After everyone's met up, it's time to head to the Hoenn Region! But to get there, they'll have to go by plane again. But the flight shouldn't be a problem, right? And hey, the tickets are already paid for! Now we just have to hope that Cynthia wasn't up to any shenanigans when she ordered the seats, and everything will be perfectly fine! What's the worst that could happen? A crash? Remember to review!

The Final Round of the Pokemon Academy Best Girl Contest 3 has begun! Get the votes going in soon! There are three girls in the finals! Who's going to win? Chloe? Cynthia? Or Vic? One of those girls will become the third best girl, so get those votes in as soon as possible! You've only got one vote this time, so make it count!

Finalists: Chloe, Cynthia, Vic

Jjjdunk1: Well it's progress of a certain kind, maybe.

KedharS: They've had an interesting dynamic since practically Elaina was introduced. Glad to see they're getting along for now.

Rowlets and Oshawotts: I figured you'd like this one.

Hyphenman: "Want" to get along with her may be stretching it just a little bit. They're "cautiously optimistic" about getting along with her, let's go with that instead.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1034

Aidan didn't show up until the boat was practically off the dock. He clutched Arion's traveling case to his chest while dragging a suitcase behind him, running down the pier to catch the ferry before it left for the mainland.

"I thought he might have to jump it," Cynthia laughed.

To everyone's relief, he didn't seem to have any problems with Elaina's presence on the trip. He was too tired to focus on that, having spent most of the night before split between packing and staying up worrying about what the trip would be like. After all, he was going on an overnight trip for a whole week with a girl he'd just confessed to barely a month ago, and even though they were trying to be friends he couldn't deny that he still held some feelings for her.

Luckily, he had time to catch up on his sleep on the ferry ride. Which a lot of people did, in fact, due to how early the boat left. It wasn't even 8 by the time they reached the airport.

"Due to timezone differences it'll probably be night by the time we get to Hoenn," Cynthia informed the others. "Come on, guys! Let's get a move on!"

Cynthia ushered everyone into the lanes and they made their way through security without any real issues. Meanwhile, Julia just rubbed her stomach. She glared enviously at all the food courts in the terminal, but they were on such a tight deadline they couldn't even stop off to get a bite to eat for breakfast.

"They'll serve a meal on the plane," Cynthia assured her. Julia rolled her eyes. Needless to say, she was in a rather crummy mood. The plane was already boarding when they arrived, and Cynthia handed out everyone's tickets.

Blake tried not to notice the wicked gleam in her eyes, but he couldn't help it. He feared what she was plotting behind that smile.

He figured it out a few minutes later when all their luggage was stowed and they were sitting in their seats.

Cynthia had split their eleven tickets down two sides of the plane. She had chosen herself, Will, and Nick to take three of the seats in the far back left row, and Blake's row was right in front of hers.

He was flanked on either side by Caelia, with her burns facing the window, and Elaina, who was in the aisle seat.

He glared back at her and she flashed him a dirty grin. He wanted to punch her teeth in! She'd done this on purpose.

"I couldn't help it," Cynthia shrugged. "It's assigned seating!"

"You picked out the seats," he growled.

She just kept smiling, not even having the decency to deny it.

It wasn't like Blake was UPSET with his seating or anything like that. He didn't have a problem with Elaina or Caelia at all. But, well… Cynthia had arranged this for an obvious reason, and he felt kind of awkward being the Mankey in the middle.

Blake wasn't the only one who wasn't exactly thrilled by their seating assignment either. Across the row, Julia and Reiner sat on opposite sides of a very uncomfortable Kitty, who had shrunk down in her seat under the intense pressure that the two of them gave off. Even though it was nice getting to sit next to Julia for the long flight, being in the middle of a hungry Julia and sleepy Reiner wasn't the sort of thing she wanted to be.

But the cherry on top had to be the last group. Sango and Aidan were seated ahead of them, right on the wing. Which meant there was no third seat. Instead, the two of them had the entire section to themselves, along with some extra leg room. There was even space to store Silver and Arion's carrying bags.

Neither was happy with it though. Not that they had a PROBLEM with it, of course, but they were going to be stuck on a long flight without anything to talk about and no way to escape the awkward silence that would no-doubt be hanging overhead.

"Um… Cynthia, is there any particular reason you had a sit together?" Sango asked. She quickly followed up with "n-not that I have a problem, of course! Aidan and I are great friends, after all, it's just strange why we're not sitting back there with the rest of you guys."

Due to seat placements, Sango and Aidan were ahead of the rest of the group, so Sango couldn't even turn and talk to any friends who were across the aisle from her if she wanted to escape conversation with Aidan. She was totally trapped by Cynthia's shipping machinations.

Cynthia put on the most innocent smile in the world, batting her eyelashes. "Oh? Whatever do you mean?" She asked sweetly.

Sango wasn't amused. She didn't think that Cynthia had any knowledge about Aidan's confession to her, but she was starting to suspect that the redhead was trying to hook the two of them up on her own. (which she was)

"Cynthia…"

"It's because you two are rangers," Cynthia quickly lied. "Or I guess in the Ranger Course. You know how it is, right? If something bad happens, the people sitting there will have to step up and take care of the emergency. Well… I thought it would be for the best if we had people with a proven track record of good judgment and instinct taking up those positions. …Unless you think you can't handle it, of course," she added.

