Now that the Speed Course and the Jump Course have both finished, it's time for our trainers to take a break for lunch! Everyone needs some time to relax and unwind, and this sort of thing is necessary before a big event! We've had a really hectic day so far, and I think everyone deserves a breather, don't you?

KedharS: Yes, it really was. In fact, if it wasn't for that fall, Jo probably would have won the whole thing, that's the sad part. But they did good!

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Yeah, the competition was really close, so it makes sense if some people might be bitter. Thankfully, all the competitors are good sports by nature (except Reiner, maybe, and Cynthia can be a bit of a brat, but she won) so there's no hard feelings!

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1320

After a long morning, the competition took a pause for lunch. For the handful of students who were a part of the Pokeathlon but hadn't had the chance to go yet, they were viewing this lunch with heavy hearts and concern.

"Don't worry, Nick! You're going to do great!" Callie patted him on the back so hard and with such frequency Nick was worried his shoulder was going to pop.

"You, uh… really think so, huh?" He said, forcing a smile to his face. He had joined up with Callie, Elaina, Nikita, Julia, and Kitty to have a picnic in the grass outside the stadium, but he hadn't taken a bite of his sandwich yet because he was too nervous.

"Sure, it's easy to win," Julia smirked, tearing into her roast beef sandwich. "Unless you're Reiner, of course."

"Hey!" Reiner glared at her. Cynthia squirmed in place, a little uncomfortable. They had also tagged along on the picnic to enjoy hanging out with their friends. But they were the only ones. Two important people were missing.

"So where is Blake?" Elaina asked, looking around warily. "And Sango? Aren't they going to be eating with us?"

"Those two?" Nikita sighed. "Knowing them, they're probably practicing."

That held up with everyone. Blake was the kind of guy who would work himself to bone if it thought it would help him accomplish his goals, and the workaholic Sango wasn't much better. Everyone exchanged looks, and nodded in understanding.

"Well, I don't know which one of them is going to win, but somehow I get the feeling neither one of them is going to lose," Cynthia laughed. "They've got way too much spirit for that, you know?" She looked around at her friends, who were all going along with her. But no one could see that the smile on her face was hiding uneasiness.

No one but Reiner.

"Hey, are you good?" He asked, staring intently at Cynthia.

The redhead flinched, but kept smiling. "Am I good? Of course I'm good!" She chortled. "I'm the queen of good! Why wouldn't I be good?"

That was enough to break the illusion for some of the others. Now everyone was looking at Cynthia, wondering if she was doing okay.

"…Okay, fine," she sighed, hanging her head. The force of their stares was enough to break her down. She stared at the grass, chewing miserably on her sandwich. "I guess I just feel uneasy about how everything went down. I don't think I deserved to win that way."

"What, because of Jo's injury?" Kitty gasped. "But that was just an accident!"

"She's right," Reiner agreed. "We were out there on the field with him. He put his all in, and he got injured. It sucks, but it could happen to anyone."

"Yeah, but it happened to him," Cynthia grumbled, finishing off her sandwich and crumpling up the wrapper. She worked the foil over with her fingers, pressing and pressing until she'd practically made a ball. "It shouldn't have, but it did."

She still felt uneasy.

"Oh, so that's what this is." Callie was surprisingly the most perceptive out of everyone here. She looked straight at Cynthia's uncomfortable expression. "Imposter syndrome, right?"

Cynthia blinked. "I, uh… I don't know what that is," she admitted sheepishly.

Callie sighed. "Imposter syndrome is something that happens when you feel like you don't belong," she explained. "Like you got something you didn't deserve. In this case, winning those preliminaries and making it to the finals tomorrow, isn't that right?"

Cynthia's jaw dropped in surprise. She hadn't expected Callie to call her out so thoroughly like that. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing she said seemed to come out. Finally, she swallowed, and managed to spit out, "h-how… how did you know?"

"Because it's written all over your face," Reiner replied. "You look like you're going to throw up just thinking about the upcoming finals."

