With Sylvia's tricks, things have become incredibly difficult for the other teams, especially for Serefina! Serefina managed to pull a trick out of her sleeve to keep the edge, but will that really be enough to defeat Sylvia? It seems like she's got something planned! How will the Circle Push end? And how will this whole thing come to a close? We'll have to see! Remember to review!

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: Yeah, things are looking pretty bad for her, that's for sure. You should be worried.

Hyphenman: It's hard to say. We'll have to see where things go from here, for all the parties involved, that's for sure.

Aakareo Kokokuhikari: Hope you catch up soon!

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1326

"This is really tricky!" Lila winced. "It's the last round of the Circle Push, and the Yellow Team has occupied all the five point circles!"

"That's right, Lila, and if that isn't enough, the Yellow Team is leading in the points as well," Darla nodded, glancing at the screen.

Red Team – 28 Points

Blue Team – 23 Points

Green Team – 22 Points

Yellow Team – 34 Points

"Things are looking grim for the other teams," Darla finished.

"That may be the case, but I'd say they're all aware of that," Leanne noted. "Take a look at their current approach."

"Whoa!" Callie gasped. "Everyone, all their pokemon… they're all converging on the five point circle! Even Nick's!"

Sylvia had two pokemon, Dusk and Letty, on one of the five point circles. Every other pokemon was running for that circle, trying to knock them off.

"The clock in the final round is incredibly short," Leanne noted. "There's not a lot of time for strategy or back and forth. Everyone involved is going to need to muscle their way through if they want to get all those points."

Of course, no one realized that's exactly what Sylvia was hoping for.

And… right about… now! Sylvia grinned. "Dusk! Go!"

"Dusknoir!" As all the pokemon converged on him, Dusk shot forward and slammed into Pumpernickel, startling the Gourgeist and sending her stumbling backwards.

All the other pokemon collided with one another on the center of the circle, knocking Letty backwards, but the Golett didn't mind.

"It's a nine pokemon pileup!" Lila gasped as the pokemon all crashed into each other. Some were knocked aside immediately, like Letty, while others fought for dominance in the center of the circle. It was only at the end, when Dusk floated over to the other five point circle, that Serefina realized how they'd been played.

"No!" She gasped. "The middle circle! The three point one!"

But it was too late. In the haste to get Sylvia's pokemon off the five point circle, all the other pokemon had collided with each other, and disregarded the possibility of getting points from the middle circle. Because the five point circle was so small, only a few pokemon could stand on it. They fought each other, while others were knocked away, and by the time the clock ran out, only Tortimer and Primeape remained fighting in the center.

"And that's time!" Leanne declared, wincing. Things hadn't gone as she'd hoped.

"Come on!" Dakota groaned. None of her pokemon, not even Pumpernickel, had been able to score any points this round. For Serefina and Nick, they had only managed to get five points each for their surviving pokemon.

"Here are the final results," Lila said, unable to remain as perky as usual. Bitterness at Sylvia's method seeped into her voice.

The new scores popped up on the screen.

Red Team – 28 Points

Blue Team – 28 Points

Green Team – 27 Points

Yellow Team – 44 Points

"Come on!" Callie screamed, shaking the chair in front of her in frustration. "That's not fair! Nick and his pokemon fought so hard, and he got that low?! Come on!"

"I don't believe it," Cynthia said, shaking her head. "Such a huge gap. Sylvia got over 15 points more than the others."

"It was part of her strategy," Akira said, frowning. "She painted a target on her back with all those tricks, and then she lured everyone into attacking her when the timer was low. Because of that, no one was focusing on getting the easy points, they all tried to knock her off the pedestal. And when she did that, the result was clear. Only a few people got points… and Sylvia got a massive lead."

He suspected, correctly, that was exactly how she planned it.

"Well done, everyone," Sylvia said, smiling as her ghosts assembled around her. Everyone else called their pokemon over as well, and none of them were happy. Nick was as negative as ever, but Dakota and Serefina looked uncharacteristically upset. Dakota had none of her usual positivity, and Serefina, kind as she may have been, wore a scowl.

"Okay, well, that was certainly an event," Darla said, trying to take over Lila's role with a smile. "Let's see how the point totals shake out, alright, Leanne?"

"That sounds like a good idea," Leanne nodded. "Let's go over the scoring method for this event again, shall we? It's very simple. We just multiply the existing point totals by 3!"

"Again that sounds arbitrary, but if that's how it's going to go, then the math should be pretty simple," Darla said. She nodded to Lila. "Even you should be able to handle it, yeah?"

Lila frowned. She said nothing, but it was hard to tell if that was because she was so upset she couldn't give her opinion, or if she just couldn't do the math.

The screen flashed, revealing how many points everyone received.

