place, it was a lab that was dedicated to studying the environment and working on restoration projects to try and bring some of the natural life back to the Orre Region.

For a retired Pokemon Ranger like Hiromi, checking out a place dedicated to Pokemon Conservationism sounded like a real blast. And besides, the kids could use a bit of education on this trip, after all, it wasn't all supposed to be fun and games.

Of course, Hiromi didn't want to impose her own wants on the group. She was the chaperone, which meant that she had final say whether or not the kids could go somewhere if they wanted to, but that didn't mean that she could control where they were going. This was a trip for her students, after all, and if the rest of them were against it like Donoma, there was nothing to be done. Forcing them to go somewhere they didn't want to would just have the opposite effect.

So Hiromi put on her most diplomatic smile when she gave her reply. "I think that sounds like a great idea, Marion! Going to visit an environmental lab? What about the rest of you, what do you think? Sound like fun?"

She looked hopefully at the other students. She really wanted them to get onboard.

Luckily, a few of them were already amenable to the idea.

"I think it sounds great, mom!" Ayame chirped, flashing a rare smile. Hiromi beamed at her daughter. Ayame may not have shared her mother's passion for taking care of the environment, and preferred to pursue her own dream rather than follow in her mother's footsteps, but Hiromi had raised her right, and nurtured a healthy respect for nature in her little girl.

With Ayame's approval, the tide turned gradually. Jessie and Celia were already onboard with the idea because Marion had made it sound fun, and Ayame's approval just cemented their agreement to at least give it a try. Meanwhile, Giselle wanted to go as well, since Ayame was interested. Ayame had done a big favor for her last night, and this morning, and Giselle wanted to repay it somehow. Plus, going to that lab would give her something to take her mind off of Donoma, which was definitely a good possibility too.

The real surprise vote was Olivia's, though.

"Well, it sounds like it could be fun," she said with a shrug, and even Ayame was taken aback that her friend would agree with such an idea. For one, Marion had proposed it, and Olivia was pretty often against anything Marion wanted to do. For another, Olivia herself didn't ever really have much interest in the environment to begin with; she was more of a modern gal, swept up in things like social media and other "modern" activities, not exactly the kind of person who would want to be cooped up in a lab with a bunch of nerds talking about environmental regulations.

Marion was thrilled at Olivia's response, though.

"Yeah! Definitely! It's going to be a blast!" She cheered, sweeping forward like a tidal wave and pulling Olivia into a big hug. "I'm SOOOOOO glad you're onboard!"

"Hey! Let go of me!" Olivia snarled, shaking free of Marion's grasp and shooting her a glare. "Don't get me wrong, this has nothing to do with you! I don't actually want to go to a crummy place like that, but it's not like we have anything better to do!"

The truth of the matter was, Olivia's decision to support Marion's idea was motivated less out of a respect for researchers or the environment, and more out of a general desire to get out of Gateon City for the day.

Donoma wasn't the only one who was hung up about the events of the day before. Olivia wouldn't say anything, but she was pretty irritated herself.

The swimming contest had been amazing. She had gotten to show off in front of Alcea and make it clear how much more appealing she was, even if the results hadn't gone exactly the way that she had intended.

But of course, Alcea had gone and ruined the whole thing.

Olivia had seen how much fun she'd had, playing beach volleyball with the Commander. And not to mention the way the two talked about the match between Ayame and Vic? They seemed like they were on the exact same page! And who KNOWS what else they did together after that!

Alcea barely paid her any attention after the competition. She didn't even get a "thank you" for letting her keep the swimsuit! No, she just had eyes for the Commander.

If Olivia didn't know any better, she would have suspected that Alcea actually had feelings for that guy! But that would be ridiculous, right?

Either way, Olivia didn't want to hang out with their group again. She didn't even want to run into them on the street, not until she'd had a chance to clear her head. She kept imagining the two of them together, and it was pissing her off.

She was better than this, after all. She shouldn't get caught up thinking about someone like Alcea Vermeil, that girl was nothing compared to her!

So yes, some time away from them, where she wouldn't have to see them? It was just what the doctor ordered.

And she didn't even mind going to some nerdy place like a pokemon lab if that's what it took to clear these feelings of frustration away for a while.

"So Olivia, you want to go check it out, too?" Hiromi clarified. She was confused about what Olivia had just said, in spite of the favor she'd shown the idea earlier.

Olivia nodded her head to confirm it.

"Yeah," she agreed. "I think it's for the best, really. What's the worst that could happen?" She was clearly not excited about the idea, but she was at least willing to give it a shot. And that was enough for Hiromi.

"Great!" Hiromi cheered, sighing in relief. "I'm glad to hear it!"

With Olivia's support, the stragglers came falling in line like dominos. In the end, almost everyone agreed that they should go check out the pokemon lab, and even Donoma was willing to give it a chance.

So Hiromi took them to the bus station, and they headed out.

"Woooow!" Lila gasped in awe as she looked out the window of the bus. They were getting closer to the Pokemon HQ Laboratory, and the terrain was starting to change. Most of the Orre Region was a desert, and that had led to the common perception that the entire place was a barren wasteland. But as the kids were seeing, that wasn't the case.

In fact, there was a fair amount of greenery and vegetation within the borders of the Orre Region. Locations like Agate Village were the most famous tourist destinations, but in the areas to the north of Gateon City, there was still quite a bit of green.

