The battle between Callie and Ian continues! Will Callie be able to defeat him? Or will he claim his first win over one of the Eight Leaders? Remember to review!

KedharS: It's been a while since Callie fought for real. In fact, this might even be the first time.

Aquahaze675: Crobat is a pretty great pokemon. I've used one on my team each generation since I was a little kid, since a Zubat was my very first shiny.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 492

"Sapphire, use shadow ball!" Ian ordered. Sapphire created a ghostly orb, and with a flap of his wings sent it flying at the injured Infernape.

"Ferno!" Callie shouted. "Dodge it with your flame charge!"

"Infernape!" Ferno nodded, lowering his head, flames wrapping around him as he shot forward, charging right at Sapphire. He dodged the shadow ball, leaping towards the flying pokemon.

"Saph, supersonic!" Ian shouted.

"CROBAT!" Sapphire opened his mouth and a shriek of crackling noise rang out, hitting the airborne Ferno with stupefying sound. Ferno's jump was cut short and he crashed, holding his ears in pain as he struggled to get back to his senses. The flames around him dispersed, leaving him vulnerable to Sapphire's assault.

"Ferno, return!" Callie quickly reached for her pokeball, not about to let her Infernape stay out while confused against a trainer of Ian's caliber. But Ian had already prepared for that, as well.

"Now, Saph!"

Sapphire narrowed his eyes into a glare, the bewitching power of his mean look attack startling Ferno and causing him to stumble away from the light of the pokeball, unable to be recalled as long as Sapphire was glaring at him.

"Shit, Ferno!" Callie cried out, unable to bring back her Infernape and snap him out of confusion. "Ferno, can you hear me?! You gotta get away, run this out!"

But Ferno couldn't hear her, everything had been drowned out by the ringing noise plaguing his ears, causing the world to swirl around him. He heard a vague shout of "thunderpunch!" from Callie, and he swatted at the pokemon flying near him, but he tripped and fell forward.

"Now, finish it," Ian ordered. That last thunderpunch had gotten a little close, and by the way Ferno was regaining his balance, he would be snapping out of confusion soon.

"Crobat!" Sapphire lowered his head and shot forward, disappearing, striking Ferno with another aerial ace, knocking him to the ground.

"In…fernape…" Ferno choked out, the energy draining from his body as the toll of multiple aerial aces finally wore him down.

"Sorry, Ferno," Callie apologized, finally able to recall her pokemon now that he had fainted. She glared at the Crobat. "But we're not about to give in! Jania, come back out!"

"Jania, huh? You always did rely on her as your pivot," Ian smiled. "I thought for sure you would use your Hawlucha to fight us in the air."

"An aerial battle against your Crobat won't help me," Callie said, shaking her head. "Jania's got this match covered fine all on her own!"

"We'll see," Ian said. "Saph! Aerial ace!"

"Cro!" Sapphire turned into a purple blur, disappearing in a flash as he flew towards Jania, ready to strike. But he was moving so fast he didn't see her flick her wrist, sending her sleeve snapping and catching him sharply in the face. "Crobat?!"

Sapphire tumbled through the air, flinching. He desperately flapped his wings to regain his balance, but Jania was already seizing the opportunity. She ran forward and leapt into the air, spinning forward and bringing the heel of her foot down on Sapphire's head, slamming him into the ground.

"That was our fake-out attack!" Callie said. "Since your Crobat has infiltrator, that means it doesn't have the inner focus ability that it would normally have! Which means it can flinch perfectly fine, don't you think?"

"Quick thinking," Ian grinned. "But we aren't done yet! We won't fall for that a second time! Sapphire, shadow ball!"

Sapphire picked himself up and fired a shadow ball right at Jania.

"Dodge with agility, Jania!" Callie ordered.

"Mienshao!" Jania skillfully dodged the attack, increasing her speed as she danced around Sapphire. But the point of the attack wasn't to actually hit. It was just a way to keep Jania off Sapphire's back as he regained his balanced, standing on his tiny legs and flapping his four wings, taking to the sky again.

"Now, aerial ace," Ian ordered. Sapphire shot forward and hit Jania head-on with his high-speed attack, disappearing and slicing into her. Jania wailed in pain, stumbling backwards, her boosted speed not even close to letting her dodge the blinding attack from the Crobat.

