Sylvia's taking initiative in the final event of the Power Course! Serefina, Dakota, and Nick have all worked together to try and defeat her, but will it be enough? She certainly seems like she has everything under control! Hopefully, the teamwork of our heroes will be able to overcome the manipulative tricks and clever mind of our resident villainess. If not… things might go very, very poorly. Well, hopefully that won't happen though.

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: Sylvia's always on another level, that's the thing. She's thinking 100 moves ahead while you're thinking 10. The only way to win is to come up with something she'd never see coming in a million years and catch her off-guard.

Hyphenman: Yeah, Nick really is a great guy. There's a reason why Callie loves him so much, after all, doing something like this.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1328

Serefina bit her lip in frustration. Things had gotten complicated ever since the golden ball had been introduced. Sylvia's points just kept going up.

And worst of all, it seemed like she was playing with them.

"This is amazing!" Lila gasped. "They're not losing a step in the slightest! The Green Team has 9 points, the Red Team has 8, and the Yellow Team has 6!"

At this point, they'd completely stopped commenting on Nick's points. It didn't really matter because he only had zero, after all.

Callie felt like crying. Nick was trying so hard to help the others, interfering with Sylvia's shots as best as he could, but no one was even paying attention.

Then she felt a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay." Cynthia looked deeply into Callie's eyes. "We know what he's done. Even if the others don't acknowledge it… the fact remains that he's done his best."

Callie sniffled and nodded. "Yeah… yeah, he really did!"

"But the Yellow Team has control over the golden ball," Darla reminded Lila. "With that, they can close the gap in points pretty fast!"

Sylvia smirked.

"Dusk! Sink that shot in on Nick's goal, right now!"

"Dusknoir!" Dusk swung his fist and punched the ball, sending it spinning through the air.

"Absol!" Abby leapt up and swiped at the ball with her scythe horn, smashing it away from the goal. The ball was surprisingly sturdy; Abby's horn should have been able to slice it in half, easy.

But it wouldn't be so simple. Even with all three of Nick's pokemon amassed around the goal to block Sylvia's shots, her pokemon still knew what they were doing. Because as the golden ball fell to the ground, it landed on Runja's tentacle, rising out of the grass, and Runja flicked it over to Letty immediately.

"Golett!" Letty wound back their fist and punched ball with everything they had. It soared through the air past Nick's pokemon and crashed into the goal, scoring two points for Sylvia and putting her just even with Dakota.

"Drat!" Dakota cursed. Sylvia just kept pulling ahead. "Come back guys! We need to shore up our defenses!"

"Swellow!"

"Manectric!"

"Gourgeist!"

Dakota's team retreated back to the Red Team's goal, preparing themselves to defend the goal from enemy fire.

Sylvia smirked.

This is all going exactly as I planned, she thought, as the balls arose from the center of the field. She glanced at the scoreboard again for confirmation.

Red Team – 8 points

Blue Team – 0 points

Green Team – 9 points

Yellow Team – 8 points

Callie stared tensely up at the scoreboard as well. While Nick winning was out of the question at this point, she wanted to support his position. No matter how much she wanted to root for him, this was the path he wanted.

"Come on, Nick!" She shouted. "Don't let that bitch get her way!"

"Language," Alcea chided her.

"Nah, she's right," Akira nodded. "Get that bitch!"

Sylvia watched the pokemon scramble for the balls. While she hadn't been able to predict anything perfectly (she wasn't a god, after all), this was going exactly as she'd conspired. She'd carefully controlled everything up to this point, letting Serefina and Dakota get the points she needed them to, while remaining behind them.

Serefina is so close to winning. There's only fifteen seconds left on the clock. She held her hand over her mouth to suppress her smirk. I know you're thinking I'll crush you outright, Serefina, but that was never my goal. I want the defeat that will hurt you the most.

Serefina was watching Sylvia carefully, guarding her goal. She wasn't even sending out her pokemon to attack. As long as she could defend for the rest of these fifteen seconds, then she would win. She'd be a single point ahead of Sylvia, but that would be all she needed.

