Chapter 26: Against All Odds

Author's Note: Hey, everyone! This chapter's a bit more cluttered, but that's because I couldn't find a way to turn these into separate chapters while still making them reach my general word minimum. Still, this was a nice way to explore everyone else's Pokemon and see what they could do. One of my personal favorites is Jiro's Noivern so I was really excited to right about them! Anyway, leave a review if you can and enjoy!

Shoto and Momo's exam was predicted by most of the class to be one of the most difficult ones. Having to face someone like Aizawa was a difficult class, so hearing that they passed gave them all hope.

However, things didn't exactly go as planned when Ochako and Yuga ended up going next. While they had the upper hand in the beginning thanks to their superior combat prowess to their opponent, Thirteen and her Dusknoir, the tides quickly changed when the Ghost-type Pokemon began trying to suck them into his stomach.

They were hanging onto one of the railways, with Yuga having to hang on to Starmie due to the Pokemon's… lack of limbs. Due to the extreme force pulling them back, Clefable couldn't get an accurate hit off with her Moon Blasts, meaning that they were essentially at a stalemate.

"I've got this! Starmie, Bubble Beam!" The flamboyant boy exclaimed. His Pokemon shot out a stream of bubbles directly from his red gem, though it was useless. The bubbles were simply absorbed into Dusknoir's stomach, meaning their attacks would be practically useless. "Well, I'm out of ideas." He said.

Ochako clenched her teeth and began thinking hard. They were stuck without many options… what would Deku do?

"Uraraka," Yuga called out. "You were probably thinking 'What would Izuku Midoriya do?' Or something like that, right?" He asked. Clefable, who had been doing her best to put up with the blonde boy's attitude, was visibly annoyed at the question. They were on the verge of defeat and he dared to ask some random question like that?

"Do you… like him?" That next question completely caught Ochako and Clefable off-guard though. While she never outright stated it, not even really knowing herself, Ochako possibly did maybe have some feelings for Deku. At least, that's what she knew. It was pretty obvious to Clefable that this girl was head over heels for her best friend.

The question had caught Ochako so off-guard that she instinctively tried to hide her red face with her hands. Unfortunately, that means that she also accidentally let go of the railings. Clefable began panicking unsure what to do as she watched her trainer slowly get pulled toward Dusknoir and his gate to the underworld.

Luckily for them, this was an exam. Thirteen and Dusknoir obviously had no intention of actually killing them, so right before the young girl was pulled into his stomach, the Gripper Pokemon closed the gate, not actually expecting Ochako to get that close.

Using this opportunity, Clefable shot out a Moon Blast, catching Dusknoir off-guard. Ochako then entered her "Martial Arts" Mode and landed on top of the Pokemon, pushing him to the ground.

Dusknoir tried going for a Shadow Ball, but it was stopped by a Psyshock from Starmie. Yuga quickly came in and held up one of the Pokemon's arms, allowing Ochako to put on the handcuffs, giving them the win.

"Team Uraraka and Aoyama pass!"

"Nice one! Uraraka got up close to take Dusknoir down head-on!" Izuku said, watching the test from the monitor room. "I don't know about that. It looked like she accidentally let go of the rails." Tsuyu commented.

"Huh? Really?" The boy asked. "Yeah… I wonder what she and Aoyama were talking about…"

As they were speaking, they're two class officers, Momo and Tenya entered the room. "Uraraka passed her exam. Just as expected." Tenya said.

"Congrats on your exams, Iida and Yaoyorozu," Izuku said. Both of them smiled and thanked him for his kind words. "I wonder who's up next." Momo rested her head on her hand and watched the screen. "It's Ashido and Kaminari versus Principle Togedemaru." Tsuyu said.

"The Principle, huh? That'll be an interesting fight." Izuku said to himself. It may seem like a strange matchup at first, but it made sense. The Principle was notoriously smart, considered one of the greatest minds at not just UA, but all of Japan as a whole. Pairing him up against the two students with the lowest grades made sense.

The fight was to take place in the area they had their Class race in. A dense industrial jungle filled with pipes and buildings. Once their exam started, the two students began moving with their Pokemon, Pikachu, and Nidorina.

"So, what's the plan, Kaminari?" Mina asked. "Just run away. We've both got fast Pokemon and only one of us needs to get out to win. If the Principle catches us, he's small enough that a single move should be enough." The two began laughing to themselves, much to their Pokemon's dismay. While their Pokemon typically shared the same carefree attitude these two had shown, they also knew their trainers weren't taking this test as seriously as they should. This should be easy! At least, that's what they thought…

Suddenly, they heard a loud crashing sound in the distance. They all stopped and grew worried as the sound got closer and closer. "What is that?!" Mina asked. "It can't be Togedemaru… right?"

