The main round of the Pokeathlon Competition has finally begun in earnest! And the Speed Course is the first one up! As we might have expected, Ayame is doing very well in this first event! The question is whether or not she'll be able to maintain her lead against a foe as determined as Ange! And this is just the first event of three; anything could happen in this competition! Remember to review!

KedharS: Ange has a lot of determination, though. The question is whether or not that will be enough to compete with a trained athlete.

Hyphenman: I wouldn't count Daryl and Kate out so easily. They might still surprise you. And for that matter, I wouldn't say Ayame is necessarily going to win. Even if she loses here, that doesn't mean her chances for regaining her memories are lost; maybe seeing Blake compete and win will knock something loose.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1311

"Ayame Toujou and Ange Moonshadow have made it to their 12th lap!" Lila announced, her voice filled with excitement. She might not have been a huge fan of sports or exercise, but the rush of the crowd was getting to her.

"Ange's got a tight lead over Ayame, surprisingly!" Darla noted. "I didn't think anyone would be able to outrun the Prince of the Track Team!"

"It just goes to show you what the students at this school are capable of when they set their minds to it," Leanne noted.

Ange was a few steps ahead of Ayame, but it was clear she was in far worse shape than the girl. Every step she took made her feel like her lungs would explode and her legs would collapse out from under her. But she kept going, pushing through the pain on sheer force of will. Likewise, her Persian was a few paces ahead of Roll, Ayame's Voltorb.

"Roll! Return!" Ayame called back her Voltorb, noting their declining condition. "Foof, come on back out!"

"Wooloo!" Foof replaced Roll immediately, dashing after Mami.

"This is so tense!" Callie winced. "How much time is left?!"

There was still about 8 minutes left on the clock.

"I'm surprised how intense it is," Nikita agreed. "It's like watching a pokemon battle!"

"Ayame can still win, right?" Kitty asked worriedly. "She's not going to lose, is she?" The white-haired girl was terrified that if Ayame lost this, and didn't get to face off against Blake in the finals, then she might never regain her memories.

"It's okay even if she loses this race," Julia said gently. "After all, there's three events. And that Ange girl looks like she's already running on fumes."

"I noticed that, too," Akira said, narrowing his eyes. "Ayame is pacing herself. And while it looks like Ange is just fine on the surface, she's certainly slowing down. I think she's running on pure adrenaline right now. I doubt that will be enough to carry her on into the next rounds."

That was a reasonable assumption to make. The only problem with it was that no one there knew just what Ange had been through. After surviving in Hisui as long as she had, she could make "pure adrenaline" go a long way.

It was easy to do, when you fought for your life on a daily basis.

I have to win! Ange drew in strength that she shouldn't have had, calling on untapped reserves that should have been drained long ago. But all she had to do was imagine that a ferocious Alpha Pokemon was chasing her, and she could move as fast as she needed to.

"I'm surprised Kate is able to keep pace," Alcea murmured. "She may be behind, but not as far behind as I would have expected."

Ayame and Ange were monsters, everyone could agree with that. Both girls were already closing in on lap 13, and had passed their competitors some time ago. But Kate and Daryl were only a couple laps behind.

"Daryl is considering entering the Ranger Course," Akira said, reporting on his roommate. "To keep his options open between that and the Battle Course, he's taken a few survival classes and outdoor training activities. I'd argue he's good at stuff like this. But that other girl… you're right, it's amazing she can go this far."

Akira's words seemed to bear that out. Daryl's pokemon might have been slower than Kate's, but he was a decent pace ahead of her personally. And unlike Kate, he didn't look like he was going to die every couple of yards.

"Fucking… haaaa… goddamn it… Why did I… why did I agree to this stupid…?!" Kate was too exhausted to even get out good insults at this point. She might have been only barely jogging, but even that was too much for her unathletic body to take.

As the clock counted down, the students were at the edges of their seats. Even Lila was squirming with anticipation.