Just one point. Even if it's just one point, I'll win. That was what Serefina was banking on. And Sylvia could read her like a book.

That's right, Serefina, Sylvia smirked. Just one point. If you can stay one point ahead of me, then you'll win this event, and the entire challenge. But that won't happen. What would humiliate you the most? Well, that's simple. To stay ahead of everyone else, thinking you're going to win, only for the rug to be pulled out from under you because of your worthless little friend. I'll get one more point, off of that bitch Dakota, and that will tie up the score between the two of us. And with a tie? My dear girl… you'll have lost.

It was all going exactly as Sylvia orchestrated it. Right up to Dakota's pokemon being exhausted.

The pink-haired girl bit her lip as she saw Sylvia's pokemon charging at her. Even Runja had joined the fray; the Jellicent was using her tentacles to swat at Dakota's team, and because of their fatigued state, they didn't even have enough energy to fight back.

"No! Dakota!" Serefina shouted as Dusk slammed into Pumpernickel, Dakota's last line of defense, and knocked him away. The stage was set for Letty to make the final shot.

"Sylvia's setting up a shot!" Lila gasped, completely forgetting to refer to her as "the Yellow Team" in the heat of the moment.

"There's only seconds on the clock!" Darla reported. "If she doesn't make this shot, that's it! Can she do it?!"

"Golett!" Letty pulled back their foot and kicked the ball with all their might, sending it rocketing towards Dakota's open goal.

"No!" Akira shouted. As much as he wanted to see Dakota fail for what she'd done, seeing Sylvia win would be even worse.

"I can't watch!" Kitty squeezed her eyes shut.

Callie said nothing, but she clutched the armrests of her seat as the ball sailed towards the goal. Dakota ran for the ball, throwing herself at it to try and catch it, even if it would hurt.

Come on! Please! Just a little more! Dakota pleaded, trying to get to the ball as fast as possible. If she missed this, then that would be it. The game would be over. She could hear Serefina shouting at her, and remembered what her friend had told her.

They had to do whatever it took to win. So she summoned all her strength, and focused on blocking the ball.

Sylvia shook her head. It won't work. You won't reach it. I know what you're capable of, Dakota, and there's no way you'll be able to get there in time.

She was right. No matter how fast Dakota ran, she'd never be able to get to the ball before it hit the goal, and Dakota knew it.

If Sylvia had accounted for everything, then her victory was assured.

But she hadn't.

A pink bubble erupted around Dakota's body, filling up the goal. The ball struck the bubble and bounced off it, rolling through the grass. The bubble popped in less than a second, having materialized just long enough to deflect the ball. If someone blinked, they would have missed it completely.

Serefina's jaw dropped.

Akira gasped, rising from his seat. What are you thinking?! Are you crazy?! He managed to catch himself before screaming at his girlfriend.

BRRRZZZT!

The buzzer sounded, and the time in the match had ended.

"And that's the match!" Leanne declared.

"What was that?!" Sylvia roared. For the first time, the confident smile disappeared from her face, and everyone saw the monster underneath. "HOW?! That isn't possible! IT SIMPLY ISN'T POSSIBLE! YOU MUST HAVE CHEATED SOMEHOW!"

In another timeline, Sylvia might have been thrilled at something she couldn't have predicted occurring. But she didn't care about that now. Her emotions had seized her, and she couldn't tolerate losing like this.

"What was that?" Lila asked, rubbing her eyes. "How did that miss?"

"It looked like it bounced off something," Darla said, frowning. "I saw a flash of light. But none of her pokemon seemed to use a move. Leanne? Did you see anything?"

"I didn't," Leanne said, shaking her head. "But whatever that just was, the important thing is that the Yellow Team didn't score a point."

"Reiner, you have the best eyes out of all of us," Nikita said, glancing at Reiner. "Did you see what just happened? I thought I saw something pink flash in that goal just now, but I'm not sure. What did you see?"

Reiner stared at Dakota in confusion. He had seen something, but he had no idea what he'd seen. A big soap bubble appearing in the goal? It was lunacy. He might have suggested a pokemon using a move, but he didn't know what that would even be.