Suddenly, from behind them, a huge ball of rubble crashed through the wall and began heading their way. They both began running, barely able to outrun the thing. "A-Ashido, what's happening?!" Denki asked. "I-I-I don't know! That President…!"

"That's correct!" Togedemaru said, sitting down in his crane, fitted with a wrecking ball designed to look like an Alolan Golem.

"What the- the Principle's in that thing?" Tenya took a step back. Before this test, they were all wondering just what the Principle would do to give the students a fight. They knew it would be unique, but nobody was expecting this.

"But he's so far away…" Izuku said. "How is he attacking them?"

"He's knocking down areas strategically to create a chain reaction," Momo said. "He's using advanced calculations to predict a specific reaction when he hits a certain spot."

Togedemaru smiled and electricity surged through his body. "Let's see what's next." He put his paw over a circuit and the wrecking ball was filled with electricity. He slammed the ball into a nearby building, igniting the tanks within it and creating an explosion. The explosion created a chain reaction that led all the way to Mina and Denki, blocking their path once again.

It wasn't just about knocking buildings down. Principle Togedemaru was slowly blocking every single path that the two students could take. Without many more options, Mina had Nidorina use Double Kick on a wall to try and pass through the building. However, by the end, it was too late.

"Team Ashido and Kaminari, your time is up!"

Recovery Girl let out a sigh. "That Togedemaru… he's a handful. He was experimented on when he was still a child. He's mostly moved on since then, but he likes doing this kind of thing as revenge for what humanity has done to him."

With that, four students had failed the final exam. Not exactly the best record, but it wasn't over yet. Next up was an interesting pair: Kyoka Jiro and Koji Koda with their Noivern and Chatot respectively. They were going up against Present Mic's Exploud.

Ochako had since joined the four students in the monitor room and they watched the exam take place. "This one's easier to understand," Izuku said. "Both of their Pokemon rely on sound-based moves. However, Exploud's sound is arguably even louder than both of theirs combined. I'm not sure how they'll be able to deal with a Pokemon that can drown out their sounds."

The battle took place in a large forest. Present Mic waited at the gate, situated right at the edge of the forest on one side of the surrounding wall. "Let's just finish this," Mic said. "Give it all you got! Boomburst!"

Exploud planted his foot in the ground and screamed as loud as he could, creating an incredibly powerful white sound wave that completely stopped the students in their tracks. Due to the distance, the actual impact of the wave didn't do much, but the sheer volume was enough to force them to try and cover their ears.

Eventually, the sound disappeared and Kyoka turned to Koji. "Koda, Chatot can use Mimic, right? Can't he use that to tell wild Pokemon what to do?" She asked. The boy hesitantly nodded. "Can't you have the bird Pokemon attack him?"

Koji shook his head and began moving his hands, trying to convey his message. He was explaining that even if he managed to get Chatot to get the other birds to fight Exploud and Present Mic, they wouldn't be able to get close because of Boomburst.

Kyoka let out a sigh and turned to Noivern. "Damn… are you okay, Noivern?" She asked. The Dragon-type seemed to be doing fine, but it was obvious that he was significantly more affected by the Boomburst than the rest of them. Noivern's were known for their incredible hearing due to their special ears, but it also led to them being incredibly sensitive to sound.

"Present Mic isn't just a Pro… he's the perfect counter to our powers," Kyoka said as they began running again. "We can get close to the gate, but he'll be waiting for us there. We're gonna have to end up fighting him one way or the other." She said.

"We'll need to start fighting him now! Noivern, hit 'em with our Boomburst!" Noivern flew up into the sky and shot out powerful sound waves, but Exploud noticed this quickly and returned it with his attack. Unfortunately for the students, Exploud's Boomburst was more powerful than their attack by a significant margin, even when Chatot came in and helped with Hyper Voice.

Noivern and Chatot's attacks weren't even able to reach Present Mic. Now, Exploud used Boomburst once again to create a powerful sound wave that stopped the students from proceeding forward. "I-I can't do it!" Kyoka shouted.

Present Mic let out a yawn as he rested his back against the side of the gate. "Come on!" He shouted. "I'm waiting for you!" Exploud released another Boomburst, practically torturing the students. By this point, Noivern could barely move and was ready to pass out.

They all decided to take cover rather than continue to move forward. Hiding behind a nearby rock didn't exactly make them immune to Exploud's Boomburst by any means, but it did block out the sound a little bit making it more manageable.

