With Samarra under the thumb of the Children of the Oracles, things aren't looking so good for everyone else. What happened at Agate Village is a serious issue! The only question is, what will come of it? Students are injured, a whole town was attacked, people were possessed by Blake's sister! How will the Pokemon Academy respond to these issues, and what will the students themselves think about the situation?

KedharS: I think that it's definitely something worth admiring. The question is, are we getting the full story?

Arbiter8991: It seems that Shaw's goals are certainly noble. But do the ends justify the means? These ambitions of his have certainly led to some tragic events occurring, that's for sure.

Jjjdunk1: He certainly raises an issue that speaks to a lot of people. The question is whether or not it's the correct course of action for society as a whole.

Hyphenman: I like to think that Shaw is my answer to Cyrus. Whereas Cyrus was a megalomaniac who wanted to remake the world in his image because he decided that was easier than going to therapy, Shaw actually has relatable, even noble reasons to want to reshape the world, and his vision of society that he wants to create sounds genuinely pleasant. But then there's the fact that he knowingly keeps Valerie Chiester in his organization, which throws his motives into question.

Guest: Yeah, there's certainly layers to the guy, I'll say that much. But then, most of the terrorists in his organization are troubled youths.

Thunder Fire: He certainly thinks they can.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1241

The Pokemon Academy. A paradise for pokemon and people, a beautiful campus located in the heart of a large island. The place was practically its own ecosystem, with pokemon of all different types making their homes in the wilds that surrounded it. Here, people could come to polish their skills and become pokemon trainers, coordinators, researchers, caretakers, rangers, whatever they wanted to be. If you had a dream you wanted to achieve, this was the place to do it. Somewhere you could come and embrace the people in your life, living in harmony with them as you all worked together to find the future you wanted to achieve.

"I'm BOOORRRRED!" Dakota groaned. She was flopped on the floor of her room. "Seri, do something interesting alreeeaaaddy!"

Serefina took a deep breath and exhaled. She was sitting at Dakota's desk, finishing up her friend's homework. And she was doing it by hand, too, since a certain someone had rendered her laptop unusable with their flashdrive.

And Dakota wasn't even helping.

"Dakota," she exhaled slowly, "right now I'm working on your homework. If you're so bored, then why don't you lend me a hand, hmm?"

Dakota sighed. "Okay, fine," she groaned, tilting her head up slightly and staring at her desk. She raised her hand and began to concentrate.

One of the pencils on her desk began to glow pink, and shook slightly like someone was nudging it. Then the aura faded and it stopped moving.

"…Nope. I can't. It's not working."

Serefina's eye twitched. "Not using your psychic powers, but actually getting up and helping me, you lazy ass!"

"Don't wanna."

Serefina clenched her jaw, trying not to scream. When she'd agreed to help Dakota out with her homework, she'd been riding the high of her best friend coming out of her coma. She would have given Dakota the moon if she could.

Well, Dakota was out of her coma now. And the novelty had worn off.

"It's not fair!" Dakota pouted. "Why do we have to do stupid homework on my birthday? We should be hanging out and doing something fun! Ever since Cynthia and the others left for spring break there's been nothing to DO here!"

"Listen, there's nothing we can do about- wait, what?! It's your birthday?!" Serefina whirled around in her seat, her jaw dropping. "No way, come on. It's not your birthday!"

"Yes it is, April 6th! Just check the calendar!" Dakota declared.

"Look, that's not…" Serefina sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. Things had been really hectic around here. She'd been so focused on getting Dakota's assignments done that she hadn't even checked the date.

"Listen. It's not your birthday, okay?"

"Nuh-uh. It is. I just decided," Dakota pouted like an impetuous child, crossing her arms over her chest. She was still lying on the ground.

"Dakota, you can't just change the date! Things have been really complicated, you know?! The first-years on spring break, the sophomores in Akira's class doing their gym leader training, and don't forget all the juniors and seniors on their trip! All those things are happening at roughly the same time, and we need to actually sit down and work out what the date is, okay? This is really complicated stuff, balancing the timeline and all that, you can't just decide-"

"Nuh-uh. It's April 6th now. Because it's my birthday and I say so."

