After everything that's happened, I think our characters deserve a good, long rest. There's a lot of tension and stress in the air, after all. This is the last chapter of the Agate Village arc for now, we'll be shifting focus after this! We've spent a lot of time here, but it's time to switch things up and get to the meat of the Orre Region conflict! Remember to review!

The Elimination Round of the Pokemon Academy Best Girl Contest 3 has started! Make sure to get those votes in, we've only got a couple of people who have voted so far! Please, make sure to get those votes in! You can vote for up to 5 girls, so make sure your favorites have a chance to shine!

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

KedharS: Interesting. Definitely a nice and warm chat.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Yep, there's going to be some interesting things happening, that's for sure. We're going to take a look at some new areas.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 968

It was still the middle of the night when Alcea woke up. At first, she wasn't sure what was going on. She was still tired and not thinking clearly, and everything was dark except for the dull glow of the Pokemon Center's machinery. Then the memories of what had happened that day flooded back into her and she sat up in shock.

How could I let myself fall asleep?! She cursed internally, looking around. Well, she was wide awake now, her fatigue having worn off completely. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw that she wasn't the only one who was sleeping in the Pokemon Center's lobby.

It looked like everyone was, even Wes and Rui. She couldn't make it out quite clearly, but there were definitely a lot of familiar-looking bumps.

Then she remembered Shaymin. Oh! No! The poor thing had been left out there all alone! She got up out of her seat and nearly tripped over the blanket that had been draped over her. So that's why she had felt so warm and snuggly. While she appreciated the gesture, right now there were more important things to-

Fuck. Callie and Maddi. Were they okay!? Alcea could barely stay focused on one issue at a time, there was so much going on right now. She hoped that her friends would be okay…

Then a flash of light in the corner of her eye caught her attention. It was a small, soft glow, like the screen of a phone. Someone else was awake! She tiptoed over to see who it was, surprised that it was Chloe.

"Chloe?" She whispered.

The other girl sprung up in shock, her eyes wide as saucers. She clenched her jaw to keep from screaming in fright.

"Alcea?!" She hissed. "Don't frighten me like that!"

"Sorry, sorry," Alcea apologized. "I just wanted to ask what's going on."

"…Oh," Chloe calmed down. "Okay, sorry. You just… it's been a really jumpy day, so I mean…" She tried to laugh it off, but she was still nervous. Even without the jumpscare, Alcea was still a rather intimidating woman, just because of how elegant she was. Chloe felt anxious just having someone that impressive talking to her.

"No, I understand," Alcea sighed. "I'm just worried. I don't know how late it is, but I must have missed a lot, is it? Callie and Maddi, are they…"

"Maddi woke up," Chloe said. "A few hours ago. She had a headache, but the doctor couldn't find anything wrong with her. He said he wasn't a specialist though, so we might want to get a second opinion at a hospital. She's sleeping it off in a room at the moment."

Alcea sighed in relief. "That is… very good, is it? And Callie?"

"They practically had to burn through all the blood they had for her," Chloe explained. "Luckily her blood type was AB Positive, so she's a universal recipient. Otherwise it might have been pretty bad."

"But other than that, she's okay, is it?" Alcea asked hopefully.

Chloe nodded. "They put her under for the transfusions, the doctor said she should wake up in the morning."

It was like a weight had been lifted from Alcea's shoulders. She'd woken up stressed, but now everything felt easier.

"Thank you for telling me," she nodded. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I must be going. I need to go check up on Shaymin, she must be worried sick, left out alone in that field the way she was," Alcea said, turning for the door.

"Oh! No, you don't… I mean, um…" Chloe was about to say something, but fell silent. It wasn't her place to try and talk back to Alcea, after all.

Alcea wasn't having that. She turned back to her and raised her eyebrow. "No, please, go on. What were you saying?"

"Oh, just, um… you don't need to go," Chloe mumbled. "Rui, she, um… after you fell asleep, she was worried about… Shaymin, right? The pokemon? She was worried, so she went out… I guess to go take her back to Relic Cave? That was the pokemon hiding in Relic Cave, right? The one Keya and Victoria said they felt?"

