Here's another chatper, this one coming out a little quick on the heels of the last one! This is another chapter with a lot of twists and surprises, and an appearance of a pokemon no one expected! Don't forget to review, everyone! The more reviews, the more I keep writing!

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Yup, Satsuki is pretty darn powerful. And this is in no way a comment on the absurdly unbalanced strength of Dynamaxed Moxie Gyarados, no siree, not at all.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 74

"Wow, that was… something," Sango said, shocked, her eyes never leaving the screen.

"Who knew Akira had a pokemon like that up his sleeve," Cynthia said, frowning. "Anyways. No use worrying about it!" Cynthia hopped up, turning to Blake and Sango.

"What are our plans for tonight?"

"Plans?" Blake and Sango asked, glancing at each other in mutual confusion and then back to Cynthia.

"Well, yeah," Cynthia huffed. "We need to celebrate! You know, me making it into the semi-finals!"

"I'm not exactly sure I'm in the mood for celebrating, considering the circumstances," Blake sighed, Cynthia shooting him a dirty look. "But okay, I'm in."

"No dumb commons dinner, either," Cynthia said, looking up restaurants on the island on her phone. "Something nice! Classy! As classy as we can get on an island, anyway."

Sango processed what Cynthia was saying for a few seconds, her eyes widening.

Celebration. Dinner. Fancy restaurant. Blake and Cynthia. ALONE.

"I-I'll go too!" She practically exclaimed, her hand shooting up to draw their attention. "We can invite the others, too! Sound good? Make it, like, a party!"

"Speaking of the others, we should probably go find those guys," Blake said, standing up, taking out his phone. "They might be concerned for me like you were, Sango. Don't want to worry 'em."

"Right, right, you go invite them," Cynthia said, already on the phone. "I'll set up the reservations!"

Cynthia shooed the two out, chatting up the speaker on the other end.

"This was my room…" Blake sighed, Sango chuckling.

It's just the two of us now… Sango told herself as she and Blake left the back rooms of the stadium, heading outside, to where the crowds were. I should think of something to say… Damn it! Why is my head so empty right now?!

"Blake!" Blake whirled around to see something short and purple push through the crowd, and grab him.

"Wh-what?!" Blake gasped, looking down at Ryoko.

"Are you okay? I am sorry that you lost…" Ryoko sobbed, looking up at him, tears welling in her eyes. "However, I am sure that you did your best!"

"Ur, em, thanks," Blake said, nodding, Sango quietly fuming as she looked at the girl.

"Blake~" Another, bouncier voice rang out from the crowd, Claire running up and hugging him as well.

"Claire?!" Blake exclaimed, even more surprised. "What are you doing here?! Didn't you leave?"

"How could I leave?" Claire asked, shoving Ryoko aside and dabbing at her eyes, glancing up at him with an emphasized flutter of her lashes. "I wanted to see your match… so I stayed… Are you doing okay? Is there anything I can do for you?"

She popped a button on her shirt, batting her eyes at Blake.

"Anything at all?"

Sango felt like she was about to blow a blood vessel. Breathe deeply, girl, don't let her get to you…

"Hey, guys," Julia, Kitty, and Nick walked up to join them.

"Where'd you find her?" Sango hissed, jabbing a finger at Claire, who was busy fawning over Blake.

Julia gave a shrug of incredulity.

"She just sort of came up to us," Nick said. "We… we didn't really feel like telling her to get lost, you know? She is Blake's friend, and all…"

Sango pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head at her non-confrontational friends.

"Fine…"

"Guys!" Everyone turned their heads to see Cynthia run up to them, waving. The crowd had thinned out by this point, making it easy to spot her shock of red hair, and she quickly caught up to the group, panting.

"Hey, congratulations!" Nick said, smiling.

"Yeah, good job," Julia grinned. "That was a really close fight."

"You and Blake were both really cool," Kitty said, blushing.

"Oh, who's this?" Claire asked, glancing from Blake. "She looks sort of familiar…"

"Well, I remember you," Cynthia said, glancing at her. "I can't say I'm a huge fan of what I see, though."

"She's Cynthia," Blake said, Claire wincing slightly at the mention of her name, to the confusion of Sango.

"I see, I see," Claire said, stepping back from Blake and facing Cynthia completely, a complex expression on her face. "Hello, Cynthia. My name is Claire. It's nice to meet you."

"Uh… yeah," Cynthia said, shrugging, taking Claire's hand.

