Now, this chapter may not seem very important, but I'm sure it will answer a question that the audience has had in the last few chapters.
Jay Hayden: Yeah, Blake's going through some rough stuff. But hopefully he'll be fine.
Just a Bad Writer for Fun: That's a pretty good assessment. Hopefully the Empress will show just why she's so great in future chapters.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 77
Reiner looked up a circle of night sky above his head, far off from his reach. The soft light from the moon was the only thing he could see in the darkness.
"How the heck did I wind up here…"
After losing against Cynthia, Reiner had spent his night completely lost and directionless. He'd taken his pokemon to the center to be healed, and while he was waiting for them, he walked out and walked the campus, lost in thought. He had tried so hard. But no matter how hard he had tried and how much he had fought, he wasn't able to defeat her. If he couldn't even defeat Cynthia… then how was he supposed to become a gym leader? He was… it had all been for nothing. He-
Reiner's thoughts flew from his head as the ground fell out from under him. More accurately, he had stepped where there had been no ground to step upon, and gone tumbling into the darkness below.
Something soft broke his fall, letting out a yelp.
"What the hell?!" Reiner shouted, feeling around in the dark.
"Get off of me!" A girl's voice cut through the darkness.
"S-sorry," Reiner said, fumbling through the dirt and stumbling back until he hit a dirt wall, the hard back barely shifting.
"Don't just drop in all unannounced," the girl said, her voice carrying a clear laugh.
"Where are we?" Reiner asked.
"We're in a hole, obviously," she replied.
"Well duh, but how do we get OUT of the hole?" Reiner asked. "And why is there a hole in the middle of campus, anyway?"
"We're in a forest, first, how did you not notice where you were walking in?" The girl chastised him. "Plus, I dug it myself. I was trying to catch some wild pokemon, and-"
"Wait," Reiner interrupted her. "Is that you, Nikita?"
"Huh? Who's this?"
"It's me, Reiner."
"Who?"
"I sit next to you in Professor Reinhart's class!"
"Are you the headphones one or the edgy one."
"…The edgy one…" He muttered dryly.
"Oh, cool."
"Back to my point, how do I get out of the hole?" Reiner asked.
"No idea," Nikita said. Reiner could practically see the shrug. "I forgot my phone. I've been in here for like… two days?"
"Two-?! What about using your pokemon to get out?!"
"Tried that. None of them could help. But what about you? Do you have any pokemon that can get us out of here?"
Reiner reached to his belt, but felt at air, realizing his pokemon were still being healed.
"…I don't have them."
"What about a phone?"
Reiner reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. But when he tried to turn it on, he found that it was cracked, and broken. Nothing to be done.
"So it looks like we're stuck in here, I guess," Nikita sighed.
"Seriously?! We'll starve to death!" Reiner shouted.
"No, no, it's fine! Look!" With the click of a flashlight, light flooded into Reiner's eyes, temporarily blinding him. He blinked for a few seconds as his sight returned, seeing that they were in a fairly large hole, dug far deeper than either of them could hope to climb out. It was rather tight, as well, he was practically still sitting on the girl. Sitting on the ground at their feet was a pile of large berries.
"We'll eat 'em, see?" Nikita asked, her eager smile now bright and clear.
Reiner reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose, slumping back against the wall and sinking to the ground.
"So we're stuck here until god-knows how long…"
"It's fine, it's fine, here." Nikita handed him a berry, picking one up from herself. It looked familiar, but Reiner couldn't place it. Suddenly, he reached out and slapped it out of her hands.
"Hey! Rude!" Nikita huffed. "What's that for?"
"Where'd you get these berries?" Reiner demanded. Nikita pulled back, looking down, put off by his sudden aggression.
"I… I picked them from the bushes around, I wanted to use them for bait for the trap, and then, you know, I kind of fell in, you know?"
"Those berries are poisonous," Reiner said. "Did you know that?"
"Wait, what?"
"Yeah. If you ate that, you'd be unable to move your body properly for the next few hours since your muscles would be super-loose. It's a very strong berry, not meant to be eaten except by a pokemon that's paralyzed."