"You knew about that?" Alcea asked, raising her eyebrow. Chloe had been inside for most of their time in Agate Village.

"Victoria is… loud…" Chloe admitted sheepishly.

"Ah. Yes, you're right," Alcea said. She sat down next to Chloe. "Keya… Victoria… the pokemon they were sensing was Shaymin. From what I gathered, Victoria's family was looking out for Shaymin for all these years, taking care of her."

Alcea didn't know if revealing all this was her place, but as Shaymin's friend, and someone not bound by Rui and Victoria's will, she didn't feel it necessary to keep secret.

"So there really are wild pokemon in the Orre Region…" Chloe murmured. "Wow, that's… really cool, honestly."

"I'm surprised," Alcea murmured.

"H-Huh? By what? Why?" Chloe asked, confused.

"Oh, just… you're talking so much, it it?" Alcea noted awkwardly. It felt like a weird topic to bring up. "What I mean is that… well, I haven't heard you be this… outgoing before. Usually you're so quiet."

Chloe blushed, grateful that the darkness was hiding it. She glanced around at the sleeping faces of her schoolmates before turning back to Alcea.

"Hey, um… do you want to… go for a walk?" She suggested awkwardly.

Alcea raised her eyebrow. "Oui, if you wish," she agreed, and the two girls got up to take a breather out in the village.

While the rest of the Orre Region was very cold at night, due to being a desert, Agate Village had the climate of a warm spring day at all times, even now. Alcea was grateful for that, and so was Chloe; she didn't do well with the cold.

"Sorry to drag you out here," Chloe apologized, glancing at Alcea.

"Nonsense," Alcea assured her with a shake of her head and a smile. "I find the atmosphere around Agate Village to be quite soothing, in fact."

"Oh, phew," Chloe sighed in relief. "That's good, then… I just… I felt really uncomfortable talking in there, where everyone could hear, that's all."

"So you normally have problems expressing yourself around others then, is it?" Alcea asked. It reminded her a lot of Kate.

"N-No, not… it's not like that, it's just… being around too many people, especially people I don't know, well… it makes me nervous. I feel like I'm suffocating, like everyone's looking at me, judging me, you know?" Chloe asked. "And to be honest, well… even now I'm kind of feeling that way around you, Alcea. Sorry."

Alcea raised her eyebrow. "I see. That must be difficult, is it?"

"Oh, but it's not because of you, or anything!" Chloe quickly said. "It's just, well… I'm naturally a pretty nervous person, so I guess… it's just me."

"It's fine," Alcea assured her. "But may I ask… why do you feel so comfortable talking to me now, is it? If you're so nervous?"

Chloe sighed and glanced down at the dark grass, spotting a stone bench they could sit on. She quickly sat, staring up at the sky. She was surprised how clear the air above Agate Village was. The view was so beautiful she didn't even notice Alcea taking a seat beside her.

"It's lovely, is it?" Alcea murmured. "So many bright stars, and so clear… I witnessed it last night, and it's every bit as impressive today."

"Yeah, I guess so," Chloe agreed. She kind of regretted the fact that she'd slept inside now, instead of camping out with the others.

Alcea cut right to the heart of the matter. Chloe was nervous, and by her own admission, she was a shy person who wasn't used to calling out to others, but she'd invited Alcea out on a walk with her. There had to be a reason.

"Did you want to talk about something?" She asked.

Chloe let out another long sigh. When she felt like this her impulse was to stare at her shoes, but she couldn't pull her eyes away from the sky.

"The reason I was up so late was because I was terrified of going to sleep," Chloe admitted. "Those two girls… they took out all of our pokemon… Callie nearly died… if you and Shaymin hadn't showed up to save us, we would have been in serious trouble."

Alcea frowned. She wasn't at all surprised at Chloe's reaction.

"Indeed… troubling, is it?" She nodded.

"Can I ask something? How are you so tough?" Chloe asked, turning to her. "I mean, we just got… we were attacked! By terrorists! And you're just… it's like it doesn't even bother you, even though those two were after you!"

