Blake managed to win Block D! It was a narrow victory, but it was exactly what he wanted! Now the only question becomes what the upcoming event will be like, and whether or not Blake will be able to get through to Ayame! That's the whole point of this, after all, reaching Ayame and repairing his relationship with her. Hopefully they can all be happy again. He's certainly going to do the best that he can to bring back her memory!
The Elimination Round of the Pokemon Academy Best Girl Contest 4 has started! Make sure to get those votes in, we've only got a few so far! You can vote for up to 5 girls, so make sure your favorites have a chance to shine!
Nominated: Alcea, Ange, Ayame, Caelia, Callie, Chloe, Cynthia, Dakota, Donoma, Elaina, Gabrielle, Joyce, Kate, Maddi, Misato, Nikita, Rui, Sango, Sylvia, Vic
KedharS: Yeah, all the rounds were pretty exciting, and I had to work really hard to adapt the events to actual pokemon. It was a really fun arc to write, and it seems to be wrapping up! Only one more event left!
Hyphenman: You gotta use every trick you have up your sleeve in order to win.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 1339
"With these results, Block D has concluded," Leanne announced.
"You got that right!" Lila cheered. "Blake Harker is the winner!"
"That's right, Lila!" Darla nodded. "Blake will be the last participant of the final round tomorrow! This should be exciting!"
"Look at that, Aya!" Olivia grinned, elbowing Ayame in the side. "Not only did you and Blake share the same color team, but now you'll be competing together in the next round! Isn't that exciting? It's like fate!"
Ayame rolled her eyes. She knew exactly what Olivia was getting at and wanted nothing to do with it. Any attention she gave would just come back and bite her in the ass later.
"Ayame, I have a question for you!" Cynthia stood up in her seat and turned to Ayame, who sat up straight, staring curiously at her.
"What is it?" She asked.
"Please let me be the competitor for the Red Team!" Cynthia requested, lowering her head in a polite bow.
Ayame stared at her.
"…Hah?" She tilted her head to the side in confusion.
Cynthia cleared her throat.
"Well, we're all going to be competing against each other, right?" She explained. "So that's going to be a problem! Because they'll probably determine who gets what team color based on the block they competed in. And since you're Block A, you'll probably be the Red Team, you know? But red is totally my color."
She gestured to her hair to prove her point. Ayame rolled her eyes in disbelief, shocked at how absurd her thinking was.
"Meanwhile, in Block B, I'll be the Blue Team, yeah?" Cynthia continued. "But blue is a good color for you, because of your bunny ears."
"It's a ribbon!" Ayame growled, reaching up to guard her ribbon instinctively. "…And besides, none of that matters anyway."
"Well, it matters to me!" Cynthia protested. "I want to use my lucky color!"
Before Ayame could further explain how crazy Cynthia's logic was, Leanne's voice over the loudspeaker interrupted her.
"Excuse me," the professor said, clearing her throat. The audience, who had been attempting to leave the arena, stopped in their tracks and turned back to the announcer's box. "I know that we've all been sitting here for a long time, and people want to go back to their dorms and relax, but we have one more announcement before it's time to end things for the day. Now, Could Ayame Toujou, Cynthia Fafnir, and Serefina Kagefusa please meet come join Blake Harker on the field? Thank you!"
Blake looked up curiously. He'd returned his pokemon to their pokeballs so they could get a good rest, and was cooling off himself back in the waiting tent. Sango and the others had already cleared off the field, and he'd been prepared to go join them. But now he was curious.
Cynthia and Ayame glanced at each other, and shrugged. A few minutes later, they met up with Blake on the field.
"Blake!" Cynthia tackled him immediately, not caring in the slightest about how exhausted he was. "That was amazing! Way to go, I'm so proud of you!" She hugged him tight, practically choking the life out of him.
"Thanks, Cynthia, that means a lot," Blake said, trying to squirm his way free. "Seriously, I appreciate it. I did the best I could."
"We were all cheering for you so loudly!" She continued, letting go. "Even Ayame got in on the cheering, isn't the right?"
