Preparations for a fun festival complete! The gang gets together and heads out to have fun!

As for the Best Girl nominations, still going strong. Anyone else left to add?

Currently Nominated: Sango, Cynthia, Elaina, Kate, Dakota, Ayame, Marion, Kitty, Serefina

KedharS: That's one way to put it. What about hugs for the other socially awkward characters?

Duskzilla: Yup, it's been a long journey. Serefina added.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: If that's what you think, then the party should be interesting.

Hellraiserphoenix: Well, they're all going as a group for the day. As for how they spend their night, well…

JoshGamerV: I make no promises. Thank you for getting through it, though.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 186

Cynthia awoke bright and early with a massive smile on her face. The day had finally come! It was October 31st, the Pokemon Festival! She'd set her alarm super-early, too, for 6:00! Sango would be so proud of her! She burst out of bed, her excitement overflowing, ignoring the fact that she was on the top bunk. Landing on the floor, she picked up the costume she'd carefully laundered the night before, nice and crisp and clean.

Kirlia was a lot harder than Ralts, due to the skirt. But luckily, Cynthia had managed to use a petticoat to give her cloth pseudo-tutu the lift it needed. Just enough to tease, but not enough to be indecent. Stripping out of her pajamas, she put on special concealing panties that would ensure that, should her skirt lift, nothing too racy would be seen, and slipped on her long, green tights under that. While Kirlia did not, of course where shoes, she took a modest sacrifice for authenticity by wearing white tapshoes to suit the look. Once the dress and tights were properly suited, it was time to begin another important part, the makeup. This was the part where she would really need the table mirror, now. Cynthia walked over to the desk that was part of her furniture (there was a desk and a chair for each of the girls, as well as a shelf for books and a dresser) and begin. While she didn't want to turn her skin all white like a real Kirlia, she used some makeup to brighten her face and conceal any blemishes and redness that usually slipped into her skin. Her hair was short and messy so it wasn't the hardest to conceal under a wig-cap. Cynthia winced and opened her eyes wide. This part would be a little trickier. Putting in contact lenses were annoying as balls, and it always made Cynthia tear up. But such were the sacrifices one has to make for authentic costumes. After about 10 minutes of blinking and forcing her eyes open, Cynthia finally managed to get both the lenses in, and the eyes looking back at her through the mirror were the color of blood.

And then it was the wig. The wig was the easiest part back when she just dressed up as a Ralts. But for Kirlia, she needed to go through a bunch of processing. This wig was long, trailing down to her waist, and needed to be tied up to make Kirlia's traditional twintails. And it was hard. Cynthia never had long hair, and none of her other costumes had twintails, so tying up her hair was never something she had really developed. Affixing the wig to her head and making sure it was straightened out, she gathered up a mass of hair in one hand, affixing it up with a big red clip. She repeated this process with her left side, and looked into the mirror. Her bangs fell over the right side of her face, and her pigtails were at the perfect length. It was great! Flawless! Cynthia was brimming with excitement. She could wait to show everyone! Julia was still sleeping, but she knew just who she wanted to see first.

"Blake!" Cynthia called, knocking on his door eagerly. She couldn't wait to show off her slim figure in her tight white outfit.

"What is it…" Reiner muttered, opening the door with bleary eyes. Cynthia's bright face was actually hurting his eyes a little.

"Hey, guys! Ready to head out?!" Cynthia demanded.

"Uh…" Reiner glanced over his shoulder, looking at Nick and Blake, who were both still sleeping. "Yeah, I don't think we're ready for that…"

"…" Cynthia inflated her cheeks in frustration, whirled on her heel, and stomped back to her room. "Julia!"

"Huh? Uh…" Julia was roused from her sleep by a combination of her roommate's annoying voice and Cynthia's swift shaking, blinking wearily as she sat up in bed. "What time izzit…?"

"Almost 7. Julia!" Cynthia shook her roommate, stepping back, striking a pose. She held one arm out and the other forward, standing on her toe as she tilted her right leg behind her, a coy smile on her face. "What do you think?"

Julia blinked, rubbed her eyes, and promptly flopped over and went back to sleep.

"Julia!" Cynthia growled. "Come on! I need you to take pics!"

