Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings Chapter 1149, a pokémon fanfic

Ian and Chloe are both down to their final pokemon. They're giving it their all and trying to win, but only one of them will emerge the victor. Who will it be? Will Ian be able to defeat Chloe and her Leavanny? Or will Chloe's strategy prove superior? Well, before we get to that, I think it's important that we go back in time for a little bit and see just how these two met in the first place!

KedharS: …Ian has friends?

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: That question will be answered this chapter, don't worry. And it's going to be quite an answer.

Thunder Fire: If only that were somehow possible.

Tambry96bj: Callie isn't the sharpest rock in the toolbox. Probably because she's dumb enough to put a rock in a toolbox.

Hyphenman: Can't imagine I have any clue what you're talking about.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1149

"Excuse me."

Chloe nearly hopped out of her seat in surprise. What the heck?! Someone was actually talking to her outside of class?! This never happened! The library was supposed to be her sanctuary, where she could study in peace!

Before she even looked up to see who it was, she began to panic. What did they want?! Did they realize who she was?! Were they going to pester her for autographs of her mother? Or even worse… what if… what if it was someone who was UPSET with her?! But… what had she done to make someone upset? She kept her head down, took careful notes, and made absolutely sure that no one would ever think she was a problem!

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you, I just wanted to talk."

Phew. He just wanted to talk. That was… not okay at all! Talking?! With another person? Aah, she was going to die!

Finally summoning up what little courage she could muster, Chloe turned her head to see who was calling her out. When she saw who it was, those reserves of courage immediately drained and she almost passed out on the spot.

Ian Davidson?! What was one of the most talented trainers in sophomore year doing here?!

"I-I-I-um… *gulp*" Chloe was having a hard time formulating words, and she was shaking so much you'd think someone had used a blizzard attack. She started to feel sick.

"…Are you okay?" Ian asked. He could barely see the girl's face, but it looked like she was going to throw up. He wondered if the reason she was wearing a mask was because she had the flu or something? "Do you want me to take you to the nurse's office?"

"No!" Chloe blurted out, shaking her head from side to side. "No, that won't be necessary!"

"Oh, good, I was really hoping I'd have the chance to talk to you," Ian said, giving her a winning smile. Chloe gulped again.

"A-About what?" She stammered, not sure if anything they had to talk about would go well for her. God, what if she said something dull or insensitive, and caused him to think she was a total weirdo? She would just die.

Ian Davidson was among the most talented trainers in the sophomore year. Like all the other members of the Top 8 in the Fall Festival Tournament, she'd studied his record thoroughly. But while students like Alcea and Gabrielle were scouted to be members of the Eight Leaders next year, Ian, the guy who'd WON the tournament, had declined the position.

And someone like THAT wanted to talk to HER?

"Well, I noticed you've been coming to a lot of my matches recently," Ian said. "You've been watching me a lot, huh?"

Oh no. He knew. She'd been caught watching him. This was the end. She could see the headlines now, "Sophomore Stalker Scares School Superstar", that redheaded first-year with an itchy camera finger would just love this!

Maybe… maybe she could play it off?

"Y-You've g-gotta be mistaken," she said in the most unconvincing voice possible. She couldn't even meet his eyes. "M-Maybe I've caught one… or t-two of your matches, but I think you must have me confused w-with somebody else…"

Ian blinked. "…No, that mask and your eye-patch are pretty distinctive."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! She wanted to scream. The reason she covered her face so thoroughly was to keep people from noticing her, but it had only made her stand out even more! There was no denying it now, he knew everything!

She only had one option. She had to confess to her sins and throw herself onto the mercy of his judgment. If she was lucky, she could get out of this without being strung up by her fingers for creeping on him.

"I-I… I'm so sorry…" She stuttered, slinking out of her seat and collapsing into a kowtow position. "I didn't m-mean any offense by it… pl-please don't throw me in the river…"

Ian stared at her. Throw her in the river…?

"Hey, no, it's fine," he said, helping her back up. She still wouldn't look him in the eye, and behind her mask he could see that her face was red with shame.

"I'm so sorry… I… you must think… I'm not some creepy stalker I swear…" she pleaded, shaking her head so fast he thought it might fall off. "I just… I was just studying your matches for… f-for research I swear… I didn't… I'm not… please don't drag me across campus in my underwear, I'll do anything to make it up to you but that!"

"I… I'm not… doing that…" Ian said, completely confused. "I just wanted to talk to you because, well… I-I'm not really used to having fans, so… I just wanted to chat I guess."

Chloe snapped her head back to stare at him, surprised. "Just… a chat?" So… he wasn't disgusted with her?

"Yeah, so um…" Now Ian was the one blushing and having a hard time meeting her gaze. "You, uh… you don't have to bow like that… or, um… strip down to your underwear, it's fine."

Chloe took a moment to process that. Then her head started to overheat. WHAT THE HELL DID I SAY?! STUPID! STUPID! STUPID! She began to smack herself in the skull.