But even though Jania stumbled, she did not fall. She pushed the tip of her thin tail against the floor, using it to keep her balance. Shifting her weight onto her tail, she used the momentum of the blow to push her backwards, lifting her legs off the ground as she used her complete control over every part of the body to balance on her tail for a moment… before delivering two kicks with her powerful legs directly into the startled Crobat's face, the poison pokemon having thought to have caught the ermine off guard.

"Crobat!" Sapphire cried, tumbling back.

"That was our revenge attack! Thanks to your blow, it doubled in power! But that's not all!" Callie said, shaking her head. "Jania! Blaze kick!"

"Sha!" Jania whipped her hands back, the fur sleeves pressing against the floor along with her tail. She used the elasticity of the appendages as a spring, sinking down into them, before flexing her muscles and launching herself into the air. As she spun towards the Crobat, who was still trying to regain his balance, she raised her leg, and flames began to dance across it.

"Mienshao!" Jania shouted, hitting Sapphire with her blaze kick and sending him flying to the ground for the last time, the burning pokemon colliding with the wood floor (thankfully pre-treated to be flame-retardant) breaking through the boards and hitting the foundation underneath. The kick had been a powerful one, and at a glance Ian could see there was no chance of recovery.

Jania landed elegantly on the ground in front of Callie, raising one leg and holding out her arms in a relaxed pose to prepare for the next pokemon.

"I had no idea your Mienshao had learned blaze kick," Ian said, shaking his head as he returned his Crobat to his pokeball. "That one really caught me off-guard. Why didn't you use it against my Fluo earlier?"

"Couldn't surprise you that way," Callie smirked. "I'm actually thinking ahead in this match!"

"So am I," Ian said, nodding. "Fluo, come on back out."

"Phantump!" Fluorite emerged from his pokeball again, looking nice and refreshed.

"Fluo, let's try again with will-o-wisp," Ian ordered.

"Phan!" Fluorite opened his mouth and fired a bunch of ghostly fireballs at Jania, but they were no match for her agility-enhanced speed. Jania easily evaded the flames, charging right at Fluorite. As she ran forward, flames began burning around her leg, and she struck at the grass pokemon with a powerful fire move.

But Jania's blaze kick passed right through Fluorite! There were dozens of them now, so many that Jania couldn't tell which ones were real and which weren't. She was surrounded by a forest of ghosts, and all of them were preparing more fireballs.

"Phantump!" The copies of Fluorite fired their will-o-wisp attacks at Jania. But The fighting pokemon wasn't so easily beaten.

"Mien!" Jania leapt into the air with powerful legs, bouncing over the flames. Hovering in the air, she stared down at the ghost pokemon below her, all looking up and preparing more attacks.

"You can't stay up there forever," Ian reminded Callie. "And when you come down, we'll be ready."

"We'll be ready, too!" Callie grinned. "Jania! Aura sphere!"

"Mienshao!" Jania held her hands together, an orb of light appearing between them.

"Aura sphere?" Ian asked, surprised. "But that move won't work on a ghost type pokemon!"

"That's true," Callie admitted. Then she smirked. "But it doesn't really matter! Right, Jania?"

"Sha!" Jania nodded. She released the aura sphere, the orb flying down towards the cluster of Phantump. But it didn't fall straight to the ground. It turned in the air, and began moving towards one Phantump in particular, passing right through it.

"There he is!" Callie shouted, pointing her finger in case Jania didn't see. But the ermine pokemon did. She dropped straight towards that Phantump, hitting him directly with her bounce attack, the copies dispersing on impact.

"Phantump!" Fluorite wailed, rolling back.

"So you used the fact aura sphere could track Fluo's aura to find the real one!" Ian said. "Nicely done! But I think our move just now was a lot more effective than that."

"What move, rolling over and feeling pain?" Callie asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Not at all," Ian said, shaking his head. "Why not take a look at your Mienshao?"

"Jania?" Callie asked, turning to her pokemon. Jania glanced at her, not sure what he was talking about, before wincing in pain and clutching her chest, slumping down. Callie gasped. "Jania! Are you okay?! What's wrong?!"

"My Fluorite laid a little bit of a curse on her, is all," Ian smiled. "And now, while she's injured, we're going to double up!"

"Curse!" Callie spat. "Jania! Hang on a little longer, okay?"

