So while Alcea and the other girls are taking care of Shaymin, what's Wes getting up to right now? Who are these girls that are looking for a tour guide? I think a nice, peaceful tour of Agate Village would be an excellent contrast to all the stress of trying to heal Shaymin, what do you guys think? Remember to review!

So far, we've got some great girls running in the Nomination Round! Any others we want so far? We've got a little over a week left! If there are any other girls you think should be added, make sure to add them in the reviews! Let's see who the third Best Girl will be!

Currently Nominated: Ange, Ayame, Caelia, Cynthia, Donoma, Elaina, Maddi, Marion, Misato, Sango, Satsuki, Sylvia, Vic

KedharS: Something like that.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: See for yourself what pokemon Wes has! And you're right, he has quite a large selection to choose from.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 957

While Rui, Vic, and Alcea were working to heal Shaymin, Wes was dealing with an issue of his own in the two strange girls who'd asked for his help.

Wes didn't really know what to make of them. They wanted to go see Relic Cave? Not one for tact, he figured that the best thing to do was shut them down, hard. "…I'm sorry, but Relic Cave isn't a tourist attraction. It's an important spot in Agate Village, not something we can show to just anyone, so you're out of luck."

The brunette didn't seem all that bothered though. With a shrug, Val dismissed it, laughing the whole thing off. "Oh, well, that's disappointing. But it's not like there aren't other sights to see around here, right? So would you mind showing us around? You know, if it wouldn't be that much trouble, of course." She held her hands together and tilted her head to the side and a pleading grin.

He wasn't sure. After all, his role was to serve as the village's protector, not as its tour guide. But then again, was that so different from what Rui was doing right now?

Resigned, Wes let out the faintest of sighs. "Right now, my wife and I are looking after some students who are here on a field trip," he explained. "If you'd like, we can go meet up with them, and I can show you all around the village together."

Val's face lit up. "Oh! That would be just great!"

Really? Wes raised his eyebrow. Personally, he didn't think there was that much in Agate Village worth seeing, but if these girls were okay with it…

"What do you think, Gwen?" Val asked, turning to the blonde.

Gwen turned to look at her. "What do I think about what?"

"About what Mr. Wes just said."

The blonde girl just looked confused. "…I don't understand."

"…Isn't she just the greatest?" Val laughed, reaching over to pat Gwen on the head. The blonde recoiled back, a look of terror shooting across her face.

"Don't touch me!" She snapped, her pupils shrinking to pinpricks.

Wes felt a little tense. His years of experience with dangerous groups had led to him developing a talent for reading people, and while he didn't sense any malice from these girls, there was definitely something off about them, at least the blonde.

"Come this way," he sighed, heading for the exit. Val followed after him with a smile on her face, but the other girl, Gwen, remained seated.

He stopped at the door and turned to look at her, confused. "Are you coming?" He called. Still no reply. She wasn't even looking at him.

Val giggled. "Sorry about that, sir," she said, shaking her head. "Gwen's a little bit… of a special sort, let's say. She's not too good at peopling. That's where I come in! I'm great at getting along with others! Let me get her."

This Valerie was an odd one too, that's what Wes felt. At least she was friendly though. Hopefully, she'd be able to get along with the others. Gwen, on the other hand, he doubted would be able to fit in, even with the more quiet types among Rui's students.

"Gwen," Val called, causing Gwen to perk up and turn their way. "We're going!"

"Okay."

Again, she didn't move.

Val groaned and rubbed her temples. "…And we'd like you to come."

No response.

Val tried again. "Gwen, we'd like you to come."

"Where?" Gwen asked, confused.

With a roll of her eyes, Val turned back to Wes. "You see what I mean? You have to be very specific with her, or she's just not going to understand what you're talking about. But anyway-"

"Gwen, your friend Valerie and I are going to go for a walk to sightsee around Agate Village, and we would like for you to come with us," Wes said, his strong voice easily carrying across the Pokemon Center.

