Sylvia's pulled a dirty trick out of her sleeve! Who does she think she is, using the fact that her Ghost type pokemon are Ghost type pokemon? That's not something anyone would have expected! But now that it's come to this, Serefina's been forced into a difficult position! Compared to the others, she barely has any points! Will she be able to make it through Sylvia's wicked tactics?!

The Nomination Round for the Pokemon Academy Best Girl Competition has begun! Here are the current nominees! We've got fourteen girls so far, which is quite a good number already, and this is just day one! If there is anyone else that hasn't been nominated yet, be sure to nominate them!

Currently Nominated: Alcea, Ange, Ayame, Caelia, Callie, Cynthia, Elaina, Gabrielle, Joyce, Maddi, Nikita, Sango, Sylvia, Vic

KedharS: She puts a lot of effort into playing dirty, that's for sure.

Hyphenman: It's pretty hard to deal with Sylvia regularly, even harder when she's actively gunning for you. Serefina's gotta be careful.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1325

"Serefina's chosen a bold strategy!" Lila gasped.

"That's right, Lila," Darla nodded. "Now that there are three circles in play, Sylvia's pokemon have been divided between them! So Serefina's taking the opportunity to try and seize the biggest circle with everything she has!"

"That's not all," Leanne noted as Serefina's three pokemon worked in tandem to try and force Letty out of the circle. "Since the Green Team is behind in points due to the Yellow Team's earlier tricks, things are a lot more desperate for her. She has to do something like this if she wants to get enough points to stand a chance in the third event!"

Leanne's voice sounded shaky. She was amazed that Serefina could be so far behind, even if someone else was targeting her.

"Yes!" Serefina cheered as Tortimer slammed into Letty one final time, knocking the Golett out of the circle. "Keep going, just like that! Tortimer, make sure he can't get back in! Leek, do your best to make sure that her Jellicent can't get you!"

Sylvia watched Serefina struggle, barely able to suppress the smirk on her face.

Come on now. Did you really think it was that easy? Did you believe you were able to take that circle due to the hard work of your pokemon? Don't make me laugh. I directed Letty to that circle because it had the least amount of points. With your straightforward personality, I knew you would aim for the pokemon you could force off, and I made sure that you would get the least amount of points possible for doing so.

Serefina continued to dance in the palm of Sylvia's hand.

"Letty!" Sylvia shouted to her Golett.

Serefina tensed, expecting Sylvia to have her pokemon try to fight their way back into the circle. But that wasn't what happened at all. Letty nodded, turned, and waddled towards the three point circle, where Runja was perched.

With those two there, I can focus my efforts on Dusk, Sylvia decided. Dakota using a Ghost type pokemon was frustrating, but not anything too difficult for her to handle.

"Dusk! Stay within that circle, whatever you do!" Sylvia ordered.

"Dusknoir!" Dusk nodded. He grappled with Pumpernickel, keeping the Gourgeist from pushing him out of the circle as the other pokemon struggled for their placements. With Runja and Letty in the three point circle, it was hard for anyone else to get ground in there. But not impossible.

"Absol!" Abby leapt into the three point circle, forcing herself in by pushing against Letty to keep her position. At the same time, she was vigilant of dodging Runja's tentacles. She kept on the outside border of the circle, and only when the timer was about to hit zero did she cross the line, staying in bounds before either Ghost type pokemon could push her out.

"That's time!" Lila said.

"Phew, what a close struggle!" Darla said, fanning herself. "But it looks like everyone was able to stay in bounds for this one, at least! And they even all remained in the circle, too!"

Nick was surprised that Dakota and Serefina's had allowed Primeape and Nidorino to keep their position in the two point circle. But maybe they didn't want to expend energy on his pokemon, and wanted to focus on Sylvia instead.

"Let's take a look at the points for this round," Leanne said, turning to the screen. "There are only two more rounds left in this event, after all, and things are getting interesting!

Red Team – 25 Points

Blue Team – 17 Points

Green Team – 9 Points

Yellow Team – 26 Points

"They're holding up very well!" Julia said, surprised. "Especially Dakota. The fact that she has a Ghost type of her own is letting her take things hard against Sylvia like this."

"I don't like it!" Callie grumbled. "Nick should be getting way more points! Why are his pokemon so far behind?!"