"Mienshao!" Jania nodded, regaining her strength. She straightened back up and charged at the grass pokemon, who was on the verge of fainting.

Gotta finish it fast, Callie noted. "Finish it with your blaze kick!" Jania raised her leg, swinging it in a kick at the Phantump. Fluorite was fine taking it, though.

"You're still the same, Callie. Losing your cool at the first sign of trouble," Ian said. "Now, Fluo!"

"Phantump!" As Jania's kick was about to land, Fluorite opened his mouth and spat a wave of poison at her.

"No!" Callie gasped.

"You dodged the will-o-wisps easily, so how about a toxic deluge? It's got a bit wider of a spread," Ian noted.

Indeed, it was no hard task dodging some fireballs, but the toxic was spraying everywhere, and Jania was a lot closer. Fluorite had put all of his energy into that attack, spraying it as far and wide as he could. Jania couldn't dodge, the poison stinging her fur. The flames stopped at her leg, after all. Jania bit down, planting one foot and kicking with the other. She wasn't about to let the curse or the poison get the better of her, she needed to finish off this pokemon!

And that blow was more than enough, Fluorite didn't even make it to the ground before getting knocked out, Ian recalling him.

"You're down to your last pokemon," Callie said, wiping her forehead and trying to regain her composure. It was difficult when her strongest pokemon was badly poisoned and cursed. But victory was close at hand.

"That I am," Ian acknowledged. "Diamond! Let's finish this!"

Ian sent out his last pokemon. The pokemon opened with a roar, and the large creature within emerged. His body was covered in dark, shiny black scales and armor, piercing crimson glaring out from within. The pokemon stood on two strong legs, a thick tail slamming on the floor behind it. The most intimidating feature of all were the two massive tusks, like the blades of an axe, that jutted out of the sides of his mouth, their edges the scarlet of blood.

"HAXORUS!" The odd-colored Haxorus roared, shaking the building. Callie gulped, losing her cool momentarily, and wiped away more sweat from her forehead. Large pokemon were intimidating to anyone, but even moreso to a shorty like her.

But at the same time, Callie had a LOT of experience fighting someone taller than her! She did it practically every day! But it wasn't her job to fight against the pokemon today, that was the task of her pokemon! And right now, in spite of her condition, Jania looked ready to fight.

Callie wasn't ready for her to fight, however.

"Jania!" Callie called out. "Use your baton pass!"

"Mienshao!" Jania nodded. With a flash, she returned to her pokeball.

"Switching out again, huh? That's your last pokemon," Ian reminded her.

"And it's going to be a memorable one!" Callie grinned. "Ken, it's your time to shine!"

Callie threw out her last pokeball. A large crab pokemon came out from inside, his body covered in white fur. He held up his thick, meaty claws, which more closely resembled fists, and beat them against his chest.

"Crabominable!" The pokemon clamored, banging his chest again.

"That's a new one," Ian said, surprised. "I've never seen you use that pokemon before!"

Callie smiled.

"Remember what I said about flying pokemon being an annoyance?" Callie asked. "Well… as you can see, I needed to shore up my matchups against them. Thunderpunch isn't enough, so I got a brand new pokemon courtesy of a trip to a nice little island paradise!"

Callie's cheeks turned red and she squirmed with excitement.

"I can't wait to take Nick there on our honeymoon! We're going to have so much- err, ahem. Never you mind that," Callie cleared her throat, realizing that now was NOT the time. "Ken's not just great for handling flying types, though! Dragons like yours are going down!"

"Oh, so he's an ice type," Ian said, his eyes widening in realization.

"…Hah?" Callie dropped the finger she had been pointing triumphantly. "You mean you didn't know that?"

"I told you I'd never seen that pokemon before, remember?" Ian reminded her, laughing. "For all I know it's part water type! I was being cautious at first, but thanks! Now I can go in ready for some ice moves!"

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Callie chastised herself, rattling her knuckles against her blonde hair. "Ken! Use ice punch!"

Ken scuttled forward, raising his claw, icy energy surging through it as the temperature dropped.

"Why not keep your distance for now?" Ian suggested. "Diamond! Use your toxic to poison that crab before it can attack!"

"Haxorus!" Diamond opened his mouth, and spat a wave of toxic sludge at the ice type, much to Callie's irritation.