Cynthia looked down at the grass. "Yeah, well… can you blame me?" She mumbled. "After all, with everything I did… look at what's going on, you know? If Jo hadn't fallen, he would have absolutely gotten more points than me at the pace he was running, he was only a couple seconds behind me. And that would have been enough to get a higher score than mine. The only reason I won the Jump Course is because Jo fell… how could I expect to think that I belonged there after that?"

It was a reasonable concern to have, and no one there could say it wasn't. After all, Cynthia was right, if Jo hadn't fallen, the chances of him winning were pretty likely.

"I guess I don't feel like I belong because of that," she finished. "I shouldn't have been in the position I was. And now I'm going to be in the finals, and it's like… do I really deserve it? No, of course I don't, that's crazy!"

She was shaking now. But she still tried to smile.

"Even so… I have to try my best, right?" She was clearly forcing herself, and no one knew what to say about it.

"Oh, I didn't expect you of all people to be so concerned."

Cynthia flinched, her eyes widening in surprise. She turned around to verify that she wasn't just hearing things.

She wasn't. Serefina was standing behind her, a curious look on her face.

"S-Serefina!" Cynthia stammered. "What, uh… did you overhear that?" She winced.

Serefina nodded. "I came over to say hello," she confirmed. "Imagine my surprise, to hear that someone who made it to the finals of the Pokeathlon Competition is saying that they aren't sure they belong. And most surprising of all, that that person is Cynthia Fafnir of all people. I didn't think you had it in you for such humility."

Cynthia turned as red as her hair in shame. She had to admit that Serefina had a point when she called her out like that.

"W-Well, I just… if you overheard what I said, then you must realize-"

"It doesn't matter if you think you don't belong there," the other girl said. Her words sounded cold, but her tone was warm. "After all, you did win. Yes, it may have been through a technicality, and an accident, so I can understand if you don't feel happy about it, or as if you 'deserve' it but you can't change what happened, can you?"

"Um, no, I guess not," Cynthia said, shaking her head.

"Exactly right," Serefina nodded. "That's why the only thing you can do is give it your all, wouldn't you agree? Do the best you can to try and succeed."

Cynthia had to admit, that made sense.

"Yeah! You're right, Serefina!" She nodded, getting fired up again. "So what if the only reason I got in was due to Jo getting hurt? I still made it to the finals! And that means I have to give it my all! I'll show 'em!"

"That's the spirit!" Serefina grinned. "You're exactly right! As a finalist, it's your responsibility to give those matches everything you've got, and prove that you DO belong there!"

"Right!" Cynthia nodded. She flashed a grin. "Thanks, Serefina." She couldn't believe that the older girl would actually be willing to help her of all people, even if Serefina was one of the nicest girls in the entire school.

Serefina smiled back. "Don't mention it," she said. "I may have had some selfish motivations of my own, helping you out like that."

Cynthia perked up. "Oh? What do you mean?"

Serefina's smile turned coy and her eyes flashed. "Well… I'm going to be in the finals too, remember," she reminded Cynthia. "And it wouldn't do if my opponents weren't giving it their all. So make sure you give it your best for my sake."

A chill fell over the students. No one expected a line like that from Serefina of all people.

It got Cynthia a little excited. "Oh, man! Now I really can't wait!" She said, flashing Serefina a grin. "Bring it on! I'm going to take you down, but good!"

"I'll be waiting," Serefina nodded.

"Hey!" Callie scowled. "Don't you think you're forgetting about something here?"

Serefina glanced her way. "Oh?" She asked curiously. "What do you mean?"

Callie cleared her throat and nodded to Nick, who was staring very intently at his sandwich.

"There's a certain someone who's going to kick your butt in Round 3," Callie said. "Tell her, Nick!"

Serefina gasped, turning red. "O-Oh! I-I'm sorry… I didn't see you there, and yet I boasted so readily as if I were certain I would win…"

She lowered her head in apology. "I'm sorry, I got ahead of myself. Of course, let's have an excellent match!"