Serefina could scream. "A child. I'm dealing with an actual child."

"Come on, Seri, it's easier this way. Now no one has to really think about all that time stuff. Just let it be my birthday!"

"No, you don't get to just make it your birthday because you want it to be, that's not how this works!" Serefina scowled.

"…So for my birthday present, I want…"

She wasn't listening. Which, for Dakota, was nothing new.

Serefina sighed. "Okay, fine, it's your birthday," she sighed. "Now can we get back to doing the homework, please?"

Before Dakota could say something snappy to shut the idea down, her phone rang, startling both girls and making her sit up.

When Dakota was attacked, her camera, phone, and laptop had all gotten smashed. It had been devastating, but Akira, amazing boyfriend that he was, had bought her a new camera because he was just that sure she was going to wake up someday.

Her folks had gotten her a new computer and phone to go with it, and Dakota was feeling pretty high on the hog. But she still wasn't letting Serefina use the laptop to do HER homework, which the brunette could strangle her over.

"What's going on? Who is it?" Serefina asked. Both girls had given up hope a long time ago that Akira would be calling them back. Whatever had happened in Cerulean City, he was out of reach for the time being.

Since her little experiment with Akira's dreams, Dakota had considered reaching out to him again with her psychic powers. But Serefina had talked her out of it. The last time she'd tried, her nose had turned into the Niagara Falls of nosebleeds, and Serefina wasn't thrilled at the possibility of that happening again. She insisted that Dakota be patient.

Only thing about being patient was that it was boring. Everybody Dakota knew was gone, for one reason or another. Besides Serefina and Eli, of course, but Eli wasn't exactly what she'd call a close friend, she was one of Serefina's friends.

Friends were not something Dakota made lightly. Or at all. Which was why it came as such a surprise that she'd gotten a phone call from somebody. That sort of thing wasn't usual for her.

"Uh-huh. Huh. Yeah." Dakota mumbled into the line as Serefina listened in intently. "…Yeah, I'll do that, no problem."

She hung up the phone. Whoever it was that had spoken to her, they had made her turn white as a sheet.

That wasn't a euphemism, by the way. Since awakening to her powers, one of the things she was capable of doing was altering her body's color and pigment. Everything, her skin, her hair, from the top of her head to the tips of her toes, had turned white in shock. It was actually a shocking sight that made Serefina question her own eyes for a moment, before Dakota snapped back to her normal pink-haired self.

"So, uh… who was that, then?" She asked curiously.

Dakota sighed.

"…Mirar," she replied.

"Oh, is he enjoying the Orre Region?" Serefina asked.

"No, apparently, they were attacked," Dakota said.

"Oh, well that's… wait, what?!" Serefina's jaw hit the floor. "Attacked?! What do you mean 'attacked'?!" She had no idea what was going on, but Dakota wasn't the kind of person to lie about something like that.

Not anymore, anyway. At least she hoped not.

"Yeah, I don't know how to explain it. But apparently, they're in Agate Village right now," Dakota said. She looked haunted. "They were attacked… by people. Bad people. He said he'd tell me the details, but… he couldn't."

Serefina frowned, scrunching up her nose. She didn't like the sound of that.

"What do you mean he 'couldn't'?" She asked, scowling.

Dakota sighed. She explained to Serefina everything that Mirar had told her. It was a surprisingly in-depth story, in fact.

Apparently, some people had attacked the students in Agate Village. He didn't say who it was, but apparently some of the students had gotten injured. And because of that, they were putting an end to the trip early and the students were all returning back to campus within a few days.

"But wait, who got injured?!" Serefina asked.

"Callie Crawford, Gerard Alkwest, and Ayame Toujou," Dakota informed her. "Maybe a few others, too, but those were the serious ones… he said that everyone was going to be okay, but well…"

From the look on Dakota's face, it was clear that there was more bothering her.

"But he didn't say who it was? Or what they wanted?" Serefina pressed.