"No, no, but I've been eating these since I've been down here!"
"No, these are two different kinds, see?" Reiner said, holding the two berries up to the light so she could get a closer look.
"…They look exactly the same." Nikita said.
"No, see? This one is slightly different," Reiner said, pointing to the one on the left.
"No, it's really not. How do you know, anyway?"
"I flipped through one of my friend Sango's books," Reiner said. "She knows all about this stuff."
"And you remember from that?!" Nikita asked, her mouth open.
"…Yeah?" Reiner said. "I'm pretty good at remembering and spotting small details, and stuff. You know, remembering pictures, faces, music, I've got an absurdly good memory. And my eye for spotting differences in detail is fantastic."
"Wow, I wish I could do that," Nikita sighed. "That would make my job a whole lot easier."
"You're aiming for the research course, yeah?" Reiner asked.
"Yup," Nikita nodded. "My dad was a researcher studying pokemon genetics and fossils. And I'm looking to continue his work. That's why I'm in Professor Reinhart's class, so I can learn more about ancient pokemon and ruins and fossils and all that. I'm not sure if it will get me closer to pokemon genetics, but it's a good start."
She turned to Reiner.
"What about you? You're aiming for the research course too, right?"
Reiner looked down, frowning.
"No. I think I'm heading to the battle course."
"Really?" Nikita asked, confused. "But you always seem so interested in class. You do your work diligently and always answer and ask questions, you know? So I assumed… you know, that you'd want to keep studying on that? Especially with all the effort you've put in already? Don't you like it?"
"I thought you didn't even know who I was?"
"I was pushing your buttons."
"…It's complicated," Reiner said, frowning, not wanting to get into it. "It's getting late, you know? We should probably get some sleep. Who knows how long we'll be stuck in here."
"Don't try anything funny in the dark," Nikita said. She tried to make it sound like a joke, but Reiner could see a twinge of fear in her eyes.
"Don't worry, I won't do anything."
"Good. Because I'm the one that still has pokemon, I'll let you know."
Sleeping in a pit had not been fun. Reiner woke up sore, the light shining down from above stinging his eyes.
"It sucks, doesn't it," Nikita groaned, cracking her back.
"Yeah, I can't believe you've been down here for days…" Reiner said, shaking his head. "What do we do? Call for help?"
"Tried that," Nikita sighed. "Still down here, aren't I?"
"Well, it doesn't matter…" Reiner sighed. "It's not like there's anything I need to be doing. I was trying to win the tournament… but I'm already out. Nothing left to do now, I guess…"
"Is that why you're in such a bad mood?" Nikita asked. "Because you lost?"
"Of course I'm upset that I lost," Reiner said, shaking his head. "I've been trying my hardest to win as many battles as I could and show my skills. It's the best way to impress the upperclassmen and make connections. And that's the quickest way to become a gym leader. But no one is impressed by some guy who barely made the top 16."
"Oh, you wanna be a gym leader, huh?"
"Of course," Reiner said, nodding. "My parents want me to be a great trainer. That means either a pokemon master, or failing that, a gym leader. So I'm putting my efforts into that."
"…Yeah, but what about you? That doesn't really sound like YOU want to be a gym leader."
"Of course I do," Reiner said. "My family expects me to-"
"I don't care what your family wants." Nikita said quietly.
"Well, it's really none of your business, is it?" Reiner asked. "I'm surprised. I didn't expect someone as quiet as you to be so… forceful? Why aren't you usually like this? In class, you seem so…"
"I dunno," Nikita shrugged. "When there's a bunch of people around, I don't really feel like speaking. But right now, it's just you and me, trapped in a hole."
She looked up at the circle of light above their heads.
"I like to think of it as my own little world." Nikita said. "I guess down here… I can be myself. Only one to judge me is you, huh?"
Reiner grunted in response.
"What about you?" Nikita asked. "Really. Before, you used to hang out and joke around with Blake and Cynthia and those others, but recently you've seemed all… edgy and angry. Is that really what you want?"