"…Okay," Gwen nodded, finally rising from her seat and walking over to them.

Val whistled. "Not bad, not bad at all."

"Okay, let's go," Wes said, turning and heading out the door. Val skipped after him. Gwen remained standing where she was. This caused Val to smirk, and Wes to knead his temples in frustration. He was already tired of this. "Gwen, please come outside with us."

She nodded and followed after them.

"See? If you don't use her name, then she has no idea that you're talking to her, and she'll just ignore it," Val explained. "Kinda frustrating, isn't it?"

"I can handle it," Wes muttered.

"A lot of people take that as an opportunity to talk poorly about her," Val sighed, looking down. "Because she doesn't understand what they're saying, it's really easy for them to mock her right to her face, and the poor thing will just be confused. She used to be the butt of everyone's joke, and that's just awful. I can't stand bullies like that!"

Wes raised his eyebrow. He could understand how that would be an issue. But for someone who'd spent his childhood dealing with a dangerous criminal organization, the idea of teens bullying each other wasn't exactly high on his list of problems.

Val stopped, turning to look at a large bush growing up the side of one of the houses. "Oh! This looks nice! What's it called?"

"…It's a creeping vine," Wes replied. "The houses here are made of a special mixture of clay and rock taken from the soil of Agate Village itself, so a lot of the native flora here will begin attaching themselves to the surface. It's very natural."

Well, maybe he WAS Agate Village's tour guide after all.

"Wow, that's so cool, don't you think so, Gwen?" Val asked, turning to her quiet friend.

"Don't I think what?" Gwen asked, confused.

Wes raised his eyebrow. Val seemed nothing but genuine when she was talking about how much she hated bullies that would make fun of someone who couldn't understand what they were talking about, but it seemed that she was getting a lot of fun at Gwen's expense herself, by continually confusing the girl with her vague questions.

But he dismissed it. After all, it couldn't be easy to tailor your manner of speaking to another person's special needs, at least not to the point where you could continually remember to do so in everyday conversation. They were probably just honest mistakes brought on by how eager the brunette was to talk about the village.

Personally, though, he still wasn't sure what Valerie found so appealing about Agate Village. Having grown up in the desert wasteland of the Orre Region, certainly to him, Agate Village and all of its greenery was like a paradise. But for people his daughter's age, or at least girls around that age, anyway, he doubted there'd be much appeal. Agate Village was a sanctuary for the old and retired, there wasn't much to catch the eye.

Besides, this girl had "city girl" energy if he ever felt it. And not the wasted cities of Orre, no, but an actual big city like Castelia City in Unova. Did city people really find a backwater place like this so interesting?

"I'm surprised that you're so entranced by Agate Village," he complimented Val after the fourth time she asked him about one of the plants they'd come across on their walk back to his house. "I can't think of many people who would come all the way here for tourism, or even to the Orre Region at all, for that matter."

"Oh? What makes you say that?" Val asked, flashing a coy smile as she leaned in. "I think the Orre Region has a lot to offer."

Wes raised his eyebrow. "So you're a fan of the colosseums, then? Is that it?" He wondered. "I suppose that does appeal to a certain level of-"

"Nope, nope, not even close," Val said, shaking her head so fast Wes was afraid it might pop off. "Those places are so violent and barbaric, not a trace of real class at all."

"Real… class?" Wes wasn't sure what she meant, although he agreed that nobody would ever consider the pokemon colosseums 'classy'."

"It's just people violently bashing their pokemon against each other, and thoughtlessly wagering on the outcomes," Val sighed, shaking her head. "Violence without subtlety is just, well… what's even the point, you know?"

No, not really. Wes had no idea what this odd girl was talking about.

"…I suppose they do things different where you come from, then?" Wes asked, raising his eyebrow. "Kalos has a gym league, right?"

Val gasped, her eyes widening in surprise. "Wow! Very good, not a lot of people would be able to guess that! How'd you know I was from Kalos?"

