We continue where we left off in Phenac City with Ange's little frustration. What will the Phantom's group get up to while they're there? Is there anything of interest in Phenac City? Maybe the pregym or the colosseum, but I don't think Ange would like those very much… we might be at a passive pause in the story, but things will start heating up soon!

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: We'll have to see.

Tambry96bj: It's definitely an amusing levity she adds.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 972

"Excuse me?"

Ange wasn't sure she was hearing him properly.

Keahi grumbled. "I said I'm sorry."

Nope. She still wasn't getting it.

"…Huh. Okay." Ange didn't really care one way or the other. It wasn't like Keahi's apology meant anything, there was more important stuff to keep in mind. But regardless, his presence there meant it was time for her to go back. It wasn't like she was all that excited to hang around some crummy fountain anyway.

Kiana had a hopeful look on her face when Ange rejoined the group.

"So Ange, did Keahi apologize to you?" She asked.

Ange shrugged. "Yeah. Guess so."

"Well, that's good," Kiana sighed in relief. "We're all here together, after all, so we're going to have to make the most of things and try to get along. From now on, I hope you try to get along better with your classmates, okay?"

Ange doubted that would ever happen. But she wasn't going to put up a fight about it. Just think about the Oracle, she reminded herself. Remember how great it is that you found the Oracle, and how happy the professor will be when you give it to him.

She wasn't going to break out into a smile over it or anything, but it was enough to improve her mood, at least.

"Sure. Fine. Whatever." It was the best answer she could give.

Kiana raised her eyebrow. She wasn't exactly blown away by Ange's enthusiasm, but she understood that things must have been tough for the girl. It wasn't like she had any friends here, after all, that was something Kiana had noted the more time she spent with the group. Ange was a caustic person who didn't get along very well with the others, and because of that, she didn't really have any friends, nor did she seem to want any.

Honestly? Kiana felt a little sorry for her. It made sense that someone with such low social skills would lash out, given the situation she was placed in. A school trip like this must have hammered home even more that Ange didn't really have anybody. Kiana wanted, at least, to take it easy on the poor girl if she could.

Of course, she had no way of knowing that all of Ange's "fuck people I hate them" talk wasn't just rhetoric, it was for real. So while she was coming up with ways to help Ange get in good with the other members of the group, Ange would have much preferred to just be left alone.

But we don't always get what we want.

First things first, though, Kiana needed Ange to apologize as well.

"I'm glad to see you're feeling better, Ange," Kiana said, forcing a smile to her face. "But I think it's important that you apologize too, alright?"

Ange raised her eyebrow. "Apologize? Why? To Keahi? After what that guy said to me?" She wasn't going to do it. No way. Just because that guy happened to like ruins as well, that didn't make up for the absolute garbage stain he was, not even close. She could already feel her anger welling up again as she remembered the crap he'd said about the professor, and how little respect he seemed to have for nature.

"No, it's okay," Kiana tried to assure her. "I'm not talking about Keahi, what I mean is that you need to apologize to Misato."

Ange let that sink in for a second.

"…You're kidding."

She absolutely wasn't! Kiana scowled, narrowing her eyes. "Ange, you kicked one of your classmates, and said some very hurtful things to her! That's not acceptable behavior for a first grader, let alone a high school senior! Now apologize!"

Ange couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was insane. Kiana was literally insane. She really wanted her to apologize to a Mechadoll? Why? What was even the point? It wasn't like Misato would care, she didn't even have feelings.

"Now, Ange," Kiana insisted, crossing her arms over her chest and scowling at the other girl. There really was no getting out of this.

It felt like the dumbest thing Ange had ever done. But honestly, it wasn't like it was a big deal. She turned and walked over to Misato.

"I'm sorry kicking you," Ange said. She tried to make it sound sincere, at least in order to get Kiana off of her back.

"And what about all those things you said to her?" Kiana demanded. She really wasn't getting out of this, huh?

"I'm sorry I said you have no soul and that you're a pile of scraps," Ange sighed. She glanced over at Kiana. "There, are we done?"

"That doesn't sound like you mean it," Kiana answered.

No fucking way. Ange sighed again, and tried to spit out the most sincere words that she could. "Honestly, Misato, I'm really sorry for the stuff I said. I lost my temper and I took it out on you, and that wasn't fair. Sorry."

Kiana sighed with relief. She knew Ange wasn't a bad kid! And as for Misato…

Misato did not see any purpose in an apology. As Ange herself had identified, it was not like she had any feelings to hurt. So an apology was meaningless. But it was still required that she give the proper response, as Will often let her know.

"When someone apologizes to you, you should accept their apology. Unless they don't mean it, and then you can tell them to fuck off."

Misato had advanced senses that allowed her to detect many things about other people, including heart rate and tone of voice, as well as body language. And everything about Ange suggested that her apology was not a genuine one.

So she gave the appropriate response.

"Fuck off."