"My eardrums are gonna burst," Kyoka said. She turned to her Noivern and frowned. The poor Pokemon was shaking now. He couldn't keep moving at this rate. Even Koji knew that Noivern was their heavy hitter. Now they'd have to rely mostly on Chatot for most of this battle.

Then, an idea popped into Kyoka's head. As she and Koji were trying to come up with a plan, she saw a small Sizzlipede crawling on the rock they were hiding behind. "Koda, I've got something!" She shouted. She picked up the Sizzlipede in her hand and held it up. "Chatot can control Bug-types too, right?"

Koji took one look at the bug and screamed at the top of his lungs. Kyoka, obviously confused, brought it a little closer to the boy, causing him to scream even louder and run away. "What the… what just happened?"

"No bugs! No bugs!" Chatot said repeatedly. So Koji was scared of bugs… well that was bad.

"You're running out of time!" Present Mic shouted. Exploud released another Boomburst, but Noivern decided to step in. He used what little energy he had left into his Boomburst, and while it wasn't quite as strong as Exploud's, combined with the little shelter they had found, it was enough to make the attack bearable enough. However, this wasn't going to last much longer. They were running out of time.

They were completely helpless. Though he had managed to somewhat off-set the effects of one Boomburst, Noivern was completely helpless against the one that quickly followed after. The only plan either of them had thought off was a no go all because of Koji's fear of Bug-types. What were they gonna do? "Think…" Kyoka said to herself. "What would Midoriya or Yaoyorozu do…"

Kyoka clenched her fist and turned to Koji. "Koda, please just tell me if Chatot's mimic works on Bug-types too." She asked. Koji, now trembling from the pain, gave a shaky thumbs up. "Okay, good… Noivern, just a little more… Dragon Claw." Noivern slowly got up and used a weak Dragon Claw on the rock they were hiding behind, revealing a plethora of Bug-type Pokemon underneath. Caterpies, Sizzlipedes, Spinaraks, there was a huge variety of them.

Obviously, seeing this made Koji panic even more. One single Sizzlipede was a lot for him to handle, so seeing this many? He might as well have died.

"S-Sorry, I know you're scared but we- agh!" Kyoka was cut off by another Boomburst, somehow stronger than all the ones from before. "It's… it's too strong!" She shouted. Without anymore cover to hide behind, Noivern ducked down and tried his best to cover its ears, but he was clearly suffering the most.

"P-Please, I can't think of anything else!" Kyoka shouted. "If you can get Chatot to do this, we'll have a chance! You want to become a hero, right?" She asked. Koji's eyes widened in horror as he saw her. By this point, her ears were bleeding and Noivern was shaking violently. Despite that, both of them gave him looks of encouragement and smiled. "We got this!"

"Hurts! Too loud! Hurts!" Chatot said, lying down on the ground. Seeing them all suffer like this, Koji couldn't handle it anymore. He took a deep breath and nodded. "I-I want to be a Hero!"

He crouched down to the bugs and called Chatot to him. "P-P-Please Chatot, repeat after me." He said. "Little buddies, go forth and dig through the ground! It's time to take down the loud Pokemon!"

"H-He can talk?!" Kyoka asked out loud.

Chatot repeated everything Koji said word-for-word, allowing the bugs to dig through the ground and make their way to Exploud and Present Mic.

The timer was ticking. "Are they just gonna hide?" Present Mic asked himself. Suddenly, he felt the ground below him begin to shake slightly. He looked down and was horrified at what he saw. Dozens upon dozens of Bug-type Pokemon crawling up both his and Exploud's legs. They tried to get rid of them, but more and more kept coming. They came from underground where sound didn't travel!

Once they heard Present Mic's horrified screams, they knew what they had to do. They emerged out of the forest where their teacher was waiting for them. "One last push, Noivern! Let's give it our all!" Kyoka shouted. "One last attack, Chatot! We can do it!" Koji said.

"Dragon Pulse!"

"Air Slash!"

The two Pokemon released their moves using every bit of energy they had left, knocking out Exploud and allowing them to handcuff him, getting them their win.

"Team Jiro and Koda pass!"

The next test was a quick but interesting one. Mezo's Barbaracle and Toru's Kecleon versus Snipe's Inteleon. The battle took place in what looked like a big room filled with pillars.

It was well known that Snipe and his Inteleon had a near-perfect aim, so it made sense to pair him against two students with Pokemon that relied on getting information.

Almost instantly, they were backed into a corner, being forced to hide behind pillars to avoid Inteleon's Snipe Shot. Compared to some of the other testing sites, the gate was fairly near. The problem was that they couldn't get close.