Callie scowled. In spite of the smile on Serefina's face, the other girl had made her point very clear. She thought that Nick was small potatoes. Well, that wasn't going to stand! Not at all!

"Bring it on!" She challenged Serefina. "Nick's pokemon are going to athlete the crap out of yours, just you watch!"

Serefina stared at her in shock, not expecting to hear something so aggressive come from the other girl. She glanced at Nick, who looked like he wanted to die from shame. Everyone else was watching and trying not to laugh. And by "everyone else", really it was just Reiner and Julia.

For all the animosity between the two of them, they shared a rather twisted sense of humor it seemed, to everyone's surprise.

"Well, I just want to have a fair fight, too," Nick replied, looking up at Serefina. He was nervous, that much was obvious. And why wouldn't he be? After all, he was the only freshman in Block C, and he was going up against three sophomores, all of whom were no-doubt more skilled than him.

"I'm glad to hear that," Serefina smiled. "I just wish that was the case with everyone in the coming round…"

A shadow crossed her face as she said that, and the temperature in the field dropped considerably.

"What, um… what do you mean by that?" Kitty asked warily.

That was something Serefina didn't feel the need to answer. As far as she was concerned, the answer was pretty obvious.

"She's saying that she's afraid there will be foul play going on," a voice said from behind the tree. Serefina tensed, a scowl crossing her face.

She turned to see Sylvia slide out from behind the tree. The blonde had a grin on her lips that could paralyze a Seviper, and a gleam in her eye that would send wild Zangoose running. She stalked over to the group, swaying her hips like a predator.

"And she's not wrong to think that way," Sylvia cooed. "After all, she knows Dakota Evans better than anyone. I'm not so sure we can count on our intrepid reporter to play this match fair and square, do you? Anyone who would make up news stories like that, she's not someone that we should be trusting, in my opinion."

Serefina glowered at her fellow competitor. "She's not the one I'm concerned about," she said, barely managing to contain her rage.

She wasn't the only one. Sylvia stared back at her, and as usual, she was smiling. But behind her smiling lips lied an aura of malevolence that was ever so slightly leaking out of her. Her smile was frozen on her face.

"Serefina… this is going to be such a fun event," Sylvia purred. She reached out and patted the other girl on the shoulder. Her fingers were as cold as ice. "I've been looking forward to this. The chance to finally face off against you in a field of your own specialization."

Serefina narrowed her eyes. She knocked Sylvia's hand away and straightened up, glaring at the other girl. "What the hell is your problem?" She growled. "You've been out to get me for a while now, practically since you came back. What did I do exactly?"

Sylvia didn't reply. She kept smiling that cold smile. "Don't worry, Seri, you don't need to be so tense." Her voice oozed with patronization. "I promise, nothing's going to happen to you. Like I said. Dakota is the one that we should be worried about."

And suddenly, her words sounded less like a jab at her opponent, and way more like a threat. Serefina's blood went cold.

"If you do anything to her-!" Serefina exclaimed, grabbing Sylvia by the collar.

"Do anything? What would I possibly do to her?" Sylvia asked, her eyes widening in confusion. "Oh, my, no, all I'm planning to do is compete against her, same as you!"

She laughed, but her laughter carried a coldness to it that no one believed. Sylvia's eyes sparkled malevolently as she shook herself free of Serefina's grasp.

"I'm just warning you, competitor to competitor, that Dakota is big trouble," Sylvia assured her foe with another patronizing pat on the shoulder. "Beyond that, it's all in your imagination. And as for you, young man…"

Sylvia looked at Nick for the first time, and when he made eye contact with her what scarce amount of appetite he still had disappeared. He shook from the look in her eye.

"I look forward to seeing what fun we'll have together," Sylvia said cryptically. "That's what these Pokeathlons are about, right? Having fun."

No one felt the same way. They all averted their eyes from her. But she was fine with that, and laughed away, turning and heading off.

"Y-Yeah!" Callie shouted after her as the blonde headed back to the stadium. "You better run, you bitch!"

Her shouts sounded kind of hollow in light of what had just happened.