Dakota shook her head. "He said that the headmaster was concerned about people trying to 'impugn the integrity of his students'! Can you believe that?! 'For the safety of all parties concerned, the school will handle all contact with the authorities'! No one's allowed to say anything, I can't believe it! This is the shittiest thing I've ever heard!"

Suddenly her friend's anger made perfect sense to Serefina.

While it couldn't be denied that Dakota was an irresponsible reporter who would exaggerate and strain the truth to the point of breaking it, if there was something she hated most it was when people tried to cover things up. And the way Serefina was hearing it, this was a cover-up no doubt.

"So let me get this straight. Some of our students got attacked, but they're not being allowed to even talk to the police about the incident?" Serefina shook her head in disbelief. "That's crazy! What's the headmaster thinking?!"

"I'll tell you what he's thinking," Dakota said, a shadow crossing her face. "He's thinking that if it gets out that some of our classmates were attacked and injured while they were on this trip, when they were supposed to be safe, then it'll turn into a scandal that could result in the entire academy being shut down, that's what he's thinking!"

Serefina could definitely see that. And while that wasn't the outcome she wanted at all, it was better than just covering things up, right?

She honestly couldn't say. After all, she didn't have the full story. But she could see the gears were already turning in Dakota's head.

"It's clear why Mirar called me with this," Dakota said, a familiar smile spreading across her lips. "He knows what's going on, yes he does…"

Serefina sighed. They weren't getting any more homework done. This was Dakota's "I'm going to unravel this conspiracy" expression, no doubt about that…

"Dakota, you realize that the headmaster himself is trying to keep a lid shut on this whole thing, right?" Serefina clarified. "And if you go poking around, there's a good chance that YOU could end up getting trouble."

She was on thin ice as it was. Dakota had abused her position in the Newspaper Club on more than one occasion to violate school policy. It was a miracle she hadn't gotten kicked out already! But if the headmaster learned that she was trying to blow the whistle on something he was clearly trying to keep under wraps, well…

Dakota had managed to claw her way back from the brink of death once already. Serefina wasn't sure if she could manage it a second time.

"You're forgetting something, Seri," Dakota reminded her friend. She hopped to her feet. "This isn't the first time something like this has happened. That makes TWO school trips now where some of our students have been attacked! You really think I'm just going to sit back and not do anything about it, huh?"

Serefina frowned. The other trip that Dakota was talking about was when some of the students were attacked at Mt. Chimney by those terrorists who called themselves The Children of the Oracles. Ayame had gotten injured then, as well. It would be a miracle if her family didn't sue the school this time. But there was something else she was concerned with.

During the research expedition to Galar, there had been another incident. This one involving Blake and his little sister. Serefina knew about it because she'd heard from the people involved, namely Akira, but they had both agreed at the time to not let Dakota anywhere near that story. And since it was such a minor incident, it had faded without trouble.

If she got her nose in on that, though? Yikes.

It was a good thing Dakota was so distracted thinking about how to research this conspiracy, because it meant she wasn't focusing on trying to read Serefina's mind. While experimenting with her powers they'd discovered that if someone concentrated hard enough Dakota couldn't read them, and if Dakota concentrated hard enough she couldn't read anyone at all, but it was still risky to think dangerous thoughts around her friend.

No matter how much Serefina wanted to trust her.

"The students aren't safe," Dakota said. She wore an uncharacteristic expression of seriousness. "And I know better than anyone what that's like," she added, placing her hand over her stomach. Where her stab wound would be, if not for the µ Gene.

"Dakota…" Serefina winced. She could tell there was no talking her friend out of this, no matter how badly Serefina wanted to keep her safe.

"No, I'm not changing my mind here!" Dakota said, shaking her head. "I was attacked, Seri! Me! And what did the school do about it?! They called a police officer to poke around and ask some questions, and then nothing! Not even an arrest! The students deserve to know that they're not safe to go here anymore!"

Serefina agreed. But she could see both sides to this. If the Pokemon Academy shut down, what would happen then?