Ayame scowled, praying that her cheeks weren't turning red. "I simply wanted to see an excellent performance," she replied. "As my ex-boyfriend, that's something I should have been able to expect from you."
"…Gee, thanks," Blake said dryly. His expression quickly brightened. "No, really. Thank you. I did the best that I could because of your support."
Unfortunately, Ayame couldn't hide the blush those words elicited.
"Wh-Whatever," she mumbled, brushing back a lock of hair on instinct, forgetting momentarily that her ribbon was already fulfilling that task.
"Anyway, where's Serefina?" Cynthia asked, looking around for the recognizable set of boobs and the far more forgettable woman they were attached to. "Isn't she supposed to be here too? Where did she go, anyway?"
Leanne cleared her throat, and the announcement she gave next set everything straight. "Unfortunately, Serefina won't be able to join us," she apologized. "She sent a message saying she needed to check up on an acquaintance, something about a medical emergency. But don't worry, she'll be here for the final round tomorrow, she swore."
"Oh, that's too bad," Cynthia said, frowning. "I hope everything's okay…"
Blake was just impressed by the amount of empathy Cynthia could show for another person. She really had come a long way from her days of groping Serefina's boobs and making lurid comments about them to everyone.
…Well, not necessarily a long way, but a decent enough distance. A few steps, at least.
"So what now?" Lila asked. "Just explain things to the three of them?"
"And to our audience," Darla reminded, nodding to the crowd of students that they'd basically forced to keep sitting outside in the hot April sun.
"Yes, we should get started," Leanne nodded. "Before we dismiss our winners from today's blocks, we need to explain the events that they'll be undertaking in the next round, wouldn't you girls agree?" She asked, looking to Lila and Darla. Of course, the two idols nodded.
"Absolutely!" Lila chirped.
"That's right," Darla agreed.
"But before we can do that, let's first give them all a round of applause! Ayame Toujou, Cynthia Fafnir, Blake Harker, and Serefina Kagefusa, who sadly couldn't be here to join us!" Leanne rose from her seat and clapped. "You all worked your hardest to win those events, and I think we can all agree to that, isn't that right?" Again, she looked to Lila and Darla for confirmation.
"Yep, definitely," Lila nodded, giving them a thumbs up. While she was no fan of working out herself, she admired the hard work and dedication the others had given to getting as far as they had. It was really amazing!
"But it wasn't just them doing their best," Darla reminded Leanne. "Don't forget how hard their pokemon worked, too!"
"You're absolutely correct, Darla," Leanne agreed. "Their pokemon definitely gave it their all as well. And as a result, they managed to make it to the final round, the last course, and the last three events of this Pokeathlon Competition!"
The audience cheered as the three women applauded. Blake stood a little taller, happy to bask in the glory for a bit.
"They really did their best, huh?" Callie murmured, the envy clear in her voice. She wrapped her hand around Nick's. "And you did your best, too," she said.
"Same with you, Reiner," Nikita said, patting her boyfriend on the shoulder. She adjusted her glasses. "…Probably."
"Probably?!" Reiner exclaimed, resulting in a chorus of laughs from the others.
Nikita shrugged. "Well, you've been known to slack off on occasion, so yeah, you probably did your best. I can't be sure."
"Be sure!" Reiner insisted, making an angry face even though he knew Nikita was joking. Then the two shared a good-natured laugh.
"It's unfortunate that Sango couldn't win," Kitty sighed, glancing at Elaina. But thanks to her harmonia, she could feel the other woman's mood, and surprisingly, she didn't seem upset. She almost seemed happy that the girl she'd teamed up with had lost, which Kitty found to be strange.
Leanne and the idols drew their applause to a close, and she cleared her throat. "Now then, as I was saying, tomorrow will be the final course of the Pokeathlon Competition. Our four winners from today will be competing in the Stamina Course!"
The screen changed to show an image of a snakelike blob slithering in an "S" shape.