Dakota – Red Team – +84 Points

Nick – Blue Team – +84 Points

Serefina – Green Team – +81 Points

Sylvia – Yellow Team – +132 Points

"Now that we're looking at it like this, it doesn't seem… that bad?" Callie asked hopefully. At least Sylvia hadn't gotten, like, three times the Athlete Points of everyone else.

"Combined with their points from the previous event, things are pretty rough," Nikita said, narrowing her eyes. She'd already done the math in her head.

"Let's see what the total Athlete Points our teams have, before we move onto the final event," Leanne declared, and the screen shifted again to display how many Athlete Points each of the teams had accrued over the course.

Dakota – Red Team – 197 Points

Nick – Blue Team – 204 Points

Serefina – Green Team – 211 Points

Sylvia – Yellow Team – 226 Points

"That's not so bad," Lila said, brightening up. "In fact, the teams are actually pretty close in points! I'm surprised!"

"That's true," Darla said, sighing in relief. "This is actually a pretty close contest."

But in spite of their positive attitudes, the fact remained that Sylvia had shot from last place to first place over the course of a single event, and didn't seem perturbed in the slightest. Comparatively, the mental states of her competitors had fallen slightly.

Leanne took a deep breath, and exhaled. "With this… we will be taking another 15 minute break, so the trainers and their pokemon can rest and rejuvenate."

Inwardly, though, another thought crossed her mind. The panicked tension of trying to overcome Sylvia in that last round resulted in all their pokemon colliding together and fighting each other off for a spot in the circle. It was fast, but it was brutal. They used up a lot of energy in those brief seconds… whereas Sylvia's pokemon are fine. Was that part of her plan? Did she set it up that much? Stress out and tire the other teams' pokemon, so that hers could sweep the final round? I see it possibly working… not only are they tired, they just brawled with each other… even with their trainers' commands, the possibility of working together against Sylvia again could lower…

Leanne felt a shiver run down her back.

If she really foresaw all of this… she's a monster.

Sylvia sat back in her chair in the rest tent, taking a sip of water. Serefina… a Pokeathlon… no, students in the Caretaker Course in general, they all focus on taking care of pokemon and helping them grow, working together with pokemon to bring out the best. That's something you believe in absolutely, I can see it in your eyes… I'll take that from you as well, then. By crushing your hopes of working together with the others, and dominating you completely.

Were it not the most boring and predictable thing in the world, Sylvia would have almost felt tempted to do an evil laugh. But this was much better.

"Seri… what do you think we should do?" Dakota asked demurely, something unusual as far as she was involved. She actually looked worried and concerned.

"What do you mean?" Serefina calmly asked, taking a sip of water.

Dakota glanced over at Sylvia, busy living it up, then turned back to Serefina.

"We're supposed to be competing with one another… but that's just doing what she wants, isn't it? She wants us all to fight with one another while she watches from above, like some sort of goddess… it's actually sickening." Dakota already had about a thousand reasons to hate Sylvia, and this wasn't even close to being the top of the list. But she still felt mad.

"I-I agree…" Nick approached Serefina, frowning. He glanced up at the stands. "I know that… right now, Callie probably wants me to do my best to win… I'm sure what she's hoping for most right now is that I beat you two, and Sylvia, and make it to the finals…"

Serefina noticed his hands were shaking, and her expression softened.

"And I want that too," he admitted. "I've worked so hard… I trained with Callie night and day… and I really want that training to pay off! Mankey even evolved in Primeape for this match… I really want the chance to show everyone just what I'm capable of, and actually win for once!"

He turned to Sylvia and clenched his fist.

"But her… the way she does things… it's like, in one event, she completely crushed everything we were aiming for without even trying! I want to believe I can win, but… more importantly than that… I just don't want to see HER win!"

Serefina considered what the two of them were saying patiently, in a way that only she could. She crossed her arms under her chest and stood up.

"So… what are you saying to me right now?" She asked.

"We want to work together," Nick pleaded. "Please!"

"That's right!" Dakota nodded. "If all of us team up together, then we can defeat even Sylvia Driscoll! You heard the rules of this upcoming event, right? The best strategy out of all of them is if we all team up together and don't get any shots in our own goals, but aim everything at Sylvia! If we work together like that, then we can win!"

The two of them were brimming with optimism and confidence, and it brought a smile to Serefina's face. But even so, there was a feeling she just couldn't shake. And because of that, she couldn't give her approval with full confidence.

She looked over her shoulder at Sylvia, who still seemed to be relaxing without a care in the world. It seemed as though her victory was already set in stone.

"I agree… the smartest thing to do right now would be to team up against her," Serefina admitted, lowering her head. "We keep Sylvia from gaining any points, while trying to gain points for ourselves, too."

"Yes!" Dakota made a fist. "See? I knew it!"

Serefina shook her head.

"But it won't be that simple."

