The battle royale is really getting a good start now! More people are going to be weeded out in this chapter, until only the strongest come out on top! But who's going to fight against whom in the end? We'll have to find out!

KedharS: Or very, very bad.

Hellraiserphoenix: That was the intention behind this whole setup, to build anticipation for the matches.

Thunder Fire: Normally, he wouldn't be eligible. But he got in through a challenge, fighting his way through the Eight Leaders until he won. It was an entry under special circumstances. Mirar, who only had a Ditto, was also allowed in due to special consideration.

Aquahaze675: Sparky a low-key Libraryshipper.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 497

"So is that all you can do?!" Darla demanded, pursuing Dokukage. "Run away like a coward?!"

"This is a type of battle that does not speak to the strengths of my fighting style," Dokukage calmly explained, his Masquerain carrying him back with his wings. "And thus I will take whatever victory I can get."

Darla narrowed her eyes.

"Well, fine then," she growled. "Melody! Aerial ace!"

Melody disappeared in a flash, reappearing behind Dokukage. With a swipe of her cloudy wings, she sent trainer and pokemon skidding into the dirt.

"Now, Melody, use dragon pulse!" Darla ordered.

"Altaria!" Melody gathered draconic energy into her mouth, and released it in a compressed blast that struck the bug pokemon, knocking it out.

"…Pity," Dokukage shrugged. He didn't seem that perturbed as he recalled his pokemon.

"…Did you let me win?" Darla asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Not at all," Dokukage said, shaking his head. "I merely understood the nature of this battle. There is no sense in exhibiting all my pokemon's techniques, when there is nothing to gain from it. I will save that for the battles to come."

With that, he turned and left the stadium in a puff of smoke as his name flashed up on the board.

"Now then…" Darla turned her attention back to Ayame, who was still struggling against K and his Magnezone.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the stadium, Gerard and Ian were still engaged in their struggle.

"So is this what you've got to stand with, Gerard Alkwest?" Ian laughed. "Iron, smash through those rocks with your iron head!"

"Aggron!" Iron coated his body with a silvery sheen and charged forward, plowing through the rocks and gems that Dia fired at him. He was like a tank, unable to be stopped.

Gerard scoffed, smirking.

"That's totally fine. Allow me to show you what the flaw in your method is, Ian," Gerard said. "Dia? Earth power."

"Diancie!" Dia began glowing with energy, directing it downwards. The ground beneath Iron's feet opened up, erupting with a powerful blast that knocked Iron backwards.

"AGGRON!" Iron roared, stumbling to the ground. The special ground move had dealt significant damage to him.

"Ian's being pushed back!" Lila gasped.

"That mythical pokemon is really powerful," Dakota agreed.

"She was pressed on the defensive," Akira noted, "and one earth power was enough to turn the tables on her."

A few feet away, Lana was standing, warily watching Misato as she gathered up energy, staring down the two opponents in front of her. Alden had Eifa raise her barrier, while Raizer was surging with excitement, ready to order Zera to leap into battle. Zera was ready to fight, surging with electricity.

"Zera-"

"Raizer, this isn't the time or place," Alden stated.

"Huh?! What do you mean?" Raizer glanced to his brother, confused. "Zera's pumped up for this! They want to challenge Misato head-on! Don't you see how strong she is? It's really giving me a shock!"

"Did you forget what happened the last time your Zeraora charged in without thinking?" Alden asked. Raizer gulped, looking down sheepishly.

"Bro…"

"I love fighting myself, so I get your instinct, to want to fight a strong opponent," Alden said. "Believe me, I do. But this isn't a good matchup for you. So if you want to win, fight the battle you can win. This is the flaw with your fighting style, Raizer. You only have one pokemon to rely on, and that means that you don't have any versatility."

"Hey! Zera's amazing! You have no idea how hard we've trained together!" Raizer objected. "What do you know, anyway?!"

"Do you want to battle? Really win?" Alden asked. "There's a simple way to accomplish that."

Alden pointed across the field at K and his Magnezone.

"You can't beat Misato if you're just powering her up," Alden said. "But if you take out her allies now, you can leverage that to victory in the future. And not only that, Ayame Toujou will be a useful ally against Misato, as well."

"…Yeah, I get you," Raizer said, grinning. "Zera! Change of plans! Let's take care of that Shadow Pokemon!"