Ange was taken aback by that, he jaw literally dropped as she heard Misato say something that she would never normally say. She wasn't the only one shocked either, nobody had any idea what they were supposed to say in response to that.

Keahi burst out laughing, though. It was the funniest thing that he'd heard all day. Even Valon was amused that the Mechadoll had given such a response to an apology, it was completely out of character for a machine like her.

"Misato!" Kiana finally blurted out. "You can't say something like that! Ange tried really hard to apologize to you, you know!"

"Clarification required," Misato replied, glancing at Kiana. "I was informed that this is the appropriate response to an apology which is deemed to be insincere."

Kiana scowled. "Okay, well, first of all, telling someone to 'fuck off' is never an appropriate response to a classmate at all. Second off, who's to say that Ange wasn't being sincere in her apology?"

"That was the only conclusion to be arrived at with the data I received," Misato answered.

"Well, let's ask her, then," Kiana said. She turned to Ange. "Ange, was your apology to Misato sincere?" She asked.

"Yes, I was being sincere," Ange lied through her teeth. "I'm sorry about kicking you and saying all those mean things about you."

"Understood. In that case I accept your apology," Misato replied.

"No, no, not so fast!" Kiana said. "Misato, you have to apologize for being so rude."

"Affirmative. Ange. I am sorry for being so rude," Misato said, with all the sincerity that a Mechadoll like her could muster, which was zero.

Ange was reeaaally tempted to say "fuck off" herself. But she didn't. That would just drag this pain in the ass out even longer. "Fine, whatever," she grunted.

Kiana sighed. It would have to do. This was all just too much of a mess for her to deal with, so at the moment she was just glad that everyone seemed to be, almost, getting along.

"Okay, well, with that in mind, let's get back to touring the sights, okay?" She asked hopefully, glancing around the group. Unfortunately, not a lot of them looked excited to explore Phenac City. Just like with Pyrite Town.

Apparently, Kiana was stuck with the least enthusiastic group of tens on a field trip in history, and that was certainly saying something.

But she didn't let it get her down. She had a lot of fun activities planned!

"So what do you guys want to do first?" Kiana asked. "We could get something to eat at the Canal Café, or we could go check out the Pregym!"

"Pregym?" Gerard asked, confused.

"It's over there," Kiana said, pointing to a large building she noted from the map. "It's sort of like a gym, like in other regions, but it isn't sponsored by the Pokemon League. You won't get a badge if you win, but you will get a cash reward as well as a TM."

"What's the point of that?" Keahi asked, rolling his eyes. "Isn't the whole point of a gym… I don't know, to get badges or something? That place just sounds kind of useless if you ask me."

Kiana shrugged. Clearly, they weren't enthusiastic about the Pregym. "Well, if you guys don't want to check that out, we could always go to… Phenac Stadium? I hear it reopened a few years ago and they're still holding tournaments out of it."

The last trip to a colosseum had been a disaster. But then, that was in Pyrite Town. A place filled with the worst that the Orre Region had to offer. Comparatively, Phenac City's population seemed very affable and normal. Certainly the atmosphere of their colosseum would be an improvemet, to reflect that, right?

Whether that was the case or not, Ange didn't really care. She wanted absolutely nothing to do with a pokemon colosseum, never again.

"I'm not going," she insisted belligerently. "I don't want to step foot in another one of those colosseums ever again."

Kiana sighed. So much for that idea. "Look, Ange, I know you had a bad time last time," she said, reaching out to take the girl aside, but Ange was having none of it. She pulled away from Kiana with a scowl on her face and shook her head.

"Not. Again."

Kiana pinched the bridge of her nose. She didn't want to drag Ange to something the girl didn't want to do, but it seemed like she didn't want to do ANYTHING. So what was she supposed to do in this situation, as the group's chaperone?

"What about this?" She finally suggested. "Ange, you said you wanted to go to Agate Village at some point, isn't that right?"

"Yeah, why?" Ange asked.

"Well, how about this? The colosseum tournament today doesn't start for another three hours. We'll get something to eat at the Canal Café, and then we'll head to the tournament. And after we've finished sightseeing in Phenac City, then we'll go check out Agate Village next, alright?" Kiana asked, praying that her suggestion would be accepted.

"What? Come on!" Keahi groaned. "Nobody wants to go to Agate Village, it's some backwater hick town with nothing to do!"

"Keahi!" Kiana gasped in disbelief. "Don't say that!" Great. Now she had two problems to deal with. How was she supposed to fix THIS now?

Fortunately, Ange wasn't the only one who was interested in going to Agate Village.

"I'm with Kiana on this one," Valon interrupted, startling everybody.

"Wh-What?" Keahi looked at Valon like he'd declared he was going to sprout fairy wings and fly around the clouds. "Seriously? You want to go to Agate Village? YOU?"

For once, Ange and Keahi were in perfect agreement. She couldn't believe what she was hearing, no WAY did RICHARD VALON of all people want to go to Agate Village, he was as big of a tech worshipper as they came, and didn't even have Keahi's attachment to ruins and history to draw him.