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

Serefina glanced at Sylvia again. "That woman… she's smart enough, I'd bet she's already predicted that we'd attempt something like this." She shook her head again. "No, more than that… I bet anyone would predict we'd go for this method, even some people in the audience. Even if we weren't talking like this, it's obvious that this is the best bet for all three of us, to take down the woman in the lead. Don't you think?"

"Well… yeah," Dakota admitted. She scowled. "Hey! Wait a second! Does that mean you're calling me simple?!"

Serefina rolled her eyes.

"It really doesn't matter," she sighed. "My point remains. In the current situation, Sylvia will predict that we're going that way. And if it were anyone else, I'd say 'fuck it, let's do it anyway'."

"No you wouldn't," Dakota snickered. "Little miss potty-mouth."

Serefina glared at her and Dakota shut up. If Serefina was cursing so casually, it meant that Sylvia's actions had really rattled her. The fact that she knew that so well was how she knew Serefina might be onto something here.

"Sylvia isn't just any ordinary opponent," Serefina said, glancing at her again. "Look at her. She's completely calm, and at peace. Even though this is the last event. Even if she's in the lead, a normal person would be at least a little anxious, don't you think? But it's like she's not even human with how little she cares."

"It could be she really doesn't care," Dakota pointed out. "It's Sylvia, after all. She might just see smashing us as some game to amuse herself. She's that sort of person, after all."

"That's right," Nick nodded. "I heard from Blake, in the Phantom Cup, she let him win just because she wanted to. She seems like the kind of person who might mess with us just for kicks."

Serefina shook her head. In another situation, sure. "Not this time. She's serious. Deadly serious. We need to be prepared for a totally different Sylvia."

She remembered the way Sylvia looked at her. She'd never seen that much rage before. Not even in a rampaging pokemon. Whatever Sylvia kept beneath her smiling face, Serefina had gotten a glimpse of it, and it terrified her.

"I think you're right, then," Dakota nodded. "If she's really aiming to win with this, then, well… it's Sylvia. I don't think I need to say how right you are that she's not an ordinary opponent."

Dakota, as big of a nuisance and a hack as she might have been, could still be relied on for something like this. Serefina knew just how expansive her friend's information network was, and how closely she monitored certain individuals.

As difficult to predict as Sylvia might have been, Dakota had reliable information on her, and they'd all had personal dealings with her in the past.

Serefina might have just scratched the surface, but that was enough to know how deep down she had to dig.

"If Sylvia's already predicted that we'll work together, what should we do, then?" Nick asked. "Because going against each other doesn't seem like a good idea."

Serefina had to admit that was true.

"I suppose… we'll just have to lure her out," she admitted. "Play the game like we're playing the game. Even feign that we're working together. We'll have to do whatever it takes to win, and that includes lying and manipulating one another. Heck. We could even have someone let one of the others just keep sinking points in our goal to shoot up their numbers and make sure they win. There are a lot of strategies we can employ to take that bitch down."

Dakota bit her lip nervously. "Anything, huh?"

Serefina nodded. "Anything within the rules," she clarified. "There's no point in cheating. If we cheat over something like this, it would just show the rest of the school that Sylvia's methods are correct. And vindicating someone like that…"

The thought made her nauseous.

"…We won't do it," she said, shaking her head. "We'll win with good old hard work and effort, and show just what our pokemon are capable of!" She declared.

Dakota and Nick nodded in agreement. But inwardly, Dakota still had her doubts about whether or not these strategies were plausible.

Sylvia was far enough away that she couldn't hear what they were discussing. But that was a calculated move on her part.

She didn't need to hear their plans. She had already seen it all through.

They've probably reached the point in the conversation where Serefina convinced them that teaming up against me was a bad strategy, because I'd use it against them. Or maybe she's not smart enough for that… no, it's Serefina, she isn't. She probably only said as much as "Sylvia will see through it and come up with a countermeasure", but she didn't figure out what that countermeasure would be… doesn't matter, anyway. They'll probably work out a bunch of strategies to beat me without directly teaming up against me… trying to throw off my strategizing? Well, something like that, from people of your level, is far too boring and predictable.

This time, Sylvia did smirk.

I can't wait to see what they've come up with… but it will be fruitless. I've already calculated everything. How you'll move… the strategies you'll use… it would be one thing if someone tricky and clever Cynthia or Blake were involved… they might be able to come up with something to defy my predictions. But the three of you, your thinking is far too straightforward because you're all so honest. Even a liar like you, Dakota, everything about your real self is such honest dishonesty. It's easy to see through for someone of my level.

Sylvia let them scheme and plan and strategize all through the final break. Because when the timer ran out and they had to go take the field, she was confident that she knew exactly how this was going to end up going.

It will be your total defeat, Serefina. I will make sure of that.

Sylvia is taking action! She's used that genius brain of hers to come up with a strategy that will completely counter whatever the others determine! She's such a threat, that the other three teams have all gotten to work on trying to defeat her! But will they be able to manage it? Sylvia's quite an opponent, after all.