Now that Yellow has joined the group, much to the embarrassment of her daughter, Marion, we can finally get back on the road! Onward to Agate Village! What else awaits our gang on the mountain? They have more issues to confront, mainly internal and interpersonal, and this hike is the perfect opportunity to get all that stuff out into the open once and for all! ...Or bottle it up. Bottling it up works too.

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: You bet it does. It should have been obvious in hindsight, though. Straw hat? Fishing pole? Psychic powers? Who else COULD it be?

Jjjdunk1: They're really a perfect match. They're both incredibly quirky, and have a deep love for all pokemon.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: We're not at Agate Village just yet. We've still got some more traveling to do. And no, Lila is not going to be happy about it.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 987

"Alright everyone!" Yellow declared, holding her fishing rod high. "Let's get a move on! To Agate Village!"

Andrea cleared her throat.

"Mom… you don't have to take the lead, you know," Marion said weakly.

"…O-Oh, right," Yellow said, blushing sheepishly. "I'll follow your guys' lead then!"

With that, the group continued their hike, heading up the slope of the mountain towards the next campground. Things had started to relax a little with the introduction of Yellow, and everyone was opening up more and talking with one another. She really seemed to have a way of lighting up everyone, especially with all the curiosity about harmonia she brought.

But there was one person who wasn't in a very good mood. Olivia was sulking as she walked along the trail, and it had nothing to do with her distaste of physical exercise.

Ayame didn't say a word, but slowed her pace until she fell in line beside her friend. She walked silently next to her, ready to support Olivia if she needed it.

Olivia glanced at her, and frowned. "What do you want?"

"I want to help, if I can," Ayame said, quietly enough for no one else to hear but her friend.

"…Yeah, well, I'm good. I don't need any help," Olivia scowled. "You can go now."

Ayame fell silent, but she didn't leave Olivia's side. That frustrated her even more.

"You wouldn't understand, Aya!" She snapped, glaring at her. "You just wouldn't, okay?" After her little outburst drew some attention she quickly fell silent, not even looking at Ayame. She turned and glanced ahead, to where Marion and Yellow were chatting casually.

Yellow wrapped her arm around Marion and yanked her close, pulling playfully on her daughter's cheek as she said something that Olivia couldn't hear. Marion fought her off, but her smile never left her flustered face.

A stab of pain shot through Olivia's chest and she averted her eyes.

Ayame noticed this, but she didn't say anything. Until Olivia needed to talk to her, there was nothing she had to say.

"…What's it like?" Olivia's whisper just barely reached her ear. Ayame wasn't quite sure she'd heard it properly.

"Hmm?" She asked, turning to her friend. "What's what like?"

Olivia looked up, wearing a perfect mask of composure. She may not have been smiling, but it would be nearly impossible to see her inner turmoil upon her gorgeous face.

Nearly impossible for anyone but Ayame, that was. She winced.

Olivia glanced at Hiromi for a moment and then turned her attention back to her friend. "Your mom. Having her here, as a chaperone on this trip, what's it like?"

Ayame winced again. A sigh escaped her lips.

She was glad that she had such good control of her emotions and was such a stoic person normally, because if she was someone else she might have answered Olivia's question with a huge smile on her face, and that would have made her friend feel even worse.

"It's complicated," she admitted. "Of course, I like spending time with her. She's my mom, after all. But it's also a little embarrassing, too, considering how she can be sometimes."

"But you're happy, right?" Olivia quietly asked.

Ayame nodded. There was no denying that. "I'm happy she's here, yes."

"…I see…" Olivia said wistfully, turning and staring at Marion and Yellow palling around again. "How lucky…"

Ayame reached out to her instinctively. "Olivia…"

"It's fine," Olivia said, batting her hand away. Her voice showed she was clearly not fine. It wasn't a fierce snap of anger, it was something even more bitter and painful. The cracking voice of a girl trying hard not to cry.

She was Olivia Himeko. She didn't cry. She was above that sort of thing. So even seeing Ayame and Hiromi together wouldn't crush her. Seeing Marion laughing with her mother didn't rip out her soul. And even Vic and Rui didn't bother her in the least.

Olivia closed her eyes and desperately tried to recall her mother's face. Her kind hand, stroking Olivia's silky blonde hair, so different from her own. The warmth of her hug…

Her face was wet. She snapped her eyes opened and hissed, clenching her jaw to keep any more tears from coming out.

"Um…"

Olivia whirled around to see Giselle standing behind her, a wary look on her face. She was holding out a black handkerchief decorated with Dratinis.

"Just… um… I thought you might…" Giselle was feeling a little queasy staring into the Empress's cold eyes, wondering if she'd made a huge mistake.

But in the end, Olivia didn't say anything to reproach her. She calmed down and accepted the handkerchief, dabbing the tears from her eyes. Fortunately she'd caught herself before her makeup smeared.

"Thank you," she muttered, returning Giselle's handkerchief. She stormed ahead without looking back, cursing herself for letting someone else see how vulnerable she was.

