Wes is taking Gwen and Val on a little tour through Agate Village! But first, he's got to stop off at his house and see what everyone's getting up to! Hopefully, there won't be any trouble going on, and the kids will be able to go on their tour without a hitch. I can't imagine what might happen that could get in the way of something like that! Remember to review!
So far, we've got some great girls running in the Nomination Round! Any others we want so far? We've only got a few days left before the nomination round will come to a close, so 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: Nah, why would you say that?
JoshGamerV: Val's always been from Kalos. We know that because Kate is from Kalos, and they went to school together. And yes, things are incredibly difficult for Gwen, she's gone through a lot.
Rus0804: Glad to hear it! I'm happy you're liking the arc so far.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 958
Everyone was a little confused about what to do, since Wes had left them behind to go to the Pokemon Center. Rui, Alcea, and Vic hadn't returned either, which meant they were just kind of stuck outside for a while.
Chloe wanted to go back inside, like Mason had. But she was too anxious to enter someone's house without being given permission first. Meanwhile, Tommy was busy complaining to Ross about how bored he was, while Keya waited impatiently, staring up at Relic Cave and feeling envious that he couldn't go in himself.
Callie was just uncomfortable. She glanced at Maddi, the only other person here who she was on somewhat speaking terms with. She didn't want to bug the girl, as Maddi looked rather irritable already, but at the same time the awkward silence was… well, awkward.
"Hey, um, Maddi…" Callie tried cautiously.
"What?" Maddi asked, turning and giving her a sharp look from behind her bangs that made a chill run down Callie's spine. She gulped.
"Uhum, um… no, nothing, it's okay," she said, shaking her head. "I just… how are you enjoying the trip so far?"
Awful, just an AWFUL way to start a conversation.
Even though Callie and Maddi weren't friends, they still hung out in the same circle. Well, Callie was a member of the group, due to dating Nick, but Maddi, well… Maddi wasn't really a "joiner" it seemed. She much preferred to be off by herself, making it difficult for Callie to get close to her. Before now, that had been fine, though.
Yeah, I think I'm just going to give up on this, Callie decided. She'd been trying to get closer to the members of the Commander's group for Alcea's sake, but for someone like her that was just too high of a bar to clear, it seemed.
Alcea, please come back soon! She silently pleaded.
In a manner of speaking, Callie got her wish. Unfortunately, it wasn't Alcea who came back to see her, of course, it was somebody else entirely.
Alden brightened when he saw Wes approaching from the main "road" of Agate Village. He'd been the only one fine with just hanging around and waiting, but even he was happy to see that Wes was coming back. Maybe then they could do something exciting.
"Who's that with him?" Callie asked, confused. Following behind Wes were two girls. One had curly black hair and was dressed in a uniform from what looked like a pretty fancy private school, and had a big smile on her face, while the other girl was far less happy-looking, with light blonde hair and stony grey eyes. She was wearing a frilly black dress, to Callie's horror. An outfit like that must have been MURDER in this heat!
"His wife steps out for some business and he brings back some girls?" Tommy cackled.
Maddi shot him a glare. "Don't be so vulgar." She turned back to the approaching group, and her eye began to throb with pain. Irritated, she reached up to rub it. Damn it, it hadn't been hurting for a while now, she thought that she'd actually been cured of whatever the fuck this was. So much for that, though.
"I'm back," Wes said brusquely.
"We noticed," Alden said, glancing over his shoulder. "And it seems you brought some guests along with you."
"Very funny," Wes scoffed, rolling his eyes. "They're here to do some sightseeing, so I'm acting as their guide. I thought we could all go together. This is Valerie and Gwen."
"Hey there," Val greeted him with a wave and a charming smile. Something about her seemed to soothe everyone. "You can just call me 'Val' though."
Unlike everyone else, Kaya wasn't soothed. Like Maddi, there was something irritating him. Unlike Maddi, though, he wasn't quite sure what it was. All he knew was that there was something about the blonde girl that was making him feel queasy. Just looking at her made him feel sick to his stomach.
