The Commander's group is headed for Agate Village! What will they find there? Hopefully, everyone can get a well-earned moment of peace, maybe Vic can even mellow out a little! That would certainly be nice, it's definitely something that she needs. She's a bit too high-strung, a little visit back home would be nice. And Agate Village is quite lovely itself!

KedharS: Hopefully it will be. But even if it's not, I think it's important we get some quality time in a peaceful place like Agate Village, to show that the Orre Region isn't all doom and gloom and misery like we've been getting.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 933

Alcea's eyes widened as the bus rolled up over the turn of the mountain and Agate Village came into view. She leaned in against the window to take it all in.

It was breathtaking.

From the gardens of her parents' estate, to the greenery of the island she had been stranded on, to the flowers of the Celadon City Gym, and of course, her own beloved rose garden at the Pokemon Academy, Alcea had spent her entire life surrounded by plants.

But the vibrant image before her was different. More majestic than any she'd come across, as hard as it was for her to accept.

As the bus rolled into town, everywhere she looked, she saw green. Green grass, growing beside the roads. Green leaves, hanging from the massive trees, whose roots were wrapped with green vines as well. The stone houses were covered in green moss, blotting out the other colors, and even the waters of the waterfall itself was a clear shimmering emerald hue, due to the green stones in the river bed and up the sides of the cliffs.

Callie stared at her friend and felt a smile crawl up her lips. She had never seen Alcea so… taken aback like this, it was one of the most adorable things in the world! Normally, her friend was the picture of stoicism and decorum, but right now she was staring out the window like a little girl on her first field trip, and it was just precious!

Even Vic couldn't help but smile at the sight of her beloved hometown. It brought to mind memories that were long-buried, back when she was a sweet little girl running through the fields and splashing about in the river.

Rui smiled warmly. Seeing her daughter soften like this reassured her that she had made the right choice in the end. Vic needed this. She needed to see that this trip wasn't about work, or about battles, or trying to be in charge, or whatever it was that made her so upset all the time. The purpose of this trip was for the students to enjoy themselves, and that had always been something she had trouble with.

When Vic was a little girl, she was the happiest child in the world. The population of Agate Village was mostly elderly and retired trainers, and it was a fairly small town, at that. Vic, in fact, had been the only child in the entire village.

She'd never seemed to mind that distinction, though. In fact, she seemed to enjoy herself. The whole village seemed to regard her as their collective granddaughter, and they all fell over themselves to make her smile.

Those days had been blissful, and Rui wished they had never changed. But unfortunately, the rest of the Orre Region wasn't the paradise that Agate Village was. And as Vic grew older, she would often wonder about the other parts of Orre. Rui had always regretted letting Wes take her out to see the world; after all, Agate Village was safe and peaceful, and everybody loved her there! But in the end, Rui couldn't stop him.

She had left town herself, when she was a little girl, to explore the world, and even though she'd experienced some tough times, they were experiences she wouldn't have traded for anything. It was because of exactly those journeys that she had met the man she loved, after all. She could never force her daughter to miss a chance like that.

Rui could still remember Vic's innocence. The way she wondered if the rest of the Orre Region was as green as Agate Village was. Rui didn't have the heart to tell her it wasn't, but her husband wasn't so kind.

"Then we should just take some of the trees and plant them in the other places, then! That way, everywhere can be green!" Vic had suggested. Her daughter was truly the most precious thing in the world, once upon a time.

Oh, how Rui missed those days.

Vic caught her mother staring at her, and realized that she was smiling. She quickly composed herself, not wanting to look like a fool in front of the others, and especially not in front of the Commander! She would die of embarrassment.

A few seconds later, the bus rumbled to a stop, and everyone moved to get off. Unsurprisingly, Vic pushed to the front of the line. She wouldn't let anyone else set foot in Agate Village before her, not even her beloved Commander.