But… would the headmaster really cover something this serious up? Go to so much trouble just because some students were attacked? It reflected poorly on the school, certainly, but it seemed that trying to do a cover-up was risky. After all, the truth would get out eventually, right? And then the school would look even worse.

She glanced at Dakota, whose brow was furrowed with a complex look. Maybe she was thinking the same thing.

"There's got to be more to it than this," Dakota said, shaking her head. "I know the school must be worried about their image, but even THEY wouldn't just cover up injuries to some of their most prominent students! Ayame's the star athlete of our school, if her career prospects get sunk from an injury, that's major! And Callie and Gerard are members of the Eight Leaders, the heads of the student authority! No, no, something's going on here, something big! And it's up to me to find out what that is!" She proclaimed.

"Okay, but I think we should be smart about-"

"And the only way to do that is to go see the headmaster himself!" Dakota declared.

Oh, poor, sweet Dakota. She had the heart of a passionate reporter, but the brain of a passionate boulder.

Serefina sighed and rubbed her temples.

"Okay, Dakota, I get it, you're bored, you know this is a big deal, trust me, no one's saying it isn't. But are you using your brain right now?" She pleaded. "I mean really. Just think about it, seriously, I'm begging you here. Are you SURE that this is the smart thing to do? Just go to the headmaster and demand answers?"

She was a reporter. She had to know there was a better way to do this.

"…Yeah, you're right, Seri, I don't think he'd even give us the time of day," Dakota admitted. "He'd probably kick us out, and use his influence to try and quash the story. Heck, he might even try to have me thrown out."

One of the problems with the way Dakota approached her career is the fact that she had a list of rule infractions bigger than Serefina's boobs. That she hadn't gotten kicked out of school was no less than a minor miracle.

In short, she had enough skeletons in her closet to run a supply store for middle school science classrooms. It wasn't exactly the sort of disciplinary record that made going against the faculty a smart decision.

Serefina sighed.

But Dakota was Dakota. And if Dakota set her mind to uncovering a story, well, god help anyone who got in the way.

"Besides," Dakota added, "I have a trump card."

Serefina raised her eyebrow. "You can't seriously be thinking about…"

"The police still have no idea who attacked me, and now more students are being attacked. If I go to the news with the full details about what happened, then the Pokemon Academy will be in major trouble. They could be sued, Seri! Seriously! After all, it's their job to keep us safe, and we could make the case that the campus opened back up and returned to normal WAY too quickly after my attack, before they could properly make sure that things were alright!"

Serefina sighed. She raised a good point. Dakota had been attacked on February 14th, and it was only April 6th now. That was less than two months between incidents, and-

"Wait, it's April 6th?" Serefina hadn't ceded that to Dakota yet.

"Keep up with the times and stop living in the past," said the girl who was obsessed with digging up other people's pasts. She rolled her eyes. "If the headmaster wants to fight this out, then I'll fight it out, oh yes. How's that going to look? Headline: 'School Stabbing Victim Recovers from Death's Door, Seeks Justice for Injured Classmates! School Officials Expel Her to Keep Her From Uncovering the Truth!' I think that should raise a few eyebrows, don't you?"

Serefina sighed. She wasn't a fan of this decision. Not by a long shot. But those were her friends who'd gotten injured. Ayame… even Callie… well, not Gerard. But that didn't mean he deserved to get hurt! She couldn't argue that, for once, Dakota's zealous pursuit of a story could be used to do something helpful for a change.

"…Okay, fine, you win," Serefina sighed, surrendering to the unbreakable wall that was Dakota Evans with a story. "What do you want to do now?"

Dakota tapped her lip with a thoughtful frown. Then she smirked.

"You know what? I just had a really good idea…" Said the girl who Serefina had never once seen have a good idea.

So it looks like the school is trying to cover up what happened at Agate Village! But if there's one thing our intrepid reporter Dakota Evans cannot permit, it's a cover-up! Will she manage to uncover the truth and reveal what happened to the other students? Or will she be crushed by the overwhelming authority of campus? Finally, she can use her powers for good!