The hike has been horrible, but some good has come out of it! For starters, it looks like Donoma will finally start leaving Lukas alone, now that she's set her sights on a new target! But can she really manage to seduce Ian? What method will she use? Will he have the same willpower as Lukas, or will he fold like a cheap suit? I guess we'll see.

The Elimination Round of the Pokemon Academy Best Girl Contest 3 is coming to a close! There's only about a week left, so make sure to get those votes in! We've only got a couple of people who have voted so far, so try to vote if you can, if you want your girl to be the third year champion, and if you want this contest to happen for a fourth time! 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: Just like Candy Man.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Definitely a funny chapter. But this one might be funnier.

Aakareo Kokokuhikari: Who knows, the professor might survive. We'll just have to see, won't we?

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 985

Most of the students were amused with how easily Marion was to find, but Hiromi was not pleased. She stormed over to Marion with a scowl on her face, glaring up at the taller girl.

"What were you thinking, young lady!?" She demanded fiercely, jamming her finger into Marion's chest. "Where were you?! What made you even imagine that this would be acceptable behavior?! You know full well that I'm responsible for you, and I will not have you wander off on my watch, do I make myself clear?!"

Marion winced, a shameful look crossing her face for a moment. But she quickly returned back to her cheery self, giving Hiromi a sheepish smile.

"Sorry!" She apologized. "I really wasn't thinking, I just…" Her voice trailed off as a thrum went through her. Almost like a resonance of harmonia. It was familiar, but she shook the feeling off. There was no way that was possible. But it had shaken the normally unshakable fishing girl enough to make her lose the thread of the conversation.

Hiromi crossed her arms in front of her chest. "'You just' what, exactly?" She asked.

"S-Sorry," Marion said, quickly getting flustered. Everyone watched her curiously. It was rare to see Marion so out of sorts, especially multiple times in the same conversation. But she quickly clarified. "See, I just… I needed to fish, that's all…"

It was a weak explanation, and even her voice sounded weak as she said it. But everybody just had to sigh.

Marion was simply that sort of person.

Hiromi's face softened, but only slightly. "No more wandering off, okay?" She warned.

Marion sighed. "Okay…"

"Even if you can take care of yourself," Hiromi added. "It's not going to change the fact that we'll be worried about you, or the fact that anything could happen. Thank you for understanding."

The fishing girl nodded, and got back onto the trail with the others. They continued the walk, heading for the nearby campsite.

None of them noticed, not even Marion, that someone was watching them from the forest.

When the group got to the campground (luckily the trail came with several spots that were put in place by the conservationist groups) Andrea and the other members of the Ranger Course began unpacking their bags.

"Let me guess," Andrea said, turning to Hiromi with a smile, "you guys don't have any camping gear, do you?"

Hiromi blushed sheepishly. It was kind of embarrassing for her as a retired Pokemon Ranger to not be prepared to go camping out, but then again, that wasn't something she should have expected on a field trip like this, right?

"I am not sleeping outside!" Lila insisted, stomping her foot down on the ground. "I refuse! I would rather die than spend the night out here!"

"Uhum, Lila?" Darla cleared her throat and pointed at Lila's feet. The blonde glanced down, and saw that she'd just stomped into a big mud puddle.

She screamed in fury while Donoma tried not to laugh.

"It's okay," Andrea assured her with a smile. "We came prepared, with extras, just in case. It's the Pokemon Ranger way, right little brother?"

She flashed a grin to Andre, who nodded. Erik confirmed it with a nod as well.

Andrea turned back to the others. "We've got three tents, that should be enough for all of us. It'll be a little cozy with this many people, but it should still be fine. The boys can all share one, and that leaves us girls to split the other two."

While the two chaperones decided how they would split up the girls, Donoma took this opportunity to stroll over to her newest prey.

"Hello there, Ian, right?" She introduced herself with a smile. "Haven't seen you around very much! I'm Donoma!"

"Oh, hi," Ian greeted her cheerfully, not at all fazed by her looks. That was fine though. Donoma wasn't some horned-up Tauros charging at everything she saw, she knew that different men had different approaches. And while Lukas may have been someone easily overcome by overt sexuality (or not, as the case ended up being, much to her chagrin) a decent guy like Ian was more of a long-term project to work on.

So she was pleasant and friendly, playing the role of the cheerful girl next door, interested in talking to a cute guy she just met. Not laying it on too thick, just building up in his mind that "Donoma Marima is a fun person to talk to."

Once she had that established, it would be easy to slowly work her clutches into him and get some fun. With that being the case, she had to shelve her initial plans like "hey what about if we share a tent together?" and other more obvious hints.

Donoma didn't need sex right now. She was channeling her frustrations into a new project, and it was going to be a fun one.

"I thought it was really smart of you, using your Lumineon to find Marion like that," Donoma said, smiling sweetly. She leaned forward just enough to reveal a hint of her cleavage, while her demure attitude made it seem like it was entirely unconscious. She reached up and twirled a lock of her curly hair, beaming at the boy. "Do you know a lot about pokemon?"