"Congratulations on winning your match. It was very close. You're lucky your Ralts evolved into a Kirlia when it did, otherwise Blake would have smashed it."

"Why, luck?" Cynthia said, smiling, touching her cheek. "I don't know what you mean. I tried very hard to raise my pokemon to the levels they were, luck had not a thing to do with it."

The two girls exchanged icy smiles, and the chill in the air seemed to come from far more than the setting sun.

"Enough of that," Cynthia said, her smile brightening. "I made reservations at Yang's Kitchen to celebrate! Come on, we get to watch them prepare our food and everything!"

"Oh, that sounds nice," Kitty nodded enthusiastically.

"I'm game," Julia agreed.

"Do you mind if I invite Callie?" Nick asked.

"Aw, isn't that cute," Cynthia and Claire giggled. They glanced at each other in surprise and then shared a laugh, the mood around them brightening.

Ryoko, in the midst of the conversation, reached into her shirt and withdrew a large gold watch hanging from her neck by a gold chain. She flipped it open and glanced at it, her face falling.

"Sorry, I will not be able to make it," she said sadly, snapping the cover closed and slipping the watch back under her collar. "However, I should like to extend my congratulations all the same."

"You have an appointment or something?" Cynthia asked, confused.

"Indeed, it is something along those lines," Ryoko nodded. "It was nice meeting all of you, and nice to see you once again, Sango. But I must be going soon, or else-"

"Well now, what do we have here? It's getting dark you know, time for the good little kids to head home." Heads turned to see Kanone and his attendant (secretary?) Rin walk up to the group.

"Kanone!" Cynthia said, her face brightening.

"Hey there, little miss," Kanone smiled. "I just wanted to stop by on my way to the main office to congratulate you for your match. But what are you lot doing still hanging around here for?"

He glanced at Blake.

"And you, did you learn what happens when you try to stand without the proper resolve?"

Blake looked down, not speaking back, Sango and Claire both flinching at this. The flinches turned to glares levied at the older trainer, and Sango was about to talk Kanone down when her objections were cut short.

"…Ryoko?" Kanone looked past the other kids, staring at Ryoko, who had slightly separated from the group. His eyes were wide and his mouth even wider, looking upon the lavender-haired girl like he'd seen a ghost. He stepped into the small cluster of students and pushed past them, standing in front of the small girl. He stared down at her in disbelief, but Ryoko did not seem to share in his recognition.

"Ah, have we met before?" Ryoko asked, bowing her head in greeting. "Forgive me, for I do not recognize you. Perhaps the last time you met me was sometime later from now."

"He said you never aged…" Kanone murmured, reaching into his shirt pocket and withdrawing a photograph. "It's exactly the same."

"Wait, wait, I'm confused," Cynthia said. "Kanone, this is Ryoko. We just met today. Do you know her?"

"This is my first time seeing you in person," Kanone said, shaking his head incredulously. Ryoko stepped back on her heels, looking slightly uncomfortable by the way he was staring at her. "My father used to tell me stories about you when I was a kid. Stories about a young girl with lavender hair that would come by to play with him when he felt alone in our family's mansion. But you're here… and you're real…"

"Your father?" Ryoko asked. Kanone nodded, and turned the picture to her, so she could get a better look. It was a picture several years old, showing a young man beside a Ryoko identical to the one standing before them now. Seeing the photograph, Ryoko's entire demeanor changed. Her previous defensiveness fell away and her face brightened, closing the distance between the two of them so she could get a better look.

"Richard!" Ryoko gasped, taking the photo from Kanone's hand. "How surprising! He looks so young in this photograph!"

She glanced up at Kanone, and then at Blake.

"So he is your father? What a surprise! I had no idea that he had children!" She reached up and grabbed Kanone's face, patting his cheeks and his shoulders. "Amazing. I can see it now that I look closer, you do look quite like him. But Blake is your brother, if I recall? Then how is it that-"

"He was adopted," Kanone harshly cut her off, Ryoko pulling back with a nod of understanding. Kanone took his picture back, staring at Ryoko. The mood had grown tense from that exchange, Sango's wariness at interjecting being shared with the others.

"Is Richard doing well?" Ryoko asked. Kanone gave a curt nod.

"I see. That is a relief," Ryoko said, smiling. "And how is Cynthia?"

Kanone's expression darkened, and Blake looked down. Ryoko glanced at the two, and her face fell.