"Ora!" Zera nodded, charging forward, electricity coursing through their body. They ran past Misato, Raizer chasing after them. Misato had no reaction to this.

"Well, that's surprising," Alden said, raising his eyebrow. "So you just let him run off, huh? I would have thought you'd put a stop to that."

"My orders are to defeat you," Misato replied coldly. "There is no purpose in expending my energy to fight another trainer at this point."

"Even if he's targeting your allies?" Alden asked. "That's cold. Then, you are a robot, aren't you?"

"Negative. I am a mechadoll," Misato replied.

"There's a difference?" Alden asked, raising his eyebrow.

"That information is classified," Misato answered. "To address your first question. It is not logical to interfere with other trainers in order to protect the other trainers working with the Phantom. The primary objective is your defeat. Their purpose is to serve as tools to further that task. To that end, expending my energy to assist them would be counterproductive and interfere with my primary objective."

"So a one on one fight, huh? Fine with me," Alden smiled. "And that one?"

He nodded to Lana, who flinched.

"Oh, uh… I'll just go this way," Lana said, stepping back and nodding to Drakon. A chill went down her spine. She might have been fighting with a ground type, but Misato had made things abundantly clear. She and Drakon were tools to fulfill the goal of defeating the Commander. Which meant Misato would not be concerned for their safety. Before, Lana had thought Misato was just an oddball. Now that she knew the girl was a robot, well…

She'd sacrifice us without even blinking, Lana understood. And while she may have been working for the Phantom, she was also trying to do her best, and wasn't about to sacrifice herself as a tool to help someone else win. She had too much pride as a trainer, damn it!

But that didn't mean she couldn't be helpful. She turned to see Ian and Gerard's skirmish, and considered that was a possible place she could lend a hand to the cause without putting herself at too much risk.

"Your boyfriend is an idiot," K scoffed. "Sacrificing his own Scizor to protect you and your Glalie. He should have just let you get defeated, maybe leverage that into at least a way to get away. That would have been the smart thing to do. Instead, he sacrifices his own pokemon to save you, and all he did was prolong the inevitable."

"…Do you have anyone you care about?" Ayame asked.

"Are you serious?" K snorted. "Things like that are a waste of time. People like you and that kid, you're all just fools."

"Blake isn't a-!"

"He's a fool," K interrupted her. "Think about it. He could have tried to keep fighting, but he didn't. This is a tournament. Victory is what matters here, not your own personal feelings. The smart thing to do would have been to take you out, since you have such a type disadvantage against him. That would have let him place a little higher. Get people to notice him, see that he's a stronger trainer. Then, he would be able to leverage that into a potential career down the line, if he was half-decent at networking. But no, fool that he was, he decided to jump in front of the attack and sacrifice himself, for what?"

"For me, that's what!" Ayame snapped. "And yeah, maybe it was a dumb move, protecting me, I'll admit that! But I'll never condemn him for it! There are things more important than winning, you know!"

"Those are the same words the losers always throw up to defend themselves," K said, rolling his eyes. "'It's okay that I lost, winning isn't everything.' No, you lost. Without winning, no one will give a damn about you. Everyone has goals. And you can't accomplish the things you want to accomplish without the funding to obtain them. That's why pokemon trainers challenge gyms and participate in tournaments, to build their brand and get prestige, which they can then level into sponsorship deals to turn their ability to win into money. You should know that better than most, miss Pokeathlete. Hasn't your boss drilled in the necessity of marketability and brand image into your head? It's all the slut is good for."

Ayame's hands curled into fists. She was gonna kill him. Forget pokemon battles, she was going to beat him down until he was just a smear on the dirt.

"Even you're the same. Striving to win, to be recognized, to receive the accolades for your success?" K continued, "it's just the nature of the system we live in. A love of pokemon won't get you anywhere. No one remembers people like him, who don't win. Top 8 in the Fall Festival Tournament? Please. The only reason he won the Winter Tag Team Tournament was because he had the power of Elaina Bishop on his side. Without that, he's just another nobody trainer, not worth considering for a tournament of this level. If it had been up to me, he wouldn't have received an invitation. People like him, they talk about friendship and hard work, caring for their pokemon, but if that doesn't translate to actual results, then what's even the point? He sacrificed his position for you, because he's a fool. And someone like that won't make it far in the world of competitive pokemon battling. It astounds me that he could be raised in the same household as Kanone Harker and come out of it without understanding the importance of winning."