After a few minutes passed, Snipe had Inteleon stop his assault. "Let's see who can play hide and seek better." He said, instructing his Pokemon to go for an Icy Wind. Because of the more restricted area, the Ice move created a fairly thick fog, making it harder for them all to see.

"Fog? He's trying to obstruct our view." Mezo said.

"But that means that he can't see us either, right?" Toru asked. "Not quite!" Snipe said. "Inteleon's eyes can see right through this fog."

Eventually, the pillar behind them broke from the countless Snipe Shots Inteleon released, forcing the two of them to move. "I've got a plan, Shoji!" Toru said. She whispered something to him and he nodded in agreement. "Okay, we'll do it." He replied.

From there, Barbaracle and Mezo moved forward, sprinting toward Snipe and Inteleon. "You're being reckless!" The teacher shouted, Inteleon pelting Barbaracle with shot after shot. The Collective Pokemon made sure to protect his trainer, ensuring that Mezo didn't get hurt.

Once they got close enough, their plan was ready to go. "Razor Shell!" Mezo shouted. Barabaracle's claws extended with blue energy, creating blades that he used to slash at Inteleon with. The Secret Agent Pokemon was able to avoid the moves easily, but the distraction allowed Toru's camouflaged Kecleon to come in and handcuff Inteleon, giving the students the win.

"Team Hagakure and Shoji pass!"

The rest of the students in the monitor room smiled at the announcement. "It's just like we said! Hagakure's Kecleon's got some strong abilities." Momo said. "Shoji and Barbaracle did well too! Their distraction helped Kecleon get close enough." Izuku said.

"Team Sero and Mineta. Begin!"

"Deku," Ochako called the boy's attention. "You're test is right after this one, right?" She asked. "Shouldn't you head to your testing site already?"

"O-Oh, well… yeah. But I really wanna see everyone's fights before I do my own." He turned back to the screen and smiled. "Maybe seeing how them and their Pokemon fight can help me in my test. More than that though, it's making me more confident for some reason. Everyone's amazing! Even if they don't make it to the end, none of them give up!"

Ochako couldn't help but smile. Hearing Izuku say that… it made her feel strong too! Her heart felt all warm inside. "Yeah!" She said.

"Well… I don't know about everyone." Tenya commented. Momo nodded in agreement. "There is one…" Tsuyu pointed to the screen and let out a sigh. "He's given up."

They all looked at the screen and saw Minoru and his Trubbish desperately running away from their teacher. He and Hanta were paired against Midnight and her Salazzle.

The pairing made sense to a certain degree. Hanta's star Pokemon, specifically his Ariados, specialized in restraining their opponents. Having him go up against Midnight's Salazzle, a Pokemon who could easily outrange and practically restrain him with using her Poison Gas, was a difficult matchup. Minoru meanwhile… well… he's Minoru. Making him fight the R-18 Hero was a given.

The problem was that Hanta and his Ariados had both already passed out from Salazzle's Poisonous Gas. Minoru, who had brought his Trubbish, had begun running away from them, crying intensely. "I don't wanna do this stupid test!" He shouted.

"Why's he running away?" Izuku asked. "This was expected…" Recovery Girl said. "See, as much as we tried to make it fair for everyone, certain teachers are going to be harder to beat than others. For this test, given the circumstances, All Might, Cementoss, Present Mic, and Midnight were always going to be the toughest ones to beat. Some students likely won't be able to help but feel like it's over before it even begins."

"Grape Juice, that's the wrong way! The exit's over here!" Midnight called out. The only reason Minoru had even managed to get out in the first place was because Ariados had thrown him and Trubbish out of Salazzle's attacking range with his web. Without them… well, things weren't looking good.

"Poor kid. It might sound harsh, but someone like that doesn't stand a chance at surviving things here." Recovery Girl said. "What do you mean?" Izuku asked. "See, UA's policy is to keep creating obstacles more difficult than the last for students to overcome. To climb that wall, you need to know your definitive end goal. You can't climb it if you 'just kinda maybe wanna be a Hero.' Plus, even if you do become a Hero, there's no future for someone who's goal is just to become a Hero.

Izuku looked sadly at the screen as Minoru continued running away. "Is there a definitive goal in that boy's heart?" Recovery Girl asked.

Eventually, Minoru stopped to catch his breath. He sat on top of Trubbish and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "I wanna touch a woman's body and be popular with girls." He said. Recovery Girl, who was the only one there who could hear what the students were saying, let out a sigh. "Well, there it is."