"Your accent," he said. "You've done a good job of getting rid of it, but there's still the faintest trace of Kalosian in your inflections."

"Mmm, you've got good ears," Val nodded. "Yep! Exactly right, I'm from the Kalos Region, Gwen and I both are, in fact!"

"I'm surprised you would come all the way to the Orre Region for some sightseeing, then," Wes said. He wasn't suspicious, but he was confused. "What exactly does Orre have to offer a couple of teens like you two?"

Val shrugged. "Well, you said it yourself, right? You and your wife are looking after a pack of students, so what are they doing here, if there's nothing to offer?"

Wes shook his head. "Honestly, I have no idea what they're here for," he admitted. "But then… you said you came here looking for the Relic Cave, right?"

That was suspicious. What would two people coming all the way from another region, having had to cross an entire ocean, want with Relic Cave? There were only a handful of answers that Wes could think of, and none of them were good.

The only reason he wasn't on guard was because they were just kids. And while he had been a rather talented child himself (and was probably younger than these two when he'd first joined Team Snagem) he doubted a kid from the slums of Orre would have the same experience as a couple of rich girls on spring break. Just one look at Val's uniform and you could tell that she came from money, and the same went for her friend's fancy dress.

Not to mention, Wes prided himself on his ability to read people, and while Val was certainly odd, he still hadn't found anything threatening from her. So he dismissed it as the paranoia of an old man and continued the amiable conversation.

He could see his house in the distance. It was only about another ten minute walk at this pace. He took a deep breath and appreciated the tranquil air of Agate Village. Since he'd gotten back this morning, it seemed like he'd been forced into one intense situation after another. He'd barely had any time to really relax.

Maybe a walk through nature would be exactly what he needed this afternoon to work off the stress of today? He turned back to Val.

"How do you girls feel about lunch? I'm not as good of a cook as my wife, but I'm sure I can make something edible, at least."

"That sounds great!" Val nodded. "I'm famished! We had to skip breakfast to catch the bus here, after all!"

"Okay then," Wes nodded, turning to Gwen. "Gwen, what about you?"

Gwen looked confused again. "What about me what?"

Shoot. He'd done it without even thinking, Val had told him that he needed to be more direct when talking to her.

"What about lunch?" He tried.

"What about lunch what?" Gwen asked, still not getting it.

"Gwen!" Val said loudly. "Wes is asking you if you would like to eat lunch."

The blonde turned to her friend. "Please do not shout. I am not deaf."

"Sorry, I only did it because I was trying to get your attention," Val apologized. "I'm sorry I shouted at you, Gwen."

She nodded back. But she still hadn't answered the question.

"She'll probably not want to eat much," Val explained, turning back to Wes. "She doesn't have much of an appetite."

Wes raised his eyebrow. Val was talking about her friend like she wasn't even there again, which was another concern, considering how much she'd talked about Gwen being bullied. But then, that wasn't really bullying, and Gwen didn't seem particularly bothered by it…

"Well, we're almost there, anyway," he mumbled, shaking his head. He was surprised that he was actually looking forward to spending time around Rui's far more normal by comparison teens. Maybe he'd made a mistake agreeing to do this…

He quickly shook those thoughts away. No, it was important to help kids like this embrace their appreciation for nature. He didn't understand why a couple of girls from Kalos would want to come to a place like this, but they were here. He might as well help them enjoy themselves, right? That was the least he could do.

"If you girls are curious about anything, you can just ask me," he said. Then he turned to Gwen and looked her in the eye. "Gwen, if there's anything you want to know, then you can ask me, and I'll tell you."

Val winced. "Oof, that's not a good-"

"Where is Blake?" Gwen asked immediately.

Wes blinked. "Huh?"

She stared at him expectantly, like she was waiting for an answer. He had no idea what he was supposed to say. Blake? Who the heck was Blake? Why did she think he knew what she was talking about? He'd never heard that name before in his life.

Wes turned to look at Val for clarification, and saw that she was trying not to laugh. Was there something funny about what she'd said?

