Good! Reviews are back! And at the same time, we've moved to the Finals of the Pokemon Academy Best Girl Contest 3! Sadly, we only got five votes this time. That's not very many. However, there has been a definitive three girls to come out on top of everything! Let's take a look and see our results!

Vic: 4

Chloe: 4

Cynthia: 3

Marion: 2

Ayame: 1

Elaina: 1

Kate: 1

Sango: 1

So those are some very interesting results. It seems like previous frontrunner Ayame has fallen to the wayside, for a couple of dark horses in Vic and Chloe! It seems like those girls have had a lot of screentime recently, which explains how they've taken the lead in the polls! But will they be able to win? Could one of them be the Pokemon Academy Best Girl? What about Cynthia? She's placed in the top rankings a few times; could now be her chance to shine?

The Final Round of the Pokemon Academy Best Girl Contest 3 has begun! There are three girls in the finals! We only have five votes in the semis, I know we can do better than that! You only get one vote for one girl, so make it count!

Finalists: Chloe, Cynthia, Vic

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Yep it's definitely a tough situation that Vic's found herself in. Meanwhile, maid outfits.

KedharS: Somehow I doubt it.

Hyphenman: Don't worry, the poll's up.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1024

Rui was getting horrifying news from her husband. But Cynthia, Alden, and the others were completely unaware of that for the moment. Right now, their focus was devoted to Cynthia and her ideas for the Battle Frontier.

If she had any, that is.

"Wow… the Battle Mansion, the Battle Tent… Battle Roulette… that's just… yeah, wow…" Cynthia mumbled, shaking her head. She could only blame her detachment and numbness on sleep a little at the moment. The major cause of her feeling of being overwhelmed was all the amazing ideas that the others had. It was a little much to take in.

She realized now that there was a big difference between the people who had joined up with the Commander because they were honestly passionate about his ideals with the Battle Frontier, and people like her who'd just been swept up in things and only joined because it sounded kind of fun and exciting.

"A-And Maddi, what did you say yours was called again?" She asked, turning to Maddi. She was desperate for ideas on what to do for her facility, but more desperate to shift the focus onto someone else right now.

"I haven't determined a name yet," Maddi mumbled.

"We're going with the 'Battle Hall'," Alden cheerily pitched in, knowing full well how Maddi was going to react to a statement like that but not caring.

"Name. Undecided." Maddi said pointedly, glaring at the Commander. He didn't even dignify her frustration with so much as a glance her way.

"R-Right…" Cynthia nodded.

"Or maybe the Battle Parlor," he added.

"Commander…" Maddi's growl was taking on a dangerous edge. Cynthia reflexively flinched, even though she wasn't on the receiving end of the other girl's anger for once.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. So come on, Cynthia, what's your idea?" Alden asked. "You're a pretty clever girl, you must have a dozen fun ideas up your sleeve, right?"

"R-Right…" Cynthia said again, her face turning paler. "Yeah…"

She had nothing. Zero, zip, nada. Over the last few months her attention was occupied on other things, namely her awkward relationship with Blake that was slowly on the mend and her awkwardness around Sango now that she knew the other girl had a crush (and trying very, very hard not to break down and beg her for details). And of course, once most of the school went away on the class trips, she'd stopped thinking entirely and was just enjoying the mini-vacation that was the prelude to spring break.

So in summary, Cynthia had not given any thought to the Battle Frontier in months. So in spite of Alden's faith in her, there wasn't really much she could say.

"Just let us know, and then we can start construction on the project!" Alden urged her. Maybe he thought he was being encouraging, but all Cynthia heard was that her inability to come up with anything was a roadblock that was keeping the Commander's dream from being accomplished, which didn't do anything to make her feel better.

She just felt sick to her stomach.

Chloe and Maddi were a little more perceptive than the Commander. Maddi in particular could see how much trouble Cynthia was having with this, and realized about the same time that Chloe did that the redhead had no ideas whatsoever, and that fact was causing her to panic a little bit.

Maddi honestly felt a little bad for Cynthia; she'd spent a lot of time developing her idea for the Battle Hall (name pending) and it was clear that if Cynthia had been given the time to focus on it, she might come up with something. But then, Cynthia and focus weren't words that often shared the same book, let alone the same sentence.

Chloe wasn't much help either. She was just relieved that Cynthia wasn't going to propose something that would be budget-breaking. In fact, this was an ideal situation for her. Maddi felt a little sour recognizing that's how the other girl felt, but it wasn't like she could do anything to-

…

Wait. There was something that Maddi could do. Whether or not it was a good thing was a separate matter, but it wasn't out of the realm of possibility.

"Cynthia," she said calmly, "I know that you're the kind of girl who powers forward with an idea when you've got something into your head, even if it's not a very good one. We've been over this a thousand times, you need to actually think critically about stuff you want to do, alright?"

Cynthia stared blankly at Maddi. Clearly, her point had gone over the other girl's head entirely. Maddi resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose in frustration.

"What are you talking about, Maddi?" Alden asked curiously, turning to the other girl. Maddi ignored him.