"I see. I am sorry to hear that. Nevertheless, I am quite pleased to meet the sons of Richard Harker." Ryoko glanced at Blake and smiled sweetly. "Especially you, Blake. It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance." She reached into her shirt and withdrew her pocket watch once more, stepping back from Kanone and the others.

"I am sorry for cutting our meeting short; however I must be going now."

"I can't allow that." Looks of surprise were all aimed at Kanone from the others, but Ryoko's face remained a reserved, knowing smile of sadness.

Kanone reached for his belt, and withdrew a pokeball.

"Sorry. But I've been looking for you for a long time. I need you to come with me. Right now." Ryoko shook her head in response.

"I am sorry, but I cannot do that."

"Kanone, what the heck are you doing?" Blake asked, stepping in front of his brother.

"Get out of the way, Blake!" Kanone snapped. "Or better yet, make yourself useful and grab that girl!"

Ryoko turned in a wheel of lavender and fled in response, Kanone chasing after her.

"What the hell?!" Cynthia exclaimed. Blake was the next to go, running from the others and following his brother and the strange girl.

"Apologies," Rin said, bowing her head politely. "But we must be going now."

"Blake! Wait up!" Sango shouted.

"Wait, Sango, why are YOU going?!" Cynthia demanded.

"Something is weird with that girl!" Sango called back. "And something is obviously going on with Blake and his brother, and I want to find out what!"

"Rrr, good point," Cynthia huffed, joining in on the chase.

"I don't know about you guys…" Julia said, glancing at Kitty and Nick, "but I'm not really in the mood to be running anywhere."

Her eyes turned to Claire, who was nonchalantly rocking back on the heels of her feet, her arms crossed behind her head.

"Besides… I think you might know quite a bit about what's going on here already."

Claire glanced at Julia, smirking, dropping her arms and standing straight, brushing a lock of brown hair behind her ear.

"You could say that."

"Kanone!" Blake shouted, catching up with his brother relatively quickly. Sango and Cynthia weren't far behind, but Cynthia was running out of energy. The sky had grown completely dark at this point, the only sight of Ryoko being flashes of lavender hair and the red of her clothes caught in the light of the streetlamps.

"That girl…" Kanone growled. "She special… that power of hers… we need her!" Much to their surprise, Ryoko stopped running, coming to a stop in the middle of the quad, just under the Blastoise Fountain.

"Your passion does not go unappreciated," Ryoko giggled, turning back to him. "Alas, my heart belongs to my dear Kinishichiro-san, so I cannot return your affection."

"Done running now?" Kanone asked. "Then I'll be having you come with me."

"I'm not going to allow that," Blake said, stepping between the two of them.

"Neither will I," Sango said, finally catching up. "As a member of campus safety, I'm not going to let someone come onto our campus and abduct people!"

"Blake! Stop being so damn difficult!" Kanone shouted. Truly, Sango and Cynthia were witnessing a side of him that until this point they had never seen even a hint of. "That girl… if you had ever heard dad's stories about her, you would understand… we need her! She can… that pokemon of hers… we can go back!"

"Go back?" Blake asked.

"There's a pokemon… most people consider it only a legend… but it's real. A pokemon with the power to travel through time." Kanone jammed a finger at Ryoko, his glare intense. "That girl, Ryoko… dad used to talk about her a lot when I was a kid. A mysterious girl with lavender hair, who walked through time itself with the help of a mystical pokemon."

He turned to Blake.

"Think about it! With that pokemon's power, we could go back, and then-"

"I am glad that Richard still thinks of me so fondly," Ryoko interrupted, smiling. "But I can not give you what you desire. My dear partner… her power is not some tool for humans like us to make use of so needlessly."

"But you're not running anymore, either," Kanone leered. "Or rather, there's nowhere left for you to run."

"My, I would have thought Richard's son would know better than that," Ryoko giggled, cradling her cheek in her hand. "If you really believed what you were told, then you should know that there is always somewhere left for me to run."

The dimly lit quad burst to life in a flash of light, the water of the fountain capturing a glowing green reflection in its shimmering pool. Beneath Ryoko's feet, a circle of light with the bright hue of grass appeared, its curves and the lines drawn within covered in strange, archaic symbols.

"No!" Kanone shouted, running toward her. But as he reached the edge of the circle, he was pushed back by some unseen force. Ryoko was completely cut off from the world by the strange barrier of light.

"Whoa…" Cynthia gasped.

"What the hell?!" Sango exclaimed.