"I didn't see anything either," he lied. He caught Akira glance suspiciously at him, and gave the older student a knowing stare. Whatever was going on here, he was going to get to the bottom of it before he dragged anyone else in.

"Let's not worry about it right now," Cynthia said, standing up. "The important thing is that Sylvia didn't get that last point!"

And the effects of that were clear. Sylvia had almost completely broken down.

It's not possible… it's not possible…! I can't have failed! I calculated it perfectly! I planned it out perfectly! My perfect strategy… MINE… are you saying I was foiled by that… that cunt?! Impossible! I refuse to accept that! To lose to an idiot like that-! She glared menacingly at Serefina, clutching at her face in frustration.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGGH!" Sylvia slammed her fists on the yellow grass and screamed at the top of her lungs.

Even Serefina was shaken by her declaration.

"Now then," Leanne said, clearing her throat to draw attention away from Sylvia's breakdown. "Let's calculate the points. To start, these are the existing points as they stand!" She gestured to the screen to show how many points the teams had amassed.

Red Team – 8 points

Blue Team – 0 points

Green Team – 9 points

Yellow Team – 8 points

"From there," Leanne continued, "we can calculate the scores of our competitors! Let's begin with the Red Team! Each team starts with 60 Athlete Points, then gets an additional 5 Athlete Points for each point they scored! The Red Team scored 8 points, so they get a total score of 100 Athlete Points! Next, because the Red Team has a higher score than exactly one opponent, they get 10 bonus points, for a total of 110 Athlete Points!"

Dakota was too stunned from her actions to be glad for her score. She was lying in the grass, staring up at the sky, completely drained.

"Next up is the Blue Team," Lila said. "Even I can handle this one! Since the Blue Team didn't score any points, unfortunately, they only get the starting 60 point bonus. Too bad…"

"Well, that was the strategy they employed, Lila," Darla pointed out. "And look, the captain doesn't seem too down about it."

She wasn't wrong. Nick was down, sure, because he'd liked to have won if he could. But he was happy that things had managed to work out.

"Next up! The Green Team!" Lila's mood perked up immediately. "The Green Team scored a total of 9 points! That means, when factoring in the base 60 points, they get a total score of… um… Darla? A little help here?" She asked cutely, glancing at her partner.

Darla rolled her eyes. "It's 5 points more than the Red Team got," she informed Lila. "So 105 Athlete Points."

"But that's not where we stop," Leanne pointed out. "Because the Green Team got a higher score than each other opponent, they get an additional 40 bonus Athlete Points! Bringing their total score up to… what again, Miss Seelie?"

Lila turned pale. She averted her eyes, and started to sweat.

Leanne groaned and nursed her temples. "…145 Athlete Points," she answered.

Serefina felt the strength leave her legs. But she remained standing, as the world spun around her. Like Dakota, she was lost in a haze of her own thoughts.

"And finally, the Yellow Team," Leanne said, avoiding looking at Sylvia. "Because the Yellow Team has the name number of points as the Red Team, the calculations are the same. The Yellow Team will get 110 Athlete Points as well."

Sylvia shook even harder as her rage intensified.

"Now then, we'll add the points from the Goal Roll up to their total scores!" Leanne declared. "Adding up the Athlete Points, and our total comes out to…!"

The screen shifted, to show just how many points each team had.

Dakota – Red Team – 307 Points

Nick – Blue Team – 264 Points

Serefina – Green Team – 356 Points

Sylvia – Yellow Team – 336 Points

The table spoke for itself.

Sylvia had set out to crush Serefina completely. But due to one single mistake, one miscalculation, and she'd lost. By a mere 20 points. All because she'd missed a single goal.

"Serefina did it!" Cynthia cheered, punching the air.

"It was really close," Julia sighed, sinking back into her seat and holding her hand over her chest. "Games like this are bad for my heart…"

"I'm surprised," Kitty murmured. "But I'm relieved, too." Serefina was such a sweetheart, she deserved that win.

"Sylvia…" Serefina glanced at the trembling girl. She didn't even process her victory as she called her pokemon back to her pokeballs. She was focused on Sylvia. She almost felt bad for the girl she'd crushed so totally.