"Not too much, but I'm sure I could probably teach you a thing or two!" Ian said proudly. Donoma didn't feel any arrogance in his words, just self-assuredness. He was being perfectly genuine with his thinking that he knew a lot about pokemon, and didn't see any issues with saying it the way he did. It was the kind of unthinking insensitiveness that came naturally to loud, outgoing guys like him who tried to be everybody's friend.

Donoma resisted the urge to lick her lips at just how delicious he was.

"Wow, I guess you're the man to see," she giggled. "So what kind of pokemon do you have, anyway, Ian? Can I see them?"

"Probably not right now," Ian said, looking around. They were in a pretty tight campground, and it would cause a bit of a commotion to introduce her to his whole team. "It would be a little bit of an imposition on the others, you know?"

"True," she nodded, "and we certainly wouldn't want that."

"Maybe some other time, though!" He cheerily suggested. "When it's not so hectic! I'd love to get you to meet everybody, plus it would be nice to see your pokemon too."

From most people, it would have sounded like a cheesy pickup line, but again Donoma knew he was being sincere. Ian had a bit of a reputation about him as a friendly, honest guy, so when he said he wanted to see her pokemon, that wasn't a euphemism, or an insinuation, it was a genuine desire to meet her team.

Unfortunately, that honesty also meant that when he said he wanted to be her friend, then he really wanted to be her friend. Donoma wanted to rope a little bit more out of him then just plain old friendship.

"Well, when we get to Agate Village, we simply must find some private time to show our teams to each other," Donoma said, leaving the door open for… other things. But she kept the innuendo out of her voice. She played it cool and friendly.

"Sounds great! If you want though, I'm happy to talk about them," he added. "I could go on for hours about 'em!"

Donoma would be bored out of her skull listening to some guy ramble about his pokemon for hours, but she smiled anyway and said "well, I don't think we have hours. But what kinds of pokemon do you have?"

"Well, you already met Lazuli, my Lumineon," he began. "And then there's Iron, my Aggron. He's the one who's been with me the longest."

"Aggron, Aggron…" Donoma mumbled to herself like she was trying to remember something. Then she gasped. "Wait, are you THAT Ian?"

Ian blinked. "Wh-What do you mean?"

"You are, aren't you? You're Ian Davidson! I remember now, you were one of the best trainers in the Fall Festival Tournament a few years back! Weren't you offered a position in the Eight Leaders or something?" Donoma asked, pretending like she was just now figuring out who he was. It made her feel sick, pretending to be this much of an airheaded Lila.

"Yeah, that's me," Ian said, without a hint of boasting in his voice. "I just didn't feel like the time was right, you know? I want to beat the other leaders first."

"Wow, how honorable of you…" Donoma murmured, pretending like she was actually touched. She held her hand over her chest. "That's really cool. Most guys would have chosen the glory, but you really know what you want, huh?"

Ian smiled sheepishly. "Thanks. And yeah, I do."

Considering his personality, stroking his ego any further probably wouldn't get her anywhere, so she changed the topic slightly. "Hey, weren't you in the Phantom Cup? I think I remember you!"

"Yep, that was me," Ian said, nodding again.

"You know, I was rooting for you, in your fight against Gerard. That guy… he's kind of a jerk, you know? I really wanted a cool guy like you to take him down," Donoma said, giving him a practiced shy smile. Then her face darkened. "I'm sorry you lost."

By pretending to be a fan and also to feel bad for him, Donoma was trying to work intimacy and closeness into their relationship where none existed.

"It's fine, thanks for saying so. I did the best I could, you know? I'm proud of my pokemon." Ian was still smiling, but there was a deeper tinge to it that Donoma picked up on. She smiled internally. Her plan was working like a charm.

"So anyway," she continued, "Lazuli, Iron, who else do you have?" Now a more perceptive guy would have picked up on the fact that she should know his other pokemon from the tournaments, and thus that she was probably working an angle because she was playing innocent. But Ian wasn't most guys, and he was happy to keep sharing.

"Well, there's my Phantump, Fluorite, my Haxorus, Diamond, my Miltank, Opal, and then my Crobat, Sapphire," he finished.

Donoma perked up at that last one. It was just what she'd been waiting for. "Oh? You have a Crobat? Really? That's amazing!"

Ian grinned. "Yeah, Sapphire's pretty amazing," he agreed. "She can be a little clingy sometimes, but still, she's great."

"Totally," Donoma nodded. "My Crobat's the same way, honestly."

That was a total lie. Donoma's Crobat, Galib, was stoic and determined, a silent predator. But she planned to have her hooks in Ian long before he worked out that little fib. "Did you know, he was actually my second pokemon?"

"Wow, really? You have a Crobat, too?" Ian's eyes lit up, and a surge of triumph leapt into Donoma's breast.

There it was. Common ground.

"Yeah, aren't they just great?" Donoma sighed wistfully. "Still, my favorite pokemon has gotta be Pandora, my ace."

"Oh, Pandora? Which pokemon is that?" Ian asked. Donoma smiled. She'd been hoping he'd take the bait.