"After Ange took that lead from Ayame in Lap 6, she's refused to give it up!" Darla exclaimed. "Even now, the tomboy prince is trying to get ahead, but every time it looks like she's getting close, her opponent increases her speed and pulls ahead again!"

"Ange is definitely doing a good job of maintaining the lead," Leanne agreed. "It almost feels like I'm watching a Rattata escape from a Meowth, watching those two."

"What do you mean by that?" Lila asked, confused.

"Ayame is doing her best not to waste her energy unnecessarily," Leanne noted. "She's trying to take back the lead, but she isn't pushing herself so hard that it would injure her chances in the next two events."

"That's certainly an admirable strategy," Darla agreed. "She's treating this exactly as you should a sporting event, making sure to pace herself. But what do you mean when you say Ange is behaving like a Ratatta?"

"Ratatta are difficult predators for Meowth to hunt," the professor explained. "Because they make sharp and erratic movements with their quick attack. Predators like Meowth and Persian hunt by pouncing on their prey. So to evade them, a Ratatta will conserve its speed, and only move when their would-be predator is already in the air, trying to pounce. By dodging only when they need to, they succeed in exhausting their opponent, so when it's time to strike back, their foe is too exhausted to dodge themselves. This is why even such a small and seemingly-insignificant pokemon like Ratatta can be deadly with their tiny fangs; they strike only when they need to, and only when their enemy has worn themselves out."

Leanne quite enjoyed talking about the hunting habits of pokemon in the wild. She could go all day discussing this sort of thing. But Lila and Darla were staring at her with glazed-over eyes; her entire speech had gone over their heads.

This is why I hate students who care more about doing their makeup in class than actually studying… As a teacher, Leanne couldn't say that out loud. But the sentiment was there.

"So what does that have to do with Ange?" Lila asked.

"Just look," Leanne said, gesturing to the track. Ange was slowing down again, and Ayame was getting closer to passing her. When she was just a step away from the girl, the blonde suddenly summoned up a burst of speed and shot forward again, putting more distance between the two of them. "See the way she moves? She's not running consistently, like you would expect for a race. And she's not conserving her energy in a traditional way, either. She's saving it up gradually, when she's able to. Once she gets a good enough distance ahead of everyone else, she slows down, almost like she's trying to get a short rest. And then, when Ayame gets close enough to pass her, she expends her energy in a quick burst again, just like a Ratatta."

"Oh! I think I get it now!" Lila nodded. "Yeah, I was wondering why she was running like that."

"I guess if it works, it works," Darla admitted. "But that seems a little… weird, don't you think? Wouldn't it be better to just run the normal way?"

Ange grit her teeth in frustration. She would have been fine with running the "normal way" but that wasn't really an option. She'd already burned that strength. Right now she was on her emergency reserves. Ayame was a really frustrating opponent.

"I agree, Darla, that's not the sort of running a person would do if they were in something like track and field, or even most sports," Leanne agreed. "I wonder why she's moving like that…"

The question Leanne really wanted to ask was something different.

I wonder what sort of environment that girl grew up in, to be able to perfectly move the way prey pokemon do?

Ange's movements had all the markings of prey. Leanne would bet her tenure that were they not forced to run in a straight line but were playing a game like tag, the blonde would be dodging and zigzagging exactly like a Ratatta or another speedy pokemon.

To adopt the movement of a pokemon like that… the closest thing we have to that sort of behavior would be formal training as a Pokemon Ranger… but she's in the Research Course, not the Ranger Course… how fascinating.

The fact that a student like Ange had slipped under her radar up until now was surprising. Leanne was very interested in looking up Ange's records when she was done with her obligations here.

And the way Ange moved didn't go unnoticed by anyone else, either. Sango and Marion, watching from their preparation rooms, both came to the same conclusion that Leanne had; after all, when Sango faced off against threats in the wild, she would behave in a similar manner to distract hungry pokemon looking for a snack.