Her voice got really small. "How can I be like that?"

Alcea sighed and turned to look Chloe in the eye. Their faces were lit by starlight. "Honestly? I am terrified," she admitted. "Even then, I was frightened."

Chloe was stunned. "R-Really? But you seem so…"

"If I panicked, or let that fear take hold of me… then things would have only gotten worse," Alcea explained quietly. "I had to do what I had to… but still… difficult, is it? Making such a decision? And when it was over… oui, I nearly collapsed from fear, as you saw. Fear and fatigue."

Chloe smiled a little in spite of herself. "I guess so… but still, you were really cool."

Alcea smiled back at her. "Oui, thank you for saying such a nice thing. And I am sorry that you feel so nervous and scared. Hopefully… hopefully we can recover from this horrific event, is it?"

"Yeah, hopefully," Chloe murmured, nodding in agreement with Alcea's words, but even as she did, she wasn't nearly as confident as the redhead.

The morning sun brought more than the dawn to Agate Village, it brought renewed energy and life to Alcea and the others. She and Chloe had returned to the Pokemon Center and settled off to sleep, properly this time, and when she awoke she was well-rested and energized.

The same couldn't be said for Callie. When she was finally let out of the operating room, her face was tired and pale, with a grim scowl instead of her usual grin.

"I'm hungry," she grunted.

Alcea leapt up to go hug her friend, but she held back. Vic had been able to help with some of Callie's wounds, but the blonde had still needed a lot of stitches, and she didn't want to disturb her recovery. But Callie had no qualms hugging her.

"Thank you for saving me," she mumbled. She wanted to thank Vic, as well, but things were kind of awkward between them.

"I spoke with the doctor," Wes said, walking up the two of them. "He said that, given your current condition, we need to have you rest for at least a couple of days. That means no travel, no strenuous activities, just a lot of rest. And it will take 6 to 8 weeks to fully heal, so you should avoid exerting yourself too much until then, or else your stitches might come loose."

"Well, that sucks," Callie sighed, rubbing her fingers over her chest. She winced as she felt the stitches. She had a sinking feeling that she'd always carry these hideous scars.

"I spoke with the school, too," Rui added, joining them, "and they said they're very concerned about the incident. They're willing to contact your family and let you take a plane back home, if you-"

"No!" Callie blurted out. "No, no way! I want to stay, I do!"

Rui was surprised, she hadn't expected that. "Are… Are you sure? After a serious injury like this, a lot of students would-"

"Well, I'm not a lot of students," Callie said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "…And besides, it's not like going back home would help," she added under her breath.

Alcea raised her eyebrow, concerned.

"If you're sure, then," Rui said. Her face broke out into a smile. "In any case, as far as peaceful places to recover go, Agate Village can't be beat! So just take it easy and relax, okay?"

Callie smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I will. Thanks."

"Does this mean we'll all be staying, then?" Alcea asked. She felt bad for Callie's condition, but at the same time, that meant she'd have more time to spend with Shaymin.

"That's right," Rui said. "Until Callie's well enough to travel, your school advised us to remain put. I got in serious trouble for letting this happen on my watch, by the way," she groaned.

"Well, a terrorist attack is quite a problematic solution," Wes said. "At least they didn't cancel the entire trip over it."

"They said something about taking 'precautionary measures' in light of this, but I have no idea what that means," Rui sighed, shaking her head. She quickly brightened again. "In the meantime, you girls can just relax and take it easy, okay?"

"Um, Rui, I was wondering something," Alcea said, approaching their chaperone.

"Hmm?"

"In light of… what happened, I was wondering…" Alcea glanced at the other students, who were all in various states of exhaustion and alertness after waking up so early. She lowered her voice. "Would it be possible to take the others to Relic Cave? Just to visit Shaymin, I mean."

Rui winced. "Wow, Alcea, that's… that's really asking for quite a lot… this is our cultural heritage, you know, taking other people there…"

"Well, what about bringing Shaymin out to them, then?" Alcea suggested. "She should be strong enough, shouldn't she?"