Giselle sighed, feeling like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders now that she wasn't the focus of Olivia's ire. That had almost been too close. But she didn't regret what she'd done. She was happy to help the Empress.

Ayame just watched her with a small smile, and nodded. Then she turned and followed Olivia up the trail.

Meanwhile, a little further up, Donoma was busy getting her hooks into Ian. She'd stayed up all night thinking of conversation topics for the walk the next day, and was determined that by the time they reached Agate Village she'd be his new best friend.

"Wow, I had no idea you were good at pokemon battles," Ian said, amazed.

"I know, I know, people always say that," Donoma giggled. "It's always 'Appeals Course'? You mean all those Pokemon Contests and whatnot? What's that got to do with training pokemon? But the truth is, I'm actually quite skilled! I competed in the Rookie League back in Ferrum, and I actually did pretty good, truth be told."

In truth it was the other way around. Most people in school assumed she was in the Battle Course due to her competitive record and skill in battle-related classes, and were shocked to hear that she was actually in the Appeals Course instead. But there was no point in saying that much to a guy like Ian, she decided.

Ian raised his eyebrow. "Ferrum?"

"My home region, where I come from," she explained. "I'm from a place called Neos City, the largest city there. It's not a very big region, you see, but it's home."

"I've never heard of it," Ian admitted. "It must be pretty far away."

She nodded noncommittally. There was more stuff she could tell him about, including the fact that her family happened to be filthy rich. It actually suited her purposes quite well that Ian had never heard of the region before. Her father was famous across all of Ferrum as the General Manager of the Ferrum Sports Broadcasting Company, and was one of the most important Battle Analysts within the Ferrum League. For seducing some people, her family's reputation served her well; there were always those sorts of boys who wanted to cozy up to the daughter of someone famous, especially when they were as beautiful as she was. But it was clear as day that Ian wasn't that sort of guy. He was genuine and sweet, and so she'd need to play the role of the casual girl nextdoor, and not the hot-bodied seductress rolling in money.

So she talked up how good Ferrum was, while also downplaying her own notoriety and celebrity. And Ian ate it up nicely.

"So you actually competed in a league, huh? Wow, that's amazing!" Ian said, envious. "I'd love a chance at that to be honest."

"Oh, it's nothing special," she played it off with a laugh. "Just the Rookie Leagues." And the Green League, and the Blue League…

"Are the quality of trainers in the Rookie League good?" Ian asked, narrowing his eyes. She was stroking the inner battler inside of him, just perfect.

"Well, who can say?" Donoma coyly replied, leaning forward and batting her eyelashes. "If you'd like, you can always… test your skills."

She let the insinuation hang in the air. Would he take the bait, or not…?

Ian brightened up immediately. "Sure thing!" He agreed. "I'd love for a chance to battle against you, maybe when we get to Agate Village, if there's time!"

Donoma smiled, trying extraordinarily hard to keep the malevolence under wraps. "Perfect, that sounds delightful."

"So you mentioned Ferrum Battles earlier, right?" Ian asked curiously.

"That's right," she nodded. "Those are the kinds of battles ordinarily fought in the Ferrum League. They're a little different from your standard pokemon battle, though." She could tell that in particular had caught his attention.

"Really? What are the rules?" He asked.

Donoma gasped, as if she was scandalized by his question. But she made it clear that she was just playing around so he wouldn't get the wrong idea. "Why, Ian! I never! Don't you know that it's rude to ask a lady to reveal all her secrets?"

She narrowed her eyes and wore an expression that was just on the cusp of flirty, but could still be defended as chaste. "I'd prefer you get to know me one piece at a time, don't you think that's the best way?"

The two shared a laugh.

Donoma shifted her focus. Now that she'd managed to get in good with him and make him interested in learning more about her, an amateur would make the mistake of continuing to talk about themselves. But Donoma knew better than that. Forming a relationship with someone was a dance, and even if Ian seemed interested in getting to know more, it wouldn't do to keep talking about herself over and over. No, the right move was to keep him tempted as long as possible, while at the same time letting him open up about himself.

That was how trust was formed. That was how she could become his perfect friend, and then leverage that for more later on down the road.

To start, she gasped as if she'd suddenly realized something, and quickly pretended like she was embarrassed and ashamed. "Oh, I'm sorry! I feel like I'm only talking about myself! You're just so easy to open up to, I couldn't help it! But what about you, Ian? Tell me a little bit more about yourself! Where are you from?"

Ian had been reluctant to speak about his past before, but now that Donoma had opened up some about her own experiences, it would be a lot more difficult for him to rebuff her at this stage. And he wasn't even consciously aware of it, either, his general nice attitude made it easy for him to think that he should be telling this girl he'd just met yesterday all this stuff.

"I'm from the Hoenn Region, actually," Ian explained.

"You know, I could have guessed," Donoma giggled. "Your Aggron's a dead giveaway."

"Fair," he chuckled.

"So where in the Hoenn Region, if I may ask?"

