Blake managed to defeat Cynthia in battle. But that's not enough! She wants to have fun, and there are a lot of fun things she can do to pass the time! Most of all, she wants a way for everybody to have fun together! But it's up to Blake to come up with something. Just leaving it to Cynthia probably wouldn't go that well. At least not for the girls anyway.

The Final Round of the Pokemon Academy Best Girl Contest 3 has begun! Get the votes in! There's less than one week left and 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 last votes in! Can we get a climactic victor? You've only got one vote this time, so make it count!

Finalists: Chloe, Cynthia, Vic

KedharS: Definitely wholesome. Hopefully, what comes after this will be just as wholesome, if Blake can find something fun for everyone to do.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1052

When it came to things that Cynthia would enjoy, Blake didn't have a lot of options. At least not ones that he was comfortable with, anyway.

"I don't get it, what's wrong with a swimsuit fashion show?!" Cynthia demanded. "I mean, we all HAVE the swimsuits, don't we?"

"I'm not throwing one of those," Blake said, finding it crazy that he had to dignify his objections with actual words. "Come on, aren't there other things you'd like to do?"

"Sure there are, but you won't DO them!" Cynthia scowled.

"Cynthia, I've told you a million times, I have a-"

"Not stuff like that!" She snapped, cutting him off.

"Well, what then?" Blake asked. Cynthia decided to keep that information to herself for now, though, much to his surprise.

Meanwhile Kitty was looking expectantly at the two of them.

"I, uh… also don't want to do anything lewd…" she said, her face turning bright red. "So, um… Sango, do you have any ideas?"

"Oh, don't ask her!" Cynthia groaned. "She's just going to suggest we go hiking!"

"I-I am not!" Sango exclaimed. "…And even if I was, so what? Hiking is fun!"

"Yeah, but I didn't want to spend today working out," Cynthia groaned. "My grandparents are already making us do a ton of chores around here, I don't want MORE work! Where do you get all that energy anyway?"

"From my diet," Sango bluntly replied. "And for the record, I wasn't going to suggest going on a hike you know."

"Oh?" Cynthia raised her eyebrow curiously. "Then if it isn't hiking, what do you want to do?"

"…Got any video games?" Sango asked after a moment.

"HAH! Take THAT, Blake!" Cynthia crowed, holding her controller triumphantly over her head. "I told you I would beat you!"

They'd plugged in Cynthia's old game station to the common area television and begun playing one of her favorite games, a fighting game where the players chose pokemon to battle with. Of course, Cynthia had insisted on a match against Blake where she used Breloom and he used Scizor, and had just finished mopping the floor with him.

"I barely play any video games," Blake said defensively. "This isn't a fair matchup."

"Well, that's what you get for having a girlfriend," Sango replied. "Your game skills are in the toilet, mister popular." She turned to Cynthia. "There, you've gotten your revenge. Now, can we please get to playing four player mode? I want to school him too."

"M-Me too!" Kitty nodded. "I want to play!"

"Oh? What are you guys up to?" Everyone glanced away from the game to see Nick and Reiner approaching. Julia and Will were with them. Julia rushed over to Kitty to see how her friend was doing after last night, relieved that she seemed to be okay.

"Is that (legally distinct, Pokemon Academy universe-specific) Pokken?" Nick asked excitedly, plopping down on the couch. "I want to play!"

"Same, I could go with some gaming," Will agreed.

Cynthia beamed. "Wow, it's like we've got a regular tournament going on here!" She gasped. "Hey, that's a great idea! I'm gonna go get Caelia!" She hopped up and ra out of the room. A few seconds later she came back inside with a sheepish look on her face.

"…I almost forgot," she groaned. "Caelia won't want to play."

Blake rolled his eyes. He could have told her THAT. Video games required this little thing called "sensation" to work the controls, and Caelia had none of that. She'd probably spend the whole match pressing the "appeal" button and doing nothing.

"I'm still going to ask her, though, even if she just wants to watch!" Cynthia popped out of the room. "You guys decide how we're going to play!" She hummed to herself as she headed down the hall. Meanwhile, the others decided the matchups.