"H-Hey, stop that! You'll hurt yourself!" Ian said, stopping her hands. "It's fine, let's just start over, okay? I'm Ian Davidson. What's your name?"

Unfortunately, once Chloe got into a mood like this it took a lot more than a simple introduction to snap her out of it. Her hands dropped to her sides and she stared at the floor. "Garbage like me is unworthy of a name…" She mumbled. "I'm just lint on the carpet…"

"…Okay, I'm not calling you that," Ian said. He glanced at her student ID, which was sitting on the table next to her notebook. "So… you're Chloe?"

He knew her name. Chloe felt her heart stop in her chest.

"That's…"

"You said you were studying my matches for research, right?" Ian asked. The curiosity in his voice drew Chloe in. "What kind of research, do you mind me asking?"

Chloe sighed. What would be the harm? She'd already basically screwed up her entire life, she might as well confess the rest of her sins. Maybe if she did, he would be merciful.

"I… I'm doing research on strong pokemon trainers," she confessed. "Like you, and the other students from the tournament."

"Research why?" Ian asked, raising a curious eyebrow. Chloe gulped.

"B-Because… because I want to be a good pokemon trainer… but I… I don't have the talent for it," she admitted. "I wasn't… I wasn't even brave enough to enter the Fall Festival Tournament, so I… I guess I just wanted to study how you guys, who did so good in it, fought."

God, I sound like the biggest loser in the world… how pathetic is that? I was studying his fighting strategies because I'm too much of a coward to actually fight myself? That's gotta be the lamest thing anyone's ever-

"That's really cool!"

Chloe's eye snapped open and she stared up at Ian in shock.

"R-Really?" She asked suspiciously. She couldn't see any hint of mockery in his eyes, or hear any scorn in his voice.

Ian nodded.

"Yeah, actually, I kind of study my opponents a lot myself," he admitted. "You know how I turned down a position as one of the Eight Leaders?"

"Yeah!" Chloe gasped, nodding her head vigorously. "Why was that, anyway? Is it because you don't specialize in one particular type? That's the theory anyway. I mean, you have six different pokemon but none of them share ANY types in common, and honestly, that's kind of impress-"

She clamped her hand over her mouth in realization. She… she was saying too much! She'd gotten swept up in his flow, and now… god, she was such a nerd!

"That's one reason," Ian admitted sheepishly, scratching his hair. "But the truth is… I'm just not cut out for it yet."

"Huh?!" Chloe stared at him in shock. Ian was one of the most talented trainers in their year. He'd WON the freaking tournament! He'd defeated Alcea Vermeil of all people, and everyone knew how strong of a trainer she was! So what was this about not being cut out for it?! It boggled her mind.

"Well, I mean, yeah, I'm a pretty good trainer," Ian admitted. "But I'm not the best trainer, you know? If I'm going to be a Pokemon Master someday, I can't just settle for a position on the Eight Leaders, you know?"

Chloe perked up. Ian wanted to be a Pokemon Master too? Wow! It definitely made sense given his skills, but she didn't expect him to just say it! Where was her notebook? This would be the perfect time to…

…

Right, she was trying to convince him that she wasn't some super-creepy stalker.

"I decided that I wasn't going to join the Eight Leaders until I was ready," Ian explained. "And I don't think I'll be ready until I can defeat every member of the Eight Leaders on my own."

Chloe was stunned. That was certainly ambitious! But the way he was talking really gave the impression that he could do it.

"But still they're really tough," Ian sighed. "And now that trainers like Gerard and Alcea and Gabrielle are joining, I'd say I've got my work cut out for me." He laughed. "So to get stronger, I'm going to be studying up on their fighting styles, so I can defeat them all!"

Now it was Ian's turn to look a little sheepish. "…Sorry, I didn't mean to just dump all that on you," he apologized. "I guess you're just pretty easy to talk to."

"N-No, it's… it's fine," Chloe mumbled. She was completely shocked. Someone shared her view of studying talented trainers in order to develop winning strategies to defeat them! And it was someone as talented as Ian was!

If… if it's him, then maybe… For the first time, Chloe felt that there was someone else who might appreciate what she was trying to do. It eased the anxiety in her chest, and made her feel a little less isolated.

Of course, a curtain of awkwardness hung over the two of them, now that neither one was talking. They both felt like they wanted to be anywhere other than here.

"W-Well, um… I guess what I'm trying to say is that you don't need to worry," Ian finally managed to spit out. "I totally get how important researching skilled trainers is, so I'm not going to think you're creepy or a weirdo or anything like that," he assured her. "I think it's actually really smart!"

"Th-Thank you," Chloe said, her voice barely louder than a whisper. She wasn't used to this much praise, and if he gave any more she was afraid that her heart would burst in her chest. "Um… a-anyway… is… is there anything else?"

"No, just… do you want a pokemon battle?" Ian suggested. "The best way to get research is firsthand, after all."

That was as far into the conversation as Chloe could recall. The next thing she remembered was waking up in the infirmary.