"…" Reiner remained silent.
"Clearly you aren't happy with what you're doing, so why are you doing it? For your family?"
"Of course. It's what I need to do. It's what they want from me. So even if-"
"But they aren't in this hole, are they?"
"What?"
"They aren't in this hole. This hole is our world right now, you know? So why don't you just be honest with yourself and what you really want?" Nikita asked. "Your parents aren't here, the only one here is me. And I don't know you nearly well enough to judge you for what you want to do with your life. No one cares down here, dude, so just… say it. Okay?"
Nikita fell quiet, staring at Reiner.
"I don't want to be a trainer, or be in the battle course," Reiner said, looking up into the air, frowning. "What I really want is to be an archaeologist. Study ruins and ancient civilizations and excavate lost treasure."
"You'd be good at it," Nikita nodded. "Like you said, you've got a good eye for detail, and a great memory. So why don't you?"
"…I can't." Reiner said, frowning. "It's one thing to say it… but my family puts so much pressure on me… they want me to-"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Nikita said, sighing. "Look, Reiner… I know you're going through some stuff, but we're not really friends, you know? I'm not the right person you should be talking to about this."
"…" Reiner frowned. "Yeah, I guess, sorry."
"What I mean… I'm here. If you want to empty your heart, I'll listen, because I don't have anything better to do. But you have people in your life… friends… that care for you, and are worried for you. I think you should talk with them about this, and see what they have to say. But that's just my two cents as an outside observer, I'll have you know."
"…" Reiner didn't say anything, and Nikita was perfectly content with remaining silent.
"Thanks, by the way. It was a real load off my shoulders to finally get it out there, even if I'm not ready to go down that path yet," Reiner said after a few hours of nothing conversations and awkward silences.
"Yeah, no problem," Nikita said. "I'm pretty perceptive about stuff like that, you know? When people or pokemon are sad and lonely."
"You're a good person," Reiner smiled.
"Hey! You finally smiled!" Nikita giggled. "See the benefits of hole life?"
"No. Please, for the love of god, I hope we get out of here soon."
"You and me both," Nikita nodded.
The two kept talking for a few more hours, running through whatever they could to pass the time.
"Hey, why don't you hang out with Blake and his group?" Reiner asked. "I think you'd get along with them pretty decently."
"Well you haven't hung out with them recently either, right? Why's that?"
Reiner flinched, looking down guiltily.
"I don't do well in groups," Nikita admitted, looking down. I'm a little too shy. I mean, girls like Cynthia are the life of the party, you know? And Julianna is super-cool, and Sango is tough. Compared to them, I'm just some nerdy girl, you know?"
"Yeah, but you're cool," Reiner said, shrugging. "And those guys are pretty cool. You'd probably get along alright. My roommate is super shy, and yet he's just as much a part of their group as anyone."
"…So is the reason you don't hang out with them… because you're devoting all your time to training?"
"…Yeah. I've treated them pretty badly. I get that I've been kind of a jerk… I really shouldn't have treated my friends the way I have been. I guess I just… let my need to be the best get in the way, you know?"
"It's good that you're able to see your mistakes," Nikita said, nodding. "At least before you turned into an even bigger jerk. It's not wrong to want to win, but you don't have to be rude about it. Of course, I don't really know what you were like to them, so I can't really say for sure. This is more guesswork, than anything. For all I know-"
"No, you got it pretty much right," Reiner admitted. "I was… a real jerk."
"So what are you gonna do?"
"I guess… if I ever get out of here, I guess I'll apologize," Reiner said. "Especially to Blake and Cynthia for the way I acted to them."
"That sounds like a good plan to me."
The two kept talking until late into the night, before drifting off into a restless and uncomfortable sleep on the dirt floor.
That morning, the two awoke to rumbling stomachs.
"God, I'm starved…" Nikita groaned.
"Our supply of berries is running dangerously low," Reiner warned. "We might have to start eating the poisonous ones just to stay alive."
Nikita gulped, licking her lips.
"If we don't stay hydrated with berry juice, we'll probably die of thirst," Reiner said.