"The way she moves… it seems like she has experience evading wild pokemon." That was the only thought that Sango could reasonably arrive at.

But that style of running wouldn't last for long. Pokemon like Ratatta had bodies designed to move that way, and humans really didn't. The fact that Ange could keep it up as long as she had was a testament to her resilience and training. But more than anything, it was a testament to her untamable willpower, driving her to this point.

"…Aaaaaand… ZERO!" Lila cheered as the timer reached zero and a loud gong sounded. Everyone currently running slowed down and came to a stop, except for Ange. She was too lost in the heat, and didn't stop until Leanne blew a whistle, snapping her out of it.

Fortunately, they had everything on footage, so Ange didn't get any points for her extra steps.

Unlike Ange, who kept going even after the gong sounded, Kate promptly collapsed on the spot. Her pokemon were ahead of Daryl on the track, but as for her, personally, well… she was last for a reason, and that's how many points her team would get.

Ange clutched her chest. She could feel her adrenaline wearing down, and her breathing trying to return to normal. Her body was drawing her out of her adrenaline state, which wasn't good. She'd have to work herself up to get back there. And right now, her legs felt like jelly.

"We'll be announcing the event results, and then give our competitors a fifteen minute break!" Leanne announced. "They can rest and relax with their pokemon in that tent over there!" She gestured to a rest spot that had been installed overnight, with a nice shady awning that would let the trainers take care of themselves and their team in the brief interim.

Kate barely made it there without falling over, she was so exhausted.

I have to do two more events like this? She moaned internally. Fuck, I'm so gonna die…

"Not bad out there," Ayame said as Ange sat down in the dirt, stretching her legs out. "You can run pretty fast."

Ange said nothing. Right now, the only thing she could focus on was the pound of her heart echoing in her ears.

Conserve your strength, she urged herself. She wouldn't even waste her energy on talking. Talking wouldn't help her win. And she needed everything she could if she wanted to win this competition, Ayame had proven that. It had taken all she had to stay ahead of the other girl.

But the results spoke for themselves.

"We'll now begin tabulating the scores!" Darla declared. "Behold!"

Four boxes appeared on the screen.

Red Team – Ayame – 176 Points

Blue Team – Ange – 178 Points

Green Team – Daryl – 151 Points

Yellow Team – Kate – 147 Points

"Look at how close they are!" Callie gasped. "Ange's just barely ahead!"

"That'll be easy for Ayame to overcome, though," Julia said. "Look at the two of them."

While Ange was putting on a tough face, it was obvious from the way her chest was heaving that she was completely exhausted. In contrast, Ayame was only slightly flushed and a little sweaty. Her breathing was stable as well. She wiped her forehead with a towel and took a swig of water, coughing slightly but otherwise fine.

"You never know," Akira shrugged. "Daryl could come from behind and win this whole thing."

Not many people bought that.

And of course, nobody really had faith in Kate's abilities. Alcea sighed. Well, Kate had done the best she could. It was out of her hands, now.

I just hope you're happy with what you accomplish, she silently urged her friend. As long as you can do that, it doesn't matter how you place.

Kate unscrewed the cap of her thermos and took a swig. It almost made her feel like barfing. The little "energy concoction" Alcea had brewed for her tasted even worse than her own cooking.

She checked the little post-it note on the side.

"Just do your best!" – Alcea

A small smile tugged at the edges of her lips. She could feel the potent blend of Alcea's invigorating herbs already getting to work, filling her body with energy. When the buzzer sounded to begin the next round, she actually hopped to her feet.

"Next up is the Hurdle Dash!" Lila announced, and the camera shifted to the next section of the field. A long track stretched out into the distance, covered in hurdles. It was divided by white chalk into 16 lanes.

"This next event is a really exciting one!" Darla noted. "All the pokemon on a team and their trainer will be competing at the same time!"