"I'm tired. It's gonna be a long day," Julia muttered, already anticipating that a full day of exploring the festival with Cynthia wasn't exactly going to be a walk in the park. It was essential for her to build up as much energy as she could in the morning, because Cynthia was going to burn right through it easy.

Still, she wasn't exactly getting much sleep with Cynthia harping around like a Loudred, so…

I'm gonna make her pay for this… Julia decided. It was the same empty promise she made every time Cynthia woke her up too early. "Fine. I'll take pictures."

While Cynthia waited for the boys to wake up, she delighted herself in a makeshift photoshoot, posing in multiple different positions while Julia lazily snapped photos with Cynthia's cellphone. After a decent amount of time spent on this, Cynthia had enough pictures to be satisfied, taking her phone back.

"Thanks, Julia! Aw, I look so adorable!" Cynthia giggled, finding the best of her photos and texting it to Sango. Once she saw the "read" indicator, she found Sango's contact info and called her.

"Yo, what's up?" Sango yawned.

"Hey, is it night over there in Galar?" Cynthia asked. "It's early morning over here."

"Nah… I mean, it's night, but… not in Galar anymore," Sango replied. "Me and Marion are heading back by boat. I was just about to turn in when you texted me."

"What'd you think?" Cynthia grinned. "Isn't it a great costume? I'm, like, the cutest!"

"Yup, real good," Sango said, nodding. She did mean what she said, but it had been a long day of playing with Lucy, and she really wanted to turn in.

"Cool, thanks!" Cynthia didn't seem to mind the tired sounding voice, smiling regardless. "I'll let you get to sleep now! See you when you get back!"

"So you'll let Sango go to sleep…" Julia growled, Cynthia shrugging her shoulders.

"Thanks for the help, Julia! But the guys have got to be awake now! Let's go see 'em!"

Without another word, Cynthia returned to the boys' room, knocking on the door once again. Finally let off the hook, Julia yawned again, lying back down and resting her head on her pillow to try and get as much sleep as she could.

Luckily, this time around the boys were a little more receptive to Cynthia's presence, or at the very least were in a more lucid state of waking.

"Hey, boys!" Cynthia chirped, striking another victorious pose to show off her slender waist, trim thighs, and tight butt. "Don't crowd me all at once, now!"

"Hey, Cynthia," Blake said, walking past her, his change of clothes in his arms. Cynthia whirled around to stare at his back as he walked down the hall, her mouth open in disbelief.

He just ignored me! He barely even gave me a passing glance!

"Yeah, Blake always goes to get changed in the bathrooms, remember?" Reiner reminded her. "Don't worry about him, okay? It's… complicated."

He didn't want to tell Nick and Cynthia about the scars on Blake's body. He figured that Blake would eventually tell the two of them about his secret when he was ready, and until then Reiner was fully ready to keep Blake's secrets to himself.

"I don't care about that," Cynthia huffed. "He could have said I looked cute, at least…"

Cynthia sighed in defeat and glanced at Nick. Even the little virgin seemed to be fairly well-composed around her, considering how he used to turn bright red every time she'd dress up in something a little stimulating.

It was all Callie's fault! She had turned Nick's "so-obviously-a-virgin" personality and caused him to mature into "still-a-virgin-but-not-obviously-so" status. It was annoying.

"Oh, well," Cynthia flopped down on Blake's bed, taking careful care to keep her skirt straight and not bend it a weird way. "Hey, where are your costumes?"

"Pft," Reiner snorted.

"Th-that's a little embarrassing," Nick admitted.

Killjoys.

"So is Nikita going to meet us at the festival or is she coming here?" Cynthia asked. "Or are we going to pick her up, like Maddi?"

"She said she'll meet us there," Reiner said. "And I wouldn't count on her wearing a costume, either."

Cynthia rolled her eyes. Her friends were so lame sometimes.

"I guess that means Kitty is my last hope."

Claire skipped downstairs to let Kitty into the building. When she caught sight of Kitty's appearance, she could not keep the disappointment off of her face.

"Is-is something wrong?" Kitty asked, feeling a little nervous with how Cynthia was staring at her.

"You're not wearing a costume?!" Cynthia asked. "Why are you dressed like that?"

"B-but these are my normal clothes, and-"

"Exactly! Come on, you guys! It's a festival! You're just wearing normal clothes!" Cynthia took another look at Kitty's outfit again. She was wearing a black dress with short sleeves, and hemmed with white lace to match the large white buttons on the front.