"Why the hell is our exam like this? We'll be forced to forfeit if we even get near her…" Minoru said. In this situation, he couldn't help but think of the question Tsuyu asked him when they were on the sinking ship back at the USJ. "Do you even wanna be a Hero?"

"Shut up. What's it to you?" He said out loud as if she was there. He looked back at Trubbish and frowned. He wanted to be a Hero so he could be popular with the girls. He thought he'd be popular with the girls if he became a Hero… but Izuku… back at the USJ… his resolve to be a Hero…

"Fire Lash!"

Minoru looked back but he couldn't react before Salazzle's attack him both him and Trubbish. "I thought about sitting at the gate until your time was up, but that was too boring. When you're running around, crying like a baby… I can't help but let this side come out!" She gave him an evil grin, sending a chill down his spine.

Minoru made sure to cover his mouth as quickly as possible. Trubbish made sure to do the same, as he was instructed to do so before the test even began. Under normal circumstances, Trubbish wouldn't be afraid of being Poisoned, but this wasn't just any Pokemon they were facing. Salazzle had a unique ability: Corrosion. This allowed her to poison any Pokemon, including Steel and Poison types.

"What'll you do now?" Midnight asked. Instinctively, both Minoru and Trubbish began running away, making their teacher laugh. "That's right. Run."

Minoru made a realization right then and there. He was wrong all this time. He thought he came to UA with a reason, but after being forced to fight for his life, he realized something. You're not cool because you're a Hero… you're a Hero because you're cool! Right, Midoriya?!

They managed to find a rock to hide behind and think of a plan. "Trubbish, we need to find a way out of this." He whispered. "Are you up for it?" Trubbish gave a confident nod as if to say "Let's give it everything we've got!"

"How long are you gonna hold your breath like that? You're gonna give in eventually." Midnight said, approaching the rock they were hiding behind.

"That's not it," Minoru said, his voice somehow… more muffled? "The reason I lured you out here, brought out your sadistic side… it was all to show everyone that I'm cool!"

"So you're saying you've got me?" Midnight laughed. "Salazzle, let's finish this! Flamethrower!" Salazzle began charging up her flames when Trubbish emerged from above the rock. However, something was covering his mouth that prevented him from taking in the poisonous gas.

"Ariados' tape?!" Midnight thought to herself. It must have stuck to his body after Ariados threw them out of the way. Before Salazzle could let out her Flamethrower, Trubbish threw a well-aimed Sludge Bomb right at her. It didn't do much to hurt her, but it caught both Salazzle and Midnight off-guard, allowing Trubbish to clear a path for Minoru using Clear Smog.

Using Clear Smog was a strategy the two of them had actually thought up. The problem was, unlike moves like Haze, Clear Smog only cleared out a very small portion of fogs like Salazzle's Poison for a very short amount of time. Still, it was just enough for Minoru and Trubbish to escape.

"Now, Gunk Shot!" Trubbish jumped up in the air and shot out garbage from its mouth that scattered around Midnight and Salazzle, essentially trapping them there. While Salazzle could get out with minimal damage, she wouldn't be able to escape in time to catch the student and his Pokemon before they escaped. "Amazing!" Midnight commended the student.

"By keeping her away from the exit, he made sure that her Poison Gas wouldn't reach there before he could get out!" Izuku said, everyone, cheering as they watched Minoru and Trubbish book it to the exit.

"Well, would you look at that! He had me fooled, the clever one. I supposed being popular is a good enough goal to set your eyes on." Recovery Girl smiled.

As he approached the gate, Minoru made sure to stop by Hanta and Ariados and carry them out with them. "Just for now, I'll give up on the boobs! There's always tomorrow!" The boy said. Trubbish smiled at his trainer and nodded.

"Team Mineta and Sero pass!"

"It actually worked!" Tenya shouted.

"It's your turn now, De- huh?" Ochako was about to tell Izuku to head to the site, but he was already gone.

Izuku ran up to the gates of his training site. "Thanks, Mineta. I'll be sure to give it my all, just like you and everyone else! I'll be a he-… a hero…" He said to himself, slowly stopping when he saw his partner there.

Katsuki and his Typhlosion were waiting at the gates. Katsuki saw the green-haired boy but didn't say anything. He simply scoffed and turned back to the gate.

Izuku, still nervous, sent out Riolu. While Combusken may have been a better choice type-wise, Riolu was the one who had experience going toe-to-toe with All Might and Lucario himself.

"You ready?" Izuku asked. Riolu pumped his fist and turned to the gate. The most difficult test was about to begin…

"Team Midoriya and Bakugo. Begin!"