The second round is getting exciting! Blake managed to get another perfect score, so now he and Ayame are tied! But it was really close, and honestly pretty reckless. He really lucked into the fact that he was able to beat the clock! And Kanone provided some great insight into Blake's personality as well, alluding to why Blake was capable of beating him in the first place. It was definitely an excellent performance on Blake's part, hopefully it transitions well into the next round! But before we get there, we have to see how the other students are doing this round!

KedharS: Yup. He's a talented trainer, but he just can't reach the people he wants to reach. No matter how hard he tries, he can't do everything.

Hyphenman: Yeah, this chapter I feel was really necessary to emphasize Blake's determination. The guy just will not give up. And who knows how things would have gone differently with Samarra? It's certainly interesting to think about. Maybe he would have been able to reach her so she wouldn't be so isolated. Well, whatever. I look forward to seeing an eventual theory review!

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1295

All eyes in the audience were on Blake's stunning upset. But that wasn't the end of the preliminaries, not by a long shot. The vast majority of the students were still trying to cross the finish line and get to the second round. But there was a limited amount of them that could accomplish this task; only the first hundred students who passed would get to the next round, and from there, only the highest fifty scores would make it to the third part of the preliminaries.

It was a tight competition.

Vic and Tommy quickly arrived at the water's edge. Both students specialized in battles, but that didn't mean they were incapable of passing this test.

"Theo, Shimmer, come out," Vic shouted, sending out her two Water type pokemon. They were perfectly-suited for a challenge like this. She climbed on the back of her Gastrodon as her Lanturn followed behind her, and began striking the targets with her electricity.

At the same time, Tommy sent out his Tropius and his Hitmonchan. Rather than having a pokemon swim across the course, he decided to fly above it, like Sango. And while he flew, his Hitmonchan would destroy the targets with a series of powerful, long-range punches.

It was an interesting idea in theory. But not one that ended up working in practice. His Hitmonchan barely destroyed have the target balloons. And while that was still a fairly decent number, when compared to the perfect scores of Blake and Ayame, and the high scores of some of the other trainers, it was clear that Tommy should have focused a little more on training his pokemon's accuracy.

Even Vic, meticulous as she was, only got 44 points. She didn't seem bothered though, which came as a surprise to Maddi and Alden.

"Wow, she didn't throw a tantrum!" Alden said, sounding genuinely shocked. "She's really improving in her self-control!"

"Or maybe she just doesn't care," Maddi suggested under her breath.

Willa made it next, her Parasect's incredible speed letting her pull ahead of the others just like Vic's Arcanine and Tommy's Rapidash. She smirked when she saw the challenge.

"Not a problem," she said, sending out Pelletier, her Slowbro. Along with him, she sent out her Psyduck.

"Humphrey, take this," she said, getting a bottle of pills out of her lab coat. She passed one to the Psyduck, who swallowed it the second he did, the veins in his head began to throb and he held his forehead in pain.

"Uh… what was that?" Carrie asked worriedly. She wasn't sure if drugging a pokemon like this was within the rules of the tournament.

Willa smirked. "It's a special concentration drug," she replied. "With this, Humphrey's psychic powers will be greatly amplified."

Carrie still wasn't sure. But nothing in her job description said she needed to answer questions, so she just stared numbly and nodded as Willa climbed onto her Slowbro's back with her Psyduck in her arms as well.

Humphrey quickly proved the effects of Willa's pills. While normally Psyducks' intense psychic powers cause them splitting headaches and make it difficult for them to think, as a result of the medication Humphrey could concentrate his powers perfectly and he used that power to focus his psychic energy on the targets. Balloons were popping without him even doing anything.

"Perfect!" Willa bragged as her pokemon sailed on through. "This is exactly the kind of results we were hoping for!"

And that was how Willa became the third contestant to get a perfect score.

More students were arriving now, the pace was picking up. Dakota reached the beach in a flash and dismounted her Manectric, calling him back. She smirked as Akira flew up behind her, with Serefina coming in close behind him.

"Took you two long enough," she smirked.

"I was pacing myself," Serefina said calmly. "It was important to make sure not to exhaust my pokemon too much."

Dakota shrugged. "Yeah, whatever," she muttered. "Anyway! Time to go!"

She already knew who she was going to use, and she had Akira to thank for it.