What is she? A harmonia user, maybe? He guessed, squinting at the blonde. He wasn't used to connecting with other people, but if it was to confirm his suspicions, he figured he might as well give it a shot.
Immediately, he wished he hadn't. Reaching out to her with his harmonia, he was slammed with a tidal wave of negative emotions. It was like the girl was filled with pain and suffering, and by connecting his harmonia to hers it was flooding into him with no end in sight. He felt like he was going to throw up! This was as bad as looking at a Shadow Pokemon… no, it was WORSE, so, so much worse! He felt his legs buckle and he fell to his knees, coughing.
"Keya?!" Callie gasped, running over to him. Chloe began to panic, not sure what was going on herself. The boy had just fallen over on his own!
"Is-Is he okay?!" She cried.
"What's going on?" Wes asked sharply, approaching the boy. "Is he alright?"
"N-No," Keya said, wiping the sweat from his forehead. He was trembling. "That… That girl, she… she just… I can't explain it, it's like…"
Maddi glanced at the blonde girl, taking a good look at her for the first time. And as she did, two things happened. The first was that the irritation she'd been feeling in her eye went from a dull throb of inconvenience to a feeling like someone had taken a knife and jammed it right in, which nearly made her gasp in pain herself. And she would have, if not for the horrifying realization she had when she recognized where she knew her from.
"No… it can't be…" Maddi had met her before. Only briefly, but the terror of that night had remained rooted deep in her memories. She never thought that she would see that girl ever again, and certainly not here.
"Maddi?" Alden took a momentary pause from his concern about Keya to see what was up with Maddi. She looked pale, and scared, and those were things that she seldom ever did.
"That… That girl-!" Maddi gasped, pointing a shaking finger at Gwen. "She's… Gwen Harker! Blake's little sister!"
"Blake's… sister?" Callie asked, confused. "But wait, I thought that Blake's sister was…" Callie was a bit out of the loop on the whole thing with the Children of the Oracles. But she knew that Blake's sister was a very sensitive subject.
"Blake Harker? You mean that first-year that Cynthia's friends with?" Alden asked, raising his eyebrow. "Didn't know you knew him. So that's his sister? Why don't you go and say hello?"
"I'm not talking about that!" Maddi snapped, and the panic in her voice caught everyone's attention. "That girl, she's dangerous! She attacked us over winter break, she nearly killed Sango and Cynthia! She's a terrorist!"
That put Wes immediately on guard. Instinctively, his hand shot to his belt, only to realize that his pokemon were all being looked after at the Pokemon Center. Shit. That wasn't good. He turned to Val, suspicions renewed. "What is she talking about?" He demanded, narrowing his eyes. "Terrorists? What on earth is going on here?"
Val blinked, a little stunned. Then she let out a long sigh and shrugged her shoulders. "Well, darn. Darn, darn, darn. I wouldn't have thought that antisocial ol' Gwen of all people would ever get recognized way out here. And here I was, hoping we could have a nice relaxing tour through town before I had to get down to business."
"Let me guess," Wes scowled. "You aren't here for a tour."
Everyone was on edge. Val just smirked.
"That's right," she admitted. "Truthfully? There's no other reason to come to a backwoods place like this if it wasn't for the fact that you had something I want. So why don't you just hand it over, and Gwen and I will be on our merry way, sound good?"
"Oh? And what would that be?" Wes asked.
"Playing dumb? My, you really aren't the type," Val said, rolling her eyes in exasperation. "I'm talking about the Oracle. You know? Shiny green rock? Glows when you touch it? About the size of a pokeball? You know the one. Just give us that, and we'll be on our way, no muss, no fuss… no bodies needing to be buried…"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Wes said coolly. "I've never heard of anything like that before."
The smile slid off of Val's face, and in an instant Wes could see her for what she truly was. She was a master of deception, skilled enough to fool even his suspicious eyes, but now she was revealing her true colors, and they were hideous.
"So it's like that, then, is it?" She glanced at the others. "And what about you lot? Ever heard of anything like an Oracle? It would be bright green, fairly decent-sized, kind of shiny? Hmm?"
Callie gasped, remembering Alcea's necklace. Was that what she was talking about?