"It's the five point circle," Nikita said simply. "Dakota and Sylvia both got a big boost from that one, after all. There wasn't enough room for another pokemon there."

"If you're talking about low points, look at Serefina," Cynthia said, frowning. "She's so far behind…"

Serefina's expression was as cold as stone. She recognized just how far behind the others she was, and it was clear that in spite of her usual positive attitude, being behind wasn't something that sat well with her, especially when the cause was factored in.

"She looks… scary…" Kitty had never seen Serefina in such a bad mood.

"Can you blame her? Sylvia is targeting her, after all," Reiner frowned. "That lady is a nightmare, holding a grudge like that. I can't believe she's allowed to use Ghost type pokemon that way."

"It's not just about a grudge," Akira frowned. "Haven't you been paying attention to the points at all? This is more than that."

Everyone turned their attention to him.

"The… points?" Nikita glanced at the scoreboard, wondering what Akira meant by that. Then she gasped in realization. "Ah! You're right!"

"What? What is it?" Cynthia asked, her eyes widening.

"Is something bad happening?!" Callie exclaimed. Neither of them were very good at math, so they couldn't see what Nikita was alluding to. She had to explain it.

"Sylvia has been systematically increasing her score for the last four rounds," Nikita said. "At the beginning it was about setting Serefina behind, so she let Dakota take the lead. But now she's not only handicapped Serefina, she's crawled her way up to getting above Dakota as well. At this rate, she'll take first in this round, while making sure Serefina is in last to boot."

A chill fell over everyone.

"This… this course is supposed to be about power, right?" Cynthia asked, shivering. "This feels like completely the opposite…"

"I know… it's as if she's been manipulating this whole thing…" Elaina felt uneasy as well. The lilt in her voice was its own kind of disturbing for the others; someone who could unsettle Elaina Bishop like this was someone to be concerned about.

Serefina bit her lip, and then her hand shot up. "The Green Team calls for a time-out!" She declared, startling everyone.

"A… time-out?" Lila blanked. "In… in the middle of an event? Can she even do that?"

Darla nodded. "It should be within the rules… right, Leanne? I remember reading something about that, isn't that right?"

Leanne nodded. "Any team may call for a two-minute break at any point during a Pokeathlon to strategize," she informed them. "It's not commonly done, because it often breaks the flow when a pokemon is trying their hardest and can result in poorer performance. Plus, it can only be done once per team. But it's within the rules, so we can allow it."

Plus, she silently added, if she wants to turn things around, she'll need the time to think of something, that's for sure.

"All teams will take a two-minute break before we proceed to the fifth and sixth rounds of the Circle Push," Leanne announced.

Serefina sighed in relief and called her pokemon over.

Curious… I didn't expect someone so stubborn to call a break to strategize… Sylvia watched carefully as Serefina and her pokemon huddled together. Normally she would be thrilled that someone was moving in a way she didn't predict, but these weren't normal conditions.

She didn't want to be stimulated. She wanted to thrash Serefina so hard that the other girl crawled away whimpering, ashamed of her brutal defeat. That would be the only thing that would satisfy Sylvia right now, and she was going to make that happen.

Whatever you're planning, you're not smarter than me. Sylvia knew that much. She'd be able to see through whatever tricks Serefina tried to pull.

The two minutes ran out all too fast for Cynthia's comfort. She really hoped Serefina would be able to capitalize on this to change her momentum.

"…Got it? That's the plan," Serefina said, patting Leek on the back.

"Sir," Leek nodded.

"Now then, with that short time-out finished, onto the next round!" Leanne declared. The Circle Push started again, and the pokemon rushed out onto the field.

Sylvia gave directions as she always did, sending her pokemon to three separate locations. And when the circles were projected, it was easy to see why she did.

The circles were even smaller than last time. Two five point circles barely big enough for two pokemon to fit inside, and a small three point circle.

Dakota smirked. "I knew it!" She crowed. "You sent your Dusknoir to one of the five point circles! Pumpernickel's going to take him down, just you watch!"

"Gourgeist!" Pumpernickel nodded, flying forward and trying to push Dusk out of the circle. At the same time, Runja occupied the other circle, and her bulk made it too difficult for anyone else to fit in. And Letty held his ground adamantly on the three point circle, even while the other trainers' pokemon crowded around him.