"Pumpernickel! Sparky! Come out, you two!" She cheered, thrilled by the feeling of using her pokemon again. It had felt like years.

"Gourgeist!" Pumpernickel cackled, smiling evilly at his trainer. With his hair-like hands he reached out and picked up Dakota by the waist, holding her aloft. As he did, Dakota picked up Sparky, the pokemon she'd be using to pop the targets, and took him into her grasp. Time to see just how much training Akira had given her little Chinchou.

Akira narrowed his eyes. He could use Satsuki to smash through all the targets with pure power, but that wasn't how he wanted to do this. He'd relied on her quite a bit at this point, and he still wanted to give his other pokemon a chance to shine.

"Kumari, go," he said, sending out his beloved Beartic.

"Beartic!" Kumari bellowed. The pokemon that had once been Akira's ace looked no less intimidating than he had before. He waded into the water and lied down, waiting for Akira to get on his back so they could start.

"Nami, you as well," Akira said, sending out his Vaporeon to swim alongside them. If he were a little shorter he could have just ridden on her, but this was fine, too.

"How fitting!" Dakota called as she set off with Pumpernickel and Sparky. "I should have guessed that the Water type trainer would have no problem with this leg of the course!"

Akira rolled his eyes. Typical Dakota. She was making fun of him for being the Water type member of the Eight Leaders in spite of the fact that four of his seven pokemon weren't the Water type. But he didn't let that discourage him, and set off.

Serefina couldn't help the small smile that spread across her face. Seeing Dakota and Akira goofing off like that warmed her heart. It made her remember all the…

Well, they weren't exactly good times. But she wouldn't have traded them for anything. And with hope, they could all go back to those days.

She still needed to win the tournament however. Her pride as the future star of the Caretaking Course was on the line, and she couldn't let herself be discouraged.

"Slushy, come out!" She called out her Goodra. The gooey pokemon may not have been the perfect ride to get her through the water, but he was the best she could do. She already had a pokemon perfect for hitting the targets.

"And Barneby!"

"Banette!" Her Banette cackled as he emerged from his pokeball. Serefina got on the back of her Goodra as her ghostly partner circled around her, preparing to strike down the targets.

In the end, in spite of the competitive struggle between Akira and Dakota, neither trainer was strong enough to break through 40 points. Dakota's Chinchou proved his training by popping the balloons with sharp bursts of water, but they couldn't compare to Nami's accuracy. The Vaporeon managed to pop 39 balloons, while Sparky only got 35.

Both were decent scores though. With luck, they'd make it to the next round.

But Serefina was the true dark horse of the trio.

"Will-o-wisp," she ordered, narrowing her eyes. Ghostly fire floated up in the air around her. Her eyes scanned the water, landing on the targets, and with a swing of her wrist, Barneby sent the flames spinning towards the balloons, popping them effortlessly.

"Look at how amazing she controls her pokemon!" Lila gasped.

"I know," Darla nodded. "You'd be forgiven for thinking she possessed harmonia!"

Serefina's skills were nothing of the sort. She simply knew what her pokemon were capable of, and expected nothing but the best from them. She'd trained them all flawlessly, and was proud of how far they had come, to be able to succeed in a tournament like this.

"That's my girl," Leanne said, her chest swelling with pride. "When it comes to raising pokemon, even for something like a Pokeathlon, Serefina there could give even someone as skilled as Ayame Toujou a run for her money!"

The proof was in the pudding. Barneby popped every balloon effortlessly, earning Serefina the fourth perfect score of the round.

But things were just getting started. The number of contestants that made it past the first round hadn't slowed in any meaningful way, and more of them were coming as the seconds passed.

Kate and her Arbok practically crashed into the stand when they arrived. The massive snake was used to maneuvering around in the sewers, and was rather useless on sand. But that was fine with Kate, who called her back to her pokeball.

"Nice work, Ari, that really showed them," she smiled. She doubted that anyone would underestimate her skills now. But there was still more that she had to do, if she wanted to prove her mettle. Luckily, she was prepared.

"Does Kate even have a pokemon that can do this?" Nikita wondered. She didn't know much about the Poison type specialist's team. She turned to Alcea for confirmation and saw a rather intrigued look on Alcea's face.

"I had heard that she obtained some new pokemon while in Unova," Alcea answered. "As that Arbok clearly proved."