Sango blinked, her suspicions allayed for now. "…Oh, that makes a lot of sense," she nodded, smiling giddily. She was so glad that Cynthia was actually taking her chosen profession seriously that she completely missed the sigh of relief she exhaled.

And with that, they were off. The plane began taxing down the runway and Blake leaned back in his seat, settling in for the long flight. Then he felt a warm hand wrap around his.

It was Elaina. She was shaking.

"H-Hey, are you okay?" He asked.

She gulped. "I-I'm fine, it's just…" She glanced down at her lap. "…I've never been flying before, that's all…"

Blake was stunned. "Really? Never?"

Elaina shook her head. "I traveled by boat everywhere. Even to the Pokemon Academy. I haven't gone on an airplane before, not even for winter break."

Cynthia popped up from behind them. "Wow, so does that mean this is your first time on an airplane, then?" She asked.

Elaina nodded. Her cheeks were red with embarrassment.

"S-So… is it okay if I hold your hand?" Elaina asked. "I'm… a little nervous."

She looked up at Blake with big blue eyes that he just couldn't say no to. He'd grown to associate Elaina with her mask for so long that seeing her real face was still new to him. Blake just nodded his head numbly and let her continue. She released a pleased sigh and squeezed his hand a little tighter in response.

Then Blake felt clammy fingers wrap around his other hand.

He snapped his head to see Caelia staring straight forward with a blank expression on her face, not saying a word.

"Caelia, what are you doing?" He asked, confused.

"Also not… gone on a plane," she murmured. "Hold hand… comfort."

Blake just stared at her. "But… you can't even feel my hand though."

She didn't reply, or even look his way. Apparently her mind was set.

Blake sighed and leaned back in his seat, staring ahead. At this rate it was probably going to be a pretty long flight.

By the time lunch was being served, Julia had practically starved to death. And the lunch wasn't even very good, just a microwaved lasagna with green beans and a cookie. But she devoured every bite of it with glee.

When it was done and she realized that she was still starving, things were beginning to look pretty bleak. She sighed and turned her attention out to the aisle, hoping to take her mind off of her friends still eating. Mostly still eating, anyway. Like Julia, Sango had completely inhaled her lunch, and was still starving. But she'd been smart enough to pack jerky.

"Hey, Sango, can you pass me some of that?" Julia leaned forward and asked hopefully. To her relief, Sango came to her rescue with a jerky pass, and she devoured it gratefully.

Meanwhile, other members of the group weren't even eating at all.

Caelia just stared blankly at her lasagna. She wasn't much one for food since she couldn't really taste anything, or even feel the food as it went down. But Blake was having none of that. "Caelia, at least eat those green beans, you can't just starve," he urged her.

Caelia stared at him for a moment and then nodded, fumbling to try and take the utensils out of the little plastic bag they came in. With only eight fingers and no sense of touch, she wasn't doing a very good job. Blake sighed and took the bag from her, prying it open and handing her the fork. She accepted it and began to eat.

With another sigh, Blake leaned back in his chair and finished off his meal. Apparently, a big part of the reason Cynthia had picked him for this spot was so he could serve as Caelia's babysitter. Which made sense. He figured no one ELSE would be interested in the job.

And Cynthia couldn't deny that was one of her motivations, or at least, beyond just amusing herself at sticking Blake between two semi-dangerous girls who both had intense feelings for him (and neither being his girlfriend)

Other motivations were less altruistic. She propped her legs up on the back of Caelia's chair and let out a sigh, pushing into the other girl's back. And due to her condition, Caelia didn't notice a damn thing. Rather perfect, if she said so herself.

Will noticed, though, giving a concerned look to the other girl. "Uh… are you really sure you should be doing that?" He asked, completely unaware of the special conditions that afflicted Caelia's body. All he knew was how unhinged and violent she could get, as he remembered from her attack on the Phantom and the Sandbox.

But Cynthia didn't seem concerned at all about any potential risk.

"Of course it's fine," she shrugged. "It's not like minds, right Caelia?" She turned her head forward like she anticipated an answer, but as expected, Caelia didn't bother giving her one. If she was even paying attention in the first place.

Sango reached up and stretched, turning to look at Aidan. The two had spent the flight trying to get on better terms with each other, at least in the intermittent moments when Aidan wasn't sleeping off his fatigue from the night before. This was one of those times, as after lunch, he'd dozed right off and gone to sleep, resting against the side of the plane.

Well, at least he's enjoying himself, I guess, she thought, turning back to the aisle. There was a lot of space available for her to use, with plenty of room to stretch out, and-

The plane jostled slightly, snapping Sango out of her thoughts. She clutched her seat for a moment and feared the worst, but it was only some light turbulence. Nothing to be afraid of.

In spite of what Elaina's screams and the way she clung frantically to Blake might have insinuated about it.