No, there had to be something else on his mind, something that they weren't aware of. Ange was certain of it.

But she chose not to say anything. If he was going to take her side, then she'd use that.

"I also want to go," Lana agreed. "From what I hear, Agate Village sounds like a peaceful, relaxing place. The perfect place to take a nice breather if you ask me."

"There could be some interesting plants I could use for my potions," Willa mused, starting to get onboard with the idea herself.

"I'd also like it," Gabrielle admitted, another surprising response. She'd been very quiet this entire trip due to the complexity of her relationships with the other students, as well as her naturally stoic personality.

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Rafe agreed with a smile. "I'd love a chance to go see Agate Village again, it's really a lovely town."

Dokukage nodded as well. He didn't need to be asked twice to go to a peaceful, secluded village in the mountains.

As more and more members of the group got onboard with the idea of visiting Agate Village, Kiana felt the relief in her chest blossom. Yes! Now THIS was how things were supposed to go! Everyone agreeing together to do something because they were excited about it!

In the end, there was only one holdout. Everyone looked expectantly at Keahi, who felt completely overwhelmed by the sudden amount of positive support bubbling up around Kiana's proposed idea for their next stop.

But the only person whose opinion had really made a difference was the Phantom's. Keahi didn't know what Valon was up to, suggesting that they go to Agate Village, but he wasn't about to contradict him on it. So he sighed and nodded, shrugging his shoulders.

"Sure, whatever," he agreed. "Let's go, then."

"Great!" Kiana said, clapping her hands together. "Then it's decided! We'll go check out Phenac Stadium, and when we're done, we'll do some more sightseeing! Then, we'll head to Agate Village after Phenac City!"

It was a solid plan, and it all depended on whether or not Ange could hold her nose for the rest of the day and put up with the tournament.

Ange felt like she was going to throw up, but if it meant purifying her soul at the stadium, then she was onboard. Begrudgingly.

"Okay, sure, whatever," she mumbled, nodding. "But we're going to Agate Village next, right?" She asked. "You promise?"

Kiana nodded, her eyes shining with excitement. She'd agree to just about anything at this point if it meant that they could go do something as a group.

With the plan set, the group went to go get some lunch. The meal was nice, much better than the food they'd gotten at Pyrite Town. And now that lunch was over, it was time to face the biggest obstacle Ange had to face- Phenac Stadium.

She stared up at the large dome, and the water cascading over it. Maybe… maybe Kiana was right. Maybe it wouldn't be as awful as the one in Pyrite Town.

But Ange knew that was a foolish thought. She shook away her naivete and followed the others into the stadium.

It was surprisingly crowded. But luckily, Kiana had been able to arrange for the students to get their own private box, somehow.

"How did you get this?" Lana asked, amazed. It wasn't the fanciest thing in the world, in fact, it was basically just a glorified balcony. But it was good enough for her, and it meant they'd all get to sit together.

"Honestly? No idea," Kiana said, shaking her head. "When I spoke to the ticket lady and explained my situation, she said that there was a special reserved box for us. I guess it's something that the school arranged, perhaps?"

Ange glanced over at the Phantom. She had other ideas.

"Before the match begins, I have to use the restroom," Valon said, rising from his seat.

"Well, don't go alone," Kiana warned him. "Rafe, how about you go and-"

"Oh, that won't be necessary," Valon assured her with a smile. "Misato will be more than enough to accompany me."

Everyone let that sink in for a second.

"What?!" Kiana exclaimed, practically jumping to her feet. "Absolutely not! You seriously expect me to allow the two of you to sneak off to the bathrooms together to do… those sorts of things!? I won't have it, not on my watch!"

Ange felt like she was going to throw up. That was exactly the worst thought to put into her mind at the moment.

But Valon handled it flawlessly. "Don't worry, Kiana, believe me, I have no such interest in Misato, not at all. I simply believe that she's the best choice for keeping me safe, that's all."

Well, nobody could really argue with THAT. They'd all seen Misato tear apart pokemon singlehandedly, she was a Mechadoll, after all.

And if that wasn't enough, Misato lent her own voice to the conversation.

"Valon is correct," Misato assured Kiana. "The likelihood of any sexual event occurring between the two of us is less than 2%. I can assure you that I have not participated in sexual intercourse at this time, and every attempt that I have made to participate in sexual intercourse has been met with rejection. Valon has never expressed any sexual interest in me. Therefore, it cannot be determined that sex will occur between the two of us to any degree of statistical significance."

As always, Misato's statements were a mouthful. But the most interesting thing she'd said was that she had endeavored to have sex, and had been rejected. That was something nobody had needed to know, certainly not Kiana.

"Whatever!" She exclaimed, her face bright red. "Just go!"

Well, that was certainly amusing. Will needs to get it in gear, it's clear that Misato's thirsting for him something fierce.