It didn't go unnoticed by Val. She caught the flash of recollection cross Callie's face, and her smile returned. "I see. Sounds like we have a winner."
Val didn't waste a second. She flipped a pokeball into the air, and unleashed her Tyranitar into the center of the town. No time for negotiations or mercy. No time for an opening act. They were here for one reason, and one reason only.
"Destroy it all, Tyrant!" She cackled.
"TYRANITAR!" Tyrant roared, and for the second time today a Tyranitar landed in the grass of Agate Village.
But unlike Giraud, this pokemon had no intention of holding back.
With a howl, a sandstorm whipped up around him, tearing through the grass and storming towards the students.
Wes cursed himself for letting his guard down. This was all his fault! He'd brought those two girls here, and he'd just turned them loose in the center of town! And to make things even worse, he didn't have any of his pokemon with him!
Alden grabbed Callie and pushed her out of the way of the incoming wave of sand, the two landing in the grass, coughing.
"This isn't good," he scowled. "My pokemon are getting healed, too. These girls picked a hell of a time to attack…"
"I have to say, it really is fortunate," Val tittered. "See, I thought I would be having to fight against THE Wes Carver, savior of the Orre Region. I was all prepared to go against a team of monstrous pokemon, but it looks like today is my lucky day! Tell me old man, are you regretting getting so complacent? A pokemon trainer should always be prepared to fight, even when he least expects it! Though I guess, in your retirement, you just aren't thinking about those sorts of things anymore…"
Val was delighting in twisting the knife on that old man, but enough of the fun and games. "Tyrant! Let's teach these kids a lesson with your rock slide!"
"Tyranitar!" Tyrant roared, ripping massive boulders up out of the ground, tearing apart the field they were standing on. His scaly body rippling he sent the wave of debris right at a defenseless Wes, ready to smash him to smithereens.
"Jania! Wide guard!"
Before the rocks could hit, a blur appeared in front of Wes, and a large screen shimmered into existence. The rocks bounced off the barrier and crumbled into dust, leaving him unharmed.
"…Oh? Well that's no fun," Val scowled, turning to look at the interloper.
"Don't misunderstand!" Callie snapped, returning her pokeball to her belt. "Wes isn't the only pokemon trainer here, you know!"
"THAT'S FUCKING RIGHT!" Tommy howled. As he shouted, his Hitmoncham leapt forward, fist raised, and delivered a devastating punch to Tyrant's jaw that sent the colossal pokemon stumbling back in surprise.
"Nicely done, Rush!" He grinned, nodding to his Hitmonchan. The pokemon nodded back to him with a smile.
"Tyranitar is quadruple weak to Fighting type moves!" Callie snapped, standing next to her Mienshao. "Between the two of us, we've got one hell of a beating to give you!"
"And it's not just them, either," Maddi snapped. "Go, Vee!"
"Eevee!" Vee nodded, growling menacingly at the Tyranitar in spite of the difference in scale.
"Fine, Tyrant, use earthquake to take them all down!" Val snapped. But nothing happened. "…What the hell?"
"Sorry, but that won't be allowed," Ross said, giving a polite smile. "As you see, right now you're in my territory." He pointed to the large cube of light surrounding them all. Strange symbols were painted on the sides.
Ross turned to his Smeargle, patting the artistic pokemon on the head. "With the restriction that Knox here has set in place, any move that hits more than one pokemon is completely nullified. Sorry if that inconveniences you."
Val was unfazed, still smirking like nothing was the matter.
"Awww, aren't you all so brave?" Val cooed. "Cute little school kids all playing pretend, acting so grown-up, just warms my sick little heart."
"YOU'RE a school kid!" Callie snapped.
"…Fair enough," Val admitted with a smirk. "But then… unlike you all… I thrive on fear!" The smile that stretched across her lips stunned everyone, even Tommy, who wasn't afraid of anything. But he didn't let that get to him.
"Rush! Ignore her, and go for a sky uppercut!" Tommy shouted.
"Jania! Use your high jump kick!" Callie ordered.