Then Sylvia threw back her head and laughed.

"I lost! I lost!" Sylvia cackled madly. "I fucking LOOOOOOOST!"

Sylvia flopped back in the grass, clutching her forehead. Her pokemon huddled around her. Then she rose to her feet, still cackling.

"I did what I could… but it wasn't enough!" She glared at Serefina and Dakota with more loathing than any girl had ever seen.

"I won't let this stand…" She promised. "I'll make you both pay… I promise."

She snapped her fingers, and a portal flickered beneath her feet. She disappeared from the field with Hoopa's assistance, to the shock of everyone.

Even Leanne seemed shaken.

"W-With that," she murmured, "the Power Course comes to an end. Serefina will be moving onto the next round."

Dakota, Nick, and Serefina cleared off the field.

"Nick!" Callie practically tackled him as soon as he was clear. She hugged him so tightly he thought for a moment she might crush his spine.

"Callie… can't… breathe…!"

"S-Sorry!" She let him go. He saw how much she'd been crying from just the redness in her eyes, and winced.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I know we trained so hard, but… it just wasn't enough. It was the only way we could beat her."

"It's fine," Callie said, shaking her head. "I saw you try your best. I saw you look… amazing. That's more than enough for me to be proud of you!"

The beaming smile she wore was enough of a victory for Nick. He smiled and nodded.

But while Nick and Callie were happy with the outcome, and Sylvia had been thoroughly enraged by it, there was someone whose reaction was a little more…

Complicated.

"What the hell was that?" Serefina growled, grabbing Dakota by the collar and shoving her against the changing room door.

"S-Seri…" Dakota coughed. "I-I-"

"Are you ACTUALLY FUCKING MENTAL?!" Serefina exclaimed. "What did you think you were doing?! Using… THAT power?! In front of EVERYONE like that?"

"I didn't have a choice," Dakota protested. "Sylvia accounted for everything! It was the only thing I could do to win! I needed to use that, or you would have lost!"

"Then let me fucking lose!" Serefina exclaimed. Her face was sunken and haunted. "What do you think I would do if something happened to you? If they all found out, then…"

"She's right, Dakota." Akira stormed over to the two of them, and his face was even scarier than when Dakota had messed with him earlier. She gulped.

"A-Aki…"

"Do you think I deserve this?" Serefina said, shaking her head. "I don't. You FORCED me to win by cheating, do you understand that? How do you think that makes me feel? If we were playing fair, by the rules, Sylvia would have won. You tainted that victory, Dakota."

Dakota scowled. She'd been contrite earlier, but now she was upset.

"I don't care!" She snapped, shaking free of Serefina's grasp. "Sylvia deserved it anyway. You saw what she did, she cheated in the very first match of the preliminaries, remember? Using that portal pokemon of hers! That's against the rules, isn't it? Well, it's not, but it violates the morals of the thing, you at least agree with that, yeah?"

"That's not the point!" Serefina protested.

"It's exactly the point!" Dakota scowled. "Show me in the rules where it says I can't do what I did? Nowhere. Just like how it doesn't say that Sylvia can't do what she did. If she's going to cheat while remaining within the bounds of the rules, then so will I!"

Serefina didn't know what to say. She wanted to smack some sense into the other girl. But she felt responsible for this, too. She'd been the one who told Dakota to do whatever it took to win. She sighed, and hung her head.

"…Fine. If I report you, that will just make everything worse," she muttered. "I don't want that to happen to you. But right now… what just happened… I feel sick to my stomach. I don't like this, Dakota, do you understand?"

"…I get it," Dakota mumbled, hanging her head. "I'm sorry, Seri."

Serefina shook her head. Now she had a whole new issue to deal with. She'd wanted to win… but not like this.

Well, Block C's round has ended! But not in the way anyone predicted, thanks to a little trick of Dakota's. Serefina won… but is it really a win she deserves? How will she deal with that fact? And what will Sylvia do, now that she's seen something impossible? Will she be able to put the pieces together? Dakota may be in trouble…