"I guess…" Nikita nodded. That Arbok was sure something. They didn't NORMALLY grow that big. She hoped that Kate would give her a chance to study it. She was curious to know what longstanding effects gigantism of this level could have on a pokemon, and maybe even how to replicate that for other pokemon in the future.

…Listen to her, she sounded just like her geneticist father. She shook her head to keep those errant thoughts from leaching in.

"Perhaps one of her new pokemon will be capable of ferrying her across the water, is it?" Alcea mused thoughtfully, ignorant of the mental drama unfolding in Nikita's head.

It turned out that Alcea knew her friend rather well. Because Kate was on the exact same page. She was going to use a pokemon she'd newly obtained from her training in the Unova Region.

But that pokemon wasn't exactly new, at the same time.

"Reed!" Kate shouted, tossing her dive ball into the air. "It's all on you!"

The dive ball opened and the pokemon inside emerged with a howl. Reed floated in the air for a few seconds before falling into the sea.

Alcea gasped, her eyes widening. Kate's Skrelp had completely changed.

"He evolved!" Marion gushed, her eyes shining with delight. "Oh, I just knew that would happen! Look at him, look!"

Sango rolled her eyes as she stared at the screen, but she had to admit, she was impressed. And she wasn't the only one.

"I'm surprised… to think that Kate would have evolved her pokemon this quickly, is it?" Alcea mused. "What ferocious training she must have undertaken in the Unova Region…"

"Dragalge!" Reed bellowed, his head sticking up proudly from the water.

"She actually has a Dragalge," Darla said, her opinion of Kate improving marginally. "That's a pretty difficult pokemon to raise."

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWW!" Lila gagged. "That thing is SO GROSS! What kind of ugly pokemon even is that!?"

"It's a Dragalge," Darla said, giving her partner a dirty look. "A Poison/Dragon type pokemon that lives in the deep sea."

"Well it's gross and ugly," Lila pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. A Poison/Dragon type? She'd never heard of something so disgusting in all her life!

Darla had to calm herself down to resist the urge to shout down her partner. This was not the time to be making a fuss.

"It's a good choice for that girl," Leanne mused. "I always thought that someone of her caliber would do far better for herself in the Caretaking Course than in the Battle Course, given her affinity for rearing Poison type pokemon.

"Rossa, I'm relying on you," Kate declared, sending out her Roselia next.

"Rose!" Rossa nodded. Kate got on the back of her Dragalge. And Blake had to agree, Leanne was right. A Dragalge really was a great fit for Kate. With his slender, stick-like body, rough skin, awkwardly-swaying fringes that resembled seaweed, Reed really seemed to resemble his trainer quite a bit in Blake's opinion.

Kate felt a nagging urge in the back of her skull that told her someone was thinking poorly of her. She suppressed those instincts with a scowl and focused on her pokemon.

"Let's go you two!" She shouted as Rossa climbed aboard, and the three of them set out.

More trainers were coming, and Blake was relieved to see how many of them were people that he knew well. Nick arrived next, followed swiftly by Reiner. Both boys got off their pokemon and surveyed the situation.

"Well, my choice is pretty obvious," Nick said, not hesitating for a second. "Poliwhirl, go!"

"Poliwhirl," his Poliwhirl said, landing in the water and nodding back to his trainer. Nick hadn't had Poliwhirl on his team for very long, but he still counted on his pokemon, and hoped that a game like this would be a great bonding exercise between the two of them.

Likewise, he had another pokemon he hadn't really relied on before. A pokemon he'd just gotten recently, in fact.

"Guinara." Nick sent out his Dratini next. Only the Dratini wasn't quite his. It was a pokemon he'd been given by a certain Reed Blackthorn to raise, and Darla recognized it immediately.

Her jaw dropped.

He's using it so easily... Reed… she gave away one of the sacred Dratini from our shrine to a trainer who would treat it like any other pokemon? Not a sacred dragon, but just a regular pokemon to use in a Pokeathlon?! I don't believe this!

Oh, Darla was going to KILL her blonde cousin next time she saw her. But she had to rein in her temper lest she break character.

"Let's go, you two!" Nick said, getting onto his Poliwhirl. Reiner, at the same time, had come up with a decision of his own.