Rui considered that for a second. "Nah, you know what? Why not! Bring 'em all along! It's the least we can do, given everything that happened!" Now that the secret about Shaymin was out of the bag, and the Oracle was in Alcea's possession, there didn't seem to be much need for those rules now.

Alcea brightened and nodded, turning to Callie. She was overjoyed to finally get a chance to introduce her two newest friends to each other!

"Rui, before you girls head off on your little field trip, do you mind if I speak with you for a moment?" Wes asked, taking her aside.

"Sure, Wes, what is it?" Rui turned serious again when she saw the look on her husband's face. Wes was a serious and stoic guy under most circumstances, so she'd gotten really good at reading his expressions. And this was his "serious serious" face.

When Wes was convinced they were a suitable distance away from the others to avoid eavesdropping, he let Rui know the other thing that had been bothering him about his conversation with the village doctor.

"It's about Maddi," he whispered.

"Maddi? What about her?" Rui asked. "Is it worse than we thought? I thought the doctor said he couldn't find anything wrong?"

Wes shook his head. "No, he said he couldn't find anything that he thought would have caused the headaches. But there was definitely something wrong."

Rui glanced over at the girl. Maddi was back in her normal clothes, sitting apart from the others just like always. And while the sour face was nothing new, the cause of it was. She was rubbing her eye over and over again, like she'd gotten an eyelash caught in it that she just couldn't get out.

"What is it?" Rui asked worriedly. "Is it her eye? Is it an infection or something?" Rui had been amazed when she first met Maddi, because she'd never met someone with heterochromia before. But now she was worried.

"It's… hard to explain. As a standard measure, they took a sample of her blood and had it tested. The only reason the doctor told me is because she's a minor, and with her legal guardians deceased, well, since you've taken responsibility for her, that gives us access to her medical files," Wes explained, glancing at Maddi himself.

Rui still didn't understand what the problem was. "So what is it, then? Something wrong with her bloodwork?"

"No, no, it's not like that," Wes shook his head. "It's… how do I describe it… the doctor said that there was something… off about her blood. That it didn't seem like human blood."

Rui's jaw dropped. She slapped him in the arm. "What the fuck is THAT supposed to mean? Not human? What? Like she's an alien or something?!"

"He said he wasn't sure. He doesn't have the equipment to run any proper tests," Wes explained. "But he said that her blood contained the genetic makeup of human blood, with some… extra added in. It was like… a mix between normal blood and something else."

"But that doesn't even make sense!" Rui said. She calmed down, lowering her voice. She didn't want to panic anyone. "Okay, so why are you telling me this?"

Wes stared calmly at her until she realized what he was driving at.

"…Professor Decker," Rui gasped. "You think that he could…"

"He would have the necessary equipment," Wes nodded grimly. "He's the smartest person in the field of genetic engineering, remember how helpful he was at figuring out how to take care of the Shadow Pokemon?"

"Wes, it's been over twenty years!" Rui said. "Is he even still alive?"

"I'm still in touch with him," Wes said. "He has a lab, not far from Phenac City. I can take her myself. We'd only be gone a few days. He can check her out, make sure that nothing's wrong, and maybe help figure out why her DNA is so… what it is."

"Would she really be okay with that, though?" Rui asked worriedly, glancing over at Maddi again. "I mean, Wes, that girl… she's… do we need to tell her?"

"I know she's in a tough spot," Wes admitted. "But if there's something wrong with her, if her headache, her passing out, if it wasn't caused by stress or panic, then don't you think she deserves to know?"

Rui sighed. She knew her husband was right. "IF she's okay with it, then you can go. But I don't want you telling her anything unless she wants to know, okay? Don't just dump this on her, you need to prepare her for it, understand?"

"Of course," Wes nodded.

Uh-oh! Something weird is going on with Maddi! What's going to happen? Will she be alright? While everyone else will stay back and relax in Agate Village, we'll follow Maddi and Wes to Professor Decker's lab to see what's going on!