"That's right," Leanne nodded. "But unlike the last event where the trainers were encouraged to keep pace with their pokemon in order to swap them out, things are a little different here. We want the pokemon to complete the course as fast as possible! And the reason for that is because they're being timed."

"Oh, you mean they have to complete the course within a certain time limit, like last time?" Lila asked for clarification.

Leanne shook her head. "No, we're going to be recording how fast it takes each pokemon to complete the course, in seconds. Then we will add those scores together and get a team total for how many seconds it took."

"But wait, wouldn't that incentivize them to go slower?" Darla asked. "If the amount of points they get is the combined total of their times."

"It isn't though," Leanne clarified. "To determine how many points each team gets, we take the total time of all their pokemon, and 11500 from that time. The number you get from that will determine the number of points for the team."

Lila's brain short-circuited at the thought of doing that much math.

"Where did that number come from?" Darla asked.

Leanne shrugged. "Pokeathlon Tournament Guidelines. Take it up with them."

"Ah, so it's arbitrary. Got it."

Leanne rolled her eyes.

"But I still don't get it," Lila said, to the surprise of exactly nobody. "Why does the trainer's time matter, again?"

"Because, after we've calculated the points earned from the team, we then take the trainer's time in seconds, and subtract it from 200. That's how many points will be added to their pokemon's score. We couldn't calculate them together, because the trainer's times will likely be vastly different from what their pokemon are capable of, when they're not holding back."

Kate frowned. It sounded like she was being singled out.

"I bet Ayame and Ange could probably get similar times to their pokemon," Callie snickered. "Don't you think, Nikita?"

"Huh, what?" Nikita snapped out of her trance. She'd been trying to focus on doing the math, and hadn't even realized Callie was talking to her.

Callie stared at her and sighed, trying not to laugh. "Nothing, it's nothing. Don't worry about it," she said, patting her on the shoulder.

"Alright, everyone! Line up!" Leanne announced. The trainers released their pokemon from their pokeballs and they lined up beside one another, while the trainers stood in the four lanes at the very end of the track.

Everyone looked ready to go, even Kate.

"It looks like she got her second wind, is it?" Alcea noted with a smile.

Leanne sounded off the starting gun, and everyone took off down the track.

"Whoa! Look at that!" Callie gasped in amazement. It wasn't one of Ayame's pokemon who took an early lead, or even one of Ange's.

Falco, Daryl's Braviary, took command in an instant, spreading his wings and gliding over the hurdles effortlessly with each leap.

"That's not fair!" Lila cried. "That Braviary has wings! He shouldn't be allowed to do that! Flying ruins the whole thing!"

"You're right, Lila, flying is against the rules in a Pokeathlon," Leanne agreed. "But that's not what's happening here, see?"

True to the professor's word, Falco landed on the ground and started running again, approaching the next set of hurdles.

"Oh, I see," Darla said, nodding in realization. "He's not flying, he's gliding. Using his wings to give himself a little more airtime.

"As long as he touches down on the ground and actually jumps over each hurdle, the Pokeathlon has ruled that is a permissible action," Leanne confirmed. "Heck. There are eligible pokemon like Magnemite and Metang who can't even move at all without floating. The only thing that matters is that they take the course while still leaping over the hurdles, even if they're doing so with the power of their mind, not their legs- or lack thereof."

Lila scowled, crossing her arms over her chest. "Whatever!" She scowled. "Flying or floating or gliding or whatever, it should all be banned!"

Leanne sighed and shook her head. She could explain the greater complexities of a Pokeathlon, and the permission guidelines to the girl if she really wanted to.

But she knew Lila would just glaze over again if she did, so she didn't even try.

Well, this first round is getting off to an exciting start! Ayame only lost in the Relay Run by a hair! This match is too close to call! Daryl's getting some time in the spotlight himself to show off what his pokemon are capable of, and even Kate seems to have gotten her second wind! The only question is whether or not this atmosphere can continue…