"…Fine, it's good enough, I guess," Cynthia sighed, gesturing to the hairband with white cat ears on it. "But just barely, you understand?"

Kitty sighed in relief, but she didn't really know why.

"We're just not interested," Reiner sighed. The three boys arrived in the common room in their day-clothes, outside of uniform, with empty backpacks to carry the supplies. As usual, Blake was in a long shirt, white, and jeans, but since the weather was getting cooler, he wasn't the only one. Reiner and Nick were both wearing long shirts and jeans as well, and Nick was wearing a blank red baseball cap. Reiner also had a grey hoodie, since apparently he was kind of a wuss. (Or at least to Cynthia he was)

"Everyone here?" Nick asked, looking around. Sango was gone, of course, but the rest of the gang was there. Well, except Julia, who was still sleeping.

"Not quite!" Cynthia said, shaking her head. "Julia's coming down. Plus, we're meeting up with Nikita at the festival grounds, but in the meantime, we still need to head over to Pikachu House."

"The singles?" Kitty asked. "Why there?"

"Oh, right, you haven't heard," Julia said, walking down the stairs. Julia was the only one not dressed for fall, wearing jean shorts and a black t-shirt, which was okay by Cynthia since at least it let her admire the girl's toned, tan legs. "Cynthia made a new friend, and she invited her along."

"Julia!" Kitty's face brightened. "Your arm's better!"

"Yup," Julia grinned, holding up her arm, freshly out of the sling and the cast and waved it at the shorter girl. "I'm ready to go, so we heading out? To Pikachu House?"

"Yeah, the Commander got Maddi a room in the single student dorms," Cynthia explained. "So let's head out! …Oh, and Blake, almost forgot!"

Cynthia turned to Blake and handed him her backpack.

"…Why are you giving this to me?" Blake asked, frowning.

"Well, you can't expect me to carry it!" Cynthia huffed. "If my shoulders and back get all sweaty, then my costume's gonna get see-through! It's already practically skintight up here! Plus, how many Kirlias do you know that wear backpacks? It would be super-breaking the costume design!"

Blake rolled his eyes and grumbled, but reluctantly still took the backpack, much to Cynthia's joy. He slung it over his shoulder so it nestled against his other one.

"Awesome!" She cheered. "Then let's get a move-on, folks!" Cynthia pranced out the door, her toes making a clicking noise as she walked down the stairs, a big and energetic smile on her face. The other five students followed after her, still a little excited for the festival, just not as much as Cynthia clearly was.

The students headed out to the smaller Pikachu House, with enough rooms for thirty. Maddi was on the second floor, so they headed up in a group to go greet her. Cynthia was sure that by going in a large pack like this, Maddi would be swept up in the infectious energy of excitement about the festival, and be eager to come out and join them.

She didn't really understand the kind of girl Maddi was.

Maddi took one look at Cynthia and her costume, smiling brightly in her doorway, and looked over her shoulder to inspect the others. To say her face was reluctant would be an understatement.

"…Fine, I'm coming," Maddi muttered. She slammed the door in Cynthia's face and changed out of her pajamas, changing into a white tanktop with a Dusknoir on the front, and slid her leather jacket on over it. She put on tight jeans and black ankle boots, and her studded collar to complete the punk look. She slung her bag over her shoulder and slipped it on, walking out to Cynthia.

"Whaaat?!" Cynthia gasped, staring at Maddi in shock. "Why aren't you wearing your costume?!"

"…Absolutely not," Maddi muttered, her cheeks turning slightly pink. She brushed her bangs over her face to hide it as much as she could.

"But it was so cute! I thought you said it was your favorite pokemon?!" Cynthia cried. "I spent so much time getting the measurements right, you gotta wear it! Plus, I had to change out the color of the fabric because you said you wanted the shiny version, so that was practically remaking it from scratch! And besides… It's the Pokemon Day Festival!"

"Yeah, well…" Maddi glanced aside, very embarrassed by Cynthia's forwardness. "I said I would wear it to the party… but walking around campus? Even for a festival, that's… no."

"Unbelievable!" Cynthia huffed, her face bright red.

"Party?" Reiner asked, tilting her head to the side. "First I'm hearing about it."