"No, no need to worry about that," Nikita said, shaking her head. "I've got good old Chomper!" Nikita sent out her Totodile, the small pokemon giggling happily.
"See? I can use his water gun to make us all the water we need!"
For the first time in his life, Reiner sincerely wanted to punch a girl with all of his strength.
"You waited until now to bring out your pokemon? We've been living on nothing but berries!"
"Well if I had Chomper use water gun to make us drinking water before, he might ruin the economy! Can you imagine what things would be like if water could be limitlessly produced? Things would be horrible! Growlithes and Meowths living together, mass hysteria!"
"Unbelievable!"
"Still no signs of any help, huh?" Nikita sighed.
"Nope…" Reiner muttered. He was beginning to get worried about his pokemon. They were being taken care of by the pokemon center staff, but he hadn't picked them up. What did they do with pokemon if no one reclaimed them? Would they release them into the wild? He couldn't let that happen! This was all so worrying. He had to find a way to get out of this hole as fast as possible and get to them. He would feel a lot more at ease if he knew they were safe…
"Hey, Reiner, I've been meaning to ask you something, do you like battling?"
"Huh?"
"Well, I know that you're trying to get into the battle course to make your parents happy, and I know you really want to be an archaeologist… but do you actually like battling?"
Reiner paused.
"I mean, I do like training my pokemon, and I like winning, so if I had to choose… yeah, I like battling. Why?"
"I was just thinking, that maybe you should try battling a few times when winning doesn't matter, you know? My pokemon aren't very strong, so I usually lose battles when I get into them, so I don't like battling very much. But if you like it, then maybe you could have fun even if you lose? Just a thought."
Reiner nodded, pondering what she was saying.
"Hey, Nikita."
"Hm?"
"You said before that you wanted to continue your father's work in Pokemon Genetics, right?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"Can I ask you a little bit more about that? I guess… I'm just curious."
"Well, I will say that our circumstances are way different. Even though I'm continuing my dad's work, it's not because my family wants me to, or to make him proud of me."
"Oh?"
"No. See, my dad… he passed away a long time ago, when I was really young. It was a crushing blow. My mother and my sister had always been much closer than my mother and I… but I had always been closer with my dad than my sister was. So when he passed away… the dynamic of my family shifted so much that it felt strange and empty. My dad's work… it went largely unrecognized in the scientific community. So continuing with it… finishing what he started… it makes me feel closer to him, you know?"
Reiner nodded, a solemn expression on her face.
"Plus, my sister's famous, so everyone's always raving about her," Nikita continued, her voice holding more than a touch of bitterness. "No one ever cares about me… So maybe if I can get famous and win a prize for my dad's and my research, I can finally have a little something of mine, you know?"
"Your sister?"
"Yeah, her name's Harriet. She's a famous movie star, she's in a ton of magazines. Everyone is always talking about her, it's really annoying how she gets all the attention." Nikita let out a sigh.
"Harriet Willow, you say?" Reiner's face went a little pale.
"Yeah," Nikita nodded glumly.
"Well that's… fascinating."
"You know, this isn't the first time I've fallen down into one of your holes," Reiner commented.
"Huh? When was the last time?"
"During Pokemon Catching class. You irresponsibly dug one of them, and I fell right in."
Nikita shrugged, a sheepish grin on her face.
"Stop digging these things around campus. Haven't you learned your lesson now?"
"…Not one bit."
"Are you kidding me…"
They were so engrossed with their argument, they almost missed hearing the voices in the distance.
"Wait, did you hear that?" Reiner asked.
"Huh? Hear what?" Nikita asked.
"It sounded like someone's close by," Reiner noted.
"Hey, why is there a hole in the middle of the forest?" A guy's voice asked.
"Not sure," his female companion said, a tone of confusion carrying down toward the hole.
"Heeeey!" Nikita called out.
"We're down here!" Reiner shouted.
"Shit!" The guy exclaimed. "There are other students down there!"
So, Reiner finally makes it out of the hole. I guess that answers where he's been for the last few days.