But there was no way there would be enough room for every pokemon to stay in a circle. The pokemon pushed and shoved each other out, and even pokemon like Nidorino and Bolt were forced backwards. Tsubame could barely stay in, and Serefina's pokemon were lucky as well.

"Torkoal!" Tortimer braced himself, and the other pokemon found it nearly impossible to force out the tortoise. Serefina smiled. That was three points secured right there. But Trunks was significantly easier to push around.

"Leek!" Serefina shouted as the timer began to count down. "Go, now!"

"Sirfetch'd!" Leek broke away from the three point circle he'd been approaching, and charged at one of the five point circles, of all things. The one where Dusk and Pumpernickel were still locked together in combat.

Ridiculous, Sylvia sneered. Going for desperation? Does she seriously think that if she just stands on the circle while the ghosts phase through it, that she'll be able to remain there?

Serefina seemed to be going for a bold move like that. Not only was Leek approaching the five point circle, but Trunks was following right behind him.

"Look at that! Two of Serefina's pokemon are going to try and take the five point circle!" Lila gasped in amazement.

"Can they do it?" Darla wondered. "They can't shove off a Ghost type pokemon, after all, so it's going to be tricky."

"Sirfetch'd!" Leek raised his leek sword and swung with all his might.

"Nice! If Ghost type pokemon can phase through their opponents, then a pokemon with a sword should be allowed to use it!" Cynthia cheered.

"But that doesn't solve the problem," Callie said glumly. Partially bummed that Nick was falling behind, and partially bummed that it was due to Sylvia's tactics. "Even with a sword, a Sirfetch'd's sword can't hit a ghost."

Except this one did.

"Dusknoir!?"

"Gourgeist!"

Both Dusk and Pumpernickel were hit by the long blade, and the force of the strike launched them out of the circle as Leek and Trunks stepped on. Neither pokemon had the time to recover before the counter finished, and the round ended.

"What the hell was that?!" Sylvia exclaimed, losing her cool for the first time.

"H-How did that happen?" Lila asked, confused. "I thought… couldn't her Sirfetch'd not touch Ghost type pokemon?!"

"Yeah, this makes no sense," Darla nodded. "She had to have done something!"

Serefina smirked. Leanne realized what was going on, and smiled.

"She used an Ability Patch," she explained to everyone. "You see? That's what she put on her Sirfetch'd back during that time-out."

"What's an Ability Patch?" Elaina asked.

"I have never heard of such a thing," Alcea said, shaking her head. "Akira?"

"I've heard of it…" He mumbled. "Serefina mentioned something about them before… but she was just talking about class, so I don't know for sure."

"I've never heard of it," Nikita said. She was surprised. It wasn't very often that she came across a bit of pokemon info she didn't know about.

"An Ability Patch is an item that can change a pokemon's ability," Kitty said.

"Huh? Kitty, you know what it is?" Julia asked, intrigued.

Suddenly, Kitty found everyone looking at her. She turned red and tried to avert her eyes, but calmed down and explained.

"It's a tool… used by Pokemon Breeders, primarily," she mumbled. "The patch is applied to a pokemon and then merges with them, changing their ability to a special, hidden ability. Trainers like to have pokemon with certain abilities for battle, after all, and by putting an Ability Patch on their pokemon, they can breed pokemon with those abilities. But they're very rare… even my parents only have two or three in stock at any given time…"

"Oh, that makes sense!" Cynthia said. "No wonder Serefina has those! She's becoming a Pokemon Breeder, after all!"

"So she used this Ability Patch to change her Sirfetch'd's ability, huh?" Nikita mused. "That must mean that its hidden ability…"

Callie gasped.

"No way! Are you kidding me?!" She exclaimed, leaping out of her seat. "That's… but that's-!" Her jaw dropped in amazement.

"What? What's Sirfetch'd's hidden ability?" Reiner asked.

"Sirfetch'd normally have the ability Steadfast!" Callie explained, barely able to stay put. "But their hidden ability is Scrappy! It's an ability that allows them to hit Ghost type pokemon with Fighting and Normal type moves!"

"Whoa!" Cynthia gasped. "That's amazing! So that's why she used it! Her Sirfetch'd can hit Sylvia's Ghost types now!"