After her run-in with Ian at the library, Chloe felt a little more comfortable in her own shoes. While she still doubted herself regularly due to her concerns about coming off as "creepy" when she was studying other trainers, she tried not to let that bother her. At the same time, she found herself studying Ian's matches in particular a little more thoroughly.

I see, so his pokemon use double team like that, huh? Chloe thought, jotting down more details as she watched him battle. I wonder, considering how much his pokemon use the move, what would he think if he saw Chiyome use it? Would he target the left, like where his Lumineon goes, or the back, where his Phantump likes to go? Curious…

Always a dedicated student, Chloe took copious notes, making sure that there was no part of Ian's strategy that went undocumented. She went to every in-person battle she could find, even the ones that weren't part of the curriculum (after all, trainers can really show how they think when they aren't being graded!) and made sure to record when she could, and rewatch the recordings every chance she got (you always learn more whenever you rewatch a fight, after all!)

It wasn't long before Chloe became the foremost expert on Ian Davidson. And her research didn't stop at just his battle record, either.

"So his parents are separated," she mumbled as she took notes. "And he lives with his father, a Top Ranger and archaeologist. I guess that must be where he got his love of rocks and minerals from… He writes letters to him every Tuesday, but doesn't get letters back on any regular schedule…"

She tapped her pencil against her lips. In the comfort of her own room, she didn't have to worry about wearing a mask.

"Oh, he's also a pretty big fan of jokes. I guess a friendly, outgoing guy like him is pretty popular… completely the opposite of me I guess… and for favorite foods…"

She stopped writing, and took a second to look down at what she'd already jotted down.

This… this stuff… this has nothing to do with pokemon battles at all, does it? She realized. She broke out into a cold sweat.

What's the matter with me?! She screamed internally, clutching her skull in shame. It's one thing to take notes on his strategies, but where he likes to go out to eat?! The types of books he checks out from the library?! This is way past the line of research, I'm completely being a creepy stalker right now!

Chloe couldn't believe she had gotten this carried away. Just because Ian was a little nice to her and didn't mind her taking notes on his battles… and his curly black hair made her want to run her fingers through it… and the way he smiled just got her so…

…

NO! BAD BAD BAD! Chloe slammed her head against her desk over and over in an attempt to drive the wicked thoughts out of her mind. You… are a scholar! A student of research! You aren't some obsessed stalker! Your opinion of Ian is completely based in a fascination with his battle strategy, and that's all there is to it!

She raised her head, and glanced at the photo on her desk. It was a picture of Ian that she'd bought off a girl in the Newspaper Club for a couple thousand Pokepoints.

Chloe fell out of her seat, clenching her chest to keep her heart from breaking out of it. Thank god she'd convinced her parents to put her in the private dorms, if she had a roommate then she would never have survived.

"It… It's not that bad. You're not a stalker. You're just… curious!" She mumbled to herself. She made a fist. "That's right! Ian is an excellent trainer with a bright future ahead of him! It's only NATURAL to want to do some thorough research on him! It doesn't mean anything in particular!"

The more she said it, the more real it sounded. She hopped up and began pacing around the room, biting her thumbnail.

"That's right, it's no different from those people who memorize facts about their favorite champions! Cynthia fans and Diantha fans and Lance fans, Wallace fans, they're just normal people who like their favorite champions! And Ian is a future champion! So really, all I'm doing is getting ahead of the curve, that's all!"

It was through this method that Chloe managed to delude herself into believing that she was not a creepy stalker, and that her actions were those of a completely ordinary, curious fan.

Needless to say, Samarra's peak into Chloe's past was quite enlightening. It was interesting to see the state of mind she was in, and it helped her understand just why this girl was so focused on proving to Ian in particular that her method was correct.

"Don't worry, Chloe, he's on his last legs," she assured the poor girl. "Once you've defeated him, and proven to everyone that your way of thinking is correct, you won't have to concern yourself with being 'creepy' any longer. You'll have validated your methodology, and when that's done, whatever you'd like to do with Ian after that will be entirely your prerogative."

Chloe felt her chest swell with triumph. Samarra was right. She was almost finished! She was finally going to defeat Ian, and prove that his acknowledgment of her ideas all those long months ago wasn't for nothing!

Everyone would see how skilled of a strategist she was then, she was sure of it. She just had to defeat Ian. Then they would both be Samarra's friends, and he would understand just how much effort she put into becoming such a great trainer! How much she dedicated to her studies just so he would acknowledge her.

…

And there were certainly no other ulterior motives, either. No, this was purely about validating her own strategy as a scholar, she had no other feelings involved in this whatsoever!

Well, that was a nice little peak into Chloe's backstory and mindset. Really recontextualizes our last peak at her. I wanted to save this little tidbit for the end. So, will Chloe prove that her strategy is the superior one, and vindicate not only her way of looking at the world but her assertion that her intense study of Ian was for purely research purposes? We'll have to find out!