Sango had just started to relax when the turbulence let up, and Aidan flopped right over, practically face-planting into her shoulder.

It took her a second to process this. Then, she suppressed a scream, as well as the urge to shove him off of her. Her face lit up with embarrassment at the fact that a guy who she liked as a friend, but liked her in a different way, had just landed on her like this. She was afraid of pushing him off and him waking up and thinking she was embarrassed, or rude, but at the same time just staying like this was absolutely out of the question! She was dying inside emotionally and running out of ideas when suddenly another jostle finally woke Aidan up and resolved the issue completely.

Aidan blinked awake, sitting up slightly and turning to look at Sango. He had a bleary look in his eye and it was like he was staring right through her. Sango's face was red as she waited for him to say something to excuse himself or apologize.

…Instead, he didn't say a word, and flopped back over on the other side and went back to sleep like nothing had happened.

Sango didn't know how to react. She was shocked. Cynthia was snickering a few rows back, but she didn't even hear. She was just too confused about what had happened. Aidan said he liked her, right? But at the same time, he didn't even react to being pressed up against her like that? It didn't make any sense.

No, you're just overthinking things, she quickly rationalized. He was so sleepy he didn't even know what he was doing, that's all. There's no reason to overreact.

The truth of the matter was that Aidan was completely awake. And even now, he was beating himself up inside for doing something so awkward and humiliating. He had woken up with his face buried in Sango's shirt, and had been so embarrassed by it that he couldn't even face her; he just turned and pretended to go back to sleep, hoping the whole thing would pass.

As for Cynthia, watching these two was better than any in-flight movie could have ever been. She was practically in conniptions.

The rest of the flight continued in much the same way. And by the time they touched down in Hoenn, everyone was feeling the fatigue. Julia was ravenous, Sango was emotionally exhausted, Aidan was still sleepy somehow, and Blake…

Well, Blake had been through quite a lot himself. Elaina was still clinging to him, pressing her chest into his shoulder and practically swallowing it in her cleavage. The tremors running through her body weren't doing much to help either.

Meanwhile, Caelia was mimicking the other girl. She refused to let Elaina get a leg up on her, and was practically glued to Blake herself, even though she couldn't feel a thing.

Elaina's case was understandable, at least. She firmly believed now that she was NOT a fan of flying. If she could, she never wanted to get on a plane again. And a big part of that was due to the nature of her harmonia.

With her powers, Elaina possessed a natural affinity for the wind. She could sense changes in the wind and even cause powerful gusts when her emotions were in an unstable state.

In fact, most of the turbulence on that flight had been a result of her lack of emotional control, something that she was terrifyingly aware of.

She knew, when the plane touched down, that she had been the reason for the rough time. But she couldn't help it. Her fear of losing control of her emotions and doing something devastating with her harmonia had caused said emotions to be even more unstable, resulting in a feedback loop where she became unable to do anything at all.

So when she finally got off the plane and onto solid ground, she became much more comfortable with everything. She nearly cried tears of relief. The Slateport City airport was now her favorite place in the Hoenn Region.

"Wheeew!" Cynthia stretched, a wide smile on her face. "How are we all feeling, everybody? Have a good flight?"

Her tongue in cheek question was met with a series of cold stares. She was practically the only person who'd enjoyed her trip here. Julia in particular, having been forced to sit near Reiner and go without eating, looked particularly upset; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she resembled a Houndoom herself, ready to get a big old bite of mischievous redhead for dinner.

Cynthia passed it by, though. She pulled out her phone and checked the time.

"Okay guys! We better get a move on!" She called. "The next bus to Lavaridge leaves in about twenty minutes, if we hurry, we can just make it!"

Sango groaned and slapped her forehead. "Oh, no, I almost forgot…"

"What? What bus?" Elaina asked, confused.

"Right, you never went on the trip," Sango sighed. "Well, the inn that we're staying at is in Lavaridge Town. See this map over here?" Sango led Elaina over to the map of the Hoenn Region standing in the terminal.

"That right there is Lavaridge Town," she explained, pointing at the small dot at the base of Mt. Chimney. "And see this dot, over here? That's us."

Elaina's jaw dropped. "But that's… that's so far!" She sputtered.

"It's WAY far," Sango groaned. "Unfortunately, Lavaridge is a small town on the mountainside, even if it is a major tourist attraction. That means no room for airports. We've gotta take a bus there, and it's a long one."

"So come on already!" Cynthia said, tapping her foot impatiently. "If we miss this bus, we're going to have to wait another half an hour for the next one!"

"How long is this bus trip going to take?" Julia asked.

Cynthia went pale when she saw the sour expression on Julia's face. "It's, uh… only a couple hours or so?"

Julia wasn't amused. She stomped forward and grabbed Cynthia by the collar. "We're going to get something to eat first and the terminal. We'll take the next bus. Is that okay?"

Cynthia meekly nodded.

So the gang finally made it to the Hoenn Region after quite an… interesting flight. What secrets await us in Hoenn? How will spring break affect our friends and their relationships with one another? This might be a filler arc, but I promise, it's going to have some important moments, and you won't want to miss them!