"Aargh! That woman infuriates me!" Callie growled, sitting back down. "I can't believe Mirar lost to someone like that! She has no business being a member of the Eight Leaders!"

She patted Nick on the shoulder. "Don't let that bitch get to you, okay?" She asked. "You're going to do fine, I know it. We've been training after all!"

"Y-Yeah," Nick said, forcing a smile to his face. "Thanks, Callie. I'm going to do my best."

Serefina cleared her throat, reminding everyone that she was still there. "Well, this is all well and good," she said. "But I have some preparations to do. Good luck all of you, please enjoy your lunch break. Nick? I look forward to competing against you later."

"R-Right," Nick said, still flustered from the run-in with Sylvia.

Serefina headed back to the stadium. As she did, she ran into the last person she hoped to see. Well, the last person besides Sylvia again, of course.

"Hey, Seri! You getting ready?" Dakota greeted her friend as the other girl passed her in the hall towards the waiting rooms.

Serefina tensed. "Yeah, you know it," she said weakly. "So, Dakota, how was your, um… lunch date with Akira?"

Knowing how things had gone down between them yesterday, she thought it was rather presumptuous of Dakota to ask him out to lunch. But she'd let the pink-haired girl make her own mistakes.

…And judging by the way Dakota's smile froze on her face, the other girl had really stepped in it this time.

"W-Well, uh, you know," she stammered. "It went… pretty well, I guess?"

Serefina didn't have to be a genius to see she was lying through her teeth.

"Pretty well, huh?" She said, lifting her eyebrow.

"Y-Yup!" Dakota nodded, giving her roommate a thumbs up. "He said that I should go break a leg! …And some other parts…" She mumbled the last bit under her breath and glanced away.

Serefina heard her and sighed. Yup, that sounded like Akira.

"You know this is your fault, right?" She clarified. "You have no one to blame but yourself for him being upset with you."

Dakota winced.

"W-Well… you know how it is," she muttered lamely. "I just wanted to get ahead, so…"

"You could have been working together with him in the prelims, but you stabbed him in the back. As you always do," Serefina reminded her.

Dakota winced again.

"Come on, I had to!" She said, even though she absolutely didn't have to. "It was so funny! The way he reacted… you can't blame me for something like that!"

Serefina absolutely could blame her, and she did.

"I get it, trust me," she sighed. "You were so excited to see him again after everything that happened that you couldn't resist doing some trolling, does that about sum it up?"

Dakota's face lit up. "Yeah! Totally! You definitely get me, Seri!" She grinned.

Serefina really wished that her friend wasn't this predictable. Especially when that predictability was for stuff like this.

"Look, I'm not going to tell you that if you don't stop he's going to dump you," Serefina sighed. "Because frankly, I think that ship has sailed at this point."

Even though he really should consider it, she mentally added.

"But even Akira has his limits," she finished. "You need to be careful or he's going to get really upset with you."

"…I know," Dakota said, and her smile finally disappeared. She sighed in exasperation. "I was so excited to see him again, I couldn't control myself."

Serefina shook her head. Some things never changed.

"Well, take it from me, you've got to learn to control yourself," Serefina said. "And while we're on that subject, let me just say, about those strange powers of yours-"

"Don't even worry about it, Seri!" Dakota cut her off with a grin. "Trust me! I'm not going to use my special abilities or anything like that! I wouldn't give myself away!"

Serefina wished she could trust her friend, she really did. After all, it didn't make any sense for Dakota to use her powers, right? There was no reason to, and it was a decision that was loaded with downsides if she did.

And yet, somehow, she just couldn't trust her friend would use her best judgment.

Probably due to a very long track record of her doing precisely the opposite.

Well, we had a nice little break before we get to the next two blocks. As I said, Block C is coming up next, so things are going to be really interesting with these four! The Power Course! Let's see what happens when a fighter like Sylvia plays with power! Will the other trainers even stand a chance? Is Serefina right to be confident? Will Dakota use her abilities? Will Nick be able to do anything of note? We'll have to find out!