"I know you always come up with stuff that sounds interesting, Cynthia, but this is really important. If you don't have something you're SURE will work, there's nothing wrong with rethinking it," Maddi continued, trying to adjust her tone of voice to sound goading. She was counting on Cynthia being able to pick it up, and come up with a good excuse for why she couldn't come up with an idea just yet and would have to go back to the drawing board.

Cynthia finally got the point. "O-Oh! Yeah, you're totally right, Maddi!" She said. It had taken a second for it to sink in, since she wasn't used to Maddi helping her like that. At least she hoped Maddi was trying to help her; maybe she was reading the other girl wrong, and Maddi was just goading and taunting her.

That would be a sad thought, so it wasn't one she chose to entertain. Instead, she turned to the Commander and flashed him a smile.

"I've actually got a great idea, sir!" She said, beaming at him. "A ton of them, in fact! But Maddi's right, I shouldn't rush into this. After all, I'm just beginning my studies here, there's still a lot I need to learn about pokemon battles, wouldn't you agree?"

"So wait, you're saying we should hold off on designing your facility, and that you'll build it later?" Chloe asked. Did she dare to dream?

"…Yeah, basically," Cynthia said, flashing a toothy grin filled with lies. "Don't worry! I'll come up with something that'll really knock your socks off, you'll see!"

If Chloe was as exuberant at Cynthia was, she would have punched the air in triumph. Finally someone who was willing to back off and not blow an obscene amount of money on their first dumb idea, and actually give the Battle Frontier a chance to make its money back instead of cost even more than before! This was perfect!

Her good mood was contagious, though not for exactly the same reasons. Alden was just as excited and positive as she was.

"I gotcha, then I can't wait!" He grinned, nodding in agreement. Then he scrunched his face up in contemplation. "…Oh, but we've still got that other issue," he mumbled.

"Hmm? What other issue?" Chloe asked worriedly, terrified that there was something even more problematic in terms of finances that she wouldn't be able to fix. "It isn't… more money trouble for us, is it?"

"Hmm? Oh, no, it's nothing like that," Alden assured them with a smile, shaking his head. "I was just saying that means we'll have to hold off on lighting up the Battle Frontier and starting construction, if Cynthia won't be a part of it yet."

Chloe couldn't have agreed more. Take out a project like this when everyone's grown and matured and developed new sources of income, it was just simple logic.

But logic and the Commander weren't the closest of friends.

"I suppose we could just start it now anyway… but that doesn't feel right to you," he said, shaking his head. "What do you think, Cynthia? What should we-"

"I say build the Battle Frontier," Cynthia replied automatically. "You know as well as I do just how important that place is. A place where trainers from all over the region… no, all over the world, will be coming in for pokemon battles. We need to get a place like that up and running as soon as possible, if not…"

Chloe had to admit, seeing the state that Orre was in, Cynthia may have a point. If only that point was an affordable one.

"So in other words… I guess I'm giving you permission?" She offered awkwardly. "You guys can get started if you want. Build it or whatever. As for me, well… just leave me a spot of land, and once I've really thought out my idea, then I'll get back to you, okay?"

Alden didn't think all that studying and preparation was necessary, since he was much more of a "think with your gut" kind of person. But if that's what Cynthia wanted to do, then he wasn't going to argue with her.

"Okay then," he chirped, nodding. "But that brings me to my next point. There are two sections of open territory to choose from, Cynthia. You can either place your facility on the inner part, closer to the tower, or in one of the farther outskirt areas, where you'll have more room to run your facility, but could end up getting less foot traffic. So what's it going to be?"

Cynthia paused and gave his statement some serious consideration. She wanted her facility to be great, after all, but which position would be best suited to make it that way? It was clear that for a place like this, working in the center would be preferable. The Battle Tower was by and large the biggest draw, and the nature of the Battle Salon meant that people would probably be coming and going from that spot, looking for the perfect deals and trainers to battle. If she didn't get in close to one of those areas, she was going to have a bad time.

But she still didn't know for sure what she wanted to do. Even if she wanted a lot of foot traffic, what if her ideal facility was the kind of place that would feel cramped and crowded in that space, like the Battle Tent or the Battle Safari? Or what if she made a decision, and then changed her mind and didn't want to go through with something like that? She'd have a piece of territory that she didn't want to deal with on her hands.

But those worries paled in comparison to one simple fact. If she didn't make a decision now, then she'd be delaying the Battle Frontier even further. And knowing that she had a penchant for going big in her ideas…

"I'll have the spot on the outskirts," Cynthia declared. Her statement shocked everyone.

"R-Really? The outskirts?" Chloe asked, shocked. That hadn't been what she'd expected. Everything she knew about Cynthia told her that the other girl loved being in the center of attention. Unlike Chloe, who didn't like drawing attention to herself and would be fine having a facility way off the beaten path that people would only visit if they were specifically looking for it, Cynthia seemed like the type of girl who needed the attention that came with being in the center. If she couldn't do it literally with the Battle Tower, then she would instead push to make her facility even grander than the Battle Tower. She was simply that sort of girl.