She touched down on the grass, and smiled once again as she felt it push back up against her. The grass that grew in Agate Village was so thick and spongy it was practically like a shag carpet, a familiar sensation that she couldn't get anywhere else.

Closing her eyes, Vic took a deep breath and let her beloved hometown wash over her again. It was all flooding back to her. The sounds of the waterfall, just as loud, yet gentle, as it had been the first time she'd gone out to see it. The cool spring breeze kissing against her skin, reminding her of just how high up they really were. And of course, the familiar scent of the moss and bark, letting her know that the arid desert air was gone, and she was surrounded by life now.

It was good to be-

"Whoa, this place is pretty cool!" Tommy loudly broke Vic from her reverie, bumping into her as he got off the bus. Normally he wouldn't do something so careless, but he'd been cooped up on that metal prison for hours and he needed to stretch his legs.

Vic stumbled forward and nearly fell on her face, her good mood completely destroyed. She turned to Tommy and glared at him with the glare to end all glares, but he wasn't even paying attention to her at this point.

Seeing that her daughter was about to lose it, Rui was quick to get everybody's attention, guiding them away from the bus.

"Come on, everybody, we'll be staying at our house while we're here!" She called with a smile. "No need to worry about a hotel or anything like that, we only have a Pokemon Center this far out, after all! It may be a little crowded, but I can still treat you to some home cooking!"

Vic let out a sigh and calmed down. At least being back at her house would be relaxing, right?

"Boy, I'm actually kind of excited!" Keya said. "I can't wait to see what Vic's house looks like!" The poor kid was completely innocent, of course, and was genuinely excited to see. But he had said something very problematic without even realizing it.

"Yeah, it should be amusing," Ross agreed, smiling calmly. "I wonder what her room's gonna be like, for that matter? Do you think it's still the same from when she was a kid? Now that I would pay money to see!"

Vic froze. She had been so distracted by the prospect of coming back home that she had completely forgotten that this meant that everyone in their group would be seeing her house, too. And they'd meet everyone else in the village, and get a chance to take a peek at her things… hear stories about what she was like growing up…

…And the Commander would be there for all of them, as well.

No. Oh, no. No, no, NO! Fuck! Vic screamed internally, pushing ahead of the others and even passing her mother to get back home first.

"Victoria?! H-Hey! Come back here!" Rui cried. She knew that there would NEVER be any danger to her daughter in Agate Village, of all places, but she still wasn't going to just let Vic wander around unsupervised, she still had a job to do, after all!

Meanwhile, the last of the students were getting off the bus. Alcea had taken longer than the others, not even getting off when the luggage was being unloaded, because she had been too entranced by the wonders before her eyes. So lost in the beauty of Agate Village she had remained rooted to her seat, just… dreaming.

It took seeing everybody else out the window for her to realize what was going on, and she snapped out of her trance and got up, heading off the bus.

When Alcea took her first step into Agate Village, flower incubator clutched tightly in her hands, she had an experience very similar to Vic's. But while Vic's state of bliss was the byproduct of growing up in Agate Village all her life, for Alcea the things she was feeling had a root somewhere far different, far more mysterious.

There was something about this place. Something she couldn't quite put her finger on. It seemed almost… familiar to her, somehow, but she didn't know how that could be. After all, she was certain that she'd never been here before.

The atmosphere was just… she couldn't put her finger on it. Alcea was a very rational, reasonable person. Even in a world with fantastical creatures like pokemon, there was a certain level of skepticism that was still warranted when it came to belief about destiny and the supernatural. But the strange connection Alcea was feeling was certainly not something based in reality.

It was the sensation of meeting someone on the street, and being certain that you knew them from somewhere, even if you had never met them before. She stared up at the waterfall and the giant trees that framed it, and thought long and hard about what it could possibly mean.

"Alcea!"

A voice called out to her from the distance. She turned to see that, once again, she had been so lost in her own thoughts that she had been left behind by the other members of her group. Callie was waving to her from a large hut in the distance, and Rui was standing outside the door. Even this far away, Alcea could see the impatient look on her face.