"I knew it!" Nikita nodded. "It had to be Scrappy!"

About a second after that explanation, Leanne provided her own, explaining what she believed Serefina had done. It was just as Callie, Nikita, and Kitty suspected.

"…So that's your game, huh?" Sylvia said, biting her lip. "Well played… yes… I didn't expect something like that coming from you."

Sylvia knew she could outthink Serefina when it came to tactics. But Serefina's pokemon still outmuscled her. Her Sirfetch'd had been able to overpower Sylvia's Dusknoir, which put her in a bit of a tricky situation at the moment.

"I know the kind of person you are," Serefina said, staring evenly at Sylvia. "I expected something like this with your Ghost types, so I prepared an Ability Patch in advance. But the fact that you actually went through with it shook me so much I slipped… that was my mistake. I should have put on the Ability Patch from the start, and showed you that such behavior would not be permitted!"

She glared adamantly at Sylvia, who returned the glare with a smile.

"Well… you've certainly gotten worked up," she chuckled. "But I'll show you that none of that matters one bit."

The scores from Round 5 flashed up on the screen.

Red Team – 28 Points

Blue Team – 23 Points

Green Team – 22 Points

Yellow Team – 34 Points

"Look at that! Look at how high Serefina's points rose!" Cynthia exclaimed in excitement.

"Oui, but she's still in last place," Alcea reminded her fellow redhead. "She will have to put her best effort going forward."

"She's not as far back in last place as she was before, though," Reiner noted. "Even if she doesn't come in first for this event, she's in a much better position than she was before."

"Nick's still behind," Callie grumbled, biting her lip in frustration. "It's not fair! Why couldn't Primeape have Scrappy?!"

"They're just going to have to do the best they can," Elaina said. "And believe."

Very poignant words coming from her.

The final round was about to begin. And Sylvia had engaged a brand new strategy.

Dusk and Letty were right next to each other. Almost certainly that spot would be where a five point circle would appear. Runja was across the arena, on another spot. Probably the other five point circle. Which meant that the three point circle was left abandoned.

"So that's her game, huh?" Reiner narrowed his eyes. "She's goading Serefina to come at her."

"What do you mean?" Nikita asked, confused. She didn't understand people as well as her boyfriend did.

"I get it," Akira said, frowning. "Serefina was able to take advantage of the fact that her Golett has a physical body, and pushed them off the circle in Round 4, like Nick did in Round 3. And her Sirfetch'd has Scrappy now, letting him knock Dusk off. So this is a challenge she's issuing to Serefina, to see if she's willing to put her all behind her pokemon and seize the lead, power vs. power."

"Oh, I get it!" Kitty gasped. "That's… are you sure that will work? Serefina won't fall for it, will she?" She asked worriedly.

"The bigger concern is the others," Callie frowned. "They're all really far behind Sylvia's score. If they want to keep her from getting first place in this event… no, if that's even possible at this point, they need to push all her pokemon off and occupy the top circles by just their pokemon. In a sense, it's like she's goading everybody."

"Luring everyone to attack her at once and then turning that situation to her advantage in order to tear down her opponents…" Akira grimaced. "A plan like that is so Sylvia I'm actually disgusted."

That did sound exactly like her. And sixth round was the shortest of all of them, so everyone was feeling the pressure to get points as fast as possible.

"Come on, guys!" Callie cried. "You can do it! Nick! I believe in you! Take that bitch down!"

Sylvia just stood back with a smirk on her face and watched the circles appear right where she predicted they would. Dusk and Letty on a five point circle, Runja on the other.

Come on now… you can't let me seize that much of a lead, can you? 15 points? No, there's no way. You all NEED to stop me. You're no fool, Serefina, so come on. Come attack us. Show me just what you're made of.

She resisted the urge to burst out laughing. Serefina might have caught her by surprise with that Ability Patch, but it was nothing compared to what Sylvia and her pokemon were capable of.

And she would make that clear to everyone when she stomped Serefina's face into the mud.

Yikes. This is getting really intense. But it's a good thing Serefina thought ahead and prepared that Ability Patch, otherwise things would have been even worse! This is the crucial point, her opportunity to turn everything around and maybe regain her lead when she gets into the next event! Will she manage to do it? Or will Sylvia shut her down?