"I'm definitely playing, and so's Kitty!" Sango insisted. "I don't care who else will be playing besides that!"

"I want to play, too!" Reiner insisted.

"Yeah, same," Nick agreed, nodding. At the same time, Will was nodding his head eagerly. Everyone turned to Julia.

"…What?" Julia said, crossing her arms over her chest. "I don't want to play. I don't even LIKE video games."

"But we won't be able to get to 8 players without you!" Kitty protested.

"Uh… yeah, I'm out, too," Blake said, backing down. "Video games are fun and all, but I clearly suck at them."

Probably because he didn't have a childhood. But saying that was kind of pathetic so he kept his mouth shut.

"You just don't want me kicking your ass like Cynthia did," Sango smirked. He glared at her.

"So we only have six people who want to play?" Kitty said glumly. "That won't be enough." She looked down.

Julia was just about to give up and play when Cynthia returned to the room. And she wasn't alone, either.

"Well, Caelia said she wasn't interested," Cynthia said. "But look who I ran into in the hall!"

"Aidan?" Sango sad, surprised. "You play video games? You don't seem to be the type. I always thought you'd be more into working out and stuff."

"Look who's talking," Aidan laughed. "Sango, the tomboy survival queen of the Ranger Course, actually enjoys something you do inside? The others will be shocked."

"Hey!" Sango exclaimed, her face turning scarlet. "They don't call me that!" She looked at the others. "They don't!"

"Well, with that, we have enough people, even if Blake wants to be a little whiny-wuss," Cynthia grinned. "Thanks, Aidan."

Blake rolled his eyes.

"Actually, I'm not playing," Julia said. "I'm not a video game person, you shoul know that. At least not fighting games like this, anyway. There's no strategy involved, you're just pounding on each other."

"It's way more complicated than that!" Sango and Kitty shouted at the same time.

"They're right," Will agreed. "There's a lot of strategy involved in a game like this. This is Pokken, not Super Slowbros."

"Whoa, don't knock Super Slowbros," Nick protested. Cynthia nodded in agreement.

"Leave her off," Reiner said. "Julia's just allergic to fun."

Julia glared at him. "Oh? Want to do som real life Super Slowbros then?" She asked, cracking her knuckles.

Reiner just smirked. "Is this your way of saying you want to 'smash'? Because I have a girlfriend, sorry. And you're not my type."

Julia was about to scream when Kitty tugged on her sleeve. She looked up at her friend with her big red eyes, and Julia found it hard to say no to her. She sighed.

"Look, Kitty-"

"Um, excuse me," a voice piped up from the doorway, getting everyone's attention. "Is it okay if I play a few games?"

VICTORY: PLAYER 3, ELAINA

"That was freaking unreal!" Cynthia exclaimed, nearly throwing her controller to the floor. "How the hell could the three of us not take even ONE stock off you?! That's ridiculous!"

Sango and Kitty also seemed pretty disappointed. They may have placed third and second, respectively, but they were still just as frustrated as the last place Cynthia.

Elaina smirked, setting down her controller. She flicked her hair over her shoulder.

"Who do you think I am?" She scoffed. "I've logged over a thousand hours in this game. I've beaten story mode on Kaizo difficulty with every character. You filthy casuals who only play you're your friends couldn't hope to be on my level."

A picture of Elaina crouched in front of a TV rapidly pressing inputs into th controller as she spent her days alone flashed through everyone's head. It was a rather depressing image.

"I don't play around with video games," Elaina growled. "Don't underestimate a shut-in's willpower, silly girls!"

It was like they were staring at a whole other Elaina. Blake just laughed. Cynthia had made such a big deal about this and Elaina had taken her to the cleaners handily.

"I don't accept this outcome!" Cynthia declared, pointing an accusing finger at Elaina. "I demand a rematch!"

"…Fine," Elaina replied. "…But that will come after the tournament ends."

Cynthia glared.