"She's my Salazzle," Donoma explained. It was only fitting that her ace pokemon be a Salazzle, she and Pandora were two peas in a pod. Fiery personalities and filled with toxicity, while using their wiles to charm everyone around them. Even the people like Ian, who should really, really know better but unfortunately did not.

"I've had her ever since I was a kid," she continued, smiling wistfully. The act had slipped a bit, and now she was just fondly remembering their meeting. "Her mom saved me from a wild Crawdaunt, and I don't know… I guess she saw something in me. So she allowed her daughter to come with me as my first pokemon, and we've been together ever since."

Ian seemed honestly touched. Sometimes, the most effective weapon in a woman's arsenal was a little dash of the truth.

"I met Iron when I was a kid, too," he admitted. "He actually saved my life."

Donoma gasped. "Really? How?"

Ian shook his head. "No, no, it's nothing, don't worry." He laughed it off, but that just made Donoma want to hear more. She didn't force it, though. If Ian wasn't going to tell her, then that meant he didn't trust her enough to fully open up. So if she pushed too hard here, she might ruin all of her hard work by driving him away.

Instead, she gave him a diplomatic smile and shrugged her shoulders. "I think it's good though, being with a pokemon for so long," she mentioned, drawing the conversation back to the original topic. "You really get to know more about them after being with them for so long."

"Exactly!" Ian brightened up again. "They become like your closest friends! At least, that's how it is with my pokemon and I."

"Same," Donoma chuckled. It wasn't… exactly a lie. Donoma wasn't much of a "friends" kind of girl, but that only applied to people. When it came to her pokemon, that was a little more tricky. Of course she valued them because they were so strong and helpful, but at the same time, they were important to her, and she did care about them.

More than she cared about people like Lukas anyway.

"So you have a Salazzle and Crobat," Ian mused thoughtfully. "What other pokemon do you have, then?"

Donoma's eyes twinkled with glee and she leaned in a little closer. The fact that he was asking that question himself was a great sign, it meant that he was taking a real interest in her, and not just being polite. Slowly but surely she was peeling away his defenses, and worming her way closer into his heart, and his bed.

"I also have a Dragalge, named Achlys," she said. "And a Toxicroak, named Condit. Plus a Drapion named Skorpios. Now tell me, mister 'I'm a great pokemon trainer', do you have an idea about what type of pokemon I prefer?" She giggled.

Ian pretended to think about it. "Poison types?"

"Ding, ding, ding," Donoma laughed. "That's right, I'm a Poison type specialist. I try not to judge people or pokemon by their appearances, you know? Oh, one more thing, my fav right now is my Toxtricity, he's named Hendrix. I like him because he's a Low Key Form Toxtricity, do you know what that means?" She asked.

Ian shook his head. "No, what?"

Donoma smirked. "It means that I can teach you a thing or two, that's what, mister 'I know a lot about pokemon'."

"Hey!" Ian laughed. "In my defense, you were the one who said that about me, I remember being a lot more humble."

"I don't think you could be more humble," Donoma teased. "But to answer your question…" Her voice trailed off and then she flashed him a coy smile.

"It's a secret for now! I guess you'll just have to see!"

Ian just laughed. Donoma laughed. And inside, she was laughing even harder. This was going perfectly it seemed.

Meanwhile from across the campsite, Lukas watched the two of them getting on and felt nothing but sympathy.

He shook his head. "Better you than me," he muttered under his breath, turning his attention back to the tents that were being set up. He stepped in to go help.

Not long after that, the tents were all ready to go. The sleeping arrangements were made pretty clear, based on who got along with whom.

Tent 1: The boys. Ian, Erik, Andre, Mirar, Raizer, Lukas, and Allen. Simple, easy. They didn't have a chaperone (and had the most people in their tent, which would probably be uncomfortable) but no one was complaining.

Tent 2: Andrea as the chaperone, along with Marion, Celia, Jessie, and Donoma. It didn't have as many students as the other tents, which gave them all a bit more room. Which was good, because Chime was there as well, and so was Marion's fishing pole.

Tent 3 was the problem though. Hiromi was the chaperone, with Ayame, Olivia, Lila, and Darla. In spite of Olivia's insistence that she have the tent with the fewest amount of people, Hiromi had insisted right back that Giselle join them as well. Olivia didn't want to fight it, or else she'd look like a complete bitch, so she agreed.

They all got together for dinner, which was canned food (because of course it was, what was camping without meals straight from the can?) and it was just as revolting as Lila had feared. But she held her nose and choked the stuff down anyway, and didn't even complain about it.

Much.

After dinner, it was time to turn in for the night. Marion nestled down in her sleeping bag for a good night's rest, but as she drifted off she was suddenly sent waking up in a flash, springing up and looking around quickly.

There it was, that strange sensation again. Someone was outside.

She shook her head in disbelief as she placed the feeling. "No way…" she whispered in the darkness. "It couldn't be…"

Uh-oh! Marion's feeling something! A familiar presence with her harmonia, who could it be? What could they want with our gang? We'll have to find out…