"Toxic, toxic, toxic!" Callie spat, Ken calling off his attack and quickly shuffling out of the way as the poison began to burn through the floor. "What, are you Kate Nomia's number one fanboy or something? It's getting old!"

"It's an excellent attack for wearing down powerful pokemon," Ian said, shrugging. "Not that we need it. Diamond has enough strength to tear your pokemon apart all on his own! Diamond, use aerial ace!"

Diamond lowered his head and lumbered forward at a speed that belied his massive frame, disappearing in a flash. He reappeared behind Ken and slashed at him with his axe tusks, hitting the large pokemon in the back.

"Crabominable!" Ken shouted. He quickly regained his balance, turning on his legs, and delivered a powerful ice punch into Diamond's gut, knocking the dragon pokemon back.

"So not just bulky, but fast, too? That's quite a surprise," Ian said. "No, wait! That's right, you had Jania use baton pass, which means you carried your speed boosts from agility over to your Crabominable! Nicely done! But easily fixed. Diamond, use scary face!"

"Haxorus!" Diamond stood up, glaring at Ken as the pokemon charged at him. The look in his eye was so terrifying that it sent a chill down the crab's back, and Ken wasn't a pokemon used to feeling cold. He slowed down, cautious of approaching the menacing pokemon.

"Now, for our speed!" Ian added. "Diamond, use dragon dance!"

"Haxorus!" Draconic energy swirled around Diamond as he roared, slapping the floor with his tail and throwing his head back, surging with power.

"Not only has his speed and power increased, but his strength is boosted even more due to his rivalry ability," Ian informed Callie. "Take it down, Diamond! Use aerial ace!"

"Not just yet! Go, Ken!" Callie shouted, her Crabominable running forward and preparing another attack, building up icy power in his fur.

"Haxorus!" Diamond shot forward, energy coursing through him. He hit Ken directly with his blades and claws, spraying blood across the floor as he struck the fighting pokemon with a powerful flying move, the bulky Crabominable barely able to keep going.

"Avalanche!" Callie shouted. Ken released the icy energy had gathered, a wave of ice and snow rolling over the battlefield, doubling in power by using Ken's pain to boost its strength. Moments later, Diamond was completely buried in the landslide.

"Hah…" Callie nearly fell over, she had been so tense in that last exchange. The panting Ken wasn't much better, looking like he was about to collapse himself.

Diamond appeared behind Ken in a flash, shaking the snow off of his body. Callie's eyes snapped wide and she shouted a warning, "Ken! Behind you!"

But her words were too late. As Ken turned, preparing whatever counter he could, Diamond had already struck, his tusk drawing a massive ribbon of red through his fur, right across where his previous attack had cut, drawing a painful-looking "X" in blood. The force of the blow sent Ken careening against the wall, where he stayed, unmoving.

"Sorry, Ken," Callie apologized, returning her Crabominable to his pokeball. "Guess you just weren't enough. You take a good rest, though, okay?"

"That Crabominable was really tough," Ian complimented her. "But you really need more experience with him. He's a fairly new pokemon to you, right? You two need to work on your synergy a little more. Your bond with Jania is perfect, you two work great together. And the way you spar with your pokemon really helps to build that up. In no time at all, you guys are going to be tight, I'm sure of it."

"Thanks for the advice," Callie said. She felt irritated. Yes, it was good advice, and she would be taking it under consideration. Ian often did that, give unsolicited advice when he fought. But the fact that he did seemed so condescending, even though he was trying to be genuinely helpful! "But we haven't lost just yet! Jania, let's do this!"

Callie sent out her Mienshao for the final time. Jania was still poisoned, but at least the curse had been lifted. And thanks to her regenerator ability, she had restored a pretty sizeable chunk of her health. Now, she was ready to fight!

But fighting spirit wasn't the same as health. Even an amateur could tell from a glance that both pokemon were pretty badly weakened. They could only take a few more major hits before going down, maybe even just one.

"Go, Diamond. Use aerial ace!" Ian ordered his Haxorus.

"Jania! Don't let Ken's defeat be in vain!" Callie shouted. "Put all your power into your retaliate attack, and make him pay!"

"Haxorus!" Diamond roared, his speed causing him to disappear into a blur as he approached the fighting pokemon.

"Mienshao!" Jania nodded, charging forward, gathering her energy as she prepared for the dragon pokemon's attack.

The decisive blow! Who will win, Ian or Callie?