"I'm sorry, Gwen, I don't know who that is," he apologized.

She looked confused. "You don't know who who is?"

"Blake."

She tilted her head to the side. "Blake?"

Well, he clearly wasn't getting anywhere like this. Again, he looked desperately to Valerie, who was practically doubled over with laughter.

"Sorry, sorry," she wheezed. "Let me handle this. Gwen," she said directly, Gwen turning to face her. "Wes doesn't know who your brother Blake is. He doesn't know where he is. He won't be able to help you find him."

Gwen took a moment to process that information, and Wes did the same. This girl… missed her brother? That was the vibe he was getting anyway.

"Why did you say to ask you anything if you weren't going to answer my question? Were you just trying to confuse me?" Gwen demanded, and the hair on the back of Wes's neck stood up. Until now, Gwen had just been an odd girl, with a somewhat strange quirkiness.

Right now, though, he was feeling a menacing pressure that reminded him of the times he'd made his wife mad, and it immediately put him on guard.

Luckily, Val was there to calm her down. She stepped in front of Gwen and raised her hands. "Gwen, you're misunderstanding what he said. When he said you could 'ask him anything' he meant that you could ask him anything you wanted to know about Agate Village. But he didn't mean that you could ask him anything. Understand?"

Gwen calmed down and the pressure Wes was feeling went away.

She puffed up her cheeks in frustration. "Then why didn't he just say that?" She mumbled, looking down at the ground.

Val sighed and turned back to him. "You see what I have to deal with? This one can be a real handful, you've got to pick every word carefully if you don't want her to get the wrong impression, you understand?"

…No. Wes very much did not understand. This was looking to be like a bigger mess than he'd expected. He was actually kind of afraid of what would happen when this girl joined up with the other kids. He couldn't explain the ominous sensation he felt, but he definitely wasn't in the market for a repeat performance, that was for sure.

Then Val decided to change the subject. "So Wes, why did you decide to live in Agate Village?" She asked curiously.

"I just thought it was a nice place to live," Wes lied, shrugging his shoulders. Well, it was only half a lie. He did think it was a nice place to live, after all. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason, I was just curious. A famous trainer like you, who defeated Cipher singlehandedly, I didn't figure you the type for a peaceful retirement up in the mountains, you know what I'm saying?" She shrugged.

That… wait, what?

"You… know about that?" Wes asked, surprised.

Val shrugged again. "Of course I do, you're kind of a famous celebrity, didn't you know that? After all, you did topple an evil organization."

Wes had definitely done that, but still, he wasn't used to being recognized for his past, and especially not by strangers. But maybe this girl was a big history buff. It would explain her fascination with Relic Cave.

"I'm actually something of a pokemon trainer myself," Val boasted proudly. "So is she, but her team can't compete with mine."

"Well, I see," Wes said, nodding. "That's certainly something, we don't get many pokemon trainers around here."

"What?! Even though you're such a famous and strong trainer?" Val asked in amazement. "So then how do you train your pokemon?"

Wes shrugged. "My days of serious competition are behind me," he admitted. "Right now, I'm just content to let my pokemon relax and enjoy themselves. They're retired, and so am I."

Val frowned. "Oh, I see… that's a bummer. I was hoping maybe we could get a chance to have a battle later."

"Normally I would be fine with that," Wes said. "But see, my team already went through a pretty intense battle this morning, and are recovering at the Pokemon Center. So I'm not in any condition to have a pokemon battle with anyone else right now."

"I see… well, that's a bummer," Val said. Wes was facing away from her, walking towards his house, so he didn't see the wicked smile that spread across her lips, or the way her fingers trembled with anticipation above the pokeballs on her belt.

Well, I'm sure that Val and Gwen will get along just great with the other kids in Rui's group, don't you think so? It's a real shame that Wes and Alden's pokemon are at the Pokemon Center recovering from their battle, hopefully nothing bad happens in the meantime where they might be needed. That would really suck.