The kids had set up two brackets. One for girls, with Cynthia, Kitty, Sango, and Elaina, and the other one with the boys, Nick, Reiner, Will, and Aidan. The two highest-ranking fighters from each bracket would move onto the final melee.

The boys started next. Aidan was a surprisingly adept gamer, taking an early lead over the others, but Nick was making a pretty good showing of it as well. Will was good, to no one's surprise, considering his antisocial nature.

"Oh yeah! That's what we're talking about!" Reiner crowed, getting a double kill on Nick and Aidan. The game was a lot less one-sided than the girls' match, where Elaina had beaten them all. In the meantime, the boys' talents as gamers were all about equal.

In the end, it was Will and Reiner in the finals, along with Elaina and Kitty.

"Kitty, you've gotta show him who's boss!" Julia instructed. "Beat the crap out of that Sceptile of his, you got it?"

"Please," Reiner snorted. "Sceptile's agility and bladework make him a highly-technical fighter. No WAY a bulky Kangaskhan can stand up against him."

"Hey!" Kitty cried. "Kangaskhan are tough, too! They fight really hard to protect their children! Plus they have a lot of bulk!"

"You're surprisingly knowledgeable about Kangaskhan, do you have one?" Will asked curiously, unfamiliar with Kitty's usual lineup.

Kitty shook her head. She was still a little uncomfortable around Will, since she didn't know him very well, but was getting better at being on the spot like this.

"I, uh… my parents, they have a Kangaskhan," she explained. "They're Pokemon Breeders, and Kangaskhan are a good pokemon for helping others, so…" She scratched her head sheepishly. "Honestly she kind of raised me a little herself," she admitted.

"You never told me that," Julia said, surprised. "So why didn't you bring her with you to the Pokemon Academy? A Kangaskhan would be a great asset for your team!"

"I-I know," Kitty admitted. "But, well… I'm wasn't exactly that great of a trainer back when I first came, and I didn't think I could take proper care of her."

She brightened and Julia grinned.

"But maybe, now, yeah," she said, nodding thoughtfully.

"Hey," Elaina snapped. "Enough touchy feel-goods, time to battle."

Kitty flinched. It didn't seem possible but somehow Elaina was even more intimidating playing video games than she was in pokemon battles.

"You can do it, Kitty! Knock her block off!" Cynthia cheered. She wanted to defeat Elaina herself, but if that wasn't possible she had no qualms with using the other girl to her own advantage.

"Personally I think Will should lose," Nick volunteered, in a surprising display of pettiness. "He's the one who's metagaming after all."

"Hey!" Will scowled. "It's not my fault that Lucario is such a good choice!"

"Ugh, you're one of those Lucario players?" Cynthia groaned, rolling her eyes. "Whatever. Doesn't matter." The game was counting down as she spoke. "3, 2, 1, ATTACK ELAINA!"

The game began and true to form, everyone focused on Elaina, their biggest threat, first. She cracked her knuckles.

A storm of arrows rained down on the fighters as Elaina barraged them from afar. She was playing as Decidueye of course, and her dexterity wasn't to be underestimate.

"How is this fair?" Reiner glowered as arrows pierced his Sceptile. "Range attacks are against the spirit of the game!"

"But not against the rules," Elaina replied. She fired more arrows. But it wasn't just Decidueye's range that gave Elaina the advantage. Her skill as a player did. She skillfully evaded all the attacks comig her way, whether they were slow and powerful like Kitty's or fast and accurate like Reiner's. Even the borderline-broken Lucario wasn't able to do much. Elaina just decimate them one after another without breaking a sweat.

When the dust settled, Elaina stood triumphant, looking just a tiny bit smug at her victory.

"…Let's play something else," Cynthia groaned. It was clear that Elaina simply couldn't be conquered, everybody was feeling the same helplessness that they would feel if they tried to battle her in a pokemon battle.

"Well, I think we can all agree that Elaina is the best at this game," Aidan said. He was one of the few people here who weren't bothered by Elaina's skills, he actually found it cool.