"Well, of course," Cynthia said, her frown replacing itself with an arrogant smirk. "Only the most exclusive of parties, held by one Olivia Himeko, of course!"

Nick and Reiner stared at her in surprise. Kitty was a little awestruck, and Julia just rolled her eyes, having heard Cynthia talk it up every night for the past week while she worked on Maddi's costume.

"Well? What do you think, Blake?" Cynthia bragged, ignoring the reactions of the others. She stared at him with her head held high. "Aren't you jealous? I get to go to a senior party, with the seniors! Don't you wish you could come? Tell you what! I'll see if I can get you in as my +1!"

Blake didn't say anything. Instead, he reached into his pocket and withdrew a black ticket of his own, Cynthia's eyes growing wide with disbelief.

"What?!" Cynthia exclaimed, running over to him and ripping the ticket from his hands. Yup, it was the exact same ticket, alright. "You have a ticket too?!"

"Yup," Blake said, nodding. "Olivia invited me personally."

Cynthia baulked at this. Her and Maddi's tickets had been given to them second-hand, by Alden. But still, she puffed up her cheeks in defiance. She wasn't going to let something like not being able to lord it over her friends ruin her expectation of the party! She was really looking forward to not just the day, but what would come after it. She smiled. Besides, that meant Blake would come to the party, as well. And if Blake was going to be there, then it would certainly be a blast! …Wait. Blake was going to be there. At the party. And that meant…

"Wait, wait, wait. You're going to the party tonight, too?" Cynthia asked.

Blake nodded.

"Then why aren't you wearing your costume?!" Cynthia practically screamed. "It's the Pokemon Day Festival! It's our one chance to dress up like pokemon like it's normal! Live a little, Blake!"

"Yeah, uh… my costume's a little special, so…" Blake tried to deflect the question, but he wilted under Cynthia's fierce gaze. "…Whatever. I just didn't want to embarrass myself by going out in a costume while everyone else was dressed normally."

"I'm in a costume too!" Cynthia reminded him. "Forget the looks of these guys, we coulda gone as pokemon cosplay-buddies and been the center of attention at the festival!"

"Yeah… no thanks," Blake said, shaking his head. "I'd rather not draw attention, if it's all the same."

Cynthia huffed in frustration.

Blake smirked.

"Besides, now you have something to look forward to. Don't you want to know what pokemon I'll be going as?"

"Raaar! Tell me!" Cynthia said, playfully swatting at him. Blake caught her hands and pushed them away, laughing.

"…Are we going or not?" Maddi asked, interested in getting the freshmen as far away from her dorm as possible before her neighbors began associating them with her in any way at all.

"Yup! Great idea, Maddi!" Cynthia crowed. "To the festival! Let's go! Games! Food! Prizes galore! It's gonna be a blast!"

Cynthia charged down the stairs with the others filing in behind her like the world's most bizarrely dressed pied piper. Blake was the last one to go, pausing before he descended the stairs. He glanced back over his shoulder, and walked over to Room 213, knocking on the door.

"Hey, Caelia, you in here? It's me, Blake."

No verbal response was uttered, but the door slowly creaked open, Caelia's dull blue eye staring at Blake through the crack.

"…Blake…" Caelia murmured.

"Hey, how are you doing?" Blake asked.

"Fine…" Caelia said. "Just got back."

"Is your leg okay?"

"It doesn't hurt," Caelia replied, as though that was actually answering the question.

"Um…" Blake glanced down the hallway, toward the stairs. "My friends and I were going to go check out the festival. You know, because it's Pokemon Day. I was wondering if you'd like to come with us? The more the merrier?"

Caelia's lips formed a thin line that Blake could barely make out on what little of her face he could see.

"…Friends?" Caelia quietly asked. "No… I'd rather not."

"Oh, okay then," Blake said, nodding. "Well, have a good day, then! Hope your leg gets better soon!"

Caelia watched him as he headed downstairs, whispering a soft thank you to his back. She stepped out of her room. She wore a short black skirt and a thick grey hoodie that concealed her burns with the help of her gloves. On her leg was a brace that would normally impair her walking, but with Caelia's unique body it wasn't as intrusive as it would be one a normal person. When Blake left her sight, she slowly followed him down the stairs.

Next chapter, we head out to the festival! What kind of hijinks will our cast get up to there? And what could Blake and Maddi's costumes be?