K narrowed his eyes, a sickening smile spreading across his lips.

"Someone like him, without the power to protect the people he cares about most? He should just give in and accept the futility of his struggle now, while he still has time to make something else out of his life."

Ayame paused for a moment.

"…Are you done?"

"…I think you're the one who's done," K scoffed. "Haikili-"

But before the Magnezone could respond, a blast of ice hit them in the face.

"You don't understand a fucking thing!" Ayame roared. "Blake… he's always trying his hardest, because he cares! Because he has goals that he has to accomplish! And yeah, maybe he won't win. Maybe he'll lose a lot, but who the fuck cares about that?!"

"Ridiculous. Winning is-"

"Winning isn't everything!" Ayame cut him off, Snows firing a powerful ice beam at the Magnezone, his speed increasing. It wasn't causing much damage, but it was letting Ayame keep the initiative, which was important, because it meant she could keep defending Blake. "That was what I learned from him! Even if you can't win, the important thing is never giving up! Continue to do your best, to improve, and don't pay attention to the results. Even if you can't recapture the speed from your past, none of that is what matters most! I… I love running! I love pushing my pokemon and myself to their limits! And when I had forgotten that, it was Blake who showed me that I had lost my way, that I needed to remember what it was that I was working so hard for in the first place! And that's why I'm not going to make that mistake a second time! Even if I never win, I'm going to keep doing my best because I love what I do, and that's enough for me!"

"YEAH!" Lila shouted, jumping out of her seat. "That's so awesome, Aya! You go for it, girl!"

Seconds later she realized what she had just done and flushed bright red, quickly sinking back down into her seat in embarrassment.

"That thinking is absolutely pathetic," K scowled. "It's just a shield to protect you from the pain of accepting your own failure! What do you think you'll actually be able to achieve with hard work and love and caring? Support from your friends? That's not going to help you win. Right here, you're going to lose to me, because no matter how hard you try it means nothing."

"Magnezone!" Haikili shrugged off the ice beams, and began crackling with dark electricity, ready to unleash it on Snows, but before they could, a powerful blow hit them in the side, sending them flying away.

"What?" K gasped, whirling to see Zera, crackling with electricity and snarling at Haikili. The gold pokemon shot past him, leaping into the air and raising his fists.

"I just heard the whole story!" Raizer said, walking up to Ayame, his eyes shining. "And I gotta say I agree! What matters is trying your hardest and a love of battle, not whether or not you win or lose! The challenge, and the electrifying thrill from facing it, that's what matters!"

"Um, thanks?" Ayame said, not sure how to respond.

"You…" K glared at Raizer, his eyes filled with loathing. What was Misato doing?!

"Hey there," Raizer grinned. "I'm here to show everyone the benefits of hard work! Zera! Close combat!"

"ORA!" Zera landed on Haikili, raising both fists. "ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!"

Zera released a barrage of punches filled with electricity, pummeling the steel pokemon into the ground. Their punches were so swift and brutal that the Magnezone had no chance of fighting back.

"That's, um…" Ayame wasn't sure how to respond to what she was seeing.

"You weren't wrong," Raizer said, patting her on the shoulder. "It's important to try your hardest. Even if you won't be rewarded for your efforts. So let's hold our heads up high, because today, the reward is clear."

"ORAAAAA!" Zera howled, leaping off the Magnezone and landing on the ground, throwing her head back and letting out another howl of victory.

"This… this can't be!" K sputtered. "That I would lose to something so ridiculous…"

"Looks like your efforts were the ones that weren't rewarded," Ayame scoffed, staring down at him. "You're the loser today."

"Keahi's Magnezone is unable to battle," Lila declared.

"Man, the mythical pokemon are really taking it home," Dakota said, shaking her head. "Misato, too." She turned to Akira. "You have a long way to go, Aki."

"Yeah, shut up," Akira scoffed.

Kitty's face brightened and she stopped feeling so sick. Now that all the Shadow Pokemon had been defeated, she felt a little bit better.

"Kitty, are you okay?" Julia asked, still rubbing her back even as the girl sat back up.

"Yeah, Julia, don't worry, I'm fine," Kitty smiled at her.

"That was so cool!" Cynthia cheered, jumping up. "Yeah! Way to avenge Blake! Nice!"