"The Stamina Course focuses on events that have a tendency of wearing pokemon down," Leanne explained. "The events test for which pokemon can fight off their fatigue the longest and endure the grueling tasks required of them! It's a very intense course."
"I think that's a pretty good course for closing out the final event," Darla mused. "We'll be testing the teams on who can withstand the hardest workout. A pretty good thing to aim for, all things considered. Definitely fitting."
"It's not just their pokemon, though!" Lila wailed. "This course is also going to be testing the trainers themselves, right?!"
"That's true," Leanne admitted. "Not only will the stamina of the pokemon involved be put to the test, but the trainers as well. All the trainers will have to work just as hard as their pokemon to not give into their fatigue!"
Blake tensed. While he felt that he had pretty good endurance, today had proven that he could run out of energy too. He'd barely made it to a victory, and for two of the events he'd more or less just been standing in place!
I've got to build up my mental strength as well as my physical strength, he convinced himself, unaware of just how much mental strength he already had. I don't want to baulk at the finish line. I need to do the best I can.
He glanced at Ayame.
While other people might have made it to the finals of a Pokeathlon Competition with the goal to win, Blake's motivations lay somewhere else. The whole reason he'd gotten this far was to have the chance to finally compete side by side with Ayame again; if he could compete against her, then maybe he could jog her memories.
It was a chance he was willing to take.
"Now, let me explain the events that make up the Stamina Course," Leanne said, clicking a button on the remote and changing the screen again. "The first event is the Ring Drop!" A picture flashed on the screen of an Aggron dropping down onto a sumo ring, pushing a scrambling Swinub out of the way with its immense bulk.
"Ooh, that looks like fun!" Cyntha chortled. "So what, our pokemon will be jumping up and smashing down on each other? Sounds like something you and Blake have a lot of experience with, eh Ayame?" She teased, elbowing the tomboy.
Olivia nodded in approval, grateful that Cynthia was taking up the mantle of griefing Ayame into going along dating Blake again.
Ayame, to her credit, restrained her anger and just rolled her eyes, grunting in frustration.
"The next event," Leanne continued, "is a repeat from the Power Course. The Block Smash!" Another image appeared on the screen. This one depicted a Machamp smashing a stack of tiles with his bare hand.
"Oh yeah! That one's gonna be great!" Cynthia cheered, punching the air. She was still filled with energy, to Blake's shock. He tensed. Now that he was aware of what the events entailed, he was worried that his pokemon might not be able to compete. He could certainly rely on Weiss to smash through blocks, but would he be as good at it as Cynthia's Breloom?
He'd have to find out.
"And finally, the last event of the Stamina Course is the Relay Run, another classic!" Leanne finished, gesturing to the screen. Another graphic appeared, showing an Ivysaur passing a baton to a Pikachu with its vine.
Ayame smirked. This would be perfect. She'd already aced this event earlier in the day, even if Ange HAD managed to get a better score than her somehow.
And yeah, Blake had managed to beat her in a race before. But that was in the past. She wouldn't allow herself to lose to anyone.
She turned to Blake, drilling a hole in him with her glare. I'm going to win, she silently promised, finding it difficult to say the words aloud for some reason. I'm going to win and kick your fucking ass, and there's nothing you can fucking do about it!
Ayame was looking forward to tomorrow. Because she was going to beat Blake. That was it. It had nothing to do with the possible excitement of competing in fun events with Blake, the only thing that mattered to her was winning.
…Shut up.
"And those are all three of the events!" Darla declared.
"I'm really excited for tomorrow!" Lila giggled. "It looks like it's going to be so much fun!"
"That it will be, Lila, that it will be," Leanne nodded. "Tomorrow is going to be an exciting competition, so make sure you wake up bright and early to get a good seat! And as for our four finalists… make sure you and your pokemon are nice and rested up. You'll need all the energy you can get for the events tomorrow!"
Blake sighed. Wasn't that the truth? His pokemon were completely exhausted, and he knew how they felt. He wanted to go back to his room, lie down on his bed, and just go right to sleep. And not wake up for about a thousand years.