Pokemon may not have been able to inhabit the land, due to the damage that had been done to the soil making it impossible for berries to grow in the foreseeable future, but right now, looking at the trees that lined the road towards the pokemon lab, it was impossible to deny that the Orre Region still carried the pulse of life within its veins.

"It's wonderful," Marion sighed wistfully, looking at the rushing river flowing beside them, trailing towards the seas of Gateon. "Seeing sights like these really reminds me of how much work I need to do, to make sure all of Orre can someday look this lively, after all that's happened to it until now."

Nobody said a word. Not Olivia, who found everything Marion said irritating, not even Donoma, who seemed to be in the mood to find fault with everything today.

Marion's words were poignant, and the group appreciated them in silence as they thought about the weight of the impact human beings have had on the environment, in the Orre Region and countless other places across the pokemon world.

Hiromi smiled at the complex looks on everyone's faces. Hopefully, this would be a great day of learning for these students.

It wasn't long before they arrived at the Pokemon HQ Laboratory. It was a rather fancy building that seemed to stand out in stark contrast to the greenery that surrounded it, but somehow it didn't appear to be that much of an imposition on the environment. The people who had built the structure did so with a careful eye towards the impact such a building could have on the ecosystem, what little of it there was, and made sure to find a spot where the damage was minimal. Even the river itself, rather than being diverted, flowed gently through a constructed canal. Not one panel of the building threatened the cradle of life surrounding it.

Marion was the first one off the bus, practically throwing her hat in the air with glee. She was so excited to show everyone the place she'd been working at for the last few months! She held up her ID card to the scanner and the doors buzzed open, and she skipped inside.

Hiromi and the others followed Marion into the lobby. Tours of the lab were commonplace so people weren't looking at them oddly, and the lady at the reception desk greeted them with a smile that Marion returned.

"Heya Janice!" She greeted.

"Marion! Welcome back! I thought you were off duty now?" The receptionist, Janice, greeted her back. "And I see you've brought some friends with you today! What can I do for you?

"Yep, that's right! I've brought some of my friends along! They wanted to check out the lab and see some of the stuff we get up to around here!" Marion explained. "So what do you think? Is the professor up for a guided tour?"

The woman looked a little surprised.

"Uhum, um… Marion, you know we have tour guides for this sort of thing, right?" She said with an awkward laugh. "Asking the professor is a bit-"

"Oh, a tour guide will be absolutely fine!" Hiromi said, walking up to the counter before Marion could object. "I'm sure the professor must be very busy, we wouldn't want to bother them after all!" She laughed it off easily.

Marion seemed a little dejected, but nodded in agreement. "Well, if that's what-"

"Oh, Jovi thinks that will be just fine!" A melodious voice called from behind them.

Everyone turned to see a young woman dressed in a white lab coat walk up to greet them with a smile on her face. She had neon blue hair that reached her chin, partially tied up above her head in two buns that looked like tiny ears. Her bright blue eyes sparkled behind a pair of glasses.

"Professor Jovi!" Marion said, her face lighting up. She ran over to give the professor a hug. "It's been, like, forever since I saw you! How have you been?!"

"Marion, you were here just last week," Jovi said, chuckling.

Marion shrugged, and gave her a lopsided grin.

Jovi sighed in exasperation, and smiled back. "You know, you're a whole bunch of trouble, aren't you?" She laughed. "I thought I told you that you'd completed your practicum hours with us, but here you are, right back in like nothing's wrong."

"I couldn't help it, I met up with some of my classmates and I just had to show them around!" Marion said. "We're on a field trip to learn more about the Orre Region, and hey, you can't miss the Pokemon HQ Lab, right? So I talked with Hiromi here, and she agreed that we could come!" Marion slapped Hiromi on the shoulder cheerfully.

Jovi had to admit that Marion made a compelling case. "Another tour group of students from the Pokemon Academy, huh? I guess I should have expected that." She turned to Hiromi. "So you're one of Marion's classmates?"

Hiromi's eye twitched and she cleared her throat, ignoring the snickers of the students behind her. "Actually," she said coolly, "I'm the chaperone in charge of these students, I'm an adult, thank you very much."

"Oh, cool!" Jovi said. "So you're one of their big sisters? Professor Jovi has a big brother herself, and he's just the coolest, even if he's a little silly sometimes. It's always nice to meet an older sibling who looks out for their younger siblings!"

The snickers had developed into full-blown suppressed laughter at this point, and even Ayame was joining in.

Lila was practically rolling around on the floor at the hilarity.

Hiromi took a few deep breaths, and remembered how much she admired the work that was done at the Pokemon Laboratory.

"Actually," she said calmly, "I'm one of these girls' mother."

She didn't say which one. The professor's reaction to that statement was shocked enough, if she knew that Ayame was Hiromi's daughter the look on her face might have elicited utter bedlam.

"…Well, Professor Jovi is certainly impressed!" The professor said, quickly regaining her chipper attitude. "And she would be happy to show you kids around! Any friend of Marion's is someone who can do no wrong by me!"

And with that, the professor led the students towards the beginning of the tour.

We've moved on from Gateon City and the beach, and are headed towards the Pokemon HQ Laboratory! This marks the point where the story really starts to pick up, and we focus on the more serious aspects of what's going on in the Orre Region. Consider this the beginning of the "main" story of Orre, after we finished with the prelude! What will the pokemon lab reveal?