Because of that, the notion that Cynthia would choose to remove herself from the main flow of tourists was behavior that was not consistent with Chloe's observations about the other girl. She stared questioningly at Cynthia, wondering what she was up to.

But for once, Cynthia wasn't up to anything. She just shrugged her shoulders when asked why she would want to be way out there.

"I guess I just thought it sounded like the most fun," Cynthia finally replied. "I mean, think about it! Tommy and Keya had it best. You get to pave your own path! Design a facility the truly speaks to your ideals! So what if there won't be many people coming? There will still be a few, I'm sure of it, especially if you let your passion guide the project!"

Chloe was so swept up in Cynthia's declarations that she completely missed the fact that Cynthia, adventurous as she was, was probably working out a new idea that would be incredibly expensive to build.

But that would be a problem for a later Chloe.

While Chloe was confused, Maddi just shook her head, hiding the faintest of smiles. That was Cynthia to a T. While she may be the kind of girl who loved attention and socializing, she had the energy to do that whenever she wanted. And with that energy came a flare for adventure.

Between Cynthia and Sango, Maddi sometimes wondered how she'd ended up with two such adventurous girls as her friends. It was quite a coincidence.

Alden seemed to take her decision perfectly fine as well.

"Alright then!" He nodded. "If that's what you want to do, I'll let Mason know we'll be building the Battle Mansion in the main section of the park! That's probably better anyway, since it's rather insulated. The interesting stuff only happens inside, I mean. In the meantime, get started coming up with ideas, the sooner you've got a floorplan designed, the sooner we can get that dome up over the place, you get me?"

Cynthia ignored the statement about the dome, but otherwise nodded in agreement. "Great! Thanks for calling me!" She grinned. Then she yawned again., "Glad I could help… but in the meantime, would it be so hard for you to not call me when the sun's barely risen?"

Alden shrugged, but made no promises. With that, they said their final goodbyes, and Cynthia let out a long sigh as her screen went black.

Exhausted, she rolled over and dropped her phone on the bed. This wasn't what she needed today. She was all excited because spring break was on the horizon, and that meant would be going back to Hoenn. And this time, she wouldn't be going alone. She was planning out the trip with all of her friends in order to-

"Wait, that's it!" She sputtered, slingshotting up out of bed.

Startled, Julia nearly faceplanted on the floor. "What?! What the heck's going on?!" She demanded, looking around in confusion. She had a bleary look in her eyes that probably looked similar to the one that Cynthia had just worn.

Cynthia wasn't looking bleary now, though. She was bursting with new ideas about what she could do for the Battle Frontier.

"Don't you get it, Julia?!" She asked, climbing down out of bed. "I just have to think about the kind of pokemon style I like! And I like hot springs, so this is perfect!"

"…Uh…" Julia didn't know what to say, because her ears weren't working so good at the moment. She hadn't quite put together what Cynthia was saying just yet.

Sango sat up and yawned, staring at her roommate. She rolled to her feet and walked over, handling the early hour a bit better than her roommates due to her already-intense morning schedule.

"What's going on here?" Sango asked.

"Oh, nothing, just Battle Frontier stuff," Cynthia said, waving her off.

Sango raised her eyebrow. "…Battle Frontier? What's that? Some new video game?"

Cynthia flinched. That's right. The others didn't know about the Battle Frontier. It was a secret plan known only to a select few in the Commander's organization.

"Battle Frontier? What Battle Frontier?" Cynthia laughed. "I've never heard of a Battle Frontier before in my life!"

Sango raised her eyebrow. Really? Never? Because I just heard you use it four times in the span of one minute.

Cynthia averted her eyes, shame blossoming across her face. She quickly recovered though. "Oh, it's just… you know! The Battle Frontier! Yep, Sango, you got it right! It's a special video game that's getting released soon, and I was wondering if I should get it!"

Sango raised her eyebrow. "So you're going to get a game called 'Battle Frontier' and in this 'Battle Frontier' you're going to build a hot spring?"

"Yes," Cynthia replied automatically without even blinking.

Sango slapped her forehead.

"That's gotta be the dumbest thing I've ever-"

"She's lying," Julia said, slipping her phone back into her pocket. Cynthia twitched again.

"H-How do you know?!" She demanded. Then realized what she'd said. "I mean… no, I'm telling the truth, Julia, why would you think I'm lying?"

Julia raised her eyebrow, unamused. She took her phone back out and opened it.

"…'The Battle Frontier'," she read. "Construction on this ambitious project has begun in the Orre Region over the last few weeks. The idea was first proposed by'-"

Cynthia shut her up before she could say anymore, grabbing her phone. Her face was sagging with resignation.

"Okay, okay, you got me," she admitted glumly. "I didn't… well, I wasn't actually talking about a video game. The Battle Frontier, well, it's…"

Unable to keep it secret any longer now that her friends knew the truth, it all came flooding out of her like a hydro pump from a Blastoise.

Well, it looks like Cynthia's going to be in for quite a good time with her friends. They finally know what she's doing for the Commander, or at least they're going to learn about it very, very soon. What will come out of this? Will Sango be happy for her? What about Julia? And what's she going to do for her idea, I wonder?