"Bi!" A soft chirp rang out overhead, gentle as a bell and nearly imperceptible. Ryoko glanced up, smiling. Hovering above her, in the center of the circle, was a small green pokemon that none of them had ever seen before. Its spritely body was suspended on gossamer wings, and its large head was raised to gaze at the sky with glowing blue eyes.

"You may tell the others that it was an honor getting to meet them all," Ryoko said, bowing politely. "Especially you, Blake. My time here is almost up, so I must be going."

She turned to Kanone, smiling sadly.

"Tell Richard that I was quite happy to meet you both, and that I hope to see him again soon. And tell Cynthia…" She glanced down sadly. "Tell her I am sorry."

"Ryoko, wait!" Kanone shouted, pushing against the barrier. But he couldn't get through. The space within the shining green array had already separated itself from the present flow of time.

"I hope to run into you all again in the future," Ryoko said, waving. "…Or in the past. See you again."

"Celebi!" The strange forest fairy cried, glowing a bright green. The circle and its light shrank, shrank… before disappearing altogether, leaving no trace of them remaining but the aroma of lilac and mint lingering in the air.

"Damn it…" Kanone groaned, falling to his knees and punching the cobblestones of the quad. "Damn it! I was so close… so close! Celebi was right there, and yet…"

Rin, seemingly appearing from nowhere, stepped up to him and leaned down, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"It's alright, Kanone," she said warmly, smiling at him. "You did your best. But now we know for sure… Celebi does exist."

Kanone considered this for a moment and rose to his feet, nodding.

"Let's go," he said, walking off without even a look back.

Rin turned and bowed her head in apology.

"Forgive him. We did not mean to cast a pall over your celebration. On behalf of myself and Kanone, we would like to offer our sincere thanks to you, Cynthia, and our condolences to you, Blake."

Blake snorted, shaking his head.

"I'm sure his condolences are sincere, alright."

Rin gave a half-hearted "what are you gonna do?" shrug, smiling apologetically, and turned to follow Kanone into the darkness.

The three stood in silence for a moment, Sango being the first to speak.

"Wow, that was…"

"That was amazing!" Cynthia finished, echoing Sango's unspoken feelings. "A real, actual legendary pokemon! Right in front of us! We actually saw it! I don't know which one it was, but it was there! And it was real! What did that woman call it? Celebi? Oh man! No way am I getting any sleep tonight! Dang it, I should have gotten a picture! Then I could have sold it to Dakota for some serious cash! Man, now I'm all fired up for tomorrow! That's totally got to be a sign that I'm gonna win!"

Blake simply nodded along to Cynthia's excited rambling, his mind going a mile a minute with thoughts about this strange "Celebi" and that mysterious girl, Ryoko.

That pokemon… can it really travel through time, like Kanone said it could? If it can… then if it is possible to go back in time… then we could go back and stop her…

Cynthia was having similar thoughts.

"Damn it! If we had known that Ryoko was a time traveler, then we could have asked her a whole bunch of stuff, like who's going to win the tournament?! Or who I'm going to marry? We could have gotten lotto numbers! Geez, what a waste!"

Privately Sango believed that people who thought similarly to Cynthia about using time travel for their own benefit were probably the reason Ryoko and Celebi fled in the first place, but wisely chose to remain quiet. She thought back to what Ryoko had said when they first met… or more accurately when Sango first met her.

So it wasn't that I couldn't remember her… more likely, I haven't "met" her yet, not that time she was talking about. Which means I'll likely run into her again in the future. On a boat? Was that what she said? Something about a boat? And she said I was talking about Blake a lot?

Sango's face turned bright red.

Wait, if she met me for the first time in the future, and I was talking about Blake a lot, then does that mean… it could be possible that in the future… She glanced at Blake. Blake and I… might be a couple?

"Hey, Sango, what's up? You're smiling all weird." Cynthia squinted to get a closer look at Sango's face in the dark.

"O-oh, am I?" Sango said, turning her head away. "N-no, can't think of any reason or anything."

"Fine, fine, whatever, weirdo," Cynthia shrugged, taking out her phone. "I'm gonna text the others, tell 'em to meet up with us at Yang's, we're pretty close anyway. Let's go, guys! I've got a great story to tell over dinner now!"

So, the gang's first encounter with a legendary pokemon! But what does the knowledge of time travel and this strange girl Ryoko mean for the future (or past?) of our characters? We'll just have to wait and see!