"I'm so excited!" Cynthia's cheers could be heard over those of the audience. She turned to Blake and Ayame, her eyes shining. "Aren't you two excited?! We'll be competing against one another to determine just who's the best athlete around! And it's gonna be me!"
Ayame smirked. "If you say so," she said, shaking her head. She turned and headed off the field. Cynthia frowned and ran after her.
"Hey, wait, Ayame, where are you going?" She asked. "Don't you want to hang out together and celebrate making it to the finals?"
Ayame shook her head. "I appreciate the offer, really, I do," she said, her voice nearly cracking. "But Leanne was right. Tomorrow is going to be really intense. I need to go get some rest, and my pokemon do too."
Cynthia's jaw dropped. "But it's only the afternoon!"
Ayame shrugged, and didn't bother looking back this time.
"She's right, honestly," Blake said, coming up to Cynthia and clapping her on the shoulder. "We're all really worn down. Same with you, right?"
"Nuh-uh!" Cynthia said, shaking her head. "I'm raring to go! I could do the next event right now, as a matter of fact!"
Then a humble expression crossed her face. "Well… not really. My pokemon are pretty worn down, after all. Even I know better than to push things."
She cracked a grin. "I'm going to let everyone get a good night's rest, and then we're going to kick all your butts!"
Blake offered her a smile in return. But mentally, he was thinking that there was more to this than she was letting on.
Specifically, he knew what it was like for someone who didn't exercise at all to suddenly push themselves really hard one day.
Oh yeah. She's definitely waking up sore as hell tomorrow. He felt sympathy for her. But right now, he couldn't concern himself with what Cynthia was dealing with.
There was someone else he needed to talk to first.
He took out his phone and texted Sango.
Meanwhile Sango was going to meet up with Elaina.
She joined up with the bird master in the clearing where they'd trained. She wanted to meet with her at a café, but Elaina was still too wary of going out in public.
"Thank you," Sango said, handing Elaina back her pokeballs. "If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have been able to get as far as I did."
"I was happy to help," Elaina smiled, taking back her pokemon. "Seeing you all have fun… seeing you fight against Blake like that, to help him… it was really amazing. So what do you think? Does he have a chance? Did he meet your criteria?"
She frowned.
"Because it seems like you lost your focus at the end, there."
Elaina crossed her arms over her chest. A cold gust of wind rolled across Sango's face. She shivered.
"Look, um, it was just a miscalculation, I lost my focus," Sango stammered. "Listen, what happened with Blake, that… that…"
Elaina placed her hand on Sango's shoulder. "It's fine. I don't mind. I just hope that you'll be okay. And I hope that Blake… I hope he's okay."
She took a deep breath and smiled.
"If we're lucky, then they'll be happy together, right?"
Sango saw Elaina's smile and her heart ached. She could see the sadness in the other girl's eyes.
"Yeah, you're right," Sango nodded, feeling a little sad herself. "If we're lucky."
Before she could say anything else, she got a text message.
"Hey. We need to talk. Can we meet tonight? I have a lot to say."
Sango jumped when she got the message. She began to shake, turning bright red.
He… he wants to talk? What does he want to talk about?! It couldn't be… her mind went wild as she thought about the upcoming possibilities. Could it be that their kiss had made him have a change of heart?
Could he actually want to…?
She practically smacked herself across the face. That was just being stupid.
"Yeah, I'll meet. Tonight at 10?" She texted back.
"Is everything okay?" Elaina asked, knitting her brow in concern. "You look a little… flustered."
Sango had been somber not ten seconds ago. Now she was falling all over herself in confusion and embarrassment.
"I, uh… I need to go," she stammered. "Later! I mean. I have to go later. At 10. I need to meet someone. But, um, we can still hang out?"
Elaina raised her eyebrow.
Well, Blake and Sango are finally going to have their confrontation! And just in time, too! Hopefully they can hash things out between the two of them before the final round! Blake could use all the support he can get, and he really needs to make things right with Sango. These friends need to become friends again!