"…Did you forget that you were rooting against Blake at the start of this?" Sango asked.

"…It doesn't matter anyway," Kate moped. "There's still Misato to deal with…"

Everyone turned to her. Since Misato had wiped out Alcea and Gabrielle, Kate had become all mopey and depressing. They all glanced at each other, and decided that the best thing to do was to ignore her complaining.

Back on the battlefield, the number of remaining trainers had been cut in half.

"…I came to help, but it looks like someone else made it first," Darla said, running up to Ayame with Melody flying above her. Darla glanced cautiously at Raizer. "…Thanks."

"Not a problem!" Raizer laughed. His eyes were wild and he turned back to where Misato was fighting his brother. "But I am going to need help. That girl's a real threat, mind lending a hand?"

Darla and Ayame glanced at each other, and nodded.

"Sure thing!" Ayame said, taking the lead and sprinting forward, Snows floating after her.

While everyone else was converging on Misato, there were still three people who weren't involved in that skirmish.

"Drakon, use earth power!" Lana ordered.

"Dia, same," Gerard added.

Lana had joined with Gerard in teaming up against Ian, and he was quickly finding himself in a bad spot. Iron was tough, but withstanding special attacking moves that were four times effective against him was taking out his health really fast. He looked out across the battlefield at Raizer, Darla, and Ayame, all going after Misato.

It seems that my biggest mistake in this match was not having any allies I could count on, Ian mused. I suppose battle royales are really not something that suit my interests in battling.

"Iron! We don't have long, so let's make it big!" Ian declared, his mood brightening. Even if he was going to lose here, he might as well fight to his fullest! "Metal burst!"

As Iron was barraged on all sides by earth power attacks, he stored up the energy in his body, before releasing it in one massive explosion, shards of metal flying everywhere.

"Vibrava!" Drakon howled.

"Drakon!" Lana cried, her pokemon getting swallowed up by the explosion.

Gerard was a little luckier, though.

"Dia! Protect yourself!" He ordered. Dia created a barrier as hard as diamond around herself, sparking pink as the metal slammed against it, not even making a crack. When the light of the explosion cleared, Drakon was knocked unconscious, but Iron was still standing… albeit barely.

"Now, finish it with one last earth power!" Gerard triumphantly declared.

"Diancie!" Dia dropped the protective barrier and gathered up more energy into her body, releasing it into the ground, the battlefield erupting in a blast of magmatic force that engulfed Iron, knocking the massive pokemon unconscious.

"Lana's Vibrava and Ian's Aggron have both been knocked out!" Lila declared.

"So it's those two facing off in the next round, huh?" Dakota mused, glancing over at the brackets as two more faces popped up on it. "Six more to go."

"They've really weeded things down," Akira noted. "The Commander and his Espeon, the monster that is Misato Daisan, two mythical pokemon…"

"And don't forget Darla!" Lila added, cheering her partner on. "She's doing her best, too!"

"Darla too," Akira agreed. "She's quite a skilled battler for someone in the Appeals Course."

"…And the last one is just a girl who's only real role in the story is that she's dating the main character," Dakota finished.

"HEY! I HEARD THAT!" Ayame snapped from across the stadium.

"So what are you going to do, Miss Misadoll?" Alden asked. "You've got three more opponents coming to help, and all you've been doing is standing here without making a single move. Better act fast, or you might get knocked out."

He glanced over at Gerard, who showed no interest whatsoever in stepping into the battle one way or another, looking quite content to just watch.

"…And your only ally seems to be leaving you all on your own," he added. "I wonder, are you starting to sweat? Or are you prepared for that, too? Can robots even sweat?"

"Negative. I have been gathering energy," Misato corrected him. "Special attacking strength maximized. I spent the time preparing my systems for battle, waiting for all the other competitors to be eliminated before taking any further actions. This method is the most statistically probable path for an efficient victory in this battle."

"Oh? I like the sound of that," Alden said, cracking a smile.

"Affirmative," Misato said, the electricity surging around her growing even brighter and more intense. "This way I can eliminate all enemies of the Phantom swiftly and without interruption."

"And I really like the sound of THAT!" Alden cackled. "Sounds good! Bring it on, Misadoll!"

The battle royale will reach its finale in the next chapter! Who will win? Who will face off against whom in the Phantom Cup proper? It's sure to be an interesting final boss fight against Misato, I can say that much! Time for a raid battle!