"Vee! Weaken his defenses with your tail whip!" Maddi followed, preparing the Tyranitar for a real beating at the hands of the other two pokemon.
Jania leapt into the air, turning and flying for Tyrant with a powerful kick. At the same time, Rush dashed in to get in close and deliver a devastating punch, while Vee scurried forward and jumped onto the massive pokemon, waving his tail in the pokemon's face.
It happened in an instant. So fast, nobody could quite tell what had happened. But if someone had sharp enough eyes, they would have see a white figure appear in front of Rush, deflecting his punch before it even made contact with one arm, while the elbow of its other arm sharpened to a blade that was driven right into the Hitmonchan's gut.
While the pokemon doubled over in pain, the elusive attacker turned, building psychic energy up in its bladed arm, and swung the energy up into the air in a cutting shockwave that collided with Jania, knocking her out of the sky. Finally, the pokemon turned and grabbed Vee by the throat, ripping him off of Tyrant and slamming him into the ground, stomping down hard to grind the tiny pokemon into the grass.
This all happened in a handful of a seconds. The only thing left were three pokemon lying injured on the ground, and a white pokemon covered in scars standing victorious above them.
"What the fuck just happened?!" Tomm exclaimed in disbelief. "What even was that?!"
"Vee!" Maddi cried.
"That was… no way!" Callie shook her head in disbelief.
Wes was stunned. Even he only barely made that out.
"Gallade," the Gallade said quietly, lifting his arm and pointing to the last pokemon that remained standing, the Smeargle. Ross knew his number was up, and quickly ordered his pokemon to defend himself.
"Knox, use protect," he shouted, and Knox summoned a barrier of white light around himself to block the charging Gallade's attack.
The Gallade teleported, appearing behind the Smeargle, standing back to back with the Normal type. But if Knox thought he was safe behind his barrier, he was in for a painful surprise. Raising his arm, the pokemon didn't even turn to face his prey, instead sharpening the blade on his elbow into a razor-thin point, and swinging it backwards.
A deftly maneuvered feint pierced right through the protect and hit Knox in the back, causing the Smeargle to stumble forward. With no protection to keep him safe any longer, his opponent was free to turn and deliver a powerful punch that sent Knox flying.
In only a few seconds, another pokemon had fallen.
"Perfect, Lancelot," Gwen said, beaming at her beloved Gallade. "You defeated all the opponents."
"Gallade," Lancelot nodded, bowing to his trainer and teleporting back to her side.
"Thanks for your help, Gwen," Val grinned at her partner. She turned back to the students, who were all stunned by the shocking turn of events. "Now then, where were we? I believe you all were saying something about how you were pokemon trainers yourselves?"
"TYRANITAR!" Tyrant howled, and the sandstorm raged even harder, forcing the kids back as the menacing pokemon advanced.
"Now then, what other games would you like to play?" Val asked, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "…No, on second thought, we don't have time. We're in a bit of a rush, so it's important we get our hands on that Oracle as quick as possible."
She turned to Gwen. "Gwen, sweetie, do you see that blonde girl? The short one with the flat chest and terrible fashion sense."
Gwen nodded.
In spite of the situation, Callie felt herself getting furious. She glared at Val.
"What? I have to be very specific, or she won't know who I'm talking about," Val explained. "It's nothing personal." It was a filthy lie, of course, as Callie was the only blonde girl there, but she wasn't exactly in a position to say anything about it.
Val turned back to Gwen. "Gwen, that blonde girl is the one who knows about the Oracle. So if we want to get the Oracle, then I need you to take out the blonde girl, is that understood?"
"Of course," Gwen nodded, her harmonia surging. Her hair began to lift up, and power flowed through Lancelot as he advanced on a trembling Callie.
Val turned to the others, a delightfully wicked smile on her face. "And in the meantime… I'll satisfy myself with the rest of them."
Uh-oh, this is really bad! Unfortunately, both Wes and Alden's pokemon are being looked after in the Pokemon Center, so neither one of them can join the fight! And if that isn't bad enough, the other two strongest trainers of the group are busy looking after poor Shaymin! Things are getting really bad, will the Commander's group be able to fight off Gwen and Val?!