Ian scratched his hair sheepishly. "That's… a little trickier. See, my father's an archaeologist. Or as he likes to call it, an 'adventurer'. So we ended up moving around a lot, exploring different ruins and historic landmarks. Or just caves. Mainly just caves. So yeah, there isn't really anywhere in Hoenn I would say is definitively 'home' for me, you know?"

Donoma nodded. "Yeah, I get that," she lied, having spent most of her childhood cooped up in front of a giant flatscreen watching television.

"But hey, it's not like that's a bad thing!" He quickly clarified. "I loved traveling with my dad, we got to explore all sorts of interesting places!" Donoma noticed that as he was saying that, he was fiddling with a pendant. It was, as far as she could tell, nothing special. Just a jagged chunk of shiny rock. It looked incredibly tacky, but she wasn't about to say that.

Instead, she empathized. "Wow, I'm kinda jealous," she lied again. "Getting to travel to all those places with your dad, it must have been really exciting."

Donoma had wandered around a few places in the past, mainly for the sake of gathering pokemon. But she hadn't enjoyed it. The first time she'd actually gone and done something 'exciting' as she put it, she'd gone to a volcano.

That was a dark chapter in her life that she'd like to never revisit again, thank you very much. And frankly, she thought that Ian was kinda being a little dumb about this. Talking about how much fun he and his dad had, roughing it in the wilderness, spelunking, he was talking about all that stuff with so much passion and all Donoma could do was nod and pretend like she agreed with him.

As far as she was concerned though, she'd rather have a rich famous father who could buy her anything she wanted over a dad who dragged her into caves and ruins, thank you very much.

"That's so cool!" She gushed. "I can't imagine living a life that amazing, it's hard to believe we're the same age! You're really cool, Ian!"

Ian blushed in spite of himself. While he wasn't trying to stare, he couldn't deny that Donoma was a very pretty girl, and friendly, too. So seeing someone so likable take such an interest in him, he couldn't help but feel a little proud. And a lot embarrassed.

Donoma observed his change in reaction, exceptionally pleased behind her mask of innocent excitement and interest.

Oh yes, things were going very well indeed.

Meanwhile, Lukas just watched in shock. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, it was like he was in a horror movie. Like in Jaws where everyone's downplaying the idea that there could be a Sharpedo in the water, and go swimming like everything's normal.

Right now, it was like Ian was walking into the ocean without a care in the world, doused in chum. And the Sharpedo was circling.

He felt a hand clap him on the back. Startled, he turned to see it was Allen, actually walking for once. The boy tried to look sympathetic, but it was clear he was smirking.

"Tough luck," he said, shaking his head. "You really should have taken her up on that offer before, if you were going to be this hung up on her. You snooze, you lose."

Lukas swatted his hand away. He didn't like what the other boy was insinuating. "You're crazy!" He hissed. "You actually think I would want to… with that?!"

Allen raised his eyebrow, his face awash with glee. "If I recall correctly, you already have," he taunted Lukas. "Multiple times."

Turning bright red (definitely out of anger and nothing else, nope) Lukas turned and stomped away, growling under his breath.

Allen shook his head, chuckling to himself.

Meanwhile, down the hill, Lila was dying. Today was even harder than yesterday, and today had barely even begun.

To start with, she hadn't had a good night's sleep. She'd had the opposite of that. The tent floor was lumpy, and her sleeping bag wasn't very good, either, since it was just a spare made out of a couple blankets and a pillow.

Plus, she was pretty sure she'd been sleeping on a rock.

Combined with the revolting meals they'd been eating recently, and it was hard for her to summon up the strength to keep going.

"I swear, when I get to Agate Village, I'm gonna… I don't even know what!" She muttered to herself. Probably roll over and die, if she hadn't already.

Darla just sighed, watching her friend from a distance. She was concerned for Lila's condition, but knew that it was mostly just posturing. She'd seen her partner put up with a lot worse, after all. Right now, though, her attention needed to be directed elsewhere.

She turned and looked ahead, staring daggers at the back of Erik's skull. That guy… she couldn't believe her bad luck, ending up on a trip with him of all people.

Darla knew deep down inside that the grudge she had against Erik was kind of ridiculous. After all, it was a continuation of a family feud from the previous generation, not something that he had anything to do with himself. And it was a family feud involving a family and culture that she had personally revoked, and wanted nothing more to do with!

At the same time, though, she found it offensive to think that he looked down so highly on their heritage. It wasn't like this was a one-sided grudge, after all. Erik loathed her as much as she loathed him.

Still, she wondered if she should maybe just let it go. After all, she had her own issues with the Draconids, and she knew that his were also pretty bad. Maybe Lila was right, and they had more in common than either of them would like to admit.

She glanced at Lila, and wondered what she would do in this situation. Maybe she should ask… but no, not right now.

If she asked Lila for advice right now, her partner was liable to tell her to just push him off of the mountain.

So it seems like things are getting back to normal as they climb up the side of Mt. Battle! But at the same time, there's definitely some tension hanging in the air… when will they get there, and what will they find when they do?