"Scipio, go," Reiner said, sending out his reliable Armaldo. When it came to carrying his trainer through the water, Scipio was the perfect pokemon to pick from. Now he just needed a pokemon who could tolerate being this close to the water- and luckily he had the perfect choice.

"Dana, I'll choose you," he said, sending out his Chewtle. Dana's affinity for the water would help immensely, and even though she was a physical attacker, that didn't mean she couldn't pull off a nasty water gun if the situation demanded it.

Reiner was just setting off after Nick when Julia made it to the shore. She scowled at the fact that she'd been outrun by him, but it didn't matter. She'd make it up in the next round of the preliminaries quite easily by getting a higher target-popping score. Julia called Roden back to his pokeball and switched to a pokemon perfect for ferrying her across.

"Fang!" Julia growled, throwing out her dive ball to send out her Sharpedo. The shark emerged just as Kitty crossed the finish line, somehow out of breath even though Meomo had been the one doing all the running.

Kitty frowned. She and Julia had been racing, but her pokemon just wasn't fast enough to catch the long-haired girl and her Houndoom. They didn't have the stamina.

But that was fine. "Meomo, take a nice, long rest," she said, returning her Persian to his pokeball. "We have other pokemon we can count on! Rusha! Ru! Come on out!"

With a smile, Kitty sent out her Kangaskhan.

"Would you look at that!" Leanne gushed, an action surprising for a grown woman. "Kitty has a Kangaskhan now!"

"It's so cute, seeing her picked up like that!" Lila gushed, giggling over the fact that Rusha had put Kitty on her back as she waded into the water. She even took out little baby Ru as well, and gave him to Kitty to look after as she started swimming.

"Where did Kitty get one of those?" Callie asked, turning to Nikita. As her roommate, she must have some idea, right?

But Nikita was just as surprised as Callie was. She'd been so focused on her relationship with Reiner recently that she hadn't asked Kitty at all about how her pokemon were doing (not that she was the kind of girl who would randomly ask a question like that).

At the same time as Kitty got on her Kangaskhan's back, she sent out her Growlithe to take down the targets, a choice Julia found interesting.

She could have used Meomo or Marisa here, she thought. They both know swift, which would have made this round very easy for her. But no, she's using Larosa instead. She must be planning to save Marisa for the third round of the preliminaries…

Julia didn't have time to worry about that, though. She needed to focus on her own score for the preliminaries!

"Percy, I'm counting on you!" She shouted, sending out her Seedot. The tiny pokemon was perfect for the tight confines riding on a Sharpedo would force on her. He could balance comfortably on her shoulder.

And when his bullet seed hit, it would devastate the targets.

Julia grinned. This was going to be just fine.

"Hey, is that really a good idea?" Lila asked worriedly, staring at Julia as the brunette climbed onto the back of her Sharpedo.

"What do you mean?" Darla asked. "I think that's a good choice of pokemon. Sharpedo are very fast, so using one-"

"That's not what I mean," Lila clarified, shaking her head. "I mean, because of Rough Skin! Sharpedo have very rough skin, so if a trainer rides one, there's a really good chance they could injure themselves!"

Darla stared at her partner and narrowed her eyes. Lila gasped.

"Err, I mean, that's what I saw on TV, anyway!" She laughed, downplaying her knowledge. "Who knows if that's true, right? Sharpedo Week is something, but still…"

"Good observation, Lila," Leanne said, nodding to the other girl. She wasn't at all surprised that someone who spent so much time focusing on attention to detail when it came to grooming her pokemon would know a thing or two about skin. "But it's a little more complicated than just having Rough Skin."

Lila looked at her, surprised. "What do you mean?" She asked.

"Sharpedo can control the sharpness of their scales," Leanne explained. "When Sharpedo form a bond of trust with someone, they will allow that person to touch them without any injury. You can see for yourself."

Julia was riding on Fang in cargo shorts, and yet her legs were unmarred. The Sharpedo trusted her completely.

"Having a bond like that with your pokemon is a precious thing," Leanne said, smiling proudly. "We've got some excellent trainers this year!"

I'll say. It's good that Julia's got such a strong bond with her Sharpedo. Trainers like her, Nick, and Reiner don't get a lot of opportunities to show what they can do, so this is definitely a welcome change. Kitty as well, it's nice seeing her bond with her Kangaskhan like that! Here's hoping that everybody makes it to the next round!