Elaina coughed, sitting a little taller in her seat. "…I may be the online first-ranked player," she admitted, and Cynthia's jaw dropped.

"You're Featherine?!" She sputtered.

Elaina nodded, a little surprised they'd heard of her gamer handle before.

"Who's Featherine?" Blake asked.

"Featherine is an urban legend!" Sango gasped, just as surprised as Cynthia. "She's conquered every pokemon fighting game in ranked competitive tournaments! People think she's a hacker or some one of the programmers or some sort of sentient computer program!"

She realized what she was rambling, and coughed. "Err, I mean, that's what I hear anyway. If I played video games. But I'm just a casual player, so I'm not really sure."

Yeah, nobody was buying that one.

"We're in the presence of royalty," Will said, trembling in awe.

"Forgive us Featherine, we aren't worthy," Nick apologized, lowering his head.

"Dude, I was in a match with THE Featherine, that's so cool!" Reiner said.

"It's not that big of a deal!" Elaina wailed, shielding her face with her hands. "I-I just fought in a few tournaments here and there because I was bored staying cooped up in my room is all!" She had no idea she'd started an online legend in her spare time.

"I think it's pretty cool," Blake said.

"R-Really?" Elaina asked, brightening a little.

"But I thought you didn't like video games?" Cynthia scowled.

"I mean, I'm not obsessed with them like you guys but I like them fine enough," Blake replied. "I'm just amazed that Elaina's so good."

Elaina blushed under all his praise, tucking a strand of hair behind one of her ears. "It-It's not much," she said humbly. "I mean, I spend a lot of time playing my flute, so I'm very good with my fingers, and I guess that translates? Maybe…?"

She really did just play games in her spare time. Even if that was pretty much all day every day.

"Well, it's pretty cool," Blake said anyway.

Cynthia had other ideas though. "Okay, Elaina! New plan! Now that I know you're Featherine, you and I are going to have a match!"

"Again? Isn't getting your ass kicked once enough for you?" Blake asked.

"Nope! One on one, Elaina! You and me!" Cynthia's motivations were obvious. This had stopped becoming about having fun. Now she wanted the privilege of being able to say that she'd beaten Featherine in a one on one match.

Elaina, of course, was ready for the challenge.

"Fine," she said, not backing down. "Standard tournament rules?"

"Of course," Cynthia said. The smile on her face made it clear that she had other motivations, though. Blake wasn't sure this game would be entirely onboard.

About five minutes into the match, his suspicions were proven correct.

"Hey, Blake, didn't you say that Elaina is really cute last night?" Cynthia asked.

"WHAT?!" Elaina gasped, flinching. Her concentration broke and Cynthia scored an easy hit, doing massive damage.

"Cynthia, come on," Blake said, rubbing his forehead. He felt a mixture of frustration and disbelief that she would do something so petty.

"Blake, don't you think that Elaina's boobs look a little bigger? I wonder if she's padding her bra."

"They-! It's not like that! I'm still growing is all!" Elaina exclaimed. She dropped the controller to cover her chest, and even though Cynthia knocked her out, it was a pyrrhic victory.

"Still growing…" Cynthia stared numbly off into the distance. She may have gotten a punch in on the Decidueye, but it was clear which girl had scored the more powerful hit.

"Cynthia, stop trying to distract her," Blake chastised. "Just play the game."

"I am playing! And this is me winning!" Cynthia cackled.

But of course, cheaters never prosper. Elaina recovered from her embarrassment and turned it into fury, and within five minutes Cynthia was defeated once again.

She wasn't upset about her loss, though. She was far too frightened of the seething hatred she felt coming from beside her.

A blast of wind hit her in the face.

"I-I agree with Sango, I think we should play a different game," she said, clearing her throat.

Well that was a nice chapter. Just some friends hanging around, having fun, playing some video games. And of course, Elaina is just as devastating in video games as she is in battle. This girl just can't be stopped, not even when she gets embarrassed. Even Cynthia's tricks aren't enough to overcome the raw skill of a shut-in with no friends.