She felt her cheeks turn scarlet. Shifting the flower to one hand, she slung her duffel bag over her shoulder and grabbed her suitcase, leaving the long-departed bus and heading in the direction of the others.

Then she froze. The spring wind carried with it a familiar scent, an aroma that she had forgotten until just this moment, but when it touched her she remembered it all, just as vividly as if it had been yesterday.

Unthinking, Alcea whirled towards the wind, but saw only the waterfall crashing down behind her, and the tangled roots sticking out of the sides of the cliff. A winding path led up the slope, and for a second, she wondered if she should follow it.

But no. That would be madness. She had to stick with the others. And besides, that scent… it had faded now, anyway. Perhaps she had just imagined it. Oui, that has to be what it was. There's no way it could be the case. I was merely lost in thought, being in such a beautiful place, is it? Agate Village merely calls to memory my old home.

In all her years of working with plants, there was only one place that Alcea had ever been which she could truly say was greenery untouched by man. The deserted island she had been stranded on. Even the wilds of the Pokemon Academy still carried with them some measure of control, and the school itself was never far. But the island… that had been pristine. A home to grass type pokemon everywhere, where they could live in peace.

Agate Village reminded her of that place. It was so peaceful. Beautiful, even. So far away from civilization. The damage that had been wrought upon the rest of the Orre Region only made the life of this secluded glen seem even brighter.

Maybe that's what it was. This aura of vitality she felt flowing through the wilds, perhaps it was just the feeling of nature in its purest state.

As Alcea shook her worries clear and turned to follow the others, she felt tears welling up in her eyes. She couldn't say what the cause of them was, but she knew that they were emotional, and powerful. And she wasn't quite sure she wanted them to stop.

"Geez, I don't see what the big deal is, it's just a bedroom. You could let us have a little peek." Tommy grumbled. They were all packed in pretty tightly in Rui's living room. In spite of volunteering her house for them to stay in, it quickly became apparent to Rui that such an arrangement was not a sustainable situation.

After all, her house was a nice little cottage. It had been built by her grandfather to live out his days with his wife, and after their passing, she and her husband had moved in to start raising their daughter. Even though it was much larger than one would expect of a house that was made for three, it was nowhere near large enough for ten teenagers, plus Rui and her husband. Even if they all slept out in the common areas, they would be absolutely CRAMPED for space.

Right now, though, that wasn't the issue that was one everyone's mind. Everyone was much more concerned with the fact that Vic wasn't allowing them anywhere NEAR her bedroom, and was standing stern in front of the hall with her arms crossed and wearing a glare that would paralyze even an Electric type.

Callie had seen Snorlaxes lying in major access roads that looked like they would be easier to move than Vic right now.

"I said no," she growled menacingly.

"Come on, Vic, what's the big deal?" Alden laughed. "It's just your room. I'd like a chance to see it myself!"

Vic was stuck between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, she didn't want the Commander to see her room. Ever. It was too much… well, it was just too much like how she used to be. She'd never live it down in a million years if someone else saw it.

On the other hand, she couldn't just outright refuse him. After all, he was the Commander! And she made it a point of pride that she followed his orders to the letter!

She was feeling the pressure bearing down on her, and it wouldn't be long before she snapped. Rui winced, sensing her daughter's stress through the connection of their harmonia. This wasn't what she'd wanted. She had never intended for Vic to feel so put-out by bringing her classmates along to see her childhood home.

The whole reason Rui had come to Agate Village in the first place was because she wanted her daughter to be able to relax, not so she would be under constant stress! She was beating herself up about it and felt like she needed to step in when salvation came from an unlikely source.

"If she said she doesn't want you to see her room, then she doesn't want you to see her room," Maddi snapped, startling everyone. She looked up from her phone with an icy glare that matched Vic's. "People have the right to some privacy in their own homes, don't you think?"

Nobody really had a response to that. Maddi had been very quiet for most of the trip, almost as much as Mason and Chloe. So to hear her come to Vic's defense in a situation like this, especially considering the existing animosity Vic had towards Maddi for being another girl who'd been invited into the group by the Commander, everyone was a little taken aback.

Nobody was more surprised than Vic herself, though, and her stern countenance momentarily softened as she stared dumbly at the other girl.

Then, an even more unlikely voice spoke up.

"I-I think so, too!" Chloe squeaked. "It's… it's her room, after all, and girls… well, girls have a lot of personal, private things in their rooms… and… and… it would be really embarrassing for someone to see them, and…"

Her voice got fainter and fainter as more eyes turned her way, and by the end she completely shut her mouth and said nothing at all.

"H-Hey, wait, there's nothing embarrassing in my room, okay?!" Vic said, her flustered expression telling everyone how much of a lie that was. "I just don't want you guys taking a look inside, do you understand?!"

Chloe nodded meekly and shrank down a little, her face paling. She'd only meant to come to Vic's defense, but now she was regretting saying anything at all.

Oh, gosh, she'd just made it worse! What was she thinking, getting involved in drama with people she barely even knew?!

Maddi nudged her in the side with her elbow and Chloe nearly fell off the cushion she was sitting on. She glanced cautiously at the other girl.

Chloe had shared a room with Maddi when they were in Gateon City, and even though sharing a room with somebody else was always stressful, she had appreciated the fact that Maddi seemed to be a very reserved person herself.

After all, Maddi didn't even talk to Chloe, which meant the number of opportunities Chloe had to make herself look like a fool or make the other girl mad were few and far between, which was something she very much appreciated.

But now, Maddi was looking right at her.

"Don't worry about it," she whispered coldly. "You did good there. Vic's just a little mental, you shouldn't feel bad about yourself."

Chloe blinked in wonder, she hadn't expected something like that. Maddi was quiet and had a generally cold demeanor about her, and Chloe had always thought that, in fact, the other girl didn't really like her all that much.

But now Maddi was being NICE!

Chloe had no idea what to make of that, so she just nodded dumbly.

"Um… thank you?" She whispered.

Maddi didn't reply, she was already back to looking on her phone. Maybe Chloe had misunderstood, and Maddi wasn't actually that nice? Or maybe she was just shy, like her. Or maybe, or maybe, or maybe, …or maybe Chloe should stop thinking too much about this before she got herself all worked up again over nothing.

Alden, at least, took the girls' words to heart.

"Yeah, I guess you two have a point," he admitted with a laugh. "Sorry, Vic, I didn't mean anything by it, I was just a little curious, you know? After all, we are in your hometown, can you blame me for wanting to check out your room to get to know you a little better?"

Vic had to clench her jaw to keep from making a fool out of herself. Again, she was split. She definitely didn't want the Commander to look inside of her room, but at the same time, she was thrilled that he wanted to look inside of her room, get to know her better, these were all things that made her unbelievably happy!

But she had to control herself. Or else she'd just become some sappy, lovestruck fool!

Rui, on the other hand, was just relieved that it looked like her daughter was finally starting to calm down. She didn't want Vic to snap again. Oh, if only it was as easy to calm Vic down as it had been when she was a little girl, and they could just go outside and enjoy the peace and quiet of nature in Agate Village…

Then, like a bolt of lightning, she had a brilliant idea about how she could solve the space problem they had!

"Everyone!" Rui said, clapping her hands. "I just had a great idea!"

Everybody turned to look at her.

"What do you guys think about camping?" She asked, smiling brightly.

Well, that's an interesting solution. So, the Commander's group has finally made it to Agate Village! And it seems like a very nice place! The reactions are definitely quite something. I wonder what's going on with Alcea, though… what will Agate Village have in store for her, and the others? I guess we'll have to find out!